MunificentPerception/LunarReborn
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A history of the Reborn
For every Lunar who fled during Usurpation, another died in battle alongside her Solar spouse. Feared by the Sidereal for their power and cunning, the loyalists’ silver Essences were entombed side by side with the golden Exaltations of the Sun’s Chosen in the Jade Prison. Now they have been freed, unwitting unleashed by the Deathlord’s servitor when it smashed open the sunken prison in search of Solar shards.
Luna’s Reborn — as the First Age Lunars refer to themselves — have returned to Creation to take up their roles as shadow warriors, mystics, tricksters, moon-priests and backroom politicians. Where the glorious Solars are innovators, the Reborn test the merit of that which exists. Presented with a warrior, they provoke her to combat, forcing her to prove herself worthy of that title. Shown a society, the First Age Lunars ferret out its weaknesses and drive its members to seek rectification. When introduce to holy men, saints and savants, they resort to trickery, debate and even mockery to separate the wise from the pretentious and the virtuous from the weak willed. In performing these tasks, Luna’s Reborn refine their own flexible minds and protean bodies.
Having escaped exposure to the corruption of the Wyld, the Reborn retain their original five Castes and require no moon silver tattoos to sustain their shaped existence. Nor do they sport an obvious Tell.
The Lunar Reborn and the Lunars of the Wyld
The Reborn have drawn their Second Breaths scattered across the face of Creation, and their reappearance has taken both the Wyld Hunt and the Silver Pack by surprise. With vague memories of the First Age, many have naturally fallen in with the newly returned Solars, forming mixed Circles or in a few rare cases, purely Reborn Circles. Others have been snatched up by the Silver Pack soon after their Exaltation.
Ecounters between the Wyld and Reborn Lunars have provoked consternation on both sides.
The Reborn see their modern brethren as fallen; existing on a level only slightly more elevated than the beasts with which they breed — a custom by itself horrifying enough to invoke profound disgust. The more militant of the Reborn believe this to be a just punishment for the Lunars who fled from their mates or allowed their reason to be ruled by the duplicitous words of the Dragon-Blooded and Sidereal during the Usurpation. Others seek desperately to redeem their fallen siblings, hoping to civilize and restore them to an unsullied state. It is these Reborn who most often rage fiercely against the Dragon-Blooded, showing little or no mercy to the Children of the Five Elemental Dragons.
A handful of the Luna’s Reborn have embraced their brothers and sisters’ brutal ways, rejecting life within sedentary nations and accepting the moon silver tattoos of the Silver Pact. While a majority of these are youth who had been rescued and indoctrinated into the Pact’s customs soon after their Second Breath, a handful have approached the Pact freely, seeking to draw on the wisdom of a culture that has proven its ability to survive in one of the Second Age's most precarious environments.
For many of the Silver Pact's elders, meeting the Reborn has led to a profound sense of shame. The newly freed First Age Lunars are a reminder of how far they have descended from the grace and subtlety of their original forms. Younger members, however, often feel a sense of savage superiority. They see their returned cousins as atavisms: throwbacks un-tempered by centuries of the Wyld’s trials and unfit to survive in the Age of Sorrows. With out question, a majority of the Silver Pact wishes to see the Reborn adopt their customs and remove themselves from the degenerate influences of civilization. Their ranks are split, however, over the sustainability of the Reborn's Waxing, Waning and Half Moon Castes. Many of the Silver Pact's youth believe that their returned siblings must be strengthened by long exposure to the energies of the Wyld, which would necessitate assimilation of the changing moons into the modern hybrid Caste of the same name.
There have been some cautious negotiations between Reborn’s Waxing Moon Caste and the Pact's Changing Moons. All too often, however, questions of coexistence have fallen by the wayside as First Age Lunar martial arts are pitted against brutal fighting styles developed under the influences of the Wyld.
Aspect Assumption Charms
The Reborn do not posses a Deadly Beast Man Transformation. Unchanged by the Wyld, their bodies are not as fluid as those of their Silver Pact kin, and their alterations of form are subtler — an assumption of attributes and selective traits rather than a dramatic shifting of shape. When assuming an Aspect, the Reborn's eyes change to those of the Charm's totem animal patron, their hands mimic the rending power of claws or talons, and while their visages display a feral intensity, their faces and forms remain largely human.
During the First age, such Aspect Assumptions Charms were purchsaed after a young Lunar had undergone his initiations and successfully bargined with one of Luna's favored animal avatars. These spirits were almost always the totem dieties of exceptional nocturnal creatures, and a successful pact allowed the Lunar to assume their attributes at first; then useful bodily traits such as wings or immense strength when she matured in her power.
A character that has successfully made such a pact (Charaisma or Manipulation + Presence, Difficulty 2) may purchase an Aspect Assumption Charm for 8 experience points. Activated reflexivly, these charms add a +2 bonuses to relevant Attributes and cost either three motes of Essence. Added Attribute bonuses are counted as a part of the of the character’s natural Attributes for the purpose of Charms and Soak. Asspect Assumption Charms last for one scene, though these may be sustained by expending an additional mote or a point of Temporary Willpower at the end of the scene. A character may take as many Aspect Assumption Charms as she has dots in Permanent Essence.
After the character has raised her Permanent Essence to 3, she may spend four experience points to master an Aspect. This grants an additional power, which activates automatically each time that Aspect Assumption Charm is invoked.
In the First Age, elder Lunars customarily mastered at least three such Assumption Charms, taking on war, social and intellectual animal Aspects.
A complete transformation Charm may be purchased by those who have mastered an Aspect Assumption Charms. This allows them to take the form of the Charm's animal patron. These transformations are of indefinite duration and end when the character reflexively reassumes her true human form.
Sample Aspect Assumption Charms:
Athene Aspect Assumption
- Cost: 4m:
- Mins: Stamina 1
- Essence: 2
- Type: reflexive
- Keywords: Aspect Assumption
- ’Duration': 1 Scene
- Prerequisite Charms: None
Often called the savant’s owl, these perceptive night hunters are symbols of wisdom throughout much of Creation. Favored by No Moons, the Athene Assumption Charm adds +2 to the Lunar Reborn’s Mental Attributes. The character inflicts lethal damage in unarmed combat as her nails mimic the piercing properties of an owl’s talons, and her eyes become the fierce yellow, slited orbs which allow these predators to see without penalty in low light. After the character has obtained a Permanent Essence of 3, she may spend 4 experience points to permanently upgrade the Charm. This allows her to sprout Owl wings of silver Essence from her back and to move through the air at her dash rate as a normal, reflexive movement action.
At the end of a scene, this Aspect Assumption Charm be extended for an additional scene by expending 1 mote or one point of Temporary Willpower. This may be done for as many scenes as the character has dots in Essence. Afterwards the character must pay the full cost to reactivate the Charm.
Moon Faced Bear Assumption
- Cost: 4m:
- Mins: Stamina 1
- Essence: 2
- Type: reflexive
- Keywords: Aspect Assumption
- ’Duration': 1 Scene
- Prerequisite Charms: None
These sable ursines tower over all other bears, massing nearly twice as much as the heaviest polar bear and standing a third again taller than the largest grizzly. Jet black in color, they have blunt snouts, and the fur of their faces is silver. This lends them a ghostlike appearance at night, and their prey often freeze with terror after spotting the mask-like visage, seemingly floating nearby in the black air. (Authors Note: the size of these creatures is inspired by the massive short faced bears that roamed Ice Age North America)
The Moon Faced Bear Aspect Assumption is favored by the Full Moon Caste, and causes Lunar to grow in size as he adds muscle. His eyes become as green as emeralds, his face dull silver and mask like, and his body darkens as he sprouts moon silver bear claws from his fingers. He can both inflict and parry lethal damage while unarmed in this form, and with a bear's sense of smell he experiences no penalties for low-light conditions. The Lunar adds 2 dots to Strength, Dexterity and Stamina. After the character obtains a Permanente Essence of 3, she may spend 4 experience points to permanently upgrade his Moon Faced Bear Assumption Charm. In addition to above bonuses, the character doubles his strength for the purposes of Athletic rolls and inflicting damage on inanimate objects when this Charm is active.
At the end of a scene, this Aspect Assumption Charm be extended for an additional scene by expending 1 mote or one point of Temporary Willpower. This may be done for as many scenes as the character has dots in Essence, and afterwards the character must pay the full cost to reactivate the Charm.
Silver Fox Assumption
- Cost: 4m:
- Mins: Stamina 1
- Essence: 2
- Type: reflexive
- Keywords: Aspect Assumption
- ’Duration': 1 Scene
- Prerequisite Charms: None
Shinning silver from nose to tail, these vulpines are so cunning that many mistake them for sapient spirits. Diplomats and merchants as well as assassins and thieves make sacrifices to avatar deities of these creatures, hoping to be endowed with some aspect of the animals’ shrewdness. The Silver Fox Assumption is often favored by members of the Waxing and Waning Moon Castes.
The Silver Fox Assumption Charm grants the character a +2 bonus to his Social Attributes, and with keen vulpine eyes the character experinces no penalties for low-light conidtions. Upgrading this Charm at Essence 3 causes the character to become even more steeped in the fox's trickster nature, granting the character an additional 2 dice to all manipulation and social combat rolls while this Aspect Assumption Charm is active.
At the end of a scene, this Aspect Assumption Charm be extended for an additional scene by expending 1 mote or one point of Temporary Willpower. This may be done for as many scenes as the character has dots in Essence. Afterwards the character must pay the full cost to reactivate the Charm.
Additional animal Aspect Assumption Charms will be found in the Lunar Reborn Charms section.
Extra thanks to NkEnNy for sharing his thoughts on animals of night in several posts.
Castes of the Lunar Reborn
Many thanks to alohahaha for keeping things simple and stopping me from reinventing the wheel. His http:/viewtopic.php?p=811291#811291 ideas on the WW Exalted Fourm form the basis of this section.
In addition to Full Moon and No Moon Castes found among the Silver Pact Lunars, the return of Reborn has seen the reappearene of the following Caste types:
- Waxing Moons
- Luna's priests and courtiers, silver-tongued devils and dark horse politicians.
- Caste Attributes: Stamina, Appearance, Intelligence
- Anima Powers: By spending 10 motes of Essence, the character takes on a beauty or handsomeness of otherworldly intensity, becoming unspeakably mysterious and intriguing to all but the most hardened stoics. Creatures with a Temperance less than the Waxing Moon’s Permanent Essence are unable to tear their gaze away from the Lunar, and the Exalt gains a +3 to her MDV against affected characters. Mortals must make a Temperance roll or be left unable to take any physical or social combat action against the Waxing Moon while in her presence. This power is automatically active whenever the Waxing Moon spends more than ten motes of Peripheral Essence.
- Half-Moon
- Luna's premier strategists, tacticians and observers, the Half-Moons are able to see through deceptions and misdirection.
- Caste Attributes: Strength, Charisma, Perception
- Anima Powers: By spending 10 motes of Essence the Half-Moon becomes preternaturally attuned to Creation’s tidal rhythms and flows of Essence. A Half-Moon's anima adds a number of automatic successes equal to his half of his Permanent Essence to his Perception rolls as well as all rolls to anticipate physical and social surprise attacks. These extra successes do not count towards his Charm limit. This effect comes into play automatically after the Lunar has spent more than 10 motes of Peripheral Essence.
- Waning Moon
- Luna's tricksters, assassins and spies.
- Caste Attributes: Dexterity, Manipulation, Wits
- Caste Anima: As a master of manipulation, a Descending Moon may reflexively spend 10 motes to draw a nearly flawless illusion around himself. This anima banner allows the character to automatically take on the generic appearance and scent of any appropriate extra within the immediate setting. More over, this is a dynamic power which changes the character’s appearance as he moves from area to area and grants her a small degree of authority. Walking through a military camp, he might first appear as a hardened, low-ranking sergeant to all who see him. Stepping into a command tent, he takes on the look of an anonymous junior staff officer or courier. The transitions between settings are flawless as the Lunar's anima always provides cover for the change — whether in the form of a blowing tent flap, a cloud of dust or other phenomena appropriate to the environment. The anima’s power adds a difficulty of +3 to all attempts to pierce the illusion, but does not hide his anima banner should he spend more than ten motes of Peripheral Essence. This power is automatically active after the character has spent more than ten motes of Essence and serves to protect her identity, though the player can suppress the effect for ten ticks by spending one mote of Essence.
Charms and Sorcery of the Reborn
In the hierarchy of Creation, the Reborn are only a hairsbreadth in power behind their Solar mates. Their attunement to Luna’s protean nature is reflected in their magics, which focus on fluidity, adaptability and survival. This flexibility grants them perfect defensive Charms as they flow around and even assimilate the effects of attacks.
They are also masters of illusion. The savants who study war have written of the virtues of form and formlessness on the battlefield, and the Reborn personify the later. Rather than paragons of savage rage, they are the void of misinformation in which an enemy flails to death, exhausting himself swinging at shadows and phantasms of lunacy.
In their Essence, the Reborn are as potent as their Wyld sibling, and share the same formula for calculating Essence pools. Their Excellencies are likewise identical.
They do not partake in the taint of the Wyld, however, and the Great Curse manifests differently within their souls. (Authors Note: I’m waiting until I get my hands on the Second Edition Lunars book before I write up the curse’s effect on the Reborn.)
Artifacts of the Reborn
Where Credit Due is Given
Many thanks to everyone who took part in the original Alternate Take on the Lunars thread. In particular, I wish to express gratitude to the following individuals whose ideas were immensely useful or inspirational:
- Lord Heru: For kind words, nice feedback, and a willingness to debate specific points.
- Democritus (dcs666): More kind words, the chaos illusion charm and for tolerating my clumsiness on the WW Exalted Wiki.
- Swedebasist: Cool concepts and alternate suggestions.
- ChopSockey: For the compliment.
- Fallen Enchantress: For constructive criticism and chimera Charm ideas.
- Tornado Wolf: For being his hardcore self, lots and lots of good feedback, and pointing out the historical insignificance of the canonical Lunars, which was the inspiration for this project.
- CornerDweller: For thoughts on shape shifting and die caps.
- Orzhov: For the sorcery suggestion.
- Edgewalker: For reasoned responses that were something to think about.
- Sophismata: For his many ideas on Excellencies and Charm themes.
- Alohahaha: Whose thoughts on the original five Lunar Caste are used in this document.
- NkEnNy: For several very useful posts of Animals of the Moon and Creature of the Night concepts.
- Lord of Madness: For very enthusiastic, helpful and comprehensive input on all points.
- Norhg: For very encouraging words.
- Eldaros: For facts and thought out input.
- Silvarilon: For jumping in, highlighting and suggesting different aspects of alternative Lunarness.
- karl1976: For Thoughts on Lunar/Solar power levels.
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