Backgrounds
Backgrounds are traits that catalog your character's connections, her possessions and her position in the world. Backgrounds are closely tied to your character concept—each is more than just a dot rating. If a character has the Allies, Contacts or Mentor Background, the dots represent individuals with their own lives, personalities and motives. Having Resources means that your character has a ready source of wealth, and your character acquired any artifact or manse in some interesting and unusual manner.
The player and the Storyteller should work together to make sure that your choices make sense and work well with the overall theme of the game. For example, if all of the characters start of as recently escaped slaves, then both Resources and Influence are inappropriate. Backgrounds should complement both the series and the character concept, rather than providing a way to make a powerful character.
If the player or Storyteller is uncertain whether a character's Background rating is sufficient for a given task, the player rolls the character's Background against difficulty 1 to see if it can do what she wants. Such rolls can be used to see if allies can come to the character's aid or if she can afford a new piece of equipment, for example.
However, while this method is simple, it can easily undermine roleplaying. It is often better if the Storyteller ask the player to describe her character's use of the Background clearly and then call for the appropriate (Attribute + Ability) roll when the time comes. The player might roll the character's (Manipulation + Socialize) to talk her allies into helping her or (Charisma + Presence) to see if they come to the character's aid when they know she is in trouble. A character trying to buy something expensive might roll (Intelligence + Bureaucracy) to find a bargain on the open market.
Storytellers should not use such techniques to make the character's Backgrounds less useful. Instead, she should help make Backgrounds into real and concrete things and not just abstract numbers the player rolls whenever she needs someone to rescue her character.
Abyssal Command (Abyssal Exalted)
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Acquaintances (Sidereal Exalted)
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Allies
Allies are your character's close friends and trusted companions. Unlike followers, allies are never extras. Most are either Exalted (of any type), small gods, Fair Folk or other magical beings that are typically at least as powerful as one of the Terrestrial Exalted. Alternatively, they might be exotic beings such as intelligent animals, or exceptionally skilled and powerful mortals such as masterful thaumaturges, wealthy nobles, crime lords or Guild factors. Characters don't have to buy the Allies Background to represent the rest of their circle—allies are always Storyteller characters. Also, allies are independent people with their own lives and goals. If your character asks for aid but does not provide any in return, her allies will soon desert her. Allies do what they can to help your character, but they won't risk their lives for any but the most important causes—possibly, not even then. Allies asking for help can make for fun roleplaying.
Trait Effects: Each dot in this Background typically represents one ally approximately equal in power to a starting character. More powerful allies require higher ratings. Depending upon both her score in this Background and the power of the allies, your character can have between one and five allies.
Artifact
Artifact Background and Solar Exalted
In both the First Age and the modern day, Exalts created all manner of items of power, ranging from magical weapons and armor to flying vehicles or enchanted disguises. A character with the Artifact Background possesses one or more such items. Most First Age artifacts were lost or destroyed centuries ago, and much of the knowledge of how to make such items has also been lost. Today, all artifacts are rare and precious. Consider carefully how your character acquired her artifacts. She might have been powerful or rich enough before her Exaltation to have some trappings of First Age glory. Or perhaps she followed prophetic dreams after her Exaltation and looted the hidden fortress-tomb where the body and weapons of her previous incarnation were buried. Maybe she stole the artifact or took it from the body of one of her foes. Solar Exalted can have artifacts made from any of the five magical materials, but most use artifacts made from golden orichalcum.
Trait Effects: Your character can purchase this Background multiple times, once for each artifact she owns. Each artifact has a rating between 1 and 5, and this is the Background cost of that particular artifact. Artifacts with ratings of 4 and 5 are now exceptionally rare and will be greatly coveted by other Exalts and gods. For information on the various artifacts, see Wonders.
Artifact Background and Dragon-Blooded (Realm and Lookshy)
The scions of the Realm and Lookshy have access to massive remnants of First Age and Shogunate wonders. The ruins of Deheleshen included extensive armories of military hardware and a substantially intact Shogunate military complex, and the Realm is built upon the Blessed Isle, which though stripped of much of its mobile military assets at the end of the Contagion, still retained significant infrastructure and Shogunate-era resources. As a result, both states—and their satellites, such as Cherak—have access to substantial resources of jade artifacts and wonders.
This Background represents not only those artifacts the character has been given for one reason or another, but also those that they have had an opportunity to purchase, trade for or otherwise acquire before play begins. They are the character's property and may be traded or sold without overt problem (assuming the right paperwork is filled out, and the right bribes are placed)—though House or Gentes elders might still be annoyed that they were sold without permission.
The Artifact Background grants Terrestrials twice the number of dots worth of artifacts as normal, although any single artifact cannot exceed the Dragon-Blood's rating in Artifact. (A character with Artifact 3 cannot buy a four-dot artifact, but he can buy two three-dot artifacts.) Even Dragon-Blood with no rating in this Background will have a single one-dot artifact of the Storyteller's choice, so prevalent are jade wonders in these places.
Backing
Your character is an important member of an organization, such as a government, an army, the Guild or a powerful organized crime syndicate such as the Lintha Family. The higher your character's Backing, the higher her rank is in this organization. At your Storyteller's discretion, you may take Backing multiple times for rank in different organizations. However, if your character has high Backing, she is likely to be responsible for decisions involving great numbers of people and resources. And if she neglects her duties, she can expect demotion—or worse.
Trait Effects:
| • | Your character is a lower officer or a minor functionary. |
| •• | Your character is a midlevel officer, the head of a small department or some similarly intermediate position. |
| ••• | Your character is moderately powerful and has many people working under her. |
| •••• | Your character is extremely powerful and typically is only one or two rungs down from the people in charge of her organization. |
| ••••• | Your character is one of the leaders of her organization, a general or admiral, a Guild factor, one of the Lintha Family's fathers or mothers, et cetera. |
Breeding (Dragon-Blooded)
Alone among the Exalted, the Dragon-Bloods are capable of directly passing their power down to their children. While the scions of powerful Celestial Exalts bear the mark of their heritage, it is no more than an echo of power and has as little to do with the Celestial's purpose or design as do the mutations bestowed on those who live too close to an untapped demesne.
Even in the First Age, arranged marriages and careful breeding programs were used to strengthen the Blood of the Dragons in the children of Terrestrial Exalts, increasing their chances of Exalting and the power of those who did. In the Realm, the Great Houses refined this process to a fine art. Careful use of marriage incentives, genealogical research and extended research into the inheritance of the Blood of the Dragons has resulted in Terrestrials with greater numbers of Exalted in their ancestry and a higher concentration of the holy Blood of the Elemental Dragons.
In Lookshy, the Terrestrials of the Seventh Legion have taken a different route. Despite being the largest concentration of Dragon-Blooded outside of the Realm, they have always lacked numbers sufficient for their goals, and their breeding incentives have stressed prolificacy rather than power. Better a half-dozen Terrestrials of moderate power, than a single Dragon-Blood of great puissance. As a result, although they are as likely to have this Background as Dynasts are, they only rarely have it at great levels (meaning that the cost for a character to have four dots or five dots is doubled).
Other outcastes only rarely show signs of Breeding. It takes several generations of careful eugenics to reveal even low levels of improvement, and even in the Realm and Lookshy, this Background is not exactly common. This does not mean, however, that it is impossible. Just as the Blood sometimes springs forth in bloodlines that have not had an Exalt in them for generations, so too do feeble bloodlines combine in surprising ways.
On a metaphysical level, the more pure a character's bloodline is, the more powerful his connection to the elemental force of his aspect is. This elemental resonance manifests in both the character's appearance and his spiritual strength. The higher his Breeding is, the more obvious his elemental markings and anima banner become, as well as the higher his Essence pools are.
Trait Effects:
| X | Your family tree is unremarkable. |
| • | Good blood. +1 to your Personal Essence pool; +2 to your Peripheral Essence pool. Although your parent might not be Exalted, your family line has spawned Dragon-Blooded recently. |
| •• | Very good blood. One of your parents is certainly an Exalt. +2 to your Personal Essence pool; +3 to your Peripheral Essence pool. |
| ••• | You are the child of an excellent line, probably with numerous Dragon-Blooded in your immediate family, with almost all of them sharing your elemental aspect. +3 to your Personal Essence pool; +5 to your Peripheral Essence pool. |
| •••• | Impeccable pedigree. The connection both you and your family have to your chosen element is undeniable. +4 to your Personal Essence pool; +7 to your Peripheral Essence pool; -1 mote from the cost to activate your anima banner; +1 on the roll to see if your child Exalts. |
| ••••• | Your bloodline is impeccable and includes numerous Exalted of great fame. You might be related directly to the Empress. Your aspect markings are unmistakable, making it clear to all who see that you are far more than a mere mortal. Add +5 to your Personal Essence pool; +9 to your Peripheral Essence pool; -2 motes to the cost of activating your anima banner; +2 on the roll to see if a child of yours Exalts. |
Celestial Manse (Sidereal Exalted)
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Connections (Dragon-Blooded and Sidereal Exalted)
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Contacts
In addition to having friends and allies, many characters also know people in various sectors of society. Contacts use their talents, information or resources to help your character, but they always expect some sort of favor in return. This favor could be a service, trade or even payment—generally matching the value of the contact's assistance. These associates don’t risk themselves as far as a follower or even an ally. They aid your character because of mutual self-interest, not because of love or loyalty.
Each dot in this Background represents both major and minor contacts. Major contacts are individuals with whom your character interacts frequently. They have names, personalities and positions that make them useful to know. A major contact could be a Guild factor, a high-ranking military officer, a powerful courtier, a small god or a Dynast of the Realm. Such a character is always your contact, but he has his own life and problems. He might not be there when you need him. Minor contacts simply represent your character's overall "connectedness." They aren't as knowledgeable or influential as major contacts, but all you need to do to find one is roll a success on your Contacts. Most of these minor contacts do not know your character personally. Minor contacts represent your character's innate ability to sniff out information and people willing to work with her. Just use common sense: Your character isn't going find minor contacts in the middle of a desert.
Trait Effects: Each dot of this Background provides one major contact and one additional die for finding minor ones.
Dragon-Blooded characters do not use this Background. Instead, they use Connections.
Cult
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Demonic Inheritance (Infernal Exalted)
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Demonic Patron (Infernal Exalted)
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Familiar
Creation is filled with exotic beasts, from the intelligent animals of the deep forest, to semi-intelligent Haltan pets and various small gods that take on animal form. In addition, some animals are sensitive to Essence who are drawn to various magical beings like the Exalted. Some are little more than unusually loyal pets, but others share a deep and profound link with the character. In either case, the familiar draws the character's Essence to supplement its own life, and the animal will not age or die until the character does.
Trait Effects:
| • | The familiar is a small animal, such as a cat or stray dog, which only provides companionship and perhaps some warning of danger. |
| •• | The character either has an impressive pet, such as a wolf or eagle or a smaller pet that is preternaturally intelligent. The animal communicates with your character (and him alone) through posture and facial expression. It can understand him and perform simple tasks such as fetching or knocking something over. |
| ••• | The familiar is a powerful or dangerous pet such as a tiger or a dire wolf or an impressive small animal that is as intelligent as a child of eight or nine years. It can fetch items and do chores, but it has no book learning and is easily distracted. The familiar can communicate with you as well as if it were speaking by its noises, postures and expressions. When it is touching your character, it makes an additional five motes of Essence available. This Essence is "stored" in the familiar but is otherwise treated as Personal Essence. It regenerates only after your character has regained all his own Essence. The character can share one of the familiar's senses (at a time) when the familiar is within 100 yards. |
| •••• | The familiar is a larger pet such as an eagle or wolf that also has the increased intelligence, near-perfect communication, sharing of senses and Essence store of a small Familiar 3 animal. |
| ••••• | The familiar is a powerful or dangerous pet that has the properties of a small Familiar 3 animal. |
Familiar (Demonic) (Infernal Exalted)
A demonic familiar is a First Circle demon who is particularly and personally loyal to the character. This Background may be taken multiple times, with each Background representing a different First Circle demon. (A Green Sun Prince may not have more demonic familiars than her Essence rating.) A higher Background rating for a particular demon represents a demon that is smarter, stronger or more capable than normal.
| X | None. You have no demon servants save those whose loyalty you enforce through Charms and sorcery. |
| • | You have forged a personal relationship with a particular First Circle demon whose name you know. You may summon this demon into Creation through appropriate sorcery or thaumaturgy, and it will serve you faithfully without the need for binding. |
| •• | Your pet demon is better than a normal specimen of its breed. It has one additional dot in two Attributes of the player's choice. |
| ••• | Your pet demon is capable of entering Creation in your company without the need to summon it through magical means. If your familiar remains behind in Malfeas and you call it forth later, it is capable of making the five-day trek to Creation without magical assistance. (Due to the vagaries of demonic existence, the familiar will intuitively sense your summoning five days prior to your call and begin making its way to you, arriving during the same scene in which you summon it unless circumstances in Malfeas delay it somehow.) |
| •••• | Your familiar has two additional Charms (player's choice) provided that it meets all requirements. |
| ••••• | Your familiar's permanent Essence is one point higher than a typical specimen of its breed. |
Followers
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Heart's Blood (Lunar Exalted)
Gifted with the protean nature of their patron goddess, the Children of the Moon can take the form of any animal whose Heart’s Blood they have consumed in a ritual hunt. The hunt is instinctive to the Lunar, occurring to her as part of her Favored Survival Ability. Though the Casteless naturally seek out the Heart's Blood of their prey, the Silver Pact encourages training to refine the ritual in honor of the Silver Lady. See The Sacred Hunt for more details on the ritual hunt. Once a Moonchild has properly devoured the Heart's Blood of a suitable entity, she possesses the knowledge of its unique shape. This Background represents the catalog of shapes the Lunar has mastered over her lifetime.
Not all shapes possess equal value, however. Once you claim the shape of one raven, you don't gain much benefit from also claiming the shape of a different raven. On the other hand, if you consumed the Heart's Blood of Wisdom of Eyes, the ancient raven who has scavenged the lands of the wolf beastmen for 100 years, his specific form would be significant. A sign from a Lunar disguised as Wisdom of Eyes might manipulate tribal shamans or even move them to war. Similarly, consuming the Heart's Blood of a red cardinal doesn't provide any new functions, but its bright scarlet form is significantly different from that of the raven. The Heart's Blood Background, therefore, represents the number of distinctly different forms a Lunar can assume.
A form may be different because it's from a new species, as in the case of the cardinal and the raven. The ritual hunt presents enough inconvenience that Moonchildren seldom bother collecting species after slightly different species, however.
A form may also differ because it is a distinct individual: Something about the particular animal sets it apart from others of its kind, as in the case of Wisdom of Eyes or the satrap's favorite hunting dog (which she can tell apart from other dogs of that breed).
Humans always count as distinctly different forms. So do beastmen, Fair Folk and other sentient creatures (assuming a Lunar can take their forms at all). If a Lunar can take the form of Wyld-altered creatures, each mutated animal counts as a distinctly different form as well.
See The Sacred Hunt for restrictions upon which Heart's Blood shapes a character may gain. Generally, any creature from the size of a housecat to a moose is open for ritual hunt, but a Lunar must possess particular Knacks to gain other shapes. For instance, Humble Mouse Shape is necessary before mastering the form of a mouse, while Towering Beast Form is required before mastering the shape of a yeddim. Prey's Skin Disguise is required before mastering the shape of an individual human being. The Lunar's initial human form, her spirit shape and any unique forms explicitly granted by Knacks do not count toward this Background.
| X | You have only your true forms—your human shape and your spirit shape. Why do you shun the ritual hunt of Luna? |
| • | 1-3 additional, distinct forms |
| •• | 4-10 additional, distinct forms |
| ••• | 11-20 additional, distinct forms |
| •••• | 21-40 additional, distinct forms |
| ••••• | 41+ additional, distinct forms |
Influence
In time, almost every Exalt becomes famous. This Background reflects your character's pull and status in society and her political power. This status could derive from political office, being an entertainer or a religious figure or openly living as one of the Chosen. Regardless of reasons, people pay attention to her words and deeds. Influence can be used to garner favors from others, to promote a personal agenda in public or just to bask in the glow of fame. This Background doesn't cover rank in any organization—that's Backing.
Trait Effects:
| • | You have some local fame in your town or in one district of a metropolis. |
| •• | Your character is well-known in her home city-state or satrapy. |
| ••• | Your character's fame and power have spread even to neighboring states. The Dragon-Blooded know of her. |
| •••• | Your character's words carry great weight throughout much of an entire quarter of Creation, and she might rule a town or small city. The Wyld Hunt will soon arrive to destroy her. |
| ••••• | Your character rules an entire nation or has great pull in several. The Realm will soon gather armies to annihilate her. |
Dragon-Blooded characters do not use this Background. Instead, they use Connections.
Liege (Abyssal Exalted)
Slavery to a Deathlord has its rewards. After all, the Deathlords view the Abyssal Exalted as their greatest weapons. Such prized champions receive the best equipment and training that the Deathlords can provide, limited only by the proven loyalty of each slave. It would not do to suffer a second Usurpation at the hands of a deathknight more concerned with his own ambitions than the greater glory of Oblivion.
Dots in this Background provide benefits as if an Abyssal had Backing, Mentor and Resources ratings each equal to her Liege rating. The character can also request the temporary use of Abyssal Command, Allies, Artifact, Manse, Mentor or Spies. She just asks her Deathlord and hopes that he finds her request reasonable for the mission. The higher a character's Liege rating is, however, the closer her master watches her actions and the more time she must spend on the Deathlord's missions.
Example: The Maiden of the Mirthless Smile has Liege 3, meaning she must spend roughly half her time carrying out her master's orders. In return, she can requisition money from her master's coffers as if she had Resources 3. She receives the miscellaneous rank benefits of Backing 3 in her master’s court. She can access his liege's vast knowledge and libraries to advance her education as per Mentor 3. Finally, the Maiden can gain temporary use of a three-dot artifact, a regional spy network, a particular hearthstone, a talon of war ghosts or the like. On the other hand, she spends half her time on missions, giving her little opportunity to pursue projects of her own.
Although the Liege Background is very powerful, Storytellers should remember that these advantages come with thick strings attached. Storytellers who charge experience points for Backgrounds should waive this cost for improving Liege in play. Instead, the Storyteller should assign or strip away dots as befits a deathknight's proven devotion to her master, possibly even from session to session. Without this capriciousness, Liege is blatantly overpowered and likely to encourage players to maximize their Abyssal's Liege rating instead of gaining other Backgrounds.
Trait Effects:
| X | Your character has no master and wander as a homeless renegade. Alternatively, he has not found an opportunity to prove himself, or he has failed his master in some spectacularly dismal fashion. |
| • | Your character has a distant relationship with his master. For good or ill, she either takes minimal interest in his doings or waits for him to prove himself before investing more resources in him. |
| •• | Your character bears some favor from his master, but is left largely autonomous unless he is truly needed for an assignment appropriate to his training and powers. |
| ••• | Your character is appreciated by his master. Whether she likes him in some twisted fashion or just knows he fears to consider rebellion, she considers him a worthwhile investment. He spends about half his time carrying out assignments. Most Abyssals settle at this Liege rating after a few successful missions. |
| •••• | Your character is a favored servant, likely deemed too powerful and too dangerous to leave to his own schemes. He has roughly a quarter of his time to himself, with the rest spent on missions for his master. |
| ••••• | Your character is the right hand of his Deathlord master's unholy will. The Deathlord regularly requests his advice when making plans, but he must always stay on call for assignments and cannot count on uninterrupted free time. |
Manse
Dragon lines of Essence run through the entirety of Creation. By attuning themselves to pools where this natural magic gathers, the Exalted can draw upon a vast wellspring of power. These pools are called demesnes if they have not been harnessed by occult architecture. If this power has been focused and controlled by geomantic means, they are known as manses. Weak demesnes are quite common, but the more powerful ones are rare and are usually controlled by powerful magical creatures such as Lunar Exalted, Fair Folk nobles or important gods, who are unwilling to relinquish such a valuable resource.
Characters inside a manse or demesne to which they are attuned regain four times the level of the site per hour in Essence motes. Characters who control a demesne can build a manse to channel the power of the demesne into an object called a hearthstone, a crystal the size and shape of a chicken egg. In addition to allowing the Exalt to recover Essence at twice her level in this Background even when away from the demesne, a hearthstone grants its owner special powers when it's set into a special artifact. Characters can take this Background multiple times if they wish to control more than one demesne or manse. For more details on manses, their construction and the mechanics of how they generate hearthstones, see build/attune manse and hearthstones.
Trait Effects:
| • | Your character controls a level-1 manse or a level-2 demesne. |
| •• | Your character controls a level-2 manse or a level-3 demesne. |
| ••• | Your character controls a level-3 manse or a level-4 demesne. |
| •••• | Your character controls a level-4 manse or a level-5 demesne. |
| ••••• | Your character controls a level-5 manse. |
Mentor
Although most Chosen meet their new life without a guide, your character found one. This mentor is a patron, a teacher, a defender and a friend. Yet although she always acts in what she sees as your character's best interests, your mentor expects your character to obey her (or at least to listen to her). Your character is your mentor's student, ward or apprentice, not her equal. However, this relationship need not be without conflict, and it can be the subject of much in-depth roleplaying. A mentor can be one of the Exalted, an important prince or Guild Factor or even a god or one of the Fair Folk. In addition to providing advice and assistance, your mentor may also teach Abilities, Charms and possibly even sorcery. Occasionally, she might also save your character from some dire fate. Characters who require such aid too often annoy their mentors and will be disciplined for overly reckless behavior.
Trait Effects:
| • | Your character's mentor is just a bit more worldly and wise than your character. |
| •• | Your character's mentor is a figure of some note or an exceedingly important individual who has little time for your character. |
| ••• | Your character's mentor is wise, influential and considerably more powerful than your character. |
| •••• | Your character's mentor is an exceedingly important individual whose words and deeds can shape the course of nations. |
| ••••• | Your character's mentor is exceedingly powerful, and he takes a great interest in your character's welfare. However, he expects both obeisance and greatness from your character, and he likely has powerful enemies who might attack you to get to him. |
Past Life (Infernal Exalted)
When Autochthon first designed the Celestial Exaltations, he fashioned them to return to a central location after the death of a host so that he could purify them and remove the spiritual detritus of the previous life. This design element was necessary, in the Maker's opinion, because the mortal mind was not designed to store the memories of other, more powerful beings while still retaining the mortal's own unique identity. After Autochthon's departure from Creation, his Exaltation-pruning mechanisms passed to Lytek, the God of Exaltation, who faithfully performed the same function to this day. When the Neverborn passed the secrets of Exaltation on to their Deathlords, they too decided that a mechanism would be needed to prune the Exaltations of the memories of their First Age possessors.
The Ebon Dragon chose a different path. Unwilling to let resources as valuable as the collective knowledge and memories of 50 First Age Solars slip through his talons, he instituted no protocols to purge the Infernal Exaltations of their memories of past lives. As a result, each of the Green Sun Princes has the potential to call upon the memories of her last incarnation prior to the Usurpation. No Prince can access memories of lives previous to the one slain during the Usurpation, as Lytek had already removed all such memories. The Infernal Exalt can only recall the memories of those Solars slain during the Usurpation whose Exaltations were sent directly to the Jade Prison.
Furthermore, not every Prince is capable of drawing upon these memories. Due to the circumstances under which the Usurpation played out, some of the Solars were quite new to Exaltation at the time of death. Generally, only one who has been Exalted for at least a century is capable of imprinting on the Exaltation itself to the point of allowing successors to access his memories. If the Solar Exalt died only a few years after Exaltation, his memories sank without trace into those of his successor.
The Ebon Dragon realized that he was taking a risk by allowing the Green Sun Princes to have access to such potent memories—when a Green Sun Prince of barely 20 summers calls upon the life experiences of a First Age luminary more than 10 centuries old, there is a grave risk that the younger mind may be subsumed into that of the elder. However, the Ebon Dragon judged that such events would be rare and likely to be of limited duration. Thus far, events have not shown his judgment to be flawed, but the risk of Green Sun Princes overwhelmed by noble First Age personalities destroying all of his schemes is still a serious concern to the Yozi, no matter how much he has downplayed this possibility to his peers.
The potency of First Age memories to which the character has access is governed by the Past Life Background. A number of times per session equal to her Essence rating, the Prince can add dice equal to her Past Life rating to any dice pool by drawing upon the specific memories of her prior life, the life of an ancient Solar who likely had at least a passing familiarity with nearly every field of human endeavor that existed at the time. The Prince can call upon memories of countless sword fights to strike a telling Melee attack. She can call upon centuries spent overseeing First Age society to effortlessly make a great bargain with a Bureaucracy roll. She can call upon recollections of decades of debate in the Solar Deliberative to easily persuade the simple-minded with a brilliant Presence-based Social attack. Indeed, the only type of roll that cannot be augmented with the Past Life Background is one that exclusively requires knowledge of the modern era, such as Lore rolls to know the current political structure of a nation or Occult rolls to know strategic information about the Abyssal Exalted (who did not exist at the time of the Usurpation).
However, as useful and versatile as this Background is, it also carries a danger for those who use it capriciously. At the time of character creation, the player of any Green Sun Prince who has the Past Life Background must specifically identify the First Age Solar whose memories the Prince now retains. The player must also, subject to Storyteller approval, choose a Motivation appropriate to the personality of a powerful First Age Solar Exalt, most likely one with clear memories of her own assassination during the Usurpation. In addition, the player must pick a number of Intimacies for the Solar personality equal to the Past Life Background rating. These Intimacies should be logically based on the First Age Solar's personality and Motivation and should also be practical for the modern era (that is, the player should not assign Intimacies for people or things that ceased to exist centuries ago unless doing so somehow advances the story).
If the Infernal's player ever botches a roll augmented by dice conferred by this Background, the personality of the First Age Solar may emerge and seek to influence that of the Prince for a number of hours equal to the character’s Past Life Background rating. Worse, the Solar personality may also seize control if the character succeeds too well on a roll augmented by this Background. If the Prince's player rolls more successes than the Exalt's own Dodge MDV, the Solar personality may also emerge. In this latter case, the possession lasts for a number of hours equal to the Background rating or to the number of successes by which the roll exceeded the Prince's Dodge MDV, whichever is less.
While the Solar personality is dominant, the character suffers from a supernatural compulsion effect that drives her to act according to the Solar’s Motivation and Intimacies. Whenever faced with a chance to advance the Solar's Motivation or to protect or defend one of her Intimacies, the character must do so or else spend one Willpower point to resist the compulsion for a scene. She may overcome this compulsion completely by spending Willpower equal to her rating in the Background. Spending Willpower in either manner causes the Infernal to gain Limit as normal. Furthermore, the Solar personality will invariably be appalled at the realization that her very Exaltation has been corrupted by the Yozis and will actively seek to interfere with the Prince in the performance of her duties. While the Solar personality is active, the Prince will suffer an internal penalty equal to the Background rating on all dice rolls made to advance the Prince's Urge. This effect cannot be overcome through Willpower.
Trait Effects:
| X | None. Your past life is remarkably quiescent or else was remarkably ignorant. |
| • | In the First Age, you were likely relatively young at the time of the Usurpation but still had a comprehensive First Age education. |
| •• | Your past life had been Exalted for between 50 and 100 years at the time of the Usurpation and was fairly well rounded. |
| ••• | Your past life was highly educated and was two or three centuries old at the time of the Usurpation. |
| •••• | In your past life, you were a jack of all trades and a master of many. Your past life was probably several centuries old at the time of the Usurpation, perhaps over a millennia old. |
| ••••• | Your past life was one of the luminaries of the First Age and was several millennia old at his time of death. During her long life, your past self became a master of nearly every field of human endeavor. |
Reputation (Lunar Exalted)
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Resources
Resources represents your character's wealth. She may own large tracts of fertile land, a pottery factory, a ruby mine, shares in a shipping firm or simply a large horde of gold and jewels. This Background includes such things as property, clothing and basic equipment, and it shows how easily your character can acquire more. While Resources are not entirely liquid assets, all possessions can be sold to gain money (though doing so could take some time depending on what is for sale).
Each dot of Resources conveys an income beyond any gear or wealth your character gains during play. The source of this wealth must be detailed (rents on property, sharecropping, government stipend, interest in a mercantile concern, tax farming), since it may be increased, reduced or cut off entirely depending on events in the series. As with Influence, few Exalted have problems acquiring Resources—through one means or another.
Trait Effects:
| • | Your character has an apartment or hut and may own a shoddy suit of armor and a notched long knife or spear. He has no riding animal but might own a pet and some smaller domestic animals. If your character supports a family, it often goes hungry. If he lives alone, your character can eat meat once a week. |
| •• | Your character has a comfortable cottage or apartment and might own a poor quality riding animal. He might own a suit of light armor and a weapon. If your character supports a family, it eats filling, if boring, meals. If he lives alone, your character can eat meat every other day and afford hard liquor as well as beer. |
| ••• | Your character owns a townhouse or a prosperous farm. He probably has one fine riding animal and another one of lower quality in case the first falls ill. Your character has a suit of any armor and any two weapons. If he lives alone, your character eats well every night and can regularly afford all manner of entertainments. If he is supporting a family, it never goes hungry, and there are roasts and sweetmeats on feast days. Your character almost certainly has a domestic servant or two. |
| •••• | Your character is exceedingly wealthy. At minimum, he owns both a townhouse and a country estate. Your character bears the finest arms, rides a fine gelding or stallion, and alone or as master of a family, your character and his kin will never know hunger or want for medical attention. He might also own a private yacht and have a dozen or more servants tend to his needs. |
| ••••• | Your character is a fabulously wealthy merchant prince, a bandit king, a mercenary lord or a potentate. He has vast riches and either commands an army or could rent one at need. Your character owns at least one excellent ship, and an army of attentive servants eagerly await his every whim. |
Note: Almost everyone in Creation has at least one dot in this Background. Those who do not are both homeless and destitute.
See Equipment for costs of various things, and Panoply for more information about wealth.
Salary (Sidereal Exalted)
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Savant (Infernal Exalted and Sidereal Exalted)
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Sifu (Sidereal Exalted)
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Solar Bond (Lunar Exalted)
While refining the Essences of her Chosen, Luna agreed to instill an innate bond within each Lunar, tying that Exalt's Essence to that of a single Solar. Thus, each of the 300 Moonchildren was mystically associated with one of the 300 Solars as surely as day is paired with night. Whether by design, happenstance or personal interaction, different Lunars formed bonds with Solars with varied degrees of strength. Ma-Ha-Suchi says he scarcely grieved when his spouse was murdered, though his subsequent headlong plunge into the Wyld suggests he harbored feelings he would not admit. Lilith remained with her First Age spouse Desus despite physical abuse that sometimes shattered her bones, but no one can say whether she stayed because of her Solar Bond or the supernatural mental influence of her mate. Whatever the individual relationship might have been, these bonds still exist. As the Solars return to Creation, the Children of the Moon find they cannot ignore their ancient bonds.
For the default rules of the basic Solar-Lunar bond, see "On Solar and Lunar Mates". Dots in the Solar Bond Background indicate a stronger relationship than suggested by the standard rules. Lunars who were intimately connected to their Solar partners could tap into unexpected strength when defending their companions. Each dot of Solar Bond gives the Lunar two dice in her Solar Bond pool. Her player may assign one or more of these dice to any action undertaken with the deliberate purpose of aiding the Solar to whom the Lunar is bonded. Each die may be used once per story, and this dice pool refreshes at the end of every story.
In addition, each dot of Solar Bond adds one to the Lunar's Mental Defense Value whenever a social attack might cause her to act against her bonded Solar. Conversely, each dot of the Solar Bond Background reduces the Lunar's Mental Defense Value by one whenever her actions go against her bonded Solar. This bonus or penalty stacks with the default Intimacy created by the Lunar's bond with the Solar.
Note: that single Solar might actually now be an Abyssal—but the bond still exists.
Trait Effects:
| X | Your bond to a Solar mate exists, but you struggle to resist it. |
| • | You feel a strong mystical connection to your Solar associate. |
| •• | You are drawn to your Solar partner, and her influence is difficult to resist. |
| ••• | You can scarcely help being the greatest of friends or most faithful of lovers to your Solar companion— even if you hate her. |
| •••• | Your First Age incarnation died staunchly defending your mate, despite her madness. |
| ••••• | Your love for your Solar spouse knows no bounds. The poets of the First Age immortalized your epic devotion, and these tales survive even in the Time of Tumult. |
Spies (Infernal Exalted)
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Taboo (Lunar Exalted)
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Tattoo Artifact (Lunar Exalted)
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Underworld Manse (Abyssal Exalted)
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Unwoven Coadjutor (Infernal Exalted)
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Whispers (Abyssal Exalted)
Every Abyssal bears the stain of the Neverborn upon her soul and Essence. For some, this connection stays as distant and impersonal as the relationship between the Solar Exalted and the Unconquered Sun. Others are less fortunate. The Neverborn are not kind gods, but unknowable horrors who hate their Exalted only marginally less than they hate their enemies. Abyssals particularly blessed—or cursed—with the direct attention of their chthonic masters experience an endless torrent of blasphemies that gnaw away their sanity.
As a Background, an Abyssal's Whispers rating represents her attunement to the dreams of the Neverborn. Characters can consciously tap into this connection once per scene by reflexively spending one Willpower point. Invoking this connection has several possible effects:
- For one roll, the player can substitute her character's Whispers rating for an Ability rating.
- The Neverborn sustain the Underworld through their Essence. They perceive everything that happens in the Underworld and know everything known by mortal souls who sojourn there as ghosts or pass to Oblivion. (They do not acquire knowledge from souls that pass immediately to Lethe when they die.) A character can glean clues and other information from the dreams of the Neverborn if her player succeeds at a (Perception + Whispers) roll. More successes yield clearer and more extensive information. The effective number of successes may not exceed the character’s Whispers rating (excess successes are wasted). Failure results in distorted or false information that leads the character astray. Storytellers should strongly consider making the rolls in secret so players can't ever completely trust the results. Queries outside the purview of Whispers results in automatic failure. Open-ended questions such as, "What is my purpose?" are a perfectly reasonable way to trigger a Storyteller-directed vision. Inquiries into the future can reveal only what the Neverborn want or plot to happen, not what will definitely come to pass. Glimpses of these plots can provide valuable insight to anyone attempting to further or thwart these ambitions, though.
- A character's presence at significant events that further the agenda of the Neverborn may trigger a reflexive activation of Whispers to understand the event, but these undirected visions are Storyteller-controlled plot devices and do not cost Willpower. In particular, the first meaningful interaction between two characters with Whispers often causes them to experience visions of each other as their shared connection to the hive-mind nightmares of the Labyrinth experiences momentary psychic feedback.
- A character can use Whispers as a guide to where the Neverborn believe her actions could further their goals. She attunes herself to the whispers, and lets them lead her where they will. Usually, the whispers lead Abyssals to places and times where a single death could devastate a community or thwart important plans for Creation's health and defense. Alternatively, they might lead to a village ripe for recruitment into an ancestor cult or as other possible minions. Long-lost and well-guarded artifacts are another option. (Really, this use of Whispers is an invitation to the Storyteller to provide a short side-adventure.)
Non-Abyssals can develop Whispers only within the Labyrinth itself. If the Storyteller charges experience points for raising Backgrounds, living, non-Abyssal characters pay twice as much. In any case, a character who wants to increase her attunement to the Neverborn must undergo a vision-quest resembling those that Abyssals use to raise their Essence. There are no recorded methods for reducing a character's Whispers rating, but Storytellers should interpret this statement as best fits their series.
Trait Effects:
| X | Your character has yet to feel the direct touch of the Neverborn. |
| • | Your character hears the faint murmur of dead gods from time to time. These murmurs provide fragmentary clues heavily cloaked in metaphor and symbolism, all true but rarely understood except in hindsight. |
| •• | Your character feels the rustle of eldritch horrors skittering through her brain. Her visions can abstractly explore any topic through figurative depictions, but only provide clear images drawn from the character's own memory and experiences. These wandering glimpses of the past provide supernatural insight and hunches, effectively allowing players to get clues from the Storyteller on how to put known information together to address the question at hand without receiving a straight answer. |
| ••• | Your character has attained communion with her terrible masters. The character's visions are incomplete, but often fill in critical details the character might have missed. These visions aren't enough to answer the question outright, but they certainly provide a good foundation to begin an investigation or find a new lead in the absence of other evidence. |
| •••• | Your character drowns in the omnipresent nightmares of the Neverborn. Visions are mostly complete and either use literal depictions or obvious symbols. This level of contact can answer many questions outright, but does not provide supplementary information to expand the inquiry beyond the actual wording of the question, nor do these glimpses explore other points of view or any indirect connections. Storytellers should feel free to present incomplete truths to misdirect players who come to rely on Whispers as a crutch to avoid or bypass plot rather than expand their involvement and awareness of the story. |
| ••••• | Your character has transcended sanity and all vestiges of humanity in obeisance to Oblivion. Visions are agonizingly clear, revealing subtle contextual details and tangentially related facts the character might never have thought to consider, plus unambiguous awareness of the Neverborn’s wishes related to the topic. Because of the thoroughness of this information, it can be tempting to consult the whispers for answers to every challenge. The risk of a false vision and the accrual Resonance for failing to fully abide by the revealed will of the Neverborn, however, can destroy anyone who grows too dependent on the voices within. |
Storyteller-triggered insights into the future granted by an Abyssal's Whispers sometimes reveal tragedies and massacres that will result in a large number of deaths, even if the Neverborn should not be privy to that plan (such as a terrorism plot to detonate a Soulbreaker Orb known only to living conspirators). In such cases, the Neverborn have glimpsed some deeper horrid truth in the structure of the universe through their own nihilistic Charms. The dead titans cannot reliably do this, however, and so neither can their Whispers reliably provide such information on demand. Prophetic visions are a plot device, not a power.