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Until the 28th, I'm probably going to be really busy at work. It's really cut in to what I can write, and so what I had in mind for the last several days has fled my mind. My roommate's out for this and next week, so no new Exalted games. I'm looking for work, getting back in to school, but other then that, not much is really occurring. Meanwhile, when I'm not doing that stuff, I just started playing Dragon Age 1, and I don't have much to say yet. I feel like my original assumption is probably going to be correct - a standard fantasy romp well-executed. However, I may have downplayed what a boon a really well-executed fantasy flagship could be.
You know me. I'm almost certain to be running my mouth about it sooner or later. In the meantime, I'll be going over some tangential thoughts that have been uselessly rebounding in my head for quite a while.
Killing in RPGs.
About a month ago, Panahon, a Sidereal focused on martial arts accidentally but rather brutally killed a dueling opponent. Until that moment, it was the only death by combat of an actual person. Our characters had kind of straddled the line and had been party to a few questionable activities, but this had been a first. I realized that it was the first real death in weeks in an actively played Exalted role-playing game.
Now, part of this has a lot to do with the style of the game. The other part is that we really get nothing for killing people. Out of character, there was some chuckling and some chagrin about the circumstances, but some pretty loaded terms got tossed around. 'Murder'. 'Killing'. But also, 'accident', 'mistake', and 'remorse'.
It had been a setup. My character was a martial arts focused person, in general. The martial arts world, the concept of honor and success, and the desire to rebuild the school her sifu had started were her driving desires. When this mortal walked up, with a status significantly higher then hers, confident, and as the champion of a small army, Panahon doens't think twice - she pulls out all the stops. After all is said and done, her unmodified dice pool to attack is a significant 24. She can block any non-perfect material attack for 3 motes if she wants. She can increase her soak to something that the mortal would be forced to roll Essence against - no higher then three.
The mortal did everything perfectly. Panahon brutally slaughtered him in the first round of combat without even meaning to. She didn't pull her punch, and the mortal couldn't take it. He expired messily in front of her.
Creation is a brutal place. The mortal was a brutal guy without many morals or compunctions. He wouldn't have held back. Is it murder? Stopping to think about it, probably not - there was no intention to kill. But Panahon would be culpable. If not murder, then certainly manslaughter. The mortal never posed a realistic threat. She was guilt stricken, but carried on. Creation is a brutal place and it was an accident - but one she learned from.
The death of one person caused a lot of debate at the table. Interestingly, I almost immediately had the ST telling me how I needed to feel about the issue, making me feel like he had something in mind, too. Remorse? Maybe.
How many creatures do we kill in D&D? When we kills scores, are we monsters, or is it a different kind of world? Or maybe it's too close to say. Those goblins might be a real threat where a single mortal never had a chance against a demigod.
However, something else to consider. Later on in the game, we met with Nazri - an Essence 7* Sidereal, a sorcerer*, a martial artist who had mastered at least one Sidereal style*, head of a major political convention, and someone who at the very least, had a lot of experience under his belt. He went to a dual with a modestly powerful god of a terrestrial court, someone whose specialty wasn't even combat.
It was an ambush. The spirit was actually an enormously powerful combatant - a shape-shifting Exalt with a thousand years even on the elder Sidereal. Nazri was immediately killed because he didn't take the fight seriously enough. So now what are we supposed to do?
* Essence runs from 1-10. 2's starting, 3's a little bit of experience, and 5 is considered the peak of power for someone within a century of life. 7 is considerable. Sorcery is a world changing power, and Sidereal martial arts are the pinnacle of enlightened combat powers for that type of fighting. He's a world-wide mover and shaker.
You know me. I'm almost certain to be running my mouth about it sooner or later. In the meantime, I'll be going over some tangential thoughts that have been uselessly rebounding in my head for quite a while.
Killing in RPGs.
About a month ago, Panahon, a Sidereal focused on martial arts accidentally but rather brutally killed a dueling opponent. Until that moment, it was the only death by combat of an actual person. Our characters had kind of straddled the line and had been party to a few questionable activities, but this had been a first. I realized that it was the first real death in weeks in an actively played Exalted role-playing game.
Now, part of this has a lot to do with the style of the game. The other part is that we really get nothing for killing people. Out of character, there was some chuckling and some chagrin about the circumstances, but some pretty loaded terms got tossed around. 'Murder'. 'Killing'. But also, 'accident', 'mistake', and 'remorse'.
It had been a setup. My character was a martial arts focused person, in general. The martial arts world, the concept of honor and success, and the desire to rebuild the school her sifu had started were her driving desires. When this mortal walked up, with a status significantly higher then hers, confident, and as the champion of a small army, Panahon doens't think twice - she pulls out all the stops. After all is said and done, her unmodified dice pool to attack is a significant 24. She can block any non-perfect material attack for 3 motes if she wants. She can increase her soak to something that the mortal would be forced to roll Essence against - no higher then three.
The mortal did everything perfectly. Panahon brutally slaughtered him in the first round of combat without even meaning to. She didn't pull her punch, and the mortal couldn't take it. He expired messily in front of her.
Creation is a brutal place. The mortal was a brutal guy without many morals or compunctions. He wouldn't have held back. Is it murder? Stopping to think about it, probably not - there was no intention to kill. But Panahon would be culpable. If not murder, then certainly manslaughter. The mortal never posed a realistic threat. She was guilt stricken, but carried on. Creation is a brutal place and it was an accident - but one she learned from.
The death of one person caused a lot of debate at the table. Interestingly, I almost immediately had the ST telling me how I needed to feel about the issue, making me feel like he had something in mind, too. Remorse? Maybe.
How many creatures do we kill in D&D? When we kills scores, are we monsters, or is it a different kind of world? Or maybe it's too close to say. Those goblins might be a real threat where a single mortal never had a chance against a demigod.
However, something else to consider. Later on in the game, we met with Nazri - an Essence 7* Sidereal, a sorcerer*, a martial artist who had mastered at least one Sidereal style*, head of a major political convention, and someone who at the very least, had a lot of experience under his belt. He went to a dual with a modestly powerful god of a terrestrial court, someone whose specialty wasn't even combat.
It was an ambush. The spirit was actually an enormously powerful combatant - a shape-shifting Exalt with a thousand years even on the elder Sidereal. Nazri was immediately killed because he didn't take the fight seriously enough. So now what are we supposed to do?
* Essence runs from 1-10. 2's starting, 3's a little bit of experience, and 5 is considered the peak of power for someone within a century of life. 7 is considerable. Sorcery is a world changing power, and Sidereal martial arts are the pinnacle of enlightened combat powers for that type of fighting. He's a world-wide mover and shaker.
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