Like and reblog as you please and feel free to send any requests for artifacts or martial arts. If you like what I've written, consider sending me a tip
http://ko-fi.com/mystrich
This may occasionally include fiction in addition to mechanics, but we'll see!
Hey there, Exalted fans! We’re here to talk about how (and where) things are going with Exalted Third Edition.
First off, the Dragon-Blooded Kickstarter was a smashing success thanks to the passion of its backers. At $331,392, it’s one of Onyx Path’s all-time largest Kickstarters, despite being a supplement rather than a core book. Needless to say, that’s far beyond our wildest expectations! Thanks to all of your efforts, more Kickstarters for deluxe editions of other splatbooks seem very likely. We’re enormously appreciative of your trust and efforts in making this possible, and we’re looking forward to the next one.
In the wake of the Dragon-Blooded Kickstarter, we’re working on Heirs to the Shogunate, the companion volume to What Fire Has Wrought. Compiled from unique reward tier purchases and stretch goals unlocked during the Kickstarter, it’ll cover a wide range of material: Realm cadet houses, guides for secondary school games, Lookshy, Prasad, the mysterious Forest Witches and possible paths to the Realm Civil War. It’s also going to feature custom Charms and artifacts requested by backers, and we can tell you that they’ve got some absolutely awesome ideas. We’re just finishing up the Heirs outline, and we hope to start working on it later this year.
Right now most of our attention is dedicated to Lunars: Fangs at the Gate. We’re aiming to present a clear, coherent vision of Lunars that makes them an essential, irreplaceable part of Exalted’s setting. They are the divine monsters that Luna unleashed against the enemies of the gods, shapeshifting tricksters and world-walking witches, sacred beast-god guardians and terrifying horrors that stalk the night. Driven to the edges of the world by the Dragon-Blooded Shogunate and its successor, the Realm, the Lunars have fought tooth and nail to tear down the world-spanning empire that seeks their blood — and they are winning.
Lunars: Fangs at the Gate lays out the Silver Pact, the mutual aid society that protects young Lunars from the Wyld Hunt and which organizes the centuries-long war against the Realm, detailing prominent elders within the Pact — including both familiar faces like Ma-Ha-Suchi and Leviathan, and brand new characters — as well as Lunar dominions under the Pact’s control, fully detailed settings ready to use in a player character’s background or as adventure locations for the Storyteller. And of course, it has all the mechanical support needed to play a Lunar. It provides comprehensive rules for Lunar shapeshifting, and a better-than-ever set of Lunar Charms, with new features like the Protean keyword, which grants you upgraded effects while in certain animal forms. There’s also a variety of Martial Arts styles both new and old, such as Centipede style and Swaying Grass Dance style; new sorcerous initiations and spells; a panoply of moonsilver artifacts with Evocations; and stats for a menagerie’s worth of animals to shapeshift into.
We’re officially announcing another book we have in the works, Across the Eight Directions, a setting book that’s a spiritual successor to the first-edition favorite, Scavenger Sons. This will be a hefty volume of setting material that spans the entirety of the Threshold. It’ll encompass over 40 distinct locales and peoples, each surrounded by a constellation of more neighboring locales that provide context and texture, making it clear that these places exist as part of the fabric of a living, breathing world. Some trace back to the Exalted First Edition core book, like Nexus and the Varang Confederacy; others have appeared in later editions or in the Third Edition core book, like Ysyr and Volivat; and still others will appear in Across the Eight Directions for the very first time, like the raksha-ruled city of Amaryllis and the eerie Lost Isles of Aiun.
And, while it’s still far out on the horizon, we can finally announce the full title of the Exigents book. It’s Exigents: Out of the Ashes, and it’ll give you everything you need to play characters like Strawmaiden Janest, create your own Exigent, or even create a new type of Exalted, like the mind-devouring Hearteaters, the haunted Umbral Exalted, and the reality-warping Dream-Souled.
If you’d like to be a part of creating this next wave of Exalted material for Exalted Third Edition, we have a process for that! Go to the Submissions Guidelines page and follow the instructions there on submitting a text sample, along with a disclosure form. If it’s been at least a year since you last submitted and you think your work has improved or would fit any of these projects, feel free to submit again with your most recent text sample.
We hope you’re as excited by this rundown of what’s up in Exalted Third Edition development as we’ve been getting to work on it. Take care, and feel free to leave questions both here and on the Onyx Path forums!
Tepet Juna was among the ranks of Dragon-blooded who stood against the Bull of the North. He was young, but experienced. He’d fought rebels and bandits and defended his Houses’ holdings across the North. With his crossbow Flying Frost, he’d been able to strike a fleeing man from atop an airship. But there is no longer a man known as Tepet Juna, he died with the legions.
Tepet Juna died, but in his place, a lone Dragon-blooded who understood the impending doom fled with his artifact, taking refuge among tribes and villages. Wolf of Red Snow now carries himself a different person. To return to the Realm would be suicide, but the Bull is too large a threat to leave alone and too powerful a foe to face by himself. Instead he serves as a bounty hunter of impeccable talents, seeking any who might aid him.
His siege crossbow was once known as Flying Frost, but blood from both enemies and allies who gave chase have stained the sky blue with blood, frozen forever as a reminder by the harsh climate of the North. What once served as a weapon of speed and grace is quickly becoming a blood seeking monster - Wolf might actually fear it, if he himself wasn’t becoming the same in his quest to take down the Bull of the North. Whatever blood may stain his hands, his weapon, or his soul, he knows the blood of entire legions is on the warlord’s hands and he will see it cleansed.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Medium (ACC -1/+5/+3/+1/-1, +12 DMG, OVW 4)
Tag: Archery (Long), Lethal, Crossbow, Piercing, Powerful, Slow
Hearthstone Slots: 2
Era: Reign of the Scarlet Empress
Evocations of Crimson Fang Bow
Once evoking grace and agility, Crimson Fang Bow is now the embodiment of quick and lethal killings. Swift winds guide bolts into place when essence flows through the crossbow’s string. Any Exalt who is not dissonant with Jade can use charms that create multiple attacks to make up to (Essence) attacks, despite the Slow tag.
Wolf in the Wind
Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
Where the Exalt aims, her bolt flies. This evocation supplements an Aim action to Medium or Long range. The Exalt gains the +3 bonus as if they’d completed a second Aim action.
Resonant: The willpower cost for this evocation is waived by resonant wielders.
Fleeing Fangs of Ice
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Wolf in the Wind
Once her bolt has found its mark, fleeing is impossible. This charm supplements a Rush action against an opponent the Exalt has hit at least once. If the Exalt succeeds at the Rush, rather than following him, she may reflexively reload and take an Aim action.
Winter Predator Shot
Cost: 5m, 2i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-only, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Fleeing Fangs of Ice
To flee from a predator native to the North is to only delay what is to come. The Exalt must take 3 turns making a ‘long Aim’ action against a target in Short or Medium range. This grants her the normal +3 dice for aiming and allows her to fire out to Extreme range if her target flees. On the final round of aiming, she reduces her target’s evasion by 1 if he is at Extreme range, 2 if he is at Long range, 3 if he is at Medium range, and 4 if he is at Short range or Close range.
This evocation can only be used once per enemy per scene.
Special Activation Rules: Wielders resonant with Jade can make an Essence 4+ repurchase of this charm, which causes her attack to become Undodgeable.
Red Ice Ballista
Cost: 4m, 2i; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Fleeing Fangs of Ice
Blood frozen to the Crimson Fang Bow marks it as a killer’s weapon and each point blank shot only increases the weapon’s bloody vengeance to come. This charm supplements a Decisive attack made at Close range, adding up to (Essence) extra successes on the attack roll to the raw damage of the attack. In addition, for each kill she has made using this evocation, she permanently increases the number of extra successes she may add to her damage.
Twin Fangs of Vengeance
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Red Ice Ballista, Unflagging Vengeance Meditation (WFHW p230)
The Crimson Fang Bow seethes in its own rage, desiring the murder of it’s wielder’s enemies. Her weapon shares her rage and the brunt of it’s pain, reducing the Willpower loss each day not spent in pursuit of her target of vengeance by 1.
Culling Blizzard Fury
Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4
Type: Simple
Keywords: Withering-only, Resonant, Dissonant
Duration: (Essence) rounds
Prerequisite: Red Ice Ballista
Enemies who approach and enemies who flee are all fare game when the Exalt bares the teeth of her crossbow. Any enemy that attempts to move closer or farther away from the Exalt out to Medium range must make a disengage check against the Exalt’s (Perception+Archery). Should they fail, the exalt reflexively reloads and makes a withering attack without a need to Aim, preventing them from completing the movement. She may not make more than (Essence) attacks in a single round.
Dissonant: Wielders who are dissonant with Jade cannot master this evocation
Resonant: Resonant wielders reduce the Essence minimum of this evocation by 1.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation may only be used once per story unless reset by killing a target that the Exalt has sworn to kill as part of Defining or Legendary social goal.
Junbe took each step slowly and deliberately as she watched the pale blue flame inside the lantern flicker with each step. Once upon a time she had served in Lookshy’s military. She had even been among troops sent on a Wyld Hunt and had seen an Anathema with her own eyes. Now she was old. Her son had served in the military as well and her grandson after him. Their graves were both kept stocked with offerings with each visit, but in the past few months had been barren as she saved her wealth.
She swallowed hard in her throat, reminding herself of how she used to steel her nerves. It was almost enough to make her laugh. She was remembered for being stalwart and unshakable despite her mortality, but in her mind those tales were different. She was shaking in her boots every step, both then, and now. Each step towards the graves made her a bit more nervous. The only thing comforting her was the touch of her husband’s hand on her shoulder and his gentle whispering in her ear.
And then she was there, reunited at last with all 3 of them. Her husband’s powerful worn face, her son’s rugged handsomeness that softened only for her, and her grandson’s youthful optimism. It had been years since she’d seen any of them, and now she wept as she embraced them.
Ghost Lanterns find popularity among mortals far and wide throughout the Threshold. Strangely, while they are banned on the Blessed Isle for the ancestor cults that form around them, it is typically Dragon-blooded who carve them out. With a simple lighting of the candle inside, their soft blue glow allows anyone to interact with the departed or occasionally, to find and dispel apparitions who should be long gone.
By cultivating wax from the fat of ghost-blooded animals and the bees of Shadowlands in the East, the incensed candle burns with an otherworldly pale blue flame. When lit, the light extends to medium range and all ghosts become visible if the light touches them. In close range of the lantern, all ghosts become material. An Artifact *** version of this lantern, called a Spirit Lantern, and functions on all dematerialized entities. Both versions burn for 24 hours after lit.
If the Ghost Lantern is used as a weapon, it follows the following gambit rules:
Ghost Fire Gambit: Difficulty 3-5: The lantern is destroyed and the ghost becomes consumed in blue fire, shedding light as the lantern did to Medium range, becoming materialized, and taking 3A damage per round for (Difficulty-1) rounds. After this, the fire extinguishes, though the spirit remains materialized for the scene unless it knows the Dematerialize charm.
Special Repair: If the Ghost Lantern burns out, then it can be repaired much easier by reassembly the wax with a new alchemically treated wick. This is a Superior Repair Project, difficulty 5, that requires 15 successes. The minimum time for this project’s completion is only 1 week, rather than the normal 6 for an Artifact 2.
A Ghost Lantern destroyed by its own gambit cannot be repaired.
When Yin Dragon's Heart met his Solar mate, Frozen Stringed Bandore, one was a skilled and peerless warrior, while the other was a newly reborn Dawn caste. Soon they became mentor and student, then they became equals with blade and spear, then they became lovers whose inner flames had warmed their cold exteriors, but only to each other. They fought behemoths and Raksha princes, braving the Wyld and its dangers side by side. When one faltered, the other was his strength. When one raged, the other was his tether back.
Against the Raksha noble Prince Lamnak With Eyes Of Dreams, they fell together. Yin's silver eyes gazed just a moment too long and fell into a death-like slumber. Frozen Stringed Bandore fought valiently, but he could not win alone. Willing to offer anything to save the Chosen of Luna, he gave the Fair Folk an offer - his memories for Yin's waking. The Raksha took the deal, and Yin's eyes opened as his lover's heart closed. The pain was too much to bear and the Dragon’s Heart made a deal with Prince Lamnak that day - his mate's life for an end to the pain.
Yin Dragon's Heart left the Wyld that day carrying only two things: the bones of the Solar, Frozen Stringed Bandore, and his Compassion forged into a staff of Wyld chaos. Dripping both into Moonsilver, he forged the last proof for the world of his love, Yinban. Never did Yin Dragon's Heart love another mate like Frozen Stringed Bandore and never did he let the spear leave the temple-tomb of his lover. Long since has the ancient Lunar passed, however, and few Solars in the Time of Tumult would simply pass on a spear left on their own past live’s grave.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Heavy (+1 ACC, +14 DMG, +0 DEF, OVW 5)
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Reaching, Two-Handed
Hearthstone slots: 2
Era: Dreams of the First Age
Evocations of Yinban
Once attuned to Yinban, feelings of deepest love flood into the wielder like oil turning the sparks of their passion into overbearing flames. Yinban rolls a 10-dice inspire roll against the wielder's resolve when she attunes. If successful, the wielder immediately increases all Ties of love to individual people or organizations. If they have none, they immediately form a Tie of love to a person or group like this. In either case, if successful, they spend a scene in a passionate and loving emotional state.
Wielders who resonate with Moonsilver can detect that the weapon emanates love before attuning and are aware the weapon will inflame their passions with deep sincere love without ill intent. In addition, attuned wielders gain an additional point of initiative for making successful attacks against anyone they share a Tie of love to or anyone who is part of a group or organization they share a Tie of love to.
Blood on Red Heartstrings
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Withering Only, Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: None
When she asks "Do I love you?" the Exalt always receives an answer. A withering attack supplemented by this charm has its threshold successes compared to the target's Guile. If she overcomes his Guile this way, the wielder of the direlance learns immediately if he qualifies under her definition of loved ones. If she holds a Tie of "People of Nexus (Love)" then she learns if her target is from Nexus. If she strikes her husband while he is disguised, she learns that her opponent fulfills My Husband (Love).
Special Activation Rules: As long as the wielder is not dissonant with Moonsilver, this evocation is learned as soon as she gains or strengthens a Tie of Love, whether naturally or by attuning to this artifact.
Love Spurning Love
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Blood on Red Heartstrings
With a simple twist of her wrist, she rejects her lover and his advances. This charm can be used in a social scene to eliminate any penalty to her Resolve from having a Tie of love to her opposition. In combat, she may instead ignore up to (Intimacy) penalty to her Parry against someone she holds a Tie of love to.
Even If Death Do We Part
Cost: 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Love Spurning Love
Yinban is the love of Yin Dragon's Heart and his Solar mate, Frozen Stringed Bandore. What Yin gave up in forging the weapon, the wielder make take in. With an activation of this evocation, the Exalt may gain an immediate Major Tie of Love towards a group of their choice. This is a real feeling and real intimacy, which cannot be eroded unless the Exalt spends another WP after accomplishing a Major or Defining social goal. This evocation can only be used once per story unless reset by accomplishing a Major or Defining social goal involving the Tie gained by this evocation.
Resonant: A wielder resonant with Moonsilver may learn this charm automatically without spending experience points the first time they incapacitate a target they hold a Tie of love towards or when they gain a Tie of love towards an enemy.
Frozen Love Caress
Cost: 5m, 2i; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-Only
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite: Even If Death Do We Part
When her loved ones stand against her in battle, the only gift that she may give is the numb of Bandore's frozen heart. A decisive attack augmented by this evocation inflicts a mental scar that dulls ones senses and feelings, invalidating any intimacy of love towards her that the target has for the scene, but inflicting upon him a crippling penalty equal to the rating of the intimacy. This mental scar can be removed by effects such as Wound-Banishing Strike.
Burning Dragon's Heart
Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Stackable, Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Even If Death Do We Part
Yin's love burned like a flame with endless fuel and in The Sliver of Our Love, that passion is an all-consuming inferno waiting to be unleashed. This evocation allows the wielder to make a Difficulty 3 Heart-Fire Gambit against her opponent. If successful, her strike immediately increases his highest intimacy of Love towards her or creates such an intimacy if he does not have one. Her opponent may spend a Willpower to resist the creation of a new intimacy, but cannot resist one of his own being inflamed. The Willpower cost to resist this increases by 1 for every 2 threshold successes she generates on her initiative role. This evocation cannot increase an intimacy beyond Defining.
Dissonant: This evocation cannot increase an intimacy beyond Major.
Resonant: If a Solar or Lunar exalted strikes an opponent who they themselves hold a Tie of love towards, the Willpower cost of this charm is refunded unless the intimacy is raised higher than their own.
All love comes to an end but only the wielder of Yinban may decide the moment her lover leaves her. This evocation can supplement a decisive attack made with 15+ initiative and grants an automatic success to the attack roll. If this attack hits, her spear is drawn to the heart of her lover, shifting through any angle to become a deadly blow. She may double damage dice, starting with 10s, equal to the rating of her Tie of love towards her opponent or a group he is a member of. If he has a Tie of love towards her, she may double additional damage dice equal to that rating. If this attack kills her lover, she immediately erases any intimacy directly related to him and loses all memories of him. She becomes supernaturally inured against gaining any intimacy to him, and permanently increases her Resolve by 2 (as a non-Charm bonus) against any attempt to do so.
Dissonant: This charm cannot be learned by wielders dissonant with Moonsilver.
She had never once lived a happy life. She had never enjoyed her life. She had never been one to wish for more either. Until her ship went down and she heard the voice of the Silver Prince in her ear. When The Maiden of Deep Shadows opened her eyes, she was still underwater, standing on a deposit of Black Jade that she hauled to the surface with her before she arrived on an island filled with shadowlands through which she entered the Underworld to begin her work.
With her Deathlord’s guidance, she drew out the power of the Jade - the fury of the ocean, of the sea, of the Elemental Pole of Water. It was his words that gave shape to the weapon's might, that the newly reborn Abyssal forged a wonder as his hands guided her own. Her first time facing a Dragonblooded, an ironic fight as the Child of Daana'd brought her own mastery of the element to bear. But as she overcame her foe, the realization of her weapon’s destructive power struck a chord of fear inside her. As the waters of the sea turned red, The Maiden of Deep Shadows sailed away from Skullstone, looking for an escape from her existence.
Forged in the Underworld, the massive Jade spear is adorned with skull motifs inlaid with Soulsteel up and down the length, while its bladed edge is a sinister looking barb that would pierce through armor as easily as flesh. Across the weapon are 3 sockets for hearthstones. When submerged, water roils around the spear's tip, as if trying to escape the pain while inevitably drawn to it.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Heavy (+1 ACC, +14 DMG, +0 DEF, OVW 5)
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Reaching, Two-Handed
Hearthstone slots: 3
Era: Time of Tumult
Evocations of Deep Abyss's Scream
When attuning to Deep Abyss's Scream, the Exalt awakens Abyss Geyser at no cost. An Exalt resonant with Deep Abyss's Scream who pays an additional 3 motes when attuning to Deep Abyss's Scream unleashes the full devastating might of the spear, gaining an additional initiative on any Withering damage roll that includes at least one 10 and applies double 10s to Decisive damage rolls.
Abyss Geyser
4m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
With her spear tip to the ground, the echoing scream brings forth the water deep below the surface. Geysers burst from the ground, tearing it apart in a bursting stream that rushes toward her opponent. She makes an attack out to Medium Range, which if it hits and deals at least one level of damage, knocks her opponent prone. If the weapon holds at least one water-aspected hearthstone, this water remains as large puddles across the area for the remainder of the scene.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation only functions on the ground floor of a building or the ground itself. Theoretically, there must be water below the ground and areas experiencing extreme droughts prevent the use of this evocation. While on the deck of a ship, she may choose to cause the geyser to explode from below, but this likely spells disaster without other charms.
Dissonant: Wielders dissonant with Jade may only send the geyser out to Short range.
Flood Gates Breach
Cost: 4m, 2i; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Abyss Geyser
Water swirls at her feet, gathering behind the Exalt like a wave. In a moment, it rushes forward, carrying her on the water with her spear intent to kill. The Exalt dashes forward a single rangeband, gliding across water and ignoring difficult terrain, before making a decisive attack. The wave strikes a moment after her blow, knocking her opponent back one rangeband unless they succeed on a (Strength+Athletics) roll with a difficulty equal to the successes on the decisive damage roll. She may perform this, even if she has already taken her movement action for the round.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation requires at least some body of water nearby, including the remains of the prerequisite if socketed with a water-aspect hearthstone. It can only be used once per opponent per scene, but it can be reset for a specific opponent by crashing them.
Ocean Burial
Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Abyss Geyser
The Exalt leaps into the air, and water follows behind her, before crashing down with the might of Deep Abyss’s Scream, like an ocean falling from the sky. The Exalt may leap forward a single rangeband, before slamming down into the ground with destructive force followed by a deluge of water. After he decisive damage roll, the wielder of the Direlance can reroll (Essence) failed dice on her damage roll. Against a prone opponent, her damage roll benefits from double 10s.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation requires at least some body of water nearby, including the remains of the prerequisite if socketed with a water-aspect hearthstone. It can only be used once per opponent per scene, but it can be reset for a specific opponent by crashing them.
Resonant: The attack and damage roll benefit from double 9s against a prone opponent instead.
Mountain Felling Corrosion
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Stackable, Withering-Only, Dissonant
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite: Flood Gates Breach, Ocean Burial
Like a mountain wears down as the sea crashes into it, each strike wears down her opponent’s defenses. This evocation supplements a withering attack, ignoring a single point of soak. Each time the Exalt uses this evocation in a scene, he increases how much soak is ignored. Each activation after the first in the same scene ignores the Willpower cost. Any time she resets to base initiative, the amount of soak ignored resets to lower of (Essence or current stacks of this evocation).
Dissonant: This evocation can only be stacked up to (Essence+1) times in a scene.
Well of Black Depths
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Perilous, Dissonant
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite: Mountain Felling Corrosion
With a wave of her direlance, seas churn, plants wither, rivers flood, and disasters abound. This evocation conjures deadly water across the ground from the nearest sources, draining plants dry, pulling riverbeds up onto the shore, and calling hellish rain to cover an area out to Medium range. Polluted through the curses of the Underworld, this water takes on a searing brine, that pulls water from those caught inside of it. Anyone wearing less than Heavy Armor (or waterproof footwear) feels the immediate pains of their body dehydrating. A character knocked prone in the scene is immediately re-exposed, as is any character struck by Flood Gates Breach or Ocean Burial. Otherwise, the liquid functions as a poison, with the following stats (3i / round, Duration of 3+Essence rounds, -1 penalty). A character crashed by the water immediately begins to suffer dehydration, taking a -3 penalty to their defenses and actions, that can only be recovered by leaving the body of toxic water and drinking pure water. The wielder of Deep Abyss’s Scream and up to one character per water-aspected hearthstone socketed in the direlance do not suffer the water’s effects. Trivial characters die in a matter of rounds of exposure.
This salt water brine remains, although at the end of the scene, ceases to be supernaturally dehydrating, though may still leave the ground salted and ruin plants. The water can only be purified by a Purity Gem hearthstone after the end of the scene this evocation was activated in.
This evocation can only be used once per scene and cannot be reset by the Dawn caste anima banner.
Dissonant: This evocation can only be used while the Exalt has 10+ initiative and resets the Exalt to base initiative after use.
Searing Sea Rain
Cost - (+1wp, 4i); Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Perilous
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Well of Black Depths, Rising Sun Slash (Exalted p.347)
At the pinnacle of the Exalt’s strike, it is not a glaring sun beam for the wielder of Deep Abyss’s Scream, but rather than storm cloud on the horizon. When her decisive attack benefits from Rising Sun Slash (on a roll containing at least one 7, 8, 9, and 10), the Exalt may pay an additional 1 willpower and 4 initiative to create an immediate one time hazard of acidic water, spraying out to strike everyone within short range of her. This deals (Essence) dice of damage to her target and anyone out to short range who fails a difficulty 4 (Dexterity+Athletics) check.
Birthing Mother Hydra
Cost: 8m (+4m); Mins: Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous, Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite: Well of Black Depths
As the sea claims victims, the fear of the depths grows deeper, and from that deepening abyss, monsters of nightmare are born. Whenever the Exalt activates this evocation’s prerequisite, a small pool of the water forms into a jelly-like Chrysalis. Each time initiative is lost to the brine, it is stored in the chrysalis, to a maximum of 10 initiative. At any point, the Exalt may activate this evocation to birth from the chrysalis a snake like monster. It has as much initiative as was stored in the Chrysalis and can only make decisive attacks. Each time initiative is lost to this evocation’s prerequisite, the creature gains that initiative to a maximum of 10. If the creature is reduced to 0 initiative, makes a successful decisive attack, or leaves , it dissolves into water. The spawn has no health levels, instead attacks deal initiative damage to it, inflicting one additional level for every 4 dice of damage rolled. The Exalt may spend 4m to spawn another in the same scene, but may only have one creature at a time.
Chrysalis Spawn
Attack (Exalt’s Awareness+Melee+Essence). Damage (Lower of initiative or the Exalt’s initiative + trigger exposure to Well of Black Depth’s poison)
Combat Movement: (10+Essence) dice
Evasion: (1+Exalt’s Awareness) Parry: (1+Exalt’s Melee)
Soak: (12+Essence) Hardness: (6+Essence)
Dissonant: Wielders dissonant with Jade cannot master this evocation.
Resonant: The maximum initiative of the Chrysalis and its spawn is increased to (10+Essence).
Horrors Lurk Beneath
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite: Birthing Mother Hydra
Below the surface, in the darkest depths, there are always more terrors below. This evocation can be activated in place of its prerequisite, causing the Chrysalis to spawn up to (Essence) creatures. The initiative stored in the Chrysalis must be divided evenly, to a minimum of three, and then gains an additional initiative. For example, a Chrysalis with 10 initiative can be turned into 3 creatures with 3, 3, and 4 initiative (which then becomes 4, 4, and 5). Each time initiative is drained from the Well of Black Depth’s poison, it goes into the Chrysalis, allowing the Exalt to spend 4m to spawn another creature reflexively when she chooses. She may only have up to (Essence) creatures at once, but she may choose to fuse two or more together to have their initiatives combines (up to the maximum of their normal initiative pools in this evocation’s prerequisite).
One Hundred Severed Heads Become 10,000 Jaws
Cost: 15m; Mins: Essence 5
Type: Simple
Keywords: Perilous, Resonant
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite: Horrors Lurk Beneath
Special Activation Rules: Only wielders resonant with Jade or the Abyssal exalted may unlock this evocation.
Stabbing her spear into the Crysalis formed by Birthing Mother Hydra or Horrors Lurk Beneath, the Exalt calls any spawned creatures back to her as water rushes around her body, raising her upwards in a tentacled multi-headed mass that she floats inside of. In order to activate this evocation, the Exalt must have 15+ initiative. In this form, she gains the following benefits:
For the purpose of feats of strength, she counts as having a strength of 6 and rolls 12 dice towards those actions.
Her soak becomes (13+1 for every spawn consumed by this charm), her hardness becomes (10+1 for every spawn consumed by this charm) and she gains an additional health track that must be overcome before she can be harmed.
She has three -0 levels, (Essence) -1 health levels, and (Essence+3) -2 and -4 health levels. If all of these health levels are filled, the evocation ends immediately.
The Exalt gains Legendary Size in her Hydra form. Smaller enemies can not inflict onslaught penalties without magic, nor can they crash her without a post-soak damage pool of 10+ dice. Decisive damage against her Hydra form’s health levels cannot exceed the attacker’s (Strength+3) without magic. Smaller creatures cannot grapple, knock back, or otherwise move her in her Hydra form. As a creature of Legendary Size, she ignores these benefits when she fights Warstriders, Tyrant Lizards, etc.
In addition to her normal action for the round (which must be something that an enormous hydra made of searing briny water can take), she may take a devastating action each round. The devastating action may be used to reflexively make an attack against either an enemy battle group or all trivial opponents within range of the pilot’s weapon.
Instead of making an attack, the Exalt may have up to (Essence) heads strike at different targets. She rolls her (Dexterity+Melee) with (Essence) non-charm dice added opposed by her target’s (Dexterity+Athletics) roll. Failure indicates immediate re-exposure to Well of Black Depth’s poison.
At the end of the scene or when this charm ends from damage, the Exalt hits the ground, body severely dehydrated, filling her health boxes to the -4 with lethal damage. This charm may only be used once per story unless reset by completing a defining or legendary social goal through water-based mass destruction.
“Anything covered by this frost can be altered by supernatural means”, the can is actually can’t, right?
WHOOPS. Sure does
Also sorry I’ve been quiet guys. Hopefully will have something up soonish (though it may start to move away from Exalted related as my campaign comes to a close). That being said, I also have a discord for the new Scion 2e for anyone who wants to join
(This is a 3e conversion of the artifact sword of Brillian Shattered Ice found on Lords of Creation pg 148).
Born at the dawn of the Solars, the genius Twilight, Brillian Shattered Ice, took her name from one of the many fallen enemies of the gods. Its death formed a frozen wasteland of ice, cultivated and experimented on by Brilliant Shattered Ice herself as she turned the unmelting body of the fallen one and carved it both into her necklace and an unfinished blade. Her necklace became a sign of her victory and her genius.
Her blade needed more still. In her empire city of Tzatli, she took apart the frozen graces of several Raksha, melting them to a freezing broth in her saphire palace, dipping orichalcum until it was blanched white. Its temperature dropped, but its chill was nothing to her pale northern skin, even as she tempered the ice around the white orichalcum center and quenched it once more in the freezing liquid souls.
Broad and thin, Cruel Wisdom holds a single hearthstone socket. Frost seems to pour from the blade like wisdom pours from the mind of its artificer. She is a scientist first and warriors second, but her desire to test new sorceries and artifacts has more than once led her into the Deep Wyld to seek out suitable foes for her blade.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Medium (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 5)
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Balanced
Hearthstone slots: 1
Era: War of the Gods
Evocations of Cruel Wisdom
While wielding Cruel Wisdom, an exalt attuned to the daiklave adds her (Occult) to her Soak and (Occult/2) to her Hardness against damaging sorcerous effects and similar charms and abilities from demons and fair folk alike. The Twilight caste anima explicitly stacks with this effect. In addition, the wielder may add (Occult/2) to her Resolve against glamours, illusions, and shaping effects, which the sword cuts through with ease and grace.
The chill that permeates her blade freezes magics so that they may be shattered like ice by her blade. By activating this charm, the wielder may reflexively “Clash” a Shape Sorcery action with a Countermagic action. In addition, this can be used to clash a glamour or illusion cast by a fair folk, overcoming it breaks the effect on the Exalt automatically, though other targets are still affected, if applicable.
Rather than dealing normal initiative damage, if she reduces the spell to 0 sorcerous motes or if she overcomes the fair folk’s glamour, the essence they wield is frozen, reducing their defenses by 1 until the end of the Exalt’s next turn. This evocation uses up the Exalt’s turn for the round, or causes her to skip her next turn if she has acted already.
Resonant: This evocation does not count as the Exalt’s action for the round. In addition, the Exalt is always considered to know the spell that they are countering as long as she is initiated into the proper circle.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation awakens automatically for any sorcerer not dissonant with Orichalcum.
Northern Wing and Claw Flight
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: None
Cruel Wisdom was worn on the waist of Brilliant Shattered Ice as she learned and mastered the secrets of flying beasts, both those found inside Creation and the enemies outside of it. The wielder may throw the daiklave as if it were a Medium Artifact Thrown weapon with the Lethal, and Thrown (Short) tag. It returns to its owners hand as long as an attack roll made with it is not a botch.
Resonant: A wielder who resonates with Orichalcum can thrown the weapon as if it had Thrown (Medium) instead.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation cannot be purchased with experience points. It instead awakens at no cost the first time the wielder defeats a non-trivial flying opponent.
Circle of Frozen Meditation
Cost: 3m, 2i; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Duration: One round
Prerequisite: Shattered Ice Slash
Frozen to the core, Cruel Wisdom finds respite in its own frigidity. Whenever the wielder successfully parries or resists a sorcerous, glamourous, or illusionary effect, the magic of that effect freezes, becoming a barrier of ice around the Exalt and her sword, allowing her to reflexively gain the benefits of a Full Defense until the beginning of her next turn.
Sky-Defying Cruelty
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Circle of Frozen Meditation
Brilliant Shattered Ice held no exalt to be her equal. What she attempted, she succeeded at. Where she succeeded, others failed to match her. Whenever the Exalt Counterspells an opposing sorcerer, each 10 on her roll stores a sorcerous mote inside of Cruel Wisdom, stolen away from her lesser peer, which can be spent towards any spell she may cast. Sorcerous motes banked in her artifact are lost at the end of the scene.
Dissonant: Characters dissonant with Orichalcum cannot learn this evocation.
Resonant: Characters resonant with Orichalcum can draw more than just motes from the frozen blade, they can draw magic itself. The exalt may learn one spell from the Terrestrial circle that can be used only while she is wielding Cruel Wisdom. This spell takes on thematically appropriate elements (For example, Flight of the Brilliant Raptor instead becomes Flight of the Frigid Petrel, while a cirrus skiff sprinkles down powder snow as it flies). If she pays the spells experience point cost, she may draw out another spell from the daiklave.
Frozen Soul Blade
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Northern Wing and Claw Flight, Circle of Frozen Meditation
Spells frozen and shattered by their sword are nothing more than ice, for their true powers has been drawn into the blade. Whenever the Exalt successfully parries, resists, or clashes a spell, an attack made through a simple-charm, a glamour, or an illusion, she may draw (Opponent’s Essence) sorcerous motes into her blade which can be spent towards any spell she casts. Any sorcerous motes that remain at the end of the scene are lost.
Cirrus Striking Saber
Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-only, Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Frozen Soul Blade
To master something is only the beginning of study - for others have secrets to learn. With unerring accuracy, her weapon finds these secrets, and steals them. This evocation supplements a decisive Thrown attack made with Cruel Wisdom, granting double 9s on the attack roll. If the opponent is taking a Shape Sorcery action, then the attack receives double 8s instead. In addition for each 10 that comes up in the damage roll, the opponent loses one sorcerous mote. If they do not have enough sorcerous motes or are not shaping, they lose that many motes instead. If they do not have enough motes or are incapable of manipulating essence, they lose as many sorcerous motes and motes as possible and then lose 1wp if there is still remainder.
Dissonant: A character dissonant with Orichalcum cannot master this evocation.
Resonant: Each 8, 9, and 10 on the damage roll drains a mote from her opponent.
Prerequisite: Frozen Soul Blade, Sky Defying Cruelty, Celestial Circle Sorcery
Resonant: This evocation can only be used by a wielder resonant with Cruel Wisdom.
Cruel Wisdom learns. Cruel Wisdom punishes those who do not. Such is the blade’s nature, for wisdom is cruel to the ignorant. Whenever the Solar parries any Simple-type charm attack, sorcery, glamour, clashes such an effect and wins, or successfully counter spells such an effect, she freezes the essence in the air and forms a barrage of striking icicles against the source out to Medium range. This is a undodgeable decisive attack made with Intelligence + Thrown. If she hits, the Solar rolls (Opponent’s Essence + Occult) dice of damage and does not reset to base initiative. If the effect was a sorcery, she deals 1 level of automatic damage if the attack hits for each circle of the spell.
This evocation can only be used once per scene unless reset by successfully casting a a spell from the Terrestrial circle whose sorcerous motes are at least partially drawn from Cruel Wisdom. The 2nd time this is used in a scene, this condition changes to Celestial circle. The 3rd time this is used in a scene, the Solar must cast a spell of the Solar circle to reset this effect.
In addition, when the Solar learns this evocation, she may draw a Celestial Circle spell from Cruel Wisdom as Sky-Defying Cruelty’s effect.
Cold Snap Spirit Mien
Cost: 12m (6m); Mins: Essence 4
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite: Mystic Glacial Mirror Cascade
With the Exalt’s soul, she proclaims her own triumph over the long slain Brilliant Shattered Ice. This evocation may be used whenever the Solar is at the iconic display of anima, immediately creating a vast blizzard drawn from her own soul. All beings except the Exalt are subject to an environmental hazard that deals 1L each round that ignores hardness. In addition, this extreme cold distorts and disrupts magic. Sorcery not cast by the Exalt herself requires (Essence) additional sorcerous motes to complete, while the charms of fair folk and demons require (Essence) additional motes.
If the Exalts anima ever falls below the iconic level, this evocation ends. If the Exalt later enters into iconic again, this charm can be reactivated for only 6m in the same scene.
As a rumble proceeds an avalance, the Exalt’s attack simply leads into something far more grand. After making an attack with Falling Icicle Strike with Cruel Wisdom, for each 10 on the damage roll, the Exalt adds an automatic success to a Shape Sorcery or Counterspell action taken on the next round.
Prismatic Permafrost Contemplation
Cost: 15m, 1wp, Mins: Essence 5
Type: Simple
Keywords: Perilous
Duration: One day
Prerequisite: Cold Snap Spirit Mien, Solar Circle Sorcery
The Solar’s genius is paramount to indestructibility. Brilliant Shattered Ice was said to wield her sword both as tool to experiment safely with her sorcery and a weapon for invading the Wyld through the use of this legendary evocation. By touching her blade to the ground, the Solar covers an area of up to 1 mile in a layer of frost that freezes it in place. Trivial opponents, scenery, and the like are frozen automatically, non-Trivial opponents with Essence lower than her own may pay 1wp to avoid this frost. Opponents with an Essence score equal or higher to her own are unaffected.
Being frozen prevents a character from acting for the duration, but provides some benefits as well. Anything covered by this frost can not be altered by supernatural means. A raksha’s rampage will fail to shape a single frozen leaf and the spell Benediction of Archgenesis will find the land impervious to its overgrowth.
In addition, a Solar who awakens this charm may draw a single Solar circle spell from her daiklave as Sky-Defying Cruelty.
Lost Egg’s Resolution (White Jade Thunderbolt Shield ***)
In the South, the blade of a burning ifrit warlord strikes down against the White Jade shield of a single Dragon-blooded defending his family. In the North, a fair folk’s scream turns all but the shield-bearing Dragon-blooded Adygea defends her mount. In the East, a behemoths claws are turned away as they strike the shield held by a single child with skin and hair as red as copper born not long after House Tepet’s legions passed through.
How Lost Egg’s Resolution arrives where it does is unclear, but it has been wielded by a hundred Dragon-blooded in all four directions since the days of the Contagion cut them off from their connections. Each of these Lost Eggs (as the Realm calls those poor souls born outside of it) seems to find the artifact in their time of greatest need and lose it when they no longer require it.
The pristine White Jade this shield is carved from causes it to glisten in the sun like alabaster. A single hearthstone can be set in the inner wall of the rectangular shield that stands nearly as tall as its wielder. Picking it up, the Exalt knows it is a tool of protection - a tool to fight against foes they could not otherwise beat.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Medium (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 4)
Tags: Bashing, Melee, Shield
Hearthstone slot(s): 1
Era: The Great Contagion
Evocations of Lost Egg’s Resolution
Lost Egg’s Resolution seemingly can never be held onto forever, but will always save the Exalt until she no longer needs it. Should the wielder face an enemy that threatens a defining intimacy of her own, she increase her Parry by +1 and her Soak by (Essence). However, within the next 24 hours after that conflict has ended, she will find herself unattuned with the experience cost of any evocations purchased refunded to her.
Stand for Ten Thousand
Cost: 2m, 2i; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
While defending her home, her people, her family, the Exalt and her shield stand indomitable. While fighting and enemy who threatens a target of her intimacies, she may activate this evocation to reduce his attack’s raw damage by the strength of that intimacy or increase her hardness by the same. If her soak is greater than her enemies damage pool, then their minimum damage is not applied. The shield absorbs the entirety of the attack.
This charm can only be used once per scene per intimacy that is applicable.
Special Activation Rules: As long as the wielder is not dissonant with Jade, this evocation awakens at no cost when she attunes to Lost Egg’s Resolution.
I Am Many, You Are One
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Uniform, Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Stand for Ten Thousand
No matter how large the foe, the Exalted is not just one person, she is all those she defends. She will topple mountains before they can fall on those she loves. Supplementing an attack made by Lost Egg’s Resolution allows the wielder to ignore the Legendary Size merit on an opponent for that attack.
Dissonant: A wielder dissonant with Jade can only partially overcome the size of her foe. She may crash a foe if her post-soak damage is (10-Essence) dice of damage. Her decisive attacks can deal a maximum of (3 + Higher of Essence or Strength) levels of damage.
Resonant: An Essence 3+ repurchase of this evocation allows the Exalt to share her resolution. For the next round after hitting with an attack supplemented by this evocation, all of her allies can spend 1wp to ignore the creature’s Legendary Size as well.
I Am Their Wall
Cost: 5m, 3i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: One round
Prerequisite: Stand for Ten Thousand
When she takes a stand, her shield raised, nothing may harm those the Exalt wards. This evocation is a special defend other action that defends all targets up to Short range who the Exalt has a Major or higher intimacy towards. She might protect an entire apartment in Nexus from a strike or the entirety of her circle fighting by her side.
If the Exalt activates this evocation multiple times in a single scene, waive the willpower cost for subsequent activations.
Resonant: This evocation can protect anyone out to Medium range as long as the Exalt holds a Defining intimacy towards them.
Insurmountable Pillar Aegis
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Dissonant
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Stand for Ten Thousand
A mountain does not sway in the breeze nor does it rock in a hurricane. This evocation cements the strongest beliefs of the Exalt in her weakest ones and vice versa, creating an infinite pillar of stability to draw on. She may choose one Minor, one Major, and one Defining intimacy when she learns this evocation. All three of these intimacies count as higher than all other intimacies for the purpose of decision points. If a Psyche effect would cause her to betray one of these, she may spend 1wp to resist that effect even if magic would normally prevent a decision point of require multiple willpower to resist.
Dissonant: Wielders dissonant with Jade cannot master this evocation.
Wall of the Indomitable Guardian
Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: I Am Many, You Are One, I Am Their Wall, Insurmountable Pillar Aegis
Resonant: Only wielders resonant with Jade can learn Wall of the Indomitable Guardian.
Nothing can topple her beliefs, therefore nothing can topple the Dragon-blooded who takes up the shield in defense of all she lives for. This evocation allows the Exalt to perfectly parry any attack that would be directed at her or someone within Medium range who is a defining intimacy of hers after the attack has been rolled. This evocation can only be used to stop an attack from an enemy who directly threatens or opposes her defining intimacy.
This evocation can only be used once per story, but can be reset by permanently defeating a foe who represents a threat to one of her defining intimacies. Almost invariably, invoking this charm signals the end of the Exalt’s time with Lost Egg’s Resolution, but a few heroes have lived in times that call for them to invoke this evocation multiple times before the shield passes hands.
When Princess Magnificent moved her force of undead beyond the boundaries of the House of Bitter Reflections, her reign seemed unstoppable until three gods stood against her and brought about her shameful defeat. But their steadfast protection did not spare the lives of many who fell - mortal, god and Exalt alike.
Before the full threat of the Deathlords could be understood, the ancient sidereal Elegrey the Many faced off against the Black Heron herself. Though she made 1000 cuts, not a single one marred the porcelain skin of the magnificent Princess who seemed to revel in delight of her own power. When the vizier fell, her blade entered the hands of the powerful servant of the Neverborn and she had the Starmetal striped from the weapon and reforged in layers of Soulsteel.
Of course, with the downfalll of her conquest of Great Forks, the newly dubbed Nychthemeron was taken along with the rest of the Princess’ panoply and bequeathed to the First and Forsaken Lion, whose own Deathknight now wields the blade with terrifying efficiency.
Attunement: 6m
Type: Medium (+1 ACC, +14 DMG, +0 DEF, OVW 5)
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Reaching, Two-handed
Hearthstone slots: 2
Era: Time of Tumult
Evocations of Nychthemeron
Nychthemeron cuts time like flesh torn to ribbons. Those hit by its decisive attacks age a number of decades equal to the wound penalty inflicted (though this is not cumulative, receiving a -1 penalty ages a character 10 years. If a later wound increases that penalty to -4, then the character ages 30 more years, not 40). This effect is never fatal to spirits or Exalted, but a mortal general of 60 years of age may fall as he turns to 80 or even 100 instantly. Exalted wounded by this weapon are often left with signs of premature aging, streaks of gray in their hair or crows feet forming on their otherwise eternally youthful face. Players may always dictate how these features look cool rather than disfiguring if they so choose.
Any non-Mortal character who chooses to take a crippling injury to avoid death is instead aged significantly. A Dragon-blooded ages a century for every two health levels negated. A Celestial Exalted ages 500 years for every health level avoided. Any character killed by Nychthemeron shrivels into an elderly corpse. Sidereals are immune to this supernatural aging.
In addition, some evocations reference “Age”. For a mortal, this is each period of a decade they have lived. For a Dragon-blooded, this is each period of 100 years. For a Celestial exalt, this is each period of 500 years. This is a minimum of 1 and includes the effects of the artifact’s damage. (ie. A 20 year old mortal who takes a penalty equal to their age receives a -2 penalty, while a Solar Exalt of the same age takes a -1 penalty. If they were to receive a -2 wound penalty inflicted by Nychthemeron, this would increase to a -4 penalty (40 years) for the mortal or a -2 penalty (1020 years) for the Solar.)
Lifetimes Measured in Footsteps
Cost: 2m, 1i; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
As time flows forward, the blade of the Grimscythe cuts away the moment the Exalt moves. As long as the Exalt’s movement action took her to Short range of one enemy, she automatically moves forward an additional range band into Close range of her target.
Dissonant: This evocation cannot be used unless the target she moves into Close range with has lower initiative than her own.
Watching the sun fall seems to slow it down, but the flashing scythe moves at the same speed regardless of if watched or not. The Exalt may activate this evocation to enhance any or all decisive-attacks made in the first turn after she has won Join Battle. Time seems to slow down for her opponents as they watch her move, unable to react. Her attack becomes unexpected, inflicting a -2 penalty to the defense of anyone caught by her time-slicing blade.
Resonant: A character who resonates with Soulsteel instead makes her first attack as an Ambush attack.
Special Activation Rules: If the Exalt is not dissonant with Soulsteel, this evocation can be unlocked at no cost by successfully crashing or incapacitating a non-trivial enemy the first round of combat.
Shattered Hourglass Flow
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Lifetimes Measured in Footsteps
When the hourglass cracks open, the sand falls where it is tipped, whether that be onto the ground or onto the blade of Nychthemeron. When an opponent attempts to disengage from the wielder of the grimscythe, she takes a penalty based on her age to her dice pool.
Sacrificial Dust Harvesting
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Seconds Become Hours
As her opponent ages, the Exalt drinks in that succulent essence of youth. Whenever the Exalt successfully uses this evocations prerequisite, she adds the age benefit of her opponent to her base initiative. If she struck multiple opponents, only the highest bonus initiative is counted.
Resonant: If a wielder resonant with Soulsteel increases her base initiative to higher than all other opponents with this evocation, she may immediately act again, seeming to strike multiple times before time even flows.
Special Activation Rules: Those dissonant with Soulsteel cannot activate this evocation.
Centuries Pass Like Moments
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Seconds Become Hours, Agile Dragonfly Blade
The Solar has learned to move with supernatural speed, but moving so fast as time slows around her only disrupts her opponents further. The Solar may pay 3m to count her initiative as 3 higher for the purpose of activating Seconds Become Hours. This does not increase her actual initiative nor does it change her initiative order, it merely allows her to catch even her fastest opponents off guard.
Spinning Nychthemeron in a circle around her, the Exalt does not simply cut away a moment, she cuts away all the time she needs. The Exalt makes up to (1+Essence) decisive attacks against one or many targets, all of whom may be up to Medium range away from her. She must split her initiative evenly between these attacks. If she used this attack with Seconds Become Hours, then each attack gains a base damage equal to the Age penalty of the opponent it hits.
This evocation can only be used once per scene.
Resonant: A resonant wielder can reset this evocation by raising her initiative to 15+.
Ancient Doom Countdown
Cost: 8m, 3i; Mins: Essence 4
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decsisive-Only, Perilous, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Time Sheared Away
Resonant: This evocation can only be mastered by those who resonate with Soulsteel.
Nychthemeron can cut through time, past, present, future. With a single slice, the wielder of the grimscythe cuts the the targets life from the Loom of Fate and leaves their life up to The Doom. The Doom functions as a poison applied by a successful Decisive attack. The Exalt rolls initiative as normal, but instead of dealing damage, every 2 successes adds 1 round to the duration of the The Doom and a base duration of (age penalty) rounds. Targets take their age penalty to the Stamina+Resistance roll to avoid The Doom and it deals 5i / round. Sidereals under The Doom are aged normally by it’s strikes.
If the The Doom crashes the target, then all initiative it stripped away is immediately granted to the wielder. If this causes her initiative to rise above that of all other opponents, she may activate Seconds Become Hours as if she had just won join battle.
Ancient Doom Countdown can only be activated once per story unless reset by completing a Major or Legendary social goal that involves killing a being of at least 100 years of age, including immortal beings such as gods and demons.
Eternal Promises (Orichalcum and Moonsilver Hearthstone Bracers ***)
In the First Age, Sokachi Red-Eyes presented to his beloved Solar mate twin pairs of Hearthstone Bracers. Two were forged from golden orichalcum, two were forged of shimmering moonsilver. He had forged them for Tarku in hopes of winning the Solar’s affections, but their love was not to be.
The Golden Bull, Tarku, paragon of virtue, had fallen for the equally beautiful Shining Bisento, the Eclipse of his circle. While the gift was well received from the Lunar, he instead offered them to his circle mate as a proposal, binding their marriage vows onto the silver and gold bracers to link them forevermore. While neither their love nor their lives lasted beyond the Usurpation, Tarku’s newest incarnation found the hearthstone bracers buried with her former self.
Donning them, she bound to them and once more reunited with her former wife, now reborn in the present age as an Abyssal. Those are, however, tales for another day and another story...
These actually are an item owned by the player in my game, a Zenith caste sorcerer.
Attunement: 2m
Hearthstone sockets: 2
Era: Dreams of the First Age
Evocations of Eternal Promises
A sorcerer who attunes to Eternal Promises can meditate with the bracers to commit up to 10 additional motes to them. When she begins shaping a spell, she may draw up to Essence+2 of these motes out as sorcerous motes until the 10 motes have been withdrawn. These motes count twice each towards the sorcerer’s control spells. Each set of Eternal love has one Moonsilver and one Orichalcum bracer. Exalt’s may be Resonant with either material to gain the benefits.
Vow of Orichalcum Love
Cost: - (+1wp); Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
“Our love will be as eternal as Orichalcum“
Such is the promise of the love between Tarku and Shining Bisento. When the Exalt learns this evocation, she adds the spell Invulnerable Skin of Bronze to her repertoire. Should she choose to pay 1wp when activating it, the spell instead becomes “Invulnerable Skin of Orichalcum” - it gains all of the benefits of being a control spell version of Invulnerable Skin of Bronze. She loses access to this spell should she unattune to Eternal Promises.
Resonant: While she knows this evocation, the Exalt’s skin takes on a golden hue. She adds her Essence to her soak even while the spell is not in effect. This does not stack with other such effects or armor.
Vow of Distant Love
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
“Our love will not be burdened by any distance“
With a single activation of this evocation, the Exalt learns the general direction of the wearer of the other set of bracers as well as their current emotional state. If the other is wounded or in pain, then the Exalt learns that as well. Should both wearers of Eternal Promises know this evocation, then the other immediately learns this information about their partner as well with no need to activate this evocation.
Wedding of the Eternally Betrothed
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Vow of Orichalcum Love, Vow of Distant Love, Celestial Circle Sorcery
Drawing on her bond with her soul mate, the Exalt learns to conjure the perfect home for herself and her lover. Learning this evocation allows the Exalt to master the spell Ivory Orchid Pavilion and use it as if it were a control spell for as long as she remains attuned to Eternal Promises.
Resonant: A character Resonant with Moonsilver or Orichalcum may master an additional shaping ritual appropriate to Eternal Promises.
Very likely the artifact possesses additional evocations to draw out Solar level sorcery, but what these could be are unknown to its current wielder.
The Usurpation left weapons of immense power strewn across battlefields and impaled of Exalts of great power. Many Lawgivers saw their panoplies buried with them, both to appease their spirits and to lock these weapons away from hands that would abuse the might as the Solars themselves had.
The paradoxical nature of the Blade That Was, forged from the blood of the enemies of the gods slashed through the tapestry of fate as it fell from its master’s hand and so the Sidereal Charun Bahk’lain asked the Maidens themselves for their aid. Each told him what to do with the sword and each told him something different.
He took the Grand Daiklave to his manse in Creation, fearing the disaster that would occur should he dare bring the weapon to Yu Shan, and he hammered it into five separate pieces. He alloyed each with Jade to bind them to Creations laws and he then forged each into a weapon dedicated to a Maiden. Memories of these weapons are all but lost. Wayfire, the Weapon of Mercury, is no longer associated with her name as it is fired off by a soldier of Lookshy who has taken residence in Nexus. Where the other four can be found is lost to all but Jupiter’s most private archives.
Wayfire is blessed by the Golden Barque and all the constellations associated with it, this is expressed through Polarity - it’s desire to move towards its target. Each time an Aim action is taken towards a target, add 1 to their Polarity. Each time a successful attack is made, add 2 to a target’s Polarity. Only a single target at a time can have Polarity in a scene and taking an Aim or Attack action against any other target reduces Polarity to 0.
When taking an Aim action against a target with 4 or more Polarity, convert two dice from the Aim action to one automatic non-charm success instead.
At Polarity of 7+, convert all 3 dice from the Aim action into 2 non-charm successes.
At Polarity of 10, convert all 3 dice from the Aim action into 3 non-charm successes.
Cross-Creation Pull
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
There is no where in Creation that the pull of polarity cannot draw the blast of Wayfire. Against a target with Polarity, this evocation allows Wayfire to be shot from Medium range. If the target has at least 5 Polarity, then this evocation allows Wayfire to be shot from Long range against them.
Special Activation Rules: As long as the wielder is not dissonant with jade, this evocation awakens on attunement.
Flame-Drawing Lodestone
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Cross-Creation Pull
As firedust empties from her weapon, Wayfire pulls in its own ammunition, drawn so to its target. As long as her attack includes a target with Polarity, the wielder may activate charms that would normally not be permitted with a slow weapon, such as Trance of Unhesitating Speed. In addition, the Exalt may choose to forego adding Polarity when Aiming at an opponent to reflexively reload her devil caster.
Weapon-Drawing Force
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Clash, Dissonant, Perilous
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Flame-Drawing Lodestone
The call towards her target pulls the Exalt’s hand and presses down her finger on Wayfire’s trigger. Whenever her opponent with at least Polarity 5 attacks her, she may activate this evocation to reflexively clash the attack with a Withering attack. Her opponent’s Polarity is reduced by four points. If the wielder of Wayfire succeeds, she does not roll damage, but still gains the 1 initiative for successfully attacking her target and increases his polarity by 1.
Dissonant: This evocation reduces her opponent’s Polarity to 0, regardless of how much Polarity he had built up.
Iron Needle Discharge
Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Flame-Drawing Lodestone
A single shot of electricity discharges from her devil caster, arcing around the opponent before polarizing them towards the weapon. This evocation creates a special Magnetize gambit. If the Exalt hits, she rolls her initiative against Difficulty 5. If she is successful, then for the remainder of the scene, the opponent struck is Magnetized. They generate 1 polarity automatically at the start of each turn. Should the Exalt change targets, his Polarity is reduced to 0 as normal, however he remains magnetized - should she return to dealing with the magnetized opponent, he resumes gaining Polarity again the next round.
Dissonant: This evocation cannot be learned by wielders dissonant with Jade
Resonant: Exalts resonating with Wayfire need only to succeed at a Difficulty 3 gambit instead.
Mercurial Devil’s Chase
Cost: 1m / die; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Weapon-Drawing Force, Iron Needle Discharge
Fire flies like devils chasing down a victim, following a course known only to Mercury herself. This spiraling strikes supplements a distraction, disarm, or magnetize gambit against a target with at least 3 Polarity. The target loses 2 points of Polarity, but for each point of Polarity remaining, the Exalt can reroll one die in the attack roll that came up a failure.
Star-Stone’s Course
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Iron Needle Discharge, Seven Omens Shot
Her shot is directed by stars and omens, attracted to chase the opponent to the ends of Creation if it must, and Wayfire becomes more and more desperate to fulfill destiny the longer it waits. When taking the long Aim action created by Seven Omens Shot, each round spent aiming generates 2 polarity.
Five Paths, Single Destination
Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Mercurial Devil’s Chase
Resonant: Only wielders who resonate with Jade can master this evocation.
Fire is pulled from her gun, chasing down whoever has attracted the attention of her barrel. Against a target with 10 Polarity, this evocation reduces their Polarity to 0 to immediately make an undodgeable decisive attack. If the blast overcomes the Parry of her opponent, the Exalt may reroll up to (Essence) failed dice in the damage roll as the flames of her devil caster seem to cling to them.
I’ve got a party of four Essence 2 Solars, a Zenith, and Dawn, and two Twilights. Would a nephwrack be too much, too easy, or a good challenge? I’m looking for a fight that will stress them, but not murder them. Should I give the nephwrack some minions as well?
Nephwracks have some pretty crazy abilities including an initiative damage over time effect that occurs once per turn. Might be a bit on the strong side for Essence 2 depending on if they can raise their Wits + Integrity pools.
Singer of the Deep All sailors shrink from the terrible, ear-piercing song of these flying humanoid creatures. Reminiscent of human fish blended with legends of mermaids, these scaly creatures sport wings on their backs, large fins that spread out and enable the singers to glide while in the air....
So the other day people were talking about these guys and I’m gonna run a game in the West so I figured I might convert them anyway… Here they are for Exalted Third Edition! Any feedback is appreciated, especially if you have any suggestions for Fearsome Song!
Business and Pleasure (Orichalcum Devil Casters ***)
These are inspired by @theuncrucified. While Koh’s character is in 2e, I loved the story and the artifacts and asked the author if it would be ok to turn them into some neat 3e firewands. If you haven’t read it, you absolutely should.
-
Found in an archeological dig turned betrayal by the Merchant Prince Ahrun Vadras, the twin weapons of ancient craft, forged of the demon-gold Orichalcum were inherited by his daughter, Kalara Vadras, the Uncrucified as she fled Nexus under false accusations with the Unconquered Sun’s protection leaving all speechless staring at the newly born Anathema.
The tale of the flame firing weapons did not tie itself to the name of the one bountiful Guild merchant however, but rather tales spread of the Bandit King, Koh, the Righteous Devil who freed the slaves of the East and spurred them towards the free city. And the free city was managed by the Pristine Guild and its head, the daughter of a merchant who would never again let the Guild hide its shame in her light.
She burned her enemies to ash and from those ashes rose Dinas Rhydd, the free city that would change the future of Creation.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Medium (+1/+5/+3/+1/-1 ACC, +12L, OVW 4)
Tag: Lethal, Archery (Short), Flame, Slow, One-handed, Mounted
Hearthstone Slots: 2
Era: Dreams of the First Age
Evocations of Business and Pleasure
Forged before the fall of the First Age, Business and Pleasure’s golden hues shine brighter in the hands of the Solars they were forged for. A Solar Exalted pays no additional motes to attune to both weapons. Exalted who are not resonant with orichalcum instead pay a 2m surcharge to attune to both weapons. Exalted who are dissonant with Orichalcum must attune to both firewands separately (10m total).
In addition, the two weapons burn brightest together, not alone. Anytime the Solar reloads one devil caster, she may reload both with the same action.
Chains Melt Away
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
Like the nails that melted to slag in the palms of The Uncrucified, with a gout of heavenly fire, the Exalted condemns the bonds that bind herself or others. This charm creates a single attack that automatically destroys mundane locks, shackles, or other implements holding a target captive. In combat, if one of her opponents could somehow contest her action, she must succeed at a Gambit (Difficulty 3). Chains, locks, and bonds made from the five magical materials are never fully destroyed with this, but instead the Exalt must make a difficulty 5 (Dexterity + Archery or Martial Arts) check to cause them to open under the extreme heat. This never harms those the Exalt frees with this evocation, but the Exalt must have at least one hand free to melt her own chains.
Special Activation Rules: As long as the wielder is not dissonant with Orichalcum, this evocation awakens at no cost after attuning to both weapons.
At Essence 3+, this evocation can be repurchased by anyone not dissonant with Orichalcum. This allows the solar to make a difficulty 5 (Dexterity + Archery or Martial Arts) check to “break” magical bondage, such as a demon’s binding or a Yasal Crystal’s hold on a spirit or even the spell Corrupted Words.
Inner Hearth Bellows
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: None
Firedust serves a firewand only so well, but the Exalt has no need when she herself is the flame that purifies enemies. Each of the Exalt’s firewands can be fired up to double her (current Anima Level) times in a round before needing to be reloaded, however after each action, she must still reload. As such, she may use multi-attack charms that the Slow tag would otherwise prevent, as long as she makes no more than that many attacks. For example, using Trance of Unhesitating Speed at the Dim level, she could make up to two attacks between her two devil casters or up to six while she was iconic.
Like the Unconquered Sun opened his heart to Kalara, the Exalt learns to open her heart and fire its flames from her weapon. This charm enhances a Decisive attack that supports one of her intimacies, adding bonus dice to the raw damage equal to the strength of that intimacy.
Resonant: A solar, while at the iconic anima stage, may let her entire soul fill Business and Pleasure. For each level of anima she reduces herself, she may choose to apply an additional intimacy to boost her raw damage, though she may use only one intimacy of each strength (for a maximum of 9 bonus damage from drawing on a Defining, Major, and Minor intimacy).
Inside each of the firewands is the story of Koh, the Bandit King. This evocation creates an immediate persona for Heart-Eclipsing Shroud that does not count against the Solar’s maximum number of personas. While players may choose to add additional intimacies, he always has the following
Defining: I will end the profits made on the scarred backs of fellow men
Defining: The slave trade of the Guild will be brought to an end
Major: The Guild is full of real monsters
Major: My heart knows the fire’s path and my enemies are purified in its flames.
Major: The people, are the perpetuators of change. Their dreams will shape the future of Creation.
Minor: I am possessed only by my own passion. I am no Anathema.
In addition, Koh lives in the legend of the Righteous Devil. The Exalt may learn Righteous Devil Style charms without a tutor, however these charms may only be used while adopting the persona of Koh. Should the Exalt find a proper tutor, she may spend the normal training times to use these charms equally across any persona she dons, including her original self.
Golden Devil Castigation
Cost: 7m, 4i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Resonant, Dissonant
Duration: One Round
Prerequisite: Freed Heart Flames
As the Exalt takes a moment to simply stare down at her foes down the barrel of a devil caster and they freeze up. She does not enslave them, they bind themselves in the chains of their own twisted sins. The Exalt rolls (Charisma + Presence) against the Resolve of all targets out to Short range. If they defy one of her intimacies, she gains that many bonus dice to the roll. If she is successful, she may initiate an immediate grapple gambit upon all of them, rolling her full initiative and using Charisma + Presence in place of Strength + Brawl. The Exalt may act normally and is not restricted by this grapple, nor is her defense penalized. Targets who would be considered innocent by the Exalted or who the Exalt holds a positive intimacy towards are unaffected, even if they currently stand against her. While her foes still take the -2 penalty to defense, -1 (or -3 for two handed weapons) to attack, and are incapable of moving until the end of her next turn, the Exalt may not take any normal grapple actions against them.
While the Exalt’s anima is displayed at the iconic anima level, these chains become visible golden constructs binding her foes.
Resonant: Resonant wielders extend the range of the grapple effect to Medium range.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation cannot be awakened with experience points. Instead a non-dissonant Exalted must complete a Major, Defining, or Legendary Social Goal that is compatible with the intimacies of Koh, the Bandit King (see Silver-Tongued Devil Style). Dissonant Exalted cannot awaken this evocation by any means.
Golden Devil Judgement
Cost: 5m, 3a; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Golden Devil Castigation, Silver-Tongued Devil Style
Resonant: Only wielders resonant with Orichalcum can learn this evocation.
Seeing the chains that bind those who stand against her, the Exalt aims Business and Pleasure down and burns them away. Those caught in the blaze burn only from their own wrong-doings. This charm can only be used the round after Golden Devil Castigation while the Solar is iconic. All opponents caught in the grapple are immediately consumed in a golden fire, a special savage attack made by this evocation that gains the benefit of Freed Heart Flames automatically.
This evocation can only be used once per story unless reset by completing a major, defining, or legendary social goal compatible with the intimacies of Koh, the Bandit King, though the Solar may wear any persona to perform the deed.
The secrets of the Underworld rarely touch the minds of the Princes of the Earth, but the rare one in a thousand that is born sickly and pale sees that Necromancy is simply an opposite to sorcery and theirs to master. When the pregnant Dragonblooded woman Arvensis followed her husband, the soldier of the Seventh Legion, Veld Spearfire, to war, the couple returned to Lookshy with a child born in one of the East’s many Shadowlands. They did not expect him to live long, but Mirthless Sallow survived. He never grew strong and yet on his 13th day of his 13th year, fire consumed his soul with an invigorating passion.
His martial skill remained far behind his peers despite Lookshy’s best tutors; the scrolls of knowledge Lookshy held opened new worlds for him while crippling him with migraines; the smoke of his forge gave him a cough that always persisted. His skills with arts far darker than any normal sorcerer could master became an asset in battles and skirmishes and so Lookshy gave him the materials needed to forge armor all his own.
The Red Jade he wove into his buff jacket Mourning Pyre smudged with the gray of dying embers - many claimed it was impure and Sallow claimed they could not see the secrets it held. His sickness and his art killed Mirthless Sallow before his 130th birthday, but with his final request, he was burned in his armor in his funeral pyre. After it was removed, Sijanese funerists resewed new cloth to the unburnt armored pieces - a final step to complete the necromantic artifact.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Medium (Soak +8, Hardness 7, Mobility -1)
Tag: Silent
Hearthstone Slots: 1
Era: Reign of the Scarlet Empress
Evocations of Mourning Pyre
An Exalt who attunes Mourning Pyre may burn bodies in its dying flame. She may touch a body and burn it, preventing the forming of hungry ghosts or its capability to rise as a zombie. This does not automatically send the higher soul to Lethe, and it is entirely possible for the person to appear in the Underworld if they linger as a ghost.
Because of the dying nature infused in Mourning Pyre, Liminal Exalted are neutral with the armor, rather than dissonant.
Consuming Pyre Embers
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
The Exalt’s touch is a funeral pyre and ghosts recoil from it. If she touches a materialized ghost of a mortal (or a dematerialized mortal ghost whom she can touch through charms) with an attack made through a hand-to-hand ability of her choice, she may roll a Cleansing Fire gambit (Difficulty 3) to disperse the ghost until the next sunset plus one additional day for each threshold success. Against a stronger ghost or a zombie, this Cleansing Fire instead deals (Essence) levels of lethal damage as a Hardness ignoring hazard. If defeated by this damage, the ghost cannot reform for (threshold successes) days.
An Exalt awakens this evocation automatically as long as she is not dissonant with Jade
Ashes to Flames Prana
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Dissonant
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Consuming Pyre Embers, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery or Iron Circle Necromancy
Burnt offerings draw in power, and when a ghost burns, Necromancers draw in additional power. Whenever the Exalt slays a ghost using Consuming Pyre Embers, he may draw in sorcerous motes equal to (1+Essence of the ghost). These count as 2 sorcerous motes each towards Necromancy. Sorcerous motes gathered this way are stored in Mourning Pyre until the next sunrise. Mourning Pyre can hold a maximum of (3+Essence) sorcerous motes at once - excess are lost.
Special Activation Rules; As long as she is not dissonant with Jade, the Exalt unlocks this evocation at no cost when she first slays a ghost with Consuming Pyre Embers that has an Essence score at least equal to her own.
Black Malaise Meditation
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Ashes to Flame Prana
Meditating on the secrets of nephwracks and death and black treatises, the sorcerer’s understanding transcends Creation’s living essence. Whenever the Exalt rolls to introduce a fact related to the Underworld, resist the Underworld’s hazards, or takes a social influence action against a ghost, he may pay up to (Occult) motes to activate charms from relevant abilities or evocations (but not excellencies) without spending his actual motes.
These motes can be drawn only once per day, resetting each night as the Exalt meditates with her armor on. The Dawn caste anima banner cannot refresh this limit.
Resonant: The wielder gains (Occult / 2, round down) willpower and (1+Occult) motes that can be spent on the same charms and evocations.
A vigil burns not for a moment, but for the entire dark night of mourning. This evocation allows a Solar to spend 1wp when activating Spirit Cutting Attack - it will function on dematerialized ghosts (but not other spirits) for an entire scene, rather than only one action.
Burning Gaze of Onyx
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive--only, Resonant, Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Black Malaise Meditation
The necromancers eyes burn as she gazes upon a ghost and causes it to suffer the funeral pyre once more. This evocation creates a decisive attack against a ghost rolled with (Perception+Occult). The attack gains a base damage of (Essence) in addition to the wearer’s initiative. If the damage roll for this attack deals at least 6 levels of damage, then the ghost becomes consumed by a bonfire that spreads through the entire range band. Ghosts slain by this attack or the bonfire are sent to Lethe or Oblivion at the wearer’s choice and generate sorcerous motes as Ashes to Flame Prana. This evocation can only be used once per scene unless reset by taking a miscellaneous action to write prayers to a ghost slain in the scene, a difficulty 5 Charisma + Performance roll.
Resonant: Those who resonate with Mourning Pyre feel more alive than ever as they kill death. If they slay a ghost with this evocation, they roll the ghost’s (Essence) and add it to their base initiative when they reset.
Dissonant: Wielders dissonant with Jade cannot awaken this evocation
In the First Age, martial arts flourished as Chosen of Battles and Dawn Castes perfected the understanding of the lotus for martial and intellectual enlightenment. Few such comforts exist in the Second Age, where the reborn Solars face threats that their previous incarnations could not have imagined in their era of dream.
When the vigilante Night caste Lianmin found her Snake Martial arts unfit to face the threat of a modern Creation, she looked to her anima, the glowing diving owl, and learned of its secrets. It was her soul, it was her fighting style, it was her martial arts to master.
Swooping Owl style is a tool of hunting criminals. It is a swift striking style that kills from above unsuspecting prey’s notice. The martial artist emulates the owl, the night’s most dangerous hunter, with lethal intentions against those she hunts.
Inspired by @scuttlemouse‘s character
Swooping Owl Weapons: Swooping owl makes use unarmed attacks through 3-pronged claw strikes. It is also compatible with khatars and sais, making powerful piercing attacks with them. Unarmed attacks can be stunted to deal lethal damage with Swooping Owl style.
Armor: Swooping Owl style is compatible with light armor
Complementary Abilities: Both athletics and stealth serve a Martial Artist of this style well.
Sky Predator Assault
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
Students of Swooping Owl style must master flight like every fledgling raptor does. The Exalted makes a Dexterity + Athletics roll to leap into foliage or cover above, treating this as an action to enter stealth up to one range above her. If she uses a charm to enhance her jump such as Monkey Leap Technique, she gains one automatic success on this roll. Obviously, as always with a stealth action, there must be somewhere to hide above, whether on the overhanging banners of a building or thick tree foliage.
Prey-Marking Gaze
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mastery
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite: None
The Exalt chooses a target and singles them out, memorizing how they move to find the perfect time to strike. This target becomes her chosen Prey for the scene. She rolls Perception + Martial Arts against their Guile as a Read Intentions action. If she succeeds, for the remainder of the scene she gains a bonus success on any Perception based rolls against the target. The Exalt may only mark one target as Prey at once with new applications of this charm replacing the old one.
Mastery: The Exalt may mark multiple opponents as her chosen Prey, but may only mark a single target per activation of this charm.
The owl is unseen, silent and waiting. When it catches a mouse in its vision, its big black eyes hone with killing intent and it strikes. The martial artist is that owl. The criminal she has caught is that mouse. The Martial Artist shrinks into herself but when she strikes, she seems to double in size, only to shrink to the silent unseen predator again moments after.
Whenever the Exalted strikes with a decisive attack from stealth against her Prey, she may immediately roll Dexterity + Athletics to leap back into hiding. Even if she does not have access to stealth above her, she may take to hiding on ground level while in this form. In addition, withering attacks against her Prey add (Essence) post-soak damage while her decisive attacks add (Essence/2, round down) raw damage.
Special Activation Rules: This charm can be activated reflexively if the Martial Artist deals decisive damage from a Martial Arts attack made from one range band higher than the target.
Storm-Breaking Wings
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Withering-only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Swooping Owl Form
With a bat of her wings, the Martial Artist strikes aside her opponents ability to defend, driving her claws in deep. Whenever the Exalt attacks from a range band above the opponent, this charm reduces his armored soak by her (Athletics). If he was unaware of the attack, this charm reduce his armored soak by an additional 2.
Terrestrial: A Dragon-blooded martial artist can only reduce her opponent’s soak by the lower of her (Essence or Athletics) or lower of her (Essence or Athletics + 2) for an unexpected attack.
Lightning Strike Talons
Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Terrestrial
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Storm-Breaking Wings
An owl’s swift strikes are like lightning striking the fleeing prey. There is no escape and there is no defense, not when she knows where he will move and how he will flee. An opponent’s who has been marked as Prey has his defense reduced by 2 against an attack supplemented by this charm. If the Exalt re-enters stealth through Swooping Owl Form after a successful use of this charm, then she adds 1 initiative to her base for each 10 in her Dexterity + Athletics roll.
Terrestrial: This charm can only be used once per scene except by successfully entering stealth against all opponents at least one range band above all other combatants.
Owl and Mouse Game
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Clash, Terrestrial, Mastery
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Swooping Owl Form
For a mouse to think it can kill the Swooping Owl is for the mouse to sign it’s own death. Feigning just a single moment of weakness, the owl reverses her misfortune. Whenever an opponent marked as Prey attacks the martial artist, she may activate this charm to reflexively clash it. As long as she is directly above her opponent, this charm allows her to clash even a ranged attack. Each 1 in her opponent’s attack roll subtracts a single success from the roll.
Terrestrial: This charm counts as the Martial Artist’s turn for the round. If she has already acted this round, this instead counts as her turn for the next round.
Mastery: If the Martial Artist succeeds, she automatically re-establishes stealth against all enemies with no need to roll.
Prerequisite: Lightning Strike Talons, Owl and Mouse Game
From her perch, the Exalt lets out the predatory screech that signals the death of her foes. She rolls Manipulation + Martial Arts as a Withering-Attack against the Resolve of all enemies out to Short range who are also below her current altitude. This shriek has a base damage of (10 + Essence) and ignores the Soak of anyone marked as Prey. The Exalt does not gain any initiative lost. Enemies crashed by this attack however, are stunned, forfeiting the ability to do take anything but reflexive action and defending themselves until the end of the Exalt’s next turn. All attacks made by the Martial Artist while they are in this state count as a surprise attack or double the penalty against actual surprise attacks.
This charm can only be used once per scene unless reset by incapacitating a target marked as Prey with an attack made with 15+ initiative.
Mastery: This charms range is extended to Medium. In addition, Prey in the paralysis state have their defense reduced to 0 for the next round instead.
Neck Snapping Dive-Claw
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Terrestrial
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Shriek of the Hunter
An owl does not strike often, they strike once and snap the neck of anything they hunt in one fell swoop. This charm can only be activated while the Exalt is at least one range band higher than her opponent and can only be used on a target marked as prey and while she has at least 10+ initiative. The Martial Artist goes in for the killing blow, striking for the neck with Double 10s on the damage roll. For each condition met, double the next dice down (9s, 8s, to a maximum of double 7s for all 3)
The attack is made from stealth
The Prey marked is stunned by Shriek of the Hunter
The Prey marked is crashed
This charm can only be used once per scene and only once per character per story.
Terrestrial: A Dragon-blooded who practices Swooping Owl receives Double 10s on the damage roll when using this charm, however, they can only achieve double 9s by meeting two conditions or double 8s by meeting all three conditions.
A weapon of enormous size with similarly enormous devastating power, the 6 foot haft is braided with hairs finer than any silk, ephemeral and dark red, before the blade adds an additional foot to the total height of the grimcleaver. The golden axe-head is carved with the legend of Immortal Reft, the Grimcleaver of the First Age Lawgiver, Quan Who-Is-Equity-and-Hurricanes.
Before the Divine Revolution could take place, the Exalted who would fight built up armies, trained their skills, and forged themselves weapons of immeasurable strength. Immortal Reft, before it took the lives of the most ancient enemies of the gods, it took the lives of other immortals.
Quan exalted amidst a crisis in his village, where tornadoes tore down houses and shredded skin with burning sands. The warrior boy rose through the clouds, not a Dawn, but an Eclipse, demanding audience with the storm-forging Huraka. The bear of titanic size he met was one on his way to becoming an elemental dragon, but Quan did not fret. With his axe, he reared the mighty sky-king from his throne, taking with him a handful of the beasts hair.
While he did not take that axe to slay Creation’s rulers, a fragment of it’s blade sits in the middle of the Orichalcum and the hair of the slain Huraka binds down the haft. But the enemies of the gods were mighty, and his Orichalcum axe still betrayed him. Quan rose up once more to meet with the Huraka sky-lord who claimed he had been taken advantage of. Now with his Grimcleaver in hand, the elemental was slain and his very essence was poured into the Grimcleaver. Bound in oaths and sealed in sacred metal, all the powers of the Huraka became Immortal Reft, the axe that beheaded She With Epiphanies Without Falsehood.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Heavy (+1 ACC, +14L, OVW 5, +0 Def)
Tag: Lethal, Melee, Chopping, Reaching, Two-handed
Hearthstone Slots: 3
Era: War of the Gods
Evocations of Immortal Reft
Immortal Reft has killed more immortals than most weapons have taken mortal lives. It can always hit immaterial spirits and permanently slays gods, elementals, and demons that are killed by it unless they have an Essence rating higher than 5.
The first victim of Immortal Reft, Red Devil Dust, the most powerful of southern Huraka, has its essence forever bound in the Grimcleaver. Whenever the wielder joins battle, the wind swirls around him, roaring with a terrifying ferocity. For each 10 in his Join Battle roll, enemies lose a point of initiative. Trivial enemies flee automatically, while trivial battlegroups must make a Rout check at difficulty (Number of 10s in the Join Battle roll).
Inhaling Hungry Demigod Approach
Cost: 2m, 2i; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Withering-Only, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
Like an inhaling demigod, the winds obey the Exalted wielder of Immortal Reft. This evocation supplements a Close range withering attack made with the grimcleaver causing it to knock-back an opponent one range band unless they succeed a Dexterity+Athletics roll against a difficulty equal to the number of 9s and 10s in the damage roll. Alternatively, this evocation allows the wielder to attack out to Short Range. If the attack is successful, the opponent is pulled to the Exalt unless they succeed the same roll.
A character crashed by this attack cannot roll to resist the push or pull.
Resonant: A character resonant with Orichalcum instead counts all successes as the difficulty of the Athletics roll to resist being pulled.
Spinning Twister Onslaught
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Inhaling Hungry Demigod Approach
The fury of the Huraka spirit bound in immortal reft surrounds the wielder in winds as they spin with devastating force. This evocation allows the Exalt to attack all enemies currently in Close range. If he suffers an onslaught penalty to his defense, he gains that penalty as bonus dice on the attack roll. The Exalt must split his initiative as evenly as possible between all targets. For each enemy hit by this attack, add a single die of damage to the base damage of all attacks.
Resonant: The Exalt may reflexively activate this charm after using the prerequisite if at least 3 enemies are in close range of him.
Special Activation Rules: The first time the Exalt crashes an enemy using this charms prerequisite, he may learn this evocation at no experience cost.
Raging Storm Upheaval
Cost: (+4m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Withering-Only, Resonant
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite: Inhaling Hungry Demigod Approach
When Immortal Reft strikes, the winds of the world carry enemies like leaves blown from trees. When the Exalt activates this charms prerequisite to attack an enemy in Close range, she may pay an additional 4m and 1wp in order to throw enemies straight upwards if they fail their Athletics check, causing them to fall and suffer as if they had fallen from Short height.
The Exalt and Immortal Reft are the wind, the storm, the earth-shaking fury of Heaven and all should beware their might. The Exalt rolls a threaten action against all enemies in Medium range with their Charisma + Presence with (Essence) automatic successes. Enemies whose Resolve is overcome are immediately overcome with supernatural fear, losing a number of initiative equal to the number of 10s in the roll. Demons, Gods, Elementals, lose (Essence+10s) instead. Trivial opponents (including battlegroups) flee automatically if they remain in the fight. This initiative is lost and is not gained by the Exalt.
Dissonant: Enemies affected by the roar, including spirits, only lose a single point of initiative.
When a Solar grips onto Immortal Reft, they see lies and illusions as easily as they see spirits. She may activate this evocation to swallow an illusion or Psyche effect controlling or possessing another character by purifying it with the illusion clearing breaths of a Huraka. If the origin is a being with an Essence score lower than her own, this is automatic. Otherwise, she rolls with Charisma + Integrity with (target’s current temporary Willpower / 2) automatic successes with a difficulty of (Essence score of the source) or an appropriate roll if actively opposed. Charms or magical effects swallowed with this evocation must be reactivated, even if they would normally last an extended duration.
Special Activation Rules: If the Solar has Spirit Detecting Glance active while she is the one under a Psyche effect, she may inflict 1 lethal health level of damage on herself to attempt to consume her own delusions.
As Red Devil Dust once grew fat on the Essence of the wind, the Solar may become fat and powerful on the essence of those struck down by Immortal Reft. After the Solar uses Carnal Spirit Rending, rather than gaining the Normal Benefits, she may add that spirit’s (Essence) to her base initiative when she resets, devouring the power instantly rather than storing it.
Immortal Cleaving God-Form
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 4
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Sky Ruler’s Roar, Terrifying Apparition of Glory
How can mortals and spirits look upon a Solar and not know fear. The enemies of the gods are notches in her belt and those below such things cannot imaginably be a threat to her. This charm permanently enhances Terrifying Apparition of Glory. Whenever the Solar crashes an opponent while the charm is active, she may intimidate him again, even if he has already paid the Willpower and initiative to resist such an effect that scene.
Titan Slaying Devil Storm
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-Only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Immortal Cleaving God-Form, Gluttonous Spirit King Technique
All winds spin with the blade of Immortal Reft, as red as the dust devils of the South, not with sand but with blood and essence of slain gods and titans. Whenever the Solar successfully makes a decisive attack against a demon, god, elemental, or other spirit, the huraka king inside of her axe strikes as well. This creates a second decisive attack (rolling Dexterity + Melee) in the form of an instant and destructive tornado against all enemies in a line out to Long range of the Solar. All enemies in close range of her are hit automatically, including her previous target. The damage of this attack is (Essence + number of successes on the decisive damage roll that triggered this attack) and ignores up to (Essence) hardness. Dematerialized spirits are still affected by this attack.
This evocation almost always causes catastrophic destruction to the environment and can only be used once per day. It cannot be reset by the Dawn caste anima power.
Heaven Consuming Vortex
Cost: 15m, 5i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 5
Type: Simple
Keywords: Perilous
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite: Titan Slaying Devil Storm
The world darkens as winds blow dust around the Solar and her enemies, cutting off everyone and everything from the carnage about to occur. All characters currently tracking initiative out to Long range become surrounded by winds so powerful that nothing can penetrate the storm surrounding them. Neither a mayfly searching for nectar nor a spear hurled by the Unconquered Sun himself may interfere with the fight, nor may a god dematerialize and flee or a demon seek a portal into Malfeas’ recesses. Anyone not participating in the battle is immediately pushed away by the winds escaping the Solar’s body. Only the Solar’s victory or death can allow escape or entry.
Each Spirit currently inside the captured area loses 1 initiative, which is immediately gained by the Solar. In addition, Titan Slaying Devil Storm is reset after each use, allowing the Solar to follow up nearly any attack with a devastating twister.
Even after this evocation ends, the area becomes plagued by wind storms of terrifying intensity intermittent with periods of deceptive peace without rhyme or reason. Nearly all life cycles collapse as dust storms regularly destroy plant life, kill animals, and displace water. Only freeing Red Devil Dust by destroying or permanently altering the artifact can end these environment devastating aftereffects.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation can only be used once per story and cannot be purchased with experience points. Instead this evocation awakens automatically if the Solar finds himself in a feud with a spirit that even he or his circle may not triumph over such as Octavian the Living Tower or Ligier the Green Sun. This evocation can only be reset by consuming a spirit of Essence greater than the Solar with Carnal Spirit Rending and forgoing the normal benefits. Until this evocation resets, the Solar becomes unable to use Titan Slaying Devil Storm either.
