Challenge/ArchipelagoConundrumStockCharacters

This challenge involves making three versions of a character with increasing degrees of intricacy for use as pre-generated characters in a demonstration game of Exalted called the Archipelago Conundrum. The niche the characters occupy will remain constant, but the types of game knowledge needed to play the character will increase with each iteration.

Scenario

The demo game takes place entirely on a ship bound for the Coral Archipelago. The ship is a combination passenger/cargo ship, manned by a mixed crew: mostly human, with an oucaste air aspect captain, a fair folk first mate, and an air elemental that aids in propulsion.

Used in a standard convention setting, there will be time for two, possibly three combats. Typically the combats would get more involved as they progress, starting with a clear day and calm water, and moving towards a more involved environment (night, wind, rough sea, etc.)

The Challenge

To participate, you'll need to create three versions of a legal starting character that occupy the same general role. Each version of the character may have the same name, personality, caste, and so on, but this is not required. You should create one version in each of the following levels:

• Beginner characters use only the most basic rules systems in Exalted, appropriate for a demo game given to people totally new to Exalted (or even roleplaying in general). Such games tend to deal a lot with how the dice work, how basic combat plays out, what the various traits, charm terminology, stunting and so on. The intent of such characters is to illustrate the basics of the game. Such characters:
  • Must be legal Second Edition starting solars (mixing types in beginning games is surprisingly confusing to the players)
  • Should have a single obvious niche, by design.
  • Must avoid using and of the more advanced subsystems in the rules, such as sorcery or full on social combat. A social charm or two is fine, but it's hard enough for beginning games to even get through normal combat.
  • Cannot use combos.
  • Should focus on only one combat skill/strategy, based on easily understood concepts. This strategy must not rely on any of the more complicated maneuvers (e.g. clinching, disarming, etc.)
  • Should not use overly complicated artifacts.
  • Should be cognizant of the of the "social reality" of the default setting (e.g. solars strutting around in orichalcum armor with full on anima flares will raise eyebrows and alarm).
  • Must be listed on its own page, using the "Plain Jane Numeral Listing Method" from FormatStandards/CharacterFormat.
  • Must contain one (maybe two) paragraphs that instruct someone playing this character how to use its charms. As an example: "When combat starts, you'll want to activate either x or y. Defend like so. Use this charm in this case." And do on.
  • Must contain one or two paragraphs about the character's personality and how to play them. It should explain their Motivation.
  • Must contain a sentence or two for each artifact, indicating how and when to use it.
  • May contain some indication of why they are on board the ship.
  • Page must contain a link back to this challenge page
  • Link to the character must also be added to the appropriate Characters page.
• Intermediate characters are for games where the players have more roleplaying experience generally or, perhaps, played First Edition. Such characters have more complex options, but should still be easy to understand for someone seeing them cold. The intent of such characters is to illustrate the variety of the Exalted setting. Such characters have the same restrictions as beginner characters, except:
  • May be any legal Second Edition starting character type.
  • May be designed to occupy more than one niche.
  • Can fully embrace social combat.
  • May contain secondary combat strategies and/or strategies that rely on things like clinching or other "exotic" moves.
  • May use more complicated artifacts, but nothing too uber (e.g. a character with their own skyship don't need to take a boat ride).
  • Must contain a sentence or two describing each of the character's intimacies.
  • After the basic character is created, 25xp must be spent on the character.
• Advanced characters are the three-die stunts of character creation, intended for those who have played a lot of Exalted before. The intent of such characters is to illustrate the awesomeness of the Exalted setting as well as your ability to leverage its rules. Such characters have the same restrictions as intermediate characters, except:
  • Can use any published, legal rules, including any of the subsystems.
  • Must know at least one combo.
  • After the basic character is created, 50xp must be spent on the character (instead of 25).

Entries

Beginner characters

• Kanna - sz - Brave clueless fencer.
• Kyra - Nkolos - High School dropout trying to make a name in the music industry
• Peleps Saratti - Eclipse Archer under cover, by TheHoverpope

Intermediate characters

• Benevolent Hunger - Lunar exalt archer, posing as a patrician, by TheHoverpope

Advanced characters

• link - author - basic niche

Comments

ok so im working on a beginner character that is a Zenith caste rock star chick! I only used 2 social charms and it should be up by later today, i gotta say that im hyped about this competition. Nkolos

All right ladies and gentlemen, I'm cracking on a beginner archer eclipse, intermediate archer/war lunar, and advanced archer/war ridden dragon king. I should have those coming now. - TheHoverpope

What :[ I was going to make my character ridden too at the advanced level. Except I can't find the rules for riding in 2E now for some reason. - sz

Well, I've used that trick before. So feel free to take it, and I'll switch off to something even more esoteric, if I can find it. Hooray! Wait - Graceful Wicked Masques comes out in a few days, and I remember a certain something about Assumption of the Person's Heart... Oh, and Ride is in Scroll of Glorious Divininty Vol 1 - charm secion. - TheHoverpope

I wasn't seriously telling you to back the heck off from the concept. :p I'm following the Solar-being-manipulated-by-something-else concept, while it seems like you are using not-really-who-you-think-it-is, though. - sz

No, the schtick is all yours. I've had a weirder idea of a particularly fun sort. - TheHoverpope

Characters up. Im still wraping up on the history and personality though as for niche....Any suggestions?- Nkolos

...I'm wondering how she managed to get all of those Ability scores. Since the beginner characters were meant to be examples for players new to Exalted, reducing mistakes to the minimum would be the best, I think. Well, not that I am incapable of errors. I'll have to recheck my sheet with this in mind. - sz

Sorry, which ability scores? Is there something I should check my math on? - TheHoverpope

That comment was directed at Nkolos. I was looking at Kyra's sheet and noticed that she had more dots than her BP would allow... - sz

Yeah. I did a few changes on mine and instead spent some bonus points on Manse and a point of Willpower. Do I need to change any more?- Nkolos

I'm having some trouble with the links back to this page on my characters. I think that they're spelled correctly, but they aren't lighting up. Any suggestions? - TheHoverpope

unless you've already tried this just copy and paste the format other people used (thats what I do when im confused,which happens alot). Question! Are we going to be running this or is it just for character creation? Either ways cool with me. (to be perfectly honest Kyra is just a Solar version of an idea I had for a Lunar in an upcoming campaign!)- Nkolos

I was under the impression Wordman was being a lazyass punk and making us make introductory characters for his own game. :d - sz

I was thinking this was for something more like Tomb of Five Corners, but not shitty. - TheHoverpope

Mannnnn i really hope we get to play this out because Kyra is a character im excited about.- Nkolos

Put double brackets around the page name. The wiki sees the slash and thinks those pages belong under your own page. - sz

This kind of died... Should I make another character or not? Because I definately have enough time to do it now that the weekends arrived.- Nkolos

Challenges never die. I suppose I should post the characters I created for the original Archipelago Conundrum, even though they would only fit into the "beginner" category. - Wordman

I'd have gotten to other characters if I weren't being brutally violated in multiple orifices by school and work right now. :| I'll get to the others someday! My beginner character is sort of silly all by herself and needs a context to make her as not-lame as I meant her to be. - sz