[Recruitment] Chained In Nightmares - Homebrew Exalted 2.5 Play-By-Post

[Kyeudo]

This game is a playtest for my supplement Masters of the Industrial Elements, so apologies to those expecting a game about Exalts. This game will feature the Stonebearers, mortals who have risked their lives to wrestle the power of an Autochthonian Elemental into submission. Specifically, this game will follow the adventures of a group of Stonebearers from the Thundering Falls Tribe, a once-prosperous tribe who now find themselves struggling to survive at the edges of a massive blight zone. I'm looking for around six players for this game, but I may take more or less, depending on the quality of submissions.

Some information about me: I'm a very sandboxy Storyteller. I'm fairly sure that any plot I think of will be derailed within a scene or two and that you will have ideas that are better than what I was thinking of anyway and I'm fine with that. I am also somewhat bad at dangling plot hooks. Combined, this means that my players should expect to come up with their own course of action from time to time and should feel free to improvise something.

Prospective players should create starting Domini characters as per the default rules. If you want to use gear from outside of core or the MoIE book, including items from MoEP:Alchemicals, or custom items, please check with me before counting on them. I'd love to work out a custom Binding Stone or other artifact with you and I'm probably going to say yes to most things, but Monofilament Scourges and Gyroscopic Chakrams probably won't make it in due to the Taken's low-tech aesthetics. Your character should have a backstory that covers what s/he does in the tribe and why s/he decided to risk his/her life to become a Dominus. Don't feel the need to write a novel - the best backstories are long enough to cover the important stuff and short enough to keep it interesting. If you have in mind any cool things you would like your character to be able to do or achieve in the course of play, feel free to include those.

Players should feel free to raise any complaints they want about any of my homebrew or my Storytelling. I won't hold it against you and this is a playtest - finding problems, hiccups, and inconsistencies is the point.

I won't be making decisions about who is in for a couple of weeks. I'd like people to not feel the need to rush.

[Belkra]

If you are still up for getting players involved in this, I would be more than willing to sign up. I read about the Domini around the Thanksgiving Holiday and thought they would be interesting to play with. In fact, the only real information I have concerning Autochthon and Alchemicals comes from skims of both editions books for them and your own 'Masters'. I am a relatively new player having only played in the Forging a Nation game, but I am not new to Exalted as a setting or as a rules system.

[Kyeudo]

I'm still willing to run the game as long as we can get some players for it. Apparently this recruitment forum runs a bit slow.

[Belkra]

I'm thinking I want to do an Ironsoul. Just a couple questions before I get started on the creation.

1. What type of military force/guardsmen does the Thundering Falls tribe have if any?
2. What would happen to be the required or recommended reading for me to be up to speed for this game?

I'll try to have the character done and waiting for when we can actually get started. Let's hope that we can get more to join in.

[Kyeudo]

The only thing you should consider "required" reading is the Masters book. As long as you are familiar with the Autochthonia's aesthetic of "gigantic factory world", there's not much about the Octet that bears heavily on the Taken. The section from MoEP:Alchemicals on spirits and the rules for Gremlin Syndrome might prove useful to you. Autochthonia's a lot of fun as a setting, though, so I doubt you'd be bored by any of it.

[Belkra]

Yep, I already read the Masters book back around Thanksgiving (American) and I will probably cover the pertinent sections again. I will also look into the recommended areas of MoEP: Alchemicals if not the whole thing.

A Few Questions:

1. For the Favored Abilities, Domini aren't restricted like Heroic Mortals, right? They can have skills that aren't favored higher than the favored ones?
2. Also experience expenditures for Attributes and Abilities are the same as listed at the end of the Storytelling Chapter of Ex2 Core.
3. For mechanical purposes it doesn't really matter what type of elemental is trapped in the Binding Stone, but what would be the most likely metal elemental that could get trapped, as I am thinking of an Ironsoul?
4. All the backgrounds mentioned in the Character Creation section of Masters are fair game. Would you recommend some more than others?

I'm sure I will come up with more questions as time goes on. Please bear with me.

[Kyeudo]

1. You can certainly have other Abilities be higher than your Favored Abilities, if I'm remembering my rules correctly. If that's not in there, I should have put it there.
2. Yes.
3. There's some gorilla-like metal elementals in MoEP:Alchemicals that guard metal conduits that come across as fairly common. I forget the name. If those don't work for you, feel free to make something up.
4. Nothing stands out as particularly important. Savant is a rare background for the Taken, and you probably won't see legion-sized Commands.

I also seem to have forgotten to answer your question about the military forces of the tribe. My conception of the tribes is that they all have either a militia-type arrangement or some form of standing military in order to defend themselves against the dangers of other tribes, elementals, the Extermination's raids, and so on. How developed this is depends on the story. I'd say that right now the Thundering Falls tribe is running at an all time high on proportional military service.

[Belkra]

I have an Ironsoul ready to go. He is a member of whatever police/tribal guard force the tribe has. He became one of the Domini so he could do that job more effectively.

The Gezlak does appear to be a good fit for the backstory on the binding stone as that elemental has a similar motivation to the character. So, the only real questions I have at this point mostly involve backgrounds.

1. I have the Mentor background at 2. I was hoping for a veteran tribal guard to be the mentor, but I will be willing to work something else out.
2. I have a trophy stone at 2. I would like it to be a Crystal type, but I am not sure what extra abilities it would grant and I don't have an artifact to have it resonate with yet.
3. Speaking of equipment, as I have no Resources dots I would guess any equipment would be borrowed from the guards/police force and leave it to your discretion what I actually have.
4. It is a little confusing what is actually rolled when I attempt to use (Element) Bolt Attack. It mentions that (Aspect) is used instead of an ability, but it makes no mention of what stat is used with the roll. In addition the attack as listed with accuracy +(Aspect), which would suggest it would be treated as a ranged weapon that would use a normal Attribute (Dexterity?) + Ability roll with a bonus to said roll equal to (Aspect). I'm going to assume you wanted Dexterity + (Aspect) to be the roll for the attack. This seems to make it less effective than a mundane bow in that the bow would use Dexterity + Archery + Accuracy from the bow itself (Longbow only). I imagine the idea would be to make it weaker than the Dragon-Blooded Elemental Bolt Attack charm, but that seems to only work if you consider that the Dragon-Bloods can pour essence into it to make it deal more damage. The fact that they can use an ability for the roll as opposed to an aspect stat is only more efficient if you consider exp. cost differences.

I'm sure I will think of other stuff later. Also, would we like to create an OOC thread in the Play by Post subforum so I can post the character there or would you rather I post it somewhere else?

[Kyeudo]

1. A veteran guard is certainly possible. What do you want out of him as a character?
2. If you want some quick and easy stuff, look over 2 dot hearthstones. If you want to make something up, just run it by me. The lack of an artifact is a tricky spot. How tightly spread is your background dots?
3. I find your poverty strange, but then I haven't read your backstory yet.
4. That one has come up a few times and I blame myself for being unclear. Attacks are almost always made with Dexterity, so I didn't think to mention it. The weapon stat line, though, has the accuracy as +Essence, not +Aspect. So an attack with (Aspect) Bolt Attack would be Dexterity + Aspect + Essence. When comparing (Aspect) Bolt Attack to (Elemental) Bolt Attack, Stonebearers do seem to have the better Charm. This is because of a combination of factors - the basics of the Stonebearer version is pulled from a God-Blooded mutation in Scroll of Heroes, Domini have smaller Essence pools (they start at 11ish) than Dragon-Blooded and so are paying a lot proportionally to use the Charm, and the Charm hasn't really been playtested yet.

I'd say just post the character sheet here for now. Maybe staying at the top of the forum will get this game a bit more exposure.

[Belkra]

1. For the Mentor dots I would like to just have a guy that would give me advice for commanding my squad of guards and maybe some pointers on the more political aspects of things as the character seems to be new to this stuff.
2. Background dots are not overly tight. I really actually had trouble spending them all. I reasoned that I could gain an artifact during play without too much trouble, but switching around a dot to just get a Hearthstone Amulet wouldn't hurt.
3. The character is pretty much "All-In" with the guards. He dedicated himself more fully to the "family business" both after becoming a Dominus and after the death of his brother (where the Crystal Aspect stone comes from)
4. Thanks for clearing that one up.

[Kyeudo]

Guards don't work for free - they should receive some form of compensation for their time and efforts, especially Domini. How much and what form it takes is going to vary, but having your character be pretty much penniless is strange.

[Belkra]

I was hoping to have someone that was extremely dedicated to what they do. No place to call home except the barracks. No possessions that don't belong to the guards. He would get pretty much everything he needed from his superiors. He might be convinced later to take some resources. The same could be said of any artifacts that would allow him to utilize the Trophy Stone background. Then again, he could be temporarily out of Resources because he gave up everything to become a Dominus. He need not have an aversion to material possessions. He just doesn't have any to speak of now. Here is the background allocation I came up with:

Backing (Guards) 1, Command 1, Contacts (Thaumaturges) 1, Mentor 2, Trophy Stone (Crystal) 2

[Belkra]

Here is the character sheet for my character, Alekzandir Smythe. I will edit this as he gains exp. and as rules changes require.

Concept

Name: Alekzandir Smythe
Concept: Guardsman with an intense desire to be a better guard
Motivation: Protect the people of the Falling Falls Tribe
Aspect: Ironsoul

Attributes

Strength: 4
Dexterity: 2
Stamina: 4

Charisma: 3
Manipulation: 3
Appearance: 1

Perception: 3
Intelligence: 2
Wits: 2

Abilities

Archery: 0
Martial Arts: 3
Melee: 3
Thrown: 1
War: 3 (+1 Small Unit Tactics)

*Integrity: 3
Performance: 0
Presence: 1 (+1 Inspiring Others)
*Resistance: 3
Survival: 1

Craft: 0
Investigation: 1
Lore: 0
Medicine: 1 (+1 First Aid)
Occult: 0

Athletics: 3
Awareness: 3 (+1 While On Watch)
Dodge: 0
Larceny: 0
Stealth: 0

Bureaucracy: 0
Linguistics: 0
Ride: 0
Sail: 0
Socialize: 1

Backgrounds

Command: 1
Backing: 1 (Guards)
Contacts: 1 (Thaumaturges)
Mentor: 2 ("Retired" Guard)
Trophy Stone: 2 (Crystal)
Resources: 2
Artifact: 1 (White Jade Hearthstone Necklace)

Charms

General Charms: Excellency of Metal with Metal Focus Talent (Resisting Poison +1), Metal Harmony (Integrity), Metal Bolt Attack

Metal Charms: Resilient Frame Augmentation, Strength of Steel, Skin-Reinforcing Prana

Virtues

Compassion: 1
Conviction: 3
Temperance: 2
Valor: 3

Essence, Willpower, and Aspects

Essence: 1
Essence Pool: 18(19), 1 Commited

Willpower: 8

Metal: 1

Combat Information

Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, I

Dodge DV: 2
Soak: 6L/6B (2L/4B Natural, 4L/2B Breastplate)

Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 6, Damage 4B, Rate 3, Parry DV 4
Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 5, Damage 5B, Rate 2, Parry DV 2
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 5, Damage 4B, Rate 1, Parry DV -

Metal Bolt Attack: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 2L, Rate 1, Range 200

Sledge: Speed 6, Accuracy 4, Damage 14B, Rate 1, Parry DV 1

Intimacies

Thundering Falls Tribe (Protective)
Family (Filial Duty)
Squad (Stewardship)
Gremlins (Hatred)
Elementals (Fascination)
Tribe Elders (Respect)
The Machine King (Disgust)
Guards (Duty)
Yuri (Guilt)

Background Points

3 XP of Talents 1
Dexterity 1-2 4
Intelligence 1-2 4
Willpower 5-8 3
Integrity 0-3 3
Resources 0-2 2
Artifact 0-1 1

Experience Points

Experience Gained: 0
Experience Spent: 0
Experience Left: 0

History

Alekzandir was born to a Thundering Falls Tribe family whose only profession was that of guardian to the tribe. He joined the guards as soon as he was old enough. He eagerly accepted the challenge of becoming a Dominus as soon as a new stone was available for bidding. He succeeded in gaining control over the raging Gezlak elemental inside the stone. He was thankful that he had a skilled surgeon for the implantation because there was little harm done implanting the stone, giving him a wider margin for error before failure became lethal.

When a routine patrol with his elder brother, Yuri turned into an incursion by gremlins the brothers found themselves in a fight for their lives. Yuri was an experienced Glassknife with a storied binding stone and he took the brunt of the attack on himself. Alekzandir barely survived, only then by being able to will his wounds closed when he was left for dead. Yuri was not so lucky. Alek returned to the tribe with his brother's binding stone in hand.

Since the death of Yuri, Alek has become even more involved with the Guards to the point that he has been given a command. He uses much of the payments he earns from being a guard to take care of Yuri's widow and children.

[Kyeudo]

Alright.

I like the backstory for the most part. The only bit out of place is the bit about the surgeon - the surgeon has no direct influence over a Dominus' chance of success in mastering an elemental. Also, 8+ Willpower is certainly common in char-op, but your character's willpower is exceptionally high from an IC stand point.

Mechanics-wise, I have some concerns.

First, are you aware that you can probably get the same Ability list as you have for 3 bonus points cheaper? Use freebie dots for Investigation, Survival, and Thrown and then buy your Resistance or Integrity dots with bonus points for half the price.

Second, you could change your Specialty in Inspiring Troops to Inspiring Others if you wanted and you probably should change Countering Stealth to something a little more specific, like Ambushes.

Third, are you sure you only want Dexterity 2? It's sort of the god-stat of combat. I can see why you have Stamina 4, but you could probably drop a dot of Strength without feeling it too much.

Fourth, are you sure you want both Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, and Appearance 1? Charisma and Manipulation are hard to leverage at the same time and Appearance is pretty key in social MDV values.

Fifth, are you sure you want to use a Focus Talent purchase on Resisting Poison? It's one of the only ways to increase your Excellency cap (right now, you can buy 1 die) and you only get three of them per Excellency. I can certainly see resisting poison as useful, especially given the local environment, but I feel I should double check that you've considered the ramifications.

Sixth, I think you could do with Resources 1 as you are not literally penniless and you would have great use for a jade hearthstone amulet or artifact weapon

Seventh, I think you should change your Intimacy from Great Maker to Machine King (the Taken's term for him) and should drop the Intimacies to the Divine Ministers and to the Octet. While I mentioned them heavily, I don't think that the Taken are aware of the Divine Ministers or the Octet as such. The Taken, as far as my conception of them goes, are aware that the Machine King has his faithful mortal servants (they term them "slaves") but are not aware of what their current organization is. They also probably have lumped the Divine Ministers in with the rest of the exmachina as the spawn of the Machine King.

On the whole, I think you are looking pretty solid. I don't think I'll have much trouble motivating your character with the plot I have in mind. Don't feel you have to change everything I pointed out - most of it is just me making sure you are aware of the mechanical ramifications of your choices.

[Belkra]

Thanks for the feedback! You've helped me keep the character concept I had in mind and allowed me some things that make for an easier time of things and afford more optimization. Let's address these concerns in order. (You should be able to see the changes reflected in the sheet.)

First, I made the corrections you suggested and freed up the bonus points for other things. It would make sense that the character would gain the Integrity points after becoming a Dominus and therefore use bonus points for them.

Second, I changed the specialties. The one for Presence is as you suggested, but the one for Awareness is a little more tricky. Essentially I want the guy to have a bonus to awareness when he is doing what he does best, standing guard or patrolling. If that has to be two different specialty purchases I will go with one and free up a bonus point to get the other.

Third, the low Dexterity score was something I decided I wanted to start. It gives the character room to grow and I am not necessarily worried that much about optimization as I am about telling a good story. If the character is memorable because his Dexterity is crappy, I consider that a good thing.

Fourth, this is pretty much the same as the last point. I want him to be rough around the edges, at least at the start of things.

Fifth, I realize that I could probably spend this specialty on my Metal Bolt Attack charm, but I think I will leave it as is because of concept reasons.

Sixth, thanks to bonus point optimizations this is done. Two in Resources and one in Artifact so I can actually make use of the Trophy Stone.

Seventh, the intimacies are fixed. Admittedly I was having trouble finding things to put in this category, but after thinking about it a little more there are no problems.

The only thing that is needed now is equipment. I understand that the rule from Core is that I can have a small number of items to start and none of these items may cost more than my Resources background. So, a breastplate is a go, but super heavy plate is right out.