Dice Exalted Third Edition: An-Teng

[Rykon]

@Rykon, please edit this post to include any OOC information

 

[JayTee]

Looking for some pointers for those who are more familiar with the game engine on which ability I should Supernal.


Currently I'm looking at either Brawl, Resistance, Occult or Lore to be among my choices, the difficulty is in which one best reflects Kyro's style.


He prefers to act like a traditional DnD Wizard: Powerful eldritch ability, but can't take a punch worth jack. In reality, this is a plot to get people to underestimate him, so once they make their way through his spells and summons, thinking that they finally have the upper hand, he can deliver a brutal sock to their face while absorbing any damage they might manage to deal to him.


Likewise, the character is also very knowledgeable about a wide array of subjects, and is extremely confidant in his ability, possibly to the point of arrogance, and believes that he can eventually figure out the best way to solve any problem. His current goal is to clear the local area of anything that could be an immediate threat to him, which will allow him to safely establish a powerbase to advance his more long-term goals.

 

[Random Word]

Supernal Lore is amazing. It is so much fun. There is a Charm that basically says, "You do your homework and figure out a meteor is going to strike that country/that volcano is going to erupt/there will be an earthquake in a week." Declaring ridiculous things to be true is so much fun and so good for being a total smartass.


Supernal Brawl is as punchy as it is possible to be. You can hit preposterously hard or grapple absurdly well. Probably the strongest, or at least second strongest combat Supernal in the game, after Melee. Only because Melee's high tier counterattack Charms are almost unstoppable.


Supernal Resistance is pretty underwhelming. Large numbers of Charm purchases required to get to the few canon high Essence Charms, whose effects are good but nothing to write home about. If you don't really want Aegis of Invincible Might, I wouldn't bother.


Supernal Occult is all about eating, binding, and spotting spirits. If you want to wtfpwn every Ghost and God you meet, Supernal Occult is for you. The capstone Occult Charm lets you make your own God who serves as your familiar, but it's keyed off your Essence and doesn't benefit from Supernal, so although you can get it at character creation it's a bit underwhelming. Especially since you can just take Ally. Then again, Ally doesn't gain XP at the same rate you do AND benefit from all Survival/Ride Familiar Charms. Kept up long enough, that God would be insanely strong with your buffs.

 

[JayTee]

Among all of those, Lore sounds the most broadly useful to himself and the party, so I'll probably Supernal that. Thanks!

 

[Rykon]

Remember, supernal has to be chosen from among caste, not favored. For Twilight, keep in mind that supernal occult does not allow access to Solar Circle Sorcery (probably a good thing, shit would get fucked up right quick).


Only other tips I might suggest are some sort of onslaught negation (Brawl has a fantastic one available very early) combined with at least one Ox-Body if you are Stamina 3+.


Things you anyone might want to consider taking despite overlap: the intro awareness charm that grants double 9s on all awareness rolls. (if you don't take it as favored that also gets you the excellency, so not a bad trade) and perfect shadow stillness which lets you reroll stealth while keeping your 10s.

 

[Bardlebee]

I am still working on my character stats. I imagine I will have that all up by tomorrow evening, I will skip a lot of this editions fluff to get that done so we can move on


its slow reading for me I study quite a bit when I'm off work. So little time for fun stuff haha.

 

[Random Word]

@Rykon, I assume you're already aware of and condone the effects of the BP->XP modifications for attributes. It's just ludicrously cheap to get attributes now (2nd and 3rd dot effectively cost 1 BP and 2 BP, respectively, instead of the old 4 and 4) - should we be barred from buying attribute dots with BP->XP?


It's interesting. This change really pushes towards attributes over abilities.

 

[Rykon]

@Rykon[/URL], I assume you're already aware of and condone the effects of the BP->XP modifications for attributes. It's just ludicrously cheap to get attributes now (2nd and 3rd dot effectively cost 1 BP and 2 BP, respectively, instead of the old 4 and 4) - should we be barred from buying attribute dots with BP->XP?
It's interesting. This change really pushes towards attributes over abilities.

I may not be seeing what you are so I will just explain what I've seen, if you see differently please feel free to cite references as I am curious. From what I have read both, before and after backer release, the tables for spending BP and XP in 3rd edition are almost unchanged from 2e. The only change I saw was that in the tertiary attributes group, they are 3 points for each dot you buy instead of 4. The table we are using (or atleast the one XP table I found) is on page 177, and as far as I can tell with the house rule, the second and third attribute dots would be 4 and 8 respectively.


EDIT: Oh I see, you converted that 1 and 2 back to BP equivalent. Yes, that effect was intended. If you want to buy attribute dots now, you are more than welcome to. The thing to remember is that while attributes do contribute to dice caps, they do not count for charm minimums like abilities do (and even if they did, as with lunars, 4th and 5th dots can still be terribly expensive).

 

[Random Word]

Right, it's just extremely tempting to have an 8/8/8 attribute spread given how cheap it is if you game the starting free dots. For instance, taking 5/1/1 in your tertiary group and then buying 4 more dots for 24 XP. 12 more XP gets you 8 in your secondary group. 12 more would get you 10 in your primary, if you went really crazy with it. The advantage being training time - ordinarily that would take 3-4+ months to come online. Skills take days.


I did forget about the tertiary discount, though. Still half price there.

 

[JayTee]

Would it be too much to ask if we could start out with 20 charms instead of 15? The current amount of charms we get is grating against my irrational fixation with certain number sets.

 

[Rykon]

[QUOTE="Random Word]Right, it's just extremely tempting to have an 8/8/8 attribute spread given how cheap it is if you game the starting free dots. For instance, taking 5/1/1 in your tertiary group and then buying 4 more dots for 24 XP. 12 more XP gets you 8 in your secondary group. 12 more would get you 10 in your primary, if you went really crazy with it. The advantage being training time - ordinarily that would take 3-4+ months to come online. Skills take days.
I did forget about the tertiary discount, though. Still half price there.

[/QUOTE]
I'm probably not gonna be a huge stickler about the multi-month training times. So long as it doesn't feel too cheesy it should be fine.

Would it be too much to ask if we could start out with 20 charms instead of 15? The current amount of charms we get is grating against my irrational fixation with certain number sets.

OCD is part of the reason I chose the BP as XP rule, so I feel your pain. I had intended to stick toward newly exalted chargen rules... are you wanting go toward the lightly experienced chargen? Or does the 13 merits and/or 18 (upgrade to 72) BP just continue to irritate the OCD?

 

[JayTee]

OCD is part of the reason I chose the BP as XP rule, so I feel your pain. I had intended to stick toward newly exalted chargen rules... are you wanting go toward the lightly experienced chargen? Or does the 13 merits and/or 18 (upgrade to 72) BP just continue to irritate the OCD?

15 irritates me because I believe that PCs should be given more options/resources at character creation proportional to their knowledge of the system (most of us are already familiar with the ST system and Exalted, and are just learning the nuances of the new engine).


The problem is that doubling 15 would give you 30, which I think might be too many out of the gate and I'm not sure if there actually are 30 charms available at Essence 1 without overspecializing in your Supernal ability to an insane degree, so 20 feels like an acceptable compromise. It lets you specialize in your Supernal, but also gives you a solid foundation to further develop the character.

 

[Rykon]

15 irritates me because I believe that PCs should be given more options/resources at character creation proportional to their knowledge of the system (most of us are already familiar with the ST system and Exalted, and are just learning the nuances of the new engine).
The problem is that doubling 15 would give you 30, which I think might be too many out of the gate and I'm not sure if there actually are 30 charms available at Essence 1 without overspecializing in your Supernal ability to an insane degree, so 20 feels like an acceptable compromise. It lets you specialize in your Supernal, but also gives you a solid foundation to further develop the character.

I haven't heard it put that way before, but I don't disagree with the idea. However, XP gain in this game will be much faster than some of the others you may be used to though, so let's play that one by ear for now. It's simple matter to bump things up later if needed.

 

[JayTee]

Fair enough, fast XP gains sounds like it'll be fun. Now I just need to figure out how to get as many of my abilities to 5 as possible so I can spend that XP on things that really matter. Like charms =p

 

[Rykon]

Fair enough, fast XP gains sounds like it'll be fun. Now I just need to figure out how to get as many of my abilities to 5 as possible so I can spend that XP on things that really matter. Like charms =p

Well, I will also be handing out Solar XP for that, though I think you are planning to save that for spells, correct? Really, since the resource pools are collectively homogeneous now, I'd say focus on just Brawl and Occult at 5 then fill in other abilities at ratings you need for the appropriate charms. Even if you run out of stuff to take at E1, you may just want to find a reasonable break point in the tree, note the ability requirement and move on. There are a ton of little things here and there and it's easy to plan out like 500+xp worth of goodies to pick up.

 

[Rykon]

By the way, before I forget, linguistics 1 is necessary for literacy. It's a change that is easy to miss in the book.

 

[Esbilon]

I've posted my working sheet. I'll be adding to it during the week. Any feedback or input is welcome

 

[Rykon]

I'm not gonna make you take the ambidexterity merit, just feels...meh.


EDIT: Also note, Presence has taken over what little leadership purview Performance had (aside from pre-written speech delivery).Another minor tweak that's easy to skim over in the book.

 

[Esbilon]

I'm not gonna make you take the ambidexterity merit, just feels...meh.
EDIT: Also note, Presence has taken over what little leadership purview Performance had (aside from pre-written speech delivery).Another minor tweak that's easy to skim over in the book.

Thanks I've updated the sheet a bunch more. Notably, I dropped a lot of my 3's in Attributes for Charms and added Intimacies.

 

[Foolish13]

Apologies for the quiet on my end, just been figuring out the numbers and character fluff. I should be able to post my character sheet by Friday.

 

[Esbilon]

@Random Word nice character you have there, be a shame if something happened to it, clearly you should be looking for petter protection


You seem to be lacking a negative Intimacy, though. And, at the risk of type-casting you, I would suggest grabbing Celestial Bliss Trick. The ability to give others a Defining Tie for you is pretty amazing.

 

[Rykon]

@Random Word you may want to look at bolstering your defenses a bit for combat. Given the parry oriented mechanics of Crane style, I suggest taking a hard look at resistance options for soaking (without being considered to be wearing armor) and ox body stacks. Were you using something more along the lines of black claw style or silver-voiced nightingale, I'd say dodge's onslaught negation would be a good call.

 

[Random Word]

You seem to be lacking a negative Intimacy, though.

Oooh, good point. I need to hate more things.


EDIT: By the way, you bought 3 dots of Stamina but only wrote down 2. I figure you might want your extra dot ( ). If we're being super nitpicky, learning Old Realm requires a dot of Lore and Occult.

I would suggest grabbing Celestial Bliss Trick

I'm not a fan of Celestial Bliss Trick. The other Sex and Seduction Charms can be used to improve any social action. CBT is *ahem* a one trick pony. Halcyon doesn't have any interest in sleeping with every NPC she needs a favour from, but pretty kittying up to 7 Appearance and... wait a second. Does Penultimate Unity of Form let me Celestial Bliss Trick my concerts? Okay that's pretty hilarious. If that's legal I might invent Euphoria Inducing Aria Technique.

you may want to look at bolstering your defenses a bit for combat.

I was originally playing with the idea of taking a Glory Sphere and starting with Crane Form from the beginning. Having 7 base Parry, up to 9 from free Full Defence, 10 with even a minor stunt, and answering all attacks with counterattacks would make me incredibly deadly and unhittable by all but the deadliest opponents and large groups who weren't battlegroup'd for some reason, the latter of which I could Monkey Leap away from if necessary. I agree that without Crane Form I'm considerably weaker, but my current Full Defence Parry of 8+Stunt+Excellency is nothing to sneeze at. Unless I'm asked to solo an optimized Dusk before Essence 2, I feel fairly confident the early Resistance Charms won't matter. Reducing Withering damage by 2 for 3m is pretty underwhelming when I could raise my Parry by 2 for 4m instead and achieve a much better result.


I'll be especially deadly in conjunction with the already ridiculously deadly Rising Tide (Full Shining Point at character creation is going to roflstomp just about any conceivable combat encounter). I essentially increase her Parry by 9 and reply to any attacks on either of us immediately once I hit E2. So she'll be completely impervious while she's dishing out ridiculous amounts of Shining Point damage. It's very tempting to go for that Glory Sphere and buy it early.

 

[Esbilon]

[QUOTE="Random Word]EDIT: By the way, you bought 3 dots of Stamina but only wrote down 2. I figure you might want your extra dot ( ). If we're being super nitpicky, learning Old Realm requires a dot of Lore and Occult.

[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I'm going to make do with Sta 2 and then grab an extra Charm, but I'd missed that

[QUOTE="Random Word]I'm not a fan of Celestial Bliss Trick. The other Sex and Seduction Charms can be used to improve any social action. CBT is *ahem* a one trick pony. Halcyon doesn't have any interest in sleeping with every NPC she needs a favour from, but pretty kittying up to 7 Appearance and... wait a second. Does Penultimate Unity of Form let me Celestial Bliss Trick my concerts? Okay that's pretty hilarious. If that's legal I might invent Euphoria Inducing Aria Technique.

[/QUOTE]
I'm not suggesting she should sleep with everyone, but getting someone to do something important for you requires them to have at least a Major Intimacy, and giving people those is not a simple matter. I understand if that's outside the scope of your concept, though.


It would be amazing if it worked with Penultimate Unity of Form, though a strict reading would not allow it since it only lists "oration, dancing, singing, and playing an instrument." Of course, for the Exalted 'the Satrap' might count as an instrument It's certainly not a Supplemental Charm which are explicitly disallowed.

 

[Random Word]

Yeah, it is one of the most powerful social Charms in the game. Leveraging a Defining Tie of Lust basically entails promising sex in exchange for whatever you want, though. I would have preferred they open the Charm up a bit to give a few more options. I get it, though: the singing Charms require singing, the dancing Charms require dancing, lo and behold, the sex Charms require sex.


I admit, it is pretty tempting to just solve all social problems in bed. I think I'll try the old fashioned way, first, though. I don't think it will be too hard to rack up Major and even Defining ties for Halcyon.