Though from what I've heard on the White Wolf forums is that the Errata Team is starting to get done with there big 2.5 fix up, which they say will fix a lot of the core problems and will go along way to helping lethality.
So here's something dumb I've been working on for a while: Infernal Exalted explained with ponies, just in case I ever need to do this. (You just wait until I finish working on Fair Folk explained with Animaniacs. Actually, that one sentence pretty much explains it all.)
First: assume that all canon ponies with significant roles (the mane six, Celestia, Nightmare Moon etc), plus Discord, are Yozis. Twilight Sparkle has First Twilight Sparkle Excellency, Twilight Sparkle Mythos Exultant, Twilight Sparkle Cosmic Principle and so on. She also has charms that enhance her essence pool, allow duplication of powers used by others, and force her to gain Limit when unable to keep to a schedule. Rarity has her own First Excellency, crafting charms that induce Super OCD, and weaponised whining. That sort of thing. These are the Yozis of this little analogy.
Now we introduce Infernals. Let's call our hypothetical Ponyfernal Nyx (if you haven't read that fanfic and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now). Nyx has a blend of Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy Charms, but her core competencies are based off Nightmare Moon Charms, including the First Excellency, and she comes to rely on these more and more as her story goes on. As she does so, she begins to accumulate Nightmare Moon's powers - temporary self-multiplication, disguise, teleportation - and some of her personality traits, such as a short temper. However, her Fluttershy and Twilight Charms, plus the parts of her own personality that haven't been altered by Yozi charms, allow her a certain amount of control over this.
Eventually, it's crunch time and Nyx has to choose between two paths: Cosmic Principle and Devil-Tiger.
- If she takes Nightmare Moon Cosmic Principle, she becomes the original Nightmare Moon in all particulars and loses the Fluttershy and Twilight Charms that keep her NM aspects under control unless she can Rules Lawyer them to fit Nightmare Moon's themes. By this point, there won't be much of Nyx's personality left, since she will almost certainly suddenly have a full suite of Nightmare Moon Charms including those that alter personality.
- If she goes down the Devil-Tiger path, this does not happen. Instead, she takes the bits she has from everyone concerned (First NM Excellency and Sorcerous Initiation, Relentless Adorability Shintai from Fluttershy, Curiosity-Driven Analysis Technique from Twilight and so on) and uses them to create the First Nyx Excellency. For those curious, this is analogous to what she does in the story. Later, she can develop a Charmset based around her own themes (knowledge, defence of others, second chances), rather than picking stuff from everypony else's.
Edit: Also, I went on the internet yesterday, and I found this!
edited 7th Nov '11 11:17:50 AM by CountDorku
Thread Necromancy, with appropriately Abyssal subject.
I'm creating an Abyssal character who is missing his right hand, due to the injury and near-death that led to him becoming an Abyssal in the first place.
I want to custom make a supernatural martial arts for him, and I want it to be called "Ghost Hand Style." I know that it would involve his missing hand, but I need some suggestions as to what kind of specific charms it could include.
FYI, I don't need full stats, I can handle those, just some ideas to work with.
[random change of topic since I have no clues on the subject]
So I've been reading Compass:Autochthonia lately.
It's awesome and you should read it ASAP.
After reading it, I kind of want to run a game set in the Patropolis of Xexas. Mainly because I like the idea of robot superheroes fighting gremlins in magitech aircraft and the occasional zeppelin.
So, I've come up with a character concept that I think is SUPER COOL.
A Zenith caste Solar Built around using the Heart Compelling Method Charm as liberally as possible to be some kind of eternally hopeful hippy Music Meister.
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"hmm, and if I start with 2 points in having a Cult that means I can use my charms even more...
megusta.jpg.
Maybe put that cult in my own personal manse, with a priestly backing :D
edited 17th Jan '12 10:47:24 PM by Lanceleoghauni
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"What happens when an Abyssal reaches Essence 6-10? Do they become Super-Deathlords, Neverborn-like beings without the whole Fate Worse than Death thing, or something else?
I think you technically can, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. I mean, with 18 bonus points*, spending 14 on Essence will mean you can't even leave chargen with a full Willpower stat*.
Also, it means you can't have a combo and are stuck with just your ten starting Charms. And since buying Charms is like being a kid in a candy store...
- Using the errata'd character creation.
hmmmmm. so how does buying the willpower work, 1 to 1?
I stuck with the ten charms to start with, yeah, wasn't sure you could get more. Focused mainly on the "Be able to seduce an entire city and/or rally them to my cause as a free action" charms, plus some DODGE CHARMS and Perfect Defense charms on the side.
edited 22nd Jan '12 12:26:51 AM by Lanceleoghauni
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"You should at least buy an attack ability, plus an excellency for that ability. Melee is good, because a) it's got a bit of everything, and b) it doesn't involve dipping into the morass that is Martial Arts.
Under the Scroll of Errata
, which is free and you should make sure you have, you can spend 7 of your 18 bonus points to get Willpower 10 - five into WP directly, two into raising two virtues to 4 or higher since I don't think that requirement has been errata'd yet. From there, you can spend another 7 to boost Essence if you want. You can also buy caste/favoured charms for 3bp each, raise abilities and backgrounds, and otherwise pick up cool stuff.
Post your current stats and I'll see what I can do, but I hasten to add most of my experience is related to reading about the game rather than playing it.
yeah, I dumped an assload of points into my background. lets see. Here's what I've got so far for "Forthright Steward of Harmonious Virtue"
Zenith Caste Solar
- All Physical Stats: 3 dots
- Social Stats:
- Charisma: 5 dots
- Manipulation 3 dots
- Appearance 3 Dots
- Mental Stats:
- Perception 3 dots
- Intelligence 2 dots
- Wits 2 dots
- Abilities:
- Melee: 2 dots
- Socialize: 2 dots
- Awareness: 3 dots
- Dodge: 3 Dots
- Lore 2 dots
- Integrity: 5 Dots
- Performance: 5 dots
- Resistance: 5 dots
- Survival 3 dots
- Advantages:
- Essence: 3 dots
- Personal Essence: 19
- Peripheral Essence: 43
- Willpower: 10 dots
- Compassion: 4 dots
- Temperance: 2 dots
- Valor: 2 dots
- Conviction: 4 dots
- Virtue Flaw: Heart Of Flint
- Essence: 3 dots
- Flaws:
- Amnesia: (cannot remember before Exaltation, 3 pts)
- Enemy: 2 pts
- Permanent Caste Mark: 2 pts
- Nightmares: (if 2 or less rolled on d6, no willpower from rest, 1 pts)
- Background:
- Allies: 2 dots
- Artifact: 1 Dot
- Manse Hearthstone Pendant (+something motes per hour)
- Cult: 2 dots (+2 motes, +1 willpower per hour)
- Followers: 2 dots
- Manse: 3 dots
- Resources: 3 dots
- Charms:
- First Performance Excellency (Performance)
- Heart Compelling Method (Performance)
- Durability of Oak Meditation (Resistance)
- Spirit Strengthens Skin (resistance)
- Invincible Essence Reinforcement (3 dots) (Resistance)
- Hardship Surviving Mendicant Spirit (Survival)
- Integrity Protecting Prana (Integrity)
- Shadow Over Water (Dodge)
- First Performance Excellency (Performance)
edited 22nd Jan '12 1:27:26 AM by Lanceleoghauni
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"Let's see: Flaws are kind of awkward. And by awkward I mean the only part of Scroll of Heroes worth using is the storytelling chapter.
Dexterity is, under the current rules, all-important for combat. You might want to drop a dot from Strength and Stamina each and stick them in Dex.
Likewise, Appearance is a social godstat due to some awkward rules writing. Appearance 5 Charisma 3 is actually more convincing than Charisma 5 Appearance 3.
At present, you have very limited combat survivability. Soak enhancers are decent in lower-tier play but fall apart as soon as someone gets serious, and with your current stats you can't effectively hit any opponent more skilled than a mortal. I'd drop some points from Resistance and maybe Integrity, and load them into Melee and Dodge. Likewise, I'd cut the Essence Reinforcements. What you really need before soak enhancers is a melee excellency and perfect defence, preferably Seven Shadow Evasion; Body-Mending Meditation might also be a wise investment. The first rule of Exalted survival is "don't get hit, if you get hit by a beefy enough enemy you're dead". As for the third, if you really want to compel hearts, go for either Respect-Commanding Attitude or Mastery of Small Manners. Maybe stick a dot in Linguistics and pick up Sagacious Reading of Intent.
This page
is a pretty good starting point for useful Charms.
I was afraid of that. I only have the PDF of the core book, so it's a little difficult for me to flip back and forth between sections to read up on stuff.
I had a feeling that I REALLY wanted to take sorcery, but I didn't know how to move the points around. I kind of thought my followers and Allies would help, but then I realized that they'd be low level exalts, or mortals, so they probably wouldn't be that helpful.
shuffled things around, dex and appearence are now 5, redid my charms, and took sorcery.
"Coffee! Coffeecoffeecoffee! Coffee! Not as strong as Meth-amphetamine, but it lets you keep your teeth!"

Ultra-basic rules breakdown:
To do something, you roll (appropriate skill + appropriate stat + modifiers) 10-sided dice. 7 or above is a success, 10 counts double. If you have too many 1's you botch. Each task has a certain number of successes that are required to succeed. "Stunts", in which you describe what you're doing in a fashion better than "I disarm the trap" or "I hit him with my sword", earn you 1-3 extra dice, with 1 d10 for minor improvements and 3 for stuff that has everyone at the table staring at you in slack-jawed astonishment. They also regain you motes or willpower points.
Combat is fairly convoluted and time-consuming (it's been stated by Word of God that in a hypothetical third edition, fully rolled multiple attacks will be the first to go), but is based on the above system. You have a certain number of health levels with escalating penalties as you take more; in practice, these tend to disappear quite quickly.
Charms range in complexity quite significantly. You will need:
Another thing you will need to do is get the Scroll of Errata. There is a lot of broken crap out there. The Scroll is trying to fix that. It's...slow going, to say the least.