Abyssal Exalted (Kickstarter Preview)

John Mørke escribió:"Let them go if they want to go; let them be free. Eventually, they will bring darkness to the world, as surely as we, the Solars once did."
—The Bodhisattva Anointed by Dark Waters

John Mørke escribió:What I have for the Walker atm, is that he marches his spectral army around Creation, and his Shadowland marches with him, like a dark cloud moving over the landscape. He offers his military services to embattled nations for a grim price.

Still very philosophical. I love the idea of him kneeling in a courtroom, accepting an honor from a king, while the queen is backed up in her throne as far as she can get, the whole court is aghast and terrified, and swimming with living shadows, an he is holding a bleeding rose up to the queen in offering.

Oh, I always planned him to remain a warrior poet. The mercenary angle is to make him more accessible, a character that kings and leaders have actually treated with.Oh, I always planned him to remain a warrior poet. The mercenary angle is to make him more accessible, a character that kings and leaders have actually treated with.

The question is always whether you can pay the Walker's price. It's a bit of a monkey's paw.

Richard Thomas escribió:But before we get to our usual Milestones breakdown, we need to address the concerns that the Abyssals Preview raised after we posted it. We're extremely sorry that the intent of the Charms was not clear and that the descriptions did not convey the powers to such an extent as to make readers upset. The Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears's Charms were written as they were to emulate the truly evil actions she is capable of, but it is clear from the comments here and across the internet that we were not clear in exactly what those evils were. After reading through them with the concerns of others as our guide, as opposed to our intentions, we can see how some folks were appalled at what was presented. Rest assured that we are listening to ALL of the feedback and are adjusting the text to create the interpretation of the Charms that we did intend. In the spirit of further clarification, I give you this message from the Devs:

As it turns out, concept thumbnails don't communicate as much detail as full Charm writeups, and some people wanted clarification on the style and intent of a couple of the Charm ideas in the recent Abyssals preview. Without further ado, we're happy to clarify the idea behind those Charms here:

Frozen Watchfire Embrace

Frozen Watchfire Embrace lets an Abyssal manage multiple lovers at once, while maintaining her parasitism, and also causing them to boil with lust for her. Those apparitions are not for rape. They are for haunting, and seduction. They will be insistent, terrifying, and seductive, but ultimately only the dark lusts and passions of the target will allow these phantoms to do what their master has bid. They take the deathknight's paramour down the road to damnation. By giving in, said lover knows they are giving in to something dark and terrible, yet incredibly desirable. There's no force involved, only haunting seduction.

Black Rose Blooming

You shroud yourself in the unearthly perfection of the grave, achieving a beauty beyond the ken of the mortal world. Pale figures and moaning shadows, ephemera drawn from the Underworld by your deathly allure, rustle at the eaves, blow past the windows, and press their hands and lips to the doors of your abode, whispering your name, whispering for someone to let them in.

On the road at night, a lone traveler might find herself meeting a rider with skin like white orchids and a perfect symmetry of form and figure. He seems a romantic icon from another world, and as he asks her name, restless shades flit through the trees, creep into the road, and touch his legs and his horse with aching, possessive awe. He brushes them aside as he helps the traveler onto the back of his horse and takes off into the night, the phantoms riding in his wake, not quite daring to call out his forbidden, forsaken name. Neither woman nor rider are seen again, not in that region.

Abyssal tone

Exalted doesn't tend to pull punches when describing ugly things in its setting, or to sugar-coat the excesses, vices, or atrocities of its heroes. This makes striking an appropriate tone when talking about the specifically awful parts of the game—such as a monster like the Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears—a careful balancing act. To be clear, the Abyssal Exalted and their Deathlord creators delve into some very dark themes at times, but to be equally clear, Exalted is supposed to be fun to play. We appreciate and are considering the great feedback we've gotten as a result of the latest preview.

Sol Invicto escribió:Las aclaraciones son muy buenas. La verdad que el tema de la "apologia de la violacion" fue surrealista al punto de decidirme a darme unas vacaciones de lurkear en rpg.net

But doing this required reworking the Deathlords. They
needed to be more interesting, inviting, exciting characters
without overwhelming the Abyssals with their very presence.
Similarly, the nature of the Deathlord/Abyssal relationship
has been changed to master/apprentice, rather than master/
slave. The Deathlords have created the Abyssals in their own
image. As fallen Solars, these cranky old superghosts have
quite a bit to say on the subject of building Realms… and
watching them die.
Abyssals can be both allies of the Deathlords, or solo acts
who turn their back on the offers of tutelage, of lands and
titles in the Underworld, and of artifacts of legendary power.
They can even be renegades, fighting against the goals of the
Deathlords or even the ancient dreaming Neverborn.