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View Full Version : Exalted Campaign Journal - In a Sorrowful Age



Xefas
2011-04-25, 03:35 AM
I'm conducting an Exalted experiment, and I figured that writing a campaign journal would help. Its been awesome for me and the group I'm playing with so far, so if its awesome to other folks, then that's even better.

Keep in mind that I'm writing these mostly from errant notes jotted in margins and vague memories, so it may be a little bumpy (hopefully not too much).

I'm Storytelling, and there are four players, whose names are omitted to protect the innocent.

Anyway, for the first session, we decided that it would take place in a Realm-controlled satrapy in the Northeast. Somewhere in there. There are woods and its cold, and I think we decided on a somewhat Russian aesthetic. That's what's important, I suppose.

The four characters are:

Mnemon Kinara, Earth Aspect Dragonblood and official Governess (Satrapess?) who controls the general region. She isn't particularly equipped for straight physical confrontation but, as ruler, has quite a few resources at her disposal. She was described in more than one instance as "A Ruthless ****".

Mnemon Alan, Fire Aspect Dragonblood and Kinara's son. We kept calling him a "Prince" even though I don't think that's the title for the son of a satrap(ess). "Lord", maybe? Dunno. He's madly in love with someone (see below).

Aphonic Tempest, an Air Aspect Dragonblood Akuma (secretly). He's quite the Sorcerer (even with the small mote pool), and even knows a Celestial Circle Spell or two. I think he's bound to Adorjan, although he doesn't show it much. He wandered into town not too long ago and is being payed fat stacks of cash to teach Alan sorcery.

Abyzou, the Lover's Breath, a Second Circle Demon. She's been summoned by Aphonic Tempest with his Akuma-ized sorcery with the directive of "Help me topple the Realm influence in this satrap." She's very sexilicious, and Alan fell madly in love with her when he saw her lurking about Tempest's tower for the first time (a few weeks prior to the start of the game).

----

Anyway, the action all starts the morning of the Annual Founding Festival, where the city honors its City God on the day the city was founded in the hopes to ensure another prosperous year (under brutally overtaxed Realm rule).

Alan has just had his first tryst with Abyzou (and, if I recall, we decided it was his devirginizing as well), completely in secret, but was understandably guilt-ridden, as he'd just had...relations with not just a demon, but a demon he was fairly certain was already having...relations with his strange, mysterious magic tutor man.

Hoping to alleviate some guilt, he meets with his father, Sesus Bekos, a Fire-Aspect (which Alan gets his Aspect from), who is preparing to look his best for the festival. Alan confesses, and his father is initially disapproving of the whole thing, but the prince puts a passionate social-punch into it - he's acting with the power of love, dammit! There's also a brief (and humorous) flashback from the dad as he recalls his own unseemly teenage years after mastering Demon of the First Circle. In the end, his father concedes, and tells his son that no matter what he does, he'll always love him. Alan leaves in high spirits.

Enter Kinara, the governess, who also comes to have words with her husband before the celebration. They chit-chat, and he brings up the conversation he had with Alan. She is infuriated, not particularly at her son, but rather at Tempest for "corrupting" him (even though he's the spurned lover in all this), and at her husband for condoning it. Words get heated, and she gets pushed a little too far. In a moment of anger, she snaps her fingers and has her personal death squad of Enlightened Mortal Assassins come out of the woodwork and murder the Governor in his own chambers (personally, I think the person playing her just really wanted a combat - and my poor NPC payed for it =( :smalltongue:).

Once she realizes that - hey, someone might find the gory aftermath of this battle kind of suspicious! - she acts quick, and frames her son's tutor (Tempest, if you've been keeping up) for it, hoping to kill two birds with one stone.

Alan has gone to meet Abyzou to tell her that he got his father's blessing (which is kind of not the truth, but whatever). As he sneaks into Tempest's tower, where she resides, he finds that the sorcerer is out somewhere. They begin to talk, but suddenly, Alan is ambushed by a mob of Erymanthoi. Turns out Tempest found out about the whole affair and isn't happy. A few blows are exchanged, Alan takes a hit, and Abyzou has to choose between her master and this pathetic whelp who she may or may not be accidentally also falling for. Dramatically, she takes Alan's side, and slaughters the Erymanthoi.

Afterward, with Alan spent from the fight, the demoness takes her opportunity to put the social mojo on him to convince him to escape with her to Malfeas (she rationalizes this with her directive by the fact that this will remove the only heir to the satrap, and so she's technically helping Tempest usurp Realm control of it). Alan doesn't put up much of a fight, but instead focuses his power on discerning whether she actually loves him or not. It turns out she does. Both mojos work, and it looks like, for good or ill, they're going to head to the Demon Realm - they just have to find Tempest's key that opens cracks from Creation into Cecelyne.

Meanwhile, Tempest has realized that his Erymanthoi trap failed, and is in a rage, in route to his tower to deal with them both personally. However, Kinara happens to be hot on the trail of her son, and the two meet about a block from the tower itself. Tempest, who has no idea that he's been framed for the Governor's death, proceeds to get his akuma ass dogpiled by not just a squad of heroic ninja assassins, but also a sizable contingent of the city guard as well. Most of his power is in sorcery, and he was low on motes to begin with (after topping off his Erymanthoi force for today's revenge). He can do nothing but flee! Flee directly into his tower.

...where he runs smack dab into Alan and Abyzou. Wounded, nearly mote-dry, and exhausted. Abyzou takes advantage of his weakness and breaks the sorcerous bonds that tie her too him, and gives him a nice decapitating uppercut for good measure. The two have found the Malfean Key - the nearest rift isn't that far away; within the city limits, in fact. They make a mad dash for it, but not before dear ol' mom finds them.

Kinara pleads with her son to put aside his silly adolescent love, his blasphemous perversions, and his ludicrous idea about giving up his nobility to throw in his lot with the demon realm.

Abyzou pleads pretty much the opposite.

Alan's player decides that no, he's too far gone. He may in fact attack his own mother over this. Things are looking like they're going to come to a dramatic head, mother vs son in an epic battle. He throws some heavy dice her way. We all gasp.

And then Kinara declines fighting. Oh, she still participates, but no assassins are called, no great effort is exerted. She says something to the effect of "I'm not going to hurt my own son. Everything I did, I did for you. If this is what you've become, then I truly have nothing left in this world."

And then he stabs her.

And we all kind of don't know what to do. There's like a minute or so where no one is breathing. Then there's this collective sigh and, well - Alan and Abyzou head off to Malfeas together.

The End of Chapter One (This was all one session).

As a recap, out of four PCs, one died, and one was left for dead after being mortally wounded. Another is probably on his way to becoming an Akuma. There were four social combats and five physical ones. Quite a few NPC causalities, although I glossed over much of the unimportant stuff - partially because it was unimportant and partially because I don't remember it as well because it was unimportant.

All in all, I think it went fairly decently.

And, uh, considering I have several sessions worth of backlogs, if it looks like folks are interested, I can transcribe and put up the rest (and more as they come out). Lets just say the protagonist for Chapter Two is...unlikely.

The_Snark
2011-04-25, 04:09 AM
That sounds like an awesome session. It actually makes a pretty good story standing on its own, but since it sounds like there's more I'd love to see it it.

PsyBlade
2011-04-25, 06:17 PM
In the words of the great feline sage, lolcat:

"MOAR!"

Psyborg
2011-04-26, 03:45 PM
Congratulations. That is, if not the first, certainly not more than the second justifiable, dramatically-appropriate PVP kill I've ever heard about. Very cool.

Also, campaign sounds awesome. "MOAR" would indeed be appreciated.