Exalted World

Exalted World is a game about demigods destined to rule the world, even if perhaps they shouldn’t.

SETTING CONCEIT: This setting will be familiar to Exalted RPG players to a certain extent, but it is not identical. The setting has been streamlined and elements changed or removed in order to focus on core narrative themes and allow flexibility by players and GMs in creating their game. By default, setting material not covered here should not be assumed as a given - this is space for the world to grow in the ways that suit your players.

 In the First Age, the gods overthrew their Primordial creators and made the world their gameboard. They created the Exalted, beings of immense power, to rule over the mortals they created and lead them in great and glorious deeds. Unfortunately, the gods’ idea of how a society worked was more glorious than practical. The Exalted were empowered to conquer, to create, to dictate, to destroy, but not to maintain and grow. The First Age was a golden age of terrifying wonders.
 In the Second Age, the Exalted’s servants overthrew them - the Dragonblooded, their lieutenants and advisors. They were not necessarily more benevolent than their predecessors, but lacking the sheer power to prop up a state through force of will and sorcery they created a vast and (perhaps more importantly) functional Empire. Bureaucracy and trade, art and aristocracy flourished. The Second Age was a silver age of pax imperium and the spread of civilization.
 The Third Age is in progress. The Empire is in decline; while the Blessed Isle at the center of the world remains rich and stable, the countless client states at its edges pay only lip service, and warlords and petty rulers thrive. In this time, the Exalted are reincarnated. Whether commoner or lord, those in whom the sparks of the First Age’s mad kings are reborn find themselves gifted and burdened with world-changing power.

 Core Concepts:
  The Empire is an aging dragon - crafty, powerful, dangerous, but long past its prime. It curls up tightly on its treasure-hoard, the Blessed Isle, and pretends all is well.
  Small gods abound. Every river has its nymph, every forest its elder tree, every mountain its gnomus and all animals their kings and queens. Mortal priests and occultists honor them and bargain with them for favors. The Exalted may treat with them as equals.
  The celestial gods are distant. They do not treat with mortals or small gods. Intermediary between heaven and earth are the Five Elemental Dragons, living incarnations of the elements that comprise the world.
  The dead remain. A body unburned may become a hungry ghost. Ancestors ignored may bring forth curses. The Shadowlands are a real place where the living may not tread.

 The Exalted:
  Solar Exalted were created to carry out great deeds. A golden fire burns within them, driving them to ever-higher peaks of ambition. This fire also stokes their sins and failings to a deadly inferno.
  Lunar Exalted were created as comrades and advisors to the Solars, dreamers and wildlings to complement the ever-climbing emperors. Lunar Exalted are shapechangers who are guided by the literal and symbolic strength of their totem animals, but can fall to instinct just as easily.
  The Dragonblooded were to be the generals and courtiers of the Solar Exalted. It was they who built the Empire and they are the only Exalted whose existence the Empire accepts. The blood of the Five Elemental Dragons flows in their veins; these elemental forces ground them more in the present world than the lofty and symbolic Solar and Lunar exalted, but even they can be lost in the grip of their primal natures.
  Abyssal Exalted were never meant to exist. They are souls given a frigid spark of divinity by the dead titans that rule the Shadowlands. Each Abyssal Exalted’s soul is held in such a being’s icy grasp, and they are made to carry out their masters’ nihilistic dreams.


RULES AND TERMS

In a game of Exalted World, one person is the Storyteller while the others are players. Each player controls a character who is one of the Exalted. Each player selects a Playbook, representing an archetypal sort of character, as well as an Exaltation type: Solar, Lunar, Dragonblooded, or Abyssal. Ideally, each player should select a different playbook. Player characters need not be friends or even allies, but their destinies are intimately intertwined and their character growth comes as their relationships progress.

To take narratively significant action, the player makes a move. All players can make the Standard Moves, as well as selected moves from their Playbook. You don’t have to always think of your actions in terms of moves, but when your PC takes a narratively significant action, you or the Storyteller will decide what move applies. Alternately, you can see the making of a move as your way of declaring that an action you take is narratively significant. Many moves are aggressive, forceful and confrontational and may seem ill-suited to the actions you wish to take. This is deliberate. As an Exalt, your character is an inherently flawed being, and the moves available to her are far better suited to the role her creators imagined than to the life she may wish to lead.

Each player character has five statistics: Wrathful, Commanding, Unyielding, Cunning, and Eldritch. Rolls are made by rolling 2d6 + a relevant statistic. A 7 or higher is a “hit”, while a 6 or lower is a “miss”. Most moves further differentiate between a 10+ result and a 7-9 result; while both are hits, a 7-9 result usually involves harder choices and compromises. A miss does not necessarily mean that the player fails to perform the action being attempted, but rather that she fails to achieve her goal in taking that action. On a miss, the Storyteller also has the option of making a “hard move”, adding extra complications and difficulties. NPCs do not have the same statistics as PCs, and the Storyteller does not roll dice for their moves.

A character’s starting statistics are assigned by the player. Each player assigns the following values to her character’s five statistics: +2, +1, +0, +0, -1. Each playbook has two signature statistics. One of them must be +2, and neither can be -1. Otherwise the values can be arranged as desired. It should be borne in mind that even with a -1, an Exalted character will be able to perform feats tied to that statistic far beyond the abilities of ordinary mortals.

Some rules refer to taking +1 ongoing or +1 forward on certain rolls. An ongoing bonus is applied to all relevant rolls until the condition that causes it no longer applies. A forward bonus applies only to the next relevant roll.

Because NPCs do not roll dice, they cannot take ongoing or forward. When a move would cause an NPC to take ongoing or forward, the NPC instead receives an Advantage if it would have been positive and a Disadvantage if it would have been negative. At any time, any player or the Storyteller can declare a consequence to that NPC stemming from the situation that led to  the Advantage or Disadvantage, expending the Advantage or Disadvantage. Advantages lead to positive consequences, while Disadvantages lead to negative consequences. The Storyteller may modify a player-declared consequence if the consequence seems excessive or insignificant, but should not undermine the spirit of the consequence.

Some rules refer to “awakened” beings. A creature that is awakened is an Exalt, a monster, a spiritual being, or an individual of great enlightenment and sorcerous learning. A creature that is mortal lacks the spiritual force or sheer might of an awakened being; this includes most humans and human-like beings, ordinary animals, and so on.

When a character receives physical injury, she receives Harm. Player characters can receive 5-Harm before dying (although there are options for avoiding death which will be discussed later.) Weaker or stronger beings can withstand correspondingly less or more harm. A mortal can typically withstand 2-harm, as can a relatively weak spirit. A particularly sturdy mortal creature, an Imperial knight, or an angry ghost might withstand 3-harm. A hero of the Empire or the wolf-king of a forest might withstand 4-harm. A legendary warrior or the living spirit of a holy mountain might withstand 5-harm. 6-harm and 7-harm is the realm of immensely powerful beings, including some PCs; celestial gods, Primordials, and those who once slew them. Many moves inflict “grievous harm”. Grievous harm immediately kills a mortal and inflicts 2-harm to an awakened being.

The depth of relationships between PCs is measured by Intimacy, and is a crucial part of the character. These relationships may be positive or negative - a hated foe is as Intimate as a lover. A character who has a special understanding of or emotional power over another character is said to have a certain amount of Intimacy towards that character. Whichever PC in a relationship has more Intimacy towards the other takes +1 ongoing on all rolls made against the other PC. If one PC has three more Intimacies than the other has towards her, she gains +2 ongoing on these rolls instead.
Each playbook has questions about the past and future to be asked at the start of the game. Questions about the past may refer to your previous life or your current life, as you choose. Questions about the future do not fix the future in stone, but reflect your character’s sense of destiny. The answers to these questions are other PCs. Those PCs gain Intimacy towards you. Select one other player who does not yet have Intimacy towards you, if any exists, and decide what influence they have over you in the present moment; they gain Intimacy towards you from it.
Each session, at least one and up to three Intimacies will be gained towards you. One is gained by a player who stymied your plans or took away something you value. One is gained by a player who did something for you that you truly value. One is gained by a player who learned something you wished to hide. You may assign this Intimacy as the event happens or at the end of the session; more than one may go to the same player. In a game with fewer than four player characters, only hand out as many as there are other players. You must distribute at least one Intimacy per session.
When two PCs have a total of five Intimacies towards one another between them, their relationship has reached its Limit. Their relationship will not progress until the two PCs have a scene in which their relationship’s current form is resolved - a climactic duel, a moment of passion, a ferocious argument, or something else. Once the limit is broken, the PCs’ Intimacy towards one another is reset to 0, and each player marks an advance.

When a player marks an advance, she chooses one off her playbook’s list of available advances, and marks that advance off. That advance cannot be selected again unless it is in the list more than once; in that case, it may be selected as many times as it is present in the list. After five advances, the player may if she wishes choose Enlightenment Advances to reflect various sorts of finding one’s place in the world. These are found in the “Enlightenment” section, below.

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STANDARD MOVES:

These are moves that any PC can make. They define the ways that the Exalted exercise their power over the world.

 Smite A Foe: When you smite an enemy in full fury, roll +wrathful. On a hit, inflict grievous harm. On a 7-9, choose one: You are harmed as well, you destroy something or someone you didn’t mean to, or the harm is not grievous.

 Unveil Animus: When you cow mortals with your full glory, roll +wrathful. On a hit, they break and scatter before you. On a 7-9, pick one: your body takes 1-harm from your raging energies, an example must be made, or your supporters grow fearful.

 Demand Obedience: When you demand obedience from an awakened being, roll +commanding. On a 10+, choose two; on a 7-9, choose one: the subject must Hold Fast (or take Disadvantage, if an NPC) to resist your demands, the subject carries +1 forward to carry out your demands, the subject does not resent your demands.

 Command Your Lessers: When you demand obedience from a mortal, roll +commanding. On a hit, your will is done. On a 7-9, choose one: the mortal resents your mastery, the mortal devotes itself to your divine word, or the mortal fails to meet your expectations.

 Hold Fast: When you refuse to be turned from your course, roll +unyielding. On a hit, you are sovereign and take +1 ongoing to follow this course. On a 7-9, choose one: You take -1 ongoing to any actions against your chosen course, or those seeking to sway you take +1 ongoing to oppose you in it. All ongoing bonuses and penalties from this move last until your unswerving stubbornness brings disaster or your course reaches its natural end.

 Stand Unbreakable: When you hold strong against maiming, disease, or poison that would deprive you of function, roll +unyielding. On a 10+, you are scarred but do not lose capability: a scar across the eyelids or a twisted hand. On a 7-9, the damage is done, but your remaining faculties render it irrelevant. On a miss, you will need to resort to sorcery or the aid of spirits to return your function.

 Survey The Field: When you unravel the truth of a situation, roll +Cunning. When you act on the answers you learn, take +1. On a 10+, ask 3. On a 7-9, ask 1:
 “Who here plots against me?”
 “What here is the greatest threat to my goal?”
 “What is my enemy concealing from me?”
 “Who here is most vulnerable to me?”
 “What here must I overcome to reach my goal?”

 Enact A Deception: When you scheme to carry out a great deception, roll +Cunning. On a hit, your deception is accepted with only minor reservations. On a 7-9, pick one: the deception is accepted with significant reservations and qualifiers, the deception takes in the wrong person, or your lies demand more lies.

 Oracular Divinations: When you seek answers in arcane rituals and mysterious omens, roll +eldritch. On a 10+, choose 3; On a 7-9, choose one: the omens’ meaning is clear, take +1 forward to follow the path laid out, the omens are not dire, the omens can be averted.

 Conduct Prayers: When you demand a small god or venerated ghost’s services in accordance with ancient compacts, roll +eldritch. On a hit, the Storyteller will tell you which of the following the spirit demands for its services; on a 10+, mark two as off-limits for selection: extraordinary offerings, a festival or monument in its honor, the gift of a particular person as consort or companion, a particular deed done in its name.

PLAYING STANDARD MOVES:

When you are fighting enemies who are only significant collectively and Smite A Foe, an entire combat sequence of your character destroying them can be a single Smite A Foe move. Killing someone with no credible chance of fighting back does not require a move.
You can decide what it means to Unveil your Animus. It is some terrifying and more-than-human aspect of yourself.
If you ask something from someone and they are not already inclined to do it, you are Demanding Obedience or Commanding Your Lessers unless you possess another move that applies. The Exalted are not created to rule gently.
Survey The Field is limited to the specific questions offered. Your god-spark expands your perception but limits your worldview.
When you Enact A Deception, you should describe how you are making that deception convincing. Deceiving a court into believing you are a foreign prince may require nothing more than a regal bearing and a quick tongue. Deceiving the South Wind into believing you are the North Wind may require more extensive preparation, and deceiving the South Wind into believing you bear a message from the North Wind could be considerably easier.
Although it involves interaction with another being, Conduct Prayers is not exactly a social move and you do not need to locate a spirit to “talk to” before you can pray to it. You may contact any spirit you know of through prayers, or call out a spirit by type or title, such as “the god of this mountain”, “a local house-sprite”, or “the lord of the summer plagues”. You can perform Oracular Divinations or Conduct Prayers at any time or place, as long as you are able to perform some appropriate ritual. Describe the rituals you use.
It is also possible to Demand Obedience from a spirit, or otherwise communicate with spirits outside of Prayers and Divinations. Doing so requires being in a place where the spirit resides in some sense, which may be its physical location or may be some place sacred to it.

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EXALTATION MOVES:

Each player chooses her character’s Exaltation type during character creation: Solar, Lunar, Dragonblooded, or Abyssal. Each exaltation type allows the character to exercise Excellency under particular conditions. When exercising Excellency, the character achieves the 7-9 result of moves even on a miss. However, she is overtaken by overwhelming urges and drives as the spark of divinity within her surges forth; this is known as the Great Curse. The Storyteller may still make a hard move in such a case as well. A character may continue to exercise Excellency while in the grips of the Great Curse and suffers no further consequence for doing so.
In addition, a player character not in the grips of the Great Curse may choose to succumb to her Great Curse rather than dying, removing all Harm and yielding immediately to the shard of a god within her.

Solar Exalted: You were a god-king in a past life. Her Ambition was ____, but the Failing of ____ brought her low. Exercise Excellency when pursuing your Ambition, but if you miss you succumb to your Failing until your behavior destroys something of value to your present life.
Lunar Exalted: Your fate is bound to some kind of beast. Your Totem is ____, and its Instinct is to ____. Exercise Excellency when acting on your Totem’s symbolism, but if you miss you are in the grip of Instinct until its behavior makes you lose something your humanity cares for.
Abyssal Exalted: Your soul is in the grip of a neverborn master. Its Goal is ____, and it Hungers for ____. Exercise Excellency when carrying out its Goal, but if you miss you are consumed by its Hunger until it destroys something that ties you to life.
Dragonblooded: An elemental force runs through your veins. Its Power is ____, and its Nature is to ____. Exercise Excellency when aided by its Power, but if you miss you are overwhelmed by its Nature until it breaks away something that ties you to civilization.

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PLAYBOOKS:

The Warmaster
Signature: Wrathful, Cunning

Gleaming armor, battered armor, road-worn clothes, naked to the waist
Bloodthirsty eyes, darting eyes, steely eyes, weary eyes

You are prepared for war. Start with your Immortal Weapon and two other weapons: a mighty bow, a massive gauntlet, a brutal axe, a whirling chakram, razor-sharp bolas, a humble sword, too many knives

INTIMACY:
 Who saw you with their comrades’ blood on your hands?
 Who will you die alongside?
 _______

ADVANCES:
 Add +1 Wrathful
 Add +1 Commanding
 Add +1 Unyielding
 Add +1 Cunning
 Add +1 Eldritch
 Gain another Warmaster move
 Gain another Warmaster move
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Gain the services of a small and loyal band of warriors. Name and describe them.
 Your Immortal Weapon gains another legendary quality. Choose one from the list or devise one with the Storyteller.

MOVES:

Start with Immortal Weapon and Ideal Battle Knowledge, and pick one other move.

Immortal Weapon: Though you are deadly with any tool of war, your personal weapon is a thing of legend, be it a powerbow, a grimcleaver, your rending claws or a secret fighting art. Name it, describe it, and choose one of the following:
 It strikes accurately as far as the eye can see
 It cleaves gates and crushes walls
 It slays seven men at a single blow
 It thirsts for souls and leaves no ghosts
 It shatters any lesser weapon that strikes it

Ideal Battle Knowledge: When you Survey The Field, add the following questions to the list of choices.
 “Where is the next attack coming from?”
 “What is my enemy seeking to take?”
 “Who must I kill to subdue them?”


Butterfly Eyes Assault: When you confound your foes with an impossibly daring stunt, roll +cunning. On a hit, choose one; on a 10+, also take +1 forward to your next move against them: your foes are sent into disarray, your foes do not know where your next attack will come from, your foes are utterly distracted from your allies.
Artful Maiming Onslaught: When you strike to maim rather than kill, roll +wrathful. On a hit, you sever a limb, remove an eye, or otherwise maim the foe as you choose, and inflict no Harm.  On a 7-9, pick two: your victim is maimed as you desire, your victim survives without grievous harm, you do not incur bloody vengeance.
Ox-Body Technique: You can withstand an extra 2-Harm before dying.
Lightning Stroke Attack: When you Smite A Foe, you inflict grievous harm even on a miss.
Summoning The Loyal Steel: Your Immortal Weapon is a prince among blades and all weapons recognize your lordship. Whenever you wish any weapon in your hand, it is there. It will act with the properties of your Immortal Weapon until you release it from service.
General Of The All-Seeing Sun: When you predict your enemy’s strategy, describe it (or, if your enemy is a PC, have them describe it) and roll +cunning. On a 10+, pick two; on a 7-9, pick one: you take +1 forward against them if they follow your predicted plan, they take -1 ongoing to deviate from your predicted plan, you may make a preparation against their plan which you describe and unveil when you see fit.

PLAYING THE WARMASTER:
Your Immortal Weapon’s abilities do not require rolls to function; they simply work as stated, although they may activate as part of another move (frequently Smite a Foe).
Ideal Battle Knowledge can be used in situations that wouldn’t usually be considered a battlefield, although the answers it grants will tend to lend themselves to conflict.
The “bloody vengeance” mentioned in Artful Maiming Onslaught may be from the victim, his loved ones, his ghost, a patron, or some other interested party. Whatever it is, you can probably kill it, right?
Summoning The Loyal Steel is for players who are less attached to the idea of their Immortal Weapon as an icon in its own right and more interested in the range of narrative stunts possible with an infinite variety of weapons. Rather than conjuring weapons magically, it could also mean that you have an immense weapon collection or perhaps that you are a master brawler who can use anything at hand as a weapon of legendary prowess. (Moreso than a Warmaster already can, that is.)
General Of The All-Seeing Sun can be applied to noncombat situations, as long as you can identify an enemy acting against you. It is always accurate in revealing the broad outline of the enemy’s planned strategy. If you describe a poorly-thought-out strategy that is unlikely to succeed and your enemy is not incompetent, you may assume there is something you have failed to take into account about it.

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The Herald
Signature: Commanding, Eldritch

Elegant clothes, well-kept clothes, explorer’s clothes, vivid clothes
Unreadable eyes, trustworthy eyes, sparkling eyes, captivating eyes

You start play with a Flashing Thunderbolt Steed. Name and describe it. You also start with a courtly weapon: a flashing sabre, a swift bow, a subtle dirk, a cunning rapier, a cruel whip

ADVANCES:
 Add +1 Wrathful
 Add +1 Commanding
 Add +1 Unyielding
 Add +1 Cunning
 Add +1 Eldritch
 Gain another Herald move
 Gain another Herald move
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Pick two additional benefits for your Flashing Thunderbolt Steed
 When you reveal a contact, you decide what his role and position was the last time you saw him.

INTIMACY:
 Whose love did you once fail to steal?
 Who will one day break your trust?
 _______

MOVES:

Start with Flashing Thunderbolt Steed, Friend-To-All-Nations Attitude and one other move.

Flashing Thunderbolt Steed: You have a horse, a ship, a wandering caravan or some other steed or vehicle to carry you on your journeys. Pick two of the following:
 It is the fastest of its kind
 It bears all the comforts of home and more
 It travels equally well across land, sea and mountain
 It is deadly in battle
 It is the master of its kind, and others recognize its authority
 It cannot be slain or destroyed by any known means
 It is one of many such that are loyal to you

Friend-To-All-Nations Attitude: When you go to a place and tell the Storyteller you've been there before, you have a contact there. The Storyteller will tell you who he is; tell the Storyteller how you earned his confidence. Your contact may not be trustworthy, but if he lies to you, you will know it. If your contact dies, betrays you, or is otherwise lost, you can still claim a new one the next time you return.

Wise-Eyed Courtier Method: When you Demand Obedience and select “the subject does not resent your demands”, you may additionally make the subject believe your demands to have been his own idea.
Rose-Lipped Seduction Style: When you draw out a victim’s heart through words or performance, roll +commanding. On a hit, gain Intimacy with a PC or an NPC falls in love with you. On a 7-9, you reveal your own heart as well. If the victim is a PC he gains Intimacy with you instead of vice versa, and choose one of the following whether the victim is a PC or NPC: take -1 ongoing to hurt your victim, promise your victim something of real value with honest intent, they may ask you a question which you must answer honestly and openly.
Blossom Hides Thorns: When you Smite A Foe who is engrossed by your performance or conversation, roll +commanding instead of +wrathful. On a hit, your role in the attack is not obvious; on a 10+, nobody realizes he is harmed until your performance is over.
Sealing Of The Pact: When you seal an agreement through a handshake, roll +eldritch. On a hit, the pact is sealed in the sight of the powers you represent; breaking its terms invokes curses and spiritual vengeance. On a 7-9, the Storyteller picks one: there is no loophole for you to squirm through, the other party has a hidden loophole or advantage, or you will soon regret the agreement as intended.
Emissary Of Heaven: When you Conduct Prayers, you may mark one off-limits option on a 7-9. On a 10+, the Storyteller marks two off-limits options and you choose one from the remaining; the details of the spirit’s demand are still up to the Storyteller.

PLAYING THE HERALD: You can go anywhere and find a helping hand. Your contacts may not be utterly loyal, but the Storyteller will at least try to make them useful to you.
Any move or advance referring to your mount or steed can refer equally as well to a ship, carnival wagon, or however you choose as your signature method of getting about.
Sealing The Pact assumes on a 10+ that you have managed to create loopholes in your agreement for yourself and not for the other party; feel free to detail those loopholes when they become useful and otherwise assume that they have been worked into the wording.
Rose-Lipped Seduction Style can be very powerful, both in generating Intimacy with PCs and in its effects on NPCs. However, you can easily find yourself with entanglements you weren’t expecting.

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The Sovereign
Signature: Unyielding, Commanding

Shining armor, regal clothes, high-quality clothes, ornate regalia
Compelling eyes, piercing eyes, world-weary eyes, knowing eyes

You start with a Chosen People, one of whom is your faithful servant. Name and describe them. You also start with a lordly weapon: A shining sword, a bannered spear, a brutal sceptre, a mailed fist

ADVANCES:
 Add +1 Wrathful
 Add +1 Commanding
 Add +1 Unyielding
 Add +1 Cunning
 Add +1 Eldritch
 Gain another Sovereign move
 Gain another Sovereign move
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Your guidance changes the Law of your Chosen People. Devise a new one with the Storyteller.
 Your Chosen People gain two more Strengths.

INTIMACY:
 Whose influence has been a boon to your People?
 Who will bring you down from your throne?
 _______

MOVES:

Start with Chosen People and either Warlord of Earth and Heaven or Tiger Warrior Training Technique, and pick one other move (including the other of those two moves, if you desire).

Chosen People: You are the ruler of a tribe, city, or other small nation, either by birth, divine right or conquest. Your people have a Hunger that they look to you to feed, a Law that they look to you to uphold, and two Strengths that they and you may draw upon. Choose from those listed, or devise new ones with your Storyteller.
 Hunger: Your people will remain loyal even if their Hunger is not satisfied, but they will suffer. Each Hunger has a corresponding Hardship that your people will suffer if you do not bring them what they Hunger for.
  Wealth | Poverty
  Land | Famine
  Spiritual Guidance | Strife
  Glory | Vice
  Conquest | Ancestral Shame
 Law: Your people have a singular law or taboo which is elevated above all others. They will not set aside this law, even for you.
  Elders must be obeyed
  Weakness must be purged
  Insults must be avenged
  Spirits must be honored
  The crops must be watered with blood
 Strength: Your people have particular abilities or resources that set them aside from the common pack.
  A tradition of unmatched ferocity and brutality
  A well-trained and organized army
  Supernatural kinship with patron animals
  A vast body of ancient lore
  A coven of skilled occultists
  Extensive trade routes and connections
  Abundantly fertile land
  Caves of glittering gemstones

Warlord Of Earth And Heaven: When you lead your people to victory in war, roll +unyielding. On a 10+, choose one. On a 7-9, choose one and the Storyteller chooses one: your people face Hardship despite your winnings, your people have made a new and lasting foe, an atrocity must be answered for, your prize has an unexpected twist, your people gain another Hunger that lasts until it is met.
Tiger Warrior Training Technique: When you are among your Chosen People, you may use them to Smite A Foe, rolling +commanding instead of +wrathful. When you receive harm in their presence, you may roll +unyielding. On a hit, you take no harm and one of your followers dies; on a 7-9, the remainder are too scattered or busy to act on your behalf for the remainder of the scene.
Bureau-Rectifying Method: Where you are personally present, your stern leadership temporarily nullifies Hardships.
Gathering The Congregation: When you Command Your Lessers and the mortal is the leader or spokesman of a group, on a hit you may treat that group as part of your Chosen People as long as you remain among them.
Authority-Radiating Stance: When you are surrounded by your Chosen People, you take +1 ongoing to Demand Obedience and Command Your Lessers. When forces seek to sway your Chosen People from your chosen path while in your presence, you may roll to Hold Fast on their behalf.
Iron Kettle Body: When you suffer a wound you cannot afford to take, roll +unyielding. On a 10+, pick two; on a 7-9, pick one: you bring your enemies down with you, your act inspires your People to a great deed, you ignore your wound (and may conceal it if desired) until the situation calms.

PLAYING THE SOVEREIGN: Your power revolves around your Chosen People. There is no explicitly stated numerical benefit to their Strengths or penalty for their Hardships - the benefit is that you have a well-organized army and the penalty is that your people are starving, rather than a bonus or penalty to die rolls. Your people are mortals, and your faithful servant is a generally normal representative of them, although he is probably skilled, educated, or otherwise “special” among them. While mortal, they do not need to be human: a clan of beastmen or a society of intelligent animals could also be a Chosen People.
When you use Warlord Of Earth And Heaven, you will win whatever engagement you are defining - you take the hill, you claim the fort, you loot the treasury, or whatever you were sortieing to do. Using Warlord Of Earth And Heaven is a declaration that you are leading your people to victory, not a response to a victorious battle. “Leading your people to war” for Warlord Of Earth And Heaven is broadly defined: it can be as large as the extermination of a neighboring tribe or as small as leading a mob to demand an audience. The crucial distinction from Tiger Warrior Training Technique is that the latter is for more personal, less specifically goal-oriented violence - a war has a particular goal that is achieved through force, while Smiting A Foe kills an individual in person.
You are free to have a small retinue of your Chosen People as a personal guard to enable Tiger Warrior Training Technique and Authority-Radiating Stance. Your faithful servant alone is not enough to qualify. If your faithful servant dies or returns to your People, a new volunteer will become your retainer.
For purposes of Iron Kettle Body, the definition of a wound you cannot afford to take is deliberately flexible. Using Iron Kettle Body is a declaration that taking this particular wound will have extraordinary narrative impact, and the Storyteller may ask you why you cannot afford this particular wound.

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The Sage
Signature: Cunning, Unyielding

Simple clothes, exotic clothes, scholar’s clothes, ink-stained clothes
Deep eyes, enigmatic eyes, conniving eyes, sharp eyes

You always have a masterful plan. Describe its goals and general outline; if it is completed or abandoned, devise a new one. You start with a cunning weapon: a strategist’s fans, an iron brush, a graceful sword, a hidden dagger

ADVANCES:
 Add +1 Wrathful
 Add +1 Commanding
 Add +1 Unyielding
 Add +1 Cunning
 Add +1 Eldritch
 Gain another Sage move
 Gain another Sage move
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Gain the services of an extensive spy network
 You may have two masterful plans at once

INTIMACY:
 Who unknowingly tore your plan to shards?
 Who will be essential to recognizing your greatest schemes?
 _______

MOVES:

Start with Just As Planned, As Expected, and choose one more move.

Just As Planned: When your enemies are caught in the workings of your masterful plan, roll +Cunning. On a 10+, choose three; on a 7-9, choose two: your victims receive grievous harm, your victims are shamed and humiliated, your victims reveal valuable knowledge, you are not connected to the incident, there are no unexpected complications.
As Expected: When your enemies act against your masterful plan, reveal the contingency you had in place and roll +Unyielding. On a 10+, choose two; on a 7-9, indicate three to the Storyteller and she will choose two of them: your foes are set against someone else of your choosing, your foes’ own schemes are disrupted, your foes are weakened for a time, your foes find conclusive evidence that you are not involved, you do not need to make a sacrifice to foil your foes.

Perfection Of The Mockingbird: When you declare that your presence in a scene in which you have not yet received harm was that of a double all along, it is so. If your double receives any harm, it is slain, and circumstances may require you to Enact A Deception or otherwise act to maintain its cover from this point forward.
Easily Overlooked Presence Method: When you declare yourself to be present in disguise in a scene pertaining to you or your masterful plan, roll +cunning. On a hit, you are not immediately revealed. On a 10+, your disguise is not in danger.
Venomous Whispers Technique: When you spread a vicious rumor, roll +unyielding. On a hit, it rapidly becomes known to anyone who cares. On a 10+, pick one: it cannot be traced back to you by any means, it is commonly trusted as fact, it spreads even to those who know little else about the subject.
Letter-Within-A-Letter Technique: You may conceal any hidden message within any other written work of at least similar length. Choose who is able to read the hidden message when you create it; to them the message is clear, while to others it is invisible.
Anointment Of Miraculous Health: You have rendered yourself immune to all poisons and diseases, and are able to treat or prepare cures for them given some time to work. This may be by means of alchemy, acupuncture, or any other method you describe. Illness caused by curses, haunting and sorcery can also be cured, but it is more difficult. Describe the extraordinary measures you will have to take; the Storyteller may add a further stipulation.

PLAYING THE SAGE: Don’t hesitate to think big. Decide what you want and make a masterful plan to get it. You don’t need to detail the specifics; your character has thought of them and will spring those nasty surprises when the time comes. It just needs to be clear enough to establish whether a given situation is part of your plan, opposed to your plan, or separate from your plan.
The doubles used in Perfection Of The Mockingbird may be loyal disguised henchmen, transformed corpses, enchanted paper dolls, or anything else you see fit. When you take the move, you should probably establish with the Storyteller what your doubles are, but mechanically it’ll all work the same.
Easily Overlooked Presence Method lets you always be in on scenes that could be important to you if you want. You can use Perfection Of The Mockingbird to replace your disguised presence with a double if you so desire, and even potentially use Easily Overlooked Presence again to watch your double’s grim fate.
When you choose who is able to read your Letter-Within-A-Letter, it can be as narrow as “my old friend Radislav” or as wide as “my political supporters” or “everyone but the Empress”.
Given the premises of the setting, it is possible that all illnesses are caused by spirits. If this is the case, Anointment Of Miraculous Health only requires extraordinary measures when the involvement of spirits is unusual in some way - punishment by a displeased ancestor, a disease-spirit sorcerously bound, or the like.

*****

The Sorcerer
Signature: Eldritch, Wrathful

Twisted armor, bizarre clothes, richly embroidered clothes, expensive clothes
Wild eyes, far-seeing eyes, saddened eyes, steadfast eyes

You start with a Place of Power. Name and describe it. You also start with two deadly sorceries: obsidian butterflies, ghostly fires, razor wind, demonic tendrils, grasping claws, hungry needles

ADVANCES:
 Add +1 Wrathful
 Add +1 Commanding
 Add +1 Unyielding
 Add +1 Cunning
 Add +1 Eldritch
 Gain another Sorcerer move
 Gain another Sorcerer move
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Gain a move from another playbook
 Gain a token of your Place of Power. While you bear the token, you know who is present in your Place of Power and may work Celestial Circle Sorcery as if you were there.
 Your Place of Power gains two more benefits.

INTIMACY:
 Who saved you from a shortsighted decision?
 Whose well-meaning actions will bring disaster?
 _______

MOVES:

Start with Place Of Power, Celestial Circle Sorcery and choose one more move.

Place Of Power: You control a location charged with magical power: a sacred grove, a hungry necropolis, the grave-mound of a Primordial, a ley-line confluence, or so on. Choose two benefits from the list below.
 It is concealed from the sight of gods and men
 It defends itself against invaders
 Its location changes at your whim
 Time flows strangely there
 Food, drink, and luxuries abound without effort
 Strange gems and rare minerals stand ready to be taken
 Its unique herbs ease pain and soothe illness
 Its resident spirits offer sage counsel
Furthermore, while not sapient, your place of power has a Wish that it wants to see carried out and a Thirst that it wants quenched. Describe its Wish and its Thirst.

Celestial Circle Sorcery: When you work sorcery in your place of power, name and describe the spell you are creating and roll +eldritch. On a 10+, choose one and the Storyteller chooses one; on a 7-9, the Storyteller chooses two: the spell demands certain sacrifices in accordance with your place of power’s Thirst, the spell will only work to further your place of power’s Wish, the spell will demand days or weeks of meditation, the spell must be carried out under certain hostile conditions, the spell will enact a price upon you in accordance with its benefit. On a miss, the cost of the magic will be truly dire. Once you have created a spell, you may cast it again without rolling +eldritch; the price will be the same each time.

Utterance Of Dire Intent: When you speak a foul curse upon your enemy, roll +wrathful. On a hit, choose one; on a 7-9, the victim also knows the true identity of his malefactor: the victim is marked as an outcast, the victim grows deformed and hideous, the victim’s fortunes wither and fail, the victim’s loved ones suffer hauntings and disease.
Demon-Binding Redemption: When you conjure a spirit imprisoned in a previous age for its crimes, name and describe it and roll +eldritch. On a hit, it is bound to your service for at least the duration of a single clearly-defined task. On a 10+, choose three; on a 7-9, choose one: the spirit carries out the intent as well as the letter of your commands, the spirit is bound for as long as you wish it, the spirit returns to its prison when its term of service is up, the spirit cannot lie to you, the spirit cannot cause harm against your will.
Ghost-Eating Technique: When you ritually bind a defeated spirit, you create a small fetish in which it is contained; describe it. When you draw out the spirit’s power from the fetish, roll +eldritch. On a hit, you may use the spirit’s power for a scene. On a 7-9, the spirit is rebellious, and will introduce unwanted side-effects and twists into your use of its power. On a miss, the spirit breaks free, although you still get one miracle out of it.
Asserting The Mandate: When you Unveil your Animus, spirits will break and flee before you as if they were mortal.
All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight: When you perform Oracular Divinations, add the following options to the list: you learn a secret you should not know, you lure in something interesting.

PLAYING THE SORCERER: You wield a two-edged blade, and both edges are very sharp. There is very little limit on what is possible with Celestial Circle Sorcery or Demon-Binding Redemption, but the more powerful your spell or demon, the greater the cost or the danger when it misbehaves. You don’t need to use Celestial Circle Sorcery if you just want to slay insolent fools; the two deadly sorceries you start with are treated as weapons and are used to Smite A Foe.
Both ghosts and small gods are considered spirits. Either can be bound by Ghost-Eating Technique, and either can be called from imprisonment by Demon-Binding Redemption.
While you have a lot of latitude in describing the spirits conjured with Demon-Binding Redemption, remember that they either conducted crimes foul enough to merit imprisonment for countless centuries or were wrongfully imprisoned for the same length of time, presumably by a sorcerer much like you. Either way, expect an untrustworthy servant.
Your Place of Power is a valuable resource. Use it freely, and expect to defend it from your enemies. Sorcery or demon-binding can be used to establish defenses in your absence, although they bear all their usual risks.
Asserting The Mandate can banish even very powerful spirits. They will probably not be happy about it and a sufficiently powerful spirit may well seek revenge in one form or another.

*****

ENLIGHTENMENT

A PC who has five advances is immensely powerful, even among the Exalted. Is that what you want to be? After the fifth advance, a PC can select advances from the following Enlightenment Advances, taking the reins or breaking the chains of her destiny.

Change your Great Curse. Determine, with Storyteller approval, a new condition for Excellency and a new flaw that comes with it. To be Exalted is to be flawed, but now it is your flaw, and not that of the god within you.
Proclaim your destiny. Tell the Storyteller what you wish your PC to achieve. He will work to make it possible. Your destiny will be woven brightly into the tapestry of fate, clear for spirits and fortune-tellers to perceive. You may retire your PC when her destiny is complete.
Break the cycle. When you die, you will pass cleanly into oblivion and bring your spark of divinity with you. You will not torment a future generation, and no sorcerer can bind your ghost to his will. You may die peacefully and retire your PC.
Rise above. Cast off the shackles that bind you to mortality and become divine in your own right, taking your place in the hierarchy of gods. Decide with your Storyteller what change you bring to the celestial order. Retire your PC.

Retiring your PC means more than that you are no longer playing them - you can always stop playing a PC if you simply don’t like the character. Retiring a PC means that the PC’s story has reached its completion. Any change to the world she makes as part of her retirement move is part of the new status quo and will not be readily reverted going forward. She will not return as an NPC adversary, or be assassinated offscreen to move some other plot forward.