Exalted standalone system hacks
Development group; Jon Chung, EarthScorpion, Revlid, Aleph, LatwPIAT
The following provides a guide to Fast Demon creation, as well as a template to do so and example demons. Fast Demons are designed for generic demons of a given breed for use as extras, and is designed to minimise the number of resources the GM must track. Fast Demons round down all values.
Fast Demons only have three Attributes - Physical, Social and Mental. These fold all uses of Abilities under them. These give the basic dice pool for such rolls and should be rated from [1-10]. Only in the exceptional cases should they exceed 6 (and come with commiserate issues with handling the demon). The Attributes represent the demon’s baseline competency at doing things within its capacities - the ST may declare a Fast Demon automatically fails at anything which falls outside the themes of a generic example of the demon breed. For example, an undifferentiated blood ape is remarkably poor at formal dinner conversation, and thus probably can’t use its Social to impress the god-queen of the Burukana Isles.
The Fast Demon may be assigned Styles. These have a dice pool greater than the associated attribute, and may substitute for it in applicable cases. These automatically include the use of Excellencies. Styles should be rated from [Attribute] to [14+Enlightenment], and represent the particular niche of the demon. Demons with very high dice pools should have significant issues that make them high maintenance, niche in their use, or otherwise explain why they are not ubiquitous. It should be assumed that demons will try to act within their Style whenever possible and so it is advisable to use the demon’s Style pool when calculating traits. If a demon lacks an appropriate Style, use its base Attribute instead.
First circle demon breeds have Enlightenment rating typically from two to four, with only the very weakest and most pathetic having one. Exceptional individual demons with higher Enlightenment are not suitable for the Fast Demon system. Enlightenment is a guide to magical potency and relative power. Demon breeds with a higher Enlightenment will typically have more and more potent Charms.
A demon’s arms and armaments can be natural weapons, or they can be the typical weapons of the breed.
Demons are assumed to always roll (Mental Style / 2) successes for Join Battle rolls, as a fixed value. A demon’s DV is equal to (Physical Style + Defence / 2).
Accuracy is equal to their Physical Style + Weapon bonus, if any.
Damage is equal to (Physical Style / 2) + Weapon damage, if any.
A demon’s soak is equal to ([Physical] / 2) + any soak provided by armour. Demons do not distinguish between incoming forms of damage, and so have a fixed soak value. Demons have a number of Health levels equal to their [Physical]. Past that point, they’re either dead or incapacitated by pain, at the GM’s discretion. Each health level taken imposes a cumulative -1 wound penalty. For example, a demon who has taken 3HLs of damage of any kind has a -3 wound penalty. Fast Demons take half damage from Bashing damage, round up, and take double damage from Aggravated damage. These modifications are applied in Step 10.
Please note that soak and health levels explicitly refer to Physical, not Physical Style.
The MDV is equal to (Social Style /2). The Urge is an expression of the core nature of the demon. It is an Unacceptable Order for it to violate it. The Principles are closely held beliefs and ideals. The demon is counting as spending (Principle level) willpower to resist any effect that would make it go against that belief. Only one Principle may be counted at a time for the purposes of resistance. Otherwise, demons will not resist social attacks (remember that they still possess ubiquitous Principles that are not listed here, like Survive (5)).
All Fast Charms are permanent charms. It goes without saying that they are all Native.
Demon Name
[Description]
Physical: [0-10]; Physical Styles: [As applicable]
Social: [0-10]; Social Styles: [As applicable]
Mental: [0-10]; Mental Styles: [As applicable]
Enlightenment: [1-4];
Arms: SPD [Speed], ACC [Accuracy], DMG [Damage], DEF [Defence], Rate [Rate], Range [Range, if applicable]
Armour: [Armoured Soak]
Join Battle [Mental Style / 2]; DV [(Physical Style + DEF) / 2]
Accuracy: [Physical Style + ACC]; Damage: [Physical Style / 2 + DMG];
Soak [Physical / 2 + Armour]; Health Levels; [Physical]
MDV [Social Style / 2]; Urge: [The demon’s core nature]
Principles: [A list of principles that it’ll not be easily swayed on]
Fast Charms:
[Charm Name]
Keywords: [Keywords]
[Charm description]
Below are two demonstration demon breeds, written up as Fast Demons.
Farisyya, Cataphracts of the Flower and Thorn
The farisyya are great demonic warhorses with flesh of hardwood. The unwary who ride them for too long find that the demon drives hidden vine-tendrils up into their flesh, turning them into a puppet. The demon dresses their puppet up in whatever armour it can find and arms them with a long thorn as a lance. They are stiff, stubborn and prideful with a tendency to seek glory, and prone to quarrelling with each other if kept in proximity - a demonologist should give them means to compete against each other to release tension, or else isolate them from others of their breed.
The stats below are for a mature farisy who has obtained an unexceptional puppet-rider.
Physical: 6; Physical Styles: Vine-Wreathed Cataphract Style (13), Tireless Steed Style (9)
Social: 4; Social Styles: Silken Courtier Style (6), Vainglorious Braggart Style (8)
Mental: 3; Mental Styles: Swamplands Scout (7), Princeling Poet Style (6)
Enlightenment: 3;
Arms: SPD 6, ACC -1, DMG +10L (when charging)/ + 5L (otherwise, DEF -3, Rate 1 (Thorn-lance)
Armour: 11 (Chain swathing and naturally hard flesh);
Join Battle 3; DV 5
Accuracy:12; Damage: 16L (charging) / 11L (otherwise);
Soak 14; Health Levels; 6
MDV: 4; Urge: Prove myself the most glorious of my kind.
Principles: Serve the Flower Maiden (4), Keep My Puppet-Rider (4), Beautiful Things, Especially Worn By Me (3), My Honour (3), Pomp and Pageantry (2)
Fast Charms:
Riders of the Glade
Keywords: None
Farisyya are creatures of the swamps and bayous of the Flower Maiden. They ignore penalties to movement or perception inflicted by obstructive vegetation or wetlands, and the difficulty of any attempt to physically bypass or scale such obstacles is reduced by (Enlightenment), to a minimum of one.
Terrific Charge
Keywords: Emotion;
A character charged by a farisy must roll Valour, or suffer a -2 internal penalty to all Strength and Dexterity based rolls for the rest of the scene as terror weakens their limbs and slows their blows. This is at Difficulty 1 if the cataphract is alone, or Difficulty 3 if they come in a formation. This costs 1wp to resist against a solo farisy or 3wp against a formation, and spending the willpower immunises the character against this Charm for a scene.
Kordroma, the Trident Weavers
Dog-sized insects with six legs and three sets of weaving limbs, a kordroma constantly spins, weaves and decorates the silk that comes from their spinnerets. They are talented tailors who constantly try to refine their art and sew hard-wearing work clothes and sheer veils with equal skill, singing as they do. As they grow older, they learn to work with more esoteric materials, such as fire, ice, or the ribbon-gales of the Ruin. Only a few can weave the mystical pitch black cloth of midnight that is their highest art, though, and such demons are looked on with no small envy.
Physical: 3; Physical Styles: None
Social: 4; Social Styles: Worksong of the Ruin Style (7), Idle Gossiper Style (6)
Mental: 4; Mental Styles: Subtle Silkweaver Style (12), Cloth of (Substance) Style (7)
Enlightenment: 2;
Arms: SPD 5, ACC 0, DMG 4B, DEF 1, Rate 2 (Heavy club-like limbs)
Armour: 4 (Chitin hide)
Join Battle 2; DV 1
Accuracy: 3; Damage: 5B;
Soak 5; Health Levels; 3
MDV 3; Urge: Learn to Weave the Cloth of Midnight
Principles: Weave (5), Professional Pride (3), Gossiping (2)
Fast Charms:
(Substance) Weaver
Keywords: None;
With study, a kordroma learns to pluck an element from the world, intertwine it with their silk and work with it. The kordroma may use (substance) and treat it as it would silk - for example, with Stone Weaver it could make cloth of carefully scraped and carded granite. It may engage in Projects to work with this substance and always count as having the appropriate tools.
This hack proposes demythologising the “standard equipment” tier of artifact, which is currently a tax that many people pay for an Artifact statline with no particular evocative powers or special abilities. Thus, remove the Artifact tag from that kind of weapon. Generic two-dot daiklaves or powerbows are just normal-sized weapons made of special materials. They might sometimes display special effects when socketed with the right hearthstone or used by the right Exalt, but overall, this approach aims not to have Exalts be so much defined by their possessions. So it demythologises that most basic level of artifact entirely. A jade-steel blade is far better in quality than even the steel of the Age of Sorrows. It was likely made by a Dragonblooded if it is modern, or dates back 700 years to the Shogunate if it is not. But that’s all it is. It’s an incredibly good sword. It’s almost unbreakable with Second Age technology. But anyone could pick it up and use it. It’s the narrative equivalent of the “knight’s armour” or the “bronze of the Greeks and Trojans” rather than a magical item with its own potent abilities. You make these uncommon-but-not-rare weapons; these things made from the lesser cousins of the magical materials, which will be fought and clamoured over and which might have a single blade of lesser-jade “celestrium” be the prized possession of a city's standing military; held by its highest captain or most skilled champion - you make them into Resources. Expensive resources, because they’re still rare and valuable, but not something you need to pay background points for.
As a result, most Exalts will of course try to arm themselves with this technology. And if they can’t get jade-steel, they’ll go for steel, and if they can't get that, they’ll go for bronze or iron. But they have the really good stuff because they’re Exalts and so can more easily get the leftovers of the Shogunate or the incredible crafts of the modern age, not because they’re the only ones who can use it. And this means that the “Excaliburs” (like the Eye of the Fire Dragon) really stand out. They’re the ones that have real magical effects; the Kusanagis, the Gugnirs, the Brahmastras; made from pure magical materials and which add mythic capabilities and wonder to the basic weapon they transcend. With the generic daiklaves and powerbows no longer Artifacts; the really impressive weapons with potent powers of their own become more magnificent and impressive - and perhaps more importantly, more rare and unique.
Most current “magical material” weapons become advanced special materials, akin to steel as steel is to bronze. So, for example, the Realm’s heavy infantry wears jade-steel breastplates because the Realm retains the capacity to make it. It’s “very hard metal which is very good at holding an edge, which doesn’t rust and so which tends to get reused and reforged and repurposed”. A lot of Scavenger Land "daiklaves" are, in fact, literally reforged combine harvester blades. Pure jade things are the actually-magical ones. Jade-steel is a hard-to-forge alloy which requires similar levels of steps above steel as steel requires above iron. It’s mostly iron with traces of jade dust in the same way that steel is mostly iron with traces of carbon - the Shogunate loved their jade-steel, and used tonnes of it. There are other “lesser magical materials” too - you can invent the fluff for them as you like, but the important qualities are always the same - they’re nearly (though not completely) unbreakable, they’re superior to normal materials, they’re right on the edge of human ability to make (mass-producible only at a Shogunate tech/infrastructure level), and they’re pretty uncommon. And as a result, everybody wants them.
Often seen as lesser forms of the six major magical materials - tumbaga is an inferior cousin of orichalcum, for instance.
Amphibole
The Balorian Crusade shook Creation with the violence of its onslaught. So tumultuous was the assault that the Pole of Wood was cut loose entirely, and drifted through the boiling Wyld while the Crusade and Contagion raged. So potent was the surge of Wood Essence that ran through Creation when it reconnected; cleansing the dragon lines of the necrotic and chaotic traces of the Cataclysms, that entire cities were overgrown in mere days and the traces of Wood Essence can still be found in the fossil layer.
It is in this layer that amphibole is found. Green jade that formed while the Pole of Wood was disconnected and chaos reigned in Creation, or as the wave of Wood Essence mingled with the energies of chaos and death in the dragon lines during the aftermath; amphibole is inherently Wyld-twisted or death-tainted, with strange coloured stains in it and strange knots and snarls in its structure. It often behaves in different ways from piece to piece, and so isn’t reliable for most artifacts or classed as a true magical material. A crafter must build their artifact around the stock of amphibole they are using for it, though interesting and impressive results can be achieved with it if the effort is made.
Asitian brass
Sometimes Metagaos engulfs a layer of the City that is later reclaimed. In such places, it is possible to find the brass of Malfeas that has been through the Great Devourer's gullet; leached of substance and tempered in cosmic stomach acids. Asitian brass is a greyish brass with an almost fibrous texture. It is impossible to polish to a mirror shine, and close inspection will reveal that there are countless microscopic scratches all across the surface, as if it has been scored by innumerable tiny teeth. When weapons are forged from it, they will always have a cruel, razor-sharp edge and open terrible wounds in unarmoured flesh which bleed profusely. The blood is trapped in the tiny scratches, giving freshly used asitian brass the shine it otherwise lacks.
Celestrium
Called “jade-steel” by the vast majority of Creation, this unnaturally strong material is formed by alloying iron with jade dust in a manner akin to the forging of steel. Highly favoured amongst the Dragonblooded, Celestrium saw heavy use in the Shogunate for the great works of that era; vast bridges and titanic warships as well as lesser devices and the mass-produced weapons of the armies. Salvaged jade-steel can be melted down and reforged - many is the sword or scythe-blade that began life as a Shogunate plough or signpost.
Diamond
The so-called “king of gems” can be made from any other, though the process is long and arduous. The raw gemstone must be crushed to a fine powder, and then treated with caustic acid, enormous pressure and intense heat and cold to purge it of its elemental nature. Even with high-quality starting materials, the process can take up to a month to complete this brutal purification. By the end, however, the stress of the escaping elemental Essence has condensed the crushed gemstone-dust into a lightweight, clear material with little elemental nature and astonishing hardness. The colouration of the new-forged diamond is dictated by the leftover traces of elemental nature that remain - the purer the diamond, the clearer and harder it is.
Electrum
Electrum is a lesser cousin of both orichalcum and moonsilver. It is often found in First Age ruins, where essence discharges from ruined geomancy have fused gold and silver together into something which is neither. A few scholars in the Second Age have managed to deliberately recreate it by dumping the two metals into damaged manses.
Elinvar
When a star crashes down from the heavens, the event is cataclysmic. The impact can deafen at a distance of miles, or reduce a forest of redwoods to a field of broken timber. But it also can also have a more subtle effect: to enrich the ground of the impact site with starmetal powder. Fate often behaves oddly in such areas, flowing more smoothly than normal or snagging unpredictably on the Loom. In these sites were the forest-factories of the First Age created; hundreds of acres of trees planted in the saturated soil and encouraged to grow for the harvest.
Such is elinvar. Various different types of wood can be used, from ash to mahogany to yew. Whatever the raw wood, the end result is darker and more lustrous than natural wood of that type, with pale streaks running through the wood and a natural finish that seems to ripple in the light. Elinvar trees grow with perfect symmetry, and their elegant beauty makes them a joy to look upon. The wood itself is incredibly hard, and jade- or adamant-tipped tools are generally required to work it. A light and sturdy material with a pleasing coolness to the touch, it has a particular presence in the staffs and spears of Sidereals operating in Creation.
Iskarite
Iskarite is an impure alloy of moonsilver that is commonly found in the northern island regions of Creation. Formed from a mixture of lead, silver and quicksilver, it is largely mirror-like, the reflective surface broken up by matte grey patches beneath the surface.
Pyrargyrite
Pyrargyrite is a strange tainted form of moonsilver which rarely forms in shadowlands which are tainted with the chaotic forces of the Wyld. Digging deep into the land sometimes reveals a few precious veins of this material, which can be refined under a new moon working with a smoky fire. It is a dull, cloudy metal which nevertheless retains a useful flexibility. The chill of the Underworld clings to it, and it is prone to reflect heat rather than absorbing it, often feeling several degrees cooler than the surrounding air.
Terne
The well-off among Creation - especially those in the Realm - use china and porcelain in their homes as a mark of wealth. Terne is made through the same methods, but with far less palatable materials. Human bone ash, shadowland stone and grave dirt can be moulded into a clay, wetted with blood, and fired into a material lighter than wood and stronger than steel; all the crueller for its seeming fragility. There is no actual necessity that the kilns used to fire this deathly porcelain be fed by burning flesh and bone, but many terne-crafters do so anyway to enrich the resonance of their works. The mixture requires great precision and exact timing, and the slightest error in the mixing or moulding of the clay will result in a flawed product that will shatter at the first hint of stress.
If made correctly, however, the cold, pale clay hardens once fired into a near-translucent white china. Though it often appears fragile, any seeming weakness is a lie. Properly-made terne is extremely strong, if somewhat brittle. It takes a blow of incredible force to break it, and such shatterings produce a hail of lethally sharp fragments that seem to leap for eyes and throats. Terne’s brittleness makes it unsuitable for armour or heavy weapons such as hammers or maces. Instead, its unnaturally light weight and keen edge make for terrifyingly quick and deadly cutting weapons; knives and spearheads and rapiers.
Tumbaga
Alas! The shining orichalcum beloved of the Solar Exalted is rare beyond belief. Forged of chaos distilled down to order, the passage of millennia has slice by slice removed this wondrous gold from existence. In this fallen age, even the lettered call ‘orichalcum’ the alloy of gold and copper once known as tumbaga. Tumbaga lacks the mirror-brightness or supernal hardness of its more noble cousin; it is uneven in colour, and slightly ruddy - and often pitted to the touch. It will gain a patina if it is not cared for and used, though sunlight causes the tarnish to flake off.
This is not to belittle tumbaga, for it takes dreadful skill for a mortal man to make it. Pure gold and raw copper must be melted together, hammered, beaten, forged, and then immersed in strong acid and the acid boiled away by the heat of the summer sun or in a magma forge, accompanied by the proper rituals. This reduces the volume of the material by a tenth, and this process must be repeated nine more times until the acid and the heat have washed away the impurity of mortal matter. It takes nearly three pounds of raw materials to make one of tumbaga, and an error in a single step can ruin the entire forging, leaving it good only for jewelry.
Unmelting ice
Found in the Far North or in Kimbery’s deepest expanses, unmelting ice must be mined from the centre of the deepest, coldest icebergs and then worked with cold instead of heat - thaumaturgic cold so intense that water anti-boils when exposed to it. Weapons of unmelting ice leave frostbite and ice in the wounds they inflict, sometimes freezing them shut altogether.
Unmelting ice is typically deep blue or violet, with a smooth surface that - while cold to the touch - is warmer and drier than might be expected. It lends itself well to curving blades, and sees frequent use in the cutlasses of the northwest, as well as the areas around the White Sea and the civilisations of the Great Ice.
Principles replace Virtues, Intimacies and Motivation, fusing them together into a group of concepts a character cares about, rated from 1-5.
Everything has a 5-dot Principle of “Survive (5)” for free. Raising a Principle to 5 requires either magic or some incredible (and likely traumatic) reason for caring about something so much that its lack is seen as equivalent to death. Most people have a 3-dot Principle of “Live a peaceful, comfortable life (3)”, or something to similar effect - bear this in mind when attempted social influence would conflict with it; eg “abandon your life and join my army as a Tiger Warrior”.
Principles can be channeled in the same way as Virtues, and must be suppressed under the same circumstances. Actions which support or are reinforced by a Principle can gain (Principle dots) of dice towards them. Actions which defy or violate a Principle force a degeneration roll with a dice pool of (Principle dots). If the roll is successful, the character must either act as the Principle in question demands (diverting his quest to aiding the suffering beggars in the street, punching the bigoted noble she was trying to impress, etc) or suppress it. Repeatedly suppressing a Virtue may, at the ST’s discretion, be grounds for lowering its rating.
1-dot Principles can be created by stunts or a good (or bad) social roll. By default, they only last a scene, but the player can hold onto them and develop them if further if they wish. Non-magical social influence generally only deals in 1-dot Principles - things along the lines of “you are now sad, but you’ll cheer up once you’ve left the bar unless your player says otherwise” or “you hate that guy in the corner, but you’ll forget about him after a good night’s sleep unless your player says otherwise or things escalate”. Or alternatively “you were sad, now you’re not because I told a good joke”. Social influences can also try to force someone to act on one of their existing Principles, or reduce/increase other Principles’ ratings.
Magic such as the Charms of the Exalted can install 2-dot Principles immediately, and at the higher end it can even create 3-dot Principles from nothing in minutes or hours. This, however, is the limit of what is possible to induce, even by magical means - one cannot so trivially make a person as determined to serve as they are to survive. Such warping - even of the minds of mortals - takes time and extended effort.
Chargen characters should generally aim to start with something in the region of 8 to 12 Principles, arrayed as they wish.
Styles replace standard Specialties. Instead of a Melee Specialty in, for example, Swords +3, a character would instead specialise in Even Blade Style +3. A Style Specialty applies whenever the character is performing actions in the theme of the Style, adding bonus dice equal to the character’s rank in the Style.
In addition to the standard behaviour of Specialties, a Style grants minor thematically appropriate bonuses. Style bonuses never stack with other Style bonuses, never exceed +1/-1, and cannot be universally applicable (eg “+1 Accuracy when using a sword”). A Style bonus that grants effective bonus successes, such as Damage, Armour or Difficulty, may only exist at the +3 level and may only apply to a narrow range of actions. Only one Style may be in effect at any given time.
Style descriptions should be between 30 and 100 words, tending towards the middle of the range. They should generally have a sentence or so of fluff, and then a stunt guide describing the aesthetics of the Style and what behaviours and actions will benefit from it.
Characters start with 16 Style dots, to spend as they wish. In play, each Style dot costs 1xp. Mortals in this system are limited to a maximum of 3 dots in Abilities, further improvement must be achieved through Style-based training, as mortal skill is a matter of specialisation and learning. Exalted and other Enlightened beings can surpass this cap, however - their perception and comprehension of the Essence in all things allows them a far greater holistic understanding of the entire width of an ability, encompassing every skill within it.
Style Name (Style Abilities)
Style description
1: One-dot Style bonus
2: Two-dot Style bonus
3: Three-dot Style bonus
Azure Justice Form (Melee/Ranged)
The first law of Hell is that the strong shall trample the weak, and the weak have no recourse. Scholars of the law of Hell proclaim this theory true from a million throats and a million bloody hands across the Demon City in the span of a single passage across Cecelyne's silver sands. In Creation, these principles exist in the form of Kick 'Em When They're Down Style.
1: +1 to hit opponents who are your social inferiors.
2: +1 to hit opponents you perceive yourself to be winning against.
3: +1 damage to opponents with a higher wound penalty than yours.
Friagem Serpent Style (Melee)
This Style is a highly mobile southeastern variant on the formal Air Dragon polearm form. Influences from Snake Style have woven an emphasis on stealth and surprise attacks into the recognisable whirling motions, evasive footwork, and sudden deadly thrusts of its origin. Its form weapons are predominantly polearms, both bladed forms and staves, and it cannot be used in medium armour or heavier.
1: +1 accuracy when attacking from surprise.
2: +1 defense against multiple opponents.
3: +1 to re-establish stealth after an attack.
Howling Blood Ape Style, also known as Brutal Barbarian Style in Creation (Melee)
A brutal and savage fighting style used by thugs and street gangs. What it lacks in technique and finesse is made up for by numbers, brutality, intimidation and force. This Style can be used in armour, and is compatible with all weapons, though heavy, brutal or improvised tools are most commonly seen among those who use it.
1: +1 accuracy against an injured foe.
2: +1 defense against a foe intimidated by you or your allies.
3: +1 damage vs a foe grappled by an ally.
Mantis Style (Melee)
A sword style often practiced with paired weapons; Mantis Style is characterised by rapid movement, aggressive focus and a highly linear approach to combat; advancing relentlessly on a selected target, striking with explosive speed and never letting up. Form weapons include all forms of sword, as well as similar bladed weapons, and it cannot be used in heavier than medium armour.
1: +1 to the first attack made in a round.
2: +1 if you've attacked that opponent with your last attack.
3: +1 Damage against targets attempting to disengage.
Snake Style (Melee)
This ancient style emulates the snake, using sinuous hypnotic motions, evasion and misdirection to baffle and confuse its opponents before striking. Its form weapons are staves, chain weapons and knives.
1: +1 Hit vs a target that attempted an attack and missed during the last round.
2: +1 Def Pool vs a target that lost to your initiative this round.
3: +1 Damage vs a target that is currently incapable of retaliating.
Whispering Knife Style (Melee, Ranged)
“The cool of the night / under moon, is a balm to / the knife in the back”
Practiced by the operatives of the All Seeing Eye, Whispering Knife Style is a precise weapon style designed as a series of holdout techniques and delaying tactics. Its form weapons are the knife, the throwing knife, the needle and unarmed. It cannot be practiced in medium armour or heavier.
1: +1 accuracy against a target more heavily armed and armoured than the practitioner.
2: + 1 defence pool when trying to disengage from combat.
3: +1 damage against targets not aware of your presence.
Wild Alleycat Style (Melee)
This style is far from a formal one, mostly used among street rats and other gutter scum in big cities. The savage, frenzied attacks and dirty tricks its practitioners use speak of vagrants with little to lose and much to gain. As well as unarmed combat, its form weapons (such as they are) are knives or improvised weapons, and it cannot be used in armour.
1: +1 accuracy for called shots to vulnerable points.
2: -1 penalty to improvised weapons.
3: +1 against unarmoured targets.
Greenwoods Skirmisher Style (Ranged)
A true man of the woods needs nothing but a bow or a sling and his wits to get by. Practitioners of this style know how to survive in the forest, hunting for their food and crafting their own ammunition. When war and conflict come, the same skills that bring deer and rabbits to the table can be used on men; striking from the treetops before fading back into the canopy like a ghost. Form weapons are longbows, shortbows and slings.
1: +1 to hunting game with a cover.
2: +1 to crafting ammunition from gathered materials.
3: 1 autosuccess to disengaging from combat after a successful attack.
Hawk-Eyed Sniper Style (Ranged)
Only a fool risks being shot full of holes in a firefight. The smart and the cautious prefer to engage from further out. Practitioners of this Style are patient, precise and methodical; selecting their targets from extreme range and dispatching them with ruthless efficiency. Form weapons are longbows and longarms, and the style cannot apply to close-range combat.
1: +1 to the first shot made on an unaware target.
2: +1 to stealth while firing from cover.
3: +1 damage when making called shots.
Hellfire Ballet Style (Ranged)
Flames and heat are common in the Southern deserts. Often, they are found in the weapons of man. Those who learn this Style are quick and deadly; drawing fast and firing faster to end the fight before their opponents can react, often carrying several holstered weapons to avoid the need to reload. Form weapons are firewands, flamepieces, handheld crossbows and other one-handed ranged weapons.
1: +1 to Join Battle rolls with an unreadied form weapon.
2: +1 Accuracy if firing at an opponent with lower Initiative.
3: +1 Damage against enemies who haven't attacked yet.
Hillshaking Bombardier Style (Ranged)
Sometimes a weapon a man can lift is not enough. Sometimes larger fare is called for. Artillerists use this style to operate siege weapons and artillery pieces that strike from extreme range; breaking sieges and controlling battlefields. They methodically calculate angles and distances from the reports of their scouts, then unleash devastation from afar. Form weapons are artillery weapons such as cannons, ballistae and catapults.
1: +1 to deploying equipment quickly.
2: +1 to calculating ranges and elevations.
3: 1 autosuccess when attacking fortified positions or entrenched foes.
Rainstorm Volley Style (Ranged)
The way of the warrior is to fire when ready, dropping stuttered showers of arrows upon their foe. Not so the soldier. Archers trained in this style are disciplined and patient, firing in synchronised volleys for maximum effect. Such bowmen take the time to aim and reload in formations before sending arrows down like lethal hail. Form weapons are the longbow and the crossbow.
1: +1 to attacks made against undisciplined enemies.
2: +1 to mass attacks made in concert with allies.
3: +1 Damage to targets in tightly packed formations.
Time-Strung Harpist Style (Expression)
In Malfeas, the angyalka play the strings of Time. From their graceful caresses of the air, a music stranger than any other is produced. An angyalka’s music may please or pain the listener, and an understanding of their nature may be found in their reactions. One may use this style to enrapture an audience and to glean information about them. It can also support actions to use this understanding through the emotive power of the music itself.
1: +1 to enthrall an audience.
2: +1 to to determine a person’s nature or mood while playing.
3: +1 to Expression rolls supported by a target’s mood or inner nature.
Cerulean Paramour Style (Presence, Expression)
The art of eliciting love in its most physical and fleeting form, brought to Creation by Venus and learned in soulful whispers everywhere from the grimy bars frequented by Ju-Zjan youths to the jade-paved walkways of the Imperial Gardens. The true paramour must be confident and assertive, letting potential lovers know exactly how gorgeous they find them. Innuendo is often a necessity, and physical proximity a pleasure, though crudity is not a friend to this particular art. That comes after its work is done.
1: +1 against targets naturally attracted to your apparent gender.
2: +1 against targets who believe you to be sincere.
3: -1 Difficulty to inappropriate liaisons, whether due to differences in standing or suggested venue.
Crimson Bodhisattva Style (Presence)
There are four truths the Silent Wind teaches her lovers before the end. The first is that [i]freedom lets go[/i]. Adherents to this style cultivate enlightened detachment, genuine sincerity and utter lethality. This style is only usually seen among cultists of Adorjan, and a few insane nihilists in the madhouses of Creation who have stumbled upon her twisted enlightenment.
1: +1 to attempts to enlighten those you love to the truths of the world.
2: +1 to locate, track or otherwise find those you love.
3: +1 damage to attacks against attachments held by those you love.
Firebrand Demagogue Style (Presence, Expression)
A woman stands in the streets, cursing the ills of foreigners to all and sundry. An alien demands the release of political prisoners despite the policemen staring them down. A man recites his last sermon to a rapt audience, even as he's publicly flayed. Practitioners of this style are implacable demagogues, preaching what they deeply care about even in the face of the most horrific of opposition.
1: +1 when speaking in line with a Principle rated at 4+.
2: +1 when speaking out publicly against severe opposition.
3: -1 Difficulty to endure oppression or opposition from those who oppose your views
Mendaciloquent Maverick Style (Presence, Politics)
The truth is often stranger than fiction. Where, then, is the harm in embellishing it a little? This Style is a compendium of techniques used by liars and con-men across the Scavenger Lands, where the mass of humanity is replete with easy marks for shifty bargains and tall tales. From the bazaars of Shen Zao to the poll booths of the Faeling Road, its practitioners learn to talk fast and twist the truth, bluffing and blustering with half-truths and hearsay to lead their audience to the conclusions they want them to reach.
1: +1 to convince a target of something they want to believe.
2: +1 to successfully bluffing if equipped with forged evidence or other “proof”.
3: +1 to convincing a target of a falsehood if the story contains a grain of truth.
Razor Tumbleweed Style (Presence, Politics)
Some play the game of hearts and minds fairly; manipulating, examining and carefully crafting their arguments. Not so practitioners of this style. This style disdains logic, subtlety and wit for blunt provocation and offense; finding what its targets care about and attacking without regard for hurt feelings or induced ire. Though most practice it through the relative safety of letters or anonymity, there are nonetheless some brave (or stupid) practitioners who relish in using it in person.
1: +1 to annoying or enraging an enemy.
2: +1 to assessing people’s principles via provocation.
3: Reduce Difficulty by 1 when inciting a crowd to disparage a known Principle of a target.
Spirit-Charming Supplicant Style (Presence)
The art of manipulating those greater than oneself through flattery and bribery is a necessary one for many in Creation. How much more so when those greater are possessed of power over Essence! This wheedling, flattering style is most often used by mortals to mollify and impeach gods, elementals and even ghosts and demons, offering bribes and extravagant praise to convince the spirits to help - or at the very least, to spare the lives of their supplicants.
1: +1 on rolls where the spirit’s name and title within the Divine Hierarchy (or equivalent) is known.
2: +1 to social rolls made against spirits successfully prayed to within the past week.
3: -1 Difficulty stemming from a spirit’s rank when offering a bribe of Resources value equal to at least half the spirit’s Enlightenment rating.
Stoic Sentinel Style (Presence, Politics)
Oft-seen amongst bodyguards and bouncers, practitioners of this style are unmoved and unreadable, wearing impenetrable masks of apathy or cool professionalism. Little will ruffle their feathers, attempts to appeal to their emotions fall short, and reading their intentions is an exercise in futility.
1: +1 to rolls to keep composure (or -1, if rolling a Virtue for suppression, etc).
2: +1 to intimidate or unnerve others.
3: +1 to MDV pool against people attempting to determine Principles.
Street Scavenger Style (Survival)
Street rats and gutter trash, vagabonds and squatters. The urban homeless of Creation's cities are vermin under the feet of those better off. The skills such folk learn to survive a life of poverty and danger are consolidated into this Style, many variants of which exist, some even formalized into actual schools. Practitioners call upon old urban rumours and gutter-gossip to find the choicest havens and begging spots, and set aside trifles like dignity or disgust in favour of survival, treating rotten trash as high cuisine.
1: +1 to finding food and shelter in cities.
2: +1 to ignoring fatigue.
3: +1 to resisting disease.
Foreign Language (Lore)
Though not a true Style, fluency in a foreign language is treated as though it were one. Characters automatically start with their native tongue fully mastered, and can learn other languages through study, practice with native speakers, immersion in foreign cultures or long periods of careful observation. Characters who know one language may make themselves understood in a closely related tongue at one point lower, or a vaguely related one at two points lower. Exalted treat Old Realm as a native language.
1: Basic competence, sufficient for necessities but obviously clumsy.
2: Viable second language, with minor tells like an accent.
3: Full fluency, perfect accent.
Diligent Scribe Style (Lore)
The written word is the foundation of society, and none know it better than those who have made it their career. Dedicated scribes are valuable in a world where fluent literacy is far from universal. Practitioners of this style record, transcribe and translate with painstaking accuracy, using reference materials and portfolios to set down their work in neat, precise calligraphy.
1: +1 to deciphering messy or illegible script.
2: +1 to spotting errors, deliberate or otherwise, in written text.
3: -1 Difficulty to translations when using a reference or dictionary.
Back-Alley Bandage Style (Occult)
Where people crowd together in the big city, fights are sure to follow. Not everyone has the coin for a proper doctor, though. This style is used by the poor and desperate, a compendium of sloppy techniques sufficient to (usually) prevent the deaths of its patients, often leaving crippling scars in the process. Practitioners follow their gut and their experience to do whatever is necessary to stay Saturn’s hand, distasteful though it may be. Treatment rolls qualify for this style when made with improvised equipment to save lives, but it cannot be applied to more refined or precise forms of medicine.
1: +1 to improvising medical tools.
2: +1 to staunching wounds.
3: +1 to preventing infection.
Devil-Calling Ritualist Style (Occult)
An art known to Creation since the fall of its titanic masters, this Style is frowned upon across much of the Second Age's civilization, but outright banned by few - those thaumaturgists capable of properly bargaining with the entities they call across the Endless Desert are a boon to any endeavour.
1: +1 to identify any demonic species or omen weather.
2: +1 to negotiating with demons from a position of weakness.
3: +1 to [relevant Thaumaturgy Working roll] for the purposes of summoning a demon.
Iron Handed Labourer Style (Occult)
The ring of hammer on hot metal is a constant refrain in the foundries and workshops of Creation. Such is the way of the blacksmith, who knows how to placate the least gods of the iron and shape metal. This style applies whenever the character works with iron or iron alloys, with the appropriate tools.
1: +1 to rolls to resist tiredness from the character's work.
2: +1 to rolls when making functional or utilitarian goods.
3: +1 to social rolls with gods whose domain relates to the character's current project.
Malfean Scholar Style (Occult, Lore)
Many things are taught in the glass libraries of Orabilis; from the nature of Essence to the powers of the Yozis to the histories and genealogies of Hell. One who studies in their sand-strewn halls can become a learned scholar - at least as long as they are careful not to learn too much. This Style benefits any rolls to do with knowledge of the demon realm; its nature, its inhabitants, its customs and other matters exclusively or commonly associated with it.
1: +1 to rolls dealing with the Laws of Hell
2: +1 to identifying or recalling demon minutiae
3: +1 to the study of hellish weather and geomancy.
Needle and Suture Style, also known as Sawbones Form in Nexus (Occult)
Taught in the hospital bays and lecture halls of the very best medical schools, this style is used by doctors and surgeons in their practices. The exacting, surgical techniques its students are versed in see use across the Realm, as well as in the larger cities of the Threshold, and are used to tend to traumatic injuries and crippling wounds alike. This style can be applied whenever the character operates on trauma wounds in a properly equipped hospital, or with the aid of high-quality professional tools.
1: +1 to reducing wound penalties.
2: +1 to treating infected wounds.
3: +1 to attempts to heal Crippling damage.
Craven Absconder Style (Athletics)
Stand your ground and fight? Clearly the words of a madman. Wise men know that when the going gets tough, the sensible get gone. This Style is entirely based around the philosophy of running away to run away another day. Its practitioners are often self-admitted cowards, and focus entirely on separating themselves from the source of the danger as fast as possible - destination can be decided on the way. This Style cannot aid any aggressive or offensive actions whatsoever.
1: +1 to Dash speed.
2: +1 to dodging attacks while Dashing
3: 1 autosuccess on initiative rolls to disengage from an opponent and flee without fighting.
Toil and Labour Style (Athletics)
Some cities of Creation have elaborate contrivances of water or steam that can do the work of dozens in half the time. In most places, though, muscle power still reigns supreme. Millions of serfs from pole to pole engage in back-breaking labour every day. This Style aids actions based on brute strength and menial, untrained labour; the dull work of a slave or workhand shovelling hay or lifting blocks of stone into place.
1: +1 to resist fatigue while working.
2: +1 to feats of strength as part of a team.
3: +1 to avoid injury from equipment failure or human error.
Wall-Running Gymnast Style (Athletics)
Parkour, free-running, the wingless flight... there are many names for the fast, agile style of movement beloved of a certain class of agile gymnast. Traceurs tumble and toss themselves around with reckless abandon; vaulting over obstacles, leaping across gaps and dodging around anyone who tries to bar their way. This Style cannot be practiced with any equipment that incurs a mobility penalty.
1: +1 to balance rolls.
2: +1 to jump distance pools.
3: +1 to scaling surfaces at speed.
Sharp-Eyed Shopkeeper Style (Awareness)
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and nowhere is it known better than in the shops and stalls of Creation. From the Little Market of Nexus to the bazaars of Chiaroscuro and back, purveyors of commerce must stay ever-wary, and know from experience how to recognise the gleam of interest in a customer’s eye, spot the sneaking movements of a thief, or pick up on the signs of a well-rehearsed scam.
1: +1 to reading a customer while haggling.
2: +1 to spotting attempted theft.
3: +1 to recognising counterfeit money.
Vigilant Guardian Style (Awareness)
Few places in Creation can claim to be completely safe, and bodyguards are common companions of the rich and wealthy. Men employed to keep others safe learn to watch those around them, evaluating every passerby for suspicious behaviour, hidden weapons or malicious intent. After all, only if a threat is known can it be defended against.
1: +1 to spotting concealed weapons.
2: +1 to spotting harmful intentions.
3: 1 autosuccess to Defend Other actions against a known threat.
Light-Fingered Larcenist Style (Subterfuge)
This Style is found in a number of forms around Creation, practiced by the fingersmiths of the Da-Hlai Road and taught to street urchins by the thieving taskmasters of Greenbank. Its practitioners learn to be innocuous and unassuming, maintaining a casual air and forgettable expression even as their fingers creep like snakes into pockets and satchels. A deft and steady hand is a must for such thieves, as is the ability to kick up a distracting fuss when it seems danger is on the horizon.
1: +1 to going unnoticed in a crowd.
2: +1 to distracting a target.
3: -1 Difficulty to taking obviously displayed valuables.
White Veil Style, also known as Silver Willow Style in Malfeas (Subterfuge)
From the brutal clashes of Malfean citizens, through the cut-throat world of Creation's politics and even to the vicious squabbles in Heaven, many patrons wish their rivals dead. They turn to those of exquisite skill for such deeds. Practitioners of this Style are unremarkable and unnoticed as they make their way towards targets, working patiently and methodically towards the right place and time to strike. When their moment comes, their work is quick, quiet and conclusive, using subtle weapons that leave no trace to end lives pitilessly and professionally before fading away unseen.
1: +1 to gaining access to a target.
2: +1 to going unnoticed by targets or guards.
3: +1 to attacking without giving oneself away.
Leader of the Downtrodden Style, also known as Blasphemous Cultist Style (Bureaucracy)
A trouble shared is a trouble halved, and so persecuted and reviled minorities will band together to ease their suffering. Such groups must have direction, though, and to lead a group that society looks down on is no easy task. Leaders with this style must use their wits and hard-won wisdom to get by, making difficult choices to avoid unwanted attention, ensure that ends meet and above all, stay alive in a world that doesn’t want them.
1: +1 to communicating with the group in secret.
2: +1 to gathering resources and supplies without leaving a trail.
3: Ignore 1 point of MDV when trying to convince sympathisers to give aid.
Falling Petals Style (Politics)
The tea ceremony is an ancient art, known not only to mortals but to gods and even demons. It is one among many developed for its purpose. Whether it be midnight viewings of the moon or formal negotiations under a flag of truth; the ritual and ceremony of formalised motions serves to calm aggression and bring a meeting of enemies to a peaceful resolution. This Style applies only to formalised or ritualised interactions where a recognised protocol or specific procedure exists.
1: +1 to lowering tensions among participants.
2: +1 to polite bargaining from a position of strength.
3: Ignore one point of MDV provided by negative Principles, provided the opponent has a Politics rating of at least 2, including dots of this Style.
Social Saboteur Style (Politics, Bureaucracy)
Any social structure has its enemies. Sometimes they work within the system to bring it down. Sometimes they use less legal tactics. Saboteurs who use this Style employ deceit, implication and even violence to spread panic, paranoia, chaos and mayhem among those they target, be they polities or people. They identify the weakest parts of a system and deal them crippling blows to induce breakdown and entropy; stripping away a single man’s wealth or working towards the collapse of an entire city.
1: +1 to conceal one’s malign intent when interacting with a target.
2: +1 to identify points of psychological or logistical leverage.
3: Reduce Difficulty by 1 when inciting chaos or disorder.