Fri Jun 3 '22 Announcement
almost 2 years ago
– Fri, Jun 03, 2022 at 11:22:44 AM
Hello Chosen of the Little Gods,
We're currently battling Covid at my house (so far, only one 'officially' testing positive, but everyone's doing fine so far!) so we're all stuck in different little corners. I told my family that we should "scatter to the eight directions..." but I think they just marked that up to Covid confusion. Anyway, I've claimed my little spot in The Realm and I've got a quick update for you today.
Last Friday, I shared a couple of links to some great podcasts that featured the writers and developers talking about the origins and work that went into the Exigents: Out of the Ashes manuscript. Great stuff, and fun to always get a peek behind the curtain.
But we'll have some interesting opportunities in about a week to hear from the Onyx Path and Exalted teams again, and they'll be able to talk about Exalted and this project knowing that we'll have read more than half of the manuscript by that point and dug into the systems and rules that they've built. They'll also be able to talk about upcoming things that they many not have mentioned before.
Because in one week, the third annual Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention takes place!
This year’s Onyx Path Publishing Virtual Convention page is now live on Start Playing Games:
https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path
Check it out now for the GM sign-ups section if you want to run games during the con. How to list a game: https://intercom.help/startplayinggames/en/articles/4516071-how-to-create-and-list-a-game
As noted, in addition to the awesome games that fans sign up to run and play, there will be a selectoin of featured games streaming online for you to check out during the convetion.
Live on the DorkTales twitch channel, we'll be able to see an Exalted game running in 8 days, on Saturday June 11 starting at 11:00 AM EDT.
And not only will there be a fun Exalted game (among others) to check out, but the Onyx Path crew will also be hosting panels about their various gamelines, including Exalted.
Day One, right after the Opening Ceremonies, you'll be able to hear about Exigents and what's coming up for Exalted, streaming live on the Onyx Path twitch channel starting at 7:00 PM EDT on Friday June 10.
Other key panels that I suggest you check out (if you don't have time for all of them!) are
- The Opening Ceremonies Panel on 6/10 at 5:00 PM, where the sometimes spill the beans on secret upcoming projects and also set the framework and themes for the weekend.
- The What's Up With Onyx Path? Panel on 6/11 at 5:30 PM, where they'll tell you about a bunch of upcoming projects, including stuff they may not have mentioned during the Opening Ceremonies. This usually has a big rundown of all the exciting new things in the works.
- The Exalted Essence Panel on 6/12 at 11:30 AM, where you'll hear the ExEss team talk about the slightly different version of the game that still uses all of the Third Edition lore.
- And, finally, the Closing Ceremonies on 6/12 at 5:30 PM, where the exhausted group sums up the weekend and celebrates some of the key points that have been brought up.
I will also add that everthing on the schedule is worth checking out, and it's great to see the interview panels or the live podcast and get some non-Exalted ideas discussed as well. I know the entire team has put a lot of effort into these Virtual Conventions over the past three years and would love to see you online that weekend.
You can get more info about all of this here: https://startplaying.games/event/onyx-path
That'll be a fun weekend, because we're actually going to be getting TWO draft chapters next weekend! We'll be getting The Puppetter, previewed yesterday, in full when Chapter 6 comes to us on Tuesday! And then on Friday, a few hours before the start of the Virtual Convention, we'll get Chapter 7, all about The Architects and the Chosen of Cities! It's like a double-dip week next week!
Until then, please continue to spread the word about the campaign on your social media and in your social circles. We're closing in on another Stretch Goal, so let's see if we can unlock that before any virtual conventions start!
And now, back to may safe spot in the small corner of Creation that I've claimed! Have a great weekend!
Thu Jun 2 '22 Announcement
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Jun 02, 2022 at 08:05:59 AM
Hello Chosen of the Little Gods,
Sneaking in today with a quick preview of our next "example Exigent," the Puppeteer. This preview is going to be full of bits and pieces from our next chapter, which we'll receive in complete form on Tuesday. For now, let's just get a sense of what's coming our way...
The Puppeteer
The Puppeteer is an illicit Exigent created by a god undeserving of the Unconquered Sun’s gift, an ambitious mastermind who brings her puppets to life with strings of Essence.
Karana
Hail to you, Lord Karana, god of the Meiyu Coast’s traditional marionette-puppetry; Karana the spider, eight-limbed and brazen-carapaced; Karana, whose glory is in deception; Karana, who stole Heaven’s fire. A century ago, his theater-shrine, the Skein-House, was the heart of Goldenseal’s famed Faceless Bazaar, and his Cult of the Marionette was counted amongst the city’s most esteemed performers. His living puppets danced along the district’s streets; his honeyed words manipulated minster and god alike, securing his prominence by cultivating the district into a thriving cultural hotbed.
Then the Realm came. Even before Zhaojūn became a satrapy, Immaculate proselytes converted its royal family to the Immaculate Philosophy and secured royal dispensation to suppress heretical worship. While many local small gods acceded to the Order’s demands in exchange for their place in the prayer calendar, Karana was never given the chance. Infamous for his intercession in mortal affairs, Karana faced a Sworn Kinship of the Immaculate godbreakers who scattered his cultists and thrashed him soundly, leaving him broken and diminished amid the wreckage of his theater. The monks boarded up the Skein-House and sealed it with amulets and prayer strips, leaving Karana to rot.
Cold with fury, Karana beseeched the Unconquered Sun for a champion to grant him his revenge. But his prayers went unanswered.
In time, Karana’s infamy faded, and the Order’s eye turned from him. The Cult of the Marionette’s surviving remnants, driven underground by Immaculate oppression, returned to the Skein-House, finding their god covered in dust and webs. If it weren’t for their craftsmanship and devotion, perhaps he’d still be lying there today, something he will not soon forget. Karana’s defeat made him more cautious and gave him a new purpose.
Under Karana’s leadership, the Cult of the Marionette was reborn as a weapon against the Immaculate Order. By all appearances, it’s nothing more than a pathetic shell of its former self, its high priests reduced to begging on the streets. In secret, it recruits from those who resent the Realm’s oppressive occupation and the royal family for permitting it, and funds its operations through smuggling, particularly medicinal herbs. Members of the Cult have infiltrated power blocs across Goldenseal: government ministries, mercantile consortiums, street gangs, academies, and even the Immaculates.
And then, word came that the fire of Exigence burned once again. Karana labored long to find a god who’d been blessed with a spark of Exigence, eventually locating his mark: the wetland goddess Lyja. Playing to her feud against the Realm, he insinuated himself among her allies and ultimately convinced her to entrust the spark to him, claiming he would lend his power to her own that they might create a mighty champion against the Order together. Exigence in hand, he left in the dead of night to seek one worthy of becoming his Puppeteer.
Pakpao
Seemingly kind and generous, Pakpao is a political schemer and the Exigent known as the Puppeteer, Chosen of Karana. She has no desire to rely on her divine patron’s goodwill; she seeks for herself the power she never had in her mortal life, free from the strings that once bound her to the will of others.
Character Creation
The Puppeteer uses the character creation rules for Essence-based Exalted designed for Terrestrial play with the following modifications:
Step One: The Puppeteer has Craft, Larceny, and Performance as Puppeteer Abilities.
Traits
The Puppeteer is intended for Terrestrial play. She’s especially suited for inclusion Dragon-Blooded games: teaming up with a Sworn Kinship of outcastes fighting for dominance in the Meiyu Coast, allying herself Dynasts plotting to overthrow the V’neef satrap to advance their own houses’ ambitions, or joining forces with Immaculate shikari on a Wyld Hunt against an Anathema who threatens her own agenda.
Anima
The Puppeteer’s anima begins as a glowing colorless vibration like the shimmer of a mirage. As it rises, it becomes an ever-shifting web of puppet strings in shades of silver, violet, black, and white. Her iconic anima might depict a towering spider whose many legs pull Creation’s strings, a phantasmal audience that bursts into applause at Pakpao’s heroics, a blurring overlap of the silhouettes of those entangled in her schemes, or the like.
Anima Effects
Mistress of Puppets: Pakpao adds (Essence/2, rounded up) non-Charm dice on puppetry-based Performance rolls and can perform unrealistic feats of incredibly lifelike puppetry with stunts. She can pay three motes to use a puppet to take a physical action out to short range, using the lower of her (Dexterity + Performance) or the normal dice pool for the action. She can’t use puppets to attack unless she has Killer Puppet Approach, attempt feats of strength unless she has Iron Rod Spine, or Shape Sorcery unless she has Haunted Effigy Ritual
Puppet-Snaring Strings: For five motes, Pakpao can make an entangle gambit, rolling ([Dexterity or Wits] + [an appropriate Craft, Larceny, or Thrown]) against an enemy within short range. The gambit’s difficulty is 2. Success tangles her enemy in strings of anima for one scene, increasing his mobility penalty (Exalted, p. 591) by one and rendering him vulnerable to certain Puppeteer Charms. Pakpao waives this power’s mote cost at bonfire anima.
Puppeteer’s Innocent Smile: Once per day, Pakpao may pay one Willpower when she makes an influence roll to convince others of her innocence or implicate someone else for her misdeeds, adding (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm dice and reducing any penalties for making implausible claims are reduced by (Essence). Characters can’t spend Willpower to resist this influence unless presented with evidence that directly contradicts Pakpao’s claims.
Martial Arts
The Puppeteer is restricted by the Terrestrial keyword. She’s limited in her ability to combine Martial Arts Charms with her native Charms. When she makes a Martial Arts attack, she can enhance it with Puppeteer Charms or Martial Arts Charms, but not both. Excellencies are exempt and can be used freely with Martial Arts Charm. This restriction doesn’t apply to Charms that are already active and provide an ongoing benefit, nor does it apply to any action other than attacking.
Sorcery
The Puppeteer is capable of initiating into the Terrestrial Circle of sorcery. As an Essence-based Exigent, she pays 9 XP for each spell.
Evocations
The Puppeteer is always resonant with artifact puppets (Arms of the Chosen, p. 16). With other artifacts, she’s neutral with moonsilver and starmetal and dissonant with the other magical materials.
The Great Curse
The Puppeteer’s Great Curse manifests through a ten-point Limit Track. She gains Limit under the following circumstances:
-
Once per scene, when she acts against a Major Intimacy, she rolls one die, gaining Limit equal to the successes (unless she’s already rolled for acting against a Defining Intimacy). Voluntarily weakening an Intimacy or spending Willpower to resist influence it supports counts as acting against it.
-
Once per scene, when she acts against a Defining Intimacy, she rolls two dice, gaining Limit equal to the successes (or one die, if she’s already rolled for acting against a Major Intimacy).
-
When the Puppeteer learns that she has unknowingly acted in another’s service or to fulfill agendas other than her own, or that she has otherwise been manipulated or outwitted, she rolls three dice, gaining Limit equal to her successes.
The Puppeteer loses one Limit for accomplishing a legendary social goal (Exalted, p. 134). Her Limit resets at a Limit Break’s end.
Charms
The Puppeteer’s Charms empower her not only as a master of literal puppets, but also as a formidable schemer and strategist, manipulating others and planning ten steps ahead. Karana’s spider-like nature is reflected in her Charms as well, letting her climp up walls, swing on strings of Essence, or snare her enemies within silken webs.
Excellencies
The Puppeteer can purchase Excellencies for each of the Attributes. She receives two for free at character creation; Excellencies beyond these must be purchased separately. The maximum number of dice she can add depends on the type of action she takes: (Dexterity + specialty) for physical actions, (Manipulation + specialty) for social actions, and (Wits + specialty) for mental actions. Automatic successes count as two dice towards this limit. Static values like Evasion or Resolve can be raised by half her dice cap, rounded down. Unlike Exalted with Attribute-based Charms, Pakpao can’t use the Strength Excellency to bolster damage rolls or the Stamina Excellency to increase her soak.
Puppets and Crafting
Creating a puppet is a crafting project — typically a basic project, though large or especially complicated puppets may require a major project (Exalted, p. 240). It’s also possible to create artifact puppets with superior and legendary projects. Common Crafts used in creating puppets include Carpentry, Dollmaking, or other Crafts appropriate to the materials used.
Creation’s most elephantine puppets — those with Legendary Size, requiring Poppet Titan Mastery to animate — normally require teams of puppeteers to operate. They are exceedingly rare, typically seen only at major festivals, certain religious ceremonies, and the entertainment of the exceedingly wealthy. Creating a Legendary Size puppet is a mundane superior project.
Corpse-Puppet Reanimation lets Pakpao animate zombies as puppets; Statue-Awakening Strings lets her animate various inanimate objects. When Pakpao uses Puppeteer Charms that use crafting projects to improve her puppets, she uses Medicine for zombie puppets and the appropriate Craft for animated objects.
Puppet Charms
Dancing Puppet Artistry
-
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Reflexive
-
Keywords: Stackable
-
Duration: One scene
-
Prerequisite Charms: None
Pakpao’s puppets move with an artistry and grace beyond what any mortal hands could achieve.
Pakpao waives the cost to act through puppets with Mistress of Puppets (p. XX) and can negate penalties for lacking appropriate equipment with a stunt — she can, e.g., pick a lock with a marionette’s spindly fingers. If the puppet is particularly appropriate to the task, it counts as exceptional equipment (Exalted, p. 580).
Effortless String-Pulling Mastery
-
Cost: 2m, 2i; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Simple
-
Keywords: Perilous
-
Duration: Instant
-
Prerequisite Charms: Dancing Puppet Artistry
Countless strings trail from Pakpao’s fingertips, controlling her many puppets with the slightest of motions.
Pakpao flurries an action made through a puppet with Mistress of Puppets or a puppetry-based Performance roll with another action, reducing the penalty on each flurried action by one and ignoring the Defense penalty.
Iron Rod Spine
-
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Permanent
-
Keywords: None
-
Duration: Permanent
-
Prerequisite Charms: Dancing Puppet Artistry
Pakpao’s Essence suffuses her puppets with incredible strength, allowing wood and wire to crack stone and bend metal.
Pakpao can use Mistress of Puppets to make feats of strength through her puppets. If the puppet she’s using is small enough to have Tiny Creature or Minuscule Size, she halves her Strength to determine what feats she can attempt. If she controls a Legendary Size puppet with Poppet Titan Mastery, she adds +5 to her effective Strength.
While Dancing Puppet Artistry is active, Pakpao adds +1 to her effective Strength.
Killer Puppet Approach
-
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Permanent
-
Keywords: Uniform
-
Duration: Permanent
-
Prerequisite Charms: Dancing Puppet Artistry
Pakpao draws no distinction between puppets and weapons.
When using Mistress of Puppets to act through a puppet, Pakpao can use it to make attacks.
Living Puppet Performance
-
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Reflexive
-
Keywords: Stackable
-
Duration: Indefinite
-
Prerequisite Charms: Killer Puppet Approach
Any puppeteer can make a puppet seem to come alive; Pakpao goes a step further, bringing her marionettes to life with a combination of skillful puppeteering and Essence.
Pakpao animates a puppet within close range under her player’s control. Most use animated puppet traits; those with unusual designs might have unique traits comparable to one-dot familiars (Exalted, p. 161). Pakpao can still use Mistress of Puppets to act through an animated puppet with her own actions, using the better of her or the puppet’s traits.
Threads of Essence visibly connect animated puppets to Pakpao. This Charm ends if a puppet goes beyond short range from her, but they can use reflexive move actions outside of their turn in combat to follow her when she moves. Likewise, this Charm ends if Pakpao’s incapacitated.
Pakpao can stack this Charm to animate as many puppets as she has motes to commit.
Lair Charms
The Spider in Her Web
-
Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Simple
-
Keywords: None
-
Duration: Indefinite
-
Prerequisite Charms: None
Pakpao learned long ago that there’s no such thing as safety, but with sufficient planning and paranoid vigilance, she can make her lair a refuge from her enemies.
Pakpao creates a lair as a basic Craft project (Exalted, p. 240) that takes a day to complete as she prepares an enclosed space that can hold up to (Essence + Manipulation) people. The lair gains the following benefits:
-
Finding it requires a (Perception + [Awareness, Investigation, or Survival]) roll against difficulty (her Manipulation/2, rounded up). Trivial characters can’t roll to notice it.
-
Attempts to infiltrate it, such as lockpicking or sneaking past its guards, suffer a penalty of (Pakpao’s Essence).
-
Pakpao and her allies are treated as having an applicable Awareness specialty for all rolls within it.
-
If Pakpao sleeps in it, she can still make Perception rolls to detect threats and ignores any penalty she’d suffer for being asleep. She instantly awakens upon a successful roll.
Silken Sail Meditation
-
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Permanent
-
Keywords: Pilot
-
Duration: Permanent
-
Prerequisite Charms: The Spider in Her Web
Pakpao need not go without her lair if she takes to the seas; her ship is her sanctum and refuge.
When Pakpao uses The Spider in Her Web to claim a ship as her lair, it gains additional benefits:
-
It gains +1 Speed.
-
Pakpao and her allies are treated as having an applicable Sail specialty for all rolls aboard it. This counts toward their Sail rating when determining the modifier she receives from her crew (Exalted, p. 244).
-
Pakpao can’t fall overboard, arresting any fall with strings of Essence.
-
Boarding actions against it suffer a penalty of (Pakpao’s Essence).
Offensive Charms
Strings Drawn Taut
-
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Supplemental
-
Keywords: Dual
-
Duration: Instant
-
Prerequisite Charms: Arrow-Guiding Thread
Pakpao builds tension to launch her missiles, whether drawing back a bowstring or contracting her muscles as she prepares to hurl a javelin.
Pakpao adds (Essence) to the raw damage of a withering ranged attack or doubles 10s on a decisive ranged attack. If she crashes her enemy or deals 3+ decisive damage, she knocks him back one range band — or, if she made a smash attack (Exalted, p. 586), both knocks him prone and sends him back one range band. This Charm is incompatible with weapons that don’t add Strength to withering damage.
If Pakpao knows Killer Puppet Approach, she can use this Charm to enhance non-ranged attacks made through puppets.
Empty Hands Reversal
-
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Supplemental
-
Keywords: Decisive-only
-
Duration: Instant
-
Prerequisite Charms: None
Tangling her enemy’s weapon with strings of Essence, Pakpao plucks it from his hand.
Pakpao adds (higher of Essence or 3) dice on a disarm gambit’s attack roll and grants her weapon the Disarming tag (Exalted, p. 586). If it already has that tag, she doubles 9s on the attack roll.
If Pakpao uses Spider’s Cunning Strings on the disarmed weapon, her target’s 1s subtract successes on his roll opposing her.
Entangling Snare Technique
-
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Supplemental
-
Keywords: Decisive-only
-
Duration: Instant
-
Prerequisite Charms: None
Those caught in the Puppeteer’s threads struggle to escape in vain.
Pakpao doubles 9s on the attack roll and Initiative roll of an entangle gambit.
A second purchase of this Charm halves the gambit’s Initiative cost, rounded down. Against lower-Initiative enemies, the Initiative cost is waived entirely.
Defensive Charms
Anticipated Trick Approach
-
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Reflexive
-
Keywords: Decisive-only
-
Duration: Instant
-
Prerequisite Charms: Weaving Through the Fray
Those who’d trick the Puppeteer find her a difficult mark.
Pakpao can use this Charm after the attack roll of a gambit against her, letting her defend against it even if its successes equal her Defense. If she successfully defends against it, she gains the Initiative her attacker loses for missing.
Discarded Puppet Sacrifice
-
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
-
Type: Reflexive
-
Keywords: Uniform
-
Duration: Instant
-
Prerequisite Charms: Weaving Through the Fray
Pakpao is no stranger to sacrifice; if she must cut loose a puppet to survive, so be it.
When Pakpao’s attacked, she may allow a willing ally within close range to intercede per the defend other action. If an animated puppet defends Pakpao, it adds (her Essence/2, rounded up) Parry. She can reflexively drag it into close range to protect her, without counting as its move action.
Blazing Fang Smile (Red Jade Puppet, Artifact •••••)
Originally commissioned by Shogun Taharu Nibona for an elaborate festival commemorating her consolidation of power across the Blessed Isle, Blazing Fang Smile is a dragon-puppet nearly thirty feet long, wrought from red jade and the silk of countless anuhles. A troupe of Dragon-Blooded performers and their mortal assistant brought the dragon to life in a performance to celebrate their shogun. The festival continued to be observed even after Nibona fell to the Pigsty Coup, used to legitimize successive warlords’ claims to being shogun. The Great Contagion extinguished this tradition, and Blazing Fang Smile has been lost to history.
Attuning to Blazing Fang Smile costs three motes. It has the following traits while animated with Poppet Titan Mastery:
- Essence: 1; Willpower: 1; Join Battle: 10 dice
-
Health Levels: −0x2/−1x6/−2x6/−4x10/Incap.
-
Speed Bonus: +4
-
Actions: Appear Inanimate: 6 dice; Feats of Strength: 14 dice (may attempt Strength 10 feats, see Incredible Strength); Senses: 10 dice; Threaten: 12 dice.
- Appearance 1, Resolve 1, Guile 1
Combat
-
Attack (Unarmed): 12 dice (Damage 18B/5)
-
Attack (Grapple): 10 dice (10 dice to control; giant puppets make unopposed control rolls against smaller enemies unless they use magic like Dragon Coil Technique.)
-
Combat Movement: 12 dice
- Evasion 1, Parry 6
-
Soak/Hardness: 15/5
Merits
Automaton: Blazing Fang Smile is immune to poison, disease, fatigue, and fear and doesn’t need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep.
Incredible Might: Blazing Fang Smile doubles 8s on feats of strength.
Legendary Size: Blazing Fang Smile suffers no onslaught penalties from the smaller enemies’ attacks unless inflicted by magic. It can’t be crashed by smaller enemies’ withering attacks unless they have 10+ post-soak damage, although attackers gain the full amount of Initiative damage dealt. Smaller enemies’ decisive attacks can’t deal more than (attacker’s Strength + 3) levels of damage to it, not counting levels added by magic.
Mindless: Blazing Fang Smile treats all social influence as unacceptable and have perfect morale.
Evocations of Blazing Fang Smile
Blazing Fang Smile is capable of flight while animated and ridden by Pakpao and can carry up to (Essence x2) other riders. It can’t ascend higher than long range above the ground. Outside of combat, it flies at a speed of (Essence x10) miles per hour. If Pakpao has Blazing Fang Smile take no actions other than to fly, she waives Poppet Titan Mastery’s recurring Willpower cost.
Flaming Comet Parade
-
Cost: 3m, 2i; Mins: Essence 5
-
Type: Reflexive
-
Keywords: Decisive-only
-
Duration: Instant
-
Prerequisite Charms: Poppet Titan Mastery
Blazing Fang Smile smolders and coils upon itself, building unstoppable power before descending upon Pakpao’s foe with the force of a falling star.
While riding an animated Blazing Fang Smile, Pakpao can use this Evocation on its turn to have it aim at an enemy at short or medium range. On its next turn, as long as the chosen enemy is still within medium range, Blazing Fang Smile rockets into close range with him and makes a decisive attack, adding attack roll extra successes as dice of decisive damage. This counts as its move action and can’t be flurried. If Blazing Fang Smile moves over flammable terrain within short range beneath it to make this attack, that terrain catches flame, burning as a bonfire (Damage 4L/round, Difficulty 5) for the rest of the scene.
Hopefully that gives everyone at least a sense of what we'll get on Tuesday! We'll have the complete draft of the Puppeteer's chapter, along with the feedback form to leave comments and notes for the development team while they take the draft to it's final form.
Tomorrow, we'll copy a bit of last Friday's theme, except instead of looking at recently released podcasts, we'll look ahead to where we can get more information about Exalted Third Edition the following week, during Onyx Path's third annual Online Game Convention. I'll share a few more details tomorrow!
Mon May 30 '22 Announcement
almost 2 years ago
– Mon, May 30, 2022 at 10:37:48 AM
Hello Chosen of the Little Gods,
We've crossed a couple fantastic milestones over the weekend! Not only does this project now have more than 1,000 backers, we've also passed $100,000 in funding! That's so amazing - we're still in our first week of this campaign, and that all happened during a long weekend in the US, which usually keeps things a bit more quiet!
Although it's not really about being subtle with the fun stuff in Exalted, is it? Oh yeah, back to my new outfit...
Tomorrow, we're going to have the next chapter available from our draft manuscript, all about Strawmaiden Janest. I'll also repost the first sections released in case you missed any, so don't worry about having to dig back through the updates. I'll have it all laid out for you.
But today, I want to talk about Stretch Goals. We're closing in on our last posted Stretch Goal and will likely achieve that in the next few days, so I want to lay out what comes after that so we know what we're working toward as we continue to spread the word about this project.
At $105,000 in Funding - Exigents Expanded Content: The Chosen of the Dice
A design seed for the Willow Specter, the Chosen of the Dice, detailing the history and nature of Plentimon’s Chosen and providing traits and sample Charms to use as a beginning point for designing a full Charm set yourself.
Whenever we unlock these additional Exigent design seeds for the companion supplement, we usually add in a few more slots on the Untold Power Awakened premium perk pledge, so if you've been thinking about maybe grabbing one of those premium perks that allow a little more interaction witht the setting, keep an eye out for that.
As I noted, we're really close to unlocking the Willow Specter, so let's see what comes after that...
At $115,000 in Funding - Exigents Expanded Content: Miracles of Divine Flame #2
More Charms for the four playable Exigents featured in the book — including powerful high-Essence Charms.
At $120,000 in Funding - Exigents Digital Wallpaper
A bit of a momentum boost on the way to our next expanded content award, epic Exigents artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your computer desktop. This digital wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all Indiegogo backers supporting this project.
At $125,000 in Funding - Exigents Expanded Content: The Bleak Warden
A design seed for the Bleak Warden, detailing the gaoler-Exigent’s history and nature and the divine prison he oversees while providing traits and sample Charms to use as a beginning point for designing a full Charm set yourself.
Phew! A bunch of Stretch Goal targets to take us through the next few weeks at least!
We're really close to unlocking the Willow Specter content and then working towards these other goals, so please continue to spread the word in your social circles and on your social media! And look out for a big Strawmaiden Janest chapter tomorrow!
Fri May 27 '22 Announcement
almost 2 years ago
– Fri, May 27, 2022 at 12:01:20 PM
Hello Chosen of the Little Gods,
A few bits and pieces today, as we hit our first Friday of this month-long campaign. If you're just joining or checking us out, you can go back through previous updates and find
- The Draft Manuscript for Chapters 1-4 of Exigents: Out of the Ashes
- A Sneak Peek at Strawmaiden Janest, coming in full on Tuesday
Check 'em out. But if you want even more information about Exigents, the best source is straight from the horse-shaped Lunar Exalted's mouth. Or something like that, you get what I'm saying... the developers and Onyx Path team are the best people to talk about Exigents, and I've got a couple of podcasts to point you to where they do just that!
First up, the Systematic Understanding of Everything sees (hears?) Elliott and Vance, the developers for this book dig in to Exigents: Out of the Ashes. Who are the Architects? What were the Umbral Exalted? How do you make your own Strawmaiden Janest?
Listen to this Exigents Preview podcast here: EXALTCAST: EXIGENTS
A little closer to home, the Onyx Pathcast also had an episode of excitement leading up to the Exigents emerging to our crowdfunding campaign. Episode 204: We're Excited about Exigents, in which Dixie interviews Robert Vance and Elliott Freeman about Exigents: Out of the Ashes!
Listen to Onyx Pathcast 204: Exigents here: EXCITED ABOUT EXIGENTS
And if you think they were excited about Exigents, get ready for my (virtual) wardrobe change...
There, now your Crowdfunding Concierge feels a little more epic and appropriate! The Chosen of Continuous Updates!
We are a swordthrust away from our next Stretch Goal...
At $95,000 in Funding - Exigents Expanded Content: Streets of Great Forks
A gazeteer of the City of Ten Thousand Temples that expands on its description in Exigents, exploring notable locations, cults, and figures of local interest in Great Forks that can be used in games for any type of Exalted.
We'll likely unlock this at any moment today. And, we'll have another reward ride along on this one.
In addition, once we unlock additional Great Forks content for the supplemental PDF, we'll introduce a new Premium Perk allowing a backer to name a location and offer some suggestions for a brief overview to be included in the new material.
When the campaign launched on IndieGoGo (rather than our usual crowdfunding platform), we weren't sure how long it would take regular backers and Exalted fans to find us, but were not too suprised by how quickly everyone came over the back the project. One thing we were suprised about, however, was how fast all of the premium pledge perks were claimed. We had scaled back on IndieGoGo, assuming it would take a bit to fund and build up, and possibly be a while before we started adding Stretch Goal expansions and additional reward content.
But, that happened very fast. VERY FAST. So, we're going to be adjusting some of the "slots" for the premium reward perks as we unlock Stretch Goals that will give us more content to work with, more spaces to incoprorate those premium pledges in to. They're still expensive - still rarified air - but if you've really wanted to get an NPC named after a favorite character or make a location in Great Forks part of the published lore, more chances will be opening up as we move along.
At $105,000 in Funding - Exigents Expanded Content: The Chosen of the Dice
A design seed for the Willow Specter, the Chosen of the Dice, detailing the history and nature of Plentimon’s Chosen and providing traits and sample Charms to use as a beginning point for designing a full Charm set yourself.
In addition, should we unlock this Stretch Goal achievement, we'll add another 3 slots to the Untold Power Awakened premium perk.
There's still a lot of time ahead, as we steady our pace and prepare for the next five weeks, but lots more fun ahead! So, please read over the draft manuscript released thus far, share your feedback with the developers, and stay tuned for our next big Chapter coming to you on Tuesday!
