EndlessChase/IdeaBin
The Idea Bin
This is where I plan to throw up everything that I'm working on at the moment. Every so often I'll put whatever's in here and completed where it's supposed to go.
The Stuff
Lunar Caste Ability Spread
FULL MOON WAXING MOON HALF MOON WANING MOON NO MOON Archery Medicine Awareness Investigation Craft Athletics Performance Bureaucracy Larceny Dodge Brawl Sail Lore Martial Arts Linguistics Endurance Socialize Melee Stealth Occult Presence Thrown Ride Survival Resistance
Scales of Ibis and Jackel
Artifact: N/A Commitment: none
The scales, though constructed of Orichalcum, Moonsilver, and Starmetal, appear to follow all of the design requirements of any normal set of merchant's scales. Aside from the materials used in it's construction, the only other extrodinary feature about the scales are their size. The set takes up nearly an entire room of the manse in which they typically reside, nearly twenty feet across and a dozen high. The base and upright of the scales are orichacum, the dishes in which things are to be measured are made of Starmetal, and the very thin chains suspending the dishes are made of Moonsilver.
Under normal circumstances the scales will function normally, comparing the weight of whatever is put in the dishes to be compared. A celestial exalt, however, can use the scales even further. By spending a single mote of essence and putting two objects in the scales, one in each dish, the scales will compare not their weight, but their value. Items with a higher resourses value will sink further. Depending on the amount of descent or rise, which do not necessarilly happen evenly, the value of each item can also be determined.
If a celestial exalt spends five motes and places artifacts on either side, they may make a similar comparison, though weighing the artifat's rating instead of a resources value.
The true potency of the artifact comes when it is used by a member of the Eclipse Caste. By spending ten motes, the Eclipse can weigh and measure anything that they can conceive of. By placing two people on the scales she can compare their personalities, or how drunk they are, or how strongly thy hold to their convictions. The only exceptions are that the scales can only measure things directly about the things they weigh in a quantitative sense.
Mechanically this ability allows a player to determine anything that can be represented on a charater sheet that has a rating associated with it, except for backgrounds.
Day Blossom
Artifact: •••• Commitment: None
Any that have seen this rare and wonderful flower have beleived it to be the most glorious bloom. The petals of the flower are a bright and vivid red while the center of the bloom is a fierce and radiant gold. The flower gives off faint light when open, making it clearly visible in the dark.
The flower has eight petals and nestled within it are three seeds. If someone capable of channeling essence consumes one of the petals from the flower they find themselves better able to recoup the essence that they have spent. For the rest of the day the person gains an additional two motes per hour, regardless of their activity level. This essence regeneration functions even in the underworld. Abyssal Exalted are the exception to this case. An abyssal that consumes a petal from the Day Blossom will find two motes of their own essence painfully burned away each hour. Abyssals also suffer a dice pool penalty equal to their own permanent essence rating for the durration of the day.
Should one of the seeds be planted a new Day Blossom will grow in an hour, though the plant must survive a full year before the petals will be ready for consumption or the seeds ready to be sewn. If one of the seeds is planted in the heart of a Shadowland, however, the effects is wonderful. Once the seed grows into a bloom and flourishes, the shadowland around it is erradicated (as per the spell in BoB&E, with only the base cost spent). Any flower grown this way does not bear seeds of it's own, though the petals do provide the normal essence regeneration benifits.
Night Lotus
Artifact: •••• Commitment: None
Glowing eerily in pale moonlight, this wonderous blossom has been known to captivate the attention of nearly all who stare upon it. It's pale white petals peel back to reveal a shining metalic center, and, within the very center, three seeds.
Though the lotus has many leaves, there are eight that grow silver on the inner side. If someone consumes these petals, they find themselves feeling heatier and healthier than ever. The healing rates of anyone that has consumed one of the petals doubles, and they may make a check to defeat disease every hour, as opposed to every day. This increase in healing rate applies to creatures that regenerate, such as Lunars with the gift Wound Kniting power or people under the effects of the Wood Dragon Form.
If one of the seeds is planted into either healthy soil or is cast into a pond, another flower will grow within the hour, though the petals and the seeds it produces must mature for a year before they are able to be consumed for any benifit. If one of the seeds is planted inside a wyld area or within the wyld itself, a very different thing happens. Once the flower blooms, the land around it in a ten mile radius becomes more real. Border and middle marches become as creation, while everything else is reduced by two stages. This effect is permanent as long as the flower remains alive, or if enough life from creation makes it's way to the spot, keeping it from naturally descending back into chaos.
A flower grown in this way does not produce seeds, though the petals do provide the normal healing benifit once mature.
Uncounted days had dawned upon creation under the watchful eyes of the Celestial Incarna. Sol Invictus lit the day with his majesty and counted the hours with his path across the sky. Luna shined down in the night, and told the passing of the months as her form shifted from new to full and back again. The five Maidens watched over all things both great and small, and ensured that all things that were came to pass.
And though creation was maintained by the gods, they did not rule it. Though they were the masters of their domains, the Incarna were forced to bend knee before masters of their own. The Primordials.
Creation, under the care of the gods, was first made by the Primordials, and it had been their lot to watch it. They had reveled in what they had created, and after a time they took a bit of all that was wonderful and good and made with those fragments the Games.
The games were made, and so the games were played. For times untold the Primordials left creation to itself as they enjoyed themselves fully, until the lady Gaia looked up, as it was not her turn, and saw the decline that had befallen her once glorious terrain. She spoke to her sisters and brothers, saying, "Look away from the board, siblings, and look what has happened?" And the primordials, reluctantly turning from the games, saw that all they had built was falling into nothingness.
((Don't like it, but don't want to get rid of it just yet. Let's try again...))
A very handsom young man walked hand in hand with a very pretty young woman. Though they should be very happy, tears fell down from their eyes. The yound man had asked the girl's father for her hand, and with smiles and words of admiration, her father had guided their palms together. That was the night before. In the morning, the young man had woken to the pounding of a heavy fist upon his door.
Rising slowly ang groggily from happy dreams, the young man had opened the door to find soldiers waiting there for him. The told him that the war between the Gods and those that came before had moved out of the heavens and into creation. Though those fights were beyond the capabilities of men, the battles left monsters and slave-creatures, discarded weapons, in the wake of the battles. All able bodied men were to be soldiers.
And so it was that the young man was given just a day to spend with his young love.
At the end of the day, as the sky had just started to darken and the moon shine paley, they found themselves laying next to each other on the bank of a small brook.
"I fear I may never see you again." The young man told the young woman, "For tomorrow I go to fight the things of our nightmares."
Her hand clutched his ever more tightly. "Then let us live our whole lives tonight, and regret nothing." She said as she brought his hand to her breast.
And so there they made love, under the watchful eyes of the descending sun and the rising moon.
When they came the air around them filled with lights bright and warm and soft and cool. Bathed in a golden and silver aura, they found themselves watched by two figures, and saw that it was from their forms that the different lights were coming. Stepping forward, the figures spoke, and they heard two voices as one. "Your fears be assuaged/as your love will endure/for tonight you become/more than ever you were" And with the final word the light faded.
It was then that they knew they were Exalted. The knowlege of what they had become and what they were to do was there, despite the few words spoken by their majestic visitors. Together they stood, and seperated from each other. From her bright red drops of blood from her maidenhead fell upon the soft grass. From him pale drops of his seed fell next to the red spots upon the grass.
Hand in hand once again they stood, and together they walked into the sunset, his naked form glowing pale and calm silver, hers warm and radiant gold. The first of all the chosen had been born.
In the morning both the soldiers and the girl's parrents went searching for them. The only thing they found, however, was a small patch of golden and silver colored flowers growing near the bank of the brook that no one had seen before.
((Still not right, but better))
\
"
If I were re-making Exalted all over again?
Martial Arts is a special category of universal Charm. Each Martial Arts tree is associated with a specific skill. Ebon Shadow Style is Stealth. Tiger Style is Brawl. Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style is Socialize. Crimson Pentacle Blade Style is Tactics. Righteous Devil Style is Archery. One of the benefits of a Form Charm is that when a Form is active, you can use that style's linked skill to make combat rolls instead of Melee or Brawl or whatever. The other benefit of MA is that all MA Charms can be comboed together, despite being from a miriad of different skills; however, you can't combo together Melee Charms and Violet Bier of Sorrows MA Charms, even though both are from the Melee skill. The other other benefit is that if you study and work hard, you can use MA charms one tier higher than Charms you're normally capable of learning. Mortals can learn Terrestial MA, etc.. " --Stephenls
Elite Retainer Mentoring Method
Cost: 5 Motes per target Duration: One Month Type: Simple Minimum Performance: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Tiger Warrior Training Technique, Underling Promoting Touch
By investing their essence into the very bodies and minds of those they wish to teach, a Solar Exalt can elevate someone to the peak of mortal possibility. The Solar must commit five motes to each target she wishes to train, and then spend a portion of every day working with that person in either training or study. The training takes one month to complete, though multiple disciples may be instructed at the same time, though never more than the Solar's permanent essence at a time. At the end of the duration all of the Solar's students graduate as heroic mortals with certain other benifits.
In addition to the benifits granted through the use of Tiger Warrior Training Technique, the mortal gains one ability taught to them up to a rating of one less than what their instructor has. For example, if the Solar with an occult rating of four spends the month teaching the mortals the study of abient essence and the history of the spirit courts, the mortals would gain an occult rating of three. The rating a mortal gains can never be higher than five.
Lunar Stuff
Here's a chunk of stuff that I've been brainstorming for Lunars as an alternate to DBT. Might also convert these over to ability based too, but I havn't really decided just yet.
Tell
Assignable attribute points granted to hybrid forms forms by the tell cost one point each for strength or stamina, and two points each for dexterity and perception. A Lunar must have a tell level no lower than her permanent essence - 3. If the difficulty to spot the tell is reduced below 1, the tell becomes unhidable and everyone that sees the Lunar will notice it instantly, making them recognisable regardless of what form they are in.
X - The Lunar's blood is neigh totally human. It costs her five motes to take the form of an animal who'se Heart's Blood she has tasted, and she has no totem.
• - The Lunar has a totem and a permanent tell. She gains one attribute point to be placed amongst her physical attributes when in a hybrid form. Transforming into an animal form costs four motes. The Tell is difficulty five to notice.
•• - The Lunar's tell is more pronounced and at difficulty four to notice. Transforming into an animal costs four motes, and she gains three attribute points to be distributed amongst her physical attributes or her perception when in a hybrid form.
••• - The Lunar's tell is even more pronounced, and is difficulty three to notice. When the Lunar's Anima Banner is at the 7-10 mote level her tell is instantly recognisable. Transforming into an animal now costs three motes, and she gains one dot in each physical attribute, as well as three dots to place where she chooses between her physical attributes and her perception.
•••• - The Lunar's tell is difficulty 2 to notice, and is obvious when at the 4-5 mote anima banner. Transforming into a normal sixed animal costs two motes. Changing into a large or small animal costs three. The Lunar also gains one in each of her physical attributes and perception when in a hybrid form, and gains five additional points to be placed as she chooses.
••••• - The Lunar's tell is difficulty one to spot, and is apparent to all if the Lunar spends any peripheral essence. Transforming into a normal sized animal costs one mote, and transforming into a small or large animal costs two motes for the Lunar. When in a Hybrid form the Lunar gains two dots in each of her physical attributes, one dot of perception, and five dots to assign as she will amongst these attributes.
Lethal Animal Affinity
Cost: 5 Motes Duration: Indefinite Type: Reflexive Minimum Appearance: 0 Minimum Essence: 1 Prerequisite Charms: None
The Lunar uses her protean nature to shift into a hybrid of her human and animal forms. The Lunars human features become more animal like as her body becomes stronger and faster. While the character's appearance does change somewhat, they still appear mostly human. For the durration of the charm and until the end of the next scene the Lunar's tell is at one lower difficulty to notice.
In this form the Lunar gains five attribute points to distribute between her physical attributes and her perception, as per the Tell background, and if they have a totem, gain access to two gifts. These gifts must be selected when this charm is purchaced. The motes used for this charm are not committed.
With training and hard work, the Lunar may re-purchase this charm at normal cost, and reassign the gifts and attribute points gained with it and the Tell background, though they lose their original or previous version of the charm when doing so.
Deadly Beastman Transformation
Cost: 5 Motes Duration: Indefinite Type: Reflexive Minimum Appearance: 0 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Lethal Animal Affinity
The Lunar floods her body with the essence from both her human and totem forms, becoming a monstrous hybrid. The character rises a head taller than her human form stands, and is obviously not human. For the duration of this charm and for the following day the difficulty to spot the Lunar's Tell is two less than normal.
In this form the Lunar gains eight attribute points to be distributed between her physical attributes and her perception, as per the Tell background, and if they have a totem they gain access to four gifts. These gifts and attribute points must be selected when this charm is purchased, but they do not need to be assigned in the same manner as done with the Lethal Animal Affinity charm. The motes for this charm are not comitted.
With training and hard work, the Lunar may re-purchase this charm at normal cost, and reassign the gifts and attribute points gained with it and the Tell background, though they lose their original or previous version of the charm when doing so.
Ravanging Beast Form
Cost: 5 Motes Duration: Indefinite Type: Reflexive Minimum Appearance: 0 Minimum Essence: 5 Prerequisite Charms: Deadly Beastman Transformation
The Lunar's body twists and warps, becoming a moistrous combination of animal and man. The Lunar's height rises anywhere from nine to twelve feet, and their body bulges with unsupressed power. For the duration of this charm and for the following month, the difficulty to spot the Lunar's tell is reduced by three. In this form the Lunar is so attuned to her animal nature that she loses the ability to speak without the aid of charms that allow her to do so in an animal form.
In this form the Lunar gains twelve attribute points to be distributed between her physical attributes and her perception, as per the Tell background, and they gain access to six gifts. These gifts and attribute points must be selected when this charm is purchased, but they do not need to be assigned in the same manner as done with the Lethal Animal Affinity or Deadly Beastman Transformation charms. The motes for this charm are not comitted.
With training and hard work, the Lunar may re-purchase this charm at normal cost, and reassign the gifts and attribute points gained with it and the Tell background, though they lose their original or previous version of the charm when doing so.
Fangs of Instinct Technique
Cost: 5 Motes Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Minimum Wits: 4 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Twisting Surprise Attack
Where the Twisting Surprise Attack uses fast reaction to read the movements of an enemy and even sharper reflexes to strike before they can, Fangs of Instinct Technique allows the less conscious part of the Lunar’s mind act of its own accord.
The Lunar makes a reflexive attack, utilizing her entire appropriate dice pool. If the Lunar is using a weapon made of Moonsilver, the attack has a base difficulty to overcome of the Lunar’s essence. This charm may be used only once against a given opponent, but when facing multiple opponent’s it may be used against each. Once an opponent has taken her action, this charm may no longer be used.
Endlessly Diving Raptor Stance
Cost: Varries, 1 Willpower Type: Simple Duration: Scene Minimum Dexterity: 4 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Striking Mospid Method
The Lunar Exalted use the potent resource of instinct and reaction to their advantage when in battle, but the best can exceed even their subconscious limitations through the use of this charm. Becoming nimble and quick of eye, the Lunar infuses her body with essence, quickening reactions and movements by eliminating all forms of wasted movement or thought.
For every motes spent fueling this charm, the Lunar increases her dexterity by one for the purposes of movement and initiative, adding up to her dexterity in dice. This Dexterity is cumulative with any added from die adders, and does not count against those caps.
