Urge

What is the Urge?

Along with the powers of Infernal Exaltation, each Green Sun Prince receives an Urge. Simultaneously blessing and curse, an Urge essentially functions as a secondary Motivation. By acting on his Urge, a Green Sun Prince can regain Willpower, and his Urge grants appropriate bonuses and penalties in Social combat just as a normal Motivation does. The difference is that an Urge is artificially imposed on the character, as it was built into his Exaltation at the command of one of the Yozis. Each Urge is an inherent and immutable part of Infernal Exaltation, and while the expression of an Urge might shift over time or from host to host, the ultimate nature of the Urge can never be altered. Whatever its manifestation, an Urge always acts in the same basic way—it drives the Infernal Exalt to act in some way which will ultimately make Creation just a little bit more like Malfeas. Of course, Malfeas is a big place, and each part of it is the reflection of a different Yozi's personality. Thus, some Urges drive their hosts toward mindless violence, others toward sexual debauchery and still others toward the eradication of free will.

Each Infernal Exalt, whether Green Sun Prince or akuma, carries within him a powerful, overruling Urge that stands as a symbol of his obedience to his Yozi patron. For an akuma, the Urge replaces the character's previous Motivation and now represents his chief motive for action. The manner in which this substitution affects akuma is described at Akuma Urges. A Green Sun Prince, on the other hand, possesses both an Urge and a Motivation. Ideally, these two traits complement each other, but sometimes, such is not the case, and a Prince must fight the compulsion of an Urge that contradicts his most fundamental desires. Such unhappy villains are exceptions to the rule, however, and most Green Sun Princes have consonant Motivations and Urges, as the Infernal Exaltations themselves seek out hosts who are naturally inclined to fulfill the Urges they carry.

A Motivation represents a powerful overarching goal the character seeks to fulfill in the pursuit of self-actualization. An Urge, on the other hand, is a commandment imposed by one of the Yozis upon the Green Sun Prince's very soul. Specifically, it is usually a directive to pursue a course of action that will, hopefully, help effectuate the Yozi’s plan. For example, a typical Solar Exalt might have a Motivation to seize control of the Guild to bend it to his will. An Infernal Exalted might possess the same Motivation, as well as the Urge to spread addiction far and wide. The character’s Motivation and Urge might interact to lead the Green Sun Prince to seize control of the Guild and then to direct its agents to drastically reduce the cost of addictive drugs so as to increase the number of addicts in the region. Similarly, while many Exalted might possess the Motivation to carve out a kingdom, a Green Sun Prince's Motivation might be accompanied by the Urge to turn the entire kingdom to the worship of the Yozis.

Urge Mechanics

A Green Sun Prince's Urge functions exactly the same as her Motivation with regard to Willpower and Essence recovery, stunts and Social Combat. As with Motivation, if a specific Urge is achieved or, alternatively, becomes impossible to fulfill, it can be altered. However, the new manifestation of the character's Urge is not chosen by the character herself, but by the unwoven coadjutor that is wedded to her soul. Perfectly attuned to the desires of its Yozi progenitor, each coadjutor maintains the integrity of its host's current Urge and, whenever a new Urge is called for, decides on a new goal for the host to pursue in furtherance of the Reclamation. In other words, while the player may decide on a replacement Urge (subject to Storyteller approval), the character has no say in what her new Urge will be.

While the specific manifestation of the Infernal's Urge is malleable, the range of options for specific Urges is fixed within each Infernal Exaltation. There are five primary Urge archetypes, one for each of the five principle architects of the Reclamation. The Urges forged by Malfeas drive the Infernals who possess them to commit acts of destruction. The Urges imposed by Cecelyne compel Infernals to exercise dominion over others. The Urges refined by She Who Lives In Her Name instill a need to induce conformity and stamp out free will. The Urges inflicted by Adorjan drive Infernals to express an overwhelming obsession. Finally, the Urges insinuated by the Ebon Dragon cajole Infernals into corrupting some facet of Creation's moral fiber.

For example, a Green Sun Prince who carries a Malfean Urge might feel a compulsion to destroy the city of Gem and will regain Willpower after performing a stunt or devoting an entire scene in service of that goal just as if that were the character's Motivation. However, if the Infernal succeeds in destroying Gem, she will still have the Malfean Urge to destroy—the coadjutor attached to his Exaltation will simply seek out a new target for destruction, most likely to be decided upon jointly by the Storyteller and the player according to the needs of the story. From an in-character perspective, the Prince will have no control over the new form of the Urge, as the coadjutor is preprogrammed to seek out the most efficient means of effectuating the Urge to which it is attached.