Outlaws of the Sea (Exalted 3e)

[Qazgir]

I'm muddling my way through character creation and reading up on the Dreaming Sea, so hopefully I'll have something to show for it tomorrow or Thursday. I do have some questions about making what seems to me like a light modification to an artifact, and about character building.

Firstly, I'm interesting in taking the artifact Soulfarer (Arms p. 86), and I'm wondering if its reasonable to have it be a Grand Goremaul rather than a Grand Grimcleaver. I'm imagining the character as using a big mace, but if that's not cool its no big deal.

Secondly, is it stretching myself too thin to grab both sorcery and necromancy? I'd be taking Sorcery on account of using Soulfarer, and Necromancy seems cool, but given that I also want to do melee combat, and have some charms left over for other things, it seems like I'm pulling myself in too many directions at character creation.

ETA: One more question, is the Manse merit appropriate for this game? Given the setup, it seems like this will be the kind of game that takes place mostly on the water, or in various ports, so have a single permanent base might not be useful, but I might be totally wrong, so I imagine it can't hurt to ask.

[Lord Raziere]

Secondly, is it stretching myself too thin to grab both sorcery and necromancy? I'd be taking Sorcery on account of using Soulfarer, and Necromancy seems cool, but given that I also want to do melee combat, and have some charms left over for other things, it seems like I'm pulling myself in too many directions at character creation.

man, I'm not considering sorcery at all and I'm still worried and indecisive about what direction to go, not enough charms for what I really want and so on. But to actually answer your question: probably yes, the general rules I've heard is either the 5/5/5 rule where you have five charms in your specialization, 5 charms in combat and 5 in whatever you want, or the 6/3/3/6 rule where you have six charms in your specialization, 3 charms in defense, 3 charms in combat and 5 in utility if you purchasing extra charms. (I'm still struggling to decide because even with a clear concept like Abyssal Necromancer, there are many different combat styles, and various side things she could be doing)

and yeah, I've been kinda wondering the manse thing myself, my initial concept for The Whisper of World-Shaking Truth's backstory had come up with a abyssal-aspected manse that is in a mysterious language and design that resembles no human make and even the First Age found mysterious and would like plot hook/springboard into investigating more supernatural stuff to figure it out, but now it may not be a good idea. also nailing down expectations will help me decide my build, because if we're going to be traveling a lot and focusing on active adventures rather than building things or whatever, it would be good sense to not waste charms on say, Crafting. and like if manses doesn't work out, I might just adapt the Skull Diary into a refluffed custom necromancy artifact with the mysterious/ominous vibes I want.

[Justanotherhero]

@watermargin

I have been thinking about going in a.bit unconventional direction since I have been been inspired by Trazyn the Infinite. The question is would this fit into your world view of Lunars:

Spoiler

Show

In the shadow-shrouded city of Sijan, where the funereal arts flourish and the dead are venerated, Khion Tenebris was born amidst the ancient tombs and echoing dirges. A family of skilled morticians and exorcists, the Tenebrises were well-versed in the ceremonies of death, serving both the living mourners and the ethereal spirits with equal devotion.

His childhood was steeped in the lore of Sijan’s macabre traditions, under the dense canopy of leafless black trees. His hands, though young, were steady and precise, adept at crafting intricate tomb carvings and performing the sacred rites to guide the departed. Life was a harmonious cycle of work and worship, punctuated by the comforting regularity of familial bonds.

On a night painted with the radiant hues of a moon. Gathered with his family, their voices mingled in lively discussion about a new dragon-blooded king body, an intriguing figure of lore and might. As they spoke, an ethereal silver light began to emanate from Julian’s forehead—a mark unseen by him but unmistakable to his kin. In that same moment, Khion spoke of things that overtook him; visions of lives once lived, of souls long departed, as if he were recalling memories of another.

His family, seasoned in the secrets of the supernatural, recognized the signs of an Exalted being. Rather than shunning him or succumbing to fear, the Tenebrises, pledged to keep his true nature concealed from the eyes of those who might seek to harm him.

Compelled by visions of a past incarnation—a life brimming with purpose and peril—he sought out the Silver Pact.

His quest for understanding his past life led him to the Dreaming Sea, a region steeped in mystery and old magic. Here, his previous incarnation had left ripples through time—ripples that he could almost grasp but not quite hold. The elders of the Silver Pact, wary of what might be unearthed, remained tight-lipped, leaving him to grapple with fragmented visions and elusive truths. Here he will seek the rarest of creatures and immortalize them. He may even find a few rare souls worthy of being archived inside his own panoply of beings. That the Dreaming Sea might offer riches and creatures of great power to consume is certainly no draw back.

Now, drawn by the threads of fate and curiosity, he ventures to Champoor, the Nighted City cloaked in perpetual shadows. In this city he seeks not just artifacts or specimens but the echoes of his own past live. Each item he collects, each memory he uncovers, adds to the mosaic of his existence.

As he walks the maze-like streets of Champoor, he remains a collector (some might say thief but they lack wisdom.) With every heart's blood he consumes, he inherits a fragment of another's being, becoming a living archive of countless lives. (Sure some will say hunter but honestly ignorance is the real enemy.) In the darkness of Champoor, perhaps he will finally uncover the threads of his old purpose, or perhaps he will find new mysteries to challenge the depths of his immortal soul.

[watermargin]

I'm muddling my way through character creation and reading up on the Dreaming Sea, so hopefully I'll have something to show for it tomorrow or Thursday. I do have some questions about making what seems to me like a light modification to an artifact, and about character building.

Firstly, I'm interesting in taking the artifact Soulfarer (Arms p. 86), and I'm wondering if its reasonable to have it be a Grand Goremaul rather than a Grand Grimcleaver. I'm imagining the character as using a big mace, but if that's not cool its no big deal.

Secondly, is it stretching myself too thin to grab both sorcery and necromancy? I'd be taking Sorcery on account of using Soulfarer, and Necromancy seems cool, but given that I also want to do melee combat, and have some charms left over for other things, it seems like I'm pulling myself in too many directions at character creation.

ETA: One more question, is the Manse merit appropriate for this game? Given the setup, it seems like this will be the kind of game that takes place mostly on the water, or in various ports, so have a single permanent base might not be useful, but I might be totally wrong, so I imagine it can't hurt to ask.

1) Soulfarer as a Grand goremaul sure.

2) You can do what you want, but in general I don't think its really worth it to do both unless your goal is to use all kinds of sorcery and necromancy. Most of the sorcery spells have an equivalent in Necromancy.

3) The game only takes place in the Dreaming Sea, so a Manse can serve many purposes (of course recommend it to be somewhere in the Dreaming Sea direction), from your home base to somewhere your circle returns to when they need to regroup.

@watermargin

I have been thinking about going in a.bit unconventional direction since I have been been inspired by Trazyn the Infinite. The question is would this fit into your world view of Lunars:

Spoiler

Show

In the shadow-shrouded city of Sijan, where the funereal arts flourish and the dead are venerated, Khion Tenebris was born amidst the ancient tombs and echoing dirges. A family of skilled morticians and exorcists, the Tenebrises were well-versed in the ceremonies of death, serving both the living mourners and the ethereal spirits with equal devotion.

His childhood was steeped in the lore of Sijan’s macabre traditions, under the dense canopy of leafless black trees. His hands, though young, were steady and precise, adept at crafting intricate tomb carvings and performing the sacred rites to guide the departed. Life was a harmonious cycle of work and worship, punctuated by the comforting regularity of familial bonds.

On a night painted with the radiant hues of a moon. Gathered with his family, their voices mingled in lively discussion about a new dragon-blooded king body, an intriguing figure of lore and might. As they spoke, an ethereal silver light began to emanate from Julian’s forehead—a mark unseen by him but unmistakable to his kin. In that same moment, Khion spoke of things that overtook him; visions of lives once lived, of souls long departed, as if he were recalling memories of another.

His family, seasoned in the secrets of the supernatural, recognized the signs of an Exalted being. Rather than shunning him or succumbing to fear, the Tenebrises, pledged to keep his true nature concealed from the eyes of those who might seek to harm him.

Compelled by visions of a past incarnation—a life brimming with purpose and peril—he sought out the Silver Pact.

His quest for understanding his past life led him to the Dreaming Sea, a region steeped in mystery and old magic. Here, his previous incarnation had left ripples through time—ripples that he could almost grasp but not quite hold. The elders of the Silver Pact, wary of what might be unearthed, remained tight-lipped, leaving him to grapple with fragmented visions and elusive truths. Here he will seek the rarest of creatures and immortalize them. He may even find a few rare souls worthy of being archived inside his own panoply of beings. That the Dreaming Sea might offer riches and creatures of great power to consume is certainly no draw back.

Now, drawn by the threads of fate and curiosity, he ventures to Champoor, the Nighted City cloaked in perpetual shadows. In this city he seeks not just artifacts or specimens but the echoes of his own past live. Each item he collects, each memory he uncovers, adds to the mosaic of his existence.

As he walks the maze-like streets of Champoor, he remains a collector. With every heart's blood he consumes, he inherits a fragment of another's being, becoming a living archive of countless lives. In the darkness of Champoor, perhaps he will finally uncover the threads of his old purpose, or perhaps he will find new mysteries to challenge the depths of his immortal soul.

It's fine to take inspiration from other characters and the likes, but as a Lunar it's worth to keep a few things in mind:

-Every Lunar exaltation involves a visit from Luna (usually shapeshifted)
-Lunars get to choose their caste when they get the moonsilver tattoos (usually after meeting with the Silver Pact)
-Seeking old lore and the likes is very common
-Seven Obsidian Leopard and Tanisa the Ring Eater on Mount Namas are the most influential Shahan-ya in the Dreaming Sea. You don't have to have a relationship with them yet since you are coming from the Scavenger Lands/Sijan but something worth keeping in the back of your mind.


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Spoiler: The reveler critic

Show

Let see now for the Revelers critic:

-With the game playing at Celestial level and we have people applying as Lunars too, for attributes, its fine to use the 9/7/5 setup.

-So from my understanding you want to give them more hl on top of buying Ox-Body, usually all exalted simply get more hl with ox-body technique and think it's a nice standard to follow.

-I think the anima effect and advantage could use some work. Focusing on penalties is not necessarily a bad idea, just you are probably better off making your character better for either a brief instant or something more powerful, its mostly a question of balancing if you want more constant effect or something you can do once per day or once per story or something.

-I think bloodletting keyword probably wasn't necessary, health level cost exists in exalted fine and forcing some of your charms like healing charms to interact with the bloodletting filled health boxes probably make the healing charms weaker than they should be.

-You mention that they have access to Sorcery/Necromancy something to keep in mind beside the Solaroids (Solars, Abyssals, and probably Infenral) all the other splats have requirements to access sorcery like multiple charms etc...example Lunars need 4 mental attribute charms to access terrestrial sorcery and their celestial sorcery requires 5 terrestrial spells before being able to pick the charm, Sidereals for example needs 4 secret charms to qualify for terrestrial sorcery. The solars are masters of sorcery/necromancy so they get easy access to them.

For Evocations...don't need to be too complicated really, pick one that they are resonant with and says other are neutral. Orichalcum seems to fit your reveler, so sure embrace it as resonant evocation. Neutral MM is honestly not too bad.

-For the charms general critic:
-For duration, would recommend to stick to Instant, Until Next Turn, Scene (if something is going to 3 or more rounds, it might as well be scene long, remember that motes are committed for anything longer than instant), Indefinite and Permanent.

-Unsated Blood Excitement adds to withering damage but you already can do that with the excellency, you will notice that for example on lunars to make it better they simply do things like making it double 9s on withering damage.
-If you want Unheard Drum to be a surprise attack, would need to have a condition, usually the essence 1 surprise attack have a condition like need to beat opponent in join battle rolls for example.
-Graceful Crane Stance is a basic enough charm that you can pretty much find it in all exalted types, so an easy one to insert in your charmset
-Some charms I think can benefit for some charms that came out recently in manuscript like Bacchant Recruitment Wine could take inspiration from Sidereal charms or even Abyssal charms where they empower a being.
-I can talk more about things later but this for the moment my first impression on the current presentation, think it could use some tweaks here and there.

[DrakeRaids]

-With the game playing at Celestial level and we have people applying as Lunars too, for attributes, its fine to use the 9/7/5 setup.

-So from my understanding you want to give them more hl on top of buying Ox-Body, usually all exalted simply get more hl with ox-body technique and think it's a nice standard to follow.

So this was actually intentional. While 9/7/5 could have been justified I figured 3 more health levels would be a fair exchange for the bonus attribute dots and leans more into how I hoped Revelers to function.

Most importantly though it enables concepts that can utilize bloodletting without having required charm purchases. While this is... Functionally being made for my Reveler I tried to approach the design as if it was a standalone thing in that regard.

-I think bloodletting keyword probably wasn't necessary, health level cost exists in exalted fine and forcing some of your charms like healing charms to interact with the bloodletting filled health boxes probably make the healing charms weaker than they should be.

Gonna jump here to offer some further explanation because that leans a little into the above. I wanted bloodletting/hl charms to exist in the set but didn't want subsequent healing charms to become required. This is the most important part of bloodletting keyword, it's levels vanish at the end of the scene, and don't need to be healed normally.

This lets me apply some new levers with these charms as there is a sharp cap on how often in a combat you can feasible use them, but don't need to be as powerful as true hl cost effects and providing a comfortable middle ground, or at least that was the intention.

-I think the anima effect and advantage could use some work. Focusing on penalties is not necessarily a bad idea, just you are probably better off making your character better for either a brief instant or something more powerful, its mostly a question of balancing if you want more constant effect or something you can do once per day or once per story or something.

I had based the anima effects off the solar ones, slightly weaker in places but following the same effect, effect, iconic free effect template. I probably leaned to heavy onto free passives there and will see about reworking one of them to provide more active effects.

-You mention that they have access to Sorcery/Necromancy something to keep in mind beside the Solaroids (Solars, Abyssals, and probably Infenral) all the other splats have requirements to access sorcery like multiple charms etc...example Lunars need 4 mental attribute charms to access terrestrial sorcery and their celestial sorcery requires 5 terrestrial spells before being able to pick the charm, Sidereals for example needs 4 secret charms to qualify for terrestrial sorcery. The solars are masters of sorcery/necromancy so they get easy access to them.

Completely valid and an oversight on my part. I'll add in a requirement for both of those, something similar to Lunars probably.

For Evocations...don't need to be too complicated really, pick one that they are resonant with and says other are neutral. Orichalcum seems to fit your reveler, so sure embrace it as resonant evocation. Neutral MM is honestly not too bad.

That's also probably fair.

-For the charms general critic:
-For duration, would recommend to stick to Instant, Until Next Turn, Scene (if something is going to 3 or more rounds, it might as well be scene long, remember that motes are committed for anything longer than instant), Indefinite and Permanent.

-Unsated Blood Excitement adds to withering damage but you already can do that with the excellency, you will notice that for example on lunars to make it better they simply do things like making it double 9s on withering damage.

Unsalted Blood Excitement probably does just need a rework there, I like the concept of rhythmic turn structure but it's probably more complicated bookkeeping than it's worth for relatively little benefit.

-If you want Unheard Drum to be a surprise attack, would need to have a condition, usually the essence 1 surprise attack have a condition like need to beat opponent in join battle rolls for example.

This is fair, I'll probably tie it to something different that punishes them for being faster or more alert than the Reveler maybe, and play into the drunken fighter mythos with it.

-Graceful Crane Stance is a basic enough charm that you can pretty much find it in all exalted types, so an easy one to insert in your charmset
-Some charms I think can benefit for some charms that came out recently in manuscript like Bacchant Recruitment Wine could take inspiration from Sidereal charms or even Abyssal charms where they empower a being.
-I can talk more about things later but this for the moment my first impression on the current presentation, think it could use some tweaks here and there.

I haven't gotten a chance to read through abyssals yet, I should see what I can mine there...

[Lord Raziere]

okay she isn't complete, but I think my Abyssal is solid enough that I can posted my WIP sheet of her now:

The Whisper of World Shaking Truths:
https://www.lotcastingatemi.com/characters/26192

[Benoojian]

I kind of want to build a Lore Supernal Solar who teaches and guides, with a dabbling in Martial Arts. He would go in heavy on the teaching Charms to empower NPC allies and to speed up the growth of the PCs.
He is the archetypal Sensei, who learned that a mortal martial artist can stare down demons and Exalted while defending his students. Would have at least one fairly strong Ally, maybe a Young Prasad Dragon Blood student

[Justanotherhero]

-Seven Obsidian Leopard and Tanisa the Ring Eater on Mount Namas are the most influential Shahan-ya in the Dreaming Sea. You don't have to have a relationship with them yet since you are coming from the Scavenger Lands/Sijan but something worth keeping in the back of your mind.
--------------------------
I like the idea of Seven Obisidian Leopard being the Lunar that found Khion. After all they do share Underworld inspiration:

Would this work out for that purpose:

Spoiler

Show

On a chilling night, Khion Tenebris walked through the outskirts of Sijan under a sparse moonlight. In a shadow-deepened clearing, a ghost summoned by Seven Obsidian Leopard appeared from the mists, a spectral figure in tattered robes floating slightly above the ground.
The ghost's voice echoed eerily, delivering its message: "Khion Tenebris, your destiny extends beyond the tombs of Sijan. Your elders call upon you."
As it spoke, the air shimmered with light, and visions appeared: Seven Obsidian Leopard atop Mount Namas, surrounded by arcane symbols. The meeting promised Khion a path to knowledge.
With its message imparted, the ghost faded into the mist, leaving Khion alone, his heart stirred by the vast new role laid out before him.

Upon reaching the secluded lair of Seven Obsidian Leopard, Khion found himself in the presence of a master whose knowledge spanned centuries. As the leader and mentor, Seven Obsidian Leopard welcomed Khion into the heart of the Silver Pact, revealing to him an extensive collection of artifacts and spirits that whispered tales from forgotten epochs.

Within the shadowy halls, lined with relics that hummed with arcane power, Khion was immersed in the mysteries of Necrotech and the creation of artifacts. The depth of Leopard's expertise in melding necromancy with technology left Khion deeply impressed and eager to learn.

However, Seven Obsidian Leopard advised patience. He believed that before Khion could delve into developing his own necromantic abilities, he needed a solid foundation in the more disciplined art of Terrestrial Circle Sorcery. According to Leopard, mastering these fundamental magical principles was essential for Khion to harness his full potential and eventually craft his unique contributions to the arcane arts. This structured approach would prepare Khion not only to follow in the footsteps of his mentor but also to forge a path distinctly his own in the realms of magic and power.
Khion is deeply impressed by the knowledge and experience of the two Shanan`yas even though he only met Tanisa the Ring Eater a few times on social occasions.

[Qazgir]

Following Lord Raziere's example, here is my WIP sheet: Onyx Rainfall Praetor. Unlike the other sheets shared so far, I don't have a backstory yet. I spent most of my free time at work today puzzling over charms, so hopefully tomorrow I can work on a backstory and some intimacies. Also, since this is functionally my first time making an exalted character, I'd love to get feedback about them, since this hopefully won't be the last time I make a 3e character.

[watermargin]

okay she isn't complete, but I think my Abyssal is solid enough that I can posted my WIP sheet of her now:

The Whisper of World Shaking Truths:
https://www.lotcastingatemi.com/characters/26192

I got a clearer picture of The Whisper, alright can see where this is going.

I kind of want to build a Lore Supernal Solar who teaches and guides, with a dabbling in Martial Arts. He would go in heavy on the teaching Charms to empower NPC allies and to speed up the growth of the PCs.
He is the archetypal Sensei, who learned that a mortal martial artist can stare down demons and Exalted while defending his students. Would have at least one fairly strong Ally, maybe a Young Prasad Dragon Blood student

A master kind of vibe, yeah sounds like a fun concept.

-Seven Obsidian Leopard and Tanisa the Ring Eater on Mount Namas are the most influential Shahan-ya in the Dreaming Sea. You don't have to have a relationship with them yet since you are coming from the Scavenger Lands/Sijan but something worth keeping in the back of your mind.
--------------------------
I like the idea of Seven Obisidian Leopard being the Lunar that found Khion. After all they do share Underworld inspiration:

Would this work out for that purpose:

Spoiler

Show

On a chilling night, Khion Tenebris walked through the outskirts of Sijan under a sparse moonlight. In a shadow-deepened clearing, a ghost summoned by Seven Obsidian Leopard appeared from the mists, a spectral figure in tattered robes floating slightly above the ground.
The ghost's voice echoed eerily, delivering its message: "Khion Tenebris, your destiny extends beyond the tombs of Sijan. Your elders call upon you."
As it spoke, the air shimmered with light, and visions appeared: Seven Obsidian Leopard atop Mount Namas, surrounded by arcane symbols. The meeting promised Khion a path to knowledge.
With its message imparted, the ghost faded into the mist, leaving Khion alone, his heart stirred by the vast new role laid out before him.

Upon reaching the secluded lair of Seven Obsidian Leopard, Khion found himself in the presence of a master whose knowledge spanned centuries. As the leader and mentor, Seven Obsidian Leopard welcomed Khion into the heart of the Silver Pact, revealing to him an extensive collection of artifacts and spirits that whispered tales from forgotten epochs.

Within the shadowy halls, lined with relics that hummed with arcane power, Khion was immersed in the mysteries of Necrotech and the creation of artifacts. The depth of Leopard's expertise in melding necromancy with technology left Khion deeply impressed and eager to learn.

However, Seven Obsidian Leopard advised patience. He believed that before Khion could delve into developing his own necromantic abilities, he needed a solid foundation in the more disciplined art of Terrestrial Circle Sorcery. According to Leopard, mastering these fundamental magical principles was essential for Khion to harness his full potential and eventually craft his unique contributions to the arcane arts. This structured approach would prepare Khion not only to follow in the footsteps of his mentor but also to forge a path distinctly his own in the realms of magic and power.
Khion is deeply impressed by the knowledge and experience of the two Shanan`yas even though he only met Tanisa the Ring Eater a few times on social occasions.

It can work.
Sorcery would probably be your own pursuit to be honest, Seven Obsidian Leopard is basically one of the most knowledgeable expert necromancer in the Silver Pact and just focus on it.

Following Lord Raziere's example, here is my WIP sheet: Onyx Rainfall Praetor. Unlike the other sheets shared so far, I don't have a backstory yet. I spent most of my free time at work today puzzling over charms, so hopefully tomorrow I can work on a backstory and some intimacies. Also, since this is functionally my first time making an exalted character, I'd love to get feedback about them, since this hopefully won't be the last time I make a 3e character.

I'll give some feedback when further along but don't think there is any issue really, beside of course choosing stuff like Flametongue or Forest-Tongue as your native language, that's mostly what they speak in the Dreaming Sea.

I haven't gotten a chance to read through abyssals yet, I should see what I can mine there...

Alright, just lemme know if I can help, if you end getting stuck.

[Lord Raziere]

Following Lord Raziere's example, here is my WIP sheet: Onyx Rainfall Praetor. Unlike the other sheets shared so far, I don't have a backstory yet. I spent most of my free time at work today puzzling over charms, so hopefully tomorrow I can work on a backstory and some intimacies. Also, since this is functionally my first time making an exalted character, I'd love to get feedback about them, since this hopefully won't be the last time I make a 3e character.

Your build is probably fine.

but oh no, your using me as an example, when I kinda just shoved all my utility charms into Occult, my Apocalyptic ability just so I can have thematic abilities relating to The Whisper's thing about her voice only being a whisper now and because I'm completely indecisive about the most ridiculous things, if I'm being honest I kept switching between whether Whisper would be a Brawler, a heavily-armored scythe user or a devil caster user and settled on my crypt bolt attack build just so I wouldn't have to spend dots on an artifact weapon so I can spend them on the Dark Revelation Sphere and other things more important to a Daybreak Caste. while I should've probably spread my utility charms more so I could have beginning charms in various things so I'm not too overspecialized, God-Scourging Wail technically does something different from my necromancy attack spell but it is technically still redundant, while my big amount of merits is primarily to prevent my own fears of what happened last time in an Exalted game which are probably irrational, in that my Twilight caste got run over by elk because they didn't have enough defenses, and had to add the spirit-sensing charm and the easy dematerialization charm for allies to make sure my ghost bodyguard can defend me.

and like, the reason I settled on the thematic charms is because I was overly indecisive on what direction to take her because necromancy can't ever be supernal/apocalyptic so technically what she's actually super-skilled at was up in the air and like, apart of me wants more crafting for creepy necrotech stuff, part of me wants Lore for more dark gothic/cthulhu discoveries and apart of me just wants things that are generally good to have, but I guess this current set up is.....Fine? maybe? I have no social defenses, which is probably to definitely a mistake, and like redundant ways to kill things from afar, but I guess being a little too good at killing is just on par for an Abyssal Exalted. TBH, its not as if I won't acquire more ways. but yeah, charm selection can always be a bit of a challenge because there are so many good ones and you can only choose so many.

as for Watermargin: just imagine like, a cute scholar girl character (my personal examples are Amity Blight or Twilight Sparkle or Shallan from Stormlight Archive, if you don't know any of those thats fine) given horrifying necromantic powers to kill anyone in their way and a creepy cthulhu/gothic mystery to solve in a place full of magic to explore, and you got her basic premise.

[Qazgir]

Your build is probably fine.

but oh no, your using me as an example, when I kinda just shoved all my utility charms into Occult...

Glad to hear it. All I meant by using you as an example was that you too had shared a WIP sheet just above. Although I did look at both your sheet and Justanotherhero's sheet while making mine to see if I was totally out of line with how my abilities and attributes looked, i.e am I spreading them too broadly or too thinly/am I obviously over or underinvesting in them. On those counts I seems to have done fine.

I'll give some feedback when further along but don't think there is any issue really, beside of course choosing stuff like Flametongue or Forest-Tongue as your native language, that's mostly what they speak in the Dreaming Sea.

Tyvm, hopefully I'll have that sorted out by tonight and report back to the class with my results :P

[Justanotherhero]

Do official rules exist in Third Edition for Necromancy?
I have to admit I am not up to date.

[Lord Raziere]

Do official rules exist in Third Edition for Necromancy?
I have to admit I am not up to date.

If you have the backer Abyssal manuscript from its kickstarter yes, and watermargin's using it, I'm using it, it counts as existing as far as this game and the Exalted community is concerned, because waiting for the actual book to arrive just have the rules be surrounded by a bunch of pretty art and cool page designs and perhaps whatever changes they make is not worth it just to play when we already have the thing in hand.

[Soras Teva Gee]

Been wanting to play with the Dreaming Sea for a long long time.

I'd like to put something together for this, an Exalt Sorcerer with some spirit interaction. Probably Solar since that's what I know best but I'll breeze through some other options

[watermargin]

Do official rules exist in Third Edition for Necromancy?
I have to admit I am not up to date.

As mentioned above, yeah its in the Abyssal manuscript and when the errata and changes come out, will deal with it later.

Been wanting to play with the Dreaming Sea for a long long time.

I'd like to put something together for this, an Exalt Sorcerer with some spirit interaction. Probably Solar since that's what I know best but I'll breeze through some other options

I mean you can go that route if you want but looking currently at people applying, most have picked necromancy, and even some sorcery, so will say its technically not something that would be too unique for your exalted sorcerer in the circle while you think of concept.

[Soras Teva Gee]

]
I mean you can go that route if you want but looking currently at people applying, most have picked necromancy, and even some sorcery, so will say its technically not something that would be too unique for your exalted sorcerer in the circle while you think of concept.

I'm reasonably confident I can differentiate in terms of focus, like a fiery exorcist keeping an eye on the boneheads. Or going into Medicine because people tend to ignore healing mortals. Or one focused on being a war mage and smashing armies. Lots of things to do.

Assuming you're cool with a mostly caster party as ST?

[watermargin]

I'm reasonably confident I can differentiate in terms of focus, like a fiery exorcist keeping an eye on the boneheads. Or going into Medicine because people tend to ignore healing mortals. Or one focused on being a war mage and smashing armies. Lots of things to do.

Assuming you're cool with a mostly caster party as ST?

I'm fine with it, just mostly saying in case of you wanted it to be your main niche.

[Benoojian]

I want to do tiger claws as my weapon, but find the existing Artifacts lacking. Mera's Coils have Razor Claws attached but are heavy armor so are incompatible with all relevant Martial Arts. Frost Thorn Knuckles are all about Ice, but we're in the southeast so there wouldn't be much ice.
Venegeant is the closest to usable but focuses exclusively on negative ties.

I was picturing Starmetal Razor Claws that focus on defending others as a mechanic, maybe with an Evocation that redirects attacks away from an ally to yourself and another that allows a counterattack on that attack, with a Willpower cost that is waived if you have a positive intimacy towards the original target




Mother Bear's Claws, Starmetal Razor Claws ****
attunement 5m
Light(+5 ACC, +10 DMG, +1 DEF, 3 OVW)
Hearthstone Slots 2
Lethal, Brawl, Concealable, Piercing, Worn

Mother Bear's Claws story is largely unknown, until it appeared in the hands of a powerful Dragonblood family, whose Matriarch used these seemingly delicate claws to wade into battle with her children against impossible odds and bring them out again safely. Her motto was "You'll fight without gloves, when you fight for love."

A character who is not dissonant with Starmetal awakens Shifting Heart Tides at no cost when she attunes to Mother Bear's Claws

Shifting Heart Tides
Reflexive
Cost: 3(m or i, can't decide, help?), 1 wp

You can activate this in response to an attack against another character within Close range, after the attack is rolled but before damage is rolled. You move to intercept the attack and it is made against your applicable Defense +1 instead of against the original target.

Special:If you have a Positive Intimacy towards the original target of the attack, you may waive the Willpower cost


Flaming Emotion Strike
Cost: 4m
Essence: 1
Keywords: Counterattack, Balanced

This Evocation can only be activated in conjunction with Shifting Heart Tides, allowing the user to punish attacks on her allies with a devastating counterattack. Damage technically happens simultaneously, which can prevent a crash.




Out For Love
Permanent
Essence 1

This upgrades Shifting Heart Tides. If the opposing attack is withering and successful, she ignores (Positive Intimacy towards original target+Essence, minimum 2) points of initiative loss. If the attack is Decisive and successful she ignores (Positive Intimacy towards original target, no minimum) levels of Health Damage from the attack

Special Activation Rules: If you are brought to dying or incapacitated by an attack that was meant for a character you have a Defining Intimacy for and recover, you awaken Out For Love at no cost


Intimacy strengths are 1,2,4 btw, not 1, 2, 3, but Defining Intimacies are fairly rare.

[DrakeRaids]

I should have some updated Reveler mechanics and a preliminary sheet for Ancient Ebon this weekend.

[watermargin]

I want to do tiger claws as my weapon, but find the existing Artifacts lacking. Mera's Coils have Razor Claws attached but are heavy armor so are incompatible with all relevant Martial Arts. Frost Thorn Knuckles are all about Ice, but we're in the southeast so there wouldn't be much ice.
Venegeant is the closest to usable but focuses exclusively on negative ties.

I was picturing Starmetal Razor Claws that focus on defending others as a mechanic, maybe with an Evocation that redirects attacks away from an ally to yourself and another that allows a counterattack on that attack, with a Willpower cost that is waived if you have a positive intimacy towards the original target




Mother Bear's Claws, Starmetal Razor Claws ****
attunement 5m
Light(+5 ACC, +10 DMG, +1 DEF, 3 OVW)
Hearthstone Slots 2
Lethal, Brawl, Concealable, Piercing, Worn

Mother Bear's Claws story is largely unknown, until it appeared in the hands of a powerful Dragonblood family, whose Matriarch used these seemingly delicate claws to wade into battle with her children against impossible odds and bring them out again safely. Her motto was "You'll fight without gloves, when you fight for love."

A character who is not dissonant with Starmetal awakens Shifting Heart Tides at no cost when she attunes to Mother Bear's Claws

Shifting Heart Tides
Reflexive
Cost: 3(m or i, can't decide, help?), 1 wp

You can activate this in response to an attack against another character within Close range, after the attack is rolled but before damage is rolled. You move to intercept the attack and it is made against your applicable Defense +1 instead of against the original target.

Special:If you have a Positive Intimacy towards the original target of the attack, you may waive the Willpower cost


Flaming Emotion Strike
Cost: 4m
Essence: 1
Keywords: Counterattack, Balanced

This Evocation can only be activated in conjunction with Shifting Heart Tides, allowing the user to punish attacks on her allies with a devastating counterattack. Damage technically happens simultaneously, which can prevent a crash.


Out For Love
Permanent
Essence 1

This upgrades Shifting Heart Tides. If the opposing attack is withering and successful, she ignores (Positive Intimacy towards original target+Essence, minimum 2) points of initiative loss. If the attack is Decisive and successful she ignores (Positive Intimacy towards original target, no minimum) levels of Health Damage from the attack

Special Activation Rules: If you are brought to dying or incapacitated by an attack that was meant for a character you have a Defining Intimacy for and recover, you awaken Out For Love at no cost


Intimacy strengths are 1,2,4 btw, not 1, 2, 3, but Defining Intimacies are fairly rare.

-Saw you added +1 Def to the Razor Claws, in general the weapon profile for the artifact doesn't change much.

my rework for Shifting Heart Tides to follow more modern standards in the charms:

Shifting Heart Tides
Cost: 4m
Type: Reflexive
Keyword: Uniform
Duration: One Scene

You can reflexively take a defend other action (Exalted p. 196), the protection lasts for this charm duration but the ally must remain within close range. If you have a positive intimacy to the ally you are protecting, you gain +1 non-Charm Parry against that attack.

-For flaming emotion strike, balanced keyword doesn't exist for charms going to assume you mean Dual keyword, next counterattack for withering attack don't show up until essence 3+, at lower essence its always a counterattack against decisive-only and its intentional. So suggestion its to make it decisive only and if you want at essence 3+ you can have a repurchase for withering attacks. Note that counterattack charms cannot be used against Clash.

-Out for love evocation might not be relevant with the defend other action. Charms that prevent initiative loss are usually not that potent at essence 1 and ends up being higher essence requirements.

Technically for intimacies, its
+2, +3, +4 for positive intimacies/aligned with intimacies while If opposed, it is -1, -2 and -3.

I should have some updated Reveler mechanics and a preliminary sheet for Ancient Ebon this weekend.

When you are ready let me know.

[Qazgir]

I've finished up a backstory, not sure I love it, but I channeled by inner Xianxia writer to come up with it, so it think it shouldn't be too bad. Still got to get down intimacies, and decide on a control spell, but other than that I think I'm about done with the building Onyx Rainfall Praetor. I remain happy to hear any feedback y'all are willing to take the time to give me.

Sheet

[watermargin]

I've finished up a backstory, not sure I love it, but I channeled by inner Xianxia writer to come up with it, so it think it shouldn't be too bad. Still got to get down intimacies, and decide on a control spell, but other than that I think I'm about done with the building Onyx Rainfall Praetor. I remain happy to hear any feedback y'all are willing to take the time to give me.

Sheet

Note that Tenepeshu and her court claimed Champoor in 728, that's 40 years ago. They have been running the show for awhile now but well, this could just be a minor tweak for the backstory.

[Qazgir]

Note that Tenepeshu and her court claimed Champoor in 728, that's 40 years ago. They have been running the show for awhile now but well, this could just be a minor tweak for the backstory.

That was intentional, I imagine him as having been in his mid 40s to early 50s when he exalted. If thats not appropriate, it isn't a big change to make him younger.

[watermargin]

That was intentional, I imagine him as having been in his mid 40s to early 50s when he exalted. If thats not appropriate, it isn't a big change to make him younger.

ah, alright since usually play younger assumed that was the case but its all good.

[Lord Raziere]

updated my sheet a bit:
https://www.lotcastingatemi.com/characters/26192

just general filling out things like charms and merit, touching up the backstory to be better, making a bunch of intimacies, if anyone has any ideas for an abyssal hearthstone I can use that doesn't give everyone nightmares when they sleep within 4 miles, I'm all ears, and for some reason I'm blanking on limit trigger and iconic anima other than having a bunch of whispers emanating from her.

[Qazgir]

I don't know if this is allowed, but could you take 2x 2 dot hearthstones instead? If so, Bleak Truths Sapphire, Necromancer’s Onyx Eye, and Stone of the Nightly Reunion might all be cool.

[watermargin]

updated my sheet a bit:
https://www.lotcastingatemi.com/characters/26192

just general filling out things like charms and merit, touching up the backstory to be better, making a bunch of intimacies, if anyone has any ideas for an abyssal hearthstone I can use that doesn't give everyone nightmares when they sleep within 4 miles, I'm all ears, and for some reason I'm blanking on limit trigger and iconic anima other than having a bunch of whispers emanating from her.

There are many Abyssal greater stones, guess depends really what you want:

-Two Abyssal greater HS in Arms
-Two Abyssal greater HS in the corebook
-Two in Abyssal manuscript but dropping the 1 that gives nightmares since it appears you aren't a fan of it, so one greater Abyssal HS option.

[Lord Raziere]

There are many Abyssal greater stones, guess depends really what you want:

-Two Abyssal greater HS in Arms
-Two Abyssal greater HS in the corebook
-Two in Abyssal manuscript but dropping the 1 that gives nightmares since it appears you aren't a fan of it, so one greater Abyssal HS option.

I mean the problem with most of them is that they require a weapon to be socketed into. which is basically useless to my build, and the nightmare is mostly so I don't give the rest of the group nightmares. I guess I could go for the corpse-raising one in core.

[Soras Teva Gee]

Work underways on Jhalia Guren, Twice Blessed Flower of Evening

Have the crunchy bits most worked out and now need to fill in the details I've got in my head.