[Exalted] New Player Looking for Guidance

[Dazhbug]

Hello all! I just joined a PBP Exalted game, and since it's a system I haven't ever used before I figured I'd come to seek out advice. I've decided to play a Lunar exalt, and poured enough hours into the rulebooks at this point that I feel I have a fledgling grasp of the basic mechanics; any advice/recommendations would be super helpful, especially with regards to rolling up a shiny new Lunar exalt.

The basic concept I was shooting for was the party sneak, with an emphasis on dodge/Dex combat and martial arts. She/he is an orphaned desert nomad (we're starting in Chiaroscuro), and I was hoping on looking into some minor sorcery/spellcasting/magical sparklies to couple with the character, although that can wait until further in the character's advancement if necessary.

[TheCountAlucard]

Unfortunately, due to the problem that is the 2e Lunar writeup, your goal is going to be difficult and fiddly.

A couple of pertinent questions before we get into it:
1) What are the relevant houserules?
2) Are you and your group using the 2.5 errata? If not, your best bet is to run for the hills.

[Dazhbug]

1) Unknown at this time. I can get some clarification here, and the DM seems relatively open to employing house rules in general, provided they make sense/maintain balance. This is a "for fun" campaign and I'm pretty sure he'll err on the side of the players being badass.

2) We are using errata, yes.

[TheCountAlucard]

Normally CMA's that aren't your splat's Hero Style are a pretty punishing option for non-DB Exalts (with a few exceptions), but since you have a chill ST, might I suggest Ebon Shadow Style?

Also gonna suggest the "standard" Full Moon with DBT and RLF, because while sorcery is nice, you suggested it could be a side-thing for you that could wait. It's really hard to make a Lunar sorcerer that's good at anything else, regrettably.

Full Moon or not, martial artist or not, you're probably gonna want to pick Martial Arts as your one selectable Favored Ability. Why? Because Survival is not an elective, and while Lunars don't learn Athletics or Presence or Resistance Charms, they learn Martial Arts Charms, and Lunars are shafted enough on XP that the Favored discount really isn't optional. :sigh:

[Dazhbug]

I'll certainly take a look at it. White Reaper Style and Crystal Chameleon Style have both been suggested to me as strong options, as well.

I've seen a little bit about the "standard" Full Moon DBT/RLF, but I can't say I understand it; please assume I'm a complete newbie here and may or may not know standard builds/acronyms/etc. I am okay with sidelining sorcery, but if I do I would prefer to look at sneakiness in addition to all-out face ripping; shapeshifting seems like it will help in holding the spotlight here versus my Solar team mates. From what I can gather, it sounds like we have the usual Dawn Caste general/sword swinger, a smith/crafting guy, and a scholar/sorcerer.

At the end of the day I don't particularly expect this campaign to get very far, so using it as a simple introduction to Exalted mechanics isn't a terrible idea. On the other hand, I have a particular knack for building more interesting characters than the typical murder-hobo. I just need help crafting a solid character from all the rules I just info-dumped into my brain.

Edit: I am probably going to be pushing to use these (http://wiki.white-wolf.com/exalted/index.php?title=Peter_Schaefer_on_Lunar_Character_ Generation) Lunar creation rules, which should pop up my ambient power level a bit when compared to the Solars.

Edit 2, The Revenge: The Core Rules errata has gotten rid of some limits on Solar building that aren't reflected in the MoEP: Lunars book (e.g. Abilities being capped at 3 before bonus points). Do most folks tend to carry those errata over, or just use RAW? I'd been trying to use Anathema for character creation, but with all the errata and house rules I'm beginning to suspect I need to just use good ol' pencil and paper.

[TheCountAlucard]

I'll certainly take a look at it. White Reaper Style and Crystal Chameleon Style have both been suggested to me as strong options, as well.Crystal Chameleon is good for being a Disco Ball Ninja of Flashing Death, and White Reaper Style is pretty badass as well. Ebon Shadow focuses on things like shadow manipulation (including dissolving into and teleporting through shadow), and paralyzing touches. To me it has a very "ninja" feel.


I've seen a little bit about the "standard" Full Moon DBT/RLF, but I can't say I understand it; please assume I'm a complete newbie here and may or may not know standard builds/acronyms/etc.Done and done.

Deadly Beastman Transformation is the Lunar bog-standard, "I turn into a hulking were-whatever" power. It comes pre-packaged on more or less every Lunar published, to the point that one begins to question why the authors even bothered making its purchase optional. You take it because it gives you a nice battle-mode with helpful mutations, and more importantly, because it boosts your Attributes, soak, health levels, and your Charm caps, and it's compatible with a ridiculous number of your Charms.

Relentless Lunar Fury is a Charm that pretty much any Lunar who's going to do combat is going to take (as opposed to Deadly Beastman Transformation, which is something pretty much every Lunar who's going to be a Lunar is going to take). It's a battle-fury that gives you an automatic success on any combat action you take, and like DBT, it's got a suite of compatible Charms.

As for being a Full Moon caste, that's because, under the current paradigm, a primarily-physical character who doesn't favor all three Physical Attributes is a chump. Even one with it as a secondary role will probably be a Full Moon. Characters with a tertiary focus on physical stuff are still gonna at least favor Dexterity, because they want to live.


I am okay with sidelining sorcery, but if I do I would prefer to look at sneakiness in addition to all-out face ripping…Hence why I suggested Ebon Shadow Style. Lunars have little in the way of stealth options; sure, turning into a mouse helps, but now you can be a mouse ninja.


…shapeshifting seems like it will help in holding the spotlight here versus my Solar team mates.Unfortunately, after spending enough motes, you're literally trapped in your true form(s). So while you can be a mouse or a tyrant lizard, you've gotta use Charms sparingly while doing so. Putting you behind the Solars. Again.

[Dazhbug]

Thanks much for the basic write-up on DBT/RLF. So far as martial arts go, it seems like it's my call on how much Sneaky I want to mix in with my face kicking; beyond that, I don't have a solid enough grasp of things to compare various CMAs on a mechanics level.

So far as being stuck in true forms goes, how valid is my belief that most mote burning is going to be in all out combat, where I don't mind being in true (war) form, versus sneakery which is less liable to burn a lot of my essence?

Also, unsure if you caught my edits to my post above, re potentially modified chargen rules.

[Ifni]

Definitely push to use the Schaefer chargen rules, they help a lot. For one thing, they mean you can favor Dexterity and Stamina as a non-Full-Moon - I think every Lunar I've ever built ends up favoring those two. Strength is okay, but Dexterity is the most important stat in Exalted combat and has most of your defense and extra action Charms, and Stamina has Lunar soak-boosting and regeneration which is very very good.

It is worth asking your ST if they will allow you to use Solar XP/BP costs. Don't be upset if they say no, but Lunar Charms are generally weaker than Solar ones, so getting them at the same XP/BP rates as Solars will not make you overpowered relative to your Solar friends. It is also common on these boards for an ST to give some free Excellencies - Lunars suffer really badly from the "every single tree has an Excellency prereq" problem, and I have actually seen an ST just houserule "ignore all Excellency prereqs for Lunar Charms" to deal with this.

Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15179698&postcount=6) is a character sheet for a Lunar I made a while back: you might find it a useful example, since she was hummingbird-totem and thus had a fast flashy fighting style, but she was also good at stealth and surprise attacks (although it looks like we were using a houserule to allow buying Abilities above 3 before BP). She was working on learning Crystal Chameleon, which you already mentioned, and which allows you to sneak-attack people despite being incredibly glowy :smallwink: (She's Changing Moon, but there was no particular mechanical reason for that, it just fitted the character - Full Moon would also have worked, but I've played a lot of Full Moons, and her Exaltation was pretty trickster-y. Full Moon is nice because the anima boosts your speed, though.) To break down how she's designed:
She has dual focuses, social-fu and melee. For social-fu she has a focus on Charisma and Appearance, with an Attribute specialty in Appearance. This is the standard Lunar social-fu approach - they get a very good Charm called Perfect Symmetry, which doubles the cap on the MDV penalty you can inflict on people (and the bonus you can gain) via being prettier than them. When Rain's Appearance specialty (gained through Flawless Appearance Focus) applies, she has effective Appearance 8, and she can use the Appearance Excellency to raise that further - but even without the Excellency, if she puts up Perfect Symmetry, then against ordinary humans with App 2 they take a -6 MDV penalty against her and she gains a +6 MDV bonus against them. She's just so darn cute. (The colloquial term for this approach is "Pretty Kitty Lunar".)

She favored Charisma, and was planning to take Sacred Guardian Renewal and Thousand Streams Defender (both Charisma Charms) at the first opportunity.

She didn't have the kind of Unnatural Mental Influence and success-booster tricks a Solar social-fu specialist would be able to bring to bear, but for a three-Charm investment Perfect Symmetry + an Appearance Excellency + Flawless Appearance Focus is a pretty good start on social combat.

... and then she had Hide of the Cunning Hunter, which is the "avoid getting ganked by the Wyld Hunt" Charm, because the game was starting in a Realm satrapy. Stupid obligatory Charm purchases.

Moving on to combat, which is probably more what you're interested in. She picked up Claws of the Silver Moon from Strength, expecting to mostly focus on unarmed fighting. The way to make this better is to learn to grow talons and quills via Hybrid Body Rearrangement - this gives you +2 damage on your punches and +1 to your parry pool, which stacks with Claws of the Silver Moon to give you punches which do Str+7L/2 damage and have +5 defense and +3 accuracy, which compares decently to artifact weapons. However, just buying a moonsilver dire lance or something (iirc the spear is a form weapon for both Crystal Chameleon and White Reaper, and moonsilver has a great magical-material bonus) is also completely fine. It's harder to conceal (although there are charms in Wits and Manipulation to help with that), but means you don't have to spend a power-up action growing claws.

She also had the first Charm of Crystal Chameleon. If you're not interested in social Charms you could go much deeper into the style. Other Lunars I've made have taken Wasp Sting Blur and Octopus and Spider Barrage - the latter is a great extra-action Charm if you have a warform or Heart's Blood forms with a lot of limbs (e.g. tentacles). I've never actually taken Relentless Lunar Fury - it's a nice boost, but there are so many other Charms to take...

Her war form just has the Wings and Small mutations. This isn't incredibly optimal - better mutations would probably be the aforementioned Talons/Quills, or ones that increase soak (Armored Hide is the biggest one here, and there are lesser versions), mutations you always want to have active in serious fights. In that case, you'd just use Hybrid Body Rearrangement to get wings. But in Rain's case, this was appropriate (hummingbirds are not known for their tough hides and vicious talons :smallwink:)

The Small mutation is worth mention here. Taking it loses you the Strength and Stamina dots you'd normally get from DBT. However, it does mean you can wear non-moonsilver armor (if you care - generally moonsilver armor will be better), and you get +1 to both DVs. It's actually a pretty mechanically optimal choice, and can fit well for small-and-fast Lunars. However, check the DVs of your party members - Rain's parry DV in warform, just using Claws of the Silver Moon and Quills with no relevant equipment, is 11, which is pretty high by the standards of a lot of games.

(The math is: she has Martial Arts 5 with a 3-dot specialty, in war form she has Dexterity 6, Quills adds +1 to the pool bringing it to 15, and Claws of the Silver Moon gives her hands Defense +4. Thus her total pool is 19, divided by two gives a parry DV of 10. Adding +1 from the Small mutation gives 11.)

For defenses, in 2.5 it is actually feasible to have a defense primarily based on soak, regeneration and decent DVs. This is probably the easiest route for Lunars who aren't solely combat-focused; the Lunar perfect defenses are buried fairly deep in their trees (mostly in Dexterity), and even if you get those you'll still want soak/regeneration/a decent DV. That said, the Lunar Dexterity tree leading up to Flowing Body Evasion has a lot of good combat defenses in it (surprise negation, penalty negation, a way to break flurries), and is worth taking if you have room.

The Lunar regeneration Charms, Bruise-Relief Method and Halting the Scarlet Flow, are amazing. The Gift tag means that if you activate them on entering warform then they just keep running so long as you stay in warform; you never have to worry about slow healing again. 2.5 also cut down the damage you'll typically suffer from a hit; it can be very hard to kill a Lunar with a good DV, good soak and the regeneration Charms active (speaking from experience here). This is especially true given superior Lunar mobility; when they can just fly away for a few ticks and come back having healed up completely, it's great when you're the Lunar and deeply annoying when you're fighting them.

Rain's Knacks, as discussed above, are Hybrid Body Rearrangement and Deadly Beastman Transformation - plus Humble Mouse Shape, which was a flavor choice because she needed it for a hummingbird spirit form, and also to help with stealth.

So that's more or less how one fairly optimized chargen-level Lunar works - a couple of social Charms to give a pretty potent social defense and offense, one don't-get-ganked-by-Dragon-Bloods charm, two combat offense Charms (Claws of the Silver Moon and the first Charm of Crystal Chameleon), and two combat defense regeneration Charms. Her defenses work by stacking up mutations and Charms to get a very good DV for a starting character (parry honestly seems better than dodge here, just because focusing solely on parry you can take advantage of your one favored Ability), with soak and regeneration and combat mobility to back it up. To kill things she launches surprise attacks or just flurries with silver-clawed punches.

She's probably on the higher-power end of starting Lunar characters in the Playground, but would fit into most games okay, although she was built for a game where everyone else was an Abyssal or Solar.

(A small mechanical note: it's efficient to use your four free Specialty dots on unfavored Specialties, and then buy favored Specialties with BP. Much cheaper that way, assuming you want some Specialties in unfavored Abilities. For example, Rain used her free Specialties mostly on Stealth, and then bought up Survival and Martial Arts specialties with BP.)

In general, Lunar shapeshifting is an incredible mobility power. Hybrid Body Rearrangement gives you tremendous versatility - read the errata. Even if your spirit shape is a rat or something, you can grow wings to scout, or porcupine quills to fling from your arms, or suckers on your hands to climb, or gills and fins to swim, etc, etc, and those mutations do not recede when your anima flares. It's worth Wits 3 for this Knack alone, and may be worth buying Essence 3 at chargen so you can take it as one of your free Knacks.

Note that the Chameleon mutation gives you bonus dots to stealth that stack with everything, Tail helps Athletics, Armored Hide helps Survival, Third Eye / Enhanced Senses help Awareness, etc - Lunar don't get a whole lot of Ability dots and the cap-at-3-before-BP is deeply annoying, but shapeshifting can compensate for a lot of deficiencies.

It's optimal (but not essential) to have a Virtue at 5, since Lunar mote pools are all based on your highest Virtue. Lunars also get some very nice Virtue-related Charms in Glories of the Most High: Luna, called Sacred Guardian Renewal and Thousand Streams Defender (the latter is especially hilarious, to the point of "possibly broken enough that you should check with your ST first", if you have Valor 5 and a Solar with Heroism-Encouraging Presence on your team).

Your best bet for magical sparklies is probably artifacts and Charms, rather than sorcery. Sorcery in Exalted is generally not very efficient, although it can achieve some effects that Charms have trouble with. Your Charms are magic, they're just your innate magic as an Exalt.

In the 2.5 chargen errata, some points are starred and some are not. There's a note that one category applies only to Solars, Abyssals, and Infernals, and the other applies to everyone. Unfortunately "abilities are capped at 3 before BP" is in the "applies only to Solars, Abyssals and Infernals" category. Removing that cap for everyone is a common houserule, but it is a houserule (and not universal).

It is probably true that you will not be burning a lot of motes while sneaking (honestly, if you are, you have other problems than being kicked back into your true forms, like the GIANT GLOWING SILVER TARGET SIGN). Formlock is more a problem if you wanted to shapeshift into Godzilla for combat. I had a No Moon with Luna's Hidden Face and Towering Beast Form who liked shapeshifting into a snow-wyrm-with-lots-of-mutations (aka "firebreathing ice dragon") for combat, and it worked (and since she usually had a party of Solars riding on her back we got some spectacular chase scenes out of it), but I had to be incredibly careful about formlock.

But for more specific advice - what kind of spirit animal are you considering? I find Lunars much easier to build if I start with the spirit form and build capabilities around it. (For example, my jellyfish-Lunar has had a couple of incarnations, as a Full Moon and No Moon, but in both cases her main attack method involved lots of deadly poisonous tendrils. Actually that was a character who did use sorcery effectively... she ran Disguise of the New Face all the time, pretended to be Dragon-Blooded, and underneath was walking around in Small warform with a mane of poisonous tendrils and armor-plating on her armor-plating. Daiklaves bounced off her, and one Infernal got a very rude shock when he patronizingly ruffled her "hair" :smallwink:)

[Dazhbug]

Wow, lots of info to parse. First off, thanks huge for the reply and advice!

First off, so far as house rules go, I've confirmed with the ST that we will not may be using the alternate chargen rules; he doesn't have a huge amount of experience with Lunars and how they work in a mixed party, so he's hesitant, which is perfectly valid. That said, he is setting BP/XP costs to the same as Solars, and removing the 3 dot ability/virtue cap. I'm not going to push the Excellency houserule; it's my first time with Exalted and I kind of want a baseline to start from as well! But it's good to know for the future.

I'm putting off digging into your sample character until after I post this, but it'll be a huge help and I'm also using the no 3-dot cap houserule, so no worries there. I was thinking about either Crystal Chameleon or White Reaper Style as a "primary" style, although I also gave Ebon Shadow a look. More on that below.

Again, HUGE thanks for the charm/knack advice; I think my biggest problem right now is trying to grok all the various charms and knacks and excellencies and how they all interact with each other (to the point of very mild anxiety attacks, heh), so any input there is appreciated. The virtue advice is taken to heart as well; I had forgotten that essence pools are based off of that, among other things.

Onto my character in particular; I've pretty much dropped thoughts of sorcery for some later time after I manage to understand the basic rules of the game, combat, etc., so basically what it boils down to (I think) is putting myself on a sliding scale between Sneaky and Face-Kicking and determining where I want to be on that scale. For instance, the choice of Ebon Shadow/Crystal Chameleon/White Reaper seem to be progressing from "Sneak" to "Face Kick" in relative order, and my choice of caste (and spirit animal) seem like they'd play into the decision as well. I keep waffling between being extra sneaky (more emphasis on Appearance and sneaky abilities), versus just going with an all out martial artist and letting how the game goes dictate my later opinions.

With regards to spirit animals, the character right now is from the deeeeep South (I just ran into info on the nocturnal Desert Nomad tribes in the CoCD vol 2, p.108, which works rather well flavour-wise), so I figured a desert creature would work best thematically.

[TheCountAlucard]

Desert animals are pretty darn good at being sneaky, actually. After all, quite a few of them have to hide from the sun. :smalltongue:

And yeah, desert nomad ninja Lunar sounds like a pretty solid plan. Might go so far as to get some Charms for aiding in desert survival (though with the truly tiny number of starting Charms, I wouldn't get more than two max at chargen).

[Dazhbug]

Well, we're starting in Chairfiasco (because I don't recall the spelling, that's why) and, I believe, kicking a chimerae in the face in a nearby Wyld pocket as a warmup goal. From there, I have no idea what we'll be doing.

With regards to Ifni's thoughts on Sacred Guardian Renewal/Thousand Streams: due to the nature of the game (PBP) and the other folks I'm unsure how well I'll be able to cooperate directly in terms of building off a team-mate. I've put down my goal as a player as, "Learn the rules and understand how my character works as a self-contained entity." I know working together as a team is a big partof things, and I'm sure we'll get there, but for now we're all babes stumbling in the dark!

So far as animals go, I'm starting to lean towards wasp. It sounds cool, and I get to make terrible Muhammad Ali references. I'm not locked into the decision though.

Edit: On a side note, my ST is decidedly distrustful of Scroll of the Monk, so if I end up using Ebon Shadow it'll be a modified version (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/p/27278/557913.aspx#557913).

[TheCountAlucard]

Edit: On a side note, my ST is decidedly distrustful of Scroll of the Monk, so if I end up using Ebon Shadow it'll be a modified version (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/p/27278/557913.aspx#557913).As any good ST should be. :smallamused: The fluff is what's important - shadow techniques, paralyzing touches, and other cool ninja stuff. If that's preserved, then you're golden.

[HerrTenko]

Plague of Hat's rewrite of Ebon Shadow Style is pretty good, it might just require a bit of tweaking to adapt it to a 2.5 environment but you might as well use it as-is.

[Dazhbug]

My ST linked it to me, so my current assumption is that we're taking it as-is. We'll see, though!

On a side-note, if anyone has a write-up for a Solar Exalt similar to the Lunar Exalt that Ifni posted, I think my fellow players could really use a similar example to work off of. I'd link them Rainbow, but I don't want to confuse them with a Lunar Exalt PC when they're all rolling Solars.

[Ifni]

Here are character sheets for various Solars I've made:
Autumn Wind, Twilight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14239866&postcount=54)
Morning Glory, Zenith (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11874107&postcount=2)
Burning Opal, Dawn (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14971510&postcount=2)
Untimely Orchid, Eclipse (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15573272&postcount=2)

Note these have varying levels of free-Excellency, extra-BP, extra-Ox-Bodies, extra-Specialties houserules, so adjust as needed for your game. The Zenith is also a long long way post-chargen (350 XP or so) and the Eclipse is a little way post-chargen (50 XP or so). But they give examples of workable Charm trees and Ability/Attribute spreads. (The Zenith, Glory, has a kinda insanely broken homebrew Charm. There's a reason for that, but do not use it for balance purposes.)

Opal is probably the closest-to-canon example, and Orchid the next closest - they should give you decent examples of combat-oriented and social-oriented Solars. Glory's a long way post-chargen and started as a heroic mortal, and Autumn had a huge number of free Excellencies and was doing an odd combat style exploiting synergies between two Compassion-oriented MA styles and Solar Resistance, so they're probably not the best examples.

EDIT: Here is a starting-Charm analysis for Orchid, at least.
She's an Eclipse diplomat with a Motivation to reconcile the Dragon-Blooded with the Celestial Exalted. We're going social-focused here; however, we also want to not die when an Immaculate glances curiously in our general direction.

Her starting non-Excellency Charms were:
1. Integrity Protecting Prana
2. Irresistible Salesman Spirit
3. Durability Of Oak Meditation
4. Spirit Strengthens The Skin
5. Judge's Ear Technique
6. Sagacious Reading of Intent
7. Letter-Within-A-Letter Technique
8. Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe
9-10. Wind-Carried Words Technique (learned via Eclipse anima)
11. Mastery of Small Manners (bought with BP iirc)

This breaks down into:
(1) Combat defenses: Integrity-Protecting Prana, Durability of Oak Meditation, Spirit Strengthens The Skin. This gives her immunity to Shaping effects, and she can boost her soak cheaply and then reduce the post-soak damage on a 1m per damage die basis. This allows her to take very little damage from most hits, without using many motes. These defenses all work against surprise attacks, which DVs do not. They leave her weak against poison/crippling/sickness attacks (although those often allow a Resistance roll, and she has Resistance 5), and against clinches, especially surprise clinches.

(2) Social-fu: Sagacious Reading of Intent, Judge's Ear Technique, Mastery of Small Manners, Irresistible Salesman Spirit, Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe. The first three here are cheap Charms that between them give her perfect lie-detection, the ability to perfectly read someone's intentions (converting to a perfect defense if their purpose is hostile to her or her Motivation), a guarantee that she'll never make a serious social misstep by accident, a subtle influence on people to be friendly and helpful, and an Appearance-booster. Irresistible Salesman Spirit is a cheap Supplemental that doubles her successes on social attacks, which in 2.5 means she can usually make supplemented attacks cost 5WP to resist (at which point people usually don't resist). Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe is a reshape-societies Charm; so far she's used it exactly once, but the threat of using it again proved very effective.

(3) Other: Letter-Within-A-Letter Technique is used for sending secret messages and conveying scary social attacks through subliminal messages. Wind-Carried Words Technique is actually a Dragon-Blooded Charm, which she learned through the Eclipse anima power; it's an excellent communication Charm, but out of reach to most Solars (and honestly getting a DB ally is more efficient than buying it yourself... but this PC was using it to help her disguise as a Dragon-Blood, and had flavor reasons for wanting it).

And for Opal:
Opal was a deliberate attempt on my part to make a combat-focused character. She had an artifact called Transcendent Phoenix Pinions that allowed her to fly and added to her DVs; since she was using a sword and shield, her DVs were already fairly good, and the Dawn anima increased them further.

Her Charms are almost entirely focused on combat defenses. Dipping Swallow Defense and Bulwark Stance are penalty-negators, which is useful, but they're mostly being taken as prereqs for Protection of Celestial Bliss - a very nice 2.5-ified Charm that gives you bonus DV, prevents you from taking DV penalties with your enchanted weapon, and allows you a once/scene emergency perfect parry. For people who get past her excellent DVs, she has Durability of Oak Meditation and Spirit Strengthens The Skin (see Orchid's write-up). She has Integrity-Protecting Prana to grant Shaping immunity, and Surprise Anticipation Method to negate surprise attacks. When she does get hurt, Soul Fire Resurgence allows in-combat healing via Valor channeling.

Heroism-Encouraging Presence is an amazing War charm, granting your troops perfect morale and allowing all your allies to convert dice to successes when channeling Valor. (She was planning to take Phoenix Renewal Tactic, which would have allowed her to stunt back Valor channels, helping with both Heroism-Encouraging Presence and Soul Fire Resurgence.)

EDIT: Whoops, I'd misremembered Soul Fire Resurgence; it doesn't actually cost Valor channels, just allows you to roll Valor for healing by spending WP. So yeah, PRT was just to help with Heroism-Encouraging-Presence-augmented Valor channels :smallwink:

Finally, as a nod to participation in social combat, she has Sagacious Reading of Intent, allowing her to read the purposes behind people's words and perfectly defend against social attacks hostile to her or her Motivation.

Solars are, honestly, a better designed splat than Lunars. It's much easier to be effective Charm-wise by going "that looks cool" and just buying up the trees in your favorite Abilities; there aren't a lot of complete clunkers in their charmset.

Basic rules (for all Exalts):
-Dexterity is always important - it controls your accuracy and defense in combat, and your movement speed, as well as a few other things. Every point that it's lower than 5 is a sacrifice of power - it is, for almost all characters, just outright better than the other physical stats.
-Figure out what dicepools you're going to be rolling a lot. Try to have both a good Ability and a good Attribute on those. For example, Medicine works best on a character with multiple good Mental attributes - pretty much all the rolls are Medicine +Int/Wits/Perception. War is frequently paired with Charisma. Investigation most often goes with Perception. (I keep violating this rule, and I keep regretting it...)
-If you're going to be a social specialist, you want Appearance and either Charisma or Manipulation to be high. You can keep the other low or mediocre without losing much (as you can generally pick which one to use, although some Charms have special rules).
-In 2.5, for personal combat you want pretty good DVs, pretty good soak, and some kind of panic button (typically a perfect defense, for Celestials) for emergencies. There are a lot of possible refinements, but those are the starting points. If you refuse to wear armor and have no soak-boosting Charms, that's a bad idea - sometimes people will get past your DVs and it's good to have backup defenses. If your best DV is 3, well, you'd better have a lot of soak and a good answer to clinches. But you don't generally have to have a defense for absolutely every situation on a starting character. Plenty of my starting PCs don't have perfect defenses, and they've been fine.
-PbP moves slowly, so you may have your starting Charms for a while. Try to pick only Charms where you can imagine how you'd use them.
-Shaping effects are horrible. Try to avoid them. (I learned this lesson the hard way, in the first encounter of my first Exalted game. It was traumatic.)

Basic rules (for Solars):
-Martial arts are, as a rule, inferior to your native charmset.
-Sorcery will, as a rule, not grant combat options comparable to your native charmset. It can do some things your native Charms can't, but the areas where sorcery is good are generally things like long-distance travel, communication and summoning; using sorcery in combat is hard to do effectively.
-Solar Charms are awesome and the trees are generally built in logical and non-hair-pulling ways.
-For combat defenses, look in Melee, Dodge and Resistance.
-For social defenses, look in Integrity and Linguistics.
-For defenses against odd things like crippling/poison/disease/shaping effects, look in Resistance and Integrity.
-For amazing Unnatural Mental Influence charms, look in Performance and Socialize.
-For Charms to make your simplest words very hard to resist, look in Presence (spoken) and Linguistics (written).
-For combat offense, look in the combat Abilities that are not War. (War is for mass combat; probably at most one person in the group needs it.)
-For Charms to train/enlighten others, look in War and Lore.
-For Charms to build giant warmachines/manses/etc, look in Craft (basically just Craftsman Needs No Tools from the core), Lore (Wyld-Shaping Technique) and Occult (via sorcery).

Investigation/Athletics/Awareness generally have useful but not essential effects (lie detection, perfect balance, combat buffs in Athletics/Awareness, etc). Medicine/Larceny/Stealth (and I think Sail/Ride/Survival, but have never really seen them in action) do what they say they do, but can be safely completely neglected by characters who aren't interested in those things. Bureaucracy is... kinda dysfunctional, sorry (the system in Masters of Jade may redeem it, I don't have that book).

[SaurOps]

If you're open to house rules, or your ST is, I would make a suggestion about Lunars.

Kill RLF and its Social and Mental siblings with fire, and make the Fury-OK Charms better with the accumulated spoils (not too much better, but, you know, feel free to grant scene long defenses, because the entire concept behind RLF is terrible and holds Lunars back from being "real" Celestials). Disconnect some of the prerequisite-happy Charms, and use 9/7/5 for Attributes. Gifts, incidentally, are so negligible that they might as well just not exist.

[Ifni]

Gifts, incidentally, are so negligible that they might as well just not exist.

*blinks*

Indefinite combat-time regeneration might as well not exist? In 2.5?

I disagree on that one.

[Dazhbug]

Oh wow, huge thanks! I linked the post to the ST and the rest of the players, and they thank you as well; this will be a huge help. Of course, the ST cackled something madly about "ideas", so if this all ends in our horrible deaths I'm still going to blame you.

I believe that I've settled on the tarantula hawk as my choice of spirit shape; it means taking Humble Mouse but I think I'm 100% okay with that, especially as a sneaky-type person. The choice is also leaning me towards Ebon Shadow Style over White Reaper Style, if only for the paralyzation moves in Ebon Shadow which fit well with the spirit shape (tarantula hawks paralyze their prey and then lay their eggs on it). My only thought is that it definitely leads me towards the Sneaky side of the scale, whereas White Reaper Style is definitely superior for direct combat, but lacks a flavour connection as well as the utility of Ebon Shadow.

[Ifni]

You're welcome, and hope it helps :smallsmile: I'm not very familiar with Ebon Shadow, either the canon version or that rewrite, but it sounds like you have a strong theme in mind and I find that really helpful with Lunars.

Also, moonsilver baneclaws are awesome sauce for defense (baneclaw = artifact version of the sai, I think it's in Scroll of the Monk but the weapons section is a relatively non-broken part of that book).

Just take the regeneration Charms when you can. They're the bestest things :smallwink:

(Given your spirit form, Wasp Sting Blur and Octopus and Spider Barrage might be tricks to consider.)

[Dazhbug]

Would the +4 defense bonus on the Baneclaw stack if I were to wield two of them? I'm not familiar with how weapon statistics affect combat rolls (reading as fast as I can!). I'd prefer the flavour of wielding two sais, if I end up using Ebon Shadow.

The regeneration charms you're referring to are Halt the Scarlet Flow and the pre-req, right?

[golentan]

Would the +4 defense bonus on the Baneclaw stack if I were to wield two of them? I'm not familiar with how weapon statistics affect combat rolls (reading as fast as I can!). I'd prefer the flavour of wielding two sais, if I end up using Ebon Shadow.

The regeneration charms you're referring to are Halt the Scarlet Flow and the pre-req, right?

The defense bonuses don't stack. Generally speaking, when making an attack or a defense you pick an applicable statline and work with that. The advantage to two baneclaws is even if someone flurries an attempt to disarm you and then take your head off, you still have that second weapon to parry with. And, of course, you'd be effectively doubling the rate of the weapon (flurry the full rate on one of them, then again on your off hand weapon)

Those are the regeneration charms in question, yes. I think there's also a (very tough to get) Aggravated upgrade.

[Dazhbug]

Fair enough. I'm chatting with the ST about the weapon and pointed out that I'd prefer to dual wield the things (for flavour purposes), and if I know him at all he may try to work up alternate stats for a pair.

I'm still wiffling between ESS, WRS, and Crystal Chameleon; I don't think the Crystal Chameleon flavour works -at all- but being able to re-establish surprise would be very nice. From there, I expect I'll be picking up a smaller war form and a number of other knacks/charms suggested here.

[The_Snark]

*blinks*

Indefinite combat-time regeneration might as well not exist? In 2.5?

I disagree on that one.

I think I get what he's saying - namely, that there aren't very many Gift Charms printed, and most of those are either not very good, or no more useful as Gifts than as ordinary Charms. (Or both.) The Gift and Fury-OK keywords used to be really valuable because they let you activate lots of Charms without worrying about Combos, but with the 2.5 errata that doesn't matter much. Relentless Lunar Fury weathered the change better, since there are lots of Fury-OK effects and many of them are usually Instant in duration. But Gift Charms? There's only 10 or 12 printed, and if you look at them...

(spoilered because it's a bit of a digression)Moonsilver Stomach Conversion and Fertile Breath Inversion are non-combat Charms with a tiny Gift-related perk thrown in. Not terribly good Charms, either. Much easier to rely on shapeshifting.

Armor-Forming Technique, Limb-Shielding Growth and Essential Moonsilver Affinity are all fine Charms, but their Gift function is basically identical to their regular function. You don't have to re-activate them from scene to scene, I suppose, but this is more of a convenience than a power upgrade.

Claws of the Silver Moon is now significantly more powerful in non-Gift form; the Gift function is a backup for when you don't want to spend the time, motes or Willpower activating the real Charm. Also, only useful for Lunars who plan to fight unarmed/with natural weapons, and shun tattoo artifacts.

Heaven-Spanning Staff of the Monkey King is only useful if you plan to wield oversized weapons. If you do, the Gift version is definitely good, but that's pretty narrow.

Adder's Fang Technique is good, but it's buried at the very end of one of those overly long Lunar Charm trees. Anyone who wants poison that badly is probably better off acquiring it via mutations.

Terrible Steel-Rending Talons is OK, but you can get the effect more easily via Relentless Lunar Fury.

Bruise-Relief Method and Halting the Scarlet Flow are the glaring exception. Those are admittedly incredible, quite possibly to the point of being broken in 2.5's attrition-based combat - Deadly Beastman Transformation is worth it just for those. (Actually, the Knack is pretty solid on its own too.)

But they're the exceptions to the trend. It's not that the Gift keyword is awesome, just that those two Charms are awesome.

But yes, the regenerating Charms are worth taking for any Lunar. They work well for gigantic roaring smashbeasts, but they're also useful for a sneaky Lunar who likes hit-and-run tactics.


Edit: On a side note, my ST is decidedly distrustful of Scroll of the Monk, so if I end up using Ebon Shadow it'll be a modified version (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/p/27278/557913.aspx#557913).

Definitely a good idea. I'm not very familiar with Ebon Shadow, but I know the original has at least one laughably broken Charm. The rewrite looks neat.

I have a soft spot for Crystal Chameleon, and think it could work well for a Lunar - it's easy to imagine the style being used with a moonlight anima, beguiling the senses with flickering silver light and illusion. But if you prefer a more conventionally stealthy character you're probably better off with Ebon Shadow. Crystal Chameleon is more about confusion, misdirection and sheer speed.

[Dazhbug]

I have a soft spot for Crystal Chameleon, and think it could work well for a Lunar - it's easy to imagine the style being used with a moonlight anima, beguiling the senses with flickering silver light and illusion. But if you prefer a more conventionally stealthy character you're probably better off with Ebon Shadow. Crystal Chameleon is more about confusion, misdirection and sheer speed.

I can see it easily working, absolutely; just not for this particular character concept. It's definitely something I want to try to play with in the future, though! That said, here's what I'm seeing thus far:

White Reaper - Offers solid defense boosts and some truly devastating offensive charms. Emphasis on parry and soak boosts. Vulnerable to fights where halos cannot be generate/are hard to generate (single large opponent, small number of tough opponents)

Crystal Chameleon - Offers offensive boosts, primarily in circumventing a target's DVs (lots of unexpected attacks), as well as massive speed increases. Emphasis on external penalties to hit, rather than supporting DVs or soak. A very costly path in terms of motes, at least in the higher tiers.

Ebon Shadow - Offers a ton of utility, with some small offensive/defensive gains and potentially fight-ending paralyzation. The ultimate and penultimate abilities offer a phenomenal movement increase (as well as utility). Weaknesses would be a relative lack of pure offensive/defensive charms, as well being vulnerable during the daylight hours.

Completely switching topics, do you have any advice on using tattoo artifacts, versus the artifacts themselves? I got some advice elsewhere about looking into a concealed reinforced buff coat, but as two of the three martial arts trees I'm looking at are not armor compatible, I find myself looking into just tattooing my armor on instead. Of course, that means coming up with a way to hide it, for a sneaky character.

[The_Snark]

I like tattoo artifacts; they're cool, and it's nice to always have your artifacts on hand. That said, they're a bit of a pain for stealthy characters - or rather, for characters who want to be inconspicuous. If you're lurking in the shadows it doesn't matter if you're covered in silver tattoos; but if you're trying to pass yourself off as an inoffensive bystander or a housecat or something, you've got a problem.

Chain shirts, lamellar and breastplates can be concealed beneath clothing, so presumably the tattoo versions can too - this will limit you somewhat, but it's better than nothing. Your ST might allow you to cover the tattoos up with fur or something while in an appropriate animal form, but check with him to be sure before you assume.

Treasure as Trash Misdirection (found in Glories of the Most High: Luna rather than the main Lunars book) can disguise artifacts (including tattoo artifacts) as mundane objects. Determined enemies can spend Willpower to pierce the Illusion, but it'll suffice for everyday use. Prerequisites aren't too strenuous.

Hide of the Cunning Hunter does not conceal tattoo artifacts, but I've often seen STs houserule that it does. It's a Charm specifically intended to hide Lunar tattoos, after all, and it's a little lackluster as written.

It's possible that one of the Wits-based concealment Charms would help; The Spider's Trap Door is the most likely candidate. Again, check with your ST to see what he thinks about that.

The spell Disguise of the New Face would definitely do the trick; requires sorcery, though. The Changing Moon anima might work too but it only lasts for a scene.

Lastly, you could try mundane methods - wear concealing clothing and gloves, or ritual war paint, or something. You might be conspicuous, but "that guy looks weird" is better than "look, an Anathema! Someone fetch the Wyld Hunt!"

If you can figure out a way to keep tattoo artifacts hidden, I recommend them. Partly because you can't use regular armor*, and partly because I've found that having hidden artifacts close to hand is valuable in a lot of situations. (Any time the game takes you to a place with a heavy Realm presence, for instance.) Regular artifacts are easier to leave behind when you want to lie low, but if you're not carrying them while on a covert mission, you risk getting caught without them. Better to be inconspicuous and fully equipped, if you can manage it. (Many-Pockets Meditation will let you do this with ordinary artifacts, but the prerequisites are steeper than the methods outlined above - this is another place where the Lunar writers force you to buy several Charms to get a single effect.)

Alternatively... There are a couple of pseudo-armors which don't impede martial arts; Discreet Essence Armor, from Wonders of the Lost Age, and silk armor from Oadenol's Codex (way in the back, at the end of Ch. 4). I'm not sure what books your group has access to, but they exist. Failing that, Lunars get some pretty good soak-boosting Charms and access to mutations, so you might be able to get away with going unarmored. (Or, you know, unarmored but covered in an exoskeleton.)


Ebon Shadow - Offers a ton of utility, with some small offensive/defensive gains and potentially fight-ending paralyzation. The ultimate and penultimate abilities offer a phenomenal movement increase (as well as utility). Weaknesses would be a relative lack of pure offensive/defensive charms, as well being vulnerable during the daylight hours.
The stealth-related bonuses are particularly nice for a Lunar, since they don't get Stealth Charms as such. (There are some stealthy effects scattered between Appearance and Wits, plus Excellencies and shapeshifting, but nothing that directly boosts Stealth like you'd get from Abyssal or Sidereal Charms.)

[Dazhbug]

Yeah, I'll be chatting with the ST about artifacts, tattoos, and the concealing thereof. I'm sure we can work something out.

White Reaper Style would allow me to use any armor (including full heavy plate, if I wanted O.o), which would free me up to use an artifact reinforced buff jacket. Again, though, it goes against flavour (the desert nomad tribes dislike clothing, much less armor), and I seem to recall something limiting me to light armor (A charm or knack or something, I forget what it was).

Interesting note on Ebon Shadow, and the Stealth boosts assist in reacquiring the element of surprise mid-fight if necessary (similar to Crystal Chameleon).

Edit: If Ifni sees this, a question regarding the posted build for Rainbow: The four levels of Ox Body and the Excellencies were given for free at character creation? I'm trying to resolve the build out and just wanted to make sure.

[TheCountAlucard]

Since you're going with a parasitic wasp totem, I'd like to point out there's a Lunar Charm in which you sting someone, and then use the larvae in said sting to reanimate said person's corpse as a zombie that does your bidding.

You're welcome. :smallamused:

[Ifni]

Edit: If Ifni sees this, a question regarding the posted build for Rainbow: The four levels of Ox Body and the Excellencies were given for free at character creation? I'm trying to resolve the build out and just wanted to make sure.

That's correct. I think it was "purchases of Ox-Body Technique equal to Stamina", which she had at 4 for Halting the Scarlet Flow.

I agree with all The_Snark's comments above, as well. Usefulness of Tattoo Artifact is a direct function of how much of a pain in the neck they are to hide, and that's very ST-dependent. (In Rain's game, the ST houseruled that Hide of the Cunning Hunter worked.)

[SaurOps]

Purging the Tarnished Silver is insanely over-prerequed. For the peerless instant healers among the Chosen, Lunars are getting off worse than the Dragon-Blooded in that deal. The unlimited quantity of damage that you can heal, while nice, comes from out of nowhere, like it's a blatant consolation for having an artificially over-specced Charm.


*blinks*

Indefinite combat-time regeneration might as well not exist? In 2.5?

I disagree on that one.

It's the one and only useful Gift effect... which makes it a rather huge outlier. Perhaps instead of "heal bashing, Gift effect" and "heal lethal, Gift effect" it should have been "instant heal of bashing or lethal" and "longer-lasting, less immediately effective healing effect for bashing or lethal".

[HerrTenko]

About Knacks, what do you guys think of Emerald Grasshopper and more importantly, Becoming the Swarm (Glories of the Most High : Luna)? Those would work pretty well with a Tarantula Hawk : the only thing creepier than a big-ass angry wasp is a swarm of big-ass angry wasps.

[The_Snark]

About Knacks, what do you guys think of Emerald Grasshopper and more importantly, Becoming the Swarm (Glories of the Most High : Luna)? Those would work pretty well with a Tarantula Hawk : the only thing creepier than a big-ass angry wasp is a swarm of big-ass angry wasps.

I like Emerald Grasshopper Form, especially for stealth characters - nothing's better for sneaking around and eavesdropping. You can be a literal fly on the wall.

Becoming the Swarm is cool, but I've never looked at it in detail before - not sure how useful it is. At a glance - the clinch attack is better than an ordinary unarmed clinch, but not as good as a bloodspike harness. Bonus to Dodge DV is solid, but you can't parry. Need both Dodge and Martial Arts to use the swarm-form effectively. Verdict: not great, but if you really like the idea and meet the prerequisites (both explicit and implicit) it's OK.


Since you're going with a parasitic wasp totem, I'd like to point out there's a Lunar Charm in which you sting someone, and then use the larvae in said sting to reanimate said person's corpse as a zombie that does your bidding.

You're welcome. :smallamused:

Wasp of the Labyrinth Trick (http://wiki.white-wolf.com/exalted/index.php?title=Charms%3AWasp_of_the_Labyrinth_Tri ck), yeah. Fun Charm. Along the same lines, Thousandfold Wasp Dance (http://wiki.white-wolf.com/exalted/index.php?title=Charms%3AThousandfold_Wasp_Dance) lets you conjure a swarm of phantom insects to bedevil your enemies.

Both of these Charms are from the Ink Monkeys, meaning they're not printed in a book but were released online by several of the game's writers. Most STs I've played with don't have a problem with them but again, good to check with your ST rather than assuming.

[meschlum]

As a Lunar, you are entitled to Grace Magic. This solves all your problems, ever, and only costs some else's soul. It may also induce flame wars, but that's what communicating with the GM in advance is for.

Loincloth of Distraction

The skin of the Raksha is far too perfect to be marred by Creation's slings, arrows, and misfortune. Since mortals persist in trying to harm their beneficient visitors from beyond reality, the Fair Folk crafted the Loincloth in order to redirect their attention on something more important.

Made of fragile seeming cloth or fur that verges on being tranparent without quite succeeding, a Loincloth worn by the Raksha will draw all blows to itself, yet fail to be damaged beyong temporary rips that almost reveal what it hides. As it is a work of the Fair Folk, its interactions with the Creation-Born are somewhat less reliable, but still valued by many.

Most mortals who seek to wear the Loincloth suffer ill effects shortly thereafter as their bodies consume themselves in a vain effort to match the glory of the Raksha artefact. Those who have control over their essence may be able to remove it and so avoid being consumed, and a rare few - blessed by the Wyld or cused Anathema - can balance the Loincloth's hunger with the leaden sustance of their souls, calling forth its power with a minor tithe of essence.

From these few, the following secrets have been learned: once worn, the Loincloth can never be discarded, save with the death or madness of its mortal bearer. So long as it remains in place, it creates a field of warped essence that deflects and dissipates damage. Many forms of the device exist, with varying power - the most powerful ones can even have minds of their own, though the Creation-born are oddly reluctant to wrap sentient (and perhaps unfriendly) entities around their lower torsos.

Mechanics

Pick one:

1-dot Adjuration (1 committed mote)
Opalescent Gossamer Raiment: this grants a Lethal and Bashing Soak of (3+Essence).

1-dot Oneiromancy (3 committed motes, seasonal ritual)
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Loincloth is incredibly interesting.
Unwanted Obsession Provocation Technique (3 times) - distraction causes people trying to attack with Thrown, Melee or Martial Arts to suffer an internal pernalty of (Essence). It becomes an external penalty at Essence 4+.

1-dot Behemoth (3 committed motes)
Assumption of the Person's Heart - the Loincloth merges with its wearer until either dies.
Bastion of the Heart - only cold iron or magic can actually wound the Loincloth or its owner. Even then, they get a bonus of (Essence) to soak or avoid harm.
Blade Turning Skin - adds (Essence) to Aggravated Soak.


If you want more soak, it calls for higher tier artifacts or using gossamer armor (which has no mobility or fatigue penalties, leading to superheavylight full platebikini being popular). Also look at Rarefied Air of Inevitable Victory (+2 DV), Imposition of Law (parry or dodge any attack not augmented by Charms or get a DV bonus), and Surpassing Excellence (+2 dice to a specialty, stacks with everything except itself).


Innocent Hat

The Creation-born are confusing, and can behave in unpredictable ways. One might be a villian and a torturer, yet be kind to his family and stray cats. Another might accept bribes from smugglers yet refuse coin to let an assassin walk free. In order to better fit in, the Fair Folk invented the Innocent Hat, which explicitly creates a new persona when dastardly deeds are required.

A Raksha wearing such a Hat is by definition innocent, and therefore cannot be any Raksha who is performing a criminal act. The idea that a Hat wearing, upstanding, vortex of madness and chaos from beyond sanity could be responsible for crimes committed by another vortex of madness and chaos from beyond sanity is, of course, absurd.

When such devices fall into the hands of the Creation-born, they are most difficult to activate, requiring more than mere mastery over one's essence. Still, when attuned to and used correctly, they allow their wearer to perform any crime with impunity, as responsibility for the same is assigned to a different person who was not wearing the Hat. Better educated thaumaturges tend to take ownership of this artifact as sufficient cause for pre-emptive execution, but it's obviously the fault of someone without the Hat.

Mechanics

1-dot Oneiromancy (3 committed motes, seasonal ritual)
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Hat is pristine and innocent.
Fall of Night Shadows the Truth - it is extremely difficult to notice or remember someone performing illegal deeds while wearing the Hat.
Untouchable Performer Technique - while individuals may suspect the Hat's owner, getting a mob or other organized group to blame her is more or less impossible.
Imposition of Law - absent magic or heroic efforts to the contrary, the person wearing the Hat can always successfully lie about having a legitimate reason to be wherever she is.
Ordinary Object Conjuration - the Hat's owner always has a handful of coin on hand whenever a bribe is required.
Mad God Mien - the subtlety of the Hat is such that its effects cannot be cancelled by countermagic.

If you want alternate stealth and mobility options, you can replace Untouchable Performer Technique and Ordinary Object Conjuration with Gossamer Wing Flight, letting you fly so long as you're wearing the Hat.

[golentan]

Meschlum, not everything is about Raksha in exalted. In fact, very little is about Raksha. Raksha do not, and should not, be brought up in every conversation about character creation. Please bear this in mind.

[The_Snark]

To clarify: meschlum's suggestions are usually tongue-in-cheek references, not necessarily serious. If you're new, it is probably best to stay far away from raksha and grace magic. They let you do interesting things sometimes, but they're unnecessarily complicated and often wildly unbalanced (in both directions, somehow).

[The Rose Dragon]

It also helps if you remember that the Fair Folk are incapable of innovation, creativity, or in general doing things that are not a warped version of something the Creation-born have come up with first.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Meschlum is an alien mind, creator of wonders.

[Dazhbug]

To clarify: meschlum's suggestions are usually tongue-in-cheek references, not necessarily serious. If you're new, it is probably best to stay far away from raksha and grace magic. They let you do interesting things sometimes, but they're unnecessarily complicated and often wildly unbalanced (in both directions, somehow).

Hah, I'll certainly keep that in mind. This character isn't real fond of the Fair Folk at least, so I can't really see her using their artifacts.

It doesn't look like I'll get Hide of the Cunning Hunter to cover tattoo artifacts, which is mildly unfortunate if only because it means taking minimum three charms just to not be instantly recognizable as Anathema. In the meantime though, I'm realizing that an (albino) desert nomad is going to attract a fair amount of attention anyway, so being able to have a separate "walking about" shape is going to be something of reasonable importance anyway. Disguise of the New Moon is of course one solution here; past that, it looks like I'll have to invest in Prey's Skin Disguise. Are there any other options that I should be aware of?

[Lord Raziere]

Meschlum is an alien mind, creator of wonders.

:smallannoyed:

That title should be mine…..I want to be known as an alien mind and a creator of wonders….

and no, don't really have anything other that for this thread, I have little idea what its even talking about.

[golentan]

Hah, I'll certainly keep that in mind. This character isn't real fond of the Fair Folk at least, so I can't really see her using their artifacts.

It doesn't look like I'll get Hide of the Cunning Hunter to cover tattoo artifacts, which is mildly unfortunate if only because it means taking minimum three charms just to not be instantly recognizable as Anathema. In the meantime though, I'm realizing that an (albino) desert nomad is going to attract a fair amount of attention anyway, so being able to have a separate "walking about" shape is going to be something of reasonable importance anyway. Disguise of the New Moon is of course one solution here; past that, it looks like I'll have to invest in Prey's Skin Disguise. Are there any other options that I should be aware of?

You said you're the party sneak? If you're a changing moon, your anima lets you disguise yourself as anyone for 5m for the scene. I also like having a minion (1 dot ally or something) and riding around on their shoulder as their "familiar," though that maybe doesn't work so well with a tarantula hawk.

[Dazhbug]

That last one... is a remarkably brilliant idea. Thanks!

And I was actually leaning towards Full Moon, but that was for the purpose of favouring Dex and Stam and since we're using the Schaefer creation rules that matters less, so thank you for reminding me. That said, Ebon Shadow style also allows me to pick up the anima effect of the Night Caste, which has a bit of redundancy there.

There are way too many charm prerequisites; if I have to pick up Treasure to Trash, then I'm basically prevented from picking up any of Ebon Shadow Style unless I want to give up the healing charms. Bothersome. I suppose I could forgo Hide of the Cunning Hunter and Treasure to Trash, since we're starting in Chiarascuro and I'm less likely to call down the Wyld Hunt.

[The_Snark]

It doesn't look like I'll get Hide of the Cunning Hunter to cover tattoo artifacts, which is mildly unfortunate if only because it means taking minimum three charms just to not be instantly recognizable as Anathema.

That's unfortunate. Bear in mind that Treasure-as-Trash Misdirection can be used to pass your obviously-magical Lunar tattoos off as regular tattoos, though, so if you're picking that up you might be able to skip Hide of the Cunning Hunter.

Other options: Changing Moon anima, Prey's Skin Disguise, Disguise of the New Face... I believe there's an artifact mask in the core book that lets you alter your appearance. Also, don't forget regular disguises using Larceny, or even just regular clothing. If you're a desert nomad, you can probably get away with wearing skin-concealing clothing and a dust veil - this is pretty sensible clothing in the deep desert, and I don't think it'd raise eyebrows in Chiaroscuro. (The only problem is that clothing doesn't apply in animal forms, which may present a problem if you have tattoo artifacts.)


There are way too many charm prerequisites.
It's a problem for Lunars, yeah.

Actually, it's a problem for many characters, because you always want more Charms than you can get. But Lunars have it particularly bad, because of the way their Charm trees are set up.

[Dazhbug]

Desert nomads have an innate annoyance of clothing, but I assume she'd be clothed and mainly be grumbly about it. Dropping Hide of the Cunning Hunter is certainly an option, although the only reason I like it is that it doesn't provide an easy way to see through it (can't spend WP to pierce it). Of course, my normal protective tattoos are kind of hard to detect as-is, so long as I stay out of true forms.

I think I'm going to be making Prey's Skin a goal at this point, although I'm unsure I can get it at chargen, and basically focus this character on being a master of faces. Even more charms to look into, heh.

My starting charm/knack lineup (which I'll have to pare down to 7 charms/3 knacks), is looking something like this:

Charms and Knacks
Strength
Claws of the Silver Moon

Dexterity
First Dexterity Excellency
Secure Cat Stepping
- Ebon Shadow Style (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/p/27278/557913.aspx#557913)
- Image of Death Technique

Endurance
Ox-Body Technique

Stamina
Second Stamina Excellency
Bruise Relief Method
Halt the Scarlet Flow

Manipulation
Manipulation Excellency
Treasure as Trash Misdirection

Appearance
Hide of the Cunning Hunter

Knacks:
Deadly Beastman Transformation
Hybrid Body Rearrangement
Humble Mouse Shape
Prey's Skin Disguise

[meschlum]

Hah, I'll certainly keep that in mind. This character isn't real fond of the Fair Folk at least, so I can't really see her using their artifacts.



No trouble at all! Think of them as templates for what more mundane artifacts might be able to do, in terms of numbers and themes. If you want to consider non-standard artifacts, it helps to have a baseline - and the ones I proposed are not overly system breaking (well, the non-Adjuration versions of the Loincloth are a bit on the high side, for various reasons).


The sad thing is that mechanics-wise the Raksha are actually quite good at disguise and shapeshifting, albeit with a little less flexibility than Lunars. And (worse) they can share most of this ability with the Creation-born, which is bad for the niche. Errata has not helped - but if you are satisfied with a set of four limited and predefined animal forms, a 1-dot Oneiromancy can give you that.

Again, it's more a matter of what you could expect from a low power artifact, or similar background investment. Not being a fan of Fair Folk (IC and / or OOC) is entirely reasonable. I just have fun playing with the Grace Magic design rules.

[Dazhbug]

Oh, fair enough; I'm sure I'll look into grace magic at some point if I keep playing Exalted (which I plan to, I think!).

On a side note, does anyone know of any stated out wasps in the game? Otherwise me and the ST will have to build my spirit shape stats from scratch.

[HerrTenko]

On a side note, does anyone know of any stated out wasps in the game? Otherwise me and the ST will have to build my spirit shape stats from scratch.

I don't know of statted Wasps, but there are the Agatae, the Beauteous Demon Wasps of the First Circle.

You might want to use this as a basis, and tone it down until you get closer to a more mundane wasp.

[SaurOps]

Oh, fair enough; I'm sure I'll look into grace magic at some point if I keep playing Exalted (which I plan to, I think!).

On a side note, does anyone know of any stated out wasps in the game? Otherwise me and the ST will have to build my spirit shape stats from scratch.

Ichneumon Hunters in the core. The East also hosts giant (really, really giant) wasps known as tree-slayers. I know that they were in Kingdom of Halta for 1e, but I don't have CoTD: East, so I'm not sure if they carried over.

[The_Snark]

I don't think there are stats for mundane insects, no. Outside of the context of Lunars, there isn't really any call for it - what ST is going to make you roll to fight a single hornet?

In this context... call it Str 1, Dex 4-5, Stamina 1-2, give it a bit of extra soak to represent the exoskeleton, a bite/sting that does 1L damage, and a poison (Damage 3B/minute, Toxicity 3, Tolerance -, Penalty -4). Plus the ability to fly, of course, but that's the kind of thing you have to infer; animal stat blocks don't generally include things like speed. (Although they really should. Not that we really need to be told that birds fly and sharks swim, but it'd be nice if we knew how fast horses are supposed to be.)

Edit - oh, right, there are some giant insect stats. Forgot about those.

[HerrTenko]

Another option would be to use the Wasp Warriors stats from Boddhisatva's Hive Engine artifact as a basis.
(http://wiki.white-wolf.com/exalted/index.php?title=Artifacts%3AHive_Engine#Hive_Wasp_ Warrior)

[Dazhbug]

Another option would be to use the Wasp Warriors stats from Boddhisatva's Hive Engine artifact as a basis.
(http://wiki.white-wolf.com/exalted/index.php?title=Artifacts%3AHive_Engine#Hive_Wasp_ Warrior)

Someone created slaver wasps?!

[Ifni]

Heh. Apparently!

If you're taking Treasure As Trash Misdirection and Ebon Shadow, I might be inclined to buy an artifact weapon rather than going Claws of the Silver Moon. Claws of the Silver Moon is really nice if you're going the route of multiple natural weapons (especially with Octopus and Spider Barrage), but wanting to put up both Claws and a Form Charm at the start of every combat will get pretty cumbersome.

You probably want to figure out if you can afford Essence 3 at chargen - if not, some of the options you listed will be off-limits for you.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Oh, fair enough; I'm sure I'll look into grace magic at some point if I keep playing Exalted (which I plan to, I think!).

That way lies madness.

[golentan]

Someone created slaver wasps?!

Really overpowered, too. Sure, they can't target essence users, but they let you absolutely dominate mortal populations beyond anything short of She Who Lives in Her Name charms, and with less stringent requirements to put into effect.

[The_Snark]

Really overpowered, too. Sure, they can't target essence users, but they let you absolutely dominate mortal populations beyond anything short of She Who Lives in Her Name charms, and with less stringent requirements to put into effect.

If they're meant to replicate the slaver wasps of Girl Genius, that's functioning as intended. But those things were pretty world-changing, so Artifact N/A might be appropriate...

[Dazhbug]

Heh. Apparently!

If you're taking Treasure As Trash Misdirection and Ebon Shadow, I might be inclined to buy an artifact weapon rather than going Claws of the Silver Moon. Claws of the Silver Moon is really nice if you're going the route of multiple natural weapons (especially with Octopus and Spider Barrage), but wanting to put up both Claws and a Form Charm at the start of every combat will get pretty cumbersome.

You probably want to figure out if you can afford Essence 3 at chargen - if not, some of the options you listed will be off-limits for you.

Fair enough, although Ebon Shadow is somewhat less about the Form charm than some other martial arts. I think I'm going to take both and play with being proactive with the form (eventually, can't afford them both at chargen), although I will certainly keep your warning in mind. The other issue is that my ST modified the Baneclaw to be use as a matched set and while the stats are solid (Sp 4, Acc 1, Dmg 3L/2,, Def 2, Rate 3, D M O Th) I think I'm better off with natural weapons for the moment. This is one time I want to get into combat and see how it feels before I make a decision.

And I was buying Essence 3 (and WP 10) at chargen. Still having trouble reducing the charms list, I may get it to 8 and buy one, although that hampers me in terms of ability specialties.

[Tome]

And I was buying Essence 3 (and WP 10) at chargen. Still having trouble reducing the charms list, I may get it to 8 and buy one, although that hampers me in terms of ability specialties.

WP10 is an excellent chargen purchase, but Essence 3 is probably the worst in terms of efficiency. Unless you really, truly, desperately need to start with a charm that requires Essence 3, I'd recommend leaving it for later.

As for what does make for efficient purchases, willpower is the best option by far. After that there's virtues, favoured abilities and their specialities, and finally Attributes. Even non-favoured abilities and specialities are still substantially more efficient than raising Essence or buying charms/knacks with BP for Lunars. Upping your primary virtue from 3 to 5 is only 2BP at chargen, but 21xp afterwords (and as a Lunar, having one virtue at 5 is really, really good for your mote pool).

I'd heavily recommend that at Chargen you focus on making sure your mundane traits (virtues, abilities and attributes) are where you want them to be, rather than fretting over charms and knacks. If you can get those sorted out at the start you can round out your magical stuff later.

[The Rose Dragon]

Essence 3 is only worth it if you really want an Essence 4 Charm (which Lunars can't get without Flaws, anyway), in terms of XP-to-BP conversion, and even then, it will leave you sort of monofocused in the beginning. Things you should be increasing in chargen as a Lunar:

1) Your primary combat ability to 5, if Favored. Dodge, if not. Unless you are going to see very little combat, this is a very good deal, since the less you have to rely on spending motes to survive, the better.

2) Willpower. This was especially vital before the errata to combos, but is still very important due to Willpower's contribution to Dodge MDV, mote pools and use in a good number of Charms.

3) Any Favored or Caste Attributes at 4 to 5. There is very little reason not to do that, especially for Dexterity, considering how expensive they are to buy with XP. Anything lower than 4, you can keep at a maximum of 3 without suffering for it until much later, when you have all the Charms and Knacks you need.

4) Specialties. Specialties are incredibly cheap in chargen, even for non-favored abilities and attributes. Lunars kind of suffer here, due to having only two Favored Abilities (one of them being Survival), and needing a Charm to get specialties in Attributes, but spending one BP to get 2 extra dice to your favored means of combat is a pretty good deal.

5) Optionally, one Virtue to 5. This will mean any compels are almost guaranteed to hit your Willpower, but it does give you a lot of motes. Preferably, you should keep your Virtue Flaw virtue at 3, and increase another Virtue to 5, but it's not absolutely necessary.

[Ifni]

Rose Dragon's advice is good in terms of XP-to-BP efficiency, but I disagree with (3), at least in a PbP game where XP gain is likely to be slow.

I have a lot of Lunars with favored Stamina at 4, because (a) I wanted Halting the Scarlet Flow ASAP, and (b) I didn't want any Charms with a Stamina prerequisite of 5. Yeah, buying Stamina 5 with XP is slow and expensive, but I did not foresee wanting Stamina 5 until something like 500 XP down the track, which in PbP means "never". (I have a PbP game that's been running for two years where we have about 55 XP. This is my highest XP-gained-in-game total.) Given that, there are better things to do with 3 BP. Figure out what Charms you want, and make sure you can hit the prerequisites; this is more important than having one extra die on Stamina-based rolls.

(This doesn't apply if the Attribute in question is something you expect to be rolling all the time, where +1 die may be worth it even if you never take Charms in that ability: Dexterity 5 is a good investment, as is (usually) 5 in your preferred social Ability if you're playing a social Lunar.)

Likewise - yes, buying E3 with BP is inefficient in XP-to-BP ratio. But the cost of not buying E3 at chargen may be that it's a year IRL before you have Halting the Scarlet Flow and Hybrid Body Rearrangement. I have frequently made the calculation that if I didn't take E3 I'd be spending starting Charm/Knack slots on stuff I wouldn't otherwise have taken (albeit this is probably more of a risk when you're getting free Excellencies and don't have to buy them), which can be much more of a waste of resources than the XP/BP differential. (Also if you want to buy Attribute specialties via Flawless Attribute Focus, it's much cheaper at chargen, and that requires E3.) Even when that's not true - often, in PBP, I'd rather have key capabilities up-front than know several RL years later that the PC made maximally efficient use of every point of XP and BP.

The vast majority of my Exalted games have lasted less than six months. I have learned to try to get signature tricks online as early as possible, or they just never come into play.

[Dazhbug]

Hmmm, all solid advice, and I'll definitely be playing around with numbers later this afternoon. That said, losing Hybrid Body and Halting the Scarlet Flow would be rather painful.

[Dazhbug]

Sorry for the double post, but I finished!

Note: The motivations are listed in priority order, and I wasn't sure to use the one which most broadly or narrowly applies (short-term vs. long-term goals).

I just wanted to give a HUGE thank you to everyone's help here, you all took the time to answer all my questions and made this whole process a lot more easy and fun! Especial particular thanks to Ifni for her provided examples (and I ended up tying Rainbow in the Tempest's Wake into my background, with her permission, as a small homage).

Character sheet:
Name: Reflection of Jagged Shadows (Shade), Grueshen of Bleached Skulls (Grue)
Caste: Changing Moon
Spirit Animal: Tarantula Wasp
Anima: A sliver of crescent moon drips violet toxin, wreathed in smoke and shadow.
Tell: Her eyes glitter with multiple facets, and a buzzing fills the space between her words.

Motivation: Find her partner. Rescue the Dune Folk from Sulumor. Secure and expand the boundaries of Creation against all threats.

Appearance:
Height: 5'4"
Build: Slim and wiry, with not a trace of fat.
Concept: Fremen, Chani (Dune), Kasumi (Mass Effect)

Appearance: Short and wiry, Shade is strong as are all her people; desert life has hardened her against some of the most punishing environments that Creation has to offer. Her hair, an inky blue-black, has been cropped short and rises from her head spikily above eyes of scarlet; her alabaster skin is criss-crossed with ceremonial scars and her teeth sharpened into small points. All of this only adds to her savage beauty, and she carries herself with the quiet confidence of a predator, tensed muscle and wary eyes.

Exaltation has only heightened her feral air, her toothed grin becoming something that sets strong men to trembling and she no longer seems to enter a room, so much as simply appear and disappear when one isn't looking. Fired in the crucible of the Southern Desert, where meaningless distinctions breakdown in the face of pure survival, she has embraced the protean nature of the Lunar Exalted; time among other tribes of humanity has shown her the wisdom of hiding her identity. Her appearance has altered subtly, darkening her skin and obscuring her gender and allowing those she meets to fit her into their own preconceived notions as they will (or as she carefully directs them).

Despite her profound annoyance, she has also discovered the benefits of being clothed in the more urban areas of Creation. However, she cannot bring herself to wear more than the most loosely-fitting clothes, and tends to do without whenever she is able. When she cannot, she wears dark and drab colors when attempting to blend in, and jet black with vermilion trimming when trying to stand out. The tattoos that mark her caste cover her body, denoting tightly fitting armored plates and sharp, jagged edges along her limbs. They hint of smoke, and barbed thorns, and on her left wrist they trap a circular gemstone so dark violet it is almost black.


Personality notes:
- Introverted and quiet, Shade is not prone to long speeches or idle chatter, and she frequently seeks time on her own to collect her thoughts and understand her feelings.
- Defensive and slow to trust, due to her harsh upbringing.
- Intense, to the point of being intimidating; Shade lacks all but the driest sense of humor, and tends to pursue her goals with ruthless efficiency.
- Despite not -showing- her feelings, Shade feels very strongly; to her friends, she is loyal unto and beyond death. To those that anger her, she will ensure retribution as equates to the slight.
- Shade is a careful planner, but tends to make assumptions about how things will go that are not always accurate. Luckily, she thinks well on her feet and can see whether she can turn a situation around or has to flee.
- Like most desert tribes, Shade's exemplified ritualistic duels to the death to settle disputes and grievances within the community. However, with the influence of Icthus Moon-Tide they had begun to reserve such blood thirst for only the most serious of conflicts, instead focusing on ceremonially humiliating and gaining submission from their opponent. Shade is prone to intimidating her opponent and putting them off-guard, in order to cow them into submission or reveal something she's looking for.


Background:
Born into Scarlet-Waters-The-Sands sietch, Grueshen of Bleached Skulls was the daughter of the chieftan's second mate; her birth under the waning moon of Fire taken for a sign that the coming year would be fruitful, with good hunting and enough for all. Released into the communal creche, Grueshen learned to defend herself immediately, from both the threats of the desert as well as from her rough-and-tumble broodmates. Camped along and within a ridge of rock that pierced the desert sands, the sietch remained deep in the desert during Grue's formative years, and she quickly learned the ways of the sands: ambush and stealth, hiding from the glaring eye of the Sun, and conserving every last drop of moisture. At the age of eleven she made her first human kill, when the tribe had migrated further west and out of the deep desert; a band of treasure hunters, wandering and lost, fell prey to her and her best friend Ssetesh Snakebones. Having provided water and proved her worth, she was given the task of assisting the chieftan's second, a strange man the tribe knew as Finder-of-Water.

Unbeknownst to Grue, Icthus Moon-Tide (who had been inducted into the tribe and given his new name before her birth) was a Lunar exalt, brought to the desert from the far West for reasons known only to him. As he was seen as a figure of legend by the superstitious dune-folk, Grue was as enthusiastic as the quiet girl had ever been; this quickly faded into respectful grumbling as he put her to work, honing her in the arts of hand to hand combat, survival, and stealth. Driven hard, the young girl excelled and quickly became something of a leader among the youngsters of the tribe. Still, she caught odd glances from her mentor from time to time, and wondered. Any questions she posed were deflected, with the response, "When you are ready, child."

As her twentieth summer drew to a close, she confronted Icthus once more, after a particularly hard test involving climbing a Sleeper of the Sands without waking the beast. He offered her a sad smile, and said only, "Soon, I think. Very soon." And so it was that during that Calibration (whose passing was noted only by Icthus) he took her aside and swore her to secrecy, before telling her of a lonely outcrop lost in the sands of the nearby desert, and a set of directions. "There you will find answers at last."

Grue set out the next night, unerringly striking out across the sands under the barest glimmer of crescent moon. As she approached the outcropping, though, a blast of light shone forth across the desert from the direction of her sietch. Abandoning thoughts of what mysteries she might find, she sped home through the dark to behold a terrible slaughter. A band of dune-folk, unknown and strangely clad in dark armor, had put most her entire tribe to the sword. Only Icthus remained standing; a terrible form of scales and clawed tentacles that moved with unnatural speed through a towering corona of silvery light. Grue rushed to his aid, but as their eyes met his lit in shocked surprise. Then, with a sad smile, he opened his defenses and was lost. Grue screamed in anguish and blood lust as the marauders turned on her, but instead of a swift death they captured and bound her, staking her out to be left for the implacable Sun. As their laughter departed on the night wind, the girl screamed into the dark sky, surrounded by the shattered and broken shadows of her tribe laid waste. Despite her injuries and the sure death that approached with the dawn, she swore vengeance to the dome of the heavens, calling on the Moon to hear her.

In the barbed and blood-soaked aspect of the Watcher, Luna answered.

Where Icthus's anima had blazed with the glory of the full moon, hers burned violet-on-black, rising like poisonous smoke into the night. Slipping free of her bonds, the new Lunar Exalt sped across the sands like a whisper of vengence. The marauders had not a hint of warning; when the sun rose their blood steamed black on the thirsty sands. With their death, they had whispered a name that now beat on the Exalt's brain like a drum: Sulumor. She knew only the hunt.

Fortunately, something had alerted the Silver Pact; dusk of the second day saw a streak of colour plummet from the darkening sky. Grue, waiting silently beneath the sands, was suddenly and rudely pulled to the surface by a cheerful young woman with laughing eyes and a spray of iridescent hair. Standing forth guilessly in her true human form, the woman introduced herself as Rainbow In the Tempest's Wake, a representative of the Silver Pact, and gave a heart-felt offer of protection and training to the young Exalt. Grue snorted, and made to push past the water-fat stranger who was everything she was not, proclaiming her hunt of higher importance. When Rain insisted, Grue lashed out... and was instantly dropped. Again and again she attacked the woman, each time ending up bruised and her pride in tatters while Rain, sounding hurt, proclaimed that it really was for her own good, and she wouldn't let the new Exalt go off to die. Bowing before the knowledge of her inexperience, Grue finally agreed to go follow.

After being initiated into the Changing Moon caste, Grue spent an impatient year learning of the Celestial Exalted and the history of Creation, as well as how to control and command her growing power. As her Essence waxed, she began to have dreams of Icthus, dreams which seemed to describe what she now knew to be a past life. Had she known him, somehow? Seeking answers, she departed from the Pact's camp in the Summer mountains and sped westward. Returning to the site of her tribe's slaughter, she gave offering to the Silver Watcher and the gods of her tribe before returning once again to the lonely outcrop in the desert that her mentor had said held answers. There she would learn her own story, and take a new name: Reflection of Jagged Shadows.


Attributes
Primary Physical: 9
Secondary Social: 7
Tertiary Mental: 5
[Note: [C]aste and [F]avoured tags, for clarity. Extra attribute dot placed in Appearance.]

Physical:
Strength ●●●
(F) Dexterity ●●●●●
(F) Stamina ●●●●

Social:
Charisma ●●
(C) Manipulation ●●●●●
(C) Appearance ●●●●

Mental:
Perception ●●●
Intelligence ●●
Wits ●●●


Abilities
[Note: [F]avoured tags, for clarity.]
(Specializations +; 4 free specializations)
Total without BP/XP: 28

Archery
[F] Martial Arts ●●●●● (Natural Weapons +●●●)
Melee
Thrown
War

Integrity ●●●
Performance
Presence ●●
Resistance ●●
[F] Survival ●● (Desert +●)

Craft
Investigate
Lore ●
Medicine
Occult

Athletics ●●
Awareness ●●●
Dodge ●●
Larceny ●
Stealth ●●●●● (Establishing Surprise +●●)

Bureaucracy
Linguistics
Ride
Sail
Socialize


Backgrounds, Artifacts and Equipment:
Backgrounds:
Artifact ●● (Silken Robes)
Tattoo Artifact ● (Moonsilver Tattoo Breastplate)
Tattoo Artifact ●● (Moonsilver Tattoo Hearthstone Bracers)
Manse ● (Gemstone of Shadows)
Heart's Blood ● - Chameleon
- Porcupine
- Steel Shadow (CoTD:East)


Artifacts and Equipment:
Artifact: Silken Robes Smoke Wreathes the FormThis flowing desert robe appears to be made from coal black silk, complete with a voluminous hood. When worn and imbued with a user's essence, it shimmers and wraps them in shadow, loose enough to conceal their form without catching or snagging on rocks or other hazards. The hood seems to obscure the face even in the brightest day, and the coal-black colour softens to the greys of cloudy moonlight and shadow.

When she at last found her way to the center of that knot in the desert sands that hid the truth, she found a small stone altar, and a bowl of dark water which reflected the night sky above. Before the bowl lay a swathe of silk the color of moonless night, which poured like passing shadows through her fingers. Before she could wonder, it coiled around her like a hug from an old friend, and she was distracted by sudden ripples in the bowl before her.


Artifact: Moonsilver Tattoo Breastplate Redoubt of the Crescent MoonThese interlocking shapes mimic the carapace of the southern scarab beetle, with thin horizontal lines marking abdominal plating giving way to the broad shell of the chitinous insect.


Artifact: Moonsilver Tattoo Hearth Bracers Moon-Mad ManaclesThis set of tattoos ring the Exalted's wrists like barbed thorns, their deadly sharp strokes singing praise to the Silver-Horned Watcher. Talons of moonlight claw and grip a glittering gem which doesn't seem to reflect the sun's light.

It was during her initiation and tattooing that Shade learned that Icthus had been in contact with the Pact, and had warned them of her imminent Exaltation. How he knew to expect it, and why he had allowed himself to be killed, were mysteries even to the elders who trained her, but as they tattooed her chest they told her stories of Icthus Silver-Skinned, Rider of the Shining Tide. As the magical ink pricked her wrists they spoke of his lost partner, Still Pool of Dark Waters, the shadow to his shining fury. With the last stroke in place, images poured into her of a young, lithe man who moved like black water, and his memories became hers. The bright and the dark had stood together in the First Age, and despite the destiny which stood between them, they would stand together once more.

She had a pack-mate to find.


Manse: Penumbra
Stone: Gemstone of Shadows (socketed in Moon-Mad Manacles)[Oadenol's Codex] - Manse Flaw: Minimally Habitable (+2 CP)
- Puzzle Manse (-3 CP)
- Password Activations (-1 CP)

From the lonely outcrop in the dark desert, Grue paced her way across cold sands as her mentor (and pack-mate, she realized) had told her. She could feel the warp of Creation pressing close, and the moon shone at odd angles that tried to convince her she was traveling in the wrong direction. Once she misplaced her feet, and found herself staring upward at the rock back where she had started. After carefully re-tracing her steps, she found herself standing before a graceful stone arch, which framed the setting moon. Taking a moment to still her quickening breath, she sat upon the sand, and waited. As the final hour of the year came to a close, she held her breath and let the desert lapse into absolute silence.

As the stars and moon winked out, an altar of black stone shimmered into existence through the archway. Atop the slab rested a bowl of still water which reflected the pitch-black uniformity of the sky, and a swathe of dark silk. She approached, drawing the cloth to her to run it through her fingers like the memories running through her head. As she stood there, the water in the bowl rippled and bulged upwards into the face of her past incarnation.

The message told her of her pack-mate, who had once been Icthus; it spoke of the First Age, when they were the right and left hands of their Solar. How they had fought with Luna's fury against the betrayal of the Dragon-blooded, and how in the chaos they had been separated and Icthus's predecessor cut down. They had chased each other across each three exaltations, standing at the edge of the world against the Wyld and desperately seeking their pack-mate, until at last Still Pool had clawed a scrap of prophecy from the heavens; the two would never be reunited, not until their Solar once more stood upon the soil of Creation to draw their souls like a magnet. And that the time had now come. Somewhere in Creation walked the Solar who would bind light to dark, and bring the pack together at last.

Finally, the water grew still again, and she crept closer to peer into the depths. Her sharp eyes caught a glint of dark on dark, and she reached into the pool; as her hand immersed, knowledge of the shadows and the night poured into her. Withdrawing her hand, she felt her breath and heart still and stop, but knew only a curious sense of euphoria. Such things were not as important as the gem she placed carefully on her left wrist, watching as it shone deep violet and sank into her skin.


Resources: X
Leaving the desert, Shade had only her new cloak, her breathing pipe crafted from the femur of her first kill, and a knife belted to her thigh. The Pact warned her that going so clothed in more urban areas would cause unwanted attention, but she was determined to make do without clothes as long as she possibly could.

List of items: knife, breathing tube, clothing(acquired in Chiarascuro).


Charms and Knacks
Strength
Claws of the Silver Moon

Dexterity

- Ebon Shadow Style (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/p/27278/557913.aspx#557913)
- Image of Death Technique

Endurance

Stamina
Second Stamina Excellency
Bruise Relief Method
Halt the Scarlet Flow

Manipulation
First Manipulation Excellency
Treasure as Trash Misdirection

Appearance
Hide of the Cunning Hunter

Notes on future charm selection:
Ox-Body Meditation
First Dexterity Excellency
Secure Cat Stepping


Knacks:
Deadly Beastman Transformation
Armored in gleaming black chitinous plates, Shade's smaller warform grows sinew and adaptive tissue which heightens her reactions even as it lessens her total muscle mass. Although her basic form remains humanoid, there is no way to mistake her as mortal; a pair of mandibles jut through the skin of her jaw, and poisonous barbs sprout at her wrists and ankles. Her hair solidifies into a nest of hard spikes and a pair of short antennae, while her eyes bulge and become larger and faceted, burning a dull scarlet.

Mutations: 7/7
Armored Hide (4), Toxin (2), Small (1)

Hybrid Body Rearrangement
Notes on mutations:
- Wasp: Small(P), Toxin(A), Scorpion Tail(A), Armored Hide(B), Multiple Limbs(Ab), Wings(Ab)
- Chameleon: Enhanced Sense(P), Skin/Hair Colour(P), Tail(P)/Prehensile(A), Chameleon(A), Frog Tongue(A), Wall Walking(B)
- Porcupine: Natural Missile(A), Quills(B), G. Natural Missile(B)
- Steel Shadow: Night Vision(P), Talons(A), Armored Hide(B), Wings(Ab)

Humble Mouse Shape


Combos:

Combat Stats:
Join Combat: 6

Attacks:
Hands:
Acc: 14 [(((Dex+Martial Arts)+1)+Any other dice bonuses)] | Damage: 3B [Str+0B] | Parry DV: 8 [(((Dex+Martial Arts+Specialties)+2)= X /2 round up) = Base + Modifiers] | Rate: 3

Feet:
Acc: 13 [(((Dex+Martial Arts)+0)+Any other dice bonuses)] | Damage: 6B [Str+3B] | Parry DV: 6 [(((Dex+Martial Arts+Specialties)-2)= X /2 round up) = Base + Modifiers] | Rate: 2

Clinch:
Acc: 13 [(((Dex+Martial Arts)+0)+Any other dice bonuses)] | Damage: 3B [Str+0B] | Parry DV: - | Rate: 1 (Unsure of rate)

Dodge DV: 7 [((((Dex+Ability)+Essence)+Bonus Dice From Equipment) = X /2 round up) = Base + Modifiers]

Notes on common effects:
-In warform, all Accuracies increase by 1 (due to Dex -> 6), base parry DV goes to 9 (small + dex boost), base dodge DV goes to 8 (small + dex boost).
-With the Quills mutation + warform, base parry DV goes to 10 and base punch damage is increased by 1L(Accuracy increase?). 3L is done on grapple attempts against the character.
-With Claws of the Silver Moon (full activation), Parry DV increases by 1 (via raised Defense), Accuracy increases by 2, Damage increases by 5.
-The Talons mutation increases the damage of the appropriate attack (punch or kick) by +2L.
- Gemstone of Shadows increases DV/PV by 1 against all ranged attacks.
For example, in war form, with Quills and Talons from Hybrid Body Rearrangement and full Claws of the Silver Moon active, parry DV is (6+5+3+2+2+1)/2 + 1 = 11, dodge DV is (6+2+3+3)/2 + 1 = 8, punch attack is at (6+5+3+1+2)=17 accuracy, damage is (1+2+3+5)=11L/2.

Permanent Charms

Soak:
Bashing: 11B [15B in warform] (7B from armor) [((Stamina+Armour)+Any other Modifiers)]
Lethal: 15L [19L in warform](11L from armor + 2L from bracers) [(((Stamina /2)+Armour)+Any other Modifiers)]
Aggravated: 13A (from armor) [Armour+Any other Modifiers)]

Hardness:
Bashing: 2B [Highest value from any source]
Lethal: 2L [Highest value from any source]
Aggravated: 2A [Highest value from any source]

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]
D [ ][ ][ ][ ]
(Note: )

Mental Defenses:
Dodge MDV: 8 [((((Willpower+Integrity)+Relevant Specialty)+Essence)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round down) + Any other bonuses.]
Charisma Parry MDV: 2
>Presence: 2 [(((Charisma+Presence)+Relevant Specialty)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round up) + Any other bonuses.]
>Performance: 1 [(((Charisma+Performance)+Relevant Specialty)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round up) + Any other bonuses.]
Manipulation Parry MDV: 4
>Presence: 4 [(((Manipulation+Presence)+Relevant Specialty)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round up) + Any other bonuses.]
>Performance: 3 [(((Manipulation+Performance)+Relevant Specialty)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round up) + Any other bonuses.]

Virtues:
Compassion ●
Conviction ●●●●●
Temperance ●●
Valor ●●●

Virtue Flaw/Flawed Virtue: Curse of the Lone Wolf / Valor


Intimacies:
+Icthus Moon-tide/New Incarnation (Respect, Frustration, Pack Bond)
+Dune Folk (Pride, Fellowship, Responsibility)
+Scarlet-Waters-The-Sand sietch (Honoring the dead)
+Dark Pool of Still Water (Curiosity, Challenge to Be Better)
+Swords of Luna (Supporter)
+Solars (Wary, grudging respect)
-Sulumor (Vengeance)
-Raksha (Ancestral enemies)
-Wyld mutants and Beastmen (Distrust)

Languages:
Old Realm (Dune Folk dialect)
Firetongue (Chiaroscuro dialect)

Willpower: ●●●●● ●●●●●

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●
Personal: 23 (23) (0 Attuned) [Permanent Essence+(Willpower x2)]
Peripheral: 44 (52) (8 attuned) [(((Permanent Essence x4)+Willpower x2)+Highest Virtue x4]

Bonus Points and XP:
Bonus Points:
Willpower 5->10 = 5
Virtue ->5 = 2
Essence ->3 = 7
Charm = 3
Favored Specialty = 1

Total: 18/18 | Flaws:

Experience Points. Spent: X | Left: Y | Total: Z

[The Rose Dragon]

Unless you are using some house rules (which I would totally understand on account of how overpriced Essence 3 is), or I missed some errata somewhere, Essence 3 costs 10 bonus points for Lunars, not 7.

[Dazhbug]

We are in fact using house rules, to whit:

- Schaefer alternate chargen rules
- All BP/XP costs are the same for Lunars as Solars.

[The Rose Dragon]

- All BP/XP costs are the same for Lunars as Solars.

Probably a bad idea, as far as setting integrity is concerned, but whatever floats your lily.

[Dazhbug]

Well, in, the words of my story-teller, "I guess we'll just have to see how it works out, and go from there."

I honestly don't expect this game to be a long-term thing, so a little bit of over-balancing in the players' direction shouldn't hurt too badly.

[The_Snark]

Probably a bad idea, as far as setting integrity is concerned, but whatever floats your lily.

A good idea from the perspective of someone running a mixed game, however. I appreciate that the authors wanted the XP mechanics to reflect the raw power and potential Solars have, but making some people pay more XP for their stuff is rarely fun. (Especially when their native abilities are already less powerful than Solar Charms, as is often the case.)

It's an easy fix, and it doesn't really affect the setting at all, unless the ST insists on using XP charts to stat up NPCs (as opposed to giving them the abilities he feels they ought to have). It mostly just affects the PCs.

[Ifni]

Probably a bad idea, as far as setting integrity is concerned, but whatever floats your lily.

I don't think it's that bad. Solar Charms > Lunar Charms, pretty much across the board. I don't think letting Lunars learn at the same rate as Solars, without giving them access to better Charms/spells etc, breaks the setting. (You would presumably let Sidereals use Solar costs as well, in this case.)

EDIT: And yeah, as The_Snark says, it doesn't affect NPCs unless the ST wants it to, and based on published NPCs it looks like XP-gain-rates are all over the place anyway (the correlation between age and Essence doesn't seem that strong, for example).

I'm playing in a few mixed games where "everyone uses Solar XP/BP costs" is implemented and is working fine - the Solars are still notably scary in their fields of specialization, just by virtue of having better Charms :smallwink:

[The Rose Dragon]

It's an easy fix, and it doesn't really affect the setting at all, unless the ST insists on using XP charts to stat up NPCs (as opposed to giving them the abilities he feels they ought to have). It mostly just affects the PCs.

Of course it affects the PCs, no one else uses XP-based progression. The problem arises when it comes to universal things like sorcery, where Solars are supposed to progress faster, on account of both reaching Essence 3 with fewer XP, and their spell and initiation Charm costs being lower.

It is also an important reason for the Usurpation and the Jade Prison. Not only do Solars peak higher, but they also grow faster. There is a reason why the Sidereals wanted them locked away forever and did things like building the Jade Prison or breaking the Mask to achieve that end, instead of trying to deal with them while they were still young after each reincarnation. "Young" simply means less to a Solar than anyone else.

[The_Snark]

Of course it affects the PCs, no one else uses XP-based progression. The problem arises when it comes to universal things like sorcery, where Solars are supposed to progress faster, on account of both reaching Essence 3 with fewer XP, and their spell and initiation Charm costs being lower.

It is also an important reason for the Usurpation and the Jade Prison. Not only do Solars peak higher, but they also grow faster. There is a reason why the Sidereals wanted them locked away forever and did things like building the Jade Prison or breaking the Mask to achieve that end, instead of trying to deal with them while they were still young after each reincarnation. "Young" simply means less to a Solar than anyone else.

All of this is true, but a) allowing your mixed circle of PCs to advance at the same rate will not drastically change that, and b) if preserving the setting integrity makes the game less fun, something is wrong.

I mean, I appreciate the intent here from a design perspective; it's a nice and elegant way of showcasing the setting's power dynamics, making sure they're reflected in the rules. But I don't think it works very well in actual gameplay. (I sort of like that the rule exists in the books, but I want it houseruled away in every game I play. Is that weird?) Anyway. I think including dynamic, powerful Solar NPCs in the game will do a lot more to convey the points you mention than forcing Lunar players to pay extra XP.

[The Rose Dragon]

All of this is true, but a) allowing your mixed circle of PCs to advance at the same rate will not drastically change that, and b) if preserving the setting integrity makes the game less fun, something is wrong.

But it doesn't make the game less fun. In fact, it is more fun when the Sidereal actually has to think like a Sidereal to keep up with the Solars, or stay ahead of them.

[The_Snark]

But it doesn't make the game less fun. In fact, it is more fun when the Sidereal actually has to think like a Sidereal to keep up with the Solars, or stay ahead of them.

That's a matter of personal taste, I suppose. For some people it's frustrating to advance at a noticeably slower pace than other players; it feels like the game is penalizing you for playing something that's not a Solar.

(And speaking as someone playing a Sidereal in one of the games Ifni mentioned, I assure you you still have to think sideways to keep up.)

[Ifni]

That's a matter of personal taste, I suppose. For some people it's frustrating to advance at a noticeably slower pace than other players; it feels like the game is penalizing you for playing something that's not a Solar.

(And speaking as someone playing a Sidereal in one of the games Ifni mentioned, I assure you you still have to think sideways to keep up.)

When the Solar charmset has things like Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe at E2, I don't think you need faster advancement to explain why "lock them away forever" was a better option than "try to deal with them when they're young and not too dangerous". It's still true that "young" means less to Solars than anyone else - purely because they have such terrifying Charms at E2-3.

You have a point re sorcery, but I do not think that "Solars can reach Terrestrial/Celestial Circle sorcery faster" is meant to be a significant factor in the anti-Solar factions' paranoia. The Sidereals know how to deal with Celestial Circle sorcerers, they've had numerous enemies with CCS for a couple of millennia, that a Solar picks up the spells a bit faster doesn't matter very much in the grand scheme of things - a Solar focused only on sorcery who they're sure isn't going to initiate to SCS should probably be pretty low on the Bronze Faction's priority list, because that Solar is making themselves functionally equivalent (or inferior) to a non-Solar Celestial.

Of course, you'd have to be sure they weren't going to initiate to SCS - but the scary thing about Solar sorcerers is that they can summon Third Circle demons to Creation and cast other terrifying Adamant spells, not that it takes them a slightly shorter time from Exaltation to their Sapphire Circle initiation.

Having played both with and without differential XP costs, I prefer "everyone uses Solar costs"; it helps avoid an ever-growing power gap during the game, and avoids the situation where the non-Solar players get some new signature trick to play with more rarely than the Solar players. Instead, they get less powerful tricks, but at the same rate - which maintains both the expected power gap between the Exalt types and the sense of regular rewards for the players.

But people should do what works for them in their games :smallwink:

(For the record, in the game where The_Snark's playing a BronzeSid, I'm playing an Eclipse. My character is doing just fine at the same rate of XP advancement as everyone else.)

[Tome]

Gotta second this, you in no way need to keep overcharging non-solars for their stuff in order to maintain the setting conceit that Solars are the best (though I personally am of the opinion that that little idea needs to go die in a fire somewhere). Solar Charms, particularly low-essence solar charms, are notably better than anything any of the other splats can come up with. Though I suppose that may just have been how every non-solaroid splat that isn't Alchemicals was terribly designed and in dire need of errata (which Lunars never got), rather than an intended design goal.

[Dazhbug]

Speaking as a game designer, any mechanic that keeps one player inferior to another is usually a bad plan, even if it's for flavor. Players will either change games or change rules.

If someone could do a quick check of my derived combat stats, I worked them all out when I was exhausted and have only about 50% faith in most of them >.>

[Hiro Protagonest]

Speaking as a game designer, any mechanic that keeps one player inferior to another is usually a bad plan, even if it's for flavor. Players will either change games or change rules.

You don't play Exalted for the mechanics.

[Dazhbug]

I absolutely play (or will play) Exalted for the mechanics. Specifically the tick system, because it's interesting and I'm not a huge fan of turn-based systems.

[Hiro Protagonest]

If you want the tick system, play HackMaster 5e (4e might also have it, dunno).

[Ifni]

@Dazhbug: Your math on combat stats looks correct to me. Clinch is indeed rate 1.

I personally read the description of Quills as replacing the base punch stats (i.e. changing Accuracy +1 Damage +0B Rate 3 to Accuracy +1 Damage +1L Rate 3) rather than augmenting them. (They add to the pool for all parry attempts because they explicitly say they do - they don't list a defense rating so I assume it's unaffected.) That said, it wouldn't be unreasonable to read it as adding +1 accuracy.

Note that in 2.5 there's a controversy over whether silken armor still stacks with other armor - the statement that it stacks precedes the errata saying "equipment bonuses never stack", and the book it's in was not updated by errata. It's not completely clear either way (I've had this discussion in a few recruiting threads), so it's basically up to the ST.

[TheCountAlucard]

As it is, the tick system in Exalted currently has a critical flaw: the Tick 6 pileup.

Namely, once you stack up enough initiative enhancers, not only are you always going first, every time, all the time, but literally everyone else who isn't exactly as optimized for Initiative as you is going on Tick 6. This means that if you have a Speed 3 weapon, you could potentially act twice before anyone else, and still act on the same turn as them.

[Dazhbug]

I... think I am very confused. Do you mind explaining how that works?

[The_Snark]

He means that someone who buys multiple Charms that enhance Join Battle will often set a really, really high reaction count. There are several of these printed Charms, and the ones which focus on boosting JB specifically (as opposed to boosting Awareness rolls in general, like Excellencies) tend to be very effective. (Just off the top of my head, the entry-level Charms in Snake Style and Violet Bier are like this, and Lunars and Infernals get some good native ones.)

So if you take just one of these, you're probably looking at 2-5 bonus successes at a low cost; take more than one, and you'll almost always go first. Not only that, you may find yourself beating everyone else involved by a wide margin, in which case you act on tick 0 and everyone else gets their first action on tick 6 (the lowest possible; see p. 141 of the core book for more).

Mind you, I don't agree that this is a critical flaw. In my experience, it's not very common for players to invest in Join Battle that heavily, and when they do it ends up hampering their allies as much as their enemies. (If your enemy rolls 1 success on JB and your ally rolls 5, then your ally will normally get to act before the enemy - but if you roll 11 successes, both ally and enemy will go on tick 6.) I speak from experience here; it might sound awesome to add 10+ successes to your Join Battle rolls, but it's less practical than it sounds. Even when it works, you get a few extra ticks in which to act - not likely to break the game.

A flaw, maybe, but a quirky sort of one that doesn't crop up all that often.

[Dazhbug]

Ah, okay. I had been mis-remembering the rules for Join Battle, thanks for clarifying. And yeah, it does seem a bit counterproductive to focus so hard on boosting JB.

Have there been any interesting house rule modifications to calculating Join Battle? I feel like there must be some way to take the highest JB roll and have them act on 0, the slowest act on 6, and space everything else in between as appropriate. Alas, 'tis not a good night for my brain to be formulating formulae.