To kick things off, how would one fit Exalted into the DarkSun setting as it stands, not necessarily with their given history, but as a concept?
One idea I think would be incredibly fun would be playing...as the Sorcerer Kings (and Queens) themselves! Those few would be the only Exalted in existance (at least the only human Exalts), but damn if playing the SK's wouldn't be an epic, world-spanning sort of storyline.
Another idea was that the Exalted were lesser Champions of Rajaat -- experiments before he created the real thing with the Sorcerer Kings -- who scattered to the four winds early in the history of the Cleansing Wars. Now, they -- or their descendants, or their reincarnations -- are returning to the Tablelands from afar, some at the head of vast armies culled from the few oases of life beyond the Tyr region, others as champions of the people. Some would be allies of various Sorcerer Kings, others would be their outspoken enemies.
Here's how I see it so far:
Attributes (abilities scores in D&D) straight port from WW: Str Dex Sta Man Cha App Per Int Wit
Abilities (skills in D&D) leans toward d20 interpretation: Use the skills listed in PHB with WW system. Former abilities such as melee, dodge, thrown, archery, brawl, resistance, and martial arts (basically all the Dawn Caste ones and a few others) are no longer treated as abilities.
Arcane Magic will follow a system loosely based off of Arete and Quintessence from mage the acesion. The spheres are modified into the schools of magic allowing for various levels of competancey in different schools (a more free form ability to specialize).
Divine Magic will follow a system based off of True Faith. When true faith is taken it must be taken with a qualifier which very with the campaign setting (this is the same as choosing a god, or element, or nature).
The previously mentioned combat abilities (melee, archery, etc.) become more similar to Arete and True Faith, much more expensive then skills and will allow you to buy powers (read feats) associated with them. All attack abilities are boiled into one score (Attack), but defense are kept seperate. Specialitise can be taken in the various subcategories of attack abilities, so your attack could be 3 dots and you could have a specailty in Archery of 2 dots making your total pool equal to 5+dex for firing arrows.
Willpower, Nature, and Merits/Flaws direct port from exhalted with added merits and flaws such as Rage (to allow for barbarian rage abilities) and such. Taking certain merits will open up other charms that can be taken.
I have some more info, but thats a basic run down of what I'm working with right now.
You're right that an exact conversion of Exalted would not work, at least not the history and background of the Exalted. That would have to be altered, but I think the overall idea -- of superpowerful individuals with supernatural talents -- would work well.
There were some good conversion ideas in the thread I mentioned at RPG.net for the effects of magic, handling the non-human races, and so forth, but as far as explaining the powers of the Exalted, I have a few ideas about that depending on what sort of game one wants to run.
----Possibility One----
As I mentioned above, one could use the ruleset to play the Sorcerer-Kings and Queens, though one would have to play as slightly higher powered Exalts for the modern day...unless one wanted to play during the Cleansing Wars just after Rajaat had performed his rituals and made them into Champions.
It fits really well, too. At low levels, Exalts are more-than-a-match for even dozens of normal mortals, and at higher levels, they can take out whole armies by themselves. That certainly fits the whole Champion paradigm.
I know some folks are thinking that not all the Champions are glorious warrior-types. That isn't a problem, since the various Solar Castes account for different types of Solars. All of them are good at fighting and war, but not all of them are focused on it.
This could be rather fun. In fact, one could erase what is known of Athasian history and play out the Cleansing Wars as they might have happened instead, and throw all sorts of unknowns into it -- betrayals by friend and foe, changes of heart and reversals, strange enemies of vicious power -- as well as play out the existing events, such as the betrayal of Rajaat by his Champions and the various small wars of the Champions against one another.
One could get really funky and play a game where some of the Champions follow the same path as Oronis, casting aside their defiling to embrace preserving, and seeing where that leads.
Obviously, in this case, Exalts would be the creations of Rajaat, specifically the Champions he crafted. Later on, other Exalts would arise among the defilers and preservers who figured out the process Rajaat used (or a variant of it) that allowed them to channel even greater power and become dragons (or avangions). Other Exalts would be the Spirits of the Land druids can become and the Elementals clerics can change into.
I would match things up like this: wizards would become Solar Exalted; druids would become Lunar Exalted; clerics would be Terrestrial Exalted; psionicists would be Sidereal Exalted.
I wouldn't know what to do with Abyssal Exalted...the only thing I can think of would be to make Dregoth, and any other undead Exalt (though there are no other canonical ones), an Abyssal.
I would base Caste simply on the personality of the individual rather than having it be some inborn trait. Use it for preferred skill package and such, and otherwise ignore it.
Anima banners would be interesting (obviously, Hammanu's would be a lion).
Not sure what one would do regarding Limit Breaks and Conscience, though it seems like a good thing to keep for some drama. Have to think some more on how to make it work with the Champions, really tie it into their history, their betrayals and so forth.
Perhaps some sort of enroaching madness they have to stave off -- like a lesser version of the draconic rage (or perhaps that is exactly what it is) that manifests as extreme jealousy, anger, entitlement, lust, paranoia, etc.
For this version, the Charms and such Exalts are able to use would be manifestations of the psionic-sorcery the Sorcerer-Kings have mastered.
Obviously, one would have to figure out some mechanics for mortal use of first circle sorcery and such (since in regular Exalted, only Exalts can utilize sorcery), but I don't see that as much of a barrier or change to the existing rules. After all, most of that restriction is just color.
Templars would have to be drawing on their SK's Essence in some fashion, so their regulation of its use by their minions becomes important.
----Possibility Two----
If you don't want to play the Sorcerer-Kings, then one possibility would be that Exalts are simply your standard bad-ass-in-a-bad-world heroes that Athas produces. Caste would be a matter of what would be character class in D&D. Charms and such could be explained away as manifestations of the Way.
One would have to restrict the practice of sorcery, however, only to those specifically devoted to it, since regularly all Exalts are capable of it. Perhaps make it an Ability? Then put that Ability on one of the Caste's lists.
In this case, almost the whole world would be full of Exalts, since the Way is everywhere and many, many people manifest it's use. For this option, I would make most folks standard mortals, making the more dangerous enemies various other types of Exalted, mostly Terrestrial Exalts, with some others being the other types of Exalts depending on how dangerous they should be and where they are located.
Lunar Exalts out in the wilds, as rangers, druids, terrible semi-human mutant beasts and so forth. Really powerful Terrestrials could be elementals and elementally-grounded beasts (drakes and such). Sidereal Exalts would be the more powerful defilers and psions the characters face, etc. Obviously the various intelligent living dead would be Abyssals. I don't know that I would have other Solars, except as maybe the occasional NPC hero or similar (or, again, as the SK's and such).
The Anima banner would have to be either removed or explained as manifestations of various harbringers used in the Way.
Obviously, Limit Breaks and Conscience would be there for dramatic purposes rather than any specific curse levelled against the Exalts.
----Possibility Three----
This option would be to make the Exalted similar to the Exalts from the actual game. For some reason, certain men and women are being gifted with unheard of super-human powers.
Perhaps the elementals (or Athas itself) is choosing champions from among the races, perhaps the Sorcerer-Monarchs are imbuing loyal subjects with incredible abilities, perhaps these are the descendants of Rajaat's various pre-Champion experiments now manifesting strange abilities after generations, maybe they are mortals who stumbled into ancient Blue Age halfling pods and emerged grafted to living technologies, or maybe they are the spirits of fallen Green Age heroes finally returning to mortal form. Maybe some or all of the above.
To represent the Way among the populace, some percentage of mortals would have access to some simple Charms.
Much of the rest would be dependent upon what you wanted to set up as the backstory for the various Exaltations. I personally would use much the same sort of set-up as in the first option: druids are being Exalted into Lunars, psionicists are being Exalted into Sidereals. I would change some other things, though, so that some of the other Exaltations are present in a wider spectrum.
Abyssals would be the intelligent undead, of course, possibly even some of the SK's darker (necromancer) servants. Lunars would be druidic and other wild Exalted, probably common amongst elves and other desert-dwellers (Lunar Gith!), while Terrestrial Exalts would be the most common of the SK's servants and elemental champions as well as among clerics.
The SKs I would make into either the most powerful of the Solar or Abyssal Exalted, or into powers above and beyond the Exalts.
For the halfling-pod-people idea, I would use Autochtonians as the basic template. However, they would bear living technology implants, and their Charms/Sorcery would be the Life-shaping of the ancient Nature Masters: the ability to see the flow of life and "reprogram" it according to various embedded, universal instructions.
Solars: The most highly exhalted, rulers of the world during the 1st age. Solars are exhalted by the unconquered sun (essentially the king of the gods). The solars grew corrupt and decadent and were overthrown by the Dragonblooded with the secret help of the Sidereals.
Lunars: The consorts of the solars and generals of the exhalts. In the 1st age, every solar had a lunar mate. When the Dragonblooded overthrew the Solars they convinced many of the lunars to abandon their soulmates and run away to the wild at the edge of creation.
There are a set number of Solars and Lunars, if killed they will eventually reincarnate into the world. Both are considered Anathama now by the currently ruling Dragonblooded and are hunted down as soon as they reincarnate in an attempt to kill them before they regain their power and memories. The Lunars are able to escape this fate in great numbers by living on the edge of creation were most fear to tread and are most likely to reincarnate into tribes living in the outskirts of creation.
Dragonblooded: The soldiers of the exhalted. They are of the five elements (Air, Water, Fire, Earth, and Wood) uniquely tied to the world. Their name derives from their legendary lineage, they are all descended from 5 dragons (the pinnicle of dragonblooded evolution?). The Dragonblooded are the noble rulers of the Realm, a pale shadow of the 1st age empire of the Solars. Dragonblooded are not immortal and do not reincarnate, but they can reproduce. There is a chance that any child born of a union containing at least one dragonblooded will produce a dragonblooded offspring and the "gene" can remain dormant for generations before reappearing. The purer the coupling of genes the more likely they are to produce dragonblooded offsrping.
Sidereals: The agents of fate, the hidden exhalted. The sidereals live in heaven and act as agents to the five maidens. Every siderreal is exhalted by one of the maidens. They are responsible for shaping the fate of the world and act with extreme subtlety. Near the end of the 1st age the sidereals received a great prophecy about the fate of the world and were presented with a terrible dilemma. They could do nothing, and the world would slowly be corrupted becoming a world of darkness. Or, they could overthrow the Solars and the world would would be deminished greatly, but continue on. They choose the latter.
The Maidens: Mercury, Maiden of Journeys. Venus, Maiden of Serenity. Mars, Maiden of Battles. Jupiter, Maiden of Secrets. Saturn, Maiden of Endings. The combined might of the maidens is thought to be equal to that of the unconqured sun.
The Abyssals: The abyssals are an invention of the 2nd age. They seem to be the ensnared and corrupted souls of Solars. Those solars that were most corrupt in life are most likely to reincarnate as Abyssals. The Abyssals serve the Deathlords, rulers of the underworld; which encroaches upon creation in places of great death and misery.
The Alchemicals: The Alchemicals are not part of creation, but of the parallel world of Autothonicia. The live within the body of their god and creator and world size city full of machines and factories. The alchemicals motives and nature are unclear to me.
The Fey: The Fey come in many varieties and like the Dragonblooded are frequently aspected toward one of the fire elements. Only the fey aspected to Earth are truely a part of creation. All the other on the beyond the edges of creation in the wild and come into creation to hunt mortals for sport and pleasure, or for other unfathomable purposes. The fey that are known of and seen in creation are but, pale limited creature in comparison to the formless fey lords that live deep within the choas of the wild. Soon after the dragonblooded revolt there was a great plague that killed so many people that the fabric of creation was weakened enough to allow the Fey host to invade creation in mass. Something like 3/4ths of creation was destroyed (unraveled) by the fey before they were driven back by the Scarlet Emperess.
The Scarlet Emperess: The Scarlet Emperess, was a general of in the Shogun's dragonblooded armies. One day she broke into a Solars tome on the Blessed Isle and activated a great weapon of the 1st age. She was crowned emperess for driving back the fey from creation and proceed to rebuild the shattered empire and found a great dynasty taking many husbands and lover over the centuries. Oddly see never died of old age living twice as long as any dragon blooded had ever lived, until one day see went into her hold and mysterious never came back out. That was 10 years ago. The Realm has begun a slow slide into ruin.
The Elemental Poles: Their are 5 elemental poles. The pole of earth is located at the center of the blessed isle and is the central pillar of creation. To the north is the Pole of Air the further you head north the colder and windier it gets. To the south is the Pole of Fire the further south you go the hoter it gets until eventually the very air is engulfed in fire. To the east is the Pole of Wood a great forest stretches across the easter lands growing ever thicker as you head east, the tree grow taller and more magnificient and the animals more wild and cunning until the tree stretch endless up into the sky and the ground vanishes completely. To the west is the Pole of Water a great ocean lies to the west dotted by archipelegos as you head further west slowly the islands stop and the sky begins to merge with the ocean until their is nothing but an endless expanse of water.
That should do you for a basic primer! ;)
There is also an introductory adventure here, called the Tomb of 5 Corners, which (as I recall) contains everything one needs to play through a brief Exalted adventure.
I regret ever getting the game. As much fun as it seemed, it just became less and less fun as time went on as the characters got to be higher powered and the encounters incidentily got to be more challenging. Imagine playing D&D when a single round of combat with 5 PCs and two NPCs would take close to an hour.
Exalted, settings wise, is freakin' awesome, rules wise... much to be desired. It's slow, awkward, the requires are ponderous (we're talking hands filled with dice at times) and just totally against the rule of having fun. Eat the stick.
But yeah... that's what I have to add to this.
-X
The rules are basically a modified version of the Storytelling system, right? That does take a little getting used to, but as a fan of the Storytelling system, and a GM who likes using that system/mechanics because of the much more loose, free-form system it provides, I'm going to have to say that I've seen people like it, or hate it. One of my old group's players refused to play anything from the d20 system, because it only had you roll a single d20 die for every action, and therefore did not have the "bell curve" effect he preferred.
Yah, the main problem comes from the complicated interaction of charms and the shear number of dice to be rolled. Honestly, I think they got it right with Abberant. If you want to simulate amazingly powerful abilities automatic successes are the way to go, not more dice. Even with a group of starting characters, every character needs 10 dice, because they will frequently rolling that many or more, as you get into higher power levels the number of dice only grows. Imagine having to roll 30 dice and count up the successes to resolve an attack..ouch!
If you thought Mage was confusing and difficult, you should see the rules for the Fey
!The second edition of the game is coming out soon and claims to be streamlined without invalidating past releases.... hopefully they did a good job.
But, like Xanthus said the "setting wise, it's freakin' awesome"!
One of my old group's players refused to play anything from the d20 system, because it only had you roll a single d20 die for every action, and therefore did not have the "bell curve" effect he preferred.
If you did want to institute a bell curve into the game, it's accomplished easily enough.
Depending on how steep you want the curve to be you merely roll Xd20s and divide by X then round up. Or, for a less mathmatically challenging method (but, less flexible and possibly less accurate, I'm not sure?) roll 3d20 and take the middle result.
Method one allows you to assign a randomness factor to any roll. So could be great for skill checks or opposed checks where you want to assign the relative randomness of an action. For instance, you might consider the success of failure of a balance check to remain standing when the boat a character is on suddenly lurches to be completely random. So you just have them roll 1d20. But, when the character later tries to train his new pet dog to guard, you might have him roll 3d20/3, because their is less randomness in the situation.
Method two is (relatively speaking) quick so you might use it for combat.
Some others have preposed systems that rely on rolling dice other than d20s to generate scores between 1-20 (or close). With some minor tweaks these systems can work well as well and are probably the most efficient method.
The dice I've seen suggested are: 2d10, 3d6, (2d6+1d10)-2, and (2d8+1d6)-2. These differing methods give you curves with different properties. Personally I think that the 2d10 method works the best (even though its more of a peak then a curve), with the (2d8+1d6)-2 method coming in at a close second, but a more averaged result that actually spans the normal range. If you use a method that generates a slightly different range of results the critical failure or success can always be reassigned to the highest or lowest number and still is far less likely to occur.
As another note, somethings like critical threat ranges for weapons would have to be modified for a 2d10 system. If you altered all the 20 crit threat weapons to 19-20 and all the 19-20 ones to 18-20 then the doubling of threat chance from one to the other would be presevered.
19-20: 3/100 rolls
18-20: 6/100 rolls
All the 18-20 crit threat weapons could be changed to 17-20 with only a slight disturbance.
17-20: 10/100 rolls
Anyway, sorry for the ramble
I remember MANY times from the mid point in my game and onwards in which one player, a Dawn Caste Solar (a warrior Exalt for those who are unfamiliar) was rolling close to 20 dice per attack, he had 5 attacks. The NPC he was wailing on was also similarly equiped (kind of a nemesis like guy, a Dusk Caste Abyssal) was rolling around 20 dice for each defense roll. Took forever, there were times where other players would fall asleep inbetween rounds of combat, it took so damn long. I think the majority of my problems with Exalted was that for the scene defensive Charms existed (allowing you free full pool defense actions without taking away from your normal actions), and also that the Charms simply were not balanced against eachother in value in any way, shape or form.
As a huge fan of the Storyteller system (I loved Vampire, Werewolf, and Hunter the most, especially Hunter), I just can't back how it was adapted to Exalted. Their idea of cinematic combat apparently was taken from repeated watchings of "Underworld" and the cinematic genius held within it.
Worst. Movie. Ever.-X
I regret ever getting the game. As much fun as it seemed, it just became less and less fun as time went on as the characters got to be higher powered and the encounters incidentily got to be more challenging. Imagine playing D&D when a single round of combat with 5 PCs and two NPCs would take close to an hour.
Funnily enough, that's exactly how I characterize my experience with D&D, even at low levels, and just growing progressively uglier as levels -- and thus powers, combos, etc. -- increased. I know I've sat around for an hour or more working out one lousy D&D combat similar to the one you describe above.
Unfortunately, not having played Exalted yet, I can't comment on how well or poorly the system runs, nor in comparison to D&D. I just know that I don't much care for the standard D20 system, or earlier iterations of D&D (except maybe the early Basic rules) any longer.
However, there are conversions for Exalted to Wushu, a fast-playing "system-light" martial arts action RPG that really fits the Exalted concept well (here's an RPGNet review). The two I know of are Voidstate's conversion (to PDF), and there is also my buddy Shreyas' Sampat's conversion called Whispering Fury (to PDF).
BTW, it occurs to me that your problem with Exalted combat and massive dice pools between high-powered foes would be neatly solved by something similar to the way Issaries Inc's "HeroWars" handles these things: via Masteries (in brief, levels of skill cancel one another out, and/or provide automatic levels of success).
If you did want to institute a bell curve into the game, it's accomplished easily enough.
Depending on how steep you want the curve to be you merely roll Xd20s and divide by X then round up. Or, for a less mathmatically challenging method (but, less flexible and possibly less accurate, I'm not sure?) roll 3d20 and take the middle result.
Method one allows you to assign a randomness factor to any roll. So could be great for skill checks or opposed checks where you want to assign the relative randomness of an action. For instance, you might consider the success of failure of a balance check to remain standing when the boat a character is on suddenly lurches to be completely random. So you just have them roll 1d20. But, when the character later tries to train his new pet dog to guard, you might have him roll 3d20/3, because their is less randomness in the situation.
Method two is (relatively speaking) quick so you might use it for combat.
Some others have preposed systems that rely on rolling dice other than d20s to generate scores between 1-20 (or close). With some minor tweaks these systems can work well as well and are probably the most efficient method.
The dice I've seen suggested are: 2d10, 3d6, (2d6+1d10)-2, and (2d8+1d6)-2. These differing methods give you curves with different properties. Personally I think that the 2d10 method works the best (even though its more of a peak then a curve), with the (2d8+1d6)-2 method coming in at a close second, but a more averaged result that actually spans the normal range. If you use a method that generates a slightly different range of results the critical failure or success can always be reassigned to the highest or lowest number and still is far less likely to occur.
As another note, somethings like critical threat ranges for weapons would have to be modified for a 2d10 system. If you altered all the 20 crit threat weapons to 19-20 and all the 19-20 ones to 18-20 then the doubling of threat chance from one to the other would be presevered.
19-20: 3/100 rolls
18-20: 6/100 rolls
All the 18-20 crit threat weapons could be changed to 17-20 with only a slight disturbance.
17-20: 10/100 rolls
Anyway, sorry for the ramble
Actually, I had tried getting him more interested by instituting the Bell-Curve Rolls and Variable Modifiers alternative rules from Unearthed Arcana -- however he had been shipped off to Iraq for 550 days, and when he came back, I was no longer living even remotely in the same State (moved from Tennessee -> California), much less same apartment.
Yeah, the thing about the Storyteller system is that it works well in everything but Exalted. As Rhul-Than stated, they got it right in Aberrant and they royally messed it up in Exalted (which uses an almost identical rules set).
I remember MANY times from the mid point in my game and onwards in which one player, a Dawn Caste Solar (a warrior Exalt for those who are unfamiliar) was rolling close to 20 dice per attack, he had 5 attacks. The NPC he was wailing on was also similarly equiped (kind of a nemesis like guy, a Dusk Caste Abyssal) was rolling around 20 dice for each defense roll. Took forever, there were times where other players would fall asleep inbetween rounds of combat, it took so damn long. I think the majority of my problems with Exalted was that for the scene defensive Charms existed (allowing you free full pool defense actions without taking away from your normal actions), and also that the Charms simply were not balanced against eachother in value in any way, shape or form.
As a huge fan of the Storyteller system (I loved Vampire, Werewolf, and Hunter the most, especially Hunter), I just can't back how it was adapted to Exalted. Their idea of cinematic combat apparently was taken from repeated watchings of "Underworld" and the cinematic genius held within it.
-X
Well, as I said, I only very passingly ever looked (mostly just at the covers of the books) at Exalted. I have virtually every book for the old World of Darkness, had gotten caught up in the mega meta-plot and storyline they had, plus just loved the concepts. However I packed those in boxes and put them in storage the moment the new World of Darkness came out -- that system is streamlined, far more efficient, and I will have to say the fact it's lacking in the massive global-spanning plots is handy; to me, it was like seeing an old friend who's life had turned for the better. Now, when I run those games, I stick to the new World of Darkness; I especially like that you can purchase the PDF's from White-Wolf, because it's far more convenient for me to have all the PDF's to port around in my laptop than to being 10 crates of books to wherever I'm gaming.
But yeah... *checks the topic again* Umm... Exalts in Dark Sun I don't think fit very well thematically. Maybe maybe the Dragon-blooded do (what with the Elemental clerics), but Solars not really. IMO, anyways.
-X
But yeah... *checks the topic again* Umm... Exalts in Dark Sun I don't think fit very well thematically. Maybe maybe the Dragon-blooded do (what with the Elemental clerics), but Solars not really. IMO, anyways.
Yes, back to the topic at hand! Given your position, I'm curious what you think of my suggestions above for making Exalts fit into the Dark Sun setting?
Yes, back to the topic at hand! Given your position, I'm curious what you think of my suggestions above for making Exalts fit into the Dark Sun setting?
Take the basic concept of the Exalts: Mortals chosen by the Gods to be their champions. The concept I feel doesn't translate to DS, what with their godless and forsaken world. However... we have Clerics. They get their powers from the elements. So... elemental Exalts are possible (such as the Dragon-Blooded). We don't have a wood aspect, so drop that. But we do have 4 paraelemental groups as well. Okay, we'll run with that.
4 normal elements + 4 paraelements to choose from (maybe include the Spirits of the Land into this as well or instead of the elements and have them become Exalted OF Athas, instead Exalted ON Athas?), we could do it four ways (some in combination). First way is a Template. You Exalt, you get a template (and maybe a cookie...maybe). You get chosen by your Element for whatever reason (Hey, cool hair dude... *zap* Get some wonk-tacular powers!) to do the purposes of said Element (normals to preserve and revitalize Athas, paras to burn the rest of the ship down). Another way: You get a special mark by the Element and get to take a chain of feats (this way is a bit less power). Also, you could toss a PrC into the mix here (where some of that feat chain or that Templates might be required) to put the whole thing together. The last option is to make a 1-20 class and give it variations depending on element. It would have bonus feats (and could include the feat chain in here) and decent stuff, but understand it would probably have to be kinda overpowered. For some reason the base class option though sticks in my craw like the ENTIRETY of the Incarnum book so I don't like it, but its an option.
My personal leaning would be a mix of Template, Feats and a PrC to enhance and really tie em together. It would be a decent LA+ I'd feel though. Give some good boosts, special abilties, maybe some spells/spell-likes? The whole thing would have an air of magic about it though, so I'd totally leave out anything psionic from it. Have it be like the half-fiend/celestial template in that it gives magic spell-likes that ramp up with levels.
My 2 cents, if you have any particular likes of it, lemme know and I'll stat something out for you.
Regards,
-X
One idea I think would be incredibly fun would be playing...as the Sorcerer Kings (and Queens) themselves! Those few would be the only Exalted in existance (at least the only human Exalts), but damn if playing the SK's wouldn't be an epic, world-spanning sort of storyline.
SK's? Well, being that there are (by canon) 3 left... not so fun. Well, 5 if you count the crazy warden and the Avangion. Probably not viable unless you toss the whole current timeline out the window and start before Kalak decided to go cheat on his "I wanna be a Dragon" test.
Another idea was that the Exalted were lesser Champions of Rajaat -- experiments before he created the real thing with the Sorcerer Kings -- who scattered to the four winds early in the history of the Cleansing Wars. Now, they -- or their descendants, or their reincarnations -- are returning to the Tablelands from afar, some at the head of vast armies culled from the few oases of life beyond the Tyr region, others as champions of the people. Some would be allies of various Sorcerer Kings, others would be their outspoken enemies.
This... this could work. I think the elemental / Spirit of the Land thing might work a bit better than the Exalted essences being Rajaat creations (or power that Rajaat might have warped/stolen from them?) but still, working with you have, the idea of them already showing up with armies is a little... out there. I think it might be more fun to actually take your Exalted self(selves) and go build one and lead it yonder into battle (and get the hell killed out of you by Hammanu, that dude is freakin' scary). I could see Oronis of Kurn being a big ally to any would be hero Exalts out there, provided they could earn his trust. The Exalts could be in a way the true Champions of Rajaat, the way he wanted it to be (sans the part about him being a genocidal
), trying to revitalize Athas and bring it back to the Green Age at least, Blue Age at best.2 more cents in the til,
-X
Take the basic concept of the Exalts: Mortals chosen by the Gods to be their champions. The concept I feel doesn't translate to DS, what with their godless and forsaken world. However... we have Clerics. They get their powers from the elements. So... elemental Exalts are possible (such as the Dragon-Blooded). We don't have a wood aspect, so drop that. But we do have 4 paraelemental groups as well. Okay, we'll run with that.
Wood=Druids
Now if we put it together as saying "4 Elements and Wood" then we could just drop it from being of the Elemental Planes and just solely use the Spirits of the Land instead. They'd totally back the 4 pure elements and druidic craft. At that point we'd see 5 distinct version of either the same template, PrC, feat chains and/or base class. That might work then.
My (probably obvious) inclination is to do 8 with the pures and paras. Keeps it easier that way and follows the continuity a bit better.
Also! Good idea! Have it happen after Dregoth's attempted ascenion! You could have it happen then because he's screwed with the conduits and everything, would be a perfectly good way of saying "Yeah, the energies are loopy now and this happened as well as the return of cleric magic".
Ponder ponder ponder...heh, curse you Greyorm for getting me all interested in this and getting me all thinky on it :P j/k
-X
SK's? Well, being that there are (by canon) 3 left... not so fun. Well, 5 if you count the crazy warden and the Avangion. Probably not viable unless you toss the whole current timeline out the window and start before Kalak decided to go cheat on his "I wanna be a Dragon" test.
By the "canon" setting, there appears to be only 3, however there's technically 6, with one of them being undead, another of them being completely nuts, and yet another of them is an Avangion. Technically, there's even one more making it a total of 7 -- but he's trapped in the Black. Honestly, the Prism Pentad didn't even take out the majority of the sorcerer-kings that were kicking around.
I will correct my statement to being 3 active and non-impaired Sorcerer Kings in the Tablelands, and 4 being rather indisposed at the moment.
I stand corrected
-X
Take the basic concept of the Exalts: Mortals chosen by the Gods to be their champions. The concept I feel doesn't translate to DS, what with their godless and forsaken world.
I fear that you're being far more literal than I am in your interpretation of the background of the Exalted. Why, after all, do the Exalted have to be mortals chosen by the gods? If one strips that bit of the Exalted setting away, one can describe them as supernaturally empowered men and women -- regardless of the origins of that empowerment.
After all, who says it must be gods who Exalt mortals? The main Exalted rulebook even lists a number of circumstances by which mortals become Exalted -- nearly all of them have nothing to do with gods specifically choosing that mortal (though the peoples of the setting who know anything about the issue assume that is the case).
So, why not make Exaltation dependent upon something or even somethings else? Such as a perfected practice of the Will and the Way? Sorcerous rituals first developed by Rajaat? The elemental powers/spirits of the land imbuing mortals with their might? And other even more bizzare sources!
My 2 cents, if you have any particular likes of it, lemme know and I'll stat something out for you.
Nah. I don't play d20 anymore, and don't plan to again in the near future, so such a thing wouldn't be of any use to me. If anyone else is interested in such a project, though, feel free to speak up about it.
I, personally, am much more interested in the idea of using the Exalted ruleset, and some version of the Exalts themselves, with Athas as the setting. As such, I wouldn't mind hearing more of your ideas regarding the Exalted champions of the paraelementals.
BTW, I would characterize Wood as Spirit (the druidic patron), rather than as a "fifth element", which would also help you keep the distinction of the four current elements without having to add an additional.