FrivYeti/Sarasi

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The Overgrown Land

Sitting on the western edge of the small kingdom of Sarasi, the Overgrown Land is an area of forest over four miles across. It is easy to tell when a traveller is entering this land; at its fringes, plants grow in size, until, very rapidly, tree tower a hundred feet tall, and the grass itself climbs up above one's knees. Bees the size of one's fist buzz around flowers that could double as parasols, and occasionally, very large and dangerous predators find their way out of the Land.

What It Is

In the First Age, a Solar Manse Architect and soldier, Redlin Parn, undertook it upon himself to create a focused form of Demense alteration. By locating an amazingly powerful wood-aspected Demense, and altering it to make only the changes that he wanted to happen, he planned to create a perfect training ground; one where mortal soldiers could be easily empowered even as he used his Tiger-Warrior training to improve their skill.

To this end, Parn altered the flows of his Manse as he constructed it, so that only a certain amount of power would seep from it. Ideally, it should have worked, and indeed, for a time, it did. Although not every soldier could be trained in the new conditions that Parn had created, enough could for his satisfaction.

However, Parn was slain in the early days of the Usurpation; he led his soldiers in a valiant defense of the training ground, but his overconfidance caused him to face the Dragon-Blooded head-on, and he was killed. In the process, the Manse was damaged, and powerful defensive magics drove away the usurpers. The magics have since faded, leaving the Manse safe to approach, but its location was forgotten and no one seeks to repair it.

Living In the Overgrown Land

Any creature that approaches within two miles of the Manse begins to change; they continue to do so for longer than was originally intended. For every month that any living being spends within this Manse, they acquire one mutation point. These points always enhance the creatures in the same order: Large, Sturdy, Fast (+5 yards movement), Huge (replaces Large), Tough (replaces Sturdy), Gazelle's Stride (replaces Fast), Very Big (replaces Huge, +2 Str, +2 Sta, Extra Health Levels; -0, -1, -2, -2), and finally Giant (replaces Very Big). The entire process takes eight months, after which the adaptation is complete. Of course, any being that completes these mutations, becoming massive and powerful, can no longer live outside the demense. Because of this, they have thus far, aside from a few plants, failed to breed true. Instead, any bird or beast could wander into the area and grow, eventually dying or depopulating an area.

Back in the First Age, only Large, Sturdy, and Fast were imparted; the Training Ground was designed to increase warriors to a stature of above eight feet tall and bulky, capable of fighting very well. However, the damage to the Manse broke loose restraining elements in the Manse's construction.

The Manse of Imposing Victory

Lying in the centre of the Overgrown Land, the Manse is a ruined splendour, a great tower built from a single massive oak, ten stories tall. Within, plants have ruined all of the great books and training aids of the First Age, although a few artifacts may have survived. The tower was once the sleeping quarters used by mortal soldiers during their three-month stay here, and is designed to hold over 600 people at a time. Most of its belongings are cracked and oversize, from the Manse's outflow.

The Hearthstone Chamber of the Manse lies on its bottom level, amongst the roots of the tower. Roots spiral around the centre of the chamber, and the Hearthstone of the manse glitters in their exact centre. Although the Manse is Level 5, the Hearthstone is Level 4, due to the Manse's other powers.

The Hearthstone of Imposing Might: This Hearthstone enhances a character's physical might. It looks like a brown, glittering gemstone, with red flecks in its depths. The bearer of this Hearthstone increases her Strength and Stamina by 1, and increases her Athletics by 2 for the purposes of lifting and carrying objects. However, there is a downside; due to the breaking of the Manse, the Hearthstone is slightly erratic. Whenever the character attempts to use less than her full strength, roll one die. On a failure, apply the Hearthstone's Strength bonuses to whatever they are attempting, potentially shattering delicate objects or hurting people who you wanted to shake hands with. If the Manse is repaired, this drawback will cease to be.

Repairing the Manse

Repairing the Manse is difficult, but not impossible. Many of the retaining walls are cracked, and they would have to be placed back in the proper angles. First, the character must identify the problems and how to fix them. If the character somehow found plans for the Manse, this is an Intelligence + Lore roll, requiring Lore 4, Occult 4, and Craft (Architecture) 4; apply a one-die penalty for every dot in each area that the character falls short. Roll once per week. Only three successes are required. If the plans are NOT found, the requirement for Lore, Occult, and Craft increases to 5, and five successes are required.

Actually repairing the Manse is more difficult, and usually requires a skilled workforce. The Manse will need one year to repair with 100 skilled workers; more workers (or Exalted magic) could speed the process. Once repaired, the Manse will function as it did in the First Age.