[Exalted: Actual Play] The Garden of Jade Roses [Archive]

Mengtzu

11-29-2004, 04:19 AM

The Garden of Jade Roses - Notes.

1. The assertions of NPCs and organisations are just that. Nobody will be telling you the unblemished objective truth because nobody comes equipped with it. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone is subject to making misinterpretations, and everybody is getting misinformation to some degree. The degree to which this pushes you towards paranoid mistrust of everyone around is entirely your own affair - certainly many in the Realm and Yu-Shan alike take such an approach!

As a political game, there are no absolute truths at stake or discoverable here. The school itself gives a very Sidereal impression of the reality of Creation, but one need look no further than the agenda of Azure Blossom for an explanation. The Sidereals themselves, while inarguably people of extraordinary ability, have proven themselves to be driven by short-term political agendas in the past, and willfully resistant to the suggestion that their analysis of a situation might be incorrect. While the Sidereal members of the Garden's Faculty are (necessarily) few, they are absolutely affected by the Great Curse.

So when someone tells you they're better than you or know far much more than you, remember they're pushing their own ego or agenda, not revealing some grand truth.

As a particular note, for those of you very familiar with the Exalted setting, I'll be making a particular effort not to make any statements about the setting in this game - if something is happening contrary to your expectations or desires, it should be because you're having a disagreement with how an NPC is shaping matters, rather than disagreeing with me. While I may or may not agree with the NPC in question, you should be able to do something about it, or at the very least have an appropriate target for smouldering resentment. Where possible, everything happening will be the result of tools extant in the setting - though given custom charms and the powerful allies many NPCs are able to call on, that still leaves me with a lot of slack :) For instance, you might find a lot of what goes on at the school contrary to your normal expectations of how the Dynasty functions - rest assured it will be contrary to the expectations of many of the students and their parents, and the fact that it's happening at all is due to the investment of certain resources by the Faculty - whether those investments are wise or necessary remains to be seen.

2. Heroes. This word will likely get thrown about quite a bit. By default (OOC more or less), we're talking a "classical" definition of Hero, which has no particular moral component, referring instead to pivotal, exceptional individuals who are larger than life. This status carries with it a well-known mechanical benefit (stunts, 10s as two successes and a full compliment of Health Levels). This is a real state in the setting, and most people are aware of it - it's likely the Faculty has a definitive list of the students that are Heroic from the appropriate Celestial office. However, the term "Hero" will also be slung about for a variety of purposes not matching this definition - such as by the Faculty to refer to the Dragon Blooded children of particularly spectacular destiny who become Duelists, or by virtually anyone to enhance the reputation of someone they find politically convenient. While your characters will absolutely match both the definition and the Faculty's usage, remember point #1 when people use this potentially loaded word, even about you.

In general, I'll be avoiding morality - I'll be presenting many heroic characters, with their virtues and failings open to interpretation. Make common cause with Mnemon and bitter enmity with House Nellens if that is what you feel best - you're opinion on who is virtuous and who is corrupt is as worthwhile as anyone elses'.

3. Combat and other character abilities. While it's by no means unusual for my games, this is a game in which combat will play a pivotal role. Assuming the plans of the Faculty to have you engage in ritualised duels for the Destiny of the Shogun aren't derailed early, you can expect any investment in combat ability to be worthwhile, and at least *some* investment to be necessary. However, your opponents will be young Dragon Blooded, some less powerful, some prodigies of considerable ability, but no veterans. Nobody is planning to have you fight Celestials (even if you make enemies who scheme to ship you off to the Wyld Hunt, they'll let you graduate rather than yanking you out of the classroom and tossing you into hand-to-hand combat with Miyako). There will be no Deathlords, Second Circle Demons, Fae (unless something really cool pops up in the relevant book, but even then we're talking cameo) or other staples of Celestial combat. Even if you end up being ambushed outside the duelling fields, find yourselves fighting monsters or an out-of-control demon, or some other unforseen scenario, these fights will not have the same stakes - they will not affect your quest to become Shogun.

This is, of course, subject to the survival of the Faculty's plan. While my plan for the progress of the campaign is nearly identical to Azure Blossom's, I have vastly less confidence in its success than she.

Given the game's setting, social prowess and other tools of intrigue (investigation, bureacracy and larcency spring to mind) should also be very worthwhile. They should be useful in both their own contexts, and also in materially affecting the duels themselves. However, you will need to be more proactive with these abilities than combat ones - that is to say the opportunities to use them will not be signalled so clearly, though I promise to support them. They may even be more potent than combat abilities, though they're not quite as "safe" in terms of guaranteed payoffs.

Other abilities I will not promise to support, but I will be receptive to proactive use. If you want to invest in Ride and Sail, make sure you have ideas about how to get value out of them, because I won't guarantee opportunities. You will need to make opportunities for yourselves - I will do my best to be receptive, but some (like Survival) are going to be tall orders.

As for character creation, you're pretty much normal Dragon Blooded - don't use the rules for child characters, you are spectacular prodigies with exceptional destinies. Don't feel burdened by the idea of making a "well rounded character" - specialists are easier for me to GM, and you're supposed to become rounded at school, not start that way! Try not to step on each others' niches.

4. Motivation. Everybody else has an agenda - you should have one, or be on the way to getting one! Having an interest in the power of the Shogun is important (but you don't necessarily need to want it for yourself), and it should be believeable for you to work with the other characters rather than NPC cliques - while I could just have Azure bundle you together and mutter something about auspiciousness, I promise that the other cliques will most certainly try to take advantage of any disunity. That being said, there's no necessity for it to be all happiness and light - your bond only need last until the other cliques are defeated (if anybody is uncomfortable with the idea of other PCs possibly stabbing them in the back in the final session and making off with the Shogunate, now would be the time to speak up).

Of course, it's not necessary for you to be entirely sympathetic to the Faculty's plan, though admittedly there's a lot in it for you.

5. Current Events - I haven't absolutely decided how long after the defeat of Pherenike the game begins, but I'm thinking five years. In many respects it'd be helpful for me to have a fair bit of time between the games, but I'd prefer for events to be still shaping, the great forces of the world still gathering, so that your characters can rise to meet them in time. The Realm's grip on the world has been greatly weakened, but not shattered - the rise of Cathak Cainan to the throne under the auspices of the Gold Faction was, in the short term, an excellent move, a powerful stabilising force, and while he went about the process of stabilisation, he reluctantly put aside any expansionist ideas - as a result, the other powers of the world turned their attention to other matters, like the long process of recovering from the final months of the Tourney of Gossamer and Brass (it's also likely the Electrum Faction has been a stabilising influence on Creation, but I can't really speak for them). However, as clever as enthroning Cainan was in the short term, his star is in Saturn's House now, and there is a growing feeling in Yu-Shan that Lucita and Azure elevated him mostly because Kejak wouldn't. In the Realm, the mighty see that behind his iron-hard facade, the Emperor is fading, and they begin to mobilise. Mnemon and the Roseblack are among the most probable leading figures in the race for the soon-to-be-empty throne, though Cainan's elevation was a shock to many, so no-one can be discounted.

The Realm is most assuredly riddled with corruption and decadence, and stands on the brink of civil war. The Scavenger Lands, the Near South, Halta and the lands controlled by the Bull of the North are resurgent, growing mighty under Solar leadership, but those who say the Realm is fundamentally rotten and the Solar governance virtuous are generally the Solars themselves or their adherents. Both circumstances could be easily seen to be a result of the Empresses' leaving the throne and the unhibited exercise of Celestial power. Some in Yu-Shan feel that the Gold are compounding the mistakes of the Bronze rather than repairing them - Lucita is demonstrably allowing the Immaculate Order to decay, but shows no evidence of having taken the extremely widespread and often intense faith of the peasents into account.

Much of this is unknown to your characters, of course. In general, children and young adults are expected to be more attentive to the task of making themselves into model servants of the Realm than to the vicissitudes of current affairs, and as such are kept somewhat sheltered, at home or school (and the Garden is *very* isolated). Furthermore, it is all subject to point #1 at the top of this document, and hence news reports are not always reliable, and frequently conflict. Cathak Cainan is considered to be an honest man, but the seat at the head of the Thousand Mazy Paths does not permit absolute honesty - and who knows what sorcerous influences prey on whom? At the beginning of the game, you will have at best a sheltered knowledge of the world plus whatever conflicting threads of information you've gathered yourself - but if you're serious about becoming Shogun, you may want to give thought to learning more.

6. Altered Backgrounds:

Command becomes Groupies - you've attracted a permanent following from the hordes of fickle hero-worshippers at the school. Generally they're not spectacuarly useful in a physical sense, but arranging for them to be present gives you a guaranteed social bonus in appropriate circumstances (great for ridiculing people or stirring oration, not so great for intimate seduction), usually dice equal to the rating of Groupies you can get to show up.

Connections generally goes to school societies/clubs etc rather than elements of the Realm - these will generally be more useful.

Backing is generally not available.

7. Classes. There are two types of classes - conventional classes for the aquisition of mortal mastery in an area of endeavour, and special classes for the Dragon Blooded to attain Charms in that domain. You will find yourself already enrolled in mortal classes relating to your Aspect and Favoured Abilities, and you may choose which charm classes to attend (generally you can enrol in as many classes as you like, since Duelists do not face the same educational restrictions as everyone else). The Treasure Trove class is compulsory.

There are 25 seperate classes, curiously named after archaic astrological designations, as are the specialised classrooms in which they are taught:

The Ordeal of the Mast - The Mast - Endurance
Stables of the Fleet Messenger - The Messenger - Ride
Flagship of the Victorious Captain - The Captain - Sail
The Inescapable Hardship Rendered as Ship's Wheel - The Ship's Wheel - Survival

The Resplendent Peacock Gallery - The Peacock - Craft
The Oubliette of the Ewer - The Ewer - Dodge
The Thrice-Mazed Pillar - The Pillar - Linguistics
The Musician's Podium - The Musician - Performance
Teahouse of the Indiscreet Lovers - The Lovers - Socialise

Magnificent Hall of the Banner - The Banner - Presence
Menangerie of the Thrice-Forged Shield - The Shield - Resistance

Key Ensnarled in Meticulous Webs - The Key - Investigation
The Lair of the Unsleeping Guardians - The Guardians - Larcency
The Winding Shelves Holding the Treasure Trove - The Treasure Trove - Lore
The Three-Tiered Garden of the Sorcerer - The Sorcerer - Occult
The Hidden Tabernacle of the Mask - The Mask - Stealth

The Fields of the Rising Smoke - The Rising Smoke - Athletics
The Inauspicious Eyrie of the Crow - The Crow - Awareness
The Haywain Entombed - The Haywain - Bureacracy
The Hopeful Pyre of the Corpse - the Corpse - Medicine

The Fivefold Petal-and-Thorn Dojo:
The Gull - Thrown
The Quiver - Archery
The Gauntlet - Brawl
The Spear - Melee
The Sword - Martial Arts.

This school is more than a little odd.

More later (tomorrow, hopefully), including the all-important duelling rules. Just to note, each of the above classrooms doubles as a Duelling Field.

four willows

11-29-2004, 10:36 AM

Dude.

braincraft

11-29-2004, 01:29 PM

The incest and powermongering are already built in. It's like the two were made for each other!

Inquisitive_Englishman

11-29-2004, 02:01 PM

2. Heroes. This word will likely get thrown about quite a bit. By default (OOC more or less), we're talking a "classical" definition of Hero, which has no particular moral component, referring instead to pivotal, exceptional individuals who are larger than life. This status carries with it a well-known mechanical benefit (stunts, 10s as two successes and a full compliment of Health Levels). This is a real state in the setting, and most people are aware of it - it's likely the Faculty has a definitive list of the students that are Heroic from the appropriate Celestial office. However, the term "Hero" will also be slung about for a variety of purposes not matching this definition - such as by the Faculty to refer to the Dragon Blooded children of particularly spectacular destiny who become Duelists, or by virtually anyone to enhance the reputation of someone they find politically convenient. While your characters will absolutely match both the definition and the Faculty's usage, remember point #1 when people use this potentially loaded word, even about you.

*frantically scribbles down notes*

...

What? Some people consider blatent plaguerism a form of flattery. ;)

Anyway, it sounds positively inspired. I'm looking forward to hearing how it went in a few months.

Mengtzu

11-29-2004, 04:29 PM

The incest and powermongering are already built in. It's like the two were made for each other!

I'm thinking a randomised relationship table would be appropriate, though weighted towards incest, same-sex and nasty neomah habits* rather than away ^_^

*No moral judgement passed on any of these activities. Neomah love is nothing to be ashamed of!

Mengtzu

11-29-2004, 04:31 PM

Anyway, it sounds positively inspired.

It is - inspired by a better understanding of Exalted. It may look like I'm working on the 101 very slowly, but reaserching what I've done so far has developed my understanding of the game enormously, and hopefully this game will benefit as a result.

Ubermonkey

11-29-2004, 04:35 PM

This sounds extremely cool. I look forward to more.

some guy

11-29-2004, 04:44 PM

Hmmm... Kasumi is again presenting us with glorious Exalted coolness.

*looks at clock* Well waddya know, it is Tuesday! ;)

I'm thinking a randomised relationship table would be appropriate, though weighted towards incest, same-sex and nasty neomah habits* rather than away ^_^

*yoink* (though I wonder what my potential players will think if I start giving their character's offspring such traits as incestuous or demonphile)

Mengtzu

11-29-2004, 07:12 PM

Duelling Societies:

These are relatively common throughout Dynastic society and the schooling system - nobles who congregate for the purposes of duelling, to a variety of levels of organisation from close relatives to dockside brawling rings to highly ritualised, heavily political secret fencing societies. However, at the Garden of Jade Roses, they are particularly prominent (due to the tacit approval and clandestine promotion of the Faculty), and at their highest level, a bit special.

The numerous informal arrangements about the school rate little mention - they have an extremely high rate of participation, but beside the settling of grudges and issues of honour, they function primarily as an arena in which students can distinguish themselves in the hope of impressing the patrons of the Seven-Tiered Heavenly Road Society (widely thought to be the Student Council members) enough to earn an invitation to join its ranks.

The Seven-Tiered Heavenly Road is the main event - all other duelling societies pale in comparison. Its matches (between cliques of prodigious Dragon-Blooded youths) are highly ritualised, as are all its practices, and the stakes are very great indeed - not only the prestige involved, the luxuries enjoyed by the top-ranked cliques, the humiliating conditions often riding upon the matches, but the final prize is rumoured to be the power of the Shogunate itself.

Each member of the Heavenly Road society wears a distinctive duelist's ring, representing the rank of their clique. Cliques can have no more than five members, though particular prestige is accorded to the rare few who are successful with less than five. There are seven ranks of clique, from the seventh (lowest) tier to the first tier, the reigning champions (currently the Student Council). The duelist's ring bears an image of a number of celestial bodies proporianate with their rank, so a seventh tier duelist will have a single body upon their ring, while the Student Council's rings bear the image of an eclipse surrounded by the five planets. There are a number of cliques on each tier equal to the tier's number - so there are seven cliques upon the seventh tier, six upon the sixth, etc, for a total of 28 cliques.

If a clique defeats a higher-ranked clique, the duelists exchange rings. If they defeat a lower-or-equal-ranked clique, they may impose a deleterious condition upon the losers, as nominated before the duel in the negotiation phase. Duels may only occur between cliques within one tier of each other.

[Bah, lunchbreak over already? Later - the challenge rules, which are super-important]

2trick

11-29-2004, 07:14 PM

Well, it's not Exalted: Maria-sama ga Miteru, like I was expecting.
But as it stands, it's quite good. Kudos.

Mengtzu

11-29-2004, 07:17 PM

Well, it's not Exalted: Maria-sama ga Miteru, like I was expecting.
But as it stands, it's quite good. Kudos.

What's Maria-sama ga Miteru? More inspiration is always good.

RedFox

11-29-2004, 07:35 PM

Gah, I'd love to be in this game. *whimper* Awesomely cool.

Mengtzu

11-29-2004, 07:38 PM

Gah, I'd love to be in this game. *whimper* Awesomely cool.

You can play...but first you must defeat....THE PACIFIC OCEAN!

RedFox

11-29-2004, 07:43 PM

You can play...but first you must defeat....THE PACIFIC OCEAN!

But I'm a Fire Aspect! GAH! *FWOOOSH* *fizzle*

2trick

11-29-2004, 10:06 PM

What's Maria-sama ga Miteru? More inspiration is always good.

It's only the greatest shoujo-ai story of all time!

http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=667
(a full review)
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3150
(a briefer synopsis)

I thought you were making a MariMite reference because of your story title, what with the emphasis on flower imagery and complex politics. The number of seeders is a little low, but if you use BitTorrent then you should still be able to find some episodes of the show on AnimeSuki (or take the shortcut and buy VCDs on Ebay, I guess). There's also currently a sequel series running called "Maria-sama ga Miteru~Spring~."

I know far too much about this for my own good. But there you go.

Mengtzu

11-29-2004, 10:22 PM

I thought you were making a MariMite reference because of your story title, what with the emphasis on flower imagery and complex politics.

Sorry, Utena all the way! The power to revolutionise the world! Or, you know, stand up to the Celestials :)

That being said, I'll check the series out. Thanks for the links.

Thunder_God

11-30-2004, 08:09 AM

This has both given me more ideas for a Naruto style campaign and how to format social contracts, especially the non-generic.
Thank you Kasumi :)

Mengtzu

11-30-2004, 07:15 PM

The Challenge:

Duels are never rostered or compelled - they occur only when one clique challenges another and is accepted. A clique may only challenge a clique within one tier of its own rank.

The challenge has a number of distinct phases:

1. Pretext

This is considered by many the most critical part of the challenge - because the Society is not a sport, and because the stakes involved are so great, duels very rarely occur without a specific reason. High-tier cliques have no interest in friviously giving up their rings, and those on an equal level generally will not face the potentially humiliating consequences of a loss lightly. However, cliques routinely enter tactically inadviseable duels, for the simple reason that their opponents go to significant lengths to motivate them to duel. If you wish to face another clique upon the duelling field, creating a pretext is essential. Particularly cunning cliques go out of their way to create pretexts between rival cliques to provoke a duel between them (those upon the First Tier often have little choice in the matter, since their only possible opponents are the two Second Tier cliques, and thus if they want to get something done through duelling, they will almost certainly have to do it by proxy).

Provoking a challenge or acceptance of challenge is vastly helped by the fact that, where possible, the Faculty want the cliques to settle their differences on the field rather than through appeal to school rules. While, owing to the favourable treatment all duelists get from the Faculty, it is almost impossible for a non-duelist to get a duelist reprimanded for their behaviour, duelists attempting to have the Faculty correct the behaviour of other duelists have even slimmer chances. This means that cliques can use almost any tactic to incite their prospective opponents with impunity - the other cliques' sole recourse is to meet them upon the field and either take their rings or inflict a crippling deleterious condition upon them (this also means the First Tier duelists can make life a misery for anyone but the Second Tier duelists without fear of recourse).

Common tactics include the interference with or theft of possessions or lovers, the use of one's social prowess to create embarrasing rumours (which, given they're Dynasts, aren't always false) which can be traced to you or your proxy, political assaults on the clubs or societies of your opponents, bureacratic finangling with the dormatory system to have their quarters reassigned and not replaced, or the ever popular seduce-then-break-heart. These tactics are also used extensively before, during and after the challenge phase by particularly cunning cliques to emotionally damage rivals for the purpose of impairing their performance in the actual duel. Some caution is to be advised, however, since intense provocation invites particularly unpleasent loss conditions, and many cliques show a public facade that could be damaged by being seen to use given tactics.

2. Challenge

The Challenge takes the form of "The [X clique] challenges [Y clique] to a duel of honour upon the field of [dueling field] under the auspices of the Seven-Tiered Heavenly Road!" It may be delivered by any means, though public ones are considered best to maximise the chance of shame for the challenged if they refuse. The dueling field is not up for negotiation. A challenge or acceptance of challenge from any member of a clique is binding upon the entire clique. If the challenge is refused (see refusing a challenge, below), the matter ends. If not, it passes onto the negotiation phase, whether or not it has been accepted (sensibly, one should not accept until the terms of the duel are finalised, but the pretext phase frequently causes duelists to accept early in an...emotional state.

Mengtzu

12-01-2004, 01:13 AM

3. Negotiation Phase

The purpose of this phase is to establish the conditions of the duel, of which there can be many. The Garden of Jade Roses responds perfectly to the diplomacy of the duelists, so if they agree the duel shall take place in the rain, it will indeed rain upon the chosen field at the appointed time. How much time each side has to fortify the field before the duel, lighting conditions, the presence of an audience - many conditions can be negotiated. These have defined ranges and parameters - skillful negotiation can offer a serious advangtage, but one can't simply create frivilous or crippling conditions upon a whim.

Each duelling field has its own default and mandatory conditions. Default conditions can be changed, while mandatory conditions cannot - these are largely practical matters, as for instance the Oubliette of the Ewer has the condition "No Audience" as mandatory simply because there is nowhere within the Oubliette for an audience to safely gather.

There are two methods of negotiation, and the challenged party chooses which will be used.

The first and simplest is for the cliques to simply take turns naming conditions, with the challenged party beginning. As soon as one party relinquishes their turn (including, if desired, the very first turn), the negotiation is over. If either party names a condition that contravenes a mandatory condition of the field (for instance, requesting an audience for a duel in the Oubliette of the Ewer), their turn is wasted, and their opponents may continue normally. This method is most frequently conducted in person, though the Garden seems to honour any means that both parties are able to access and understand, including letters, proxies and charms.

The second method is a ritualised poetry condition, where each party describes the duel to come in verse. These verses are publicly read to Bright Morning Purity, a female student who wears a jade rose ring, who judges the victor (she claims impartially, certainly, the Garden itself respects her judgements), and awards them a number of blue roses according to their degree of victory. Each rose may be ritually burned to name a condition for the duel. This method is potentially the most rewarding, but is extremely risky - Bright Morning Purity seems to be impartial (and enjoys the protection of the Faculty), so guaranteeing a favourable judgement is exceptionally difficult. Mechanically, a chosen member of each clique makes an opposed Intelligence + Linguistics roll. If there is a winner, Bright Morning Purity awards them a number of roses equal to their extra successes. If there is a draw, Bright Morning Purity asks each to spontaneously compose for her, an opposed Wits + Linguistics roll - if that is also a draw, default field conditions apply unchanged. If any of these rolls botch, Bright Morning Purity invites the opposing side to her blue rose garden, where they may simply tell her what the conditions for the duel will be. If both sides botch, the duel is cancelled and both sides lose a permanent point of Reputation for their involvement in the debacle.

During this phase, one side (if lower in rank) or both (if equal) name the deleterious condition to be imposed upon the losers. This is always a single condition or tightly related group, such as "Yushoto Haruka must accompany Cathak Cainan Lysander to the Calibration Ball" or "Mnemon Venemous Rose must publicly retract her vile slander against Nellens Tsukasa while confessing that he is in fact the most desireable man in the Garden."

To be continued....

Morsla

12-01-2004, 09:12 PM

Mengtzu

12-01-2004, 09:17 PM

It's quite lucky that all the duelests are Dragon Blooded. I can think of a few existing characters who would wreak unholy hell in a system that favoured combat and poetry... Faceless Scholar of Ash and Dust (from the Grand Bazaar game) would love the system :)

Heh. Much of the point of the game is to dabble in the areas of the system that Celestials normally blow away with sheer might. The Society would collapse were a Celestial to join it, for their acension to the First Tier would be unstoppable.

I have some very nifty character art on its way - I'll post a picture here when it arrives, if the forum allows images to be posted.

It does indeed! There's a picture button next to the link button on the posting window.

Mengtzu

12-02-2004, 04:24 AM

The limitations to which the Garden will enforce these stipulations are loose but fairly well known. Reversal (and commesurate compensation) of deeds that provoked the duel is always acceptable, as is humilition, periods of servitude of up to a week (not to impose upon schooling), asking the losers to bear false witness to authorities, surrender non-artifact items or to forbear from opposing a given course of action of the victors. Anything which causes direct or highly probable harm to the losers is not acceptable, nor is sexual coersion or direct compromising of the losers' ability to contest their next duel. So "The Irrepresible Disobedience Society must act as valets to the Resplendent Lordship Coterie for one week" is fine, while "The Irrepresible Disobedience Society will allow the beasts of the Menangerie of the Thrice-Forged Shield to gnaw upon them that they may contract a variety of entertaining diseases" is not. Note, however, that the Garden gives no sign of an unacceptable stipulation other than the failure to enforce it, so particularly cunning victors might fool more gullible losers into undertaking tasks they are not required to. The enforcement is particularly vicious when it occurs, however - at the end of a day where a clique member was bound to fulfil a stipulation and did not, they lose one temporary willpower and take one unsoakable aggravated health level of damage (this fate also befalls duellists refusing to surrender their rings if required to give them up).

{Insert complete list of conditions and fields sometime soon}

4. The Duel

At the appointed time, both cliques arrive at the designated fields, and activate it by inserting their rings into the five niches on either side of the field while reciting the Society's Invocation to Valour and Honour. This activates the field, imposing any conditions not already in place.

Then the cliques fight to surrender or all opponents being rendered Incapacitated. It is a special property of the fields that while activated, none can be slain by a single blow upon them - only coup-de-gras blows against an Incapacitated opponent are lethal (and grounds for expulsion from the Garden, and hence the Seven-Tiered Heavenly Road). It is rumoured that some of the hidden fields have Conditions that change the requirements for victory, but on all currently known fields, Incapacitating the enemy or forcing surrender is the objective.

Failure to commence a duel results in the same consequences as failing to fulfil a stipulation above - the loss of one temporary willpower and the suffering of one aggravated health level of damage per full day for all members of both cliques until the duel is held. The only way to avoid this penalty is to fight the duel, or surrender your ring to your clique, relinquishing the title of duelist forever.

Notes:

Refusing a Duel

Refusing a duel requires a Manipulation + Socialise roll at a difficulty equal to the number of heavenly bodies on your opponent's rings, plus one per duel your clique has refused since your last duel. Failure results in the loss of a permanent dot of Reputation for all members of the clique, and a -1 (cumulative) penalty to all social rolls for all members of the clique if any member has no Reputation dots left to lose. This social penalty is lifted after the clique's next victory, but the Reputation dots are not returned other than through normal means of gaining Reputation.

Example: The Irrepresible Disobedience Society (third tier) challenges the Five Pillars Lordship Faction (second tier). The Five Pillars have recently refused duels from the other two third tier cliques without social sanction, and wish to refuse this one too. Since there are five Heavenly Bodies upon the Disobedience Society's rings, and the Five Pillars have refused two duels since their last, the difficulty to avoid damage to their Reputation is seven.

Hidden Fields

Many duellists search for the hidden fields rumoured to be concealed upon the grounds of the Garden - they would be a great advantage to any who discovered them, as their parameters would be unknown to any but their discoverers, hence allowing them to take decided advantage over their next opponents in the negotiation phase.

Mengtzu

12-02-2004, 04:50 AM

Example:

The Lance of Unconquered Deheleshen clique, one of the two cliques upon the second tier, naturally wishes to challenge and defeat the Student Council, the sole clique of the First Tier, to capture their rings and prestige. However, the Student Council does not risk its position lightly, and hence the Lance must create a pretext if they wish to attract the Council to a duel.

Hence, Yushoto Haruka gives a pointed speech on the military and political failings of the Emperor, Cathak Cainan, which as a duelist and citizen of Lookshy she is relatively safe in doing. The Student Council President, Cathak Cainan Lysander, is the youngest son of the Emperor, and Haruka knows full well that he will lose significant face if he fails to support his father against such slander. Lysander has no choice but to challenge Haruka and her clique, and does so (without consulting his clique, but they are nonetheless bound by the challenge), nominating the Teahouse of the Indiscreet Lovers as the duelling field and the time being noon the following day. He stipulates that if the Lance loses, Haruka must retract her slander and give a public lecture on the Emperor's glory. Unsurprisingly, having provoked the duel, Haruka accepts.

Knowing the reputation of Student Council Vice President Mnemon Venemous Rose as a poet, Haruka carefully avoids a poetry contest for the negotiation phase, instead chosing the safer turn-taking method. She chooses "pitch darkness" as the first condition (her clique's Dragon Armour making that condition harmless to them). Lysander chooses "Audience Present" on his turn. Satisfied, Haruka passes her turn, ending the negotiation.

Lysander, unhappy at being trapped in the duel, seduces a particularly talkative mortal girl for the purposes of spreading a rumour that not only did he sleep with Haruka, but that she pursued him, and the experience was rather dissapointing and tedious for him. This angers Haruka, but she keeps a lid on her emotions for the time being.

The cliques meet at the appointed time, and use their rings to activate the field. As the battle begins, Lysander taunts Haruka over the rumour, with his Manipulation + Socialise roll boosted not only by the positive effects of the crowd (Lysander's Groupie rating is very high), but by the Field Bonus offered by the Teahouse doubling the bonus of his Socialise stunt. Enraged, Haruka launches a vicious attack against the cunning Cathak, exposing herself to the counterattack of Ledaal Shinta, the strongest warrior upon the Student Council. She swiftly falls, and having seized the early advantage, the Student Council goes on to win.

The next day, Haruka has no choice but to recant her slander against the Emperor and give him long and detailed praise.

Mengtzu

12-03-2004, 12:50 AM

The Privileges of Rank

Being a Seven-Tiered Heavenly Road duellist at all largely though not totally indemnified from censure from the Faculty. The Faculty sees to it that murder, maiming, sexual assault and other extremely serious crimes against fellow students are punished by Magistrates, but other than that Duellists can and do act with impunity, checked only by other duellists.

Why, then, do the lower tiers struggle so fiercely to unseat those above? Simply put, besides the tantalising prospect of the final victory, significant benefits accrue as one climbs the ranks. This is why even cliques that would realistically acknowledge that they are unlikely to ever defeat the amazingly puissant Student Council or the Dragon-Armoured Lance of Deheleshen will nonetheless bitterly contest a fourth-tier ranking.

* A duellist always adds the number of heavenly bodies upon their ring as a dice bonus to all rolls to attract or control Groupies.

*Upon attaining a new tier, a duellist’s Reputation is raised to a certain minimum:
Tier 7: 1
Tier 5/6: 2
Tier 3/4: 3
Tier 2: 4
Tier 1: 5

This is, incidentally, the surest way to regain Reputation lost to refusing Duels.

* The Duellists of Tiers 3 and 4 share the Lodge of the Ennobled Traveller, where they have individual rooms and luxuries equivalent to Resources 4 living.

* The Cliques of Tier 2 occupy, one each, the Towers of Starlit Anticipation, which are Level 4 Manses whose Hearthstone they have the use of. They are assigned personal servants, and live with luxury equivalent to Resources 5.

* The First Tier Clique occupies the Resplendent Throne of Sixfold Victory, a Manse of Level 5 whose Hearthstone they have access to, a small army of personal servants (who are in fact Gods), and they are served Heavenly food and drink, forever after spoiling their enjoyment of mortal delicacies.

* It is rumoured that higher-ranked Duellists receive secret tuition from the Faculty using Shogunate teaching methods, that they may devote themselves wholeheartedly to the business of the Seven-Tiered Heavenly Road without becoming ignorant or shaming the Garden of Jade Roses after their graduation.

Mengtzu

12-03-2004, 11:06 PM

General Duelling Conditions:

Note that the default is what occurs if the condition is not specified during negotiation or by the field. It is still worth setting that condition during negotiation, even if it is to the default value, to prevent your opponents from doing so.

Lighting: (Daylight, Moonlight, None) - generally, outdoors fields can be lit, but not made darker than the time of day. Note that anima at the 8-10 level is as a torch, while 11-15 provides clear vision to 30 yars and murky to 60. Default as per hour (outside), daylight (inside).

Audience: (Present, Not Present) Default Not Present.

Wind: (None, Fog (force 1), Sandstorm (Force 9), Ice Storm (Force 19), Force 1-12 as per page 26, Savage Seas) Note that Archery attacks and balance rolls take a penalty of (Force - 5) while thrown attacks take a penalty of (Force - 6), both minimum 0. At force 9 and above, balance rolls are required on even ground - these balance rolls may use Strength rather than dexterity and take a (Force - 9) penalty. Default as weather (outside) or None (inside).

Rain: (None, Light, Heavy, Torrential) Default as weather (outside) or None (inside).

Flood: (None, Ankle, Knee, Waist) Default None.

Elemental Aspect: (None, Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Wood) Charms of the appropriate element a reduced in cost by 1 mote (minimum 1). This will pay for the elemental surcharge on a 0 or 1 mote cost charm of a different element to the user. Default None.

Virtue Aspect: (None, Compassion, Conviction, Temperance, Valour) +1 bonus to all rolls with the appropriate virtue. Default None.

Field Access: (Any amount of time from negotiation up to the duel) Access to the field before the duel. Seperate condition for each side. Default 0.

Familiars: (Allowed, Forbidden) Default Forbidden.

Summoned Beings (None, Type: Demons, Elementals, Demons and Elementals, Number: One, Two, Five) Note that Type and Number are seperately negotiatied, but both must be set if either is (turn-taking cannot finish until both are set), and neither can be set if None is. Default None.

Other Conditions tend to be field specific (like the Classrooms' property of doubling stunt bonuses for their respective abilities), and are detailed with the fields.

Mengtzu

12-04-2004, 05:18 PM

Social Combat in the Fields:

Social combat in the Fields is critical to the outcome of any duel. It is a property of every field that in each turn, every duellist has two full actions in a turn, their normal action (which cannot be used for social actions while on the Field), and a Social action.

This Social action does not change the charm use rules, though it does allow you to use a Simple charm with one action without losing access to the other (many silver-tongued duellists find it useful to full dodge while using Simple social charms).

The social action normally has two uses: control of the audience, and appeals to the Virtues of opponents.

Control of the Audience is handled as normal, but while in a duel, members of the Controller's clique gain half the dice bonus (rounded down) that the Controller receives.

Appeals to virtues are used to manipulate the actions of an opponent - an appeal to Valour to entice an opponent into attacking you, an appeal to Compassion to prevent an opponent from attacking you, an appeal to Conviction to manipulate them into gunning for victory rather than rescuing a beleagured comrade, and an appeal to Temperance to convince an outmatched fighter to surrender when your cliques have both fallen.

An appeal is an appropriate Social roll (appropriate to the stunt - Appearance + Presence is perfectly appropriate for wordlessly preventing a boy you've seduced from attacking you) against a difficulty of a virtue chosen by the defender (not the virtue targeted) - the defender may stunt, and the dice bonus is added to the virtue, but only essence rewards may be derived from the stunt. If the roll is a success, the defender must fail a roll of the virtue targeted, or spend a willpower, to avoid performing the action enticed towards (choose before rolling). This roll is treated as an extended action if performed on subsequent turns, and if successes equal to a target's Willpower are accumulated, the virtue roll is skipped, and they must spend a willpower or perform the action on that and each subsequent successful appeal by the attacking character. If the attacking character gets extra successes on a single roll equal or above the target's willpower, they must perform the action. If the attacking character uses their Social action for anything else, and then returns on later turns to the appeal, they must start again with no accumulated successes.

Characters who are Limit Breaking (which, as you can imagine, happens frequently) can be directed somewhat by appeals to virtues other than the one ruling their Break. They must defend with the virtue ruling their Break, and if the attacker is successful, the ruling virtue is changed.

Defence against Appeals other than by virtue is done with Retorts - an opposing social roll that adds its successes to the virtue used for defence. Retorts can be stunted, but if they are, the defence virtue cannot be stunted. A duellist cannot split their social pool to make multiple appeals, but can do so to make a single appeal and still Retort or attempt to control the audience. Otherwise, a Full Retort functions as a cascading parry. Retorts can also be used pro-actively, in which case they reduce accumulated successes on extended Appeals. No more Retorts can be made in a turn than a character's Wits. A character privy to an appeal against an ally may defend them with a Retort at +1 difficulty, but only one Retort action can benefit a single defence.

Appealing to multiple duellists via the Performance Ability or an appropriate stunt is done at the highest Virtue and Willpower of the opposition, and +1 difficulty per duellist after the first. A defender may Retort using the Performance ability or appropriate stunt, but suffers the same difficulty penalty.

In general actions induced by an Appeal should be unwise but not completely unreasonable, tactically unsound but not inexplicable. Blatantly suicidal actions are not appropriate, but extremely dangerous is fine (charging all five opposing duellists alone is out, charging one while ignoring another is perfectly appropriate).

Pre-duel Actions:

Future opponents may be targeted with schemes in order to reduce the difficulty of an Appeal targetting that issue in a duel. For instance, in the example above Cathak Cainan Lysander spreads a rumour that not only did he sleep with Yushoto Haruka, but that it was at her insistance and was awfully tedious. The storyteller ruled that this was a difficulty five rumour to spread, as Haruka is famously contemptuous of the Emperor's son, but Lysander's social prowess still resulted in five extra successes. The Storyteller ruled that these successes (the rumour's strength) would recede by one per day unless the matter became an extended social contest between rumourmongers and quashers, which given the proximity of the duel, it did not. Hence, when taunting Haruka about the rumour during the duel the next day (appealing to her Valour, resisted by her Temperance of 3), the difficulty of his roll was reduced by 4 (five successes - 1 for one day passing), eliminating her Temperance, her one-dice stunt and leaving her with only her Retort, which she fails. Scoring an amazing nine extra successes on the roll, Lysander equals Haruka's Willpower and forces her to attack him.

Generally the issue must be more recent than the opponent's last Duel (though an older issue specifically refreshed within this timeframe is appropriate), and this reduced difficulty only benefits the first relevant appeal made against a duellist. Humiliating stipulations caused by losing a duel are not valid targets, generally, though they make good stunt fodder (as do older issues, the performance of their parents in the race for the throne etc).

Mengtzu

12-04-2004, 05:38 PM

Audience Control:

The Heroic characters of the Gardens have an immense following amongst the mortal students, who seem to instinctively realise they are in the presence of the heroes that will shape the Realm in the years to come and hang off their every action. They are, however, extraordinarly fickle, and are frequently swayed back and forth by the charismatic students. The school population is large - hence, most public confrontations between students have an audience.

Attempting to control the audience is an Appearance + Performance + Groupies Background + {Reputation or number of heavenly bodies on Duellist Ring] roll, at the difficulty of the number of successes on the last successful Audience Control roll this scene (yours or otherwise). Each extra success counts as a bonus to applicable social rolls in this scene (including Appeals during duelling), to a maximum of five, until control of the Audience changes. Needless to say, the bonus does not apply to audience control rolls.

Generally during social scenes, these rolls will often happen simultaneously, in which case they are normal contested rolls if conducted against a neutral audience, or if the currently controlling character is also rolling.

Any number of levels of Groupie background can be converted to automatic successes by actively rounding up the appropriate number of groupies and driving them to the scene.

At the beginning of a duel, a contested Audience Control roll is made by a nominated member of each side to determine the initial dispositon of the crowd.

Example: At the beginning of the duel between the Lance of Deheleshen and the Student Council, Teresu Saito pits his (Appearance 4 + Performance 5 (Swaying Crowds 1) + ring 6 + stunt 2) 18 dice against Cathak Cainan Lysander's (Appearance 5 + Performance 5 (Swaying Crowds 3) + ring 7 + stunt 2) 22 dice. Both sides have rounded up their Groupies 5 backgrounds, cancelling each other out. Saito rolls an unlucky 7 successes while Lysander rolls 11, giving Lysander a +4 bonus to social rolls (and his clique +2) until the balance changes. Luckily, most Audience Control battles don't take place between such titans!

Coyote's Own

12-04-2004, 05:41 PM

Mengtzu

12-04-2004, 05:50 PM

So killing blow are illigal this we know. But I have a little question.
Are maiming blow during duals legal? Severing an arm or maiming your opponents
clique memebers seems tampting, since it not only takes them out of the fight for the current dual, but could elimante them for a realy long tome (if not forever)

It's legal, but chances are the faculty will arrange for healing, with a time frame dependent on how important you are (since they would probably have to arrange for Gods or Solars to do the healing, which is a pain). It's also hard to write off as accidental!

Nightingale

12-06-2004, 04:45 AM

Where in Australia are you Kasumi? Melbourne?
*whimpers about the likelihood of Kasumi and his coolness being so far away*
I think I'm suffering from Exalt Envy...
Curse you Kasumi!!! :p

Mengtzu

12-06-2004, 03:17 PM

Where in Australia are you Kasumi? Melbourne?
*whimpers about the likelihood of Kasumi and his coolness being so far away*
I think I'm suffering from Exalt Envy...
Curse you Kasumi!!! :p

Yeah, I'm in Melbourne, Exalted capital of Australia (what, you've got something to say about that, Sydney? Huh?)

Mengtzu

12-15-2004, 08:05 PM

In a luxurious, seldom used tower office of the Serene Retreat of the Resplendent Faculty of Jade Gardeners, a clear adamant-glass bowl sits perfectly positioned upon the desk of Sifu Flute-Given-Life-By-Wind so that it is bathed by sunlight at most hours of the day. Within this bowl swims a large black koi fish, for whom the bowl is too small.

It hates you.

Do not be alarmed - the fish hates everything, most especially the Exalted.

Its stare is chilling, the sheer malice it conveys with its tiny, beady eyes harrowing any who look upon it. Once cannot behold the fish without comprehending the sheer scale of its ire, how it lusts for agony and misfortune to befall you with the impotent fury that only a koi can bring to bear.

It does not hate you because the sunlight burns it, leaving it with a long and painful night of healing. It does not hate you because it swims not in water, but in a potent potato-derived alcohol that sears its light-inflicted wounds. It does not suffer these agonies lightly, yet these are not motivations, merely symptoms.

Around its bowl in a neat circle, inscribed in a tongue older than time, and replicated in Old Realm for the benfit of the students, is the phrase "All things have an ending".

No one knows when the war will be - in ten years, one hundred, five hundred - but it will come. When it does, however, there can only be two outcomes - all things will be swallowed by darkness, or, amidst victory, Alveua of the Violet Bier of Sorrows will carry her little fishbowl to the Well of Oblivion and cast it in.

The Vodak hates you because its ending has already come, and it can do nothing but wait for it in the form of a koi.

When Azure asks Alveua why she keeps the koi, she answers "To remember how dangerous we are."

This is but a little mystery of the Garden of Jade Roses.

Coyote's Own

12-16-2004, 02:31 AM

I've got only one word for you: Cool :D

MorpheousXO

12-16-2004, 05:13 AM

Oi? :eek:

Mengtzu

01-28-2005, 07:53 PM

Character Creation today, and I'm woefully underprepared.

So, much more typing! There's lot's of setting material on my LJ, but here's some rules, in concious imitation of Weapons of the Gods:

Tactics, Social and Combat actions.

In the fields of the Seven Tiered Heavenly Road, numerous measures exist to prevent the duelling existing merely as a test of combat charms, and instead actually encourage the aptitudes required of a Shogun.

Foremost amongst these is the ability granted by the fields to do two very different things at once - allowing, for instance, a Simple social charm to be used while full dodging. Mechanically, each duellist has two actions each turn, similar to the additional action granted by the Perfect Mobility hearthstone - these actions are quite independent, may be split normally (and those actions interwoven), one held while the other is used etc. However, the Exalt may still only use one charm per turn (as well as Reflexives in the case of Dragon Blooded). The difference lies in the actions having types - Combat, Social and Tactics.

You may not perform two of the same type of action, so you must choose between Combat and Social, Combat and Tactics, and Social and Tactics. Furthermore, you may only use a charm if one of your two actions is of the appropriate type - hence, if you chose Social and Tactics, you could not use Flickering Candle to respond to an attack. The type of action is not chosen until it is used, but if you use a Reflexive charm before action types are chosen, you must choose one action to be of that type (for instance if you were attacked before your inititative and used Safety Amongst Enemies, you would then need to choose Combat as one of your action types).

Social actions are dealt with above, but include all social charms, appeals to virtues etc

Tactics actions are:

1. Medicine
2. Non-reflexive Perception, Awareness or Investigation rolls.
3. Sail, Ride or any piloting
4. Craft
5. Non-Sorcery Occult (inc Thaumaturgy etc).
6. Terrain Control: As a Simple action, you may roll Int + Lore (Strategy) to impose or change 1 condition on the field, or force balance rolls. Each success affects 1 foe, and any adjacent allies or terrain. You may defend against this - a full Tactics action (may be aborted do) rolling Int + Lore (Strategy) becomes the difficulty for any foe to attempt Terrain Control (only the highest defensive roll each turn counts, they are not added). Terrain Control has many specialised applications unique to given fields - for instance on the Thrice-Forged Menangerie of the Shield, it can be used to make venemous things bite enemies.
7. Anything else that seems appropriate, such as spot Lore (Tactics) rolls for various purposes.

Combat actions cover most normal combat deeds, such as attacking, defending and moving under your own power.

four willows

01-28-2005, 08:28 PM

Dude, you need to make like a netbook of this, with field writeups and so forth.

I'll like, mail you baked goods if you do.

Mengtzu

01-29-2005, 04:54 AM

The first piece of actual play, as part of Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid's prelude:

They stood upon the Fields of the Rising Smoke, that awful forest of swords and smouldering earth, its constant smoke died red by the sunrise. Hundreds of them, everyone who was anyone at the school. Cathak Cainan Lysander watched impasively. Peleps Undine's face could not hide her worry. Ragara Sien smoked a ciggarette with practiced elegance, sipping her own poison tea.

"She cannot succeed." Sien declared with an almost regretful bite to her voice. "No-one can beat five duellists."

The crowd grew hush as the challenger approached the circle, escorted by the utterly disciplined figure of Ledaal Shinta - the challenger, Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid, walked in serene calm with her twin red jade daiklaives resting easily in her hands.

Her foes, the Ragara Braves, approached from the opposite direction, fierce young duellists of the Seventh Tier, eager to prove their worth by defeating the star pupil of Sifu Flute in this unsanctioned duel. They were young and inexperienced, but their weapons were of jade, easily capable of tearing through Orchid's unarmoured flesh.

Shinta bowed once, left the field, and it began.

The "Ragara Twins", Tsui and Cho, charged, daiklaive and goremaul striking out to destroy the Fire Dragon practitioner. Stunned by their speed and ferocity, Orchid fell back, parrying desperately...and then her wings ignited.

Eighteen seconds later, four Ragara Braves lay unconcious from blood loss, and the fifth's head rested at the end of a long trail of blood flowing from her body. Orchid was unharmed.

Stunned silence fell over the crowd. Deaths happened from time to time, but not like this. Not a swift and murderous strike in a combat outside the auspices of the Seven Tiered Heavenly Road, in front of the Faculty in their disguises only just on the polite side of inadequate.

"What did I tell you useless bastards?" roared Sifu Falcon's voice unexpectedly as he barrelled through the crowd. "With your pathetic, childish excuse for tactics, an Anathema would rip you apart in an instant, I said. I also said a Fire Dragon can fight like an Anathema for nine to fifteen seconds. Idiots!"

He levelled a long, hard look at Orchid. "Go on, take their rings. That was the deal, wasn't it? Lysander, she's in your little bloody club now, Mistress Azure will handle punishment. Now get out of here, all of you!"

And that was how Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid joined the Seven Tiered Heavenly Road with four spare rings in her hands. Since that day, it has been made clear that the Seven Tiered Heavenly Road will not accept membership by this method ever again.

miss-rynn

01-29-2005, 04:59 AM

Orchid didn't *mean* to kill anyone.....

Mengtzu

01-29-2005, 05:09 AM

Orchid didn't *mean* to kill anyone.....

This was poor miss-ryyn learning about combat for the first time after years of playing social, stealth or sorcery types. The important lesson being that sometimes you roll a hell of a lot of successes and people die.

miss-rynn's a little sad about it, but damn if that combat didn't feel so right with the dice, and the rare exceptional roll just changed the whole scene, the whole way the PCs will be entering the 7THR (under a shroud, essentially, of murder, at least in some eyes - a lot of NPCs think it was justified). Very cool.

Incidentally, Tiger and Bear Unity freaking rocks.

Morsla

02-03-2005, 05:46 PM

Two (player) characters from the game... Whisper is my primary PC, and Avalanche is his sidekick (bought as an Ally).

Whispering Crystal
Concept: Socially inept genius, Sorcerer. Aspect: Water

+++ Background +++
Whispering Crystal’s exaltation came as a surprise to his family. His parents are poor, although still minor nobility, and their son never appeared to be marked for greatness. He is slightly built, and often painfully awkward when talking to others – not admirable qualities for a Prince of the Earth. His greatest strength, however, has gone unnoticed by all his family.

Whisper is a genius, but intellect is not rated highly by his parents. They would have preferred a son who was loud enough to stand before the merchant councils, or a stronger child who could help with the family’s fishing fleet. They did not expect their child to become a sorcerer, fascinated with high-level Lore.

Naturally, the child was bullied in the academy – among the proud and noble Princes of the Earth, he was always destined to be overshadowed. Some of the smarter Dynasts appreciate his use at solving problems, and they manipulate him into doing their homework – something that he actually enjoys, and does not complain about.

He has always struggled with even the most basic Charms, to the disgust of his teachers. When he began to learn the arts of Sorcery, however, everything changed. Suddenly, he realised that he was far better suited to this path, and turned all his intention on pursuing it at all costs. He regularly steals spellbooks from the libraries, carefully memorising their content – and learns far faster than his teachers would allow him to.

In his second week at the academy, something happened that would change his life at the school. Chased down by a pack of older children, led by one who had failed his exams despite extorting Whisper’s aid, a large figure stepped in the path of Whisper's assailants. This was Ferocious Avalanche; a gentle giant, and Whisper’s first true friend in the school. The two have been firm friends ever since, and will remain so for life. Ferocious Avalanche
Concept: Gentle giant. Aspect: Earth

+++ Background +++
Ferocious Avalanche was optimistically named by his Dynast parents, in the hope that their child would become a mighty warrior. The child was born large, and grew at a prodigious rate – eventually exalting as an aspect of Earth, to the delight of his family.

However, the child showed no interest in the martial disciplines – deliberately shying away from battle. As his strength increased, Avalanche became terribly afraid of hurting things by accident. His martial progress suffered, and his parents despaired – for what use is a giant who dares not touch the world around him?

Avalanche discovered his true calling early, although it shames his family. While his parents and siblings enlisted in the Imperial Legions, Avalanche would build things when no-one watched. One day, his sculptures were seen by a teacher visiting his house, and he was swiftly taken into the local artisan’s workshops. He would never be the warrior his parents wanted, but as a craftsman he will one day match the best in the Realm.

Avalanche is outwardly an optimist, but at times he is desperately unhappy with his life. He is clumsy, and strong enough for this to be a real problem. Other Dynast children have laughed at his size, assuming he is a simple fool, but the gentle giant simply hides behind his bulk.

The giant’s life changed in his second week at the academy, when he met another of the school’s outcasts – Whispering Crystal. Physically, Whisper is his opposite – small and slight where Avalanche is huge. His friend possesses a formidable intellect, however. Avalanche has stood up to bullies for his companion, but it has been Whisper’s manipulations that have caused no end of trouble for the bullies in later months. The two are firm friends, and will be for life.

And nifty character-art commissioned from Jem (http://midnight.kaonashi.org/ - gallery, etc)
http://www.pbase.com/image/39361620.jpg

Mengtzu

02-03-2005, 06:20 PM

Dude, Whisper is a bit bishi!

Morsla

02-03-2005, 06:52 PM

A little, yeah... but when is that a bad thing? ;)

Mengtzu

02-03-2005, 07:04 PM

A little, yeah... but when is that a bad thing? ;)

It's not, I just didn't expect it.

There's some cute girls in the Sorcerer class, you know ^_^

Knight of Roses

02-08-2005, 01:24 PM

Mengtzu

02-08-2005, 03:15 PM

If you need part of a cadre to build NPCs and plot behind the PCs backs, you have a volunteer in me (and several others on this thread from what I can see).

It looks fantastic Kasumi, I look forward to reading more.

I'd more than welcome anyone posting up NPC ideas or cool schoolyard mysteries that I could steal :)

There will be more very shortly - first session is on Saturday!

kaoticrequiem

02-08-2005, 04:10 PM

I am so totally diggin' on this entire concept... o_o

I wanna steal it! ^^;;;;;;;

Hope your first game goes well!

kaoticrequiem

Mengtzu

02-10-2005, 02:35 AM

The Ordeal of the Mast - The Mast - Endurance

The Ordeal of the Mast is an ampitheatre of basalt and black jade, in the centre of which stands a tall ship's mast with saffron sails - the wind obeys the mast and always blows with great force to fill the sails, though it is a wind of terrible fatigue rather than any conventional force of air. This wind fills precisely half the arena, but the mast can be rotated by sufficiently hardy duelists.

Mandatory:

Wind: By Mast
Special: Mast starting direction by clique (default random)
Special: Diff 3 Stam + Endurance roll each turn in wind, or suffer 3 unsoakable dice of bashing damage. +3 difficulty to be hit while in wind.
Special: The Mast: dice bonuses for Endurance stunts doubled.

Optional:

Audience: Present
Field Access: 0
Virtue Aspect: Temperance
Familiars: Forbidden
Summoned Beings: None
Elemental Aspect: Air
Lighting, Rain, Flood: as per weather.

Stables of the Fleet Messenger - The Messenger - Ride

A cirucular arena ringed with large and well appointed stables, filled with all varieties of strange creatures. Oftentimes, a creature's stable-gate will open, and it will charge across the field to the opposing stable. Sweet words and empathy can sometimes tempt forth a beast to act as a mount.

Mandatory

Familiars: Allowed
Summoned Beings: Both, Five
Special: A random animal may charge the field in any given turn.
Special: Charisma + Ride with a difficulty equal an animal's control rating will bring it out of its stable to act as a mount. This is a Simple Tactics action.
Special: The Messenger: dice bonuses for Ride stunts doubled.

Optional:

Audience: Present
Field Access: 1 hour
Virtue Aspect: Compassion
Elemental Aspect: None
Wind, Lighting, Rain, Flood: as per weather.

Flagship of the Victorious Captain - The Captain - Sail

A light First Age warship of exquisite construction, the Flagship sails the school's lagoon during battles, maintaining a swift circular course if left to its own devices. The ship respects only a mighty captain, and will turn against the foes of any who can tame it with a terrible fury, seeking to tip them into the waters! The name of the field is something of a misnomer, however, for the lagoon is the field itself, and the ship but its most prominent feature.

Mandatory

Special: Balance roll threshold for wind is Force 5
Special: Anyone at the wheel may take a Simple Tactics action to take control of the ship, with a Wits + Sail dice pool. This roll is resisted if multiple attempts are made in the turn. Extra successes become the difficulty of a mandatory balance roll for all foes at the beginning of the next turn.
Special: The Captain: dice bonuses for Sail stunts doubled.

Optional:

Familiars: Forbidden
Summoned Beings: none
Audience: Not Present
Field Access: 0 hour
Virtue Aspect: None
Elemental Aspect: Water
Lighting, Rain, Flood: as per weather.
Wind: Force 7

The Inescapable Hardship Rendered as Ship's Wheel - The Ship's Wheel - Survival

The Inescapable Hardship Rendered as Ship's Wheel is a spherical pagoda surrounded by a veritable orrery of vast wooden ships' wheels, driven in arythmic and wild patterns by demons lashed to their handles. It has but one entrace, usuable only when the wheels align correctly - and who can know when that shall be? Thus, those trapped within on its spiralling and crashing pathways cannot know when they will be released. Each wheel inflicts a hardship as it turns, and none within the pagoda can know where they are or when a wheel's hardship - blizzard, fire, thirst, hunger, fatigue, quicksand, thin air or flood - will pass them over. Hence, only those who have sharpened the ability to survive under any circumstance will be victorious there.

Mandatory:

Audience: Not Present
Familiars: Allowed
Lighting, Wind, Rain, Flood: Randomly determined each turn (can be set by Tactics)
Field Access: 0
Special: Diff 3 Stamina + Survival roll each turn, or suffer -3 to all rolls for rest of turn.
Special: The Ship's Wheel: dice bonuses for Survival stunts doubled.

Optional:

Virtue Aspect: Temperance
Summoned Beings: None
Elemental Aspect: None

Mengtzu

02-10-2005, 03:11 AM

The Resplendent Peacock Gallery - The Peacock - Craft

The Resplendent Peacock Gallery is an exquisite structure of crystal, flowing water and tinted glass (or are they sheets of gemstone?), where workshops of every kind of craft, and maginificent specimens of every cultured art are on full display. The Peacocks are the most fashionable and urbane of noble youth, who watch each battle and creative work with equal measure of enthusiasm and criticism. Fortune smiles on those who please the Peacocks, but woe to those who shame themselves before them, or who break any of the precious art in their battles.

Mandatory:

Audience: Present
Familiars: Forbidden
Summoned Beings: Forbidden
Wind, Rain, Flood: None
Lighting: Daylight
Special: Breaking any art on display causes the next roll made by the breaker to automatically fail.
Special: After making any attack, defence, social or Craft roll with 10 or more successes, you may add your Craft in successes to your next roll.
Special: The Peacock: dice bonuses for Craft stunts doubled.

Optional:

Virtue Aspect: None
Elemental Aspect: None
Field Access: 6 hours

The Oubliette of the Ewer - The Ewer - Dodge

A maze-like tangle of glass dungeon corridors, through which a constant ankle-deep stream of wine runs, the Oubliette is filled with every dastardly trap and torture device imagineable. It is literally impossible to move through it without coming under assault!

Mandatory:

Audience: Not Present
Field Access: 0
Special: Each turn, the Oubliette makes an unparryable three-success attack against every being within it, doing 3 unsoakable lethal damage.
Special: The Ewer: dice bonuses for Dodge stunts are doubled.

Optional:

Virtue Aspect: None
Elemental Aspect: None
Lighting: Torch
Wind, Rain: None
Flood: Ankle-deep
Familiars: None
Summoned Beings: None

The Thrice-Mazed Pillar - The Pillar - Linguistics

The Thrice-Mazed Pillar is an enormous tower of white jade, with a coiling double-helix staircase wrapping about its exterior. It constantly draws the clouds at its top into silvery writing that spirals down the column, and if a battle takes place there, it warns each warrior of her opponent's next move in a tongue she does not understand.

Mandatory:

Special: By making a Diff 3 Int + Linguistics tactics action, you may add 3 successes to your next defence.
Special: The Pillar: dice bonuses for Linguistics stunts are doubled.

Optional:

Audience: Present
Field Access: 0
Virtue Aspect: None
Elemental Aspect: None
Lighting: As Weather
Wind, Rain, Flood: As Weather
Familiars: None
Summoned Beings: None

The Musician's Podium - The Musician - Performance

A grand temple-like pavillion of three free-floating tiers, the Podium is a magnificent stage with exquisite acoustics, and a concealed orchestra-pit where unseen musicians provide the perfect accompaniment to any battle. A duel here without fail draws anyone who admires or loathes the participants - it will have nothing but an audience who are emotionally invested in the outcome!

Mandatory:

Audience: Present
Special: Audience control bonuses benefit all rolls.
Special: The Podium: dice bonuses for Performance stunts doubled.

Optional:

Familiars: Forbidden
Summoned Beings: Forbidden
Wind, Rain, Flood: None
Lighting: Daylight
Virtue Aspect: None
Elemental Aspect: None
Field Access: 1 day

Teahouse of the Indiscreet Lovers - The Lovers - Socialise

The very definition of elegance, this delightful floating teahouse is hung with silks, scented with the most delicate of incense, staffed by the most discreet of servants, and enjoys the finest view of the Podium in all the Garden. It is considered a mark of the greatest refinement to duel here, though it is dangerous - the slightest misstep in duelling ettiquette, or causing the teahouse to rock upon its tiny lake shames a warrior. Furthermore, the heady aroma of young love that fills the establishment moves even the hardest heart, bringing one closer to one's enemies in spite of oneself.

Mandatory:

Audience: Present
Wind, Rain, Flood: None
Lighting: Candle
Familiars: Forbidden
Summoned Beings: Forbidden
Virtue Aspect: Compassion
Special: May only choose Social + Combat or Social + Tactics for actions.
Special: Any failed Athletics roll, attack causing 15 or more raw damage, or other means of rocking the teahouse causes the clique to lose a point of Reputation until their next duel.
Special: Must make a reflexive diff 3 Manipulation + Socialise social action each turn or suffer a two dice shame penalty to all rolls for the remainder of the turn.
Special: The Lovers: dice bonuses for Socialise stunts doubled.

Optional:

Elemental Aspect: None
Field Access: 0

Mengtzu

02-10-2005, 03:27 AM

I should add that it's a lot easier coming up with cool names by riffing on the constellations than it is to make cool fighting arenas based on those names.

I mean, what am I going to do with the Key Ensnarled in Meticulous Webs?

OK, obviously that's going to be an array of crystal spiderwebs over an abyss where gemstone spider-automatons present the duellists with enigmas whose solution leads to a key which can be used to destroy the webs. But you get my point.

Mengtzu

02-10-2005, 03:53 AM

Magnificent Hall of the Banner - The Banner - Presence

A long hall of rivetted iron, in which hangs a banner from every battle fought between the Dragon-Blooded as a nation and another force since the birth of the Shogunate. These banners are impervious to all damage, and billow majestically when a duellist sharing an allegiance with them is nearby.

Mandatory:

Audience: Not Present
Virtue Aspect: Valour
Special: Audience Control rolls made despite lack of audience, however Presence is used in place of Performance, and Connections or Backing in any military-related field (including Great Houses or House of Bells) in place of Groupies.
Special: The Banner: dice bonuses for Presence stunts doubled.

Optional:

Lighting: Torch
Wind, Rain, Flood: None
Elemental Aspect: None
Field Access: 0
Familiars: Allowed.
Summoned Creatures: Both, Five (must be in Mail & Steel units)
Special: Magnitude of followers per duelist 0 (up to 2)

Menangerie of the Thrice-Forged Shield - The Shield - Resistance

A triangular jungle surrounded by vast walls, the Menangerie is a place of savage beauty and unmatched peril, where the most viciously poisonous species of plants, the most horribly venemous beasts and the most terrible contagions thrive. When fighting through its fierce twisting vines, only the hardiest can hope to survive with their blood running pure!

Mandatory:

Elemental Aspect: Wood
Special: Must make a reflexive Diff 3 Stamina + Resistance roll or suffer Poison Snake Venom (Diff 2, 1L/4L, -2, 4 hours) each turn and each time wounded.
Special: The Shield: dice bonuses for Resistance stunts doubled.

Optional:

Audience: Not Present
Lighting: Torch
Wind, Rain, Flood: As weather
Virtue Aspect: None
Field Access: 0
Familiars: Not Allowed.
Summoned Creatures: None

Mengtzu

02-10-2005, 04:31 AM

Key Ensnarled in Meticulous Webs - The Key - Investigation

A tapestry of thick crystal spider webs, which cause riddles to shimmer in the air when light is shone through them, stretched over a seemingly bottomless abyss. Automaton spiders of various gemstones scuttle about posing enigmas, the solving of which unlocks the true paths through the seemingly chaotic array of webs, leading to a key. The key, when touched to the edge of an area of web, causes that web to unravel and vanish, dooming any standing upon it.

Mandatory:

Field Access: 0
Special: You may take a Simple Tactics action to roll Intelligence + Investigation as an extended action. The first to 20 successes finds the key. The key may be used as a Simple Tactics action to cause someone to fall from the web by removing the web on which they stand.
Special: Falling from the web removes you from the battle - you appear, Incapacitated with bashing damage, outside the building.
Special: The Key: dice bonuses for Investigation stunts are doubled.

Optional:

Audience: Not Present
Lighting: Torch
Wind, Rain, Flood: As weather
Virtue Aspect: None
Elemental Aspect: None
Familiars: Not Allowed.
Summoned Creatures: None

The Lair of the Unsleeping Guardians - The Guardians - Larcency

A dank and wet bluestone and diamond cave whose roof is obscured by an intense silver light, the Laid has five tiny emerald beetles at its centre. Anyone in possession of one of these beetles who does not know they have it is attacked from on high by one of the Guardians, as is any who attempts to steal one of the diamonds from the walls.

Mandatory:

Field Access: 0
Special: A diff 7 Dex + Larcency tactics action allows a duellist to steal one of the diamonds. Failing this roll incurs an attack from the Guardians.
Special: If you have one of the beetles, you may make a Dex + Larcency tactics action to place it upon a target, resisted by their Perception + Awareness. If they fail, they are attacked by a Guardian at the start of the next turn.
Special: The Guardians: dice bonuses for Larcency stunts are doubled.

Optional:

Audience: Present
Lighting: Daylight
Wind, Rain, Flood: None
Virtue Aspect: None
Elemental Aspect: None
Familiars: Not Allowed.
Summoned Creatures: None

The Winding Shelves Holding the Treasure Trove - The Treasure Trove - Lore

The Winding Shelves Holding the Treasure Trove is a dimly lit library whose shelves form an intricate maze, with long banners hanging from the roof stained with perfect calligraphy forming a rough catalogue. Those who spare a moment in battle to pluck forth a book and read a passage is usually granted a helpful piece of wisdom (usually a tale of their opponent's ancestors or teachers), but the attention demanded by the exceedingly fine script of the books leaves one vulnerable!

Mandatory:

Lighting: Torch
Wind, Rain, Flood: None
Special: By taking a combined Combat and Tactics Simple action (ie it consumes both dice actions), rolling an Intelligence + Lore pool, you gain a dice bonus equal to the successes rolled on all pools opposing a single foe next turn.
Special: The Treasure Trove: dice bonuses for Lore stunts are doubled.

Optional:

Familiars: None
Summoned Creatures: None
Audience: Present
Virtue Aspect: Temperance
Elemental Aspect: None
Field Access: 0

The Three-Tiered Garden of the Sorcerer - The Sorcerer - Occult

This magnificently cultured garden is indeed three-tiered, but none other than the Faculty know what is upon the second tier, and it is rumoured even they know nothing of the third. The garden has many open spaces for the practice of sorcery, and each plant is the home of a God who knows a secret of Sorcery. The gardeners are all First Circle Demons, who exist happily when there is sound, and go into beserk rages of absolute terror if there is ever silence.

Mandatory:

Summoned Creatures: Both, Five
Special: If a turn passes in silence for any reason, the demon-gardeners will instantly attack the closest object in the hopes of creating sufficient sound to keep away Adjoran (who mercifully will not arrive in any circumstance).
Special: Sorcery takes one less turn to cast.
Special: The Sorcerer: dice bonuses on Occult stunts are doubled.

Optional:

Familiars: Not Allowed
Audience: Present
Virtue Aspect: Conviction
Elemental Aspect: None
Field Access: 0
Lighting, Wind, Rain, Flood: As weather.

*NB: The Hidden Tabernacle of the Mask is technically a hidden field - while its existance is well known, nobody except the students and teacher(s?) of the Mask actually know where it is, and they seem reluctant to reveal its location, even for a duel in which they would have the advantage.

medivh

02-11-2005, 09:01 AM

It wasn't entirely obvious from the lil' Actual Play post, so what the devil happened? Socially, I mean? The "combat" part was obvious.

Mengtzu

02-11-2005, 03:43 PM

It wasn't entirely obvious from the lil' Actual Play post, so what the devil happened? Socially, I mean? The "combat" part was obvious.

Heh, sorry, I'll try to be clear.

Burning Orchid is the only one of the characters who will not be a first-year student at the start of the game, having attended the school the year before. While a Fire Dragon Form practitioner, and the favoured student of Sifu Flute of the Sword Dojo, she did not join a clique. She spent most of her year watching the cliques clash in the dueling fields. Some assumed she did not wish to fight, while the more insightful deduced she was merely awaiting her time.

At the very end of the year, having learned all she could, Orchid decided to enter the Seven Tiered Heavenly Road as dramatically as possible. To that end, she challenged the Ragara Braves (a tier 7 clique) to a duel for their rings, with the proviso that if she lost she would serve them as they wished. They agreed without hesitation - initially intending to swap in the Immaculate-trained Orchid for one of their weaker fighters and begin climbing the ranks. This duel was outside the auspices of the Heavenly Road, and could not take place upon an activated field (hence no protection from death, extra social actions or any of the normal trappings of a Garden duel), but the temptation of gaining a Fire Dragon practitioner was too much for them.

Word quickly spread (amidst the normal teenage dramatics of who would be taking who to the ball), but unbeknownst to Orchid, matters changed dramatically after the Grand Banquet, where the students' parents or guardians gathered together to celebrate their children's success. This year, the event was highly political, as the Emperor was of course in attendance, along with the Chumyo of the Seventh Legion, and more distantly related worthies such as the Roseblack and Mnemon arrived to confront the Emperor in "neutral" territory. During the banquet, the Roseblack showed obvious favour towards Orchid (possibly attempting to sway her allegiance from the Emperor - as a child of House Tepet and House Cathak alike, this would be a powerful symbol). This enraged Tepet Arada Kusai of the Righteous Promoters of Imperial Destiny clique, since it undermined his attempt to build credibility by claiming to be the heir to Arada's position.

Kusai took a very direct approach - with a combination of seduction, pressure tactics and bribery, he convinced the Ragara Braves to attempt to kill Orchid on the day of the duel.

Hence, the duel, witnessed by everyone of any importance in the school (including the Faculty in polite disguise), began more savagely than Orchid expected (partly, I suspect, as miss-rynn realised that daiklaves swinging at unarmoured flesh was a bad, bad thing!). The Fire Dragon's training kicked in, and in a blaze of essence, Orchid defeated the Braves, killing Ragara Van in the process.

There was a stunned silence - deaths had happened at the school before, but this death occured in front of hundreds of witnesses, and by decapitation (traditionally difficult to cover up). Sifu Falcon swiftly took control of matters, scattering the crowd, and leaving Orchid at the Faculty's mercy.

Strangely, Orchid wasn't expelled or handed over to the magistrates. She collected the five rings of her defeated foes, but it is known she is undergoing some sort of punishment for her deed. Presumeably Mistress Azure, the dominie, is aware of Kusai's interference, but has not acted against him either. No doubt she does not want trivialities such as the death of a relatively unimportant Ragara to interfere with the Seven Tiered Heavenly Road, but it remains to be seen what sort of precedent has been set.

Most of the students at the school were shocked by Orchid's raw power (few realising they had just seen a demonstration of the Tiger And Bear Unity charm), but actual social problems did not catch up to her until her return to the school for the start of the new year. Orchid has picked up a new enemy - Ragara Sien, the beautiful and manipulative leader of the Poisoned Teakettle Society, who has decided that she must have Ledaal Shinta, the famed sword prodigy and protege of the Emperor, who has been loosely romantically linked with Orchid. Sien has decided that it is necessary to retard Orchid's progress through the Seven Tiers, and hence is doing her best to make the Sixth Tier cliques unwilling to duel Orchid and her hand-picked clique of promising First Years. Not only has she convinced them that they would lose in humiliating fashion, she has also attached a social stigma to the wearing of Ragara Van's duelling ring, currently upon Orchid's finger. No-one wants a guaranteed trip to the Seventh Tier wearing a murder victim's ring.

And that was Orchid's prelude, and pretty much where the game will be beginning in about four hours' time for the first session - convincing someone, anyone, to fight the PCs!

...four hours! I'm so not ready...

Mengtzu

02-11-2005, 06:02 PM

The Fields of the Rising Smoke - The Rising Smoke - Athletics

The Fields of the Rising Smoke is a battlefield bristling with sword blades, whose soil smokes constantly with the heat of every battlefield pyre in the world - thus, you must dance from blade to blade or your feet will burn!

Mandatory:

Elemental Aspect: Fire
Special: Anyone whose feet touch the soil of the Field is affected as if by a bonfire (Diff 3/2L/6L). This damage may only be soaked by Stamina and fire-resistance effects.
Special: You must make a balance roll each turn to stand upon the blades. If you roll only 1 success, you do not fall but take 1L combat damage from the blade. Throwing someone against a blade does 4L combat damage + extra successes on clinch or throw roll + 1 damage per remaining yard of throw distance.
Special: The Risking Smoke: dice bonuses on Athletics stunts are doubled.

Optional:

Familiars: Not Allowed
Summoned Creatures: None
Audience: Present
Virtue Aspect: None
Field Access: 0
Lighting, Wind, Rain, Flood: As weather.

The Inauspicious Eyrie of the Crow - The Crow - Awareness

Atop a tower of dark amethyst, a murder of crows sits in judgement of the school and its battles. Those that sense the malicious intent of the crows may gain their approval by attacking the fighter that has earned their ire.

Mandatory:

Audience: Not Present
Special: By making a Diff 3 Perception + Awareness tactics roll, you may identify one of the two targets of the crows' ire this turn (determined randomly, one on each clique). The first damage dice rolled against that target in any attack by an attacker who has succeeded the Awareness roll is considered an automatic success. Anyone who has succeeded the Awareness roll may freely parry for such a target, adding their essence in successes to the parry roll.
Special: The Crow: dice bonuses on Awareness stunts are doubled.

Optional:

Familiars: Not Allowed
Summoned Creatures: None
Virtue Aspect: Conviction
Elemental Aspect: None
Field Access: 0
Lighting, Wind, Rain, Flood: As weather.

Arbane the Terrible

02-12-2005, 01:21 AM

So, how did it go?

Mengtzu

02-12-2005, 02:22 AM

It went well - ended up being a six hour session with all the school touring and social scheming, and it was very funny.

I'll AP it tomorrow.

Arbane the Terrible

02-12-2005, 02:33 AM

I'll AP it tomorrow.

Yay!

One question: Since the Gold Faction were the last ones standing, I presume they've got _some_ short-range* plan to get the Realm out of "KIll Solars On Sight" mode within the next 100 years or so. Any hints on how they plan to do this?

(*For Sidereals, 100 years _IS_ short-term. :D)

Morsla

02-12-2005, 04:13 AM

The gold aren't the only remnants... the newly formed faction comprised of the Sidereal PCs is actually a major force in Heaven now :)

Mengtzu

02-12-2005, 09:27 PM

Yay!

One question: Since the Gold Faction were the last ones standing, I presume they've got _some_ short-range* plan to get the Realm out of "KIll Solars On Sight" mode within the next 100 years or so. Any hints on how they plan to do this?

(*For Sidereals, 100 years _IS_ short-term. :D)

They plan to educate the next leader of the Dragon Blooded ^_^

Mengtzu

02-12-2005, 11:11 PM

Fairly low-key session to begin with (what with the enrolling in subject, tour of the school, finding out who your roommate is etc), but everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, and there was a lot of laughter.

Mnemon Corba's player was absent, so I won't go from my hazy character-creation memories to describe her, but we had:

Cathak Precious Burning Glory: an innocent Fire-Aspected girl of a mere fourteen years, Precious is the last hope of an obscure branch of the Cathak family that was cursed not to breed Exalted children. When the curse finally passed, however, it seemed the debt of Exalted essence was paid in full in a single child - Precious' breeding is the strongest in living memory, stronger even than that of her distant cousin Lysander. Precious desperately wants to do well at the Garden and make friends, but it seems Lysander has already identified her as a threat...

Iselsi Whispering Crystal: Whisper is the bishi sorcerer above :)

Tepet Salix: A boisterous and cheerful Wood-Aspected young man, Salix is amazingly theatrical in everything he does, drawing eyes wherever he goes through dint of good looks and effort. While his first love is the stage, he is also an expert archer.

Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid: A returning student from last year, Orchid is a prodigious Fire Dragon practitioner who entered the Seven Tiered Heavenly road by single handedly defeating an entire clique for their rings, killing one of their number in the process. She is attracting a legend about the school as a dnagerous girl, allegedly having spent the summer fighting alongside the Vermillion Legion, though how much of this is rumour spread by Ragara Sien, her rival for the affections of Ledaal Shinta, is unknown. At eighteen, Orchid is the oldest of the clique.

The game began in a puff of grass and rosebush leaves as a young woman in white robes rushed across the Rose Garden to launch the Six-Arm Spider Strike at Precious, her arms blurring until it seemed there were six of them. Shrieking from this unexpected assault, Precious shimmered and flickered out of the way like a candle flame. Another white-clad figure leapt over this battle, vaulting along a rose hedge (carefully avoiding the flowers) to slash out with the Simhata Hoof Attack at the slender form of Whispering Crystal, who flicked his cloak out in alarm and rolled between his attacker's legs. A third assailant briefly eclipsed the sun before hurtling down towards Salix, who gleefully cried "Ha-hah! A fellow actor!" drawing forth a slashing sword from a tattoo about his arm. Salix's charms allowed him to easily pass off his less-than-perfect defence as play acting for the benefit of the growing crowd of mortals, but he was fortunate that his armour saved him the worst of the blow (we later found out that the player had forgotten to add his Dexterity to his defence, but didn't twig because he expected DBs to have low pools ;)).

Then the two leaders of the Young Style Tigers, Raiton and Clawstrider, charged at Orchid, who stood beside the fountain, Raiton dashing down the structure with his lance set, Clawstrider sending up a gout of water as she hurtled through it with her daiklave. Orchid spun effortlessly behind the girl, slipping her short daiklaves under her arms to send her attacker's blade hurtling past Salix's ear and into the garden, before pushing her onto Raiton. As Clawstrider picked herself up and dashed after her blade, Orchid followed up with a daiklaive-hilt to Raiton's jaw, slamming him up into the inside curve of the fountain.

"Why are you doing this?" shouted Precious, swinging her daiklave in practiced, if not malicious, fashion. "Why can't we be friends?"

"We are friends!" insisted her attacker before thumping unconcious to the ground.

"We're just helping Orch.." added Whisper's assailant before Precious' follow-up claimed him too.

Unaware that he'd been rescued, Whisper decided movement was his best defence, and spied an opportunity for mischief - Clawstrider's daiklave in the garden. Seizing it, he grinned at her and vanished...at least from her sight. Everyone else could see him tucked behind the barest scrap of foliage, but he utterly eluded her gaze. Seeing Precious grapple Salix's attacker seconds later, Clawstrider sighed.

"That's a damn good clique you've got there, Orchid. We're glad we could help you test them out, but could we never, ever duel you again?"

Orchid smiled, as the thousands of students of the Garden began streaming in for the start of year assembly.

Uncharacteristically for one of my games, that little vignette was the only combat all session - they socialised and learned about the school for the rest of the time! What's the world coming to? I'll quickly describe their efforts below.

Mengtzu

02-12-2005, 11:56 PM

- Once everyone assembled, before the Faculty could arrive, the Irrepressible Disobedience Society and the Young Rascals stormed the freshly-erected stage to announce The Impossibly Reckless Orienteering and Spelunking Club (http://www.livejournal.com/users/bishi_wannabe/16468.html)

- The Dominie, Azure Blossom, announced that somehow the institution had attracted an unfortunate reputation as a hotbed of duelling societies, and that the Faculty would not be hearing any such stories again. She went on to name several more "forbidden" activities and areas, all of which are of course sacrificial anodes for the school's actual mysteries. The Faculty then administered the School Oath, a modified version of the Heptagram's, and even more necessary given the nature of the Garden.

- The Student Council President, Cathak Cainan Lysander, got up to talk about the role of the Student Council and the upcoming elections. He got more heckling from prominent duelists like Nellens Tsukasa, Tept Midday Storm and Mnemon Voruk than he expected, a sign of student politics heating up (http://www.livejournal.com/users/bishi_wannabe/16167.html)

- The students were divided into houses, and taken by the Faculty to their rooms. Orchid retained her old House Ivy room, empty as always - her roommate, Yushoto Haruka, lodges in one of the Towers of Starlit Anticipation as a tier 2 duellist. Whisper also was slated for House Ivy, and discovered that his roommate was a powerful sorcerer and keen demonologist by the name of Iselsi Tian (the Neomah maid and Erymanthus butler being luxuries few students had). Precious was allotted to House Cerulean, and made good friends with her roommate, Ragara San - the sister of the girl Orchid killed the year before. Finally, Salix, also in Cerulean, was overjoyed at his roomie, the dashing Sesus Syrkun Panache of the Threshing Floor Lordlings, a patron of the arts who delights in Salix's thespian antics!

- There was much discussing of classes (including explanations of the wierd classrooms), but eventually we got back to actual gaming. Orchid and Salix manipulated a somewhat shy Precious into accepting the position of clique Captain, and after a lot of joking around the name Harmonious Choir of Triumph was decided upon! With that out of the way, they had only to find a 6th Tier clique to duel them, and they'd be away! The trouble being, of course, that given Orchid's fearsome reputation, and Ragara Sien's poisoning of the waters against the clique, no-one wished to face them.

- Having decided to challenge the melee-heavy Threshing Floor Lordlings (http://www.livejournal.com/users/bishi_wannabe/17055.html), the Choir set about manipulating them into accepting. Being fairly well disposed to the gentlemanly clique (especially with Salix living with their captain!), they decided to use a roundabout route, attempting to get Tepet Midday Storm, whom the Lordlings looked up to as a shining example of heroic values, to order them to do it. Orchid and Storm had served together with the Vermillion legion over the holiday period (the Roseblack's idea of making sure the Tepet girls at this suddenly crucial school were worth a damn), and so Orchid hoped to influence her. They found her, with several hundred other students, at a rally in the "forbidden" Hunting Reserve forest, organised by The Tireless Youth-Against-Establishment Crusaders (Tsukasa, Bob and their dissident cronies) to raise awareness of issues facing the school and the Realm. Storm and her fierce rivals in the Scarlet Succession Restoration Society were both attempting to hijack the rally to push their own anti-Imperial/anti-Lysander political agendas. With some quick talking, Orchid managed to have the rally break up, but was not terribly successful in persuading Storm to order the duel - Storm declared she'd only do so if they promised to attempt to stop Lysander getting to the upcoming election debates.

- It all looked hopeless - protected by Ledaal Shinta and Cynis Ravanna, Lysander is virtually invincible. But Salix had a plan! Orchid had explained how obsessed with Yushoto Haruka the Council President was, and so Salix determined to stage a highly romantic play during the debate, with Haruka as the lead actress and himself as the star - Lysander wouldn't be able to resist storming it out of sheer jealousy. Not only was Haruka keen to do it (despite her profound lack of acting talent) just to annoy Lysander, but seemingly the theatrical young Wood Aspect made a bit of an impression on her (much to the delight of the player, doing a fist pumping "yeah!" after a great App + Presence roll!). Precious and Orchid teamed up to spread the word of the upcoming play, and soon the plan was in motion.

- Storm was sufficiently impressed as to instruct the Threshing Floor Lordlings to accept the duel. The negotiations were completed in the elegant surrounds of the Teahouse of the Indiscreet Lovers, with the duel set for the Fields of the Rising Smoke in seven days' time. The negotiations were swift and friendly, with the Lordlings stipulating the field would be aspected to Valour, and the Choir passing. It seems a grand opportunity for the Choir, but if they lose, they must spend seven days campaigning for the Young Heroes Righteousness front!

- Finally, the session closed with the mysterious, flute-like voice that served as the school's new announcement system declaring a one-off curfew from dusk to dawn...

I left out a lot of clique posturing, but they're busily manipulating already...looks like my tortured efforts to set up the conditions under which I could actually run a social/intrigue game are working!

Ubermonkey

02-13-2005, 12:57 AM

Yep Kasumi, you rock.

Oddly, this game reminds me of Enders Game and Unreal Tournament! :eek:

Mengtzu

02-13-2005, 01:27 AM

Yep Kasumi, you rock.

Oddly, this game reminds me of Enders Game and Unreal Tournament! :eek:

Two of my players slammed Ender's Game into my hands when they heard the premise of this game ^_^

MorpheousXO

02-13-2005, 03:15 AM

harkon

02-13-2005, 03:22 AM

Inspiration from Ender's Game? DAMN IT!!! I WANT TO PLAY I LOVE THAT BOOK OMGWTFBBQ!!! Heehee, seriously, though, I do love that book, and most Exalted fans want to play with Kasumi as ST, so... yeah... :(

I think Kasumi was a fellow PC is fairly good too. Now if Morsla was the ST as well...

Mengtzu

02-13-2005, 03:32 PM

Inspiration from Ender's Game? DAMN IT!!! I WANT TO PLAY I LOVE THAT BOOK OMGWTFBBQ!!! Heehee, seriously, though, I do love that book, and most Exalted fans want to play with Kasumi as ST, so... yeah... :(

Technically it's more Utena than Ender, but there is an influence there...

...a *lot* more sex than Ender's Game, though. Infinitely more, I think :)

Knight of Roses

02-16-2005, 04:07 PM

My attempt to provide someone useful for your game. Does this look usable?

Five Furious Winds of Imperial Retribution

Fifth Circle Duelling Society

Founded by a militant, in all meanings of the word, group all of whom are the sons of career military officers. The Winds advocate an expansion of the Empires military and a national crusade to force the parts of the Empire that have slipped from Imperial control back within the Empire. As well as campaign to crush pirates and a general movement of the military to the primary sphere of the Empire. They see the failing of the Empire in a failure to embrace what must be done and that what must be done is to take fire and sword to all those who oppose the Empire’s will.
The Winds exemplify their militarism both in their choice of uniform cut and in activities. They actively promote martial training at all levels and encourage all of their fellow students (often loudly) to take up military careers. They have all had at least a short term of service in the Imperial military between terms.
The Winds are loosely aligned with the other traditionalist blocs in the school and oppose any who (in their view) aim to weaken or diminish the Empire.
[Real world equivalents would be a mix between Japanese right-wing militants and overzealous ROTC members.]

Captain Sharnal Spear of Fire (Fire)

Unusually calm and controlled by a fire aspect, Sharnal must constantly reign in his tendency to be a martinet as he knows that it drive off those who “have not yet disciplined their souls”. Obsessively correct in act and speech, his precision with his weapon is feared.

He is tall and slender, with ash coloured hair and bright blue eyes. He has already acquired quite a few scars from combats and accidents.

Vice Captain Rolash Vann (Water)

Rolash keeps the Winds records and schedules, he know where each member is at all times. While one of nature’s bureaucrats, his martial skills should not be underestimated. He is also a superb fixer, able to get needed items or information through official or unofficial channels as needed. Rolash is very soft-spoken but he is a keen observer and can make cutting observations when needed.

Rolash is of average height with dark blond hair and green eyes. He alway carries a writing slate and a copybook with him.

Standard Bearer Holami Tandrou (Earth)

Holami is the combat lead of the Winds, when not in class he will inevitably be found practising. His father was a great hero who died famously, if tragically, covering the retreat of his legion. Holami has his father’s enchanted sword, “Sunkiller”, but would not use if in combat against another dragon blooded unless his honour was on the line. Holami is quiet and stoic at all times.

Holami is a massive slab of muscle, his black hair is close cropped and he dark brown eyes are guarded. He moves slowly almost ponderously, except in combat.

Messenger Kom Shindari (Air)

Kom is the youngest and most playful of the Winds, he enjoys running about delivering messages and exploring the school grounds. He is one of the more knowledgeable people when it comes to the physical layout of the school (a talent the rest of the Winds are happy to exploit). He is the most likely of the Winds to exchange banter and gossip.

Kom is willowy and swift, with blond hair so pale it is almost white and eyes the colour of the sky. Between classes he often goes barefooted.

Healer Modori Shavaland (Wood)

Modori prefers persuasion to combat, but that does not mean he believes in the goals of the Winds less than any of the other members, he just thinks that their aggression would be better directed outward. A good listener and skilled healer, his is often sought out bu those who have had ‘accidents’, he generally asks for attendance at one of the Winds training/ propaganda sessions in payment for such aid though he will occasionally ask for other favors.

Modori is of average height or a little below and stocky, he keeps his head shaved and his eyes are a dark brown. He always wears a satchel containing basic healing supplies and a book or two.

Mengtzu

02-16-2005, 04:13 PM

Awesome! Do these kids have any Great House affiliations?

Knight of Roses

02-16-2005, 04:28 PM

Well, I will have to leave to you to detail as:

1) I have never played Exalted, so my grasp of the background is limited.

2) I cannot get to my Exalted books that I do have, as I am recovering from having broken my leg in three places last week.

But my initial thoughts would be yes.

Mengtzu

02-16-2005, 04:39 PM

Knight of Roses

02-16-2005, 05:40 PM

Heh, NP, I'll slot them into Great Houses, and make the surnames you've chosen Households (so like Ragara Vann Rolash)
Sounds great. I look forward to the next game update.

As I have more ideas, I will post them up here.

Mengtzu

03-01-2005, 07:17 PM

The Irrepressible Mischievous Messenger
Volume 2, Issue 2

ROSE OF VENUS - VICTORY FOR FIRST-YEAR IN A STUNNING DEBUT!

The Calligraphy In Snow Sisterhood under Ledaal Xiaoyu, along with the Poison Teakettle Society under Ragara Sien, have begun holding a regular contest of romantic prowess, known as the ROSE OF VENUS! Two contestants of the same gender vie to impress three judges (two of the opposite gender, one of the same) with romantic approaches based on a theme chosen by the competition compare, the dashing Sesus Syrkun Panache of the Threshing Floor Lordlings! The winner selects one of the judges for an intimate date, and wins the assistance of that judge in one future matter.

In the very first contest, two young women of the same clique faced each other in romantic battle! Mnemon Korba and Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid (both of the Harmonious Chorus of Triumph) vied for the hearts of judges Ledaal Xiaoyu, Sesus Alakai of the Four Peony and One Lily Brotherhood, and the surprise mystery judge - Ledaal Shinta of the Student Council! Orchid contested bravely, but could not quite overcome Korba's undeniable natural beauty. In a surprise move, Korba chose Sesus Alakai - the one judge who voted for Orchid over her - for her date!

This contest really worries me - sure, it's a bit of fun, but look the judges - they're all high-ranking duellists. What are they getting out of this? And look at who's backing it - the Calligraphy in Snow Sisterhood is relatively benign, but Ragara Sien is a viper. What she standing to gain, and how did she persuade luminaries like Shinta to dance like monkeys to her tune?

I got to be a judge - it was great!

HOUSE SPORTS - NEW GAMES DESIGNED TO GIVE OTHER SCHOOLS A FIGHTING CHANCE

Tryouts for House Sports were held yesterday, and three options were presented for aspiring competitors - Hesiesh's Dance, a ball game, Urban Hunt, a monster hunting competition, and D'annad's Gateway, a speed-Gateway variant based largely on cheating. Master Carolus, who designed all three games, judges that they are more likely to give lesser schools, like the House of Bells and the Spiral Academy, something of a chance when competing against our astonishingly talented student body. Most expect us to win handily anyway.

The first competition was a game of Hesiesh's Dance held between members of the Harmonious Chorus of Triumph clique, with Mnemon Korba (attacker) and Cathak Precious Burning Glory (goalkeeper) of House Cerulean against Burning Orchid (attacker) and Iselsi Whispering Crystal (goalkeeper) of House Ivy. The object is for the attacker to strike a jade ball into a goal, and for the goalkeeper of the opposing team to prevent them. Where possible, a goalkeeper will pass the ball to their attacker, but usually it's a competition of athletic prowess between the attackers to win the strike! The game was furious and fast-paced, but the two sides were evenly matched - in the end, only Orchid's martial arts skills, and Whisper's trickery managed to seal them the win with the requisite three goals.

Horrendous injuries from the use of the Devil-Tiger of Larjyn in the Urban Hunt try-outs were limited to mortals.

Hey! Mortal students are people too! They bleed just like any of us!

Actually, they bleed MORE. It's just their parents don't complain as much about injuries and fatalities.

GROUNDSKEEPER'S MONSTER LARGER THAN ANTICIPATED - MYSTERY SOLVED WITH DISCOVERY OF GIANT ROCK KRAKEN

An important victory for the Harmonious Chorus of Triumph in the first round of the Impossibly Reckless Orienteering and Spelunking Society's season! Where other cliques failed, they managed to sneak into the Groundskeeper's shed, pass by his magically sealed doors, and fire themselves through some sort of magical catapult straight down through miles of solid rock, all in search of the Groundskeeper's pet monster! Reportedly, they happened on a group of beasts - tentacled, rubbery black creatures identified as Cephalids - and having attacked them in hopes of securing trophies (or possibly to avoid being eaten), seemed well on their way to collecting the 4 Pranking Points allocated to this mystery. However, they soon found these were mere vermin beside the Groundskeeper's actual pet - a huge Rock Kraken that blocked their escape, before pursuing them down a winding crystal spiral passageway, which clique and beast alike slid down helplessly while locked in battle! Thankfully, all members of the clique returned safely, having eventually slain the beast despite their mortal peril.

Anyone visiting those Iselsi boys Whispering Crystal and Tian - don't sit on that inviting-looking soft couch. It's actually a giant Rock Kraken brain. You've been warned.

SEVEN TIERED HEAVENLY ROAD RESULTS

The duelling season has just begun, but already there has been movement - the Heroes of the New Day clique, a new clique of first-year students (mostly Outcastes!), has already thrown down the Petitioners to Mela in the Magnificent Hall of the Banner, taking their rings and ascending to the sixth tier! Forest Dawn, the Haltan captain of the clique, performed magnificently, defeating Cathak Cainan Miriam in personal combat, while Ragara San (sister of Ragara Van, killed in a "training accident" by Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid last year), the only Dynast of the new clique, showed unexpected skill and power, marking herself out as one to watch.

If you missed the duel, you missed not only one hell of a debut, but some fierce politics - Forest Dawn is using the daiklave of Tepet himself, lost along with Tepet Arada deep in the Haltan forests! Unsurprisingly, Tepet Arada Kusai took exception to this, resulting in an angry clash between Forest Dawn, Kusai, Burning Orchid, and eventually Mnemon Venemous Rose in the centre of the duelling arena! Keep an eye on this one, folks - it's not yet over.

Next duel on the cards is between the Harmonious Chorus of Triumph and the Threshing Floor Lordlings on the Fields of the Rising Smoke - while the match is reputedly a friendly one, expect a big crowd, all eager to see how Burning Orchid's hand-picked warriors fare in their first duel!

Knight of Roses

03-01-2005, 07:28 PM

Mengtzu

03-01-2005, 07:32 PM

Awesome, Kasumi, as always.

Sounds like a fun set of interactions as the school gets explored and fleshed out. How did you resolve the romantic prowess contest? It sounds like great fun.

I played one of the judges, and each of the two players not competing played another. The competing players would take turns to make their romance stunt (the theme was Starlight, incidentally) to a judge, who would then assign a stunt bonus. They then rolled opposed [Appearance or Charisma] + Presence checks (I'd allow a good stunt to substitute another ability, though), with the winner gaining that judge's vote. Then on to the next judge. 2/3 judges wins the contest!

Incandecent Illumination

03-01-2005, 07:32 PM

this is awsome.

Ranko

03-02-2005, 02:58 AM

One of my mods (on a L5R fan board) is called Kusai, and he lives in Australia - coincidence or an X-File?

'cause if Nick is in this game I am going to get jelaous, upset and puffy :)

Mengtzu

03-02-2005, 03:14 PM

One of my mods (on a L5R fan board) is called Kusai, and he lives in Australia - coincidence or an X-File?

'cause if Nick is in this game I am going to get jelaous, upset and puffy :)

Coincidence. Kusai is an NPC :)

Morsla

03-02-2005, 06:03 PM

Long live the couch! Actually, wood essence from Elemental Empowerment will ensure that it really does live long... In the hope that there's a sympathetic magic involved, Whisper does most of his book-learning study while lounging around on the Kraken brain.

And having the weedy sorceror clinch a cephalid to death was cool. Sure, it was massively wounded by Precious... but it's still the only thing Whisper has killed in non-magical combat :)

Ubermonkey

03-02-2005, 06:13 PM

Cool stuff, and therefore, I cry more, more.

I petition we capture Kasumi and his group and force them to run games of awe inspiring coolness for our entertainment.

Mengtzu

03-02-2005, 06:20 PM

Cool stuff, and therefore, I cry more, more.

I petition we capture Kasumi and his group and force them to run games of awe inspiring coolness for our entertainment.

We're playing again on Saturday!

I've got something fun cooked up, but even if that doesn't work, we still have the first duel. Yay!

OTOH, I'm statting out way too many DBs...all my stock ones have too much XP on them >_<

Mengtzu

03-05-2005, 03:47 AM

The Irrepressible Mischievous Messenger
Volume 2, Issue 3

HIGH DRAMA AT THE PODIUM - SETS BURNED, HARUKA'S HEART KINDLED?

Conveniently timed to coincide with the Student Council Elections debate in the Rose Garden, Tepet Salix of the Harmonious Chorus of Victory put on a grand performance of "The Star-Crossed Lovers", starring himself and Yushoto Haruka of the Lance of Deheleshen! Stunningly, Haruka performed not in her customary Dragon Armour, but a magnificent red silk dress, her astonishing beauty more than compensating for her...inexperience...with acting. A huge crowd arrived, and Salix soon had them eating from the palm of his hand - and seemingly, was making quite an impact on the normally cold-hearted Haruka!

Turmoil soon erupted, however - Cathak Cainan Lysander, School Council President, arrived on stage, rather than attending the Debate, striding on as a surprise third actor! The play quickly devolved into ad-libbing, but Lysander and Salix's skills effortlessly kept the narrative intact. They struggled for control of the story (and Haruka's affections), with Lysander impressing the crowd, but Salix seemingly succeeding with the Lookshy Fire-Aspect. Meanwhile, above the stage, Whispering Crystal, Precious Burning Glory and Korba of the Chorus were desperately fighting off the Petitioners to Mela, who were trying to cut the curtain ropes, and end the performance, hoping to get Lysander to the debate. Neither side wanted to ruin the acting with noise, fighting their battle in silence, until eventually Precious and Korba stole most of their opponents' weapons, while Whisper held the pulley system together single-handed.

Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid joined as a fourth actor (critics may object to four actors in a play designed for two and a cast of shadow puppets, but we at the Mischievous Messenger heartily approve of actors who are on fire!), and unsurprisingly ended up in a fight with Lysander, though still in the context of the narrative! Both Orchid and her opponent were wounded by each others' animas, and as the set and curtains caught afire, Salix retreated off stage with Haruka, claiming a victory in her eyes, if not all of the crowd's. Rumour has it that Lysander disarmed Orchid's vicious off-stage attack with a magnificent and dashing kiss, so perhaps the whole matter could be called a mutual victory!

Unsurprisingly, in Lysander's absence the Stability-Amidst-Tumult Patriotism Movement fared poorly at the debates, Mnemon Venemous Rose performing as magnificently as ever, but badly outnumbered by the Young Heroes Righteousness Front, Scarlet Succession Restoration Society, Unity In Diversity Party and the rabble-rousing Tireless Youth-Against-Establishment Crusaders.

Salix and Lysander were so dashing...oooh...which will Haruka choose?

OK, Alyssa's reaction makes me think this scheme of Tepet Midday Storm's may have backfired on her - sure, Lysander missed the debate, but I have a nasty feeling most of the students care more about the resulting romantic triangle than student politics.

SEVEN TIERED HEAVENLY ROAD RESULTS

Next duel on the cards is between the Harmonious Chorus of Triumph and the Threshing Floor Lordlings on the Fields of the Rising Smoke - while the match is reputedly a friendly one, expect a big crowd, all eager to see how Burning Orchid's hand-picked warriors fare in their first duel!

Remarkably well, as it turns out. The Harmonious Chorus of Triumph never looked even slightly worried by their sporting, yet clearly out-classed opposition, making the Fields of the Rising Smoke their own. Tepet Salix did not once move from the sword blade on which he balanced, staying out of combat in favour of keeping the crowd pumped and on the Chorus' side. Mnemon Korba had the most difficulty, repeatedly targeted by her allies' attacks courtesy of the Threshing Floor Lordlings' undying affection for the Safety Amongst Enemies charm, but even so emerged unharmed and showing remarkable skill with her Lighting Torment Hatchets. The big stars were Iselsi Whispering Crystal and Cathak Precious Burning Glory - Whispering Crystal following a devastating early Thunderwolf's Howl with invincible tactical control of the field, shaping it to his whim, while Precious dodged everything the Lordlings threw at her, turning their own trademark of Safety Amongst Enemies against them. Burning Orchid showed her customary power, her unorthodox Fire Dragon style clearly outclassing her competition.

The match was swift and decisive, but the Lordlings were gracious in defeat, handing over their rings and wishing their opponents all the best. Hopefully they'll be out of the Hopeful Pyre of the Corpse soon.

The Chorus are GOOD. Watch out, everyone, I don't think they'll slow until the 4th tier at least. I don't know what they'll do to convince a 5th tier clique to fight them.

I'm still the most powerful sorcerer in the school, but I don't anticipate that state lasting more than about two to three months. Whispering Crystal is a matchless prodigy - these low-tier cliques have no hope against him, or his similarly-talented compatriots.

In unrelated news, black-market deals in anti-sorcery artifacts available now through the Impossibly Reckless Orienteering and Spelunking Society!

Arbane the Terrible

03-05-2005, 04:28 AM

Turmoil soon erupted, however - Cathak Cainan Lysander, School Council President, arrived on stage, rather than attending the Debate, striding on as a surprise third actor! The play quickly devolved into ad-libbing, but Lysander and Salix's skills effortlessly kept the narrative intact. They struggled for control of the story (and Haruka's affections), with Lysander impressing the crowd, but Salix seemingly succeeding with the Lookshy Fire-Aspect. Meanwhile, above the stage, Whispering Crystal, Precious Burning Glory and Korba of the Chorus were desperately fighting off the Petitioners to Mela, who were trying to cut the curtain ropes, and end the performance, hoping to get Lysander to the debate. Neither side wanted to ruin the acting with noise, fighting their battle in silence, until eventually Precious and Korba stole most of their opponents' weapons, while Whisper held the pulley system together single-handed.

Sheer genius. I like the way you found something for each PC to do.

Mengtzu

03-05-2005, 04:45 AM

Sheer genius. I like the way you found something for each PC to do.

I just had Lysander and the Petitioners rock up. The players did most of it themselves :)

Knight of Roses

03-05-2005, 10:27 AM

The impromptu play must have been magnificent to play out! I hope it was as fun as it sounds.

Sound like personal and public politics are becoming intertwined as they should in such a game.

What sort of NPC stats are you looking for?

Mengtzu

03-06-2005, 03:19 PM

The impromptu play must have been magnificent to play out! I hope it was as fun as it sounds.

Yes! Everyone had a blast.

What sort of NPC stats are you looking for?

Stock starting DBs is probably my most pressing need, though I've gone a little way to filling it. Currently I'm pursuing a plan whereby the PCs wrangle the duel in one session, and then actually fight it the next, so I get 14 days to write up stats (though inevitably I'll be doing it 5min beforehand).

Morsla

03-06-2005, 07:42 PM

Great session :) I like Salix' "The world is my stage" techniques...

Anti-magic items? Can't imagine why...

I wonder if the Impossibly Reckless Society would like a little help in preparing them? All in the name of fun, of course ;)

Mengtzu

03-06-2005, 07:43 PM

I wonder if the Impossibly Reckless Society would like a little help in preparing them? All in the name of fun, of course ;)

Are you trying to screw up your opponents, or are you concluding that countermeasures are inevitable, and thus want a slice of the profit from the market you created? ^_^

Morsla

03-06-2005, 07:51 PM

Both, of course :) Only the most dramatically appropriate countermagics would prove faulty - the others would simply be expensive...

Mengtzu

03-19-2005, 03:33 AM

OK, as a prelude to my Actual Play, I'd like to post a combined thank-you and apology to Knight of Roses.

I'd like to thank KoR for supplying the Five Winds clique.

I'd like to apologise to him for what's happening to them.

You see, we just had a session without Precious and Whisper. It seems Precious and Whisper are the factors holding the Harmonious Chorus back from *destroying* anyone who crosses them slightly, or shows the slightest resistance to their whims.

It was the first session without combat I've run in years and years, but it most certainly was a session in which people were hurt, and it's about to get even worse for the poor old Winds :)

Mengtzu

03-19-2005, 04:56 AM

The Irrepressible Mischievous Messenger
Volume 2, Issue 5

SEVEN TIERED HEAVENLY ROAD SPECIAL EDITION

THE SEASON REALLY BEGINS

The Seven Tiered Heavenly Road began the year slowly, with a few inter-tier challenges and the emphatic victories of the Harmonious Chorus of Triumph and the Heroes of the New Day the only events of notes for several weeks.

Looks like everyone is done with watching, now - the season has truly begun, with a frenzy of challenges erupting!

CALLIGRAPHY IN SNOW SISTERHOOD (Tier 5) defeated THE FIVE FLAMES BONFIRE (Tier 5)
(Teahouse of the Indiscreet Lovers)

This one took most observers by surprise - the Five Flames Bonfire had just deliberately antagonised the Harmonious Chorus by banning Tepet Salix from being in the vicinity of the Podium of the Musician outside classes (using new powers granted to them by the Student Council to act as the Resplendent Committee for Patronism of the Arts). It was widely assumed that this was a move designed to force the Chorus to accept or make a challenge, but Cathak Garel Aurora, Vice Captain of the Bonfire, unexpectedly challenged Ledaal Xiayou of the Sisterhood while reading romantic poetry to her at an intimate dinner! Xiayou instantly accepted, and as is her custom insisted the negotiations be handled via poetry contest, in which she personally demolished the Bonfire's humble efforts. Trapped in the duel, the Bonfire had no choice but to meet the Sisterhood at the Teahouse.

While both cliques occupy the same tier, it was instantly obvious why the Sisterhood are known as "The Queens of the Fifth Tier". The Bonfire was absolutely unable to cope with the elegant mastery of the Teahouse displayed by their opponents, and despite their greater martial prowess were swiftly defeated - not before embarrassing themselves with use of excessive force, however! The victory stipulation for the Sisterhood had been that the Bonfire would relinquish their new position granted to them by the Student Council, and reverse their rulings, which to their credit the Bonfire complied with.

Watch out, folks, this is how the Chorus operates. Xiayou wouldn't dream of dating Aurora normally - but if the handsome Tepet Salix asked her to give him a chance, she would. Aurora is too smart to be fooled by a challenge planted in a poem - unless a cunning poet like Mnemon Korba wrote it for him. Even so, however, he wouldn't trust a poem from the Chorus unless, say, his clique-mates Cathak Salamander and Cathak Ignatia were persuaded by their "close" cousin Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid to pass it on to him. The Bonfire tried to mess around with the Chorus, and the Chorus saw that they got beaten down very, very hard. They may be 6th Tier for the moment, but take them seriously if you want to keep your rings!

THE IRREPRESIBLE DISOBEDIENCE SOCIETY (Tier 3) defeated THE GLORIOUS FEASTERS UPON THE REALM'S BOUNTY (Tier 4)
(The Stables of the Fleet Messenger)

The sensation-obsessed Glorious Feasters decided to claim loudly and publicly that the Disobedience Society were not true rebels, but merely attention-seeking children who had no concept of true anarchy or chaos. Naturally, when the challenge was offered by the Feasters, the Society accepted without hesitation.

Having been soundly thrashed, the Feasters will be spending the next week meditating in the Chapel of Pasiap.

I understand that a lot of duellists think our position on the Third Tier is some sort of accident, that because we're rabble-rousing prankster agitators for change, our martial abilities must be unpractised. This is not the case. Don't forget it.

Just a tip for the kids: no matter how impressive your Furnace Rhino mount is, if it can't dodge, a Water Dragon is going to *hurt* you with it.

THE FOUR PEONY AND ONE LILY BROTHERHOOD (Tier 4) defeated THE FIVE ASPIRANT DRAGONS (Tier 3)
(The Oubliette of the Ewer)

A surprise upset as the powerful and feared Immaculate clique, the Five Aspirant Dragons, were laid low by the Four Peony and One Lily Brotherhood! The Immaculates were red-hot favourites, boasting a practitioner of each of the Glorious Dragon Paths, while the Brotherhood numbers only four fighters, owing to their refusal to replace their dead Sworn Brother. The Dragons called their opponents out over the accusations made by Tepet Midday Storm towards House Mnemon and their supporters during the recent pre-Student-Council-election debates, hoping to force the Brotherhood to recant. The Brotherhood used the tight confines of the Ewer to their advantage, however, quickly downing the more vulnerable Fire, Wood and Air stylists, before picking off the Earth and Water practitioners at their leisure.

The Brotherhood advances to the Third Tier, while the Dragons fall to the Fourth for the first time.

THE HEROES OF THE NEW DAY (Tier 6) defeated THE STRENGTH OF THE OMPHALOS (Tier 5)
(The Ordeal of the Mast)

The unstoppable rise of the Heroes of the New Day, lead by the remarkable Outcaste Forest Dawn, continued, little to anyone's surprise. The Strength of the Omphalos, a clique of Earth Aspects known for their physical power and devotion to the Imperial Mountain, are well-regarded but not realistically a match for exceptional prodigies like the Heroes or the Chorus. What was surprising, however, was that the Heroes were able to decisively beat them at the Ordeal of the Mast, traditionally a stronghold of the Omphalos.

The Heroes ascend to the Fifth Tier.

DUEL OF THE WEEK

We predict that this week's top duel will be THE HARMONIOUS CHORUS OF TRIUMPH versus THE FIVE FURIOUS WINDS OF IMPERIAL RETRIBUTION, in the Magnificent Hall of the Banner. Initially the Winds refused to duel the Chorus, claiming that they were simply too far beneath them to be bothered with, but after an advertisement in the last issue of the Messenger resulted in a stream very...enthusiastic...students petitioning the Winds for "discipline training" and "uniform inspections", they rushed to issue a challenge! The challenge demanded that the Chorus print a public retraction of the "accusation" that the Winds' military activities were just a cover for decadent bondage and discipline activities (when, to be fair, if it was the Chorus, they merely implied such things). The Chorus accepted, but insisted upon a poetry negotiation, in which Mnemon Korba destroyed her hapless opponent, allowing her to dictate the terms of the duel as she willed.

If only the Banner allowed spectators! The poor Winds will be slogging through waist-deep water through the length of the hall, without troops, trying to close on a team that can maul them at long or short range. We don't think it'll be a close match, we just think it's worth everyone's while to see how the Chorus takes a clique apart when they earn their ire. They're just starting out, but these kids are machines.

Apparently the Chorus started fairly conventionally - storming down to one of the Winds' drill sessions and distributing insults, seeking to get a rise. When the Winds merely *dismissed* the Chorus as potential opponents (probably covering up for the fact they know damn well the Chorus are more powerful), it seemed to get the challengers very, very mad indeed. As a result, they made absolutely sure that every Cynis and every uniform and discipline fetishist in the school were beating down the Winds' door, staining the pride of their military reputation, and seriously derailing their agenda as people abruptly stopped taking them seriously.

The moral of the story: the Chorus are playing like top-tier cliques already. Don't think you can trivially refuse a duel with them, as they will HURT you for it. The flipside, of course, being that if the Chorus continues to rise this quickly, very soon they're going to meet cliques that play the game just as hard as them. Should be fun!

Arbane the Terrible

03-19-2005, 02:19 PM

Ahhh, good stuff. I like the newspaper format, too!

Knight of Roses

03-19-2005, 07:20 PM

OK, as a prelude to my Actual Play, I'd like to post a combined thank-you and apology to Knight of Roses.

I'd like to thank KoR for supplying the Five Winds clique.

I'd like to apologise to him for what's happening to them.
*Laughs* No worries at all. I am glad they are getting used. They were pretty much designed to be foils for someone . . .

Sound like the game is going well, I will try and have some more stuff for you shortly.

Sigilistic

03-19-2005, 07:50 PM

Wow. Kasumi, this is great stuff. As always, you rock.

Onyx_Mirror

03-20-2005, 03:05 AM

That may have been the most debauched session I've ever played in. Of anything. None of it was graphic, mind, but there was sex all over the place ... most of it being used by our clique as a mens to make other people very very sorry they ever heard our names.

There's probably a new policy being debated amoungst the staff to ensure that the three of us are never left alone without Whisper or Precious, ever again. On the other hand, given the number of times our plans would have been more devestating with Whisper's presenceit may be only Precious who has any moderating effect on us at all ...

Now we know why she's captain.

Mengtzu

04-01-2005, 05:46 AM

The Irrepressible Mischievous Messenger
Volume 2, Issue 7

Student Council Elections Next Fortnight

There are just seven days before the Student Council elections, and despite early set-backs (particularly the "invincible seducer" Lysander being drubbed in the game of romance by Tepet Salix), the current Student Council remains in a commanding position. There can be no doubt that Cathak Cainan Lysander and Mnemon Venomous Rose will be returned as President and Vice-President respectively. The contention remains with the three general council positions, currently held by Peleps Shrouded Violet, Ledaal Shinta and Cynis Ravanna.

Shinta and Ravanna, while certainly popular amongst large and small subsets of the student body respectively, are not politicians, and could easily be knocked off by the likes of Ragara Sien, Mnemon Voruk or Tepet Midday Storm. Violet, however, despite her low profile, is extremely cunning, and will be very difficult to unseat. As much as it would be heartening for his opponents to break his absolute monopoly on the Council, if Lysander retains majority control it will have little practical effect. Thus, if the various parties standing in opposition to the Stability-Amidst-Tumult ticket do not win all three general council seats, there is no prospect for real change in student governance.

The Messenger would like to stress to the student body the very special nature of this school, and the stakes at hand. While most are reluctant to say it, the machinations of the Faculty have directly tied the Seven Tiered Heavenly Road, and the social standing of students within this school, to the short-term future of the Realm, nay, the Dragon-Blooded Host itself. We urge all students to vote with the issues of the day in mind, NOT the likely colour scheme for the end-of-year ball.

These issues are:

- Relations with the Anathema, who now control nearly the entire Threshold.

- The stability of Emperor Cainan's reign, and the succession.

- The welfare of the peasantry

- The role of the Immaculate Order in our society

The next two weeks are going to get ugly. It's clear that the Student Council considers this election a move in the Heavenly Road, and thus in effect the election of a Shogun. They will stop at nothing to ensure victory, and their foes will stop at nothing to thwart them. However, even Ragara Sien and the Poison Teakettle Society are no match for Violet, as they may learn to their cost.

And no matter what, I want to see Shinta go down. Sure, he's a nice guy, but the Wyld Hunt is nothing more than a blood-for-jade campaign; it must be discredited, beginning with its poster-boy.

ODDITIES OF THE GARDEN

- In the winding stairs leading to the balconies about the Rose Garden, it is possible to become lost. Nellens Sumai, a mortal student, recently stumbled out of the fountain in the centre of the Rose Garden, dying of exposure. She claimed had become lost on the stairs, and had wandered lost in a field of flowers for five days before appearing in the fountain. Cynis Wisel Shen was thought to have suffered a similar fate three weeks ago, though he was babbling about green light as he was taken away to the Hopeful Pyre of the Corpse, where he later died.

- Lovers enjoying night-time trysts in the eastern mountains just outside the school have recently reported discovering wispy strands of some horribly sticky mucus upon them after their activities, as well as a general disorientation. However, the spot has become more popular, as the phenomena seems to prevent pregnancy.

- It was feared that the demons propelling the endless motion of the Hardship Rendered as Ship's Wheel were becoming restless and difficult to control. This has proved to be not quite the case - they are afraid.

SEVEN TIERED HEAVENLY ROAD RESULTS

The Harmonious Chorus of Triumph (Tier 6) defeated The Five Furious Winds (Tier 5)
Magnificent Hall of the Banner

The Messenger has never seen such a brutal demolition of a rival clique on the field before. The Chorus of Triumph mentally tore their opponents apart, then forced a surrender from one of the proudest cliques on the Road. Apparently the Chorus has little interest in the vagaries of a duelling society - they achieve victory in such a complete fashion as to never fear fighting the opposing clique again.

The Banner is a long field, designed for skirmishes using small units of troops rather than a conventional duel. However, by sealing off access to troops and flooding the field through their overwhelming victory in the poetry competition to negotiate the duel, the Chorus severely hampered their foes, leaving them unprotected and cutting down on their mobility. Normally this would suit the Winds - though their meleeists were unable to close, with two good archers and excellent ranged defence charms they were in a position to dictate the combat. However, even as Iselsi Whispering Crystal shook the field with sorcery, and Orchid took to the skies on her flaming wings, Mnemon Korba and Tepet Salix began a withering social assault.

Readers of the Messenger will remember this duel was something of a grudge match - while nothing can be proved, the Winds were certain it was the Chorus who were spreading the rumours that the Winds' military training operations were just a front for a bondage & discipline society - resulting in the Winds suffering a deluge of "recruits" and serious damage to their reputations. Salix and Korba played upon this theme to devastating effect, mocking the Winds so effectively that shortly after the duel began, the Winds' Captain, Vice Captain and Thrown specialist had all abandoned any semblance of discipline, futilely wading towards Salix in mindless killing frenzies. This allowed Crystal and Orchid to easily dispatch the Winds' second archer and the frothing Thrown specialist. Meanwhile, the Chorus' captain, Precious Burning Glory, managed to finally close with Mnemon Tolandrou, the Winds' massive Earth Aspected bannerman, draw blood through his superheavy plate, and force a surrender.

So terribly humiliated were the Winds that in order to salvage their honour, they forfeited their rings, departing the Seven-Tiered Heavenly Road and the Garden of Jade Roses alike in order to join the Wyld Hunt. The Chorus were heard to claim the matter had all been a "misunderstanding".

Mengtzu

04-01-2005, 05:52 AM

Sorry for the over-long post above, let me break it down quickly OOC

- We had a single fight take an entire session, but it was a short session, and we weren't slowed down by the system, or even the stunting, so much as the constant laughing at the horribly cruel mockery the PCs heaped upon their foes.

- The combat/social/tactics action system is working well - at least the social bit. The PCs got two "social one-shot kills" - getting the opponent's Virtue + Willpower in successes on a single roll! They also caused two limit breaks by running their opponents out of WP.

- The PCs are taking "Ender's philosophy" - or so they claim. Having picked their target for a duel, they take a friendly match if they can, or completely take their opponents apart. The poor Five Furious Winds didn't do anything to the PCs other than present a more tempting target than the other cliques - when they tried to save face by refusing the initial challenge, the PCs ruined their lives until they had to challenge the PCs in order to save their reputation. Then they used that damage to their reputations cruelly, mining it constantly for social stunts!

When I ran Sidereals, my players got *sneaky*. As DBs, they're really, really *mean* - it was great! ^_^

Knight of Roses

04-01-2005, 06:49 AM

Arbane the Terrible

04-01-2005, 01:03 PM

If there is still room for more NPCs, I have one or two in mind. Also, any slots left for Dueling circles? Or are they all filled?

Well, the Winds threw away their rings, so there's going to be an opening...

Kasumi, what's the rule for a vacancy like that? Does a lower-tier clique get promoted, or do the Winds get to pick successors?

Mengtzu

04-01-2005, 03:16 PM

Alas, the poor Winds. Glad that everyone had a good time defeating them.

If there is still room for more NPCs, I have one or two in mind. Also, any slots left for Dueling circles? Or are they all filled?

I can accomodate any number of random NPCs, but the high-level tiers are all full (the PCs have been very forward looking, so I had to fill in the gaps faster than I expected). However, there are still powerful young prodigies who don't duel but are *involved*, like the sorcerer Iselsi Tian.

So yeah, I don't need any more cliques (though feel free to post tier 6 and 7 cliques if you wish - they might be useful if/when the PCs go looking for less powerful cliques to mentor ^_^), but I'd gladly accept other NPCs to populate the school.

Mengtzu

04-01-2005, 03:19 PM

Kasumi, what's the rule for a vacancy like that? Does a lower-tier clique get promoted, or do the Winds get to pick successors?

The actual process of dropping out of the Road involves putting your rings into a Field and indicating you don't want them any more. The rings vanish, and then *someone* sends them on to a lower tier clique, with instructions for who they pass their rings onto, and so forth.

So this time, the Winds lose their Tier 5 rings to the Chorus, getting the Tier 6 rings. They surrender those to a Field, and a 7th Tier clique (in this case the Threshing Floor Lordlings, who got creamed by the PCs a few weeks ago) get promoted, and they pass their rings on to a new clique, as indicated by the letter they received.

Mengtzu

05-12-2005, 08:56 PM

Dear Grandfather,
I know there’s not much point my writing this letter to you, as you’ll never receive it. The mailing clerk keeps opening my letters and reading them and they get sent back for ‘editing’. Maybe I won’t even try to post this one, but I will keep it as a reminder of what I might have told you, given the chance.

Since I’m not sending this letter, I have something to tell you. I’m very sorry Grandfather, but I have been neglecting my studies. The Headmistress called my friends and me to the staff tower because she feels that we are putting too much energy into our extra curricular activities. She can’t have been too mad, because she had the teachers give us extra tuition to catch up. I am shamed though, and resolve to try much harder at my lessons. As a penance I am also going to try harder at my extra curricular activities.

We volunteered to help my housemistress, Thrice Perfected Peony, with a party she’s throwing for parents of students at the school. It’s complicated why, but we’re trying to help a friend.

You see, Grandfather, I think that my friend Orchid has a crush on a boy. His name is Shinta. He’s a very brave and talented person, and had decided that he wanted to go on the Wyld Hunt. Orchid, because she has a crush on him, didn’t want him to go. It’s very confusing, but to stop Shinta from going away we’re going to make Cathak Cainan Lysander go instead (which is fine, because he’s an idiot who isn’t nearly as attractive as he thinks he is). It isn’t easy, but we have some other friends who can help.

They’re called ‘The Irrepressible Disobedient’s Society’, but they’re not bad. They have this fun system where if you go out and find out about secrets then they do stuff for you. We’ve been finding out about all kinds of secrets. We found out about how another girl, Rose, was sending love letters to Shinta, but we couldn’t prove it. Then we found out about the PA system in the school. My friend Whisper said that it was something called Zsofika. I don’t know what that is, but I think it’s bad. Whisper kept screaming about it until we took the memory away. We had to prove we’d found it so we gave the memory to Tsukasa. He screamed a bit too.

We also decided to go looking for some girls who’d gone missing. My friend Sien said that they were in the forest in a mist. If we didn’t go into the mist then we’d be alright. We went to the forest but we had to find out what had happened to the girls so that we could find out a secret for Tsukasa so that we can send Lysander to the Wyld Hunt. We went into the mist. Don’t worry, Grandfather, I only fought them a little bit and I didn’t get hurt. We couldn’t save them, but we proved what happened to them when we gave Tsukasa what was left.

So things are going well. Soon we’ll have enough points to help Shinta. I’m not sure why we really need to anymore, because Shinta has decided to get married, but not to my friend Orchid. He’s going to get married to my friend Sien instead. I guess it will make both of my friends happy if we stop him from going away, and I still really want Lysander to go as far away as possible, so we’ll keep trying.

Lots of other stuff has been happening. We’re going to have a fight with some awful sorcerers who summon spirits. We have a good plan to make it so that they can’t fight us with their summoned creatures and then we’ll beat them. Don’t worry, I won’t get hurt. I’ve been fighting lots of people at the school and they haven’t hurt me yet. It’s OK, we’re allowed, the teachers just pretend like we’re not.

Then my friend Salix is going to put on a really good play with Demons in it. You should come. His plays are always really good.

So school is good, I’ve got lots of friends and the teachers take care of me. I’ve got lots to keep me occupied so that I don’t get into trouble and I’m trying really hard in class. I’m sure you’d be really proud. I miss you and I love you lots.

Precious.

I'll post in a bit about the last two sessions, including as much "behind the curtain" as I can to keep AndyK happy ^_^

Arbane the Terrible

05-12-2005, 10:25 PM

Yay! An update!

(This school has a second circle demon acting as the PA? :eek: )

Mengtzu

05-12-2005, 10:28 PM

Yay! An update!

(This school has a second circle demon acting as the PA? :eek: )

Two, actually, Zsofika was wearing Gervesin in his reborn-as-red-armour form when the Faculty caught her.

The Gold Faction is crazy with hubris.

Mengtzu

05-12-2005, 10:47 PM

OK, so the last two sessions have gone pretty well, with the characters beginning to move into the high echelons of school society, and getting very schemey.

The core of what's been going on is the smorgasboard of stuff I've offered for the PCs to do.

I've made a bit of a deal about Student politics, explicitly linking the student factions running for election to the contenders for the Throne, so that the PCs could get involved in Realm politics. Not much interest other than making sure their #1 rival clique doesn't get a majority, which they did by having Salix romance Yushoto Haruka of the politically neutral Lance of Dehelshen clique into ordering Amilar Sylia to sabotage Peleps Shrouded Violet's campaign.

As a result, I'll probably keep the student politics reasonably quiet. I'll probably have another go at Realm politics later on (the Jade Scrip is looking shaky :)). Of course, the players could be saying "Politics? I'll become Shogun and then *I* will tell *you* what passes for politics!"

School Sports hasn't gained a lot of interest. I'll give them an opportunity down the track to represent at inter-school sports and obliterate the poor House of Bells, but for the time being it'll fade.

What has managed to grip interest are the two other big elements - the duels (with their lovely social component in organising them, and then the combat itself), and the Impossibly Reckless Orienteering and Spelunking Society.

The Spelunking Society is like a minature version of the highly successful mission structure from my Sidereal game - essentially, there's always some mystery or mission to be undertaken for each astrological house - Journeys, Serenity, Battles, Secrets and Endings, so the PCs have an idea what they're getting themselves into, and can pick something accordingly. Solving the mystery earns them Pranking Points, which they can use to get the leaders of the Spelunking Society - good-looking rebels, a factor that probably helps the popularity with the player - to mess people up for them (or trade for blackmarket artifacts, but not much interest there yet).

This works out very much like the Sidereals game did - the players ignore the missions that don't interest them, find really clever ways to do some missions effortlessly (for instance, dropping a Coin of Distant Vision into the PA system in order to find out who the "lady" making the announcements was), and fully playing through the ones that they like but can't easily think around.

I think this all adds up to me actually successfully running a flexible game that adapts to the tastes of its players, despite the confined enivronment of the school. That makes me happy (assuming it's accurate ;))!

Currently, the PCs are stockpiling their Pranking Points, with two goals in mind - royally shafting the necromancers of the Ghost-Binding Masters of the Shroud clique, and trying to deal with a big threat - the Emperor's son, Cathak Cainan Lysander - very early by getting him sent off to the Wyld Hunt.

The players, in the political environment of the Garden, seem to like absolutely destroying anyone who conflicts with them directly, showing that good things happen to their friends, but they also delight in setting things up so their enemies are shafted third-hand and having it untraceable to them. They also relentlessly turn everything they can into a resource - faced with the horror of staring at Zsofika, they leak the memory into a dream stone and give it to their allies to use as a weapon! This is pretty cool :)

Is that helpful behind-the-scenes stuff? I'll post below about last session's combat against the Numina, and talk about how we as a group approached it (other than the bit where the players hid my dice when I went on a bathroom break, they were rolling so hot!).

Paka

05-12-2005, 10:54 PM

I am not very familiar with Exalted, having only browsed the books in the store.

What are Pranking Points?

Mengtzu

05-12-2005, 11:06 PM

I am not very familiar with Exalted, having only browsed the books in the store.

What are Pranking Points?

Nothing canon.

Essentially, the game takes place in a bizzare school that's a bit like Hogwarts if it was built by a transcendently powerful feng-shui architecht for the specifications of a group of hubris riddled hypermystic Jedi. It's filled with mysteries, and run by some very politically suspect people.

A group of students who are essentially rebellious political activists who aren't pleased by this combination of lethally bizzare obsfucation and clandestine suspicious activity, but who can't possibly do all the investigation themselves are bribing their fellow students to help them sort out these mysteries. They rate the mysteries as worth a certain number of Pranking Points - anyone who solves them gets the points, and can trade them in to have this group of students - the Irrepressible Disobedience Society - raise havoc in some fashion, USUALLY involving pranks against schoolyard rivals.

They can also be used to get a "sponsored" article run in the rogue newspaper the Disobedience Society puts out, or traded for access to blackmarket goods.

I use them because I find having quantitative incentive VERY handy for when I'm offering multiple missions, because it gives a very explicit risk vs reward thing for the players to make their decision on (ie if it's a Battles mission worth 4 points it's probably a tough fight, so if they're not in the mood for that they can do the Serenity mission for 2 points that's probably a quick bit of nosing into people's romantic affairs).

That and they strike me as something the players could be very creative in the application of!

Mengtzu

05-12-2005, 11:16 PM

Ignore the following if you don't want IC guff about Numina, and I'll chat about the combat below!

The Transcendent Reciters of the Spear Sutra found a curious thing upon their arrival at the Garden of Jade Roses - in the depths of the hunting preserve, there was a tiny pool. In this pool was a reflection of a city, and it gave off a tiny mist.

They had not travelled so very far after all.

Young as they are, they know little of the events that brought it about - the terrible battle that destroyed the Ebon Scale Embassy, the casual ease with which the Gold Faction and their Solar allies shattered the ambitions of Atsiluth Eternal and Cevis Gandhara alike. But they know the mist, and the whispers of enlightenment that it pours into their ears are very familiar.

Yet, they are young and beautiful, mighty and loved. In the heart of the Realm itself they find themselves amongst the elite, and it is a thing they are loathe to surrender.

So, with the peculiarly insane pragmatism given to some young people of faith, they make those who worship them into their gods.

V'Neef Suijenhe longed for acceptance, as so many do - cliqueless, rejected and unloved, she resolved that her differences from the crowd were the cause of her suffering, and fell in love with those who seemed to thrive because of their differences. When the Reciters offered her to the mist, they expected her apotheosis to create a perfected form of themselves, so intensely did she idolise them - in a way, they were correct, for the Numina Suijenhe despises uniqueness, and destroys it through replication. Yet she cannot abide distinctions, and thus attempts to consume all things through the simulacrums she creates, for she is much more those than she is herself. The young Witches escaped only narrowly from the fate of being devoured by themselves.

V'Neef Thrice-Blessed-Hope bore the weight of her family's expectations upon her shoulders, and is common for Dragon-Blooded youth, was judged a disappointment because she did not excell beyond every one of her peers. Her clique dropped swiftly from their brief appearance on the 7th tier, her skills did not attract the attention of the Exalted teachers, her talents did not distinguish her. In her shame, she turned to the Reciters, who seemed beyond such things (for who could know what Forest Witches would expect of their children?), but her heart merely longed for some arcane distinction, and the Spear Sutra seemed her last hope. Sadly, the Reciters found her no more exceptional than her parents and peers, and thus sacrificed her to the mist. How surprising to them, then, that her transcendence was a thing of supreme competitiveness! Thrice-Blessed-Hope, Numina of the Mist, cannot see a thing without striving to better it - she has excised failure from herself, as well as the walls dividing one task from another. Her form is precisely more beautiful and terrible than her closest rival, cast in a shape precisely greater than what she imagines an Anathema to be, for in this age they are Victory. Her actions seem the fruits of long contemplation and superior tactics, but they are merely instinctive reactions - for as any act against her, she returns in kind, precisely better, from the flawed but real pool of holistic excellence she has made of her mundane flesh.

These are the broken Numina created by children from a touch of mist and the cruelty of their world. They are sad things, yet does that not make them more horrifying?

Mengtzu

05-13-2005, 12:10 AM

OK, so the main drama of last session involved the PCs going out into the woods behind the school to find two girls who'd gone missing. They knew that weird things had been spotted out there, and there were fears for the girls' safety.

Now, I wanted to take an opportunity to offer a combat that's a bit different to the duelling upon which the game is focused. That's pretty much what all the Battles (Crimson) missions for the Spelunking society are - combats that are quite different to an even 5 DB vs 5 DB match up.

In this case, I reached for the Numina - Dragon Blooded who have "transcended" to a bizzare posthuman state as part of the deeply odd practices of the Forest Witches in the East. I decided these Numina would be products of sacrifices made by a clique of Forest Witches at the school, and thus a bit more "schoolyard".

OK, they were Buffy monsters. One was built entirely from a fear of being different - to the extent that she would replicate everyone she saw. The other was built from the pressure to compete and succeed - to the extent that she never actually DID anything other than reply to attacks made against her, reflecting them back perfectly, in order to compete with and better them.

This was pretty easy to do, mechanically - I just built two normal Dragon Blooded, one of whom happened to have an Extra Action power allowing her to clinch everyone in sight (visual being a copy of the person appearing to grapple with them), the other with no actual attack stats, just always counterattacking with the same pool and base damage she was attacked with. Just for fun I made the second Numina look like a horrific nightmare vision of the most powerful Solar in the campaign-world (because she couldn't help but aesthetically compete with the most terrifying being she could think of).

So, we have what is actually a very scary encounter for the PCs (especially visually, what with clones of themselves throttling them and some god-awful Anathema thing responding with fury to their every attack), and one with a bit of a puzzle element - they have no idea how this weird shit is happening, until as the fight progresses they start to notice that EVERYONE's grapplers get weaker as the one they're concentrating on loses health levels, and that the great anathema-beast never actually acts on its initiative.

When the PCs figure it out, they can nicely ignore the counterattack-beast and defeat the clincher fairly easily (I did have an effect making it difficult to tell which was the copy PC and which was the original, but the PCs all have great Awareness - it's the class they all share - so that didn't faze them), and then stacked various penalties on the counterattacker so that the blows coming back at them could be avoided.

Of course, all this was filled with exciting stunts, but I'm trying to see whether discussing how I put the battle together is helpful? I might try it with a more conventional fight, where the scenery is more interactive and there's greater scope for non-combat skill use.

Arbane the Terrible

05-17-2005, 01:54 PM

More, I say! More!

(And I see there's an update on your LiveJournal, as well. Who's the Fear Eater?)

Mengtzu

05-17-2005, 05:25 PM

More, I say! More!

Yeah, I really need to do last session and soon, since, uh, the civil war started.

(And I see there's an update on your LiveJournal, as well. Who's the Fear Eater?)

Fear Eater is a canon character, the other Dawn in Yurgen Kaneko's circle. I think he's got a GREAT name, so I keep mentioning him :)

Mengtzu

06-06-2005, 05:36 PM

How does the duel between the Chorus and the Ghost Binding Masters of the Shroud tie into the civil war? Easy. The Chorus were there when it started, and the Binders helped it start.

The Chorus had found out that the Binders were using Necromancy, a feat impossible for Dragon-Blooded - meaning they were certain to be using some sort of artifact in order to achieve it. Naturally, the Chorus challenged them, got their acceptance, and then went about sabotaging the artifact. They broke into the Binders' rooms, encountering some terrible four-winged ghost that they managed to talk their way around, and located a bunch of Shade Prison Amulets, along with a narcotic-laced tub of honey.

The players didn't have much luck with their investigation - maybe my clues were too cryptic, or maybe they just thought they'd found the source of the necromantic power with the Shade Prison Amulets. Regardless, a later Investigation roll sorted out the confusion - I should have called for it before they left the Binders' rooms, but it worked out in the end.

The Chorus had another plan, though - before their duel, they sneaked into a party held in the village of Blind Love by one of the Faculty - Thrice Perfected Peony - for the parents and guardians of successful mortal students - all of whom happened to be prominent Dragon Blooded. This smelled fishy - why would they even care about the mortals, after all? Hence, we had the Chorus look into it.

Ledaal Kes and his wife Ragara Szaya, Peleps Danic Damachina, Sesus Taikona, Ragara Jasir and an Immaculate, Mnemon Filial Obedience were all there, a rather luminous gathering for the small village. The Chorus infiltrated by offering to assist Peony with entertainment, and quickly ingratiated themselves (particularly Salix, who greatly impressed Ledaal Kes, and Whispering Crystal, who ensorcelled Damanchina with the Peacock Shadow Eyes spell). They learned that all of these Dragon Blooded were members of the Scarlet Orchid secret society, considering replacing the Emperor with Mnemon. They were there to feel out the hidden sponsors of the Garden of Jade Roses on the matter.

However, the meeting ended poorly. Filial Obedience slammed his fist into the belly of his ward, Mnemon Alaida, shattering the many Shade Prison Amulets therein. As the Hungry Ghosts swarmed out, he threw a soulsteel token into the air, a signal for his undead allies to move in their airship from the Underworld and attack. Ten Nemissaries in necromantic powered armour stormed in, and despite the efforts of the Chorus, all of the guests other than Taikona were killed. At this point, the undead shock-troops retreated.

This was a badly handled scene on my part. I didn't give the players enough indication that they weren't being attacked because they weren't the targets, and I didn't let them have a fair shot at protecting their guests based on their actual investment in them (in which case Kes and Damanchina probably would have lived). I should have asked for a Lore roll to figure out the Nemissaries' plan.

Shortly thereafter, magistrates loyal to Mnemon arrived, destroyed the necromantic evidence with artifact sunlamps, and proclaimed that the attack was obviously done by power-armoured troops deployed by airship...the signature of Lookshy. They did, however, let the Chorus and the wounded go.

Two days later, I got a letter from my uncle, Senator Nellans Poramo. He told of how Mnemon herself entered the Deliberative, interrupting the ratification of Ledaal Kes as head of the Treasury (replacing Bal Keraz, who resigned in disgust over the Wyld Hunt disbursements) with news of his death. She held the floor, connecting this attack - "obviously" aimed at decapitating the Treasury - and the increasing instability of the Realm economy with the grand alliance of Tepet Ejava, Lookshy, and the Solar monarchs of the North, Northeast and East (who control the Guild). In order to "rescue" the devout peasents of the Tepet lands from their traitorous lords and imminent Anathema invasion, Mnemon declared her troops had moved into those lands as a "police action".

So civil war began.

Yay, politics. The three factions - the Imperial Loyalists (Cathak), Mnemonites and Tepet/Lookshy/Solar aligned - are being stressed at the school. This is the backdrop, though to the shock of Cainan, Mnemon and Ejava alike it might all be moot if the school produces a Shogun.

The Chorus soon figured out where the Binders were concealing their artifact - on a hidden field beneath the Hopeful Pyre of the Corpse. They traded in eight Pranking Points, and we in the Irrepresible Disobedience Society set out to get it - which we did, only it turned out the Pyre concealed a passage to the underworld - we nearly died!

So when the day of the duel rolled around, the Binders had lost their necromantic powers, and only one ghost - the four-winged masked figure - and one undead war machine remained to them. Per the terms of the duel, Whispering Crystal had five demons. The demons and undead fought furiously as the match commenced, leaving the Dragon Blooded to duel. Initially, matters seemed to favour the Binders, who sorely wounded Mnemon Korba, and revealed they had a member schooled in the evil Hungry Ghost style to match Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid's skills! However, despite Orchid being badly wounded, she bested this new nemesis, and Cathak Precious Burning Glory lead a furious assault that struck down the rest of the clique.

Sifu Flute intervened before the necromantic war machine and powerful ghost could escape.

Not a bad duel - the Inauspicious Eyrie of the Crow's special rule - getting bonuses if you passed a roll to determine who the crows of the tower were gazing at to exploit their inauspious luck - made the duel more tactical than social. Orchid was challenged, but her superior speed defeated the foe. Whisper and Korba did well, despite Whisper having a hard time affecting the armoured and spell-buffed sorcerers with his own spells, but Precious did particularly well with successful Social attacks, Safety Amongst Enemies and a storm of Daiklave blows.

Up to tier 4.

With their victory, the Chorus gained the right to live in the luxurious Lodge of the Ennobled Traveller with the other 4th and 3rd tier cliques - including us! The Exultant Feasters Upon the Realm's Bounty (a predominately Cynis clique on the 4th tier) held a huge part for them - possibly contributing to sore heads the next day.

Everyone awoke to sounds of argument in the Lodge common area - and rushed out to see the Four Peony and One Lilly Brotherhood (3rd tier) on the verge of disintegration. Tepet Arada Kusai and Mnemon Voruk of the Righteous Promoters of Imperial Destiny - 2nd tier - were there to talk to Voruk's brother and lover, Onyx, of the Brotherhood. Tepet Midday Storm, a fanatical Ejava supporter, took exception to this, demanding Onyx put the Brotherhood above his loyalty to his family, and was backed by her fiancee, Forest Dawn, sworn follower of the Solar Queen Orchid Evamal of Halta. Sesus Alakai, captain of the Brotherhood, was frozen in place - normally self-assured, he didn't want to ruin his sworn brotherhood with a mistake.

The situation was defused only when Precious and Korba both spoke to Alakai, giving him the determination to order Onyx and Storm to keep their family lives seperate from their clique duties. Meanwhile, the feud between Kusai and Orchid deepened with angry words and threats exchanged, with Voruk backing Kusai.

This wasn't a bad scene - I ratched up the tempers and then basically let the PCs dictate things - it was still NPC theatre, but it was puppet theatre, and the PCs could grab some of the strings ^_^

It worked well, but REALLY highlighted the growing inter-party tension, particularly between the Mnemon-loyal Korba, and Cathak Tepet Burning Orchid.

Not long after, Peleps Undine (yeah, one of my clique, but don't blame me!) gave some juicy gossip - Ledaal Shinta and Ragara Sien would soon be wed (alliances being sealed in the face of war, etc), and Midday Storm and Forest Dawn marrying the day after. Both occaisions would occur at the school - and the Emperor would be bound to attend Shinta's wedding, with Ejava attending Storm's! Could the two feuding leaders cross paths?

If they're interested, the PCs can stick their oar into politics at the highest level. If they're not, well, offscreen bickering between politicians and generals isn't that important to highschool life, is it?

I'm going to make an effort to open the game up more to the PCs' impact. While I desire to run a totally open game, I've done a very poor job of doing so thus far, not by forcing much of anything (other than the hack-handed assasination scene with the Nemissaries), but by simply not giving enough impression of the PCs' importance and the scope of their choices. I think this is because the game is just so full of detail and content compared to previous games I've run, and I'm not really equal to the task of dealing with it all fairly, and I keep forgetting to give out information that would help this problem.

I'm also having real trouble scaling down to the DB level. I keep forgetting the characters just don't have the capabilities that raw Solar power or crazy Sidereal sneakiness gives you.

So sadly while my political/social scene skills have increased dramatically (though still not great), I'm dissatisfied with my performance as a GM so far. I'm hoping to turn that around soon, though (and if not, there's always Alchemicals after this one finishes).

Mengtzu

06-19-2005, 05:00 PM

The Irrepressible Mischievous Messenger
Volume 2, Issue 20

TWO WEDDINGS AND A MURDER

Chaos at the Garden of Jade Roses has turned to an eerie calm, as the school in the last few weeks has played host to two armies, two weddings, another engagement, and a brutal murder.

To recap:

- The Emperor, Cathak Cainan, arrived with his personal legion, commanded by his son, Belisarius, and other worthies, such as the heads of House Ledaal and Ragara, the Mistress of the Wyld Hunt, and sundry advisors. They were here to witness the marriage of Ledaal Shinta, poster boy of the Wyld Hunt, to Ragara Sien, mistress of the Poison Teakettle Society. The wedding went off splendidly, with a performance of a classic play given by Cathak Precious Burning Glory, Cathak Cainan Lysander, and Tepet Salix the highlight of the entertainment at the reception.

Rumour has it that the Chorus was actually trying to destroy Lysander, and had planted evidence on the corpses of the Treasury staff killed by "Lookshy troops" in Blind Love that Lysander was drawing money from the Infinitely Generous Stipend to the Growing Hunters - basically, ripping off the Wyld Hunt. However, it seems they thought better of it, and helped Lysander smooth the matter over with his father - the beginnings of an alliance?

- While the wedding was in progress, an unknown assailant invisibly penetrated the easternmost Tower of Starlit Anticipation, decapitating Mnemon Voruk as he sat with the rest of his clique enjoying dinner, and escaping without ever being seen. Wild accusations have since flown about - many accusing the Tepet of organising the killing.

The Tepet probably did have him killed - possibly even by an Anathema or Lookshy assassin - as Voruk was planning on disrupting the Tepet wedding the next day, and protesting Tepet Ejava's presence in the school. I'm worried that this will escalate matters, and the Mnemonites will call in assassins of their own, but honestly, I won't miss Voruk for a second.

- The next morning, an air fleet arrived from the east, bearing Tepet Ejava, much of the Vermillion Legion, Chumyo Yushoto Hitsukaze of Lookshy and his First Field Force, Queen Mother Chantla Evamal of Halta and her honour guard, Admiral Ferem Helkar, Sesus Rafara, and what was rumoured to be a detachment of Icewalker Tiger Warriors. They landed near the Emperor's Legion, and raised flags of Tepet, Cherak, Halta, Lookshy, Nexus, the Elemental Dragons, the Five Maidens, Luna and the Unconquered Sun. Predictably, tempers flared. However, the Chorus swiftly intervened, and Burning Orchid and Tepet Salix were able to persuade Cainan and Ejava to put off any hostilities until after the Tepet won back their lands from Mnemon.

- Tepet Midday Storm and Forest Dawn, champion of Halta, were wed in a novel ceremony fusing the warrior traditions of many nations, and blessed by an Immaculate Chaplain of Lookshy, a priest of Caltia, and a priestess of the Unconquered Sun. Predictably, many refuse to recognise this deeply heretical union.

I don't trust the Anathema for a second, but their followers throw a hell of a party.

NATIONAL NEWS - WAR AND CURRENCY

- Following their departure from the school, Tepet Ejava and Chumyo Yushoto Hitsukaze met with the remainder of the Vermillion Legion (all three Field Forces), and the Second, Third and Fourth Field Force of the Seventh Legion. Stunningly, this enormous army deployed entirely by air, almost entirely in airships less than five years old. Furthermore, the force was equipped with new stocks of shock lances, Ashigaru armour, and other Shogunate accoutrements. Either new stockpiles have been discovered, or the Anathema allies of Lookshy have been able not only to reverse their technical decline, but completely reinvigorate them.

Mnemon's legions, mounting their "police action," had a nasty surprise in store for the forces of the Alliance - ranks upon ranks of demons industriously summoned by the strongly sorcerous house, as well as many Immaculates fighting as heroes. However, their campaign unravelled due to the sudden and shocking death of their supreme commander, Mnemon Aleskar, son of Mnemon herself, who suffered a heart attack at dinner with his staff the night before the airborne attack. When the hammer-blow fell, the demonic countermeasures were not properly coordinated, and the Immaculates scythed down by shock lance battalions. Outnumbered and sorely outgunned, the Mnemon legions fled in disarray, with two whole legions run down and obliterated by the Alliance's fast-attack troops.

I hear that Aleskar pitched forward onto his table, stone dead, exactly as his son Voruk had the night before, right down to the position of his hands. Obviously not his head, though!

- However, despite recapturing the Lord's Crossing dominion, and seizing a commanding position in the heart of the Realm, the Alliance did not win a complete victory. Mnemon had already liberated vast stocks of ancient Tepet treasures, as well as nearly every last piece of Jade in the dominion (remarkable considering the brevity of the occupation), and thousands of mortals, impressed as serfs. Mnemon claims to have "rescued" these people.

With this store of treasure, added to her own wealth, Mnemon has issued a new paper currency. Backed by her plunder, this currency has some worth; cunningly, though, she has donated a vast sum of the new money to the Immaculate Order. No-one outside Tepet lands (where the Alliance has been forced to distribute Guild silver in order to resuscitate their economy) can refuse money offered by an Immaculate monk; hence Mnemon's currency is almost guaranteed to take hold.

Great. Who'll take a bet on most of the Order caving in to Mnemon (and hardly surprising, they need money for rice), while Cainan-loyalists schism in protest? Not only civil war, RELIGIOUS civil war. We live in wonderful times.

STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS - THE DARK HORSE GROWS RAPIDLY BRIGHTER

Innocent and pure hearted, the charismatic young Cathak Precious Burning Glory is blazing one hell of a campaign trail for Student Council. With the death of Voruk, she's almost certain to get a seat on the Council, a feat she can attribute to her own magnetic virtue, and the incredible theatrical skill of her campaign manager, Tepet Salix.

SEVEN TIERED HEAVENLY ROAD RESULTS - HUGE SHAKEUPS

After losing Mnemon Voruk, their Immaculate heavy hitter, the second-tier Righteous Promoters of Imperial Destiny were challenged, well, by us. The Irrepresible Disobedience Society met them in the Rose Garden and triumphed, ascending to the second tier. Go us!

Beating up my sister was hardly new to me, but it was strangely satisfying this time.

Call me a small man if you will, but I drove Tepet Arada Kusai's face into the mulch until he surrendered, choking on dirt. I am pleased beyond words.

This Tower of Starlit Anticipation is amazing. Servants are massaging me as I dictate this. No more writing for me! I don't even care if this hurts our image as rebels.

The Five Aspirant Dragons challenged the Heroes of the New Day shortly thereafter, convinced Voruk's death came at Tepet orders, but unable to duel Tepet Midday Storm, whose clique they battled in their last match. They settled, unwisely, for her husband. Apparently his wedding gifts - including an orichalcum Grand Daiklave and some hearthstones - were pretty special, since he single-handedly cut down three Immaculates. Victory to the Heroes, moving them.

The Righteous Devil-Tamers broke up as Peleps Ngan-Hu left in protest over Mnemon's actions, aligning himself publicly with the Tepet (thanks to his friend and mentor, Tepet Salix). Tepet Arada Kusai ordered the Ghost Binders to take their pick of the Devil-Tamers, and surrender their martial artist, Mnemon Tymora, to replace Voruk.

Finally, the Four Peony and One Lily Brotherhood looked set to disintegrate as Mnemon Onyx left in disgust and grief over his brother Voruk's death. However, discreet manoeuvring by the Chorus saw the powerful sorcerer Iselsi Tian join the Brotherhood (now likely to adapt a new name), and his might saw them swiftly crush the challenge of the Exultant Feasters on the Realm's Bounty.

NUPTIAL NEWS

War brings wedding bells without fail, as alliances are sealed with extreme swiftness. We're pleased to announce the engagement of Ragara San of the Heroes of the New Day to Ledaal Darius of the Irrepressible Disobedience Society, thanks to the unstoppable matchmaking duo of Precious Burning Glory and Burning Orchid.

House Ragara and House Ledaal are now tightly bound. This alliance will probably not see an attempt on the throne, but no-one can afford to disregard their financial power and sorcerous might. Luckily for both couples involved, the alliance also seems to have been sealed with two love matches!

Mengtzu

06-19-2005, 05:01 PM

This was a pretty good session. I aimed to make sure the players felt they had input and control over events, and I think I succeeded. They certainly threw their weight around.

- I made sure powerful NPCs, like the Emperor, and (shhh....secret Iselsi ninja) explained to the PCs that all eyes seemed to be on the school, and the events there were strangely important. These NPCs offered resources, and told the PCs to exercise their judgement. Essentially, most of the NPC factions in the Realm don't understand the game, but don't want to be left out, and are turning to the most talented kids of their families in the school.

- A PC called in the hit on Voruk. The hit was performed by the Dawn Solar Ranlea of Gem, acting purely as a mercenary.

- I mentioned the gifts showered upon the married couples by their powerful sponsors, and pointed out that this was a function of getting married. Calculating gleams formed in many a player's eye.

- The PCs showed no hesitation in speaking with powerful people, such as the Emperor, and indeed Salix and Orchid talked the confrontational Emperor and Ejava down. It didn't hurt when it became obvious that the hubris-mad Sidereals had no intention of stopping them attacking each other.

- The PCs had been scheming to destroy Lysander, but had started to find him useful after putting their plan into motion. I gave them an opportunity to push the plan home, but they chose to wind it back in instead. I made it pretty clear they could have done it, despite Lysander's power, but that they also had the ability to pull back; I think they felt good about this.

- The PCs pulled an amazing matchmaking trick - 12 and 10 successes off two rolls to set up Ragara San and Ledaal Darius. No more angsty love-plot for San, that's two social one-shot-kills and a happy couple. This has DIRECTLY lead to a rock-solid alliance between Ragara and Ledaal.

- Salix's play convinced not only many people that Precious would be a good student councillor, but with a huge success total (10+), he convinced many powerful Dragon Blooded leaders that Lysander and Precious were outstanding examples of Dragon Blooded (made easier by their 5 and 6 breeding respectively!). This has laid the first few foundations of either being accepted as Shogun, a fact Salix is well aware of.

A fair bit else went on, but I'm hoping the PCs are starting to feel in control of not only their destinies, but those of many, many others, and that events at the school are PIVOTAL in this time of chaos.

miss-rynn

06-19-2005, 06:36 PM

Jane Austen would be so proud of Orchid and Precious. :)

Mengtzu

06-27-2005, 06:28 AM

The Irrepressible Mischievous Messenger
Volume 2, Issue 24

A MURDER AND AN ELECTION

Well, we're claiming it was a murder, anyway. Tepet Arada Kusai, Captain of the Righteous Promoters of Imperial Destiny, left for the Imperial City for a dinner with Mnemon, in the company of Mnemon Korba and the Five Aspirant Dragons, and did not return. We are lead to believe that he will never return.

In his - permanent - absence, the results for the Student Council Elections were announced. To no-one's surprise, Cathak Cainan Lysander and Mnemon Venemous Rose were re-elected. However, there were some dark-horse triumphs, including the magnificent showing of Cathak Precious Burning Glory, almost equalling Rose herself, and Tepet Midday Storm just scraping in. Ragara Sien (newly wedded to Ledaal Shinta) rounded out the five. A great victory for the Cathak family, a good showing for the Tepet, and a crushing blow to the Mnemonites (with Rose of course being a Cainan loyalist).

Shortly thereafter, Precious deposed Lysander as President, with Sien taking Rose's position as Vice President. Apparently, however, the handover was quite friendly!

Congratualtions to our new Student Council!

This is a great result for the school. As much as we've railed against them in the past, Rose and Lysander are people of real ability, and without absolute dictatorial power, that ability can be turned to the good of all.

I think Mnemon has wounded her cause greatly with Kusai's murder - as you'll see below, it's now a bad, bad idea to be frozen out of politics at the school. I'm hearing there's now an alliance of Cathak, Ragara, Ledaal and Tepet senators in the Deliberative, and Mnemon's voice is virtually silent there.

Of particular note is the collapse of Kusai's clique, as Ragara Unbroken Road, the most senior of its survivors, has apparently lost heart for the Mnemonite cause. In another triumph for Precious, her clique inhereted the Tier 3 rings, and have ascended to that coveted rank without a battle!

SCHOOL'S TRUE FORM REVEALED. ALARMING CONSEQUENCES ABOUND

Yesterday, at the precise moment the Heroes of the New Day donned their Tier 3 rings upon defeating the Transcendent Reciters of the Spear Sutra, the entire school changed. Humming with essence, it expanded, pushing lake, forest and mountain alike back as it doubled in size, revealing strange new buildings, manses, mazes and machinery. The Resplendent Throne of Sixfold Victory rose up on newly massive foundations, not just a Manse any longer, but the capstone of a palace - whispered to be the Palace of the Shogun.

Cathak Cainan Lysander remarked that he was "very pleased" by this turn of events. The Faculty have refused to comment.

This is big - huge. I cannot supply enough hyperbole to match this occaision. The school has apparently come into its own - who could have believed that it was just a humble shadow of its true form?

The important thing, however, is not the outwards appearance of the school, it is how it affects the wider world. If you've been paying attention, you'll have seen how, gradually, the events at the school have begun to subtly flavour the events of the Blessed Isle. Most recently, the marriages between Ragara and Ledaal students have bound those Houses together like iron, and Mnemon Aleskar's fate seemed dictated by his son Voruk's grisly end. I believe such subtlety is over. I believe that the events of the school will begin to dictate what happens to the Blessed Isle.

Call me a madman if you will, but I know the powers and hubris of the Faculty are vast; and the school certainly is a work of geomancy capable of such a feat. Be careful, my friends. We can do more than affect the course of our Realm with our everyday acts - we WILL change everything, like it or not.

Mengtzu

06-27-2005, 06:36 AM

So, a central element of the Gold Faction's plan has been revealed.

The School is more than a training ground - in its activated state (activated by both the Heroes and the PCs reaching tier 3), it is a destiny planning machine for all of the Blessed Isle. The plans it produces are submitted directly to the Loom of Fate, affect Dragon Blooded to a greater extent than normal, and produce very few tangles, due to the sophistication and genius of the machine, and the plans being drawn from the fertile source of the doings of the students.

I had been concerned that I hadn't been showing the players how much impact they could have on their fate and the wider world.

Now they cannot fail to control the fate of the wider world. This pleases and amuses me greatly.

Of course, there will not be a perfect correspondence of doings within the school to the Fate of the Blessed Isle - neither the school-machine nor Fate is quite that simple (also, fallible GM). However, the impact of the PCs choices and deeds will be vast and profound.

And most of all, poor 14 year old, innocent sweet Precious has found that her seemingly fun election to Student Council President is one of the most terrible powers and responsibilities in all Creation....

I find nothing you can do as a GM creates quite so much drama and terror for PCs as giving freely of power and responsibility ^_^

aeliel

06-30-2005, 02:41 AM

Doom, DOOM! Who let Precious get near that much power? Does this mean I have to start thinking about what comes out of my mouth?
IpschwamumbleDUMBSTUPIDwomblehowtheHELLmmaaaghyou'llpayforth is...

ExaltedMouse

06-30-2005, 07:19 AM

You bad time thief! Your story has stolen me two hours today, I began to read it and I haven't been able to quit until now!!!!!

WONDERFUL work!

Mengtzu

06-30-2005, 05:22 PM

You bad time thief! Your story has stolen me two hours today, I began to read it and I haven't been able to quit until now!!!!!

WONDERFUL work!

Eh, all the coolness comes from the players.

I run great games mostly by getting out of the way ^_^

Arbane the Terrible

08-14-2005, 12:28 AM

So, how did it all end?

Mengtzu

08-14-2005, 12:37 AM

So, how did it all end?

It ended really well (with an absolutely ferocious battle between the PCs and Lysander's clique), but instead of writing up the game, I ran my Weapons of the Gods playtest and wrote the WotG review :)

I'll write it up soon, promise!

Mengtzu

08-18-2005, 05:42 AM

The Final Sessions

OK, this will be short but sweet, as I need to write this before I forget the details. I should take notes :)

Garden of Jade Roses ended very well, and I'm overall very pleased with how the game went. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't everything I wanted it to be, but the players were awesome, and it was just so much better at intrigue and the social game than anything I've ever done before!

The last three sessions, heretofore undocumented, were exciting but not particularly complicated, as the lens of the game increasingly focused on the coming confrontation between the Chorus (the PCs), and Lysander's undefeated clique.

The school's destiny-writing effect caused the outside world to stabalise owing to the grand string of marriage alliances wrought by the PCs. The most momentous of these weddings were that of Cathak Precious Burning Glory to Sesus Alakai, sealing the huge House Sesus to House Cathak and forever crushing Mnemon's ambitions, and the surprise wedding of Cathak Cainan Lysander and Tepet Burning Orchid.

The latter was a shock to the rest of the players - Orchid's player had been very sneaky, and set herself up so that she would either be the lieutenant or wife of the Shogun, no matter how anything else panned out.

The last two fights were both absolutely blistering, and really quite interesting, because they took place on some of the new fields that emerged - none of which granted victory via physically overpowering the opposition.

The Gallery of Roses and Glass Which Awakes to Majestic Splendour

The Chorus challenged the Irrepressible Disobedience Society to a match in the rose-garden ballroom, revealed by the school's transformation to be a duelling field.

The field had some rather unusual conditions - for a start, it was impossible to inflict damage upon it. Instead, victory was achieved when a member of a team began a turn with 20 accumulated successes on a special social roll to show majesty. Damage that would have been taken was instead subtracted from those accumulated successes at a rate of 3 per health level. Defending for someone prevented them from making the social action in the following turn.

This was really very interesting in play, as it turned out some characters from both teams would simply ignore any damage against them, and concentrate on attacking the social characters of the opposing team. Safety Amongst Enemies of course was king!

The duel began with a revelation - the rebel Nellens Tsukasa, captain of the Irrepresible Disobedience Society, arrived not in his customary white jade armour, but in a violet kimono, bearing a magnificent daiklave of all four magical materials, primarily starmetal, known as Moral Calculus. He revealed that he had been appointed the Dynasty Toppling Scrutator of the Mandate by the Division of Endings of the Bureau of Destiny, and that it was his sacred duty to test the Chorus to see if they bore the Mandate of Heaven. Many wondered for just how long this had been planned, and how many of the other cliques had been merely ritual accoutrements to the training ground of the Chorus, the Heroes, and the Student Council.

It turned out that the office of Scrutator came with more than a shiny sword - as soon as the duel began, Tsukasa became little more than a blur, appearing again behind a devestated Salix, who had suffered five powerful cuts of the Violet Bier of Sorrows style! This sunk the PCs' strategy in an instant, as they had been relying on Salix' overwhelming social power to carry them to victory. The battle was tense, with social attacks flying, and Orchid only just scraping back Sesus Missiria's successes under the 20 threshold, giving Precious the opportunity to seal the win.

As the PCs accepted their Tier 2 rings from the gracious Disobedience Society (who were apologising for the social attacks ;)), Lysander strode forth, shadowed by the mysterious Bright Morning Purity, while Amilar Sylia of the Lance of Dehelshen appeared at Precious' shoulder. Lysander formally challenged the victors to duel for the Destiny of the Shogun in the Coronation Chamber Blessed With the Ninefold Graces of Gaia, and Precious accepted. The scene had been set for the climax of the game!

Mengtzu

08-18-2005, 06:17 AM

The Coronation Chamber Blessed With the Ninefold Graces of Gaia

The last session was quite long, due to a protracted debate early in the piece over who would take the throne in the event of victory - Cathak Precious Burning Glory or Mnemon Korba. It was eventually confirmed that Precious would receive the Destiny, and the final battle got under way.

The stage was set at an enormous chamber within the heart of the Palace of the Shogun, the epic building that had errupted from Elsewhere during the school's awakening a few weeks beforehand. The Coronation Chamber was a vast ampitheatre, two-thirds of which held the school's students, every Dragonblood equipped in shining black Dragon Armour marked with the sigil of the Shogun, every mortal in Ashigaru armour of similar construction. The remaining third was filled with the powers of Creation, here as witnesses - the Emperor, the mightiest of the Solars, Lunar Elders, mighty Gods and even the mysterious Electrum Faction of the Sidereal Exalted.

The field itself was divided into nine segments - five elemental segments and one each of Sidereal, Lunar, Abyssal and Solar. However, they corresponded not to the Exalted, but to the Essence of Creation, for each was a Demense - a component soul of Gaia. Showing magnificence in one of these demense (each was keyed to a specific non-combat ability) would "win" it, a victory which could be locked in by a bearer of a Sword of the Daughters of Gaia. Five such victories would win the match. Slain team-mates could be ressurected with a Simple Tactics action.

The Swords of the Daughters of Gaia were a mystery, until the duel was opened by a special ritual - Bright Morning Purity, the mysterious judge of the poetry competitions, and Amilar Sylia of the Lance of Dehelshen came forward. Lysander plunged his weapon into Bright Morning Purity's chest, and Precious did the same with Sylia. At that moment it was revealed that neither were Dragon Blooded, but instead Third Circle souls of Gaia, created by the incredible concentrations of geomancy wrought at the Garden. Lysander and Precious' weapons became as powerful Manses, crackling with vast amounts of essence. Gaia's souls, of course, were unharmed.

Edit: yes, I had been looking for an excuse for Utena-style swords-coming-out-of-girls for the whole game :)

Then the battle began, and it was incredibly intense. The raw power of Lysander's clique was nearly overwhelming (though interestingly the most feared of them, the Earth Immaculate Master Cynis Ravanna went down in the first turn almost effortlessly to Precious' Gaia-blade), but the PCs played a brilliant tactical game. They used social attacks to disarm the frighteningly mighty Ledaal Shinta (who, contrary to my fears, lived up to his billing as most prodigious swordsman of the Dragon Blooded), they collapsed ceilings on their foes, manipulated the essences of the demense to magnificent effect, and scrabbled like crazy for those Graces of Gaia.

Eventually, despite the carnage Lysander and Shinta threatened to wreak, the Chorus dispatched all three girls on the opposing side, buried Shinta under countless tons of rock, and trapped Lysander in the depths of the Water Demense with the score on four-all. Before Lysander could escape, Precious quickly locked the last Demense and acheived victory!

So in the end, the Seven Tiered Heavenly Road produced a worthy Shogun, the Dragon-Blooded nation was united, and most surprisingly, the PCs didn't kill each other in the process!

Jade Roses was probably the most fun I've had running a game ever, due to the outrageous and cool efforts of the players, and the smooth blend of socialising, intrigue and combat in the gameplay. It wasn't perfect, there were things I could have done better, but I absolutely achieved my goal of improving my command of the social game, and I feel VERY confident now in catering for socially-based characters, even within the context of my love of the action game.

A huge thank-you to my players, who rocked, especially Aleiel, Precious' character, who was new to the group for this game, and did splendidly.

Next Exalted game on the cards is Alchemicals, but before that...Weapons of the Gods: Three Kingdoms. Watch out for it!

Edit: and a massive thanks to everyone who read this thread!