Operation: Exalt (A homebrew Exalted 2e setting)

[Turalisj]

The year is 2012. A force beyond our dimension has entered Earth, unaware to the population at large. In order to combat this new threat, a team of young adults able to tap into a powerful energy has been form. They are to combat the armies of this entity, dubbed a Fae by researchers, and keep humanity safe from whatever goals it may have.


Ahem, and with that introduction, I would like to introduce a homebrew setting I've been thinking about for a bit for Exalted. Here's the basic breakdown of it- take the idea of the solars, place them in the modern world, give it a Neon Genesis Evangelion spin (intrigue, secret plots, beings completely alien to humans attacking), and add in the team play of Super Sentai genre (along with the giant mecha). What you get is a setting with over the top action, secret plots to take over the world/turn it into tang, and giant monster battles!

I'm just going to start focused on Solars and work my way out from there of each Exalt's place in the setting.

[Turalisj]

Reserved for History

[Turalisj]

Reserved for Non-Player Characters

[Turalisj]

Reserved for Groups

Yu Shan Organization- The Yu Shan Organization (YSO) is both the largest company in the world and the set of power in the world. Headquartered in their floating Metropolis/Fortress, the YSO maintains an air of mystery to most people. Yu Shan, the city, houses the most intelligent people in the world, as well as having the best spy networks and information banks out of any organized group.

However, YSO does have it's secrets. There are rumors of a '5 Maidens Unit' that keeps the YSO running smoothly and brings in new recruits. There is also the ever present rumors of corruption and scandal that plague every powerful group, but those are waved off as just being rumors.

Scarlet Corporation- The Scarlet Corporation is a company that oversees the management of the DB, to the point that three-quarters of all DB in the world work, in some part, for the SC. While the SC is managed by a council representing the 11 divisions, these all in turn report to the figure who calls herself the Scarlet Empress.

The Immaculate Order- Called zealots, saviors, and demons, the Immaculate Order is the primary religion of the world. It is, generally, a very peaceful religion with many admirable qualities. However, it is also omnipresent and does not tolerate competition. Cults and rival religions are quashed. Heretics and rebels are either forcibly converted, imprisoned, or outright killed.

[Turalisj]

The Exalted

What is an Exalted: In this world, an Exalt is someone who has undergone gene therapy and extensive cybernetic upgrades to allow them to access a mysterious power source known as 'essence'. Using essence, they can alter the world around them to an amazing degree, doing things that the average person would call superhuman.

There are several types of Exalt known to the world:

Dragon-Blooded: The Dragon-Blooded (referred to as DB for ease of typing) are recruited, trained, and employed primarily by the Scarlet Company, which in itself is owned by the enigmatic Yu Shan Company. DB are trained to be leaders, soldiers, and thinkers. Their abilities far outstrip those of a normal human, though they are most effective when working together. Generally, they work in teams of 5, dubbed 'brotherhoods', and are assigned a certain district of work.

Solars: Solars were originally the 'alpha model', the original prototype models for the Exalt process. However the cost for the extensive gene therapy and cybernetic enhancement that was needed to produce even a single one greatly surpassed that to make even a dozen DB. Thusly, the project was mothballed and the researchers were assigned to different projects. However, about a year ago, all information on the Solar Project went missing. Those that knew anything about the project were found dead, or not found at all.

Alchemicals: Alchemicals are a halfway point between Solar and Terrestrial exaltation. More expensive than a dragon-blood, they are still cheaper to produce than Solars. Currently, all production information is rendered highly classified. What is known is that they are techno-organic beings able to replicate the form of humans and go undetected. Alchemicals also seem to exist beyond the Fate Network, able to go undetected by the Sidereal watchers.

Infernals: Infernals are a corruption of the Solar Exaltation system. There is little information about what they are or what they do, only that they exist outside the Fate Network and serve mysterious forces.

[Turalisj]

The Armory

In the world, there are many items. Some are recent discoveries. Others are reproductions of advanced technology discovered in the strange dimension from which essence is drawn.

Artifact Weapons: Built from one of the 5 alloys, these weapons of great and terrible power are only able to be used by those who have undergone the process of Second Breath. A troop of Dragon-Blooded wielding daiklaves and using powerbows is something few mortal soldiers can fight off.

[The Rose Dragon]

Frankly, there just isn't much to go on. I do await further information, since trying to adapt Exalted into other settings is sort of my thing, but I can't see much that makes me ask questions yet.

Here's one thing I'm wondering, though: how will you handle firearms?

[absolmorph]

Indeed, I actually find this quite interesting, and I look forward to seeing more stuff.
I just didn't know what to say when I first saw it.

[PersonMan]

If you get far enough to require playtesters, I'd like to be one.

I'm not good at system mechanics, any assistance I can give would probably consist of spewing out a ridiculous amount of ideas.

[DracoDei]

I'm not good at system mechanics, any assistance I can give would probably consist of spewing out a ridiculous amount of ideas.
This is probably known as "brainstorming". Brainstorming is generally considered to be a good thing to do in the early stages of a project, which this is.

[Turalisj]

This is probably known as "brainstorming". Brainstorming is generally considered to be a good thing to do in the early stages of a project, which this is.

That's what I'm looking for right now- Ideas I can add to the setting and make it larger. Right now, I've typed up most of my ideas and am just thinking over some other plans, but I've got nothing set in stone.

If anyone wants to add their own ideas, that would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind that Abyssals, Infernals, Lunars, and Alchemicals haven't been created yet, and Sidereals are top-secret.

[aetherialDawn]

Well, for importing the Bronze Faction, it's those Sidereals which think that having the Solars destabilize the YSO would just allow the Fae to kill everyone - or suspect that the Solars are crazy from being made from prototype plans!

The Gold Faction, of course, think that mysterious new allies against a highly dangerous foe is a necessary tool to wield, just like they manipulate any other tool/person/government. As long as the Solars don't learn anything in case they have hidden recording equipment? Free weapons!

That's not to say that the Bronze Faction doesn't probably favor 'killed after killing lots of Fae' as the best kind of Solar Death, or that the Gold Faction is so foolish as to trust mysterious free weapons made from unstable technology. They just differ in how much they evaluate the Solar threat vs. other threats.


I assumed that the Fae would be a more serious centralized enemy in this game. True? If not, then what I said will need significant tweaking.



Sidereals are probably made on a different kind of project than Solars; Solars need to be rebuilt entirely, but Sidereals are far easier since it consists of watching until an appropriate genetic sequence comes up. Since they can cut out almost all of the gene therapy, Sidereals are very cheap and significantly less prone to going insane, with the main problems coming from the fact that the intense mental training to be loyal to the YSO can make them a little too eager in their plans, just like 'real' Sidereals.

From that, Paradox is because Sidereals are supposed to be secret, darn it, not revealing that the YSO has Exalted! When they use Astrology-styled charms they are, essentially, changing the YSO's plans for their own benefit, and while that's okay as long as it's for the benefit of the YSO in the end, it makes things very, very complicated for the non-Sidereal bureaucrats and planners who organize controlling the stock market, keeping the Illuminati 'realistic' enough to keep attracting any conspiracy theorist who might suspect them, running the power grid for Atlantis, et cetera.


Lunars: Not sure. Possibly one of the things required for a Solar is, somewhere else, a 'stabilizer' who is adaptable enough to keep the Solar sane no matter what happens? Killing one mate isn't a huge problem, since the rest of the Lunar system can pick up the slack. Kill a lot of them, and anyone who doesn't still have a dedicated Lunar mate is going to start going insane much more easily until the appropriate process can be done to someone new.
Infernals: NO idea.
Abyssals: People exposed to an alternate Solar process, which can be applied to more people, but just happens to need the person to be not quite dead/not quite alive and introduces some... problems... because of that?
Alchemicals: Alien probes?


For representing the nature of Exaltation being passed on, there are only so many wavelengths than an Exalted's cybernetic systems can be attuned to. Since DBs don't have so much cybernetics/have more resilient cybernetics, they only have the genetics problems, but trying to put a new Solar on a wavelength in use is a Bad Idea. (You can still get a Lunar on the same wavelength, though, and probably should. Sidereals use a different set of wavelengths, which is safer, but smaller and less powerful.)

[Turalisj]

Yea, Fae will be a big enemy. And by big, I mean 50ft tall Fae stomping through the equivalent of Tokyo sucking people's souls up through it's 80 heads.

Honestly, I'm not trying to focus on one specific part of the setting (which is partly why I posted this up here, the other part is I'm horrid at record keeping), so any ideas you have are welcome.

[aetherialDawn]

I am an endless font of ideas sometimes. Harnessing the sudden surges of inspiration is an important process. I'll stop editing the previous post, but there's a good chance I'll keep throwing out ideas when I'm not busy making rules for my Alchemical Colossus :smallbiggrin:

(I give no guarantee of idea quality, though - I'll try to keep out the worst ones, and I recommend you just discard any that don't make the cut/don't fit with the setting.)

Oh, and can I just say Giant Fae = YES.

[Turalisj]

Hey, that's ok. I love taking ideas and forming them into something awesome. Must be why I love working with clay so much.... anyway....

Let's see..


Sidereals: I like your idea about the 'waiting for the right gene sequence', as it does fit with the theme of how exalts work in the setting. That just brings up the question- What is the loom of fate? Is there just one, or are there many looms with one inside each person, and only through synchronization does a singular 'loom' come about?

Lunars: I don't know too much about them from a standard standpoint. I don't have the book for lunars and it isn't that high on my list of things to get (especially with Brotherhood coming out 2 days after my birthday).

Infernals: I have my ideas, but I'll keep them to myself for now :smallwink:

Abyssals: Same as infernals

Alchemicals: Would be exalts from a mirror-earth. That's about all I have on them for now.

And just because I'm the one who posted the thread up, don't feel like you can't use the setting for your own ends. I may have started the thread, but I know this idea has been getting kicked around a bit with small tidbits of ideas.

[aetherialDawn]

Okay, before everything else: Mirror-Earth Alchemicals?

AWESOME.


As for Sidereals, I would assume YSO uses the Loom of Fate to sequence everyone's genomes! Everyone outside Fate has had their genome altered somehow - Exalted gene re-sequencing makes them hard to track, but Abyssals are actually totally different due to dying (allowing for more complete reconstruction) Fae are, well, Fae, and Alchemicals are Not From (this) Earth.

This also explains why Sidereals can work so closely with the Loom of Fate: Their genome isn't resequenced much, so they fit much more closely into it and can work with it safely.


Lunars are... Lunars are weird, actually, I would ask someone with more experience than I. I built off the idea of the Solar Bond, but you could just as easily build off them being societal shapers, infinitely protean (which I included a bit of, since they can shift to counterbalance Solars no matter what) or even just highly adaptive generalists.

[Turalisj]

Alright, gonna work a bit on the setting over the weekend, should have more fluff up by Monday.

[Tavar]

Lunars: Everyone knows the best way to combat something is to subvert it. Lunars are essentially Humans merged with Fae to some extent. This gives them some resistance to the ravages of the Fae's home dimension, which suits their purpose as an invasion and early warning system. Also, the mixing of multiple genetic sequences with the Fae's own abilities has made their form mutable. Most can only take the form of animals, but experiences Lunars can even take on the alien forms of the Fae themselves. This ability comes at a cost, however. Their extremely unstable wavelengths can interact with the energies of the Fae's home dimension necessary to shape-shift. Unprotected shape-shifting can be extremely dangerous, eventually changing the being into some form of Fae themselves. These so called 'chimera' are more dangerous than most fae, as they keep the gifts of Exaltation, in addition to new, alien powers. They are labeled as targets of utmost priority.

Solar-Lunar Bond: Prototypes are unstable, and the high-powered wavelengths needed for the Solar Exaltation causes more problems than most. A solution was found in the very enemies that the Solars were being designed to defeat; the Fae. Fae, especially the smaller forms, behave erratically when alone, similarly to how the solars(and to a lesser extent, all exalts). After research, it was found that they utilize something similar to the exalts own wavelengths, and that they can share the wavelengths over short distances. Incorporating this theory into the Exalts was difficult, but worthwhile. All current generation exalts can share the stress of the wavelength on the human mind. In addition, and perhaps even more important than dumping the stress of the exaltations on this group-mind, they can also shuffle other, outside mental influences onto the system. Any mind can only do this so much at a time, but considering the Fae's like of this tactic on can easily see why this was given to all exalts.

The standard use is more effective the greater the number of linked minds, so that it's no wonder the terrestials are most stable, though with their more stable bands the Sidereals aren't that poorly off either. Solars, with their extremely powerful band, extensive modifications, and small numbers were not so lucky. They needed a second safety valve, and one was found in the cocurrent Lunar Program. By their very nature they are close to the Fae, and a second gestalt was formed. This time, however, they focused it so that each Lunar wavelength associated itself with a separate Solar wavelength. This secondary gestalt encompassed all Solars and Lunars(even chimera, though that is not known by the developers), but by focusing it between two individuals they strengthen it's siphoning ability, greatly reducing the stress on the Solar's mind. Additionally, at the time it was worried that the Solar might well become inhuman after long enough with such power, or the Lunars with so much interaction with the Fae, so the individual link was a failsafe, hoping to curb this tendency with a more human connection for each. The seeming stability of the Terrestrials accepted, their seems to be less need for this, but the design has never been altered.


Depending on the setting, I have a couple ideas for Abyssals/Alchemicals, though is see you have some ideas as well.

[Turalisj]

Awesome idea Tavar, do you mind if I use that for lunars? You seem to be the resident Lunar expert on these boards anyway :smallbiggrin:

For Alchemicals, I was thinking something along the lines that the earth-created Exalts (solars, dragon-bloods, sidereals, lunars, etc) and alchemical exalts were supposed to be a single unit. Something happened in the distant past that caused the methods to create alchemicals to vanish and creating other exalts to disappear until recently.

This is essentially expanding on what's presented in the Alchemical Manual, which lists some in-game stuff of what happens when an alchemical of a certain caste is near an exalt type that matches, such as an Orichalcum Caste alchemical and a Solar.

[Tavar]

Awesome idea Tavar, do you mind if I use that for lunars? You seem to be the resident Lunar expert on these boards anyway :smallbiggrin:
:spittake:
I've never played a Lunar, and have little more experience in exalted games. But I do have a couple books, and more importantly am active in the Keychain of Creation thread. So I've picked up a lot through osmosis.

But yeah, you can take whatever you like. And it's good for my ego to know that someone likes it.

For Alchemicals, I was thinking something along the lines that the earth-created Exalts (solars, dragon-bloods, sidereals, lunars, etc) and alchemical exalts were supposed to be a single unit. Something happened in the distant past that caused the methods to create alchemicals to vanish and creating other exalts to disappear until recently.

This is essentially expanding on what's presented in the Alchemical Manual, which lists some in-game stuff of what happens when an alchemical of a certain caste is near an exalt type that matches, such as an Orichalcum Caste alchemical and a Solar.
Interesting way to go about it.

I was thinking more along the commie-robot angle.
Though, can you give any examples as to what happens when appropriate exalts and alchemicals get together?

[aetherialDawn]

Starmetal Alchemicals cancel out the Great Curse on the Sidereals that causes greater numbers of Sidereals to make progressively worse decisions on a one for one basis - One starmetal reduces the 'effective' number of sidereals by 1.

Soulsteel Alchemicals deflect some amount of Resonance.

I think a mirror-earth does this nicely - The Alchemicals use the exact same wavelength type, but in a radically different fashion. They don't occupy it and prevent other exalted from residing on it, but they do modulate it - and just as the gestalt provides protection from insanity, having a nearby Alchemical modifying your wavelength does unusual things.

I think what would be very interesting is this: The wavelengths put a cap on how many Exalted there can be on a wavelength... But the Alchemicals don't follow that particular rule. And if the Terrestrials don't use the wavelength, why do Jade Castes have an effect on them? Is there some aspect of the wavelength spectrum that our universe lacks, but which is supposed to be there, and that is why the Jade Caste can still influence Dragonbloods?

Did the fae eat it?

[Tavar]

I thought that each exalted uses a wavelength... Wait. Wavelength is somewhat the wrong word. It's a spectrum. Each individual uses a specific wavelength on a spectrum, and each type of exalted uses a section of the spectrum. It's the specific properties of the spectrum that determine the number of exalted that can use the spectrum, and the stability of those exalted.

With regards to limits; the reason theirs a limit is that using the same wavelength creates a feedback look within the gestalt-mind. This only affects the individuals on the same wavelength, but it essentially leads to the same result as chimerism in Lunars. Alchemicals aren't effected because their very nature prevents it. Their AI's don't cause the feedback loop, either with themselves or with others(thus a solar and alchemical on the same wavelength doesn't cause problems). In fact, much like the Solar-Lunar Bond, they can take some of the stress from their organic counterparts onto their, relatively unstressed gestalt-mind. Of course, they pay for this with a lower overall power threshold and the sheer expense in making one.

[Turalisj]

Starmetal Alchemicals cancel out the Great Curse on the Sidereals that causes greater numbers of Sidereals to make progressively worse decisions on a one for one basis - One starmetal reduces the 'effective' number of sidereals by 1.

Soulsteel Alchemicals deflect some amount of Resonance.

I think a mirror-earth does this nicely - The Alchemicals use the exact same wavelength type, but in a radically different fashion. They don't occupy it and prevent other exalted from residing on it, but they do modulate it - and just as the gestalt provides protection from insanity, having a nearby Alchemical modifying your wavelength does unusual things.

I think what would be very interesting is this: The wavelengths put a cap on how many Exalted there can be on a wavelength... But the Alchemicals don't follow that particular rule. And if the Terrestrials don't use the wavelength, why do Jade Castes have an effect on them? Is there some aspect of the wavelength spectrum that our universe lacks, but which is supposed to be there, and that is why the Jade Caste can still influence Dragonbloods?

Did the fae eat it?

I thought that each exalted uses a wavelength... Wait. Wavelength is somewhat the wrong word. It's a spectrum. Each individual uses a specific wavelength on a spectrum, and each type of exalted uses a section of the spectrum. It's the specific properties of the spectrum that determine the number of exalted that can use the spectrum, and the stability of those exalted.

With regards to limits; the reason theirs a limit is that using the same wavelength creates a feedback look within the gestalt-mind. This only affects the individuals on the same wavelength, but it essentially leads to the same result as chimerism in Lunars. Alchemicals aren't effected because their very nature prevents it. Their AI's don't cause the feedback loop, either with themselves or with others(thus a solar and alchemical on the same wavelength doesn't cause problems). In fact, much like the Solar-Lunar Bond, they can take some of the stress from their organic counterparts onto their, relatively unstressed gestalt-mind. Of course, they pay for this with a lower overall power threshold and the sheer expense in making one.

Well, what I was thinking was this-

The process for a human to channel raw essence through themselves is not perfect. Through the use of essence, some of it radiates from the Exalt, causing adverse effects on either their minds (Solars), bodies (Lunars), or environment (Dragon-Blooded). Alchemicals, being forged through the use of essence, have a different problem, in that their minds slowly lose all humanity as they grow in power, eventually becoming little more than hyper intelligent machine-gods.

However, when an Alchemical is near it's mirror (solar to orichalcum, lunar to moonsilver, dragon-blooded to jade), an Alchemical acts as a beacon to which the excess essence can be drawn to them, effectively balancing out the equation.

Mechanically, this provides a bonus no different from in Manual of Exalted Power: Alchemicals page 44. However, in addition to those benefits, Alchemical Exalts lose one point of clarity while around their mirror.


One thing I would like to ask though- how far back do you think humanity should have discovered how to use essence? Maybe it was channeling essence, instead of splitting an atom, that was discovered in the years before WW2. Or maybe it goes back further than that, to Tesla, Franklin, or even Da Vinci? Depending on how far back you go will dramatically alter the flow of history, since you would be introducing a power source that is nearly infinite. It would also affect how much the Fae have interacted with humans (I'll get to fae-human relations in a bit).

[aetherialDawn]

I would like to point out that if we have Alchemicals like from the MoEP, then they should be not AIs but brain uploads - humans turned into AIs. Which I personally think would be really awesome.

Also, that if they have a religious structure similar to from the MoEP, then losing Clarity is questionably a penalty, not a benefit, since Clarity = being closer to Autochthon. That's not to say that all the Alchemicals don't want Clarity, but the reasons described include some fairly selfish ones, so it's not like Clairty is straight up Bad like the other Great Curse styled things. It's not straight up Good either, but that's another problem entirely. The only real problem of high Clarity is that if you get Gremlin Syndrone you go straight to being absolutely crazy, as opposed to mildly crazy.

Essence as a replacement for atomic power seems pretty good, actually. Dangerous, powerful, a little bit capricious to mortals, expensive to set up, based on the very foundations of the universe... Seems like a good fit.

Also, Soulbreaker Orb prototypes as nuclear weapons are scary and appropriate.

As far as Alchemicals acting as beacons to draw off the stress, that seems pretty good. I originally tried to come up with other ideas buuuut it just works.

[Turalisj]

Updated some stuff. Going to be working on this more and feedback is always helpful.

[Tavar]

These are some Gun Rules I made for my game, There Is No Teacup.

{table=Head]Name|Speed|Accuracy|Damage|Rate|Range|Ammo|Cost|Ta gs
Arquebus|5|+1|12L|1|50|1|●●|2, G
Flintlock Pistol|5|+0|8L|1|5|1|●●|G
Sharps Rifle|4|+4|8L|1|350|1|●●●|2, G
Spencer's Carbine|4|+3|8L|Varies*|200|Varies*|●●●●|2, G
Colt Revolver|4|+2|6L|Varies*|15|Varies*|●●●|G
Sniper|6|3|12L/4L|1|600|1|●●●●|G, O, 2
Shotgun|4|1|12/3L|1|20|●●●|G, 2[/table]

Guns with the "2" tag may be be wielded as Clubs, or as shortspears if a Bayonet is added(cost ● purchase). Those without may be wielded as Daggers, simply dealing Bludgeoning damage and with Rate 1. One handed guns can increase rate by dual-wielding. In that case, the maximum rate is the rate of both guns added together.
New Tag!
G=Gun- Gun weapons require 1 Miscellaneous action to reload one ammo. They can only fire as many times as they have ammo loaded, and their maximum ammo is indicated under the Ammo quality. They do not gain bonus damage due to str. They can be fired with less than full ammo. The Ammo type used may add additional qualities. Using Gun type weapons inflicts a -2 on attempts to reestablish surprise if the attempt is made within 2 actions of firing the guns.

Shotguns have restricted ammo usage. They may use solid shot or buckshot, detailed below.
Buckshot-gain +3 damage, but take a -1 internal penalty to hit. Only Piercing vs light, mundane armor. Cost ●

Ammo types:
Solid Shot-Solid metal balls, typically made out of lead or another soft metal. Gains the Piercing tag against Non-heavy/superheavy mundane armors if within it's first range increment. Resource ● for 50 shots.

Hardpoint bullets-Bullets covered with a hard metal, and shaped to a point. Gains Piercing tag against all armors besides artifact articulated and Superheavy plate. Cost Resource ●●● for 50 shots.

Hollowpoint bullets-Like hardpoint bullets, but the point has been hollowed out a bit. These bullets tend to expand when they hit resistance, like a human body. Gains the Piercing tag against Non-heavy/superheavy mundane armors if within it's first range increment. Also, gains Overwhelming 3 and deals +3L damage. If it already had the tag, add 2 to the Overwhelm Rating. Cost Resource ●●● for 50 shots.

Artifact Guns:
-A bit rarer than other artifacts. They can use normal ammo, but such mundane and base methods soon foul the guns. It's better to use specially constructed ammo, but such special orders vastly increase the cost. In major metropolises, such bullets can be purchased as Resource 4 purchases, or 5 for every 10 bullets. One could also purchase them as an artifact, with 1 dot equating to 50 bullets. No matter what kind of ammunition used, the guns require maintenance.

-Using Regular bullets in a Artifact gun counts as double time with regards to maintenance.
-Charms that give extra ammo to flame-pistols and the like work for guns, giving them more bullets. Doing so counts as normal bullets, not ones appropriate to the artifact.
{table=Head]Name|Speed|Accuracy|Damage|Rate|Range|Ammo|Cost|Ta gs
Pistol|3|4|12L|Varies|50|Varies|●●|G
Rifle|4|5|12L|Varies|600|Varies|●●●|G, 2
Sniper|6|5|15/6L|1|1000|1|●●●|G, O, 2[/table]
Pistols and Rifles have a set ammo for each individual model, but different models have different ammo ratings. Generally, anywhere from 1 to 8.

[Gruffard]

Like the modern weapons... Keep up the work Turalisj and Tavar.

Look forward to more updates.

[Arrghus]

Since I'm feeling random and annoying, I'll give some suggestions in story form.

----

Luminiferous Ether. For centuries, millenia according to some, this mysterious element, the medium through which light travels, has been known. Its supposed properties have varied greatly, but few have ever doubted its existence, for without it, how could light possibly move from point A to point B? Mythical, yet untouchable, the Ether riddled science for ages. Until one man. Until Otto 'Miracle Maker' Thonisk.

No one knows where he came from, or even if Otto was his real name. All that is known is that, in 1905 a paper was published in that name, and it, together with further papers published over the following years, outlined a theory. A theory that explained light, magnetism, and several related concepts. A theory of Luminiferous Ether, or, as Thonisk himself preferred to call it, of Essence. Science rejoiced. And then, the war came.

Several attempts at weaponizing Essence were made. Some, more successful than others. The Mark I Strider units were powerful and offered effective protection against most lighter weapons, but (at first) suffered from a cripplingly low turn of speed that rendered them vulnerable to heavier fire. On the other hand, the E-cannon's ease of use and lack of recoil made it a highly useful weapon, even if the high expenses involved in their creation and maintenance meant only the most elite units could be the recipients of such powerful tools. And then the war ended, and other concerns cropped up. Until it returned. And with it, Otto Thonisk.

To this day, no one knows why, but one day, a short, wheezing man of unidentifiable nationality claiming to be the Miracle Maker himself showed up on the Pentagon's doorstep, carrying naught but an old suitcase and a set of ill-fitting clothes. After delivering various proofs of his identity, he hand-picked a set of the United States' finest scientists in a wide variety of fields (including some very peculiar ones), and set to work on the project that would change history forever. Operation: Exalt.

No one knows what happened in those closed rooms. No one knows why Otto absolutely needed an expert cartographer to complete his design. Few even know the names of all his co-workers, for they, too, are shrouded in mystery. The public knows but one thing, that on August 6, 1945, a single unit, MRL-1, was released from a plane onto the fields of Japan, and that nine days later, the Japanese government surrendered unconditionally.

[Turalisj]

Heh, looks pretty interesting Arrghus. I'll add that to the history. Would MRL-1 be a soulbreaker orb then, or some other weapon?

Also, is anyone skilled at mapping out adventures? I'm trying to work up one for my RL group but I'm not exactly the best at planning things. I'd prefer combat/social combat light.

You can contact me by AIM if need be, my screen_name is in my profile.

[Arrghus]

Heh, looks pretty interesting Arrghus. I'll add that to the history. Would MRL-1 be a soulbreaker orb then, or some other weapon?

Also, is anyone skilled at mapping out adventures? I'm trying to work up one for my RL group but I'm not exactly the best at planning things. I'd prefer combat/social combat light.

You can contact me by AIM if need be, my screen_name is in my profile.

It's a Dawn Caste, actually. Specifically, the setting's equivalent to the Solar queen, Merela, who is reputed to have once killed a Primordial with her bare hands (I once saw a Chuck Norris list with Merela. The funny thing is nearly everything on it ranged from believable to most certainly true). The MRL is a reference to old 1st Ed. books where her name was written like that out of respect (so as not to take her true name in vain), and the 1 is because she's a prototype. Soulbreaker Orbs are cool and all, but nothing beats Exalts (yes, I think a properly trained Dawn Caste can take over an entire country in nine days. Those guys are tough).

To further explain stuff, Otto is obviously an Einstein/Autochthon mix (I have some ideas on how to convert the Primordials in a way that I think makes them credible antagonists without overshadowing the Fae) and his co-workers are the Incarnae (Cartographer=Mercury).

I don't think I'm that good at making adventures, but if I get an idea, I'll try to flesh it out and post it.

[Arrghus]

This is my idea of what's going on:

1. The Raksha are aliens (or possibly extradimensional parasites), critters from Far Away, drawn in by the Essence released by reckless human advances. They possess sophisticated Essence-detection technologies, and, in a weird twist, thusly form the setting's equivalent to the Wyld Hunt, as Anima Flare is very much likely to get Behemoths or worse on your ass. Their true purpose is unknown, but likely sinister (potential options include wishing to assimilate humanity, wishing to feed off of their Essence (an option that gives added incentive to hunt tasty, tasty Exalted), wishing to destroy the hiding Primordials (see next entry), wishing to analyze and understand humanity for some reason, wishing to destroy humanity utterly through some sort of weird assymetrical warfare, or wishing to recapture the fallen body of Prince Balor, hidden by the Primordials deep within the Scarlet Corporation HQ)

2. The Primordials are a separate race. Once engaged in a fierce war against the Infinite Hordes, they decided (after horrible losses, including the mutilation or death of several of their kind) to split up and withdraw. Some ran away, some allowed themselves to get captured in exchange for hospitality (keeping in mind that Raksha, at least in the original setting, cannot break a sworn oath without horrible consequences), and some hid, sealing away or hiding much of their power so the Raksha could not track them. Of these, about six or seven arrived at Earth, a minor, apparently insignificant planet, and began life as refugees, subtly influencing history for their own purposes. They have (apparently) human bodies, a limited selection of their normal Charmsets, and are likely on the verge of completing gigantic plots of some kind, nested in some useful position (ED, for instance, is likely to have significant control over the Scarlet Corporation, for obvious reasons, while Cecelyne is busy playing Jesus in Africa and surrounding regions). One or more of them is probably behind the creation of the Infernal Exalted. They are all pissed at Autochthon for tipping off the Raksha to their location, even if they regard it as par for the course for the dumb bastard (note, their opinion, not mine, Otto likely had a reason for doing what he did)

3. The Yu Shan Organization was formed when, after Otto Thonisk vanished yet again into thin air, the other scientists working on the project decided it was too powerful to let any single nation get their hands on it and formed an international control organization for keeping track on the Exalted.

4. The Scarlet Corporation was created by a group of independent scientists who cracked part of the code to creating Exalted and managed to invent their own kind. After one of them completed the transformation process, she started her own company, hoping to cash in on the power Exaltation granted her. The breakthrough and subsequent meteoric rise of power was likely a result of at least one other faction's manipulations, though Scarlet herself is no slouch either.

Note: The use of the word "likely" does not imply that I'm unsure on what I want the setting to be like. It simply means that I think that part ought to be at least partially undecided by design, allowing people to fill in the blanks. Conspiracies are no fun when the player can just look them up.

[Gruffard]

Neat stuff so far.

Is the Fair Folk going to have an invasion in this re-write?

[Turalisj]

If I were better at running games, I would have this as a living setting and build it from the ground up. That would include a FF invasion and fighting agents of the Yozi.

I like your ideas Arrghus, they fit pretty well with the concept of this rewrite.

[Arrghus]

More controversial idea.

Lunars were not actually created by humanity in the first place. They are a much older thing, part of the incoming invasion. Chosen by the Raksha, designed to fuel their purposes. They might be kidnapped and indoctrinated as part of their Exaltation process, or they might simply be abducted long enough to transform them into monsters and then left alone, with the Fae trusting the latent modifications to their bodies and minds to drive them towards Raksha purposes. This interpretation requires some notable changes to Lunars, starting with increasing the number of areas that count as Wyld for the purposes of Chimerization (maybe all of them) and either making Casted Lunars much rarer or having Lunars undergo Chimerization even when Casted.

EDIT: The Lunar Bond remains unchanged, something bound to cause a lot of confusion until people figure out why (suggestions include some sort of metaphysical trickery in the design of the Solars so they could "tame" some of the strongest weapons of their foes, some aspect of whatever entity created Lunars in the first place, (if it was Luna, that itself causes some interesting implications, as she's supposed to be an ordinary mortal in this setting, supposed being the keyword here) or a result of the Lunar desire for remaining human granting them a beacon to hold on to).

[Turalisj]

Well guys, I think it's time.

What time you ask? Well, not time to drop the setting. Just the opposite. I'm going to try and get a game going that starts at the beginning of Operation: Exalt, with the first 5 Solars of the OP:E 001-005. Hopefully, it will play out something like a Seinen anime. IE, you are a group of people who have little idea what your powers are or what your limits are. You are being hunted by a powerful group of people.

Effectively, it will be the game that will set the tone of the setting and hopefully allow some more concrete world creation. If we can getting it going on a site that allows for private grouping (Mythweavers or Rpol.net are two of them that I know), then we could have a group going for each of the Exalt types.