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Avilister
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Exalted: FoB - Character Creation Discussion

Post by Avilister »

This thread is for discussing character creation, both mechanics and background.

So far I've had three people express interest in playing. It helps, of course, if your characters already know one another, even if they haven't met. We can use some typical tropes to get them together or I may be able to start things off with a bang to attract the party together in media res.
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Post by Thael »

well if we are doing the idea that we came up with this past weekend (cool and punny idea that would be fun) to be shifted from the 40k universe then I have to recreate my one character idea that I submitted to steven but thats cool too... otherwise I have the traveling diplomat that I made...

if we use the 40k concept us knowing each other would be real easy... if not my diplomat makes a habit of foiling the wylde hunt (as part of his goal to end its existence) so he could have assisted one of the others in their run in with the dragon-blooded...
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Post by Avilister »

I'd prefer the characters not actually be shifted from the 40K universe, as I am almost totally unfamilliar with it outside of my experience with playing the Dawn of War RTS. Now, if people want to make characters based on heroes from it, or whatever, thats fine. Part of Exalted's appeal to me is having a large constructed world from which to draw - I don't feel like we need to include any sort of multiversal aspect to it. It already has at least 5 different planes of existence in print (Creation, Yu-Shan, Malfeas, the Underworld, Autochthonia, and one plane of non-existance: Elsewhere).

The Wyld Hunt is a great tool for getting people together, as is having everyone just start in the same city and then having me trigger some sort of major disaster that draws everyone in. Or you can meet in a bar. Or whatever.
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Post by Thael »

*ahem* I believe the proper term is "tavern".. :)

Well even if it was not really 40k it could be we were memebrs of the same "insert military unit name here" and design the characters to imitate a 40k type archtype... either way... others can make the final decision since I am sure I will have fun regardless...
That which is not dead can eternal lie and with strange eons even death may die
My Color is Blue
I value Knowledge, logic, and deceit. I love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At my best, I am brilliant and progressive. At my worst, I am treacherous and cold. My symbol is a water droplet. My enemies are green and red.
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Post by rydi »

adam & I had suggested 40k concepts, not actually from there.

my char will be a simple girl from a down trodden village that was disenfranchised by the empire then hunted down for slaves and sport. my char was killed, and exalted into the moonshadow caste.

her early goals will focus around compasion virtue, and posibly revenge. later I want her to become a force of balance on the universe.
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Post by Thael »

that works too... I need to take a peek at the other one I created and see if he needs tweaking or if would be better to just start from scratch... also I don't recall what I set his motivation as...
That which is not dead can eternal lie and with strange eons even death may die
My Color is Blue
I value Knowledge, logic, and deceit. I love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At my best, I am brilliant and progressive. At my worst, I am treacherous and cold. My symbol is a water droplet. My enemies are green and red.
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Post by Avilister »

Just as a general point of information, which I mentioned on Saturday in person, this world will be populated with a number of characters from games I have played in or run already. They'll be NPCs, but, as Exalts, will be active and doing other things in the world, and you may run across them. I like the idea of a Persistant Creation, so your characters, once in the world, will remain there until they either die, or I'm forced to reboot creation because of a lack of appropriate Exaltations.

Also, unless anyone has any major plot ideas, this will largely be a sandbox. The world will react, but as I've said, I don't really have a story to tell. Cheyne has noted that he's interested in some plots regarding Deathlords, and being an Abyssal, he'll be tied to that aspect of the world for some time to come. Run-ins with them will be inevitable, provided they can find you. Creation is a big, big place.
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Post by Thael »

well I am not the one to write said plot but the diplomats goal to stop the wyld hunt (not meaning violent destruction of the dragon blooded) would be cool... he planned on using less violent means like a monk might use (help in hiding targets, embarass or lower the image of said members, etc)... when I take a look at what I made and re-read the book(s) I may have more ideas come to mind but some games have plot that is centered on one character and the others help facilitate with occasional side stories focused on them and that is okay... after all comics often do things that way... so if we have a "down with deathlords" campaign with sub-plots that are hooks into other characters than cheyne I would be fine with that... Gideon's rolling time/forge game centered on Josh and Paul since they had the most contact with TPTB in the universe and it didn't die because of it... and thats saying something with those two... :lol:
That which is not dead can eternal lie and with strange eons even death may die
My Color is Blue
I value Knowledge, logic, and deceit. I love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At my best, I am brilliant and progressive. At my worst, I am treacherous and cold. My symbol is a water droplet. My enemies are green and red.
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Post by rydi »

i need the abyssal info. i am lost without it.
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Post by Avilister »

I'll see what I can do.
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Post by Thael »

you would pick the one book less than a month old... finding a copy is a pain in the ass...
That which is not dead can eternal lie and with strange eons even death may die
My Color is Blue
I value Knowledge, logic, and deceit. I love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At my best, I am brilliant and progressive. At my worst, I am treacherous and cold. My symbol is a water droplet. My enemies are green and red.
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Post by Avilister »

It isn't the one book less than a month old. I picked up Dreams of the First Age last week, it is, by far, the newest :P
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Post by Thael »

but of all the exalt types he picks the newest
That which is not dead can eternal lie and with strange eons even death may die
My Color is Blue
I value Knowledge, logic, and deceit. I love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At my best, I am brilliant and progressive. At my worst, I am treacherous and cold. My symbol is a water droplet. My enemies are green and red.
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Post by rydi »

at least I'm not playing an infernal.

I have questions:

xp xpenditure- how it work? current lvl or next level as multiplier?

will- caculated off virtues before or after bonus points? book implies u can hit 8, but says u can only do it w/2 virtues 4 or higher which only can be done w/bonus points...

don't have book on me- resistance and integrity, what are they good for?

merits, flaws, martial arts styles- where are they? I need books.

what skills can one not live w/out? what charms?

how fast xp flow going to be?
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Post by Avilister »

Xp is current times multiplier.

Will is calculated after virtue mods by BP during character creation only. It can be enhanced independantly with BP (but this isn't worth doing in my opinion as it is 2BP to increase Will and 3BP to increase a virtue, which if it is one of your two highest, will also increase will).

Resistance is a skill that helps you to endure hardship in various forms. It measures your Resistance to environmental effects, physical torture, long term travelling and other similar effects. It also acts as an enhancement to Stamina for purposes like holding your breath and extended athletic activity. It is also useful for resisting toxins, both poisons and diseases. Its charms include charms for increasing soak (including a perfect soak effect), resisting poisons and diseases (one of them is called Immunity to Everything Technique) and increasing the rate of your own healing. A seperate tree includes charms for lightening armor you're wearing, banishing it to Elsewhere, or creating magic golden platemail from nothing. Still another tree lets you recover motes or willpower when you're hit or take damage and includes charms based on Bloodthirsty Sword-Dancer Spirit, which essentially lets you frenzy.

Integrity helps to resist mental influence. Exalted incorporates a Social Combat system that I probably won't make much use of, as actual RPing is way better. Integrity charms help you to resist unnatural mental influence (Dominate style mind control stuff) and Shaping effects casted at you by other supernaturals. It also includes several charms related to forging and altering Intemacies in yourself and in others. Without charms it still acts as the Abilitiy that comes into play when you need to be able to go "Fuck you, you can't make me do that".

This is all Solar charms, of course, I'm not yet familiar enough with the new Abyssal charms to be able to rattle off examples for those yet.

Snake Style and Solar Hero Style martial arts are featured at the back of the Charms chapter of the Exalted core book. There is at least one additional MA style in each Manual of Exalted power (Lunar Hero Style, Terrestrial Hero Style and Violet Bier of Sorrows Style (the Siddies don't like calling it Sidereal Hero Style)) plus a book called Scroll of the Monk, which features roughly 10 more Celestial-level martial arts, plus about a dozen Terrestrial styles.

Merits and Flaws have not been re-introduced into the Second Edition of Exalted. That said, First Edition had them in the Player's Guide, most of which are still valid under the 2nd Ed rules. A lot of people don't allow them, but I think I will, as they help to add flavor.

As for skills, I'd generally recommend favoring at least one combat skill for your own protection if nothing else. Excellencies are usually helpful, as are perfect defense effects if they're available to you.

In the last game I ran (actually the only game I've ever run) we had a pretty high XP curve at first, which I think helped to smooth out the rough edges left by character creation. I did very high exp for the first three sessions (the first session was worth 10) and then backed it down to about 5 per session later on.

6pm! Time to go home! I'll answer other questions once I'm back, if there are any.
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