All Creation
This is an (eventually) Creation-spanning campaign that will consist of multiple STs running chronicles in tandem. They will be high-powered, epic, and world-shaking.
The current ST's are Muse and myself (Xeriar), but any player familiar with the rules can run a Chronicle.
Chronicle
A Chronicle is a given ST's main storyline, consisting of their overall metaplot for a specific region. Others can run their own adventures in the region, of course, but these need to fit within the overall main story. Crossover between Chronicles is possible, but it will be rare - they will usually influence each other through intermediaries - news spreading, and so on.
Weeks
Chronicles are broken down by weeks. First of Ascending Fire, Second of Ascending Fire, and so on. Calibration occurs after the Fourth week of Descending Fire, making 61 'Weeks' per year.
During a given Week (besides the introductory ones, of course), players of a given Chronicle will declare their main character's goals. Rather than continuous sessions with strict GM involvement, these will largely be roleplaying exercises with challenges that may even be player-run. The benefits of these will be commensurate with the character's capabilities, and challenges posed. Going artifact-hunting in the safer areas of Rathess may reward a minor artifact, for example, and what gets considered 'safer' will expand with the player's capabilities.
For the above reasons, the players are expected to be creative, and willing to develop and document parts of the setting as well. Rather than force the poor storyteller to come up with every last detail of a given week, players instead roleplay out specific scenes with each other in order to show their progress.
This doesn't have to be with the Storyteller, but instead can be with NPCs or PCs other players have created. Any respectable amount (at least 30 sentences per player / 30 minutes) of roleplay at all gives the base value of one xp going towards background dots for that week for the participating players' main characters, with more according to the following table:
- Sentences Per Player or Minutes: Reward
- 30: 1 background-only xp
- 60: 2 background-only xp
- 90: 3 background-only xp
- 120: 1 xp + 1 background-only xp
- 150: 1 xp + 2 background-only xp
- 180: 1 xp + 3 background-only xp
These will be eyeballed, roughly, I'm not too concerned about trusted players cheating on this since it's invitation only. In the case of spell research, background xp points can go towards the cost of the spell. This is the only form of training that permits this sort of development, however.
- Major characters in a chronicle have an xp total equal to half their player's main character, provided they are played somewhat regularly.
- Backgrounds over three dots require ST approval, as do all manses / demesnes and anything else that has a spot on the map.
- Backgrounds above five are exceptionally rare, and require six points per dot instead of three. They will need to be considered individually.
Events
Events occur when players or the Storyteller decide to shake up the chronicle a bit. They take the place of normal weekly training, searching, and development, and are much more like traditional gaming sessions. These will ideally be scheduled to complete in a given day.
House Rules
I'm trying to keep this list short. What follows are the best and most important ones I've come up with.
- Celestials are considered to have all Reflexive Charms with the Combo-OK keyword in each of their combos, for free.
- This means they also begin with a 'free' combo, where they can spend a willpower to make use of any and all Combo-OK Reflexives known, provided they have only used another Combo-OK Reflexive Charm during their action. This 'combo' is updated as more such Charms are purchased, and the result is similar to the free reflexives Dragon-Blooded get, but is more limited.
- This means (Ability) Essence Flow doesn't exist. See Excellencies for a list of additional excellencies, and (slight) house rules for them.
- Characters have incapacitated health levels equal to their Essence.
- Extras use my Fast Extras rules.
- Fulfilling a sufficiently epic Motivation will allow a main character to raise their Essence above 5.
- Celestial Exalted pay one less bp and two less xp for Charms.
- Sorcery and Necromancy require mastery of thaumaturgy to learn properly.
- The Knowledge background may be purchased by major and main characters to fill this need. Players who don't want to mess with the old PG rules can simply buy up the background equal to the required Occult rating and assume they know enough.
- Rather than purchasing specialties for an Art, they can be 'mastered' for 7 bp / 12 xp (requires purchasing the Art first). This gives 3 dice, replacing the original 2, but cannot be taken with specialties.
- Exalted (only) get a 2 bp discount on purchasing all arts and sciences with the knowledge background, and a 2 xp discount otherwise.
- Favoring Occult -and- Lore gives a 2 bp discount / 2 xp discount that stacks with the above, and works on Rituals.
- Mass Combat rules will change.
