TheLongSecondAgeSetting/AbilitiesandBackgrounds--JakkBey

The sun was setting, casting a crimson glow across the desiccated skeleton of towers. Tetsubo watched the Realm’s Own as they crossed the cracked tiles of the ruined floor, skirting the holes, casting their weapons in search of the hidden figure.

Might help if they were looking up... Tetsubo chuckled to himself. His hands slipped to the catch of his Gunklaive. The figures below spread out, the sun glinting from their SMGs. As the Realm’s Own took their positions, a figure in a blazing red suit, strode forward. His jacket and tie were impeccable, his sunglasses the latest Imperial style.

Wondering when he’d show up. Tetsubo counted. Ten soldiers. One Agent. Just me. I am going to have to talk to Renard when we hook up in Lookshy. He flushed Essence through his frame, filling his limbs with the might of the Unconquered Sun. This is probably going to hurt...

Incising the air with the mudras of power, Tetsubo dropped to the floor. His Gunklaive sang through the air, filling the air with cordite. Below the soldiers began to fall, stitched with fire. The Agent was already in motion, his Anima already flaring. Even as Tetsubo dropped, he could see the Dragon Blooded’s pistols fly from his jacket, inscribing protective Charms around the Agent.

Dammit, he’s fast. Tetsubo crashed into the floor, the tiles crushed into a cloud of dust. He flipped his lined coat up, and rolled away. Fire sliced into the tiles where he landed. Tetsubo’s Gunklaive flashed a circle, Essence poured again, his Caste mark shining in the fading light. As he leaped, the orichalcum Daiklaive, preternatural in its precision, interposed the wide blade, shedding fire and sparks.

Snapping back to center, Tetsubo returned fire. Closing the circle, he completed the Fire Blossom Form. Above him, the Agent smiled. His pistols blazed, incandescent lines of force circled, spinning their protection. Tetsubo nodded, and raised his blade in salute. Around them, the Realm’s Own lay, a few still burning.

“Not bad. Not bad at all Tetsubo-san. I’ve been curious since the Bronze cast the Divination Protocols.” The Agent sank to the ground, slowly, his pistols still aflame.

“Glad I didn’t disappoint you.” Tetsubo chuckled. He continued the Fire Blossom Form, Essence rippling. “I suppose you want to dance, now?”

The Agent threw his head back and laughed. “With you? Now?” He gestured to the walls. “And deprive my brethren of their fun?”

Tetsubo spared a glance behind him. More suited figures were rising from floating platforms outside the walls. Animas flared, blasting the windows in. White suit. Blue suit. Green suit. Black Suit. Cannonade, chakram, rifle, tiger claws. Each nodded slightly, as their Animas pulsed, wreathing them in elemental fury.

“Well, I suppose I should join them, just for balance.” Fire glided back to close their Circle around Tetsubo.

Tetsubo dropped his head, his lined coat snapping in the wind roaring across the room. He hefted the Gunklaive to his shoulder, and shrugged his sleeves loose. He felt the Agents’ Essence flare.

Just can’t be easy, can it?

                                              ~

Welcome to the Creation, Realm Year 2979, at the twilight of the Long Second Age. I present this alternate setting for Exalted as a fan of cyberpunk of steampunk, and as an exercise for the inclusion of modern themes into Exalted, without losing the magical and epic qualities that a simple transposition into a modern world would incur. It in now way means to infringe on the trademark of WW, it is not a stand alone game, and where I’ve borrowed, I like to give credit.

First off, let me thank The Screen Jockey, A.J. Mobely, who I have borrowed a quite a bit from his Tactics trees for my own Warfare Ability which is used in this setting. While the Ability is not the same as he uses in his game–the scope of Warfare is different than in his setting, it is borrowed from heavily, and share some Charms in common, though some have been changed a bit to fit what I feel Warfare should be. Mad props up to TSJ for the groundwork though, and for showing me the light to losing Martial Arts and Brawl as separate Abilities.

I have borrowed heavily from the WoD: Combat supplement for the inclusion of Fight Techniques, and while altered, the rules for Fight Techniques ultimately come from that source, altered for Exalted, but in no way do I take credit for the bulk of the work that Steven Long did for his Big Book of Beating Ass. Some of the Lunar Techniques are a reworking of Kalindo, as well as some of the other maneuvers from Combat, and I can take no credit for them, save for trying to piece them together in a form that makes sense for Exalted.

I’d also like to point out that several of the Firearms Charms were lifted lock, stock, and smoking barrel from Feng Shui–which is a licensed trademark of Atlas Games, and Robin D Laws. The changes to the gun shticks are my own, to fit the Exalted setting, and are meant as a homage to one of the best HK Action games, not as plagiarism.

Any similarity of Gunklaives to any Final Fantasy is purely intentional, and I’ll be the first one to admit that Pistol Whipping Prana is meant as a direct reference to Equilibrium, Kurt Wimmer’s 2002 dystopian vision. While not a great film, its action sequences are as much responsible for this setting as Final Fantasy’s Gunblades, Terry Gillium’s Brazil, any of the productions of Orwell’s 1984, Gibson and Sterling’s The Difference Engine, Chris Baccalo’s Steampunk, and I did look quite a bit at J. Gregory Keyes’ Empires of Unreason series. If it fits a Steampunk motif, I cop to lifting things from it, again as homage to a genre that I love. If you see any similarities to Joss Whedon’s Firefly, good, because bits of that are there as well.

Many of the ideas for Sorcery in an urban setting, a couple of the Firearms and Pilot Charms, and some of the Artifact ideas are pure Urban Arcana, from the nice folks at WotC. Their supplement is a source of inspiration as well, and I will admit freely to lifting some of those ideas, and suggest anyone interested in using this setting check out what they did, because the supplement is fantastic.

The Long Second Age has a lot to offer to expand the idea of Exalted as an action genre game. It is meant to encompass not only Steampunk dystopia, but Western themes as well, and I’ve tried to retain the mythic quality to it, while giving the setting a bit of a face lift. It doesn’t mean that I dislike the original setting, but wanted to have a few games that included some high flying Exalt action with Guns and Gods. While the setting has changed, many of the old familiar places are still around. The Realm is still recognizable, and I do not attempt to take authorship for the ideas presented from the original source material.

The setting material here primarily deals with Solars. That doesn’t mean that I am ignoring the Dragon Bloods, the Lunars, the Sidereals, Fair Folk, Abyssals or Alchemicals in the setting, just that I haven’t done treatments for them yet. The material here is meant to give a basis for the rules sets, primarily to give expansions for Heroic Mortals with Mystech Modifications, an introduction to the changes that I made to the rules system with Fight, Warfare, and the Mana Net. I leave it as an open source for folks who would like to use the setting, and look forward to their ideas on how to expand the setting for other Exalts.

The Long Second Age is geared for Power Combat, and unless otherwise stated, the Charms and character creation rules are the same as normal. These are expansions to the Big White Book, and not meant to supercede them. Make your characters normally, and plug these ideas in if you’d like. The following are changes to the character creation process–with the changes to Backgrounds, Abilities, and the inclusion of Merits and Flaws.

Backgrounds

Allies Everyone knows people. This background represents those people you can call upon to help you out: friends, business partners, or some one who has similar interests and desires. Allies are truly dedicated individuals you have close bonds with.

Allies are people in their own right, with lives and interests of their own, and the relationship is a two way street. If a character takes and never gives, allies will desert you. They are loyal, but they won’t throw their lives away, and may grow weary of repeated demands on their time and resources. Allies can also call upon you for assistance. (What, you’ve got a brace of Wyld Hunt Agents on your tail. I’ll see if I can get a few hard Metro boyz to give your street a buzz!)

Each dot represents one Ally. (Instead of signifying multiple Allies, higher ratings can represent more a more powerful Ally.) An ally may be an agent, police officer, detective, Judicar, an old Academy chum, wealthy philanthropist, old girlfriend, apocathary, Theurgist, scholar, or the like. You should work out the details with your Storyteller, as a well developed supporting cast makes for richer roleplaying.

1. One Ally of moderate power. (Equal to a starting character.)
2. Two Allies, or one of significant power.
3. Three Allies, or few with more power.
4. Four Allies, or fewer with greater capability.
5. Five Allies, or fewer with immense power.

Artifact A powerful item, of high mystech power, and more importantly, the resources to keep this device on line and working. The item is a unique piece of equipment, one that has been tailored for you and your specifications.

This Background can be purchased multiple times for different pieces. Each dot indicates the Artifacts power. The item may be from a former life, stolen from a secretive Realm laboratory, but whatever it is, it will have a story behind it.

1. A minor item, a charm, hearthstone, or another item that is relatively unremarkable, but useful.
2. A useful item. A weapon or suit of armor, an untraceable key, or mystical program.
3. A powerful weapon or suit of armor, or significant non-combat item. A souped up vehicle or notable piece of equipment.
4. A remarkably powerful weapon or armor, or a non-combat item of great power. A Sky Frigate with all the whistles and bell, a legendary Battle Staff.
5. A vanished Wonder of the First Age, a fully aware War Golem, a stealthed War Strider, a Daemon-Bound mirror with its own Sorcery and Library base.

Backing This trait represents your standing in an organization–government, army, Guild, powerful criminal society, Immaculate Theurgacy. Backing is less a measure of actual capability or achievement than of perceived influence and rank. At the Storyteller’s discretion, you may take Backing multiple times in different organizations. With this rank comes responsibility; if your character has high Backing, he is likely to be responsible for decisions involving a great number of people and resources.

1. A low ranking position of little authority but a fair amount of responsibility. (Get me that file, Jones!)
2. A good post with most of the disagreeable duties pawned off on underlings. (Get in here, Jones, and have your secretary get me that file.)
3. Mid-level rank, usually with ill defined authority and responsibility. '(Jones, your team is in charge of motivating the marketing and engineering side of things. Let’s see those numbers up by 50%, say by tomorrow!)
4. A position of some distinction and privilege. You have access to large resources and are trusted by the elite. (Jones, nice job on the last campaign!)
5. You’ve reached the upper ranks, a leader in your own right. (Can I get you more coffee Mr. Jones?)

Contacts--Exactly the same as the BWB.

Familiar--Exactly the same as the BWB--can include Mystech Avatars for the Mana Net.

Followers--Exactly the same as the BWB.

Influence If nothing else, Exalted are certainly persons of importance; people watch, admire, and fear them. The Influence Background reflects your character’s pull and status in society. This status may derive from political office, running a business, being a religious figure, or merely the amount of power he’s demonstrated. Whatever the character’s specific credentials, people pay attention to his words and deeds.

Influence may be used to garner special favors from others, to promote a personal agenda in public or just to make life that much easier. Additionally, Influence may be drawn on to networks and make important connections–or to draw even more people under your character’s sway. Most Exalted will eventually garner some degree of Influence, if they don’t start with it. This does not reflect your pull in a private organization, that’s handled by Backing.

1. Moderately influential; a figure of local note. (Yes, Mr. Jones?)
2. Moderately powerful; your character swings some weight in the city-state or satrapy where he resides. (Of course, Mr. Jones!)
3. Influential; your character is very important to the region close to where he resides and is noticed in neighboring states. (Could I get your ideas on the issues, Mr. Jones?) The Dragon Blooded will know of him...
4. Broad personal power; your character’s words carry great weight throughout the region, and he may rule a town or small city. The Wyld Hunt is only a matter of time, even in the current political climate. (Right away, Mr. Jones!)
5. Vastly influential; your character rules a region or has great pull in several. Surely the Realm even now is gathering an army to annihilate him...(I can’t believe it’s you!)

Library Knowledge is power in the Long Second Age, and the character has access to that knowledge are ahead of the game. This Background represents a selection of files, tomes, and books, scrolls, crystals, or infoseeds that the character has access to. Often esoteric in nature, these tomes can provide a wide array of knowledge to the character, from old code files, forgotten back doors, old passkeys, codes for old Wards, or files that have not been updated, as well as a vast variety of facts, figures, and general knowledge that can be useful. Having access to medical books, can assist the character in learning Medicine, as well as provide valuable assistance in tasks on hand.

By rolling the Library Background’s rating, the character can either gain Study Points to mitigate experience point costs for gaining an Ability–each success subtracts one point needed, though Study Points can only reduce the cost to a minimum of one point. The roll can be extended to provide maximum benefit, but each roll to assist learning requires a week of study, and the rating of the Library limits the number of Study Points that a character can gain through this method.

Alternatively, the character can add his Library rating to a Lore or Investigation roll, while he has access to his Library. The Storyteller is the ultimate judge if the Library has the information to assist the character or not.

1. A collection of books and sources. 5 Study Points
2. A notable collection of codes or sources, and much superficial information. 10 SP
3. A handful of rare and ancient codices, books, scrolls, and crystals, and a vast storehouse of mundane and common knowledge. 15 SP
4. An impressive collection of esoteric and mundane lore. Many towns libraries are not so well stocked. 20 SP.
5. A hoard of secrets and a sea of common knowledge, considerably better than most cities, rivaling even the Heptagram’s finest’s personal sources. 25 SP.

Manse--Exactly the same as the BWB.

Mentor--Exactly the same as the BWB.

Resources--Exactly the same as the BWB.

                                          ~

Renard waited. He was good at waiting. He’d been waiting a long while.

Tetsubo’s late. As usual. He chewed his soya bar, watching the door. His screens were lit, the tell tale mirrors he’d placed on the streets covered all the approaches. Jeffers was watching the roof, but the link in Renard’s ear was silent.

The bar was sparse. Sarimen and drinking in a corner, samisan music counterpoint to their laughter. Krieg stood by the juke, leaning on his gun case. His head nodded in time with the music, his hands were busy. Assembling some new toy to plague us with later...

Be glad when Sparks checks in again. Woman spends too much time in the Down and Under. Renard sipped his tea, and brushed the crumbs from his lap. Between Sparks and Tetsubo, we spend a lot of time sitting on our asses instead of doing something useful. Renard smiled a bit to himself. Ok, maybe not nothing. Someone’s got to crank out the printing presses, and someone’s got to work the clinic. Not like Tetsubo or Sparks are that good at putting people back together...

“Got some movement in the south.” Jeffer’s voice cracked. Krieg slipped his toy back into his pocket without meeting Renard’s eye. He slipped his hands to his case, and the locks snapped open with a touch. “A couple of minutes ago, had a RO overflight. Couple of hard-shell. They were watching their mirrors, looking for something on the ground.”

Renard checked the sarimen. Everyone was still sipping their broth or sucking down noodles. Reading the latest serials while they avoided heading home. Behind the counter, their host was stirring stock. Still looks normal. Going to look like a real ass if this noodle joint turns out to be full of Agents. Not their style, but they might be learning something from hunting down in the Dirty Lowers. Renard tapped out a staccato on his boards. He nosed up his glasses as he typed to Jeffers.

“Watch the approach. If it’s Tetsubo, we might need to extract.” Krieg was in place, at his table, rummaging through his case, papers and files strewn across his table, though he was careful to keep the case lid to the patrons and the door. “We’re ready in here. Stay frosty.”

“Frosty. Got a visual. It’s Tets. He’s limping, and moving fast.” Jeffers voice dropped off. “Yup, he’s got company. Hardshells, and they’ve got dogs.”

Great. Renard flipped his mirrors again, and widened his net. Sure enough, the tell tales were popping up. Four teams. Working their way in towards them. Tets is leading them right to us too.

Why? Tetsubo’s smarter than that. Renard kicked in his outermost pickets. Bingo.

“Jeffers. Leave the Hardshells alone. Shift up a couple of blocks. We’ve got bogies. Big ones. Lots of Essence loaded for bear. Got multiple mana sigs, lots of Sorcery mojo. I’d say we’ve got more trouble coming than the Realm’s Own. Get ready to cover Tet’s six. I’m betting someone just loosed up a bunch of Blood Apes on this neighborhood. Bastards don’t care that there are people living down here. Hardshells are going to get hosed when those First Circles get going. Tet can handle them. I’m more worried about the Agents who just cordoned off this neighborhood. Krieg and I are going to fall back to the sewers, and meet you and Tetsubo at the Beta site.” Renard swept up his boards and snapped his mirrors shut. He nodded to the noodle man, and wiped at his eye to let Krieg know they were packing it in.

Case in hand, Renard laid a couple of jade coins on the counter. “Yara-san, looks like a storm’s coming . Might be a good idea to close that door. Winds blowing in from the south.”

Yara looked up and nodded. He wasn’t a bright man, but he had the sense to take a hint, and was already slipping doors shut. Renard uncapped a salt shaker and tossed a handful across the door frame. Yara locked his eyes, and muttered under his breath, but he hurried to light incense.

Krieg was already in the alley. Renard followed, sprinkling salt across the backdoor threshold, and muttering a quick prayer to the Sun to protect Yara and his patrons.

Just hope the Big UC’s listening. Renard hitched his bag on his shoulder, and ran.

                                              ~

Abilities

The following are the changes to the existing Abilities, and new Abilities that have developed in the Long Second Age. Unless otherwise noted, the Abilities for the setting are unchanged.

The Dawn Caste’s Favored Abilities are as follows: Archery, Firearms, Fight, Thrown, and Warfare. In this setting there is no Brawl, Martial Arts or Melee–Fight encompasses them, to make room for Firearms and Warfare.

The Twilight, Night, and Zenith Castes are unchanged. The Eclipse Caste now include: Bureaucracy, Linguistics, Ride, Pilot, and Socialize. Pilot replaces Sail, to include all vehicles.

Fight- Fighting takes several forms. Fists, feet, weapons. All forms of close combat are encompassed by this ability, all styles. The fighter chooses his favored style–based either on Strength or Dexterity, and most Fight rolls will be based on that Attribute. Storytellers may adjudicate that some maneuver or stunts may require a roll based on another Attribute–such as parrying a thrown weapon, anticipating an opponent’s next move, or the like, but most will be based on your favored Attribute. Brute force and brawlers will favor Strength, lithe martial artists will favor Dexterity, but Storytellers may judge that some martial arts may favor Strength, as do some weapons, and some informally trained street fighters may favor Dexterity. Existing Brawl, Melee, and Martial Arts Charms are all applicable to this Ability. Storytellers may require a certain level of Fight to use some specialized weapons, but for the most part, Fight encompasses the level of competence with mixing it up. Each level of Fight allows the character to choose one Technique–with or without a weapon, and the details are contained in the Fight section.

Specialties: Kicks, Locks, Sword, Axes, Disarms, Two Weapons Standard: Punch a man standing in front of you. Challenging: Parry a fleche from a trained swordsman. Legendary: Cut a wine bottle in two without shattering it.

Warfare The Dawn Caste are the Generals of the Solars, and Warfare is their specialty. It is the ability to plan and execute campaigns, from small squad tactics, to planning out the details of camp layouts, artillery and other strategic unit placement, to logistics and supply lines. It isn’t Leadership, it is the Art of War. Leadership will inspire men to fight, but Warfare is the nitty gritty ability to execute battles, large and small. Warfare encompasses not only the tactical knowledge of planning the best placement for an ambush, but also the practical knowledge of weapons specs and operation.

Specialties: Ambushes, Artillery, Small Units, Guerilla Tactics, Sieges Standard: Planning an ambush with days of preparation with good intelligence. Challenging: Taking a squad of newbies against a Legion cadre. Legendary: Defending the Alamo, and keeping your men alive to tell the tale.

Firearms Knowledge in the use of modern arms. Firearms. Fire Wands. Lightning Staves. All forms of modern arms. This ability allows you to service, clean, and evaluate the weapons as well as use them in combat.

Specialties: Pistol, Rifle, Two Guns, Wands, Staves, Autofire. Standard: Hit a target that is standing still at 50 paces. Challenging: Hit a target moving at 50 paces, in the rain. Legendary: Hit a target running, at 100 paces, in the rain, blindfolded.

Pilot Pilot measures the character’s ability to drive vehicles, whether they be planes, groundvehicles, or boats. This ability gives your character the ability to service, navigate, and attempt crazy maneuvers.

Specialties: Cycles. Cars. Hovercars. Rough terrain. Urban environments. Jumps. Standard: Jump a wall. Drive into an alley. Dive on an attack run. Hot-wire a bike. Challenging: Bootleg a turn while being chased by the Wyld Hunt. Pull a 720?. Legendary: Jump a chasm on a beater bike chased by the Wyld Hunt, on one wheel. Hot-wire a Skyship with a mirror, tape, and a paper clip.

This concludes the new Abilities and Backgrounds. Charms for these Abilities will be dealt with, along with the rules for Fight the section with those Charms.