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FrivYeti/CometaryExalts

2010-12-27T05:06:36Z

Puellanivis: /* Comments */ Perihelion/Aphelion rather than Perigee/Apogee

Back to [[FrivYeti]]

== The Cometary Exalted - Chosen of Tigranes, Harbingers of Victory ==

=== Table Of Contents ===

[[FrivYeti/CometaryHistory|Chapter One: History]] - The ancient history of Sedna and the Cometary Exalted. 
[[FrivYeti/CometaryAspect|Chapter Two: Aspect]] - The Essences and Exaltation of the Cometary Exalted, their Aspects, and the powers that they wield. 
[[FrivYeti/CometaryCreation|Chapter Three: Character Creation]] - How to make a hero. 
[[FrivYeti/CometaryTraits|Chapter Four: Traits]] - Special Backgrounds of the Cometaries, their anima banners and innate capabilities, and their Limit. 
[[FrivYeti/CometaryCharms|Chapter Five: Charms]] - The Charms that form the powers of the Cometary Exalted 
[[FrivYeti/CometarySTing|Chapter Six: Storytelling]] - Ideas for how to use the Cometary Exalted in your games. 

=== Brainstorming ===

This page is here because I am a maniac.

I am a maniac because I have decided to create another new type of Exalt - the Cometary Exalted. Why? Because the idea occured, and I was unable to remove it. Le argh.

At the moment, this is entirely a brainstorming page. Once I've got enough of a framework together, I'll start working on something more concrete to turn this into a proper project.

=== The Cometary Incarna ===

Hrm. This one is tricky. I'm thinking someone who spent centuries forging through the Wyld, scouting, exploring for new Primordials, and blazing his way across the endless reaches. His times in Creation were few, but he grew to hate the Primordials that kept screwing things up while he was gone. After the War, he left again on another trek through the Wyld... and failed to return?

=== The Cometary Aspects ===

Basically, I want to go WEIRD with this. Therefore, I have decided to go with the ultimate bizareness in Aspect. The Aspect of a Cometary Exalt is dependant on his Permanent Essence rating; as they grow in power, their purpose to the other Cometaries changes.

Essence 2: Impending Caste - Most defensive, to give them time to grow in power
Essence 3: Approaching Caste - Removes training times, something about understanding quickly?
Essence 4: Perigee Caste - battle-related powers
Essence 5: Departing Caste - stealth powers?
Essence 6: Apogee Caste - natural teachers

While I like Perigee and Apogee, I can't think of proper names for the other three.

Anima powers have to be something with generic utility. The key here is, given the way that people are going to be forced into aspect based on their Essence, it is critical to have anima powers as widely applicable as possible, without giving up their identity. This will, of course, be a monster to figure out.

Also, since aspect changes, cometaries have no aspect Attributes. Instead, they have only Favoured ones - I'm thinking one each from Physical, Social, and Mental.

=== Cometary Charm and Essence Purpose ===

Cometary Exalted don't have extended lifespans the way that the other Celestial Exalted do. Instead, the higher their Essence ratings become, the closer they become to death. Those who reach Essence 6 have only a few years left to live; their power burns through them rapidly, as their patron tries to match the power of the other Incarna within them.

This makes the Cometary Exalted the shock troops of the Celestials. Where the Solars led, the Lunars defended, and the Sidereals guided, the Cometaries struck. They leapt into the fray, opening pathways for the other Exalted to follow. Their arrival was an omen of the fall of their enemies, and they counter-attacked with ferocity.

Cometary Charms are thus made to shatter and break through the foes. They are in some ways a mix of Solars, Sidereals, and Abyssals; innately destructive, able to appear without warning and blast through their foes, and focused more towards offensive than defense. In fact, they may have the most potent counter-attack Charms and the least potent defenses of the Celstial Exalted. They are not good at maintaining a world once it is won, only in winning it. They are particularly not good at surviving that win, but there are always more Cometaries to follow. Those few who reach the higher tiers become subtle, passing their training and powers to their students before vanishing in a blaze of glory.

=== Cometary Charm Mechanics ===

Alright, so down to brass tacks. Cometary Charms are going to be Attribute-based, both because this allows for greater versatility for the Exalted, and because it makes the Lunars less alone on that front of the major Exalted. Also, because I like Attribute-based Charms. ;)

Cometary Charmsets are good at sudden appearances, breaking stuff, and inspiring others to break stuff. They differ from the Abyssals in that damage is more important than destruction; the primary purpose of the Cometaries was to open holes for others to exploit, although they can take advantage of those holes themselves. No slow corruption or necrotic Essence here. They're good at short-term persuasion, but their social effects tend to fall apart far faster than other Celestials'. They might be good at pre-attack sabotage...

Ah-hah. I have a plan. The Cometary shtick is hang-and-release effects. Many of their Charms require committed Essence in advance, and then can be released to activate the effect. They can hang these on both themselves and, in some cases, others - resulting in later-activated sabotage surprises.

=== Cometary History ===

===== Comments =====
Friv - Well, if you're going attribute-based, might I inquire about the patron a bit more? I once read a nice discussion of how attribute-based exalts were generally primordially-involved, and ability-based ones were celestially involved. Something along the lines that Alchemicals were entirely primordial-based, while Lunars, arguably a cross-breed of Luna and Gaia, have both some favored attributes and some favored abilities. It's always resonated well with me, due to the nature of both types. Something to consider, at least. As for hang-and-release effects, I might also mention a significant lack of scene-longs. Something more along the lines of the ability to use multiple charms per turn (perhaps like the Terrestrials, perhaps not), such that they maintain their charms by burning through essence, rather than simply fire-and-forget. Done right, there's a fine line as each turn you decide which protections and bonuses you need at a given moment. Just some thoughts that might help you out - or not! -- [[GreenLantern]]
: While the Attribute and Ability split is a neat theory, there is a major hole in it - the Dragon-Blooded. The Terrestrials are based entirely on the Five Dragons, which are souls of Gaia. I think the better idea is that Ability-based Exalts are those based on skill, while Attribute-based Exalts are based on power. If that makes sense. Solars, Dragon-Bloods, and Sidereals are designed to be increasingly ineffable, specializing into areas. Lunars and Alchemicals are much more likely to be generalists.
: I like the lack of scene-lengths as a fundament, even if it really messes with them. I was thinking of the hang-and-release as how Cometaries mainly get around Charm limits; by mixing those with instant effects, they have the ability to blast through effects and then they tap out. - [[FrivYeti]]
Along the lines of the Hang and Release charm, perhaps this could be their unique excellency. (like terrestrial reenforcement / essence auspicious / ability flow / and the lunar one I can't remember atm)
: Spectacular 'Attribute' Impact
::1+m, 1w, simple.
:Activating this charm the Cometary Exalt commits a number of motes, not to exceed his (Attribute + Essence). These motes can then be de-committed at a later time as a non charm reflexive action, releasing the commitment of a single mote releases them all. When the commitment is released a number of dice are added to a single roll equal to three times the number of motes that were committed.
This would give them a rather unique mechanic that allows for a single almighty roll, but not one that they can use very often. As it is a simple charm that is NOT combo-ok, it is not the sort of thing that is going to be refreshed in the middle of combat. However, if one manages to land a hit on his foe and then releases a strength impact that had say 12 motes committed, that would be an extra 36 dice of damage. I think it fits rather well with the cometary impact theme that they are supposed to have going. -- Rathmun
::I'm not sure I could get behind that entirely. As a basic charm, you're burning the willpower for what seems like one strike, and that's that. Many of the other 'uniques' all have much more lengthy effects. I'd wonder if perhaps allowing you to bleed off the points over time wouldn't be a smoother mechanic - essentially making a pool that you can draw from. Given the 'hang-and-release' nature Friv speaks of, in which you hang and release ''once'', the unique would then allow you to release multiple times, giving you a bit of a burn-time. Just my thoughts - no harm intended. -- GL
:::Actually, essence auspicious for the siddies costs a willpower to turn all the dice to successes. so I don't think costing a willpower is beyond reason. Also, given their role in the Exalted line of battle, I think that a single use could still work since they could withdraw back behind friendly lines after exhausting their resources. However, letting them hang multiple copies of "Spectacular 'Attribute' Impact" could work well I suspect. -- Rathmun
:: I like the term "Spectacular Attribute Impact", and I'll probably go with a mix of [[GreenLantern]] and [[Rathmun]]'s ideas - I've got to say, though, it'll have to have a die-adder cap of some sort on it. Adding 36 dice to an attack is kind of too much. To damage doubly so. - [[FrivYeti]]
::: true, perhaps the cap on comitted essence to any one copy should be essence, then at ess 6 you could add 18 dice, totaling at 30 dice for 15 sux average, once. I think that compares well to a solar at ess 6 with infinite mastery who can throw 24 dice for an entire scene, for the same cost as a cometary throwing 30 dice 4 times.
: Hello there, FrivYeti. I'd just like to ask if you've abandoned this project or not. I thought it was pretty awesome, and I'd like to see more from it. Plus, I'd like to ask some questions if you haven't... ^_^;-- [[User:Kuiper|Kuiper]]

:Usually, comets are in orbit about the sun, so they have the terms "Perihelion" and "Aphelion" rather than "Perigee" and "Apogee". --[[User:Puellanivis|Puellanivis]]

Talk:MartialArts/Hawk Style

2010-12-27T04:35:18Z

Puellanivis: content was "hearing aids" and "industrial alpinism" in Russian. As these have entirely naught to do with this article, it is patent spam.

And this was most certainly spam... -- GreenLantern

Han'ya/OFUE

2010-12-20T06:12:59Z

Puellanivis: Theion To was purposed prior to Creation, and Raksha == Fair Folk

= UNFINISHED =
= An Exalted Theory Of Everything =

The Wyld is chaos. That's not so difficult a concept.

The Wyld is real. This might stretch the mind. It's not some elaborate illusion created by the Fair Folk, it's not any less real than Creation. It just...doesn't...have...any...rules. Therefore, it is entirely possible that red clouds can sing arias about the sins of your unborn children while you ride a flaming giraffe towards Las Vegas (which is upside down), as long as it takes place in the Wyld.

If the Wyld is real, and has no rules, how is it then that anything cohesive exists? The logical result of ruleless reality would be a sort of "white noise", as it were. The Wyld, for the most part, fits this description. The only time it does not is in the presence of one of the Fae. Why is this so?

It is so because of the fundamental units of reality. Let's call them "abstracts". An abstract is the fundamental unit of being. Like atoms, abstracts bond to each other. Each individual abstract and grouping of abstracts will therefore interact with others in certain ways. There is a certain grouping of abstracts, for example, that creates the object "cloud". In the Wyld, there is absolutely no reason why grouping "cloud" could not bond with the abstract or abstract grouping that imparted the quality "red", or "given to a stillborn child", or something else that does not really go with "cloud" as humans understand it.

The Fair Folk are different from unshaped Wyld in two ways. Once created, they remain in existence. Also, they are capable of shaping the Wyld. Shaping, for the purposes of this writing, shall be defined as "bringing about and sustaining an arrangement of abstracts and its interactions with other individual abstractsor groupings of abstracts." Raksha is unaware of how the Fair folk accomplish this, and why there are varying degrees of prowess.

Creation, then, can be described as "a locality shaped by the Loom of Fate." The Loom exerts a continuous shaping force on Creation, creating natural law and Creation's physics and metaphysics.

Let it be theorized that nothing can be created that is alien to its creator. The logical extension of this is that, at least in a sense, the Primordials shaped Creation in their image. When they forced order upon chaos and permanence upon constant change, they ordered the abstracts that made up Creation in a fashion similar or identical to the way that they were arrayed within the Primordials themselves. The reason for the fact that the Primordials embody or epitomize primal concepts is that the primal concepts were derived from the Primordials, rather than the other way around.

Why does the Underworld order itself when the Loom of Fate does not hold sway within its depths? For the same reason that Malfeas does. Both realms are comprised of the very bodies of the Primordials, who by their very natures cannot fall victim to the ambient chaos of the Wyld.

How is it possible the Neverborn were slain, when death is a lesser thing than the Primordials? Because they were not truly slain as humans understand it. When their fetich souls were destroyed, it created great gaps where abstracts had been torn away or shed. For some reason, these gaps were filled by new abstracts, a great many of which are associated with death, decay, rot, and oblivion. These fundamentally altered Primordials became the Neverborn, as the new elements of their being totally redefined the way their component abstracts interacted with each other and the world without. The changes eventually were completed (or mostly completed) and the Underworld was born. One of the groupings of abstracts that bonded to all of the Neverborn shall be dubbed for the purposes of this piece "the Element of Gloom." The Primordials, who had been beings of Fire, Air, Earth, Water, Wood, and other stranger elements, were irrevocably changed by the introduction of this new element, which was associated with stagnation, stillness, decay, collapse, and, funnily enough, gloom. Gloom and darkness are not the same thing, mind you. It made the Neverborn slow and cold, like glaciers. From within their sepulchres they began to reach out and extinguish the light and heat and motion of the world and draw it all into Oblivion.

What is Oblivion, then? It is not nonexistence, nor the opposite of existence, nor the absence of existence. Rather, it is stillness. If nothing moves, then nothing interacts, then for all intents and purposes nothing is. Oblivion is like a computer with the power cable unplugged. Where once there was motion and interaction and change, now there is not. Oblivion is cold. Oblivion is dark. Oblivion is entropy. Or rather, it is Entropy. Capital "e".

Why is Malfeas so alien to Creation, if Creation was derived from the Primordials, who became the Yozis, whose bodies make up that infernal realm? The reason is much the same as the reason the Underworld is so different. When the souls of the Primordials were torn away, slain or disfigured or permanently altered, vast tracts of abstracts were lost or exchanged for others, the Primordials collapsing into new and different configurations. The defeated Primordials, as part of the working of their imprisonment, were bound to Theion To, the sublime acid, called by lesser beings vitriol, as the slain Primordials bonded to Gloom and became the Neverborn. Theion To shaped them, changing them utterly and making them into the Yozis. Corruption, which was a part of the sublime acid, which mortal minds cannot begin to comprehend, became a fundamental part of the Yozi's being. As entities that had had corruption, and therefore weakness, made into a fundamental part of their being, the Yozis became vulnerable to being shaped further by the gods and Exalts, making their servitude and defeat inescapable by virtue of the very nature of their being. Theion To, which is no part of Creation, defines Malfeas in a way no Gaian element does Creation. It is alien becasue of the presence and effects of Thien To. What is little thought of is that every time a demon enters Creation, it carries with it a little of that alien Element, releasing it into Creation simply by its presence. Most of it will break down or fall back to Malfeas, but some will remain, changing Creation to be even a little bit more like the element's place of origin. The Neverborn, the dead, the Deathlords, and their Abyssal servants do the same with Gloom.

== Comment ==

''Theion To'' was purposed as a 6th element by Malfeas during the creation of the world, but Gaia rejected the idea. Cyntherea's view was unknown, and Autochthon was intrigued. ([[Book of Sorcery]] vol 4 - The Roll of Righteous Divinity 1 - Gods and Elementals, p. 73) Autochthon's interest probably is the reason why the Element of Smoke in Autochthonia parallels vitriol so well. Thus, the reason vitriol is likely so prevalent in Malfeas's body, is because he wanted it to be an element, and thus once he had the chance to define the world, he made it a part of his world. -[[User:Puellanivis|Puellanivis]]

Also, the Raksha are the Fair Folk. "Raksha" is the name that the Fair Folk use for themselves. Still, way better than some of the other "Theories of Everything" that I've seen so far here. -[[User:Puellanivis|Puellanivis]]

Wordman/PrimordialTheory

2010-12-20T05:38:02Z

Puellanivis: /* Comments */ none of the graces existed before the shinma that defines them, and nothing at all existed before nirguna

:''In the mythology of Exalted, the starting point is the [[Primordials]], "alone in the churning chaos of unshaped Essence". The supposition being that both these titans and the chaos had always been there, with no beginning. But suppose the story really started earlier, with only the eternal chaos, and no Primordials in sight...''

Out in the Deep Chaos, anything can happen. Really. ''Anything.'' On a long enough time scale even the immensely improbable will pop into existence. And chaos has been around a long, long time (though not ''quite'' forever). From the seething potential, all sorts of exotica have come and gone in the chaos: intelligent bugs made of glass, humans with full consciousness, a thousand miles of self-aware clockwork that could perfectly tell the future. Consciousness and intellect are inevitable given nearly infinite possibility over nearly infinite time.

The problem is that complexity is fragile and chaos is, well, chaotic. No sooner does it create than it mutates and destroys. Wonders both subtle and gross form and perish in an instant, perhaps even at the same time. Over the eternity of chaos, whole civilizations and lived and died in brief instants, none resilient enough to resist the forces that created them.

But, eventually, infinite chaos must give rise to consciousness that, once shaped, can resist being unmade. To survive, such consciousness would necessarily need to be not only from chaos, but of it as well, a local pattern of awareness and purpose within the bedlam. Over time, many such consciousnesses arise. Most are not perfect, lasting only minutes, some for weeks or years. A few, however, can hold out for much, much longer. Since random creation of simple patterns is more probable than complex ones, most of the consciousnesses that survive are more simplistic. While rudimentarily aware, most are not what we would call intelligent, driven by some basic motivation, but not thought and often without form. For the sake of easy reference, we attach a label to these "rudimentary consciousnesses with primal motivation". We'll call them ''graces''.

For a very long time, existence continued as "chaos plus graces". As time went on, the number of graces increased. Some grace patterns are simply more probable than others, so became more common, but thousands, millions of varieties exist. A small handful of patterns became so plentiful that, in modern times, they are given specific names: ring, sword, cup and staff. Another type, however, is special. In addition to consciousness, its pattern represents identity and self-awareness. This type of grace, the heart grace, is hardier than most, and becomes plentiful solely by outlasting others of its kind.

As the number of graces increases, the likelihood of their interacting increases as well. Most of the time, two will collide and move on their way. Sometimes, two touch and annihilate each other back into chaos. Rarely, they change each other or merge, usually for the worse, eventually both degrading, but not always. And once in a great while, they bind together, interacting to become something greater than the sum of its parts. Usually, these bindings would disassociate sooner or later (mostly sooner). Some might be lucky enough to incorporate a third grace, though this tended to sever a pair much, much more often than form a triplet.

When one of the pair was a heart grace, the resulting entity sometimes developed a rather amazing ability: it could shape the chaos. Not very well, of course, and often without genuine thought, but for the first time, the potential of chaos became guided by something other than random chance. Such pairs were often unstable, sometimes even unshaping themselves, but those that survived were those who could harness this ability to their own advantage. This was not the animalistic type of survival we might expect; there is no competition for food or mates or territory. What the pairs would shape can better be described as stories or narrative. Not being sophisticated beings, these stories were extremely simplistic, often one word concepts such as "fear" or "hope" or "blue" or simply a name.

This state of affairs continued for a long time, with loose graces, pairs, and eventually triplets and even quadruplets floating in the chaos, trying to make their mark, in their own inexplicable way. Sometimes, when two of these entities came close, they would reach out and try to alter each others stories. Most of the time, they would react to each other briefly and be on their way. Sometimes, however, the interaction of their stories would change them. Maybe their stories mixed in a way that cause them to join. Maybe one's story defeated the other and pulled its remnants into itself. Again, often the consequences were disastrous, creating a new, unstable state that reverted back into chaos. Sometimes graces were merely rearranged. But very rarely, what emerged was a stable entity containing five graces. And once this happened a few times, everything started to change very quickly.

Beings with five graces were vastly more capable than what had come before, particularly if one of these graces was a heart grace and especially if the others were ring, sword, cup and staff. Usually both self-aware and intelligent, these beings had radically more advanced abilities to shape chaos and a far greater sense of purpose and drive. These beings are such an advancement of existence, they need their own label to identify them. In modern times, they are called ''raksha'' or ''fair folk'', but these entities are far removed from the beings these labels conjure up now. For one, they had not been tainted by Creation yet, still creatures of deep chaos.

The vast majority of these living narrative forces began to divert themselves, largely with each other. No longer alone, they talked and fought and planned and dreamed. They organized and disorganized, formed societies and ripped them apart. Few of them, however, realized how they were formed, and most of those who did couldn't care less. Content in their current state, they didn't consider anything more. And so it went for them, over the aeons, becoming the fair folk we know now.

But meanwhile, not all were content with this. Some, either through accident or choice, continued to evolve, leaving their five-graced brethren behind. Some held on to the graces they had, but pursued more and more power. Others absorbed more graces. Some did both. In nearly all cases, the being grew larger, often transcending the notion of "entity" and becoming closer to the notion of "location". They became inscrutable, even to the raksha, with an understanding of chaos the defied comprehension. Many went mad, wandering the seething chaos to purposes known only to them. Others were solidly rational, but with motivations so alien that it appeared as madness. Once reaching this state, a new label is needed, and these are called the ''unshaped''. Those that survive usually do so because, within them, graces they absorb form into "guiding intelligences", subsidiary entities much like the raksha themselves.

Most of the unshaped remain so. Occasionally they absorb narrative waypoints, even raksha, and may wax or wane in power. Sometimes raksha manage to impose their will on the unshaped, gaining portions of it for themselves. On rare occasions, an unshaped might even devolve, splitting back into raksha or more exotic combinations of graces. Sometimes new guiding intelligences arise or fall. In general, though, their unshaped nature does not change.

Over long periods, however, a very few of these unshaped became something of an ecosystem, within which their own evolution continued. As they traveled and grew, their guiding intelligences incorporated new, exotic graces still floating in the chaos. Sometimes whole new intelligences would be absorbed, or would even arise spontaneously within the unshaped. While it is futile to compare the unshaped to the human mind, each of the guiding intelligences within an unshaped tended to focus on a certain aspect of the unshaped's "psyche", for lack of a better word. By chance, sometimes a guiding intelligence would absorb just the right combination of graces and, in a moment of transcendence, become the perfect embodiment of such an aspect. When this happens in a way that remains stable, the capabilities of the guiding intelligence increase greatly, and a new label is needed. Though the term is somewhat cumbersome, we call these ''secondary souls''.

As time goes on, more and more guiding intelligences evolve into secondary souls. Such an advanced unshaped might have dozens of such souls, but it still remains unshaped, for while its guiding intelligence is evolving, it itself is not. With so many secondary souls (and, usually, still evolving guiding intelligences as well) within it, differences often arise between them. Almost always, this leads to conflict within the unshaped and, very often, this leads quickly to its demise. Often alliances are formed between the souls and standoffs and wars of attrition can halt the development of an unshaped forever. In rare cases, though, there is a perfect harmony between a collection of seven secondary souls, when they align with each other in a way that each of them has a very specific role. When souls that protect, gratify, define, communicate, express, reflect and understand a shared essential nature, they become greater than the sum of their parts and form a ''primary soul''.

When a primary soul forms within the unshaped, its secondary souls that are not part of the new primary soul are usually either quickly defeated or attempt to form into primary souls of their own. This almost always fails, with the souls being the wrong types or otherwise incompatible. In such cases, usually the primary soul eliminates the secondary souls, or lets them remain, but prevents the formation of another primary soul. The secondary souls can still oppose the primary soul and, very rarely, can dissolve it, but the primary soul's sense of self is extremely strong, and usually attempts to rule the unshaped with an iron fist. The most likely result is an unshaped containing a single ruling primary soul, several secondary souls, and shattered remnants of lesser entities within itself. Such an entity is powerful, but still finite, and generally focused on a single sphere of influence or way of thinking. Such creatures are called ''shinma''.

In some cases, two primary souls form roughly simultaneously. This usually ends badly for the unshaped, as the two primary souls usually fight to attrition and eventually split into two distinct shinma, or sometimes into scattered component pieces or even all the way back to chaos.

In very rare cases, however, three primary souls form within an unshaped. This can happen spontaneously, but more often is the result of one primary soul forming, then encouraging the development of others, accidentally or otherwise. It can also occur if the aforementioned unshaped with two primary souls happens to create or absorb a third, but this almost never happens. However it is done, once the unshaped has three primary souls, a fundamental change wracks it. Its awareness expands geometrically and its will becomes as undeniable as its ability to shape raw chaos to its every whim. It becomes, in short, a ''primordial''.

Did the first primordial try to prevent the emergence of a second? Did it encourage the evolution of more? Did it become so surprised at its sudden potency that it dissolved back into chaos? None will ever know. Eventually though, over two dozen primordials evolved. All continued to collect graces and evolve more primary souls, some making 20 or more. Once ascended, a primordial could accelerate the process beyond random chance; it could do almost anything it wanted. Inevitably, however, the primordials had to test just how far "almost" went.

An old paradox about omnipotence states a conundrum: can a truly omnipotent being, something who can do ''anything'', create a mountain so large that he himself cannot move it? If the answer is "yes", then the being cannot be truly omnipotent, as he can't move the mountain. If the answer is no, then he can't be omnipotent either, since he can't create the mountain. The primordials' test of their own limits answered a similar question about their ability to create anything from the chaos: could they shape something that they themselves could not shape? Could their mastery of chaos create, in effect, non-chaos?

Thus, Creation was born.

== Comments ==

This is simply pure genius awesomeness. I completely love it and plan on adopting it into my personal Exalted theory of everything. Very nice job. My only change would be how Creation itself was built, I like the concept of a number of Primordials getting together and forming a sanctum away from the churning Chaos that spawned them, a place they could relax without needing to worry about Chaos constantly nipping at their toes. Its a minor change, but still. Oh, I also want to mention something, according to canon time is something that only existed since Creation created it, thus before Creation their was no time. :) -[[Heru]]
:"Before the beginning of time" is a nonsense phrase like "north of the North Pole" or "below the center of the Earth". Nothing can be before something else (in the temporal sense of "before") but also outside of time, since "before" means "at an earlier point in time than", and something can't be at any point in time if it ISN'T in time.

And once they managed to create creation, then the moved on to the next question - could they make a game so addicting that even they couldn't stop playing it? I figure the reason Gaia and Autochthon probably sided with the Gods over the other Primordials because they kept on loosing and were hoping for easier compitition. -[[ExhilaratedRosewood]]

Just a note to myself here: where do the shinma fit in? Maybe when an unshaped evolves some number of secondary souls? - [[Wordman]]
:Considering that they're ultra powerful entities with different aspects that are discribed the same way as secondary souls, I would assume that they're what the primordials were before they decided to make creation. -[[ExhilaratedRosewood]]

I like your idea of making the shinma lesser than the Primordials. This makes a lot of sense when one considers that the beings that were the Primordials bound certain shinma concepts to Creation's laws. So, nice addition to an already excellent work. -[[Heru]]

This seems to violate a lot of canon. Specifically in canon, the time before Nirguna is referred to as "Time Not" as there was no time prior to Nirguna (same as above comment), and it is explicitly stated that prior to Nirguna there was no existence at all. Thus, at the beginning of time, Nirguna came into unexistence and thus defined existence itself, time could not have possibly existed prior to Nirguna's unexistence, because nothing existed. Particularly ''none'' of the graces existed prior to the shinma that defines them. -[[User:Puellanivis|Puellanivis]]