Okay. So, this really isn't a Exalted board. I had a cool idea for a campaign anyway, and wanted to get feedback. And the guys here are pretty cool, so I figured, why not?
Anyway, feel free to pontificate about how you'd change the ideas around for the Eberron setting, or any general GM advice you have. I'll try to explain the D&D equivelants for those who want to *try* to follow along - and to help people convert to the Eberron setting.
If something's unclear, feel free to ask, I'll try to clarify.
-----------------------
Well, I finally ran my first salvo of an Exalted campaign.
First, since we did character generation on the fly, it was hard trying to get everyone together, since they came from around the globe and had vastly different motives. (And I really didn't have alot of advanced knowledge of this - most of the characters were created in the first half of the session.)
The characters that we ended up with are:
Kadar - A young military-trained fighter from Lookshy (Dawn) who is searching for his lost sister, Aril, who mysteriously disappeared.
(I actually have to say something about this - the kid playing Kadar has really good instincts for rping. Of the character ideas, he had the least background - he wanted to play a fighter-type character, but his lost sister melodramatic plot-hook gave me alot to work with and a great way to tie everything together. Better still, he came up with it on his own - no prodding from the more "experienced" roleplayers at the table.)
Dashiwa - A Haslanti League Gadgeteer/Thrill-seeker Night Caste. His main motivation? "Avoid Boredom." (Now that's what I like to hear for a motivation!)
Syzygy - a Gethemene Sorcerer twilight cast who seeks to find knowledge to deal with the many threats enveloping the realm.
Autumn Wind - a former Immaculate-In-Training Zenith from the Blessed Isle who now does what he can to make the world a better place.
Finally Mnemon Devon - a former Imperial House member who "failed" to Exalt as Dragon Blooded, trying to still prove himself to his family and get filthy rich doing it.
D&D Notes for Enworld: For those unfamiliar with the Exalted setting, Kadar is similar to a Fighter type, Dashiwa is similar to a multiclassed Rogue/Artificer, Syzygy's a Wizard, Autumn Wind is a Monk/Cleric (and has the Medicine skills of the group,) and Mnemon Devon is made up of the NPC Aristocrat class. Lookshy is a militaristic city-state that is one of the last holdouts of the Empire, Haslanti and Gethemene are tributaries of the Empire in the frigid north, and Gethemene has miles and miles of long tunnels underneath it's surface. The Immaculates are the priests of the State Religion of Exalted's Empire and the de facto religion of the mainstream everywhere else. Solar Exalted - which all the PCs have become - are treated as anathema by this religion and are expected to be destroyed, which explains the "Ex" monk aspect.
-----
The game started in Gethemene - the last letter from Aril, Kadar's sister, came from that area, Dashiwa was kicked out of the Haslanti League territories and considers Gethemene as good a stop as any, Syzygy lives there, and Autumn Wind and Mnemon Devon were merely there by coincidence.
In Gethemene, the recent monster attacks had increased notably within the past few months. Furthermore, Autumn Wind, who took it upon himself to sleep in the temples - found himself dreaming a vision of his own murder - played backwards and in black and white, except for one man in the crowd, who was in color-blue robes and spoke forwards. "...something wrong here - something which you have to stop... If... I'm correct, you have to do something for me. I really hoping I'm pronouncing this correctly.
D&D Notes for Enworld: The Solar Exalted reincarnate - what Autumn wind is experiencing in his dream is a previous life's death.
They all ended up with motivations for heading down into the tunnels under Gethemene - Autumn Wind was given a hint when the sole survivor of an excavation party (whose life he saved) in the tunnels spotted a caste mark glyph hewn into the rock walls in Gethemene. Kadar was lured into the tunnels by noting that his sister's hairpin (with brand new scorch marks) was found there. Dashiwa was lured in by the promise of treasure - Devon was lured in by political favor (the Mayor's son was leading this particular expedition in order to calm public fears that the town of Gethemene was "unsafe" - and being seen with the Mayor's son is good publicity, and Syzygy was brought along as a local thaumaturgy expert.
D&D Notes for Enworld: A "caste mark" is a symbol which marks the Solar (and other Exalted) as members of a specific caste. It shows brightly on the forehead of Solar Exalted when they're doing "spells" - but it also has other significance as well.
Inside the cave, they found a circular tunnel with five inward-jutting caves which led towards the center - but ended in a wall with a solar glyph on it. Each was protected by a barrier - only someone of the right caste could pass (which meant that normal people who walked through it got zapped. With each of the solars touching their corresponding glyphs, they opened a spiral staircase leading to a central room. Uncovering the dust on the floor - they were standing in a giant, glowing first age machine of some kind, powered by a crystal in the center of the floor. They passed through a long museum-like hallway full of old war trophies from the first age - as well as a library, beautifully preserved.
Further down, they came to a huge chamber, which had a glowing green misty cone 300 feet in diameter balanced upon a single point on a pillar in the center.
At this point, they met the blind and extremely ancient Bronzed Faced Man, who stayed and guarded the pillar - a gateway to the Hell of the Yozis. This gateway was opened by the Bronzed Faced Man and the rest of his circle. See, they had forseen the Dragon Blooded Betrayal and the coming of the Contagion - and they felt they had to stop it. In order to do that, they had to rewrite not just fate - the domain they simply could have asked the Sidereals to meddle in - but to alter the fundimental essence of Creation itself - to excercise the same power as the Primordeals. In tapping into the Primordials power, though, they opened loose a gate from which the primordials sprang forth. Some primordials of small consequence escaped - after which Bronzed Faced Man used his sorcery to erect the barriers designed to keep the remaining Primordials in - (rather than keeping other people out.) In the ensuing battle, the Bronzed Faced Man lost his sight - and was the only survivor... He couldn't shut the machine off - that required a perfect circle in order to do so. (It was ironically designed as a safety procedure.)
D&D Notes for Enworld: Bronzed Faced Man is a first age solar. Solars have lifespans of thousands of years, assuming no unnatural cause of death. The Primordials are too complex to get into detail here, but suffice to say they created the world, but then fell from grace to become demons in the Eastern sense, either dead, lying dreaming, or imprizoned in Malfeas
When the circle shut down the machine, Bronzed Faced Man could finally rest, although the hearthstone of the Underways Mance now glowed with the same Green energy that was evident in the gateway to the Yozis. (And of course, that's coming back to haunt them - the hearthstone, in the hands of someone with Terrestrial Sorcery or higher - can use it to re-open the gate to Malfeas.) They also looted the place - some for weapons - some for magic and artifacts - others rooted the library.
In the end, the Bronzed faced Man gave a gift that he thought would aid the characters in what they needed to do - A copy of "A Guide to Creation: Realm Year XXXX" and other "Creationary Guides."
On their way out, they noticed the security system - complete with old-realm monitors which recorded everything for the past three thousand years. One of them showed a scorched hallway, and on a (GM-suggested) hunch, they rewound the video to see Aril, three weeks ago, hunted by something wielding some sort of fire-weapon, charm, or sorcery. (They didn't actually see the person, but they saw the fire.)
When Kadar went back to investigate, he found a note from his sister, using a secret code they used to use as children. She explained that she found out something big - something that affected all of creation - and she was being chased by a shadowy group known as the "Gang of Five" because of it.
----------------
CONSPIRACIES AND SUBPLOTS.
The Gang Of Five: Unknown to the group, Chehop Kejak is dead. Quite natural causes - old age. But the power vacuum caused by the Elder Sidereal's death has opened the door for a ruthless and heartless cabal of Sidereals, known as the Gang of Five, to make a play for power in the Yu-Shan gateways.
D&D Notes for Enworld: Chehop Kejak is roughly equivelant to Elminster - a Sidereal of extreme advanced age who holds so much political power from the shadows that he effectively can control most of what happens within the state religion. The Sidereals are the guardians of the Loom of Fate, tasked with preserving and directing fate. They're like "reality cops." Complete with bureaucratic paperwork.
Aril: The reason they are after Aril is because according to their Astrology, Aril's about to become the new vessel for Kejak's essence once Lytek gets through trimming it and the predestined moment occurs. By killing Aril before that moment, they can delay the return of Kejak's essence, as Lytek tries to navigate the celestial bureaucracy to find a new suitable host - which could take decades. By then, the Gang of Five will cement their hold on power - and on Fate itself. Worse still, if the Gang of Five captures Aril at the moment of her Exaltation, or soon afterward, they could imprison her essence in a moonsilver prison, not unlike the Jade Prison which held the Solar Essences. Luckily for the team, Aril can hold her own for a while - she's crafty - and can buy some very needed time for the group to investigate and catch up to the conspiracy.
I'm using a house-rule for Arcane Fate. Otherwise, characters would usually have Sweet F.A. to investigate a Sidereal conspiracy. Basically, a Sidereal's actions on Creation are remembered until the Sidereal either dons a Resplendant Destiny (at which time the "old" Sidereal is forgotton) or they return to Yu-Shan. Similarly, anyone old enough to remember the Sidereals from before the Tapestry was rended remembers exactly what Sidereals are and can communicate the idea. Such as, say, Bronzed Faced Man.
D&D Notes for Enworld: I.E., Sidereals can't be remembered once they leave the prime plane, or when they don a mystical disguise. However, donning one of those mystical diguises allow for Sidereals to be remembered even after they leave the plane.
(Should make for a heartbreaking moment when Aril goes to Yu-Shan for the first time, realizing that her brother who fought so hard to help her isn't even going to remember her when she goes to Yu-Shan... touching, heartwarming, bittersweet moment that belongs in Sony Pictures Classics.)
D&D Notes for Enworld: Yu-Shan is the home of the Gods and the closest thing Exalted has to a "heaven" - the Sidereals use gateways to travel to and from Yu-Shan.
The Immaculate Connection: It's going to take a while for word to reach the Threshhold, but Autumn Wind's character is going to end up quickly noticing that the Immaculate Order is freaking. The Mouth of Peace seems disoriented and confused, and that's going to have effects all through the clergy.
D&D Notes for Enworld: The Mouth of Peace is the "official" head of the Immaculates. Chehop Kejak is the "power behind the throne."
The Dreams: Each of the characters will eventually have a dream exactly like Autumn Wind's - which show their own deaths during the First Age. Right before those moments, when they first occurred, a younger Chehop Kejak approached these Solars, knowing the moment of his death and it's concesquences (Lore charm) and knowing what he needed to do to fix it - specifically, to speak backwards to these Solars shortly before the moment of their deaths.
The Gateway to Malfeas: Merely a secondary plot-hook which is going to come up later in the game - the Hearthstone which had been gaining power for thousands of years, can now be used by anyone with Terrestrial Level Sorcery to re-open the gateway to Malfeas. Should be good for a quick battle. Of course, it's going to go missing at some point or another - it will probably be sought after by the Deathknights who might want to use it to free the Primordials and open a gateway to Yu-Shan as a preface to invasion in one of the campaign's climaxes.
------
Next session - the group comes across an island where beasts from all across creation have congregated. It's an island that appears only once a year - at the exact gravitic center of the Unconquered Sun, Luna, The Maidens and the Elemental Poles. It's almost like the Wyld but not - weather shifts quickly from Haslanti Cold to Gem Hot. And they're there to beat a dark religious cult to the last remaining specimen of a nearly-extinct variety of Thunder Lizard, whose horn could cure a plague wracking the barbarian tribes of the North - or resurrect a defeated deathknight.
Anyway, feel free to pontificate about how you'd change the ideas around for the Eberron setting, or any general GM advice you have. I'll try to explain the D&D equivelants for those who want to *try* to follow along - and to help people convert to the Eberron setting.
If something's unclear, feel free to ask, I'll try to clarify.
-----------------------
Well, I finally ran my first salvo of an Exalted campaign.
First, since we did character generation on the fly, it was hard trying to get everyone together, since they came from around the globe and had vastly different motives. (And I really didn't have alot of advanced knowledge of this - most of the characters were created in the first half of the session.)
The characters that we ended up with are:
Kadar - A young military-trained fighter from Lookshy (Dawn) who is searching for his lost sister, Aril, who mysteriously disappeared.
(I actually have to say something about this - the kid playing Kadar has really good instincts for rping. Of the character ideas, he had the least background - he wanted to play a fighter-type character, but his lost sister melodramatic plot-hook gave me alot to work with and a great way to tie everything together. Better still, he came up with it on his own - no prodding from the more "experienced" roleplayers at the table.)
Dashiwa - A Haslanti League Gadgeteer/Thrill-seeker Night Caste. His main motivation? "Avoid Boredom." (Now that's what I like to hear for a motivation!)
Syzygy - a Gethemene Sorcerer twilight cast who seeks to find knowledge to deal with the many threats enveloping the realm.
Autumn Wind - a former Immaculate-In-Training Zenith from the Blessed Isle who now does what he can to make the world a better place.
Finally Mnemon Devon - a former Imperial House member who "failed" to Exalt as Dragon Blooded, trying to still prove himself to his family and get filthy rich doing it.
D&D Notes for Enworld: For those unfamiliar with the Exalted setting, Kadar is similar to a Fighter type, Dashiwa is similar to a multiclassed Rogue/Artificer, Syzygy's a Wizard, Autumn Wind is a Monk/Cleric (and has the Medicine skills of the group,) and Mnemon Devon is made up of the NPC Aristocrat class. Lookshy is a militaristic city-state that is one of the last holdouts of the Empire, Haslanti and Gethemene are tributaries of the Empire in the frigid north, and Gethemene has miles and miles of long tunnels underneath it's surface. The Immaculates are the priests of the State Religion of Exalted's Empire and the de facto religion of the mainstream everywhere else. Solar Exalted - which all the PCs have become - are treated as anathema by this religion and are expected to be destroyed, which explains the "Ex" monk aspect.
-----
The game started in Gethemene - the last letter from Aril, Kadar's sister, came from that area, Dashiwa was kicked out of the Haslanti League territories and considers Gethemene as good a stop as any, Syzygy lives there, and Autumn Wind and Mnemon Devon were merely there by coincidence.
In Gethemene, the recent monster attacks had increased notably within the past few months. Furthermore, Autumn Wind, who took it upon himself to sleep in the temples - found himself dreaming a vision of his own murder - played backwards and in black and white, except for one man in the crowd, who was in color-blue robes and spoke forwards. "...something wrong here - something which you have to stop... If... I'm correct, you have to do something for me. I really hoping I'm pronouncing this correctly.
D&D Notes for Enworld: The Solar Exalted reincarnate - what Autumn wind is experiencing in his dream is a previous life's death.
They all ended up with motivations for heading down into the tunnels under Gethemene - Autumn Wind was given a hint when the sole survivor of an excavation party (whose life he saved) in the tunnels spotted a caste mark glyph hewn into the rock walls in Gethemene. Kadar was lured into the tunnels by noting that his sister's hairpin (with brand new scorch marks) was found there. Dashiwa was lured in by the promise of treasure - Devon was lured in by political favor (the Mayor's son was leading this particular expedition in order to calm public fears that the town of Gethemene was "unsafe" - and being seen with the Mayor's son is good publicity, and Syzygy was brought along as a local thaumaturgy expert.
D&D Notes for Enworld: A "caste mark" is a symbol which marks the Solar (and other Exalted) as members of a specific caste. It shows brightly on the forehead of Solar Exalted when they're doing "spells" - but it also has other significance as well.
Inside the cave, they found a circular tunnel with five inward-jutting caves which led towards the center - but ended in a wall with a solar glyph on it. Each was protected by a barrier - only someone of the right caste could pass (which meant that normal people who walked through it got zapped. With each of the solars touching their corresponding glyphs, they opened a spiral staircase leading to a central room. Uncovering the dust on the floor - they were standing in a giant, glowing first age machine of some kind, powered by a crystal in the center of the floor. They passed through a long museum-like hallway full of old war trophies from the first age - as well as a library, beautifully preserved.
Further down, they came to a huge chamber, which had a glowing green misty cone 300 feet in diameter balanced upon a single point on a pillar in the center.
At this point, they met the blind and extremely ancient Bronzed Faced Man, who stayed and guarded the pillar - a gateway to the Hell of the Yozis. This gateway was opened by the Bronzed Faced Man and the rest of his circle. See, they had forseen the Dragon Blooded Betrayal and the coming of the Contagion - and they felt they had to stop it. In order to do that, they had to rewrite not just fate - the domain they simply could have asked the Sidereals to meddle in - but to alter the fundimental essence of Creation itself - to excercise the same power as the Primordeals. In tapping into the Primordials power, though, they opened loose a gate from which the primordials sprang forth. Some primordials of small consequence escaped - after which Bronzed Faced Man used his sorcery to erect the barriers designed to keep the remaining Primordials in - (rather than keeping other people out.) In the ensuing battle, the Bronzed Faced Man lost his sight - and was the only survivor... He couldn't shut the machine off - that required a perfect circle in order to do so. (It was ironically designed as a safety procedure.)
D&D Notes for Enworld: Bronzed Faced Man is a first age solar. Solars have lifespans of thousands of years, assuming no unnatural cause of death. The Primordials are too complex to get into detail here, but suffice to say they created the world, but then fell from grace to become demons in the Eastern sense, either dead, lying dreaming, or imprizoned in Malfeas
When the circle shut down the machine, Bronzed Faced Man could finally rest, although the hearthstone of the Underways Mance now glowed with the same Green energy that was evident in the gateway to the Yozis. (And of course, that's coming back to haunt them - the hearthstone, in the hands of someone with Terrestrial Sorcery or higher - can use it to re-open the gate to Malfeas.) They also looted the place - some for weapons - some for magic and artifacts - others rooted the library.
In the end, the Bronzed faced Man gave a gift that he thought would aid the characters in what they needed to do - A copy of "A Guide to Creation: Realm Year XXXX" and other "Creationary Guides."
On their way out, they noticed the security system - complete with old-realm monitors which recorded everything for the past three thousand years. One of them showed a scorched hallway, and on a (GM-suggested) hunch, they rewound the video to see Aril, three weeks ago, hunted by something wielding some sort of fire-weapon, charm, or sorcery. (They didn't actually see the person, but they saw the fire.)
When Kadar went back to investigate, he found a note from his sister, using a secret code they used to use as children. She explained that she found out something big - something that affected all of creation - and she was being chased by a shadowy group known as the "Gang of Five" because of it.
----------------
CONSPIRACIES AND SUBPLOTS.
The Gang Of Five: Unknown to the group, Chehop Kejak is dead. Quite natural causes - old age. But the power vacuum caused by the Elder Sidereal's death has opened the door for a ruthless and heartless cabal of Sidereals, known as the Gang of Five, to make a play for power in the Yu-Shan gateways.
D&D Notes for Enworld: Chehop Kejak is roughly equivelant to Elminster - a Sidereal of extreme advanced age who holds so much political power from the shadows that he effectively can control most of what happens within the state religion. The Sidereals are the guardians of the Loom of Fate, tasked with preserving and directing fate. They're like "reality cops." Complete with bureaucratic paperwork.
Aril: The reason they are after Aril is because according to their Astrology, Aril's about to become the new vessel for Kejak's essence once Lytek gets through trimming it and the predestined moment occurs. By killing Aril before that moment, they can delay the return of Kejak's essence, as Lytek tries to navigate the celestial bureaucracy to find a new suitable host - which could take decades. By then, the Gang of Five will cement their hold on power - and on Fate itself. Worse still, if the Gang of Five captures Aril at the moment of her Exaltation, or soon afterward, they could imprison her essence in a moonsilver prison, not unlike the Jade Prison which held the Solar Essences. Luckily for the team, Aril can hold her own for a while - she's crafty - and can buy some very needed time for the group to investigate and catch up to the conspiracy.
I'm using a house-rule for Arcane Fate. Otherwise, characters would usually have Sweet F.A. to investigate a Sidereal conspiracy. Basically, a Sidereal's actions on Creation are remembered until the Sidereal either dons a Resplendant Destiny (at which time the "old" Sidereal is forgotton) or they return to Yu-Shan. Similarly, anyone old enough to remember the Sidereals from before the Tapestry was rended remembers exactly what Sidereals are and can communicate the idea. Such as, say, Bronzed Faced Man.
D&D Notes for Enworld: I.E., Sidereals can't be remembered once they leave the prime plane, or when they don a mystical disguise. However, donning one of those mystical diguises allow for Sidereals to be remembered even after they leave the plane.
(Should make for a heartbreaking moment when Aril goes to Yu-Shan for the first time, realizing that her brother who fought so hard to help her isn't even going to remember her when she goes to Yu-Shan... touching, heartwarming, bittersweet moment that belongs in Sony Pictures Classics.)
D&D Notes for Enworld: Yu-Shan is the home of the Gods and the closest thing Exalted has to a "heaven" - the Sidereals use gateways to travel to and from Yu-Shan.
The Immaculate Connection: It's going to take a while for word to reach the Threshhold, but Autumn Wind's character is going to end up quickly noticing that the Immaculate Order is freaking. The Mouth of Peace seems disoriented and confused, and that's going to have effects all through the clergy.
D&D Notes for Enworld: The Mouth of Peace is the "official" head of the Immaculates. Chehop Kejak is the "power behind the throne."
The Dreams: Each of the characters will eventually have a dream exactly like Autumn Wind's - which show their own deaths during the First Age. Right before those moments, when they first occurred, a younger Chehop Kejak approached these Solars, knowing the moment of his death and it's concesquences (Lore charm) and knowing what he needed to do to fix it - specifically, to speak backwards to these Solars shortly before the moment of their deaths.
The Gateway to Malfeas: Merely a secondary plot-hook which is going to come up later in the game - the Hearthstone which had been gaining power for thousands of years, can now be used by anyone with Terrestrial Level Sorcery to re-open the gateway to Malfeas. Should be good for a quick battle. Of course, it's going to go missing at some point or another - it will probably be sought after by the Deathknights who might want to use it to free the Primordials and open a gateway to Yu-Shan as a preface to invasion in one of the campaign's climaxes.
------
Next session - the group comes across an island where beasts from all across creation have congregated. It's an island that appears only once a year - at the exact gravitic center of the Unconquered Sun, Luna, The Maidens and the Elemental Poles. It's almost like the Wyld but not - weather shifts quickly from Haslanti Cold to Gem Hot. And they're there to beat a dark religious cult to the last remaining specimen of a nearly-extinct variety of Thunder Lizard, whose horn could cure a plague wracking the barbarian tribes of the North - or resurrect a defeated deathknight.
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