unconquered 2006playtest

8/11/2019 Unconquered 2006playtest

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Unconquered

alternate ruleset by

Jonathan Walton

cover art by

Jennifer Rodgers

a free

fanbook

for

o h o w g l o r i o u st h y r e s p l e n d a n tt r a n s m i g r a t i o n

y o u c h i l d r e n o fthe undying sun,

or


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o h o w g l o r i o u st h y r e s p l e n d a n tt r a n s m i g r a t i o n

y o u c h i l d r e n o fthe undying sun,

or

Unconquered

Unconquered is a fanbook and alternative rulesetfor Exalted, a roleplaying game Te purpose of the

Anathema Rulesis to use the rich setting and char-acter information in the Exalted roleplaying game,but play by a completely different set of rules. Teserules are intended to facilitate a syle of play that Ivebeen calling structured freeform. Tis isnt meant tobe a fancy label, just a description. Te rules pro-

vide concrete guidelines for structuring play, but theplayers are expected to to dectermine what happenswithout relying on dice or comparing numbers. Imhardly an expert on freeform, but certain aspects ofthis approach excite me.

Freeform roleplaying relies on a shared under-standing of what play is supposed to be like, insteadof lengthy written rules. Tis shared understandinggrows deeper over the course of play. Many freeformtechniques can be formalized into written rules, mak-ing play less freeform but also structures it in inter-esting ways. I really enjoy designing in a freeform-influenced style and theAnathema Rules reflect thisinterest.

Te complex rules of Exaltedare definitely part ofthe games appeal, but the level of density and depthis not for everyone. Since theres no One Right Wayto play, this project is an attempt to make Exalted

work for people who may not be as excited by thecrunch or who may love crunch but dont necessar-ily want it all the time.

With the second edition of Exalted, additions suchas Motivations, Intimacies, Social Combat, and ex-panded Experience guidelines brought in new ideas.

Attempts were made to better support elements ofplay that didnt involve combat. TeAnathema Rulesfocuses extensively on the newer non-combat me-chanics, while ignoring most of the combat-relatedguidelines.

Te games that have most influenced the Anath-ema Rules besides, of course Exalted includeFudge (Steffen OSullivan), Nobilis (Rebecca SeanBorgstrom),My Life with Master(Paul Czege), Dogs

in the Vineyard (Vincent Baker), Te Shadow of Yes-terday (Clinton R. Nixon), Polaris (Ben Lehman),Primetime Adventures(Matt Wilson), Scarlet Wake(Ben ONeil), and 1001 Nights(Meguey Baker). Asfar as I know, all of these are creator-owned games.Most of them were written by game designers whofrequent Te Forge(indie-rpgs.com), a website thatpromotes creator ownership and self-publishing.If you arent familiar with every single one of thesegames, youre missing out on something. Tey are

terrific.

Tanks to Shreyas Sampat, Tomas Robertson,Selene an, Daniel Solis, obias D. Bindslet, DevPurkayastha, Neel Krishnaswami, Matt Machell,Lauren Deans, Joshua Kashinsky, and everyone atRPGnet who commented on earlier drafts, especiallyBailyWolf. Brand Robins wanted to help too, butwas foiled by the internet.

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Characters

Im gonna walk through character traits to explainhow to create characters and how character infroma-tion is invoked during play. When preparing to usetheAnathema Rules, the players should always makecharacters as a group, in real-time. Doing this in per-

son is best, but online chat clients help when thatsnot an option. Each player should focus on devel-oping a single character (these rules do not requirea Storyteller), but throwing concepts and trait ideasback and forth is super awesome.

Essence

One of the most basic measurements of an Ex-alted character is their Essence, which indicates their

level of supernatural power. In this version of therules, starting Essence is determined as follows:

0:Mortals1:Mortal Heroes2:errestrial Exalted3: Celestial Exalted

Unless you have a special kind of story in mind,you dont want to play mortals or even mortal he-roes, you want to play the Exalted. In stories about

the Exalted, mortals and mortal heroes are often lit-tle more than scenery, and no player should be stuckplaying scenery. Tese instructions focus on creatingcharacers who are already members of the newly re-born Solar Exalted (Essence 3). Make adjustments asneeded.

But in What Order?

Tere are no hard and fast rules about what or-der you choose your characters traits. Do whateverseems to work for you. Additionally, your names andconcepts may change over the course of charactercreation. A good plan is to write down ideas for con-

cepts and names before beginning character creationand then, once youve finished, change them to re-flect who the character actually ended up becoming.

Caste & What Follows

Te Solar Exalted are divided into five Castes,based on their social roles during the legendary FirstAge. Castes help determine characters initial traitsand give the players a general idea of what the char-

acters roles were during the First Age.- Dawn(warrior-strategists)- Zenith (priest-kings)- wilight (wizard-scholars)- Night(ninja-tricksters)- Eclipse(traveler-ambassadors)

During the initial step of character creation, thegroup will map out how your characters became whothey are now. You will do this by deciding on a num-

ber of character concepts and names for each char-acter. Tese concepts and names describe the charac-ters at each stage of their lives.

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Concepts

Concepts come in four different varieties and aretied to a characters Essence. Starting Celestial Exalt-ed (including Solars) begin play with three concepts,one for each level of Essence: their Heroic Concept,Exaltation Concept, and First Age Concept. When a

Celestial Exalted gains Essence during play, they gaina Legend Concept, one for each level of Essence after3.

errestrial Exalted begin play at Essence 2 andhave no First Age Concept(not having been aroundthen). Tey gain their first Legend Conceptonce theyreach Essence 3.

Heroic Concept: Tis is a description of how yourcharacter distinguished themselves from the seeth-

ing sea of faceless individuals. It should give all theplayers a sense of what their life was like beforeExaltation. Your heroic concept should containa contradiction of some variety, something thatdrips with yummy story potential. Examples in-clude:

- Spoiled Daughter of a Venerable House- Enslaved Gladiator Working owards Freedom- Bandit Preying on the Corrupt Aristocracy

- Arranged Bride Living Among Foreign Peoples- Newly Appointed Priest of an Impoverished Village- Scholar Persucuted for Heretical Ideas- Reluctant Subject of a Renowned Prophecy- Honest Son Inherits a Criminal Organization- Opera Star Famous for Cross-Gender Roles- Borderlands Horse-Tief Moves to the Capitol

Since Exalts will be inevitably driven towards vio-

lence, just by their very nature, choosing a historyof violence (as a soldier, wandering swordsman,assassin, etc.) may provide fewer story hooks anda less well-rounded character in the long run. AllSolars have crazy badass kungfu ridiculousness tothrow down with, thanks to being reincarnatedmaster-killers. You dont need to justify their mar-

tial badassitude. So consider picking a conceptthats a bit more unique.

Exaltation Concept: Tis is a description your char-acters Exaltation. We know that the character ex-perienced a spiritual and emotional inner journey,but Exaltation is triggered by an extreme situationinvolving high stress levels. In the midst of a crisis,your character received the powers of a demigod,and these godlike abilities influenced the outcome

of the crisis. Each player should come up with ageneral idea of what crisis triggered their charac-ers Exaltation. Crisis examples include:

- Teir Merchant Caravan is Ambushed!- Teir Ship is Caught in the Very Jaws of Death!- Teir Wicked Uncle Pushes Tem Off a Cliff!- A Barbarian Horde Advances on Teir City!- Teir Home Region is Being Ravaged by Floods!- A Demon Lord Wants to Slay Teir Entire Family!

- Tey Are Rushed By an Angry Mob of Lepers!- A Great Beast is rying to Eat Tem!- Teir Village is Starving Amidst a Harsh Winter!- A Raging empest Treatens Teir Pirate Fleet!

After character creation but before play begins,each player will frams and then take on the roleof their character during a scene that describes theExaltation. After the scene is over, the player turns


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their crisis into their Exaltation Concept, basedon how the scene played out. Concept examplesinclude:

- Protected a Merchant Caravan from Ambush- Steered a Ship Trough the Very Jaws of Death- Survived Being Pushed Off the Side of a Mountain

- alked Down an Advancing Barbarian Horde- Saved the Entire Region from Raging Floods- Won the Undying Love of a Demon Lord- Spontaneously Healed an Angry Mob of Lepers- Lived Tree Days in the Belly of a Great Beast- Produced a Full Harvest in the Depths of Winter- Subdued the Raging empest with a Song

A better description of how to run Exaltationscenes follows the character creation instructions.For now, all you need is a crisis.

First Age Concept: During the process of Exalta-tion, each newly reborn Solar (or other CelestialExalt) receives a supernational vision. Tis visionincludes a glimpse of the time before their rein-carnation, during the primordial First Age. Testrongest memory, the one that sticks in theirmind, is inevitably of some great crime of van-ity and arrogance they committed. Tese crimesare what let to the revolt against the Solars andthe Great Curse. Solars did many terrible things,so the most memorable are the most personal,not some mindless buchery. For example, a Solarmight have:

- Met the Venerable Master on the Road & Slew Him- Freed a Demon from Her Eternal Imprisonment- Jealously Executed Every Other Woman in the City- Plunged the World into Darkness for a Month

- Sold My Allegiance for Balors Faerie Gold- Painted a Masrerpiece with His Childrens Blood- Brought the Whole Building Down Around Us- Led an Ill-Fated Expedition into the Underworld- Stole Teir Hearts and Kept Tem For My Own- And Tat Was the Last ime We Ever Spoke

Your characters chief crime is collectively chosenby your fellow players. A Caste provides the gen-eral idea (warrior-strategist, priest-king, wizard-scholar, ninja-trickster, or traveler-ambassador) ofwhat they might have been doing back then, butthe specifics of the crime are up for grabs. Char-acters can either embrace their historical identitiesor run from them. Imagine the story potential inhaving once been someone you despise! Still, play-ers should not write out characers past lives at this

point. Te First Age is a mystery that will be morefully uncovered during the course of play. Havinga tantalizing hint of what occured is enough.

Legend Concept: During play, you gain Essence.When you gain Essence, stop right then and writedown who your character has become, either whothe world knows them to be or how they person-ally concieve of themselves.


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Going against one of your Virtues gains you apoint of Limit, but it also enables you to move back-wards around the Chakram, from sunset to sunrise.Going against your Flawed Virtue gains you 3 pointsof Limit. Every Solar -- except Eclipses -- gains apoint of Limit from demonstrating Deference, whichis unnatural for Solars. When you hit 10 Limit, you

experience Limit Break, a crisis of Virtue, and de-scend into the darkness of your Flaw.

It is the GMs job to frame scenes in which char-acters can demonstrate: 1) their Virtues, 2) their Mo-tivations, or 3) their struggles in choosing betweenVirtues and Motivations. Te GM should vary be-tween these three different types of scenes and choosedifferent characters to focus on each time. In a scenein which the GM is not directly addressing one of

your Virtues or Motivations, see if you can addressit anyway, making the scene multifaceted and moreinteresting, but not hogging the spotlight at anothercharacters expense. Tis earns you experience, getsyour character closer to their goals, and is also con-sidered being a good player.

Flaw

You can pick a Flaw from the book if you like,

but, under these rules, Flaws are not specifically tiedto Virtues.

When you reach Limit Break, your Flaw takes overfor at least the remainder of the current scene. Youcannot continue around the Undying Bell Chakramto a new Virtue or until you demonstrate your Flawto the satisfaction of the other players. reat everynew scene as a scene in which your Flaw (instead of a

Virtue) dominates until this is resolved.

In order to crawl your way out of your Flaw-in-duced binge of sin, you must reinterpret one of yourVirtues in a radically different way in order to re-structure your values and carry on. Once you havesatisfactorily demonstrated your Flaw, pick one of the

Virtues that has been causing you to gain the Limit(by breaking it) and reinterpret it. For example, yourCompassion might change from Never AbandonTose In Needmight become Sometimes People Wantto Be Left Alone.

Motivations

Tese are exactly as normally described, the mainpurposes that drive your characer. Unlike the advicegiven in the core rulebook, Motivations dont have tobe especially mythic. Tey also include what, in othergames, might be called relationship traits: you lovesomeone, you hate someone, or youre in a hierarchi-cal relationship with them of some variety. In anycase, Motivations are what gets you out of bed in themorning, whether its Killing the Elemental Dragons,Obeying My Mother, or Seducing Prince Hakka.

You should start with at least one Motivation butno more than two. Starting Motivations should placeyour character directly and unavoidably in the pathof one or more of the other characters, for good orill. Other Motivations can be spontaneously createdduring play.

In general, Motivations serve to frame the overallcampaign (long-term Motivations) as well as particu-lar sessions (short-term Motivations). Motivationsdevelop over the course of play, either single sessions,


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multiple sessions, or the entire campaign. Tey in-evitably transform into new Motivations, but at dif-ferent rates based on whether characters are able tomake real progress on them or not.

At the end of a scene in which a character has at-tempted to address one of their Motivations, their

player should record a summery of what they wereable to accomplish. If they were completely frustratedin their attempt, thats important too and deserves tobe written down. Tese are called Accomplishments.

It is obviously easier to work on Obeying MomthanKilling the Elemental Dragons. However, dependingon the circumstances, the former might end up caus-ing more pain and anguish (and, ultimately, growth)than the later. Tis game does not pass judgement onyour Motivations. However, it does recommend thatyou try to maintain a variety of Motivations, fromdaily responsibilities to impossible moon dreams.Tis fits better with the rules and may even, we dareto suggest, lead to a more complex and fascinatingcharacter. But it may not.

If a character ever completes, abandons, or wantsto alter their Motivation, another Motivation needs tobe created to replace the previous one. Tis need nothappen immediately, since it might take a few scenes

for the character to figure out what to do next.

Once a Motivation has been replaced, its associ-ated Accomplishments are converted into Experience-- 1 XP for each. Note that this XP is not gained untilthe Motivation has been replaced, even if it has beencompleted or is no longer valid.

Memories

Tese are your recollections of your past lives. Teystart out cloudy and become much more focused andspecific as play develops. So a mysterious guilt frompast disobediance might turn into a complex story ofbetrayal involving specific historical people. Memo-

ries develop as players pursue them.Memories are important for understanding and

learning how to use Wonders, the lost relics of theFirst Age. Wonders only allow their secrets to be un-locked by those that understand their history or whowere inimately connected to them in a past life.

Intimacies

Tese are your recollections of your past lives. Tey

start out cloudy and become much more focused andspecific as play develops. So a mysterious guilt frompast disobediance might turn into a complex story ofbetrayal involving specific historical people. Memo-ries develop as players pursue them.

Memories are important for understanding andlearning how to use Wonders, the lost relics of theFirst Age. Wonders only allow their secrets to be un-locked by those that understand their history or who

were inimately connected to them in a past life.Excellencies

Tese take the place of Charms, basically describ-ing the cool things you can do. Some of them arebound to be combat-related, but none specificallyhave to be. In this version of the game, you can fightswords with rhetoric or dancing pretty easily. Excel-lencies start out with a rating that can increase over


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time as you develop your abilities. Like your Name,this rating is measured by the number of capitalizedwords in the title. For example, you might start offwith (1) Sail, which later develops into (2) Unerr-ing Navigation, (3) Expediant Migratory Pattern, (4)Sky-Spanning Solar Harness, and (5) How Perfectthe Celestial Chart Memory.

You might notice that, as they develop, they alsobecome more specific and imbued with a unique typeof color, as you develop your own style and way ofhandling things. Tey also do not develop linearly,like (1) Melee, (2) Stabbing Tings, (3) StabbingTings Better, (4) Stabbing Tings More Better, etc.Each new level centers on a different aspect of the levelbefore it, becoming more powerful but also shiftingfocus. Tis serves to broaden the overall range of your

abilities while narrowing specific instances of them, ifthat makes any sense.

When creating a character, you start with yourfive Caste Abilities and Favored Abilities (Solars get5) as level one Excellencies. If you are starting play asa mortal hero and going to run the Exaltation, youget 3 points to spend on developing your starting Ex-cellences, though none can be above level 2. If youare starting as a Solar Exalt, you get 8 points (3 +

5 more) and none can be above level 3. Feel free todraw inspiration from the Charms listed in the mainrulebook (you may have to shorten or lengthen theirnames), but you can easily make up your own.

Excellences can be used during any scene, but theyare most often invoked in conflicts, a special type ofscene.

Anima

Te rest of these are story- or character-sizedpacing/structuring mechanics. Anima structures in-dividual conflicts. Players define a range of Animaeffects for their character (originally based on theirCaste, but these can change over time). When a char-

acter uses Excellencies above level one, their Animaadvances a level. Once the character reaches their lastAnima level, they have exhausted themselves (runout of Essence, in the original rules) and cannot in-voke more. Characters gain new Anima levels (andthe effects that go with them) as they grow in power,which is a new thing. Tis means more powerfulcharacters can use a lot more Excellencies before feel-ing the burn.

After a conflict, the Anima levels of the partici-pants also determine the scope of the consequences.No Anima indicates a minor consequence, whileAnima 5 means the situation of the entire region waslikely changed as a result.

Wonders


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Ex

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Flaw

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Mem

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Wonder

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Intim

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Compassion

Conviction

Temperance

Valor

Undying Bell Chakram

Deference

unconquered 2006playtest

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