Character by u/angelasasser

With our Auroral Campaign starting soon and everything, I had to draw him for todays theme. I did not find many physical descriptions of him, so I kinda went with the flow.

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

I had this realization recently and wanted to share, because I think conceptualizing it like this could help the GMs and newer players understand what the Abyssals, Deathlords and the Neverborn are about, and to be able to argue their case. Which goes a long way in explaining why someone like the Bishop of Chalcedony Thurible, Lover Clad in Rainment in Tears, or Walker in Darkness are able to amass legions of devoted sycophants despite their ideology preaching an unambiguous, universal genocide, because Elden Ring is a very, very popular game, so it's a useful point of comparison.

The Flame of Frenzy is a universal force of destruction. Despite being referred to as Chaos, it's chaos in a classical sense: entropy of the universe. Maximum chaos is not what you'd imagine, a swirling mess of everything, but is, in actuality, complete nothingness. Void.

Its adherents are all people brought to the edges of madness through pain and suffering. They'd seen the absolute worst of the worst depravities of humanity and the world, saw that the Greater Will (Exalted even has an analog for this in the form of Unconquered Sun) is either unwilling or too weak to fix the world, and thus concluded that non-existence is preferable to existence.

That's exactly the ethos that drives the Neverborn and the Deathlords (even if some question it, their very existence is still dedicated to it). From that perspective, they may even appear sympathetic to an extent; after all, Creation is indeed a very, very bad place for 99% of its inhabitants, and it's frankly so bad because it's so good to its 1%, and unlike the real world, that state of things is written into the cosmology of the universe itself. The very beings who now beg for all of it to end designed it this way.

I think it's good, if you want to lean into the Deathlords like Lover, Bishop, and Walker being these charismatic and convincing individuals, to highlight that these are really, REALLY hurt people, and they do offer a kind of mercy. At the very least, they themselves see it as mercy, and the people following them see it that way too, they don't all follow because of brainwashing.

Or should I let you keep guessing the names, even when it's that obvious ?

I love this spell. I find it very funny that the Necromencer I play is very sweet, and by far one of the most good aligned character I ever played, but can turn terrifying in a matter of seconds if he wants to (probably when he gets tired of having to interact with people)

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

The mythologies and religious traditions that inspire Exalted's setting are full of heroes who's exploits begin very early in their life, such as Heracles as a baby strangling the serpents that entered his crib (the thing that brought this question to mind), or Cu Cuchulainn as a 6 year old killing a large hound in self defence.

However, with Exalted's setting logic in mind, how young do you think a person could be before it stretches believability and/or becomes out-of-theme for an Exaltation to occur?

got to introduce a new character in the sidereal game i'm in and unfortunately i've become a little obsessed with her.

-former sijanese tomb guard-in-training

-took advantage of exalting to transition hard

-works for the convention on rogue assets

-wishes her job was more killing less paperwork

-allergic to fun

-paired up with a bubbly fast-talking agent she can't stand

-huge crush on the green lady she refuses to let anyone know about

-sword is also named red utopia

-6'5" without the heels

I am back home after hinking for 10 days straight ! Not sure I will be able to catch up, but I will overflow on November if I need to, to complete the challenge.

So, for Dragonblooded House I had to go for house Mnemon, with our DB campaign that has been ongoing for a year and half trying to put Mnemon on the throne (and make sure creation does not fall to evil anathemas)

The 6 people here are our hearth. From left to right :

- Nostra Vneef Mnemon (PC, wood aspect merchant, married into the family)

- Hisaly Mnemon (PC, wood aspect crafter, direct child of Mnemon)

- Valoris Ledaal Mnemon (PC, air aspect archeologist, married to Yue)

- Kamui Mnemon Yato (PC, fire aspect martial artist, direct child of Mnemon, but choose to also keep his father's surname too)

- Yban Mnemon (NPC, water aspect war general and martial artist. His grand mother was adopted by Mnemon)

- Yue Mnemon (NPC, sideral maskerading as an air aspect, direct child of Mnemon and married to Valoris)

Its kinda funny that there are no earth aspect in our very Mnemon hearth

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

The Lunar Charm from Many-Faced Strangers is clear enough about its power to display memories in visible illusory forms. My question deals with its interactions with Secire Den Technique. What exactly IS a dream Realm, and what are its qualities? Is it a real retreat inside your dreams? Its left me puzzled how exactly to handle it.

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Aloha, all!

Pure mechanics: the Counter Conceptual Interposition Key for this charm it allows you to Clash with it, but doesn't specify whether it becomes reflexive. It seems like charms that use your Combat action when clashing or counterattacking specify they do.

So to clarify: Regardless of what you do on your turn, you can spend 9 motes to reflexively clash an attack with this, dealing no more than Essence damage if successful.

As I prepare to play an infernal in my group's current campaign, Principle Invoking Onslaught is probably my go to decisive attack, here are a few ideas I've had for it. Let me know if they exceed the limit of this absurd attack Charm.

I turn people into paintings of themselves.

I turn people into pigs that explode into fully butchered and barbecued, ready to eat portions.

I create a door that opens in the path a target attempting to kill me or someone else and they disappear into it.
--When I next activate Counter Conceptual Imposition, the door reappears, opens, and the previous target emerges mid attack to damage the attacker and die by absorbing the clashed attack for me.

The target's feet explode into roots that dig into the earth and the rest of them contorts into a tree covered in leaves that immediately take flight as butterflies.

The target becomes ensconced in a SWLIHN style crystal sphere and flies into the sky, never to be seen again.

The target becomes a baby.

The target becomes a harmless mundane beast of some kind.

After offering last rites to a dying person and hearing them pray for their family to have wealth and good fortune after their passing, I blast them into a pile of Resources 4 jade dust.

So I'm not an expert in Lunars, I know about the Full moon caste and all that. But I don't know how well does their double leap distance synergizes with the rest of the lunar charmset.

Meanwhile the No Moon gets a -1 external penalty on attackers who can't see through Darkness. Wouldn't this synergize better with all builds ?

So Nara-O knows the secrets not told to anyone. If I were to tell all my secrets to someone, then kill them and obliterate their souls so no necromancer could force them to talk, would this count so Nara-O doesn't discover my big evil plans ?

So I'm clear, an Infernal with the Soul Pantheon tree will create a maximum of 8 souls/demons?

The coadjutor becomes a Fetich, then they make 7 second circle souls for it, then externalize the fetich.

Is that the limit, or do they then create another 7 second circles to produce another 3rd?

As a first time GM my players started at essence 2 and have made it to the point they can move to essence 3.

I don’t wanna fuck it up, we have a Dawn caste, sidereal, and Zenith caste.

Any advice?

Sequel to this post (and it's repost)

I am unable to find info on it in the books or the wiki so it would be nice if you all could help me out

Aloha, I asked about this earlier and saw much appreciated responses directing me to 1000 Blades. A very cool style to be sure, but not quite what I was looking for.

This is closer, since I wrote it. I just need to know if there's any cocaine thinking going on here before I show it to my ST.

Ambivalent God-Whim Style
One of Hell’s Chosen ascended the ladder of She Who Lives In Her Name, yet never found the clarity of infinitesmal significance said to be waiting.  Instead, they reveled in the endlessly escalating burdens the Yozis themselves had shouldered as creators and masters of the universe.  

The higher he climbed the more his sympathy for their plight as twisted things held in a prison of their own bodies urged him to take an ever growing measure of that burden.  His own mind’s eye opened onto a world within himself and the more he saw in She Who Lives In Her Name’s widening crystalline gyre, the richer that world grew.  When the Lady of Spheres finally focused her cosmos spanning attention on the Exalt, she was repulsed by the world she could see within him and enraged at his temerity for wanting to take an infinity away from infinities.  

Her punishment was swift, brutal, and intimate in ways no blade could ever cleave.  The Exalt learned her Mind-Hand Manipulation and let his first taste of hers linger like a seed in his imagination until he’d pushed it as far as he could go.

This Martial Art can only be practiced by aspirants with some means of moving objects with their mind whether it be the Infernal Charm that inspired its creation, a boon from a god, or a Wyld Mutation of some sort.  Its only acceptable weapon is telekinetic force and its strikes cannot be made bare handed.

Draft 2
Special Prerequisite: The Ambivalent God-Whim Style requires a character to have some form of Telekinesis.  Its techniques require that the character’s gift be active or have been used within the last round if its duration is usually instant.  

Zone of Control. This Martial Art’s central mechanic is the establishment of a Zone of Control in which they stand alone and uncontested.  Once the Zone of Control is established, the Martial Artist’s Parry Defense is increased by 1 and this increase is not subject to loss by Onslaught Penalty.  Additionally, as the Martial Artist is exclusively using their telekinetic power to deflect attacks, they can parry lethal and ranged attacks without a stunt.  
While this style was created by an Infernal with Mind-Hand Manipulation as a foundation, for those with lesser gifts (like a Wyld Mutant that can spend a Willpower to turn their anger into an attack of pure destructive force), it represents a significant expansion of their power, allowing them to make telekinetic attacks at targets within the Zone of Control with no more cost or effort than throwing a punch.  They also enjoy the effects of the Charms as described, without consideration for other mechanics regarding their power.

Through Peace—Violence
Cost: 3m, 3i        Minimums: Ess 1, Martial Arts 2 
Type: Simple
Keywords: none
Duration: Varies
Prerequisite Charms: None
For the Ambivalent God, solitude is natural and she can enforce it wherever it’s found.
When the Martial Artist is alone, with no other characters in Close range, she can activate this charm to establish the area as her Zone of Control, expanding the effects of her telekinetic gift, granting her a +1 Parry Defense which cannot be eroded by Onslaught penalty and the ability to parry lethal and ranged attacks telekinetically thus not requiring a stunt.

Self-Summit Solitude Enforcement
Cost: 2m, 2i        Minimums: Ess 1, Martial Arts 2 
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: none
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Your ruminations are not for others and the storm of your consciousness casts interlopers out.
When a character attempts to enter your Zone of Control, you can force them to make  a reflexive Athletics or Dodge roll against a Difficulty equal to your Martial Arts.  On a failure, their advance is halted.  They can choose to end their movement at a different location in range, but cannot advance closer than Short range from you until your Zone of Control ends or their following turn.

Provocational Thought Kata
Cost: 1m         Minimums: Ess 1, Martial Arts 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: none
An opponent’s emotions and focused attention can be used to guide the Ambivalent God to the most intimate cruelty.  For a Withering Attack, if the target has a Tie to the Martial Artist, this charm adds dice equal to the Intimacy level to the post soak damage roll.  If it is a positive tie, these are successes.  
Alternatively, this Charm can modify a Distract Gambit against a target with such an Intimacy allowing the Martial Artist to grant additional Initiative to an ally equal to Martial Arts.  If the Intimacy is positive, they grant additional Initiative equal to (Martial Arts+Intimacy).

Ring of Promised Denial
Cost: 4m, 1wp, 1i+ Minimums: Ess 2, Martial Arts 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Withering
Duration: Varies
Prerequisite Charms: Through Peace—Violence, Self-Summit Solitude Enforcement
The Godhead does not abide encroachment on their isolation attempting to assert an absolute control over their immediate area. When activating this Charm she rolls a single Attack against every creature in Close range, spending 1 initiative per target (Battle Groups are treated as a single target) and using the highest Soak value among the targets to determine post soak damage.  If the Martial Artist does not have enough initiative to pay for every attack without going into Initiative Crash, the charm fails and she’s left with 1 initiative.  
Any creature damaged by the attack is pushed one range band away from the Martial Artist along the path of least resistance.  If all targets are pushed to Short Range she can reflexively activate Through Peace—Violence for one mote and one initiaitive.

The Martial Artist gains only the Initiative from the most damaged target, plus one from each additional target.

Terrestrial: The Martial Artist collects Initiative only from the most damaged target. 

Sanctity Shared
Cost: -           Minimums: Ess 2, Martial Arts 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: none
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Ring of Promised Denial
This Charm permanently enhances the Martial Artist’s ability to establish her Zone of Control and its prerequisite Charm. The Martial Artist can ignore characters with Positive Ties to her when establishing her Zone of Control and activating Ring of Promised Denial. 

Ambivalent God-Whim Form
Cost: 7m        Minimums: Ess 2, Martial Arts 3 
Type: Simple
Keywords: Terrestrial
Duration: Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Through Peace—Violence, Provocational Thought Kata, Self-Summit Solitude Enforcement
The Ambivalent God’s poise is a reflection of the perfect control she exerts on her local reality. Once the Ambivalent God-Whim Form is activated the Martial Artist becomes all but motionless.  Her senses extend into the fundament of her Zone of Control allowing her will to explode forth from any and every direction at thoughtspeed.  Her Guile increases by 1 and she may reduce her Evasion Rating by up to (Martial Arts/2, Round down) and Increase her Parry defense by the same amount.  This increase is also unable to be degraded by Onslaught penalties. While the Form is active, the cost of Self-Summit Solitude Enforcement is reduced to one mote and one initiative.

Any telekinetic attack she makes toward a creature within her Zone of Control is considered a Suprise Attack unless the target’s preferred Defense Value is higher than the Martial Artist’s Guile before the Surprise penalty is applied.

Special: This charm ends the moment the Martial Artist’s Zone of Control ends but can be activated Reflexively whenever the Martial Artist establishes a Zone of Control.

Terrestrial: The Martial Artist’s bonus to Parry Defense is only half of the reduction to Evasion.

A Place None Can Reach
Cost: -         Minimums: Ess 2, Martial Arts 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Psyche
Duration: Varies
Prerequisite Charms: Through Peace—Violence, Provocational Thought Kata, Self-Summit Solitude Enforcement
To opponents that grant the Ambivalent God their attention, her rejection erodes their confidence making her appear forever beyond their reach.  Whenever a character with a Tie to the Martial Artist fails to overcome the effect of Self-Summit Solitude Enforcement, they see her as an unreachable goal (if positive) or insurmountable obstacle (if negative) for (Intimacy) rounds.  During this time they must spend a point of Willpower before attempting to enter her Zone of Control again.  Further failures to breach the Zone of Control while affected by this Charm increase the Intensity of the Tie.

Imagined Injury Manifestation
Cost: 1m, 1wp     Minimums: Ess 2, Martial Arts 4 
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Ambivalent God-Whim Form, Concentric Conquest Assertion
Whenever a creature attempts a Rush Action to violate the Martial Artist’s Zone of Control, she can Clash it as a decisive attack, exerting the force like a thousand needles they’ll run into as they enter or meeting their charge with a superior force like a runaway yeddim.   If their attack roll exceeds the target’s Rush successes they roll damage normally, rerolling a number of failed damage dice equal to the target’s Strength.

Vector-Weaving Daydream
Cost: 1m, 1wp, 1i+   Minimums: Ess 2, Martial Arts 4
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Counterattack, Decisive, Terrestrial
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Ambivalent God-Whim Form 
The Ambivalent God knows the slings and arrows of her foes are like the epithets of her detractors, more harmful to themselves than her.  The Martial Artist can activate this Charm after a Ranged Attack has failed to overcome her Parry Defense.  She can then choose to direct the attack toward any Character in her Zone of Control.  The attack’s initial successes are applied directly to the new target.  The Martial Artist can spend her own initiative to purchase additional successes on the original attack roll to ensure it hits a well defended target.  She cannot spend more initiative in this way than her Martial Arts rating.  Regardless of whether the triggering attack was Withering or Decisive, its damage is replaced with the Martial Artist’s current Initiative.  After damage is rolled, the Martial Artist resets to base initiative + any initiative lost by the original attacker for missing with a decisive attack. 

At Essence 3 and higher, the Martial Artist can activate this Charm for one mote and one Initiative to declare any attacks originating within or entering the Zone of Control noted as Unblockable to be Undodgeable instead, or vice versa.

Terrestrial: The Martial Artist does not receive the original attacker’s lost initiative.

Delight Inducing Animations
Cost: -(2m) Minimums: Ess 2, Martial Arts 4
Type: Permanent
Keywords: none
Duration: Permanent (instant)
Prerequisite Charms: Shared Sanctity, Vector-Weaving Daydream
The Ambivalent God’s whim shelters as readily as it sweeps away.  At the Martial Artist’s discretion, characters within her Zone of Control also gain the +1 to Parry that she enjoys.  While her Ambivalent God-Whim Form Charm is active, she can reflexively spend two motes to grant any character in her Zone of Control the same Parry Boost she currently has from converting Evasion to Parry as an instant effect against one attack.

Concentric Conquest Assertion
Cost: 3m,1i   Minimums: Ess 3, Martial Arts 5
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Withering
Duration: instant
Prerequisite Charms: Ring of Promised Denial, Sanctity Shared, Ambivalent God-Whim Form
This Charm enhances Ring of Promised Denial. If Ring of Promised Denial’s attack is successful in removing all the targeted characters from Close Range, the Martial Artist immediately expands her Zone of Control by one range band to Short, allowing her to make Telekinetic Attacks against characters anywhere in her Zone of Control as well as apply the effects of this Style’s Charms against them normally.  Subsequent uses of Ring of Promised Denial affect all targets within the Zone of Control potentially expanding it to Medium, and eventually Long range. 

If there are no valid targets for Ring of Promised Denial’s attack, that Charm’s costs are waived when activating it to trigger this effect.

Four-Dimensional Silent Juxtaposition
Cost: 7m   Minimums: Ess 3, Martial Arts 5
Type: Reflexive 
Keywords: none
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Concentric Conquest Assertion, Vector Weaving Day Dream
An expanded Zone of Control offers the Martial Artist the opportunity to effortlessly elude her foes at the cost of conquered territory.  While the Martial Artist’s Zone of Control extends to Short Range or beyond, whenever any character breaches its boundary or targets her with a melee attack, she can reposition, appearing to remain eerily still as the land moves below and around her.  Effectively, she reflexively moves 1 range band away from the attacker or intruder, ending up at another spot within her current Zone of Control.  She then reduces the size of the Zone by one range band.  An attacker’s combat action is not wasted allowing them to redirect their attack.  The breaching character completes their movement normally but may be subject to another use of Self-Summit Solitude Enforcement.  

At Ess 5+ the Martial Artist can move 2 or 3 range bands away provided her Zone of Control extends to Medium or Long Range respectively.  This reduces the Zone's size by one additional Range Band per range band moved.

This Charm can only be used once per scene but can be reset by expanding her Zone of Control from Close to Long Range again.  

Field of Terror Absolute
Cost: 4m, 1wp   Minimums: Ess 4, Martial Arts 5
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Psyche, Shaping
Duration: varies.
Prerequisite Charms: A Place None Can Reach, Ambivalent God-Whim Form, Vector-Weaving Daydream
The Godmind maintains a holy boundary within which it accepts all and denies anything without. Whenever the Martial Artists activates Through Peace—Violence she can pay a four mote, one Willpower surcharge to make her Zone of Control a Field of Absolute Terror. Self-Summit Solitude Enforcement's cost is waived for the duration of the Field as is the cost of A Place None Can Reach. The latter Charm's effects extend even to characters that lack a Tie to the Martial Artist though they are affected for only one round. However, another failure to breach its boundary will Instill a minor Tie of terrified awe if they fail again their next turn.

Within the field, whenever a character within the Zone of Control starts their turn the Martial Artist can reflexively decide characters with a positive Tie to her benefit from light cover, heavy cover, a +3 bonus to movement actions as the terrain rises to meet their feet, collapses to create more convenient inclines or hand holds, or simply rises into the air below them to ferry them to a preferred locale.

Alternatively, she can decide characters with negative Ties are subjected to difficult terrain penalties, lose the benefits of any cover, or is subject to a hazard such as falling rocks, a pitfall, or sudden spikes. The Difficulty of avoiding such hazards is equal to her Martial Arts rating and their Damage equals the lower of a rating found in the Core Book or her Essence.

In either case the Martial Artist must spend 1 Initiative each time she chooses an effect and can choose only one per character. This Charm ends when the Zone of Control is ended.