So Lookshy has what like a hundred times the Concentration of Exalted?

[Eldagusto]

So I’m seeing that Prasad has a good number of Dragonblooded, 2k. That’s very respectable since the Terrestrials of the Dragonblooded had a lot of planning and clout to achieve and Prasad has 2k, could it be because two failed houses evacuated to the empire bolstering probably an already respectable number of DB. But Lookshy is a city state with 3k DB!

Did you think they were just prudent and didn’t want to insert a new culture and have them have more Dragonblooded then Lookshy since that is Lookshy’s thing?

So if you have a small cities worth of Dragonblooded living in a city they are going to have insanely concentrated blood?

Or do you think Lookshy keeps smaller settlements all over the river province? It kind of feels they should be more then just a city state? Or do they have a diaspora where Lookshy citizens exist in many nations but still have loyalties towards Lookshy?

I mean how many Manses can one City state have? For normal places it would be one Manse, but probably should control like over a dozen just for their Artifacts and what not alone!

[DrLoveMonkey]

As I recall, and I admit my memory on this is faded, lookshy has a kind of series of satellite settlements and redoubts that serve to project its power and influence over a much larger area than you would expect. It may also have a network of vassal states and such the like that make their number still insanely concentrated, but somewhat more dilute.

Apologies for any lack of clairity in this post, I have been making rather merry this New Year’s Eve.

[Eldagusto]

Okay yeah in can see them with protectorates or extended across the river province as a defense force.

Have a happy Calibration you Twin Fisted Merry Maker you!

[glamourweaver]

Firstly Lookshy has an aggressive adoption policy toward all Lost Eggs in the River Province/Scavenger Lands. And unlike with the Realm and Prasad, the Lost Eggs are full equal members with other DBs in their society as members of the Gents that adopt them. This is a huge factor in their numbers. And yeah, as I treat it, each “redoubt” is a full city state scale satellite of Lookshy society, in addition to almost every adult DB actively serving in the Legion wherever it’s various For E’s are stationed, so their DBs are not hyper-concentrated in the city proper.

Though Lookshy likely does have the highest Exalted PER CAPITA numbers in Creation. The Imperial City has higher DBs total, but lower than Lookshy-proper per capita as it’s also a massive mortal trade center. No comment on where the capital of Prasad fits on that spectrum until I read more about it.

[Eldagusto]

Wait really the Imperial City you think had more then City of Lookshy residing within?

[Aliasi]

More specifically, the Dynasty is concerned with keeping powerful, pure bloodlines, Lookshy focuses more on quantity over quality. It's little surprise they'd have a lot of Exalted, but none of them will have high breeding (and many might have the flaw for weak breeding).

[Isator Levi]

So I’m seeing that Prasad has a good number of Dragonblooded, 2k. That’s very respectable since the Terrestrials of the Dragonblooded had a lot of planning and clout to achieve and Prasad has 2k, could it be because two failed houses evacuated to the empire bolstering probably an already respectable number of DB.

I don't think Prasad's Houses were failing. I think they saw an opportunity in how much power they could world so far from home, and sneakily relocated entirely.

A thousand per House is about right for the Realm as well, give or take (looking at Nellens and V'neef).

Did you think they were just prudent and didn’t want to insert a new culture and have them have more Dragonblooded then Lookshy since that is Lookshy’s thing?

So if you have a small cities worth of Dragonblooded living in a city they are going to have insanely concentrated blood?

Lookshy basically pulls double duty as both itself, and most of the River Province when it comes to Exalted.

Or do you think Lookshy keeps smaller settlements all over the river province? It kind of feels they should be more then just a city state? Or do they have a diaspora where Lookshy citizens exist in many nations but still have loyalties towards Lookshy?

Lookshy is kind of hemmed in within its own fortified city, by it's archnemesis to the west and its own allies east.

Lookshy's power is well concentrated, but still less than the Realm's. It spreads its strength too far and thin, the city becomes a more tempting target to the Dynasty.

Lookshy's choice in having people to effectively expand over are fellow River Province states, and the Realm invasions showed how troublesome they are to control. Where else are you going to try colonising? So far from home that the communication lines are stretched and vulnerable? Encroaching on satrapies, and provoking further war with the Realm?

And Lookshy is also at risk from Lunars. I propose that in their current state, they're harassed a lot less than the Realm, but if they acted in a manner provacative and exposing...

Of course, these are the arguments of the policy faction that controls the city. It's always been written to have people who advocate for imperialism. One can make stories out of their day coming.

I mean how many Manses can one City state have? For normal places it would be one Manse, but probably should control like over a dozen just for their Artifacts and what not alone!

What do they need manses for?

[TheCountAlucard]

Eldagusto: You seem to forget that many Hearthstones as of Ex3 are generated by demesnes, or even just crystallize out of the Wyld. Also, the number of artifacts that require Hearthstones to get functionality out of is significantly lower.

[Eldagusto]

I’m using manse as shorthand for demesnes and Hearthstones in general. And I said dozens instead of hundreds because I took into account the changes.

Anyone else to weigh in? One person says one Citystate is enough for an Empires worth of Dragonblooded and others are saying most of Lookshys Dragonblooded aren’t in Lookshy, and another feels the fortresses and military stations are essentially towns and they build around the Scavenger Lands.

[Isator Levi]

One person says one Citystate is enough for an Empires worth of Dragonblooded

That's a simplification. For one thing, I expect most of Prasad's Exalted live in its capital, because it's nicer. They don't need to equally distribute them across the empire to maintain authority.

For another, I was not arguing that it's "enough", I'm saying that they're kind of stuck within their current boundaries, and many within find that uncomfortable and argue for spreading out.

That being said, Lookshy's business probably ensures that many are far away at any given time, just not for administering territory or personal pursuits.

[Eldagusto]

I don’t think most of Prasad’s Dragon Caste will be in Kamthahar because I imagine like the realm households will have Estates all over the Empire built upon Manses. Easier to play God when there are less Gods per square Mile.

[Isator Levi]

Exalted deal with buildings other than manses, y'know.

[Eldagusto]

Exalted deal with buildings other than manses, y'know.

Oh I know, we also have Demesnes!

Why fade when you can star wipe?

Seriously this is how Dragonblooded have been portrayed handling their bases of operations, they are even called Manses for gods sake.

It’s like asking “huh I wonder why they keep building cities near major trade routes, rivers and coasts.”

Mortals build houses or temples anywhere, Powerful Exalts, and living Gods like the Dragon Caste who rule Prasad build on Manses, why wouldn’t they the benefits are tangible and obvious.

[Isator Levi]

I'm not even going to touch that, for the sake of preserving the topic.

Anyway, Lookshy. Another thing that I think helps them is not cultivating so much entitlement in the Exalted (especially since a majority of their Exalted may not be in the major families). They're less aristocratic, so there's less necessary real estate per Exalt. Really, less expenses all round; in the Realm, the nature of their society and how they manage their Exalted makes it more costly to be one, so you've got systems such as the government takes on some of the burden, and the revenue streams that need to be made available to them. Hell, their distribution across the Isle might be a thing partially engineered by the Empress, for reasons such as diffusing their power, and in combination with the social scene of their galas to be another thing that occupies their attention and consumes their resources.

Lookshy's needs and priorities are different, less competitive, less anxious, less materialist. They can keep more of their Exalted closer together, and devote their energy to different purposes.

The sense I get from Prasad, mostly from what I can vaguely recall of the satrapy write-up preview, gives me the image of a society that largely only interacts with itself, tightly knit and living in the physical upper strata of the major city; Yu-Shan in miniature on Earth.

Certainly, the idea of one's godliness being tied to scarcity seems a bit out of place in a setting where gods number in the millions. I expect the Exalted of Prasad to be more akin to the court of Golden-Eyed Jorst than a system in which every county needs its one true god.

[Eldagusto]

That’s my point some Major Gods leave Yu-Shan to make court on Creation where they are a bigger deal.

And Prasad interacts with themselves, they are expanding against smaller neighbors and making war and trade with rival empires, and the pledge to the realm because that helps with Trade across the rest of Creation. So they aren’t really isolated and only talking with themselves the ar expansionist.