Sun-Touched Dragon King [Exalted/Highschool DxD]

heralding_bubble · May 26, 2018

Your name is Hyoudou Issei. Your parents and what few friends you have call you Ise. You are a second year high school student at the previously all-girls school of Kuoh Academy.

You are also dying at the moment.

Health:
-2 [X]
-4 [X]
Incapacitated [X]

Like all the good stories in the world, it began with a cute girl. She had beautiful black hair going all the way down to her waist, and the most alluring violet eyes. Or at least that was your opinion. Her name was Yuuma, and she asked you out. You who had been labeled one of the three great perverts of your school. You who all the girls looked down upon for your antics and had never had a girlfriend.

Except this particular girl confessed to you.

You first thought it was a joke or perhaps the result of a penalty game. In fact you had that thought quite often, and kept an eye out for any of her friends that were watching and laughing at her from the shadows. A natural reaction, considering your unpopularity with girls.

You didn't find any of them however, and your world changed. You had a girlfriend and wanted to shout it to the world, which you almost even did a few times. You wanted to brag to people you met on the streets that finally, you had graduated from single to having a girlfriend. An actual girlfriend and not just a waifu in your dreams.

And then the day of the first date came. You came three hours early just in preparation, and to be able to say "Don't worry, I just got here." You had a joyful day of doing all the kinds of stuff couples do; having lunch together, playing games in an arcade, watched a movie in a theater, and so on. The day passed, and you ended up in a quiet park. With no other people in sight, you thought that this might be it. The golden moment. Your first kiss.

As you were about to take her hand to hold it again she skipped ahead in front of the fountain and turned to you. The perfect scenery and opportunity for a magical first kiss. And then she said the words.

"Will you die for me?"

You blinked. Did you hear her right? Did your racing heart and mind confuse the words she said for something else? Then she grew a pair of black wings and in her hands appeared a spear of light, with which she stabbed you with.

And so you are currently on your bleeding stomach on the ground, bleeding and dying from the wound your first girlfriend gave you. What did you do to deserve this? You didn't cheat on her, and you think the date didn't go so bad as to warrant a death.

"Sorry. You were a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you early. If you want to hate someone, then hate God who put the Sacred Gear inside you," she says. Her voice is cold and uncaring above you.

'Sacred what? What are you talking about Yuuma-chan? No, in the first place it was you who stabbed me, wasn't it?' You think as you hear her walking away.

This isn't fair.

You're looking over an army marching against the tide of uncountable monsters of the titans, hoping that maybe this diversion will be worth it and the forever-war will end with it.

What will your parents say? Haha, maybe they'll be glad they got rid of that useless eyesore of a son? And Matsuda and Motohama? Would they even care when they heard you were dead? Maybe not, the only thing you all really had in common was your prevalence for perverted things. Ah, why are you plagued with such depressing thoughts at your final moments?

You look upon the bronze skinned four armed man, and while two of his hands are holding a laurel and a spear the other two hold a crown of woven mist. You kneel before him, and he places the crown upon your brow.

Will you go to Yomi? Or Heaven? Or where ever? What would they even say there, when you who was a total virgin, not even first kiss yet, came in. Would they laugh at you?

You grit your teeth in anger. This isn't fair.

You watch as the greatest of gods play their game, and the bronze skinned four armed one ponders his next move. A murmur goes through the crowd as turns towards the stands and grants you the allowance to make the move.

Bunching up your hands in anger, you move to rise up. This isn't fair. You feel an alien power flow through you and you grasp it like a drowning man grabs for something floaty.

You stand on a balcony, watching over a golden city. A perfect city. Your city. But there was a flaw in the designs, so you know you must raze it all down and create it again from scratch. It is the only way to fix it. The people will understand.

Ignoring the 'Huh?' of Yuuma you hear off to the side you lift yourself up to you knees, soaking your pants in your blood before getting your feet under yourself and rising to a stand.

Health:
-0 [X]
-1 [X] [X]
-2 [ ] [ ]
-4 [ ]
Incapacitated [ ]
Dying [ ] [ ]

You turn to glare at Yuuma, staring her straight in her eyes. In her eyes, wide from disbelief, you see yourself reflected in them. Glowing in golden aura like a super saiyan surrounds you, and a mark is glowing on your forehead.

The mark is
[][Caste]: A golden sunburst

Dawn Caste Abilities: Archery, Awareness, Brawl/Martial Arts, Dodge, Melee, Resistance, Thrown, and War.
Dawn Anima Effects:
• At bonfire/iconic anima display, the Dawn adds half her Essence score (round up) to her base Initiative upon resetting to base after a successful decisive attack.
• For 10 motes, all of the Dawn's combat and movement Charms with outstanding reset conditions are automatically reset. This effect can only be used once per day, becoming available again at sunrise.
• The Dawn Caste inspires terror in her foes. She adds half her Essence score (round up) in dice to all intimidating social influence. She may also intimidate targets which do not feel fear, such as automatons, golems, and certain undead.

[]Caste]: A golden disk

Zenith Caste Abilities: Athletics, Integrity, Performance, Lore, Presence, Resistance, Survival and War.
Zenith Anima Effects:
• For one mote, the Zenith's anima leaps from her hand to a corpse she's touching, igniting it in Solar flame. This power incinerates the corpse and ensures the soul of the deceased will not return as a hungry ghost. In addition, the Zenith may perceive the strongest Intimacies of the deceased and may choose to accept them. When she is ready, she may pay one mote, touching a target of those Intimacies to pass on feelings of peace, love, and assurance, shedding them in the process. She may also transfer them to an object, allowing it to convey comfort or a sense of duty to the subject. Conversely, she may touch someone who caused the deceased to suffer, paying one mote and rolling ([A social Attribute] + Presence) with three automatic non-Charm successes against their Resolve to transfer pain suffered by the deceased back on the one who caused it. The Storyteller is free to dictate the length and weight of such attrition.
• For 10 motes, one Willpower, the Zenith channels her Essence into an aura of divine retribution, surging around an attack. This power supplements a successful decisive attack against a creature of darkness, preventing the Solar's Initiative from returning to its base value after the attack. When the Zenith's anima is at bonfire, reduce the cost of this power by five motes and ignore the Willpower. This power may only be used once per day, resetting when the sun is at its zenith.
• For seven motes, the Zenith may order a dematerialized spirit to manifest using a (Charisma + Presence) persuade action with (Essence) automatic successes. All spirits inherently recognize the Unconquered Sun's authority in the priest-kings and are compelled as if by a Defining Intimacy, but may still have Defining Ties or Principles which counter this advantage. If successful, the Zenith's very command draws the spirit into the material world, so that it does not need to pay the cost to materialize.

[][Caste]: A half-filled golden disk

Twilight Caste Abilities: Bureaucracy, Craft, Integrity, Investigation, Linguistics, Lore, Medicine, and Occult
Twilight Anima Effects:
• For five motes, the Twilight projects an aura of pure force, reflexively gaining five Hardness for one turn. At the bonfire/iconic level, this power activates itself automatically at no cost. This effect doesn't stack with other magic that raises Hardness, but it can be used during Initiative Crash.
• For 10 motes, one Willpower, the Twilight's anima flares blue and white and consumes her body over the course of the round. On her next turn, she vanishes into her anima and ceases to exist. If the Exalt moves or suffers knockdown before the action is completed, it fails and the effect is wasted. After using this power, the Twilight will not reappear until the following sunset. When she does, it will be at a place of power within 10 miles of her vanishing point, chosen by the Storyteller. She might appear at a temple, a demesne, a major crossroads, the door of a god's sanctum, the precise center of a city, etc.
• For 10 motes, the Twilight may touch an Essence 1-3 elemental or a demon of the first circle, conjoining its Essence to her anima. Roll Intelligence + Occult against the creature's Resolve. If successful, this creates a pact that changes the spirit into her familiar, allowing her to target it with applicable Survival Charms. In addition, the Twilight can reflexively summon the spirit instantly for three motes, drawing it through the Essence of the world to appear beside her. She may banish the creature again, reflexively, for free, returning it to the tides of Essence that suffuse Creation until needed. The Twilight may have up to (Essence) spirit familiars bound in this fashion at once.

[][Caste]: An empty golden circle

Night Caste Abilities: Athletics, Awareness, Dodge, Investigation, Larceny, Ride, Stealth, and Socialize
Night Anima Effects:
• For two motes, the Night can dampen her anima, treating all Peripheral Essence expenditures as if they were Personal for one instant.
• For three motes, the Night can ignore up to (higher of 3 or Essence) penalties to a Stealth attempt for one instant. These motes are always considered Personal, regardless of the pool they're spent from.
• When the Night's anima is at the bonfire/iconic level, it wraps around and suffuses her form, hiding her figure and masking her visage in flame. She is merely a fearsome silhouette shrouded in all the hues of evening. It becomes impossible to discern her identity. This is considered a perfect effect, and cannot be pierced by Eye of the Unconquered Sun (see p. 273) or other all-seeing magic.

[][Caste]: A golden circle with a disk in the center

Eclipse Caste Abilities: Bureaucracy, Larceny, Linguistics, Occult, Presence, Ride, Sail, and Socialize
Eclipse Anima Effects:
• For 10 motes, one Willpower, the Eclipse sanctifies an oath she has witnessed. The Exalt touches the oathgivers (or their words, as they pass through the air), her caste mark flashing imperceptibly. If she wishes, her anima briefly flares, swirling with the words and runes by which Heaven has given her the right to arbitrate such matters. Oath-givers who break pacts sanctified by the Eclipse (including the Exalt herself) are subject to a terrible curse. The details of the curse are devised by the Storyteller, ideally reflecting the oath broken. A woman who breaks a hospitality oath might find herself incapable of rest beneath any roof for a year and a day, while a man who murdered the one he swore to protect may find his defenses utterly failing him when he must next fight for his life.
• The Eclipse has diplomatic immunity when treating with the enemies of Creation. So long as the Eclipse approaches them on legitimate business of some kind, shades, spirits, the demon princes of Hell, and the Fair Folk may not attack the Eclipse or her companions without just cause, and such creatures must observe the local rules of hospitality. Such beings may still attempt to provoke members of the Solar's embassy into breaking the peace, thus voiding this effect's protection.
• The Eclipse represents all the subtle movements of Essence under Heaven, the strange and self-referencing powers that stir when night merges with day. Eclipses can learn the Charms of spirits, Fair Folk and similar supernatural beings which have the Eclipse keyword for eight experience points each.

Yuuma stares at you mouth agape and eyes wide with disbelief. "W-what? You should be dead! I stabbed you in the stomach!"

You give her a savage grin. "I'm sorry but I can't let myself die just yet."

What do you do?
[] Attack and retaliate
-[] Stunt?
[] Ask why she tried to kill you.
-[] Stunt?
[] Run away.
-[] Stunt?
[] Write in.
-[] Stunt?

Due to just Exalting, all abilities count as if having 5 dots in them and having excellencies for the moment. The effect will dissipate after the scene ends.

heralding_bubble · May 26, 2018

Character Info Anima Power Attributes Abilities Merits Flaws Intimacies

Name: Issei Hyoudou
Gender: Male
Exaltation Type: Solar
Caste:
Motivation: To become a Harem King, a person worthy of the affection of multiple girls
Battle Theme:
Anima Banner:

Essence: O
Personal: 13/13
Peripheral: 33/33
Committed (Personal): 0
Committed (Peripheral): 0
Willpower: 5/5
Limit: 0

Health:
-0 [X]
-1 [X] [X]
-2 [ ] [ ]
-4 [ ]
Incapacitated [ ]
Dying [ ] [ ]

Join Battle: 2d+3
Dodge DV: 1
Parry DV: 1
Soak: 2
Hardness: 0

Read Intentions: 2d
Resolve: 2
Guile: 1
Strength: OO
Dexterity: OO
Stamina: OO

Charisma: OO
Manipulation: O
Appearance: OO

Perception: OO
Intelligence: OO
Wits: OO
Those marked with - are Favoured/Caste Abilities, that which is marked by + is the Supernal Ability.

Archery:
–Athletics:
–Awareness:
Brawl:
Bureaucracy:
–Dodge:
–Integrity: O
Investigation:
Larceny:
Linguistics: O
–Lore: O
>> Specialty: Eroge
Medicine:
–Melee:
–Occult:
Performance:
+Presence:
–Resistance:
Ride:
Sail:
Socialize:
Stealth:
Survival:
Thrown:
–War:

Craft:
>(Expertise):
Language: Japanese

Selective Conception: You have full conscious control on your own fertility. You cannot ensure pregnancy, but you can prevent any undesired one.

Common Sense: You have an inner voice that warns you when your present course of action is unwise or dangerous, a voice that sounds remarkably like that of the Storyteller.

Past Lives O: You have brief flashes of memories from your past Exalted incarnations, allowing you to grasp at the bare basics of the glories of the past. Can be used to boost applicable Craft, Lore, and Occult rolls with (Merit Rating) dice. May sometimes cause flashbacks - visions or emotions for example - to past lives. Can be increased by meditation.
N/A
Defining Ties:

Major Ties:
Beautiful Females (Lust)

Minor Ties:
Parents (Filial Love)
Perverted Trio (Friendship)
Good looking men (Jealousy)

Defining Principles:
"I will have a harem!"

Major Principles:
"I will help a girl in need."

Minor Principles:
"I help people in need."

Charms

Cascades
- Archery, the discipline of using ranged weapons. The bow is the dominant form of ranged weapon in Creation in all its different varieties, from the simple wooden self bows used by subsistence hunters to the composite bows carried by the Realm's archers. However, Archery also applies to the use of more exotic weapons. In the South, weapons fueled by a reagent called firedust shoot streamers of flame rather than arrows, and in the North, the nation-states of the Haslanti League favor the crossbow.
  
  Athletics, the discipline of physical fitness and acrobatic maneuverability. It is used in performing feats of strength, such as lifting up a fallen cart or bending the metal bars of a prison cage. It is also used for movement both in and out of combat—racing towards a distant enemy, jumping over a gaping chasm, climbing a brick wall, and swimming against a powerful tide are all uses of Athletics.
  
  Awareness, the practiced discipline of alertness and wariness of one's surroundings. It is used for rolls to notice or pick up on sensory information, but is also important in combat, adding to the Join Battle roll that determines a character's starting Initiative and allowing her to notice hidden enemies.
  
  Brawl, used by unarmed combatants who fight based on instinct and a natural talent for violence, rather than any particular discipline or style. It's used for punches, kicks, head-butts, shoulder thrusts, grappling, and all similar methods of using one's own body as a weapon. Brawl also conveys an aptitude for brawling aids such as brass knuckles and improvised weaponry such as chairs and broken bottles. In addition to covering attacks, Brawl can also be used to calculate a character's Parry rating in combat, although parrying a weapon capable of inflicting lethal damage with one's bare hands requires a stunt.
  
  Bureaucracy represents a character's acumen in organizational, mercantile, and legal endeavors. Bureaucracy is used to assess and evaluate the resources—both wealth and manpower—available to one's self or one's rivals, as well as to understand the legal codes of a society or the bureaucratic structure of an organization.
  
  Craft is used to create or repair objects through skilled labor, whether forging a sword, cutting the gem for a merchant prince's brooch, or planning and overseeing the construction of a temple. The Exalted and other supernatural beings are capable of using this Ability to create artifacts, treasures of legendary quality that possess powerful magic of their own.
  
  Special rules: When a character first buys this Ability, she must declare an area of expertise to which her crafting skill applies. Potential areas of expertise include weapon forging, armoring, architecture, tailoring, woodwork, carpentry, cooking, and anything else a player might come up with, covering similarly broad (but not all-encompassing) concepts. Additional areas of expertise must be purchased as independent Abilities—thus, a character might have Craft (Weapon Forging) 4, and Craft (Gem-cutting) 2. Of note are Craft (Artifacts) and Craft (Geomancy); these two craft skills in specific are needed to craft artifacts and design and raise manses, respectively.
  
  Dodge is the skill of evading one's enemies, deftly maneuvering out of the way of attacks or managing to avoid the dangers of fighting on hazardous terrain. In combat, a character's Dodge rating contributes to her Evasion, but is also used to escape from close-quarter conflicts with enemies or to take cover from the attacks of far-off foes.
  
  Integrity is the Ability to remain resolute in one's beliefs, principles, and decisions when they are challenged, an active discipline of self-assurance and refuting opposing arguments. It contributes to a character's Resolve, which is used to resist the persuasion of socially skilled characters.
  
  Investigation is used to uncover hidden or obscured details through close surveillance or examination, whether it is searching a magistrate's chamber for a hidden letter, unearthing clues at the scene of a murder, or reconstructing the details of a crime from the evidence presented before a magistrate at court.
  
  Larceny covers a range of talents that fall under the general penumbra of criminal activity. Pickpocketing, lock picking, and sleight of hand are all uses of Larceny that rely on physical deftness, but it also applies to more intellectual tasks such as creating an effective disguise, hiding evidence at the scene of a crime, or navigating a society's criminal underworld.
  
  Linguistics is the Ability used to compose works of writing—literary epics, poetic verse, propaganda pamphlets, or even a simple conversational letter. It can be used to influence the thoughts and feelings of characters who read the work using social actions. A character must have at least one dot of Linguistics to be able to read.
  
  Lore represents a character's understanding of the world, covering academic disciplines of history, mathematics, geography, literature, science, philosophy, and similar scholarly pursuits. It can be used both to recall useful pieces of academic knowledge, as well as to perform scholarly research in a library or archive. It is also important in the forging of artifacts and the raising of manses. Players must note the subject of their character's education when selecting Lore, as this impacts the scope of what the Ability may cover for them (see p. 237 for more details on using Lore)—Lore 5 alone makes the character a world-class savant, but doesn't mean she knows everything. Lore areas of expertise can be expanded with specialties and roleplaying.
  
  Medicine is used to diagnose and treat wounds, sickness, poisoning, and other ailments. In the Age of Sorrows, the state of Creation's medical practice is primitive, with bone saws, sutures, and scalpels representing the most advanced medical technology a physician might have access to. In some of Creation's cultures, methods of folk medicine such as herbal treatments, acupuncture, or therapeutic yoga take the place of traditional surgical implements, and can be just as effective, if not more so, in treating certain ailments.
  
  Melee is the Ability of hand-to-hand weaponry, covering swords, knives, hammers, axes, lances, and any other weapon used in close quarters. It is used both to attack with these weapons and to calculate a character's Parry rating when she blocks enemy attacks
  
  Occult represents an instinctive facility for dealing with Creation's mystical and otherworldly elements. It describes a rapport with the uncanny and things normally held beyond mortal ken. This includes understanding of the nature, powers, and ways of gods, ghosts, and demons, but also a sense of those things beyond the ken of Heaven and the gods. Occult is vital to the exorcist and the shaman whose arts cannot be taught to those lacking proper sensitivity, and also to the sorcerer, whose senses pierce the veils of the universe.
  
  Performance is the Ability of influencing others through creative or artistic displays, covering both traditional forms of artistic expression such as music, dance, and poetry, as well as rhetorical speaking through prepared speeches or oratory. It can be used to influence the thoughts and feelings of other characters through social actions.
  
  Presence is the Ability to effectively lead, intimidate, or persuade through force of personality. It can be used to influence the thoughts and feelings of other characters through social actions. When a hot-blooded general rallies her troops with an inspiring battle cry, a witty conversationalist charms those around her over the course of a party, or a thief blurts a convincing explanation for how she came into possession of a carved jade idol, all of these characters are using Presence.
  
  Resistance is the learned Ability of coping with pain, disease, fatigue, and other forms of physical weakness. In combat, it is useful for fighting through the deleterious effects of poisons used by dishonorable foes, or weathering the perils of fighting over hazardous terrain.
  
  Ride is used to ride on a horse, ox, or more exotic mount, as well as to maneuver in vehicles such as chariots or carts that are led by horses or beasts of burden. In combat, the Ride skill is used for moving across the battlefield while mounted. Also includes riding motorcycles and cars.
  
  Sail is used to captain a seafaring vessel through the great oceans and rivers that make up much of Creation. It is used both for maneuvering a vessel and for plotting a course using sea charts and navigational instruments. While the vast majority of vehicles in the Second Age are ocean-faring ships, the Sail Ability can also be used to pilot more exotic vessels, such as the hot-air balloon skyships used by the Haslanti League or many of the ancient, wondrous vehicles lost with the First Age.
  
  Socialize is a character's understanding of the social context in which she acts, encompassing both knowledge of decorum and etiquette as well as how to use them to one's advantage in persuasion or manipulation. In formal social situations such as an aristocratic court or a ritualized ceremony, a character can use Socialize to influence the thoughts and feelings of other characters with social actions. Socialize is also used both to read the emotional tells or body language of other characters to discern their inner thoughts, and to conceal such tells on one's self, contributing to a character's Guile rating.
  
  Stealth is used to avoid being noticed, evading the sight of one's pursuers through physical deftness and cunning. In combat, it can be used to catch foes unawares with sneak attacks or to hide from threatening enemies. Outside of combat, it can be used for covert surveillance, silently infiltrating a guarded building, or blending into a crowd after committing a crime.
  
  Survival is the Ability used to traverse and survive in wilderness environments. It covers the basic rudiments of outdoor survival, such as finding shelter, finding fresh water, and gathering food, as well as tracking, navigation, and handling animals.
  
  Thrown is the Ability used for weapons designed to be thrown at an enemy, rather than those which fire projectiles. Throwing knives, shuriken, javelins, chakrams, and nets are all used with this Ability.
  
  War is the Ability of understanding strategy and tactics. It is used both to direct the long-term progress of a war, planning battles to gain the upper hand over enemy forces, as well as to command the soldiers or warriors that serve a character directly in battle.

Weapons Weapon Rules

Unarmed
- Name: Unarmed
  Description: Meaty and Hooky, swift deliverers of Justice!
  
  Accuracy: +4
  Damage: +7
  Defence: +0
  Overwhelming: 1
  Tags: Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Withering:

Decisive:

Accuracy: Add this many dice to the (Dexterity + Ability) dice pool when making withering attacks with this weapon.
Damage: Add this many dice to damage rolls when making withering attacks with this weapon.
Overwhelming: The minimum damage of withering attacks made with the weapon, after soak has been applied. Soak can't reduce a weapon's withering damage pool to below its Overwhelming value.
Defense: Add or subtract this number from the weapon wielder's Parry. Attunement: To use this weapon, the wearer must commit five motes to make it respond to her desires more easily. Without this commitment, subtract -5 from the weapon's Accuracy and its Defense, and lose two Initiative per attempted attack or defense. These penalties can only be negated by attunement.
Attunement: To use this weapon, the wearer must commit five motes to make it respond to her desires more easily. Without this commitment, subtract -5 from the weapon's Accuracy and its Defense, and lose two Initiative per attempted attack or defense. These penalties can only be negated by attunement.

Balanced: The power and leverage provided by this weapon give it an Overwhelming one point higher than normal. For example, a Balanced mundane medium weapon would have an Overwhelming value of 2. This tag is normally found on swords.
Bashing: This weapon normally does bashing damage when used to deliver a decisive attack.
Brawl: Attacks with this weapon normally use Brawl.
Chopping: This weapon is capable of making chopping attacks. A chopping attack costs one point of Defense until the attacker's next turn, as well as one point of Initiative, but raises a withering attack's raw damage by 3, or allows a decisive attack to treat Hardness as two points lower than its true value. This tag is primarily found on weapons with heavy blades, such as axes and chopping swords.
Disarming: This weapon reduces the difficulty and cost of disarm gambits by 1.
Flexible: This weapon ignores the Defense bonus granted by full defense actions.
Improvised: Useable with both Brawl and Melee, these simple weapons can be created out of anything sturdy, heavy and roughly well balanced. Because they are not designed for use as weapons, improvised weapons cost 1 Initiative to use in an attack.
Grappling: This weapon can be used to make grappling gambits.
Lethal: This weapon normally does lethal damage when used to deliver a decisive attack. Lethal close combat weapons can deliver bashing damage with an appropriate stunt, by e.g. attacking with the pommel or with the flat of the blade.
Martial Arts: Attacks with this weapon don't use Melee or Brawl. Wielding it requires an applicable Martial Arts Ability. For example, the hook sword requires facility with a style like Martial Arts (Snake Style) or Martial Arts (Crane Style); Martial Arts (Tiger Style) wouldn't do.
Melee: Attacks with this weapon normally use Melee.
Natural: This weapon is part of the user's body. It cannot be disarmed, and never requires a draw/ready weapon action to prepare for use.
Piercing: This weapon specializes in defeating armor, either by punching through it or slipping through its weak points. A piercing attack lowers the attacker's Defense by one until his next turn, and costs one Initiative to attempt. The resulting withering attack ignores 4 points of soak from armor.
Reaching: This long weapon negates the advantages of mounted combatants (p. 202).
Shield: A weapon with this tag allows the character to place the "full defense" action in a flurry, although this flurry can't also contain an attack action. This is normally used to flurry full defense and rush actions together. The damage of shield-tagged weapons is 2 lower than their class would otherwise indicate (thus a medium shield-tagged weapon would have damage 7 rather than 9).
Smashing: This weapon can make smash attacks. Smash attacks sacrifice one Defense until the character's next turn, and cost two Initiative to attempt. If successful, they knock the opponent back one range band, or knock them prone. Targets may be knocked back into dangerous or deadly threats, like lava pits or steep cliffs.
Thrown: This weapon can be used to make ranged attacks using the Thrown ability. All Thrown weapons also have their maximum range listed in parenthesis, such as Thrown (Medium). When throwing a weapon, the wielder doesn't benefit from the weapon's normal Accuracy bonus; see Thrown Weapons, below.
Two-Handed: This weapon requires the user wield it with both hands, preventing them from holding a shield or another weapon at the same time. Two-handed weapons grant a +2 bonus to Clash attacks.
Worn: Wearable weapons can be removed, but while worn they count as natural weapons. Equipping or removing a weapon with the worn tag takes an action.

Armour Armour Rules

N/A
Soak: This is how much the armor adds to the wearer's soak value.
Mobility Penalty: This is the number of dice heavier armor subtracts from all nimbleness-based Athletics rolls, as well as from any rolls involving chases, running, and dodging. Most armor is noisy and this same number is subtracted from Stealth rolls involving attempts to move silently. Finally, this value is subtracted directly from thewearer's Evasion score.
Hardness: Hardness offers protection from decisive attacks; it has no use against withering attacks. If a decisive attack's damage dice pool is equal to or lower than the target's Hardness, the decisive attack can't inflict damage. A decisive attack that strikes but fails to penetrate the target's Hardness is still considered a successful attack, and causes Initiative to reset to 3 as normal. If a decisive attack's damage pool exceeds the target's Hardness, then damage is rolled as normal; Hardness is not subtracted from the damage pool.
Attunement: To use this armor, the wearer must commit the listed number of motes to allow the armor to respond to the wearer. Without this commitment, artifact armor is bulky, rigid and immobile and imposes a -5 penalty to Defense and to all actions, which cannot be negated by any means save attunement.

Buoyant: Most armor is made from metal, which means it's heavy and dense, and its mobility penalty applies to swimming. Armor with the buoyant tag is much lighter and does not inhibit swimming at all.
Concealable: Most armor is obviously armor. It can be decorated, but not disguised. Armor with the concealable tag can be worn under clothing so as not to reveal that the character is wearing armor.
Silent: All armor can be camouflaged with paint, grease or even dirt, but most armor is noisy. Armor with the silent tag causes no penalties to silent movement.

Experience XP and Training debt for Charms Gaining XP with Omakes Training Times and XP costs

Current XP: 7
Total XP: 7
Sometimes you need a Charm to get outside a dangerous situation, but you don't have the time or the Xp required? This feature will enable you to acquire a Charm instantly, but you will get into debt: all the XP you gain go to it until the cost is met and your free time will be dedicated to the skipped training (In-Game Issei will work out the kinks of it), again until the cost is met.

This works only for Charms: you can't raise Attributes and Abilities this way. Also, you can't learn a Charm if you don't meet the requirements.

The maximum number of Charms that can be under debt is: 3
An omake usually nets you 1 XP.
If enough people like the post (I don't know, 10?) it instead nets you 2 XP.

Requirements:
-The omake must not be from Issei's POV.
-The omake's length must be at least 700+ words.
-Please use good grammar.
Training time for Attributes is [Current Rating] x 7 days of 3+ hours of dedicated training time
XP cost for Attributes is 6 XP

Training time for Favoured/Caste Abilities is [New Rating] days with 3+ hours of dedicated training time
Training time for non-Favoured/Caste Abilities is [New Rating] x 3 days with 3+ hours of dedicated training time
Training time for Specialties is 3 days with 3+ hours of dedicated training time
XP cost for Abilities is 3 XP for Favoured/Caste Abilities, and 4 XP for Non-Fav/Caste Abilities
XP cost for Specialties is 2 XP

Training time for Favoured/Caste Charms is [Ability Minimum] days with 3+ hours of dedicated training time
Training time for non-Favoured/Caste Charms is [Ability Minimum]+[Essence Minimum] days with 3+ hours of dedicated training time
XP cost for Charms is 8 XP for Favoured/Caste Ability Charms, and 10 XP for non-Fav/Caste Ability Charms

XP cost for Willpower is 5, and has a training time of [Current Rating] days of complete meditation

Essence increases with XP; Essence 2 at 40 XP, Essence 3 at 100 XP, Essence 4 at 175 XP, Essence 5 at 250 XP

heralding_bubble · May 26, 2018

Intimacies and Social Influence

SOCIAL SYSTEM

Exalted Third Edition does not feature a social combat system. Instead it uses social influence mechanics, with a focus on character interaction, understanding the motives of other characters, and gaining trust or using appropriate leverage to influence others.

Exalted Third Edition characters do not have Motivations. Instead, Intimacies have been expanded to be much broader and more nuanced tools for fleshing out characters.

Intimacies may be "ties" or "principles." A tie is an Intimacy describing the character's feelings toward a person or place, such as "I love Prince Diamond" or "I hate the Mask of Winters." A principle may be any concept that is important to the character, such as "I cannot abide cruelty," "My word is my bond," or "I don't care what I have to do to keep my homeland safe."

Intimacies vary in intensity, and may be Minor, Major, or Defining.

Social influence actions may attempt to modify a character's Intimacies, or may attempt to convince characters to do things you want them to do. Intimacies are key to the success, failure, and possibility of such actions being attempted at all.

Social influence actions may be used during combat.

Intimacies

• Ties describe your character's attachments to people, objects, organizations, and other concrete entities. They have an emotional context which describes your character's feelings towards that entity. Ties are generally written as the subject of the Tie, followed by a parenthetical clarifier to establish context. Examples include Great Forks (Hometown affection), My mysterious benefactor (Wary respect), My wife (Love), Peleps Deled (Hatred), and The Immaculate Order (Admiration).

• Principles describe your character's beliefs and ideals. Principles are generally written as a statement of the Principle. Examples include ideals such as "Honesty is my watchword" and "Pragmatism rules my actions," and beliefs such as "The Immaculate Philosophy is the true guide to righteous living" or "I believe everyone looks out for number one."

The basic mechanical function of Ties and Principles is identical, but some Charms and other special rules may differentiate between them.

Intimacies come in three levels of intensity: Minor, Major, and Defining. Minor Intimacies are notable parts of your character's worldview, but only come into play when the subject of the Intimacy is directly relevant to her current situation. Major Intimacies hold more influence over your character, coming into play even if the subject is only indirectly or tangentially related to the situation at hand. Finally, Defining Intimacies hold sway over every aspect of your character's life—they're the pillars of her worldview, and often things she would lay down her life to protect.

Intimacies help characters to regain Willpower, and govern what actions they can be persuaded to take via social influence. For more information on Intimacies and their role in social influence, see pages 214-215.

Charms will sometimes become empowered by Intimacies, such as by granting a character extra strength to fight to protect his loved ones. In these circumstances, Minor, Major, and Defining Intimacies are "valued" at two, three, and four points, respectively—thus, a Charm granting dice equal to an Intimacy's rating would grant three dice if keying off of a Major Intimacy.

Characters may gain new Intimacies in several ways, all subject to Storyteller approval. The key to changing Intimacies is that the change must make sense given the roleplaying going on during the scene and in the broader context of the story. Characters can't gain beneficial new Intimacies if it doesn't match how they've been played.

• Intimacies can be created at Minor intensity or strength ened by one level by the social influence of other characters (p. 215).
• Whenever the player feels it is appropriate and the Storyteller agrees, the character may add a new Minor Intimacy or intensify an existing Intimacy at the end of a scene by one degree.
• In extraordinary situations, the character may gain a new Intimacy at Major or Defining Intensity based on the events of the story—when an Abyssal murders your brother, it's probably acceptable to go straight to a Major or Defining Tie of hatred toward him.

Losing Intimacies
Losing Intimacies is similarly simple, and likewise subject to Storyteller discretion.

• Intimacies can be degraded by one level or removed entirely (if Minor) by the social influence of other characters (p. 215).

• Whenever the player feels it is appropriate and the Storyteller agrees, the character may remove a Minor Intimacy or degrade an existing Major or Defining Intimacy at the end of a scene—the character just doesn't care about that thing as much anymore. Generally, this should follow several sessions in which the subject of the Intimacy hasn't come up—characters should rarely drop or degrade an Intimacy right after it has been created, even if the Intimacy is undesirable. Alternately, this might follow several sessions showing the character resolving or working to conquer unwanted Intimacies, such as Intimacies of fear or hatred.

• Whenever the Storyteller judges that a player hasn't reflected an Intimacy in her roleplaying for a while, she may declare that it has degraded or even disappeared completely. This is mostly to keep characters from accumulating a lot of Defining Intimacies, which should be reflected in the character's actions at least once per story. Few characters can sustain the kind of intensity needed for more than a small handful of Defining Intimacies, and the Storyteller's pruning helps keep down the clutter.

Social Influence

• Instill: Change the feelings and beliefs of other people. When taking an Instill action, you declare what you want to make someone to feel or believe. Penalties may be applied if implausible or hard to accept, to a maximum of -5. On a success, target forms an Intimacy towards that belief.

Some people might have existing Intimacies which might prevent Instill actions though, which need to be lessened for Instill to be successful.

—Strengthening a Minor Intimacy, or weakening a Major Intimacy, can only be done if the target has a different Minor or better Intimacy that supports the attempted influence.
—Likewise, raising a Major Intimacy, or weakening a Defining Intimacy, is only possible if the target has a different Major or better Intimacy that supports the attempted influence.
—Strengthening an existing Intimacy requires that the evidence raised or argument made in favor of strengthening it be more compelling than whatever caused the Intimacy to arrive at its current intensity. For example, if a shopkeeper gained a Minor Intimacy of distrust toward the Guild after learning that they often undercut local merchants, he would need even stronger evidence in order to strengthen his Intimacy to Major. Perhaps he learns that a Guild merchant plans to buy out his shop, or speaks to a man who once partnered with a Guildsman and was betrayed and sold into slavery.

• Persuade: Persuade action allows you to convince other characters to perform actions or tasks, the extent of which depend on the Intimacies of the target.

Without an Intimacy to support your roll, you can only convince others to take trivial and risk-free actions. If they have an appropriate Tie or Principle, you can potentially to convince them to undertake great risks, dedicate their lives to a cause, or even die in your name.

Inconvenient Tasks: Characters with Minor Intimacy can be convinced to perform tasks which pose some mild danger or hinderance to them, as long as it doesn't seriously disrupt their life or livelyhood. A severe injury, an angry superior, or heavy financial loss is still more than they will allow. You can persuade people to do things that take longer than a scene to complete, as long as it doesn't disrupt their life.
Example: "I need you to deliver this parcel to that big house in Cinnabar District, with the red jade lion statues by the door. If the man on the door has a scorpion tattoo, don't leave it with him—insist to see the master of the house."

Serious Tasks: Characters with appropriate Major Intimacy can be convinced to perform tasks that have a risk of extreme harm or impediment. A farmer could be convinced to join your militia, or an apothecary might provide you with poison even in the face of corporal punishment. They still balk at the risk of almost certain death or ruin. Tasks that take extended amount of time are possible at this level, even if it requires a long-term commitment such as joining an organization.
Example: "Just because he's your father doesn't make you his slave—why should his fear deny you a place in An-Teng's glorious uprising against its oppressors? This nation needs heroes; men like you!"

Life-Changing Tasks: Characters with an appropriate Defining Intimacy can be made to do almost anything. You could convince a devoted follower to hold off a Wyld Hunt to buy time for your escape, or make a wealthy noble donate the better portion of his fortune to your cult. Only in case of absolute and unavoidably certain death or utter ruin would they balk, and even then they might decide to do it against all the odds.
Example: "I know the old scrolls said the heart of this temple is guarded by a fearsome beast of brass and flame. I know it's frightening, but isn't this why we came so far and spent our fortunes, to be the first ones to scavenge the Great Ziggurat of Lost Zarlath? I'll never make it into the final chambers with my leg like this—you'll have to dare it for both of us!"

• Bargain: Similar to Persuade action but isn't dependent on target's Intimacies. Instead you're offering a bribe, gift, or a favour of some kind that the target believes is worth the difficulty or danger of the task you're asking of him.

• Threaten: Convincing people to do things with appealing to something they don't want, usually the threat of bodily harm, social blackmail, economical ruin, or general intimidation. Can be used as Instill action for a Tie of fear towards you. For it to be effective, target must be more afraid of the consequences of refusing than what he is of whatever you want him to do. Almost always causes the formation of an immediate negative Tie towards you.

• Inspire: Used to incite emotions and strong passions in others, usually with the Performance Ability. When done, you chose an emotion you are attempting to inspire like anger, sorrow, hope, lust, hatred, delight, or something else. On a successful roll, the target is impassioned according to the emotion evoked. The Storyteller chooses what form that passion takes.

Impassioned character may form a new passion, or act upon an existing Intimacy that aligns with the emotion evoked. A tribal warrior-queen who is inspired with anger after hearing a Dawn Caste's roaring oration against her enemies might decide to lead a raid against a hated rival clan, or might decide to begin harassing a political enemy within her own tribe. A merchant prince who is filled with sorrow by the song of a Zenith Caste playing outside his window might spend the rest of the scene weeping with longing for a dead wife or might resolve to undertake some act of generosity with his fortune in remembrance of her kind-hearted ways.

Target doesn't have to drop everything they're doing to act upon an Inspire action, but must be genuinely resolved to take action. A devout follower of the Immaculate Philosophy inspired to make a pilgrimage to Imperial Mountain would set his affairs in order, get supplies for the journey, and explain to his family where he's going before leaving.

Inspire action doesn't automatically create or strengthen Intimacies, but it's often appropriate for it to do so as characters act upon the inflamed passions. An inflamed passion may be treated as a Major Intimacy for the purposes of modifying Resolve and enabling persuade actions, for as long as the character is acting on it.

Inspiring character doesn't automatically know what passions he has inspired in his audience, he must use Read Intentions to find out. Because a character does not—and without magic, cannot—tailor the outcome of an inspire action to a specific target, inspire actions aren't subject to the penalty for group influence detailed on page 221, unless specified by a Charm or other effect.

• Read Intentions: Allows a character to discern what other characters wish to achieve in a scene of interaction. It is not an influence roll, but a (Perception + Socialize) against target's Guile. On a success you get a brief description of what the target wants out of the interaction: "He's seducing you to get you alone," or "She's making polite small talk and waiting for the party to end."

Alternatively Read Intentions can be used to determine what Intimacies a character has. You should generally describe what kind of Intimacy you want to discern ("Does he love anyone?" "How does he feel about me?" "Is he a devout Immaculate?"). On a success you are revealed one or more of the target's Intimacies that fit the criteria, or informed that there is none that fit it.

Read Intentions is not magic. You are analyzing the target's words and behaviour to get a feel for his motives and Intimacies. A target unaware he's being observed suffers a -2 penalty to Guile.

Appearance

While the Appearance Attribute may be rolled as part of social actions, it also has another function in social influence, granting a bonus against weak-willed characters. Those of low Resolve are more easily impressed and awed by striking, beautiful individuals, or easily intimidated by the profoundly ugly (see the Hideous Merit, p. 162).

If a character's Appearance rating is higher than his target's Resolve, then he gains a dice bonus on all instill and persuasion attempts against that individual equal to the difference. Thus, a character with Appearance 5 attempting to use a persuade action on an individual with Resolve 3 would gain a +2 bonus. This comparison is made before any bonuses to Resolve are factored in.

If addressing a group (p. 220), compare Appearance to the average Resolve of the group (usually 2 or 3) to determine any appropriate bonus.

Resisting Influence Rolls

Base difficulty for influence rolls is always the Resolve rating of the target.

Even if a character's Resolve is overcome, he may still have an opportunity to deny the influence. If the influence is trying to change how he feel,s such as creating, destroying, or changing his Intimacies, he may spend a point of Willpower to

• Stop a new Intimacy from being created. Although the character is moved, he just can't afford to invest himself in a new person or cause!

• Stop a Major or Defining Intimacy from being weakened. Even though the influence was convincing, the character just has too much invested in the Intimacy to give up now, even if he wants to!

• Reject a successful inspire action—the character uses his force of will to deny his swelling passions.

Refusing influence to make a character do something is trickier. When a roll overcomes his Resolve, he enters a Decision Point.

In Decision Point, you must choose an Intimacy and explain how it justifies resisting that specific influence. The Intimacy chosen must be of equal or greater intensity than the Intimacy which supported the roll, and can't be the one that strengthened his Resolve against the roll in the first place.

If the requirements are met and the argument accepted, you may spend one Willpower point to resist the influence roll. Otherwise the resistance is impossible.

Example: Consider Son of Wolves, a Zenith Caste whose Resolve rating has just been overcome by the influence roll of Naya, a scheming Sidereal. The Sidereal seeks to turn him against his Circle (a serious task), and her persuade action is supported by Son of Wolves's Major Principle of belief in the Immaculate Faith, which manifests as a lingering and unshakable conviction that he and his fellow Solar Exalted are Anathema. Unless Son of Wolves can match this with an Intimacy of Major or Defining intensity, he will be powerless to defy the truth he hears in Naya's words. While he has a Defining Tie of loyalty towards his Circlemates, he already used that Intimacy to bolster his Resolve, rendering it unavailable in a Decision Point. Luckily, he also has a Major Principle of "I can't abide a traitor," owing back to a terrible betrayal he suffered long ago. His player argues that this allows him not to betray his Circlemates even if they are Anathema. The Storyteller accepts this argument, and Son of Wolves is able to spend a point of Willpower to resist.

Unacceptable Influence

No amount of charisma is usually sufficient to talk someone into suicide, or to convince a die-hard patriot to betray his cause. If a request is so antithetical to the target's nature and personality that it can't possibly succeed, it is an unacceptable influence. A character targeted by one may reject it outright without spending Willpower, even if the roll beats his Resolve. A player can still choose to have his character follow the course of action, but only because he thinks it makes sense, the character cannot be coerced into doing it. Some powerful Charms and spells can compel characters into bowing to unacceptable influence.

Unacceptable influence includes:
• Any instill action to strengthen or weaken an Intimacy which doesn't exploit an appropriately strong Intimacy to do so.
Example: A Deathlord's agent sits down next to a Solar in a teahouse and intimates that the Solar's Lunar companion is not to be trusted, but she gives no reasons—only dim intimations. The Solar has a Major Tie of trust toward the Lunar. Because the Abyssal exploits no Intimacies to support her suggestions, the Solar can ignore her attempt at weakening his Intimacy toward the Lunar.
• Any persuasion attempt which doesn't exploit an Intimacy strong enough to support the proposed task
Example: A zealous Immaculate missionary attempts to convince the high priestess of Hamoji, great volcano god of the Wavecrest Archipelago, to abandon her life of worship. This would be a life-changing task, and the priestess has no Defining Intimacies which would support the missionary's exhortations. As such, the priestess is free to reject the proposed influence at no cost, without the need of a Decision Point.
• Any bargain attempt which fails to offer a properly enticing incentive or threaten action which is insufficiently threatening.
• Any influence that would cause a character to kill himself, or to do something that he knows would result in his certain death.
• Any influence that would cause a character to completely abandon or end one of his Defining Intimacies is unacceptable. A farmer with a Defining Tie of love to his wife might be seduced by another person, but could not be convinced to abandon or murder his wife. A Solar with a Defining Principle of "I will win the allegiance of the sorceress Raksi" could not be convinced to kill her, as this would make fulfilling that goal impossible. Weakening a Defining Intimacy is still allowed, making it possible to first degrade an Intimacy from Defining to Major and then issue the otherwise unacceptable influence.
• Any seduction attempt that violates a character's sexual orientation (as defined by the player, or by the Storyteller in the case of Storyteller characters) is unacceptable.
• Certain Charms allow characters to define special kinds of influence that they may treat as unacceptable.

Social Complications

Multiple Targets
Whenever an influence roll targets more than one character, it suffers a -3 penalty. Because the different targets can have differing Resolve ratings, the success of the action is determined separately for each target.

Written Social Actions
The Ability used when rolling for written social action is always Linguistics. When a character reads the message, compare the successes rolled to his Resolve to determine if it succeeds. Written social actions can be written to apply against a single intended reader or against anyone who reads them, with the effects for targeting multiple characters.

Gestures and Body Language
When attempting to communicate through gestures, appearance, and body language, the target adds +2 to his Resolve.

Overturning Influence
A character already persuaded to do something receives a +3 bonus to his Resolve against influences that would cause him to abandon or disregard that persuasion. This bonus stacks with the Intimacy bonus from a relevant Intimacy. The petitioner who wishes to overturn the existing influence must spend a point of Willpower before making her argument and roll.

If the contradictory persuasion succeeds, the target may use a Decision Point to resist it by citing a conflicting Intimacy, without spending Willpower. Conversely is he wants to abandon his course of action and accept the new influence, the character must spend a point of Willpower and cite the Intimacy which was used to change his mind.

These conditions remain in place for one story after a character has been influenced, once the next story begins the lingering influences can be overturned as normal.

Retrying Social Actions

Instill: You must present your target with substantially greater evidence for whatever you're trying to convince him of before you can retry, or you can try again after the current story has ended.

Persuade: Three ways. One, make a different argument playing on a different Intimacy of equal or greater strength. Two, wait and try again next story. Three, wait until the Intimacy that supported your influence roll has strengthened to a higher level of intensity either by strengthening it yourself or waiting until he has done it himself.

Bargain: You can only retry a failed bargain roll by making a new offering that's substantially greater than your previous one.

Threaten: You can only retry a failed Threaten roll if you significantly escalate the threat used to coerce your target.

Inspire: You must wait until the scene has ended to retry an Inspire action.

Read Intentions: Once a Read Intentions action has failed, it can't be retried on teh same target for the rest of the scene.

A Social Influence flowchart

heralding_bubble · May 30, 2018

[X]Caste]: A golden disk

[X] Attack and retaliate
-[X] One of the core tenets of being a man is to never hit a girl. However, when the girl in question clearly means you harm without fault by your part then, naturally, no one would fault you for defending yourself. You feel your body move by itself, every nerve feeling as if on fire. Your right foot stomps down on the ground hard enough to make your lower body shake before you shoot forward, instinctively falling into the runner stance that your sadistic P.E. teacher hammered into your head.
– [X] The punch you throw at Yuuma's face, on the other hand, is wholly taken from anime and thus likely inefficient, but damn if it doesn't make you feel badass.

One of the core tenets of being a man is to never hit a girl. Some of the words you live by.

However. When the girl in question clearly means you harm without fault by your part then, naturally, no one would fault you for defending yourself. You feel your body move by itself, every nerve feeling as if on fire. Your right foot stomps down on the ground hard enough to make your lower body shake before you shoot forward, instinctively falling into the runner's stance that your sadistic P.E. teacher had hammered into your head.

"Wha-" Yuuma's question is cut short as you leap across the space between you leaving a blur of golden light behind you. Her face morphs into a surprise and she brings her hands up to protect herself as you cock your hand back. You don't know anything about fighting but you've seen enough anime to know how to throw a punch. Probably.

Another spear of light starts forming in her hand but then you're right there and she starts a frightened squawk before your fist wreathed in golden light meets her face, going through her guard.

-10m, -1wp, Zenith anima power

Her head snaps to the side and she's thrown back as the half-formed spear dissipates. She's sent flying and skipping a few times on the ground before rolling to a stop at the base of the fountain, wings sprawled haphazardly around her.

You slide into readiness and prepare for another attack or a retaliation.

...

Any moment now.

You stare at her prone form. She's still breathing but it's... slow.

You hold your breath as you achingly slowly sneak towards her, wary for a surprise attack. She's not moving. You nudge her with a glowing foot and immediately jump back just in case, but there's no reaction.

Yuuma's Health:
-0 [/]
-1 [/] [/]
-2 [/] [/] [/]
-4 [/]
Incapacitated [/]

...That's it? You expected... more, from her speeches and posturing. And she almost killed you. She would have killed you if not for, well. You stare at the golden aura around your hands. She said something about... God? And Saint Gears? No wait, Sacred Gear. Is this yours? You shrug the thought off. Something to think at when you're safe at home, perhaps. But now...

You look at the unconscious Yuuma, black wings sprawled around her. What should you do about her? Should you help her somehow? But then, she tried to kill you. Maybe... you grimace with disgust even at the mere thought of killing someone and shake the idea away.

What do you do?
[]Leave her and go home. She'll manage, maybe.
[]Post an anonymous message for help on GALAX, and maybe someone will come and help her.
-[]And leave before they arrive.
-[]Hide and make sure she gets help.
[]Call for an ambulance.
-[]And leave before they arrive.
-[]Hide and make sure she gets help.
[]Write in?

Personal Mote Pool: 3/13
Peripheral Mote Pool: 33/33
Anima Level: Glowing (2/4)

Issei's Health Track:
-0 [X]
-1 [X] [X]
-2 [ ] [ ]
-4 [ ]
Incapacitated [ ]
Dying [ ] [ ]

>Join battle: Issei 7+3 successes, Raynare 4+3
>Issei goes for a decisive attack: 8 successes to hit and 9 successes on 10 dice for damage
>Raynare K.O.

Not exactly happy with the quality of writing in this myself and it is a bit short, but those rolls...

heralding_bubble · Jun 4, 2018

[X]Post an anonymous message for help on GALAX, and maybe someone will come and help her.
-[X]Hide and make sure she gets help.

You swallow a lump in your throat. Even if she tried to kill you, you don't... It takes a few fumbling tries but you confirm she still has pulse. You wonder what to do for a few moments, walking in a literal circle until you remember GALAX. You're not trained in helping people, but maybe other people are.

You take out your phone from your pocket, accidentally littering with some paper you had in there. You pick it out absentmindedly, it's filled with some squiggles and text but you pocket it since you're focusing on the X icon on your phone. After a few seconds of gathering courage you press it.

"How can I help, Issei?" the app asks after a few moments of silence, trying to think of what to say.

"Um," you start. "X, can I uh, post an anonymous message for help?" You ask the program.

It's quiet for a second. "Yes, it is possible," it says and doesn't continue.

"Okay, uh." You think of how to exactly phrase what happened. "Okay. So, um, my girlfriend grew black wings and attacked me with a spear of light trying to kill me, then I got better and punched her and she's unconscious and could you post an anonymous message for someone to come and make sure she's okay or something?"

You wait a few awkward seconds but eventually it manages to parse your rambled message and respond. "Black wings and a spear of light, at your current location?"

"Yeah." You scratch your cheek as you glance back to confirm that it actually happened and oh you're still glowing that's nice.

"Very well. Message delivered." X says and you let a sigh of relief. Then another pang of worry comes. What if the guy X sent the message to is some creepy weirdo? You trust X, but it's only a program in the end so it could do mistakes... You frown, glancing at the bushes. Should you...?

---

You're crouching down in the bushes, waiting for the promised help to arrive. Thankfully your glow had died down soon after you'd situated yourself in the bushes. Now, if only whoever X sent the message to came so you could put this day-

Your ears practically wiggled (you don't know how to actually do that, unfortunately) as they heard something heavy flapping. At first guess you would have said a bird but it sounds heavier than that. Looking upwards, your mouth almost fell open at the bat winged and white haired little girl flying down on the park square.

What was it with people and wings? First Yuuma and now... You frown and look closer at the girl who's proceeded to looking over Yuuma. It looks like she's wearing a Kuoh Academy uniform? That's worrying, you'd never heard of even rumours of people like that being in your school. Maybe they're using magic to disguise themselves, if magic is a thing. It probably is, you shrug.

Something at the back of your head tells you you could do magic as well, but you push the thought aside for now.

The little girl's taken Yuuma's phone from her, which worries you a bit, and she's holding some kind of paper in her other hand that starts to glow with red light. A moment later a red circle of some kind appears under her and another person appears in the park next to her.

You feel your heart skip a beat in your chest. Those breasts, that blood red hair. You recognize her immediately even looking through a bush after the sun has set. What the hell is Rias Gremory, one of the Three Princesses of Kuoh doing here?

The little girl says something which causes Rias to scowl, before handing over Yuuma's phone to her. She looks through it for a moment before the little girl says something and points a hand right at your way. Your eyes go wide and your mouth as your masterful hiding place's location is outed just like that. Rias looks over at your location before nodding to the girl, then makes a call using Yuuma's phone.

The girl's attention seems to be at Rias as she's talking, now's as good as time as any to...

[]Run away, they're probably calling someone she knows to get her
[]Go and talk to them, your cover's blown anyway
-[]What do you say?
[]Wait and see what happens
[]Write in?

heralding_bubble · Jun 7, 2018

[x]Go and talk to them, your cover's blown anyway
-[x]Is she going to be ok?

You sigh. They know you're there so might as well get it over with. And you can make sure if she's going to be alright as well. With that thought you get up and walk past the bushes to the park clearing and approach the girls.

As you get closer you realize that the little girl wearing your school's uniform is actually Toujou Koneko, the school's cute unofficial mascot. She tenses slightly at your approach but doesn't do anything beside it, while Rias finishes up her phone call by closing the flip phone and sighing before dropping the phone on the unconscious Yuuma.

"They should be here soon Kone-" she stops as she turns and sees you, blinking before her eyes go to your forehead. Which makes you realize you can feel the golden disk still glowing there. It appears your glow recedes in stages, which you mentally file down somewhere to think about when you actually have time.

"Gremory-san, Toujou-san," you greet them with a nod. "Is Yuuma-cha- she going to be okay?" You ask, this time nodding towards the still sprawled unconscious body behind them.

Rias glances at Yuuma's knocked out form before turning back at you, her gaze sharper now that the surprise has passed and nods. "Fallen Angels are made of stern stuff, Hyoudou-san. She'll probably have a headache but will be functional in a few days."

You blink. Fallen Angel? You glance back at Yuuma, thinking for a moment. That would certainly explain the black wings. Though you're woefully inexperienced with the Christian mythology, so can't really say anything more than that. Normal Angels would probably have white wings then. But what does that make Rias and Koneko?

You rack your brains in thought before you almost slap yourself in your stupidity. Lots of games have them as adversaries and enemies, often summoned by BBEGs, acting as one, or as one's lieutenants. The leathery wings really make it obvious in hindsight. They're clearly Devils.

The realization makes you narrow your eyes and you feel yourself tense, ready for an incoming attack.

"May I ask what happened, Hyoudou-kun?" Rias' question deflates you a bit, though you notice that she's still got her sharp-eyed gaze at you which seems to have narrowed somewhat. From the peripheral vision you can tell that Koneko's tensed a bit more too, likely in response to you doing the same first.

What to do...

[]Tell them what happened.
-[]Stunt?
[]Don't tell them.
-[]Stunt?
[]Write in.

Sorry it took so long.

heralding_bubble · Jun 11, 2018

[x]Tell them what happened.
-[x] She gutted me like a fish… what? I got better.

You run a hand through your hair like a main character in anime and grin your best roguish grin at Rias.

"Isn't it obvious? She gutted me like a fish."

Her eyes go wide and she looks you up and down, focusing on your blood-soaked pants and shirt which has a fist sized hole in it.

"Of course, I got better. And then punched her lights out."

"...Why?" Koneko asks.

Your grin falters at the question and you swallow the lump the question brings in your throat. Not because she's asking why you punched her lights out, of course, but because she's asking why she tried- no, it wasn't an attempt, she actually did gut you and you would have died if it wasn't for whatever happened. Your Saint Gear, or whatever it was?

You shake your head before sighing. Beginning your tale at the beginning, you explain that she confessed to you almost two weeks ago. Three days ago you managed to gather the courage to ask her for an actual first date. You'd woken up early today from excitement and spent a good few hours fussing over what to wear. Something casual yet fitting for a first date. After having a quick shower and brushing your teeth again before putting on the clothes you had carefully picked and heading off three hours early for the meeting spot. Nervously waiting for her to arrive, small part of you fearing that this was the point where it turned out to be a joke and a prank.

Your relief and joy when she arrived, and using the ever-cool "Don't worry, I just got here myself" line. You spent the day doing things couples did, like getting your ass kicked by her in the new Street Fighter arcade game because she was a cheesing spammer. Going to watch Children Who Chase Lost Voices in the movies, and having lunch at the mall. Chuckling and pointing out she got mayo on her cheek after vigorously devouring her hamburger. Winning her a cute charm to hang on her phone at the claw machine.

Eventually you had a pleasant walk and ended up in the present park.

"When she skipped ahead and turned to me, with the sun going down behind her, I thought for a moment that this is it, you know? My... But then she leaned over and said 'Will you die for me?'" You shivered from the memory. You can feel the confusion again, bubbling back up as you think back to that moment. "I didn't understand. Did I mishear what she said? But then she grew her black wings and-" You swallow the bile threatening to come up. "And stabbed me. I fell down and was dying, and she continued talking. 'Sorry,' she said. 'You were a threat, so I decided to get rid of you. If you want to hate someone, hate the God who put the...'" You frown. "'Saint Gear'?"

"Sacred Gear," Rias corrects. You glance at her and you can see the sympathy and anger in her face. You look at Koneko and though she seems closed off, you can feel the anger radiating from her.

"'Who put the Sacred Gear in you,'" you finish. "I felt angry, and betrayed, and confused, and then I... I saw something. Visions. And the anger rose. It wasn't fair. Then I stood up and was glowing with golden light, and she was confused, and then I went in for a punch. I don't know how to fight, I was just doing what I remember from anime, and then I hit her and she didn't get back up. After a moment I realized she wasn't getting up I checked if she was still alive, then I asked X to send the message for help in case she was hurt worse than it seemed."

You sigh and take a breather after finishing your story, wishing you had something to drink. You glance at the fountain, but your eyes betray you and wander down to Yuuma's prone form and you feel anger coiling in your guts, fresh from just reliving the events of the day.

[][Yuuma] It is a burning inferno, but you stamp it down. (Major Intimacy: Yuuma (Hatred))
[][Yuuma] It is a simmering heat, but you crush it down to cinders for now. (Minor Intimacy: Yuuma (Hatred))
[][Yuuma] It is the embers of a dying fire. She has paid for what she's done. (No Intimacy gained)

Your thoughts are jarred from their rails as Rias grunts. It's such an unexpected and unladylike sound that it completely scatters your thoughts. Turning your attention to her, you see she's frowning in thought, and even Akeno is looking at her.

After a few moments she sighs. "Another topic to discuss with her friends when they arrive," she says before shaking her head and turning her attention to you. "I called her friends before you came out, they should be here soon. If you want, you can stay and talk with them, but I would suggest leaving it to me. I am after all the Second Owner of Kuoh City, so they have to answer to me for what they've done. I will get to the bottom of this Hyoudou-san, so I suggest heading back home. We can talk tomorrow after school more if you have questions, but with the Fallen Angels coming please go home for now?" She asks you, genuinely concerned for your well being.

[][Choice] Agree to talk more tomorrow, go home for now.
[][Choice] Agree to talk more tomorrow, stay for the discussion.
-[] Topics to talk/ask about?
[][Choice] Decline respectfully to meet tomorrow, go home for now.
[][Choice] Decline respectfully to meet tomorrow, stay for the discussion.
-[] Topics to talk/ask about?
[]Choice] Write in.

heralding_bubble · Jun 14, 2018

[x][Yuuma] It is the embers of a dying fire. She has paid for what she's done. (No Intimacy gained)
[x][Choice] Agree to talk more tomorrow, stay for the discussion.
-[x]You just want to watch and listen. They should already know your identity, but you don't know theirs.

"We'll talk more tomorrow then, but if it's alright with you Gremory-san, I would like to stay for the discussion. If only to know who to look out for," you add as she was about to speak.

She frowns before grudgingly nodding. "If you wish, I suppose I don't have a reason to stop you." Koneko merely frowns at Rias' back before slightly shaking her head and staying quiet.

You wait in silence for the Fallen Angels to arrive. It doesn't take long - soon you hear the flapping of wings and few moments later are greeted with the sight of three people walking to the park square.

At the lead is a tall middle aged looking man with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a closed grey trench coat over a white shirt, black shoes, pants, and gloves. Behind him on the right side is a tall and large breasted woman with brown eyes and long blue hair, wearing a red coat that gives away a generous cleavage that should probably leave you drooling, a matching mini skirt, and black heeled shoes. To their left is a short blonde girl with twintails and a black bow on her head, with blue eyes and wearing a black gothic lolita dress with white frills and a black bow with a green gem on the front, white thigh highs with garter straps you can see disappearing up her dress, and black flat shoes.

They stop a few metres away from the Devils(?) and you, and the man at the head sizes your group up. "Miss Gremory," he greets as he bows in what your gut says mocking manner. "I am Dohnaseek. My companions are Kalwarner and Mittelt," he gestures to the woman and the girl respectively, the latter of whom gives a cheery wave.

"Fallen Angels," you're fairly sure she's glaring at them. "Your group was allowed into the city by assurances that you had no hostile intentions towards us and the civilians. Foolishly, at the advice of my brother I eventually allowed your presence. I was only moderately surprised when I received word on a Fallen Angel attacking a civilian tonight, and upon investigating it found her," she nods to Yuuma's direction, "in said condition after having attacked a civilian which caused his Sacred Gear to activate and allow him to defeat her."

Dohnaseek glances at you, taking in your bloodied clothes before directing his attention back to Rias, while Kalawarner takes a longer look as if assessing you for a fight, and Mittelt grins lasciviously at you and winks. You're fairly sure you should be blushing from her attention.

"So tell me," Rias continues, "Why exactly should I allow your further presence in my town if this is what you are doing?"

Dohnaseek's face looks like he'd just eaten something extremely sour for a moment before he sighs. "I would... extend the humblest apologies-" he manages to somehow say through his clenched teeth, "-on behalf of our faction for actions of the leader of our group." He takes a breath and blows it out his nose, trying to center himself. "Our mission was to covertly watch after an individual Lord Azazel believed to house a dangerous Sacred Gear that could go berserk upon activation. Raynare took the mission upon herself and decided to complete it solo and left the rest of us out of the loop."

You blink. Yuuma's name is... Raynare? More lies, it seems.

"We did not know what she had planned for him, or what would have caused her to change her plans into something that resulted in this. Rest assured, she will answer for her offences," he says with a smirk. "As for our future presence in the city..." Again with the bite-out-of-lemon look. "I would humbly ask that we be allowed to reside here until... next Wednesday, for we have a package already incoming and it would be too late to change it's destination."

Rias considers him for a long moment, before eventually sighing. "Very well. But if I hear even a rumour of Fallen Angels doing anything I don't like, I will come down on you so hard you'd wish you never fell. Take her and get out of my sight."

Dohnaseek glares at Rias before slowly nodding in acknowledgement and directing Kalawarner to take Yuu- no, it's Raynare. After Kalawarner picked Raynare up like a sack of potatoes, they all grew their black wings and flied away without further actions.

You three stood there for a moment, winding down from the tension before Rias sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose with one hand, while Koneko moves in and pats her other hand consolingly. After a moment she pats Koneko on the head and murmurs something to her which causes her to blush and step away while Rias turns to you.

"Well Iss- Hyoudou-san," she hastily corrects herself with a blush, "That was the Fallen Angels. You'll still be coming over tomorrow to actually discuss things, since it's quite too late for that now?"

"Yeah," you nod and give a thumbs up. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

She gives a nod of her own. "See you then."

For a moment you think they'd grow their own wings and fly away, but instead a blood red circle blooms from under Rias, and Koneko steps next to her before they're whisked away.

You sigh explosively and almost collapse as everything is finally over, but you steel yourself for the trek ahead. Glancing at your clothes you grimace and hope nobody sees you.

----

You sneak inside your room slowly closing the door, wincing at the click as it closes. After a few seconds of silence you breathe a sigh of relief. Your parents were already asleep when you got home, and continue to remain that way.

You want to just fall on the bed and sleep, but you manage to dredge up the effort to take off your clothes. You lump the bloodied shirt and pants into a ball and stow them under your bed for safe keeping before falling on it with a groan.

It doesn't take long before you're asleep.

You dream of the Sun and golden cities.

Choosing Caste Abilities:

Athletics

Integrity

Performance

Lore

Presence

Resistance

Survival

War

Choose 4 of the Abilities listed to be Caste Abilities, which will get a small discount on Charm and Ability Dot purchases, as well as faster Charm training.
Choose 1 of the Abilities listed to be Supernal Ability, which gets the same benefits as a Caste Ability.
However on top of that, your Essence counts as 5 for Charm Requirements, allowing you to purchase Essence 5 Charms and Charm Upgrades while at Essence 1 for that ability.
The Ability chosen as Supernal Ability can not be chosen as Caste Ability.

[][Supernal]:
[][Caste]:

Choosing Favoured Abilities:

Archery

Awareness

Brawl

Bureaucracy

Dodge

Investigation

Larceny

Linguistics

Medicine

Melee

Occult

Ride

Sail

Socialize

Stealth

Thrown

Craft

Those from the Caste Abilities List that were not chosen as Caste/Supernal

Choose 5 of the abilities listed to be Favoured Abilities, which gain the same benefits as Caste Abilities.

[][Favoured]:

-----
On today's episode, Dohnaseek gleefully throws Raynare under the bus and we learn Yuuma's real name. Since she didn't get the chance to properly introduce herself before, due to unforeseen circumstances.

I have this gut feeling that Ability choosing might be somewhat messy, any ideas if/how to make it less?
Or should I pick some/all of them myself?

heralding_bubble · Jun 28, 2018

[Supernal]: Presence
[Caste]: Integrity
[Caste]: Resistance
[Caste]: Athletics
[Caste]: Lore
[Favoured]: Occult
[Favoured]: Awareness
[Favoured]: Dodge
[Favoured]: Melee
[Favoured]: War

You are to love as I am to light. For this, you are Chosen. Doubt not, fear not; yours is the mark of Zenith, bright as noonday sun. March forth against all darkness for you are now Exalted, a Champion of the Unconquered Sun.

You wake with the dawn.

You blink away the dream of a four armed man, or was it a dragon, and stretch. You feel... great. Awesome, even. Better than you ever remember feeling. It's like there was another layer added to, or perhaps removed from reality. You wonder for a moment why exactly that is, before blanching as the memories of yesterday come back to you. With a grimace you bring your hand to your stomach where Yu- Raynare stabbed you and wince at the pain. It still hurts. Looking down on it, at least the hole isn't that big anymore, nor is it bleeding.

Rising from the bed with a groan, you check under you bed. The bundled ball of bloodied clothes is still safe there. You entertain the thought of dropping them to the pile of dirty laundry in the bathroom for a moment before dropping it with a shake of your head. Mother would have questions.

Sitting back down on the bed with a sigh, you run a hand through your head and think. Raynare tried to kill you because of your Sain- Sacred Gear. But you don't have a Sacred Gear. You look down at your hand, as you clench it to a fist and release it. You don't have a Sacred Gear, you think... But you are something more. You think back to your dream of the four armed man. No, you frown and shake your head. He is not a man. He is a god. Your god. Unconquered Sun. You are His Chosen. You are His word in this world. You are Exalted. You are Zenith.

The rightness of it makes you grin.

After the moment of self reflection you finally look at the clock. You knew it was 05:47 even before you laid your eyes on it. You can tell the time apparently. Useful, you suppose. At least you'll never be late. Unless held back by things out of your control.

You hum, thinking back to the start of your self-reflection. Sacred Gears... You'll have to ask more about them in the meeting after school. You can't help the grin that comes with the thought of seeing Rias again. She is one of the Three Princesses of Kuoh for a reason. Hopefully you'll also learn more about the world you've stepped into.

Which reminds you of the Fallen Angels. Although Dohnaseek you think his name was, said that they'd look after Raynare, you can't help but think about the possibility of her escaping and coming after you again, or worse, your parents. She was their group's leader after all, so it would make sense if she was the strongest, right? You sigh and idly play with a strand of hair. If she went after your parents... Should they know? Be prepared to run away in case they see her, or something? And what about the rest of the stuff; Sacred Gears, Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels...

You frown. It would be best if you...
[][Parents] Speak to them at breakfast.
-[] What do you tell them:
[][Parents] Speak to them after you know more.
[][Parents] Don't tell them. Ignorance is Bliss.

You sigh. Hopefully it'll be for the best.

You settle your eyes on the bookcase on the wall opposite of your bed and wonder what to do. A thought of the time tells you it's 06:09 which means you probably shouldn't start breakfast yet, unless you want to eat it cold. Letting your eyes roam around they settle on your laptop. After a mental shrug you move to sit at the desk and boot the thing up, and start trying to find information online about the Unconquered Sun. Just searching "Unconquered Sun" gives you Sol Invictus, who was a Roman god of the sun according to what you found. But even though the name feels like it matches, there is no mention of dragons in relation to him. Searching for "Four armed sun god" gives you some assortment of Hindu gods instead along with Surya, but he has three eyes and again no mention of dragons. And "Sun God Dragon" just gives you Yu-Gi-Oh! card results.

You spend some more time trying to find something about Him but find nothing. The result makes you frown. Perhaps he is a god in some remote corner of the world like somewhere in the Amazon or something? With a sigh at your lack of success you shut down the laptop at 06:51 and start heading downstairs to make breakfast. You might as well do it since you're already awake.

Maybe Rias might know something about Unconquered Sun? Something to ask about, you guess.

As you start preparing the coffee, eggs, toast, and bacon, a thought occurs to you. You had been rather... vocal, about the upgrade of your relationship status. As well as your first date with Yuuma. It wouldn't surprise you if most of the school knew about them, or at least rumours of them by now. What then, will you say about the events of yesterday? You wouldn't be surprised if people expected you to gloat about it today. You should think of a story to tell them, perhaps...

[][School] She went full Yandere and you managed to run away.
[][School] She revealed it was only a game for her and she did it all just to toy with you.
[][School] For some reason she decided to just dump you at the end of the day.
[][School] At the end of the day it was clear that you weren't suited for each other and mutually broke it off.
[][School] Write in:

Attribute, Ability, and Willpower Dot voting.

You have 13 dots to spread between your Attributes and Abilities to a maximum of 5, and Willpower to a maximum of 10.

An example vote
[X][Dots]: Appearance +3, Presence +3, Willpower +1, Lore +2, Melee +2, Craft (Armour) +2
This would result in Appearance 5, Presence 3, Willpower 6, Lore 3, Melee 2, and Craft (Armour) 2.

Your current Willpower is 5.
Your current Attributes are

Strength: OO
Dexterity: OO
Stamina: OO

Charisma: OO
Manipulation: O
Appearance: OO

Perception: OO
Intelligence: OO
Wits: OO

Your current Abilities are

Those marked with – are Favoured/Caste Abilities, that which is marked by + is the Supernal Ability.

Archery:
–Athletics:
–Awareness:
Brawl:
Bureaucracy:
–Dodge:
–Integrity: O
Investigation:
Larceny:
Linguistics: O
–Lore: O
>> Specialty: Eroge
Medicine:
–Melee:
–Occult:
Performance:
+Presence:
–Resistance:
Ride:
Sail:
Socialize:
Stealth:
Survival:
Thrown:
–War:

Craft:
>(Expertise):

Sorry it took so long, life got in the way like it has a habit of doing sometimes. I also had this finished four hours ago, but then refreshing the page ate the thing and I had to start from scratch. It feels kind of rambling, and I'm not that happy with it.

I also added the 7 XP you were supposed to get at the end of last post.

Sun-Touched Dragon King [Exalted/Highschool DxD]

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