Envenomed: Chosen of the King in Black (Exaltedl)

[Rater202]

So this is a project that just stuck me on a whim.

I did "Symbiotes in D&D" a while back, so... Now I feel like doing symbiotes in Exalted.

My goal here is to keep their mechanics relatively simple so that they can easily be converted between editions or adaptions.

I'm going to start with the general fluff first, for the "Envenomed" as a whole but also for the specific Castes, then do the base chassis for the exalted type and then each caste, with charms being last becuase Charms are the most... Problematic, I think, to translate between additions.

My ultimate goal is to have a base chassis that can be easily translated into 2e, 3e, and Holden's "Exalted versus the World of Darkness" homebrew but worst case scenario a full conversion write up for each can't be... Too hard.

My bare bone basic idea is that there are four Castes, they have favored Attributes, They do not suffer the Great Curse or an equivalent but do have an exploitable weakness, that Charms are keyed off of essence and divided by the role they're meant for, which each caste having one set of charms they favor by default and a second that is up to individual choice, with any charm that requires a dice roll having multiple options you can choose when you first by the charm. Probably more Charm categories than there are castes. some things are largely the domain of specific castes but others are just "freebies" that no one group is inherently better at.

Also consider a generic tree that everyone buys from at favored cost that's full of mostly passive stuff.

I've also got the mental image of the Envenomed not being able to attune to most artifacts but instead having a charm that can be purchased multiple times to "generate" permanent artifact equivalent items as a thematic choice.

I'm also open to suggestions.

Anyway, enough about future plans, let's get started.

---

The Envenomed Exalted: Chosen of the King in Black

There Once Was a King...

...What that King was, however, is a matter for debate. At least among the people who know of his existence. Some say that he was a Primordial that escaped the punishments that befell those who would become the Yozis and Neverborn. Others say that he was a being akin to the Fair Folk, but older and darker. Still, others say he was a forgotten member of the Incarnae, and others say he is something incomprehensibly ancient.

What is known for sure is that The King in Black hates creation, hates the Gods, and that he is absent. Some say he was defeated and imprisoned n some incidents, others say he was destroyed.

But his essence, his Living Abyss, persists. Parasitic, ever-changing, and toxic to both mortal and divine. Tangible malice, corporeal shadow, mobile globs of malevolence that... As impossible, as horrific, as disturbing as it seems... Seem to be some sort of physical manifestation of exaltation. Or, at the very least, no one in the know can tell the difference between the host of an exaltation and the host of a portion of Living Abyss.

The process of becoming one of the Envenomed, the chosen, for lack of a better word, of the King in Black, is rather straightforward. The exaltation simply physically merges with a prospective host, infecting every aspect of their being over the course of 48 hours.

Sometimes this is subtle, a small blob slipping into a host's bloodstream through a cut with the host none the wiser until the process is complete. Sometimes the exaltation violently engulfs an unsuspecting host and physically restrains them or assumes control of their body... And sometimes, most disturbingly, they take a form capable of speech and offer power beyond the mortal's wildest dreams if they just agree to let the devil in.

The process of exaltation takes two days to complete as the Living Abyss spreads to, infects, and both adapt to and repurposes every part of the hosts' body down to the smallest level and the exaltation proper nestles within the soul of the host. During this time it may or may not be apparent what is happening, and the process can be interrupted by spells or charms meant to banish or exorcise a hostile spirit, or the prospective host being killed or, if extreme heat or loud noise are used, incapacitated.

Otherwise... Well. it depends.

You see, the Living Abyss is not picky. Anyone can become a host for the toxic exaltation, mortals, gods, animals, other exalts.

But not everyone survives the process.

If the Toxic Exaltation tries to take another exalt as a host, the process never quite finishes. The Divine Power already within the Chosen rejects the parasite and it is expelled from the host, often seemingly harmed if the host was a Solar or fire aspected Terrestrial.

Animals, spirits, or unsuitable mortals tend to... Go berserk, doing anything from engaging in random slaughter and carnage to trying to find a more suitable host before being consumed from the inside out, body and soul, within days.

But the right kind of mortal, strong in body or in will, can not only survive but thrive through the process, adapt to the toxic exaltation, and use its virulence to gain strength.

The thing about becoming one of the Envenomed, if you survive it, is that it feels good. Sometimes it builds slowly over the two days it takes to fully exalt and sometimes it hits all at once when it's finished, but the pattern is the same. At first, it feels like you're drowning. Your lungs burn as they seem to fill with some viscous fluid. It's backed up your throat band just as he blackness takes you yu realize that you don't have to breathe anymore. And then you explode, a rush of adrenaline, a heightening of your senses, every last inhibition torn away and destroyed. It feels better than any drug you ever could have taken.

Afterward... Some of the Envenomed become hedonistic criminals, living out their darkest desires no matter who gets hurt. Others decide that there's nothing holding them back from making a difference, becoming Lethal Protectors of the downtrodden.

Other times the Exaltation seems to have a will of its own, its own agenda, that the Envenomed either plays to or actively resists.

In these cases, the two sometimes come to an agreement, a dark form of symbiosis, and from that point, there is no host, and there is no exaltation, there is only the Envenomed.

---

Envenomed are rare. At any point in time, there are only a couple handfuls of them on creation, and that's counting disembodied exaltations.

Every so often one seemingly falls from the sky orders in from the wyld, and every so often one seems to vanish, but for the most part, numbers are stable.

Very rarely, very rarely, one of the envenomed, or a disembodied exaltation, will spawn forth a brand new exaltation... But only just before some disaster. Strangely, these newly spawned exaltations sometimes appear in a variety of colors instead of their 'parent's' default black and often incorporate strange elements into their physical make-up.

Most of the Chosen of the King in Black come from backgrounds similar to other chosen, particularly solars, lunars, abyssal, and infernals and a disproportionate number of them are jaded, alienated, disaffected, or desperate prior to hosting the vessel of toxic divine power. The first is mostly coincidence, the odds of someone who can't Exalt under normal circumstances being the kind to survive the Toxic exaltation are slim, but the second... Some of those who know about the King in Black think the fragments of his being left behind are seeking out those who are most likely to rebel and see the world burn.

The first impression of most who encounter the Envenomed is fear. And who wouldn't be afraid of them? Fangs and claws and too long tongues, inhuman strength and monstrous agility, visceral powers and weapons shaped from their bodies, clad in skintight material as back as night that hugs every muscle and accentuates each curve in a way that is both darkly seductive but also emphasizes just how inhuman they are.

That is, when you're aware that they're anything but a normal mortal. The Envenomed are surprisingly adept at disguising their nature.

The Realm and the Immaculate Faith's stances on the Envenomed are "kill on sight." Those who don't know what they are see a monster or demon, those who do think of them as no better than the Anathema.

---

Okay, that's basic fluff down.

This is gonna be a longer-term project. It'll be a bit before I have a crunch to post, so... There will be an index edited into this post later rather than trying to guess how many reserved posts I'll need.

Thoughts and suggestions on what I have so far would be appreciated.

[Lord Raziere]

try to think of what themes and such the Exalted is meant to express. Exalts a bit different from usual powers, because their powers aren't just the physical side of things- they're metaphysical, metaphorical, and each one has certain narratives and archetypes they draw upon mythically, culturally, fictionally, things like that. also it generally should have like multiple roles, not just combat but also social roles and a smart/sage/caster role if it has castes.

like if they're being parasitic, a social Envenomed might have charms to convince people to let the Envenomed mooch off of them without consequence- they're not just parasitic literally but also figuratively. a more symbiotic version of such charms might give mortals twisted benefits to helping the Envenomed if you want to emphasize that. social charms are generally what most unique about Exalted powers, because a lot of it you have to ask "how does the Exalt express their power in a nonliteral, more figurative/social sense?" try to think of what cults the Envenomed would try to establish or other social structures they'd be try to, or be able to build to benefit them- its something every Exalted does to a degree, even if they start out like a Solar or Lunar as a vagabond or whatnot.

also I know what charms are universal due to having the Exalted Essence pdf and could tell you what capabilities yours should just have as a baseline and give you ideas how those can be flavored in a way to fit yours. like your version of killing spirits I can see being something like the 3e Lunars ability to eat spirits- does the job of destroying them but is terrifying in its execution.

also, what magical material can they attune to, what circle of sorcery can they do (my suggestion is Celestial Circle at most), and what is their advantage in martial arts? just things to think about.

[BerzerkerUnit]

While most would agree Venom is the union of Eddie Brock and his other, more recent years and the movie have given the symbiote dialogue and a personality of its own.

With that in mind, I think you might get some mileage out of thinking of the Exaltation as the character and the host as something transitional, intended to be changed fairly often, at least a few times per adventure if not once per session.

This opens the path to nonhuman hosts and potential bargaining with hosts you want to come back to, (or complications when you have to ask the party to keep your regular host bound and gagged while you infiltrate as a pigeon or puddle of goo).

There's going to be some overlap with Lunar themes since shapeshifting and RAWR/claws/bite are a fair amount of their schtick, but here's my pitch for approach to Charm fundamentals.

Your stats are split between your own and boosts you layer onto your host. This means you can make them superstrong, but also do things like grant them sapience or knowledge they never had before.

I'd recommend the 9/7/5 allotment with the requirement they place at least 1 point but no more than 5 in their own stats and spreading any remainder as boosts. This means you could have symbiotes that provide very little in the way of raw enhancement to their hosts but are (comparatively very capable acting independently). Functioning alone there could be a Charm tree that lets them operate as Artifact equipment for another exalt until they find a host they like and they can make their true power known.

I think this introduces some really diverse concepts. Like a very intelligent Symbiote constantly on the hunt for physically powerful creatures because it provides little in the way of increased strength, or a fairly dumb symbiote always looking for a smart host that it can grant great strength and power to and enjoy the superior intellect of.

IIRC skills was just 25 dots, up to 3 without bonus points. I might assign a few less since they'll have the option of joining with more skilled hosts.

Charms have Host requirements. This might mean the host's base stats need to meet a certain minimum to access them, so you might spend a fair amount of time trying to find an ideal host that can use the full power of your charms.

Nearly every charm has 2 modes, Symbiotic and Parasitic (as alluded to above). To be used symbiotically the host has to meet the minimums and you get a reliable effect. To be used parasitically, the host does not have to meet the minimum and the effect is more powerful but the farther they are from the minimum, the more dangerous (IE it eats some part of the host, from Temp Willpower to actual health levels). This incentivizes having your preferred host train up (IE spending XP on their stats), but also presents the option of burning through weak hosts.

Acquiring a Host should be default with willing or unaware as the standard and take a little time. Then you can have a Get Hosts charm tree that lets take over an unwilling Host and then do things like jump from host to host in combat to make a squad of Dragonblooded kill each other because I hate them.

I'd recommend a Background for Hosts you retain a functional relationship with or maybe just the Follower background being that much more important to this type of exalt.

So here some expanded thoughts as an example (note: it's been a long time since I played or brewed for Exalted, so if my keywords are off, forgive me).

Castes:
Primal Darkness- your Caste is empowered by the darkness in men's hearts. Crushing the Ego, using the Id, reading thoughts and manipulating dreams.
Void Between- your Caste is empowered by forbidden knowledge lost to the depths of existence or not yet revealed by light of star or sun. Sorcery and science.
All Consuming- your Caste is empowered by the great hunger at the center of all things, an infinite blackness into which all creation is destined to fall. Beyond oblivion, to even contemplate it is a failure to even begin comprehending it. Silence, acceptance, absorption, and destruction.

Anima- As you expend peripheral essence the darkness of the Other comes to the fore and your true nature is revealed. Depending on Caste the Other may appear thick and tarlike, ephemeral and smoky, or like a hole in space revealing the night sky of a world not our own.


Parasitic Charm Activations
If a host does not meet the normal Ability minimum they suffer as seen below. If they lack the necessary resource, they suffer the next level down.
Ability minimum -1: 1 temporary Willpower
Ability minimum -2: 1 bashing level
Ability minimum -3: 1 lethal level
Ability minimum -4: 1 aggravated level or 1 permanent willpower

If a host meets the minimums you can still choose to activate the Charm parasitically and choose whether to spend 1 temp willpower or suffer a bashing level.

Keyword:
Total- this indicates you use the total boosted score of your Host, in all other instances you use only your own strength score in any calculations.

Roiling Muscle Expansion
Requirement: Essence 1, Str 3
Cost: 3m+
Action: Reflex
When you engage in an act of brute strength such as lifting, throwing, or striking, the inky tendrils of the other augment your physique, allowing you to jump higher, throw farther, or strike harder. For each 3 motes you spend your Strength score increases by 1 to a maximum bonus of your Permanent Essence. This boost is retained for a scene. If activated parasitically, every 3 motes increases Strength by 2 up to a maximum bonus of twice your permanent essence. This boost is retained for a turn before settling to the normal maximum for the boosted level.

Sun-Blotting Leap
Requirement: Essence 1, Str 3, Roiling Muscle Expansion
Cost: 1m
Action: Supplemental
You can make flying leaps by allowing the Other to unfold as wings of jet to carry you far distant. When you make a jump as part of any Athletics maneuver you can spend 1 mote to increase the distance jumped by 10 x your Total strength score. If activated parasitically you can remain airborne at the maximum height of your jump until the end of your next turn. Activating the charm again the following turn allows you to remain airborne until the following turn and so on with the only restriction of your movement being the inability to achieve greater altitude.

Star Swallowing Vault
Requirement: Essence 3, Str 5, Sun-blotting Leap
Cost: 5m
Action: Action
In a mass of writhing darkness you are hurled skyward, rising up to 100 x your Total strength score meters. If you are underwater activating this charm will carry you to the surface at a constant speed of 100 x total strength score meters per turn without fear of depressurization sickness. You can activate this charm while enjoying the benefits of Sun Blotting Leap's parasitic activation, or activate that charm normally at any point during your ascent to glide in a direction you choose up to 10 x your altitude in meters. Parasitic Activation increases the altitude gained by a number of meters equal to 100 x your permanent essence.

Falling Moon Strike
Requirement: Essence 4, Str 5, Star Swallowing Vault
Cost: 2m
Action: Supplemental
When you make an attack after activating Sun-Blotting Leap or Star Swallowing Vault you can spend 2 motes to add your Strength Score as automatic damage after Soak is applied.

Hope that provides some inspiration and direction (even if you just go directly the opposite).

[Rater202]

So, since these are based on Marvel's Symbiotes, the theme is...

Symbiotes are toxic relationships. They get in you and they either enable you or their use and abuse you. Relationships between Host and Symbiote, even when positive, have a hint of codependence. One or both partners needs the other. When one isn't actively dominating and exploiting the other. They can be made functional, but any slip-up can lead to backsliding right back into toxic behaviors.

And a bad match leaves both parties much worse for wear.

Of course, if both parties are willing to do the work to make the relationship work, then it can be very rewarding. Being bonded to a symbiote that's working with you makes all of your senses and attributes greater.

So, naturally Envenomed social charms would be the type that make it very easy for you to use and abuse people and get away with it... But could also be used to form mutually beneficial arrangements that give greater long-term rewards but take more effort to get going.

...Maybe different branches of the social tree. One is about doing the work to build healthy long term relationships and make sure they're fruitful for all invovled parties, but requires active agreement and effort from all parties that can't be coerced or compelled by supernatural means, while another is just figuring out what buttons to push to get people to do what you want at their own expense.

...and then if you're a complete bastard you can just infect them with your essence, enslave them to your will, and dispose of them once you no longer have a use for them. Or warp their minds with toxic pheromones.

A more mystically or intellectually enclined Envenomed... Honestly, given the strong Lovecraftian influence in how Symbiotes are depicted recently, I'm tempted to go with "Mad Heretic." A benevolent Envenomed would be the Beat-Priestess who encourages her followers to confess and embrace their darkest secrets and pursue enlightenment through the pursuit of Sex, Drugs, and (the creation equivalent of) Rock and Roll while an evil one would be a Nihilistic Murder-Pope who believes that one can gain insight into the nature of the universe by meditating on he screams of the dying for violence and death are the only things that matter.

what unites them? None-Traditional approach to religion coupled with an obsession with knowledge that is in some way "forbidden." And even the good one's ideas can be rather destructive if not approached carefully.

For Combat, the toxicity is more literal. Venoms, acids, a lingering malignancy that stops wounds from healing properly.

At the same time, symbiotes are primal. It's not emphasized as much among other things but there's something instinctive, visceral about them. The default state of symbiotes they alone or with a host is "predator" and all of the host's emotions and instincts are heightened. There's something seductive about them, in a very dark way. If you've seen Venom, you've seen the way Anne walks when she's bonded to the symbiote and the sloppy kiss used to transfer it back to Eddie.

So, naturally, this means that a lot of combat charms are going to be monstrous attributes and creating weapons from your body and let yourself fall into rage or battle instincts, but I'm imagining "smart guy" charms that are based around cannibalizing someone to gain knowledge—eat their brain to find out their secrets or their heart to learn an important detail about the focus of their intimacies, which isn't technically on brand for symbiotes but I'm going more thematic than literal with some of these.

This aspect manifests in the social tree via... Well, seduction. Dark seduction. Raw animal magnetism. Being "the kind of boy/girl your parents have been warning you about your entire life." You know that getting involved with the Envenomed is a bad idea, but you can't help yourself. There's just something about them and the idea that they want you for something both excites and frightens you. An envenomed artist who composes a poem for her beloved isn't writing sweet nothings to whisper into her ear. She's writing a sultry ballad about how much she wishes to pursue her, subdue her, and devour her and the target of the Envenomed's affection can't help but be tempted by the idea of bearing her throat to the big bad wolf.

Higher-level charms would focus on the "god-slayer" aspect of Symbiotes. Combat charms bout inflicting aggravated damage on spirits or other exalts. Exploiting occult knowledge to the detriment of gods and demons alike... Not sure how this theme would fit into social charms though unless it's just... Intuiting the emotional weaknesses of spirits and hammering the buttons until they break.

Finally: symbiotes are adaptive. They are constantly evolving and absorbing things to grow stronger. So, for the Envenomed, you'd have social charms that about changing yourself to fit in. "My clothes are now a fancy dress that fits the modern style and local customs" and "I can intuit what i need to know to fit in here"

Smart guy charms are your generic enhanced senses and information gather stuff that honestly everyone gets some variation on.

Physical... Honestly, this is where I'd put most of the passive and/or defensive charms. The charms to have more hit points. The charms to survive in a different environment. The bonuses on certain physical actions.

---

...Honestly, writing it out I'm thinking I'll just go with three castes. Warrior, priest/wizard, seducer. Writing it out, there's a lot of thematic similarity between The Envenomed and Lunars, Abyssals, and Infernals.

So... In-Universe, they're not related, but the Envenomed are scarily close to what a "corrupted Lunar" would look like and I imagine that some Elder Lunars did a headcount when they first found out about them. And I think that instead of trying differentiate them from either Lunars or the "fallen Exalts" I'm gonna embrace the similarity and play up the similarities for horror. The fact that these things exist but... aren't corrupted Lunars, have nothing to do with them, or th Yozis, or the Underworld despite acting like the three in combination is Wrong and Scary. Maybe tie that to the "Lovecraftian god-slayer" aspect of their nature.

I'm also noticing that the "toxic relationship," "primal predator," "adaptive," and "god slayer" aspects bleed together and feed into each other when I talk about social charms but feel a little disjointed with the others. That's something I'll have to work on I think.

Edit: Not quite what I'm going for, BerzerkerUnit, but I like that you have ideas and I might come back to some of them when I have a more fleshed out idea of what I want to do for crunch.

[BerzerkerUnit]

Edit: Not quite what I'm going for, BerzerkerUnit, but I like that you have ideas and I might come back to some of them when I have a more fleshed out idea of what I want to do for crunch.

The 3 castes I pitched map onto the 3 you mention pretty tightly.

Good luck!

[Lord Raziere]

my personal observation is that all castes in Exalted aside from Alchemicals express some sort of repeating cycle. (though Autochthonia is a machine society where recycling is vital to their entire civilization surviving, so there might be some meaning to the castes to an Autochthonian that express a cycle that we don't get) for Solars, Abyssals, Infernals and Lunars, its the sun and moon cycles. for Sidereals its stages of a story, for Getimians its seasons, Dragon-Blooded have elements and elements are known to work together to form a greater whole for the world, as well as Liminal aspects work together to form a working whole body, both of which follow cycles that keep them going.

so my suggestion is figure out three stages of a cycle that relate to the symbiotes and that will probably work. also its okay for some castes to express some themes more than others. the god slayer and predator aspects might be more of combat caste thing, the abusive relationship more of a social caste thing, predator could be smart caste by expressing the investigative side of being a predator, stuff like that.

[Rater202]

The Alchemicals are the main six Magical Materials.

Not only is the vast majority of Authocthon's body composed of these materials in either pure or alloyed forms, but each one of them is tied to one of the six elements that exist within Autochthon.

So, essentially, they're a cycle for the same reason Dragonblooded are a cycle.

As for this...

Gonna be honest...

I feel like I should have a write-up for how other exalt types and factions see the Envenomed. Just a general "How do they fit into the world" thing before going in-depth into what the individual castes are like.

The way I feel...

So like, the basic idea is that these exaltations exist for a purpose... But the orignal creator isn't around anymore and there's no mechanism enforcing their purpose in his absence.

Your powers very much encourage you to be a bad guy, and these powers seek out the people who are most likely to abuse them... But you... Don't have to be. If you put in the work to be better, you can be.

So the end result is most of them are just doing what they want.

So, I have to ask... Are the Sids smart enough not to poke the bear if the bear is minding it's own business and not going on a rampage?

[Amechra]

So, I have to ask... Are the Sids smart enough not to poke the bear if the bear is minding it's own business and not going on a rampage?

One Sidereal? They may or may not poke the bear, depending on their personality and the like.
Many Sidereals? That bear is going to be poked. Remember, their curse is that they make really bad decisions in groups.

[Lord Raziere]

One Sidereal? They may or may not poke the bear, depending on their personality and the like.
Many Sidereals? That bear is going to be poked. Remember, their curse is that they make really bad decisions in groups.

Yeah, their curse is to make a bad decision when they all get together to decide it, its just, because they're all mostly mastermind fate planners used to working in the shadows and thinking things through, they execute their bad ideas really really well. its still a bad idea, but if Sidereals as a group does it, they do the smartest way you can possibly go about it so you get something like the Usurpation.

[Rater202]

Caste Names: Propagation Caste(Social,) Adaption(Mental,) and Consumption(Physical.)

When the King in Black was active, Propogation Castes would b the first ones to appear. They'd manipulate people and gather resources for the next waves. Notably, I think I've alluded to the idea that some propagation caste charms involve infecting other beings with yourself to control you.

Adaption castes would use that to gather information, use it to make plans, and direct the Propogation Castes in the manipulation of the duped/enslaved followers.

and Consumption Castes just go out and kill/eat anything that isn't already controlled once there's no more need for subtlety.

Now that the King in black is dead or sealed away and there's nothing actively enforcing his agenda, however, there's no... Coordination. They aren't working together anymore.

Some go on and fulfill the role they were assigned in a vacuum anyway for their own purposes, others use the abilities for ends that are counterproductive or even antithetical to their purpose.

For example, a Consumption Caste could be a depraved cannibalistic spree killer or a monstrous predator out of a horror movie... But they could also be a Black Knight traveling the world and using their physical prowess to right wrongs or an assassin in the employ of a local leader who takes out anyone who threatens the peace.

Speaking of Black Knights... Like I said in the OP, I like the idea that The Envenomed don't really really have an advantage when it comes to any specific magical material, but instead get charms that let them generate Artifact-quality weapons, armors, and tools from their bodies, which can then be upgraded.

So, for example, one charm might be "Venom Blade" with a variable dot-rating, which lets you design a single artifact melee weapon with an equivalent rating equal to the rating of that particular instance of the charm. You could by the charm more than once to have more than one artifact weapon you could switch between, or pay the difference to raise the rating on that charm to make that weapon more powerful.

These artifacts woulnd't would be rather generic by default, lacking special abilities, magic material bonuses, and evocations... But since they're part of you, you don't have to attune to them or commit essence to use them. You can just pop them out and go.

Though a charm to assimilate artifacts in order to manifest their special qualities(and evocations) through your self-generated artifacts in exchange for some trade-off.

Going back to Castes: Every single one of the Toxic Exaltations can be any individual caste, similar to Lunars, but unlike the Lunar Exalted who choose their own caste, in this case, the Exaltation just picks whichever one it thinks is the best fit for the host, which means it's possible to have Mismatched Exaltations where the Scrawny Nerd who would really rather be in an academic role ends up with the dangerous super predator power set becuase the exaltation was reacting to his repressed anger or someone who'd be better as a social butterfly type ends up being shoe-horned in as a mage-priest becuase their exaltation has a preference.

Whether your individual exaltation is sentient is covered by a Merit/Background.

At no dots, it's non-sapient and/or content to take a back seat.

1 dot it's got a will of its own but little way to communicate so you get a minor bonus on occasion, and so on until five dots where it's a person but you're fully synchronized.

Possibly also flaws for "it's sentient but you don't get along like, at all"

[Rater202]

The Envenomed exalted possess two forms that they may switch between at will.

One is their ordinary human form, it is indistinguishable from their orignal self, saying that it is mended of any physical failings or imperfections that could be cured by exaltation. The other... The term "true form" would be misleading, but is the closest.

Most commonly, it appears as if they are wearing a skintight suit that flatters and emphasizes the musculature underneath, which may or may not have an open maw filled with teeth that indicates that no, this isn't a costume. Clawed fingers and toes are common. Other times they appear as their human form, but dressed in clothing that appears almost alive. Armor that appears to be made of a carapace, form-fitting clothes, boots, face-concealing cowls, and belts used for things other than holding up pants are common. Others still blend monstrous features such as fangs, claws, tails, wings, or horns with their human forms.

Spoiler: Two radically differant envenomed

Show

(Images from Marvel Database wiki)

The exact appearance of an Envenomed's True Form varies over time, changing slightly as the Envenomed grows stronger or changes perspective with time, but for the most part follows a specific pattern that's set at exaltation.

An Exalt in their true form cannot attempt to hide their status as a supernatural being of some variety, but there is otherwise no mechanical difference.

Animas

The Envemoned have animas that resemble, ink, blood, or a mixture of both. Rarey, if the envenomed is a second-generation exaltation and has other elements incorporated into its living abyss, similar viscous substances of other colors may be present.

They do not glow, they are not brilliant bonfires of light. Instead, when spending peripheral essence an Envenomed is initially forced into their true form, then with a trace of their anima flowing around them, and finally, a totemic flair generates less a visual representation but more a feeling of unease mixed with odor—the metallic smell of blood, the stench of ink, or the odd mixture of petroleum oil and stagnant water—complimenting the lesser display.

The Propagation Caste's is the most subtle. Once they've spent enough essence, they simply have the liquid their animal resembles flowing down their body in slow droplets streaming down. Unless they are spending a lot of peripheral essences, it may not even be recognizable. A totemic display is visibly noticeable, and the sensations it causes those in the exalt's presence are... skewed. The unease caused by the Exalt's presence is tempered with arousal, or the scent of blood causes a strange hunger.

Adaption Castes are more obvious, their animals dispersing around them like a cloud, as if their anima was dissolving in water. Those in the presence of an Adaption Caste at full anima have the strangest sensation of the exalt watching them, even if there is no line of sight.

Consumption Casts have an animal that seems to be lines painted on empty air, that trace the exalts movements and hang in the air for a moment after. One of these exalted predators running at full tilt might even leave after images. A full anima banner from a consumption caste inspires the primal fear of predation.