NPCNWO/RiseOfTheAirKingdoms

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Rise of the Air Kingdoms

Welcome, players, to what I expect to be a long campaign. I'm going to start by asking a few favors of all of you - first, stay in the North. There are great heroes and foul villains, world ending calamaties to be stopped, and kingdoms to be forged all right here. There are byzantine politics enough in the upper echelons of Cherak and the Haslanti League, I'd prefer to stay out of the Thousand Scales of the Realm. There's adventure enough to be had, and world of different settings and climates - all that's missing are the deserts of the South. Second, I don't really think I need to say this, but don't bask too much in the evil. It's a brutal time, with systematic oppression being the back upon which society is built. It's a world where you can be a slave owner and be considered a pillar of the community. Embrace the differences between Exalted culture and the real world, but I'd really rather not roleplay out your character's child skinning fetish, you know?

While the start of the campaign, three years in the Colleges of the Fivefold Path and the North Wind, will have alot of times when events are dictated (when your Rector says its time to go on a field trip, it's pretty much time to go) upon graduation the world of the North will be open to you. Sure, there's going to be plenty of NPCs who are going to want to fit you somehow into their plans, with offers of Artifacts and Manses to which you can bond, so there will definately be some obvious paths you can follow. But give a thought to what your characters might want for their lives. You're Dragonblooded, the Immaculate Princes of the Earth, and Proper Rulers of All Creation (tm). You generally aren't the type of heroes who will take being given a fedex quest lying down. I can see you becoming the grand heroes of the North, or possibly, as suggested by the campaign's title, rulers of a powerful new faction of Creation.

Welcome to Cherak

Cherak is a major port city of the North, a thronging metropolis through which much trade between the Realm and the North flows. Cherak is aligned with the Realm and currently overseen by House Ferem, whose rule is subtly challenged by mercantile concerns, some of which can be traced back to House V'Neef and others to the minor House Margard, which bases its operations in the city. Several major houses of the Realm have holdings in the city, but the largest obvious presence is from House Ragara who often represent the Realm in negotiations.

Cherak is a walled city with a good harbor, but it has been a victim of it's own success. Growth has meant the city has sprawled beyond it's old walls twice so far and a large population lives beyond even the current walls. The town itself is divided into sections separated by the inner walls, with movement between the different sections somewhat restricted. With the growing threat of the Bull of the North, House Ferem has begun a major new fortification project to build yet another set of defensive walls around the new city boundaries, using both free and slave labor. It is difficult to say which group is treated worse: free laborers work alongside slaves from as far away as Harborhead, suffering the same dangerous, back-breaking conditions. Though the slaves are locked back in their pens at night while the free laborers can stagger home, their life expectancy is about the same.

The stresses of urban life in Cherak are relieved by a thriving drug trade. The Guild finds Cherak a profitable location, and acts both openly (bringing in slaves for work on the walls) and in secret, supplementing locally grown crops of qat with small amounts of opium and other hard drugs. Cherak is home to some powerful practitioners of First Pulse Style martial arts, who favor it's brutality in the gang wars that rage through the poorer quarters of the town. Gang related killings are almost a daily event in some quarters, and some areas are dangerous even for exalts to enter.

(Note: The above is from the Exalted Wiki)

The Colleges of the Fivefold Path and the North Wind

The Colleges of the Fivefold Path and the North Wind have tens of thousands of mortal students, and usually around a score of Dragonblooded in attendance at any given time. The Five Enlightenments of the Path are Athletics, Academics, Civics, Diplomacy, and Warfare; and the Colleges strive to challenge the four prediminant secondary schools of the Realm, and it is generally thought of to be among the best educations that one can receive in the Threshold.

The campus has dozens of buildings - classrooms, libraries, laboratories, dormatories, and dining halls, and the Dragonblooded are encouraged to interact with the children of patrician and wealthy merchant families in attendance, and to observe classes that interest them. Each class year of Dragonblooded are assigned a Rector, an adult Dragonblood who is responsible for overseeing their education. These Rectors are usually personages of some imporance in Cherak, and have vast powers over their Dragonblooded students. Some Rectors offer their students a gentle guiding hand, and others dominate the student's academic lives.

Dragonblooded students reside in The Palace of Len Occam, where they each have a suite of rooms where they live and may entertain guests. The furnishings of the suites of room are lavish, but represent the sensibilities of House Ferem. Often, Dynastic students usually redecorate their suites in the tastes currently popular in the Realm, and the suites of Outcastes often end up reflecting their varied pasts. The Palace has its own staff of servants, headed by Auspicious Dusk - a man to whom major domos everywhere may aspire.

NPCs of Note

NPCs were updated after Game 14

In Cherak

In the Colleges of the Fivefold Path and the North Wind

  • Crow - Chancellor, earth aspect (earth, p. 85)
  • Ferem Lasha - University Sorcerer, Fire Aspect
  • Cynis Belar Norrin - Rector to Current Freshman Dragonblooded class, wood aspect (wood, p 85)
  • Nellens Malaki - Rector for current senior class, fire aspect (fire, p 85)
  • Jolsen - Current Senior playboy from Glittering Smoke District, Fire Aspect
  • Margard Rika - Current Senior aloof martial artist, Saiki's sister, Water Aspect
  • Soaring Wolf - Current Senior daredevil, Wood Aspect
  • Ferem Zulla - Current Senior bookwork sorceress, Air Aspect
  • Peleps Wannik - Current Senior, Latecomer expelled from Realm school, now a local hero too, Earth Aspect
  • Ferem Derson - Meddling regent, retired heroic mortal
  • Sagacious Garnet - Head Librarian, ghost blooded
  • Undefeated Raven of the Ice Forests - captain of university black helms, mortal
  • Chef Huey - Chef de'Cuisine of the Palace of Len Occam, mortal
  • Auspicious Dusk - Major Domo of the Palace of Len Occam, mortal

In The North

  • V'Neef Chead - Former Student, Location Unknown, Earth Aspect
  • Margard Miyako - Envoy to House Ragara, Air Aspect
  • Kasif - Missionary to Gethemane, air aspect (air, p 85)
  • Margard Moro - Margard representative Gethemane, Wood Aspect
  • Ferem Haining - Bishounen Sorcerer, location unknown, Air Aspect
  • Cynis Elin - Senior Trade Legate to Whitewall, Fire Aspect
  • Yurgen Kaneko - The one, the only Bull of the North
  • Peleps Deled - Shaolin Torquemada
  • Peleps Aramida - Admiral of the Realm
  • Ranya Petris - Haslanti airship captain, water aspect
  • Rutanjali - Bride of the Forest, wood aspect
  • Sleeves of War - Lunar exalt
  • Lumizent - Fairy Queen of the Winter People
  • Greyna Thold - Oligarch of the Haslanti League
  • Margard Kriez - Imperial Magistrate in Wallport
  • Morning Frost Willow - Former assassin known as Mother of Ash, ghost

Deceased

  • Master Cran - Sensei of the First Pulse Style, necromancer servant of the Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible
  • Incomprable Ebony Comet - University Thaumaturge
  • Ragara Sai Yiimon - Preceptor Fell - The High Preceptor
  • Ragara Kollus - Preceptor Dark - Chancellor Dark
  • Ragara Delina - The Ivory Preceptor - Member of Deliberative from the Blessed Isle
  • Regara Tacy - The Jade Preceptor - Chief of staff to Ragara Delina
  • Ragara Jos - Preceptor Iron - Master of the Five Dragon Style
  • Cacaphony at Dusk - Preceptor Cemo - Ghost Blooded Allumni of The Institute
  • Distant Vulture - Wild Blooded Allumni of The Institute
  • Tsunami Sky - God Blooded Student of Preceptor Iron
  • Deadly Treasure - Wild Blooded Student of The Jade Perceptor
  • Tepet Martelli - Traitor to the house - Member of the Ragara Chantry
  • Deadly Veiled Forge - Abyssal exalted slain in Cherak by Peleps Deled's Wyld Hunt
  • Red Fist Hayoo - Dragonblooded, then ghost servant of Deadly Veiled Forge. Slain by Deled's Wyld Hunt
  • V'neef Tegraat - Wise and Knowledgable Advisor to the Foreign Tributary (one of the Four Advisors to Ferem Amosa), wood aspect. Assassinated by Lucien, summoned second circle demon
  • Steel Hand - First Age Automaton, destroyed by Nea (Virtuous Cloud's Superior)
  • Guardian of the White Forge - Alchemical Boosted Mortal

Campaign Events

  • Session One - Welcome to Secondary School! What!? A Haunted Dorm?

Kazuki's OOC Synopsis

Mizugami's Journal

Kazuki's Sister's Diary


  • Kazuki's Page - Additional character notes can be found here, including information on the 4 Idiots.

House Rules

NPCNWO/WushuHouseRules

Credit Where Credit Is Due

In addition to quite a bit of the Exalted first edition material and stuff from this and the White Wolf Exalted Wiki, I'm pulling inspirations for this campaign from the animes Naruto, Ruroni Kenshin, Bleach and Twelve Kingdoms, as well as the Champions New Millennium, Alliances, and Teen Champions sourcebooks. Finally, I'd like to give a nod to Voidstate's Exalted Name Generator - coming up with NPC names is a weak point of mine, and that generator became an invaluable tool.

Comments

The huge battle in Session Fourteen wasn't Fast, Furious, and Fun. It was just long. Epic things happened, and I think that I as GM was more disappointed in the way that things went than the players were - but it became clear to me at the powerlevels that I was wanting for this game, Savage Worlds wasn't the system we should be using. Up until this point, I'd resisted buying much for Exalted second edition - I had the main book and the Dragonblooded book, and wasn't enamored with much of what I saw. But, the timing of the big errata release for the Dragonblooded book couldn't have been better for our group. By Session Seventeen, we had completely transitioned the campaign to Exalted 2nd Edition, even though there are some NPCs still languishing with only a Savage Worlds write up.

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