CrunchRelay

Crunch Relay

This is a game in which you create new crunch! Artifacts, Charms, whatever.

Here is how to play, for artifacts, hearthstones, and other dot-ranked things.

• One person starts by stating a theme, and providing a one-dot item related to it.
• The next person makes up a two-dot item related to the theme.
• The third person makes up a three-dot, the fourth a four-dot, and the fifth a five-dot.
• The fifth person chooses a new theme.
• The sixth person provides a one-dot related to the new theme, and the progression starts over. When you start a new theme, please archive the old one in a subpage.

There's nothing wrong with more than one person giving an entry for each level. But no one should give more than one for each level. If multiple five-dots are submitted, choice of new theme should probably go to the first person to post.

See also: FluffRelay

ArtifactRelay

The first person states a theme, and provides a one-dot artifact. Subsequent players provide artifacts of increasing rank. The player who provides the first five-dot artifact chooses a new theme.

CharmRelay

The first person states a theme, a splat, and provides a Charm. Subsequent players provide Charms which are part of the same tree as the first. The person who provides the fifth Charm chooses a new theme.

MartialArtsRelay

The first person states a theme, a level of initiation, and a Charm. He may optionally specify the number of charms in the tree. Subsequent players provide Charms which are part of the same MartialArts style as the first. Subsequent Charms may fill any position in the tree, though so far it has been the practice to reserve the ultimate technique for the final Charm.

HearthstoneRelay

The first person states a theme, and provides a one-dot HearthStone. Subsequent players provide stones of increasing rank. The player who provides the first five-dot stone chooses a new theme.

SpellRelay

The first person chooses a theme, and provides a spell of the Terrestrial or Shadowlands Circle. Subsequent players provide spells of the remaining five circles (of both Necromancy and Sorcery), with the sixth player also determining the new theme.

ThaumaturgyRelay

The first person states a theme, and provides a level one ritual. Subsequent players provide rituals of increasing rank. The player who provides the level five ritual chooses a new theme.

Comments

• Quendalon suggests a ThaumaturgyRelay for rituals (which are ranked on a one-to-five scale).

Started it. Will post content tonight. --TedPro

Themes can be wordy or succinct, but should always be fairly broad.

I think that the best way to start a new CrunchRelay is simply to do so, laying out the skeletal structure of the relay and its theme and first item. I'd be interested in participating in several of these, but at the moment I'm not in a state to be starting new themes. - willows

Just something similar to take a look at: Character Concept Trading . -- Miedvied

I have a suggestion, brought about by a problem I've seen in a couple of the current relays.

There are times when someone posts a bit of crunch that doesn't quite fit in its designated power-level. I.E. someone posts a 3-dot artifact that's as powerful as a 4-dot. The usual solution is to tone it down so it fits in the slot. I don't think this is ideal.

I'm sure that we can all agree that the cardinal rule of Exalted is, "coolness above all!" (Except for GUTB, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't frequent the Wiki.) One of the things that makes Exalted Exalted is the way this rule manifests in the game's crunchy bits. It's not just a +4 Frost Brand Greatsword, it's the Tooth of the Blue Skulking Bear, forged in the icy flames of the Aerial Palace! The idea behind something is at least as important as the in-game effect. There are times when powering-down something forces a change that takes away something that was part of the original vision. It's like a movie being edited for time/content so it can be shown on TV. It makes the item less cool.

With that in mind, I have a proposition. If someone posts a crunchy bit that is deemed too powerful, the creator of said crunchy bit should be allowed to bump up its rating, saving it for later. Someone else can then fill the slot left by this "promotion." I'm sure that it wouldn't break the relay too badly, but I want to know the opinion of my fellow Wikizens. -- Sparrowhawk

This has already been done in HearthstoneRelay; willows and I switched our stones' places in the "justice" relay because mine was deemed too weak, and his too powerful._Ikselam

Something I'd love to see, Relay-wise, would be Spell and Oath relays for the new Fair Folk stuff. Would other people be into that, too? -TedPro

Arrrgh. Fairfolk crunch maeks yuo dei!!!1. Ahem. Sorry... I'll need another month or so to comprehend them, so not me. It sounds like a good idea though, especially for their weird spell-thingies.
-- Darloth

I would be fascinated by Spell or Oath relays, although I couldn't contribute to them. ^_^;; ~ G

Can we just fold those into ArtifactRelay? Like, you can post a behemoth, glamour spell, or adjuration as an Artifact of that rank. That way, we don't force people to use the mechanics if they don't have access to or don't know them. This is my problem with Thaumrelay - I don't like or understand thaum well enough to help keep it going, and additional fragmentation of the relays into splatbook-specific mechanics only exacerbates that. - willows

Well... I don't really see how it's 'forcing' someone. I mean, I've posted on a couple Relays, and I've never had someone come up behind me and go, "Post on this Relay right now or else!" with my protests of non-understanding ignored as they grab my hands and cause me to bang out a hasty 2-dot Hearthstone.

Less facetiously, I don't really understand the desire to keep the Relays totally seperate. Glamour artifacts might be an acceptable valid post on a GlamourRelay, but also possess their own- if people don't wish to update GlamourRelay often, it will simply... not... be... uh, updated much. So... .02&Arafelis

Yeah, um, basically... There isn't a lot of activity on the Relays as much as it is, and I think opening the existing categories to more diversity is a better way to enliven them (I like the Relays better when I am not the only one posting) than creating new, slow Relays is. I mean, look how thaumrelay limps along. It's like the redheaded stepchild of the category; even the benighted SpellRelay does better in activity terms. (I think they'd have done better to be one MagicRelay) - willows

Opening existing categories to greater diversity is not mutually incompatable with creating more categories! Relays do not currently overlap much, but that's not inherent to their structure. -If you want more activity, incidentally, what I'd reccomend is to change the order in which Relay objects are posted. Rather than progressing in linear order from 1 dot to 5, make it so that people can post at any level that does not already have an object (there's nothing wrong with posting new artis for the same slot if one has a really good idea, but it's not precisely the point of Relays). The first person who fills the last slot would get to post a new theme.

And yes, some Relays will be always be 'specialty intrest only.' It's unlikely I'll ever post a Charm in MA relay unless I get an awesome idea or am trying to make fun of something. It's unlikely most players will ever even consider thaumaturgy unless they're in a god-blooded game (and even then, not terribly much). I don't see how it follows that including these little-used Relays as part of other Relays will increase activity... they'll just be more or less forgotten. - Arafelis

As an experiment I modified the HearthstoneRelay structure slightly. I added a basic template and all the pages now start as part of the Archives, with the main page being a redirect to the current relay. This makes switching relays slighly easier(You just copy/paste the template into a new page off the archive and change the redirect). This allows one to index hearthstone as they are created(which was hard before, the page in the archives wasn't created till the relay was done, so only the person who swiched them could reasonably index the objects). -FlowsLikeBits

As said in the FluffRelay, I had the idea to add a Monster Relay, where creatures (but also mortals or spirits) are fleshed out to throw at your players. I'll think it would stick better to the CrunchRelay, as the monsters and creatures should get stats. If you consent, I'll open the Monster Relay. - Jiba

You have mine, for one, but be gentle. It's my first time...DeathBySurfeit

About SpellRelay. Where do Weavings go to? Should they count as First and Second Circle spells? - sssssz

I'm not sure... they probably count man-machine as First, and god-machine as Second, since that's apparently what they're equivalent to (since you can counter a man-machine with a sapphire counter, one higher, same as with necromancy) but they're typically more powerful than a spell of those circles. They do vary a lot more in power though.
-- Darloth

The best example I heard is that Man-Machine Protocols are spell circle 1.5, and God-Machine Protocols are Spell Circle 2.5. In my opinion they should be in the spell relay, but are not strictly required to progress the relay itself. So if someone finishes a relay and no-one made any Man-Machine or God-Machine protocols for the relay, then there shouldn't be any tears over it. However, if someone does goto the trouble (like myself assuredly ;) to make Protocols, then more power to them. - ArabianNinja