Teal
Certifiably Political
Exalted by love and chaos, the inhuman Lunars were the mates of the Mad God Kings of the First Age - and could be counted among their betrayers and loyalists both. In the thousand years since the Usurpation, the Lunars have served as the protectors and allies of Creation - at times from the shadows, sometimes in the open. Now, with the return of the Lawgivers, the Silver Pact is split - as it was on the night of the Usurpation. Will they join with the Solars, go their own way, or preserve the dream of the Scarlet Empress?
Tells: Tells should be subtle - a splash of blood in the hair, eyes of feral gold or perhaps a fanged smile - rather than a grafted animal part onto a Lunar. I greatly want to avoid the impression that the Lunar Exalted are just animal people - the union with their totem (which might not be an animal) should be more complete than that. As their Essence increases, their inhumanity should become gradually more pronounced as well - the Lunar Elders will almost seem entirely new species of humans now, for instance.
The Casteless: The precise cause of the broken Castes is unknown. They gain three Favored Attributes of their choice, rather than two, which are treated as Caste Attributes.
Priests of Luna: The No Moon caste no longer possesses this designation. Casteless Lunars with the Waxing Moon anima power have it, but otherwise, it has been lost.
Anima Power: Casteless Lunars may designate any of the five Anima Powers of the Lunar Exalted as their "default" power, which they may use as if they were that Caste, regardless of their Favored Attributes. For a point of Willpower, they may modify their Caste for the scene, gaining access to one of the other four Anima powers - but this also adds another Wyld-dice to their pool, and triggers a roll-off. Each successive change requires twice the Willpower that the original change did and adds another Wyld-dice to their roll.
The Casteless may also learn Raksha charms, as if they were of the Eclipse-caste. Activating a Raksha charm adds a dice to the Lunar Wyld-pool, and triggers a roll. If the charm was permanent, the Wyld-dice is too.
Chimera Knacks: Lunars may learn Chimera Knacks, even if they don't meet the permanent limit requirements. However, upon activating Knacks with a Permanent Limit condition, the Lunar will temporarily be inflicted with a number of Permanent Limit equal to the normal amount associated with the Knack (which fills "empty" Limit boxes before full ones), which will not be cleared until after the scene is complete/they cease to use the Knack.
Lunar Elders and the Silver Pact: It is generally safe to say that every major civilization in Creation is supported by a Lunar "elder." The majority of these individuals Exalted after the Balorian Crusade and are in the neighborhood of 700-years old. Most of them are closely allied with the Terrestrial spirit courts of the civilization in-question - making them difficult for Sidereals to eliminate. Their Lunar apprentices are often not-so lucky.
Rescue Packs: As Astrology’s predictive capacity where Exaltation is concerned has been vastly reduced, Lunar ‘rescue parties’ are no longer a normal thing, as Exaltation cannot be predicted. Other methods - such as visions from Luna, or word through networks of Spirit contacts - are generally necessary for Lunars to link together. The Silver Pact is very decentralized. Players interested in joining the Pact should speak to me, so we can work something out.
Charms: The initial set of Lunar charms are a little more flexible than those provided to the other forms of Exalted. The number they gain is still in the 5-8 range, some of which may be derived from pre-Exaltation talents. However, Lunars also have the option to learn charms which correspond to the powers/talents of their Totem - though these will usually be appropriate to the pre-Exaltation character's temperament, sometimes they are decidedly inappropriate. Lunar Exaltation makes the character something other than they were.
Ferocious Guardian Beast Stance - has an Essence cost of 6m.
Flowing Body Evasion - cost is reduced to 8m.
Solar Sorcery: Lunars may use Solar Sorcery, Onyx Necromancy and Sidereal Martial Arts, in addition to the charms of other Exalted, provided they have copied their shape using an Appropriate Knack, have learned Essential Mirror Nature and meet the pre-reqs. They may only use Charms and Spells known to their target at the time their Shape was gained. Other paths may exist that allow Lunars to exceed their normal limitations as well, such as Defeated Technique Mastery or Golden Widow Method.
Limit: Lunars use Solar Limit rules. From a flavor perspective, Limits for Lunars involve their devolving to an Animal-like state, appropriate to their Totem. This means they no longer gain Limit as a result of seeing the Full Moon, however.
Totems: The Lunar gain the Knack(s) necessary for them to assume their chosen Totem, regardless of their pre-reqs (but not their pre-reqs), after Exaltation. This means the Lunar can theoretically have unusually large or small totems without penalty - and may also be plants.
Caste-Fixing: The Caste-Fixing process is painful - and can be uncomfortable for Lunars with extremely diverse Favored Attributes. Ideally, the impacts of this process are minor. The magic involved here normally does not allow great deviation from the initial Casteless Exaltation.
Tells: Tells should be subtle - a splash of blood in the hair, eyes of feral gold or perhaps a fanged smile - rather than a grafted animal part onto a Lunar. I greatly want to avoid the impression that the Lunar Exalted are just animal people - the union with their totem (which might not be an animal) should be more complete than that. As their Essence increases, their inhumanity should become gradually more pronounced as well - the Lunar Elders will almost seem entirely new species of humans now, for instance.
The Casteless: The precise cause of the broken Castes is unknown. They gain three Favored Attributes of their choice, rather than two, which are treated as Caste Attributes.
Priests of Luna: The No Moon caste no longer possesses this designation. Casteless Lunars with the Waxing Moon anima power have it, but otherwise, it has been lost.
Anima Power: Casteless Lunars may designate any of the five Anima Powers of the Lunar Exalted as their "default" power, which they may use as if they were that Caste, regardless of their Favored Attributes. For a point of Willpower, they may modify their Caste for the scene, gaining access to one of the other four Anima powers - but this also adds another Wyld-dice to their pool, and triggers a roll-off. Each successive change requires twice the Willpower that the original change did and adds another Wyld-dice to their roll.
The Casteless may also learn Raksha charms, as if they were of the Eclipse-caste. Activating a Raksha charm adds a dice to the Lunar Wyld-pool, and triggers a roll. If the charm was permanent, the Wyld-dice is too.
Chimera Knacks: Lunars may learn Chimera Knacks, even if they don't meet the permanent limit requirements. However, upon activating Knacks with a Permanent Limit condition, the Lunar will temporarily be inflicted with a number of Permanent Limit equal to the normal amount associated with the Knack (which fills "empty" Limit boxes before full ones), which will not be cleared until after the scene is complete/they cease to use the Knack.
Lunar Elders and the Silver Pact: It is generally safe to say that every major civilization in Creation is supported by a Lunar "elder." The majority of these individuals Exalted after the Balorian Crusade and are in the neighborhood of 700-years old. Most of them are closely allied with the Terrestrial spirit courts of the civilization in-question - making them difficult for Sidereals to eliminate. Their Lunar apprentices are often not-so lucky.
Rescue Packs: As Astrology’s predictive capacity where Exaltation is concerned has been vastly reduced, Lunar ‘rescue parties’ are no longer a normal thing, as Exaltation cannot be predicted. Other methods - such as visions from Luna, or word through networks of Spirit contacts - are generally necessary for Lunars to link together. The Silver Pact is very decentralized. Players interested in joining the Pact should speak to me, so we can work something out.
Charms: The initial set of Lunar charms are a little more flexible than those provided to the other forms of Exalted. The number they gain is still in the 5-8 range, some of which may be derived from pre-Exaltation talents. However, Lunars also have the option to learn charms which correspond to the powers/talents of their Totem - though these will usually be appropriate to the pre-Exaltation character's temperament, sometimes they are decidedly inappropriate. Lunar Exaltation makes the character something other than they were.
Ferocious Guardian Beast Stance - has an Essence cost of 6m.
Flowing Body Evasion - cost is reduced to 8m.
Solar Sorcery: Lunars may use Solar Sorcery, Onyx Necromancy and Sidereal Martial Arts, in addition to the charms of other Exalted, provided they have copied their shape using an Appropriate Knack, have learned Essential Mirror Nature and meet the pre-reqs. They may only use Charms and Spells known to their target at the time their Shape was gained. Other paths may exist that allow Lunars to exceed their normal limitations as well, such as Defeated Technique Mastery or Golden Widow Method.
Limit: Lunars use Solar Limit rules. From a flavor perspective, Limits for Lunars involve their devolving to an Animal-like state, appropriate to their Totem. This means they no longer gain Limit as a result of seeing the Full Moon, however.
Totems: The Lunar gain the Knack(s) necessary for them to assume their chosen Totem, regardless of their pre-reqs (but not their pre-reqs), after Exaltation. This means the Lunar can theoretically have unusually large or small totems without penalty - and may also be plants.
Caste-Fixing: The Caste-Fixing process is painful - and can be uncomfortable for Lunars with extremely diverse Favored Attributes. Ideally, the impacts of this process are minor. The magic involved here normally does not allow great deviation from the initial Casteless Exaltation.
Last edited by a moderator: