[Secrets of the Bureau] The Ordained Exaltation (chargen and house rules)

[Tikor]

Character Creation


There are no point spreads, there are no Bonus Points. I have completely severed from canon due to irreconcilable differences (based on differential cost to the same destination). If you are reading this you should have 1e Core page 270 open to see normal xp prices as well as 1e Sideareals page 265 for their modifications to that table.


You have five buckets of experience: one for Attributes (120xp), one for Abilities (88xp), one for WP/Virtues (35xp), one for Backgrounds (36xp) and one slush bucket (65xp). Slush bucket xp may be carried over after character creation. All leftovers from the other buckets are lost.


Attributes may be bought at normal xp prices except for Dexterity which costs rating*6 xp per dot. All Attributes start at 1 before allocation of xp. Attributes can be bought with xp from the Attributes bucket or the slush bucket.


Abilities may be bought at normal xp prices (including Auspicious and Favored discounts, first dot in a Auspicious/Favored Ability costs 2xp). Abilities may be bought up to 3 with the xp from the Abilities bucket. Abilities may be bought up to 5 with xp from the slush bucket.


The ability minimums on page 98 should be adhered to: I presume you aren't a ronin Sidereal and your fellows have plucked you from Creation and rounded out any deficiencies you might have had in the expectations of your Caste in the year or so it's taken you to get comfortable in your newly Exalted skin.


WP and Virtues may be bought at normal xp prices. All Virtues start at 1 dot and WP starts at 5 dots before xp expenditure. WP may be bought up to 8 and Virtues up to 3 with xp from the WP/Virtues bucket. WP may be bought up to 10 and Virtues up to 5 with xp from slush bucket. One Virtue must be 3 or higher. Virtue purchase does not impact WP level and vice versa.


Backgruonds cost 2xp*current level, first dot costs 2xp. Backgrounds can be purchased up to 3 from the Backgrounds bucket, but only at character creation. Backgrounds can purchased up to 5 from the slush bucket, but only at character creation and only with ST approval. Backgrounds can be obtained or lost post character creation and do not positively or negatively affect xp. In other words, character creation is the only time Backgrounds have anything to do with xp.


Permanent poxes cost 4 xp and permanent afflictions cost 6xp. Blights and Abominations are not available in permanent via xp. Poxes and afflictions can only be purchased from the slush bucket and only at character creation with storyteller approval and supporting backstory (popular backstories include coming from a mutated Wyld barbarian tribe, being sold into slavery eventually making your way to the Fae, ect.)


Essence starts at 2. Essence can be bought up to 3 at character creation. Essence can only be bought with xp from the slush bucket.


Colleges start at 0. You get 7 free dots, 4 must be from your Maiden's College. There are no other restrictions on their spread. More Colleges or increased College influence can be bought from the slush bucket.


12 Sidereal Charms (5+ Charms must come from Auspicious or Favored Abilities, 0 from a Sidereal MA, we'll use the 2e 'must have mastered 1 Celestial Style to learn SMA' rule) are obtained for free. Additional Charms may be bought for normal prices with xp from the slush bucket.


Finding a picture (or drawing one yourself!) of your character nets you 5 xp (slush).


Writing a background for your character nets you 5 xp (slush). This is a narrator-only brief on apsects your character, giving some flesh to the bones of your character sheet. Exapnd your motivation here, explain your background dots here, explain your phobia of wood spiders here. (Example: http://www.patternspider.net/pbp/viewto ... f=58&t=585)


Writing a short fan-fic of your character nets you 5 xp (slush). You can detail your Exaltation, being trained by/meeting your mentor/ally background, more detail on a particular point of your background writeup. Basically any scene you might read in a fantasy novel that stars your character. (Example: http://www.patternspider.net/pbp/viewto ... f=58&t=581)


Free Merits for this game:


Alternative Divination (your connection to the Loom via your Siderael Exaltation allows you one additional way beyond Astrology to make divinations. No need to describe at chargen (though you can) but the first description will stick.)


3pts of Favor spent in either 1/1/1, 1/2 or 3 (you're a Sidereal in Heaven, someone wants on your good side, or you've helped someone out already. Tell me who.)

 

[Tikor]

Attributes:


No changes aside from Dex xp cost.


Willpower and Virtues


Virtue Channels are recovered both at the end of a story (all) and each time that Virtue is rolled and not resisted (1 in relevant Virtue).


Abilities:


Craft:


All esoteric crafts don't exist. Use these substitutions instead


Fate = The appropriate College


Magitech = lowest of Craft Fire, Craft Air and Lore


Genesis = lowest of Craft Wood, Craft Water and Medicine


Necrotech = lowest of Craft Earth, Craft Water and Medicine


Gossamer = lowest of Craft Air, Craft Fire and Occult (and an enlightenment charm to manipulate dreams if you happen to not be a Fae)


Ask if you have a desire to know the others. I'm open to suggestions.


All esoteric crafts are valid Craft specialties (and thus add 1 die per dot to all related Craft rolls even if one of the component skills is 0), but Craft has the regular 3 dot specialty limit.


Linguistics:


Celestial Exaltation grants you knowledge of Old Realm. You have thousands of memories of speaking Old Realm and they all make sense.


To clarify: you get languages equal to your starting Linguistic rating + 2 unless you were carted off to Yu-Shan before you could speak by a god or Sidereal who saw your Fated Exaltation (Old Realm and your Native Tongue). In the case of only Old Realm to start, gain 5xp slush.


Languages can be purchased post character creation by raising your Linguistics rating or for 5xp each. Training time is 10-(new)LinguisticsX2 months, minimum 1 day (though this does not affect the time needed to raise your Linguistics rating). Your vocabulary is limited to words you have heard/read contextually. This training can be accomplished while traveling so long as you have suitable materials/a trainer. If you chose the 5xp option then the xp does not go towards dots in Linguistics.


Languages you do not know are not valid for Linguistics specialties.


Specialties:


Specialties cost 3xp per dot if the ability is unfavored, 2xp if that ability is favored. You can only ever have 3 specialty dots per ability total (divided among 1-3 specialties as you choose) except in the cases I outline below.


There is no limit to the number of specialties in Occult, Lore, Socialize, or Linguistics, though each particular specialty is limited to 3 in strength and only 3 specialty dice can apply to a single roll. These specialties, however, tend to be more restrictive then ‘unarmed’ for MA or ‘swords’ for Melee. Examples: [Occult] Arts of Thaumaturgy (8xp each, 7xp favored), specific spirit courts, The Yu-Shan bureaucracy, intimate knowledge of the Immaculate Faith. [Lore] War machine mechanics, history of the Scavenger Lands/East, High First Age Politics, Shogunate era technology, Low First Age Manses, motinic physics (as applied to magitech, Manse defenses, I AM internal circuitry, ect.) [Linguistics] Any Language ex. Speaking Seatongue like a native sailor (One specialty dot (and knowledge of the language) is all that’s required for native speaker status. Additional specialty strength adds to Socialize dice in that Language), examples with more flavor: High Realm Thousand Scales legal documents, Old Realm Artifact Manuals, Breaking Codes [socialize] Mannerisms of Halta, Mannerisms of the Realm Dynastic Houses, Mannerisms of western sailors, Mannerisms of the Delzhan (basically society-specific Socialize bonus dice representing a concentrated study and internalization of a specific society instead of a broader connection and understanding of Societies as a whole that the Socialize skills represents)


If you learn a Thaumaturgic specialty you gain all degree 0 Thaumaturgic proceedures for that Art. If you know no Thaumaturgy you still get Artifact and Manse/Demense attunemnt for free due to your Exaltation.


At the end of each story you may 'transmute a specialty'. A specialty dot can simply dissapear and reappear somewhere else, representing the loss of knowledge as it fades to the past and the gaining of new more relevant knowledge. Or a specialty can dissapear and be deducted from the cost of raising the ability it dissapeared from (no minimum, this could refund xp) representing a natural growth from a narrow specialty to a broader ability.


Backgrounds:


There is no influence/contacts, only connections. Connections in mortal societies need the appropriate Acquaintences and/or Resplendent Destinies. If a Resplendent Destiny that maintains Connections Background lapses, so does the Connections Background until proper Acquaintences or Connections are created.


All Manses/Demenses require you own territory and protect it in some manner, even if the only protection is remoteness or your rights as a Celestial Exalt in Yu-Shan. On the flip side, if you as characters ever conquer any territory, there will be Manses/Demenses in that territory. Manses/Demenses are everywhere in Creation. Not only that, you can feel them if you are close and stop to think about it. So can any mortal Thaumaturge out looking for riches.


Artifacts:


I'm sure there are wonky Artifacts in 1st ed. We'll handle em one by one.


Celestial Manse:


Changing the 0 dot description to "Your Yu-Shan abode is not any more magical or geomantically special than the rest of Yu-Shan. It's quality is determined by your Salary."


Resources/Salary:


Treat Resources/Salary mechanically like Contacts. You roll Resources (or Salary+2) dice to see if you can buy something. You get Resources (or Salary+2) attempts per story.


Allowed Merits and Flaws:


These player's guide merits and flaws are allowed. The rest are not. Whim of the Storyteller. If you want to stack certain merits or flaws, let me know, and I'll ok or not. Also ask about individual mutations (which would be exceedingly looked down upon in Yu-Shan).


Merits: Special Resistance, Favor, Common Sense, Virtue Specialty, True Paragon, Hidden Manse (On the condition it is Sidereal Aspected, in Creation, and the Manse construction rules have the same bonus), Luck, Prescient Dreamer


Flaws: Favor (it's a flaw too), Superstition, Vice, Addiction, Callous, Nightmares, Secrets, Disciple (Dragon-Blooded only for Bronze Faction, Solar only for Gold Faction), Rival (Enemy is banned, Sidereals don't get the luxury of enemies that remember them), Wanted (this can only be used for a pending audit), Damaged Artifact, Debt, Unbidden Oracle (But only as a joke from a ranking Sidereal), Greater Curse, Unlucky, Permanent Caste Mark


Free Merits for this game:


Alternative Divination (your connection to the Loom via your Siderael Exaltation allows you one additional way beyond Astrology to make divinations. No need to describe at chargen (though you can) but the first description will stick.)


3pts of Favor spent in either 1/1/1, 1/2 or 3 (you're a Sidereal in Heaven, someone wants on your good side, or you've helped someone out already. Tell me who.)


Stunts:


1:1 die:mote reward. Only 1 stunt per Action offense or defense.


You can stunt with anything I have described or anything I haven't described that is plausibly around. No ice cubes in volcanoes. Yes fruit-stands in cities. No shuriken laying around schoolyards. Yes shuriken laying around ninja hideouts. I am the final arbiter of plausibility as ST.


A 1 Willpower regain is an option for 2+ die stunts in leu of all motes. 1xp will be given for each and every 3 die stunt that isn't upgraded due to Motivation compatability (in other words "natural" 3 die stunts) in addition to the motes or WP from the stunt despite stunt success or failure.