Weimann
2010-04-25, 06:44 AM
So, last night I STed an Exalted session over MSN. It was pretty fun, if a bit slow at times, but I'm still learning the ropes more or less. This was also the reason for the unplanned manner in which the session turned out.
My Solar circle was approaching a gang of thieves that they weren't sure were thieves (they may also have been pretty ugly mercenaries hired by a friend). The Twilight was using Radiant Majestic Presence, and the sparkles made the robbers uneasy and they grew aggressive. The Twilight then tried to ease them, but having Presence 5 doesn't help when you have Performance 0.
And you botch.
So I got a carte blance to make them miserable. I got the idea to scare them a bit by introducing a character that was supposed to be part of the boss group, so after a few ticks of battle he stormed in on the battlefield. This guy was supposed to be good muscle; certainly a physical character who could hold his own, particularly at distance but also in melee. He had his perfect defense and all.
He lasted a total of 1 single tick, against an Excellency-enhanced attack with a mundane weapon. Sliced him up in 6 equal parts that fell wetly to the floor. A goddamn Solar-equivalent Exalt. Damn that unexpected attack. This was supposed to be a bad situation as a result of a botch, not an offhand irritation swatted like a fly. He was also supposed to be reoccurring.
In retrospect, I realise the fault was mine on several points. First of all, I sent him in alone against 4 Solar PCs, which was just stupid. I also thought surprise only denied you charms use, not the entirety of your DVs, which was a significant reading comprehension error on my point. Third, I had given him a perfect defense, but no surprise negator, which would have been thematic. Reflex Sidestep Technique would have been great for him.
Well, faults mine and I learned a lesson. However, there are upcoming fights where people will just not have a thematic reason to have a surprise negator, and I don't want them dying before they can even have the chance to be cool. That was the main thing that pissed me off. I had a combat routine figured out for this guy that I was pretty proud of, and he doens't even get to act. Similar will most likely be true for many other enemies ahead. That's not okay.
So I thought about ways to drastically improve survivability, and this is what I came up with. It's not elegant, it's a patchwork solution, but it might serve a purpose. The idea is to increase health levels like hell.
Buying Ox-Body Technique costs 3 xp normally and 2 xp if favoured or caste, and may be bought up to 2x(Resistance) times.
Every dot of Stamina awards a free Ox-Body Technique that doesn't count towards the 2x(Resistance) maximum.
Every dot of Essence awards one free -0, two free -1 AND two free -2 health levels.
I'm also considering using some of these weapon and artifact rules (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/720681/Exalted_Mods/Weapons_and_Armor_Rev_0.3.pdf), written by Mercurio (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/t/18344.aspx), since they seem to be a tad less lethal than the Core version.
These rules will apply to Exalts, not extras, mortals or heroic mortals. I'm not yet sure about gods, demons and spirits, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I hope this will make to so that people can at least survive a little longer. It might alleviate a bit on the requirement to have a paranoia combo, while still making having one very worthwhile.
What do sharper brains than mine think about this?
Also posted here (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/t/26841.aspx), to get more opinions.
My Solar circle was approaching a gang of thieves that they weren't sure were thieves (they may also have been pretty ugly mercenaries hired by a friend). The Twilight was using Radiant Majestic Presence, and the sparkles made the robbers uneasy and they grew aggressive. The Twilight then tried to ease them, but having Presence 5 doesn't help when you have Performance 0.
And you botch.
So I got a carte blance to make them miserable. I got the idea to scare them a bit by introducing a character that was supposed to be part of the boss group, so after a few ticks of battle he stormed in on the battlefield. This guy was supposed to be good muscle; certainly a physical character who could hold his own, particularly at distance but also in melee. He had his perfect defense and all.
He lasted a total of 1 single tick, against an Excellency-enhanced attack with a mundane weapon. Sliced him up in 6 equal parts that fell wetly to the floor. A goddamn Solar-equivalent Exalt. Damn that unexpected attack. This was supposed to be a bad situation as a result of a botch, not an offhand irritation swatted like a fly. He was also supposed to be reoccurring.
In retrospect, I realise the fault was mine on several points. First of all, I sent him in alone against 4 Solar PCs, which was just stupid. I also thought surprise only denied you charms use, not the entirety of your DVs, which was a significant reading comprehension error on my point. Third, I had given him a perfect defense, but no surprise negator, which would have been thematic. Reflex Sidestep Technique would have been great for him.
Well, faults mine and I learned a lesson. However, there are upcoming fights where people will just not have a thematic reason to have a surprise negator, and I don't want them dying before they can even have the chance to be cool. That was the main thing that pissed me off. I had a combat routine figured out for this guy that I was pretty proud of, and he doens't even get to act. Similar will most likely be true for many other enemies ahead. That's not okay.
So I thought about ways to drastically improve survivability, and this is what I came up with. It's not elegant, it's a patchwork solution, but it might serve a purpose. The idea is to increase health levels like hell.
Buying Ox-Body Technique costs 3 xp normally and 2 xp if favoured or caste, and may be bought up to 2x(Resistance) times.
Every dot of Stamina awards a free Ox-Body Technique that doesn't count towards the 2x(Resistance) maximum.
Every dot of Essence awards one free -0, two free -1 AND two free -2 health levels.
I'm also considering using some of these weapon and artifact rules (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/720681/Exalted_Mods/Weapons_and_Armor_Rev_0.3.pdf), written by Mercurio (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/t/18344.aspx), since they seem to be a tad less lethal than the Core version.
These rules will apply to Exalts, not extras, mortals or heroic mortals. I'm not yet sure about gods, demons and spirits, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I hope this will make to so that people can at least survive a little longer. It might alleviate a bit on the requirement to have a paranoia combo, while still making having one very worthwhile.
What do sharper brains than mine think about this?
Also posted here (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/t/26841.aspx), to get more opinions.