So, I just visited with some of my friends who will be playing in my D&D game using the Dreok setting I put up. I've spent a lot of time on the setting, with the visible in this blog accompanied by plot points, characters, adventures, etc. in my own personal notes. I was able to give everyone some spiel to give them the quick rundown of the setting, but none of them had taken the time to read what I wrote up. It made me wonder if I was trying to hard, or expecting too much?
Back in college and high school I wasted many a page and hour upon setting design and details, writing adventures, trying to make the best games I could. When making some of my LARP characters, I put in pages of detail, even on minutia like relatives that will never get brought up. But as I get older, the time invested to pay off seems slimmer and slimmer. I suppose I can blame RL some, but I seem to have lost a lot of the patience I once held along with most of my players.
So, rhetorically, I sort of ask myself, how much should we do for roleplaying, especially on a single game? How much can we expect of those around us? I figure there are samples of good and bad.
Good preparation type stuff- generating a nifty setting with friends that everyone likes. Did this in Necessary Evil when we did our own take on things, fighting fascist super heroes instead of aliens. Getting player backgrounds and weaving into campaigns, damn near necessary for Seventh Sea. Reading book and knowing rules and setting makes it easier to jump in.
Bad Prep stuff- Background material overshadowed by game, long effort for little gain. Background wasted when character dies suddenly. Long prep time discourages trying to play at all.
I dunno. Its all about balance. I just feel like, the older I get, the older my friends get, the less excited we get about cracking open the new RPG and taking the time to make a super bad ass game. Then again, sometimes its better to jump in and play than not play at all.
More later if I have some insight.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Dungeons and Dragons Setting: World of Dreok
For those just popping in, this setting is something I put together for running a campaign with friends and this seemed like a good place to put it. Check it out if you like.
Races: This setting plans to include Goliaths, Dwarves, Tiefling, Dhampyr, Deva, and Eladrin. Planned not to be included are Gnomes, Shifters, Halflings, Dragonkin, Half-Orcs, and Elves. However, if somebody really wants to play one, they can make an argument for it.
Classes: All are allowed, some of which have particularly appropriate roles in this setting. One's that might need additional reasoning include:
Wardens- These are war shamans, and by no means 'standard' among most tribes.
Bards- Magical music is not formalized, and bards are not common. Usually, some hook to hang your hat on it.
Sorceror- These happen, but are not 'common', especially the dragon variety as dragons are rare to non-existent in the setting.
Nations and Tribes: You can play being from the Tsumer Empire, from the Border States, or from one of the Tribes. You may want to invent your own culture outside this Empire you are part of, and you may, but do not expect for this foreign power to become involved in the setting (ie. I'm not making a mini-setting for someone's character).
Origin Stories of the World
The name of the world is Dreok.
In the Beginning:
Church of Light Version:
In the beginning, their was only light. Light was all creation, all things. The light wished for there to be more and it created the first thinking creature- unfortunately, its first friend brought darkness with it. The creature was not pure light, and it was not ready for the darkness its shadow cast. The shadow subsumed it and warped it and the darkness grew. The light was all, but the darkness was growing. The light wrapped the source of the darkness up tightly in a ball and buried it deep in the earth, surrounding it with stars, a moon, and a sun to keep it at bay. Yet the darkness still crept in the deep places of the earth, ready to corrupt all that it touched.
The Lord and Lady Version:
As it is, so has it been. The seasons of the universe are vast and long. The stars tell a tale that the world is deep within a winter, that the life of the world is growing still and dying, but that an inevitable spring is coming. The Earth is viewed as the feminine, the Sky as the masculine- before them, the moon and the sun, before them, the darkness and the light, and another pair before that. In either case, it was the union of Earth and Sky that combined Matter and Intellect, creating the thinking creatures of the earth.
Shaman Version:
The world stands on the back of a tortoise, and is topped by a great tree- in the spirit world. The spirit world is a place of metaphor and mystery. What this means is that the world has a solid foundation on the backs of living spirits, and from this solid foundation, greater spiritual life has grown. The origin? The turtle was said to be swimming through the great seas, when a crocodile tried to bite it. The turtle and the crocodile wrestled in the mud, until the crocodile tired and the muddy turtle surfaced. Seeds from above fell upon the turtle and the forest grew. From the forest, a host of things.
Cities and Sites
Human Civilizations
Humans are the most numerous race upon the face of Dreok. There are three major cultures.
The Illuminated Tsumer Empire:
The Church of the Light blazed its illumination even in the decadent era of the Blood and Fire Republic- the Daeva were the Lights voice, the Invokers its power, the Clerics its blessing. The Vampire Lords could not hold sway while the Light raged and the Tieflings were forced from their royal homes. Faith and steel overcame the darkness and a new empire was born.
The Daeva were wise in the ways of the light, but were distanced from the plight of mankind by their reincarnations. It was for this reason that when the great council of the light met that it was decided there would be a human king for a human empire- a sword to fight the darkness, a shield to protect the people. This was the first Paladin, Emperor Garth the 1st. The Emperor saw nobility not in blood, but in deeds and in actions, and so always watched for those with the spark of nobility, the honorable holy warriors that fought across his lands. His symbol of station was not a crown, but a helmet and sword. The winged helmet, Chertoise, was said to give clear vision to those who are just, while his sword, Helvympius, was said to strike with the force of a comet, impossible to lift by those were not worthy.
Garth’s reign lasted 77 years, during which time the Empire was rebuilt and fortified, dark creatures driven from the land into the wilds, the cities freed of the dark taint of vampires, devils, demons, and other servants of the dark. Before his death, he drove Helvympius into a stone, for when a righteous man would claim the mantle of emperor.
The head of the church of the light, High Priest Crispus, set a guard on the sword and began seeking candidates immediately. When all failed to pull the sword from the stone, Crispus declared it was ‘for another generation’. The Great Council of the Light sought wisdom and declared Garth’s son, Faelim the Just, Emperor of the Tsumer Empire. Since this time, the Church has supported the eldest son of each Emperor after him.
Faelim’s reign was one of great expansion. The Church of the Light had begun to cast a harsh illumination upon the barbarians at their borders.
“Consorting with spirits is merely another means by which the Darkness creeps out of it’s prison in the center of the world. We must take heed, lest they bring more monsters to our gates.” Faelim declared.
Thus the Empire expanded it’s borders, driving the barbarians back into the far reaches of the wild. This expansion continued for 100 years, past the reign of Faelim onto Garth the II, and to his son, Thumos the 1st. Thumos ended the war by signing treaties with the fiercest of the barbarian tribes, ensuring them that no further violence would come. Thumos ruled into old age with little to no change in the Empire, beyond the steady increase of the royal coffers and the building of new churches along the border states.
Rapid expansion left many of the conquered lands added to the Empire little changed by rule. While lip service was paid to the Church of the Light, pagans worshipped the Lord and the Lady in secret, while barbaric peoples would slip off at night to invoke the spirits and seek out the shamans hidden among them. Fusions of ideas left people seeking out new paths for the Light, to view it in different ways, ways that were simultaneously brilliant and dangerous.
Thumos the 1st’s reign ended quietly, and Thumos the 2nd seemed as if he would follow in his father’s footsteps, until he quietly made initiatives to stamp out heresy in the border states. A new, invisible branch of the Church of the Light, the Avengers, moved to find and punish warlocks, shamans, druids, and all those who brought people away from the Light. It was a dark time, as the witch hunts frequently took victims without need, their zeal unchecked. The Church during these times was viewed with not only respect, but fear, and none were sure whether the friendly priest wandering the roads was really there to help or to hurt anymore.
Thumos the 2nd married a girl from outside the border states, Pritis, a princess in her own land, and the marriage seemed to sooth Thumos the 2nd’s bloodlust. The Avengers were recalled to train in secret, but not to act without very express authority, and the border states regained a semblance of peace, free from fear- but they did not forget.
In the 229th year of the Tsumer Empire, Thumos the 2nd died and the kingdom was left with no male heirs. In this absence, Pritis ruled for 8 years before passing the kingdom on to her eldest daughter, Wynnos. Empress Wynnos was much beloved and inspired an entire generation of knights devoted to her. She also made it a point to fund advances in the arcane arts, founding the Academies Arcane. Primitive sorcerers (and some warlocks) were studied to investigate the arcane arts in detail and lead to greater understanding of magic. When Empress Wynnos’s reign ended in the year 269.
Emperor Garth the 3rd, the youngest son of Empress Wynoss but apparently the healthiest as his other brothers died, ruled conservatively at first, emphasizing law and discipline. However, it became obvious that he held secret ambitions for a new war as he increased army budget and squeezed the economy, forcing the armies ranks to swell. The recently developed academies began to protest, and Garth the 3rd quickly reinstated the Avengers in an anti-magical crusade, claiming such arts would only give greater tools to the darkness. The greatest tools of the darkness proved to be dissent and disorganization.
During the most recent inquisition, practicers of the arcane arts have been flung to the far corners of the kingdom and the resources of the Church of Light have been squandered trying to control them. It was at this time that the servants of darkness made themselves known to the world once again, as feral undead beasts were unleashed to ravage the kingdom from within. The great road system of the empire has been shattered by banditry, monsters, and rebellious border states. Amidst this chaos, Garth the 3rd was assassinated, the royal line broken. Scheming politicians and church officials vie for power even as the Empire crumbles to the machinations of the monsters that surround them…
Three Great Cities of the Tsumer Empire:
Orbis- The center of the Empire, built upon the ashes of the Blood and Fire Republican capital, Orbis sprawls out from the Black and Ruined Castle of the vampire Lord Cagul. While Cagul was thought to be killed in the rebellion, his Castle, the Onyx Temple, is still considered to be an evil blight. Trebuchet, fire, and catapult seem to damage it little, so high walls and holy symbols of the light surround the castle, with new capital buildings springing up around it- a circular city containing a fragment of pure evil within it.
The Grand Temple of the Church of the Light can be found here, intensely training hundreds of acolytes to be sent off to the far corners of the Empire as priests and missionaries. A select few are chosen for other duties- some show the signs of blessing that mark invokers, some show the divine insight and favor of the cleric, while still others have the proper zeal to become an avenger of the church.
While Orbis was once the center of all things in Tsumer, but education has suffered in recent time. The Academies were under constant watch for ‘consorting with the darkness’, and almost any sign of arcane magic was taken as reason to be investigated thoroughly. The death of the Emperor has taken a good deal of this pressure off as the Church of the Light finds it’s left hand in politics even as the right hand fights to preserve the land. Thus the Academies enjoy new freedom- for a time. Many a young wizard, sorcerer, bard, and sword mage find their roots here, studying intensely while they dare…
Orbis’s enormous population takes a lot of farmland to supply with food, food cut short by the recent rise in monster attacks and banditry. Thus civil unrest has increased- while no truly heinous riots have broken out, it is only a matter of time unless resources are increased. Crime is on the rise as spoiled landowners and merchants feed off the suffering of the working class- and often lose a purse or two for their decadence.
In the heart of the Empire, humans are quite isolated from the more exotic races of the world. Most are looked upon with some suspicion, occasionally awe stuck wonder. Deva are the most readily accepted, but the recent activities of the Church make some wary.
Adventure Possibilities:
The Church of the Light, the Thieves Guild, and a bevy of wealthy merchants and politicians are all willing to hire heroes to deal with various elements secreted in the city. Unfortunately, they are often just as willing to hire more nefarious types for more questionable work.
Prodigiopolis- A great port city, Prodigiopolis is considered Tsumer’s net, dragging back the treasures of the world to the Empire- but it also sweeps up scum. Traders and fishermen work to make their fortunes, while cheap businesses catering to sailors with pockets filled with gold crowd the warf. Ale, women, gambling, and all manner of vice fill the streets, and a thriving criminal underworld ensures that anything may be bought here- for a price.
Prodigiopolis is the perfect place for a hero on the run. No one her judges harshly or asks too many questions- its too dangerous and hypocritical. Instead it welcomes with open arms those rich enough to afford it’s wares and those tough enough to survive its streets.
People in Prodigiopolis barely blink when seeing a non-human race- strange folk of all sorts run in and out of the ports. More disturbing is the presence of the Church of the Light- while a few missionaries cling to hope here and there, large outings to this ‘lost’ city are rare.
There are rumors of a strange new drug on the streets of Prodigiopolis, a red powder that alleviates all hunger and pain- for a while. Withdrawls often leave users ravenous and bloodthirsty, with a surprising animal like strength and speed, willing to do almost anything to get their next fix.
Adventure Possibilities:
Prodigiopolis is a medieval Sin City, filled with crime, prostitution, and corruption, all tolerated because it brings wealth into the Empire. Here more edgy and roguish heroes often get their start, fighting to survive. A quick tongue, a sharp sword, and a friend to watch your back are your best weapons in this port.
Belliatora- The armies of King MacElmass the Iron Hearted were the most powerful military force in the world. While relatively small, their expertise in the production and use of arms, with a slant towards innovation and rigorous training techniques produced men who were often worth ten ordinary soldiers, made more dangerous when working in unison. It was this army that protected the proud land of Ferrigna. The Empire held numbers and faith however, and soon MacElmass was forced to bow before the Tsumer Empire.
Belliatora was the proud capital of Ferrigna before it became a border state. The Church of the Light quickly spread through Belliatora’s poor and disenfranchised, solidifying the Empire’s grasp upon the north. Belliatora, in turn, began to produce some of the most faithful soldiers to ever serve the Empire, its military academies second to none.
Near the northern mountains, Belliatora has often come into conflict with the dwarves and goliaths of the nearby mountains, seizing vital iron mines to continue war efforts. There has been an uneasy truce between them- until now. News of the Empire’s instability has reached the ears of the dwarves, and it is only a matter of time before they begin a full scale attack to take back their mines.
The city’s people are as cold and harsh as the land around them, a dry place, with mild springs and summers, with long cold falls and winters. While festivals allow for more emotional displays, year round, the people do their best to mind their own business and not make a scene or stir up trouble. Regular border patrols are maintained in the growing season to prevent banditry and monster incursions, but during the cold months, dark creatures often prowl the land when soldiers dare not risk winter’s wrath. While not common, more than once spring has come to reveal an entire village devoured by ghouls or other undead. In one case, it disappeared entirely leaving only blackened grasses and the foul stench of death.
Adventure Possibilities:
A harsh and isolated Northern fortress, the walled city of Belliatora is a place where war is always close, and death stalks the countryside when it is at its weakest.
The Three Great Tribes
Untamed by steel, faith, or magic, the great tribes would not bend to the civilizing forces of the world. They live free and proud, but it is a harsh existence, where hunting, weather, and fate can lay low even the toughest of peoples. The tribes that remain depend on their heroes to keep them alive- great warriors, powerful shamans, gifted barbarians, sorcerers, warlocks, druids, and other heroes guide them across the land and protect them from the evils that roam the world. While their numbers have been reduced by the Empire’s zeal, the tribes still struggle to survive, and in time, may become truly great once again.
The Northern Tribes: The Northern Tribes that survives are nomadic, riding on horse back, moving across the plain to find new fertile hunting grounds, camping near the coasts and in the warmer woods during the harsh winters. The fiercest and most depraved of the Northern Tribes have begun raiding civilized villages for supplies, burning houses, claiming women, with more peaceful tribes often taking the blame.
Northern tribes are known for their skills in hunting, horsemanship, and livestock. It is said that a Northern barbarian tracker can track a man across dry rock after a thunderstorm. Northern tribes often have secret trails and rest spots along the mountains, secret spots and caches, knowledge of mystical doors and hidden things in the wilds. How much is rumor and how much is fact is often hard to say.
Northern Tribes most often come into conflict with dwarves and the Tsumer empire, but have good relations with many of the goliaths. Mountain trails and annual festivities, where in goliath and man compete in games, followed by feasts, finishing with training have worked well for both peoples for a very long time.
One of the primary food sources of the Northern Tribe is the mammoth. Mammoths provide a great deal of meat as well as needed furs and even shelter to a tribe. However, the mammoths have begun to dwindle as the farmlands of the Empire have expanded, driving the creatures off. What will happen to the Northern Tribe when the last of these animals die is unknown.
Common Spirit Animals include horses, mammoths, eagles, and wolves.
Adventure Possibilities: The Northern Tribes are almost always on the move, hunting, and bumping against other cultures. This penchant for moving allows a party traveling with them to encounter many things, such as temples and caves in the mountains, to village on the plains, to marching armies, to strange roaming beasts in the land. This means that the Northern Tribes may also be used anywhere in the northern part of the world as they travel to keep alive.
The Eastern Tribes: The Eastern Tribes survive primarily through stubborn resistance to change in harsh wilderness and hills, places considered too barren for most to survive. There is food if you know where to find it though, and certain animals do well in the environment, sheep and goats being among them.
Many of the Eastern Tribes were pushed off more fertile lands during the Empire’s expansion and conquering, and so they are often fiercely xenophobic to outsiders. The hill clans stock up in the winter and form tense alliances for marriage, but otherwise keep to themselves. The best of the clans are honorable warriors, people who stick to their word through thick and thin and show hospitality to those who have earned it; the worst are devolved cannibals, with no use for people outside their clan other than for food and reproduction.
The clans of the woods and hills are often privy to secrets of their area, knowing the local terrain, but sometimes they become part of these secrets. Clans taking residence in mystical groves may have faerie heritage, while those sequestered in tombs may entirely give themselves to vampiric lords.
The Eastern Tribes often come into conflict and alliance with the Border States of Tsumer. Many of those living on the border states are considered cousins and sellouts by the Eastern tribes- those who were too weak to fight off what was coming, never mind the geographic location. While a given kinsmen from the border states may have a good relation with a given tribe, it’s not universal.
All in all, getting involved with the Eastern tribes from the outside is a study in variability: no two clans are really the same, and your visit with friendly tartan clad hillsmen in your first encounter may not ready you for the savage woodlands tribe you encounter in the second.
Common spirits for hillsmen include rams, foxes, hawks, lions, and rabbits. Common spirits for woodsmen include stags, boars, bears, and owls.
Adventure Possibilities: The hills and the woods at the borders of the Tsumer Empire are some of the most wild places left in the world. In this magical world, the dangers of fierce beasts and monsters are one threat, but ever greater looms the threat of mankind and the other sentient races. Running into one monster can mean a fierce battle, but an angry tribe can prove to be a threat until you leave their area. Playing a tribesman means coming from a harsh land of dangerous and tenuous alliances- a smaller world, but an important one, where the strength of a single man is often more important than the size of his armies.
The Southern Tribes: The Southern Tribes once dwelled on the coast of what is now southern Tsumer, but no longer- those who were not willing to assimilate fled to the chain of islands know as the Spice Islands or the Claw Islands. There, the Southern Tribes have adapted and blended with the other island natives, and have worked hard to empower themselves with magic, to keep their independence against the expanding Empire.
The Southern Tribes are known for a deep spiritual bond to the earth, nature, and their animal brethren. They have eschewed metal weapons, creating marvelous weapons of wood, rock, and bone. Spirits seem to inhabit the areas they have frequented, woken to work as guardians, and the wilds come alive to claim civilized men. Rather than angry, most of the Southern Tribes feel a deep sorrow for the men of Tsumer, seeing them as disconnected from the world, living to satisfy a hunger without end in sight.
The Southern Tribes have a good relation with each other… for the most part. Most of them are civil, counting coup and tourneys replacing most wars, with thriving trade and travel among the islands. However, there are a few bad apples, cannibals and dissidents, as well as lizard men and other bizarre creatures, that make traveling among the islands without a guide hazardous.
There is a hidden land, behind the mountains, a vast jungle. The Southern Tribes live along the coast of this region, fishing, but the depths of the jungles hold mysteries- ancient temples filled with darkness unseen for millennia…
Common spirit animals for the Southern Tribes include thunderbirds, jaguars, dolphins, wind spirits, serpents, coyotes, and otters. Many shamans have more exotic spirits among the Southern Tribes, sometimes calling upon unique spirits such as Chatka the Cracked Jug or other strange names.
Adventure Possibilities: The Primal power runs strong in the south and traveling amongst these peoples is to walk in a different world. Metal weapons and metal working become scarce to non-existent skills, clothing and armor scarce, but spirits often appear, even to the non-initiated. One might even accidentally enter other realms such as the astral or the shadowfell by wandering into the wrong part of the jungle. The unobservant see primative peoples in a untamed wilderness; the wise see a powerful people, harnessing the forces of nature and living in relative harmony within it.
The Border States
While technically part of the Tsumer Empire, they are recent additions, a people torn between tradition and fealty. Conquered in the Empire’s expansion, converted by the Church of the Light, the people of the Border States are a strange lot: their accents make them foreigners among the Empire proper, their destroyed heritage and subjugation make them unwelcome among many of the tribes, some embrace the Light with zeal, while others make to keep their own traditions alive in secret, a few harbor thoughts of open rebellion, while others wish to become equals in the eyes of the Empire. This mixture of cultures makes the Border States both interesting and dangerous, a volatile land protected little by it’s kinsmen, their fates still undecided.
Frost Moore: The northern border state, Frost Moore was once made of several tribes and nomads. Slow conquering through hard fought battles have left these gently rolling hills, plains, and forests in Tsumer control for hundreds of years, but the people do not forget their roots.
Frost Moore is speckled with many swamps amid its plains, hills, and forests. These harsh areas are often home to hermits and bandits, left alone by civilized men. Here some of the great druids of the old religion stay, secreted away. Those who revere nature gather here, the dark and the light- hags and nymphs gather together in these places to ensure the protection of the wild places.
Some of the most devout and zealous priests live in this region, loyal to the light- but not to the empire. Many a devout light follower dreams of freedom from the oppression of government to follow the light unchecked and banish evil as they see fit. Many of the people of the area are serfs, with worse conditions than their fellow citizens in the empire.
To this end, Frost Moore is a land of mixed feelings and resentment, with a small but powerful elite class living alongside a large, poor, disenfranchised majority. It will take only a small spark to set the settlement off- the only question is who will receive that wrath: native Tsumer loyalists, the nearby tribes, or the Tsumer Empire itself.
Adventure Possibilities: Frost Moore is best described as a place of quiet intensity. The people there do not speak openly of their contempt for the Empire, for their neighbors, but brewing behind closed doors there are always plans in motion, secret rendezvous occur in the wild, and sermons filled with fire fuel the people to take action- whatever that action might be.
Frost Moore is a place where heroes can truly make a difference in it’s future- siding with a faction could lead to liberation, unity, or utter destruction.
Thumosia: Thumosia is a fertile land that was once held by what had been some of the most peaceful barbarians in the land, before being driven out by the power of the Tsumer Empire, those not slaughtered driven into the eastern woodlands. Here a great deal of food is produced for the empire by those who have moved to this region, largely free of the intense oversight of the church due to a lack of pagan and shamanistic roots- however, the very lack of oversight led to a tendency towards free thought and development.
Many of the greatest arcane minds in the world have been born in, researched in, and retired in Thumosia, unhampered by the closeness of the Church of the Light. This is not to say that the Church does not have a presence here or does not send envoys- merely that it has not been considered a point of contention. Until recently.
Many of those disenfranchised by the most recent inquisition have hidden in Thumosia, and a few have banded together in a fierce alliance known as the Brothers of the Tower. These fierce arcane adherents train any who are willing to learn in the arcane arts, defend themselves without shame or quarter, and are infamous for one skirmish in which their swordmages, wizards, warlocks, and sorcerors laid waste to a church envoy flying a flag of war, making short work of their holy warriors. The message was clear: We will not be cowed. Further encroachments of the Church into the region have been covert or overtly peaceful, though they are known to shout and debate vigorously.
Some fear that Thumosia will pull away entirely, but few worry that the eastern tribes might reclaim their land. Still, in these times of Chaos, everything is possible.
Adventure Possibilities: Thumosia is in many ways a land swept clean of the old making way for the new. The arcane arts here are finding a second home, proliferating among the people, but this independent and amoral power threatens something new for the people: independence. If the arcane arts can defend them, and the land feed them, what need is there to serve an Empire that for all intents and purposes is leaching off of them? Without that Empire, it could be Thumosia could become a potent nation in it’s own right- if it survives the birth.
As a place known for free thought, almost any kind of off the wall new group can come from here: primal hippies? Necromantic doctors? Reverse Warlocking? It can all be tried out here, but that doesn’t mean bad ideas don’t cause trouble. Rather the opposite: playing with fire can burn, but Thumosia is willing to lick those wounds if it means making the steam engine.
Races: This setting plans to include Goliaths, Dwarves, Tiefling, Dhampyr, Deva, and Eladrin. Planned not to be included are Gnomes, Shifters, Halflings, Dragonkin, Half-Orcs, and Elves. However, if somebody really wants to play one, they can make an argument for it.
Classes: All are allowed, some of which have particularly appropriate roles in this setting. One's that might need additional reasoning include:
Wardens- These are war shamans, and by no means 'standard' among most tribes.
Bards- Magical music is not formalized, and bards are not common. Usually, some hook to hang your hat on it.
Sorceror- These happen, but are not 'common', especially the dragon variety as dragons are rare to non-existent in the setting.
Nations and Tribes: You can play being from the Tsumer Empire, from the Border States, or from one of the Tribes. You may want to invent your own culture outside this Empire you are part of, and you may, but do not expect for this foreign power to become involved in the setting (ie. I'm not making a mini-setting for someone's character).
Origin Stories of the World
The name of the world is Dreok.
In the Beginning:
Church of Light Version:
In the beginning, their was only light. Light was all creation, all things. The light wished for there to be more and it created the first thinking creature- unfortunately, its first friend brought darkness with it. The creature was not pure light, and it was not ready for the darkness its shadow cast. The shadow subsumed it and warped it and the darkness grew. The light was all, but the darkness was growing. The light wrapped the source of the darkness up tightly in a ball and buried it deep in the earth, surrounding it with stars, a moon, and a sun to keep it at bay. Yet the darkness still crept in the deep places of the earth, ready to corrupt all that it touched.
The Lord and Lady Version:
As it is, so has it been. The seasons of the universe are vast and long. The stars tell a tale that the world is deep within a winter, that the life of the world is growing still and dying, but that an inevitable spring is coming. The Earth is viewed as the feminine, the Sky as the masculine- before them, the moon and the sun, before them, the darkness and the light, and another pair before that. In either case, it was the union of Earth and Sky that combined Matter and Intellect, creating the thinking creatures of the earth.
Shaman Version:
The world stands on the back of a tortoise, and is topped by a great tree- in the spirit world. The spirit world is a place of metaphor and mystery. What this means is that the world has a solid foundation on the backs of living spirits, and from this solid foundation, greater spiritual life has grown. The origin? The turtle was said to be swimming through the great seas, when a crocodile tried to bite it. The turtle and the crocodile wrestled in the mud, until the crocodile tired and the muddy turtle surfaced. Seeds from above fell upon the turtle and the forest grew. From the forest, a host of things.
Cities and Sites
Human Civilizations
Humans are the most numerous race upon the face of Dreok. There are three major cultures.
The Illuminated Tsumer Empire:
The Church of the Light blazed its illumination even in the decadent era of the Blood and Fire Republic- the Daeva were the Lights voice, the Invokers its power, the Clerics its blessing. The Vampire Lords could not hold sway while the Light raged and the Tieflings were forced from their royal homes. Faith and steel overcame the darkness and a new empire was born.
The Daeva were wise in the ways of the light, but were distanced from the plight of mankind by their reincarnations. It was for this reason that when the great council of the light met that it was decided there would be a human king for a human empire- a sword to fight the darkness, a shield to protect the people. This was the first Paladin, Emperor Garth the 1st. The Emperor saw nobility not in blood, but in deeds and in actions, and so always watched for those with the spark of nobility, the honorable holy warriors that fought across his lands. His symbol of station was not a crown, but a helmet and sword. The winged helmet, Chertoise, was said to give clear vision to those who are just, while his sword, Helvympius, was said to strike with the force of a comet, impossible to lift by those were not worthy.
Garth’s reign lasted 77 years, during which time the Empire was rebuilt and fortified, dark creatures driven from the land into the wilds, the cities freed of the dark taint of vampires, devils, demons, and other servants of the dark. Before his death, he drove Helvympius into a stone, for when a righteous man would claim the mantle of emperor.
The head of the church of the light, High Priest Crispus, set a guard on the sword and began seeking candidates immediately. When all failed to pull the sword from the stone, Crispus declared it was ‘for another generation’. The Great Council of the Light sought wisdom and declared Garth’s son, Faelim the Just, Emperor of the Tsumer Empire. Since this time, the Church has supported the eldest son of each Emperor after him.
Faelim’s reign was one of great expansion. The Church of the Light had begun to cast a harsh illumination upon the barbarians at their borders.
“Consorting with spirits is merely another means by which the Darkness creeps out of it’s prison in the center of the world. We must take heed, lest they bring more monsters to our gates.” Faelim declared.
Thus the Empire expanded it’s borders, driving the barbarians back into the far reaches of the wild. This expansion continued for 100 years, past the reign of Faelim onto Garth the II, and to his son, Thumos the 1st. Thumos ended the war by signing treaties with the fiercest of the barbarian tribes, ensuring them that no further violence would come. Thumos ruled into old age with little to no change in the Empire, beyond the steady increase of the royal coffers and the building of new churches along the border states.
Rapid expansion left many of the conquered lands added to the Empire little changed by rule. While lip service was paid to the Church of the Light, pagans worshipped the Lord and the Lady in secret, while barbaric peoples would slip off at night to invoke the spirits and seek out the shamans hidden among them. Fusions of ideas left people seeking out new paths for the Light, to view it in different ways, ways that were simultaneously brilliant and dangerous.
Thumos the 1st’s reign ended quietly, and Thumos the 2nd seemed as if he would follow in his father’s footsteps, until he quietly made initiatives to stamp out heresy in the border states. A new, invisible branch of the Church of the Light, the Avengers, moved to find and punish warlocks, shamans, druids, and all those who brought people away from the Light. It was a dark time, as the witch hunts frequently took victims without need, their zeal unchecked. The Church during these times was viewed with not only respect, but fear, and none were sure whether the friendly priest wandering the roads was really there to help or to hurt anymore.
Thumos the 2nd married a girl from outside the border states, Pritis, a princess in her own land, and the marriage seemed to sooth Thumos the 2nd’s bloodlust. The Avengers were recalled to train in secret, but not to act without very express authority, and the border states regained a semblance of peace, free from fear- but they did not forget.
In the 229th year of the Tsumer Empire, Thumos the 2nd died and the kingdom was left with no male heirs. In this absence, Pritis ruled for 8 years before passing the kingdom on to her eldest daughter, Wynnos. Empress Wynnos was much beloved and inspired an entire generation of knights devoted to her. She also made it a point to fund advances in the arcane arts, founding the Academies Arcane. Primitive sorcerers (and some warlocks) were studied to investigate the arcane arts in detail and lead to greater understanding of magic. When Empress Wynnos’s reign ended in the year 269.
Emperor Garth the 3rd, the youngest son of Empress Wynoss but apparently the healthiest as his other brothers died, ruled conservatively at first, emphasizing law and discipline. However, it became obvious that he held secret ambitions for a new war as he increased army budget and squeezed the economy, forcing the armies ranks to swell. The recently developed academies began to protest, and Garth the 3rd quickly reinstated the Avengers in an anti-magical crusade, claiming such arts would only give greater tools to the darkness. The greatest tools of the darkness proved to be dissent and disorganization.
During the most recent inquisition, practicers of the arcane arts have been flung to the far corners of the kingdom and the resources of the Church of Light have been squandered trying to control them. It was at this time that the servants of darkness made themselves known to the world once again, as feral undead beasts were unleashed to ravage the kingdom from within. The great road system of the empire has been shattered by banditry, monsters, and rebellious border states. Amidst this chaos, Garth the 3rd was assassinated, the royal line broken. Scheming politicians and church officials vie for power even as the Empire crumbles to the machinations of the monsters that surround them…
Three Great Cities of the Tsumer Empire:
Orbis- The center of the Empire, built upon the ashes of the Blood and Fire Republican capital, Orbis sprawls out from the Black and Ruined Castle of the vampire Lord Cagul. While Cagul was thought to be killed in the rebellion, his Castle, the Onyx Temple, is still considered to be an evil blight. Trebuchet, fire, and catapult seem to damage it little, so high walls and holy symbols of the light surround the castle, with new capital buildings springing up around it- a circular city containing a fragment of pure evil within it.
The Grand Temple of the Church of the Light can be found here, intensely training hundreds of acolytes to be sent off to the far corners of the Empire as priests and missionaries. A select few are chosen for other duties- some show the signs of blessing that mark invokers, some show the divine insight and favor of the cleric, while still others have the proper zeal to become an avenger of the church.
While Orbis was once the center of all things in Tsumer, but education has suffered in recent time. The Academies were under constant watch for ‘consorting with the darkness’, and almost any sign of arcane magic was taken as reason to be investigated thoroughly. The death of the Emperor has taken a good deal of this pressure off as the Church of the Light finds it’s left hand in politics even as the right hand fights to preserve the land. Thus the Academies enjoy new freedom- for a time. Many a young wizard, sorcerer, bard, and sword mage find their roots here, studying intensely while they dare…
Orbis’s enormous population takes a lot of farmland to supply with food, food cut short by the recent rise in monster attacks and banditry. Thus civil unrest has increased- while no truly heinous riots have broken out, it is only a matter of time unless resources are increased. Crime is on the rise as spoiled landowners and merchants feed off the suffering of the working class- and often lose a purse or two for their decadence.
In the heart of the Empire, humans are quite isolated from the more exotic races of the world. Most are looked upon with some suspicion, occasionally awe stuck wonder. Deva are the most readily accepted, but the recent activities of the Church make some wary.
Adventure Possibilities:
The Church of the Light, the Thieves Guild, and a bevy of wealthy merchants and politicians are all willing to hire heroes to deal with various elements secreted in the city. Unfortunately, they are often just as willing to hire more nefarious types for more questionable work.
Prodigiopolis- A great port city, Prodigiopolis is considered Tsumer’s net, dragging back the treasures of the world to the Empire- but it also sweeps up scum. Traders and fishermen work to make their fortunes, while cheap businesses catering to sailors with pockets filled with gold crowd the warf. Ale, women, gambling, and all manner of vice fill the streets, and a thriving criminal underworld ensures that anything may be bought here- for a price.
Prodigiopolis is the perfect place for a hero on the run. No one her judges harshly or asks too many questions- its too dangerous and hypocritical. Instead it welcomes with open arms those rich enough to afford it’s wares and those tough enough to survive its streets.
People in Prodigiopolis barely blink when seeing a non-human race- strange folk of all sorts run in and out of the ports. More disturbing is the presence of the Church of the Light- while a few missionaries cling to hope here and there, large outings to this ‘lost’ city are rare.
There are rumors of a strange new drug on the streets of Prodigiopolis, a red powder that alleviates all hunger and pain- for a while. Withdrawls often leave users ravenous and bloodthirsty, with a surprising animal like strength and speed, willing to do almost anything to get their next fix.
Adventure Possibilities:
Prodigiopolis is a medieval Sin City, filled with crime, prostitution, and corruption, all tolerated because it brings wealth into the Empire. Here more edgy and roguish heroes often get their start, fighting to survive. A quick tongue, a sharp sword, and a friend to watch your back are your best weapons in this port.
Belliatora- The armies of King MacElmass the Iron Hearted were the most powerful military force in the world. While relatively small, their expertise in the production and use of arms, with a slant towards innovation and rigorous training techniques produced men who were often worth ten ordinary soldiers, made more dangerous when working in unison. It was this army that protected the proud land of Ferrigna. The Empire held numbers and faith however, and soon MacElmass was forced to bow before the Tsumer Empire.
Belliatora was the proud capital of Ferrigna before it became a border state. The Church of the Light quickly spread through Belliatora’s poor and disenfranchised, solidifying the Empire’s grasp upon the north. Belliatora, in turn, began to produce some of the most faithful soldiers to ever serve the Empire, its military academies second to none.
Near the northern mountains, Belliatora has often come into conflict with the dwarves and goliaths of the nearby mountains, seizing vital iron mines to continue war efforts. There has been an uneasy truce between them- until now. News of the Empire’s instability has reached the ears of the dwarves, and it is only a matter of time before they begin a full scale attack to take back their mines.
The city’s people are as cold and harsh as the land around them, a dry place, with mild springs and summers, with long cold falls and winters. While festivals allow for more emotional displays, year round, the people do their best to mind their own business and not make a scene or stir up trouble. Regular border patrols are maintained in the growing season to prevent banditry and monster incursions, but during the cold months, dark creatures often prowl the land when soldiers dare not risk winter’s wrath. While not common, more than once spring has come to reveal an entire village devoured by ghouls or other undead. In one case, it disappeared entirely leaving only blackened grasses and the foul stench of death.
Adventure Possibilities:
A harsh and isolated Northern fortress, the walled city of Belliatora is a place where war is always close, and death stalks the countryside when it is at its weakest.
The Three Great Tribes
Untamed by steel, faith, or magic, the great tribes would not bend to the civilizing forces of the world. They live free and proud, but it is a harsh existence, where hunting, weather, and fate can lay low even the toughest of peoples. The tribes that remain depend on their heroes to keep them alive- great warriors, powerful shamans, gifted barbarians, sorcerers, warlocks, druids, and other heroes guide them across the land and protect them from the evils that roam the world. While their numbers have been reduced by the Empire’s zeal, the tribes still struggle to survive, and in time, may become truly great once again.
The Northern Tribes: The Northern Tribes that survives are nomadic, riding on horse back, moving across the plain to find new fertile hunting grounds, camping near the coasts and in the warmer woods during the harsh winters. The fiercest and most depraved of the Northern Tribes have begun raiding civilized villages for supplies, burning houses, claiming women, with more peaceful tribes often taking the blame.
Northern tribes are known for their skills in hunting, horsemanship, and livestock. It is said that a Northern barbarian tracker can track a man across dry rock after a thunderstorm. Northern tribes often have secret trails and rest spots along the mountains, secret spots and caches, knowledge of mystical doors and hidden things in the wilds. How much is rumor and how much is fact is often hard to say.
Northern Tribes most often come into conflict with dwarves and the Tsumer empire, but have good relations with many of the goliaths. Mountain trails and annual festivities, where in goliath and man compete in games, followed by feasts, finishing with training have worked well for both peoples for a very long time.
One of the primary food sources of the Northern Tribe is the mammoth. Mammoths provide a great deal of meat as well as needed furs and even shelter to a tribe. However, the mammoths have begun to dwindle as the farmlands of the Empire have expanded, driving the creatures off. What will happen to the Northern Tribe when the last of these animals die is unknown.
Common Spirit Animals include horses, mammoths, eagles, and wolves.
Adventure Possibilities: The Northern Tribes are almost always on the move, hunting, and bumping against other cultures. This penchant for moving allows a party traveling with them to encounter many things, such as temples and caves in the mountains, to village on the plains, to marching armies, to strange roaming beasts in the land. This means that the Northern Tribes may also be used anywhere in the northern part of the world as they travel to keep alive.
The Eastern Tribes: The Eastern Tribes survive primarily through stubborn resistance to change in harsh wilderness and hills, places considered too barren for most to survive. There is food if you know where to find it though, and certain animals do well in the environment, sheep and goats being among them.
Many of the Eastern Tribes were pushed off more fertile lands during the Empire’s expansion and conquering, and so they are often fiercely xenophobic to outsiders. The hill clans stock up in the winter and form tense alliances for marriage, but otherwise keep to themselves. The best of the clans are honorable warriors, people who stick to their word through thick and thin and show hospitality to those who have earned it; the worst are devolved cannibals, with no use for people outside their clan other than for food and reproduction.
The clans of the woods and hills are often privy to secrets of their area, knowing the local terrain, but sometimes they become part of these secrets. Clans taking residence in mystical groves may have faerie heritage, while those sequestered in tombs may entirely give themselves to vampiric lords.
The Eastern Tribes often come into conflict and alliance with the Border States of Tsumer. Many of those living on the border states are considered cousins and sellouts by the Eastern tribes- those who were too weak to fight off what was coming, never mind the geographic location. While a given kinsmen from the border states may have a good relation with a given tribe, it’s not universal.
All in all, getting involved with the Eastern tribes from the outside is a study in variability: no two clans are really the same, and your visit with friendly tartan clad hillsmen in your first encounter may not ready you for the savage woodlands tribe you encounter in the second.
Common spirits for hillsmen include rams, foxes, hawks, lions, and rabbits. Common spirits for woodsmen include stags, boars, bears, and owls.
Adventure Possibilities: The hills and the woods at the borders of the Tsumer Empire are some of the most wild places left in the world. In this magical world, the dangers of fierce beasts and monsters are one threat, but ever greater looms the threat of mankind and the other sentient races. Running into one monster can mean a fierce battle, but an angry tribe can prove to be a threat until you leave their area. Playing a tribesman means coming from a harsh land of dangerous and tenuous alliances- a smaller world, but an important one, where the strength of a single man is often more important than the size of his armies.
The Southern Tribes: The Southern Tribes once dwelled on the coast of what is now southern Tsumer, but no longer- those who were not willing to assimilate fled to the chain of islands know as the Spice Islands or the Claw Islands. There, the Southern Tribes have adapted and blended with the other island natives, and have worked hard to empower themselves with magic, to keep their independence against the expanding Empire.
The Southern Tribes are known for a deep spiritual bond to the earth, nature, and their animal brethren. They have eschewed metal weapons, creating marvelous weapons of wood, rock, and bone. Spirits seem to inhabit the areas they have frequented, woken to work as guardians, and the wilds come alive to claim civilized men. Rather than angry, most of the Southern Tribes feel a deep sorrow for the men of Tsumer, seeing them as disconnected from the world, living to satisfy a hunger without end in sight.
The Southern Tribes have a good relation with each other… for the most part. Most of them are civil, counting coup and tourneys replacing most wars, with thriving trade and travel among the islands. However, there are a few bad apples, cannibals and dissidents, as well as lizard men and other bizarre creatures, that make traveling among the islands without a guide hazardous.
There is a hidden land, behind the mountains, a vast jungle. The Southern Tribes live along the coast of this region, fishing, but the depths of the jungles hold mysteries- ancient temples filled with darkness unseen for millennia…
Common spirit animals for the Southern Tribes include thunderbirds, jaguars, dolphins, wind spirits, serpents, coyotes, and otters. Many shamans have more exotic spirits among the Southern Tribes, sometimes calling upon unique spirits such as Chatka the Cracked Jug or other strange names.
Adventure Possibilities: The Primal power runs strong in the south and traveling amongst these peoples is to walk in a different world. Metal weapons and metal working become scarce to non-existent skills, clothing and armor scarce, but spirits often appear, even to the non-initiated. One might even accidentally enter other realms such as the astral or the shadowfell by wandering into the wrong part of the jungle. The unobservant see primative peoples in a untamed wilderness; the wise see a powerful people, harnessing the forces of nature and living in relative harmony within it.
The Border States
While technically part of the Tsumer Empire, they are recent additions, a people torn between tradition and fealty. Conquered in the Empire’s expansion, converted by the Church of the Light, the people of the Border States are a strange lot: their accents make them foreigners among the Empire proper, their destroyed heritage and subjugation make them unwelcome among many of the tribes, some embrace the Light with zeal, while others make to keep their own traditions alive in secret, a few harbor thoughts of open rebellion, while others wish to become equals in the eyes of the Empire. This mixture of cultures makes the Border States both interesting and dangerous, a volatile land protected little by it’s kinsmen, their fates still undecided.
Frost Moore: The northern border state, Frost Moore was once made of several tribes and nomads. Slow conquering through hard fought battles have left these gently rolling hills, plains, and forests in Tsumer control for hundreds of years, but the people do not forget their roots.
Frost Moore is speckled with many swamps amid its plains, hills, and forests. These harsh areas are often home to hermits and bandits, left alone by civilized men. Here some of the great druids of the old religion stay, secreted away. Those who revere nature gather here, the dark and the light- hags and nymphs gather together in these places to ensure the protection of the wild places.
Some of the most devout and zealous priests live in this region, loyal to the light- but not to the empire. Many a devout light follower dreams of freedom from the oppression of government to follow the light unchecked and banish evil as they see fit. Many of the people of the area are serfs, with worse conditions than their fellow citizens in the empire.
To this end, Frost Moore is a land of mixed feelings and resentment, with a small but powerful elite class living alongside a large, poor, disenfranchised majority. It will take only a small spark to set the settlement off- the only question is who will receive that wrath: native Tsumer loyalists, the nearby tribes, or the Tsumer Empire itself.
Adventure Possibilities: Frost Moore is best described as a place of quiet intensity. The people there do not speak openly of their contempt for the Empire, for their neighbors, but brewing behind closed doors there are always plans in motion, secret rendezvous occur in the wild, and sermons filled with fire fuel the people to take action- whatever that action might be.
Frost Moore is a place where heroes can truly make a difference in it’s future- siding with a faction could lead to liberation, unity, or utter destruction.
Thumosia: Thumosia is a fertile land that was once held by what had been some of the most peaceful barbarians in the land, before being driven out by the power of the Tsumer Empire, those not slaughtered driven into the eastern woodlands. Here a great deal of food is produced for the empire by those who have moved to this region, largely free of the intense oversight of the church due to a lack of pagan and shamanistic roots- however, the very lack of oversight led to a tendency towards free thought and development.
Many of the greatest arcane minds in the world have been born in, researched in, and retired in Thumosia, unhampered by the closeness of the Church of the Light. This is not to say that the Church does not have a presence here or does not send envoys- merely that it has not been considered a point of contention. Until recently.
Many of those disenfranchised by the most recent inquisition have hidden in Thumosia, and a few have banded together in a fierce alliance known as the Brothers of the Tower. These fierce arcane adherents train any who are willing to learn in the arcane arts, defend themselves without shame or quarter, and are infamous for one skirmish in which their swordmages, wizards, warlocks, and sorcerors laid waste to a church envoy flying a flag of war, making short work of their holy warriors. The message was clear: We will not be cowed. Further encroachments of the Church into the region have been covert or overtly peaceful, though they are known to shout and debate vigorously.
Some fear that Thumosia will pull away entirely, but few worry that the eastern tribes might reclaim their land. Still, in these times of Chaos, everything is possible.
Adventure Possibilities: Thumosia is in many ways a land swept clean of the old making way for the new. The arcane arts here are finding a second home, proliferating among the people, but this independent and amoral power threatens something new for the people: independence. If the arcane arts can defend them, and the land feed them, what need is there to serve an Empire that for all intents and purposes is leaching off of them? Without that Empire, it could be Thumosia could become a potent nation in it’s own right- if it survives the birth.
As a place known for free thought, almost any kind of off the wall new group can come from here: primal hippies? Necromantic doctors? Reverse Warlocking? It can all be tried out here, but that doesn’t mean bad ideas don’t cause trouble. Rather the opposite: playing with fire can burn, but Thumosia is willing to lick those wounds if it means making the steam engine.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Big Numbers of the First Age
So, my friends have all been looking at Dreams of the First Age and shown a mutual disappointment in it. Basically, it's not that its bad, it's just that there is nothing in it that really surprises or 'pops'. It's just all the information someone who is a fan of Exalted expected to get, including ridiculously huge stat blocks for the First Age Solars. Including a page of so of Charms that may as well just be the Charm chapter from the damn book.
I firmly believe that in table top role playing games, big numbers tend to be a bad idea. They add excessive memorization, stat crunching, complexity, randomness, and a bunch of other elements that turn a game into a whirling pile of headaches. It most often happens at the upper limits of a game, where the numbers are sort of supposed to be big- but whats the point? With the sheer number of stats on a First Age Solar, one can barely begin to figure out just what you can do, because there are always more options- not to mention the combos.
My quick interpretation of how First Age Solars could be done is just simplifying everything and making some quick assumptions:
*Your character has almost a countless number of charms. Assume your favored traits are enhanced by crazy essence powers.
*You can stunt on anything, and may include crazy charm names and combos while doing so.
*You have a high amount of skill in your Caste abilities, with less so in the other Castes.
I figure, you get three main traits: Physical, Social, and Mental. You have five dice for the first pick, four for the second, three for the third. You get one specialty for each of these three traits, corresponding to one of the nine traits.
You get five skills, one for each of the Castes. Your Caste skill is five, you pick out two others to put at a 4, one at a 3, and one at a 2. You pick on specialty for each of these, corresponding to your greatest skill for each Caste section.
You get max health levels and may stunt as normal. Your Essence is considered high enough that 'lesser' Exalted can't even begin to challenge you unless they show up in numbers.
Skip on using charms and essence- assume their use in the flavor text. DV should be based on Physical+Dawn/Night/Zenith. Every round of combat is likely more intense then the next, so increase die pools every round. Set a time limit of rounds ahead of time for any battles and assume essence loss has finished them once it has been reached.
It's still a bit rough, and needs to be smoothed out a bit, but it's a hell of a lot easier than trying to stat out and play an entire book worth of crazy powers.
I firmly believe that in table top role playing games, big numbers tend to be a bad idea. They add excessive memorization, stat crunching, complexity, randomness, and a bunch of other elements that turn a game into a whirling pile of headaches. It most often happens at the upper limits of a game, where the numbers are sort of supposed to be big- but whats the point? With the sheer number of stats on a First Age Solar, one can barely begin to figure out just what you can do, because there are always more options- not to mention the combos.
My quick interpretation of how First Age Solars could be done is just simplifying everything and making some quick assumptions:
*Your character has almost a countless number of charms. Assume your favored traits are enhanced by crazy essence powers.
*You can stunt on anything, and may include crazy charm names and combos while doing so.
*You have a high amount of skill in your Caste abilities, with less so in the other Castes.
I figure, you get three main traits: Physical, Social, and Mental. You have five dice for the first pick, four for the second, three for the third. You get one specialty for each of these three traits, corresponding to one of the nine traits.
You get five skills, one for each of the Castes. Your Caste skill is five, you pick out two others to put at a 4, one at a 3, and one at a 2. You pick on specialty for each of these, corresponding to your greatest skill for each Caste section.
You get max health levels and may stunt as normal. Your Essence is considered high enough that 'lesser' Exalted can't even begin to challenge you unless they show up in numbers.
Skip on using charms and essence- assume their use in the flavor text. DV should be based on Physical+Dawn/Night/Zenith. Every round of combat is likely more intense then the next, so increase die pools every round. Set a time limit of rounds ahead of time for any battles and assume essence loss has finished them once it has been reached.
It's still a bit rough, and needs to be smoothed out a bit, but it's a hell of a lot easier than trying to stat out and play an entire book worth of crazy powers.
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