Resources for Exalted Second Edition
Please note: You must create separate user accounts for Lore 5 and the ECR forums.Heroic Exalts
By Ker'ion
Submitted on 17 Sep 2008 at 06:12:25 PM EDTLast updated on 17 Sep 2008 at 06:17:12 PM EDT
Category: Character Types
As the gods began getting restless and worried that the Primordials would errantly wipe them from existance, they requested the help of Autocthon.
In his patient wisdom, Autocthon created a grand device that slowly created shards of power from the pure chaos of the Wyld. After granting the shards to each Incarna, he took some for himself and hid the machine away in Elsewhere, where it sat for millenia. Autocthon, forseeing great strife in Creation’s future, left his machine on, slowly building up a full store of Shards.
The sheer power of the Shards, trying to escape to Exalt the Heroes of the Second Age, strained against their cage, cracking the cage in one place, then another over the millenia of it’s confinement, until it began to pour it’s unspent power through the cracks, concentrating so much that the seal itself was destroyed and the Shards flew out. The Shards flew throughout Creation, targeting what they were designed for, random people, those Heroic Mortals who showed a destiny for greatness.
Any mortal with great potential, whether in battle, skullduggery, the occult, or any other aspect of their life was sought out and imbued. As there was no Aspect placed on the new Shards, they tied themselves with the spirit of those they chose, allowing them to harness their raw power to affect the world around them in response to the Hero’s chosen Virtue. Due to them coming from the machine outside of Fate, the Heroic Exalts are considered Outsiders and are not on the Loom of Fate (this also makes trying to enter Yu-Shan a total pain in the arse).
Heroic Exalt may willingly become aspected to a patron diety of their choice, but the diety must have a minumum permanent Essence of 7 for them to be able to aspect a Shard, plus they must have a Celestial Exalt cast the Celestial Spell: Allignment* on the willing Heroic Exalt. If they Aspect, they get the lifespan of the Exalt type they are aspected to (if it makes their lives longer) along with certain other bonuses.
The Allignment Spell allows them a discounted price for their new variety of Charms, attunement to that diety’s Mystical Metal, and give them three Caste Abilities from their Caste’s Ability list (or, if a Lunar, two Attributes from one Category) to get a discount on being ‘In Caste’. Spirits, Second and Third Circle Demons, and Deathlords can aspect a shard (Demons aspect it similar to Spirits and Deathlords aspect them to an Abyssal motif). Non-Celestine Spirits alter them to Aspect to the Celestine closest to their personality (a god of the roads Aspecting a Heroic Shard alters it to a Sidereal Maiden of Journeys). A Shard Aspected to a Demon aspects to a tainted version of the Celestine they would be closest aligned to as well as containing demonic aspects of their lineage (Eyes of Madness as a Merit with a 3 point Dark Fate). Elementals Aspect them as their Element, giving them a discount on those Charms that are Aspected to the Elements (including Dragon-Blooded Charms) and the Attunement to Jade (Ability lists for Castes are as per Dragon-Blooded Aspects, so they would effectively be a Celestial Dragon-Blooded).
Since the Shards are outside of Fate and, being so, don’t go to Lytek (unless they get a Patron that actually thinks to add them to the Loom of Fate, at which point it is up to Lytek to do what he wants to the Shard), on death of the Exalt, up to around three millenia if not Aspected to a Patron, their Shard seeks another hero to Exalt. They also retain all of their memories if they weren’t picked up by Lytek.
__Game Mechanics__
Due to the nature of the Heroic Exalt, they have no naturally attuneable Mystical Metals. Because the Shards are outside of Fate, the Heroic Exalt vanishes from the Loom of Fate as well. They can use all Spirit Chams and can learn ANY other Charm / Path / etc. from any other creature. Heroic Exalts may not purchase any non-Spirit Charm that is specifically banned to Eclipse Caste Solar Exalts (though all Spirit Charms are open, regardless), but unlike the Eclipse Caste, only pay normal mote cost for Charms from outside of the Spirit Charms lists. They can learn any Terrestrial or Celestial Martial Arts Styles, but may not learn Sidereal Martial Arts Styles unless Aspected to an Exalt type that can learn Sidereal Martial Arts. They can learn up to Celestial (Saphire) Circle Sorcery as well as Shadowlands Circle Necromancy. No Caste Abilities or Attributes.
When rolling Charms, they alter non-Spirit Charms that are not specific in their rolls by Ability + Virtue (+ Essence if Power Combat or applicable). Storyteller discretion should be used when relating the Ability to it’s appropriate Virtue for purposes of rolling on a non-Spirit Charm.
Standard Creation Statistics: Attributes – 8/6/4 Abilities – 5 (at least 10 points must be in Favored) Favored – Due to their natural Spiritual Connection, 4 + Occult Backrounds – 10 Charms – 10 Virtues – 5 Essence – 2 Bonus Points – 15
Essence Pool: Personal – [(Essence x3) + Willpower] (as Solars) Peripheral – [(Essence x6) + Willpower + all Virtues] (as Sidereal)
Freebie Costs (as per Solars): Attribute – 4 Ability – 2 (1 if Favored) Background – 1 (2 if the Background is being raised above 3) Specialty – 1 (2 per 1 if in a Favored Ability) Virtue – 3 Willpower – 2 Essence – 7 Charms – 5 (4 if in a Favored Ability)
XP Costs: Spirit Charms: 10 (8 if Favored or Calling, 6 if both apply) Martial Arts Charms: 10 (8 if Favored or Calling, 6 if both apply) All Outside Charms: 20 (18 if Favored or Calling, 16 if both apply) Terrestrial Spell: 12 (10 if Favored) Celestial Spell: 15 (12 if Favored) Attributes: Current x4 Abilities: Current x2 (-1 if Favored or Calling, -2 if both apply) New Ability: 3 Essence: Current x8 Virtue: Current x3 Willpower: Current x2
XP Costs for Aspected Heroic Exalts:
Spirit Charms and Aspected Charms for their new Exalt type: 10 (8 if Calling, Caste, or Favored; 6 if two apply)
Martial Arts Charms: 10 for Terrestrial or Celestial Styles (8 if Calling, Caste, or Favored; 6 if two apply), 12 for Sidereal Styles if available (10 if Calling, Caste, or Favored; 8 if two apply)
Outside Aspect Charms: An Aspected Heroic Exalt may keep all Charms outside of their new Aspect type that they have previously learned, but may not learn any new Charms of types they are not Aspected to.
Backgrounds: Allies – as Solar Artifact – as Solar Backing – as Solar Command – as Dragonbloods Contacts – as Solar Cult – as the GoD book Familiar – as Solar Followers – as Solar Influence – as Solar Inheritance – as Player’s Guide (may not be Half-Caste, but may be any other) Manse – as Solar Mentor – as Solar Patron – as the Player’s Guide Renown – as Lunar book, but not above 3 Reputation – as per Player’s Guide Resouces – as Solar Salary – as Sidereal book, but can’t be above half of Patron, rounded up. Savant – as Sidereal book, but can’t be above half of Patron, rounded up. Sorcery – as the CotI book Spies – as Player’s Guide Warriors – as the Tiger Warriors Background in CotI
Anima Levels: First level (1-3 motes) is a tingling aura, not noticable without a successful Awareness roll. Second level (4-7 motes) is a light aura effect. Third level (8-10 motes) is a bright aura, shining with enough light to read by. Fourth level (11-15 motes) is a large fire swirling in the Character’s highest Virtue’s colors. The final level (16+ motes) is a raging bonfire that surrounds the Exalt in a gigantic vortex of heatless flames. Along with this effect, animals associated with the Exalt’s highest Virtue swirl in the raging bonfire, becoming more distinct as the Exalt’s permanent Essence rises.
For their anima Banner when using non-spirit charms, it is altered with swirling energy of the color of what ever Exalt they take after the most (ie. have the most borrowed charms from) while using the charms of other Exalts however they create Caste marks of the Caste they take after of that Exalt’s type (makes it easy to sic the wyld hunt on them). For translating their Caste Mark, consult the following chart for each virtue: Compassion – Zenith – Midnight – Changing Moon – Serenity – Wood Conviction – Night – Day – Full Moon – Endings – Fire Temperance – Eclipse – Moonshadow – Changing Moon – Journeys – Water Valor – Dawn – Dusk – Full Moon – Battles – Earth Willpower* – Twilight – Daybreak – No Moon – Secrets – Air *If Willpower is more than double the highest Virtue (In the case of there being multiple Virtues that are highest, just pick from one of the highest)
Anima Effects: Anima Effects are all the same in that they can spend 5 motes to automatically score a roll equal to the Virtue being tested on that Virtue Roll. Their secondary Anima Effect adds their Essence in dice to any one Virtue’s rolls to everyone within their permanent Essence in yards for the cost of 5 motes. And, they may add their highest Virtue to any Charm that is Favored for that Virtue.
Anima Colors: Compassion – Animas are green and blue. Conviction – Orange and yellow Animas. Temperance – Animas are blue and purple. Valor – Animas of red and orange.*Celestial Spell: Alignment Spell Level: Celestial Cost: 25 motes Duration: Permanent Area of Effect: One Target Description: This spell may be cast by a Celestial Exalt on a willing Heroic Exalt to allign them to any one diety that has a minimum natural permanent Essence of 7. It alters a Heroic Exalt to the Celestial Exalt most closely related to the diety involved in the ritual. This applies specific bonuses and drawbacks to the Heroic Exalt (not to the Shard, which reverts to normal upon the death of the Exalt).
Attunement Bonuses: The attunement allows them a discounted price for their variety of Charms ( 10 (8 if Calling, Caste, or Favored; 6 if two apply; 5 if all three apply), attunement to that diety’s Mystical Metal, and give them three Caste Abilities from their new Caste’s Ability list ( or, if a Lunar, two Attributes) to get a discount on as being ‘In Caste’. Spirits, Second and Third Circle Demons, and Deathlords can aspect a shard ( Demons aspect it similar to Spirits and Deathlords aspect them to an Abyssal motif). Non-Celestine Spirits alter them to Aspect to the Celestine closest to their personality (a god of the roads Aspecting a Heroic Shard alters it to a Sidereal Maiden of Journeys). A Shard Aspected to a Demon aspects to a tainted version of the Celestine they would be closest aligned to as well as containing demonic aspects of their lineage ( Eyes of Madness as a Merit).
Attunement Drawbacks: The Spirit Charms go up to 10 (8 if Calling, Caste, or Favored; 6 if two apply; 5 if all three apply) and their Anima changes to a mix of the Unaspected’s Anima and that of their new chosen type without the bonus of the new Anima’s Aspect and give them the Permanent Caste Mark Flaw for their new Exalt type. This translates to a Caste Mark for the Celestial type matching the personality for the Exalt ( Dawn/ Full Moon/ Maiden of Battles/ Sunset for a Valor Aspect). The Shard does escape the Limit Break Flaw of their new Exalt type, however, upon the death of the Exalt, they lose their new Aspect type and become a Heroic Exalt once more. If aspected to a Demon, the Exalt also gains a 3 point Dark Fate. Because of their Allignment to the new Aspect or Caste, the Charms outside of their new Aspected type become barred to them, making further learning impossible.| List |
