Dice Into the Ruins - Exalted 3e OOC

[Purr]

Yeah, that could work. Your backstory's pretty much up to you and the Storyteller.

Hey! Jaydude, I think you just popped an idea into my head. What if Da Chonk's first client was his Shahan-ya? What if the Shahan-ya him or herself was his contact into the business?

Sure you can. It all depends on just how you make your move across Creation, hauling stuff for upright guys like Aredin and getting paid very well for it, since there are certain items, letters, or goods that absolutely must get there in a hurry, fast enough that only a Lunar can do it.

Hey (again)! Terrific! That sounds great! How about we do that? What would Da Chonk need to get on that boat?

 

[jaydude]

Off to bed now everyone see you all later.

 

[Psychie]

Hey! Jaydude, I think you just popped an idea into my head. What if Da Chonk's first client was his Shahan-ya? What if the Shahan-ya him or herself was his contact into the business?


Hey (again)! Terrific! That sounds great! How about we do that? What would Da Chonk need to get on that boat?

This is acceptable to me, just so long as it is good for you. I don't want to rule your character has to do something by fiat that is against your image of him.

 

[Psychie]

Off to bed now everyone see you all later.

G'night!

 

[Sherwood]

Off to bed now everyone see you all later.

Sleep well.

 

[Purr]

Off to bed now everyone see you all later.

jaydude Sleep well, Jay! Thanks for adding your wonderful mind to this! I'd like everyone's opinions regardless of which side of The Pond you live on. =)

 

[Purr]

This is acceptable to me, just so long as it is good for you. I don't want to rule your character has to do something by fiat that is against your image of him.

Psychie I think this honest approach is far more toward my image of him. But does it work with your game? What of Wren and her introduction here?

Again, what do I need to do (or what does anyone recommend I do) to Fat Cat to make him this "Courier" of letters, goods, even people traveling across Creation? I love the idea of him being well paid with a strong reputation for honest deals! =)

 

[Purr]

The more I read the Abilities again, the more I'm thinking Socialize and Bureaucracy are the way to go instead of Larceny and Presence.

So... what if... Larceny drops from 3 to 0.
Presence drops from 3 to 0 (change in Specialization now required).
Socialize increases from 1 to 3. Changed Specialization to Socialize - Raising people's spirits (making them happier).
Bureaucracy increases from 0 to 3.
And I put that point in Dodge back taking it from 0 to 1.

I have deleted Minor Tie: Silver Pact (camaraderie). =)

EDIT: For Charms, I have also swapped out Sense-Sharpening Change (p. 236, Lunars) for Lodestone Reckoning Manner (p. 287, Lunar) (because somebody recommended that Charm earlier, see, and therefore it MUST be a good one! Who could that have been?). =)

EDIT: What language do you recommend Fat Cat swap out for Guild Cant? Perhaps Dragontongue to know the language of the Lunars' enemies?

Psychie How does that look? Does that change his Combat Stats? Should I do more in other areas of his character sheet?

 

[Purr]

I just realized something. Psychie If this Wren works for the Guild, and it seems a large number of the Circle is either anti-slavery or former slaves themselves, upon discovering Wren is from the Guild (if she still is), what reactions could be expected? Would they even want her help knowing ultimately whom it benefits (the Guild)?

 

[Psychie]

Psychie I think this honest approach is far more toward my image of him. But does it work with your game? What of Wren and her introduction here?

Again, what do I need to do (or what does anyone recommend I do) to Fat Cat to make him this "Courier" of letters, goods, even people traveling across Creation? I love the idea of him being well paid with a strong reputation for honest deals! =)

All righty! (rubs her hands together) Lets look at this closely and see what we need to tweak to get Fat Cat in the running.

If you are not going to be working directly with the guild, you don't need Guild Cant as a language, so you can shift a dot somewhere else or take a different language.

The more I read the Abilities again, the more I'm thinking Socialize and Bureaucracy are the way to go instead of Larceny and Presence.

So... what if... Larceny drops from 3 to 0.
Presence drops from 3 to 0 (change in Specialization now required).
Socialize increases from 1 to 3. Changed Specialization to Socialize - Raising people's spirits (making them happier).
Bureaucracy increases from 0 to 3.
And I put that point in Dodge back taking it from 0 to 1.

I have deleted Minor Tie: Silver Pact (camaraderie). =)

EDIT: For Charms, I have also swapped out Sense-Sharpening Change (p. 236, Lunars) for Lodestone Reckoning Manner (p. 287, Lunar) (because somebody recommended that Charm earlier, see, and therefore it MUST be a good one! Who could that have been?). =)

EDIT: What language do you recommend Fat Cat swap out for Guild Cant? Perhaps Dragontongue to know the language of the Lunars' enemies?

Psychie How does that look? Does that change his Combat Stats? Should I do more in other areas of his character sheet?

Keeping a point or two of Presence might not be a bad thing. As a Full Moon, you could make quite a impression on someone with a terrifying display of might that the Presence dots could help with. Other than that, your numbers are pretty much good. Your Dodge DV will go up by 1 with the additional dot, but that is the only change there.

 

[Psychie]

I just realized something. Psychie If this Wren works for the Guild, and it seems a large number of the Circle is either anti-slavery or former slaves themselves, upon discovering Wren is from the Guild (if she still is), what reactions could be expected? Would they even want her help knowing ultimately whom it benefits (the Guild)?

That will depend on how close that Wren ties herself to the slaveowner faction of the guild. Some may be a bit distant to her depending on how she presents herself.

 

[Purr]

All righty! (rubs her hands together) Lets look at this closely and see what we need to tweak to get Fat Cat in the running.

Psychie Woo! =)

If you are not going to be working directly with the guild, you don't need Guild Cant as a language, so you can shift a dot somewhere else or take a different language.

O.K.! Knowing only two languages fits one of his Flaws. I'll shift a dot and give him Direction Sense, instead. That will help him be a better Transporter! =)

Keeping a point or two of Presence might not be a bad thing. As a Full Moon, you could make quite a impression on someone with a terrifying display of might that the Presence dots could help with. Other than that, your numbers are pretty much good. Your Dodge DV will go up by 1 with the additional dot, but that is the only change there.

O.K.! I will lower his Bureaucracy and Socialize down to 2 each and give him a Presence of 2. Is Presence or Socialize the better overall Ability if you want to raise someone's spirits in general? =)

That will depend on how close that Wren ties herself to the slaveowner faction of the guild. Some may be a bit distant to her depending on how she presents herself.

So, she's the type to play that card? "I don't promote slavery; I just work for those who do." Rats. I don't see Fat Cat and her being close then. It's in one of his Intimacies. Major Principle: People should be free to decide their own lives/I condemn slavery and oppose slavers.

Being new to the game, I thought that anti-slavery was part of this Circle's theme, but if she's meant to be part of our trusted Circle, I guess I'll delete it. He's got plenty of Intimacies already.

Note: I have made all of the above changes. Let me know about the Socialize vs. Persuade bit, please. I hope Fat Cat v1.8 is ready for play! Thanks again for helping me out, Psychie! =)

 

[Sherwood]

O.K.! I will lower his Bureaucracy and Socialize down to 2 each and give him a Presence of 2. Is Presence or Socialize the better overall Ability if you want to raise someone's spirits in general? =)

According to the book, Presence is the Ability to effectively lead, intimidate, or persuade through force of personality. It can be used to
influence the thoughts and feelings of other characters through social actions. When a hot-blooded general rallies her troops with an inspiring battle cry, a witty conversationalist charms those around her over the course of a party, or a thief blurts a convincing explanation for how she came into possession of a carved jade idol, all of these characters are using Presence.

Socialize is a character’s understanding of the social context in which she acts, encompassing both knowledge of decorum and etiquette as well as how to use them to one’s advantage in persuasion or manipulation. In formal social situations such as an aristocratic court or a ritualized ceremony, a character can use Socialize to influence the thoughts and feelings of other characters with social actions. Socialize is also used both to read the emotional tells or body language of other characters to discern their inner thoughts, and to conceal such tells on one’s self, contributing to a character’s Guile rating.

 

[Purr]

Yeah, as the book states. =) But which is better for raising someone's spirits if, say, they're in a down mood?

EDIT: Both "persuade." See what I mean?

 

[Psychie]

I would say Socialize.

 

[Purr]

Thanks!

Done! =)

 

[Rykon]

Because Socialize is geared toward manners, concealing intent, and courtly ritual social action I would say Socialize is more for interacting with people the way a politician might, whereas Presence represents a more natural, sincere magnetism which spills into things like leadership and conveying emotion. Though Socialize would be a means of empathizing with others as well. So to some degree I'd look at both.

Any way you slice it, raising someone's spirit is clearly a Charisma roll, and where your charms/excellency will be found if it's something you want to invest it now or later on down the line.

 

[Purr]

Can't say I quite understand Excellencies yet (read through it but it isn't sticking yet). But seeing Chowlett add those dice to his own roll just now gives me all of the motivation I need if you get my meaning. =)

If anyone is totally bored, could someone go through Fat Cat v1.8 here and look for gaping holes, claymore mines, or Killer Mimics? He looks good to me; I just want to make sure I don't have something big and wrong I'll have to correct later. Da Chonk going to be blast to play! =)

EDIT: I'll figure this out. I keep wanting to make two small sets of combat stats - one for his human form and the other for his DBT/Animal form. With his Artifacts, Charms, Mutations, etc., I'm not clear as to which of the stats applies to which.

 

[Purr]

The big questions in my head now are story-related. With these changes, how is Wren going to find herself in-game? How will O Mighty Fat Cat get involved in (hopefully) finding Aredin?

And how long will ol' Kerwin have to be spanked over someone's knee before he coughs up that key? Heh! =)

 

[Rykon]

Rykon The whole thing works for me except that Da Chonk doesn't know his own blood family anymore (see his Flaw: Amnesia). He was raised by the One Village when he reached them and lost all contact with his family of traveling tailors. It's a huge gap in his life. If someone were to come up and connect Fat Cat with his blood family again, it would probably be another huge life-changing event for him.

I've been meaning to revisit this, been a bit busy with other things. Seems like the easiest connection would be crossing paths while traveling. As stated elsewhere, Aredin's preferred business is treasure hunting and exploration where the more stable income is from re-investment. The traveling has been an effort somewhat motivated by keeping tabs on the region. He doesn't want a repeat of the activities like the Cult of the White Wraith where innocents are fed upon by Fair Folk or sacrificed for the sake of rituals or artifacts.

There's only so much a handful of wandering mortals can do to police predators like Fair Folk, Demon cults, rogue Necromancers, etc. There will still be major events like the sacking of Thorns taking place nearby. Our characters are no longer mortal though, so we will have a lot more weight behind us to push back with. As things move forward, I suspect the immediate whims of the characters would be getting enough room to breathe to figure out how best to leverage their abilities to forge a path ahead in the "Time of Tumult".

EDIT:

Ah! So you live in Tennessee! Some of the warmest, most friendly people I've gamed with over the Internet come from that wonderful state! That's so very cool. Hooray for TN and hello from Florida! =)

Yep, I certainly like it here. Most folks are friendly and polite. Incredibly low cost of living with great access to technology and other luxuries. Not to mention family and history here on a personal note. There are a few other places I like to visit, (one of them even in Florida!) but this area will always be home.

 

[Purr]

I've been meaning to revisit this, been a bit busy with other things.

Real Life Always Comes First. =)

Our characters are no longer mortal though, so we will have a lot more weight behind us to push back with.

Exalted are immortals? As probably in the "cannot die due to old age" immortals? I knew there were Lunars still alive from this thing called the First Age and such, but... immortals? Whoooooa! How cool! =)

Yep, I certainly like it here. Most folks are friendly and polite. Incredibly low cost of living with great access to technology and other luxuries. Not to mention family and history here on a personal note. There are a few other places I like to visit, (one of them even in Florida!) but this area will always be home.

That's fantastic! I've only passed through and that was a long time ago. =) If ever you want tips about Florida or if Kaerri and I might have some inside scoop on the place you want to visit here in the Sunshine State, feel free to hit me up in a Conversation, Rykon! =)

As things move forward, I suspect the immediate whims of the characters would be getting enough room to breathe to figure out how best to leverage their abilities to forge a path ahead in the "Time of Tumult".

Most of what you mentioned is above my head (are the Fair Folk and the Dragon-blooded benefactors known as the Sidereal the same people?), but I'm betting that "Cult of the White Wraith" is that bunch that changed Aredin's life for the worse. For Aredin and Fat Cat to meet while traveling works. Perhaps Aredin or someone he knew wanted the services of a Transporter? Or perhaps the contacts Fat Cat made among the people he does business with reached out to Aredin for his expertise in dangerous matters?

If we want to branch out to include something in our PCs' Backgrounds, I think there are a number of ways we could do it. On Da Chonk's end, Aredin could have visited or befriended the kindly and secretive people of the One Village (the jungle-people that raised Da Chonk who live near the edge of the Wyld). It could be that Aredin helped the villagers in some great way and thus earned O Mighty Fat Cat's attention as they sought to repay Aredin for his good deeds. In this way, Fat Cat could be indebted to Aredin and thus, they opened up a business relationship with Aredin on the shady side and Fat Cat on the (mostly) legit side.

Depending on when it happened, Da Chonk could have stumbled upon the Cult of the White Wraith event in Aredin's background and maybe taken an unwitting, but well-meaning role against the cult like Transporting necessary life-saving magical items in or (probably more likely) hastily delivering as many people he could out from under the cult's clutches. Da Chonk doesn't know exactly how old he is. I wrote "32" under his age because that's how he appears, but given that Exalted are immortal, he might be much older if it fits the story. I doubt he is younger than that, but to quote Stephen King, "the story is the boss." I'll make him younger if that helps Psychie's story along somehow. =)

Also, I certainly don't mind Fat Cat knowing some of our other Solars here. If I read Psychie right, I think Fat Cat does dealings with the upper classes and that might lead into political intrigue that Da Chonk keeps his head out of, but nevertheless includes Eonivar's, Sherwood's, Jaydude's, or Chowlett's characters somehow?

I mean, this is, I hope, going to be one long-lasting game. Having roots could help us grow. =)

 

[jaydude]

Exalted are immortals? As probably in the "cannot die due to old age" immortals? I knew there were Lunars still alive from this thing called the First Age and such, but... immortals? Whoooooa! How cool! =)

Not quite. Solars and Lunars have an average life expectancy of two to three millennia, Dragon-blooded two to three centuries, and Sidereals three to five millennia.

 

[Purr]

Not quite. Solars and Lunars have an average life expectancy of two to three millennia, Dragon-blooded two to three centuries, and Sidereals three to five millennia.

Oh, O.K.. That's still pretty awesome. =)

 

[Purr]

Jaydude? Do you maybe want your character to know Fat Cat or Wren or both or neither?

From the way things are written, it seems all of your characters know each other enough to trust each other (kind of like Avatar: The Last Airbender where PCs start out as being friendly to one another)?

 

[Eonivar]

Also, I certainly don't mind Fat Cat knowing some of our other Solars here. If I read Psychie right, I think Fat Cat does dealings with the upper classes and that might lead into political intrigue that Da Chonk keeps his head out of, but nevertheless includes Eonivar's, Sherwood's, or Chowlett's characters somehow?

Actually, I do not see Mercy knowing or having had any previous contact or knowledge of Da Chonk at all, at least in the present sense.

With her close mystical connection to their past lives she may recognize Da Chonk’s past Lunar self from the Second Age if her past self was close to Da Chonk’s past lunar self. Very similar to the way she found her solar circle.

Beyond that, previously Mercy lived a very sheltered contained life as a Dynast’s slave, and I want to say she has not been free that long, and is still somewhat new to her Solar circle. She is a bit naive to the regular world (and with people) other than what she has learned about it in books. So I would say she has not run into Da Chonk before.