Morale

Combat | Attacking | Stunts | Environment | Extras | Morale | Special Attacks | Mass Combat | Social Combat

Difficulty	Opposition/Example*
1	Adversary of roughly equal perceived strength (or an equivalently threatening group of lesser opponents)/other militia
2	Enemy of slightly superior combat strength (or equivalently dangerous band of weaker enemies)/veteran soldiers, barbarian warriors
3	Blatantly superior enemy or daunting numbers of weaker opponents/elite soldiers, undead, hobgoblins, Wyld mutants
4	Overwhelming superior opponent or equivalent/Dragon-Blooded, lesser demons and gods, Fair Folk cataphractoi
5	Enemy seems invincible; fighting is suicide/Celestial Exalted, greater spirits

* Examples assume that an average mortal soldier faces the listed opponent.

As any good commander knows, psychological warfare plays a significant role in determining the outcome of a battle. When hostilities first begin, players of characters who perceive their enemies to be a real threat need to make Valor checks for them unless their Valor exceeds the difficulty of the roll. If a character perceives that the opposition is more dangerous than he originally thought, a new roll must be made. If the situation improves, players make new checks and use their results if they are better than what the last check resulted in. Note that the difficulty of a morale check is based on perception of threat rather than actual threat. Brigands assaulting an unknown Solar Exalt might initially believe that their numbers will prevail. Only after the Chosen reveals his prowess will they reconsider their odds.

If they are confronted with an unknown but obviously supernatural opponent, mortals will normally assume the being is more dangerous than she actually is. To have a character deliberately appear to be more dangerous than she actually is requires a ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Presence) roll, with the number of successes over the witnesses' Valor determining the maximum effective threat level of the bluff. Of course, as soon as the character does not evince the prowess she alleges, a new check will allow opponents to recover from their initial fear. Success on a morale check means the character acts without penalty. Failing a morale check results in a -2 internal penalty from fear. A botch means the character flees the scene or may drop weapons and cower as appropriate. When applying morale to groups of extras, the Storyteller should probably divide the group into smaller pieces and roll for each piece to cut down on the number of rolls. This does not apply to actual military units. If a character's Valor rating is greater than the difficulty of a Morale check, she automatically succeeds without a roll.

Non-extras may elect to substitute another Virtue for Valor when making morale checks, provided the Virtue is appropriate to the situation. For instance, a mother protecting her child may use Compassion, while an Immaculate monk might use Conviction to challenge a demon. Given their status as the champions of the highest gods, the Exalted are exempt from Morale checks. Only magic can rout the Chosen.