#exigents

[brontes-anvil]

Exigents: Chosen of Pugilism

With Exigents on the horizon, I thought I'd come back to my Iron Crown Pugilist concept. I have neither the acumen or the patience to be constructing charms, but I can still make a skeleton and a few Charm names that I think are fun.

Content Warning: Iron Crown Pugilists/Chosen of Pugilism borrows motifs from animal blood sport. This poster doesn't condone the practice, and nothing graphic is depicted (mostly just Charm names and some brief history) but I've put everything past the jump nonetheless.

The God, Iron Comb

Pragmatic and brash, exultant and scheming, embittered and sentimental, Iron Comb started out in the First Age as a minor god of cockfighting but worked and schemed his way up to a god of street fighting through most of the south by the Age's middle. He asked the Sun for Exaltation, a formality to deal with an ancient monster plaguing his home city, never expecting to receive it. Why he got it remains a mystery to him.

Themes and Motifs: Sing your praises. Exult in victory. Expect violence in every shadow. Punish failure. Betray and counter-betray. Fight-or-Flight, iron, and roosters.

Play Level: IDK, I can see cases made for Terrestrial or Celestial. I picture basic sorcery or necromancy (pick 1), Celestial-Tier Martial Arts.

Magical Materials: Neutral to orichalcum and soulsteel, dissonant to all other materials.

Lifespan: Academic, they don't seem to age but most get killed before they get close to the limit. I haven't settled on a propagation method, but maybe it takes the form of an inconspicuous iron weapon.

Awareness

Violence is sudden and can come from anywhere for any reason. Spot ambushes and stealth. Socialize Charms that detect animosity or blood-lust of some kind. Integrity Charms to hold onto feelings of distrust. Investigate charms to track down anyone trying to kill you.

Sample Charm Names: Every Stranger an Enemy, Every Meeting a Battle, Forgive Not, Knives in Shadows Wariness

Brawl

You should have had a a weapon, but now you make due. Emphasis on defenses, escapes, and equalizing the field, but booking it when things aren't in your favor. Disarm charms, Dodge charms, and Athletics charms that emphasize disengages and withdrawing. Some failure punishment.

Sample Charm Names: The Better Part of Valor, Wings Break Wrists, Fluttery Evasiveness

Larceny

Pugilist as criminal or underworld inhabitant. Charms that enhance gambling and betting. A few theft Charms to disarm would be enemies. Betrayal and counter-betrayal. Stratagem charms and Bureaucracy Charms about small gang organization.

Despite his origins, Iron Comb was disdainful of animal blood sport and while Charms exist here to enhance familiars, it's always in an animal trickster way and not in a violent way.

Sample Charm Names: Pecking Order Establishment, Fiendish Flocking Formation, Eye-for-Eye Blackmail, Threats Transcend Language

Presence

Loud, proud, obnoxious. Instill hatred, fear, or awe, as long as people know you're a big deal. Entertain the crowd. Exult in victory. A few War Charms for routing or morale.

A Presence charm exists to resonate with orichalcum, barring access to the charm to resonate with soulsteel.

Sample Charm Names: Gamecock Braggadocio, Exultant Cawing, Greet Another Dawn (obligatory survive death Charm)

Thrown

Knife in hand, you go for the kill. There are also a few melee and resistance Charms for donning and creating iron-like weapons and armor. Brutally punish failure.

A Thrown charm exists to resonate with soulsteel, barring access to the charm to resonate with orichalcum.

Sample Charm Names: Pluck Knives Like Feathers, Bring a Knife to a Fistfight, Coat of Iron Down

Undecided

Where should Sorcery and Necromancy go (and should it be the same ability)? Lacking neat anima effects.

I like the idea of Iron Comb's diminishment taking the form of the complete loss of his rooster motifs, including a 1-dot rooster familiar that is now inherited by his Chosen. It's the same rooster that spans all Exaltations and there's usually an anima or Charm ability that lets it resurrect each dawn. While Iron Comb has lost contact with his chosen, he'd be displeased if anyone actually tried to use the familiar in battle.

Yes I know Exalted policy is that resurrections are a no-no, but also it's a 1-dot semi-divine rooster. I think we can let it slide.

An earlier version of this idea was going to have a Martial Arts acting as the center and other Charms enhancing and branching off of them, but that would create a lot of work for whoever I could get to do this.

[thehugninja]

Making an Exigent

Step 1: Determine Nature

Simply put, what is your Exalt the Exigent of? If you only know what their patron is at this stage it’s probably going to be fairly self-explanatory, a Bloody Hand is going to create a Chosen of Murder and a Volcano God is going to create a Chosen of Volcanoes.

 Step 2: Planning

Draw up a small table and divide it up as follows.

 It doesn’t matter how their charmset is going to be structured yet, all Exalt types are going to have some use for the following three categories.

Physical is (at the very minimum) offence and defence even if they’re not presented as direct applications of force. A wall of psychic force will be considered physical at this stage even if it originates from the Exalt’s mental powers.

Social is how they interact with the world. It’s easy to consider certain patrons non-social but even if they avoid interacting with the world or only do so through intimidation that’s still potentially fertile ground for charms.

Mental is how they perceive the world. Even a patron that’s little more than animalistic rage will still notice things and react to them.

 Now try to populate the table with some basic charm ideas.

 For Example: A player wants to make a Chosen of a Volcano Goddess based on the Hawaiian goddess Pele. Under physical they have ideas for powers based on exerting the raw power of a volcano such as fire and environmental attacks. Under social they can channel her passion and jealousy. Finally mental can explore Pele as a creator as well as a destroyer. All the while the concept is anchored in real life Polynesian culture as a source of themes to run concurrently with having volcanic powers.

 Last but not least, don’t be afraid to revisit step 1. If you’re having difficulty populating this table go back and think more about their patron. Perhaps a generic Volcano God is too narrow to capture your imagination alternatively you might be trying to make a Chosen of Wisdom that seemed cool but has ended up so broad that you’re paralysed  for different reasons.

  Step 3: The Excellency

It’s productive here to think of an Excellency for your Exalt type because it’s a measuring stick for how powerful you want them to be and a way of incorporating their concept into every significant action they undertake. If we take the example of Revana Quin from the corebook she needs to stunt in an urban environment in order to achieve her full power.

 One can also build dice tricks into the Excellency to help reinforce a distinct style.

For example: Nedele is a Highroller, an Exigent who won her Exaltation is a high stakes game of cards with Plentimon with a normal dice cap of (Attribute) but rolling a 7, 8, 9 and 10 on any dice roll grants her a point of Luck which can be cashed it at any point during the story to reroll a single action.

 Step 4: The Charms

Phase 1 Stealing! Look for ideas similar to the ones you documented in Step 2 in the corebook. It’s easy to get worried about power level and consider the Solar Charms off limit but that is honestly shooting yourself in the foot.

A lot of Solar charms are powerful in-context such as Dual Magnus Prana which would be much weaker if it was disconnected from Solar Craft or placed at high essence because they reflect something that’s on the edge of acceptability for Solar themes like flight as is the case of Bonfire Anima Wings.

 Part of why I advised getting your Excellency out of the way in Step 3 is because knowing which dice pools can be modified by how much is important. For example, possessing a Stamina Excellency lets you increase your Soak in a way that a Solar can’t and may affect the relative value of some Resistance charms. Similarly if the maximum dice you can add to a Melee attack is 5 then a damage enhancer is less useful to you because skilled enemies that you may need it against will be more likely to sidestep it.

 Phase 2 Innovation! Now you have what is essentially an assortment of parts and it’s your job to make them look like they belong together in the same set.

 Example: Faina is an Apothecary, an Exigent of the Syndic Uvanavu (The God of Health and Well-Being) and in addition to miraculous powers to heal the sick may also curse her foes with injury. As such her player has decided that the Solar Charm Injury-Forcing Technique is appropriate for one of Faina’s attack charms. While it is an essence 3 Lore charm for a Solar, combat-healing is more appropriate to her. The newly renamed Health-Syphoning Malediction is essence 1 and the start of a cascade of charms dedicated to stealing away a person’s health rather than physically injuring them.

 Essence Pools

A character’s essence pool represents a last check on power levels. Right now it’s an all Solar’s game with the core so shrinking the mote pools shouldn’t be required unless you come up with something absurdly overpowered. You may want to calibrate your Exalt to be comparable to an existing type as a means of future proofing the idea though.

 Isn’t this a lot of work?

Yes, but not as much as you might think. Just because you make an ability based Exalt type doesn’t mean you need to have charms written for every ability, as long as you’re not forced to pull a new concept out of nowhere to make it work it should be reasonable.

[brontes-anvil]

For Whatever Exalted Fan Who'd Know

What changes/breaks if Architects were given a merit to replace a Foundation Attribute with the ability to be resonant with a given magical material?

[theonyxpath]

A year ago today we released The Three Banners Festival, an Exalted Third Edition Jumpstart for Exigents, in POD and PDF via our partners at drivethrurpg.com This jumpstart has rules, ready-made characters, and a story included! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/522098/the-three-banners-festival-an-exalted-third-edition-jumpstart?affiliate_id=13&src=OPPTumblr

[theonyxpath]

A year ago today we released the Exigents VTT tokens designed to allow you to bring Exalted to the virtual tabletop platform of your choice. These tokens include a variety of playable characters and antagonists from Exigents: Out of the Ashes. https://www.drivethrurpg.com//product/499080/exigents-out-of-the-ashes-vtt-tokens?affiliate_id=13=src=OPPTumblr

[theonyxpath]

On this 2024 we released Exalted: Exigents Streaming Overlays https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/490821/exigents-out-of-the-ashes-streaming-overlays?affiliate_id=13&src=OPPTumblr Exigents: Out of the Ashes Digital Wallpaper https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/490830/exigents-out-of-the-ashes-digital-wallpaper?affiliate_id=13&src=OPPTumblr and Exigents: Out of the Ashes Storyteller Screen https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/490754/exigents-out-of-the-ashes-storyteller-screen?affiliate_id=13&src=OPPTumblr via our partners at @drivethrurpg.com!

[brontes-anvil]

Exigents Preview is Out

They got to the Appendix which is where the noncanon Exalts went, and I already have a terrible idea for an Umbral whose dark impulse is that they want to be a better person, with the primary personality's problem being that they're a debauched Guild mercenary who doesn't want to. The Shadow's problem is that they are still fundamentally a Shadow and can only view that desire through that lens.