ELLIOTT FREEMAN, VIOLET GREEN, EMILY GRIGGS, JAMES HUGGINS,

HENRIK JÄDERKVIST, JOHN MATYUS, ERIC MINTON, KATRIEL PAIGE,

NEALL RAEMONN PRICE, LIZ ROGERS, LAUREN ROY, RACHEL SAVICKI,
BEN SOUSA, MONICA SPECA, ROBERT VANCE, VERA VARTANIAN
Credits
Developers: Elliott Freeman, Eric Minton, Robert Vance

Writers: Elliott Freeman, Violet Green, Emily Griggs,

James Huggins, Henrik Jäderkvist, John Matyus, Eric
Minton, Katriel Paige, Neall Raemonn Price, Liz Rogers,
Lauren Roy, Rachel Savicki, Ben Sousa, Monica Speca,
Robert Vance, Vera Vartanian

Editor: Gavyn Duthie

Indexer:

Art: Digital Art Chefs, Gong Studios, HIVE Studios, Studi

Navella

Art Director: Mike Chaney & Maria Cabardo

Graphic Designer: Mike Chaney

Creative Director: Richard Thomas

Special Thanks
Chazz Kellner, for help unleashing the Power of the
Exalted.

© 2023 PARADOX INTERACTIVE AB.

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 Military 38
Introduction 10
Prominent Figures 39
This Book at a Glance 10
Neighbors 39
Lexicon 11 The Confederation of Rivers 39
Chapter One: Chosen of the Little Gods 14 Other Neighbors 40
Exigents of Great Forks 41
The Birth of the Exigents 14
Getting the Circle Together 42
Petitioning for Exigence 14 Plot Hooks 42
Illicit Exaltations 15
Patchwork Chosen 15
Chapter Three: Beyond Mortality 46

A Singular Exaltation 16 Terrestrial and Celestial Play 46

Exigents and Other Exalted 17 Cross-Level Play 46

The Spark of Divinity 18 Character Creation 46

From God to Exigent 18 Step One: Concept & Caste 46
Step Two: Attributes 47
Divine Patrons 19
Step Three: Abilities 47
Fenya, God of Guild Cant 19
Step Four: Merits 47
Vanileth, God of Artificial Flight 19
Step Five: Charms 47
Yibi, Guardian of theSweetgrass Temple 19
Step Six: Intimacies and the Great Curse 47
Notable Exigents 20 Step Seven: Bonus Points 48
The Bleak Warden, Chosen of the Seals 20 Step 8: Finishing Touches 48
Willow Specter, Customizing Character Creation 49
the Chosen of the Dice 21
Traits 50
Nurlissa, the Chosen of Masks 22
Castes and Aspects 50
The Foxbinder of Shifune 23
Anima 50
The Torchbearer 24
Merits and Flaws 51
Thousand Venoms Mistress, Chosen of Toxins 25
The Great Curse 52
Chapter Two: Great Forks 28 Martial Arts 52
Sorcery and Necromancy 53
Founding 28
Evocations 54
A City of Gods and Spirits 28 Advancement 54
The Thearchs 29 Exigent Experience 55
The Lay of the Land 30
The Nature of Exigence 55
City Districts 31
Essence Fever 56
Religion and Theology 31 Exigent Longevity 57
The Grand Mythopoeia 32 Exigent Inheritance 57
Ten Thousand Temples 32
Immaculacy 33
Chapter Four: Power of the Exalted 60

Culture 33 Know Your Audience 60

The Three Peoples 34 Designing for Your Playgroup 60
Clothing 35 Designing for a Larger Audience 60
Cuisine 35 The Art of Balance 61
Government 35 Balancing for a Playgroup 61
Citizenship 35 Balancing for a Larger Audience 61
Slavery 37 Balance and Dice 62
Law Enforcement 37 Dice Limits 62
Courts 37 Excellencies 63
Economics 38 Non-Charm Dice and Systems 64
Structuring Charm Sets 66 Final Season 163
Ability Charms 66 Evocations of Final Season 163
Attribute Charms 67
Chapter Six: The Puppeteer 168
Essence Charms 67
Charm Compatibility 67 Karana 168
Charms and Theme 67 Pakpao 169
Anatomy of a Charm 68 The Puppeteer and Her Patron 169
Effect 68 Foes and Rivals 170
Cost 69 Character Creation 171
Other Restrictions 73
Traits 171
Type 74
Anima 171
Duration 76
Martial Arts 172
Keywords 77
Sorcery 172
Minimums 79
Evocations 172
Prerequisite Charms 81
The Great Curse 172
Not Recommended 81
Longevity and Death 172
Putting It All Together: Designing an Example Charm 83
Character Advancement 173
Effect Index 85 Exigent Bonus 173
Offensive Effects 85
Charms 173
Defensive Effects 90
Excellencies 173
Mobility Effects 93
Puppets and Crafting 174
Social Effects 94
Puppetry Charms 174
Subterfuge Effects 97
Lair Charms 183
Warfare Effects 98
Offensive Charms 185
Craft Effects 99
Defensive Charms 189
Healing Effects 100
Endurance and Healing Charms 190
Spirit Interaction Effects 101
Mobility Charms 194
Miscellaneous Effects 101
Sensory Charms 197
Chapter Five: Influence Charms 198
Strawmaiden Janest, the Harvest Exalt 106 Scrutiny Charms 205
Resolve Charms 206
History 106
Guile Charms 207
Exaltation 107 Subterfuge Charms 210
Leavetaking 108 Knowledge Charms 215
Wandering Hero 108 Crafting Charms 216
Character Creation 109 Mysticism Charms 217
Sorcery 218
Traits 109
Anima 109 Artifact Puppets 218
Martial Arts 109 Okyi, the Infinite Doll 219
Sorcery 109 Hundredfold 220
Evocations 109 Blazing Fang Smile 221
The Great Curse 109 Chapter Seven: The Architects 224
Longevity and Death 110
Chosen of Wun Ja 224
Character Advancement 110 City Fathers and Architects 224
Charms 110 Brick by Brick 225
Excellencies 110 Character Creation 226
Charm Concept: Communities 111
Charm Concept: Fields 111 Traits 226
Athletics 111 Anima 227
Awareness 120 Martial Arts 228
Presence 129 Sorcery and Necromancy 228
Resistance 140 Evocations 228
Survival 152 The Great Curse 229
Sorcery 163 Longevity and Death 229
 New Merits 229 Longevity and Death 288
Character Advancement 229 Character Advancement 288
Exigent Experience 229 Charms 288
Charms 230 Excellencies 288
Excellencies 230 Charm Concept: Fireglass 288
New Keywords 230 Charm Concept: Subordinates 288
Appearance (Influence) 230 Universal 289
Appearance (Subterfuge) 233 Craft 290
Appearance (Warfare) 236 Sorcery 300
Charisma (Influence) 237 Integrity 300
Charisma (Warfare) 240 Performance 311
Dexterity (Offense) 240 Socialize 319
Dexterity (Defense) 243 War 326
Dexterity (Mobility) 244
Appendix: Creating New Exalted 338
Dexterity (Subterfuge) 246
Intelligence (Knowledge) 248 The Dream-Souled 338
Intelligence (Mysticism) 252 Ketu, the Dreaming Prince 339
Intelligence (Crafting) 253 Dream-Souled and Other Exalted 340
Sorcery 256 Traits 340
Manipulation (Influence) 256
Dream-Souled Charms 341
Manipulation (Guile) 259
Excellencies 341
Perception (Senses) 260
Illusion and Transformation 342
Perception (Scrutiny) 262
Offense 347
Perception (Mysticism) 264
Defense 348
Stamina (Defense) 265
Social 349
Stamina (Endurance) 266
Mobility 354
Strength (Offense) 268
Strength (Feats of Strength) 271 The Hearteaters 356
Wits (Initiative) 272 The Death of Aurora 356
Wits (Resolve) 274 Starving and Alone 357
Wits (Navigation) 275 Hearteaters and Other Exalted 357
Wits (Cache) 277 Traits 358

Chapter Eight: The Sovereigns of Uluiru 280 Hearteater Charms 360

Excellencies 360
History 280 Pawns 360
Cantata-of-the-Depths 281 Offense 365
Defense 367
Fallen Aurora 281 Social 368
To Reign in Uluiru 281 Mobility 373
Mysticism 374
The Fount of Glories 282
The Umbral Exalted 376
Perils of the Wyld 282
Nebiru, the Lord of Things Unseen 376
Sovereign Chronicles 283 Umbrals and Other Exalted 376
Character Creation 283 Traits 377

Traits 284 Umbral Charms 380

Aspects 284 Excellencies 380
Anima 286 Penumbra 380
Martial Arts 286 Darkness 382
Sorcery 286 Offense 385
Evocations 286 Defense 386
The Great Curse 287 Social 388
Mobility 391
In a farming village in a fertile valley, in the shadow of two mighty mountains, the faerie army amassed. Dawn’s
golden rays lit their princely leader’s brow. Jewels flashed on his beringed fingers as he raised a slender hand
to order the advance. Eager as his fae warriors were to march, his movement was almost bored. All the other
villages had fallen easily as the horde swept down the passes. This one would surely be no different.
Except…
A lone young woman strode across the field to meet them. Wheat whickered at her ankles as she passed,
the sound made loud in the horde’s sudden quiet. In her calloused hands, she held a scythe half-again as
tall as she was, with green jade twisting through its haft. Sunlight sparked off its black blade. The morning
breeze blew her auburn hair from her neck.
At first the raksha prince laughed with delight, to see the solitary farmhand standing against his horde. How
quaint her defiance. How futile the gesture. How exquisite her folly would taste.
Then the Strawmaiden swung her grimscythe in a whistling arc, and the raksha’s good humor crumbled like
dry autumn leaves. At his command, silverwights and hobgoblins rushed in to overpower her. They fell like
so many stalks of grass as they came within reach of the farmer’s scythe, deadly as cold iron.
The faerie army’s jubilant war-songs became dirges; their dirges became wails of terror.
•••••
Three days, the battle raged. The fae swarmed locust-like over the fields, intent on Janest and the village of
Kolisz behind her. Hobgoblin blood soaked the ground, stalks of wheat springing from the ground as they
fell. A raksha cataphract’s lance impaled her, yet she did not fall; the fields sustained her, crops turning gray
and leaves wilting so that Ten Sheaves’ Chosen might fight on.
When the second day dawned, Janest’s fellow field-maidens formed a line at the village’s edge. Armed with
staves, pitchforks, and scythes of their own, they fought to drive back any fae that slipped past their Exalted
sister. By the time the sun reached its peak, the line had advanced, field-maidens fighting at Janest’s side.
Their presence bolstered her resolve: many of them had been with her for as long as she could remember.
They’d held her chubby hands as she learned to walk. They’d taught her how to sow, how to reap, how to
fight, or learned those things alongside her.
The rest were the babes Janest had helped raise. She’d held their tiny hands during those first wobbly steps.
She’d shown them how to tell sprout from weed, and when the corn was at its sweetest. The field-maidens
were part of nature’s cycle, in a way the lords of chaos should never — could never — be.
Brave as they were, her sisters had trained to fight off bandits and wild boars, not the shambolic hordes of
the Wyld. Nothing could prepare them for this — for teeming hobgoblins that feasted on their fear and pain,
for faceless soldiers spun from their nightmares, for baying faerie war-hounds who spoke in stolen voices.
One by one, Janest’s sisters began to fall.
With a roar like summer thunder, she carved a path to the army’s leader.
•••••
The third day dawned bloody. The clash of jade and iron against gossamer metal echoed throughout the valley
as the faerie host paused to watch their prince and his honor guard of cataphracts battle the farmhand. How
they stamped and shrieked when a spindly blade sliced into her belly... and yet the Strawmaiden fought on.
Rust crept along that general’s sword like blight through a crop. It shattered in his grip. He had no time to
reach for his dagger or demand a weapon from a cataphract. Janest ended his life with a mighty swing of
her scythe, and the general’s golden-haired head fell to the ground like a gourd knocked from a fencepost.
The faerie horde’s joy vanished. They fought valiantly, but their leader’s death had dealt a fatal blow to their
morale. Cataphracts either felt Final Season’s sting or fled from it, and, leaderless, the rest of the invading
force fell into disarray. Janest and her sisters scattered them, driving them out of the valley.
As she turned back toward Kolisz, Janest stumbled at last. Her sisters caught her, held her up as the pain
and exhaustion crested over her. They would have carried her home, but Janest demurred. She leaned on
them, though, as she had all her life.
•••••
Villagers lined the streets as Janest and her sisters returned. They cheered and they wept, for while Kolisz
was saved, they’d suffered many losses. As the field-maidens headed for the village’s great hall, the people
followed, part parade, part funeral procession. The air rang with songs usually only sung in the winter, when
the warriors returned victorious from their raiding. Janest heard harvest hymns, too, songs for reaping and
threshing, with new words to commemorate her victory over the fae.
The villagers sang Janest and the field-maidens all the way to the hall, and even when the doors closed
behind Janest and two of her sisters, their voices still echoed.
Inside, the High Reavers argued. Ten Sheaves’ priests stood in agitated clusters, some whispering fiercely
amongst themselves, others raising voices hoarse from days of shouting. Most looked as ragged as Janest
felt. Their clothing was rumpled; dark smudges beneath their eyes spoke to their exhaustion.
Heads swiveled to view the newcomers. Janest was suddenly keenly aware of how she must look: dirty,
clothes torn and soaked with both her blood and her foes’, sweat matting her hair. For an absurd moment,
she was a little girl again, bracing to be chastised for not scrubbing the dirt from beneath her fingernails
after a day in the fields. The High Reavers had always loomed so large to her.
But now, she saw them as people, just as frightened and tired as anyone else. She gently prised her sisters
Amalon and Marieke’s hands from her arms and stood straight. If she leaned just a little on her scythe, no
one seemed to notice. “They’re gone,” Janest said. “The army fled back into the mountains.”
“For how long?” asked one of the priests. Tomasz was a man in his middle years, who taught field-maidens
and farmhands to read tomorrow’s weather in the winds and clouds.
“I don’t know,” she said. “A long time. Years, I hope. We proved we’re not worth their while.” She knew this
just as she knew how deep to plant a seed or when the corn was at its sweetest. The raksha would be licking
their wounds for a long time; if they returned, it wouldn’t be to Kolisz, not when there were other villages to
prey on.
And who will protect those other villages?
The thought startled her.
Ten Sheaves had given his life so Janest might protect Kolisz. Had any other gods in the valley done the
same? Could any of them have? Word had trickled in all season of the faerie warband’s implacable march, of
the communities lost to their hunger: sleepy little Senjek; Poljna, whose orchards had the sweetest apples;
Zreta, which clung to the mountainside like a stubborn goat. All fallen to faerie gluttony. No other champions
had risen.
She remembered how Ten Sheaves had shown her a vision of Yu-Shan, the city that is Heaven, on the last
day of his immortal life. “I have never walked its streets, and now I never will. Perhaps you might, one day.”
How many cities were there, between here and Heaven? How many people in need of help?
The High Reavers were all watching her, expectantly. Janest realized she’d missed a question. “I’m sorry.
What did you ask?”
Iron-haired Henryka hid a scowl. “We said, what do we do now?” In all the years Janest had known Henryka,
she’d never asked questions, only given orders and instructions. She told you what needed to be done and
expected it to be done promptly.
“She’s tired,” said Marieke. “And wounded. We need to let her rest. Tomorrow can be for answers.”
Janest held up a hand for her sister to wait. To her astonishment, everyone in the room went still. It felt like
the moment at the start of the spring festival, when all Kolisz waited for Tomasz to proclaim how the planting
season had fared. But Janest was no High Reaver.
“Why are you asking me these questions?”
Henryka glanced at the grimscythe gleaming in Janest’s hands, at the faerie blood staining her clothes. “Ten
Sheaves chose you above all others. Surely, he gave you his wisdom to deliver to us.”
Another priest spoke up. “Janest carries Ten Sheaves’ blessing, not his words. He chose her to be our
guardian, not some messenger. That should be plain to see.”
They fell to bickering again, this time about the harvest god’s intentions. About her.
Ten Sheaves had said nothing about the High Reavers. He’d offered no advice for what Kolisz should do after
he was gone or even what Janest should do.
No. Janest thought that wasn’t entirely true.
You are to become Exalted — my champion, my Chosen — and the salvation of your people. If you live,
perhaps the salvation of much more.
What did that mean? The salvation of much more? She thought again of the vast valley, so much of which
she’d never seen, and the world beyond that. She thought of Heaven’s shining grander and the regret in Ten
Sheaves’ voice as he spoke of it.
But for now, Kolisz remained her greatest concern. “Tend the wounded,” she said. “Gather the dead. Be sure
everyone has food and shelter. Tomorrow, we’ll consider how to rebuild.” They were the same tasks the High
Reavers always oversaw when raiders came riding in winter’s heart, yet it was as if none of them had ever
considered them.
Their arguments stopped, and they set about their duties with renewed conviction. Taking advantage of this
flurry of activity, Marieke and Amalon ushered Janest out of the great hall.
•••••
In the following days, after her wounds had closed, Janest tended to her people. She comforted the grieving
and sat with the wounded. She returned to the fields to survey ruined crops and churned-up earth, renewing
the soil with her newfound blessings. She tried to take up a hammer and joined in repairing a house, despite
Amalon’s chidings about reopening the gash in her side. Her fellow field-maiden didn’t yet understand the
power of the Exalted.
Where her sisters treated her much as they always had, however, the High Reavers very much did not.
They sent runners to ask her advice on reconstruction. Tomasz kept her up late reviewing what could be
harvested, and whether they’d have enough for winter. Even Henryka waited for Janest’s subtle nod before
announcing a plan.
They looked to her for guidance, not as Ten Sheaves’ replacement, but as his appointed emissary. Janest
felt that responsibility tightening around her like baling twine. She loved Kolisz, but at night she dreamed
of far-away places. During her few idle moments, she wondered if there were others in need of her help.
She wondered what Kolisz might become if she stayed, whether she’d be the climbing vine that stole the
villagers’ sunlight and left them unable to grow on their own.
She spent one last night among her sisters. Amalon promised to tell the High Reavers she’d gone. Marieke
wept as they kissed one another goodbye.
Then, as dawn rose golden over the fields, Strawmaiden Janest set off into the world.
 Introduction
“A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark.”

— Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

The Exigents are many and myriad, but also utterly Chapter Two: Great Forks presents the City of Ten
unique. They’re not a single kind of Exalted, but the Thousand Temples, one of the Scavenger Lands’
manifold Chosen of Creation’s countless little gods. In greatest and most prosperous cities. Spirits dwell here
times of dire need, gods can petition the Unconquered en masse, seeking worship, influence, and earthly de-
Sun for a spark of the Exigence — a bonfire of pure, cre- lights. It’s also home to countless Exigents, including
ative power — to raise up their own Exalted champions. champions chosen by the city’s gods and wandering
To do so is always a risk; no god can know what it will heroes seeking purpose or companionship.
cost them. Many are consumed by the process entirely.
Chapter Three: Beyond Mortality provides guid-
Exigents have left their mark on Creation’s history as ance for Exigent character creation, advancement, and
individual heroes, tipping the scales of power across traits.
countless wars, revolutions, and dynasties. Most — like
Wun Ja’s Architects, the Sovereigns of Uluiru, the enig- Chapter Four: Power of the Exalted provides guid-
matic Puppeteer — are equals to the Dragon-Blooded ance for designing your own custom Charms, whether
in power, but a rare handful, like Strawmaiden Janest, for Exigents or other Exalted.
rival the power of the Solar Exalted.
Chapter Five: Strawmaiden Janest presents Janest,
Exigents give players and Storytellers the opportunity Chosen by a humble field god but with power to equal
to flex their creativity, inventing unique Exalted as the mightiest of the Exalted.
player characters, allies, or enemies. This book pres-
ents four example types of Exigents with everything Chapter Six: The Puppeteer presents the Puppeteer,
you’ll need to play them, descriptions of other Exigents a master of intrigue who pulls strings both figurative
for readers to flesh out with their own designs, and and literal.
guidelines for creating new Exigents and Charms.
Chapter Seven: The Architects presents the
Exigents also offer players and Storytellers the chance Architects, Chosen of Cities, each a living incarnation
to explore Creation’s little gods: their histories, pas- of one of Creation’s many cities.
sions, and plans. An Exigent’s relationship with the
god who chose them can be far more personal than Chapter Eight: The Sovereigns of Uluiru presents
those of other Exalted with their distant patrons. the Sovereigns of Uluiru, Exigent god-kings empow-
Even an Exigent whose patron god didn’t survive her ered by a gem-god’s sacrifice and the blood of a dead
Exaltation might still find herself entangled with his Incarna.
cult, allies, and enemies.
Appendix: Creating New Exalted explores adding
entirely new kinds of Exalted to your game, with three
This Book at a Glance examples of optional Exalted: the Dream-Souled, mas-
ters of illusion and transformation; the Hearteaters,
Chapter One: Chosen of the Little Gods presents the monstrous Exalted who feed on free will; and the
Exigents and their history, describes how gods create Umbral Exalted, wracked by inner turmoil and a dark-
them, and provides examples both of Exigents and ness that both corrupts and empowers them.
patron gods as a starting point for your own designs.

10
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 INTRODUCTION

from other gods whose petitions were answered

Lexicon through theft, bargaining, extortion, and other means.
Exigence, the: The divine flame that is the font little god: All gods other than the Celestial Incarnae.
of Exigent Exaltation. Little gods may petition the
Unconquered Sun for a spark of this flame, allowing patchwork Exigent: An Exigent created by multiple
them to create Exalted champions. deities, tormented or warped by the irreconcilable
Essences that rage within them.
Exigent: Unique Exalted chosen by Creation’s little
gods using the power of the Exigence. spark of Exigence: A portion of the Exigence bestowed
by the Unconquered Sun upon a god, which can be used
god: A type of spirit, typically serving as the divine to create an Exigent — or can be given, traded, or lost to
steward of a place, thing, or concept as part of Heaven’s other gods seeking to create illicit Exigents.
Celestial Bureaucracy. Among all spirits, only gods can
use the Exigence. Unconquered Sun, the: The God of the Sun, King of
Heaven, God of Virtue, and custodian of the Exigence,
illicit Exigent: Any Exigent created by a god who apportioning sparks of the divine flame to gods whose
didn’t receive the spark of Exigence by petitioning the pleas he deems worthy.
Unconquered Sun. Such sparks are instead obtained

11
EX3
Springtide’s Promise was burning. The city’s banished admiral-prince had returned for revenge, and
she didn’t care who stood between her and the steward that had usurped her. Her foreign soldiers
stalked the streets while native families huddled in their homes or donned scraps of armor to bolster
the steward’s guard. People choked on smoke and fled half-blind into the streets amid the violent
confusion.
For a clever young thief like Twice-Errant Savannah, the city-wide panic was unfortunate. The admiral-
prince’s long siege had given the Chosen of Grifters many opportunities to exploit wealthy families’ fear,
right up until the navy broke through the city’s blockade. The sudden violence put an end to Savannah’s
plans; now he sprinted through hazy streets with a satchel full of stolen jewelry, hunted by a gang of the
admiral’s marines.
As he looked for a hiding place that wasn’t on fire, Savannah reflected that this whole situation would
make for an entertaining tale of misadventure if he survived. A part of his mind estimated the odds:
three-to-one against. He willed that part of his mind to shut up.
He turned a blind corner and slammed into an old woman, sending them both sprawling and scattering
Savannah’s collection of jewelry. “Sorry!” Savannah said, scrambling for his treasures amid the smoky
haze as he rolled to his feet.
To Savannah’s surprise, the wiry old woman found her feet almost as quickly as he had. She held up a
lantern to help his search. It was absurd — his problem was smoke, not darkness — yet somehow the
lantern’s light glinted off the most valuable piece of his collection, a necklace of translucent Underworld
obsidian. Savannah snatched it up and breathed a quick sigh of relief.
“That must be worth much to you,” the old woman said.
Savannah’s cheeks burned. In his hurry, he’d thought only of his treasures. He’d forgotten about escape,
and he certainly hadn’t thought to help an old woman to her feet in a burning city. Savannah knew just
how much he could sell the necklace for…but what was that worth just now?
Savannah cleared his throat. “Do…do you need help getting somewhere safe, ma’am?”
The woman chuckled and supplied her name: “Nozifo.” Then her eyes widened, and Savannah realized
that someone had snuck up behind him. He leaped forward, and the blackjack that would have bashed
his skull in merely struck his back, hard. Savannah tumbled away from his attacker, satchel held close
to his body.
Though pain and smoke blurred his vision, Savannah could make out half a dozen imposing figures
— the admiral’s troops had found him. He opened his mouth to negotiate, to plead, but Nozifo stepped
forward to defend him. Light sprang from her, a pale, clear brilliance that cut through the haze.
Savannah watched in awe as she fought the soldiers bare-handed, blocks and strikes precise as
Varangian clockwork.
“Run!” she shouted.
It was the only sensible thing to do, but Savannah didn’t budge. He’d found someone like him, a rare
and unique wonder…and if he left her now, he likely wouldn’t find her again, even if she did survive. He
needed a distraction, a chance for Nozifo and him to escape together.
Savannah wasn’t much of a fighter, but he had been chosen by a god of grifters, a patron of debtors and
cheats. He breathed a promise of wealth into the obsidian necklace and threw it into the fray.
“Eyes up, everyone!” he crowed. “First to reach it gets the prize!”

12
EX3
 Chapter One

Chosen of
the Little Gods
The Exalted Host triumphed over the enemies of the
The Birth of the Exigents gods, and the Celestial Incarnae took the ancients’
place at the Games of Divinity. The fire of Exigence
In a time before history, the Unconquered Sun led the
still burned, but the Unconquered Sun no longer
gods in rebellion against their creators and oppres-
shared it indiscriminately, for the power of the Exalted
sors. Bound by an ancient geas, the gods could not
was great enough to disturb the Most High. It was
themselves fight the ancients. The Celestial Incarnae
reserved for those gods who sought champions in the
and their great allies, the Elemental Dragons, imbued
name of their duties in the great Celestial Bureaucracy
mortals with their divine Essence and raised up the
— though at times, a plea made in the name of compas-
Exalted Host to do battle with the makers of the world.
sion, righteous conviction, or the like was rewarded
But these were not the only heroes to take the field.
with Exigence, for the Unconquered Sun is also the
Many lesser gods clamored for the secret of Exaltation, God of Virtue, and it is not his nature to deny such
but the Incarnae kept it guarded, fearing what might come prayers when Creation is in dire need.
after the war. Instead, they sought out a font of power,
As the First Age reached its apex, the Unconquered
with which they could empower the little gods to choose
Sun turned his face from Creation, for he could no
Exalted without surrendering the great secret. The Five
longer bear to watch the acts of his own Chosen. The
Maidens saw it beyond the world’s edge, a numinous and
flame of Exigence dimmed from the world as count-
otherworldly power older than the world’s makers. World-
less pleas for Exalted champions were rarely granted.
walking Luna found the path to it, navigating through a
While Exigents still rose in this time of cinders — the
labyrinth of unreality. The Unconquered Sun kindled it
Torchbearer, the Sovereigns, and other heroes still —
with an ember of his own Essence, igniting and consuming
their ranks were few and dwindling.
that primeval force to light the divine fire of Exigence
within him, an answer to the Incarnae’s urgent need. Now, the Unconquered Sun looks on Creation once
more with the return of his Chosen, and the flames of
The Unconquered Sun offered this ever-burning flame
Exigence blaze anew. Countless gods have had their
to all gods, great and small alike, with which to create
pleas answered, and the Exigents’ ranks have grown to
their own Exalted. There was a cost to these champions,
a height not seen since the First Age.
as the Incarnae had paid to create their own Chosen.
Some among the weaker gods could endure the cost of
Exaltation; others were destroyed by it, sacrifices made Petitioning for Exigence
in the name of victory. They fought alongside the fabled
Chosen of the Incarnae and the mighty Dragon-Blooded: The hearth fire of the Exigence burns with the
The Chosen of Betrayal, her might multiplied a hun- Unconquered Sun’s Essence; only he can offer it to the
dredfold in defiance of the world’s makers; the Chosen little gods. Though he takes his leisure at the Games of
of Conquest, who smote the Ancients’ armies with her Divinity, secluded from Heaven, he hears the prayers of
great treasure-wheel; the Chosen of the Firmament, the gods and their petitions for the divine flame. Most
who led an army of devil-stars against the enemies of who successfully beseech him speak of their need at
the gods; and other legendary Exigent heroes. great length, explaining how choosing an Exalted

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champion would fulfill their duties to Heaven, though to her muddy banks every dawn, his prayers sweet
at times a simple, desperate plea has been enough to with true devotion. Now she prays with him, though
win the Sun’s blessing. The Unconquered Sun is dif- she beseeches a different god. This plague is no natural
ficult to deceive, rebuking those whose petitions are thing, and she feels it changing her, poisoning her as it
made with anything less than absolute candor, but he does her river. She would rather die, god of a lost river,
is not infallible and has been hoodwinked in the past. than let herself become an abomination. Sun willing,
she will sacrifice the last of herself to Exaltation,
When the Unconquered Sun grants a god’s petition, he making her farmboy the answer to his own prayers.
draws forth a spark of the Exigence from within himself
to bestow upon them, descending from the Most High Illicit Exaltations
like a shooting star or a fallen ember. It falls into the
hands of the supplicant scarce moments after they finish A spark of the Exigence not yet kindled with divine
their prayer, burning with a power beyond imagining. Essence can be exchanged between gods. Before the
Unconquered Sun turned his face, it was rare that a god
He was more town father than city father until the
might bargain with a spark or give it as a gift, but when
refugees came, homeless and hungry. They’d flocked
the flames of Exigence dimmed, those sparks that still
to his temples, praying for prosperity and the city’s
remained in divine hands and the rare few still given by
acceptance, catching even the notice of Wun Ja,
the Unconquered Sun became potent bargaining chips.
Goddess of the Shining Metropolis, from her abode
Such exchanges are prohibited by heavenly law, but as
in Heaven. An Exalted champion could lead the
the Celestial Bureaucracy has fallen into mismanagement
growing city, could bring together its people and make
and corruption, such commerce is rarely punished.
an answer to their plight. Wun Ja has promised to
share her power with him, for the Chosen of Cities A god whose petitions go unanswered and who can’t
are her Exalted in part. Now, sitting behind his own bargain for a spark might steal a portion of Exigence
altar, he reviews his proposal one last time, written from another god. Only the most puissant of larcenous
in exquisite calligraphy lest he stumble over his deities can steal a spark held in a spirit’s Essence,
words. The Unconquered Sun will listen. He has to. though coercion, threats, and violence might force
a god to part from their spark. Most stolen sparks,
A spark of Exigence is immaterial, held within a
however, are those that have been imbued in physical
god’s Essence as the Exigence itself burns within the
vessels, vulnerable to theft and seizure.
Unconquered Sun’s. It is not easy to bear the flame; it
blazes from within them, scorching their very spirit. An Exigent chosen by a god other than the one who peti-
Gods who cannot find a worthy champion quickly often tioned for their spark is known as an illicit Exigent, created
imbue the Exigence into a physical vessel, unable to bear in defiance of Yu-Shan’s laws. While such Chosen aren’t
this agony any longer. The wary and the fearful might held personally culpable for their patron’s misdeeds,
choose to endure this burden, for it is far easier to steal a Heaven still takes a dim view of them. Illicit Exigents
spark once it is removed from a god’s Essence; others see who catch Yu-Shan’s notice face close scrutiny for any
it as a test of their resolve in shepherding the Sun’s gift. sign of assistance to their criminal patrons’ schemes.
A spark alone is not an Exaltation. A god must offer up It isn’t fair. It must be a mistake. They are twins, mir-
their divine Essence, feeding their ember of Exigence rors and equals in every way, yet the Sun granted her
that it might blaze bright enough to empower one of brother’s prayers and left hers unanswered. The North
the Chosen. Exaltation is never without cost; no god Mountain is hardly worthy of an Exigent; her South
can create an Exigent without being permanently less- Mountain is by far the more prestigious. She climbs
ened. Weaker gods are often destroyed outright by this, her brother’s mountain by moonlight while he sleeps.
and even the mightiest gods take their lives into their Tonight, she will take his spark of the divine fire, and by
own hands when they choose an Exigent. Few can morning, the South Mountain will have its champion.
survive creating multiple Chosen and fewer still are
willing to risk manyfold diminishment, making most
Exigents unique and singular champions.
Patchwork Chosen
Her river is dying. The plague swept down from the city, The Exigence was never meant to be used by more than
dammed the river’s wellspring with bloated corpses, and one god, but it is possible: Two gods may work together
tainted her water with disease. The farmboy still comes to catalyze a spark of Exigence, or an entire panthe-
on of lesser deities might contribute their Essence

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to create a champion. Perhaps they seek to create an

Exalt whose power synthesizes their varied natures CASTES AND ASPECTS
into something greater; perhaps they merely wish to
share the burden of diminishment among themselves Some Exigents who exist in significant numbers
in the moment of Exaltation. may have Castes — expressions of a role, like
warrior, savant, or emissary. Others have As-
But while the gods may profit from this, their Chosen, pects, expressing and influencing their nature
known as patchwork Exigents, pay the price of this and personality like a Dragon-Blood’s fiery tem-
hubris. Disparate and incompatible Essences rage per or a Liminal’s melancholy moods.
within them, making their Exaltation as much a curse
as it is a blessing. Some are tormented by nightmares, For example, the Chosen of a god of love might
delusions, overwhelming urges, or agonizing pain have Aspects of Eros, Storge, Philia, and Agape.
born of their schismatic nature. Others are corrupted A tide-god’s Chosen may have a High Tide Caste
or warped into monstrous beings, both Chosen and focused on forceful, direct approaches, and a Low
abomination. Tide Caste skilled in subtlety and subterfuge. Some
Exigents may have alternatives to either option: Ar-
Gods with shared or overlapping purviews can pool chitects, for example, don’t have Castes or Aspects,
their Essence without creating a patchwork Exigent, but are defined instead by the city they champion.
their Essences harmonizing rather than clashing. The
Architects (p. XX) are one such example, created by
the goddess of all cities and the god of a single city. skin. “You must carry the banners of a nation in
your heart, and in your soul,” she tells him — and he
The first thing he feels is cold. Not the cold of winter,
does. She fades into the rush of power, knowing that
biting at his nose and fingertips, but a piercing
something of the place she’s overseen for so long, a
cold from within. He picks himself from the ground
land and a people that she’s come to love, will survive.
between the three shrines, the stone eyes of the
gods staring at him in wordless judgment. They’d Most Exigents experience Exaltation as an ecstasy of
promised him power and glory, not this gnawing, divine power, awakening to the Essence that suffuses
icy void. He reaches for his chest but finds only a them in body, mind, and soul as their anima banner
hole the size of his fist where his heart should be. flares, perhaps the first time it has ever been seen in
That’s why he’s cold: he needs a heart. And if the Creation. Often the experience is shaped by her pa-
gods have stolen his, then he must find another. tron’s nature — the Chosen of the Hearth feels flames
of power blazing within her yet burning her not; the
A Singular Exaltation Chosen of Taxation feels a coin shining with numinous
power clinking in the coffers of his soul. Patchwork
Like all Exalted, the Exigents are chosen from heroes Exigents often Exalt in agony, overwhelmed by the
and those with the potential for heroism. Beyond roar of dissonant Essence within their being.
that, who is chosen depends on their patron’s needs,
whether they are Exalted in answer to a dire crisis or The slave girl crept into the sorcerer-prince’s laboratory
to serve the ambitions of a god who’s stolen a spark by night, desperate for something small and valuable
of Exigence. Often the god appears directly to those — just enough to buy passage to Palanquin when she
they Exalt, explaining why they have been chosen and escaped. Her master wouldn’t miss one scroll or trinket.
what they must do. Those whose patron gods did not But she came instead to a crystal casket, seeing the
survive catalyzing their Exaltation experience a vision, vague form that moved inside, trapped and screaming.
prophetic dream, or epiphany conveying their patron’s The ancient god beseeched her from within in a
last wishes. But the Exigents are infinitely varied in language she knew not, pleading, yes, but also somehow
their nature, and so too are their Exaltations, taking distant and glorious. Fire kindled inside the crystal, and
countless forms. the god burned; fire kindled inside the girl, and her mind
thrummed with the language of the Old Realm and all
Far away, a goddess watches her kingdom’s banners its sorcerous power. A power to break her master’s sor-
burn, centuries-old heavy cloth thrown off the parapets cerous bindings upon her and to shatter the wards that
by the conquerors. She turns to the last prince of the guarded him. By morning, she had plucked his tongue
kingdom, a man too young for the mantle she must from his mouth and set out in search of her future.
bestow upon him. The Exigence burns beneath her

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Most Exigents’ Exaltations die with them, vanishing she has dreamed of winning since watching her
from the world. A rare few persist beyond death to first match from her mother’s shoulders.
find another worthy of them. Some are like those of
the Solar Exalted, passing on to a new hero chosen by
their patron god. Others are inherited in a unique fash- Exigents and Other Exalted
ion: a legendary blade that confers Exaltation upon
Across Creation’s history, the Exigents have crossed
worthy wielders, a riddle spoken with the Chosen of
paths with other Chosen many times. Allies to some,
Mysteries’ dying words that will pass her Exaltation on
enemies to others, the great powers of Creation know
to those who solve it, a plague that bears the Chosen of
and respect the myriad talents of the Exigents.
Disease’s Exaltation to the one who can survive it.
The Realm’s Immaculate Order, Lookshy’s Immaculate
“Behold,” says the king, “our warrior of warriors,
Faith, and other Immaculate sects that hold sway in
victor of victors!” The crowd’s cheers drown out
various Dragon-Blooded polities condemn Exigents
all other noise, like the vomiting of the runner-up
as the result of forbidden congress between gods and
she’d punched six times in the stomach before he’d
mortals. Many press Exigents into service — the only
stayed down. She holds her head high and ap-
path to atonement for the crime of their existence and
proaches the dais, where the jeweled girdle lies atop
a better life in their next reincarnation. Exigents who
a golden table. It’s warm to the touch, and as her
refuse to serve are disfavored, but they need not fear
fist closes around it, she feels the surge of certainty
being named Anathema unless they defy the Perfected
and power. Her skin shines as gold as the table,
Hierarchy by threatening Dragon-Blooded hegemony.
her eyes a vivid platinum. Now, she understands:
the belt does not make her victorious, it makes The Silver Pact has known Exigents as both allies and
her Victory itself, champion of the tournament enemies across its history; while individual Lunars

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may hold their own prejudices, the Pact judges each

Exigent as an individual. The resurgence of Exigence THE GREAT CURSE
presents the Pact with both opportunities and con-
cerns, especially when gods — well-meaning, rebel- When the Neverborn’s death-curse fell upon the
lious, or otherwise — raise up heroes from Lunar do- Exalted, it did not merely afflict those Chosen who
minions. Some Lunar envoys visit Great Forks, Uluiru, stood against them in the Divine Revolution; they
and other places where Exigents gather, hoping to find cursed Exaltation itself. No Exigent — and no other
unique allies, associates, or assets. Exalt — is free of this affliction, no matter how long
after the Neverborn’s death they were Chosen.
The Celestial Bureaucracy has foisted the task of
overseeing Exigents onto the Bureau of Destiny, with
the rationale that the Exalted should deal with the
Exalted. Sidereals are tasked with investigating the have rivaled the Solar Exalted. An Exigent’s power is not
illicit theft or transfer of sparks of the Exigence, and dependent on that of their patron god: the mightiest of
with monitoring Exigents for signs of criminal con- celestial deities might create a champion no greater than
spiracy with their patrons. But the Bureau lacks the re- that of a humble terrestrial god, while the least among the
sources and political will to investigate all such crimes; gods can create Exigents of untold might.
most Sidereals prioritize their service to destiny over
an unwanted and burdensome duty. If an Exigent’s patron survives their Exaltation, consid-
er the relationship between them. Most Exigents are
swift to act in the face of the crisis they were created for,
The Spark of Divinity impelled by their patron’s urging and their own Essence
fever, but many are unwilling to continue in their god’s
Creation’s gods aren’t abstract embodiments of pri- service once that crisis is past, striking off on their own.
mal forces, but divinities entrusted with stewardship Some remain allies of their patron even as they wan-
of some aspect of the world by Heaven’s Celestial der far afield. Others might be bitter enemies, finding
Bureaucracy. Gods in Heaven have manifold purviews: themselves opposed to their patron’s goals or seeking
abstract concepts, primeval forces, and fundamental vengeance for an Exaltation they never asked for. A
aspects of nature or human existence. They are gods patron’s cult, priests, and other allies are also a common
of war and flame, of cherry blossoms and prophetic presence in an Exigent’s life — some eager to serve their
dreams. The terrestrial gods who dwell in Creation god’s champion and others distrustful of the outsider
each oversee some specific facet of the world. They who’s received a blessing they see as undeserved.
are gods of individual rivers, lakes, and even the Great
Western Ocean, of the North’s Black Shale Road, of the From God to Exigent
trade winds that blow through the Coral Archipelago,
of An-Teng’s elephants and of Nexus’ thieves. When creating an Exigent, it’s often easiest to start by
creating their patron god. That god’s purview, person-
Exigents are the Chosen of their patron gods, not
ality, and history help to inform the Exigent’s concept
those gods’ divine purviews. The god’s nature and
and provide inspiration for her Charms. You can pick
deeds shape their Exigent’s power, as does the crisis
an existing god (a list of which is on p. XX) or invent
the Exigent was Chosen to answer. The Chosen of
one of your own. If you’re making your own god, you
Ahlat will have Charms expressing excellence in war,
don’t need to figure out everything about them — it’s
particularly desert warfare, but her might also encom-
enough to know what they’re the god of, what their
passes the war-god’s prowess with bow and spear, the
personality is like, and why they needed an Exigent.
judgment he passes on warriors, and his authority over
cattle and cattle-raiding. Shala Assai is the Chosen of When conceptualizing what a god’s Exigent might
Knives, but her power and Charms are not those of a look like, it can help to begin by focusing in on three
legendary killer, for her patron sees knives as tools of distinct themes based on that god’s purview, person-
human survival and ingenuity rather than mere weap- ality, history, and reasons for creating an Exigent. For
ons. The Prince of Ink holds power over the written unique Exigents like Strawmaiden Janest, you can also
word, but his Charms also draw from his patron’s draw from the Exigent’s personality, though these
nature as a heavenly diplomat and advocate for peace. themes should be broad and archetypal enough to
support multiple variations on that singular character
Not all Exigents are equal in might. Most are peers to the
concept. The chosen themes don’t need to encompass
Dragon-Blooded, but a rare few across Creation’s history

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everything or even the most important things about the

Exigent; they’re just a starting point. You can then start
Vanileth, God of Artificial Flight
sketching out ideas for your Exigent and what their
Vanileth remembers the First Age fondly: the great
Charm trees might look like based on this foundation.
skyships, flying pagodas, starspires, and other won-
You may have a strong concept for an Exigent, but not drous conveyances that soared the sky; the prayers
the god who chose them. If that’s the case, you can offered up to him by artificers, pilots, and passengers.
work backward from your Exigent and their Charms Today, he has fallen so far in the Celestial Bureaucracy
to come up with their divine patron, figuring out how that he’s been all but exiled from Heaven, residing in
the Charms’ themes are reflected in that god. a mountaintop eyrie in the far North where he crafts
marvelous clockwork birds. Lookshy’s scarce few sky-
You don’t need to write their Charm set in full; it’s ships, the Haslanti League’s balloon-driven air boats,
enough to sketch out a few branches. As you define and a handful of other flying craft are all that remain
your patron god, you may find it provides further in- of his once-great purview. Vanileth might be driven to
spiration for your Exigent concept and Charms. create an Exigent to return artificial flight to promi-
nence or to fend off a winged foe of Creation — or he
may already have a spark, awaiting the first mortal to
Divine Patrons reach his palace by sky.

The following gods provide examples of how a god’s Themes

themes inspire the concept and Charms of their poten- As Chosen of Artificial Flight, Vanileth’s Exigent would
tial Exigent. have a mastery of flying vessels and expertise in other
vehicles, which they might enchant to take to the skies.
Fenya, God of Guild Cant
Vanileth is a masterful artificer, constantly tinkering
A tutelary deity of the Guild and the language-god of with his clockwork birds. His Chosen might excel in
its secret tongue, Fenya is young but mighty, empow- crafting, particularly flying vessels; command flocks of
ered by the language’s use across Creation. Merchant flying automata; and stoke the ingenuity of inventors
princes pray to him — in the cant, of course — for elo- and engineers.
quence and clarity of speech and to ward off misunder-
standings. Fenya might be driven to create an Exigent Secluded in his mountaintop sanctum, Vanileth offers
to stand as a champion against threats to the Guild, to rewards to those who can reach him. His Chosen
hunt down infiltrators who’ve stolen the secret cant, might test the mettle and ingenuity of others, bestow-
or — if he can lay hands on an illicit spark — to serve as ing rewards on those who pass.
his agent against rival language-gods.
Yibi, Guardian of theSweetgrass Temple
Themes
As the Exalted of a language-god, Fenya’s Chosen As a lion dog, Yibi is among the humblest of gods, a
might have social Charms that are most powerful when minor guardian appointed by Heaven to defend the
conveyed through cant, eavesdropping Charms whose Sweetgrass Temple. Far in the south, the temple-manse
range increases dramatically for anything spoken in nourishes soil and cleanses water, making it possible
cant, and Charms to empower and enlighten followers for the nearby cities of the Ytembe Confederation to
that are most effective on those who know the language. survive. Throughout the centuries of her stewardship,
she’s fended off rogue spirits, mortal warlords, scaven-
Disgustingly rich by mortal standards, Fenya especially ger princes, and other threats to the manse. Creating
treasures the silver used in the Guild’s preferred coin- an Exigent would almost surely destroy her, but she
age, which he helps promote over the Realm’s jade may still do so in the face of a threat too powerful for
currency. His Chosen would excel in bribes and other her to defeat.
shows of wealth, especially when making use of silver.
Themes
Fenya is an impeccably honest broker; while he may Lion dogs are famously loyal, and Yibi has suffered
present the truth creatively, he never lies. His Chosen great danger and long solitude in service to Heaven. Her
might have Charms to sense and punish falsehoods, Chosen could share that intense loyalty, guarding her
but their social influence Charms might be weaker or positive Ties from all influence that would weaken or
even unusable for deception.

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alter them; resisting intimidation, deception, and cor- might have power over fertility, plants, and water; be able to
ruption through loyalty; and inspiring loyalty in others, imbue others with good health; raise up fields of tall grass to
deputizing them as guardians in Heaven’s name. conceal herself; or create oases in the most barren deserts.

As a lion dog, Yibi is a powerful guardian beast, with

razor-sharp fangs and an impenetrable jade hide. Her Notable Exigents
Chosen could draw on these traits, manifesting fangs,
claws, and jade skin; honing his sense of smell; or The Bleak Warden, Chosen of the Seals
drawing on her incredible strength and tireless nature.
The Bleak Warden is the callous guardian of an oth-
As guardian of the Sweetgrass Temple, Yibi has ensured erworldly prison, sealing away and unbinding the
that surroundings cities have prospered. Her Exigent horrors trapped within as suits his purposes.

IT’S LIKE THAT, BUT…

A Chosen of Yibi’s Charms would likely have some overlap with both Dragon-Blooded by manipulating plants
and water, and Lunars by drawing on animal traits. That’s fine! An Exigent’s themes can overlap with some of
another kind of Exalted, as long as there’s room for divergence. That often means narrowing the focus of that
theme and letting the god’s nature and personality inform Charms that involve that theme. Yibi’s Chosen has
power over water and plants as sources of fertility, sustenance, and health rather than the Dragon-Blood’s
all-encompassing elemental mastery. Likewise, while Lunars can take any animal form, Yibi’s Chosen is limited
to their patron’s lion dog traits. When designing Charms for an Exigent with overlapping themes, you can some-
times take directly from other Exalted. You’ll usually want to make a few changes to make it fit the overall design
and mechanical focus of your Charm set, but sometimes you won’t need to change it at all.

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Omron Kanthu and The-Darkness-That-Binds Power of the Seals

Many years ago, a child was born into Riven Quay’s The Bleak Warden wields the seals that ward The-Darkness-
reeking, shadowy slums, orphaned or abandoned to That-Binds’ prison and greater seals beyond even his pa-
a life of misery on the street. As Omron scraped and tron’s grasp. He also embodies his patron’s nature as a being
stole and shivered through winters, the god known of formless darkness, an implacable pursuer of Creation’s
as The-Darkness-That-Binds walked the halls of a foes, and a heartless gaoler. The Bleak Warden can:
labyrinthine prison carved in Creation’s dark depths,
where countless enemies of Heaven had been sealed. • Draw on the knowledge, memories, and power
As more and more of its cells were filled, it grew harder of his prisoners.
for the goaler-god to keep them locked away. First one
prisoner escaped, then another, until The-Darkness- • Unleash his prisoners against his foes, binding
That-Binds knew his own power was not enough. them lest they break free.
Only an Exalted champion could keep these horrors
contained, and he beseeched the Unconquered Sun. • Break an enemy’s will by forcing them to experi-
ence untold years of imprisonment in the blink
Longing for more than a street urchin’s life, Omron of an eye.
explored places forbidden to him and the earth’s
dark corners — the estates of the wealthy, caves and • Track down even a quarry who leaves no trail,
caverns, perilously decrepit buildings, abandoned sensing its presence as a dissonance in the world.
tombs — searching for anything that would give him
• Create chains of darkness to bind a foe.
a way out of this life. It was on one such expedition,
traversing underground tunnels leading deep into the • Vanish into darkness.
earth, that Omron finally found his prize. His compan-
ions had long since turned back in fear, and his lantern
had flickered out, leaving him in pitch blackness. Lost,
Willow Specter,
desperate, and afraid, his stumbling finally brought the Chosen of the Dice
him to a luminous sigil, carved in the solid rock of a
cavern wall. Willow Specter is the luckiest man in the world, a
daredevil who won his Exaltation from Plentimon, god
A voice whispered to him, told him that the seal was of gamblers.
yet unfinished and dared him to complete it if he be-
lieved himself worthy. Omron was no savant, was not A Game of Chance
even literate, but something in the half-finished sigil Long ago, Plentimon of the Dice won a spark of
spoke to him, its solution as intuitively obvious as plac- Exigence from a mountain-god desperate to recoup
ing a puzzle piece. Cutting his arm on a jagged stone, his losses in a high-stakes game. Without any inten-
he traced out a pattern in his own blood, and unsealed tion of creating an Exalted champion, he held onto it
the power of Exaltation. for years, occasionally staking it against treasures of
immeasurable value or simply to make a game more
The Bleak Warden’s Duty interesting. Renowned for his fair play, none doubted
The Darkness-That-Binds gave his Bleak Warden two that Plentimon would honor his bets, but he would
tasks: maintaining the labyrinth’s seals to keep its pris- only wager the spark when he was certain of winning.
oners locked away, and hunting down those who’d es-
caped the prison or who rightfully belonged in its cells. Willow Specter had made his living in Nexus’ gam-
bling houses. At the age of thirteen, he took a week’s
Now empowered beyond mortal imagining, Omron worth of what he could beg and bluffed his way past
is free to explore Creation and seek out its secret the House of Golden Pips’ hired muscle. He turned his
wonders as he never could before. But the burden of meager coins into enough to keep him housed and fed,
responsibility weighs heavy on him, and he chafes and then turned that into enough for a life of luxury.
against his patron’s demands. It isn’t just wanderlust; He won fortunes and lost them, was tossed back onto
the Bleak Warden’s duties demand ruthlessness, and the streets without a quarter-dinar to his name, and
Omron lacks the cold heart they require. Instead, those rode the waves of fortune back to a life of riches.
who speak with him find him a thoughtful man with
gentle humor and a keen sense of justice, upholding his Plentimon rarely leaves the casino that is his abode, but
obligations only with great remorse. he watches over every gambler who prays to him, and

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Willow Specter caught his notice. He came to the House • Escape harm thanks to a lucky coincidence — a
of Golden Pips, a man-shaped void flecked with silver falling banner knocking an arrow off course, a
and gold, and challenged Willow Specter to a game of pack of cards in his pocket blunting a blow, etc.
chance. It lasted all night and all day, until Plentimon
proposed one final gamble. If Willow Specter won, • Know someone’s wealth and its provenance at a
he would be Exalted as Plentimon’s Chosen; lose, and glance.
become the god’s eternal servant. Perhaps Plentimon’s
arrogance blinded him, perhaps Willow Specter was • Make it possible for gamblers to stake memo-
skilled enough of a cheat to hoodwink the god of gam- ries, years of their lifespan, and other impossible
bling, or perhaps fortune simply smiled on him. He won wagers.
and became the Chosen of the Dice.
• Curse those who cheat in games or renege on
The King of Gamblers their wagers.
Willow Specter has amassed quite a fortune, spending
it lavishly on finely tailored clothing, sumptuous feasts, • Reap greater rewards from risky endeavors.
and luxurious apartments in Nexus’ bustling Cinnabar
• Exploit the corruption, greed, or pride of indi-
district. Luck is always with him, and not just at the
viduals and organizations.
gaming table. In the instant he thinks to hail a carriage,
one pulls up beside him; on the run from Guild enforc-
ers, he happens across a convenient alleyway to slip Nurlissa, the Chosen of Masks
into. He stumbles across treasures thought lost forever
and overhears teahouse gossip that tells him exactly The Chosen of Masks wears countless false faces,
what he needs to know. changing her powers and identity as circumstances
require.
Willow Specter has put his good fortune to use as a
troubleshooter, enforcer, and assassin. His fees are History
exorbitant, though he’ll cut them for interesting clients Shalrina, goddess of faces, long ago abandoned her
or exciting jobs. He’s currently working as a bodyguard celestial estate in Yu-Shan for a life in Creation, where
for the Guild factor Nimah Fell, whose ruthless busi- she now peddles masks from a small shop in Nexus
ness practices and willingness to backstab his fellow — some merely of exquisite quality, some imbued
Guildsmen have made him many enemies. with miraculous power, and some faces given to her
in trade. She petitioned the Unconquered Sun for the
Plentimon largely leaves Willow Specter to his own fire of Exigence for a champion to stand against an
devices, though the Chosen of the Dice is glad to help inscrutable monster known as the Eater of Names that
when the god requires his services, seeing him as an preyed upon her city’s people, threatening their very
old friend. It’s unclear to what extent Plentimon’s been identity — and what were faces without identity?
diminished by creating his Chosen. Do the glinting
flecks within the void of his body seem dimmer than Nurlissa was at starvation’s doorstop when she came
before? Does he hesitate just a bit before throwing the to Shalrina’s shop. She was young, scarcely a woman,
dice? Or is that all merely a bluff to make his enemies and she’d heard the shop’s mysterious proprietor
underestimate him? traded in faces and all that came with them. What use
was her youth if she died tomorrow? Shalrina offered
For all Willow Specter’s power and riches, he’s not a different bargain, for her will to survive at all costs
nearly as carefree as he seems. His confidence and had impressed the goddess. In exchange for her face,
swagger are genuine, but the nagging fear of his bill she’d receive Exaltation, a mask shining with divinity,
coming due is always at the back of his mind. Any gam- and serve Shalrina as her champion.
bler knows no winning streak lasts forever, and Willow
Specter doesn’t know when — or if — his luck will run Behind the Mask
out. After Nurlissa drove the Eater of Names out of Nexus,
she continued in Shalrina’s service, spying on her rivals,
Loaded Dice collecting on debts owed to her, and fighting against
Willow Specter enjoys miraculous good fortune while supernatural threats to her patron. But Shalrina was
also partaking of Plentimon’s nature as a canny pit boss not a kind patron, and she demanded more than her
and astute judge of character. The Chosen of Dice can: Chosen was willing to bear. She fled Nexus, cradling

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 CHAPTER ONE: THE CHOSEN OF THE LITTLE GODS

the face she’d stolen from the goddess’ vault in her medium who can spread infectious sorrow, nav-
hands — her own. igate the Underworld’s waterways, and draw
upon the fell power of necromancy.
Since then, she’s hunted Wyld beasts threatening villag-
es in the Scavenger Lands, liberated slaves from Guild • The Mask of Herself restores her to her mortal
caravans, and dueled with outcaste champions. What identity, empowering her to conceal her nature
she really wants is a home, somewhere she can make a as one of the Exalted, draw power from her
new life for herself and discover who she is when not fierce will to survive, and safeguard her relation-
bound by desperate poverty or servitude to her patron. ships and those closest to her heart.

Like many Exigents, she’s come to Great Forks, hoping The Foxbinder of Shifune
to find a home among the city’s numerous gods and
her fellow Chosen. But Shalrina has many allies and The Foxbinder is an Exigent charged with the over-
agents; no few of Great Forks’ gods owe a favor to sight of Wicked-Grin Shifune, a legendary trickster
Nurlissa’s vengeful patron. If she wants to survive in who serves as her patron, companion, and hostage.
her new home, she’ll need companions of her own.
The Fox’s Punishment
Masks of Power
A wild and mischievous fox-spirit, Wicked-Grin Shifune
The Chosen of Masks’ Charms are not born of her was once but a minor terrestrial god who cheated his
personal prowess and skill like those of other Exalted. way into an eminent position in Heaven and the power
Instead, she possesses a panoply of magical masks that came with it. He lived a life of opulence unknown
created by Shalrina and by herself, each with its own to earthly spirits — feasting on peaches of immortality,
unique identity and Charms. lounging about in his manse while attended by count-
less servants, and making fools of mighty gods with his
• The Mask of Exaltation is the first one Nurlissa
shapeshifting pranks. In time, he angered the wrong
wore, a mirror image of Shalrina’s own counte-
god, and found himself haled into Heaven’s courts.
nance carved in black jade. It imbues her with
the most fundamental of her powers. She can in- Found guilty not only of troubling high-ranking gods
ternalize a limited number of these Charms, able but of committing crimes against Yu-Shan itself
to use them even while wearing other masks. with his fraudulent hiring, Shifune was given an un-
precedented sentence: he would be forced to create
• Wearing a mask of carved wood, she becomes
an Exigent, diminishing himself to create his own
the Lord of Beasts, driven by primal instinct and
keeper. Much gossip and commotion spread through
an affinity for all animals. She may speak to and
Yu-Shan in the verdict’s wake; many were shocked
command beasts, wield the prowess of a legend-
the Unconquered Sun would bestow a spark upon the
ary hunter, pass unscathed through the most
judge as an instrument of punishment. The Exaltation
perilous wilderness, and empower her familiars.
was sealed within a bejeweled collar and placed in the
• Wearing a devil-faced mask, she becomes the Immaculate Order’s care along with Shifune.
Red-Eyed Demon, a wrathful monster who
The Foxbinder’s Legacy
exults in bloodshed and dominance. She fights
with incredible strength, skin like steel, and ber- Shifune has had many Foxbinders over the years, each
serker fury as she terrifies and subdues foes with one handpicked by the Immaculate Order to receive
her dreaded battle-mien. their predecessor’s collar. The current Foxbinder is
Tamako, a young patrician woman who entered the
• Wearing a silken mask, she becomes the Doe Immaculate Order to escape an arranged marriage.
Courtesan, infinitely subtle and wise in the She stumbled through a difficult novitiate, but the
nature of power. She has power both seen and diligence and determination with which she under-
unseen, captivating others with beauty and in- took it so impressed her mentor that she remembered
flaming their passions or fading from visibility Tamako’s name when the previous Foxbinder died.
and acting with perfect silence. Now, Tamako wanders the Blessed Isle sniffing out
Anathema at the Order’s behest, accompanied by
• Wearing a Sijanese funeral mask, she becomes Shifune in those shapes that weren’t burnt to nothing-
the Gallows Saint, a tragic and melancholy ness when he was forced to create his champion — a
hero. She is a peerless ghost-speaker and spirit red fox with seven-fingered hands instead of paws and

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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

a handsome, red-haired youth clad in black, crimson, the mandrill-headed god of study by lamplight, guard-
and orange. ian of Cradle’s centuries of accumulated knowledge,
sacrificed himself to light his sacred lantern with the
Previous Foxbinders have kept Shifune on a short leash, fire of Exigence, empowering a scholar-champion to
either out of a sense of duty as the fox-god’s captor or for protect his beloved libraries: the first Torchbearer. The
fear of what punishments the Immaculate Order might Exigent couldn’t save the city, but he escaped with his
inflict. Tamako is still new to her Exaltation, though, life, all the codices he could carry, and a dream of the
and gentle-hearted. She treats Shifune more as a friend world bathed in the light of knowledge and reason.
than a prisoner, and her compassionate nature risks
compromising her loyalty to the Order. When rumors Since then, the Torchbearers have pursued this dream.
of a Lunar Anathema led her to a mere child with the The flame of their Exaltation burns steadily, giving them
moon’s mark shining on his brow, she let him escape and a lifespan to rival a Dragon-Blood’s, though without
told her handlers it was nothing but alehouse gossip. their long-lasting youth. By the end of her first century, a
Torchbearer appears quite elderly, though she remains
Shifune is greatly pleased by his Chosen’s seed of in- spry. A Torchbearer’s Exaltation would normally die
dependence, nurturing it at every turn by encouraging with her, but it can be passed on from master to appren-
small acts of rebellion. He hopes that she’ll one day tice — an act that invariably kills the master.
turn against the Order, becoming the rebel that his
Exaltation has always been meant for, and that the two Nozifo Isiman, the Eighth Torchbearer
of them will once again raise chaos across Creation. Nozifo was born to a Southern family of herders. She
never cared for studying or sitting in quiet, dusty
Gifts of the Foxbinder reading rooms, but her predecessor, the Seventh
The Foxbinder’s prowess thwarts cunning and de- Torchbearer, appreciated a venturesome spirit and
ception, making her the ideal captor for Shifune, but saw Nozifo’s intuitive brilliance behind her un-
she also shares his nature as a gifted trickster and has schooled mind. Instead of keeping her to a library, he
a spiritual bond with him that empowers them both. wandered forest pathways and city streets with her
The Foxbinder can: as her whims led her, imparting an education to rival
any Realm patrician’s as they walked. As he lay dying,
• Scent lies, making it easier to track those who struck down by an outcaste bandit’s blade, he passed
live by deception. the Torchbearer’s flame to her.
• Expose disguises, deception, and trickery, espe- After a year spent planning, Nozifo avenged her mas-
cially from those in power. ter, leaving behind only the smoldering ashes of his
murderer. She’s since set out to wander Creation, seek-
• Having caught someone in a lie, render them ing knowledge in need of preservation. She’s fallen in
incapable of further deception. love, had children, and foiled conspirators and despots,
but she’s never stayed still for more than a year. She’s
• Commune with Shifune even across great dis-
crossed paths with the Immaculate Order and been
tances and empower him as her familiar.
declared Anathema for her willingness to disseminate
• Create illusions that make even the most outra- heretical writings.
geous lies seem true.
In the Time of Tumult, Nozifo questions how well her
• Create convincing disguises out of flimsy props roaming heroism serves Creation, contemplating set-
and pretenses. tling down and building a library or academy to house
and share the knowledge she’s won. But she’s made
many enemies, and her power can only be concealed
The Torchbearer for so long; wherever she makes her home, her light
will inevitably draw her foes.
The Torchbearer is an ever-burning hero of enlighten-
ment, heir to a chain of scholar-champions dedicated The Flame of Knowledge
to preserving knowledge in the Age of Sorrows.
The Torchbearer’s power is palpable — a pale, inextin-
guishable flame that burns along her entire body, just
An Inheritance of Flame
above the skin. She may manifest a lamp of Essence
Centuries ago, Medo’s armies besieged Cradle, a city
to contain and concentrate her flame, or else conceal
known for its libraries and universities. Ogen-Moin,

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 CHAPTER ONE: THE CHOSEN OF THE LITTLE GODS

it within a mundane lantern, but it never travels be- said nothing, but those she’d helped spoke for her,
yond arm’s reach. She wields power over both literal recounting how her poisons had changed their lives.
flame and the light of clarity and understanding. The Exaltation flooded her soul like a tide of burning agony,
Torchbearer can: eating away and corroding her mortality until only the
Thousand Venoms Mistress remained.
• Draw on her lantern’s flame to set fires, blind
foes, frighten off wild beasts, and banish cold The Divine Assassin
and darkness. Devoted to her goddess, Broken Sky assassinates Koro-
Bana’s divine rivals and their cultists with dedication,
• Bolster the concentration and mental clarity of each poisoned corpse a prayer. When not working on
those who study under her. her patron’s behest, she offers her services to clients in
search of justice or vengeance: queens, gods, warlords,
• Imbue others with wonder, curiosity, and a drive merchant princes, monks, and more have met their
to share their knowledge. end at her poisoned blades. Countless bounties have
been placed on her head; she takes no pleasure in dis-
• Use her lantern to reveal the path to her
patching those sent to kill her, leaving them helpless
destination.
and paralyzed rather than dead when she can.
• Banish ignorance, discord, and disorganization.
Broken Sky takes pride in her work, but she’s more
• Reveal vulnerabilities and flaws. than an assassin. It’s been years since she’s seen her
family; she relocated them from Great Forks soon af-
ter killing her first god lest they suffer reprisals from
Thousand Venoms Mistress, Koro-Bana’s enemies or others seeking vengeance on
Chosen of Toxins the legendary assassin. She limits her friendships and
romances to her fellow Chosen, knowing that they can
The Chosen of Toxins is a divine assassin and expert defend themselves. Her work as an assassin funds a
poisoner, master of the ten thousand venoms found in more-than-modest lifestyle, but much of her pay goes
Creation and the worlds beyond. to her patron’s temple.

The Venomous Exaltation Ten Thousand Deadly Venoms

A socialite and schemer among the spirit courts of the The Thousand Venoms Mistress is a physical, spiritual,
Scavenger Lands, the poison-goddess Whirling Lady and metaphorical embodiment of poison in all its many
Koro-Bana’s pleas to the Unconquered Sun went un- forms. Her Charms also partake of her role as divine
answered. She had sought a spark for selfish reasons, assassin and of Whirling Lady Koro-Bana’s schemes,
seeking a divine assassin to strike down her rivals, and social graces, and vengeful nature. She can:
her poisoned words could not deceive the Most High.
Undeterred, she sought out another god who’d won a • Synthesize poisons from her own blood.
spark of Exigence, eventually finding one boasting of
his luck in one of Great Forks’ teahouses. As she toast- • Poison a spirit’s Essence, corroding and dissolv-
ed to his good fortune, she slipped a slow, agonizing ing it from within.
poison into his cup. As he writhed and screamed, she
revealed her treachery and offered the antidote in ex- • Metaphorically poison a group with discord,
change for his Exigence. suspicion, and betrayal.

Broken Sky was a devotee of Koro-Bana’s cult in Great • Read the thoughts and share the senses of some-
Forks, an aged herbalist who served the goddess by one she’s poisoned.
giving poisons to those in need of them — wives seek-
• Experience prophetic visions of the future by
ing freedom from abusive husbands, youths seeking to
flooding her body with entheogenic venom.
escape forced military service by feigning illness, and
dissidents plotting the death of tyrants. Many in Koro-
• Commit herself irrevocably to an assassination
Bana’s cult sought to win her favor and Exaltation,
contract, becoming implacable in pursuit of her
boasting of their death-dealing feats. Broken Sky
target.

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Boz Miklós regarded his shadow as it faded into view, approaching the Little God’s Gate into Great Forks.
The God of Riverspeak had always hated the sheer effort it took to materialize and tread Creation’s soil,
but he enjoyed breathing the same air the mortals did. It had a thickness to it, necessitating the subtlest
changes in how he worked his tongue to shape words. It had a taste, sweet and rich.

Great Forks’ streets were a riot of rich colors, noisy hubbub, and aromatic food, packed with mortals
and gods alike. And they were all speaking his language. Boz fingered the cord of the cloth-of-gold bag
within his sleeve pocket. Within it burned a spark of Exigence, a treasure beyond worth — one that he
intended to sell in this, the City of Ten Thousand Temples.

What would my champion even look like? He wondered idly. Might they hear every word spoken in his
tongue, hear the hidden meaning behind honeyed words, or speak righteous truths with every syllable?
Boz Miklós pondered this and settled for never knowing. He’d sought the Exigence to save the Hundred
Kingdoms from a faerie horror that devoured language itself, but before he found a champion, the beast
had fallen to the Wyld Hunt. No longer in need of an Exigent, Boz had reached out among his fellow
gods to find one willing to bargain for a spark of divine flame.

He walked along one of the lanes towards the bazaar called Little Yu-Shan, where mortals and spirits
transacted worship and business. He strode past noodle stalls and caravanserais to the cafés, the ones
that served the coffee made with crushed eggshells that Boz so loved. Having never met his buyer
before, he’d agreed to meet her here.

The buyer was already sitting at their chosen table. She was gaunt and corpse-like, with eyes made of
sapphire and breath that smelled of rotting meat no matter how much mint she chewed to cover the
smell. Boz had expected someone more pleasant than a goddess of decay but hid his feelings away as
he greeted her. Ignoring his pleasantries, the goddess placed a huge scroll case, carved from green
jade, on the table. This was their agreed-upon price: the complete text of the Thousand Swallows Cycle,
a lost epic of the Shogunate, translated into Rivertongue.

Boz proffered his gift in exchange, shining with blinding light in the instant between him opening the
bag and the spark finding its home within the goddess’ Essence. As she signaled for Boz’s second cup,
she excused herself. Boz didn’t blame her; he’d wanted to get rid of the Exigence as soon as possible.
But for now, his troubles were over.

As he lifted the curved coffee cup to his lips, a cat-headed goddess wearing a golden mask approached
the table. “So good to finally meet you, Boz,” she said as she went right for it. “Do you have it? My
champion?” She brandished a scroll case of her own, ebony inlaid with silver. Boz choked on his
growing dread, unable to get a word out. Opening the green jade case to reveal only blank paper, he
confirmed what he was already sure of: he’d been swindled. He felt something more solid than foam
bump his lips as he took a nervous sip from his coffee. He smelled it before it bobbed to the surface:
a rotted mushroom spreading tendrils of filth through the bubbles. He wondered what the Chosen of
Decay would look like.

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27
 Chapter Two

Great Forks
Few cities hold such repute for holiness as Great Forks. The three patron gods issued an edict, proclaiming
Founded centuries ago by three mighty gods — Spinner themselves thearchs, the highest of the city’s gods,
of Glorious Tales, Weaver of Dreams of Victory, and and welcoming to the city any and all spirits willing
Shield of a Different Day — and their followers, this to abide by its laws. Since this intervention, they’ve
thronging metropolis has opened its arms wide to largely left governance in mortal hands — originally
spirits and pilgrims alike. Here, any god may seek to to princes and dynasties, and today to a civil service
gather devotees, raise up a place of worship, and es- dominated by the city’s wealthiest families.
tablish a creed. Every avenue is thick with shrines and
temples; every hour marks some festival, filling the air
with prayer, bell-song, and scents of incense and burnt A City of Gods and Spirits
offerings. Petitioners seek blessings at small gods’
Gods appear at every level of society in Great Forks.
shrines, whether for luck at dice or a balm for the pain
Powerful and celebrated divinities lounge upon palan-
of gout, and spirits walk openly among mortals. For
quins amid riotous festival processions. Newly arrived
such divinities, this is a city of freedom.
godlings preach to the masses in hopes of gathering
followers. Wizened spirits bide in musty, cobwebbed
But Great Forks is as profane as it is holy — thus its
shrines, abandoned by their cults.
other name, Decadence. Slave laborers work the fields
while merchants peddle every sort of luxury among
Thousands of spirits dwell here, drawn by opportunity
the city’s avenues and bazaars. Priests grow fat on
for worship, sacrifice, earthly power, and pleasure.
pilgrims’ donations while the poor subsist on meager
Some have established themselves securely as beloved
charity in the city’s slums. For all too many, this is a city
or feared patron deities, ensconced in grand temples
of exploitation, a great prayer wheel spun by human
overseen by wealthy priesthoods. Less fortunate
suffering.
godlings, indigent and down on their luck, offer petty
blessings at alleyway shrines.
As the fire of Exigence blazes anew, Great Forks has
become the site of a new pilgrimage. Warriors, sages,
While the thearchs are first among Great Forks’ gods,
and scoundrels from across the Scavenger Lands — in-
many boast cults and prestige to rival theirs. Shunanto,
deed, from across Creation — converge on the city in
god of the Yellow River, is worshipped by farmers
hopes of winning Exaltation.
and fishermen and beseeched to ward off floods.
Resplendent Twin, mirror-goddess of merchants,
Founding messengers, and travelers, dances between her sacred
heliographs to the delight of crowds. Burning Feather,
In RY 278, three long-suffering refugee peoples — the goddess of intoxicants, receives prayer from all man-
Mileti, the Houtholan, and the Veh— followed their ner of pleasure-seekers.
patron gods to the junction of the Rolling and Yellow
Rivers, a place of clement weather and fertile soil. While gods and elementals make up the majority of
Tired of war and struggle, wary of neighboring polities this supernatural populace, Great Forks is also home to
and the horrors of a nearby shadowland, the three other spirits. Ghosts offer benedictions to children and
peoples and their gods negotiated a peace. Settling grandchildren or seek vengeance against those who’ve
together at the river junction, they became one nation, wronged them. The White Nettle Lodge, Great Forks’
founding a city and sharing the land’s bounty. local ancestor cult, brokers deals between ghosts and
gods, syncretizing ghosts as guardians, attendants,

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 C H A P T E R T W O : G R E AT F O R K S

spouses, or other figures into a god’s cult. Even the Spinner of Glorious Tales is a god of wanderers and
Fair Folk have taken up occasional residence as art- storytellers, though he was mortal before his elevation
ists and performers, subsisting on the city’s raucous to godhood. Charismatic and driven, Talespinner
atmosphere. usually appears as a middle-aged man roughened
by travel and crowned with a nimbus of yellow light,
The Thearchs though he’s a skilled shapeshifter, wearing the forms
of travelers and migratory beasts. His foremost priority
Once mighty in the Celestial Bureaucracy, Great Forks’ is for Great Forks to offer opportunities for enlighten-
thearchs abandoned their heavenly posts long ago. ment, purpose, wealth, adventure, love, and more —
Nonetheless, their personal power remains great; few the things great stories are made of. The gentler the
can challenge them within their métiers. They hold no law’s hand, the more such opportunities can flourish;
official rank in Great Forks’ civil service, as Heaven for- while he’s no anarchist, he’s the foremost advocate of
bids gods to rule directly over mortals, but when they limiting the civil service’s power in any scenario. But
collectively issue an edict, the city takes their word as of all the thearchs, he’s the most often absent from
law. the city, spurred by wanderlust. He’s often returned to
Great Forks aghast at its political transformations in
The thearchs want to protect Great Forks and its peo- his absence.
ple but disagree on how best to do so — and, at times,
on what should be their first priority to defend. They Weaver of Dreams of Victory is a god of dreams,
hold each other in great respect and affection, but this war, and looms. The enigmatic Dreamweaver appears
has been tested over the years by disagreements and as a shimmering waterfall of shapes; each person who
occasional underhanded political maneuverings, not looks on her sees everyone they’ve ever known in
to mention each thearch’s awareness of the others’ these cascading forms. She’s been known to appear
powers of trickery and deception. They’ve always rec- in dreams across the Scavenger Lands, passing along
onciled after these quarrels, though sometimes only messages, warnings, and the thearchs’ decrees. She’s
through their priests’ and cults’ intervention. an exacting perfectionist, endlessly changing and

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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

AGAINST THE BLACK HERON

In its early days, Great Forks suffered the predations of wrathful ghosts and shambling horrors that emerged
from the Field of Endless Raitons, a nearby shadowland. The most terrifying and powerful of these served the
Black Heron, a ghostly assassin-queen presiding over a spectral court of killers.

Great Forks’ thearchs banded together to drive off this threat to their peoples. Unable to match the ghost-
queen through military might alone, they triumphed by cunning. While Dayshield led the city’s army against
the Heron’s forces, Dreamweaver peered into the Heron’s nightmares to discover her fear, a secret vulnera-
bility that might destroy her forever. Talespinner met with the Heron and told her of how the thearchs stood
ready to slay her.
her Unwilling to call their bluff — if it was a bluff — the Heron retreated.

The White Nettle Lodge played a prominent role in the war against the Heron, from ghosts and Ghost-Blooded
heroes to exorcists and necromancers. That conflict has become the focal point of the Lodge’s oral history.
Meanwhile, in other corners of Great Forks society, heretical cults venerate the Heron under a different title:
the Princess Magnificent with Lips of Coral and Robes of Black Feathers.

meddling with the civil service to improve upon its be reached through the city’s side streets, alleys, and
flaws and abandoning old goals as soon as she con- courtyards. Burning Feather, Lady of Intoxicants,
ceives of better ones. The only constant is her deep, dwells in a labyrinthine manor of winding hallways and
familial connection to her fellow thearchs and Great countless connecting rooms behind a certain caravan-
Forks itself, which ties the three gods together. serai’s back door. Whirling Lady Koro-Bana maintains
an endlessly diverse garden of poisonous plants. The
Shield of a Different Day is a god of defensive thearchs share a triple palace, though it’s easy to tell
warfare, deception, and forgetfulness. She wields an which wing belongs to each god: Talespinner’s is a vast
unbreakable lance and an unbreachable shield among library filled with countless stories, Dreamweaver’s is
her panoply, but none can remember her appearance, spun from daydreams and nightmares, and Dayshield’s
which fades from memory as she departs; she’s depict- is a mighty fortress.
ed in art as a tall, powerfully built warrior with black
hair, dark skin, and eyes like granite. While Dayshield Off the major arteries, streets grow narrower and
is best known as Great Forks’ defender, she also seeks blocks smaller. Residential tenements share walls and
to shepherd its cultural and economic prosperity, fa- climb several stories. They’re largely wood, brick,
voring the city’s merchants, artists, and artisans over and stone, with steep gabled roofs covered with vivid
others. She has a complicated relationship with the pottery tiles and outer walls covered in stucco painted
Guild, valuing its role in commerce but wary of its with a riot of colorful imagery. Windows and doors
potential threat to Great Forks’ autonomy. open on a web of interlinked courtyards, sometimes
bridging the streets via underpasses, overpasses, and
The Lay of the Land even rooftops — a veritable second city inaccessible to
outsiders, concealing all manner of reclusive shrines,
Temples and government buildings predominate along black market shops, slum dwellings, and witches’
Great Forks’ grand avenues and plazas. Civic architec- abodes.
ture combines styles from across the Scavenger Lands,
often tracing back centuries. Pillared porticoes, mas- Two streams flow through Great Forks on their way to
sive statues, and thin ornamental spires are common the Yellow River, crossed by wide, picturesque bridg-
features, as are elaborate friezes, mosaics, and precious es built in steep, arching curves to ease boat traffic.
metal inlays adorning walls. Coracles ferry folk back and forth between embank-
ments, while rafts come downstream bearing agricul-
Many gods maintain sanctums in Great Forks: pock- tural produce for market — though in the rainy season,
et-worlds hidden away from mortal eyes. These sanc- the rushing waters drive vessels from the waterways.
tums are dens of divine conspiracy where diplomacy
and debauchery intertwine. Many are often found in Blocks of parkland are set aside for future development
the precincts of temples and shrines, but others can as part of the bureaucracy’s long-term urban planning.

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HEAVEN’S BLIND EYE

While the thearchs may not rule Great Forks, their edicts and interventions in its governance have long since
passed the line into illegal intervention in mortal affairs. The city’s continuous and pervasive intermingling
of gods and mortals is a lesser offense, but one that could be brought against many of its divine residents.

At one time, such open defiance of heavenly law would have brought down swift judgment from the censors,
mighty elemental dragons appointed by Heaven to seek out and punish the crimes of the gods. But the Celes-
tial Bureaucracy is rife with corruption, mismanagement, and indolence, and its justice is slow and sporadic.

The Emperor Stag, the censor with jurisdiction over the Scavenger Lands, is deeply corrupt, ignoring all man-
ner of divine crimes in Great Forks in exchange for regular festivals, offerings funded by the civil service, and
the promise of a single favor extracted from each of the thearchs.

Slaves tend groves and flowerbeds; priests maintain Wealthy families maintain luxurious residences on
small shrines to all manner of spirits. Homeless resi- Wolf Hill. Poorer folk dwell in less affluent districts —
dents form tent cities in the parks adjoining poorer the reclaimed lowlands of The Marshes, the twisting
quarters; in wealthier districts, household guards are market-streets of the Beehive district, or the wharves
dispatched to destroy such encampments and drive and warehouses of Quayside. The most destitute make
the homeless away. encampments in the city’s parklands, like Spinner’s
Field, a popular site for festivals and private recre-
Beyond the city’s walls, rustic villas of the wealthy ation, or Coppice, more wilderness than park and the
dominate the rich, rolling hills. Much of the surround- city’s chief source of firewood.
ing farmland is worked by slaves, though some land-
owners lease their fields to tenant farmers. Individual The city’s standing army barracks among the war-god
farmsteads lie scattered for miles across plains and temples of Kerin’s Gate. Savants from foreign lands
hills, working marginal land and struggling to keep seek the Violet Meadow, one of the Scavenger Lands’
pace with rising taxes. Villages cluster along rivers and great academies. Funerals, cremations, and the local
streams; buildings are brick or wood with thatched ancestor cults’ rites and festivals take place among The
roofs, often raised on stilts to escape damage from the Urns, filled with graveyards, catacombs, and shrines to
Yellow River’s intermittent flooding. venerated ancestors and death-gods. Other districts
abound, each with their own particular character.
City Districts
The thearchs dwell in splendor atop The Hill of
Religion and Theology
Hollyhocks, ringed by hundreds of other grand Countless gods reside in Great Forks, whether perma-
temples to which all of Great Forks’ divinities aspire. nent residents or passing through, and all but the most
Lesser cults raise temples and shrines in Holymaze, destitute boast a cult of some kind. Some have but a
whose streets throng with processions, festivals, wor- single priest tending a shrine; others invite crowds of
shipers, pilgrims, and newly arrived godlings seeking worshippers into great temples overseen by complex
followers. At street corners stand podiums bearing hierarchies of religious officials. Many gods and priest-
plant or animal imagery, both for ease of recognition hoods oversee mystery cults with secret initiations,
and as a subtle jab against Immaculate preachers. practices, and doctrines. Everyday customs incorpo-
rate religious meaning; residents greet each other with
Gods gather for carousing, entertainment, and con- words of worship and regard gift-giving, even between
gress with mortals in the restaurants, theaters, and mortals, as a form of ritual sacrifice. The thearchs
bordellos of Little Yu-Shan; it’s also home to many frown on sectarian conflict and have occasionally
of the city’s God-Blooded residents. In the Hill of made personal demonstrations of their displeasure to
Hollyhocks’ shadow stands the Colonnade district, overly ambitious spirits and priests.
filled with monumental structures that house the civil
service.

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and that Creation is the countless stories told by gods

The Grand Mythopoeia and mortals.
Great Forks has no central religious authority or dog-
ma, but many of its cults share a common theological Ten Thousand Temples
framework, the Grand Mythopoeia. This holds that
all gods, from the pettiest spirit to the thearchs them- The city’s temples overflow with art, music, and ritual.
selves, are emanations of an overarching godhead, Most welcome visitors into their public precincts;
countless faces worn by the numinous divine. This many put on dramatic performances to draw in crowds.
godhead is a being of dream and story, and Creation is Some visitors attend a temple regularly not for its god,
the story that the godhead tells itself. but for its architecture, rites, or community, a custom
nicknamed “temple tourism.”
Mortals play many roles in the Grand Mythopoeia
across the course of their reincarnations; those who Each temple has its own priesthood, with its own
play their part well will be born into a greater role in unique structure and customs. Some are hierarchies
their next life. Over countless reincarnations, a mortal organized under a high priest; others have synods
might unite with this godhead and be reborn as a god. giving all the priesthood’s members an equal voice.
To play one’s part in the Grand Mythopoeia is more Methods of initiation exist in such variety that almost
than fulfilling one’s assigned tasks in life; it calls for a any citizen of Great Forks could be accepted into the
life of bold decisions, expressions of passion, and pro- priesthood of some god or another. Some cults main-
found words — all that makes a compelling dramatic tain priestly bloodlines; some require a showing of
figure. Eloquence, wit, charm, and grace are seen as divine favor from their patron god; some permit only
signs of distinction and a part well-played in a previous those in certain trades and professions.
life.
Most temples are supported by offerings from wor-
To harm another is to harm the godhead. Violence is shippers and donations from wealthy mercantile fam-
permissible only in sport, duels, and ritual war, when ilies. Some charge pilgrims for entry into the temple
all participants consent to it. Violence in self-defense, proper, and exact further fees for blessings, access
defensive warfare, and suppressing riot and rebellion to inner sanctums or relics, and the like. The largest
is also permitted; acts of aggression are held to provide receive subsidies from the civil service, that they might
implicit consent to such violence. This exception is continue drawing pilgrims and their wealth to the city.
also extended to the use of force in apprehending sus- Some priests are independently wealthy from mer-
pected criminals and restraining disobedient slaves, cantile endeavors, artisanal work, or inherited wealth,
construing a criminal’s offense or a slave’s defiance able to fund smaller cults with their personal assets.
as implicitly inviting correction. A number of priests
consider this justification flimsy and agitate for legal Proselytization
reforms. Outside of temples, proselytization and preaching are
only permitted on one’s own property; on the property
While violating the prohibition on violence is unthink- of another, with their permission; or at the Holymaze
able to many in Great Forks, other kinds of proscribed district’s public podiums, with a permit from the city
harm — emotional, financial, and reputational — are bureaucracy. An exception exists for private conver-
much lesser sins against the godhead; abuse, exploita- sations, though a separate law criminalizes unwanted
tion, and slander are as common here as any other city. preaching, including to a slave without the approval
of their owner, a worker without the approval of their
Theological specifics vary widely between priest- employer, or a child without that of their parents.
hoods. Some delve deep into minutiae — like whether Illegal preaching is often ignored if it doesn’t cause
elaborate calligraphy or oral history better pleases disturbances, but traffic obstruction, radical doctrines,
the godhead — while others consider such specula- and public affrays are harshly cracked down on, as are
tion pointless, focusing on praxis. Countless sects proselytes with influential enemies.
have splintered from this core doctrine: Immaculate
syncretisms, mystery cults that believe their patron Shrine-Gangs
deity to be the godhead incarnate, and apocalyptic Weak spirits unable to establish individual cults or at-
doomsayers who warn that the story is nearing its end. tach themselves to more powerful divinities sometimes
Some heretical sects preach that there is no godhead, form shrine-gangs: petty pantheons that carve out

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THE THORN PRINCES

This shrine-gang has claimed the Thornfounts as their territory: a cluster of tenements surrounding an over-
grown courtyard whose dried-up fountain is tangled with thornbushes. Their ranks include Laughing Winter,
a minor disease-god of the common cold; Czenime, a divine attendant who fled her mistress Afodha, the Lady
of the Well; Bent-Stalk Umon, a field guardian whose land was paved over for the city’s streets; and Ezkri
of the Fishhooks, a centuries-old ghost whose descendants have long since died out. Thornfounts residents
know the Princes as kindly spirits, warding off minor ills and bringing forth fruits and vegetables from the
courtyard. These spirits ask only for simple prayers and small offerings, the latter collected by their priests
— foremen and other laborers with the brute strength to drive out other petty gods’ proselytes.

enclaves in the city’s poorer districts. Many are gods

of baleful purviews with no blessings to offer potential Culture
worshippers, illegally extorting worship through vio-
Few cities can match Great Forks’ cosmopolitanism,
lence or running apotropaic protection rackets.
founded by three disparate peoples and home to
Shrine-gangs harass other spirits seeking followers pilgrims and immigrants from across the East and be-
on their territory, though powerful trespassers are af- yond. Some gods encourage this, championing foreign
forded a wide berth; causing too much trouble attracts goods, arts, and ideas that fall within their divine pur-
the law’s attention. Most shrine-gang members feud view, while ghosts preserve the arts, scholarship, and
and jockey for power among themselves, each hoping cuisine of civilizations long dead. Half a millennium of
to gain sufficient connections, prestige, or wealth to cultural exchange, intermingling, and assimilation has
establish an independent cult, though many eventually synthesized these varied influences into a distinctive
tire of failure and leave Great Forks. Great Forks culture, though one that evolves rapidly as
new peoples and ideas come to the city.
Shrine-gangs often recruit their priesthood from in-
fluential mortals within their territory: domineering Great Forks’ culture is intertwined with its religious
family patriarchs, prominent shopkeepers, crime boss- life. Storytelling is highly regarded, owing both to
es, and others with the sway to draw in worshippers Talespinner and the Grand Mythopoeia’s influence:
and provide a supply of offerings. The most prominent As the godhead speaks Creation into being, so too
shrine-gangs have temples and priesthoods to match does every story take on a reality of its own. Prevailing
those of Holymaze and approach the splendor of the movements in art and literature prize works inspired
Hill of Hollyhocks. by dreams, visions, and hallucinations. Intoxicants
are seen as a method of communion with the divine.
Bhang — edible preparations of cannabis, including
Immaculacy lassi, butter, and candy — is the city’s most popular en-
theogen, easily purchased from street vendors, though
Lookshy’s Immaculate Faith has a small but significant
opium, dream root, and betel also see use.
presence in Great Forks, owing both to Lookshyan
missionary efforts and to immigration from across the Wealthy citizens engage in decadent banquets, inviting
Scavenger Lands. Other Immaculate sects from the a score of guests to enjoy a broad array of small, fla-
Scavenger Lands and the Eastern Threshold, like the vorful dishes followed by poetry recitals, musical per-
Intou heresy, have smaller followings, while the Realm’s formances, dances, storytelling contests, competitive
Immaculate Order, Prasad’s Pure Way, and other for- games, and convivial or philosophical conversation.
eign sects have little to no presence. While the city is Physical fitness and athletic prowess are prized among
an affront to the gods’ place in the Perfected Hierarchy, the upper class, who have the wealth and leisure time
few Immaculates have risked the violence and coercion to attend the city’s private gymnasia.
employed in dealing with rogue gods elsewhere; such
an act would invite reprisal from all of Great Forks. Great Forks’ poor find entertainment in the city’s public
Despite this circumspect approach, Immaculates are festivals and processions, enjoying their music, dance,
still heavily stigmatized; their temples must pay an ex- theater, and other artistic display. Outdoor sports
cessive tax, and known adherents are often targeted as like footraces, swimming contests, and harpastum
troublemakers by the city’s law enforcement.

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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

are common diversions, as are carousing, communal religion, and cultural exchanges. Sizable minorities of
singing, and graffitiing the cities’ walls and streets each of the three peoples maintain cultural enclaves,
with charcoal and ocher. Fragments of temple friezes, limiting their interactions with outsiders and passing
chipped away to be replaced with new bas-reliefs down customs and traditions scarcely adulterated by
when a vacant temple is repurposed by a new god, are the passage of time.
prized as talismans of good fortune.
Talespinner’s people, the nomadic Houtholan, fled a
Some things span all walks of life. Almost every res- series of plagues along the Silver River. While storytell-
ident of Great Forks frequently attends some kind of ing is prized throughout Great Forks, it’s a cornerstone
temple performance, from homeless beggars taking in of Houtholan culture; their countless oral epics are
a puppet-show at a back-alley shrine to wealthy mer- recited in temples, family gatherings, and riverboats.
chants attending theatrical performances in the Hill of Their riparian tradition as fisherfolk and river traders
Hollyhocks’ most prestigious temples. Gambling also continues on the Yellow River; the city’s riverside dis-
cuts across classes; good luck in games of chance is tricts are heavily populated by the Houtholan.
seen as a sign of divine favor. Gaming houses flourish
through the city’s districts, many frequented or even Dreamweaver’s people, the Veh, fled from a province
run by spirits. The wealthy fill their estates with the of the nascent Prasadi empire to escape religious
works of the city’s most prestigious artists, while even persecution from its Pure Way. Their syncretic faith
the poor can usually afford an apprentice’s practice provided the theological foundation of the Grand
composition or a botched piece to decorate their home. Mythopoeia, and Veh priests played an important role
in helping foreign spirits establish their cults in the
The Three Peoples city’s early days. They maintain longstanding tradi-
tions of scholarship, textile art, and oratory; many go
Most of Great Forks’ inhabitants descend from the into one of the city’s priesthoods or join its civil ser-
three refugee peoples who founded the city. Over the vice, whose formal kaftans can be traced back to the
centuries, their distinct identities have blended into garb of the first Veh refugees.
a cosmopolitan whole through intermarriage, shared

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Dayshield’s people, the Mileti, fled the war that de- forage. Domestic slaves also receive scraps from their
stroyed the Shogunate successor states of Laris and owners’ tables.
Velen. Their homeland was a cultural and economic
hotbed of the Scavenger Lands; even today, many
among Great Forks’ merchants, performers, and poets Government
are Mileti. Much of the city’s outlying countryside is
Great Forks is governed by its civil service. Eight
owned by wealthy Mileti, and certain skilled trades —
commissions oversee all government activity, their
masonry, glassblowing, bellfounding, and more — are
members chosen each year by lot from the koruphai
dominated by Mileti artisans.
(the highest tier of the city’s citizenship), and con-
firmed competent by a panel of priests and savants.
Clothing Each commission’s five members set policy for the
bureaus beneath them and oversee promotions to fill
Great Forks’ fashion incorporates influences from gaps among mid-level functionaries, who in turn over-
countless cultures from across the Scavenger Lands, see and employ junior functionaries, down to the least
though none as prominent as those of the three peo- prestigious scribes and aides.
ples. Houtholan fashion consists of elaborately folded
chitons and chlamyses, held in place with ornate Each commission’s meetings are held in the city’s
girdles. Veh fashion features colorful kaftans, sarongs, public plazas, with lengthy debates that continue until
and turbans. Mileti fashion is characterized by dyed a decision is reached, recessing only for bodily neces-
silk sampots; patterned cloths worn as scarves, ban- sities. Wealthy bureaucrats trained in rhetoric at the
dannas, and waistbands; and tall, elaborate headwear. Violet Meadow, priests with oratorical skills honed by
Certain dyes, fabrics, and even patterns are restricted years of daily preaching, merchant princes practiced
by sumptuary laws, the exclusive province of the in driving hard bargains, and poets who’ve devoted
wealthy. Jewelry, ornaments, and garlands are com- their lives to their craft spend long days wrangling
mon, especially among priests. over policy and details. Social ties — friendship, family,
cult membership, and business connections — grease
Cuisine the process; commissioners often resolve disputes at
theaters, teahouses, or dinner parties in advance of a
Rice — made into noodles, breads, and pancakes — and meeting, sealing agreements with lavish gift-sacrifices
freshwater fish dominate Great Forks cuisine, which indistinguishable from bribes.
melds the three founding peoples’ recipes with local
ingredients. Small dishes with contrasting textures Spirits are forbidden from holding office in the civil
and flavors are popular, making use of seasonings like service, though this doesn’t keep them from influencing
coriander, dill, ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, paprika, it, often by using an office-holding priest, worshipper,
vinegar, fish paste, honey, poppy seeds, and sesame. or God-Blooded scion as a proxy. The thearchs like-
Other staple ingredients include green onions, day- wise hold no official role in the civil service but have
lily buds, sorrel, purslane, olives, pickled vegetables, unquestionable informal authority over it. On those
cheese, yogurt, fowl, and pork. Rice dumplings stuffed rare occasions when a thearch expresses disapproval
with meat or sweets are popular food stall fare. The of a proposed law or regulation, it’s almost always
city’s poor subsist largely on gruel made from rice and been withdrawn; unanimous condemnations from the
millet, accented when possible with vegetables, eggs, thearchs have never been defied.
grasshoppers, fish, and other meat; the wealthy eat
meat and fruit daily, seasoning their meals with foreign Citizenship
spices.
Great Forks’ society is stratified into four classes: a
Popular beverages include tea, milk, coffee, fruit juices, three-tiered system of citizenship based on the annual
rice beer, and wines brewed from both grapes and rice. income of one’s household assets — farmland, business
Water is often made potable by mixing it with wine. ventures, outstanding loans, and the like — with a slave
Aside from knives for meat and spoons for soup, food is class beneath them. Great Forks’ resident spirits are
eaten with the fingers, using rice pancakes as napkins. citizens as well, subject to the same requirements as
mortals; they may count their temple’s income as their
Slave laborers eat communal meals prepared from ra- own, though many spirits also acquire property and in-
tions of rice provided by their owners, supplemented vest in businesses. Citizenship carries many privileges,
with whatever greens, insects, and river fish they can including holding office in the civil service, holding

35
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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

THE EIGHT COMMISSIONS

The Commission of Flourishing Grandeur oversees public works, conscripting corvées for month-long
stints constructing and maintaining roads, irrigation channels, docks, granaries, schools, and government
offices. Conscripts are selected by lottery, though the wealthy easily escape such obligations by paying the
unemployed and impoverished to work in their stead.

The Commission of Burnished Silver is responsible for setting tax rates, collecting taxes, and conducting
financial audits.

The Commission of Numbers and Papers administers the city’s census, maintains public records, and
conducts lotteries to select commissioners.

The Commission of Unquestionable Justice maintains and revises the criminal code, oversees law en-
forcement, and conducts trials.

The Commission of Shrines and Temples oversees religious activity in the public sphere, including festival
scheduling, procession itineraries, permits for preaching, and temple subsidies.

The Commission of Prosperous Markets regulates economic activity and local business, including setting
standards for product quality, regulating wages, maintaining standardized weights and measures, investigat-
ing merchants’ and businesses’ finances, and imposing laws regarding treatment of slaves.

The Commission of Distinguished Guests regulates visitors, immigration, and foreign trade — setting
tariffs and duties, imposing laws governing visitors’ conduct, and negotiating with foreign trade partners, like
the Guild’s Directorate in Nexus.

The Commission of Kingdoms and Nations oversees foreign policy, including diplomacy, intelligence gath-
ering and espionage, regulating the quartering of foreign dignitaries in the homes of wealthy private citizens,
and deploying Great Forks’ military.

military rank, bringing lawsuits, and serving on juries. may hold the highest posts in the civil service or the
Only citizens must pay individual taxes; foreigners military; prominent temples often restrict their high
and slaves are exempt, though foreigners’ business priesthood to them. Great Forks’ overwhelming mili-
ventures are still taxed. tary losses in the Battle of Mishaka fourteen years ago
significantly thinned the koruphai’s ranks, resulting in
Every seven years, census-takers from the Commission many of these offices devolving to inexperienced and
of Numbers and Papers assess all citizens’ assets to untested members of koruphe households; corruption,
determine if their income has changed sufficiently incompetence, and mismanagement have rarely been
to affect their status. Citizens who wish to secure an as common in the civil service or the military as they
increase in status prior to the census may pay a fee for are today.
an early assessment. Often, these changes are minimal,
with only a miniscule portion of the citizenry rising or Beneath the koruphai are the mesoi (singular mesos),
falling, but when the census coincides with economic whose assets produce at least one hundred dinars an-
upheaval or transformation, it can significantly impact nually. They have the right to hold most positions in
Great Forks’ society, leading to significant political and the civil service and military officerships. Most priests,
social change. The census takers are far from incor- bureaucrats, and wealthy merchants are mesoi.
ruptible; a wealthy citizen might bribe one to overlook
a recent downturn in revenue or to give exacting scru- Those unable to qualify as mesoi are lakkoi (singular
tiny to a rival’s assets. lakkos). They may enlist in the military and hold
the lowest-ranking positions in the civil service,
The highest class of citizens, the koruphai (singular though in practice, unpropertied lakkoi rarely do so.
koruphe), must reap an annual income of at least a Unpropertied lakkoi are typically laborers, artisans,
talent of silver from their holdings. Only the koruphai street performers, and destitute beggars.

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 C H A P T E R T W O : G R E AT F O R K S

Such efforts have faced significant opposition from

slaveowners, conservative voices among the populace
CITIZENSHIP AND THE CENSUS IN PLAY at large, the civil service, and the thearchs; any large
abolitionist movement is swiftly suppressed by the
If it’s relevant in play, Great Forks’ residents need Arrows.
Resources 2 to qualify as mesoi and Resources
3+ to qualify as koruphai. The Storyteller should Law Enforcement
feel free to have the census occur at whatever
time bests suits their chronicle’s needs; if a Sto- While the Commission on Unquestionable Justice
ryteller doesn’t have any plans, players can intro- oversees criminal law in Great Forks, enforcement is
duce facts regarding the census. delegated to a number of law-cults in good standing
with the civil service. Most prominent of these are
the Arrows of Ji-Zhen’s Justice, worshippers of the
Beneath Great Forks’ citizens are its slaves, com- Scavenger Lands’ god of sanctioned punishments;
prising over half the city’s population. They lack the Great Forks’ residents colloquially refer to all these
legal rights afforded to citizens, receiving only the cults as the Arrows. They police the city’s streets for
minimal protections provided by the Commission of public disturbances and investigate crime, focusing on
Prosperous Markets’ laws. Those forced into debt slav- wealthy neighborhoods and neighborhoods frequently
ery are stripped of citizenship for the duration of their traveled by foreign visitors. Victims of crime in poorer
compelled labor, though any household members and neighborhoods know better than to expect much help
children they may have retain their status. Manumitted from them.
slaves are considered citizens for purposes of legal
protections but must either wait until the census or The Arrows have jurisdiction over god and mortal
pay for an early assessment to receive formal status. alike, though investigating spirits is both politically
unpopular and difficult to do as a practical matter.
Slavery Some law-cults count God-Blooded, outcastes, and
Exigents among their ranks; when these aren’t avail-
Great Forks’ slave populace consists of people sold able for a significant spirit investigation, the Arrows
by slave traders, citizens forced into debt slavery, and may deputize gods or other puissant supernatural
those born to enslaved parents. Most are forced to beings to assist them.
labor in the fields outside the city’s walls, tending rice,
vegetables, tobacco, cannabis, poppies, and betel. Some Courts
work within the city as laborers, gladiators, personal
attendants, secretaries, temple servants, and the like. Any citizen can initiate a civil or criminal proceeding
by application to the Commission on Unquestionable
Great Forks’ slaves may marry and own property and Justice, though it’s most often the victim who brings
are entitled to rudimentary legal protections — while the case. Not all such applications are granted; petty
most offenses against slaves aren’t criminalized by grievances and de minimis offenses rarely reach trial.
Great Forks’ law and slaveowners have extensive lee- Cases brought by mortals against gods face especial
way in their treatment of slaves, wanton physical abuse scrutiny. The Arrows don’t bring criminal proceedings
or neglect of slaves is forbidden, though these laws are themselves; they merely provide the results of their
seldom enforced. In addition, a slaveowner may bring investigation to victims.
civil suit against an offender to recoup damages. Any
slave may purchase their freedom, though the price Criminal defendants and civil plaintiffs alike stand
is considerable; they must pay their owners both a trial before courts of 101 jurors chosen by lot from
portion of the expected profit their labor would have among citizen volunteers; paid a pittance, jurors are
generated and for the lodgings, food, and any other largely poor or elderly citizens. Each case begins with
goods provided to them. ritual prayer by all participants for the viveka, the god
assigned by the commission to oversee the case.
Many in Great Forks have argued for reforms in
the treatment of slaves; a smaller number advocate Trial largely boils down to each party’s rhetorical
for outright abolition. These include former slaves, skills, persuading the jury by appeal to precedent,
philosophers and ethicists, immigrants from foreign practicality, and ethics. Jurors are expected to scru-
lands where slavery is outlawed, cults of gods of free- pulously study the laws that govern the case before
dom, and some who are simply driven by conscience. pronouncing their verdict, but no such statutes exist

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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

for most civil matters beyond commerce — negligence, The constant ebb and flow of visitors — pilgrims, mer-
breach of personal contracts, property disputes, and chants, diplomats, savants, scavenger princes, and now
the like. Such disputes are resolved solely on the par- those seeking Exaltation — creates enormous demand
ties’ arguments. for lodgings, food, and entertainment. In addition to
Great Forks’ many caravanserais and hostelries, fam-
While the jury decides the case, the viveka chooses the ilies often put out a shingle, offering room and board
punishment. They have broad discretion in sentenc- to visitors during major festivals. Restaurants near
ing; the most common are fines, public humiliation, commercial lodgings often have foreign food on offer,
and imprisonment, though ironic punishments are whether Nexus-style fried rice, fish balls, and noodle
in vogue, such as requiring a defendant to perform a dishes, Clovinan milk-fed mutton and savory fried
task chosen by the victim — or, if deceased, her family. potatoes, or Calinti pastries.
Those unable to pay fines are placed in debt slavery;
those who refuse to comply with other punishments
face imprisonment instead. Great Forks no longer Military
employs corporal punishment or execution, owing to
Great Forks’ military is largely made up of citizen
the Grand Mythopoeia’s prohibition on violence: the
volunteers, chosen by lot on a monthly basis from all
worst crimes are punished by revocation of citizenship
applicants deemed fit. In wartime, the Commission of
and exile. With the exception of imprisonment, exile,
Kingdoms and Nations often conscripts lakkoi to bol-
or disenfranchisement, any of these could apply to a
ster its ranks. The rank and file’s arms are stored in city
civil offense. Gods are punished just as mortals; their
armories while officers maintain their own. Mounted
only formal privilege is that they may not be exiled for
soldiers — including all officers — must maintain their
over a century.
own warhorses; as such, the vast majority of soldiers
Great Forks’ court system favors the powerful. While are infantry, with equestrian ranks dominated by me-
its juries are thought to be too large to easily bribe, the soi and koruphai. This volunteer army is supported by
wealthy can retain the services of the city’s most dis- an auxiliary standing military drawn from cults of the
tinguished speechwriters, and many jurors are biased city’s war-gods and other martial spirits.
in favor of spirits over mortals. Great Forks’ elite also
Spirits and other supernatural beings play a significant
use the courts against political and commercial ene-
role in warfare. Their presence deters neighboring
mies, bringing cases in hopes of subjecting their rivals
polities that might otherwise consider besieging the
to large fines or even having them exiled. The poor,
city, due to their supernatural power and religious sig-
on the other hand, must argue their case without any
nificance. Spirits, God-Blooded warriors, and Exigent
formal rhetorical training or legal education.
champions are Great Forks’ greatest strength in battle,
historically elevating its military forces to rival or ex-
Economics ceed most in the Scavenger Lands, save for Lookshy’s
Seventh Legion.
Great Forks exports the fruits of centuries of intermin-
gled artistic traditions: high-quality finished goods, Great Forks’ military has long been a largely defen-
religious accoutrements, jewelry, musical instruments, sive force; the Grand Mythopoeia’s prohibition on
sculptures, patterned textiles, and medicines. The unprovoked warfare hasn’t entirely prevented wars of
most successful artisans receive funding from wealthy aggression — especially in the city’s early years, before
patrons or temples in exchange for a percentage of the theology had settled into its current form — but
their earnings. Slaveowners sell food crops and drugs makes them immensely politically unpopular. The civil
on foreign markets, as well as liquor distilled from service often hires mercenaries for such deployments;
their crops. it’s still unpopular but easier to conceal from the
public. In peacetime, Great Forks’ military suppresses
In turn, the city imports a wide range of raw materials: riots, guards the city’s gates and walls, and patrols
yarn, ore, lumber, quality stone, and the like. Slaves are nearby roads for bandits. Military parades and proces-
purchased from foreign traders in massive quantities, sions often take center stage in festivals dedicated to
while imported foodstuffs supplement the yield of war-gods and other bellicose spirits.
farmers, fisherfolk, and slave laborers. The wealthy
import luxury goods from across the Scavenger Lands Great Forks’ army suffered a crushing defeat fourteen
and beyond, both for their own use and as temple of- years ago at the Battle of Mishaka, the final conflict of a
ferings that make a conspicuous display of wealth. war where the military powers of the Confederation of
Rivers united against the newly expansionist Thorns,

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backed by the Realm. Great Forks suffered massive power: if he wished to, he could dissolve thoughts
losses, including almost all of its experienced soldiers. with a touch, burn foes’ flesh from within, or imprison
Its army is still recovering, with major shortfalls in rivals within hallucinated worlds. Instead, he’s honed
leadership, numbers, discipline, and field experience, his power as a socialite, spreading contagious fads and
all worrying signs as tensions rise across the River rumors and inflaming the impulsive desires of those he
Province. bargains with.

Prominent Figures Neighbors

Ciade, Hierophant of Warp and Weft, is both one Blessed by godly favor and bountiful trade, Great Forks
of Great Forks’ foremost poets, famed for her surreal is a mighty polity within its region, attracting com-
formalist compositions, and high priestess of Weaver merce, alliance, and rivalry from its neighboring lands.
of Dreams of Victory, blessed with prophetic visions.
She fears for Great Forks, her patron, and her own The Confederation of Rivers
power, for she’s dreamt of the city in flames and of a
figure who could only be the Chosen of Dreams, War, Great Forks, along with Lookshy and Nexus, is among
and Looms — a figure who isn’t her. Fearing war from the most prominent members of the Confederation
within and without, she advocates for strengthening of Rivers, a loose defensive alliance of the Scavenger
Great Forks’ military and recruiting Exigent guardians Lands’ kingdoms, city-states, and principalities formed
for the city, while privately purging Dreamweaver’s over two hundred years ago. While the Confederation
cult of potential rivals and abusing Great Forks’ courts is formally led from the port city of Marita by the
to have potential Chosen of her god exiled. Council of the Concordat, made up of representatives
from each of the confederation’s member nations, the
Araz Who-Feeds-Us-All, the Scavenger Lands’ Council holds little real power. It’s commonly seen as a
Prefect of Rice, is the most prominent of Great proxy for Lookshy, though Great Forks and Nexus also
Forks’ many fertility gods. His temple on the Hill have considerable influence within it.
of Hollyhocks is second only to the thearchs’ own.
He’s worshipped by koruphe slaveowners and lakkos Great Forks goes to great lengths to maintain good rela-
tenant farmers; by bakers, restaurateurs, and food stall tions with fellow Confederation members, exempting
vendors; and by slaves seeking ease in the next day’s them from duties and tariffs, and fêting visiting diplo-
labors and opportunities for wealth with which to mats and nobles. They once deployed their military in
buy their freedom. He’s used his power and influence mutual defense, but that practice ended with the Battle
to advocate on the Immaculate Order’s behalf, for he of Mishaka.
craves the veneration of the Realm, an empire built on
rice. His proposals have made him a pariah to many of The Triune League
his fellow gods, but few can safely speak too harshly While Great Forks’ political, economic, and religious
against a spirit revered by most of the populace; even influence spans the Confederation of Rivers’ many
the thearchs hesitate to oppose him openly. Having polities, it’s strongest in the Triune League, a politi-
recently received a spark of Exigence in payment from co-religious bloc within the Confederation defined by
a minor god, he seeks to choose an Exigent emissary proximity to Great Forks. Some of its member polities
who can help him sway the city’s mortal and spirit synoecized out of Great Forks’ outlying villages, their
populaces. populations still composed largely of its three found-
ing peoples. Others depend on it as a trade partner,
Hokae Prin, Chosen of Fever, is a gregarious Exigent worship gods whose cults center on Great Forks, or
eager to fraternize with fellow Chosen. An inveterate have large emigrant communities. A scarce handful
favor-trader and power broker, he offers to guide come from military conquests made in the time before
Exigent newcomers, introducing them to the city and wars of aggression became politically untenable.
securing them introductions with potential backers
and allies. Once they’ve established themselves, he’ll League members benefit from Great Forks’ political
request repayment in kind — most often when he’s and financial backing within the Confederation of
found himself in over his head, whether in Great Forks’ Rivers and are protected against aggression and inva-
politics or in battle against the Scavenger Lands’ super- sion by its army. Great Forks’ willingness to continue
natural perils. His amiable nature belies both his trou- such deployments has gone untested since Mishaka;
bled past as an outlaw and charlatan and his terrible its most bellicose neighbors also suffered during the

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war, while Lookshy offered protection in its wake. arranging extraditions, imposing punishment, and
However, the chaos of the Time of Tumult all but — on rare occasions — declaring holy war. In cases
guarantees that the city’s mettle will soon be put to the of offenders who are themselves spirits or other
test. League members’ gods receive communal festival puissant beings, the Consistory recruits God-Blooded,
days in Great Forks and tax breaks on their temples outcastes, and Exigents to aid in dispatching justice.
and shrines. Though the Consistory is unpopular among Great
Forks’ mortal populace for its infringements on local
In exchange for these benefits, League members pay cults and its practice of punishing offenders via exe-
an annual tax to Great Forks and maintain temples to cution, the Eight Commissions recognize its necessity
the thearchs and many other prominent gods overseen as a political concession. The city’s gods value it for
by priests from Great Forks. Beyond these formal bringing distant offenders back within reach, though
obligations, Great Forks has largely subordinated the its verdicts have at time outraged the spirits of Great
Triune League to it politically, economically, and cul- Forks.
turally. Diplomats counsel the member polities’ rulers
against decisions contrary to Great Forks’ interests, Other Neighbors
offering suggestions that are in many cases all but
orders. Priests ingratiate themselves with local spirits, Despite its proximity to Great Forks, Privation has
securing their cooperation in upholding Great Forks’ rebuffed diplomatic efforts to bring it into the Triune
hegemony. Merchants invest in businesses across the League, secure in the strength of its famed spear
League, fostering economic dependence. dancers and the patronage of the eerie spirit Lady
Ichneumon. The city’s pillar-saints appease her with
In this time of tumult, existing friction and fractures
perpetual veneration, that she might continue to bless
among the League’s polities threaten to tear it apart.
their fields with strange abundance and never remove
The more powerful and wealthy city-states chafe
her mask of lead and jade. She’s feared by Great Forks’
against Great Forks’ dominance, resenting how its re-
gods for reasons they speak not of; no spirit dares set
ligious and cultural authority has grown into political
foot in Privation without her invitation. Many of the
power. Others have strong ties to neighboring polities
League’s polities play host to permanent embassies
that oppose Great Forks or other League members.
from Privation, which seek to court Great Forks’ allies
Kleithe, City of Sacred Geometries, is ruled both spir- away from it.
itually and temporally by the philosopher-priests of
Once the heart of a flourishing forest, the wooded hill
Nisca, the Scavenger Lands’ god of formal logic; popu-
of Nine Groves is now encircled by farms and pastures.
lar uprisings against Great Forks’ hegemony have seen
Gods of a once-great wilderness linger here: somber
the thearchs’ temples defiled. Some in Fallen Petal,
Munushkor Saena, a bird-goddess and patron of harus-
holy city of Sunipa, Eastern Goddess of War, believe
picy; Starveling Zhu, a petty god of fallen leaves who
their city’s sacred mercenaries are more than a match
drank in the death of each felled tree, making them one
for Great Forks’ weakened army; they agitate to lead
of the hill’s most powerful gods but tainting their spirit
the rest of the League in an armed uprising. Osiard,
with death’s Essence; the skillful mediator Kabai of the
whose river traders intermarry with water spirits, has
Rhizoma, an elder greenmaw on the verge of dragon-
been courted by shrouded emissaries from the Field of
hood; and others. They offer sanctuary to outlaws and
Endless Raitons.
exiles both mortal and divine, causing intermittent
The Triune League also maintains the Consistory of strife when they harbor enemies of Great Forks. The
Presbyters, an ecclesiastical court composed of repre- court is worshipped by local hunters, herbalists, and
sentatives from each member city’s priesthoods. The others seeking the hill’s bounty and by those who take
Consistory meets thrice yearly in Great Forks to preside sanctuary there. Iron Bell, a God-Blooded assassin
over crimes committed against spirits that cross over exiled from Great Forks, serves as their high priest,
boundaries, most often where an offender has fled to an- counseling vengeance against her former home.
other member polity. Its remit isn’t limited solely to of-
The unsettled Gyrae inhabit arid highlands above the
fenses against a god’s personage; acts of violence against
Rolling River’s alluvial plain, raising goats, sheep, and
priests, defilement and looting of temples, violations of
cows in mountain pastures. They trade with outlying
sanctuary, and other misdeeds all are heard here.
Triune League villages, exchanging livestock and raw
The Consistory’s decisions are binding on all League materials for grain, worked steel, pottery, and textiles.
members: resolving disputes over jurisdiction, Despite a reputation as raiders, they rarely plunder
neighboring communities — instead, after initial raids,

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Gyrae envoys negotiate truces, desisting from raiding as a hub of economic and cultural exchange between
and providing protection against other upland raiders living and dead; when occupied by the ghostly warlord
in exchange for tribute. Since the Battle of Mishaka Needle Saint, it unleashed a procession of undead
decimated Great Forks’ army, the Gyrae have ranged horrors to test Great Forks’ walls. It’s currently held
nearer to the city, raiding slave-worked fields and re- by the Obsidian Pentad, an upstart power in the local
treating to the highlands before soldiers can mobilize. Underworld. Still struggling to consolidate control
over the shadowland, it’s formed an alliance with the
The Gyrae have historically accepted escaped slaves, White Nettle Lodge and brought in mercenaries from
impoverished tenant farmers, and other refugees into Nexus to help fend off ghostly rivals.
their society. They’re seen as outsiders, but may join in
raids, share in their spoils, vote in councils, and partic-
ipate in the rites of the Gyrae pantheon — Kalla of the Exigents of Great Forks
Atlatl; the wrathful protector Boar Mother; Ookalis,
Great Forks was founded long after the flames of
death-god and bear-speaker; and others.
Exigence dimmed. For much of its history, Exigents
Since the Heron’s defeat, the Field of Endless have been nothing more than occasional curiosities
Raitons has been fiercely contested by neighboring and local celebrities. Now that word of the Exigents’
kingdoms, city-states, and federations of the dead. resurgence has spread across Creation, countless pil-
Its location within the Scavenger Lands makes it a grims seek Great Forks in hopes of winning Exaltation
valuable asset for ghosts of widely differing agendas, from one of its many gods, while divinities hoarding
not to mention the coveted treasures allegedly aban- sparks of the Exigence likewise seek worthy cham-
doned by the Heron in her flight. Great Forks’ inter- pions there. In the last five years, the ranks of Great
actions with the shadowland have varied as different Forks’ Exigents have swelled to exceed those of Uluiru,
Underworld powers have seized and lost control over Cabochon, and other Exigent polities.
it. Under the Rag-and-Bone Parliament, it flourished

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Gods bearing sparks of Exigence host contests and Dice resides in nearby Nexus, and might seek wealth,
trials to seek worthy champions: pankration tourna- excitement, or glory in Great Forks’ streets.
ments, labyrinths filled with wild beasts and super-
natural perils, riddling contests, duels to the death, Plot Hooks
and other challenges to winnow the ranks of would-be
heroes. Great festivals surround these trial grounds, a • The Deicide Case: A prominent god is found
hair’s breadth from breaking out into riotous cheering murdered; her cult blames the deity of a neigh-
and carousing at the moment of Exaltation. The city’s boring temple. Unless the player characters
law enforcement watches for signs of skullduggery — uncover the true culprit, these tensions soon
unless the god has told them to ignore it. spill over into outright violence. But others
wish this mystery to remain unsolved: maybe a
Many who win Exaltation remain in Great Forks, act- baleful shrine-gang, a conspiracy of koruphai,
ing as their patron god’s champion, emissary, or proph- or one of the city’s major gods — perhaps even
et. Gratitude and obligation often play a part in this, a thearch.
but there’s much for Exigents to enjoy in the City of
Temples. They’re welcomed with the same obeisance • An Eye for an Eye: A shrine-gang has pooled
shown to the city’s gods, seen both as celebrities and their power to create a patchwork Exigent, the
holy personages. Those whose patron god’s temples Chosen of Wounds. Harrowed by her Exaltation
lack suitable accommodations can find luxurious lodg- even as it gives her power over the body’s frail-
ing in Little Yu-Shan’s preeminent caravanserais and ties, she seeks revenge against her divine pa-
can secure estates on the Hill of Hollyhocks. trons. The shrine-gang’s members have turned
to the player characters for help, but the player
Getting the Circle Together characters may side with the gods’ wrathful
Exigent.
Each of the Exigents presented in this book has rea-
• In the Heron’s Shadow: An outbreak of haunt-
son to appear in Great Forks. Strawmaiden Janest’s
ings and monstrous ghosts has overwhelmed the
journeys across Creation might bring her to the City
White Nettle Lodge’s exorcists and ghost-talk-
of Temples, either to experience its wonders as she
ers. They’ve beseeched the player characters
passes through or to make a permanent home. The
to track down the hauntings’ source and put
Puppeteer hails from distant Zhaojūn but might be
an end to it, fearing they presage the Black
forced to flee if her schemes are discovered there (po-
Heron’s return. She remains absent from her
tentially before play begins); Great Forks is a natural
former shadowland lair, so it seems unlikely —
refuge for an Exigent.
it might be the work of a death god, an Exigent
Architects of any of the Scavenger Lands’ many cities necromancer, a zealous nephwrack-apostle, or
or of Great Forks itself might be called to defend the a ghostly crime syndicate. Or the cult may be
city against peril. While the Sovereigns of Uluiru right; the Black Heron may well have dispatched
dwell in the far-flung Northwest, some have traveled as one of her deathknights — or even a full Circle
far or further; they might seek to establish diplomatic of Abyssals — to infiltrate, sabotage, and subvert
relations with the thearchs or recruit Exigent allies for her hated foes’ city.
their native city’s succession crisis. The city could also
• Matchmakers to the Gods: A heartbroken
be home to a Sovereign-in-exile.
rain-god has abandoned her cult and her duties,
The other Exigents discussed briefly in this book (pp. locking herself away to grieve in her mountain-
XX-XX) also have reason to be in Great Forks, as it top sanctum. Her cult has turned to the player
plays home to the Thousand Venoms Mistress and characters for help. They might seek out the
the Chosen of Masks. The Bleak Warden might god’s former partner — perhaps a raucous rain-
arrive to pursue a forbidden god that’s escaped his god, a God-Blooded priestess of a rival cult, or a
gaol, while the Foxbinder of Shifune’s duties to talented mortal poet — to learn why they fell out
the Immaculate Order might bring her here hunting and repair the relationship. Or they might seek
Anathema. The Torchbearer’s wanderings may lead to take the cave-god’s mind off her troubles with
her to Great Forks, especially if there’s word of a threat a new paramour. Successful matchmaking can
to the knowledge preserved by the city’s priesthoods yield considerable political power — the player
and the Violet Meadow academy. The Chosen of the characters might elevate a potential backer or

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ally to that coveted role to secure her favor, or threaten to crush the City of Temples unless
one of them might romance the god themselves. its guardians and allies are powerful enough to
drive back Vaneha’s forces.
• Power Plays: A prominent god has fallen from
grace and fled Great Forks, leaving behind a • Strife on the Hill of Hollyhocks: Great Forks’
power vacuum in the neighborhood surrounding thearchs have fallen into discord, arguing and
her temple. Will the player characters exploit it feuding over how best to steer the city through
to establish themselves as political players or the Time of Tumult. Their cults have sought out
consolidate a following? Will they play divine the player characters to broker reconciliation
politics, elevating a new god to prominence and between the thearchs.
securing his patronage and backing? Or will
they seek out the exile god to discover why she • Taming the Dragons: While Great Forks’
left Great Forks, and perhaps try to return her to Immaculates maintain largely peaceful re-
power? lations, a Sworn Brotherhood of Lookshyan
Dragon-Blooded passing through has decided to
• Shattered Manacles: A slave rebellion has drag the city’s gods back into their rightful place
seized control of many of the fields surrounding in the Perfected Hierarchy. A faction within the
Great Forks, taking the harvest hostage as lever- Immaculate Faith’s temple has reached out to
age for their demands of freedom. But they face the player characters to help avert the mass sec-
opposition from the city’s wealthiest families tarian conflict that would result, but many of the
and many gods, all the way up to the thearchs. city’s Immaculate adherents have rallied behind
With so many supernatural forces arrayed the Hearth.
against them, the enslaved rebels will need puis-
sant allies of their own. • Treasure Hunt: A priestess of Amoth City-
Smiter, God of Ruins, has received a vision of
• The Siege of Great Forks: A Vanehan army Lost Ormolu, known in the First Age as the
marches on Great Forks, seeking to conquer the Counting House of Creation. Untold riches, po-
city and make its decadent gods swear fealty tent artifacts, and forgotten lore await the player
to the Imperial Cult of the Ninety-Nine Stars. characters if they can brave the ruins’ perils and
Reinforced by martial deities of the Ninety-Nine lingering defenses — bound demons, automaton
Stars, God-Blooded and outcaste mercenaries, soldiers, sorcerous curses, and worse. But they
and the Exigent known as the Dread Assessor, aren’t alone; they’ll face competition from other
Chosen of Taxation, the Sword Prince’s forces Exigents, scavenger princes, and Amoth’s own
cultists.

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“The things imprisoned here are dangerous, even to you, my Chosen. Do not wander its halls unless you
must.”

That had been The-Darkness-That-Blinds’ advice to Omron, and he’d heeded his god’s warning until today.
He knew the purpose he’d been made for, but he did not know what he was. He’d asked his patron, but it
answered only in riddles. The rolls of the labyrinth’s prisoners listed another who was Chosen, and Omron
needed to know.

On the first day he visited the stone door of the cell, there was only silence. Omron thought once again of
his patron’s warning and turned away. On the second day, he returned. Again, there was only silence. On the
third day, his patience frayed: “I know that you are here.”

The voice that answered chilled Omron with its malice. “Who are you, to disturb my eternity?”

“I am the Bleak Warden,” Omron answered, the title given to him by The-Darkness-That-Blinds. Omron was
a gutter urchin’s name, not one to cow the enemies of Creation.

The voice beyond the wall only laughed.

On the seventh day, the prisoner finally gave her name: Thousand-Edged Hail. By the twelfth day, the Warden
caught himself enjoying their conversations. On the fifteenth day, Omron sat against the wall and could feel
her presence just beyond it.

“You came here with questions.” She observed. “I can feel it. Ask.”

“What are you?”

Thousand-Edged Hail’s laughter was like shattering icicles. “A monster.”

It was not until the twenty-third day that Thousand-Edged Hail finally called herself anything but a monster.
“We are Exalted. Exigents, the Chosen of small gods. Yours blessed you with power over this prison. Mine
were…less kind.”

By the thirty-sixth day, Omron felt he finally understood. Her Exaltation had been a patchwork thing, born of
many forbidden gods. It had warped her flesh, but she spoke without self-pity and accepted no sympathy. “Do
not forget yourself, my gaoler.”

On the forty-second day, Hail asked her Warden a question. “Have you mastered the seals yet?”

Omron frowned. He could wield the labyrinth’s seals to draw on its prisoners’ power, could bind foes in
chains of darkness, could work other miracles, yet he admitted that there was still much he had to learn.

To master his power, she told him, he must master his labyrinth. Omron walked its halls, studied those
imprisoned within it, traced the seals that held them and felt them straining to break free. All the while,
Thousand-Edged Hail whispered encouragements in his ear.

“Now mine,” she insisted on the forty-third day. And perhaps the Warden should have known what his
prisoner intended. He had grown to trust her, had even caught himself thinking of her as a friend. He traced
the seal that held her, feeling her glacial Essence beneath it on the brink of seeping through. Thousand-
Edged Hail continued to speak, and the Bleak Warden obeyed without thinking. With a practiced movement of
his knife, he spilt his blood upon her seal and began to draw a new one, the key to its lock. Only—

Deep in Omron’s mind, that small part of him that did not trust her was blazing like an ember, a torch, a
wildfire. His thoughts quickened, his mind shook off the rime of the trance, and he stopped his finger just
before the counterseal was complete.

Thousand-Edged Hail’s voice was heavy with longing. “Forgive me. I had to try.”

On the forty-fourth day, the tunnel stood empty. The Warden did not come again.

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 Chapter Three

Beyond
Mortality
Celestial Exalted aren’t specializing in the same area as
Terrestrial and Celestial Play a Terrestrial Exalt.
The Exalted vary in their supernatural power; the first
step in designing an Exigent is choosing where they’ll fall Character Creation
on that spectrum. Instead of rigid tiers of power, we’ve
divided this spectrum into two categories, Terrestrial Instead of each Exigent having unique character cre-
and Celestial, based on compatibility in games where ation rules, all Exigents use the following general rules,
not everyone plays the same type. Terrestrial Exalted with any changes noted in that Exigent’s description.
include Dragon-Blooded and Liminals; Celestial Where appropriate, each step addresses variations on
Exalted include Solars, Lunars, Sidereals, Abyssals, this process for Ability-based, Attribute-based, and
Infernals, and Getimians. This isn’t an in-setting label, Essence-based Exigents.
and the rules don’t differentiate between Terrestrial and
Celestial Exalted. The terms are solely for purposes of Step One: Concept & Caste
this book’s design advice. Most Exigents in Creation are
Terrestrial, but that has no impact on player characters Character creation begins with a dialogue with your
— powerful outliers exist, and if everyone else in your Storyteller about what sort of character you want to
game is playing a powerful Exalt, you can too. play and the kind of game you’ll be playing. Character
creation also benefits from group discussion with your
fellow players. These conversations will help shape
Cross-Level Play your Exigent’s concept. Think about your character’s
While most games will be either entirely Terrestrial origin, personality, and skill set, and the archetypal
or entirely Celestial, it’s not necessary to do so if the heroes she draws inspiration from. The goal is to be
playgroup enjoys the dramatic potential of player char- able to summarize these details into a brief description
acters with unequal levels of power. Communication — your character’s concept.
is key to enabling this style of play. At the start of the
Most Exigents are singular beings possessing neither
chronicle, the group should discuss their expectations:
Caste nor Aspect. If your Exigent type is one of the rare
What do they find interesting about this power dynam-
few to exist in sufficient numbers to support a Caste or
ic? How do they want to see it play out? What kind of
Aspect, you’ll select it here.
narrative beats do they want to get out of it, and how
can everyone in the group engage with that story? You’ll also choose your Caste and Favored traits at this
step. Even if an Exigent doesn’t have a Caste or Aspect,
It’s also important to be very clear about the mechan-
she still receives an analogue — Janest, for instance,
ical effects of this, especially with players new to
has Strawmaiden Abilities. When we discuss Caste
Exalted. Celestial Exalted are often powerful enough
traits and Aspect traits, these unique analogues are also
to overshadow Terrestrial Exalted in their area of
included. Caste traits reflect the nature of an Exigent’s
expertise. You can mitigate this disparity while pre-
power, drawing inspiration from their patron; Favored
serving the narrative tension by making sure that any
traits reflect her personal strengths and talents.

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DIVINE PATRONAGE

While an Exigent’s patron is often consumed by her Exaltation, many deities — particularly those of great
personal power or rank — survive, albeit diminished. An Exigent’s divine patron can be taken as a three- or
five-dot Ally or two- to three-dot Mentor, depending on their personal power.

• Attribute-Based Exigents: Choose a total of Assign four specialties (Exalted, p. 123) among your
four Caste and Favored Attributes — either Abilities. You must have at least one dot in an Ability to
two of each or three Caste and one Favored. At take a specialty in it.
least one of these must be one of the character’s
Primary Attributes, and at least one must be a Step Four: Merits
Secondary Attribute.
Choose 10 dots of Merits (Exalted, p. 157).
• Ability-Based Exigents: Choose five Caste
Abilities and five Favored Abilities. You must
have at least one dot in each Favored Ability.
Step Five: Charms
• Essence-Based Exigents: Essence-based Choose 15 Charms. Most Ability- and Attribute-based
Exigents typically don’t receive Caste or Charms require a minimum trait rating; exceptions typi-
Favored Abilities, balancing out the advantage cally involve effects that should be available to that Exigent
of not needing to meet trait minimums for their regardless of character concept. Essence-based Exigents’
Charms. Some, like the Puppeteer (p. XX), have Charms have no Attribute or Ability requirements.
Caste traits that reinforce their themes, but rare-
Martial Arts Charms, Evocations, and spells (if you
ly more than three Abilities or one Attribute.
chose Terrestrial Circle Sorcery as a starting Charm)
may be chosen in place of native Charms. Talk to your
Step Two: Attributes Storyteller about your Exigent’s access to Martial Arts,
Evocations, and sorcery before investing in them.
Each Attribute (Exalted, p. 148) begins with one free
dot. Next, choose one Attribute category — Physical
(Strength, Dexterity, Stamina), Social (Charisma,
Step Six: Intimacies and
Manipulation, Appearance), and Mental (Perception, the Great Curse
Intelligence, Wits) — as primary, another as second-
ary, and the third as tertiary. Distribute eight dots Choose Intimacies (Exalted, p. 170) to represent your
between your primary Attributes, six dots between character’s beliefs and relationships. Intimacies can
your secondary Attributes, and four dots between represent motivations, beliefs, worldview, friends and
your tertiary Attributes. Attributes can’t be raised enemies, moral code, personal idiosyncrasies, or other
higher than five. important parts of her life. Many Exigents have Ties
toward their patron and Principles related to what
Step Three: Abilities they’ve been doing since being Chosen or the crisis
they were Chosen because of.
Divide 28 dots among your Abilities (Exalted, p. 149).
There’s no maximum on how many Intimacies you
Each starts at zero and can’t be raised above three
may choose. Starting characters must have at least
without spending bonus points. Abilities can’t be
four Intimacies. At least one must be Defining, and one
raised above five.
must be Major. Likewise, at least one must be positive,
Favored Abilities, which represent a character’s per- and one must be negative.
sonal skills, must have at least one dot put in them
Make any decisions necessary for your Exigent type’s
at character creation. Most Exigents also gain Caste
Great Curse (p. XX). Some choose a Limit trigger like
Abilities (or similar) based on their Exaltation; she
Solars (Exalted, p. 134); others have a specific condi-
may or may not have any skill with them — yet.
tion under which they gain Limit instead.

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Step Seven: Bonus Points

EXPERIENCED EXIGENTS
You have 15 Bonus Points that can be spent any time
during character creation to raise your character’s The rules above are for creating Exigents who’ve
traits. Ability- and Essence-based Exalted default to been Exalted for less than a year. For more ex-
following Bonus Point costs. All references to Favored perienced Exigents, make the following changes:
traits also include Caste traits, Aspect traits, etc.
• Your starting Essence is 2.

Primary or Secondary Attribute 4 per dot • Choose 13 dots of Merits.

Tertiary Attribute 3 per dot • Choose 20 Charms.
Favored Ability 1 per dot
• Spend 18 Bonus Points.
Non-Favored Ability 2 per dot
Specialty 1 If you want to play an Exigent designed for Terres-
trial play in a group of primarily Celestial Exalted,
Merits 1 per dot you can use these rules to help close the gap in
Favored Charm 4 power, providing a narrative of an experienced
Exigent working with less experienced but more
Non-Favored Charm 5 (4 if Essence powerful Chosen.
-based)
Spell (Associated Ability Favored) 4
Spell (Associated Attribute 5 (4 if Essence
non-Caste, non-Favored) -based) It’s most cost-effective to use Bonus Points for Caste/
Favored Attributes and Abilities. Using them for Charms,
Evocation 4 Evocations, or spells is the most expensive option.
Willpower 2 per dot
Step 8: Finishing Touches
Occult is typically the Ability associated with sorcery,
although Ability-based Exalted who have Charms in Most Exigents begin play with a permanent Essence
only a limited selection of Abilities will often use an- of 1. Their mote pools will vary depending on whether
other one if they don’t have Occult Charms. they’re meant for Terrestrial-level or Celestial-level
groups.
Attribute-based Exalted default to the following costs:
Terrestrial-level Exigents typically have (11 + Essence)
Favored Attribute 3 per dot personal motes and (23 + [Essence x4]) peripheral
Non-Favored Attribute 4 per dot motes, totaling 12 personal motes and 27 peripheral
motes at Essence 1.
Ability 2 per dot
Specialty 1 Celestial-level Exigents typically have (11 + [Essence
x2]) personal motes and (27 + [Essence x6]) peripheral
Merits 1 per dot
motes, totaling 13 personal motes and 33 peripheral
Favored Charm 4 motes at Essence 1.
Non-Favored Charm 5
Exigents begin with five Willpower (Exalted, p. 169),
Spell (Associated Attribute Favored) 4 which can be raised by spending Bonus Points.
Spell (Associated Attribute non-Favored) 5
Exigents begin with seven health levels (Exalted, p.
Evocation 4
171) by default. A −0 level, two −1 levels, two −2 levels,
Willpower 2 per dot a −4 level, and an Incapacitated level. Exigents can
purchase additional health levels by learning Ox-Body
Intelligence is typically the Attribute associated with Technique or their equivalent Charms.
sorcery.

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CHARACTER CREATION SUMMARY

STEP 1: CONCEPT AND CASTE STEP 5: CHARMS

Consult with the Storyteller and other players and Select 15 Charms.
come up with a character concept.
STEP 6: INTIMACIES & LIMIT TRIGGER
If your Exigent has a Caste or Aspect, select it. Note
your character’s anima powers. Choose at least four Intimacies, including at least
one Defining Intimacy, one Major Intimacy, one posi-
Attribute-based Exigent: Select four Caste/Fa- tive Tie, and one negative Tie.
vored Attributes (two Caste, two Favored or three
Caste, one Favored). Choose a Limit trigger, if applicable.

Ability-based Exigent: Select five Caste and five STEP 7: BONUS POINTS
Favored Abilities.
Spend 15 Bonus Points.
STEP 2: ATTRIBUTES
Attribute-based Exigent: Receives Favored/Unfa-
Place one dot in each Attribute. vored costs on Attributes.

Divide 8 dots among Primary Attributes, 6 among sec- Ability-based Exigent: Receives Favored costs on
ondary Attributes, and 4 dots among tertiary Attributes. Abilities.

STEP 3: ABILITIES Essence-based Exigent: Receives Favored cost on

all Charms.
Divide 28 dots among all Abilities. None may be
raised higher than 3 without spending Bonus Points. STEP 8: FINISHING TOUCHES
Favored Abilities must have at least one dot.
Record Essence rating (1), Personal Essence (11
Assign four specialties. + Essence), Peripheral Essence (23 + [Essence x
4]), Health Levels (−0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incapacitat-
STEP 4: MERITS ed) and Willpower (5).

Spend 10 dots on Merits.

seven dots between secondary Attributes and

Customizing Character Creation five dots between tertiary Attributes.
At each stage of character creation, the default rules • Some Exigents may be granted additional spe-
have been laid out for three broad Exigent frameworks, cialties to reflect extensive training received after
but these guidelines are simply the default. A few ex- they were Chosen. If they receive more than four
amples of ways that these rules can be customized are specialties, at least two should reflect this training.
found below:
• Exigents with significant temporal power, such
• Many Exigents have unique choices to make as the Sovereigns of Uluiru (p. XX), may re-
during Step 1 that help to define their overall ceive an additional five dots of Merits, typical-
concept, such as an Architect choosing her ly restricted to Story Merits such as Backing,
home city. Command, Contacts, Followers, Influence,
Resources, and Retainers. Alternatively, these
• Like the Lunar Exalted, some Attribute-based
additional dots might be restricted to a partic-
Exigents may possess superhuman potency.
ular Merit. For instance, Ninegala, the Forge-
These (typically) Celestial-level Exigents dis-
Goddess of Makelo, might allow her Chosen to
tribute nine dots between primary Attributes,
take powerful Artifacts from her vault.

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EXIGENTS GET SPECIAL POWERS, TOO

Most types of Exalted have unique powers or advantages that take them above the baseline described in this
chapter: Solars’ Supernal Abilities, Dragon-Blooded’s Elemental Aura and access to Resonant Evocations,
Lunar shapeshifting and moonsilver tattoos, Sidereals’ arcane fate and astrological powers, and so on. Exi-
gents can have these advantages too, whether it’s a unique power separate from Charms or superior access
to Martial Arts, Evocations, or sorcery. If you don’t give your Exigent such an edge, take that into consideration
when creating their Charms, making them more powerful in places that let them keep pace with other Exalt’s
advantages.

Significant Deviations a spread of Favored Abilities or Favored Attributes. For

What if you want to go further than fine-tuning the Ability-based Exigents, a Caste or Aspect typically has
rules of character creation in small ways? You could five associated Abilities, although if there’s significant
design an Exigent that only possesses Favored Abilities, overlap among these Abilities (e.g., having multiple
which strongly reflects how the character’s power is combat Abilities), they might be associated with a total
rooted in her personal interests. She might possess of eight, from which the player picks five. For Attribute-
fewer than 10 Caste/Favored Abilities, whether be- based Exigents, Castes and Aspects are associated with
cause her power is narrowly focused or because you three Attributes, of which the player may choose two
simply can’t think of ten different Abilities which the depending on how many Favored Attributes she receives.
character has an interest in. An Essence-based Exigent
could possess Favored Abilities or Attributes. Or an Anima
Essence-based Exigent whose esoteric patron has an
affinity for sorcery might receive Favored costs on Each Exigent has an anima banner that flares with
spells without selecting either Intelligence or Occult greater brightness and intensity as she spends periph-
as Caste/Favored Traits. eral motes. Every five peripheral motes she spends
in an instant increase her anima banner by one
Discuss each of these ideas with your Storyteller and level.
try to find a rationale reflecting the nature and person-
ality of the Exigent you want to play. Your Storyteller
Dim The Exigent’s anima is invisi-
should err on the side of generosity, and if you propose
ble. This is its default level when
an idea that he wants to turn down, he should try to
she’s not spending Essence.
work with you to understand why you feel it’s import-
ant, and whether your proposal is necessary. Glowing The Exigent’s anima becomes visible,
outlining her body and potentially man-
ifesting other visual displays like Caste
Traits Marks, glowing eyes, a halo of power,
etc. Stealth rolls suffer a −3 penalty;
Castes and Aspects other characters add +3 dice on rolls
opposing the Exigent’s disguise.
Most Exigents are singular Exalted, but some among Burning The Exigent’s anima coalesces into an
those who exist in greater numbers have Castes or aura surrounding her and may have
Aspects. A Caste is fundamentally about what the cosmetic effects on objects or terrain
Exigent does, reflecting a role that the Exigent was it touches. Stealth is impossible.
chosen to fulfill, like the warrior role of a Dawn Caste Bonfire/ The Exigent’s anima ignites into a brilliant
Solar or the trickster role of a Changing Moon Caste Iconic bonfire stretching into the sky, visible for
Lunar. Aspects are about who an Exigent is, reflecting miles around. Upon reaching bonfire and
her nature, personality, and talents, like the passionate at suitably dramatic moments, her anima
intensity of a Fire Aspect Dragon-Blood or the choleric manifests a personalized iconic display
temperament of a Flesh Aspect Liminal. that reflects both her personality and
the nature of her Exaltation. Her anima
A Caste or Aspect is associated with a set of anima effects, completely illuminates her surroundings
a set of criteria for receiving a Role Bonus (p. XX), and within short range. Stealth is impossible.

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It takes 15 minutes for the anima banner to recede from Caste or Aspect an anima effect that would be highly
bonfire to burning or from burning to glowing, and half desirable for many character concepts supported by
an hour to recede from glowing to dim. other Castes or Aspects.

Anima Effects In addition to an Exigent’s main anima effects, they

Each Exigent has three main anima effects, powers may have a number of minor and largely cosmetic
that are iconic of either their Caste or Aspect or, if they powers that can be used for one mote, like a Solar dis-
don’t have one, their nature as an Exigent. These anima playing her Caste Mark or knowing the time from the
effects function much as Charms do (see Chapter 4, p. position of celestial bodies.
XX), but are generally straightforward bonuses rather
than the more complex powers that some Charms Merits and Flaws
have. A very common structure for anima effects is a
power that provides an Instant-duration benefit for Some Exalted have unique Merits or Flaws available
five motes but becomes free at bonfire anima. to them, reflecting specific aspects of their nature
as an Exalt that couldn’t be represented as a Charm.
For Exigents without a Caste or Aspect, their ani- Such Merits are always Innate or Purchased, not Story
ma effects are universally available regardless of Merits. For example, Architects have Merits that let
character concept as the most basic manifestations them exchange a Foundation Attribute for greater
of their power. For Exigents with Castes or Aspects, power with Martial Arts or sorcery (p. XX), while the
these anima effects are still universally available to Thin-Blooded Flaw (Dragon-Blooded, p. 143) poses
members of that Caste or Aspect, but unlike Charms, complication to a Dragon-Blood in the unique issue of
they’re completely unavailable to Exalted of other their Exalted lineage.
Castes or Aspects — so it’s best to avoid giving a

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not suffer from it at all if it fits their themes. However,

The Great Curse even the most thematically appropriate Terrestrial
Exigent generally won’t have Mastery unless you’re
The death-curse of the fallen ancients fell upon the
willing to design their entire Charm set around them
fire of the Exigence just as it did the other Exalted,
having access to Solar-level Charms in Martial Arts.
ensuring that all Exigents created from it would bear
This is doubly true for Sidereal Martial Arts, whose
the mark of their vengeance. The Great Curse mani-
power, scale, and scope risk overshadowing any other
fests differently for each Exigent. For many, the Great
magic a Terrestrial Exigent has access to.
Curse’s manifestations function similarly to Solar
Limit (Exalted, p. 134): the Exigent has a ten-point Celestial Play
Limit track; gains or loses Limit under certain condi-
Celestial Exigents are generally never limited by the
tions, and upon reaching 10; and enters a Limit Break,
Terrestrial keyword. It’s not a useful tool for power
a dramatically altered state of mind.
balance, as players will simply avoid Martial Arts in
While in Limit Break, the Exigent treats it as a Defining favor of more powerful magic. Celestial Exigents can
Intimacy and must reject any influence it would let have the Mastery keyword if it fits their themes, or
them treat as unacceptable (Exalted, p. 220). Once a may receive Mastery with a limited selection of the-
Limit Break ends, the Exigent’s Limit resets to zero matic styles. For instance, the Chosen of a serpentine
and her current temporary Willpower resets to an god might have Mastery with Snake style, White Veil
amount equal to her permanent Willpower. style, and other styles that employ poison. However,
keep in mind that this strongly pressures players to use
The Great Curse can also be represented purely those styles over any others. That’s not a problem if the
through roleplaying, as with Dragon-Blooded and Exigent is only meant for one player who was planning
Architects (p. XX). An Exigent using these rules can to take those styles anyway, but for an Exigent designed
earn an Expression Bonus of Exigent Experience (p. for a broader audience, it risks shutting down potential
XX) through roleplaying manifestations of their Great character concepts and character-building decisions.
Curse. However, this is never an excuse to ruin other
players’ fun at the table. If a dramatic moment caused Sidereal Martial Arts aren’t off limits for Exigents with
by the Great Curse isn’t something that the entire group appropriate themes. Such Exigents are vanishingly rare
can appreciate, it doesn’t award Exigent Experience. in Creation, but they’re fair game for a player character
concept. If you want to play one, make sure you aren’t
The choice between these two is a matter of theme and potentially overshadowing another player’s character
player preference, not power level or balance. You can concept. If someone’s playing a Sidereal or Solar, or
freely change an Exalt’s Limit track to a purely role- similar character with plans to eventually take Sidereal
play-based Great Curse if you prefer it, or vice versa. Martial Arts, talk with them and the Storyteller to
make sure that won’t be an issue. Limiting an Exigent’s
You can customize these mechanics or create new access to a single style or a selection of thematic styles
ones to suit your Exigent. For example, the optional can be a good way to resolve this by giving access to
canon Umbral Exalted (p. XX) have a ten-point track styles the other player doesn’t plan to take.
of Penumbra that represents their Shadow’s influence
over them, but don’t have Limit Breaks; their Penumbra Exigents generally never have access to the
waxes and wanes as they contend with their Shadow. Enlightenment keyword, which empowers Sidereal
Martial Arts in the hands of Sidereals and Getimians.
An Exigent for whom Martial Arts is a core focus
Martial Arts might have Enlightenment for a single style that di-
rectly matches their themes: the Chosen of a former
The rule of thumb for which Exalted have access to the
god of healing whose divine purview was corrupted
Mastery keyword with Martial Arts and which are lim-
by the Great Contagion might have Enlightenment
ited by the Terrestrial keyword varies based on what
with Citrine Poxes of Contagion style, which is about
level of play they’re designed for.
disease and healing.
Terrestrial Play
Martial Arts Compatibility
Terrestrial Exigents are generally limited by the
Because of how Martial Arts compatibility works,
Terrestrial keyword when using Martial Arts. Some
Exalted with Ability-based Charms can’t use their
have ways to circumvent this limitation, like Dragon-
combat Abilities’ Charms together with Martial Arts,
Blooded using the Immaculate styles, while others may

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but those with Attribute-based or Essence-based Celestial Play

Charms aren’t similarly limited. Likewise, Exigents Celestial Exalted typically have access to Celestial
with Charms for a limited Ability spread (p. XX) can Circle sorcery and Ivory Circle necromancy, or
circumvent the restriction if their offensive Charms Shadow Circle necromancy and Terrestrial Circle
reside in non-combat Abilities. This is a significant ad- sorcery. Celestial Exigents with appropriate themes
vantage that can risk becoming overpowered without might have access to both the Celestial Circle and the
some balancing factor. Shadow Circle. Some may be worse at sorcery than this
for thematic or balance reasons — unlike with Martial
For Celestial Exigents, having such compatibility usu- Arts and the Terrestrial keyword, a sorcerer can still
ally means that they don’t have Mastery with Martial gain great benefit from Terrestrial Circle spells even if
Arts, and tend to have more Simple-type offensive she can’t initiate into the Celestial Circle.
Charms than others. Terrestrial Exigents typically lose
this compatibility altogether, except for Charms with Exigents with appropriate themes might be able to
the Versatile keyword, below. initiate into the Solar Circle or Void Circle, or more
commonly, gain conditional access to a limited selec-
These are safe approaches, but not the only ones — if, tion of thematically appropriate spells. If someone else
for example, Martial Arts prowess is a significant is playing a Solar, Abyssal, or Infernal with plans of
part of your Terrestrial Exigent’s themes, you could reaching the third circle, you’ll want to discuss it with
have them keep this compatibility, with the trade- them to ensure you’re not stealing their thunder. Even
off being in the overall power level of their native then, an Exigent shouldn’t have access to both the
combat Charms. In terms of a “power ceiling” when Solar Circle and the Void Circle.
pushing these limits, Terrestrial Exigents shouldn’t
outshine a Dragon-Blooded with an Immaculate style, Initiation Charms
and Celestial Exigents shouldn’t outshine Solars or Initiation Charms for sorcery and necromancy have
Sidereals with Sidereal Martial Arts. the same trait minimums across Exalt types:
Keyword: Versatile • Terrestrial Circle/Ivory Circle: Occult 3,
Versatile Charms are always compatible with Martial Essence 1 for Ability-based Exalted; Intelligence
Arts. Versatile Charms from multiple Abilities or 3, Essence 1 for Attribute-based Exalted; or
Attributes can’t be used together on the same action, Essence 1 for Essence-based Exalted.
unless specified otherwise. If a Versatile Charm is in
a combat Ability or involves a roll or static value using • Celestial Circle/Shadow Circle: Occult 4,
one, its compatibility is limited to Martial Arts that use Essence 3 for Ability-based Exalted; Intelligence
weapons for that combat Ability. 4, Essence 3 for Attribute-based Exalted; or
Essence 3 for Essence-based Exalted.
Sorcery and Necromancy
• Solar Circle/Void Circle: Occult 5, Essence 5
An Exalt’s access to sorcery and necromancy varies for Ability-based Exalted; Intelligence 5, Essence
based on the tier of play she’s designed for. 5 for Attribute-based Exalted; or Essence 5 for
Essence-based Exalted.
Terrestrial Play
The minimums for sorcery Charms, on the other hand,
Terrestrial Exalted are generally capable of initiating
vary based both on theme. Solars and other Exalted for
into Terrestrial Circle sorcery or Ivory Circle necro-
whom sorcery or necromancy is core to their themes
mancy. Exigents with appropriate themes may vary
— even Terrestrial Exigents — need no prerequisite
from this, like a knowledge-god’s Chosen being able to
Charms to learn Terrestrial Circle sorcery or Ivory
learn Celestial Circle sorcery as a unique, distinguishing
Circle necromancy, and need only the preceding ini-
advantage (p. XX). It’s more common for Terrestrial
tiation Charms to learn those for higher Circles. All
Exigents to gain conditional access to a limited selection
Exalted with access to Solar Circle sorcery or Void
of higher-Circle spells, as with Sovereigns’ Sapphire
Circle necromancy fall into this category.
Talisman Apocrypha (p. XX). Exigents whose themes
are associated with necromancy may have access to both For other Exalted, Terrestrial Circle sorcery and
Terrestrial Circle sorcery and Ivory Circle necromancy, Ivory Circle necromancy generally require either
if using both makes sense for their concept. four Charms from some specific category, like “Occult
Charms” or “Mental Charms,” or one specific Charm.

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might also have one for certain kinds of artifacts, like

NECROMANCY the Puppeteer’s resonance with artifact puppets.

Terrestrial Play
The three circles of necromancy are the Ivory Cir-
cle, the Shadow Circle, and the Void Circle. While Terrestrial Exalted are typically neutral with one of
rules for necromancy haven’t yet been present- the magical materials and dissonant with all others. As
ed, for Storytellers wishing to approximate them, always, the may vary — Dragon-Blooded are masters of
necromancers have access to all sorcery spells Evocations in Terrestrial play, resonant with jade and
except for those that have healing or life-nurtur- neutral with all other materials but soulsteel, while
ing effects, like Benediction of Archgenesis, and Sovereigns can gain resonance with adamant using
summoning spells, like Demon of the First Cir- Adamant Harmony Reverberation (p. XX). Note that
cle. In exchange, necromancers have access to resonant Evocations are almost always more powerful
unique spells dealing with creating, summoning, than other magic a Terrestrial Exalt can learn. Broad,
and manipulating the undead, manipulating or unconditional access to Evocations like that of the
exploiting the nature of the Underworld and shad- Dragon-Blooded warrants increasing the experience
owlands, laying deathly curses, and other bleak cost of Evocations to twelve points to mitigate the poten-
magics. If a sorcerous spell creates or draws on tial for a “one true build” based on resonant Evocations.
the five elements, its necromantic equivalent will
instead manifest phantasmal phenomena of the Celestial Play
Underworld — a necromancer casting Flight of Celestial Exigents are usually resonant with one mag-
the Brilliant Raptor might conjure a bird of the ee- ical material appropriate to their theme and neutral
rie green foxfire that burns in the Underworld’s with all others. If thematically appropriate — e.g., for
marshes, rather than true flame. This doesn’t
the Chosen of a god of precious metals or artifice —
change the spell’s effects.
they may be resonant with multiple materials, or even
Necromancy has its own equivalent to sorcerous all materials.
workings. They’re largely identical, but necroman-
tic workings are incapable of healing or nurturing Advancement
life unless they do so by draining vitality from an-
other, and they cannot summon entities other than Exigents receive five experience points per session.
the undead. In Creation, necromantic workings al- Depending on whether they’re intended for Terrestrial
ways cause some degree of backlash to the living or Celestial play, they default to one of the two tables
and the land around it, although a skillful necro- of experience point costs below. Most Essence-based
mancer can minimize or precisely limit this — or Exigents pay 9 experience for all Charms, including
potentially draw greater power from a working by Martial Arts Charms, spells, and Evocations.
letting its backlash go entirely unrestrained.
Terrestrial Advancement
Attribute increase current rating x4
For the latter, there might be a selection of Charms the
Exalt can choose them, if they have multiple Charms Ability Increase current rating x2
that make sense as a foundation for their esoteric Favored Attribute increase current rating x3
initiation. Celestial Circle sorcery and Shadow Circle Favored Ability increase (current rating x2) −1
necromancy require the preceding initiation Charm
and any five spells of the preceding circle. New Ability 3
Specialty 3
Evocations Purchased Merit new rating x3
Willpower 8
An Exalt’s level of proficiency with Evocations de-
pends on the tier of play she’s designed for. While Charm 10 (8 if Favored)
these are generally based on the five magical materials Martial Arts Charm 10 (8 if Favored)
(or six, including adamant), some Exigents have an
Spell 12 (10 if Occult or In-
affinity for exotic components, like Chiaroscuro glass.
telligence is Favored)
In addition to an Exigent’s material-based affinity, they
Evocation 10

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Celestial Advancement Exigent experience, for a maximum of four Exigent

experience per session. Some Exigents may have dif-
Attribute increase current rating x4 ferent options, like Architects (p. XX), but four Exigent
Ability Increase current rating x2 experience per session is always the maximum.
Favored Attribute increase current rating x3
Expression Bonus
Favored Ability increase (current rating x2) − 1 Players can gain 2 Exigent experience once per session
New Ability 3 by:
Specialty 3
• Expressing, supporting, or engaging a Major or
Purchased Merit new rating x3 Defining Intimacy such that it reveals something
Willpower 8 about the character, develops her personality, or
Charm 10 (8 if Favored) provides a character moment that everyone at
the table enjoys.
Martial Arts Charm 10 (8 if Favored)
Spell 10 (8 if Favored) • Facing significant challenges, danger, or harm in
the course of protecting or upholding a Major or
Evocation 10
Defining Intimacy.
An Exigent’s Essence rating increases as she spends experi-
• Being significantly impeded, endangered, or
ence points. The precise values needed to raise her Essence
harmed by a Flaw (Exalted, p. 167).
vary based on which level of play she’s designed for:
Role Bonus
Terrestrial Essence Advancement
A role bonus rewards a player character for playing
Essence 2 50 XP to their character’s major archetypes and themes, or
Essence 3 125 XP for ceding the spotlight of a scene to another player
character so he can express his character concept in a
Essence 4: 300 XP cool and dramatic fashion, or directly supporting him
Essence 5: 375 XP in such a moment.
Essence 6: Only available at Storyteller’s discretion.
To create your own conditions for earning role bonuses,
Celestial Essence Advancement pick four circumstances or conditions that exemplify some
aspect of your Exigent’s character concept. Role bonuses
Essence 2 50 XP should encourage the Exigent to engage with their unique
Essence 3 125 XP powers, themes, and position in the setting, rewarding
them when they embrace — or struggle against — these
Essence 4: 200 XP
elements. Often these will involve undertaking a danger-
Essence 5: 300 XP ous, risky, or challenging task or expressing an Exigent’s
Essence 6: Only available at Storyteller’s discretion. identity and themes in a dramatic, memorable way.

If using the optional character creation for experi- For example, the Bleak Warden’s concept revolves around
enced Exigents (p. XX), reduce each experience point binding and subduing spirits, as well as a flawless mem-
threshold by 50. ory. His role bonuses might include successfully tracking
down and binding a danger threatening Creation, or
when his eidetic memory retains clues that lead him to
Exigent Experience his target. The Torchbearer, on the other hand, might
earn role bonuses by uncovering corruption and reveal-
In addition to experience awarded at a session’s end,
ing it, or inspiring others to pursue knowledge.
Exigents have the opportunity to earn Exigent expe-
rience, which can be spent to gain any trait (or on any
other experience point cost, such as sorcerous work- The Nature of Exigence
ings) except Exigent Charms.
Beyond the mechanics of creating Exigents, there are
Typically, players can earn one Expression Bonus and a few narrative concerns which can influence their
one Role Bonus per session, each of which grants two themes and stories described below.

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WHAT’S THE POINT?

Essence fever is a narrative tool to encourage the Exalted to act dramatically. If a person receives phenomenal
power, what fun would it be if they simply sat on it and didn’t do anything? Essence fever provides characters,
both player- and Storyteller-controlled, an easy rationale for making dramatic (and interesting) changes to
their lives. Consider Essence fever an opportunity to figure out how their newfound power might change a
character’s behavior from before they were Chosen, and a handy answer for why they might join a Circle of
their fellow Exalted as they adventure. Essence fever is not mind control. Rather, it’s a dramatic prompt to
help answer a simple question: What’s my motivation?

This compulsion doesn’t suddenly disappear when the

Essence Fever Exigent’s work is accomplished. She continues to feel
the burning desire to act and wield her Essence in the
An Exigent’s Essence fever echoes the heady power
world, even when she lacks an easy target. Eager to
imparted by the Unconquered Sun, an urge to action
achieve the highs she felt when she Exalted, she may
that suffuses the divine fire of Exigence and all those
seek to enact her agenda on a more ambitious scale, or
created from it. This urge focuses on the circum-
wander Creation in search of another cause — whether
stances in which an Exigent was chosen. For instance,
similar to or radically different from that for which she
Strawmaiden Janest feels in every fiber of her being
was chosen. Regardless of the nature of their power or
that she must protect her people from annihilation
their personal character, few Exigents resist Essence
and tend to the fields that Ten Sheaves held so dearly.
fever, though some grow more adept at controlling
This impulse doesn’t overcome reason but serves as a
these urges as they age.
powerful impetus to act decisively to address whatever
challenges she was chosen to overcome.

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The details of an Exigent’s Essence fever are heavily When designing an Exigent, matters of lifespan may
influenced by the god who catalyzed her Exaltation. be academic, as chronicles don’t often last long enough
An Exigent of the violent war-goddess Siakal may for characters to die of old age. Nonetheless, the
have been Exalted to protect the war-god’s people, choice may present an opportunity to give a character
but Siakal’s Essence within him calls him to slaughter, a dramatic motivation related to their age. Storyteller-
staining the Great Western Ocean red in the blood of controlled Exigents may bargain for ways to extend
his enemies. Conversely, an Exigent chosen by the their lifespan, while aging Exigents may act to solidify
gentle Forest Walker called Ten Wise Branches, when their legacy, particularly if they’re able to pass on their
confronted by an angry mob, finds herself struggling power.
with the impulse to force serenity and peace upon
these people somehow.
Exigent Inheritance
Exigent Longevity The typical Exigent is a singular being — her power
stays with her through her entire life, then dies with
Many Exigents live a lengthy yet still mortal lifetime, her. A few Exigents pass on their Exaltation to another
maintaining their health until their final years. Some bearer, although their methods of doing so vary greatly.
find ways to extend their lives beyond their natural For instance, a dying Torchbearer passes on her power
span with anagathic drugs purchased from the Guild, to a successor — ideally a worthy one! — in the form of
sorceries learned from gods and demons, or stranger her lantern. When Karana’s Puppeteer dies, her power
methods of staving off aging. Others have lifespans returns to the god as a gossamer filament that he may
measured in centuries, which they can extend further offer to a potential Chosen. Wicked-Grin Shifune (usu-
using many of the same methods as their shorter-lived ally begrudgingly) confers power to the person who
peers. takes him on as their familiar.
Rarer still are Exigents with the potential to live for Inheritance is a useful thing to consider when think-
millennia. Of these, relatively few have survived the ing either about the origin of your Exigent’s power, or
passage of ages, though a few may yet be found, with what you might want to happen over the course of a
long and faded memories of the rise and fall of civili- chronicle. An Exigent who inherited their power may
zations. Sometimes this persistence is conditional: An have come to possess it in a highly unusual way, which
Architect does not age as long as she remains within can be a great seed for adventure. Inheritance can also
her home city’s bounds, while an Exigent chosen by be a fitting end for a beloved Exigent character, their
the forest deity Ever-Rising Oak is only nigh-ageless so power passed on to a worthy successor, or waiting in
long as the titanic tree she guards still stands. the hopes for one to find it someday.

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In the Tranquil Elm’s banquet hall, Nimah Fel supped his last.
The Thousand Venoms Mistress had followed him around Nexus for days, planning his demise. The lissome Guild
factor had carved a flourishing economic empire throughout the Scavenger Lands and brought in practically sinful
returns year after year. Small wonder that one of his fellow Guildsmen wanted him dead. Her client had described
the arcane politics of the Guild’s Directorate, but she wasn’t paid to care.
She slipped into the kitchen and cheerfully showed the chef her knife. He set down his cleaver, remembering
somewhere else he needed to be. In Nexus, it’s often best to simply get out of the way.
Soup — delicious, from the smell — bubbled on the stove. The Exigent ladled a serving into an exquisite porcelain
bowl and tipped in the contents of her ivory vial. It wouldn’t do to poison all the patrons.
As she carried it toward the banquet hall’s door, a shaggy-headed but well-heeled man came through the
doorway. She’d seen him before, at Fel’s side at the gambling house, even got close enough to hear his name:
Willow Specter.
“Oh. I was looking for...” His eyes narrowed. “Where’s the chef?”
“Needed a break,” she said. But Willow Specter was already in motion, knocking the bowl from her hands.
Time to abort. Before the bowl hit the floor, she was sprinting for the back door, with Willow Specter following not
far behind.
She whipped an envenomed throwing knife behind her with a practiced motion. The blade flew clean and true —
until, mere yards away from Willow Specter’s heart, a shopkeeper leaned over a balcony to shake out a rug. The
knife buried itself in carpet; a black stain spreading along the fibers.
Willow Specter cast a horrified glance at the venom as he passed but didn’t slow his pursuit.
Ahead, the alley forked. The Thousand Venoms Mistress went left. Glancing back, she saw Willow Specter dart
right. She hadn’t been in Nexus for long; he might know a shortcut she didn’t.
But he wouldn’t expect her to go up.
She hoisted herself up drainpipes and balconies and made for her nearest safehouse, leaping from rooftop to
rooftop. As she dashed across the fourth roof, Willow Specter hauled himself up over a ledge.
“Lucky break,” he explained. “I wanted a crow’s eye view.” He closed the distance, dagger drawn.
She met him with poison-tipped blades of her own. Her strikes were sharp and calculated; his jabs wild and
reckless. She should’ve bested him in short order, yet at every turn he parried — not because he’d anticipated her
moves, but because his blade happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Eventually, though, his luck ran out. She slipped past his guard, slicing a bicep.
The poison worked fast. Pain-wracked, Willow Specter dropped to his knees, jaw agape in a wordless scream. It
was distilled from the Thousand Venoms Mistress’ own blood, containing every deadly substance she’d procured
over her years as the Chosen of Toxins. His eyes went wide with psychedelic hallucinations as it reached his brain.
Tears streamed down his cheeks.
Then his hand flashed out, blindly grabbing for the vials at her belt. His fingers, still clumsy and numb, fumbled
one from among the many. The only one that mattered. Before she could knock it away, he’d scrambled back to the
roof’s edge, where he unstoppered the antidote and swigged.
She might still have been able to slit his throat in that moment as he shuddered and gasped with relief; perhaps
she even should have. But her foe intrigued her, and besides, her client had only paid for Fel’s death, not his
bodyguard’s.
Willow Specter rocked back onto his knees, watching her warily as the poison’s effects subsided. “I don’t suppose
you’d stay away from Fel if I asked nicely?”
“No,” she said. “I have a job to do.”
“I’ll see you around, then.” He scuttled backwards and plummeted off the side. When she peered over the edge,
the Chosen of the Dice was gone.

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 Chapter Four

Power of
the Exalted
The supernatural prowess of the Exalted is depicted bare minimum needed to begin playing. If the player
through their Charms. The Exigents, the most vari- is designing the Charms, she only needs to write those
able of the Chosen, don’t have a single Charm set like Charms she’s interested in having at the beginning
Solars, Dragon-Blooded, or other Exalted. Instead, of play; if the Storyteller is writing the Charms, she
each type of Exigent has its own unique Charm set. should consult with the Exigent’s player to see what
Creating an entirely new Charm set can be a daunting he’s interested in — there’s no need to write social in-
task; this chapter exists to present you with the tools fluence Charms if the Exigent’s player isn’t interested
to accomplish it. in starting out with them.

Know Your Audience The rest of your Exigent’s Charm set can be created
over the course of play. When using the standard
One of the most important considerations in creating character advancement rules (p. XX), Exigent player
an Exigent (or any other homebrew mechanic) is characters will be able to take one new Charm every
who’s going to use it. If you’re creating an Exigent for two sessions. If your game goes all the way to Essence
yourself or another member of your playgroup, you 5 — which not all games do — you’ll need to design, at
can narrowly tailor your design to the needs of a single most, a total of thirty-seven new Charms in addition to
player and collaborate with your Storyteller and fellow the ones you made at character over the course of sixty
players to arrive at a design that everyone will enjoy. If sessions.
you’re writing for a larger audience, such as something
you intend to share online in Exalted fan communi- Designing for a Larger Audience
ties, it’s best to design a broader range of play options,
as more players may end up playing your Exigent and When designing an Exigent to be used by a larger au-
want to explore different aspects of their Charm set, dience, you don’t have the advantages of only needing
and to focus more on mechanical balance, as you won’t to write the Charms one player will want to use and
be able to directly communicate with everyone in ev- stretching out the design process throughout the cam-
ery game using your Exigent. paign. There’s no “magic number” of Charms to write
for larger consumption, but the following guidelines
Designing for Your Playgroup will help design an Exigent Charm set that can support
a variety of character concepts.
Assuming a player character Exigent begins at Essence
1 using the standard character creation rules, you’ll ESSENCE MINIMUM NUMBER OF CHARMS
only need to create fifteen to eighteen unique Charms
1 45-120
for them to begin playing, depending on how many
bonus points they spend on Charms — and potentially 2 25-60
fewer than that, if they choose to invest in Evocations, 3 25-45
Martial Arts Charms, or sorcery. If you’re creating an
4 2-10
Exigent intended to be used just by one player in your
group, we strongly recommend that you write only the 5 2-10

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GENERAL APPLICABILITY

While this book’s focus is on the Exigents, the design advice provided in this chapter can be applied to creating
new Charms for any of the Exalted, as well as Evocations, Martial Arts, and spells.

are creating or enabling for them, and being willing to

The Art of Balance listen to their feedback. Charms designed for a single
playgroup never have to be “finished” — you can con-
Balancing mechanics in a system as complex and
tinually refine them over the course of the game based
exception-based as Exalted is necessarily more of an
on experience and feedback.
art than a science. There aren’t precise mathematical
rules we can present to ensure that a given Exigent is
perfectly balanced in comparison to a Dragon-Blood, Balancing for a Larger Audience
a Solar, or another Exigent. This doesn’t mean that
balance isn’t important — far from it — but rather, that When designing for a larger audience, it becomes more
it’s as much an exercise in communicating with your important to clearly define how powerful your Exigent
fellow players (including the Storyteller) as it is in should be, and to compare your Charm set with other
rigorous mechanical design. You can’t achieve perfect effects of a similar power level to ensure that the dis-
mechanical balance, but you can talk with the other parity isn’t too large. Be very clear at the outset about
people at your table to ensure that everyone is having a whether your Exigent is intended for Celestial play or
positive experience with the custom mechanics you’re Terrestrial play, both to ensure your readers under-
using, and to make any changes necessary if someone stand this and to help guide your own design decisions.
isn’t.
The key to this kind of balancing is being aware of oth-
er effects that are similar to the one you’re designing
Balancing for a Playgroup and comparing their relative strengths and drawbacks.
Exalted Third Edition is a mechanically expansive
Balancing an Exigent Charm set for use within a single game with a tremendous number of individual Charms
group is less mechanically intensive than designing one and similar effects, but you don’t need to memorize
for broader play, instead placing greater importance every single mechanic. Look to the Charm set that’s
on the experience the mechanics create for everyone closest in rough power level to your intended goal to
in the game. Rather than memorizing every entry in find the first effect to compare your own design to, and
every book in Exalted Third Edition, you can focus you’ll have already done the majority of what’s neces-
on the Exalt types and individual Charms chosen by sary. Knowing every single stray Evocation, Merit, and
the other players in balancing your Exigent’s Charms spell that’s remotely like your design may be helpful,
to ensure they aren’t underpowered or overpowered in but it’s absolutely not necessary. As you design more
comparison. Likewise, you’ll know if your playgroup’s and more Charms, you’ll become more familiar with
game is for Celestial play or Terrestrial play (p. XX) what effects already exist that you can use as points of
and can design your Exigent accordingly. comparison, and it will become easier to find multiple
points of reference.
The purpose of balancing mechanics is to provide a
positive play experience, and designing for a playgroup It’s important to distinguish balancing a Charm set
means you have a direct line to your fellow players. As from making it identical to another Charm set. If you
long as everyone enjoys it when you use a Charm, it give an Exigent a Charm set that’s identical to the Solar
doesn’t matter whether or not it’s balanced in some Charm set, only changing the names, then you’ll have
abstract, objective sense. You have the opportunity an Exigent who’s perfectly balanced against Solars, but
to communicate with everyone who’ll be engaging who has nothing unique or distinctive to make players
with your mechanics and potentially some preexisting want to play them over a Solar. The best way to create
knowledge of what kinds of gameplay they find satisfy- Charms that make your Exigent stand out is with the
ing, an advantage you never have when you’re writing “top-down” approach to design discussed below (p.
for an audience broader than your own table. Make the XX). Not every Charm needs to be a top-down design,
most of that advantage by seeking out input, paying and it’s fine to take Charms directly from other Exalted
attention to what kind of experiences your Charms

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Check-Ins and Tune-Ups

THE CUTTING EDGE Whether you’re playing an Exigent of your own design
or bringing someone else’s work to your playgroup, you
The examples in this chapter are primarily drawn should always feel free to check in with how a Charm is
from Solar Charms. We do this to ensure that working or tune it up to fit your group. This should be a
readers need only the Exalted Third Edition conversation that involves everyone at the table, not just
core book to make use of this chapter’s design the Storyteller and the Exigent’s player. If something feels
advice. However, as the game line has pro- off, don’t be afraid to say so. If something feels overpow-
gressed, the benefits of experience and hindsight ered, propose an alternative and test it out, whether that
mean that mechanics from later books have more means increasing the cost or adding additional require-
refinement and polish than those in the core book, ments. On the other hand, if a Charm isn’t getting much
particularly in the areas of wording and clarity. use — if it doesn’t feel fun or comes at too high a cost — it’s
When looking for points of reference to compare completely appropriate to ask for or suggest changes that
your designs to, we recommend also consulting will make the concept work for you.
designs from later books, such as Arms of the
Chosen,, Dragon-Blooded
Chosen Dragon-Blooded,, and Lunars
Lunars..
Balance and Dice
Dice rolls are the foundation of gameplay, and many
when they fit your Exigent’s needs, but having excit- Charms interact with them. Understanding the bal-
ing and innovative Charms mixed in with them will ance considerations and the math at play are key to
help excite readers and make them want to play your balancing them.
Exigent.
Dice Limits
It’s also important to consider the design of your
Charm set as a whole, rather than approaching each Each Exalt type has a dice limit, the maximum amount
individual Charm in a vacuum. Exalted Third Edition of bonus dice or successes from Charms that they can
emphasizes the interactions of all a character’s Charms add to a roll or static value. Often, the Attribute and
over the effect of any single Charm when it comes to Ability used for the roll or static value in question
gauging a character’s overall strength. If seeing the big are used to calculate the dice limit, but variations on
picture is difficult at first, it may be helpful to put a fin- this can be used to reinforce an Exigent’s themes.
ished design aside, wait a few weeks, then come back For instance, a Chosen of Mathematics might use
and reread what you’ve written with a focus on finding (Intelligence + Ability) as their dice limit regardless of
what synergies exist within the individual pieces of the Attribute rolled, while a berserker Exigent might
the whole, and then revise to bring everything in line use (higher of Ability or Limit). The limit for increas-
with the intended level of power. It can also help to ing static values is half the dice limit, rounded down.
have someone else read through your work with fresh
eyes, especially if you encourage them to find the most In terms of setting an Exigent’s dice limit, the most im-
powerful combinations of effects they can. portant factor is the style of play they’re designed for.
Exalted intended for Celestial play are typically able to
Once you’ve put your work out for general consump- reach a limit of 10 dice, unless having a lower dice limit
tion, you can still expand and improve on it. While you is used to balance access to powerful non-Charm bo-
don’t have the benefit of being an active participant in nuses, as with Sidereals and target number reduction.
every game where your design is being used, you can 10 dice is the maximum on default dice limits.
still gain valuable input from readers who use your
designs, either as players or as Storytellers. While you Exalted intended for Terrestrial level play typically
don’t need to accept all the feedback you get, it’s al- reach a limit of 5 dice and go beyond that in special-
ways worth considering it carefully. If all the feedback ized circumstances that reinforce their theme. While
you’re getting indicates that some part of the design Dragon-Blooded only go to 6 dice with specialties,
is an issue, take a second look and see if there’s some- other Exalted designed for Terrestrial play might go
thing there you can improve on. It’s best not to take higher — even as high as 10 dice — but doing so should
feedback personally — if someone spots a problem, be conditional, as with the Architect’s Excellencies (p.
that’s an opportunity to improve, not a personal failing. XX), and must be considered when designing effects
Like everything else about design, taking feedback is a for that Exigent that offer bonuses that don’t count
skill; the more you do it, the better you’ll get. against their dice cap.

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Terrestrial Play
Excellencies
Excellencies are more powerful when compared to
Excellencies are the most common way of adding bo- other Charms at the Terrestrial play level. Accordingly,
nus dice on rolls. Their core function is the same for all gaining Excellencies requires more investment than
Exalt types: add bonus dice for one mote each, or raise at Celestial play. Terrestrial Exalted receive five free
static values for two motes per +1. Some Exalted may Ability Excellencies or two free Attribute Excellencies
have additional benefits included in their Excellencies, at character creation, and must purchase further
like Sidereals’ ability to reduce target numbers. Excellencies as they do with any other Charm. In
Terrestrial play, Essence-based Exalted still use Ability
How an Exalt gains access to Excellencies depends on or Attribute Excellencies.
the tier of play they’re designed for (p. XX) and wheth-
er their Charm set is Ability-based, Attribute-based, or For Terrestrial Exalted with full-Ability Charm sets, the
Essence-based. experience investment required to gain Excellencies
is offset by adding small, additional benefits to them,

THE STAMINA AND STRENGTH EXCELLENCIES

Attribute-based Exalted gain special benefits from the Stamina and Strength Excellencies. The Stamina Ex-
cellency can be used to raise soak for one mote per point. The Strength Excellency can add dice of raw with-
ering damage for one mote each on attacks with weapons that add Strength to their raw damage. Neither of
these benefits can exceed half the Exalt’s dice limit, rounded down
down..

Some Essence-based Exalted like the Puppeteer have Excellencies based on Attributes. They don’t gain this
benefit from their Stamina and Strength Excellencies — only Attribute-based Exalted get them.

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like with Dragon-Blooded Excellencies. Attribute dice that show a certain number increases the
Excellencies instead offset the experience cost with expected value of each die by approximately .05
their greater flexibility and smaller number. Likewise, successes — the actual amount is slightly higher,
Essence-based Exalted and Exigents with limited because a rerolled die could in turn be rerolled
Ability spread Charm sets don’t receive additional again. Note that rerolling 1s, and to a lesser ex-
effects on their Excellencies, offset by the greater tent 2s, is more valuable than rerolling other
ease and lower experience cost of meeting Ability failure numbers, as some supernatural enemies
minimums. may have Charms that exploit the 1s and 2s on
your roll.
Celestial Play
In Celestial play, Ability-based Exalted gain an • Roll Twice, Take Highest: Effects that let you
Excellency in each Caste, Aspect, or Favored Ability make two rolls and take the highest result don’t
they have at 1+, and in each other Ability they have a add a flat amount to the expected value of each
Charm for. Exigents using a limited Ability spread must die; instead, they increase the total expected
purchase Excellencies for the Abilities not included as value of the roll, with higher dice pools benefit-
though they were any other Charm. ting more. With five dice, rolling twice adds only
about .8 successes on average, but at ten dice,
Attribute-based Exalted gain an Excellency in each it adds about 1.2 successes on average, and at
Caste, Aspect, or Favored Attribute they have at 3+ or twenty dice, it adds 1.7 successes on average.
for which they have a Charm. For other Attributes,
they must have it at five or have two Charms to gain its • Target Number Manipulation: Lowering a
Excellency. Exigents using limited Attribute spreads roll’s target number (Exalted, p. 184) increases
must purchase Excellencies for other Attributes the expected value of each die by .1 successes
separately. per point, while raising the target number de-
creases the expected value by .1 successes per
Essence-based Exalted in Celestial play don’t use point. Note that no effect can raise a roll’s target
formalized Excellencies — instead, as long as an number above 9 (.3 successes per die) or below 4
action or static value uses an Attribute they have at 5 (.8 successes per die).
or an Ability they have at 3+, they count as having an
Excellency for it. This is just a way to avoid having to • Inflicting Penalties: Each point of penalty in-
keep track of both Attribute and Ability Excellencies flicted on an opposing roll is roughly equivalent
on your character sheet. to one non-Charm die added to your own roll.

Dice Tricks and Probability • No Double 10s: Removing double 10s, which
When designing Charms, it’s important to understand primarily occurs on decisive damage rolls,
how the probabilities involved in Exalted’s dice rolling reduces the expected value of each die to .4
system work. On average, a single die will roll a failure successes.
60% of the time. However, because of the double 10s
rule that applies to almost all rolls, the expected value Automatic successes don’t have any synergy with most
of a single die (i.e., the average of all possible results) is dice tricks.
.5 successes, rather than .4. For instance, the expected
value of rolling ten dice is five successes. While it’s Non-Charm Dice and Systems
an easy formula to remember, there are a number of
effects that can alter the expected value of a dice roll. Doubling 7s on a Bureaucracy roll to know local curren-
cy exchange rates is a very different thing than doubling
• Double Successes: Doubling successes (e.g., 7s on a decisive attack roll to dispatch a wrathful Exalt.
double 9s, double 8s) increases the expected val- Exalted’s various systems call for different approaches
ue of each die by .1 for each doubled number: .6 in terms of how many non-Charm dice they can add —
for double 9s, .7 for double 8s, and .8 for double either directly, or effectively through dice tricks. The
7s. following guidelines are a bird’s-eye overview; gauging
the specifics is a matter of comparing existing Charms.
• Rerolling Dice: Rerolling a flat number of failed
dice is roughly equivalent to adding that many Attack rolls and Defense values receive the least in
non-Charm dice to a roll. Rerolling all failed terms of non-Charm bonuses, as too high a bonus on

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DICE LIMITS AND THE UN-EXALTED

Many Charms allow one character to add bonuses to a roll made by another. This isn’t a problem when that
other character is Exalted — they all have their own intrinsic limits on how many bonus dice they can add to a
roll. This isn’t the case when it comes to mortal allies, animal familiars, summoned demons, or the countless
other un-Exalted characters in Creation. Some powerful supernatural beings, like the war-god Ahlat (Exalted,
p. 514) and the demon Octavian (Exalted, p. 530) have their own magic that’s capable of adding dice or auto-
matic successes to their rolls. For such characters, you can apply whatever limit those Charms specify to any
magic that adds bonuses to those character’s rolls.

For characters without such magic, the following table provides guidelines based on Quick Character traits.
The “powerful supernatural” column provides dice limits for puissant beings such as Second Circle Demons,
Fair Folk nobles, and major gods; the “weak supernatural” column provides dice limits for lesser beings such
as First Circle demons, God-Blooded, and most ghosts; the “mortal” column provides dice limits for mortals,
animals, and other non-magical creatures.

Dice Pool/Static Value Strong Supernatural Weak Supernatural Mortal

1-2 dice/0-1 +1 die/+1 +0 dice/+0 +0 dice/+0
3-6 dice/2-3 +3 dice/+2 +2 dice/+1 +2 dice/+1
7-10 dice/4-5 +6 dice/+3 +4 dice/+2 +3 dice/+2
11-14 dice/6-7 +8 dice/+4 +6 dice/+3 +4 dice/+2

Note that these suggestions are guidelines, rather than the hard rules like the Exalted’s dice limits. If a single
Charm provides a benefit that exceeds a character’s recommended dice limit, it’s fine to let it take precedence
— the main purpose of dice limits is to restrict the power of combinations of effects. Likewise, it’s fine to
ignore the guidelines where it’s clear that a group of Charms is written with the intent that all of them can be
used together to enhance a character — for example, the Solar Presence Charms Empowering Shout (Exalt-
ed, p. 370) and Favor-Conferring Prana (Exalted, p. 374).

these potentially life-and-death rolls can overwhelm reliably hit certain “benchmark” values on each roll
the combat system’s balance. Especially for attacks, to successfully complete a project. In designing an
Charms that add non-Charm bonuses tend to be ex- Exigent, it’s easiest to begin by determining what
pensive, conditional, or both. rating of artifact or sorcerous working you want
that Exigent to be capable of reliably achieving, and
Social rolls have more room for non-Charm bonuses, then work backwards to ensure they’re capable of
as the social influence system provides a safety net reaching the necessary benchmark value to do so.
for characters beaten by influence rolls in the form of Remember that a character who’s heavily invested in
resisting with Willpower and unacceptable influence. that specific area of focus will be able to reliably roll
The same is true for various opposed rolls — Awareness fourteen dice before Charms (Attribute 5, Ability 5,
vs. Stealth, Investigation vs. Larceny, War vs. War, etc. an applicable specialty, exceptional equipment, and
a one-point stunt), plus an automatic success from
The highest non-Charm bonuses are typically only spending Willpower. You should use this maxed-out
applicable to actions rolled against a flat difficulty, dice pool in calculating the expected value a charac-
like feats of strength, introduce fact rolls, and many ter can reach — as with other Exalted, the Exigents
Medicine rolls. Without an opposing character con- must focus heavily in an area to reach the heights of
testing a roll, the consequences of failure may be less what’s possible for them to attain.
interesting than the consequences of success.
The benchmark values for crafting are as follows:
The crafting and sorcerous working systems are
unique in that they require characters to be able to

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ARTIFACT/ AVERAGE SUCCESSES Not every Charm in a division has to perfectly match
MANSE LEVEL PER ROLL NEEDED its high concept. Sometimes, creating Charms that
intentionally contrast themselves with an Exigent’s
2 10 usual magic can be fertile ground for exploring the
3 14 nuances or contradictions inherent in the Exigent’s
4 18 themes. Let your high concepts guide and focus your
design, not imprison it.
5 22
N/A 39 Ability Charms
The benchmark values for sorcerous workings are as The most common way to structure a Charm set is to
follows, presented as a range — the lower number is divide it up by Ability. For Solars, Dragon-Blooded,
the expected successes necessary at Finesse 1, while and other Ability-based Exalts, this means having
the higher number is the amount necessary at Finesse Charms for all twenty-five Abilities, but that can be
5. Note that these values assume the sorcerer has no overwhelming. One useful approach is to limit an
Means to increase the terminus; to determine the Exigent’s Charms to only five Abilities. This cuts down
value for a sorcerer who does, multiply the listed on how many trees an Exigent’s Charm set has, but it
number of successes by five, then divide by the new doesn’t limit their range of competency. Strawmaiden
terminus. Janest, for instance, doesn’t have any combat Abilities;
instead, her offensive Charms are concentrated in
CIRCLE AND AVERAGE SUCCESSES Athletics, with some in Awareness and Resistance.
AMBITION PER ROLL NEEDED
Terrestrial 1 2-6 When you’re deciding what Ability (or Abilities) gets
which competencies, there are two main factors to
Terrestrial 2 3-7 consider. The first is your Exigent’ themes. An Exigent
Terrestrial 3 5-9 of a bloody hand, a lesser god of murder, might have his
Celestial 1 6-10 offensive Charms concentrated in Investigation, with
themes of both exacting vengeance on wrongdoers and
Celestial 2 7-11 pinpointing flaws in armor and fighting styles.
Celestial 3 8-12
The second consideration is how much conceptual or
Solar 1 9-13
mechanical overlap there is between Abilities. Athletics
Solar 2 11-15 and Ride are both used for movement actions, so a
Solar 3 16-20 Chosen of the horse-god Hiparkes’ Ride Charms might
enhance their movement on foot as well. Larceny and
Stealth go hand in hand, and can almost always pick up
Structuring Charm Sets each other’s competencies.
The first step in sketching an Exigent Charm set is Making these decisions can be helpful in fleshing out
to determine how it will be structured. In general, concepts for an Ability’s Charm tree or organizing
there are three main ways to divide Charm sets — individual Charms you’ve written into a tree. If you
Ability-based, Attribute-based, and Essence-based. decide that your Exigent of a saintly ice-god has de-
No matter which of these you choose, be sure that fensive Charms in Integrity, and to focus on soak and
each division has a high concept that helps to guide Hardness-oriented defenses, you’ve put physicality
both flavor and mechanics for these Charms. The and the body on the table for Integrity. From there, you
Dragon-Blooded, for example, filter each Ability might bring in the resilience to environmental hazards
through an elemental lens, while Solar Charms often that typically appears in Survival, for meditating in the
emphasize a certain archetype or tactic: While all midst of blizzards — and maybe from there, controlling
four Solar combat Abilities will help you be a better environmental hazards in a way that reflects their rev-
fighter, Brawl focuses on high damage at the expense erence for the Exigent’s virtue.
of defense, Thrown emphasizes Join Battle rolls and
stealth, Archery excels at decisive attacks over with- Keep in mind that this isn’t an ironclad set of rules —
ering, and Melee is a generalist. it’s just one of many possible ways to approach struc-
turing a Charm set.

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Attribute Charms Charm Compatibility

Attribute-based Charm sets can be more difficult to Charms can generally only enhance actions or static
write, because Abilities often lend themselves to clear- values based on their associated Ability or Attribute
er high concepts, especially for Exigents. While you unless otherwise indicated. When a Simple or
can give your Exigent Charms in all 9 Attributes (as we Reflexive Lunar Charm creates an action, it must be
have done for the Architects), it’s also worth consider- rolled using that Charm’s Attribute unless specified. If
ing using a Charm set based on only 3 Caste Attributes. a Charm enhances or creates an action or static value
This can help give the Exigent a sense of focus, espe- that’s not normally based on that Ability or Attribute,
cially when creating a Charm set for a truly unique it is compatible with any Attribute or Ability normally
Exigent rather than one that encompasses a wider associated with that action or value (e.g., Dexterity for
range of archetypes (again, as with the Architects). a Strength Charm that enhances attacks).

Whichever you choose, Attribute-based Charm sets All Charms are compatible with Evocations by default.
always further divide their Attributes into thematic Attribute and Essence Charms are compatible with
trees. “Intelligence” is an overwhelmingly broad topic, Martial Arts by default, although note that this com-
so Lunars divide their Intelligence Charms among the patibility will often need to be restricted at Terrestrial
themes of Knowledge, Mysticism, Crafting, Warfare, play for power level purposes, as with the Architects
and Sorcery. Breaking the Attribute down into these (p. XX).
themes helps to articulate that Attribute’s high con-
cepts, and guides players to understanding the Exalt’s
approach. Charms and Theme
The themes of an individual Exigent inform all of their
When designing Attribute-based Charm trees, it’s
Charms, both individually and as a cohesive whole.
especially important to consider the fact that these
However, rather than focusing in on a single theme
Charms are often more flexible than Ability-based
or concept like “leadership,” “fire,” or “animals,” the
ones and may need to have room to accommodate
best Charm sets reflect an expansive range of themes
multiple character concepts. Lunars, for example, have
with room for nuance in how they’re expressed in
many Appearance Charms that evoke fear and desire,
Charms, with some themes given greater emphasis
which could all appeal to Lunar warriors, socialites,
than others.
and mystics (albeit in very different ways).
Think of a Charm set as a planet, with a core, mantle,
Essence Charms and crust. The core of a Charm set encompasses the
themes of the underlying Ability, Attribute, or Essence-
Essence-based Charm sets work best when an Exigent based tree: An Exigent with Melee Charms is good at
has a progression of powers that couldn’t fit neatly close combat, while one with Charisma Charms is good
within a single Ability or Attribute. The Puppeteer’s at influencing others. Core concepts are sometimes the
Charm set (p. XX), for example, is centered around her least exciting, but they provide essential, workhorse
Charms based on puppetry and controlling animated effects that make an Exalt competitive in their chosen
puppets. Prerequisite Charms are key to Essence- areas of specialization.
based designs. They’re the sole source of structure for
the Charm set, a logical or thematic progression from The mantle of a Charm set helps to explore that Exalt’s
prerequisite to prerequisite, and are the sole determi- specific take on an Ability, Attribute, or theme. For a
nator of how accessible a given Charm is. Solar, Blazing Solar Bolt extends her mastery of the
sword by allowing her to use it at range; for a Lunar,
If you think your Exigent’s concept would work well Flesh-Sculpting Art allows her to extend her mastery
with Ability or Attribute Charms, don’t use an Essence- of healing by changing a target’s flesh as if it were clay.
based design just because; while it can be a useful de- For Exigents, these are where themes drawn from
sign choice, it also comes with trade-offs. Ability- and their divine patron’s purview and personality manifest
Attribute-based trees provide a structure that helps themselves most strongly — and, for singular Exigents
funnel players toward the right Charms for their char- like the Puppeteer, themes drawn from their individu-
acter concept; without them, players may have to read al personality as well (p. XX).
and internalize much more content than usual to make
sure they’re building in the right direction.

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Crust Charms are on the thematic fringe of an Exalt’s

abilities, often stretching into metaphor. Wyld-Shaping ORDER OF OPERATIONS
Technique allows Solars to use their mastery of Lore to
force the Wyld into the shape of Creation; Witch-Beast All calculations in Exalted follow the standard
Ascendancy allows a Lunar to initiate her familiar into order of operations unless otherwise specified,
the secrets of sorcery itself. These Charms should be with multiplication and division occurring prior to
used sparingly and build from core and mantle Charms addition and subtraction.
that slowly flesh out their associated theme. While
rare, crust charms can often become iconic effects,
especially because they tend to be flashy, desirable, and
evocative. than top-down ones, as they provide the crucial work-
horse Charms — cheap, broadly applicable Charms
that could reasonably be used every time you take the
Anatomy of a Charm applicable action, like dice tricks. But while workhorse
mechanics are one important role bottom-up designs
Each Charm has a number of distinct mechanical play, that doesn’t mean they can’t also be impressive
components contained in its introductory description and powerful. Bottom-up Charms like Revolving Bow
block. In addressing Charm design, we address these Discipline (Exalted, p. 259) can be just as flashy as any
one by one, beginning with a Charm’s effect and moving top-down design.
through the other elements of the description block.
Once you have an idea for your Charm’s mechanic in
Effect mind, it will often be easiest to implement and balance
that mechanic by comparing it to existing Charms and
The most important part of any Charm is what it actu- other effects. The ideal point of comparison would be
ally does. In coming up with ideas for Charm effects, one that’s for the same level of play as your Exigent,
there are two main approaches: designing “top-down,” but you can also look at a stronger effect and limit or
beginning with a Charm concept and finding mechanics weaken it to bring it down to an appropriate level, or
to represent it, and designing “bottom-up,” beginning power up a weaker effect. This doesn’t mean that every
with the mechanic and then giving it a flavorful concept. design has to be a copy of an existing Charm, but it’s
easiest to begin there, especially if you’re still new to
Both approaches are important to designing a Charm designing Charms.
set. “Top-down” designs often provide the most im-
pressive and narratively impactful Charms that stand To assist in conceptualizing Charm effects, we’ve bro-
out within a Charm set. They begin with an idea for ken them down into the following groups. These aren’t
something cool you want your character to be able to meant to be rigid categories — they’re simply broad
do — “breathe a blast of venomous flame,” “detonate generalizations about different types of Charms in a way
a zombie in an explosion of gore,” or “make someone that provides some useful guidance for designing them.
trade places with their shadow.” Once you’ve done
that, you’ll need to decide what mechanics that effect Enhancement Effects
has. Referencing the effect index below (p. XX) or An Enhancement effect lets you do something that you
looking at other Charms that are close in function to could already do, but better. This improvement could
your concept is a good way to find effects that you can be purely numerical, adding bonus dice or enhanc-
either borrow wholesale or use as a jumping-off point ing the roll in various ways, but it could also be more
for our own designs. qualitative, such as letting you complete an action in
less time than it would normally take, or without some
“Bottom-up” designs begin with the mechanical role prerequisite that’s ordinarily necessary to successfully
they fulfill — “an attack that punishes high-soak ene- accomplish that action. Enhancement effects are typ-
mies,” “a way to gain more Momentum in naval com- ically Supplemental if they improve a rolled action, or
bat,” or “something to get rid of flurry penalties.” After Reflexive if they improve an application of a static value.
that, you’ll need to decide the Charm’s flavor and what
it represents in the game’s fiction when you use it. This To illustrate, of the Solar Charms in Exalted, about
doesn’t have to be hard — for many, the flavor is simply 40% are Enhancements; of the Charms in Dragon-
supernatural prowess in the Ability or Attribute they Blooded, about 48% are Enhancements; and of the
belong to. Bottom-up designs tend to be more common Charms in Lunars, about 36% are Enhancements.

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Your own Charm sets don’t need to follow any of these might provide a selection of options from a larger
allocations, but they provide a general guideline. menu. The individual effects within a Utility Belt can
themselves belong to any other category, but as a rule,
Examples: Craftsman Needs No Tools (Exalted, p. they aren’t effects that would be sufficiently exciting
292), Hungry Tiger Technique (Exalted, p. 350), or worthwhile as an entire Charm. Likewise, these in-
Masterful Performance Exercise (Exalted, p. 361), dividual effects are simpler than a standalone Charm,
Seven Shadow Evasion (Exalted, p. 301). ensuring that the cognitive load of multiple effects in a
single Charm purchase isn’t overwhelming. Utility Belt
Enabler Effects effects are often Permanent, although they can also be
An Enabler effect lets you do something you normally Simple or Reflexive Charms with ongoing durations.
couldn’t, no matter how many dice you roll. It’s a
simple description, but a broad category: shooting Of the Solar Charms in Exalted, the Charms in
phantasmal daggers from your eyes, creating a salt- Dragon-Blooded, and the Charms in Lunars, about
water spring with poetry sad enough to make the 2% are Utility Belt Charms.
earth weep, externalizing one of your Intimacies as a
puissant god-beast, or more. Enabler effects are almost Examples: Master Horseman’s Techniques (Exalted,
always Simple or Reflexive, although some Permanent p. 380), Salty Dog Method (Exalted, p. 386), Seasoned
Charms straddle the line between being an Enabler Criminal Method (Exalted, 315), Unsurpassed Hearing
and being an Upgrade. and Touch Discipline (Exalted, p. 272).

Of the Solar Charms in Exalted, about 33% are Narrative Effects

Enablers; of the Charms in Dragon-Blooded, about Narrative effects are a rare subset of Enablers that allow
40% are Enablers; and of the Charms in Lunars, about the player to intervene in the story through dramatic
30% are Enablers. editing, altering the present scene or the established
setting in some way. This is still an expression of the
Examples: Blazing Solar Bolt (Exalted, p. 353), character’s agency and skill — most often by revealing
Essence-Lending Method (Exalted, p. 331), Glorious an action that the character has taken in the past, like
Solar Saber (Exalted, p. 350), Memory-Reweaving a flashback in a heist movie, or through the introduce
Discipline (Exalted, p. 363), Subtle Speech Method fact action (Exalted, p. 237), which is itself a Narrative
(Exalted, p. 323). effect.

Upgrade Effects Of the Solar Charms in Exalted and the Charms in

Upgrade Effects usually fall into one of two categories: Lunars, about 1% are Narrative; of the Charms in
either enhancing an existing Charm or acting as a Dragon-Blooded, fewer than 1% are Narrative.
permanent power-up for the Exalt. Charm-based up-
grades increase a Charm’s power, remove restrictions, Examples: Dual Magnus Prana (Exalted, p. 292), God-
or expand options. Permanent power-ups provide an King’s Shrike (Exalted, p. 340), Infinitely-Efficient
always-applicable benefit, like a bonus added on all Register (Exalted, p. 288), Master Plan Meditation
rolls or extra health levels. (Exalted, p. 318).

Of the Solar Charms in Exalted, about 24% are Cost

Upgrades; of the Charms in Dragon-Blooded, about
9% are Upgrades; and of the Charms in Lunars, about A Charm’s cost serves two main purposes. The straight-
31% are Upgrades. forward function is as a resource cost necessary each
time a character uses the Charm; the subtler function
Examples: Harmonious Academic Methodology is limiting how often that Charm can be used, tied to
(Exalted, p. 330), Invincible Fury of the Dawn the types of resources necessary to use it and the vary-
(Exalted, p. 351), Ox-Body Technique (Exalted, p. ing rates at which characters recover those resources.
375), Searing Quicksilver Feint (Exalted, p. 299),
Watchman’s Infallible Eye (Exalted, p. 311). In finding the right cost for your Charms, the best
approach is comparative — finding effects similar to
Utility Belt Effects the Charm that you’re designing in both function and
Utility Belt effects bundle together smaller effects rough power level, comparing their strengths and
into a single Charm purchase. Some might provide all weaknesses to your Charm’s, and determining if your
of these effects with just one purchase, while others

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Charm’s cost should vary from those of similar effects. In discussing costs, we’ll refer to some resources being
“worth” a certain amount of another to aid in this com-
As a rule of thumb, a specialized version of an existing parison, but this is only a rough guideline. Reallocating
effect — one that can only be applied under certain a Charm’s cost between different resources will have a
circumstances, as opposed to a universally applicable significant impact on how often it can be used, and you
effect — should typically have a cost between 50% and should bear this in mind when making your comparisons.
75% of the non-specialized effect’s cost, depending
on how steeply the specialization limits the effect’s Motes
applicability. Motes are the most commonly used resource in
Exalted and can be either spent to power instant-du-
Another important topic in costing Charms is the use ration effects or committed to power an ongoing effect.
of traits as variables in determining a Charm’s effect. When a character spends motes, they’re cleared from
A Charm that adds three dice on a certain kind of her mote pool, but she recovers them at the usual rate
roll always adds three dice, but a Charm that adds of five motes per combat round, or five motes per hour
(Integrity) dice can add anywhere from zero to five. In outside of combat. Committed motes are “tied up” in
determining the value of a variable effect, start with the an ongoing effect and can’t be recovered until that ef-
minimum value of the effect — e.g., three if the Charm fect ends. Note that committed motes aren’t recovered
requires a minimum Integrity 3 to learn — and take the immediately at the effect’s end; the character must still
average of the range of possible values between that wait and recover motes at the above rates.
minimum and the maximum. Note, however, that some
traits are more valuable than others to a wide majority The ultimate comparison point for the value of spend-
of character builds: player characters in general are far ing a mote is the Excellency: one mote to add one bonus
more likely to have high Dexterity or Wits than they die to a given roll, with no restrictions. Most Charms
are Perception, so an effect that adds (Dexterity) dice that cost spent motes maintain this cost-to-value ratio
on an attack roll should cost more than one that adds — for instance, adding an automatic success is typically
(Perception) dice. worth two motes — although specialized Charms may
reduce it, as described above.

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Five motes is an important cost threshold, especially in spending motes also apply to committing them for any
combat, for two reasons. Firstly, characters regain five Charm that’s intended to be activated in same scene
motes each round in combat, meaning that a character a character needs to use it, rather than being used in
can use a five-mote Charm every round in combat and advance — typically Charms with a duration of one
never lose any motes, so long as she doesn’t use any scene or less. In addition, committing motes effectively
other Charms. This isn’t a likely scenario in actual play shrinks a character’s mote pool. While most characters
but crossing the five-mote mark is what makes a char- can bear even a steep ten-mote commitment to a pow-
acter incur a long-term cost, and thus requires players erful Charm on top of a five-mote commitment to an
to make decisions about which Charms they’ll use to artifact weapon, committing too many motes can leave
enhance a certain action, and whether they’re willing a character without the motes they need on a round-
to incur those long-term costs. to-round basis. You should avoid having too many
Charms that require high-value commitments within
The other reason for the five-mote mark’s importance the same field of activity to prevent players from po-
is that this is the threshold at which the expenditure tentially trapping themselves in this unfun situation
causes an Exalted character’s anima to flare (Exalted, by using too many ongoing Charms that they think are
p. 175) if paid with peripheral motes (or personal intended to be used together.
motes, if the player wants their anima to flare). Anima
is a double-edged sword: it can be used as a resource to Willpower
pay some costs and is sometimes used as a variable in Willpower costs are best used on powerful Charms
determining the strength of effects, but it also reveals that players aren’t meant to use on a consistent basis.
a character’s Exalted nature and can impede stealth Outside of combat, a character only recovers one
and disguise. The precise effect of this can vary greatly Willpower per day, assuming she’s able to get a good
with a character’s concept and mechanical build. A night’s rest; in combat, characters have no reliable
Dragon-Blood with multiple Charms and Evocations way of recovering Willpower unless they have Charms
that are strengthened by having a high anima will like- specifically for that purpose. Characters can also re-
ly want to raise her anima as quickly as she can, while gain Willpower from two- or three-point stunts, from
a Solar whose character build emphasizes stealth and upholding Major or Defining Intimacies, and for ac-
who doesn’t have any Charms that grow stronger with complishing major story goals, but all of these are de-
her anima will avoid flaring as much as possible. pendent on the Storyteller, rather than something that
a player can proactively trigger. The difficulty of recov-
Outside of combat, mote costs become more conse- ering Willpower, coupled with the limited amount that
quential, as it takes longer to recover them — a charac- each player has, makes spending Willpower a more
ter could go through an entire scene of social influence burdensome cost that requires greater consideration
in a prince’s court without ever recovering any of the than spending motes.
motes she spends on her social Charms. However, some
Charms are primarily intended to be used in situations Characters can spend one Willpower to add an auto-
that aren’t time-sensitive, where mote recovery isn’t matic success to an (Attribute + Ability) roll, but most
as important. These primarily apply to extended rolls Charms with Willpower costs value Willpower more
that occur over a long period of time, such as crafting, highly than that; one Willpower is worth roughly four
or Charms that are used during downtime. Their mote motes. However, this resource cost is also cumulative
cost serves only to limit the total number of effects with the restrictive effect of limited Willpower recov-
a character can afford to combine when enhancing ery; a Charm that costs five motes is much easier to use
their roll. The exact value of a mote cost becomes less repeatedly on a consistent basis than one that costs one
important in this context; whether a crafting Charm mote, one Willpower, even if the two costs are valued
costs ten motes or twenty is much less important than equally.
whether a combat Charm costs two motes or three.
Willpower costs rarely go above one point, because
Committing motes is more onerous than spending players are often unwilling to invest so much in a
them, as they can’t be recouped until the effect in ques- single effect. As with mote costs, Willpower costs are
tion ends. There’s no easy benchmark of how much a less relevant on Charms that are used primarily during
committed mote will get you; comparing your design downtime, making them the best suited for higher
to similar effects will be the best way to pick a cost. Willpower costs, but even then, these costs should be
The same five-mote mark considerations that apply to reserved only for the most powerful of these effects.

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that’s the typical amount of Initiative characters will

TIMING AND COSTS reset to after landing a successful decisive attack or
recovering from Initiative Crash, meaning characters
A Charm that can be declared after a roll typical- will need to build additional Initiative after that before
ly costs either four motes or one Willpower more they can use those Charms without crashing them-
than a comparable effect that must be declared selves — and crashing yourself is almost never a good
before the roll, whether offensive or defensive. tactical decision. Initiative costs will rarely ever go
However, use caution in determining which ef- higher than six Initiative.
fects a character can use after a roll, as being able
to wait until after the outcome is certain before Anima
having to pay a Charm’s cost is a considerable Anima levels are unique in that they’re generated by
advantage, and may render some effects inher- spending a different resource. Because a character can
ently overpowered, such as making unblockable sustainably spend five motes each round in combat,
or undodgeable attacks, inflicting extremely large they can also sustainably build one level of anima each
amounts of damage, severely punishing effects round, although it’s also entirely possible to build a full
for losing the roll, or automatically succeeding three levels of anima in a single turn if a player’s willing
regardless of the roll’s result. If in doubt about to make that commitment. Additionally, characters can
whether an effect should be allowed after the roll, only have three levels of anima, so each level of anima
check if any Charms designed for the same level spent represents a significant portion of a character’s
of play allow for a comparable effect. total anima.

Anima costs are primarily but not exclusively used on

Charms intended to be usable in combat. For non-com-
Initiative
bat Charms, anima costs should only be used when
Initiative is the core resource of Exalted’s combat system. they reinforce the flavor of what the Charm is doing
Initiative costs should only be used on Charms meant for in the fiction of the game — for example, a Charm that
combat, and the Initiative component of a Charm’s cost is lets an Exigent expel their anima banner as a wave of
waived when it’s used outside of combat. They typically passion that rolls over a crowd.
appear on combat effects that aren’t meant to be used on
every attack or defense, requiring players to choose be- Levels of anima are valued at one mote each, but like
tween using an effect and being able to use that Initiative Willpower, this cost is also cumulative with the re-
to deal more decisive damage. Unlike other resources, strictive effect of having to spend five motes to gain
the amount of Initiative a character will have at any given one level of anima, as well as the Stealth penalties that
point is highly variable and fluctuates with withering accompany higher levels of anima.
and decisive attacks. Unlike motes, there’s no standard
rate at which characters gain Initiative; a successful Health Levels
withering attack could yield only one to three Initiative Health level costs are relatively esoteric; they should
if it’s reduced to minimum damage by soak, or it could be used only on Charms whose effect in the fiction of
yield upwards of fifteen with an Initiative Break. the game involves a character expending her life force
to fuel her magic or suffering injuries as a result. All
Initiative is generally valued at one mote per point. As Exalted have a minimum of seven health levels, but
an additional consideration, Charms with Initiative any given character’s total can range as high as near-
costs can’t be used while a character is crashed (and ly thirty depending on the number of times they’ve
thus have the Perilous keyword by default). While it’s bought Ox-Body Technique, their Exalt type, and their
axiomatic that a cost can’t be paid if a character has Stamina. Similarly, the rate at which health levels re-
none of the required resources, characters are much cover varies based on both the type of damage filling
more likely to be crashed in combat than they are to the health level and the wound penalty associated with
run out of motes or Willpower. Another consideration the health level, ranging from one hour to five days
is Initiative costs on Charms that enhance decisive (Exalted, p. 173). Healing magic can also complicate
attacks — each Initiative spent is one less die on the this further — a Solar can pay greatly in health level
damage roll, while every three Initiative spent is effec- costs in a scene, then recover it all rapidly with a use
tively one less level of damage dealt. of Body-Mending Meditation (Exalted, p. 375), while
a Lunar can recover one health level on each turn with
A Charm’s Initiative cost is typically less than its mote
Halting the Scarlet Flow (Lunars, p. 256), potentially
cost. Three Initiative is a significant cost threshold, as

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letting them sustainably pay a non-aggravated health Note that Exigent experience, Solar experience, and
level cost in combat. the like can be used to pay experience point costs.

A health level is generally valued at five motes, al- Other Costs

though this cost is also combined with the limiting While the above costs are the most commonly used,
effect of potentially suffering wound penalties as a they aren’t an all-encompassing list. Some of Exalted’s
result of taking damage. The type of damage inflicted systems have their own unique resources that can
in paying a health level cost can largely be a matter of be used as a cost for Charms that interact with those
what best fits that Charm’s flavor but should take into systems. This is mostly commonly done with craft
consideration the healing magic available to an Exalt points (Exalted, p. 239), although others exist, such as
type. For example, for Lunars, most Charms with naval combat’s Momentum (Exalted, p. 245). Because
health level costs inflict aggravated damage, which these resources are entirely dependent on an indi-
their combat-time regeneration can’t heal; bashing or vidual system, their valuation and pacing effect will
lethal health level costs are valued less than for Exalted vary between Exalt types based on how easy it is for
who aren’t able to quickly and easily heal them. that Exalt type to accrue the resource in question. For
example, white craft points should be valued much
Limit more highly for Dragon-Blooded, who can only gain
As a general rule, we avoid using Limit costs, in large part them by successfully crafting artifacts, than they are
because many playgroups may opt not to use the Great for Solars, who can easily reap large amounts of silver
Curse system due to its potentially unwanted impact on and gold points with Charms like Craftsman Needs No
their game. While you’re free to do otherwise with your Tools and Supreme Perfection of Craft and then con-
own design, you’ll need to take into account the general vert them to white points with Sublime Transference
lack of effects that can serve as points of comparison. (Exalted, pp. 289, 292-293).
The main circumstance in which Limit costs would be
used is for an Exigent or other Exalt type for whom the Additionally, an Exigent can have a unique resource
Limit mechanic is central to their Charm set, such as the that’s used only as a cost for their Charms, like Dragon-
apocryphal Umbral Exalted (p. XX). Blooded’s Elemental Aura (Dragon-Blooded, p. 162).
In determining the value of such a resource, you can
As a cost, Limit is unusual because it is gained, rath- compare the rate at which it is gained or recovered,
er than spent. A player can freely accumulate Limit as well as any additional limiting effects it imposes,
until they reach ten points and enter Limit Break, at to those of the resources above. Given how complex
which point they must wait until the Limit Break Exalted already is, unique resources should be used
ends to accrue any further Limit. In valuing Limit sparingly to reinforce flavor and mechanical themes.
costs, you’ll need to take into consideration the ease
with which an Exalt type can lose it — if they can only Other Restrictions
clear Limit through achieving legendary social goals,
it might be comparable to Willpower, but if it’s easier A number of other mechanisms can be used to pace
for them to lose, its comparative value should decrease Charm use instead of or in addition to resource costs.
accordingly.
Usage Limits
Experience Points
One of the most common restrictions is limitations on
Experience point costs should be used extremely how often a character can use a specific Charm, such
sparingly, if at all, as they are in short supply, and such as once per scene or once per story, often coupled with
costs compete with learning new Charms and increas- a method to reset that Charm before the specified time
ing trait ratings. They should appear only on Charms period has elapsed.
whose use provides some significant, permanent
benefit, such as Prophet-Uplifting Evocation (Exalted, Once per scene limitations most often appear on
p. 373), Spirit-Tied Pet (Exalted, p. 410), or Wyld- combat Charms that are extremely powerful, like
Shaping Technique (Exalted, p. 335). Even then, such Knockout Blow (Exalted, p. 278), Ruin-Abrasing Shrug
Charms usually waive the cost of their first use. If it’s (Exalted, p. 378) or Seven Shadow Evasion (Exalted,
possible that the benefit of such a Charm might be lost p. 301). They also appear on combat Charms that are
or become irrelevant to the game — e.g., if an empow- especially cost efficient or that have no resource cost,
ered familiar is slain — a player should be refunded any such as Perfect Strike Discipline (Exalted, p. 351) or
experience points spent on it. Supremacy of War Meditation (Exalted, p. 283).

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Once per day limitations are used similarly, but for effects Most Charms with an anima threshold trigger at bon-
powerful enough that a character can’t necessarily use fire anima, requiring a character to both spend at least
them every combat. They’re more common on Charms fifteen motes and imposing sharp limitations on Stealth.
designed for Terrestrial play than those for Celestial play. While a character can sustainably reach bonfire after
three rounds in combat, many fights don’t last that long,
Once per story limitations primarily appear on requiring a character to invest a significant number of
non-combat Charms with effects that are either motes to meet this threshold in time to use the relevant
extremely powerful and have an immediate and Charm. Lower anima thresholds are possible but less
significant impact on the narrative, like Benediction common; it’s easier on players if they only need to track
of Archgenesis (Exalted, p. 480), God-King’s Shrike whether they’re at bonfire or not to use their Charms.
(Exalted, p. 340), or Infinitely-Efficient Register
(Exalted, p. 288), or that provide an advantage that With regard to Initiative, a few specific thresholds
would be overwhelming even if limited to once being are worth mentioning. 10 Initiative can potentially
used once per day, such as Incalculable Flowing Mind be reached with a single withering attack from base
(Exalted, p. 341), Steel Heart Stance (Exalted, p. 306), Initiative; 15 Initiative is a higher bar to meet, requiring
or Transcendent Hero’s Meditation (Exalted, p. 308). a character to focus more effort on building Initiative
A slightly limited form of this restriction appears on and likely requiring multiple successful withering
Charms that can only be used against a given target attacks without losing too much Initiative to enemies.
once per story, such as Venomous Rumors Technique 20 Initiative is both a very high bar and the point at
(Exalted, p. 402). These primarily appear on powerful which a character’s decisive attack can reliably kill
social Charms and other effects that can inflicting de- most enemies in one hit; it’s a good threshold for the
bilitating conditions on enemies, ensuring that an ene- most powerful Charms that you want to be limited in
my who successfully defends against it won’t simply be their use.
subjected to another use of it immediately.
Preparatory Actions
In all of these cases, a limited-use Charm’s reset Actions represent perhaps the most important re-
condition ultimately determines of how often it can source of all, because a character can only do so much
be used. Reset conditions can be tuned based on how at once. This is especially true in combat, where
difficult they are to achieve and whether they’re based hostilities are often concluded within only a handful
on the player character’s actions or circumstances. For of rounds, making preparatory actions like aiming
example, the Solar Charm Anointment of Miraculous and shape sorcery actions a steep cost that demands
Health (Exalted, p. 344) can only be used once per a satisfying reward. Use preparatory actions sparingly,
scene but can be reset by using a two-point stunt when especially when they essentially force a character to
treating a patient without the Charm. That’s relatively do nothing — even if the reward is a powerful result,
easy and the player can do so at their own direction. By making a player twiddle their thumbs for a round is
contrast, Soul Voice (Exalted, p. 362) can only be reset inherently discouraging.
when the Storyteller introduces a new complication
to the scene. Other reset conditions can be outside the Type
control of player and Storyteller alike to emphasize
uncertainty and chance: Dragon-Blooded characters Supplemental
using Spine Shattering Bite (Exalted, p. 433) only reset
Supplemental is the most basic Charm type, improving
the Charm when rolling four or more 10s on a decisive
an action in some way — and thus, almost universally
damage roll.
being Enhancements. In theory, Supplemental Charms
only enhance rolled actions (like attacks or influence
Resource Thresholds
rolls) and actions for which no roll or value is rele-
Another method is to require a character to have a
vant (such as aiming or full defense), while Charms
certain amount of a resource to use a Charm without
that enhance static values like Resolve or Evasion are
requiring them to expend it. This is most often done
Reflexive. This division isn’t something you need to
with Initiative and anima levels, as these are the two
worry much about getting wrong, as it’s entirely super-
resources that players can proactively accrue through
ficial, with few mechanical implications, if any.
their actions in combat or other scenes. Other exam-
ples include Dragon-Blooded Charms that require a Simple
character to be in an appropriate Elemental Aura, but
A Simple Charm takes up a character’s entire turn, pre-
that don’t expend the Aura.
venting them from taking other non-reflexive actions.

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Likewise, Simple Charms can’t be used with Reflexive benefit that typically lasts one scene or indefinitely.
Charms that allow a character to take an action. For these Charms, the Simple type serves primarily as
a usage restriction, requiring a character to forgo their
Simple Charms fall into three main categories. The turn to invoke their benefits. Keep in mind that many
first is Enhancement effects that provide an ongoing combats will end in about three rounds, making giving

TRANSPARENCY AND TIMING

Exalted’s system is built on the assumption of player-level transparency, with a handful of explicit excep-
Exalted’s
tions. Simply put, all players (including the Storyteller) must inform the others of what actions their char-
acters take and what Charms or other effects they use, even though those players’ characters might be
completely unaware of these details.

As a reminder, all Charms that affect a roll must be declared before the roll is made, even if their effect doesn’t
take place until after the roll. For contested actions, all involved players must declare their Charms prior
to the roll. Attackers must declare before defenders, but beyond that, there’s no set order in which players
must declare actions or Charms. We recommend taking a casual approach and prioritizing getting Charms
declared as quickly as possible.

If the order of declaration becomes tactically relevant and the players involved can’t agree on who declares
first — e.g., if two characters act on the same tick, and both players want to declare their actions second so
as to control whether or not the two characters clash — the Storyteller should flip a coin to determine who
goes first. If more than two players are involved, each can roll a single die, with declaration proceeding from
highest to lowest.

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up a whole turn a significant cost. Try not to have too durations, as well as some considerations specific to
many of these Simple power-up Charms and assume them.
that players probably won’t be able to use multiple
such Charms in one scene. Weaker Enhancements Instant
can be made Reflexive Charms with ongoing duration, An Instant-duration Charm is activated, does something,
retaining the same effect but without the opportunity and then is done. Motes spent on an Instant-duration
cost of giving up your action to use them. Charm aren’t committed. Note that an Instant-duration
Charm can have effects that remain in place after its
The second and third categories both have you make use for a specified duration, like the penalty inflicted by
an action as part of using the Simple Charm — typi- Joint-Wounding Attack (Exalted, p. 415); such Charms
cally an attack or influence roll, but conceivably in- still don’t require a mote commitment, allowing one to
cluding any action. The second category is made up of potentially design ongoing Charms without one.
Enhancement effects, providing a benefit to this action
much like a Supplemental Charm. The difference is Ticks
that characters can’t combine multiple such Simple The tick is the smallest discrete unit of in-game time
Charms to enhance the same action. The third cate- Exalted uses (Exalted, p. 192). One-tick duration is
gory is made up of Enabler and sometimes Narrative used primarily for Charms that either enhance multi-
effects, letting you take an action that you normally ple actions taken by a character (like both actions in
wouldn’t be able to attempt at all. a flurry) or defend against multiple actions taken by
an opposing character (such as when an enemy uses a
Reflexive Charm to make multiple attacks against a character).
Reflexive Charms encompass the broadest range We don’t recommend using multiple-tick durations;
of functions. The most basic Reflexive Charms are they’re unwieldy to track and offer little value to a
Enhancements that improve static values like Parry, designer compared to a one-round duration.
Evasion, or Guile. They also include Charms that im-
prove a roll or otherwise interact with it, but that are Rounds
declared after the roll is made (note that these Charms A Charm with a duration of measured in rounds lasts
must explicitly state they can be declared after the roll — until the end of the appropriate round. As combat of-
by default, all Charms must be declared before the roll). ten lasts three rounds, you’ll rarely see Charms with
a duration of more than one round; it’s better to use a
The second category of Reflexive Charms is ongoing scene-long duration for such effects.
Enhancements, as described above in the Simple Charm
section. The third category are Charms that allow you to Until Next Turn
take an action reflexively, such as attacking or aiming. A Charm with a duration of “until next turn” lasts until
the next time the character who used it takes their
Beyond these three categories, the Reflexive type is turn in combat (Exalted, p. 192). The actual length of
the one most suited to any miscellaneous effect that this varies based on when the character uses it and can
doesn’t neatly fit into any of the other types. If you ever change unpredictably if that character gains or loses
find yourself unable to determine what a Charm’s type significant amounts of Initiative, adjusting her place in
should be, Reflexive is almost always a safe choice. turn order.
Permanent Scenes
Permanent Charms primarily provide a character Many if not most power-up Charms have a duration
with a permanent, always-active benefit, such as extra of one scene, meaning they’ll last for an entire fight or
health levels or an improvement to one of their other dramatic encounter. When in doubt, this is always a
Charms. Some Permanent Charms require a cost or good default duration for lasting effects.
surcharge to apply their benefits — some of these could
in theory be Reflexive, but the distinction is generally Indefinite
unimportant. Indefinite duration Charms remain in effect as long as
Essence is committed. This duration is useful for Charms,
Duration especially power-up Charms, that require some kind of
preparatory action, making the choice of uncommitting
Duration is a relatively straightforward element of the motes invested in it more tactical since the character
a Charm. We discuss some of the more common can’t automatically reactivate the Charm.

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Days if a Charm lets you attack reflexively but doesn’t have

Durations measured in days are similar to Indefinite the Clash keyword, like Peony Blossom Technique
duration, but more limited, requiring characters to (Exalted, p. 346), it can’t be used to force a clash. Clash
renew it every so often if their player wants to keep Charms can’t be used against Counterattack Charms.
that effect “on” all the time. It’s an especially common
duration in Charms designed for Terrestrial play. Counterattack
Counterattack Charms let you follow up an attack
Permanent against yourself by attacking your attacker. Some
Permanent duration is exclusive to Charms with the Charms may let you counterattack with other actions.
Permanent type, and all Charms with the Permanent Unless the Charm specifies otherwise, this counter-
type have permanent duration. Note that if a Permanent attack takes place after the enemy’s attack roll, but
Charm requires a mote cost, those motes aren’t com- before their damage roll. You can’t use a Counterattack
mitted unless the Charm specifies otherwise. and a Clash Charm together against the same attack
unless some effect specifically allows you to do so.
Other Durations Counterattack Charms can’t be used in response to
Charms that supplement dramatic projects such as Clash Charms or other Counterattack Charms.
crafting, training, and bureaucracy sometimes have a
duration of one project; this should be used carefully, Perilous
because long and abstract durations can sometimes Perilous Charms can’t be activated while a char-
leave motes committed for multiple scenes or sessions, acter is in Initiative Crash (Exalted, p. 193). This
depending on timing. can be used to limit powerful Charms, and allows
for tactical interaction, as a character can attempt
Keywords to deny an enemy the use of his Perilous Charms by
crashing him. Additionally, Charms with Initiative
The Four Main Combat Keywords costs have the Perilous keyword by definition, as you
can’t spend Initiative while at 0 or below. Note that
The Uniform, Dual, Decisive-only, and Withering-only
ongoing Perilous Charms aren’t forcibly ended when
keywords are used to identify what kind of attacks
a character is crashed unless they specifically state so
an offensive Charm can be applied to, or what kind
— Perilous only prevents you from activating a Charm
of attacks a defensive Charm can be used against (for
in the first place.
purposes of these keywords, Counterattack and Clash
Charms are considered offensive).
Mute
Uniform Charms can be used with both withering The Mute keyword lets an Exalt spend peripheral
and decisive attacks, with identical effects regardless motes on a Charm without raising their anima. It ap-
of what kind of attack they’re enhancing or being used pears primarily on Stealth Charms, Larceny Charms,
against. and to a lesser extent on social Charms that benefit
from being used subtly. Not all such Charms should
Dual Charms can be used with both withering and de- be Mute, however — the tension between being able
cisive attacks but have either a different effect depend- to use all one’s motes and needing to keep one’s anima
ing on which one they’re used with, or an additional hidden is an important part of the cost economy, and
effect when used with one or the other. the lack of the Mute keyword can be used to balance
powerful effects. Mute typically appears on Charms
Finally, Decisive-only Charms can only be used with that cost 3+ motes; you should only add it to a 1-2 mote
decisive attacks, while Withering-only Charms can Charm if it needs that additional versatility to be worth
only be used with withering attacks. Note that gam- a Charm purchase.
bits are decisive attacks.
Psyche
Clash While the Exalted and Creation’s other supernatural
Clash Charms let you force an enemy attacking you denizens are capable of incredible feats of eloquence,
into a clash (Exalted, p. 202) by reflexively making there’s a line between the words of a superhumanly
an attack against him. Some Charms may let you gifted orator and a direct mental attack. The Psyche
clash with other actions. You can’t use a Clash and keyword identifies Charms that cross this line. Its ap-
a Counterattack Charm together against the same plication is based entirely on the concept and flavor of
attack unless an effect specifically allows it. Note that

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the Charm in question. Manipulating a victim’s mem- Stackable

ory with Memory-Reweaving Discipline (Exalted, p. The Stackable keyword indicate Charms where mul-
363), embedding commands in a victim’s subconscious tiple uses can stack their effects, like Joint-Wounding
with Hypnotic Tongue Technique (Exalted, p. 372), Attack (Exalted, p. 415), or Charms that lets a charac-
or sorcerously manipulating a victim’s mind with ter sustain multiple active uses, like Indolent Official
spells like Corrupted Words (Exalted, p. 472) are all Charm (Exalted, p. 286).
examples of Psyche effects. Functionally, the Psyche
keyword identifies a Charm as being vulnerable to Pilot
certain defensive effects such as Transcendent Hero’s The Pilot keyword appears only on Charms that can
Meditation (Exalted, p. 308). enhance Sail rolls or that otherwise relate to travel by
ship, requiring that a character be the captain or helms-
Shaping man of a ship in order to use the Charm to enhance
Shaping effects are any magic that transforms a char- that ship’s movement or other actions. This is largely
acter’s body, mind, soul, or the like. Which aspects of a matter of flavor — does your Charm make sense as
a character a shaping effect targets are denoted in a something that can only be done while commanding or
parenthetical — a Fair Folk’s petrifying gaze afflicts its steering the ship? It also imposes a limit on how many
victim’s body, while a Sidereal’s blessings and curses characters can use their Pilot Charms to enhance a
shape fate. Shaping effects can be defended against ship, preventing a group of Exalted from dividing up a
with magic like Destiny-Manifesting Method (Exalted, set of Sail Charms amongst themselves and their mote
p. 304). The Shaping keyword is new to this book, but pools, but this is rarely an important balance point. You
shaping effects aren’t. Those that appear in books re- don’t need to worry about Pilot breaking your designs.
leased prior to Exigents typically specify that they are
shaping effects in their text and are considered to have Aggravated
the Shaping keyword. This keyword identifies Charms that can deal aggra-
vated damage (Exalted, p. 173). It’s primarily just a
Written-only label, although it’s possible that some effects might
This keyword denotes that a Charm that creates or en- specifically enhance or defend against Aggravated
hances an influence roll is only compatible with writ- Charms.
ten influence (Exalted, p. 221), not spoken influence. In
Ability-based Charm sets, this typically applies only to Bridge
Linguistics Charm, although Charms of other Abilities The Bridge keyword appears on Charms that have an
could interact with written influence. This keyword alternative set of prerequisite Charms, a certain number
is more relevant in Attribute-based Charm sets, as of unspecified Charms from a different trait or traits.
Charisma and Manipulation Charms can enhance both (e.g., an Integrity Charm with any three War Charms
written and spoken influence rolls by default. as prerequisites). You don’t need to use the Bridge key-
word to give a Charm such prerequisites, but it provides

POISON, SICKNESS, CRIPPLING

Those familiar with Exalted Second Edition might wonder what’s become of the other keywords used to
categorize various harmful effects. While they no longer exist as keywords, these effects are still a part of
Edition.
Exalted Third Edition.

Poisons created by Charms follow the standard rules for poison (Exalted
(Exalted,, p. 232), although an individual
effect might vary from them. Likewise, diseases created by Charms follow the standard rules for disease
(Exalted
Exalted,, p. 233).

Crippling effects most often appear in the form of crippling injuries (Exalted
(Exalted,, p. 201) taken voluntarily by a
player in place of suffering damage. Charms can also cause crippling effects when they inflict injuries whose
debilitating effects go beyond the standard impairment of wound penalties, like Joint-Wounding Attack (Ex- (Ex-
alted,, p. 415), or directly impede the function of limbs or organs, like Crippling Pressure-Point Strike (Ex-
alted (Ex-
alted,, p. 428).
alted

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specific effects that may be useful for your design. If a bonuses for using a Charm in a thematically appropri-
Bridge Charm isn’t Caste or Favored, player characters ate shape.
still receive the discount as long as all the prerequisite
Charms they use are Caste or Favored. If a Bridge Charm When designing a new keyword, remember that their
already qualifies for the benefit, the number of Bridge purpose is to centralize a commonly used mechanic in
prerequisites needed is halved, rounded up. (Solars order to reduce repetition — the Puppeteer’s Entangled
with Supernal Integrity round this number down; other keyword emphasizes how important tagging enemies
Exalted may have similar ways to do so). Additionally, a with the Entangled condition is to her fighting style. If
Charm used toward meeting a Bridge prerequisite can’t a rule keeps popping up in many of your Charms, it’s
be used to learn other Bridge Charms; this restriction worth considering whether it’s worth transforming
doesn’t apply to non-Bridge Charms. into a keyword.

Eclipse Minimums
The Eclipse keyword denotes non-Exalted Charms
that can be learned through the Eclipse anima power Essence Minimums
or similar effects. The key consideration here is that Essence minimums are primarily used to pace the
Eclipse Charms shouldn’t compete with Solar Charms growth of a character’s Charms over the course of a
to fill particular roles, e.g., Defense penalty negator or campaign.
decisive damage boost. Instead, it should be used for
the most iconic and flavorful powers of a spirit, fae, or Essence 1 Charms are available to player characters
other supernatural being, like a field guardian’s power from the beginning of play. However, just because
to make wheat grow to enormous sizes or rapidly reap they’re the lowest Essence level doesn’t mean these
a field or a storm mother’s power to call down light- Charms shouldn’t be powerful — to the contrary,
ning strikes (Exalted, pp. 513-514). Essence 1 Charms offer considerable power, both in
the form of broadly applicable workhorse effects and
There’s a number of ways in which you can design in specialized effects that a character’s entire Charm
effects that let an Exigent learn Eclipse Charms. You build can be based around.
might design a Charm that grants access to a themati-
cally appropriate subset of Eclipse Charms, or that lets Essence 2 Charms provide only a small increase in
an Exigent gain any Eclipse Charm through a themat- power from Essence 1, focusing more on lateral pro-
ically appropriate approach. An Exigent of the Wyld- gression and refining the options already available at
tainted god Xaos might be able to learn Eclipse Charms Essence 1.
from the Fair Folk, as might a Chosen of Hallucination.
A Chosen of the Hunt might be able to claim the Essence 3 Charms see a significant increase in power
Eclipse Charms of supernatural beings after tracking from Essence 1 and 2. This will often be the highest
and subduing them, while a Chosen of the Market Essence that player characters will attain, given that
might be able to purchase access to a being’s Eclipse campaigns may not last long enough to progress be-
Charms. Of course, you can give an Exigent universal yond it. This power spike helps reinforce the feeling of
access to Eclipse Charms, like an Eclipse Caste Solar growth and increasing power from character advance-
receives, but this should only be done when such a uni- ment even before player characters reach the highest
versal affinity for spirits and other supernatural beings levels of Essence.
reinforces the themes of that specific Exigent.
Essence 4 Charms generally repeat the pattern seen
Salient at Essence 2, taking what’s available at Essence 3 and
The Salient keyword is no longer in use and should be refining it or broadening its scope, utility, and com-
considered deprecated. It appears only on two Solar Craft plexity rather than simply increasing its power.
Charms, and the two are inconsistent in how it’s used.
Essence 5 Charms see another spike in power, though
New Keywords not as great as the one at Essence 3. For all practical pur-
It’s not uncommon for Exalts to include their own poses, this represents the maximum power the Exalted
custom keywords, especially when emphasizing their can attain, but reaching it in play requires a significant
unique powers. The Dragon-Blooded have Aura, grant- amount of real-world time — sometimes longer than a
ing them additional benefits based on their current given campaign might last. Accordingly, while the level
elemental alignment; Lunars have Protean, offering of power increases here, it’s not so drastic a jump as to

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make a character who’s never able to progress beyond • Ability 1 Charms are available to almost any
Essence 3 feel like they’re incomplete or diminished character, and often represent universally appli-
because of it. cable powers that all Exalts should have access
to, such as Graceful Crane Stance and Ox-Body
The one major exception to the pattern above is Technique.
Dragon-Blooded Charms. Because Dragon-Blooded
begin at Essence 2, their Essence 1 and Essence 2 • Ability 2 Charms often represent basic effects
Charms cover effects that other Exalted have at that need to be broadly available to characters.
Essence 1, their Essence 3 Charms cover effects that Spirit-Cutting Attack (Exalted, p. 354) is a key
other Exalted have at Essence 2, and so on. It may be example — it’s something that many Exalted
appropriate for you to deviate from the above pattern characters will pick up at some point in order to
if it similarly serves some specific purpose for your deal with dematerialized foes.
overall design.
• Ability 3 Charms are the first point at which an
For guidance on how many Charms to include at each Ability represents a real investment for the char-
level of Essence, see p. XX. acter. These Charms often include role-defining
competencies, like Bulwark Stance (Exalted,
Ability Minimums 346), which offer the character significant pow-
While Essence minimums help to determine the power er early on.
of a Charm’s effect, Ability minimums usually focus on
reflecting how much specialization a character needs • Ability 4 Charms expand on the specialization
to qualify for the Charm: A Charm requiring Melee 2 of Ability 3 Charms, offering greater power at
is available to any Exalt who feels vaguely comfortable the expense of further specialization.
with a sword, while a Charm requiring Melee 5 is only
meant for characters dramatically invested in armed • Ability 5 Charms represent the bulk of many
combat. Ability-based Charm sets, especially for Charms
that are deeper in their trees; this is because

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once a Charm hits Ability 5, anything that builds The following guidelines will give you a distribution
off it inherits that same requirement. comparable to the Lunar and this book’s Exigent
Charm sets:
Ability minimums aren’t equally represented across
all Essence levels. Charms that require Ability 1-2 are
ATTRIBUTE PERCENTAGE OF
typically limited to Essence 1, with a few rare Ability 2 MINIMUM CHARM SET
Charms at Essence 3; Essence 5 Charms almost univer-
sally require Ability 5. 1 5%
2 15%
As with Essence minimums, there’s no magic number
3 30%
for how many Charms of each Ability minimum you
should have, but the following guidelines will give you 4 20%
a distribution comparable to Solar, Dragon-Blooded, 5 30%
and this book’s Exigent Charm sets:
Prerequisite Charms
ABILITY PERCENTAGE OF
MINIMUM CHARM SET One of the final ways to balance a Charm is through its
1 5% prerequisites, creating trees that move from their roots
(basic Charms with low requirements that anyone can
2 10%
learn relatively easily) to branches (high Essence, high
3 30% requirement Charms that build on multiple earlier
4 15% Charms to reward specialists). When designing an
Exigent Charm tree, effects that every player character
5 40%
will need (including basic tools like penalty negators
Attribute Minimums and the ability to interact with spirits) should come
relatively early in a Charm tree, with no more than one
Attribute minimums function like Ability minimums,
or two prerequisite Charms.
gating access to a Charm based on specialization and
archetype. If a Charm feels too powerful, you can give it more pre-
requisites, making it a reward for characters specializ-
• Attribute 1 Charms are available to literally ev-
ing in a certain direction. Be careful, though, to ensure
ery character with no investment needed. These
that any prerequisites are useful and interesting in and
are very infrequently used, similar to Ability 1
of themselves: When using prerequisites as a balanc-
Charms.
ing factor, it’s easy to invent speedbump Charms that
• Attribute 2 Charms represent the lowest pos- do nothing other than soak up extra experience points.
sible investment, making them accessible to
any Exalt who hasn’t purposefully kept that Not Recommended
Attribute below average.
As a final note, there are some effects that we active-
• Attribute 3 Charms are roughly equivalent to ly recommend not including in your designs, either
an Ability minimum of 2 or 3, representing a rel- because they undermine major themes of Exalted
atively minor investment. in a way that diminishes the experience or because
they have a strong tendency towards game-wrecking
• Attribute 4 Charms are roughly equivalent to imbalance.
an Ability minimum of 3 or 4 — enough to sepa-
rate characters who are invested in this Attribute Resurrection
from dabblers. Exalted emphasizes the significance and impact of the
choices made by the character and the consequences
• Attribute 5 Charms are used almost exclusive- of those decisions. Death is one of the greatest conse-
ly on high Essence Charms, allowing time for quences, and there is no such thing as true resurrection
characters to grow into their main Attributes in Exalted’s setting. There may be things that come
rather than requiring every player character to close, things that approximate resurrection — the
maximize their Attributes at character creation. existence of ghosts, sorcerous workings to manipulate
the mechanisms of reincarnation, Liminal Exaltation

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— but once someone is dead, the person that they were Copying Charms
is gone, forever. No magic can undo this. As a general rule, the Exalted and other supernatural
beings can’t learn the Charms of other types of super-
Note that the prohibition against resurrection doesn’t natural beings — a Solar, for instance, can never learn
extend to effects that let a character avoid death, or that Dragon-Blooded Charms. The Eclipse keyword is used
make them agelessly immortal. Magic can reveal that a to designate Charms that are exceptions to this rule;
character’s seeming death was actually the destruction accordingly, Charms shouldn’t allow a character to
of a duplicate, grant a spirit’s ability to reform itself learn non-Eclipse Charms belonging to another type
after its destruction if not slain with proper magic, or of character.
extend a character’s natural lifespan indefinitely. Such
effects have their own balance considerations, and the There are a handful of effects that break this rule, like
thematic consideration of avoiding “boring” immortal- Carnal Spirit Rending (Exalted, p. 356) and Divine
ity (Exalted, p. 486), but those are separate concerns. Mantle (Exalted, p. 310). We strongly recommend not
following these precedents; they aren’t good compari-
Time Travel sons for your own design.
Exalted’s emphasis on the importance of choices also
means that time travel does not exist in the setting. More Perfect Than Perfect
Once you’ve made a mistake, you can’t travel into the Some effects in Exalted are “perfect,” succeeding auto-
past to take it back. In addition to this thematic signif- matically despite all opposition. Seven Shadow Evasion
icance, the system of Exalted isn’t designed in a way (Exalted, p. 301) can perfectly dodge any attack; Eye of
that handles time travel well. It takes thoughtful and the Unconquered Sun (Exalted, p. 273) perfectly sees
careful design to create a roleplaying game that can through all stealth and disguises. We don’t advise cre-
make an enjoyable experience out of classic tropes ating Charms to counter perfect effects, e.g., a perfect
of time travel fiction, such as traveling into the past attack that even Seven Shadow Evasion can’t dodge. Such
to stop an enemy from being born, self-fulfilling time effects undermine the intent behind the design of perfect
loops, and rewriting the present through small chang- effects and would open the door to an endlessly escalat-
es. Exalted simply wasn’t made for that purpose. ing arms race of Charms for beating perfects, Charms for
beating Charms for beating perfect effects, and so on.
Experience Points
Character progression in Exalted is based on the Morality
assumption that characters earn a flat five experience Exalted’s setting does not have any objectively as-
points each session, along with zero to four points certainable morality. This doesn’t mean that Exalted
of Solar Experience, Lunar Experience, or the like. is amoral or morally nihilistic, or that it’s wrong to
Charms shouldn’t give characters additional experi- make claims about morality; rather, it emphasizes
ence points on top of this or allow them to use resources that morality is something that one must strive for in
other than experience points to learn Charms, increase one’s actions and choices, something where there are
trait ratings, or the like. There are some Charms that no easy answers or certainties. The Unconquered Sun
violate this rule, such as Exegesis of the Distilled Form may be the Highest of Holies and the God of Virtue,
(Exalted, p. 291) and Flowing Mind Prana (Exalted, p. but that doesn’t mean his judgments as to what’s good
331), but we don’t recommend doing the same. and what’s evil are any more definitive or correct than
those of the Immaculate Order, the Yozis, or a mortal
Similarly, Charms generally shouldn’t change the ex- philosopher living in a wine barrel.
perience point cost of gaining or increasing a new trait.
This is a guideline, rather than an absolute rule, as there Thus, while the supernatural prowess of the Exalted can
is a very small design space where this can be done make them stronger, faster, and smarter than mortals,
without causing balance issues. It primarily applies to there is no Charm to make them morally better or to let
the Craft Ability and its requirement that characters them make wise decisions. Integrity Charms can make
purchase multiple ratings in different Crafts. Supreme an Exalt’s commitment to their morals stronger, but
Celestial Focus (Exalted, p. 289) and Protean Creator they can’t ensure those morals are correct. Charms can’t
Discipline (Lunars, p. 210) are both examples of excep- tell you the morally right choice to make in a situation,
tions to this guideline that don’t undermine the game’s or identify who is evil and who is good, because there is
balance. However, we don’t recommend using them as a no objective basis for making those determinations.
basis of comparison for effects outside of Craft.

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Speed Limit
Creation is a large world, and its size is narratively intensity. Conversely, if her target has an
significant to the setting. The distance between two Intimacy of abstinence from drink or carnal
places impacts any story about war, diplomacy, com- pleasures, its intensity is subtracted from the
merce, or cultural exchange. While the Exalted can poison’s duration.
travel at incredible speeds, designing Charms that let
them travel significantly faster than existing effects
risks undermining the size of the setting, “shrinking” Now, June wants to design a Charm to follow Emptied
Creation for the player characters. Amphora Tragedy that lets their Exigent expel the
alcohol from an enemy’s system to inflict a debilitat-
When looking for comparisons, note that Stormwind ing hangover. Since Emptied Amphora Tragedy is
Rider (Exalted, p. 475) is an outlier, both in terms of Decisive-only, they want this follow-up Charm to be
how fast it lets characters travel at Essence 1 and how Withering-only.
fast it lets characters in Terrestrial play travel. We don’t
advise using it as a point of comparison for such effects There’s a number of different mechanical effects June
unless one of the player characters already has it. could use to represent a magically inflicted hang-
over: dice penalties, losing Initiative or Willpower,
taking small amounts of bashing damage that ignores
Putting It All Together: Hardness, being forced to flurry each turn to be able to
Designing an Example Charm act, etc. Since using this Charm will mean giving up the
Initiative damage and penalty inflicted by the purged
June is designing a Chosen of Burning Feather, the god- poison, June decides to represent the dolorous hang-
dess of intoxicants. They’ve decided that the Chosen over by inflicting an amount of bashing damage based
of Intoxicants is intended for Terrestrial play, and has on the rounds of poison expelled, as well as inflicting a
a limited Ability-based Charm set, with Charms in crippling penalty for the rest of the scene. They write
Integrity, Medicine, Occult, Presence, and Resistance. up this basic effect as follows:
They’ve already written the following Charm, bal-
ancing it in comparison to Flexing the Emerald Claw When the Chosen of Burning Feather deals withering
(Exalted, p. 454) and Foe-Blinding Venom (Heirs to damage to an enemy suffering from the poison inflicted
the Shogunate, p. 147): by Emptied Amphora Tragedy, she can purge that poison
from his system to inflict one die of bashing damage,
ignoring Hardness, for each round of the poison’s re-
Emptied Amphora Tragedy maining duration. The damaged enemy also suffers a –2
Cost: 5m; Mins: Medicine 3, Essence 1 penalty on all rolls until the scene ends, as a crippling
Type: Supplemental effect. If there are bright lights or loud sounds present in
Keywords: Decisive-only the scene, the penalty rises to –3.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Grape-Quickening Gesture The most obvious type for this effect would be
Supplemental, but it could also be Simple if making
Wine-dark Essence swirls about the Chosen of the withering attack was part of using the Charm, or
Burning Feather’s weapon, imbuing her enemy’s Reflexive if it’s used after the damage roll. June decides
blood with the heady potency of the finest brews. to go with the straightforward option of Supplemental
for now, with the option of changing it to Simple if
The Chosen’s decisive attack conveys a poison there turn out to be any overpowered combinations
with Damage 1i/round (B in Crash), Duration between it and the Exigent’s other Simple combat
(higher of Essence or 3) rounds, and a –2 pen- Charms.
alty. If her target has an Intimacy that supports
drinking, carousing, or hedonism, she adds For duration, instant is the most likely choice, as this
its intensity to the poison’s duration, and her Charm enhances a single attack. However, because the
enemy’s (Stamina + Resistance) roll can’t lower crippling penalty lasts the entire scene, the Charm’s
the poison’s duration below that Intimacy’s duration could be one scene. This would mean that
the Exigent has to commit whatever the Charm’s mote
cost ends up being for the entire scene, though, and

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that seems both too steep for inflicting a penalty on play: Fire Dragon style’s Essence-Igniting Nerve Strike
one character and like something that might not be (Dragon-Blooded, p. 294), White Veil style’s The
worth the extra bookkeeping. Dragon Succumbs (Dragon-Blooded, p. 308), the
Frost-Thorn Knuckles’ Blizzard Claw Swipe (Arms of
For keywords, Withering-only is a given. June consults the Chosen, p. 32), and the Ichneumon Blades’ Argent
the list of keywords for any others it might need, but Brood Eruption (Lunars, p. 331).
nothing else seems like a good fit — Mute and Perilous
could both potentially be applied, but June doesn’t While these effects all provide useful points of refer-
think this is the kind of covert effect that Mute would ence, Blizzard Claw Swipe, Essence-Igniting Nerve
make sense on, nor does it seem like it needs the restric- Strike, and The Dragon Succumbs are all Essence 3,
tion of Perilous. Additionally, because successfully us- while June would prefer this Charm to come after
ing Emptied Amphora Remorse will reset the Exigent’s Emptied Amphora Tragedy at Essence 2, and Argent
Initiative, it leaves her wide open to be crashed before Brood Eruption requires the attack to crash an enemy
her next turn, potentially denying her the opportunity to deal decisive damage, which June worries would
to use this hangover Charm altogether. That doesn’t make this too difficult to actually pull off in play, giv-
seem like a fun scenario, given the amount of set up en the Charm already requires the Exigent to land a
necessary to use this Charm, so Perilous is off the list. decisive attack and that the poison’s duration may
expire before the enemy’s Initiative can be brought
Finally, the Charm needs a cost and minimums. low enough to make crashing him feasible. As such,
(Technically it also needs Prerequisite Charms, but June decides to give their Charm a once-per-scene
June’s already decided that Emptied Amphora Tragedy restriction in addition to its cost.
is the prerequisite). To determine these, June looks
at effects similar to theirs and suitable for Terrestrial Putting it all together, June ends up with the following:

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Dolorous Sobriety Strike FULL EXCELLENCIES

Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Medicine 4, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental When a Charm says it applies a full Excellen-
Keywords: Withering-only cy to a roll, it adds enough Charm dice to reach
Duration: Instant the rolling character’s dice limit. The character
Prerequisite Charms: Emptied Amphora doesn’t actually need the Excellency for the Ability
Tragedy or Attribute in question to benefit. Likewise, when
Charms like Rising Sun Slash require a character
The Chosen of Burning Feather’s blows sends to use a full Excellency, they mean that she must
enemies reeling from their high-spirited carousing have reached her dice limit by adding Charm dice
into the next day’s regrets. and/or successes.

If the Exigent deals withering damage to an en-

emy suffering from poison inflicted by Emptied
Amphora Tragedy, she can purge that poison Celestial (Decisive): Arrow Storm Technique
from his system to inflict an automatic level of (Exalted, p. 257), Behemoth’s Footprint Tread
bashing damage, ignoring Hardness, plus an ad- (Lunars, p. 274), Scything Whirlwind Technique.
ditional level for every two rounds of the poison’s
duration remaining, maximum (Essence) levels. Celestial (Withering): Earth-Turning Upheaval,
The damaged enemy also suffers a –2 penalty on Shower of Deadly Blades (Exalted, p. 417).
all rolls until the scene ends, as a crippling effect.
Terrestrial (Decisive): Elemental Burst Technique
If there are bright lights or loud sounds present
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 218).
in the scene, the penalty rises to –3.
Terrestrial (Withering): Overpowering Blockbuster
This Charm can only be used once per scene, unless
Strike, Wrathful Winds Kiai (Dragon-Blooded, p. 289).
reset by successfully landing a decisive attack en-
hanced with Emptied Amphora Tragedy that resets Bonuses on Attack Rolls
her Initiative and then building to Initiative 12+.
These Charms either add dice or successes on attack
rolls, modify the roll beneficially, or weaken a target’s
Defense.
Effect Index
Celestial (Charm Bonus): Cascade of Cutting Terror
While we can’t discuss every Charm, the following (Exalted, p. 416), Cracking the Mask, Perfect Strike
provides an index of a wide variety of effects, with Discipline (Exalted, p. 351), Supremacy of War
examples drawn from all published books, as a refer- Meditation (Exalted, p. 283).
ence when seeking comparisons for your own designs.
This is neither a comprehensive list of every effect in Celestial (Non-Charm): Excellent Strike (Exalted,
Exalted, nor does it list every Charm that performs a p. 346), Finding the Needle’s Eye (Lunars, p. 180),
given effect. Charms found in this book can be refer- Lightning Stroke Attack (Lunars, p. 184), Precision
enced in the Index starting on p. XX. of the Striking Raptor (Exalted, p. 415), Wise Arrow
(Exalted, p. 255), Unerring Fang Technique (Lunars,
For ease of reference, effects are divided by Celestial play p. 183).
and Terrestrial play. Sometimes, no effects exist for a
level of play — for instance, Solars don’t have a withering Terrestrial (Charm Bonus): Behemoth-Leashing
counterattack. We’ll note when this is due to it being in- Tactic, Burning Faith Arc (Arms of the Chosen, p.
appropriate for power level reasons, but if not, you should 72), Lustrous Duelist Grin, Stone Fist Strike (Dragon-
still feel free to create those effects at that power level. Blooded, p. 178).

Offensive Effects Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Bleeding Crescent Strike

(Exalted, p. 439), Convergence of Intent, Spring
Area-of-Effect Attacks Follows Winter (Dragon-Blooded, p. 165), Unerring
Lightning Razor (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 141),
These Charms apply an attack to some or all characters
Unseen Strike Precision.
in a designated area:

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Bonus Strength Create Ammunition

These Charms grant bonus dots of Strength. These Charms create ammunition for ranged weapons.

Celestial: Increasing Strength Exercise (Exalted, p. 262). Celestial: Phantom Arrow Technique (Exalted, p.
257), Needle Quill Technique (Lunars, p. 181).
Terrestrial: Raging Fire-Dragon Spirit (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 249), Strength of Stone Technique Terrestrial: Harvest of the Hunter (Dragon-Blooded,
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 169). p. 164), Limitless Luminous Armory.

Clash Create Difficult Terrain

These Charms let a character reflexively clash an at- These Charms create obstacles that impede movement.
tack against them. Clash Charms for Terrestrial play
typically count as a character’s attack for the round; Celestial: Grasping Midnight Phantasm.
those intended for Celestial play typically don’t.
Terrestrial: Awaken the Tide (Dragon-Blooded, p.
Celestial (Decisive): Fervent Blow (Exalted, p. 352), 327), Boreal Winds Grace (Heirs to the Shogunate,
Weakness-Winnowing Slash. p. 155), Earth-Shattering Strike (Dragon-Blooded, p.
275), Uncertain Avenue Distraction.
Celestial (Gambit): Shadow Wind Slash (Exalted, p. 418).
Create Environmental Hazards
Terrestrial (Decisive): Portentous Comet Deflection These Charms create environmental hazards.
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 228), Rat Strikes Snake.
Celestial (Ongoing): Coursing Firebolt Flash (Exalted,
Terrestrial (Withering): Light-on-Dark Shield p. 382), Haunted Carousel Storm, Thousandfold Wasp
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 302), Comet-Diverting Guard Dance (Lunars, p. 194).
(Arms of the Chosen, p. 36).
Terrestrial (Ongoing): Burning Judgment Halo
Terrestrial (Dual): Snake Strikes the Heel (Exalted, p. 429). (Exalted, p. 451), Elemental Burst Technique (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 218), Shattered Prism Sword-Wall, Soul-
Terrestrial (Gambit): Grasping Mantis Defense Fire Cataclysm.
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 305), Inauspicious Moment for
Attack (Lunars, p. 304). Terrestrial (One-Time): Neighborhood Defense
Technique, Resounding Songbird’s Cry (Exalted, p.
Counterattack 449), Thunderclap Kata (Dragon-Blooded, p. 289).
These Charms let a character make counterattacks.
Create Weapons
Celestial (Decisive): Coiled Serpent Strikes (Lunars, These Charms let a character create a weapon or gain a
p. 186), Preemptive Vengeance Declaration, Solar new mode of attack with its own weapon traits.
Counterattack (Exalted, p. 347), Vigilant Warden
Rebuke. Celestial: Glorious Solar Saber (Exalted, p. 350),
Claws of the Silver Moon (Lunars, p. 269), Infinite
Celestial (Withering): Clashing Blades Reversal, Gloom Arsenal.
Flashing Edge of Dawn (Exalted, p. 351).
Terrestrial: Blade-Beckoning Requisition, Dragon-
Terrestrial (Decisive): Blazing Interception Graced Weapon (Dragon-Blooded, p. 226), Elemental
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 226), Unhesitating Retribution Bolt Attack (Dragon-Blooded, p. 215), Limitless
Manner. Luminous Armory, Rattling Toy Sabers, Silken Lariat
Technique, Voice of the Night Bird (Exalted, p. 447).
Terrestrial (Withering): Demon-Slaying Zealot’s
Mantra (Dragon-Blooded, p. 323). Decisive Attacks That Don’t
Include Initiative
Terrestrial (Dual): Swallowtail’s Grace (Dragon-
These Charms let a character make a decisive attack
Blooded, p. 317).
that doesn’t include her Initiative in its damage roll
Terrestrial (Gambit): Table-Turning Reversal or reset her to base Initiative, referred to internally as
(Exalted, p. 455), Talons Greet Prey (Lunars, p. 301). “soft” decisive attacks.

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Celestial: Blazing Solar Bolt (Exalted, p. 353), Solar Terrestrial: Entombed Mind Technique (Dragon-
Spike (Exalted, p. 260), Burrowing Devil Strike Blooded, p. 246), Soul Mastery (Dragon-Blooded, p.
(Lunars, p. 272). 300), Amnestic Desolation (Arms of the Chosen, p. 82).

Terrestrial: Dragon Soul Burst (Dragon-Blooded, p. Increase Attack Range

228), Violent Knickknack Hurricane. These Charms increase the range at which an attack
can be made, including both ranged attacks and attacks
Disrupt Charms normally limited to close combat.
These Charms can terminate the duration of an ene-
my’s ongoing Charms or impede an enemy’s ability to Celestial (Ranged): Pitchfork Javelin Method, Triple
use Charms. Distance Attack Technique (Exalted, p. 416), Boulders-
as-Pebbles Attitude (Lunars, p. 266).
Celestial: Cancel the Apocalypse (Exalted, p. 279),
Hundred Shadow Ways (Exalted, p. 302), Heaven- Celestial (Close Combat): Iron Raptor Technique
Darkening Eclipse (Lunars, p. 206). (Exalted, p. 350), Leaping Tiger Attack (Exalted, p.
264), Spider Catches Sparrow (Lunars, p. 275).
Terrestrial: Essence Disruption Attack (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 176), Essence-Dousing Wave Attack Terrestrial (Ranged): Arm Like a Catapult, Crystal-
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 297). and-Flame Quiver, Sky-Calming Draw (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 163), Blossom of Inevitable Demise
Extreme Range Attacks (Exalted, p. 450).
These Charms make it possible to attack from extreme
range. Terrestrial (Close Combat): Arcing Rainbow Slash,
Fulminating Thunderclap Surge (Heirs to the Shogunate,
Celestial: There Is No Wind (Exalted, p. 257), Triple p. 142), Uncoiling Serpent Prana (Exalted, p. 429).
Distance Attack Technique (Exalted, p. 416), Boulders-
as-Pebbles Attitude (Lunars, p. 266). Increase Base Initiative
These Charms increase the base Initiative that a char-
Terrestrial: Horizon-Spanning Arc (Dragon- acter resets to.
Blooded, p. 165), Infinite Light Needle.
Celestial: Blood Feeds the Land, Bloodthirsty Siaka
Forced Movement Frenzy (Lunars, p. 263), Orichalcum Fists of Battle
These Charms let a character knock an enemy back (Exalted, p. 282), Smiling Through the Pain, Striving
with the force of an attack, throw them across range Aftershock Method (Exalted, p. 281).
bands, knock them prone, or otherwise relocate them.
Terrestrial: Smoldering Wound Attack (Dragon-
Celestial: Heaven Thunder Hammer (Exalted, p. Blooded, p. 295), Ebon Shadow Form (Exalted, p.
274), Foe-Baiting Sidestep (Lunars, p. 186), Mighty 441), Unsleeping City Invigoration.
Ram Smash (Lunars, p. 267), Pouncing Beast Impact
(Lunars, p. 276), Tiger Claw Swat (Lunars, p. 267). Increase Decisive Damage
These Charms increase the damage of a decisive at-
Terrestrial: Avenging Wind Strike (Dragon-Blooded, tack, either by adding dice or successes directly to the
p. 288), Battering Ram Impact, Fateful Shift Evasion damage roll or otherwise enhancing it.
(Arms of the Chosen, p. 98), Reed-Breaking Banda
(Lunars, p. 306), Rolling Boulder Blow (Dragon- Celestial: Fiery Arrow Attack (Exalted, p. 257), Fire
Blooded, p. 178), Sacrosanct Sovereign Personage, and Stones Strike (Exalted, p. 346), Heaven Thunder
Strings Drawn Taut. Hammer (Exalted, p. 274), Hungry Tiger Technique
(Exalted, p. 350), Divine Predator Strike (Lunars, p. 266),
Incapacitation Limb-Maiming Flourish (Lunars, p. 270), Rampaging
These Charms can kill or otherwise incapacitate an God-Monster Empowerment (Lunars, p. 274).
enemy without dealing damage.
Terrestrial: Arrow Thorn Technique (Dragon-
Celestial: Heart-Eating Fist (Miracles of the Solar Blooded, p. 164), Crimson Fang Bite (Dragon-
Exalted, p. 8), Knockout Blow (Exalted, p. 278) Blooded, p. 225), Hammering Wave Technique
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 178).

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Increase Withering Damage

These Charms increase the damage of a withering CHARMS AND DECISIVE ATTACKS
attack, either by adding dice or successes directly to
the damage roll or otherwise enhancing it. When a Charm tells you to make a decisive at-
tack as part of using it, it means a damaging de-
Celestial: Fire and Stones Strike (Exalted, p. 346), cisive attack, not a gambit, unless it specifically
Leaping Tiger Attack (Exalted, p. 264), Deadly says otherwise. This typically comes up with Sim-
Beastman Transformation (Lunars, p. 269), Divine ple Charms and Charms that let you attack reflex-
Predator Supremacy (Lunars, p. 274), Ox-Dragon ively, like Counterattack and Clash Charms.
Smash (Lunars, p. 270), Savage Moonsilver Talons
(Lunars, p. 272).

Terrestrial: Crimson Fang Bite (Dragon-Blooded, p. Terrestrial: Flexing the Emerald Claw (Exalted, p.
225), Hammering Wave Technique (Dragon-Blooded, 454). Nightmare-Venom Sting, Nightshade’s Deadly
p. 178), Oaken Thew Exertion (Dragon-Blooded, p. Bloom (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 128).
176).
Multiple Attacks
Inflict Derangements These Charms let a character make multiple attacks
These Charms impose Derangements on others. against one or more enemies.

Celestial: Mind-Shattering Mystery (Lunars, p. 229), Celestial (Decisive): Hammer on Iron Technique
Unceasing Hunger Affliction (Lunars, p. 168). (Exalted, p. 277), Iron Whirlwind Attack (Exalted, p.
347), Octopus-and-Spider Barrage (Lunars, p. 182).
Terrestrial: Cracked Mirror Blight (Arms of the
Chosen, p. 60), Mad-Fire Ultimatum (Lunars, p. 340), Celestial (Withering): Cutting Circle of Destruction
Whispering Wound Infestation (Lunars, p. 331). (Exalted, p. 419), Revolving Bow Discipline (Exalted,
p. 258), Shadow-Sword Duality, Thousand Claw
Inflict Disease Affliction (Lunars, p. 184).
These Charms infect others with diseases.
Terrestrial (Decisive): Harnessed Firestorm Assault
Celestial: Rabid Beast Bite (Lunars, p. 257). (Dragon-Blooded, p. 227), Motion of Myriad Legs
(Lunars, p. 298), Overeager Killer Haste, Seven-Year
Terrestrial: Dread Infection Strike (Dragon- Swarm Volley (Dragon-Blooded, p. 167), Thousand
Blooded, p. 224). Edge Maelstrom.

Inflict Penalties Terrestrial (Withering): Fist-Spinning Maelstrom

These Charms let a character impose penalties on an (Dragon-Blooded, p. 180), Mela’s Twin Fangs
enemy’s action or static values in combat. (Dragon-Blooded, p. 276), Overwhelming Hustle
Strike, Prismatic Flame Barrage.
Celestial: Joint-Wounding Attack (Exalted, p. 415),
Ox-Stunning Blow (Exalted, p. 277), Foe-Driving Negate Cover
Attack (Lunars, p. 180), Prey-Hobbling Bite (Lunars, These Charms negate the Defense bonus from cover.
p. 267).
Celestial: Angle-Tracing Edge (Exalted, p. 415), Wise
Terrestrial: Blinding Spark Throw (Dragon- Arrow (Exalted, p. 255), Finding the Needle’s Eye
Blooded, p. 275), Crashing Tide Advance (Heirs to (Lunars, p. 180).
the Shogunate, p. 129), Flesh-as-Stone Inurement
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 224), Life-Swelling Sap Strike Terrestrial: Arrow-Guiding Thread, Hammer Strikes
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 164), Sinew-Severing Precision. Nail, Seeking Throw Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p.
275).
Inflict Poison
These Charms create or transmit poison. Negate Hardness
These Charms let a decisive attack ignore some or all
Celestial: Adder Fang Method (Lunars, p. 258). of the enemy’s Hardness.

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Celestial: Unstoppable Beast-Force Blow (Lunars, p. Terrestrial (Decisive): Swift-Striking Tide (Dragon-
267). Blooded, p. 180), Whirling Rhythm Revolution
(Lunars, p. 306).
Terrestrial: Burning Fury Wreath (Dragon-Blooded,
p. 225), Crack-in-the-Wall Precision, Flashing Lance Terrestrial (Dual): Burning Pinnacle Strike (Dragon-
Trick, Giant-Felling Stroke (Arms of the Chosen, Blooded, p. 228).
p. 47), Knife-Twisting Subtlety, Scourge the Broken
World, Subtle Rainbow Flame. Terrestrial (Gambit): Rumbling Earth Rebuke (Heirs
to the Shogunate, p. 142).
Negate Soak
These Charms let a withering attack ignore some or Reflexive Reload
all of the enemy’s soak. These Charms let a character reflexively reload weap-
ons with the Slow tag.
Celestial: Armor-Rending Claw Fist (Lunars, p. 269),
Fists of Iron Technique (Exalted, p. 273). Celestial: Needle Quill Technique (Lunars, p. 181).

Terrestrial: Armor-Penetrating Fang Strike (Exalted, Terrestrial: Boughs of Burning Autumn (Dragon-
p. 428), Crack-in-the-Wall Precision, Death From Blooded, p. 164).
Nowhere (Dragon-Blooded, p. 164), Flashing Lance
Trick, Subtle Rainbow Flame. Reset Action
These Charms let a character reset their combat action
Ranged Grapple (Exalted, p. 255).
These Charms let a character grapple an enemy at
range, such as by snaring them in nets, using tendrils Celestial: Heaven Fury Smite (Exalted, p. 283),
of water to drag them, or exerting overwhelming spiri- Raging Wrath Repeated (Exalted, p. 282), Twisting
tual pressure to drive them to their knees. Moonsilver Stroke (Lunars, p. 185).

Celestial: Grasping Shadow Coils, Kraken-Arm Lash Terrestrial: Agony Mandala Meditation (Arms of the
(Lunars, p. 268). Chosen, p. 88).

Terrestrial: Currents Sweep to Sea (Dragon-Blooded, Shaping Effects

p. 177), Leash-Tugging Gesture. These Charms transform or twist bodies, minds, fates,
or souls.
Reflexive Aim
These Charms let a character aim reflexively. Celestial: Devil’s-Eye Brand (Lunars, p. 232),
Insidious Lunar Transformation (Lunars, p. 207).
Celestial: Accuracy Without Distance (Exalted, p.
257), Hunter’s Eye Precision (Lunars, p. 182). Terrestrial: Door-Denying Laughter, Duck-Becomes-
Hare Metamorphosis, Entombed Mind Technique
Terrestrial: Elusive Skirmisher Tactic (Dragon- (Dragon-Blooded, p. 246), Wyld-Flame Crucible
Blooded, p. 255), Heartbeats Before Death (Dragon- (Lunars, p. 339).
Blooded, p. 166), Keen Adamant Focus, Razor Vigil
Meditation (Lunars, p. 320). Steal Initiative
These Charms let a character steal Initiative from an
Reflexive Attack enemy without making a withering attack.
These Charms let a character make an attack
reflexively. Celestial: Thunderclap Rush Attack (Exalted, p. 275),
Stone Rhino’s Skin (Lunars, p. 253).
Celestial (Decisive): Busy Harvest, Finishing Snipe
(Exalted, p. 259), Hunger Breeds Haste. Terrestrial: Crimson Leaping Cat Technique
(Exalted, p. 431), Fragrant Petal Fascination Kata
Celestial (Dual): First to the Field, Hunter’s Swift (Exalted, p. 459), Brumal Rime Barrier (Heirs to the
Answer (Exalted, p. 258), Peony Blossom Attack Shogunate, p. 157).
(Exalted, p. 346),

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Steal Motes
These Charms let a character steal motes from an AMBUSHES, CLARIFIED
enemy.
When a character makes an ambush, the defending
Celestial: Essence-Draining Touch (Exalted, p. 333). character is treated as having Defense 0 and can’t
activate any Charms, Evocations, or the like in re-
Terrestrial: Theft-of-Essence Method (Dragon- sponse to the attack unless those Charms explicitly
Blooded, p. 296). state they can be used against ambushes or he uses
magic like Reflex Sidestep Technique (Exalted,
(Exalted, p.
Unblockable and Undodgeable Attacks 299). He still receives the benefits of any Permanent
These Charms prevent enemies from using Parry, Charms or Charms he’s already activated, but noth-
Evasion, or both to defend against an attack. ing can raise his effective Defense above 0 unless it
explicitly works against ambushes.
Celestial (Unblockable): Flashing Vengeance Draw
(Exalted, p. 258).

Celestial (Undodgeable): Cascade of Cutting Terror (Dragon-Blooded, p. 238) may create opportunities to
(Exalted, p. 416). launch ambushes.
Celestial (Unblockable and Undodgeable): Savage Withering Attack Deals Decisive Damage
Wolf Attack (Exalted, p. 419), Greatest Huntress
These Charms let a character deal decisive damage
Mastery (Lunars, p. 185), Blinding Nova Flare
with a withering attack.
(Exalted, p. 437),
Celestial: Flashing Edge of Dawn (Exalted, p. 351).
Terrestrial (Unblockable): Fulminating Thunderclap
Surge (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 142), Final Hour Terrestrial: Essence-Igniting Nerve Strike (Dragon-
Hastening (Arms of the Chosen, p. 56), Subtle Blooded, p. 294), Blizzard Claw Swipe (Arms of the
Rainbow Flame, Titanic Fist Devastation (Arms of the Chosen, p. 32).
Chosen, p. 29).

Terrestrial (Undodgeable): Death of Obsidian Defensive Effects

Butterflies (Exalted, p. 472), Seven-Sword Onslaught.
Avoid Death
Terrestrial (Unblockable and Undodgeable): These Charms let a character negate having their
Unfolding Retribution Strike (Dragon-Blooded, p. Incapacitated health level filled with damage.
305).
Celestial: Dual Magnus Prana (Exalted, p. 292),
Unexpected Attacks Inchoate Self Realization (Lunars, p. 234), Midsummer
These Charms make an attack count as a surprise at- Phoenix Resurrection, Soul Beyond Shape (Lunars, p.
tacks or ambushes (Exalted, p. 203). 262), Uncanny Shroud Defense (Exalted, p. 355).

Celestial (Surprise Attack): Foe-Vaulting Method Terrestrial: This effect isn’t typically available for
(Exalted, p. 261). Terrestrial play.

Celestial (Ambush): Crimson Razor Wind (Exalted, Bonuses to Defense

p. 418), Mind Shroud Meditation (Exalted, p. 407), These Charms either increase Defense or weaken an
Numberless Blows Technique (Lunars, p. 300). enemy’s attack roll.

Terrestrial (Surprise Attack): Averted Eyes Ambush, Celestial (Charm Bonus): Agile Beast Defense
Discreet Killing Speed, Don’t-Blink Swiftness, Teeth- (Lunars, p. 185), Fleet Gazelle Exercise (Lunars, p.
in-the-Grass Strike (Lunars, p. 307). 186), Shadow-Chased Silver Defense (Lunars, p. 188).

Terrestrial (Ambush): Charms that turn attacks into Celestial (Non-Charm): Dipping Swallow Defense
ambushes aren’t typically available for Terrestrial (Exalted, p. 346), Drifting Leaf Elusion (Exalted,
play, although Charms like Blossom Hides Thorns p. 300), Fourfold Shiver Binding (Exalted, p. 301),

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Hail-Shattering Practice (Exalted, p. 349), Reed in the Celestial: Disease-Purging Essence (Lunars, p. 257),
Wind (Exalted, p. 299), Scintillating Veil Illusion. Feed the Fever, Immunity to Everything Technique
(Exalted, p. 379), The Maiden Must Endure.
Terrestrial (Charm Bonus): Dream-Champion
Trance, Shimmering Heat-Mirage Tactic (Dragon- Terrestrial: Body-Cleansing Prana (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 267). Blooded, p. 247), The City Endures, Living Puppet
Reconstruction, Obsidian Tear Purgation, Roots-of-
Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Aura of Grasping Branches the-World Meditation (Dragon-Blooded, p. 196).
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 227), Bonfire Shadow Evasion
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 193), Fearsome Dragon Presence Defend Against Environmental Hazards
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 243), Flickering Candle These Charms enhance a character’s rolls to resist
Meditation (Dragon-Blooded, p. 190), Graceful environmental hazards or otherwise mitigate such
Flowing Deflection (Dragon-Blooded, p. 225), Snake hazards.
Form (Exalted, p. 428).
Celestial: Element-Resisting Prana (Exalted, p.
Create Armor 412), Fair Skies Nomad Approach, Perdurant Beast
These Charms let a character create armor, or other Perfection (Lunars, p. 261), Treading Flame and Briar.
defenses with armor traits.
Terrestrial: Apocalypse-Outlasting Posture (Heirs to
Celestial: Glorious Solar Plate (Exalted, p. 378), the Shogunate, p. 145), The City Endures, (Element)
Invulnerable Moonsilver Carapace (Lunars, p. 253), Protection Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 248),
Rough-Spun Hero Raiment. Eternal Elemental Harmony (Dragon-Blooded, p.
274), Lustrous Body Perfection.
Terrestrial: Becoming the Tower, Dragon-Graced
Raiment (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 145), Dressed Defend Against Poison
in Fantasia, Pearlescent Filigree Defense (Exalted, p. These Charms enhance a character’s rolls to resist
458), Radiant Warrior Raiment. poison or let a character resist poison already in her
system.
Create Cover
These Charms create barriers or similar sources of Celestial: Immunity to Everything Technique
cover. (Exalted, p. 379), The Maiden Must Endure, Scorpion-
and-Toad Absolution (Lunars, p. 257).
Celestial: Smoke and Shadow Cover (Exalted, p. 406).
Terrestrial: Body-Cleansing Prana (Dragon-
Terrestrial: Arbor Sentinel Technique (Dragon- Blooded, p. 247), The City Endures, Living Puppet
Blooded, p. 165), Fireglass Promenade Unfurling, Reconstruction, Obsidian Tear Purgation, Roots-of-
Shimmering Diamond Barrier, Stone-Sculpting the-World Meditation (Dragon-Blooded, p. 196).
Fortification (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 134),
Wayward Debris Whirlwind. Defend Against Shaping Effects
These Charms let a character defend against Shaping
Defend Against Crippling Effects effects.
These Charms let a character resist or mitigate crip-
pling effects. Celestial: Cold Iron Slumber, Destiny-Manifesting
Method (Exalted, p. 304), Invincible Solar Aegis
Celestial: Glorious Solar Plate (Exalted, p. 378), (Exalted, p. 309), Iron Attitude Refusal, Laughing into
Unbreakable Warrior’s Mastery (Exalted, p. 378), the Teeth of Madness (Lunars, p. 280), No Time for
Maimed But Unbroken (Lunars, p. 256). Idle Dreaming.

Terrestrial: Tenacious Centipede Technique (Lunars, Terrestrial: Embodiment of Order, Of Chaos Born,
p. 299). Six-Demon Scabbard Binding (Exalted, p. 437).

Defend Against Disease Defend Against Wyld Exposure

These Charms enhance a character’s rolls to resist These Charms let mitigate the harmful effects of expo-
disease or mitigate diseases she’s already contracted. sure to the Wyld.

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Celestial: Chaos-Repelling Pattern (Exalted, p. 330), Embodiment, Impervious Skin of Stone (Dragon-
Defender of the Harvest’s Order, Integrity-Protecting Blooded, p. 247), Living Wall Fortification, Refuse to
Prana (Exalted, p. 303), Wyld Migration Formation Shatter, Resilient Construction Technique.
(Lunars, p. 288), Wyld Tomb Rebirth.
Negate Ambushes
Terrestrial: Chaos-Conquering Mantle, Chaos- These Charms allow a character to defend normally
Warding Prana (Dragon-Blooded, p. 195), Nightmare against an ambush.
Odyssey Aria, Wyld-Warping Dominion.
Celestial: Omniscient Focus Strike (Miracles of
Gain Hardness the Solar Exalted, p. 21), Reflex Sidestep Technique
These Charms either grant a Hardness rating or in- (Exalted, p. 299), Hunted Stag Majesty (Lunars, p.
crease a character’s existing Hardness. 149), Observed Prey Instinct (Lunars, p. 236).

Celestial (Gain Hardness): Durability of Oak Terrestrial: Death-Pattern-Sensing Attitude

Meditation (Exalted, p. 374), Harvest-Hardened Skin, (Dragon-Blooded, p. 299).
Opalescent Body Aegis, Spurning All Calamity.
Negate Wound Penalties
Celestial (Increase Hardness): Frenzied Bear These Charms reduce a character’s wound penalty or
Fortification (Lunars, p. 254), Indestructible God- negate it entirely.
Monster Incarnation (Lunars, p. 255), Invincible
Berserker Approach (Lunars, p. 334), Strength of Her Celestial: Battle Fury Focus (Exalted, p. 378),
Convictions. Relentless Lunar Fury (Lunars, p. 262), Terrible
Wolverine Onslaught (Lunars, p. 263), Tireless
Terrestrial (Gain Hardness): Blithe Unruffled Harvest Technique, Wound-Swallowing Darkness.
Plumage (Dragon-Blooded, p. 307), Celestial Tiger
Hide (Exalted, p. 432), Dream-Champion Trance, Terrestrial: Nightmare-Taming Meditation, Unfeeling
Eternal Tide Endurance (Dragon-Blooded, p. 247), Earth Meditation (Dragon-Blooded, p. 248), Rimebound
Living Wall Fortification, Refuse to Shatter. Predator Endurance (Arms of the Chosen, p. 31).

Terrestrial (Increase Hardness): Stone Dragon’s Penalize Damage Roll

Skin (Dragon-Blooded, p. 290). These Charms reduce damage roll successes, either
by directly subtracting dice or successes or otherwise
Gain Temporary Health Levels interfering with the roll.
These Charms let a character gain temporary health
levels. Celestial: Adamant Skin Technique (Exalted, p.
377), Durability of Oak Meditation (Exalted, p. 374),
Celestial: Eternal Harvest Maiden, Iron Skin Heavenly Guardian Defense (Exalted, p. 349), Iron
Concentration (Exalted, p. 374), Wound-Swallowing Kettle Body (Exalted, p. 377), Vaporous Division
Darkness. (Exalted, p. 301), Stone Rhino’s Skin (Lunars, p. 253),
Unstoppable Juggernaut Incarnation (Lunars, p. 255).
Terrestrial: Aura of Invulnerability (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 245), Dream-Champion Trance, Terrestrial: Bone-Bending Puppetry Trick, Earth
Fathomless Depths Replenishment (Dragon- Bears Witness (Dragon-Blooded, p. 250), Ego-
Blooded, p. 249), Junkyard Colossus Technique. Wound Absorption, Enduring Dream Embodiment,
Ripples-on-Water Defense (Dragon-Blooded, p. 250),
Increase Soak Countless Coils Evasion (Exalted, p. 430).
These Charms raise a character’s soak.
Perfect Defense
Celestial: Agony-Shrouding Darkness, Opalescent Body These Charms let a character defend against an attack
Aegis, Impenetrable Beast-Armor (Lunars, p. 251), Nail without any possibility of it hitting or dealing damage.
Defies Hammer, Spirit Strengthens the Skin (Exalted, p.
374), Steadfast Yeddim Meditation (Lunars, p. 254). Celestial: Seven Shadow Evasion (Exalted, p. 301).

Terrestrial: Aura of Invulnerability (Dragon- Terrestrial: Bottomless Depths Defense (Dragon-

Blooded, p. 245), Auroral Mantle, Enduring Dream Blooded, p. 296).

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Prevent Hostile Action Terrestrial (Charm Bonus): Along a Thread, Danger-

These Charms forbid enemies from taking certain Evading Causeway, Petal-Strewn Pavane (Dragon-
hostile actions unless they can overcome the Charm’s Blooded, p. 241), Unbreakable Stallion Spirit (Dragon-
influence. Blooded, p. 255).

Celestial: Majestic Radiant Presence (Exalted, p. Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Bellows-Pumping Stride

370), Respect-Commanding Attitude (Exalted, p. (Dragon-Blooded, p. 168), Creation-Turning Hoof
362), Lightning-Calling Challenge (Lunars, p. 166), (Dragon-Blooded, p. 252), Dancing Ember Stride
Terrifying Bestial Visage (Lunars, p. 147). (Dragon-Blooded, p. 171), Dancing Spider Stride,
Every Road a Shortcut.
Terrestrial: Bow Before Your Queen, Moth to the
Candle (Dragon-Blooded, p. 243), Unbreakable Bypass Obstacles
Fascination Kata (Dragon-Blooded, p. 299). These Charms allow a character to move through walls
and similar obstructions.
Redirect Attacks
These Charms redirect an attack against the Exalt to Celestial: Door-Evading Technique (Exalted, p. 321),
another character. Flickering Shadow Ways, Shadow-Crossing Leap
Technique (Exalted, p. 408).
Celestial: Drifting Shadow Focus (Exalted, p. 300).
Terrestrial: Flowing Dragon-God Stance (Dragon-
Terrestrial: Arrow-Gathering Web, Safety Among Blooded, p. 206), Inconvenience Rightly Ignored,
Enemies (Dragon-Blooded, p. 191). One-With-Earth Embodiment (Dragon-Blooded, p.
174), Wall-Diving Foray.
Regenerate Damage
These Charms let a character heal damage she’s Flight
suffered. These Charms allow a character to fly or otherwise
move through the air.
Celestial: Halting the Scarlet Flow (Lunars, p. 256),
Harm-Dismissing Meditation (Exalted, p. 303), Tiger Celestial: Eagle-Wing Style (Exalted, p. 265), Cloud
Warrior’s Endurance (Exalted, p. 377), Wild Weed Trapeze (Lunars, p. 312).
Undying.
Terrestrial: Anchored to the Sky, Soaring Zephyr
Terrestrial: Cracked Porcelain Restoration, Elemental Flight (Dragon-Blooded, p. 169), Untethered Pegasus
Succor Method (Dragon-Blooded, p. 218), Roots- Flight (Dragon-Blooded, p. 253), Wings Spread to Sky
of-the-World Meditation (Dragon-Blooded, p. 196), (Exalted, p. 445), Cirrus Skiff (Exalted, p. 471).
Well-Tended Garden of the Soul (Dragon-Blooded, p.
250). Move Over Liquid
These Charms allow a character to move over water or
Mobility Effects other liquid or unstable surfaces.

Bonuses on Movement Actions Celestial: Feather Foot Style (Exalted, p. 263).

These Charms either add dice or successes on a move- Terrestrial: Cloud-Dancing Footwork, Ice-Slick
ment action roll, modify the roll beneficially, or weaken Tread Technique (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 129).
an enemy’s opposing roll.
Move Through Multiple Range Bands
Celestial (Charm Bonus): Hurricane Spirit Speed
These Charms let a character cross multiple range
(Exalted, p. 265), Immortal Charger’s Gallop (Exalted, p.
bands with a single movement action.
382), Instinct-Driven Beast Movement (Lunars, p. 189).
Celestial: Godspeed Steps (Exalted, p. 265),
Celestial (Non-Charm): Lightning Speed (Exalted,
Mountain-Crossing Leap Technique (Exalted, p. 265),
p. 262), Living Wind Approach (Exalted, p. 266),
Bounding Hare Evasion (Lunars, p. 190), Relentless
Untouchable Horseman’s Attitude (Exalted, p. 382),
Cheetah Pace (Lunars, p. 191), Unsuspecting Victim
Predator Grace Technique (Lunars, p. 190), Shadow-
Pursuit.
Walker’s Grace.

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Terrestrial: Dancing Ember Stride (Dragon-Blooded, Celestial (Non-Charm): Irresistible Salesman Spirit
p. 171), Hunting Spider Pursuit, Leaping Mantis (Exalted, p. 285), Tiger’s Dream Symmetry (Exalted,
Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 304), Playhouse- p. 370), Feral Smile Tactic (Lunars, p. 146), Heart-
Haunting Phantasm, Portal to Portal. Snaring Deception (Lunars, p. 218), Snarling Outburst
Rebuke (Lunars, p. 168).
Move Up Walls
These Charms let a character move up walls or while Terrestrial (Charm Bonus): Crystalline Polyphony
standing upside-down on ceilings and similar surfaces. Counterpoint, Voice-Uplifting Aspect (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 240).
Celestial: Spider Foot Style (Exalted, p. 263), Spider-
Climbing Attitude (Lunars, p. 189). Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Dragon’s Voice
Mastery (Dragon-Blooded, p. 212), Ersatz Troupe
Terrestrial: Ascending Causeway Stride, Ascending Performance, Reality-Supplanting Influence, Swaying
Strand Approach, Cloud-Dancing Footwork, Incense Boughs Arabesque (Dragon-Blooded, p. 241), Talented
Smoke Ladder (Dragon-Blooded, p. 169). Improvisation (Dragon-Blooded, p. 236), Thoughtful
Gift Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 182).
Move Without Using Movement Actions
These Charms let a character move without it count- Bonuses on Read Intentions Rolls
ing as her movement action for the round. These Charms either add dice or successes on a read
intentions roll, modify the roll beneficially, or weaken
Celestial: Direct Approach, One Extra Step (Exalted, an enemy’s Guile.
p. 266), Reaping Row by Row, Swift Killer Style
(Lunars, p. 189). Celestial (Non-Charm): Humble Servant Approach
(Exalted, p. 394), Motive-Discerning Technique
Terrestrial: Become the Wave (Dragon-Blooded, p. (Exalted, p. 393), Exquisite Heart’s Taste (Lunars, p.
179), Nova Breaker (Arms of the Chosen, p. 36). 244), Motive-Dissecting Eye (Lunars, p. 245), Taste of
the Heart.
Reflexive Movement
These Charms allow characters to move or take a Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Like Minds Deduction,
movement action reflexively, often outside of their Loyalty-Reading Meditation (Dragon-Blooded, p.
turn in combat. 261), Master-and-Servant Understanding, Perfect
World Anticipation, Shadow-Dispersing Radiance
Celestial: Elusive Mount Technique (Exalted, p. (Dragon-Blooded, p. 263), Watcher in the Night.
380), Leaping Dodge Method (Exalted, p. 299), Foe-
Baiting Sidestep (Lunars, p. 186), Silver Jaguar Pounce Bonuses to Guile
(Lunars, p. 190). These Charms either increase Guile or weaken an en-
emy’s opposing roll.
Terrestrial: Balustrade Runner Stride, Ebony Spur
Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 252), Hopping Celestial (Charm Bonus): False Heart Affectation,
Firecracker Evasion (Dragon-Blooded, p. 191), Guarded Thoughts Meditation (Exalted, p. 396), Soul
Rolling-With-the-Wind Method (Lunars, p. 307), of Sincerity.
Swift Exeunt Departure, World-Mocking Evasion.
Celestial (Non-Charm): Haunted Mind Meditation,
Social Effects Seven-Veiled Visage (Lunars, p. 277), Veil-Rending
Scrutiny (Lunars, p. 246).
Bonuses on Influence Rolls
Terrestrial (Charm Bonus): Implacable Dragon Mien
These Charms either add dice or successes on an in-
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 266), Placid Smile Masquerade,
fluence roll, modify the roll beneficially, or weaken an
Unfaltering Superiority.
enemy’s Resolve.
Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Epoch Saga Memory
Celestial (Charm Bonus): Crowned King of Eternity
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 239), Foe-Snaring Ruse, Secret
(Exalted, p. 373), Harmonious Presence Mediation
Flame Brilliance, Sleepwalker’s Fugue, Smoke-
(Exalted, p. 369), Sacred Beast Embodiment (Lunars,
Wreathed Mien (Dragon-Blooded, p. 261).
p. 152).

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Bonuses to Resolve Bonus Appearance

These Charms either increase Resolve or weaken an These Charms grant bonus dots of Appearance.
enemy’s influence roll.
Celestial: Awakened Carnal Demiurge (Exalted,
Celestial (Charm Bonus): All-Consuming Despair, p. 371), Beautiful Monster Transformation, Perfect
Stubborn Boar Defense (Exalted, p. 303). Symmetry (Lunars, p. 146).

Celestial (Non-Charm): Beast-Mind Metanoia Terrestrial: Clothed in Flame, Perfection of Aesthetics,

(Lunars, p. 282), Empty Heart Defiance, Grudge- Rose Blooms by Night, Seven-Color Imperium Regalia,
Nursing Resentment (Lunars, p. 279), Hard-Nosed Vivacious Dragon Beauty (Dragon-Blooded, p. 245).
Denial Style (Lunars, p. 166), Intransigent Silver Soul
(Lunars, p. 282), Perfect Fear Scent (Lunars, p. 151), Break Psyche Effects
Unhesitating Dedication (Exalted, p. 309). These Charms can end Psyche effects used on oneself
or others.
Terrestrial (Charm Bonus): City Mouse Savvy, Civic
Spirit Dedication, Flawless Heart Technique, Honing Celestial: Chain-Breaking Fury (Lunars, p. 280), Cold
the Heart’s Facets, Oath of Ten Thousand Dragons Iron Slumber, Commanded to Fly (Lunars, p. 223),
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 194), Point of No Return. Transcendent Hero’s Meditation (Exalted, p. 308).

Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Diamond Mind Terrestrial: Immolating Phoenix-Soul Fury (Dragon-

Concentration, Epoch Saga Memory (Dragon- Blooded, p. 196), Sovereign Mind Bastion.
Blooded, p. 239), Fearsome Dragon Presence
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 243), Thicker Than Stone Bypass Language Barriers
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 196), Waves-Swallow-Mountains These Charms enable communication without the
Persistence (Dragon-Blooded, p. 196). need for a shared language or allow for rapid learning
of languages.

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(Dragon-Blooded, p. 237), Pulling the Crowd’s Strings,

BONUS DOTS AND Soul-Exciting Catharsis, Unbearable Taunt Technique
CHARM CALCULATIONS (Dragon-Blooded, p. 242).

Expand Read Intentions

When a Charm uses a trait rating as a variable,
These Charms expand the types of information that
it uses only a character’s base rating in that trait,
not counting any bonus dots added by Charms can be gleaned through a read intentions action.
like Increasing Strength Exercise (Exalted
(Exalted,, p.
Celestial: Darkened Soul Interrogation, Knowing
262). However, bonus dots are included for calcu-
lations that don’t involve Charms or other mag- the Soul’s Price (Exalted, p. 399), Cautious Rat
ic, such as determining whether a character’s Concentration (Lunars, p. 244), Fellow Hound Insight
Strength is sufficient to attempt a feat of strength (Lunars, p. 243), Stranger-Appraising Wariness,
(Exalted
Exalted,, p. 229), when calculating soak (Exalt-
(Exalt- Understanding the Herd (Lunars, p. 243), Unkind Eye
ed,, p. 195), or when calculating how many dice
ed Omen, Your Worst Day.
Appearance adds to an influence roll (Exalted,
(Exalted, p.
218). The one exception is Charms that compare Terrestrial: City Mouse Eye, Market-Reading Glance,
a character’s Appearance to an opposing charac- Reading the Unspoken Word (Dragon-Blooded,
ter’s Resolve to calculate an effect — such effects p. 212), Sense the Soul’s Fire, Testing the Waters
include bonus dots of Appearance, just like with (Dragon-Blooded, p. 181), Rumor-Dredging Gaze
influence rolls. (Dragon-Blooded, p. 266).

Fool Read Intentions

These Charms cause read intentions rolls to provide
Celestial: Excellent Emissary’s Tongue (Exalted, altered or false results.
p. 328), Glance-Oration Technique (Lunars, p. 145),
Neighboring Village Dialect, Poetic Expression Style Celestial: Easily-Discarded Presence Method
(Exalted, p. 324), Stolen Voice Echo (Lunars, p. 197). (Exalted, p. 396), Inner Demon Critique, Inverted Ego
Mask (Exalted, p. 397), Labyrinth of the Beast (Lunars,
Terrestrial: Bustling Plaza Interlocution, Common p. 228), River Reflects Desire (Lunars, p. 229).
Parlance Tactic, Language-Learning Ritual (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 210), Speech Without Words (Dragon- Terrestrial: As Seen by Others’ Eyes, Blithe Acceptance
Blooded, p. 210), Universal Story Instincts, Unspoken Feint, False Heartstring Trick, Rippling Mirror Face
Dream Dialogue. (Dragon-Blooded, p. 266), Smoke Without Flame
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 264).
Detect Lies
These Charms let characters discern when others lie. Force Decision Points
Instill rolls and inspire rolls don’t normally require
Celestial: Judge’s Ear Technique (Exalted, p. 312), a Decision Point (Exalted, p. 219) to resist, but these
Forked Tongue Discernment (Lunars, p. 242). Charms change that.

Terrestrial: Foul Stench of Lies Discernment Celestial: Soul-Firing Performance (Exalted, p. 361),
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 201). Crowd-Inciting Fervor (Lunars, p. 165).

Determine Inspired Action Terrestrial: Fervor-Inciting Brushstrokes (Dragon-

While the outcome of an inspire roll is normally de- Blooded, p. 209), Soul-Stirring Performance (Dragon-
termined by the player of the inspired character, these Blooded, p. 236).
Charms let a character dictate or influence the actions
compelled by their inspire rolls. Impose Virtual Intimacies
These Charms allow you to use social influence against
Celestial: Fury Inciting Speech (Exalted, p. 364), others as though they held certain Intimacies.
Monk-Seducing Demon Dance (Exalted, p. 367),
Passion-Unbinding Bacchanalia (Lunars, p. 153). Celestial: Mastery of Small Manners (Exalted, p. 393),
Preying on Uncertainty Approach (Exalted, p. 316),
Terrestrial: Burning Sins Seduction (Dragon- Alluring Scent Technique (Lunars, p. 147), Cuckoo’s
Blooded, p. 206), Immolating Passion Alleluia Nest Hospitality (Lunars, p. 158), Predator-and-Prey

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Mirror (Lunars, p. 146), The Shadow Who Wasn’t Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 246), Flowing
There (Lunars, p. 218). Authority Insinuation (Dragon-Blooded, p. 186),
Gossamer Cobweb Fabrication, Leave Them Wanting
Terrestrial: Dragon Mariner Attitude (Dragon- More, Mesmerizing Siren Call (Dragon-Blooded, p.
Blooded, p. 257), Impeccable Purity Lavation 237), Smoothing-Over-the-Past Technique (Dragon-
(Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 146), Shells-for-Silver Blooded, p. 265), Stoking the Embers of Excess.
Ruse (Dragon-Blooded, p. 182), Sweeten-the-Tap
Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 262). Reset Social Actions
These Charms reset a failed social action.
Increase Willpower Cost to Resist
These Charms increase the cost of resisting social Celestial: Dauntless Assayer Method (Exalted, p.
influence. 395), Grows-in-the-Telling Technique (Lunars, p.
221), Obsession-Building Presence (Lunars, p. 151),
Celestial: Blood-Stained Reaper’s Prize, Fulminating Perspective-Shifting Persistence (Lunars, p. 246),
Word (Exalted, p. 371), Goddess Crowned by Horns Songbird’s Eternal Refrain (Lunars, p. 168).
(Lunars, p. 170), Soul-Snaring Pitch (Exalted, p. 286),
Eagle-Among-Sparrows Attitude (Lunars, p. 170). Terrestrial: Grinding Millstone Argument (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 243).
Terrestrial: Dragon’s Voice Mastery (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 212), Heartstring-Pulling Approach Subterfuge Effects
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 245), Lies-Upon-Lies Approach,
Reality-Supplanting Influence, Thorns-and-Roses Act Without Breaking Stealth
Eloquence, Waltz of Honeyed Wine (Dragon-Blooded,
These Charms allow a character to attack or take simi-
p. 242), Wyrm’s Appetite Instigation.
lar actions without losing the benefits of concealment.
Overcome Decision Points
Celestial: Killing Shroud Technique (Miracles of
These Charms let a character spend Willpower in a the Solar Exalted, p. 33), Observer-Deceiving Attack
Decision Point even if they don’t have an applicable (Exalted, p. 417).
Intimacy of the requisite intensity.
Terrestrial: This effect isn’t typically available for
Celestial: Argent-Etched Taboo (Lunars, p. 281), Strength Terrestrial play.
from Conviction Stance (Miracles of the Solar Exalted,
p. 13), True-to-the-Pack Dedication (Lunars, p. 279). Bonuses on Larceny Rolls
These Charms either add dice or successes on a
Terrestrial: Beating Heart Vivisection, Incarnate Law
Larceny roll, modify the roll beneficially, or weaken an
Devotion, Unshattered Diamond Parables (Dragon-
enemy’s opposing roll.
Blooded, p. 211).
Celestial (Non-Charm): Flawlessly Impenetrable
Psyche Effects
Disguise (Exalted, p. 317), Flawless Pickpocketing
These Charms warp or control the mind so as to have Technique (Exalted, p. 316), Lock-Opening Touch
the Psyche keyword. (Exalted, p. 317), Shifting Silver Masquerade (Lunars,
p. 231), Snake-Finger Style (Lunars, p. 192).
Celestial: Hypnotic Tongue Technique (Exalted,
p. 372), Memory-Reweaving Discipline (Exalted, p. Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Artful Flowing Theft
363), Twisted Words Technique (Exalted, p. 327), (Dragon-Blooded, p. 204), Citizen of All Nations,
Unbreakable Fascination Method (Exalted, p. 329), Flowing Body Disguise (Dragon-Blooded, p. 202),
Butterfly Eyes Mirage (Lunars, p. 233), False Burrow Gala-Plundering Elegance, Instant Disguise Prana
Pursuit (Lunars, p. 222), Forgetful Victim Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 205), Nimble Thief’s Fingers
(Lunars, p. 224), Trash-is-Treasure Misdirection (Dragon-Blooded, p. 202).
(Lunars, p. 223), Unceasing Hunger Affliction
(Lunars, p. 168). Bonuses on Stealth Actions
These Charms either add dice or successes on a Stealth
Terrestrial: Distraction of the Babbling Brook
roll, modify the roll beneficially, or weaken an enemy’s
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 184), Entombed Mind
opposing roll.

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Celestial (Charm Bonus): Blurred Form Style Celestial: Rumor of Form (Exalted, p. 301), Shadow-
(Exalted, p. 405), Midnight Phantom Movement Striking Way (Miracles of the Solar Exalted, p. 34),
(Lunars, p. 192). Elusive Prey Approach (Lunars, p. 192), Twisting
Penumbra Veil (Lunars, p. 193).
Celestial (Non-Charm): Fivefold Shadow Burial
(Exalted, p. 408), Perfect Shadow Stillness (Exalted, p. Terrestrial: Knife-in-the-Back Finesse, Smoke
403), Clover Can’t Be Found (Lunars, p. 160), Cryptic Burst Eruption (Dragon-Blooded, p. 276), Stepping
Unknown Beast (Lunars, p. 193), Skulking Rat Spirit Backstage Approach.
(Lunars, p. 191), Unseen Predator Menace (Lunars, p.
191). Warfare Effects
Terrestrial (Charm Bonus): Shun the Spotlight. Bonuses on Command Actions
Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Dragon Shroud Technique These Charms either add dice or successes on a com-
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 269), Fade Into the Cast, Flowing mand action roll or modify the roll beneficially.
Shadow Stance (Dragon-Blooded, p. 267), Shadowed
Celestial (Charm Bonus): Rout-Stemming Gesture
Alley Disappearance, Shun the Spotlight, Vanishing
(Exalted, p. 421), Pack Leader Attitude (Exalted, p.
Wind-Body Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 267).
173), Silver-Maned Warlord Glory (Lunars, p. 162).
Create Concealment
Celestial (Non-Charm): Four Glories Meditation
These Charms create concealment sufficient to at- (Exalted, p. 423), Glorious Battle Presence (Lunars, p.
tempt a Stealth roll. 161), Ideal Battle Knowledge Prana (Exalted, p. 421),
March of the Returner (Exalted, p. 423), Rustic Battle-
Celestial: Candle-Eating Rat Trick (Lunars, p. 232),
Saint Call, Silver General Foresight (Lunars, p. 214).
Impenetrable Veil of Night (Exalted, p. 477).
Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Blazing Courageous
Terrestrial: The Curtain Falls, Smoke Burst Eruption
Swordsman Inspiration (Dragon-Blooded, p. 279),
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 276), Fog-Raising Gesture (Arms
Frontline Daring Exploits, Parading Puppet Formation,
of the Chosen, p. 58).
Triumphant Royalty Attitude, Shimmering Legion
Enter Stealth Without Concealment Mirage.
These Charms let a character roll Stealth even in the Bonuses on Strategic Maneuvers
absence of terrain or conditions that offer concealment.
These Charms either add dice or successes on a
Celestial: Blurred Form Style (Exalted, p. 405), Subtle Strategic Maneuver roll, modify the roll beneficially, or
Chameleon Practice (Lunars, p. 157). weaken an enemy’s opposing roll.

Terrestrial: Hidden Among the Colonnades, Shroud Celestial (Non-Charm): Dauntless Soil Defender,
of Unseen Winds (Dragon-Blooded, p. 288). Four Glories Meditation (Exalted, p. 423), Lay-of-the-
Land Tactics, Predator’s Deadly Cunning (Lunars, p.
Mute Mote Expenditures 214), Redoubt-Raising Gesture (Exalted, p. 421), Silver
These Charms grant the Mute keyword to other Lion Supremacy (Lunars, p. 215).
Charms or expenditures of Essence.
Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Blessed Dragon Champion
Celestial: Phantom Hood Technique (Exalted, p. 317), (Dragon-Blooded, p. 283), Changing Winds Cunning
Inexplicable Mystery Incarnation (Lunars, p. 219), (Dragon-Blooded, p. 280), Choking Weeds Tactic
Night Stalker Approach (Lunars, p. 191). (Dragon-Blooded, p. 280), Excellence of the Dutiful
General (Dragon-Blooded, p. 279).
Terrestrial: Whispering Dragon Soul (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 267). Expand Strategic Maneuver
These Charms expand a character’s range of options
Reflexive Stealth when making a Strategic Maneuver roll, allowing them
These Charms allow Stealth rolls to be made reflexively. to deploy unique stratagems, combine multiple strata-
gems, and the like.

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Celestial: Battle-Visionary’s Foresight (Exalted, p.

423), General of the All-Seeing Sun (Exalted, p. 422),
Craft Effects
Quicksilver Strategy Meditation (Lunars, p. 215), Ten
Accelerate Crafting
Sheaves’ General.
These Charms reduce the amount of time needed to
Terrestrial: Fog-of-War Misdirection (Dragon- complete a Craft project.
Blooded, p. 282), Hidden Thorn Treachery (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 282), Storm-Calling Strategos (Dragon- Celestial: Cherished Hammer Partnership, Craftsman
Blooded, p. 280). Needs No Tools (Exalted, p. 292), Ever-Ready
Innovation Discipline (Miracles of the Solar Exalted,
Grant Might p. 11), Manifest Miracle Forging (Lunars, p. 213),
These Charms grant a battle group Might. Pattern-Realizing Genius (Lunars, p. 211), Thousand-
Forge Hands (Exalted, p. 293).
Celestial: Invincible Beast-Warrior Empowerment
(Lunars, p. 176), Soul of the Last Stand, Tiger Warrior Terrestrial: Crystal Spire Conjuration, Flashing Topaz
Training Technique (Exalted, p. 421), War-Scythe Improvisation, Fortune-From-Flotsam Ingenuity
Benediction. (Dragon-Blooded, p. 189), Stone-Carving Fingers
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 187), Swift Dollmaker Style,
Terrestrial: Hell-War Veteran’s Benison (Arms of Workman Blames No Tool.
the Chosen, p. 79), Homeward Banner Militia, Mela’s
Frozen Legion (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 174), Bonuses on Craft Rolls
Polestar Strategos Avatar. These Charms either add dice or successes on a Craft
roll or modify the roll beneficially.
Increase Drill
These Charms increase a battle group’s Drill. Celestial (Non-Charm): Hundred Winters
Workmanship, Plowshares to Swords, Silver Crucible
Celestial: Militia-Empowering Mess Hall, Tiger Refinement (Lunars, p. 212), Stubborn Maiden
Warrior Training Technique (Exalted, p. 421), Wolf- Handiwork, Supreme Masterwork Focus (Exalted, p.
Pack Training Technique (Lunars, p. 174). 297).

Terrestrial: Homeward Banner Militia, Rally the Terrestrial (Non-Charm): Careful Stitch Method,
Sapphire Knights. Every Work a Glory, Flawless Facet Realization
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 188), Hammer Guides the Smith,
Perfect Morale Prismatic Design Realization, Strike the Dragon-Anvil
These Charms grant battle groups perfect morale (Dragon-Blooded, p. 188).
(Exalted, p. 210).
Convert Craft Points
Celestial: Soul of the Last Stand, Starving Beast These Charms let a character convert craft points of
Bloodthirst (Lunars, p. 175), Tiger Warrior Training one type to another.
Technique (Exalted, p. 421).
Celestial: Sublime Transference (Exalted, p. 289),
Terrestrial: Indomitable Flame of Valor (Dragon- Ever-Mutable Prowess (Lunars, p. 212).
Blooded, p. 283).
Terrestrial: Diamond Dust Insights, Talents-to-Obols
Reflexive Command Actions Refinement (Dragon-Blooded, p. 188).
These Charms let a character take a command action
reflexively. Gain Craft Points
These Charms grant craft points (Exalted, p. 239).
Celestial: Rout-Stemming Gesture (Exalted, p. 421),
Supremacy of the Divine Army (Exalted, p. 423), Celestial (White): Divine Transcendence of Crafts
Argent Battle Exemplar (Lunars, p. 162), Victorious (Exalted, p. 294), Fallen Star Kernel. This effect is typi-
Beast-King Spirit (Lunars, p. 161). cally limited to Solars and comparably powerful Exalted.

Terrestrial: This effect isn’t typically available for Celestial (Gold and Silver): Beast-Slayer’s Art (Lunars,
Terrestrial play. p. 210), Dreaming Wisdom Revelation (Lunars, p. 198),

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Endless Ingenuity Approach (Lunars, p. 211), Fallen Star Celestial: Anointment of Miraculous Health (Exalted,
Kernel, God-Skinning Hunter Art (Lunars, p. 213), Peerless p. 344), Bone-Mending Technique (Lunars, p. 200),
Paragon of Craft (Exalted, p. 292), Supreme Perfection of Sustaining Bounty, Wound-Mending Care Technique
Craft (Exalted, p. 293), Village-Sustaining Industry. (Exalted, p. 342).

Terrestrial (White): This effect isn’t typically avail- Terrestrial: Bloodied in My Name, Poppet-Mending
able for Terrestrial play. Chirurgeon, Rebirth of Flesh and Ivy (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 223), Ruin-Raising Concentration,
Terrestrial (Gold and Silver): Brick-and-Mortar Wound-Closing Touch (Dragon-Blooded, p. 221).
Sage, Every Work a Glory, Flawless Facet Realization
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 188), Imperious Muse Heal Derangements
Inspiration, Stoking Inspiration’s Forge (Dragon- These Charms can heal or mitigate Derangements.
Blooded, p. 190), Tithe of Applause.
Celestial: Wholeness-Restoring Meditation (Exalted,
Healing Effects p. 344), Midnight Soul Reprieve (Lunars, p. 201).

Accelerate Healing Terrestrial: Brow-Splitting Diamond, Chaos-Banishing

Revelation Gesture (Dragon-Blooded, p. 234), Purity-
These Charms increase the rate at which the Exalt or
of-Mind Method (Dragon-Blooded, p. 222).
another character heals naturally.
Heal Disease
Celestial: Bear Sleep Technique (Lunars, p. 256),
Body-Mending Meditation (Exalted, p. 375), Fallow These Charms aid in treating disease.
Land Renewal.
Celestial: Ailment-Rectifying Method (Exalted, p.
Terrestrial: Auroral Convalescence Method, 341), Plague-Banishing Incitation (Exalted, p. 341),
Harmonious Life-Affirming Song (Dragon-Blooded, Moonlit Cauldron Apothecary (Lunars, p. 199),
p. 236), Stolen Moments Catnap. Plague-Swallowing Kiss (Lunars, p. 199).

Heal Aggravated Damage Terrestrial: Alleyway Chirurgeon Expertise, Disease-

Banishing Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 220),
These Charms can heal aggravated damage or down-
Dying Ember Dirge, Miasma-Dispelling Purity.
grade it to bashing or lethal damage.
Heal Poison
Celestial: Sustaining Bounty, Wound-Cleansing
Meditation (Exalted, p. 342). These Charms aid in treating poison.

Terrestrial: Cracked Porcelain Restoration, Grievous Celestial: Body-Purifying Admonitions (Exalted, p.

Wound Alteration Energy (Dragon-Blooded, p. 222), 344), Moonlit Cauldron Apothecary (Lunars, p. 199).
Ruin-Raising Concentration.
Terrestrial: Alleyway Chirurgeon Expertise, Dying
Heal Crippling Effects Ember Dirge, Miasma-Dispelling Purity, Ruin-Raising
Concentration, Venom Expulsion Method (Dragon-
These Charms heal or mitigate crippling effects.
Blooded, p. 221).
Celestial: Blood-and-Silage Mending, Starfish-and-
Heal Psyche Effects
Salamander Meditation (Lunars, p. 202), Wholeness-
Restoring Meditation (Exalted, p. 344), Wound- These Charms can end Psyche effects afflicting anoth-
Banishing Strike (Exalted, p. 342). er character.

Terrestrial: Perfected Diamond Embodiment, Celestial: Midnight Soul Reprieve (Lunars, p. 201).
Phantom Limb Reconstruction, Rebirth of Flesh
Terrestrial: Chaos-Banishing Revelation Gesture
and Ivy (Dragon-Blooded, p. 223), Ruin-Raising
(Dragon-Blooded, p. 234).
Concentration.
Heal Shaping Effects
Heal Damage
These Charms can end Shaping effects afflicting an-
These Charms can heal levels of damage taken by oth-
other character.
er characters.

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Celestial: Order-Affirming Blow (Exalted, p. 334), Celestial: Gloaming Eye Understanding (Exalted, p.
Crimson-and-Silver Rebirth (Lunars, p. 206). 359), God-Body Consumption (Lunars, p. 250), Spirit-
Sealing Talisman (Lunars, p. 208).
Terrestrial: Purifying Dragon Suspiration (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 234). Terrestrial: Fourfold Maw Enlightenment (Heirs to
the Shogunate, p. 159), Tutelary Divinity Embodiment.
Spirit Interaction Effects
Materialize Allied Spirits
Attack Dematerialized Characters These Charms let a character materialize allied spirits,
These Charms allow a character to attack dematerial- without requiring those spirits to pay the cost for doing
ized enemies. so. Be mindful of the fact that this effect is particularly
powerful in the hands of a sorcerer who can bring
Celestial: Scythe of Soul’s Harvest, Spirit-Cutting dematerialized spirit servants with them undetected.
Technique (Exalted, p. 354), Spirit-Rending Fury
(Lunars, p. 247). Celestial: Material Exegesis Prana (Exalted, p. 357),
Spirit-Manifesting Word (Exalted, p. 355).
Terrestrial: Shrine-Tender’s Banishing Chant,
Skyfire-Between-Worlds Veil, Spirit-Flaying Lash, Terrestrial: This effect isn’t typically available at
Spirit-Grounding Shout (Dragon-Blooded, p. 231). Terrestrial play.

Dematerialize Materialize Spirits Forcibly

These Charms allow a character to dematerialize. This These Charms can force a spirit to materialize.
is an uncommon effect for Exalted Charms, and should
Celestial: Devil-Restraining Grip (Lunars, p. 248), God-
be employed very carefully, and should usually include
Reaping Tune, Keeper of Midnight’s Gates (Lunars, p.
either a limit on how they can be used or a weakness
204), Phantom-Seizing Strike (Exalted, p. 355).
that allows materialized characters to still attempt to
interact with the Exalt. Terrestrial: Doors of the City Unseen, Fireglass Idol
Incarnation, God-Binding Strings, Spirit-Chaining
Celestial: Silver Ripple Mirage (Lunars, p. 160).
Strike (Dragon-Blooded, p. 231).
Destroy Spirits Permanently
Perceive Dematerialized Characters
These Charms allow gods and other immortal spirits to
These Charms allow a character to perceive the
be slain permanently. Charms intended for Terrestrial
dematerialized.
play usually bind or diminish the spirit instead, allow-
ing the possibility of escape or return. Celestial: Ethereal Predator Concentration, Spirit-
Detecting Glance (Exalted, p. 354), Spirit-Hunting
Celestial: Demon-Drinking Fang (Lunars, p. 247),
Hound (Exalted, p. 412), Perceiving the Hidden World
Ghost-Eating Technique (Exalted, p. 354), God-
(Lunars, p. 247), Whispers from the Fields.
Reaper’s Mercy.
Terrestrial: Quivering Spirit Discernment, Shrine-
Terrestrial: Anathema-Sealing Tomb (Dragon-
Tender’s Subtle Eye, Spirit-Detecting Mirror
Blooded, p. 234), Demon-Binding Diamond Wisdom.
Technique (Dragon-Blooded, p. 230), Subtle Realm
Exorcism Instincts.
These Charms can drive out possessing spirits.
Miscellaneous Effects
Celestial: Burning Exorcism Technique (Exalted, p.
356), Divine Tether Shearing, Ghost-Banishing Howl Accelerate Overland Travel
(Lunars, p. 204). These Charms let characters swiftly travel long
distances.
Terrestrial: Blazing Purification Chant (Dragon-
Blooded, p. 233), Bleak Sapphire Bezoar. Celestial: Cloud Trapeze (Lunars, p. 312), Seven-
League Stride, Trackless Region Navigation (Exalted,
Learn Eclipse Charms p. 409), Travel Without Distance (Exalted, p. 480),
These Charms let characters learn Eclipse Charms. Wind-Racing Essence Infusion (Exalted, p. 380).

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Terrestrial: Far-Wandering Anthem, Footbridge-and- Terrestrial: Elemental Empowerment Meditation

Causeway Journey, Seven-League Gallop (Dragon- (Dragon-Blooded, p. 216), Oncoming Storm Stance
Blooded, p. 255), Tireless Caravan Prana (Dragon- (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 140), Rainbow Palace
Blooded, p. 273). Dominion, Tithe of Applause, The Wind Turns
(Dragon-Blooded, p; 219).
Accelerate Projects
These Charms reduce the amount of time needed for Gain Willpower
an organization to complete a project or other bureau- These Charms grant points of Willpower.
cratic task.
Celestial: Dancing With Strife Technique (Exalted, p.
Celestial: Beloved Forewoman Exemplar, Speed the 278), Fallen Star Kernel, Festive Fertility Rite, Field-
Wheels (Exalted, p. 285), Stoking the Fever-Forge. Born Champion, Spirit-Tempering Practice (Exalted,
p. 308), Strawmaiden’s Heart, Unstoppable Magnus
Terrestrial: Dashing Brook Method (Dragon- Approach (Exalted, p. 341), Willpower-Enhancing
Blooded, p. 182), Labor-Empowering Campaign. Spirit (Exalted, p. 377).

Acquire Minions Terrestrial: Flawed Bloodstone Radiance, Glorious

These Charms create or summon other characters. Birthright Font (Dragon-Blooded, p. 219), The
Mountain Still Stands (Dragon-Blooded, p. 197),
Celestial: Ant-and-Starfish Trick (Lunars, p. 193), Perfect Plan Satisfaction, Tithe of Applause.
Demon of the Second Circle (Exalted, p. 477), Demon
of the Third Circle (Exalted, p. 482), Ephemeral Increase Effective Strength
Induction Technique (Exalted, p. 360), Pack-Calling for Feats of Strength
Cry (Lunars, p. 164), Scarecrow-Steed Effigy, Wild These Charms increase a character’s effective Strength
Fury Awakening (Lunars, p. 175), Prince of the Fallen rating for determining what feats of strength they can
Tower (Lunars, p. 313). attempt.

Terrestrial: Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon, Dragon’s Celestial: Fervid Nightmare Exploit, Fieldhand Hefts
Egg Hatched (Heirs to the Shogunate, p. 143), Demon the Haywain, Increasing Strength Exercise (Exalted,
of the First Circle (Exalted, p. 473), Golem-Raising p. 262), Inner Darkness Unleashed, Might of the
Invocation, Living Puppet Performance, Summon Maiden, Nine Aeons Threw (Exalted, p. 266), Surging
Elemental (Exalted, p. 475). Thew Technique (Lunars, p. 276).

Elsewhere Storage Terrestrial: Beast of Burden Sympathy, Girder-Toting

These Charms let a character store objects Elsewhere Civic Spirit, Diamond Gigantes Labors, Mountain-
or otherwise banish them until they need to be recalled. Toppling Might (Dragon-Blooded, p. 169), Touch of
Unmaking (Dragon-Blooded, p. 188), Unshakable
Celestial: Hauberk-Summoning Gesture (Exalted, Mountain Spine (Dragon-Blooded, p. 170).
p. 377), Summoning the Loyal Steel (Exalted, p. 347),
Many-Pockets Meditation (Lunars, p. 290). Perceive the Past
These Charms allow characters to directly perceive
Terrestrial: Elemental Aegis (Dragon-Blooded, p. past events.
248), Elemental Sheath (Dragon-Blooded, p. 225),
Invisibly Hidden Chakram Method (Dragon-Blooded, Celestial: Enlightened Touch Insight (Exalted, p.
p. 275), Jumbled Toy Chest Silhouettes. 314), Unknown Wisdom Epiphany (Exalted, p. 313),
Devil’s Hidden Footprints (Lunars, p. 249), Scent of
Gain Motes Bygone Ages (Lunars, p. 240), Shadows of the Ancient
These Charms grant additional motes. Past (Exalted, p. 480).

Celestial: Blood-Pumping Enthusiasm, Burning Terrestrial: Death-Unraveling Eye (Dragon-

Moonfire Mind (Lunars, p. 201), Essence-Gathering Blooded, p. 200), Echoes Caught in Stone (Dragon-
Temper (Exalted, p. 376), Field-Born Champion, Blooded, p. 199), Glory-Reviving Radiance, Sense the
Onrush Burst Method (Exalted, p. 264), Reap What Is Hidden Ember (Dragon-Blooded, p. 175), Smoldering
Sown, Spirit-Drawing Oculus (Exalted, p. 359). Divinity Revelation.

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Sabotage Organizations receives go toward paying it off until it’s paid in full.
These Charms penalize, impede, or otherwise assail An Exalt’s player may choose to pay a debt solely with
organizations. Exigent Experience, Solar Experience, or similar, if
applicable. A character in experience debt can’t incur
Celestial: Bureau-Consuming Monstrosity, Foul Air further experience debts; she must pay off the debt be-
of Argument Technique (Exalted, p. 288), Indolent fore she can benefit from other such effects. Storyteller
Official Charm (Exalted, p. 286), Gnawing Mouse characters never go into experience debt; instead, they
Malaise (Lunars, p. 221), Nation-Sundering Shadow can only benefit from such an effect once per story.
(Lunars, p. 227).
Celestial: Generosity Begets Wonder, Sharing Luna’s
Terrestrial: Cunning Rat Enterprise, Thrashing Carp Gifts (Lunars, p. 203), Stout-Hearted Brewing Style,
Serenade (Dragon-Blooded, p. 185). Tale-Spinning Mastery (Lunars, p. 199).

Training Terrestrial: Agent-Priming Indoctrination, Citizen-

These Charms allow the Exalt to train herself and other Shaping Curriculum, Dream Chrysalis Transformation,
characters, increasing trait ratings or granting new Illuminated Mind Salon, Iterations of the Self, Stage-
traits by incurring experience debt. Once a character in- and-Shadow Apprenticeship, Stern Tutor Discipline
curs experience debt, any experience she subsequently (Dragon-Blooded, p. 216).

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It felt good to stop for the day, to sit around the caravanserai’s hearth while the evening’s chill bit the
air outside. Janest took a seat by the fire and accepted a bowl from a chubby-cheeked girl of six. She’d
been traveling with the refugees for three weeks now, keeping watch for bandits and other threats on
the road.
Since leaving Kolisz, she’d seen many grand sights, tasted every new dish she could, and heard stories
that’d never made it to her little valley. What Janest liked best, though, was meeting people along the
way — breaking bread with them, sharing their stories, and learning their songs, languages, and jokes.
She’d taken plenty of odd jobs with caravans. Most often, the caravaneers took one look at Final Season
and put her on guard duty, but she’d been a camp cook and a child-minder, fixed broken carts and set
fractured bones.
She’d only taken her first sip of the spicy soup when something made her hair stand up on the back of
her neck. In the darkness outside, a stabled horse whinnied in fear. The refugees exchanged frightened
glances.
“Stay close,” said Janest. She set down her bowl and called Final Season to hand. In her wanderings,
she’d picked up pieces of many languages. After please, and thank you, may I? and how much? she’d
found that phrase the most helpful. Her companions obeyed, parents gathering their children swiftly
into a cluster.
The sound of splintering wood and a metallic flash to her left was all the warning Janest had before
dozens of spindly-legged silverwights pounced, their talon-tipped fingers latching onto her arms to
drag her down. Janest dropped into a crouch, letting them climb atop her until not an inch of her could
be seen. Then she leapt, a streak of wheat-gold anima tracing an arc behind her. Silverwights scattered
and fell. Those that survived the impact did not survive Final Season’s keen-edged swing when Janest
landed.
Still more came at her, for all silverwights share a mind. They had felt their kin’s death and knew where
their killer could be found
The grimscythe’s blade split the hearth’s firelight into color-streaked ribbons as it sliced through
faerie flesh. Flowers and vines sprang up from the soil beneath the floorboards, tangling around the
silverwight’s limbs and holding them fast to the earth.
A hulking, pallid shape crashed through the door, twice Janest’s height — no doubt the fae huntmaster
leading this pack. A pair of tusks jutted from its maw, though one had been broken, and its body was
studded with venomous, bone-white thorns. It closed the distance with a speed that should have been
impossible for something so large and brought a fist like a sledgehammer down on Janest. She had
time to grit her teeth and brace for the blow; its impact rocked her backwards, but she refused to fall.
Thorns bit deep into her flesh; pain blossomed in her side, close to the scar she still bore from the faerie
blade in Kolisz. Faerie poison seeped into the wound, and a thrum of weakness spread like a starburst.
If Janest succumbed, the creatures would swarm the caravan.
“You won’t hurt them,” she rasped. “Not while I’m here.”
Suffusing her body with Essence, Janest fought off the poison as her wound knit itself closed. The Fair
Folk, closing in with its fanged maw wide open, hesitated. She brought the grimscythe up like a bar and
shoved the fae away. It flew backwards out of the caravanserai, leaving a furrow in the ground behind it.
Janest leapt after it, dancing across upturned rocks and clods of soil as if on even ground.
The raksha lumbered toward her, its silverwights approaching from all sides in eerie synchrony. Janest
led them into the night — away from the caravanserai, away from where they could harm the people
under her care.

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 Chapter Five

Strawmaiden Janest,
the Harvest Exalt
Strawmaiden Janest is an Exigent of the field god Ten
Sheaves. Her powers center around the abundance of
the harvest, honest work, and protecting and empow- WHO IS JANEST?
ering her chosen community.
While this book’s fiction and illustrations depict
one take on Janest, players and Storytellers are
History encouraged to make the Strawmaiden their own.
She has no canonical personality, appearance, be-
Raiders from the village of Kolisz took the infant Janest liefs, gender, sexuality, and the like, nor does she
from the homestead where she was born and gave her have a defined relationship with Ten Sheaves, the
to their High Reavers to raise. She grew up with her High Reavers, or Kolisz as a whole.
fellow field-maidens: tilling the soil, working the fields,
and training to defend the village and its harvest. Some possible alternative takes on Janest include:

Like Janest herself, many of her field-sisters were also • An ambitious Strawmaiden who deposed the
taken from neighboring villages in raids or offered up as High Reavers and seized control of Kolisz
tributes at a very young age. Together, they formed a tight- alongside her field-sisters. As a fearsome
knit family. When the raiders returned each winter with warlord, she’s conquered nearby villages,
newly stolen children, the field-maidens gathered them forging a kingdom that’s a match for any of its
into the fold, becoming their big sisters and mentors while neighbors — though not yet for the Realm.
the High Reavers tended to their education and training. • A Strawmaiden seeking revenge, either
against the Fair Folk or the tribute-hungry
If the field-maidens were like shepherds, the village Realm. She finds communities of rebels, dis-
and its inhabitants were their flock. Their work filled sidents, outlaws, and those forced to the mar-
bellies and warmed hearths. When invading warriors gins — and potentially, the Silver Pact.
poured into the valley to steal stores of wheat and corn,
or carry sheep away from the herd, the field-maidens • A Strawmaiden skilled in necromancy, hav-
stood steadfast and turned them away with the tools ing grasped the secrets of that fell art in the
of their trade. The same pitchforks that turned the soil moment of Ten Sheaves’ death. Baleful as her
in the spring dripped with raiders’ blood come winter. power may be, she could still be a kind-heart-
Winnowers traded their fans for similarly shaped ed hero, raising zombie armies in defense of
shields. Janest’s scythe cut a swath through invaders her community or becoming a figure of divine
as easily as it did through the wheat. mercy to ghosts in nearby shadowlands.

• A deeply flawed Strawmaiden whose devotion

Kolisz rests in a fertile valley nestled between two
to community has bred prejudice and xeno-
mountains. Once, its abundant fields provided valu-
phobia. Players should plan for her character
able food for the Blessed Isle. Growing up, Janest was
development to involve recognizing the harm
used to the sight of tax collectors, Realm soldiers, and she’s done in the name of community and
Immaculate monks passing through, though she kept growing as a person, but that’s not necessarily
out of their way as much as possible. While the soldiers the case if she’s s Storyteller character.
could be cruel in lean times, Janest feared them no
more than she did the seasonal raiders.

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The Immaculates frightened her far more. If the soldiers abused the villagers, Janest and her sisters could stand
against them. The monks posed a threat to Ten Sheaves, the village’s patron god of fields and fertility. When their
paths crossed a monk’s, Janest and the other field-maidens performed the proper obeisances and moved quickly
along. Even the High Reavers were known to tread carefully, lest the Order’s representatives look too closely at
their patron. As long as they believed Ten Sheaves was a minor deity, they were likely to dismiss him and let the
villagers’ worship continue.

Over the last year, the Realm’s presence trickled away, and with it, the protection its forces offered. Neighboring
villages increased the frequency of their raids. The strange beasts that slouched forth from the Wyld-tainted hills,
once hunted for sport by garrison soldiers, now came sniffing about the village
for easy prey. Malefic spirits of hill and wood, previously kept in check
by the Immaculates, now roved freely to work mischief. Janest and her
sisters repelled all of these threats, keeping their community safe.

Then the Fair Folk army came pouring down the mountain. Raksha
nobles rode at the head of countless cataphracts and hobgoblins in
overwhelming numbers, destroying the other villages in the valley. At
last, they set their sights on Janest’s home, and it seemed like all was
lost. Janest and her sisters were ready to die defending the village
they loved so much.

Exaltation
On the eve of battle, the High Reavers brought Janest
to Ten Sheaves’ shrine. Though she insisted she was
needed on the front lines with her sisters, the god had
demanded her presence.

She walked with Ten Sheaves through fields of golden

wheat, listening as he spoke of the gods, and Heaven,
and a field-maiden’s duty. Though some of her sis-
ters had stronger arms, or were better tacticians,
Janest’s dedication
to her people made
her a worthy
champion in
his eyes. For
centuries, Ten
Sheaves had
protected
the field-
workers so
their work
might nour-
ish the vil-
lage. Though
he broke
heavenly law
by accepting
a position of
worship and
influence, such in-
fractions seemed minor
when weighed against the
heroic step he would now take.

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Ten Sheaves could flee and save himself in the face of

the Fair Folk who threatened his people. Instead, he’d KOLISZ
petitioned the Unconquered Sun and offered his own
life to save the village. Beyond the description presented here, Kolisz is
left for Janest’s player to define. This includes its
The Unconquered Sun heard Ten Sheaves’ prayer and, location, the details of its culture, economy, and
deeming him worthy, granted the god a portion of his politics, the role of Ten Sheaves’ cult in its society,
divine fire. Ten Sheaves imbued Janest with this ce- and the context for its practice of abducting and
lestial power, pouring his own life into her Exaltation. enslaving children as field-maidens.
Awareness flooded into her, that of the fields and farms
throughout the valley, the soil and the streams that
nourished them. The god gave her one last gift before
he faded away: a massive grimscythe. The god-weap- repairs and new construction. Even the priests looked
on’s black blade glinted in the first light of dawn. Green to her, hoping to gain her support in their bids to be
jade twisted through its haft, and sockets awaited pre- named the High Reavers’ leaders.
cious hearthstones to fill them.
Had she desired it, Janest might have declared herself
As day broke, Janest came down from the shrine atop the highest of High Reavers and set herself godlike
the hill, its stream now dried up, its waterwheel stilled above them all: the priests, the villagers, and her
with Ten Sheaves’ passing. She strode out into the field-sisters. Yet, alongside her love for the village,
fields and, alone, faced the Fair Folk vanguard. With Janest’s humility had drawn Ten Sheaves’ attention —
her wicked grimscythe, Strawmaiden Janest reaped she wasn’t sure she wanted to rule, and certainly knew
the raksha like wheat at the harvest. Inspired by their she wasn’t ready to do so. During the hours she spent
sister’s bravery, the other field-maidens joined the walking the rows with Ten Sheaves, the god had shown
fight. The battle raged for three days, until Janest slew her glimpses of a world larger than she’d ever truly
the Fair Folk nobles commanding the army. imagined.

Their leadership defeated, the raksha forces broke and She wanted to see it.
fled back into the Wyld.
Like a new shoot bursting from the earth in springtime,
Janest realized she’d outgrown what the village could
Leavetaking offer her. They’d survived for centuries before she was
born, and with the Fair Folk routed, they’d be able to
Wounded but victorious, Janest returned to the village, rebuild and thrive once more — without Janest. Her
only to find it in chaos. Though the raksha were gone, experience had made her bigger than this one village.
the High Reavers’ leaders had perished protecting the After saying some private farewells to her field-sisters,
townsfolk from hobgoblins and horrors that slipped Janest hefted her grimscythe and a small pack, and set
past the field-maidens. The surviving priests bickered out into the world.
amongst themselves, disagreeing over the village’s im-
mediate needs and how to begin rebuilding. Already,
before their brothers’ and sisters’ bodies were even
Wandering Hero
cool, they were jockeying for power.
Creation is full of villages, she learned. Some looked
With Janest’s arrival, the mood shifted. Priests and vil- much like her home: remote settlements full of people
lagers alike turned to her for guidance. What wisdom who’d live their entire lives in the same few miles.
had Ten Sheaves imparted to her? What instructions Others were bigger, like close-knit neighborhoods in
had he given for her to pass along to them? Perhaps, the midst of a big city’s bustle. Still others were en-
in making her his Chosen, Ten Sheaves had intended tirely mobile, such as the trade caravans and traveling
Janest to guide them in leading the village. troupes she met along their seasonal circuits.

For the next few days, while she recovered from her Strawmaiden Janest has endeared herself to many
wounds, Janest did her best to help her community. such communities during her travels. She’s acted as
She comforted those who’d lost loved ones. She walked a mediator and judge, helping to end disputes among
the fields and, with her newfound abilities, coaxed bat- local factors. Bandit queens who threaten towns under
tle-trampled crops back to health. Though she wasn’t Janest’s protection have felt the edge of her grims-
a builder, the craftspeople sought her approval on cythe’s blade, as have agatae, manticores, and a tyrant

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lizard. Always, she pays attention to the community’s

needs, whether it’s an old rift between two families in AMONG THE EXALTED
need of closing, or a blight driven from the crops.
Though Ten Sheaves was a minor god, his influ-
Now and then she thinks about the village where she ence limited to the village that worshiped him,
was raised. She wonders how it’s fared without her Strawmaiden Janest is an exceptionally powerful
there to protect it and feels a pang when she misses Exigent. While this is rare, it’s far from impossi-
her field-sisters. Several years have passed since she ble: even the weakest of gods sometimes choose
left, and often, she finds herself turning towards home. a champion who outshines them.

Character Creation
— roots and vines grow from her anima to form a co-
Janest uses the character creation rules for Ability- coon around her, culminating at the start of her next
based Exalted designed for Celestial play (p. XX) with turn. If she moves or suffers forced movement or
the following modifications: knockdown before her next turn, the cocoon falls
apart and this power is negated. Otherwise, once her
Step One: Athletics, Awareness, Presence, Resistance next turn begins, she disappears. Once the scene ends,
and Survival are Janest’s Strawmaiden Abilities, anal- she reappears within a field, rural settlement, or place
ogous to Caste Abilities. Her Charms utilize only these of significant interest to her community chosen by the
five Abilities (p. XX). Storyteller — typically somewhere within ten miles,
unless there aren’t any such locations within this
Step Four: Janest receives her signature grimscythe,
range. She often finds herself in the vicinity of those in
Final Season, for free in addition to her starting Merits.
need of aid, especially if she intended to offer such help
using this power.
Traits
Martial Arts
Janest is intended for Celestial play (p. XX).
Janest neither benefits from the Mastery keyword nor
Anima suffers the limitations of the Terrestrial keyword.

Janest’s anima is a riot of verdure, blazing in the gold Sorcery

of grain but also in the rich blacks and browns of soil,
the greens of rain-fed fields, and the white of the Janest is capable of initiating into Terrestrial Circle
noonday sun. Her iconic anima might depict a gigantic sorcery and Ivory Circle necromancy. Her Occult
Strawmaiden with a scythe that could fell redwoods Ability determines whether she receives the Favored
like barley, a funereal effigy of Ten Sheaves, endless Ability discount on spells.
rows of wheat stalks, or mighty beasts of burden like
mountain-pulling oxen or wild-eyed mares. Evocations
Anima Effects
Janest is resonant with green jade and orichalcum and
Autumnal Grimscythe: Janest’s grimscythe is a part
dissonant with soulsteel (Arms of the Chosen, p. 16).
of her and her Exaltation. She waives its attunement
She’s neutral with all other materials.
cost. For one mote, she can reflexively call it to her
hand, regardless of distance. If it’s attuned by another
character, Janest must pay an additional Willpower to The Great Curse
do so, breaking that character’s attunement.
Janest’s Great Curse manifests through a ten-point
Guardian Reaper: Once per day, Janest may pay ten Limit Track (p. XX), entering a Limit Break at 10. She
motes, one Willpower to make a decisive attack against rolls dice and gains Limit equal to her successes under
an enemy of the community (p. XX) without resetting the following circumstances:
to base Initiative. At bonfire, this costs five motes.
• Once per scene, when she acts against a Major
Harvest Walker: For ten motes, one Willpower, Intimacy, she rolls one die, (unless she’s already
Janest may vanish into the fields. This isn’t immediate rolled for acting against a Defining Intimacy).

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Voluntarily weakening an Intimacy or spending positive Tie, or if she’s forced to acknowledge that her
Willpower to resist influence it supports counts actions would result in such harm in the near future.
as acting against it.
Longevity and Death
• Once per scene, when she acts against a Defining
Intimacy, she rolls two dice, (or one die, if Janest’s Exaltation slows her aging but doesn’t extend
she’s already rolled for acting against a Major her lifespan; she might live a few decades past a hun-
Intimacy). dred at most. Her Exaltation will end with her.
• When she witnesses her community (p. XX)
being harmed by outsiders — an invading army, Character Advancement
a traveling Guild opium merchant, Immaculate
missionaries, etc. — she rolls three dice. Janest uses Celestial advancement rules (p. XX).

Janest loses one Limit for accomplishing a legendary Exigent Experience

social goal (Exalted, p. 134). Her Limit resets at a Limit Janest receives Expression Bonuses (p. XX) as normal
Break’s end. and can earn a Role Bonus of 2 Exigent experience by:

When Janest reaches Limit 10, she enters Limit Break • Intentionally ceding the “spotlight” of a scene’s
and is overcome by powerful and excessive passions, of- focus to another player character so that he can
ten rooted in compassion for her community, animosity express his character concept in an interesting
for outsiders, or stubbornness. Examples include: and dramatic fashion, or directly supporting
him in such a moment.
Hero-Surpassing Hubris
Janest continually astounds with her heroic deeds, • Defending, supporting, or expanding her com-
but even she has limits. Driven by others’ needs, she munity (p. XX).
throws herself into a feat of such titanic proportions
that the only possible outcome is failure. She attempts • Protecting a member of her community or some-
to rebuild a town brick-by-brick before nightfall, or to one she has a positive Major or Defining Tie to
leap to heaven from a tall mountain to excoriate the from significant harm.
gods. She follows through on her attempt until she is
forced to admit defeat. • Winning a noteworthy victory over an enemy
of the community (p. XX), whether in combat,
Duration: Scene. Janest’s player selects a task that politics, business, or the like.
she cannot succeed at, either because it’s outright im-
possible or because she imposes arbitrary restrictions • Inspiring others to uphold one of her Major or
of time and ability on herself sufficient to make it so. Defining Intimacies in a significant way.
Hero-Surpassing Hubris can be ended early only if
• Solving a complicated problem with a simple
Janest is faced with evidence that her efforts are com-
solution.
pounding the problem she is trying to solve.

Trouble-Uprooting Approach Charms

Janest, never subtle, grows frustrated at needless
obstacles to solving simple problems and approaches Excellencies
a solution by the most direct possible path. She will
trample over well-laid plans, social niceties, and laws Like a tiny seed, Janest is blessed with almost lim-
in pursuit of fixing the problem at hand, heedless of itless potential. Although her Charms are limited
whatever trouble this might cause. She won’t hesitate to Athletics, Awareness, Presence, Resistance, and
to use force in situations where violence might be Survival, she can learn Excellencies for any Ability. She
avoided, and acts without regard to what might result may pay one mote per die to add dice to an (Attribute
from her actions beyond her immediate goal. + Ability) roll or pay two motes per point to raise static
values such as Evasion, Parry, Resolve, and Guile.
Duration: Session. Trouble-Uprooting Approach can
be ended prematurely if Janest would otherwise direct- Janest’s dice cap is (Attribute + [most relevant
ly harm someone to whom she has a Major or Defining of Athletics, Awareness, Presence, Resistance, or

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Survival]). For example, attack rolls will often be con- With Athletics 5, Essence 3, the Strength bonus in-
nected to Athletics, reflecting Janest’s superhuman creases to Essence.
strength; she might use Survival as the cap for a Craft
roll using materials gathered or harvested from the Hero Hoists the Banner
wilderness. When in doubt, the Storyteller should lean Cost: 3m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1
towards simply using the highest value. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Janest automatically gains an Excellency for any of her Duration: Instant
Strawmaiden or Favored Abilities with at least one dot, at Prerequisite Charms: Might of the Maiden
no cost. Others must be purchased like any other Charm.
Janest’s true strength is more than simple muscle; it’s in
Charm Concept: Communities the people she inspires with her deeds.

Janest’s magic embodies the power of a rustic folk hero, Janest treats a successful feat of strength as an inspire
a champion of the harvest and the communities that roll against everyone who witnessed it, typically inspir-
make it possible. Many of her Charms involve Janest’s ing fear in her foes and courage, admiration, or attraction
community — any group, society, or location whose in allies and bystanders. If the feat required Strength 5+,
populace predominantly has positive Ties to Janest. She affected characters also form a Minor Tie to Janest with
can have multiple communities, accruing new ones over a context appropriate to the inspired emotion.
the course of play. When her Charms refer to enemies
In combat, beating the Resolve of at least one nontrivi-
of the community, they mean any character who intends
al enemy awards Janest one Initiative.
to exploit or cause harm to one of Janest’s communities
or a notable portion of its populace. Whether or not Inspiring Folk-Hero Prowess
someone’s an enemy of the community depends on that
Cost: —; Mins: Athletics 4, Essence 1
character’s intentions, not Janest’s perception of them.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Charm Concept: Fields Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Hero Hoists the Banner
When Janest’s Charms refer to fields, they mean any
collection of cultivated plant life. This isn’t limited to Janest lets her actions speak for themselves.
any particular form of agriculture; orchards, vineyards,
gardens, rice paddies, chinampas, and the like all quali- When Janest uses Hero Hoists the Banner, she may treat
fy in addition to literal fields of crops. A field must span her roll as an instill or threaten rather than an inspire
at least one range band to qualify. roll. Additionally, she can use it to enhance any Athletics,
Awareness, Presence, Resistance, or Survival roll she
Athletics makes that involves at least some display of her prowess.
When enhancing actions that aren’t feats of strength,
Might of the Maiden characters form Ties to Janest if the action’s difficulty is
Cost: 3m; Mins: Athletics 1, Essence 1 5+ (or opposes a roll that receives 5+ successes).
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-only Millstone Meteor Technique
Duration: Instant Cost: —(3m); Mins: Athletics 1, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Permanent
Keywords: Dual
Ten Sheaves’ blessing has magnified the strength gained Duration: Permanent
through a life of hard labor to heroic proportions. Prerequisite Charms: None

Janest rerolls 1s until they cease to appear on a feat Even bereft of her grimscythe, Janest is a force to be
of strength or the attack or control roll for a grapple reckoned with, smiting foes with rakes, wheelbarrows,
gambit. She adds +2 to her effective Strength rating to and tree stumps.
determine if she can attempt a feat of strength. If her
effective Strength exceeds the feat’s minimum, each Janest waives the Initiative cost for attacking with
excess dot adds one bonus die. improvised weapons using any combat Ability. If she
has Might of the Maiden, she may pay three motes to

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JUST TAKE THEM

Not all of an Exigent’s Charms need to be completely unique. Sometimes it’s better to borrow an existing
Charm rather than reinventing the wheel. Monkey Leap Technique from Solar Athletics is an excellent candi-
date for this treatment. It’s thematically neutral, so it won’t clash with Janest’s themes or require re-flavoring.
Jumping isn’t a major thematic or mechanical focus for Janest, so she won’t suffer from her jumping Charm
not being customized to her themes. Finally, Janest’s Charms are designed to parallel Solars in power, so
there aren’t any balance concerns. (Monkey Leap Technique could also be given to weaker Exigents without
issue, but that makes it very rare among Solar Charms.)

reflexively attempt a feat of strength to lift an impro- With Athletics 5, Essence 2, Janest may pay a one-Will-
vised weapon once per round. power surcharge to create a shockwave spreading
out to medium range. All enemies caught within it
Once per scene, when Janest makes an attack with an roll (Dexterity + Dodge) against difficulty (3 + range
improvised weapon that requires a feat to lift, she adds bands negated). Each enemy who fails suffers dice of
that feat’s Strength minimum to the attack’s decisive decisive bashing damage equal to the number of range
or post-soak withering damage. bands negated, ignoring Hardness.

Monkey Leap Technique God-Fire Vigor

Cost: 2m (1m); Mins: Athletics 2, Essence 1 Cost: 3m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Prerequisite Charms: None

Janest bounds from barn floor to hayloft in a single leap. Empowered by divine fire, the Strawmaiden outpaces
foes with a burst of speed.
Janest can use a reflexive move action to jump one
range band vertically or horizontally without needing Janest adds a non-Charm success and rerolls 6s until
to roll. If she uses this Charm on multiple consecutive they cease to appear on a movement action with any
turns, the cost of all activations past the first is reduced Ability or a clash attack roll.
to one mote.
Petals on the Wind
Earth’s Gentle Embrace Cost: 3m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1
Cost: 3m per band; Mins: Athletics 2, Essence 1 Type: Reflexive
Type: Reflexive Keywords: Dual
Keywords: None Duration: One tick
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: God-Fire Vigor
Prerequisite Charms: Monkey Leap Technique
The Strawmaiden moves with windswept sprightliness,
The soil catches Janest gently when she falls, and even hastening across the battlefield.
solid stone cracks beneath her to diminish the brunt of
the impact. When Janest includes a movement action using any
Ability in a flurry, she ignores the penalty on each
When Janest suffers falling damage from any source, flurried action and the Defense penalty. If she flurries
she may reduce her fall’s effective distance by up to it with an attack that succeeds, she gains one Initiative
(Stamina/2, round up) range bands when determining (which is added to the damage of a decisive attack).
the damage she suffers, paying three motes per band.
In fields, this is reduced to two motes per range band. Plowshare Cuts the Furrow
If she negates all damage from an effect that would Cost: 4m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1
knock her prone, she remains upright. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None

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Duration: Instant Duration: Instant

Prerequisite Charms: God-Fire Vigor, Might of the Prerequisite Charms: None
Maiden
The Strawmaiden’s incredible strength and mean throw-
Neither prickly hedgerows, piled stones, nor strong-built ing arm turn everyday farm tools into deadly missiles.
walls can slow the Strawmaiden once she’s set upon her path.
Janest increases a ranged attack’s range to medium. If it’s
When Janest crosses range bands, she reflexively at- already medium or better, she adds dice of decisive dam-
tempts a feat of demolition to destroy an obstacle in age or post-soak withering damage equal to the number
her path, adding (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm of range bands she attacked across (one for close, two
dice. She can’t use this Charm more than once per for short, and so on). This is incompatible with weapons
range band of movement. whose withering damage doesn’t include Strength.

If Janest uses this Charm during the movement of If Janest knows Millstone Meteor Technique, she may
Leaping Tiger Attack, the extra momentum converts reflexively ready an improvised weapon to make the
the dice added to the feat to non-Charm successes. enhanced attack with.

Pitchfork Javelin Method First to the Field

Cost: 1m; Mins: Athletics 2, Essence 1 Cost: 3m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Dual Keywords: Uniform

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Duration: Instant Alternatively, Janest can use this Charm to reap with
Prerequisite Charms: None incredible speed, harvesting an entire field in a single
day’s labor.
Janest meets her foes with the same vigor with which she
approaches each day’s labors. Reaping Row by Row
Cost: 1m, 1i; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 1
Janest can use this Charm at the beginning of a round Type: Supplemental
to take her turn before any other character. If contest- Keywords: Perilous, Uniform
ed by magic like Thunderclap Rush Attack (Exalted, p. Duration: Instant
275), the character with the highest stunt rating goes Prerequisite Charms: Busy Harvest, God-Fire Vigor
first, resolving ties with coin flips.
Janest tackles her problems one by one, making quick
Alternatively, if Janest would normally go first, she can work of whatever the day has in store for her.
reflexively make a withering or decisive attack.
When Janest attacks an enemy on the same tick she
Reset: Once per scene unless reset by crashing or moves into close range with him, she may continue
incapacitating a nontrivial enemy who had higher her movement in the same direction for another range
Initiative than Janest. band. This doesn’t count as her move action.
Busy Harvest If this brings Janest into close range with another
Cost: 5m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1 enemy, she may use Busy Harvest to reflexively make
Type: Reflexive a decisive attack against him. When using it this way,
Keywords: Decisive-only she resets to base Initiative normally against enemies
Duration: Instant of the community.
Prerequisite Charms: First to the Field
Ten-Thousand-Hours Method
The ranks of Janest’s enemies fall like so many sheaves of Cost: 2m; Mins: Athletics 2, Essence 1
wheat as she cuts her way through the battlefield. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Uniform
Upon crashing an opponent with a withering attack, Duration: Instant
Janest makes a reflexive decisive attack against him us- Prerequisite Charms: None
ing the same Ability. Against enemies of the community,
she doesn’t reset to base Initiative if successful, forfeit- Day in, day out, Janest’s life has been the honest work
ing only the Initiative awarded by the withering attack. of the plough and the sickle, a practical technique which
her Essence elevates to perfection.
Scything Whirlwind Technique
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 1 Janest rerolls (lowest of Dexterity, Stamina, or
Type: Simple Strength) failed dice on an attack roll or grapple con-
Keywords: Decisive-only trol roll.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Busy Harvest Break the Stony Soil
Cost: 1m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1
Janest reaps a bloody harvest, cutting down foes on all Type: Supplemental
sides with a single sweeping strike. Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant
Janest makes a decisive attack against all enemies Prerequisite Charms: Ten-Thousand-Hours Method
within close range. She divides her Initiative evenly
among each hit enemy, rounding up, to determine the Janest forces her foe’s defenses to yield before her tena-
damage rolled against them, and adds an additional cious offense.
(Strength) dice of damage to each attack. Battle groups
and trivial enemies instead suffer (Janest’s Initiative + If Janest’s attack hits, it inflicts an additional point of
Strength) dice of damage, which doesn’t count against onslaught penalty and her enemy’s onslaught penalty
her Initiative when allocating it to determine the dam- doesn’t refresh at the start of his next turn, instead
age rolled against other enemies. doing so at the end of that round.

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FINDING THE FOCUS

When designing a Charm set, Abilities and Attributes with combat Charms typically have a unique focus,
encouraging the character to employ a specific tactic or style with its own strengthens and weaknesses.
Solar Brawl dishes out incredible amounts of damage but has almost no defense; Solar Thrown emphasizes
gambits, stealth tactics, and winning Join Battle to unleash powerful attacks on round one.

Janest differs from Solars in that all her combat Ability’s Charms can be used together, similar to Lunars with
Dexterity and Strength. While each still has its theme and tactical focus, there’s more room for overlap between
them. Athletics rewards chasing down foes to stay in close range. Awareness emphasizes winning Join Battle
and reaching high Initiative. Resistance grows stronger the higher Janest’s wound penalty rises and empha-
sizes protecting allies with defend other actions. Not every Charm in an Ability needs to stick perfectly to that
Ability’s particular tactic, but they provide a valuable framework for fleshing out their Charm set by providing a
central theme to build around. Think about how your Exigent fights — whether with graceful precision, explosive
speed, or simply by staying in their opponent’s face — and then find ways to express that in their Charms.

Autumn Reaper Descent Gigantes-Toppling Spirit

Cost: 2m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1 Cost: 2m, 2i; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dual Keywords: Dual, Perilous
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Monkey Leap Technique, Ten- Prerequisite Charms: God-Fire Vigor, Might of the
Thousand-Hours Method Maiden, Monkey Leap Technique

Striking at the apex of her leap’s arc, Janest falls on her Behemoths that threaten those under Janest’s protection
foe with incredible force. receive a humbling lesson.

To use this Charm, Janest must use Monkey Leap When Janest attacks a Legendary Size enemy, she ignores
Technique to move into close range with an enemy the defensive benefits he receives from his size. If she
and attack him on the same tick. She adds (higher of crashes him or deals decisive damage to him, he’s knocked
Essence or 3) to the raw damage and Overwhelming of prone. This isn’t compatible with grapple gambits.
a withering attack or rerolls (higher of Essence or 3)
failed dice on a decisive damage roll. If she falls after This Charm’s Initiative cost is waived and it loses the
leaping vertically to attack, she ignores one range band Perilous keyword against enemies of the community
of the fall when determining damage. and while in fields.

Chaff-Clearing Onslaught With Athletics 5, Essence 3, this Charm can enhance

Cost: 1m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1 grapple gambits, letting Janest wrestle Legendary Size
Type: Supplemental foes.
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant Foes-Like-Haybales Heft
Prerequisite Charms: Ten-Thousand-Hours Method Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 1
Type: Simple
The Strawmaiden’s speed and boldness renders defenses Keywords: Dual
futile. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Any two of Might of the
Each 10 on Janest’s attack roll adds one die of decisive Maiden, Millstone Meteor Technique, or Ten-
damage or post-soak withering damage, maximum Thousand-Hours Method
(Strength) dice. If she attacks an enemy of the commu-
nity or if she moved into close range with that enemy Janest can swing an alehouse brawler or an armored
on the same tick, 9s add damage dice as well and the soldier as easily as she can heft her scythe, leaving foes
maximum bonus increases to (Strength + 1). piled up like so many haybales.

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Janest slams a grappled enemy into a second foe within close letting her carry a lifted wagon or hold up a shattered
range or throws him at one within short range, making one pillar long enough to evacuate a damaged building.
attack roll against both characters. She rolls damage separately With Athletics 5, Essence 4, she can sustain feats for
against each of them. On a withering slam or throw, she only up to (Stamina + Strength) hours.
gains Initiative from the higher of the two damage rolls.
Earth-Turning Upheaval
Janest can’t use this Charm against the same enemy Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 2
multiple times in the same clinch. Type: Simple
Keywords: None
The Sickle’s Margin Duration: Instant
Cost: 1m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: Fieldhand Hefts the Haywain
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform Driving her hands into the earth, Janest wrenches up the
Duration: Instant bedrock as though flipping over a table in an eruption of
Prerequisite Charms: None soil and stone.

The Strawmaiden matches even her most skilled oppo- Janest rolls a special feat of strength opposing the (Dexterity
nents with her rough-hewn fighting style and boundless + Dodge) rolls of all enemies within medium range.
vitality. Enemies who fail their roll fall prone and lose (Janest’s
Essence) Initiative. Janest gains this Initiative, maximum
Janest gains +1 Defense and can defend against an attack (Essence + Strength). Battle groups who fail must roll
whose successes equal her Defense. Alternatively, she against rout. Additionally, Janest may treat this roll as a feat
can use this Charm to enhance an opposed movement of demolition applied against an object or structure that fits
roll with any Ability, doubling 9s and winning ties. completely within the shockwave’s range.

Whispering Wind Grace If Janest knows Busy Harvest, she can use it to attack
Cost: 3m; Mins: Athletics 3, Essence 1 an enemy knocked prone with this Charm as though
Type: Reflexive she’d crashed him.
Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant Godstrike Blade
Prerequisite Charms: The Sickle’s Margin Cost: 2m; Mins: Athletics 4, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Janest dances over rocks and between arrows like wind Keywords: Aggravated, Dual
through stalks of grain. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Break the Stony Soil, Chaff-
Janest ignores penalties to her Evasion or an Athletics Clearing Onslaught
roll. This doesn’t affect penalties from surprise attacks.
Janest enacts Ten Sheaves’ judgment in striking down
Fieldhand Hefts the Haywain deserving foes.
Cost: 2m per success; Mins: Athletics 4, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental Janest adds (higher of Essence or 3) to the raw damage
Keywords: None of a withering attack or adds (Strength/2, rounded up)
Duration: Instant decisive damage dice.
Prerequisite Charms: Might of the Maiden
Against enemies of the community, withering attacks
The Strawmaiden’s strength is well-suited to honest work. also roll one die of aggravated decisive damage, ignor-
ing Hardness. Decisive attacks increase their bonus to
Janest adds up to (Essence) non-Charm successes on (Strength) dice.
a feat of strength, paying two motes per success. Each
success added also adds +1 to her effective Strength to Iron Thresher Offense
determine if she can perform the feat. Cost: 2m; Mins: Athletics 4, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
If Janest performs a feat to benefit her community or Keywords: Perilous, Uniform, Stackable
impede an enemy of the community, she can maintain Duration: One scene
it for up to a scene without any additional rolls or effort, Prerequisite Charms: The Sickle’s Margin

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The Strawmaiden’s wild fighting style puts an enemy on the Keywords: None
defensive, buying her one more breath to react to his attacks. Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Scything Whirlwind
Janest can use this Charm after hitting an enemy with Technique
an attack. She gains +1 non-Charm Evasion against his
attacks, and they don’t inflict onslaught penalties on Faced with a particularly thorny obstacle, the Strawmaiden
her. This Charm ends if he crashes her or deals enough focuses the entirety of her being on its elimination.
decisive damage to her to increase her wound penalty.
When Janest uses Scything Whirlwind Technique, she
Janest can stack this Charm up to (Strength) times to may choose to make up to (lowest of Dexterity, Strength,
gain its benefits against multiple foes. or Wits) decisive attacks against a single enemy rather
than making a single attack against multiple enemies.
Seven-League Stride She doesn’t reset after landing each attack; instead, she
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 4, Essence 2 loses Initiative equal to her successes on the damage
Type: Reflexive roll, which can’t bring her below base Initiative, and
Keywords: None resets once all attacks are completed. She doesn’t add
Duration: One hour her Strength to these damage rolls.
Prerequisite Charms: God-Fire Vigor or Monkey
Leap Technique The Belle of the Bee
Cost: —; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 3
Janest travels in a great bounding stride, crossing the Type: Permanent
horizons as she sets off toward new adventures. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Janest doubles 9s on rushes, jumping-based rolls, and Prerequisite Charms: Fieldhand Hefts the Haywain
opposed rolls in speed-based contests. In combat, she
waives Monkey Leap Technique’s cost. Janest’s true strength is revealed through the bond she
shares with others, whether lifting a toppled haycart to
Outside of combat, Janest moves with incredible speed, save a child pinned beneath or shattering prison bars to
capable of maintaining a speed of (Strength x10) miles free the unjustly imprisoned.
per hour over open terrain.
When Janest adds a full Excellency to a feat of strength,
If Janest reactivates this Charm at the end of its dura- she doubles 9s. If the feat is performed to benefit her
tion, she waives its Willpower cost. community or a community member or if community
members assist her, she doubles 8s.
Leaping Tiger Attack
Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 2 With a Strength 5, Essence 4 repurchase, Janest may
Type: Supplemental pay four motes to double 8s on any feat, or double 7s on
Keywords: Dual one with community involvement.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Monkey Leap Technique, Ten- Blood Feeds the Land
Thousand-Hours Method Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
The Strawmaiden leaps towards her foe, closing the dis- Keywords: Decisive-only
tance between them in a fatal instant. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: First to the Field, Iron
To use this Charm, Janest must have Initiative 6+. She Thresher Offense
can attack a lower-Initiative enemy within medium
range, instantly moving into close range before she Stalks of golden wheat sprout from the blood shed by
strikes. A withering attack doubles its post-soak dam- Janest’s scythe, a stark reminder that death begets life.
age; a decisive attack adds (Essence) dice of damage.
This counts at her movement action for the round. When Janest resets to base Initiative after a decisive
attack, she can activate this Charm to add +1 base
Thicket-Clearing Exertion Initiative for each level of damage inflicted. This can’t
Cost: —; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 2 raise her base Initiative above her Initiative when she
Type: Permanent attacked.

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Wheat grows from the blood shed by this attack — not Keywords: None
enough to form a field, but enough to sustain a number Duration: Permanent
of characters equal to the bonus added to Janest’s base Prerequisite Charms: Thicket-Clearing Exertion
Initiative for one day.
By the time her rivals have finished sharpening their
Reset: Once per day. scythes, Janest has already brought in the battle’s
harvest.
Fields Scoured Bare
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 3 When Janest uses Scything Whirlwind Technique
Type: Supplemental against multiple foes, its range extends to short.
Keywords: Dual Alternatively, when she uses it with Thicket-Clearing
Duration: Instant Exertion to attack a single foe, the number of attacks
Prerequisite Charms: Autumn Reaper Descent or she makes increases to ([Dexterity, Strength, or Wits
Reaping Row by Row + 1).

Whether harvesting crops in the hot sun or cutting down Weakness-Winnowing Slash
foes on the battlefield, Janest’s approach heralds the end Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 3
of that which stands against her. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Clash, Decisive-only
Janest can only use this Charm on the tick she moves Duration: Instant
into close range with an enemy. She doubles wither- Prerequisite Charms: Busy Harvest, God-Fire Vigor,
ing attack roll extra successes to determine damage Iron Thresher Offense
against him or adds her decisive attack roll extra suc-
cesses against him as dice of damage. Moving in a blur, Janest effortlessly overpowers attacks
that cannot match her speed.
If Janest uses this Charm multiple times on the same
tick, she waives the Willpower cost of uses past the Janest reflexively clashes an attack with a decisive at-
first. tack. If her attacker’s Initiative is lower than hers, she
adds bonus dice equal to the difference on her attack
Reap What Is Sown roll.
Cost: 3i, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive If Janest knows Leaping Tiger Attack, she may use
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform it reflexively to clash ranged attacks by moving into
Duration: One scene range with her attacker.
Prerequisite Charms: God-Fire Vigor, Iron Thresher
Offense, Whispering Wind Grace Cataclysm-Cutting Defiance
Cost: —; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 3
Striking aside her enemies’ blows, Janest reaps the Type: Permanent
harvest of her enemies’ killing intent and turns it back Keywords: None
against them. Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Weakness-Winnowing Slash
Janest can use this Charm after successfully defend-
ing against a nontrivial enemy’s attack, gaining motes Janest’s scythe parts infernos, shatters hail, and sweeps
equal to the 1s and 2s on his roll, maximum (Wits). She lightning bolts from the sky.
gains the same benefit against all attacks she success-
fully defends against for this Charm’s duration. These Janest can use Weakness-Winnowing Slash to clash
motes can only be spent on Charms that enhance her an environmental hazard, trap, or other non-attack
attacks, defense, or movement actions and are lost if source of damage, rolling her attack against its difficul-
not spent by the end of Janest’s next turn. ty. It counts as having Initiative 0; if successful, Janest
doesn’t roll damage or reset Initiative. If the hazard
This Charm ends if Janest is crashed. was magically created by a character present in the
scene, it uses his Initiative and Janest may roll deci-
Tenfold Harvest Blade sive damage against him if her clash against his hazard
Cost: —; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 3 equals or exceeds his Defense.
Type: Permanent

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If Janest successfully clashes a hazard or any attack (Exalted, p. 230). A feat of demolition can damage or de-
capable of dealing damage to multiple characters, any stroy a portion of a large object (Essence/2, rounded up)
other allies caught in it are also protected as if they’d range bands beyond what she could normally accomplish.
successfully clashed. A feat of strength can lift objects she’d normally lack the
leverage to, as though her grip’s leverage extended one
World-Borne Champion Resurgence range band beyond what she could normally lift. If she
Cost: —; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 3 doubles 7s on the roll with The Belle of the Bee, these
Type: Supplemental increase to (Essence) range bands.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Sharp-Edged Maiden Dance
Prerequisite Charms: Fieldhand Hefts the Haywain, Cost: —(+5m, 2i); Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 4
Seven-League Stride Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Creation recognizes the Strawmaiden as a true champi- Duration: Permanent
on, empowering her with might to meet all challenges. Prerequisite Charms: Tenfold Harvest Blade

Janest adds a free full Excellency on an Athletics roll. As an Exalted reaper, Janest’s scythe can fell armies.

Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by upholding a When Janest uses Scything Whirlwind Technique against
Major or Defining positive Tie to Janest’s community multiple enemies, she may pay a five-mote, two-Initiative
or negative Tie to an enemy of the community through surcharge to roll ([Initiative/2, rounded up] + Strength)
strength, speed, or hard work. dice of damage against each enemy, rather than dividing
her Initiative among them. Battle groups and trivial op-
Clashing Blades Reversal ponents still suffer her full Initiative in damage.
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 4
Type: Reflexive Alternatively, when she uses Thicket-Clearing
Keywords: Counterattack, Withering-only Exertion to attack a single foe, she may pay the same
Duration: Instant surcharge to add (Strength) dice on each attack’s dam-
Prerequisite Charms: Weakness-Winnowing Slash age roll.

The Strawmaiden redoubles her resolve and seizes victo- Tall as the Trees, Strong as the Land
ry from the jaws of defeat. Cost: 15m, 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 5
Type: Simple
After a withering attack crashes Janest, she may use Keywords: Perilous
this Charm to make a withering counterattack against Duration: One day
her attacker. If she knows Leaping Tiger Attack, she Prerequisite Charms: Redwood Harvest Thew,
may use it reflexively against a ranged attacker. World-Borne Champion Resurgence
If Janest successfully counterattacks and gains enough The Strawmaiden assumes a form that lives up to her
Initiative to come out of crash, her attacker suffers larger-than-life deeds.
dice of lethal decisive damage equal to the Initiative
he lost, ignoring Hardness. Janest gains the following benefits:

Redwood Harvest Thew • Legendary Size.

Cost: 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 4
Type: Supplemental • Five bonus dots of Strength, which can raise her
Keywords: None above Strength 5. In fields, her effective Strength
Duration: Instant is infinite for determining what feats she can
Prerequisite Charms: The Belle of the Bee (x2) attempt.

Janest’s strength is the stuff of tall tales, lifting entire • Smaller characters suffer −2 Resolve against her
barns off the ground and toppling trees with a shove. inspire and threaten rolls.

Janest may attempt a feat of strength whose physical scale • Fieldhand Hefts the Haywain’s cost is reduced
would normally be impossible given her size and leverage to one mote per success added.

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• While using Seven-League Stride, she can main-

tain a speed of (Strength x20) miles per hour
Awareness
over open terrain.
Roots Cry Out
Reset: Once per day. Cost: —; Mins: Awareness 1, Essence 1
Type: Permanent

LEGENDARY SIZE

Legendary Size is a Merit possessed by elephants, dinosaurs, behemoths, warstriders, and the like. It con-
fers the following benefits:

• Smaller enemies’ attacks don’t inflict onslaught penalties. (Magically inflicted onslaught penalties still
apply.)

• The character can’t be reduced below Initiative 1 by smaller enemies’ withering attacks unless they have
10+ post-soak damage dice. Such attacks still award the full amount of Initiative damage rolled.

• The character can’t take more than (attacker’s Strength + 3) levels of damage from smaller enemies’
decisive attacks. Levels of damage added by magic don’t count against this limit.

• The character can’t be grappled by smaller enemies unless they use magic like Dragon Coil Technique
(Exalted, p. 280). Such magic is also necessary for them to resist her grapple control rolls.

• The character can’t be knocked back by smaller foes’ smash attacks and is more difficult to knock back
with magic (Exalted, p. 274).

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Keywords: None Scythe of Souls’ Harvest

Duration: Permanent Cost: 2m; Mins: Awareness 2, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Uniform
The Strawmaiden knows every root that passes beneath Duration: Instant
the earth and every flower hidden in the wilderness. Prerequisite Charms: Whispers from the Fields
Janest can sense the presence of plant life within The Strawmaiden’s scythe guards the field’s edge from
(higher of Essence or 3) range bands. She can identify lost souls and spirits of the wild.
plant species she’s encountered before and appraise
their health without needing to roll. She adds (higher Janest can attack a dematerialized enemy. If she’s
of Essence or 3) non-Charm dice on rolls to forage for unable to see him, her attack roll suffers a −3 penalty.
edible plants, rolls to notice and resist plant-based If he’s an enemy of the community, she adds an auto-
environmental hazards, and rolls opposing the Stealth matic success on the attack roll.
of sapient plants, wood elementals, and similar beings.
God-Reaper’s Mercy
Emerald Fingers Impression Cost: —(3m); Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1
Cost: 5m; Mins: Awareness 4, Essence 1 Type: Permanent
Type: Simple Keywords: Aggravated, Decisive-only
Keywords: None Duration: Permanent
Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Scythe of Souls’ Harvest
Prerequisite Charms: Roots Cry Out
The Strawmaiden gives wicked spirits a second chance
The Strawmaiden knows her fields, seeing the world as at a decent life.
they do through root and rhizome.
When Janest uses Scythe of Soul’s Harvest, she deals
While in a field, Janest may touch a living plant to dis- aggravated damage to spirits. If she incapacitates a
place her perspective to another plant in the same field spirit, she may pay three motes to transform that spirit
within (higher of Essence or 3) range bands, perceiv- into a seed, nut, kernel, shoot, or the like. The spirit
ing the world as though she were there. She adds Roots remains conscious within the seed and the plant it
Cry Out’s non-Charm dice on all Perception-based eventually grows into and remains capable of perceiv-
rolls made from this vantage and enjoys its benefit if ing its immediate surroundings, hearing prayer, and
she Joins Battle. speaking with those capable of hearing the demate-
rialized. It can’t take physical actions or use magic.
Janest can reflexively switch between her two per- While the plant can be destroyed, permanently killing
spectives. She can move from the point where she used the spirit, it won’t succumb to mundane natural causes
this Charm, though she must touch another plant to like drought or frost.
resume its benefits. This Charm ends if she goes more
than one range band out of the field she used it in. If the plant reaches the end of its life cycle, the spirit
is released, gaining a Defining Principle reflecting its
Whispers from the Fields experiences during its imprisonment. Janest may also
Cost: —(2m); Mins: Awareness 1, Essence 1 choose to release imprisoned spirits with a thought.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None Loyal Homestead Guardian
Duration: Permanent Cost: 2m; Mins: Awareness 2, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
The Strawmaiden keeps one ear and one eye in the spirit Duration: Instant
world. Prerequisite Charms: None
Janest can hear dematerialized characters. She can The Strawmaiden brooks no trespass on her land.
close one eye (incurring a −1 penalty on vision-based
rolls) and commit two motes to extend this benefit to Janest adds a non-Charm die on a Perception-based
her other senses. roll with any Ability for each of the following that
applies:

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• She’s in a field. The Strawmaiden knows the taste of the earth as surely
as if she’d sprung from it herself.
• She’s within or on the periphery of her
community. Upon tasting soil or minerals, Janest can determine
their origin. Likewise, consuming food or drink lets her
• Her roll upholds a positive Tie to her community. discern where its ingredients came from, while tasting
someone’s blood lets her determine where he was born
• She’s rolling opposing an enemy of the and grew up. Precisely identifying a location requires
community. her to already be familiar with it; otherwise, she narrows
it down to a useful but approximate geographic region.
Bloodhound’s Borrowed Muzzle
Cost: 5m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1 If Janest uses this acuity as part of a profile character
Type: Reflexive action — licking a speck of mud on a suspect’s boot or
Keywords: None eating a meal prepared by him, for example — success
Duration: One scene lets her also discern roughly where her target has been
Prerequisite Charms: Loyal Homestead Guardian in the last day, plus an additional day for each extra
success. She can gain the same benefit from appropri-
The Strawmaiden’s nose is sharp enough to rival any ate case scene rolls.
hunting hound’s.
Cat’s Borrowed Whisker
Janest gains the following benefits: Cost: 5m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
• She waives Loyal Homestead Guardian’s cost on
Keywords: None
scent- and taste-based rolls.
Duration: One scene
• She can recognize individuals by their scent Prerequisite Charms: Loyal Homestead Guardian
alone and distinguish older scents from new
The Strawmaiden is attuned to the faintest vibrations,
ones, allowing her to determine precisely how
sensing the subtle movements of earth and sky and eaves-
long ago the source of a scent was present.
dropping on whispering youths from a hundred paces.
• She gains +1 Resolve and Guile while eating, im-
Janest gains the following benefits:
mersing herself in the flavor.
• She waives Loyal Homestead Guardian’s cost on
• Her enhanced smell and taste count as excep-
hearing- and touch-based rolls.
tional equipment (Exalted, p. 580) on rolls with
other Abilities that benefit from them, like an • When she reads the intentions of someone
influence roll to curry a courtier’s favor by com- she’s touching, dice added by Loyal Homestead
plimenting his perfume or an Investigation roll Guardian are converted to non-Charm successes.
to recognize a character’s region of origin based
on his use of spices and ingredients in preparing • She can hear clearly through walls and other
a dish. barriers and can discern sounds at frequencies
too low for humans to hear, suffering no in-
Special activation rules: This Charm’s cost is reduced creased difficulty or penalties due to them.
by one mote for each of Cat’s Borrowed Whisker and
Falcon’s Borrowed Eye that Janest also has active (i.e., • Her enhanced hearing and touch count as ex-
she can activate any two such Charms for a total of ceptional equipment (Exalted, p. 580) on rolls
eight motes or all three for nine motes). with other Abilities that benefit from them,
like a read intentions roll to gauge a musician’s
Taste of Familiar Earth mood based on his song or a Larceny roll to pick
Cost: —; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1 a lock while feeling for the subtle motion of its
Type: Permanent tumblers.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Special activation rules: This Charm’s cost is re-
Prerequisite Charms: Bloodhound’s Borrowed duced by one mote for each of Bloodhound’s Borrowed
Muzzle Muzzle and Falcon’s Borrowed Eye that Janest also has

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active (i.e., she can activate any two such Charms for a Vermin-Pinning Glare
total of eight motes or all three for nine motes). Cost: 3m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Broken Twig Giveaway Keywords: None
Cost: 1m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1 Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental Prerequisite Charms: Falcon’s Borrowed Eye
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Strawmaiden’s piercing gaze gives pause to am-
Prerequisite Charms: Cat’s Borrowed Whisker bushers and cutpurses.

Janest hears with her feet, sensing the distant hoofbeats When Janest rolls Join Battle, enemies of the community
of stampeding cattle or the quiet footfalls of a creeping and foes in concealment suffer a −3 penalty on their roll.
assassin as vibrations through the earth. For each such enemy whose Join Battle roll is beaten by
Janest’s, she gains one Initiative, maximum (Wits).
As long as Janest’s standing on the earth or the ground
floor of a structure, she rerolls 6s until they cease to ap- Hero’s Awakened Eye
pear on a roll opposing the Stealth of another character Cost: —; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 1
on the same surface or otherwise made to discern the Type: Supplemental
source of such vibrations. In fields, she rerolls 5s as well. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Falcon’s Borrowed Eye Prerequisite Charms: Any two of Bloodhound’s
Cost: 5m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1 Borrowed Muzzle, Cat’s Borrowed Whisker, or
Type: Reflexive Falcon’s Borrowed Eye
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene Bearing witness to the terror and pain of a broken world,
Prerequisite Charms: Loyal Homestead Guardian the Strawmaiden is unflinching in confronting the work
that remains left for her to do.
Nothing escapes the Strawmaiden’s scythe-sharp gaze.
Janest adds a free full Excellency on a Perception-
Janest gains the following benefits: based Awareness, Investigation, or Survival roll.

• She waives Loyal Homestead Guardian’s cost on Reset: Once per scene unless reset by succeeding
vision-based rolls. on a Perception-based Awareness, Investigation, or
Survival roll opposing an enemy of the community.
• Her visual range is greatly increased, allowing her
to make out tiny details as far as one hundred yards Field-Ripple Intuition
away and rapidly process visual information. Cost: 3m; Mins: Awareness 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
• She ignores penalties for darkness or poor light- Keywords: None
ing on vision-based rolls with any Ability as long Duration: Instant
as there’s any light to see by. Prerequisite Charms: None
• Her enhanced visual acuity is exceptional The Strawmaiden attends to every twitch of grass, every
equipment (Exalted, p. 580) on rolls with other sudden intake of breath.
Abilities that benefit from the ability to discern
and examine subtle details and to rapidly pro- Janest doubles 9s on a Join Battle roll. If any hidden
cess and recall visual information, like a case opponents or enemies of the community are within
scene roll to notice a concealed trapdoor or a short range of her, she doubles 8s.
Craft roll to paint a realistic portrait of a model.
Direct Approach
Special activation rules: This Charm’s cost is re- Cost: 3m; Mins: Awareness 2, Essence 1
duced by one mote for each of Bloodhound’s Borrowed Type: Reflexive
Muzzle and Falcon’s Borrowed Eye that Janest also has Keywords: Decisive-only
active (i.e., she can activate any two such Charms for a Duration: Instant
total of eight motes or all three for nine motes). Prerequisite Charms: Field-Ripple Intuition

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The Strawmaiden never puts off till tomorrow what Janest automatically detects the presence of poison,
should be finished today. disease, drugs, and other contaminants within short
range. This doesn’t let her automatically diagnose
After rolling Join Battle, Janest can use this Charm patients but adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm
to reflexively move one range band toward an enemy dice on rolls to do so. She also adds this bonus on
whose Join Battle roll she beat. This doesn’t count as her Awareness rolls to detect concealed enemies or traps
movement action for the round. If she won Join Battle, that might expose others to such threats or to notice
she may reflexively make a decisive attack against him. subtle attempts at poisoning or infecting others.

Blood Sold Dearly While Bloodhound’s Borrowed Muzzle is active, this

Cost: 4m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1 Charm’s range extends to medium.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform Temper-Measuring Greeting
Duration: Until next turn Cost: 2m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Direct Approach Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
The Strawmaiden makes her foes work for every inch of Duration: Instant
victory. Prerequisite Charms: None

Janest gains +1 Evasion against enemies with lower The Strawmaiden is a quick and decisive judge of
Initiative and adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm character.
dice on rolls to disengage from them. If she wins Join
Battle and uses this Charm, its duration becomes one Janest doubles 9s on a read intentions or profile char-
scene. acter roll. If she uses this Charm against a character
in the scene she meets him, success also reveals an
Canny Bonesetter Discernment additional piece of useful information about him: an
Cost: 3m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1 Intimacy, a clue about his identity, etc.
Type: Simple
Keywords: None Hard-Eyed Suspicion
Duration: Instant Cost: 3m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Mute
The Strawmaiden needn’t second-guess herself when Duration: Instant
looking over injuries or listening to patient’s complaints. Prerequisite Charms: Temper-Measuring Greeting

Janest doubles 9s on a diagnosis roll and completes her The Strawmaiden doesn’t quickly forgive cheats.
appraisal instantly. If her patient is a member of her
community or the ailment was inflicted by an enemy Janest adds (Perception) non-Charm dice on an
of the community, she doubles 8s. If both are true, she Awareness roll opposing a character’s Larceny or
doubles 7s. Stealth, a read intentions or profile character roll, or a
roll to spot a Lunar’s Tell or notice similar identifying
If Janest successfully diagnoses an ailment, she adds details. If she succeeds, she singles out her target, intu-
any extra successes on the diagnosis roll as non-Charm itively discerning when he makes a Larceny or Stealth
dice on the next roll she makes to treat that ailment. roll for the rest of the scene. She doesn’t necessarily
realize what he’s doing, only that he’s up to no good. If
Blighted Crop Vigilance she rolls opposing him, his 1s subtract successes.
Cost: 3m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Hard-Eyed Suspicion can contest magic like Lightning-
Keywords: None Hand Sleight (Exalted, p. 316) that denies characters
Duration: One scene the opportunity to make opposing rolls at all.
Prerequisite Charms: Canny Bonesetter
Discernment Unkind Eye Omen
Cost: 4m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1
No poison, pestilence, or miasma escapes the Type: Simple
Strawmaiden’s nose. Keywords: Mute

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The Strawmaiden practices a healthy suspicion of

TOUCH ATTACKS strangers.

Janest makes a special (Perception + [Awareness or

In combat, touching an unwilling character or
something worn or wielded by them requires a Socialize]) read intentions roll, adding (Essence)
difficulty 1 unarmed gambit. Outside of combat, automatic successes. If she succeeds and her target
Larceny or Stealth rolls can be used to do so un- is an enemy, she learns which of her communities he
noticed, influence rolls can convince a target to has hostile intentions toward. She doesn’t learn the
allow it, etc. specific nature of his intentions but does learn which
of his Intimacies is most relevant to them — or, if he
has no such Intimacies, some other useful piece of in-
formation provided by the Storyteller. If she succeeds
Duration: Instant
but her target isn’t an enemy of the community, she
Prerequisite Charms: Hard-Eyed Suspicion
learns this as well as which of that target’s Intimacies
The Strawmaiden can feel when she’s unwelcome, wheth- his player thinks is most likely to potentially bring him
er snubbed by neighbors or in an assassin’s crosshairs. into conflict with one of her communities.

Janest makes a special (Perception + [Awareness or Reaping at Sunrise

Socialize]) read intentions roll against all characters Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Awareness 4, Essence 2
she can perceive. If she beats an observer’s Guile, Type: Reflexive
Janest recognizes whether or not he’s hostile to her. If Keywords: Uniform
she succeeds against a character whose hostile inten- Duration: Instant
tions subsequently cause battle to break out that scene, Prerequisite Charms: Blood Sold Dearly
she adds (Perception) non-Charm dice to Join Battle.
The Strawmaiden gets to work early, no matter how
Reset: Once per scene. bloody it may be.

Truth-Unveiling Graze After making a damage roll against a lower-Initiative

Cost: 2m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 1 enemy, Janest can use this Charm to reroll 1s and 2s until
Type: Simple they cease to appear. If she wins Join Battle and attacks
Keywords: None on her first turn, she waives this Charm’s Willpower cost.
Duration: Instant
Divine Tether Shearing
Prerequisite Charms: Temper-Measuring Greeting
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 2
The Strawmaiden feels the truth of things directly. Type: Simple
Keywords: Aggravated, Decisive-only
Janest instantly completes a case scene roll to exam- Duration: Instant
ine an object or structure she’s touching or a profile Prerequisite Charms: Canny Bonesetter
character roll against someone she’s touching. If her Discernment, God-Reaper’s Mercy
physical contact with someone is more significant than
passing contact — a handshake, kiss, arm-wrestling The Strawmaiden finds and severs the imperceptible
contest, etc. — he suffers the −2 Guile penalty for being thread connecting a possessing spirit to its victim.
unaware of observers, taken in by Janest’s physicality.
Janest rolls (Perception + [Awareness or Occult])
Alternatively, instead of making a profile character
against a possessing spirit’s Resolve to exorcise it, dou-
roll, Janest can reflexively activate any Simple Charm
bling 9s if he’s an enemy of the community or the host
that lets her make a profile character or read intentions
is a member of her community — or doubling 8s if both
roll, like Unkind Eye Omen.
are true. Success drives the spirit from its host and
Stranger-Appraising Wariness inflicts (Janest’s Essence) dice of aggravated decisive
Cost: 5m; Mins: Awareness 3, Essence 2 damage, ignoring Hardness, on him. The exorcised
Type: Simple spirit can’t possess that victim again for a season.
Keywords: Mute
If Janest exorcises a spirit whose Essence is less than
Duration: Instant
or equal to hers, she may use God-Reaper’s Mercy to
Prerequisite Charms: Unkind Eye Omen
bind it in a seed.

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Heart-Baring Gratitude • 7 Points: Reduce Rustle the Grapevine’s cost to

Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 2 ten motes when Janest uses it to seek out rumors
Type: Simple about this Charm’s target.
Keywords: None
Duration: Indefinite Janest must know a Charm for it to be enhanced with
Prerequisite Charms: Truth-Unveiling Graze gratitude.

The Strawmaiden knows thanks as gods know prayers, Stalks Have Eyes
her good deeds rewarded by a greater understanding of Cost: —; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 2
those she helps. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
After a scene spent doing a favor or working for some- Duration: Permanent
one without any expectation of repayment, Janest rolls Prerequisite Charms: Emerald Fingers Impression
([Charisma or Perception] + Awareness), banking grat-
itude equal to her successes, which aid her in under- Those who walk Janest’s fields are never alone.
standing that character. If he’s a community member,
she doubles 9s. Janest can reflexively spend gratitude Janest may use Emerald Fingers Impression without
on the following: needing to be in a field or touch a plant, displacing her
senses to a point in a field within (higher of Essence or
• 1 Point: Intuit the approximate distance and di- 3) range bands. If she can’t see the point she’s displac-
rection to this Charm’s target and whether he’s ing her senses to, she must either be familiar with it or
in any distress — and if so, how severe. touch a plant to form a spiritual link.

• 3 Points: After a successful read intentions roll Strawmaiden’s Calling

against this Charm’s target, learn another one Cost: 3m; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 2
of his Intimacies. Janest can use this option as Type: Reflexive
many times as she can pay to on a single read Keywords: None
intentions roll. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Cat’s Borrowed Whisker
• 3 Points: Add (Essence/2) non-Charm success-
es on a read intentions, profile character, instill, When innocents cry out, the Strawmaiden hears.
or persuade roll against this Charm’s target.
When a character within (Essence) miles calls out for
• 3 Points: Double her successes when she uses help, Janest may use this Charm to roll (Perception +
Strawmaiden’s Calling to sense a cry for help Awareness) against a base difficulty of 3. If she has a Tie
from this Charm’s target. to that character, she automatically discerns his iden-
tity and adds (Intimacy) non-Charm dice. If she suc-
• 5 Points: Declare that this Charm’s target has ceeds, she hears the plea and identifies what direction
performed an inconvenient task (Exalted, p. the speaker is from her. Every three extra successes on
216) at some point in the past that provides an her roll let her player ask the Storyteller an additional
immediate benefit to Janest in the current scene. question about the plea or the speaker: details about
the speaker’s location, his precise distance from her,
• 5 Points: Treat the intensity of a positive Tie a rough description of him (or his name, if she knows
this Charm’s target has toward Janest as one him), etc.
step higher against one influence roll.
Janest can use this Charm to sense the cries of commu-
• 5 Points: In a scene where Janest is helping nity members out to (Essence x5) miles and doubles 9s
or protecting this Charm’s target, gain one on her roll.
Willpower.
God-Reaping Tune
• 7 Points: If this Charm’s target has a positive Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Awareness 4, Essence 3
Major or Defining Tie toward Janest, declare Type: Simple
that he’s performed a serious task at some point Keywords: None
in the past that provides an immediate benefit to Duration: Instant
her in the current scene. Prerequisite Charms: Scythe of Souls’ Harvest

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STORYTELLING STRAWMAIDEN’S CALLING

Strawmaiden’s Calling is a good Charm to discuss with your Storyteller when you take it. Most of its utility comes
from the Storyteller providing information, and he’ll have an easier time doing that if he knows in advance why
you chose it. Storytellers should make sure that this Charm gives ample warning of threats to those under Jan-
est’s protection, letting the player characters rush to their defense. It can also be used as a way to introduce plot
hooks, pointing player characters in the direction of narratively relevant or entertaining problems.

The Strawmaiden hums or whistles a tune that lingers in Janest gains the following benefits:
the air, disrupting spiritual forms.
• She may pay a one-Willpower surcharge to
Janest rolls (Charisma + [Awareness or Performance]) extend the duration of one of this Charm’s pre-
against all dematerialized enemies who can hear her. requisites indefinitely. If she activates multiple
A character whose Resolve is beaten becomes mate- prerequisites simultaneously, she need only pay
rial and can’t dematerialize for the rest of the scene. this surcharge once.
Enemies of the community also lose one Initiative if
their Resolve is beaten. • She reduces the mote cost of Charms used to
enhance Awareness rolls with enhanced senses
If Janest knows Divine Tether Shearing, this influence by one mote each. If all three prerequisites are
can also target possessing spirits. Rather than materi- active, the discount becomes two motes.
alizing, affected characters suffer −2 Resolve against a
roll made to exorcise them that scene. Enemies of the • The equipment bonus from her enhanced senses
community suffer a −3 penalty instead. is converted to a non-Charm success.

Creation-Embracing Gaze • If she has all three prerequisites active, she gains
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 3 one Initiative on the start of each of her turns in
Type: Reflexive combat. She doesn’t gain this while crashed.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Rustle the Grapevine
Prerequisite Charms: Hero’s Awakened Eye Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple
The Strawmaiden pauses, taking in her beloved Creation Keywords: Mute
like a breath of fresh air. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Strawmaiden’s Calling
After making a Perception-based Awareness,
Investigation, or Survival roll, Janest may use this Janest sifts through rumor, gossip, and idle speculation
Charm to reroll it. to find a lone grain of truth.

This Charm’s Willpower cost is waived when used to After a few hours spent chatting with local gossips,
enhance rolls opposing enemies of the community. swapping tales with alehouse regulars, or otherwise
gathering information, Janest rolls ([Charisma or
Field-Hunter’s Exhilaration Perception] + Awareness) against difficulty 3 to gather
Cost: —; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 3 information about a character, group, or event. If a
Type: Permanent character has taken meaningful efforts to obscure the
Keywords: None information sought, use his Guile or conceal evidence
Duration: Permanent roll instead.
Prerequisite Charms: Bloodhound’s Borrowed
Muzzle, Cat’s Borrowed Whisker, Falcon’s Borrowed Success reveals a useful piece of information about that
Eye topic — if Janest seeks the identity of a traveler passing
through, she might learn the purpose for his journey;
Janest’s keen senses put any beast to shame. if she inquires about a feud between local families,
she might learn the identities of the most prominent

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proponent of the vendetta in each family. She must use approximate size of the being that crossed through it,
this Charm somewhere that such information could and whether he is an enemy of the community. (The
reasonably be gleaned through the local rumor mill. Storyteller should only convey this information when
relevant, although Janest does sense the movement of
Every extra success lets Janest learn an additional every field mouse.) If a battle group crosses it, she can
piece of related information. Upon learning the pur- identify its Size.
pose for a traveler’s identity, she might learn where
he set out from, and what cargo he’s carrying. After Janest’s line can’t be damaged or disrupted except
learning the major players in a local feud, she might by magic, in which case Janest rolls (Stamina +
learn the Intimacies motivating each of them, then the Awareness) against the opposing character’s most ap-
identities of secondary figures within each family and propriate (Attribute + Ability) roll to determine if his
a map of the Intimacies between them. magic can disrupt the line.

Reset: Once per story unless reset by upholding a Janest can stack this Charm up to (Perception) times
Major or Defining Tie to Janest’s community or one of to maintain multiple wards. The cost of wards past the
its members. first is reduced to one mote, one Willpower.

Watchful Harvest Guardian Hundred Eyes Maiden

Cost: —(+5m); Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 3 Cost: —; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 5
Type: Permanent Type: Permanent
Keywords: None Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Stalks Have Eyes Prerequisite Charms: Field’s Edge Vigil, Watchful
Harvest Guardian
The Strawmaiden is one with her fields, watching over
farmhands at work and youths at play. The Strawmaiden is not just a woman but the soul of the
fields, a watchful presence guarding her lands.
When Janest uses Emerald Fingers Impression, she
may pay a five-mote surcharge to increase its range to Janest gains the following benefits:
(Essence x5) miles and displace her perspective to up
to (Perception) different points within range, though • Enemies of the community can’t cross the line
she can still only perceive through one at a time. marked by Field’s Edge Vigil unless they spend
Additionally, if she’s used Field’s Edge Vigil to ward one Willpower. Trivial opponents can’t do so at
an area, she may displace her senses to fields within it all.
regardless of range.
• She can use Strawmaiden’s Calling to sense
Field’s Edge Vigil cries for help from members of her community
Cost: 5m, 1wp (1m, 1wp); Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 4 and characters she has Major or Defining Ties
Type: Simple regardless of distance as long as they’re in the
Keywords: None same realm of existence. She can likewise hear a
Duration: Indefinite cry for help from any locale warded with Field’s
Prerequisite Charms: Strawmaiden’s Calling, Edge Vigil or within a field Janest’s displaced her
Stranger-Appraising Wariness senses into with Emerald Fingers Impression.

The Strawmaiden brooks no intrusion, feeling every • When she uses Emerald Fingers Impression,
footfall like a thunderclap in her soul. she can perceive the world through her own
normal senses and the displaced senses simul-
Janest draws a line around the boundaries of a field or a taneously. Likewise, when she uses Watchful
community — tracing it in the soil, demarcating it with Harvest Guardian to displace her senses to
a ring of scarecrows, marking it out with colorful rib- multiple locations, she sees through all of them
bons, etc. This circle can be large but not without limit; simultaneously. When she makes Perception
Janest can ward a village or a neighborhood within a rolls, she adds one non-Charm die for each per-
city, but not an entire city. She can sense whenever a spective beyond the first from which her senses
character crosses over this line, discerning where the can reach the roll’s target.
line was crossed, the direction it was crossed from, the

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pay two motes to gain +2 non-Charm Guile against

Presence an enemy of the community or anyone who considers
himself her social superior, whether due to wealth,
Boisterous Festival Spirit
influence, or position.
Cost: —; Mins: Presence 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Soul of Sincerity
Keywords: None Cost: 4m; Mins: Presence 2, Essence 1
Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: None Keywords: Mute
Duration: One scene
After a season of long toil, there’s nothing better than a
Prerequisite Charms: Earnest Smile Enigma
chance to cut loose and revel in raucous music.
Even the Strawmaiden has some secrets she must keep,
When Janest makes an influence roll with any Ability
but if she must deceive others, it’s best to be honest about
through whistles, claps, instrumental music, alarm
it.
bells, or other nonverbal sounds, she adds (higher of
Essence or 3) dice, ignores multiple target penalties, One of Janest’s Major or Defining Intimacies becomes
and ignores the Resolve bonus for nonverbal commu- apparent to all who perceive her, shining through in all
nication (Exalted, p. 221). she says and does. She adds (Essence) dice on rolls to
instill the revealed Intimacy and (Charisma/2, round-
Neighboring Village Dialect
ed up) Guile against effects that would reveal any other
Cost: 2m; Mins: Presence 4, Essence 1 information about her.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None With Presence 5, Essence 2, Janest may pay a two-
Duration: Instant mote surcharge to extend this Charm’s duration to
Prerequisite Charms: Boisterous Festival Spirit indefinite.
No matter where she may find herself, the Strawmaiden Harvest Celebrant’s Appeal
can always strike up a conversation, overcoming lan- Cost: 3m; Mins: Presence 2, Essence 1
guage barriers through force of personality, bullheaded- Type: Supplemental
ness, and a handful of loanwords. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
When Janest makes an influence roll or speaks for up
Prerequisite Charms: None
ten seconds, she can be understood by those who don’t
understand her language. She can’t use this Charm to The Strawmaiden speaks with rousing intensity, inspir-
convey needlessly abstruse language, highly abstract ing crowds to action and communities to revelry.
concepts, or complicated technical information.
Janest rerolls 1s until they cease to appear on an inspire,
While using Fieldhand Clarion (p. XX), this Charm’s instill, or persuade roll with any Ability and ignores
cost is waived. multiple target penalties. If she’s attending a festival,
ritual, or significant cultural event for her community,
Earnest Smile Enigma
targeted community members can’t use Intimacies
Cost: —(2m); Mins: Presence 2, Essence 1 of apathy, laziness, fear, or sadness to bolster their
Type: Permanent Resolve or in Decision Points.
Keywords: Mute
Duration: Permanent Way to the Heart
Prerequisite Charms: None Cost: 5m; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Creation’s villains cannot understand Janest — how can
Keywords: None
they find a weakness in her if she is so painfully sincere?
Duration: One scene
Janest can use Charisma instead of Manipulation to Prerequisite Charms: Harvest Celebrant’s Appeal
calculate Guile, unless successfully asserting Guile
Through food and fellowship, the Strawmaiden brings
would keep her from being caught in a lie or conceal
together friends and wins over enemies.
her emotional state or immediate intentions. She can

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When Janest shares food with others, she doubles 9s on Court-Braving Advocacy
influence rolls and read intentions rolls against them. Cost: 2m; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1
If Janest prepared the meal herself, those present can’t Type: Supplemental
initiate hostilities unless they pay two Willpower or Keywords: None
someone else does so first. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Maiden Against the World
With a Presence 5, Essence 3 repurchase, those who
partake in a meal that Janest prepared suffer a −3 penal- The Strawmaiden speaks on behalf of those who need
ty on attack rolls and other rolls that would cause harm her, even in the halls of power.
to Janest, her community, or the object of any positive
Tie that Janest instilled them with during the meal. This Janest doubles 9s on a Bureaucracy roll or on a bargain,
penalty lasts for (Charisma) days and can’t be resisted instill, or persuade roll with any Ability when speaking on
with Willpower but ends if those protected by hospitali- behalf of her community, one of its members, or a character
ty try to attack or harm the penalized character. or group she has a positive Tie to. If she has an applicable
positive Tie, she adds (Intimacy) dice. She ignores any
Soul-Nourishing Fare penalties she might suffer from unfamiliarity with compli-
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1 cated jargon, bureaucratic procedure, or formal etiquette.
Type: Simple
Keywords: None Down-to-Earth Sensibility
Duration: Instant Cost: 2m; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Way to the Heart Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
The Strawmaiden’s cooking comforts the heart and Duration: Instant
nourishes the soul. Prerequisite Charms: Maiden Against the World

When Janest serves a meal that she prepared to up to The Strawmaiden’s forthright speech cuts through big
(Essence + Charisma) characters, each one who par- ideas and nonsense.
takes gains one Willpower and forms a Minor Tie of
gratitude to her. A character can only benefit from this Janest adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm dice
Charm once each day. on a persuade roll to convince someone to act against
one of his Principles or to overturn influence (Exalted,
Maiden Against the World p. 221). If she rolls to overturn the influence of an en-
Cost: 3m; Mins: Presence 2, Essence 1 emy of the community, she waives the Willpower cost
Type: Supplemental to do so.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Simple and Resounding Honesty
Prerequisite Charms: None Cost: 3m; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
The Strawmaiden’s determination only grows as her Keywords: None
opponents do. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Maiden Against the World
Janest adds one non-Charm die on an influence roll or
command action for each of the following that is true: The Strawmaiden speaks from her heart and stands by
her words.
• Janest is opposing someone in a position of
wealth, status, or authority. When Janest makes an Appearance- or Charisma-
based influence roll that aligns with one of her own
• Janest is opposing someone with a reputation or Intimacies, she adds a non-Charm success. If she beats
appearance of great personal, social, or institu- the Resolve of at least one nontrivial character, she
tional power. adds (Essence) to her Resolve against all influence that
opposes that Intimacy for the rest of the scene.
• Janest is opposing an enemy of the community.
Rustic Battle-Saint Call
• Janest is opposing a group that outnumbers her
Cost: 2m; Mins: Presence 2, Essence 1
and her allies.
Type: Supplemental

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Keywords: None When roused to anger, Janest’s fearsome presence un-

Duration: Instant balances her foes.
Prerequisite Charms: None
When enemies attack Janest or make opposed physical
When the Strawmaiden’s words can’t forestall violence, rolls against her, their 1s subtract successes, maximum
they can still spur courage. (Janest’s Essence).

Janest doubles 9s on a rally or rally for numbers action. At glowing anima or higher, enemies of the commu-
She can flurry it, including with an attack. nity’s 2s subtract successes as well. At bonfire, this
applies against all foes.
A Presence 3 repurchase lets Janest pay a three-mote
surcharge to enhance an order action. This doesn’t let Field-Saint Acclaim
her flurry it with an attack. Cost: 5m; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Vermin-Clearing Shout Keywords: None
Cost: 2m; Mins: Presence 2, Essence 1 Duration: One day
Type: Supplemental Prerequisite Charms: None
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Spirits of the land love the Strawmaiden, for she is proof
Prerequisite Charms: None that the Unconquered Sun hears their pleas.

Ten Sheaves’ Chosen frightens off pests to protect what To use this Charm, Janest must work the land, tend to
matters. the health of plants or animals, or make offerings to
spirits of nature. She gains the following benefits when
Janest adds (lowest of Appearance, Charisma, or interacting with elementals, gods of nature, and other
Strength) non-Charm dice on a threaten roll. Enemies spirits or supernatural creatures tied to plant life:
of the community and animals count as having a Minor
Tie of fear to Janest against the roll. • Such characters are treated as having a Minor
Tie of respect to Janest.
Fierce Field Sentinel
Cost: —; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1 • If such characters have a negative Tie that ap-
Type: Permanent plies to Janest, its intensity is treated as one step
Keywords: None lower. This doesn’t affect negative Ties to Janest
Duration: Permanent herself.
Prerequisite Charms: Vermin-Clearing Shout
• Janest is treated as having a bonus dot of
The Strawmaiden’s fearsome gaze makes even the heart- Appearance when dealing with them, which can
less hesitate. raise her above Appearance 5. This doesn’t apply
on threaten rolls if she has Hideous.
Janest’s threaten rolls ignore the Resolve bonus for
nonverbal communication (Exalted, p. 221). In com- • Such characters must hear Janest out peacefully
bat, an enemy whose Resolve is beaten by her threaten when she speaks so long as she and her compan-
roll loses one Initiative. ions remain peaceful and inoffensive. A character
may pay one Willpower to ignore Janest or two
Against enemies of the community, Janest is capable Willpower to initiate hostilities against her and her
of threatening characters that are normally immune to companions. If Janest or any of her companions
fear, like zombies and automatons. engage in combat, even in self-defense, remaining
characters may fight without spending Willpower.
Scarecrow-Warrior Battle Aura
Cost: 3m, 1i; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1 Harvest of Gratitude
Type: Reflexive Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Presence 3, Essence 1
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform Type: Permanent
Duration: Until next turn Keywords: None
Prerequisite Charms: Vermin-Clearing Shout Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Field-Saint Acclaim

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The Strawmaiden’s tireless work connects her to the people. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
When Janest uses Field-Saint Acclaim, she may pay Prerequisite Charms: Fierce Field Sentinel
a one-Willpower surcharge to apply its benefits to
members of her community rather than nature spirits, Those who meet the Strawmaiden’s determined gaze
requiring that she spend a scene working on behalf of the cannot help but admire her.
community, providing food or medical care to its mem-
bers, or participating in its traditions. If Janest performs When Janest makes a threaten roll, her targets won’t
an activity that meets both these requirements and Field- form negative Ties toward her because of it, nor can
Saint Acclaim’s normal requirements, like working in a they strengthen negative Ties to her at the scene’s
community’s fields, she gains these benefits when dealing end. Such characters won’t take offense at the threat
with both community members and nature spirits. or respond with hostility, finding something admira-
ble or at least worth hearing out in her harsh words.
Beloved Forewoman Exemplar This Charm doesn’t extend to threats that are overly
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 1 brutish, sadistic, or disproportionate; the Storyteller
Type: Simple should take into consideration Janest’s audience in
Keywords: None drawing this line on a case-by-case basis.
Duration: One project
Prerequisite Charms: Field-Saint Acclaim Spending Willpower to resist the threaten roll ends
this effect, allowing a character to form or strengthen
The Strawmaiden leads her community, whether orga- a negative Tie. Affected characters unable to resist the
nizing harvest festivals, stockpiling food against lean influence may spend one Willpower to resist solely the
years to come, or undertaking mercantile ventures to fill effect of this Charm instead.
her community’s coffers.
With a Presence 4 repurchase, Janest’s threaten roll
This Charm enhances a project (Exalted, p. 226) or also counts as an instill roll to create a positive Tie
other bureaucratic task Janest leads, accelerating the toward herself, with an emotional context chosen by
speed at which an organization makes progress: the target’s player.

• If a task could normally be completed in Reset: Once per scene.

(Essence) years or less, it can be completed in
(10 – Essence) months. Militia-Empowering Mess Hall
Cost: —; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 2
• If a task could normally be completed in a month Type: Permanent
or less, it can be completed in (10 – Essence) Keywords: None
days. Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Rustic Battle-Saint Call, Soul-
• If a task could normally be completed in a week Nourishing Fare
or less, it can be completed in (10 – Essence)
hours. An army marches on its stomach; Janest’s nourishing
cooking puts weary soldiers back on their feet and re-
This doesn’t speed physical labor by the organization’s news faltering morale.
members, but rather affects planning, authorization,
allocation of resources, and similar bureaucratic tasks. When Janest uses Soul-Nourishing Fare to provide for
a battle group, it increases its Drill by one step, doubles
If Janest’s workforce is made up primarily of members 9s on rout checks, and is immune to the Demoralized
of her community, the project is accelerated even stratagem in its next battle.
further — tasks taking up to (Essence) years can be
completed in (10 – Essence) weeks, those taking up to Fieldhand Clarion
a month can be completed in (10 – Essence) days, and Cost: 5m; Mins: Presence 4, Essence 2
those taking up to a week can be completed instantly. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Harsh But Fair Duration: One scene
Cost: 3m; Mins: Presence 3, Essence 2 Prerequisite Charms: Harvest Celebrant’s Appeal,
Type: Supplemental Vermin-Clearing Shout

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Janest’s voice rings out over the clamor of those working This Charm is a basic Craft project to create a scare-
the field, the booming roar of a thunderstorm, or the crow, wicker figure, or other effigy of Janest using an
battle cries of a raksha warband. appropriate Craft — Carpentry, Doll-Making, Weaving,
etc. Enemies of the community and wild animals
Janest may choose to speak loud enough to be heard who can see the effigy are menaced by it, suffering
out to (Essence + Charisma) range bands. She ignores −2 Resolve against fear-based influence, −2 Guile to
distance-based and environmental penalties on her influ- conceal their fear, and a penalty of (Janest’s Essence)
ence rolls and can be heard over even the loudest noises. on Join Battle rolls. They can’t regain Willpower from
The Strawmaiden’s voice even cuts through magical si- sleeping within one mile of an effigy once they’ve seen
lence like that of Mist on Water Attack (Exalted, p. 416). it. A character can resist this for one scene by paying
Janest rolls (Charisma + Presence) against that effect’s one Willpower. In fields, resisting requires entering a
difficulty or against an appropriate (Attribute + Ability) Decision Point and citing a Major or Defining Intimacy.
roll by the effect’s creator if there isn’t a difficulty. Success
renders her speech immune for that effect’s duration. The effigy can’t be damaged or disrupted except by
magic, in which case Janest rolls (Stamina + Presence)
If Janest knows Boisterous Festival Spirit, Fieldhand against the opposing character’s most appropriate
Clarion’s effects also extend to any nonverbal sounds (Attribute + Ability) roll to determine if his magic can
that Charm could enhance. destroy it. Janest can sense the destruction of an effigy,
waking immediately if asleep.
Terror to Crows
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 4, Essence 2 Janest can stack this Charm to enchant up to (Essence
Type: Simple + Charisma) effigies at a time.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Reaper’s Mercy
Prerequisite Charms: Boisterous Festival Spirit, Cost: 4m; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 2
Scarecrow-Warrior Battle Aura Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Dual
Shouting, whistling, clapping, or making some other Duration: Instant
startling sound, the Strawmaiden scatters those too Prerequisite Charms: Scarecrow-Warrior Battle
fearful to face her directly, driving them into the open. Aura

Janest makes a (Charisma + [Performance or Presence]) Those who sense the killing power of Janest’s attack and
threaten roll with double 9s against all enemies who survive do not forget it.
hear her, intimidating them into fleeing or hiding from
her. Affected characters also lose (Janest’s Essence) Upon crashing an opponent with a withering attack or
Initiative, which she doesn’t gain. Once an enemy spends causing damage with a decisive attack, Janest reflexively
Willpower to resist this influence, they’re immune for makes an ([Appearance or Charisma] + Presence) threat-
the rest of the scene. Trivial opponents and non-magical en roll against him — typically to convince him to flee or
animals can’t spend Willpower to resist this influence. surrender. If she beats his Resolve, he loses one Willpower
in addition to any spent resisting Janest’s influence.
If Janest knows Vermin-Pinning Glare (p. XX), affect-
ed characters can’t try to hide instead of fleeing. Any If Janest would incapacitate an enemy with a decisive at-
affected characters in concealment reveal themselves tack, she may instead leave him on his last −4 health level.
to her in their haste, though still remaining concealed He can’t spend Willpower to resist her threaten roll.
from others.
Rustling Stalks Whisper
Raiton-Warding Effigy Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 4, Essence 2
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 2 Type: Simple
Type: Simple Keywords: Mute, Stackable
Keywords: Stackable Duration: Indefinite
Duration: Indefinite Prerequisite Charms: Harvest of Gratitude
Prerequisite Charms: Terror to Crows
The Strawmaiden buries her secrets in a field, whispering
Pests and vermin shy from the Strawmaiden’s fields, knowing a rumor to the soil that it might nourish the surrounding
better than to trespass where her scarecrows stand watch. crops and spread.

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Janest makes a ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Farmgirl-to-Hero Inspiration

Presence) instill roll. Any character who enters that Cost: 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 2
field or eats anything prepared with plants from it is Type: Simple
subjected to this influence roll to create a Principle of Keywords: None
belief in the rumor, hearing a voice in the rustling of Duration: (Essence) days
stalks or the wind. They’ll spread it whenever the op- Prerequisite Charms: Simple and Resounding
portunity presents itself for the rest of the story. They Honesty
can spend one Willpower to refrain from doing so for
one scene, and shrug off this urge permanently once The Strawmaiden’s fellows rise up to meet the passion
they spend a total of (Janest’s Essence) Willpower. in her words.

Janest can stack this Charm to enchant multiple fields. When Janest makes a Charisma-based inspire roll
to create positive emotions in members of her com-
Sweat-and-Toil Radiance munity, each affected character receives a pool of
Cost: 3m; Mins: Presence 4, Essence 2 bonus dice equal to Janest’s extra successes over his
Type: Supplemental Resolve. (Characters can’t opt not to apply Resolve
Keywords: None against this roll.) A character can add up to (Janest’s
Duration: Instant Charisma) dice on any physical actions performed in
Prerequisite Charms: Harvest Celebrant’s Appeal, a field, any social or mental actions made to benefit
Field-Saint Acclaim Janest’s community, or any roll made to harm or
thwart an enemy of the community. These dice are
Sweat, soil, and blood only highlight the Strawmaiden’s lost once this Charm ends.
allure.
Heart of the Community
An instill or persuade roll with any Ability converts Cost: 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 2
dice from Appearance to non-Charm successes and Type: Simple
ignores fatigue penalties, wound penalties, and any Keywords: None
penalties from the condition of Janest’s clothing or ap- Duration: Indefinite
pearance. Up to (Appearance) points of such penalties Prerequisite Charms: Harvest of Gratitude
are added as non-Charm dice on the roll.
Janest is never afraid to stand up for what’s right, an
Wisdom Like Sprouting Seeds incorruptible advocate of her people.
Cost: 5m; Mins: Presence 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple Janest gains a Defining Intimacy reflecting one of her
Keywords: None community’s norms, laws, beliefs, or customs. It can’t
Duration: Permanent be weakened by any means. She may treat influence
Prerequisite Charms: Down-to-Earth Sensibility that would cause her to violate it as unacceptable.

Fools may spurn Janest’s advice, but her words remain Characters can attempt to undermine this Charm’s de-
planted in their minds, blooming into a deeper under- fense with a special instill roll, rolling twice and taking
standing over time. the lower result. The cost of any magic that enhances
either roll must be paid separately. If successful, Janest
Janest makes an instill roll against a single character, loses this Charm’s protection against influence that
adding (Essence) automatic successes. Even if she isn’t would make her act against the Intimacy until she next
successful or he resists her influence, her words still gains Willpower from upholding it.
linger in his thoughts. The next time he encounters
her, something that reminds him of her, or something If the Janest chooses to weaken the enhanced Intimacy,
else that’s relevant to her influence, she repeats her this Charm ends.
roll against him. She adds (Essence) non-Charm suc-
cesses and can use other Supplemental and Reflexive Reset: Once per story.
Charms to enhance the roll. If this roll is successful,
the Intimacy is instilled at Major Intensity. Sustaining Bounty
Cost: —; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 2
Reset: This Charm can only be used against a charac- Type: Permanent
ter once per story. Keywords: None

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Duration: Permanent Janest creates a bond between herself and a character

Prerequisite Charms: Soul-Nourishing Fare she has a positive Tie for, who must also have a positive
Tie toward her, over the course of a meal shared with
Those who share the harvest’s bounty with Janest find him. The two of them gain the following benefits:
succor for their wounds.
• Any Resolve bonus one would gain from a posi-
When Janest uses Soul-Nourishing Fare, she rolls tive Tie to the other is increased by +1.
([Charisma, Intelligence, or Wits] + Survival), doubling 9s.
For each success, she may heal a character who partook • Once per scene, each can transfer one Willpower
one level of non-aggravated damage or convert one level to the other reflexively by helping them, encour-
of aggravated damage to lethal. She can divide this healing aging them, etc.
among any number of characters who share the meal.
• Each can sense when the other is in physical
Blood-Stained Reaper’s Prize or emotional distress, including the severity of
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3 the distress, as well as the rough direction of the
Type: Supplemental other, and adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-
Keywords: None Charm successes on rolls to find them.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Terror to Crows • Janest counts her partner as a member of her
community for purposes of her Charms.
Janest confronts her foes with grim trophies won from
beasts and godlings that thought they could overcome Janest can stack this Charm to bond with any number of
the Strawmaiden. player characters and up to (Essence x2) Storyteller charac-
ters. Uses past the first cost only one mote, one Willpower.
When Janest stunts a threaten roll with a description
of how she reveals or brandishes a trophy of her past Blood-and-Water Binding
victories over powerful opponents — a Fair Folk no- Cost: —; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3
ble’s head on a pike, a cloak made from a slain behe- Type: Permanent
moth’s hide, an artifact taken from a powerful foe she’s Keywords: None
bested in battle, etc. — she adds a free full Excellency. Duration: Permanent
Each 10 on her influence roll increases the Willpower Prerequisite Charms: Broken Bread Companionship
cost to resist by one, to a maximum cost of (Essence).
Against enemies of the community, 9s also increase Reciting a prayer for well-being and happiness as a pair
the Willpower cost. Enemies who spend Willpower to of companions share a meal, the Strawmaiden forges a
resist lose Initiative equal to Janest’s extra successes bond between them that transcends blood and earth.
over their Resolve.
Janest can use Broken Bread Companionship to create
If Janest created the trophy with one of her Craft a bond between a pair of characters with positive Ties
Abilities, she gains one gold point for each nontrivial toward each other, rather than herself and another
enemy she successfully threatens. character. Janest counts both blessed characters as
members of her community. If she knows Festive
Reset: Janest can’t use the same trophy more than Fertility Rite (p. XX), she may grant its benefits to the
once per story. She must seek out and claim further blessed characters for free.
trophies to maintain her formidable reputation.
There is no limit on how many such bonds Janest
Broken Bread Companionship can sustain with this Charm, other than its cost, but
Cost: 5m, 1wp (1m, 1wp); Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3 can’t bond someone to more than (her Essence x2)
Type: Simple Storyteller characters.
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Indefinite Covenant of Wheat and Honey
Prerequisite Charms: Soul-Nourishing Fare Cost: 5m, 1wp (1m, 1wp); Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple
The Strawmaiden sanctifies the bond between herself Keywords: Stackable
and her closest companions with bread, salt, and the Duration: Indefinite
warmth of their togetherness. Prerequisite Charms: Broken Bread Companionship

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When food is shared, community is born. However, the effigy isn’t an independent character and
doesn’t have any traits; it can’t take any actions that re-
Janest can use this Charm when she shares a meal with quire rolls. Janest’s player directs the effigy’s behavior,
someone who has a positive Major or Defining Tie to even in scenes where Janest isn’t present.
her community, or by offering a blessing to someone
eating food given to him in gratitude by a community Characters with superhuman or magically enhanced
member. He gains the following benefits: senses within short range of an effigy can roll
(Perception + Awareness) opposing Janest’s roll to rec-
• Community members recognize him as having ognize it for what it is. Likewise, characters with Ties
Janest’s favor, applying their Ties to Janest to to Janest who speak with an effigy may see through it
him as well. by reading its intentions, opposing Janest’s roll.

• He gains +2 Resolve against influence opposed As long as a character hasn’t seen through the effigy’s
by a positive Tie to a community or community disguise, he can’t tell it from Janest. When an enemy
member. wishes to attack Janest, if an effigy is also in range, his
player flips a coin to determine which one he attacks.
• If he’s about to unknowingly violate one of the The same is true for other effects that would specifi-
community’s norms, laws, beliefs, or customs, cally target her, but not influence rolls, area-of-effect
gut instinct alerts him to this. This reveals what attacks, and the like. Moreover, because enemies
he shouldn’t do, but not the reason for avoiding can’t tell the true Janest from her effigy, they suffers
it or what he should do instead. Raiton-Warding Effigy’s penalties even if the only
Strawmaiden they can see is the real one.
• Once per day, he can gain one Willpower by perform-
ing a day’s work or an inconvenient task (Exalted, p. Janest can stack this Charm to enchant multiple effigies.
216) for a community member or the community as a
whole without expectation of reward. With Essence 4, Janest may pay one Willpower to possess
an animated effigy for one scene, acting through it using
• He counts as a member of the community, if he’s her traits and magic (but not any equipment or artifacts).
not already. During this time, her body falls into a deep sleep.
Janest can stack this Charm to benefit up to (Essence Honest Toil, Hardy Fare
x2) characters. Uses past the first cost one mote, one Cost: —; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3
Willpower. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
False Strawmaiden Ruse
Duration: Permanent
Cost: 1wp, 1lhl; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3 Prerequisite Charms: Sustaining Bounty
Type: Simple
Keywords: Stackable Janest serves up hearty fare, leaving those who sit at her
Duration: Indefinite table refreshed and restored.
Prerequisite Charms: Raiton-Warding Effigy
When Janest uses Sustaining Bounty, she can suffuse
Janest seems to be in every field, sending her foes run- characters with incredible vitality for one success
ning to chase after diversions of wicker and straw. each. Each such character reduces his total fatigue,
poison, and wound penalties by (Janest’s Charisma/2,
Shedding her blood on an effigy she’s created with rounded up). This lasts for (Janest’s Essence) days;
Raiton-Warding Effigy, Janest animates it and imparts she may increase its duration for each character she
her own likeness onto it, rolling (Manipulation + confers this benefit to by spending one success per day
Presence) with double 9s to determine the strength of added.
the resemblance. The effigy is capable of lifelike motion
and simple speech, and has scent, body heat, and other Blessed Harvest Repast
sensory qualia. It even has its own anima banner, which Cost: —; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3
waxes and wanes to match Janest’s. This illusion con- Type: Permanent
tinues even if the effigy is destroyed (p. XX); regardless Keywords: None
of the condition of its remains, witnesses perceive it as Duration: Permanent
Janest’s corpse, rationalizing away any discrepancies. Prerequisite Charms: Honest Toil, Hardy Fare

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The Strawmaiden offers up the fruits of the harvest as a • Janest’s command actions to lead it add (Essence
meal fit for the gods, empowering those who eat with a + Might) dice. If they’re opposing an enemy of
measure of immortal vitality. the community, she adds that many successes
instead.
When Janest uses Sustaining Bounty, she may grant
temporary −0 health levels to those who partake for Soul of the Last Stand
one success per level, maximum (Janest’s Essence) Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3
levels per character. These temporary levels are the Type: Reflexive
first to be filled when these characters are damaged Keywords: None
and vanish when damaged. Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: War-Scythe Benediction
Simple Soul Entreaty
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3 The Strawmaiden’s call unifies fieldworkers, soldiers,
Type: Supplemental and goodwives to hold the line in defense of home and
Keywords: None hearth.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Farmgirl-to-Hero Inspiration, While fighting in defense of her community against an
Wisdom Like Sprouting Seeds enemy army or similar direct threat, Janest gains the
following benefits:
The Strawmaiden speaks her mind frankly and openly,
sharing her hopes, loves, passions, and grudges. • If she’s fighting under a successful Back to
the Sea, Fortifications, or Strategic Placement
When Janest makes an Appearance- or Charisma-based stratagem, she and all allied battle groups add
instill roll to instill her targets with one of her own (Essence) successes on Join Battle rolls.
Defining Intimacies, they gain it as a Major Intimacy.
• Allied battle groups gain Might 2 and perfect
With a Presence 5, Essence 4 repurchase, Janest may morale (Exalted, pp. 207, 210).
use this Charm when she instills one of her Major
Intimacies. • She ignores the once-per-scene limit on the ral-
ly for numbers action, renewing the ranks with
War-Scythe Benediction community members.
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple Well-Deserved Payback
Keywords: None Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 3
Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: Militia-Empowering Mess Keywords: None
Hall Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Fierce Field Sentinel, Simple
The Strawmaiden sows blessings like seeds among her and Resounding Honesty
troops, reaping a harvest of victory.
Janest is the guardian of her community; she can trust
Janest blesses a battle group of up to Size (Charisma) they’ll have her back when it comes time to settle her
after a scene spent giving an inspiring speech, reciting personal scores.
prayers for victory, gambling and brawling with the
rank and file, etc. It gains the following benefits in its Janest may treat someone she has a negative Major
next battle: or Defining Tie to as an enemy of the community and
gains +1 non-Charm Resolve against him. If she gains
• +1 effective Size, which can raise it above Size 5. Willpower from upholding that Intimacy, she also
loses one Limit.
• +1 Might against enemies of the community.
If Janest knows War-Scythe Benediction, she can use
• It ignores penalties from deprivation and fatigue. this Charm on battle groups led by or made up of such
characters.

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Earnest Handshake Agreement • Janest adds (Essence) non-Charm successes on

Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 4 Perception-based rolls with any Ability against
Type: Supplemental community members that would reveal thoughts
Keywords: None or actions contrary to the chosen Intimacy.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Simple Soul Entreaty • Once per day, when Janest upholds the chosen
Intimacy, she rolls (Essence) dice. Each success lets
Janest finds common ground with her audience as she her either gain one Willpower or lose one Limit.
urges them to action, speaking with sincerity and the
conviction of her beliefs. Reset: Once per story, unless reset by accomplishing a
major character or story goal or legendary social goal
When Janest makes a persuade roll that leverages an that benefits Janest’s community.
Intimacy her target shares with her, she treats its inten-
sity as one step higher for determining what she can con- Ten Thousand Sheaves
vince him to do (Exalted, p. 216). If he has it as a Defining Cost: 5m, 1wp, 1lhl; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 4
Intimacy, the cost to resist increases by one Willpower. Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Reset: Once per story, unless reset by raising an Duration: One story
Intimacy that a nontrivial character has in common Prerequisite Charms: Broken Bread Companionship
with Janest to Defining. Even if reset, it can’t be used
against a character more than once per story. In times of dire need, the Strawmaiden may choose
another as she herself was Chosen, empowering them to
Strawmaiden-and-Empress Chastisement stand for the fields as she does.
Cost: —(+15m); Mins: Presence 5, Essence 4
Type: Permanent Anointing a mortal member of her community with
Keywords: None her blood or giving him food or drink into which it has
Duration: Permanent been mixed, Janest adopts him into the ranks of Ten
Prerequisite Charms: Heart of the Community Sheaves’ God-Blooded descendants. She grants him
the following benefits:
The Strawmaiden is an unwavering champion of her
community, a vocal reminder of the duties that the pow- • A pool of 10 personal motes.
erful must uphold.
• A field guardian’s Good Earth Resilience and
When Janest uses Heart of the Community, she may Harvest Moon Sickle Charms (Exalted, pp.
pay a fifteen-mote surcharge to gain the following 512-513).
benefits:
• Exalted Healing (Exalted, p. 165).
• Community members who can perceive her
count as having the chosen Intimacy at Major • +1 Defense and Resolve against enemies of his
intensity. If this conflicts with one of their own community.
Intimacies, the imposed Intimacy is Minor
Janest can use this Charm to benefit up to (Essence x2)
instead. They can’t act against this Intimacy
characters at a time.
unless they cite another Intimacy of equal or
greater intensity in a Decision Point to spend With a Presence 5, Essence 5 repurchase, once per story,
one Willpower, resisting it for the scene. Janest may pay twenty motes, one Willpower, and one
aggravated health level to permanently transform a mor-
• Community members can’t use Intimacies of
tal into a field guardian. He gains a field guardian’s traits
pride, ambition, conviction, or insistence on de-
(Exalted, p. 512) while retaining any of his own traits that
corum or procedure to bolster their Resolve or
are better, and permanently gains this Charm’s Defense
in Decision Points against Janest’s influence.
and Resolve bonus against enemies of the community.
• Janest adds (Essence) non-Charm successes
This Far and No Further
on inspire, instill, and persuade rolls against
community members that are supported by the Cost: 10m, 1wp, 1lhl; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 5
chosen Intimacy. Type: Simple

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Keywords: None Animals: Janest may exclude certain types or categories

Duration: One week of animal when she uses this Charm. Normally, they can’t
Prerequisite Charms: Raiton-Warding Effigy, Soul of cross over the line; in extreme circumstances such as starva-
the Last Stand tion, they can spend three Willpower to cross it. Magically
enhanced animals can always spend Willpower to cross.
Where the Strawmaiden digs in and says, “no more,” no
force can make her yield. Disease: The normal spread of contagious diseases
is stopped by Janest’s line, including the spread of
Using this Charm requires Janest to spend up to a day contaminants that give rise to infectious diseases. This
walking the boundaries of the line she wishes to protect doesn’t prevent diseases from being spread by the
and spilling her blood at intervals. During this time, her deliberate actions of nontrivial characters, but such
anima rises to at least glowing and can’t fall below this diseases halve their virulence, rounded down.
level until she is done. A field spreads in her wake as she
walks, demarcating the boundaries of this line. It can be Enemies of the Community: Enemies of the community
a straight line, a perimeter, the boundaries of an existing can’t cross the line by any means. However, they under-
natural feature, etc. She can use Soul of the Last Stand in stand that they can break this ward by defeating Janest
defending this line against an enemy seeking to cross it and can sense her location along the line. In practice, this
and waives the cost to do so. If Janest knows Field’s Edge means that while Janest holds the line, she’ll face a battle
Vigil (p. XX), she gains its benefits for her line at no cost. against any invading enemies of the community.

Additionally, while Janest’s present anywhere along Otherworldly Realms: The Wyld cannot spread
the line, the entire line holds back the following dan- across Janest’s line, nor can shadowlands spread
gers as follows:

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ART OF THE OX-BODY

Janest’s Ox-Body Technique offers a roughly comparable array of health levels to the Solar version, but with
more high-penalty levels at Stamina 5, synergizing with her Resistance Charms that reward high wound
penalties. When designing an Ox-Body Technique for your own Exigents, it’s often simplest to borrow the
health level arrays of a comparable Exalt type. You can feel free to vary from them if it reinforces your Exi-
gent’s themes or mechanics — a Chosen of the Forge might receive a higher number of −4 levels, reflecting
her toughness; a Chosen of Blood whose Charm set makes heavy use of health level costs might receive a
smaller number of health levels but more −0s, letting her pay these costs without accruing wound penalties.

across it or open within a warded perimeter. The same Fallow Land Renewal
holds true for any similar effects, including all environ- Cost: 10m; Mins: Resistance 2, Essence 1
mental Shaping effects. This doesn’t affect the Wyld or Type: Simple
shadowlands already in existence. Keywords: None
Duration: Indefinite
Weather and Natural Disasters: Harsh weather Prerequisite Charms: Ox-Body Technique
like hail and thunderstorms and natural disasters like
wildfires, poisonous fumes, and earthquakes won’t Sometimes even the Strawmaiden must rest from her
cross Janest’s line. If this is the result of magic, Janest labors, renewing herself for trials to come.
rolls (Stamina + Presence) opposing the responsible
character’s most appropriate (Attribute + Ability) roll As long as she refrains from physical exertion, Janest
to determine if her line holds against his magic. multiplies the rate at which she heals (Exalted, p. 173)
by (Stamina + Resistance). If she’s in her community
Reset: Once per story. or a field, this increases to (Stamina + Resistance +
Willpower).
Resistance
Once per day, when Janest naturally heals enough
Ox-Body Technique damage to reduce her wound penalty, she gains one
Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 1, Essence 1 Willpower.
Type: Permanent
Deep-Rooted Tenacity
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Cost: 3m; Mins: Resistance 2, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform
Janest’s body is supernaturally durable, flooded with the Duration: Instant
vital Essence of field and valley. Prerequisite Charms: None

Janest gains additional health levels based on her The Strawmaiden yields not even an inch to her enemies,
Stamina rating: digging her heels into the dirt with a behemoth’s strength.

• Stamina 1-2: One −1 level and one −2 level. For an instant, Janest can’t be physically moved,
whether by smash attacks, a grappler’s throw, Heaven
• Stamina 3-4: One −1 level and two −2 levels Thunder Hammer (Exalted, p. 274), etc. This can’t
prevent falls due to gravity. It can be used after an
• Stamina 5: One −1 level, one −2 level, and two −4 attack roll, but before damage. If an enemy uses appli-
levels. cable magic after damage is rolled, this Charm may be
used at that time.
This Charm may be purchased (Resistance) times. If
Janest’s Stamina increases, her health levels change to This Charm’s cost is reduced by two motes in fields or
reflect her new rating. against enemies of the community.

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Harvest-Hardened Skin Those who take a swing at Janest soon learn they’d have
Cost: 3m; Mins: Resistance 2, Essence 1 better luck against a bull yeddim, her body reinforced by
Type: Reflexive Essence and grit.
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant Janest can use this Charm after being hit by an attack.
Prerequisite Charms: None Each 1 on the attack roll subtracts one die from a
withering attack’s raw damage or a decisive attack’s
Janest’s body is honed by labor and Essence; she is not damage.
easily harmed.
With Resistance 5, Essence 3, Janest may pay a
Janest adds (Strength) natural soak against a wither- one-Willpower surcharge to subtract successes instead
ing attack or gains Hardness (Strength) against a de- of dice.
cisive attack. 1s on the damage roll subtract successes.
Nail Defies Hammer
In fields, Janest retains this Charm’s Hardness while Cost: 4m; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
crashed. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Withering-only
Rough-Spun Hero Raiment Duration: Until next turn
Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 2, Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: Yeddim-Leather Obstinance
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None Bracing herself through gritted teeth, Janest endures all
Duration: Permanent blows.
Prerequisite Charms: Harvest-Hardened Skin
Janest rolls (Stamina + Resistance) and adds her suc-
The Strawmaiden has sturdy work boots for her greaves cesses to her soak. If she uses this Charm on the same
and a well-worn smock for her hauberk. turn she takes a full defense action, she doubles 9s.
She can assert her base natural soak even against un-
Janest treats her clothing as mundane light armor or soakable withering damage. If she renews this Charm
medium armor (Exalted, p. 591), depending on how when its duration ends, she may retain her existing
heavy and durable her garments are. If it’s unclear soak bonus instead of rolling again.
where a given garment falls, Janest’s player chooses.
She can’t receive this benefit from overly ornamental This Charm is incompatible with armor, except for
and heavily impractical clothing, like long-trained silk armor from Rough-Spun Hero Raiment. That Charm’s
gowns or cloth-of-gold robes. armored soak also applies against unsoakable damage
while using Nail Defies Hammer.
If Janest is wearing a garment that she made or that
was made for her personally, she adds (Essence) to its Stalk Blunts Sickle
soak. Cost: 3m; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
A Resistance 3, Essence 2 repurchase lets Janest Keywords: Counterattack, Decisive-only
commit ten motes, one Willpower as a Simple ac- Duration: Instant
tion to confer artifact traits on her clothing for one Prerequisite Charms: Nail Defies Hammer
scene. If her clothes were made for or by her, she
adds +1 Hardness in addition to the soak bonus. With Janest dulls any blade turned against her, blunting them
Resistance 4, Essence 3, she can maintain this commit- against her impervious skin.
ment indefinitely.
After being hit by an attack from close range, Janest
Yeddim-Leather Obstinance can use this Charm to counterattack with an undodge-
Cost: 3m; Mins: Resistance 2, Essence 1 able (Stamina + Resistance) gambit before the damage
Type: Reflexive roll. The gambit’s difficulty is based on the quality of
Keywords: Dual her attacker’s weapon: 1 for mundane weapons, 2 for
Duration: Instant exceptional weapons, or an artifact weapon’s (rating/2,
Prerequisite Charms: Harvest-Hardened Skin rounded up; 5 for N/A artifacts). Success blunts or oth-
erwise damages that weapon, imposing a −2 penalty

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on withering and decisive damage rolls with it. This to resist or contend with its symptoms. However, to
penalty lasts until the weapon is repaired (Exalted, p. gain this benefit, Janest can’t sleep or rest more than
242). She can’t use this Charm against unarmed attacks eight hours a day and multiplies the amount of food
or natural weapons. she must eat each day by the disease’s morbidity. If
she has Every-Season Attunement (p. XX), exposure
Breaking the Wolf’s Fangs to sunlight only provides the sustenance she’d require
Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 4, Essence 1 in a normal day, not the increased amount necessary
Type: Permanent to sustain this endurance. Janest can’t voluntarily end
Keywords: None this Charm before the disease runs its course.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Stalk Blunts Sickle This Charm can be stacked to resist multiple diseases,
waiving the Willpower cost of each use past the first.
Wild beasts who trespass on the Strawmaiden’s lands The amount of food Janest must consume is multiplied
learn a painful lesson at her hands. by the highest morbidity among those diseases, +1 for
each additional disease.
When Janest uses Stalk Blunts Sickle against an enemy
of the community, she waives the Initiative cost of its Tireless Harvest Technique
gambit. Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
Type: Permanent
If Janest knows Unbroken Stalk Defiance, she can use Keywords: None
Stalk Blunts Sickle after she successfully blocks or Duration: Permanent
clashes an attack, rolling the gambit with (Strength Prerequisite Charms: Healthy-as-a-Horse
+ combat Ability) as she uses the force of her blow to Technique
damage her enemy’s weapon. Alternatively, she may
make a disarm gambit instead of that Charm’s special Janest toils through the night to bring in the harvest
gambit. before the first frost or to raise palisades against a faerie
raid.
Healthy-as-a-Horse Technique
Cost: 2m; Mins: Resistance 2, Essence 1 Janest ignores fatigue and wound penalties while
Type: Supplemental performing physical labor to benefit her community or
Keywords: None tend a field. She gains the benefits of a full night’s rest,
Duration: Instant including gaining Willpower, from eight hours spent in
Prerequisite Charms: None such labor.

The Strawmaiden’s work is perilous, but her resilience Steadfast Affection Defense
is legendary, rallying her body against all manner of Cost: 1m; Mins: Resistance 2, Essence 1
maladies. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Janest doubles 9s on a Resistance roll. If she’s in a field Duration: Instant
or her community, she doubles 8s. Prerequisite Charms: None
Feed the Fever The Strawmaiden draws strength from unshakable loy-
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1 alty to those she protects.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Stackable Janest adds +2 Resolve against influence that opposes
Duration: Until the disease is cured one of her positive Ties. If the Tie is to her community
Prerequisite Charms: Healthy-as-a-Horse or one of its members or if the influence comes from
Technique an enemy of the community, this bonus is non-Charm.

Hard work and a powerful appetite are the best medicine. Humble Strawmaiden Contentment
Cost: 3m; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
When Janest fails a roll opposing a disease’s virulence, Type: Reflexive
she may use this Charm, adding (higher of Essence or Keywords: None
3) non-Charm dice on rolls against its morbidity or Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Steadfast Affection Defense

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What good are wine, silk, and jewels when the harvest Whether she stands against bandits, hungry beasts, or
goes awry and the winter winds blow cold? faerie warbands, Janest is a stalwart guardian.

Against a bargain roll or influence based on bribery, When Janest successfully blocks an attack against a
temptation, or seduction, Janest treats the Resolve character protected by her defend other, she and her
bonus of any of her applicable Intimacies as one ward both gain one Initiative.
point higher and reduces the penalty from any of her
Intimacies that support the influence by one. Additionally, Janest waives Others Before Self’s cost
to protect a trivial character and may use it to simul-
If Janest successfully resists such influence, she may taneously protect any number of trivial characters
make an influence roll of her own to berate, shame, or in addition to one nontrivial character. She doesn’t
expose the offender — typically an instill roll targeting suffer onslaught penalties for attacks against trivial
onlookers or a threaten roll against him — adding characters.
(Essence) non-Charm dice. If the offender is an enemy
of the community, she adds successes instead. Vigilant Warden Rebuke
Cost: 4m; Mins: Resistance 4, Essence 1
Unbroken Stalk Defiance Type: Reflexive
Cost: 5m; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1 Keywords: Counterattack, Decisive-only
Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant
Keywords: Uniform Prerequisite Charms: Steadfast Affection Defense
Duration: Until next turn
Prerequisite Charms: Steadfast Affection Defense Those who prey on Janest’s community are destined for
her wrath.
Janest is defiance made manifest, meeting her troubles
head-on even in the face of death. Janest makes a decisive counterattack. Against an
enemy of the community or an attack against someone
Janest ignores penalties to her Parry or Resolve. This protected by her defend other action, her most relevant
doesn’t include penalties from surprise attacks or from Tie adds (Intimacy) non-Charm dice on the attack roll.
Janest’s Intimacies. Against enemies of the communi-
ty, she also gains +1 Parry and Resolve. If both Janest and a protected character make counter-
attacks against the same attack, both counterattacks’
Others Before Self onslaught penalties are applied against the attacker’s
Cost: 4m; Mins: Resistance 4, Essence 1 Defense against them.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform Blood-Pumping Enthusiasm
Duration: One scene Cost: 1i; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Steadfast Affection Defense Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Dual, Perilous
Given the choice between her own safety and that of Duration: Instant
those she protects, the decision is obvious to Janest. Prerequisite Charms: None

Janest reflexively takes a defend other action (Exalted, Fighting the Strawmaiden is an exercise in futility; every
p. 196). Her protection lasts for this Charm’s duration, bruise, scrape, and wound only makes her stronger.
but the ally must remain within close range to receive
it. If he’s attacked by an enemy of the community, When Janest takes withering or decisive damage, she
Janest gains +1 non-Charm Parry against that attack. gains one mote. If damaged by an enemy of the commu-
This Charm ends if she uses a defend other action on nity, she instead gains one mote for every two points of
another character. withering damage or one mote per level of decisive
damage, maximum (Stamina) motes per attack.
Defend the Defenseless
Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 4, Essence 1 With Resistance 5, Essence 3, the maximum number
Type: Permanent of motes Janest can gain from a use of this Charm in-
Keywords: None creases to (Stamina x2).
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Others Before Self

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Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by going a round and major projects. Most can be completed within min-
without taking any damage. In fields, it can be reset by utes; the most arduous, work-intensive projects can be
going a round without taking decisive damage. completed in an hour if basic or a day if major.

Busted Lip Reprisal With a Resistance 5, Essence 2 repurchase, Janest can

Cost: 3m; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1 pay a five-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to use this
Type: Supplemental Charm on an interval of a superior project, reducing
Keywords: Uniform it to (10 – Essence) weeks for artifacts made of green
Duration: Instant jade or orichalcum and large-scale mundane projects,
Prerequisite Charms: Blood-Pumping Enthusiasm or (10 – Essence) months for other artifacts. The time
necessary to build manses is halved.
Justice isn’t hard — just pay back what you’ve been given.
Patch-and-Mend Technique
When Janest makes an attack against an enemy who Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
has dealt decisive damage to her or otherwise physi- Type: Permanent
cally harmed her that scene, she ignores wound pen- Keywords: None
alties on the attack roll, and converts up to (Stamina) Duration: Permanent
points of wound penalty to non-Charm dice on the Prerequisite Charms: Cherished Hammer
attack roll. Partnership

Against enemies of the community, Janest can use this Who is Janest to let something go to waste when it could
Charm without first waiting for them to damage her. be put to use?

If Janest knows Vermin-Clearing Shout, she may use Janest gains the following benefits on repair projects:
this Charm on threaten actions.
• She adds (Essence) non-Charm dice.
Black Eyes Paid Back
Cost: —(+2m); Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1 • She can use Cherished Hammer Partnership
Type: Permanent even without appropriate equipment. If she uses
Keywords: Dual its repurchase to accelerate a superior project,
Duration: Permanent the time needed to complete it is reduced to (10
Prerequisite Charms: Busted Lip Reprisal – Essence) days.

When tested, Janest fights back with ferocious intensity. • When she uses Stubborn Maiden Handiwork, its
cost is reduced by two motes and being used for
Janest can pay a two-mote surcharge when she uses repairs counts as a condition for it.
Busted Lip Reprisal to have each die added on the
attack roll also adds a die of decisive damage or post- • Any object she’s repaired counts as something
soak withering damage. She waives this surcharge that she made for the purposes of Charms like
against enemies of the community. Rough-Spun Hero Raiment.

Cherished Hammer Partnership Stubborn Maiden Handiwork

Cost: 5m; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1 Cost: 3m; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Prerequisite Charms: Cherished Hammer
Partnership
Janest knows better than to think that a craftsman needs
no tools; hers are reliable partners, honed by time and labor. What Janest lacks in inspiration, she makes up for in
bull-headed dedication.
While using equipment that she made, that was made
for her, or which she has a Tie to, Janest converts the die Janest doubles 9s on a Craft roll as long as one of the
added by exceptional equipment to a non-Charm success following is true:
and accelerates the rate at which she can complete basic

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• She spent twice the time needed to make the Janest adds (Stamina/2) non-Charm Resolve against
roll. a Psyche effect or any magic that would deceive her
senses or put her in an altered state of consciousness.
• She used double the amount of materials needed The bonus increases to (Stamina) against effects used
for the project. by enemies of the community. Alternatively, she can
use this Charm on a roll with any Ability opposing
• She’s creating or repairing something for a such an effect, adding (Stamina) non-Charm dice, or
member of her community. that many non-Charm successes against enemies of
the community.
• She’s suffering a fatigue penalty.
Successfully resisting such an effect lets Janest intuit
With a Resistance 5, Essence 2 repurchase, Janest may a piece of useful information about it — usually the
pay a one-Willpower surcharge to double 8s if two of effect’s source, the motivation behind its use, or a way
the above are met. to protect herself or others from it in the future.
A third purchase at Resistance 5, Essence 3 lets Janest If Janest knows Humble Strawmaiden Contentment,
pay a one-white-point, one-Willpower surcharge to she can use it against Psyche effects.
double 7s if three of the above are met.
Defender of the Harvest’s Order
Hundred Winters Workmanship
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
Cost: 5m; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 1 Type: Reflexive
Type: Supplemental Keywords: Aggravated, Decisive-only
Keywords: None Duration: Indefinite
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: None
Prerequisite Charms: Cherished Hammer
Partnership Chosen to stand against the tide of the Wyld, Janest need
not fear it.
A measure of Janest’s supernatural durability goes into
everything that she makes. Janest treats all fae as enemies of the community and
her decisive attacks deal aggravated damage to them.
Janest adds (Stamina) non-Charm dice on a Craft roll She and any items she carries are immune to Shaping
if her stunt involves patience, persistence, or stubborn- or addiction caused by Wyld exposure.
ness. If she uses this Charm to enhance a basic or major
project, her work is nigh impervious, adding (Stamina/2, If Janest knows Bellwether Camaraderie Method, she
rounded up) to the difficulty of feats of demolition and may commit an additional five motes as a Simple action
other rolls to destroy it. Food, drink, and other perish- to extend this Charm’s protection against the Wyld to
ables last (Stamina) times longer. With Charms like allies within short range for an hour.
Stout-Hearted Brewing Style that requires that food or
drink be consumed with a certain period of time, this Spirit-Maintaining Maneuver
also increases the length of that period. Cost: 5m per 1wp; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
If the durability or longevity of Janest’s handiwork Keywords: None
benefits her community or one of its members during Duration: Instant
a scene, she gains one silver point — or a gold point, if Prerequisite Charms: Steadfast Affection Defense
the object was created with a major project.
Janest is stubborn down to her soul, the entirety of her
No Time for Idle Dreaming Essence refusing to yield.
Cost: 3m; Mins: Resistance 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Janest may spend motes in place of Willpower to resist
Keywords: None social influence or other mind-affecting magic.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Strawmaiden’s Heart
Cost: 4m; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2
The Strawmaiden does not truck with daydreams; you Type: Reflexive
get what you work for, not what you wish for. Keywords: None

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Duration: Instant Janest answers the call of necessity with a ceaseless

Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Maintaining Maneuver work ethic and level-headed practicality, outfitting
armies with reforged farm implements or forging her
In moments of crisis, catharsis, or epiphany, Janest dis- own panoply of wonders.
covers strength she didn’t know she had.
Janest can use this Charm after a Craft roll to reroll
Janest gains one Willpower, which can raise her above failed dice for one craft point each — silver points for
her permanent Willpower. basic and major projects, gold points for superior proj-
ects, and white points for legendary projects. She can
Reset: Once per day, unless reset by upholding a reroll up to (Stamina + Craft) dice total. Craft points
positive Major or Defining Tie. With Essence 3, this spent on this Charm also count toward the cost of a
becomes once per scene. major, superior, or legendary project’s finishing roll
(Exalted, pp. 240-242).
Bullheaded Warrior’s Resolve
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 4, Essence 2 Generosity Begets Wonders
Type: Reflexive Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2
Keywords: None Type: Reflexive
Duration: Instant Keywords: None
Prerequisite Charms: Blood-Pumping Enthusiasm Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Cherished Hammer
Rolling her neck and stretching her muscles, Janest pre- Partnership (x2), Hundred Winters Workmanship,
pares herself to deliver a devastating attack. Plowshares to Swords
To use this Charm, Janest must have a wound penalty The greatest wonders of Janest’s workbench are those
of at least −1. She rolls Join Battle with (Strength + made for her friends, loves, and community.
Resistance). Any wound penalties she would suffer on
the roll are converted to non-Charm dice instead. Upon creating an artifact that she intends to give to an-
other character, Janest may use this Charm to let him
Reset: Once per scene unless reset by suffering enough awaken (his Essence) of its Evocations by incurring
decisive damage to increase Janest’s wound penalty. experience debt. Janest can pay toward the beneficia-
ry’s experience debt with white points as though they
Douse the Fire, Dry the Flood
were experience. Janest can also use this Charm on her
Cost: 2m; Mins: Resistance 4, Essence 2 own behalf if she creates an artifact primarily meant to
Type: Reflexive benefit her community.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Alternatively, Janest can use this Charm after (10 –
Prerequisite Charms: Others Before Self Essence) hours spent repairing or maintaining another
character’s artifact, awakening one Evocation as above.
The Strawmaiden is a bulwark against nature’s perils She can’t gain this benefit for her own artifacts.
when her friends are in danger.
Reset: This Charm can only be used on an artifact once
When a character protected by Janest’s defend other per story.
action fails a roll against an environmental hazard or
similar peril, she may intercede to save him, making Roots Hold Against the Storm
a roll against the hazard on her ward’s behalf. This is Cost: 1wp; Mins: Resistance 4, Essence 2
separate from any exposure she may have to the haz- Type: Reflexive
ard herself. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Plowshares to Swords
Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Maintaining Maneuver
Cost: 5m, 1wp, 1s/g/wxp per die; Mins: Resistance 4,
Essence 2 Janest’s bonds run deeper than even she knows, holding
Type: Reflexive fast against any attempt to uproot them.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent When Janest cites a positive Tie in a Decision Point,
Prerequisite Charms: Stubborn Maiden Handiwork she treats its intensity as one step higher. If, while

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obeying another character’s successful influence roll, Janest can use this Charm when she attacks an enemy
Psyche effect, or the like, it would cause her to come of the community or a foe who’s attacked someone
into conflict with a positive Tie, she can use this Charm protected by her defend other this scene. The attack
to enter a second Decision Point to resist. adds (base Parry) dice of decisive damage or post-soak
withering damage. An enemy crashed or dealt deci-
Reset: Once per story unless reset when Janest’s faith sive damage by this can’t attack characters protected
in those she has positive Major or Defining Ties to is by Janest until the end of his next turn.
vindicated or rewarded in a narratively meaningful
way. Examples include a trusted ally throwing himself Flock Guardian Salvation
in harm’s way to protect Janest, her community shel- Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2
tering her from a Wyld Hunt, learning of some long- Type: Reflexive
ago tale of Ten Sheaves’ deeds that supports a Tie of Keywords: Uniform
respect for him, etc. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Others Before Self
Wolf-Slayer’s Scythe Devotion
Cost: 4m; Mins: Resistance 4, Essence 2 The Strawmaiden can’t save everyone, but she will lay
Type: Supplemental her life on the line to protect who she can.
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant After an enemy attacks a character protected by
Prerequisite Charms: Others Before Self Janest’s defend other action, she can use this Charm
if he beat her Parry to force him to direct the attack
Janest offers no second chances to those who harm those against her, rather than her ward.
under her protection, ensuring they’ll never pose a threat
again.

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If Janest uses this Charm multiple times in a single successes. If she’s suffering from poison, she can purge
round, she waives the Willpower cost after the first. it from her system by spending one success per round
(or other interval) of its duration. She may also cure
Always at Their Side diseases she suffers by spending (morbidity + 3) suc-
Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2 cesses. The harmful effects of expelled afflictions are
Type: Permanent shunted onto the field, with consequences determined
Keywords: None by the Storyteller. Ordinary poisons or diseases might
Duration: Permanent wither a crop or render it mildly toxic. Supernatural
Prerequisite Charms: Flock Guardian Salvation afflictions have far more dramatic effects — Yozi ven-
om might turn the field’s vegetation to living metal and
When those in Janest’s care are threatened, she is there, blight the soil; puppeteer’s plague might contaminate
moving with the speed of drought-fire through dry grass. the field and infect those who eat of it.

When using Others Before Self, Janest’s defend oth- If Janest knows Cold Iron Slumber, she may use it
er action extends to short range. When her ward is while in a field without needing to sleep first. If she
attacked, she may reflexively move one range band succeeds, the shattered magic is likewise displaced
toward him, if this brings him within short range. This into the field. A memory-warping Psyche effect might
doesn’t count as her move action. imbue plants with psychedelic properties; a petrifying
curse might turn the crops to stone; a Deathlord’s
Iron Attitude Refusal soul-rending necromancies might open a shadowland.
Cost: —(1m); Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2
Type: Permanent Reset: Once per scene.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Strength of Her Convictions
Prerequisite Charms: Defender of the Harvest’s Order Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
The Strawmaiden knows herself with a surety like cold Keywords: Dual
iron, too well for baleful curses or Wyld fantasies to tell Duration: One scene
her otherwise. Prerequisite Charms: Harvest-Hardened Skin,
Unbroken Stalk Defiance
Janest adds +1 to all static values against Shaping effects
and adds a non-Charm success on rolls with any Ability Janest fights all the harder when those she loves are in
opposing Shaping. Against Shaping effects that can’t be danger.
defended against with static values or opposed rolls,
Janest may pay one mote to force a contest, making When fighting in defense of a positive Tie or in a way
opposed (current temporary Willpower) rolls. Janest that exemplifies a Principle, Janest adds (Intimacy)
adds a non-Charm success, as above. Against enemies soak and Hardness. This stacks with effects that grant
of the community, she doubles 9s. If the Shaping isn’t Hardness. If she’s fighting in defense of a Tie to her
created by a character, the Storyteller sets a difficul- community, she also gains +1 Parry against enemies of
ty. Regardless of who wins, both characters lose one the community.
Willpower per failed die on their roll.
This Charm is incompatible with armor.
The Maiden Must Endure
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2 Spurning All Calamity
Type: Reflexive Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2
Keywords: None Type: Reflexive
Duration: Instant Keywords: Decisive-only, Perilous
Prerequisite Charms: Feed the Fever Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Nail Defies Hammer
The Strawmaiden draws on the living Essence of the
fields to overcome afflictions, becoming part of the great If she must stand against the apocalypse, Janest will
and boundless vitality of the land. meet it without flinching.

To use this Charm, Janest must be in a field. She rolls To use this Charm, Janest must have Initiative 10+. She
(Stamina + Resistance) with (Essence) non-Charm gains Hardness equal to her Initiative, which can’t be

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reduced or negated by magic. Regardless of the out- With a reassuring touch and a kind word, the
come, if the attack hits her, she resets to base Initiative. Strawmaiden lifts a friend’s woes from his shoulders and
takes them on herself.
Alternatively, Janest can use this Charm to perfectly
defend against a source of uncountable damage, ren- Janest blesses a character, negating all penalties he suf-
dering her immune to recurring sources for a scene. fers from wounds, poison, disease symptoms, fatigue,
This doesn’t require her to have Initiative 10+ or reset and any crippling effect short of amputation. Janest, in
her Initiative. turn, suffers all of the penalties she negates for him.

Maiden-in-Winter Sacrifice If Janest uses this on a character blessed with Honest

Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2 Toil, Hardy Fare (p. XX), he instead gains two tempo-
Type: Permanent rary −0 health levels for one success each, maximum
Keywords: Decisive-only (Janest’s Essence) health levels. These temporary lev-
Duration: Permanent els are the first to be filled when the character is hurt
Prerequisite Charms: The Maiden Must Endure, and vanish once filled..
Spurning All Calamity
Janest can stack this Charm to bless multiple charac-
The Strawmaiden guards the harvest and is guarded by ters. She suffers only the highest penalty among the
it in return, delivered from peril by the land’s sacrifice blessed characters.
for her sake.
Cold Iron Slumber
While Janest is in a field, she may use Spurning All Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 3
Calamity without resetting to base Initiative. However, Type: Reflexive
the field suffers the damaged blocked by her Hardness, Keywords: None
withering and drying as if afflicted by a sudden drought, Duration: Instant
crumbling into detritus and dust, or being cut down to Prerequisite Charms: Iron Attitude Refusal, No
the root by a wave of spiritual force. Time for Idle Dreaming

Reset: Once per day unless reset by being hit by three Janest sheds curses like bad dreams as the morning
decisive attacks without taking damage from any of comes.
them in a scene.
After a full night’s sleep, Janest chooses a Psyche effect,
Victorious Defender Spirit Shaping effect, or ongoing sorcerous effect she suffers
Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 2 from, rolling (Wits + Resistance) opposing the character
Type: Permanent responsible for that effect, who uses whatever dice pool
Keywords: None best fits the effect’s nature. If no such character exists, the
Duration: Permanent Storyteller sets an appropriate difficulty. Success ends
Prerequisite Charms: Defend the Defenseless that effect, while failure still halves the effect’s remaining
duration, rounded down. If the effect doesn’t have a set
Janest prevails over all threats to those under her pro- duration to reduce, Janest’s dreams reveal a helpful piece
tection, rebuffing the wicked. of information about how to heal her affliction.

When Janest and her ward gain Initiative from Defend Reset: Once per story unless reset by winning a meaning-
the Defenseless, the attacker loses one Initiative. ful victory over an enemy of the community who has af-
Janest may transfer the Initiative she receives to her flicted her with such an effect, whether in combat, political
ward, or vice versa. intrigue, business, or the like. Even reset, this Charm can’t
be used more than once against the same effect.
Burden-Shouldering Strength
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 3 Eternal Harvest Maiden
Type: Simple Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 3
Keywords: None Type: Simple
Duration: Indefinite Keywords: Perilous
Prerequisite Charms: Healthy-as-a-Horse Duration: One scene
Technique, Others Before Self Prerequisite Charms: Blood-Pumping Enthusiasm,
Fallow Land Renewal

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Closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, Upon using this Charm and at the start of each of her
Janest draws on the Essence of the land and its bounty. turns, Janest rolls (wound penalty) dice, healing lev-
els of non-aggravated damage equal to her successes,
Janest rolls (Essence + Stamina), unmodified by any maximum (Essence). If she’s in a field, she doubles 9s
other effects, gaining temporary −0 health levels equal on these rolls.
to her successes. In fields, she doubles 8s on the roll.
These temporary levels are the first to be filled when Janest must pay one Initiative at the start of each sub-
Janest is hurt and vanish once filled. sequent turn to maintain this Charm. She can’t use it
outside of combat.
With an Essence 4 repurchase, if Janest begins her
turn in a field, she gains an additional temporary −0 Reset: Once per day unless reset by suffering decisive
level. If she’s lost all temporary health levels granted damage while protecting Janest’s community or one
by it, she gains this benefit even outside of fields. of its members or while opposing an enemy of the
community.
Wild Weed Undying
Cost: 5m, 1wp (1i per turn); Mins: Resistance 5, Special activation rules: Janest can use Eternal
Essence 3 Harvest Maiden reflexively as she uses this Charm,
Type: Simple waiving its Willpower cost.
Keywords: Perilous
Duration: One scene Harvest Wind Deflection
Prerequisite Charms: Eternal Harvest Maiden Cost: 3m, 2i; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Janest is harder to get rid of than the stubbornest weeds, Keywords: Perilous, Uniform
suffusing her wounds with the healing Essence of the Duration: Instant
harvest. Prerequisite Charms: Always at Their Side

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Rearing back her scythe, Janest unleashes a power- Smiling Through the Pain
ful gust of wind to deflect blows meant for a distant Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 4
companion. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous
When an ally within (Essence) range bands is attacked, Duration: One scene
Janest can reflexively protect him against it as with a Prerequisite Charms: Black Eyes Paid Back,
defend other action. If her ward is within short range, Spurning All Calamity
she can instead reflexively use Others Before Self
to protect him. She can use Clash or Counterattack Bloodied, bruised, and beaten down — still Janest refus-
Charms against the attacker regardless of range. es to yield, pushing past pain and fear to stand tall and
fight.
Against enemies of the community, this Charm’s
Initiative cost is waived and it loses the Perilous Janest adds (wound penalty/2, rounded up) to her base
keyword. Initiative and gains (wound penalty/2, rounded up)
Initiative at the start of each turn. Neither bonus can
Wheat-Reddening Vengeance exceed her (Essence – 2). If all her health levels are
Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 3 filled with damage except her Incapacitated level, she
Type: Permanent can’t take withering damage.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent This Charm ends if Janest is crashed.
Prerequisite Charms: Vigilant Warden Rebuke,
Wolf-Slayer’s Scythe Devotion Tit-for-Tat Resurgence
Cost: —; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 4
Janest’s righteous anger is terrible when provoked, and there Type: Permanent
is no quicker way to rouse it than to harm those in her care. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Enemies who’ve attacked characters protected by Prerequisite Charms: Wild Weed Undying
Janest’s defend other actions count as enemies of the
community for the rest of the scene. At the Storyteller’s Every drop of blood shed nourishes the soil, and the earth
discretion, this may be permanent for long-running ene- is eager to offer up its power to sustain the Harvest’s
mies or in particularly significant or memorable battles. Chosen.

When Janest uses Vigilant Warden Rebuke against an While using Wild Weed Undying, Janest makes an ad-
enemy of the community, she adds (Essence) to her ditional roll to heal with that Charm when she crashes
base Initiative upon resetting. an enemy, incapacitates a nontrivial enemy, or depletes
a battle group’s Magnitude.
Whetstone Shatters Blade
Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 3 Midsummer Phoenix Resurrection
Type: Permanent Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Resistance 5, Essence 5
Keywords: None Type: Reflexive
Duration: Permanent Keywords: Mute
Prerequisite Charms: Stalk Blunts Sickle Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Maiden-in-Winter Sacrifice,
The Strawmaiden meets her enemies’ blows like a whet- Tireless Harvest Technique, Tit-for-Tat Resurgence
stone; they can’t complain if their steel isn’t up to her
caliber. Janest embodies growth eternal; at the zenith of her
power, she denies death, regrowing from the smallest
Janest can pay a one-Willpower surcharge when she seed.
uses Stalk Blunts Sickle to destroy mundane weapons
rather than damaging them. Against artifact weapons, If Janest would be incapacitated or die, she may use
the wielder’s attunement is broken and it can’t be reat- this Charm to fall briefly unconscious. At the beginning
tuned until it’s been repaired (Exalted, p. 242). of the next round she reawakens, accompanied by a
surge of sudden plant growth that creates a field out to
This Charm’s Willpower surcharge is waived if Janest long range from her. She instantly rises to bonfire ani-
uses it after her Hardness stops a decisive attack. ma, rolls Join Battle, heals all levels of non-aggravated

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damage, and recovers from all poisons, diseases, and Stout-Hearted Brewing Style
crippling injuries. Cost: 2m, 1lhl; Mins: Survival 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
If Janest dies of old age, this Charm instead places her into Keywords: None
an eternal sleep, during which time plants may overgrow Duration: Instant
her resting place, potentially forming a Wood Demesne. Prerequisite Charms: Every-Season Attunement
She may be awakened from this sleep in times of great
need for her community and its descendants, though she The Strawmaiden is blood kin to wheat and a master of
returns to this slumber once the threat is past. all the bounty it has to offer, imbuing her brew with a
drop of her divine lifeblood.
If Janest knows Cold Iron Slumber, she can also use this
Charm upon succumbing to a Psyche effect, Shaping Janest completes a basic Craft (Brewing) project to
effect, or sorcerous effect that renders her incapable of create beer or other grain-based alcohol in a matter
action: petrification, hypnotic trances, etc. At the start of minutes by using her blood as an ingredient. Major
of her new turn, her anima rises to bonfire and a field projects to create large batches of alcohol can likewise
forms out to long range from her as the effect is shat- be completed within a single day. Anyone who drinks
tered. She doesn’t gain any of the other benefits above. this beer within a day of it being brewed forms a Minor
Tie of gratitude to Janest unless he pays one Willpower.
If Janest’s death or inability to act would place her
community, a member of her community, or a char- With a Survival 3, Essence 2 repurchase, Janest can
acter she has a positive Major or Defining Tie to in suffuse her brew with supernal vitality. In addition to
immediate danger, this Charm’s cost is waived. the above effect, a character may incur experience debt
(p. XX) to gain up to (Janest’s Stamina) dots of mun-
Reset: Once per story unless reset by accomplishing a dane Merits (including Innate Merits) that improve or
legendary social goal (Exalted, p. 134). enhance his body, like Mighty Thew, Pain Tolerance, or
Natural Immunity. The Charm’s health level cost of this
Survival depends on the amount she brews — one level of lethal
damage for each character she brews a drink’s worth for.
Every-Season Attunement
Cost: —; Mins: Survival 1, Essence 1 Prodigious Bounty
Type: Permanent Cost: 3m; Mins: Survival 1, Essence 1
Keywords: None Type: Simple
Duration: Permanent Keywords: None
Prerequisite Charms: None Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Strawmaiden has both a farmer’s knowledge of her
crops and a spiritual affinity for ten thousand plants and The Strawmaiden brings forth great bounty from the
herbs that rise from Creation’s soil. earth, sustaining her community in times of famine and
hardship.
Janest gains the following benefits:
After spending a scene tending to plants, Janest rolls
• As long as there is any plant life whatsoever nearby, ([Charisma, Intelligence, or Wits] + Survival). The dif-
she rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on Survival ficulty is 3 in good conditions, but increases for plants
rolls to navigate, forage, track, or conceal tracks. in poor soil, harsh climate, and the like, to a maximum
difficulty of 6. Success causes the blessed plant to under-
• She succeeds automatically on rolls to find wa- go a year’s growth in a day, though it won’t age past its
ter as long as there’s any water to be found. prime for harvest. The exact number of plants affected
varies with Janest’s successes and the species of plant,
• She can subsist on sunlight, treating eight hours providing enough food to sustain Janest for a day, plus
of exposure to the sun as providing a day’s worth one additional character per extra successes (or a com-
of sustenance. parable amount of growth for non-edible plants).
• She can intuitively sense which way is East, the With Survival 5, this growth takes an hour. With
direction of the nearest body of water, and the Survival 5, Essence 3, it takes a minute; if Janest pays a
time of day. one-Willpower surcharge, the growth occurs instantly.

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The Storyteller adjudicates what effect this has on sur- happen as long as it’s possible. Such pregnancies are
rounding characters and terrain based on the plant’s untroubled by mundane complications.
species and how many are affected. If Janest deliber-
ately uses this to impede or harm an enemy, resolve it With Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Janest can instead use
as a gambit — either an existing one or a custom gambit. Prodigious Bounty to allow two or more willing charac-
ters to conceive a child without sexual intercourse. She
Reset: Once per day. performs a ceremonial blessing that concludes by bury-
ing a seed or kernel and having each parent water it with
Festive Fertility Rite their blood (imposing a level of lethal damage on each).
Cost: —; Mins: Survival 1, Essence 1 Their child gestates within the plant over the normal
Type: Permanent course of a pregnancy, untroubled by mundane compli-
Keywords: None cations. Alternatively, willing parents capable of giving
Duration: Permanent birth can take the pregnancy onto themselves by eating of
Prerequisite Charms: Prodigious Bounty the plant, carrying the child for the remaining term.

Embodying the fertility of the fields, the Strawmaiden Once per day, Janest gains one Willpower and loses
blesses her companions with that same life-quickening one Limit when she uses this Charm to bless a member
power. of the community or someone she has a positive Major
or Defining Tie toward.
Janest may use Prodigious Bounty after a scene spent
sharing a meal with others, cooking for them, or un- Sprouting Grain Wake
dertaking fertility rituals alongside them. For the rest Cost: 4m; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 1
of the story, those characters can engage in sexual in- Type: Reflexive
timacy and procreation unimpeded by age, impotence, Keywords: Uniform
sterility, or other maladies. If the blessed character and Duration: Instant
his partner both desire a pregnancy, it’s guaranteed to Prerequisite Charms: Prodigious Bounty

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Sprouting wheat fills every footprint left by Janest’s With Survival 3, Essence 2, once per day, Janest may reap
quarry, leaving a trail that leads right to him. the rewards of a major project from one of the above.

To use this Charm, Janest must touch a character or Fair Skies Nomad Approach
land an attack against him. He leaves a trail of tiny Cost: 2m; Mins: Survival 2, Essence 1
wheat sprouts wherever he goes for (Janest’s Essence Type: Supplemental
+ Perception) days. Janest and others aware of this Keywords: None
Charm’s effects double 9s on rolls to track him and can Duration: Instant
oppose magic like Traceless Passage. Janest doubles 8s Prerequisite Charms: None
against enemies of the community; other characters
don’t gain this benefit. The Strawmaiden is unbothered by harsh climes, walk-
ing unburnt through the Far South or traipsing through
If Janest’s quarry travels over terrain that can’t the North with neither scarf nor shawl.
sustain the wheat sprouts, they still last for a day. In
ideal conditions, the sprouts can potentially last for a Janest adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm dice
season, growing until they’re ready to be harvested. on a Survival roll or a roll opposing an environmental
The sprouts can’t be damaged or disturbed except by hazard and ignores environmental penalties. In fields
magic. Even then, Janest makes a (Stamina + Survival) or against plant-based hazards, she adds successes
roll opposing such rolls, and forces the other character instead.
to roll an appropriate (Attribute + Ability) pool for
actions that wouldn’t normally require one. Lay-of-the-Land Tactics
Cost: 1m; Mins: Survival 2, Essence 1
Village-Sustaining Industry Type: Supplemental
Cost: —; Mins: Survival 1, Essence 1 Keywords: None
Type: Permanent Duration: Instant
Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: None
Duration: None
Prerequisite Charms: None Janest knows the land on which she fights.

The Strawmaiden draws inspiration from her community. When Janest makes a Strategic Maneuver roll, she ig-
nores up to one point of penalty for each of the follow-
Janest earns craft points for meeting basic objectives ing that’s true. If this exceeds the penalty on Janest’s
as if she’d completed a basic project (Exalted, p. 240) roll, any excess points are added as non-Charm dice.
when she:
• The battle will take place in a field.
• Performs manual labor on behalf of her com-
munity without accepting any reward beyond • Janest leads or fights besides members of her
gratitude and hospitality. community.

• Provides food, housing or medical care to mem- • Janest has had at least a week to familiarize her-
bers of her community without accepting any self with the battlefield.
reward beyond gratitude and hospitality.
• The opposing general or a majority of his forces
• Upholds one of her Intimacies through an inter- are enemies of the community.
action with her community or a member of it.
Sister to Aurochs
• Participates in one of her community’s tradi- Cost: 3m; Mins: Survival 2, Essence 1
tions, customs, festivals, or rituals, or introduces Type: Reflexive
a fact about it. Keywords: None
Duration: Indefinite
As usual, succeeding with 3+ extra successes grants Prerequisite Charms: None
three silver points per objective. If the qualifying ac-
tion would normally be unrolled, Janest may roll the Janest is a friend to all who toil in the fields; many of her
most appropriate (Attribute + Ability) combination best conversations have been with the beasts working
against difficulty 1 for this purpose. alongside her.

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Animals can understand Janest’s speech as though they or accomplishing a major character or story goal also
shared a language and are treated as having a Minor lets her gain a Lore specialty related to that action.
Tie of affection to her. Domesticated animals gain a
Major Tie instead. She adds (higher of Essence or 3) Malady-Soothing Herbalist
non-Charm dice on rolls to train animals. Familiars Cost: 5m; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 1
and other magically enhanced animals don’t have this Type: Simple
Intimacy imposed on them, though the rest of this Keywords: Mute
Charm’s effects still apply. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Earth’s Attendant Genius
With a Survival 3 repurchase, Janest can understand
animals’ body language, vocalizations, and other forms There is powerful healing to be found in Creation’s roots
of communication as fluently as if they were speaking and leaves, especially in the hands of the Strawmaiden.
in her native tongue. Her increased understanding
waives the specialty requirements for training animals Janest doubles 9s on a Medicine that’s stunted with
(Exalted, p. 554). the use of medicinal herbs and can complete an hour’s
worth of treatment in a minute. She doesn’t suffer pen-
Pack of Two alties for lacking necessary equipment.
Cost: 3m; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive With a Survival 4, Essence 2 repurchase, Janest can
Keywords: Uniform pay a one-Willpower surcharge to complete a proce-
Duration: Instant dure instantly.
Prerequisite Charms: Sister to Aurochs
Hundred Herbs Pharmacopeia
The bond between Janest and her animal companions Cost: 5m; Mins: Survival 4, Essence 1
transcends all other loyalty, each willing to lay down Type: Simple
their life for the other. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Janest’s familiar protects her against an attack as per Prerequisite Charms: Earth’s Attendant Genius
a defend other action, moving up to one range band
if necessary to come within close range of her. This Creation’s flora are a storehouse of countless medicines,
doesn’t count as its movement action. Alternatively, and Janest knows the name and use of them all.
Janest can use this Charm to protect her familiar in the
same fashion. Janest rolls (Intelligence + [Medicine or Survival]) to
introduce a fact about the location of a medicinal herb
Earth’s Attendant Genius to treat a poison, disease, or Derangement — or other
Cost: —; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 1 afflictions at the Storyteller’s discretion. The roll’s dif-
Type: Permanent ficulty is the disease’s morbidity, the poison’s duration,
Keywords: None or 5 for Derangements. If she succeeds, she may de-
Duration: Permanent clare that a single dose worth of that herb is in an easily
Prerequisite Charms: None accessible location nearby. Every three extra successes
increase this by an additional dose’s worth. If she fails,
The earth teems with a thousand thousand wonders, and she still introduces the fact, but either faces a signifi-
the Strawmaiden will come to know them all. cant obstacle to obtaining it, suffers a complication as a
result of obtaining it, or the herb has undesirable side
Janest can introduce and challenge facts about plants, effects.
domesticated animals, agriculture, her community, lo-
cal geography, or weather without needing an applica- Janest can use the herb to treat a poison or disease in-
ble Lore background and adds (Essence) successes on stantly. If she treats a poison, her successes are applied
such rolls. If she has an applicable Lore background, directly to lowering its duration, without needing to
the successes are non-Charm. overcome its difficulty. If she treats a disease, the pa-
tient immediately attempts a roll against its morbidity
At the end of each story, Janest gains a free Lore special- (Exalted, p. 234) and is completely cured if she suc-
ty based on the events of that story or local knowledge ceeds. If she fails, her symptoms don’t worsen. A treated
she’s had a chance to be exposed to. Introducing a fact Derangement reduces its intensity by one — suppressing
that aids her in upholding a Major or Defining Intimacy it entirely, if it’s Minor — for one week. The Storyteller

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adjudicates a similar effect for other afflictions he deems If other magic would alter the weather Janest creates,
capable of being treated by this Charm. the character using it most make a roll using the most
fitting (Attribute + Ability) combination opposing
With Survival 5, Essence 2, Janest can use this Charm Janest’s (Charisma + [Performance or Survival]) roll. If
for one mote, one Willpower to reveal that she already that character fails, he can’t change the weather for the
has the plant with her on a successful roll. Doing so rest of this Charm’s duration.
doesn’t grant additional doses for her extra successes.
Dutiful Farm-Dog Spirit
Field-Whisper Flight Cost: 10m, 1wp, 1xp; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 2
Cost: 4m; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 1 Type: Simple
Type: Supplemental Keywords: None
Keywords: Mute Duration: Instant
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Sister to Aurochs
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Strawmaiden uplifts her most loyal companion with
When the Strawmaiden asks, field and forest swallow all a portion of Ten Sheaves’ divinity and her own Exalted
evidence of her passing. power.

Janest doubles 9s on a Stealth roll or a roll to conceal Janest confers the following benefits on an animal
tracks and adds (Essence) dice. The added dice are familiar:
converted to successes in fields, or when concealing
her passage through her community with a stunt that • Flock Guardian: The familiar doubles 9s on
includes how the community members cover her trail. rolls to detect concealed threats. Against ene-
mies of the community, it double 8s.
Caller of Wind and Rain
Cost: 4m; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 2 • Hale as the Fields: The familiar doubles 8s on
Type: Simple rolls against disease, poison, and similar ail-
Keywords: None ments. Its lifespan is extended to equal Janest’s
Duration: One day own (p. XX).
Prerequisite Charms: Earth’s Attendant Genius,
Prodigious Bounty • Ox Shoulders Yoke: The familiar adds +2 to its
effective Strength to determine what feats it can
The Strawmaiden’s song darkens clouds with life-giving attempt. It doubles 9s on feats to perform manu-
rain or turns away storms to brighten the sky. al labor, or doubles 8s in fields.

Janest rolls (Charisma + [Performance or Survival]) to • Unbreakable Loyalty: The familiar gains a
sing, pray, or otherwise call upon the sky to produce a Defining Tie of loyalty to Janest. No influence,
specific type of weather: “clear skies,” “gentle rain,” etc. other than Janest’s, can make it act against this
She can’t create or strengthen harsh or dangerous weath- Intimacy.
er, though she can ameliorate it. The difficulty depends
on how drastic a change she wishes to make: creating This Charm’s experience point cost is waived the first
a light rain or mist or creating or stilling light winds is time Janest uses it. If a familiar enhanced by it dies,
difficulty 1; dissipating a storm might be difficulty 2-3; Janest regains any experience spent enhancing it.
diminishing a hurricane to a severe storm is difficulty 5+.
If she uses this Charm while within a field that spans at Foal-to-Stallion Rearing
least three range bands, she doubles 9s if the weather she Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Survival 4, Essence 2
creates would be beneficial for its plants; if the field spans Type: Simple
more than three bands, she doubles 8s. Keywords: None
Duration: One week
If Janest succeeds, her desired changes take place over Prerequisite Charms: Dutiful Farm-Dog Spirit
a matter of minutes or hours, depending on how exten-
sive they are. The weather can extend up to (Charisma Animals trust in the Strawmaiden, mastering their po-
+ extra successes) miles from where Janest used this tential under her guidance.
Charm. It lasts until at least the end of this Charm’s
duration.

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When Janest trains animals in latent special abilities or Bellwether Camaraderie Method
Merits (Exalted, p. 554), she shortens the training inter- Cost: —; Mins: Survival 4, Essence 2
val to one week and adds (Charisma) non-Charm dice. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
With Survival 5, Essence 3, Janest can teach a familiar Duration: Permanent
enhanced with Dutiful Farm-Dog Spirit magical abili- Prerequisite Charms: Fair Skies Nomad Approach
ties for two additional experience points.
Those who work and travel alongside Janest find the
Experience spent this way is regained if the familiar dies. road smooth, the skies clear, and the clime pleasant.
Scarecrow-Steed Effigy Janest can use Fair Skies Nomad Approach to enhance
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 2 rolls made by an ally acting on her advice or instruc-
Type: Simple tions. If multiple such characters roll simultaneously,
Keywords: None she may enhance all their rolls with a single use.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Prodigious Bounty, Sister to Harvest Apple Bond
Aurochs Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Survival 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
The Strawmaiden twists stalks of wheat, corn husks, or Keywords: Stackable
willow reeds into a faithful steed. Duration: One story
Prerequisite Charms: Prodigious Bounty, Sister to
Janest weaves vegetation into a living effigy of a horse Aurochs
(Exalted, p. 567) or another domesticated animal suit-
able for riding. To do so, she must either be in a field or The Strawmaiden reinforces the bond between rider and
use Prodigious Bounty to bless a plant to weave it from. beast through sharing food.
She can’t create Legendary Size effigies.
After a scene spent feeding and tending to her mount,
An effigy uses its animal’s traits and gains the following: Janest grants it the following benefits:
• +1 Speed. • It doesn’t need to eat or drink anything more for
this Charm’s duration.
• It counts as Janest’s familiar.
• It gains a Major Tie of loyalty to Janest. If it al-
• As an automaton, it’s immune to social influ- ready has such a Tie at Major or Defining inten-
ence, obeying only Janest’s commands. sity, it increases the Resolve bonus from it by +2.
• It does not need to sleep, breathe, drink, or eat • Its Speed bonus increases by one.
(though it can, e.g., to benefit from Harvest
Apple Bond). It’s immune to fatigue penalties • It ignores fatigue penalties and won’t accrue
and other fatigue-based effects. further fatigue as long as it receives at least three
hours of sleep each day.
• It doubles 8s on threaten rolls against enemies
of the community, silently menacing them with Janest can’t use this Charm on another character’s
its uncanny semblance of life. familiar or on an animal that already has a positive Tie
to a rider unless that character’s player consents.
Effigies are vulnerable to fire, suffering aggravated
damage from it. They don’t heal damage naturally. If If Janest knows Bellwether Camaraderie Method, she
Janest has an appropriate Craft, like Weaving or Doll- can bless another character’s mount by assisting him or
Making, she can repair a level of damage as a major re- talking with him while he feeds his mount, providing the
pair project (Exalted, p. 242) with difficulty (mount’s above benefits to him and that mount. Instead of gaining
wound penalty + 2) for bashing and lethal damage or a Tie to Janest, the mount forms a Minor Tie of loyalty to
(wound penalty + 4) for aggravated damage. The proj- its rider.
ect takes an hour.
Janest can stack this Charm to bless up to (Essence x2)
Janest can only have one scarecrow-steed at a time. mounts in addition to her own. If she blesses multiple

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mounts in a single scene, she waives the Willpower • Pincer Attack: The onslaught penalty inflicted
cost of all uses past the first. increases to −2. Janest’s enemies subtract their
onslaught penalty from disengage rolls and rout
Tenants’ Advantage Reversal checks.
Cost: —; Mins: Survival 4, Essence 2
Type: Permanent • Strategic Placement: If Janest successfully
Keywords: None forces her enemy to fight her in or around a
Duration: Permanent field, she rolls Join Battle with (Intelligence +
Prerequisite Charms: Lay-of-the-Land Tactics Survival), adding a free full Excellency. This also
counts as an order action to give a command to
Whatever power the Strawmaiden’s foes have, they lack an allied battle group.
the strength of those who work the land.
This Charm can be used reflexively after gaining
A successful Strategic Maneuver roll awards Janest the benefits of an enemy’s stratagem with Tenant’s
one Willpower as long as at least one of Lay-of-the- Advantage Reversal.
Land Tactics’ criteria is met.
Dauntless Soil Defender
If Janest defeats an opposing general’s Back to the Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 2
Sea or Fortifications stratagem, she gains that strata- Type: Reflexive
gem’s benefit for her own side in addition to her own Keywords: None
stratagem, seizing whatever advantage her enemy had Duration: Instant
hoped to gain from the terrain. This may apply to other Prerequisite Charms: Tenants’ Advantage Reversal
stratagems, like Strategic Positioning, if it’s clear what
this represents in the game’s fiction. The Strawmaiden is endlessly resourceful, turning her
failures into hard-won victories.
Ten Sheaves’ General
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Survival 4, Essence 2 Janest can use this Charm after a Strategic Maneuver
Type: Supplemental roll to reroll (Essence) failed dice. If at least two of
Keywords: None Lay-of-the-Land Tactics’ conditions are met, she re-
Duration: Instant rolls (Essence + Intelligence) dice instead. If all four
Prerequisite Charms: Tenants’ Advantage Reversal conditions are met, she may reroll all failed dice.

Ten Sheaves was not a war god, but Janest wields spiri- Treading Flame and Briar
tual authority to lead forces in his name. Cost: 5m; Mins: Survival 4, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Janest enhances a Strategic Maneuver to enact one of Keywords: None
the following stratagems: Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Fair Skies Nomad Approach
• Back to the Sea: Enemy battle groups suffer
−2 Resolve against fear-based influence and in- Whether trudging through mosquito-ridden swamps,
fluence to convince them to surrender. Enemy braving roaring wildfires, or staring down the Silent
commanders can’t take rally for numbers ac- Wind of Hell, Janest faces danger without fear.
tions unless they use magic capable of resetting
that action. Janest can use this Charm after an environmental
hazard’s damage roll, rerolling all dice that show suc-
• Demoralized: The −1 penalty imposed applies to cesses. If she takes no damage from it, she’s treated as
all actions taken by Janest’s enemies; it increases having successfully resisted it.
to −3 on rout checks and command actions.
With Survival 5, Essence 3, this Charm’s cost is waived
• Fortifications: Allies add (higher of Essence in fields and against plant-based hazards.
or 3) dice on rolls to take cover behind vegeta-
tion and other plant-based cover. Against bat- Inescapable Field Stalker
tle groups and enemies of the community, the Cost: —; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 2
Defense bonus from such cover increases by Type: Permanent
one. Keywords: None

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Duration: Permanent • Wrathful Brambles (3+ successes): Plant-based

Prerequisite Charms: Sprouting Grain Wake difficult terrain becomes an environmental hazard
to Janest’s enemies, with difficulty 4 and Damage
Janest is implacable in pursuit of those who would hide from 3L/round. Janest may spend additional successes
her justice, chasing along a path of swift-growing grain. to enhance the hazard, adding +1 difficulty or +1
Damage per success, maximum 6 for each.
Janest can use Sprouting Grain Wake when she makes
a tracking roll, gaining its benefits on the roll. If she • Elephant Grass Citadel (4 success): Janest
succeeds, a trail of wheat sprouts shoots up from the raises up thick rows of wheat as walls and barri-
ground around her and grows along the path toward ers, instantly enacting a Fortifications stratagem
her quarry as fast as Janest can follow him. (Exalted, p. 212).

If Janest uses this Charm against an enemy of the com- • Fertile Soil (5 successes): For the rest of the
munity or someone who has harmed a person or group scene, waive the Willpower surcharge of
she has a positive Tie to, he suffers a harrowing sense Prodigious Bounty’s Essence 3 effect.
of foreboding. As long as Janest continues to actively
track him, he can’t regain Willpower from sleeping un- • Grasping Roots (6 successes): Fields count as
less he succeeds on a (Wits + Integrity) roll at difficulty difficult terrain for Janest’s enemies.
(Janest’s Perception).
If Janest has taken lethal or aggravated damage this
Battlefield-Swallowing Overgrowth scene, she waives this Charm’s health level cost.
Cost: 2m, 1wp, 1lhl; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive Reset: Once per scene.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Blood-and-Silage Mending
Prerequisite Charms: Prodigious Bounty, Ten Cost: 10m, 1wp, 1lhl; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 3
Sheaves’ General Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Making of herself an offering to the earth, the Duration: Instant
Strawmaiden calls forth rich abundance from soil fed by Prerequisite Charms: Hundred Herbs
her spilt lifeblood. Pharmacopeia, Prodigious Bounty

Janest rolls (Stamina + [Survival or War]). She doubles Even the most grievous wounds find reprieve under the
9s when fighting in fields or opposing enemies of the Strawmaiden’s ministration, growing wondrous pros-
community, or doubles 8s if both are true. Successes on theses of living vegetation or animated wickerwork.
the roll can be spent on the following:
Janest undertakes an extended (Intelligence + [an appro-
• Abundant Growth (1+ successes): A field forms priate Craft, Medicine, or Survival]) action to create this
out to short range from Janest. She can extend prosthesis, applying poultices woven from stalks of wheat
this further by spending an additional success and infused with her own blood. This has a one-month in-
per range band, maximum long range. terval, difficulty 5, and a goal number based on the treated
effect’s severity: goal number 20 for effects comparable to
• Shifting Skies (1+ successes): If Janest knows a crippling injury that can be accepted to negate one or two
Caller of Wind and Rain, she can change the levels of damage (Exalted, p. 201); 40 for those compara-
weather as if she’d rolled however many suc- ble to a three- or four-level injury; or 60 for those compa-
cesses she spends. rable to a five-level injury. She must spend at least a few
hours each week tending to her patient for each interval.
• No Hiding Place (3 successes): Plant life on the Prostheses grown with this Charm fully replicate the func-
battlefield refuses to aid Janest’s foes, imposing tionality of the replaced limb or organ, including faculties
a −3 penalty on Stealth rolls that rely on vegeta- such as the sense of touch that mundane prostheses lack.
tion for concealment, rolls to take cover behind
vegetation, and the like. Against enemies of the If Janest’s patient convalesces within a field or her
community, this subtracts successes. community for the entirety of this extended action,
his recovery is dramatically accelerated, reducing the
interval to one week and doubling 9s on Janest’s rolls.

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Field-Born Champion
Cost: —; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Every-Season Attunement

The Strawmaiden’s triumphs in defense of those under

her protection renew her sense of purpose as they forge
her legend.

At the end of a scene in which Janest won a meaningful

victory over an enemy of the community — defeating
him in combat, outmaneuvering him in political in-
trigues, etc. — she gains one Willpower and (Essence +
her Intimacy to the community) motes. If she accom-
plished a major character or story goal by defeating him,
she also loses one Limit.

Field-Whisper Alarum
Cost: 3m; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Field-Whisper Flight

Creation whispers warnings in Janest’s ear, speaking in

signs that only she can understand.

When a character rolls to track Janest or attempts to

determine her current location by other means, such as
magical scrying, she witnesses an omen warning her of
this — a crow croaks out cryptic advice, rustling wheat
stalks speak with a voice that only she can hear, or some
bit of folk superstition proves apt. She may then use this
Charm to conceal herself from her pursuer, causing 1s
to subtract successes on that character’s roll and any
such rolls he makes in the future. If he’s attempting to
track her through a field or her community or to find
her within them, his 2s subtract successes as well.

Once a tracker comes within (Essence) range bands Duration: One scene
of Janest, she reflexively rolls (Perception + Survival) Prerequisite Charms: Caller of Wind and Rain,
with (Essence) automatic successes opposing his Treading Flame and Briar
(higher of Guile of Stealth), identifying him as her pur-
suer and pinpointing his location. In fields, the added The Strawmaiden wrestles with wildfires, storms, and
successes are non-Charm. earthquakes, a hero out of tall tales able to bend such
disasters to her will.
Janest can stack this Charm’s effect to stymie multiple
pursuers. When Janest succeeds on a roll opposing a recurring en-
vironmental hazard, she can use this Charm to seize that
Tornado-Taming Method hazard and bend it to her will, uprooting it from its location
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 3 and re-centering it on herself with an appropriate stunt.
Type: Reflexive She might wrap a wildfire around herself as a fiery nim-
Keywords: None bus, dance with a debris-strewn whirlwind until it spins

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Storm-Breaking Saddle
to her rhythm, or the like. Against very large hazards, this
Cost: —; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 3
only affects the portion within long range of Janest. It can’t
Type: Permanent
affect hazards that deal uncountable damage.
Keywords: None
Once tamed, the hazard extends out to close range from Duration: Permanent
Janest and only affects her enemies. Once this Charm’s Prerequisite Charms: Tornado-Taming Method
duration ends, she may either return the hazard to its
The Strawmaiden masters the primal forces of nature’s
original location or end it.
fury as if breaking a stallion, bending storm and wildfire
If Janest uses this Charm against a magical environ- to accept her dominance and her reins.
mental hazard created by a character, she must roll
When Janest uses Tornado-Taming Method, she may
(Strength + Survival), adding (Essence) successes,
ride the bested hazard, treating it as a mount (Exalted,
opposing his most appropriate (Attribute + Ability).
pp. 202-203) with a Speed Bonus equal to its difficulty,

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maximum +5. Many hazards count as flying mounts; Janest lays her blessing upon the land, invoking her pow-
others may have additional benefits adjudicated by the er as Chosen of the Harvest to bring life to its fields and
Storyteller, like a ridden avalanche providing Janest peace to its people.
with cover. Ridden hazards don’t count as characters
and can’t take action. Janest blesses a contiguous region of up to (Essence
x10) square miles. She must walk the boundaries of
Unhorse gambits against Janest add +3 difficulty. If this region, spilling her blood at intervals. During this
successful, the ridden hazard disperses and Tornado- time, her anima rises to at least glowing and can’t fall
Taming Method ends. below this level until she is done. The blessed land
gains the following benefits:
Fallen Star Kernel
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 4 • Blessing the Fields’ Heart: A four-dot Wood
Type: Simple Demesne (Exalted, p. 160) forms at the center of
Keywords: Mute the region. Janest is automatically attuned to it.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Blood-and-Silage Mending, • Bounty Beyond Abundance: The region’s plant life
Village-Sustaining Industry grows abundantly and is untroubled by pests and
disease. Characters add (Janest’s Stamina) dice on
Janest returns the dead to the soil, drawing power from rolls to forage for food, tend to the health of plants,
the cycle of life, death, decay, and renewal. or Craft using plant materials from the region.

To use this Charm, Janest must bury the corpse of • Eternal Order of the Seasons: The Wyld can’t
an Exalt or other supernatural being in a field. Once spread into the blessed region; existing Wyld
buried, it rapidly decomposes until nothing is left. She zones within it are treated as one step less se-
rolls (the deceased’s Essence x2). If he was Exalted, vere. Fae are deeply uncomfortable within the
she doubles 9s. She may spend these successes on the region, suffering a −3 penalty on all rolls and los-
following benefits: ing the ability to recover Willpower from sleep
or other alternatives to rest.
• Craft Points: Janest may spend one success
each to gain two silver points or one gold point, • Field-Sustaining Clime: The region’s weather
or two successes to gain a white point. is pleasant, mild, and beneficial to agriculture.
Characters using magic to change the region’s
• Reset Charms: Janest can reset a Charm or weather must make an appropriate (Attribute
other effect that is currently “down.” This costs + Ability) roll opposing Janest’s (Stamina +
three successes for each Charm that can only Survival) roll, on which she doubles 7s, to do so.
be used once per story and two successes for
others. • Gentle Beast Benediction: Animals that live
within the region won’t harm people unless pro-
• Sorcerous Motes: Janest may spend one success voked. This benefit doesn’t extend to enemies
to gain two sorcerous motes, which last until the of the community, and animals add (Janest’s
next time she uses this Charm. Perception) dice on rolls to notice or track ene-
mies of the community.
• Willpower: Janest may spend two successes
each to gain one Willpower. • The Maiden Is The Land: Janest can draw
power from the land. Once per day, while in
Reset: Once per day. the region, she may draw ten motes and one
Willpower from it. Doing so causes her anima to
Field-Saint Legacy flare to bonfire.
Cost: 20m, 1wp, 1lhl; Mins: Survival 5, Essence 5
Type: Simple • Tireless Farmhand Invigoration: The region’s
Keywords: None inhabitants add (Janest’s Stamina) dice on feats
Duration: Instant of strength and on rolls opposing diseases, poi-
Prerequisite Charms: Caller of Wind and Rain, sons, environmental hazards, fatigue, and simi-
Fallen Star Kernel, Field-Born Champion lar afflictions. Janest may withhold this benefit
from a character reflexively.

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Janest can only have one blessed region at a time. The Attunement: 5m
blessing lasts for as long as she lives. Once she dies, the
blessing fades in a season unless the region is inhabited Type: Heavy (+1 ACC, +14 DMG, +0 DEF, OVW 5)
and its residents cultivate the land and offer up a sac-
rifice each year on the vernal equinox. Alternatively, Tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Reaching, Two-Handed
it lasts indefinitely if she slumbers within it using Hearthstone Slot(s): 2
Midsummer Phoenix Resurrection.
Era: The Siege of Kolisz
Reset: Once per story.
Evocations of Final Season
Special activation rules: If Janest knows This Far and
No Further (p. XX), she may use it reflexively to bless Final Season has two modes: growing mode and harvest
the boundaries of the dominion she claims, waiving its mode. In growing mode, Janest gains one Initiative
Willpower and health level costs. when she parries a nontrivial enemy’s attack. In har-
vest mode, Janest doubles 10s on decisive damage
Sorcery rolls. Most of Final Season’s Evocations have different
effects depending on which mode is currently active.
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Cost: —; Mins: Survival 3, Essence 1 Final Season begins each combat in growing mode.
Type: Permanent Successfully blocking or clashing a decisive attack
Keywords: None lets Janest enter harvest mode. Once in harvest mode,
Duration: Permanent landing a decisive attack that resets Janest’s Initiative
Prerequisite Charms: Earth’s Attendant Genius lets her enter growing mode.

The Strawmaiden crosses the Terrestrial Circle’s thresh- Final Season’s blade is as much iron as jade, dealing
old, leaving behind her familiar fields to court the wild aggravated damage to most fae and potentially inter-
secrets of sorcery. fering with faerie magic susceptible to iron.

She may use Terrestrial Circle Sorcery. She learns one Time to Sow, Time to Reap
Terrestrial spell — her control spell — and one shaping Cost: 1m, 1i; Mins: Essence 1
ritual for free. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous, Resonant
Final Season Duration: Instant
(Green Jade Grimscythe, Artifact •••) Prerequisites: None

Deepening her connection with the cycle of life and death

Before Janest took it up, Final Season was a different
embodied in Final Season, Janest draws forth greater
weapon with a different name. It was Ten Sheaves’
power from her grimscythe.
scythe, as humble as a tool forged by the smiths of
the gods could be. When the field god burned himself In addition to the usual conditions for changing Final
away to grant Janest her Exaltation, an echo of his Season’s modes, its wielder may use this Evocation to
divine Essence remained in the scythe, and by the light enter harvest mode when she crashes an enemy or to
of Exaltation, it was reborn alongside her. Now bound enter growing mode when she takes a full defense.
to her, Janest wields Final Season to uphold the legacy
of her god and his sacrifice. Special activation rules: This Evocation awakens at
no cost when Janest uses Final Season to kill a living
Final Season is a huge harvest scythe of black iron, being.
shot through with seams of green jade. Holding it at an
angle against the light of the sun reveals an inscription Resonant: With Essence 3, the wielder may
of Old Realm devotional poetry to the gods of the days pay a one-Initiative surcharge to change modes
and months. unconditionally.

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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

Born to the Scythe Verdant Rebirth

Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None Keywords: Perilous, Resonant
Duration: Permanent Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Time to Sow, Time to Reap, any Prerequisites: Time to Sow, Time to Reap
Charm enhanced by this Evocation
Colorful flowers bloom from the veins of green jade that
Janest has known the tools of the field and the turning of run along Final Season’s shaft as it channels the renew-
the seasons since she could walk; Final Season is not the ing vitality of the fields into Janest.
first scythe she has held, though it will be the last.
Upon changing between modes, the wielder can use
Janest reduces the cost of Busy Harvest (p. XX) and this Evocation to roll (Essence + Stamina), unmodified
Reaper’s Mercy (p. XX) by two motes and gains addi- by other magic. In growing mode, she heals one level
tional benefits based on Final Season’s mode: of non-aggravated damage for every two successes.
In harvest mode, she gains Initiative equal to her
Growing Mode: Janest adds (Essence) to her effective successes.
Initiative for Strawmaiden Charms like Blood Sold
Dearly (p. XX) or Spurning All Calamity (p. XX). Resonant: This Charm isn’t Perilous.

Harvest Mode: Janest can use Fields Scoured Bare (p. Reset: Each of this Evocation’s modes can only be used
XX) even if she didn’t move into close range with her once per day.
target this tick.

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 C H A P T E R F I V E : S T R A W M A I D E N J A N E S T, T H E H A R V E S T E X A LT

Noonday Reaper Attitude Sow the World with Hope

Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2 Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Supplemental Type: Simple
Keywords: Counterattack, Decisive-only, Resonant Keywords: Aggravated, Dual
Duration: Instant Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Verdant Rebirth Prerequisites: Born of the Scythe, Noonday Reaper
Attitude
Shining with the vibrancy of high summer, Final Season
grows stronger and surer in its purpose. Janest brandishes her scythe as a testament to Ten Sheaves’
final miracle and an icon of hope; flowers, grass, and wheat
This Evocation’s benefits depend on Final Season’s burst from the soil around her, and a rainbow sheen glitters
mode: along the scythe’s edge as it cleaves light itself.

Growing Mode: The wielder enhances a full defense, A field grows out to medium range from Janest, letting
waiving its Initiative cost and letting her make a deci- her make a (Strength + Presence) roll to inspire hope
sive counterattack whenever she blocks an attack until in all allies who can see her, ignoring multiple target
her next turn. penalties. This roll can overturn influence (Exalted, p.
221) that opposes the inspired hope in addition to its
Harvest Mode: The wielder adds (Essence + attack usual effects, waiving the Willpower cost to do so.
roll 10s) dice of damage to a decisive attack.
The influence also conveys an additional effect to in-
In both modes, the wielder’s attacks deal aggravated spired allies based on Final Season’s current mode:
damage to fae.
Growing Mode: Inspired allies’ withering attacks ig-
Resonant: In growing mode, the wielder’s counterat- nore (wielder’s Essence + 2) soak. Against fae, they also
tacks don’t reset her Initiative until her next turn. In inflict (wielder’s Essence) dice of aggravated decisive
harvest mode, she also counts 9s on the attack roll to damage, ignoring Hardness.
determine how many additional dice she rolls.
Harvest Mode: In harvest mode, inspired allies’
decisive attacks add up to (wielder’s Essence) attack
roll extra successes as dice of damage. Against fae,
they also double 10s on decisive damage rolls and deal
aggravated damage.

Reset: Each of this Evocation’s modes can only be used

once per day.

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Pakpao knew something was wrong at her villa before she set foot within its walls. The gate had
been pried open with a strength no mortal arm possessed. Broken puppets were strewn haphazardly
throughout the courtyards: bodies cracked, limbs bent and splintered, heads staring through unseeing
glass eyes. The destruction only grew worse the further in she walked.
Standing at the center of it, on the steps of her manor, was a handsome man so richly dressed that
he could only be a Dragon-Blood, a huge jade goremaul strapped to his back. He dangled a shattered
puppet from a string and grinned at her, looking quite proud of himself. Pakpao’s own face was devoid of
expression as her eyes scanned across the garden.
“Goldenseal welcomes the return of its ‘entertainer,’” he said, letting the mangled puppet fall from his
hands. “I bring greetings from House V’neef.”
Pakpao’s eyes stayed trained on him as he stepped down the garden path. She’d never met this man
before, but she kept tabs on the Realm’s agents. “V’neef Midnight Blossom. Born to pig farmers on the
Blessed Isle, Exalted at 14, a graduate of Pasiap’s Stair. It makes sense they’d choose you to shake me
down.”
“And here I was afraid your strings were so tangled you wouldn’t know why I was here.” He stood,
unstrapping the goremaul from his back. “There are those in my house with grave concerns about your
influence over the satrap.”
“Satrap Boru asked me to assist in settling an unpleasantness among the populace,” Pakpao said. It
wasn’t a lie. She had many friends in Goldenseal; securing an audience with the satrap was a trifle. “He
seemed quite pleased with my work.”
“An understated way of putting that you incited unrest throughout Zhaojūn through your agents, only to
then be paid from the house’s coffers to clean up the mess you created.”
Pakpao’s face broke into a grin. “I wouldn’t have phrased it quite like that.”
“You may think yourself ten steps ahead of everyone else, but I know more about you than you may think.
I’ve outmaneuvered you, Puppeteer.”
“Oh?” Pakpao affected boredom as she watched him strut proudly through her garden, gesturing towards
the piles of smashed puppets as if they were monuments to his glory.
“I know what you are, Chosen of Karana, and that your strength is in your puppets. Without them, you’re as
frail as any mortal. So! I have seen to their destruction here. I’ve cut every string, snapped every limb, torn
the cloth, shattered the wood, and burned the paper. There is nothing left.”
“It’s true,” Pakpao said. “A Puppeteer with no puppets is hardly a threat at all.”
“Then you will return what you were paid and—”
“But you’re mistaken,” she cut him off. “I am not without my puppets.”
Midnight Blossom gave Pakpao a baffled look; it was only then that he saw the countless strings of
Essence trailing from her fingers. The quiet sound of wood knocking against wood came from all around
the garden as the broken pieces of her puppets began moving towards the Dragon-Blood, rolling and
pulling themselves along. They swarmed over him even as he swung his goremaul, scuttling up his body
and gouging at exposed flesh with splintered wood and shattered metal.
As Midnight Blossom continued to struggle, Pakpao approached him from behind, yet more strings trailing
from her fingers. She looped them around his body, letting her threads burrow into his flesh and weave
themselves into the strands of his musculature. With a tug, she brought him to his knees before her, his
face contorted with panic and rage as he struggled to break free.
“You’ll make a fine replacement for everything you destroyed, don’t you think?”

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 Chapter Six

The Puppeteer
The Puppeteer is an illicit Exigent created by a god local small gods acceded to the Order’s demands in
undeserving of the Unconquered Sun’s gift, an ambi- exchange for their place in the prayer calendar, Karana
tious mastermind who brings her puppets to life with was never given the chance. Infamous for his interces-
strings of Essence. sion in mortal affairs, Karana faced a Sworn Kinship
of the Immaculate godbreakers who scattered his
cultists and thrashed him soundly, leaving him broken
Karana and diminished amid the wreckage of his theater. The
monks boarded up the Skein-House and sealed it with
Hail to you, Lord Karana, god of the Meiyu Coast’s
amulets and prayer strips, leaving Karana to rot.
traditional marionette-puppetry; Karana the spider,
eight-limbed and brazen-carapaced; Karana, whose
Cold with fury, Karana beseeched the Unconquered
glory is in deception; Karana, who stole Heaven’s fire.
Sun for a champion to grant him his revenge. But his
A century ago, his theater-shrine, the Skein-House, was
prayers went unanswered.
the heart of Goldenseal’s famed Faceless Bazaar, and his
Cult of the Marionette was counted amongst the city’s In time, Karana’s infamy faded, and the Order’s eye
most esteemed performers. His living puppets danced turned from him. The Cult of the Marionette’s sur-
along the district’s streets; his honeyed words manipu- viving remnants, driven underground by Immaculate
lated minster and god alike, securing his prominence by oppression, returned to the Skein-House, finding their
cultivating the district into a thriving cultural hotbed. god covered in dust and webs. If it weren’t for their
craftsmanship and devotion, perhaps he’d still be
Then the Realm came. Even before Zhaojūn became
lying there today, something he will not soon forget.
a satrapy, Immaculate proselytes converted its royal
Karana’s defeat made him more cautious and gave him
family to the Immaculate Philosophy and secured dis-
a new purpose.
pensation to suppress heretical worship. While many

WHO IS PAKPAO?

While this book’s fiction and illustrations depict one take on Pakpao, players and Storytellers are encouraged
to make the Puppeteer their own. Her personality, appearance, beliefs, gender, sexuality, and other personal
details are left to her player to define. This includes her overarching agenda and the motivations behind it.
Some potential goals include:

• Subverting Zhaojūn’s government and reigning from the shadows.

• Seeking vengeance against those who’ve wronged her.

• Leading a Tengese uprising against Zhao hegemony.

• Abolishing slavery along the Meiyu Coast.

• Amassing wealth beyond the dreams of avarice.

• Winning the hearts and patronage of Zhaojūn’s people as a legendary performer or master artisan.

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE PUPPETEER

Under Karana’s leadership, the Cult of the Marionette widower and ranking official in Zhaojūn’s Ministry of
was reborn as a weapon against the Immaculate the Blue Robe. She met him in Goldenseal and
Order. By all appearances, it’s nothing more than captured his heart; they were wed soon after,
a pathetic shell of its former self, its high priests the first step of her ascent to power. Daopei’s
reduced to begging on the streets. In secret, it three daughters with his late wife were wary
recruits from those who resent the Realm’s of Pakpao, suspicious of her true motives.
oppressive occupation and the royal family for They begged their father to cut ties with
permitting it, and funds its operations through her, underestimating how tightly he was
smuggling, particularly medicinal herbs. ensnared. On Pakpao’s request, Daopei
Members of the Cult have infiltrated power exiled his daughters from Zhaojūn;
blocs across Goldenseal: government minis- their fate is unknown.
tries, mercantile consortiums, street gangs,
academies, and even the Immaculates. Daopei spared little expense
on his wedding to Pakpao, in-
And then, word came that the fire of cluding a considerable sum
Exigence burned once again. Karana spent bribing high-ranking
labored long to find a god who’d been officials in the Ministry of
blessed with a spark of Exigence, Red Paper to circumvent
eventually locating his mark: the the laws forbidding mar-
wetland goddess Lyja. Playing to her riage between a Zhao
feud against the Realm, he insinu- and a Tengese. Knowing
ated himself among her allies and of Pakpao’s love of pup-
ultimately convinced her to entrust petry, Daopei invited
the spark to him, claiming he would a puppeteer-priest of the
lend his power to her own that they Cult of the Marionette to perform.
might create a mighty champion against Karana attended with his priest,
the Order together. Exigence in hand, watching from the puppet’s eyes.
he left in the dead of night to seek one He saw what Pakpao had achieved
worthy of becoming his Puppeteer. with nothing but ambition, guile,
and cleverness and knew he had
found his Chosen.
Pakpao
The Cult of the Marionette has
Overlooking the Meiyu Sea from
made overtures to Pakpao, seeking
Goldenseal’s hillside gardens, Pakpao
to have her lead their insurgency
hides her lowborn Tengese her-
against the Realm. So far, she’s
itage behind influence and
rejected their pleas, less concerned
excess. Seemingly kind
with the Realm than Karana is
and generous, Pakpao is
and unwilling to dance on the
a political schemer and
god’s strings. This frustrates
the Exigent known as
the cult; many quietly question
the Puppeteer, Chosen of
Karana’s choice to Exalt an
Karana. She has no desire
outsider instead of one of his
to rely on her divine patron’s
faithful. Karana, for his part,
goodwill; she seeks for herself
is unconcerned, seeing Pakpao’s
the power she never had in her
independence as a strength that will
mortal life, free from the strings
serve his interests in the fullness
that once bound her to the will
of time.
of others.

Pakpao was once the young The Puppeteer

daughter of impoverished and Her Patron
immigrants enslaved at a cocoa
farm, but now she’s the honored Karana watches his Puppeteer
wife of Zhao Suterin Daopei, a from the shadows, seeking to ply

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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

A DUTIFUL HUSBAND

Daopei’s true reasons for marrying Pakpao and his current status are left to her player to define. It may be
that he’s been blinded by love and played for a fool, as most assume, but it’s possible the truth of his and
Pakpao’s relationship is more nuanced and less one-sided than this. The Charms the Puppeteer’s player
chooses at character creation may introduce new possibilities — if she knows Corpse-Puppet Reanimation
and Impervious Poppet Technique, Daopei may be no more than a preserved cadaver occasionally trotted out
to keep up appearances.

Daopei might also be a supporter of Pakpao’s schemes, though she’ll need to take him as a one-dot Ally if
she wants this to extend to abusing his authority within the Ministry of the Blue Robe. It’s also possible that
Daopei is a more significant ally, with supernatural prowess of his own that he keeps secret from the Ministry.
He might be a God-Blood, a sorcerer, an outcaste Dragon-Blood, or another Exigent. An Exalted Daopei might
even be a player character, if both players involved are comfortable roleplaying their characters’ relationship.

her with pretty words and convince her they share Storyteller should discuss whatever plans the Puppeteer’s
common goals. Sometimes he speaks to her through player has for Karana with her and incorporate opportu-
dolls and puppets; at other times, his message is nities for her to pursue those goals into the game.
carried by his priesthood. He’s selfish, corrupt, and
deceitful, and seeks to cultivate these qualities in his Foes and Rivals
Chosen — though what he prizes most of all is ambi-
tion and the desire for power. How Pakpao reacts to A member of the Cult of the Marionette’s inner cir-
these blandishments is up to her player, but Karana cle, Davian Doll-Eye is named for his porcelain eye,
will always return with new temptations. which can see any heart’s desire, a gift from Karana for
Davian’s part in rebuilding the shattered god. While
If Pakpao’s player is interested in bargaining with her other priests of the Cult pose as beggars, the handsome
untrustworthy patron, the Storyteller should have him and good-humored Davian moves through high soci-
make tempting offers in times of Pakpao’s greatest ety; he’s recently captured the attention of Princess
need: hiding her from a Wyld Hunt in his sanctum; Zhao Mnemonrai Chulin, second daughter to the
offering her assets and resources to advance her plans High Queen. He slowly turns her against her older
that would require significant effort to acquire oth- sister Feiyen in hopes of seeing her ascend as a High
erwise; feeding her key information about Zhaojūn’s Queen who’ll serve Karana’s will. Davian sees Pakpao
power blocs in time to thwart one of their schemes. as a threat to his power within the Cult and envies the
Every favor owed him is another string with which blessing she’s received from Karana; he’s a staunch
to manipulate his champion, slowly steering her into adversary to those in the Cult who seek to broker an
alignment with his own will — or so he hopes. alliance with her. While his piety does not permit him
to consider killing his god’s Chosen, he would gladly
Even if Pakpao defies Karana or thwarts his schemes
see her in exile, serving Karana’s will somewhere far
outright, the god will continue to seek her out. For all
away.
that he thinks he holds the strings in their relation-
ship, the pride he takes in his Chosen and his dreams Once the Cult of the Marionette’s high priest, Cutter
for what she might become bind him to her; he can’t took on that sobriquet after she abandoned the cult,
abandon his efforts to win her over. outraged that Karana chose an outsider as his champion
rather than her. She’s become an influential figure with-
The Puppeteer has the power to redefine her relationship
in Goldenseal’s underground, allying with the Snakefire
with her patron. She might choose to pledge herself to
Syndicate both to cut off the Cult’s financial lifeblood by
his cause, joining in his efforts to subvert the Immaculate
monopolizing the smuggling trade and to undermine
Order, Realm hegemony, and the reigning High Queen
Realm hegemony through blackmail, economic manip-
of Zhaojūn. She might use social influence of her own
ulation, and assassination. She longs to see Pakpao dead
to win Karana over to her own agenda or to rebuke him
by her own hand and her Exaltation returned to Karana
into leaving her alone. If she must, she might kill him. The
that he might choose more wisely the second time, but

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE PUPPETEER

WHO KNOWS?

Unless it’s uncovered in play, Pakpao’s identity as the Puppeteer isn’t widely known outside of the Cult of the
Marrionette’s inner circle. Others may already know if it would be narratively compelling for them to know,
unless they uncover it in play.

she lacks the power to do so, despite her best efforts to outcastes fighting for dominance in the Meiyu Coast,
acquire it. Moreover, Pakpao’s own schemes pose com- allying herself with Dynasts plotting to overthrow the
plications for the Realm and the Cult; Cutter is patient V’neef satrap to advance their own houses’ ambitions,
enough to let her rival do her work for her. or joining forces with Immaculate shikari on a Wyld
Hunt against an Anathema who threatens her own
The implacable Zhao Meirun Hao is an official within agenda.
the Ministry of the Blue Robe and a longtime friend of
Pakpao’s husband Daopei. He’s spent a decade investi- Anima
gating the Cult of the Marionette, convinced that the
seemingly defunct order was a façade for treasonous The Puppeteer’s anima begins as a glowing colorless
conspiracy. He’s convinced the satrap V’neef Boru to vibration like the shimmer of a mirage. As it rises, it be-
prioritize his investigation, providing both personnel comes an ever-shifting web of puppet strings in shades
and funding. Hao has no idea his friend is married to of silver, violet, black, and white. Her iconic anima
Karana’s Chosen. Such a discovery would be explo- might depict a towering spider whose many legs pull
sive — even if Pakpao has no involvement with the Creation’s strings, a phantasmal audience that bursts
Cult, years of investigation in the face of threats and into applause at Pakpao’s heroics, a blurring overlap of
assassination attempts have transformed diligence and the silhouettes of those entangled in her schemes, or
conviction into paranoia and irrational zeal. the like.
Of course, Pakpao has potential enemies beyond these. Anima Effects
High Queen Zhao Mnemonrai Enzei would not
• Mistress of Puppets: Pakpao adds (Essence/2,
abide a rogue Chosen undermining her rule; between
rounded up) non-Charm dice on puppetry-based
the Zhao military and her influence over both the
Performance rolls and can perform unrealistic
satrap and garrison commander, she could easily mar-
feats of incredibly lifelike puppetry with stunts.
shal powerful opposition to the Puppeteer. The local
She can pay three motes to use a puppet to take
Immaculate Order — which includes Enzei’s Dragon-
a physical action out to short range, using the
Blooded siblings — won’t permit an illicit Exigent to
lower of her (Dexterity + Performance) or the
disrupt the Perfected Hierarchy; such a Chosen must
normal dice pool for the action. She can’t use
either submit to Dragon-Blood rule and Immaculate
puppets to attack unless she has Killer Puppet
orthodoxy or die as an Anathema.
Approach (p. XX), attempt feats of strength un-
less she has Iron Rod Spine (p. XX), or Shape
Character Creation Sorcery unless she has Haunted Effigy Ritual (p.
XX).
The Puppeteer uses the character creation rules for
Essence-based Exalted designed for Terrestrial play • Puppet-Snaring Strings: For five motes, Pakpao
(p. XX) with the following modifications: can make an entangle gambit, rolling ([Dexterity
or Wits] + [an appropriate Craft, Larceny, or
Step One: The Puppeteer has Craft, Larceny, and Thrown]) against an enemy within short range.
Performance as Puppeteer Abilities. Martial Arts that use whips or similar weapons
can also be used to make entangle gambits. The
gambit’s difficulty is 2. Success tangles her ene-
Traits my in strings of anima for one scene, increasing
The Puppeteer is intended for Terrestrial play (p. his mobility penalty (Exalted, p. 591) by one and
XX). She’s especially suited for inclusion in Dragon- rendering him vulnerable to certain Puppeteer
Blooded games: teaming up with a Sworn Kinship of Charms. This power is free at bonfire anima.

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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

• Puppeteer’s Innocent Smile: Once per day, • Once per scene, when she acts against a Major
Pakpao may pay one Willpower when she Intimacy, she rolls one die (unless she’s already
makes an influence roll to convince others of rolled for acting against a Defining Intimacy).
her innocence or implicate someone else for her Voluntarily weakening an Intimacy or spending
misdeeds, adding (higher of Essence or 3) non- Willpower to resist influence it supports counts
Charm dice and reducing any penalties for mak- as acting against it.
ing implausible claims by (Essence). Characters
can’t spend Willpower to resist this influence • Once per scene, when she acts against a Defining
unless presented with evidence that directly Intimacy, she rolls two dice (or one die, if she’s al-
contradicts Pakpao’s claims. ready rolled for acting against a Major Intimacy).

• When the Puppeteer learns that she has unknow-

Martial Arts ingly acted in another’s service or to fulfill agendas
other than her own, or that she has otherwise been
The Puppeteer is restricted by the Terrestrial keyword.
manipulated or outwitted, she rolls three dice.
She’s limited in her ability to combine Martial Arts Charms
with her native Charms. When she makes a Martial Arts The Puppeteer loses one Limit for accomplishing a
attack, she can enhance it with Puppeteer Charms or legendary social goal (Exalted, p. 134). Her Limit re-
Martial Arts Charms, but not both, with the exception sets at a Limit Break’s end.
of Excellencies and Versatile Charms. This doesn’t apply
to Charms that are permanent or provide ongoing benefits, When the Puppeteer reaches Limit 10, she enters
nor to actions other than attacking. Limit Break and is overcome by powerful and ex-
cessive passions, often rooted in excessive ambition,
Sorcery ruthless manipulation, paranoia, or a need for control.
Examples include:
The Puppeteer is capable of initiating into both
Terrestrial Circle sorcery and Ivory Circle necroman- Seeing Only Puppets
cy, drawing on the darker aspects of her Exaltation The Puppeteer sees others as nothing more than dispos-
hinted at by Charms like Corpse-Puppet Reanimation able tools to be used and sacrificed as her plans demand.
and Soul-Pattern Acquisition. A necromancer She will act to accomplish her goals in the most efficient
Puppeteer who’s mastered such Charms might even fashion possible, sparing no thought for how many of her
gain limited access to a Shadow Circle spell through agents must die or the collateral damage of her actions.
a Charm similar to the Sovereigns’ Sapphire Talisman Her Ties are suppressed completely for the duration.
Apocrypha (p. XX). Such a Charm might require her to
prepare ornate funereal puppets as ritual foci, sacrifice Duration: Session. This ends if Pakpao sees how her
corpse-puppets to fuel the spell, or impose a similar ruthlessness has harmed someone she has a positive
thematic condition or restriction. Major or Defining Tie to.

As an Essence-based Exigent, Pakpao pays 9 experi- Tightening the Strings

ence for each spell. The Puppeteer feels that she has lost control and will
go to any lengths to regain it over anyone and everyone,
Evocations abandoning subtlety for direct commands, coercion,
and intimidation. If others refuse to obey her, she must
The Puppeteer is resonant with artifact puppets force them to submit either through social maneuver-
(Arms of the Chosen, p. 16). With other artifacts, she’s ing or violence.
neutral with moonsilver and starmetal, and dissonant
with the other magical materials. Duration: Session. This ends if Pakpao suffers a sig-
nificant defeat or setback as a result of her need for
control.
The Great Curse
The Puppeteer’s Great Curse manifests through a Longevity and Death
ten-point Limit Track (p. XX). She rolls dice and gains
Limit equal to her successes, under the following The Puppeteer has a lifespan of a few centuries. When
circumstances: she dies, the gossamer strand of her Exaltation will

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE PUPPETEER

VENUES OF INTRIGUE

Zhaojūn provides a built-in context for Pakpao’s political intrigues, but players and Storytellers should feel
free to relocate her to suit the needs of their game. Possibilities include:

• Pakpao can be transplated to Great Forks with few changes: Daopei would be an official in the Commission
of Unquestionable Justice (p. XX), while Karana’s defeat came at the hands of a rival god rather than the Im-
maculate Order.

• On the Blessed Isle, Pakpao might be a patrician married to a mortal Dynast, playing the Scarlet Dynasty’s
games of intrigue. The Cult of the Marionette would be much smaller in the Immaculate Order’s heartland,
perhaps a folk heresy spanning only a few villages or a prefecture.

• In Brightwork (Exalted
(Exalted,, p. 104) or elsewhere in the Azurite Empire, Pakpao might be either a native of a
colonized island, a child of a lowborn Azurite clan, or an escaped slave. Daopei would be a judge in Azure’s
magistracy, while Karana’s cult was proscribed by Azurite law. The Cult of the Marionette might be replaced
by a Tya chapterhouse whose inner circle reveres Karana as their patron

• In Fortitude (Exalted
(Exalted,, 82), Pakpao might be a more vicious figure, fitting the oft-violent politics of the ruling
gangs. Daopei might be a member of middling status in a prominent gang, like the God Killers or the Storm
Boys, or the leader of minor gang. Karana is a poor fit for a spirit native to Fortitude; he and his cult might hail
from a neighboring satrapy.

unspool from her soul and return to Karana to be spun • Securing direct or indirect control over a signif-
again. Whether there were any other Puppeteers be- icant organization, or substantially increasing
fore Pakpao is up to her player and the Storyteller. her existing control.

• Turning two significant enemies, rivals, or other

Character Advancement opposing forces against each other.
The Puppeteer uses Terrestrial advancement rules (p. XX). • Upholding a Major or Defining Tie using under-
handed, illegal, or subtle means, like infiltration,
Exigent Bonus theft, deception, or blackmail.

The Puppeteer receives Expression Bonuses (p. XX) as

normal and can earn a Role Bonus of 2 Exigent expe- Charms
rience by:
The Puppeteer’s Charms empower her not only as
• Intentionally ceding the “spotlight” of a scene’s a master of literal puppets, but also as a formidable
focus to another player character so that he can schemer and strategist, manipulating others and
express his character concept in an interesting planning ten steps ahead. Karana’s spider-like nature
and dramatic fashion, or directly supporting is reflected in her Charms as well, letting her climb up
him in such a moment. walls, swing on strings of Essence, or snare her ene-
mies within silken webs.
• Using a performance to advance her or her
Circle’s goals. Excellencies
• Compromising someone in a position of power The Puppeteer can purchase Excellencies for each of
— through blackmail, long-term manipulation, the Attributes. She receives two for free at character
Psyche effects, or the like — such that he’s will- creation; Excellencies beyond these must be purchased
ing to abuse his authority and neglect his re- separately. The maximum number of dice she can add
sponsibilities to serve her agenda. depends on the type of action she takes: (Dexterity +

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specialty) for physical actions, (Manipulation + spe- Iron Rod Spine

cialty) for social actions, and (Wits + specialty) for Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
mental actions. Automatic successes count as two dice Type: Permanent
towards this limit. Static values like Evasion or Resolve Keywords: None
can be raised by half her dice cap, rounded down. Duration: Permanent
Unlike Exalted with Attribute-based Charms, Pakpao Prerequisite Charms: Dancing Puppet Artistry
can’t use the Strength Excellency to bolster damage
rolls or the Stamina Excellency to increase her soak. Pakpao’s Essence suffuses her puppets with incredible
strength, allowing wood and wire to crack stone and
Puppets and Crafting bend metal.

Creating a puppet is a crafting project — typically a Pakpao can use Mistress of Puppets to make feats of
basic project, though large or especially complicated strength. If the puppet she’s using has Tiny Creature
puppets may require a major project (Exalted, p. 240). or Minuscule Size (p. XX), she halves her Strength to
It’s also possible to create artifact puppets with supe- determine what feats it can attempt. If she controls a
rior and legendary projects; see page XX for examples. Legendary Size puppet with Poppet Titan Mastery (p.
Common Crafts used in creating puppets include XX), she adds +5 to her effective Strength.
Carpentry, Dollmaking, or other Crafts appropriate to
While Dancing Puppet Artistry is active, Pakpao adds
the materials used.
+1 to her effective Strength.
Creation’s most elephantine puppets — those with
Killer Puppet Approach
Legendary Size, requiring Poppet Titan Mastery (p.
XX) to animate — normally require teams of puppe- Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
teers to operate. They are exceedingly rare, typically Type: Permanent
seen only at major festivals, certain religious ceremo- Keywords: Uniform, Versatile
nies, and the entertainment of the exceedingly wealthy. Duration: Permanent
Creating a Legendary Size puppet is a mundane supe- Prerequisite Charms: Dancing Puppet Artistry
rior project (Exalted, p. 241)
Pakpao draws no distinction between puppets and
Corpse-Puppet Reanimation (p. XX) lets Pakpao an- weapons.
imate zombies as puppets; Statue-Awakening Strings
Pakpao can use Mistress of Puppets to make attacks.
(p. XX) lets her animate various inanimate objects.
When Pakpao uses Puppeteer Charms that use craft- Living Puppet Performance
ing projects to improve her puppets, she uses Medicine
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
for zombie puppets and the appropriate Craft for ani-
Type: Reflexive
mated objects.
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Indefinite
Puppetry Charms Prerequisite Charms: Killer Puppet Approach

Dancing Puppet Artistry Any puppeteer can make a puppet seem to come alive;
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 Pakpao goes a step further, bringing her marionettes
Type: Reflexive to life with a combination of skillful puppeteering and
Keywords: Stackable Essence.
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None Pakpao animates a puppet within close range under
her player’s control. Most use animated puppet traits;
Pakpao’s imbues one of her puppets with artistry and those with animal shapes or other unusual designs
grace beyond what any mortal hands could achieve. might have unique traits comparable to one-dot fa-
miliars (Exalted, p. 161). She can’t animate Legendary
Pakpao waives Mistress of Puppets’s cost (p. XX) and can Size puppets without Poppet Titan Mastery (p. XX).
negate penalties for lacking appropriate equipment with Threads of Essence visibly connect the animated pup-
a stunt — e.g., picking a lock with a poppet’s spindly fin- pet to Pakpao.
gers. If the puppet is particularly appropriate to the task,
it counts as exceptional equipment (Exalted, p. 580).

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Pakpao can still use Mistress of Puppets to act through

ANIMATED PUPPETS an animated puppet with her own actions, using the
better of her or the puppet’s traits.
These traits can be used for animated puppets
that are roughly humanoid in form. They encom- This Charm ends if a puppet goes beyond short range
pass both poppets — puppets no larger than from her, but they can use reflexive move actions
a housecat, with the Tiny Creature Merit — and outside of their turn in combat to follow her when
mannequins, which range in size from a housecat she moves. Likewise, this Charm ends if Pakpao’s
to a human. incapacitated.

Essence: 1; Willpower: 1; Join Battle: 5 dice Pakpao can stack this Charm to animate multiple
puppets.
Health Levels: −0/−1/−2x2/−4/Incap. (Poppet);
−0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap. (Mannequin) Corpse-Puppet Reanimation
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Actions: Appear Inanimate: 10 dice; Feats of
Type: Permanent
Strength: 8 dice (may attempt Strength 3 feats)
(Mannequin only); Fit Through Small Spaces: 8 Keywords: None
dice (Poppet only); Senses: 5 dice; Stealth: 8 dice Duration: Permanent
for poppets (see Tiny Creature), 5 dice for manne- Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Performance
quins; Threaten: 4 dice.
Pakpao threads invisible strings of Essence through a
Appearance 1, Resolve 1, Guile 1 corpse, raising it as a shambling marionette.

COMBAT Pakpao can use Living Puppet Performance on human

and human-like corpse to reanimate them as zombies
Attack (Unarmed): 10 dice (Poppet: Damage 2B, (Exalted, p. 502) that also count as animated puppets
9B against enemies their size or smaller; Manne- (including the range restriction). Additionally, she
quin: Damage 12B)
counts corpses as puppets for purposes of her other
Attack (Grapple): 7 dice (Poppet: 5 dice to con- Charms that involve them.
trol, can only grapple enemies their size or small-
er and can only savage grappled foes; Mannequin: This Charm doesn’t halt the normal process of decay.
8 dice to control) If Pakpao creates a corpse-puppet shortly after some-
one’s death, it might pass as alive for a few days, as long
Combat Movement: 8 dice as it doesn’t need to speak, but it will decay unless she
uses Impervious Poppet Technique (p. XX).
Evasion: 3 for poppets (see Tiny Creature); 2 for
mannequins With an Essence 2 repurchase, Pakpao may pay a
three-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to create a su-
Parry: 1 for poppets; 4 for mannequins.
perior corpse-puppet that retains some of its former
Soak/Hardness: 1/0 for poppets; 8/0 for manne- intellect and the power of speech. It loses the Mindless
quins. Merit and can use mundane traits it had in life in place
of zombie traits if they’re better. The Storyteller may
MERITS reduce these traits for deteriorated or dismembered
corpses.
Automaton: Puppets are immune to poison, dis-
ease, fatigue, and fear and have no need to eat, Exquisite Mannequin Construction
drink, breathe, or sleep.
Cost: 10m, 1wp, 2xp; Mins: Essence 1
Mindless: Puppets treat all social influence as Type: Simple
unacceptable and have perfect morale. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Tiny Creature (Poppet only): Add +2 Evasion Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Performance
against larger foes’ attacks. Larger characters
subtract two successes from Awareness-based Rebuilding her puppets with skillful hands, Pakpao turns
rolls to notice puppets. the crudest of children’s toys into masterpieces worthy
of her craft.

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Pakpao undertakes a major project (Exalted, p. 240) Keywords: Dual

to improve a puppet. It has difficulty 3 and takes one Duration: Instant
week to complete. Success grants her puppet the fol- Prerequisite Charms: Killer Puppet Approach
lowing benefits while animated:
Pakpao’s puppets move in on her foes with an eerie syn-
• +1 die on all physical dice pools. chrony, attacking with coordination beyond any living
pack hunter.
• Five dots of mutations that reflect modifications
to the puppet’s construction — Unusual Hide or When Pakpao attacks through a puppet or one of her
Wings are valid options, but not Venomous. animated puppets makes an attack, she adds the target’s
onslaught penalty, maximum (higher of her Essence or 3),
• +2 soak and Hardness 4. to the raw damage of a withering attack or adds that many
attack roll extra successes as dice of decisive damage.
• Two additional −4 health levels.
Against enemies with an onslaught penalty of −2
A given puppet can only benefit from this Charm once. or higher, animated puppets with Tiny Creature or
Minuscule Size ignore those Merits’ restrictions on
This Charm’s experience point cost is waived the first withering damage.
time Pakpao uses it. If an improved puppet is perma-
nently lost or destroyed, Pakpao regains all experience Effortless String-Pulling Mastery
spent enhancing it. Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Menacing Puppet Ensemble
Keywords: None
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 Duration: One tick
Type: Reflexive Prerequisite Charms: None

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Countless strings trail from Pakpao’s fingertips, con- With a third purchase at Essence 3, Pakpao may pay
trolling her many puppets with the slightest of motions. a three-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to hide a
willing character no larger than her within her shad-
When Pakpao makes a flurry that includes a pup- ow. He may emerge as a miscellaneous movement
petry-based Performance action or an action taken action, without needing her to use this Charm again.
through a puppet, she reduces the penalty on each Pakpao’s shadow is inhospitable to life; characters
flurried action by one and ignores the Defense penalty. who need to breathe will suffocate if they remain
within it for more than (Stamina) hours, choking on
Ship-Self Puppetry shadowy darkness.
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple Spider’s Cunning Strings
Keywords: Pilot Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Duration: One day Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: Dancing Puppet Artistry, Keywords: None
Effortless String-Pulling Mastery Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Pakpao crews a ship by herself, winding threads of
Essence through its rigging to make it her puppet. The Puppeteer spins threads of Essence to snag whatever
strategy, happenstance, or drama has kept from her.
Pakpao reduces penalties on Sail rolls or similar pilot-
ing rolls from poorly trained or insufficient crew by Pakpao can use this Charm on her turn to cast a strand
(Essence), and she can take actions that would normal- at an unattended object that she could hold in her
ly be impossible without sufficient crew. Vessels may hands or wear within short range, rolling ([Dexterity
receive a +1 Speed bonus if going without crew frees up or Wits] + [an appropriate Craft, Larceny, or Thrown])
a significant amount of weight. at difficulty 2. If an enemy is within close range of
that object, he can oppose her roll with (Dexterity +
If Pakpao has made the ship her lair with The Spider in Athletics). If Pakpao succeeds, she pulls that object to
Her Web, she negates such penalties entirely. her, catching it at the start of her next turn. There must
be an unobstructed path for it to reach her. If Pakpao
Jumbled Toy Chest Silhouettes uses this Charm on a puppet, she can retrieve it even if
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1 she fails the roll; success pulls it to her instantly.
Type: Simple
Keywords: Stackable If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration
Duration: Instant (p. XX), she may pay a two-mote surcharge to extend
Prerequisite Charms: None this Charm’s range to medium.

Pakpao bids one of her puppets sink into her shadow, Silken Lariat Technique
vanishing from the stage until she has need of it. Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Pakpao banishes a puppet Elsewhere until she recalls Keywords: Dual, Versatile
it from her shadow with a second use of this Charm. Duration: Instant
Pakpao can banish Legendary Size puppets if she Prerequisite Charms: Spider’s Cunning Strings
knows Poppet Titan Mastery (p. XX), but this requires
a four-mote, one-Willpower surcharge and takes ten The Puppeteer bedevils her foes with countless threads
minutes to absorb it into her shadow. of Essence.
Characters capable of perceiving the dematerialized Pakpao makes a withering or decisive attack against
can see the banished puppets as silhouetted figures an enemy within short range. Her threads are light
clambering within Pakpao’s shadow. She may have up weapons (Accuracy +5 Close, +4 Short, +3 Medium, −0
to (Essence x3) puppets Elsewhere at any given time. Long, −2 Extreme; Damage +7, Overwhelming 1) with
the Bashing, Thrown (Short), Disarming, Flexible, and
With an Essence 2 repurchase, Pakpao may pay a three- Grappling tags. If she grapples an enemy from beyond
mote surcharge to banish or recall any object light enough close range, she can only take restrain or drag actions,
to hold in her hands or wear. If she recalls banished ar- and enemies can sever the thread — ending the grapple
mor, she must still don it normally (Exalted, p. 591). — with a difficulty 3 gambit rolled against a Defense

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of (higher of her Essence or 3). She can’t improve this This Charm can be stacked to seal up to (Essence x2)
Defense with Charms. openings.

Alternatively, Pakpao can weave a whip or sling (Exalted, Countless Puppets Chorus
pp. 582, 587) from threads, reflexively readying it. Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent
If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration, Keywords: None
she may pay a two-mote surcharge to extend an at- Duration: Permanent
tack’s range to medium. Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Performance
Special activation rules: This Charm may be flurried. Pakpao brings her performances to life with a cast of
living puppets, spinning countless strings of Essence to
Leash-Tugging Gesture animate her dramatis personae.
Cost: —(+3m); Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent Pakpao reduces the base cost of activations of Living
Keywords: Decisive-only, Versatile Puppet Performance past the first to one mote. If she
Duration: Permanent ends the first commitment, she must commit enough
Prerequisite Charms: Silken Lariat Technique motes to bring another attunement to its full cost, or all
discounted uses end.
Pakpao snares distant foes with strands of Essence,
drawing them inexorably toward her. Dreaming Marionette Trance
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Pakpao may pay a three-mote surcharge when she uses Type: Simple
Silken Lariat Technique to grapple from beyond close Keywords: None
range, instantly dragging her target into close range. If Duration: Indefinite
she immediately ends the grapple to make a throw or Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Performance
slam, she adds (Dexterity) to the number of forfeited
rounds of control she can benefit from. Stilling her mind, the Puppeteer becomes her puppet.
Web-Spun Seal Pakpao enters a state of meditation in which she proj-
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 ects her consciousness into a puppet, animating it as per
Type: Simple Living Puppet Performance, except that it need not re-
Keywords: Stackable main within range of her body. She perceives the world
Duration: One day through the puppet’s senses; she’s still able to perceive
Prerequisite Charms: Spider’s Cunning Strings her surroundings but suffers a −3 penalty to do.

Weaving strings around a portal or container, the This Charm ends if Pakpao ceases meditating. If her
Puppeteer seals it shut. body is slain, her soul remains bound within the pup-
pet, animating it indefinitely, though her Exaltation
Touching a door, window, container, or similar open- still returns to Karana. If she’s not the first Puppeteer,
ing, Pakpao adds +2 difficulty on lockpicking rolls, Pakpao might encounter predecessors who’ve met this
feats of demolition, or other rolls to open or bypass it. fate as mentors, enemies, or narrative foils.
If a character fails a roll, Pakpao senses that someone’s
attempted to interfere with her seal. Lengthening Strings Concentration
Cost: —(+1m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 2
If the Puppeteer knows God-Binding Strings (p. XX), Type: Permanent
she can use this Charm on the entry to a god’s sanctum Keywords: None
or similar mystical portals, like a sorcerous gateway to Duration: Instant
Hell, barring passage in both directions for one day. She Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Performance
rolls (Wits + Occult) to determine the seal’s strength.
A character can make an opposed (Intelligence + The Puppeteer has learned to wield her subtle strings
Occult) roll to break the seal; failure alerts Pakpao as from greater distances.
above. Characters whose Essence exceeds Pakpao’s
may spend one Willpower to pass through even after a Pakpao extends Living Puppet Performance’s range
failed roll, but this doesn’t break the seal. to medium. Additionally, she can pay a one-mote,

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one-Willpower surcharge to extend Mistress of Pakpao uses her threads to make a disarm gambit or
Puppets’ range to medium. pickpocketing roll against a character within short
range, rolling ([Dexterity or Wits] + [an appropriate
With Essence 3, both benefits extend to long range. Craft, Larceny, or Thrown]). If she succeeds, other
characters can’t notice this theft for up to one minute
Smiling Assistant Approach or (Essence) rounds in combat, unless circumstances
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 2 call attention to it, like trying to draw a stolen blade.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None If Pakpao makes a disarm gambit with Silken Lariat
Duration: Instant Technique (p. XX), she can use this Charm reflexively
Prerequisite Charms: Lengthening Strings with it to double 9s on the attack roll and waive the
Concentration gambit’s Initiative cost.

Granting an ally a measure of her own finesse, Pakpao If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration,
appoints him as her assistant puppeteer. she may pay a two-mote surcharge to extend this
Charm’s range to medium.
Pakpao passes control of one of her animated puppets
to an ally within close range; that puppet’s range be- Reset: Once per scene.
comes tied to that character rather than Pakpao. She
can still use Mistress of Puppets to allow her assistant Wooden Squire Strategy
to act through the puppet but can’t do so herself. Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
With Puppet-God Awakening (p. XX), Pakpao’s assis- Keywords: Perilous, Withering-only
tant can pay that Charm’s surcharge to use his magic Duration: Instant
through the puppet, but Pakpao can’t do so. Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Performance

Second Self Incarnation Pakpao’s strings thrum in time with her battle-rhythm, a
Cost: —(3a); Mins: Essence 2 conduit along which she and her puppets may share their
Type: Permanent momentum.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent After an animated puppet deals withering damage,
Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Performance Pakpao can activate this Charm to transfer up to half
of the Initiative awarded by the attack, rounded up,
Pakpao’s puppets are an extension of her, her strings to herself. Alternatively, she can use it after she deals
seamlessly joining flesh with wood. withering damage to transfer Initiative to an animat-
ed puppet.
When Pakpao uses Mistress of Puppets (p. XX), its
cost is reduced to one mote and she isn’t limited by her Reset: Once per round.
(Dexterity + Performance). If the puppet’s dice pool
for the action exceeds Pakpao’s own, her 10s reroll Puppet-God Awakening
non-1 failures. Cost: —(+2m); Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
At bonfire anima, Pakpao may expend her anima ban- Keywords: None
ner to add a free full Excellency on her roll. Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Second Self Incarnation
Unseen String Confiscation
Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 Divine Essence flows through Pakpao’s strings, raising
Type: Simple up her puppets and empowering them as Karana blessed
Keywords: Decisive-only, Mute, Versatile her.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Spider’s Cunning Strings Pakpao can use Supplemental and Reflexive Puppeteer
Charms with instant duration to enhance animated
With the eye of a well-practiced thief, the Puppeteer uses puppets’ actions, paying a two-mote surcharge for
invisible strings to lift a purse or retrieve a key from a each Charm.
guard’s belt.

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If Pakpao possesses a puppet using Dreaming original character’s magic or other traits. They count
Marionette Trance, she waives this surcharge and can as animated puppets (including the range restriction).
use Simple Charms through it as well. She’s not limited Additionally, they gain the following Merits:
to instant-duration Charms.
• Dark Antagonism: Shadow puppets double 9s
Statue-Awakening Strings on rolls opposing the character they belong to
Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Essence 3 and add +1 to all static values against that char-
Type: Permanent acter’s actions.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent • Living Shadow: Shadow puppets halve all de-
Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Performance cisive damage dealt to them; attacks capable of
striking dematerialized characters ignore this.
The Puppeteer’s strings control stone and steel, bidding Shadow puppets are immune to poison, disease,
statues walk off their pedestals to serve as her puppets. and fatigue.

Pakpao may pay a one-Willpower surcharge to use Living • Mindless: Shadow puppets treat all social influ-
Puppet Performance on statues and similar inanimate ence as unacceptable and have perfect morale.
objects with roughly human- or animal-like forms.
Animated objects using walking statue traits (Exalted, p. • Vanishing Shade: Shadow puppets double 9s on
500) and gain the Mindless Merit (p. XX). They count as Stealth rolls that benefit from darkness-based
animated puppets (including the range restriction). concealment and on Larceny rolls made oppos-
ing a character who suffers a darkness-based
At the Storyteller’s discretion, specific animated ob- penalty.
ject’s traits may vary based on unusual features or the
materials used to make it — a statue of a dog might use If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration,
some of a dog’s special abilities and Merits; a scarecrow its range bonus applies to this Charm’s initial roll.
might have fewer health levels and lower soak and
Hardness but higher Evasion and combat movement. Unwilling Puppet Binding
Cost: 5m, 5i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Additionally, Pakpao counts such objects as puppets Type: Simple
for purposes of her other Charms. Keywords: Perilous
Duration: (1 + extra successes) rounds
Living Shadow Pantomime Prerequisite Charms: Corpse-Puppet Reanimation,
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 Living Shadow Pantomime
Type: Simple
Keywords: None Pakpao’s threads burrow into flesh and weave them-
Duration: One scene selves among nerve and sinew, turning enemies into
Prerequisite Charms: Statue-Awakening Strings helpless puppets dancing on her strings.

Flexing her hands into impossible shapes, the Puppeteer’s Pakpao rolls (Manipulation + [an appropriate Craft,
strings attach themselves to her foe’s shadow, dragging it Larceny, or Thrown]) against the Defense of a crashed
up from the ground to serve her. enemy or trivial foe within short range. Success binds
him for (1 + extra successes) rounds. He counts as an
Pakpao binds the shadow of a character within close animated puppet for purposes of her Charms, but the
range, rolling (Manipulation + [an appropriate Craft, effects of Living Puppet Performance (including its
Larceny, or Performance]) against his (higher of range limit) don’t apply. Binding Legendary Size ene-
Defense or Resolve) if he’s unwilling. Binding the mies requires using Poppet Titan Mastery (p. XX).
shadows of Legendary Size characters requires using
Poppet Titan Mastery (p. XX). On each of the bound enemy’s turns, Pakpao may force
him to take a physical action or speech-based social
Shadow puppets use the Attributes, Abilities, special- action of her choice, although she can’t force him to
ties (or dice pools, for Quick Characters), Willpower, use magic. If he wishes to take another action on his
health track, and Innate Merits of the characters turn, he must flurry. He can flurry actions that would
they belong to, and have mundane copies of their normally be incompatible, like two attacks, and com-
equipment. They have Essence 1 and can’t use the pelled actions never count as his attack or movement

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action for the round. If Pakpao forces him to violate Pakpao can have up to (Essence) souls bound at a time.
one of his Major or Defining Intimacies, he may spend She may choose to release a soul from this durance;
one Willpower to resist, though it still counts against otherwise, they escape only upon her death.
his actions for that turn.
Wooden Legion Cavalcade
If Pakpao uses this Charm on an Exalt or other super- Cost: —(+7m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 3
natural character, she must use a miscellaneous action Type: Permanent
on each of her turns to maintain the binding, which Keywords: None
counts as her attack for the round. If she doesn’t do Duration: Permanent
so, he acts freely on his next turn, though this Charm Prerequisite Charms: Countless Puppets Chorus,
doesn’t end. Menacing Puppet Ensemble

If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration A single puppet isn’t enough for Pakpao’s artistic ambi-
(p. XX), its range bonus applies to this Charm. tions; streaming countless threads from her hands, she
brings an army to life.
Soul-Pattern Acquisition
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 When Pakpao uses Living Puppet Performance, she
Type: Reflexive may pay a seven-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to
Keywords: None animate enough puppets to form a battle group of up
Duration: Instant to Size (Wits/2, round up), with elite Drill and perfect
Prerequisite Charms: Unwilling Puppet Binding morale (Exalted, pp. 206-207, 210). It can’t benefit
from command actions by characters other than
None can return the dead to life, but the Puppeteer’s Pakpao, unless she uses Smiling Assistant Approach to
strings can snare the soul as the moment of death, trap- pass control of the battle group to an ally.
ping it within the endless coils of her Essence until she
has need of it. Parading Puppet Formation
Cost: —(3i); Mins: Essence 3
Pakpao can use this Charm when she or one of her Type: Permanent
puppets kills a living character or when a willing living Keywords: Uniform
character dies within long range of her. The deceased’s Duration: Permanent
higher soul (or similar, for non-humans) is bound, un- Prerequisite Charms: Wooden Legion Cavalcade
able to pass on to Lethe or linger as a ghost.
Pakpao’s puppet army marches in perfect synchrony, a
When Pakpao uses Living Puppet Performance, she single will pulling ten thousand strings.
may pay a five-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to im-
bue the puppet with the bound soul. The puppet uses Pakpao doubles 9s on command actions targeting pup-
that character’s former social and mental Attributes, pet battle groups and can flurry them with non-attack
Abilities, specialties (or social and mental dice pools, actions. For three Initiative, an order roll adds one die
for Quick Characters), and Willpower if they’re better per two successes to the battle group’s damage roll, maxi-
than its own. It can’t use his magic or other traits. The mum (Pakpao’s War), in addition to the attack roll bonus.
soul controls the puppet, affording it a measure of
agency, but it suffers an unbreakable and unalterable Strings of Stolen Divinity
Defining Tie of obedience to Pakpao. However, this Cost: —; Mins: Essence 4
affords an opportunity to free a trapped soul — if the Type: Permanent
puppet is incapacitated by an attack capable of perma- Keywords: None
nently destroying spirits, like Ghost-Eating Technique Duration: Permanent
(Exalted, p. 354), the soul is destroyed…unless Pakpao Prerequisite Charms: Puppet-God Awakening, Soul-
knows Broken Toy Revenge (p. XX). Pattern Acquisition

If Pakpao knows God-Binding Strings (p. XX), she can The souls trapped in Pakpao’s web shine with the last
use this Charm when she or her puppets incapacitate embers of their power, imbuing her puppets with echoes
a ghost (without needing to use magic to destroy of what they once were.
it permanently) or when a ghost within long range
would pass on to Lethe. Uniquely powerful ghosts like When Pakpao uses Soul-Pattern Acquisition on a supernat-
Deathlords are immune to this Charm. ural being, she may choose up to (Essence) of his Charms

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to preserve along with his soul. When she imbues that soul
into an animated puppet, it gains those Charms, though GIANT PUPPETS
Pakpao must pay their costs for him to use them. Pakpao
can’t combine these with her own Charms to enhance the Essence: 1; Willpower: 1; Join Battle: 10 dice
same action when she uses Puppet-God Awakening unless
all of the puppet’s Charms used are Eclipse Charms. Health Levels: −0x2/−1x5/−2x5/−4x10/Incap.

Soul Doll Exaltation Actions: Appear Inanimate: 6 dice; Feats of

Cost: —; Mins: Essence 4 Strength: 14 dice (may attempt Strength 10 feats,
Type: Simple see Incredible Strength); Senses: 10 dice; Threat-
Keywords: None en: 12 dice.
Duration: Instant Appearance 1, Resolve 1, Guile 1
Prerequisite Charms: Dreaming Marionette Trance,
Strings of Stolen Divinity COMBAT

Unspooling her own soul and binding herself to an or- Attack (Unarmed): 12 dice (Damage 18B/5)
nate ritual doll, Pakpao imbues it with an echo of her
Attack (Grapple): 10 dice (10 dice to control;
own Essence and consciousness, that she might keep her
giant puppets make unopposed control rolls
own counsel.
against smaller enemies unless they use magic
As part of the training time to learn this Charm, like Dragon Coil Technique.)
Pakpao must undertake a mundane superior project Combat Movement: 8 dice
(Exalted, p. 243) to create a legendary masterpiece
of a puppet, her soul doll, from precious metals, fine Evasion 1, Parry 6
wood, gemstones, and potentially magical materials
and other exotic components. It must be small enough Soak/Hardness: 15/5
to use poppet traits (p. XX).
Merits
Upon learning this Charm, the puppet is imbued with a Automaton: Giant puppets are immune to poi-
fragment of Pakpao’s soul. It’s permanently animated as son, disease, fatigue, and fear and have no need
per Living Puppet Performance and receives the ben- to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep.
efits of Pakpao’s traits as per Soul-Pattern Acquisition.
It also gains (Pakpao’s Essence) Puppeteer Charms Incredible Might: Giant puppets double 8s on
that she knows and a pool of ten motes. Pakpao can still feats of strength.
pay those Charm’s costs on the doll’s behalf.
Legendary Size: Giant puppets suffer no on-
Living Puppet Performance’s range limit doesn’t slaught penalties from the smaller enemies’
apply to the soul doll. When Pakpao uses Dreaming attacks unless inflicted by magic. They can’t be
crashed by smaller enemies’ withering attacks
Marionette Trance to possess it, she can continue to
unless they have 10+ post-soak damage, al-
act normally through her body.
though attackers gain the full amount of Initiative
damage dealt. Smaller enemies’ decisive attacks
Upon its creation, the soul doll has a perfect replica
can’t deal more than (attacker’s Strength + 3) lev-
of Pakpao’s consciousness and all her Intimacies.
els of damage to it, not counting levels added by
However, it’s an entirely separate character, and may
magic.
grow and change in different ways than Pakpao does.
Mindless: Giant puppets treat all social influence
The soul doll counts as an artifact, though no attune- as unacceptable and have perfect morale.
ment cost is required. Pakpao can awaken Evocations
from it that reflect her personality, that of her soul
fragment (if it’s diverged from hers), and the materials
incorporated into the puppet. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Poppet Titan Mastery Prerequisite Charms: Iron Rod Spine, Lengthening
Cost: —(+5m, 1wp; 5m, 1wp per turn); Mins: Essence 5 Strings Concentration, Wooden Legion Cavalcade
Type: Permanent

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Wooden giants and ersatz behemoths dance at Pakpao’s • Pakpao and her allies count as having an appli-
will, maneuvered on countless strings that spill from her cable Awareness specialty for all rolls within it.
anima to puppeteer such titans.
• Pakpao can still make Perception rolls to detect
Pakpao may pay a five-mote, one-Willpower surcharge threats while sleeping in the lair and ignores
when she uses Living Puppet Performance to animate penalties for being asleep. She instantly awakens
a Legendary Size puppet. Most use giant puppet traits; upon a successful roll.
those with unusual designs might have unique traits
comparable to three-dot familiars (Exalted, p. 161). This Charm can be stacked to maintain up to (higher
of Essence or 3) lairs. Uses past the first cost one mote,
On each subsequent turn, Pakpao must pay five motes, one Willpower.
one Willpower and take a miscellaneous action to
control the puppet. This counts as her attack for the Silken Sail Meditation
round. If she doesn’t, the puppet’s next turn is skipped. Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
With Charms like Corpse-Puppet Reanimation or Keywords: Pilot
Statute-Awakening Stringers, Poppet Titan Mastery Duration: Permanent
can be used to puppeteer the likes of undead giants, Prerequisite Charms: Ship-Self Puppetry, The
colossal statues, and unpiloted warstriders. Spider in Her Web

Poppet Titan Mastery can also be used to enhance Pakpao need not go without her lair if she takes to the
Charms like Living Shadow Pantomime or Unwilling seas; her ship is her sanctum and refuge.
Puppet Binding, letting Pakpao use them against
Legendary Size characters. The action needed to When Pakpao uses The Spider in Her Web to claim a
control Legendary Size puppets replaces the one for ship as her lair, it confers additional benefits:
Unwilling Puppet Binding.
• It gains +1 Speed.
Lair Charms • Boarding actions against it suffer a penalty of
(Pakpao’s Essence).
The Spider in Her Web
Cost: 4m, 1wp (1m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 1 • Pakpao and her allies count as having an appli-
Type: Simple cable Sail specialty for all rolls aboard it. This
Keywords: Stackable counts toward her crew’s Sail rating when de-
Duration: Indefinite termining the modifier she receives from them
Prerequisite Charms: None (Exalted, p. 244).
Pakpao learned long ago that there’s no such thing as • Pakpao can’t fall overboard, arresting any such
safety, but with sufficient planning and paranoid vigi- fall with strings of Essence.
lance, she can make her lair a refuge from her enemies.
Cobweb Palace Majesty
Pakpao creates a lair as a basic Craft project (Exalted, Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
p. 240) that takes a day. The lair must be an enclosed or Type: Simple
self-contained space and can only be large enough to Keywords: None
hold up to (Essence + Manipulation) people. It confers Duration: Indefinite
the following benefits: Prerequisite Charms: The Spider in Her Web,
Spider’s Cunning Strings
• Finding it requires a (Perception + [Awareness,
Investigation, or Survival]) roll against difficulty A fly might be forgiven for not recognizing the danger
(Pakpao’s Manipulation/2, rounded up). Trivial of a spider’s web; those who would trespass on Pakpao’s
characters can’t roll to notice it. lair or seek to confront her within have no excuse for
their folly.
• Attempts to trespass, like lockpicking or sneak-
ing past a guard, suffer a penalty of (Pakpao’s Pakpao weaves a vast web within her lair as a basic proj-
Essence). ect that takes a few minutes to complete, though larger

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lairs claimed with Spider-Queen’s Tower may take up she may instead claim a similarly sized region that she
to an hour. If she’s created an expansive lair with Secret travels through: a seaport, a stretch of a trade route, the
Empress Dominion, she can only weave a web through only oasis along a desert road and its surroundings, etc.
a portion of it comparable to the size of her lesser lairs. She can’t claim it as her lair if authorities within the re-
gion are actively attempting to suppress her influence
Once the web is spun, her lair gains the following or stop her activities or if a supernatural being who
benefits: occupies the region doesn’t consent.

• When an enemy enters it, he must roll (Perception If Pakpao is able to successfully expand her influence,
+ Awareness) or (Dexterity + Dodge) at difficulty the entire region becomes her lair and she’s awarded
(Pakpao’s Manipulation) or become entangled (Essence, maximum 5) white points. She no longer
(p. XX) for as long as he remains within the lair. needs to maintain her mote commitment to The Spider
in Her Web to empower it. She can only have one per-
• Entangled enemies’ mobility penalties apply on manent lair at a time; if she wishes to create a new one,
all rolls and static values within the lair. she must revoke the previous lair’s status.
• Pakpao waives the cost of Spider’s Cunning Empire of the Spider-Goddess
Strings. Cost: —; Mins: Essence 5
Type: Permanent
Spider-Queen’s Tower
Keywords: None
Cost: —(+6m); Mins: Essence 3 Duration: Permanent
Type: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: Secret Empress Domain
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Not content with ruling as a queen, the Puppeteer
Prerequisite Charms: The Spider in Her Web enshrines herself as a living god, reigning over her web-
bound domain with miracles both gross and subtle.
As Pakpao’s ambitions prosper, she turns her eyes to
mansions, palaces, and flagships, seeking a lair worthy Pakpao can hear any prayers made within a permanent
of the Puppeteer. lair created with Secret Empress Domain, no matter
who or what they’re made to. The Storyteller should
Pakpao may pay a six-mote surcharge when she uses inform Pakpao’s player of any prayers that are relevant
The Spider in Her Web to create a lair large enough to to her. Gleaning useful information from these prayers
hold ([Essence + Manipulation] x10) people as a major or seeking out a specific suppliant’s prayer requires a
project that takes a week to complete. Alternatively, (Perception + Occult) roll against whatever difficulty
she can make an attuned demesne or manse a lair the Storyteller deems appropriate, or the Guile of a
regardless of its size, even if it’s not enclosed. Such character whose secrets it would compromise.
lairs count as two toward the limit on how many the
Puppeteer can have. Pakpao also gains additional benefits within her Secret
Empress Domain for each of the following Charms she
Secret Empress Domain knows:
Cost: 20m, 2wp, 20gxp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple • Anchored to the Sky: While Pakpao is at the
Keywords: None apex of the string she’s anchored to the sky,
Duration: Instant she may move the anchor point one range band
Prerequisite Charms: Spider-Queen’s Tower in any direction, drifting along with it, so long
as it remains within the lair. She can’t ascend
Not content with safety, Pakpao seeks control. more than (Essence – 1) range bands above the
ground.
To use this Charm, Pakpao must first establish a lair
enhanced with Spider-Queen’s Tower. She can expand • Corpse-Puppet Reanimation: When someone
her lair’s boundaries to encompass a contiguous re- dies within the lair, he is immediately animated
gion of up to (Essence x10) miles square by spending as a corpse-puppet. Such zombies mindlessly act
a month cultivating her influence locally, establishing out a pantomime of their former lives, laboring
bolt holes and safehouses, and mastering every detail of without tire, unless Pakpao uses Living Puppet
the lay of the land. If her lair is a ship or similar vehicle, Performance to take control of them. When not

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actively puppeteered, they’re trivial enemies. If Pakpao builds tension to launch her missiles, whether
Pakpao knows Impervious Poppet Technique, it drawing back a bowstring or contracting her muscles as
applies to these zombies. she prepares to hurl a javelin.

• Ghost-Catching Net: Strands of Essence tangle Pakpao’s ranged attack adds (Essence) raw withering
around dematerialized characters within the damage or doubles 10s on a decisive damage roll. If she
lair, making them visible to all. Pakpao may ex- crashes her enemy or deals 3+ decisive damage, she knocks
empt her allies from this. him back one range band. This Charm is incompatible with
weapons that don’t add Strength to withering damage.
• Playhouse-Haunting Phantasm: Pakpao may
pay a five-mote surcharge to use Playhouse- If Pakpao knows Killer Puppet Approach, she can
Haunting Phantasm to travel to any location use this Charm to enhance non-ranged attacks made
within the lair, regardless of range. through puppets.

• Soul-Pattern Acquisition: Pakpao senses each Empty Hands Reversal

death within her lair and may use Soul-Pattern Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Acquisition to capture the deceased’s soul re- Type: Supplemental
gardless of range. The Storyteller should only Keywords: Decisive-only
inform Pakpao’s player of deaths when it’s rele- Duration: Instant
vant to her or the narrative. Prerequisite Charms: None

• Speaking Puppet Trick: Pakpao can speak Tangling her enemy’s weapon with strings of Essence,
through any puppet within her lair, regardless Pakpao plucks it from his hand.
of range.
When Pakpao makes a disarm gambit against an entan-
Offensive Charms gled enemy or while using a Disarming weapon, she
doubles 9s on the attack and Initiative rolls.
Arrow-Guiding Thread
If Pakpao uses Spider’s Cunning Strings (p. XX) on
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
the disarmed weapon, her target’s 1s and 2s subtract
Type: Supplemental
successes on his roll opposing her.
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant Entangling Snare Technique
Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Strings of Essence tether the Puppeteer’s missiles to her, Type: Supplemental
letting her direct them in flight as if pulling a mario- Keywords: Decisive-only, Versatile
nette’s strings. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Pakpao’s ranged attack ignores one point of Defense
bonus from cover. If it’s withering, she can determine Those caught in the Puppeteer’s threads struggle to es-
its Accuracy bonus as if she were one range band closer cape in vain.
or further away from her target.
Pakpao doubles 9s on the attack roll and Initiative roll
If Pakpao knows Killer Puppet Approach, she can of an entangle gambit (p. XX).
use this Charm to enhance non-ranged attacks made
A second purchase of this Charm halves the gambit’s
through puppets.
Initiative cost, rounded down. Against lower-Initiative
Strings Drawn Taut enemies, the Initiative cost is waived entirely.
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Eightfold Weaver’s Embrace
Type: Supplemental
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Keywords: Dual
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Keywords: Decisive-only
Prerequisite Charms: Arrow-Guiding Thread
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

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Strings of Essence trail from Pakpao’s fingers, binding Duration: Instant

her foe and reinforcing her grasp. Prerequisite Charms: Eightfold Weaver’s Embrace

Pakpao rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on a grap- Clinging tight to her foe, Pakpao refuses to be parted
ple control roll. If her foe is entangled (p. XX), she from him.
rerolls 5s as well.
When an enemy attacks Pakpao, she doesn’t lose
Lightning-Sharp Garotte a round of grapple control unless she’s damaged.
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 Alternatively, she can restrain or drag a foe by expend-
Type: Supplemental ing only one round of grapple control.
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant Hidden Venom Palm
Prerequisite Charms: Eightfold Weaver’s Embrace Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Looping wires of Essence around her foe’s neck or joints, Keywords: None
the Puppeteer cuts through flesh. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Pakpao adds her current rounds of grapple control
as dice of post-soak damage on a withering savaging The Puppeteer’s foes may laugh off a glancing blow only
attack, maximum (Strength), or as dice on a decisive to discover that it’s far more insidious than it seemed.
savaging attack, maximum (Essence).
Pakpao reflexively poisons a weapon, even a Thrown
Iron Wire Reinforcement weapon that lacks the Poisonable tag. Alternatively,
Cost: 1m, 2i; Mins: Essence 1 she applies poison to an animated puppet within close
Type: Reflexive range, letting it convey that venom with its next deci-
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform sive attack.

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Knife-Twisting Subtlety The Puppeteer and her agents work in tandem to clear
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 the way for a devastating blow.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dual, Mute Pakpao adds (Wits) dice on a distract gambit’s attack
Duration: Instant roll. If the gambit benefits an animated puppet, the
Prerequisite Charms: None onslaught penalty inflicted by both the gambit and the
enhanced attack increase by one.
Long accustomed to working from the shadows, the
Puppeteer has honed the art of secret murder to a science. Averted Eyes Ambush
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Pakpao adds (higher of Essence or 3) to a withering at- Type: Supplemental
tack’s Overwhelming rating or ignores that many points of Keywords: Decisive-only
Hardness against a decisive attack. If it’s a surprise attack Duration: Instant
or her enemy is entangled, she also adds (higher of Essence Prerequisite Charms: Knife-Twisting Subtlety,
or 3) dice of post-soak withering damage or adds dice equal Ruthless Mastermind Art
to the extra successes of her attack as decisive damage.
Pakpao stands at the center of the battlefield’s chaos, us-
Unseen Strike Precision ing puppets and agents to overwhelm her enemy’s guard
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 and test his vulnerabilities.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Uniform On a successful distract gambit, the enhanced attack
Duration: Instant becomes a surprise attack (Exalted, p. 203). If the ben-
Prerequisite Charms: Knife-Twisting Subtlety eficiary is one of Pakpao’s puppets, she doesn’t lose the
Initiative granted to it.
For those caught off-guard by the Puppeteer, a split sec-
ond is the difference between life and death. Cunning Spider Craft
Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Essence 2
Pakpao adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm dice Type: Permanent
on a surprise attack. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Deadly Squad Tactics Prerequisite Charms: Entangling Snare Technique,
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 any one of Eightfold Weaver’s Embrace, Empty Hands
Type: Reflexive Reversal, or Ruthless Mastermind Art
Keywords: Perilous
Duration: Instant Pakpao weaves devious snares to trap her foes.
Prerequisite Charms: Unseen Strike Precision
When Pakpao makes an entangle gambit, she can pay
Seizing on an opening created by one of her allies, the a one-Willpower surcharge and +3 to the gambit’s dif-
Puppeteer strikes with impossible speed. ficulty to also apply the effect of another gambit, based
on which of this Charm’s prerequisites she has: grap-
When one of Pakpao’s allies would act before her in ple for Eightfold Weaver’s Embrace, disarm for Empty
a round, she may use this Charm to take her turn in Hands Reversal, or distract for Ruthless Mastermind
his place, with his player’s consent. He takes his turn Art.
that round based on Pakpao’s Initiative at the time she
uses this Charm. If this lets her act before all enemies If the Storyteller deems that circumstances make a
and she makes an attack, it becomes a surprise attack unique gambit possible, Pakpao can also combine it
(Exalted, p. 203). If her ally then uses his turn to attack with an entangle gambit, without needing a specific
the same enemy, it’s also a surprise attack. Charm.

Ruthless Mastermind Art Behemoth-Leashing Tactic

Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Supplemental Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-only Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Prerequisite Charms: Iron Wire Reinforcement

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There is no dragon or giant too large to be brought to heel Pakpao’s whirlwind of debris comes to a rapid halt,
by the insistent tug of Pakpao’s threads. launching everything on her strings at a single foe in a
coordinated barrage.
Pakpao adds a free full Excellency on a grapple attack
roll against an entangled enemy (p. XX) and can clinch While using this Charm’s prerequisite, Pakpao may
him even if he has Legendary Size. She can’t slam or end it to make an undodgeable (Dexterity + [Archery
throw Legendary Size foes. or Thrown] decisive attack against an enemy within
medium range by flinging the gathered debris at him.
Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by successfully It has base damage (5 + hazard’s difficulty + attack
entangling a nontrivial enemy. roll extra successes), ignoring Hardness. This doesn’t
include Pakpao’s Initiative or reset it.
Haunted Carousel Storm
Cost: 5m, 4i, 1wp (4i per round); Mins: Essence 3 An enemy damaged by this attack is knocked prone.
Type: Simple If he takes 3+ levels of damage, he’s buried under the
Keywords: Perilous debris and can’t rise from prone until it’s been cleared
Duration: One scene away with a Strength 3 feat of strength at difficulty
Prerequisite Charms: Silken Lariat Technique, (Pakpao’s Stamina).
Strings Drawn Taut, Unseen String Confiscation
If Pakpao uses Haunted Carousel Storm again on her
Pakpao casts off countless strings, attaching them to next turn, she waives its initial Initiative and Willpower
whatever debris or errant trinkets might be at hand and cost (though not the recurring Initiative cost).
spinning them around her to fill the air with flying perils.
If Pakpao has Haunted Carousel Storm’s second pur-
Pakpao creates an environmental hazard with diffi- chase, the attack’s range extends to long.
culty (Dexterity or Wits) and Damage (Essence, maxi-
mum 5)/round. It extends out to close range from her Jeweled Web Plunder
and follows her as she moves. The hazard’s damage is Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Essence 3
typically bashing but may be lethal if the surrounding Type: Permanent
debris is sufficiently dangerous. Pakpao receives light Keywords: Decisive-only
cover (Exalted, p. 199) from this hazard. It also pro- Duration: Permanent
vides a constant supply of improvised ammunition Prerequisite Charms: Empty Hands Reversal, Knife-
and thrown weapons, which she may ready reflexively. Twisting Subtlety, Unseen String Confiscation
She doesn’t suffer improvised weapon penalties when
using them. Those caught in Pakpao’s web are ripe for the picking.

Enemies can weaken this hazard by knocking aside the Pakpao may pay a one-Willpower surcharge when she
debris attached to Pakpao’s strings with disarm gam- uses Spider’s Cunning String to retrieve an artifact
bits, reducing its difficulty by one for each successful weapon after a successful disarm gambit, breaking the
gambit. These gambits are rolled against Defense wielder’s attunement if successful. She may reflexively
(Pakpao’s Essence); she can’t enhance this. If the haz- attune to it.
ard’s difficulty is reduced to zero, this Charm ends.
Reset: Once per scene.
Pakpao must pay four Initiative at the start of each
subsequent turn or this Charm ends. Trapdoor Shadow Binding
Cost: 10m, 5i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4
With a repurchase, the hazard’s range extends to short. Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Violent Knickknack Hurricane Duration: Instant
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3 Prerequisite Charms: Iron Wire Reinforcement,
Type: Simple Jumbled Toy Chest Silhouettes (x3)
Keywords: Decisive-only
Duration: Instant Countless strings of darkness emerge from Pakpao’s
Prerequisite Charms: Haunted Carousel Storm shadow to enfold her helpless prey in a web of night
before dragging him into her shadow’s depths.

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While grappling an entangled enemy (p. XX), Pakpao for missing increases to the gambit’s Initiative cost, if
can use this Charm on her turn to trap him inside her it’s higher.
shadow for the remainder of the clinch. Pakpao doesn’t
suffer any penalties for grappling him and she doesn’t Using this Charm together with Weaving Through
lose rounds of control for being attacked or damaged the Fray waives that Charm’s Initiative cost and lets
by other enemies. The only actions she can take against Pakpao negate all penalties to her Defense (except
him are holds and drags; doing so only costs her one from surprise attacks). Such uses aren’t Perilous.
round of control. The only actions her victim can take
from within her shadow are attacks and influence rolls Discarded Puppet Sacrifice
against her, actions to interact with objects stored us- Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
ing Jumbled Toy Chest Silhouettes, or mental actions. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform
The victim’s disappearance goes unwitnessed by other Duration: Instant
characters and he can’t be detected within the shadow Prerequisite Charms: Weaving Through the Fray
except by those capable of perceiving dematerialized
characters. Likewise, other characters are incapable Pakpao is no stranger to sacrifice; if she must cut loose a
of attacking him or the like unless they use magic to puppet to survive, so be it.
interact with the dematerialized.
When Pakpao’s attacked, she may allow a willing ally
If Pakpao knows Living Shadow Pantomime (p. XX), within close range to intercede per the defend other
she may use it reflexively with this Charm, animat- action. If an animated puppet defends Pakpao, it adds
ing her victim’s shadow without needing to roll. It (her Essence/2, rounded up) Parry. She can reflexively
can attack him without needing magic to strike the drag a puppet into close range to protect her, without
dematerialized. counting as its move action.

Undaunted by Flies
Defensive Charms
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Weaving Through the Fray Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform
Cost: 1m, 1i; Mins: Essence 1
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: None
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform
Duration: Instant Those caught in the Puppeteer’s web pose little threat to
Prerequisite Charms: None her.
Pakpao flits between blades and arrows as if hanging When an entangled enemy attacks Pakpao, his mobility
from invisible strings. penalty applies on his attack roll.
Pakpao ignores up to one point of Defense penalty. Captured Prey Humiliation
Against lower-Initiative enemies or entangled enemies
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
(p. XX), she ignores (Essence) points of penalty. This
Type: Reflexive
can’t negate penalties from surprise attacks.
Keywords: Uniform
Anticipated Trick Approach Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Undaunted by Flies
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Pakpao can’t help but savor her trapped foe’s futile at-
Keywords: Decisive-only tempts to escape.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Weaving Through the Fray Pakpao adds +1 non-Charm Defense against an attack
made by an entangled enemy. If she successfully de-
Those who’d trick the Puppeteer find her a difficult mark. fends, he loses Initiative equal to his mobility penalty
(including mobility penalties from sources other than
Pakpao adds +1 non-Charm Defense against a gambit.
entanglement), maximum (Pakpao’s higher of Essence
If the gambit misses, the Initiative the attacker loses
or 3).

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Cold-Hearted Betrayal Style Bone-Bending Puppetry Trick

Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 Cost: 4m, 4i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Reflexive Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform Keywords: Uniform, Perilous
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Discarded Puppet Sacrifice Prerequisite Charms: Arrow-Gathering Web, Captured
Prey Humiliation, Unseen String Confiscation
With cold calculation, the Puppeteer uses her allies as
human shields. As Pakpao’s foe moves to strike her, the strings wrapped
around his limbs twist and pull them awry.
When an enemy attacks Pakpao while she’s protected by an
ally’s defend other and beats her protector’s Parry, he must After an entangled enemy’s attack roll hits Pakpao, but before
direct the attack against her protector, rather than her. the damage roll, she can use this Charm to roll (Wits + [an
appropriate Craft, Larceny, or Thrown]), adding non-Charm
Spider-and-Frog Companionship dice equal to his mobility penalty. Each success negates one
Cost: —(+2m); Mins: Essence 2 level of damage. If this reduces the attack’s damage to zero,
Type: Permanent her attacker loses Initiative equal to any excess successes.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Reset: Once per day unless reset by succeeding on an
Prerequisite Charms: Undaunted by Flies entangle gambit against a nontrivial enemy with 5+
extra successes on the Initiative roll.
Spinning her web across the battlefield, Pakpao defends
those closest to her heart. Endurance and Healing Charms
Pakpao may pay a two-mote surcharge to use Undaunted Gallows Marionette Impression
by Flies when an entangled enemy within short range
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
attacks one of her allies. If she uses this Charm to pro-
Type: Simple
tect an animated puppet, she waives this surcharge.
Keywords: None
If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration, Duration: One scene
its range increase applies to this Charm as well. Prerequisite Charms: None

Arrow-Gathering Web Suppressing her breath and heartbeat, Pakpao collapses

to the ground like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
Cost: 5m, 1i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Reflexive Pakpao rolls ([Appearance or Stamina] + [Medicine,
Keywords: Decisive-only, Reflexive Resistance, or Stealth]) to feign death. Wound penalties
Duration: Instant add non-Charm dice on the roll instead of subtracting.
Prerequisite Charms: Spider’s Cunning Strings, Characters can oppose this roll with (Perception +
Strings Drawn Taut, Weaving Through the Fray [Awareness, Investigation, or Medicine]) to realize
Pakpao’s still alive. Moving, speaking, or taking overt
The Puppeteer snags an arrow in flight and sends it hur-
actions spoils this deception, although she may be able
tling in a new direction.
to convince characters that previously failed to see
When an enemy within short range of Pakpao makes a through the false death that she’s undead.
ranged attack against her, she clashes with a decisive
Living Puppet Reconstruction
attack. If successful, she doesn’t roll damage or reset
Initiative; instead, that attack is redirected against an en- Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
emy within the lesser of that attack’s range or short range. Type: Permanent
The attack and all effects enhancing it are rerolled, using Keywords: None
the same dice pool, against the new target. Any Initiative a Duration: Permanent
withering attack would grant the attacker goes to Pakpao Prerequisite Charms: None
instead. This doesn’t count as her attack for the round.
Not satisfied with her own Exalted body, the Puppeteer
If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration, replaces flesh and bone with burnished wood, carved
its range bonus applies to this Charm. bamboo, polished ceramic, and iron wire.

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Pakpao can purchase this Charm up to (Stamina) times. penalty + 1). The amount of time needed to complete the
Each purchase grants one of the following benefits: project likewise depends on her current wound penalty:
ten minutes at −0, one hour at −1, four hours at −2, or
• Body Without Breath: Pakpao can go up to one day at −4. She can use Swift Dollmaker Style (p. XX)
([Essence + Stamina + Resistance]) minutes to reduce this by one step (e.g., ten minutes at −1) or
without air before suffocating, or (Essence + complete the project instantly while at −0.
[Stamina x2]) rounds in combat. With five pur-
chases of this Charm, she no longer needs to With three purchases of Living Puppet Reconstruction,
breathe. Pakpao can use this Charm to convert a level of aggravat-
ed damage to a level of lethal damage as a major project.
• Plague Victim’s Doll Approach: Pakpao adds a
bonus die on rolls against disease for each pur- This Charm can also be used on automatons and similar
chase of this Charm. constructs if one of the above Crafts is involved in their
design, letting Pakpao repair damage as above rather
• Pristine Porcelain Splendor: Pakpao adds a than using the normal process. With Statue-Awakening
bonus die on rolls against poison for each pur- Strings (p. XX), Pakpao can use it on automata of any
chase of this Charm. design and on Alchemical Exalted. With Corpse-Puppet
Reanimation (p. XX), she can repair zombies and simi-
• Puppet Never Sleeps: Pakpao no longer needs lar corporeal undead, including Abyssals and Liminals.
sleep. She gains the benefits of a full night’s rest
from eight hours of any activity that doesn’t Iterations of the Self
require significant physical exertion. With Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
five purchases of this Charm, she’s immune Type: Permanent
to fatigue penalties and needs only an hour of Keywords: None
low-exertion to gain the benefits of a night’s rest Duration: Permanent
— though she can still only do so once per day. Prerequisite Charms: Cracked Porcelain Restoration
• Hollow Appetite Satiation: Pakpao adds (high- Tinkering with her increasingly artificial body, the
er of Essence or 3) to her Stamina to determine Puppeteer remakes herself to better serve her agenda.
how long she can go before succumbing to star-
vation or dehydration (Exalted, p. 230). With Pakpao can use Cracked Porcelain Restoration to
five purchases of this Charm, she no longer perform the following projects in addition to healing
needs to eat or drink. damage:

With three purchases of this Charm, the Puppeteer • She may grant herself one dot of Appearance,
ceases to heal naturally, requiring the use of Cracked Dexterity, Perception, Stamina, or Strength as
Porcelain Restoration or other healing magic. a training effect (p. XX). This is a major project
with difficulty (current rating + 1) that takes
With five purchases, Pakpao ceases to age, prolonging (current rating + 1) weeks — or that many days, if
her lifespan indefinitely. she uses Swift Dollmaker Style (p. XX).
Cracked Porcelain Restoration • She can grant herself a mutation with a rating of
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 up to (Stamina) dots as a training effect. It must
Type: Simple be compatible with a humanoid body plan — she
Keywords: Mute could gain Ambidextrous, Giant, Unusual Hide,
Duration: One project but not Extra Limbs or Wings. This is a major
Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Reconstruction project with difficulty (mutation dots) that takes
(mutation dots) days — or one hour, if she uses
Pakpao has rebuilt her body once, and she’ll do it again, Swift Dollmaker Style.
as many times as she must, to fulfill her ambitions.
• She can make an alteration to one aspect of her
Pakpao can use puppet-making Crafts (p. XX) to repair appearance: increasing or reducing her height
her own body, healing a level of bashing damage as a ba- by up to 10 inches; increasing or decreasing her
sic project or a level of lethal damage as a major project weight by up to 10%; altering her apparent age;
(Exalted, p. 240). The roll’s difficulty is (Pakpao’s wound changing or removing sexual characteristics;

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changing skin tone, eye color, and hair color • Stamina 1-2: Two −2 levels.
and length; or a cosmetic change like adding
or removing scars or birthmarks. Small-scale • Stamina 3-4: One −1 level and one −2 level.
changes are difficulty 3 basic projects that take
an hour; alterations affecting Pakpao’s entire • Stamina 5: Two −1 levels.
body are difficulty 5 major projects that take a
day. Swift Dollmaker Style accelerates this proj- This Charm may be purchased (Stamina) times. If
ect per its usual effect. the Puppeteer’s Stamina increases, her health levels
change to reflect her new rating.
Poppet-Mending Chirurgeon
Resilient Construction Technique
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Keywords: None Type: Reflexive
Duration: Permanent Keywords: Withering-only
Prerequisite Charms: Cracked Porcelain Restoration Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Living Puppet Reconstruction
Experience has taught Pakpao that the differences be- or Ox-Body Technique
tween a puppet and a human body are negligible.
Essence suffuses Pakpao’s flesh with the resilience of
Pakpao can use Cracked Porcelain Restoration to heal hardened wood and iron wire.
other characters. Those who benefit this may be left
with visible prosthetics or grafts of artificial material Pakpao adds a bonus to her natural soak equal to her
— burnt skin patched over with cured leather, broken total purchases of Living Puppet Reconstruction or
bones extracted and replaced with sturdy wooden rods Ox-Body Technique, whichever is higher. This isn’t
that bulge under skin, etc. — at the discretion of that compatible with armor.
character’s player. If this healing reduces her patient’s
Phantom Limb Reconstruction
wound penalty, Pakpao receives (higher of Essence or
3) silver points and one gold point in addition to any Cost: —(+5m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 3
received for completing the project. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Once a character has been treated with Cracked Duration: Permanent
Porcelain Restoration, he must receive at least a day of Prerequisite Charms: Cracked Porcelain Restoration
bedrest or fully heal all damage before he can benefit (x2), Iterations of the Self
from it again.
Even the most gruesome injuries mean nothing to a liv-
With an Essence 2 repurchase of this Charm, Pakpao ing puppet; why mourn what can be replaced?
may use Cracked Porcelain Restoration on others to
convey the benefits of Iterations of the Self, Phantom Pakpao may pay a five-mote, one-Willpower surcharge
Limb Reconstruction, or another such Charm that she when she uses Cracked Porcelain Restoration to un-
knows rather than healing damage. dertake a project to repair one of her crippling injuries
as a mundane superior project, reattaching severed
Ox-Body Technique limbs or replacing damaged body parts with sophisti-
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 cated prosthetics.
Type: Permanent
The project has a one-month interval and a difficulty,
Keywords: None
goal number, and terminus based on the injury’s sever-
Duration: Permanent
ity. For injuries that could be accepted to negate one or
Prerequisite Charms: None
two levels of damage (Exalted, p. 201), the project has
Though she’s loath to test the limits of her endurance, the difficulty 5, goal number 20, and no terminus. For 3-4
Puppeteer is more durable than any mortal. level injuries, the project has difficulty 6, goal number
40, and terminus 15. For 5+ level injuries, it has difficul-
Pakpao gains additional health levels based on her ty 7, goal number 60, and terminus 10.
Stamina rating.

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Pakpao reduces the project’s difficulty by one for each with medical treatment, as usual. If she survives until
purchase of Living Puppet Reconstruction she has past the the scene ends, her Incapacitated level heals.
first, and divides the project’s interval by the total number
of purchases she has. With three purchases, she can pay To fatally wound Pakpao, an enemy who realizes she
silver points instead of gold for such projects; with five isn’t dead must use a miscellaneous action to find
purchases, the craft point cost is waived. She doesn’t gain and destroy either her heart or brain, which can’t be
these benefits when repairing others’ crippling injuries. flurried. Being submerged in lava or suffering similarly
indiscriminate destructive force can also kill her.
Reset: Once per story.
The repositioning and fortification of Pakpao’s vitals
Vital Organ Rearrangement also renders her especially resilient to crippling effects
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3 or other attacks that target specific organs, like Heart-
Type: Permanent Ripping Claw (Exalted, p. 456) or jigsaw organ con-
Keywords: None dition. She gains +1 non-Charm Defense against such
Duration: Permanent effects and doubles 9s on rolls opposing them.
Prerequisite Charms: Gallows Marionette
Impression, Living Puppet Reconstruction (x3) Self-Strung Marionette Anatomy
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
The Puppeteer’s vital organs have been repositioned and Type: Simple
concealed in fortified compartments inside her heavily Keywords: None
rebuilt body, turning what should be fatal blows into Duration: Indefinite
glancing injuries. Prerequisite Charms: Vital Organ Rearrangement

When Pakpao is incapacitated, she may use Gallows Pakpao’s body is no longer constrained by mortal anatomy,
Marionette Impression for free to fall into a death- a living masterpiece whose detachable limbs can be pup-
like torpor. She can’t act but isn’t at immediate risk of peteered with the strings that have replaced her nerve and
death, and can be brought back from incapacitation sinew.

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SELF-STRUNG MARIONETTE ANATOMY AND POWER LEVEL

Self-Strung Marionette Anatomy’s repurchase offers a defense against crippling injuries that’s even more
absolute than the best that Solars get, Unbreakable Warrior’s Mastery (Exalted, p. 378), even though the Pup-
peteer is weaker. Why does Pakpao get such a strong Charm? Being able to detach and control her limbs is a
flavorful combination of her core themes of puppetry and the extensive bodily transformations of the Charm’s
prerequisites. Being able to control your own severed limbs is such a logical (and exciting!) countermeasure
to crippling injuries that it makes sense to stretch the limits for Pakpao here. It’s also purely defensive and
personal in scale, making it much less likely that this disparity will ruin a player’s fun or have unwanted
consequences on the setting. Finally, it’s both more expensive than Unbreakable Warrior’s Mastery and has a
higher Essence minimum and more prerequisites, as appropriate for a more comprehensive defense.

Pakpao detaches a body part, which remains animated on strands of Essence. If any roll is necessary for this
and mobile. It’s not an independent character — she must movement, Pakpao makes it reflexively and adds (high-
take any actions she wishes the body part to perform (and er of Essence or 3) dice.
can use Charms to benefit them), and attacks against it are
resolved as attacks against her. In all other respects, it’s She can also use this Charm to enhance her movement
treated as an animated puppet (p. XX), including range along other ropes, wires, or threads, like maneuvering
limits. While that body part is detached, Pakpao suffers through a ship’s rigging, walking a tightrope, or escaping
the effects of a corresponding crippling injury (Exalted, p. a spider’s web. She ignores difficult terrain from these.
201) on actions impeded by her rearranged anatomy. She
can reattach the body part with a miscellaneous action. Swift Exeunt Departure
Cost: 3m, 2i; Mins: Essence 1
If Pakpao is separated from the detached body part — Type: Reflexive
e.g., if an enemy grapples it, drags it beyond the range Keywords: Perilous, Uniform
of her puppetry, and then runs off with it — it won’t Duration: Instant
decay or deteriorate as long as this Charm remains Prerequisite Charms: Along a Thread
active. If she ends it prematurely, she loses the option
to reattach the body part and it decays normally. This When the time comes for her to leave the stage, the
Charm can’t be forcibly ended by any means; only Puppeteer doesn’t outstay her welcome, vanishing be-
Pakpao’s player can choose to end it. hind the curtain.

With an Essence 4 repurchase, if Pakpao suffers a crip- Pakopao can use this Charm after defending against
pling injury or similar dismemberment, she may pay an attack by a lower-Initiative enemy or an entangled
a five-mote surcharge to use this Charm reflexively enemy to swing one range band in any direction on a
to both animate the severed body part and to let her thread of Essence. This doesn’t count as her movement
subsequently reattach it, as above. action.

Dancing Spider Stride

Mobility Charms
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Along a Thread Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Prerequisite Charms: None
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Puppeteer moves with a speed and finesse beyond
Prerequisite Charms: None anything on only two legs.
The Puppeteer moves with the grace of a spider within When Pakpao makes a rush or disengage, her 10s sub-
her web. tract one die from opposing rolls, maximum (higher of
Essence or 3). Against entangled enemies (p. XX), 9s
Pakpao can use a reflexive move action to move one
also subtract dice.
range band in any direction, swinging or climbing

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Ascending Strand Approach Duration: Instant

Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: None
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None The Puppeteer lurches upward unnaturally, as if she
Duration: Until next turn danced from invisible strings.
Prerequisite Charms: Along a Thread, Dancing
Spider Stride Pakpao rolls (Wits + Performance) to rise from prone
reflexively on her turn, drawn up off the ground by
The Puppeteer isn’t bound by the invisible strings of unseen strings. This may have other benefits adjudi-
gravity as others are. cated by the Storyteller: e.g., if the Puppeteer is pinned
beneath rubble, she might also treat this as a feat of
Pakpao can run up walls and other vertical surfaces, strength to lift it. Both uses of this Charm count as the
even upside-down along a ceiling, as long as she main- Puppeteer’s move action.
tains constant movement. However, she can’t use this
movement to disengage or withdraw. If she ends her If Pakpao knows Living Puppet Performance, she can
movement somewhere she couldn’t normally stand use this on behalf of animated puppets.
and then fails to renew this Charm on her next turn,
she falls and suffers damage normally. Self-Puppetry Promenade
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
This Charm’s cost is waived when it’s used solely to Type: Reflexive
move up or along the underside of a thread, rope, wire, Keywords: None
or the like. Duration: Until next turn
Prerequisite Charms: Invisible Strings Sway
Invisible Strings Sway
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 Weaving invisible strings of Essence through her own
Type: Reflexive sinews and tendons, the Puppeteer manipulates her own
Keywords: None body with eerie precision and finesse.

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Pakpao treats the strings running through her as ex- Pakpao rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on a rush
ceptional equipment (Exalted, p. 580) on movement or disengage roll. If her enemy is entangled (p. XX),
rolls and reduces her mobility penalty by one. she also rerolls 5s, gains one Initiative on a successful
rush, and doesn’t lose Initiative for disengaging.
If Pakpao knows Living Puppet Performance, she ex-
tends this Charm’s benefits to her animated puppets. Bound Prey Approach
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1
Tightened String Abseil Type: Reflexive
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 Keywords: None
Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant
Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Stalk the Twitching Fly
Duration: One round
Prerequisite Charms: Invisible Strings Sway With a gentle tug of her silken leash, Pakpao brings her
foe to heel.
The Puppeteer grabs hold of an unseen string, stopping
herself in midair like a dangling puppet — or a spider When an entangled enemy within short range makes
surveying her domain. a movement roll, Pakpao doubles his mobility penalty
for the roll (including mobility penalties from sources
Pakpao slows her descent while falling, descending other than entanglement).
only one range band that round instead of immediately
plummeting to the ground. That range band doesn’t Broken Doll Dance
count when determining the falling damage she suf- Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2
fers. She may move one range band horizontally in the Type: Reflexive
air, which doesn’t count as her move action. Keywords: None
Duration: Until next turn
Impossible Puppet-Body Contortion Prerequisite Charms: Impossible Puppet-Body
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 Contortion, Invisible Strings Sway
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None The Puppeteer moves in ways the human body was
Duration: Instant never meant to, terrifying those who witness the visceral
Prerequisite Charms: None wrongness of this display.

The Puppeteer’s body twists and flexes to a gruesome Pakpao gains the Hideous Merit (Exalted, p. 162).
degree, moving as if she had a puppet’s strings instead An enemy whose Resolve is beaten by her roll for an
of bones. opposed movement action is overcome with fear, suf-
fering a −3 penalty on his roll opposing that action.
When Pakpao rolls to escape restraints, oppose a grap-
ple control roll, or squeeze through a tight space, she If Pakpao knows Living Puppet Performance, she ex-
doubles 9s. She can always attempt to fit through an tends this Charm’s benefits to her animated puppets.
opening as long as it’s no smaller than her head, and
the base difficulty for such rolls can’t exceed 5. Wire-Strung Acrobatics
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2
Stalk the Twitching Fly Type: Supplemental
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Keywords: Mute
Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant
Keywords: Perilous Prerequisite Charms: Tightened String Abseil
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Pakpao need not sully her feet with dust or mud, lifted
imperceptibly off the ground on unseen strings.
The Puppeteer effortlessly outmaneuvers those caught
in her strings, slackening the line as she puts distance When Pakpao moves between range bands by jumping
between them or drifting along in his wake as he desper- or swinging on a thread, she hangs from her strings in
ately tries to outrun her. midair at the end of her movement, letting her con-
tinue it on her next turn. She can’t use this Charm to
enhance that subsequent movement action.

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Anchored to the Sky Pakpao rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on an

Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 Awareness or Investigation roll. If at least one of her
Type: Simple animated puppets is within sensory range of her tar-
Keywords: None get, she rerolls 5s as well. If she enhances a case scene
Duration: One scene roll, the time needed to complete it is divided by the
Prerequisite Charms: Wire-Strung Acrobatics number of puppets within sensory range of her target
(maximum higher of Essence or 3).
Pakpao ascends above the stage of the world on a strand
of Essence that rises to the heavens. Vibrating Thread Intuition
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Pakpao anchors a thread of Essence to a point in the Type: Supplemental
air up to medium range vertically above her and with- Keywords: None
in short range horizontally of her. She can use move Duration: Instant
actions to ascend or descend on this string or to swing Prerequisite Charms: None
from it horizontally, out to short range horizontally
from her anchor. The string is visible but intangible to The slightest tremor is like an earthquake to Pakpao’s
other characters, even the dematerialized. sensitive fingertips.

If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration, Pakpao adds (Dexterity) dice and doubles 9s on a
she can instead anchor her thread to a point up to long touch-based Perception roll. Alternatively, she can dis-
range above her and within medium range horizon- tinguish nearly imperceptible details by touch without
tally of her and increases the distance she can swing needing to roll, letting her identify familiar materials
horizontally to medium. by touch alone, read in total darkness by moving her
fingers over ink, etc.
Hunting Spider Pursuit
Cost: 4m, 2i (+1wp); Mins: Essence 3 Prickling Gooseflesh Warning
Type: Simple Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
Keywords: Perilous Type: Reflexive
Duration: Instant Keywords: None
Prerequisite Charms: Bound Prey Approach, Duration: Instant
Dancing Spider Stride Prerequisite Charms: Vibrating Thread Intuition

Pakpao’s prey cannot escape her; she pursues them inex- Hairs rising on the back of her neck, Pakpao’s entire
orably as if pulled by invisible strings. body goes on alert.

Pakpao rolls to rush an enemy from short range with When Pakpao or one of her puppets comes within
double 9s. On a success, she instantly moves into close close range of a hidden danger or threat, she rolls
range, instead of the usual effect of a rush. (Perception + Awareness) to detect it, adding one die
for each puppet within sensory range of her target.
Against entangled enemies, Pakpao may pay a
one-Willpower surcharge to rush from medium range. Whisper-Intercepting Wire
Cost: —(+3m); Mins: Essence 1
Sensory Charms Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Always Watching Attitude Duration: Permanent
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: Vibrating Thread Intuition
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Even a whisper is enough to disturb Pakpao’s intricate
Duration: Instant web.
Prerequisite Charms: None
Pakpao may pay a three-mote surcharge to use
Pakpao’s puppets twist their heads in eerie synchrony as Vibrating Thread Intuition on a hearing-based
she scans her surroundings, lifeless eyes trailing her own. Perception roll. If she does so while holding a string,
rope, wire, or other line, she can do so as though she
were at any point along that line out to long range.

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With an Essence 3 repurchase, Pakpao may instead Beware the Unblinking Eye
pay a three-mote, one-Willpower surcharge, extending Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
this Charm’s range to (Essence x100) yards. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Glass-Eyed Watcher Duration: Permanent
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 Prerequisite Charms: Glass-Eyed Watcher
Type: Simple
Keywords: Stackable Having deepened her understanding of her Essence and
Duration: Indefinite art, Pakpao has learned to see a puppet’s unsettling face
Prerequisite Charms: Always Watching Attitude, in almost anything.
Living Puppet Performance
Pakpao can use Glass-Eyed Watcher on any object with
Wherever her puppets are, Pakpao is too, always a face — a statue, a portrait, a mask, etc. Hastily made
watching. objects, like a quick sketch or a face drawn in the sand,
impose a −3 penalty on actions Pakpao takes through
Pakpao imbues a puppet with her own unceasing them.
vigilance. If something she’d be interested in occurs
within the puppet’s vicinity, she senses this and may Countless Glassy Eyes
reflexively possess that puppet as per Dreaming Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3
Marionette Trance (p. XX) for one scene to observe it. Type: Permanent
However, the puppet isn’t animated; Pakpao can only Keywords: None
take mental actions or those that require no physical Duration: Permanent
action or movement. Prerequisite Charms: Glass-Eyed Watcher, The
Spider in Her Web
This Charm ends if Pakpao goes more than (Essence
x5) miles from the puppet. She ignores this range limit Even when the Puppeteer absents her lair, it remains
if it’s in a lair created with The Spider in Her Web (p. under her watchful eye.
XX).
When Pakpao uses Glass-Eyed Watcher on a puppet
Pakpao can stack this Charm to enchant up to within her lair, its costs only one mote and it doesn’t
(Perception) puppets. count against how many puppets she can enchant with
that Charm as long it remains within her lair.
Alarum-Raising Sentry
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 When something occurs within Pakpao’s lair that
Type: Simple catches her notice through a puppet, she may project
Keywords: Stackable her senses into every puppet in the lair within vicinity
Duration: Indefinite of that event, even those not previously enchanted.
Prerequisite Charms: Glass-Eyed Watcher While observing through them, she makes only one
Perception roll, adding dice equal to the puppets’
Pakpao can’t be everywhere at once, but her faithful collective Size (Exalted, p. 206). She ignores sensory
agents keep her well-informed as her plan unfolds. penalties if the majority of puppets perceiving some-
thing are unimpeded by that penalty.
Pakpao appoints a willing character as a sentry and
specifies a condition under which he alerts her. When
that character becomes aware of the condition being
Influence Charms
met, he sends Pakpao a mental alarum, waking her if
Ersatz Troupe Performance
she’s asleep and sending her a one-sentence message,
to which she can send a one-message response. This Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Charm ends if Pakpao goes more than (Essence x5) Type: Supplemental
miles from her agent. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Pakpao can stack this Charm to affect up to (Perception) Prerequisite Charms: None
characters.
When her puppets take the stage beside her, Pakpao is
uplifted by a cast of her own making.

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Pakpao doubles 9s on a puppetry-based Performance After at least an hour spent preparing for a performance
roll and ignores multiple target penalties. or social event, Pakpao rolls (Wits + [Performance or
Socialize]). If the event will take place in a lair created
Paper Tiger Pantomime with The Spider in Her Web (p. XX), she adds (higher
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 of Essence or 3) dice. She banks a pool of non-Charm
Type: Supplemental dice equal to her successes and may add up to (Essence)
Keywords: None dice on the following actions during the performance
Duration: Instant or event:
Prerequisite Charms: Ersatz Troupe Performance
• Influence rolls.
Skittering horrors and menacing dolls dangle from
Pakpao’s strings, a cast of horrors suited for her audi- • Read intentions rolls.
ence’s worst nightmares.
• Profile character rolls.
When Pakpao stunts a threaten roll or a roll to inspire
fear with a description of her menacing puppets, she • Guile, spending two dice per +1 bonus.
adds a non-Charm success and converts the bonus die
from exceptional puppets to a non-Charm success. If • Resolve, spending two dice per +1 bonus.
an affected target has a Tie of fear related to one of her
• Awareness rolls to detect hidden threats or Join
puppets — e.g., fear of spiders against a spider-shaped
Battle.
puppet, fear of blood against one stained with gore —
he suffers a −3 penalty on all rolls opposing Pakpao or • Larceny rolls to pickpocket, subtly administer
her puppets for the rest of the scene unless he resists poison, or perform similar feats of sleight of
with Willpower. hand undetected.
Pakpao can also use this Charm when one of her Reset: Once per day.
animated puppets makes a threaten roll; no stunt is
necessary. Speaking Puppet Trick
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Pulling the Crowd’s Strings
Type: Supplemental
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Keywords: None
Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant
Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Ersatz Troupe Performance
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Ersatz Troupe Performance Pakpao gives voice to her puppets with deft feats of
ventriloquism.
When Pakpao performs, the difference between the audi-
ence and her puppets becomes immaterial. Pakpao’s voice appears to come from a point within
short range for a single influence roll or ten seconds
When Pakpao makes a Performance-based inspire roll of regular speech. She may speak from concealment
through puppetry, affected characters whose Resolve without revealing her location, imposing −2 penalty on
is beaten by 3+ successes must express the inspired Awareness rolls to locate her.
emotion in a way they believe will help win her favor,
gratitude, or infatuation. This Charm’s cost is waived when Pakpao uses it to
speak through one of her puppets.
Setting the Stage
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1 Voice-Mocking Impression
Type: Simple Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Keywords: Mute Type: Supplemental
Duration: One day Keywords: Mute
Prerequisite Charms: Pulling the Crowd’s Strings Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Ersatz Troupe Performance
Pakpao ensures that her affairs take place on her own
terms.

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The Puppeteer is a one-woman show, voicing countless char- Heckler’s Nightmare Retribution
acters and satirizing her rivals with scathing impressions. Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Pakpao flawlessly mimics, for a single influence roll or Keywords: None
ten seconds of regular speech, the voice of a character Duration: Instant
whose speech she’s spent at least an hour observing. Prerequisite Charms: Rapt Audience Entrapment
If Pakpao knows Corpse-Puppet Reanimation (p. XX), Those who jeer Pakpao’s performance swiftly learn the
she waives this Charm’s cost when mimicking the folly of their ways.
voices of her corpse-puppets.
When Pakpao rolls Join Battle while performing or en-
Rapt Audience Entrapment gaged in social interaction, she doubles 9s. If another
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 character initiated hostilities and her Join Battle roll
Type: Supplemental beats him, she may reflexively use Puppet-Snaring
Keywords: None Strings to make an entangle gambit against him.
Duration: One performance
Prerequisite Charms: None Silk Collar Binding
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Pakpao’s strings control her puppets and her audience Type: Supplemental
alike, ensuring her show is not interrupted. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
While Pakpao puts on a puppet show, onlookers must Prerequisite Charms: None
watch respectfully until she’s done. A character must
pay one Willpower to leave the performance before it is Obedience comes naturally to those bound by Pakpao’s
complete and two Willpower to attack or interrupt her. strings.
Characters who do so count as being entangled (p. XX) for
purposes of Puppeteer Charms for the rest of the scene, An entangled character’s mobility penalty applies to
though they don’t suffer the gambit’s mobility penalty. his Guile or Resolve against a roll made by Pakpao.

This Charm can’t be used in combat, but it remains Trust Will Break Your Heart
active if hostilities break out mid-performance. Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Captivating Spotlight Approach Keywords: None
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 Duration: Instant
Type: Simple Prerequisite Charms: None
Keywords: None
Duration: One performance Everyone has their strings; sometimes it’s a mercy to set
Prerequisite Charms: Ersatz Troupe Performance, them free.
Rapt Audience Entrapment
Pakpao adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm dice
Radiating absolute confidence, Pakpao draws all eyes to on an instill roll to weaken a positive Tie or a persuade
herself. roll to overturn influence that was supported by a pos-
itive Tie (Exalted, p. 221).
As Pakpao puts on a puppet show, she makes a special
([Charisma or Manipulation] + Performance) inspire Universal Story Instincts
roll against all characters who witness it. Affected Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
characters suffer a −3 penalty on Perception-based Type: Supplemental
rolls to pay attention to anything but her for as long as Keywords: None
she performs. She can’t take any non-reflexive actions Duration: One performance
while performing. Prerequisite Charms: None
If Pakpao knows Smiling Assistant Approach, she may Countless tongues are spoken in Zhaojūn, yet Pakpao
use it to use Captivating Spotlight Approach on behalf knows there’s only one that matters.
of an ally within long range, letting his performance
distract from her and her other agents.

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Pakpao’s performance ignores the Resolve bonus for Illusion of Freedom

lacking a common language (Exalted, p. 221) and can Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
convey far more detail and complexity than usual Type: Simple
through puppetry, though highly abstract concepts or Keywords: None
complicated technical information remain beyond her. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Pulling the Crowd’s Strings
Empress-Shaming Satire
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 The most pitiful puppet is one who can’t see its own strings.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Pakpao makes a Manipulation-based persuade roll
Duration: Instant over the course of at least one minute, using subtext
Prerequisite Charms: Pulling the Crowd’s Strings and innuendo to guide her audience to certain con-
clusions without any overt effort. All witnesses roll
Slanderous accusations and treasonous incitement seem (Perception + Socialize) opposing her influence roll;
nothing more than witty repartee upon the stage. those who fail don’t recognize Pakpao attempted to
influence them and can’t bolster their Resolve with
When Pakpao makes a Performance-based inspire, negative Ties toward her. Affected characters believe
instill or persuade roll, audience members affected Pakpao’s influence to be their own original idea, while
by it can’t form negative Ties to her based on her per- ignoring or dismissing out of hand what she said.
formance’s content unless they resist that influence.
Characters unable to do so may spend one Willpower Knotted Heartstrings Trick
to resist this effect separately. Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent
Reset: Once per scene. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Silk Collar Binding

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With the right words, Pakpao binds her victims as surely Banquets, festivals, and informal get-togethers are just an-
as with silk or wire. other kind of web to Pakpao, a trap for her unwary guests.

Characters under the effects of one of Pakpao’s inspire, While attending a performance or social event prepared
persuade, or threaten rolls count as being entangled (p. with Setting the Stage, Pakpao may expend five banked
XX) for purposes of Puppeteer Charms for the rest of dice in place of one Willpower when paying the costs
the scene, though they don’t suffer the gambit’s mobil- of Curtain Fugue Dream, Empress-Shaming Satire,
ity penalty. Such characters can’t spend Willpower to Hidden Target Innuendo, Illusion of Choice, Leave Them
interrupt or attack her while she uses Rapt Audience Wanting More, or Rumors Like Sharpened Knives.
Entrapment
Talented Understudy Technique
If Pakpao knows Heckler’s Nightmare Retribution, she Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
adds (Essence) non-Charm dice on Join Battle rolls as Type: Simple
long as at least one opposing character is entangled. Keywords: Psyche
Duration: Instant
Leave Them Wanting More Prerequisite Charms: Pulling the Crowd’s Strings
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Simple Wrapping herself in silky allure, the Puppeteer becomes
Keywords: Psyche whatever her mark needs her to be.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Captivating Spotlight Pakpao makes a special Appearance- or Manipulation-
Approach based instill roll against a single target to convince
him that she’s the perfect candidate for a role she
The dreams and fantasies that come to life at the end of knows he’s looking for someone to fill — to a student,
Pakpao’s strings provide an escape from harsh reality; she seems a perfect teacher; to a merchant-prince, a
who could be blamed for wanting to return to that? promising associate; to a thief, the ideal victim. If she
succeeds, she may treat his strongest Intimacy related
Pakpao makes a puppetry-based (Manipulation + to that role — a student’s desire to be out from under
Performance) inspire roll against a single member her family’s control, a merchant prince’s commercial
of her audience. If she succeeds, he gains a Minor ambitions, a thief’s desperation to feed his family — as
Obsession (Exalted, p. 169) with Pakpao and her art. If a Tie to her, with whatever emotional context best fits
he goes more than a day without seeing a performance that relationship. This lasts until he resists her influ-
or interacting with Pakpao at length, he suffers a −1 ence by entering a Decision Point and citing another
penalty on mental and social rolls until he does. After Intimacy of equal or greater intensity to spend one
a week, this penalty increases to −2; after a month, −3. Willpower.
Resisting this influence requires entering a Decision
Point and citing a Major or Defining Intimacy to spend Beloved Imposter Insinuation
one Willpower. Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
The Obsession fades after (6 − target’s Integrity) days, Keywords: Mute
but this duration resets if the victim fails a Willpower Duration: Instant
roll against his Obsession. Prerequisite Charms: Talented Understudy
Technique
With an Essence 3 repurchase, Pakpao may target mul-
tiple characters, paying five motes for each target past Like a puppet carved into a mocking parody of a prince,
the first. She ignores multiple target penalties. Pakpao takes to the stage under another’s name.
Reset: Once per scene. When Pakpao makes a Manipulation-based roll to
convince targets that she’s someone else, affected
Silken Gala Entrapment characters treat the instilled Intimacy of belief as one
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2 step higher in intensity for the rest of the scene and
Type: Permanent suffer a −3 penalty on rolls opposing Pakpao’s disguise
Keywords: None as the impersonated character and rolls against her
Duration: Permanent Guile that would reveal contradictory information. If
Prerequisite Charms: Setting the Stage she strengthens such an Intimacy to Defining with this

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Charm, that character suffers −2 Resolve against her If Pakpao knows Anonymity is Power (p. XX), she can
influence that scene. use this Charm reflexively when it ends to suppress
the memories of all characters who served her as part
Targets who’ve never met the character Pakpao im- of the granted Merits without needing to roll.
personates face to face increase the cost to resist this
influence by one Willpower. Backstage Whisper Proposition
Cost: 8m; Mins: Essence 3
Cutting the Mind’s Strings Type: Simple
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 Keywords: Mute, Psyche
Type: Simple Duration: Instant
Keywords: Psyche Prerequisite Charms: Curtain Fugue Dream
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Illusion of Freedom, Rapt Lulling an audience member into a receptive trance-like
Audience Entrapment state, Pakpao can embed her instructions into his sub-
conscious mind.
The Puppeteer takes no risks with her secrets, ensuring
that her agents, operatives, and confidantes can’t unwit- After using Curtain Fugue Dream, Pakpao may use
tingly reveal vital information. this Charm in the same scene to make a Manipulation-
based persuade roll against an affected character. His
After at least an hour spent hypnotizing or condition- Resolve isn’t modified by Intimacies. After Pakpao’s in-
ing a willing character (including herself ), Pakpao can fluence roll, her victim forgets that she made it, as per
suppress any or all of his memories of her, her plans, or Curtain Fugue Dream. It’s included in the memories
anything he’s done on her behalf. Alternatively, she can that he regains when he spends Willpower to resist
restore memories she suppressed with a previous use. that Charm.

Reset: This Charm can only be used on a character Insidious Whispering Spider
once per story. Restoring memories doesn’t count Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3
against this. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Curtain Fugue Dream Duration: Permanent
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 Prerequisite Charms: Cutting the Mind’s Strings
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Mute, Psyche Pakpao’s presence lingers in the minds of her agents and
Duration: Instant dupes like a spider scurrying through the web of their
Prerequisite Charms: Cutting the Mind’s Strings memories, waiting for its moment to strike.

Pakpao draws her audience into an immersion so deep When Pakpao uses Cutting the Mind’s Strings or
that they cease to see her, aware only of the emotion her Curtain Fugue Dream, she may choose not to erase her
performance provokes. targets’ memories immediately, but to instead specify a
trigger condition for all targets. Once an affected char-
All characters who witness Pakpao’s puppetry-based acter becomes aware of that condition being met, his
Performance action must roll (Perception + Integrity) memories are erased per that Charm. Likewise, when
opposing her influence roll. If she didn’t make an in- she uses either Charm, she may specify a condition
fluence roll with Performance, she rolls (Manipulation that will restore targets’ memories.
+ Performance) opposing them. Characters who fail
forget all details about the performance and Pakpao’s Hidden Target Innuendo
identity. This doesn’t negate the effects of her influ- Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
ence roll; the performance’s impact remains even if it’s Type: Reflexive
forgotten. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
If someone reminds an affected character of Pakpao’s Prerequisite Charms: Empress-Shaming Satire,
identity or her performance or calls his attention to his Illusion of Freedom
lack of memories, he may pay one Willpower to regain
his memories for one scene. Once he’s done so three Pakpao’s words aren’t always meant for the one she
times, he regains those memories permanently. speaks to.

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After an influence roll against a single character fails Affected characters form a negative Minor Tie toward
to beat its target’s Resolve, Pakpao may use this Charm that character with a context chosen by Pakpao or
to reveal that she was actually addressing another weaken a positive Tie to him if they have one instead.
character who heard her speak, employing innuendo The designated nemesis’ influence rolls against affect-
and body language to secretly convey her message. She ed characters suffer a penalty equal to the intensity
makes a new influence roll against him that receives of their negative Tie toward him. Affected characters
the benefits of all non-Excellency Charms used to en- can’t voluntarily weaken negative Ties to him or form
hance the first roll. or strengthen positive Ties to him for this Charm’s du-
ration unless they spend (Pakpao’s Essence/2, rounded
Reset: Once per scene. up) Willpower each time. Once an affected character
has spent Willpower this way three times, he’s freed
Rumors Like Sharpened Knives from this influence.
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple Reset: Once per story, unless reset by accomplishing
Keywords: Mute a major character or story goal (Exalted, p. 170) by
Duration: Instant winning a noteworthy victory over her designated
Prerequisite Charms: Hidden Target Innuendo nemesis: besting him in combat, swaying an audience
against her in a debate, driving a rival business led by
Would-be informants, spies, and grasses serve Pakpao’s him into bankruptcy, etc.
will even as they work against her.
Gossamer Cobweb Fabrication
Pakpao makes a Manipulation-based influence roll Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4
against a single target. He doesn’t suffer the normal Type: Simple
effect of that influence, instead treating it as a persuade Keywords: Mute, Psyche
roll to relay Pakpao’s message to a character chosen by Duration: Instant
her, believing this to be his own idea as per Illusion of Prerequisite Charms: Curtain Fugue Dream
Freedom (p. XX). Once he delivers the message to its
intended recipient, Pakpao’s influence roll is applied Pakpao weaves false memories out of words and
against his Resolve as if she’d targeted him directly. Essence, ensnaring her victims within stories that never
happened.
Reset: This Charm can’t be used to relay a message to
a given character more than once per story. Pakpao makes a special Manipulation-based instill roll
against a single character to embed a false memory of
Nemesis-Proclaiming Rumors up to five minutes in length that involves her or the
Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 events of a performance or social event that she put
Type: Simple on. Penalties for making implausible claims (Exalted,
Keywords: Mute p. 215) subtract successes instead of dice from her
Duration: One story roll. If he encounters evidence that contradicts this
Prerequisite Charms: Rumors Like Sharpened false memory, he can spend one Willpower to resist.
Knives, Trust Will Break Your Heart A second use of this Charm can delete the implanted
memory.
No story is complete without its villain; those who stand
in the Puppeteer’s way find themselves cast in this role. When Pakpao uses Cutting the Mind’s Strings to erase
memories, she can use this Charm reflexively, waiving
Pakpao mounts a campaign of rumors against a charac- its cost, to embed new memories in place of the sup-
ter with a negative Major or Defining Tie toward her, pressed ones. Likewise, when she restores memories
spending at least (10 – Essence) days spreading them with that Charm, she can use this one for free to erase
within a community or organization. She must interact implanted memories.
with a significant portion of the group’s membership; if
it’s infeasible for her to do so within ten days, she can’t Reset: This Charm can only be used against a given
target this group. Upon completing this campaign, character once per story. Deleting implanted memo-
she rolls (Manipulation + [Bureaucracy, Presence, or ries doesn’t count against this limit.
Socialize]) against the Resolve of all other characters
in that group. (Treat them as a single audience except
for noteworthy or powerful characters).

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Vanishing Puppeteer Mystery Duration: Instant

Cost: —(+5m); Mins: Essence 4 Prerequisite Charms: Beating Heart’s Trail
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None Pakpao gleans the truth of a person from how he’s spoken
Duration: Permanent of by his closest friends and most hated foes, like sensing
Prerequisite Charms: Backstage Whisper vibrations from afar.
Proposition
Pakpao profiles a character by interacting with some-
Veiled in the mystique of the stage, the Puppeteer fades one he has a Tie toward, rolling against the lower of
from memory. that chracter’s Guile and the Guile of the character she
converses with, adding (Intimacy) non-Charm dice. If
Pakpao may pay a five-mote surcharge to use Curtain that person has little or inaccurate knowledge about
Fugue Dream to enhance any influence rolls or a the profiled character, Pakpao suffers an appropriate
Manipulation roll with any Ability. penalty.

Reset: Pakpao can’t use this Charm to profile a charac-

Scrutiny Charms ter more than once per story.
Know the Heart’s Strings Fluttering Heartbeat Vibration
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Prerequisite Charms: Know the Heart’s Strings,
Vibrating Thread Intuition
A careful student of human behavior, the Puppeteer is
quick to recognize the ties that bind people together. Attuned to the threads of feeling and intention woven
around her, Pakpao senses those whose hearts hold feel-
Pakpao rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on a read
ings for her.
intentions roll. If she succeeds with 3+ extra successes
and discovers a Tie to an individual, she learns an addi- When a character with a Tie toward Pakpao comes
tional fact about that relationship, gleaning it from his within close range, her player may activate this Charm
tone, body language, and what he leaves unsaid. to identify him and discern the Tie’s intensity, though
not its emotional context. If she makes a read inten-
Beating Heart’s Trail
tions roll to discern that Tie later in the scene, she
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
rerolls 6s until they cease to appear.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None When an enemy with a Tie to Pakpao makes a surprise
Duration: Indefinite attack against her from close range, she reflexively
Prerequisite Charms: Know the Heart’s Strings makes a read intentions roll. Success negates the
Defense penalty.
Pakpao is deeply attuned to the strands of emotion and
obligation that bind people to each other, mapping out With an Essence 2 repurchase, Pakpao can sense Ties
the web of relationships that is society. toward groups she belongs to. She can intuitively dis-
tinguish between Ties to herself and those to groups,
When Pakpao discerns one of a character’s Ties with a
but can’t identify what group someone has a Tie for.
read intentions roll, she can use this Charm to discern
the distance and direction to that Tie’s object. She adds Understanding the Audience
(target’s Intimacy) non-Charm dice on Survival rolls to Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
track or navigate to that character. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Heart-Unraveling Hearsay
Duration: Instant
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Ersatz Troupe Performance,
Type: Simple
Know the Heart’s Strings
Keywords: None

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Immersed within her performance, Pakpao becomes one or the highest Guile among a group’s membership.
with her audience, learning what they have in common. Success reveals that threat’s identity. For every three
extra successes, she can ask the Storyteller one of the
A Performance roll against multiple characters also following questions:
counts as a read intentions roll against them as an au-
dience (Exalted, p. 223). Success reveals a custom, tra- • Do they think I suspect them?
dition, or belief shared by the audience: the etiquette
of the High Queen’s court, the prevailing philosophy • What do they hope to get from opposing me?
among an audience of Zhao scholars, Hammer Gang
toughs’ preferred game of chance, etc. If the Storyteller • Which of my secrets do they know?
doesn’t have an answer in mind, Pakpao’s player should
provide one, as if introducing a fact. • Do they have secrets I could use to blackmail
them into no longer being a threat?
The next time Pakpao makes an influence roll that
leverages this knowledge against that audience or an- If the Storyteller doesn’t have an answer in mind for
other audience sharing the same custom, tradition, or a question, Pakpao’s player should provide one, as if
belief, they suffer −1 Resolve. introducing a fact.

Reset: Once per day. This Charm is limited by Pakpao’s own knowledge.
If a character has consistently used magic capable
Thorns-and-Roses Eloquence of perfectly concealing his hostile intentions from
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 her while interacting with her — like a Solar using
Type: Simple Heart-Eclipsing Shroud (Exalted, p. 400) — his iden-
Keywords: None tity can’t be revealed; Pakpao instead rolls against the
Duration: Instant next-greatest threat. Likewise, Psyche effects that
Prerequisite Charms: Pulling the Crowd’s Strings, tamper with relevant memories may likewise obscure
Understanding the Audience an identity from this Charm.

Once the Puppeteer glimpses your heart, she knows Reset: Once per story.
where to aim the knife.
Tangled Web Meditation
Pakpao makes an influence roll leveraging an Intimacy Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
she’s discovered with a read intentions roll or a cus- Type: Simple
tom, tradition, or belief discerned by Understanding Keywords: None
the Audience, adding (Perception/2, rounded up) non- Duration: Instant
Charm dice. Characters whose Intimacies are Major or Prerequisite Charms: Beating Heart’s Trail,
Defining must spend an additional Willpower to resist. Understanding the Audience

Unknown Adversary Revelation Meticulous in her observations of those around her,

Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 Pakpao discerns the threads of romance, intrigue, and
Type: Simple enmity.
Keywords: None
Pakpao makes a read intentions roll against all char-
Duration: Instant
acters she’s aware of. For each character whose Guile
Prerequisite Charms: Know the Heart’s Strings,
she beats, she discerns his strongest Tie to another
Prickling Gooseflesh Warning
character present in the scene.
Pakpao’s unconscious mind sifts through the endless
web of her memories, seeking hidden dangers she’s Resolve Charms
overlooked.
No Tears Left to Shed
After eight hours of sleep or meditation, Pakpao Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
rolls ([Intelligence or Perception] + [Awareness or Type: Reflexive
Investigation]) to determine the identity of the person Keywords: None
or group she’s aware of that currently poses the greatest Duration: Instant
danger to her, rolling against the Guile of an individual Prerequisite Charms: None

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Pakpao has known the world’s cruelty; her cold heart is Prizing freedom above all else, Pakpao cuts herself free
her shield. from the strings of love and hate that bind her.

Pakpao gains +2 Resolve. This is a non-Charm bonus When Pakpao enters a Decision Point to resist influ-
against influence that opposes a Major or Defining ence that leveraged one of her Ties, she may shed that
Principle reflecting her ambitions, or an inspire roll or Tie completely instead of citing an opposing Intimacy
roll to instill an emotion-based Intimacy that opposes to let her resist with Willpower. For the rest of the
one of her Major or Defining Intimacies. story, she can’t voluntarily form or strengthen that Tie
and gains one Limit whenever she acts in a way that
Inevitable Betrayal Anticipation would have upheld that Tie.
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Criticism-Deflecting Approach
Keywords: None Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: No Tears Left to Shed, Trust Keywords: None
Will Break Your Heart Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Illusion of Freedom, No Tears
Trust is a luxury, something for those who’ve never Left to Shed
known betrayal.
With deft witticisms and unmatched grace, Pakpao tugs
When Pakpao asserts her Resolve against influence the strings of social interaction to change the meaning of
that opposes a Major or Defining Principle reflecting a rival’s words.
her ambitions or an inspire roll or roll to instill an emo-
tion-based Intimacy that opposes one of her Major or After an influence roll that fails to beat her Resolve,
Defining Intimacies, she can reflexively instill herself Pakpao can use this Charm to redirect it against anoth-
with a negative Minor Tie toward the character mak- er character who witnessed but wasn’t targeted by the
ing the roll. If she successfully asserts her Resolve, influence. The influence roll and all effects enhancing
she adds (Intimacy) dice on her next influence roll or it are rerolled, using the same dice pool, against the
attack roll against him that scene. new target.

Reset: Once per scene. Unfaltering Cast Approach

Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Point of No Return Type: Reflexive
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1 Keywords: None
Type: Simple Duration: Instant
Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: No Tears Left to Shed, Point of
Duration: Indefinite No Return
Prerequisite Charms: None
Pakpao’s adamant confidence in her plans reassures
“You’ve come too far to turn back,” Karana whispers. those who put her faith in her against her enemy’s words.
How can Pakpao not agree?
Pakpao can use this Charm after an influence roll that
Pakpao empowers a Principle that reflects one of her fails to beat her Resolve but would overcome that of
plans or agendas, gaining +2 Resolve against influence other targets, forcing the opposing character to reroll
it opposes. This ends if Pakpao violates that Principle. a single successful die for each 1, starting with 7s and
going up. If this Charm prevents a character whom she
Reset: Once per story. has a positive Major or Defining Tie toward from being
influenced, she gains one Willpower.
Beating Heart Vivisection
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Guile Charms
Keywords: None
Placid Smile Masquerade
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Inevitable Betrayal Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Anticipation Type: Reflexive

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Keywords: Mute Veiled Intentions Cant

Duration: One scene Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Accustomed to being underestimated, Pakpao is happy Duration: One scene
to help others make fools of themselves. Prerequisite Charms: Always a Scheme
Pakpao gains +1 Guile. Against characters with Eavesdroppers hear only small talk and meaningless
Intimacies reflecting feelings of self-importance and pleasantries as the Puppeteer plots with co-conspirators
superiority to Pakpao, this increases to +2. or relays instructions to her agents.
With an Essence 2 repurchase, Pakpao may pay a Pakpao and up to (higher of Essence or 3) other charac-
one-Willpower surcharge to extend this Charm’s du- ters may carry on a conversation while seeming to discuss
ration to one day. something else entirely, conveying their true meaning
through wordplay, body language, and subtle gestures.
Always a Scheme
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 Outsiders can only detect the coded communication
Type: Permanent if they’re specifically watching for such tricks or have
Keywords: None superhuman or magically enhanced senses, rolling
Duration: Permanent (Perception + Awareness) against the Guile of a char-
Prerequisite Charms: Placid Smile Masquerade acter communicating in this way. Success lets them
notice the communication, but not understand it.
A versatile performer, Pakpao has a smile, a nod, and a
lie for every occasion. Blithe Acceptance Feint
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
Upon purchasing this Charm, Pakpao’s player chooses two Type: Reflexive
of the following conditions, adding them to the circumstanc- Keywords: Mute
es under which Placid Smile Masquerade’s Guile bonus Duration: Instant
increases to +2. If two or more such conditions are met, the Prerequisite Charms: Placid Smile Masquerade
bonus increases to +3. Additional conditions can be pur-
chased for three experience points or one bonus point each. Presenting a façade of guileless naïveté, Pakpao plays
along with those who would prey on her while biding her
• Calculating Mastermind Approach: The roll time for betrayal.
opposing Pakpao’s Guile risks revealing infor-
mation that could threaten or interfere with one When Pakpao successfully asserts her Resolve against
of her Principles reflecting her ambitions. an influence roll, she may use this Charm to make a
special (Manipulation + [Performance or Socialize])
• Corruption Breeds Negligence: Pakpao has instill roll against the character who made that influ-
successfully influenced the opposing character ence. If Pakpao succeeds, that character believes his
this session with a bargain roll to bribe him or a influence succeeded. If he makes a roll opposing her
threaten roll to blackmail him. Guile that scene that could reveal information that
contradicts this belief, he suffers a (higher of Pakpao’s
• Enticing Distraction Allure: Pakpao’s
Essence or 3) penalty.
Appearance exceeds the opposing character’s
Resolve. Unwitting Disclosure Contingency
• Lost in the Ensemble: Pakpao is putting on a Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 1
puppetry-based performance. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mute
• Love is Endless Lies: The opposing character Duration: Instant
has a positive Tie to Pakpao. Prerequisite Charms: Know the Heart’s Strings,
Placid Smile Masquerade
• Puppet Mask Infiltration: Pakpao is in disguise
and the roll opposing her Guile risks exposing No secret can be kept forever, but the Puppeteer is ready
her. for every eventuality.

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After a character Pakpao’s aware of successfully makes — whether by asserting Guile, with a conceal evidence
a roll opposing her Guile, she may use this Charm to roll, or otherwise — she gains one Willpower.
make a special read intentions roll against him. Success
reveals what he learned from his roll. She can leverage This Charm can only be used once per day. With an
what he learned with her influence rolls as though it Essence 3 repurchase, it can be used once per scene.
were a Minor Intimacy for the rest of the scene.
Puppeteer’s Subtle Sign
Foe-Snaring Ruse Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 2 Type: Permanent
Type: Reflexive Keywords: Mute
Keywords: None Duration: Permanent
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Veiled Intentions Cant
Prerequisite Charms: Placid Smile Masquerade
Even when Pakpao’s schemes demand the utmost silence,
Those taken in by Pakpao’s wiles dance from her strings she makes her will known to her agents with wordless grace.
without ever knowing it.
Pakpao and her allies no longer need to speak to com-
Pakpao gains +1 non-Charm Guile against a character municate with each other when using Veiled Intentions
she’s aware of. If she successfully asserts her Guile against Cant and such communication transcends language
an opposing character, he counts as entangled (p. XX) for barriers, though characters unfamiliar with each other
purposes of her Charms for the rest of the scene. may suffer penalties on initial communication until
they’ve grown accustomed. They gain +1 Guile against
Masquerade-Upholding Gesture rolls that would reveal this communication.
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive False Heartstring Trick
Keywords: Mute Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: Veiled Intentions Cant Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
An invisible string slips from Pakpao’s finger, hastily Prerequisite Charms: Blithe Acceptance Feint, Foe-
jerking an ally out of the path of social disaster. Snaring Ruse

When Pakpao perceives a character attempting to Grabbing hold of whatever’s at hand as if she’d always held it
read the intentions of an ally within close range, she dear, Pakpao conceals her true feelings behind affected passions.
may let him use her Manipulation in place of his own
when calculating Guile. If his Manipulation equals or When a read intentions action or other effect would
exceeds hers, he instead gains +1 non-Charm Guile. reveal one of Pakpao’s Ties, she can use this Charm
to instantly form a Minor Tie to a character or group
If Pakpao knows Lengthening Strings Concentration, present in the scene, revealing this Tie to the opposing
its range increase applies to this Charm as well. character instead of the other Intimacy. Pakpao can’t
voluntarily weaken this Tie for the rest of the story.
Perfect Plan Satisfaction
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2 Ever-Vigilant Watcher
Type: Permanent Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 3
Keywords: None Type: Reflexive
Duration: Permanent Keywords: None
Prerequisite Charms: Always a Scheme (Calculating Duration: Instant
Mastermind Approach), Point of No Return Prerequisite Charms: False Heartstring Trick,
Unwitting Disclosure Contingency
A creature of powerful ambition and paranoid secrecy,
the Puppeteer takes silent satisfaction in knowing her Pakpao’s keen intuition for intrigue reveals those who
enemies know nothing. would spy on her.

When Pakpao successfully conceals her plan or agenda When a character Pakpao’s unaware of rolls opposing her
from someone who would meaningfully threaten it Guile, she may use an opposed read intentions roll in place

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of her Guile, circumventing the penalty for being unaware Keywords: None
of observers. In addition to negating the opposing roll, suc- Duration: Permanent
cess reveals the opposing character’s location to her. If he’s Prerequisite Charms: Backstage Storage Style
in concealment, she senses his presence, but can’t pinpoint
his location unless her successes beat his Stealth roll. Under the Puppeteer’s diligent scrutiny, no prop is left
out of place; who could tell she had ever taken the stage?
Hollow Marionette Loyalty
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 When Pakpao uses Backstage Storage Style, she com-
Type: Reflexive pletes the enhanced roll instantly. If she does take the full
Keywords: Mute, Psyche fifteen minutes to complete the roll, she rerolls 5s until
Duration: Instant they cease to appear even when not hiding a puppet.
Prerequisite Charms: Insidious Whispering Spider,
Masquerade-Upholding Gesture Shun the Spotlight
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Those who enter the Puppeteer’s confidence can’t break Type: Supplemental
her trust lightly — if at all. Keywords: Mute
Duration: Instant
When an ally or character working on Pakpao’s behalf is Prerequisite Charms: None
questioned about her or her operations, she can activate
this Charm to suppress some or all of memories about her, As the curtain closes, the Puppeteer’s true work begins.
her activities, or his work on her behalf as per Cutting the
Mind’s Strings, retroactively revealing that she’s imposed Pakpao adds (higher of Essence or 3) dice on a Stealth roll
a trigger condition for this erasure that’s just been met. and rerolls 6s until they cease to appear. If she ends a perfor-
The Puppeteer doesn’t become aware of this. mance by rolling Stealth, opposing characters whose Resolve
was beaten by her influence roll suffer a −3 penalty on their
Reset: Once per story, unless reset by accomplishing a roll against her Stealth. She may use that roll instead of roll-
legendary social goal (Exalted, p. 134) through subtle ing Join Battle if this coincides with hostilities breaking out.
means with the assistance of others, whether they
know it or not. Assassin in the Chorus
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Subterfuge Charms Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Backstage Storage Style Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Shun the Spotlight
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Surrounded by clattering puppets and loyal agents, the
Keywords: None Puppeteer seems to vanish from the battlefield.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Pakpao reduces the penalty for attempting Stealth in
combat by one. Each ally within close range of her in-
Like any good stage manager, Pakpao keeps all manner creases this reduction by one. If she beats the opposing
of surprises concealed from her audience. rolls of all enemies, she gains one Initiative.
Pakpao rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on a conceal ev- Fade Into the Cast
idence roll or other roll that involves keeping an object from
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1
being noticed, such as sleight of hand or subtly poisoning a
Type: Supplemental
drink. If she’s hiding a puppet, she rerolls 5s as well.
Keywords: Mute
If Pakpao knows Living Puppet Performance, she can Duration: Instant
also use this Charm on Larceny and Stealth rolls made Prerequisite Charms: Shun the Spotlight
by animated puppets, rerolling 5s in addition to 6s.
Basking in the beauty and drama of the playhouse, the
Striking the Set Puppeteer vanishes backstage.
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 Pakpao doubles 9s on a Stealth roll as long as one of the
Type: Permanent following is true:

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• She uses a crowd of people for concealment. Poison is a fact of life for diplomats, spies, and revo-
lutionaries; Karana’s venomous Essence has honed
• She uses puppets, costumes, and other props for Pakpao’s understanding of it.
concealment.
Pakpao adds doubles 9s on a non-attack roll involving
• She’s succeeded on a Performance roll against poison — Resistance rolls opposing it, Awareness rolls
multiple characters opposing her Stealth. to detect it, Larceny rolls to poison others undetected,
Medicine rolls to treat poison, Craft rolls to create
• She’s disguised and it hasn’t been seen through it, etc. She can introduce facts about poison without
by any of the characters opposing her Stealth. needing a Lore background.
Phantom Troupe Technique Utmost Immersion Masquerade
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Mute Keywords: Mute
Duration: Indefinite Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Shun the Spotlight Prerequisite Charms: None
When the curtain drops at a show’s end, the cast vanish- The stage transforms those who play upon it, casting
es at once behind its dark folds. them in new roles.
When Pakpao and her allies make simultaneous Stealth Pakpao rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on a dis-
rolls, every two dice added on her roll by any means guise roll and can use it either for herself or a puppet
add a bonus die on each ally’s roll, maximum (higher (which need not be animated). As long as she has ac-
of Pakpao’s Essence or 3). cess to appropriate props and supplies, she can create
incredible disguises for her puppets, even making
Violence as Spectacle them seem like living humans — though she must use
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1 Living Puppet Performance to provide movement and
Type: Simple Speaking Puppet Trick to provide speech.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Costume-Donning Flourish
Prerequisite Charms: Rapt Audience Entrapment, Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Shun the Spotlight Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Pakpao’s audience will cheer and applaud even the worst Duration: Instant
and bloodiest acts committed in the name of her ambi- Prerequisite Charms: Utmost Immersion
tion if only she gives them permission. Masquerade
Pakpao makes a special (Manipulation + Performance) Pakpao is ready to take the stage at a moment’s notice,
instill roll against all witnesses to a fight, passing it using threads of Essence to don her costume and gather
off as an artistic performance. Affected characters her props.
accept her explanation and can’t spend Willpower to
resist unless this would endanger one of his Major or Pakpao can complete a disguise roll in one minute
Defining Intimacies or the circumstances of the fight or complete a minute’s worth of work to don or doff
change dramatically in a way that contradicts Pakpao’s armor (Exalted, p. 591) in (mobility penalty + 1) turns.
lie.
Ingenue’s Grand Debut
Special activation rules: This Charm can be flurried. Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Silk Widow’s Lesson
Keywords: Mute
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1 Duration: One day
Type: Supplemental Prerequisite Charms: Utmost Immersion
Keywords: None Masquerade
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

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Losing herself in a role, Pakpao takes on the semblance of the Duration: Instant
character she plays with posture and body language alone. Prerequisite Charms: Phantom Troupe Technique

Pakpao rolls to disguise herself through acting exer- Pakpao bids the curtain fall with a deft gesture, even if
cises with (Manipulation + [Larceny or Performance]), she isn’t on the stage; her threads seize hold of her sur-
ignoring up to (Essence) points of penalty for lacking roundings to improvise one for her.
equipment or disguising her ethnicity, sex, or body
type. While disguised, she adds (Essence) non-Charm Pakpao rolls (Wits + [an appropriate Craft, Larceny,
dice on inspire rolls and acting-based Performance or Performance]) to create concealment from her sur-
rolls. roundings: pulling a large canvas down from nearby
construction, collecting fallen leaves into a heap large
Pakpao can use this Charm to impersonate specific enough to hide her, or extinguishing a nearby light
characters but must first prepare for the part, spend- source. The roll’s difficulty depends on how much her
ing (10 – Essence) days playing that role in shows and surroundings give her to work with to create conceal-
theatrical performances. While thus disguised, this ment. If she or any of her allies roll to enter Stealth in
Charm’s benefit also applies to influence rolls that the round she used this Charm, they add (her Essence)
leverage Ties to the impersonated character. dice.

If Pakpao knows Costume-Donning Flourish, she Subtle Thread Technique

can use it reflexively to speed her roll, waiving its Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2
Willpower cost. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mute
The Curtain Falls Duration: One scene
Cost: 4m, 2i; Mins: Essence 2 Prerequisite Charms: Shun the Spotlight, Spider’s
Type: Reflexive Cunning Strings
Keywords: Mute, Perilous

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Refining her subtle Essence, Pakpao weaves invisible Spinning snares and nets from Essence, Pakpao strews
threads. the battlefield with traps before the battle ever begins.

Spider’s Cunning Strings is Mute for this Charm’s du- When an enemy within medium range takes a move
ration. Any threads that Pakpao creates with it or other action, Pakpao can use this Charm to reveal he’s fallen
Puppeteer Charms or anima powers, like Living Puppet into a trap, reflexively rolling an unblockable entangle
Performance or Lock-Binding Thread, are nearly invisi- gambit against him with (Wits + [an applicable Craft,
ble, requiring a difficulty 7 (Perception + Awareness) roll Larceny, or Survival]). If circumstances render this im-
to spot. Trivial characters can’t roll to see her threads. plausible — for instance, because she’s been ambushed
on unfamiliar ground — the Storyteller may require a
In combat, the first time Pakpao makes an entangle stunt to explain how she devised the trap so quickly.
gambit, an attack with Silken Lariat Technique, or an-
other thread-based attack against an enemy who fails If Pakpao has a relevant Craft, a successful gambit
his roll to see the threads, it becomes a surprise attack grants three silver points. If a nontrivial opponent is
(Exalted, p. 203). Once she does so, her foes are suffi- incapacitated or surrenders while entangled, she also
ciently on guard to defend against her threads even if gains (his Essence) gold points.
they can’t see them clearly.
If Pakpao uses Cunning Spider Craft (p. XX) to combine
Anonymity is Power a grapple with this entangle gambit, she uses her attack
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 roll as the control roll as well, opposed by her victim’s
Type: Simple (Dexterity + Dodge) roll. Pakpao can’t take the usual special
Keywords: None grapple actions but doesn’t suffer any penalties. A trapped
Duration: One story character or one of his allies can spend their entire turn to
Prerequisite Charms: Beloved Imposter Insinuation, reduce the clinch’s rounds of control by two. Attacking or
Ingenue’s Grand Debut damaging Pakpao doesn’t subtract rounds of control.

Calling in favors, revealing hidden resources, and tug- If Pakpao knows The Spider in Her Web (p. XX), she
ging at society’s strings, the Puppeteer weaves a new waives this Charm’s Willpower cost within her lair.
identity for herself.
Reset: Once per scene.
Pakpao spends (10 – Essence) days to establish a cover
identity, rolling to disguise herself as her alter ego with Overlooked Prop Pageantry
a full Excellency and double 9s. Every three success- Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
es on the disguise roll lets her gain one dot of Allies, Type: Simple
Backing, Followers, Influence, Resources, or Retainers Keywords: Mute, Psyche
as part of her cover. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Blithe Acceptance Feint,
Once the story ends, these Merits are lost as the Captivating Spotlight Approach, Striking the Set
recruited characters return to their lives, unless the
Storyteller deems Pakpao’s treatment of them qualifies Pakpao employs distracting banter and mesmerizing
to retain them long-term as Story Merits (Exalted, p. inflection to misdirect onlookers, whether concealing a
158). If Pakpao uses this Charm to reestablish a previ- naked blade as she approaches her victim or chatting
ous cover identity, they’ll return to her service as long with a stolen necklace’s owner while wearing it.
as they weren’t mistreated and are capable of doing so.
Pakpao makes a special Manipulation-based instill roll
Reset: Once per story. against a single character. If she succeeds, she prevents him
from noticing a single object no larger than herself with any
Hidden Web Entrapment sense but touch. She must continue speaking to maintain
Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 this deception; doing so is reflexive. If he’s attacked with a
Type: Reflexive weapon that’s been hidden from him, it counts as a surprise
Keywords: Mute, Decisive-only attack (Exalted, p. 203) but ends this Charm.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Assassin in the Chorus, Alternatively, she can conceal an animated puppet no larg-
Backstage Storage Style, Entangling Snare Technique er than herself. This functions as though the puppet had
established concealment against this Charm’s victim with

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a successful Stealth roll, including the potential to make Pakpao is the perfect infiltrator; she has foreseen every
unexpected attacks. If that puppet breaks concealment by twist and turn and prepared for every contingency.
attacking or taking other overt actions, this Charm ends.
To use this Charm, Pakpao must be disguised from all
If this Charm’s misdirection endangers one of its vic- characters present. She reveals that she’s previously
tim’s Major or Defining Intimacies, he may pay one hidden some piece of evidence that could compromise
Willpower to resist. her identity in the recent past, making a conceal evi-
dence roll with double 7s. She can’t conceal anything
If Pakpao knows Secret Empress Domain (p. XX), she can that’s present in the current scene.
use this Charm within her lair to instead conceal a struc-
ture that spans up to (Essence/2, rounded up) range bands If Pakpao subsequently deflects suspicion or casts
from her target. If this put him in danger — e.g., because aspersions on others in the scene she used this Charm
he can’t see the burning building he’s about to walk past with an influence roll that refers to the concealed evi-
— he becomes aware of the peril in time to make a roll to dence, she doubles 7s.
mitigate the harm he suffers, if not avoid it outright.
Reset: Once per story unless reset by accomplishing a
Reset: Once per day. This Charm can’t be used against legendary social goal (Exalted, p. 134) through decep-
a character more than once per story. tion or betrayal.

Playhouse-Haunting Phantasm Empty Puppet Revelation

Cost: 5m, 2i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 Cost: 5m, 3i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4
Type: Simple Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mute, Perilous Keywords: Mute, Perilous, Uniform
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Along a Thread, Assassin in Prerequisite Charms: Costume-Donning Flourish,
the Chorus, Fade Into the Cast Living Puppet Performance

Whether navigating trapdoors and secret passage- Pakpao and her puppets are one; strike her down and all
ways or scuttling along catwalks and chandeliers, the you will find is cracked paint and splintered wood.
Puppeteer moves in secret behind the scenes.
Pakpao clashes an attack against her with a (Manipulation
To use this Charm, Pakpao must be in concealment and + [Larceny or Stealth]) roll. If she succeeds, she exchang-
meet at least two of the criteria for Fade Into the Cast es places with an animated puppet, revealing that both
(p. XX). She vanishes and reappears within another of them have been cunningly disguised all along. Her
point within (Essence/2, rounded up) range bands enemy resolves his attack as usual against the puppet, but
without needing to roll Stealth. There must be a path still suffers the penalties for losing a clash. This Charm
from her location to her destination and it must both can’t be used against enemies using magic like Eye of the
have sufficient concealment for her to hide there and Unconquered Sun (Exalted, p. 273).
let her satisfy two of Fade Into the Cast’s criteria after
moving. Reset: Once per day.

If Pakpao knows The Spider in Her Web, she waives Stepping Backstage Approach
this Charm’s Willpower cost within her lair. Cost: 4m, 3i, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4
Type: Reflexive
Reset: This Charm can only be used once per scene. Keywords: Mute, Perilous
Duration: Instant
Devious Mastermind Genius Prerequisite Charms: Fade Into the Cast, Swift
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4 Exeunt Departure
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mute Departing the stage, Pakpao recedes into the darkness
Duration: Instant behind the curtain.
Prerequisite Charms: Always a Scheme (Puppet
Mask Infiltration), Backstage Storage Style, Utmost When Pakpao reflexively moves away from an enemy
Immersion Masquerade after successfully disengaging or uses Swift Exeunt
Departure, she may reflexively roll (Dexterity +

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Stealth) to establish concealment if her new location a specialty, she can use its associated Ability in place
offers sufficient cover for her to hide. of Lore to determine if she qualifies to introduce a fact
(Exalted, p. 237).
Reset: Once per scene unless reset by dealing 3+ deci-
sive damage to a nontrivial enemy with an unexpected For two motes, Pakpao doubles 9s on any roll to intro-
attack. duce or challenge a fact.

Knowledge Charms Stage-and-Shadow Apprenticeship

Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Feverish Brow Discernment Type: Simple
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1 Keywords: None
Type: Supplemental Duration: (Wits) days
Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Hard-Earned Wisdom
Duration: Instant
Pakpao rose from lowly origins; she knows that same
Prerequisite Charms: None
potential exists in every beggar, orphan, or servant.
Pakpao effortlessly espies the thousand frailties of the
After an hour spent training a character, Pakpao grants him
body.
up to three temporary specialties in any of Craft, Larceny,
Pakpao doubles 9s on a diagnosis roll (Exalted, p. 237) Performance, Socialize, or Stealth for this Charm’s dura-
or a roll to introduce a fact about an ailment suffered tion and instills him with a Tie of loyalty to her, which he
by one of her patients. If she uses Vibrating Thread can’t resist with Willpower unless he rejects this Charm’s
Intuition with this Charm, she may complete a diagno- benefits. He can purchase any of these temporary special-
sis roll instantly by touching her patient. ties permanently as a training effect (p. XX).

Sinew-Severing Precision Agent-Priming Indoctrination

Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-only Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Feverish Brow Discernment Prerequisite Charms: Stage-and-Shadow
Apprenticeship
Muscle, nerve, and sinew bind together the human
body like countless strings; it is no great effort for the Pakpao’s plans demand more than she could do alone;
Puppeteer to snip one of them. her agents and assets have both their skills and their
loyalties honed under her instruction.
An enemy damaged by Pakpao’s decisive attack in-
creases his wound penalty by one as a crippling effect. Under Pakpao’s tutelage, a single character may incur
Multiple uses of this Charm stack this increased penal- experience debt (p. XX) to gain a dot of Dexterity, Wits, or
ty to a maximum of (Essence/2, rounded up). Manipulation and up to (Pakpao’s Essence) dots or special-
ties in Craft, Larceny, Performance, Socialize, or Stealth.
Hard-Earned Wisdom He also gains a Minor Principle, chosen by Pakpao’s player,
Cost: —(2m); Mins: Essence 1 that reflects his commitment to one of her plans or agen-
Type: Permanent das and the part she wishes him to play in it.
Keywords: None
The training time is unaffected, other than any benefit
Duration: Permanent
Pakpao’s training would provide normally (Exalted, p. 178).
Prerequisite Charms: None
Victory by Subtle Means
Pakpao has learned many lessons in life; her mind quick-
ened by Essence, she dispenses practical knowledge. Cost: 1m, 2i; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
When Pakpao introduces and challenges facts, she can Keywords: Decisive-only, Versatile
use Craft, Larceny, or Performance specialties as Lore Duration: Instant
specialties and adds them to such rolls. If she has such Prerequisite Charms: Any two of Feverish Brow
Discernment, Hidden Venom Palm, Silk Widow’s Lesson

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Pakpao destroys her enemies from within, carrying on idle con- Ceaseless Pursuit of Perfection
versation with them as her poison seeps through their veins. Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
When Pakpao poisons someone — either with a Keywords: None
decisive attack or through other vectors — she adds Duration: Permanent
(Essence − 1) intervals to her poison’s duration. If she’s Prerequisite Charms: None
successfully diagnosed her target that scene, this in-
creases to (Essence) intervals and he can’t reduce the Pakpao endleslys hones her artistry, whether carving wood,
poison’s duration below one interval no matter how oiling joints, or contemplating her next great project.
many successes he rolls.
Pakpao reduces the cost of rolling for major projects by
Crafting Charms (Essence) silver points. When crafting puppets, this in-
creases to (higher of Essence or applicable Craft) silver
Careful Stitch Method points for major projects and (Essence) gold points for
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 superior projects.
Type: Supplemental
With an Essence 3 repurchase, Pakpao reduces the cost
Keywords: None
of all her crafting by (higher of Essence or applicable
Duration: Instant
Craft) for major projects and (Essence) for superior
Prerequisite Charms: None
projects. When crafting puppets, she reduces the costs
Pakpao can’t abide sloppy stitches, shoddy handiwork, of major, superior, and legendary projects by (higher of
or cutting corners. Essence or applicable Craft) points.

Pakpao rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on a Craft roll. Swift Dollmaker Style
If she’s crafting a puppet, she rerolls 5s as well and gains Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 1
one silver point for each rerolled die that shows a success. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Impervious Poppet Technique Duration: One project
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: None
Type: Simple or Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform The Puppeteer assembles her menagerie with all the
Duration: Instant speed and grace her title is due.
Prerequisite Charms: Careful Stitch Method
When Pakpao undertakes a basic or major project to
Pakpao imbues a sliver of her own Essence into one create or repair a puppet or that uses thread, rope,
of her puppets, giving carved wood and silk string the or wire, or the like as raw materials, she completes it
strength of steel. with incredible speed, typically in seconds or minutes.
Some may take longer at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Pakpao can use this Charm to render a puppet su-
pernaturally durable after a scene spent repairing A second purchase of this Charm lets Pakpao use it to
or maintaining it; she can use this Charm reflexively enhance any basic or major project using a Craft she
upon crafting a puppet. She permanently adds (higher has 4+ dots in. However, its benefit is reduced: She
of Essence or 3) to the difficulty of feats of demolition multiplies the rate at which she works by (Essence +
and other rolls to destroy the puppet. 1), reducing the time to complete the project to a min-
imum of one minute.
When an enemy attacks a puppet enhanced with
this Charm, Pakpao can use this Charm reflexively, Ever-Present Companion Doll
subtracting (Wits) dice from a withering or decisive Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
damage roll. If she’s protecting the puppet with a de- Type: Simple
fend other action, she waives this Charm’s cost. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
If Pakpao knows Corpse-Puppet Reanimation, she can Prerequisite Charms: Swift Dollmaker Style
use this Charm on corpses, halting the decay process
and preserving them indefinitely. Pakpao is never without a puppet; how else could she be
the Puppeteer?

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Pakpao reveals a puppet that she’s previously created batch of repair projects even if the repaired objects are
— anything she could feasibly create as a major project. unrelated to each other, rolling with the lowest of her
It’s extraordinary equipment (Exalted, p. 580). If it’s applicable Crafts. When she uses it to perform basic or
small enough for to plausibly have concealed on her major projects, she waives its cost and can undertake
person, she may reveal it instantly; if not, her player up to (Essence + Wits + applicable Craft) such projects.
declares a nearby location where it’s stashed. She
gains crafting points for succeeding as though she’d Broken Toy Revenge
completed a basic project (Exalted, p. 240). Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
If Pakpao knows Statue-Animating Strings (p. XX), she Keywords: None
can use this Charm to reveal an object it could animate Duration: Permanent
that could be created with a basic project using one of Prerequisite Charms: Impervious Poppet
her Crafts. If she knows Corpse-Puppet Reanimation Technique, Living Puppet Performance
(p. XX), she can use it to reveal a zombie she’s stashed
away. Even if nothing is left of her puppets but splintered wood
and shattered metal, still Pakpao’s performance goes on,
Reset: Once per scene. flinders and fragments dancing on her strings.

Maker’s Many Limbs Pakpao’s animated puppets can continue to act even
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 after they’re incapacitated, suffering a −6 wound pen-
Type: Simple alty. She can use Living Puppet Performance on pup-
Keywords: None pets that have been destroyed by feats of demolition or
Duration: One batch of projects the like, animating them with a health track filled with
Prerequisite Charms: Swift Dollmaker Style lethal damage.

Embodying Karana’s eightfold power of action, Pakpao Puppet Legion Preparation

brings forth abundant wonders. Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Permanent
Pakpao undertakes up to (Wits) simultaneous basic or Keywords: None
major projects to create or repair identical or extreme- Duration: Permanent
ly similar objects — a set of poppets depicting various Prerequisite Charms: Ever-Present Companion Doll,
characters, formal outfits for her entire circle, a batch Wooden Legion Cavalcade
of identical swords, etc. She makes a single roll for all
these projects and need only pay the cost of Charms With a twist of her strings, Pakpao reveals the countless
that enhance those projects once. Major projects use a puppets she’s secreted away in advance, calling upon her
single project slot and Pakpao need only pay their craft hidden army.
point cost once (Exalted, p. 240). She only receives
craft point awards for meeting basic objectives once When Pakpao uses Wooden Legion Cavalcade, she
for the entire batch but receives (Wits) additional sil- may use Ever-Present Companion Doll to reveal she’s
ver points as long as she meets one objective. created enough puppets to form a Size (Essence/2,
rounded up) battle group to animate with that Charm.
Army-Upkeep Whirlwind Technique
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3 Mysticism Charms
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None Quivering Spirit Discernment
Duration: Permanent Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Maker’s Many Limbs Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Pakpao’s handiwork is unimpeachable; there’s nary a
Duration: One scene
scratch, crack, or chip to be found on any of her countless
Prerequisite Charms: None
puppets.
Pakpao senses the subtle vibrations of the spirit world as
Pakpao can use Maker’s Many Limbs to undertake
though it were a string held in her hand.
superior projects to repair artifacts and to perform a

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Pakpao can sense the presence and location of demate- Pakpao makes an entangle gambit against all demateri-
rialized characters within medium range and can hear alized enemies within medium range that she’s aware
their speech, though she can’t see them or hear any of, waiving its mote cost. She makes a single attack roll
other noises they might make. The penalty she suffers and Initiative roll.
for being unable to see dematerialized characters she
attacks with Spirit-Flaying Lash or similar magic is Pakpao can use God-Binding Strings reflexively to
reduced to −1. enhance this entangle gambit, waiving that Charm’s
Willpower cost.
If Pakpao knows Vibrating Thread Intuition (p. XX),
this Charm’s range extends to long. Sorcery
Spirit-Flaying Lash Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Type: Permanent
Keywords: Uniform, Versatile Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Quivering Spirit Discernment Prerequisite Charms: Any two of Hard-Earned
Wisdom, Point of No Return, or Quivering Spirit
Striking with a cruel power born of hatred for divine
Discernment
hypocrisy, Pakpao imposes her own justice on the gods.
The Puppeteer has glimpsed the subtle strings that run
Pakpao can attack a dematerialized character with an
through the cosmos and been forever changed by it.
attack. If she can’t see her target, she suffers a −3 pen-
alty. If she knows Living Puppet Performance, she can She may use Terrestrial Circle sorcery. She learns one
use this Charm to enhance attacks made by animated Terrestrial spell — her control spell — and one shaping
puppets. ritual for free.
God-Binding Strings Haunted Effigy Ritual
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple Type: Permanent
Keywords: Decisive-only, Versatile Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Flaying Lash Prerequisite Charms: Dancing Puppet Artistry,
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Flooding her strings with Essence, Pakpao anchors a
spirit to the physical world. Pakpao’s puppets are foci for her mystic will as she chan-
nels sorcerous power along their strings.
Pakpao makes an entangle gambit against a demateri-
alized enemy, waiving Puppet-Snaring Strings’ mote Pakpao can use Mistress of Puppets (p. XX) to Shape
cost. She gains Spirit-Flaying Lash’s benefits for free. Sorcery through a puppet. When she casts a spell that
On a success, the entangled enemy is also rendered would benefit her, like Invulnerable Skin of Bronze,
material and can’t dematerialize for one round, plus she may transfer its benefits to an animated puppet.
an additional round for every two successes on the
Initiative roll.
Artifact Puppets
Ghost-Catching Net
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 While the Puppeteer can lay claim to all manner
Type: Simple of mundane puppets — and expand the meaning of
Keywords: Decisive-only, Versatile “puppet” to encompass corpses, shadows, and statues
Duration: Instant — some of her most powerful feats may require her
Prerequisite Charms: Entangling Snare Technique, to create or retrieve unique, magical puppets, each a
God-Binding Strings storied artifact in its own right. Three examples follow
here, crafted in ages past by artisans who could never
Weaving a web of subtle Essence, Pakpao catches way- anticipate how their creations might function in the
ward spirits like flies. hands of Creation’s true Puppeteer. Other puppet

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artifacts exist throughout the world, and more yet wait Doll. None of these copies are quite as large as the orig-
to be either commissioned or created by the Puppeteer inal and each has its own unique design and aesthetic
herself. flourishes.

Artifact puppets typically cost three motes to attune. Attuning to Okyi costs three motes. It has the following
When Pakpao uses Living Puppet Performance (p. traits while animated:
XX) on an attuned artifact puppet, its cost is reduced
by three motes. Essence: 1; Willpower: 1; Join Battle: 8 dice
Health Levels: −0x2/−1x2/−2x2/−4x2/Incap.
The artifacts presented here include only a limited
number of example Evocations; Pakpao is capable Actions: Appear Inanimate: 10 dice; Feats of Strength:
of awakening more, as usual for any artifact. Other 8 dice (may attempt Strength 3 feats); Senses: 8 dice;
characters would awaken different Evocations for Stealth: 8 dice; Threaten: 6 dice.
these puppets, focused on using them in performances Appearance 1, Resolve 1, Guile 1
rather than as animated minions. COMBAT
Attack (Unarmed): 11 dice (Damage 15B/3)
Okyi, the Infinite Doll Attack (Grapple): 7 dice (8 dice to control)
(Moonsilver Puppet, Artifact •••)
Combat Movement: 10 dice
Okyi is an unassuming wooden doll in the shape of a Evasion 4, Parry 2
woman wearing a turtle’s shell, roughly the size of a Soak/Hardness: 12/4
dog. Its wood is ashen white, shot through with whorls MERITS
and knots of flowing moonsilver. Countless copies of
itself are hidden within seeming impossible compart- Automaton: Okyi is immune to poison, disease,
ments across Okyi, earning it the title of the Infinite fatigue, and fear and doesn’t need to eat, drink, breathe,
or sleep.

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Mindless: Okyi treats all social influence as unaccept- Hundredfold can be folded and unfolded into intricate
able and has perfect morale. origami shapes far beyond the limits of ordinary paper,
but it exhibits a hint of mischievous self-awareness
Evocations of Okyi even while it isn’t animated; it may unfold itself from
shapes it dislikes or correct errors made by its master
Okyi’s compartments can store up to (its master’s
with silent superciliousness. While animated with
Essence) objects small enough to be held in the palm
Living Puppet Performance, it typically folds itself into
of one’s hand or a single object no larger than the doll.
a tiny paper doll with a jellyfish-like shape.
Storing or retrieving objects can be done reflexively.
Other characters suffer a −4 penalty on rolls to detect Attuning to Hundredfold costs three motes. It has the
stored objects unless they have applicable magic or following traits while animated:
superhuman senses.
Essence: 1; Willpower: 3; Join Battle: 8 dice
Puzzle-Box Multitude Technique
Cost: —(+5m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 2 Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Type: Permanent Actions: Appear Inanimate: 14 dice; Fit Through Small
Keywords: None Spaces: 14 dice; Senses: 8 dice; Stealth: 10 dice (see
Duration: Permanent Tiny Creature)
Prerequisites: Living Puppet Performance Appearance 1, Resolve 1, Guile 1
Endless puppets lie nested within Okyi’s compartments, COMBAT
awaiting only a puppeteer’s hand to beckon them forth
onto their strings. Attack (Slash): 11 dice (Damage 3L/3, 12L/3 against
enemies its size or smaller)
When Pakpao uses Living Puppet Performance to Combat Movement: 10 dice
animate Okyi, she may pay a five-mote, one-Willpower Evasion 4 (see Tiny Creature); Parry 1
surcharge to also animate (higher of Essence or 3) of
Soak/Hardness: 5/4
its replicas, which emerge from within its compart-
ments. They use mannequin traits (p. XX), but their MERITS
range limit is tied to Okyi rather than the Puppeteer. Automaton: Hundredfold is immune to poison,
If Okyi is incapacitated or is no longer animated, its disease, fatigue, and fear and doesn’t need to eat, drink,
copies likewise fall inanimate. breathe, or sleep.
Mindless: Hundredfold treats all social influence as un-
Alternatively, when Pakpao uses Wooden Legion
acceptable and has perfect morale.
Cavalcade, she may pay this surcharge to have Okyi
unleash enough replicas to form a Size 3 battle group, Tiny Creature: Add +2 Evasion against larger foes’
animating both it and the battle group as above. If she attacks. Larger characters subtract two successes from
uses Puppet Legion Preparation with this, she instead Awareness-based rolls to notice Hundredfold.
creates a Size 4 battle group.
Evocations of Hundredfold
Hundredfold When Hundredfold is animated, its master grants one of
(Starmetal Puppet, Artifact ••••) the Balanced, Chopping, Flexible, Piercing, or Reaching
tags to its attacks. At the start of Hundredfold’s turn, its
Hundredfold is, at first glance, a large, folded sheet of master may choose a different tag.
pristine blue paper. Closer inspection reveals that it is
unnaturally pristine, that it has no fixed size, and that Origami Menagerie Approach
its edges are gilt with razor-sharp starmetal. Its origins Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
are murky even to Sidereal historians: some believe Type: Reflexive
it to be a memorandum that circulated through the Keywords: None
Celestial Bureaucracy for a century before it awakened Duration: Instant
to consciousness; others a weapon created by Kolos, Prerequisites: Living Puppet Performance
the Scroll-Case Lion, either at a sorcerer’s behest or Hundredfold reshapes itself at Pakpao’s command, fold-
for their own indecipherable reasons. ing and unfolding itself to assume new forms.

While Hundredfold is animated, Pakpao can use this

Evocation to make it expand to the size of a young

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child, losing the Tiny Creature Merit but removing the Incredible Might: Blazing Fang Smile doubles 8s on
restrictions on its withering damage. Alternatively, feats of strength.
she can grant it up to (higher of Essence or 3) dots of Legendary Size: Blazing Fang Smile suffers no on-
mutations that can be represented as alterations to its slaught penalties from the smaller enemies’ attacks
folded-paper form. The chosen benefit lasts for the unless inflicted by magic. It can’t be crashed by smaller
remainder of Living Puppet Performance’s duration or enemies’ withering attacks unless they have 10+ post-
until Pakpao uses this Evocation again. soak damage, although attackers gain the full amount
of Initiative damage dealt. Smaller enemies’ decisive
Blazing Fang Smile attacks can’t deal more than (attacker’s Strength + 3)
(Red Jade Puppet, Artifact •••••) levels of damage to it, not counting levels added by
magic.
Originally commissioned by Shogun Taharu Nibona for Mindless: Blazing Fang Smile treats all social influence
an elaborate festival commemorating her consolidation as unacceptable and has perfect morale.
of power across the Blessed Isle, Blazing Fang Smile is
a dragon-puppet nearly thirty feet long, wrought from
Evocations of Blazing Fang Smile
red jade and the silk of countless anuhles. A troupe of
Dragon-Blooded performers and their mortal assistant Blazing Fang Smile is capable of flight while animated
brought the dragon to life in a performance to celebrate and ridden by Pakpao and can carry up to (Pakpao’s
their shogun. The festival continued to be observed even Essence x2) other riders. It can’t ascend higher than
after Nibona fell to the Pigsty Coup, used to legitimize long range above the ground. Outside of combat, it flies
successive warlords’ claims to being shogun. The Great at one hundred miles per hour. If Pakpao has Blazing
Contagion extinguished this tradition, and Blazing Fang Fang Smile take no actions other than to fly, she waives
Smile has since been lost to history. Poppet Titan Mastery’s recurring Willpower and mote
cost.
Attuning to Blazing Fang Smile costs three motes. It
has the following traits while animated with Poppet Flaming Comet Parade
Titan Mastery: Cost: 3m, 2i; Mins: Essence 5
Type: Reflexive
Essence: 1; Willpower: 1; Join Battle: 10 dice Keywords: Decisive-only
Duration: Instant
Health Levels: −0x2/−1x6/−2x6/−4x10/Incap.
Prerequisite Charms: Poppet Titan Mastery
Speed Bonus: +4
Actions: Appear Inanimate: 6 dice; Feats of Strength: Blazing Fang Smile smolders and coils upon itself, build-
14 dice (may attempt Strength 10 feats, see Incredible ing unstoppable power before descending upon Pakpao’s
Strength); Senses: 10 dice; Threaten: 12 dice. foe with the force of a falling star.
Appearance 1, Resolve 1, Guile 1
While riding an animated Blazing Fang Smile, Pakpao
COMBAT can use this Evocation on its turn to have it aim at an
Attack (Unarmed): 12 dice (Damage 18B/5) enemy at short or medium range. On its next turn, as
Attack (Grapple): 10 dice (10 dice to control; giant long as the chosen enemy is still within medium range,
puppets make unopposed control rolls against smaller Blazing Fang Smile rockets into close range with him
enemies unless they use magic like Dragon Coil Tech- and makes a decisive attack, adding attack roll extra
nique.) successes as dice of decisive damage. This counts as its
move action and can’t be flurried. If Blazing Fang Smile
Combat Movement: 12 dice moves over flammable terrain within short range be-
Evasion 1, Parry 6 neath it to make this attack, that terrain catches flame,
Soak/Hardness: 15/5 burning as a bonfire (Damage 4L/round, Difficulty 5)
MERITS for the rest of the scene.
Automaton: Blazing Fang Smile is immune to poison,
disease, fatigue, and fear and doesn’t need to eat, drink,
breathe, or sleep.

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“Never challenge the Downcast Eyes,” Sabriye’s aunt had warned her. “Of all the rats in Wu-Jian, they’re
the nastiest by far. Not even rats,” she’d corrected herself, “they’re like mice. Meaner than rats, you
know. Bolder. That’s why savants use them in their studies, alchemists make ‘em lap up potions for
their experiments. They don’t show fear, and they’re more foolish for it. The mice, not the Downcast
Eyes.”
Sabriye was forced to agree with her aunt, years later. The Downcast Eye who’d come to stymie her
investigations into the cult had indeed been the subject of some experimentation. The youth’s muscles
bulged unseemly, channeling some sort of hell-sent Essence in order to swell so. His leg, so like the
tree trunks Sabriye had once heard described somewhere in a story, smashed to splinters the beam
that supported the roof she stood upon. The roof cast itself downward, and Sabriye along with it. A
heartbeat later, he was upon her. She could actually see his heart clench and unclench, molten-bright
beneath his translucent, smoke-blackened skin. His next blow was faster than the first, and she went
spinning into the catwalks and through suspended bridges beyond their battlegrounds. Down she fell,
deeper into the levels of Wu-Jian.
She might have touched the very ground beneath the city, the dirty floor that had not seen sunlight
beyond her own in decades. But a tarp fluttered loose from a shop; and a rope’s knot slipped, coils
spiraling into the abyss after her; and the hard wooden walls that would have broken her gently warped
to absorb her impact and flung her back out to tarp and rope and safety, wrapping her in the city’s
embrace. Hers was a daystar that fell to earth not with a bang, but with a whimper, in an open-air eatery
serving an entire neighborhood with skewers of charred and dubious meat.
“You said you wouldn’t do this again after the goblin whale,” Sabriye whispered to the darkness, under
the deafening tones of the youth’s roar and the thousands screaming in terror at the battle. Even this far
below, she heard his thundering footfalls and the demon’s power that dwelled within him, drowning out
all sound. And yet, she was heard.
“I said that, yeah,” Revana Quin answered. “But you knew I was lying, and here we are.” The older Exalt
was all hard lines and crooked smiles, wearing simple leggings and a tunic from some local shop,
Sabriye knew. She stepped out from behind a cart selling fried squid balls and pork buns, placing
herself between the gently wrapped younger Exalt and the people being flung high into the air by the
rapidly approaching Downcast Eye.
He did not forget his hard-won training in his demonic rage. The youth corkscrewed his fist to put more
power from his swollen biceps into the blow. Revana Quin’s rear foot and upper body swept back as she
began to pivot, moving fast, but not fast enough. His fist did not shatter her sternum and punch a hole to
her heart but connected insteadwith the side of her chin.
Sabriye yelped as the side of a residential structure on the other side of the two fighters crumbled in the
force of the blow. It collapsed, revealing a honeycombed nest of shocked families in various states of
relaxation. Revana Quin was unmoved, smiling, and even the youth was somewhat nonplussed by the
response. He responded with a second mighty blow, this one a kick tracing the arc of a rainbow, meant
to shatter her knees. And yet when his foot stopped upon her outstretched joint, it was the eatery itself
that shattered, splintering downward and scattering porcelain and bamboo across the walkways to
tumble down as Sabriye had.
“A little help?” Revana’s voice was more plaintive than her demeanor let on. Sabriye shook herself loose
from the tarp, dropping to the ground and freed her daggers. There was no rest in Wu-Jian, not for the
wicked and not for the righteous.

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 Chapter Seven

The Architects
As cities form and grow, they shelter not only mortals, joint Exigents. While ultimately empowered by Wun
but also the myriad gods who oversee the things of Ja, each Architect is uniquely shaped by the city she’s
city life — gods of markets, neighborhoods, streets, spiritually connected to. The Architect of Azure might
and buildings. The ranks of the divine also swell with be a pirate warlord whose magic is as much of her
gods who oversee discord between neighbors, privy- fleet as of the streets; the Architect of Dajaz might be a
spread illnesses, and the dark alleys where contraband sybarite to match even the most besotted Cynis scion,
is bought and sold. Foremost among these is the city quietly ruling her city’s famous underworld with an
father, god of the city itself — and above even him is iron fist. The city god chooses someone who exempli-
Wun Ja, Goddess of the Shining Metropolis, She Who fies their city’s nature, for good or for ill — and the god
Hath Laid Ten Thousand Bricks. rarely gives consideration to mortal authorities’ best
interests and desires.
The Architects are Exigents who are Chosen by both
Wun Ja and a city father, empowered as a hero and Architects are Chosen to protect cities against threats
champion for a city. To them, the city isn’t just home, from within and without, to help expand cities by
but a purpose, a confidante, a weapon, and countless conquest or diplomacy, to forge ties of diplomacy
allies and informants. Woe betide any who trifles with and commerce between cities, to overthrow corrupt
her on her turf, for an Architect has myriad ways to or ineffective municipal governments, to lead urban
excise a threat to her city. cultural and intellectual movements to greatness, and
more. Once the crisis they were created for is past, the
Architects find themselves potentially beholden to two
Chosen of Wun Ja masters — while Wun Ja and the city fathers share
much in common, they still have their own ambitions
Wun Ja was once one of the greatest gods. In the by-
and may find themselves at cross-purposes; which of
gone First Age, the Exalted built city upon magnificent
their patrons, if either, the Architect sides with can
city across Creation’s face, many of which eclipsed the
play a significant role in her days to come.
Second Age’s greatest metropolises. Wun Ja’s standing
in Heaven has fallen, yet she retains many connections
from better days and has leaned upon them to buoy City Fathers and Architects
her fortunes. She’s traded countless favors and broken
law after law to preserve her divine portfolio. Though A city father’s role within the Celestial Bureaucracy is
her methods may be corrupt, her conviction in uphold- to oversee her city and send occasional reports to the
ing the well-being of cities won her the flame of the Bureau of Humanity. Heavenly law prohibits city gods
Exigence when she cried out to the Unconquered Sun from directly ruling over their cities, though plenty
to help save a city on the verge of annihilation. corruptly exert their influence on a city’s mortal gover-
nance or rule outright in defiance of a law with few left
Wun Ja’s Chosen are many compared to other to enforce it. They often take after their cities. In part,
Exigents, though still rare within Creation. Rather this is a numinous manifestation of their divine office,
than empowering each Exaltation herself and risking but even beyond that, one cannot live in and be the god
her own destruction, Wun Ja chooses an Architect of a place without being in some way influenced by its
through a city father, who bears the brunt of diminish- culture.
ment for her. Unlike other Exigents created by multi-
ple gods, the shared nature of an Architect’s patrons Enjora is the city mother of Imensc, a fortified haven
and their divine purviews brings their Essence into carved into the stone and ice of a cliff near Mela’s
harmony, avoiding the problems that normally befall Fangs by the nomadic peoples who first settled the

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area. She’s an implacable protector of her city but gla- the divide between species. The current city father,
cially slow-moving, occasionally overlooking import- Far-Flung Clarion, is a nostalgia-ridden romantic
ant affairs that happen too quickly for her to notice, who walks the ruined city’s streets to mourn its lost
like sicknesses and sea raids. An Architect of Imensc greatness. He favors the Dragon Kings over mortals,
might be Chosen to confront such a peril to the city, taking a saurian form wreathed with flaming
a steadfast paragon and watcher from the walls glyphs from their High Holy Speech. While he
who embodies the fortress-city’s strength and has little predilection toward Exalting a human
can endure the icy wastes beyond it, focusing champion, circumstances may force his hand
on the Attributes of Perception, Stamina, to protect his cherished ruins and Dragon
and Strength. Kings. An Architect of Hadarath could inter-
cede between communities to bring humans
Ato-Prin is city parent of Atossok, a trade-city and Dragon Kings closer together or exemplify
built around a Southwestern oasis. Clothed the city’s intellectual and philosophical
in colorful batiks and adorned with legacy to stave off threats, focusing
sparkling jewels, they’re a striking on the Attributes of Charisma,
presence on the city’s market Intelligence, and Stamina.
days and festivities. Though
the Diamond Road trade Brick by Brick
route has made both
Atossok and Ato-Prin Though each Architect
very wealthy, it also reflects the city that em-
brings foreign influ- powers her, they’re all
ences aplenty; the bound together by Wun
city’s baths ran red with the Ja’s Essence and by the idea
blood of trade delega- tions that is the idealized city. Still, no two
during the infamous massacres that Architects are wholly identical. As
stain the city’s history. Ato-Prin city gods take on their cities’ natures
keeps watch over the city’s peace and qualities, so too do those natures
but is ill-versed in the schemes and qualities express themselves in
and skullduggery plied by foreign their Architects’ magic. And while
and Atossoki merchants alike. An they may draw upon that magic in
Architect of Atossok might possess any city, and even outside of one to
supernal power in this arena, able a certain extent, they’re at their
to deal with cutthroat merchants most puissant within the city
on their own terms, focusing they were Chosen to serve.
on the Attributes of Dexterity,
Manipulation, Wits. An Architect is often known by
her city’s populace; beloved,
Hadarath, found in the Great revered, and sometimes even
Western Ocean’s Spindrift worshipped as part of her city
Archipelago, is a ruined city of god’s cult practice (though
the First Age, populated by a not in those cities where the
small community of humans Immaculate Order is strong).
seeking shelter amid the ruins Others remain hidden or take
as well as a larger population of pains to conceal their identity when
Dragon Kings, prehuman sauri- acting publicly, the better to act quietly on
ans whose ancestors founded Hadarath and their patrons’ behalf.
other great cities and kingdoms. In the Second
Age, most Dragon Kings are still young by their The Immaculate Order favors Architects willing
species’ standards, yet to awaken to their full to embrace the Philosophy and work to uphold
mental and spiritual potential. Hadarath’s order. Few know a city as well as an Architect,
Dragon Kings largely disregard its and few can root out corruption, malfeasance,
human populace but have occasional and treason so well. When Architects actively
dealings with them: commerce, cul- oppose Immaculate teachings, the Order at-
ture, religion, crime, and romance bridge tempts to eliminate them or bring them to heel.

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Often, this provokes a flurry of activity not only in the

city in question, but in Heaven, where Wun Ja and her
associates leverage their political power to rein in the CITIES AND FOUNDATION ATTRIBUTES
Immaculates.
To help pick Foundation Attributes for your home
Character Creation city, the following are a list of traits and city fea-
tures associated with each Attribute.
Architects use the character creation rules for
Appearance: actors; sex workers; fashion and
Attribute-based Exalted designed for Terrestrial play
traditional clothing; entertainment; festivals; or-
(p. XX) with the following modifications: namental architecture; public art; monuments;
palaces; parks and gardens.
Step One: In addition to coming up with your charac-
ter concept, you’ll also determine which city she’s the Charisma: artists; musicians; poets; actors; mer-
Architect of — her home city. Choose three Attributes that chants; priests; philosophers; politics; cultural in-
best fit your vision of the city, the Foundation Attributes fluence; legal systems; public forums; markets;
that your Architect has an inherent affinity for, as well as temples; diplomacy.
one Favored Attribute. Additionally, choose one magical
material that best fits your vision of the city. If you choose Dexterity: athletes; artisans; couriers; cavalry;
jade, narrow it down to a single color (p. XX). archers; roads, bridges, and other transporta-
tion infrastructure; crime; hunting; exploration;
Step Two: You receive the three Foundation Attributes mounted travel; espionage; crime.
you chose for your home city, plus one Favored
Intelligence: savants; scavenger princes; ar-
Attribute. At least one of your Foundation or Favored
tisans; physicians; shamans; thaumaturges;
Attributes must be in your primary category, and at sorcerers; libraries; academies; hospitals; bu-
least one must be in your secondary category. reaucracy; banking; artifacts; manses; sorcerous
workings.
Step Five: Choose 15 Charms in addition to two
Excellencies. Each Excellency must be in a Foundation Manipulation: merchants; actors; charlatans
or Favored Attribute. and confidence men; propaganda; politics; official
corruption; markets; legal systems; crime; gam-
Step Six: Architects don’t have a Limit Trigger. bling; secret societies; insular communities.

Step Seven: Architects spend bonus points as follows: Perception: scouts; bounty hunters; shamans;
criminal investigations; secret police; surveil-
lance; espionage; diplomacy; exploration; elevat-
Foundation or Favored Attribute 3 per dot
ed structures and terrain.
Non-Foundation, Non-Favored Attribute 4 per dot
Stamina: manual laborers; cataphracts and oth-
Ability 2 per dot er armored soldiers; city walls and fortifications;
Specialty 1 aqueducts, sewers, and other sanitary infrastruc-
Merits 1 per dot ture; dams; ruins; fertile farmland; granaries;
mines; harsh weather and environments.
Foundation or Favored Charm 4
Strength: manual laborers; soldiers; mercenar-
Non-Foundation, non-Favored Charm 5
ies; athletes; warmongering; imposing architec-
Spell (Intelligence Foundation or Favored) 4 ture; military bases; dueling culture; metalwork-
Spell (Intelligence non-Foun- 5 ing; winches, pulleys, and cables.
dation, non-Favored) Wits: civic tradition; hunting; roads, bridges, and
Evocation 4 other transportation infrastructure; caravanse-
Willpower 2 per dot rais, hostels, and other itinerant lodgings; shan-
tytowns, tenements, and slums; lighthouses; wil-
Traits derness reserves; exploration; seaports and trade
routes.
Architects are intended for Terrestrial play (p. XX).

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• Sense the direction and approximate distance to

Anima the nearest city within (Essence x5) miles.
The anima banners of Architects vary widely among in- Anima Effects
dividuals, always shining in colors that are emblematic
An Architect’s anima effects depend on the Foundation
of the Architect’s home city: the hues of sunset over a
Attributes chosen for her city:
seaport, the banners that mark a city’s many temples,
a city’s soil and the stone from which its structures are • Appearance—Picturesque Vista Embodiment:
quarried. It’s very common for Architect anima ban- Once per day, the Architect can add (higher of
ners to include more than just visual displays, often Essence or 3) non-Charm dice on an influence
manifesting her city’s sounds and scents. roll with any Attribute to instill a Tie of lust or
attraction toward herself or a to seduce some-
An Architect’s iconic anima banner might be a symbol as-
one with a persuade or bargain roll. If she has
sociated with her home city, an animal native to her home
Hideous, this applies to threaten rolls instead.
city, prominent aspects of urban life in her home city, or a
structure or monument — either real or idealized. • Charisma—Never a Stranger: The Architect
ignores up to (Essence) points of penalties on
Architects can spend one mote to perform one of the
influence rolls with any Attribute caused by
following effects:
faux pas, unfamiliarity with local customs or
• Manifest a sound or smell associated with their group dynamics, or inappropriate clothing or
home city, or a phantasmagorical visual display demeanor. She can pay three motes to treat any
of a symbol associated with it. These are obvi- negative Ties a character has towards foreigners
ously illusory if examined but suffice to confirm or outsiders that applies to her as one level of
the Exigent’s identity as the Architect of her intensity lower for a single influence roll.
home city to the learned.

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• Dexterity—Bounding Steeplejack Hustle: For

five motes, the Architect can use her reflexive EXAMPLE HOME CITIES
move action to leap an entire range band ver-
tically or horizontally without needing to roll The following list of Foundation Attributes and
and suffers no falling damage for the rest of the magical material resonances for various cities
round. At bonfire, this power is free. is intended to help in coming up with them for
your own home city, and to provide a quick and
• Intelligence—Living Library Concentration: easy choice if you’re playing an Architect of one
The Architect adds +2 non-Charm Resolve of these cities and like the selection. It’s not set
against Psyche effects that affect or alter her in stone — none of these cities canonically have
thoughts, memories, or emotions. She adds Architects, and you can pick a different set of traits
(Essence) non-Charm dice on Mental Attribute for one of these cities if the one provided isn’t a
rolls involving memory. good fit for your vision of that city.

• Manipulation—Enigmatic Charlatan Smile: Chiaroscuro: Charisma, Stamina, Wits; Chiar-

Once per day, the Architect may Mute a single oscuro glass.
mote cost.
Fortitude: Manipulation, Stamina, Strength;
• Perception—Eye for Detail: The Architect soulsteel.
ignores up to (Essence) points of penalties on Gem: Charisma, Intelligence, Perception; ada-
Perception rolls based on the environment or mant.
other poor conditions. She can spend three
motes to reroll 1s until they cease to appear on a Great Forks: Appearance, Charisma, Stamina;
(Perception + Awareness) roll. starmetal.

• Stamina—Built from Brick: For two motes, the The Imperial City: Appearance, Charisma, Ma-
Architect gains +(higher of Essence or 3) soak or nipulation; red jade.
Hardness 4 against an attack.
Lookshy: Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength; white
• Strength—Load-Bearing Might: For two jade.
motes, the Architect adds (Essence) to the raw Sijan: Charisma, Intelligence, Perception; soul-
damage of a withering attack or as non-Charm steel.
dice on a feat of strength roll
Whitewall: Dexterity, Stamina, Wits; blue jade.
• Wits—Backstreet-and-Alley Compendium:
The Architect has a perfect mental map of every
city she’s been in, able to discern the exact dis-
tance and route to any urban location she’s been
are permanent or provide ongoing benefits, nor to
to before. She adds (Essence) non-Charm dice
actions other than attacking.
on rolls to navigate to or within a city, rolls to
withdraw from combat within a city (Exalted, p.
199), or rolls with any Attribute to find or learn Sorcery and Necromancy
of an urban location.
Architects are capable of initiating into Terrestrial
Circle sorcery. Architects of cities touched by death,
Martial Arts like Sijan, might be able to master Ivory Circle necro-
mancy instead of learning sorcery. Their Intelligence
Architects are restricted by the Terrestrial keyword
Attribute determines whether they receive the Favored
(Exalted, p. 427) when using Martial Arts. They’re
Attribute discount on spells.
limited in their ability to combine Martial Arts
Charms with their native Charms. When they make
a Martial Arts attack, they can enhance it with Evocations
either Architect Charms or Martial Arts Charms,
but not both, with the exception of Excellencies and At character creation, an Architect’s player chooses one
Versatile Charms. This doesn’t apply to Charms that magical material — treating each color of jade as a sep-
arate material — or other exotic material that best fits

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the Architect’s home city thematically: black jade for a

prominent seaport, starmetal for a city of many temples,
Longevity and Death
soulsteel for a city where an ancestor cult is prominent
An Architect’s lifespan is no greater than a mortal’s,
or a shadowland lies nearby, etc. The Architect is neutral
but time spent in her home city doesn’t count toward
with the chosen material and dissonant with all other
this span. An Architect’s Exaltation does not persist
materials (Arms of the Chosen, p. 16).
beyond her death.

The Great Curse New Merits

The Architects’ Great Curse is subtle but insidious,
Architect of a Thousand Schools (0) — Innate
slowly dissolving the boundaries between the Architect
and her home city. She experiences thoughts, emotions, Prerequisite: Architect of a city with a prominent
and impulses that originate from her city’s nature, or culture or institution of martial arts or similar ties to
from the goals and ideals of prominent factions within martial arts.
the city or the city father. Unlike Solars and Lunars,
The Architect’s battle prowess exemplifies her home
Architects don’t have a Limit track or experience Limit
city’s martial traditions, drawing from the city’s
Break. While the Great Curse still influences their be-
Essence to transcend her limits. She gains the Martial
havior, its manifestations are determined solely by an
Artist Merit for free and isn’t limited by the Terrestrial
Architect’s player.
keyword when using Martial Arts Charms.
Roleplaying a manifestation of the Great Curse is re-
Drawback: The Architect receives one fewer Foundation
warded with Architect Experience (p. XX). However,
Attribute from her home city at character creation.
no matter how dire the Great Curse is for the Architect
She still receives the anima effect for the Attribute she
and other characters, it’s never an excuse to ruin other
forgoes.
players’ fun at the table. If a dramatic moment caused
by the Great Curse isn’t something that the entire group Architect of the Tower Arcane (0) — Innate
can appreciate, it doesn’t award Architect Experience.
Prerequisite: Architect of a city with a prominent cul-
ture or institution of sorcery or similar ties to sorcery.
Some example manifestations of the Architects’ Great
Curse include:
Sorcerous power suffuses the Architect’s home city,
tracing out a vast sigil in streets and bridges that the
• An Architect taking significant and self-sacrific-
Architect has internalized within her Essence. She
ing risks to defend her home city.
automatically gains Terrestrial Circle Sorcery and
• An Architect responding to an insult with lethal can learn Terrestrial Circle spells for eight experience
force, as would be appropriate by the customs points each. She can also initiate into the Celestial
and laws of her home city. Circle of sorcery, learning Celestial spells for ten expe-
rience points each.
• The Architect of a city ruled by powerful crim-
inal syndicates committing a spree of impulsive Drawback: The Architect chooses one fewer
crimes that don’t serve her goals and draw un- Foundation Attribute for her home city at character
wanted attention. creation. She still receives the anima effect for the
Attribute she forgoes.
• The Architect of a prominent center of schol-
arship becoming so lost in the big picture that
they fail to notice the material conditions and
Character Advancement
suffering of others around them. Architects use Terrestrial advancement rules (p. XX).
• An Architect who is despised by a broad swath
of her home city’s populace succumbing to de- Exigent Experience
spair and irrational self-criticism.
In addition to experience awarded each session,
• An Architect overindulging in her city father’s Architects can earn Exigent experience (p. XX). They
preferred vices, to the detriment of her allies receive Expression Bonuses as normal, but don’t
and followers.

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receive Role Bonuses — instead, they can receive a Keystone Charms have alternative prerequisite Charms
Foundation Bonus of 2 Exigent experience by: from this second Attribute, unless they have no prereq-
uisite Charms or their prerequisites also have Keystone.
• Intentionally ceding the “spotlight” of a scene’s This extends to the Attribute minimums of any auto-
focus to another player character so that he can matic upgrades or repurchases of the Charm, but not to
express his character concept in an interesting any dice rolls or other calculations involved.
and dramatic fashion, or directly supporting
him in such a moment. Metropolis: Charms with the Metropolis keyword
have an enhanced effect when used within a city or a
• Roleplaying the effects of the Great Curse in a specific urban environment. Most of the time, it should
way that reveals something about the character, be obvious whether characters are in a city or not. If
develops her personality, or provides a character there’s any ambiguity, the Storyteller resolves it. The
moment that everyone at the table enjoys. most important criteria in evaluating whether a given
location counts as a city are whether they are perma-
• Enduring significant peril to protect a city or nent settlements, whether they are densely populated,
its city father; creating a lasting and meaningful and whether they have defined boundaries. These aren’t
change to a city; advancing one of the character the only considerations, nor are they absolute rules, but
or her Circle’s goals by inspiring others to up- they should be sufficient for resolving most ambiguities.
hold the traditions, laws, and customs of a city;
resolving a dispute between a city’s populace
and a city father or other urban deity; or uphold-
Appearance (Influence)
ing a Major or Defining Intimacy by engaging
Heart-Baring Sculpture Stance
with a city’s government, legal system, or simi-
larly prominent institutions or organizations. Cost: 3m; Mins: Appearance 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Charms Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
Excellencies
The Architect’s every gesture and change of expression
Architects must purchase individual Excellencies for conveys more than words ever could, radiant with passion.
each Attribute, other than the two free Excellencies
Anyone who can see the Architect can discern her cur-
they receive at character creation. They may add up to
rent emotional state without needing to roll, and she
(Attribute) dice to rolls, or (Attribute + Essence, max-
suffers −1 Guile to conceal emotion-based Intimacies.
imum 10) in cities. Automatic successes count as two
Any character whose emotional state is the same as
dice towards this limit. Static values such as Evasion or
or similar to hers is treated as having a Minor Tie of
Resolve can be raised by half her dice cap, rounded down.
sympathy toward her. If the Architect succeeds on an
In addition to adding dice to (Attribute + Ability) rolls, Appearance-based influence roll against such a char-
the Strength Excellency can add dice to Strength-based acter, that Tie becomes permanent unless the target
withering damage before soak, while the Stamina spends Willpower to resist her roll.
Excellency can raise soak. This costs one mote per
An Appearance 3, Essence 2 repurchase lets the Architect
damage die or point of soak, maximum (Attribute/2,
apply this Charm’s effects to one of her emotion-based
rounded down), or ([Attribute + Essence] / 2, rounded
Intimacies rather than her current emotional state.
down) in cities. These limits only apply to Excellencies,
not to other magic that adds damage or soak. Players
Monument-Unveiling Flourish
must declare these Excellencies before rolling.
Cost: 2m; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
New Keywords Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant
Keystone: Keystone Charms can be learned as Charms Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Baring Sculpture Stance
of alternative Attributes if the Architect has them
as Foundation Attributes, using different minimum Those who trespass upon the Architect’s innermost feel-
Attributes and potentially enjoying Keystone discounts. ings find her more compelling than they expected.

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When a character takes an action opposing the Duration: Instant

Architect’s Guile, she may use this Charm to let him suc- Prerequisite Charms: None
ceed automatically without needing to roll. Revealing
her true self has a powerful impact on the character Evoking the allure of the city and its sensuous distractions,
reading her: she reflexively makes an Appearance- the Architect captivates others with her confident poise.
based inspire, instill, or threaten roll against the char-
acter reading her, adding (Guile/2, rounded up) non- The Architect makes a persuade roll to seduce a single tar-
Charm dice. This calculation includes any bonuses to get. Success also instills a Tie of sexual or romantic desire
the Architect’s Guile against that roll. toward the Architect unless he resists the persuade roll.

Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds non-Charm Metropolis: The Architect converts up to (Essence)
successes instead. dice added by her Appearance to non-Charm successes

Sympathetic Stranger Entreaty Urban Legend Notoriety

Cost: 2m; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1 Cost: 3m; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Keywords: Mute
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Baring Sculpture Prerequisite Charms: None
Stance
The Architect attunes herself to the terrors that haunt
The city laughs with the Architect when she rejoices and the darkest reaches of a city’s psyche, making all who see
weeps with her when she grieves. her remember what it was like to be a frightened child.

The Architect doubles 9s on an inspire roll with any The Architect doubles 9s on an Appearance- or
Attribute to convey whatever emotion she’s currently Charisma-based threaten roll and counts as Hideous.
feeling. Her Appearance adds bonus dice (Exalted, p. If she breaks concealment by speaking, targets who
218). were unaware of her suffer −1 Resolve against the roll.

If the Exalt has Heart-Baring Sculpture Stance’s Crowd-Panicking Intensity

Essence 2 repurchase, this Charm can enhance rolls to Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 2
instill any emotion-based Intimacy she possesses. Type: Simple
Keywords: Metropolis
Plaza-Captivating Allure Duration: Instant
Cost: 2m; Mins: Appearance 2, Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: Plaza-Captivating Allure,
Type: Supplemental Urban Legend Notoriety
Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant The Architect’s menacing presence turns milling crowds
Prerequisite Charms: None into stampedes of panicked animals.

The Architect dazzles crowds with her poise and confi- The Architect makes an (Appearance + [Presence or
dence, catching the eye of everyone she walks by on the Socialize]) threaten roll to terrify all enemies who can
city streets. see her into fleeing from her, ignoring the penalty for
multiple targets. On each of their turns, they must use
The Architect rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on their reflexive move action to move away from her. If
an influence roll and ignores the penalty for targeting an affected character is unable to do so, he loses (her
multiple characters. Essence) Initiative. Battle groups suffer a Resolve pen-
alty against this roll based on their Drill: −4 for poor, −2
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect also rerolls 5s until for average, or −0 for elite.
they cease to appear.
Metropolis: In cities, each character whose Resolve is
Blue Light District Appeal beaten by the Architect’s roll loses one Initiative, even
Cost: 3m; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1 if he resists with Willpower.
Type: Simple
Keywords: Mute Reset: Once per scene.

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Living Monument Inspiration When a character sees the Architect for the first
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 2 time in a scene, her player may have him roll (Wits +
Type: Reflexive Integrity) at a difficulty of (Architect’s Appearance,
Keywords: Keystone (Charisma) including bonus dots). If he fails, he’s treated as having
Duration: Instant a Major Tie of interest toward the Architect for the
Prerequisite Charms: Plaza-Captivating Appeal scene. The Architect may choose to have this instead
impose a Major Tie of infatuation on characters with
The Architect’s presence bolsters the people’s will, giving a compatible sexual orientation (unless their player
them a symbol they can believe in. invokes the Red Rule, Exalted, p. 222). Affected char-
acters also suffer a −2 penalty on all rolls, being ren-
The Architect grants +1 Resolve against an influence dered as uncoordinated and mentally foggy as if they’d
roll to any number of characters that can perceive her. overindulged in liquor or drugs. For characters with an
If a character has a positive Tie to the Architect that existing Addiction (Exalted, p. 167), the object of their
supports the influence, she can’t grant him this bonus. Addiction becomes being in the Architect’s presence.
If at least one of these characters successfully asserts
his Resolve against the influence, the Architect gains If the Architect has the Hideous Merit, using this
one Willpower. Charm requires a stunt to describe how she takes in
observers.
Keystone: An Architect with Charisma as a Foundation
Attribute may learn this as a Charisma Charm, with Metropolis: In urban venues where alcohol, narcot-
Towering Skyline Travelogue as its prerequisite. ics, or similar vices are on offer, 1s on rolls to resist this
Charm subtract successes.
Perfection of Aesthetics
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 5, Essence 2 Triumphal Procession Attainment
Type: Reflexive Cost: 6m, 1wp (4m per round); Mins: Appearance 5,
Keywords: Metropolis Essence 2
Duration: One scene Type: Simple
Prerequisite Charms: Blue Light District Appeal, Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous
Plaza-Captivating Allure Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Baring Sculpture
The Architect embodies the idealized aesthetics of Stance, Living Monument Inspiration,
her home city, the scintillating allure of its thousand
temptations. The Architect seems like victory personified, inspiring
citizens to heroism.
The Architect gains a bonus dot of Appearance, which
can raise her Appearance above 5. Anyone who sees Allies who can see the Architect add one die on at-
her immediately recognizes her as a citizen of her tack rolls, +1 raw damage on withering attacks, and
home city. This can’t be concealed by any means. +2 Resolve against fear-based influence. Allied battle
groups with poor Drill gain average Drill as long as
Metropolis: In urban venues for entertainment of any they can see her.
kind — theaters, gladiatorial arenas, gambling halls,
bordellos, drug dens, etc. — this Charm’s Willpower The Architect must pay four motes for each round after
cost is waived. the first she wishes to maintain the effects of this Charm.

Welcoming Alehouse Appeal Metropolis: While in a city or fighting in defense of

Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 5, Essence 2 a city, the mote cost to maintain this Charm in subse-
Type: Simple quent rounds is waived.
Keywords: Metropolis, Psyche
Duration: One scene Civic Unity Icon
Prerequisite Charms: Perfection of Aesthetics Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple
The Architect’s beauty is more intoxicating than the Keywords: Keystone (Charisma), Metropolis
wares of any wine merchant or opium dealer. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Triumphal Procession
Attainment

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The Architect is a symbol that the entire city rallies City-Avatar Embodiment
around, uniting them against a common foe. Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 5, Essence 5
Type: Reflexive
The Architect chooses a city and makes a special Keywords: Metropolis
(Appearance + [Performance, Presence, or Socialize]) Duration: One scene
inspire roll to stir civic spirit in characters from that Prerequisite Charms: Civic Unity Icon
city. Affected characters are treated as having a Major
Tie of solidarity toward all other residents of that city The Architect embodies the multitude and speaks in ten
and a Major Tie of opposition toward anything that thousand voices, more like a teeming throng or a colorful
poses a threat to the entire city for the rest of the scene. festival to those who see her than a single person.
The inspired action (Exalted, p. 217) must support one
of these two Intimacies. The Architect gains the following benefits:

Metropolis: If the Architect uses this Charm in the • Ties to her as an individual can’t support or
chosen city or while fighting in its defense, this influ- oppose her influence rolls. Instead, Ties to the
ence costs two Willpower to resist. Architect’s home city or to a group that has a
sizable or noteworthy presence in that city do so
Keystone: An Architect with Charisma as a Foundation as though they were Ties to her.
Attribute may learn this as a Charisma Charm with
Shun the Outsider as its prerequisite. • Her instill, persuade, and threaten rolls auto-
matically succeed against trivial characters, and
Entourage-Attracting Presence they can’t resist with Willpower.
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple • She can understand and be understood in all
Keywords: Metropolis languages that have a large or noteworthy com-
Duration: Instant munity of speakers within her home city.
Prerequisite Charms: Welcoming Alehouse Appeal
• Her influence rolls benefit from Plaza-
Strangers are drawn to the Architect like iron filings to a Captivating Allure for free.
lodestone, following after her in great crowds.
• She waives Living Monument Inspiration’s
The Architect rolls (Appearance + [Performance, Willpower cost.
Presence, or Socialize]). Every three successes lets
her immediately gain one dot of Allies, Command, • She recovers Essence more rapidly in social
Contacts, Cult, Followers, Mentor, or Retainers. The situations. Once each character has had the op-
characters these Merits represent don’t gain any portunity to make a social action in an exchange,
Intimacy toward the Architect, but they’re willing to she gains five motes, repeating this for subse-
work with her in the role defined by that Merit. She quent “rounds” of social interaction.
can’t choose a specific character to recruit with this;
she must take whoever comes to her. Metropolis: In a city, the Architect may draw on that
city rather than her home city for this Charm’s benefits.
At the end of the story, the Merits are lost as the re-
cruited characters return to their lives, unless the Appearance (Subterfuge)
Storyteller deems that the Architect’s treatment of
them qualifies to retain them long-term as Story Merits Citizen of All Nations
(Exalted, p. 158). Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can gain dots of Keywords: Keystone (Manipulation)
Influence within the city, Backing in an organization Duration: Instant
operating entirely within the city, or Resources, im- Prerequisite Charms: None
pressing others with charm, looks, or sheer confidence.
The Architect blends in with the crowd, seeming a soldier
Reset: Once per story. in Lookshy, a Delzahn in Chiaroscuro, or a patrician in
the Imperial City.

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After spending a minute observing or contemplating Nobody Important Stance

the local culture, the Architect makes an ([Appearance Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1
or Manipulation] + [Larceny, Performance, or Type: Reflexive
Socialize]) disguise roll with double 9s to pass herself Keywords: Metropolis
off as a local. She needs no tools or additional time to Duration: One scene
do so and doesn’t suffer a penalty for disguising herself Prerequisite Charms: Shadowed Alley
as a different ethnicity. She can’t use this Charm to Disappearance
impersonate specific individuals.
The Architect cloaks herself in anonymity, a mysterious
While the Architect maintains this disguise, she gains figure amid the bustle and commotion of the city.
a temporary Socialize specialty in the culture she has
disguised herself as a member of. The Architect rolls ([Appearance or Manipulation] +
[Larceny, Stealth, or Survival]) to obscure her identity.
Keystone: An Architect with Manipulation as a Shadows hide her face, drifting smoke or clouds of
Foundation Attribute may learn this as a Manipulation dust obscure her appearance, the chatter of the crowd
Charm. drowns out any identifying details of her voice, and
the like. Characters attempting to discern any details
Boulevard-and-Avenue Emissary about her identity must make an opposed roll with
Cost: 3m; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1 (Perception + Awareness). Read intentions and profile
Type: Reflexive character rolls can still reveal information unrelated to
Keywords: Keystone (Manipulation) her identity.
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Citizen of All Nations Metropolis: In cities, this Charm is Mute.

The Architect wraps herself in the ambiance of a city, Hidden Among the Colonnades
taking on its mannerisms, vernacular, and ineffable style. Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Anyone who sees the Architect perceives her as a long- Keywords: Metropolis, Mute
time resident of the nearest city and is treated as hav- Duration: Instant
ing a Minor Tie of familiarity toward her. This doesn’t Prerequisite Charms: Nobody Important Stance
guarantee hospitality, only that she will be received
with whatever welcome is due a city-dweller. The Architect fades into the city, passing herself off as
part of a wall through subtle shifts in her bearing or
This Charm can be used reflexively with One of hiding in a signpost’s shadow.
Thousands, letting the Architect use it without need-
ing to spend time immersed in a culture and making it The Architect can roll Stealth without concealment,
possible to impersonate specific individuals. although she suffers a −3 penalty. If her surroundings
add any situational dice to her roll, each die added also
Keystone: An Architect with Manipulation as a Foundation negates a point of this penalty.
Attribute may learn this as a Manipulation Charm.
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds (Appearance)
Shadowed Alley Disappearance dice on the roll.
Cost: 2m; Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Neighbor’s Frieze Symmetry
Keywords: None Cost: —; Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 2
Duration: Instant Type: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None Keywords: Keystone (Manipulation), Metropolis
Duration: Permanent
The Architect’s surroundings conspire to conceal her: Prerequisite Charms: Citizen of All Nations
falling leaves whirl about her, smoke drifts from forges
to obscure her, and shadows lengthen. The Architect steps into the role of one of a city’s people,
taking up residence in his life.
When the Architect makes a Stealth roll, opposing rolls
suffer a −1 penalty. This increases to −2 if she’s taken The Architect can use Citizen of All Nations to imper-
cover behind an artificial structure, or −3 for full cover. sonate characters who belong to a local culture. If she’s

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lowered the penalty for impersonating a character by While moving with or standing in a crowd, the Architect
studying her target (Exalted, p. 224), rolls opposing adds that crowd’s effective Size in non-Charm dice on
her disguise suffer a penalty equal to the points of pen- Stealth rolls and rolls to disguise herself with A Face in
alty she negated on the disguise roll. the Crowd or Citizen of All Nations.

Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can commit an Metropolis: In cities, rolls opposing the enhanced
additional three motes to mimic a being’s supernatural actions suffer a −4 penalty unless enhanced by magic.
nature: manifesting the anima banner and Caste Mark
or Aspect markings of an impersonated Exalt, creating Keystone: An Architect with Manipulation as a
cosmetic supernatural displays suitable to imitating Foundation Attribute may learn this as a Manipulation
the appearance of spirits and other creatures, etc. Charm.

Keystone: An Architect with Manipulation as a Foundation Embassy of the Streets

Attribute may learn this as a Manipulation Charm. Cost: —(4m per ally); Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 2
Type: Permanent
One of Thousands Keywords: Keystone (Manipulation)
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 2 Duration: Permanent
Type: Reflexive Prerequisite Charms: One of Thousands
Keywords: Keystone (Manipulation), Metropolis,
Mute There’s room for plenty amidst the hurly-burly of the city.
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Boulevard-and-Avenue When the Architect uses Boulevard-and-Avenue
Emissary Emissary, Citizen of All Nations, or One of Thousands,
she can confer that Charm’s benefits on her allies, pay-
The Architect walks into a crowd and abandons all trac- ing four motes per ally.
es of her original identity, her features indistinguishable
from those of the people around her. Keystone: An Architect with Manipulation as a Foundation
Attribute may learn this as a Manipulation Charm.

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A Face in the Crowd If she flurries a command action with an influence roll,
Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 5, Essence 3 neither action suffers flurry penalties, nor does her
Type: Simple Defense. Beating the Resolve of at least one nontriv-
Keywords: Metropolis, Mute ial enemy grants her one Initiative, even if he spends
Duration: Instant Willpower to resist.
Prerequisite Charms: Citizen of All Nations
Metropolis: With actions other than influence rolls,
Vanishing into the tumult of the crowd, the Architect the penalty on both actions is reduced by one point,
emerges wearing another face. and the Architect’s Defense isn’t penalized.

The Architect makes a disguise roll instantly by en- Mass Panic Technique
tering a crowd large enough to obscure her from view. Cost: 6m; Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 2
She needs no tools or props and negates the penalty for Type: Supplemental
impersonating a specific character. Her disguise roll Keywords: Metropolis
also counts as a Stealth roll to establish concealment. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Crowd-Panicking Intensity,
Metropolis: In cities, this Charm’s Willpower cost is Urban Legend Notoriety
waived as long as the Architect’s disguise fits into the
crowd: ducking into a theater might let her emerge dressed The Architect’s terrifying mien turns even the most sea-
for an evening at the opera, while a bustling teahouse soned of armies into shambolic mobs, scattering them
might help her take on the guise of an evening raconteur. from the battlefield.

Appearance (Warfare) The Architect adds (Archery, Brawl, Martial Arts,

Melee, Thrown, or War) dice on a threaten roll, an in-
Frontline Daring Exploits spire roll to spread fear, or an instill roll to create Ties
of fear. Affected characters lose (Architect’s Essence/2,
Cost: 2m; Mins: Appearance 2, Essence 1
round up) Initiative. Battle groups instead lose that
Type: Supplemental
much Magnitude. If this causes a battle group to make
Keywords: Metropolis
a rout check, it rolls at +1 difficulty.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Metropolis: In cities or while fighting in defense of a
city, the Initiative lost increases to (Essence), and the
The Architect’s presence inspires those who fight along-
Architect gains up to (higher of Essence or 3) of the
side her.
total Initiative lost by her targets.
The Architect can make a command action with
Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by landing a deci-
(Appearance + [Archery, Brawl, Martial Arts, Melee,
sive attack and then building to Initiative 6+.
Thrown, or War]), rerolling 6s until they cease to
appear. Regimented Rabble Approach
Metropolis: In cities or while fighting in defense of Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 2
a city, the Architect gains one Initiative if at least one Type: Reflexive
rerolled die shows a success. Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: One scene
Mob-Inspiring Presence Prerequisite Charms: Frontline Daring Exploits,
Cost: 5m; Mins: Appearance 2, Essence 1 Mob-Inspiring Presence
Type: Reflexive
Under the Architect’s command, street urchins and
Keywords: Metropolis
drunkards fight with the discipline of hardened veterans.
Duration: One tick
Prerequisite Charms: None Allied battle groups may use the Architect’s Appearance
(including any bonus dots) in place of their Willpower
The Architect leads by example.
when making a rout check. They don’t suffer increased
The Architect can flurry a command action using any difficulty on rout checks or rally rolls targeting them
Attribute with another action, although not an attack. for having poor or average Drill.

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Metropolis: The Drill of allied battle groups increases The Architect upholds society’s order, negotiating resolu-
by one step. tions to conflicts that would weaken or subvert that order.

Beacon of Triumphant Prowess The Architect gains the following benefits:

Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Appearance 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive • She affects the bearing of a master diplomat.
Keywords: Decisive-only, Metropolis Characters facing problems that could be solved
Duration: Instant by diplomacy, negotiation, or mediation will
Prerequisite Charms: Regimented Rabble Approach seek her out as the solution to their problem,
treating this as a Minor Tie of trust in her.
The Architect’s battlefield triumphs encourage the forces
over her command, urging them onward to victory. • She adds an automatic success on rolls to intro-
duce or challenge facts relating to local customs,
The Architect can use this Charm when she deals deci- etiquette, or laws.
sive damage to a nontrivial enemy or affects a nontrivial
enemy with an influence roll, designating an allied battle • She gains +1 Resolve against influence that
group. If that battle group uses its next action to attack would cause her to act against the best interests
the Architect’s target, it adds (her Archery, Brawl, Martial of someone who she’s representing as a diplo-
Arts, Melee, Thrown, or War) dice on the damage roll. mat, advocate, or the like.

Metropolis: In cities or while fighting in defense of a • Once per day, she can negate a botch on a
city, the battle group adds successes on the damage roll Bureaucracy or influence roll, simply failing
instead of dice. instead.

Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by having a battle Common Parlance Tactic
group under the benefits of the Architect’s order ac- Cost: 3m; Mins: Charisma 3, Essence 1
tion incapacitate a nontrivial enemy or cause a battle Type: Supplemental
group to lose Size. Keywords: Keystone (Intelligence)
Duration: Instant
Charisma (Influence) Prerequisite Charms: Eight Directions Diplomacy

The Architect boasts an intuitive understanding of

Crowd-Pleasing Cadence
language, discerning meaning in foreign tongues and
Cost: 2m; Mins: Charisma 1, Essence 1 cobbling together pidgin phrases that are understood no
Type: Reflexive matter how far she wanders.
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene The Architect can understand or convey an influence
Prerequisite Charms: None roll or a single sentence to speakers of a language that
she doesn’t know. This doesn’t reduce the Resolve
The Architect’s rhetoric borrows both the salesman’s bonus for lacking a common language (Exalted, p.
patter and the zealot’s conviction, swaying crowds with 221). She can’t translate or convey complex or abstract
well-chosen words. ideas, nor does this fluency extend to writing.
The Architect’s influence rolls with any Attribute ig- Keystone: An Architect with Intelligence as a
nore multiple target penalties. She can use Excellencies Foundation Attribute may learn this as an Intelligence
to add successes on influence rolls instead of dice for Charm, with The City Remembers as its prerequisite.
two motes each.
Call to Action
Eight Directions Diplomacy
Cost: 3m; Mins: Charisma 2, Essence 1
Cost: 5m; Mins: Charisma 2, Essence 1 Type: Supplemental
Type: Reflexive Keywords: Metropolis
Keywords: None Duration: Instant
Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: None
Prerequisite Charms: None

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As a pillar of the community, the Architect is a beacon of Heart-Swaying Architecture

civil pride and leadership. Cost: 6m; Mins: Charisma 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple
The Architect doubles 9s on a persuade roll targeting Keywords: Metropolis
a group or on an instill or inspire roll targeting a group Duration: One scene
that’s made to promote peace, efficiency, or unity. Prerequisite Charms: Towering Skyline Travelogue
Metropolis: In cities, characters can’t cite Principles The Architect’s Essence intensifies the emotional impact
of apathy, sloth, laziness, or overindulgence in a of architecture.
Decision Point to resist an enhanced persuade action.
The Architect chooses an artificial structure within long
Labor-Empowering Campaign range and an emotion appropriate to its form, function,
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Charisma 3, Essence 1 or history, like safety for a soaring wall or excitement for
Type: Simple a new theater. Other characters within long range of that
Keywords: Metropolis structure — or the particular segment where the Architect
Duration: One project used this Charm, for extremely large structures — add +1
Prerequisite Charms: Call to Action Resolve against influence opposed to that emotion but
suffer −1 Resolve against influence that aligns with it.
The Architect is an inspiring leader, whether amidst the
halls of civic government or toiling at a construction site. Metropolis: In cities, this Charm’s duration becomes
one day.
The Architect enhances a project (Exalted, p. 226) or
other bureaucratic task, multiplying the speed at which Eminence of the Dutiful Host
an organization makes progress by (higher of Essence Cost: 3m; Mins: Charisma 3, Essence 2
or 3). This Charm cannot speed a bureaucratic task Type: Supplemental
that would normally take more than (Essence) years. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Metropolis: If this Charm enhances a project that Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Swaying Architecture
takes place entirely within a city, those who work
on it gain a Minor Intimacy of pride in their work, The Architect takes advantage of the emotional primacy
camaraderie with their fellow laborers, or some other of home, tugging on heartstrings and foundations alike.
Intimacy that motivates them to work on it. Upon the
project’s completion, this Intimacy increases to Major. The Architect adds a non-Charm die on an instill, per-
suade, or bargain roll with any Attribute for each of the
Towering Skyline Travelogue following criteria she satisfies:
Cost: 2m; Mins: Charisma 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental • Her influence appeals to hospitality, social obli-
Keywords: Metropolis gations, or civic spirit.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None • She’s provided food, water, or shelter to her in-
fluence’s targets within the last day.
The Architect’s speech depicts the city in vivid detail,
capturing its scenic views and seedy underbelly alike. • Her influence’s targets are in a structure that
they believe the Architect lives in or owns.
When the Architect makes an influence roll with any
Attribute to instill a Tie towards a city or its population, Reset: Once per scene.
institutions, or customs, or to persuade characters to
act based on such a Tie, she adds (higher of Essence Bustling Plaza Interlocution
or 3) dice and rolls an additional non-Charm die for Cost: 1m, 1wp (3m per language not spoken); Mins:
each 10. Charisma 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Metropolis: If the Architect is in the city of which she Keywords: Keystone (Intelligence)
speaks, she rolls additional dice for 9s as well as 10s. Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Common Parlance Tactic

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The Architect brings strangers from different lands Prerequisite Charms: Call to Action, Towering
together in business dealings, criminal schemes, and Skyline Travelogue
romance, filling in what’s lost in translation.
The Architect casts out those the community cannot
As long as the Architect is actively involved in a con- abide, marking them as outsiders within their own homes.
versation or social gathering, characters can commu-
nicate with each other regardless of language, getting The Architect touches a character and rolls (Charisma
by on pidgin, cognates, and the Architect’s translation. + [Bureaucracy, Presence, or Socialize]) against his
Unlike when speaking through a translator normally, Resolve. If successful, she leaves some form of visible
characters can make influence rolls and even use mark on him that brands him as persona non grata.
Charms through the translated statements. Even Anyone who resides in the same city or community
highly complicated or abstract ideas can be conveyed, as the marked character and has a Resolve lower than
though doing so may take longer than it would between the Architect’s Charisma is treated as having a Minor
characters who share a tongue. Tie of contempt toward him unless they spend one
Willpower to resist. Outsiders, like traveling merchants
Ordinarily, the Architect must know each language in- and other itinerants, and residents with negative
volved in a conversation or social gathering to provide Major or Defining Ties toward the city are unaffected
this Charm’s benefit. For each such language she doesn’t and must glean the mark’s meaning from observing the
know, she must commit three motes, an abstraction behavior of others.
representing frequent use of this Charm’s prerequisite
to pick up bits and pieces of other languages. If the Architect welcomes the target back into the
community, the mark vanishes and this Charm ends.
Keystone: An Architect with Intelligence as a Foundation
Attribute may learn this as an Intelligence Charm. With Charisma 4, the marked character withers away
under the Architect’s opprobrium. He suffers a −3 pen-
Clarion Voice Technique alty on rolls to obtain or maintain access to food, water,
Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Charisma 4, Essence 2 or shelter by any means within the city or community
Type: Simple where he resides. Even if he succeeds, anything he eats
Keywords: Metropolis or drinks tastes of grime and ash.
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Call to Action, Crowd- Shun the Outsider
Pleasing Cadence Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Charisma 4, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
The Architect speaks to the city with a voice like a tolling Keywords: Metropolis
bell tower. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Villain-Abjuring Covenant
The Architect makes a spoken influence roll with
any Attribute or ten seconds of regular speech that The Architect inveighs against foreign demagogues and
can be heard clearly out to (Essence + 1) range bands. outlandish philosophies, arguing in defense of the city’s ways.
Distance-based and environmental penalties on the
roll are reduced by (higher of Essence or 3), and she When a character who can hear the Architect enters
can be heard over even the loudest noises. a Decision Point due to influence that opposes the
culture, norms, laws, or political agendas of the city he
Metropolis: When speaking from an urban tower or resides in, he can cite her words as though they were a
other elevated artificial structure, the Architect can Major Intimacy to justify spending Willpower.
be heard out to (Essence + Charisma) range bands by
characters who are beneath her position. With a Charisma 5, Essence 3 repurchase, when multiple
residents of the same city enter Decision Points in response
Villain-Abjuring Covenant to the same influence, the Architect may pay a one-Willpow-
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Charisma 3, Essence 2 er surcharge to extend this Charm’s benefits to all of them.
Type: Simple
Keywords: None Metropolis: If the Architect uses this Charm within
Duration: (Essence + Charisma) days the city her target resides in, her words count as a
Defining Intimacy instead.

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group’s rout check. The battle group must be able to hear her
Charisma (Warfare) or otherwise receive her signals to benefit from this Charm.
Civic Recruitment Methodology Metropolis: While fighting in or in defense of a city, the
Cost: 3m; Mins: Charisma 2, Essence 1 Architect can pay a two-mote surcharge to bolster her
Type: Supplemental forces’ courage. If the targeted battle group successfully
Keywords: Metropolis asserts its Resolve or succeeds on its rout check, it gains
Duration: Instant perfect morale for the rest of the round. With Charisma
Prerequisite Charms: None 5, Essence 4, the Architect can pay a two-mote, one-Will-
power surcharge to extend this to one scene.
The Architect rallies others to fight for her cause with
well-chosen words and fervent passion. Homeward Banner Militia
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Charisma 5, Essence 3
The Architect adds (higher of Essence or 3) bonus dice
Type: Reflexive
and rolls an additional non-Charm die for each 10 on
Keywords: None
a rally or rally for numbers action, or an influence roll
Duration: One scene
to recruit troops. This includes persuade, bargain, and
Prerequisite Charms: Mob-to-Militia Exhortation,
threaten rolls to convince recruits to join, as well as in-
Panic-Subduing Confidence
still and inspire rolls to create Intimacies or emotions
that support the Architect’s recruitment. The Architect exalts those who fight in the city’s name,
leading them to triumph and glory.
Metropolis: In cities, Intimacies that penalize a
character’s Resolve against influence enhanced by this While the Architect leads a battle group that’s part of
Charm increase their penalty by one point. a city’s official military, has been hired by a city’s gov-
ernment, or is fighting within or in defense of a city, its
Mob-to-Militia Exhortation
Drill increases by one step and it gains Might 1.
Cost: 3m; Mins: Charisma 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Metropolis: When fighting in or in defense of the
Keywords: Metropolis Architect’s home city, the battle group gains Might 2.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Dexterity (Offense)
Under the Architect’s leadership, a makeshift citizen’s
battalion fights like a trained legion. Civic Armory Summons
Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1
The Architect adds a non-Charm success on an order Type: Reflexive
action and halves any penalties from the battle group’s Keywords: Keystone (Strength), Metropolis
Drill, rounded down. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Metropolis: While fighting in or in defense of a city,
the battle group targeted by the Architect’s order gains The city ensures its champion doesn’t fight empty-handed,
+1 Defense until the Architect’s next turn. delivering her weapon to her on a gust of wind, by a passing
yeddim’s careless footfalls, or by a helpful street urchin.
Panic-Subduing Confidence
Cost: 3m (+2m); Mins: Charisma 3, Essence 2 The Architect calls a weapon within short range to her
Type: Reflexive hand; it reaches her at the start of her next turn as long
Keywords: Metropolis as a clear path exists. She can’t steal weapons, only call
Duration: Instant her weapons to hand.
Prerequisite Charms: Civic Recruitment Methodology
Alternatively, the Architect can add (Dexterity or
The Architect’s courageous presence and inspiring words Strength) non-Charm dice on a roll to scavenge ammuni-
strengthen her soldiers’ morale. tion (Exalted, p. 202), gathering scattered missiles to her.

The Architect grants an allied battle group +2 non-Charm Metropolis: In cities, if an obstacle blocks a weapon’s
Resolve against fear-based influence or doubles 9s on a battle path, the Architect can roll ([Dexterity or Strength] + ap-
propriate combat Ability) against difficulty 4+ to bypass it.

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Keystone: An Architect with Strength as a Foundation Keystone: An Architect with Strength as a Foundation
Attribute may learn this as a Strength Charm. Attribute may learn this as a Strength Charm.

Blade-Beckoning Requisition Hammer Strikes Nail

Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1 Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Keystone (Strength), Metropolis Keywords: Metropolis, Uniform
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Civic Armory Summons Prerequisite Charms: None

The Architect draws swords from cobblestones and ar- The Architect strikes with unmatched precision and finesse.
rows from midden heaps, making the city her weapon.
The Architect negates up to (Essence) points of penalty
Touching an artificial structure, the Architect draws a on an attack roll from visual obstructions or environ-
mundane weapon from it. She can choose any weapon mental factors and ignores the Defense bonus of ene-
that the Storyteller agrees is a good fit for that structure. mies in light cover. If she makes a gambit, a chopping
attack, a piercing attack, or a smash attack (Exalted,
Should the Architect need to call the weapon to her pp. 585-586), the Initiative cost is reduced by one.
or scavenge ammunition for it with Civic Armory
Summons, she may do so for one mote. Metropolis: In cities, any excess points of penalty
negation beyond the applicable penalties on the attack
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can confer an ad- roll are converted to bonus dice.
ditional tag on the weapon based on the form, function,
or composition of the structure she drew it from.

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Runaway Cart Swiftness Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Perilous, Uniform

Cost: 4m; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1 Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive Prerequisite Charms: Overwhelming Hustle Strike
Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis
Duration: Instant Hapless bystanders startle and turn to look as the
Prerequisite Charms: None Architect attacks, but she moves faster than their eyes
can follow.
Her instinct for danger honed by city living, the Architect
acts on adrenaline and reflex to cut down attackers. To use this Charm, the Architect must act before all
enemies in a round. She makes a withering or decisive
This Charm must be used at the start of the round. The attack, which is automatically a surprise attack (Exalted,
Architect adds (higher of Essence or 3) to her Initiative p. 203). If she used Runaway Cart Swiftness at the start of
to determine when she acts. If she takes her turn before the round, she adds an automatic success on the attack roll.
any enemy acts in the round, she gains one Initiative.
Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by landing a deci-
Metropolis: In cities, the bonus to the Architect’s sive attack that resets the Architect’s Initiative.
effective Initiative increases to (Essence + Dexterity)
and the Initiative awarded for going before all enemies Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation
increase to (Essence/2, rounded up). Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm.

Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation Crack-in-the-Wall Precision

Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm. Cost: 6m; Mins: Dexterity 4, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Overwhelming Hustle Strike Keywords: Dual, Metropolis
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Dexterity 4, Essence 1 Duration: Instant
Type: Simple Prerequisite Charms: Hammer Strikes Nail
Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis, Withering-
only A wall is only as strong as its weakest brick, and the
Duration: Instant Architect is unerring as she strikes it.
Prerequisite Charms: Runaway Cart Swiftness
The Architect can use this Charm after an attack roll,
The Architect strikes with the speed of a cutpurse’s nim- ignoring (1 + extra successes, maximum 5) points of
ble fingers or a rat’s excited scurry, overwhelming foes armored soak or Hardness.
with her swift barrage.
Metropolis: In cities, any excess points left over
The Architect makes two withering attacks against a after reducing armored soak or Hardness to zero are
single enemy. She only gains Initiative from the attack converted to dice of decisive damage or post-soak
that deals the highest damage, maximum (Essence + withering damage.
Wits). If she’s dual wielding two identical weapons,
this increases to (Essence + Wits + 1). Pugnacious Street Tough Reflex
Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 4, Essence 2
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect need only pay the Type: Reflexive
cost of non-Excellency Charms once to apply their Keywords: Decisive-only, Keystone (Wits)
effects to both attacks. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Discreet Killing Speed
Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by crashing an
enemy and then landing a decisive attack against him The Architect instinctively senses the perfect moment to
on or before her next turn. strike and seizes it with unmatched speed.

Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation If the Architect wins Join Battle, she may reflexively
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm. make a decisive attack, readying a weapon to do so if
necessary. She can use Discreet Killing Speed reflex-
Discreet Killing Speed ively to enhance the attack.
Cost: 2m, 2i; Mins: Dexterity 4, Essence 1
Type: Simple

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If the Architect acts before all enemies in a round while Defense of the Hearth
benefiting from Runaway Cart Swiftness and crashes Cost: 2m, 1i; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 1
an enemy, she can use this Charm to attack him. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous, Uniform
Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation Duration: Instant
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm. Prerequisite Charms: Steadfast Sentry Attitude
Overeager Killer Haste The Architect permits no imperfection in her guard, like
Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Dexterity 4, Essence 2 a draftsman correcting flaws in a blueprint.
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-only The Architect negates one point of penalty to her
Duration: Instant Defense. This increases if she benefits from cover, ne-
Prerequisite Charms: Pugnacious Street Tough gating two points for light cover, three points for heavy
Reflex cover, or four points for full cover.

The Architect is a frenetic blur of violence, distilling Metropolis: In cities, the Architect negates an addi-
every act of aggression a city might see in a day into a tional point of penalty.
split-second of absolute speed.
Guardian of the Polis
The Architect makes up to (Essence, maximum 5) Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 1
decisive attacks against one or more enemies. She Type: Reflexive
doesn’t need to use the same Ability for all attacks and Keywords: Metropolis, Uniform
may reflexively change weapons between attacks. Her Duration: Instant
Initiative is divided evenly among all attacks, rounded Prerequisite Charms: Defense of the Hearth
up, and doesn’t reset until the final attack is completed,
assuming at least one hit. The Architect offers shelter to allies and innocents, call-
ing on the city to defend them.
If the Architect acts before all enemies in a round while
benefiting from Runaway Cart Swiftness, she can make The Architect provides the benefits of a defend other
(Essence + 1) attacks instead. action against a single attack to an ally within close
range. That ally can reflexively roll to take cover if his
Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by landing a with- surroundings permit.
ering attack that leaves her with an Initiative higher
than those of all enemies. Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can use this Charm to
protect allies within short range, causing the city’s struc-
Dexterity (Defense) tures to interpose themselves between allies and attacks.

Steadfast Sentry Attitude Unhesitating Retribution Manner

Cost: 2i; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1 Cost: 4m; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous, Uniform Keywords: Counterattack, Decisive-only, Metropolis
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Prerequisite Charms: Runaway Cart Swiftness,
Steadfast Sentry Attitude
The Architect fends off her enemy’s blows as if she were
a seasoned city dweller regarding an errant pigeon with There’s little forgiveness to be found in the city, and less
jaded disinterest. to stay the Architect’s hand from vengeance.

The Architect adds +1 Defense and can defend against The Architect can use this Charm when an enemy with
attack rolls with successes equal to her Defense. lower Initiative attacks her. If he misses, she makes a
decisive counterattack.
Metropolis: In cities, this Charm loses the Perilous
keyword and the Architect can spend herself into neg- Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds (higher of
ative Initiative using it. Essence or 3) to her effective Initiative to determine if
she can make a counterattack.

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Baffling Detour Defense Wayward Debris Whirlwind

Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 4, Essence 1 Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-only, Metropolis Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Steadfast Sentry Attitude Prerequisite Charms: Steadfast Sentry Attitude,
Under-the-Eaves Refuge
The Architect’s quick footwork and lightning reflexes
leave her enemies as disoriented as a rustic bumpkin Calling upon the city’s fury, the Architect kicks up a
caught in city traffic. whirlwind heavy with the detritus of the streets.

After a decisive attack misses her, the Architect can The Architect can use take cover actions to drag dust,
use this Charm to make her attacker lose one Initiative. trash, and various miscellany into this whirlwind,
providing light cover. If her surroundings allow — for
Metropolis: The Architect gains one Initiative. example, if she’s at a construction site with numerous
loose bricks to drag into the vortex — this becomes
Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by taking a full heavy cover. While she has cover from this Charm,
defense or succeeding on a take cover action. rush and disengage rolls against her suffer a −1 penalty.
Under-the-Eaves Refuge Metropolis: In cities, while the Architect has cover,
Cost: 2m; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1 she rolls a single die of decisive damage against all
Type: Supplemental enemies within close range at the start of each of her
Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis turns. Any Hardness negates this damage.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Rat Strikes Snake
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Dexterity 5, Essence 3
The Architect finds safety in the city’s nooks and crannies, Type: Reflexive
weaving between columns or fitting herself into tight spaces. Keywords: Clash, Decisive-only
Duration: Instant
The Architect doubles 9s on a take cover action. If she Prerequisite Charms: Overwhelming Hustle Strike,
flurries it with another action, the flurry penalty on both Unhesitating Retribution Manner
actions is lowered by one and her Defense isn’t penalized.
The Architect moves to meet violence with violence,
Metropolis: In cities, successfully taking cover grants striking with the speed of everything that moves through
one Initiative. the city’s streets.
Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation The Architect clashes an attack against her with a de-
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm. cisive attack, adding (Essence/2, round up) successes
on her attack roll. This counts as her attack for the
Balustrade Runner Stride
round.
Cost: 2m, 3i; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Metropolis: In cities, if the Architect clashes an en-
Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous, Uniform emy with lower Initiative, this doesn’t count as her
Duration: Instant attack for the round.
Prerequisite Charms: Under-the-Eaves Refuge

The Architect nimbly maneuvers through the city to Dexterity (Mobility)

evade her foes.
House Spider’s Secret
The Architect can use this Charm when she defends Cost: 1m; Mins: Dexterity 1, Essence 1
against an attack that misses her Defense by at least Type: Reflexive
two successes, letting her move one range band hori- Keywords: Metropolis
zontally or reflexively roll to take cover. Duration: Until next turn
Prerequisite Charms: None
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can do both.

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The city knows the Architect, bearing her up with its own Duration: Until next turn
strength. Prerequisite Charms: Every Road a Shortcut, House
Spider’s Secret
The Architect doubles 9s on rolls to maintain her
balance and can stand or run on artificial surfaces too The Architect knows the city’s every nook and cranny,
narrow or weak to support her normally. seeking handholds and footholds by reflex as she scales
great towers or crumbling tenements.
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect automatically
succeeds on all balance rolls, and enjoys this Charm’s As long as the Architect maintains constant movement,
second effect while on natural surfaces, whether a she can run up walls and other artificial vertical sur-
dead branch or the cobwebs between an abandoned faces, even upside-down along a ceiling. However, she
tenement’s rafters. cannot disengage or withdraw with this movement. If
she ends her movement somewhere she couldn’t nor-
Danger-Evading Causeway mally stand and then fails to renew this Charm on her
Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1 next turn, she falls and suffers damage normally.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Keystone (Wits) Metropolis: In cities, this Charm is compatible with
Duration: Instant disengage and withdraw actions.
Prerequisite Charms: None
Crowd-Avoiding Grace
Even in the most perilous streets, the city offers the be- Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 2
leaguered Architect an avenue for escape. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Metropolis
The Architect adds (Athletics, Stealth, or Survival) Duration: Instant
dice on a disengage or withdraw roll. A successful Prerequisite Charms: Every Road a Shortcut, Under-
roll grants one Initiative, or two if she’s successfully the-Eaves Refuge
defended against a nontrivial enemy’s attack since her
last turn. The Architect maneuvers over rooftops, up walls, and
through narrow alleyways with the nimble grace of a
Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation squirrel or a street urchin.
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm.
The Architect rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on a
Every Road a Shortcut rush, disengage, or withdraw roll, or any roll required
Cost: 2m; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1 to climb or swim. If she stunts with a description of
Type: Supplemental how she uses or benefits from an artificial structure, she
Keywords: Metropolis treats it as exceptional equipment (Exalted, p. 580).
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Metropolis: In cities, the Architect rerolls 5s until
they cease to appear as well.
At home amid the wayward streets of labyrinthine cities,
the Architect outpaces her rivals with a city-dweller’s Pave the Way
speed and cunning. Cost: 5m; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
The Architect adds a non-Charm success on a roll for a Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Shaping (Terrain)
movement action with any Attribute. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Crowd-Avoiding Grace
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect ignores the penal-
ty from non-magical difficult terrain (Exalted, p. 199), Where the Architect walks, the road follows.
though she must still use two movement actions to
cross a single band of difficult terrain. When the Architect moves through a range band
with a movement action, she permanently transforms
Ascending Causeway Stride the ground beneath her feet to flagstones, bricks,
Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 1 cobblestones, gravel road, or the like. This can negate
Type: Reflexive some difficult terrain, although it won’t affect terrain
Keywords: Metropolis that results from obstructions or other factors a road

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wouldn’t mitigate: it would help crossing over uneven Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation
ground or iced-over terrain, but not in moving through Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm, with
overgrown brambles or a tightly packed alehouse. Only Gewgaw-and-Bauble Arsenal as its prerequisite.
solid surfaces can be affected.
Singularity of Doors
Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation Cost: —; Mins: Dexterity 5, Essence 4
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm, with First-in- Type: Permanent
Line Celerity and Footbridge-and-Causeway Journey Keywords: Keystone (Wits)
as its prerequisites. Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Portal to Portal
Road-Shepherding Sojourn
Cost: —(+5m, 1wp); Mins: Dexterity 5, Essence 3 No door in the city is beyond the Architect’s divine access.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis When the Architect uses Portal to Portal in a city, she
Duration: Permanent can travel to any doorway or similar opening in that
Prerequisite Charms: Pave the Way city that she’s been to before.

The Architect forges trade routes and spreads infrastruc- Reset: Once per story, unless reset by a legendary so-
ture, expanding the city’s boundaries as she journeys cial goal that benefits a city.
onward.
Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation
The Architect may pay a five-mote, one-Willpower sur- Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm.
charge to extend Pave the Way’s duration to one day. The
roads left by extended travel with Pave the Way are per- The Key to Anywhere
manent fixtures, though wide enough only for one person. Cost: —(+15m, 2wp); Mins: Dexterity 5, Essence 5
Type: Permanent
Metropolis: While traveling within or toward a city, Keywords: Keystone (Wits)
the Architect can maintain a speed of (Essence x10) Duration: Permanent
miles per hour over open terrain. Prerequisite Charms: Singularity of Doors

Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation All cities welcome the stewardship of Wun Ja’s Chosen,
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm. opening their secret gates to the Architect.

Portal to Portal When the Architect uses Singularity of Doors, she may pay
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Dexterity 5, Essence 3 a fifteen-mote, two-Willpower surcharge to travel to any
Type: Simple city within the same realm of existence, appearing from a
Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis door or other portal near the city’s most frequently used
Duration: Instant entrance. She can use this Charm to make a “return trip”
Prerequisite Charms: Crowd-Avoiding Grace from a previous use without counting towards Singularity
of Doors’ once-per-story limitation. If she uses it to travel
The city opens its doors to the Architect, revealing im- to a city based on credible information of a city-wide threat,
possible passageways. it likewise doesn’t count against the limit.

The Architect steps through a door, window, or similar Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation
portal, and emerges from another such opening within Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm.
medium range. This counts as her movement action for
the round. She can’t travel through locked or barred Dexterity (Subterfuge)
portals unless she first bypasses that obstruction.
Thief-in-the-Night Understanding
A second purchase of this Charm lets the Architect
Cost: 1m; Mins: Dexterity 2, Essence 1
bring up to (Essence x2) characters with her through
Type: Supplemental
the doorway.
Keywords: Metropolis
Metropolis: In cities, this Charm’s range extends to long. Duration: Instant
Its Willpower cost is waived when used at short range. Prerequisite Charms: None

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The Architect has the reflexes and instincts of a master Metropolis: In cities, if the Architect’s Stealth roll
criminal. beats all opposing rolls, this Charm’s cost is refunded.

The Architect rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on Every Door Opened
a Stealth roll, or a Larceny roll to pick locks, steal, or Cost: 5m; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 1
perform sleight of hand Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Keystone (Manipulation), Metropolis,
Metropolis: In cities, characters who don’t reside in Mute
that city suffer a −1 penalty on the opposed roll, easily Duration: Instant
taken in by the Architect’s wiles. Prerequisite Charms: None
Back Alley Cutthroat Stance The Architect is invested with spiritual authority to
Cost: 1i per point of penalty; Mins: Dexterity 2, go wherever she must, finding every door and gateway
Essence 1 unlocked to her hand.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous A mundane lock that bars the Architect’s entry or pas-
Duration: Instant sage through a door, window, or similar portal unlocks
Prerequisite Charms: Thief-in-the-Night itself. Against magical locks, she rolls (Dexterity +
Understanding Larceny) to open them instantly and without needing
tools, rerolling 6s until they cease to appear.
The Architect is experienced in dealing out death unseen.
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can use this as a
The Architect reduces the penalty she suffers for using Simple Charm to extend its remit beyond inanimate
Stealth in combat, paying one Initiative per point of obstacles: for one scene, characters who would nor-
penalty negated. mally prevent her from entering a location will let her
pass as though they were expecting her, unless this

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opposes an Intimacy or they have been specifically + [Larceny, Stealth, or War]), rerolling 6s until they
warned about letting her in. cease to appear. Any extra successes on her roll are
added as bonus dice on her Join Battle roll and those
Keystone: An Architect with Manipulation as a of all allied battle groups in that combat. She can’t use
Foundation Attribute may learn this as a Manipulation this Charm if she commands a Size 4+ battle group.
Charm.
Metropolis: While fighting in or in defense of a city,
Gutter-Lurking Cunning the Architect rerolls 5s until they cease to appear as
Cost: 3m; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 2 well.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Mute Keystone: An Architect with Manipulation as a
Duration: Instant Foundation Attribute may learn this as a Manipulation
Prerequisite Charms: Thief-in-the-Night Charm, with Cunning Rat Enterprise as its prerequisite.
Understanding, Under-the-Eaves Refuge
Wall-Diving Foray
The Architect finds refuge in blind spots and hidey-holes, Cost: 15m, 1wp; Mins: Dexterity 5, Essence 3
evading and outwitting her foes. Type: Simple
Keywords: None
The Architect rolls (Dexterity + [Dodge or Stealth]) Duration: One scene
to enter concealment. If there’s something for her to Prerequisite Charms: Crowd-Avoiding Grace, Every
take cover behind, this also counts as a roll to do so. Door Opened
1s on opposing rolls subtract successes, maximum
(Architect’s Essence). The Architect walks through walls and lurks in crawl-
spaces, moving through architecture as if it were air.
Metropolis: In cities, if the Architect is rolling to take
cover behind heavy or full cover, 2s on opposing rolls The Architect can enter and move through a struc-
subtract successes as well. ture’s architecture. While within it, she has full cover
against attacks unless an enemy uses a feat of strength,
Knife-in-the-Back Finesse gambit, or appropriate stunt to breach the structure.
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Dexterity 3, Essence 2 If this Charm ends while she’s within the structure,
Type: Supplemental she’s forced out where she entered it, suffering a level
Keywords: Dual of unpreventable bashing damage.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Back Alley Cutthroat Stance Reset: Once per day.

The Architect strikes from the cities’ shadows. Intelligence (Knowledge)

The Architect adds (Essence, maximum 5) dice of The City Remembers
post-soak withering damage or decisive damage on
Cost: 4m; Mins: Intelligence 1, Essence 1
an unexpected attack. If she misses, she can reflexively
Type: Supplemental
roll to reestablish Stealth, doubling the penalty for
Keywords: Metropolis
Stealth in combat.
Duration: Instant
Murder on a Misty Road Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Dexterity 4, Essence 2 The city has a thousand stories, and the Architect knows
Type: Supplemental them all.
Keywords: Keystone (Manipulation), Metropolis
Duration: Instant The Architect doubles 9s on a roll to introduce or
Prerequisite Charms: Knife-in-the-Back Finesse challenge a fact and can draw on her home city as a
Lore background. This encompasses information
The Architect and her band of guttersnipes move unseen about topics and subjects that are prominent in the
through the city streets to catch her enemy unawares. city, but not every piece of information to be found in
it. An Architect whose home city has a significant tra-
The Architect rolls a Strategic Maneuver to enact an
dition of metalworking or a prominent metalworking
Ambush stratagem with ([Dexterity or Manipulation]

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industry could introduce facts relating to metallurgy • Dexterity: Archery, Dodge, Larceny, Stealth,
and related topics, but one whose home city just has a Thrown
blacksmith or two in it wouldn’t.
• Intelligence: Craft, Linguistics, Lore, Medicine,
Metropolis: In the Architect’s home city, she doubles Occult
8s instead if she uses that city as her Lore background.
• Manipulation: Bureaucracy, Larceny, Presence,
Citywise Factotum Education Socialize, Stealth
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple • Perception: Awareness, Investigation, Medicine,
Keywords: Metropolis Occult, Survival
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: The City Remembers • Stamina: Athletics, Craft, Integrity, Resistance,
Survival
The Architect’s mind is a storehouse of wisdom gleaned
from the city: schoolhouse lessons, tricks of the local • Strength: Athletics, Brawl, Martial Arts, Melee,
trades, and more. War

After (10 – Intelligence) hours studying, researching, • Wits: Awareness, Integrity, Ride, Sail, Survival
or listening to local gossip, the Architect gains a Lore
As part of this training, the Architect’s student gains
specialty in a topic related to her home city, per this
a Minor Tie toward her home city, with an emotional
Charm’s prerequisite. If she knows Peripatetic Sage’s
context chosen by the Architect.
Footsteps, she can use this Charm to gain a Lore spe-
cialty from any city she’s in. Metropolis: In urban schools, libraries, archives, and other
places of learning, this Charm’s Willpower cost is waived.
Once per story, if the Architect spends experience
points to permanently learn a specialty acquired Expert-Procuring Contacts
through this Charm, the cost is discounted to one ex-
Cost: 15m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 1
perience point.
Type: Simple
Metropolis: In the Architect’s home city, this Charm’s Keywords: Keystone (Charisma), Metropolis
Willpower cost is waived. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: The City Remembers
Citizen-Shaping Curriculum
The Architect’s greatest knowledge is in knowing where
Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 1
to turn when something falls beyond her expertise.
Type: Simple
Keywords: Metropolis The Architect rolls ([Charisma or Intelligence] + [Larceny,
Duration: Instant Lore, Socialize]) to introduce the fact that there’s a nearby
Prerequisite Charms: Citywise Factotum Education expert on a Lore background she doesn’t possess with a
positive Minor Tie toward her. If that character success-
The Architect’s teachings mold callow youths and ap-
fully introduces a fact that meaningfully advances the
prentices into knowledgeable experts.
story, the Architect gains that Lore background.
Under the Architect’s training, a single student can in-
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect doubles 9s on rolls
cur experience debt (p. XX) to gain up to one dot in any
to introduce an expert in that city.
one of her Foundation Attributes and up to (Architect’s
Essence) in dots or specialties in certain Abilities, de- Reset: Once per story, unless reset by succeeding on
pending on her Foundations: a difficulty 7+ introduce fact roll that meaningfully
advances the story.
• Appearance: Integrity, Larceny, Performance,
Presence, Stealth Keystone: An Architect with Charisma as a Foundation
Attribute may learn this as a Charisma Charm, with
• Charisma: Bureaucracy, Linguistics, Performance,
Eight Directions Diplomacy as its prerequisite.
Presence, War

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Midnight Oil Endeavor The Architect molds the city into a trap, stranding her
Cost: 4m; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 1 foes in narrow streets and unfamiliar alleys.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Keystone (Stamina), Mute The Architect rolls (Intelligence + Craft) against the
Duration: Instant Evasion of a character within long range. Success trans-
Prerequisite Charms: The City Remembers forms the ground beneath his feet to difficult terrain.
This typically takes the form of obstacles and obstruc-
The Architect teeters on the brink of burnout, making tions germane to the local area — an alleyway narrow-
great intellectual accomplishments on sleepless nights, ing into a choke point, a pile of construction materials
endless pots of coffee, and harsh tobacco smoke. repositioning itself in an enemy’s way, etc. — although
the Architect can use other options at the Storyteller’s
The Architect negates penalties on a non-extended discretion, like swapping a well-paved road for the bro-
Intelligence action from fatigue, deprivation, alcohol, ken-down cobbles of a nearby boulevard.
other drugs, or poison, and adds up to (higher of
Essence or 3) points of penalty as non-Charm dice. If Metropolis: In cities, a successful roll also causes the
the action takes at least (8 – penalties negated by this Architect’s target to lose (her Essence) Initiative.
Charm) hours, she gains the benefits of a full night’s
sleep. She cans still only gain this benefit once per day. Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm, with Where
Keystone: An Architect with Stamina as a Foundation All Roads Lead as its prerequisite.
Attribute may learn this as a Stamina Charm, with
Stolen Moments Catnap as its prerequisite. Alleyway Chirurgeon Expertise
Cost: 3m; Mins: Intelligence 2, Essence 1
Territory-Mapping Insight Type: Supplemental
Cost: —; Mins: Intelligence 1, Essence 1 Keywords: Metropolis
Type: Permanent Duration: Instant
Keywords: Keystone (Perception, Wits), Metropolis Prerequisite Charms: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None The structure and composition of the body is simply an-
other kind of architecture, one that the Exigent can mend
The Architect knows the city as she knows her own name. and repair as if restoring a run-down tenement.

The Architect adds (higher of Essence or 3) dice on The Architect rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on a
rolls to notice, examine, or understand features of an roll to treat poison, disease, or similar ailments. If she
artificial structures or to introduce or challenge a fact stunts her roll in a way that builds off a fact she’s previ-
about them: noticing a hidden path, deducing what ously introduced about a city, she adds (Lore) dice and
buildings a subterranean tunnel runs below, recalling also rerolls 5s until they cease to appear.
the names of every street in the city, or revealing that
a particular neighborhood is a hotbed for the opium Metropolis: If the Architect is in the city she intro-
trade, and so on. She doesn’t need a Lore background duced the fact about, the added dice are non-Charm.
to introduce such facts.
Miasma-Dispelling Purity
Metropolis: In cities, the bonus is non-Charm. Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keystone: An Architect with Perception or Wits as a Keywords: Metropolis, Stackable
Foundation Attribute may learn this as a Perception Duration: (Essence + Intelligence) days
Charm. Prerequisite Charms: Alleyway Chirurgeon
Expertise
Uncertain Avenue Distraction
Cost: 5m; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 1 The Architect’s purifying Essence scours away the city’s
Type: Simple grime and muck.
Keywords: Metropolis, Keystone (Wits)
Duration: Instant The Architect cleanses the area out to medium range
Prerequisite Charms: Territory-Mapping Insight from her location, sanitizing and sterilizing it with
expert methods. Resistance rolls against poison and

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disease and Medicine rolls in the affected area add Shifting Streets Approach
(Architect’s Essence) non-Charm dice, and characters Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 2
in it aren’t susceptible to infected wounds. Type: Simple
Keywords: Keystone (Wits)
The Architect can stack this Charm to create up to Duration: Instant
(Essence) sterile zones. Prerequisite Charms: Uncertain Avenue Distraction,
Peripatetic Sage’s Footsteps
Metropolis: In urban hospitals, physician’s practices,
or other places of healing and medicine, this Charm’s Shops and row houses scrabble to clear out of the
duration is Indefinite and it affects an area out to long Architect’s path, while walls and bridges twist away
range. from her foes’ feet.
Peripatetic Sage’s Footsteps The Architect can reposition an artificial structure that
Cost: —; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 2 fills no more than (Essence/2, rounded up) range bands
Type: Permanent or a similarly sized segment of a larger structure to a
Keywords: None nearby location, clearing a path or blocking an existing
Duration: Permanent one. Moving a segment can include shifting architectural
Prerequisite Charms: The City Remembers features, like repositioning a door on a wall. A tenement
shifts on its foundations to block off a road; bricks shift
Every city has its wisdom to offer; the Architect has and realign themselves as a patio moves from one side
learned to listen. of a manor to another; a mine shaft twists to circumvent
a blockage. There aren’t fixed limits to how fast or far it
While in a city, the Architect can use The City moves, but its motion is as unobtrusive and has as little
Remembers to use it as a Lore background. She doesn’t effect on its surroundings as possible while still moving
enjoy the Metropolis benefit of The City Remembers however fast and far is necessary to clear the Architect’s
unless she is in a repository of knowledge: a library, a way or create a blockade.
records office, a museum, etc.
If the Architect has an applicable Craft, she receives
If the Architect has empowered an Intimacy related to craft points for meeting objectives with this Charm as
a city with Civic Spirit Dedication (p. XX), she use it though she’d completed a major project (Exalted, p.
for The City Remembers even while she isn’t there. 240).
Museum-Mind Atelier Reset: Once per day. At Essence 4, this becomes once
Cost: 2m; Mins: Intelligence 4, Essence 2 per scene.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Metropolis Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation
Duration: Instant Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm with City-
Prerequisite Charms: Citywise Factotum Education, Sworn Covenant and Uncertain Avenue Distraction as
Peripatetic Sage’s Footsteps its prerequisites.

The Architect’s memory palace stretches on block after Neighborhood Defense Technique
block, honing her recollection beyond all limits. Cost: 3m, 3i; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Reliving her memory of a single scene’s worth of Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis
events, the Architect rerolls 6s until they cease to Duration: Instant
appear on a roll to introduce or challenge a relevant Prerequisite Charms: Shifting Streets Approach
fact, or on any mental Attribute roll that memory is
germane to. Alternatively, she can reflexively add +1 The city becomes a weapon against the Architect’s foes,
non-Charm Resolve against an effect that would alter dropping bricks down from nearby buildings, rolling
her memories or create false memories. barrels down streets, or sending statues lunging at them.
Metropolis: In an urban location where the recalled The Architect creates a one-time environmental hazard
memory occurred, the Architect rerolls 5s until they centered at a point in or on an artificial structure with-
cease to appear or increases the Resolve bonus to +2. in medium range. It extends out to short range from
that point and has difficulty 4 and Damage (Essence),

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dealing bashing or lethal as appropriate to the form and While the Architect puts on such a performance, spirits
function of the structure it was created from. or fae who can observe it suffer −1 Resolve. If a positive
Tie toward a mortal or group penalizes their Resolve,
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can commit this that penalty is increased by one. While using this Charm,
Charm’s mote cost and pay an additional Willpower to the Architect can’t take non-reflexive actions.
make the hazard last one scene.
Keystone: An Architect with Charisma as a Foundation
Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation Attribute may learn this as a Charisma Charm.
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm.
Keeper of the Necropolis
Door-Denying Laughter Cost: 5m; Mins: Intelligence 2, Essence 1
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
Type: Simple Keywords: Keystone (Perception), Metropolis
Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis, Shaping Duration: One scene
(Terrain) Prerequisite Charms: None
Duration: (1 + extra successes) days
Prerequisite Charms: Shifting Streets Approach The Architect stands at the graveyard’s threshold, seek-
ing the wisdom of the city’s ghostly dead while turning
Remove the door and any house may become a prison. back threats to the living.

While within an artificial structure, the Architect rolls The Architect gains the following benefits:
(Intelligence + [Craft, Larceny, or Occult]) against
the Resolve of an enemy within medium range. In • She draws the notice of the dead. The undead
combat, this is a gambit, with a difficulty of (target’s are treated as having a Minor Tie of curiosity to-
Willpower/2, rounded up). If she succeeds, that char- ward her. If the Architect provided that charac-
acter can’t leave the structure for (1 + Intelligence roll ter’s corpse with a proper burial or funereal rite,
extra successes) days. If he would exit the structure, this Tie is instead treated as one of gratitude.
he instead returns to the point where he entered it.
This only affects physical travel — walking out a door, • If she buries or performs funeral rites for a mor-
jumping off a roof, or smashing down a wall to walk out tal, his lower soul is appeased and won’t linger
would all be affected, but not teleportation or the like. as a hungry ghost.

A character motivated to leave by a Major or Defining • She adds an automatic success on rolls to in-
Intimacy can spend one Willpower to roll (Wits + troduce or challenge a fact about the undead,
[Integrity, Larceny, or Survival]) against the Architect’s shadowlands, funereal practices, statistics about
Intelligence roll successes to break free. If he fails, he death, or cultural and philosophical understand-
can’t try again for an hour. ings of death.

Metropolis: In cities, the Architect doubles 9s on the roll. • She adds an automatic success on influence
rolls, read intentions rolls, and profile character
Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation rolls against the undead.
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm.
Metropolis: In urban graveyards, mausoleums, funer-
Intelligence (Mysticism) al homes, or other places where the dead are prepared
and put to rest, this Charm’s cost is waived.
God-Pleasing Performance
Keystone: An Architect with Perception as a Foundation
Cost: 5m; Mins: Intelligence 2, Essence 1 Attribute may learn this as a Perception Charm.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Keystone (Charisma) Barring the Spirit Door
Duration: One performance Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Simple
Keywords: Metropolis, Stackable
The Architect recites hymns, performs sacred dances, or
Duration: One scene
swings about a censer, filling the city with pleasing songs
Prerequisite Charms: None
and scents to appease its supernatural denizens.

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Upstart gods who disrespect the city’s Chosen may find Doors of the City Unseen
themselves on the wrong side of their own temple’s doors. Cost: 3m; Mins: Intelligence 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
The Architect touches a door, window, or other open- Keywords: Decisive-only
ing and renders it impassable to dematerialized beings. Duration: Instant
They can’t circumvent this by moving through the wall Prerequisite Charms: Barring the Spirit Door,
next to the sealed door; the only way in is to material- Trinket Shrine Enticement
ize and open the door or to find another entrance.
Mystical gateways open and close at the Architect’s
The Architect can stack multiple uses of this Charm to command.
ward up to (Essence x2) portals.
The Architect rolls a gambit with (Intelligence + Occult)
Metropolis: In cities, this Charm’s duration becomes against the Resolve of a spirit within short range to force
one day. If the Architect uses it multiple times in the it to either materialize or dematerialize. The gambit’s dif-
same scene, she waives the Willpower cost of all uses ficulty is (spirit’s Essence + 2). Success forces it to either
past the first. materialize or dematerialize at no cost. The Architect
may prevent the spirit from reversing this change for
Trinket Shrine Enticement (Architect’s Essence) rounds. A spirit whose Essence
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 2 exceeds the Architect’s can pay one Willpower to resist.
Type: Simple
Keywords: Keystone (Charisma), Metropolis If the Architect uses this Charm on an allied spirit, no
Duration: (Charisma + Intelligence) days attack roll is necessary. Elementals and other spirits
Prerequisite Charms: God-Pleasing Performance incapable of dematerializing can’t be dematerialized
with this gambit
Like a market vendor attracting customers to her stall,
the Architect draws the eyes of the gods to a seat of mor- Tutelary Divinity Embodiment
tal worship. Cost: —; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 3
Type: Permanent
To use this Charm, the Architect must either construct Keywords: Keystone (Charisma)
a shrine, altar, or similar feature as a major project Duration: Permanent
with an appropriate Craft or spend a scene tending to Prerequisite Charms: Doors of the City Unseen
an existing shrine. Under her care, it becomes a beacon
for spirits and fae: The Architect may don the mantle of the city’s spirits,
calling forth their miracles.
• Spirits and fae within (Essence x5) miles sense
the shrine’s presence and add (Architect’s The Architect may learn Eclipse Charms from the gods
Essence) automatic successes on Awareness, of cities and features closely intertwined with cities,
Investigation, and Survival rolls to find or nav- such as roads, walls, and markets, or from any other
igate to it. supernatural being whose nature and Essence is tied to
a city or a closely related concept. Doing so costs eight
• Spirits and fae who can see the shrine are treat- experience points and requires that she train with that
ed as having a Minor Tie of gratitude toward any character. She waives the experience cost of the first
who offer them worship. Charm she learns this way.
• The shrine soothes spirits and fae who can see it; Keystone: An Architect with Charisma as a Foundation
they can’t initiative hostilities unless they spend Attribute may learn this as a Charisma Charm, with
one Willpower or have Essence higher than the Heart-Swaying Architecture and Trinket Shrine
Architect’s. Enticement as prerequisites.
Metropolis: In urban temples, shrines, and other plac-
es of worship or spiritual experiences, this Charm’s Intelligence (Crafting)
duration becomes Indefinite.
Brick-and-Mortar Sage
Keystone: An Architect with Charisma as a Foundation Cost: —; Mins: Intelligence 1, Essence 1
Attribute may learn this as a Charisma Charm. Type: Permanent

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Keywords: Metropolis The Architect undertakes a basic or major project,

Duration: Permanent dividing the time needed to complete it by (lowest of
Prerequisite Charms: None Dexterity, Intelligence, or Perception), minimum one
minute, and ignores up to (Essence) points of penalty
The Architect intuitively understands the principles by from the poor quality of any tools or materials.
which buildings and cities are wrought.
Metropolis: In urban workshops, smithies, and
Once per scene, the Architect gains two silver points other places of professional crafting, the time needed
upon satisfying one of the following criteria: is divided by ([lowest of Dexterity, Intelligence, or
Perception] + 1).
• Completing a Craft project that benefits a city or
a group within a city. Seasoned Tinker Ingenuity
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 4, Essence 1
• Introducing or challenging a fact about archi- Type: Supplemental
tecture, engineering, urban planning, or a city. Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant
• Succeeding on a feat of demolition to damage or
Prerequisite Charms: Brick-and-Mortar Sage,
destroy an artificial structure.
Workman Blames No Tool
• Attuning to a demesne or manse or socketing a
The Architect finds opportunity in failure, understand-
hearthstone for the first time.
ing and transcending the flaws of her design.
Metropolis: In cities, this Charm instead grants (high-
The Architect rerolls 6s until they cease to appear on
er of Essence or 3) silver points.
a Craft roll. Each rerolled die that becomes a success
Fortification-Augmenting Tactic awards her a silver point, or a gold point if it’s a 10.
Cost: 7m; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 1 Metropolis: In urban workshops, smithies, and oth-
Type: Simple er places of professional crafting, the Architect also
Keywords: Metropolis rerolls 5s until they cease to appear, awarding craft
Duration: One scene points as above.
Prerequisite Charms: Brick-and-Mortar Sage
Towering Achievement Motivation
The Architect lends her strength to the city, fortifying it
Cost: 4m, 1wp, 1sxp per die; Mins: Intelligence 5,
against threats within and without.
Essence 1
The Architect reinforces a touched object for a scene, Type: Supplemental
adding (Essence/2, rounded up) to the minimum Keywords: Metropolis
Strength necessary to attempt a feat of demolition Duration: Instant
against it and +1 difficulty. Objects so fragile that they Prerequisite Charms: Seasoned Tinker Ingenuity
normally wouldn’t require a roll to destroy instead re-
The Architect’s brilliance spurs her towards greater
quire a feat with minimum Strength 3 and difficulty 1.
feats of construction and design.
Metropolis: In cities, the feat’s minimum Strength
The Architect adds up to (Essence) non-Charm dice
and difficulty both increase by an additional +1.
on a Craft roll. Each silver point spent on this Charm
Workman Blames No Tool also counts toward the silver point cost to complete a
major project; every two silver points spent on it count
Cost: 8m; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 1
as one gold point towards the cost of rolling for a supe-
Type: Simple
rior project (Exalted, pp. 240-241).
Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds non-Charm
Prerequisite Charms: None successes instead.
The Architect’s cunning and ingenuity make up for the Golem-Raising Invocation
shortfalls in her resources, producing masterpieces that
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 2
far outshine the workshops in which they were made.
Type: Simple

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Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis, Stackable

Duration: Indefinite GOLEM
Prerequisite Charms: Brick-and-Mortar Sage
Essence: 1; Willpower: 5; Join Battle: 9 dice
The Architect breathes life into the city’s clay, creating a
powerful guardian. Health Levels: −0x4/−1x2/−2/−4/Incap.

The Architect creates a golem out of clay, stone, metal, Actions: Crafting: 6 dice; Disguise Itself as the
wood, trash, or other substances as a major project Architect: 6 dice; Feats of Strength: 9 dice (may
with a Craft suitable to the chosen material, which attempt Strength 5 feats); Senses: 7 dice; Threat-
requires one hour to complete. en: 6 dice.

The Architect can stack this Charm up to (Essence) Appearance 1, Resolve 4, Guile 4
times to create that many golems.
COMBAT
Metropolis: In cities, the golem adds (Architect’s Attack (Unarmed): 9 dice (Damage 12B/3)
Essence) bonus dice on all actions and +(Architect’s
Essence/2, rounded up) Defense, Guile, and Resolve. Attack (Grapple): 7 dice (9 dice to control)

Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation Combat Movement: 6 dice

Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm, with Hidden
Evasion: 3, Parry: 5
Compartment Ingenuity as its prerequisite.
Soak/Hardness: 10/4
City-Uplifting Masterworks
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 3 INTIMACIES
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Defining Tie: The Architect (Obedience).
Duration: Instant MERITS
Prerequisite Charms: Towering Achievement
Motivation Automaton: Golems are immune to poison,
disease, fatigue, and fear and don’t need to eat,
Every loom, forge, and canvas in the city calls out for the drink, breathe, or sleep.
Architect, awaiting the hand of a true master.
Mechanical Mind: Social influence can’t affect a
The Architect doubles 9s on a Craft roll. She gains one golem’s Major and Defining Intimacies, nor can it
silver point for each 7 and 8 on the roll and one gold raise new Intimacies to Major or Defining.
point for each 9 and 10.

Reset: Once per story, unless reset by spending 10 gold

(Essence) non-Charm dice. Bricks piece themselves
points.
together into walls, trees or wooden buildings shape
Rampart-Rearing Meditation themselves into palisades, and trash and wreckage
accumulate into makeshift barricades. This Charm can
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Intelligence 5, Essence 3
also be used to raise structures comparable to those in-
Type: Simple
volved in a Fortifications stratagem outside of combat.
Keywords: Keystone (Wits)
Duration: Instant If the Architect has an applicable Craft, she receives
Prerequisite Charms: Fortification-Augmenting craft points for meeting objectives with this Charm as
Tactic though she’d completed a major project (Exalted, p.
240).
The Architect raises up mighty fortifications out of noth-
ing, shaping dirt, stone, and wood into a bulwark against Reset: Once per story.
the mightiest siege.
Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation
The Architect makes a Strategic Maneuver roll in Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm, with
combat to enact a Fortifications stratagem, adding Bolthole-and-Cache Method as its prerequisite.

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Special: This Charm can only be purchased if the Exalt

Sorcery has the Architect of the Tower Arcane Merit (p. XX).
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery The spiritual tower of the Architect’s enlightenment
Cost: —; Mins: Intelligence 3, Essence 1 is centered within the city-sigil of her soul, suffusing
Type: Permanent her with power untold like dragon lines empowering a
Keywords: None manse.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Any four Mental Attribute The Architect can use Celestial Circle sorcery. She
Charms learns one shaping ritual and one Celestial Circle spell,
which becomes her control spell. Further Celestial
The Architect has built a tower of enlightenment brick by Circle spells cost 10 experience points each.
brick within her soul, ascending to touch the mysteries of
the Emerald Circle.
Manipulation (Influence)
The Architect can use Terrestrial Circle sorcery. She
learns one shaping ritual (Exalted, p. 466) and one All-Knowing Busybody
Terrestrial Circle spell, which becomes her control Cost: 5m; Mins: Manipulation 2, Essence 1
spell. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mute
Celestial Circle Sorcery Duration: One scene
Cost: —; Mins: Intelligence 4, Essence 3 Prerequisite Charms: None
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None The Architect aligns her Essence with the flow of news
Duration: Permanent and rumor through the city, establishing herself as a
Prerequisite Charms: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, any prince of gossips, yentas, and busybodies.
five Terrestrial Circle spells
The Architect gains the following benefits:

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• She stands out as an eminent gossip. Anyone whose Resolve is beaten perceive her as someone eas-
looking to spread or hear news, rumors, or gos- ily cheated or hustled in games of chance or skill or in
sip will perceive her as the ideal person to share physical contests, which is treated as a Minor Intimacy
stories with, treating this a Minor Tie of fascina- for the scene. If they have another Intimacy that would
tion toward her. support cheating or taking advantage of her, they must
attempt to do so unless they enter a Decision Point and
• If she successfully reads the intentions of a spend one Willpower. The Architect is not perceived
character who’s shared news, rumors, or gossip as the source of this influence.
with her that scene, she can discern whether his
stories are mostly true or mostly false. With a Manipulation 4 repurchase of this Charm, the
Architect can use this Charm for three motes, one
• She ignores one point of penalty from mak- Willpower to cause affected characters to perceive her
ing implausible claims on instill rolls with any as someone they could overcome by physical force or
Attribute to convince people to believe in news, defeat in combat and prompts them to do so if they have
rumors, or gossip she reports. a supporting Intimacy; this otherwise functions as above.

• She reduces Scandal-Dishing Incitement’s cost Crooked Scales Profit

by two motes. Cost: 5m; Mins: Manipulation 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Scandal-Dishing Incitement Keywords: Metropolis
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Manipulation 3, Essence 1 Duration: Instant
Type: Simple Prerequisite Charms: None
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant A master of cheating the unwary, the Architect polishes
Prerequisite Charms: All-Knowing Busybody glass to a diamond sheen, passes off counterfeit coinage
without care, and makes even the most miserable nags
The Architect is a perfect audience for any busybody, seem like proud stallions.
convincing strangers to share their choicest gossip with
her. When the Architect makes a bargain roll to sell a sin-
gle character something that’s defective, counterfeit,
The Architect makes a special (Manipulation + or otherwise less valuable than it appears to be, its
[Presence or Socialize]) roll, doubling 9s, against a Resource value is treated as (Essence/2, rounded up)
single character. Success convinces him to share what- dots higher, up to the Resources value of the genuine
ever piece of information, rumor, story, or the like he article in perfect condition, when determining how
considers his “best” with her — typically the one he great a price the target will pay for it. Her customers
thinks would get the most dramatic reaction from her, may be irate if they later notice the flaws in their pur-
though some characters may have other priorities in chase, but it won’t occur to them to examine the goods
gossiping. He can’t use Intimacies of distrust or sus- in the scene this Charm is used unless they pay one
picion toward strangers, foreigners, or lower social Willpower.
classes to resist in the Decision Point. The Architect is
not perceived as the source of this influence. Metropolis: In urban markets or other places of com-
merce, the Architect doubles 9s.
Enticing Weakness Feint
Cost: 5mp; Mins: Manipulation 2, Essence 1 Lawyer-Devouring Calumny
Type: Simple Cost: 5m; Mins: Manipulation 3, Essence 1
Keywords: None Type: Simple
Duration: Instant Keywords: Mute
Prerequisite Charms: None Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Swindlers and cardsharps meet their match in the
Architect, taken for all they’re worth by a seemingly Even the most experienced of magistrates and legal
hapless mark. savants struggle to unravel the Architect’s pack of lies,
stymied at every turn by bribed witnesses, forged docu-
The Architect makes a special (Manipulation + [Larceny ments, and spoliated evidence.
or Presence]) instill roll, doubling 9s. Characters

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The Architect doubles 9s on rolls to conceal evidence with The Architect moves within the halls of power with the un-
(Manipulation + [Bureaucracy, Larceny, or Socialize]). earned confidence of the ambitious, charming politicians and
community leaders with honeyed words and generous gifts.
With Manipulation 4, Essence 2, a character who
makes an Investigation roll to uncover the hidden When the Architect makes a bargain roll with any
evidence and fails suffers a −3 penalty on subsequent Attribute, targets can’t defend against the influence with
Investigation rolls, Bureaucracy rolls, influence rolls, Intimacies that involve opposition to any crimes, abuses
read intentions rolls, and tracking rolls that would of power, or dereliction of duty that they’d be commit-
meaningfully advance an investigation into the matter ting by accepting the bargain. This includes bolstering
the hidden evidence concerns. This penalty lasts the their Resolve and citing them in Decision Points.
rest of the story or until that character wins a note-
worthy victory over the Architect — typically, but not Metropolis: In urban governmental buildings, admin-
necessarily, in the context of the investigation. istrative bureaus, courts, or other venues for legitimate
political or business dealings, anyone whose Resolve
Practiced Con Artist Patter is penalized by an Intimacy can’t take offense at the
Cost: —; Mins: Manipulation 3, Essence 1 Architect’s offer or form a negative Tie to her because
Type: Supplemental of it unless they pay one Willpower. This is separate
Keywords: Metropolis from the cost of resisting the influence.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Keystone: An Architect with Charisma as a Foundation
Attribute may learn this as a Charisma Charm, with
The more audacious the Architect’s lies, the more com- Call to Action and Eight Directions Diplomacy as its
pelling her delivery. prerequisite.

The Architect rolls an additional non-Charm die for Cunning Rat Enterprise
each 10 on an instill roll to convince others of a lie. If Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Manipulation 4, Essence 2
she suffers a penalty on the roll for making implausible Type: Simple
claims, she gains motes equal to the penalty, which Keywords: Metropolis, Stackable
must be spent to enhance that influence roll. Duration: One project
Prerequisite Charms: Lawyer-Devouring Calumny,
Reset: Once per scene. Practiced Con Artist Patter

Lies-Upon-Lies Approach The Architect sows chaos, leaving behind a wake of em-
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Manipulation 3, Essence 2 bezzled funds, forged records, and endless bureaucratic
Type: Supplemental memoranda.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant After at least one scene spent sabotaging a project or
Prerequisite Charms: Practiced Con Artist Patter bureaucratic task, the Architect rolls (Manipulation +
[Bureaucracy, Larceny, or Socialize]) opposing the highest
The Architect’s lies build on each other, the first decep- appropriate (Attribute + Ability) roll of any involved group
tion laying the foundation for a house of iniquities. member. Success doubles the time needed to complete the
project and imposes a −1 penalty on any non-physical rolls
If the target of the Architect’s bargain, threaten, or made in furtherance of the project. Characters with a per-
persuade roll has a Principle based on his belief in a lie, manent Willpower higher than the Architect’s successes
she doubles 9s. If her roll has multiple targets, all must are immune to this penalty. This Charm can be negated by
have an Intimacy for her to receive this benefit. If that magic such as Bureau-Reforming Kata (Exalted, p. 286).
Intimacy is Defining, the cost to resist increases by one
Willpower. The Architect can stack up to (Essence) uses of this
Charm to sabotage multiple projects.
Greased Palm Dealings
Cost: 4m; Mins: Manipulation 3, Essence 2 Metropolis: When sabotaging a project that takes
Type: Supplemental place entirely in a city, the time necessary to complete
Keywords: Keystone (Charisma), Metropolis, Mute it is multiplied by (Architect’s Essence) and the penal-
Duration: Instant ty rises to −2.
Prerequisite Charms: Lies-Upon-Lies Approach

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Reset: This Charm can’t be used against an organiza- • The Architect adds (Essence) successes on influ-
tion more than once per story, even if it targets projects ence rolls to convince others she’s a member of that
led by different characters within that organization. group or disguise rolls to pass herself off as a mem-
ber (but not to impersonate specific members).
Friend-of-a-Friend Deception
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Manipulation 4, Essence 3 • The Architect adds +2 Guile against any roll that
Type: Supplemental would reveal she isn’t a member of that group.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Metropolis: If the Architect targets an organization
Prerequisite Charms: Greased Palm Dealings that operates entirely within a single city, she doubles
8s on her roll.
The Architect employs leading questions, cold reading,
and a knowledge of common local names to convince her Reset: Once per story.
mark they share a mutual friend.
Manipulation (Guile)
When the Architect makes a persuade roll against a
single character, it’s automatically supported by one Impeccable Swindler’s Confidence
of his positive Ties toward an individual, chosen by Cost: 3m; Mins: Manipulation 2, Essence 1
the Storyteller. If the Architect succeeds, her target Type: Reflexive
believes that she’s a friend of the person he has that Keywords: Mute, Keystone (Wits)
Tie for, gaining a Minor Intimacy reflecting this. The Duration: Instant
Storyteller should choose the Tie that will have the Prerequisite Charms: None
most dramatic, interesting, or entertaining impact on
the game. Assured of her spiritual authority as Chosen of the City,
the Architect is imperturbable.
Reset: Once per story, unless reset by instilling a nar-
ratively relevant character with a positive Tie toward The Architect may substitute her base Guile for her
the Architect and then raising it to Defining intensity. base Resolve or vice versa. If her Guile and Resolve
are equal, opposing rolls with successes equal to those
Password-and-Handshake Insinuation traits still fail.
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Manipulation 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation
Keywords: Metropolis, Mute Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm.
Duration: One story
Prerequisite Charms: Cunning Rat Enterprise Upstanding Citizen Ruse
Cost: 3m; Mins: Manipulation 2, Essence 1
The Architect insinuates herself into the ranks of city Type: Reflexive
government, business concerns, and concerned citizens, Keywords: Mute
needing no formal authority when everyone already Duration: Instant
answers to her. Prerequisite Charms: None

After spending (10 – Essence) days interacting with The Architect is unreadable, seemingly honest and
an organization, the Architect rolls (Manipulation + trustworthy even as she passes off powdered pepper as
[Bureaucracy, Larceny, or Socialize]) against the high- firedust or fleeces marks in a rigged game of dice.
est Resolve among its members. Success grants the
following benefits: The Architect gains +2 Guile. If the opposing roll
would reveal her intent to deceive someone or commit
• Characters assume the Architect is a member of a crime, this increases to +3.
that organization in a position of at least some
small influence or prestige unless they have a Metropolis: In cities, the bonus is non-Charm.
concrete reason to believe otherwise, potentially
affecting which of their Intimacies are relevant As Seen by Others’ Eyes
to influence rolls. Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Manipulation 5, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive

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Keywords: Keystone (Appearance), Metropolis The Architect keeps watch over the city, the intensity of her
Duration: Instant gaze striking fear into the hearts of those who would evade it.
Prerequisite Charms: Upstanding Citizen Ruse
The Architect gains the following benefits:
The Architect feigns boorish manners or plays to precon-
ceptions, easily written off as just another oaf from this • She adds an automatic success on sight-based
or that city. Awareness rolls.

The Architect gains +1 Guile against a read intentions • Her visual range is extended, letting her make
roll. If the opposing character fails, he believes that out fine details clearly out to (Essence x10) yards
he’s succeeded, but what’s revealed to him is a stereo-
typical result for a citizen of the Architect’s home city • She ignores one point of penalty due to darkness
or of the city she’s in. If she’s disguised herself with or visual obstruction.
Citizen of All Nations, she can give a result consistent
with her disguise instead. • While she stands watch over a location, characters
attempting to circumvent her surveillance are
Metropolis: In the Architect’s home city, this bonus is treated as having a Minor Tie of fear toward her.
non-Charm.
Sentry Tower Perspective
Keystone: An Architect with Appearance as a Cost: 1m; Mins: Perception 3, Essence 1
Foundation Attribute may learn this as an Appearance Type: Supplemental
Charm with Citizen of All Nations as its prerequisite. Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant
Perception (Senses) Prerequisite Charms: City Watch Approach

The Architect watches from the eaves, a centurion of the

Blind Alley Intuition
city skyline.
Cost: 1m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive When the Architect makes a vision-based Awareness
Keywords: Metropolis roll, tracking roll, or case scene roll to detect or exam-
Duration: Instant ine something at least one range band below her cur-
Prerequisite Charms: None rent position, she rerolls 6s until they cease to appear.
The Architect has a sixth sense for knowing when she’s Metropolis: When observing from an urban tower or
being watched, sensing the stranger that walks behind other elevated artificial structure, the Architect rerolls
her and the eyes that gaze from within the crowd. 5s until they cease to appear and ignores penalties
from distance.
When a character fails an Awareness roll, tracking roll,
read intentions roll, or profile character roll against the Inquisitive Rat’s Whisker
Architect, she can use this Charm to roll (Perception + Cost: 5m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
Awareness). A single success reveals that she’s being Type: Reflexive
observed or pursued; beating the watcher’s Guile re- Keywords: None
veals his precise location. If the Architect rolls 3+ extra Duration: One scene
successes, her player receives a clue to his identity or Prerequisite Charms: None
methods from the Storyteller.
Whether it’s the moldering stench of garbage or the tan-
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds non-Charm talizing aroma of wine and perfume, the Architect’s nose
dice on her roll for each 1 or 2 on the failed roll. is keenly receptive to the city’s scents.
City Watch Approach The Architect gains the following benefits:
Cost: 5m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive • She adds an automatic success on scent- and
Keywords: None taste-based Awareness rolls.
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None • She adds an automatic success on Survival rolls
for tracking and foraging.

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• She can identify the kind of substance that’s the hearing the deception in his heartbeat.
source of a scent or the composition of any food
or drink she consumes without needing a roll, so • She can hear sounds as quiet as a whisper clearly
long as she’s familiar with that substance. out to long range, at no penalty.

• She can resist ingested or inhaled poisons with • She can identify substances and textures she’s
(Perception + Awareness) instead of (Stamina + familiar with by touch.
Resistance), her keen senses detecting the poi-
son before she consumes it. Overheard Echo Eavesdropping
Cost: 3m; Mins: Perception 3, Essence 1
Thousand Footfall Drumbeat Type: Supplemental
Cost: 5m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1 Keywords: Metropolis
Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant
Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Thousand Footfall Drumbeat
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None Brigands, crooks, and conspirators may hide their plot-
ting in the city’s hurly burly, but the Architect hears all.
The Architect has learned to hear the city’s music, the
thrumming vibrations and riotous sounds of life. A hearing-based Perception roll ignores (higher of Essence
or 3) points of penalty from distance, background noise, or
The Architect gains the following benefits: listening through obstructions made of stone, wood, or
weaker materials. If the Architect is specifically listening
• She adds an automatic success on hearing- and to make out what someone’s saying, she doubles 9s.
touch-based Awareness rolls.
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect doubles 9s even
• She adds an automatic success on read inten- when not eavesdropping.
tions rolls that would reveal a character is lying,

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City-Surveilling Sentinel The Architect rolls read intentions with (Perception +

Cost: —(7m, 1wp); Mins: Perception 4, Essence 1 [Bureaucracy or Socialize]). Success reveals whether her
Type: Permanent target is a merchant, vendor, or other purveyor of goods
Keywords: Metropolis and services, as well as the general nature of his trade and a
Duration: Permanent sense of how expensive he is compared to others in his field.
Prerequisite Charms: City Watch Approach,
Inquisitive Rat’s Whisker, Thousand Footfall Drumbeat Metropolis: In cities, the Architect also discerns
whichever of that character’s Intimacies would be
The Architect is a living watchtower, her senses honed to most relevant and advantageous in negotiating a good
extraordinary vigilance. deal with him.

The Architect can activate all of this Charm’s pre- Through the Peephole
requisites simultaneously for seven motes and one Cost: 2m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
Willpower. While all three of those Charms are active, Type: Supplemental
the successes added by them are non-Charm. Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant
Metropolis: In cities, this Charm extends its prerequi- Prerequisite Charms: None
sites’ duration to Indefinite. They end if the Architect
leaves the city after at least one scene. The Architect watches from the city’s shadows, bearing
witness to those who think they’re alone.
Needle-and-Haystack Approach
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Perception 4, Essence 2 The Architect rerolls 6s until they cease to appear
Type: Reflexive on a Perception-based Awareness, Investigation, or
Keywords: Metropolis Socialize roll. If she’s watching a target from Stealth
Duration: (Essence) days or while disguised, she rerolls 5s until they cease to
Prerequisite Charms: Blind Alley Intuition appear as well.

You can escape the Architect, but not the city. Metropolis: In cities, the Architect doesn’t need to be
in Stealth or disguise to reroll 5s.
When the Architect succeeds on an Awareness roll
opposing a character’s Larceny or Stealth or a profile City Mouse Eye
character roll, she can use this Charm to attune her Cost: 3m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
senses to him. She can intuitively sense the direction Type: Supplemental
and distance toward him and doubles 9s on Perception- Keywords: None
based rolls to locate or detect him as long as he remains Duration: Instant
within (Essence x5) miles. If she tracks him, this in- Prerequisite Charms: Through the Peephole
tuition negates any penalties she would suffer from
having only poor-quality tracks or no tracks. The Architect sees how people fit into the city.

Metropolis: While the Architect and her target are in The Architect adds (Perception) dice on a profile
the same city, she can sense him regardless of range. character or read intentions roll, or a roll opposing a
disguise. In addition to usual benefits, success also re-
Perception (Scrutiny) veals whether he’s a member of a specific local culture
or a culture of her home city.
Market-Reading Glance
Scandalous Agora Rumors
Cost: 2m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
Cost: 4m; Mins: Perception 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Type: Simple
Keywords: Metropolis
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Prerequisite Charms: City Mouse Eye
The Architect susses out the ebb and flow of commerce.
The Architect hears the secret voice of the city in the
words of drunks, gossipmongers, and street urchins.

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The Architect spends a scene of listening to gossip or The Architect rolls read intentions against all char-
gathering information within a community and rolls acters she can perceive, treating all trivial characters
(Perception + Socialize). The difficulty is 3+, depending on as a single audience (Exalted, p. 223). Success reveals
the community’s size and secretiveness. If successful, her the current emotional state of each character whose
player asks the Storyteller one of the following questions, Guile she beat and the overall emotional tenor of the
plus an additional question for every 3 extra successes: area — the fear of a neighborhood stalked by a grisly
serial killer, the fiery anger of a teahouse frequented by
• What’s the public most concerned with? political dissidents, the haughty arrogance of a prince-
ling’s gala, etc.
• How is a certain character or group perceived by
the public? Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds (Essence)
non-Charm dice on the roll.
• Who holds the most power in this community?
Watchful Gargoyle Premonition
• Who can I talk to for more information about Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Perception 4, Essence 3
something that concerns this community? Type: Simple
Keywords: Metropolis
If the Storyteller doesn’t have an answer in mind for a
Duration: Instant
question, the Architect’s player should provide one, as
Prerequisite Charms: Where The Heart Is
if introducing a fact.
An ever-vigilant guardian, the Architect senses threats
Reset: Once per scene.
to her city.
Where the Heart Is
The Architect makes a case scene roll to examine
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Perception 4, Essence 1 a building, doubling 9s, opposing the highest Guile
Type: Simple among characters in the building or who reside in
Keywords: Metropolis it. Success reveals if there’s any activity taking place
Duration: Instant within it that would disrupt the surrounding area’s
Prerequisite Charms: City Mouse Eye order or if there are any malevolent intentions directed
at the structure or its contents (like a gang of thieves
To see into a stranger’s home is to see into their soul.
planning to rob a palace’s vaults).
The Architect makes a read intentions or profile
Metropolis: In cities, successfully thwarting a dan-
character roll against a character who isn’t present
ger revealed by this Charm grants the Architect one
by spending a scene examining a location of personal
Willpower.
significance to him — his home, his workplace, his
favorite teahouse, etc. If her target has left little or Walls-Have-Eyes Technique
misleading evidence of himself behind, the Architect
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Perception 5, Essence 3
suffers a commensurate penalty on her roll.
Type: Simple
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect completes this Keywords: Metropolis
examination instantly. Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Watchful Gargoyle
Reset: The Architect can’t use this Charm against a Premonition
character more than once per story.
The Architect attunes her senses to the city’s pulse,
Hometown’s Heart Awareness feeling the ebb and flow of life and activity through its
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Perception 4, Essence 2 infrastructure.
Type: Simple
Touching a road, wall, aqueduct, or other artificial
Keywords: Metropolis
structure, the Architect displaces her senses to another
Duration: Instant
point on that structure no more than (Essence) range
Prerequisite Charms: City Mouse Eye
bands away from her. She perceives everything around
The passions of a city’s people suffuse its streets, leaving the chosen point as though she were physically there.
emotional fingerprints visible to the Architect.

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Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can shift the point structure or out to close range of its exterior. Success
from which she perceives by one range band, out to a lets her perceive it with all her senses as though she
maximum of (Essence + Perception) bands, as a reflex- was right next to it. If she searches for a person, this
ive action. This counts as her movement action for the also counts as a profile character roll against him.
round.
If the structure is too large to fit within (Essence) range
Forgotten Keepsake Inquisition bands, the Architect must instead focus her search to a
Cost: 15m, 1wp; Mins: Perception 5, Essence 3 segment of that size. The chosen segment can be as far as
Type: Simple (Essence) miles away from her, if the structure’s that large.
Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant Metropolis: In cities, the Architect doubles 7s on this
Prerequisite Charms: Walls-Have-Eyes Technique roll and can search a structure up to (Essence x2) range
bands in breadth.
The Architect knows the measure of a blacksmith by
her tools and sums up the lives of drunkards from the Reset: Once per day.
contents of their pockets.
Perception (Mysticism)
Touching an object, the Architect rolls (Perception +
[Investigation or an appropriate Craft]) against the Shrine-Tender’s Subtle Eye
Guile of that object’s most recent owner. Success reveals Cost: 4m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
the owner’s identity and a clue from the Storyteller Type: Reflexive
about the object’s significance to that — sensing the Keywords: Metropolis
murderous intent ringing through Ah’aja Proudeye’s Duration: One scene
favorite knife, intuiting that a beautiful agate necklace Prerequisite Charms: None
was given to Uwen Dannab as a bribe, etc.
The Architect perceives the ethereal dwelling-places
If the object’s most recent owner is dead, a single of the spirits as easily as she might people watch at a
success reveals this fact along with a hint about its sig- teahouse or market square.
nificance to the deceased — or his ghost. If it’s unclear
whether the object has an owner, like a pebble in the The Architect can perceive (but not touch) dematerial-
woods, this Charm’s cost is refunded and it doesn’t ized entities. However, her spiritual perception inflicts
count against the reset. a −1 penalty on all actions that require attention, focus,
or situational awareness.
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect doubles 9s on the
roll, and gains one Willpower upon success. Metropolis: In cities, the Architect doesn’t suffer a
penalty.
Reset: Once per day.
Shrine-Tender’s Banishing Chant
All-Seeing Panopticon Stance Cost: 2m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Perception 5, Essence 4 Type: Supplemental
Type: Simple Keywords: Metropolis, Uniform, Versatile
Keywords: None Duration: Instant
Duration: Metropolis Prerequisite Charms: Shrine-Tender’s Subtle Eye
Prerequisite Charms: Walls-Have-Eyes Technique
Unruly gods and malign demons must contend with the
The Architect’s senses pervade the city, watching from city’s champion, words of power burning on her tongue.
the stone eyes of every statue that lines the streets and
listening at every threshold. The Architect can attack a dematerialized character. If she
can’t see him, her attack suffers a −3 penalty. If Shrine-Tender’s
To use this Charm, the Architect must be inside or Subtle Eye is active, it doesn’t penalize the attack roll.
touching an artificial structure or have projected her
senses into it with Walls-Have-Eyes Technique. She Metropolis: The Architect adds an automatic success
rolls (Perception + Awareness) to detect a specific on the attack roll.
person, object, activity, or sensory stimulus within that

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When the Architect’s soak reduces a withering attack

Stamina (Defense) to minimum damage or her Hardness negates a deci-
sive attack, she gains 1 Initiative, maximum (Essence)
Living Wall Fortification
per round.
Cost: 4m; Mins: Stamina 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Rough Streets Endurance Method
Keywords: Dual, Metropolis Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Stamina 3, Essence 2
Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: None Keywords: Decisive-only, Perilous
Duration: Instant
Steadfast as a city’s fortifications, the Architect shrugs
Prerequisite Charms: Living Wall Fortification
off blows that would kill lesser warriors.
The Architect rolls with the worst of what the city can
The Architect gains +(higher of Essence or 3) soak or
throw at her, her body reinforced with Essence and her
Hardness 4.
fighting spirit unbreakable.
Metropolis: In cities, this Charm’s duration lasts until
When determining if the Architect’s Hardness pre-
the Architect’s next turn.
vents decisive damage, her attacker compares only
Becoming the Tower his Initiative to her Hardness, without considering
damage dice added by other sources. If his attack’s
Cost: 3m (+1wp); Mins: Stamina 3, Essence 1
damage roll doesn’t include his Initiative due to magic,
Type: Reflexive
he compares the lower of his damage dice or his actual
Keywords: None
Initiative to her Hardness.
Duration: Instant or One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Living Wall Fortification If the Architect uses this Charm together with Living
Wall Fortification, the Hardness granted by that Charm
The Architect armors herself with the city, girding her-
increases to (Essence + 3).
self with a street’s cobblestones or a rooftop’s tiles.
Brick-and-Mortar Ablation
Touching an artificial structure, the Architect armors
herself in its substance. This counts as mundane ar- Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Stamina 3, Essence 2
mor; whether it is light, medium, or heavy depends on Type: Reflexive
the substance from which it’s formed, as do any tags. Keywords: Decisive-only, Metropolis
Drawing armor from a stone wall would yield heavy Duration: Instant
armor, while doing so from a delicate garden lattice Prerequisite Charms: Rough Streets Endurance
would yield light armor with the Buoyant tag. Method

If the Architect’s already wearing armor, she can pay The Architect is not stopped by her wounds, fighting the
a one-Willpower surcharge and commit this Charm’s persistence and grit of the city’s most hardened brawlers
mote cost to fuse with that armor as part of this trans- and scrappers.
formation, enjoying the best of both armors’ traits
The Architect can use this Charm after a decisive
and applying this Charm’s benefits to her armor. With
damage roll against her. 1s on the damage roll subtract
Essence 3, this effect’s duration becomes Indefinite.
successes, maximum (Essence).
Unbroken Foundation Approach
If the Architect is unarmored or using Becoming the
Cost: —; Mins: Stamina 3, Essence 1 Tower, this Charm’s cost is reduced by two motes.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Dual Metropolis: In cities, 2s subtract successes as well.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Living Wall Fortification Upright Rampart Stance
Cost: 5m; Mins: Stamina 4, Essence 2
The Architect’s defense is deeply rooted, weathering blow Type: Reflexive
after blow as she patiently waits to seize the advantage. Keywords: Metropolis, Uniform
Duration: One tick
Prerequisite Charms: Brick-and-Mortar Ablation

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Gritting her teeth against all opposition, the Architect The Architect subsumes stone, iron, wood, and more into her
stands against her foes with the weight of the city’s walls body, transforming herself into an incarnation of the city.
behind her.
The Architect can pay a five-mote, five-Initiative,
The Architect gains +1 Defense and can’t be knocked one-Willpower surcharge when she uses Becoming
back by smash attacks, thrown in grapples, or shifted the Tower in a city to grant it the traits of artifact ar-
by comparable mundane forces. mor. This transformation adds a non-Charm success
on rolls against disease and poison.
Metropolis: In cities, even magic is impeded, with
the Storyteller adjudicating the specific nature of the The Architect can repurchase this Charm any number of
defense based on the Charm being used: A Solar using times to awaken Evocations for this armor. Each city has a
Heaven Thunder Hammer might be forced to halve separate Evocation tree for armor created from it, with the
her damage successes when determining how far she Architect receiving one Evocation per repurchase for each
can knock the Architect. city. The armor’s Evocations are based on the Architect’s
personality and the city the armor was created from.
Passage-Barring Tactic
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Stamina 4, Essence 2 Stamina (Endurance)
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Keystone (Intelligence), Metropolis Ox-Body Technique
Duration: Instant Cost: —; Mins: Stamina 1, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Unbroken Foundation Type: Permanent
Approach Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
The Architect uses the terrain and the city’s architecture
Prerequisite Charms: None
against enemy armies, forcing them to fight her in a po-
sition she can defend. The Architect is endowed with superhuman vitality.
The Architect adds (Essence) non-Charm dice on a roll The Architect gains additional health levels based on
for a Strategic Placement stratagem (Exalted, p. 212) her Stamina rating:
to force an enemy to fight her at a choke point such as a
bridge, a narrow mountain pass, or a city’s gates. If she Stamina 1-2: Two −2 levels.
meets the stratagem’s threshold, she can spend extra
successes to enact an Ambush stratagem as well. Stamina 3-4: Two −2 levels and one −4 level.

Alternatively, she can use this Charm to add (Essence) Stamina 5: One −1 level and two −2 levels.
non-Charm dice on an order action while she and an al-
lied battle group are defending such a choke point, or on This Charm may be purchased (Stamina) times. If the
an attack against an enemy battle group while doing so. Architect’s Stamina increases, her health levels change
to reflect her new rating.
Metropolis: While fighting in or in defense of a city,
the Architect adds (Essence or Stamina) non-Charm Stolen Moments Catnap
dice instead. Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Stamina 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keystone: An Architect with Intelligence as a Keywords: Metropolis
Foundation Attribute may learn this as an Intelligence Duration: One day
Charm with Uncertain Avenue Distraction as its Prerequisite Charms: Ox-Body Technique
prerequisite.
The Architect draws on the hearty vitality of the city’s
Keystone Aegis Transformation toiling masses, recuperating from today’s wounds to face
Cost: —(+5m, 5i, 1wp); Mins: Stamina 3, Essence 2 tomorrow anew.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Perilous The Architect adds (higher of Essence or 3) dice on
Duration: Permanent rolls opposing poison and disease, and the rate at
Prerequisite Charms: Becoming the Tower which she heals naturally is multiplied by (Stamina).

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Metropolis: In cities, the added dice are non-Charm, The Architect rolls (Essence + Stamina), unmodified
and the rate at which the Architect heals is multiplied by any other effects, to draw in nearby stone, garbage,
by (Stamina + 1). and the like. She gains temporary −1 health levels equal
to her successes. These are filled before any of her
The City Endures other −1 levels when she’s damaged.
Cost: 1m; Mins: Stamina 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Damage to these health levels doesn’t heal naturally, but
Keywords: Metropolis it can be repaired, requiring a basic repair project for a
Duration: Instant level of bashing damage or a major repair project for a
Prerequisite Charms: None level of lethal damage (Exalted, 242). Basic projects take
one hour and have difficulty (Architect’s wound penalty
The Architect is as resilient as the most timeless cities, + 2); major projects take eight hours and have difficulty
withstanding plague, flame, and worse. (wound penalty + 4). Aggravated damage can’t be re-
paired. Beyond such repairs, only magic that’s capable of
The Architect rerolls (Essence) non-1 failures on a roll healing automata can heal this damage.
opposing poison, disease, or an environmental hazard.
When this Charm ends, all temporary health levels
Metropolis: As long as at least one rerolled die shows vanish and the Architect suffers the damage that was
a success, the Architect gains one Initiative. stored in them. This is never fatal.

Embodiment of Order Metropolis: In urban workshops, smithies, and other

Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Stamina 3, Essence 2 places of professional crafting, the Architect can heal
Type: Reflexive damage stored in these temporary health levels naturally.
Keywords: Keystone (Wits), Metropolis
Duration: Instant Ruin-Raising Concentration
Prerequisite Charms: The City Endures Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Stamina 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple
The warping tides of chaos and curses of transformation Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous
cannot tarnish the Architect in body or soul. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Junkyard Colossus Technique,
After a roll with any Attribute opposing a Shaping effect, The City Endures
the Architect can use this Charm to roll an additional
(higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm dice. If the Shaping The Architect envisions her body as a blueprint within
effect is rolled against one of her static values, she may add her mind’s eye, using will and Essence to right it where it
a +2 non-Charm bonus to that trait after the roll is made. has strayed from the plan.

Metropolis: In cities, the Shaping effect can’t kill the The Architect rolls (Stamina + [Integrity, Medicine, or
Architect or render her indefinitely incapable of taking Resistance]) and spends her successes on the options
action even if she fails; such effects are mitigated to a below:
lesser version.

Keystone: An Architect with Wits as a Foundation 1 success Purge one round of a poison’s du-
Attribute may learn this as a Wits Charm. ration from the Architect’s system.
1+ successes Ignore one point of wound penalty
Junkyard Colossus Technique per success for one scene.
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Stamina 5, Essence 2 1+ successes Reduce a crippling effect’s penalty
Type: Simple by one point per success for a scene.
Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous
Duration: Indefinite 2 successes Heal a level of non-ag-
Prerequisite Charms: Living Wall Fortification, gravated damage.
Ox-Body Technique 2 successes Convert a level of aggra-
vated damage to lethal.
The Architect wears the city’s skin, stone and asphalt
permeating and reinforcing her body. 2+ successes Recover from a disease with
Morbidity (successes x2).

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Metropolis: In a city, the Architect can spend ten suc- Fists of the City
cesses to recover from any crippling injury less severe Cost: 1m; Mins: Strength 2, Essence 1
than total amputation. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Metropolis
Reset: Once per story. Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Brick-Knuckle Brawler
Strength (Offense)
The Architect draws the stone, steel, and detritus of the
Brick-Knuckle Brawler city into her body, diffusing its substance through her
Cost: 1m; Mins: Strength 1, Essence 1 limbs.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Dual Touching a mundane object light enough for her to lift
Duration: Instant with one hand, the Architect merges with it with her
Prerequisite Charms: None body, granting her unarmed attacks a tag appropriate
to its nature. This can’t grant the Archery, Crossbow,
The Architect transmutes her skin into cobblestone and Flame, Powerful, or Thrown tags.
brick, landing punches with the weight of a city behind
them. Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds one die on all
unarmed attack rolls.
The Architect deals lethal damage with an unarmed
decisive attack or grants a withering unarmed Crashing Demolition Barrage
attack Overwhelming (Strength). Alternatively, she Cost: —(2m); Mins: Strength 1, Essence 1
can use this Charm when she tries to block an attack Type: Permanent
barehanded, granting +1 Parry and letting her block Keywords: Dual
decisive damage. Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None

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Arm Like a Catapult

WEAPON COMPATIBILITY Cost: 3m; Mins: Strength 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Architect Strength Charms — and, unless other- Keywords: Dual, Metropolis
wise specified, all Strength Charms — are incom- Duration: Instant
patible with weapons that don’t use Strength to Prerequisite Charms: None
determine withering damage, like firewands and
siege weapons. The Architect’s hurled spear or loosed arrow flies across
the battlefield with incredible force to strike distant foes.

The Architect extends a ranged attack’s range by one

A broken signpost or a loose cobblestone is as deadly in
band, maximum long range, and adds +1 Overwhelming.
the Architect’s hands as any weapon forged.
If her weapon already has long range, she instead adds
The Architect waives the Initiative cost for attacking +(Strength/2, rounded up) Overwhelming.
with improvised weapons. She can pay two motes when
A Stamina 4, Essence 2 repurchase lets the Architect
she makes a decisive attack with an improvised weapon
use this Charm with close range attacks, striking at
to strike with such force that her weapon breaks, adding
short range by throwing her weapon. This is incom-
an automatic success on the damage roll.
patible with natural weapons.
Alehouse Pankratiast Technique
Metropolis: The Overwhelming bonus is added to raw
Cost: 2m; Mins: Strength 2, Essence 1 withering damage as well.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-only, Metropolis Strength of the Masses
Duration: Instant Cost: 4m; Mins: Strength 2, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Metropolis, Withering-only
Coming down on a foe like a ton of bricks, the Architect
Duration: Instant
forces him into a pin or hold.
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Architect rolls an additional non-Charm die for
The Architect swings her fists with the force of a wrecking
each 10 on the attack roll, Initiative roll, and control
crew’s hammers, demolishing opponents blow by blow.
roll of a grapple gambit.
The Architect adds (Essence) to a withering attack’s
Metropolis: In cities, the gambit’s Initiative cost is
raw damage and Overwhelming.
reduced by one.
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect instead adds
Enemy-Evicting Thew
(Strength) if it’s higher.
Cost: 3m; Mins: Strength 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Battering Ram Impact
Keywords: Dual, Metropolis Cost: 5m; Mins: Strength 3, Essence 1
Duration: Instant Type: Simple
Prerequisite Charms: Alehouse Pankratiast Keywords: Dual, Metropolis
Technique Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Strength of the Masses
The Architect flings unwanted guests through teahouse
windows and off balconies. Building force and momentum, the Architect lets fly a
blow that sends her enemies toward the skyline.
When the Architect throws or slams a grappled enemy,
she ignores soak or Hardness equal to the rounds of The Architect makes a withering or decisive attack;
control she forfeited. she may use her movement action to leap one range
band in any direction before she does so. She can’t
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds (Essence)
attack enemies beyond short range, even if her weapon
to the maximum number of rounds of control she can
normally could. An enemy that takes 5+ withering
receive benefits for forfeiting.
damage or any decisive damage is knocked back

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one range band. If the Architect’s weapon has the If the Architect knocks an enemy into an obstacle or
Smashing tag, her foe is knocked prone in addition to surface with an attack — a smash attack, a throw or
being knocked back. slam out of a grapple, or an attack enhanced with mag-
ic like Battering Ram Impact — she brings down a pile
Metropolis: In cities, if the Architect knocks an enemy of rubble on him or otherwise leave him trapped in the
into an obstacle or surface, she rolls an additional die of aftermath of his impact. He can’t take any movement
withering damage or decisive damage, ignoring soak actions until he or an ally clears the obstruction with
and Hardness. Decisive damage is normally bashing, a feat of strength at difficulty (Architect’s Essence or
although some objects may inflict lethal damage. Strength). The feat requires Strength 3+ to attempt.

Brute Force Approach Metropolis: In cities, the point where the enemy im-
Cost: 5m; Mins: Strength 3, Essence 1 pacted the obstacle or surface becomes difficult terrain.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-only, Metropolis Overpowering Blockbuster Strike
Duration: Instant Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Strength 4, Essence 2
Prerequisite Charms: Strength of the Masses Type: Simple
Keywords: Metropolis, Withering-only
The Architect’s blows land as though she were stone and Duration: Instant
metal rather than flesh and blood. Prerequisite Charms: Brute Force Approach

The Architect adds up to (Strength/2, rounded up) The Architect’s blows scatter mobs and shatter stone,
extra successes as dice to a decisive attack’s damage unleashing a shockwave to shake the city’s streets.
and doubles 10s on the damage roll.
The Architect makes a withering attack against up to
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds up to (Essence) enemies within close range of her. If she’s
(Strength) extra successes as damage dice instead. wielding a ranged weapon, she can instead make this
attack against all enemies within close range of a point
Ruthless Sucker Punch within its range if she aims first. She doesn’t gain any
Cost: 4m; Mins: Strength 3, Essence 1 other benefits of aiming; she must take additional aim
Type: Supplemental actions if she wishes to attack at medium range or be-
Keywords: Dual, Keystone (Dexterity) yond or to add aim dice on the attack roll.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Strength of the Masses The Architect rolls withering damage separately
against each enemy. She only gains full Initiative from
Unashamed of fighting dirty, the Architect pummels the single highest damage roll; other damage rolls only
unwary foes. grant one Initiative each.

An unexpected attack adds (Stealth) dice to the post- Metropolis: In cities, the force of the Architect’s blow
soak withering damage or decisive damage. shatters the ground beneath each damaged enemy,
making it difficult terrain (Exalted, p. 199).
Keystone: An Architect with Dexterity as a Foundation
Attribute may learn this as a Dexterity Charm, with Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by landing a
Thief-in-the-Night Understanding as its prerequisite. decisive attack from Initiative 15+ that resets the
Architect’s Initiative.
Impromptu Demolition Technique
Cost: 4m, 1i; Mins: Strength 4, Essence 2 Staggering Haymaker Blow
Type: Supplemental Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Strength 4, Essence 2
Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous, Uniform Type: Simple
Duration: Instant Keywords: Decisive-only, Metropolis
Prerequisite Charms: Battering Ram Impact or Duration: Instant
Enemy-Evicting Thew Prerequisite Charms: Brute Force Approach

A pile of bricks or a demolished hovel makes a perfect The Architect hits her enemy like a hard day’s work or a
place for the Architect’s foes to lie very still and contem- terrible hangover, leaving him in no condition to contend
plate the error of crossing her. against one of her strength.

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To use this Charm, the Architect must have 12+ Metropolis: In cities, if the Architect performs a feat
Initiative. She makes a decisive attack, adding an of strength as part of constructing, maintaining, or
automatic success on the damage roll. If she deals 3+ defending civic infrastructure, or performs a feat of
decisive damage, her enemy is stunned, applying his demolition at the direction of a city’s leader of govern-
onslaught penalty to any rolls he makes until his next ing body, the added dice are non-Charm.
turn ends. Even after his onslaught penalty refreshes,
it applies until his turn ends. Twenty Oxen Strong
Cost: 3m; Mins: Strength 3, Essence 1
Metropolis: In cities, dealing 3+ decisive damage also Type: Supplemental
increases the attack’s onslaught penalty by one. Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant
City-Shifting Quake Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: —(+4m, 4i); Mins: Strength 5, Essence 3
Type: Permanent The Architect is a one-woman labor force, tirelessly rais-
Keywords: Perilous, Withering-only ing up walls and pillars or smashing them down.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Overpowering Blockbuster The Architect ignores fatigue penalties and wound
Strike penalties on a feat of strength and halves the amount
of time needed to complete it.
The Architect’s blows shake the city to its foundation,
shattering walls and bringing down tenements on her foes. Metropolis: In cities, the Architect can complete a
feat instantly if the Storyteller deems it feasible, such
When the Architect uses Overpowering Blockbuster as bashing down a brick wall. Even if not, the time
Strike’s Metropolis effect to create difficult terrain, required to complete it is dramatically accelerated.
she can pay a four-mote, four-Initiative surcharge to
redouble her blow, creating an environmental hazard Audacious Wrecker Cunning
from flying rubble and debris that engulfs all enemies Cost: 4m; Mins: Strength 3, Essence 1
damaged by her withering attack. This hazard has a Type: Reflexive
difficulty equal to her attack roll successes; she divides Keywords: Metropolis
her Initiative evenly among all enemies, rounding up, Duration: One tick
to determine the damage rolled against them. This re- Prerequisite Charms: Twenty Oxen Strong
sets the Architect’s Initiative. Scenery out to medium
range from the Architect suffers as much damage as The Architect is a wily brawler, using her brawn to out-
the Storyteller feels appropriate from her blow. wit her foes.

Reset: Once per scene. The Architect flurries a feat of strength with another
action, reducing the penalty on both actions by one and
Strength (Feats of Strength) ignoring the Defense penalty. If a successful feat gives
her an advantage over an enemy, she gains one Initiative.
Girder-Toting Civic Spirit
Metropolis: The Initiative awarded by a successful
Cost: 4m; Mins: Strength 2, Essence 1 feat increases to (Essence/2, rounded up).
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Metropolis Beast of Burden Sympathy
Duration: Instant Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Strength 4, Essence 2
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Metropolis
The strength of a city is in its people, as many hands may
Duration: Instant
raise up wonders impossible for any lone mortal.
Prerequisite Charms: Girder-Toting Civic Spirit
The Architect adds +2 to her effective Strength to de-
Tapping reserves of strength beyond what she can con-
termine if she can attempt a feat of strength and adds
sciously access, the Architect pushes past her limits.
(higher of Essence or 3) dice. If her effective Strength
exceeds the feat’s minimum, each excess dot adds one The Architect adds (higher of Essence or 3) to her
bonus die. effective Strength to determine if she can attempt a

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feat. If this would raise her Strength above the neces- Titan of the Crowds
sary minimum, each excess point adds an automatic Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Strength 5, Essence 5
success. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Metropolis, Perilous
Metropolis: In cities, the first use of this Charm each Duration: Until next turn
day doesn’t count toward requiring a reset. Prerequisite Charms: Beast of Burden Sympathy,
City-Shifting Quake
Reset: Once per day.
The Architect’s eyes glow bright with her anima’s colors
Wall-Tumbling Crash as she draws upon the city’s might, borrowing force from
Cost: 2m; Mins: Strength 5, Essence 2 every blow of a blacksmith’s hammer, every sword-arm
Type: Supplemental honed in training, every laboring beast of burden.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Architect gains the benefits of Legendary Size (p.
Prerequisite Charms: Girder-Toting Civic Spirit XX). She doesn’t actually grow larger, although to some
onlookers she may appear to, especially while her anima
When it comes time to tear down, the Architect stands banner is visible. These benefits represent her power to
ready. embody the strength of an entire city and the extraordi-
nary spiritual pressure exerted by her Essence.
The Architect doubles 9s on a feat of demolition,
the Initiative roll of a disarm gambit, or a Strategic Metropolis: In cities, the first use of this Charm each
Maneuver opposing a Fortifications stratagem. scene waives its Willpower cost.
Wrecking Ball Smash
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Strength 5, Essence 3
Wits (Initiative)
Type: Reflexive
First-in-Line Celerity
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant Cost: 4m; Mins: Wits 2, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Impromptu Demolition Type: Supplemental
Technique, Wall-Tumbling Crash Keywords: Metropolis
Duration: Instant
The Architect flings her enemies with force enough to Prerequisite Charms: None
crash through iron and stone, ejecting them from her city
like unruly patrons through a teahouse window. Laborers who rise before dawn and savants working through
the night are still too slow to keep up with the Architect.
When the Architect knocks an enemy into a surface
with a smash attack, grapple, or magic like Battering The Architect adds (Essence/2, rounded up) automat-
Ram Impact, she may reflexively use this Charm, ic success on a Join Battle roll and can roll with (Wits +
rolling a (Strength + appropriate combat Ability) feat [Athletics, Awareness, or War]). She can also roll with
of demolition to destroy that surface. If she used a Ride while mounted, Sail while aboard a ship, or other
decisive attack to knock her enemy back, she adds her Abilities the Storyteller deems appropriate for her
damage successes to her effective Strength to deter- circumstances, though she can’t use combat Abilities.
mine if she can attempt the feat.
Metropolis: In cities, the added successes are
If the Architect succeeds, her victim suffers an addi- non-Charm.
tional (Architect’s Essence) dice of bashing damage,
Alarum-Raising Concentration
ignoring Hardness, as he slams into that surface hard
enough to break it and is flung back an additional range Cost: 4m; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 1
band. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Keystone (Perception), Metropolis
Reset: Once per scene unless reset by entering close Duration: Instant
range of an enemy after previously knocking him back Prerequisite Charms: First-in-Line Celerity
at least one range band and then landing a decisive
attack from Initiative 12+ against him. The city is filled with hidden dangers, but the Architect is
not caught unawares.

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The Architect’s Join Battle roll also counts as a roll Preemptive Strife Anticipation
opposing the Stealth of all concealed enemies. If a con- Cost: 2m; Mins: Wits 4, Essence 2
cealed enemy’s Join Battle roll is lower than hers, he’s Type: Supplemental
treated as having one fewer Stealth success to deter- Keywords: Metropolis
mine if the Architect spots him. Successfully detecting Duration: One scene
at least one hidden enemy awards one Initiative. Prerequisite Charms: First-in-Line Celerity

Metropolis: In cities, a concealed enemy whose Join The Architect anticipates her enemies’ strategy as if its
Battle roll is beaten by the Architect’s permanently blueprints were laid out before her, denying them every
subtracts one from his total Stealth successes, rather tactical advantage.
than only applying the penalty for the Architect’s roll.
The city itself refuses to hide him. When the Architect rolls Join Battle, she gains a special
pool of Initiative equal to the 9s and 10s on the roll. Any
Keystone: An Architect with Perception as a withering damage she suffers strips Initiative from
Foundation Attribute may learn this as a Perception this pool first before affecting her actual Initiative.
Charm, with Inquisitive Rat’s Whisker, Thousand This special pool of Initiative can’t be used for any
Footfall Drumbeat, or Watching the Panopticon as its other purpose.
prerequisite.
Metropolis: In cities, if a withering attack deals
Canny Rat Instincts enough damage to empty this Charm’s Initiative pool,
Cost: 4m; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 1 any excess points of withering damage are negated
Type: Supplemental rather than being applied to the Architect’s actual
Keywords: None Initiative.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Alarum-Raising Streetwise Hellion Ways
Concentration Cost: 3m; Mins: Wits 5, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
The Architect has an intuitive awareness of her sur- Keywords: Keystone (Dexterity), Metropolis,
roundings that taps into the city’s whispers, the countless Withering-only
tiny details overlooked by most city-goers. Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Preemptive Strife Anticipation
The Architect doubles 9s on a Join Battle roll. If she
wins Join Battle, she may reflexively take an action The Architect receives a hell-raiser’s due, acclaimed for
with any Attribute. This can be any action that could her prowess by street urchins, alehouse crowds, and the
normally be used in combat, but if she uses it to attack very stones of the city itself.
or move, it counts against the limit on doing so for the
round. The Architect gains +1 Resolve against any influence
that would cause her to doubt her chances for victory
Steel-Nerved Reflexes in a fight and adds +1 to the amount of Initiative she
Cost: 2m; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 1 receives from Initiative Breaks (Exalted, p. 194).
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Keystone (Dexterity), Perilous Metropolis: In cities, both the Resolve bonus and the
Duration: Instant Initiative bonus increase to +2.
Prerequisite Charms: None
Keystone: An Architect with Dexterity as a Foundation
The Architect’s quick wits give her an edge over her Attribute may learn this as a Dexterity Charm, with
enemies. Crack-in-the-Wall Precision as its prerequisite.

The Architect waives the Initiative cost of delaying her Unsleeping City Invigoration
turn or taking a full defense. If she acts act before all Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Wits 5, Essence 3
enemies in a round, this Charm’s mote cost is waived. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Metropolis
Keystone: An Architect with Dexterity as a Foundation Duration: Instant
Attribute may learn this as a Dexterity Charm. Prerequisite Charms: Streetwise Hellion Ways

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The Architect taps into the city’s vitality, moving as if

every ounce of tea, coffee, and cocaine in the city flowed THE CITY’S PRINCIPLES
through her veins.
Examples of Principles that could be conferred by
When the Architect rolls Join Battle or resets to base Civic Spirit Dedication include:
Initiative, she adds (Essence/2, rounded up) to her
base Initiative. This Charm’s Willpower cost is waived Chiaroscuro: The wonders of the First Age lie
if used to enhance a Join Battle roll. waiting to be claimed by the fearless and the wise.

Metropolis: In cities, the Architect adds (Essence) Fortitude: Strength and ruthlessness rise above
instead. all else.

Reset: Once per day. Using this Charm to enhance Join Gem: Profit is what’s most important.
Battle rolls doesn’t count against the reset. Great Forks: Luxuries and sensual pleasures
make life worth living.
Wits (Resolve)
The Imperial City: The Immaculate Philosophy
Civic Spirit Dedication offers social order and spiritual fulfillment.
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Wits 2, Essence 1
Lookshy: If you want peace, prepare for war.
Type: Simple
Keywords: None Sijan: The dead deserve respect.
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: None Whitewall: The unknown is to be feared and
guarded against.
A hundred cultures mingle in the cities of Creation, and
the Architect may embrace them with her whole heart.

After spending a scene interacting within the culture organization, or a resident of her home city, or if it
of a city — including enclaves of that culture outside of would cause her to feel or believe she is isolated or
the city itself — the Architect forms a Minor Principle alienated from others.
reflecting that city’s culture, norms, laws, or politi-
cal agendas. She gains +2 Resolve against influence City-Sworn Covenant
opposing that Principle, and it can’t be fully eroded, Cost: —(+3m); Mins: Wits 3, Essence 2
only reduced to Minor intensity. The Architect can’t Type: Permanent
voluntarily weaken the Principle while this Charm is Keywords: None
active; once it ends, the Principle still remains, but can Duration: Permanent
be eroded normally. Prerequisite Charms: Civic Spirit Dedication

Reset: Once per story. If the Architect maintains it The Architect pledges herself to a city’s ways, engraving
through multiple stories, she cannot use it again until them upon the stone tablet of her heart’s laws.
she’s ended and a new story begins.
The Architect can pay a three-mote surcharge when
Heart-Sheltering Solidarity she uses Civic Spirit Dedication to further safeguard
Cost: 3m; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 1 the conferred Principle. Any character attempting
Type: Reflexive to weaken that Principle or make the Architect act
Keywords: None against it must make two separate influence rolls, us-
Duration: Instant ing the lower result.
Prerequisite Charms: None
Fortified Mind Discipline
The Architect is one with the city and its people, and her Cost: 5m; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 2
conviction in this is not easily shaken. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Metropolis
The Architect adds +2 Resolve. This bonus is non- Duration: Instant
Charm if the influence opposes a positive Major or Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Sheltering Solidarity
Defining Tie the Architect has toward a city, a citywide

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Essence reinforces the Architect’s mind against persua- Sovereign Mind Bastion
sion and subversion. Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Wits 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
The Architect lowers the Willpower cost to resist in- Keywords: Metropolis
fluence by one point. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Sheltering Solidarity,
Metropolis: In cities, influence that opposes that City-Sworn Covenant
city’s culture, norms, laws, or political agendas has its
Willpower cost reduced by (Essence/2, rounded up). The Architect fortifies her mind with the city’s spirit, an
unassailable citadel against mind-warping magic.
Reset: Once per day, unless reset by accomplishing a
major character or story goal or legendary social goal If a Psyche effect would make the Architect act against a
that benefits a city. positive Tie toward a city, a citywide organization, or a resi-
dent of her home city, she can negate that effect entirely. In
City Mouse Savvy its place, she gains a Defining Principle reflecting her home
Cost: 8m; Mins: Wits 4, Essence 2 city’s culture, norms, laws, or political agendas, which she
Type: Reflexive can’t voluntarily erode until the story ends. Her player and
Keywords: None the Storyteller should work together to pick a Principle.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Fortified Mind Discipline Metropolis: In cities, the Architect may opt to gain a
Defining Principle based on that city. In her home city,
The Architect is not easily taken in, trusting her intuition she can reset by raising the intensity of the Tie protect-
over the honeyed words of others. ed with this Charm to Defining (if it wasn’t already)
and upholding it through an impressive feat of one of
The Architect can use this Charm after an influence its Foundation Attributes. An Essence 5 repurchase of
roll against her, adding +1 Resolve for each 1, maximum this Charm extends this benefit to all cities.
+(Essence). If the influence opposes one of her Major
or Defining Ties toward a city, a citywide organization, Reset: Once per story.
or a resident of her home city, this bonus is non-Charm.

Reset: Once per scene. Wits (Navigation)

Incarnate Law Devotion Cleansing the Well
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Wits 4, Essence 3 Cost: 5m; Mins: Wits 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Type: Simple
Keywords: Metropolis Keywords: Keystone (Intelligence), Metropolis
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: City-Sworn Covenant Prerequisite Charms: None

The Architect embodies the will of the people, an unfal- The Architect brings life-giving water unto the city.
tering paragon of civic virtue.
The Architect rolls ([Intelligence or Wits] + Ability) to
In a Decision Point, the Architect can cite her home purify water, providing enough fresh water to sustain
city or a city that she is currently in as though it were a number of people equal to her successes for one
a Major Intimacy to resist influence that opposes that day. Any mundane poison or disease contained in it
city’s culture, norms, laws, or political agenda. is neutralized. The Ability rolled depends on how the
Architect actually purifies the water: Survival if she
If the Architect has taken on a Principle from the city boils it over a fire, Craft (Alchemy) if she treats it with
she cites with an active use of Civic Spirit Dedication, chemical reagents, Lore if she uses her knowledge of
this Charm’s cost is reduced by one mote. If she’s the natural world to recognize signs of pure water,
enhanced it with City-Sworn Covenant, the discount Performance if she recites a prayer over the water, etc.
increases to two motes.
Characters who drink the water add an automatic
Metropolis: In the Architect’s home city, she can cite success on rolls against disease Morbidity for the rest
it as a Defining Intimacy. of the day.

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Metropolis: In cities, if the Architect uses this Charm Shadow-Ferrying Route

to purify water from a well, cistern, aqueduct, or Cost: 3m; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 2
similar infrastructure, the amount of water purified is Type: Supplemental
multiplied by ten and characters who willingly drink it Keywords: Mute
gain a Minor Tie of gratitude toward her. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Fade Into Obscurity
Keystone: An Architect with Intelligence as a
Foundation Attribute may learn this as an Intelligence The Architect smuggles her traveling companions past
Charm. watchful sentries and reaving bandits, keeping to the
backroads and sleeping in safehouses.
Where All Roads Lead
Cost: 3m; Mins: Wits 2, Essence 1 The Architect doubles 9s on a roll to conceal her tracks
Type: Reflexive or a roll to establish Stealth while making an overland
Keywords: Metropolis journey. If she’s traveling toward a bolthole created
Duration: Instant with Bolthole-and-Cache Method (p. XX) that’s with-
Prerequisite Charms: None in (Essence) miles, she also adds (Essence) non-Charm
dice.
Cities shine like bright waypoints amid the wilderness to
the Architect, beacons by which she can always navigate. Flowers Out of Stone
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 2
The Architect doubles 9s on a Survival roll to navigate, Type: Simple
forage, or find shelter or a Sail roll to navigate a marine Keywords: Keystone (Intelligence), Metropolis
hazard or adds +2 non-Charm Resolve against influ- Duration: Instant
ence or mental attacks that would cause her to become Prerequisite Charms: Cleansing the Well
lost or disoriented.
The Architect channels the flow of vital energies through
Metropolis: While traveling within or toward a city, a city to nourish flower boxes hung from windows or
the Architect ignores penalties from environmental private gardens behind high walls.
conditions or visual obstructions.
After a scene spent examining or tending to a garden,
Fade Into Obscurity greenhouse, collection of potted plants, park, or sim-
Cost: 5m; Mins: Wits 2, Essence 1 ilar locale of up to (Essence x 100) square yards, the
Type: Supplemental Architect blesses it with abundance. Rolls to forage
Keywords: Keystone (Manipulation), Metropolis, food or harvest herbal medicines from it receive
Mute (Architect’s Essence) bonus dice, and foraging yields
Duration: Instant twice as much food as usual. Any penalties such rolls
Prerequisite Charms: Where All Roads Lead would suffer from bad weather, natural pests, or poor
soil conditions are halved, rounded down.
The Architect makes the streets and roadways her ac-
complices, leaving no trace upon ground that refuses to This blessing lasts for a month. The Architect can use
accept her footprint. this Charm again to renew an existing blessing’s dura-
tion, waiving its Willpower cost.
The Architect adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-
Charm dice on a roll to conceal her tracks. With Wits 5, Essence 3, this Charm’s area increases to
(Essence x 2,000) square yards.
Metropolis: If the Architect is traveling entirely with-
in a city, tracking rolls not enhanced by magic suffer a Metropolis: In cities, the blessing adds successes in-
−4 penalty. stead of dice and lasts a year and a day. Characters who
eat food from the blessed garden for at least a week
Keystone: An Architect with Manipulation as a gain a Minor Tie of gratitude toward the Architect that
Foundation Attribute may learn this as a Manipulation can’t be voluntarily weakened until they’ve gone a day
Charm, with Lawyer-Devouring Calumny as its without eating from it.
prerequisite.

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Keystone: An Architect with Intelligence as a Down back alleys and into hidden spaces, the Architect
Foundation Attribute may learn this as an Intelligence knows how to find the most unexpected of places.
Charm.
The Architect rolls (Wits + Ability) to either create a
Footbridge-and-Causeway Journey discreet hideout or reveal the existence of one, like
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Wits 4, Essence 2 introducing a fact. She might use Survival to set up a
Type: Simple hunting blind, Craft to secretly renovate a teahouse’s
Keywords: Metropolis backroom, or Bureaucracy to anonymously rent a
Duration: One day cramped apartment. If the Architect uses Craft to cre-
Prerequisite Charms: Where All Roads Lead ate a bolthole, she gains craft points as though she’d
completed a basic project.
The Architect walks the roads between cities, bringing
her wisdom and authority wherever it’s needed. The bolthole can be large enough to hold (Essence x2)
characters. Noticing a bolthole requires a (Perception
The Architect and up to (Essence x2) others double + [Awareness, Investigation, or Survival]) roll oppos-
the distance they can cover with a single day’s march. ing the Architect’s roll. The Architect and those she
reveals the bolthole to can perceive it unhindered.
Metropolis: While traveling within or toward a The bolthole’s physical structure remains once this
city, the Architect can bring up to (Essence + Wits + Charm’s duration ends, but it is no longer concealed.
Survival) characters.
The Architect can stack this Charm to create up to
Wits (Cache) (Essence) boltholes.

Hidden Compartment Ingenuity Metropolis: In cities, if the Architect spends a day

preparing a bolthole, this Charm’s duration becomes
Cost: 4m; Mins: Wits 2, Essence 1
Indefinite.
Type: Simple
Keywords: Metropolis, Mute
Gewgaw-and-Bauble Arsenal
Duration: Instant
Cost: 4m; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
Type: Simple
Under the floorboards, beneath a false bottom, or out in Keywords: None
the middenheap, the Architect conceals both tools and Duration: Instant
secrets until she has need of them again. Prerequisite Charms: Bolthole-and-Cache Method

The Architect rolls to conceal evidence with (Wits + The Architect always has just the tool she needs.
[Craft, Larceny, Stealth]), doubling 9s and taking only
The Architect retroactively possesses an object light
a minute to complete.
enough to hold or wear that’s in a bolthole created with
Metropolis: In cities, the Architect completes the roll this Charm’s prerequisite or concealed with Hidden
instantly. Compartment Ingenuity. This isn’t literal teleporta-
tion, but a representation of the Architect’s foresight
Bolthole-and-Cache Method and preparation.
Cost: 5m; Mins: Wits 3, Essence 1
An Essence 3 repurchase lets the Architect pay a
Type: Simple
three-mote surcharge to summon an object too large
Keywords: Metropolis, Stackable
to hold as long as it could be lifted by a feat of strength
Duration: One day
with a difficulty no higher than 5. She must spend five
Prerequisite Charms: Hidden Compartment
minutes retrieving this object from whichever nearby
Ingenuity
location she’s stashed in it offscreen.

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Clear-Eyes Lai woke from fevered nightmares into the safety of his bedroom. Slick with sweat, he took in the
familiar opulence, the plaques and trophies commemorating accomplishments of his youth, and thought, What a
cruel dream this is. He had traveled the Wyld far, far too long to trust such comfort.
Lai threw off his bedding and endured ancient pain to channel Essence into scintillant arms and armor. A woman
with gray-flecked hair entered his room, alerted by light and sound, and Lai would have killed her if she hadn’t
countered his brilliant spear with her own shimmering shield.
“...Am I home?” Lai asked. “Have I found Uluiru at last, or another Wyld mirage?”
In response, the woman slid open a window and let in cold Northern air.
“Welcome home, cousin,” she said. “When I last saw you, I was young and you had sworn to liberate the Mountain-
Piercing Javelin from the Wyld. Now I am older, and you…?”
Lai felt the judgment in her question, and the sting of failure. Such casual cruelty was familiar; he truly was home.
“I remember your face, Jyu Bird-of-the-Summer, but I don’t recall you as a cousin, let alone a fellow Sovereign.”
Jyu sat respectfully but fearlessly at the edge of Lai’s bed. Her face revealed neither pain nor relief as her
shield sublimated into shining motes. Only her graying hair betrayed the cost of a Sovereign’s power. “Much has
changed,” said she. “Fortunately for you, I take no offense at your attempted assassination. I know how the Wyld
blends reality and fantasy. I dragged you, raving, from the bordermarch’s edge myself. You’ve been gone for thirty
years, Lai.”
Only that? thought Lai, though he dared not show emotion. Instead, he dismissed his brilliant arms and took a
formal sitting position. “My thanks cousin.” He released a breath. “It is true that I haven’t succeeded in my quest…
yet. I don’t relish facing Queen Ulu empty-handed, but I feel hale enough, and I’m sure she’s summoned me.”
Jyu allowed several moments of silence. “Much has changed.”
“You don’t mean...”
“The queen has been dead just shy of half a year, cousin.”
Lai paled. It was impossible to imagine immortal Queen Ulu’s passing, so he embraced the more familiar
suffering of guilt. “I… I should have been here. I could have done something.”
“You still can, cousin,” said Jyu, “though Uluiru’s time grows short. We stand upon the edge of chaos, yet no
Sovereign yet dares claim the crown.”
“The queen chose no heir?” He shakes his head. “Of course. None were worthy in those days.” Not even myself.
“We all want a worthy ruler who can keep the likes of Wise-Eyed Oja and Silken Lua at bay. Swan’s-Grace Thei had
the people’s adoration, but she’s paid a steep price for her gentle nature.”
Lai was overwhelmed by three decades of missed history and half-remembered names, but he was a Sovereign
of Uluiru, and the court’s movements were in his blood. Jyu had not saved him out of kindness. Though he
remembered her as the scion of an unremarkable family, Jyu now exuded ambition. Lai cut to the meat of her
budding argument:
“You want me to support your claim to the throne.”
Jyu smiled in satisfaction. “The Wyld hasn’t completely dulled your faculties.”
“Nor my ambition,” Lai hazarded, unsure if he spoke truly. “Why should I tie myself to your claim, and not my
own?”
“You’ll find the court has changed in your absence. Many of our cousins are complacent and don’t truly understand
the Wyld’s threat. They won’t forgive your failures as I might.” Jyu cocked her head. “Harbor your own ambitions if
you must, but consider if you wish to face the court with no allies at all.”
As Lai considered his cousin’s argument, he glanced around once more at his childhood room. He felt as trapped
as when he’d awoken. What a cruel dream this is, indeed.

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 Chapter Eight

The Sovereigns
of Uluiru
The god-kings of Uluiru blaze with glory. The best and one-upmanship — weighed and measured, every
brightest of the royal family bathe in the rainbow flame success and failure becoming part of the quiet calculus
of dead gods; those who survive its overwhelming of who’d be allowed the opportunity to Exalt. This de-
power emerge from it Exalted. manded, at a minimum, admirable performance in the
Forty-Four Distinctions, a grueling series of physical
The Sovereigns are bright — so terribly, wondrously competitions and civil exams. Beyond this, Queen Ulu
bright. To look on them is to be blinded with devotion favored faithful service and bold action, especially in
and pride. They weave magic from crystal and auroral any royal scion brave enough to slay, bargain with, or
light, summoning prismatic armies or binding mon- outwit the Fair Folk.
sters in a diamond’s facets. They intrigue against one
another, jockeying for position — most of all now that Not all granted the opportunity to visit the Fount of
the first and greatest of the Sovereigns, Queen Ulu, is Glories did so immediately, or even at all. Some who
dead. More than anything else, they burn: The power bathed themselves in its Essence were consumed by
inside them is not wicked, but neither is it right. It the flames. Others emerged frail and strange, their
consumes them if they let it, quickens their worst in- shriveled bodies ill-suited for the power they at-
stincts, transfixes them with ceaseless pain, and turns tempted to channel. No consistent pattern has been
them into tyrants and torturers. discerned in who succeeds and who fails, but theory
and superstition abound, and each branch of the royal
History family has its own dubious regime of preparations: The
sorcerer Grim-Faced Tanoh subjected himself to doz-
Sovereigns are born in the dark cradle of the earth, in ens of demonic possessions and exorcisms to strength-
a cavern below their capital of Uluiru. Three hundred en his spirit, while forge-master Hwei Burning-Heart
years ago, the gem-god Cantata-of-the-Depths came engaged in grueling austerities to accustom himself to
here with the flame of Exigence cradled in his hands, blinding light and fathomless heat.
knowing by myth, rumor, and instinct that this was
the barrow-hill of an ancient god felled in the Divine While powerful, Sovereigns aren’t immortal — a fact
Revolution. In pride and desperation, Cantata mingled made clear by the death of Queen Ulu’s granddaughter
his own Essence with the dead god’s imperishable and chosen heir, Nuwa Lyre-Song. Slain by fae assassins,
blood; he was consumed in an instant, leaving a pool of the girl’s death prompted Queen Ulu into a one-wom-
liquid fire. This is the Fount of Glories. an crusade…a crusade that ended with the queen as
dead as her heir. For six months, the Sovereigns have
Until her death, Queen Ulu controlled access to mourned their queen. Ulu has been celebrated and
the Fount with icy efficiency, stationing demons, eulogized for weeks on end, her spirit propitiated with
elementals, and crystalline eidolons throughout the countless sacrifices and prayers offered in her name by
caverns. Only members of her royal family are ever priests and citizens alike. Her death, so soon after that
permitted access, and even then, only those who prove of her appointed heir, has thrown the Sovereign Host
themselves. into a time of uncertainty, danger, and ambition, with
the succession an open question.
Accordingly, candidates for the Sovereignty have tra-
ditionally been raised in an atmosphere of relentless When the proscribed mourning for Queen Ulu finally
concludes, power will pass to whoever seizes and

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holds it best. Already, dozens of schemes are in motion, He would not remember until the Irugu were driven
pieces quietly moving into place across a from their home by the predations of the raksha
great gameboard in anticipation of the Winter Folk. On that long exodus through bitter snow,
first big play. he found strength in and for his people, bolstering
their spirits with song and stretching his own divine
power thin to bless them with fortitude and resolve.
Cantata-of- He became a grandfather to the Irugu, not just a pa-
the-Depths tron, and took their brave queen Ulu as his beloved
shortly before unmaking himself in the Fount
Long ago, before he was Cantata- of Glories.
of-the-Depths, he was a cavern
wisp — a minor god of gems
and trickery who led travelers
Fallen Aurora
astray when they entered his The Sovereigns’ other patron, the fallen
subterranean domain. The Irugu clan Incarna Aurora (p. XX), has many titles:
settled at his mountain’s foot, shep- Hopebringer, Lord of Delights, the
herds and farmers who eked out Muse of Seven-Colored Flame. The
a meager living from the land. shimmering curtains of the aurora
Children, brave and foolish, were his billowing robes, and he
would dare one another to danced in the night to remind
clamber down the dark mortals that the dawn would
and narrow caverns that come again. He was awe, fascina-
dotted the mountain in tion, midnight inspiration — the
search of shiny things. wondrous insight that blazed
Whether by pity, lone- brightest in the dark.
liness, or some small
spark of paternal pride, That is what the Sovereigns
the wisp became their say of him, and it has more
patron, guiding, protect- in it of aspiration and
ing, and singing for them myth-making than of his-
in his sunless home. In tory. They do not know
ten generations, he had of his role in the Divine
a new name in their Revolution, or even that
prayers: Cantata-of- he was once counted as
the-Depths! Cantata- a peer to the Highest of
of-the-Depths! Lord of Holies. All that is known
mine and gem, guiding is that he is gone, his ichor
song and watcher of mixed with Cantata’s own
ways! in the creation of the Fount
of Glories.
Now bold with praise,
Cantata accepted the
role of patron god of the To Reign in
Irugu, waxing with might
and majesty. He anointed Uluiru
kings and queens with dia-
Like a riot of color amidst the
mond dust, showered them
far Northwest’s fathomless
in gold and rubies that marked
white, Uluiru stands proudly in
their status as his beloved. He
an otherwise unhospitable land.
grew regal and vain, forgetting
It owes its bounty in equal mea-
that he had once been nothing
sure to the Sovereigns’ power
more than a tiny flame flickering
and its people’s sheer will, for
beneath the earth.
neither could long endure without
the other.

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While Exaltation raises a member of the royal family of Exigent Exaltation, it appears well and truly inex-
into the ranks of the god-queens, the Sovereigns de- haustible, having never guttered or dimmed no matter
pend on their positions in Uluiru’s many ministries how many Sovereigns emerged from it. Even so, Queen
and provincial governments for political power. Most Ulu was never eager to test the limits of her precious
eagerly seize positions when offered; Queen Ulu doled miracle.
them out judiciously to prevent any one Exalt from
growing too strong, but since her death, control over Even after Exalting, Sovereigns have been known to
the various levers of power has fallen into disarray. visit the Fount when they must meet as equals rather
than rivals, trusting that none among their number
Those ministries that once fell under Queen Ulu’s would endanger the very source of their power. Despite
direct control must now contend with pressure from three centuries of study, the Fount’s nature remains
all sides, weighing one patron against another all while enigmatic. At the least of its powers, it can serve as a
maintaining the air of neutrality. Other ministries potent Means for sorcerous workings (Exalted, p. 487)
change hands as currency in the game of Sovereign fa- and as a source of raw Essence on par with the might-
vor-trading, or are taken outright by those Sovereigns iest demesnes. If a Sovereign could control access to it
who are willing to push their authority over another’s. as Ulu once did, she’d hold the future of Uluiru and the
None of this is legal, but maintaining the thin veneer of entire Sovereignty in the hollow of her hand.
legitimacy requires the ministries and their Sovereign
overseers to pay at least grudging lip service to the
covenants laid down by their lost queen, finding some Perils of the Wyld
obscure or ambiguous precedent to justify whatever
Living so near the edge of the world is a dangerous
course they choose.
proposition at the best of times, but Uluiru’s people
have a long, bitter history with the Fair Folk and Wyld-
The Sovereigns represent an extremely formidable
things who lurk at their borders. For young Sovereigns
power bloc in an otherwise lightly populated region.
(and mortal candidates for the Sovereignty), returning
While they only directly rule Uluiru and its surround-
to court with fae war-trophies is a common way of
ing provinces, they act as a local hegemon whose in-
competing for prominence. This is balanced carefully
fluence extends south for hundreds of miles until the
against a need to avoid unnecessarily antagonizing the
borders of Fajad. Within this domain, Uluiru is a hub
monsters at their doorstep; while the Sovereign Host
for trade, especially in the wealth of minerals that can
might be strong enough to stand against faerie armies,
be mined from the North’s snow-capped mountains.
this is never without cost. Some deal peacefully with
They export these goods to neighbors to the south and
their raksha neighbors, engaging in a flourishing trade
west, bringing back food, medicine, cloth, and other
in goblin treasures, studying the esoteric lore of the
essentials of life.
Fair Folk, or taking fae paramours.
The Realm has predictably cold relations with the
The greatest and most dangerous prize a Sovereign
Sovereigns of Uluiru; both sides are far too much
could claim from the Wyld are the heads of Nuwa
alike to develop any real trust. Still, Queen Ulu sent
Lyre-Song’s killers. Anyone able to bring some clarity
Sovereign envoys to the Imperial City from time to
to Nuwa’s senseless death — and to Queen Ulu’s own
time, usually when the Scarlet Empress or one of her
passing — would earn tremendous influence and ac-
Great Houses had need of their unique talents. How
claim. The assassins’ identities remain unknown; the
this relationship may change when someone finally
following examples are options for the Storyteller to
claims the empty throne of either the Realm or Uluiru
choose from or potentially use as antagonists unrelat-
is anyone’s guess.
ed to Uluiru.
Further details about Uluiru and its politics can be
If you include Hearteaters (p. XX) in your game,
found in Across the Eight Directions.
these optionally canonical Exalted make natural foils
to the Sovereigns of Uluiru as the warped, monstrous
The Fount of Glories Chosen of Aurora. The Sovereigns know nothing of
their kindred Chosen, most likely presuming them to
There’s nothing more precious to the Sovereigns and be unbelievably puissant fae at first. Murdering Nuwa
to Uluiru than the Fount of Glories. While most know may have been an opening bid to force Queen Ulu into
it only in stories, every Sovereign has bathed in its a misstep and leave her city open to infiltration. The
Essence and emerged Exalted. Unlike other sources Hearteaters’ most likely endgame is seizing the Fount

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of Glories, believing they can use it to gain greater more intimate in scale. It’s all but certain that every
power or undo their corruption. Sovereign knows each and every one of her peers, and
while the royal family has many branches, they’re just
The warbands of the Thousand Talon Clan roam that — branches of one family, far smaller than even
across the Northwest, wielding lances of screaming the smallest of the Great Houses but no less proud or
metal and riding unicorns caparisoned with ribbons of complex. When the Sovereigns contend for the throne,
woven lamentation. The nomadic court raids fae and it’s not against cousins six-times removed, but against
mortals alike, plundering treasure, seizing hostages, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, parents and
and feasting on fear. The clan’s leader, the Talon- children.
Pierced Queen, is not an individual, but a title that
must be passed to another before the season’s end lest Sovereigns can do well in mixed games as well; their
its impaling thorns destroy her from within. Besieging overall strength make them a good fit for playing
Uluiru would be an ordeal even for the Thousand Talon with Dragon-Blooded. Playing up the similarities and
Clan, but the events set in motion by Nuwa’s assassina- contrasts between these two types of Exalt can help
tion have weakened the city’s defenses considerably. to emphasize the many ways in which family, duty,
and pride can manifest. They’re also particularly apt
The Mirror Domain is not one court, but two. Long in mixed-Exigent games: As a rare state openly ruled
ago, some wrathful horror of the deep Wyld clove a by Exigents, Uluiru may serve as a sanctuary for other
faerie court from their reflections; within the Mirror Exigents, especially those who might serve as useful
Domain’s freehold, each Fair Folk’s reflection is it- allies, agents, and catspaws.
self a raksha. Fae courtiers scheme with and against
their reflections, though it’s not always clear which In games with Solars, Lunars, and other Exalted subject
is which: decades ago, the court of reflections staged to Realm propaganda, Sovereigns can be more difficult
a political coup that inverted the Domain, changing to integrate. They lack the raw power of Solars and
places with their originals. The shattered reflection Lunars, and their most powerful Charms often depend
Irael, a prophetic anchorite, presides over the largest on flaring their animas, announcing their presence
of the court’s mercurial cliques; his foremost rivals for miles around. While Sovereigns can distinguish
are the limb-witch Lady Maug and the sagacious ape themselves in many roles as crafters, performers, so-
Wicked Money. If the Mirror Domain had a hand in cialites, and lieutenants, they cannot compete directly
Nuwa’s assassination, it’s doubtless part of their end- with Solars in the same areas of expertise — at least
less intrigues, with one clique seeking to play Uluiru not without approaching the issue laterally rather than
against the others. head-on.

Mist, the Eternal Revolutionary (Exalted, p. 502)

is an adversary to all rulers. Murdering the heir to the Character Creation
throne may simply be yet another bloody deed in his
Sovereigns use the character creation rules for Ability-
unceasing pursuit of his Wyld-warped ambitions, or
based Exalted designed for Terrestrial play (p. XX)
it might have been part of a larger scheme to depose
with the following modifications.
Queen Ulu. Killing the eldest Sovereign in battle is
likely beyond Mist’s personal puissance; it’s possible
Step One: Choose your character’s Sovereign Aspect.
he’s allied with faerie courts or other powers of the
Wyld. With the current power vacuum in Uluiru, Mist Step Three: Craft, Integrity, Performance, Socialize,
is left without anyone to oppose, but a Sovereign who and War are their Sovereign Abilities, analogous to
succeeds in claiming the throne may find herself faced Caste Abilities. Their Charms utilize only these five
with a powerful enemy. Abilities.

Sovereign Chronicles Step Four: Sovereigns receive five free dots that can
be divided among Backing, Command, Contacts, Cult,
The Sovereigns are one of that rare breed of Exigent Followers, Influence, Resources, and Retainers to re-
whose numbers can support self-contained chroni- flect their royal upbringing and social status.
cles, with each player creating a Sovereign to engage
in a ruthless game of statecraft, guile, and glory. While Step Five: Sovereigns receive five free Excellencies
Sovereign chronicles follow many of the same story in addition to their starting Charms, which must be
beats as the Dragon-Blooded, they’re smaller and chosen for their Sovereign or Favored Abilities.

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EXIGENT ASPECTS

Unlike other Exalted, Sovereign Aspects don’t have unique Abilities associated with them; all of them share
the five Sovereign Abilities. We recommend doing the same if you’re creating Castes or Aspects for an Exi-
gent that only has Charms for a limited selection of Abilities or Attributes (p. XX). The experience discount on
Charms is so valuable that any traits omitted from a Caste or Aspect selection would be must-haves when
selecting Favored traits, giving players fewer options when building their characters.

The lack of Aspect Abilities does make Sovereign Aspects less distinct from each other than the likes of
Solar Castes. Exigents have less need for that differentiation, as they’re most likely to appear in mixed circle
games — but even if you’re running an all-Sovereign game, the differences in their Aspects’ temperaments
and patchwork agony provides ample distinction.

Step Eight: Sovereigns have (Essence + 4) personal Shattered Imperfection Judgment: Once per day,
motes and (30 + [Essence x4]) peripheral motes. when the Sovereign attacks or makes an influence roll
against someone who’s violated or opposed one of her
Principles, she adds (Intimacy) non-Charm dice.
Traits
Exigent Experience
Sovereigns are intended for Terrestrial play (p. XX).
Once per session, Diamond Aspects earn 2 Exigent XP
when they:
Aspects
• Advance their or their Circle’s goals by making a
The Sovereigns are divided into five Aspects, deter- significant sacrifice.
mined by their reaction to the ordeal of Exaltation,
that reflect both their power and their personality. • Refuse to submit to another’s authority or ac-
Their Aspects have few visible markings — most have cept someone’s help.
eyes to match their Aspect’s anima color, and at higher
Essence, their skin sometimes shines as if speckled • Resist the influence or mind-warping magic of a
with gem-dust. powerful enemy or rival.

Diamond Aspect • Uphold a positive Major or Defining Tie of pride

Some endure the Fount of Glories with stoic determi- or ambition.
nation, Exalting into the Diamond Aspect. Exemplars
of will and certitude, they rule by righteousness, such Emerald Aspect
that even their greatest enemies must acknowledge Those who accept their agony in the Fount of Glories
their virtue. They’re incorruptible judges, peerless as the price of power, clinging to their ambition even as
logicians, and warrior-philosophers. Resilient and they burn, may Exalt into the Emerald Aspect. Possessed
proud, they suffer the agonies of their patchwork of unslakable desires for wealth, power, or pleasure,
Essence silently, a burden borne in isolation that leaves they rule by understanding the wants and needs of their
them cold, distant, and self-reliant to a fault. subordinates and rivals. They’re bespoke artificers,
manipulative power brokers, and purveyors of wonder
Anima Powers and vice. Self-indulgence is their only balm to their
Adamant Will: For five motes, the Sovereign gains +1 patchwork Exaltation’s turmoil, predisposing them to
non-Charm Resolve until her next turn. This increases hedonism, ruthlessness, and thoughtless cruelty.
to +3 against Psyche effects, curses, and Shaping ef-
fects. This power is free at bonfire or higher. Anima Powers
Desires Laid Bare: For three motes, the Sovereign
Eternal Reign Persistence: For three motes, the adds (Anima) non-Charm dice on a read intentions roll
Sovereign ignores penalties from wounds, poison, and to discern Intimacies related to someone’s desires or
crippling effects for one tick. Awareness rolls to detect theft or oppose the Stealth of
someone who intends to steal from her.

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Dreams of Avarice: Once per day, when the Sovereign Exigent Experience
upholds an Intimacy by indulging her desires, she Once per session, Opal Aspects earn 2 Exigent XP
gains an additional Willpower and may raise her anima when they:
to any level.
• Advance their or their Circle’s goals through de-
Glistening Jewel Temptation: For five motes, the ception, impersonation, or other underhanded
Sovereign’s influence roll treats Intimacies related to means.
her target’s desires as Ties of obligation to her. Their
effective intensity is reduced by one, minimum Minor. • Help someone by guiding them through hostile
This is free at bonfire anima or above. environs or a complicated social situation.

Exigent Experience • Make a bargain with a dangerous or untrust-

Once per session, Emerald Aspects earn 2 Exigent XP worthy supernatural force.
when they:
• Uncover a useful secret about a powerful enemy
• Advance their or their Circle’s goals by using or rival.
wealth or playing on people’s desires.
Ruby Aspect
• Convince a powerful character to become in- Some are overwhelmed by the Fount of Glories, suc-
debted to them. cumbing to panic, desperation, or directionless rage
as they Exalt into the Ruby Aspect. Hearts aflame
• Endure significant peril to fulfill their desires. with mighty passions, they rule by force, whether the
strength of their sword-arm or the ferocity of their
• Sell something of significant value that they’ve invective. They’re conquering generals, berserker
created, or give it as a gift, bribe, or similar. knights, and masters of brinkmanship. They seethe
with the pain of their patchwork Exaltation, especially
Opal Aspect when their passions are roused, breeding volatility,
Some who cannot bear the Fount of Glories reject its misguided wrath, and recklessness unchecked by
agonizing reality, taking reprieve in delirium as they self-preservation.
Exalt into the Opal Aspect. Creatures of capricious
mischief, they rule by trickery, intrigue, and specta- Anima Powers
cle. They’re silver-tongued deceivers, unpredictable Blinding Aurora: For five motes, the Sovereign’s ani-
tacticians, and wayfarers of the Wyld. The pain of ma flares with blinding light, imposing a –1 penalty on
their patchwork Exaltation drives them into feverish vision-based rolls against her as long as her anima’s
visions, disorienting confusion, and strange dreams, burning or higher. This increases to –2 and is free at
predisposing them to fickleness, eccentricity, and an bonfire anima or above.
unwise affinity for the fae.
Crystal Heart Radiance: Once per day, when the
Anima Powers Sovereign takes a nonextended action to uphold an
Ever-Welcome Guest: The Sovereign is easily trusted. emotion-based Intimacy, she adds (Intimacy) non-
If someone has a Tie of distrust or fear that isn’t to her Charm dice.
as an individual but still applies to her, its intensity is
treated as one step lower for her. Unchecked Diva Bravado: The Sovereign ignores up
to (Essence) points of penalties she suffers as a result
Foxfire Trickster Mantle: Once per day, the Sovereign of her own recklessness.
adds (Anima) non-Charm dice on an inspire, instill, or
persuade roll. Inspire rolls increase the cost to resist by Exigent Experience
one Willpower. Once per session, Ruby Aspects earn 2 Exigent XP
when they:
Opal’s Hidden Flame: For three motes, the Sovereign
ignores (Essence) point of penalties for implausible • Advance their or their Circle’s goals with a show
claims on an influence roll or any penalties on a Stealth of force — martial, political, or otherwise.
roll. This power is Mute.
• Dramatically change a social institution.

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• Publicly humiliate a powerful enemy or rival. Their iconic animas might display a towering crystal giant
that reflects her self-image, a rain or precious gemstones or
• Uphold a Major or Defining Intimacy by taking a a ferocious blizzard of sharp-edged diamonds, a garda bird
needless risk. with wings of seven-colored flame, an extravagant palace,
a whirlwind of fireglass blades, a shrike overseeing a field
Sapphire Aspect of crystal thorns, a dragon with gemstone scales, or the
For some, the captivating sight of their reflection in the like. Sovereigns often derive their personal heraldry from
Fount of Glories drowns out agony as they Exalt into their anima’s colors and iconic display.
the Sapphire Aspect. Muses of enchanting beauty, they
seek the adulation, love, or obedience of those they rule. Sovereigns with Fount-of-Glories Incarnation (p. XX)
They’re provocative artists, flamboyant duelists, and are capable of reaching a level beyond bonfire: tran-
seductive courtiers. Glory, acclaim, and applause soothe scendent anima.
their warped, patchwork Essence, while creative strug-
gles or failures exacerbate it, eroding their self-confi- In addition to the Aspect anima powers listed above,
dence and leaving them overly dependent on others. Sovereigns can spend one mote to do one of the
following:
Anima Powers
Beloved By All the World: While the Sovereign’s • Create a small decorative or ornamental object
anima is at glowing or higher, other characters must of fireglass (p. XX) — elegant utensils, jeweled
pay one Willpower to initiate hostilities against her decorations, glowing gemstones — that lasts un-
and her companions, unless provoked by their actions til the scene ends. They’re ill-suited to practical
or words. Once a character resists, he’s immune for the use; relying on these constructs as equipment
rest of the day. imposes a penalty that’s only one less than the
penalty for using no equipment at all.
Crystalline Cynosure Radiance: For five motes, the
Sovereign adds a non-Charm success on rolls against • Sense the direction and approximate distance of
characters with Resolve lower than her Appearance the Fount of Glories.
until her next turn. This is free at bonfire anima or
above. Martial Arts
Inspiring Grandeur: For three motes, add (Anima) Sovereigns are restricted by the Terrestrial keyword
non-Charm dice on an influence roll involving awe, (Exalted, p. 427) when using Martial Arts. They’re
reverence, or wonder, or that leverages Intimacies limited in their ability to combine Martial Arts Charms
based on those emotions. with their native Charms. When they make a Martial
Arts attack, they can enhance it with either
Exigent Experience Sovereign Charms or Martial Arts Charms, but not
Once per session, Sapphire Aspects earn 2 Exigent XP both, with the exception of Excellencies and Versatile
when they: Charms (p. XX). This doesn’t apply to Charms that are
permanent or provide ongoing benefits, nor to actions
• Advance their or their Circle’s goals through art- other than attacking.
istry, craftsmanship, or seduction.

• Cause a narratively significant character to form

Sorcery
a positive Major or Defining Tie toward them.
Sovereigns can initiate into Terrestrial Circle sorcery
• Create a lasting and meaningful work of beauty. or Ivory Circle necromancy, but not both. Their Occult
Ability determines whether they receive the Favored
• Uphold a Major or Defining Intimacy with the Ability discount on spells.
aid of a patron, admirer, or similar backer, or
that of their subordinates (p XX). Evocations
Anima Sovereigns are neutral with adamant and dissonant
with all other materials. They can develop resonance
A Sovereign’s anima banner encompass the colors of the with adamant using Adamant Perfection Attainment
aurora, predominated by the gemstone hues of her Aspect. (p. XX).

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The Great Curse

MIRACLES OF ADAMANT
The Great Curse smolders within the Sovereigns,
Adamant is to diamond as orichalcum is to gold: a baleful flame that burns along the seams of their
superior not just in strength, but in spiritual maj- patchwork Exigence. If their will falters, if the stress
esty. Lodes of adamant are most often found in becomes too much to bear, it will consume them from
the distant North and South, born of extreme within, an agonizing torment that drives them to acts
temperatures, isolation, and stillness. Even in the of cruelty and self-destruction.
rough, it has shine and luster to match a master-
fully cut diamond. Most artificers grind it to dust Sovereigns’ Great Curse manifests through a ten-point
and alloy it with steel, much like jade; knapping Limit Track (p. XX). They roll dice and gain Limit equal
and carving it often produces superior designs to their successes under the following circumstances.
but requires rare tools and expertise.
• Once per scene, when a Sovereign acts against
Rare compared even to the other magical materi-
als and beyond the power of most Exalted to fully a Major Intimacy, she rolls one die (unless she’s
resonate with, adamant is uncommonly used in already rolled for acting against a Defining
artifice, though it could be numbered as the sixth Intimacy). Voluntarily weakening an Intimacy
of the five magical materials. or spending Willpower to resist influence it sup-
ports counts as acting against it.
Adamant is associated with clarity, precision,
keen senses, and graceful action. Its Essence is • Once per scene, when a Sovereign acts against a
unyielding, timeless, and eternal. Adamant arti- Defining Intimacy, she rolls two dice (or one die,
facts magnify, reflect, and refract, enhancing or if she’s already rolled for acting against a Major
distorting traits like light split through a prism. Intimacy).
It’s also associated with sharpness, fascination,
illusion, scrying, logic, order, protection, and ex- • When a Sovereign allows a challenge to go
tremes temperatures — the heat of focused light unanswered or submits to another character’s
and the crystalline luster of ice. authority, she rolls three dice. She doesn’t gain
Limit for submitting to characters for whom she
Sample adamant artifacts include: has a positive Major or Defining Tie or to other
Diamond-Fire Ratha, a war chariot that crosses Sovereigns.
unimpeded through snow and ice, its crystalline
wheels burning with colorless flame. Sovereigns lose one Limit for accomplishing a legend-
ary social goal (Exalted, p. 134). Additionally, they
Elegant Snowfall Awning, a razor parasol that can lose one Limit for forcing a powerful and narra-
fend off any attack with paramount grace and un- tively relevant enemy or rival to submit to their
shakable fortitude. authority.

The Empty-Heart Yumi, a powerbow whose When a Sovereign reaches Limit 10, she blazes with
wielder may purge their emotions and irrational white-hot Essence as her soul begins to immolate itself,
thoughts as arrows of heat and cold. either immediately or at a suitably dramatic moment.
The Sovereign chooses which of the following Limit
The Eon Mantle, a suit of articulated plate that
holds back the travails of time, preserving its Breaks she enters, either suffering the overwhelming
wearer against age, wounds, and pestilence. pain of Agony Cataclysmic and lashing out at those
around her or steeling herself in the Diamond Heart
Facet Razor, a reaper daiklave whose blade is in- Trance by suppressing emotion and empathy.
finitely sharp, said to be capable of cutting through
anything in the hands of one who’s mastered it. Agony Cataclysmic
The Sovereign’s body cracks and blisters, revealing not
Sevenfold Harmony, an adamant harp, whose flesh inside of her, but fiery anima. She is overwhelmed
seven strings each have a unique mesmeric pow- by pain; her wound penalty is −4 unless it would normally
er when strummed. be higher. Driven by this pain, she lashes out, physically
or emotionally, at anyone and everyone at hand. She can
refrain from physically harming characters for whom

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she has positive Ties. When her anima banner flares, it Charms for Craft, Integrity, Performance, Socialize,
sloughs off waves of molten glass; at the start of each of and War, though their Charms encompass the full
her turns, she rolls (Anima) dice of withering damage range of Exalted competency.
against all characters within close range, friend or foe.
She doesn’t gain Initiative from this. Crashed characters Excellencies
suffer lethal decisive damage instead.
Sovereigns have Excellencies for all twenty-five
Duration: Scene. This ends if the Sovereign sees how Abilities. They must purchase individual Excellencies
her actions have caused someone for whom she has a for each Ability, other than the five free Excellencies
positive Major or Defining Tie to fear or reject her. they receive at character creation.
Diamond Heart Trance Sovereigns may add up to (4 + Anima) dice to rolls.
The Sovereign cages the roaring flame within her Automatic successes count as two dice towards this
through sheer will, her heart growing cold as crystal limit. Static values such as Evasion or Resolve can
as she numbs herself to passion as well as pain. Her be raised by half her dice limit, rounded down. An
emotion-based Intimacies are suppressed, as if she action’s dice limit is determined before paying any
didn’t have them, and she can’t voluntarily form new anima costs for Charms that enhance it.
ones. She is neither willing nor able to consider the
emotions of others; while she need not be malicious,
she cares not whom she enrages, terrifies, or drives to
Charm Concept: Fireglass
despair in pursuit of her goals.
Many Sovereign Charms create things out of fire-
glass, crystalline light that shines with the colors of a
Duration: Session. This ends if a character to whom
Sovereign’s anima. Fireglass is incredibly resilient and
she has a positive Tie (suppressed or not) shows her
grows only stronger as a Sovereign’s Essence increas-
how her actions have harmed one of her suppressed
es. The Strength minimum and difficulty needed to
Major or Defining Intimacies.
destroy a Sovereign’s fireglass depend on her Essence,
as follows:
Longevity and Death
Sovereigns live for centuries, although their full lifespans Essence Strength Minimum Difficulty
remain uncertain. They begin to show signs of aging 1-2 5 5-9
sooner than other Exalted, though not as soon as mortals
3-4 7 10-14
—their unstable, patchwork Exigence burns away their
youth before their years. Like the Dragon-Blooded, a 5+ 10 15-20
Sovereign’s Exaltation is snuffed out when they perish,
but the Fount of Glories itself seems inexhaustible. A character familiar with a Sovereign’s anima banner
can recognize her fireglass as her handiwork with a
difficulty 3 (Perception + Occult) roll.
Character Advancement
Upon a Sovereign’s death, her fireglass shatters.
Sovereigns use Terrestrial advancement rules (p. XX).
They receive Exigent Experience from Expression Charm Concept: Subordinates
Bonuses as usual and can earn Aspect Bonuses for
satisfying the criteria listed for their Aspect. Aspect Sovereigns are born to rule; their Charms hold espe-
bonuses can also be earned by ceding the “spotlight” of cial power over those who serve them. Subordinates
a scene’s focus to another player’s character to enable a include characters over whom a Sovereign holds
dramatic moment that supports his character concept, legitimate authority within an organization or culture
or directly supporting him in such a moment. group (often represented by Backing). It also includes
characters in her debt, either financially or socially, or
Charms characters currently deferring to her authority or ex-
pertise, like evacuees following her directions, though
Sovereign Charms reflect both Cantata-of-the-Depths’ this status ends once the debt is repaid or the char-
past as trickster, savior, and tutelary god of the mines acter stops following the Sovereign’s directive for a
and Aurora’s awe-inspiring beauty. They only have scene. Storyteller characters attached to the Sovereign

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through the Command, Cult, Followers, Retainers, or Upon purchasing this Charm, the Sovereign’s player
similar Merits are always subordinates unless story creates a new anima power that reflects her personality,
events cause the Sovereign to lose the respective Merit. Aspect, and character concept, which can only be used
at transcendent anima. (See p. XX for advice on design-
Universal ing anima powers). These anima powers are more pow-
erful than those typically possessed by Exalted intended
Fount-of-Glories Incarnation for Terrestrial play, approaching the level of Solar anima
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3 powers. Example transcendent anima powers are below:
Type: Permanent
• Crystal-Fire Champion Mantle: While at tran-
Keywords: None
scendent anima, the Sovereign adds (Essence/2,
Duration: Permanent
rounded up) to her base Initiative.
Prerequisite Charms: None
• Glory Beyond Limit: Once per day, the
The Sovereign’s soul is a fathomless flame, a light to
Sovereign may expend her transcendent ani-
equal that from which she arose in Exaltation.
ma and pay one Willpower to reset one of her
The Sovereign gains access to a new level of anima Charms.
beyond bonfire: transcendent. At transcendent, her
• Nemesis-Slaying Halo: Once per day, the
anima banner rises up to the sky and fills the heavens
Sovereign may expend her transcendent anima
like an aurora, visible out to (Essence x10) miles. For
when she makes a decisive attack against an
purposes of Charm calculations, transcendent anima is
enemy she has a negative Major or Defining Tie
valued as 4. Transcendent anima fades back to bonfire
toward. If she succeeds, she doesn’t reset to base
at the end of the scene.
Initiative.

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• Reach for the Crown: Once per day, the

Sovereign can choose a Simple, Supplemental, CRAFT CHARMS
or Reflexive Sovereign Charm she doesn’t know,
although she must still meet its prerequisites. Sovereign Craft Charms draw on Cantata’s themes
She can use it while at transcendent anima. of crystal, wealth, and exchange, especially in
creating and distributing tribute. They also reso-
Craft nate with Cantata’s own journey from minor god
to major, allowing the Sovereigns to create and
Imperious Muse Inspiration uplift eidolons of their own making. Finally, Craft
Cost: —; Mins: Craft 1, Essence 1 is a repository for complex aurora-shaping magic
Type: Permanent that demonstrate the Sovereign’s growing cre-
Keywords: None ative prowess.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
As usual, if the Sovereign succeeds with 3+ threshold
The Sovereign needs no muse but herself. successes against at least one target’s Resolve, she
gains three silver points per objective fulfilled.
Upon purchasing this Charm, the Sovereign’s player
selects two of the options below. When she succeeds Diamond Dust Insights
on the specified influence roll against at least one non- Cost: 4m, 1a; Mins: Craft 4, Essence 1
trivial character, she receives craft points as though Type: Reflexive
she’d completed a basic project (Exalted, p. 240). She Keywords: None
can purchase additional options for three experience Duration: Instant
points or one bonus point each. Prerequisite Charms: Imperious Muse Inspiration

• Elegant Couture Acclamation: The Sovereign Like light through a prism, the Sovereign may transform
receives craft points from Appearance-based a single epiphany into many diffuse insights.
rolls that receive an equipment bonus from
clothing or jewelry she’s made. The Sovereign may exchange craft points for those
of a lower tier: one white point to two gold points or
• Graceful Violence Flourish: The Sovereign one gold point to two silver points. Each use can only
receives craft points from threaten rolls using a convert one type of point, though there’s no limit on
weapon she’s made to menace others. how many can be exchanged.

• In-the-Rough Acquisition: The Sovereign re- With Essence 4, the Sovereign may pay a one-Willpow-
ceives craft points from bargain, persuade, or er surcharge to convert silver points to gold, paying
threaten rolls to obtain tools or raw materials four silver points per gold point.
necessary for her work.
Secret Song of Crystal
• Jangling Coin Epiphany: The Sovereign re- Cost: —; Mins: Craft 1, Essence 1
ceives craft points from bargain rolls to sell Type: Permanent
goods she’s made or bribe others with them. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
• Rainbow-Graced Atelier: The Sovereign re- Prerequisite Charms: None
ceives craft points from Charisma-based rolls
targeting characters who are eating food pre- The Sovereign hears the whispers of gemstones and pre-
pared by the Sovereign, admiring a gallery of her cious metal that rise from the depths of the mines, the secret
art, or otherwise appreciating her crafts. song from which Cantata-of-the-Depths took his name.

• Strumming Crystal Strings: The Sovereign re- The Sovereign adds non-Charm dice equal to her high-
ceives craft points from Performance rolls using est Craft involving metal, stone, or gems on Perception
instruments she’s made. rolls with any Ability to detect or examine any of those
substances. She can roll (Perception + [Awareness
or Investigation]) to sense the presence and location

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of these substances when it would normally be im- wealth, material possessions, or luxury. If the charac-
possible to do so, like sensing a vein of silver running ter has no such Intimacies, the Sovereign still intuits
beneath a cavern floor she stands on. some lesser desire — a taste for red wine, love of ivory
baubles, or preference for blue silk over red.
Eyes-Like-Facets Trance
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 1 In either case, if she leverages this information when
Type: Simple making a gift or bribe, she adds a non-Charm die on
Keywords: None her next bargain or instill roll against the character, or a
Duration: (Essence + Perception) days non-Charm success if she created the item personally.
Prerequisite Charms: Secret Song of Crystal
Knowing the Creator’s Hand
The Sovereign imbues a sliver of her soul within a Cost: 5m; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 1
gemstone. Type: Simple
Keywords: None
By meditating, the Sovereign can extend her senses Duration: Instant
through a gemstone enchanted with this Charm, Prerequisite Charms: Eye for Avarice or Imperious
perceiving things as if she were at its current location. Muse Inspiration
Characters who can perceive the dematerialized
spirits can detect her presence in the gem while she’s The Sovereign’s masterful eye for aesthetics and design
meditating, seeing her as a faintly glowing specter. discerns much from her peers’ handiwork.
This Charm ends if the enchanted gem goes more than
(Essence x5) miles from her. After a scene spent examining an object or structure,
the Sovereign makes a (Perception + Craft) read in-
With three dots in an appropriate Craft, the Sovereign tentions roll against its creator. Success reveals the
can use this Charm on luxury goods other than gem- creator’s strongest Intimacy involved in creating it; if
stones — with Craft (Painting), she might see through he has no such Intimacies, she learns a useful piece of
a portrait’s eyes; with Craft (Metalworking), she might information about his reasons for creating it.
spy on a tiara’s wearer.
If the Sovereign knows the creator personally, she
With an Essence 2 repurchase, the Sovereign may pay also learns his identity. Otherwise, she identifies him
a three-mote surcharge to enchant a jewel to record all automatically the first time she meets him unless he’s
that transpires nearby. Doing so has Indefinite duration in a disguise that’s inconsistent with him having been
and waives this Charm’s range limit, but the Sovereign its creator.
can’t project her senses through the gem. Instead, by
touching it and meditating, she may experience events Treasured Keepsake Remembrance
that occurred near the gem as though she had projected Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 4, Essence 1
her senses through it for them. Reviewing the record- Type: Simple
ed events takes the same amount of time as the events Keywords: None
themselves, but the Sovereign may pinpoint an event Duration: (Essence) days
of interest within a gem’s record with a (Perception + Prerequisite Charms: Eyes-Like-Facets Trance or
Craft) roll. Knowing the Creator’s Hand

Eye for Avarice No matter how prolific the Sovereign’s workshop, she
Cost: 5m; Mins: Craft 2, Essence 1 knows each and every bauble, portrait, and blade she’s
Type: Simple ever created.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Sovereign can sense the approximate distance and
Prerequisite Charms: None direction to an object or structure she’s created, a gem
enchanted with Eyes-Like-Facets Trance, or one of her
The Sovereign knows what dreams of wealth dwell in the eidolons (p. XX). She doubles 9s on Survival rolls to
hearts of princes and monks alike. track it and Awareness and Investigation rolls to de-
tect or examine it. If it’s currently in the possession of
The Sovereign makes a special ([Perception or Wits] someone for whom she has a Tie, she adds (Intimacy)
+ Craft) read intentions action against a character. dice on such rolls.
Success reveals any Intimacies directly related to

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Greed-Stoking Technique Keywords: Stackable

Cost: 2m; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 1 Duration: One day
Type: Supplemental Prerequisite Charms: Loupe-and-Bit Trick
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Sovereign cannot trust mere steel and timber to guard
Prerequisite Charms: None her treasure-house, sealing her vaults behind fireglass.

There is no better salesman for a treasure than its own Touching a door, window, container, or similar open-
artisan — who else knows its virtues so intimately? ing, the Sovereign encases it in fireglass, locking it
against all save her and those she permits. Rolls to pick
When the Sovereign makes a bargain roll using some- this magical lock are made at difficulty (Sovereign’s
thing she has personally created, she doubles 9s and Intelligence), or (Essence + Intelligence) for rolls not
may use Craft instead of Appearance when determin- enhanced by magic. Feats of demolition use the diffi-
ing how many bonus dice she adds. culty for fireglass (p. XX).

Inspired Lapidary Trance The Sovereign can stack this Charm to maintain
Cost: 6m; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 1 (Essence x2) such seals.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Prismatic Design Realization
Duration: One project Cost: 5m; Mins: Craft 4, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: None Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Treasures fall like flotsam from the Sovereign’s workshop Duration: One project
— rings and bangles, diadems and pendants, delicately Prerequisite Charms: Imperious Muse Inspiration,
crafted and yet abandoned for the next project. Loupe-and-Bit Trick

The Sovereign completes a basic or major project at The Sovereign raises her blueprints off the page, creating
(Essence + 1) times her normal speed, to a maximum of fireglass prototypes and crystalline models.
one hour for basic projects or one day major projects.
She must have suitable tools, and only the finest raw ma- When the Sovereign adds a full Excellency on a Craft
terials will do, increasing the cost of any materials she roll, she rerolls 6s until they cease to appear. She must
needs by one dot of Resources. Objects created through have time and materials necessary to draw up designs
this Charm are always conspicuously ostentatious. — she can’t use it to jury-rig a ship’s mast mid-combat.

Loupe-and-Bit Trick If the Sovereign devotes herself to perfecting her

Cost: 3m; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 1 crystalline blueprints, doubling the necessary time,
Type: Simple she rerolls 5s as well. This benefit is incompatible with
Keywords: Stackable Inspired Lapidary Trance.
Duration: One scene
Flawless Diamond Talent
Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: —(+1wp, 1gxp); Mins: Craft 5, Essence 1
Shaping her Essence into fireglass, the Sovereign is pre- Type: Permanent
pared for almost any occasion. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
The Sovereign creates a piece of fireglass equipment Prerequisite Charms: Prismatic Design Realization
sized for personal use: diamond-fire mirrors, scintillat-
ing ballgowns, ropes of woven rainbow, or crystalline The Sovereign foresees her completed work in her fire-
coracles large enough for one. She can’t create weap- glass designs, honing her art to sublime heights.
ons or armor. If she has a relevant specialty or Ability
rated at 3+, these tools are exceptional equipment When the Sovereign uses Prismatic Design Realization,
(Exalted, p. 580). she may pay a one-Willpower, one-gold-point sur-
charge. Each rerolled die that shows a success lets her
Impervious Diamond Vault roll an additional non-Charm die. Successes on these
Cost: 3m; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 1 additional dice likewise let her roll further dice.
Type: Simple

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Vein-and-Ore Instinct Pouring her heart into her work, the Sovereign emerges
Cost: 3m; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 1 from her workshop with a manifestation of her inner-
Type: Supplemental most feelings.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Sovereign can use Starry Lapis Artistry to make an
Prerequisite Charms: None instill roll based on one of her Intimacies rather than
an inspire roll, adding (Intimacy) non-Charm dice.
Heirs to Cantata’s prerogative as masters of the mine, If the Intimacy’s context changes during the effect’s
the Sovereign knows what lies beneath the earth. duration, so too does the object — if love curdles into
hate, her paintings subtly reveal a faithless lover’s cru-
The Sovereign doubles 9s on a Lore roll relating to elty and caprice, instilling disdain instead of devotion.
minerals, geology, and their cultural impact. This in-
cludes introducing or challenging a fact, and waives Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon
the need for a relevant Lore background. She might Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 2
establish that black opals are endemic to the Snow Type: Simple
Shadow Province, point out that a building is struc- Keywords: Stackable
turally unsound by noting the crisscrossed tunnels she Duration: Indefinite
has sensed below it, or note that the grandees of Fajad Prerequisite Charms: Loupe-and-Bit Trick
prefer rubies over emeralds. If she has a relevant Lore
specialty, she converts the die it adds to a non-Charm The Sovereign need not tend to labors beneath her notice,
success. creating faithful retainers from crystal and light.

Starry Lapis Artistry The Sovereign creates an eidolon, a featureless con-

Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 4, Essence 1 struct of fireglass the size of a person. Its intelligence is
Type: Supplemental comparable to that of a child or a well-trained animal;
Keywords: None while loyal, they struggle with complicated instruc-
Duration: Indefinite tions or those that require them to make subjective
Prerequisite Charms: None judgments. It understands all languages the Sovereign
knows, speaking in a voice like tinkling crystals.
The Sovereign imbues her art with a measure of her own
glamour. The Sovereign can stack this Charm up to (Essence)
times to create that many eidolons.
At the end of a basic or major project to create an art
object meant to be primarily aesthetic, such as a stat- With a Craft 5, Essence 3 repurchase, the Sovereign
ue, mural, or jewelry, the Sovereign makes a special can use this Charm over the course of a day to create
([Charisma or Manipulation] + Craft) inspire roll to enough eidolons to form a battle group of up to Size
evoke awe, joy, pride, or respect. (Essence), paying two motes per point of Size and one
Willpower. When mased in battle, it has average Drill
Characters who interact with the object are subject and Might 1, but the Sovereign need not keep the eido-
to the inspire roll. A character may only be affected lons together and can use them for any purpose. Any
by any given art object once, and only one object per existing eidolons are subsumed into this battle group,
scene — the galleries of the Sovereigns may shine, but and the Sovereign can’t create any more eidolons
the heart can only be so full. This magic lingers in the while she maintains it. Eidolons enhanced by Emerald
object until the Sovereign ends her commitment to the Eidolon Awakening are an exception; the Sovereign
Charm, and for (Essence + Craft) days thereafter. can have up to (Essence) of them in addition to the
battle group and can recreate preserved ones.
Soul-Baring Craftsmanship
Cost: —; Mins: Craft 4, Essence 1 Emerald Eidolon Awakening
Type: Permanent Cost: 10m, 1wp, 10gxp, 2xp; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 2
Keywords: None Type: Simple
Duration: Permanent Keywords: None
Prerequisite Charms: Starry Lapis Artistry Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon

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• Artificer’s Apprentice Tutelage: The eidolon’s

EIDOLON dice pool for crafting increases to 14 dice. It can
use this pool to make an influence roll against
Essence: 1; Willpower: 1; Join Battle: 5 dice a single target by creating something that will
provoke a response, similar to written influence.
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x3/−4x3/Incap. Once per session, the Sovereign can reveal that
the eidolon previously completed a major proj-
Actions: Crafting: 8 dice; Feats of Strength: 4 dice ect with any Craft she has dots in.
(can attempt Strength 5 feats); Investigation: 7
dice; Medical Treatment: 4 dice; Read Intentions: • Crystal Courtier Enchantment: The eidolon’s
6 dice; Senses: 8 dice; Social Influence: 6 dice; dice pools for investigation, read intentions,
Stealth: 4 dice; Subterfuge: 4 dice; Tracking: 4 dice social influence, and subterfuge increase to 10.
Appearance 1; Resolve 4; Guile 4 Its Appearance, Guile, and Resolve increase to
6. With a successful read intentions or profile
COMBAT character roll, it also learns what its creator
would want it to do based on the information
Attack (Unarmed): 7 dice (Damage 8B) revealed.
Attack (Grapple): 4 dice (1 die to control) • Diamond Sage Enlightenment: The eidolon’s
Combat Movement: 7 dice dice pools for investigation, lore, medical treat-
ment, and mysticism increase to 10. It gains all
Evasion 3, Parry 1 Lore backgrounds the Sovereign possesses and
any others appropriate to the eidolon’s expe-
Soak/Hardness: 8/4 riences. It can perceive and physically interact
with dematerialized characters.
INTIMACIES

Defining Tie: The Sovereign (Obedience). • Jeweled Warrior Acclamation: The eidolon’s
dice pools for attacks, grapple control rolls,
MERITS combat movement, and Join Battle increase to
10. Its unarmed withering attack’s damage in-
Automaton: Eidolons are immune to poison, creases to 13B/3. Its Parry increases to 5 and its
disease, fatigue, and fear and don’t need to eat, soak and Hardness increase to 14/10.
drink, breathe, or sleep.
• Wicked Sapphire Assassin: The eidolon’s dice
Dutiful Retainer: Eidolons always count as their
pools for attacks, subterfuge, stealth, and Join
creator’s subordinates (p. XX). They double 9s on
Battle increase to 10. Its Evasion increases to 5.
rolls outside of combat to obey her instructions if
they understand them. It has perfect balance and can move up walls and
similar surfaces or under upside-down on roofs
Mechanical Mind: Social influence can’t affect an and the like, able to hang in place indefinitely.
eidolon’s Major and Defining Intimacies, nor can it
raise new Intimacies to Major or Defining. An eidolon can only receive one of the above benefits;
the Sovereign may exchange benefits with a subse-
quent use of this Charm.
The Sovereign transforms faceless drudges to unique in- The Sovereign preserves the minds of these eidolons
dividuals, refining her eidolons into gemstone champions. within her Essence after Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon
ends; she may recreate them with a subsequent use.
The Sovereign undertakes a major project (Exalted, p. 240) She can’t do this for those destroyed by other means.
to give an eidolon a distinctive appearance and features.
This project has difficulty 3 and takes one week to com- This Charm’s experience point cost is waived the first
plete. Such rolls typically use Craft (Gemcutting), though time the Sovereign uses it. If the eidolon is destroyed,
others can be used if appropriate, especially with a stunt. the experience cost is refunded.
Success grants the eidolon intelligence comparable to
an adult human and one of the following benefits:

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Mirage-Self Sculpture Once a character comes within short or close range

Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 2 of the decoy, he may roll (Perception + Awareness)
Type: Simple opposing the Sovereign’s (Manipulation + Craft) roll,
Keywords: Mute to which she adds (Anima) non-Charm dice, to notice
Duration: One scene this deception and can warn his allies of it. Magic such
Prerequisite Charms: Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon as Keen Sight Technique (Exalted, p. 267) lets charac-
ters make this roll at any range.
The Sovereign acclaims herself in vainglorious splendor,
commemorating her visage in fireglass statuary so life- The Sovereign can use her simulacrum’s presence to
like it can scarcely be distinguished from her. roll Stealth and establish concealment even without
a suitable hiding place. Enemies whose opposed rolls
The Sovereign creates a fireglass simulacrum of her- fail believe she’s the simulacrum and it’s her, although
self at a point within medium range. It’s remarkably they can see through this concealment if they subse-
lifelike and can appear to take most actions she could, quently realize the simulacrum’s a fake.
but can’t speak, make sounds, or touch anything, and
has no scent. It can’t move beyond medium range from If the Sovereign has an applicable Craft, she receives
her and vanishes if she moves further than medium craft points for meeting objectives with this Charm as
range from it. though she’d completed a basic project (Exalted, p.
240).
The simulacrum has Evasion (Manipulation) against
attacks and dissipates into nothingness once struck. Flashing Topaz Improvisation
Against attacks made from short or close range, its Cost: —(+2sxp or +5sxp); Mins: Craft 3, Essence 2
Evasion falls to 0. As long as it isn’t hit, it continues Type: Permanent
to convincingly imitate the Sovereign, though it can’t Keywords: None
take actions that require dice rolls. Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Inspired Lapidary Trance

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The Sovereign transforms raw materials into a finished The Sovereign wins hearts and curries favor with her
treasure with a single movement. handiwork, her reputation shining as bright as her
treasures.
When the Sovereign uses Inspired Lapidary Trance,
she may pay two silver points to complete a basic To use this Charm, the Sovereign must first use Eye
project instantly or five silver points to finish a major for Avarice to identity something a character desires.
project in no more than fifteen minutes. If she undertakes a basic, major, or superior project to
create that thing as a gift or bribe for that character,
If the Sovereign makes an influence roll in the same she adds (Charisma or Manipulation) non-Charm dice
scene that plays on her impressive speed and skill as a on each roll.
craftswoman against characters who witnessed it, she
adds (Craft) bonus dice. The tribute is exceptional equipment (Exalted, p.
580) for any influence roll the Sovereign makes as
Hammer Guides the Smith she delivers it to its recipient. If the recipient must
Cost: 2m; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 2 enter a Decision Point to resist that influence, the only
Type: Reflexive Intimacies he can draw on are those involving asceti-
Keywords: None cism, temperance, self-restraint, or the like.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Loupe-and-Bit Trick Stoking the Embers of Excess
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 4, Essence 2
The Sovereign knows the right tool for the task, bringing Type: Simple
to bear her superior handiwork. Keywords: Psyche
Duration: Instant
When using exceptional equipment on a roll with any Prerequisite Charms: Irresistible Amethyst Tribute
Ability, the Sovereign converts the die added to a non-
Charm success. If she has a Craft relevant to creating Her smile brighter than sunlight through diamonds, the
that equipment or if it’s made of fireglass, 10s on the Sovereign stirs greed in even the stoniest hearts.
roll grant silver points.
To use this Charm, the Sovereign must first use Eye
Fathomless Pocket Trick for Avarice to discover a character’s favored luxuries
Cost: 2m; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 2 or material possessions. She makes a ([Charisma or
Type: Simple Manipulation] + Craft) instill roll against that character
Keywords: None to strengthen that Intimacy (or create one). Any dice
Duration: Indefinite added on the roll by Eye for Avarice are converted to
Prerequisite Charms: Hammer Guides the Smith non-Charm successes. The instilled Intimacy counts
as an Obsession Derangement (Exalted, p. 169), which
A Sovereign should never be bereft of her treasures; her can’t be weakened normally. This influence costs an
purse is as deep as her treasure vaults. additional Willpower to resist unless the target has a
Principle of asceticism, temperance, self-restraint, or
The Sovereign enchants a container no larger than the like whose intensity equals or exceeds that of his
herself — a coin purse, a pocket, a chest, etc. — making Tie for the chosen luxury.
it capable of holding up to (Essence x2) objects light
enough for the Sovereign to hold or wear. Containers This Psyche effect last (6 – target’s Intimacy days), but
that already have that capacity can instead hold up to this duration resets each time he fails the Willpower
(Essence x4) such objects or a single object no larger roll against his Obsession. Once it ends, the Intimacy
than she is. remains but is no longer considered a Derangement.

Irresistible Amethyst Tribute Normally, this Charm can only be used against a single
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 4, Essence 2 character. However, the Sovereign can use it to target
Type: Simple multiple characters who all share the same or an ex-
Keywords: None tremely similar desire.
Duration: Until the tribute is delivered
Prerequisite Charms: Eye for Avarice, Greed- Reset: Once per scene.
Stoking Technique

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ENCHANTMENT

Thaumaturgical enchantments cannot compete with the raw might of true artifacts; they rarely provide me-
chanical benefits, instead offering strange new powers and possibilities. For example, many two-dot ritu-
als allow craftsmen to use unorthodox materials in their projects: folding paper into knives sharp as steel,
sculpting clay shields as strong as iron, or creating crystal flutes that can make a hundred different bird calls.

Wonder-Working Enchantment Once the Sovereign has learned someone’s desires, she
Cost: —; Mins: Craft 4, Essence 2 inflames them well-chosen words.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None When the Sovereign makes a bargain, inspire, or instill
Duration: Permanent roll, anyone whose Resolve against it is penalized by
Prerequisite Charms: Any three Craft Charms an Intimacy involving wealth, material possessions, or
luxury increases the cost to resist by one Willpower
The Sovereign is a prodigy of enchantment and the ten and must enter a Decision Point to do so.
thousand other small magics writ upon the world’s
foundations. Adamant Perfection Attainment
Cost: 1wp (10wxp per Evocation); Mins: Craft 5,
The Sovereign gains the Thaumaturgist Merit and may Essence 3
learn up to three dots of thaumaturgical rituals at no cost, Type: Simple
although she must still find a teacher (Exalted, p. 490). Keywords: None
For rituals based on enchanting or enhancing objects or Duration: Indefinite
materials, every two dots only counts as one toward the Prerequisite Charms: Hammer Guides the Smith,
limit on how many the Sovereign can learn for free. Slumbering Secret Unearthed, Vein-and-Ore Instinct

Slumbering Secret Unearthed Clearing her mind of tumultuous emotions, the Sovereign
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 2 attains a clarity and focus that resonates with adamant’s
Type: Simple Essence.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant When the Sovereign attunes to an adamant artifact,
Prerequisite Charms: Secret Song of Crystal she may use this Charm to become resonant with it.
She may awaken its Evocations for ten white point
The Sovereign glimpses the truths of the world, seeing each, waiving their experience point cost. This Charm
the potential in the uncracked geode. need not be active for her to use those Evocations.

The Sovereign rolls ([Intelligence or Perception] + This resonance may be lost if the Sovereign’s emotions
[appropriate Craft or Occult]) to identify the nature and overpower her: this Charm ends if she fails to resist a
function of an object, section of a structure, sorcerous successful inspire roll or similar emotion-based influ-
effect, or ongoing Evocation. For mundane things, the ence roll with Willpower. She doesn’t lose access to
difficulty is 1-5, depending on their complexity and any Evocations awakened with this Charm.
obscurity; for magical targets, the difficulty is ([Artifact,
Manse, or minimum Essence] + 3). If used on adamant Diamond Champion Apotheosis
artifacts or their Evocations, Earth demesnes or manses, Cost: 10m, 1wp, 5wxp, 2xp; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 3
or mundane objects or structures made primarily out of Type: Simple
stone, gems, or other minerals, the Sovereign doubles 9s. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Wyrm’s Appetite Instigation Prerequisite Charms: Emerald Eidolon Awakening
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental The Sovereign imbues her crystalline retainer with a
Keywords: None spark of her own divinity, empowering it as befits a god-
Duration: Instant queen’s favored servant.
Prerequisite Charms: Greed-Stoking Technique

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The Sovereign undertakes a superior project (Exalted, The Sovereign can use this Charm on her turn to
p. 241) to perfect an eidolon empowered with this create a fireglass plane at a point within short range
Charm’s prerequisite. It has difficulty 3, goal number to use as either a wall, ceiling, or a path. These planes
20, terminus 5, and an interval of one week. Success don’t need to attach to any surface and remain in place
grants the eidolon the following benefits: even if conjured mid-air, floating like auroras. This
pane provides heavy cover to those behind it, may span
• Its Willpower increases to (Sovereign’s Essence up to (Essence) range bands, and may protect those
+ 2). behind it from environmental hazards such as toxic
rain or plumes of fire. These constructs dissipate at the
• It gains a pool of twenty motes. scene’s end.
• It gains (Sovereign’s Essence) Eclipse Charms Crystal Spire Conjuration
(p. XX) appropriate to the blessing conferred Cost: 10m, 1wp, 3a; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 3
with Emerald Eidolon Awakening or the na- Type: Simple
ture of Aurora or Cantata-of-the-Depths. The Keywords: None
Sovereign can purchase additional Charms for it Duration: Indefinite or One project
for ten white points each. Prerequisite Charms: Fireglass Promenade
Unfurling
• It can’t be permanently destroyed except by
magic like Ghost-Eating Technique. Otherwise, The Sovereign’s anima spreads like frost on glass as she
the Sovereign can simply recreate it with a sub- shapes it into walls and towers of crystal-light, raising
sequent use of Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon. up a palace worthy of her.
Every Work a Glory The Sovereign creates a structure out of fireglass.
Cost: 10m, 1wp, 1gxp; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 3 Creating a single room or a significant architectural
Type: Supplemental feature like a stairway takes an hour. The Sovereign
Keywords: None may spend as much time creating this structure as
Duration: Instant she pleases, but once she stops working, the structure
Prerequisite Charms: Flawless Diamond Talent is completed and can’t be further changed. If she
has Craft (Architecture), she receives craft points as
The Sovereign has refined her craft beyond all imper- though she’d completed a basic project (Exalted, p.
fection, her focus unwavering as she creates her latest 241). Once this Charm ends, the fireglass structure
masterpiece. crumbles and collapses, though slowly enough to let
those within escape.
The Sovereign doubles 9s on a Craft roll. Each die that
shows a doubled success awards a silver point; 10s Alternatively, this Charm can greatly accelerate the
award a gold point instead. These awards are doubled process of creating a manse (Exalted, p. 243) if this
if she’s rolling to create an adamant artifact or to create Charm’s crystalline architecture is appropriate for
a gift or bribe with Irresistible Amethyst Tribute. the demesne being capped. It can always be used on
Earth demesnes. The time necessary to complete the
Reset: This Charm can only be used to enhance a
project is halved and the Sovereign ignores penalties
single project each story, but can enhance each of the
from lacking a sufficient workforce. Such uses last the
project’s intervals. Once the project’s completed, this
duration of the project.
Charm can be reset for five white points.
Reset: Once per story unless reset by spending five
Fireglass Promenade Unfurling
white points.
Cost: 4m; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive Many-Hands Industry
Keywords: None Cost: —; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 3
Duration: Instant Type: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Flashing Topaz Improvisation, Keywords: None
Loupe-and-Bit Trick Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon,
Casting off a sheet of molten crystal from her anima, the
Flashing Topaz Improvisation
Sovereign raises up walls and bridges of fireglass.

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The Sovereign’s crystalline servitors speed her labors in Rainbow Palace Dominion
the forge. Cost: —(1wp or 5m, 1wp, 3a); Mins: Craft 5, Essence 4
Type: Permanent
The Sovereign gains the following benefits when one Keywords: None
of her eidolons aids her with a craft project: Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Crystal Spire Conjuration
• She can use Inspired Lapidary Trance for five
motes, one Willpower to undertake superior The Sovereign draws strength from her seat of power,
project to create an artifact whose rating is no invoking it as an unquestionable symbol of her authority.
greater than the number of eidolons aiding her,
maximum (Essence) — or (Essence + 1) for ada- As long as the Sovereign is attuned to a manse created
mant artifacts. This speeds the rate at which she with Crystal Spire Conjuration or a manse that shares
works by (Essence/2, rounded up). its crystalline aesthetics, she gains the following
benefits:
• She reduces Flashing Topaz Improvisation’s craft
point surcharge by one for each eidolon aiding her. • Once per day, she may pay one Willpower to roll
(Intelligence + Craft [Geomancy]). She gains
With Socialize 5, subordinates count as eidolons for motes equal to her successes and levels of anima
this purpose so long as they have a relevant dice pool equal to her 10s.
at 8+ dice or a relevant Craft at 3+.

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• She can observe the manse by meditating, let- The Sovereign’s study of Creation’s physical substrate
ting her make Perception-based rolls to observe bears fruit, blasting open her perception to the arcane
anything within it, adding (Manse) dice. possibilities of sorcery.

• While crafting within the manse, she halves the The Sovereign can use Terrestrial Circle sorcery and
silver and gold point costs of major and superior learns one shaping ritual (Exalted, p. 466) and one
projects, rounded down. Terrestrial Circle spell, which becomes her control
spell.
• Once per session, she may pay five motes, three
Willpower, and three anima to begin dissipating Sapphire Talisman Apocrypha
into an aurora. This miscellaneous action can’t Cost: —(1 Limit); Mins: Craft 5, Essence 5
be flurried. The Sovereign fully dissolves at the Type: Permanent
start of her next turn unless she moves or is Keywords: None
knocked prone before then, reforming within Duration: Permanent
the nearest such manse in a prismatic display of Prerequisite Charms: Any ten Terrestrial Circle
anima. spells

Diamond Gigantes Labors Though the heights of sorcery are beyond the Sovereign, she
Cost: 10m, 1wp, 3a; Mins: Craft 5, Essence 5 may tread a narrow and onerous path to greater wisdom.
Type: Simple
Keywords: None The Sovereign creates a talisman that lets her cast a
Duration: Instant spell of the Celestial Circle. As part of this Charm’s
Prerequisite Charms: Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon, training time, she must undertake a mundane superior
Crystal Spire Conjuration project (Exalted, p. 243) using Craft (Gemcutting)
or the like to create a fireglass talisman — a piece of
The Sovereign’s iconic anima swells and rises into a vast jewelry, crystalline sphere, gem-tipped scepter, or the
image of her, crystallizing into fireglass to shape the like — under the tutelage of a sorcerer who knows the
world to her will. spell she seeks to master. While she wields or wears a
talisman, she may pay a one-Limit surcharge to cast its
The Sovereign creates a fireglass colossus at a point spell. This doesn’t count as initiation into the Celestial
within long range and makes a feat of strength Circle for the purpose of sorcerous workings or grant a
through it, rolling (Strength + Craft), adding a free new shaping ritual.
full Excellency and treating the titan as exceptional
equipment (Exalted, p. 580). She can attempt feats A lost or destroyed talisman can be recreated as a supe-
that require Strength 10 and is able to perform feats rior repair project.
that would ordinarily be impossible because of her size
and leverage (Exalted, p. 230). Integrity
Once the feat is completed, the colossus solidifies into Diamond Mind Concentration
a statue, which can potentially maintain feats like
Cost: 2m; Mins: Integrity 1, Essence 1
holding up a crumbling pillar indefinitely.
Type: Reflexive
Reset: Once per story unless reset by spending five Keywords: None
white points. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Sorcery Strong of will and sharp of purpose, the Sovereign’s mind
is unrelenting.
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Cost: —; Mins: Craft 3, Essence 1 The Sovereign negates up to (Integrity/2, round up)
Type: Permanent points of wound penalties or penalties from other
Keywords: None distractions on mental actions with any Ability. This
Duration: Permanent isn’t compatible with attacks or extended actions.
Prerequisite Charms: Any four Craft Charms Alternatively, she can reduce a penalty to her Resolve
from wounds, crippling, poison, or deprivation by one.

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Keywords: None
INTEGRITY CHARMS Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
Sovereign Integrity Charms help them recon-
cile the dual influences on their Exaltation, fus- Conditioning her body through a regimen of ruthless
ing Cantata and Aurora’s disparate powers into austerities and Essence-focusing meditations, the
something new. These Charms grant power over Sovereign hardens her flesh, giving it a faint sheen like
spirits, as well as increased Resolve and the diamond dust.
ability to strengthen their Intimacies. It’s also the
Ability used for the Sovereigns to strengthen and The Sovereign gains additional health levels based on
transform their own bodies. her Stamina:

Stamina 1-2: One −2 level and one −4 level.

Flawless Heart Technique Stamina 3-4: One −2 level and two −4 levels.
Cost: 5m; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Stamina 5: One −2 levels and three −4 levels.
Keywords: None
This Charm may be purchased up to (Integrity) times.
Duration: One scene
If the Sovereign’s Stamina increases, her health levels
Prerequisite Charms: Diamond Mind Concentration
change to reflect her new rating.
Calculating her every move with logic and poise, the
Auroral Convalescence Method
Sovereign betrays no emotion.
Cost: 10m; Mins: Integrity 2, Essence 1
The Sovereign gains +2 Resolve against inspire rolls, Type: Simple
instill rolls to create or strengthen emotion-based Keywords: Dual
Intimacies, or any influence that would leverage such Duration: One day
Intimacies. She suffers a −2 penalty on any such influ- Prerequisite Charms: Ox-Body Technique
ence rolls she makes herself. She may also use Resolve
in place of Guile, receiving this Charm’s bonus against Drawing her anima banner inward to suffuse her
effects that would reveal her emotional state or emo- wounds, the Sovereign restores herself to haleness.
tion-based Intimacies
The Sovereign multiplies the rate at which she heals
Blazing Crucible Inversion naturally (Exalted, p. 173) by (Essence + Anima, min-
imum 2). Her anima doesn’t fade while she’s resting.
Cost: —(+2m); Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 1
Type: Permanent If the Sovereign sleeps, meditates, or rests, a thin layer
Keywords: None of fireglass forms across her skin. This adds (Anima
Duration: Permanent + 10) soak and grants Hardness (Essence + Stamina +
Prerequisite Charms: Diamond Mind Concentration Anima), shattering if the attack hits. It also shatters if
the Sovereign takes any physical action or any action
Time and pressure transform coal into diamonds and
involving physical activity.
heirs into Sovereigns.
Lustrous Body Perfection
The Sovereign may pay a two-mote surcharge to use
Diamond Mind Concentration to enhance a non-men- Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 1
tal action, including an attack. It’s still incompatible Type: Simple
with extended actions. Additionally, if the amount Keywords: Stackable, Withering-only
of reduction exceeds her actual penalty, she adds the Duration: One day
difference in non-Charm dice, drawing focus from Prerequisite Charms: Ox-Body Technique
adversity. This bonus can’t exceed the total penalty
The Sovereign embodies the resilience of mountains and
negated by this Charm.
diamonds, enduring the harshest of ordeals unbroken.
Ox-Body Technique
Upon purchasing this Charm, the Sovereign’s player
Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 1, Essence 1 chooses one of the following effects for each purchase
Type: Permanent

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of Ox-Body Technique she has. Subsequent purchases of With an Integrity 2 repurchase, the Sovereign auto-
Ox-Body Technique also unlock new effects. Each use of matically hears a faint crystalline chiming whenever
this Charm applies one of the Sovereign’s learned effects. a dematerialized character comes within range of this
Charm, prompting her to activate it.
• Diamond Among Glaciers: The Sovereign
ignores environmental penalties from cold Skyfire-Between-Worlds Veil
temperature, ice, or snow. She adds (Integrity) Cost: 3m; Mins: Integrity 2, Essence 1
soak against attacks based on ice or cold and Type: Supplemental
(Integrity) dice on rolls against cold-based envi- Keywords: Uniform, Versatile
ronmental hazards. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Subtle Realm Instincts
• Laughing at Sunfire: The Sovereign ignores en-
vironmental penalties from heat and smoke. She The Sovereign’s concentration bridges the gap between
adds (Integrity) soak against fire-based attacks worlds as she refracts her very Essence like light through
and (Integrity) dice on rolls against fire-based a prism.
environmental hazards
The Sovereign can attack a dematerialized enemy or
• Polished by the River: The Sovereign can otherwise physically interact with one for a single roll
breathe water and suffers no penalties for acting using any Ability. She suffers a −3 penalty if she can’t
while underwater. However, her body becomes perceive him.
incredibly dense, increasing her mobility penal-
ty by −1 on rolls to swim upward through water This Charm’s cost is reduced by two motes if the
and potentially causing other complications Sovereign uses it together with Convergence of Intent
outside of water. (p. XX).

• Unbowed by the Storm: The Sovereign ignores Fireglass Idol Incarnation

environmental penalties from wind, precipi- Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 1
tation, and any airborne debris like dust, sand- Type: Simple
storms, or smoke. She adds (Integrity) dice on Keywords: None
rolls against environmental hazards based on Duration: Instant
these things and on rolls to maintain her balance Prerequisite Charms: Skyfire-Between-Worlds Veil
under any circumstances.
The Sovereign hails forth spirits into her dominion,
• Untouched by Blight: The Sovereign adds binding them within bodies of fireglass.
(Integrity) dice on rolls against poison and dis-
ease and adds her Integrity to her Stamina to The Sovereign rolls ([Charisma, Intelligence, or Wits]
determine how long she can go without food, + Integrity), adding (Anima) non-Charm dice, against
water, and air (Exalted, p. 232). the Resolve of a dematerialized character within short
range. This extends to medium range at burning anima
The Sovereign can stack multiple versions of this Charm, and long range at bonfire or above.
waiving the Willpower cost of uses beyond the first.
If the Sovereign succeeds, her target is partially man-
Subtle Realm Instincts ifested as fireglass for one round, plus an additional
Cost: 4m; Mins: Integrity 1, Essence 1 round for every two extra successes. While in this
Type: Reflexive state, materialized characters can see and interact with
Keywords: None him normally, including damaging him with decisive
Duration: One scene attacks. This fireglass shell can be destroyed as usual
Prerequisite Charms: None with feats of demolition (p. XX).

The Sovereign’s crystalline sight reveals the invisible Crystalline Focus Clarity
eddies when the world of matter and spirit collide. Cost: 3m; Mins: Integrity 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
The Sovereign can perceive dematerialized characters Keywords: None
within short range. This extends to medium range at Duration: Instant
burning anima and long range at bonfire or above. Prerequisite Charms: None

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The Sovereign’s eyes gloss over, transfigured into un- Sense the Soul’s Fire
blinking diamond. Cost: 1m; Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
The Sovereign ignores up to (higher of Essence or Keywords: None
3) points of vision-based penalties on a roll with any Duration: Instant
Ability. If it’s a sight-based (Perception + [Awareness, Prerequisite Charms: Crystalline Focus Clarity
Investigation, Socialize, or Survival]) roll, she doubles 9s.
The Sovereign sees the souls of the Chosen laid bare in
Convergence of Intent their anima’s light.
Cost: 2m; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental When the Sovereign rolls with any Ability opposing the
Keywords: Uniform Guile of an Exalt whose anima banner is flaring, she adds (his
Duration: Instant Anima + 1) non-Charm dice. If successful, she also learns a
Prerequisite Charms: Crystalline Focus Clarity useful fact about his supernatural puissance: she might sense
that a Zenith Caste with numerous Integrity Charms will be
The Sovereign concentrates on an enemy like light a difficult mark for her influence rolls, discern a Dragon-
through a lens, focusing her every thought and sense Blood’s mastery of his ancestral daiklave’s Evocations, or tell
toward his defeat. that a fellow Sovereign has initiated into sorcery.

The Sovereign rerolls (Perception/2, rounded up) non- Soul-Unveiling Puissance

1 failures on an attack roll. However, she suffers a −1 Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 1
Defense penalty against attacks from characters other Type: Permanent
than the one she attacked until her next turn. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Diamond Vantage Concentration Prerequisite Charms: Sense the Soul’s Fire
Cost: —(+3m); Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 1
Type: Permanent Power calls to power, revealing the innermost secrets of
Keywords: None the mighty to the Sovereign.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Convergence of Intent The Sovereign can use Sense the Soul’s Fire on any
supernatural character who’s making an overt display
Distance is no distraction for the Sovereign; her eyes are of his power. When used against certain kinds of being,
keen enough to skim a hair from her quarry’s head at a she learns additional information if successful:
thousand paces.
• Elemental: She can tell whether an elemental’s
When the Sovereign uses Convergence of Intent, she been sorcerously bound.
may pay a three-mote surcharge to waive the need to
aim before making a ranged attack against an enemy at • Demons: She identifies the Circle the demon belongs
medium or long range. to and can tell whether it’s been sorcerously bound.

Every Strike, a Flaw • Fae: She can tell whether a fae has preyed on hu-
Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 1 mans within the last (Essence + Perception) days.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Uniform • Gods: She identifies a god’s purview — i.e.,
Duration: Permanent what’s he’s the god of — that he holds as part of
Prerequisite Charms: Convergence of Intent his position in the Celestial Bureaucracy.

Focused on a single foe, the Sovereign sees every flaw in • Undead: She learns the undead’s identity in life,
his attacks magnified a hundredfold. if she knew or had heard of him.

When the Sovereign damages an enemy using • Sorcerers: She identifies the highest Circle of
Convergence of Intent, any attack rolls he makes sorcery he’s initiated into.
against her until her next turn subtract successes
equal to his 1s. If such an attack misses, it doesn’t inflict • Thaumaturgists: She identifies all rituals he
onslaught. knows.

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If the Sovereign uses this Charm against a character Keywords: None

who is more than one of the above — e.g. a god who Duration: Instant
knows sorcery — she must choose which benefit she Prerequisite Charms: None
gains, but can pick another option for every three extra
successes. Turning her senses inward, the Sovereign becomes aware
of her every flaw — and how they may be remedied.
Iron-Eyed Augury
Cost: 2m; Mins: Integrity 2, Essence 1 The Sovereign makes a (Perception + [Integrity or
Type: Reflexive Medicine]) roll to diagnose any poisons, diseases, or
Keywords: None other physical afflictions she suffers. Once she’s used
Duration: Instant this Charm to diagnose an ailment, she can activate it
Prerequisite Charms: None again to reroll (Perception/2, rounded up) non-1 fail-
ures on a Medicine roll or other applicable roll to treat
The Sovereign’s eyes glint blackish-gray as if wrought it.
from iron, seeing through illusions and faerie glamour.
With an Integrity 4 repurchase, the Sovereign can use
The Sovereign gains +2 non-Charm Resolve against an this Charm to diagnose and treat others, sending sym-
influence roll enhanced by fae magic or a Psyche effect pathetic vibrations of Essence through them.
that would impede her senses or alter her perception.
Alternatively, she adds (higher of Essence or 3) non- Obsidian Tear Purgation
Charm dice on a roll with any Ability opposing such Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 1
an effect. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Prism-Flesh Insight Duration: Instant
Cost: 4m; Mins: Integrity 2, Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: Prism-Flesh Insight
Type: Reflexive

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The Sovereign expels poison and disease from herself, Wreathed in her auroral anima, the Sovereign strides
weeping obsidian-black tears as she purges them. out to conquer faerie kingdoms.

To use this Charm, the Sovereign must first diagnose The Sovereign and any fireglass objects she’s created
a poison or disease she suffers from with Prism-Flesh are immune to exposure to the Wyld or to any other
Insight; she then rolls (Wits + [Integrity or Resistance]), environmental Shaping effects. If she knows Iron Vein
doubling 9s, against that poison’s duration or disease’s Inclusion, she gains +1 non-Charm Defense against fae.
morbidity to expel it from her body. Prism-Flesh
Insight can enhance this roll. With an Integrity 5, Essence 2 repurchase, the
Sovereign may pay a five-mote surcharge to extend
Characters who examine the Sovereign’s tears with this Charm’s protection against Shaping to allies with-
Awareness, Investigation, or Medicine rolls can dis- in close range. At bonfire anima or higher, this extends
cern information as though they were examining the to short range.
poison or disease she suffered directly.
Axiom-Honing Assertion
Refuse to Shatter Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 2
Cost: 5m; Mins: Integrity 2, Essence 1 Type: Reflexive
Type: Reflexive Keywords: None
Keywords: Dual Duration: Instant
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Diamond Mind Concentration
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Sovereign closes herself off to all but the most beau-
Flooding her body with white-hot Essence, the tiful truths.
Sovereign’s skin glows from within as if her veins coursed
with molten iron. Before citing an Intimacy that isn’t based on emotion
in a Decision Point, the Sovereign may use this Charm
The Sovereign adds her base Resolve to her soak or to strengthen that Intimacy by one step, at the cost of
gains Hardness equal to it. diminishing one of her Major or Defining Intimacies
that are based on emotion by two steps. If the weakened
If the Sovereign is unarmored, this Charm’s cost is Intimacy supported the influence that prompted the
reduced by her wound penalty. Decision Point, the reduction in its intensity doesn’t
affect the level of Intimacy necessary in the Decision
Unbroken Crystal Resonance Point.
Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 1
Type: Permanent Reset: Once per story unless reset by upholding a
Keywords: Dual Defining Intimacy that isn’t based on emotion in a way
Duration: Permanent that advances the Sovereign’s goals.
Prerequisite Charms: Ox-Body Technique, Refuse to
Shatter Iron Vein Inclusion
Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 2
Drawing strength from adversity, the Sovereign endures. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
While unarmored, the Sovereign gains +1 soak for Duration: Permanent
each purchase of Ox-Body Technique she has. When Prerequisite Charms: Iron-Eyed Augury
her soak reduces a withering attack to its minimum
damage or her Hardness negates a decisive attack, she The Sovereign’s meditations have honed her against the
steals one Initiative from the attacker. Wyld; veins of iron trace through her flesh, anima, and
fireglass.
Chaos-Conquering Mantle
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 1 Against fae and perils of the Wyld, the Sovereign adds
Type: Reflexive (higher of Essence or 3) soak and gains Hardness 4.
Keywords: None She can use Iron-Eyed Augury to enhance her Resolve
Duration: (Essence) hours or rolls with any Ability against Shaping effects used by
Prerequisite Charms: None fae or caused by the Wyld. Such effects can’t kill her or
render her indefinitely incapable of action; even if she

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fails, they are mitigated or lessened — a curse meant to gem, catching light from every direction.
transform her into a statue might petrify only part of
her body instead, for example. When the Sovereign activates Crystalline Focus
Clarity, she may pay a three-mote surcharge to extend
Perfected Diamond Embodiment its duration to one scene. While using it, she sees in
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 2 all directions, reducing the Defense penalty from un-
Type: Reflexive expected attacks by 1.
Keywords: None
Duration: One day Burn For Me
Prerequisite Charms: Auroral Convalescence Cost: 5m; Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 2
Method, Prism-Flesh Insight Type: Simple
Keywords: None
The Sovereign’s anima banner holds maimed flesh to- Duration: One scene
gether, reinforcing her wounded body with crystalline Prerequisite Charms: Blazing Crucible Inversion
light and heatless flame.
The Sovereign breaks off a splinter of her own pain to
The Sovereign reduces any penalties she suffers from a pierce her foe’s heart.
crippling effect by (Anima − 1). She adds (Anima) non-
Charm dice on rolls opposing that effect. The Sovereign transfers her pain to a touched char-
acter (p. XX). She halves her wound penalty, rounded
After one day, when this Charm ends, if the Sovereign up, and her victim’s wound penalty is increased by the
received a full night’s sleep during that day, the crip- amount hers was reduced.
pling effect’s penalty is permanently reduced by one.
Once it’s reduced to zero, it’s permanently healed. This Sacred Presence Illumination
doesn’t apply to amputated limbs, destroyed organs, or Cost: 5m; Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 2
crippling effects that don’t inflict penalties. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Desperate Soul-Fire Immolation Duration: Permanent
Cost: 3m, 1ahl; Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 2 Prerequisite Charms: Subtle Realm Instincts (x2)
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None The light of the Sovereign’s anima spreads through the
Duration: Instant spirit world, casting it in stark relief.
Prerequisite Charms: Diamond Mind Concentration
While using Subtle Realm Instincts, the Sovereign may
Embracing the flame of Exaltation that burns within her, invoke this Charm to render dematerialized characters
the Sovereign draws power out of pain. within its range visible as translucent outlines for the
rest of the scene, even if they leave its range.
The Sovereign gains points of Initiative and levels
of anima equal to her wound penalty, maximum Smoldering Divinity Revelation
(Integrity). This Charm’s health level cost is waived Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 2
if the Sovereign’s only undamaged health level is her Type: Simple
Incapacitated level. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Reset: Once per scene unless reset by taking damage Prerequisite Charms: Sense the Soul’s Fire
to a −4 health level. Paying this Charm’s cost doesn’t
count. The Sovereign senses the spiritual traces of Exalted an-
ima banners like the heat of embers licking at her feet.
All-Seeing Prism Panopticon
Cost: —(+3m); Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 2 Upon coming within close range of a location where an
Type: Permanent Exalt’s anima has reached bonfire during the current
Keywords: None story, the Sovereign becomes aware of it and can use
Duration: Permanent this Charm to roll (Perception + Integrity), doubling
Prerequisite Charms: Crystalline Focus Clarity 9s. She gains information based on her successes:

The Sovereign’s awareness becomes a many-faceted 1-2 successes: A general sense of how long ago the

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anima flared — minutes, hours, days, months, or longer. Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2
Type: Simple
3-4 successes: Precisely how long ago the anima Keywords: None
flared. Duration: One day
Prerequisite Charms: Diamond Mind Concentration
5+ successes: The type of Exalt whose anima flared,
if she’s personally encountered one of them, and The Sovereign perfects her will like a jeweler cutting a
whether his Essence exceeds her own. If her successes precious stone, strengthening her innermost truths.
exceed the Exalt’s Guile, she learns his identity if she’s
interacted with him personally in the past. The Sovereign gains +2 Resolve against influence op-
posed by a Defining Intimacy and +1 Resolve against
Venom Jewel Mastery influence opposed by a Major Intimacy. When she uses
Cost: —(1wp); Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 2 Diamond Mind Concentration to bolster her Resolve
Type: Permanent against such influence, its cost is reduced by one mote.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent However, the Sovereign rolls an additional die for
Prerequisite Charms: Obsidian Tear Purgation Limit for acting against Intimacies; her inner turmoil
exacerbates the tension between her dual patrons’
The Sovereign’s tears are as deadly as her hatred, crys- Essence.
tallizing into baleful gemstones.
The Sovereign can’t willingly end this Charm’s dura-
When the Sovereign successfully uses Obsidian Tear tion prematurely.
Purgation or Dying Ember Dirge against a poison or
disease, she may pay one Willpower to preserve the ex- Shadow-Diamond Imperfection
pelled ailment, crystallizing her or her patient’s tears Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2
into a gemstone whose color reflects the ailment from Type: Permanent
which it’s formed. She can reflexively crush it into Keywords: None
powder as she deposits it into food or drink or poisons Duration: Permanent
her weapon with it. For other characters, the jewel is Prerequisite Charms: Prism-Flesh Insight
as durable as the Sovereign’s fireglass (p. XX).
The Sovereign senses any intrusion upon her mind or
Dying Ember Dirge soul as an imperfection within her flawless being.
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2
Type: Simple The Sovereign can use Prism-Flesh Insight to diag-
Keywords: None nose a Derangement, Psyche effect, Shaping effect,
Duration: Instant sorcerous curse, or possession she suffers from, rolling
Prerequisite Charms: Prism-Flesh Insight (x2), (Perception + [Integrity or Occult]). Against effects
Obsidian Tear Purgation that couldn’t normally be diagnosed, the difficulty is
the Essence of the character who used it or the Guile
Driving another to tears with harsh words or mournful of a possessing spirit. If successful, she can use Prism-
song, the Sovereign cleanses him of the maladies he Flesh Insight to enhance any rolls to stave off that
suffers. affliction’s effects or resist it, not just rolls to treat it.

To use this Charm, the Sovereign must have used If the Sovereign has Prism-Flesh Insight’s repurchase,
Prism-Flesh Insight to diagnose another character she can use this Charm on others.
with a poison or disease. She makes a ([Charisma or
Manipulation] + [Performance or Presence]) inspire Bleak Sapphire Bezoar
roll to fill him with sorrow, which is also treated as a Cost: —(+4m); Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3
roll against the poison’s duration or disease’s morbidi- Type: Permanent
ty as per Obsidian Tear Purgation. The Sovereign must Keywords: None
both overcome her patient’s Resolve and the relevant Duration: Permanent
difficulty to purge the ailment from him. Prerequisite Charms: Obsidian Tear Purgation,
Shadow-Diamond Imperfection
Honing the Heart’s Facets
The crystalline flames of the Sovereign’s soul engulf and

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imprison spirits who’d possess her. If the Sovereign knows Dying Ember Dirge, she
may pay a nine-mote surcharge to use it against
The Sovereign may pay a four-mote surcharge to use Derangements or Psyche effects. This requires an ex-
Obsidian Tear Purgation against a possessing spirit tended ([Charisma or Manipulation] + [Performance
she’s uncovered with Shadow-Diamond Imperfection, or Presence]) roll with a one-month interval, goal
rolling (Wits + [Integrity or Occult]) opposing its number 20, and terminus 5. Each interval’s roll is made
Resolve. The possessing spirit can’t prevent her from against the difficulty or opposing roll given above. She
using this Charm. need only spend a day interacting with her patient
each interval. If she succeeds, the patient expels a
If the Sovereign succeeds, she coughs up an ugly, crystalline splinter of the affliction, suffering a level
misshapen hunk of fireglass within which the spirit of unpreventable lethal damage. A Derangement’s
is bound. Spirits whose Essence equals or exceeds the intensity is reduced by one, though not below Minor;
Sovereign’s are bound within this stone for (1 + extra a Psyche effect’s Willpower cost to resist is reduced by
successes) days; those with Essence less than hers are one, minimum one Willpower. The Sovereign can’t use
imprisoned indefinitely. The Sovereign can communi- it against a given affliction more than once per story.
cate with a bound spirit by touching the stone, allow-
ing each to attempt to influence the other. Destroying Reset: This Charm can only be used against Psyche
the fireglass stone (p. XX) frees the bound spirit, but effects once per story unless reset by winning a note-
even if freed, it can’t possess the Sovereign for the rest worthy victory over an enemy who’s successfully af-
of the story. flicted her with a Psyche effect: besting him in combat,
swaying an audience against her in a debate, driving
If the Sovereign knows Dying Ember Dirge, she may his business into bankruptcy, etc.
pay a four-mote surcharge to use it to exorcise spirits
possessing others on a successful roll, as above. Crack the Cursed Opal
Cost: —(+9m); Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3
Brow-Splitting Diamond Type: Permanent
Cost: —(+4m or +9m); Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3 Keywords: None
Type: Permanent Duration: Permanent
Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Brow-Splitting Diamond
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Bleak Sapphire Bezoar Baleful sorceries break against the Sovereign, caught
and crystallized within the diamond perfection of her
The Sovereign casts unwanted thoughts from her mind Essence.
in a moment of agony, drawing them bloody from her
brow. The Sovereign may pay a nine-mote surcharge to use
Obsidian Tear Purgation against a sorcerous curse
The Sovereign may pay a four-mote surcharge to use she’s identified with Shadow-Diamond Imperfection,
Obsidian Tear Purgation against a Derangement or though not a sorcerous working or Solar Circle sorcery.
Psyche effect she’s identified with Shadow-Diamond She rolls (Wits + [Integrity or Occult]), doubling 9s, op-
Imperfection. She can only use it against Psyche effects posing an (Attribute + Occult) roll made by the oppos-
when they would cause her to act against an Intimacy. ing sorcerer — typically the same roll used for the effect
She rolls (Wits + [Integrity or Occult]), doubling 9s, op- itself. Success breaks the curse; the Sovereign vomits it
posing a Derangement’s (Intensity + 2) or an (Attribute up as a shower of tiny jewels and flecks of gemstone.
+ Ability) roll made by the character who used Psyche A character examining them can attempt a difficult 5
effect — typically the same roll used for the effect itself. (Perception + Occult) roll to identify the curse’s effect;
sorcerers can study them to learn the spell crystallized
If the Sovereign succeeds, that effect is broken; it crys- within. If she fails, the Sovereign can’t use this Charm
tallizes into a gemstone that’s expelled painfully from against that curse for the rest of the story.
her brow, inflicting a level of unpreventable lethal
damage. If she fails, she can’t use it against that afflic- If the Sovereign knows Dying Ember Dirge, she may
tion for the rest of the story. A character examining the pay a nine-mote surcharge to use it to break valid
crystal can attempt a difficulty 5 (Perception + Occult) curses. This requires an extended ([Charisma or
roll to determine the affliction’s nature and how it af- Manipulation] + [Performance or Presence]) roll with
fected the Sovereign. a one-month interval, goal number 20, and terminus

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5. Each interval’s roll is made against an opposing roll Glory-Reviving Radiance

given above. She need only spend a day interacting Cost: —(3m, 1wp); Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3
with her patient each interval. Success shatters the Type: Permanent
curse as above. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Flawed Bloodstone Radiance Prerequisite Charms: Smoldering Divinity
Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3 Revelation
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None The Sovereign bears witness to the deeds of the Exalted
Duration: Permanent as visions within the lingering flames of their anima
Prerequisite Charms: Blazing Crucible Inversion, banners.
Desperate Soul-Fire Immolation
When the Sovereign rolls 5+ successes for Smoldering
The Sovereign finds beauty even in suffering, steeling Divinity Revelation to detect an anima flare that oc-
herself with renewed purpose. curred up to (Essence + Perception) days ago, she may
pay three motes, one Willpower to relive the scene
When the Sovereign takes decisive damage or suffers in which it occurred, reconstructing events from the
a setback as a result of failing an influence roll, she faintest traces of Essence. If she has a Tie to the Exalt
gains one Willpower. She forms a negative Minor Tie whose anima flared, the number of days back she can
to a character involved in her suffering or strengthens sense it is multiplied by (Intimacy).
an existing Tie by one step.
Keen Adamant Focus
Reset: Once per day unless reset by suffering enough Cost: —(1m, 1wp); Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3
damage to increase the Sovereign’s wound penalty. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform
Soul-Fire Cataclysm Duration: Instant
Cost: 5m, 4i, 1wp (4i per round); Mins: Integrity 5, Prerequisite Charms: Diamond Vantage
Essence 3 Concentration, Every Strike, A Flaw
Type: Simple
Keywords: Perilous The Sovereign’s eyes shine like molten jewels as she dis-
Duration: One scene sects every fault and flaw in her target’s defenses, each
Prerequisite Charms: Burn for Me, Flawed attack revealing an opening for the next.
Bloodstone Radiance
When the Sovereign hits an enemy using Convergence
The terrible flame of the Sovereign’s Exaltation erupts of Intent, she may pay one mote, one Willpower to
from her anima and wounds, wreathing her in an inferno reflexively aim at him. She adds the bonus dice from
of white-hot Essence. aiming to both the attack and damage roll.

The Sovereign emanates an environmental hazard Outshining Heaven’s Majesty

at close range, with difficulty (Charisma or Wits) Cost: —; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3
and Damage (higher of Anima or wound penalty, Type: Permanent
maximum 5)L/round. At bonfire anima or higher, the Keywords: None
hazard extends to short range and gains +1 damage. Duration: Permanent
The Sovereign’s subordinates (p. XX) are immune to Prerequisite Charms: Fireglass Idol Incarnation,
this hazard. Scenery and mundane objects destroyed Sacred Presence Illumination
by the hazard are transformed into solid fireglass, as
are those killed by it. The Sovereign asserts her authority as god-king over the
spirit world, raising up countless idols to show Heaven’s
At the start of each turn, the Sovereign must pay four favor for her reign.
Initiative to maintain this Charm; otherwise, it ends.
While using Sacred Presence Illumination, the
This Charm’s Initiative costs are waived while suffer- Sovereign waives Fireglass Idol Incarnation’s
ing Agony Cataclysmic (p. XX). Willpower cost against characters of equal or lesser
Essence. At bonfire anima or higher, dematerialized
characters within short range of her suffer the effects

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of Fireglass Idol Incarnation, encased in shells of fire- and the Sovereign can’t use her Charms to enhance
glass that shatter once they move out of range. them. If she tries to force him to act against one of
his Intimacies that equals or exceeds his strongest
Wandering Aurora Soul positive Tie or Tie of fear toward her, he may spend
Cost: 10m, 1wp, 3a; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3 one Willpower to resist that compulsion and all similar
Type: Simple commands for one day.
Keywords: None
Duration: One day Against supernatural subordinates, the Sovereign’s
Prerequisite Charms: Crystalline Focus Clarity, power is limited. She can attempt to sway him with in-
Sacred Presence Illumination, Skyfire-Between- fluence rolls; his Intimacies never modify his Resolve
Worlds Veil against them. She can likewise use read intentions rolls
to understand her host, inflicting the −2 Guile penalty
The Sovereign’s consciousness flows into her anima, for being unaware of her. The only other actions she
taking on form as a living aurora. can take while possessing him are purely mental. The
Sovereign’s presence is revealed if she botches a roll
While the Sovereign mediates, she casts off her anima opposing her host.
banner as a drifting aurora in the vague shape of a per-
son. She controls this aurora with her actions and uses While possessing her victim, other characters can’t
her own traits for it. She can’t use Charms through perceive or interact with the Sovereign without
it except those that enhance her Perception-based applicable magic. She can be exorcised by magic like
rolls. Any decisive damage suffered by the aurora is Burning Exorcism Technique (Exalted, p. 356), though
inflicted on the Sovereign; the wound’s pain rouses she’s not subject to any bindings such magic imposes
the Sovereign’s Essence to a consuming pain. If it’s on exorcised spirits.
dealt decisive damage enhanced by magic capable of
permanently destroying spirits, it dissipates and this Demon-Binding Diamond Wisdom
Charm ends. Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 5, Craft 5, Essence 5
Type: Reflexive
The aurora is partially dematerialized — it’s still visible Keywords: Decisive-only, Versatile
and can be interacted with, but any physical actions Duration: Instant
opposing it suffer a −2 penalty unless enhanced by Prerequisite Charms: Fireglass Idol Incarnation,
applicable magic or made by dematerialized charac- Impervious Diamond Vault
ters. The aurora can pass through narrow spaces and
permeable barriers no matter how tight the gap is but The Sovereign binds that which she cannot kill, impris-
can’t pass through solid obstructions and can’t exert oning usurper gods and faerie princes within the perfec-
any physical force. tion of her adamant blade.

Soul-Vessel Emissary When the Sovereign incapacitates a spirit or fae with

Cost: —(5m, 1wp); Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 3 an adamant weapon, she may use this Charm to seal
Type: Permanent him away within that artifact. His nature and person-
Keywords: Psyche ality are subsumed into the artifact’s themes, allowing
Duration: Permanent wielders to awaken Evocations reflecting them. She
Prerequisite Charms: Wandering Aurora Soul can also learn his Eclipse Charms as Evocations only
usable while she wields that weapon.
The Sovereign’s auroral emanation descends upon her
servants like a rainbow mantle, uplifting them as vessels The Sovereign can’t seal more than one being in a
for her glory. given weapon. Bound foes are freed if the artifact is
destroyed, the Sovereign goes a story without being
While using Wandering Aurora Soul, the Sovereign may attuned to it, or the Sovereign dies.
commit five motes and pay one Willpower to attempt
to possess a subordinate (p. XX), rolling (Manipulation Flayed Soul Malediction
+ Integrity) against his Resolve. Possessing a mortal Cost: 10m, 1wp, 3a; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 5
subordinate gives the Sovereign complete control over Type: Reflexive
him; she dictates what actions he takes, shares his Keywords: Psyche
senses, and can access his memories whenever they Duration: Instant
become relevant. His actions still use his own traits Prerequisite Charms: Soul-Fire Cataclysm

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Releasing a keening cry of pain that superheats the air

around her, the Sovereign lays a curse upon one with the PERFORMANCE CHARMS
temerity to wrong her.
Sovereign Performance Charms are firmly rooted
The Sovereign passes judgment on someone who’s in Aurora’s role as a muse, and Cantata’s origin
wronged her and caused her harm — physical, emo- as a wandering cavern-wisp and trickster. These
tional, or political — or someone for whom she has a Charms are about inspiring awe and gathering
negative Major or Defining Tie. He must be within long followers (sometimes literally), whether to pro-
range. Before she rolls to impose her curse, the heat of tect them and deliver them safely through their
her rage manifests as a one-time environmental hazard trials or to lead them astray.
extending out to long range, with difficulty (Charisma
or Wits) and Damage 1L. Any flammable material in
range catches fire. Unlike Soul-Fire Cataclysm, the
Sovereign’s subordinates aren’t immune to this hazard. The Sovereign’s virtuoso spirit overflows from her
performance as auroral imagery, expressing her most
Once this prologue is past, the Sovereign makes a spe- profound passions.
cial ([Charisma or Wits] + Integrity) inspire roll against
her target’s Resolve. She negates wound penalties and The Sovereign can create illusions from heatless flame
converts up to (Willpower/2, rounded up) points of in the colors of her anima as part of a performance,
penalty to non-Charm successes. If the Sovereign suc- letting her ignore multiple target penalties. They can
ceeds, she curses her foe with soul-scorching flames, extend out to short range from her; individual illu-
sharing with him the agony of her Exaltation. This is sions can be up to the size of a person. Onlookers can
treated as though he were a Sovereign in Limit Break be convinced that these illusions are real with social
(p. XX). He can freely choose to lash out in Agony influence — potentially the Performance roll enhanced
Cataclysmic, but steeling himself in the Diamond by this Charm — but otherwise won’t be deceived by
Heart Trance requires him to enter a Decision Point, them.
calling on a Major or Defining Intimacy that gives him
reason to put the needs of others above his own in the With Performance 5, Essence 3, the Sovereign can cre-
current scene, and costs three Willpower. ate larger illusions, up to Legendary Size.

This Limit Break doesn’t reset the victim’s Willpower Blinding Glory Rebuke
or reduce his Limit to 0. Instead, the Sovereign gains Cost: 4m, 1i; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1
these benefits from the cathartic pleasure of seeing her Type: Reflexive
enemies brought low. Keywords: Counterattack, Uniform
Duration: Instant
This curse lasts for the normal duration of the victim’s Prerequisite Charms: Prismatic Phantasmagoria
chosen Limit Break. It’s considered a sorcerous curse
for purposes of magic capable of breaking or remedy- Provoked by hostility or unwelcome discourse, the
ing them, as well as being a Psyche effect. Sovereign stokes her anima into a crucible of molten
light.
Reset: Once per story, unless reset by suffering a
significant defeat or setback at an enemy’s hands. It Before an enemy within close range makes an attack
doesn’t need to be reset if the hazard kills her target or influence roll against the Sovereign, she makes a
before she can curse him. (Appearance + Performance) counterattack opposing
his (Stamina + Resistance) roll, blinding him until the
end of his next turn if she succeeds. The −3 penalty
Performance from blindness applies to an influence roll that pro-
voked this counterattack, the speaker’s focus broken
Prismatic Phantasmagoria
by the blinding flash.
Cost: 1m; Mins: Performance 1, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental This Charm’s range increases to short at glowing ani-
Keywords: None ma, medium at burning, and long at bonfire.
Duration: One performance
Prerequisite Charms: None

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Shining Visage Defense Keywords: Mute

Cost: —; Mins: Performance 1, Essence 1 Duration: Instant
Type: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: None
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Dazzling those around her with charming patter or
Prerequisite Charms: None enticing looks, the Sovereign pilfers their treasures as
Cantata-of-the-Depths once tricked miners from their
Even the Sovereign’s enemies weep to raise arms against finds.
her majesty and splendor.
The Sovereign rolls to pickpocket a character, discrete-
The Sovereign may use Appearance or Charisma in- ly poison a dish, cheat at cards, or perform other feats
stead of Dexterity to calculate her Defense. of legerdemain with ([Appearance or Manipulation]
+ Performance), doubling 9s. Successes on opposed
Shall-We-Dance Invitation rolls against this deception can’t exceed the opposing
Cost: 2m, 1i; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1 character’s Resolve.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform Dazzling Aurora Flash
Duration: Instant Cost: 5m; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Shining Visage Defense Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
The Sovereign dances away from an enemy’s blade, an- Duration: Instant
ticipating his every move as if they were simply part of Prerequisite Charms: Prismatic Phantasmagoria,
her choreography. Bewildering Trickster Verse or Gala-Plundering
Eloquence
The Sovereign negates a single point of penalty to her
Defense. If her Appearance (including bonus dots) is The Sovereign’s anima banner erupts into a riot of
higher than her attacker’s Resolve, she instead ignores shimmering colors, concealing her own light within this
(higher of Essence or 3) points of penalty. This doesn’t prismatic radiance.
affect penalties from surprise attacks.
All characters who can see the Sovereign’s anima
Bewildering Trickster Verse banner suffer a –(Anima) penalty on vision-based
Cost: 5m; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1 Perception rolls for an instant. She treats her anima
Type: Simple banner’s level as one less for determining its impact on
Keywords: Decisive-only a Stealth roll (p. XX).
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Polished Pearl Debut
Cost: 3m; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1
Beguiling her foes with enchanting music or enticing dance, Type: Supplemental
the Sovereign delivers them into the hands of her allies. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
The Sovereign rolls a distract gambit with ([Appearance Prerequisite Charms: None
or Manipulation] + Performance) against the Resolve
of an enemy within short range. Up to (Anima) ex- The Sovereign’s favor draws all eyes to the object of her
tra successes on the Initiative roll grant that much attention, whether she sings a lover’s praises or merely
additional Initiative to the gambit’s beneficiary (the smiles upon a dutiful student.
Sovereign doesn’t lose this Initiative).
When the Sovereign makes an instill roll with any
At bonfire anima or higher, this Charm’s range extends Ability to create or strengthen a positive Tie to some-
to medium. one other than herself, she doubles 9s. If she has a
positive Tie toward that character, she adds (Intimacy)
Special activation rules: This Charm may be flurried. dice. If he’s a subordinate, she can use the value of his
positive Ties or Ties of fear toward her if they’re high-
Gala-Plundering Eloquence er than her Tie for him.
Cost: 5m; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple

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Sapphire Mirror Proclamation past the first she extends its benefit to, maximum
Cost: 3m; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1 (Essence x5).
Type: Simple
Keywords: None Illuminated Mind Salon
Duration: (Charisma) days Cost: 1m, 1wp, 1a; Mins: Performance 5, Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Polished Pearl Debut Type: Simple
Keywords: None
The Sovereign’s praise cuts through even the most un- Duration: Instant
wavering self-doubts and insecurity. Prerequisite Charms: Sapphire Mirror Proclamation

The Sovereign makes an instill roll against a single The Sovereign’s artistry inspires others to realize their
character to create or strengthen either a positive Tie full potential; how else could they be worthy of her?
toward himself or a Principle reflecting confidence or
self-esteem. He can’t resist with Willpower. Success The Sovereign puts on a performance that uplifts a
also grants him a temporary specialty based on what single audience member. He can go into experience
the Sovereign praised about him. debt (p. XX) to purchase one dot of an Attribute or
Ability or a specialty without needing to actively train.
This Charm’s cost is reduced by two motes when used Instead, he gradually internalizes the performance’s
on the Sovereign’s subordinates (p. XX). lesson as he reflects on it, dividing the training time by
(higher of the Sovereign’s Essence or 3).
With an Essence 2 repurchase, the Sovereign may
pay a one-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to use this If the Sovereign makes an influence roll when she per-
Charm reflexively, letting her instill a character with forms with this Charm, her chosen student suffers −2
an Intimacy in time to use bolster his Resolve against Resolve against it.
an influence roll or to cite it in a Decision Point.
Seven-Toned Harmony
Epic-Forging Inspiration Cost: 5m; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Performance 4, Essence 1 Type: Reflexive
Type: Reflexive Keywords: None
Keywords: None Duration: One tick
Duration: One story Prerequisite Charms: None
Prerequisite Charms: Sapphire Mirror Proclamation
The Sovereign’s voice is many-toned; she harmonizes
Those whose deeds catch the Sovereign’s attention are with herself.
immortalized in her art.
When the Sovereign flurries a Performance roll, she
When the Sovereign witnesses someone else under- reduces the penalty on each flurried action by one
take a difficult or dangerous task that upholds one of and ignores the Defense penalty. She can flurry two
her Major or Defining Intimacies, she rolls (Charisma Performance actions, ignoring the flurry penalty
+ [Linguistics or Performance]), adding (Intimacy) entirely.
non-Charm dice. She banks a pool of non-Charm dice
equal to her successes. She can add up to (Essence) Crystalline Polyphony Counterpoint
dice on an influence roll with any Ability involving Cost: —; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1
the event that inspired her — inspire rolls to draw a Type: Permanent
reaction from an audience, persuade rolls that appeal Keywords: None
to the ego of someone involved by promising to spread Duration: Permanent
his story, instill rolls to create Ties to those involved in Prerequisite Charms: Seven-Toned Harmony
it or Principles based on the moral she gives the story,
etc. She can also add these dice on Craft rolls to create Seamlessly weaving together countless melodies, the
objects that depict the inspiring event. Sovereign stirs the heart with complex compositions.

With Essence 3, if the Sovereign knows Illuminated When the Sovereign uses Seven-Toned Harmony to
Mind Salon, she may extend its benefits to multiple flurry an instill or inspire roll against a single character
characters with a performance based on the inspiring with another influence roll against him that leverages
event, expending one banked die for each character the instilled Intimacy or inspired emotion, she adds

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her extra successes on the instill or inspire roll as bo- Duration: Instant
nus dice on the second influence roll. Prerequisite Charms: Visage of the Northern Lights

If the Sovereign knows One Voice, a Duet, its reflexive Those who’ve given their hearts to the Sovereign are held
influence roll can likewise confer this benefit, though spellbound by her song.
only one influence roll per turn can receive bonus dice
from this Charm. The Sovereign doubles 9s on an influence roll against
a single character that’s supported by a Tie of love,
Visage of the Northern Lights desire, or the like toward herself. Against subordinates
Cost: 3m; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1 (p. XX), she doubles 9s if they have any positive Tie or
Type: Supplemental a Tie of fear toward herself.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant All Eyes on the Queen
Prerequisite Charms: None Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Performance 4, Essence 1
Type: Simple
The Sovereign’s beauty is that of the midnight sky and Keywords: None
the lights that dance at the world’s edge. Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Visage of the Northern Lights
The Sovereign converts (Anima + 1) dice added on an
influence roll by her Appearance to non-Charm suc- Blazing with fire-bright glamour, the Sovereign demands
cesses. She applies this bonus on inspire rolls. attention.

Sway the Smitten The Sovereign’s compelling presence inflicts a –3

Cost: 2m; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1 penalty on any rolls her enemies make against char-
Type: Supplemental acters other than her. Enemies who can’t see her are
Keywords: None unaffected, unless the only reason they can’t see her is

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blindness inflicted by Sovereign Charms. Rolls target- in the same scene and it can’t target anyone other than
ing multiple characters aren’t penalized as long as the the gambit’s victim.
Sovereign is included.
Tithe of Applause
Enemies can resist this by entering a Decision Point and Cost: —; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 2
citing an Intimacy that equals or exceeds the intensity Type: Reflexive
of any positive Ties they have to the Sovereign or any Keywords: None
other Intimacies that would support being awestruck, Duration: Instant
fascinated, or infatuated with her. Prerequisite Charms: Sapphire Mirror Proclamation
(x2)
While using this Charm, Visage of the Northern Lights
converts all dice added by the Sovereign’s Appearance Adulation for her protégés is like wine to the Sovereign’s
to non-Charm successes. Its cost is waived on influ- soul.
ence rolls to draw attention to her.
When a character accomplishes a significant social
Will-o’-the-Wisp Allure goal with the Sovereign’s aid or guidance, she rolls
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 1 (Charisma + Performance). Each success awards ei-
Type: Simple ther one mote or one silver point. She can exchange
Keywords: None five successes for a point of Willpower.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Reset: Once per day.

Where the Sovereign goes, others naturally follow, drawn Calamity-Soothing Song
to her grace and almost hypnotic song. Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Performance 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
The Sovereign makes a (Social Attribute + [Performance Keywords: None
or Presence]) persuade roll, doubling 9s, to convince Duration: Instant
others to accompany her on a journey. The intensity of Prerequisite Charms: Will-o’-the-Wisp Allure
Intimacy needed to resist in a Decision Point increases
by one step; characters with a Defining Intimacy that Singing a note so pure it stirs even a wildfire to tears, the
supports this influence instead can’t enter a Decision Sovereign quiets nature’s wrath.
Point unless the Sovereign leads them into danger.
The Sovereign rolls ([Appearance or Charisma] +
Feverish Piping Rhythm Performance) against the difficulty of a mundane envi-
Cost: —; Mins: Performance 3, Essence 2 ronmental hazard. Success reduces the hazard’s dam-
Type: Reflexive age by (1 + [extra successes/2, rounded up], minimum
Keywords: None 1) for the scene.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Bewildering Trickster Verse If the Sovereign uses this Charm while leading a group
recruited with Will-o’-the-Wisp Allure or while using
Even the most well-disciplined soldiers break ranks to Far-Wandering Anthem, she waives its Willpower cost.
hark to the Sovereign’s enthralling song.
With a Performance 5, Essence 3 repurchase, this
When the Sovereign succeeds on a distract gambit Charm can be used against supernatural hazards.
with Bewildering Trickster Verse, her target loses
Initiative equal to her attack roll extra successes, up Reset: This Charm can only be used once per scene.
to a maximum of the total Initiative granted to the
gambit’s beneficiary, which the Sovereign doesn’t gain. Special activation rules: The Sovereign can use this
Charm reflexively when she rolls against an environ-
Outside of combat, the Sovereign can use Bewildering mental hazard, using this Charm’s roll to resist and
Trickster Verse to lay the groundwork for an ally’s weakening the hazard as above if she succeeds.
Larceny roll or Manipulation-based influence roll.
Such uses don’t require an Initiative roll. If the Far-Wandering Anthem
Sovereign beats her target’s Resolve, she adds (1 + extra Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Performance 4, Essence 2
successes) dice to her ally’s roll. He must make that roll Type: Simple

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Keywords: None There’s only one worthy to take the stage alongside the
Duration: One day Sovereign; thus, she doubles her stage presence in crystal
Prerequisite Charms: Will-o’-the-Wisp Allure and flame.

The Sovereign’s song guides her caravan as Cantata-of- Simulacra of the Sovereign created with Mirage-Self
the-Depths once led his people to Uluiru. Sculpture can speak, adding (higher of Essence or 3)
dice on her rolls opposing attempts to see through the
The Sovereign and up to (Essence x2) others double ruse.
the distance they can cover with a single day’s march
and aren’t slowed by travel through snowy climes, Once per turn, the Sovereign may reflexively make an
caves, and mountains. She need not perform continu- influence roll with any Ability through her simula-
ously; occasional walking songs or stories around the crum. She uses her own traits and can enhance it with
campfire suffice. magic normally.

Up to (Essence x5) subordinates don’t count against Rainbow Grace Bestowal

the limit on the Sovereign’s traveling companions. Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Performance 5, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Nightmare Odyssey Aria Keywords: Stackable
Cost: —(+5m); Mins: Performance 5, Essence 2 Duration: (Charisma) days
Type: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: Sapphire Mirror Proclamation
Keywords: None (x2)
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Far-Wandering Anthem With the smallest kindness or gesture of encouragement,
the Sovereign spurs others to greatness.
The Sovereign’s harmony holds chaos at bay, forging a
path through the Wyld. Showing another her favor, the Sovereign rolls
(Essence + Performance), unmodified by any effects.
When the Sovereign uses Far-Wandering Anthem, she That character banks dice equal to her successes. He
may pay a five-mote surcharge to render herself and may add up to (higher of his Essence or 3) of them on
her traveling companions immune to exposure to the an inspire roll and other emotion-based influence roll.
Wyld and other environmental Shaping effects. For influence involving emotions of awe, reverence, or
wonder, these bonus dice are converted to successes.
Echoes of Enduring Courage
Cost: 5m, 1a; Mins: Performance 5, Essence 2 This Charm’s cost is reduced by two motes when used
Type: Reflexive on subordinates (p. XX).
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Sovereign can use this Charm on up to (Essence)
Prerequisite Charms: All Eyes on the Queen characters. Subordinates don’t count against this limit.

The Sovereign’s radiance shines through terror and Siren of Safe Harbor
confusion. Cost: 5m, 1wp, 1a; Mins: Performance 4, Essence 3
Type: Simple
When a character makes a threaten roll or fear-based in- Keywords: None
fluence roll, the Sovereign and anyone who can perceive Duration: Instant
her anima gain +2 Resolve against it. They can use posi- Prerequisite Charms: Far-Wandering Anthem,
tive Ties or Ties of fear toward her to bolster her Resolve Polished Pearl Debut
against that influence or in Decision Points against it.
The Sovereign’s heart burns like a beacon-fire as she
One Voice, a Duet sings for someone far away, calling him back to her.
Cost: —; Mins: Performance 5, Craft 5, Essence 2
Type: Permanent The Sovereign calls out to someone for whom she
Keywords: None has a positive Major or Defining Tie within (Essence
Duration: Permanent x3) miles, rolling (Charisma + Performance) with
Prerequisite Charms: Crystalline Polyphony (Intimacy) bonus dice against his Resolve. She suffers
Counterpoint, Mirage-Self Sculpture

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a −3 penalty if she hasn’t previously met him in person who can see her anima banner, ignoring multiple tar-
or a −5 penalty if she knows barely anything about get penalties. If she uses her Excellency to supplement
him. If she succeeds, he becomes aware of her current this, she calculates her maximum bonus before anima
location and is convinced to seek her out, adding (her is spent on this Charm. A character whose Resolve is
Intimacy) dice on Athletics, Ride, Sail, and Survival beaten must roll (Stamina + Resistance) opposing the
rolls to reach her. Sovereign’s influence roll to avoid being overwhelmed
by this prismatic display; if he fails, he’s blinded for
If the Sovereign uses this Charm on a subordinate (p. the rest of the scene (Exalted, p, 168). The penalty
XX) or someone with a positive Major or Defining Tie from this blindness applies on influence rolls to speak
for her, its range increases to (Essence x100) miles. against the Sovereign or her subordinates; they cannot
see anything to criticize.
Aurora Muse Inspiration
Cost: —; Mins: Performance 5, Essence 3 When a blinded enemy’s attack roll misses, the
Type: Permanent Sovereign’s player may pay three Initiative, one
Keywords: None Willpower to redirect the attack against another char-
Duration: Permanent acter within its range, revealing her enemy attacked
Prerequisite Charms: Rainbow Grace Bestowal the wrong character. The attack and all effects enhanc-
ing it are rerolled, using the same dice pool, against the
The Sovereign is a muse to heroes, inspiring them to new target. Any Initiative a withering attack would
feats of legendary prowess. grant the attacker goes to the Sovereign instead.

Characters with a positive Defining Tie toward the Reset: Once per day.
Sovereign gain the following effects while blessed with
Rainbow Grace Bestowal: Prima Donna Refutation
Cost: 5m, 1wp, 1a; Mins: Performance 5, Essence 3
Gracious Patron Appreciation: +2 Resolve against Type: Reflexive
any influence that would weaken their Defining Tie to Keywords: None
the Sovereign. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: All Eyes on the Queen,
Inner Beauty Revelation: A bonus dot of Appearance, Blinding Glory Rebuke
which can raise their Appearance above 5. This doesn’t
stack with other magic that confers bonus dots of Resplendent in her many colors, the Sovereign refuses to
Appearance. cede the stage to lesser talents.
Seven-Color Champion Aegis: They can spend dice When another character makes an influence roll, the
banked with Rainbow Grace Bestowal on any roll or Sovereign may upstage him with a (Social Attribute +
static value. Performance) roll. Each of her successes imposes a −1
penalty on his influence roll. If this reduces his dice
Midnight Dawn Kaleidoscope pool to 0, the Sovereign’s roll is treated as an influence
Cost: 5m, 1wp, 3a (3i, 1wp per attack); Mins: roll to instill all characters targeted by the other char-
Performance 5, Essence 3 acter’s influence with a Minor Tie of awe, reverence, or
Type: Simple wonder for the Sovereign.
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant Alternatively, when a character begins a supernatural
Prerequisite Charms: Blinding Glory Rebuke, performance that doesn’t involve social influence, like
Dazzling Aurora Flash Battle Anthem of the Solar Exalted (Exalted, p. 365),
the Sovereign can use this Charm. She and the per-
The Sovereign’s anima banner refracts into a shimmer- former make opposed (Social Attribute + Performance)
ing maelstrom of seven-colored light, overwhelming her rolls. If the Sovereign succeeds, the opposing magic is
foes with blinding majesty. negated and that character can’t use it again for the
rest of the scene.
The Sovereign rolls ([Charisma or Manipulation) +
Performance) to inspire awe, reverence, or wonder Reset: Once per day.
against any number of characters within medium range

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Chaos-Quelling Virtuoso Breaking her rival’s confidence, the Sovereign tempers

Cost: —; Mins: Performance 5, Essence 3 and renews her own.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None When the Sovereign successfully uses Prima Donna
Duration: Permanent Refutation and the opposing character’s roll fails at
Prerequisite Charms: Prima Donna Refutation least one target, she upstages him:

Even the Wyld yields before the Sovereign’s performance; • He loses motes equal to the Sovereign’s 9s and
she weaves its chaos into her harmony and thus renders 10s, which she gains as a special pool of personal
it powerless. motes. She can only spend these motes on magic
enhancing influence rolls, read intentions rolls,
The Sovereign can use Prima Donna Refutation against Guile, or Resolve. They’re lost if not spent by the
Psyche effects that don’t involve an influence roll and scene’s end.
Shaping effects, using (Charisma + Performance)
against the roll used for the effect. Against unrolled • If his dice pool was reduced to zero, he loses one
effects, the character responsible makes an (Attribute Willpower, which the Sovereign gains. If she
+ Ability) roll using the most appropriate pool. If the used Chaos-Quelling Virtuoso to negate an un-
Sovereign beats his roll, the effect is negated and its rolled effect, the character responsible likewise
targets are instilled with a Tie to her as usual. yields Willpower to her.

Against the fae, Prima Donna Refutation subtracts suc- • His Appearance is treated as one lower for the
cesses instead of dice, and its Willpower cost is waived. rest of the scene when calculating dice pools and
determining how many bonus dice it adds. The
Twice-Born Enchantress Tempo Sovereign gains a bonus dot of Appearance for the
Cost: —; Mins: Performance 5, Craft 5, Essence 3 scene, which can raise her Appearance above 5.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None • If he has a positive Tie toward himself, its in-
Duration: Permanent tensity is weakened by one step. The Sovereign
Prerequisite Charms: One Voice, a Duet, Terrestrial forms a positive Minor Tie to herself or strength-
Circle Sorcery ens an existing such Tie.

The Sovereign and her crystalline duettist sing the secret Slumbering Kingdom Sonata
harmonies of the cosmos, weaving sorcery with twin voices. Cost: 20m, 1wp; Mins: Performance 5, Essence 5
Type: Simple
The Sovereign can use Seven-Toned Harmony to flurry Keywords: Psyche
a Shape Sorcery roll with a Performance roll. At bonfire Duration: One performance
anima, she can instead flurry it with any non-attack Prerequisite Charms: Calamity-Soothing Song
action. (x2), Fount-of-Glories Incarnation, Midnight Dawn
Kaleidoscope
While using One Voice, a Duet, the Sovereign doesn’t
lose sorcerous motes if she goes a round without ac- Assuming Aurora’s mantle as Lord of Delights, the
cumulating any; her simulacrum continues her spell’s Sovereign brings peaceful reverie to the masses with her
song. When she casts a spell, she may have it originate spellbinding performance.
from her simulacrum rather than herself. If she uses
a spell that effects only her, like Invulnerable Skin of To use this Charm, the Sovereign must be at transcen-
Bronze (Exalted, p. 474), the simulacrum gains these dent anima. She makes a special (Social Attribute +
benefits to the extent possible. Performance) inspire roll against all characters within
long range; her anima banner spreads like an aurora to
Shattered Rival Reversal encompass them. On each turn the Sovereign contin-
Cost: —; Mins: Performance 5, Essence 4 ues to perform, this influence (and her anima) expands
Type: Permanent another range band outward, maximum (Appearance
Keywords: None + Charisma + Manipulation) range bands. If precise
Duration: Permanent range bands aren’t relevant, the Storyteller can instead
Prerequisite Charms: Prima Donna Refutation have the influence gradually expand to a one-mile ra-
dius over the course of a few minutes.

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Affected characters are inspired with peaceful calm as

a Defining Intimacy and must act on it by engaging in SOCIALIZE CHARMS
leisure activities, indulgent pleasures, idle talk, relax-
ation, or the like. They can’t engage in any strenuous Sovereign Socialize Charms are the truest blend
activity unless doing so is supported by a Major or of their many themes, with a focus on subordi-
Defining Intimacy and can’t take any hostile or violent nate-superior relationships and reciprocity. These
actions whatsoever — attacking, threaten rolls, de- are the Charms that give them their name and
claring war on a neighboring kingdom, etc. — unless empower them as the god-kings of Uluiru. They’re
someone else initiates hostilities. Trivial characters also the Charms that draw most on Cantata’s life
may instead fall asleep for the duration; the Sovereign’s as a power broker and patron god of mines and
player chooses which fate befalls them. The Sovereign’s the wealth of the earth.
song also soothes all environmental hazards within its
range, as per Calamity-Soothing Song; this can reduce
hazards’ damage to 0.
By Her Leave
This influence can be resisted in a Decision Point, Cost: 3m; Mins: Socialize 2, Essence 1
requiring a character to cite a Defining Intimacy and Type: Supplemental
pay three Willpower. Once a character has success- Keywords: None
fully asserted their Resolve against this influence or Duration: Instant
resisted with Willpower, he’s immune for the rest of Prerequisite Charms: Imperious Command
its duration.
The Sovereign dismisses flunkies, hangers-on, and rivals
This Psyche effect lasts for as long as the Sovereign with a sharp rebuke.
continues to perform and for (extra successes against
a character’s Resolve) hours thereafter. She can’t take The Sovereign adds (higher of Essence or 3) dice on a
non-reflexive actions while performing unless she persuade or threaten roll with any Ability to dismiss
uses Many-Voiced Harmony to flurry. With One Voice, another character, whether sending someone away,
a Duet, she may forgo her reflexive influence roll to silencing someone with a gesture, using hostile body
sustain the performance, letting her act freely on her language to convince someone to leave her alone, etc.
turn. Her target can’t use negative Ties to the Sovereign or
Intimacies of pride, confidence, or authority to resist in
While the Sovereign performs, her anima is visible up the Decision Point.
to (Essence x 20) miles; add +10 to this multiplier for
each range band the effect has extended past long (e.g., This Charm’s cost is waived against subordinates.
[Essence x30] at four bands and [Essence x40] at five).
Once she stops performing, her anima fades to dim. Sacrosanct Sovereign Personage
Cost: 4m, 1a, 2i; Mins: Socialize 3, Essence 1
Reset: Once per story. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous
Socialize Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: By Her Leave
Imperious Command
Cost: 3m; Mins: Socialize 2, Essence 1 Those who refuse to heed the Sovereign’s dismissal find
Type: Supplemental themselves forced back by the weight of her opprobrium.
Keywords: None
When a character attempts to move into close range
Duration: Instant
with the Sovereign, she rolls (Charisma + Socialize)
Prerequisite Charms: None
opposing his ([Stamina or Strength] + Athletics) roll.
The Sovereign does not ask; she demands. If she succeeds, he can’t close the distance, rebuffed
by her spiritual pressure. With 3+ extra successes, she
The Sovereign doubles 9s on a persuade or threaten roll may knock him prone or force him back one range
with any Ability that’s unambiguously phrased as a direct band; with 5+, she may do both.
order. Against subordinates (p. XX), any Resolve penalty
inflicted by Ties to the Sovereign is increased by one. This Charm’s cost is waived against trivial characters.

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Tribute Rightly Claimed Keywords: None

Cost: 5m, 1a; Mins: Socialize 4, Essence 1 Duration: One scene
Type: Simple Prerequisite Charms: None
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant When even a god-queen listens with rapt attention, who
Prerequisite Charms: Imperious Command would dare disturb her entertainment?

All riches are due to the queen; her outstretched hand While the Sovereign respectfully observes a perfor-
cannot be denied. mance or participates in a ceremony or other formal
social event, other characters must pay one Willpower
The Sovereign makes a bargain, persuade, or threaten to leave the event before it’s complete or two Willpower
roll with any Ability to convince someone to give her to interrupt the event or attack a fellow participant.
something in his possession, adding (Charisma) non- Subordinates (p. XX) can’t resist with Willpower.
Charm dice. Her target can’t cite negative Ties to her
or an organization she belongs to or Intimacies op- This Charm can’t be used in combat, but it remains
posed to authority figures and hierarchies in general to active if hostilities break out mid-event.
resist this influence in a Decision Point. Subordinates
can only cite Ties toward that possession. Wreathed in Glory
Cost: 3m; Mins: Socialize 2, Essence 1
Reset: This Charm can’t be used against the same Type: Supplemental
character more than once per day. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Perfect Audience Exemplar Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: 5m; Mins: Socialize 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive

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The Sovereign embodies a grandeur beyond mortal ken, • He can see in the dark.
radiating pride and majesty even before her anima blaz-
es to life. • He doubles 9s on rolls against the natural dan-
gers of mines, caves, and other underground
The Sovereign adds (Anima + 1) dice and rerolls 6s locales — environmental hazards, falls, etc.
until they cease to appear on an inspire roll, a persuade
or bargain roll for seduction, or an instill roll to create • He doubles 9s on feats of demolition to break
an emotion-based Tie to herself using any Ability. At through natural stone or similar rolls to bypass
bonfire anima or higher, she rerolls 5s until they cease underground obstacles.
to appear as well.
• He counts as one of her subordinates (p. XX),
This Charm can’t enhance influence rolls against unless he’s Exalted.
Exalted whose current anima exceed the Sovereign’s.
This Charm ends if the Sovereign’s mark is removed.
Clothed in Flame
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 3, Essence 1 The Sovereign can stack this Charm to benefit any
Type: Reflexive number of player characters and up to (Essence x2)
Keywords: None others. If she uses this Charm to bless herself, she
Duration: Indefinite doesn’t count towards this limit.
Prerequisite Charms: Wreathed in Glory
Passel-Uplifting Privilege
The Sovereign clothes herself in gowns of woven Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Socialize 4, Essence 1
rainbows. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
The Sovereign creates a bespoke outfit of fireglass Duration: Permanent
(p. XX); any mundane clothing she’s wearing is sent Prerequisite Charms: Blessing of the Vasty Deep
Elsewhere, returning when this Charm ends. The
outfit is exceptional equipment (Exalted, p. 580) for The Sovereign offers the mines’ favor to all who call upon
Appearance-based rolls, bargain and persuade rolls her and are willing to obey.
for seduction, and rolls to instill Ties of lust, love, or
other attraction toward herself. If formal dress or The Sovereign may pay a one-Willpower surcharge to
physical beauty are relevant, she converts the die from use Blessing of the Vasty Deep on a group of mortals or
equipment to a non-Charm success. At bonfire anima eidolons, performing a ceremony in which they pledge
or higher, she also gains a bonus dot of Appearance, themselves to her and receive her mark in exchange. She
which can raise her Appearance above 5. can bless mortal groups equivalent to Size (higher of
Essence or 3) and eidolon groups of any Size (Exalted,
This Charm’s cost is reduced by one mote for each p. 206). The blessed group doesn’t count toward the
of Loupe-and-Bit Trick (p. XX) and Radiant Warrior limit on how many characters she can bless with that
Raiment (p. XX) the Sovereign knows. Charm, though she can only bless one group at a time.

Blessing of the Vasty Deep If the blessed group undertakes a project (Exalted, p.
Cost: 1m; Mins: Socialize 3, Essence 1 226) or other bureaucratic task, the amount of time
Type: Simple necessary is divided by (Appearance, Charisma, or
Keywords: Stackable Manipulation). This applies only to bureaucratic pro-
Duration: Indefinite cesses like planning, authorization, and allocation of
Prerequisite Charms: None resources, not physical labor. It can’t affect tasks that
take more than (Essence) years to complete.
The Sovereign offers Cantata-of-the-Depths’ blessing to
those who toil beneath the earth, marking the recipients If the Sovereign knows To Reign Under the Hill, this
of her favor. Charm also applies to underground animals, earth
elementals and similar spirits, and Jadeborn.
The Sovereign blesses a character in a ceremony that
visibly marks him: anointing his brow with quartz dust, Master-and-Servant Understanding
tattooing him with her personal sigil, placing a fireglass Cost: 3m; Mins: Socialize 3, Essence 1
diadem on his brow, etc. He gains the following benefits: Type: Supplemental

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Keywords: None a Minor Tie of awe toward the Sovereign and count as
Duration: Instant her subordinates (p. XX). She doesn’t gain this benefit
Prerequisite Charms: None against characters with negative Ties toward her.

The Sovereign understands power, distinguishing liege Additionally, the Sovereign can communicate with
from vassal with piercing insight. such beings without needing a common language,
ignoring the Resolve bonus for lacking one.
The Sovereign doubles 9s on a read intentions roll to
discover one of her target’s Ties for another character. Unfaltering Superiority
If her target and the object of his Tie both belong to the Cost: 3m; Mins: Socialize 3, Essence 1
same organization, she intuits the power dynamic be- Type: Reflexive
tween them — who commands, who obeys, and under Keywords: None
what circumstances. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Salute-and-Curtsy Intuition
Cost: 2m; Mins: Socialize 3, Essence 1 The Sovereign’s confidence is unwavering in the face of
Type: Reflexive her inferiors.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Sovereign gains +2 Guile. This is non-Charm at
Prerequisite Charms: Master-and-Servant bonfire anima or higher or against her subordinates (p.
Understanding XX)

Etiquette reveals everything; each bow, genuflection, Secret Flame Brilliance

and nicety offers a glimpse into the soul. Cost: 4m; Mins: Socialize 4, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
When the Sovereign witnesses someone make a show Keywords: None
of respect to another character or engage in a similar Duration: Instant
custom, she reflexively rolls to read the intentions of Prerequisite Charms: Unfaltering Superiority,
the character making the display. Her target suffers the Wreathed in Glory
−2 Guile penalty for being unaware of observers — even
if he can see her, he can’t guess at the judgment hidden The Sovereign’s heart is shrouded in the subtle fire of her
behind her steely eyes. Success reveals the target’s Tie spirit, blinding those would glimpse its secrets.
to the object of his obeisance.
When a character takes an action opposing
If the target he has no such Tie, or if another of his the Sovereign’s Guile, the Sovereign first rolls
Intimacies is more dramatically relevant, this can in- (Manipulation + Socialize) against his Resolve, adding
stead reveal other related Intimacies. These might be (Anima) non-Charm dice. If she succeeds, he’s blinded
Ties to a group that’s led or represented by that person, by kaleidoscopic colors for the scene, inflicting a −3
their family or culture, or the target’s feelings on au- penalty on vision-based rolls — and on his roll against
thority figures in general. her Guile.

To Reign Under the Hill If the Sovereign uses this Charm against magic that in-
Cost: 3m; Mins: Socialize 3, Essence 1 trudes upon her mind — reading her thoughts, entering
Type: Reflexive her dreams, etc. — the blindness lasts indefinitely until
Keywords: None the victim receives appropriate medical treatment.
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None The Sovereign needn’t be aware of her observer to
use this Charm; this inner radiance burns ceaselessly
The Sovereign is heir to Cantata-of-the-Depths’ domain, within her mind.
wielding this authority over those who dwell in the
earth’s depths. Velvet Glove Insinuation
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 3, Essence 2
Animals that live underground, earth elementals and Type: Supplemental
other spirits of stone, caverns, and the underground, Keywords: None
and Jadeborn (The Realm, p. 124) are treated as having Duration: Instant

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Prerequisite Charms: Imperious Command, Sovereign or being influenced by one of her persuade
Unfaltering Superiority or bargain rolls resets this count

The Sovereign conceals her malice behind pleasant Sacred Agate Talisman
words and impeccable manners. Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Socialize 4, Essence 2
Type: Permanent
When the Sovereign makes a threaten roll with any Keywords: None
Ability, her targets won’t form negative Ties toward Duration: Permanent
her because of it, nor can they strengthen negative Prerequisite Charms: Blessing of the Vasty Deep
Ties to her at the scene’s end. Such characters won’t
take offense at the threats or respond with hostility. The Sovereign bestows a gift worthy of Cantata-of-the-
Resisting the threaten roll ends this effect; affected Depths, a sign of her favor and authority.
characters unable to do so may spend one Willpower
to resist solely the effect of this Charm instead. When the Sovereign uses Blessing of the Vasty Deep,
she may pay a one-Willpower surcharge and undertake
Subordinates (p. XX) are still affected even if they re- a major project (Exalted, p. 240) to craft a piece of
sist the threaten roll with Willpower. If the Sovereign jewelry. Bestowing it upon the blessed character as the
makes a threaten roll that only targets subordinates, mark of her favor, she confers the following additional
she waives its Willpower cost. benefits:

Reset: Once per scene. • He doubles 8s on rolls enhanced by Blessing of

the Vasty Deep.
Offering the Grail of Bliss
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 4, Essence 2 • He gains the Tempered by the Elements Merit
Type: Simple (Exalted, p. 165) for underground terrain.
Keywords: Psyche
Duration: Until the task is completed • The Sovereign’s other subordinates (p. XX)
Prerequisite Charms: Imperious Command, count as having a Minor Tie of loyalty to him.
Wreathed in Glory
• Rolls to take the talisman from him suffer a −4
The Sovereign need not rule by fear; her subjects delight penalty unless enhanced by magic.
in obedience.
This Charm’s surcharge is waived when used on a
The Sovereign makes a persuade or bargain roll against one subordinate. It’s incompatible with Passel-Uplifting
target with any Ability, adding (Anima) non-Charm dice. Privilege.
While he is actively engaged in fulfilling whatever task she
gave him, he experiences an overwhelming euphoria that Favored by the Crown
negates up to (Sovereign’s Essence/2, rounded up) points Cost: —(+4m); Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 2
of penalties from wounds, fatigue, or deprivation. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
If another character attempts to overturn the Duration: Permanent
Sovereign’s influence (Exalted, p. 221), the influenced Prerequisite Charms: Sacred Agate Talisman
character adds the total amount of penalties negated
by this Charm to his Resolve against it. The Sovereign sends forth envoys and emissaries bearing
her sign, empowering them to speak on her behalf.
This Charm’s Willpower cost is waived when used on
subordinates. When the Sovereign uses Sacred Agate Talisman, she
may pay a four-mote surcharge to appoint the blessed
With Socialize 5, Essence 3, the Sovereign may character as her proxy. So long as he displays his tal-
choose to render her target addicted to this Charm’s isman openly, all who see it recognize it as a sign of a
euphoria (Exalted, p. 167). Addicted characters gain supernatural being’s power; those personally familiar
an additional +1 Resolve against rolls to overturn the with the Sovereign recognize it as hers.
Sovereign’s influence. If a character spends Willpower
to resist this influence, the addiction ends after (7 – The proxy benefits from other character’s positive Ties and
his Resolve) days. Strengthening a positive Tie to the Ties of fear toward the Sovereign as though they applied

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to him but treats their intensity as one step lower — e.g., Duration: Instant
a character with a Major Tie of loyalty to the Sovereign Prerequisite Charms: Court-Assaying Sophistication
counts as having a Minor Tie of loyalty to her proxy.
The gossip, plots, and intrigues of her court echo at the
This Charm’s surcharge is waived when used on a edge of the Sovereign’s hearing like prayers unto a god’s
subordinate. It’s incompatible with Passel-Uplifting own ears.
Privilege.
The Sovereign spends eight hours meditating on an
Bow Before Your Queen organization or group within which she holds power
Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 2 or authority. Over the course of this, she hears snip-
Type: Simple pets of anonymous conversation between its members
Keywords: None or their private thoughts of fear or worry. She rolls
Duration: Instant ([Perception or Wits] + Socialize) at difficulty 1-5, de-
Prerequisite Charms: Sacrosanct Sovereign pending on the group’s size and secrecy. Success lets
Personage her piece together the most significant issue facing the
group. For every three extra successes, she can ask the
As the Sovereign’s full majesty is made manifest, her Storyteller one of the following questions:
inferiors are driven to flight or to their knees.
• Who or what poses the greatest threat to my in-
The Sovereign makes a special ([Appearance or fluence within the group?
Charisma] + Socialize) threaten roll, adding (Anima)
non-Charm dice and ignoring multiple target pen- • What can I do that would have the greatest ben-
alties. Affected characters must either kneel to her, efit for the group?
remaining prone for the rest of the scene, or flee from
her, moving away from her on each turn until they • Who in the group would side with me if I took or
successfully withdraw if used in combat. Those who proposed some specific course of action involv-
kneel count as subordinates until they rise. Resisting ing it?
this influence costs an additional point of Willpower.
• What’s the group’s greatest vulnerability?
Court-Assaying Sophistication
If the Storyteller doesn’t have an answer in mind for a
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 2
question, the Sovereign’s player should provide one, as
Type: Simple
if introducing a fact.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant This Charm is limited to the information known by
Prerequisite Charms: Salute-and-Curtsy Intuition the group’s membership. If, for example, the greatest
threat to a trade company is a faerie warband on the
Whether holding court from a fireglass throne or trading
march that its members know nothing about, the
barbed words with a rival over a banquet, the Sovereign
Sovereign would instead learn the next-greatest threat
knows her inferiors.
to it. It also can’t reveal information that a group
After a scene spent participating in a formal social member wishes to keep secret if he has relevant magic
event, ceremony, artistic performance, or a similar (enhancing Guile, concealing evidence, etc.), unless
event governed by sophisticated rules of etiquette, the the Sovereign’s roll beats his Guile.
Sovereign rolls read intentions against all characters
Reset: Once per story.
she interacted with. For each character whose Guile
she beats, she learns one of his Intimacies relevant Bloodied in My Name
to that event or towards a fellow participant; the
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 3
Storyteller should choose whichever Intimacy is most
Type: Simple
interesting or relevant. This roll automatically suc-
Keywords: None
ceeds against subordinates (p. XX).
Duration: Instant
Whispered Courtier Prayers Prerequisite Charms: Offering the Grail of Bliss
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 2 With an intimate gesture — a kiss, an embrace, a caress
Type: Simple — the Sovereign heals those wounded for her sake.
Keywords: None

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The Sovereign touches someone suffering injuries The Sovereign’s eyes blaze with rainbow fire as she meets
taken while acting on her orders, helping or aiding another’s gaze, an enthralling light that overwhelms all
her, or performing similar acts of service. She rolls resistance.
([Charisma or Intelligence] + Socialize), healing levels
of non-aggravated damage equal to her successes. For The Sovereign makes an ([Appearance or Manipulation]
subordinates, she doubles 9s and can heal aggravated + Socialize) persuade roll against a single target, con-
damage. If her patient suffers any poison or disease, veying a wordless command. He and other onlookers
this also counts as a Medicine roll to treat them. can’t recognize the Sovereign’s attempt to influence
him unless they succeed on a (Perception + Awareness)
This Charm can’t be used in combat. roll opposing her influence roll to notice the prismatic
radiance that shines briefly from her eyes.
Ceaseless Exile Proclamation
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 3 This influence is reinforced against efforts to over-
Type: Simple turn it (Exalted, p. 221). The influenced character’s
Keywords: Psyche Intimacies can’t modify his Resolve against such efforts
Duration: Instant and the Willpower cost he must pay increases by one.
Prerequisite Charms: Bow Before Your Queen
Sworn Upon the Soul
Incandescent with rage or justice, the Sovereign exiles Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 3
the faithless from her domain. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
The Sovereign makes a (Charisma + Socialize) per- Duration: Instant
suade roll, doubling 7s, to order her targets to leave Prerequisite Charms: Offering the Grail of Bliss
a structure or a neighborhood-sized region that she
owns or has legitimate authority over and to never Whether a vassal’s pledge of fealty or a debtor’s promise
return. Any positive Ties or Ties of fear he has toward of repayment, oaths sworn to the Sovereign bind their
the Sovereign support this influence. promisor.

Resisting this influence costs an additional Willpower. When someone makes a promise to the Sovereign,
Characters with Major or Defining Intimacies that she makes that vow binding upon him. If he breaks it,
supported the influence can’t resist until they’ve left she learns of this and makes a (Charisma + Socialize)
the Sovereign’s domain; subordinates can’t resist with persuade roll against him from afar, demanding that he
Willpower at all. make good on his promise or subject himself to suitable
punishment. He loses Willpower equal to her 9s and
With Essence 4, if the Sovereign owns or has author- 10s before he has the chance to resist with Willpower.
ity over a larger region, she may pay a one-Willpower If the influence is successful, the oathbreaker also be-
surcharge to use this Charm against a single character comes the Sovereign’s subordinate permanently.
to exile him from that dominion. If he has a Major or
Defining Intimacy that supports the influence, he can’t Debts Called Due
resist with Willpower until he’s left her territory or Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 3
spent a day traveling to leave it. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Reset: Once per story unless reset when the Sovereign Duration: One scene
suffers a significant defeat or setback because of the Prerequisite Charms: Sworn Upon the Soul
faithlessness or failure of someone she expects to serve
her. In the Sovereign’s hands, favors and obligations are as
dangerous as any blade.
Mesmerizing Rainbow Iris
Cost: 7m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 3 To use this Charm, the Sovereign must first perform
Type: Simple what she considers a serious or life-changing task
Keywords: Mute, Psyche (Exalted, p. 216) for or on behalf of another character
Duration: Instant who expressly assents to her doing so. As long as that
Prerequisite Charms: Offering the Grail of Bliss, character hasn’t provided the Sovereign with what she
Velvet Glove Insinuation considers adequate compensation for this, she can use
this Charm to temporarily treat him as a subordinate.

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Once the Sovereign uses this Charm on a character, his If the Sovereign convinces a character that someone who
debt is repaid; she must perform another task for him he’s a subordinate to is a subordinate to her, she can use
before she can use it against him again. Debts Called Due against him to treat him as a subordinate.
She can only do so against a character once per story, but
Seven Fortunes Sinecure this doesn’t count against that Charm’s normal reset.
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple Seven-Color Imperium Regalia
Keywords: None Cost: 10m, 1wp, 3a; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 5
Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: Favored by the Crown, Sworn Keywords: None
Upon the Soul Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Clothed in Flame,
The Sovereign offers a mantle of authority, drawing the Mesmerizing Rainbow Iris
worthy into her service.
A scintillating rainbow of many-colored flame engulfs
The Sovereign makes a (Charisma + Socialize) bargain the Sovereign; she emerges transformed into a being of
roll against a single character, doubling 7s, to offer inhuman beauty and grandeur, garbed in the aurora itself.
him a position of power, prestige, or good pay for lit-
tle work within an organization in exchange for his The Sovereign can use this Charm on her turn to gain
performance of some task. The position must be one the following benefits:
the Sovereign has legitimate authority to offer. If the
offered position is one of major influence — her trusted • She uses Clothed in Flame reflexively and at no
vizier, the head of a governmental bureau, an adopted cost, creating her wardrobe from shimmering
heir — the cost to resist increases by two Willpower. auroras rather than fireglass. She gains one bo-
nus dot of Appearance from it, in addition to the
When the influenced character accomplishes whatever dot she gains at bonfire anima.
the Sovereign persuaded him to do, he is invested with
the offered position. He forms a Major Tie of loyalty to • She treats her anima as one level higher for
the Sovereign. Members of the organization can sense her Sovereign Charms, maximum bonfire (or
that he was appointed by the Sovereign for the rest of transcendent, if she knows Fount-of-Glories
the story; his authority radiates from him like invisible Incarnation).
flame. As long as he remains in the offered position,
he counts as the Sovereign’s subordinate (p. XX), his • Characters with Major or Defining Ties to her
Tie can’t be weakened by any influence except the that are positive or based on fear must pay an
Sovereign’s, and he can’t voluntarily weaken it except additional Willpower to resist her persuade and
when the Sovereign mistreats him. threaten rolls using Socialize or Appearance-
based influence using any Ability.
Reset: Once per story unless reset by upholding a
Defining Intimacy with a subordinate’s help. • Attacks against her and influence rolls to
threaten her or besmirch her name suffer an
Conquered Kingdom Fealty (Appearance) penalty. This includes her bonus
Cost: —; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 4 dots of Appearance.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None • While using Radiant Warrior Raiment (p.
Duration: Permanent XX), she adds (Appearance) to its soak and
Prerequisite Charms: Debts Called Due (Appearance/2, rounded up) Hardness. This in-
cludes bonus dots of Appearance.
When queens and princes pledge their fealty to the
Sovereign, they entrust their subjects into her hands. War
If one of the Sovereign’s subordinates has subordinates Crystal-and-Flame Quiver
himself (p. XX), they count as her subordinates as well. Cost: 3m; Mins: War 2, Essence 1
That character need not be a Sovereign himself. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Uniform

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The Sovereign makes a withering or decisive attack

WAR CHARMS with a close-range weapon against an enemy within
short range.
Sovereign War Charms draw extensively on Au-
rora’s power, whether inspiring troops or creating With Essence 2, while the Sovereign is at bonfire anima
weapons forged from light. These Charms de- or higher, she can attack out to medium range instead.
pend strongly on the Sovereign’s ability to gener-
ate, spend, and manage her anima, giving them a Brilliant Diamond Edge
unique cadence in the heat of battle. Cost: 4m; Mins: War 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Lustrous Duelist Grin
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Sovereign’s anima-wreathed edge cleaves through
The Sovereign’s arrows arc across the battlefield, limned foes like a diamond through glass.
with radiant anima.
The Sovereign doubles up to (Anima) withering at-
The Sovereign extends an Archery or Thrown attack’s tack roll extra successes when calculating raw damage
range by one band, maximum long. (This includes or adds (lower of Essence or Anima) decisive attack
Flame weapons). If her weapon’s range is already long, roll extra successes as dice of damage.
she adds (Essence) dice on the attack roll instead. She
converts up to (Anima) dice added by aiming to non- Heavenly Fire Sheath
Charm successes. Cost: 3m, 1i (1a per die); Mins: War 4, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Lustrous Duelist Grin Keywords: Dual, Perilous
Cost: 2m; Mins: War 2, Essence 1 Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental Prerequisite Charms: Brilliant Diamond Edge
Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant With a flourish, as if to sheathe her blade, the Sovereign
Prerequisite Charms: None wreathes it with incandescent Essence.

Not even the Sovereign’s enemies can deny her grace and The Sovereign adds (Anima) Overwhelming on a
elegance in action. withering attack. If her enemy’s soak is insufficient
to reduce her to minimum damage, she may expend
The Sovereign adds an automatic success on an attack levels of anima to add that many dice of post-soak
roll, plus one die for each bonus dot of Appearance she damage. On a decisive attack, she doubles (Anima) 10s
has. The bonus is non-Charm against enemies whose on the damage roll.
Resolve is lower than her Appearance (including bo-
nus dots). Flashing Lance Trick
Cost: 5m; Mins: War 3, Essence 1
This Sovereign can also use this Charm on command Type: Supplemental
actions to give orders, comparing her Appearance to Keywords: Dual
the Resolve of the enemy she directs a battle group to Duration: Instant
attack. Prerequisite Charms: Lustrous Duelist Grin

Arcing Rainbow Slash As she slips past her opponent’s defenses, the Sovereign
Cost: 2m, 1a; Mins: War 3, Essence 1 hones her weapon’s point until it’s finer than a ray of
Type: Supplemental light.
Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant The Sovereign ignores (Anima) points of soak or
Prerequisite Charms: Lustrous Duelist Grin Hardness and waives the Initiative cost of making a
piercing attack (Exalted, p. 586).
Scintillating light bleeds from the edge of the Sovereign’s
blade, striking down distant foes.

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Shattered Quartz Smash Guardian-Fire Blessing

Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: War 3, Essence 1 Cost: 3m; Mins: War 4, Essence 1
Type: Simple Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-only Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Lustrous Duelist Grin Prerequisite Charms: Auroral Mantle

Shrouding her weapon in a crystalline nimbus, the Those who fight alongside the Sovereign take shelter
Sovereign unleashes a devastating blow that sends both behind her beneficence.
her foe and a hailstorm of fireglass flying.
When an ally within close range of the Sovereign is
The Sovereign makes a decisive attack; if she deals attacked, she can use this Charm to interpose her Parry
damage, she knocks her enemy back one range band. as though protecting him with a defend other action. If
Ranged attacks can’t knock enemies beyond medium she uses Auroral Mantle, she waives its Initiative cost.
range. If she makes a smash attack (Exalted, p. 586),
she waives its Initiative cost (both knockback effects Limitless Luminous Armory
stack). Cost: 4m; Mins: War 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
If the Sovereign deals 3+ levels of damage, the ground Keywords: Uniform, Versatile
beneath her enemy is strewn with shattered fireglass Duration: One scene
debris, becoming difficult terrain (Exalted, p. 586). Prerequisite Charms: None

Auroral Mantle The Sovereign conjures forth endless blades from the
Cost: 2m, 2i; Mins: War 3, Essence 1 forge of her auroral Essence.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Dual, Perilous When the Sovereign attacks or applies her Parry, she
Duration: Instant may reflexively create and ready a mundane fireglass
Prerequisite Charms: None weapon (and ammunition, if needed), which lasts only
for that instant before sublimating back into Essence
The Sovereign cloaks herself in a blinding nimbus of in a dazzling display.
crystal and heatless flame.
If the Sovereign knows Loupe-and-Bit Trick (p. XX),
Each 1 on an attack roll against the Sovereign subtracts this Charm’s cost is reduced by one mote.
a success and grants her +1 soak against a withering
attack, maximum (Anima + 1). If her enemy attacks Radiant Warrior Raiment
without relying on vision (taking the associated −3 Cost: 4m; Mins: War 3, Essence 1
penalty), his attack roll isn’t penalized by his 1s, al- Type: Reflexive
though the Sovereign still gains the soak bonus. Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
Midnight Flame Vigil Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: 2m, 1i; Mins: War 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Wreathing herself in rainbow fire, the Sovereign emerges
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform clad in fireglass armor.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Auroral Mantle The Sovereign creates any kind of mundane armor
from fireglass (p. XX), donning it in (mobility penalty +
The Sovereign’s anima banner reveals hidden foes, lay- 1) rounds. She adds (Anima) to the armor’s soak.
ing bare the schemes of assassins and footpads.
If the Sovereign uses this Charm while Clothed in
When an enemy makes a surprise attack against the Flame (p. XX) is active, she does not appear to be
Sovereign, she rolls (Anima) dice, unmodified by any armored; her fireglass clothing takes on greater dura-
other effects. Each success reduces the Defense pen- bility without changing in appearance, though it still
alty by one. If her successes exceed the penalty, each requires time to don.
extra success adds +1 Defense.

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Shimmering Diamond Barrier

Cost: 5m; Mins: War 4, Essence 1 COSTS AND CALCULATIONS
Type: Simple
Keywords: None When you use a Charm with an anima cost to-
Duration: Instant gether with a Charm that uses your current ani-
Prerequisite Charms: Radiant Warrior Raiment ma as part of a calculation or that gains additional
effects based on your anima — like using Arc-
With a wave of her hand, the Sovereign raises a bulwark ing Rainbow Slash together with Heavenly Fire
of fireglass. Sheath — you use your anima’s level after paying
the cost to determine those effects, unless oth-
The Sovereign can use this Charm on her turn to create erwise specified. The same is true for other re-
a fireglass barrier that provides light cover (Exalted, sources, like temporary Willpower and Initiative.
pp. 199). She adds (higher of Essence or 3) dice on rolls A Sovereigns’ dice limit is a notable exception;
to take cover behind it that scene. The barrier is per- levels of anima spent on an action still are still
manent; any character can take cover behind it. counted toward the cap.

With a War 5, Essence 3 repurchase, this Charm

creates heavy cover. At bonfire anima or higher, the
Sovereign may pay a five-Initiative, one-Willpower An enemy damaged by the Sovereign’s decisive attack
surcharge to surround herself in a sphere of crystal, increases his wound penalty by one, to a maximum of
providing full cover without the need for a take cover −4. He suffers a die of lethal decisive damage, ignoring
action. She must spend five Initiative at the start of Hardness, at the start of each of his turns (or every five
each subsequent turn to sustain this barrier or it cracks minutes outside of combat).
and weakens to heavy cover. The same occurs if her
anima drops below bonfire. This only ends when the shards are removed from his
wound, requiring a (Wits + Medicine) roll at difficulty
Special activation rules: This Charm may be flurried. (victim’s wound penalty + 2) as a miscellaneous action
If the Sovereign flurries it with a take cover action, that can’t be flurried. Outside of combat, if a character
she ignores the flurry penalty and her Defense isn’t spends five minutes to extract the splinters, the diffi-
penalized. culty is reduced to (victim’s wound penalty + 1) and the
physician may roll with (Intelligence + Medicine) as
Triumphant Royalty Attitude well.
Cost: 4m; Mins: War 3, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Radiant Beacon Strike
Keywords: None Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: War 5, Essence 2
Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental
Prerequisite Charms: None Keywords: Decisive-only
Duration: Instant
The Sovereign’s every word and gesture is that of one Prerequisite Charms: Blazing Ember Shard,
whose victory is assured, inspiring those who fight for her. Heavenly Fire Sheath, Midnight Flame Vigil

The Sovereign rolls an additional non-Charm die on a Prismatic light wreathes the Sovereign’s weapon, limn-
command action for each 10. She can flurry the com- ing her foe in an auroral radiance that shines across the
mand, although not with an attack. battlefield.

Blazing Ember Shard An enemy damaged by the Sovereign’s decisive at-

Cost: 5m, 1a; Mins: War 3, Essence 2 tack is wreathed with the colors of her anima until
Type: Supplemental the scene ends or he crashes her. This light imposes
Keywords: Decisive-only a −2 penalty on his Stealth rolls and −1 Evasion, and
Duration: Instant negates any penalties other characters would suffer on
Prerequisite Charms: Brilliant Diamond Edge rolls against him due to poor lighting. If her enemy is
in concealment, he must reroll Stealth, suffering this
The Sovereign’s blade sows red-tipped splinters of sear- Charm’s penalty, using the lower of this roll or his
ing fireglass in her enemy’s wounds. original Stealth successes.

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Opalescent Goddess Aegis The Sovereign imbues her honor guard with a sliver of
Cost: —(+1m, 1wp); Mins: War 3, Essence 2 her own magnificence, giving them a taste of true power.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None The Sovereign spends an hour training a battle group
Duration: Permanent of up to Size 2. Battle groups of eidolons (p. XX) can be
Prerequisite Charms: Radiant Warrior Raiment trained regardless of Size. The battle group gains the
following benefits in the next battle it fights in:
The Sovereign manifests signs of her divinity, donning a
mantle of glory beyond mere humanity. • Its Drill increases by one step. If it already has
elite Drill, the Sovereign converts the die bonus
When the Sovereign uses Radiant Warrior Raiment, on her command rolls from its Drill to non-
she may pay a one-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to Charm successes and rerolls 6s until they cease
imbue her armor with (higher of Essence or 3) dots of to appear on such rolls.
mutations. This is limited only to mutations that can
manifest as features of her armor; it’s incapable of • It gains +1 Defense.
granting those like Boundless Endurance or Unusual
Hide. • It doubles 9s on rout checks.

Once the Sovereign’s chosen a set of mutations, all sub- • It adds (Sovereign’s Anima) to its soak and
sequent uses of this Charm must use that set. She may Hardness, bolstered by her auroral Essence.
choose a new set upon increasing her Essence.
At the end of the battle, this Charm ends. Only one
Unfurling Aurora Banner battle group may benefit from this Charm at a time.
Cost: 4m; Mins: War 3, Essence 2 Reset: Once per story unless reset by successfully
Type: Reflexive defeating an enemy for whom the Sovereign has a neg-
Keywords: None ative Major or Defining Tie with a battle group’s aid.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Triumphant Royalty Attitude Glorious God-Queen Mail
Cost: —(1m, 1wp); Mins: War 4, Essence 2
So long as the Sovereign’s forces can still see the radiance
Type: Permanent
she casts across the battlefield, there is still hope.
Keywords: None
The Sovereign adds (her Anima) dice on a battle Duration: Permanent
group’s rout check. If it fails and she takes a rally action Prerequisite Charms: Radiant Warrior Raiment
targeting it on her next turn, she doubles 9s.
The Sovereign armors herself in her soul and legend,
Shimmering Legion Mirage impervious to the blades of her lessers.
Cost: 5m; Mins: War 5, Essence 2 While the Sovereign is at bonfire anima or higher,
Type: Supplemental she may commit one mote and pay one Willpower to
Keywords: None upgrade fireglass armor created with Radiant Warrior
Duration: Instant Raiment to the corresponding artifact armor (Exalted,
Prerequisite Charms: Unfurling Aurora Banner p. 599) for that Charm’s duration. This benefit is lost if
the Sovereign’s anima falls to dim; she must return to
Wisps of aurora enfold the Sovereign’s forces, bolstering
bonfire and pay this cost again to regain it.
their ranks with prismatic phantoms of anima.
Such armor is emblematic of the Sovereign’s iconic
When the Sovereign rallies for numbers, she doubles
anima and any other personal imagery she’s claimed
9s. Success restores an additional (Anima) Magnitude.
for herself; characters familiar with this imagery add
Rally the Sapphire Knights +3 dice on rolls opposing any disguise the Sovereign
wears while so armored.
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: War 5, Essence 2
Type: Simple This Charm may be repurchased any number of times,
Keywords: None each repurchase awakening an Evocation the Sovereign
Duration: Until the end of the next battle can use with any armor enhanced with this Charm.
Prerequisite Charms: Shimmering Legion Mirage

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These Evocations draw their themes and function from The Sovereign makes an undodgeable decisive attack
the Sovereign’s Aspect, her personality, and the nature against an enemy with lower Initiative within close
and deeds of both Aurora and Cantata-of-the-Depths. range. The attack inflicts an additional point of on-
slaught penalty, which applies to his Defense against it.
God-Weapon Schema
Cost: —(Varies); Mins: War 4, Essence 2 Reset: Once per scene unless reset by resetting to base
Type: Permanent Initiative and then reaching Initiative 10+.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Thousand Edge Maelstrom
Prerequisite Charms: Limitless Luminous Armory Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: War 5, Essence 2
Type: Simple
The Sovereign draws a puissant weapon from the fires Keywords: Decisive-only
of her soul. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Seven-Sword Onslaught
Upon purchasing this Charm, the Sovereign’s player
chooses a type of artifact weapon. While using Limitless The Sovereign’s blade multiplies into a storm of fireglass
Luminous Armory, she may pay (4 – Anima) motes to as she strikes, scattering massed ranks of foes with a
create this artifact weapon for a single attack or block. single strike.
The Sovereign can add additional artifact weapons to
her repertoire for three experience points each. The Sovereign makes up to (Anima + 1) decisive at-
tacks, each targeting a different enemy. She need not
This Charm may be repurchased any number of times, use the same Ability for each attack. Her Initiative
each repurchase awakening an Evocation to the she can is divided evenly among all attacks, rounded up, and
use with any artifact weapon created with this Charm. doesn’t reset until the final attack is completed, as-
These Evocations draw their themes and function from suming at least one hit. After making these attacks, her
the Sovereign’s Aspect, her personality, and the nature anima banner fades to dim.
and deeds of both Aurora and Cantata-of-the-Depths.
The Sovereign can use Seven-Sword Onslaught re-
Queen Before Her Knights flexively with this Charm to instead make all these
Cost: —; Mins: War 4, Essence 2 attacks against a single enemy with lower Initiative.
Type: Permanent Seven-Sword Onslaught’s benefits apply to each, but
Keywords: None only one additional point of onslaught is inflicted by
Duration: Permanent the barrage, not one point per attack.
Prerequisite Charms: Guardian-Fire Blessing
Shining Crystal Shield
Striding across the battlefield in resplendent war-rega- Cost: 3m, 1i; Mins: War 4, Essence 2
lia, the Sovereign defends those who fight in her name. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform
The Sovereign reduces Guardian-Fire Blessing’s cost Duration: Instant
by one mote for each time she’s used it this round, Prerequisite Charms: Limitless Luminous Armory
minimum zero. If she successfully blocks a decisive or Radiant Warrior Raiment
attack against an ally, she gains one Initiative.
The Sovereign fends off an attack with a shield of crys-
Seven-Sword Onslaught talline anima.
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: War 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple The Sovereign gains +1 non-Charm Parry. If she’s
Keywords: Decisive-only wielding a weapon with the Shield tag or benefits
Duration: Instant from a full defense, she waives this Charm’s Initiative
Prerequisite Charms: Brilliant Diamond Edge cost and the bonus increases to +2. A successful block
grants one Initiative.
For an instant, the Sovereign shatters into seven pris-
matic refractions of herself, striking from all possible Glorious Vanguard Benediction
angles. Cost: 3m, 1a; Mins: War 4, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental

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Keywords: None The Sovereign’s defend other action can protect an

Duration: Instant ally within medium range. She can also use this Charm
Prerequisite Charms: Guardian-Fire Blessing, reflexively with Guardian-Fire Blessing to likewise
Shining Crystal Shield extend that Charm’s range.

The Sovereign conjures dazzling shards of fireglass to If the Sovereign uses Shining Crystal Shield against an
form a shield around distant allies. attack directed at an ally protected with this Charm,
she waives its anima cost.

DEFEND OTHER AT A DISTANCE

Normally, when an enemy beats a defender’s Parry, she can choose whether the attack hits the defender or
the ward (Exalted
(Exalted,, p. 196). However, if the defender is outside the attacker’s weapon range because of magic
like Glorious Vanguard Benediction, the attacker can only choose the ward.

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Reset: Once per scene, unless reset by gaining 10+

Initiative in a single tick.

Crystal-Fire Rampart Technique

Cost: 5m, 5i, 1wp, 1a; Mins: War 5, Craft 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Perilous
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Crystal Spire Conjuration

The Sovereign raises up crystalline battlements and fire-

glass ramparts, fortifying the battlefield against her foe.

The Sovereign rolls to instantly enact a fortifications

stratagem (Exalted, p. 212) in mid-battle, creating
fireglass battlements. If she succeeds, she can continue
to shape the battlefield, raising up one of the following
structures at a point within medium range as a miscel-
laneous action. Some structures require that she have
specific Charms.

• Cover: The Sovereign creates a fireglass barrier

that provides light cover (Exalted, pp. 199). If
she knows Shimmering Diamond Barrier, this
provides heavy cover instead.

• Lights: The Sovereign creates lamps, cande-

labra, or chandeliers that burn with heatless
flame, illuminating the battlefield. It completely
illuminates the area surrounding it out to short
range; at medium range, it provides enough il-
lumination to reduce the −3 penalty for total
darkness to −1.

• Passage: The Sovereign creates a fireglass

pathway, bridge, ramp, ladder, or the like that
can be used to circumvent difficult terrain or an
environmental hazard, letting characters move
Subtle Rainbow Flame through its location on the battlefield without
suffering its effects. If it spans more than one
Cost: 1m, 1wp, 3a; Mins: War 5, Essence 2
range band, the passage can only affect a single
Type: Simple
band. Not all difficult terrain and hazards can be
Keywords: Dual
circumvented this way; the Sovereign’s player
Duration: Instant
must be able to describe how the created struc-
Prerequisite Charms: Flashing Lance Trick
ture does so.
The Sovereign’s blade dissolves into a flash of prismatic
• Eidolons (Bejeweled Retainer Eidolon): The
light, piercing through her foe’s defenses.
Sovereign creates a Size (Essence – 1) battle
The Sovereign makes an unblockable withering or group of eidolons (p. XX) that lasts for this
decisive attack. A withering attack halves her tar- Charm’s duration. She can only have one at a
get’s soak, rounded down. A decisive attack ignores time.
Hardness. If she uses Flashing Lance Trick to enhance
• Hazard (Shattered Prism Sword-Wall): The
a decisive attack, she adds (Essence) damage dice.
Sovereign creates a field of fireglass spikes or a

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similar environmental hazard extending out to Duration: One scene

short range from the chosen point. It has diffi- Prerequisite Charms: Limitless Luminous Armory,
culty 4 and Damage (Sovereign’s Essence − 1, Thousand Edge Maelstrom
maximum 5)L/round. Unlike other hazards, this
one doesn’t apply until the end of a character’s Forging a storm of fireglass weaponry, the Sovereign
turn; if he takes no movement actions, he need creates a wall of whirling blades.
not roll against it. The Sovereign can only have
one hazard at a time. The Sovereign creates fireglass blades in a straight line
extending out to a point within medium range. Enemies
• Simulacrum (Mirage-Self Sculpture): The treat this as an environmental hazard with difficulty 4
Sovereign creates a simulacrum of herself (p. and Damage (Sovereign’s Essence − 1, maximum 5)L/
XX) that lasts for this Charm’s duration. She can round. Enemies who pass through the wall, try to take
only have one at a time. cover behind it, or roll Stealth to conceal themselves
within it suffer the hazard even if they didn’t begin
Infinite Light Needle their turn in it, but can’t suffer the hazard more than
Cost: 1m, 1wp, 3a; Mins: War 5, Essence 3 once per round. Allies suffer no damage from the
Type: Supplemental blades and can take cover behind them, treating them
Keywords: Decisive-only as heavy cover (Exalted, p. 199).
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Crystal-and-Flame Quiver, At the start of each turn, the Sovereign must pay two
Subtle Rainbow Flame Initiative or this Charm ends. An enemy wielding a
smashing weapon or an artifact weapon can destroy
The Sovereign focuses her anima into a single, nee- the sword wall with a difficulty 7 gambit. Even if he
dle-sharp point, loosing a killing shaft of prismatic light. fails the Initiative roll, reduce the difficulty of subse-
quent gambits by his successes.
The Sovereign extends the range of a decisive Archery
or Thrown attack that benefits from two or more aim Polestar Strategos Avatar
actions to extreme (Exalted, p. 197), up to five range Cost: 5m, 1wp, 5i; Mins: War 5, Essence 4
bands away. She must be able to see her target. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous
If the Sovereign uses Subtle Rainbow Flame with this Duration: One scene
Charm, she waives its Willpower and anima costs. Prerequisite Charms: Queen Before Her Knights,
Rally the Sapphire Knights
Prismatic Flame Barrage
Cost: —(+5i); Mins: War 5, Essence 3 The Sovereign’s iconic anima swells into a titanic figure
Type: Permanent of light that can be seen across the battlefield, directing
Keywords: Perilous, Withering-only her armies as they press the attack.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Thousand Edge Maelstrom To use this Charm, the Sovereign must be at bonfire
anima or higher. She gains the following benefits:
The Sovereign’s anima refracts into the full spectrum
of colors as she unleashes a storm of prismatic Essence • She adds (Anima) dice on command actions and
against her foes. ignores penalties from environmental or other
conditions that prevent her troops from seeing
The Sovereign may pay a five-Initiative surcharge her clearly.
when she uses Thousand Edge Maelstrom to make
withering attacks instead of decisive attacks. She only • Allied battle groups add (Anima) dice on rout
gains Initiative from the highest damage roll. checks.

Shattered Prism Sword-Wall • Battle groups enhanced with Rally the Sapphire
Cost: 5m, 2i, 1wp (2i per round); Mins: War 5, Knights gain Might 1 and perfect morale
Essence 3 (Exalted, p. 210). Eidolon battle groups gain
Type: Simple Might 2.
Keywords: Perilous

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Conquering Anima-Titan Craft) −0 levels. An enemy can create an opening in

Cost: —(+15m); Mins: War 5, Essence 5 the titan’s fireglass armor with a difficulty 5 gambit,
Type: Permanent denying her the cover from it.
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent Sustaining the anima-titan taxes the Sovereign’s will
Prerequisite Charms: Polestar Strategos Avatar, and Essence. At the end of each turn, if she didn’t make
Shimmering Diamond Barrier (x2) a decisive attack or spend 8+ motes on offensive mag-
ic, her anima fades to dim, ending Polestar Strategos
The Sovereign rises from the ground, cradled in her Avatar.
anima banner as it crystallizes into a fireglass colossus
around her. Once Polestar Strategos Avatar ends, the Sovereign
descends to the ground on wisps of rainbow Essence,
The Sovereign may use Polestar Strategos Avatar as a while the anima-titan remains on the battlefield as an
Simple Charm and pay a fifteen-mote surcharge to cre- inanimate fireglass statute.
ate an anima-titan around her like armor in addition
to that Charm’s usual benefits. She gains Legendary If the Sovereign knows Diamond Gigantes Labors (p.
Size (p. XX), full cover against all attacks, an effective XX), she can use it through the anima-titan, waiving its
Strength 10 to determine what feats she can attempt. Willpower and anima costs and doubling 8s.
The titan has its own health track of (Willpower +
Reset: Once per story.

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Nyla’s corpse lay a hundred miles away, a banquet for the raitons.
Her last moments stayed with her, one more death in a long chain spanning all the way back to the war
at the dawn of history and the unthinkable betrayal that followed. This most recent death came at the
hands of Darim Crimson-Clawed. The triumph in the Lunar’s eyes seared itself into Nyla’s memory as
their wicked claws tore open her throat. And they knew how to kill a Hearteater, had found the pawns
she’d made vessels for her will and killed them, too.
Most of them, but not all.
Nyla’s final pawn blazed with the fires of Exaltation, but it was not he who would emerge Chosen. The
Hearteater had broken his will long ago; it was no hard thing to overcome his consciousness, to devour
it whole and claim this body for herself once and forevermore. She opened new eyes, their vision a little
weaker than her last, though rapidly correcting as Essence suffused her flesh. She felt the last creak
this body’s bones would ever make and the ache flowing out of work-wearied muscle. She took in her
surroundings and smiled. Exactly where she wanted to be — sitting at Darim’s campfire. The Lunar
had created a promising young dominion here in the wilderness, far enough from the satrapies for the
Realm to pose little threat to it. Darim was a student of the Silver Pact’s greatest generals and a veteran
of the Caul; now he had returned to his home to teach his people his ideology and lead them to triumph.
“Grandfather.” A youth crouched before the fire at Nyla’s side. He was no kin to her new body — hardly
anyone in the camp was — but it was how they’d all addressed her. Her pawn had been with Darim
Crimson-Clawed from the start; part of his inner circle. The dominion’s people sought out his advice,
heeded his counsel, and followed his orders. The young man passed her a sealed note on heavy vellum.
“A rider brought this.”
Nyla held his gaze as she took the letter. She already knew him — Keral, a warrior’s name. Her pawn’s
mind was extinguished, but something of his passions and memories lingered on. She knew that
Keral often talked with the old man for hours on end, that the youth burned with desire to earn Darim’s
respect and march in their vanguard. “Walk me to Darim’s pavilion,” she said, slipping her arm through
his, “and tell me how your patrol went today.”
Keral’s eyes lit up and he held his head high. An unfamiliar part of Nyla delighted in this, but an old
man’s fondness wouldn’t save him from a Hearteater’s hunger. Keral cared so deeply for the man
whose skin she wore; reaching inside his mind and making him hers was almost too easy.
Inside the tent, Darim and their advisors pored over the latest reports. Darim’s wife, a solidly-built
woman resting her hand on a sword’s pommel, made room for Nyla at the table.
Darim smiled fondly as Nyla took her place. “Grandfather.” They said it as more than simply an
endearment. Darim’s face resembled the pawn’s in the curve of their cheek and the tilt of their smile.
She was their father’s father.
“Grandson.” She passed him the letter. “We’ve had word from the lamp-priests. A rider awaits your
reply.” She didn’t bother craning her neck as Darim broke the seal; they would tell her what was inside.
Instead, she caught Iskele’s eye. “I can tell you haven’t been sleeping. Come see me tonight,” Nyla said
with a stolen voice. “I have a tea that will help you rest.”
Nyla looked around the tent at Darim’s trusted advisors and smiled. Soon enough, every person Darim
Crimson-Clawed loved would be gone, every one of their faces now the face of his enemy.

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Creating
New Exalted
From a purely design-oriented perspective, there’s If you want your new Exalted to have had a major
little difference between designing an Exigent and impact on Creation’s history, you should discuss this
designing an entirely new type of Exalt. The main dif- with the playgroup to make sure everyone’s on board.
ference is in how they fit into Exalted’s setting. Some You’ll also want to talk with them when it comes to
Exalted have had had world-shaking impacts on the deciding how to handle setting information from the
setting: the Dragon-Blooded of the Scarlet Dynasty, the books that’s contradicted by this change.
Lunars of the Silver Pact, the Sidereals of the Bureau
of Destiny. Others are subtler presence. The Solars, This Appendix presents three new Exalted who are “op-
while massively impactful in the First Age, have been tional canon,” for Storytellers to include or leave out of
absent from Creation for centuries, only recently re- their games as they see fit: the Dream-Souled, illusionists
turned alongside the corrupted Abyssals and Infernals. and idealists; the Hearteaters, mind-eating horrors; and
Liminals are solitary figures, shunning mortals who the Umbrals, tormented by their inner darkness. It doesn’t
would judge them as monsters. Getimians strive to provide everything needed to play one, but enough of their
avoid Heaven’s eye as they prosecute their shadow war concept, details, and Charms to give you a start in creating
against it. The Alchemicals dwell within their creator’s them or to provide inspiration for other new Exalted.
world-body, save for a handful created in the Divine
Revolution and left in stasis for millennia. The alien
Spoken are extinct, slain in the Niobraran War, and
The Dream-Souled
their civilization faded into memory. A merchant nods off in her market stall, dreaming of
silver boughs heavy with jade blossoms. An exhausted
When adding new Exalted, consider the impact they’ve
laborer finds no respite from work in his sleep, build-
had on the setting. If you want to use them without
ing towers that stretch into the clouds and beyond. A
significantly deviating from canonical depictions of
priestess drifts in and out of a trance as she respires
Creation, think about why they haven’t had a major
subterranean vapors, seeing a world where all share
impact on the setting: perhaps they’ve only recently
her transcendent vision.
been created, or they’re very few in number.

AN APOCRYPHAL CENSUS

As this Appendix’s Exalted are non-canonical, no hard numbers for how many exist in the setting are given. If
a Storyteller wishes to include one or more of them in her game, she should determine how many exist. The
following guidelines provide a good range within which Storytellers can determine how many or how few of
these Exalted they want in their game.

Hearteaters: Around 200 to 400 Exaltations total, of which around 0 to 20 are typically active at any given time.

Umbrals: Around 50 to 200.

Dream-Souled: Varies; at present, around 25 to 100.

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It is from such sleepers as these that the mysterious

Ketu chooses his Dream-Souled, those consumed
Ketu, the Dreaming Prince
by a vision of the world as it could be. They wield
Ill-known is Ketu, that numinous poet-king who dwells
unmatched power over dreams but are formidable
beyond the deep Wyld’s farthest horizons. Neither fae
forces in the waking world as well, masters of illusion
nor god nor kin to the Yozis, the Dreaming Prince has
and transformation. They bend Creation and the Wyld
been encountered only rarely even by the deep Wyld’s
both to their vision, imposing their personal utopia on
raksha. In each account, it takes a different form: a gi-
reality.
gantic seven-eyed stag whose antlers are coiled around
The Dream-Souled are newcomers to Creation com- with rainbows; a hungry murmuration of countless
pared to the likes of the Dragon-Blooded but have birds flying together in the shape of one vast hawk; a
nonetheless left their mark on the world. Along the beautiful youth whose head has been cleanly severed.
Blessed Isle’s Wandering River, Ophris Kotoba, hero Closer to Creation’s edge, the Fair Folk know Ketu only
of countless tall tales, is reborn — or rather, a Dynast’s as a name that chills even their hollow hearts, if at all.
servant has donned Kotaba’s mantle to conceal her true Almost none in Creation know of the Dreaming Prince
nature as she bedevils the wicked and the hypocritical. — including its Chosen.
The merchant prince Heron of Zebremani seeks lost
Yet distant as Ketu may be from Creation, there is
Cozen, a mythical city born of dreams that turned to
something of the world that intrigues it. It bears wit-
nightmare, not realizing that the ruins and relics he
ness to all Creation’s dreams — those of mortals, of
finds are forged by his own will. Araya, a scroll-keeper
animals, and of stranger things. Its understanding of
of the legendary Library of Marita, has quietly amassed
Creation, drawn solely from dreams, is fundamentally
a trove of tomes and codices thought lost to the ages,
warped. Its motives are unknown and may be incom-
and some that were never written at all.
prehensible. But it looks into a Creation it does not

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understand and it sees in some rare dreamers a poten- Ideals

tial to reshape the world. Ketu breathes its divine fire Each Dream-Souled possesses an Ideal: a Defining
into these sleepers, and they awaken as its Chosen, the Principle that reflects her vision or understanding of
Dream-Souled. a perfect world, of what both Creation and the Wyld
should be or become. The Ideal can’t be weakened,
The first recorded Dream-Souled arose hundreds of eroded, or otherwise subverted, either by social influ-
years after the Great Contagion. Perhaps it took that ence or the Dream-Souled’s own conscious actions.
long for Ketu to glean the secret of Exaltation from the
dreams of the Chosen; perhaps Ketu discovered the se- Example Ideals include:
cret through some great and unknown quest; perhaps
it simply had not noticed Creation before then. • No one should have to suffer.

The Dream-Souled do not know their patron. They • I should rule over the world.
receive no prophetic visions or knowledge of Ketu upon
their Exaltation, nothing to suggest the existence of some • People should be loyal, moral, and scrupulous.
alien and infinitely distant patron. The Dream-Souled are
dedicated to their personal Ideals, and few have any need • Art should be the highest cause.
for divine counsel even if they knew to seek it.
• The wise should hold authority over the
ignorant.
Dream-Souled and Other Exalted
At the Storyteller’s discretion, a Dream-Souled’s Ideal
Both latecomers among the Chosen and few in number, may change under suitably dramatic circumstances,
the Dream-Souled remain an open question to most with the Dream-Souled’s player designating one of her
other Exalted. Most know them only from sporadic other Defining Principles as their new Ideal.
interactions with individual Dreamers, whether as
allies or enemies — assuming they don’t mistake them Anima
for Exigents or puissant Fae-Blooded. A Dream-Souled’s anima burns with too-vivid colors,
sometimes shifting with the Exalt’s mood. As her anima
The Sidereal Exalted keep well-apprised of the flares, her dreams begin to spill out into it, filling it with
Dream-Souled, counting them as a threat to fate, albeit impossible visions. A Dream-Souled’s iconic anima is
one that may take decades to come to fruition as they most often an impossible creature or form that rises up
slowly warp the boundaries between Creation and the from this surging tide of dream: many-headed chimerical
Wyld. In a perfect world, the Bureau of Destiny would beasts, mind-warping geometrical forms, nightmarish
act immediately to thwart their threat, but faced with horrors, a whirlwind filled with flowers, etc.
the more immediate threat of the Getimians, the re-
turned Solars, and the other upheavals of the Time of Dream-Souled can spend one mote to perform one of
Tumult, the Bureau can’t afford to devote its limited the following effects:
personnel and resources to the Dreamers. It’s not un-
thinkable that the Bureau might even sanction a joint • Sense the direction and approximate distance
operation between Sidereals and Dream-Souled if it to the nearest pathway into or out of the Wyld
served Heaven’s agenda. within one mile.

The Fair Folk and other fae hate and fear the Dream- • Send a willing character into a deep, dreamful
Souled, recognizing them as a force antithetical to the sleep.
Wyld as it is now. Unlike the Sidereals, the fae have lit-
tle reason to stay their hand — while a Dream-Souled Anima Effects
traveling through the Wyld need not fear ambush Dream Fades Away: For five motes, the Dream-Souled
around every corner, she’d be well-advised to conceal becomes momentarily ephemeral, adding (Essence)
her true nature from any fae she encounters. non-Charm dice to an attempt to escape confinement,
oppose a rush or grapple control roll, or disengage
Traits from an attacker. This power is free at bonfire anima.

Dream-Souled are intended for Terrestrial play (p. Dreamwalker: For ten motes, the Dream-Souled
XX). touches a sleeping character to enter his dreams,

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The Great Curse

SLEEP AND GUILE The Dream-Souled’s Great Curse drives them to obses-
sion, delusion, or fanaticism centered on their Ideal.
The −2 Guile penalty for characters unaware of They have a Limit track and experience Limit Breaks
their observers applies to sleeping characters. (p. XX). Like most Exalted, they gain Limit from
Magic like Surprise Anticipation Method (Exalted, violating Major and Defining Intimacies; any Limit
p. 267) that lets a character use their senses nor- gained from violating their Ideal is doubled. They have
mally lets sleeping characters perceive the ob- a shared Limit Trigger, gaining Limit when their Ideal
server’s presence with a successful Awareness is challenged, mocked, or threatened.
roll, negating this penalty.
Concepts for Dream-Souled Limit Breaks include:

Chimerical Daydream Utopia: The Dream-Souled

rolling ([Charisma, Manipulation, or Wits] + [Occult perceives the world as if her Ideal were reality. She
or Presence]) against his Guile. Within the dream, rationalizes away discrepancies and will lash out at
she is a formless, imperceptible presence incapable of those who seek to dissuade her.
interacting with the sleeper, but she can still attempt
to glean insight from his dreams with a special read Future-Forging Zeal: The Dream-Souled will go to
intentions roll, gaining a useful piece of information on any lengths to make her Ideal a reality, including vio-
a success: an Intimacy, a glimpse into a memory, a clue lence, breaking laws and customs, and helping people
relevant to an ongoing mystery, etc. She can only do so against their will.
once per use of this anima effect, no matter how long
she watches her target’s dreams for. Incomprehensible Other Affliction: The Dream-
Souled loses all empathy for those who don’t share
Sculptor of Figments: For three motes, the Dream- her Ideal. She need not be cruel, but she neither
Souled can create a phantasmal image no larger than understands nor concerns herself with their desires.
a person within short range or similar illusionary She’s likewise alienated from communities that don’t
phenomena. These phantoms are obviously illusory share her Ideal, feeling estranged, out of place, and
to any sense and can’t block a character’s line of sight unwelcome.
or otherwise impede their senses, but are exceptional
equipment (Exalted, p. 580) for influence rolls in Universal Meaning Apophenia: The Dream-Souled
which the Dream-Souled uses them to emphasize her sees everything as being somehow related to her Ideal.
words. Illusions vanish at the end of the scene. She must prioritize courses of action that address this
connection above all others.
Martial Arts
Dream-Souled are restricted by the Terrestrial key- Longevity and Death
word (Exalted, p. 427) when using Martial Arts. The Dream-Souled can live for a few centuries. Their
They’re limited in their ability to combine Martial Exaltation does not reincarnate after their death; instead,
Arts Charms with their native Charms. When they it reunites with distant Ketu, imparting something of the
make a Martial Arts attack, they can enhance it slain Dream-Souled’s vision unto the Dreaming Prince.
with either native Charms or Martial Arts Charms,
but not both, with the exception of Excellencies. This
doesn’t apply to Charms that are permanent or provide Dream-Souled Charms
ongoing benefits, nor to actions other than attacking. Dream-Souled are masters of illusion, transformation, and
dreams, wielding these powers to make their Ideal a reality.
Sorcery
Their Charms evoke dream-logic, making reality a fluid and
Dream-Souled can initiate into Terrestrial Circle sor- malleable thing. The Wyld and its denizens are especially
cery. Those with bleak Ideals can sometimes initiate susceptible to the terrifying power of a Dream-Souled’s
into Ivory Circle necromancy, but such Dream-Souled vision, while Creation is blighted with chaos in their wake.
can’t learn sorcery.

Evocations Excellencies
The Dream-Souled are neutral with moonsilver (Arms
of the Chosen, p. 16). They are dissonant with all other Dream-Souled have Excellencies for all Abilities;
materials. they receive five for free at character creation and

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must purchase others separately. They may add up to The Dream-Souled armors herself in little more than
(Ability) dice to rolls, or (Ability + Essence, maximum confidence and imagination, wearing sheer silks like the
10) for actions that uphold their Ideal, paying one mote sturdiest full plate.
per die. Automatic successes count as two dice towards
this limit. Static values such as Evasion or Resolve can The Dream-Souled grants her clothing the traits of her
be raised by half this dice cap, rounded down. choice of light, medium, or heavy mundane armor. It
has the Buoyant and Silent tags (Exalted, p. 593), unless
Illusion and Transformation these tags are inconsistent with the enchanted cloth-
ing’s design. This may overtly transform the clothing,
Delirium Weaver Meditation making changes that are superficial or purely cosmetic,
but permanent. Such armor is nigh-invulnerable for this
Cost: —(+2m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 1
Charm’s duration, as though it were an artifact.
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None An Essence 2 repurchase lets the Dream-Souled pay
Duration: Permanent a nine-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to use this as
Prerequisite Charms: None a Simple Charm, granting her clothing the traits of
light, medium, or heavy artifact armor. She can make
The Dream-Souled’s creativity is realized in glamours
any number of additional repurchases, each granting
and gossamer ephemera, birthing a world of illusions.
an Evocation that can be used with armor enchanted
When the Dream-Souled uses Sculptor of Figments, by this Charm. These Evocations draw their themes
she may pay a two-mote, one-Willpower surcharge and function from the Dream-Souled’s personality and
to make her illusion convincingly lifelike, rolling Ideal and themes of dreams and nightmares.
(Manipulation + [Craft, Larceny, or Performance]) to
A third purchase at Essence 3 extends this Charm’s
determine its quality and the difficulty to see through
duration to Indefinite.
it. Nontrivial characters may roll (Perception +
Awareness) to realize it’s an illusion. Characters who Nightmare-Venom Sting
fail can’t roll again unless circumstances give them
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
some new reason to suspect the illusion’s reality.
Type: Simple
Dreamstuff-Sculpting Reverie Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Prerequisite Charms: Dreamstuff-Sculpting Reverie
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None The Dream-Souled decants fear and trauma into a
Duration: Instant draught of poisoned dreaming.
Prerequisite Charms: None
Upon purchasing this Charm, the Dream-Souled’s
Infusing her hands with feverish Essence, the Dream- player chooses one of the following poisons:
Souled molds and shapes matter with supreme ease.
• Damage 3i/round, Duration (higher of Essence
The Dream-Souled waives the need for tools and rerolls or Manipulation) rounds, −1 penalty
6s until they cease to appear on any non-attack roll that
involves interacting with or manipulating physical ob- • Damage 1i/round (B in Crash), Duration (higher
jects, including Craft rolls, Larceny rolls for lockpicking of Essence or Manipulation) rounds, −3 penalty
or disguise, Medicine rolls to perform surgery, etc.
• Damage 1L/minute, Duration (higher of Essence
If the Dream-Souled uses the necessary tools for her or Manipulation) minutes, −2 penalty
roll, this Charm’s cost is reduced by two motes.
Using this Charm lets her apply a single dose of that
Dressed in Fantasia poison to a touched weapon, foodstuff, beverage, or
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1 appropriate vessel, such as a plate or a prince’s favored
Type: Reflexive goblet. If she has a relevant Craft, like alchemy, she re-
Keywords: None ceives craft points for meeting objectives by poisoning
Duration: One scene characters with this Charm as though she’d completed
Prerequisite Charms: Dreamstuff-Sculpting Reverie a basic project (Exalted, p. 240).

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The Dream-Souled may purchase poisons for three Face-Changing Glamour

experience each, adding them to the repertoire she can Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
create with this Charm. Type: Simple
Keywords: Shaping (Body)
Rattling Toy Sabers Duration: One day
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: None
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None One may wear many different faces in a dream, and in
Duration: One scene the world sculpted by the Dream-Souled’s will.
Prerequisite Charms: Dreamstuff-Sculpting Reverie
This Dream-Souled alters the physical appearance of
The Dream-Souled wakes the slumbering weapon-na- herself or another willing character she touches. She can’t
ture she sees in everything from mops to teacups. change the target’s apparent species, change his apparent
height by more than ten inches, or change his apparent
The Dream-Souled grants an object the traits of a weight by more than 10%, but can otherwise make a broad
mundane weapon of her choice. This may overtly variety of changes to his appearance. She can give him the
transform the object, especially (though not necessar- appearance of mutations, but this is purely cosmetic —
ily) if its form isn’t a good fit for the chosen weapon. transfigured wings can’t fly, or even help with gliding.
Such changes are superficial or purely cosmetic, but
permanent. Such weapons are nigh-invulnerable for When the Dream-Souled conceals her target’s identity
this Charm’s duration, as though they were artifacts. or create a glamour that impersonates another character,
she makes the ([Intelligence or Manipulation] + Larceny)
An Essence 2 repurchase lets the Dream-Souled pay disguise roll for him, ignoring penalties for disguising
a four-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to use this as a him as someone as another race, sex, or body type.
Simple Charm, granting an object the traits of an arti-
fact weapon. She can make any number of additional With an Essence 2 repurchase, this Charm can be used
repurchases, each granting an Evocation that can be on unwilling characters. She must roll ([Intelligence
used with weapons enchanted by this Charm. These or Manipulation] + Larceny) even if she doesn’t intend
Evocations draw their themes and function from the to disguise her target; he may oppose this with an
Dream-Souled’s personality and Ideal and themes of ([Appearance or Wits] + Integrity) roll. An affected
dreams and nightmares. character can conceal the glamour with a disguise roll
of his own if his successes beat the Dream-Souled’s.
Ripe Plums Like Diamonds
Cost: 7m; Mins: Essence 1 Of Chaos Born
Type: Simple Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Keywords: Shaping (Object) Type: Reflexive
Duration: One scene Keywords: None
Prerequisite Charms: Dreamstuff-Sculpting Reverie Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Dream-Souled sculpts the clay of reality, turning
steel as soft as paper or tempering brittle glass into The Wyld is not a place of peril to the Dream-Souled, but
nigh-indestructability. a second homeland.

The Dream-Souled can strengthen or weaken a touched If the Dream-Souled would suffer physical transfor-
object no larger than herself. Strengthening an object mation or addiction as a result of exposure to the Wyld,
adds (Essence/2, rounded up) to the minimum Strength she may use this Charm to negate it. Against other
necessary to attempt a feat of demolition on the object, Shaping effects, she adds (Charisma, Stamina, or Wits)
and adds +1 to the roll’s difficulty. An object so fragile dice on rolls to resist or adds half that, rounded up, to
that it normally wouldn’t require a roll to destroy instead an opposing static value. Against Shaping effects used
requires a feat with minimum Strength 3 and difficulty 1. by the fae, these bonuses are non-Charm.

Weakening an object, conversely, lowers the minimum Wyld-Warping Dominion

Strength necessary to attempt a feat of demolition by Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
(Essence/2, rounded up), and lowers the roll’s difficul- Type: Reflexive
ty by 1. Keywords: None

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Duration: (Essence) hours or the Wyld. She grants a willing character (higher
Prerequisite Charms: Of Chaos Born of Essence or 3) dots of mutations. Player characters
incur experience debt (p. XX).
The Dream-Souled imposes her will on the Wyld as
though it were but another dream. The Dream-Souled can use this Charm on herself
anywhere.
The Dream-Souled and all characters and objects
within short range of her are immune to physical Duck-Becomes-Hare Metamorphosis
transformation or addiction as a result of exposure to Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
the Wyld or other environmental Shaping. Type: Simple
Keywords: Shaping (Body)
Alternatively, the Dream-Souled may invert this Duration: Instant
Charm, causing the Shaping effects of the Wyld within Prerequisite Charms: Dream Chrysalis Awakening
short range of her to reflect her Ideal. Physical trans-
formations alter victims to make them better conform The Dream-Souled molds the bestial dreams of Creation’s
to the Ideal — a Dream-Souled whose Ideal is “There fauna, giving them shapes better suited to her Ideal.
is no law but the sword” could cause a bordermarch’s
victims to mutate in ways that enhance their combat With a touch, the Dream-Souled changes an animal
prowess. Wyld addiction is replaced by a comparable into a different type of animal. The form she changes
condition that’s thematically appropriate to the Ideal. her target into must have the same Familiar rating
(Exalted, p. 161) as the original animal, and must be
Dragon-or-Hero Insinuation capable of surviving in the current environment. If her
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 target has a size-based Merit like Legendary Size, the
Type: Simple new form must have the same one, and animals with-
Keywords: None out such Merits can’t be changed into animals with
Duration: (1 + extra successes) hours them. This transformation is usually permanent, but
Prerequisite Charms: Face-Changing Glamour (x2) lasts only one scene for unwilling familiars and other
magically enhanced animals. (The player of a familiar’s
The Dream-Souled snares someone in a web of idealized master decides if it’s willing.)
perceptions, passing off farmhands as saviors and mutts
as monstrosities. This Charm can also be used on characters who’ve
transformed into animals, like a shapeshifting
The Dream-Souled rolls (Perception + [Awareness or beast-spirit or the victim of a raksha’s curse. This func-
Socialize]) against the Resolve of a character within tions as described above, but the transformation is tied
short range. If she succeeds, she imposes her percep- to the duration of the original effect that turned the
tion on him, shrouding him in a glamour of heroism target into an animal. It can be ended by any method
that amplifies his talents and accomplishment in the that could end the original effect.
eyes of others, or casting a pall of monstrosity over
him. Those who interact with him count as having a Serpent-and-Egg Metonymy
Minor Tie of awestruck admiration for a hero or horri- Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
fied revulsion for a monster. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Dream Chrysalis Awakening Duration: Permanent
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 Prerequisite Charms: Nightmare-Venom Sting
Type: Simple
Keywords: Shaping (Body) The Dream-Souled distills venomous symbolism, a poi-
Duration: Instant son that spreads through meaning and metaphor.
Prerequisite Charms: Face-Changing Glamour (x2)
The Dream-Souled can use Nightmare-Venom Sting to
The Dream-Souled bids monstrous forms and angelic poison a touched object. The dose of poison is stored in
beauty forth from the cauldron of the unconscious, work- the object until a character interacts with it in a specific
ing wondrous transformations. way, which depends on the object’s form and function
rather than any practical concerns. A door poisons
To use this Charm, the Dream-Souled must either be the one who opens it; a book poisons its reader; a bed
in her target’s dream, an attuned manse or demesne, poisons the one who sleeps in it; a ring poisons the one

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ILLUSION AND TRANSFORMATION CHARM CONCEPTS

Persistence of Delusion (Essence 2; Delirium Weaver Meditation): Create illusions that last for an extended
duration.

Horrors Imagined Anew (Essence 3; Duck-Becomes-Hare Metamorphosis): Transform a fae into a new
form, warping its body.

Imaginary Friend Invocation (Essence 3; Persistence of Delusion): Give long-lasting illusions sets of complex
routines they can act out, with the potential to realistically simulate things like short, simple conversations.

Nightmare-Spawning Cauldron (Essence 3; Reality-Dissolving Alembic): Create minor fae like hobgoblins
to populate the area shaped with this Charm’s prerequisite.

Grace-Forging Art (Essence 4; Horrors Imagined Anew): Use Horrors Imagined Anew to bind fae into ob-
jects instead of transforming them. This grants the object a unique Evocation.

Slumbering Heart Reshaped (Essence 4; Horrors Imagined Anew): Horrors Imagined Anew alters the fae’s
Intimacies to match its new form and makes it difficult for it to erode these Intimacies.

The Changeling Way (Essence 5; Grace-Forging Art): Use Horrors Imagined Anew to bind fae into mortals
instead of transforming them. Such mortals gain small mote pools and can learn fae Eclipse Charms.

who wears it. If it’s not obvious what would trigger When the Dream-Souled uses Sculptor of Figments, she
exposure, the Storyteller and players should discuss can pay a two-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to create
and agree upon one. a real object, rolling (Manipulation + [Craft, Larceny, or
Performance]) at a difficulty of its Resources rating. She
Detecting the presence of the stored poison requires a can’t create complex or sophisticated objects. The object
difficulty 3-5 (Perception + [Awareness, Investigation, still vanishes at the scene’s end, fading into illusion.
or Medicine]) roll, with the difficulty varying based on
the obscurity of the poison, the difficulty of detecting it Dream-Champion Trance
under normal circumstances, and the size of the object. Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Characters without applicable magic or superhuman Type: Simple
senses suffer a −4 penalty on the roll. Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
An Essence 3 repurchase lets the Dream-Souled con- Prerequisite Charms: Dream Chrysalis Awakening
vey poison through influence rolls. She must beat a
character’s Resolve to expose him to the poison. If she The Dream-Souled dissolves her waking ego and draws
targets multiple characters with an influence roll, she forth her idealized self, vanishing into the radiance of her
must pay Nightmare-Venom Sting’s cost separately for anima and reappearing transformed.
each one she wishes to poison, letting her determine
whom her words can harm. The Dream-Souled becomes her idealized form. Her
player determines its appearance upon learning this
Waking Dream Ephemera Charm. It can take any form the Dream-Souled could
Cost: —(+2m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 2 give herself with Face-Changing Glamour, plus any
Type: Permanent mundane clothing or accessories the player chooses.
Keywords: None She gains the following benefits:
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Delirium Weaver Meditation, • She adds a bonus die on actions that uphold her
Dreamstuff-Sculpting Reverie Ideal.

The Dream-Souled blurs the boundaries between illu- • Against enemies who threaten or oppose her Ideal,
sion and reality. she gains +1 Defense and Hardness (Willpower).

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• She gains (Essence/2, rounded up) temporary The Dream-Souled imposes her vision of the world upon
−0 health levels. Once this Charm ends, these Creation and the Wyld alike, breaking the world so that
temporary health levels fade, and all levels of she may bring forth greater things.
damage contained in them shift back into the
Dream-Souled’s damage track. If this incapaci- The Dream-Souled reshapes the terrain within medium
tates her, she falls unconscious, even if lethally range, altering and unmaking natural features as she wish-
damaged, instead of being left dead or dying. es: she could freeze over a river, turn a copse of trees into
a rock formation, raise a hill up from the earth, or trans-
• Her identity is perfectly concealed, no matter form a tenement into an amphitheater. The Storyteller
how obvious the resemblance may be. Onlookers may require a ([Intelligence or Wits]) + (Craft, Lore,
are can’t recognize that she and her idealized or Occult) roll at difficulty 3+ to create natural features
self are the same person without magic like Eye that are complicated or especially advantageous, such
of the Unconquered Sun. as shaping a masterwork of sculpture from a boulder or
creating a lode of silver. The Dream-Souled can’t use this
Special activation rules: The Dream-Souled can use Charm if a nontrivial character within medium range is
Dressed in Fantasia and Rattling Toy Sabers reflexively opposed to her doing so — her will must be unquestioned.
with this Charm.
Within Creation, the transformed area also becomes a
Inconvenience Rightly Ignored bordermarch of the Wyld, posing the risk of mutation
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 and addiction to long-term inhabitants. In the Wyld,
Type: Simple she instead shapes the region into an islet of Creation.
Keywords: None Other realms of existence may undergo similar chang-
Duration: One scene es at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Prerequisite Charms: Ripe Plums Like Diamonds,
Waking Dream Ephemera The Dream-Souled must maintain her commitment
to this Charm for a week to make her transformation
The Dream-Souled waves away the world’s hindrances, permanent. If she ends it prematurely, the transformed
choosing not to believe in that which stands in her way. terrain and anything taken from it reverts to its origi-
nal form. Parts of Creation turned to bordermarches
Touching a mundane object no larger than herself or revert back, as do parts of the Wyld turned to Creation.
a similarly sized portion of a larger object, the Dream-
Souled renders it partially unreal. Characters may Once a week passes, the transformation becomes
selectively choose to treat it as being dematerialized permanent. Shaped bordermarches will eventually
or not for purposes of physical interaction. Using this revert back to Creation unless they’re near the Wyld’s
Charm on a weapon or other object on someone’s per- edge or somewhere else where reality is weak. The
son requires a difficulty 3 unarmed gambit. length of time a bordermarch persists increases the
further it is created from Creation’s omphalos, the
With Essence 4, this Charm can be used on larger ob- Imperial Mountain: a bordermarch in the far reaches
jects and structures, as long as their entirety fits within of a Direction can last for years, if not indefinitely;
short range of the point the Dream-Souled touches. further into the Threshold, they last days or weeks; on
With Essence 5, this increases to medium range. the Blessed Isle, they dissipate within hours. Likewise,
islets of Creation eventually dissolve back into chaos,
Reset: Once per day unless reset by encountering lasting longer the further they are from the deep Wyld
a significant obstacle to one of the Dream-Souled’s and the more they interact with things of Creation.
goals. Her frustration with the world heightens the
power of her disbelief. Solipsistic Perspective Contagion
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3
Reality-Dissolving Alembic Type: Permanent
Cost: 10m, 2wp; Mins: Essence 3 Keywords: None
Type: Simple Duration: Permanent
Keywords: Shaping (Terrain) Prerequisite Charms: Dragon-or-Hero Insinuation
Duration: One week
Prerequisite Charms: Waking Dream Ephemera, The Dream-Souled’s vision of the world is too precious
Wyld-Warping Dominion to be kept to herself; others must see things as she does.

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OFFENSIVE CHARMS CONCEPTS

Feverish Delirium Strike (Essence 1; Doom-Foreshadowing Premonition): Leave a wound that causes hal-
lucinatory sensations, like terrible itching or crawling bugs, penalizing the victim’s actions unless they have
sufficient Resolve.

Agonies Only Imagined (Essence 2; Feverish Delirium Strike): Make a reflexive distract gambit against
an enemy suffering Feverish Delirium Strike, rolling (Manipulation + [Performance, Presence, or Occult])
against his Resolve for the attack.

Conquering Visionary Mien (Essence 2; Scourge the Broken World): Exude a spiritual pressure antithet-
ical to the fae and to enemies opposed to the Dream-Souled’s Ideal, granting her attacks the Smashing tag
against them and making it difficult for them to enter close range with her.

Deadly Mirage Technique (Essence 2; Waking Dream Ephemera): Make attacks with illusions capable of
causing real harm.

Baleful Phantasmagoria Invocation (Essence 3; Deadly Mirage Technique): Create illusory environmental
hazards capable of causing real harm.

Illimitable Hordes of Nightmare (Essence 4; Baleful Phantasmagoria Invocation): Create a battle group of
faceless nightmare-soldiers.

The Dream-Souled doubles 9s on the roll for Dragon- Duration: Instant

or-Hero Insinuation. If she uses it on a character she Prerequisite Charms: None
has a Tie toward, she may subtly glamour him in a way
that affirms her perspective. The Minor Tie imposed Before the Dream-Souled’s weapon strikes her foe, the
on characters who perceive him has the same emo- fear of being wounded strikes him first.
tional context as the Dream-Souled’s Tie.
If the Dream-Souled’s attack roll beats her target’s
Resolve, he loses one Initiative and the attack’s on-
Offense slaught penalizes his Defense against her attack roll.
This Charm can’t enhance unexpected attacks.
Don’t-Blink Swiftness
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Scourge the Broken World
Type: Reflexive Cost: 1m+; Mins: Essence 1
Keywords: Uniform Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant Keywords: Aggravated, Dual
Prerequisite Charms: None Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Like a stalking horror out of nightmare, the Dream-
Souled moves between eyeblinks. The Dream-Souled’s will is a blade by which the world is
cut into a better form; at times that blade must be turned
This Charm must be used at the start of a round. The
against her foes.
Dream-Souled adds (Essence) to her Initiative to de-
termine when she acts. If she acts before all enemies The Dream-Souled spends up to (lower of Essence
and uses her turn to attack, it becomes a surprise at- or Strength) motes, adding +1 Overwhelming on a
tack (Exalted, p. 203). withering attack or ignoring one point of Hardness on
a decisive attack for each mote spent. If the Dream-
Doom-Foreshadowing Premonition
Souled is attacking a fae or an enemy opposed to her
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 Ideal, a withering attack also adds this bonus to its
Type: Supplemental raw damage, while a decisive attack also deals aggra-
Keywords: Uniform vated damage.

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World-Mocking Evasion
Defense
Cost: 5m, 2i; Mins: Essence 1
Nightmare-Rebuking Grace Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform
Cost: 1i; Mins: Essence 1
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: Delirium Weaver Meditation
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform
Duration: Instant The Dream-Souled eludes her foes like a dream fading
Prerequisite Charms: None with the dawn, always ever so slightly beyond their
reach.
The Dream-Souled’s grace is no thing of the waking
world; such perfection could only exist in a dream. The Dream-Souled adds +1 Defense, or +2 if her at-
tacker’s Resolve is lower than her Manipulation. If an
The Dream-Souled ignores one point of penalty to
attack misses her, she seems to vanish and reappear
her Defense. If she spent Willpower to increase her
at another location within short range — but in truth,
Defense or pay the cost of defensive magic, she instead
what was struck was only an illusion, while the Dream-
ignores two points of penalty. This Charm can’t negate
Souled hid elsewhere.
penalties from surprise attacks.
Ego-Wound Absorption
Enduring Dream Embodiment
Cost: 2m (1wp per success); Mins: Essence 3
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-only, Perilous
Keywords: Withering-only
Duration: Instant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Enduring Dream Embodiment
Prerequisite Charms: Nightmare-Rebuking Grace
(x2)
So long as the Dream-Souled’s will remains unbroken, so
Blurring the boundaries between her mind and body,
too does her body.
the Dream-Souled displaces physical harm into her
The Dream-Souled adds (current temporary subconscious.
Willpower/2, rounded up) soak against a withering
The Dream-Souled can activate this Charm after a
attack.
decisive attack roll against her or a roll to resist an
An Essence 2 repurchase lets the Dream-Souled pay environmental hazard or similar peril, but before the
a two-mote surcharge to use this Charm against deci- damage roll. She may subtract up to (Essence) suc-
sive attacks or environmental hazards; up to (current cesses from the damage roll, paying one Willpower per
temporary Willpower/2, rounded up) 1s on the damage success.
roll subtract successes.
What Happened Last Night
Ephemeral Presence Feint Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 Type: Reflexive
Type: Reflexive Keywords: Perilous, Uniform
Keywords: Counterattack Duration: Instant
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Ego-Wound Absorption,
Prerequisite Charms: Nightmare-Rebuking Grace World-Mocking Evasion

Those who grasp at the Dream-Souled find themselves Even with her enemy’s blade pressed close against her
empty-handed. throat, the Dream-Souled is never without a final trick
up her sleeve.
If the Dream-Souled successfully defends against an
attack, she makes a (Manipulation + [Performance The Dream-Souled can activate this Charm after the
or Presence]) counterattack against her attacker’s damage roll of an attack. She suffers the attack’s damage
Resolve. If she succeeds, he loses (her Essence/2, as usual, but should record how much damage was dealt,
rounded up) Initiative. along with any other effects inflicted by the attack. When
the scene ends, this damage is removed from the Dream-
Souled’s health track and the inflicted effects end.

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DEFENSIVE CHARM CONCEPTS

Conviction Beyond Defeat (Essence 2; Enduring Dream Embodiment): Against the fae or enemies who
threaten or oppose the Dream-Souled’s Ideal, she gains a non-Charm Defense bonus.

Expected Peril Concentration (Essence 2; Nightmare-Rebuking Grace): Déjà vu alerts the Dream-Souled to
hidden threats, lowering the penalty to her Defense from surprise attacks and reducing damage from traps.

Slip the World«s Fetters (Essence 2; Ephemeral Presence Feint): The Dream-Souled becomes partially im-
material, penalizing damage rolls against her unless enhanced by magic capable of striking dematerialized
foes.

Only A Dream (Essence 5; What Happened Last Night): When the Dream-Souled would die, she may use this
Charm to instead wake up with a start at the last place she went to sleep. This does not alter the past or any-
one’s memories of it; to onlookers, the Dream-Souled seems to fade away, as if she were an illusion all along.

This is not magical healing or reality manipulation; When the Dream-Souled makes an inspire roll, affect-
instead, the Dream-Souled negates or avoids the attack ed characters whose Resolve is beaten by 3+ successes
through some method that is concealed by her illu- must respond to their emotions in a way that aligns
sions. As a result, it can’t be used against enemies using with or relates to her Ideal. If a Dreamer with an Ideal
Eye of the Unconquered Sun or comparable magic. of “There should be no war” inspired fear, her targets
might be so frightened they throw down their arms
If the Dream-Souled is incapacitated before the and flee from battle; if one with an Ideal of “Mysteries
scene’s end, this Charm’s benefits are lost — what- make life worth living” inspired love, her targets might
ever countermeasure she employed has proven go to great lengths to conceal their infatuations.
insufficient.
Midnight Guest Invitation
Reset: Once per scene. Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Social Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Exquisite Ideologue Allegory Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental The Dream-Souled whispers to those whose sleep she
Keywords: None visits, stirring unconscious minds.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None When the Dream-Souled uses Dreamwalker (p. XX),
she may pay a one-Willpower surcharge to manifest
The Dream-Souled’s every word and gesture are suffused herself within a dream. She can communicate and
with her unspoken vision. interact with the sleeper within the dream, ignoring
language barriers. She cannot appear as anyone but
A successful instill roll also instills the Dream-Souled’s herself within the dream.
target with her Ideal at Minor intensity.
By interacting with the sleeper over the course of a
Soul-Exciting Catharsis dream, the Dream-Souled may make a single influence
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 roll against him. His Resolve doesn’t receive any bo-
Type: Supplemental nuses or penalties from Intimacies.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant When Next You Wake
Prerequisite Charms: Exquisite Ideologue Allegory Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Stirring up wild passions, the Dream-Souled sows the Keywords: None
seeds of her Ideal’s realization. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Midnight Guest Invitation

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The Dream-Souled rewards allies with nights of soothing Through self-discipline in the service of her Ideal, the
reverie and consigns her foes to endless nightmare. Dream-Souled makes of her mind a fortress.

When the Dream-Souled makes an influence roll against The Dream-Souled gains the follow benefits:
a sleeping character, she doubles 9s. If she overcomes
his Resolve with influence conveyed through a positive, • +1 Resolve against influence opposed by her
pleasant dream — inspire rolls to create positive emo- Ideal.
tions, persuade rolls to convince a character to undertake
seemingly attractive courses of action, instill rolls to cre- • +1 Guile against any effects that would see di-
ate positive Ties or weaken negative Ties, etc. — she may rectly into her dreams, thoughts, or memories.
transfer one Willpower to him.
• She halves any fatigue penalties she suffers,
If the Dream-Souled’s influence roll is conveyed rounded down, and negates fatigue penalties to
through unsettling dreams or nightmares — threaten Resolve and Guile entirely.
rolls, persuade rolls to undertake frightening or repul-
sive courses of action, inspire rolls to create fear or dis- • When she spends Willpower to add a success to
gust, etc. — then beating her target’s Resolve prevents an action or to pay the cost of an effect enhanc-
him from recovering Willpower from that night’s sleep ing the action, she ignores one point of wound
and imposes a −1 fatigue penalty on his rolls until he penalty.
next rests.
Sleepwalker’s Fugue
Nightmare-Taming Meditation Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 Type: Reflexive
Type: Permanent Keywords: Mute
Keywords: None Duration: Instant
Duration: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: Nightmare-Taming
Prerequisite Charms: None Meditation

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SOCIAL CHARM CONCEPTS

Conversations Half-Remembered (Essence 2; Unspoken Dream Dialogue): A Psyche effect that interferes
with a character’s short-term memory.

All Glamour Fades (Essence 2; Conversations Half-Remembered): Cause a character to believe his actions
have no consequences, as if in a dream.

Embrace the Night (Essence 2; All Glamour Fades): Force a character into deep sleep.

Thought-Poisoning Oubliette (Essence 3; Embrace the Night): Trap a character in an endlessly repeating
dream, preventing them from waking until they complete an extended action with the (Ability + Attribute)
combination most appropriate to the dream scenario.

Sweet Daydreams Forgotten (Essence 3; Thought-Poisoning Oubliette): Cause a character to believe the
events of a scene were just a dream, and to lose all recollection of them entirely at the end of the current
scene unless they resist with Willpower.

Day-is-Night Unreality (Essence 4; Thought-Poisoning Oubliette): Render a character unable to tell whether
he is dreaming or awake, causing him to doubt his own reality and suffer significant psychological conse-
quences.

The Dream-Souled unfocuses her mind, momentarily The Dream-Souled bears witness to hidden passions and
forgetting her thoughts and intentions. secret dreams.

The Dream-Souled gains +1 non-Charm Guile. This The Dream-Souled rerolls 6s until they cease to ap-
increases to +2 against effects that would reveal infor- pear on a read intentions or profile character roll. If
mation that could endanger or compromise her Ideal. her target suffers a Guile penalty for being unaware of
observers, she rerolls 5s as well.
Unspoken Dream Dialogue
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1 Dream-Measuring Insight
Type: Supplemental Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Keywords: Mute Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant Keywords: Mute
Prerequisite Charms: None Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Watcher in the Night
One need not speak in dreams to be heard.
The Dream-Souled recognizes those possessed of their
The Dream-Souled makes an influence roll or ten sec- own grand visions.
onds of regular speech without taking an overt action.
Instead, her intended targets experience the sensation A successful read intentions or profile character roll
of hearing her say this to them. No common language also reveals the target’s strongest Principle (or the
is necessary. Noticing that the communication is im- most relevant, if multiple Principles are tied).
possible without magic that enhances an appropriate
roll; the difficulty is (Dream-Souled’s Manipulation or Ecstatic Bacchanal Witness
Integrity). Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Watcher in the Night Keywords: None
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental Prerequisite Charms: Watcher in the Night
Keywords: Mute
Duration: Instant The Dream-Souled stokes passions to uncover the truth.
Prerequisite Charms: None

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A character experiencing an emotion inspired by the The Dream-Souled’s words enthrall those who have
Dream-Souled’s influence suffers the −2 Guile penalty shared in her vision.
for being unaware of observers against her.
If the target of the Dream-Souled’s influence roll has
With an Essence 2 repurchase, the Dream-Souled can an Intimacy similar to her Ideal, it counts as a positive
use this Charm to enhance an action taken by another Tie to her for the roll, with an emotional context cho-
character within medium range. sen by that character’s player.

Like Minds Deduction Feverish Visionary Assurance

Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: 5m per 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None Keywords: None
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Watcher in the Night Prerequisite Charms: Nightmare-Taming
Meditation
The Dream-Souled possesses a great empathy for those
who share her vision. The Dream-Souled is uncompromising in the face of
challenges to her Ideal.
When the Dream-Souled rolls against the Guile of a
character who shares one of her Intimacies, she adds The Dream-Souled can spend motes instead of
(Intimacy) non-Charm dice on the roll. If he shares Willpower to resist influence opposed by her Ideal,
her Ideal, she adds five non-Charm dice. paying five motes per one Willpower.

Success reveals both the shared Intimacy and what- Clarity of Transcendent Purpose
ever the Dream-Souled originally sought to learn. If Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 2
her target shares her Ideal, she forms or strengthens a Type: Reflexive
positive Tie towards him. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Whispering to the Sleeper Prerequisite Charms: Feverish Visionary Influence
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent The Dream-Souled is unmoved by those who would
Keywords: None tempt her from her Ideal, her conviction a thing of iron
Duration: Permanent certainty.
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Dream-Souled treats an influence roll that would
The Dream-Souled is a lingering presence in the lives of cause her to act against her Ideal as unacceptable
her friends and enemies, witnessing and shaping their (Exalted, p. 220).
dreams from afar.
A character may undermine this Charm’s protection
The Dream-Souled can use Dreamwalker (p. XX) from with a special instill roll, which counts as opposing her
(Essence x10) miles away, as long as she’s interacted Ideal. He must make two rolls, paying the costs for any
with her target in the past day. Charms separately for each roll, and uses the lower
result. If he succeeds, the Dream-Souled can’t use this
With Essence 4, the Dream-Souled can pay a one-Will- Charm until she upholds her Ideal.
power surcharge to extend Dreamwalker’s range to
(Essence x100) miles. Perfect World Anticipation
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2
Dream-Fulfilling Stance Type: Supplemental
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 Keywords: None
Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant
Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Dream-Measuring Insight
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Soul-Exciting Catharsis The Dream-Souled searches the world with the fervent
enthusiasm of a child who expects to find what they
desire.

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SOCIAL CHARM CONCEPTS

Half-Glimpsed Stranger Mystique (Essence 2; Sleepwalker’s Fugue): Successfully asserting Guile instills
the opposing character with a Tie of fascination for the Dream-Souled. It penalizes his Guile against her read
intentions rolls for the rest of the scene.

Another Life Apophenia (Essence 2; Half-Glimpsed Stranger Mystique): Cause a character who fails a read
intentions roll to believe he succeeded, receiving a result that is twisted either to align with the Dream-
Souled’s Ideal or to distance it from her Ideal.

Kindred Dreamer Recognition (Essence 2; Like Minds Deduction, Perfect World Anticipation): A read inten-
tions roll that reveals which of a character’s Intimacies is most closely aligned with or most opposed to the
Dream-Souled’s Ideal.

Mysterious Portent Manifestation (Essence 2; Unspoken Dream Dialogue): Use Unspoken Dream Dia-
logue to communicate without revealing the Dream-Souled’s identity to the recipient.

Shared Dream Unity (Essence 2; Unspoken Dream Dialogue): When using Unspoken Dream Dialogue, each
participant can respond with one influence roll or up to ten seconds of speech. This takes no time in reality.
An Essence 3 repurchase allows for communication and social influence equivalent to an hour of discussion.

Dissolution of Identity (Essence 3; Prerequisite Charms: Another Life Apophenia): The Dream-Souled seals
away her memories and Intimacies. She chooses an archetypal figure, like “gladiator,” “street urchin,” or
“scheming courtier,” and gains false memories and Intimacies appropriate to such an identity.

The Dream-Souled doubles 9s on a read intentions or The Dream-Souled offers a better world, inspiring hope
profile character roll. Once per day, if success reveals and defiance.
information that promotes or aligns with her Ideal, she
gains one Willpower and loses one Limit. When a character who can perceive the Dream-Souled
enters a Decision Point, she may use this Charm to give
Reality-Supplanting Influence him the option of citing her Ideal in that Decision Point.
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 If he does, he gains the Ideal as a Minor Principle.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None With an Essence 3 repurchase, when multiple char-
Duration: Instant acters enter Decision Points in response to the same
Prerequisite Charms: Soul-Exciting Catharsis influence, the Dream-Souled may pay a one-Willpower
surcharge to grant all such characters who can per-
The Dream-Souled expresses her Ideal with beautiful ceive her access to her Ideal.
words or apocalyptic sermons, swaying new believers to
her cause. Rose Blooms by Night
Cost: —(7m); Mins: Essence 2
The Dream-Souled adds a non-Charm success on an Type: Permanent
instill roll to share her Ideal or to weaken a Principle Keywords: None
contrary to her Ideal. The Willpower cost to resist Duration: Permanent
increases by one. Prerequisite Charms: Unspoken Dream Dialogue

Shared Vision Inspiration The Dream-Souled gleams in her beholder’s eye, radiant
Cost: 1m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 with a beauty that cannot be found in waking life.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None When the Dream-Souled makes an influence roll
Duration: Instant against someone who’s sleeping or through Unspoken
Prerequisite Charms: Reality-Supplanting Influence Dream Dialogue, she counts as having a bonus dot of
Appearance, which can raise her above Appearance 5.

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She may reflexively commit seven motes to apply this • Reroll 6s until they cease to appear on a rush,
bonus Appearance on all influence rolls for one scene. disengage, or withdraw roll.

Mobility • Negate one point of penalty on a Ride roll from

her mount’s fatigue, its barding’s mobility penal-
Cloud-Dancing Footwork ty, or the terrain.
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 • Negate one point of penalty to the Speed of a
Type: Reflexive ship she pilots from wind, currents, or from Hull
Keywords: None damage for a Sail roll or one hour of travel.
Duration: Until next turn
Prerequisite Charms: None Right-Behind-You Terror
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
So long as the Dream-Souled doesn’t pay attention to
Type: Supplemental
where she’s standing, it could be solid ground, couldn’t
Keywords: Mute
it?
Duration: Instant
The Dream-Souled gains perfect balance and can move Prerequisite Charms: None
over surfaces too narrow or weak to support her nor-
Unseen by her enemies, the Dream-Souled becomes an
mally without needing to roll. She must move at least
ambiguous presence, everywhere and nowhere.
one range band to gain this benefit; she can’t benefit
from this Charm while standing in place. If she ends To use this Charm, the Dream-Souled must be in
her movement on a surface that couldn’t support her concealment. She may take a non-movement action
without this Charm and doesn’t use this Charm again as though she were at any point within short range,
on her next turn, she suffers the normal consequences as long as it’s an adequate hiding spot to maintain
of this. concealment. She can’t use this Charm on actions that
affect someone who’s seen through her stealth — to
A second purchase of this Charm lets the Dream-
them, her location is definite.
Souled pay a one-mote surcharge to move across water
and similar unstable surfaces and to move over harm- The Road Unremembered
ful surfaces such as lava without consequence.
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
A third purchase lets the Dream-Souled pay two-mote Type: Simple
surcharge to move up or down sheer vertical surfac- Keywords: Mute
es or move upside down on horizontal surfaces like Duration: Instant
ceilings. Prerequisite Charms: Cloud-Dancing Footwork (x3),
Eternal Nomad Wanderlust
A fourth purchase at Essence 3 lets the Dream-Souled
pay a three-mote surcharge to move across thin air. As if traveling in a dream, the Dream-Souled moves
She can’t move vertically while walking on air — she seamlessly from place to place, eliding the space in
could walk over a pit trap or even from one edge of a between.
canyon to another but can’t rise or fall through the air.
The Dream-Souled and up to (Essence x2) other will-
Eternal Nomad Wanderlust ing characters appear at a destination within ten miles.
This is not instantaneous, but neither the travelers nor
Cost: —(1m); Mins: Essence 1
anyone else recall the journey — instead, some amount
Type: Permanent
of time simply passes “off-screen,” typically half the
Keywords: Pilot
amount the journey would normally take. This Charm
Duration: Permanent
won’t let the Dream-Souled move past insurmountable
Prerequisite Charms: None
or dramatically challenging obstacles along the road,
The Dream-Souled moves through the world as if in a such as a blizzard assailing a winding mountain path,
dream, heedless of prosaic obstacles. the sentinels guarding a Dynast’s estate, or a sorcerous
wall of flames. Instead, the Dream-Souled and her
For one mote, the Dream-Souled can invoke one of the companions arrive at the challenge’s location and must
following effects: overcome it as usual to continue on with this Charm.

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MOBILITY CHARM CONCEPTS

Fire-Eyed HarbingerÕs Approach (Essence 2; Eternal Nomad Wanderlust): Move with greater speed when
traveling to protect or uphold an Ideal, whether by foot, mount, or ship.

World-Changing Stride (Essence 2; Cloud-Dancing Footwork, Dreamstuff-Sculpting Reverie): Transform

difficult terrain beneath the Dream-Souled’s feet into a more easily traversable surface.

A Dream of Flight (Essence 3; Cloud-Dancing Footwork x3): Gain the power of flight, with a recurring Will-
power cost to maintain it.

Distance-Eliminating Transition (Essence 3; The Road Unremembered): As long as no one observes the
Dream-Souled’s party, travel along The Road Unremembered is instantaneous. If used with Fire-Eyed Har-
binger’s Approach, the distance the Dream-Souled can traverse increases.

Its cost is waived when resuming a journey that’s in- appears at the destination along with the other char-
terrupted this way. acters, positioned similarly relative to them as he was
before this Charm was used. If he fails the roll, his
Tracking rolls made to follow movement facilitat- player chooses between having him be left behind or
ed by this Charm suffer a penalty of (Essence). If a having him be taken along with the Dream-Souled but
character is actively pursuing the Dream-Souled and losing her trail. Such characters don’t count against the
her companions when she uses this Charm, he rolls limit this Charm can transport.
(Perception + Survival) opposing her (Manipulation
+ [Larceny, Survival, or Stealth]). If he succeeds, he This Charm can’t be used in combat.

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The Hearteaters Then the enemies of the gods murdered Aurora and,
upon his still-beating heart, cursed his Chosen, invert-
A starving refugee fleeing through the Wyld finds a strange ing their Exaltation’s nature and twisting them into
reliquary from another age, filled with pearlescent bones. the Hearteaters, monstrous Exalted with the power to
She can hear them singing to her as she approaches, calling break minds and make willing pawns of their victims.
out alone, alone, alone. She touches them, and she is Exalted. But to the ancients’ dismay, their curse did not turn
For a fleeting instant, the aurora sings inside her soul, filling the Hearteaters against their allies; Aurora’s orphans
every part of her being with glory and inspiration. But then continued to fight alongside their fellow Chosen, sat-
the song turns to a scream as the thing that dwelt within isfying their monstrous appetites upon the enemies of
the bones batters her senses, seeking to devour her mind the gods.
and steal her body. Her will to survive is fierce, fiercer than
the ancient monster in her soul, and it is she who devours As the First Age dawned amidst the Divine Revolution’s
the beast. But there is no feeling of triumph in this. Now aftermath, the Hearteaters troubled the other Exalted.
she is the monster, and she is so terribly alone. They had little place in a peaceful realm without a
great enemy to direct their hunger against. Some strug-
The Death of Aurora gled to find a place for themselves — assassins hunting
down the Realm’s foes and claiming them as pawns,
Counted as the most beautiful among the Celestial guardians battling inhuman horrors at the world’s
Incarnae (p. XX), Aurora ruled over the lights that edge, cult leaders recruiting willing disciples to sate
bear his name. Artistic, passionate, and gentle, Aurora their hunger. But in time, the other Exalted betrayed
nonetheless joined in his siblings’ Divine Revolution. the Hearteaters, murdering their pawns to prevent
His Chosen, the Aurorals, were muses, teachers, and their Exaltations from reincarnating and sealing their
spiritual guides, strengthening the morale and protect- imperishable bones away in prisons deep within the
ing the hearts of the Exalted’s forces. Wyld.

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HUNGRY MENTORS

Occasionally, the hungry ghost (Exalted, p. 503) of a Hearteater’s previous incarnation remains tethered to its
pearlescent bones, waiting for a successor to find the Exaltation caged within. This inhuman revenant may act
as a mentor, whether following the new Hearteater or lingering as an oracle in its tomb. Much more powerful
than a mortal’s hungry ghosts, they are three-dot Allies or two-dot Mentors.

For much of the First Age, these great prisons held, and Some Hearteaters, especially the newly Exalted,
the might of the Old Realm smote down any Hearteater delude themselves, believing their pawns serve them
who escaped them. When history repeated itself in freely out of genuine loyalty, that when they usurp a
the Usurpation, the death of the Solars diminished pawn’s body it is because he permits them. This pleas-
and warped the greatest of the magics that sealed the ant lie lets them live with themselves, but it cannot
Hearteaters away. The great invasion of the Fair Folk last. In time, every Hearteater confronts the truth of
sundered the last remaining bindings on many of these what they’ve become and what they’ve done. Some
prisons entirely, opening the way for any mortal foolish give in to despair, surrendering to their monstrous
enough to wander into the Wyld to free a Hearteater’s hunger. Others struggle against their nature, refusing
Exaltation. to prey on the minds of others for as long as they can
deny themselves.
Starving and Alone
Hearteaters and Other Exalted
While the Aurorals strove to uplift and inspire others,
the Hearteaters’ corruption has warped this into a A Hearteater inherits the memories of her Exaltation’s
bone-deep hunger for reverence and acclaim; a desper- predecessors, and the most vivid among them are the
ate need to be seen, to be heard, to be loved or hated; to memory of the Hearteaters’ betrayal at the hands of the
not be alone. But no audience’s applause, no words of Exalted Host. Each Hearteater has their individual reac-
praise, no lover’s embrace can ease this all-consuming tion to these memories, but the majority have exhibited
need for long. She must prey upon others, breaking animosity or outright vendetta against those Exalted.
their mind and devouring their will until nothing is left
but a loyal pawn, an extension of herself. Seeing herself The Bureau of Destiny and the Silver Pact both have
through her pawn’s eyes, she knows that he loves and extensive institutional knowledge of the Hearteaters,
reveres her, for she gives him no other choice, and for a though younger Lunars and Sidereals may never have
time, her hunger is sated. heard of them. Hearteaters are among the few threats
great enough to unify the Sidereals and Lunars; both
Claiming a pawn demands persistence and dedication. know that leaving a Hearteater unchecked will result in
A Hearteater must ensnare her prey’s heart, stirring his an existential crisis. Killing a Hearteater permanently
passions for her — be they love, hate, or fear — to open is a challenging ordeal, but Lunars and Sidereals work-
his soul to her. A Hearteater’s first pawn is often one of ing together have succeeded in isolating them from
those closest to them, one whose emotional ties to her their pawns, pursuing Hearteater Exaltations through
make them easy prey: a trusted traveling companion, multiple consecutive reincarnations, and imprisoning
an old friend, a lover, a child. Young Hearteaters can living Hearteaters.
only prey on mortals of weak will, but as they grow in
experience and power, they can break the strongest At the height of the Shogunate, Dragon-Blooded sohei
minds and bind beasts, gods, and stranger things. of the Immaculate Faith patrolled the world’s edge for
Hearteaters, raising the Wyld Hunt against them and
A pawn’s mind remains intact and conscious, retaining leading the attack. In modern times, the Realm and
that portion of his free will that the Hearteater permits Lookshy are too far to have had any significant interac-
him. When needs must, a Hearteater may step into tion with Hearteaters, and the relevant portions of the
her pawn’s body, seizing absolute and unquestionable Immaculate Texts have faded into scholarly obscurity.
control over him; all he can do is watch from the back
of his mind as she commits atrocities with his stolen Ever since the Exaltation of the first Sovereign of
hands. Uluiru (p. XX), the Hearteaters across the Northwest

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have been called to the wellspring of their divine pa- heterodox Immaculate theology she preaches. She rolls
tron’s blood that lies beneath the city. It is their ambi- ([Charisma or Manipulation] + [Occult, Performance,
tion to reclaim the Fount of Glories — whether to bathe or Presence]) with (her target’s Intimacy) non-Charm
themselves in Aurora’s blood, hoard it as a relic of his successes as a unique influence roll against his Resolve.
passing, or simply take it from those they deem un- If she succeeds, she claims him as a pawn. If she fails,
worthy. The Sovereigns know little of the Hearteaters’ she can’t use this power on him again for the rest of
true nature, but they know enough to fear them, taking the story.
extensive countermeasures against infiltration.
Ravening Horror Pursuit: For three motes, add
Traits (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm dice on a roll to
track a character that the Hearteater could make a
Hearteaters are intended for Celestial play (p. XX). pawn, or on a roll to navigate to a location populated
by potential pawns. While tracking a group of at least
Anima a dozen potential pawns or navigating to a city-sized
The Hearteater’s anima begins as a billowing mist settlement, the bonus is converted to non-Charm
of pale colors, most commonly opalescent blues and successes.
greens. As it grows, it becomes an aurora trailing in
Pawns
ribbons that pulse like swollen arteries. Hearteaters’
iconic animas may take the form of monstrous but A Hearteater’s pawns gain Defining Ties of loyal sub-
beautiful horrors, masked or faceless legions, or pred- servience to her, which can’t be weakened or altered
atory or parasitic animals, etc. These visual manifesta- by any means. They are also incapable of voluntarily
tions are typically accompanied by displays of sound: forming or strengthening negative Ties toward the
the haunting peal of crystalline bells, the frenzied Hearteater, although existing Ties linger and other
prayers of the Hearteater’s pawns, a rumbling growl at characters can instill such Intimacies with influence
the very edge of human hearing, etc. rolls. The Hearteater can always communicate with her
pawns, mind-to-mind, regardless of distance, and they
Anima Effects can make influence rolls through this connection. The
Hearteaters can spend one mote to perform one of the Hearteater can persuade a pawn to perform an incon-
following effects: venient task (Exalted, p. 216) without needing to roll.

• Discern the precise time of day and the locations By meditating, the Hearteater can assume total con-
of any auroras within (Essence x50) miles. trol over a pawn within (Essence x5) miles, making
his senses her own and controlling him in body and
• Sense the direction and approximate distance to mind. The Hearteater’s overriding influence is de-
one of their pawns. picted by having her player control all that character’s
actions. The pawn’s mental and social actions use the
They also have access to the following anima powers: Hearteater’s dice pools and static values, while physi-
cal actions use the pawn’s dice pools and static values.
Gaze Upon Me: For five motes, add (higher of Essence Any dice over the Hearteater’s (Attribute + Ability +
or 3) non-Charm dice on an inspire or instill roll that specialty) or any static value bonuses over her base
causes others to experience, value, or understand the value count as Charm dice, potentially preventing her
Hearteater’s emotions. Resisting the influence requires from using a pawn’s full dice pool. Her control lapses
citing at least a Minor Intimacy in a Decision Point and if the pawn goes beyond (Essence x5) miles from her.
spending one Willpower. Those with Ties toward the
Hearteater must cite an Intimacy of equal or greater While controlling a pawn, the Hearteater doesn’t
value to resist. At bonfire, this power is free. suffer any damage or negative effects that her pawn
does, although she still suffers his wound penalties
Queen Takes Pawn: For 10 motes and one Willpower, and penalties from other physical negative effects on
the Hearteater may attempt to claim a mortal human actions taken through him. Influence rolls and other
as a pawn. The Willpower cost is waived against triv- effects that target the mind apply to the controlling
ial characters. The target’s Willpower can’t exceed Hearteater rather than the pawn. The Hearteater’s own
(higher of Hearteater’s Essence or 3) and he must have wound penalties also penalize her actions through the
a Major or Defining Tie to her or something closely pawn, as do any other penalties that would impede her
associated with her, like a kingdom she rules or a ability to focus her mind and exert mental domination

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over her pawn. If a pawn is incapacitated while being amount of emphasis the play group wants to give a
controlled, the Hearteater suffers a mental backlash, Hearteater player character’s hunger.
taking (10 – her Resolve) dice of bashing damage, ig-
noring Hardness. If a controlled pawn dies, she suffers Animals and other non-sapient pawns are less satis-
(15 – her Resolve) damage dice. fying than people, requiring a Hearteater to take such
pawns more frequently to stave off Limit. Past a certain
Hearteaters can’t use their Charms or other magic amount of Limit, they no longer provide any benefit.
through pawns unless they specify otherwise or she Mindless pawns, like zombies, never prevent Limit.
has Heart-Eaten Avatar (p. XX). If she has the Charms
to claim supernatural beings as pawns, she can use Concepts for Hearteater Limit Breaks include:
their magic while controlling them, paying the costs
with the pawn’s resources. The Devourer Unleashed: The Hearteater can no
longer contain her monstrous hunger. She must take
A Hearteater may have up to (Essence + Willpower) any opportunity she can to claim a pawn, capable of
pawns at any one time, with Charms like Becoming the sparing only those she has positive Ties toward. She
Multitude (p. XX) increasing this limit. Charms like waives the cost to do so.
Caging the Wayward Wren (p. XX) expand the range of
possible pawns she can claim beyond mortal humans. Look Upon Me: The agony of the Hearteater’s hun-
ger pangs drives her to degrade herself by feeding on
Being a pawn is a Psyche effect. Magic capable of ex- paltry fare. She must seek out the attention of others,
orcising possessing spirits, such as Burning Exorcism whether it takes the form of worship, adulation, love,
Technique (Exalted, p. 356) can also free pawns. hate, fear, or other passions.
Recognizing a pawn’s condition for what it truly is
requires a difficulty 3-7 (Perception + Occult) roll, with Slavering Horror Contagion: The Hearteater’s ra-
the precise difficulty varying based on the observing pacity spills over into her pawns. They suffer mental
character’s background, specialties, and familiarity corruption related to or thematically associated with
with the pawn, as well as any relevant facts introduced one of the Hearteater’s Intimacies that’s relevant to
with Lore rolls. A liberated pawn retains his Defining her hunger or recent narrative events involving it. The
Tie toward the Hearteater, but it can now be weakened. Hearteater’s control can’t override this corruption.

Martial Arts Thousand Faces Blight: The Hearteater’s starved

Hearteaters aren’t restricted by the Terrestrial key- delirium blurs the boundaries between her and her
word, but neither do they have any access to the pawns. She’s infected with emotions, memories, and
Mastery keyword. Intimacies from them, or the inhuman mindset of
pawns that are animals, strange spirits, and the like.
Sorcery
Alternatively, if your playgroup wants to deemphasize
Hearteaters are capable of initiating into the Terrestrial
their monstrous hunger or give a Hearteater play char-
and Celestial Circles of sorcery.
acter greater latitude in dealing with it, you can use a
Evocations roleplay-based Curse (p. XX).
Hearteaters are resonant with adamant (p. XX), and Longevity and Death
neither resonant nor dissonant with any of the magical
Hearteaters are thought to be as long-lived as the
materials (Arms of the Chosen, p. 16).
Aurorals, with lifespans of up to three thousand
Great Curse years — though none have ever died of old age. Upon
a Hearteater’s death, her Exaltation transmigrates to a
The Hearteater’s Great Curse manifests through
human pawn within (Essence) miles. The twisted echo
their unslakable hunger for adulation and attention.
of Aurora’s will that guides her Exaltation chooses a
They have a Limit track and experience Limit Breaks.
pawn with both heroic potential and an emotional and
Like most Exalted, they gain Limit when they violate
mental compatibility with her.
a Major or Defining Intimacy (p. XX). They have a
shared Limit Trigger, gaining Limit when they go The Hearteater’s mind clashes with the newly Chosen
too long without claiming a pawn. The frequency pawn’s, struggling for dominance. Typically, neither
with which they must do so increases as their Limit can conclusively overcome the other, resulting is a
rises. The specific requirements can be tailored to the gestalt of the two that is essentially a new individual.

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When one does predominate, they subsume the other’s

consciousness into their own, remaining themselves,
Pawns
though not entirely unchanged.
Beloved Toy Renewal
There’s no dice roll for the conflict between Hearteater Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
and pawn. Hearteater player characters are assumed Type: Simple
to always predominate, unless their player wants to Keywords: None
start over with a new character. A predominating Duration: Instant
Hearteater’s player may reallocate her Physical Prerequisite Charms: None
Attribute dots to better reflect the pawn’s physical
abilities, as magnified by Exaltation. She loses any The Hearteater keeps her toys in good order.
mutations and is refunded their experience cost. Her
The Hearteater heals a pawn with a gesture of physical
other traits remain unchanged. At the Storyteller’s dis-
intimacy, or while directly controlling him. She rolls
cretion, she may take on some of the subsumed Pawn’s
([Charisma or Intelligence] + [Medicine or Presence]),
Intimacies or gain a Derangement reflecting the effects
doubling 8s, to determine how many levels of non-ag-
of absorbing his psyche.
gravated damage she heals. The pawn heals up to
A predominating pawn’s Exalted power manifests (Hearteater’s Essence) levels of damage instantly, and
in her traits like a newly Exalted Solar’s (Exalted, p. the remaining levels after a day’s rest.
125). He doesn’t retain the Essence rating or any other
With an Essence 2 repurchase, the Hearteater may pay
supernatural powers of the preceding Hearteater,
a five-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to instantly heal
though he may gain Intimacies or a Derangement from
damage for all her rolled success.
absorbing her, as above. If the two form a gestalt, the
new individual that arises from it uses character cre- Favored Pawn Maneuver
ation similar to that for newly Exalted Solars.
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
If a Hearteater dies without any pawns within range,
Keywords: None
her Exaltation does not pass on. Its Essence is caged
Duration: Instant
in her bones, transforming them to opal and rendering
Prerequisite Charms: Beloved Toy Renewal
them imperishable. The Exaltation passes onto the first
mortal to touch the bones. There is no clash of wills
The Hearteater lavishes attention on a pawn, bringing
with the dead Hearteater, though one only recently
him further under her control.
dead may manifest strongly among their successor’s
past lives. With a gesture of physical intimacy, like an embrace
or kiss, the Hearteater transfers up to (Charisma or
Hearteater Charms Manipulation) Willpower to a pawn, or up to (Essence
x3) motes to a pawn with a mote pool. The first time
Hearteaters both exploit and empower their pawns, the Hearteater uses this Charm on a given pawn in a
amassing thralls to serve as implements of her will. scene, he also gains a Minor Intimacy of her choice. He
Their monstrous power preys on their enemies’ can’t voluntarily erode it until he next sleeps.
Intimacies and emotions, but has an eerie beauty to it.
Caging the Wayward Wren
Excellencies Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Hearteaters don’t have formalized Excellencies; they can Keywords: None
add dice to any (Attribute + Ability) roll or increase any Duration: Permanent
static value for which they have an applicable Ability at Prerequisite Charms: None
3+ or an Attribute at 5, paying one mote per die. They may
The Hearteater exists in birds and rats and vermin, in
add up to (Attribute + 1) dice to rolls. Actions that uphold
the serpent coiled around your neck and the hungry
one of the Hearteater’s Intimacies or exploit an oppos-
wolves that roam the wilderness.
ing character’s Intimacy increase this by (Intimacy).
Automatic successes count as two dice towards this limit.
The Hearteater may claim animals that would be one-
Static values such as Evasion or Resolve can be raised by
dot or two-dot familiars (Exalted, p. 161) as pawns.
half this dice cap, rounded down.

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They need not have an Intimacy to her. She waives the An Essence 3 repurchase lets the Hearteater claim
Willpower cost against one-dot familiars. un-Exalted undead as pawns. Their Essence can’t be
higher than hers. They count as (their Essence) pawns
With an Essence 2 repurchase, the Hearteater may pay towards the Hearteater’s maximum.
a one-Willpower surcharge to claim an animal that
would be a three-dot Familiar. It counts as three pawns Soul-Gnawing Blight
towards the Hearteater’s maximum. Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Identity-Devouring Maw Keywords: None
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 Duration: Permanent
Type: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: Identity-Devouring Maw
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent The Hearteater drinks deep of even the strongest wills.
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Hearteater adds (lowest of Charisma,
Even as the Hearteater slakes her ravenous appetite, it Manipulation, or Wits) to the maximum Willpower for
demands more of her. her potential pawns (p. XX). Claiming trivial pawns is
free and no longer requires a roll.
The Hearteater adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-
Charm dice on rolls to claim pawns and increases the With Essence 3, the bonus increases to the highest of
maximum number of pawns she can have to (Essence the three Attributes.
+ Willpower + 5).
Pawn-Forsaking Sacrifice
Broken Paragon Binding Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 Type: Reflexive
Type: Permanent Keywords: Psyche
Keywords: None Duration: Instant
Duration: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: Soul-Gnawing Blight
Prerequisite Charms: Identity-Devouring Maw
Though the Hearteater may free her pawns, there is little
The Hearteater subverts the wills of great heroes and mercy in it.
puissant wonder-workers.
While controlling a pawn directly, the Hearteater re-
The Hearteater may claim un-Exalted humans with leases him from her service. She may do so gently, or
supernatural powers as pawns, including God-Blooded she may make her exit psychologically devastating, re-
and sorcerers. Their Essence can’t be higher than the vealing repressed memories, flooding her victim with
Hearteater’s. They count as (their Essence) pawns irrational thoughts, or breaking him psychologically
towards the Hearteater’s maximum. with her departing monologue.

Captive Hearts Mausoleum The victim of a psychological attack becomes unable

Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 to convey any useful information about the Hearteater
Type: Permanent for at least (6 – his Integrity) days. Rolls against his
Keywords: None Guile likewise never provide relevant information.
Duration: Permanent He may be unable to bring himself to speak about the
Prerequisite Charms: Broken Paragon Binding Hearteater, or find his memories of her blurry or absent
entirely. She can render trivial characters comatose for
Death cannot part the Hearteater from her toys. months, requiring extensive medical care to survive.

The Hearteater adds (higher of Essence or 3) dice on With an Essence 3 repurchase, the Hearteater can use
instill and inspire rolls against the undead. When a hu- this Charm on pawns she isn’t controlling directly for
man or animal pawn dies, he always lingers as a ghost one mote, one Willpower. She can brutalize pawns’
rather than passing into Lethe. The ghost remains a minds to conceal information from rolls opposing her
pawn, and can’t enter Lethe while the Hearteater lives. pawn’s Guile, intuitively sensing any relevant opportu-
nities to do so.

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Stolen Genius Inspiration dividing the time required for it by (Essence + [Charisma,
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1 Intelligence, or Manipulation] + [Bureaucracy,
Type: Supplemental Presence, or Socialize]). If it’s led by her or one of her
Keywords: None Pawns, she counts as having at least Essence 5 for this
Duration: Instant calculation. Pawns working on the task don’t need food,
Prerequisite Charms: None water, or sleep while working on the project, and regain
Willpower from laboring instead of sleeping.
The Hearteater reaches out mentally to access her
pawns’ collective skills and expertise. This Charm doesn’t speed physical labor. It acceler-
ates planning, authorization, allocation of resources,
When the Hearteater takes a mental or social action, and similar bureaucratic tasks. The Hearteater must
she may use the Ability rating of a pawn within medi- interact with the organization to use this Charm, but
um range instead of her own. If that pawn uses Quick doesn’t need to lead it — soliciting the task or aiding
Character traits, the Storyteller should assign an ef- the organization is sufficient.
fective rating based on his dice pools and background
(typically half his applicable dice pool, rounded up). With Essence 2, all members of the organization work-
ing on the project cease to need food, water, and sleep.
Each purchase of Soul-Fisher’s Lure (p. XX) increases
this Charm’s range by one band. With Essence 3, the Hearteater gains one Willpower
upon the task’s successful completion.
Mind-Mosaic Concentration
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 Becoming the Multitude
Type: Supplemental Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
Keywords: None Type: Permanent
Duration: Instant Keywords: None
Prerequisite Charms: Stolen Genius Inspiration Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Identity-Devouring Maw
The Hearteater builds her memory palace from the
wreckage of other minds. The Hearteater’s hunger drives her beyond her limits,
swelling her pawns’ ranks.
The Hearteater doubles 9s on a roll to introduce or
challenge a fact and can access her pawns’ Lore back- The Hearteater adds (Essence) dice on command ac-
grounds. She can synthesize multiple pawns’ back- tions to lead battle groups of pawns. She can claim up
grounds to introduce facts that none of them could to 100 pawns. This increases to 250 at Essence 3, 500 at
introduce or challenge on their own. Essence 4, and 1,000 at Essence 5.

Alternatively, the Hearteater can access a pawn’s Mind-Battering Intrusion

language to gain fluency in it for approximately ten Cost: —(+1wp); Mins: Essence 2
seconds of speech or an equivalent amount of written Type: Permanent
text. With Essence 3, she gains permanent fluency in Keywords: None
all languages her pawns know, without needing to use Duration: Permanent
this Charm. Prerequisite Charms: Becoming the Multitude,
Soul-Gnawing Blight
Stoking the Fever-Forge
Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1 The faintest emotions are enough to invite the Hearteater
Type: Simple into one’s mind.
Keywords: Psyche
Duration: One task The Hearteater may pay a one-Willpower surcharge to
Prerequisite Charms: Stolen Genius Inspiration claim a character as a pawn even if he only has a Minor
Tie to her.
The Hearteater suffuses an organization’s members
with single-minded intensity to hasten their labors. Caged Soul Union
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 2
The Hearteater speeds an organization’s proj- Type: Reflexive
ect (Exalted, p. 226) or other bureaucratic task, Keywords: Mute

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PAWN CHARM CONCEPTS

Memory Extraction Technique (Essence 2; Stolen Genius Inspiration): Access a pawn’s memories with
eidetic recall.

Ichneumon Memorial Engram (Essence 2; Memory Extraction Technique, Piece-Promoting Advance):

Transplant a Hearteater’s memories, personality, or Intimacies to a pawn.

Mind-Warping Ravages (Essence 2; Ichneumon Memorial Engram, Pawn-Forsaking Sacrifice): When the
Hearteater releases a pawn, she can make alterations to his memories, personality, and Intimacies.

As I Would Have You (Essence 3; Beloved Toy Renewal): Use Beloved Toy Renewal to heal crippling injuries
or undo body-altering Shaping effects.

Mine and Mine Alone (Essence 3; As I Would Have You): Use Beloved Toy Renewal to undo Psyche effects,
non-physical Shaping effects, or curses, or exorcise possessing spirits.

Legion-Self Embodiment (Essence 4; One Will, Many Faces): Directly control a battle group of pawns,
granting them elite Drill, perfect morale, and Might.

Servitude in Freedom (Essence 4; Mind-Warping Ravages): When the Hearteater releases a pawn, she can
leave behind complex hypnotic programming.

Duration: Instant Heartless Beast Bond

Prerequisite Charms: Stolen Genius Inspiration Cost: 10m, 1wp, 1xp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Simple
The boundaries between Hearteater and pawn blur as Keywords: None
they harmonize in body and mind. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Caging the Wayward Wren
While directly controlling a pawn, the Hearteater can use
her dice pools and static values for physical actions and the The Hearteater strengthens the bond between herself
pawn’s dice pools and static values for social or mental action. and a familiar by subsuming it into her collective being.
Piece-Promoting Advance The Hearteater confers the following benefits on an
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2 animal familiar that’s a pawn:
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mute • Heart-Eaten Hive Enthrallment: The familiar
Duration: Instant can claim animals as pawns for the Hearteater, as
Prerequisite Charms: Caged Soul Union per Caging the Wayward Wren. The Hearteater
still pays the cost to do so and makes the roll.
The Hearteater imbues a pawn with her own experience,
knowledge, and skill. • Hollow Soul Companion: The familiar doesn’t
count towards the Hearteater’s maximum num-
When a pawn within long range uses an Ability that the ber of pawns.
Hearteater has at 3+, she adds a non-Charm success on
his roll or a +1 non-Charm bonus to a static value. If she • Starveling Beast Hunger: The Hearteater can
has an applicable specialty, her pawn benefits from it. use Ravening Horror Pursuit (p. XX) to enhance
the familiar’s tracking and navigation rolls.
This Charm can be used while the Hearteater is direct-
ly controlling a pawn to enhance his actions. • Will-Honing Perfection: The familiar gains +2
Resolve against fear-based influence.
With Essence 4, if the Hearteater has the relevant
Ability at 5, she adds two non-Charm successes or a +2 This Charm’s experience point cost is waived the first
non-Charm bonus to a static value. time the Hearteater uses it. If a familiar enhanced by

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this Charm dies, the Hearteater regains any experience The Hearteater grants a pawn a pool of (her Essence +
spent enhancing it. 5) motes. He can add up to (Hearteater’s Essence) dice
on rolls to serve her or her interests, paying one mote
Opalescent Mercy Enthrallment per die. He can add up to (her Essence/2, rounded up) to
Cost: —(+5m); Mins: Essence 2 static values when it would benefit the Hearteater, paying
Type: Permanent two motes per +1 bonus. These motes can only be used
Keywords: None to attune artifacts if they were created by the Hearteater.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Beloved Toy Renewal If the empowered character ceases to be a pawn, he
loses this Charm’s benefits. The Hearteater recovers
Seeing the potential that others hold to serve her will, the the experience spent on an empowered pawn if he
Hearteater graces them with her benevolence. is freed from her, dies, or otherwise leaves the story
permanently.
The Hearteater can pay a five-mote surcharge to use
Favored Toy Renewal on Circlemates and characters Heart-Eaten Avatar
she could claim as a pawn. She doesn’t double 8s. Cost: 5m, 1wp (1m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 3
Healed characters gain a Minor Tie of reverence to her Type: Reflexive
unless they pay one Willpower. Keywords: None
Duration: (Essence) rounds
The Hearteater can’t instantly heal non-pawns with Prerequisite Charms: Pawn Becomes Queen
Favored Toy Renewal’s repurchase.
Under the Hearteater’s control, her pawns become mira-
Soul-Fisher’s Lure cle workers, heritors of her supernatural prowess.
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent While directly controlling a pawn, the Hearteater
Keywords: None can use her non-Permanent Charms and other magic
Duration: Permanent through him.
Prerequisite Charms: Identity-Devouring Maw
The Hearteater can’t combine her Charms with a su-
The Hearteater haunts her pawns from afar. pernatural pawn’s own magic. If she uses a Charm, all
of her pawn’s ongoing magic ends, and vice versa.
The range at which the Hearteater can directly control
her pawns increases to (Essence x10) miles. This Charm’s cost is one mote, one Willpower for
pawns empowered by Pawn Becomes Queen.
A second purchase at Essence 3 extends this to
(Essence x25) miles. Wandering Heart Embodiment
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
A third purchase at Essence 4 lets the Hearteater pay Type: Reflexive
a one-Willpower surcharge to extend her range to Keywords: None
(Essence x100) miles. Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Caged Soul Union
A fourth purchase at Essence 5 lets her pay a one-Will-
power surcharge to waive the distance limit entirely The Hearteater divides her consciousness among her
bodies, acting simultaneously through them.
Pawn Becomes Queen
Cost: 5m, 1wp, 2xp; Mins: Essence 3 The Hearteater doesn’t need to meditate to directly
Type: Simple control a pawn. In combat, she can flurry to take actions
Keywords: None both as herself and through a pawn. She can still make
Duration: Instant only one attack action and one movement action per
Prerequisite Charms: Piece-Promoting Advance round. Both she and the controlled pawn act on the
highest Initiative tick between them. If the Hearteater
The Hearteater raises up one of her pawns — though not doesn’t flurry to act through her pawn, he does nothing.
so high as herself.
While using this Charm, the Hearteater waives Caged
Soul Union’s mote cost.

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One Will, Many Faces Heart-Flaying Strike

Cost: —(2m); Mins: Essence 3 Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Keywords: Dual
Duration: Permanent Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Wandering Heart Prerequisite Charms: Cracking the Mask
Embodiment
The Hearteater rends through both flesh and psyche,
The Hearteater is a being of many bodies, countless eyes ripping away her victim’s passions in bloody handfuls.
and limbs of a single monstrous will.
The Hearteater adds (Essence, maximum 5) dice of
The Hearteater can directly control up to (Essence) post-soak withering damage or adds that many attack
pawns simultaneously, committing two motes for roll extra successes as dice of decisive damage. If her
each pawn beyond the first. She must still flurry to act stunt incorporates her knowledge of one of her target’s
through them, but can include three actions in a flurry Major or Defining Intimacies, she also adds an auto-
if all of them are taken through pawns matic success on the damage roll.

Empire-Self Expansion If this crashes the Hearteater’s foe or deals decisive

Cost: —; Mins: Essence 5 damage, she may weaken an exploited Intimacy by
Type: Permanent one step. This is subject to the supporting Intimacy re-
Keywords: None quirement for weakening Intimacies with instill rolls
Duration: Permanent (Exalted, p. 215).
Prerequisite Charms: Becoming the Multitude,
Heart-Eaten Avatar, Soul-Fisher’s Lure (x4) Many-Mouths Tactic
Cost: 3m (+1wp); Mins: Essence 1
At the apex of her monstrous apotheosis, the Hearteater’s Type: Reflexive
hunger grows beyond her power to ever sate. Keywords: Decisive-only
Duration: Instant
The Hearteater can have innumerable pawns — unless Prerequisite Charms: None
a precise number is relevant, she has as many trivial
pawns as she desires in each scene. These can be new The Hearteater is bolstered by her allies’ efforts, feeding
pawns that were claimed off-screen. If a precise count on their will to help herself.
is relevant, like when assembling battle groups, the
Hearteater may have up to ten thousand pawns, or When an ally makes a distract gambit that benefits the
(Essence) Size 5 battle groups. Hearteater, its Initiative cost is waived. She can pay one
Willpower to reflexively make a decisive attack against
Offense the gambit’s target, which doesn’t count as her attack
for the round. If the gambit is made by a pawn, it also
Cracking the Mask adds (Essence) dice on the attack and damage rolls.
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 Game-Closing Persistence
Type: Supplemental
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Keywords: Uniform
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Keywords: Uniform
Prerequisite Charms: None
Duration: Instant
The Hearteater’s understanding of her enemy hones her Prerequisite Charms: Many-Mouths Tactic
precision.
The Hearteater and her pawns hunt together, running
The Hearteater rolls an attack against the lower of her down her foes as one.
enemy’s Defense or Guile. If her stunt incorporates
An attack’s onslaught penalty doesn’t refresh for as
her knowledge of one of her target’s Major or Defining
long as the Hearteater or a pawn is within close range
Intimacies, she adds (Intimacy) dice on her attack roll.
of the attacked enemy.

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OFFENSIVE CHARM CONCEPTS

Foe-Swarming Strategy (Essence 2; Game-Closing Persistence): Add an enemy’s onslaught penalty to the
maximum Initiative the Hearteater or one of her allies can transfer with a distract gambit against him and to
the damage roll of the attack the gambit enhances.

Captivating Aurora Feint (Essence 3; Foe-Swarming Strategy): A distract gambit by the Hearteater or one
of her pawns hits automatically.

Fatal Ruse Flourish (Essence 3; Captivating Aurora Feint): An attack enhanced by an ally’s distract gambit
becomes an ambush.

Eaten by the Sky (Essence 3; Life-Annihilating Aurora): Engulf an enemy in a baleful aurora that gradually
turns his body to opal if it is not driven off.

An Essence 3 repurchase extends this Charm’s range If the Hearteater kills an enemy with this Charm, his
to short. bones turn to imperishable opal just like those of dead
Hearteaters — though unlike them, these bones harbor
Hunger Breeds Haste no vestige of the victim’s self.
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Will-Siphoning Victory Smirk
Keywords: Decisive-only Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2
Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental
Prerequisite Charms: Game-Closing Persistence Keywords: Decisive-only
Duration: Instant
As the Hearteater’s pawns pin down a foe, she seizes on Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Flaying Strike
the moment to strike,.
The Hearteater finds satisfaction in her foe’s humiliation.
As an additional cost to use this Charm, the Hearteater
must spend five of a pawn’s Initiative. She reflexively makes If the Hearteater rolls 2+ successes on a decisive dam-
a decisive attack against an enemy within close range of age roll, she may forgo inflicting one level of damage
that pawn. If the pawn is armed with a ranged weapon, the to steal one Willpower from her victim. If he has no
Hearteater may attack an enemy anywhere within its range. Willpower remaining, she steals (higher of Essence or
3) Initiative from him after she resets to base.
Reset: Once per scene unless reset by succeeding on a
distract gambit against a nontrivial enemy or landing a Against crashed enemies, the Hearteater doesn’t need
decisive attack against a nontrivial enemy that bene- to forgo damage to steal Willpower.
fits from an ally’s distract gambit.
Gruesome Rampage Orchestration
Life-Annihilating Aurora Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2 Type: Simple
Type: Supplemental Keywords: Decisive-only
Keywords: Dual Duration: Instant
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Hunger Breeds Haste
Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Flaying Strike
The Hearteater and her pawns descend like impatient
A baleful aurora wreathes the Hearteater’s weapon, vultures upon a corpse-to-be, ripping and tearing away
an unhale light that calcifies flesh into pearlescent scar meat in a frenzy of violence.
tissue.
The Hearteater makes (Essence + Pawns within close
The Hearteater doubles 9s on a withering damage range, maximum 5) decisive attacks against one or
roll. On a decisive attack, she doubles 10s and adds more enemies. She doesn’t need to use the same Ability
(Charisma or Strength) dice of damage. for all attacks. Her Initiative is divided evenly among

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all attacks, rounded up, and doesn’t reset until the With Essence 2, the Hearteater can petrify herself
final attack is completed, assuming at least one hits. If while sleeping or meditating.
the Hearteater benefits from an ally’s distract gambit,
its bonus is doubled before dividing it among these Piece-Preserving Defense
attacks. Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Defense Keywords: Psyche
Duration: Instant
Opalescent Body Aegis Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
The Hearteater and her pawns move through battle in
Type: Reflexive
an intricate dance, covering each other’s weaknesses.
Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant or Indefinite. The Hearteater reflexively takes a defend other action
Prerequisite Charms: None or compels a pawn within range to reflexively do so for
her.
The Hearteater’s flesh and bone turn to opal, beautiful
and perdurant. Scintillating Veil Illusion
The Hearteater adds (Appearance or Stamina) armored Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
soak or gains (Appearance or Stamina) Hardness. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Uniform
While directly controlling a pawn, the Hearteater Duration: Instant
may commit this Charm’s cost to petrify herself into a Prerequisite Charms: None
statue of living opal. She adds (Appearance + Stamina)
soak and gains Hardness (10 + Essence). This isn’t Many-colored afterimages trail the Hearteater’s move-
compatible with Wandering Heart Embodiment. ments, distracting and taunting her attackers.

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DEFENSIVE CHARM CONCEPTS

Many-Eyed Vigilance (Essence 1; Grace in Terror): Negate an unexpected attack’s penalty or defend against
an ambush with reduced Defense. This Charm is more effective if a pawn is aware of the attacker.

Position-Strengthening Defense (Essence 1; Piece-Preserving Defense, Willing Sacrifice Approach): Ex-

tend a defend other action to one scene, or do so for a pawn protecting the Hearteater.

Crystalline Fortress-Body (Essence 2; Opalescent Body Aegis): Withering damage rolls against the Heart-
eater are penalized for the rest of the scene, and she gains resilience against poison and disease.

Living Jewel Embodiment (Essence 2; Prerequisite Charms: Crystalline Fortress-Body): The Hearteater’s
body turns to living opal, conferring the benefits of heavy artifact armor.

Pawns Cast Aside (Essence 3; Position-Strengthening Defense): When the Hearteater’s pawn protects her
with a defend other action, she can force her attacker to direct his attack against the pawn. Once per scene.

Stolen Affection Defense (Essence 3; Grace in Terror): The Hearteater briefly appears to be the individual
her attacker has the strongest positive Tie for, forcing him to enter a Decision Point against that Intimacy or
miss. Even if he spends Willpower in the Decision Point, his attack is penalized.

1s subtract successes on an attack roll against the After a withering attack roll against a pawn but before the
Hearteater. On a miss, the enemy loses one Initiative. damage roll, the Hearteater can use this Charm to halve the
Attackers who don’t rely on sight are immune — though amount of Initiative the attacker receives, rounded down.
they suffer the −3 blindness penalty.
Social
At bonfire anima, 2s also subtract successes.
Audience-Capturing Performance
Grace in Terror
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 1
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Psyche
Keywords: Uniform
Duration: One scene
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Prerequisite Charms: Scintillating Veil Illusion
The Hearteater compels her audience’s attention, en-
The Hearteater’s defense is elegance itself, a poem writ-
thralling and enticing them with monstrous allure.
ten in motion.
The Hearteater rolls ([Appearance or Charisma] +
The Hearteater halves all penalties to her Defense,
[Performance or Presence]) as a unique influence roll
rounded down. If she benefits from a defend other
against those can perceive her. Affected characters
action or if the attack roll is penalized by Scintillating
fall into a receptive, trance-like state that leaves them
Veil Illusion, she negates all Defense penalties instead.
unable to ignore the Hearteater’s words or leave her
This doesn’t affect penalties from surprise attacks.
performances. This doesn’t prevent them from taking
Willing Sacrifice Approach other actions, so long as their attention remains on her.
They can resist for one Willpower, or if their trance
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
places them in imminent danger.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Withering-only A character must spend a second Willpower to inter-
Duration: Instant rupt or attack the Hearteater while she’s speaking or
Prerequisite Charms: None performing. Such characters suffer a −2 penalty on
physical actions and −1 Defense against her for the
There is no advantage to be had in picking off the Hearteater’s
scene, still mesmerized by her power.
mindless retinue; they are inessential to her strategy.

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This Charm can’t be used in combat, although its effect excess points of penalty negation are converted to
continues if combat begins. a non-Charm Resolve bonus, maximum (higher of
Essence or 3).
Single-Minded Chorus
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1 When the Hearteater uses this Charm against a pawn’s
Type: Supplemental influence roll, he must pay one Willpower to make
Keywords: None it. If he doesn’t, he’s left at a loss for words, and can’t
Duration: Instant reattempt that specific influence roll until he resets it
Prerequisite Charms: Audience-Capturing (Exalted, p. 222).
Performance
Exquisite Terror Allure
The Hearteater calls her pawns to perform at her side or Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
plants them in her audience as shills. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
The Hearteater ignores multiple target penalties on Duration: Instant
an influence roll. If at least one pawn is backing her or Prerequisite Charms: None
within the targeted audience, she doubles 9s.
The Hearteater’s bearing is at once enticing and threat-
With an Essence 2 repurchase, the Hearteater may pay ening, a paradoxical allure that overwhelms the mind.
a four-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to double 8s if
at least five pawns are present. The Hearteater converts bonus dice from Appearance
(Exalted, p. 218) to non-Charm successes. She
Irresistible Gossip Epidemic gains them on threaten rolls even if she doesn’t have
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1 Hideous, and on bargain rolls, inspire rolls, and rolls to
Type: Supplemental claim pawns.
Keywords: Psyche
Duration: Indefinite Willing Lackey Dominance
Prerequisite Charms: Single-Minded Chorus Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
The Hearteater puts her words in the mouths of others, Keywords: None
writing the script for the bit players of her life. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Exquisite Terror Allure
A successful instill or inspire roll also compels af-
fected character to continue spreading that influence The Hearteater’s eerie charm makes obsequious ser-
through influence rolls, gossip, jokes, art, and the like. vants even of those who aren’t her pawns.
This compulsion lasts (1 + Hearteater’s extra success-
es) days. It can be resisted for one Willpower, but this The Hearteater rerolls 1s until they cease to appear on
must be done separately from resisting the influence a persuade, bargain, or threaten roll. If she succeeds,
roll. her target also gains a Minor Principle reflecting his
enthusiasm or motivation to perform the task she de-
Empty Heart Defiance mands, chosen by his player.
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Beautiful Monster Transformation
Keywords: None Cost: 7m; Mins: Essence 1
Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: None Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
The Hearteater is unmoved by the worst tortures and Prerequisite Charms: Exquisite Terror Allure
the sweetest seductions, her will a flawless diamond with
the howling emptiness of her hunger at its heart. The Hearteater’s body warps and transforms, growing
crystalline talons, an opalescent carapace, or other fea-
The Hearteater negates up to (Appearance, Stamina, or tures both monstrous and enthralling.
Wits) points of penalties to her Resolve. She can’t ne-
gate penalties from Intimacies. Against influence that The Hearteater gains a bonus dot of Appearance,
would instill positive Ties or inspire positive emotions, which can raise her over Appearance 5, and (higher of

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SOCIAL CHARM CONCEPTS

Passion-Devouring Feast (Essence 2; Heart-Hollowing Repast): Purge someone’s strong emotions, leaving
him stoically calm and detached. Negating sufficiently strong emotions awards the Hearteater with Willpower.

Obeisant Retinue Encouragement (Essence 2; Empty Heart Defiance): The Hearteater can spend a pawn’s
Willpower to resist influence. Once per day.

Purpose in Conformity (Essence 2; Empty Heart Defiance): The Hearteater and her pawns receive a Resolve
bonus, which increases against influence that would instill positive Ties or inspire positive emotions.

Soul-Devouring Artistry (Essence 2; Irresistible Gossip Epidemic): The Hearteater’s performance is addic-
tive. Addiction counts as a Minor Tie of awe toward her.

The Art of Obsession (Essence 3; Soul-Devouring Artistry): The Hearteater can use Soul-Devouring Artistry
through writing and crafting.

Borrowed Heart Feint (Essence 3; Obeisant Retinue Encouragement): The Hearteater can invoke her pawns’
Intimacies in Decision Points, gaining it herself at Minor intensity.

Devouring Broken Minds (Essence 3; Passion-Devouring Feast): The Hearteater is awarded Willpower for
completely eroding a character’s Major or Defining Intimacies and can shed Limit if doing so upholds one of
her own Major or Defining Intimacies.

Passion-Plague Approach (Essence 3; Soul-Devouring Artistry): Unleash a contagious Psyche effect that
spreads a specific emotion throughout a community.

What’s Mine Is Yours (Essence 3; Obeisant Retinue Encouragement): Negate a Psyche effect afflicting the
Hearteater by diffusing it amongst her pawns, imposing a lessened form of that effect on them.

Rearrange the Board (Essence 3; Prerequisite Charms: Borrowed Heart Feint, What’s Mine Is Yours): Inter-
lacing her mind with a pawn’s, the Hearteater redirects an influence roll against her to him. Once per story.

Essence or 3) dots of mutations. These mutations are The Hearteater adds ([Appearance or Manipulation] /
chosen by the Hearteater’s player upon purchasing 2, rounded up) Guile.
this Charm and are the same with each use. She can’t
choose Hideous, and loses it if she has it. This Charm can be used while the Hearteater is direct-
ly controlling a pawn. If she uses it against an effect
The Hearteater can replace previously selected mu- that would reveal discrepancies in her impersonation
tations with new ones when the Hearteater’s Essence of the pawn, the Guile bonus is non-Charm.
increases.
Heart-Hollowing Repast
False Heart Affectation Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Type: Supplemental
Type: Reflexive Keywords: None
Keywords: Mute Duration: Instant
Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: None
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Hearteater’s will is inimical to individuality.
The Hearteater conceals her monstrosity behind pleas-
ant smiles and empty words. The Hearteater adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-
Charm dice on an instill roll to weaken an Intimacy.
Against pawns, she waives the supporting Intimacy re-
quirement to weaken Major and Defining Intimacies.

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Many-Faced Infiltration When the Hearteater succeeds on a roll opposing a

Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1 character’s Guile, her player may activate this Charm
Type: Permanent to speculate as to one of that character’s Ties of love,
Keywords: None lust, obsession, or similar intense positive feelings. If
Duration: Permanent she’s correct, the Hearteater intuitively discerns this
Prerequisite Charms: None Tie.

The Hearteater always has someone on the inside. Wicked Heartbreak Epiphany
Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
When the Hearteater interacts with an organization Type: Reflexive
of which any of her pawns are members, she gains the Keywords: None
following benefits: Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Yearning Heart Intuition
• Bureaucracy rolls related to that organization
double 9s. Friends, family, lovers, enemies — these are liabilities the
Hearteater’s foe can ill afford, each an opportunity to
• Larceny and Stealth rolls to steal from the orga- play architect of tragedies.
nization or infiltrate its premises double 9s.
Upon discovering one of a character’s Major or
• Strategic Maneuver rolls opposing an army to Defining Ties, the Hearteater rolls (Manipulation +
which a pawn belongs convert bonus dice for [Awareness, Investigation, Socialize, or Survival]),
spies (Exalted, p. 212) to non-Charm successes. banking non-Charm dice equal to her successes. If
the object of her victim’s Tie is one of her pawns,
• She adds +1 Guile against rolls that would reveal she banks an additional (Essence) dice. She may add
she doesn’t belong to that organization. up to (higher of Essence or 3) banked dice on the
following:
Taste of the Heart
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 • Instill rolls to weaken positive Ties to the object
Type: Supplemental of the victim’s Intimacy or to create or strength-
Keywords: Mute en negative Intimacies toward her.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None • Persuade rolls that leverage Intimacies to the
object of the victim’s Tie.
The Hearteater has keen insights into the emotional
lives of others, tracing the elaborate web of needs and • Influence rolls against the Tie’s object.
desires that shape mortals’ lives.
• Read intentions rolls against the Hearteater’s
The Hearteater adds (Perception) bonus dice on a read victim or the Tie’s object.
intentions or profile character roll. If she is capable of
claiming her target as a pawn, she doubles 9s. • Awareness, Investigation, or Survival rolls to
find, observe, or track the Tie’s object.
Against characters that are already her pawns, she
succeeds automatically unless opposed by magic and • Rolls to gain access to the Tie’s object — either
doubles 7s. literally, like picking locked doors or smashing
through barricades, or figuratively, through so-
Yearning Heart Intuition cial or bureaucratic dealings.
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive • Rolls for Psyche and Shaping effects against the
Keywords: None Tie’s object.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Taste of the Heart This Charm can only be used once per session.

The Hearteater understands those who hunger for Bureau-Consuming Monstrosity

connection and approval from others, sensing their un- Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
spoken needs. Type: Simple

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SOCIAL CHARM CONCEPTS

Feverish Passion Understanding (Essence 1; Taste of the Heart): Emotion-based Intimacies penalize Guile
against the Hearteater’s read intentions rolls. Successfully discovering one grants a bonus on an influence
roll that leverages it in the same scene.

Mirror Passion Masquerade (Essence 1; False Heart Affectation, Taste of the Heart): Upon discovering an In-
timacy with a read intentions action, the Hearteater may take it for herself at Minor intensity. Doing so grants
a bonus on her influence rolls against the character she copied it from for the scene.

Ecstatic Motivation Technique (Essence 2; Willing Lackey Dominance): Successful persuade rolls suffuse tar-
gets with unnatural vitality, letting them go without food, water, and rest while following the Hearteater’s
orders. Overturning the influence is harder than usual.

Masks Behind Masks (Essence 2; Mirror Passion Masquerade): When a character fails a read intentions roll
against the Hearteater, she causes him to believe he succeeded, revealing the intentions or Intimacies of one
of her pawns in place of her own.

Smiling Courtier Bliss (Essence 2; False Heart Affectation): The Hearteater gains an indefinite-duration bonus
to Guile, which increases while accompanied by pawns.

Hunger Stares Back (Essence 3; Masks Behind Masks): When a character fails a roll opposing the Heart-
eater’s Guile, she assails his mind by making him experience her hunger.

Shattered Soul Perfume (Essence 3; Mirror Passion Masquerade, Smiling Courtier Bliss): Upon killing a char-
acter or claiming him as a pawn, the Hearteater may shroud herself in the psychic impression of his Intima-
cies, appearing to possess them while concealing her own.

Keywords: Mute, Stackable Reset: This Charm can only be used on a given organi-
Duration: One project zation once per story.
Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Hollowing Repast
Someone Else’s Life
Setting herself against an organization, the Hearteater Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
gnaws at its members’ collective will. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Psyche
The Hearteater sabotages a project or similar task Duration: Instant
undertaken by an organization, rolling ([Charisma, Prerequisite Charms: Single-Minded Chorus
Intelligence, or Manipulation + [Bureaucracy, Larceny,
or Socialize]) opposing the highest appropriate The Hearteater steps seamlessly into her pawns’ lives,
(Attribute + Ability) roll of any involved group mem- inhabiting the emotions that others feel toward them.
ber. Success multiplies the time necessary to complete
the project by (higher of Hearteater’s Essence or 3, When the Hearteater makes an influence roll, any pos-
maximum 5). itive Ties that targets have towards her pawns count as
supporting it. If a pawn someone has a Tie toward is
The Hearteater’s sabotage benefits from infiltrating present to vouch for the Hearteater, the cost to resist
the targeted organization with pawns. Each pawn who increases by one Willpower.
is an organization member adds a non-Charm die on
the roll, maximum (Essence), and each pawn increases Under-the-Skin Revelation
the time multiplier by one, maximum 10. Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
The Hearteater can stack up to (Essence) uses of this Keywords: None
Charm to sabotage multiple projects. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Exquisite Terror Allure,
Identity-Devouring Maw

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For one awful moment, the Hearteater lets her mask The Hearteater floats in midair, a few inches off the
slip, pulling back her pawn’s face to reveal her presence ground or another solid surface. She must still walk on
lurking within. the ground to move, but resumes levitating once her
movement is complete, allowing her to end her move-
While directly controlling a pawn, the Hearteater ment floating over surfaces that couldn’t normally bear
superimposes her appearance over his in a terrifying her weight, remain safe from certain environmental
display. She makes an (Appearance + Presence) threat- hazards, etc. She can’t be knocked prone while floating.
en roll against everyone who can perceive her, ignoring
multiple target penalties. Characters with positive Ties Broken Fetter Leap
towards the controlled pawn treat those Intimacies as Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
supporting this influence. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Characters with a positive Tie toward the pawn and Duration: Instant
a negative Tie toward the Hearteater are especially Prerequisite Charms: Elegant Languor Ascent
vulnerable to this Charm’s awful revelation. They must
pay an additional Willpower to resist, or an additional The Hearteater leaps as if unbound by gravity, moving in
two Willpower if both Ties are Major. A character ways she should not move to pursue her prey.
with both Intimacies at Defining intensity can’t spend
Willpower to resist. The Hearteater adds (Strength) dice on a roll to rush
or disengage by jumping. If she rushes a character
Reset: Once per scene. she’s capable of claiming as a pawn, she doubles 9s.

Nemesis Recruitment Practice If Elegant Languor Ascent is active, the Hearteater can
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3 leap up to one range band vertically or horizontally
Type: Simple without needing to roll.
Keywords: Psyche
Duration: Instant Slumbering Maiden Tranquility
Prerequisite Charms: Audience-Capturing Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Performance Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Hatred is still attention, and the Hearteater has learned Duration: Permanent
to make do with such scraps. Prerequisite Charms: Elegant Languor Ascent

The Hearteater makes a special ([Charisma or Wearied by her exertions, the Hearteater takes refuge in
Manipulation] + [Performance or Presence]) instill roll, leisure.
doubling 9s, against a character with a negative Tie
toward her. If successful, his Tie’s emotional context While using Elegant Languor Ascent, reflexively
changes to obsession unless he pays one Willpower to moving after a successful rush or disengage grants one
resist. Using this Charm against a Major Intimacy re- Initiative.
quires leveraging one of the target’s Major or Defining
Intimacies, while Defining Intimacies require leverag- With an Essence 2 repurchase, the enemy who pro-
ing a Defining Intimacy. voked the Hearteater’s movement loses one Initiative.

Palanquin of Invisible Air

Mobility
Cost: —(2m); Mins: Essence 2
Elegant Languor Ascent Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Duration: Permanent
Type: Reflexive
Prerequisite Charms: Slumbering Maiden
Keywords: None
Tranquility
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None The Hearteater drifts through the air without any sign
of effort.
The Hearteater is drawn ever-so-slightly skyward, borne
up like an aurora in the night sky.

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MOBILITY CHARM CONCEPTS

Castling the King (Essence 1): The Hearteater doubles 9s to disengage. If she moves into close range with
an enemy she could claim as a pawn, she waives the Initiative cost of disengaging.

Seafoam Cradle Respite (Essence 1; Slumbering Maiden Tranquility): The Hearteater can use Elegant Lan-
guor Ascent to float over water and other liquid or unstable surfaces.

Aurora Chariot Meditation (Essence 3; Palanquin of Invisible Air, Seafoam Cradle Respite): The Hearteater
can fly while using Elegant Languor Ascent. She can maintain a fixed course and speed while sleeping.

While using Elegant Languor Ascent, the Hearteater Duration: Instant

can pay two motes to float one range band horizontally Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Feasting Fervor
when she takes a movement action, gliding without
ever touching the ground. Feeding upon a wounded divinity as it wanes and flickers
out, the Hearteater savors the moment of its ultimate
Mysticism destruction.

The Hearteater’s decisive attack deals aggravated

Ethereal Predator Concentration
damage to spirits, and permanently destroys spirits in-
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 capacitated by such attacks. Destroying a spirit grants
Type: Reflexive (higher of its Essence or 3) motes.
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene Wyld Tomb Rebirth
Prerequisite Charms: None Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
The Hearteater’s hunger sharpens her senses beyond the
Keywords: None
material world.
Duration: One day
The Hearteater can perceive (but not touch) demate- Prerequisite Charms: None
rialized beings. Against possessed characters, she adds
Even after being sealed away in the Wyld’s depths, the
(Occult) dice on read intentions and profile character
Hearteaters still resist its corruption.
rolls.
The Hearteater and all pawns within short range are
Spirit-Feasting Fervor
immune to exposure to the Wyld and other environ-
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1 mental Shaping effects.
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Uniform This Charm can be used while the Hearteater is direct-
Duration: Instant ly controlling a pawn, sheltering that pawn alone from
Prerequisite Charms: Ethereal Predator the Wyld.
Concentration
Goblin King’s Court
The Hearteater preys on demons and gods, slaking her Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3
thirst with immortal blood. Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
The Hearteater can attack a dematerialized enemy,
Duration: Permanent
though she suffers a −3 penalty if she can’t perceive
Prerequisite Charms: Broken Paragon Binding,
her target.
Wyld Tomb Rebirth
God-Eater Supremacy
The Hearteater preys upon courts of chaos, flensing
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1 away the countless layers of lies which attire the Fair
Type: Supplemental Folk and replacing them with the truth of herself.
Keywords: Aggravated, Decisive-only

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MYSTICISM CHARM CONCEPTS

Soul-Spending Ruthlessness (Essence 1; Stolen Genius Inspiration, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery): Drain a
pawn’s vitality to gain sorcerous motes.

Drawing AuroraÕs Veil (Essence 2; Spirit-Feasting Fervor): Create wards of aurora-light that calcify spirits
into opal.

Devil-Pawn Binding (Essence 3; Broken Paragon Binding, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery): Treat summoned de-
mons, elementals, and other beings as pawns.

Endgame Apotheosis Endowment (Essence 5; Miracle-Devouring Maw): Empower pawns who have their
own mote pools with Eclipse Charms claimed through Miracle-Devouring Maw.

The Hearteater may claim Fair Folk or other fae as Miracle-Devouring Maw
pawns. Their Essence can’t exceed the Hearteater’s. Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 3
Fae count as (their Essence) pawns towards the Type: Reflexive
Hearteater’s maximum. Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Indefinite
Heaven-Drinking Appetite Prerequisite Charms: Captive Hearts Mausoleum
Cost: —(5m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 3 (x2) or Goblin King’s Court or Heaven-Drinking
Type: Permanent Appetite
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent The Hearteater internalizes her supernatural pawns’
Prerequisite Charms: God-Eater Supremacy power and divinity.

The Hearteater subsumes conquered gods into her The Hearteater temporarily gains access to an Eclipse
expansive existence, binding pantheons to sing her Charm (Exalted, p. 514) possessed by one of her
hosannas. pawns. She must meet its Essence minimum. She can
stack this Charm up to (Essence) times to access that
When the Hearteater could permanently destroy a many Eclipse Charms.
spirit with God-Eater Supremacy, she may pay five
motes, one Willpower to claim it as a pawn instead. The Hearteater may permanently learn these Eclipse
These pawns need not have an Intimacy to the Charms for eight experience points each. She no longer
Hearteater, but can’t have an Essence higher than the needs to commit motes to use such Charms, and they
Hearteater’s. They count as (their Essence) pawns don’t count toward the maximum of (Essence). She
towards the Hearteater’s maximum. waives the experience point cost of the first Eclipse
Charm purchased this way.
If the Hearteater has Captive Hearts Mausoleum’s
second purchase, she waives this Charm’s cost against
ghosts.

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foresaw what would come of Nebiru’s treachery and

The Umbral Exalted convinced her fellow Incarnae to turn against him.
Nebiru was rent limb from limb and, still living, in-
A fisherwoman watches the night sky on the beach,
terred within his own planet, which still hangs invis-
nursing bitterness over her meager lot in life. An artist
ible against the night sky. Thus did the Lord of Things
stalks his rival along shadowed alleyways, bearing a
Unseen become the First Forbidden God.
long knife that will free him from being second best. A
prince sees conspiracies behind every corner, terrified Millennia passed as Nebiru raged against his prison,
by the poisoners and assassins she imagines in her cursing the names of his siblings. While the First Age
court. Such inner turmoil, together with the potential flourished across Creation, the Subtle One struggled
for heroism, is the soil in which Umbral Exaltation endlessly against the bars of his gaol, yet he lacked the
takes root, a black rose that blooms from the heart’s power to break what the other Incarnae had wrought.
darkness. Finally, in an act of utter desperation, he did that which
he had sworn never to do: he created Exalted. He
Every Umbral is haunted by her Shadow, a twisted re-
poured himself heedlessly into the act that had dimin-
flection born from her darkest thoughts, worst impuls-
ished his kin, never stopping even as it burned him to
es, and the lingering echoes of the dead god who chose
nothingness. Thus did the Umbral Exalted come into
her. It whispers to her, urging her to listen, to heed its
Creation, and thus did Nebiru finally find his freedom
counsel, to give in. In exchange, it offers power. The
in death.
Umbral Exalted are mighty, controlling darkness and
shadow by will alone and drawing forth the monstrous Yet while the Lord of Things Unseen had been de-
passions of others, but to attain the apex of their power stroyed, something of him remained. The Umbral
they must surrender control to their Shadow, inch by Exalted are the Chosen of Nebiru, and the will that
inch, until they can no longer defy it. chooses them still endures. An Umbral’s Shadow is
born of the darkest aspects of their psyche, but at its
The Umbrals’ path is a difficult one; each bears their
heart is a splinter of his Essence, a night bird perched
burden differently. Some seek to chain their Shadow,
in a nest of doubt, fear, and hatred. In time, Nebiru’s
following rigid codes of morality or cultivating disci-
Chosen may yet be his rebirth.
pline through asceticism and austerities. Others let
their Shadow slake its wrath against those they deem
wicked, channeling their dark passions towards ends Umbrals and Other Exalted
they can justify. Still others give their Shadow all that
it asks, willing to make any sacrifice or commit any sin The Umbrals have always been few in number and
if it will bring them power. Some have tried to make have never united in any large-scale coalition, making
peace with their Shadow, forging a symbiotic relation- their interactions with other Exalted more dependent
ship by understanding and accepting it, though few, if on the personalities and reputations of those involved
any, have succeeded in this. rather than the standing of the Umbrals as a whole in
the eyes of the great Exalted factions. They were ob-
scure even in the First Age, little encountered and less
Nebiru, the Lord of Things Unseen understood by their fellow Chosen. Some of the Old
Realm’s savants studied them and understood that they
In Creation’s first, myth-dimmed days, the dour and
were fellow Exalted; a few even drew the connection
cryptic Nebiru was counted among the Celestial
between the Umbrals and the ancient tales of Nebiru
Incarnae, the god of the vast yet invisible planet that
the Traitor. But with the Umbrals’ small numbers,
bears his name. He was called the Lord of Things
few other Exalted of the First Age took interest in this
Unseen, the Subtle One, He Who You Know Not.
scholarship, even those who counted Umbrals among
Together with his sibling Incarnae, he oversaw the
their allies or enemies.
order of Creation, lending them his cunning, his grim
resolution, and his insight into the darker nature of In the Second Age, the Umbrals are even more obscure.
gods and mortals alike. The Realm, Lookshy, and other Dragon-Blooded poli-
ties, like the Shogunate before them, have essentially
When the gods rose up against their makers, Nebiru
no knowledge of the Umbrals save for that gleaned
refused. He feared the wrath of the world’s creators
by Dragon-Blooded who’ve encountered them, and
— and even more so, he feared the diminishment he
perhaps any wisdom to be found in lost First Age texts
saw in his kin after they created their Exalted. Jupiter
that their savants might uncover. Immaculate doctrine

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does not label them Anathema, though an individual’s vice — rather than controlling her outright. Only at her
deeds may earn them that title. most desperate and self-destructive can the Shadow
fully usurp her will. An Umbral’s Penumbra trait
The Bureau of Destiny notionally has access to knowl- represents the extent to which she is in her Shadow’s
edge of the Umbral Exalted — Lytek, God of Exaltation, sway.
chronicles them as diligently as he does any other
Exalt, and there are ancient records that have been A Shadow’s driving motivation in influencing the
buried beneath paperwork for centuries — but the Umbral expresses some particular negative facet of
vast majority of Sidereals have never had any need to her psyche. In roleplaying the Shadow, the Storyteller
plumb these secrets. Likewise, while a few in the Silver should consider this its Defining Intimacy — but with
Pact have knowledge of the Umbrals, either from their the “I” in its phrasing encompassing both the Umbral
own lifetime or past life memories, encounters are rare and her Shadow as a single entity. Some examples
enough that most Lunars may not ever realize their include:
fellow Pact members have insights to offer.
• “I deserve everything I want.” A Shadow with
Traits this agenda is a voice of temptation, inviting the
Umbral to indulge her desires without restraint
Umbrals are intended for Celestial play (p. XX). or temperance.

The Shadow and Penumbra • “I must claim vengeance on those who wrong
me.” A Shadow with this agenda can be a mon-
The Umbral’s Shadow lurks in her mind like a possess-
strous beast of rage, urging the Umbral to act
ing demon, but it cannot trivially gainsay her will. Most
on her anger, or a dark guardian that believes it
of the time, it can only try to influence her — whis-
must protect the Umbral by doing what she is
pering sweet temptations, spitting hateful diatribes
unwilling to.
against her, pointing out opportunities to indulge in

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• “I deserve to be judged and punished.” A Shadow • When the object of one of her Major or Defining
with this agenda can be a cruel tormentor, echo- Ties comes to harm or rejects her, or she is
ing an Umbral’s self-loathing back at her a thou- thwarted in attempting to uphold a Major or
sandfold, or a dark conscience for an Umbral Defining Principle, she rolls one die for a Major
unchained by law or morality. Intimacy or two dice for a Defining Intimacy.
She can’t gain more than 2 Penumbra in a scene
• “I am not safe.” A Shadow with this agenda embod- this way.
ies the Umbral’s fears, anxieties, and doubts, cease-
lessly whispering of dangers both real and imagined. Some Charms give Umbrals points of Penumbra as
part of their cost. At Penumbra 10, further Penumbra
The influence the Shadow exerts over the Umbral costs are waived.
depends on her current Penumbra rating, as follows:
An Umbral loses Penumbra under the following
Penumbra Effect circumstances:
0-2 The Umbral’s will is sufficient to • When she upholds a Defining Intimacy
hold her Shadow at bay. (Exalted, p. 169), she may choose to lose one
3-5 The Umbral is treated as having her Shad- Penumbra instead of gaining Willpower.
ow’s Defining Intimacy at Minor intensity.
• When she accomplishes a legendary social
6-8 The Umbral is treated as having her
goal (Exalted, p. 134), she rolls (Willpower/2,
Shadow’s Defining Intimacy at Major
rounded up) dice, losing Penumbra equal to her
intensity. She can’t act against it unless
she pays one Willpower to suppress successes.
her Shadow’s influence for a scene.
• When the Shadow’s influence or control over
9-10 The Umbral is completely in her Shad- the Umbral causes her to harm someone or
ow’s sway. Her player is no longer something she has a Tie toward or to violate a
playing her, but the Shadow con- Principle, she rolls (Intimacy + 1) dice, losing
trolling her. All her Intimacies are Penumbra equal to her successes.
suppressed, while the Shadow’s is
imposed upon her at Defining inten- Creatures of Darkness
sity, and she cannot act against it.
The Umbrals are suffused with the Essence of Nebiru,
a god of darkness and ancient enemy of Creation. Their
The Shadow’s Defining Intimacy cannot be weakened
Exaltation marks them as creatures of darkness, ren-
or changed by any means; it is the core of the Shadow’s
dering them vulnerable to certain magics. This status
existence.
is not immutable; an Umbral who proves herself an ally
Born from those aspects of the Umbral’s mind that are of Creation or who struggles to be free of her Shadow
most antithetical to her, the Shadow is almost inevi- and the echoed voice of Nebiru that speaks through it
tably antagonistic towards the Umbral. However, the might eventually cease to be a creature of darkness.
Shadow is still a part of the Umbral, and its will for Storytellers should treat this as a narrative issue rather
her to survive may be even stronger than her own. No than a mechanical one. Being freed of this distinction
matter how great the Shadow’s control, it will never should come at the resolution of a longer narrative or
drive the Umbral to her death. at a dramatic moment in such a narrative.

An Umbral rolls dice, gaining Penumbra equal to her Anima

successes under the following circumstances: An Umbral’s anima banner is a shade of black or gray,
the edges sometimes limned with colors running from
• When she suffers a significant defeat, trauma, or indigo to violet to white. An Umbral’s iconic anima is
failure — being decisively outwitted by a politi- typically a manifestation of her Shadow or a symbolic
cal rival, having a limb cut off, losing a battle that representation of it: a hulking figure formed from
results in massive death, being imprisoned for darkness, countless shadowy chains, a nocturnal ani-
an extended period in a raksha’s dungeon — she mal, etc.
rolls 1-3 dice, based on the Storyteller’s assess-
ment of the trauma’s severity. Umbrals can spend one mote to perform one of the
following effects:

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THE SHADOW AND AGENCY

It’s important to understand that while Umbral characters struggle with control over their Shadows, players of
Umbrals remain in control at all times. The Umbrals are intended to enable characters who struggle with an
inner darkness, fear of failure, self-doubt, and other negative emotions, and feel a constant temptation to give
in. Unlike Lunars, who revel in the freedom of being both human and monstrous and changing between them
at will, Umbrals are always faced with questions of control. This experience is a bit unlike the other Exalted
who do not always struggle with their nature in the same way, but that can be part of the rewarding experience
of playing an Umbral. Remember that while characters may be uncomfortable, their players should not be.
Storytellers for Umbral players are encouraged to check in often and ensure that players remain comfortable.

• Discern the location of Nebiru’s planet and the by magical darkness, like Impenetrable Veil of Night
precise time of day. (Exalted, p. 477).

• Minor manipulations of darkness and shadow: Shroud of Darkness: The Umbral can spend five
veiling herself in shade on a hot day, making her motes as a miscellaneous action to create a sphere of
shadow move independently of her, etc. These magical darkness that extends out to short range until
never carry mechanical effects but provide mi- the scene ends, blinding those within unless they have
nor utility and can be incorporated into stunts. light sources to mitigate this penalty. The Umbral’s
anima banner doesn’t shine through this darkness. At
They also have access to the following anima powers. bonfire, this power is free.

Child of Night: The Umbral can see in darkness un- Voice of Corruption: Once per day, the Umbral can
impeded and is immune to penalties or perils imposed spend one Willpower and incur a point of Penumbra

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to roll (Essence + Penumbra), gaining either motes or static value for which they have an applicable Ability at
Initiative equal to her successes. 3+ or an Attribute at 5, paying one mote per die. They
may add up to (Attribute + Penumbra, maximum 10)
Martial Arts dice to rolls. Automatic successes count as two dice to-
Umbrals aren’t restricted by the Terrestrial keyword, wards this limit. Static values such as Evasion or Resolve
but neither do they have any access to the Mastery can be raised by half this dice cap, rounded down.
keyword. They can’t learn Sidereal Martial Arts.
Penumbra
Sorcery
Umbrals can initiate into Terrestrial and Celestial Inner Darkness Unleashed
Circle sorcery, and into Ivory Circle necromancy. Cost: 5m, 1wp, 1 Penumbra; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Simple
Evocations
Keywords: None
The Umbrals are resonant with soulsteel, their inner Duration: One scene
turmoil attuning them to the anguish of tormented Prerequisite Charms: None
souls. They are neutral with all other magical materi-
als (Arms of the Chosen, p. 16). They’re also resonant The Umbral’s Shadow slides across her skin, wrapping
with certain rare materials associated with Nebiru or her in darkness as she becomes a walking nightmare
imbued with his Essence, such as celestial stone carved born of terror and malice.
from his invisible planet-tomb or the crystallized tear
shed by the Venus when the Incarnane sealed Nebiru The Umbral gains the following benefits:
away.
• She adds (Penumbra/2, rounded up) to her ef-
Longevity and Death fective Strength for calculating withering dam-
Umbral lifespans vary much more widely than those of age and determining what feats of strength she
other Exalted, depending on the extent to which she can attempt.
has controlled her Shadow. Some have succumbed to
old age before reaching their second century; others • She adds +(Penumbra/2, rounded up) soak.
have lived five hundred years before dying by misad-
venture. The more time an Umbral spends with high • She adds (Penumbra/2, rounded up) non-Charm
Penumbra and the more often she gains Penumbra, the dice on threaten rolls and fear-based inspire
longer her life, meaning that those who indulge their rolls.
Shadow the most will live the longest. Their maximum
lifespan remains unknown. • Her positive Ties and Principles based on hope
or optimism are treated as one step weaker, or
Upon an Umbral’s death, her Exaltation seeks out a are suppressed entirely if they’re Minor.
new inheritor, like the Solar Exalted. Nebiru’s will
selects heroes whose doubts, fears, trauma, rage, or Shadow-Caging Concentration
suffering can sustain a Shadow. Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Umbral Charms Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
Umbrals draw power from their Shadow, both by
giving in to its temptations and by understanding its Long struggle against her Shadow has refined the
nature. They create and control darkness and shadow, Umbral’s resolve, tipping the balance of her inner
and exploit the inner darkness of others. Their Charms conflict.
draw on negative Ties — their own, their Shadow’s,
and those of others. The Umbral may spend one Willpower to shed one
Penumbra when she accomplishes one of the following:
Excellencies
• She upholds one of her Shadow’s Intimacies.
Umbrals don’t have formalized Excellencies; they can
• She suffers meaningful harm in the course of
add dice to any (Attribute + Ability) roll or increase any
protecting someone weaker than her.

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PENUMBRA CHARM CONCEPTS

Shade-Ridden Fury (Essence 1; Inner Darkness Unleashed): Enter a berserker frenzy upon using Inner
Darkness Unleashed, gaining increasing benefits with higher Penumbra.

Wandering Shadow Exploits (Essence 3; Surrender to Darkness): While the Umbral meditates, her Shadow
leaves her body as a dematerialized presence, its mind and senses linked to her.

Witching Hour’s Approach (Essence 3; Soul-Darkening Power): Incur Penumbra to gain motes.

Limitless Hatred Empowerment (Essence 3; Witching Hour’s Approach): Incur Penumbra to gain Willpower.

Deepening Darkness Meditation (Essence 3; Limitless Hatred Empowerment): Incur Penumbra to tempo-
rarily learn an Umbral Charm.

• She defeats or humiliates a character for whom but the Umbral’s player can voluntarily strengthen or
she or her Shadow has a negative Major or weaken them.
Defining Tie.
The Umbral can draw upon her Shadow’s perspective,
• She forms a positive Tie to a stranger after shar- gaining one Penumbra to use one of its Intimacies as
ing a meal with him, receiving his hospitality, though it were her own for any purpose (increasing
or a similar social interaction that reaffirms her Resolve, Decision Points, certain Charms, etc.). She
connection to humanity. gains that Intimacy herself at Minor intensity.

With Essence 2, the Umbral may waive this Charm’s Soul-Darkening Power
Willpower cost once per day. This resets when she Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2
gains 3+ Penumbra in a scene. Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mute
The Black Rose Blooms Duration: Instant
Cost: —(1 Penumbra); Mins: Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: The Black Rose Blooms
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None Having seen herself reflected in her Shadow, the Umbral
Duration: Permanent puts her faith in her worst self.
Prerequisite Charms: None
After an influence roll beats her Resolve, the Umbral
Gazing into her Shadow’s depths, the Umbral discovers may incur Penumbra instead of spending Willpower.
that there is more to it than a singular drive, honing her She can’t do so against influence that aligns with her
empathy for her darker self. Shadow’s Defining Intimacy.

Upon purchasing this Charm, the Umbral’s player Dark Mirror Introspection
designs a set of Minor and Major Intimacies for her Cost: 3m, 1 Penumbra; Mins: Essence 2
Shadow. These are typically related to the Shadow’s Type: Simple
Defining Intimacy or the Umbral’s own Intimacies, Keywords: Stackable
but may also include Intimacies drawn from the lin- Duration: Instant
gering presence of Nebiru: hatred for Heaven and the Prerequisite Charms: Soul-Darkening Power
Celestial Incarnae, fear of captivity, self-preservation,
grim conviction, an affinity for darkness and things of The Umbral blurs the boundaries between herself and
night, and so on. her Shadow.

Like the Shadow’s Defining Intimacy, these Intimacies The Umbral transfers one of her Intimacies to her
remain suppressed at low Penumbra, and are only Shadow, potentially concealing it from detection it or
imposed on the Umbral at Penumbra 9+. They can’t be shielding it from instill rolls. Alternatively, she can
affected by social influence while they’re suppressed, shift one of her Shadow’s Intimacies to herself.

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The Umbral can stack this Charm any number of times Even as mind-corrupting magic overwhelms the Umbral,
to transfer any number of Intimacies. her Shadow rises to the surface, wresting away control of
her body so that no other can puppeteer her.
Inner Demon Critique
Cost: 4m, 1 Penumbra; Mins: Essence 2 The Umbral raises her Penumbra to 10 to terminate a
Type: Reflexive single Psyche effect afflicting her.
Keywords: Mute
Duration: Instant A second purchase of this Charm lets it negate Shaping
Prerequisite Charms: Dark Mirror Introspection effects.

The Umbral’s Shadow shrouds her true thoughts behind A third purchase lets it negate sorcerous curses.
a mocking impression of her.
A fourth purchase at Essence 5 allows it to negate
After successfully asserting her Guile against a read death from any cause. The Umbral rolls (Essence +
intentions roll, the Umbral may use this Charm, caus- current temporary Willpower) and heals that many
ing the opposing character to believe he succeeded. levels of non-aggravated damage.
However, instead of the truth, he sees the Shadow’s
warped view of whatever information would have Reset: Once per story unless reset by reaching
been revealed. For example, a Shadow whose Defining Penumbra 0.
Principle is “I am not safe” might convey her Tie of love
for her wife as a Tie of distrust. The Umbral’s player and Darkness
the Storyteller should work together if the Shadow’s
view is unclear, bearing in mind that this should always Everlasting Night Technique
be at least potentially advantageous for the Umbral. Cost: —(+3m); Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent
At Penumbra 9+, this Charm instead imparts the Keywords: None
Umbral’s perspective on the Shadow’s Intimacies and Duration: Permanent
intentions. Prerequisite Charms: None

Shade-Gaoler Discipline The Umbral’s darkness clings to those caught in it, seep-
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2 ing into their eyes.
Type : Permanent
Keywords : None When the Umbral uses Shroud of Darkness (p. XX),
Duration : Permanent she may pay a three-mote surcharge to create a linger-
Prerequisite Charms: Shadow-Caging ing darkness. Whenever a character leaves it, he must
Concentration (x2) roll (Perception + Awareness) at difficulty (higher of
Umbral’s Essence or 3). Failure blinds him for the rest
The Umbral’s will fetters her Shadow, binding until she of the scene. Characters capable of seeing perfectly in
calls upon it once more. darkness are immune to this.

When the Umbral loses Penumbra for upholding an Faithless Shadow Betrayal
Intimacy, she still gains Willpower as usual. Once per Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
scene, she loses one Penumbra when she dramatically Type: Simple
defies one of her or her Shadow’s Major or Defining Keywords: None
negative Ties or Principles based on cynicism or Duration: Instant
pessimism. Prerequisite Charms: None

Surrender to Darkness The Umbral suffuses an enemy’s shadow with malevo-

Cost: 5m, 1wp, 1+ Penumbra; Mins: Essence 3 lence, turning it against the one who casts it.
Type: Simple
Keywords: None The Umbral rolls ([Charisma or Manipulation] +
Duration: Instant [Occult, Presence, or Stealth]) as a unique influence
Prerequisite Charms: Inner Darkness Unleashed, roll against the Resolve of a character within medium
Soul-Darkening Power range. Success animates his shadow, causing him to

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DARKNESS CHARM CONCEPTS

Clinging Shadow Approach (Essence 1; Faithless Shadow Betrayal): An animated shadow impedes a move-
ment action or the Defense of the character who casts it.

All Night’s Labors (Essence 1; Subtle Gloaming Fingers): Use shadow-limbs as exceptional equipment for
tasks and reduce the time needed to complete them.

Umbral Shield Technique (Essence 1; Shadow-Limb Manipulation): Shape shadow-limbs into shields and
barriers.

What Darkness Reveals (Essence 1; Faithless Shadow Betrayal): Animating someone’s shadow penalizes
their Guile.

Elusive Phantom Presence (Essence 2; Subtle Gloaming Fingers): Render shadow-limbs invisible.

Tormented Conscience Confession (Essence 2; What Darkness Reveals): Roll against the Guile of someone
whose shadow’s been animated to force the shadow to answer questions truthfully.

Traitor-Shade Surveillance (Essence 2; Tormented Conscience Confession): Animate a character’s shadow

as a long-term spy, observing his life and reporting back to the Umbral.

Vengeful Shade Awakening (Essence 2; Traitor-Shade Surveillance): Animate a character’s shadow as an

independent entity and roll it into combat.

Midnight Legion Beckoning (Essence 3; Vengeful Shade Awakening): Animate a battle group of shadows.

lose (Essence) Initiative and inflicting a −1 penalty on Baleful Darkness Razors

all actions he takes that scene as his shadow distracts Cost: —(2m); Mins: Essence 1
him, trips him up, or whispers darkly to him. Type: Permanent
Keywords: Uniform
Shadow-Limb Manipulation Duration: Permanent
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 Prerequisite Charms: Shadow-Limb Manipulation
Type: Simple
Keywords: None The Umbral’s shadow-limbs strike with fatal precision,
Duration: One scene outward manifestations of inner malevolence.
Prerequisite Charms: None
As long as the Umbral spends at least three motes en-
Appendages of shadow-stuff emerge from the Umbral hancing an attack with her shadow-limbs, she waives
like tendrils of boiling black Essence. the penalty on the attack roll.

The Umbral manifests shadow limbs that can take When the Umbral flurries an attack with another ac-
actions out to short range. These rolls use (Charisma, tion using her shadow-limbs, she may pay two motes
Manipulation, or Wits) in place of the normal to reduce the penalty on each flurried action by one
Attribute, including in place of Strength for calculating and ignore the Defense penalty.
withering damage and feats of strength. Attack rolls
and attempts at fine manipulation, like performing Fervid Nightmare Exploit
surgery or picking pockets, suffer a −3 penalty. She Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
can’t grapple enemies beyond close range. Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Special activation rules: When the Umbral uses this Duration: Instant
Charm, she may reflexively activate Inner Darkness Prerequisite Charms: Shadow-Limb Manipulation
Unleashed (p. XX).

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The Umbral suffuses her shadow-limbs with her rage and ha- Duration: Permanent
tred, strengthening them into crushing tendrils of darkness. Prerequisite Charms: Baleful Darkness Razors

The Umbral adds ([higher of Penumbra or current The Umbral ensnares her foes with twisting shadows,
temporary Willpower] /2, rounded up) to her shad- binding and breaking them.
ow-limbs’ effective Strength to determine whether she
can attempt a feat of strength. The Umbral can use her shadow-limbs to grapple en-
emies at their full range, dragging grappled into close
Subtle Gloaming Fingers range with her. She can pay four motes after a grapple
Cost: —(2m); Mins: Essence 1 control roll with her shadow-limbs to double that
Type: Permanent roll’s extra successes, up to a maximum of (Charisma,
Keywords: Mute Manipulation, or Wits) additional successes.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Shadow-Limb Manipulation Infinite Gloom Arsenal
Cost: —(+5m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 2
The Umbral refines her shadow-limbs into delicate ten- Type: Permanent
drils of darkness, capable of exquisite precision. Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
The Umbral no longer suffers a penalty on fine manip- Prerequisite Charms: Baleful Darkness Razors
ulation with her shadow-limbs. She can pay two motes
to double 9s on such rolls. The Umbral tempers her shadow-limbs into cruel im-
plements of violence, bringing forth a dark panoply of
Devil-Soul Enrichment blades, spears, and lashes.
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent When the Umbral uses Shadow-Limb Manipulation, she
Keywords: None may pay a five-mote, one Willpower surcharge to shape
Duration: Permanent her shadow-limbs into weapons, choosing the traits of an
Prerequisite Charms: Inner Darkness Unleashed, artifact weapon to model them on, plus the Natural tag. She
Shadow-Limb Manipulation can change her shadow-limb’s traits to those of a different
artifact weapon with an action, which can’t be flurried.
As one with her Shadow, the Umbral masters the
darkness. This Charm may be repurchased any number of times, each
repurchase adding an Evocation to the weapons shaped by
The Umbral waives Inner Darkness Unleashed’s mote it. These Evocations draw their themes and function from
cost when she uses it together with Shadow-Limb the Umbral’s personality, her Shadow’s goals and nature,
Manipulation. and the divine power once wielded by Nebiru.

Engulfing Darkness Approach Looming Shadow Reach

Cost: —(+3m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 2 Cost: 1m, 1wp (+1 Penumbra); Mins: Essence 2
Type: Permanent Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Permanent Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Everlasting Night Technique Prerequisite Charms: Subtle Gloaming Fingers

Drawing from her inner darkness, the Umbral casts the Shadows lengthen when the Umbral wills it.
world into night.
The Umbral can take an action with one of her shad-
When the Umbral uses Shroud of Darkness (p. XX), ow-limbs at medium range, or long range if she incurs
she may pay a three-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to a point of Penumbra.
extend it to medium range.
Shifting Shadow Refinement
Grasping Shadow Coils Cost: —(1m per dot of mutation); Mins: Essence 2
Cost: —(4m); Mins: Essence 2 Type: Permanent
Type: Permanent Keywords: None
Keywords: Decisive-only Duration: Permanent

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OFFENSIVE CHARM CONCEPTS

Heart-Darkening Blight (Essence 2; Overwhelming Brutality Approach): The Umbral’s attack spreads cor-
rupting shadows that subvert an enemy’s will to fight.

Vengeful Nemesis Approach (Essence 2; Overwhelming Brutality Approach): Increase a decisive attack’s
damage, with added benefits against enemies the Umbral has negative Ties for.

Joy in Agony (Essence 3; Merciless Killer Meditation): Gain Initiative for dealing enough decisive damage to
increase a nontrivial enemy’s wound penalty.

Fatal Shadow Torment (Essence 3; Vengeful Nemesis Approach): Make a decisive attack with damage
based on Penumbra, without including the Umbral’s Initiative.

Prerequisite Charms: Shadow-Limb Manipulation The Umbral rerolls (Essence) failed dice on an attack
roll. If she has a negative Tie towards her target, she
The Umbral’s shadow-limbs shift and transform, taking adds (Intimacy) dice on the attack roll.
on monstrous shapes born of her imagination.
Overwhelming Brutality Approach
The Umbral may have her shadow-limbs manifest a Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
mutation by committing one mote per dot of mutation, Type : Supplemental
up to a maximum of (higher of Essence or Penumbra) Keywords : Dual
dots. Her shadow-limbs might swell with strength to Duration : Instant
manifest the Mighty Thew mutation, form a second Prerequisite Charms: Wrathful Shadow Strike
skin of darkness for Unnatural Hide, or become Wings
of feathered darkness. Drawing from her Shadow’s monstrous rage, the Umbral
maims foes with overwhelming force.
Grasping Midnight Phantasm
Cost: —(+3m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 3 The Umbral adds (Penumbra/2, rounded up) dice of
Type: Permanent post-soak withering damage or adds that many attack
Keywords: None roll extra successes as dice of decisive damage.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Everlasting Night Technique, Swiftly Dimming Shadow
Faithless Shadow Betrayal Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
The Umbral’s darkness clings to those caught in it, seep- Keywords: None
ing into their eyes. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Wrathful Shadow Strike
When the Umbral uses Shroud of Darkness (p. XX),
she may pay a three-mote, one-Willpower surcharge The Umbral’s weapon seems like only a shadow of itself,
to fill the darkness with grasping shadows, making it weightless and fluid as she strikes with incredible speed.
difficult terrain (Exalted, p. 199).
The Umbral imposes a −1 penalty on her foe’s Defense,
Offense or −2 if her Initiative is higher than his.

Wrathful Shadow Strike If the Umbral uses Baleful Darkness Razors to lower
flurry penalties when she makes an attack enhanced
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
by this Charm, she negates all flurry penalties on both
Type: Supplemental
actions.
Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant Scornful Dismissal Reproach
Prerequisite Charms: None
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 2
The Umbral’s will for violence is honed by hatred. Type: Reflexive

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Keywords: None The Umbral adds (Penumbra) to her base Initiative

Duration: Instant upon resetting to base after a decisive attack.
Prerequisite Charms: Overwhelming Brutality
Approach This Charm can only be used once per day.

As the Umbral seizes the upper hand in combat, her Defense

Shadow’s mocking laughter renews her determination.
Elusive Shadow-Body
The Umbral adds (Penumbra/2, rounded up) to the
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Initiative Break she receives for crashing an enemy.
Type: Reflexive
Shadow-Sword Duality Keywords: Dual
Duration: Instant
Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
Type: Simple
Keywords: Withering-only The Umbral’s body dissipates into darkness as she is
Duration: Instant attacked, letting blades pass through her harmlessly.
Prerequisite Charms: Swiftly Dimming Shadow
The Umbral imposes a −(Essence) penalty on a with-
The Umbral awakens her weapon’s shadow, a dark du- ering damage roll, which can’t lower it below the
plicate that arcs in perfect counterpoint to her strike. attack’s Overwhelming. Against decisive attacks, up to
(Essence) 1s on the damage roll reroll successful dice,
The Umbral makes two withering attacks against a
starting with 7s and moving up.
single enemy. She gains Initiative as usual from the
highest damage roll; the lower damage roll can’t grant Agony-Shrouding Darkness
more than (Penumbra) Initiative.
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Killing Shadow Dance Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Withering-only
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Prerequisite Charms: Elusive Shadow-Body
Keywords: Decisive-only
Duration: Instant As her Shadow’s darkness engulfs the Umbral’s mind,
Prerequisite Charms: Shadow-Sword Duality she grows numb to pain and injury.
The Umbral strikes from every direction, moving in This Charm can be used after a withering attack
bursts of inhuman speed. hits the Umbral, but before the damage roll. She uses
Penumbra instead of Stamina to calculate her soak
The Umbral makes (Penumbra/2, rounded up)
against an attack.
decisive attacks against one or more enemies. Her
Initiative is divided evenly among all attacks, rounded Uncanny Forewarning Technique
up, and doesn’t reset until the final attack is completed,
Cost: 3m (+1 Penumbra); Mins: Essence 1
assuming at least one hits.
Type: Reflexive
While at Penumbra 6+, the Umbral gains (Charisma, Keywords: Uniform
Manipulation, or Wits) Initiative before dividing it Duration: Instant
among the attacks. Prerequisite Charms: None

Merciless Killer Meditation Listening to her Shadow mock the weakness in her de-
fense, the Umbral deftly corrects the flaws it reveals.
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Reflexive The Umbral negates up to (current temporary
Keywords: None Willpower/2, rounded up) points of penalty to her
Duration: Instant Defense. This can’t negate penalties from surprise at-
Prerequisite Charms: Scornful Dismissal Reproach tacks unless the Umbral incurs one Penumbra, heeding
her Shadow warnings of unseen peril.
The Umbral’s Shadow urges violence, stoking her will for
atrocity as she smites down her foes.

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Preemptive Vengeance Declaration The Umbral attunes her senses to hostile intentions,
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1 foreseeing her enemy’s attacks as the thought forms in
Type: Reflexive his mind.
Keywords: Counterattack, Decisive-only
Duration: Instant The Umbral adds +1 non-Charm Parry or adds a non-
Prerequisite Charms: Uncanny Forewarning Charm success on the attack roll for a clash or counter-
Technique attack. This increases to +2 or two successes if she has
a negative Tie for her enemy.
Urged on by her Shadow, the Umbral begins her counter-
strike an instant before her foe attacks. Wound-Swallowing Darkness
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2
When an enemy attacks her, the Umbral makes a deci- Type: Reflexive
sive counterattack before her enemy makes his attack Keywords: None
roll. If she deals damage, her attacker’s onslaught pen- Duration: One scene
alty applies to his attack roll against her. Prerequisite Charms: Agony-Shrouding Darkness,
Inner Darkness Unleashed
Darkness-Soul Fortification
Cost: 1m per level of damage, 1wp, 1 Penumbra; Mins: Darkness flows over and through the Umbral’s body,
Essence 2 filling wounds and strengthening injured body parts.
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-only, Perilous, Stackable The Umbral negates up to (Essence/2, rounded up)
Duration: Indefinite points of crippling or wound penalties. With Penumbra
Prerequisite Charms: Agony-Shrouding Darkness 6+, she instead negates (Essence) points of penalty.

The Umbral’s Shadow suffers in her place. An Essence 3 repurchase lets the Umbral pay a one-Will-
power surcharge to gain (Charisma, Manipulation, or
The Umbral may activate this Charm after a decisive Wits) temporary −0 health levels. These temporary
attack roll, but before the damage roll. She negates levels are the first to be filled when she’s damaged
up to (Essence) levels of damage, committing one and vanish when damaged. With Penumbra 6+, the
mote per level, which are transferred to her Shadow surcharge is waived.
instead. Her Shadow can’t store more than (Essence
or Penumbra) levels of damage at one time; if lowering Darkness Makes Whole
Penumbra brings the Shadow’s damage above this Cost: —; Mins: Essence 2
limit, any excess levels are transferred to the Umbral’s Type: Permanent
health track. The Umbral can stack multiple uses of Keywords: None
this Charm to transfer damage from multiple attacks Duration: Permanent
to her Shadow. Prerequisite Charms: Wound-Swallowing Darkness

The Shadow heals one level of damage every two days, Darkness offers peace and healing to those the Umbral
beginning with bashing damage. Magic that speeds favors.
natural healing can accelerate this process, and healing
magic can be applied to her Shadow’s damage. When The Umbral may use Wound-Swallowing Darkness
this Charm ends, the Shadow’s remaining damage on behalf of a touched character as a Simple Charm,
returns to the Umbral’s health track. suffusing his wounds with flowing shadow-stuff.
The penalty reduction doesn’t increase based on her
Fatal Premonition Focus Penumbra; instead, if she has a positive Tie towards her
Cost: 2m, 1i; Mins: Essence 2 target, the penalty negation increases to (her Essence).
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous, Uniform If the Umbral has Wound-Swallowing Darkness’ re-
Duration: Instant purchase, she can pay a five-mote, one-Willpower sur-
Prerequisite Charms: Uncanny Forewarning charge to grant (Essence) temporary −0 health levels
Technique to a touched character. The Willpower cost is waived if
she has a positive Tie towards her target.

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DEFENSIVE CHARM CONCEPTS

Depraved Heart Anticipation (Essence 1; Uncanny Forewarning Technique): The Umbral’s Shadow fore-
warns her to an ambush, making it possible to defend against it or clash it, albeit at a penalty.

Enduring Malevolence Concentration (Essence 2; Agony-Shrouding Darkness): Extend Agony-Shrouding

Darkness’s duration to one scene.

Foreseen Malice Intuition (Essence 2; Fatal Premonition Focus): For one scene, reduce Parry penalties,
gain a bonus on Awareness rolls opposing Stealth, and negate Depraved Heart Anticipation’s penalty.

Hate Strikes Faster (Essence 3; Foreseen Malice Intuition, Preemptive Vengeance Declaration): Clash an
attack, adding (Intimacy) non-Charm dice on the attack roll if you have a negative Tie towards your enemy.

Shadow Guides the Hand (Essence 3; Foreseen Malice Intuition): The Umbral’s Shadow guides her to parry
an unblockable attack. Once per scene, she can also add a free full Excellency to Parry — or, at Penumbra 10,
perfectly defend against an attack.

Umbral Caul Rebirth (Essence 3; Wound-Swallowing Darkness x2): Heal from crippling injuries by replacing
wounded or severed body parts with shadow-stuff. This can be used to heal others with Darkness Makes Whole.

negative Tie or a Principle based on cynicism or pessi-

Social mism, she also adds (Intimacy) dice.
All-Consuming Despair Cruel Past Recollection
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive Type: Simple
Keywords: Mute Keywords: Mute
Duration: Instant Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Prerequisite Charms: Dark Impulse Discovery
Haunted by her own heart’s darkness, the Umbral clings Embracing her doubts and suspicions, the Umbral at-
tightly to her misery. tunes herself to the echoes of dark intentions long past.
The Umbral adds (Penumbra/2) Resolve against any The Umbral makes a case scene roll with (Perception
influence opposed by one of her or her Shadow’s nega- + [Awareness, Investigation, or Lore]), adding
tive Ties or Principles based on cynicism or pessimism, (Penumbra/2, rounded up) bonus dice and completing
or that would inspire or instill positive emotions or it in a matter of seconds. If the Umbral’s successes beat
Intimacies based on them. the Guile of the culprit who left the evidence behind,
she also discerns his most relevant Intimacy, experi-
Dark Impulse Discovery
encing a sudden flash of cryptic images from his past.
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental Darkness Catches Up
Keywords: None Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental
Prerequisite Charms: None Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Instant
The Umbral senses dark intentions, warning her to hid-
Prerequisite Charms: Dark Impulse Discovery
den foes and false friends.
Those with darkness in their hearts cannot hide from the
The Umbral doubles 9s on an Awareness roll opposing
Umbral.
Stealth or Larceny. If the opposing character has a

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The Umbral doubles 9s on a tracking roll. If she is cannot opt to exclude animals from this influence —
aware of one of her target’s negative Ties or Principles any animals who can perceive her are affected.
based on cynicism or pessimism, she adds (Intimacy)
non-Charm dice and may track her target even if there Seized-by-Terror Technique
is no physical evidence of his passage, following the Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
dark feelings left by the target. She can track even Type: Supplemental
characters using Traceless Passage (Exalted, p. 412) or Keywords: None
similar magic. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Elegant Monster Soliloquy
Elegant Monster Soliloquy
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1 Fearing the darkness only makes one more vulnerable to
Type: Supplemental that which lurks within it.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant A successful threaten roll against a single enemy
Prerequisite Charms: None inflicts a –3 penalty on all rolls he makes against the
Umbral for the rest of the scene, and a −1 penalty to his
The Umbral’s Shadow rises in her as she speaks, lending static values against her.
her words a dark undertone of menace.
With Essence 2, the Umbral may pay a one-Willpower
The Umbral doubles 9s on a threaten roll, an inspire surcharge to use this Charm on a threaten roll with
roll to create negative emotions, or an instill roll to multiple targets.
create a negative Tie, a Principle based on cynicism or
pessimism, or one of her Shadow’s Intimacies. Appeal to Darkness
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Against animals, the influence roll is instead treated Type: Supplemental
as a threaten roll to force them to flee. The Umbral Keywords: None

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Duration: Instant When the Umbral makes a roll opposing someone’s

Prerequisite Charms: Elegant Monster Soliloquy Guile, she imposes a −2 Guile penalty on the oppos-
ing character. If her roll would uncover negative Tie,
The Umbral preys on others’ worst nature. Principles based on cynicism or pessimism, or malevo-
lent intentions, this rises to −3 Guile.
The Umbral adds a non-Charm success on a bargain,
instill, or persuade roll. Against a single character with No Second Chances
a negative Tie or a cynical Principle, or a group that Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1
shares such an Intimacy, she also adds (Intimacy) non- Type: Reflexive
Charm dice. Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Haunted Mind Meditation Prerequisite Charms: Truth-in-Shadow Technique
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive The Umbral’s Shadow warns her against forgiveness,
Keywords: Mute encouraging her suspicions and resentment.
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None The Umbral gains +2 Resolve against an influence
roll. The bonus is non-Charm if she has a negative Tie
The Umbral’s thoughts are no safe place even for her, let toward the opposing character or has succeeded on
alone those who would intrude upon them. a read intentions or profile character roll against him
this scene.
The Umbral gains +2 Guile. This increases to +3 at
Penumbra 6+. If a character uses magic to read the All-Seeing Shadow Eyes
Umbral’s thoughts, view her memories, or otherwise Cost: 1 Penumbra; Mins: Essence 1
intrude upon her mind, this is a non-Charm bonus, and Type: Reflexive
failing to beat the Umbral’s Guile causes him to suffer Keywords: None
one die of lethal decisive damage, ignoring Hardness. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Dark Impulse Discovery,
Night-Prince Majesty Truth-in-Shadow Technique
Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Permanent The Umbral’s Shadow whispers in the back of her mind,
Keywords: None tempting her with poisonous secrets.
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None Upon a successful roll opposing someone’s Guile,
the Umbral’s player may use this Charm to ask the
The Umbral is sovereign among things of the night, an Storyteller one of the following questions, plus an ad-
heir to Nebiru’s shattered throne. ditional question for every three extra successes:

The Umbral adds (Essence) non-Charm dice on influ- • What does he know about me?
ence rolls and read intentions rolls against creatures of
darkness and spirits whose nature relates to night or • What isn’t he telling me?
the dark, and doesn’t need a share language to com-
municate with them. She gains +1 Resolve and +1 Guile • What could he do for me?
against such characters as non-Charm bonuses.
• Why shouldn’t I trust him?
Truth-in-Shadow Technique
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1 Any of the target’s Intimacies related to the answer to
Type: Supplemental any of these questions are also revealed to the Umbral.
Keywords: Mute
Your Worst Day
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Simple
The Umbral senses the darkness in the minds of others, Keywords: None
baring their secrets to her. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: All-Seeing Shadow Eyes

390
EX3
 A P P E N D I X : C R E A T I N G N E W E X A LT E D

SOCIAL CHARM CONCEPTS

Spiteful Shade Defiance (Essence 3; All-Consuming Despair, The Black Rose Blooms): Incur Penumbra in-
stead of citing an Intimacy in a Decision Point.

Drowning in Shadows (Essence 3; Dark Mirror Introspection, Haunted Mind Meditation): Perfectly negate any
effect opposing the Umbral’s Guile by raising her Penumbra to 10.

The Umbral glimpses behind someone’s face to witness Duration: Instant

his darkest self. Prerequisite Charms: Seized-by-Terror Technique

The Umbral makes a read intentions roll with No matter how unassuming the Umbral may be, those
(Penumbra/2) automatic successes. Success reveals around her can sense her Shadow, reacting to it as they
whatever that character considers their most shame- would their greatest fear.
ful, despicable, or unforgivable secret, as well as any
The Umbral makes a threaten roll without needing to
Intimacies related to it.
speak or share a common language. Though targets
Darkened Soul Interrogation perceive her as the object of their fear, they can’t tell
that it was a conscious act on her part unless they beat
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2
her Guile with a read intentions or profile character
Type: Simple
roll that scene. They can’t form negative Ties toward
Keywords: Stackable
her because of the intimidation or strengthen nega-
Duration: Indefinite
tive Ties to her at the scene’s end unless they pay one
Prerequisite Charms: Faithless Shadow Betrayal,
Willpower.
Your Worst Day
Reset: Once per scene.
The Umbral extracts secrets and memories from her
target’s shadow.
Mobility
The Umbral makes a read intentions action against a
target under the effects of Faithless Shadow Betrayal. Shadow-Walker’s Grace
Success reveals one of the target’s Ties and grants the Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1
Umbral access to his memories about the Tie. If she Type: Supplemental
searches for a Tie she already knows about, she gains Keywords: None
one non-Charm success on her roll. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
While this Charm remains active, the Umbral can
recall relevant memories as if they were her own, The Umbral is light as a shadow as she moves, leaving no
lowering the target’s Guile by 1 when leveraging them footprints behind.
as part of a stunt. She can recall or search for specific
memories by rolling (Perception + Socialize) against a The Umbral adds (higher of Essence or 3) non-Charm
difficulty set by the Storyteller based on the emotional dice to a movement action, a roll to maintain balance,
strength and impact of the memory. or a roll to conceal her tracks. She halves any penalties
from difficult terrain or other environmental, rounded
Reset: Once per scene unless reset by persuading the down, except in conditions of total darkness or total
Charm’s target to act on a negative Major or Defining illumination.
Tie.
Crawling Darkness Limbs
Lurking Horror Presence Cost: —(+2m); Mins: Essence 1
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2 Type: Permanent
Type: Supplemental Keywords: None
Keywords: Mute Duration: Permanent

391
EX3
 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

MOBILITY CHARM CONCEPTS

Scuttling Shadow Motion (Essence 2; Crawling Darkness Limbs): Make a movement action reflexively using
shadow-limbs.

Darkness Rising Ascendancy (Essence 3; Crawling Darkness Limbs, Looming Shadow Reach): The Umbral
can raise herself multiple range bands upward in the air by extending her shadow-limbs, and can maneuver
in mid-air as if flying.

Shadow Fades Away (Essence 3; Flickering Shadow Ways): The Umbral can use this Charm after successfully
defending against an attack to teleport one range band in any direction, as per Flickering Shadow Ways. If she
incurs one Penumbra, she may teleport two range bands instead.

Prerequisite Charms: Shadow-Limb Manipulation, The Umbral completes a movement action without
Shadow-Riding Step crossing through the space between, sinking into her
own shadow and reappearing from darkness at her
The Umbral’s shadowy tendrils grip walls with ease, destination. She can use this Charm to pass through
drawing her upwards on a tide of darkness. walls or avoid environmental hazards or difficult ter-
rain, but must be able to see her destination.
When the Umbral uses Shadow-Limb Manipulation,
she may commit a two-mote surcharge to scale sheer This Charm can’t be used in conditions of total illu-
vertical surfaces or move on the underside of over- mination or total darkness, or if a character specifi-
hanging horizontal surfaces, using her shadow-limbs cally intervenes to prevent the Umbral from having a
to climb or hang down effortlessly. shadow to travel to; otherwise, the Storyteller should
assume that a suitable shadow exists for the Umbral to
Swift Nightbird Impulse complete her movement.
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental Reset: Once per scene unless reset by successfully
Keywords: None establishing concealment in darkness against at least
Duration: Instant one non-trivial enemy. If no enemies are present to
Prerequisite Charms: Shadow-Walker’s Grace observe the Umbral using this Charm, it doesn’t need
to be reset.
The Umbral’s speed draws from her will as well as her
body, urging her onwards with uncanny force. Unsuspecting Victim Pursuit
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
The Umbral doubles 9s on a rush, disengage, or with- Type: Simple
draw roll. With Penumbra 6+, a successful roll awards Keywords: None
her one Initiative, or two Initiative for a disengage. Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Flickering Shadow Ways
Flickering Shadow Ways
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3 One can no more escape the Umbral than one’s own
Type: Supplemental shadow.
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant The Umbral rushes an enemy within medium range.
Prerequisite Charms: Swift Nightbird Impulse If successful, she instantly appears at close range with
him, as per Flickering Shadow Ways.
The Umbral vanishes into darkness, only to reappear
elsewhere.

392
EX3
Spring had come to the bustling town of Wirth. Flowers and ribbons bedecked the buildings along its
main thoroughfares, and in the fields outside of town, the people danced and feasted. Strawmaiden
Janest had spent the winter here and would move on after the spring festival ended. The planting was
done, the crops taking hold. She’d lent the strength of her arms and her Exalted power to ensure the
harvest would be bountiful come fall.

Now, the time had come for revelry. Janest sat at a trestle table with a cup of blackberry mead. Its sweet
flavor almost made her want to stay until summer, to taste the berries at their ripest, freshly picked and
still warm from the summer sun. But her need to get moving sang in her bones — Wirth and its people
were lovely, but they weren’t home.

A heavyset man in the travel-worn robes of an Immaculate monk sat down on the bench across from
her. He’d been in town for nearly a week, directing the townsfolk’s prayers to the harvest gods. Janest
had always kept out of any monk’s way as a child, a habit that’d stayed with her on the road. He’d
certainly noticed her before — or perhaps more accurately, her grimscythe — but he’d made no effort
to strike up conversation or inquire about her weapon.

He smiled at her now, tucking into a steaming plate of stuffed dumplings. “These are good,” he said.
“Have you tried them?”

Janest opened her mouth to say she’d been eating them all winter, but he passed her one before she
could. Though the monk was seemingly unaffected by its heat, Janest had to toss it from hand to hand
for a moment. She blew on it until it was cool enough for a bite. It was good, full of cheese and potato
and spiced beef. She’d spent hours with Wirth’s grandmothers, learning how to feel when the dough’s
texture was right, how much filling to scoop into the middle, how to press the edges together just-so.

“These are good,” the monk said again, “but I’ve tasted even better.”

“Where was that?” She found that people loved to speak of their travels, especially the dishes they’d
tried along the way. Such conversations had taught her the names of new cities to visit and new food to
try. Perhaps this monk would add another to her list.

“It was a small village; in fact, I don’t even know if it still stands.” His voice grew somber, maybe even
a little sad. “I expect Kolisz was destroyed when the Fair Folk swept through the valley, its wonderful
dumplings lost with it.”

Kolisz.

He didn’t notice her surprise. “I’ve heard stories that it survived, that they somehow fought off the army,
but I suspect they’re simply that: stories.”

Janest studied the monk’s features as he waxed poetic about the food she’d grown up eating, imagining
him a few years younger, a little less road-weary. Now she recognized him, and even remembered his
name: Sesus Calon. Perhaps seven years had passed since he’d last been in Kolisz but looked as if he’d
aged twice that despite the dragons’ blood in his veins. She wondered what troubles he’d seen in the
meantime to have changed him so.

Still, he didn’t seem to know her. She’d avoided Immaculates and the Realm’s representatives in Kolisz,
but it was a small village; their paths had crossed more than once. Perhaps he’d paid little heed to the
townsfolk or had met so many their faces faded from his memory. Did he truly not recognize her?

Perhaps I’ve changed, too.

And what of Kolisz? What was it like, now? How had the village changed while she’d been gone?

She bade Calon goodnight and left him to his dumplings.

Later, as she lay awake in her host’s spare bed, she heard the young sisters in the next room
whispering to one another and giggling. Janest remembered nights like that with her own sisters,
exchanging secrets with Marieke long after the High Reavers had snuffed the candles. Her heart
twinged with longing.

Three years, Janest had been away from Kolisz, visiting places she’d only heard about in tales told by
merchants and monks: Fajad with its domes and minarets, Gethamane deep beneath the earth, the
great necropolis of Sijan. She’d joined a caravan headed for Great Forks and walked among the city’s
countless gods, then took a job on a ship headed along the Yellow River for Vaneha. She’d walked Jibei’s
dogwood-lined streets, then ventured south to the Dreaming Sea.

Now, even with so many places she had yet to see, the only place she wanted to go was home.

•••••

The first few weeks, Janest traveled as she normally did. She walked well-trafficked roads alongside
merchants and traders, broke bread with pilgrims, and stood watch over refugees. Sometimes, she
accepted a ride in a cart or spent a few miles sharing a wagon-driver’s bench. Yet, the closer she came
to home, the slower every mile seemed to pass. She measured how far she’d come in the tongues she
heard, as Riverspeak gave way to Skytongue and familiar words in foreign dialects cropped up among
her companions’ conversations.

Worries gnawed at her along the way. She’d left the High Reavers arguing and leaderless — did they
resent her for abandoning them? Would the people be angry with her? Would her sisters? Three years
wasn’t so long, but it felt like she’d been gone a decade. When she pictured her field-sisters’ faces, they
were hazy. She could still remember Amalon’s laugh, though, and felt the brush of Marieke’s lips upon
hers and the salt taste of her tears.

By the time she could just barely make out the twin mountains’ silhouettes on the horizon, summer was
nearly over. The road between here and Kolisz was long and twisty, passing through other towns along
a meandering river. Home, so tantalizingly close, yet still beyond her reach, finally became too much.

The countryside blurred around her as she bounded across it with leap after impossible leap. Her
footsteps ate up acres, and with every pace, the mountains grew in her sight. Their ridges sharpened;
dark green fir trees dotted the snow-covered peaks.

Along the way, she passed through the valley’s outer villages. Many were abandoned now — the Fair
Folk had descended like locusts, feeding on the people and leaving destruction in their wake. In some,
the people had rebuilt over the last three years. Fields lay ready for the harvest; smoke curled up from
chimneys. Janest slowed but did not stop. She made camp for the night a few hours’ walk outside of
Kolisz. Eager as she was to return, she needed one last night to gather her thoughts.

As the moon crawled across the sky, she watched the lights go out in distant houses. She could make
out the Great Hall, and the long, low dormitories of the field-guardians. The village sprawled farther
than she remembered, though in some ways it all seemed so much smaller. Perhaps that was because
of her time in vast metropolises like Nexus and Great Forks; perhaps it was she who was different.
She’d met countless people from countless lands, learned their stories and heard their struggles. She’d
fought monsters and supped with gods. She was more than the field hand who’d left three years ago,
but that young woman was still part of her — as Kolisz was still part of her.

Dawn rose golden over the valley. Janest’s path took her through the battlefield where she’d made her
stand against the faerie army. It was overgrown now, left fallow by Kolisz’s farmers. Still, she could
see the evidence of the clash if she looked for it. Here, a deep furrow her grimscythe had cut into the
ground. There, an overturned faerie chariot buried beneath a heap of weeds, ivy twisting through the
spokes of its wheels. Everywhere, wildflowers grew in vibrant colors. Not only was the land healed, it
was renewed.

Ten Sheaves’ shrine still stood on its hillside. It was decorated for the harvest, though the stream
that once ran alongside it remained as dry as the day he’d made Janest his Chosen. The harvest god
was gone, though no other deity had yet claimed his place. She stopped by the shrine and coaxed a
chrysanthemum bush into full bloom as a memorial.

The field-maidens began their work at daybreak. As Janest walked between the rows, they lowered
their scythes, set down their baskets, and encircled her. Two of the younger children — who’d grown so
tall in her absence! — ran for the town, whooping with excitement.

Then Marieke and Amalon pushed their way through the crowd, laughing and shouting and pulling her
into their embrace. They led her home, past the new buildings on Kolisz’ outskirts. These were new
constructions, some with architectural flourishes she recognized from the surrounding villages, brought
by refugees who’d heard of the miracle at Kolisz.

In the town’s center, the children led the High Reavers to meet them. Henryka stood at the fore. Her hair
had gone from steel gray to mostly white and the lines around her eyes had deepened, but she was as
hale as ever. “Our wandering child returns,” she said. The crowd surrounding them went quiet.

Janest stood tall and proud before her. “I’ve seen many great cities, but only a small part of the world.
My heart cried out for Kolisz, and here I am.”

For a moment she thought Henryka might rebuke her, and send her away in disgrace, but then the
older woman smiled and spread wide her arms. “Welcome home, Chosen of Ten Sheaves,” she intoned.
“Welcome home, daughter of Kolisz.” She stepped forward and embraced Janest as the people cheered.

The village organized a feast in short order. Throughout the day and long into the evening, Janest
celebrated with old friends and met the newcomers who’d arrived since she left. She told stories of
her adventures and drank in tales of village life she’d missed. Her sisters presented the newest field-
guardians to her; Janest spent much of the night smiling as the children took turns clambering onto her
lap, until Marieke pulled her away for a dance. When the High Reavers came to speak with her, it was
with respect, but not deference, which suited Janest just fine.

Kolisz had changed, just as she had, in ways both small and sweeping. Yet it was still home. Tomorrow,
she’d think about her future, where her help was needed and where she would be welcome. Tonight,
her belly and her heart were full, and that was enough.
 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

@JoeyGeeWhiz Alec Anderson Andy Phillips

“Natalya Kelley; Curator of Alec Birchall Angelborn
Untested Stratagems“ Aled Parry AngelWick
A Bunch of Gamers Alex Carstensen Anja Kraus
A Crompton Alex Fewings Annah Comyn
A MacLellan Alex Geoghagan Annei Lyranae
A Split Tongue that Alex Stuart Annika The White
Writes Down Lies Alex W Anshu Shines-With-Surety
A. Assmann Alexander Cresswell Anson Bird
A. Charest Alexander Levine Anthony C.
A. Doan Alexander Rodriguez Anthony Damiani
A. Foote Alexis Courteix Anthony E. Harbo Torres
A. Marshall Aliasi Anthony Wilson
A.Cerer Alice M Antoine ASTIER
A.J.W. Harrow Allen Bashford Anze Rubaara
Aaron Fleishman Alyssa B. Apregis
Aaron Mouritsen Amanda “OwlBear“ Hather Aquatica
Aaron Pothecary Amanda Plageman Aramithius
acolyte Amara Ahmed Aravon Harlingar
Actor of the Verdant City Amber Vietzke Architect of Urban Dreams,
Adam “Magus” Loyd Ambre Triomphante chosen of Nexus.
Adam Carbone Amelia Fetch Archon
Adam Daniel-Wayman Amine Hsu Nekuchan Arion Wind
Adam Horne Amy Waller Arkon63
Adam Jung Anael Navarro Arlan C. Kaserman-Stutler
Adam Kosakowski Anahita Egebjerg Lange Arobin Prime
Adam Krump Anders A Mejstrick Arrith of Moonsilver Mirrors
Adam McAteer András Adrovicz Arthur F.
Adam P Andrei Antonio Gonzalez Reyes Artur ‘Ev1n’ Plociennik
Adam Rajski Andrés Santiago Pérez-Bergquist Arwen Ross
Adam Rose Andrew Drake, Chosen Ash Stark
Adamant Lion of Tax Fraud Ashadar Shan
Adrian “Maarken Andrew E. AshenFox - Richard M.
Brashari” Cumming Andrew Feeney Ashley Thompson
Adrian Praetorius Andrew Hows Asir “Groch“ Moqa’Ja
Adrian Tymes Andrew K. Aster T
Adswyn Bitter Ash Insight Andrew Kole Atte Mäkelä
Aêtava Andrew Leggett Aurius Vorayn
AG Andrew NcGregor Aurora Wings M.K.
Airylan Canth Andrew Rowe Austin Loomis, Chosen
Akio Takashige Andrew Snow of Lazy River
Alan Orr Andrew Srebro Aviru&Pheobia
Alan Reed Mitchell Andrew Waterfall Axel J
Alan-Michael Tyrson Andrew Watson Azouth
Alannah R. Andy Clark B. M. Wanek
Aldo “Kwako“ Montoya Reynaga Andy Kwong B. Mariana

693 396
EX3
 CROWDFUNDING BACKERS

Barbara Jane Church Brent W. Ezell Chad Ford

Bartek Wcisło Brett Alexander Chad Hazel-Kepler
Bastion, Chosen of Flashing Peak Brett G. Anderson Champion of the Jade Firefly
Beachfox Bri ChandraMagic
Bear Carson Brian B Chaos, Chosen of Chaos
Bella Brian Camp Charis Siozios
Ben Cook Brian Dean Charles “Lukkychukky” Ulveling
Ben Kruger Brian Hon Charles Crowe
Ben McKenzie Brian McCain Charles E.
Ben Stewart Brian Perdomo Charles Geckle
Benjamin “BlackLotos“ Welke Brian Quinn Charles Geckle
Benjamin Guilfoyle Brian Rivers Charles L’Espérance
Benjamin Jones Briar “BadNews“ Harris Charles M. Watford Jr
Benjamin Mire Brigette Swan Charles Nichols
Bennsbannarias Brightfires Charles Siegel
Benoit Devost Brook Freeman Charles Smith
Bernd Kruse Bruce Ferguson Charles W. Hill
Bertrand G. Bruce Stone Charlie “PookaKnight” Cantrell
Beryllium Mask Bruce Turner Chase B
Bilious “Exploding Frogs” Slick Bryan Blackstone Chase Burton
Bill Shaffer Bryant Devillier Chase Strolenberg
Bill Weepie C Canadian Chazz Kellner
Bitentronc, chosen of Sunflowers C. Curry Cherry Blossom on the Wind
BJ C. Martin Chosen of Bees
Björn Fischer C. Wardwell Chow Mashu
Blair A. Monroe C.Lowe Chris Brasier
Blair Cliff Caden K. Chris Campione
Blake Brown Caleb Haddix Chris Costello
Blake Campbell Caleb Shelley Chris Fankhauser
Blayne M. Cameron Starkel Chris Gawne
Blood-Shrouded Thorns Cameron Wise Chris Hall
Bob Huss Camille Rodrigues Melo Nogueira Chris Johnson
Botch Frivarg Caoimhe B. Chris Larrabee
Brad Yesko Carl Ollivier Chris Mangum
Bradley “Jimborg“ Schulz Carles Samarra Chris McPeake
Brandon E. Carlo Tommasini Chris Michael Jahn
Brandon H Carlos “Monsada the Iberian Chris Raney
Brandon Paul Troll“ Checa Barambio Chris Ryan
Brandon Quina Carly and Degen Gottlieb-Ho Chris Shaffer, Chosen
Brannen Carmine Laudiero of Pepperoni Rolls
Brendan Ferguson Carter “Jade Eye was a Chris Silversea
Brendan Tubbs chump“ Dohoney Chris Thomas
Brennan Dawson Carter Blalack Chris Venus
Brennan Greene Casey Corbin Chris. D
Brennan Willingham Casey M. Carter Christian “Su-tehp“
Brennen “Seven Swords“ Willer Cason Snow Fernandez-Duque

397
EX3
 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

Christian Cooper Craig Bonnes David “Just“ Talboy

Christian Graham Craig Curran David Ault
Christian Higuti Craig Mercer David Boniface
Christian Smucker Craig Wieand David Bufkin
Christian Walters Crimson Steel Phoenix David Chart
Christie Jennings-Wyckoff Cristo Kyriazis David Dorward
Christoph Laurer Critian Caceorte David E. Dalton
Christopher Crumplepunch David Frederick Mirche
Christopher Bishop Curtis Stark David Fulford
Christopher Coward Cynis Liseta David Futterrer
Christopher Daniel Cynis Orin David Futterrer
Christopher Emerson D & C Edwards David Gearhart
Christopher Frances D Weatherwax David Hariman
Christopher Gilbert D.Baker David Holden
Christopher Gunning D.M. Hubbard David J Prokopetz
Christopher Humphrey D10s by Enifael David Kotsonis
Christopher Kaufman Dacar Aria Arundottir David Lee Terhune
Christopher Reinhardt Dacar Aria Arundottir David Mann
Christopher Trapp Damian Crevello David Miller
Christopher V Martin Damien Sullivan David Mortensen
Christopher Wallace Damos Mandraag David Paul
Chronos12 Dan Hagy David Stephenson
Chuck Dee Dan Layman-Kennedy David Thomas
Ciaran Carbery-Shaha Dan Lewis David Whitley
Ciel A. Canth Dan Tunseth Davide Ferlan
Claire Weaver Dana Jacobson Davide Milano
Claudia Creed Dana McVey Davin Wärter
Clayton Higbee Dane “Noctis“ Madsen Dawngreeter
ClyncyeRudje Dani Jang(너불레기) DeadlyReed
Cody M Kern Daniel “Squid“ Ericsson Déan Pijpker
Cody Marbach Daniel and Jasmin Bomm Dean Stuart McNabb
Cody Thoroman Daniel Gochnauer Declan Needham Church
Colin Earle Daniel J. Gebel Deltalisk
Colin R. Jones Daniel Singer Dennis. M. G
Conor Anderson Danny Fisher Derek Semsick
Consort of Black Thorns Dantirian Derek W. Branim
Constellation Darin Kerr Dermot Bresnehan
Corey Reynolds Darklogic Dev N.
Corey Salter-Davidson DarkLordZebedee Deven Mitton
Corin Maslin Darkshifter Dimitria Ladopoulos
Corwyn Alambar Darren Velez Dirk Reinelt
Cory Gilman Darth Vayn’Eris Dmitri Kolytchev
Cory Tabibian Dave Jones Dom Hero Ellis
Cosmos furiosi Dave Rosenzweig Dottie Davis
Coyotekin Dave Winterbottom Douglas Jacobson
Craig “Exalt of Exaltation” Allen David “Gaius“ Scott Douglas Sharpshair

893 398
EX3
 CROWDFUNDING BACKERS

Douglass Kern Eric Lindroth Fukata

DRAGONfluffy Eric McCommon Fyrefly
Dragonsrage Eric Minton G Chaisson
Drew A Simpson Eric Robibaro G Shellabear
Drew Clowery Eric Schalk G Stephen
Drew M Eric Schuller G. Alex Williamson
Drew Stevens Eric Smailys G. Clarkson
Drproctoropolis Erica Maybe G. Fried
Duan Bailey Erica Phelps G. Hurtubise
Dug Coffin Erich Dobler Gabe Tatum
Dylan G Erik D Gabriel L.
E. Crabtree Erik Gurul Gabriel Loftus
E. Erdman Erik Rådman Gabriela “Citation“ Fisher
E. Kelly Erik Tyrrell Gareth Eye-of-Dangers-Mouse
Eben Lowe Erik Welehodsky Gareth Gingell
Echo Cian Esra Witschel Garrett E. Hutton
Ed Morland Estevan F. Queiroz Garrett H. M. Johnson, Esq.
Eden Keen Ethan D. Peck Garrett Henke
Edward Feen Ethan Wilke Gavin Mutter
Edwin Wessels Everett Oakley Gavyn F. Duthie
Eetu “Zergon“ Pykäläinen Everynne Winters Gedeon McBain
Eleanor Asher, Engineer of Evil Midnight Lurker Geekz Anonymous
Auspicious Harmonies. Expeditious Emissary General Trivia Kit, Chosen
Elias Helfer Ezekiel M. Hubris of Miscellania
Elisabeth ‘TerraNova’ Schulz Fabio V. Genevieve Cogman
Ellery the Wyrd Felipe Bovolon Geno G.
Elliott I Davis Felix Grothkopp Gentle Snow
Elona Felix Shafir Geoffrey (Jetstream) Walter
Elzo Tovani Benzaq Felix Weingardt Geoffrey Kincaid
EmanantVolition Figure of Sudden Funding George F Robbins
Emerald Dawn FiskerPen George Pitre
Emibirb Fist of Zen Georgia L. Moody
Emily Spitler-Lawson FlamesRising.com Gilad Goodman
Emily Zhu flowerysong Gilfredo Rodriguez
Enkufka Fortunate Strike, Chosen Gillian & Alistair Winters
Entropyn of Luranume Giuseppe D’Aristotile
Epitome Foster Gowans Glen
Eric Alexander Foxloaf Glen R. Taylor
Eric Allen Francisco Javier Costa Glenn Clifford
Eric Coutu François Perriot gotyaoi
Eric Embree Frank McCormick Götz Weinreich
Eric Garcia Frank S Graham Sandison
Eric Gordon Frederi “Volk Kommissar Graham Starfelt
Eric J. Heckathorn Friedrich“ POCHARD Grant Anderson
Eric Kroier Fredrik Karlsson Grant Hoeflinger
Eric Li Fredrik Lyngfalk Gratua Cuun

399
EX3
 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

Gray -Trilug- H Ian Otto Jair Vianna

Graziano Zanichelli Iarlais Jake “Cyrus“ Phillips
Greg Berry Ikalios Jake Maillet (AKA Void)
Greg Peterson Imran Inayat Jake VanGunda
Greg Roy Incandescent Dragon Creations James “Mindworm Jim“ Jones
Greg Valleau Indigo Shade James Bell
Gregg “Pyrosorc“ Parrott Indy Arno James Buckingham
Gregory Stayner Inge James Edward Gray II
Greyman Ingrid Emilsson James Freeman
gribblethemunchkin Iomhar James Holden
Guillermo Heras Prieto Iorwerth Thomas James M Shaw
Gustavo La Fontaine Iron Ox James McKay
Guy Reece Iron Phoenix James Meredith
Gwosh Isaac Lee James Metca
H Zimmerman itsthetaxman James Taylor
H. Douglass Bloomer Iván Rael Núñez Harper James V
H. W. Ulrich Ivan V.A.N. Slipper James Wesley
H.G. Ivo “Xireon” Goudzwaard James Y.
Hailey McAuliffe J Akers Jamie “The Demiurge“ Lancashire
HalfTangible J Hendrickson Jamie Betts
Halwin Malison J Singer Jamie Vann
HamSandLich J Slupsky Jannes Lauwers
Hank Driskill J ‘Trekkie’ Edwards Jared Fattmann
Hans-Henning Vogt J, Radiance of Heaven Jared Levine
Haroon Alsaif J. Armstrong Jared Lord
Hate Fish J. CARLOCK Jasken
Hawk H. J. Sandström Jason “Twilight Caste“ Best
Hawksmoor J. Simpson Jason A. Guerra
Héctor Giovanni Moreno J. Smith Jason Barton
Hernández J. Teixeira Jason C Marshall
Hel J. Vig Jason Dickerson
Helena A J. W. Bennett Jason Italiano
Hemera J.Murphy Jason M. Petry
Hendrik Mainzer J.P.W. Jason Moscatello
Henrik Jäderkvist Jaakko Kaisanlahti Jason Ross Incz
Henry F. Bruckman Vargas Jabberwocky Jason Scott
Herman Theodon Page Jack O’Loup Jason Whittle
His Magnificence Lord Fuzzy Jack Pennifold Jay Holiday
Horizon Devouring Light Jacob “Light-Hero“ Paasch Bruhn Jay Morris
Hugo Richard Jacob Ansari Jaysen Courmac
Huskotron Jacob Bieber JC Voskaya
Ian Graham Jacob Conerly JD Maynard
Ian Groombridge Jacob Jeremiah Jeff Churchill
Ian Hamilton Jacob Kleffel Jeff Clark
Ian Holzman Jacob Mandel Jeff Stoker
Ian MacRae Jacques Barcia Jeffrey A Beckett

04 400
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 CROWDFUNDING BACKERS

Jeffrey Brodovsky John Hylton Julien Pyrasch

Jeffrey Mintz John Lambert Juno Hart
Jeffrey Palmer John M. Atkinson Jürgen Czerny
Jeffrey S. James John R. Trapasso Jürgen Hubert
Jemma Roberts John T. Veltman Jussi Klemetti
Jen Parr Jon Finke Justin Buckley
Jennifer Cline Jon T Moran Justin Fanzo
Jennifer Neff Jonathan Delmater Justin Mabry
Jens Thorup Bindzus Jonathan Head Justin Sandhu
Jeremiah M Gonzalez Jonathan Lang K. Eizaguirre
Jeremy “Blackwingedheaven“ Jonathan O’Atsalakotos K. Emory M.
Puckett Jonathan Stoetzer K. Morrison
Jeremy A. Mowery Jonathan Wirth Kaeli Chambers
Jeremy Brown Jonci Aguillard Kaiden the Vampire
Jeremy C Jordan Etherington Kairos Len
Jeremy Claybrook Jordan Goldfarb Kalina Bonebreaker
Jeremy D. Parker Jordan Springer Kang Fen the Eidolon of
Jeremy Dillon Jörg Drückhammer Forgotten Secrets
Jeremy F Joris Kühl Kari A. Clark
Jeremy Kopczynski Joseph Anthony Dempsey Karl Kreutzer
Jeremy Pinske Joseph Horan Karlee Finch
Jeremy Pridemore Joseph J. Nikolaus Kassidy Larsen
Jeremy W Joseph McCormick Kate Adams
Jesal Sena Josh Geller Kate Crittenden
Jesse Anderson Josh Raveling Kathleen Hailperin
Jesse Breazeale Josh Robison Kathrin Smith
Jesse Goble Josh Will Katrina Agedstein
Jesse Thomas Joshua & Bevin Proehl Kaya ‘Greenstrider’ Yavuz
Jessica & Ralf Schi Joshua Brown Kazair Lux
Jibby Joshua Crosby Keegan
Jim Deeley, Chosen of Kha’tuum- Joshua Hillerup Keichiokami
Ha, Bearer of the Spark of Joshua Little Keith E. Hartman
the Forge-Fire’s Flame Keith Harper
Joshua Silberfein
Jim Schofield Kelgamum
Joshua Tomas
jkomg Kelly and Alex Beigh
Josiah Aldridge
João Pedro Rodrigues Kelly Pedersen
Joyous Rebellion Against Winter
Joe Arnaud Kemp
JP
Joe Cloutier Ken Finlayson
JP Estey
Joe Limond Kenneth Gilbert
Juan Donglé, Pirate Lord
Joel B. of the Western Seas Kenneth McComber
Joel Silverman Juani B. Kergonan
John B. Jub Jub, Fear Be His Name Kevin “TheLawfulGeek“ Kutlesa
John B. Julian Kay Kevin Brecht
John C. Oeffinger II Julien “Crop-Weaver“ Kevin Lawler
John Fay Teychené-Blanc Kevin Mueller
John Hunter Harper Julien “Samanosuke“ Lecleire Kieran Healey

401
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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

Kill Stompy the Death Trumpet Lex Mad Rubicant

Killian Thurston Liam Andrew Green Madeline McCaul
Kim Caya Liam Miller MadLetter
Kim JC Liam Murray Mads Jessen
Kintani Mayato Lillian Brimm Magus
Kira Douglas Lily A. Capizzi Mammoth Circle
Kiri Lindharin Mandible Bones
Kirt LeBlanc Lisa Dyson Manny Nepomuceno, Zenith
Kolbey Araujo Liz Rogers Caste Sandata ng Liwanag
Kori Sunderman Logan Corkwell Manosque Epoch
Kris “Drako“ Moynahan Logan M Manyfaced Chameleon
Kris Baxter Logan Rollins Mao Tenno IV
Kroll Loki “Silver Eyes“ Ashaman Marc Lummis
Kryptyk Physh Loki Wyrm Marc M
Kurt Piersol Lord Count Jonathon R. Gershon Marc-André Sarrazin
Kyle Doolin Lord Fox-Huntington (A.K.A. Hubris Knight)
Kyle Henick Lorelei Marceline Donovan-Scott
Kyle L. Lori Krell Marcin F.
Kyle Novich LossCondition Marcus “Vorpalesque“ McClure
Kyle R. LostLight Marcus Dageryd
Kyle Stoneman Louis-Philippe Desroches Marigold
Kyle Wheeler Low Vice Mark A. Moore
Kyranthos Luca Mark B Manders
L Collins Lucas Garrett Mark Couture
L. Fuica Lucas L. Mark Hendrickson
Weird of the Wise
Lady Valas Ashre, Lady Lucy “wyrdness“ Fletcher
of the Crimson Shore Mark Rae
Lukas
Laney Moore III Mark W Roy
Lukas Adam
Lars Lauridsen Markus Kostarczyk
Lukas Buergi
Lars-Henrik Evjan Marques Haley
Luke Moran
Laura Farrell Martin V Ottesen
Luke Phillips
Laura T. Martin Weller
Luke Turpeinen
Lauren Priest Mary McDowell
Luna-Victoria
Laurent Rambaud Massimiliano Johnson
Lyle Hansen III
Laurie & Genevieve Matt Breece
Lysander Sky
Lawrence G Matt Lemmons
M. Andrlon
Ledaal Kebok Catala Matt ‘Octane’ Hufstetler
M. Kirstejn Hansen
Lee Moneta-Koehler Matt Pellegrino
M. Laut
Leet Matt Petruzzelli
M. Mathew
Legionman Matt Piasecki
M. Ramage
Lei of Secrets Matt Sawyer
M.Doherty
Leif Fairbairn Matt Strawn
M.J. Monleón
Leslie Stevens Matt Streit
M.Warren
Leslie Wea Matt Thaviphon
Maciej Baran
Levin Eskarian, the Dancer Matthew “Krawkpaladin“ Parsons
Maciej Napiórkowski
Lewis Pearce Matthew and Stephanie
Mackenzie Belmont

204 402
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 CROWDFUNDING BACKERS

Bissette-Roark Michael Oliver Nathan S. Hoskins

Matthew Aper Michael Parker Nathanael Grinnell
Matthew Ballard Michael Pichon Nathaniel C. Bailey
Matthew Blanski Michael Pietrelli Navve Segal
Matthew Earlyw Michael Porter Nessalantha
Matthew J Dunne Michael Seay Newton E. Grant
Matthew Joel Stewart Michael T. Dalton-Martin Nicholas Mon
Matthew Leviant Michael V. Roberts Nicholas Parker
Matthew Madden Michael W. Mattei Nicholas Peterson
Matthew Malis Michael, Chosen of Trees Nicholeas Kirkpatrick
Matthew McGuire Mikael Assarsson Nick Cadigan
Matthew Oldhaver Mike Bowie Nick Keyuravong
Matthew Roberts Mike Bruner Nick Payida
Matthew Russo Mike Gill Nicklaus G.
Matthew Sanderson Mike Gilligan Nickolas C. Kik
Matthew Tait Mike Koster Nicola Went
Matthew Trent Mike Montgomery Niels van Tol
Matthew Tridento Mike Ong Nik May
Matthew York Mike W. Leavitt Noah “Kira“ Aalders
Matthias Bruns Minty Noah K
Matthias Zuchowski Miraclegrow Ntslatko
Max “Khamyr“ Beaumont Mirage of the Shattered Soul Octavio Arango
Max Huntington Mirek Zurek Odanuki
Max Werner Mischa Wolfinger Oliver S.
Maximus MissMaddy Omenowl
Meiyun Mitchell Diamond Oomizuao
Meles Badger MJ Danlin Ophris Justin
Melody Haren Anderson Molez Orzyel
Melusine of the Roses Molly Landgraff Oscar Fenton
Meredith, Voyager Of Molua Young Owen Cartwright
Troubled Waters Monica Phillips Owen Wesley Kerschner
Meridian Monica Speca Owen Wesley Kerschner
Mette Arenkiel Monika “Gryf“ Biskupska Paige of Cups
Mewsocks Morgan Cassidy Panu “Possessed“ Laukkanen
Micah Finch Morgan Foxgrove Paolo Biggio
Michael “Monghani“ Watkins Morgan Rose Pat Murphy
Michael Agapeyev Moss Patrício C. Júnior
Michael Brewer Mr. Mercutio Patrick Carrick
Michael Feldhusen Muriel S. Patrick Eli Dunn
Michael Kently bani Merinita MysticTemplar Patrick Fagan
Michael Kently bani Merinita Name that Flows like Diarrhoea Patrick J.
Michael Kostruba Naomi Clark Patrick Maes
Michael Maitan Nasser al’Ahmad Patrick McMurry
Michael Mooney, the Nathan Baxter Paul Hayes
Tyranny of Books Nathan D. Paul Messenger
Michael O. Holland Nathan R. Paul Ryan

403
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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

Paul Singleton Randomikari Ronald Neises Jr

Paul Weimer Raoslin Rorou, Arbiter of the 4th Law
Paulo Contopoulos Raphael Bressel Rory Judith
Paxson Bachus Rapture of the Razor’s Edge Rose Chord
Pedro Oginio Rathen RoseWood
peelingchrome Raun Sedlock Ross Owen Qualls
Pele - Zenith Caste, former Raven Zotti-Rhodes Ross Ramsay
Priestess of Hamoji. Raziere Ross Story
Peter Mabbott Rebecca Harbison Rowan, The Tree That
Peter Mikkelsen Red Claws Running Conjures Fire
Peter Ryan Reikoku Ruby Scourgebringer
Peter Steponaitis Remiel Ryan & Danielle Ferguson
Petri Wessman ‘Reseru’ Sansone Ryan “The Galby“ Galbraith
Petter Wäss Resplendant Riley Ryan Cain
Phil Beal Reth Shannar Ryan Gracey
Phil Hattie Rev. Phillip Malerich Ryan Holden
Philip Barkow Rian Socia Ryan J Hogsden
Philip F. Hunt-Bull Richard b Ryan McWilliams
Philipp Neurohr Richard Javier “Blaque“ Ryan Moore
Phillip M. Jr. Stephenson Ryan Poss
Pierre ‘Tyrendia’ Martin Richard L. Skinner III Ryan Rasey
PlatFleece Richard Lee Ryan Ventura
Plucky Hero Richard Sexton Ryan Wellman
Pól Richard Stratton S Kato
Pram Rick Wilson S Sigmon
Prezhit of the Lost Creation Roads Of Shadow S. Smith
Prince Emmanuel Maxi Rob K S. Snyder
Prince of Brass Rob Klein-Beernink Saelvarath
Prof. Tentakulus Rob Lally Sage, Wizened warrior of honor.
Punexpected Robby Peterson Saint Evil
Quasi robdog Saleem Halabi
Quetzal Carter Oropeza Roberic N. Sam “Bifford the Youngest“ Byford
Quinn Robert “Jefepato“ Dall Sam “Scattershot“ Miller
Quinn Radich Robert Christmas Sam Cameron-McKee
R Gregory Luciani Robert Frost and Veronica Ellis
R Rensberger Robert Harris Sam Myatt
R Sean Callahan Robert Jordan Sameer Yalamanchi
R Turner Robert Keenan Sammy Childress
R.Daines Robert Mayotte Samuel Dail
R’kaiyu and Lisette Robert Siemiński Samuel Gaskins
Rafael e Luciana Devera Robin Phoenix Samuel Gordon Mitson
Rafe Richards Robinson Fulcher Samuel Simons
Raijier the Dawnhammer Rodger L. Gamblin Santino crivello
Raijinslayer Roffster Sarah Fairbanks
RainSandDew Roland Ayliffe Sarah Kennedy
Ralph Romain de L’Adret du Piciorus Satoshi

404 404
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 CROWDFUNDING BACKERS

Savan Varil Sinople Taki Dallis

Scipia Harold Siriux Taksin Chakri
Scott “Lyshote“ Banks Skyler Crossman Tanya
Scott Kelley Ernest Solatra Lilac Harvinkai Tatsuya
Scott Morris Somajima “Quercia Tempestosa” TDS
Scruffy Paladin of Or-Tench Somber Orchid Teller of Tales
Sean “Ariamaki“ Riedinger Son of Silk and Stone Terinas Tiger
Sean “Garg“ McAlister Song of Bells Terrance A. Bryant
Sean and Katherine Handcoxk Sophie Anderson Terrence Deming
Seán Leaney Spear Terrinix
Sean M Croteau Spencer Timerman Terry from Systematic
Sean McGrath Spencer Verlo Understanding of Everything
Sean Moore Spencer Wil Tessa McLaughlin
Sean O’Neill St. Bertie Tetsuo
Sean Patterson Stands Ever Truthful Tetsuzuru Akeha
Sean Vincent Wells Star’n’Six Thad Green
Sean Z Novak Steel Lotus the Bellwether Beast
Seana McGuinness Steen Chr. Rosenørn The Captain, Peleps Bael
Sebastian Menke Stefano Monachesi The Crone’s Jade Cat
Sebastiano Stephan Szabo The Delicious Bargain Sandwhich
Seika Stephen Bond THE Donnie
Selanye Stephen Esdale The Empty Claw
Serena Payette Stephen Gawrit The Freelancing Roleplayer
Sesus Weijin Jahar Stephen Naum The Friends of Liam Karry
Seth A. Nahk Steve “KidBehemoth“Carroll The Nemian
Seth Maurer Steve Locke The Nightmare Lord,
Setra, Exigent of Glass Steven Nicholson William Smith
Shafi Ziauddin Still Sky The Old Man
Shankar M-M Still Sky of the Blazing Lotus Sect The onyx fox
Shattendrache Stormer Aurion The Prophet Draped in
Indigo Vestments
Shawn Campbell StormRider
the Spear of Heaven
Shawn Connor Stormshot
The Unsung Hero
Shawn Hagen Strangeshrimp
TheBearIsDrivng
Shawn P Stu MacLeod
TheLazyOne
Shawn Polka Stuart “Pattern Spider“ Adam
TheNabster
Shay Stringer Stuart V Taft
Theodore Alteneder
Shlagevuk Sydney Savoy
Thief-of-Faces
Shrykull Sylv-Eyed Frame Spinner
Thomas Balls-Thies
Siegward of Catarina Symphony of Broken Chains
Thomas Hiddleston
Silk Moon Lotus Synapse
Thomas J Fleming
Silver Lily, Daughter of Syrynax
Burning Feather Thomas Lutterman
sysid_ACE
Silver Wind Thomas Martin
T. Leslie
Simon Lavigueur Thomas Maund
T. Panebianco
Simon M. Radecki Thorn Amidst Roses
T.J. Wilson
Sìne A. E. Watson Thrice Blessed Razor
Taft Punk

405
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 EXIGENTS: OUT OF THE ASHES

Throne Verdant Sorrow’s Malice Xarl Lyon

Tiernán Ó hAlmhain Vernon Lee Leggett Jr Xiwo Xerase
Tim Aumônier Veronica Xizz
Tim D. Vesp Yabvi
Timothy Mushel Viatos Yannick Gueye
Tireless Justice Engine Vibrant Author of Stories Untold Yesman
Toast Victor De Sena Yesman
Tobias Lykke Skovhus Victor T. Yim Amethyst
Todd Ebert Victorious Abbot of the Bay Yui
Tom Connolly Vilkas Fowler Zach M.
Tom Slaughter Vincent “Victorien LOYOLA“ Mora Zachary S.D.
Tommy Svensson Vincent Gonsalves Zachery Naldrett
Tony Adkins Vincent Turchetta Zack Simon
Tony Ferrannini Violet Green Zak Strassberg
Tore Andre Rønningen Vise Zeustopher
Torrey Stouder-Studenmund Viveka Nylund Ziv Ragowsky
Trae R Vojtech Pribyl zmef
Travis Stewart Vucrulez
Travis Tomon Vulgar Worlock
Trent E Di Renna Vulthuryol
Trevor Hamblin W. Nutt
Trevor Hannon W. Wheeless
Tricia Guillot Wajanai Snidvongs
Tricky Walker Glassmire
Tristan Beck Walker Hedrick
Tristan Severs Walter B. Schirmacher
Trollune Walter F. Croft
Troy Brown Wandering Horizon
Troy Lenze Waroth Kel’dire
Tsuki_Ouji Warren Finnie
Two Steps Over the Horizon Warren P Nelson
TwoQuestions Water-Upon-Stone
Tybar Sunsong Wayne seeger
Tyler Perry Wes M.
Tyler Philbrick Wesley King
Tyler Shield Whitt.
Tyson Collins William Bethel and
Uncanny Luck Raewynne Elisheva
Unity-of-Rings William Bryant
Unlamented Ruin William Martin
Unlimited Innovator of William Strickling
Man and Machine Willow “Keiki“ Lavender
Unseen Librarian Willy Kaceres
Ustra Wren
Vejuz Wyrd
Venatius Xander Critchley

604 406
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