Okay, I think that, since Exalted is relatively unknown, I might need to explain the setting a bit...
The World
Exalted is set far in the distant past. To summarize, a great civilization arose, governed by special humans that held a divine spirit; these people were called 'Exalted.' The Exalted could be from any walk of life; heredity (or lack thereof) didn't qualify one. Instead, it seemed almost random; usually at adolescence, an individual would be overtaken by a kind of divine exultation, and become transformed (in my story, look at how Ranma views the world right before he disappears).
The First Age, as most civilizations, became somewhat decadent (think Roman Empire), and were destroyed by a deliberate internal struggle, the goal of which was to wipe out the most powerful kind of Exalted (and the ones that ran the whole thing): the Solar Exalted.
Recently, the Scarlet Empress, ruler of the Realm, has disappeared, throwing the known world into chaos. As a result, some Solar Exalted are escaping the concerted Purge of the Immaculate Order.
Solar Exalted - most powerful of what are called the "Celestial" Exalted, typically were the rulers, warriors, priests, and diplomats of the First Age. Castes revolved around the time of day (Dawn (Warrior - Ranma's Caste), Day (Priests), Twilight (Scholars and Craftsmen), Night(Spies, Scouts), Eclipse(Diplomats))
Lunar Exalted - Also a kind of Celestial Exalted. Were adept at shapeshifting and illusions. Relatively rare compared to the Solar; no more than, say, 1000 exist. Castes of Lunar Exalted revolved around the phases of the moon (Full, No, Half, Wax, Wane).
Sidereal Exalted - The Sidereal were the impetus behind the Great Purge; they were the philosophers and foreseers of the First Age. When the decadence became apparent, they all gathered together and cast a great Prophecy with three choices: do nothing, and watch the world turn to darkness; try to avert the fall and perhaps precipitate a greater darkness if they failed; or to kill all of the Solar Exalted. The Sidereal split into two factions ('Bronze' and 'Gold')in the debate, but the majority won, and the Solar were destroyed. You have to understand, however, that they did this reluctantly; not out of a hunger for power. They believed that the world was doomed if they didn't. The castes revolved around the planets.
The Dragon-Blooded - The Terrestrial Exalted; the least powerful of all Exalted, and the shortest-lived (only a few mere centuries...). The Dragon-Blooded are the only kind of Exalted that appear to be hereditary; if your parent or parents were Exalted, you had a chance to be one. They were the force used by the Sidereal to kill the Solar, and later settled down to rule the resulting realm. Castes are of the five elements (Water, Air, Fire, Earth, Wood)
The Immaculate Order - the priesthood developed by the Sidereal Exalted when they went into hiding to seek out and kill any reborn Solar or Lunar Exalted, in order to prevent them from regaining power and starting the cycle of corruption and decadence.
Charms - consider these to be minor magical talents attached to an Ability. For example, the Craftsman Needs No Tools charm allows someone with the Craft skill/ability to work their chosen medium without the needed tools (anvil, whittling knife, ect). Many of these are combat-oriented, such as the Melee Charm "Retrieve the Fallen Weapon," which allows a disarmed person to magically call their weapon back to them. You could see the various martial arts special maneuvers in Ranma 1/2 as similar to Charms in some ways: they take some energy to use, and achieve superhuman effects.
Sorcery - more 'formal' magic... can become quite powerful at the highest levels.
Essence - the 'spirit' of an individual. Needed to work magic and/or charms
This is merely a rather crude and hurried explanation... feel free to ask me any questions if something seems odd... please! I think of this story as one of my best so far in overall quality. If you're curious about the setting, go to the site:
www.white-wolf.com
for some more information and for products... heck, I pretty much saw the rule book in the store, read a bit, thought "gee, this would make a great crossover fic" and promptly blew about $30 on it for that express purpose. It's a really good RPG as well, though.
deus_ex_mach42@hotmail.com
The World
Exalted is set far in the distant past. To summarize, a great civilization arose, governed by special humans that held a divine spirit; these people were called 'Exalted.' The Exalted could be from any walk of life; heredity (or lack thereof) didn't qualify one. Instead, it seemed almost random; usually at adolescence, an individual would be overtaken by a kind of divine exultation, and become transformed (in my story, look at how Ranma views the world right before he disappears).
The First Age, as most civilizations, became somewhat decadent (think Roman Empire), and were destroyed by a deliberate internal struggle, the goal of which was to wipe out the most powerful kind of Exalted (and the ones that ran the whole thing): the Solar Exalted.
Recently, the Scarlet Empress, ruler of the Realm, has disappeared, throwing the known world into chaos. As a result, some Solar Exalted are escaping the concerted Purge of the Immaculate Order.
Solar Exalted - most powerful of what are called the "Celestial" Exalted, typically were the rulers, warriors, priests, and diplomats of the First Age. Castes revolved around the time of day (Dawn (Warrior - Ranma's Caste), Day (Priests), Twilight (Scholars and Craftsmen), Night(Spies, Scouts), Eclipse(Diplomats))
Lunar Exalted - Also a kind of Celestial Exalted. Were adept at shapeshifting and illusions. Relatively rare compared to the Solar; no more than, say, 1000 exist. Castes of Lunar Exalted revolved around the phases of the moon (Full, No, Half, Wax, Wane).
Sidereal Exalted - The Sidereal were the impetus behind the Great Purge; they were the philosophers and foreseers of the First Age. When the decadence became apparent, they all gathered together and cast a great Prophecy with three choices: do nothing, and watch the world turn to darkness; try to avert the fall and perhaps precipitate a greater darkness if they failed; or to kill all of the Solar Exalted. The Sidereal split into two factions ('Bronze' and 'Gold')in the debate, but the majority won, and the Solar were destroyed. You have to understand, however, that they did this reluctantly; not out of a hunger for power. They believed that the world was doomed if they didn't. The castes revolved around the planets.
The Dragon-Blooded - The Terrestrial Exalted; the least powerful of all Exalted, and the shortest-lived (only a few mere centuries...). The Dragon-Blooded are the only kind of Exalted that appear to be hereditary; if your parent or parents were Exalted, you had a chance to be one. They were the force used by the Sidereal to kill the Solar, and later settled down to rule the resulting realm. Castes are of the five elements (Water, Air, Fire, Earth, Wood)
The Immaculate Order - the priesthood developed by the Sidereal Exalted when they went into hiding to seek out and kill any reborn Solar or Lunar Exalted, in order to prevent them from regaining power and starting the cycle of corruption and decadence.
Charms - consider these to be minor magical talents attached to an Ability. For example, the Craftsman Needs No Tools charm allows someone with the Craft skill/ability to work their chosen medium without the needed tools (anvil, whittling knife, ect). Many of these are combat-oriented, such as the Melee Charm "Retrieve the Fallen Weapon," which allows a disarmed person to magically call their weapon back to them. You could see the various martial arts special maneuvers in Ranma 1/2 as similar to Charms in some ways: they take some energy to use, and achieve superhuman effects.
Sorcery - more 'formal' magic... can become quite powerful at the highest levels.
Essence - the 'spirit' of an individual. Needed to work magic and/or charms
This is merely a rather crude and hurried explanation... feel free to ask me any questions if something seems odd... please! I think of this story as one of my best so far in overall quality. If you're curious about the setting, go to the site:
www.white-wolf.com
for some more information and for products... heck, I pretty much saw the rule book in the store, read a bit, thought "gee, this would make a great crossover fic" and promptly blew about $30 on it for that express purpose. It's a really good RPG as well, though.
deus_ex_mach42@hotmail.com
