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So, I'm not normally much of a homebrewer, and the following pages may be the evidence of why. But in Second Edition, I was part of a long-running game with a bunch of old friends, and we were about as mixed a crew as you could see: a Solar, two Lunars, a Dragon-Blooded, a Sidereal, and an Infernal. (The Abyssal player dropped.) We're not willing to keep running the game under 2e, and no one wants to either abandon their old characters or wait X years for all relevant supplements to come out... so here I am, homebrewing.
Anyway. The following is an attempt to convert 2e Lunars over to a workable 3e framework. I want to stress that this is an attempt at translation, not an attempt to create a thorough re-imagining of the splat in the style of Terrifying Argent Witches; for the most part, I've taken Charms that already existed in 2e and translated them to 3e-style mechanics. I suspect that this leaves a number of holes in the set; since the 2e Lunar set is only about half the size of the 3e Solar set, there's probably room for patching some of those holes at some future point. Right now I'm just trying to get a foundation on which to build. While the Charm names are repeated, I've tweaked costs, prereqs, and entirely rewritten Charm text; if the result is still too close to published material, someone official let me know and I'll be glad to take this down.
Okay, enough caveats. Feedback very much appreciated on anything that follows.
EDIT: I've added a Google Doc compiling the stuff below. Link!
General Rules
Doubles
The core Exalted rules distinguish categories of “double-X" effects which may be applied to rolls. “Double-8s," for instance, indicates that a roll receives two successes for each 8, 9, or 10 rolled. Unfortunately, this terminology prevents any combination of doubling effects; if two different effects would both grant a roll double-9s, for instance, one of the two is wasted.
To allow for this possibility, some effects state instead that they provide “+1 double" (or more). Each “double" applied to a roll provides an additional number which counts as two successes. For instance, Decisive damage rolls do not typically receive double successes for any number. A Decisive damage roll with +1 double benefits from double-10s; with +2 doubles, it benefits from double-9s, and so on. Multiple sources of doubles explicitly stack unless specifically prohibited, as do “+X doubles" effects and “double-Ys" effects. Under no circumstances, however, can a “+X doubles" effect contribute to counting double successes on any number lower than 7.
Anima Powers
Full Moon:
∙ The Full Moon can pay 2m to gain +1 double on any Strength-based roll, except for Withering damage rolls. At bonfire, this effect has no cost.
∙ The Full Moon adds his current number of anima levels as bonus dice on Withering damage rolls.
∙ For 5m, 1wp, 3a, the Full Moon can automatically succeed when taking a Disengage or Rush action.
Changing Moon:
∙ The difficulty to detect the Changing Moon’s Tell is increased by 2.
∙ The Changing Moon embodies Luna’s nature as the Fickle Lady. For 10m, 1wp, he can immediately reduce one of his Intimacies by one level, unless that Intimacy has been created or strengthened this scene. He may do so even in response to influence that would benefit from the chosen Intimacy.
∙ For one mote, the Changing Moon can detect and choose to adopt a single Decisive Intimacy of a being as he devours its heart’s blood. He may activate this power as many times as he wishes to collect additional Decisive Intimacies.
No Moon:
∙ The No Moon has a pool of (Essence * 2) sorcerous motes, which refills whenever he first sees the moon after dawn of a given day. He may treat his own anima at bonfire as the moon for this purpose.
∙ For one mote, the No Moon can view the last sight of a dead creature - a single still image, preserved in the eyes of the deceased. Doing so requires him to consume a small portion of the deceased, such as a few drops of blood.
∙ For 5m, 1wp, the No Moon can reflexively revise his own genius. He may move a single dot from one Ability to any other; this change persists for the rest of the scene. A No Moon may maintain no more than one activation of this effect simultaneously, and he may not use this change as justification for learning Charms for which he otherwise does not meet the prerequisites (for instance, Martial Arts Charms).
Shapeshifting
A Lunar can pay 5 motes to take any form he has stolen as a shapeshifting action, a Simple action that may
not be placed in a flurry. While in animal form, a Lunar gains all physical dice pools of its new form, along with
any special attacks or merits. A Lunar may not enter a form which would not fit in the available space; much as
the Silver Pact might wish otherwise, they cannot murder the Dragon-Blooded by being swallowed as gnats
and then assuming the shape of whales.
Every Lunar has a particular Tell, a key feature repeated across all his forms. Characters who know a
Lunar’s Tell can attempt to spot him in any form, but this requires a difficulty 7 roll to penetrate a disguise.
As a Lunar enters a form other than his human default, he generally absorbs any equipment he was wearing,
which melts away (to reform the next time he takes human shape). He may choose to waive this effect, but this
does not necessarily render the items useful; while armor may adjust slightly to fit a humanoid frame, a Lunar
taking an armadillo shape will not benefit from a suit of full plate or a grand daiklave. If the Lunar possesses
Deadly Beastman Transformation, that shape is always considered human enough to benefit from his existing
equipment. Regardless, however, the Lunar cannot benefit from Evocations in any shape other than his natural
human form.
A Lunar can, however, cast spells or use other Charms in nonhuman form. Resolve such actions as if the Lunar
were still in human shape; while he may benefit from well-disguised shapes (like a chameleon) or small, discreet
bodies (like a being with the Tiny Creature merit), any attacks he makes are obvious to their targets unless he
succeeds at a stealth roll as usual. Likewise, after attacking a target, the Lunar is made obvious and may be
targeted as normal - a mosquito who casts Death of Obsidian Butterflies is very nearly as obvious as a human
who does the same thing.
Gift Keyword
This keyword indicates that a Charm has some specific interaction with Deadly Beastman Transformation.
Generally, such Charms specify that a Lunar may commit some number of motes as he adopts the form in
order to receive some of the Charm’s benefits for as long as he retains that form.
Morph Keyword
When activating a Charm, a Lunar may evoke (via a stunt) an animal form he is capable of taking and
which he has not yet evoked via a Morph effect in this scene. (Sufficiently similar animals, such as two of
the same species, do not qualify as separate forms for this purpose.) The form must relate in some way to
the Lunar’s proposed action: a tiny insect or nimble monkey for a dodge, say; a ram or gorilla for a powerful
blow; a wise owl or investigative ant for a crafting project. Should the Lunar evoke a form in this way, the
Morph-keyworded Charm has some additional benefit, specified by the Charm.
Morph effects can be evoked in any form, and they do not require the Lunar to actually adopt that form;
the Lunar's arm bulges for an instant, or his whole body flickers through an alternate shape for the duration
of a single task, before returning to normal. This does not grant any of the advantages of the alternate
form, nor does it count as taking a shapechanging action.
Quickshot Keyword
Attacks granted or enhanced by this Charm do not require an Aim action to succeed,
regardless of range.
Touch Keyword
An effect with this keyword requires you to physically touch the target of that effect. Typically,
this requires you to be at close range of that character. Outside combat, you may attempt to touch an
unaware character via a Pickpocket action; if the Touch attack is part of a Simple Charm, you may make
this action as part of the Charm’s activation. In combat, you may attempt to touch an enemy by making a
difficulty 5 Gambit with Brawl, Melee, or any Martial Art using non-ranged weapons.
Ward Keyword
As part of character creation, every Lunar designates a single Ward: a person, place, or group to which he has
a Major or Defining Tie, with a context such as “Love" or “Protection." A Ward may not be illimitable or all-encompassing;
“Creation" and “every human being" are both inappropriately broad, while “This town," “My
circle," or even “My nation" would not be. Charms with the Ward keyword typically have some additional
effect when used on behalf of a Lunar’s Ward(s).
A Lunar may grant or revoke Ward status to targets, though doing so has roleplay requirements similar
to those for building or reducing Intimacies. A Lunar may maintain a number of simultaneous Wards equal
to his Essence.
Charms with the Ward keyword have added effect when invoked on behalf of an individual Ward, or a
member of a collective Ward, as specified by the Charm.
***
Edit v1.1: Clarified Morph keyword.
Edit v1.2: Added the Quickshot keyword.
Edit v1.3: Clarified shapeshifting per advice from YeOfLittleFaith.
Anyway. The following is an attempt to convert 2e Lunars over to a workable 3e framework. I want to stress that this is an attempt at translation, not an attempt to create a thorough re-imagining of the splat in the style of Terrifying Argent Witches; for the most part, I've taken Charms that already existed in 2e and translated them to 3e-style mechanics. I suspect that this leaves a number of holes in the set; since the 2e Lunar set is only about half the size of the 3e Solar set, there's probably room for patching some of those holes at some future point. Right now I'm just trying to get a foundation on which to build. While the Charm names are repeated, I've tweaked costs, prereqs, and entirely rewritten Charm text; if the result is still too close to published material, someone official let me know and I'll be glad to take this down.
Okay, enough caveats. Feedback very much appreciated on anything that follows.
EDIT: I've added a Google Doc compiling the stuff below. Link!
General Rules
Doubles
The core Exalted rules distinguish categories of “double-X" effects which may be applied to rolls. “Double-8s," for instance, indicates that a roll receives two successes for each 8, 9, or 10 rolled. Unfortunately, this terminology prevents any combination of doubling effects; if two different effects would both grant a roll double-9s, for instance, one of the two is wasted.
To allow for this possibility, some effects state instead that they provide “+1 double" (or more). Each “double" applied to a roll provides an additional number which counts as two successes. For instance, Decisive damage rolls do not typically receive double successes for any number. A Decisive damage roll with +1 double benefits from double-10s; with +2 doubles, it benefits from double-9s, and so on. Multiple sources of doubles explicitly stack unless specifically prohibited, as do “+X doubles" effects and “double-Ys" effects. Under no circumstances, however, can a “+X doubles" effect contribute to counting double successes on any number lower than 7.
Anima Powers
Full Moon:
∙ The Full Moon can pay 2m to gain +1 double on any Strength-based roll, except for Withering damage rolls. At bonfire, this effect has no cost.
∙ The Full Moon adds his current number of anima levels as bonus dice on Withering damage rolls.
∙ For 5m, 1wp, 3a, the Full Moon can automatically succeed when taking a Disengage or Rush action.
Changing Moon:
∙ The difficulty to detect the Changing Moon’s Tell is increased by 2.
∙ The Changing Moon embodies Luna’s nature as the Fickle Lady. For 10m, 1wp, he can immediately reduce one of his Intimacies by one level, unless that Intimacy has been created or strengthened this scene. He may do so even in response to influence that would benefit from the chosen Intimacy.
∙ For one mote, the Changing Moon can detect and choose to adopt a single Decisive Intimacy of a being as he devours its heart’s blood. He may activate this power as many times as he wishes to collect additional Decisive Intimacies.
No Moon:
∙ The No Moon has a pool of (Essence * 2) sorcerous motes, which refills whenever he first sees the moon after dawn of a given day. He may treat his own anima at bonfire as the moon for this purpose.
∙ For one mote, the No Moon can view the last sight of a dead creature - a single still image, preserved in the eyes of the deceased. Doing so requires him to consume a small portion of the deceased, such as a few drops of blood.
∙ For 5m, 1wp, the No Moon can reflexively revise his own genius. He may move a single dot from one Ability to any other; this change persists for the rest of the scene. A No Moon may maintain no more than one activation of this effect simultaneously, and he may not use this change as justification for learning Charms for which he otherwise does not meet the prerequisites (for instance, Martial Arts Charms).
Shapeshifting
A Lunar can pay 5 motes to take any form he has stolen as a shapeshifting action, a Simple action that may
not be placed in a flurry. While in animal form, a Lunar gains all physical dice pools of its new form, along with
any special attacks or merits. A Lunar may not enter a form which would not fit in the available space; much as
the Silver Pact might wish otherwise, they cannot murder the Dragon-Blooded by being swallowed as gnats
and then assuming the shape of whales.
Every Lunar has a particular Tell, a key feature repeated across all his forms. Characters who know a
Lunar’s Tell can attempt to spot him in any form, but this requires a difficulty 7 roll to penetrate a disguise.
As a Lunar enters a form other than his human default, he generally absorbs any equipment he was wearing,
which melts away (to reform the next time he takes human shape). He may choose to waive this effect, but this
does not necessarily render the items useful; while armor may adjust slightly to fit a humanoid frame, a Lunar
taking an armadillo shape will not benefit from a suit of full plate or a grand daiklave. If the Lunar possesses
Deadly Beastman Transformation, that shape is always considered human enough to benefit from his existing
equipment. Regardless, however, the Lunar cannot benefit from Evocations in any shape other than his natural
human form.
A Lunar can, however, cast spells or use other Charms in nonhuman form. Resolve such actions as if the Lunar
were still in human shape; while he may benefit from well-disguised shapes (like a chameleon) or small, discreet
bodies (like a being with the Tiny Creature merit), any attacks he makes are obvious to their targets unless he
succeeds at a stealth roll as usual. Likewise, after attacking a target, the Lunar is made obvious and may be
targeted as normal - a mosquito who casts Death of Obsidian Butterflies is very nearly as obvious as a human
who does the same thing.
Gift Keyword
This keyword indicates that a Charm has some specific interaction with Deadly Beastman Transformation.
Generally, such Charms specify that a Lunar may commit some number of motes as he adopts the form in
order to receive some of the Charm’s benefits for as long as he retains that form.
Morph Keyword
When activating a Charm, a Lunar may evoke (via a stunt) an animal form he is capable of taking and
which he has not yet evoked via a Morph effect in this scene. (Sufficiently similar animals, such as two of
the same species, do not qualify as separate forms for this purpose.) The form must relate in some way to
the Lunar’s proposed action: a tiny insect or nimble monkey for a dodge, say; a ram or gorilla for a powerful
blow; a wise owl or investigative ant for a crafting project. Should the Lunar evoke a form in this way, the
Morph-keyworded Charm has some additional benefit, specified by the Charm.
Morph effects can be evoked in any form, and they do not require the Lunar to actually adopt that form;
the Lunar's arm bulges for an instant, or his whole body flickers through an alternate shape for the duration
of a single task, before returning to normal. This does not grant any of the advantages of the alternate
form, nor does it count as taking a shapechanging action.
Quickshot Keyword
Attacks granted or enhanced by this Charm do not require an Aim action to succeed,
regardless of range.
Touch Keyword
An effect with this keyword requires you to physically touch the target of that effect. Typically,
this requires you to be at close range of that character. Outside combat, you may attempt to touch an
unaware character via a Pickpocket action; if the Touch attack is part of a Simple Charm, you may make
this action as part of the Charm’s activation. In combat, you may attempt to touch an enemy by making a
difficulty 5 Gambit with Brawl, Melee, or any Martial Art using non-ranged weapons.
Ward Keyword
As part of character creation, every Lunar designates a single Ward: a person, place, or group to which he has
a Major or Defining Tie, with a context such as “Love" or “Protection." A Ward may not be illimitable or all-encompassing;
“Creation" and “every human being" are both inappropriately broad, while “This town," “My
circle," or even “My nation" would not be. Charms with the Ward keyword typically have some additional
effect when used on behalf of a Lunar’s Ward(s).
A Lunar may grant or revoke Ward status to targets, though doing so has roleplay requirements similar
to those for building or reducing Intimacies. A Lunar may maintain a number of simultaneous Wards equal
to his Essence.
Charms with the Ward keyword have added effect when invoked on behalf of an individual Ward, or a
member of a collective Ward, as specified by the Charm.
***
Edit v1.1: Clarified Morph keyword.
Edit v1.2: Added the Quickshot keyword.
Edit v1.3: Clarified shapeshifting per advice from YeOfLittleFaith.
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