| 1 | [[center: [- [[Characters/{{Exalted}} Top Index]] | '''Exalted''' ([[Characters/ExaltedExaltedOfCreation Exalted of Creation]]) | [[Characters/ExaltedSpirits Spirits]] | [[Characters/ExaltedOther Other]] ]] -] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Tropes relating to the stars of the game: the eponymous Exalted. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | For tropes pertaining to the Solar, Lunar, Sidereal and Terrestrial Exalted, see [[Characters/ExaltedExaltedOfCreation Exalted of Creation]]. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 8 | |
| 9 | [[folder:In General]] |
| 10 | |
| 11 | The Exalted are mortals that were originally [[SuperEmpowering empowered]] by the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Gods]] to overthrow their [[OurTitansAreDifferent Primordial]] masters, the tyrannical cosmic superentities who created the world. They won, with the help of two traitor Primordials, Gaia and Autochthon, slaying some of the creators, and forcing the rest to surrender. The dead Primordials became the Neverborn, the nightmarish quiescent remains of entities for whom there is no beginning or end, and bound to sleep in the Underworld. Those who surrendered became the Yozis, crippled titans imprisoned within the hell called Malfeas, the world-body of their king. But the dying Neverborn cast a final curse on the Exalted, dooming them all to succumb to their own hubris and madness. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | \ |
| 14 | |
| 15 | The Solar Exalted were made rulers of the world who slowly fell to the Great Curse and became depraved and heartless monsters, mad with their own power. The Sidereal Exalted, blinded by the hubris of their own curse, conspired against the Solars. They incited the Dragon-Blooded to overthrow their masters in the bloody conflict of the Usurpation, and imprisoned the Exaltations of the Solars, so that they could never again bless mortals with their power. The Dragon-Blooded reigned over Creation, but could not defend it from the infinite hordes of raksha (soul-eating faeries from beyond Creation), and the plots of the Deathlords (the ghosts of dead Solars in service of the Neverborn). Half of Creation was destroyed, swallowed up into chaos as the raksha invaded and the Great Contagion engineered by the Deathlords wiped out nearly all life. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | \ |
| 18 | |
| 19 | The chaos ended when one Dragon-Blood activated an ancient superweapon of the Solar Exalted, saving Creation, then united it behind her. She would become the Scarlet Empress, founding a Realm which would span most of Creation. But now, the peace she claimed is falling apart. The Scarlet Empress has vanished. The raksha still creep across the borders of undefended Creation. And the Yozis and Neverborn have cooperated to free the imprisoned Solar Exaltations, stealing half of them to twist into their own dark champions. Harbingers of slaughter and entropy now stalk the land, while the champions of Hell work behind the scenes to free their masters. Into the midst of all this, the Solar Exalted have returned. |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | * BeyondTheImpossible: The Primordials are so powerful, their immortality is inscribed into the very laws of the universe. The Exalted ''managed to kill them anyway''. |
| 22 | * TheBeautifulElite: The vast majority of the Exalted ascribe to this. Inverted with some high-Essence Abyssal Exalted. |
| 23 | * ConservationOfNinjitsu: |
| 24 | ** Mostly played straight. The Terrestrial Exalted, who are the most numerous of the Exalted and the only ones that can pass their Exaltation on to their children, are the weakest Exalted. They can easily kick mundane ass though. That said, due to how the Terrestrial abilities work, and their focus on teamwork, a group of Dragon Blooded can easily become exponentially more dangerous than they would be on their own. Some of their abilities can be applied to other team-mates (or, at higher levels, to entire units and armies), and some are specifically only useful for enhancing your companions. |
| 25 | ** The Celestial Exalted on the other hand are a bit more tricky. There used to be 300 Solars, 300/400 Lunars (depending on Edition), and 100 Sidereals. The Solars were the main raw powerhouse of the 3 though, with the Sidereals and Lunars being (slightly) weaker and about equal to each other. Though if it was just about Martial Art skill the Sidereal would win hands down with their [[RealityWarper Cosmic Kung-Fu]] easily besting all other Exalted Martial Arts. |
| 26 | ** In the current setting, things have been getting even more confusing. At the top PowerLevels sit the currently 150 Solar Exalted, and their derivatives; the 100 Abyssal Exalted and 50 Infernal Exalted[[note]]It should be noted that it might not be evenly split, as at least one Solar has been corrupted into an Abyssal by the Deathlords, and it's possible for Abyssals to redeem themselves and become Solars again. It's also possible that the Ebon Dragon could work out a way to get his claws on some of the Solar Exaltations the Deathlords failed to capture[[/note]]. Then come the Sidereals and Lunars, and at the bottom sit the Terrestrials. So 150 Solars = 100 Abyssals = 50 Infernals > 300 Lunars = 100 Sidereals > a whole lot of Dragon-Bloods. |
| 27 | ** The Alchemicals are counted as Celestial Exalted, but are entirely modular in their design. A given Alchemical Exalt can go from every bit as powerful as a Solar, to being only more powerful than a Dragon Blooded, all based on her loadout at the time. The primary mitigating factor in this is breadth vs depth. They're very powerful when their charms are set up to be focused on something, but can be quite weak when geared for general situations. They are also not fixed in number like Celestial Exalted, although still much rarer than Dragon-Bloods. The number given is around a thousand of them. |
| 28 | ** Exigents are ''generally'' a Terrestrial-level of power, but sometimes they end up as equivalent to Celestials for unknown reasons. |
| 29 | * EmissaryFromTheDivine: To varying degrees- not many Exalted have actually communicated with the gods that empowered them, and they want to be worshipped themselves. But by and large, they are still the most concrete proof in Creation that those gods care about mortal suffering and want it to end. |
| 30 | * FatalFlaw: All Exalted have one, with some variance - the Great Curse was on Exaltation as a ''concept'', and so all of them have a tendency to lapse into self-destructiveness: |
| 31 | ** The Solars, Lunars, Dragon-Blooded and Sidereals all get various versions of the Great Curse, a psychological affliction thrown at them by the Primordials for besting them in war. The Solars and Lunars enter a brief psychotic period called a Limit Break (not like the [[LimitBreak trope here]], but rather SanitySlippage ranging from berserker rage to uncontrolled crying at the suffering of the world to becoming cold and uncaring about the suffering of others), while the Sidereals in 2E [[ASimplePlan can't seem to make any of their big plans work right]], while in 3E and Essence they [[ImproperlyParanoid become obsessed with protecting themselves and those they care for at all costs]]. |
| 32 | ** The exception are Terrestrials -- being fairly weaker than Celestials, they also got a fairly weaker Great Curse -- it only really starts affecting their behavior when they run out of Willpower, and even then, it just seems like a HeroicBSOD -- they snap out of it relatively quickly. |
| 33 | ** The Abyssals get Resonance. If, for some reason, they decide they don't want to go along with their masters' goals of [[OmnicidalManiac feeding all Creation into the mouth of Oblivion]] and resume something approaching a mortal life, their Resonance will build until it erupts and risks destroying any emotional connections they've managed to make with the world of the living. Reworked in 3E and Essence to be more similar to Solar Limit Breaks, as the distance between themselves and the living gets unbearable until they snap and start acting in ways to retreat from the discordance or lash out at it. |
| 34 | ** The Infernals get a similar variant, known as Torment. If they defy the will of their [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Yozi patrons]] for too long, then said patron will assume control and cause shit to go haywire. This can range from spreading a HatePlague (Malfeas) to targeting the Infernal and any loved ones the Yozis disapprove of with a mini-sandstorm (Cecylene). Reworked in 3E and Essence into Hellish Eruptions, as losing control over their anger causes them to [[HulkingOut automatically assume their Shintai forms and vent their rage at Creation]]. |
| 35 | ** The Alchemicals get Clarity, which is something of a mixed blessing. As they get more detached from humanity and closer to the machine, they become [[TheSpock less emotional and more logical]], and social interactions become progressively more difficult. However, high Clarity allows an Alchemical access to some powerful spells. Unlike the other Exalted's flaws, Clarity doesn't 'erupt', but Alchemicals can reduce it by bringing themselves closer to humanity. |
| 36 | ** Exigents, due to their variance, have unique versions of the Curse depending on how their unique Exaltations are forged, but none get to avoid it, as the Curse finds what disharmony is in their nature and amplifies it as well. |
| 37 | ** Even without supernatural curses or compulsions, each of the four Virtues has drawbacks if you have three or more dots (and exalts have to have at least one virtue of 3+) -- compassionate characters have trouble making harsh decisions, temperate characters have trouble lying, cheating or going back on their word, no matter how dishonest the opponent, valorous characters don't know how to back down from confrontation, and as for conviction, [[KnightTemplar well]]... and it's perfectly possible for a character to have 3+ in two or more Virtues. If they conflict, tough luck. |
| 38 | * GenderBender: Can happen with previous incarnations. (Examples: Cearr, Thousand Faceted Nelumbo, Harmonious Jade.) |
| 39 | * LightningBruiser: Most people have to choose between being fast, strong or tough. The Exalted can be all of these things, [[JackOfAllTrades and more.]] |
| 40 | * LongLived: To varying extents -- lifespans range from well over a millennium for Celestial Exalts to a few centuries for Terrestrials, and some are outright immortal. |
| 41 | * PersonOfMassDestruction: What they eventually become if they live long enough. |
| 42 | * PhysicalGod: They're often better examples than the actual gods of the setting, particularly the Solars and their derivatives. |
| 43 | * ReallyGetsAround: Quite a few of them are this, but second edition had it as a side effect of the Terrestrial Exaltation, as the original 10,000 Dragon-Bloods were split between 100 men and 9,900 women, so they were granted immense libidos to allow the males to get many females pregnant quickly to provide enough Dragon-Blooded to serve the Unconquered Sun. In the current age, the Dragon-Blooded still have massive libidos, which is why there so many Dragon-Blooded around. |
| 44 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers: It tends to be a problem for them. |
| 45 | * SemiDivine: They're one part mortal, one part god/primordial/''dead'' primordial/primordial's children, all parts badass. |
| 46 | * SolarAndLunar: |
| 47 | ** In second edition, the Solar and Lunar Exaltations were bonded at their creation, mirroring the relationship between the UCS and Luna. This usually manifests as a ReincarnationRomance, but in other cases they simply remain very close friends. Or very close enemies. |
| 48 | ** In third edition, the bond is an outgrowth of a series of sacred and political marriages between the Solars and Lunars near the beginning of the First Age, and not all Solars or Lunars were involved (among other reasons, because there are a hundred-odd more Lunars than Solars this edition). |
| 49 | * SquishyWizard: Both the setting and system mostly avert it, as anyone can learn Sorcery under the right circumstances (''i.e.'' having Essence 3), and there's nothing preventing a sorcerer from learning Resistance Charms or wearing the heaviest armors available. |
| 50 | * SupernaturalElite: Exalted rule. It's what they do, and no mere [[PunyEarthling mortal]] can even challenge their right to do so. Even the mighty Solar Exalted can be worn down by [[ZergRush superior numbers,]] however. |
| 51 | * SuperpowerLottery: Exaltation is basically this in an epically empowered cosmic nutshell full of awesomesauce. |
| 52 | * {{Transhuman}}: They usually start out as PunyEarthlings, then they get enhanced to PhysicalGod levels through their Exaltations. And then they surpass them. |
| 53 | [[/folder]] |
| 54 | |
| 55 | [[folder:Abyssal Exalted]] |
| 56 | The Abyssal Exalted are servants of the Deathlords and [[EldritchAbomination Neverborn]] and the champions of death. The Abyssal Exalts gain their power from the Neverborn's share of the captured Solar Exaltations, which they inverted and captured inside [[ArtifactOfDoom Monstrances]]. Each one was a hero or a potential hero who, on the brink of death, [[DealWithTheDevil made a deal with a deathlord]]; they would survive and gain great power over the very concept of death, so long as they foreswore themselves to the [[CodeOfHonour chivalry of death]] - which unfortunately for creation, has the ultimate goal of fulfilling the Neverborn's desire of [[OmnicidalManiac universal destruction]]. To encourage them to play along, each Abyssal suffers from a [[CameBackWrong curse]] that affects them should they act like the living. This encourages them to become monsters, but as often as not, most Abyssals end up only obeying the Deathlords because they don't feel like they have a choice. |
| 57 | ---- |
| 58 | * BeingGoodSucks: Because Abyssal Limit will hurt you for it unless you get creative about the chivalry of death...which isn't that hard if you happen to be reuniting the living and dead or are pursuing a BigBad, but you really can't hide the fact you're a half-dead thing if you want to have a positive relationship with mortals that is at all honest. |
| 59 | * BlackKnight: In 3E, this is a strong thematic of Abyssals; the Last Breath binds them to the chivalry of death, the Neverborn's desires - to draw out death until Creation accepts it, to slay and ruin the mighty before the weak, and to merge the worlds of living and dead. Ironically, the ones who are looking for the letter and not the spirit, thus being true black knights in the sense of forsaking their oaths to their lieges, are the [[DarkIsNotEvil ones that are likely the most agreeable]], as said lieges are [[EvilOverlord the Deathlords]]. |
| 60 | * CodeOfHonor: As far as the Deathlords have been able to figure out, those sworn to the Neverborn (i.e., the Deathlords and Abyssals) are expected to follow the tenets of the chivalry of death - to draw out death until Creation accepts it, to bring low the mighty before the weak, and to merge the worlds of living and dead. Abyssals find that following the chivalry of death feels good (mechanically, they lose Limit and gain Willpower), while opposing it risks Limit; however, from the Deathlords' own example, it's perfectly fine to privilege one of the tenets above the others, or to follow the letter of the code rather than its spirit, as it seems the Neverborn are only concerned that their ends are reached, in every sense of the term. (The First and Forsaken Lion's fate is a good example of what happens should the Deathlords reject the code.) |
| 61 | * CursedWithAwesome: Abyssal Limit tends to do bad things when it goes off; if the Abyssal refuses to honor their oath, then the Neverborn will use the Bleak Exaltation to inflict Expiation on them, either to [[TheCorruption modify their mind]] into a more perfect deathknight, contemptuous and uncaring towards life, or to inflict curses on Creation that do the intended job themselves at the cost of the Abyssal's wellbeing. However, it also lifts the corruptive influence of the Great Curse on the minds of Abyssals; Death's Lawgivers do not inherently lose control of their minds to their darker passions, and can cure Limit and regain Willpower by upholding the chivalry of death...which the Neverborn are [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu notoriously bad at detecting breaking the spirit of while obeying the letter]], not realizing if you are drawing out someone's death by saving their life while making it clear that [[MonoNoAware this is a stay of death]], casting down the mighty and cruel while ignoring [[PunchClockVillain minions who had no choice]], and merging the living and dead in ways both sides of that equation agree with. |
| 62 | * DragonInChief: In conjunction with TheHeavy. In 3E, it's explicit their intended role with their Deathlords is vassal and sovereign, not servant and master. They are ultimately meant to be largely independent advisors and lieutenants. |
| 63 | * EvilMakesYouUgly: In 1E and 2E, one of the two options Abyssals can choose as they rise in Essence -- if they choose not to invest points into Appearance, they can let their Appearance naturally rot away and become the death that men fear. Downplayed in 3E, where the appearance (with a small case a) changes of powerful Abyssals are tied to an entry level Presence Charm, Death's Unholy Visage, which gives a bonus to certain rolls, depending on whether the Abyssal has the Hideous merit or not, but makes it harder for the Abyssal to disguise themselves. |
| 64 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: Abyssals are the most likely Exalted to have been nobody of particular consequence, just great potential, right up until their deathbed when a Deathlord came to make an offer. The signature 1E and 2E Abyssal circle includes a streetwalker, a graverobber, and a poet. |
| 65 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Abyssals making the pact with the Deathlords do so under the ultimate coercion of imminent death, and often don't consider just how serious the Last Breath oath is - many react in horror when they realize what it was they agreed to, and how horrific the Neverborn are. It's for this reason that Deathlords try to love-bomb their Abyssals by showering them in attention and gifts, so that the Abyssals [[IgnoredEpiphany convince themselves it wasn't that bad]]. |
| 66 | * OurVampiresAreDifferent: Abyssals play into a lot of tropes common to vampires. They suffer a penalty on all rolls outside of the Underworld or a suitably morbid location within creation unless they adorn themselves in the trappings of death, forcing them to dress the part, and their charms lean on various vampiric tropes and powers, such as being able to sink into the earth to rest, turn into a mist form that can't cross running water, and several methods of draining motes from their opponents in combat. They can also sprout fangs and drain Essence out of some poor blighter's throat as a basic anima power. |
| 67 | * ThePaladin: [[PlayedForHorror An extremely twisted version]] for the Neverborn, who grant them their powers in return for working towards CessationOfExistence, as befitting the knights of death. |
| 68 | * RedemptionEqualsDeath: Inverted; most Abyssals become Exalted as they die, thus corrupting them rather than redeeming them. That said, it can be played straight -- Abyssals can redeem their Exaltations back to Solar nature, but may well die in the attempt. |
| 69 | * ResurrectiveImmortality: Any Abyssal who learns the Charm Immortal Malevolence Enslavement gains this at the cost of losing a point of Essence when they die, as they forge a connection directly with the Neverborn. Although this does mean they can never redeem themselves. |
| 70 | * TheSacredDarkness: Many Abyssals who have turned on the Deathlords and Neverborn are still fine with being Death's Chosen, but become honorable arbiters and protectors of the dead. |
| 71 | * ThatManIsDead: Abyssals have to give up their pre Exaltation name as part of their Exaltation, so the only time they can answer to their old name is to say this, unless it is part of a larger goal to uphold death's chivalry. |
| 72 | * TraumaCongaLine: Dying is often the ''least'' bad thing that happens to an Abyssal in his Exalted existence. |
| 73 | |
| 74 | !The Signature Circle (of First and Second Edition) |
| 75 | !!'''The Maiden of the Mirthless Smile''' |
| 76 | |
| 77 | The iconic Dusk caste. Some Abyssals only took up the offer of the Black Exaltation because it was that or death, or because they didn't understand what it meant. The Maiden is not one of those. She was always off as a child (to put it freaking mildly), and she was very good at keeping her dirty deeds hidden from her parents. Like torturing and dissecting animals. And her governess. And her ''siblings''. Until finally, she ended up killing them and burning her house to the ground. Is it any wonder she ended up in the employ of the Mask of Winters? |
| 78 | ---- |
| 79 | * AxCrazy: As her backstory, current actions and goals show, the only thing she cares for is to '''kill.''' |
| 80 | * {{BFS}}: Her soulsteel daiklave, Ironic Jest. |
| 81 | * CreepyChild: As a child, she had a fondness for torturing small animals to death. She later expanded her practice to her family members. |
| 82 | * ForTheEvulz: She's a violent and cruel sociopath, takes pleasure in torturing and killing, and her best memory is the face of her mother just before she murdered her. |
| 83 | * OmnicidalManiac: All Abyssals are bent towards it, but she excels at it. Her Motivation is "Spit on the ashes of Creation." |
| 84 | * ParentalObliviousness: The Maiden's parents never suspected her: not when her older brother disappeared, not when her nanny disappeared, and not when she started going after other 'prey'. They didn't truly get it until they got stabbed by their own daughter, and even ''then'' they were confused. She just laughed in their faces. |
| 85 | * SelfMadeOrphan: Murdered her parents in cold blood. |
| 86 | * TheSociopath: Complete with torturing of small animals! |
| 87 | * TokenEvilTeammate: Yes, you read that correctly. All the other members of the iconic circle are {{Punch Clock Villain}}s or [[MercyKill believe destroying Creation is a kindness]]. Not Maiden, though -- she just wants to inflict pain before killing whomever. |
| 88 | |
| 89 | !!'''The Lady of Darkness in Bloodstained Robes''' |
| 90 | |
| 91 | The iconic Midnight caste. In life, she was a street whore and sometime concubine, who fell prey to the numerous sexual diseases she acquired from her patrons. Then the Mask of Winters made her an offer, and she joined up with the main Abyssal circle. |
| 92 | ---- |
| 93 | * TheLoad: As far as her circle's concerned, she's not pulling her weight. It ''really'' doesn't help she's seduced most of them. Repeatedly. |
| 94 | * MsFanservice: Her outfit goes way beyond a chainmail bikini. |
| 95 | * PunchClockVillain: She would have jumped ship by now, except Mask of Winters has terrified her into service. |
| 96 | * ReallyGetsAround: She's a prostitute. It comes with the job. |
| 97 | * {{Retcon}}: Her characterisation in 1st edition Exalted: the Abyssals is more in keeping with the expectations of being the signature Midnight Caste, a fanatic who wants to spread the good word of Oblivion. |
| 98 | * TheResenter: Has a grudge against the Maiden of the Mirthless Smile for being more attractive than her. |
| 99 | * SuperScream: Her trademark attack, screaming people dead. |
| 100 | * TheVamp: [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Literally!]] |
| 101 | |
| 102 | !!'''The Seven-Degreed Physician of Black Maladies''' |
| 103 | |
| 104 | A scion of House Ragara, the Physician's life took a downturn when he failed to show a sufficiently strong draconic heritage. Eventually, he moved to the Threshold and got involved with unsavory recreational medical practices involving unwilling volunteers; this may or may not have been the reason that someone stabbed him in the face, thus triggering the chance for the Last Breath. He serves as the iconic Daybreak. |
| 105 | ---- |
| 106 | * CardCarryingVillain: Downplayed; while he doesn't overtly revel in being an evil bastard, he ''is'' quite sure he did something to deserve getting [[CruelAndUnusualDeath shanked in the face]]. |
| 107 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: The opportunity for his Black Exaltation came when he answered his door and got a knife in the forehead... which didn’t instantly kill him, instead [[AndIMustScream leaving him in paralyzed agony]] for hours. |
| 108 | * DeadlyDoctor: This was how he made his living as a mortal, and continues to do so in service to the Mask of Winters. |
| 109 | * EvilCounterpart: For Ragara Bhagwei. Same family, same medical skill, none of his compassion. |
| 110 | * MadScientist: Makes undead human centipedes rather casually. |
| 111 | * UncannyFamilyResemblance: Looks like an evil version of Ragara Bhagwei. |
| 112 | |
| 113 | !!'''The Disciple of the Seven Forbidden Wisdoms''' |
| 114 | |
| 115 | The iconic Day Caste. A grave-robbing street rat in his youth, he grew into a handsome seducer of the wealthy. One who kept up his grave-robbing, because it amused him that his rich lovers were screwing someone who'd been knee-deep in corpse the other night. That hobby eventually got him ripped apart by hungry ghosts before the Mask of Winters recruited him. Since his Exaltation, memories of a heroic Solar past life are sowing doubts in him about the whole serving Oblivion thing. Evidently his memories don't cover the madness and cruelty that prompted the Usurpation. |
| 116 | ---- |
| 117 | * GlassCannon: Like Harmonious Jade he excels at Archery, and as a Abyssal rocks with it, but lacks any Resistance charms. |
| 118 | * GoodFeelsGood: He remembers being a beloved hero in his dreams, and always wakes regretting the lack of that in his daily life. |
| 119 | * HeelFaceTurn: in the end comic of ''Return of Scarlet Empress'' it's implied that he is now a night caste Solar. |
| 120 | * LoveRedeems: Has quite a thing for Harmonious Jade, which chapter comics indicate help lead him to a more heroic path. |
| 121 | * PunchClockVillain: According to his writeup in Scroll of Exalts. He's also headed right into AntiVillain territory. |
| 122 | |
| 123 | !!'''Falling Tears Poet''' |
| 124 | |
| 125 | The iconic Moonshadow Caste. As his title suggests, he was a poet in his mortal life, one whose sickbed poetry started a quickly-suppressed reform movement in Nexus. He was seduced into the service of Oblivion by the dark beauty it promised. |
| 126 | ---- |
| 127 | * BeingEvilSucks: He holds the ghosts he deals with, the Mask of Winters who gives him marching orders, and the Neverborn who command the Mask in contempt, and he can't get his damn conscience to shut up. |
| 128 | * MuseAbuse: Inverted. His muse, Mirror Flag, was using him and abandoned him once he was of no more use to her. |
| 129 | * NightmareFetishist: Considers the Void his new muse and wants nothing more than to [[GoalInLife eulogize Creation itself]]. |
| 130 | * TragicMonster: Poet's story is sad and darkly beautiful. He probably wouldn't want it any other way. |
| 131 | |
| 132 | !Others |
| 133 | !!'''Typhon, the Wink of the Storm's Eye''' |
| 134 | |
| 135 | The scion of a noble family exiled from the Realm to Thorns, he was the last survivor after the family's matriarch launched a rebellion against the Mask of Winters that the Deathlord utterly crushed. Sensing the young man's ruthlessness and cruelty, the Mask of Winters granted him Exaltation, and subsequently named him Thorns' ambassador to the Confederation of Rivers. Under the name of Typhon, he presently occupies himself with toying with and murdering the members of the Confederation's high society, eager for the day when his master will order him to dispense with his pretenses of diplomacy and slaughter them all ''en masse''. |
| 136 | ---- |
| 137 | * {{Ambadassador}}: Technically, he's an assassin who only pretends to be an ambassador. |
| 138 | * BloodKnight: He secretly hopes that a GreatDetective will sniff him out so he has an excuse to go hog-wild with the killing. |
| 139 | %%* DepravedBisexual |
| 140 | * FauxAffablyEvil: He is explictly described as someone who looks and acts like he gets away with murder only in the figurative sense. He’s managed it literally as well, and his smooth persona hides a savage beast. |
| 141 | %%* SerialKiller |
| 142 | %%* TheSocialExpert |
| 143 | * UnlimitedWardrobe: Has an artifact that provides one. |
| 144 | * TheVamp: Male version. |
| 145 | * WorthyOpponent: Wishes for one so he can have a challenge and an excuse to kill more openly. |
| 146 | |
| 147 | !!'''The Shoat of the Mire''' |
| 148 | |
| 149 | The Dowager of the Irreverent Vulgate in Unrent Veils (check the Spirits subpage, Deathlord folder) is [[AlmightyIdiot not a person who is normally aware enough of the world around her to scheme]], but as avatar of the Neverborn, the [[TheCorruption Whispers]] seep from her and into the minds of mortals, speaking their wisdom in her voice. Some of these people are the Corpse-Flower Coven, who worship her as an ancestor-goddess of the wisdom inherent in death, and prepare themselves for [[BrownNote opening themselves to the Dowager's mind directly]], with those who die but come back with coherent secrets becoming the ghost-priests of the Coven. However, being dead, the ghost-priests are vexed by their separation from the living, and so select sacred children from the communities around themselves to train as necromantic intermediaries between them and their communities. The girl who would become the Shoat of the Mire wanted to be one of these sacred children more than anything else in the world, but was repeatedly passed over, eventually driving her to run away into the Moss Fens around her home in despair. There, she met a grisly fate - and the Dowager, who apparently disagreed with the assessment of her priests. Having returned as a level beyond any of the Coven's mundane intermediaries, the young Dusk Caste is an eager emissary for the Deathlord she has worshipped for all of her 13 years, grateful for both her life and her chance. |
| 150 | ---- |
| 151 | * AdaptationalAngstDowngrade: [[ExaggeratedTrope Boy did she ever get one]]. Previously, the very existence of the Shoat was a testament to the monstrousness of the Dowager, being a child forced to kill her own mother who the Dowager herself abused in an OrphanageOfFear, and regarded as disposable. The 3E Shoat is a DarkMessiah of her community of Dowager-worshipers and regards her Exaltation as proof the Dowager always cared about her. |
| 152 | * AdaptationalVillainy: Downplayed; the 2E version of the Shoat was clearly a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, the 3E version is an entirely willing DarkMessiah, but is AffablyEvil, sane, and is from a religion that genuinely thinks the Dowager wants what's best for them. |
| 153 | * AffablyEvil: Apart from her [[BlueAndOrangeMorality weird beliefs]], she's not a cruel person at all, at worst she's kind of a moody teenager. |
| 154 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Corpse-Flower Coven worship the Dowager and the Neverborn through her, but they aren't a true ReligionOfEvil, regarding themselves as benign custodians of the communities around them. The Shoat herself mostly wished to be a sacred child herself and feels a life debt to the Dowager rather than actually malevolent herself. |
| 155 | * DarkMessiah: Was already prepared for this role in the Coven, and as an Abyssal, she's become a representative of it beyond their wildest dreams. |
| 156 | * IOweYouMyLife: [[JumpedAtTheCall She'd probably be serving the Dowager even without that factor]], but the Shoat is driven by a life-debt to her liege as well as religious devotion. |
| 157 | * LegacyCharacter: In 1E and 2E, the Shoat was simply the title of the current bearer of the Dowager's experimental child abuse Exaltation. Averted in 3E, this Shoat is the only Shoat. |
| 158 | * LittleMissBadass: As an Exalted child, it's a perk of the job, but the Shoat deserves props for being a Dusk Caste, the warriors, at ''thirteen.'' |
| 159 | * MouthyKid: She became the DarkMessiah because her effective goddess believed in her when nobody else would, and she absolutely refuses to let anyone forget it. This really grates on a lot of the Coven's ghost-priests. |
| 160 | |
| 161 | !!'''The Fallen Wolf of the Cutting Sea''' |
| 162 | |
| 163 | Not all Abyssals come about because of dark bargains with their Deathlords. Some of them start off worse. Before he was the Fallen Wolf, he was actually a Solar, chosen as a Zenith Caste. Then the Silver Prince found out there was a Solar in arms' reach, abducted him, tortured him, and thrust him into a Monstrance of Celestial Portion. The new Solar had two options -- death, or service to his master. He chose the latter, and ended up converted to the cause of the Neverborn. Kind of. Most of the time, he refuses to do what his undead master commanded, to the point that the Prince exiled him from Skullstone. Now he fights behind the scenes in the West, desperately trying to both overthrow the Prince and find a way back into the light of the Unconquered Sun. |
| 164 | ---- |
| 165 | * TheAtoner: Desperately wants not to be what he was forced to become. |
| 166 | * BeingGoodSucks: It's not enough that he has to worry about Resonance or having the Prince decide to just waste him, he's got the Whispers of the Neverborn in his head. |
| 167 | * WalkingTheEarth: The Fallen Wolf spends most of his time at sea, travelling between islands. It helps to cut down on the risk of a Resonance eruption slaughtering innocents. |
| 168 | |
| 169 | !!'''The Prince of Shadows''' |
| 170 | |
| 171 | A poor boy who had the misfortune to be unwanted by both his family and the Sijanese Mortician's Order, which his family handed him over to. You'd hardly know it looking at the present him, and he would rather like to keep it that way. Not so poor now, he looks forward to the day when the only thing around is the yawning maw of Oblivion and its sweet music. |
| 172 | ---- |
| 173 | * ColdBloodedTorture: His favorite pastime. In a comic, he threatens Arianna with sharing his enjoyment. |
| 174 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: And anyone who finds out about the Nobody part is likely to die screaming. |
| 175 | * UndyingLoyalty: He owes ''everything'' to the Lover, and she knows her control over him is absolute and unwavering. |
| 176 | |
| 177 | !!'''The Melkin Fool in Red''' |
| 178 | |
| 179 | Ringmaster of the Circus Moribund. What is the Circus Moribund, you ask? Nothing more than the Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears's take on those internet shock sites that ask whether or not a kind and loving god would make cyclops kittens that die shortly after birth, and a wide array of other congenital issues across many different species. The aim is to get the living to see their state as being ultimately horrible and pointless. |
| 180 | ---- |
| 181 | * AffablyEvil: Welcomes strangers to the Circus with all the theatrical friendliness of a more typical ringmaster. |
| 182 | * CircusOfFear: Runs one. |
| 183 | |
| 184 | !!'''The Harbinger of the Ghost-Cold Wind''' |
| 185 | |
| 186 | "Advocate of the dead" who has no patience or sympathy for the living. Formerly a Haslanti shaman, now goes around killing people who don't revere their ancestors, to show them what it's like to live as a ghost without anyone to provide nourishing worship. Also makes sure that ghosts return on their end of the bargain if they're just fleecing their descendants, however. |
| 187 | ---- |
| 188 | * DisproportionateRetribution: Didn't celebrate your ghostly father's departure date because you were trying to find your lost children, whom you didn't know were dead? He'll reanimate the children and set the resulting zombies on you. |
| 189 | * JerkAss: He'll be smiling on the way out when he does it, too. |
| 190 | * LackOfEmpathy: Averted. He actually has Compassion '''5'''. It's just that he reserves it for ghosts. |
| 191 | * RedBaron: He's also known as the White Walker. |
| 192 | * SkewedPriorities: ''Heavily'' prioritizes respect for the dead over concern for the living, even with situations where the dead person(s) would probably sympathize and/or understand. |
| 193 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Well, he does make the ghosts act as proper ancestors who deserve to be revered, but you wouldn't know it if you happened to be on the receiving end of his vigilantism. |
| 194 | |
| 195 | !!'''The Visitor in the Hall of Obsidian Mirrors''' |
| 196 | |
| 197 | Formerly one of Panther's team-mates, and also formerly known as White Bone Sinner. Panther killed him to impress a patron, and he is understandably eager to gain vengeance. Also fouled up the affair with getting an undead concubine, courtesy of Jiunan Nightwarden, whom he also hates. Wears a conical hat made of woven bones. |
| 198 | |
| 199 | * AssInAmbassador: He was Exalted as a Moonshadow, but because he's a gladiator, his social skills aren't really up to scratch. This doesn't really faze Walker in Darkness, who put him in charge of a delicate diplomatic operation anyway. |
| 200 | * TheChewToy: The Visitor really can’t catch a break. As a mortal, he was beaten to death by Panther, and as an Abyssal, his luck hasn’t improved much; after Nightwarden screwed up his attempt to get hold of a concubine for Walker in Darkness, the Walker did... ''[[NothingIsScarier something]]'' to him that radically altered his identity (to the point where he now has a different name; he was originally White Bone Sinner) and Walker’s rampant {{Genre Blind}}ness regarding the flexibility of castes means he’s [[GotVolunteered been given]] a diplomatic job he’s [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption ill-equipped to complete]]. |
| 201 | |
| 202 | !!'''A Weeping Raiton Cast Aside''' |
| 203 | |
| 204 | Fed up with the Deathlords, this Moonshadow somehow broke their control, and embracing her own idiosyncratic ideals of the chivalry of death. Throwing her past behind her, she opted to be her own representative to the Neverborn. Now, she travels the Underworld as an example of what Abyssals can become as Death's Lawgivers, and acts as a counselor between different factions serving the dead gods trapped in the Labyrinth. |
| 205 | ---- |
| 206 | |
| 207 | * AdaptationalNameChange: Downplayed; in 2E, she was known as ''The'' Weeping Raiton Cast Aside. |
| 208 | * AffablyEvil: If not outright CreepyGood. She's truly devoted to the Neverborn, but she's also honest, friendly, fair, curious about others, and despises cruelty. She may not even be considered traditionally "evil", as her idea of the chivalry of death [[BlueAndOrangeMorality involves overthrowing corrupt monarchs and bringing peace to the dead]]. |
| 209 | * TheArchmage: In 2E, she mastered sorcery up to Celestial and necromancy up to the Void Circles. Averted in 3E, she's neither a sorcerer nor a necromancer. |
| 210 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: While she believes that the Neverborn freeing all of the cosmos from existence is a goal to achieve, she wants the path there to be kind and accepted - she ''loathes'' the Deathlords. |
| 211 | * FullyEmbracedFiend: A good example of how one can truly embrace being an Abyssal while despising the Deathlords and their cruelty. |
| 212 | * MysteriousPast: Nobody knows where Weeping Raiton came from apart from her always having been morbid, and nobody is even sure who her former Deathlord was. In 2E she even erased it from her memories. |
| 213 | * SpiritedCompetitor: She loves debating with priests of other religions and philosophers - not because she hates them, but because she has a sincere love of the art of debate and is genuinely curious about how others see the world. |
| 214 | |
| 215 | !!'''Meticulous Owl (Endless-Faced Spite)''' |
| 216 | The Ebon Dragon's patsy amongst the Abyssals... maybe. Has a background that's even harder to make sense of than the Mirror Flag's - you can at least read that one backwards and make a semblance of a hidden story thread out of it. |
| 217 | ---- |
| 218 | * ConsummateLiar: He’s a Moonshadow, but has somehow convinced the First and Forsaken Lion—who's not just [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu a Deathlord]], but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible the one who Exalted him]]''—that he’s actually a Day Caste. It helps that he’s likely an akuma serving [[SatanicArchetype the Ebon Dragon]]. |
| 219 | * EnigmaticMinion: So much so that even the ''[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall book]]'' has no idea what to make of him. His writeup in the Scroll of Exalts has a sidebar simply titled “[[MindScrew What the...?]]” |
| 220 | * TheGrotesque: He’s described as being horrifically ugly even before his Exaltation, with one eye and horrible disfigurations. As can be expected, he has Appearance 0. |
| 221 | * MultipleChoicePast: To the point where you fully expect him to say "[[Film/TheDarkKnight Do you want to know how I got this Exaltation?]]" at every proper dramatic opportunity. |
| 222 | |
| 223 | !!'''The Bleeding Lily Crowned In Shackles''' |
| 224 | On the outskirts of Nexus, there was a tiny kingdom. Once upon a time, [[TheBabyOfTheBunch the youngest of the six royal children]] lived in Nexus [[IdleRich without a care in the world]], spending her days writing poetry and occasionally brokering a trade deal before returning to her easy, humble life of carefree luxury. |
| 225 | |
| 226 | [[DoomedHometown That didn't last]], as a neighboring kingdom swept in, killed her parents, and then all their children, including the young princess - and a dark voice found her. She was a queen without a kingdom, and the Onyx Kingdom of the Underworld had no monarch. She took its crown not out of greed, but duty. If death called her to lead, then she would leave her idle life behind her, and become the queen the dead required. |
| 227 | |
| 228 | Today, the Lily is a much-beloved monarch indeed, championing the cause of keeping the dead apart from the living. A just and fair ruler, she rarely leaves the Underworld except to punish the living who defile the graves of her citizens, occasionally using her Moonshadow abilities to leave them off with a warning if they prove truly repentant. However, she cannot avoid dealing with the politics of the living forever - Thorns is not far away, and the mysterious Deathlord who led her to the kingdom is not the Mask of Winters. The debt she owes them has not yet been repaid. |
| 229 | ---- |
| 230 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: She despises the idea of pointless slaughter, feeling that it cheapens death - and if someone is worthy of death, they should be annihilated so utterly [[DeaderThanDead they cannot join the ranks of ancestors]]. |
| 231 | * ButchLesbian: She's a {{Bifauxnen}}, BoyishShortHair and all, she's a master swordfighter, and she's in a relationship with a female shepherd. |
| 232 | * DarkIsNotEvil: A loyalist Deathknight who is probably one of the most heroic Exalted you could ever meet. |
| 233 | * ExactWords: How she deceives people despite her dislike of lying. She never, for example, told [[LoveInterest Marigold]] she was Exalted, just that ghosts like her, so Marigold thinks she's a Ghost-Blooded. |
| 234 | * InstantArmor: Courtesy of her artifact, the Onyx Crown; when she commits to a quest on behalf of her kingdom or one of her subjects, she can summon a suit of full plate armor and a broadsword, both made out of black glass and both as strong as any artifact. She can don or dismiss them at will, but can't end the Evocation invoking them until she completes the quest and returns to her castle. Should that become impossible, the sword and armor will instantly materialize and shatter. |
| 235 | * LoveMakesYouDumb: Discussed. She keeps the existence of Marigold a secret precisely because she fears what she will do to save her lover should she ever become a DamselInDistress. |
| 236 | * NiceGirl: She's explicitly called a [[KnightInShiningArmor knight among Deathknights]], and is honorable, polite, and kind, if a bit grim due to leftover trauma. |
| 237 | * {{Protectorate}}: Has a Minor Intimacy for protecting the weak. |
| 238 | * SpoiledSweet: When she was alive, she didn't possess a mean bone in her body, and all death did was just shock her out of idle complacency. |
| 239 | * UptownGirl: To Marigold, a mortal farmer she saved from bandits. |
| 240 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: Downplayed, as she didn't lose her niceness, but she went from what was a SpoiledSweet rich girl to a sometimes grim undead queen. |
| 241 | * WarriorPoet: She's kept up her poetry in death, and even has a Minor Intimacy of Admiration to good examples she finds. |
| 242 | [[/folder]] |
| 243 | |
| 244 | [[folder:Green Sun Princes]] |
| 245 | The Infernal Exalted, Champions of the Yozi, come in two varieties: '''Akuma''', who are individuals invested with Yozi power in exchange for their souls and free will; and the '''Green Sun Princes''', who are Exalted with corrupted Solar sparks and are nascent Primordials. Most people refer to the latter when saying Infernal, despite the rarity of the Warlocks. |
| 246 | ---- |
| 247 | * AbstractApotheosis: Averting this is what makes Devil Tiger Infernals so impressive. A Devil Tiger has most of the capabilities of their Cosmic Principle progenitors, while remaining human enough to avoid the flaw of being near-incapable of comprehending anything outside said principle. |
| 248 | * AkashicRecords: In ''Essence'' and 3e, this is basically what Unwoven Coadjutor represents, a direct spiritual connection with the Demon City allowing the Infernal to access a reservoir of demonic knowledge (though it can still present like it does in 2e, a First Circle demon in the Infernal's mind). |
| 249 | * AntiAntiChrist: If they choose to be. |
| 250 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality: Certain Infernal Charms can cause the Infernal to gain elements of this. |
| 251 | * ContractualGenreBlindness: How they reduce Limit. |
| 252 | * CursedWithAwesome: More so than the Abyssals, who tend to be BlessedWithSuck. |
| 253 | * DealWithTheDevil: How all 2E Infernals get Exalted. When someone almost does something that would get them Exalted, but fails for some reason, they hear a voice (of a First Circle Demon, but they don't know that part) offering them the power to succeed in the future. If they accept, the demon bonds with them to grant them the Infernal Exaltation, then directs them to Malfeas for further training. |
| 254 | ** Any Infernal who learns the Charm Verdant Emptiness Endowment can do this, allowing anyone to improve some of their traits, at the cost of a later favour (which they don't know at the time). Later Charms allow them to bestow backgrounds, mutations, Charms and spells. |
| 255 | * EnemyWithin: Subverted and played straight. The Unwoven Coadjutor, the Essence of the demon that bore their exaltation, remains a separate part of the Infernal's soul. It can do absolutely nothing other than offer advice. On the other hand, [[PastLifeMemories their memories of the First Age]] are ''so'' complete that it's not uncommon for one to have their pre-Usurpation Solar self be recreated in their mind... [[AGodAmI which may]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide not be a good thing.]] |
| 256 | * EvilSorcerer: The Primordials invented sorcery as a sort of "programming code" of Creation, Infernals draw power from the imprisoned Primordials... Making them even better examples is that the Sorcerous Enlightenment Charms specifically enhance spells in line with their respective patron's themes, meaning that a Slayer has an easier time casting destructive spells and a Fiend has aptitude with [[CastingAShadow shadow]] and the destruction of boundaries. |
| 257 | * FusionDance: The process of Infernal Exaltation involves the Yozis imbuing an Infernal Exaltation into a First Circle demon, then sending them out into Creation to find a candidate and offer them the Exaltation's power in return for service. If the candidate accepts, they merge with the demon to receive the Exaltation, in the process acquiring some minor physical and emotional characteristics from it, and having its consciousness live on in their minds. The Unwoven Coadjutor background lets a player decide how useful they can be. |
| 258 | * GodEmperor: While Devil-Tigers is the most commonly used term for Infernals who go truly renegade, the original term used by the writers was Green Sun Kings. |
| 259 | * HorrifyingHero: [[OhMyGods By the frakking Yozis]], they're ''not'' someone you would want to face. Of course, the same could be applied to other [[BewareTheSuperman Exalted]]. |
| 260 | * HumanoidAbomination: Even before they go down the Heretic path, they're drawing power from the Yozis. If they become Devil-Tigers, they develop into full-fledged Titan-human hybrids, potentially with a [[HiveMind soul hierarchy]]... except their core being is, instead of a world-body or a Third Circle demon, their human self. |
| 261 | * HybridPower: Heretical Charms play with this. The earlier Charms require Charms from two different Yozis as prerequisites, so stem from a hybrid of two Yozis. It's also the reason the Yozis cannot adapt them, as they are too heavily rooted into other Yozis to do so. |
| 262 | * MadScientist: Any Defiler/Horizon worth his salt probably has the inclination, even more than Twilights (which in 2e actually annoys the Defilers' patron, She Who Lives In Her Name. She wanted ''viceroys'', not visionaries!). |
| 263 | * MythologyGag: In ''Essence'', each Caste's anima includes the associated colors of their 2e counterparts' patron Yozi - Azimuths as the Slayer counterparts have Malfeas' brass, Ascendants as the Malefactor counterparts have Cecylene's silver and cerulean, Horizons as the Defiler counterparts have She Who Lives In Her Name's white flames, Nadirs as the Scourge counterparts have Adorjan's red, and Penumbras as the Fiend counterparts have the Ebon Dragon's black. They also have an anima effect that references that Yozi, aside from the Penumbras, who get an anima effect that references the Fiends. |
| 264 | * NobleDemon: As a function of ContractualGenreBlindness, heroic 2E Infernals who don't want to go into [[HatePlague Torment]] act like this. |
| 265 | * OneWingedAngel: A defining ability of the Infernals in 3E is their unique Devil-Body Incarnations, mighty demonic beasts they can all turn into when desperate, but some have learned to shift into more easily. |
| 266 | * PastLifeMemories: Since the Exaltations the Sidereals captured in the Usurpation were never returned to Lytek, he never removed the memories from their last life. The Ebon Dragon realized how useful the memories of 50 First Age Solars could be, and ensured that the personality remained. |
| 267 | * PersonalityPowers: In 2e, each Yozi could be considered as a cluster of Charms which are linked to their personality, so each Yozi's Charm themes match their personality, meaning an Infernal wanting to do something sneaky or deceptive would need Ebon Dragon Charms, but an Infernal who just wanted to hit something as hard as possible would use Malfeas Charms. |
| 268 | * RapeAsBackstory: ''Manual of Exalted Power: Infernals'' implies that each new Infernal is gang-raped by the Third Circle demons of his or her Yozi patron, followed by the Third Circle demons of the Yozi who created his or her urge. This is one of the many reasons why the vast majority of the fluff in that book is CanonDiscontinuity. |
| 269 | * {{Retcon}}: For Third Edition, the Green Sun Princes have their Castes redesigned from the ground up and renamed to be more direct parallels of the Solar Castes in a similar manner to the Abyssals, and their Charms go from Essence-based to Ability-based, from being the Yozis' actual Charms to being influenced by them and their nature, and now draw from all of the known Yozis rather than being limited to the Reclamation members. They also lose the capacity to become Primordials in their own right, though they can still emulate their nature (like spinning off aspects of themselves into demons and creating worlds in their souls). They're chosen from the ranks of those who have suffered injustice and oppression, in the expectation of them [[TheDogBitesBack biting back]]. |
| 270 | * SplitPersonalityTakeover: If a Infernal uses the memories of their Exaltation's past host, they risk the personality taking over if they fail ''or succeed'' spectacularly, driving the Infernal to act towards the Solar's Motivation and Intimacies. The Solar is horrified at what has happened and tries as hard as they are able to try and subvert the will of the Yozis. |
| 271 | * SuperMode: In ''Essence'', all Infernals can access the Charm Devil-Body Incarnation by default, but if they don't purchase it as a Charm, they can only activate it [[DesperationAttack once they've reached their last Critical health level or entered Limit Break]]. Azimuths can also immediately activate it for free when their anima hits iconic. |
| 272 | * {{Transhuman}}: They merge body and soul with a demon as part of their Exaltation, and are slowly mutating, body mind and soul, to resemble Primordials. |
| 273 | * WhosLaughingNow: Green Sun Princes in 3E are this (or WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds) by design; the Yozis empower people who have been beaten down and broken by oppression, empower them, and tell them to take their revenge upon the injustices wrecked upon them, unlocking a bottomless well of rage and anger in the process. |
| 274 | |
| 275 | !The Signature Coven (of Second Edition) |
| 276 | !!'''Cearr''' |
| 277 | |
| 278 | The iconic Slayer. He was once the eldest son of the high chief of the [[BarbarianTribe Talinin]], with all the qualities of a warrior. When the Bull of the North started to assault their territory. Cearr was conscripted into the Tepet Legions, where he experienced combat among the lords of creation for the first time. He was about to charge a demon when it locked eyes with him... and Cearr broke and ran from the battle, effectively lost. As he screamed from shame, a voice told him that if he was Exalted the battle would have turned out differently. With nothing left to lose, he accepted. Now he is terrorizing the northeast, destroying everything in his path. |
| 279 | ---- |
| 280 | * BarbarianHero: He is a barbarian but that [[HorrifyingHero “hero”]] was given a power by the king of the Yozis, Malfeas. |
| 281 | * TheBrute: what his function is in his coven. |
| 282 | %%*BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon |
| 283 | * EvilRedhead: Big ol' [[AnimeHair spiky]] mop of brick. |
| 284 | * GenderBender: His previous incarnation was a chick (who may have been a CaptainErsatz of Saber of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''). |
| 285 | * MyGreatestFailure: When he panicked when fighting a demon and fled from battle. |
| 286 | * MyMasterRightOrWrong: If the art in ''Return of the Scarlet Empress'' page 203 is anything to go by. |
| 287 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: More or less is Cearr's Urge and Motivation. |
| 288 | |
| 289 | !!'''Sulumor''' |
| 290 | |
| 291 | The iconic Malefactor. A [[ImAHumanitarian Dune Person]], she was an apprentice to the tribal shaman. But the spirits rejected her, dumping her unceremoniously in the deep desert to die there. She refused to seek mercy from the Unconquered Sun, cursing him instead, and received an offer from [[LawfulEvil Cecylene]] she didn't refuse. Now she seeks to unite the Dune People under her banner (and, by extension, that of her patron). |
| 292 | ---- |
| 293 | * AffablyEvil: For a CrazySurvivalist who wants to conquer the South in the name of an EldritchAbomination in order to achieve vengeance against the very gods, she's really polite. |
| 294 | %%* TheBigBad |
| 295 | * CuteMonsterGirl: Sort of. The Dune People are human, it's just that they're mostly albino, since the Solars engineered them to be allergic to sunlight so that they couldn't flee from slavery. |
| 296 | * FemmeFatale: She's more morally ambiguous than the Lady of Darkness in Bloodstained Robes, but she's still very sexy and very dangerous. |
| 297 | * LoveRedeems: The section on the Lunar Exalted in ''Return of the Scarlet Empress,'' which mentions this phenomena, has a picture of her making out with her Lunar mate. |
| 298 | * NaughtyNun: This is made hilariously nonsensical by the fact that ''nobody in Creation dresses like that''. Logically, one would expect Bondage Immaculate Monk to fulfill the same niche, but nope, she breaks the fourth wall to use out-of-setting iconography. |
| 299 | * {{Stripperiffic}}: She wears a skimpy red number that's mostly CleavageWindow. It includes a wimple. |
| 300 | * TheVamp: A comic in Celestial Directions: Malfeas shows her attempting to convert Demetheus. |
| 301 | |
| 302 | !!'''Bitter Copal''' |
| 303 | |
| 304 | The iconic Defiler Caste. Bitter Copal grew up in An-Teng, where worship of Yozis such as She Who Lives In Her Name was quietly accepted. He was trained in the medical arts, and eventually ended up serving on a ship crewed by Dragon-Blooded. When the captain was grievously wounded, he did what he could to save the man, but that required amputating his arm. Unfortunately, the captain's underlings strongly disagreed with this course of action, and ended up deciding that Bitter Copal needed to pay in full for what he did. After having his arm chopped off and getting thrown in the brig, Bitter Copal prayed to the Yozis... and they answered, as a demonic swarm tore through the ship, killing the others, while he entered his chrysalis. Now fully emerged and versed in the ways of helltech, he aims to bring order back to An-Teng -- the order of She Who Lives In Her Name. |
| 305 | ---- |
| 306 | * AnArmAndALeg: The inciting incident for his Exaltation. |
| 307 | * ArtificialLimbs: His right arm is a [[RedRightHand big crab-claw thing.]] And yes, it's a demon. |
| 308 | * DeadlyDoctor: He's a surgeon. |
| 309 | * MadScientist: His Motivation is to construct a wonder more terrible than any seen in the First Age. When you consider some of the things they did in the First Age, that's pretty fucking horrifying. |
| 310 | * PunchClockVillain: His backstory doesn't make him seem all that malevolent -- the "failure" that lead to his Infernal Exaltation was refusing to help a JerkAss surgeon whose language he didn't speak, and the main indicator of his general evilness level is that he's a cultist of She Who Lives In Her Name...[[ValuesDissonance in An-Teng, where it's quietly accepted and encouraged]] since they don't fully comprehend the depths of her ControlFreak tendencies (they think she just wants things to run in an orderly fashion, which is very appealing to a people who have basically had all independence stripped from their government). |
| 311 | * {{Telekinesis}}: Thanks to She Who Lives In Her Name's charms. |
| 312 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Believes that he is doing the right thing. |
| 313 | |
| 314 | !!'''Captain Gyrfalcon''' |
| 315 | |
| 316 | The iconic Scourge. Once, he was Ernst Gyrkin, a lowly airboat crewman from the Haslanti League whose ambitions exceeded his capabilities. Always daring too much, he responded to denial of a command by taking an airship by force, only to end up surrendering rather than escaping. Following his imprisonment, a huge glass spider approached him with an offer; now, as Captain Gyrfalcon, he's set out to terrorise the Haslanti skies (as well as randomly obliterating agronomy and stealing excavated weaponry). It's pretty much safe to say the Haslanti forces wouldn't want to have him back, whether mortal or Exalted. |
| 317 | ---- |
| 318 | * BlackEyesOfEvil: A byproduct of his dipping into the Ebon Dragon's Charms. |
| 319 | %%* TheDragon |
| 320 | * HotBlooded: Unfortunately, not in a good way. |
| 321 | * JerkAss: Once nearly got three of his childhood friends killed by baiting a bear. He even gets on Adorjan's nerves (which, given that her love is... lethal, is a good survival strategy). |
| 322 | %%* PrettyBoy |
| 323 | * SkyPirate: He has an airboat, and he wants your money. |
| 324 | * SwordAndGun: And the gun belches forth literally hellish flames. |
| 325 | * WhiteHairBlackHeart: He's platinum blonde, and yep, he's a jackass. |
| 326 | |
| 327 | !!'''Manosque Cyan''' |
| 328 | |
| 329 | Once upon a time, one of House Manosque's scions, Viridian, attempted to seize the throne from the Scarlet Empress with the Eye of Autochthon. That ended badly, as most things involving the Eye tend to. Afterwards, the entire house was put to the sword -- save for one. The heirs of House Manosque are made aware of their heritage, and forbidden from serving the Realm in any way that would grant them power, as a way of paying for the sins of their forebears. It's also a very good way to breed long-standing resentment. So when the Ebon Dragon approached Manosque Cyan with an offer to drive the Realm to ruin, she gladly accepted. She's the iconic Fiend. |
| 330 | ---- |
| 331 | * TheCorrupter: Cyan passes herself off as another member of the Deliberative while using her powers to try and ruin it. Her Motivation ''and'' Urge both rely on utterly corrupting or destroying the Realm. |
| 332 | * GenocideBackfire: Hopes to be this. |
| 333 | * HimeCut: Her hairstyle connects with her demure and proper attitude, even when giving nosy folk the "Yet you made one mistake..." business. |
| 334 | * INeverSaidItWasPoison: Slips up and lets out one of these in a Return of the Scarlet Empress comic. It's a pretty silly mistake for someone with a superhuman level of manipulative skill, but then again, she can't have had any trouble fighting with Sesus Nagezzar, either. |
| 335 | %%* ManipulativeBastard |
| 336 | * MeaningfulName: Like her rebellious ancestor Manosque Viridian, Cyan's name is a color between green and blue. |
| 337 | * TheMole: In the Deliberative. |
| 338 | * PunchClockVillain: The deal the Ebon Dragon made her was offered in an "accept or die now" situation. She's pretty much only in it to screw over the Scarlet Empire from the inside out. |
| 339 | * {{Revenge}}: The realm wiped out her House, and she plans to return the favor. |
| 340 | |
| 341 | !Others |
| 342 | !!'''The Orchid-Consuming Guardian''' |
| 343 | |
| 344 | * YouAreWorthHell: Subverted, then played straight. The Orchid-Consuming Guardian followed his daughter into Malfeas to rescue her from the demon that had abducted her. He was all set to receive a Solar Exaltation for having braved Hell to rescue a loved one... but then he decided that Hell was just too scary, and turned his back on his pursuit. The Yozis presented him with an Infernal Exaltation soon after, no doubt after laughing their asses off. However, as his Motivation is to retrieve his daughter from whatever quarter of Malfeas she's wedged into, he hasn't entirely abandoned his quest. |
| 345 | |
| 346 | !!'''Basphomy in Verdigris''' |
| 347 | |
| 348 | A previewed Azimuth for third edition, a former Tengese pawn who is enjoying ''all'' the perks of her new station. |
| 349 | ---- |
| 350 | * AntiHero: WordOfGod is that she'll be this at her worst. |
| 351 | * CompositeCharacter: The creators describe her as having the fashion sense of [[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars Dejah Thoris while acting like John Carter]]. |
| 352 | * DualWield: With weapons older than the current nations of the world, no less. |
| 353 | * TheFightingNarcissist: For all her hedonism and love of jewels and finery, etc., she's still the bearer of what is once a Dawn Exaltation, and what now gives her a OneWingedAngel form when she gets really serious. |
| 354 | %%* FromNobodyToNightmare: Two years ago she had nothing. Now...%%ZCE. Now what? |
| 355 | * TheHedonist: Developer commentary indicates that given time for a proper commission, she'd be depicted lounging on a pile of money and rare furs while sipping fine wine from a bloodstained chalice, surrounded by mortal and demonic slaves. |
| 356 | * {{Hellfire}}: She uses poisonous green fire. A lot. |
| 357 | * HornedHumanoid: Those horns in her preview sketch? ''Not'' a mask. |
| 358 | * PunchClockVillain: WordOfGod is that she isn't really that evil, being at AntiHero levels at her very worst. |
| 359 | * ScaledUp: When she gets serious about combat, shifts into an eyeless dragon that kills with sonic screams that can shatter marble. |
| 360 | * {{Stripperiffic}}: She tends to wear very little. |
| 361 | * SuperScream: Her dragon form can apparently shatter marble with her screams. |
| 362 | * SuperToughness: She doesn't wear armour because she doesn't ''need'' it. |
| 363 | |
| 364 | [[/folder]] |
| 365 | |
| 366 | [[folder:Akuma]] |
| 367 | |
| 368 | * TheDarkArts: Akumahood is a good way to get more power, at the cost of your personality being utterly rewritten into a human-scale version of your patron Yozi... |
| 369 | * DealWithTheDevil: Really, making arrangements with the ''Demon Princes'' and their souls just isn't a good idea. Of course most people don't know that you have to give up your precious Free Will for all that power... |
| 370 | * FakeMemories: Occasionally, the Third Circle needs to shuffle skills around a bit. This is how. |
| 371 | * LossOfIdentity: Because the Yozi ripped out your old identity and replaced it with a more useful one. |
| 372 | * NotHimself: An Akuma is a fundamentally different person than before the Demonic Investiture. |
| 373 | * {{Retcon}}: Their 2e version, where they universally end up as Yozi puppets, is dropped in 3e, although the basic concept of Exalts who make bargains with the Yozis and gain power is still around. |
| 374 | |
| 375 | !!'''Burning Eyes Maiden''' |
| 376 | |
| 377 | * EyeScream: Guess how ''she'' cemented her infernal bargain! |
| 378 | * FullFrontalAssault: Traipses about Creation and so on without a stitch. Except for the fire. |
| 379 | * HimeCut: Not that it actually reflects anything, unless you want to make a case for being a Yozi sockpuppet. |
| 380 | * NoNameGiven: Her actual identity, we don't know. |
| 381 | |
| 382 | !!'''Fehim''' |
| 383 | |
| 384 | Fehim grew up in the Varang City-States, the bastard child of a forbidden liaison between the Varang castes. He was abandoned onto the streets at a young age, where the criminal Three Devils Gang adopted him. His high intelligence and quick wits enabled him to be the gang's security chief, until a raid by a Dynast destroyed the gang. After being Exalted as a Solar, he went to the greatest asset of the Three Devils Gang, a demon long-trapped in a vault. The demon wanted a price for its aid -- a sacrifice of a Dragon-Blood's heart. In time, the demon converted him into an Akuma. |
| 385 | ---- |
| 386 | * CharacterDevelopment: He was a recurring Solar from Castebook: Twilight on out, but by ''Return of the Scarlet Empress'' he is an Akuma. With an [[ElectronicEyes Orichalcum eye]]. Fan reaction was... mixed. |
| 387 | %%* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans |
| 388 | |
| 389 | !!'''Lintha Ng Hut Dukantha''' |
| 390 | * LastOfHisKind: He's the last surviving Ancient Lintha in Creation. |
| 391 | * SemiDivine: Being one of the Ancient Lintha, he's a God-Blooded, son of Kimbery. |
| 392 | * TooAwesomeToUse: He's the most powerful akuma in the Age of Sorrows, but there's only one of him and he ''can'' be killed. So Kimbery keeps him under wraps nearly all of the time. |
| 393 | |
| 394 | !!'''The Blood Queen''' |
| 395 | |
| 396 | The Harborhead Royal Guard executes any Brides of Ahlat who lie with anyone other than their husband as a matter of course. Unfortunately for brides who have been forced into the act physically, this includes their number. The Blood Queen found herself in this position at the hands of several Dragon-Blooded, and escaped to let her "husband" know what she thought about that setup with the aid of the Yozis. |
| 397 | ---- |
| 398 | * FaustianBargain: To get back at the Dynasts who raped her and the divine order who abandoned her. |
| 399 | * RapeAsDrama: The drama being that her religious vows mandated execution even though she wasn't willing. |
| 400 | |
| 401 | !!'''Thrice-Damned Gorol''' |
| 402 | |
| 403 | A veteran of the Primordial war and pioneer of Solar Hero Style, Gorol was the only survivor of his circle's successful assault on a Primordial, and therefore the only one to hear it utter the Great Curse, catapulting him over the DespairEventHorizon. Later became the first Akuma. |
| 404 | ---- |
| 405 | * SupernaturalMartialArts: He's the reason that the Infernal Monster Style exists in the first place. |
| 406 | * {{Unperson}}: The very fact that a Solar ''could'' align himself with the Yozis and become their willing servant did not go over well with anyone. Solar Queen Merela did everything she could to erase the evidence of Gorol's infernal bargain, and even when it inevitably came out, she'd managed to purge enough info that no one knows the whole story. |
| 407 | * WarIsHell: There's [[http://i.imgur.com/zL8A8kP.png a picture]] in Broken-Winged Crane of the aftermath. Note the face in the smoke. |
| 408 | [[/folder]] |
| 409 | |
| 410 | [[folder:Alchemical Exalted]] |
| 411 | The Alchemical Exalted were the prototypes for the initial Exalts (Solar, Lunar, Sidereal and Terrestrial), but were never fielded during the Primordial War. They are human souls in artificial bodies, their special powers taking the appearance of {{magitek}}. To have a shot at Alchemical Exaltation, a soul must demonstrate heroism across multiple lifetimes. If the soul is deemed worthy, and if the resources are available, a body is crafted, the soul implanted, and the new Exalt brought to life by the animating power of the Primordial Autochthon. Every Alchemical is, to all intents and purposes, a whole new person, though they have memories of their past lives (unless a previous life was an Alchemical themselves, in which case it takes exceptional circumstances to recall anything). |
| 412 | |
| 413 | \ |
| 414 | |
| 415 | When Autochthon first noted the Solars' growing insanity, he decided to hide out in Elsewhere, taking several thousand humans along with him. To help them survive in Autochthonia, his world-body, Autochthon taught them the secrets of Alchemical Exaltation, enabling them to create champions who would protect them from the dangers of Autochthonia's internal environments. |
| 416 | |
| 417 | \ |
| 418 | |
| 419 | That was several thousand years ago, and Autochthon's starting to run down. Resources are low, more and more babies are being stillborn, and blight zones and gremlins, the manifestations of Autochthon's illness, are steadily increasing. Nevertheless, the Champions stand ready to defend their people. |
| 420 | |
| 421 | \ |
| 422 | |
| 423 | However, not all Alchemicals are on the side of Autochthon, but instead serve the void. Known as Apostates, these Exalts, either through Gremlin Symdrome or a lust of power, embrace the void and work towards the death of Autochthon. |
| 424 | ---- |
| 425 | * AlienBlood: Their blood glows. |
| 426 | * AndroidsArePeopleToo: Their bodies may be mechanical, but they have actual human souls animating them and have full feelings and emotions... [[TheSpock sometimes]]. |
| 427 | * ArtificialHuman: They can do pretty much anything normal humans can do. One major exception is their inability to reproduce (though not to say they can't be damn good at doing it for fun -- see Thousandfold Courtesan Calculations and their body shaping charms). If they are able to reproduce, that means something is very, ''very'' wrong, because the only way to do so is with Void charms. |
| 428 | * BornAsAnAdult: Alchemicals come into existence as physical and mental adults, with skills, aptitudes, memories and self-knowledge. |
| 429 | * CaptainPatriotic: They are created by the state and used on all their patriotic propaganda. |
| 430 | * ChainsawGood: It's not enough that they have a weapon known as the Gyroscopic Chakram. Oh, no. They have ''an entire Martial Arts style'' (Thousand-Wounds Gear) based around it. |
| 431 | * TheCorruption: Gremlin Syndrome is this, slowly turning infected Alchemicals AxCrazy, and allowing them to use Voidtech without issue. Alchemicals have no way of curing it, but the Solars are quite capable of doing so, if the Autochthonians are able to breach the Seal of Eight Divinities. |
| 432 | * CrystallineCreature: Adamant Castes are described as being made of quartz crystals (in addition to their namesake metal), and have "hair" made of branching crystal/gem growth, along with ''scales" at their joints. |
| 433 | * {{Cyborg}}: Their core body is primarily fleshy clay, but their Charms are metal. |
| 434 | * GeniusLoci: At essence 8, they grow into living cities. |
| 435 | * GoodIsNotNice: Alchemicals are literally made to protect people, but they do what is best for ''society'', not for you. Including euthanizing expensive medical patients that they think have outlived their usefulness. |
| 436 | * HomeBase: Alchemicals are more tied to their territory than even Lunars (and their ascendance involves literally ''plugging themselves into'' the landscape as a new city). They can move around freely, and even leave Autochthonia if their duty demands it, but the concept of an "independent Alchemical" simply does not exist. Eventually they will need someone to refit their Charms or help them stave off Clarity, even if the hundreds of patriotic past lives in the Alchemical's soul would ever ''want'' to leave Autochthonia permanently. Even 1e/2e's Adamants, who are about as close to independent as Alchemicals get, outsiders whose existence is nothing more than the subject of rumor and legend in Autochthonian society, rely on secret cities for development and refits, and in the event they want to hold off Clarity, seek out mortals to interact with. ''Essence's'' solution to this is to posit the existence of Creation-native Alchemicals who are attached to one of Creation's communities instead (and they're not limited to geographical communities). |
| 437 | * HomeFieldAdvantage: Metropoli don't do much, but they are more than capable of defending themselves from intruders. One example of a Metropoli Charm is a big antigravity ray normally used to float people and heavy cargo where they need to go; it's explicitly said to have more deadly uses in wartime. |
| 438 | * HumanPopsicle: Or Exalted popsicle, but in ''Essence'' it's revealed that some of the "proof of concept" Alchemicals made to sell the gods on the Exalted as champions are still in stasis in Creation as a potential PC origin. |
| 439 | %%* HumongousMecha: At essence 6, they grow into these.%%Into what? |
| 440 | %%* KillerRobot: Once the Alchemical gets Dissonance they become this.%%Meaning? |
| 441 | * {{Magitek}}: They're Magical Cyborg Demigod Homunculi. That turn into [[HumongousMecha Mechs]]. And then [[GeniusLoci Cities]]. |
| 442 | * {{Retcon}}: The existence and purpose of the Adamant Caste has changed with each edition. In 1e, they were [[LooseCanon optional canon]] without a full Caste writeup, secret watchers who monitored their fellow Alchemicals and Autochthonian society for disloyalty and corruption, and fought threats in Autochthonia's Far Reaches. 2e brought them into canon with a full writeup. ''Essence'' and 3e changed their role, making them instead a public part of society as teachers, muses, and artists. |
| 443 | * RoboticPsychopath: Can apply to high-Clarity Alchemicals, who abandon any concept of morality except for sheer, utilitarian efficiency. |
| 444 | * SanityStrengthening: Alchemicals who come into contact with Exalted whose magical material is identical to the Alchemical's Caste can reduce the Exalt's Limit gain. |
| 445 | * SealedGoodInACan: Even the poorest Autochthonian city holds a wealth of technology and knowledge compared to Creation...'''if''' they could reach each other. And that's a big if. |
| 446 | * TheSpock: Certain Charms and spells require that they acquire Clarity, which brings them more in line with the thought process of Autochthon. This also makes them more robotic and emotionless, causing them to base most of their decisions on logic and protocol. Some Alchemicals endeavor to avoid such a thing by spending lots of time with human friends and loved ones. It's made fairly explicit, however, that a high-Clarity Alchemical does ''not'' turn into a preachy Vulcan who talks incessantly about the "logical course of action"; their Clarity simply drives them towards the most efficient course of action. |
| 447 | |
| 448 | !Apostates |
| 449 | |
| 450 | * AxCrazy: Any Apostate who gains too much Dissonance becomes this, being unable to resist the urge to kill or vandalize whenever they get the chance. |
| 451 | * BodyHorror: Voidtech often takes this form. |
| 452 | * {{Sadist}}: Develop this when they start to get Dissonance, but not enough for them to become AxCrazy. |
| 453 | * WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Voidtech is extremely powerful, but often comes with Dissonance. |
| 454 | |
| 455 | !!'''Fair-Spoken Rishi''' |
| 456 | |
| 457 | The iconic Orichalcum caste. Early on in his existence, ''Rishi'' was a brilliant Yugashite general who racked up the wins in war until a conversation with a holy man made him reexamine his motives for doing so. He transitioned into politics, becoming a respected legal analyst, diplomat, and wartime negotiator. He's still called on occasionally to install his old war charms. |
| 458 | |
| 459 | \ |
| 460 | |
| 461 | ''Rishi'''s particular field of study is the nature of ideal law and its enforcement, and his writings on the subject have led some to suspect him of pacifism or anti-Yugash sentiments. He doesn't directly criticize the government of the day, instead presenting scenarios in deliberate, but nonspecific, contrast with current events. |
| 462 | ---- |
| 463 | * {{Ambadassador}}: Has experience both as a diplomat and a warrior. |
| 464 | * TheAtoner: A rather mild case, since he has been driving forward on that path for centuries. |
| 465 | * CoolOldGuy: In both his character writeups and the comics he appears in, ''Fair-Spoken Rishi'' comes off as pretty reasonable and personable. |
| 466 | * TheStoic: Due to high Clarity. |
| 467 | |
| 468 | !!'''Excessively Righteous Blossom''' |
| 469 | |
| 470 | The iconic Moonsilver caste. What the Tripartite Assembly of Yugash wanted when they had him made was a flexible and innovative hero. What they ''got'' was an ultra-orthodox idealist. While he's good at most things he turns his hand to, what he is ''not'', noticeably, is a people person, and there are a ''lot'' of pissed-off Yugashites who can testify to that (and several who can't, as attested by his ill-fated stint as a battalion commander). |
| 471 | ---- |
| 472 | * EveryoneHasStandards: When presented with the burned body of a messenger, ''Blossom'' at first remains stoic... but in the final panel of that comic, his stone-faced facade falls apart. When a nearby mortal asks what to do with monsters who’d do this, ''Blossom''’s response is simple. |
| 473 | --> '''''Blossom''''': “The only thing we can do... [[ThisIsUnforgivable ERADICATE]] [[GameFace THEM!]]” |
| 474 | * ModernMajorGeneral: He's charismatic and a great warrior, but he's awful at tactics. |
| 475 | * TheNeidermeyer: He made it ''very clear'' that his many spectacular failures as a commanding officer were due to the incompetence of his troops, and ''not'' a result of his command skills being on par with a punch-drunk fix beetle, why would you think that? |
| 476 | * NotSoStoic: As mentioned under EveryoneHasStandards, ''Blossom'' initially doesn’t react to the burnt body of a messenger, but he pretty quickly fails to hide how ''[[ThisIsUnforgivable pissed]]'' he is. |
| 477 | * TheRival: To the Righteous Devil, the Dawn-caste cowboy of the South. |
| 478 | * TheScrappy: In-universe. People hate him ''so'' much that a Sovan poster has the Jade Caste ''Stern Whip of Industry'' '''using his face as a rock to pose on'''. |
| 479 | * SmallNameBigEgo: He thinks he's the paragon of Yugash. Yugash does not share his opinion. |
| 480 | * ThisIsUnforgivable: As mentioned, this is his reaction when he receives the burned body of a messenger whose soulgem had been ripped out. While Alchemicals are normally stone-faced and calm, ''Blossom'''s [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2019_02_12_at_111840_am_0.png expression]] in the final panel of the comic makes it VERY clear [[UnstoppableRage what he's feeling]]. |
| 481 | |
| 482 | !!'''Lissome Avid Engineer''' |
| 483 | |
| 484 | The iconic Starmetal caste, who dreams of creating the greatest works of architecture ever seen. She's still quite young, but her social skills have made her far more popular than most new Champions. If her home nation of Yugash makes contact with Creation, she'll probably be responsible for the construction of their forward bases. |
| 485 | ---- |
| 486 | * BuxomBeautyStandard: ''Engineer'' has the largest bust of any character ([[DependingOnTheArtist at least in her "iconic Starmetal" artwork]] in the Alchemical splatbook), which is exploited when she's made in a MsFanservice propaganda icon InUniverse. |
| 487 | * MsFanservice: She's the cover girl for [=CoCD=]: Autochthonia. This is also an InvokedTrope; in the comic detailing her creation, her maker lusted after her inactive clay form, and installed a sex Charm in her despite the fact that she was made to be an engineer. |
| 488 | |
| 489 | !!'''Stern Whip of Industry''' |
| 490 | |
| 491 | The iconic Jade caste. He's practically a national institution in Sova: there are posters of his face in nurseries. He lives up to this acclaim by working extremely hard for the betterment of his country and by teaching others to do the same. |
| 492 | |
| 493 | Despite his vast strength, he's very nice and rather gentle. This is causing problems for him at present, since most of his country is just itching for a fight. His desire to avoid war has made him into a divisive figure, which isn't at all what he wants to be. |
| 494 | ---- |
| 495 | * TheBigGuy: Class 2. The huge guy towering over the others on the cover of ''Manual of Exalted Power: Alchemicals''? That's him. |
| 496 | * GentleGiant: Generally speaking. He is a skilled combatant, though, and will fight if necessary or most efficient. |
| 497 | * TheParagon: His job is to inspire the Populat to give 110% of their effort. He does this by working alongside them and heroically volunteering for the toughest, most dangerous and dirtiest jobs in the factory. |
| 498 | * PatrioticFervor: Portrayed in a generally positive light. He's loyal to Sova, and is an icon of the nation. Trouble is, the aggressives in Sovan society are questioning why he's reluctant to fight. |
| 499 | |
| 500 | !!'''Dreadful Adjudicator of Law''' |
| 501 | |
| 502 | The iconic Soulsteel caste, a regulator (law enforcer) in the nation of Gulak, who is typically to be found patrolling the streets in his all-concealing body armor. |
| 503 | ---- |
| 504 | * TheDreaded: Has a habit of lurking around corners and scaring the shit out of tourists. Mind, on the occasion that some poor sod not just turns that corner but actually ''collides'' with him...he doesn't much care. |
| 505 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 506 | ** He looks like Darth Vader. It helps that soulsteel beamklaives are blood red. |
| 507 | ** A powerful, stoic law enforcement officer, in concealing armor, with "Dread" in his name? [[ComicBook/JudgeDredd Now why does that sound familiar?]] |
| 508 | * TheFettered: ''Adjudicator'' was created to uphold Gulak's laws, and he does, without mercy or leniency. If he were to betray the law, he would be unable to live with himself. |
| 509 | * InLoveWithTheMark: ''Adjudicator'''s current problem. He's infiltrated a dissident movement, becoming the lover of the woman who leads it. He's got all the evidence he needs to bring the movement's members in, but what's stopping him is that he's actually fallen for the leader - and for the life his alternate identity lives. He's not about to renounce Gulak, but equally, he can't destroy the life he's created for himself, so he's trying to bring his lover into accordance with the law. |
| 510 | ** Worth noting, the dissident movement is significantly less radical than, say, the green movement by modern standards. |
| 511 | * TheQuietOne: Doesn't pipe up a lot outside of his duties. |
| 512 | * SecretIdentity: Janiss, the false identity he devised while infiltrating the dissident movement mentioned above. |
| 513 | * TheStoic: The most emotion he shows in public is impatience with attempts to resist arrest. |
| 514 | |
| 515 | !!'''Thousand Faceted Nelumbo''' |
| 516 | |
| 517 | The iconic Adamant caste, a specialist in martial arts. Her previous incarnation was a loyal servant of Debok Moom, one of Autochthon's Divine Ministers. When [[GenderBender he]] was killed, Debok Moom immediately had the soul reincarnated as ''Thousand Faceted Nelumbo''. She watches over the outcast colonies near Autochthon's Pole of Crystal, and drives off expeditions from the Eight Nations. |
| 518 | ---- |
| 519 | * DeadlyUpgrade: Just like Ragara Myrrun, ''Nelumbo'' seeks to initiate herself into Sidereal Martial Arts. Also like Ragara Myrrun, she's likely to destroy herself if she tries; her Scroll of Exalts writeup has a sidebar titled "BOOM!, Revisited." |
| 520 | * FishOutOfTemporalWater: Here's the thing: because Debok Moom didn't allow ''Nelumbo'''s soul to have a few more goes as a mortal Autochthonian, there's a 762-year gap in her memories (because of her previous Alchemical incarnation), and she's somewhat overwhelmed by modern Autochthonia. |
| 521 | * GenderBender: Her previous incarnation was a dude. |
| 522 | * InnocentFanserviceGirl: Downplayed. She's mostly as pure as the driven snow, but she knows perfectly well that her getup would [[MaleGaze attract stares]]. She just doesn't think she needs clothes most of the time, and for the most part, she doesn't. |
| 523 | * MsFanservice: Typically, the only clothing she wears is a cloak. [[TheissTitillationTheory Sometimes it just barely covers her chest]], [[WardrobeMalfunction sometimes it doesn't]]. Besides the fact she can't actually get cold (she's a robot, remember?), she doesn't really deal with humans most of the time, so she doesn't see the need. When she needs to talk with someone who would care, the cloak reshapes into normal clothing. The developers' own nickname for her? ''Maiden of the Missing Pants''. |
| 524 | * TheStoic: Not one to let her feelings show, and she has [[TheSpock high Clarity]] much of the time. |
| 525 | |
| 526 | !!'''Voice of Authority''' |
| 527 | |
| 528 | One doesn't always get what one was expecting when one makes an Alchemical of a specific Caste, but it isn't always a bad thing; ''Voice'' is a Soulsteel Caste, and thus meant to serve the nation of Gulak as a pragmatic and ruthless enforcer of Autochthonian law, a scourge of the Voidbringers. What came out of the vats was a [[BoisterousBruiser bombastic, friendly, and proud]] ActionHero and [[ChivalrousPervert serial seducer]]. After destroying a large and deep-seated Void cult, he found he was much more suited to the "destruction of the Great Maker's enemies" than the "ferreting them out" bit, and he quickly became a scourge of the Reaches, searching out and destroying the largest nests of TheCorruption he could find. Unlike ''Blossom'', he also happens to have a good estimation of his own skills, meaning his ego comes off as charming rather than irritating to the populace of his nation. This does not sit well with the Gulaki Tripartite; he was meant to be an enforcer, not an icon, and they are rapidly growing annoyed at his combination of not doing what they want and being too competent to be censured for it. For his part, ''Voice'' doesn't care -- he [[JumpedAtTheCall loves being a Champion]], and the people love him. |
| 529 | ---- |
| 530 | * CowboyCop: He really doesn't care for direct authority at all. |
| 531 | * GloryHound: A rare example in that it's a secondary motive for him -- he honestly loves Gulak and Autochthon, he just thinks he deserves recognition for his deeds. |
| 532 | * HopeBringer: See above. |
| 533 | * InsufferableGenius: Subverted. He's hot shit, ''knows'' he's hot shit, but doesn't rub it in the face of other people. It's why he's featured prominently on Gulaki propaganda posters. |
| 534 | |
| 535 | [[/folder]] |
| 536 | |
| 537 | [[folder:Liminal Exalted]] |
| 538 | Like the Abyssals, the Liminal Exalted, or Chernozem, are associated with the Underworld. They are ghost hunters and exorcists, and can fight a Lunar to a draw in one-on-one combat in the right circumstances. Their name links them to rebirth, and they're somewhat similar to [[TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated Prometheans]]. |
| 539 | |
| 540 | \ |
| 541 | |
| 542 | Created through the holy necromancy of the mysterious entity called the Dark Mother when her attention is drawn to those truly determined to bring back the dead, Liminals are dead bodies given new life -- sometimes patchwork, sometimes not. The "no backsies" rule applies, however: Liminals are not the people whose corpses made them, nor ghosts dredged from TheUnderworld -- they are entirely new souls who are effectively "born Exalted," having only trace memories of said corpse donors. If need be, they can even hack off the parts of the recently dead to replace any unsatisfactory organs they already have. Standing between death and life themselves, their mission is to keep the dead and the living balanced, champions of Lethe -- though they are not bound to that purpose, and can set out to find their own place in Creation. |
| 543 | |
| 544 | \ |
| 545 | |
| 546 | First introduced in ''Masters of Jade''. |
| 547 | ---- |
| 548 | * AppendageAssimilation: The Liminals can heal from loss of limbs and dismemberment as long as their pieces can later be gathered and brought close together. If a few missing parts go missing, this can be dealt with as long as they can find or make a handy corpse, at which point they can remove the parts they need and incorporate them into their own bodies. They can also replace parts they still have for more advantageous replacements -- for instance, swapping out their eyeballs for a superior pair to gain better eyesight, or doing the same with their hands to gain better dexterity. |
| 549 | * BackFromTheDead: Since they are not "alive" in a conventional sense, they can get around the No-Resurrection rule... to a point, as drowning will still permanently kill them. |
| 550 | * BodyHorror: Their charms are big on this. The corebook's Liminal quick character alone has such wonderful examples such as generating additional body mass to get more strength (which quickly rots away once the charm is ended), having their eyes go red with blood to see incorporeal undead, becoming grotesquely double-jointed to climb up walls and bursting bones out of your body to generate cover. |
| 551 | * CameBackWrong: The likely belief of the people trying to resurrect their old bodies. [[SubvertedTrope There is no resurrection involved, though, a Liminal is a completely separate individual from the people whose body or bodies they were made from]]. |
| 552 | * CantLiveWithoutYou: Every Liminal has a "Thread of Life", a key Intimacy towards a living being, initially their creator, and if it's broken (whether due to the mortal's death, neglect on the mortal's part, or the Liminal realizing that their relationship is abusive if it is so) they lose their ability to revive and start to decay, ending up a hungry ghost or bog-standard zombie within a lunar month unless they anchor the Thread to a new mortal, or a fellow Exalt in their Circle or another powerful entity if they're powerful enough. [[PsychicLink They can also sense when "their" mortal is in grave peril.]] |
| 553 | * CriticalStatusBuff: Going by the corebook's quick character, several of their charms become less expensive or more powerful the more damaged their bodies are. |
| 554 | * DarkIsNotEvil: Their core mission is essentially creative and nonviolent, and the Dark Mother is very much an example of GoodParents. |
| 555 | * DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: The conundrum of a Liminal's existence leaves him wondering just for what purpose he exists. |
| 556 | * {{Expy}}: One criticism that has been made about their Kickstarter preview for third edition is that it's ''too'' focused on their [[TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated Promethean]] inspiration and doesn't build up enough of their own distinct identity. ''Essence'' introduces more unique features, namely their "Thread of Life". |
| 557 | * {{Foil}}: To Abyssals -- while Abyssals are the living brought into death, the Liminals are the dead remade into new life. |
| 558 | * FrankensteinsMonster: What they are. Like the Monster, they are possessed of incredible strength and wonder about their place in the world. |
| 559 | * HunterOfMonsters: The Liminals have an inclination towards dealing with those who trespass the boundary of life and death, such as ghosts and other undead. |
| 560 | * ISeeDeadPeople: Liminals can see ghosts who wouldn't normally be visible. |
| 561 | * KillItWithFire: Liminals are usually able to regenerate from almost anything, but wounds inflicted by burning are difficult for them to heal from. |
| 562 | * KillItWithWater: Drowning will kill a Liminal for good, and if their body is under running water after a non-drowning death they need to have it removed before they can revive. |
| 563 | * LiminalBeing: If the name wasn't enough of an indication, Liminals straddle the divide between life and death, so that they can better reinforce it for their Dark Mother. They can see ghosts that are not normally visible, physically interact with ghosts when most can't, and have a limited ability to revive after "death". |
| 564 | * MixAndMatchMan: Some Liminals start out this way, and it's quite likely most of them will end up like this eventually. |
| 565 | * {{Omniglot}}: Liminals can speak to and understand ghosts even when language barriers should make that impossible. This ''only works'' with ghosts, mind. |
| 566 | * PowerCopying: Why they swap body parts -- certain memories of skills and abilities are contained in certain body parts, and sometimes the Chernozem wants it. |
| 567 | * PsychicLink: Aside from their Thread of Life, Liminals also have a connection to the Dark Mother, feeling her as an atavistic pressure in their minds compelling them to keep the worlds of the living and the dead apart. |
| 568 | * PullingThemselvesTogether: Usually, crippling wounds such as a missing eye or arm require powerful magic to heal, but Liminals can survive damage up to and including dismemberment as long as the pieces are brought close together, allowing them to stick themselves back into one piece. |
| 569 | * RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain: Well, destroying the brain works. Removing the head ''might'', so long as you keep the pieces well separated. |
| 570 | * SpareBodyParts: Apparently it's not uncommon for Liminals to keep a spare of a body part ready. |
| 571 | * SuperMode: Allowing their anima to flare increases their cap on bonus dice from charms by their essence, at the cost of revealing their terrifying nature to onlookers. |
| 572 | |
| 573 | !!'''Dame Crimson''' |
| 574 | The signature Liminal, a Blood Aspect. Her mortal body was a guard for the caravan of the merchant prince Casim Thurat on the trade route between Thorns and Nexus, and she very much relished returning home to Thorns, gifting her many nephews and nieces various knickknacks from her travels. |
| 575 | |
| 576 | \ |
| 577 | |
| 578 | She was in Thorns when it fell to the Mask of Winters, and was torn to pieces as she defended the walls from the undead horde. However, Thurat was loathe to let one of his best guards die, someone who had protected both him and the caravan's profits, and at his bidding the caravan god's priest Imarid reassembled her to the best of his ability, selecting replacements for the missing parts from amongst the many available to him in Thorns' fall. |
| 579 | \ |
| 580 | |
| 581 | |
| 582 | Dame Crimson has pretty much picked up from where her mortal body left off, serving as commander of the caravan's security forces, and after reuniting with one of her body's nieces, she's treating the nieces and nephews as her newfound family, quietly getting money and supplies to the niece she met when she can, and planning to get them out of Thorns when she gets the opportunity. The slight catch in this is that they're unaware one of the niece's brothers is now an Abyssal in the Mask of Winters' service, who's keeping an eye on his siblings and their curious good fortune... |
| 583 | ---- |
| 584 | * AnArmAndALeg: How her mortal self died, torn to pieces by an undead horde. |
| 585 | * BloodyMurder: As a Blood Aspect, this presumably comes naturally to her. |
| 586 | * BoisterousBruiser: Blood Aspects are creatures of appetite and passion, be it lust, greed, or ambition, and Dame Crimson is no exception. She's always up for the challenge when she encounters a formidable opponent, she eats and drinks well, she spends freely, including tipping and giving to beggars, and she has a lot of lovers. |
| 587 | * FamilyOfChoice: She sees her body's nieces and nephews as found family (specifically, she has a Major Intimacy to them). |
| 588 | * FieryRedhead: A natural redhead who dyes her hair a deep crimson, and a BoisterousBruiser. |
| 589 | * MixAndMatchMan: In her case, Imarid selects body parts which are as close to her originals as he can manage. |
| 590 | * {{Protectorate}}: Her Defining Principle is "I'll protect my charges from threats both living and dead." |
| 591 | * ReallyGetsAround: Keeps lovers in every city, showering them with extravagant gifts. |
| 592 | * {{Retcon}}: A minor one; her mention in ''Masters of Jade'' has her joining the caravan and overseeing its security, while her writeup in ''Adversaries of the Righteous'' has her created to continue guarding the caravan (her original concept gave her a very different origin, but it never saw print). |
| 593 | [[/folder]] |
| 594 | |
| 595 | [[folder:Getimian Exalted]] |
| 596 | The Getimian Exalted are another new Exalted type revealed in Third Edition. Originally created by the Primordials Oramus and Sachaverell (see: [[Characters/ExaltedSpirits here]] for their modern forms under Yozis) as the Primordials' own Exalted, the Getimian Exaltations were sealed away when they got frightened by the results, until the rogue Sidereal Rakan Thulio discovered their existence and released them. |
| 597 | |
| 598 | \ |
| 599 | |
| 600 | Counterparts to the Sidereals, Getimians have [[TheSymbiote colonies of Pattern Spiders]] living in their spines, their bones replaced by webbing. This means, of course, that each is effectively a living Loom of Fate, and their powers reflect that: whereas the Sidereals draw themes and powers from enlightened teachers of Shinto, Getimians are themed after Taoist [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemists]], to the point where instead of Personal and Peripheral Essence Pools, they have [[YinYangBomb Still and Flowing]] ones, with effects on their personalities and powers depending on how balanced (or... not) they are. |
| 601 | |
| 602 | \ |
| 603 | |
| 604 | Getimians are Exalted from those heroes who Heaven decided would never exist, whose heroic deeds would never come to pass - until their Exaltation decreed [[ScrewDestiny they should exist anyway]]. As a result, most of them have become agents in a war against Yu-Shan, seeking revenge for what was lost and what could have been. |
| 605 | |
| 606 | \ |
| 607 | |
| 608 | Their Castes are based on the seasons, given based on their original timeline. |
| 609 | ---- |
| 610 | * AntiVillain: Loathing of the gods, in many other settings, would mark one as the embodiment of hubris. Here, it comes off as a perfectly reasonable reaction, if a little lacking in nuance, especially since Heaven decided that their existence was "inconvenient". It should also be noted that while all Getimians have a bone to pick with the gods, they're quite capable of understanding the difference between the corrupt and the honest -- at least one spoiler character works in Yu-Shan as a consultant of the Sidereals, helping maintain Creation from the divine side. |
| 611 | * EmpoweredBadassNormal: In their original destiny, each and every Getimian was ''already'' a person capable of changing the fate of a significant portion of Creation while still a plain mortal. Being pulled into the canon timeline and Exalted just enhanced them even more. |
| 612 | * EvilCounterpart: Subverted. They were ''supposed'' to be, but the Primordials feared them, and what they implied about fate, too much. Now unsealed, the Primordals have long been reduced to a state where they can't really order them around to begin with, to the extent they're even ''aware'' of them, so the Getimians are {{Wild Card}}s by definition. |
| 613 | * {{Foil}}: To both Sidereals and Green Sun Princes. |
| 614 | ** While Sidereals are arbiters of Heaven's will born from special destinies decided at their birth, Getimians are a weapon against the gods born when a destiny that was undone by outside interference comes back into existence by the power of the Exaltation. |
| 615 | ** While Green Sun Princes are embodiments of the Yozis as they are, broken and angry things that chose people who are also broken and angry to bring Malfeas' terrible glory to Creation, the Getimians are discarded products of the Primordials in their prime, suddenly brought into the modern world with no master but a human Sidereal and who bring their lost home timelines into reality. |
| 616 | * GlitchEntity: Non-video game example. Since Getimians aren't part of Creation-that-is, it reacts wrongly to them, causing inconsistencies and inconveniences around them - clothes they wear are still in storage, food they eat is still on the plate untouched, tracks appear before they set off, etc. On the flipside, their powers let them deliberately act as living glitches, doing such things as being in two places at once, summoning allies from their original world, binding people to their history, turning people against their enemies, etc. |
| 617 | * HeroicBSOD: Their "Melancholy Fugue" Great Curse manifestation has the Getimian shut out the outside world to the best of their abilities. |
| 618 | * HumanoidAbomination: Downplayed, because they are human. They just happen to be humans ''who aren't supposed to exist,'' and have the LovecraftianSuperpower mentioned below. |
| 619 | * LovecraftianSuperpower: Read that again: ''They have '''spiders''' living in their spines. '''Spiders.''''' Given how their creators are two of the most distinctly weird of the Primordials/Yozis (which is really saying something), it's to be expected. |
| 620 | * TheMinionMaster: Getimians have the ability to draw other people into their personal Looms of Fate, creating a general role like "business partner", "friend", or "bodyguard", and imposing them on mortals, giving them buffs that escalate with the Getimian's own Essence - and a penalty when acting against it. |
| 621 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Two of the ways that the Great Curse manifests for Getimians have a way to snap them out of it early: they, or more specifically to this trope, someone or something that they care about, being harmed by their actions or inaction (depending on the manifestation). |
| 622 | * MythologyGag: Each Caste's writeup in ''Essence'' describes them using one of 2e's Virtues: Spring gets Valor, Summer gets Conviction, Autumn gets Compassion, and Winter gets Temperance. |
| 623 | * NumerologicalMotif: 2 and its powers - two patrons, two types of Essence, four Castes, sixty-four Getimians - reflecting their Taoist inspirations. |
| 624 | * ParadoxPerson: From the Getimians' perspective, they've woken up to find themselves in [[ForWantOfANail a changed and unfamiliar world that's gone very differently to the one they know]], their old life erased from reality. WordOfGod has revealed that the people who became Getimians weren't even ''born'' in the original timeline. |
| 625 | * RageAgainstTheHeavens: And a rogue Sidereal, Rakan Thulio, is leading their war. |
| 626 | * SealedBadassInACan: Up until about fifty years before the Scarlet Empress' disappearance, the Getimian Exaltations were sealed away by the Primordials. Rakan Thulio has made that no longer an issue. |
| 627 | * SeasonalBaggage: Their Castes are based around the four seasons, each one also representing a 2e Virtue. |
| 628 | ** Vernals are dreamers and guardians who made their original world beautiful, representing Valor. |
| 629 | ** Estivals are mad prophets and iconoclasts who overthrew the ways of their original world, representing Conviction. |
| 630 | ** Autumnals are leaders and healers who redeemed their original world, representing Compassion. |
| 631 | ** Hiberals are magicians and demiurges who brought order to their original world, representing Temperance. |
| 632 | * SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Many Getimians by default are trying to enact the positive changes that they made in their own aborted timelines in the true Creation, but a way that the Great Curse can manifest for them is trying to forcibly remove what they see as flaws from Creation. |
| 633 | * WindsOfDestinyChange: They can draft their own Fates using their internal pattern spiders, disrupting the pattern of the true Loom. |
| 634 | [[/folder]] |
| 635 | |
| 636 | [[folder:Apocryphal Exalted: Dream-Souled, Hearteaters and Umbral Exalted]] |
| 637 | |
| 638 | Initially, these three Exalted types were intended as foils for the Lunars and Sidereals in Third Edition, in order to emphasize some of their themes, and were to receive playable writeups. When Robert Vance and Eric Minton took over as developers, they opted not to make the various trade-offs involved in incorporating them into the line, instead deciding to have them as "optional canon", with an appendix in ''Exigents'' describing their themes, concepts and backstories, and giving enough information on their Charmsets for people to homebrew their own, with the possibility of giving them a splatbook depending on response. |
| 639 | |
| 640 | \ |
| 641 | |
| 642 | A picture of them (alongside an Alchemical and Green Sun Prince) can be found on pages 54-55 of the Third Edition core: the woman with the aurora is a Hearteater, the man being tormented by a shadow-monster is an Umbral Exalt, and the man in the toga is a Dream-Souled. |
| 643 | |
| 644 | ---- |
| 645 | |
| 646 | * {{Foil}}: The Hearteaters and Umbral Exalted were intended as Lunar foils, while the Dream-Souled were intended as Sidereal foils with the Getimians. However, they've moved beyond that even in the summarized versions in ''Exigents'', becoming more standalone. |
| 647 | * LooseCanon: Their position in the game. People can include them in their games, and will get advice on how to do so, but the rest of the line isn't going to be written under the assumption they exist. |
| 648 | |
| 649 | !!The Dream-Souled |
| 650 | Chosen of Ketu, a being native to the wyld who is neither primordial nor god nor FairFolk. Ketu knows Creation only from the dreams of its inhabitants, and selects its chosen from those whose dreams it finds most interesting. |
| 651 | |
| 652 | \ |
| 653 | |
| 654 | The Dream-Souled wield unmatched power over dreams, and are formidable forces in the waking world as well, wielding powers based on illusion and transformation. |
| 655 | |
| 656 | ---- |
| 657 | |
| 658 | * {{Determinator}}: Ketu is drawn to the dreams of people who have an extremely clear idea of what they think the world should be, and a will to see it through no matter the personal cost. It empowers these people as Dream-Souled. |
| 659 | * DreamWalker: Dream-Souled have the basic ability to enter others' dreams, plus Charms that allow them to [[DreamWeaver manipulate the dreams of others]]. |
| 660 | * LiminalBeing: The Dream-Souled stand between Creation and the Wyld, not fully of one or the other. This is absolutely terrifying to the FairFolk, as Dream-Souled are embodiments of Order they cannot mutate due to also being Dreams, and can reshape fae into forms that ape their Ideals. |
| 661 | * MasterOfIllusion: One of the Dream-Souled's basic anima powers allows them to create obvious illusions, and they have Charms that let them develop this further. |
| 662 | * {{Ubermensch}}: The kind of people who become Dream-Souled were already {{Determinator}}s, and Ketu's blessing makes it outright ''impossible'' for others to force them to willingly break their own ideals. |
| 663 | |
| 664 | !!Hearteaters |
| 665 | Once the Aurorals, chosen of the Incarna [[GenderBlenderName Aurora]], the Hearteaters were warped into their current form during the Divine Revolution, when the Primordials slew Aurora and performed a terrible ritual using his heart as a focus. Unfortunately for the Primordials, they remained on the side of the gods. So now instead of joyful muses they had to deal with something much, much worse. |
| 666 | |
| 667 | \ |
| 668 | |
| 669 | Following the Divine Revolution, the victorious Exalted found the Hearteaters were now ''their'' issue to deal with, and elected to wipe them all out, kill all their pawns, and seal their bones away deep in the Wyld. Their prisons held for the rest of the First Age, but the subsequent cataclysms of Creation's history - the Usurpation and the Great Contagion - undid many of the seals entirely, so mortals who stumbled into the Wyld now ran the risk of releasing a Hearteater's Exaltation, alongside all the other perils there. |
| 670 | |
| 671 | \ |
| 672 | |
| 673 | Hearteaters have an insatiable hunger to make those with intimacies towards them into "pawns", stripping away their identity and free will and leaving only themselves in its place. |
| 674 | |
| 675 | ---- |
| 676 | |
| 677 | * TheAssimilator: Some Hearteater Charms allow them to absorb abilities, traits and skills from their pawns. |
| 678 | * BlessedWithSuck: Any Hearteater with a conscience is going to rapidly learn to hate life even more so than sympathetic Abyssals, because an Abyssal can occasionally take a break from being a horrific monster by resting in the Underworld. A Hearteater's ''very existence'' is parasitic, with enough left of themselves as the Auroral Exalted to know just how broken they are. |
| 679 | * ChessMotifs: Aside from their victims being referred to as pawns, a lot of their charms reference other chess concepts like promotion, sacrifices and castling. |
| 680 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: The Primordials apparently thought turning the Auroral Exalted into horrific parasites by killing their beloved Incarna would win them over. If anything, they helped defeat themselves worse, because the newborn Hearteaters wanted them to ''suffer.'' |
| 681 | * EnemyMine: One of the few things that can get the Sidereals and Lunars to collaborate is taking down a Hearteater - both the Bureau of Destiny and the Silver Pact have institutional memory of the Hearteaters, even if their newer members haven't heard of them, and are well aware of the threat they pose. |
| 682 | * FallenHero: The Auroral Exalted were once TheMuse to the other Exalted during the Primordial War, only to be twisted into the monsters they are now through the murder of their patron Incarna. Once they were no longer needed to fight said Primordials, the Hearteaters were sealed away, and understandably want payback. |
| 683 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: Many Hearteaters were once just people who stumbled across the sealed bones of one and gained their Exaltation by complete accident. |
| 684 | * HorrorHunger: The psychological need to devour wills and transform people into servants is inherent to the Hearteaters - even beyond how [[WillfullyWeak powerless]] a Hearteater without Pawns is, being one comes with the urge to devour passions and become the heart of love for others, and fighting against that hunger is ''extremely'' difficult. |
| 685 | * LightIsNotGood: Hearteaters used to be the Exalted of the Aurora, are still highly associated with light, and are not Creatures of Darkness. Their very powers push them into being amoral {{Manipulative Bastard}}s that devour free will. |
| 686 | * MadeOfIndestructium: When a Hearteater dies with no suitable pawns in range, their bones transmute to pearl and become imperishable until some poor sap stumbles across them and receives the Exaltation. |
| 687 | * TheMinionMaster: Hearteater Charms revolve around Pawns, people they have instilled a brainwashed UndyingLoyalty into. |
| 688 | * NonIndicativeName: The Hearteaters' name is metaphorical, rather than literal - they take the passions of others and subsume them into themselves. |
| 689 | * PastLifeMemories: Hearteaters tend to get a lot of memories from previous bearers of their Exaltations. How much varies, but they all tend to remember how they were betrayed pretty well... |
| 690 | * SealedEvilInACan: During the First Age, the Hearteaters were killed and their bones sealed away at the edges of Creation. Unfortunately, while the occasional breakout happened before, with the way that things have deteriorated in recent years, more and more are being released into Creation once more. |
| 691 | * TragicMonster: The Auroral Exalted were corrupted and twisted by their patron's murder into the Hearteaters, instilling in them a drive to turn others into their pawns, once that they can't deny forever. Those with a conscience try and delude themselves into thinking that their pawns let them do this to them willingly, but these lies cannot last forever. |
| 692 | * TheVirus: The core Hearteater concept, via breaking others' wills and turning them into their pawns. Kill a Hearteater with a suitable pawn within a few miles, and the Exaltation passes to the pawn... along with the drive to break people's wills and make them pawns (courtesy of their manifestation of the Great Curse), but ''not'' necessarily the original Hearteater's mind. Kill a Hearteater without a suitable pawn, and the Exaltation will pass to the next mortal to touch their bones. |
| 693 | |
| 694 | |
| 695 | !!Umbrals |
| 696 | Chosen of Nebiru, an Incarna that refused to fight on the side of the gods in the Divine Revolution. To prevent him betraying them to the Primordials, the other Incarnae sealed him within his invisible planet. In a desperate bid for freedom, Nebiru created the Umbrals, allowing himself to be consumed in the process. |
| 697 | |
| 698 | \ |
| 699 | |
| 700 | All Umbrals have a Shadow - a SplitPersonality formed from the darkest parts of their psyche and a small fragment of Nebiru himself. Their charms allow them to control darkness, both in a literal sense and to manipulate the darkness within the hearts of those around them. In the place of a limit track they have Penumbra, a gauge of how much they or the Shadow is in control of their shared body. The higher it is, and the more influence the Shadow has, the more powerful they become. |
| 701 | |
| 702 | ---- |
| 703 | |
| 704 | * CastingAShadow: A good part of Umbral powers is physical manipulation of darkness and shadows. |
| 705 | * DarkIsNotEvil: Umbrals are associated deeply with darkness, fear, and vices, and are Creatures of Darkness due to their long-dead Incarna being a Primordial loyalist; however, even the Shadows themselves aren't inherently evil (a particularly criminal Umbral might find her Shadow partly embodies ChronicHeroSyndrome), and it's possible for Heaven to decide that particular Umbrals have proven they're not enemies of Creation, curing their vulnerability to Holy Charms. |
| 706 | * EnemyWithin: An Umbral's Exaltation gives them a Shadow, the result of a bit of Nebiru merging with his Chosen's darker impulses - as befitting an embodiment of fear and doubt, Shadows are never things their counterpart likes about themselves and constantly struggle for control; however, since Shadows contain pieces of an Incarna, some Charms cede influence to the Shadow in return for drawing directly on the dead arch-god's power. That said, unlike their counterparts in ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'', a Shadow will ''never'' try to pursue their Umbral's death. |
| 707 | * {{Irony}}: The Immaculate Philosophy views Celestial Exalted as inherently compromised by their dark sides awoken by their powers and inherently Anathema. Umbrals, who factually are Celestial Exalted fighting against their awoken dark sides by nature of their powers, are not inherently recognized by the Immaculates as Anathema, simply being judged based on their behavior. |
| 708 | * MechanicallyUnusualClass: They're the only Exalted type in third edition seemingly unaffected by the Great Curse, though Penumbra acts like the Curse in its place. |
| 709 | * TheMinionMaster: Umbral Charms allow the crafting of {{Living Shadow}}s, and Night-Prince Majesty gives them a persistent CharmPerson effect to Creatures of Darkness and dark-aligned beings [[TheSacredDarkness aligned to Heaven]] by drawing on Nebiru's authority over the night. |
| 710 | * PowerAtAPrice: Some of the Umbral Charms require gaining Penumbra to use, granting the Umbral power at the cost of control. |
| 711 | * SemanticSuperpower: Because Shadows are technically both their Umbrals and not, they can do things like soak the damage from attacks while leaving the Umbral uninjured, hide Intimacies of the Umbral within themselves, trick people who didn't crack an Umbral's social defenses into believing a biased HalfTruth advantageous to the Umbral, and create CombatClairvoyance by [[CruelToBeKind lambasting flaws in their counterpart's fighting style]] (including things like "you didn't notice the ambusher" the Umbral wasn't capable of seeing). |
| 712 | * SuperPoweredEvilSide: The more Penumbra an Umbral has, the more influence their Shadow has over their actions - and the more powerful they personally are, as they tap into more and more of Nebiru's power. Inner Darkness Unleashed is a basic Charm that invokes it directly, taking on a point of Penumbra for the Shadow to physically manifest as PowerArmor for the Umbral. |
| 713 | |
| 714 | [[/folder]] |
| 715 | |
| 716 | [[folder:The Spoken]] |
| 717 | The Spoken are unusual in a few regards: for one, they're the only known non-human Exalted type, and for another they're the only known ''extinct'' Exalted type, created and wiped out in the early First Age, in the years following the Divine Revolution. The story goes that an as-yet unnamed undersea species sought out the secret of Exaltation and brought it back to the fugitive Incarna known as the Voice in the Trench, who lifted up the Spoken from among them; unfortunately, the Voice was unaware that creating Exaltations comes with a price for the divine entity who does so, and in its case, it was destroyed in the process of creating the Spoken. |
| 718 | |
| 719 | \ |
| 720 | |
| 721 | Initially, the Spoken were slated to be introduced in a Niobraran War sourcebook for Third Edition, but Eric Minton and Robert Vance decided they weren't high priority, being extinct in the present-day setting. They did not, however, decide to drop them altogether; the Spoken may be gone, but they did leave their mark on Creation, and are slated to get an antagonist writeup in the ''Exalted Essence'' companion. |
| 722 | ---- |
| 723 | * TheBeastmaster: Oceanic-themed. |
| 724 | * ElementalPowers: Oceanic-themed. |
| 725 | * PosthumousCharacter: Their effective position in the setting. |
| 726 | * ThePowerOfCreation: The primary theme of their powers, enabling them to create something by naming it. |
| 727 | * StrongerWithAge: Going by the city of Obsidian, which was built to the scale of the eldest Spoken, they could grow to massive sizes. |
| 728 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Characters / ExaltedExalted
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
