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Chakras and Chi: The Building Blocks of Exaltation

by CallMeCal
(Based on an adaptation by my Storyteller of the Renown system from cWoD.)

Synopsis

Shards of Exaltation are made of Essence Patterns. Chakras define and delineate those patterns, and express how they relate to each type of Exaltation. The quanta of Essence themselves are called "Chi".

Chakras

There are ten Chakras, each defined by a type of action and defining a state of being. Each one has a Permanent and Temporary Chi pool, and each pool caps at 10. If an Exalt has 10 Temporary Chi of a type of Chakra, she may use a Standard Action to convert them into 1 Permanent Chi of its same type. She may make the same conversion in reverse, but that is a Full Round Action and requires a successful roll of (Permanent [Relevant Chakra]+Essence), Difficulty 5. Internal penalties apply, External penalties do not. She may not do this if the Chakra in question is one of the three that defines her Exaltation and doing so would bring that Chakra's Permanent Chi lower than her Essence.

Honor

"Truth, Justice, and the Integrity of Creation"

Honor is the Chakra of Goodness. It defines integrity, is defined by honesty, and is associated with Creation. Pushing back powerful evils or resisting dark temptations are likely to earn points of Honor.

Glory

"History shall sing of my greatness for ages to come"

Glory is the Chakra of Power. It defines heroism, is defined by victory, and is associated with Solars. Acts of earth-shaking awesomeness or profound epicness are likely to earn points of Glory.

Shift

"The more I change, the more I stay the same"

Shift is the Chakra of Change. It defines versatility, is defined by creativity, and is associated with Lunars. Novel solutions to difficult problems or unexpected choices that end in success are likely to earn points of Shift.

Mystery

"Oh what a tangled web we weave..."

Mystery is the Chakra of Secrecy. It defines concealment, is defined by hiding (whether a thing, an idea, or even oneself), and is associated with Sidereals. Acts of social intrigue and successful deception or acts of stealth that escape certain detection are likely to earn points of Mystery.

Synergy

"United we stand, divided we fall"

Synergy is the Chakra of Cooperation. It defines community, is defined by collaboration, and is associated with Dragon-Blooded.

Logic

"There is no greater joy than a well balanced equation"

Logic is the Chakra of Reason. It defines validity, is defined by sound thought processes, and is associated with Alchemicals.

Jhor

"Ask not for whom the bell tolls..."

Jhor is the Chakra of Decay. It defines mortality, is defined by entropy, and is associated with the Underworld.

Penitence

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned"

Penitence is the Chakra of Humility. It defines righteousness, is defined by obedience, and is associated with the Yozis.

Plot

"I opened the book and I read about me"

Plot is the Chakra of Story. It defines insanity, is defined by self awareness, and is associated with the Wyld.

Quintessence

"I am that I am"

Quintessence is the Chakra of Being. It defines the state of existing, is defined by staking one's Self in reality, and is associated with Exaltation. Once per session, an Exalt may convert one Temporary Chi of any Chakra that does not define her Exaltation into Temporary Quintessence. Since Quintessence is a rather esoteric Chakra, it is unlikely to be awarded often in the story, so this is the most reliable way to raise it. This is also the only way that Chi can be converted from one Chakra to another, with one exception.

Defining the Shards

Each type of Exaltation is defined by three Chakras. Every Exalt can gain and store Chi in any Chakra, but she can only use those that define her Exaltation. Also, at the end of every session, she loses one Temporary Chi of any type that does not define her Exaltation, if she has any. (If she does not, no Chi is lost.) How to pick which one is lost is up to the Storyteller (be it Player's choice, Storyteller's choice, or some method of randomness). Every Exaltation is defined by Quintessence.

Solars

Glory, Honor

Abyssals

Glory, Jhor

Infernals

Glory, Penitence

Proscenics

Glory, Plot

Lunars

Shift, Honor

Nihilics

Shift, Jhor

Xenomorphics

Shift, Penitence

Chimerics

Shift, Plot

Sidereals

Mystery, Honor

Synodics

Mystery, Jhor

Panoptics

Mystery, Penitence

Narratives

Mystery, Plot

Terrestrials

Synergy, Honor

Labyrinthians

Synergy, Jhor

Tarnished

Synergy, Penitence

Seasonals

Synergy, Plot

What About Gaians?

Gaians (and their other templates) use Synergy, same as Dragon-Blooded (and their other templates). However, the Chi within that Chakra has been refocused and realigned along parallell but refracting essence lines, being similar enough not to maim the shard or count as trading in a Chakra, but different enough to qualify as a separate Exaltation. See the page on Gaians for more information.

Alchemicals

Logic, Honor

Obsolescents

Logic, Jhor

Virals

Logic, Penitence

Unfounded

Logic, Plot

Using Chi

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Who Knows This Stuff?

Authochthon, Lytek, and the Ebon Dragon are the only ones who canonically must know every detail of this. (The Ebon Dragon had to know it to design Infernal and Abyssal Exaltation.) How much of the rest is known, and how common that knowledge is, is up to the Storyteller. It may be that Authochthon and/or Lytek explained to the Celestines exactly what the design was and how it works, and they may in turn have passed that knowledge on to the Exalts of the Primordial War. If that is the case though, an important question must be addressed: Why are there no Charms that use Chi? One explanation could be that even the mad savants of the High First Age were unwilling to toy with the Essence patterns of their own existence, the very substance of their own Exaltation. Or it could be that such Charms did exist in the First Age, but, like so many other ancient wonders, knowledge of these Charms has been lost to the ages. Or it could simply be that Autochthon never shared his designs, and Lytek never betrayed the secret, and so all of this remains unknown. This is all up to the Storyteller.

In any case, there is nothing stopping Exalts from creating new Charms that use Chi, if they know about it. One Temporary Chi should be considered roughly equivalent in strength to one Willpower — or slightly stronger — when calculating the power of the Charm that uses it. Note that the Charm should in some way reflect the nature of the Chakra it draws from; Chi is always aspected to a Chakra, and the closest it ever comes to being unaspected is when it is aspected to Quintessence. As always when creating new Charms, work together with your Storyteller to come up with something you both like and think is fair.

Changing Sides

The first Chakra that defines an Exaltation is unmovable, unchangeable. It could not be swapped for a different Chakra without destroying and remaking the Exaltation itself, and it is unlikely that anyone besides Authochthon (or maybe Lytek) could accomplish such a thing. The second one, however, is somewhat less permanent (though only somewhat). Once in an Exalt's lifetime, she may choose to swap her second Chakra for one of the three others (Honor, Jhor, Penitence, or Story), altering the template of her Exaltation. Such a feat can only occur once per lifetime, and cannot be done simply on a whim. There are two ways to make this happen, and neither are especially easy.

The first method requires that the Permanent pool of her target Chakra be greater than or equal to her Essence. She must go to a place where essence of the type associated with her target Chakra is strong and concentrated (the most obvious choice would be a demesne or Manse), and meditate there, without interruption or sleep, for however long it takes to succeed on an extended (Intelligence+Occult) roll with a cumulative difficulty of (Essence*10) and a roll interval of four hours. Expect this to take several days.

The second method only requires a minimum of one Permanent Chi in the target Chakra, but a power and will equivalent to that of a Primordial must actively force the change to occur. (Lytek can also do so, but any attempt to convince him to mess with an Exaltation [other than to restore it to Honor] suffers a -10 External Penalty.) In this case, the remaining Permanent Chi necessary to maintain her Essence is forcibly converted from her current Chakra to her target Chakra. (Choosing to accept insanity while in Limit Break functions as this method, the Great Curse acting as the required "power and will equivalent to a Primordial". However, Limit Break is not necessary; one could theoretically find a Raksha Noble or an Unshaped of sufficient power and get them to do it instead.)

Whichever method is used, at the moment of the change the Exalt instantly receives 100*Essence EXP, spendable on anything, purchasable immediately.

These two methods each have their benefits and drawbacks. If the Exalt is changing templates simply to gain more or better power for herself, with no intention of serving the masters of the relevant faction, she may prefer to choose the first method. It is much more difficult, but can (in theory) be done in secret, without drawing the immediate attention of any major forces (though sooner or later, it is bound to come out). However, if the Exalt is willing to submit her will to the plans and designs of her target faction, she may wish to forgo the arduous task of gaining and maintaining that much off-template Chi, and the days of sleepless meditation, and just have the masters force the change directly.

An arduous trek for a distant reward? Or immediate power in exchange for your soul?

Choose carefully.

There is no going back.