It's the aim of this thread to detail my attempts to create a supplement for Exalted that takes it from the Second Age of man to a modern setting. Large parts of this work are adapted or outright borrowed from Exalted 2nd Edition, Old World of Darkness (revised) or New World of Darkness material (all copyright White Wolf). It is my intention that a player of Exalted (2e) should be able to use this material in addition to the core rulebook to play an Exalted character in the modern setting. Therefore, I will not be posting enough information that someone seeing this could play the game without purchasing at least the Core Rulebook, which I will occasionally cite.
The basic story behind the conversion to modern times is here, told somewhat inelegantly.
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The Story
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You know the flood story, I assume? Noah and the boat, animals two by two and all that? It's true. In the first and second age, the world was flat. Outside of the world was the Wyld, above it was Heaven and below it was the Underworld. In the chaos and destruction and great calamity that followed on the heels of the Scarlet Empress' disappearance (and subsequent return), the return of the solars, the rise of the deathlords, etc., etc., and so forth the conflict was so great that the suffering finally caused the greatest of the gods to step forth and do something about it.
The Unconquered Sun, Luna, the Five Maidens, Gaia. Gaia, the last remaining primordial, was called upon to swallow the realm her dead brethren inhabited. She did so, locking the underworld within her being and twisting to contain it. In the cataclism that caused, the great elemental powers at the corners of creation were torn loose and the armies of the wyld came rushing in. The entire world was engulfed in an elemental torrent.
Foreseeing this, one lone Sidereal exalt and a small contingent of humans gathered together what they could of the world. Animals, two by two. They locked themselves in a massive mountain-top manse, protected and hidden by the most powerful of magics in creation. The Unconquered Sun, Luna, and the Maidens forced the Wyld back beyond the heavens, breaking apart the heavenly city of Yu-Shan with their efforts. Each took up a station, standing guard over the remains of what they had once ruled. To protect themselves, they followed Gaia's example and made themselves into what humans now call planets. The remains of Yu-Shan now lie between what remains of Mars, the Maiden of Battles, and Jupiter, the Maiden of Secrets.
When the floods subsided, forty days and forty nights later, the Sidereal had discovered that a Lunar exalt had hidden among the animals they rescued. Prince of Doves was sent out to see if it was safe to leave their mountain fortress. When he returned, he carried the branch of an olive tree as proof that the waters had gone down. They left the mountain and called it Ararat, the place of new beginnings.
The man, Jesus, was a Lunar and the Tribe of Israel is his Thousand Streams River experiment. He was the same Lunar that was with them in the beginning, and he was called Prince of Peace in those times. He occasionally fathered half-caste children that lived to be 950 years old, 700+ years old, etc. He sometimes took their shapes temporarily through a shapeshifting Knack and delivered prophecies to nudge the society along. About 2000 years ago the Lunar was getting towards the end of his long life and wanted to leave the most powerful message he could with his adopted tribe. And so he became a martyr. Unfortunately, his message was misinterpreted and Christianity was born. He hasn't reincarnated because Luna has been lying dormant all these millenia.
His return has been prophesied as the coming of The Antichrist and, as all Lunars do, he will bear the mark of the beast.
The Sidereal, whom this story has not forgotten, stole peaches of immortality and celestial wine before he locked himself away and has been keeping himself alive this whole time. So what has this Sidereal been doing? Well, seeing as how he's now around 5,500 years old he's had a lot of time on his hands to figure out exactly what happened when the excrement impacted the rotating mechanism. With the time he's had he managed to find a way to pull down Exalted soul shards which have, for lack of a god to assign them a body, been kinda floating around in the ether.
Gaia, whose body forms the world is, in fact, slowly dying as her fellow primordial, Autochthon, had done before her. Her ambient essence has reduced to a trickle. The return of essence users may slowly start to change and revive things and reawaken her.
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Character Creation
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The bulk of the changes use the Old World of Darkness (revised) as a jumping off point. Many changes have a negative impact on the ability of Exalts in general (though this guide is specifically crafted for creating Solar Exalted characters). This is so that the world is still an intimidating place for a new Solar. As time goes on, the intention is that much of these restrictions would be changed or lifted. Rules to create Lunar Exalted will follow.
Attributes: 7/5/3
Abilities: 22, at least 10 must be caste or favored, none higher than 3
without BP*
Virtues: 5, none higher than 3 without BP
Backgrounds: 7, none higher than 3 without BP
Willpower: Highest + lowest Virtue, cannot be higher than 7 at starting
Charms: 10, at least 5 must be from Caste or Favored Abilities
Essence: 2, may not be higher than 3 at starting.
BP: 15
Merits and Flaws**: max of 10 points each, must be approved.
* Bonus points
** Merits and Flaws from the 1st edition Players Guide shall be used, with the addition of custom Merits and Flaws as approved.
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Run Rules
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The Wyld is what's past the solar system, past the range of the solar winds. Voyager 1 and 2 passed this barrier not long ago. They have not been heard from since. Pluto and its moon are occasionally in the bordermarches.
During meteor showers and other astronomical events, wyld effects can occur randomly. Astrology was, at one time, a valid profession. Since the cataclysm only astrology relying solely on planetary alignment and including solar and lunar influence are accurate. All other astrological practices are fraught with error and vague predictions.
All static values now round down, regardless.
Add 1 WP to the cost of all charms at Essence 3+ that do not currently have that listed in the activation cost.
Essence replenishes at the rate of 4 motes per hour when meditating or sleeping and 2 motes per hour when active.
Essence pools are now calculated:
Personal pool: Essence + Willpower + Highest Virtue
Peripheral pool: Essence x 6 + Willpower x 2 + Highest Virtue
The basic story behind the conversion to modern times is here, told somewhat inelegantly.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Story
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
You know the flood story, I assume? Noah and the boat, animals two by two and all that? It's true. In the first and second age, the world was flat. Outside of the world was the Wyld, above it was Heaven and below it was the Underworld. In the chaos and destruction and great calamity that followed on the heels of the Scarlet Empress' disappearance (and subsequent return), the return of the solars, the rise of the deathlords, etc., etc., and so forth the conflict was so great that the suffering finally caused the greatest of the gods to step forth and do something about it.
The Unconquered Sun, Luna, the Five Maidens, Gaia. Gaia, the last remaining primordial, was called upon to swallow the realm her dead brethren inhabited. She did so, locking the underworld within her being and twisting to contain it. In the cataclism that caused, the great elemental powers at the corners of creation were torn loose and the armies of the wyld came rushing in. The entire world was engulfed in an elemental torrent.
Foreseeing this, one lone Sidereal exalt and a small contingent of humans gathered together what they could of the world. Animals, two by two. They locked themselves in a massive mountain-top manse, protected and hidden by the most powerful of magics in creation. The Unconquered Sun, Luna, and the Maidens forced the Wyld back beyond the heavens, breaking apart the heavenly city of Yu-Shan with their efforts. Each took up a station, standing guard over the remains of what they had once ruled. To protect themselves, they followed Gaia's example and made themselves into what humans now call planets. The remains of Yu-Shan now lie between what remains of Mars, the Maiden of Battles, and Jupiter, the Maiden of Secrets.
When the floods subsided, forty days and forty nights later, the Sidereal had discovered that a Lunar exalt had hidden among the animals they rescued. Prince of Doves was sent out to see if it was safe to leave their mountain fortress. When he returned, he carried the branch of an olive tree as proof that the waters had gone down. They left the mountain and called it Ararat, the place of new beginnings.
The man, Jesus, was a Lunar and the Tribe of Israel is his Thousand Streams River experiment. He was the same Lunar that was with them in the beginning, and he was called Prince of Peace in those times. He occasionally fathered half-caste children that lived to be 950 years old, 700+ years old, etc. He sometimes took their shapes temporarily through a shapeshifting Knack and delivered prophecies to nudge the society along. About 2000 years ago the Lunar was getting towards the end of his long life and wanted to leave the most powerful message he could with his adopted tribe. And so he became a martyr. Unfortunately, his message was misinterpreted and Christianity was born. He hasn't reincarnated because Luna has been lying dormant all these millenia.
His return has been prophesied as the coming of The Antichrist and, as all Lunars do, he will bear the mark of the beast.
The Sidereal, whom this story has not forgotten, stole peaches of immortality and celestial wine before he locked himself away and has been keeping himself alive this whole time. So what has this Sidereal been doing? Well, seeing as how he's now around 5,500 years old he's had a lot of time on his hands to figure out exactly what happened when the excrement impacted the rotating mechanism. With the time he's had he managed to find a way to pull down Exalted soul shards which have, for lack of a god to assign them a body, been kinda floating around in the ether.
Gaia, whose body forms the world is, in fact, slowly dying as her fellow primordial, Autochthon, had done before her. Her ambient essence has reduced to a trickle. The return of essence users may slowly start to change and revive things and reawaken her.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Character Creation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The bulk of the changes use the Old World of Darkness (revised) as a jumping off point. Many changes have a negative impact on the ability of Exalts in general (though this guide is specifically crafted for creating Solar Exalted characters). This is so that the world is still an intimidating place for a new Solar. As time goes on, the intention is that much of these restrictions would be changed or lifted. Rules to create Lunar Exalted will follow.
Attributes: 7/5/3
Abilities: 22, at least 10 must be caste or favored, none higher than 3
without BP*
Virtues: 5, none higher than 3 without BP
Backgrounds: 7, none higher than 3 without BP
Willpower: Highest + lowest Virtue, cannot be higher than 7 at starting
Charms: 10, at least 5 must be from Caste or Favored Abilities
Essence: 2, may not be higher than 3 at starting.
BP: 15
Merits and Flaws**: max of 10 points each, must be approved.
* Bonus points
** Merits and Flaws from the 1st edition Players Guide shall be used, with the addition of custom Merits and Flaws as approved.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Run Rules
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wyld is what's past the solar system, past the range of the solar winds. Voyager 1 and 2 passed this barrier not long ago. They have not been heard from since. Pluto and its moon are occasionally in the bordermarches.
During meteor showers and other astronomical events, wyld effects can occur randomly. Astrology was, at one time, a valid profession. Since the cataclysm only astrology relying solely on planetary alignment and including solar and lunar influence are accurate. All other astrological practices are fraught with error and vague predictions.
All static values now round down, regardless.
Add 1 WP to the cost of all charms at Essence 3+ that do not currently have that listed in the activation cost.
Essence replenishes at the rate of 4 motes per hour when meditating or sleeping and 2 motes per hour when active.
Essence pools are now calculated:
Personal pool: Essence + Willpower + Highest Virtue
Peripheral pool: Essence x 6 + Willpower x 2 + Highest Virtue
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