Dice [Exalted] O Brave New World (OOC)

[jaydude]

He is highly unlikely to be a Deathlord, unless that Deathlord is possessing the body of a deceased mortal. He has a well known upbringing with plenty of acquaintances and an extended family full of members who do not seem to doubt his identity and have - in some cases grudgingly - accepted him back into the fold after his triumphant return from exile and almost certain death. He could plausibly be a puppet of a Deathlord, an Abyssal, or something else entirely. He does seem to be some flavour of Exalted given the rumours you've heard about him. He is purported to have returned wreathed in glorious flame, seems impervious to even the most intense desert heat, practices by fighting a dozen veteran warriors of his clan at once, and it is said his soul-firing oratory can stir the most jaded and cynical of hearts.

Wow. Yeah, if I'd been more aware of all this stuff from the start, odds are that Atusa would be drastically different from her current self. Maybe the Ur-Pharaoh's High Priestess, the head of an Unconquered Sun-based religion within his domain, or even one of his most powerful vassals. I would certainly have been a lot less likely to play her as his intended main rival.

Spoiler: Why I thought he was a Deathlord

Besides the fact that he uses undead soldiers and laborers, I didn't recall you specifying when he was exiled in the Lore topic, so for all I knew it could have been all the way back in ancient times, with him deciding to make his "public" reappearance three years before now for whatever reason. I also think I missed the part about him being "young". Plus, I'm somewhat conditioned to view a Deathlord as the inevitable endgame boss for a Solar, or rather the last resort when it comes to stopping them from being able to walk all over the setting.

Still, I imagine that we can salvage things. Having the Ur-Pharaoh establish contact with Atusa would certainly be a step in the right direction for me due to the reasons I stated earlier, though it's not my main priority. At the very least, Atusa will hesitate to be the first to initiate contact; besides her current mistrust of him, there's the danger that doing so could be taken as a sign of weakness on her part. From a strategic perspective, it's better for her to try and build up her own powerbase to a point that the Ur-Pharaoh deems it prudent to come to her.

It has to do with a very old and bitter split countless generations ago in the founding myths of your people over how to survive the wrath of the gods, and from there was sustained through the oaths handed down through the traditional bloodlines. The settled clans hold binding oaths from djinn of water and earth, while the nomadic clans hold oaths from fire and wind. This status quo has been maintained because both settled and nomadic clans depend on each other, and it offers a measure of security that one can't really gain anything from war with the other. The settled clans can't use sandships without fire and wind djinn, and the nomadic clans would have a difficult time surviving in the meagre oases that sustain the settled clans without water and earth djinn.

A marriage between the heirs of a nomadic and settled clan would violate tradition - and upset the balance of power - but it's entirely possible. After all, the balance has been entirely thrown out the window amongst the northern clans with the rise of Ea-Abzu. These are strange times.

That's going to make me a good bit more reluctant to have the Hematti settle, if it turns out there's a cultural-based barrier in place (i.e. the different pacts between the different djinns). Much like how I envision Makuro as embodying the ideals of the Silver Pact, I like to see Atusa as embodying both the image of the quintessential Zenith priest-monarch, as well as the culture of the Faqari people. If she breaks from that culture in some way, I like to think it'll be somewhat of a major plot point.

I think that for the time being I'll stick with being nomadic, if that isn't going to be as serious a political disadvantage as I previously thought. If I do spend exp on Atusa's Influence and Resources Merits, it'll represent her managing to consolidate her power, and acquiring more bountiful and reliable sources of food and water.

We should also work on a way to unite the circle without too much ceremony. So hopefully whatever we intend to pursue next can start to align our paths and agendas.

I certainly wouldn't mind Atusa joining up with some of the other player characters. At present I can see her as having the following options: she either tries to get John and Hazel to join her court, or she tries to become an ally of Renna and Morrolan's after learning of their plans of conquest (They seem a lot less likely to accept courtier positions than the other two, though I might be wrong). I am a little wary of the last option, if only because it might make things complicated regarding the Ur-Pharaoh, depending on what plans Renna and Morrolan have for him.

What do you think, D. Rex Psychie Rykon and Sherwood ?

 

[D. Rex]

Wow. Yeah, if I'd been more aware of all this stuff from the start, odds are that Atusa would be drastically different from her current self. Maybe the Ur-Pharaoh's High Priestess, the head of an Unconquered Sun-based religion within his domain, or even one of his most powerful vassals. I would certainly have been a lot less likely to play her as his intended main rival.

Spoiler: Why I thought he was a Deathlord

Besides the fact that he uses undead soldiers and laborers, I didn't recall you specifying when he was exiled in the Lore topic, so for all I knew it could have been all the way back in ancient times, with him deciding to make his "public" reappearance three years before now for whatever reason. I also think I missed the part about him being "young".

Still, I imagine that we can salvage things. Having the Ur-Pharaoh establish contact with Atusa would certainly be a step in the right direction for me due to the reasons I stated earlier, though it's not my main priority. At the very least, Atusa will hesitate to be the first to initiate contact; besides her current mistrust of him, there's the danger that doing so could be taken as a sign of weakness on her part. From a strategic perspective, it's better for her to try and build up her own powerbase to a point that the Ur-Pharaoh deems it prudent to come to her.


That's going to make me a good bit more reluctant to have the Hematti settle, if it turns out there's a cultural-based barrier in place (i.e. the different pacts between the different djinns). Much like how I envision Makuro as embodying the ideals of the Silver Pact, I like to see Atusa as embodying both the image of the quintessential Zenith priest-monarch, as well as the culture of the Faqari people. If she breaks from that culture in some way, I like to think it'll be somewhat of a major plot point.

I think that for the time being I'll stick with being nomadic, if that isn't going to be as serious a political disadvantage as I previously thought. If I do spend exp on Atusa's Influence and Resources Merits, it'll represent her managing to consolidate her power, and acquiring more bountiful and reliable sources of food and water.


I certainly wouldn't mind Atusa joining up with some of the other player characters. At present I can see her as having the following options: she either tries to get John and Hazel to join her court, or she tries to become an ally of Renna and Morrolan's after learning of their plans of conquest (They seem a lot less likely to accept courtier positions than the other two, though I might be wrong). I am a little wary of the last option, if only because it might make things complicated regarding the Ur-Pharaoh, depending on what plans Renna and Morrolan have for him.

What do you think, D. Rex Psychie Rykon and Sherwood ?

I am all good with meeting up!

I think it will do well in kicking things into the next gear as we add together our specialties and power.


Hazel had originally came out here seeking Atusa. A vision of a glorious golden leader that moon mommy has assigned her to assist in her rise. This option would be as easy as Hazel meeting Atusa, and would recognize her for who she is. After which Hazel would attach herself to Atusa as her very own Merlin.

 

[jaydude]

I am all good with meeting up!

I think it will do well in kicking things into the next gear as we add together our specialties and power.

Hazel had originally came out here seeking Atusa. A vision of a glorious golden leader that moon mommy has assigned her to assist in her rise. This option would be as easy as Hazel meeting Atusa, and would recognize her for who she is. After which Hazel would attach herself to Atusa as her very own Merlin.

Then I suppose the main thing now is engineering the meeting between Hazel, John and Atusa.

Atusa's currently working on swaying a group of Faqari to her side, she and them having been left liegeless after an offscreen civil war, but this shouldn't take much longer. I vaguely recall that Hazel and John were looking for some Alcazar/Manse; depending on how far along that quest the two of them are, it might not be too far-fetched for them to come across Atusa while she's in the area.

(Tagging Rykon in on this as well)

 

[Sherwood]

Once Renna is done trying to be nice with the King, I am all for getting the characters together. Lets see how much trouble we can get in as a group.

 

[Psychie]

I am good to have the group get together.

 

[Random Word]

Oops, sorry. I should have made the vague hints a little less vague.

Yes, it is a breach of tradition, but what it means to be Faqari is a bit in flux right now. Much like the Delzhan asking each other if they're really still Delzhan if they spend all their time in Chiaroscuro and never herd cattle or goats from camel back on the plains, Faqari are arguing about what the conquest of these cities means for the soul of their people. If Atusa chooses to draw her legitimacy from a source other than the oaths she bears from the Hematti djinn, it may be much easier to justify mixing settled and nomadic clans. After all, they were at one point one people.

D. Rex you and Rykon don't necessarily have to decide right now, but eventually you'll have to answer the question I posed to him about what, if anything, you did about Thamina and Zahur. In the meantime you can go ahead and narrate how you and John defeat the guardians. Actual combat seems an unnecessary narrative speed bump. After that you can simply spend a fate point to narrate how you get yourself successfully to the location of the manse you're seeking in the desert. There's a magical barrier that causes those approaching the vicinity of the Alcazar to become lost and turn back, but it doesn't fool the sense of smell, and John knows what those rare herbs he's seeking smell like, so if he closes his eyes he can lead the way through the barrier just fine. There's a guardian and other exotic defenses, but John has figured out how to communicate with the Peri bound to protect the place and Hazel can figure out how to get through sorcerous wards and locks. If you go straight for your goal (though that goal is unbeknownst to the characters) and don't bother looking at anything else, you'll find a magical map table depicting a complex network of agricultural manses in the desert, and in particular the location of an almost-complete manse that is marked partially functional where the rest are in various states of definitely offline.

Yes, once Renna & Morrolan finish up with the King we can certainly come up with an excuse for why they end up meeting Atusa. I suspect word of their deeds will spread, and perhaps Atusa learns these god-champions that fought a mountain and won are looking to charter passage across the sands, and races other clans to be sure her ships are there to offer it.

 

[Sherwood]

Sweet.

 

[jaydude]

Yes, once Renna & Morrolan finish up with the King we can certainly come up with an excuse for why they end up meeting Atusa. I suspect word of their deeds will spread, and perhaps Atusa learns these god-champions that fought a mountain and won are looking to charter passage across the sands, and races other clans to be sure her ships are there to offer it.

Alternatively they can just travel to the Manzil-Hematti, assuming they can get passage with a sandship captain who knows how to find it. Atusa will definitely be interested in meeting with them once she knows that they're also Celestial Exalted, which presumably could be discovered by one of the township's gods using Measure the Wind.

 

[Sherwood]

That would be difficult, but not impossible, considering that much of Renna's soldiers are cavalry. I'm guessing that there are ships large enough to haul horses in decent numbers, but it will be expensive.

 

[Rykon]

Random Word , D. Rex
For the crossroads decision, it sounds like the end result is that we'd be picking one nation or the other. John will deny both agendas so they can pursue their own separate from backing the Sasarin or Ea-abzu. Their stale mate right now is a useful distraction for the circle besides.

 

[jaydude]

That would be difficult, but not impossible, considering that much of Renna's soldiers are cavalry. I'm guessing that there are ships large enough to haul horses in decent numbers, but it will be expensive.

Oh yeah, wasn't quite aware of that. That could also be a problem when it comes to integrating our forces together, unless Renna can figure out a way to utilize desert cavalry in sandship battles.

 

[Sherwood]

With a War rating of 5, I'm sure she can be persuaded to put the horses aside and go with ship to ship combat in the desert, depending on the terrain.

 

[Psychie]

Who knows? There may be places where the horses would still come in to play as tactically advantageous.

 

[Sherwood]

True.

 

[Random Word]

Atusa will definitely be interested in meeting with them once she knows that they're also Celestial Exalted, which presumably could be discovered by one of the township's gods using Measure the Wind.

It should be noted that Measure the Wind has very strict and spirit-specific criteria for use. The spirit of a river might be able to Measure the Wind anyone who is immersed in his waters; the spirit of a market might be able to Measure the Wind anyone who buys or sells within it; Ahlat can Measure the Wind anyone who takes up arms against him; etc, etc. In this case there's no need for Measure the Wind because Renna & Morrolan kindly flared iconic in full view of an entire city, and word spreads.

That would be difficult, but not impossible, considering that much of Renna's soldiers are cavalry. I'm guessing that there are ships large enough to haul horses in decent numbers, but it will be expensive.

Who knows? There may be places where the horses would still come in to play as tactically advantageous.

Yes, wayyy back at the dawn of time we discussed this as a potentially tricky problem. The Red Arms' mounts having exceptional speed and endurance does make them more useful than ordinary horses in desert warfare, but they still have a very hard time assaulting sand ships unless given bows or other ranged weapons. Raksha and hobgoblins riding raptors can more easily make the high speed jumps required. Cavalry become much more useful when fighting on the floodplains against the Principate and/or Ea-Abzu, in the hills against Hisari tribes (or against mountains, apparently), or on the shores of the lake tributaries.

I think Renna has tiger warrior training, so she can do training montages for teaching her soldiers new arts of warfare in a hurry.

John will deny both agendas

Sounds good. So then we get into the thorny question of how. Do you kill them both? They're unlikely to be easily dissuaded, and you're about to leave for the desert, so you can't stay to guard the place against them. Is Hazel willing to kill Zahur? Neither of them are pushovers, so fighting them both back to back will be challenging. You could let them fight each other, then pounce and kill the victor.

 

[Sherwood]

I think Renna has tiger warrior training, so she can do training montages for teaching her soldiers new arts of warfare in a hurry.

Not yet. I believe that it is a Essence 2 Charm, but I might be mistaken. In any case, it is on my wish list.

 

[Psychie]

Well, if those exceptional horses were sold to a more landlocked location, the funds could be used to build/buy more of the sandshps for naval combat.

 

[Sherwood]

That is a distinct possibility.

 

[Sherwood]

Too bad I don't have flying mounts, like griffons. That would be sweet.

 

[Psychie]

That begs the question, could we get flying mounts? Just wondering.

 

[jaydude]

It should be noted that Measure the Wind has very strict and spirit-specific criteria for use. The spirit of a river might be able to Measure the Wind anyone who is immersed in his waters; the spirit of a market might be able to Measure the Wind anyone who buys or sells within it; Ahlat can Measure the Wind anyone who takes up arms against him; etc, etc.

Yeah. I was thinking something along the lines of the Canyon of Blessed Wind's god being able to use it on anyone who entered the place, or paid obeisance to Atusa.

 

[jaydude]

Psychie Sherwood
With regards to the flying mounts thing, I could perhaps have Atusa loan you some of the Thunderbirds she now commands, depending on what our Storyteller thinks of such an idea.

 

[Random Word]

Thunderbirds are not excited about the idea of being mounts. They might consent to bear a Solar if absolutely necessary, but you have a better option in your people's kites. The Thunderbirds can each keep many kites aloft at once, which was the main source of the Fayum's military strength.

 

[jaydude]

Well, you heard the Storyteller.

Out of curiosity, what Attribute and Ability combination would you need to use a Faqari kite? Dexterity + Athletics? After all, that's what Essence Gliders use.

 

[Random Word]

That begs the question, could we get flying mounts? Just wondering.

If any of you are budding beastmasters you could probably tame a few Rocs, or even more exotic still, a Simurgh. Hazel can probably summon Agata, but I doubt Renna & Morrolan would be excited about riding demons into battle. With enough sorcery you can just give your horses wings.

what Attribute and Ability combination would you need to use a Faqari kite?

Yeah, for kite piloting I'd permit Dex + Athletics or even Dex + Sail. Ah, but Renna would likely prefer to use Ride.

Yeah. I was thinking something along the lines of the Canyon of Blessed Wind's god being able to use it on anyone who entered the place, or paid obeisance to Atusa.

The canyon itself is just a structural feature of the ship. The Township has its own god, but I doubt the canyon does. We haven't introduced the Manzil-Hermatti's god yet, but yes, they could probably Measure the Wind anyone who partakes of water while aboard.