Ich habe vor einiger Zeit mal eine ein bisschen besondere Exalted-Runde geschoben und das Ergebnis dann zusammengeschrieben. Vielleicht gefällt es ja jemandem. (Achtung: Ist auf Englisch für international.)
I have been mastering games for years , but yesterday, I think I finally crossed into the dubious world of high-concept RPGs. Since our scheduled roleplaying session was cut short by a friend's early departure, we decided not to let the remaining two hours go to waste and chose to play Exalted.
On the other hand, creating characters and setting up the story would have taken way too long, so we abridged it as much as possible. So please enjoy "Exalted: The 2-hour campaign".
Character creation:
Everybody got a post-it (bright orange) and was asked to paint his chosen caste mark on it. That's actually fancy to show the caste mark glowing. Just stick it to your forehead.
They added a name, some drew a character portrait, everybody had a few seconds to describe the character and on we went. (Time: 10 minutes)
Introduction:
The characters, a pirate queen "The Jade Princess" (Night), a merchant seaman "Captain Arcady Jonah" (Eclipse) and his trusted engineer aide "Talim" (Twilight) meet during the pirates' dramatic attack on the captain's ship, working for the Sapphire society. As they meet, their collective essences cumulate and lead to exaltation. Indeed, the converging fates awaken a monstrous creature, a Kraken of sort, that attacks the belligerents. (Time: 2 minutes)
The players now had to describe their characters' previous lives. The captain was once the "Shogun above and beyond the Western sea" (IIRC), who lost himself in endless tactical considerations and was unprepared when the usurpation came. The pirate queen was once a famed sculptor who created life like beings of stone. In the end, she attempted to create herself again from animated stone and lost herself. Finally, the engineer was once a mighty mage and sorceress who ruled demons and spirits alike. In the end, she became so embroiled in her power games, that she fell prey to those she trusted. (Time: 3 minutes)
Everybody stunted once to defeat the Kraken, but the creature destroyed the ships and they fell into unconsciousness.
Chapter 1:
The characters are washed ashore an unknown island and are quickly surrounded by natives coloured like orca whales. A swift fight forces their foes to submit and direct them to the nearest city, the base of "Murders beneath the waters", an Abyssal. His fortress is constructed on the sheer side of a cape, built of spherical buildings growing on it like mould. Each one infiltrates the fortress. In the process, the Jade Princess gains her mount, a giant albino bat.
They enter the place and fight the Abyssal, who is a distorted, shark-like monstrosity from their nightmares and who fights them with his trident. Much kung-fu ensues. Five stunts later, the enemy is defeated, having wounded them in the process. They take over the area and rebuild it. We skip five years. (Time: 10 minutes)
Intermission:
"Murders beneath the waters"' patron realises the return of his enemies.
Chapter 2:
The characters settle down and prepare to establish their legacy. They create a powerful state. Talim sets out to construct a fleet of mighty airships. One of the ships is lost, they go to recover it. Travelling north, they find it perched atop a huge iceberg. As the land, they realise that it is a trap of the Primordials. They are frozen into place as the ice-god cackles from thousands of reflections. At the same time, wild men, clad in wolf furs attack. Beastmen! The Princess and Arcady fight them. Arcady duels Walhold the Ulfserker. Using mystic powers of sorcery, Talim emprisons one of the reflections and turns it against the whole. Arcady destroys the iceberg with one mighty blow. The beastmen pledge their allegiance. The characters return triumphantly. We skip ten years. (Time: 10 minutes)
Intermission:
The Emperor spanks his favourite concubine while masturbating into an eunuchs mouth. (It's Exalted after all.)
Chapter 3:
The characters have expanded their powerbase and have become a threat to the local masters. They plan to destroy them, but the Jade Princess finds out about the plan. She decides to go and assassinate their commander. Later, at the palace of Stormcap, base of the attack fleet, the master prepares to take a bath. His current love slips into the bath. He appears to be very pleased as she offers to put some aphrodisiac into the pool. Beguiled by her charms, he is unaware of the deception and instantly devoured by the horrid acid. The Jade Princess herself is immune, having spent the last ten years building up a resistance to it. Arcady walks in and declares the city conquered as things blow up in the background. Once again, ten years are skipped. (5 minutes)
Intermission:
More imperial spanking.
Chapter 4:
The West now firmly under their control, the three heroes pursue their quest to recover their ancient might. However, a new threat looms. For several months, strange objects are all the craze. Taking care of them causes great pleasure and delight, but makes the user calm and apathetic. Just as the characters decide to do something against this, a powerful Imperial fleet attacks, heralded by giant flying nautilus hammerheads, engineered by Abyssal masters. Behind them follow waves of manta riding dragonblooded and an enormous fleet. Deciding to need bigger firepower, the characters travel west to find their manse. Riding as fast as they can, they reach the Palace of Waves, perched atop a cyclopean column of blasphemous marble, in the far reaches of the Wyld. There, they meet a court of gentlefolk, all of them strangely misshapen to be both beautiful and crustacean/cephalopodic alike. Facing their massive power, the characters decide to challenge them to a game.
The master of the house chooses the game of "suicide". Whoever kills himself first wins and will hold the other prisoner forever. The Princess quickly shapes a double of herself and prepares to infuse it with her essence, thereby destroying herself. However, the plan fails spectacularly as she finds herself drawn into the underworld. Below her, an enormous essence trap awaits her. Under a massive chain of soulsteel, a bramble of torns, holding the rudimentary remains of the now abyssal exalted hangs. The others decide to save her and destroy themselves. Roaring into the Abyss, they manage to hold their selves together by using Murders under the waters' essence which they had trapped earlier as a shield. They find the rest of his original essence and reassemble it, breaking open the prison in the process and returning to the overworld in the process, surfing on top of a tsunami of soul shards. Murders under the waters is reassembled and will soon reincarnate.
The characters reappear before the Fey and declare themselves winners. They order them to restore the palace and to create a machine that everyone would like to possess and which will cause great pleasure and delight, but will make the user calm and apathic until a certain signal is given whereupon they would turn into fierce warriors. They also demand a powerful army of relentless stone warriors. Finally, they travel back a few months and distribute the objects.
Clearly, the approaching fleet is destroyed. We skip 5 years and take a break to take a piss. (20 minutes)
Intermission:
The destruction of the prison has caused a massive ripple in the universe, allowing the Scarlet Empress to return and break the neck of her unfortunate heir. No more spanking for him.
Chapter 5:
Karrom, Murders under the Waters new incarnation, arrives before the other characters. There is much rejoicing. It is revealed that Karrom was once a mighty warrior of the North, sold into slavery in the East and forced to push a huge piece of timber to pump water. Hence his strength. It is also revealed that his name was initially Dances under the Waters and that he was a nice guy before his fall.
The characters hear word of the South asking for their support to free themselves of slavery. Together, they infiltrate the city of Gem and organise their takeover. Arcady prepares the rebellion by training the conspirators in the art of war. The Princess murders increasingly high-ranking officers of the dragonblooded in order to destabilise their command structure. Talim creates a device to turn off the energy sources in the area. The take-over happens and is a full success. The other local warlords attack, but are halted by Talim's device. Gem prevails!
Arcady meets Loves as if on Coals, his salamander-aspected Lunar mate. (10 minutes)
Intermission:
The Scarlet Empress activates the Imperial Manse and threatens the Solars with its power.
Chapter 6:
The characters infiltrate the Imperial City and enter the Manse. The players and I each propose a trap or challenge which the player to the right has to solve. They do so and enter the center of the Manse. There, they fight the Empress. Each one of the players must choose one thing that their characters sacrifice in order to best her. Arcady sacrifices his trusty twin scimitars Wavebreaker and the other one. (the player couldn't come up with a name.) The Princess loses her precious giant albino bat. Talim gives up her left arm and the ice spirit. Bleeding and bruised, they prevail. (20 minutes)
Chapter 7:
As they take control of the Manse, the Invincible Sun appears. Outraged by the fact that his creation is once again trying to best him, he challenges them to a final battle. The players spend a few minutes debating about what to do next. In the end, they create a challenge that means that the winner returns to the heavens, ever to remain there. The loser will remain upon Creation. An epic battle is about to ensue, when the Sun realises he has been tricked. Enraged, he retreats to the Home of the Gods but takes the solar essences with him. (20 minutes)
Epilogue:
The characters awake on the beach they had been washed ashore in the beginning. They are rescued by a group of people who are clearly civilised, prosperous and free. They bring them to the proud and beautiful capital and allow them to live a long and happy life. They are even able to achieve the three goals of correct living: old age, many children and a post in the administration. In a world without gods, they can be free and happy.
However, as they live on, the fifth of their circle appears, and he will be the greatest prophet of all!
The End (2 minutes)
Thema: Ein älterer Spielbericht, aber vielleicht lustig ... (Gelesen 1966 mal)
