TEXT: TM
  
  ISBN 978-1-58846-698-3  WW80303  $24.99 U.S.
  PRINTED IN CANADA
  www.white-wolf.com/exalted
  In this fourth of Exalted
  Exalted’s 
  five Books of Sorcery, 
  elementals and spirits 
  finally get their due. 
  The Roll of Glorious 
  The Roll of Glorious 
  Divinity I
  Divinity I outlines the 
  little gods of Creation 
  and the Terrestrial 
  Bureaucracy, as well 
  as the elementals and 
  their many courts. 
  In addition, this book 
  also reveals the many 
  spirit Charms available 
  to these divine beings 
  (as well as to enterprising 
  Eclipse and Moonshadow 
  Caste Exalted).
  This book includes:
  •  Complete stats for many of Exalted
  Exalted’s 
  elementals and Terrestrial gods
  • Rules for summoning elementals 
  to do one’s bidding
  • Complete Second Edition spirit 
  Charms
  9 781588 466983
  52499
  
  1
  BY ERIC BRENNAN, DEIRDRE BROOKS, CONRAD HUBBARD, 
  LYDIA LAURENSON, DUSTIN SHAMPEL AND STEPHEN LEA SHEPPARD
  TM
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  2
  CREDITS
  Authors: Eric Brennan, Deirdre Brooks, Conrad Hubbard, Lydia 
  Laurenson, Dustin Shampel and Stephen Lea Sheppard
  Comic Scripter: Carl Bowen
  Developers: John Chambers and Stephen Lea Sheppard 
  with John Masterson
  Editor: Scribendi.com
  Art Direction: Brian Glass
  Artists: DPI Studios (with Aaron Norell), Newton Ewell, 
  Andrew Hepworth, Saana “Kiyo” Lappalainen, Pasi 
  Pitkanen, UDON (with Chamba, Scott Hepburn, Jorge 
  Molina, Saejin Oh, Chris Stevens and Jim Zubkavich) and 
  Melissa Uran
  Cover Art: Adam Warren with GuruFX
  Book Design: Brian Glass
  COMING NEXT:
  DREAMS OF THE FIRST AGE
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  BOX SET
  Given the Mandate of Heaven to rule Creation follow-
  ing the Primordial War, the Exalted fashioned a Realm of 
  unsurpassed power and glory from the world’s war-ravaged 
  remains. Though the seeds of its downfall were planted in 
  the hearts of all the Exalted by the Great Curse, the First 
  Realm would stand for millennia, and its rulers would 
  shape the future of the Exalted world. At last, the secrets 
  of that lost time stand revealed, as you adventure as one of 
  that era’s Exalted masters. Will you strive to preserve this 
  halcyon time—or help to destroy it?
  COMING NEXT IN THIS SERIES:
  THEBOOKS OF SORCERY, VOL. V — 
  THE ROLL OF GLORIOUS DIVINITY II: 
  GHOSTS & DEMONS
  $24.99  
   
   
  160 PAGES
  In this fifth of Exalted’s five Books of Sorcery, the na-
  ture and powers of the myriad of ghosts and demons 
  that have endangered Creation since the Primordial 
  War are explored. Eschewing the Cycle of Reincarna-
  tion, ghosts are an affront to the natural order, bringing 
  more power to the Neverborn through their very exis-
  tence, and even more so through the Ancestor Cult, 
  which promotes ghost worship. Demons, meanwhile, 
  are the spawn of the imprisoned Yozis, called forth from 
  Malfeas to do the will of powerful sorcerers or escaped 
  into the world where they might cause havoc and do 
  the will of their trapped progenitors. Will the returned 
  Lawgivers succeed in curbing these spirits’ effect on 
  Creation, or are even the Solars endangered by the 
  machinations of these beings and their dire masters? 
  © 2007 CCP North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written 
  permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank 
  character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf and Exalted are reg-
  istered trademarks of CCP North America, Inc. All rights reserved. The Books of Sorcery, the Roll 
  of Glorious Divinity I, Oadenol’s Codex, Wonders of the Lost Age, the White and Black Treatises, 
  Scroll of the Monk, the Imperfect Lotus, the Manual of Exalted Power the Lunars, the Manual of 
  Exalted Power the Dragon-Blooded, the Compass of Terrestrial Directions, the West, the Compass 
  of Celestial Directions, the Wyld, Yu-Shan, the Age of Sorrows and the Second Age of Man are 
  trademarks of CCP North America, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text 
  herein are copyrighted by CCP North America, Inc.
  The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to 
  the trademark or copyright concerned.
  This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and su-
  pernatural elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains 
  mature content. Reader discretion is advised.
  Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com/
  PRINTED IN CANADA
  
  3
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  INTRODUCTION 
  4
  CHAPTER ONE: THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY 
  7
  CHAPTER TWO: THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES 
  26
  CHAPTER THREE: THE ELEMENTAL COURTS 
  72
  CHAPTER FOUR: THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS 
  89
  APPENDIX: DIVINE MECHANICS 
  138
  TM
  TM
  
  4
  
  INTRODUCTION
  5
  This is a book about spirits, but it’s not just a book 
  about spirits. The gods and elementals of Creation 
  interact with humanity often. This is also a book about 
  those interactions.
  HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
  Chapter One: The Terrestrial Bureaucracy ex-
  plores the gods of the Second Age of Man. The chapter 
  examines what it means to be a god, how gods see the 
  world, the mechanics of divine sanctums and how gods 
  interact with Creation’s mortals. Finally, the chapter pres-
  ents a sample Terrestrial court, the Court of Seasons.
  Chapter Two: The Roll of Terrestrial Divinities 
  presents 13 types of common Terrestrial gods, two types 
  of divine sentinels, two types of servitor gods, 14 unique 
  gods and two types of forbidden gods.
  Chapter Three: The Elemental Courts looks at 
  the elementals’ roll in Creation. The chapter explains 
  how elementals differ from gods in nature and role, and 
  delves into the particulars of elemental summoning. 
  The chapter also presents a sample elemental court, 
  the Principality of the Shore.
  Chapter Four: The Roll of Elemental Beings
  presents a wide variety of elementals, from the tiny 
  need fires to the horrifying Kukla. The chapter 
  also looks at the differences between each type of 
  elemental.
  Appendix: Divine Mechanics provides an ex-
  haustive list of divine Charms, as well as rules and 
  guidelines for creating new gods and some thoughts 
  on how groups might experiment with gods as play-
  ers’ characters.
  But old men tell, whose fathers heard it from the ancients, 
  how once the lords of the three rivers of the plain rebelled against 
  the law of the Worlds, and passed beyond their boundaries, and 
  joined together and whelmed cities and slew men, saying: “We 
  now play the game of the gods and slay men for our pleasure, and 
  we be greater than the gods of Pegana.”
  And all the plain was flooded to the hills.
  —Lord Dunsany, “The Gods of Pegana”
   
  INTRODUCTION
  INTRODUCTION
  
  6
  LEXICON
  The following supplements the lexicon found in 
  Exalted and examines the differences between a few 
  precise terms used when discussing the spirits of Cre-
  ation. The lexicon also notes not just definitions, but 
  how the people of Creation use these terms.
  Abscissic binding: When a summoner binds an 
  elemental to herself for a month (or binds a demon for 
  a year and a day). Compare to task binding.
  Celestial Bureaucracy, the: The structure of the 
  divine hierarchy of Creation and Yu-Shan. Compare 
  to the Celestial Order.
  Celestial Court, the: The divinities of the 
  Heavenly City of Yu-Shan.
  Celestial god: A god in the Celestial Court. Ce-
  lestial gods oversee universal concepts. Compare to 
  Terrestrial god.
  Celestial Order, the: The structure of the divine hi-
  erarchy in Creation and Yu-Shan; also, that hierarchy’s 
  ideal state. Used most often by those who don’t wish 
  to imply that the divine hierarchy is now disordered. 
  Compare to the Celestial Bureaucracy.
  Creation-Ruling Mandate, the: See the Mandate 
  of Heaven.
  Cselenite pact: A summoning pact between a spirit 
  court and a group of sorcerers (or a group containing 
  sorcerers), following the set of ethical guidelines devel-
  oped by the lesser elemental dragon Cselenine.
  cult: A group dedicated to worship or veneration 
  of a specific being or group of beings. The people of 
  Creation don’t use “cult” as a term of denigration—in 
  the world of Exalted, cult is a value-neutral descrip-
  tive term.
  elemental court: A spirit court governed by and 
  composed largely of elementals in imitation of the 
  greater Terrestrial courts.
  Five Elemental Dragons, the: Mela, Pasiap, He-
  siesh, Daana’d and Sextes Jylis; the five greatest of the 
  Terrestrial gods and rulers of the Terrestrial Bureaucracy. 
  Unlike the lesser and greater elemental dragons, the 
  Five Elemental Dragons are not elementals.
  least god: Those barely sentient gods whose inter-
  actions define Creation’s natural law.
  little god: All gods less than the Celestial In-
  carnae and the Five Elemental Dragons. Rarely used 
  in practice. Immaculate monks say “little god” as a 
  matter of policy and dogma, as do peasants in areas 
  where the Immaculate Order is strong. Savants 
  and the urbane say “little god” when they speak 
  amongst each other. However, no god enjoys being 
  called little to its face. Those both wise and used to 
  dealing with gods personally—priests, shamans and 
  many mortal rulers—use this term only to remind 
  the Terrestrial gods of the Mandate of Heaven, and 
  then only when in a position of advantage. Where 
  the gods are untamed, the common folk say it only 
  within Immaculate earshot. Across most of Creation, 
  gods are simply gods.
  Mandate of Heaven, the: The proclamation made 
  by the Unconquered Sun at the end of the Primordial 
  War, which states the rulership of Creation falls to the 
  Exalted. Also called the Creation-Ruling Mandate.
  shinma: A concept, entity or property of the Wyld 
  (savants dispute in which category the shinma fall), in 
  five of which the Primordials anchored (among other 
  things) will and the four Virtues. Inhabitants of Creation 
  draw from other shinma similarly essential aspects of 
  being such as the properties of possessing identity and 
  location. The savants of the Second Age understand 
  the shinma poorly.
  spirit: Term used by savants to mean elementals, 
  demons, ghosts and gods. Some savants argue the Fair 
  Folk, too, are spirits, but Heaven disagrees. Like little 
  god, “spirit” is a term little used amongst the unedu-
  cated, who often call all gods and elementals (and 
  any other obviously supernatural being) “gods,” and 
  who think of demons and ghosts as entirely different 
  orders of being.
  spirit court: Broad term encompassing elemental 
  courts, Terrestrial courts and the Celestial Court.
  task binding: When a summoner binds an elemental 
  to a task for a year and a day (or binds a demon to a 
  task forever). Compare to Abscissic binding.
  Terrestrial court: A spirit court of Creation, gov-
  erned by gods. Some Terrestrial courts count elementals 
  as subjects, and some do not.
  Terrestrial god: A god in the Terrestrial Bureau-
  cracy. Terrestrial gods oversee tangible phenomena. 
  Compare to Celestial god.
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  7
  
  8
  Gods are omnipresent throughout Creation. The 
  smallest stone and simplest tool each has its own least 
  god. Through the least gods’ interaction, they define 
  Creation’s natural law. Greater gods watch over greater 
  natural features and crafted things—cities, mountains, 
  forests, rivers, nations—in a hierarchy, the Celestial 
  Order, from the least gods through the Terrestrial 
  Bureaucracy to the gods of Yu-Shan’s Celestial Court 
  and, at the pinnacle, the Incarnae.
  Superstitious mortals see the hand of the little 
  gods behind every event and offer constant appease-
  ment. Others see the gods as remote, and may think of 
  them little, but even these men and women perform 
  good luck rituals, participate in priest-led worship and 
  mouth prayers to whatever divinity the mortals hope 
  will listen. Behind everything stands a watchful god, 
  but to offer excessive praise and worship tempts divini-
  ties into indolence, for through worship gods grow in 
  power beyond Heaven’s dispensation. And yet, in this 
  fallen Age, the gods of Creation solicit prayer openly 
  and shamelessly, flaunting the Celestial Order.
  HISTORY
  When the Primordials brought Creation out of 
  chaos, they anchored the world in the influence of the 
  shinma, and they chose five shinma to support the power 
  of their servants. In Dharma, the Cup and the shinma of 
  corrosion, ignorance and desire, the Primordials rooted 
  the Virtue of Compassion. In Nirvikalpa, the Staff and 
  the shinma of communication, they rooted the Virtue of 
  Conviction. In Nirvishesha, the Ring and the shinma 
  of identity, they rooted Temperance. In Nishkriya, the 
  Sword and the shinma of conflict, they rooted Valor. In 
  Nirguna, the Heart and the shinma of existence, they 
  rooted not a Virtue but the principle the Virtues define. 
  In existence, the Primordials anchored will.
  CHAPTER ONE
  CHAPTER ONE
  THE TERRESTRIAL 
  THE TERRESTRIAL 
  BUREAUCRACY
  BUREAUCRACY
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  9
  In the time before the Primordial War, Creation 
  was a machine of clockwork efficiency. The Bureaus of 
  the gods were absolute, and each god knew its task. Each 
  god knew how to maintain the world, and how to fix the 
  faults introduced when the Primordials broke from the 
  Games of Divinity and took amusement in Creation.
  The will of the gods, stemming from existence 
  and upheld by desire, communication, identity and 
  conflict, was the Primordials’ downfall. Will abhors its 
  own absence. Will defies unwilling servitude. From will 
  springs ambition. Because of will, the gods detested their 
  slavery. Though it took aeons for rebellion to blossom 
  fully, the Primordials planted its seed at the beginning 
  and in the heart of their great work.
  In secret, the Unconquered Sun, highest and 
  most virtuous of the gods, to whom the Primordials 
  had granted the greatest will that he might form an 
  invincible bulwark against the Wyld, made plans 
  for a coming war. He gathered together trusted 
  conspirators and began searching for gifted mortal 
  heroes. With the allegiance of Autochthon, the 
  complicity of Gaia and the aid of the Exalted, the 
  gods set out to overthrow the Primordials and take 
  the Games of Divinity for themselves.
  They succeeded. The war between the Exalted and 
  the Primordials did much to damage Creation, however. 
  Many gods died, and the world was thrown for a time 
  into chaos, but the gods tempered their sadness with 
  elation and joy. The Unconquered Sun made his Vic-
  tory over Primordials Mudra, and the gods proclaimed 
  we have won.
  Following the war, the gods were faced with the 
  task of bringing Creation back into order. They lacked 
  the understanding of Creation the Primordials had pos-
  sessed, and though Gaia stood aside during the fighting, 
  she could not bear to watch as Creation’s geomancy 
  decayed. In the time before the war, she had aided them 
  in their creation of the five great elementals. In the 
  war’s aftermath, she woke her children and creations, 
  the Five Elemental Dragons.
  The forms of Mela, Hesiesh, Daana’d and Sextes 
  Jylis roused from the Elemental Poles of Air, Fire, 
  Water and Wood. Their Essences flowed through 
  Creation’s dragon lines, repairing what damage they 
  could, and converged at Meru, the Elemental Pole 
  of Earth. With their brother Pasiap, the Elemental 
  Dragons ordered a great convocation of the divine. 
  They bade the little gods of Creation kneel before 
  
  10
  the Five Elemental Dragons. With their intuitive 
  understanding of Essence and its conduction, the 
  Five Elemental Dragons set forth a new Celestial 
  Order by which the little gods could abide and 
  ensure Creation’s survival. The great dragons orga-
  nized Creation’s gods into courts and hierarchies of 
  form and type, supplementing the existing Bureaus, 
  that all should know their stations and their tasks. 
  Afterward, the Five Elemental Dragons slipped back 
  into Creation’s geomancy and returned to the func-
  tion they’d always performed, while their Essences 
  returned to the elemental poles to slumber.
  As the immediate danger to Creation’s integ-
  rity passed, the Unconquered Sun handed down a 
  Creation-Ruling Mandate to the Exalted, through 
  the Crown of Thunders the Unconquered Sun gifted 
  to the Solar Queen Merela. Henceforth, the rulers of 
  Creation were the Exalted of the Unconquered Sun, 
  as the Unconquered Sun himself became the ruler of 
  Heaven. Other Solars eventually deposed Merela and 
  took the rule of Creation for themselves, but such was 
  their privilege, as the Mandate of Heaven rests in the 
  hands of the Exalted as a whole.
  With the Mandate of Heaven came responsibility for 
  Creation’s maintenance. The Exalted would rule Creation 
  and ensure the gods received proper veneration, and in 
  return, the gods would keep Creation whole for the Solars 
  to do with as they willed. The Celestial gods emigrated to 
  Yu-Shan and remained under the rulership of the Incarnae. 
  The Unconquered Sun placed the Terrestrial gods, who 
  live on Creation’s face, under the rule of the Solar Exalted. 
  In doing so, he provided the gods with respite from the 
  toil in which they’d labored during prehistory. No more 
  would divine power maintain Creation exclusively, and 
  no more would divine duty be fixed, for gods who showed 
  great diligence could seek promotion and advancement.
  During the early High First Age, the gods were 
  seldom seen nor heard. They watched Creation and 
  recorded what they saw. They monitored their domains, 
  looking for irregularities, such as could indicate incur-
  sions from Malfeas or the Wyld. When a god found a 
  discrepancy, the god notified its superiors. Eventually, 
  the report reached the Solars. The Exalted dealt with 
  the problem as they saw fit, and the god returned to 
  monitoring its domain.
  THE USURPATION
  During the Usurpation, the Terrestrial and Sidereal 
  Exalted overthrew the Solars who held the Creation-
  Ruling Mandate and chased the Lunar Exalted beyond 
  Creation’s edge. The Sidereals then occluded them-
  selves from Creation’s vision and Heaven’s judgment. 
  For this upset, the gods had no one to blame but the 
  Dragon-Blooded.
  The ensuing conflicts between the Terrestrial Exalted 
  armies and Solar Exalted survivors damaged Creation once 
  again. Few gods died this time, but the battles destroyed 
  or reduced the domains of many and left multitudes of 
  divinities unemployed and destitute. The Terrestrial Ex-
  alted sought to bring the management of Creation under 
  their own authority, citing bargains struck by the Celestial 
  Exalted the Terrestrial Exalted had slain.
  Because of the vast changes to Creation’s land-
  scape and culture the Usurpation had caused, many 
  gods found their positions adjusted in importance. As 
  the Terrestrial Bureaucracy’s hierarchy shifted, many 
  gods saw the crisis as an opportunity to advance their 
  station in the world. The demoted gods blamed the 
  Dragon-Blooded for the gods’ loss of power, and the 
  gods who’d been promoted capitalized on the grudge 
  born by most of the Celestial Order against the Terres-
  trials, refusing to recognize the power of the Terrestrial 
  Exalted as they redrew the world’s divine map. The 
  gods gained independence from the Exalted’s rulership. 
  The Unconquered Sun, his face turned from Creation, 
  saw it not. And in the end, the gods who’d lost power 
  and who’d helped catalyze the rebellion against the 
  Dragon-Blooded saw little benefit.
  Despite the best efforts of the Sidereals, Heaven and 
  the Terrestrial courts refused to acknowledge the author-
  ity of the Dragon-Blooded to rule as the Solars had.
  THE CONTAGION AND THE FAIR FOLK
  During the outbreak of the Great Contagion, 
  the gods of the Celestial Order feared a repeat of the 
  Usurpation. Whole nations died, infrastructure col-
  lapsed, concepts and ideals were reduced in importance. 
  All foresaw another massive swell in the number of 
  unemployed gods and worried how the inevitable 
  bureaucratic reshuffling would negatively affect their 
  standards of living.
  None predicted the Fair Folk Invasion. Creation 
  contracted as the Wyld grew in strength; huge tracts 
  of land dissolved in the face of expanding Chaos. The 
  gods of the affected areas saw the destruction of their 
  domains and their sanctums simultaneously. Before the 
  gods could retreat to safer ground and establish new 
  sanctums, the armies of the Fair Folk annihilated them. 
  It was mass extinction. Nothing since the end of the 
  Primordial War had affected the gods of Creation so. 
  It was—and still is—the worst disaster in the Celestial 
  Order’s history. The scars have never healed.
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  11
  After the young officer who would become the Scarlet 
  Empress used the Sword of Creation to fling the Fair Folk 
  back beyond the world’s edges, a great bitterness infected 
  the relationship between the Terrestrial Bureaucracy and 
  the Celestial Court. The sanctums of the Celestial gods 
  were safe in Yu-Shan. When Celestial deities deigned 
  descend to Creation and lead divine armies of Terrestrial 
  gods in defense of the world’s borders, even when these 
  generals lead from the front and died with their soldiers, 
  they were in little real danger. The Terrestrial gods, the 
  surviving outer principality deities who’d lost homes and 
  friends and the gods of the inner principalities who had 
  had to watch firsthand as 90 percent of all life died (and 
  who now contended with a flood of divine refugees), saw a 
  Heaven full of gods who’d lost merely positions and influ-
  ence. The Celestial gods, by contrast, lacked anything in 
  their experience to help them comprehend the Terrestrial 
  gods’ loss. The Celestial gods had never faced such disaster, 
  and from their worst conflict, the Primordial War, they’d 
  emerged bloodied but triumphant. Exacerbating the crisis, 
  unscrupulous Celestial gods inflicted terrible setbacks 
  on rivals who had devoted time and resources to aiding 
  their Terrestrial siblings to better take advantage of the 
  opportunities afforded by Heaven’s reshuffling.
  The Terrestrial and Celestial gods blamed their 
  counterparts for gaps in understanding, and many 
  Terrestrial courts took advantage of the confusion in 
  Heaven to cut ties with their Celestial overseers. These 
  newly seceded Terrestrial courts took mortal worshipers 
  among what remained of Creation’s shattered popula-
  tion and began arming for a conflict with the refugee 
  gods. Many of the refugees, though weakened by their 
  loss of domains, also began gathering mortal worshipers 
  and creating new sanctums, some establishing squatter 
  courts within the domains of the existing Terrestrial 
  Bureaucracy’s established borders. Others found places 
  within existing Terrestrial courts that sought to shore 
  up their numbers for the coming conflict. The mortals, 
  their populations devastated by the plague and the war, 
  flocked to the criminal gods, desperate for any aid to 
  survival during that dark time. The gods left their roles 
  as silent observers and have not returned since.
  THE AGE OF SORROWS
  The Terrestrial Bureaucracy splintered and fought 
  itself, gods and courts competing for worship from the 
  mortal population. Gods appeared as saviors in the 
  Contagion’s wake, promising safety, and encouraged 
  their chosen peoples to war over resources and ideol-
  ogy. New nations rose, fought and fell. Mortal armies 
  sacked temples, disrupted lines of geomantic power at 
  the order of their patrons and wiped out the worshipers 
  of their gods’ enemies. Over the course of centuries, 
  the fighting between the legitimate Terrestrial courts 
  and the refugees quieted, and the Terrestrial Bureau-
  cracy achieved a rough status quo. Some legitimate 
  Terrestrial courts destroyed their squatter court rivals 
  or assimilated them, while in other areas, the refugees 
  attained power and forced neighboring Terrestrial courts 
  to acknowledge the refugees’ authority.
  As the status quo solidified on the face of Creation 
  and in Heaven, the Celestial gods began to reestablish 
  communication between the Terrestrial courts and Yu-
  Shan. Some courts, tired of conflict and yearning for 
  the days of proper order, submitted readily to Heaven’s 
  law. Others, happy with the new way of doing things, 
  openly refused to comply with Celestial order, forcing 
  Heaven to deploy armed forces to Creation. In some 
  cases, such as Whitewall and Great Forks, the rebellious 
  gods retained enough influence in Heaven to forestall 
  direct attack, directing the Celestial censors and Yu-
  Shan’s armies elsewhere. In other places, where the 
  Celestial courts won these conflicts, they dispatched 
  rebellious deities and often set up oppressed local gods in 
  the rebels’ places—refugees where the legitimate courts 
  had grown rebellious, legitimate gods where refugees 
  had won. Former victims granted divine authority over 
  former victors were seldom kind to their conquerors-
  turned-subjects, and reignited old disputes.
  The majority of courts neither totally aligned 
  with Heaven nor openly rebelled. Instead, they gave 
  Yu-Shan their half-hearted allegiance, resuming 
  their torrent of bureaucratic status reports but largely 
  ignoring Heaven’s decrees. These courts continued 
  to gather mortal worship and carried on their local 
  feuds as they had while independent. The overworked 
  censors had to concentrate their efforts on the truly 
  rebellious gods and settled on bringing order to the 
  merely troublesome courts one by one, as time permit-
  ted. More often, the Celestial censors accepted hefty 
  bribes to look the other way indefinitely.
  Also in this time of confusion rose the Immaculate 
  Order. During the Shogunate, the Immaculate faith had 
  been one Dragon-Blooded attempt to bring order to the 
  Terrestrial Bureaucracy among many. The others had been 
  a variety of localized truces between the Celestial Order 
  and the Dragon-Blooded Shogunate. With the Shogunate 
  gone and Creation’s Dragon-Blooded population reduced 
  from almost a million to fewer than 10,000, those deals 
  were null and void. The Immaculate Order aided the 
  establishment of the Realm’s power, and with the back-
  ing of the Sidereal Exalted, began bringing Terrestrial 
  
  12
  courts within Realm-controlled territories into line. The 
  Immaculates continue this process today.
  THE TIME OF TUMULT
  The Empress has vanished. The Scarlet Dynasty 
  wavers. The Deathlords make themselves known. The 
  Solar Exalted return.
  As the rightful holders of the Mandate of Heaven, 
  the Lawgivers have the authority to bring law to the 
  Terrestrial Bureaucracy and restore order to the Ce-
  lestial Order. They don’t yet have the power to back 
  this authority on a large scale, however. The dominant 
  Terrestrial gods, used to openly flaunting Celestial law 
  and with Celestial censors in their pockets through 
  blackmail and bribes, don’t necessarily care about the 
  legal power held by the Solars.
  Some gods remember the First Age and foresee a 
  return to lives of quiet distance from the world. Not all 
  look forward to it. Many gods have gained much power 
  through the current disorder and would be unhappy 
  with a return to the old ways. Other gods are too young 
  to remember the First Age and have heard only stories 
  of the Solars, either from wandering Immaculate mis-
  sionaries or from older gods with varied perspectives. 
  Some gods attempt to bring the Solars under their sway 
  while the Lawgivers are young and impressionable. 
  Other gods curry favor, backing Solars in the hope of 
  winning preferential treatment in the future when a 
  Solar Deliberative once again controls Creation. A few 
  genuinely hope to see the Celestial Order restored, but 
  seldom out of idealism. Those gods who have the most 
  to gain from the restoration of the Celestial Order are 
  those who’ve fallen furthest since the end of the First 
  Age. Gods such as Vanileth (see pp. 63-66) have much 
  to offer, but most honest supporters of the Lawgivers are 
  now only pale shadows of their former glory. By contrast, 
  the strongest Terrestrial gods in the Time of Tumult have 
  the most to lose from a restored Deliberative.
  THE ESSENCE OF THE DIVINE
  What is a god?
  A god is an aware, naturally immaterial being 
  of Essence held together by will. Gods are immortal. 
  They age not. They starve not. They cultivate no ill-
  nesses of mortal origin. Barring exceptions stemming 
  from unusual natures, gods lead lives bereft of mortal 
  inconvenience. They feel pain, but only from injury. 
  During the normal course of a day, a god feels no aches 
  in his joints. His clothing does not chafe. He feels no 
  discomfort from extremes of climate—a god sweats 
  not on a hot day and, when material, isn’t bothered 
  by rain falling on his skin. Chill wind does not make a 
  god shiver. A god may grow tired if he exerts himself 
  meaningfully, but the limbs of even a weak god don’t 
  grow leaden from casual exertion. A god needs no sleep. 
  For all these reasons and more, gods hold themselves 
  superior to Creation’s mortals.
  Most gods possess responsibility for some area of 
  Creation. Terrestrial gods look over concrete things, 
  while many Celestial gods hold dominion over abstract 
  concepts. A god wields power according to the impor-
  tance of his position, as determined by the bureaucracy 
  of Yu-Shan.
  Some gods lack domains—most notably those gods 
  whose domains have been destroyed and those mortals 
  who ascend to divinity without being assigned posi-
  tions within the Celestial Order. These gods derive the 
  majority of their power from their own divine Essence, 
  augmented by what veneration they can collect.
  MOTIVE
  With the possible exception of the Incarnae, the 
  Five Elemental Dragons and certain prehistoric gods 
  who survive from when the Primordials still ruled Cre-
  ation, gods are not so unlike human beings as to be total 
  ciphers. Gods act from motivations that humans can 
  understand. Even the most strange and incomprehen-
  sible god is no more irrational than an insane human 
  being, and gods as enigmatic as that are rare.
  Similar to people, gods want things. They want to 
  survive. They want comfort and pleasure. Gods with 
  forms capable of eating want to eat delicious food, though 
  what they find delicious may vary. Gods with forms 
  capable of intercourse want to have sex with entities 
  they find attractive, though what they find attractive 
  may likewise vary (and doesn’t necessary depend on 
  physical traits). Gods with forms capable of sleep or 
  relaxation want to find repose in comfortable places, 
  though a volcano god may be comfortable in a place 
  that would kill a mortal in an instant.
  Gods want fulfillment. All want to feel comfortable 
  with themselves and their nature. Many want the vali-
  dation of their peers, pleasant company and enjoyable 
  conversation. Many are ambitious, especially powerful 
  gods—in prehistory, all gods did the jobs they were 
  assigned, but in the time since the Primordial War, 
  gods with desire for power have risen in status, while 
  complacent gods have fallen in rank.
  The degree to which any god feels any one of these 
  motives varies. In this, they are once again much like 
  humans. But gods aren’t human. Their human-like mo-
  tives and ambitions often manifest in inhuman ways.
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  13
  IMMORTALITY
  Because gods fear neither weakness nor death from 
  old age, only a very rare god ever acts out of a desire 
  to leave a legacy upon Creation once she’s gone. Gods 
  can have children, but no god feels the need to create a 
  family to support her come old age. Mortality provides 
  mortals beings with incentives to act selflessly. Gods 
  don’t feel the same incentives.
  Because gods are not mortal and need not leave a 
  legacy, most gods feel little in the way of urgency when 
  it comes to achieving long-term goals. Even a god with 
  ambition is used to believing she has nigh-infinite time 
  to pursue it, and even if she knows her time is limited 
  for some reason, she may fall back on old habits of 
  thought. The virtue of endless patience easily becomes 
  the vice of endless procrastination.
  WHAT LITTLE GODS AREN’T
  Gods are managers. They oversee. They 
  represent.
  The god of a river is not the river. The 
  river itself cares not for the god’s well-being, 
  and while many gods are dedicated to their 
  charges, in the Second Age just as many see 
  their responsibilities as burdens to maintain 
  through the minimum of effort.
  Were a river’s god to die, with none to cor-
  rect the river’s behavior the river might begin 
  flooding out of season. With no god to inspect 
  the river, it might be an excellent place for a 
  demon to hide from Heaven’s eyes. In Yu-Shan, 
  the planning of fates surrounding the river 
  would grow more difficult as the paperwork 
  reporting the river’s status ceased. But the river 
  would not disappear. In an ideal world, Heaven 
  would soon notice the lack of reports and assign 
  a replacement, through promotion or transfer. 
  In practice, some vacant positions go unfilled 
  for centuries.
  Were the river to dry up, its god would not 
  disappear either. He would lose status and power 
  in the eyes of Heaven and be left unemployed, 
  but he could restore to himself some measure 
  of power by gathering a cult. If he found an 
  unsupervised potential domain, he could even 
  petition his superiors in Yu-Shan to reassign 
  his duties. He could also seek the patronage of 
  a Terrestrial court.
  
  14
  POWER
  Gods are personally powerful and don’t have to 
  work to achieve it. With the easy comfort available 
  in their sanctums and their tolerance for extremes of 
  climate and lack of hunger, thirst and sickness, gods are 
  unaccustomed to hardship and unexpected short-term 
  setbacks. Physical inconvenience bothers them not at 
  all, but frustration infuriates them. A god who can wait 
  a thousand years to overcome a titanic, nigh-impassable 
  obstacle may fly into a rage upon encountering the most 
  minor of inconveniences.
  NATURE
  A god’s nature is the trait or set of traits that define 
  the god and set him apart from mortality and other gods, 
  such as incorruptible devotion to an ideal or fanatical 
  obsession with a sensation. In prehistory, each god’s 
  nature aligned as perfectly with the god’s responsibili-
  ties as the Primordials could ensure. As Creation has 
  changed over time, and as the Primordials no longer 
  create gods to maintain the world, the divinities of 
  Creation have assumed new duties. In addition, gods 
  reproduce amongst themselves, and a child god’s na-
  ture is usually linked to the nature of his parents, but 
  unpredictably so.
  While strength can rise and fall, motivation may 
  change and Heaven may alter or revoke a god’s posi-
  tion within the Celestial Order, nothing natural can 
  change a god’s nature. Attempts to force a god to go 
  against his nature fail. Some natures are absolute—a god 
  whose nature is to be incorruptible cannot be bribed. 
  Orders contradicting such a nature are unacceptable 
  orders. Other natures are patterns of behavior a god 
  can set aside but will always return to. Still others the 
  god may set aside for longer, but will slowly kill the god 
  if abandoned indefinitely. A volcano god may slowly 
  die if forced to exist in a frozen tundra, though another 
  volcano god, with a different nature, may be unaffected 
  by cold but carry another limitation.
  Repeated attempts to change a god’s nature, car-
  ried out over decades or centuries, sometimes show 
  success. Most often, however, attempts to change a 
  god’s nature drive that god insane, and even relatively 
  stable gods with changed natures tend to be eccentric 
  and unhinged.
  Not every god accepts his own nature, or even 
  knows it. Wayang, the Black Puppet Mask, Celestial 
  God of Silence and Minister of the Division of Endings 
  in Yu-Shan’s Bureau of Destiny, worries constantly 
  that his own nature includes secret loyalty to the Ne-
  verborn. Some gods possess natures that shape their 
  behavior fundamentally, even on levels beyond their 
  own comprehension.
  FORM
  Gods have mutable shapes. A god’s body is a reflec-
  tion of his nature and his domain. More importantly, 
  the elements of a god’s form relating to his domain 
  changes if the domain changes. Ahlat began life as the 
  god of bull-walrus mating duels, and in those days, he 
  appeared as an anthropomorphic bull walrus, girded in 
  armor and with a great spear. When he was promoted 
  to Southern God of Cattle, he shed his walrus traits and 
  took on a bovine appearance. His form changed again 
  when he was promoted to Southern God of War and 
  Cattle—Ahlat is now a great bull-headed warrior.
  Some gods draw most of their form from their nature 
  and shift appearance very little or not at all if reassigned. 
  This is common amongst gods who began life as mor-
  tals. Other gods have forms most strongly influenced 
  NATURE IN DESCRIPTION
  In the descriptions of gods throughout this 
  book and in others, nature is seldom expressed 
  in a perfectly succinct manner. Unlike Strength 
  or Motivation, nature varies in scope from god 
  to god. Some gods have natures that express 
  themselves no more strongly than a physical 
  trait that manifests no matter how the god 
  changes his shape. Others gods have natures so 
  all-encompassing they take up the entire god’s 
  description. In general, any part of a god’s descrip-
  tion expressed in absolute terms, such as a dryad’s 
  inability to use violence in defense of its tree (p. 
  36) or a bloody hand’s bloody hand (p. 31), may 
  be a manifestation of that god’s nature. Some 
  gods have natures so trivially unrestrictive as to 
  be non-issues, while others are utterly defined 
  by their natures and barely possess free will as 
  mortals understand it.
  For Storytellers, divine nature is a wildcard. 
  Storytellers wishing to run games in which gods are 
  inhuman can emphasize how a god’s nature shapes 
  him, while Storytellers wishing to run games in 
  which gods represent little more than people in 
  costume can play down emphasis on divine nature 
  or even render it utterly trivial. As different gods 
  express their natures at different magnitudes, a 
  Storyteller need not commit fully to either of these 
  extremes during the length of a series.
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  15
  by their domains, and become almost unrecognizable 
  when they’re promoted or transferred.
  The forms of the gods also change under the influ-
  ence of worship. A god worshipped as patron of crows 
  will assume corvine appearance even if crows don’t 
  actually fall under the god’s area of influence. (And if 
  the worship provides the god with new Charms, they 
  may be related to crows.)
  The gods don’t entirely control the nature of their 
  shifting forms. Gods who possess shapeshifting Charms can 
  often choose how their second shape looks, but still have 
  little to no power over their true forms’ appearance.
  SANCTUM
  A god’s sanctum is a creation of her own soul, a 
  pocket bored through immaterial reality and into Else-
  where. A god with a sanctum never lacks for shelter or 
  repose, and will re-form in her sanctum if killed.
  Sanctums have natures tailored to the personali-
  ties and positions of the deities whose Essence forged 
  them. The God of the Imperial City lives in an opulent 
  throne room, while the Mammoth Avatar resides in a 
  grand open hall that doubles as a mammoth graveyard. 
  Sanctums created on demesnes possess the properties of 
  manses, acting as a manse of a level equal to the god’s 
  dots in the Sanctum Background, up to a maximum of 
  the demesne’s rating. These powered sanctums don’t 
  naturally create hearthstones, but can be engineered 
  to. Gods lucky enough to possess demesnes are always 
  automatically attuned; others may attune only with the 
  god’s permission. (If using the manse creation system in 
  The Books of Sorcery, Vol. III—Oadenol’s Codex, 
  assume that sanctum hearthstones must be bought up 
  from rating 0 at one point per level, instead of starting 
  at a level equal to the sanctum’s manse rating. Whether 
  or not the sanctum has a hearthstone, its divine owner 
  is considered the hearthstone bearer for the purposes 
  of relevant manse powers, unless the god grants those 
  abilities to another voluntarily. Sanctums may never 
  possess the Otherworld Gate power—gods who want 
  to travel to Heaven have to make the journey to one 
  of the 61 Yu-Shan gates.) Capping a demesne with a 
  material manse renders powerless any sanctums that 
  draw from the demesnes. It is illegal for a god to prevent 
  a Celestial Exalt from capping a demesne, but in these 
  dark times, few gods let Celestial law discourage them 
  from protecting their homes.
  Immaterial doors connect Creation to each sanc-
  tum. Materially, these usually appear as little more than 
  coincidental occult symbols—an arch created by two 
  trees, an old doorway lying on the ground, a window 
  in a crumbling well, a crevice under a bush, a mirror or 
  a small shrine. Recognizing or finding such a doorway 
  requires either success on a (Perception + Occult) roll 
  at difficulty 3 or the ability to sense immaterial beings. 
  Only immaterial beings, or those capable of becoming 
  immaterial, can pass through those portals, though one 
  of the latter can guide up to (its Essence) material guests 
  on a single trip through a sanctum door. A sanctum’s 
  owner can deny access to any being whose Essence score 
  is lower than hers. Most also defend their sanctums 
  through other mundane or magical means. The Books of 
  Sorcery, Vol. II—The White Treatise, p. 54, presents 
  the spell Open the Spirit Doorway, by which a sorcerer 
  of the Terrestrial Circle may enter a spirit’s sanctum 
  without the means to become immaterial.
  Heaven requires every god to keep a writing desk 
  in his sanctum, an artifact often elaborately carved and 
  inlaid with one of the magical materials. Within the desk 
  drawers are stored infinite supplies of silk paper and fine 
  ink, and resting in the upper right corner is a prayer fire 
  or other device through which the god may send reports 
  to Yu-Shan. Even a god who can’t normally write can 
  use this desk, although it does nothing to improve his 
  skill—a god who can’t write and who possesses no hands 
  will find his sanctum’s desk endows him with the ability 
  to pick up a pen and make marks on silk paper, but grants 
  him no literacy. The endless filing ghettos of Heaven 
  are filled with unread and illegible reports.
  Celestial gods don’t usually have sanctums in 
  Creation. Instead, Celestial gods make their sanctums 
  in Yu-Shan, away from risk and at the center of divine 
  culture. Celestial gods with no individual sanctums 
  within Yu-Shan treat Heaven itself as their sanctum. 
  Some Celestial gods maintain sanctums in Creation 
  as well—normally, a god possesses only one sanctum, 
  but a Celestial god may have a sanctum in Creation 
  and another in Yu-Shan. For this reason, Celestial 
  gods are much more difficult to permanently kill than 
  Terrestrial gods.
  GROWTH
  While a god’s power normally depends on her 
  place within the Celestial Order, and increases most 
  easily through the accumulation of worship, a few gods 
  cultivate personal puissance as mortals do.
  Most don’t. Gods live in comfort in Creation and 
  Yu-Shan. They don’t get sick or hungry. Most have no 
  reason to believe they may someday die. Almost all have 
  jade-clad job security. Gods are fickle because they’ve 
  no reason not to be. For most beings used to thousands 
  of years of idle boredom, lazing about in perfect material 
  
  16
  NEW BACKGROUND: SANCTUM
  Any god with Essence 2 or greater may construct a sanctum in a manner appropriate to his nature. A 
  spider-god may need to spin a web. The Mammoth Avatar gathered the bones of fallen mammoths and 
  lashed them together with mammoth leather. Some gods must seek out physical components and bring 
  them into Elsewhere to build their sanctums, while others can create sanctums without supplies.
  Gods who fully trust each other, or under the orders of a superior, may combine their sanctums. To 
  create a combined sanctum, the gods must create a number of sanctums equal to the desired sanctum’s 
  level, each at the level immediately below the desired sanctum’s level. Combining the sanctums takes 
  as much time as it would to build a new sanctum at the level below the desired sanctum’s level. So, to 
  create a combined four-dot Sanctum, four gods must all create three-dot Sanctums, and then labor for a 
  decade to combine them together.
  An enemy who gains entrance to a sanctum may destroy it from within. Certain highly destructive 
  powers can destroy a sanctum from within in much less time than given below—the following times are 
  for those who wish to destroy a sanctum by mundane means. Dissolving a sanctum’s door into the Deep 
  Wyld or Total Chaos also destroys that sanctum and anyone inside at the time.
  Trait 
  Effect
  X 
  No sanctum. Some gods who travel much in their duties, or who have no patience for labor 
  or who, due to their natures, must create sanctums by particularly laborious or unpleasant 
  means, simply go without.
  • 
  A small sanctum, no more than one room. Comfortable by mortal standards, but incredibly 
  poor by the standards of gods. Requires a season of labor to create or a scene of unsuccessfully 
  opposed destruction to eliminate entirely.
  •• 
  A larger sanctum, with no more than five rooms. Sumptuous by mortal standards, and the bare 
  minimum most gods are able to tolerate for long-term living. One year of work transforms a 
  one-dot sanctum into a two-dot sanctum. One day of damaging a two-dot sanctum reduces 
  it to one dot.
  ••• 
  A very large sanctum, the size of a villa—approximately 25 rooms. A god may labor for a 
  decade to transform a two-dot sanctum into a three-dot sanctum. Very few gods ever bother 
  to build sanctums rated above three dots. One day of damaging a three-dot sanctum reduces 
  it to two dots.
  •••• 
  A huge sanctum, with more than 100 rooms and an “outside” (an area within the sanctum that 
  appears as if it were outdoors, whether a courtyard or a thick forest surrounding a mansion). 
  Sanctums are always closed spaces, and even if they appear to possess frontiers, an explorer 
  will eventually find trees too thick to pass, an adamant wall or the like. A god must labor for 
  a century to transform a three-dot sanctum into a four-dot sanctum. A week of damaging a 
  four-dot sanctum reduces it to three dots.
  ••••• 
  A massive sanctum, the size of a small town, with dozens of separate structures of two- or 
  three-dot size and at least five of four-dot size, plus a sprawling “outdoors.” A god must labor 
  for five centuries or more to transform a four-dot sanctum into a five-dot sanctum, and enemies 
  who wish to reduce a five-dot sanctum to four dots must engage in concerted destruction for 
  a week to do so.
  Gods have a much easier time moving an existing sanctum than creating a new one. A god may 
  spend a number of weeks equal to the sanctum’s rating sealing his home from Creation. Then, the god 
  can travel any distance and spend an equal amount of time opening a new door.
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  17
  comfort with no goals beyond filling out the minimum 
  of paperwork and waiting for tomorrow, the trouble 
  and stress of even five minutes of concentrated study 
  or effort isn’t worth the miniscule bother.
  MORTAL FIELDS OF STUDY
  Gods who learn as mortals do most commonly learn 
  Abilities. Gods have long lives. Some have hobbies, 
  whether playing a game of Gateway with the chief of 
  the nearest village once a year, painting pictures of a 
  beloved landscape, sculpting, memorizing or composing 
  poetry or appreciating (and incidentally appraising) the 
  value of gemstones. Gods can learn mundane skills as 
  easily as mortals, though the fickle divine attention 
  span often ensures that gods take much longer, as they 
  are often unwilling to devote the attention necessary 
  for effective study.
  To a limited extent, divinities can also improve 
  their physical forms, but they reach limits quickly. 
  Raw potential is a matter of position in the Celestial 
  Order. Gods can generally raise Attributes by one or two 
  dots through dedicated and arduous self-improvement 
  regimens, but few bother.
  Thaumaturgy is the art by which mortals perform 
  the miracles the least gods use to maintain Creation. 
  While most gods are confined to miracles within their 
  own domain, divinities who study may learn thaumaturgy 
  as mortals practice it. See The Books of Sorcery, Vol. 
  III—Oadenol’s Codex for full thaumaturgy rules. Many 
  gods learn the Arts of Elemental Summoning, Weather-
  Working and Husbandry to better control the lands in 
  their domain, and the Art of Astrology to learn the will 
  of Heaven—or at least see where its gaze falls. Fewer learn 
  the Arts of Demon Summoning or the Dead.
  SORCERY AND NECROMANCY
  Gods can learn Terrestrial Circle Sorcery once 
  they reach Essence 3 and Celestial Circle Sorcery once 
  they reach Essence 5. Along with supernatural martial 
  arts, sorcery is one of the few ways gods can increase 
  their personal puissance without the aid of some sort 
  of infrastructure—Bureaucracy, court or cult.
  Once, gods had as arduous a time learning sorcery as 
  any mortal skill, but in the First Age, the Solar sorcerers 
  of the Salinan School performed the great Salinan Work-
  ing. The Working imprinted the principles of sorcery 
  into Creation’s fabric, altering the nature of all gods and 
  elementals. Since that time, while gods must labor just as 
  hard to learn sorcery as mortals do, gods’ natures prevent 
  them from detesting the commitment of time and atten-
  tion necessary any more than a mortal would.
  While this has been a great boon for gods who seek 
  personal might, it comes with a price. No sorcerer-god 
  may flatly refuse to teach sorcery to an Exalt. A god may 
  set conditions for the would-be student to meet, but 
  never impossible conditions. The gods are fully aware of 
  this compulsion, and opinion amongst the sorcerer-gods 
  is divided between those gods who resent the obligation 
  and those who consider it a fair trade.
  Some gods with darker natures may learn necro-
  mancy instead of sorcery, but no necromancer has ever 
  performed a Working. Necromancy comes naturally to 
  no god, not even those who favor it over sorcery, and 
  would-be necromancer divinities find the learning of 
  the black art as arduous as does any mortal or Exalt.
  SUPERNATURAL MARTIAL ARTS
  Any god can learn Terrestrial martial arts, meet-
  ing prerequisites normally. Only gods of Essence 6 or 
  higher can learn Celestial martial arts. The martial 
  arts styles called the Four Arguments of Virtue are an 
  exception to this rule—gods may learn these Charms 
  with Essence as low as 3. (See The Imperfect Lotus, 
  available at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/, for the Four 
  Arguments of Virtue.)
  Though gods have as much difficulty learning super-
  natural martial arts as they do learning any foreign magic, 
  the Martial Arts World offers an incentive for gods of 
  a certain persuasion. A few gods who spend much time 
  amongst humanity tire of Terrestrial court politics and 
  long for meritorious recognition. While some gods learn 
  supernatural martial arts to augment their own power, 
  others learn simply as a way of joining a new subculture. 
  Divine martial artists are well respected, and a god of low 
  status in the Terrestrial courts may stride with head held 
  high amongst the martial artists in Creation’s arenas.
  REPRODUCTION
  Under some circumstances, laid out by the Primor-
  dials during prehistory, certain types of gods generate 
  spontaneously. The creation of a new thing always cre-
  ates a new least god to oversee that thing. Other gods 
  are created when a spirit uses the Endowment Charm 
  (see p. 146) to raise a mortal’s Essence from 3 to 4. But 
  most commonly, gods reproduce through sex.
  Many gods can grow pregnant or sire children 
  regardless of apparent gender. Some must use magic 
  to assume alternate genders, while others, who pos-
  sess no other form-changing ability, can alter their 
  genders for reproductive purposes. Divine mothers 
  can often choose the speed at which a pregnancy 
  occurs, whether allowing it to last years or achieving 
  
  18
  full gestation in seconds. Some gods may couple with 
  inanimate objects or themselves, while others must go 
  through the process of intercourse with another god 
  of differing gender.
  Gods seldom bring children into the world casually, 
  but many Terrestrial deities have children in order to 
  cultivate loyal servants. Once a divine child is born, 
  influential parents can usually petition Heaven through 
  the local Terrestrial court to have the child assigned 
  to some domain or other. Gods created through sexual 
  reproduction usually have natures resembling those of 
  their parents and are often assigned duties fitting this 
  nature. Such gods stand in stark contrast to the gods 
  created by Primordial processes, who have natures 
  chosen for their intended domains rather than domains 
  chosen to fit preexisting natures.
  Most gods can have children with mortals, as well. 
  The God-Blooded are mortals with divine traits, often an 
  unusual appearance and the ability to channel Essence 
  and learn Charms reminiscent of their parents’.
  DEATH
  Though gods are immortal with regards to age, expo-
  sure and starvation (barring unusual natures), they can die 
  by violence—but death by violence means different things 
  to a god than to a mortal. For gods, death is not usually 
  permanent. They reincarnate, but as themselves.
  The corpse of a murdered god first dematerializes 
  (sometimes immediately when killed, sometimes shortly 
  afterward), then disperses into ambient Essence at the 
  end of the scene. A god with a sanctum is certain to 
  recoalesce inside that sanctum within weeks or months. 
  Once resurrected, the god’s mote pool is empty, but 
  it is otherwise fully healed. A dead god’s panoply of 
  artifacts (see p. 169) does not dematerialize, and resur-
  rected gods must often go to great lengths to recollect 
  their belongings.
  A dead god of Essence 2 or higher who lacks a 
  sanctum can revive as well, but only if the god’s domain 
  survives. Such a god reappears fully healed somewhere 
  within his domain . . . usually. Sometimes, dead gods 
  with no sanctums fail to resurrect, or do so years or 
  decades later.
  A slain god without domain or sanctum perishes 
  utterly, as if slain by the Ghost-Eating Technique. Gods 
  who lack domains are very cautious about the safety of 
  their sanctums.
  Living gods have power over gods they’ve killed. 
  When one god kills another, the killer may ensure the 
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  19
  dead god never revives—even if the dead god possesses 
  a sanctum. The killer may bind the dead god to service 
  upon revival, to a single task indefinitely or to complete 
  service for a year and a day. The killer may forge the 
  god’s corpse into a starmetal with a rating equal to half 
  the victim’s Essence (round up). Artifacts forged in such 
  a manner are unlike regular starmetal artifacts in that 
  the god within is conscious (though not in agony, as 
  with ghosts bound in soulsteel) and may conceivably 
  be restored to his former stature. Finally, the killer 
  may do nothing save make it clear she could have done 
  more. Sidereal Exalted with the Charm called Terminal 
  Sanction (see The Manual of Exalted Power—The 
  Sidereals, p. 176) possess these abilities as well, save 
  that a god forged into an artifact by a Sidereal remains 
  bound only for a year and a day.
  When a god dies permanently through means such 
  as the Ghost-Eating Technique or murder by another 
  god, the dead god’s sanctum usually fades from existence. 
  Sometimes, this dissolution is immediate, but for other 
  gods, the process takes days or weeks. A very few rare 
  gods leave sanctums that survive forever—those who 
  find such empty dwellings prize them much.
  TERRESTRIAL GODS AND OTHERS
  Gods don’t exist in a vacuum. Though Celestial 
  law says they should keep to themselves, the gods 
  of Creation are part of the world and change it as it 
  changes them.
  THE HUNDRED GODS HERESY
  Due to the Terrestrial gods’ immaterial nature, 
  they interact with the mortals of Creation less than do 
  elementals; nevertheless, congress between mortal and 
  god is fairly common. The Hundred Gods Heresy is not 
  a single cult or organization of cults, but rather a term 
  adopted by the Immaculate Order to describe any sort 
  of cult in which mortals worship the gods.
  Throughout most of Creation, save in the Realm, in 
  the shadowlands and in places where powerful organiza-
  tions such as the forces of the Perfect of Paragon hold 
  sway, a local god or Terrestrial court holds power over 
  the mortal populace. Even in places where the little 
  gods don’t rule directly, a single divinity or Terrestrial 
  court usually collects all the prayers and sacrifices and, 
  in return, protects its territory from outside supernatural 
  influence. In small communities, the local gods tend 
  to be weak and visible. A weak god must demonstrate 
  his power on a regular basis to maintain a dedicated 
  cult, while stronger gods hold more remote positions, 
  cultivating awe and minimizing resentment.
  (A god does not hold this position everywhere. 
  Elementals, raksha, ghosts, septs of beastmen, outcaste 
  Dragon-Bloods, Lunar Exalts, powerful God-Blooded 
  and other supernatural beings may command a region’s 
  worship. Almost everywhere in Creation, some potent 
  being holds the position described here, however.)
  Most successful communities in Creation possess 
  a priest or shaman (or a whole class of such) who spe-
  cializes in interacting with the gods. The priest ensures 
  local gods are placated and don’t demand too much of 
  the community. The community goes about its business 
  confident that the priest is doing her job, dealing with 
  the local gods so others don’t have to.
  In some communities, the priest and the gods work 
  together to squeeze the most out of the populace. In 
  others, the priest and the community work together 
  to keep the gods appeased with minimal cost to the 
  mortals. Most mortal-god relationships balance between 
  these two extremes, with the priest working largely on 
  the side of the community but still taking advantage 
  of her privileged position to acquire wealth and excuse 
  herself from certain community taboos. In response to 
  this, most priests are feared by their native communities 
  and suffer a lack of regular interaction with their fellow 
  mortals. Often, this increases the priest’s alienation and 
  sense of entitlement, in a cycle that eventually reaches 
  equilibrium once the priest must balance how much the 
  community needs her with how much it’s willing to put 
  up with from her. (And few priests, just as few people, 
  work only from self-interest, while most want to aid their 
  community to some extent.) The more often the local 
  god or spirit court makes itself known to the populace, 
  the more alienated the priest tends to feel.
  Whenever a new power appears in the region, such 
  as a spirit or an Exalt, the people will seek to contact 
  their priest, who will try to contact the local divinity 
  or spirit court. A god who seeks new worshipers (or a 
  Solar who wishes to build a new nation) must contend 
  with any local gods happy with the status quo. Many 
  communities will also arm themselves, if they’ve had 
  good fortune driving off rogue gods in the past, and every
  community contains someone who will try to use the 
  new entity’s appearance to advance her own agenda, 
  whether that agenda be the harmless selling of home-
  crafted idols or maneuvering to have the paramour of 
  the most desirable young man of the village sacrificed 
  so her daughter can marry him instead.
  In larger communities, this pattern plays out over 
  larger numbers of people and longer spans of time. A 
  strong god may seldom appear to his followers, concerning 
  
  20
  himself with Terrestrial court politics the rest of the time. 
  Such a god may cultivate a powerful priestly order, capable 
  of dealing with supernatural threats itself. The order of 
  priests, similar to the singular shaman, placates the god 
  (or ensures the community does so), draws tribute for his 
  work and protects his interests from outside threats.
  RIVAL FAITHS
  Many other forces throughout Creation oppose gods 
  who seek to establish cults. The most potent impedi-
  ments to the spread of the Hundred Gods Heresy are its 
  competitors, movements that oppose the gods because 
  both sides seek the same thing: power over mortals.
  THE IMMACULATE ORDER
  In places where the Immaculate Order holds sway, 
  a temple of Immaculate monks tames the local gods. 
  The Immaculates draw up a schedule by which they 
  worship the local deities, and all the Immaculates work 
  together to ensure the prayers of the Dragon-Blooded 
  monks are the only worship the local spirits get. During 
  scheduled festivals, the monks lead the mortal populace 
  in veneration of the gods according to the Immaculate 
  calendar. The Immaculate Order doesn’t consider the 
  calendar-scheduled festival veneration worship, as the 
  monks intercede and there’s no direct interaction be-
  tween god and worshiper, but such acknowledgement 
  does provide Essence to the gods receiving veneration. 
  Gods who openly demand worship from the mortal 
  population, beyond that which the calendar provides, 
  face punishment by detachments of skilled supernatural 
  martial artists. So do mortals who try to win the Ter-
  restrial Bureaucracy’s favor.
  According to the Immaculate Philosophy, mortals 
  who worship gods are confused, criminals or victims. 
  The gods of Creation are limited beings, unlike the 
  transcendent and numinous Elemental Dragons. Only 
  one who misunderstands the nature of the little gods 
  would offer up selfless worship, because the Terrestrial 
  gods are unworthy of such devotion—one should be 
  concerned only with one’s own spiritual advancement 
  (which includes, for mortals, perfect devotion to the 
  desires of the Dragon-Blooded). Worship in search of 
  the gods’ favor is bribery. The place of the Terrestrial 
  Bureaucracy is to ensure the correct progress of im-
  partial destiny as decided by the Elemental Dragons’ 
  flawless judgment, and a mortal who coaxes favors from 
  a god upsets destiny’s course. Even if the god accepts 
  the veneration but shows the mortal no favor, such 
  behavior still retards the mortal’s progress along the 
  path of reincarnation. A god who demands worship 
  through threat is a simple extortionist.
  The Immaculate Order has had great success tam-
  ing the spirit courts in the Realm’s area of control. 
  The monks attempt to ensure all the gods the monks 
  favor receive limited prayer, deal with uncooperative 
  spirits and reassure the local mortal population that all 
  mortals who contemplate the Noble Insights and follow 
  the Diligent Practices will progress along the path to 
  incarnation as Terrestrial Exalts.
  Weak gods who would otherwise receive no ven-
  eration at all often become devoted followers of the 
  Immaculate Order. The monks often promote the do-
  mains of such spirits to increase the power and loyalty of 
  the monks’ allies, and in places where the Immaculate 
  Order has held sway for the longest, the most powerful 
  gods are often Immaculate devotees. Spirits who believe 
  they’d fare better without the Immaculate calendar 
  often resent the Order, but the Immaculate Order has 
  a far easier time dispatching new monks to troublesome 
  spirit courts than the courts have of recruiting new gods 
  to fight the Immaculates. Spirit courts usually lose this 
  conflict and submit. Still, many gods try to cultivate 
  small cults under the Immaculates’ noses. Some even 
  succeed, with the Hundred God Heresy existing in tiny 
  pockets throughout Immaculate-controlled lands.
  Most gods oppose the Immaculate Philosophy be-
  cause the monks make accruing cults inconvenient or 
  impossible. Few gods oppose the Immaculate Philosophy 
  because the Immaculate doctrine of reincarnation is 
  a sham.
  THE ANCESTOR CULT
  Next to the Immaculate Order, the ancestor cult is 
  the greatest threat to gods who wish mortal cults. The 
  ancestor cult declares the gods unworthy of worship and 
  promises the patronage of ancestors’ ghosts. For mortals, 
  the worship of mortal ancestors has its advantages—
  having once been human, ghosts understand humanity 
  better than gods ever can. Also, ghosts often attach 
  sentimental value to the well-being of their descen-
  dents, while gods often see their worshipers as pawns. 
  For mortals used to the arbitrary favor of capricious 
  divinities, the ancestor cult has much to offer.
  The gods don’t approve of this.
  In shadowlands, where ghosts have the advantage, 
  the ancestor cult is entrenched. Beyond the shadow-
  lands, the battle between the Hundred Gods Heresy 
  and the ancestor cult is as fierce as that between the 
  Terrestrial gods and the Immaculate Order. Each side 
  has trouble affecting the other directly —ghosts pos-
  sess magic to communicate with humanity from the 
  Underworld, which gods cannot usually reach. These 
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  21
  ghosts are seldom strong enough to take on gods di-
  rectly, though. Each competes for the hearts and minds 
  of mortals, alternating offers and threats and turning 
  followers against each other.
  As the Abyssal Exalted become more active in Cre-
  ation, the gods realize that the ancestor cult is often a 
  front for the Deathlords and the forces of Oblivion. This 
  reinforces what the gods believed all along—ancestor 
  worship is an affront to the natural cycles of Creation 
  and a danger to the Celestial Order. The hope it offers 
  Creation’s mortals is as much a lie as the Immaculate 
  Order’s promises.
  THE FAIR FOLK
  Almost all gods hate and fear the Fair Folk, but 
  that doesn’t mean all dealings between the gods and the 
  Fair Folk are hostile. Young gods, those not survivors 
  of the invasion following the Great Contagion, know 
  of the ancient massacre only from stories. Older gods 
  often understand necessity. Tempers, once hot at the 
  damage to Creation, have cooled over the course of 
  almost eight centuries.
  In some Terrestrial courts, the perception of collu-
  sion with the Fair Folk can lead to exile—and in such 
  courts, enemies use accusation of such things to strike 
  at each other. In other Terrestrial courts, places where 
  the nearby Fair Folk are seldom hostile, uneasy peace 
  blossoms into unsteady alliance. Gods who ally with the 
  Fair Folk are often wary, but even in the aftermath of 
  the Contagion, those who define their enemies along 
  purely ideological grounds fall before rivals willing to 
  be more flexible and pragmatic in their alliances.
  DEMONS
  Demons are the gods’ reminder that the Yozis still 
  live. Every demon in Creation represents a crack in 
  the prison of Malfeas. Though the gods understand the 
  Incarnae placed these cracks deliberately, the presence 
  of demons in Creation is still unnerving. And, of course, 
  demons free in Creation may cause much damage before 
  they’re sent back to Hell.
  There’s another reason for gods to fear demons. A 
  free demon in a god’s territory is almost always the result 
  of a rent in fate. Such a twist often brings attention 
  from Heaven, and criminal gods dislike falling under 
  Yu-Shan’s eye. In the presence of a demon, gods must 
  curb their activities, lest Celestial peacekeepers, dis-
  patched by Heaven to banish the Yozis’ servant, spy the 
  gods breaking Celestial law. No god enjoys paying the 
  bribes most Celestial censors demand when presented 
  with evidence of criminal activities.
  THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  The Five Elemental Dragons are Mela, Pasiap, 
  Hesiesh, Daana’d and Sextes Jylis. The most potent 
  gods in Creation, the Five Elemental Dragons rest atop 
  the Terrestrial Bureaucracy.
  Similar to the Incarnae and the greatest of demons, 
  the Five Elemental Dragons are not limited to one 
  location. All five move through the dragon lines of 
  Creation. Without the Five Elemental Dragons, there 
  would be no demesnes and no geomancy. Mela also 
  moves ceaselessly throughout Creation’s atmosphere. 
  Mela renews it. Without Mela, the air would grow 
  stale. Daana’d moves through Creation’s waters as well 
  as Gaia’s dragon lines, bringing the tides and causing 
  rivers to flow. Though lesser gods and elementals of 
  weather bring specific rain, clear skies or storms, Mela 
  and Daana’d oversee all climate. The Dragon of Wood, 
  Sextes Jylis, oversees growth. Together, these three 
  Elemental Dragons permit mortal life.
  Hesiesh and Pasiap sleep. In ancient aeons, they, too, 
  moved about the world. Earthquakes cracked the land. 
  Volcanoes pierced the crust. Pasiap and Daana’d brought 
  tidal waves and tsunamis. Hesiesh, Daana’d and Mela 
  brought hurricanes. In those primeval climes, hardier life 
  prevailed. The Dragon Kings ruled, and the behemoths. 
  When the Primordials brought forth the race of man on 
  the face of Creation, Gaia ordered her Dragons of Fire 
  and Earth to lay down and rest. The world’s climate grew 
  mild, that the young race could survive and multiply. The 
  fitful slumber of Hesiesh and Pasiap brings earthquakes 
  and volcanoes still, but in much reduced numbers. Yet, 
  the dominion of man over Creation is but an eyeblink to 
  a Primordial, and one day, Gaia may order her Dragons 
  of Fire and Earth to wake again.
  Though the Elemental Dragons are powerful and 
  high-ranking, they are a step removed from the gov-
  ernance of the Terrestrial Bureaucracy. They tend to 
  their duties as they always have and coalesce only rarely 
  at the elemental poles to hold court.
  The real Terrestrial Bureaucracy is made up of the 
  Terrestrial courts. Each court is unique. As the Five El-
  emental Dragons designed the courts, each functioned 
  to ensure the gods carried out their proper duties in the 
  absence of the Primordials and the five original elementals. 
  The Terrestrial courts’ first and foremost duty is to ensure 
  Heaven is properly informed of the goings-on in Creation. 
  The gods of Creation watch the causality of Creation and 
  send paperwork to Yu-Shan, where the Celestial gods 
  monitor everything and use the information submitted 
  by Terrestrial courts to inform the planning of fate.
  
  22
  Once, the Terrestrial Bureaucracy was one orga-
  nization with many branches, but that time has long 
  passed. Most courts now function semi-autonomously, 
  feuding amongst each other and professing only rough 
  fealty to Heaven.
  THE COURT OF SEASONS
  Worshipped in many cultures as Heaven’s repre-
  sentatives to Creation, known by name to all savants 
  of the divine, its favor sought by many, admired even 
  by other spirits, the Court of Seasons is made up of 
  the gods of the months. Those the Court of Seasons 
  favor prosper. Its devotees claim the Court of Seasons 
  brings the harvests of the Season of Wood and the 
  chill of the Season of Air. Life and death both are the 
  Court of Seasons’ purview. Records scavenged from the 
  First Age show the people of that time venerated the 
  Court of Seasons alongside the Incarnae. Wherever 
  the Immaculate Faith holds no absolute power over 
  the hearts and minds of mortals, the people love and 
  fear the Court of Seasons: they seek its approval and 
  dread its wrath.
  THEY’RE ALL JERKS?
  They’re not.
  Benevolent gods exist. Humble and dutiful gods who obey Heaven’s laws exist. Gods who break the 
  laws of Heaven and intercede in mortal affairs for compassion’s sake exist.
  They’re just rare. Gods who don’t break Heaven’s laws are unseen by man and beast. Without cults, 
  unwilling to engage in underhanded maneuvers and bereft of the support of virtuous Celestial censors, 
  such gods are at significant tactical disadvantage against less scrupulous rivals. Where the criminal gods 
  are most powerful and tyrannical, they’ve stripped their law-abiding peers of power, banished them to 
  the lowest rungs of the Terrestrial court ranks, pressed them into servitude, forged them into artifacts or 
  just killed them permanently, terrifying all the other local gods into obedience. In less dystopian courts, 
  law-abiding gods are still quickly pushed to the bottom of society. 
  More gods started out virtuous than exist now. More than a millennium of temptation since the 
  Usurpation and more than 700 years since the Great Contagion have lead many gods astray, and they’ve 
  grown comfortable. In most of Creation, while outright divine tyranny rules not, lesser corruption is 
  omnipresent. The Celestial Order should self-police, but it doesn’t and hasn’t for a long time, and gods 
  succumb to the logic of “It’s okay because everybody’s doing it” as easily as do mortals.
  Even self-interested gods with no respect for Heaven’s laws are not always without sympathetic 
  traits. These gods may yearn for friendship, seek equitable deals with mortal communities, express casual 
  charity or show selfless dedication to friends. True malevolence amongst the Terrestrial Bureaucracy is 
  rare (though more common in the higher ranks), and while some malevolent gods use their ruthlessness 
  to rise to positions of power, others lack the aptitude and merely become unpopular outcasts from the 
  Terrestrial courts, reduced to bullying mortal communities. Likewise, gods admire a charismatic leader 
  who puts forth concern for her followers as much as anyone, and such gods often rise in the Terrestrial 
  Bureaucracy as long as they don’t inconvenience their superiors and until their scruples affect their abil-
  ity to get things done.
  Furthermore, many gods who lead cults and demand worship from mortals in exchange for basic 
  protection rationalize their actions as protecting mortals from more dangerous foes. In areas where a 
  powerful being doesn’t offer protection to the mortal populace, supernatural dangers can run rampant, 
  and mortals often have little means of defending themselves. Tyrants they may be, but the Terrestrial 
  gods of the Hundred Gods Heresy often serve to ward away Fair Folk or other, less savory gods. One 
  who’d remove a tyrant had best have a plan for filling the resulting power vacuum.
  Gods who seek to perform their duties, aid their fellows or aid humanity out of selfless devotion and 
  with painless means, and who succeed, are rarest, and often fall after a time to jealous rivals, the temptation 
  of indolence or the weight of dependents. Storytellers interested in presenting a benevolent, effective 
  and powerful god can make such a character more poignant by stressing the scarcity of such figures and 
  the fragility of their positions in the fallen Second Age.
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  23
  During the First Age, the Court of Seasons’ duty 
  was to organize the lavish festivals that accompanied 
  the end and beginning of every month, and the even 
  more lavish festivals that accompanied the end and 
  beginning of every season. The Court of Seasons was an 
  assignment for gods fabulous in appearance and man-
  ner. At the beginning of the First Age, the gods of the 
  Court of Seasons were already famed, not for accom-
  plishment but for their fame itself. The role of a month 
  god is ceremonial, with few actual duties, and so, the 
  Court’s gods were chosen for their beauty, their wit, their 
  charm and their utter incompetence at whatever they 
  oversaw before the Five Elemental Dragons transferred 
  them. The Dragons chose the month gods well for their 
  roles, for the Court’s membership proved magnificent 
  as carousers. So well did the Court of Seasons enliven 
  celebrations that Celestial gods began requesting parties 
  and gatherings in Heaven be arranged by the Court of 
  Seasons as well. Devoted to self-promotion, the Court 
  incorporated its iconography into the banners of these 
  festivals, and its fame grew ever greater.
  When the Usurpation brought the Deliberative to 
  its end, the celebrations in Creation ceased, but the 
  Heavenly parties continued. Unlike other Terrestrial 
  gods, many of whom lost face in the eyes of Heaven as 
  their duties lost relevance and their domains shrank, 
  the month gods retained their reputation as divine 
  celebrities. They became sought-after guests even at the 
  parties they didn’t arrange. Yet, as Terrestrial gods, the 
  month gods could not make Heaven their permanent 
  home. Many Celestial gods sought to promote the Court 
  to Celestial status, on the basis that months are just as 
  easily called abstractions as concrete. The Court initially 
  considered these offers, but just before the promotion 
  was finalized, they rejected the opportunity. The gods 
  of the Court had seen another path.
  Over the length of the Shogunate, the Court of 
  Seasons established its reputation as gods willing to deal 
  with the Dragon-Blooded. Though the month gods may 
  have been little more than socialites, they had the ears 
  of many of Heaven’s greatest gods and arranged minor 
  favors for those mortals and Dragon-Blooded who pleased 
  these gods, always stringing along their chosen with 
  grander promises, never quite delivering. By the time of 
  the Usurpation, the Court had cemented its position as 
  the gods with whom to speak to catch Heaven’s ear.
  
  24
  The Deliberative had always taken as its doctrine 
  that mortals need not understand the complexities 
  of Heaven’s working, and the Shogunate had always 
  concealed from Creation’s peoples the degree to which 
  Heaven disfavored the Dragon-Blooded. The gods who 
  rose to prominence in the Contagion’s wake spread 
  self-aggrandizing lies, painting themselves as far more 
  vital to Creation’s welfare than they really were. Some 
  truth survived this endless cascade of misinformation, 
  but always tainted by word of mouth and the agendas 
  of those in power. Common knowledge amongst Cre-
  ation’s mortals in the Age of Sorrows is that the Court 
  of Seasons turns the seasons themselves, intercedes in 
  Heavenly affairs on mortals’ behalf, brings plenty and 
  leads celebrations. From a few seeds of truth, the Court 
  cultivates a grand fallacy.
  The Court of Seasons is migratory and gathers 
  within the domains of other spirit courts. The gods of 
  the months choose courts overawed by the Court of 
  Seasons’ reputation and settle within these domains 
  for however long they’re tolerated. Usually, this 
  amounts to a season, but sometimes, it’s as short as a 
  month or as long as a full year. While the gods of the 
  months have settled, word spreads amongst nearby 
  mortals that the Court of Seasons is in session, and 
  people visit seeking the Court’s favor. Performers 
  display their talents, martial artists stage tournaments, 
  rulers send emissaries and heroes boast of their great 
  deeds. Those whom the Court favors, Heaven favors 
  as well, for the gods of the Court of Seasons use their 
  reputation within Yu-Shan to provide for those who 
  impress them. The bulk of Celestial gods believe the 
  Court of Seasons should be placed in charge of the 
  conservative Bureau of Seasons—the same Bureau that 
  does the actual work of plotting the world’s weather 
  and seasons’ turning, for which the Court of Seasons 
  takes credit. As the Court of Seasons has no expertise 
  ruling large bureaucracies and the Bureau of Seasons is 
  not hesitant to use its Aerial Legion against political 
  rivals, this is unlikely to happen.
  For much of the year, four-fifths of the court’s gods 
  are absent. At any given moment, only the gods of the 
  preceding, current and upcoming months see fit to at-
  tend, with the gods of the current month reigning over 
  the court. The rest travel Creation and exult in their 
  fame or visit Heaven and carouse—the exception is 
  Calibration and the Carnival of Meetings, which the 
  gods of the Court of Seasons organize and which every 
  month god attends to ensure no other god of the Court 
  claims that time. Since Calibration’s addition to the 
  calendar of Creation, the gods of the Court of Seasons 
  have squabbled endlessly as to who should reign during 
  the five days. None wish to allow any other month’s god 
  to have it, and no god wishes to join the Court only to 
  rule five days while every other rules 28.
  THE MONTH GODS
  Ascending Air: The Unseen are invisible sprites 
  who manifest through touch and whisper. Petty, mali-
  cious and prone to theft, the Unseen are a thorn in the 
  Court’s side—their antics often bring ill will to the other 
  month gods from whoever hosts the Court.
  Resplendent Air: The Divine One, a tall woman 
  with white hair and eyes, perpetually pregnant. Every 
  10 years, she gives birth to rainbows, clouds or mon-
  sters. She is proud of these children and takes terrible 
  vengeance on anyone who fails to honor them.
  Descending Air: The Dreamer, an emaciated being 
  of variable gender. The Dreamer’s favor is difficult to 
  earn. The Dreamer is a social gadfly amongst spirits; 
  mortals who wish to speak to the Dreamer must sleep for 
  three days after imbibing a tincture made from poison-
  ous mushrooms and distilled river water. The god visits 
  these mortals in their dreams. The Dreamer also has an 
  addiction—he craves to devour the hair of dying old 
  men and women. Those who satisfy his craving find his 
  favor easy to earn, but his gifts are less lavish than the 
  other gods of the Court of Seasons as a result.
  Ascending Water: The Cold Roars are a pair of 
  young white spirit bears. Long ago, they claim, the 
  race of omen dogs did them a terrible slight, and now, 
  the Cold Roars prefer to spend all their time stalking 
  the Northern wastes hunting the canines. Naïve when 
  comes to the particulars of Court of Seasons politics, 
  the Cold Roars are often the butt of jokes made by 
  other month gods.
  Resplendent Water: The Three is a trio of grand-
  father, father and son, made entirely of ice. They’ve 
  taken inspiration from the Seer and the Seven Fangs, 
  and seek to usurp control of Ascending Water from 
  the Cold Roars. The Three have not yet recruited the 
  Dreamer into their scheme.
  Descending Water: The White Terrors are small 
  feline primates. Amongst the people of the North, the 
  White Terrors are perhaps the most feared of the gods 
  of the Court of Seasons, for with a look or a glance, 
  the White Terrors may rob a mortal of the capacity to 
  feel heat. Mortals cursed by the White Terrors have 
  been known to burn themselves to death in attempts 
  to feel again—or to freeze, unable to feel the onset of 
  frostbite and succumbing to gangrene.
  
  CHAPTER ONE • THE TERRESTRIAL BUREAUCRACY
  25
  Ascending Earth: The Reflecting Silence is a white 
  sand god of variable form. It appears sometimes as a pile 
  of sand, sometimes a man and sometimes a beast—any 
  beast. Alone amongst the gods of the Court of Seasons, 
  the Reflecting Silence hates pointless discussion. The 
  Reflecting Silence is unpopular amongst the other 
  month gods.
  Resplendent Earth: The Seer is a vain quartz-god 
  who desires nothing more than to find the perfect angle 
  through which to shine light through itself. The Seer 
  grants favors only to those who bring it light sources 
  when the sun is out of view. The Seer collects lamps 
  and candles, but will not light them itself.
  Descending Earth: The Whisperer, a powerful clay 
  god. The Whisperer has lost control over his month to 
  the Seer and the Seven Fangs, who have cursed him 
  with near-immobility. Only water from the Uttermost 
  West could free him from the paralysis, something the 
  Seer and the Seven Fangs would do almost anything to 
  prevent, for the Whisperer is wise, cunning and, while 
  mobile, a terrifying combatant.
  Ascending Wood: The Seven Fangs (see pp. 61-62) 
  is a group of bull-sized fox gods who hunt men as men 
  hunt foxes.
  Resplendent Wood: The Riddling Tree is a brown-
  skinned god with leaves for hair. The Riddling Tree 
  is well-connected amongst the Celestial gods of the 
  Bureau of Nature, and the favor he shows petitioners 
  usually relates to animals or knowledge of same.
  Descending Wood: The Twin is a wooden god 
  with two bodies, each eight feet tall. To converse with 
  the Twin, one must touch one of its two bodies—one 
  body takes a postulant to a complex maze, the other 
  to a simple maze filled with terrible dangers. The 
  postulant must traverse the maze within a single day 
  to speak to the god, or else serve it for a month. The 
  Twin is often surrounded by an entourage of servants 
  who failed.
  Ascending Fire: The Golden Stars are six plain 
  sisters identical save for the birthmarks on their left 
  ankles. The Golden Stars fall in love frequently, and 
  shower the objects of their pursuit with gifts, but wax 
  wroth at any lovers who can’t tell them apart.
  Resplendent Fire: The Pinion is a flame in the 
  shape of a man or a large bird. Powerful and fickle, 
  the Pinion takes terrible revenge on postulants whose 
  requests the god finds trivial, sometimes destroying 
  whole villages. The gifts the god does grant are well 
  worth the risk, however.
  Descending Fire: The Desert Noon is a tall, black-
  skinned woman with hematite eyes and a penchant for 
  asking troublesome questions. She will grant favors to 
  those who offer her lodging for a period between the 
  months of Resplendent Air to Ascending Fire; the dura-
  tion of the lodging depends on the favor’s magnitude. 
  While a guest, her questions often cause trouble for her 
  hosts. Many consider her the most approachable of the 
  gods of the Court of Seasons.
  USING THE COURT OF SEASONS
  The gods of the Court of Seasons make for effective 
  allies and enemies. Their motivation is largely to enjoy 
  life and accrue fame, which can manifest in harmless 
  or exploitative fashions. They possess little in the way 
  of great magical might, with Essence scores of only 3 
  or 4—far lower than other Terrestrial gods with similar 
  reputations. Yet, the social network of the gods of the 
  Court of Seasons is vast. As an ally, the Court of Seasons 
  provides Storytellers with a means to introduce any 
  number of exotic gods into a series, because the Court 
  of Seasons knows everyone. They’re easy to introduce 
  no matter where a Storyteller has set her game, because 
  they can make court anywhere.
  Moreover, the Court of Seasons is the perfect 
  vehicle through which to introduce a circle of players’ 
  characters to Heaven, as Court members travel to the 
  Celestial City of Yu-Shan often. For more information 
  on the Heavenly City and the Celestial Court, see the 
  upcoming The Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol. 
  III—Yu-Shan.
  
  26
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  27
  CHAPTER TWO
  CHARACTER
  CREATION
  CHAPTER TWO
  CHAPTER TWO
  CHAPTER TWO
  THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL 
  THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL 
  DIVINITIES
  DIVINITIES
  For every concept and thing of Creation, there is 
  a commensurate god whose purpose is to protect and 
  maintain the concept or thing. These gods were created 
  to serve as the caretakers of the world so the Primordials 
  could play the Games of Divinity instead of attending to 
  its complications. When a new thing or concept comes 
  into being, a god is assigned to it, and when the thing or 
  concept is completely eradicated, its god fades away, is 
  reassigned or persists in squalor. As the components of 
  the world depend upon one another in a complex chain 
  of reactions, the gods assume a bureaucracy with the most 
  influential of their number at its pinnacle. From the least 
  gods that sustain a speck of dust or a grain of rice to the 
  Celestial Incarnae who watch over the heavenly bodies 
  in the sky, all of Creation is attended by divinities.
  In theory, all gods are part of the same perfect 
  court, answering to the Unconquered Sun and their 
  own inherent sense of obligation. In practice, swathes 
  of Creation’s intricate tapestry are worn thin with the 
  rot of the Underworld, the strains of the Yozis as they 
  seek to escape their bonds, the aftershocks of elemental 
  disruption and the endless siege of the Wyld. The gods 
  of the Second Age are divided into often-antagonistic 
  courts that do not even recognize each other’s exis-
  tence, much less manage Creation properly. Yu-Shan 
  essentially remains a single court, if sometimes a frac-
  tious one, due to its proximity and importance to the 
  Incarnae. Powerful Celestial gods may entertain vast 
  gatherings of scheming guests and their entourages at 
  one of the palatial estates that dot the Heavenly City, 
  but everyone in Yu-Shan knows that such parties are 
  pale reflections of the divine assembly that surrounds 
  the Games of Divinity. The gods of Creation are not 
  so unified.
  
  28
  Most Terrestrial gods are associated with concrete 
  things rather than abstract concepts, and these sepa-
  rate interests lead to disparate goals. The perceived 
  remoteness of the Celestial Court combines with lo-
  cal concerns to foster dissension within the ranks of 
  the gods of Creation. Some gather according to their 
  desire to protect their domains, while others merely 
  seek to enhance their own influence. Potentates such 
  as Gri-Fel, God of the Imperial City, naturally attract 
  supplicants hoping to gain from their service, while 
  gods such as the storm mother Sikunare intentionally 
  amass hangers-on to boost their own status. When the 
  Usurpation brought the Solars low, and their incom-
  parable patron did nothing to help them, many gods of 
  Creation felt that they had been left to their own devices. 
  Other gods honor their ancient duties, whether due to 
  dogmatic conviction or opportunistic hope of promo-
  tion. Creation’s divine fabric has become a thousand 
  ragged tapestries ruled by a thousand petty courts and 
  defied by a thousand rebellious factions. Spirits great 
  and small face the chaos of the Time of Tumult, and 
  greet the return of the Solars as allies and foes, heroes 
  and murderers, cat’s-paws and kings. 
  COMMON GODS
  One can find common gods nearly everywhere in 
  Creation—or everywhere throughout the appropri-
  ate region of Creation (dolphin spirits are common 
  throughout Creation’s oceans but seldom visit the 
  great deserts of the South). Even when common gods 
  are not seen, they exist immaterial, ensuring that the 
  world continues to follow the course set by Fate and 
  Heaven’s Bureau of Destiny. Though every god is an 
  individual, with a distinct name and personality, these 
  are the broad groups to which many of the most com-
  mon gods belong.
  Absent are the field gods and the salt gods, both 
  found in The Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol. 
  I—The Blessed Isle beginning on page 155. Field gods 
  and salt gods play important roles in humanity’s relation-
  ship with the divine, and are summarized here.
  Field gods are the most common form of god in 
  rustic spirit courts, overseeing agriculture. Throughout 
  most of Creation, field gods remind humanity of the 
  gods’ importance by demanding that a small portion 
  of each field be sown but not harvested. Some field 
  gods maim or kill anyone who violates this edict. Field 
  gods usually keep their sanctum entrances within these 
  unharvested crops. Most field gods lack Charms capable 
  of increasing their crops’ yields, though the gods are 
  loathe to admit this and often take credit for plenti-
  ful crops while claiming bad harvests are the result of 
  their displeasure.
  Salt gods are notable for their impact on Creation’s 
  mortal economies. Aligned with Heaven’s Bureau of 
  Nature, the salt gods seek to keep their domain within 
  nature’s purview and out of the purview of the Bureau of 
  Humanity. Salt gods therefore seek to prevent mortals 
  from harvesting salt. As salt is vitally important for hu-
  man survival (used as it is in the preservation of food), 
  violent clashes between mortals and the salt gods were 
  common in the early days following the Great Conta-
  gion. This settled into a pattern whereby mortal salt 
  harvesters sacrificed some percentage of the salt’s value 
  to the local salt god in exchange for being left alone 
  during salt gathering. The Immaculate Order disap-
  proved of this sacrifice, but faced with the alternative 
  of renewed hostilities between salt gods and humans, 
  the Empress exercised her self-proclaimed authority as 
  queen of Creation to set a standard sacrifice rate (which 
  began at 2 percent) and used the Immaculate Order to 
  ensure the salt gods agreed to it. For more information, 
  see “The Salt Rate” in Exalted, p. 362.
  BAIJI
  The playful dolphin gods see themselves as protec-
  tors of the sea and the freedom to relish life within it. 
  Each baiji has technically been assigned a region of the 
  ocean by the god’s superiors in the Bureau of Nature, but 
  the baiji are well-known for straying from these areas 
  whenever it suits their purpose. The dolphin gods are 
  fiercely hostile to sharks of any kind, including the war 
  goddess Siakal and her children, although the dolphin 
  gods prefer to avoid grossly uneven battles. Sailors con-
  sider the appearance of baiji as a good omen, as they 
  often warn ships of unseen dangers or even help fight 
  off marine creatures.
  Wise old sailors know that these warriors of the sea 
  can be selfish or even dangerous, however. They favor 
  other anthropomorphic beings as often as humans, 
  and side with pelagothropes as freely as they do people 
  without Wyld taint. In addition, the baiji have a strange 
  sense of humor and readily employ trickery to coerce 
  others to unwittingly join whatever games they happen 
  to be playing. In human form, the dolphin gods are lusty 
  creatures and will casually seduce whomever strikes 
  their fancy. Demanding lovers are often discarded and 
  left to care for any unexpected offspring.
  Long ago, the baiji sought to improve their posi-
  tions by supporting the nascent Bureau of Humanity. 
  To supplement their status within the Bureau of Nature, 
  where they were respected as powerful warriors of the 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  29
  sea, the dolphin gods adopted a protective role toward 
  humans. Though numerous people have been saved by 
  baiji, the dolphin gods approach this arrangement with 
  a far more pragmatic eye than most humans imagine. 
  Baiji know that every person they save will inspire a 
  thousand others to utter prayers on the gods’ behalf. 
  Baiji are heroic figures, but they take great pleasure in 
  their freedom. The dolphin gods will generally protect 
  a human being from drowning or the like, but they are 
  hardly incorruptible. 
  Sanctum: Though the baiji possess sanctums, unless 
  these have somehow been lost, they rarely visit them, 
  instead traveling freely through the ocean and depend-
  ing upon the hospitality of allied gods. A few spend 
  their time ranging territories close to their sanctum, and 
  these baiji are among the most powerful and politically 
  oriented of their kind.
  Motivation: To thoroughly enjoy life at sea and upon 
  its shores.
  Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 4; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 3 (Swim +3), Awareness 4 (Un-
  derwater +3), Dodge 3 (Underwater +1), Integrity 2, 
  Investigation 2, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Oth-
  ers: Seatongue) 1, Martial Arts 3 (Bite +1, Ram +1), 
  Melee 3, Performance 2, Presence 3, Resistance 3, 
  Socialize 3, Stealth 3, Survival 2, Thrown 2
  Backgrounds: Allies 2 (Other Baiji), Influence 1, 
  Sanctum 2
  Charms:
  Benefaction—Target gains a bonus die to all rolls related 
  to the sea, from maritime lore to swimming efforts.
  Essence Plethora (x2)
  Harrow the Mind—Tricks the target into believing 
  something about the dolphin god or the sea is true.
  Materialize—Costs 40 motes
  Principle of Motion—Six banked actions
  Shapechange—May take a human form
  Touch of Eternity—Target gains supernatural endurance 
  while swimming.
  Touch of Grace—Heals a wounded target
  Tracking—The ocean currents betray the target’s path.
  Words of Power—The god assaults its target with an 
  overwhelming projection of squealing sounds.
  First (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Awareness, Mar-
  tial Arts
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Awareness, 
  Dodge
  Additional Charms—Some baiji of greater power possess 
  the ability to enter a Dreamscape or create a Worldly 
  Illusion. Others are capable of granting divine blessings 
  more potent than Benefaction.
  Join Battle: 8 (11 underwater)
  Attacks:
  Human Form:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 6B, Parry DV 
  5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 9B, Parry DV 3, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 6B, Parry DV –, 
  Rate 1
  Javelin (melee): Speed 4, Accuracy 8, Damage 9L, 
  Parry DV 4, Rate 2
  Javelin (thrown): Speed 4, Accuracy 7, Damage 9L 
  (P), Range 20, Rate 2
  Dolphin Form:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 6L, Parry DV –, 
  Rate 2
  Ram: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 9B, Parry DV –, 
  Rate 1
  Soak: 6L/9B (Tough skin, 3L/3B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 70
  Other Notes: None
  BLOODY HAND
  Bloody hands are gods of murder. They prefer 
  cities, especially violent and lawless cities such as 
  Nexus, where they can bear witness to the taking 
  of human life as often as possible. A bloody hand’s 
  purpose is to observe murders, rather than commit 
  them. A few still do so dispassionately, but most enjoy 
  watching humans dispose of each other in cruel and 
  painful ways. Many bloody hands collect trophies 
  from murder scenes, and some encourage murderers 
  to ever more baroque methods to satisfy the gods’ 
  own lust for death.
  Despite most bloody hands’ taste for murder, few 
  kill on their own except in self-defense. They prefer to 
  observe and occasionally offer advice. Some assassins 
  have found bloody hands to be useful allies; the gods will 
  happily lure victims away from safety where they can 
  be easily (but creatively) killed. In exchange for these 
  services, bloody hands will demand that the murderer 
  kill his victims in unusual ways. These methods range 
  from using an exotic weapon or poison to deaths so 
  gruesome only the most hardened killers are willing 
  to perform them.
  
  30
  While bloody hands enjoy witnessing murder and 
  are willing to help murderers to a point, the gods rarely 
  warn the mortal of approaching attackers who wield 
  unusual weapons. An attacker who intends to kill a 
  murderer she suspects of working with a bloody hand 
  will typically arm herself with an exotic weapon in the 
  hopes that the god will be more interested in seeing 
  the weapon in action than in protecting or warning 
  the god’s mortal confederate.
  Occultists and murderers know of a number of 
  rituals used to attract a bloody hand’s attention, and 
  all require human sacrifice. In most places, possession 
  of a copy of one of these rituals is considered the same 
  as intent to murder at least twice, and the owner is 
  punished appropriately—torture until death is popular. 
  Some desperate individuals call a bloody hand to assist 
  with a single murder, a request any bloody hand will 
  almost certainly grant. Unfortunately for such people, 
  bloody hands are willing to go to great lengths to sate 
  their hunger for observing murder and will often black-
  mail their summoners into committing more murders. 
  Those who refuse find themselves quickly arrested and 
  convicted of the murder, sacrifice and possession of the 
  ritual to call a bloody hand.
  Investigators who track dangerous or high-profile 
  murderers are sometimes tempted to go to bloody hands 
  for information. Since bloody hands are witness to 
  numerous murders, they’re almost certain to have the 
  information an investigator might need to track down 
  his quarry. The price for such information is to commit 
  at least one murder for the bloody hand—two if the 
  bloody hand is working with the murderer in question. 
  For many investigators, a relatively worthless life or two 
  is cheap compared to capturing quarries the investiga-
  tors may have chased for months or even years. The 
  fact that this is possible is enough to serve as deterrent 
  for some would-be murderers. Others prefer to find a 
  way around doing the deed themselves or even hire 
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  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  31
  bloody hands in advance to identify investigators who 
  would be willing to use this method to track the mur-
  derers down. This simply serves to complicate murder 
  and assassination of important people in Creation to 
  a Byzantine level.
  As a counterpoint, some officials in Creation are 
  unwilling to sanction the use of murder to solve murder. 
  These incorruptible few prefer to find other means to 
  solve such crimes, and are less tolerant of subordinates 
  and colleagues who try to take the easy way out. Others 
  not only sanction the use if murder to solve murder, they 
  have officers retained solely for the purpose of dealing 
  with bloody hands. Such men are dangerous for their 
  lack of principle or conscience.
  Bloody hands appear as disturbingly slender humans 
  with brilliant carmine lips and long, bloody claws. They 
  can alter their appearances to look like any human, 
  but blood always drips slowly from one hand. A bloody 
  hand can hide this with a glove or bandage, but this 
  disguise must be changed regularly or it will seep or 
  overflow with blood.
  Sanctum: Bloody hands live in horrific sanctums deco-
  rated with murder weapons and the trophies of murders 
  they have witnessed. Most reside in cities and place their 
  sanctums in poor and dangerous neighborhoods. Those 
  who ally themselves with murderers must be prepared 
  to move on short notice. Unfortunately, this often 
  means temporarily leaving sanctums behind or moving 
  a sanctum to one of the murderer’s possessions—a purse 
  of some kind is the most common item.
  Motivation: Witness ever more exotic murders.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina 5; Cha-
  risma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 1; Perception 1, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Dodge 5, 
  Integrity 3, Larceny 4, Linguistics (Native: Old 
  Realm; Others: Varies; usually the local language and 
  a trade language) 2, Lore 2, Martial Arts 5, Melee 5, 
  Occult 1, Performance 3, Presence 3, Resistance 3, 
  Socialize 3, Stealth 5, Thrown 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 1, Contacts 2, Influence 1, 
  Sanctum 2
  Charms:
  Benefaction—Murderers
  Harrow the Mind
  Hurry Home
  Materialize—Costs 55 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Paralyze—Crippling effect; -3 dice with a successful 
  claw attack
  Possession—Murderers
  Shapechange—Any human form
  Sheathing the Material Form—+12B/+6L against weapons
  Spirit-Cutting
  Stoke the Flame—Only one target at a time
  Tracking
  First (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts, Performance, 
  Socialize
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Performance, Presence
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage 8L, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 8B, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 2
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 3
  Throwing Knife: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 7L, 
  Range 15, Rate 2
  Soak: 9L/15B (Jade reinforced buff jacket, 7L/10B, -1 
  mobility penalty; Hardness: 5L/5B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 (7 without armor) Willpower: 8 
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 70
  Other Notes: Blood from a bloody hand can be fashioned 
  into a powerful paralytic poison equal in potency to arrow 
  frog poison, but doing only bashing damage. The ritual 
  to call a bloody hand is part of the Art of Spirit Beckon-
  ing (see The Books of Sorcery, Vol. III—Oadenol’s 
  Codex, p. 140): Beckon Bloody Hand (2, Charisma + 
  Performance, 3, one hour). It catches a bloody hand’s 
  attention and draws its interest, but doesn’t compel it. 
  This always requires a human sacrifice.
  CARAVAN GOD
  Caravan gods are summoned by the Ritual of Exodus, 
  a ceremony performed by the masters of a Guild caravan 
  before it begins its journey. Ostensibly, the ritual is a 
  celebration of the trip to come, filled with sacrifices to 
  the gods of the cities that lie upon the caravan’s route 
  and prayers to the gods of the roads over which the 
  caravan will travel in order to curry their favor. But the 
  ritual also formally marks the beginning of a contract 
  with the god of the road over which the caravan travels, 
  usually arranged beforehand by a Guild thaumaturge and 
  guaranteeing that the road god makes a tidy profit from 
  the Guild. In exchange for prayers and sacrifices along 
  
  32
  the caravan’s path, as well as discounted access to Guild 
  services, the god of the road provides a servant under 
  its control to the caravan to make the trip smoother. 
  This god, in turn, is propitiated by the merchants and 
  drovers of the caravan during the trip.
  Caravan gods are not particularly strong or pow-
  erful, but they have enough might at their disposal to 
  aid a caravan in a tight spot against mundane foes or 
  to smooth the caravan’s passage through most normal 
  hazards. Caravan gods are also good at interceding on 
  the caravan’s behalf with other spirits that the caravan 
  may unexpectedly encounter on the road (the ones 
  the caravan expects to encounter having already been 
  bribed). The contract between the caravan god’s divine 
  superiors and the Guild factors usually stipulates that 
  the god must come to the caravan’s rescue unless the 
  caravan faces overwhelming force—which is read to 
  mean a strike force of Exalted or powerful God-Blooded. 
  However, caravan gods are often younger protégés 
  that the god of that particular road or chain of roads is 
  grooming for bigger and better things—connected and 
  cocksure, and often willing to bite off more than they 
  can chew. More than one Exalt has slain or driven off 
  a caravan god only to find himself in hot water with 
  that god’s superiors—which is exactly how the Guild 
  likes it.
  Caravan gods often appear as subordinates clothed 
  as their divine superiors, if their superiors have human 
  seemings, or as lesser versions, if the road gods appear 
  as objects or animals.
  Sanctum: Caravan gods usually keep whatever sanctum 
  they had before they were assigned to assist the cara-
  van, appropriate to a god of their rank in the area in 
  which they reside, although most caravan gods decorate 
  their sanctums with souvenirs and gifts from generous 
  caravan masters.
  Motivation: Keep the road they oversee functioning 
  smoothly. Note that, as road gods temporarily reassigned, 
  caravan gods don’t usually change their Motivation for 
  the journey’s duration.
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5; Cha-
  risma 2, Manipulation 1, Appearance 2; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 2 
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Dodge 4, Integrity 3, 
  Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Other: Whatever lan-
  guages the caravan will meet along the way) 4, Lore 3, 
  Melee 4, Occult 3, Presence 2, Resistance 2, 
  Socialize 3, Survival 4
  Backgrounds: Contacts 2, Influence 1, Mentor 2 
  (Superior in the Road Network), Sanctum 2
  Charms:
  Affinity Earth Control
  Hoodwink—Enemies of the caravan
  Hurry Home
  Landscape Hide—Roads
  Landscape Travel—The road
  Materialize—Costs 35 motes
  Measure the Wind—Travelers on the road
  Principle of Motion—Five banked actions
  Sense Domain—Anything on the road
  Tracking—Travelers on the road
  First (Ability) Excellency—Melee, Dodge, Survival
  Join Battle: 6
  Attacks: 
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 5, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 7B, Parry DV 1, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 4, Damage 4B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Walking Staff: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 11B, 
  Parry DV 5, Rate 2
  Soak: 9L/15B (Jade reinforced buff jacket, 7L/10B, -1 
  mobility penalty; Hardness: 5L/5B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 5
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 45
  Other Notes: This is but a single sample caravan 
  god. Caravan gods vary more so than other gods of 
  similar type.
  CITY GOD
  In theory, every city in Creation has a god who acts 
  as its divine sponsor and is dedicated to its well-being. 
  With the growing chaos within the Terrestrial courts, 
  some of these gods are usurpers who have gained Heav-
  enly dominion over an urban area via force or political 
  trickery. Occasionally, more than one god cares for a city, 
  whether due to a change such as Deheleshen becoming 
  Lookshy, or because multiple gods join together to seize 
  a position, as with the three Syndics of Whitewall and 
  the three gods of Great Forks. Officially, city gods are 
  designated as the Lords of the Wall and Moat, and they 
  answer to the Bureau of Humanity’s director. Other 
  gods, and humans in Creation, refer to city gods as 
  city fathers, city mothers or oppidans. Wun Ja, God of 
  the Shining Metropolis, is a strong proponent of the 
  rule of city gods over their mortal dominions, and the 
  Bureau she directs is cautiously resistant to enforcement 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  33
  of the Creation-Ruling Mandate, which forbids gods to 
  act in such a manner. She subtly encourages the city 
  gods of the Bureau to assume greater control over their 
  dominions and is rewarded with ever-greater worship 
  for doing so. Unfortunately for the Bureau director, one 
  of her most powerful underlings defected to the Bureau 
  of Heaven during the Great Contagion. The exemplary 
  city god Cheng Huang Ye, assigned Civic Manager of 
  the Eperopolis, voluntarily transferred to the Depart-
  ment of Celestial Concerns in the Bureau of Heaven. 
  As the civil administrator of Yu-Shan’s metropolitan 
  operations, Cheng Huang Ye has the ear of the upper-
  most circle of gods who serve the Celestial Incarnae, 
  including Ryzala, the Shogun of the Department of 
  Celestial Concerns and de facto head of the Bureau of 
  Heaven. The perceived abandonment of Creation on 
  the part of Yu-Shan has nonetheless placed most of the 
  city gods firmly in Wun Ja’s camp. She routinely man-
  ages to deflect the investigations of Celestial censors, 
  and the city gods who follow her lead grow ever bolder 
  in their roles as city patrons.
  Most city gods, whether they engage in the politics 
  of Yu-Shan or not, are dedicated to the welfare of the 
  city for which they are patron, according to their own 
  immutable nature. Gri-Fel cannot betray the Imperial 
  City to any enemy without betraying his inherent 
  character. For some city gods, the patronage of a city 
  necessarily demands that the god rule the city. This 
  is considered a crime against the laws of Yu-Shan, 
  because the Exalted were technically given mandate 
  over Creation on behalf of the Unconquered Sun, but 
  many powerful city gods don’t care to restrict them-
  selves in such a fashion anymore. One reason for the 
  hesitancy of divine censors is the fact that the city of 
  Whitewall, once called Ondar Shambal, was built by a 
  respected Solar who declared the Unconquered Sun the 
  city’s designated city father. Today, the three Syndics 
  jointly manage Whitewall in his name. Technically, 
  the Synics are not city fathers. They are Yo-Ping, the 
  Celestial Minister of Harmony, Luranume, the Master 
  of Fivefold Luck and Uvanavu, the Chrysanthemum 
  Shogun. The three gods of Great Forks, also not really 
  city fathers, have abandoned such fiction and rule their 
  city directly, bribing numerous divine allies with the 
  devotions of an extensive temple district. Other gods 
  act publicly in defense of their cities, but do not seek 
  to command them directly. Grandmother Bright looks 
  after Chiaroscuro but has never disputed the leader-
  ship of the Tri-Khan. The city gods of Lookshy may 
  offer advice, but they never challenge the supremacy 
  of the Seventh Legion. On the Blessed Isle, most city 
  gods at least pretend to trade strict adherence to the 
  divine mandate for the calendared worship of the Im-
  maculate Order.
  Gods who have assumed city father status, unlaw-
  fully or unrightfully, are unfortunately all too common. 
  The Syndics, the gods of Great Forks and Grandmother 
  Bright are the best known examples. These interlopers 
  are a source of internal conflict within the Celestial and 
  Terrestrial spheres. City fathers and mothers have long 
  been reduced to Terrestrial status, and now, they face 
  direct competition from oftentimes more powerful Celes-
  tial gods bent upon seizing the city fathers and mothers’ 
  domains as retreats from the increasingly deadly politics 
  of Yu-Shan. The resulting friction threatens to pit the 
  Bureau of Humanity against its Heavenly brethren.
  Sanctum: A city god’s sanctum varies in glory accord-
  ing to the prestige of her city. The sanctum’s entrance 
  is usually found in the god’s primary temple or within 
  an important civic building.
  Motivation: To promote the power and prestige of the 
  city god’s city.
  Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3; Perception 6, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 6, Bureaucracy 6 
  (Its Own City +2), Craft (Earth) 1, Dodge 4, 
  Integrity 5, Investigation 1, Larceny 1, Linguistics (Na-
  tive: Old Realm; Others: Three languages appropriate
  to area) 3, Lore 3 (City Facts +3), Martial Arts 3, Melee 4, 
  Occult 1, Performance 2, Presence 5, Resistance 5, 
  Socialize 5, Stealth 4, Thrown 4, War 3
  Backgrounds: Allies 3, Contacts 5, Cult 1+, Influence 4, 
  Resources 4, Sanctum 2
  Charms:
  Essence Plethora (x1)
  Hurry Home—May appear anywhere in its city
  Malediction—The Essence of the city subtly turns against 
  the victim.
  Materialize—Costs 45 motes
  Measure the Wind—Sense supernatural influences in 
  the city
  Plague of Menaces—Gods of the city recognize the victim 
  as an enemy of the state.
  Principle of Motion—Six banked actions
  Regalia of Authority—Enforce its will in its city
  Sense Domain—Detect the status of its city
  Signet of Authority—Badge of the city god
  
  34
  Stoke the Flame—Incite the city’s populace
  First (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Bureaucracy, 
  Integrity, Melee, Presence, Socialize
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Bureaucracy, Lore, Socialize
  Additional Charms—Many city gods also possess one or 
  more of the following Charms: Benefaction, Dream-
  scape, Endowment, Foretell the Future, Landscape Hide, 
  Landscape Travel, Natural Prognostication, Paralyze, 
  Portal or Words of Power. Gods of preeminent cities 
  or those with a distinctive ambiance may possess ad-
  ditional Charms or different ones.
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 6B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 9B, Parry DV 3, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 6B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Perfect Straight Sword: Speed 4, Accuracy 12, Damage 
  10L, Parry DV 5, Rate 3
  Perfect Javelin (thrown): Speed 4, Accuracy 11, 
  Damage 10L (P), Range 40, Rate 2
  Soak: 10L/14B (Jade lamellar armor, 8L/9B, -1 mobility; 
  Hardness: 5L/5B. Target shield, +1 DV)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 70
  Other Notes: These are recommended traits for a 
  “typical” city god. Storytellers should always adjust the 
  traits (at least slightly) to fit the unique character of 
  the city in question. Particularly consider adding one 
  or more Abilities that seem appropriate for the god’s 
  city and removing Abilities that seem inappropriate. 
  For example, add Craft Abilities for a city of crafters, 
  increase the Lore of the god of a city known for its 
  scholars and add Ride to the god of the Marukan capital 
  Celeren. Conversely, the god of a closed, conservative 
  township might have no Linguistics Ability, while the 
  god of a barbarian warlord’s settlement is unlikely to 
  practice the Bureaucracy Ability much, and the god 
  of a peaceful community of artisans in An-Teng prob-
  ably isn’t well versed in combat. The gods of powerful 
  city-states will typically be deities of Essence 4 or 5, or 
  rarely even as high as 6, with commensurate increases in 
  power. For examples of greater city gods, see Tu Yu and 
  Tien Yu of Lookshy and the three gods of Great Forks, 
  all found in The Compass of Terrestrial Directions, 
  Vol. I—The Scavenger Lands, and Gri-Fel, God of the 
  Imperial City, from the main Exalted rulebook.
  DISEASE GOD
  Disease gods are tasked with overseeing the out-
  break and spread of disease within any given area. Each 
  disease god is associated with a single disease, although 
  any given disease has more than one god tasked with 
  handling it. Where disease is widespread, these gods are 
  common. Where it’s under control, they’re relatively 
  rare. In a city with a massive influenza outbreak, there 
  may be dozens or even hundreds of disease gods handling 
  the plague. In a city where disease is kept under strict 
  control, there may only be a few.
  These gods’ existence depends upon disease—if a 
  plague is controlled or eradicated, so are the associated 
  gods. As a consequence, most disease gods do what they 
  can to promote their particular ailments, spreading them 
  whenever and wherever possible. This occasionally means 
  that in bad outbreaks, physicians and thaumaturges are 
  necessary to bring the situation under control.
  In addition to using Charms to spread disease, these 
  gods will recruit mortal allies and even other minor gods 
  or elementals to assist—and disease gods are willing to 
  give extensive advice on how to properly spread their 
  diseases for maximum effect. A god of cholera will know 
  how to ensure that the local drinking water is tainted 
  as thoroughly as possible, while a god of syphilis will 
  work hard to keep brothels in business.
  Disease gods can also instantly cure their own dis-
  eases and provide at least some aid against almost any 
  ailment. A few can even be persuaded to work against 
  other disease gods, but this is hard to accomplish, and 
  the price can be dear indeed: many a disease god has 
  spared a supplicant’s loved one in exchange for assistance 
  in further spreading their diseases to others.
  Exalted often use threats and force to get disease 
  gods to cooperate, rather than even attempt to bargain. 
  Disease gods aren’t very powerful and have little lever-
  age over the Chosen. On many occasions, Exalted have 
  captured disease gods and forced them to eradicate the 
  contagion that sustains their existence.
  Disease gods appear to be humans afflicted with 
  terrible cases of their particular disease—gods of leprosy 
  look horribly rotted, gods of plague are covered with 
  blackened sores and so on. They vary greatly in size, as 
  well. Most are fairly small. Gods of truly deadly diseases 
  stand taller than mortals, while it is said that the gods 
  of the Great Contagion dwarfed the tallest buildings 
  of the First Age. In contrast, gods of minor infections 
  or cowpox rarely stand taller than two feet.
  Sanctum: Disease gods prefer to locate their sanctums 
  near death and decay—most are located in cemeteries 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  35
  where many of those who died from their diseases are 
  buried. Other disease gods prefer hospitals where their 
  diseases are treated (usually with little success, with the 
  god right there). Their sanctums are vile and foul-smelling 
  places with fleshy walls that appear to be afflicted with 
  the god’s associated ailment. They’re furnished with 
  filthy, decaying furniture made of the same material. 
  Disease gods who have sanctums won’t fade away along 
  with their diseases. Most gods spawned by an outbreak 
  don’t yet have sanctums, which allows a quick response 
  to eliminate them along with their plague.
  Motivation: Survive by spreading disease.
  Attributes: Strength *, Dexterity 5, Stamina *; Cha-
  risma 2, Manipulation 4, Appearance 1; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 4
  * Equal to the disease’s virulence
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 4, 
  Dodge 5, Integrity 2, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; 
  Others: Local language) 1, Lore 3, Martial Arts 3, 
  Medicine 5 (Associated Disease +1), Occult 1, Resis-
  tance 2, Socialize 2
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms: 
  Calculated Order of Immediate Action—Works on the 
  god’s disease
  Domain Manipulation Scenario—Works on any disease. 
  Against diseases other than the god’s, apply a +1 ex-
  ternal penalty.
  Essence Bite
  Fruit of Living Essence
  Hoodwink
  Malediction—This manifests as an illness—achy joints, 
  headache, or fever
  Materialize—Costs 35 motes
  Measure the Wind—Also identifies anyone suffering 
  from disease
  Paralyze—Sickness, -2 dice on successful claw attack
  Plague of Menaces—This mark calls diseased rats
  Sense Domain
  First (Ability) Excellency—Bureaucracy, Medicine
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks:
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage (Strength+3)L*, 
  Parry DV 4, Rate 3
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage (Strength)B (P), 
  Parry DV –, Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage (Strength+3)B, 
  Parry DV 3, Rate 2
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage (Strength)B, 
  Parry DV 5, Rate 3
  * Exposure to the god’s disease
  Soak: � Stamina L/Stamina B (Plus divine rags [buff 
  jacket] 3B/4L, -1 mobility penalty)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 5
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 35
  Other Notes: At a cost of five motes, disease gods 
  can cause or cure their associated ailment. They also 
  subtract 2 from the difficulty of all Medical rolls (to a 
  minimum difficulty of 1) they make to treat or cure 
  diseases. Also, the bones of a disease god can be made 
  into a powerful talisman against all disease (add two 
  dice to the [Stamina + Resistance] roll to withstand 
  any disease as well as recover from one). Creating this 
  talisman requires a successful difficulty 2 (Intelligence 
  + Occult) roll.
  DREAM FLY
  Dream flies are tiny, fey gods that hold sway over 
  dreams. All are small, winged humanoids standing no 
  taller than two feet, but their appearance depends upon 
  the kind of dreams they are associated with. The gods 
  of romantic and erotic dreams are sensuously beautiful 
  with wings like a dragonfly or a hummingbird. Those 
  whose dreams cover action and adventure resemble 
  predator creatures with razored claws and raptor wings. 
  Dream flies that govern nightmares are horribly twisted 
  creatures with bat wings and tickling claws, and lack 
  any face at all. To those who can see immaterial beings, 
  dream flies are sometimes found hovering over sleeping 
  mortals. The presence of dream flies means that the 
  sleeper is having a particularly intense dream.
  Dream flies observe dreams and keep track of those 
  that are new or especially powerful. The dream flies 
  record the dreams they observe in small dreamstone 
  pendants, and store them in special cabinets in their 
  sanctums. Each cabinet is filled with hundreds of tiny 
  drawers, each containing a particular dream, normally 
  the exemplar of a particular category of dream.
  Over time, many dream flies have become bored 
  with their role as observers and have taken to crafting 
  dreams for mortals to experience. Taking the raw ma-
  terial from their collections of recorded dreams, these 
  dream flies brew the new creations in tiny glass retorts 
  that resemble those used by perfume makers.
  Dream flies prefer to grant their dreams to those 
  whom the dream flies feel would appreciate such dreams 
  most: romantic gods may choose the most attractive 
  mortals to receive erotic dreams while adventurous 
  
  36
  dream flies may grant dreams of battle and conquest 
  to warriors. Nightmare gods may grant their nocturnal 
  terrors to anyone—most often someone who offends 
  their sensibilities in some way. She might be too noble, 
  too pretty or might have given offense to a nightmare 
  god in some manner. 
  Dream flies can sometimes be persuaded to create 
  dreams made to order. Although dream flies hate being 
  servants, they’re willing to work if paid well: pieces of 
  dreamstone, small exquisitely made baubles or epic 
  poems of love or valor written in the dream fly’s honor 
  can sometimes convince one to perform a single service, 
  such as crafting a special dream.
  Although dream flies tend to be self-absorbed to a 
  great degree, and care little about the needs and desires 
  of others, sufficient pampering, flattery and favors can 
  make one a useful, if sometimes inattentive, ally. There 
  are dream parlors in Chiaroscuro and Whitewall where 
  proprietors have secured the services of several dream 
  flies, who create erotic and adventurous dreams. Few can 
  afford to experience these dreams, as even the cheapest 
  can cost more money than most mortals will see in a 
  year. However, such high costs are necessary to keep 
  the dream flies happy (as well as to keep the owners 
  fabulously wealthy). These proprietors sometimes deal 
  in shadier business, such as selling nightmares to those 
  who would do terrible things to their enemies without 
  killing them outright.
  Coercing dream flies rarely works. Those who at-
  tempt such crude tactics often find themselves unable 
  to get a peaceful night’s rest, their dreams plagued with 
  terrifying visions and twisted hallucinations. 
  Sanctum: Dream flies live in tiny mansions made from 
  fragments of their favorite dreams. 
  Motivation: Garner emotional reactions through 
  crafted dreams.
  Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 6, Stamina 2; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 1-4; Percep-
  tion 4, Intelligence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 1-3, Conviction 3, Temperance 
  2, Valor 1-3
  Abilities: Awareness 4, Craft (Dreams) 5, Dodge 5, 
  Integrity 3, Larceny 3, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; 
  Others: Local language) 1, Lore 3, Martial Arts 2, 
  Occult 1, Performance 5, Presence 3, Socialize 2, 
  Stealth 4
  Background: Allies 2 (Other Dream Flies), Sanctum 3
  Charms: 
  Benefaction
  Calculated Order of Immediate Action—Affects dreams
  Domain Manipulation Scenario—Affects dreams
  Dreamscape
  Harrow the Mind—Must be used on a dreaming target
  Malediction
  Materialize—Costs 40 motes
  Paralyze—Unnatural mental influence (Illusion), -2 
  dice on successful punch or claw attack
  Worldly Illusion—The god crafts these from dreams 
  she’s collected
  First (Ability) Excellency—Craft (Dream), Dodge, Mar-
  tial Arts, Performance
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Craft (Dream), Performance
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Craft (Dream), Performance
  Join Battle: 10
  Attacks:
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 1L, Parry DV 5, 
  Rate 3
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 1B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 4B, Parry DV 3, 
  Rate 2
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 1B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Soak: 1L/2B 
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 7 
  Willpower: 6 
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 50
  Other Notes: Dream flies can detect dreams and locate 
  dreaming humans at a range of one mile by simply 
  spending one mote of Essence. All dream flies carry a 
  dreamstone the size of a small acorn.
  DRYAD
  Every tree has a god, no matter how small. Most are 
  little more than spiritual representatives, observing the 
  tree’s progress and advocating for it at the local spirit 
  court. A few are more zealous, curing the tree’s ills and 
  nurturing its growth, but they are forbidden to physi-
  cally end a threat to the tree’s existence from cutting 
  or fire (although this does not stop many of these gods 
  from using their wiles to dissuade men from chopping 
  their trees down). The oldest and greatest of trees have 
  gods even more powerful still, whose rank gives them 
  nearly unfettered right to use force and guile to protect 
  the lives of their trees.
  In the Linowan and Haltan cultures, where the 
  forest is an integral part of society, dryads take lovers 
  from the populace, dallying with the fairest youths in 
  exchange for talismans and blessings. The bravest, 
  most foolish and most desperate adolescents go so 
  far as to perform rituals that invite a dryad into their 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  37
  home so as to begin long-term romantic relationships. 
  Any who dare perform the ritual without being of 
  suitable appearance, temperament and skill disappear 
  from their homes, killed for their temerity. While few 
  other nations have formalized ties to the dryads to this 
  extent, informal relations such as this occur frequently, 
  especially amongst the Eastern forest tribes.
  Dryads appear as humans with bark-like skin, leafy 
  hair and features that clearly define what kind of tree 
  they are tied to. All of them, as a rule, are beautiful be-
  ings, although some bear tattoos and ritual scarification 
  to commemorate damage done to their trees before they 
  became powerful—faded scars to show where an ax fell 
  or jagged tattoos to mark where lightning struck.
  Sanctum: Weaker dryads reside in their trees, while 
  the most powerful have created spiritual counterparts 
  to their trees that consist of leafy and trunked man-
  sions. These dryad lives in luxury, with furniture of 
  living wood and treasures and mementos the dryad has 
  gathered over its long life. 
  Motivation: Protect its tree
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 1, Appearance 4; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, 
  Integrity 3, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: 
  Local languages) 2, Lore 3, Martial Arts 3, Melee 3, 
  Occult 2, Presence 4, Resistance 3, Socialize 2, Sur-
  vival 3
  Backgrounds: Followers 2 (Mortals), Influence 1, 
  Sanctum 3
  Charms: 
  Affinity Wood Control
  Benefaction—Those who pray to their tree
  Camouflage—As a tree
  Hurry Home—To their tree
  Landscape Travel—The forest
  Materialize—Costs 40 motes
  Measure the Wind—Those who wander in their woods
  First (Ability) Excellency—Presence, Socialize
  Join Battle: 5
  Attacks: 
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 4L, Parry DV 5, 
  Rate 3
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 4B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  
  38
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 7B, Parry DV 3, 
  Rate 2
  Spear: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 8L/11L, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 2
  Soak: 9L/13B (Bark hide, 7L/9B; Hardness: 2L/4B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 6 
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 50 
  Other Notes: The oldest dryads wield living spears 
  made from the wood of their trees, while the youngest 
  must resort to their own wooden claws.
  FOREST WALKER
  For Ages before the wood elementals ever walked 
  Creation, the gods known as the forest walkers tended 
  the woodlands. As the wilds lie largely outside of hu-
  man existence, the forest walkers managed to avoid 
  much of the impact of the divine mandate and retain 
  their rule over the woods. Each of the grandfather trees 
  cares for an entire forest, acting as the representative 
  of every plant and beast who inhabits its wood. Most 
  forest walkers are content to lord over their dominions 
  and bicker with their brethren over where the borders 
  of one wood end and another begin. When they grow 
  bored, the grandfather trees gamble amongst themselves, 
  wagering the species that lie within their domains. 
  Sudden migrations of hordes of woodland animals in 
  the East often owe their origins to such bets. Some of 
  the forest walkers wager with tribal chieftains or hu-
  man rulers of kingdoms bordering the woods, gambling 
  exotic beasts or rare herbs against promises to allow 
  fields to overgrow with saplings or to serve as slaves to 
  the needs of the forest.
  Many forest walkers are forced to deal with the 
  incursions of humanity or powerful spirits, with varying 
  results. Some grow tired of dealing with humans, and 
  their axes and bows, and forbid them from trespassing 
  within their woods. In such woods, the twisted corpses 
  of intruders hang as grim warnings to others, or their 
  rotting flesh enriches the soil below. Honey-tongued 
  interlopers might be able to escape death by promising 
  worship, service or even love. Other grandfather trees 
  resolve the nuisance by offering their protection to the 
  mortals who will live with them in peace. Usually, the 
  forest walkers come to dominate the lives of these mor-
  tals, slaying those who violate the forest laws. Elder Oak, 
  of Farhold, rules a human clan in such a manner.
  When the Primordials destroyed the five original 
  elementals, their Essence flowed throughout Creation 
  and gave rise to new breeds of spirit. One of these, the 
  elementals known as the kings of the wood (see pp. 
  136-137), has directly contested the rule of the forest 
  walkers. Typically, a grandfather tree manages to bring 
  millennia of allies to bear, driving off or forcing binding 
  concessions from a king of the wood. However, these 
  elementals are individually powerful, and even if they 
  are frequently vanquished, they often manage to seize 
  at least some territory from the forest walkers.
  In a forest walker’s natural form, he appears as a tall 
  humanoid clad in bark skin, with “hair” composed of 
  leaves or needles appropriate to his wood, bearing a mighty 
  spear of timber and green jade. Forest walkers’ Charms 
  allow them to easily masquerade as various woodlands 
  entities and to control the forest around them.
  Sanctum: Typically reached through a protected clear-
  ing in the center of the woods, the sanctum of a forest 
  walker is a mansion composed of living trees grown 
  together to form the walls, roof and furnishings. Within 
  their sanctums, most forest walkers have amassed vast 
  collections of woodland beauty rarely seen by mortal 
  eyes. Forest walkers who trade with humanity or other 
  gods often possess other stores of luxury.
  Motivation: To protect and rule over its forest and 
  everything within it.
  Attributes: Strength 1-14*, Dexterity 5, 
  Stamina 8; Charisma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3; 
  Perception 3, Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  * Strength varies according to current size.
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 1 
  (Wood Courts +2), Craft (Wood) 2 (Favorite Tree-
  Type +1), Dodge 5, Integrity 3, Investigation 1 
  (Forests +3), Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Oth-
  ers: Forest-Tongue, additional suitable language) 2, 
  Lore 3, Martial Arts 5, Melee 5 (Spears +2), Occult 4, 
  Performance 5, Presence 5, Resistance 3, Socialize 3, 
  Stealth 2 (Forests +3), Survival 5, War 1
  Backgrounds: Allies 5, Cult 3, Followers 5, Influence 2, 
  Resources 2-5, Sanctum 3
  Charms:
  Affinity Wood Control—Forest walkers are masters of 
  the wood element.
  Essence Plethora (x1)
  Form Reduction Technique—The forest walker may 
  reduce his size, and his Strength alters accordingly. At 
  the size of a huge human, a forest walker usually has 
  Strength 9, with Strength 14 at tree size.
  Hurry Home
  Landscape Hide—Within his forest
  Landscape Travel—Within his forest
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  39
  Materialize—Costs 50 motes
  Measure the Wind—Within his forest
  Ox-Body Technique (x1)
  Principle of Motion—Six banked actions
  Regalia of Authority—Enforces his will within his forest
  Sense Domain—Detects the condition of his forest
  Shapechange—A forest walker may take the shape of 
  any creature native (or gained via wager) to her woods, 
  or can appear as an indigenous human ranging in size 
  from the tallest tree to the tiniest insect
  Tracking—Within his forest
  Weather Control—Only within the borders of his woods, 
  though the effects may scatter over the edges
  Words of Power—Frightening sounds of wood cracking 
  resonate with the victim’s bone and flesh
  First (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Martial Arts, Melee, 
  Performance, Presence
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Integrity, Re-
  sistance, Survival
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage (Current 
  Strength)B, Parry DV 6, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage (Current 
  Strength +3)B, Parry DV 4, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage (Current 
  Strength)B (P), Parry DV –, Rate 1
  Great Spear: Speed 4, Accuracy 14, Damage (Current 
  Strength) + 9L*, Parry DV 7, Rate 2
  * For three motes, the forest walker may increase the 
  spear’s damage by +2L for the remainder of the scene.
  Attack as Animal: Speed [as animal], Accuracy 10, 
  Damage [as animal] +2, Defense [as animal], Rate 
  [as animal]
  Soak: 19L/23B (Tough bark, 15L/15B; Hardness: 
  8L/8B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 7 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 4 
  Essence Pool: 80
  Other Notes: A forest walker’s great spear changes size 
  along with its wielder. When charged with Essence, the 
  spear withers life (except its owner’s) with a touch. This 
  is reflected in the weapon’s damage bonus.
  LEAST GOD
  Everything of Creation has a god to watch over it, 
  be it a stalk of wheat or a pebble on the road. Most of 
  these gods are single-minded beings, with divine influ-
  ence limited in scope to single thing. These tiny gods 
  are tasked with the care of a particular object or plant 
  of little import to Creation except in conglomerate. 
  If such an item becomes important to the destiny of 
  the world, then the least god is sure to gain a promo-
  tion and become something greater. Barring such an 
  unlikely event, however, the least god usually spends 
  its existence sleeping within its charge, emerging to 
  check on it periodically.
  The least god rests within the plant or object that 
  is its domain or spends its time investigating the thing’s 
  current condition. An Exalt using a Charm such as 
  Spirit-Detecting Glance may catch a glimpse of a sword’s 
  god checking its edge before a battle or the god of a rose 
  fretting over the slow expiration of its perfumed petals. 
  The appearance of least gods varies, but they are generally 
  attractive creatures with features given to their particular 
  role as caretaker. The god of a grain of rice might appear 
  as a miniscule rice farmer, while the god of a napkin may 
  be a shimmering silkworm. It is possible to converse with 
  a least god, but its thoughts are limited to the specifics 
  of its domain. Least gods are unlikely to notice anything 
  outside of their charge, and questions about such events 
  are usually greeted with shrugs or blank stares. Even 
  should it possess such knowledge, the least god is likely 
  to bargain for the care of its charge in exchange.
  Wise Exalted recognize that even least gods can 
  have value. The intimate knowledge the god pos-
  sesses, combined with its great willingness to exhaust 
  an audience with such details, grants a -1 difficulty to 
  Craft rolls to repair or care for the thing in question. 
  In addition, methods exist by which one may increase 
  the power of a god, and Exalted crafters sometimes 
  seek to improve the least god of an artifact in order to 
  increase its power.
  Sanctum: A least god does not have a sanctum. A least 
  god typically slumbers peacefully dematerialized within 
  its object or plant.
  Motivation: To watch over the thing that is the god’s 
  domain.
  Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 1, Stamina 2; Cha-
  risma 2, Manipulation 1, Appearance 3; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 1
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 2, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 1
  Abilities: Awareness 1, (Objects Only) Craft (Appropri-
  ate Type) 2, Investigation 1, Linguistics (Native: Old 
  Realm) 0, Lore 1, Occult 1, (Plants Only) Survival 2
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms:
  Hurry Home—The least god immediately returns to its 
  domain. A least god will reflexively employ this Charm 
  if the least god ever loses contact with its charge.
  
  40
  Most of a least god’s activities are performed solely with 
  its immaterial form or its limited natural thaumaturgy. 
  Occasionally, a least god may have an additional Charm 
  or two, but beyond that, the god ceases to be a least god 
  and becomes something greater. The Charms of a least 
  god cannot affect anything outside of its domain.
  Join Battle: 2
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 2, Damage 1B, Parry 
  DV 2, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 1, Damage 4B, Parry DV –, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 1, Damage 1B, Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 1L/2B
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 1 
  Willpower: 3
  Essence: 1 
  Essence Pool: 25
  Other Notes: None
  LIFE TREE
  Many are the gods in the Second Age that profit at the 
  expense of their duties. Fewer have figured a way to profit 
  by performing their duties. It is rare, however, that a whole 
  family of gods agrees to undertake some illegal enterprise. 
  But such is the way of the life trees, who use their domains 
  to expand their power over man and Creation.
  Each life tree is the god of a particularly rare form 
  of tree that produces a curative herb or fruit that grows 
  only on the edges of Creation. During the First Age, 
  Celestial regulations required that such medicines 
  be placed at regular intervals across the face of the 
  Earth, but after the Usurpation, more powerful gods 
  whose domains were various races of more common 
  trees pushed the life trees out of the Threshold and 
  the Blessed Isle through successful lobbying efforts in 
  the Bureaus of Yu-Shan. This was fine as far as the life 
  trees were concerned—petitioners looking for some 
  cure were willing to pray more frequently and offer 
  better sacrifices if they had to work harder to find the 
  cure they were looking for. But over time, relegated 
  to backwaters outside of the notice of most of the Ce-
  lestial censors, the life trees grew bitter and grasping, 
  especially as the divine bureaucracies broke down or 
  grew corrupt. Together, the life trees agreed that they 
  would quietly begin to cultivate tribes of men to better 
  the life trees’ own lot, and cover for one another in 
  the various courts, creating a kind of divine extortion 
  racket on the edges of Creation.
  Their method is simple. A tribe of humans near a 
  life tree is afflicted with some disease that only the life 
  tree can cure, usually through discreet bribes to a local 
  disease god. The life tree will contact the shaman of 
  the tribe and let him know via dreams that if the tribe 
  performs some duty for the life tree—usually involving 
  planting trees of the kind the life tree has dominion 
  over, or through sacrifices renewing the spirit of the 
  life tree itself—the life tree will cure the tribe’s illness. 
  Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the tribe 
  and the spirit. Other tribes in the area suffer because 
  they are not protected by the life tree, while the tribe 
  under the life tree’s protection thrives, and through the 
  tribe’s planting rites, expands the territory of the life 
  tree. Because it has the cure that the life tree possesses, 
  the tribe demands greater power over other tribes in 
  the area still afflicted with whatever diseases the life 
  tree’s fruit or herbs are meant to cure, and so spread the 
  tribe’s rites and taboos to other nearby tribes.
  As the life trees grow more powerful, they bully 
  other wood spirits and elementals into submission, rising 
  within the ranks of the local spirit courts or forming 
  courts of their own. Rivals who inform the local censor 
  of this operation usually meet accidents, or find their 
  complaints ignored when other life trees use their power 
  to buy cooperation from the authorities. The power of 
  the life tree cabal’s power is strongest in the East and 
  the South, where the trees and cacti possessed of cura-
  tive powers are most often found. 
  Many wood gods and elementals chafe under this 
  criminal enterprise and seek assistance from other quar-
  ters. But the life trees have moved quickly within the 
  last decade to expand their power further, and with the 
  disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, the Immaculate 
  Order is occupied by other concerns closer to home. It 
  is just a matter of time until a band of spirits pools their 
  resources to hire a Celestial Exalted circle to come to 
  their aid, pulling the young Exalted into the cutthroat 
  world of Terrestrial-court politics.
  Life trees appear as old men with bark-like skin and 
  walking sticks made of the wood of their trees. They 
  move slowly, but only because their current ascendance 
  means they don’t have to move fast for anyone. They’re 
  surprisingly tough and quick when pressed.
  Sanctum: Life trees frequently live in opulent 
  surroundings, gaudily—and many would say tasteless-
  ly—decorated with the spoils of their crimes. They 
  frequently surround themselves with the most beautiful 
  or handsome dryads and sycophants of lesser species 
  of tree.
  Motivation: Spread their dominion wherever there are 
  men who need their cures.
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  41
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 5; 
  Charisma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 1
  Abilities: Awareness 2, Bureaucracy 3, Dodge 2, 
  Integrity 5, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: 
  Forest-Tongue [for trees] or Flametongue [for cacti], 
  local tribal tongues) 3, Lore 3, Medicine 5, Martial 
  Arts 1, Melee 3, Occult 4, Presence 4, Resistance 5, 
  Socialize 2
  Backgrounds: Allies 3 (Life Tree Syndicate & Assorted 
  Toadies), Backing 2, Cult 3, Followers 3, Influence 2, 
  Resources 4, Sanctum 4
  Charms:
  Benefaction—Those who have tasted their fruit or herbs
  Camouflage—The forest
  Dreamscape—Shamans in their region
  Endowment—Those who have tasted their fruit or herbs
  Elemental Control—Wood, natural poisons and medi-
  cines
  Hide—The forest
  Hurry Home—Sanctums
  Impromptu Messenger—Shamans in their region
  Landscape Travel—The forest
  Materialize—Costs 50 motes
  Measure the Wind
  First (Ability) Excellency—Medicine, Resistance
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Dodge
  Join Battle: 4
  Attacks: 
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 5, Damage 3B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 6B, Parry DV 1, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 4, Damage 3B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Walking Stick: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 10B, 
  Parry DV 4, Rate 2
  Soak: 6L/9B (Bark 4L/4B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 65
  Other Notes: None
  MASK
  Masks are relatively weak gods that exist primarily 
  as empty faces—or at least, they start out that way. 
  Most masks come into being near shores when mortals 
  gaze upon their own reflections and leave an impres-
  sion of their souls in the water. This might happen 
  because a mortal has a great destiny, or because she was 
  experiencing a strong, profound emotion. Whatever 
  the reason, this shapes the mask.
  Over time, masks grow, increasing in stature, eventu-
  ally becoming fully humanoid over the course of centuries. 
  Each mask has a distinct personality, shaped by the mortal 
  who created it—one created from grief will be morose 
  or cynical, while one born from wrath may be vengeful. 
  Whatever the basic personality, all masks are social and 
  seek the company of humans or gods. Most have some 
  gift at prophecy—not something they do deliberately, 
  but the future can be seen and heard in their actions 
  and words, at least to one who knows how to interpret. 
  Masks themselves seem to be initially unaware of this 
  gift, but most become aware of it over time.
  Fully grown masks look human in outline and have 
  mostly human features (two eyes, a mouth, a nose, two 
  arms, two legs, etc.). They don’t perfectly resemble 
  humans and are clearly identifiable as little gods. Masks 
  are gods intended to record and influence human social 
  groups—the Primordials originally created masks as a 
  means of encouraging and maintaining worship among 
  mortals. To this end, masks were given tools and powers 
  that they could use to present omens and portents that 
  would encourage humans to take actions the Primordials 
  desired. During the Primordial War, the gods responsible 
  for managing masks as well as most masks were killed, 
  releasing their Essence into Creation. Mask Essence re-
  forms around human reflections and strong emotions.
  Some of this Essence was elementally tainted and 
  seized by the remnant of Oceku, and this was the genesis 
  of the water children (see pp. 130-131). Every water 
  child created is a mask that might have been created 
  but wasn’t. Thus, masks are much less common now 
  than they were before the Primordial War.
  Many lords and merchants exploit masks’ desire 
  for company in order to gain access to their prophetic 
  insights. They find it relatively easy to earn the masks’ 
  trust and keep them around. After that, it’s merely a 
  matter of finding someone who is sufficiently skilled 
  in the occult to interpret the mask’s subtle omens. Of 
  course, those lords and merchants take the risk that 
  a given mask may not have prophetic abilities. Some 
  choose a more risky path of trying to abduct a mask 
  with proven ability.
  Some masks (whether they have prophetic abilities 
  or not) try to capitalize on the perception of their pro-
  phetic powers to live lives of high comfort. Considering 
  their reputation, this isn’t really that difficult. Some 
  masks have even used this perception to bring powerful 
  mortals to ruin—usually on behalf of someone else.
  
  42
  A mask’s domain is composed of the humans 
  around it. This can and does vary on a regular basis, 
  as a mask who visits a teahouse has all the mortals 
  in the teahouse as a domain, but when it returns 
  to the prince’s palace, all the mortals in the palace 
  become the mask’s domain. Masks are gods of hu-
  man social relationships.
  Sanctum: Masks are fragile creatures, and rarely have 
  sanctums of their own. They find the creation of sanc-
  tums arduous, as existence Elsewhere separates them 
  from their domain.
  Motivation: Learn about mortal culture.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2; Cha-
  risma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 2 (Swimming +3), Awareness 3, 
  Dodge 3, Integrity 3, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; 
  Others: Local languages) 2, Lore 1, Martial Arts 3, Oc-
  cult 3, Performance 3, Presence 3, Socialize 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 3 (Local Mortals or Gods), Influ-
  ence 1, Mentor 2 (Mortal Patron or a Powerful God), 
  Resources 3
  Charms:
  Benediction
  Essence Plethora (x1)
  Foretell the Future
  Harrow the Mind
  Malediction
  Materialize—Costs 40 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Memory Mirror
  Mirror of the Infinite Wardrobe—Human forms
  Sheathing the Material Form—+2L/+4B against humans 
  (including Exalted)
  First (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Presence, Socialize
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 2B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 5B, Parry DV 3, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 2B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 1L/2B
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 60
  Other Notes: None
  ROAD GOD
  Every road in Creation has its own god, from the 
  recently created dirt roads small caravans use to travel 
  to the nearest city to the ancient and indestructible 
  roads of the Old Realm. The gods of these roads vary 
  in power based on the road’s quality. The gods of First 
  Age roads, for example, are impressively powerful given 
  their station.
  Road gods normally take the form of hooded travel-
  ers carrying staves or walking sticks. Those whose roads 
  pass through the wilderness sometimes take the form of 
  widely traveled domestic animals, such as dogs, horses 
  or even yeddim. Regardless of the form a road god takes, 
  road gods all have obviously unnatural features such as 
  unusual color or size. The god of the Traveler’s Road 
  running from Whitewall to the sea takes the form of a 
  huge gray-white warhorse with hairless skin and hooves 
  of polished ice, for example. The god of the vermilion 
  glass road running from Chiaroscuro to Paragon is a tall, 
  fierce-looking woman with long, translucent, brilliantly 
  red hair that falls to her ankles and that she wears like 
  a great cloak. Regardless of the form a god takes, her 
  appearance is typically known to travelers on the road, 
  and many present offerings and prayers to the road gods 
  in exchange for safe travel.
  A road reveals much about its god—some road 
  gods keep to strict interpretations of their duties and 
  do nothing to maintain their roads, while others have 
  moved beyond their station and act to maintain their 
  roads and encourage use. On the other hand, some road 
  gods who fail to maintain their roads do so not out of 
  dutiful adherence to Celestial law but out of neglect 
  and carelessness. Experienced travelers move down 
  ill-maintained roads warily.
  Road gods are expected to file reports with the local 
  courts regarding the frequency, identity and purpose of 
  travelers on the gods’ roads. The worst neglect their 
  duties, fail to respect the local courts or even make it 
  impossible for mortals to use their roads. Some corrupt 
  road gods have become little better than bandits—where 
  a normal god would accept an offering and prayer and 
  bless a caravan in exchange, one of these gods might 
  demand such offerings and prayers and make travel for 
  those who refuse as deadly as possible. Some insane gods 
  of long-disused tracks even hunt down and slay any who 
  dare use their roads, regardless of offerings.
  Road gods have full knowledge of every past and 
  present event to occur on their roads and can be per-
  suaded to answer questions about the actions of other 
  travelers. More active road gods may also help travelers 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  43
  by doubling their speed, or slow troublesome travelers 
  to half speed. Some road gods can even be persuaded to 
  aid one group of travelers while hindering another.
  Road gods also travel widely, have knowledge of 
  any place within a month’s travel of their roads and are 
  willing to trade that knowledge as readily as they might 
  trade information about their own roads.
  All road gods, regardless of their dutiful nature (or 
  lack thereof), are equally protective of their roads. Even 
  if they allow their own roads to fall into disrepair, they 
  will respond to attempts to harm those own roads with 
  deadly force. Their well-being is tied to their roads, and 
  anything that disrupts their well-being must be stopped. 
  Road gods are also willing to bestow favors on those 
  who act to protect or maintain the gods’ roads, to warn 
  the gods of threats or to build shrines to the road gods 
  along their roads.
  Guild caravans often shower road gods with of-
  ferings, especially during Rituals of Exodus, when a 
  caravan begins its journey—road gods typically attend 
  these rituals, and insulting the road god with a poor 
  offering or a badly handled ritual can doom a caravan 
  before its journey has even begun. Powerful road gods 
  respond to the Ritual of Exodus through the assignment 
  of a caravan god (see pp. 31-32).
  Sanctum: Road gods rarely have sanctums. Those 
  few who do have sanctums attach them to the shrines 
  along their roads.
  Motivation: Protect the road.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina 6; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 2, Dodge 4, 
  Integrity 3, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; 
  Others: Guild Cant, Riverspeak, at least two directional 
  languages) 4, Lore 3, Melee 4, Occult 3, Presence 2, 
  Resistance 2, Socialize 3, Stealth 2, Survival 4
  Backgrounds: Contacts 2, Influence 1, Mentor 2 (God 
  of the Local Road Network), occasionally Sanctum 
  1-2
  Charms: 
  Affinity Earth Control—Within domain
  Hoodwink
  Hurry Home
  Landscape Travel
  Materialize—Costs 35 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Paper Tiger Arrangement
  Principle of Motion—Five banked actions
  Sense Domain
  Tracking
  First (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Melee
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 6, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 5, Damage 8B, Parry DV 2, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 5, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Staff: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage 12B, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 2
  Soak: 10L/16B (Jade reinforced buff jacket, 7L/10B, -1 
  mobility penalty; Hardness: 5L/5B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 (6 without armor) Willpower: 5
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 45
  Other Notes: These stats are for those of a basic road 
  god of a well-maintained road running from a city to 
  nearby towns. Gods of greater roads have more power—
  the Ancient of Stone Journeys, God of the Great Coast 
  Road that rings the Blessed Isle (see The Compass of 
  Celestial Directions, Vol. I—The Blessed Isle, pp. 
  154-155) possesses Essence 4. Most road gods high 
  ranking enough to assign caravan gods are Essence 3.
  SIREN
  Once, before the Exalted held the Mandate of 
  Heaven, one of the problems that plagued the spirit 
  courts was human population control. Mankind is a 
  fecund species, and incredibly innovative. Natural 
  causes and infection claim lives, but the delicate balance 
  that the courts seek to maintain between man and the 
  rest of Creation is precarious even without humanity 
  constantly finding ways to avoid death. If too many 
  humans survive in a certain area, other things within 
  the Terrestrial sphere are affected—animal populations 
  become depleted, forests are wiped out, and the gods 
  have to work harder to maintain the status quo. The 
  gods were thus given mandates by the Incarnae about 
  the proper number of humans who could live in an area, 
  and when humanity developed to a point where natural 
  causes were insufficient to keep numbers down, certain 
  types of gods were placed in charge of maintaining the 
  proper population density by physically intervening. 
  The sirens were one such kind of god, maintaining the 
  proper number of humans by culling the excess.
  After the overthrow of the Primordials, the develop-
  ment of advanced Essence-based technologies allowed 
  
  44
  Creation to support more of humanity, and the Chosen 
  looked askance at gods such as the sirens performing 
  population control. While the Celestial Order functioned 
  properly, under the direction of the Chosen, sirens were 
  reassigned to other roles or relegated to servant positions 
  with Western Terrestrial courts. But after the Usurpation, 
  the courts stopped listening to Dragon-Blooded directives 
  concerning population, and so, those predatory gods whose 
  job it was to cull humanity gave in to their baser instincts 
  and resumed their previous roles. Vicious forest spirits left 
  chains of corpses strung between trees, gods of the cold froze 
  men solid and then shattered them, making arrowheads 
  from their bodies. The sirens, who were meant to maintain 
  proper population growth in water-based communities, 
  spread far and wide across the West, plaguing sailors from 
  ships as well as fishermen near the coast.
  Today, sirens and their counterparts exist as divine 
  predators picking off the unwary when they enter the 
  gods’ element. Their murderous appetites are not sup-
  pressed by their superiors in the courts unless the sirens 
  completely deplete the population of an area. Without 
  updated directives from the Bureau of Humanity, the 
  courts are too busy with other tasks to worry about how 
  many people die due to divine predation. With the 
  current crises in Heaven and Creation, the predatory 
  gods find it easy to prey beyond their earlier excesses, 
  or to extort tribute from communities in exchange 
  for keeping the number of murders low. At the same 
  time, the sirens often kowtow to the newly returned 
  Solar Exalted if confronted, insisting that the sirens’ 
  killings are part of the divine order, and offering lore 
  and treasure for the hunting rights.
  Saltwater sirens are vicious creatures who rend men 
  apart and devour their flesh, while the freshwater breed 
  enjoys luring men to the edge of the water and drowning 
  them, supping their last breaths. Sirens are flirtatious and 
  vain. They avoid the territories of storm mothers, who find 
  the sirens easy prey, and who use them as handmaidens 
  and servants wherever possible. Ironically, as much as 
  sailors dread storm mothers, sailors are almost totally safe 
  from sirens in storm mother territories.
  Sirens appear as young, beautiful women with flow-
  ing hair and eyes the color of the sea at noon. Sirens 
  inevitably bear some sign of their aquatic nature, be 
  it fishtails instead of legs or slightly scaled skin. They 
  can be identified by the thin gill slits that adorn their 
  necks. Although sirens can breathe above water, they 
  sicken and die after a day without immersion.
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  45
  Sanctum: A siren’s sanctum is one part abattoir and 
  one part luxurious bedchamber, a place of respite where 
  they can be adored by lovers and dine on the flesh or 
  breath of their prey at leisure. 
  Motivation: Control the local population’s growth 
  through murderous attacks on anyone foolish enough 
  to come near the water.
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 3
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2; Cha-
  risma 5, Manipulation 3, Appearance 5; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 2
  Abilities: Awareness 2, Dodge 2, Integrity 2, Martial 
  Arts 4, Performance 5 (Singing +3), Stealth 3, Survival 2
  Backgrounds: Resources 2, Sanctum 2
  Charms: 
  Affinity Water Control
  Camouflage—In the sea
  Instill Obedience—Mortals
  Landscape Travel—Water
  Materialize—Costs 30 motes
  Measure the Wind—Prey
  Tracking—Mortals
  First (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Presence
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts
  Join Battle: 4
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 7B, Parry DV 3, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 6L*, Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  *A siren’s clinch attack is lethal because instead of 
  crushing she bites. She may opt to crush instead, in 
  which case the damage is bashing and piercing.
  Soak: 1L/2B
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 4
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 40
  Other Notes: None
  TERRESTRIAL SENTINELS
  The divine sentinels are those gods assigned by 
  Heaven to watch over locations within Creation sa-
  cred or profane in the eyes of the Celestial Order. Far 
  from common, sentinel gods are legendary or notorious 
  amongst the world’s savants.
  LION DOG
  Lion dogs are the least of the Celestial guardians 
  and have suffered the most with the turn of the Ages. 
  Once, lion dogs were guardians of Exalted strongholds 
  in the First Age, symbolizing the Exalted’s role as 
  masters of all under Heaven. Those days are gone—
  most lion dogs still bound to sites in Creation find 
  themselves guarding lost manses or the remnants 
  of ancient fortresses that are little more than piles 
  of weed-choked rubble. Many lion dogs have grown 
  forlorn enough with the current situation to abandon 
  their duties or, worse still, become corrupt, allowing 
  intruders into the ruins the lion dogs protect in ex-
  change for prayers or riches. A handful still uphold 
  their obligations but find new masters, protecting 
  villages, roads or private holdings, charging whatever 
  the market can bear or nothing at all, depending on 
  the individual. More sinister still are the reports of 
  those lion dogs who have formed extortion rings, 
  “guarding” a city neighborhood or town for a massive 
  fee, and “mistakenly” allowing an accident or two to 
  happen if their demands are not met. In the North, a 
  ring of a half-dozen of these creatures operates across 
  three of the Haslanti League’s largest cities, operating 
  underneath the authority’s noses.
  The lion dogs’ natures demand they guard some-
  thing, and so, they seek out anything that will help them 
  fulfill this ancient purpose. Many thus seek to serve 
  God-Blooded, Dragon-Blooded or Celestial Exalted as 
  boon companions. Although lion dogs are willing to 
  travel, they are, by nature, a stationary breed, and so, 
  they prefer to guard their allies’ homes or manses from 
  intrusion, if at all possible. A lion dog makes a potent 
  ally—strong, resolute, intelligent and temperate.
  Lion dogs stand two yards high at the shoulder, a 
  combination of mastiff and maned lion carved from 
  living jade. Their jaws are filled with terrible fangs, 
  and their roars can be heard from at least a mile away, 
  when they wish it—a kind of natural alarm system. 
  They are capable of holding themselves absolutely still 
  like a statue, and they can converse hospitably on any 
  number of subjects, if their masters allow it. 
  A lion dog will happily spend hours talking to a 
  guest, exchanging riddles and conversation, until that 
  moment where the god tears out the guest’s throat 
  because she trespassed into a forbidden part of the 
  manse or tried to steal an object the lion dog guards. 
  Lion dogs make terrible enemies—one will hunt down 
  a trespasser to the ends of Creation unless ordered to 
  do otherwise by a master. Given how rarely the lion 
  dogs’ masters survive into the modern era, it is often 
  up to the individual to determine interlopers’ fates, 
  and some harry the least of trespassers for years simply 
  to alleviate boredom.
  
  46
  Sanctum: Lion dogs rarely use their sanctums, in-
  stead living in the areas they guard. A few possess a 
  warm and comfortable den that opens into the area 
  under their protection. Ironically, as gods who sit 
  around and do nothing for centuries on end, lion 
  dogs are in the position to build huge and elaborate 
  sanctums to pass the time, sanctums they seldom 
  visit once complete.
  Motivation: Guard his territory.
  Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 5, Dodge 5, Integrity 
  3, Investigation 2, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; 
  Others: Local languages) 2, Lore 3, Martial Arts 5 
  (Bite +2), Occult 1, Resistance 3, Socialize 2, Stealth 
  3 (When Still +2), Survival 4 
  Backgrounds: Backing 3, Sanctum 1
  Charms: 
  Camouflage—Around his assigned location
  Essence Bite—Against interlopers
  Materialize—Costs 50 motes
  Paralyze—Interlopers
  Principle of Motion—Seven banked actions
  Sense Domain—His assigned location
  Spirit-Cutting—Interlopers
  Tracking—Those who have stolen from him
  Words of Power—Interlopers
  First (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Dodge, Integrity, 
  Martial Arts, Stealth
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Dodge, Integrity, 
  Martial Arts, Stealth
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Dodge, Integrity, 
  Martial Arts, Stealth
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks: 
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 9L, Parry DV –, 
  Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 7L, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 3
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 12, Damage 7B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 15L/20B (Jade hide, 12L/14B; Hardness: 
  8L/8B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 65
  Other Notes: None
  SCARAB GUARDIAN
  Most guardian spirits watch over areas precious to 
  Heaven or that were sacred to the ancient Exalted, but 
  some things are protected not because of their value, 
  but because of their infamy—they are abominations 
  in the eyes of the gods of Yu-Shan. Such places of ill-
  repute tend not to be placed under the aegis of lion dogs 
  or celestial lions, but instead, terrible creatures called 
  scarab guardians, roiling masses of carnivorous insects 
  that lurk in objects and places anathema to the gods.
  Scarab guardians disappear at the slightest sound 
  only to spring out at interlopers when they least expect 
  it, swarming and biting the trespasser until nothing is left. 
  The hunger of the scarab guardians is legendary, and since 
  they often desire nothing more than to reduce intruders 
  to bones, cunning robbers throw a duped companion to 
  scarab guardians in order to steal past them. Even those 
  robbers heartless enough to pull off such a maneuver are 
  not safe once they possess the spoils of their betrayal—
  scarab guardians will pursue the robbers, a whirling and 
  swift moving wave of shiny, black-carapaced beetles as 
  large as a woman’s hand, capable of traveling faster than 
  any mortal runner. If pressed by a god, Exalt or other 
  powerful entity, the beetles may clasp onto one another 
  and take the form of a large human, its body an ever-
  shifting carpet of beetles. This terrible entity speaks in a 
  quiet, rasping voice, actually made up of the scraping of 
  the beetle’s shells together. Depending on the terms of 
  its service, the entity will give information and warnings 
  concerning what it guards. At other times, the beetles 
  will grasp together to form terrible appendages to lash at 
  intruders, or climb over one another in a massive wave 
  of scarabs that collapses on top of a foe.
  Those who’ve become lost in the tunnels under 
  Gethamane whisper about larger versions of the scarab 
  guardian, made up of beetles the size of men or even 
  larger, guarding ancient treasures underneath the earth 
  from inchoate horrors and any intruders.
  Sanctum: No mortal or Exalt has ever seen the inside 
  of a scarab guardian’s sanctum. The guardians of a single 
  site come together to live communally in a warren-like 
  sanctum whose entrance is too small for anything bigger 
  than a housecat. In most cases, the vast majority of the 
  scarab guardians will reside there while the rest hide 
  near their charge. When intruders come, the guardians 
  outside the warren will instantly and silently call the 
  others to them. Scarab guardians never speak of the 
  inside of their sanctums, but a few reports tell of them 
  dragging animal carcasses or pieces of trespassers to 
  their warrens to devour at their leisure.
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  47
  Motivation: Eat the flesh of all intruders!
  Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 5, Stamina 6; Cha-
  risma 1, Manipulation 3, Appearance 1; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Awareness 5, Dodge 5, Integrity 3, Linguis-
  tics (Native: Old Realm; Others: Local languages) 2, 
  Lore 2, Martial Arts 5, Occult 2, Stealth 5, Survival 5
  Backgrounds: Backing 2, Sanctum 3
  Charms: 
  Camouflage—Around their assigned location
  Essence Bite—Against intruders
  Materialize—Costs 45 motes
  Paralyze—Intruders, to eat later
  Sense Domain—Their assigned location
  Spirit-Cutting—Trespassers
  First (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Stealth
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Stealth
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Stealth
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks: 
  Appendage Strike: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 10L, 
  Rate 3
  Engulf*: Speed 6, Accuracy 15, Damage 10L, Rate 1
  * Resembles a clinch, but see “Other Notes”
  Soak: 18L/18B (Swirling carapaces, 15L/15B)
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 45
  Other Notes: As a mass of hand-sized biting insects, a 
  scarab guardian’s “crush” action within its clinch-like 
  engulf attack represents hundreds of bites, doing lethal 
  damage. While an opponent may attempt to take control 
  of the engulf attack, a scarab guardian that loses control 
  isn’t reduced to inactive and may continue to take crush 
  actions. The scarab guardian’s opponent cannot attempt 
  the “hold” action after wrestling control from the spirit—
  he may only retaliate or break free. Scarab guardians 
  swarm through chinks in opponents’ armors, and as a 
  result, only a target’s innate lethal soak or soak gained 
  from Charms applies against these attacks. Even then, 
  scarab guardians on the armor will chew through straps 
  and even the metal of mundane armors. Every action an 
  opponent is engulfed by a scarab guardian and is wearing 
  non-magical armor, the value of the lethal soak provided 
  by the armor decreases by 1 until it reaches 0.
  SERVITORS
  Servitor gods overlap somewhat with the most 
  common of gods, but while common gods can usually 
  serve their function alone, servitors exist as the staff 
  of some high-ranking unique god. Many more servitor 
  races of gods exist than are presented here, including 
  the hoarders of Madame Marthesine (see pp. 55-56).
  BIRD OF VANILETH
  Though their design varies, ranging from raptors to 
  crows, the primary servants of Vanileth (see pp. 63-66) 
  are minor gods who appear as clockwork birds made of 
  silver and adamant. These swift-winged companions often 
  leave Vanileth’s mountain to watch over their patron’s 
  dominion. Wherever people build or use gliders, air boats or 
  other flying devices, the servants of the Shogun of Artificial 
  Flight are sure to spy from their immaterial perches. The 
  Haslanti League and Lookshy are amongst the servants’ 
  favored destinations, though a complement of no fewer 
  than two dozen birds is reserved exclusively for Vanileth’s 
  satrap Relza at her sanctum in the ruins of Rathess.
  The clockwork gods are linked to Vanileth through 
  the winds of Creation, and the Shogun of Artificial Flight 
  can see or hear anything that they can. On occasion, 
  Vanileth asks one of his birds to attend someone who 
  attracts his favor. When the Shogun’s servants are left to 
  their own devices, the clockwork birds diligently search 
  Creation for flying devices, masterful pilots and skilled 
  craftsmen they can observe and encourage. Though 
  Vanileth has given up on methods of flight that involve 
  Charms or sorcery, many of his clockwork birds are hopeful 
  that they can change his mind. These servants feel that 
  if flight comes into vogue again, and their master regains 
  his position in Yu-Shan, that it doesn’t really matter how 
  this is achieved. If the Shogun’s exile comes to an end, 
  then all of them will be allowed into Heaven again.
  Typically, the clockwork birds of Vanileth will 
  watch their targets of interest safely from an immaterial 
  state. They will defend themselves with their razor-
  sharp adamant-edged wings if necessary, but if things 
  go wrong, the birds are quick to dazzle their foes with 
  a shimmering flash of light and then vanish.
  Sanctum: Vanileth’s birds do not have their own sanc-
  tums, as they typically reside in his solitary fortress or 
  travel in his service. When pursuing tasks abroad, they 
  usually depend upon the hospitality of allies.
  Motivation: To act as the eyes and ears of Vanileth.
  Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 6, Stamina 3; Cha-
  risma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 4
  
  48
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Craft (Air) 1, 
  Dodge 5, Integrity 2, Investigation 2, Linguistics (Na-
  tive: Old Realm; Others: Skytongue) 1, Lore 2, Martial 
  Arts 4, Occult 1, Presence 1, Resistance 2, Stealth 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 2 (Other Birds of Vanileth), 
  Mentor 2 (Vanileth)
  Charms:
  Essence Bite— Razor-sharp adamant feathers, beaks 
  or claws
  Hoodwink— Vanish in a dazzling flash of light
  Hurry Home— May immediately return to Vanileth’s 
  sanctum
  Landscape Travel— Double flight speed while active
  Materialize— Costs 35 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Tracking— The winds betray the target’s path.
  First (Ability) Excellency— Dodge, Martial Arts, 
  Stealth
  Third (Ability) Excellency— Dodge, Stealth
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks:
  Claw Slash: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 1L, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 2
  Wing Razors: Speed 4, Accuracy 10, Damage 6L, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 2
  So a k:  5L/9B (Adamant body, 4L/6B; 
  Hardness: 2L/3B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 7 
  Willpower: 5
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 45
  Other Notes: The current activities of a bird of Vani-
  leth largely depend upon the Shogun’s desires. Players 
  whose characters have friendly birds of Vanileth pur-
  chase them as allies. If a bird is destroyed, the primary 
  “feather” of each wing may yield a single razor-sharp 
  nigh-unbreakable adamant blade that acts as a perfect 
  throwing knife, with the perfect equipment bonuses 
  applied to the standard throwing knife profile as an 
  additional +2L damage, +10 range and +1 accuracy. 
  Extracting an intact blade requires a successful Craft 
  (Air) roll, difficulty 3—roll separately for each wing. 
  If a bird suffered particularly egregious damage, the 
  Storyteller may increase this difficulty or even rule that 
  the bird was smashed beyond all use.
  HOUND OF THE ENDLESS HUNT
  Despite the name, hounds of the endless hunt ac-
  tually resemble claw striders, standing approximately 
  six feet in height and covered in dense fur. They have 
  clawed arms as dexterous as a man’s, and feet equipped 
  with long, sword-like talons. Hounds are gods of the 
  hunt—their primary purpose is to observe important 
  or dangerous hunts, typically the kind that Grala is 
  most interested in. Occasionally, they may material-
  ize and participate directly in another’s hunt or go on 
  a hunt of their own. Some do so purely for the joy of 
  the chase, but some do so for a purpose—Grala orders 
  the god to do it, or the hound notices something that 
  requires its attention.
  Skilled hunters will occasionally see hounds running 
  alongside them or the prey, which is usually seen as a 
  good omen on the hunter’s part, and many will dedicate 
  the hunt to Grala right then and there. Sometimes, the 
  hounds even help directly. Most hunters who receive 
  aid from a hound will sacrifice a choice part of the kill 
  to the hound and Grala in thanks. 
  Sorcerers and thaumaturges can call upon the 
  hounds. They can be called to any large hunt with 
  relative ease, and if promised a share of the kill, will 
  assist. Hounds have no respect for hunters who let 
  the hounds carry most of the hunt, and those who 
  show incompetence or cowardice during a hunt that 
  a hound participates in will often find themselves 
  becoming the prey. Hunters who do not wish to be 
  hunted should take great care not to summon the 
  hounds for any hunt that cannot be completed even 
  with their aid, let alone one that requires the hounds 
  do most of the work. (See “Other Notes” for how they 
  might be summoned.)
  Hounds can be persuaded to hunt on behalf of 
  someone who pays a sufficient price—for example, a 
  hunter who brings down particularly dangerous prey 
  may offer the best part of the kill to the hound in ex-
  change for the hound hunting prey of the supplicant’s 
  choice. The hounds prefer that the prey be something 
  truly dangerous—one of the Fair Folk, a tyrant lizard 
  or even a Lunar Exalt.
  Grala (see pp. 50-52) is always surrounded by a 
  host of her hounds wherever she goes.
  Sanctum: The hounds have no sanctums of their own. 
  They wander Creation in search of exciting and danger-
  ous hunts, and come to Grala’s palace for rest or to pay 
  homage to their mistress. Hounds of the endless hunt 
  treat Grala’s palace as a sanctum if killed or otherwise 
  in need of such a place.
  Motivation: Watch over fascinating hunts.
  Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 5, Stamina 6; Cha-
  risma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 1; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 4
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  49
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Archery 5, Athletics 2, Awareness 4, 
  Dodge 5, Integrity 4, Linguistics (Native: Old 
  Realm; Others: Appropriate directional tongue) 1, 
  Lore 1, Martial Arts 5, Melee 5, Occult 1, Resistance 4, 
  Stealth 4, Survival 4
  Backgrounds: Influence 1, Mentor 2 (Grala)
  Charms: 
  Essence Bite
  Materialize— Costs 50 motes
  Measure the Wind— Also identifies prey
  Principle of Motion— Seven banked actions
  Spirit-Cutting
  Tracking
  First (Ability) Excellency— Archery, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Melee, Stealth
  Third (Ability) Excellency— Archery, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Melee, Stealth
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage, 8L, Parry 
  DV –, Rate 5
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage, 9L, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Claw Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 13, Damage 14L, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage 6B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Spear: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 10L/13L, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 2
  Composite Bow: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 8L, 
  Range 250, Rate 3
  Soak: 15L/20B (Tough hide 12L/14B; 
  Hardness: 8L/8B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 7 
  Willpower: 7 
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 65
  Other Notes: Beckon Hound of the Endless Hunt (2, 
  Charisma + Performance, 6-Resources value of offering, 
  one hour): This rite, part of the thaumaturgical Art of 
  Spirit Beckoning, calls up a hound of the endless hunt 
  and draws its attention to the thaumaturge. The rite 
  compels no special behavior from the god, however.
  UNIQUE GODS
  Creation’s unique gods are many. Unlike the races 
  of gods presented earlier, each god here is named, 
  with a domain, a personality and an agenda. Unique 
  gods make powerful allies and terrible enemies for 
  the Exalted.
  BURNING FEATHER, LADY OF INTOXICANTS
  Burning Feather is the goddess of all forms of in-
  toxicants, euphorics, narcotics and hallucinogens. She’s 
  also known as the White Lady because of the arctic 
  white of her hair, robes and featureless eyes.
  Burning Feather travels Creation, appearing wher-
  ever intoxicants are consumed in quantity, whether 
  for recreational or medicinal uses. She can appear in a 
  hashish house in Great Forks or the finest hospital in 
  the Realm. Those who wish to address prayers to her 
  must typically do so while under the influence of an 
  intoxicant. Rarely, she may answer a sober supplicant 
  who seeks intense or mind-expanding experiences.
  Most petitioners call upon Burning Feather to ask 
  for exceedingly rare intoxicants such as the pollen of 
  ice ferns or the hallucinatory venom of the great rasp 
  spiders. If Burning Feather believes a supplicant is truly 
  dedicated in his quest for controlled derangement of the 
  senses, she may send him visions. The visions will direct 
  him to perform some task for Burning Feather, after 
  which she will reward him with what he desires. The 
  tasks test her petitioner’s resolve and endurance (such 
  as spending a week under the influence of a powerful 
  opiate such as heroin) or his ability to perform a difficult 
  and important task (such as navigating a difficult river 
  during a flood or leading soldiers into battle—while un-
  der the influence of a strong mind-altering drug). Other 
  tasks include allowing her to possess the petitioner so 
  that she may act anonymously (at least to the eyes of 
  Heaven or the local spirit courts), or she may ask for a 
  specific, apparently simple, action that will no doubt 
  have profound consequences. 
  Burning Feather’s requests are intended to advance 
  her goals—anything from defeating Celestial rivals to 
  blocking attempts to outlaw intoxicants and thus de-
  priving her of worshipers. She typically has many such 
  schemes going on at once, and seemingly random tasks 
  are always tied directly into one of them. If she asks a 
  vendor to recite poetry to a prince, that poetry may imply 
  blackmail, or it may be a hidden message to an ally. More 
  rarely, she sometimes asks a truly attractive supplicant to 
  become her lover for a week, or even as long as a season. 
  Few remember much of these trysts, but many go mad 
  from the sometimes deranged and excessive sensuality. 
  Most become celibate because no mortal love can pos-
  sibly compare to what they’ve experienced.
  Sanctum: Burning Feather keeps a sanctum in Great 
  Forks as well as a modest palace in Yu-Shan. Both are 
  luxuriously appointed and baroque. Guests find the long 
  winding corridors, elaborate and colorful tapestries and 
  
  50
  constantly shifting lighting confusing, especially since 
  anyone who enters her sanctum becomes instantly 
  intoxicated with a powerful drug. Although Exalted 
  and particularly healthy mortals (roll [Stamina + Re-
  sistance], difficulty 2, for mortals— no need to roll for 
  Exalted) can act, they still experience a -1 die internal 
  penalty to all actions.
  Motivation: Advance her political agendas in Heaven 
  from her location in Creation.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 8; Cha-
  risma 5, Manipulation 5, Appearance 5; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Awareness 2, Dodge 3, Integrity 5, Lin-
  guistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: Guild Cant, 
  High Realm, Riverspeak) 3, Lore 4, Martial Arts 3 
  (Clinch +2), Medicine 5, Occult 3, Performance 4, 
  Presence 5, Resistance 5, Socialize 5, Stealth 4
  Backgrounds: Contacts 4, Cult 5, Followers 4, 
  Influence 2, Sanctum 3 (Yu-Shan), Sanctum 3 
  (Great Forks)
  Charms: 
  Affinity Air, Fire and Wood Control
  Air, Fire and Wood Dragons’ Embrace
  Calculated Order of Immediate Action— Create or destroy 
  drugs, poisons or alcohol
  Domain Manipulation Scenario— Used on drugs, poisons 
  or alcohol
  Dreamscape— Target must be under the influence.
  Emergency Prayer Relocation
  Essence Plethora (x2)
  Harrow the Mind
  Hoodwink
  Hurry Home
  Instill Obedience
  Materialize— Costs 70 motes
  Measure the Wind— Can also determine who’s intoxi-
  cated or drugged
  Paralyze— Unnatural mental influence (Illusion), poi-
  son and sickness; -6 dice on successful poison kiss
  Portal— Only where drugs are in use
  Possession
  Sense Domain— Anywhere drugs are used
  Signet of Authority
  Stoke the Flame
  Worldly Illusion
  First (Ability) Excellency— Lore, Medicine, Melee, 
  Presence, Socialize
  Second (Ability) Excellency— Lore, Medicine, Melee, 
  Presence, Socialize
  Third (Ability) Excellency— Medicine, Presence
  Join Battle: 6
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 2B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 5B, Parry DV 3, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 2B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Poison Kiss*: Speed 3, Accuracy 8, Damage **, Rate 1
  * The kiss requires a clinch first.
  ** Poison: Burning Feather’s Poison Kiss; Resistant Diff 
  4, Damage 8, -4 Impairment for 6 hours. Technically, 
  her kiss can deliver any drug. This assumes she uses it 
  to deliver arrow frog venom. 
  Soak: 12L/17B (Divine robes, 8L/9B, -0 mobility pen-
  alty; Hardness: 5L/5B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 7 
  Willpower: 8 
  Essence: 6 
  Essence Pool: 120
  Other Notes: By spending three motes of Essence, 
  Burning Feather can cause anyone within arm’s reach 
  whose Essence is not higher than hers to experience 
  powerful and uncontrolled hallucinations for a full 
  scene. The hallucinations apply a -2 dice internal 
  penalty to all actions. Burning Feather can apply this 
  attack repeatedly against one target with cumulative 
  effect, up to a number of times equal to her Essence. 
  This attack is Speed 5.
  GRALA, MISTRESS OF THE ENDLESS HUNT
  Grala is the Mistress of the Hunt—she soars above 
  the tundra and runs through the forests pursuing all 
  manner of game, including humans. She is the goddess of 
  hunting and pursuit, and over the past few centuries has 
  become the matron of hunters. Hunters who wish to gain 
  her favor verbally dedicate the hunting of a particularly 
  dangerous or difficult quarry to her. If the hunt is suc-
  cessful, Grala might bless the hunter with good fortune 
  or other minor boons. If the hunt fails, she takes it as an 
  insult and may curse the hunter with ill luck.
  Hunters who wish more specific and extensive 
  favors from Grala must dedicate more dangerous and 
  difficult hunts to her—one of the Fair Folk, or an Exalt, 
  for example. She doesn’t particularly care what the 
  prey is, so long as the hunt is successful. A dedicated 
  hunter may also visit one of Grala’s shrines (or build 
  one), bedecked in trophies from his most impressive 
  kills and offer his services to Grala in exchange for a 
  single favor. Grala is a straightforward goddess, and the 
  services she asks are not subtle—she typically asks the 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  51
  supplicant to hunt down a dangerous creature, usually 
  a rival god, or one of the dead or Fair Folk who may be 
  disturbing hunting in the region. Whatever the prey 
  is, it won’t be easy for the hunter—a mortal might find 
  herself hunting down one of the hungry dead, while 
  a Solar might find himself tracking an Abyssal who’s 
  killing indiscriminately, thus upsetting the natural 
  balance of hunter and prey.
  Grala’s rewards for such hunts are as great as the 
  hunts themselves are difficult. Grala can provide magi-
  cal weapons, hunting Charms or the secret weakness 
  of any individual in Creation. Failing the hunt earns 
  terrible retribution—Grala will typically try to maim 
  or kill the hunter. If she is not strong enough to do so 
  herself, she will try to find someone who is both strong 
  enough and willing (or can be made willing) to hunt 
  her quarry down.
  One of the boons that Grala grants for impres-
  sive hunts is the chance to set her hounds on any one 
  creature named. On rare occasions, Grala may even 
  grant a hunter the service of one of her hounds for a 
  season. This hound will follow the hunter with absolute 
  loyalty and will attempt to kill whenever ordered to 
  do so. If the hound is killed, its service ends, but Grala 
  does not mind the death. If the hound is permanently 
  killed, however, especially if the hunter sacrificed the 
  hound foolishly, Grala may become angry and curse 
  the hunter.
  Some assassins offer sacrifices and worship as well, 
  as they consider themselves hunters of men. This is 
  not true of all assassins, but Grala accepts those who 
  come to her.
  Grala appears in either of two forms: an enormous 
  hawk with a golden head, gilded claws and jet-black 
  wings or a tall woman covered in black and gold feath-
  ers, possessing taloned hands and feet. She carries an 
  artifact long spear enchanted with powerful magics and 
  a black jade hunting whistle that can call her hounds 
  as well as strike fear into any living beings who hear it. 
  She carries a brace of javelins upon her back. 
  Caltia the Eternal, one of the great Forest Rulers 
  of the East, is Grala’s sister. Caltia’s domain covers the 
  evergreen forests of the Northeast. Grala was not always 
  Mistress of the Endless Hunt. She was once simply the 
  God of Eastern Hunting Beasts, but she tricked Tleny, 
  the previous Master of the Endless Hunt, defeated him 
  and had him forged into her black jade whistle.
  Sanctum: Grala lives in Yu-Shan, in a vast palace of 
  polished bone and ivory. The palace is decorated with 
  the trophies of all manner of dangerous animals. In fact, 
  everything within the palace is made from the skin or 
  bones of a dangerous or impressive creature.
  
  52
  Motivation: Collect the worship of all hunters, and 
  grow strong.
  Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 6, Stamina 10; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 5; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Craft (Wood) 3 
  (Traps +2), Dodge 5, Integrity 5, Linguistics (Native: 
  Old Realm; Others: Forest-Tongue, High Realm, East-
  ern tribal tongues) 3, Lore 4, Martial Arts 5, Medicine 
  3, Melee 5, Occult 4, Presence 4, Resistance 5, Stealth 
  5, Survival 5, Thrown 5
  Backgrounds: Cult 5, Follower 5 (Hounds of the End-
  less Hunt), Influence 3, Sanctum 4
  Charms: 
  Benefaction
  Damnation
  Endowment
  Essence Bite
  Essence Plethora (x4)
  Hurry Home
  Instill Obedience
  Malediction
  Materialize—Costs 75 motes
  Measure the Wind—Also identifies predator and prey
  Paralyze—Crippling, Wound and unnatural mental influ-
  ence (Emotion: fear), -3 Dexterity if Eversharp hits
  Portal
  Principle of Motion—Eight banked actions
  Scourge
  Sheathing the Material Form—All-Encompassing
  Spirit-Cutting
  Tracking
  First (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Martial Arts, Melee, 
  Survival, Thrown
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Martial Arts, Me-
  lee, Survival, Thrown
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Martial Arts, Melee, 
  Survival, Thrown
  All-Encompassing Divine (Ability) Subordination—Dodge, 
  Martial Arts, Melee
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 13, Damage 13L, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 3
  Claw Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage 16L, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 15, Damage 10B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage +0B, Parry 
  DV 7, Rate 3
  Javelin (melee): Speed 4, Accuracy 12, Damage 13L, 
  Parry DV 6, Rate 2
  Orichalcum Direlance (Eversharp): Speed 5, 
  Accuracy 14, Damage, 18L/22L, Parry DV 7, Rate 3
  Javelin (thrown): Speed 4, Accuracy 12, Damage 13L 
  (P), Range 30 Rate 2
  Soak: 17L/21B (Ebon feathers, 12L/11B, -1 mobility 
  penalty; Hardness: 9B/9L)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 9 
  Willpower: 8 
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 150
  Other Notes: Grala’s black jade whistle (Artifact ••••) 
  has two functions: The first allows Grala to summon up 
  to (her Willpower + permanent Essence) of her hounds 
  of the endless hunt (see pp. 48-49). The other function 
  instills terror in all who hear it. This requires a Valor check 
  at difficulty 3, with failure causing characters to flee for 
  a scene. Supernatural beings (Exalts, gods, elementals, 
  demons, etc.) can spend a Willpower point to suppress 
  the urge to flee, but suffer a -2 internal penalty when 
  attempting to attack or otherwise act against Grala. 
  Both actions are Speed 5, and both can be used once 
  per scene. This whistle requires 12 motes to attune from 
  anyone but Grala. Use of the whistle to summon hounds 
  costs one mote per hound summoned, to a maximum of 
  the user’s Essence. Grala does not have to pay this cost, 
  and she has her own limit, as stated above.
  GRANDMOTHER BRIGHT
  Chiaroscurans hold a middle-class district of their city 
  called the Plaza in awed regard. Its accommodations aren’t 
  princely and its inhabitants aren’t wealthy, but the Plaza 
  is the safest and best-maintained area in the city. Though 
  surrounded by the shattered glass witnessing Chiaroscuro’s 
  former invasions, the Plaza’s First Age buildings stand 
  unharmed. Their remaining Essence-powered conve-
  niences (slight cooling against the heat of the Southern 
  sun, glowing walls that can be dimmed with a touch) are 
  a marvel in this fallen Age, as are their beautiful windows 
  kept whole through past chaos of war and disease.
  All this can be traced to a soft-voiced elderly 
  woman who walks the Plaza’s streets. Her robes are rich 
  with gold and vermilion, and her skin shines at night. 
  Most assume this Grandmother Bright to be the city 
  mother of Chiaroscuro, but she’s not. During the First 
  Age, Grandmother Bright was not a protective spirit; 
  she wasn’t even from Chiaroscuro. She was Bright 
  Sanguine Saber, Goddess of Betrayal and Vengeance, 
  and her wrath was feared even by the gods.
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  53
  In those halcyon days, the goddess’s favorite respon-
  sibility was hunting those who defied Heaven’s laws. Her 
  techniques were legend, and she often took protégés who 
  shared her bloodlust (one such was Ogime, the current 
  Frog Queen [see pp. 123-124]). Only one target evaded 
  Bright Sanguine Saber. For centuries, she sought him, but 
  he escaped every trap she laid and humiliated her time 
  and again. In rage and desperation, she finally bargained 
  with an Eclipse Caste who promised to destroy him. The 
  price: Bright Sanguine Saber had to pass her duties to 
  another and, instead, protect the Exalt’s home.
  Today, Grandmother Bright’s origins are difficult 
  to discover. Millennia of protecting the Plaza have 
  changed her. Beautiful and heartless no longer, the old 
  goddess has abandoned her crimson hunting gear, and 
  the once-piercing black of her eyes is a warm brown. 
  She rules her neighborhood with care, enforcing safety 
  with an iron fist; and though she concentrates on the 
  Plaza, Grandmother Bright safeguards the whole city, 
  knowing that to best fulfill her bargain she must also 
  see to Chiaroscuro’s well-being.
  Although spirits are undeniably altered by changes 
  to their purpose, they retain qualities of their original 
  selves. Grandmother Bright is still both powerful—far 
  more powerful than a spirit of her station should right-
  fully be—and extremely vindictive. Thus, though she 
  has powers that affect the Plaza, her greatest Charms 
  involve punishment and justice. Stories about her are 
  often more along the lines of what terrible things she 
  did to those who hurt the city or her Plaza, rather than 
  the things she has done to aid and protect.
  Grandmother Bright makes wise decisions when 
  people apply to the Plaza for residence. She keeps a 
  strict cap on its population (1,001)—the Plaza’s women 
  can’t even get pregnant without her permission, and 
  must receive her consent and wait for another citizen to 
  move (or die). Those Grandmother Bright allows in are 
  most often chosen on the basis of personal honor: she 
  must be sure they’ll obey an oath not to harm the Plaza 
  or its residents, and won’t bring danger to the area. Of 
  course, her prejudices are not those of a human. One 
  of her favorite residents is a highly paid assassin whom 
  she often has over for tea.
  Yet in her personal life, this god retains one odd taste. 
  She can keep her head when measuring the character of 
  possible Plaza residents, but her former domain was both 
  revenge and betrayal—and she has a serious weakness for 
  those most likely to stab her in the back. Bright Sanguine 
  Saber was known for taking lovers who’d someday hurt 
  her, and the vast majority of her students eventually 
  did so as well. Grandmother Bright is the same way 
  (though she has far fewer sexual relationships now, and 
  more mentorly ones). Strangely—or predictably—she 
  never consciously considers this possibility and invests 
  the same amount of affection in everyone she trusts. 
  Naturally, this makes her inevitable vengeance all the 
  more passionate and dire.
  Sanctum: A brocade pavilion in the Plaza’s center houses 
  Grandmother Bright’s immaterial home, though it also 
  contains a lavish physical receiving-room. She can step 
  through any Plaza entryway to enter her sanctum.
  Motivation: Ensure the Plaza’s safety and vitality. Grand-
  mother Bright has an Intimacy toward revenge.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 7, Stamina 6; Cha-
  risma 5, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 6, Wits 7
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 5, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 5, 
  Dodge 6, Integrity 8, Investigation 8, Linguistics (Na-
  tive: Old Realm; Others: Delzahn tribal languages, 
  Flametongue) 2, Lore 5, Melee 8 (Saber +3), Occult 4, 
  Presence 5, Resistance 4, Socialize 4, Stealth 5 
  (Ambush +3)
  Backgrounds: Artifact 5, Backing 3, Contacts 2, Cult 2, 
  Influence 3, Resources 4, Sanctum 3
  Charms: 
  Bane Weapon— Those who have betrayed her or bro-
  ken her laws
  Benefaction— +1 to combat rolls made in anger
  Capture— Takes anyone who breaks her laws or seeks 
  her audience to her parlor
  Divine Decree— Complete control over the Plaza
  Domain Manipulation Scenario— Utterly controls the 
  Plaza in every way
  Dreamscape— All-Encompassing
  Essence Plethora (x1)
  Geas— Any quest to which the target agrees 
  Instill Obedience— Terrifying golden glow
  Intrusion-Sensing Method— Watching for crimes within 
  the Plaza
  Materialize—Costs 75 motes
  Material Tribulation Divestment—All-Encompassing
  Measure the Wind
  Natural Prognostication—Moves toward betrayal
  Portal—Move to any place within the Plaza
  Principle of Motion—Nine banked actions
  Scourge—Makes mindless, golden-skinned thralls of 
  criminals with whom she catches up, who are then set 
  to cleaning the Plaza
  
  54
  Sense Domain—Can listen in on any conversation in 
  the Plaza
  Touch of Saturn—All-Encompassing
  Tracking—Invests in all criminals
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Integrity, Investigation, 
  Melee, Presence
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Melee
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Integrity, Investiga-
  tion, Melee
  Join Battle: 12
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV +2, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 6, Damage 8B, Parry DV 2, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 6, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Green Jade Reaper Daiklave (The Hateblossom Long-
  knife): Speed 3, Accuracy 22, Damage 10L, Parry 
  DV 10, Rate 3
  Soak: 13L/16B (Glassmail robes, 5L/7B, plus jade chain 
  shirt, 5L/3B; Hardness: 2L/2B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2
  /-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 9 (10 without armor)        Willpower: 9
  Essence: 6 
  Essence Pool: 105
  Other Notes: Bright Sanguine Saber’s Essence was 
  8. Grandmother Bright, though technically demoted, 
  thus did not end up with traits as low as her current 
  station might imply.
  Grandmother Bright’s green jade reaper daiklaive, the 
  Hateblossom Longknife, looks like a green steel knife 
  until its wielder brandishes it for combat. She wears 
  enchanted robes of Chiaroscuro glass over a green jade 
  chain shirt, in an attempt to appear non-threatening. 
  Grandmother Bright has several more low-level artifacts 
  that she keeps inside her sanctum.
  KIREEKI, HUNTRESS OF THE WAVES
   Kireeki is the goddess of most ocean predators, 
  including dolphins, orcas and mantas, but specifically 
  excluding siaka and sharks, for whom Kireeki holds a 
  deep, cold hatred. She has a long-standing agreement 
  with Zhuzhiao: she respects his dominion over the 
  tentacled hunters of the depths, and he does not send 
  them against her favored children. 
  When dealing with mortals, Kireeki prefers to 
  assume a semi-humanoid form—hairless and smooth-
  skinned, like a dolphin. From the waist up, she resembles 
  a beautiful young woman with a fringe of tentacles where 
  her ears should be, and a fin-like crest on her bald head. 
  Her skin has orca-like markings, black and gray, with 
  white patches around each eye. Below the waist, she 
  has a mass of tentacles instead of legs, up to five feet in 
  length. Her true form is that of a great orca, with paired 
  tentacles that trail from beneath her flukes.
  Kireeki is the most approachable of the Ocean 
  Court and considered by many to be the friendliest. She 
  often aids those who petition her properly (preferably 
  with offerings of ice wine and rose honey), but she is 
  still the Huntress of the Waves. She hunts and kills 
  those who offend her or those whom she thinks would 
  make good sport. Kireeki rarely takes mortal lovers, and 
  quickly discards them when she tires of their presence. 
  She gives lavish farewell gifts to those who pleased her 
  and devours those who disappoint her. 
  In Creation, Kireeki favors the Northwestern seas, but 
  she can be found anywhere her children pursue prey.
  Sanctum: Kireeki has a sanctum in the Northwestern 
  seas, a vast grotto within a glacier, with a surplus of edible 
  fish swimming within the water. On dry land, Kireeki 
  keeps a second sanctum that’s fabulously decorated with 
  lost treasures scavenged from the ocean as well as the 
  ocean’s natural resources. The grotto includes a large 
  network of caves, all filled with creature comforts and 
  wealth beyond most mortals’ imaginings. The sanctum 
  is linked closely to her glacial manse of water, but is 
  not dependent upon it.
  Motivation: Defeat and destroy the goddess Siakal and 
  take her place as Western God of War.
  Attributes: Strength 14, Dexterity 8, Stamina 12; Cha-
  risma 4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 6
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 5
  Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 6 (Swimming +4), 
  Awareness 6 (Underwater +3), Dodge 4, Integrity 4, 
  Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: Guild Cant, 
  High Realm, Riverspeak, Seatongue) 4, Lore 1, Mar-
  tial Arts 5 (Bite +1, Punch +1, Tentacle Grab +1), 
  Melee 4 (Bident +2), Occult 3 (Water Magics +2), 
  Presence 3 (Physical Intimidation +2), Resistance 4 
  (Poisons +2) , Socialize 3, Stealth 4
  Backgrounds: Allies 3, Backing 2, Cult 5, Followers 5, 
  Influence 3, Manse 4, Resources 3, Sanctum 5
  Charms:
  Affinity Water Control
  Benefaction
  Endowment
  Hoodwink
  Host of Spirits— Creates duplicates to harry her prey
  Hurry Home
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  55
  Instill Obedience
  Landscape Travel
  Malediction
  Materialize—Costs 75 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Portal
  Principle of Motion—Eight banked actions
  Scourge
  Sense Domain
  Shapechange—Humanoid form
  Sheathing the Material Form—All-Encompassing
  Signet of Authority
  Stoic Endurance 
  Stoke the Flame
  Subtle Whisper
  Tracking 
  Words of Power
  First (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Melee, Presence
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Melee, Presence
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Melee, Presence
  Join Battle: 14 (17 underwater)
  Attacks:
  Orca:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 14, Damage 16L, Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Ram*: Speed 5 Accuracy 14 Damage 24L, Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  * Requires Kireeki to move at least half of her allowed 
  movement during the tick.
  Humanoid:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 15, Damage 14B, Parry 
  DV 8, Rate 3
  Clinch: Speed 5, Accuracy 19 Damage 14B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Blue Jade Direlance (Bane of the Shark): Speed 5, 
  Accuracy 16, Damage 22L/26L, Parry DV 8, Rate 3
  Soak: 6L/12B 
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2
  /-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 10 Willpower: 8
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 110
  Other Notes: None
  MADAME MARTHESINE OF THE LOST
  Madame Marthesine is one of the most powerful 
  gods in Creation. She would certainly rank high in 
  Yu-Shan if she chose to spend more time there as well. 
  Marthesine spends most of her time near places where 
  many items of value have been lost, so she can claim 
  them as her own. Since her domain is the entirety of lost 
  things, this is not difficult for her. She can most often 
  be found near ruins of First Age cities, long-forgotten 
  shipwrecks or ancient tombs.
  Mortals and Exalted know she can give them any-
  thing that’s ever been lost—secrets, artifacts, treasures 
  beyond imagining—but the wisest of them know that 
  such boons come at a steep price. Madame Marthesine 
  asks for something of greater value to replace that which 
  she’s giving to any supplicant. She refuses to allow her 
  domain to shrink—it must grow. So anything that 
  leaves her reach must be replaced by something greater. 
  Petitioners should have the item ready to trade when 
  they make the request. If the supplicant does not have 
  an object of the proper value, Marthesine may offer to 
  let him make up the difference. This is the proverbial 
  deal with the devil, and the price can be terrible indeed. 
  Madame Marthesine does not negotiate “making up the 
  difference.” She simply takes it—whether it’s the sup-
  plicant’s family, eyesight, the love others feel for him, 
  memories, Charms, even permanent Essence. She can 
  take anything tangible or intangible and claim it as her 
  own. Whatever she takes does not vanish immediately. 
  Instead, it slowly fades away until the supplicant notices 
  the lack. He won’t remember precisely when or how it 
  disappeared. The only way to retrieve it would be to make 
  another trade. If the supplicant simply has nothing that 
  can possibly make up the difference, she’ll simply refuse. 
  Everything lost to Madame Marthesine is lost forever, or 
  until another suitable trade can be arranged. 
  Madame Marthesine’s horde of lost things is vast 
  beyond measure. It’s possible that she possesses many 
  of the secret arts and knowledge of the First Age. 
  If it were possible to convince her to give up these 
  secrets, the Solar Exalted could use her treasures to 
  restore the First Age and rule over all Creation again. 
  Unfortunately, the price for even one of these secrets 
  is equally priceless—who could pay? She might take 
  the supplicants’ senses and memories in their entirety, 
  leaving them completely unable to communicate the 
  knowledge she imparted, or even to place it in any 
  context. Marthesine has divine servants who assist her 
  in gathering lost things (or more likely, making found 
  things into lost things). They’re the hoarders, stunted 
  little gods that scour Creation for unique or interesting 
  items to add to their own collections. Technically, 
  they should turn everything over to Marthesine, but 
  they keep as much as they can and give her only the 
  oldest items they have when their sanctums simply 
  cannot contain any more treasures. Most anyone who 
  
  56
  has wealth in Creation has charms to protect against 
  these gods, but the charms tend to break or disappear 
  at inopportune times. Hoarders may only take a few 
  things at a time, but what they take is always valuable 
  enough to be missed. Fortunately, it is much easier to 
  retrieve lost items from a hoarder’s stash than it is to 
  bargain with Madame Marthesine for them. Marthesine 
  recruits young mortals to become hoarders, granting 
  them status as small gods in exchange for their eternal 
  service. Most were fairly greedy in their mortal lives. 
  Greed isn’t all Marthesine wants, however; she also 
  wants the ability to satisfy that greed. Thus, the folk 
  she recruits are often thieves, merchants and others 
  who show the ability to gather and hoard as much 
  wealth as possible
  Madame Marthesine can find anything that’s been 
  lost: objects, people, love, youth. No matter how con-
  crete or abstract, living or dead, the lost thing is, she 
  can find it. If she finds a lost person who has died, she 
  can find only his ghost—but she can find that ghost.
  Madame Marthesine appears to be a slender old 
  woman with light-brown skin, an old tattered gray 
  cloak and long white hair. She carries a large, bulging, 
  threadbare sack that seems ready to burst at any mo-
  ment. All of her collection of lost things is in this bag, 
  and anyone attempting to steal from it finds he can 
  remove nothing he put inside it—a thief who reaches 
  within cannot pull his hand out. He must cut it off, 
  pay Marthesine to get it back or follow it in. Few are 
  willing to do the latter. Madame Marthesine does not 
  fight too hard to keep others from trying to steal from 
  her—she knows that they, or something valuable of 
  theirs, will become hers in the attempt. 
  Sanctum: Marthesine’s bag is in fact her sanctum. When 
  she materializes, she carries it with her at all times. 
  When she chooses to dematerialize, the bag disappears 
  with her. When she enters her sanctum, she appears 
  inside without the bag.
  Inside, the sanctum is an enormous decaying palace 
  packed full of lost items, places and knowledge. 
  Sorcerers can use spells to enter her sanctum, but they 
  cannot remove anything without paying the price. The 
  few Exalted thieves who have stolen treasure from her 
  soon find themselves bereft of something valuable, such 
  as their sanity or their capacity to want.
  Motivation: Bring everything in Creation into her 
  domain.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 2; Perception 6, 
  Intelligence 6, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 4, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 6, Dodge 4, Integ-
  rity 6, Investigation 5, Larceny 5, Linguistics (Native: 
  Old Realm; Others: Forest-Tongue, Guild Cant, High 
  Realm, Riverspeak, Seatongue, Skytongue) 6, Lore 7, 
  Melee 4, Occult 5, Presence 4, Socialize 3, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact (See “Other Notes”), 
  Contacts 5, Cult 2, Followers 5 (Hoarders), 
  Influence 2, Resources 5, Sanctum 5
  Charms: Madame Marthesine knows all spirit Charms 
  with an Essence score for which she qualifies, and many 
  that she doesn’t—she is literally one of the most power-
  ful Terrestrial gods, and eclipses many Celestial gods as 
  well. She has taken many as a price for lost objects for 
  other gods. Since they are lost, Heaven’s bureaucracy 
  can’t find them to take or replace them—and if they 
  did, they’d lose something in return. Madam Marthesine 
  must spend 70 motes to Materialize.
  Join Battle: 10
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 6, Damage 2B, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 5, Damage 5B, Parry DV 2, 
  Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 5, Damage 2B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Starmetal Short Daiklave (Forgetfulness*): Speed 4, 
  Accuracy 14, Damage 9, Parry DV 5, Rate 2
  * see “Other Notes”
  Soak: 2L/4B 
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 8 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 105
  Other Notes: Madame Marthesine can access any 
  common artifact if she so desires, as well as many 
  unique artifacts. She’s unlikely to use the latter since 
  if people saw her waving them around, they wouldn’t 
  exactly be lost anymore, or at least not perceived as 
  such. Her divine panoply does include Forgetfulness 
  (Artifact 4). In addition to damage inflicted, each strike 
  by Forgetfulness that actually scores an injury steals 
  one memory from the target—it can be anything from 
  “The first time she kissed her true love” to “who just 
  attacked me right now.”
  THE MAMMOTH AVATAR
  Unlike the spirits of various animals and the gods 
  of individual herds, the animal avatars have decided to 
  take an active hand in the cultivation of their species 
  in the Second Age. This is especially true of the larger 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  57
  and more powerful wild animals such as mammoths, 
  tyrant lizards, hybrocs, river dragons and yeddim. These 
  gods now work to aggressively protect and promote their 
  animal populations, usually by organizing the animals in 
  a region to destroy human settlements near the hearts of 
  the gods’ territory. With the return of the Solar Exalted 
  and their ability to pursue large-scale goals across the 
  face of Creation—and with the memory of the extinc-
  tion of many species during the High First Age—many 
  animal avatars are beginning to rethink this tactic, and 
  follow the lead of the Mammoth Avatar, who long ago 
  decided to cultivate humanity as an ally.
  The Mammoth Avatar’s greatest innovation was to 
  create pacts with several groups of humans in the North, 
  from the icewalker tribes to the Haslanti League. She 
  allows these groups to cull the weak, the sick and the 
  old from her herds in exchange for the protection of 
  her charges from dangers as varied as Wyld barbarians, 
  the terrible Northern winters and rapacious and out-
  of-control huntsmen. The Mammoth Avatar accepted 
  that some members of her herds would fall to predators. 
  Making a deal with the most successful kind of predator 
  that threatened them, so that such destruction would 
  occur on her terms, is her stroke of genius.
  The Mammoth Avatar never appears to normal 
  men, instead sending her lieutenants: mammoths as 
  wise as men and capable of speech. These man-wise 
  mammoths will speak to the greatest leaders and 
  shamans of a tribe in exchange for a great deed done 
  for the mammoth race. For the destruction of some 
  threat to the herds, protection of some of the race, the 
  man-wise will whisper of hidden caches of ivory or the 
  location of artifacts of great power. The greatest heroes 
  among the icewalkers and other nations may, after a 
  number of such deeds, be given a man-wise mammoth 
  as a boon companion.
  The Mammoth Avatar appears as a massive beast of 
  that race, with reddish fur as soft as silk and orichalcum 
  tusks carved with the deeds of her people. Her voice is 
  soft but penetrating, gentle yet terrible.
  Sanctum: The Mammoth Avatar dwells in a great 
  hall hidden in the Far North. Made entirely of the 
  bones, skin and ivory of the greatest of her people, 
  her sanctum is protected from intrusion by man-wise 
  mammoths, mammoth spirits and other guardians. The 
  skull of each mammoth present can speak of anything 
  the mammoth witnessed in life, and mortals sometime 
  petition for the right to approach the sanctum and find 
  the answer to some riddle within the memories of these 
  dead creatures. 
  Motivation: Protect the mammoth species and those 
  humans who serve it.
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 5, Temperance 4, 
  Valor 2 
  Attributes: Strength 18, Dexterity 7, Stamina 14; 
  Charisma 5, Manipulation 5, Appearance 5; Perception 6, 
  Intelligence 5, Wits 5
  Abilities: Awareness 5, Dodge 5, Integrity 8, Linguis-
  tics (Native: Old Realm; Other: Forest-Tongue, Guild 
  Cant, High Realm, Low Realm, Skytongue) 5, Lore 7, 
  Martial Arts 5, Occult 7, Performance 5, Presence 7, 
  Resistance 5, Socialize 5, Survival 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 5 (Man-Wise Mammoths), 
  Cult 4, Followers 5+ (Icewalkers and Mammoths), 
  Influence 3, Sanctum 5
  Charms: 
  Blessing Charms—Those who are under her protection, 
  be they mammoths, the man-wise or those humans who 
  wear a swatch of her fur
  Divine Decree
  Instill Obedience—Mammoth spirits and the gods of 
  lesser animals
  Materialize—Costs 70 motes
  The Mammoth Avatar is one of the most powerful of 
  the animal avatars—if not the most powerful—and 
  should possess any or all other Charms the Storyteller 
  sees fit. The above Charms are the Charms the Mam-
  moth Avatar is best known for, and any other Charms 
  she possesses will be ordered around the protection and 
  promotion of the mammoth race.
  Join Battle: 10
  Attacks: 
  Gore: Speed 5, Accuracy 15, Damage 26L/30L, Parry 
  DV 8, Rate 3
  Trample: Speed 3, Accuracy 12, Damage, 19L, Rate 1
  Soak: 29L/34B (Tough hide, 22L/20B; Hardness: 
  11L/10B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 10 Willpower: 7
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 105
  Other Notes: The Mammoth Avatar’s shed fur and 
  the fur of her man-wise mammoths can be woven 
  into long, exceptionally warm coats that protect 
  the wearer from all cold, including frozen fog, and 
  are heavy enough to protect the wearer as if he 
  were wearing a chain shirt. (Against cold caused 
  by magic, the wearer doubles the armor’s soak.) 
  A chip of ivory from one of the dead mammoths 
  entombed in the sanctum may be carved into an 
  amulet that gives the wearer an extra two dice to 
  
  58
  rolls to ride or control mammoths. The Mammoth 
  Avatar has great rank in the courts of the other 
  animal avatars.
  RABSZOLGA, GOD OF SLAVES
  Nearly every slaver in Creation burns incense to 
  Rabszolga; and, knowing prime worshipers when he 
  sees them, Rabszolga has indeed been known to bless 
  successful slavers in need. The Guild has even built two 
  small but lavish temples to the god, each staffed by three 
  priests (and seven slaves) who pray constantly. They ask 
  for enslaved war captives to grow swiftly resigned and 
  for caravans to return safely, with a lucky catch.
  Rabszolga’s domain may be slaves, but this hardly 
  translates into a god who looks out for them. In Rab-
  szolga’s eyes, it’s best for the slave trade to be profitable 
  and for there to be as many slaves as possible. Their 
  treatment matters little to him, particularly since the 
  merchants are the ones who venerate him and not 
  the slaves themselves. To a lesser extent, Rabszolga 
  is additionally responsible for not-quite-slaves such as 
  Lookshy’s helots, but that domain is occasionally con-
  tested by other gods who see his control as a hierarchical 
  gray area. This god also has some interest in lovers, whose 
  slavery can be as intense as the involuntary kind.
  Unlike many gods whose power earns them the 
  right to Heavenly residence, Rabszolga is often in the 
  world. As a member of Yu-Shan’s Bureau of Humanity, 
  Rabszolga can get away with tirelessly working toward 
  his domain’s welfare. Three of the Guild’s hierarchs 
  know an exhausting six-hour rite that gains Rabszolga’s 
  immediate attention. Rarely used, the rite allows them 
  to humbly inform him of major threats to his interests. 
  During the past decade, the rite has been performed 
  once: the god was warned that a Solar had Exalted from 
  bondage and sworn to eradicate slavery forever. Tak-
  ing the threat to heart, Rabszolga came personally to 
  Creation and took the Solar captive. The god secretly 
  gave the Exalt to his sometime-friend, the Deathlord 
  Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears, and she warped 
  the Solar into an Abyssal. In doing this, Rabszolga 
  committed no actual crimes, but he’s sensibly never 
  spoken of it. If word of his vile act reached the ears 
  of the Celestial censors, he knows he could expect 
  no mercy—even if Celestial law contains no explicit 
  provisions for his crime.
  The goddess Ystara, a less powerful deity who 
  governs the trade of luxury goods, noted Rabszolga’s 
  handsomeness some time ago. She also couldn’t help 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  59
  noticing the puissance of his domain. However, he never 
  seemed to register her—so, in a spectacular gamble, she 
  began a subtle campaign with his worshipers. Stretch-
  ing across the world, Rabszolga’s cult is somewhat 
  scattered and hard to influence as a group, but Ystara 
  has been gaining ground. Her goal: use threats, bribes 
  and lies to persuade most of them to pay homage to 
  her as Rabszolga’s consort. She believes that if she can 
  pull it off before the god notices and interferes, the 
  cult’s beliefs will already have shaped him into being 
  affectionately inclined toward her. And she’ll not just 
  have his regard; if she’s worshiped as one of the gods 
  of slavery, Ystara reasons, then some of the domain’s 
  power will become hers as well.
  In appearance, Rabszolga is slender and hollow-
  eyed. Though he aligns himself with slaves’ captors, 
  the world’s slaves are the ones who most influence his 
  nature. He speaks little, keeps his eyes cast down and 
  endures trouble and suffering with stoic, despairing 
  resignation. In recent centuries, he’s found that he and 
  the Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears have a lot to 
  talk about. Rabszolga has been visiting her fortress with 
  increasing frequency; Ystara has noted his absences, but 
  she keeps quiet about them, hoping not to jeopardize 
  her own plans. If she takes the time to investigate and 
  figures out what’s up, she may resort to blackmail and 
  demand that Rabszolga officially take her as his wife.
  Sanctum: Rabszolga’s sanctum in Creation may be 
  entered by anyone who meets the hopeless gaze of a 
  slave and utters the proper words. Inside, there’s a bare 
  and ill-lit cell-like room—the god dislikes creature 
  comforts. Along one wall, Rabszolga stores an interest-
  ing array of collars and other implements of bondage, 
  such as a collar of dutiful submission (used by Celestial 
  police to wrest rogue gods to heel) and a Monstrance 
  of Celestial Portion (a cage on loan from the Lover, 
  built to warp Solar Essences into Abyssal ones). In his 
  rare moments of leisure, Rabszolga’s hobby is the study 
  of such devices.
  Motivation: Subordinate himself.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina 8; 
  Charisma 5, Manipulation 6, Appearance 6; Perception 6, 
  Intelligence 6, Wits 6
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 4, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 5, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 7, 
  Dodge 4, Integrity 8 (Torture +5), Investigation 4, Lar-
  ceny 2 (Smuggling +5), Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; 
  Others: Flametongue, Guild Cant, High Realm, Low 
  Realm, Riverspeak, Seatongue) 6, Lore 4, Presence 5, 
  Martial Arts 5, Resistance 5 (Torture +5), Socialize 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 5, Artifact 5, Contacts 5, Cult 5, 
  Followers 4, Influence 4, Resources 5, Sanctum 1
  Charms: 
  Calculated Order of Immediate Action—Breaks the spirits 
  of large groups of people
  Capture—Can capture anyone who lowers his eyes, 
  sending his to a cell in Rabzolga’s sanctum
  Chrysalis of Preservation—Preserves masters
  Divine Decree —All-Encompassing
  Dreamscape—All-Encompassing
  Essence Plethora (x2)
  Form Reduction Technique—Can become anything 
  that serves
  Hurry Home—Returns to his sanctum
  Instill Obedience—Forces everyone to bow
  Materialize—Costs 75 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Memory Mirror—Senses submission, authority and 
  hubris
  Mind-Knife Sacrament—Rewrites memories of freedom, 
  integrity and lore
  Ox-Body Technique (x2)
  Paper Tiger Arrangement—All-Encompassing
  Principle of Motion—Eight banked actions
  Reserve of Will (x2)
  Sense Domain—All-Encompassing
  Subtle Whisper—Everyone must bow before him. This 
  influences everyone with an Essence score greater 
  than 2.
  Symbol of Invincible Authority—No slave may harm him
  Wine of Intimate Heartbreak—His pain becomes an ad-
  diction for whoever induces it
  Words of Power—Orders of submission
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Bureaucracy, Integrity, 
  Larceny, Martial Arts, Resistance
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Integrity, Martial Arts, 
  Resistance
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Integrity, Resistance
  Martial Arts—Rabszolga has mastered the Celestial 
  martial art Laughing Wounds Style (see Scroll of the 
  Monk, pp. 94-97).
  Join Battle: 11
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 8B, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  
  60
  Everyone’s Chains (Clinch): Speed 6, Accuracy 11, 
  Damage 12B, Parry DV –, Rate 1
  Everyone’s Chains (Strike): Speed 5, Accuracy 10, 
  Damage 14B, Parry DV 6, Rate 2
  Soak: 14L/17B (Artifact lamellar armor [Copper 
  Bonds of Eternity], 10L/9B, -1 mobility penalty; 
  Hardness: 5L/5B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-
  2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 8 
  Willpower: 8 (10)
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 130
  Other Notes: Everyone’s Chains are a level-3 artifact 
  with combat stats identical to a dire chain. With the 
  expenditure of one mote, the god can cause anyone 
  struck by Everyone’s Chains to suffer a Compulsion 
  effect of Rabszolga’s choosing, and the victim cannot 
  begin to resist any commitments to their Intimacies. 
  Both of these effects can be resisted for one scene by 
  spending three Willpower points, and both last until 
  the effect lands on someone else. Everyone’s Chains 
  is made from divine material that confers no magical 
  material bonus, instead raising Rabszolga’s Integrity, 
  Martial Arts and Presence by 1.
  The Copper Bonds of Eternity are a level-4 artifact. 
  They have defensive stats identical to a suit of arti-
  fact lamellar armor of no standard magical material. 
  The copper bonds prevent the wearer from dashing 
  or sleeping and remove any ability to regain Will-
  power from fulfillment of one’s Motivation or sleep. 
  In exchange, the wearer is completely immune to 
  Crippling effects, Shaping effects and Unnatural 
  Mental Influence that affect her Intimacies, Motiva-
  tion or Virtues. The Copper Bonds of Eternity raise 
  Rabszolga’s Integrity by 3.
  SESSEN DOUJI, THE MOUNTAIN BOY
  Long ago, a mountain boy herding his goats heard 
  a faint but melodious chanting. Enchanted, he followed 
  the sound to an obscure cave, sensing the power behind 
  the words. In the cave sat a grinning demon, its palms 
  garlanded with lotuses. “Teach me your chant,” begged 
  the boy. “Not,” said the demon, opening its black eyes 
  very wide, “unless you let me eat you afterward.”
  The boy agreed, took a week to set his affairs in 
  order and came back to learn the demon’s chant. He 
  sat meekly at the creature’s feet for nine days, forgoing 
  both food and sleep until he had the sutra memorized. 
  Then, he cut his palms, and using his blood as ink he 
  wrote the sutra all over the nearby cliffs and trees. Re-
  turning to the demon, he cast himself at its feet; and 
  true to its word, the demon ate him.
  The Mountain Boy was once a mortal, and this is well 
  known; less well known is his domain, for the Maiden of 
  Secrets herself has marked that file to be left unopened. 
  This god could be the spirit of study, hard work and the 
  rewards thereof; or of foreknowledge and prophecy, and 
  the pains thereof. He might have domain over enlighten-
  ment, sudden insight and the shock of new ideas.
  Those who seek knowledge—enlightening sutras, 
  martial arts, historic secrets—may seek Sessen Douji, 
  but he travels far and wide, and his natural form is 
  merely that of a goat-boy. Only during Calibration is he 
  always in the same place—meditating and murmuring 
  sutras atop his mountain—but that mountain is beset 
  by monsters, and its location is variously reported. One 
  who wishes to be his student must not only find and 
  identify him but travel with him for a season (all the 
  while, he’ll categorically deny being Sessen Douji). 
  In the end, he’ll take the petitioner as a student, but 
  only if she can tell him something—anything—that 
  he didn’t already know.
  Certain gods of higher rank defer to Sessen Douji, 
  often to the surprise of their lessers. Even some Exalted 
  have asked him for training, and he always requires 
  them to go through the same steps as any potential 
  student. The one thing the Mountain Boy will never 
  teach is the sutra he sacrificed himself to the demon to 
  learn. To those who beg, he says only that the Maiden 
  of Secrets has set her seal upon that as well.
  Sanctum: Upon the peak of an isolated mountain is a 
  small, cold cave; in that cave is Sessen Douji’s sanctum. 
  A pallet and some tattered scrolls of wisdom are the 
  only things decorating his home, and a few goats have 
  been known to wander in and out.
  Motivation: Seek and share enlightenment. The 
  Mountain Boy really likes herding goats and has an 
  Intimacy toward doing so.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 6, Stamina 5; 
  Charisma 6, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4; Perception 7, 
  Intelligence 6, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 5, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 4, 
  Dodge 5, Integrity 5, Investigation 9, Larceny 4, Lin-
  guistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: Forest-Tongue, 
  Guild Cant, Low Realm, Riverspeak, Seatongue, 
  Skytongue) 6, Lore 9, Martial Arts 7, Medicine 5, 
  Occult 5, Presence 3 (Pursuit of Knowledge +3), Re-
  sistance 3, Socialize 3, Survival 5
  Backgrounds: Mentor 6 (Jupiter), Resources 2 (Healthy 
  Goat Herd), Sanctum 1
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  61
  Charms: 
  Amethyst Awareness
  Divine Prerogative—None shall know that of which he 
  does not speak
  Endowment—All-encompassing
  Eye of Inspiration—All-encompassing
  Foretell the Future—Knows the things to come
  Form Reduction—Any seeker of knowledge, or a mortal 
  goat-boy in a round hat
  Hand of Destiny—Sessen Douji can set himself to learn 
  any one fact, but will definitely die in the pursuit. If he 
  pursues knowledge not yet intended for Creation, his 
  resultant death will be permanent; hence, he’s reluctant 
  to use this Charm to gain potentially world-shaking 
  knowledge.
  Intrusion-Sensing Method—Activates when Fate’s plans 
  are interrupted
  Loom Stride—All-Encompassing
  Materialize—Costs 70 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Natural Prognostication—Is always ready
  Reserve of Will (x2)
  Worldly Illusion—The world is a pond with all time 
  between two ripples.
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Lore, Martial Arts
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Lore, Martial Arts
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Lore, Martial Arts
  Martial Arts—Sessen Douji has learned every Terrestrial 
  Style the Storyteller feels like giving him.
  Join Battle: 10
  Attacks:
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 13, Damage 5B (piercing), 
  Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 13, Damage 8B, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 2
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 14, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 8, Rate 3
  Soak: 2L/5B
  Health Levels: 0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/
  -4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 8 
  Willpower: 9 (11)
  Essence: 5 
  Essence Pool: 95
  Other Notes: During the 50 years before the turning of 
  an Age, Sessen Douji’s Essence will rise one permanent 
  point per decade. During the Age’s change, he will 
  have Essence 10, and once the new Age has set itself 
  in place, his Essence will slip back down to 5 at the 
  rate of one point per decade.
  The Mountain Boy has always refused to learn sorcery 
  and will not explain this choice to anyone. He has no 
  divine panoply. When asked why, he replies that a 
  messenger has said that it is on its way.
  THE SEVEN FANGS, GODS OF ASCENDING WOOD
  The Seven Fangs oversee the month of Ascending 
  Wood within the Court of Seasons (see p. 25). They 
  appear as foxes the size of bulls, fleet as snakes. They 
  countenance only beautiful things and will abide the 
  sight of ugliness only if it’s very, very interesting. 
  During the month of Ascending Wood, the Seven 
  Fangs run the Court like a fox hunt, only with mortals 
  as their prey. To enter the Court that month, one must 
  be vouched for by the wood gods who accompany the 
  foxes as hangers-on and brush-beaters, and any such 
  guest who would threaten the Fangs or behave in an 
  ill-mannered way earns the ire of the Court of Seasons 
  as a consequence. The month after their reign, the foxes 
  lurk around the Court, gossiping, sampling strange 
  drugs and drinks, and behaving like wretches, only 
  occasionally coming forth to aid the Riddling Tree in 
  his interactions with the Bureau of Nature.
  THE LOVER’S SUTRA
  Sessen Douji knows many sutras, and will give 
  them away to those who prove worthy. He teaches 
  this one to those seeking love. One who learns and 
  recites this sutra as the Mountain Boy instructs will 
  either find lifelong love in an unexpected place 
  or may spend the experience to raise her Compas-
  sion without other explanation or training time 
  (player’s choice).
  A chain of notes: the woman tilts her head,
  leans back, steps forth, and brings an arm around;
  the man now bites his lip alone, tastes dread —
  in hollow darkness, hears the hours sound;
  around them softly winds the music’s thread. 
  The panther-graceful woman steps again,
  curving the dance, her flushed skin sheened in 
      heat;
  does not allow herself to think of men.
  Leaving, the man allows the door to close
  and, humming, walks from darkness into fate,
  remembering the dancer as he goes. 
  She sees a man who looks like him, quite near;
  curves away, ends the dance. The song echoes; 
  bowing, she bites her lip, fights back a tear.
  
  62
  During the month of Descending Earth, however, 
  the month before their reign, the Seven Fangs have a 
  more difficult task. They must carefully manage their 
  influence over the Whisperer. The Whisperer cannot 
  afford the loss of face he would suffer were others to 
  realize the Fangs and the Seer inflicted his paralysis (he 
  normally claims it’s part of his nature), and the Fangs 
  wish to avoid the scandal that would result were the 
  Whisperer’s admirers to realize the truth. They issue 
  edicts in his name and listen carefully to all he says, that 
  they might twist his words to fit their petty agendas.
  Those who earn the enmity of the Fangs are marked 
  for death—or at the very least, extreme harassment. For 
  mortals and weaker Exalted, this entails being hunted by 
  the Fangs in a stylized affair, formalized and marked by 
  spirit assistants blowing horns, gods of the hunt driving 
  the prey forward and inevitably, a brutal end, marked 
  by a celebration. For those the Seven Fangs deem too 
  powerful to deal with in such a manner personally, the 
  fox spirits take special pleasure in harassing via their 
  influence with the Terrestrial courts, making sure that 
  the beings’ villages are marked for natural disaster, 
  that their prayers to functionaries in Yu-Shan go un-
  answered and generally maligning them to the rest of 
  the spirit world.
  Sanctum: The Seven Fangs keep a luxurious sanctum 
  anchored to several ancient redwoods in the East for 
  themselves, crowded with items they have received as 
  gifts for intercession in seasonal matters and trophies 
  from their innumerable hunts. When the Seven Fangs 
  lead the Court of Seasons, they reside at whatever locale 
  the Court has decided will play host that month, which 
  is determined randomly through some arcane process 
  known only to the Court’s functionaries. 
  Motivation: Party, gossip, hunt mortals, rest, repeat.
  Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 5, Stamina 6; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 6, Appearance 4; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, 
  Integrity 3, Martial Arts 3, Presence 3, Resistance 3, 
  Stealth 4, Socialize 5, Survival 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 2, Contacts 3, Cult 2, Followers 3 
  (Sycophants), Influence 2, Resources 3, Sanctum 3
  Charms: 
  Affinity Wood Control
  Benefaction—Those whom they favor
  Camouflage—The forest
  Endowment—Those whom they favor
  Hide—The forest
  Hurry Home—Sanctums and wherever the Court of 
  Seasons is
  Landscape Travel—The forest
  Materialize—Costs 45 motes
  First (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts, Dodge, Social-
  ize, Survival
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Presence
  Join Battle: 5
  Attacks: 
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 9L, Parry DV –, 
  Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 10L, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 3
  Soak: 9L/16B (Pelt, 6L/10B; Hardness: 3L/6B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 60
  Other Notes: None
  TRANSLUCENT ALABASTER, THE PORCELAIN LADY
  With pure white skin and delicately sculpted fea-
  tures, Translucent Alabaster’s domain shows itself in 
  every line of her perfect body. She speaks in a voice 
  like wind chimes and moves carefully, lest her brittle 
  flesh be chipped. This goddess is responsible only for 
  porcelain, but she loves all beautiful things, and keeps 
  galleries in several of Creation’s most artistic cities.
  Most of the Porcelain Lady’s time is spent in the 
  Realm. The Immaculate Order tolerates her residency 
  in Tuchara, a former artists’ colony, because she has 
  publicly embraced the Faith and speaks in its favor. 
  Local priests make small and proper sacrifices to her, 
  and in exchange, she’s a model citizen; she donates 
  money to charity and pays taxes without a murmur. 
  Translucent Alabaster has become a fixture in Tuchara’s 
  social whirl, attending the most exclusive parties and 
  teaching especially talented craftsmen (or any Dragon-
  Blood who asks) for free.
  One might suspect that the Porcelain Lady, whose 
  domain covers sculpture as well as vases and tiles, would 
  have a problem with the Immaculate Order’s ban on 
  iconic art (said to disrespect the Immaculate Dragons 
  by means of its “idolatry”). In public, she doesn’t at all, 
  and reviles such disregard for the Dragons with the best 
  of them. In practice, the goddess quietly seeks out gifted 
  but irreligious artists whose creativity the law stifles. If 
  necessary, she’ll subtly encourage them to give full rein 
  to their vision; if they’ve already done so, she’ll gain 
  their trust, then arrange to smuggle their work to a place 
  where it’ll be properly appreciated. Her Nexus gallery, for 
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  63
  instance, sees a volume of “blasphemous” art that would 
  give its homeland’s faithful establishment apoplexy.
  Heretical Realm artisans who craft such things 
  send them away under pseudonyms, and Translucent 
  Alabaster’s discretion is such that none have yet been 
  discovered. At one point, some Cynis dealers came sniff-
  ing around her operations, but the goddess persuaded 
  them that she was merely smuggling to avoid high drug 
  tariffs, and solved the problem by cutting House Cynis 
  in on the supposed deal.
  Translucent Alabaster has also made a different 
  bargain with a well-known Nexus hero. The goddess 
  claims maternity of the girl, who’s very preoccupied 
  with concealing her Demon-Blooded heritage. A 
  fragile-looking pale-skinned beauty known as Lady 
  Frost, the Demon-Blood is an exceptional jeweler, as 
  well as a warrior who protects the weak. The Porcelain 
  Lady figures that she’s not just protecting the hero, but 
  gaining fame from her supposed legacy. Of course, if the 
  truth comes out now, it will be as much of a problem for 
  the goddess as Lady Frost. And the hero may have less 
  wholesome reasons for her concealment than the stated 
  one (fear of “unreasonable” prejudice). She’s descended 
  from Makarios, most silver-tongued of demons; it might 
  be easy for her to deceive such a softhearted creature 
  as Translucent Alabaster.
  Sanctum: Right now, Translucent Alabaster keeps 
  her home in Tuchara, which she views currently as 
  Creation’s most vibrant and artistic city. There, she has 
  a mansion filled with elaborate scrolls of calligraphy, 
  exquisitely carved furniture and—naturally—the most 
  extraordinary china vases, plates, abstract tiles and 
  censers. The immaterial sanctum within that house 
  both overlays and is much like the physical area, but 
  has a great deal of illegal art in it, including dozens of 
  framed mosaics and porcelain sculptures. Everything 
  the goddess smuggles is stored there first.
  Motivation: Protect beauty.
  Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 1; 
  Charisma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 6; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 2, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 1
  Abilities: Athletics 1, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 4, Craft 
  (Fire) 3 (Ceramics +4), Dodge 1, Integrity 3, Larceny 3 
  (Smuggling +3), Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: 
  Guild Cant, High Realm, Low Realm, Riverspeak) 4, 
  Lore 4 (Artifact-Crafting +2), Occult 3 (Artifact-
  Crafting +3), Performance 4, Presence 4, Socialize 4, 
  Stealth 3
  Backgrounds: Allies 4, Artifact 5, Contacts 5, 
  Followers 3, Influence 2, Resources 6, Sanctum 3
  Charms:
  Affinity Air Control—All-Encompassing
  Animating Management—Any porcelain object
  Chrysalis of Preservation—Preserves beautiful things
  Divine Prerogative—Protect her fragile world
  Dreamscape—All-Encompassing
  Eye of Inspiration—Craft
  Host of Spirits—Fragile illusions
  Intrusion Sensing Method—Senses danger to her house 
  of cards
  Landscape Hide—Lives in beautiful things
  Materialize—Costs 55 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Mind-Knife Sacrament—Removes ugly memories
  Principle of Motion—Seven banked actions
  Touch of Divinity—Imbue with Essence
  Touch of Grace—Repairs beautiful things
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Craft, Larceny, Socialize
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Affinity Air Control: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 
  12L, Range 13, Rate 4
  Soak: 0L/1B
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 4 
  Essence Pool: 75
  Other Notes: Any physical attack that deals damage 
  to the Porcelain Lady causes a disabling wound, just 
  as if a mortal had suffered from a grievous injury, and 
  is healed in the same ways.
  VANILETH, SHOGUN OF ARTIFICIAL FLIGHT
  In the First Age, sleek flying ships flashed across 
  the sky, and magnificent citadels floated higher than 
  the mountains. The god Vanileth was honored in 
  temples across Creation, and the Twilights enjoyed his 
  special patronage. Known as the Shogun of Artificial 
  Flight, he lived in a crystal tower in the Celestial City 
  of Yu-Shan and played the Games of Divinity with 
  the mightiest of the gods. The Usurpation shook the 
  foundations of the First Age infrastructure, and the 
  Great Contagion brought it crashing down. In the 
  centuries that followed, humanity lost the secrets of 
  flying vehicles, and Vanileth’s dominion withered 
  away. Political enemies bid for his divine estate, and 
  the weakened Shogun was quietly encouraged to 
  leave Yu-Shan. He took up residence in a secret val-
  ley in the windswept Blue Peak Range in Creation’s 
  Far North.
  
  64
  With the loss of so much magical knowledge, Vani-
  leth has become obsessed with flying mechanisms. His 
  clockwork birds have spread the word that any mortal or 
  Exalt who can reach the Shogun’s citadel solely through 
  the use of some flying machine will be richly rewarded. 
  Meanwhile, Vanileth’s birds drive off or kill invaders 
  who employ Charms or spells to reach his palace. The 
  frozen bodies of would-be intruders sliced to ribbons by 
  razor sharp wings slowly merge with the glacial ice at 
  the bottom of the Shogun’s valley. Their corpses have 
  been stripped of all valuables, as the clockwork birds 
  swoop down and carry them to the Shogun’s treasury.
  Reaching Vanileth’s palace is extremely dangerous, 
  with rolls to operate air vehicles made at +4 difficulty 
  due to the treacherous winds, frigid temperatures and 
  jagged peaks. Anyone who successfully reaches Vani-
  leth’s palace will receive special instruction on how 
  to pilot a single type of flying vehicle (this may take 
  the form of a Blessing, or the student may choose to 
  learn a relevant specialty in Ride or Sail). Anyone 
  who constructs a vehicle that succeeds in the voyage 
  may be given advice on how to construct an improved 
  version of the vehicle (this may take the form of a 
  Blessing, or the student may choose to learn a relevant 
  Craft specialty). A handful of craft guilds in the North 
  owe their origins to the rare survivors of glider flights 
  who have reached the Shogun’s palace. The Haslanti 
  desperately want to reach Vanileth via one of their air 
  boats and thereby gain his blessing. Previous expedi-
  tions have been disastrous, but the Haslanti hope to 
  find brave, competent people who can succeed where 
  others have failed.
  Visitors who are polite may gain the benefit of 
  Vanileth’s rambling discourse about the various flying 
  devices that fill the halls of his palace. If they show a 
  genuine interest, they might even be gifted with a minor 
  enchantment of some kind. Examples of such gifts include 
  foldable gliders that easily fit in a pack, broaches that 
  prevent their wearers from dying from a fall or possibly 
  a clockwork bird as a companion. Unfortunately, some 
  of the Shogun’s creations are dangerous and untried, 
  including mechanical wings that permanently bind to 
  the user’s flesh or crash to the earth if not meticulously 
  maintained. One young man who visited became Vani-
  leth’s lover for a time and was given an artifact ornithopter 
  with spring driven wings. Some Dynasts believe that 
  Cynis Mond visited the Shogun and somehow gained 
  his favor. Vanileth’s birds seem to take special interest 
  in the city of Lookshy, but the Shogun has not visited 
  there since the days of Deheleshen.
  Vanileth appears as a swift cloud of constantly moving 
  wings of a bewildering variety: bird wings, mechanical 
  wings, glider wings and insect wings. All of these wings are 
  white. In the First Age, he could also appear as a beautiful 
  man with great white wings, but in the centuries of his 
  power’s withering, he has forgotten how. The Shogun 
  speaks in a sweet voice, though he is unused to addressing 
  anyone but himself and his mechanical birds.
  Sanctum: Vanileth’s sanctum is a shimmering palace of 
  crystal and silver hidden in a valley between two jagged 
  mountains in the windy North. Remarkably, the palace 
  is visible in the material world, despite the palace’s im-
  material nature. Nonetheless, as with other sanctums, 
  only those with the appropriate power may enter. Inside, 
  a visitor finds a score of vast rooms with high ceilings 
  decorated in white with furniture of ivory and fixtures 
  of platinum. Unless drowned by the sound of Vanileth’s 
  own wings, the mechanical whirring of clockwork birds 
  fills the air. Intricate flying devices lie upon shelves or 
  tables, or hang suspended from the ceiling.
  Motivation: To inspire dreams of flight and the crafts-
  manship and daring to achieve it.
  Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 8, Stamina 5; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 4; Perception 6, 
  Intelligence 6, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 2, Athletics 2, Awareness 5, 
  Bureaucracy 2, Craft (Air) 5, Craft (Fire) 5, Craft 
  (Magitech) 5, Craft (Wood) 1, Dodge 5, Integrity 2, 
  Investigation 3, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: 
  High Realm, Low Realm, Skytongue) 3, Lore 5, Martial 
  Arts 4, Melee 3, Occult 5, Presence 2, Resistance 1, 
  Ride 1, Sail 1, Socialize 2, Stealth 1, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 5, Arsenal 5 (Flying Devices), 
  Cult 1, Followers 4 (Clockwork Birds), Influence 2, 
  Manse 4, Resources 4, Sanctum 3
  Charms:
  Affinity Air Control—The winds still answer Vanileth’s 
  call
  Benefaction—Vanileth can grant bonuses to Craft, Ride 
  or Sail rolls involving specific flying devices, or teach 
  a student the relevant specialty (though the student’s 
  player must then spend the requisite experience).
  Creation of Perfection—The Shogun may manipulate 
  the material, immaterial, winds or dreams of flight
  Essence Bite—Razor-sharp wings
  Essence Plethora (x1)
  Hoodwink—Vanileth disappears in a flash of silvery 
  white light
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  65
  Host of Spirits—Some of 
  the Shogun’s wings sepa-
  rate and form a new entity, 
  swirling into action as his command
  Hurry Home
  Landscape Travel—The Shogun is particularly swift and 
  dexterous in flight
  Materialize—Costs 55 motes
  Measure the Wind—Vanileth may sense the Essence of 
  those around him
  Ox-Body Technique (x4)
  Principle of Motion—Six banked actions
  Sense Domain—The Shogun detects the status of some part 
  of his domain, which includes his sanctum and every flying 
  device in Creation. In addition, he may use this Charm to 
  see through the eyes of any of his clockwork birds. Though 
  they are exceedingly rare, a priest of Vanileth also qualifies 
  as part of his domain for the purpose of this Charm.
  Subtle Whisper—The winds carry the sweet voice of 
  Vanileth to the ears of his intended audience without 
  revealing his presence
  Tracking—The winds betray the target’s 
  path
  Weather Control—Vanileth stirs the winds 
  about his palace into particularly violent con-
  ditions, so as to better test the skill, daring and 
  craftsmanship of those who seek his patronage
  Words of Power—The words of Vanileth may become 
  as piercing as the biting winds of the North
  First (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Craft, Dodge, 
  Martial Arts
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Craft
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Craft, Dodge, 
  Lore, Martial Arts, Occult
  Sorcery—Vanileth has mastered a number of Terres-
  trial Circle spells related to flight, birds and the sky, 
  including Cirrus Skiff, Conjuring the Azure Chariot, 
  Death of Obsidian Butterflies, Emerald Countermagic, 
  Flight of Separation, Flight of the Brilliant Raptor, 
  Impenetrable Frost Barrier, Infallible Messenger, 
  Keel Cleaves the Clouds, Personal Tempest, Ritual 
  of Elemental Empowerment, Stormwind Rider and 
  Summon Elemental. He has also mastered a few Ce-
  lestial Circle spells related to flight, birds and the sky, 
  including Cloud Trapeze, Servant of Infallible Location 
  and Swift Spirit of Winged Transportation.
  Host of Spirits—Some of 
  the Shogun’s wings sepa-
  rate and form a new entity, 
  Tracking—The winds betray the target’s 
  path
  Weather Control—Vanileth stirs the winds 
  —
  about his palace into particularly violent con-
  ditions, so as to better test the skill, daring and 
  craftsmanship of those who seek his patronage
  Words of Power—The words of Vanileth may become
  
  66
  Join Battle: 10
  Attacks:
  Blade-Wing Attack: Speed 4, Accuracy 16, 
  Damage 10L, Parry DV 7, Rate 4
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 12, Damage 6B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 17L/23B (Iron-hard feathers, 15L/18B; 
  Hardness: 8L/9B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-
  2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 9 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 5 
  Essence Pool: 90
  Other Notes: If the artifice of flight were to return to 
  First Age levels, Vanileth’s Essence trait would rise to 
  7, and his power would increase commensurately.
  VERUMIPRA
  Since the overthrow of the Primordials and the 
  survivors’ banishment to the prison-city of Malfeas, the 
  gods have tried to have as little to do with the Yozis as 
  possible, but regardless of the gods’ desires in the matter, 
  the broken Primordials remain a power, with interests 
  in Creation and Yu-Shan. While the gods see Malfeas 
  as an anarchic prison, the Yozis view themselves as a 
  government-in-exile, and necessity demands that there 
  be some minimal contact between the Demon Princes 
  and the Incarnae. Thus, the highest of the gods created 
  the title Ambassador to the Cursed City, Warden of 
  the Exiles.
  This ambassadorship was always something 
  of a joke. Those who took the job maintained an 
  official residence in Malfeas, communicating with 
  the Yozis on behalf of the Celestial Bureaucracy 
  and the Incarnae. But there were also the attendant 
  intrigues that any official can expect to be asked to 
  perform at a foreign post—the cultivation of spies, 
  the reporting of local gossip and the management 
  of the odd assassination. Unfortunately, the Yozis, 
  by their very nature, are corrupting influences, sly 
  and unfathomable. The average gods forced into the 
  position of ambassador survived less than a decade, 
  finding themselves compromised by scandal, turned 
  by the Ebon Dragon, murdered by one of the many 
  factions in Heaven and Hell or driven insane. One 
  god was compromised by the Yozis and removed by 
  Sidereal auditors so swiftly that he never actually had 
  the chance to leave Yu-Shan for Malfeas.
  Such was the status quo until Verumipra assumed 
  the office. Verumipra held many positions in various 
  departments during his time in Yu-Shan, and was 
  promoted into the ambassadorship because an enemy 
  saw the soft-spoken, competent and popular bureaucrat 
  as a threat to his office. To everyone’s surprise, Veru-
  mipra has made it through two and a half centuries of 
  maintaining the embassy to Malfeas, and to the best 
  of either side’s knowledge, he has not been turned, 
  driven insane or murdered and replaced with a dop-
  pelganger. Although it’s not recorded in any official 
  ledger, he is reputed to have turned several demons 
  of various circles into spies for Heaven, arranged the 
  assassinations of important Malfean personages and 
  carried messages directly from the Incarnae to the Yozis 
  and back, during those few times when they deign to 
  speak to one another. For his services, he has been 
  feted endlessly in Yu-Shan, allowed to play a turn of 
  the Games of Divinity no fewer than four times and 
  can expect a promotion to top rank once his tenure 
  is over—assuming he survives. 
  Verumipra’s success makes him a target. The fact 
  that he has access to the Incarnae upsets many gods, 
  while others are tempted to use him as a stepping 
  stone for their own careers. His impending retirement 
  next century has drawn the attention of more than a 
  few bureaucratic climbers who see him as a threat to 
  their own careers. And those whose stock in trade is 
  skullduggery wonder whether he can be used to further 
  their own plans. That’s not to mention the various 
  auditors who suspect Verumipra has been turned in 
  a way no one’s discovered. 
  Unfortunately for Verumipra, the escape of the 
  Solar Essences from their prison has finally given 
  everyone a chance at leveraging his past against 
  him. Verumipra’s one indiscretion in his career was 
  a tumultuous, passionate, centuries-long love affair 
  with a Solar Exalt. Verumipra long lamented his 
  lover’s destruction during the Usurpation, and with 
  the reappearance of the Lawgivers, every faction 
  in Heaven, Malfeas and the Underworld has cast a 
  net, hoping to catch this reborn lover. Some want 
  to protect the Exalt, and thus secure Verumipra’s 
  success and Yu-Shan’s security. Others want to 
  threaten to endanger or corrupt the Solar to secure 
  Verumipra’s loyalty. And the rest hope to destroy 
  the Solar in order to settle some score. Verumipra 
  has begun searching for his old lover, using channels 
  he long ago discarded, and knows only that his lover 
  is now part of a circle of Solar Exalted in Creation. 
  Verumipra has no idea of the character—or even 
  gender—of this new incarnation, but he hopes to 
  somehow rekindle his romance and protect his old 
  lover from his current enemies.
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  67
  Verumipra appears as a tall, impossibly thin man with 
  cocoa-colored skin and golden eyes. Instead of hair, he 
  has a collection of black, downy feathers. He is dressed 
  in the height of Heavenly fashion no matter where he 
  goes. As ambassador, he wields the Seal of the Warden 
  as the only part of his panoply, a powerful artifact that 
  appears as a massive, orichalcum disc on a silver chain 
  about his throat. 
  Sanctum: Verumipra keeps a lushly appointed Celestial 
  manse for himself in Yu-Shan, which acts as his sanctum. 
  In Malfeas, he resides on an estate in an area specially 
  prepared for him, although the ever-changing landscape 
  of the city means that the grounds and layout are incon-
  stant at best, and riddled with spies and observers.
  Motivation: Protect Yu-Shan from Malfeas.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 6, Stamina 5; 
  Charisma 6, Manipulation 7, Appearance 5; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 7, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Archery 4, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 5, 
  Dodge 4, Integrity 6, Investigation 5, Larceny 5, Lin-
  guistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: Flametongue, 
  High Realm, Low Realm, Riverspeak, Seatongue) 5, 
  Lore 5, Martial Arts 5, Medicine 4, Melee 6, Occult 4, 
  Presence 4, Resistance 5, Socialize 6, Survival 4
  Backgrounds: Allies 5 (Superiors in Heaven), Artifact 
  (See Below), Backing 4, Celestial Manse 3, Con-
  tacts 4, Followers 3 (Servants, Spies, and Soldiers), 
  Influence 2, Resources 5, Sanctum 3
  Charms:
  Bane Weapon—Demons in Malfeas cannot strike 
  Verumipra without invoking his right as Warden to 
  end their lives
  Materialize—Costs 80 motes
  First (Ability) Excellency—Bureaucracy, Larceny, Martial 
  Arts, Lore, Socialize
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Bureaucracy, Larceny, 
  Martial Arts, Lore, Socialize
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Bureaucracy, Larceny, Mar-
  tial Arts, Lore, Socialize
  All Encompassing Divine (Ability) Subordination—
  Bureaucracy, Larceny, Socialize
  Verumipra should possesses all other spirit Charms the 
  Storyteller sees fit to give him as a puissant Heavenly 
  official engaged in an important and unique position, and 
  should be as strong—or as weak—as the story dictates. 
  He likely possesses at least one Martial Art of signifi-
  cance, if not a unique one created for him by Sidereal 
  functionaries and known only to them and him.
  Join Battle: 10
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 7, Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 8B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 6L/9B (Bark 4L/4B; Hardness: 2L/2B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/
  Incap
  Dodge DV: 9 
  Willpower: 9
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 115
  Other Notes: The Seal of the Warden is an N/A artifact. 
  The Incarnae and Yozis created it jointly at the council 
  in which the Demon Princes were sealed inside Malfeas 
  under the light of the green sun. The Seal of the Warden 
  is not a key to Malfeas—the Incarnae would never be so 
  foolish as to create such a thing, and sealed the prison 
  so that it could never be unlocked. The Seal of the 
  Warden is instead a word given tangible form, and that 
  word is “Submission.” It is a symbol of the victory over 
  the Primordials and the establishment of Malfeas not 
  as a world away from Creation but a lesser thing, a gaol 
  meant to cage the creators of Heaven and Earth. By com-
  mitting 12 motes of Essenc, the bearer may, as a reflexive 
  action, create a 10-meter in radius sphere of Creation 
  around himself while in Malfeas. This is, for all intents 
  and purposes, Creation, and spirits can manifest there 
  from Heaven with the proper Charms. As a Holy effect, 
  all damage Verumipra does to demons while the sphere 
  is active is aggravated, and all demons are considered to 
  be acting in Creation while fighting within the sphere’s 
  bounds. The creation of such a bubble of stability within 
  Malfeas’s inconstant realm is pain beyond imagining, 
  and the Yozis themselves rear in pain—the light of the 
  seal blinds Liger and scars the flesh of the Demon City, 
  causing destruction all across the landscape. 
  ZHUZHIAO
  Zhuzhiao’s title is High Princep of the Deep Trenches; 
  although, as appropriate for a god of his rank, he bears 
  at least a dozen others, the most important being Arch-
  Curator of Fuliginous Depths. Zhuzhiao is one of the 
  highest ranking gods of the Ocean Court, but before 
  he took up his current position, he was a force to be 
  reckoned with in Yu-Shan’s Celestial Bureaucracy and 
  privy to the inner workings of Heaven. His prideful and 
  ambitious personality grated on his superiors, and so, he 
  was given a choice between soulforging or promotion 
  upward and outward—a high rank and larger portfolio 
  
  68
  but in a subordinate Terrestrial court away from Yu-Shan. 
  Zhuzhiao accepted the promotion and exile, but has pa-
  tiently awaited an end to his disgrace. He is eager to take 
  advantage of the current chaos in Heaven and Creation to 
  move himself back into the good graces of the Incarnae. 
  Any being who can aid him in returning to Yu-Shan will 
  have his gratitude, if only for a little while. 
  As Arch-Curator, Zhuzhiao views the sunken 
  wrecks that litter the ocean floor as his personal prop-
  erty. Beings interested in raiding First Age hulks must 
  do so at their own peril, unless they deal with Zhuzhiao 
  personally. Only the most powerful of Lunar Exalted 
  and the ancient and wretched pelagials raid those sites 
  with any frequency, and Zhuzhiao constantly tests their 
  resolve with random attacks by creatures under his 
  control—a tactic he is quick to deny if called upon by 
  a being as powerful as Leviathan or his ilk. Those who 
  wish to bargain with Zhuzhiao can do so only by offer-
  ing up an item of equal value for the piece of treasure 
  they want. While some ascribe this fair bargaining to 
  an innate mercantile sense somehow related to his old 
  position, others claim that Zhuzhiao insists on equal 
  trades as a sign of the other party’s respect for him. 
  There are legends of mortals and cunning Dragon-
  Blooded trading some worthless bauble for a priceless 
  artifact, but those tales end with the violent death of 
  the offending party as often as they do with Zhuzhiao 
  smiling in admiration of their cunning.
  Zhuzhiao appears as a massive and many-tentacled 
  beast, equal parts squid and octopus, with tentacles 
  hundreds of feet long and a beak that can crack a trireme 
  in two. He takes no other forms. Zhuzhiao’s domain is 
  properly the dark waters where the light never shines and 
  where life grows into strange and frightening configura-
  tions, although he has expanded his portfolio through 
  brute force and various intrigues. Amongst other things, 
  it now includes all tentacled life, thanks to a pact with 
  Kireeki. However, so obnoxious is Zhuzhiao’s demeanor 
  with subordinates that a whole race of dog-sized crusta-
  cean spirits, the many-clawed and phosphorescent cavern 
  mysteries, have left the Ocean Court en masse and now 
  trade the lost secrets of the depths for mundane and 
  magical trinkets, occasionally preying on humanity.
  Sanctum: Zhuzhiao eschews a sanctum in favor of a 
  massive palace-manse submerged in the darkest depths 
  of the West, where he rules imperiously over his subjects 
  and those few who come to him seeking a favor or a 
  trade. He keeps the most valuable pieces of treasure 
  under his control there. He has apartments in Yu-Shan, 
  but he has avoided them since his demotion.
  Motivation: Maintain control of his domain and expand 
  his temporal power.
  Attributes: Strength 30, Dexterity 9, Stamina 18; 
  Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 0; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 5, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 5, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 5 (Swim +3), Awareness 6, Bu-
  reaucracy 5, Dodge 4, Integrity 5, Linguistics (Native: 
  Old Realm; Others: High Realm, Rivertongue, 
  Seatongue) 3, Lore 10, Martial Arts 7 (Bite +1, 
  Clinch +2), Occult 6, Presence 4, Resistance 5, 
  Socialize 4, Stealth 3 (Camouflage +2) 
  Backgrounds: Allies 2, Artifact N/A, Backing 4, 
  Cult 3, Followers 4, Influence 2, Manse 5, Resources 5
  Charms: 
  Affinity Water Control—Deep water
  Banish—Treasure seekers
  Calculated Order of Immediate Action—Shipwrecks
  Divine Decree—His servants
  Essence Plethora (x2)
  Geas—Intruders
  Hand of Destiny—Policing the deep
  Hurry Home
  Intrusion-Sensing Method—The black depths
  Malediction—Intruders into the deep
  Materialize—75 m
  Measure the Wind
  Melodious Diagnostic Report—The depths
  Ox-Body Technique (x7)
  Portal—To his manse
  Principle of Motion—Eight banked actions
  Sense Domain—The black depths
  Sheathing the Material Form—In combat against 
  underlings
  Signet of Authority—To those who bargain for access 
  to a shipwreck
  First (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts, Occult, 
  Stealth
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Stealth
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks: 
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 16, Damage 32L, Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 39, Damage 30B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Hooked Tentacle Rake: Speed 5, Accuracy 17, Damage 
  30L, Parry DV 9, Rate 3
  Soak: 21L/30B (Scaly, slippery skin, 12L/12B; 
  Hardness: 6L/6B)
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  69
  Health Levels: -0/-1(x13)/-2(x12)/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 10 Willpower: 8 
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 130
  Other Notes: Zhuzhiao’s N/A Artifact rating represents 
  his access to immense stores of artifacts hidden in his 
  manse or on the ocean floor. Assume he has access to 
  whatever the Storyteller believes Zhuzhiao may need. 
  Zhuzhiao has fewer Charms than is normal for a god of 
  his power, but this is because he relies on his massive 
  supply of ancient artifacts and his use of underlings as 
  shock troops. The Storyteller may give Zhuzhiao any 
  other Charms she sees fit in order to make him a challenge 
  for the players’ characters. Zhuzhiao may engage in mass 
  combat as a solo unit with an effective Magnitude of 7. 
  This trait reflects his enormous size and, thus, does not 
  increase his effective health levels. In regular combat, 
  he is so huge that he suffers a -3 external penalty when 
  attacking anything smaller than a warstrider.
  THE FORBIDDEN GODS
  The forbidden gods serve not the Celestial Order.
  Even the most criminal of the gods presented 
  elsewhere in this chapter profess loyalty to Heaven, 
  honest or not. The forbidden gods are different. 
  When the Incarnae rebelled, not all gods sided with 
  the Incarnae against the Primordials. The forbidden 
  gods who’d fought with the Primordials outright were 
  executed, but some traitors went undiscovered until 
  much later, when their retaliatory guerilla strikes from 
  within the spirit courts began to disrupt the Celestial 
  Order. Over the course of the First Age, the original 
  forbidden gods were hunted down and slain. Heaven 
  denies any survive.
  Since that time, Heaven has discovered many 
  other remnant gods without a place in the Celestial 
  Order, and many more have been turned irrevocably 
  away from the favor of Yu-Shan. Savants have since 
  appropriated the term forbidden god to mean any god 
  Heaven would rather not exist.
  LEECH GOD
  In the time before history, the Primordials created 
  many gods as experiments in the manipulation of form. 
  They created gods for reasons aesthetic as well as practi-
  cal. Because it pleased the Primordials to do so, they 
  created monsters, gods of parasitism and domination. 
  The leech gods are one such race.
  The leech gods hate light and all life they don’t 
  control. Anything not theirs that lives must be de-
  stroyed or bent to their will. Those they cannot break 
  they consume.
  In time, the Primordials grew tired of the leech gods 
  and their single-minded consumptive urges. As they did 
  to all their rejected children, the Primordials banished 
  the leech gods to the underways below the surface of 
  Creation. But the leech gods, unlike their less-malignant 
  banished siblings, prospered beneath the earth, surviving 
  in pools of stagnant water within the deep caves where 
  the gods were imprisoned, consuming less robust exiled 
  divinities and extorting worship from the dark broods of 
  mortal races who shared the leech gods’ fate.
  In the wake of the Contagion, humans of Rathess 
  desperate to escape the plague broke one of the many 
  barriers sealing the underways from the surface. In the 
  First City, the leech gods again tasted fresh air and saw 
  the hated sun. They took the mortals who had freed 
  the gods into their caves, and ate the weak. The strong, 
  the leech gods bred together. Their cult of underpeople 
  prospers below the squabbling packs of stalkers and 
  hobgoblins who war for control of the surface ruins. 
  The leech gods breed monstrous leeches the size of 
  dogs for their hunting hounds, and they spread their 
  territory beneath the earth against their many exiled 
  rivals. Once again, the leech gods grow strong.
  Leech gods appear to be giant white leeches 
  between eight and 10 feet in length, with two long, 
  thick tentacles near their mouths. Human worship has 
  changed the leech gods, and they now carry vestigial 
  human arms and faces.
  Sanctum: The leech gods have no sanctums of their 
  own. The Primordials cut these gods off from such 
  luxuries when these gods were locked away.
  Motivation: Fully express hatred and will to dominate 
  and consume.
  Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 4, Stamina 8; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 1; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 2 (Climbing +2), Awareness 4 
  (In Darkness +2), Craft (Earth) 3, Dodge 5, Inves-
  tigation 2, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: 
  High Holy Speech) 1, Lore 3, Martial Arts 5 (Biting 
  Clinch +3), Medicine 3, Occult 3, Presence 3 (Intimida-
  tion +3), Survival 3 (Tracking by Scent +2), War 3
  Backgrounds: Allies (Other Banished Gods) 4, 
  Cult 2, Followers (Underpeople and Leech 
  Hounds) 5, Resources 3
  Charms: 
  Affinity Water Control
  Bread of Weak Spirit
  
  70
  Dreamscape
  Essence Bite
  Instill Obedience
  Landscape Travel—Within stagnant pools and the 
  underways
  Materialize—Costs 60 motes
  Measure the Wind
  Meat of Broken Flesh
  Mind-Knife Sacrament
  Paper Tiger Arrangement
  Paralyze—Crippling and Sickness effect, -4 dice on 
  successful bite attack
  Possession
  Principle of Motion—Eight banked actions
  Sheathing the Material Form—While in water
  Stoke the Flame
  Subtle Whisper
  First (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Presence
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Dodge, Martial 
  Arts, Presence
  Join Battle: 8 (10 in darkness)
  Attacks:
  Biting Clinch: Speed 5, Accuracy 15, Damage 10L (P), 
  Parry DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 8B/4L 
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap 
  Dodge DV: 7 
  Willpower: 8
  Essence: 4 
  Essence Pool: 80
  Other Notes: Leech gods attack by grabbing with their 
  tentacles, wrapping their bodies around their prey, 
  and biting. This is treated as a “crush” action within a 
  clinch that does 10L piercing damage. Mundane armor 
  protects against this damage only until the total damage 
  the leech god has done with the bite attack exceeds 
  the armor’s lethal soak. After this point, the leech god’s 
  burrowing tongue ignores all mundane armor.
  SOUL THIEF
  Soul thieves are wood gods whose nature has 
  been corrupted by the shadowlands of the East, and 
  specifically those areas controlled by the Deathlord 
  Walker in Darkness. As all eyes turn to observe the 
  machinations of the Mask of Winters, few notice his 
  rival’s experiments with nature. None outside the 
  Walker in Darkness’s closest confidants know how 
  the Deathlord corrupted these spirits—whether he 
  broke their wills in Underworld dungeons or bribed 
  them with power, whether it was some alchemical 
  process or necromantic ritual. Those who know of 
  the Deathlord’s hand in the soul thieves’ creation 
  wonder if they are but one piece of a larger plan, and 
  if more powerful versions do not wander the East or 
  lurk within its shadowlands.
  Soul thieves follow bands of travelers in the wild, 
  waiting for one amongst their number to lose their 
  way or separate from the rest. The thieves then steal 
  the traveler’s breath while he sleeps—but soul thieves 
  are willing to use force to hurry the process along if 
  need dictates and gain the same sustenance from de-
  vouring their victim’s flesh. As the life of the traveler 
  leaves the body, the soul thief takes its seeming and 
  memories. The soul thief then disposes of the corpse, 
  taking the traveler’s place amongst his companions, 
  living his life until the soul thief is discovered. Unless 
  directed by a superior, the soul thief will content itself 
  with lethargically basking in the glow of the human’s 
  life, doing as little work as possible and living off the 
  work of others. 
  The soul thieves’ abilities make them excellent 
  assassins and spies, and Walker in Darkness uses the 
  soul thieves as such. Not all work for the Deathlord—
  many wander the East hopping from life to life, and 
  a handful of others act independently. Rumor has it 
  that the Grass Spider outcaste cult either makes use 
  of the soul thieves or has several of them amongst the 
  cult’s number (see The Manual of Exalted Power—The 
  Dragon-Blooded, pp. 68-69).
  Soul thieves appear as ebon-skinned children in 
  their natural form. Their flesh has a soft and rotten feel 
  to the touch, and they smell of the wet, slow death of 
  autumn. They loathe themselves for their own dimin-
  ishment and rarely take their natural forms because 
  of it, moving from stolen life to stolen life. They feel 
  a deep, unquenchable emptiness that only the con-
  sumption of the experience of human existence can 
  stave off. Scattering a loaf of leavened bread around 
  a soul thief while it sleeps will cause its stolen form 
  to appear wizened and old for a few minutes after it 
  awakes, but almost nothing short of sorcerous force 
  or Charms will compel a soul thief to take its natural 
  form of its own volition.
  Sanctum: Soul thieves eschew their sanctums in favor of 
  wandering Creation. When found, these empty sanctums 
  are sepulchral groves of trees forming a tiny pillared-
  temple, decorated with white wood and bones.
  Motivation: To taste the breath of the living, to eat of 
  their flesh and to live their lives.
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 4
  
  CHAPTER TWO • THE ROLL OF TERRESTRIAL DIVINITIES
  71
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, 
  Integrity 3, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Others: 
  Forest-Tongue, Riverspeak) 2, Lore 3, Larceny 3, Mar-
  tial Arts 3, Melee 3, Occult 2 (The Underworld +2), 
  Resistance 3, Socialize 2, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Backing 2, Resources 3, Sanctum 2
  Charms: 
  Affinity Wood Control
  Fruit of Living Essence—Only lost mortal travelers, by 
  way of stealing breath or eating flesh. Those reduced 
  to zero Willpower and motes are slain and their souls 
  consumed. Such unfortunates leave no ghosts.
  Materialize—Costs 40 motes
  Mirror of the Infinite Wardrobe—A traveler whose soul 
  the soul thief has consumed
  Paralyze—Travelers
  Subtle Whisper—Travelers
  First (Ability) Excellency—Larceny, Martial Arts, 
  Stealth
  Join Battle: 6
  Attacks: 
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 7B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 4B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 2L/4B (Modified by what armor they steal)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 50
  Other Notes: Soul thieves still in the employ of 
  Walker in Darkness possess Mentor ratings between 
  2 and 4. When it takes a human shape, the soul thief 
  gains a single “phantom die” in all the Abilities its 
  prey possessed that the soul thief does not. This 
  phantom die goes away when the soul thief sheds its 
  human form and does not count toward purchasing 
  the first dot in an Ability with experience points. 
  This trick is innate and cannot be learned by Eclipses, 
  Moonshadows or God-Bloods not descended from 
  soul thieves.
  
  72
  
  CHAPTER THREE • THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  73
  Air permeates. Earth abides. Fire burns. Water 
  flows. Wood lives. So do the elements rest.
  Air precedes water. Water precedes earth. Earth 
  precedes wood. Wood precedes fire. Fire precedes 
  Calibration. So do the seasons proceed.
  Wood refreshes air. Air fans fire. Fire renews earth. 
  Earth channels water. Water feeds wood. So do the 
  elements cultivate.
  Fire consumes wood. Wood covers earth. Earth 
  blocks air. Air freezes water. Water drowns fire. So do 
  the elements destroy.
  These are but three and one of the 25 harmonious 
  and five impeded elemental cycles of Creation.
  HISTORY
  Before he was the Yozi Malfeas, before the 
  Incarnae trapped his green metal sun within his 
  breast, when Gaia, Cytherea and Autochthon 
  still toiled to complete the Primordials’ bulwark 
  against the Wyld, the Primordial king proposed a 
  sixth element called Theion To, or vitriol. Passive 
  and consumptive, vitriol was to be a transcendent 
  acid. Gaia rejected Theion To. None now in Cre-
  ation remember Cytherea’s views. Autochthon 
  found vitriol intriguing, but upon Gaia’s urging set 
  the matter of a sixth element aside. So it was that 
  Creation possessed, and still possesses today, the 
  five elements savants know.
  In the gods’ experimentation on the nature of 
  Essence soon after their creation, they discovered the 
  world’s elemental cycles. With Gaia’s tutelage, and the 
  aid of the Elemental Dragons, the Incarnae learned the 
  secrets of creating life unlike themselves. With this 
  secret in their grasp, they began work on a race of five 
  great beings who would regulate the natural processes 
  of Creation’s elements.
  CHAPTER THREE
  CHAPTER THREE
  THE ELEMENTAL 
  THE ELEMENTAL 
  COURTS
  COURTS
  
  74
  They created Mindful Forest first. Mindful Forest was 
  a great tree, seven miles tall, and it moved like a man. 
  The aptitude of her students pleased Gaia. Mindful For-
  est was the first elemental, exemplifying wood, patterned 
  after Sextes Jylis’s nature, if not his form. The great tree 
  oversaw the world’s life. The gods went on to create the 
  Great Garda, the first elemental of fire. They created 
  Oceku, the first elemental of Water, and Urwl, the first 
  elemental of earth. Finally, the gods created the Wind 
  Master, the first elemental of air. The five great elementals 
  created, the gods convinced these titanic beings to swear 
  an unbreakable oath of loyalty, patterned after the oath 
  the Primordials had caused the gods to swear. Aeons 
  later, when the Incarnae accepted the surrender of the 
  Primordials, the Incarnae derived the oath of submission 
  from the oath of the five great elementals.
  For measureless time, the first five elementals per-
  formed the basest maintenance upon Creation while 
  the gods toiled at more specialized tasks or sought 
  after more esoteric pursuits. When the Primordial War 
  dawned, the world’s creators saw the danger of allowing 
  the elementals to survive. As the Primordials’ first act 
  of retaliation against the assault of the Exalted, the 
  Primordials shattered Mindful Forest, the Great Garda, 
  Oceku, Urwl and the Wind Master.
  The elemental chaos that followed defined many 
  of the battlefields of the Primordial War. Earthquake, 
  inferno, flood, hurricane and toxic fecundity swept Cre-
  ation and added to the sorrows of prehistory’s end.
  Though the five elementals had died, they were too 
  like gods to die forever. The storms of elemental energy, 
  which had retreated from Creation’s center but still raged 
  at the edges, burst forth with a million million tiny forms 
  of elemental life. Elementals were small at first, such as 
  need fires and wind sprites, scarcely more powerful than 
  least gods. Over time, though, more and more advanced 
  forms of elemental life came into being. The first of the 
  highest order of elementals were the garda birds, and the 
  last were the Wind Masters (see pp. 90-93), who were 
  also the first lesser elemental dragons.
  During this time, the Five Elemental Dragons drew 
  Creation’s gods together and instructed them in the 
  proper care of the world. Afterward, when the new 
  elementals began to appear, the gods were puzzled by 
  these lesser beings. The Five Elemental Dragons, re-
  turned to the world’s lines of force, had no advice on 
  how to incorporate the elementals into the Terrestrial 
  Bureaucracy. The elementals carried remnants of the 
  oath their predecessors swore—not enough to forbid 
  elementals from performing violence on gods but enough 
  to ensure that the new beings were instinctively inclined 
  to serve Creation’s divinities.
  The gods immediately drafted the elementals into the 
  Terrestrial courts. The elementals served in the lowest 
  positions, with little or no chance of promotion. Then 
  more elementals appeared, and the gods drafted those. 
  The gods soon realized the elementals weren’t going to 
  stop forming and settled on recruiting the new beings 
  only when the gods needed the elementals’ services. The 
  rest, for the most part, were happy to perform the same 
  task the original five elementals had performed—the 
  regulation of Creation’s base elemental Essence flows.
  As the elementals aged and grew in power, the 
  greatest of them formed into draconic shapes. Though 
  the five original elementals had carried no dragon 
  forms, the most powerful of the elementals patterned 
  themselves after the Five Elemental Dragons. The gods 
  of the Terrestrial court put the lesser elemental dragons 
  to work just as they did every other elemental… until 
  Sextes Jylis, during one of his rare occasions holding 
  court at the Pole of Wood, expressed reservation at the 
  disrespect the gods showed to himself and his siblings 
  by demanding service from that which took their forms. 
  Sextes Jylis decreed that the gods should treat the 
  lesser elemental dragons as the children of the Five, 
  the favored result of the long-ago experiments they’d 
  helped the Incarnae perform. The lesser elemental 
  dragons have been known as the children of the Five 
  Elemental Dragons ever since.
  The gods released the dragons from base service 
  and allowed these new beings to mature as they saw 
  fit. When, soon afterwards, the lesser elemental dragon 
  of earth called the Kukla (see pp. 102-103) blossomed 
  further and became a huge miles-long beast, the Five 
  Elemental Dragons were well pleased their forms were so 
  well represented in the emergent properties of elemental 
  Essence. Soon, other dragons mimicked the Kukla’s 
  metamorphosis. Though the Five Elemental Dragons 
  were overjoyed to see such tributes to their majesty, the 
  gods of Yu-Shan worried. These greater elemental dragons 
  possessed power untested and seemed mightier even than 
  many demons of the Third Circle. The Incarnae bound 
  the greater elemental dragons to remote places and duties 
  so as to prevent their free reign across Creation.
  Most elementals were so absorbed in their tasks at 
  the beginning of the Usurpation they barely noticed 
  when the fighting started. Initially unsure of how to 
  react, the elementals quickly close sides—unlike the 
  gods, who largely just observed. The thunderbirds 
  sided with the Solars at first, while the ifrit sided with 
  
  CHAPTER THREE • THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  75
  the Dragon-Blooded, and other elemental beings were 
  similarly divided in opinion. Eventually, however, 
  most elementals realized the Dragon-Blooded were the 
  winning team and fought alongside the Terrestrials in 
  hunting down the few Solar remnants. The elementals 
  hoped peace would return to the Essence flows of Cre-
  ation once the Usurpation was complete.
  It wasn’t to be. The Shogunate was fractious, with 
  daimyo vying against daimyo for territory and influence, 
  and the Terrestrial Exalted fielded armies of summoned 
  elementals and demons against each other’s provinces. 
  Very slowly, the Terrestrial Bureaucracy realized they’d 
  have to work around the Dragon-Blooded conflicts to 
  keep Creation functioning smoothly, and they’d just 
  begun to work out policies optimized for this when the 
  Contagion wiped out 90 percent of all life and then the 
  Fair Folk invaded.
  The Fair Folk Invasion damaged Creation badly. 
  The invasion upset the world’s dragon lines. The 
  feedback tore apart many elementals even in those 
  areas of Creation the Fair Folk didn’t dissolve into 
  the Wyld. Elemental Charms ceased functioning 
  properly, and elemental natures took on new aspects. 
  Amidst the chaos affecting the Terrestrial courts of 
  the time, many elementals found themselves without 
  divine guidance.
  Most of these gathered together to form courts of 
  their own, in imitation of what they’d always known. 
  Unlike the fractious courts of the gods in the time since 
  the Usurpation, the elemental courts have stagnated, 
  run by beings with little vision beyond their own lim-
  ited spheres. The elemental courts faced no rebellion 
  and no civil wars—they exist only because courts are 
  all their founders know. Such has it been since the 
  end of the Great Contagion, and such is it now in the 
  Time of Tumult.
  THE ESSENCE OF THE ELEMENTS
  Much of what Chapter One has to say about gods is 
  useful for understanding elementals. Where differences 
  aren’t called out here, one can assume elementals and 
  gods are similar.
  An elemental is a naturally material spirit—a be-
  ing of Essence and will. Creation’s dragon lines have 
  been saturated with an excess of elemental Essence 
  since the destruction of the five great elementals, and 
  wherever geomancy is imbalanced, the upset can form 
  a seed, which crystallizes as a solid spirit formed of 
  
  76
  elemental matter. A newly formed elemental’s instinct 
  is to correct whatever imbalance called the elemental 
  into being. If this imbalance is endemic, the elemental 
  will toil to lessen the effect. A temporary imbalance 
  leaves behind an elemental free to pursue whatever 
  agenda the being desires.
  Elemental motives are often simple, and amount 
  to promoting an element. Most elemental minds are 
  limited. Though usually capable of speech and the sort 
  of reasoning practiced by gods, mortals, Dragon Kings 
  and similar races, most elementals resemble animals in 
  desires and sophistication. In the same way that some 
  wolves are stronger than others, or of more or less vi-
  cious temperament, every elemental in Creation is an 
  individual, but few elementals have much individuality 
  as humans think of it. Minor variations in attitude and 
  aptitude aside, one sobeksis or llama-yu is much like 
  another. Only as elementals age and cultivate their Es-
  sence do they acquire unique desires, fears, ambitions 
  and roles within the Celestial Order.
  THE ELEMENTAL CONDITION
  Elementals aren’t immortal.
  When an elemental dies by violence, the elemen-
  tal’s Essence disperses into Creation’s dragon lines. The 
  elemental Essence does not reincarnate in the manner 
  of a god. Rather, the elemental Essence recoalesces as a 
  number of similar elementals in the vicinity. The death 
  of a storm dragon may herald the birth of a plethora of 
  minor air and lightning elementals over the next year, 
  but the dragon itself is gone.
  Age is another matter. Some elementals are ageless 
  and may persist indefinitely if not slain. Others live out 
  finite spans. Elementals can most easily acquire an age-
  less existence by experiencing the epiphany that brings 
  individuality—elementals with some concept of self are 
  often inured against the mortality brought by time.
  Similar to gods, many elementals reproduce 
  sexually. The jokun raise families in their subterranean 
  homes, while the people of the South know well the 
  seasonal spawning of the llama-yu. Elementals suffer 
  more limits on their sexual reproduction than gods, 
  however. Most elementals who breed cannot change 
  gender on a whim as most gods can, and elementals are 
  often limited to reproducing amongst their own races. 
  They have greater freedom spawning with animals or 
  man, producing God-Blooded descendents with the 
  same abandon as other spirits.
  Elementals draw their strength not from Heaven, 
  but from their own bodies and Essence and their con-
  nection to the Terrestrial sphere. For an elemental, 
  the process of increasing Essence is much like Essence 
  cultivation for an Exalt, save elementals “meditate” 
  during their labors and the process takes much longer. 
  Elementals may also learn as gods do, developing new 
  skills, shaping their bodies to a limited extent and 
  even pursuing sorcery and supernatural martial arts. 
  Finally, elementals may gain power granted by gods 
  through Blessing Charms (see pp. 144-148)—this is 
  how elementals gain Heavenly promotion.
  NATURE AND FORM
  Elementals have natures as gods do. Elementals 
  fulfill their purposes and play out their quirks and 
  bans. A command forcing an elemental to go against 
  its nature is an unacceptable order just as is such a 
  command to a god.
  Elementals also draw their nature from their ele-
  ment. An elemental’s form and being are tied to the 
  element of the elemental’s body. Air elementals hide 
  wrath beneath a veneer of order. Earth elementals are 
  strong and consistent. Fire elementals tend to be pas-
  sionate, beautiful and dangerous. Water elementals, 
  perpetually at war with the air, hide their consistency 
  beneath superficial chaos. Wood elementals are dynamic 
  as life and insidious as a tree’s questing roots, danger-
  ous and complex, and carry little respect for those who 
  value justice over strength. Attempts to force elementals 
  against their natures fail, and an elemental removed 
  too long from its native material will weaken and die. 
  Stronger elementals can usually survive months or years 
  away from their elements, while weaker elementals die 
  in days, with notable exceptions. Elemental dragons 
  find repose in their native element but sicken not in 
  its absence.
  PLACES OF REST
  Elementals don’t have sanctums as gods define 
  the term.
  Unlike gods, elementals have no innate ability 
  to carve space from Elsewhere. An elemental’s soul 
  expresses itself in the material, not in another state 
  of existence. Some elementals manage to find a rare 
  unclaimed sanctum that survives the death of its maker. 
  Others set up court in the neglected sanctum of a no-
  mad god with a lower Essence score. Elementals who 
  try to oust a god from its sanctum and claim the home 
  for themselves usually meet with failure, though, as 
  even fractious gods will often unite against elemental 
  hostility. Should an elemental succeed in claiming a 
  god’s sanctum, the elemental gains none of the benefits 
  gods enjoy. To an elemental, a god’s sanctum is just an 
  immaterial bolthole. 
  
  CHAPTER THREE • THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  77
  Many an elemental has taken to calling its mate-
  rial home a sanctum, even when that home is just a 
  hollow log or underwater grotto. Amongst gods, such 
  nomenclature is just more evidence elementals are 
  ignorant rustics.
  ELEMENTALS AND OTHERS
  With regards to mortal worship, elementals have 
  much in common with gods. What Chapter One says 
  about the Hundred Gods Heresy applies equally to 
  elementals. In areas where humanity understands the 
  difference between the two orders of being, mortals 
  often see gods as the instruments of fate, infallible and 
  invulnerable to human influence. Such mortals also tend 
  to see elementals as less perfect and more influenced by 
  prayer and veneration. Mortal communities are more 
  likely to try gaining the favor of an elemental or an 
  elemental court than they are a Terrestrial court.
  The Immaculate Order teaches that elementals 
  are functionaries of the Celestial Order. Unlike gods, 
  who must remain unseen, elementals are tasked with 
  acting to maintain Creation’s natural rhythms. Where 
  the Immaculate Order is strong, elementals are more 
  commonly seen than gods are, for obedient gods must 
  keep themselves hidden, whereas obedient elementals 
  must remain in the material world to perform their du-
  ties. But for all this means elementals are free to move 
  about, the Immaculate calendar favors the gods much. 
  The Sidereals who shaped the Immaculate Order’s 
  doctrines feel much the same way about elementals as 
  the gods do—the elementals did not award rulership 
  of Creation to the Exalted and did not agree to receive 
  limited veneration in return.
  ELEMENTALS AND GODS
  The gods look down on the elementals. Elementals 
  were created to serve the gods by easing the latter’s 
  labor in maintaining Creation. Elementals perform this 
  duty still, and so, in the eyes of the gods, elementals 
  are servants. The divine stereotype of elementals is as 
  unsophisticated rustics, and gods often show contempt 
  for elementals of much higher Essence than their own. 
  Many Terrestrial courts fill their lowest positions with 
  elementals, because those elementals are either useful 
  or convenient. 
  Elementals suffer a number of inherent weaknesses in 
  fighting the gods that make asserting independence from 
  the Terrestrial Bureaucracy difficult. First, elementals are 
  not immortal. Even a fight between an evenly matched 
  god and elemental quickly becomes disadvantageous for 
  the elemental if the god can always return.
  Second, gods are naturally immaterial. When 
  they’re material, shifting to immaterial costs no motes. 
  Elementals are naturally material, and an immaterial el-
  emental may become immaterial at the cost of no motes. 
  During war time, each side has the tactical advantage on 
  the home turf of the other—it’s easy for an immaterial 
  elemental to escape to the material world if a fight goes 
  badly for the elemental, and the god an elemental flees 
  from has a difficult time following (especially if the god 
  expended motes during the fight).
  Unfortunately for the elementals, this means that 
  during times of war between Terrestrial and elemental 
  courts, gods are often material so as to have an escape 
  from any elementals who might attack them. Elementals 
  are often immaterial. The material gods have an easy 
  time maintaining their mortal cults. From a mortal 
  perspective, gods almost always appear to be winning 
  in any conflict between the two, even if neither side 
  has the advantage. The one consolation prize for the 
  elementals is that material gods have a hard time de-
  fending their immaterial sanctums.
  Third, elementals are subject to the Mandate of 
  Subordination (see p. 169).
  Although the gods treat elementals as inferiors in 
  most cases, the Celestial Order is supposed to come 
  to the defense of elementals abused by sorcerers. This 
  isn’t out of respect for elemental dignity, but the gods’ 
  own pride. Elementals are functionaries of the Celestial 
  Order. A sorcerer who abuses a summoned elemental 
  is abusing, however symbolically, a representative of 
  Heaven. Gods who wouldn’t think twice about violat-
  ing an elemental’s dignity may object when they see a 
  summoner do the same.
  Unfortunately (again) for elementals, in the Age 
  of Sorrows the gap between “is supposed to” and “does” 
  is wide. Still, there’s always the chance of catching a 
  grumpy Celestial censor’s eye, so most abusive sum-
  moners stick to demons.
  DEMONS
  In demons, the elementals observe something 
  unique—a race of beings even more downtrodden 
  than the elementals are. With their low position 
  in the Celestial Order, many elementals take much 
  enjoyment from the knowledge that the demons have 
  it worse. When a sorcerer summons both demons and 
  elementals and uses them together to accomplish some 
  task, the elementals often treat the demons badly and 
  exult in the knowledge that the sorcerer can abuse 
  summoned demons freely but must treat elementals 
  with a modicum of fairness.
  
  78
  THE FAIR FOLK
  As many elemental courts exist closer to the 
  edges of Creation, they deal with the Fair Folk often. 
  Elementals offer little the Fair Folk want (and vice 
  versa—elementals have little need for the demesnes 
  that both Fair Folk and gods desire), and as badly as 
  the elementals were hit in the Contagion’s aftermath, 
  they never suffered as the gods did. Elementals and 
  Fair Folk courts have become quite skilled at quietly 
  ignoring each others’ existence.
  Ignorant mortals often confuse the Fair Folk with 
  elementals, conflating the Fair Folk’s tendency to 
  take on elementally aspected bodies with the vague 
  awareness that elementals are a separate order of 
  beings from gods. The Fair Folk are amused by this. 
  Elementals seldom care.
  SUMMONING
  When a summoner begins her spell, a messenger 
  of Essence departs through Creation’s dragon lines, 
  finding its way through the principles of sympathy 
  and contagion to the one elemental in all the world 
  best fitting the criteria set forth by the sorcerer. The 
  messenger bears a scroll, which in Old Realm reads, 
  “You are summoned to attend upon the will of the 
  Chosen.” The rest of the scroll bears a message of the 
  summoner’s choosing.
  A wise elemental sets its affairs in order, for two 
  hours into the summoning ritual—two hours after 
  the elemental receives the message—a shroud falls 
  over the elemental’s fate. The elemental departs 
  Creation’s common strata of existence and enters 
  Gaia’s geomancy, traveling for two hours through 
  white foam. The elemental sees only the sun, the 
  moon and the stars.
  At the ritual’s culmination, the air before the 
  summoner shatters, and the elemental appears. At 
  first, its will remains its own. For the next hour, the 
  elemental and the sorcerer may converse freely. At 
  any point during that hour, the summoner may begin 
  the process of binding the elemental. She has two 
  ways to do this, or she may forgo it and seek a more 
  equitable arrangement.
  Should the sorcerer bind the elemental to a task 
  for a year and a day, the summoned being may spend 
  Willpower and channel Virtues to resist the binding. 
  Furthermore, the elemental remains loyal only to the 
  sorcerer’s orders and not to the sorcerer herself—the 
  sorcerer had best not bind powerful elementals to a 
  task she is uncertain needs accomplishment, as they 
  will not stop if she asks them.
  The summoner may also bind the elemental to 
  her own will. Abscissic binding is dealt with in more 
  detail below.
  Finally, the sorcerer may choose not to bind the 
  elemental’s will at all. If she avoids binding the el-
  emental, it remains by her side but serves according to 
  its own judgment. The elemental’s only restriction is 
  that, at some point during the next year, the elemental 
  must declare its service ended.
  When an elemental’s term of service ends, the 
  elemental departs once more through Creation’s 
  dragon lines and returns to where the elemental stood 
  when the sorcerer summoned it. Should it wish not 
  to depart, it may elect to stay (this requires a suc-
  cessful Willpower roll by the elemental’s player). 
  Whether the elemental departs or remains, the magic 
  compelling the elemental’s loyalty disperses at the 
  end of its service.
  Elementals bound to tasks they’d perform even 
  without compulsion sometimes elect to stay and 
  complete their duties. Elementals bound to sorcerers 
  whose company they enjoy sometimes remain in the 
  sorcerer’s service.
  LOYALTY VS. NATURE
  When a summoner breaks an elemental’s will, 
  the elemental becomes loyal to the sorcerer. This 
  loyalty is artificially imposed, but genuine from the 
  perspective of the elemental for the duration of 
  the binding. Even elementals well schooled in the 
  nature of elemental binding, aware of the artificial 
  nature of the impulse, still feel it and follow it as if 
  it were genuine.
  A bound elemental cannot consciously act against 
  the sorcerer’s orders as defined by the binding. The 
  spell prevents the elemental from reading that order 
  in a deliberately hostile, counterproductive or passive-
  aggressive way. A task-bound elemental feels genuine 
  desire to fulfill its duty, though it carries no loyalty 
  to the sorcerer’s subsequent desires. Abscissic bind-
  ing (see pp. 79-84) is more total, and the elemental 
  remains loyal to the sorcerer’s desires for the duration 
  of a full month, barring some Limit Breaks.
  Unfortunately the spell does nothing to ensure the 
  sorcerer’s orders are well considered. Although tales 
  of elementals twisting orders against their masters are 
  exaggerated, tales of ill-thought orders bringing more 
  woe than benefit are genuine.
  The binding cannot overcome the elemental’s 
  nature. Orders rendered unacceptable by spiritual 
  nature remain unacceptable. When loyalty and el-
  
  CHAPTER THREE • THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  79
  emental nature come into conflict, loyalty wins out, 
  but nature flavors its manifestations. It is in the nature 
  of wood spiders to be contrary—a bound wood spider, 
  who feels genuine (albeit magically imposed) care for 
  the sorcerer’s well-being and approval, will continue 
  to behave in a contrary fashion, but as trivially and 
  harmlessly as the wood spider can manage.
  Storytellers need to arbitrate conflicts between 
  loyalty and nature fairly, just as they arbitrate the 
  letter versus the spirit of a command. Elemental sum-
  moning needs to be genuinely useful. Next to demon 
  summoning, elemental summoning is the most useful 
  form of sorcery. Summoned elementals should perform 
  the tasks granted them, and whatever complications 
  arise from conflicts between an elemental’s nature 
  and an elemental’s orders should serve to make the 
  game engaging rather than difficult.
  ABSCISSIC BINDING
  When a summoner binds an elemental’s will to 
  her own, she breaks it. Just as all breakable things, 
  the wills of summoned entities fracture along pre-
  existing points of weakness. During the First Age, to 
  aid in the summoning of demons, a protégé of Silur 
  developed The Abscissic Guide, a book discussing 
  the demon psyche and containing a collection of 
  nine major and 34 minor illustrated plates charting 
  the fracture points of the demonic mind. As the 
  sorcerer breaks the summoned being’s will, she can 
  use the methods set out in The Abscissic Guide to 
  ensure the will breaks as she desires. The summoners 
  of Creation quickly applied The Abscissic Guide to 
  the task of binding elementals, and found only one 
  of the major plates, the Horror, incompatible with 
  the elemental mindset. The rest, sorcerers adapted 
  to elemental binding. Each plate describes a weak-
  ness in an elemental’s Virtues and nature, and how 
  a summoner might, through the exploitation of that 
  weakness, leash the elemental to her will.
  Though it seemed at the time the book had in-
  troduced a new form of controlling magic overlaid 
  atop basic summoning, sorcerers soon realized the 
  book merely codified a phenomenon they’d been 
  observing all along. Before The Abscissic Guide, sum-
  moners called up demons and elementals conforming 
  to these archetypes; the sorcerers simply weren’t as 
  expert at selecting which profile to use or recognizing 
  which profile a summoned being fell into, and were 
  much less knowledgeable about how to bring bound 
  spirits back under control when those spirits became 
  erratic. The same is true of those summoners in Cre-
  ation today without access to The Abscissic Guide. 
  
  80
  All elementals bound to the will of the summoner 
  conform to one of these archetypes.
  Availability and Cost: The nine major and one of 
  the minor plates are common, available together as a 
  single Resources ••• purchase in the Realm and the 
  major cities of the Threshold. Twenty of the minor 
  plates are rare and available only to collectors—
  assuming a character can find someone willing to sell 
  such a treasure, each usually costs Resources •••• 
  plus whatever favor the character must perform to 
  persuade the seller to spread the knowledge. Thirteen 
  of the minor plates are thought lost and would be 
  Resources ••••• purchases were they reintroduced 
  to the world. In the Realm, however, sorcerers who 
  wish to acquire summoning licenses on the Blessed 
  Isle must pass tests demonstrating working knowledge 
  of The Abscissic Guide. For much the same reason 
  that, in the Heptagram, every student spends two 
  years learning how to banish and control demons 
  before learning how to actually summon them, all the 
  libraries of the Blessed Isle with books restricted to 
  Dynasts carry a copy of the book, and anyone eligible 
  to read such books may do so. Those responsible for 
  the Realm’s maintenance today assume that all sorcer-
  ers will eventually dabble in summoning and ensure 
  wide distribution of the tome so that, at the very 
  least, the summoners will have some idea of how the 
  forces they’re manipulating work. Storytellers should 
  assume any character with enough dots of Occult to 
  qualify for the Terrestrial Circle Sorcery Charm is 
  familiar with this material, unless unfamiliarity with 
  the subject is a plot point.
  Mechanics: An elemental bound to a sorcerer’s 
  will gains a Limit track and conditions by which it 
  gains and loses Limit. Each major plate aligns itself 
  with a Virtue—to summon an elemental using one 
  of the Abscissic plates, the elemental must by default 
  have that plate’s Virtue at 3 or less. (Every elemental 
  in Creation is an individual, even if most elementals 
  of the same race are alike. Even if a race of elementals 
  usually possesses a Virtue at greater than 3, somewhere 
  in Creation hides an exception.) Minor plates, much 
  more specific and narrow in their purpose, align them-
  selves with other traits.
  When circumstances place the elemental in condi-
  tions in which its Limit gain condition applies, roll the 
  relevant Virtue or other trait; the elemental gains one 
  point of Limit per success. Players of sorcerers seeking 
  to reduce an elemental’s Limit describe methods by 
  which their characters do so. Each stunt die garnered 
  by the description reduces Limit by one, to a maximum 
  of one such stunt per scene of interaction with the 
  elemental. Throughout the following descriptions, 
  low Limit refers to a Limit of 0 to 3, while high Limit
  refers to a Limit of 7 to 9.
  Each plate also has two Limit Breaks. The sor-
  cerer chooses which plate to use, but has no power 
  over which of the two the elemental manifests when 
  it reaches Limit 10. An elemental experiencing 
  Limit Break regains Willpower as if the elemental 
  were a Solar Exalt. After an elemental’s Limit Break 
  concludes, the elemental’s Limit drops immediately 
  back to zero; however, many Limit Breaks last for a 
  number of months equal to the trait associated with 
  the template. For elementals, this means the Limit 
  Break lasts until the end of the binding, as a sorcerer 
  cannot bind an elemental using the Abscissic method 
  for a period of longer than a month.
  Sorcerers familiar with The Abscissic Guide know 
  how to phrase their arguments such that the elemen-
  tal’s weaknesses snare it from the beginning of the 
  battle of wills. Elementals never spend Willpower or 
  channel Virtues to resist such a summoner’s binding 
  attempt. Sorcerers who try to bind an elemental’s will 
  without The Abscissic Guide’s guidance benefit from 
  no such effect.
  THE COURTESAN (TEMPERANCE)
  The elemental Courtesan values self-indulgence 
  but desires duty. The Courtesan will engage in self-
  degradation to achieve its aim and desires control 
  over its circumstances. It gains Limit when presented 
  with new evidence that it’s helpless or unneeded. The 
  sorcerer can reduce the Courtesan’s Limit by involving 
  the elemental in decision-making processes, presenting 
  it with gifts, offering it apparently sincere flattery or 
  otherwise proving it valuable.
  At low Limit, the Courtesan lives to please its 
  master and retains confidence all its orders are justified. 
  As the Courtesan’s Limit increases, the elemental’s 
  confidence erodes, and it begins gathering intelligence 
  on its master’s plans that it might advance them itself 
  and prove indispensable. At high Limit, the elemental 
  often moves boldly to advance its master’s agenda in 
  ways she may not fully appreciate.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Fury of the Scorned: The Courtesan wishes its 
  master to experience helplessness and dependency. 
  The elemental will strive to cause her suffering for 
  (its Temperance) days, though this suffering will 
  
  CHAPTER THREE • THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  81
  not actively endanger the sorcerer. Alternately, the 
  elemental may decide on one minor inconvenience to 
  inflict in secret for the duration of its servitude, such 
  as impotence with all partners save the Courtesan.
  Lash of Self-Hatred: The Courtesan abandons 
  all pretensions of empowerment and accepts that it 
  exists only to fulfill its master’s idle whims. It grows 
  listless and purposeless, acting only on orders, and 
  can no longer engage in creative activities or spend 
  Willpower unless its actions are also self-destructive, 
  in which case it throws itself into them with nihilistic 
  relish. The elemental cannot rouse out of this state 
  until its period of servitude is finished.
  THE ECSTATIC (COMPASSION)
  The elemental Ecstatic longs for the love it feels 
  not. The summoner opens its heart to Creation, and 
  it serves her to pursue emotion. The elemental gains 
  Limit when it observes others fulfilling or attempting 
  to fulfill great passions—common, when traveling 
  with the Exalted (but no more than once per scene). 
  The sorcerer can reduce the elemental’s Limit by 
  forcing the elemental to spend time in isolation from 
  the world.
  At low Limit, the Ecstatic serves the sorcerer emp-
  tily, not yet filled by the emotions it’s been promised. 
  As its Limit increases, the elemental strives to find the 
  object of its future devotion, and Creation responds 
  to the elemental’s burgeoning emotions with minor 
  elemental displays. Water near it may boil, or flowers 
  bloom out of season. Fires flare. At high Limit, these 
  elemental displays grow in magnitude, occasionally 
  damaging the surroundings—more so the higher the 
  elemental’s Essence trait.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Love: The elemental finds the love it’s been prom-
  ised. For (its Compassion) days, the elemental devotes 
  itself totally in its own alien way to the object of its 
  affection. The elemental’s behavior is limited only in 
  that it may not harm the sorcerer bodily, whether out 
  of love for her or to protect its love from her.
  Shattered Heart: Venus and Saturn deny the 
  elemental the love they promised it. Dejected, the 
  elemental suffers +1 difficulty on all rolls made for it 
  and -1 to its Defense Values until its servitude ends.
  THE FUNCTIONARY (COMPASSION)
  Out of a lack of care for the rest of Creation, the 
  elemental Functionary obsesses totally over a single 
  task, established by the sorcerer at the moment of 
  binding. The elemental gains Limit when duties or 
  circumstances interfere with its obsession (but no 
  more than once per scene). The sorcerer can reduce 
  the elemental’s Limit by giving the elemental time to 
  mix relaxation and the pursuit of its obsession—more 
  or less a week suffices.
  At low Limit, the Functionary’s existence is de-
  fined only by its purpose. Even as it performs other 
  duties, the focus of the elemental‘s obsession prevents 
  its mind from wandering away from the sorcerer’s 
  commands. As its Limit increases, the elemental’s 
  inability to fulfill its function distracts it from the 
  world, and it may suffer +1 difficulty to rolls unas-
  sociated with its obsession or survival. At high Limit, 
  difficulties increase by +2, and the elemental may 
  plead incoherently with the sorcerer to be allowed 
  to focus on its function.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Absolute Obsession: The Functionary’s obses-
  sion consumes it totally. For (its Compassion) days, 
  it suffers +4 difficulty on all rolls not associated with 
  its function, regains no Willpower or motes, cannot 
  communicate intelligibly and suffers one health level of 
  lethal damage per day from self-neglect. If the sorcerer 
  wishes the elemental to still abstain from its function, 
  she must remind the elemental hourly.
  Compassionate Gift: The Functionary’s obsession 
  shifts, and it conceives of a grand gift or service to 
  provide to its master, which none can dissuade it from 
  pursuing. The construction or pursuit of the Compas-
  sionate Gift pushes all its other tasks to the side, and 
  though the elemental means no harm, the gift when 
  finally delivered is difficult to get rid of or undo and 
  as much a curse as a blessing. The elemental pursues 
  this task until its binding concludes and presents the 
  gift before departure.
  THE HUNTER (CONVICTION)
  An elemental summoned as a Hunter can func-
  tion as literal hunter, a builder, a research assistant 
  or in any position where the elemental must pursue 
  an endless series of similar but unconnected tasks. 
  The restless elemental Hunter longs for purpose. The 
  summoner offers fulfillment, and the Hunter uses it 
  as focus, and yet, this focus is ever-shifting, a series of 
  individual goals with no overarching purpose between 
  them. The elemental gains Limit when the elemental 
  suffers enforced idleness (no more than once per day). 
  The sorcerer can reduce its Limit by providing the 
  elemental exciting tasks and ensuring these pursuits 
  are successful. 
  
  82
  At low Limit, the Hunter’s focus satisfies it. As 
  the Hunter’s Limit increases, the elemental begins to 
  embark upon small, self-directed hunts during moments 
  of free time—if the sorcerer reduces its free time, it 
  merely takes this as a challenge. At high Limit, these 
  self-directed actions may become actively counterpro-
  ductive to the sorcerer’s agenda.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Fair Play: For the remaining duration of its servi-
  tude, the Hunter applies itself only to truly challenging 
  tasks. It encourage the sorcerer to assign it projects 
  to the limits of its ability; if she does not comply, the 
  elemental begins to handicap itself during lesser tasks 
  to make the challenge more interesting.
  Madness of Shadows: For (its Conviction) days, 
  the Hunter confuses targets or tasks, embarking on 
  projects essentially at random (though the Storyteller 
  should chose tasks that make play interesting). The 
  elemental still cannot harm the sorcerer directly, but 
  it may betray her inadvertently.
  THE KILLER (VALOR)
  The sorcerers of the First Age adapted the Killer 
  imperfectly to the summoning of elementals. It seizes 
  not upon a weakness in an elemental’s Virtues, but 
  a strength. The sorcerer may apply this plate only 
  to elementals with a Valor of 3 or more. Its name 
  is also something of a misnomer. The elemental 
  Killer lusts for dark, selfish experience—murder, sex 
  without attachment (sometimes without consent), 
  gluttony—and to fully express its elemental nature 
  upon Creation. The sorcerer does not impose a desire 
  upon the elemental she summons, but the spell does 
  summon an elemental with a desire she wishes to 
  see. The elemental’s Limit increases when denied its 
  chosen indulgence (no more than once per scene). 
  The sorcerer can reduce its Limit by feeding the 
  elemental what it desires.
  At low Limit, the Killer is sated and on its best be-
  havior, seeing the sorcerer as the path to opportunities 
  for satisfaction. As its Limit increases, the elemental 
  becomes sullen and brooding, it expresses petty revenge 
  through minor acts of vandalism and elemental rage, 
  and it follows orders carelessly. However, the elemental 
  does not yet wish to see its master seriously harmed. 
  At high Limit, the elemental begins to pursue its 
  pleasures to the detriment of its assignments.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Sorcerer as Target: The sorcerer’s bindings fray 
  to the point of snapping. For (its Valor) actions, the 
  elemental Killer makes the sorcerer the target of its 
  indulgence, attacking her to kill or subdue.
  Unstoppable Indulgence: For (its Valor) days, 
  the Killer processes orders only to find what pleasure 
  it may take from them. The Killer cannot understand 
  any order it would not enjoy, and even the orders it 
  does carry out, the elemental performs as a side-effect 
  of indulging itself
  THE SLAVE (TEMPERANCE)
  The elemental Slave is a mechanism in service 
  to its master. The Slave can think, solve problems, 
  reason and comprehend all it could before its 
  binding, but it lacks self-awareness. It gains Limit 
  whenever the elemental’s Virtues force the Slave 
  to feel—whenever its behavior is compelled by suc-
  cess on a Virtue roll. The sorcerer has no means to 
  reduce its Limit.
  At low Limit, the Slave’s psyche is a pure, clean 
  void. The Slave cannot spend Willpower. As the 
  Slave’s Limit increases, the elemental grows troubled 
  by premonitions of a future break in its oblivion, 
  and it develops a sense of time. At high Limit, the 
  elemental gain rudimentary and suppressed emo-
  tions and can spend Willpower in pursuit of the 
  sorcerer’s commands.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Flare of Rebellion: The Slave gains a new self, 
  defined by a burning hatred for the sorcerer who has 
  bound it, though the force of its binding allows it to 
  conceal this motivation. Some time during the remain-
  ing period of its binding, the Slave can spend up to (its 
  Temperance) actions attacking the sorcerer directly, 
  or it can work to undermine her interest for as many 
  minutes. Once the Slave has carried out its revenge, 
  the sorcery submerges its identity again.
  New Self: The bindings snap. The sorcerer must 
  immediately engage the elemental in a new contest 
  of wills (regardless of distance). If the sorcerer de-
  clines, the elemental wins by default and departs. 
  Even if the sorcerer triumphs, the elemental acquires 
  a new Abscissic profile (of the Storyteller’s choice, 
  not the sorcerer’s) for the remaining duration of the 
  elemental’s binding. The sorcerer gains no knowledge 
  of which profile the former Slave now follows.
  THE SUFFERER (RESISTANCE)
  The Sufferer is the sole minor plate still in com-
  mon circulation amongst Creation’s occult circles. 
  An elemental Sufferer knows it’s naught but a tool 
  for Creation’s maintenance. The Sufferer has no pride 
  
  CHAPTER THREE • THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  83
  to sustain it and no purpose except what its betters 
  provide it. A sorcerer may only apply this template 
  to an elemental with Resistance 3 or more. The 
  elemental gains Limit whenever the Sufferer knows 
  surcease from suffering or learns to cope with the 
  pain the elemental feels. The sorcerer can reduce its 
  Limit by torturing the elemental into incoherence, 
  though she must invent new methods to circumvent 
  its ability to cope.
  At low Limit, the Sufferer’s self-hatred ensures 
  total servitude, but if not kept at a -2 health penalty, 
  it gains Limit daily. As its Limit increases, it suffers 
  not enough, and begins to self-mortify. It must be 
  kept at a -1 health penalty or gain Limit daily. At 
  high Limit, the elemental turns its suffering outward, 
  and while the sorcerer need not keep it wounded to 
  ensure loyalty, the Sufferer begins to share its pain 
  with those around it.
  The Celestial Order and elemental courts frown on 
  sorcerers using the Sufferer plate to bind elementals.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Suicidal Frenzy: The Sufferer attempts to kill 
  itself for (its Resistance) minutes, seeking a method 
  with maximum collateral damage. If standing orders 
  keep the elemental from this task, the Sufferer delays 
  until an opportunity presents itself.
  Transcendence of Pain: Through pain, the 
  Sufferer finds new purpose. The elemental gains an 
  instinctive understanding of the sorcerer’s fate and 
  discards its old Motivation, acquiring a new Motiva-
  tion directly related to the sorcerer destiny. Usually 
  this is malignant, but some elementals, glad of their 
  new transcendent understanding of Creation, adopt 
  benevolent Motivations. The elemental remains 
  bound but no longer gains Limit, and once its binding 
  snaps, it retains its new Motivation. Even should the 
  elemental die, this new transcendent comprehension 
  will shape the way its Essence reforms, and the new 
  elementals created from its reincarnation will return 
  to affect (or plague) the sorcerer’s life.
  THE VIZIER (CONVICTION)
  The elemental Vizier, aware of its own failings 
  in upholding its duty to Creation, seeks to ensure its 
  master fails not in those same tasks. It takes upon 
  itself the mantle of advisor to the Prince of the Earth, 
  showing her the path of righteousness, and denies 
  itself indulgence so as to set a proper example. Using 
  this plate, sorcerers can summon only elementals 
  with Intelligence 2 or greater, in addition to the 
  necessary Conviction of 3 or less. The Vizier gains 
  Limit whenever its words are ignored or whenever 
  it spends five days in circumstances that prevent it 
  offering advice. The sorcerer can reduce its Limit 
  by following its advice without question. Unfortu-
  nately, owing to their focus on the substance of one 
  element, all elemental Viziers offer incomplete and 
  biased suggestions.
  At low Limit, the Vizier contents itself with 
  the knowledge its advice is well taken. As its Limit 
  increases, the Vizier grows more aware of its masters’ 
  failings, and begins to study them. It may manufacture 
  circumstances whereby the sorcerer’s own actions 
  bring her into conflict with Heaven, to emphasize 
  the importance of relying on the elemental’s advice. 
  At high Limit, the Vizier grows convinced that any 
  agenda of the summoner’s not in concordance with 
  the harmonious will of the Celestial Order must be 
  working against that order.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Body Hunger: For (its Conviction) hours, enraged 
  that it has denied itself indulgence to no purpose, 
  the Vizier sates itself according to all the wishes it 
  put aside in the name of setting an example for the 
  summoner. Preventing the elemental from sating its 
  desires extends this time.
  Cruel Measures: The Vizier attempts to bring all 
  of the summoner’s crimes and misdemeanors to the 
  attention of Heaven, that she may be audited by a 
  Celestial censor and brought to task for her insufficient 
  devotion to Creation’s welfare. Even if the sorcerer’s 
  crimes are forgiven or otherwise go unpunished, the 
  Vizier is unsatisfied, and serves unreliably for its re-
  maining term.
  THE WARDEN (VALOR)
  The Warden, too, adapted imperfectly to el-
  emental summoning. The sorcerer may apply this 
  plate only to an elemental of Valor 3 or more. The 
  Warden is possessive. Through the binding, the sor-
  cerer convinces the elemental that she belongs to it, 
  and it serves her to best protect her, as it would any 
  of its possessions. The Warden gains Limit whenever 
  the sorcerer or anything she assigns it to protect is 
  threatened (but no more than once per threat). The 
  sorcerer can reduce the elemental’s Limit by provid-
  ing the elemental days of apparent safety, but more 
  importantly, killing a legitimate threat to its charge 
  reduces its Limit to zero, provided it’s not in the 
  midst of Limit Break.
  At low Limit, the Warden feels secure and obeys 
  its commands without protest, as its possession’s 
  
  84
  interests are its own. As its Limit increases, the el-
  emental grows aware that Creation is full of danger. 
  The Warden monitors its charge carefully, though it 
  still retains discretion. At high Limit, the Warden 
  abandons discretion; unless specific orders leash the 
  elemental, it spends its time chasing away all things 
  it sees as potential threats.
  LIMIT BREAK
  Stone-Hearted Gargoyle Warden: For (its Valor) 
  days, the Warden grows convinced its charge cannot 
  protect herself. It stops up its ears to prevent hearing 
  contrary orders, kidnaps her and imprisons her while 
  keeping all other individuals at bay.
  Terrible Guardian Vengeance: The Warden 
  ceases to understand discretion at all. Until it has killed 
  (its Valor) apparent enemies, the elemental attacks 
  anyone who shows even the slightest disrespect or 
  threat to its charge, even friends and lovers.
  ADDITIONAL PLATES
  Rare and lost plates other than the Sufferer exist. 
  Players and Storytellers can work together to create 
  new profiles if the above are insufficient. By default, 
  minor profiles are based on Abilities and require 
  their base trait at 3 or more, though some may base 
  themselves on Attributes, Willpower, Essence or 
  even Backgrounds.
  TASK BINDING
  An elemental bound to a task gains that task 
  as a new Motivation in addition to the elemental’s 
  existing Motivation. Though provided through 
  magic, this new Motivation is in all ways real and 
  confers all the same benefits as a real Motivation. If 
  the new Motivation and the old Motivation conflict, 
  the elemental’s player may spend a Willpower point 
  for the elemental to ignore the imposed Motivation 
  for a day—otherwise, the elemental’s desire to fulfill 
  the task to which it’s bound takes precedent. The 
  elemental’s player may not spend a Willpower point 
  to ignore the imposed Motivation unless the previous 
  Motivation forces a conflict.
  If the sorcerer has a task in mind when she be-
  gins the summoning, the spell will call an elemental 
  with a Motivation compatible to the task, unless she 
  deliberately works the magic otherwise (for example, 
  specifically binding an elemental she knows by name 
  to aid her in a task she knows it opposes).
  
  CHAPTER THREE • THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  85
  CSELENINE ETHICS
  During the First Age, in response to the Celes-
  tial Incarnae’s repeated refusal to judge the spell 
  Summon Elemental a violation of Celestial law, the 
  lesser elemental dragon of Fire Cselenine developed 
  a system for more equitable relationships between 
  elementals and the Exalted. She based her Cselenine’s 
  Book of Thoughts on the axiom that the vows ensur-
  ing elemental loyalty to the gods and their Chosen 
  remain valid, but breaking an elemental’s will is an 
  abhorrent crime. Realizing few Exalted would agree to 
  this premise without some incentive, she proposed a 
  system whereby elemental courts would bargain with 
  powerful Exalted for terms of loyal service in exchange 
  for modest payment—bargains favoring the Exalted 
  first and foremost.
  An elemental court with a Cselenite pact typically 
  pledges loyalty to a specific Celestial Exalt or family of 
  Dragon-Blooded. The Exalted pay the leaders of the 
  court several talents of jade per year (approximately 
  Resources •••• all told) as well as whatever favors 
  for which the court negotiated, and in return, the 
  summoner gains the loyalty of all beings within the 
  court she may wish to summon, loyalty backed not by 
  magic but by the enforcement of the elemental court’s 
  leaders. Often, Cselenite pacts present circumstances 
  in which the elemental should stay in service beyond 
  its allotted time. Summoners who call upon Cselenite 
  pacts aren’t supposed to break the wills of the elemen-
  tals they summon—it’s up to the lord of the elemental 
  court to punish elementals that declare their service 
  finished early. 
  Though Cselenine pacts are typically slanted in 
  favor of the Exalted first, the leaders of an elemental 
  court second, and the rank-and-file amongst the 
  elemental court last, all participants do benefit. 
  Under a Cselenite bargain, a mistreated elemental 
  may appeal to its supervisors and report mistreat-
  ment—something it cannot do if summoned by a 
  lone sorcerer.
  WHAT’S ALL THIS, THEN?
  The Limit Break system presents a method 
  by which Storytellers may chart the behavior 
  of bound elementals who become recurring 
  characters, providing plot hooks and potential 
  complications while keeping the spell useful and 
  worthwhile to cast. This also provides a system by 
  which players can have their characters engage 
  with this process through means other than fiat, 
  in much the same way that the social combat 
  system provides a way to run social conflict 
  without fiat.
  This system isn’t meant to discourage sum-
  moning by making the players of summoners feel 
  horribly guilty about their characters violating the 
  minds of summoned elementals by imposing arti-
  ficial enslavement personalities. As emphasized 
  earlier, Abscissic binding isn’t additional mind 
  control bundled with the summoning spell—it’s 
  the ways elemental minds naturally fracture, 
  codified. Few characters in Creation see Abscis-
  sic binding as inherently less ethical or intrusive 
  than task binding, and while the Abscissic plates 
  may appear from our perspective as artificially 
  imposed personalities, within Creation they just 
  seem like a set of categories an elemental’s bro-
  ken will might fall within. Two elementals with 
  the Courtesan template may be as different from 
  each other as two Solars with the Heart of Tears 
  Limit Break. One may be a concubine; another 
  a dedicated majordomo.
  TAXI!
  The most common favor demanded by 
  the lords of the elemental courts, second to 
  payment in jade, exploits a quirk in the spell 
  Summon Elemental. When a sorcerer performs 
  this service for an elemental, the elemental 
  first journeys to some place in which the el-
  emental believes itself safe, and waits while 
  by prearranged schedule the sorcerer summons 
  it. When the elemental arrives, the sorcerer 
  releases it without breaking its will, then 
  gives the elemental no orders and allows it to 
  do whatever it wants. By the laws of Heaven, 
  over the course of the following month, the 
  elemental is in service to the sorcerer—but that 
  simply means at any time during that month, 
  the elemental may “declare its term of service 
  finished” and journey back to where it stood 
  when the summoning began. Sorcerers who 
  perform it for their elemental allies sometimes 
  become targets for those elementals’ enemies, 
  which is actually an advantage to the sorcerers 
  during Cselenite pact bargaining sessions.
  
  86
  THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  Following the chaos of the Contagion, when 
  the Terrestrial Bureaucracy was in disarray, the el-
  ementals of Creation formed themselves into courts 
  in imitation of the courts of the gods. Having no 
  experience in the leadership of spirit courts, and 
  never having received the instruction of the Five 
  Elemental Dragons, the elementals imitated what 
  behavior of the gods they’d seen. The gods seldom 
  explained themselves to their lowest servants, and 
  from this, the elementals learned that leaders need 
  not explain their motives to subjects. The gods were 
  often contemptuous and cruel to the elementals, 
  and from this, the elementals learned that leaders 
  should be contemptuous and cruel. As compara-
  tively simple beings, the elementals saw courts full 
  of discussion amongst the divine administrators, and 
  from this, the elementals learned courts should be 
  full of discussion.
  The elementals assumed if they performed in their 
  courts as they’d seen the gods do, then efficiency, 
  purpose, fulfillment and satisfaction would follow 
  naturally.
  Savants who understand the history and behavior 
  of the elemental courts gain keen insight into why the 
  gods often dismiss elementals as ignorant, primitive 
  and backward. The elementals of the courts most often 
  concern themselves with internal matters and debate 
  over minutiae, often taking those debates to extremes 
  that seem ludicrous to outsiders. When confronted with 
  this, the elementals assert that none but elementals can 
  understand the details of the debates, and then go back 
  to arguing what the wind speed should have been for 
  the seven minutes following the brief rainstorm three 
  months ago.
  Though the Terrestrial courts and the elemental 
  courts often govern the same territories, the gods of 
  the Terrestrial courts ignore the elemental courts 
  whenever possible. Aside from manipulation of the 
  weather, most elemental courts accomplish very 
  little, and take haughty and belligerent attitudes 
  when criticized or challenged. Through experience, 
  the gods have found they have much better luck 
  dealing with the elementals who turn their backs 
  on the elemental courts.
  THE PRINCIPALITY OF THE SHORE
  The Silk and Pearl Peninsula is the furthest west 
  and least populous land of the Blessed Isle, and the 
  Principality of the Shore makes a home on its coast.
  On the Blessed Isle, the war between water and 
  air is limited. The Empress had no desire to see the 
  vendetta of the Wind Masters carried out upon her 
  shores, and by her order, air elementals who attack 
  water elementals while either party is material suf-
  fer greatly at the fists of the Immaculate monks. On 
  the Blessed Isle, elementals of water and air spend 
  even more time material than elementals normally 
  do. The few mortal inhabitants of the Silk and Pearl 
  Peninsula are well acquainted with the ways of the 
  elementals, for the subjects of the Principality are a 
  common sight.
  The Principality is an elemental court of water, but 
  not exclusively so. Five three-clawed sages rule it. They 
  appear as man-sized crabs, dripping with brine. Often 
  they wear raiments of gold and fine silk. Three-clawed 
  sages were once common throughout Creation, powerful 
  water elementals who lead many water courts, but the 
  activities of the Wind Masters’ soldiers have brought 
  low the three-clawed sages’ numbers. The five three-
  clawed sages of the Principality of the Shore believe 
  themselves the last in Creation. They are not, however, 
  given to sentimentality.
  Centuries ago, one of the Principality’s leaders 
  approached Tepet Isai about a Cselenite pact with 
  his House. Isai was surprised at the great crab’s ap-
  pearance, because the lord of an elemental court 
  lord approaching a summoner in search of a pact is 
  unusual and because the sage appeared to Isai as he 
  woke from a night of debauchery, its great brine-
  dripping carapace (wrapped in a gold and silk skirt) 
  looming over him as he opened his eyes. After a 
  brief incident, the sage found a moment to catch its 
  breath and explain its motives, and Isai contacted 
  the House elders. Tepet had few sorcerers even in 
  those days, and the sages believed the House would 
  call upon it pact little. They were correct. Not only 
  were House Tepet’s sorcerers few, but the elementals 
  of the Principality of the Shore are of little use to 
  summoners. But since the Tepet legions were wiped 
  out, the few remaining sorcerers of the House call 
  upon the pact more and more often, in an effort to 
  extract full value from the pact’s price in jade.
  Though the pact doesn’t obligate House Tepet to 
  come to the Principality’s defense against attack, the 
  three-clawed sages have always implied the House would 
  do exactly that during their rare talks with the represen-
  tatives of the wind bears, and when the elementals of 
  water and air collude to tend the peninsula’s weather. 
  Now that the Empress is gone, Black Grinning Bear 
  
  CHAPTER THREE • THE ELEMENTAL COURTS
  87
  SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
  Due to space constraints, this book does not include traits for many of the elemental types native 
  to the Principality of the Shore. Storytellers are invited to create traits for these elementals using 
  the following information and the information presented in the Appendix. All of these elementals 
  possess the Dematerialize Charm, and many possess common Charms such as Principle of Motion 
  and Excellencies.
  Black tar vortices are earth elementals that resemble yard-wide pools of tar spread out upon the 
  beach. They absorb the heat of the day until nightfall when they erupt into sandpit fires (below). Vortices 
  are grumpy and uncomfortable beings, who use Stoke the Flame to provoke those around them into rash 
  action. When black tar vortices speak, they use Mirror of the Infinite Wardrobe to cause oily humanoid 
  figures to rise from their surface, and with the Paralyze Charm and the strikes of their pseudopodia they 
  cripple anyone who treads upon them. Most have Essence 3, Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 
  1 and Valor 2.
  Golden fire keepers are Fire elementals who resemble one-sided sheets of flame. They rest upon the 
  surface of the ocean managing the Unconquered Sun’s reflection, confuse sailors with the Subtle Whis-
  per and Harrow the Mind Charms, multiply in combat using Host of Spirits or blast their foes with their 
  Dragon’s Suspire. Golden fire keepers cannot be harmed while in direct sunlight and speak telepathically 
  to anyone they wish ill. They also possess Curse Charms. Most have Essence 2, Compassion 1, Convic-
  tion 4, Temperance 2 and Valor 2.
  Sandpipers are small, birdlike earth elementals, their brown feathers laced with gold. They use Af-
  finity Earth Control to shape the shore to their liking and may moreover create up to five pounds of sand 
  per minute at no mote cost. They possess Charms relating to perception, stealth and quick travel, and 
  the most compassionate possess Touch of Grace. Most have Essence 2, Compassion 3, Conviction 4, 
  Temperance 2 and Valor 3.
  Sandpit fires are fire elementals, the nighttime forms of the black tar vortices. Through the night, 
  sandpit fires melt a hole in the sand until morning comes, the walls of their pits collapse, sand drowns 
  their flames and they bubble to the surface as tar. Unlike the black tar vortices, sandpit fires cannot 
  move, though they can reshape themselves. They can use Dreamspeak to interact with anyone sleep-
  ing nearby, Harrow the Mind and Stoke the Flame to cause confusion amongst traveling parties or 
  just ignite things with their Affinity Fire Control. Most have Essence 3, Compassion 2, Conviction 3, 
  Temperance 2 and Valor 3.
  The five three-clawed sages who rule the Principality of the Shore possess many, many Charms, in-
  cluding an All-Encompassing Dreamscape Charm and many Charms relating to manipulation of others’ 
  minds and memories. Three-clawed sages have Essence 6, Compassion 3, Conviction 5, Temperance 3 
  and Valor 5. Notably, they also possess Intelligence and Perception each at 6.
  Urchin kings are the honor guard of the Principality. Water elementals, their spines secret 
  poisons, antidotes and aphrodisiacs, and they crave women for their harems, but they lack genitalia 
  or a way to use those harems as anything but status symbols amongst other urchin kings. They can 
  hurl their spines at enemies, and urchin kings possess Charms related to combat as well as weather-
  manipulation, plus Affinity Water Control. Most have Essence 3, Compassion 3, Conviction 3, 
  Temperance 2 and Valor 3.
  (see p. 91) is eager to test the Principality’s honesty 
  and mettle, as well as White Venerable Bear’s control 
  over the Blessed Isle.
  Four of the three-clawed sages tend the Cselenite 
  pact. The fifth has an older pact with the Scarlet Empress 
  herself, now known only to the Principality and the 
  Empress (wherever she is). The border between shore 
  and sea is fragile along the Peninsula’s coast, and the 
  Wyld ever waits for the two to slip apart, that it may 
  take hold of the gap between. The fifth three-clawed 
  sage spends her life holding the sea against the shore 
  of the Blessed Isle.
  
  88
  USING THE PRINCIPALITY OF THE SHORE
  What the court doesn’t realize is it is the best hope 
  for peace between air and water. Many water elementals 
  remember the days of three-clawed sages fondly, for 
  then the wind bears had not yet begun their pogroms. 
  Were the water crabs to speak, no matter what they 
  said, other water courts would listen. The air elementals 
  of the Blessed Isle might listen as well, for the edict of 
  material peace has ensured a least a modicum of interac-
  tion between the two elements over the past 700 years. 
  The three-clawed sages may believe their interactions 
  with the air elementals few and strained, but those 
  negotiations are common and relaxed compared to 
  similar meetings elsewhere.
  Chief Storms-As-He-Walks, the legendary and re-
  spected thunderbird (see pp. 99-100) is Black Grinning 
  Bear’s chief lieutenant. Chief Storms-As-He-Walks 
  enjoys close ties with House Tepet, and his time away 
  from the other thunderbirds has dulled his hatred of the 
  elementals of water. Were he to come out in defense 
  of the Principality, many thunderbirds would join him. 
  Whether this would presage peace between the elements 
  or merely enough of a split amongst Black Grinning 
  Bear’s troops to render the dragon vulnerable to water 
  elemental attack is up to the Storyteller.
  A group of Solars investigating the origins of the 
  feud between water and air would eventually come to 
  unearth these facts. Of course, they’d have to brave the 
  Blessed Isle to take advantage of the opportunity….
  Should air elementals kill the fifth three-clawed 
  sage, or should she abandon her duty for other pursuits, 
  disaster would strike the Realm. A Wyld zone would 
  form along the shore, first thin but ever expanding in 
  both length and width. The Empress knew she could 
  repair such a rift with the Realm Defense Grid, but she’s 
  hardly in a position to do so at the moment.
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  89
  
  90
  ELEMENTALS OF AIR
  Air elementals conceal an inner raging chaos be-
  neath a veneer of cold order. The first elementals to 
  form after the destruction of the five progenitors, the 
  air elementals were also the last to count powerful be-
  ings amongst their number. But the Wind Masters, the 
  last of the highest order of first-generation elementals, 
  were also the first lesser elemental dragons, and today, 
  these ursine dragons ensure the elementals of air are 
  the most unified, most organized and most militant of 
  all elemental beings.
  The Council of Winds, the elemental court of the 
  Wind Masters, claims authority over every air elemental 
  in Creation. Though they’re not the only dragons to 
  claim authority over all elementals of their sort, no 
  other dragons can count on as many elementals to 
  agree and submit. The Council of Winds is also the 
  elemental court with the strongest remaining ties to 
  Yu-Shan—though the great bears retain independence 
  from the Bureau of Seasons’ full control, they never-
  theless works eagerly with the Celestial storm serpent 
  Nasri and Shogun-Regent Ghataru. The Wind Masters 
  need the support of Heaven, for only this cooperation 
  provides for them the leniency they require to pursue 
  their endless military crusades against the elementals 
  of water. For the past 1,000 years, the elementals of 
  air have waged pogrom after pogrom against the water 
  elementals, decimating the ranks of the latter and 
  ensuring that the air elementals have control over the 
  courts of the North and the West.
  WIND MASTERS
  LESSER ELEMENTAL DRAGONS OF AIR
  Every season, on a cloud high above the Omphalos, 
  five great bears come together and speak in voices of 
  CHAPTER FOUR
  CHAPTER FOUR
  THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL 
  THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL 
  BEINGS
  BEINGS
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  91
  thunder. In a moment of ire, each could rear up as a 
  bear-headed dragon; but the five keep tight rein on 
  their emotions as they propose, debate and finally plan 
  the five winds’ patterns across Creation. An observer of 
  that orderly discussion might be surprised to know that 
  the Wind Masters are the bitterest of rivals. When they 
  encounter each other outside their seasonal council, 
  they lunge at each other and wrestle in a jumble of 
  scaled coils and azure lightning. Terrible tornadoes and 
  hurricanes attend those fateful meetings, killing mortals 
  caught in their fields and wrecking nearby cities.
  Each Wind Master would love to seize the power 
  of another, but they’re evenly matched politically and 
  physically, and pride prevents each from allying with 
  others. An uneasy feeling of brotherhood prevails, with 
  all the Wind Masters spending some time keeping their 
  enemies in the water courts from becoming a problem. The 
  Frog Queen (see pp. 123-124) is a particular annoyance. 
  She constantly snipes at the Wind Masters in the Court 
  of Seasons and seeks to rally water leaders against them. 
  But the Court of Seasons knows that disturbing the five 
  winds would have catastrophic effects on seasonal changes 
  and hierarchies, and Creation’s water courts are far too 
  disorganized to work effectively against anyone.
  Though the five Wind Masters are older than him 
  by millennia, they follow the directives of Nasri, the 
  Daimyo of Rainstorms, Daimyo of the Season of Air and 
  General of the Aerial Legion in Yu-Shan’s Bureau of 
  Seasons. The Great Bears are served by huraka (see Ex-
  alted, pp. 303-305), translucent bears fierce as any storm. 
  White Venerable Bear, wisest of the Wind Masters, has 
  devised a system: each new huraka, as it falls softly from 
  its birthplace above Diamond Hearth, is assigned to the 
  Wind Master who currently commands the fewest. The 
  five have agreed to this allocation, for it ensures than no 
  wind dragon keeps a larger army than any other.
  Blue Skulking Bear, Master of the North Wind, 
  is a cold and silent dragon whose scales are rimed with 
  frost. He deals with the Northern water courts only 
  when he absolutely must—but when he does, his rage 
  splinters icebergs, blasts tsunami across the water and 
  freezes every Northern watercourse so numbingly that 
  even inoffensive algae dies. The North’s terrified water 
  elementals have long since agreed to follow his com-
  mands; when one goes against his will, it’s almost always 
  by mistake. Blue Skulking Bear resides alone in an icy 
  fortress, accepting no visitors whatsoever. His servants 
  guard him in shifts; the rest of the time, they meander 
  slowly through the frozen wastes, watching for rogue 
  water activity and pondering the beauty of untamed 
  snow. The Master of the North Wind’s Motivation is 
  nothing less than the freezing of the world, but he un-
  derstands that his time has not yet come. No one knows 
  that of him, but if the Deathlords discover it, they might 
  consider sending an emissary to the elemental.
  On the other hand, the Master of the East Wind, 
  Green Frowning Bear, loves to talk and is very 
  approachable—at least, for anyone who can find his 
  hunting lodge in the Far East. There is even something 
  of an accord between him and the Eastern water courts. 
  As long as the water elementals don’t do anything too 
  egregious, such as calling large, unscheduled storms—
  and as long as they keep the rivers near his house 
  plentifully stocked with jewel-scaled salmon—Green 
  Frowning Bear will overlook small transgressions. The 
  Eastern Bear’s Motivation boils down to vanity: above 
  all things, he desires compliments and adulation, and 
  to be surrounded by wonderful things. His huraka hunt 
  for beautiful, unique trophies when they aren’t in the 
  lodge praising him and telling astonishing stories.
  The cruelest and most arrogant of the Great Bears is 
  Black Grinning Bear, Master of the West Wind. Since 
  his island dominion is obviously surrounded by water, 
  he’s hardest on the Wind Masters’ common enemies. He 
  handsomely rewards his huraka, as well as thunderbirds 
  and other visitors, for every dead water elemental or tro-
  phy they bring him; currently, he seeks to complete his 
  30th full set of vodonik teeth. In political circles, Black 
  Grinning Bear is barely civil to water delegates. If they 
  approach in any mood other than craven submission, 
  he’ll respond to their negotiations with vicious threats. 
  He’s the one who deals with the Frog Queen, and though 
  he’s never explicitly demanded her head, the thunder-
  birds whisper that killing her would bring a great reward. 
  Black Grinning Bear’s Motivation is to crush Creation’s 
  water elementals so thoroughly that they will never 
  challenge him again. Though he doesn’t think much of 
  mortals, he’ll accept their fealty, and anyone who comes 
  to him with suggestions for how to deal with the water 
  courts gains his instant attention. It’s easy to find Black 
  Grinning Bear’s island. He instructs his huraka to walk 
  atop the water whenever possible, as a visible show of 
  strength; any of those lesser bears can give directions to 
  his home. However, though he does grant great favors 
  to those who perform his will, the Western Bear doesn’t 
  quite understand the limitations of mortals and has been 
  known to demand impossible things of petitioners.
  Red Stalking Bear, Master of the South Wind, deals 
  least with water elementals, since he makes his home in 
  the howling desert. Perhaps because of this, he’s actually 
  
  92
  polite when he does encounter them and treats the con-
  cerns of Southern water courts with evenhanded fairness. 
  Of course, there’s no possible way their influence could 
  grow very much, so he loses nothing from his kindness. 
  He also greatly dislikes politics: outside their seasonal 
  summits, Red Stalking Bear never speaks of his siblings, 
  and water elementals must track him down to negotiate, 
  since he never attends any court. Huraka who serve the 
  Southern Bear have fewer duties than their brethren, 
  and their master encourages them to follow their own 
  passions. He speaks freely of his Motivation—to find 
  a cause he loves enough to fight for—but though he’s 
  unfailingly attentive to mortal petitioners and offers 
  advice and medicinal aid for free, it seems unlikely that 
  Red Stalking Bear’s cause will be a human one.
  The fifth Great Bear, White Venerable Bear, Master 
  of the Omphalos, holds the cloud-riding Tower Aneme 
  and hosts the Wind Masters’ seasonal meetings there. 
  The overall planning of the winds’ cycles has always been 
  his responsibility. His huraka make specific changes to 
  the Wind Masters’ program and direct particular cur-
  rents, such as those bearing the cloud people’s cities (see 
  pp. 93-94). He visits the Court of Seasons meticulously 
  once a year, and there he listens silently to any com-
  plaints about the five winds—even those levied by water 
  elementals—though he almost never acts on them. A 
  rail visible only to air elementals leads to the Center 
  Bear’s sparkling Tower Aneme. Anyone who touches 
  that rail will be transported to the Tower, but then must 
  justify his visit to White Venerable Bear, who has little 
  patience for random questions or powerless petitioners. 
  He will listen carefully to visitors’ complaints about 
  the winds, of course, but as with his Court visits, he’ll 
  likely ignore them. White Venerable Bear’s Motiva-
  tion, following an insight he had after the Usurpation, 
  is to persuade his brothers to set aside their differences. 
  Sadly, he suspects that the bitterness is too old, that 
  it’s become part of the nature of the winds—and thus 
  intrinsic to the Wind Masters themselves.
  Summoning: The Wind Masters are powerful enough 
  that, if summoned, each has the right to send a ser-
  vant elemental in his stead. Black Grinning Bear and 
  Red Frowning Bear have Cselenite pacts: Red lends his 
  huraka to a society of sorcerers within the native Dragon-
  Blooded of Chiaroscuro, while Black traded a promise for 
  favorable sea-winds to the Realm’s House Peleps.
  Motivations in Common: In addition to their individual 
  Motivations, each Wind Master has an Intimacy to the 
  orderly maintenance of the winds’ cycles and being the 
  most powerful wind spirit in Creation.
  Attributes: Strength 10 (Blue 11), Dexterity 6, 
  Stamina 10 (Green 12); Charisma 4 (Black 6, Red 6), 
  Manipulation 4, Appearance 5; Perception 5, Intel-
  ligence 6 (Black 4, Green 4), Wits 5 
  Virtues: (Black Grinning Bear) Compassion 2, Con-
  viction 3, Temperance 2, Valor 5
  (Blue Skulking Bear) Compassion 1, Conviction 4, 
  Temperance 5, Valor 3
  (Green Frowning Bear) Compassion 3, Conviction 4, 
  Temperance 2, Valor 3
  (Red Stalking Bear) Compassion 4, Conviction 3, 
  Temperance 3, Valor 3
  (White Venerable Bear) Compassion 2, Conviction 5, 
  Temperance 3, Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 5, Awareness 8 (Sound +4), Bu-
  reaucracy 3 (Red 1, White 5), Dodge 5, Linguistics 5, 
  Lore 4 (White 6), Martial Arts 6, Medicine 0 (Red 4), 
  Occult 3, Performance 4, Presence 6, Resistance 5 
  (Blue 7), Socialize 4 (Blue 1), Survival 8, War 4 
  (Huraka +2) (Black 5 [Huraka +2, Thunderbirds +1])
  Backgrounds: Contacts 5, Followers 4, Influence 4, 
  Manse 0 (White 5), Resources 5
  Charms: 
  All:
  Dematerialize—Costs (Blue) 80 motes, (Black, White) 
  75 motes, (Red) 70 motes, (Green) 65 motes
  Divine Decree—Control the sky
  Domain Manipulation Scenario—Moves the winds
  Essence Bite —
   
  (Black) Crackling lightning 6LHL bypasses armor
   
  (Blue) Numbing cold 5 LHL bypasses armor
   
  (Green) Deadly withering 3AHL bypasses armor
   
  (Red) Blistering heat 5LHL bypasses armor
   
  (White) Smashing winds 16 dice, bashing
  Essence Plethora (x1)
  Host of Spirits—Create useful messengers and heralds
  Material Tribulation Divestment—All-Encompassing
  Measure the Wind
  Principle of Motion—(Blue) 9 (Black, White) 8 (Green, 
  Red) 7 stored actions
  Signet of Authority—Visible to all air spirits and el-
  ementals
  Symbol of Invincible Authority—Immune to weather of 
  all kinds
  Weather Control —
   
  (Black) Electrical storms
   
  (Blue) Cold weather
   
  (Green) Pleasant weather
   
  (Red) Warm weather
   
  (White) Normal, seasonal weather
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  93
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Martial Arts, 
  Presence, Survival
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Martial Arts, Survival
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Awareness (Anything that 
  touches the winds), Martial Arts (Rolling Storm Kata)
  Black Grinning Bear
  Bane Weapon—Anything wet
  Blue Skulking Bear
  Reserve of Will (x1)
  Fruit of Living Essence—Steal heat and life
  Green Frowning Bear
  Come When Called—Quickly summoned by beautiful 
  creatures
  Red Stalking Bear
  Hand of Destiny—All-Encompassing
  Touch of Grace—Heals any fire and smoke-related 
  problems
  White Venerable Bear
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Bureaucracy (wind-
  related)
  Join Battle: 12
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 13, Damage 19L (Blue 20L), 
  Parry DV 5, Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 14, Damage 15L (Blue 16L), 
  Parry DV 7, Rate 4
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 16 (Blue 17), Damage 10B 
  (Blue 11B) (P), Parry DV –, Rate 1 
  Gale Blast: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage 20L (Green 
  24L), Range 30, Rate 1
  Tail Slap: Speed 5, Accuracy 15, Damage 25B (Blue 
  26B), Parry DV 8, Rate 3
  Soak: 13L/26B (Green 14L/28B) (Dragon hide, 8L/16B; 
  Hardness: 8L/8B)
  Health Levels:
  (Blue) -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  (Black, White) -0/-1-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/
  Incap
  (Green, Red) -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 9
  Willpower: Blue 9 (10); Black, White 8; Green, Red 7
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: Blue 125; Black, White 
  120; Green, Red 115
  Other Notes: The Wind Masters can move through 
  the air as easily as across the earth, which is triple the 
  normal movement speed.
  Wind Masters absorb air elemental damage per Blessed 
  Air Body (see pp. 163-164).
  The Wind Masters’ Dragon’s Suspire is an unblockable 
  blast of intense lightning, wind, hail and all manner 
  of terrible weather that targets everything generally in 
  front of the dragon. It is an air elemental attack.
  White Venerable Bear’s manse is the Tower Aneme, 
  a rating-4 Air manse that produces a stone of airwalk-
  ing (see The Books of Sorcery, Vol. III—Oadenol’s 
  Codex, p. 88) whose cloud-stepping power is useless 
  to the Center Bear. He can throw his voice from any 
  location inside to any other and can eavesdrop on any 
  conversations held there as well.
  CLOUD PERSON
  Atop the highest clouds, invisible to Creation, 
  stand delicate shining towers. Slender, pale beings 
  with multihued eyes drift vaguely through those aerial 
  cities. They thin and flatten their forms to bathe in 
  the moody sunset, grow wings with which to glide from 
  spire to spire and turn their opalescent gaze to the sky 
  at nightfall. To mortals, these remote-eyed elementals 
  seem beautiful and ineffable.
  Even Sidereals are flattered to receive invitations to 
  astrological symposia in the clouds, for the cloud people 
  possess an astonishing understanding of the stars. Long 
  ago, these elementals cast a horoscope that foresaw the 
  coming of the Void. Disturbed, they recast it and saw the 
  same results. They held many conferences on the subject, 
  some of which were attended by the Maidens’ Chosen. 
  Those Sidereals, themselves worried, returned to their 
  own observatories and determined that the apocalyptic 
  forecast might be true. When young star-Chosen hear of 
  this, they go to their elders seeking reassurance: surely, 
  they say, the cloud people cannot be correct; their limited 
  worldview must have led them astray. Don’t their star-
  charts contain certain flaws? Most elder Sidereals refuse to 
  speak on the matter, changing the subject if it’s brought 
  up, and turning away when faced with persistence.
  Cloud people are flighty and self-centered. Their 
  time goes to hollow affairs, idle dreaming and ridiculous 
  debates: “Are you your body?” is a popular question, 
  as is the enigmatic “How high?” Though their society 
  publicly disdains the world below, cloud people are 
  curious about everything. Rare is the one who never 
  weakens and drifts down to explore, if only for a day. 
  Most return home unimpressed, having come by noth-
  ing to occupy them; but a few find a melodramatic 
  battle, exquisite artwork or a passionate relationship to 
  entertain them. Even then, though, they almost always 
  return home within a week. Anyone heartbroken by a 
  cloud person’s departure will be casually invited to visit, 
  then abandoned without a second thought.
  Tourists are rare in the cloud cities, and appreciated 
  for their novelty. Attractive visitors, or those who or 
  
  94
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 2, Dodge 2, Investi-
  gation 2, Linguistics 4, Lore 3, Occult 3 (Astrology +5), 
  Performance 3, Presence 3, Socialize 3, Stealth 2
  Backgrounds: Allies 1
  Charms:
  Affinity Air Control—Three barrels of wind guard and 
  attack
  Benefaction—+1 die to Mental rolls
  Dematerialize—Costs 45 motes
  Hurry Home—Return to home cloud
  Sense Domain—Measure the winds below
  Shapechange—Become anything wispy, insubstantial 
  and flowing
  Spice of Custodial Delectation—Occult planning and 
  philosophizing
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Occult
  Join Battle: 5
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 1B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 3, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 1, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 3, Damage 1B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Affinity Air Control: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, 
  Damage 3L, Range 10, Rate 1
  Soak: 2L/3B (6L/7B vs. Air)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 60
  Other Notes: Cloud people can become many kinds 
  of flying creatures. They always move through the air 
  as easily as they could across land, or more so, and can 
  achieve flight speeds that double their normal move-
  ment speed.
  DOLDRUM
  Always surrounded by utter calm, doldrums come 
  in many shapes and sizes. An individual may be formed 
  like a human, a panther, a hummingbird—but all are 
  only gleaming outlines, filled with apparently empty 
  space. The transparent elementals are also empty of 
  mind and heart, and travel Creation trailed by silence. 
  Winds cannot move within 100 feet of doldrums, and 
  are slowed and softened for 100 yards beyond that. 
  Occasionally, the Wind Master White Venerable Bear 
  (see p. 92) sends huraka to ask the doldrums to avoid 
  a certain area; his orders are phrased as polite but firm 
  requests, and the doldrums always obey them.
  Doldrums live mainly near the ocean, but can been 
  found all over. These creatures can speak to all others—
  bring lovely gifts, will gain favors. Cloud people can 
  ritually invest solid things with cloud substance, mak-
  ing them light enough to float; this requires a feather 
  from a cloud person with wings. After a week, however, 
  the ritual causes invested objects to dissolve into air. 
  Moreover, those with souls can’t be so enchanted. A 
  chosen mortal may only visit her inhuman lover dur-
  ing Calibration, when the cloud cities become solid 
  enough to support weight. This restriction applies to 
  Essence-wielders, but sorcerers can learn a Terrestrial 
  spell that renders the target’s substance light enough to 
  travel the upper sphere for a week. Sidereals construct 
  cloud-houses, -libraries and -observatories of worldly 
  materials and buttress them with similar sorceries.
  The pastel cloud spires don’t quite float at random. 
  They’re directed by huraka (see Exalted, p. 303), 
  who do their best to make the patterns whimsically 
  unpredictable, but keep careful records of the cities’ 
  passage. The Wind Masters (see pp. 90-93) have 
  long-standing pacts with the cloud people: White 
  Venerable Bear makes the cities’ course impossible for 
  others to follow; in exchange, he always knows where 
  the cities are. Huraka diplomats visit the cloud cities 
  every season to renew those pacts, and only once in 
  history has the bargain been broken.
  Cloud people are brilliant and learned, but usu-
  ally lack the patience for rigorous argument. Most are 
  unwitting sophists. Their universities focus on rhetoric, 
  and teach only their own texts and philosophies. A 
  cloud person who traveled Creation at length might 
  return home with insights for her fellow cloud people, 
  perhaps even in regards to the stars. For—despite the 
  cloud people’s astrological brilliance—there are indeed 
  tiny flaws in these elementals’ most advanced methods, 
  deriving from their lack of worldly knowledge. These 
  flaws would make no difference at all to nearly anyone 
  else, but for the cloud people, discovery of such flaws 
  would be a shocking revelation.
  Summoning: Cloud people make fair concubines, but 
  better spies. They travel swiftly upon the winds, and since 
  they can look just like clouds, they need not dematerialize 
  to subtly overlook an open area. In the end, however, 
  they’re best as astrological advisors. Summoners most 
  often bind them as Courtesans or Hunters.
  Motivation: Avoid thinking of the coming doom by 
  losing itself in self-indulgence.
  Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 1; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 5, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 1, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 2
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  95
  from humans to animals to every spirit in Creation—in 
  their own languages. The less merciful ones use 
  this gift to confuse and manipulate every person 
  they talk to, questioning her every ideal and 
  encouraging her to lose hope. If they blow on 
  someone, she’ll become like them—a shining, 
  empty outline without a purpose; they’re always 
  disappointed when that curse ends, sometimes 
  apparently believing it would last forever. Kinder 
  doldrums, on the other hand, are more likely to try to 
  fill their own emptiness with the drives of others.
  One Western legend holds that doldrums are shaped 
  by a hidden Air-aspected island demesne, overgrown 
  with similarly hollow palm trees and surrounded by 
  hollow fish. Shipwrecked sailors, birds blown off course 
  and animals carried to sea by enormous storms all end up 
  settling on the island. Over the next several years, they’re 
  slowly changed into doldrums by the demesne’s energies. 
  Another tale, whispered fearfully among sailors, claims 
  that existing doldrums becalm seafarers in order to study 
  their drives. Those trapped by the stillness usually become 
  listless—and are then slowly warped into new doldrums. 
  Yet, a becalmed creature who possesses the conviction 
  not to fall into depression and inactivity may eventually 
  be approached by some doldrums, and asked to describe 
  what keeps her going. A good enough explanation will 
  inspire these doldrums to adopt her motivation as their 
  own; they’ll send her on her way and may follow her to 
  watch what she does with her life.
  Precisely what happens to doldrums who find 
  a purpose is unknown, but not many seem to be 
  around. Some sages theorize that after one of these 
  creatures discovers one, it dies at the end of the next 
  Calibration. Others point to a rarer elemental, the 
  serufu. Also associated with air and likewise com-
  ing in many shapes, serufu are trailed by music and 
  colored a beautiful solid sapphire. They always seem 
  anxious to act, and sometimes confess that past actions 
  are all that remind them of whom they are: without 
  memories of those actions, they’d forget their drives 
  and become silent and purposeless. They’ll add, if 
  pressed, that this is also the reason they’re constantly 
  accompanied by music: songs are powerful emotional 
  reminders, and the tunes that follow them tell their 
  life stories. Savants have published whole treatises 
  claiming that doldrums with newfound motivations 
  evolve into serufu. But if they remember past lives as 
  doldrums, the serufu have never said so.
  Summoning: Naval sorcerers often order doldrums to 
  becalm foes. Some use the elementals as emissaries, for 
  • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  95
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  96
  doldrums argue cleverly. Doldrums also, of course, make 
  the best possible translators, but will warn sorcerers who 
  order them to speak to animals that human concepts 
  don’t translate well (plants are out of the question). One 
  of these elementals might communicate a very simple 
  human question to an animal, as long as it contains no 
  human measurements, colors or relative qualities (“Did 
  you see a human come through here?” works; “Did you 
  see a red-coated, tall man in the last half hour?” won’t 
  get through on three levels).
  Doldrums are generally bound as Hunters, and may be 
  intrigued by the focus provided. Some even ask for it 
  when summoned. If called by a sorcerer with a strong 
  personality and a clear sense of purpose, these elemen-
  tals may stick around after the end of their servitude, 
  impressed by her evident motivation.
  Motivation: (Compassion 1-2) Cause others to become 
  as empty as itself.
  (Compassion 3+) Find a Motivation.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 4 
  Virtues: Compassion (Varies), Conviction 1, Temper-
  ance 3, Valor 2
  Abilities: Awareness 4, Bureaucracy 1, Integrity 5, 
  Occult 3, Presence 5, Socialize 5, Stealth 5
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms:
  Air Dragon’s Embrace—Makes the target hollow
  Call—Speak with other doldrums
  Dematerialize—Costs 50 motes
  Destiny Sponsorship—Only while devoid of any inspira-
  tion or motivation
  Landscape Travel—Fly at double movement speed
  Material Tribulation Divestment—Removes all Mental 
  and Social effects
  Measure the Wind
  Memory Mirror—Absorbs target’s language
  Shapechange—Assume any vague outline of a form
  Subtle Whisper—Used to manipulate and gauge others’ 
  motivations
  Touch of Saturn—Removes target’s Motivation for 
  one month
  First (Ability) Excellencies—Awareness, Presence, So-
  cialize, Stealth
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Presence, 
  Socialize, Stealth
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks: None
  Soak: 5L/10B (Hollow, 4L/8B; Hardness: 2L/2B) 
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 4 
  Essence Pool: 70
  Other Notes: None
  STORM SERPENT
  As lightning streaks through the heavens and a 
  thunderclap announces rain, a storm serpent is born. 
  Its sky-dark coils flex with the wind; its claws are ice, 
  and its tail lashes lightning. As precipitation pours 
  down, the 400-foot elemental spirals slowly after it, 
  destroying whatever the storm serpent passes. Its fate is 
  cut short by the end of its storm, so most storm serpents 
  will never reach the earth—but those that do cause 
  great devastation.
  Storm serpents have only bestial intelligence. They 
  can’t make complex judgments, communicate or under-
  stand speech (though summoners can command them 
  through the sorcerous bond). But though their attacks 
  are largely random and their urges wholly animalistic, 
  storm serpents can scent innocence and are attracted 
  to it. The destruction a storm serpent causes will seem 
  all the more tragic in light of the undeserving people 
  the storm serpent slaughters first. Once it has killed 
  the population’s kindest and best, the serpent turns its 
  attention to tall structures, bright lights and anything 
  that moves.
  Some cultures try to use a storm serpent’s taste for 
  innocence as a kind of “trial by fire.” For instance, a vil-
  lager accused of great crimes may be left in an obvious 
  place during the monsoon season so that his guilt might 
  be judged by the storm. He dies immediately if innocent, 
  but at least, judges calculate, it gets settles the issue.
  As the last raindrops fall and the sun emerges from 
  behind the clouds, a storm serpent will begin to disin-
  tegrate. The deep blue and gray scales vanish, and it is 
  seen to contain nothing but sparkling white dust. This 
  powder settles softly over the miles covered by the storm; 
  the powder can be gathered, but since so little covers 
  such a wide area—a teaspoonful spread over a square 
  mile—doing so is quite difficult. Still, it may be worth 
  the effort. That teaspoonful would be worth a fair amount 
  (Resources •••) to alchemists, who can use it to make 
  philters that cure frostbite or summon rain.
  A few storm serpents achieve the epiphany that 
  brings individuality before their time is done. These 
  elementals disperse not into powder. One such storm 
  serpent, Nasri, Daimyo of Rainstorms and Daimyo of 
  the Season of Air, is the General of the Aerial Legion 
  in Yu-Shan’s Bureau of Seasons. Many more such unag-
  ing storm serpents make up the Aerial Legion’s forces, 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  97
  alongside thousands of thunderbirds and huraka.
  Summoning: Since storm serpents exist only under cer-
  tain circumstances, calling them requires a fair amount of 
  planning and is rarely considered worthwhile. There are 
  easier ways for sorcerers to kill large numbers of people; 
  and it’s hard to orchestrate events such that a nemesis may 
  be killed by a storm serpent during the specific hour of its 
  existence. A few battle-hungry summoners have called a 
  storm serpent specifically to prove themselves against it. 
  They are considered entirely insane by their peers. More 
  often, a sorcerer protecting an area will perform the ritual 
  as a preventive measure: she’ll realize that a terrible storm 
  is coming, suspect that it will be accompanied by a serpent 
  and arrange to bind it so she can force it not to attack.
  Motivation: Express the storm’s rage by destroying 
  everything.
  Attributes: Strength 14, Dexterity 7, Stamina 12; Cha-
  risma 4, Manipulation 1, Appearance 5; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 1, Wits 3 
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 5
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Awareness 5, Dodge 6, Martial 
  Arts 7, Presence 0 (Intimidation +6), Resistance 4
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms:
  Dematerialize—Costs 70 motes
  Essence Plethora (x6)
  Hoodwink—Paralyze with Terror
  Memory Mirror—Sense Innocence
  Reserve of Will (x6)
  Shatter—Thunderclap Destroys Structures
  First Excellency—Martial Arts, Presence, Resistance
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Martial Arts, Resistance
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Martial Arts, Resistance
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 15, Damage 23L, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 16, Damage 18L, Parry 
  DV 8, Rate 1
  Tail Slap: Speed 5, Accuracy 17, Damage 29B, Parry 
  DV 9, Rate 3
  Lightning Streak: Speed 6, Accuracy 13, Damage 25L, 
  Range 10, Rate 1*
  Shatter: Speed 6, Accuracy 19, Damage 25B (Structures 
  Only), Range 60 (Max), Rate 1
  * A storm serpent’s lightning streak cannot be parried, 
  but it may be dodged.
  Soak: 14L/28B (Ice-lightning dragon hide, 8L/16B, 
  Hardness: 8L/8B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 10 Willpower: 8 (14)
  Essence: 6 
  Essence Pool: 160
  Other Notes: Storm serpents fly at triple the normal 
  movement speed, but cannot land.
  Storm serpents absorb air elemental damage per Blessed 
  Air Body (see pp. 163-164).
  THUNDERBIRD
  Rash and warlike, these rainbow-winged elementals 
  bring lightning out of storms. Thunderbirds find slain 
  enemies’ flesh delicious, and enjoy mastering new weapons 
  and strategies. All find ways to make war: some lead bel-
  licose mortal cults; others hunt water elementals for fun or 
  for the approval of Wind Master Black Grinning Bear (see 
  p. 91). The Western Bear manages his thunderbird guests 
  handily. He gives them alcohol and marijuana, allocates 
  plenty of land for their wild dancing and bonfires and has 
  instituted an island hierarchy that they climb by killing 
  water elementals. Those with the most status are sent on 
  challenging quests, assigned stints as Black Grinning Bear’s 
  bodyguards or granted the privilege of leading visitor tours 
  of his vast trophy halls, where they extol his virtues as a 
  leader and brag about their own accomplishments.
  Known also by the name of wind makers, thunder-
  birds can call thunderous blasts of air by flapping their 
  wings. They all know a second language of thunder. 
  Simpler than the spoken one, it sends warnings and 
  requests echoing across Creation, and these elementals 
  can thus communicate to siblings up to 1,000 miles 
  away. Their actual voices are flutelike.
  A newborn thunderbird breaks out of its black egg 
  as a huge many-colored raptor (hawk and eagle forms 
  are common). It shakes static from its wings, stretches 
  and soon stands tall as a powerfully built, dark-skinned 
  bald human. Having found both forms, it’s immediately 
  respected by its fellows as a true thunderbird. Normally, 
  this process takes only a few hours, but some wind 
  makers—for whatever reason—have needed to com-
  plete long vision quests to achieve human form.
  Western mortals worship these elementals for 
  their beauty, power over storms and especially for 
  the war-blessings they give. Thunderbirds demand 
  human sacrifices, to eat and take as concubines, and 
  followers must go raiding five or more times a year 
  and take battle-captives to sacrifice—lest they be 
  required to sacrifice some of their own people. The 
  mortals often suffer mild poisoning as well, since 
  their masters command them to wear white war paint 
  laden with lead. Still, thunderbirds protect their cults. 
  Though their prismatic eyes are sharp enough to gaze 
  
  98
  through any physical thing, wind makers can hardly 
  see water elementals, and often bring human helpers 
  on the hunt. (Without assistance, a thunderbird takes 
  an external penalty of -2 to rolls against water spirits 
  that require sight; with it, this penalty is reduced to 
  -1.) An especially talented and loyal worshiper can 
  earn a war club just like her master’s own: forged of 
  orichalcum and ironwood in the heat of lightning. 
  (Such clubs are level-2 artifacts with statistics as 
  shown in the notes below.)
  Thunderbirds’ lusty passions are legendary. They’re 
  most attracted to warriors, and an ancient Western 
  adage advises anyone who seeks a thunderbird’s love 
  to defeat it in battle. They’re also incredibly jealous; 
  these elementals won’t hesitate to slaughter anyone 
  who makes a move on an object of desire. However, 
  love won’t stop a thunderbird from continuing to 
  visit its harem during a relationship, and if accused of 
  hypocrisy by an infuriated lover, a thunderbird will be 
  perplexed. After all, if the loved one hates its harem 
  so much, why doesn’t he just slaughter all the concu-
  bines out of hand? All this leads to a lot of children, 
  and thunderbird blood is one of the most common 
  divine influences on Creation’s mortal population. 
  Thunderbird males rarely take an interest in their 
  kids, and thunderbird females often abandon their 
  own eggs with the father—though naturally, if a wind 
  maker’s child grows into a famous fighter, the proud 
  parent will take all the credit.
  Although thunderbirds can formulate astound-
  ingly sneaky battle-stratagems and certainly love to 
  exaggerate, they are uncomfortable with deception 
  and elaborate social maneuvers. The typical thun-
  derbird is blunt and won’t consciously lie—though 
  it might “overstate itself” in the heat of passion: “Of 
  course I love you!”
  Summoning: Calling a thunderbird requires that a 
  sorcerer, just as its worshipers, paint her face white and 
  wear white feather garments. As long as the thunderbird 
  is being summoned to do battle, the elemental will be 
  perfectly fine with its servitude. In fact, the elemental 
  will act as if it’s freely doing the sorcerer a good turn; 
  a thunderbird whose term of service has ended might 
  even visit a summoner later, demanding a return on 
  the “favor” it did her. But if ordered to back down from 
  a battle or given too few opportunities to indulge in 
  fighting, a thunderbird’s resentment will last long past 
  the end of its binding. These elementals adjust well to 
  becoming Killers, Wardens and Ecstatics.
  Motivation: Show great battle-prowess.
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; Cha-
  risma 4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 2 (Flying Maneuvers +3), Aware-
  ness 3, Craft (Fire) 1 (War Clubs +3), Dodge 4, 
  Integrity 3, Linguistics 2, Lore 0 (War Club Artifact 
  Crafting +3), Melee 4 (War Club +3), Occult 0 
  (War Club Artifact Crafting +3), Performance 3, 
  Presence 3, Resistance 3, Survival 3, Thrown 0 (Thun-
  derclap +3), War 3 (Thunderbird Formation +2) 
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Contacts 3
  Charms:
  Benefaction—+1 to combat rolls
  Blessed Air Body—Lightning
  Dematerialize—Costs 45 motes
  Impromptu messenger—Language of thunder
  Landscape Travel—Fly at normal movement speed
  Material Tribulation Divestment—Only to dodge attacks
  Shapechange—The shape of a human
  Sheathing the Material Form—+7B/+3L in storms
  Stoke the Flame—Inspire fear
  Tracking—Tracks its Intimacies
  Weather Control—Storms
  First (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Melee
  Join Battle: 5
  Attacks:
  All Forms:
  Thunderclap: Speed 6, Accuracy 11 Damage 12B, 
  Range 100, Rate 1
  Raptor:
  Talon: Speed 4, Accuracy 5 Damage 5L, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 3
  Man:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 3B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 6B, Parry 
  DV 1, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 2, Damage 3B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Warclub: Speed 5, Accuracy 13 Damage 19B/4 (pierc-
  ing), Parry DV 7, Rate 2
  Soak: 7L/15B (Naturally armored, 6L/12B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 60
  Other Notes: As men, thunderbirds must use Landscape 
  Travel to fly, but as birds, flight comes naturally with 
  their wings, and their fight speed is doubled.
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  99
  CHIEF STORMS-AS-HE-WALKS
  The great Chief Storms-As-He-Walks has sworn 
  never again to take on his sky-spanning falcon aspect, 
  for his fellow thunderbirds once failed to answer his 
  thunderings for aid, and he died at the claws of Swan 
  Dragon. Some say his siblings forsook him because, 
  when he first fell in love with an Air-aspected Dragon-
  Blood (a habit that keeps getting him into trouble), 
  he neglected their own calls to dally by her side. Oth-
  ers claim he rejected living as a wind maker in order 
  to better lead his mortal cults, taking residence with 
  humans and hurting the feelings of his then-devoted 
  thunderbird warriors. In the end, he was indeed lucky to 
  have those human followers: after Swan Dragon killed 
  Storms-As-He-Walks, he was resurrected by mortal 
  prayer. He values his humans all the more for this and 
  blames his death entirely on the other thunderbirds’ 
  disloyalty, never questioning his own actions.
  In human form, Storms-As-He-Walks can still 
  fly, and when he takes to the warpath he marches far 
  above ground. Technically, he still holds thunderbird 
  commands he earned in the First Age, as well as the 
  position of Black Grinning Bear’s chief lieutenant; 
  indeed, Storms-As-He-Walks has the right to a full 
  retinue of wind makers. Moreover, his extraordinary 
  tactical ability cannot be denied. Hence, the Chief 
  still leads many thunderbird battles, and his siblings 
  obey him unquestioningly in the field. But he brings his 
  greatest mortal champions to the island portion Black 
  Grinning Bear has given the elemental, and stays with 
  them when he’s not maintaining his cults or visiting 
  the Realm on “business.” When he must visit other 
  thunderbirds, he reads rejection in their eyes and leaves 
  as quickly as possible; he calls his retinue only when 
  heading into battle. Truly, Storms-As-He-Walks has 
  been influenced by humans, and part of his discomfort 
  with his kind is due to his own humanlike mores and 
  social understanding—but he doesn’t realize that.
  Storms-As-He-Walks has ancient ties to House 
  Tepet, whose ancestors he sided with during the Usurpa-
  tion. They gave him Marnhammar, a blue-jade-headed 
  war club only he can wield. He has also gone through 
  several Tepet lovers, the latest of whom completely ob-
  sesses him. In the effort to win Tepet Sarita’s devotion, 
  he took the unprecedented step of disbanding his harem; 
  she has finally accepted his advances, partly because of 
  pressure from her House, but remains coy and has a lover 
  on the side. It’s hard to say who would be angrier if they 
  discovered that she’s cheating on the Chief—the head of 
  Sarita’s Household or Storms-As-He-Walks himself.
  Secretly—though Storms-As-He-Walks loves 
  humans, and remains furious at the betrayal of his 
  brethren—the Chief feels out of place and longs to take 
  on his falcon wings and live with fellow thunderbirds 
  again. He hasn’t admitted this desire even to himself and 
  would never consider returning to the roost without a 
  complete, unqualified apology from them. Perhaps that’s 
  for the best. If, by some miracle, Creation’s proud wind 
  makers apologized and brought Storms-As-He-Walks 
  back into the fold, he’d still take extended vacations 
  among mortals, which seems likely to cause all the same 
  problems over again.
  Summoning: Just as all thunderbirds, Chief Storms-
  As-He-Walks can be summoned, but doing so would 
  enrage Black Grinning Bear and the entirety of House 
  Tepet. It’s worth noting that many powerful Tepet 
  Dragon-Bloods see the Chief as a person and would 
  be unnerved (perhaps despite themselves) if he were 
  forced to endure an Abscissic binding. It’s one thing to 
  know that sorcerers casually reshape elemental psyches 
  all the time; it’s quite another to see it happen to a 
  friend. That said, the Chief has a friendly standing 
  Cselenite pact with Tepet’s sorcerers, though he trades 
  no explicit services for it.
  Motivation: Show great battle-prowess.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 6, Stamina 5; 
  Charisma 10 (5 from helmet), Manipulation 3, 
  Appearance 5; Perception 2, Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 2 (Flying Maneuvers +3), Aware-
  ness 3, Craft 1 (War Club Artifact Crafting +3), 
  Dodge 4, Integrity 5, Linguistics 2, Lore 0 (War 
  Club Artifact Crafting +5), Martial Arts 4, Melee 5 
  (War Club +3), Occult 0 (War Club Artifact Craft-
  ing +3), Performance 5, Presence 4, Resistance 3, 
  Socialize 3, Survival 3, Thrown 0 (Thunderclap +3), 
  War 5 (Thunderbird Formation +2) 
  Backgrounds: Allies 2, Artifact 2, Artifact 3, 
  Backing 4, Contacts 5, Cult 2, Followers 4, 
  Influence 1, Resources 3
  Charms:
  Benefaction—+1 to combat rolls
  Blessed Air Body—Lightning
  Dematerialize—Costs 55 motes
  Impromptu Messenger—Language of thunder
  Landscape Travel—Fly at full movement speed
  Material Tribulation Divestment—Only to dodge attacks
  Shapechange—Falcon aspect
  Sheathing the Material Form—+7B/+3L in storms
  
  100
  Stoke the Flame—Inspire fear
  Touch of Grace—Heal wounds
  Tracking—Tracks his Intimacies
  Weather Control—Storms
  First (Ability) Excellency—Melee, Athletics, Integrity, 
  Performance, War
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Melee, War
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 8B, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 1
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Thunderclap: Speed 6, Accuracy 11 Damage 20B, 
  Range 100, Rate 1
  Blue Jade War Club (Marnhammar): Speed 5, 
  Accuracy 17 Damage 23B/4 (P), Parry DV 9, Rate 2
  Soak: 14L/23B (Naturally armored, 6L/12B; 
  helmet, 6L/6B, Hardness: 6L/6B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 7 
  Willpower: 8
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 70
  Other Notes: Marnhammar is a rating-3 artifact with the 
  following stats: Speed 5, Accuracy +2, Damage +18/4, 
  Defense +2, Tags: O,P. An unattuned character would 
  require 20+ (Strength + Athletics) successes to lift it; 
  no Excellencies count toward this total save Infinite 
  Athletics Mastery. The Chief also wears a Artifact 3 
  jade helmet that adds to his Charisma and soak.
  ELEMENTALS OF EARTH
  The elementals of earth are the strongest and most 
  numerous of the elementals in Creation, but deceptively 
  so. Most earth elementals live out their lives beneath 
  Creation’s surface, in the mineral courts. During meet-
  ings of multiple elemental types, the earth elementals 
  avoid raising the issue of their strength—that by their 
  will, Creation’s surface could crack and swallow the 
  ocean, or that the elementals of wood depend entirely 
  on earth’s foundations or that the first of Creation’s 
  greater elemental dragons, the Kukla, is an elemental 
  of earth. The elementals of fire, too, depend upon 
  the earth to produce consumable materials. Only the 
  elementals of air are free from earth’s grasp. The Wind 
  Masters sometimes claim their independence from earth 
  as the reason for their own strength.
  Not as organized as the courts of the air, the 
  mineral courts are nevertheless some of the most con-
  sistent elemental courts. Each mineral court is ruled 
  by a gemlord and served by kri omen-avatars, jokun 
  soldiers and whatever local race of earth elementals is 
  most prominent. Other earth courts exist, such as the 
  mountain courts, but the numerous mineral courts are 
  the best known.
  Yet, the earth elementals have no central authority 
  at all, and the immobility of the gemlords ensure the 
  earth elementals cannot war against each other strongly 
  enough to ever decide upon a single unified commander. 
  Once, before the Kukla was a greater elemental dragon, 
  he called himself master of all earth elementals, but now, 
  he cannot speak and only dreams and roars. Strength 
  aside, the earth courts are the courts that perform the 
  fewest deeds and alter Creation’s course the least.
  THE QUICKSILVER QUEEN
  LESSER ELEMENTAL DRAGON OF EARTH
  Mercury ants (see pp. 108-110) respect one thing: 
  their ruler, the Quicksilver Queen. Each ant subordi-
  nates itself completely to her will, unable to conceive 
  of so much as analyzing her orders (hence, she’s always 
  very clear with her servants). Even if the Queen ignores 
  or sacrifices them, she’s certainly doing the best possible 
  thing. Only the Queen is perfect and unchangeable.
  The Quicksilver Queen can become an ant-headed 
  woman, but she hasn’t chosen that form since the Age 
  of Splendor. For the last few millennia, the ant-headed 
  dragon has coiled still and quiet in her subterranean royal 
  chamber. Ant servitors dust the treatise-lined shelves, 
  polish her lead and silver scales and antennae and carry 
  her silent alchemical messages to the four corners of 
  Creation. Usually, the ants’ sole task is expanding the 
  colony, some passages of which extend 3,000 miles. Clever 
  ones are sent to retrieve stored artifacts from underground 
  caches, or to steal intriguing tomes and reagents from 
  the surface. Especially trusted, talented males are allowed 
  to mate with the Queen; her closest advisors know the 
  formulae for the potions dripped upon her eggs. When 
  new mercury ants hatch into the world, they know ev-
  erything their mother wishes them to know.
  Long ago, the Queen spoke with all petitioners. Her 
  symmetrical cinnabar palace was a much-discussed point 
  of pilgrimage for Creation’s savants, and she studied 
  under the pioneering sorcerer Devon. But the clever 
  Solar known as Gilded Whisper gained the Queen’s 
  confidence, became her protégé, then destroyed the 
  Queen’s manse and took credit for her most brilliant 
  insights. The dragon waxed wroth with humanity and 
  withdrew beneath the earth’s surface, learning from 
  books and hoarding her knowledge. She’s one of the 
  greatest alchemists the world has ever known; even her 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  101
  name is a formula—her ants address her in silence, for 
  it’s far quicker to synthesize than speak. But the last 
  time she wrote a treatise was before she was betrayed, 
  and most copies of her works are long gone. The Queen 
  hardly noticed the change from the First Age to the 
  Second (except inasmuch as it’s now much easier for 
  her servants to steal from the world above). Today, it 
  would take a surpassingly charming—and determined—
  petitioner to find and speak to her. Her ant guards have 
  strict instructions: never allow a human to reach her.
  Once, the dragon knew the secret of immortality, 
  but as part of her revenge on humanity she mixed a 
  potion to purge the secret from her mind. She also 
  changed the nature of cinnabar: any piece of the 
  mineral mined in the past few millennia yields only 
  poisonous quicksilver. This vilely shimmering liquid 
  drives mortals mad and deforms unborn children. 
  But mercury derived before the Queen’s resentful act 
  is healthful, aiding focus, finesse and agility—even 
  extending a drinker’s lifespan. That ancient liquid 
  is known to savants as “benevolent quicksilver,” and 
  Creation holds four remaining vials. Each is owned 
  by a powerful sorcerer, who uses only a drop at a time 
  for various arcane purposes. And all of those sorcerers 
  prefer to buy other anagathics at fabulous prices than 
  use this precious rarity to live longer.
  The Quicksilver Queen has been Censor of the 
  Omphalos more than once, for she’s never bothered to 
  offend any gods, and the other candidates are sometimes 
  seen as worse. When she occupies that position, she 
  does absolutely nothing about it. She could also care less 
  about the mineral courts, though she’ll politely receive 
  elemental emissaries, and often trades information with 
  gemlords. Thus, she’s dearly beloved by some spiritual 
  politicians, loathed by others.
  Summoning: If summoned, the Quicksilver Queen has 
  the right to send a servant elemental in her stead.
  Motivation: Learn everything about the nature of the 
  world.
  Attributes: Strength 8, Dexterity 5, Stamina 9; 
  Charisma 5, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4; Perception 6, 
  Intelligence 7, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 5, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 5 
  (Insects +2), Craft (Water) 8, Dodge 3, Integ-
  rity 6 (Anything Humans Say +3), Investigation 5 
  (Research +3), Larceny 4, Lore 8 (Alchemy +3), Martial 
  Arts 3, Occult 6, Presence 6, Resistance 4, Socialize 4, 
  Stealth 3, War 4 (Ants +3)
  Backgrounds: Artifact 5+, Contacts 3, Followers 4, 
  Influence 3, Resources 5
  Charms: 
  Affinity Earth Control—Use seven barrels of earth to 
  shape into useful or dangerous chemicals
  Calculated Order of Immediate Action—Creates metal 
  or alchemical things by ingesting the ingredients and 
  spitting them back out
  Creation of Perfection—All-Encompassing
  Dematerialize—Costs 80 motes
  Destiny Sponsorship—All-Encompassing
  Endowment—All-Encompassing
  Essence Plethora (x3)
  Form Reduction Technique—Ant-headed woman, insect, 
  metallic object or ore
  Geas—All-Encompassing
  Host of Spirits—Any ant form
  Landscape Hide—Under the surface
  Possession—All-Encompassing
  Principle of Motion—Nine banked actions
  Reserve of Will (x2)
  Symbol of Invincible Authority—Completely immune to 
  all earth or metal-based objects
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Craft, Integrity, Lore, Occult
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Craft (Internal 
  Alchemy)
  Sorcery—The Quicksilver Queen knows dozens of 
  Terrestrial and Celestial Circle spells, including every 
  non-summoning spell in the Exalted core book except 
  Wood Dragon’s Claw.
  Devonian Absorption—Detailed on page 22 of The Books 
  of Sorcery, Vol. II—The White Treatises, this Charm 
  expresses the Queen’s orderly, analytical viewpoint and 
  her sorcerous tutelage at the hands of Devon.
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 17L, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 10, Damage 13L, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 4
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage 8B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Chemical Spray: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 9L, 
  Range 30, Rate 1
  Tail Slap: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 23B, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 3
  Soak: 14L/23B (Leaden dragon hide, 10L/14B; 
  Hardness: 10)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2
  /-4/Incap
  
  102
  Dodge DV: 8 
  Willpower: 9 (11)
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 145
  Other Notes: As a dragon, the Quicksilver Queen may 
  fly at double her normal movement speed. She may 
  burrow through any kind of earth at full speed.
  The Queen absorbs earth elemental attacks per Blessed 
  Earth Body (see pp. 163-164).
  The Queen’s Dragon’s Suspire is an unblockable wash 
  of acidic chemicals that targets all creatures generally 
  in front of her. The strange mix of fluids causes those 
  who suffer even a single health level to be affected 
  by mutation as though they had been exposed to the 
  Middlemarches of the Wyld (see Exalted, p. 283). It 
  is an earth elemental attack.
  The Queen’s artifacts include various books of sorcery, 
  alchemical distilleries, potions and Essence-infused 
  magical components.
  THE KUKLA
  GREATER ELEMENTAL DRAGON OF EARTH
  An underwater volcano in the West, long cooled to 
  dormancy, holds a horror forgotten by all but Creation’s 
  immortals. Four thousand years ago, the Unconquered 
  Sun appointed 12 battle-hardened elementals to guard 
  that prison; any who approach will be confronted by 
  their sun-bright spears and shields. The Kukla, they’ll 
  say, is not to be awakened till the Sun decides that 
  current civilization must be no more.
  If that day comes, the 12-legged dragon will burst 
  from his prison in a tsunami, rearing higher than 
  the Imperial Mountain. His roar echoes to Heaven 
  itself. Mountains shatter at his passing, sandstorms 
  scour Creation’s surface to polished rock, earthquakes 
  break the world in five great pieces. However, the 
  Kukla’s blazing aura holds the formative power of 
  earth as well as its wrath. Amid the death and suf-
  fering wrought by its release, seven of the dragon’s 
  gold and lapis scales will fall to Creation and grow. 
  They’ll become new, living land, so vital that the 
  Wyld will fall back and shadowlands gain no purchase 
  in the destruction.
  Only the Kukla’s guardians (and the Unconquered 
  Sun himself) have the authority to recall the unleashed 
  dragon. Sidereal rumor has it that Gaia was once able to 
  tame the beast. Certain elders whisper that she entirely 
  relinquished that control to the Unconquered Sun, for 
  he would not otherwise trust her.
  Summoning: Are you nuts? You’re nuts, aren’t you?
  Motivation: Express the rawest power of earth.
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 5
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  103
  Statistics: As a greater elemental dragon of middling 
  power, the Kukla has Essence 10. The Charms in this 
  book are insufficient to represent the full impact of its 
  release. The Kukla is best treated as a Creation-reshaping 
  natural disaster to be prevented or endured, rather than 
  an enemy to be fought. Should a Storyteller wish to pit 
  the Kukla against the players’ characters as a combatant, 
  she’s advised to give it traits such that the characters 
  can conceivably defeat it by sacrificing all their earthly 
  resources and all the armies they control, making pacts 
  best unmade with their worst enemies, etc.
  Sample Powers:
  Benthic Wave Strike—The Kukla’s prison rips asunder in 
  a cloud of boiling water, and tsunami are hurled in all 
  directions. An unblockable, undodgeable wall of water 
  (inflicting 50 health levels of lethal damage, triple to 
  structures) pounds every coast of Creation and floods 
  three miles inland for a season.
  Creation-Scouring Technique—Some areas close to, or 
  affected by, the Kukla are remade into featureless sand-
  scoured plateaus that become incredibly fertile over the 
  next decade. This includes but is not limited to every 
  nearby Wyld area. No shadowlands can be engendered 
  by the dragon’s actions.
  Great Justice Retribution—As its tail sweeps back and 
  forth (30 ticks per sweep), the Kukla inflicts 85 health 
  levels of damage on everyone and everything unfortu-
  nate enough to be within its immense length. This can 
  easily destroy any army or city, and could wipe small 
  nations from the map.
  Guardians: The Kukla’s 12 stewards each have Essence 
  8; combat-relevant Abilities should be counted as 6 to 
  8, as should Presence, Awareness, Physical Attributes, 
  Charisma and Wits. They’ve learned all the combat and 
  leadership Charms in this book, as well as several Celestial 
  Martial Arts styles. Should a summoner attempt to call 
  forth the Kukla, a guardian appears in the dragon’s place. 
  (But should a summoner bind all 12 guardians and then 
  attempt to summon the Kukla once again….)
  GEMLORD
  Miles beneath the earth stretch enormous, jeweled 
  formations: diamonds and rubies jumbled chaotically 
  with cloudy quartz and rough granite. These immobile 
  masses are not antique treasure stores, but elementals—
  leaders of the mineral courts. Gemlords are powerful 
  and intelligent, but cannot move, and must use slaves 
  called omen-avatars to accomplish all the gemlords’ 
  tasks. They choose omen-avatars from among the 
  deerlike kri (see pp. 107-108), whose peculiar nature 
  makes them easy for gemlords to control.
  Exactly how gemlords come into existence and 
  move to a preferred location is unknown. The prevailing 
  theory supposes that they’re created in an ambulatory 
  larva-like form, which becomes a gemlord once it finds 
  the right conditions. At any rate, gemlords prefer to 
  situate themselves in areas that are demesnes and close 
  to stores of Essence clay, or ryku. Both qualities are de-
  sired, neither necessary. A gemlord that prefers solitude 
  may choose a powerful demesne that lacks nearby ryku 
  stores, but most gemlords prioritize ryku, for it’s the 
  source of their kri servants. A gemlord claiming a site 
  with both will be the envy of its peers, who may send 
  their own servants to steal its ryku or to undermine its 
  court’s stability out of spite.
  Still, no matter how gemlords hate their most for-
  tunate siblings, they don’t let hostilities escalate beyond 
  pettiness. The enormous elementals are nearly impossible 
  to kill (there are no vital parts to target, so the entire 
  miles-long formation must be destroyed), and they’re 
  important to the structural integrity of Creation: when 
  a gemlord dies, near-constant earthquakes and cave-ins 
  occur as far as 1,000 miles away and continue until the 
  mineral courts have fully addressed the problem. This 
  usually takes years—even decades—and severely annoys 
  the world’s other gemlords, who will certainly take ven-
  geance for their slain brother. It’s rumored in the mineral 
  courts that the destruction of three gemlords within the 
  same year would be such a catastrophe as to awaken the 
  immortal Kukla (see pp. 102-103).
  A gemlord in control of a demesne takes centuries to 
  grow into the best formation to channel that demesne’s 
  energy: a manse, to which the demesne then attunes. 
  Most gemlords create manse-bodies as interlocking 
  caverns for their courts and human worshipers to live in. 
  As gemlords cannot hold or carry anything, a gemlord 
  cannot bear its own hearthstone and may spend a fair 
  amount of energy making sure no one else seizes it.
  The incredibly arrogant gemlords are always sure 
  they know best, partly because they can sense the future. 
  Since gemlords rarely bother to explain themselves, 
  their followers know only fragments of their visions. 
  The mineral courts hear little but direct orders from 
  their inscrutable masters, whose source-less booming 
  voices echo loudly enough to be heard anywhere within 
  1,000 yards. Any gemlord can mentally communicate 
  with any other, and gemlords spend most of their time 
  silently discussing Creation’s balance of earth .
  Whether it has become a manse or not, every gem-
  lord has one great open space in its center heaped with 
  hundreds of fist-shaped, glittering gems. These are the 
  
  104
  gemlord’s eyes; more stud the length of it, and some are 
  bestowed upon those who earn its favor. Simply hold-
  ing one establishes a mental link between bearer and 
  gemlord. The elementals can send Essence through that 
  link as well as thoughts (and steal both, for that matter). 
  Generally, a gemlord’s eye-bearer is a kri or valued mortal 
  worshiper, granted a small force of jokun to attend her 
  and mentally examined once a week by her master. Any 
  hint of mutiny will gain the eye-bearer a warning: her 
  Essence pool is entirely stolen. If the servant outright 
  disobeys the gemlord, the elemental will send a force of 
  jokun and kri to kill her and recover the eye.
  Gemlord-Manses: If you don’t possess Oadenol’s 
  Codex, assume that any given gemlord is a manse 
  whose auspiciously jet-floored caverns may be physi-
  cally rearranged at the whim of the gemlord—or the 
  hearthstone-bearer. Thus, an archway that once led 
  into a library of crystals may suddenly open into a great 
  hall; an emerald slope leading up could end in a room 
  below it. The elemental doesn’t wish for another be-
  ing to have power over the manse’s structure, so it has 
  disguised the structural and geomantic indicators that 
  might allow observers to figure out the hearthroom’s 
  location. All rolls to find the hearthroom—or, indeed, 
  to determine anything about the manse by studying 
  its geomancy—suffer an external penalty of -3. This 
  gemlord-manse produces the rating-2 hearthstone, stone 
  of the earthweb, which allows its bearer to sense every-
  thing within 10 yards that rests upon the ground. She 
  can feel each object’s size, approximate weight and any 
  movements it makes (see The Books of Sorcery, Vol. 
  III—Oadenol’s Codex, p. 90, for additional details).
  Since the gemlord can rearrange its rooms at will, 
  the best way for a character to attune to the manse is 
  by having an ally distract the gemlord while she ex-
  plores. Her goal: make it to the hearthroom before the 
  elemental realizes she’s there and changes the layout. 
  If the character manages this feat, she will then need 
  to escape the gemlord’s servants: it will send viziers, 
  whom the gemlord believes it can trust not to claim 
  the hearthstone for themselves, to retrieve it from her 
  clutches. As hearthstone bearer, her decisions take 
  precedence over the gemlord’s in terms of rearrang-
  ing its rooms, because that power is derived from the 
  manse’s geomantic structure rather than the gemlord’s 
  own will. (Since the elemental’s intelligence and pow-
  ers are not factors of its manse, the attuned character 
  has no control over those.) A desperate gemlord that 
  cannot defeat a hearthstone thief may instruct its own 
  servants to damage it, so the room-rearranging power 
  RYKU
  Sometimes dark clay sparkling with copper 
  glints, sometimes delicate blue or white crystals, 
  ryku gives off a sweet-smelling smoke as soon as it’s 
  gathered. Gemlords send jokun to mine it and keep 
  watch for newborn kri (see pp. 107-108), but humans 
  also gather it if they can. Ryku commands stupendous 
  prices on Creation’s surface, and some Southern 
  nobles show off by burning ryku as incense.
  Ryku is formed by subterranean demesnes. 
  Those who mine it are using one version of the 
  Pearl-Collecting Rite, which gathers a demesne’s 
  Essence tokens. (See The Books of Sorcery, 
  Vol. III—Oadenol’s Codex, pp. 48-49 and 138, 
  for more on this.) Just as all Essence harvests, 
  ryku denatures quickly once mined; it must be 
  transported in enchanted casks that sorcerously 
  mimic the originating demesne’s conditions. If 
  the magic seals on these containers are disturbed, 
  the ryku begins to smolder, and will have released 
  at least some of its smoke—and Essence—by the 
  time the ryku reaches its destination.
  Not all underground demesnes produce ryku. 
  Others give different Essence harvests. Not all 
  ryku is created equal, either. Truly, ryku is sim-
  ply a blanket term for any subterranean Essence 
  harvest that births kri and denatures by giving 
  off smoke. Since an Essence harvest’s potency is 
  determined by the power of its parent demesne, a 
  given type of ryku may grant those who breathe its 
  smoke anywhere from one to five motes of extra 
  Essence per hour, and may take between one and 
  five days to burn into lifeless ash. (The ryku of 
  the gemlord written up here releases three motes 
  per hour, denaturing in three days.)
  Capping a ryku-producing demesne with 
  a manse ends its production of ryku, which is 
  otherwise a renewable resource. This is why a 
  gemlord’s perfect site is so rare: a gemlord wants 
  a demesne it can cap with itself and a separate 
  demesne, close by, that produces ryku.
  derived from its geomancy no longer works. Such a 
  move could have dire consequences for the demesne the 
  manse caps, whose Essence would then be improperly 
  channeled—and potentially explosive.
  If you have Oadenol’s Codex, treat each gemlord as an 
  Earth-aspected manse of a level determined by the power 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  105
  of the demesne the manse caps. Gemlord-manses cannot 
  take Drawbacks, and a gemlord will prefer to grow itself 
  into a manse that can’t be too disastrously hijacked. A 
  gemlord will always try to give its manse Central Control, 
  which allows the gemlord to decide how its manse powers 
  are used (though this also means that any hearthstone 
  bearer could do the same). A gemlord will also decrease 
  its hearthstone’s rating as far down as geomantic concerns 
  allow, for a kri who found and attuned an Essence-giving 
  hearthstone might become dangerously independent. A 
  gemlord will avoid powers such as Self-Destruct Sequence, 
  which could kill the gemlord.
  This sample gemlord is designed as a rating 3 
  manse with 7 manse Creation Points ([rating x 2] + 
  1 for reduced hearthstone level). The gemlord was 
  unable to take the hearthstone below level 2. Luck-
  ily, the gemlord was able to design itself with Central 
  Control (two points) as well as Geomantic Subtlety 
  (two points), which prevents occultists from learn-
  ing too much about the manse’s geomancy through 
  observation. The room-rearranging power, of course, 
  is Puzzle Manse (three points).
  Summoning: Summoning a gemlord to Creation’s 
  surface would be ridiculous. There have been entertain-
  ing incidents: one Dragon-Blooded sorcerer of House 
  Mnemon crushed her ebony palace under the gemlord 
  she called, having misunderstood the elemental’s sheer 
  scale. More to the point, removing a gemlord from its 
  natural environment also removes the gemlord’s stabiliz-
  ing influence, causing the same earthquakes that would 
  follow if it died. If the sorcerer doesn’t swiftly send the 
  gemlord back, she’ll need to deal with the servants and 
  allies of Creation’s mineral courts.
  Occasionally, a sorcerer will go to a gemlord and cast a 
  summoning, binding the gemlord to her service where 
  it sits. Of course, gemlords don’t take kindly to people 
  who march up and begin that spell, so such a sorcerer 
  will need companions—many companions—to deal 
  with the elemental’s court. If successfully bound, though, 
  gemlords don’t usually remain irritated about it for long. 
  After all, gemlords live a long time; what’s a month, 
  or a year? Such sorcerers usually bind the gemlord as 
  a Functionary, and the gemlord will only have lasting 
  problems with a summoner who forces it to harm the 
  earth, disrupt the mineral courts or work against one 
  of the gemlord’s centuries-long plans.
  Motivation: Luxuriate in the earth’s Essence.
  Attributes: Strength 0, Dexterity 0, Stamina 20; 
  Charisma 6, Manipulation 7, Appearance 5; Perception 7, 
  Intelligence 7, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 5, Temperance 4, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Awareness 6, Bureaucracy 3, Craft 
  (Earth) 4 (Architecture +3), Linguistics 4, Lore 5 
  (Earth +3), Integrity 6, Investigation 2, Presence 5, 
  Occult 4 (Manses +3), Resistance 7, Survival 2, 
  Socialize 3
  Backgrounds: Allies 5, Cult 2, Demesne 3, 
  Followers 3, Influence 3, Manse 3, Resources 5
  Charms:
  Affinity Earth Control—Attack with great crystal shards 
  and carve new tunnels
  Banish—All-Encompassing
  Blessed Earth Body—Attacks from things smaller than 
  itself
  Capture—Those touching cave walls find their way to 
  the gemlord
  Divine Decree—Complete control over inner caverns 
  and eyes
  Dreamspeak—Send commands to creatures touching 
  the earth
  Foretell the Future—All-Encompassing
  Fruit of Living Essence—Any creature touching a gem 
  (including its eyes)
  Geas—Sends any creature who knows greed on any 
  quest
  Harrow the Mind—All-Encompassing
  Measure the Wind
  Natural Prognostication—Senses the subtle things that 
  come from very far below
  Regalia of Authority—All-Encompassing
  Sense Domain—Senses anything underground within 
  600 miles
  Stoke the Flame—Uses propaganda to capture other 
  gemlords’ followers
  Touch of Divinity—Transfer motes through its eyes
  Words of Power—Echoing vibrations within caves
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Integrity, Oc-
  cult, Presence, Resistance
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Integrity (ignores things 
  smaller than itself)
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Affinity Earth Control: Speed 5, Accuracy 15, Damage 
  18L, Range 20, Rate 6
  Soak: 25L/50B (Skin of gems, 15L/30B, Hardness: 
  15L/15B)
  Health Levels: N/A (see “Other Notes”)
  Dodge DV: N/A 
  Willpower: 9
  Essence: 6 
  Essence Pool: 105
  
  106
  Other Notes: As noted above, gemlords cannot move 
  from place to place and cannot dematerialize.
  This is a medium-to-large gemlord; larger and smaller 
  (more and less powerful) gemlords exist.
  Gemlords can only be destroyed by effects capable of 
  disintegrating an enormous underground cave system. 
  Gemlords have effectively 300 health levels and do not 
  take wound penalties.
  The gemlord’s manse, though it’s made from the gem-
  lord’s body, is for the purposes of game mechanics a 
  manse the gemlord inhabits.
  JOKUN
  Rough-featured, manlike elementals with rusty iron 
  teeth and whiplike iron-tipped tails, these warriors serve 
  the mineral courts with singular honor and tenacity. 
  Semi-transparent crystalline flesh encases each jokun’s 
  red granite bones, and they weigh enough to crash through 
  wooden floors with ill-placed steps. Slow in thought 
  and motion, jokun make up for these shortcomings 
  with paranoia. Jokun resist walking into any potentially 
  dangerous situation, and each trains several giant bats 
  and cave dogs to act as companions and lookouts.
  At any time, jokun can choose to collapse in a 
  shower of glinting mica; this sandy pile can then per-
  colate through underground mineral veins at the speed 
  of a cantering horse. Reassembling takes a day and 30 
  motes of Essence. When fighting a difficult but ignorant 
  opponent, a jokun may take a chance that she won’t 
  know it can do that and fragment after a hard blow. 
  Since playing dead is equivalent to fleeing a battle, jokun 
  do this only when assured that survival is preferable to 
  more honorable conclusion (i.e., rarely).
  When not serving a worthy master, jokun live com-
  munally, singing together in underground fissures. It’s 
  well-known that these elementals congregate near valu-
  able luminescent lichens; if a sharp-eared surface-dweller 
  hears their lovely bass voices below her feet, she’ll know 
  mining there would be profitable. Fortunately, jokun 
  won’t mind moving if approached peacefully and offered 
  something in exchange; well-crafted weapons are a special 
  favorite. Jokun prefer to fight with heavy war hammers 
  or two-handed swords. It bothers the ethical jokun that 
  their teeth and blood are venomous (equivalent to arrow 
  frog venom, described on pp. 130–131 of Exalted). They 
  employ those poisons only as a last resort.
  A jokun’s obsidian eyes offer protection. A jokun’s 
  gaze conducts the resistance of his firestone bones. Those 
  defended by a jokun have an easier time resisting heat 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  107
  and flame (+4 to soak), but only as long as the jokun 
  is looking at them. If removed from the elemental’s 
  head, the black eyes become useless.
  Summoning: Jokun are stolid and dependable. Moreover, 
  their masters in the mineral courts rarely pay attention to 
  the outside world, so summoning one is almost risk-free. 
  They may be the most common elemental bodyguards, 
  making excellent Wardens. In particular, a principled 
  sorcerer will want jokun servitors, for she’ll know she can 
  win a jokun’s loyalty simply by being her virtuous self—
  though more sorcerers believe themselves principled than 
  can live up to a jokun’s standards. If very dissatisfied with 
  its master within the mineral courts, a jokun may even 
  elect to continue serving such an ethical sorcerer after its 
  term of service has ended, though it will ask for occasional 
  time off to visit its extended family underground.
  A sorcerer can force a jokun to spend extended time 
  without touching the earth, but the elemental won’t 
  like it, and will not heal damage or regain Essence until 
  it resumes contact. The mineral courts consider such 
  treatment abusive.
  Motivation: Act with honor; in particular, demonstrate 
  fealty to whoever has earned its service.
  Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 1
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 4, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 1, Dodge 2, Integ-
  rity 3 (Warrior Ethic +3), Investigation 2, Melee 4, 
  Performance 0 (Voice +3), Presence 1, Resistance 3, 
  Survival 2, War 3 
  Backgrounds: Backing 1, Familiar 3
  Charms:
  Affinity Fire Control—Reduce light level and +4 soak 
  against fire and heat
  Call—Summon additional jokun for aid
  Dematerialize—Costs 50 motes
  Endowment—Bless with +4L soak vs. heat
  Hoodwink—Creatures accustomed to the open are 
  shaken with claustrophobia
  Hurry Home—Mica percolation (see description)
  Landscape Hide—Works in any solid stone
  Landscape Travel—Mica percolation through the earth 
  at full movement speed
  Sheathing the Material Form—+6B/3L soak vs. weapons
  Subtle Whisper—Silently instills a sense of honor in 
  all around
  Tracking—Invest Essence through a song and hear the 
  song from any distance away
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Melee, Resistance
  Join Battle: 2
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 2, Damage 7L, Rate 1
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 4, Damage 6B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 9B, Parry DV 1, 
  Rate 2
  Punch: Speed 4, Accuracy 3, Damage 6B, Parry DV 2
  Hammer: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 14B/2 (P), 
  Parry DV 5, Rate 2
  Soak: 7L/15B (Rock structure, 4L/9B; 
  Hardness: 2L/2B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 65
  Other Notes: Jokun, due to their weight, take a -3 
  internal penalty to Athletics checks. Feats of strength 
  are unaffected.
  KRI
  The three-horned kri come into existence rarely. 
  Only when the Kukla dreams of them—no more than 
  once in 30 years—do these short-legged deer spring up 
  from deposits of ryku (see p. 104). With coloration derived 
  from the ryku creating them, the new kri might not be 
  easily spotted—save that all ryku in the area is consumed 
  by a kri’s birth (the surrounding demesne will produce no 
  ryku or Essence till the next Calibration). When jokun 
  posted at the demesne see the ryku they’re mining go up 
  in a pillar of smoke, they know to take the newborn to 
  their gemlord master (see pp. 103-106) for judgment.
  The local gemlord puts every kri through an ex-
  haustive interview and physical examination before 
  deciding whether it wants another slave. The kri must 
  walk upright on its hind legs, an uncomfortable stance 
  seen as elegant by the gemlords; the kri must answer 
  hundreds of strange questions, and will be banished if 
  it fails to modulate its voice. If chosen, a kri pledges its 
  eternal servitude in exchange for one of the gemlord’s 
  eyes, which feeds the kri five motes of Essence per 
  hour. This is important, for kri don’t naturally respire 
  Essence: they lose it instead, at the rate of 10 per day. 
  If a kri’s Essence pool reaches zero, the kri loses a dot 
  of Essence each day thereafter and dies permanently at 
  Essence 0—unless the kri manages to take energy from 
  another, or gains control of a manse or demesne. To 
  a kri, this is the most excruciating pain imaginable. A 
  kri will do nearly anything to avoid it.
  On the odd occasion that a rejected kri survives, its 
  lot is uncertain and dark. After a few weeks, the kri will 
  
  108
  already have suppressed any morals it had, desperately 
  lying, cheating, murdering and prostituting itself for 
  Essence. A very lucky few find demesnes to live in.
  Enslaved kri lead only slightly better lives. Their 
  masters leave them no privacy—not even their innermost 
  thoughts are their own. If kri even consider refusing a 
  single assignment, they’re subject to torture, imprison-
  ment and worse at the hands of less recalcitrant kri. 
  Some go rogue and join their rejected brethren, but if 
  they escape their masters’ wrath, most return when they 
  discover just how hard it is to live without an Essence 
  source. Most never consider it, for loyal and competent 
  service will earn a kri trust. Eventually, a smart kri will 
  graduate to tasks such as acting as its gemlord’s messenger 
  or leading groups of jokun on searches for ryku.
  Kri express portions of the earth that feed their 
  birthing demesne’s wild energies. Building a manse on a 
  ryku-producing demesne will tamp down its Essence such 
  that every kri born there finds itself no longer constantly 
  drained of motes (but won’t be able to respire Essence 
  either and will need an outside source to replenish its 
  pool after using Charms). No kri know this, but their 
  masters do. All gemlords also understand that this manse 
  “solution” is unnatural and dangerous: such a manse risks 
  destruction every time the Kukla dreams again of kri. 
  At any time a capped ryku-producing demesne would 
  normally create a kri, the blocked Essence instead builds 
  up for five hours. If, after that, the Essence has not been 
  properly rechanneled by a brilliant artisan (requiring 
  success on a difficulty 10 [Wits + (Craft [Earth] or Oc-
  cult, whichever is lower)] check that takes two hours), 
  the manse and everything in it will shake for 10 ticks 
  and fall into the mouth of the Kukla. Hopefully, this 
  won’t awaken the dragon—but even if it doesn’t, the 
  demesne is forever destroyed, and all kri derived from it 
  permanently killed.
  Gemlords truly believe that there is no other way 
  for kri to gain independence, and consider themselves 
  to be doing the deerlike creatures a favor by keeping 
  them alive in exchange for servitude. They are not, 
  however, as all-knowing as they think.
  Summoning: Rogue kri have no protectors and may 
  be called with impunity, but will then need a source 
  of Essence to survive. Gemlords may be irritated by 
  the summoning of servant kri, but may also seize the 
  opportunity to communicate with and make an ally of 
  the sorcerer. Still, a kri’s hatred of its master, whether 
  gemlord or Exalt, is unwavering and all-consuming. 
  Sorcerous loyalty can overlay this, but can’t remove it. 
  Kri practically never choose to remain at the end of a 
  binding, and if bound with an Abscissic plate—sorcerers 
  often use the Vizier—the kri’s hatred of the sorcerer will 
  be nigh-psychotic once their servitude is done.
  Motivations: (Enslaved) Escape servitude.
  (Rogue) Escape the trap of its nature.
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 4, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Awareness 3, Dodge 6, Integrity 2
  (Rogue 5), Investigation 4, Linguistics 2, Lore 3, Martial 
  Arts 5, Occult 2, Presence 2, Resistance 4, Socialize 3, 
  Stealth 5, War 4
  Backgrounds: Backing 0 (Enslaved 3)
  Charms:
  Affinity Earth Control—All-Encompassing
  Blessed Earth Body—All-Encompassing
  Call—Call any kri within range
  Dematerialize—Costs 55 motes
  Host of Spirits—Create weaker copies for battle
  Landscape Hide—Sink into the ground anywhere
  Measure the Wind
  Meat of Broken Flesh—Bite motes from brave men
  Paralyze—-5 dice with a successful hoof attack
  Sense Domain—Sense the area around where it was born
  Shapechange—Change hoofs to hands
  Sheathing the Material Form—All-Encompassing
  Tracking—Marks those who step into its traps
  First (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts, Stealth
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Martial Arts
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Martial Arts (hoof 
  strikes only)
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 7L, Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Hoof: Speed 4, Accuracy 11, Damage 6L, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 4
  Affinity Earth Control: Speed 5, Accuracy 13, Damage 
  15L, Range 16, Rate 5
  Soak: 7L/14B (Gem-studded fur, 5L/10B; 
  Hardness: 2L/2B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 8 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 5 
  Essence Pool: 80
  Other Notes: Kri dash at double the normal speeds.
  MERCURY ANT
  These five-foot-long, silver-black ants have short 
  lifespans (50 to 100 years), but a communal memory 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  109
  stretching through the First Age. Some savants believe 
  mercury ants to have a hive mind, but they actually 
  communicate by means of silent alchemical signals, 
  leaving invisible trails for others to follow and releasing 
  scents of fear and anger when attacked. (A threatened 
  ant will likely be joined by one to 10 fellow ants within 
  12 ticks, as they detect its call and rush to join it.) They 
  dwell far underground, farther even than most Exalted 
  could mine, digging tunnels and vying for the favor of 
  their Quicksilver Queen (see pp. 100-102).
  Mercury ants know many alchemical secrets. Their 
  bite can transmute any metal into any other (at five 
  motes per pound, with no effect on the magical materi-
  als). Their bite also has strong effects on sexual beings: 
  injecting mercury into their bodies, the bite alters their 
  internal alchemy and lends a vague shimmer to their 
  blood. This is a Poison effect. A bitten character finds 
  that her libido is stronger than usual, and will become 
  overpowering. Every two weeks afterward, her Temper-
  ance suffers an internal penalty of -1 in sexual situations 
  (this stacks, maxes out at -5 and is an explicit exception 
  to the rule that internal penalties can’t reduce pools 
  below a character’s Essence). If she manages to control 
  herself, her mercurial blood will build up, channeling 
  itself through her spine and nourishing her brain. Her 
  focus and analytical abilities are thereby improved: she 
  may add 1 to Intelligence rolls every time the Temper-
  ance penalty increases. Experiencing orgasm by any 
  means releases a great deal of mercury and relieves the 
  character for two weeks, resetting the Temperance 
  penalty and Intelligence bonus to 0—and decreasing her 
  Wits dice pools by 2 for that time. She’ll feel exhausted 
  and slow, bled of mental energy.
  The effects of the ants’ bites are permanent for 
  mortals, but Essence-wielders “heal” the mercurial blood 
  after a month (whether they want to or not). Bodies 
  don’t take well to the transmutation: each year after 
  being bitten effectively ages a character three years.
  In the First Age, a smooth-tongued lady won the 
  favor of the mercury ants’ Quicksilver Queen, then stole 
  her alchemical secrets and collapsed her underground 
  palace. The Queen remembers the incident well and 
  passes the memory to each follower before they’re born, 
  teaching them to loathe and distrust all surface dwellers. 
  Humans who invade mercury ant territory—even in-
  nocently exploring children or miners who accidentally 
  come a few feet too far—will receive no mercy and may 
  provoke the elementals to overrun nearby human settle-
  ments. Villages above ground are likely safe, however, as 
  the ants fight best beneath it, where they can collapse 
  tunnels upon enemies or transmute nearby metallic 
  deposits into drowning floods of mercury.
  Summoning: The Queen doesn’t often notice absences 
  among her nigh-infinite servants and considers them 
  easily replaced when she does. Sorcerous architects 
  summon mercury ants for help digging foundations, and 
  alchemists for advice. Mercury ants know the locations 
  of many buried wonders, not to mention underground 
  ores. Obviously, mercury ants are frequently summoned 
  for their ability to transmute metals; cities with many 
  citizen sorcerers, such as Nexus, often use mercury ants 
  to aid in their industries.
  It’s nearly impossible to win the liking of these el-
  ementals, but they’re accustomed to unquestioning 
  servitude. Even after the end of servitude (they make 
  good Functionaries), the ants rarely care about their 
  summoners one way or the other.
  Mercury ants can explicitly not be bound—or even 
  persuaded—to attack or disobey their Queen.
  Motivation: Expand the colony and protect the 
  Queen.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 1, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 1 (Running +2), Awareness 3, 
  Dodge 3, Integrity 2 (Anything Surface Dwellers 
  Say +3), Investigation 3, Larceny 3, Lore 2 
  (Alchemy +3), Martial Arts 3, Resistance 2, 
  Stealth 3, War 2 (Ant Formation +3)
  Backgrounds: Allies 5, Mentor 4
  Charms: 
  Affinity Earth Control—Transmutes and sculpts
  Bread of Weak Spirit—Consume other mercury ants
  Call—Summons mercury ants
  Dematerialize—Costs 35 motes
  THIS BITES
  Some players are uncomfortable with forc-
  ible sexual effects such as the mercury ant’s bite. 
  Storytellers, don’t use this effect unless you’re 
  sure it won’t freak your players out—and by sure 
  we mean positive. Dealing with issues of sex in 
  games can be fun, but it can also be awkward 
  or even traumatic, particularly if a given player 
  feels as if he or she doesn’t have control over 
  the situation.
  
  110
  Domain Manipulation Scenario—Poison (see above)
  Landscape Hide—Hide within colony tunnels
  Landscape Travel—Burrow at full movement speed
  Natural Prognostication—Senses alchemical signals
  Principle of Motion—Five banked actions
  Sheathing the Material Form—+2L/+5B when fighting 
  alongside other mercury ants
  Spice of Custodial Delectation—Gain strength from 
  communal effort
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 4, Accuracy 8, Damage 8L, Parry DV 4, 
  Rate 2
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 4L, Parry DV 4, 
  Rate 3
  Soak: 4L/9B (Quicksilver carapace, 3L/6B ;
  Hardness: 1L/1B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 5
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 45
  Other Notes: Mercury ants move along ceilings and 
  walls at their normal movement speed.
  SERPENT-AND-EGG
  These reclusive malachite-scaled snakes never 
  manifest without their copper eggs. Wound about those 
  eggs and apparently about to swallow them, the serpents 
  lie unmoving wherever Creation places them. On a 
  moonless night, or over the course of a solar eclipse, 
  one of these elementals may vanish from its current 
  resting place and appear in a new one. The serpent has 
  no conscious control over where it goes, and it ends 
  up in a location where a dire and passionate event is 
  about to take place. Appropriate places include a hol-
  low at the base of a statue commemorating a despot’s 
  rule, just before that dictator is overthrown in rage; a 
  burrow beneath the mansion of a famously beautiful, 
  aging woman who’s about to murder her lovely daughter 
  in jealousy; a hollow at the base of a hill, atop which 
  an Abyssal will soon Exalt in agony.
  Upon reaching its new home, the serpent studies 
  the surface of its egg until a vision of what’s coming 
  coalesces in the bright copper. Then, the elemental 
  flicks out its tongue, smelling the local emotions. The 
  elemental finds the heart of the passions that will cause 
  the dire event and begins to whisper encouragement. Its 
  murmurs suffuse through the area to influence darker 
  and darker feelings: jealousy, fury, uncaring lust. After 
  the event, the serpent whips up the participants into 
  the worst possible frame of mind before departing. 
  During any lulls the serpent can find, it will try hard 
  to bring visions of its own future to the egg’s shining 
  surface, but the serpent can’t succeed more than once 
  every 1,000 years.
  These elementals once followed an earth dragon 
  named Traditional Wisdom. In her service, they encour-
  aged ill events that resulted from a disregard for custom. 
  Back then, the serpents-and-eggs invoked regret and 
  penitence after those events, reminding humanity to 
  respect its traditions. But Jealous Saffron Rage, a lesser 
  dragon of fire (see pp. 113-115), became discontented 
  with his own servitors and began eyeing the serpents-
  and-eggs. He felt that Traditional Wisdom’s followers 
  were better suited to him than to her; in jealousy and 
  quick anger, he challenged her to a contest for them.
  Rather than fight another dragon, Traditional 
  Wisdom offered to trade servitors peacefully. The two 
  completed the paperwork in less than a century, and 
  now, the serpents-and-eggs are shaped by a very dif-
  ferent master. A few Sidereal Exalted consider this an 
  unfortunate change for Creation, and something that 
  ought to be reversed—but they’ve been too busy to 
  address such a minor matter for many, many years.
  Serpents-and-eggs store all their compassion in their 
  eggs. If an egg is broken, its white jade heart (a somewhat 
  coveted ingredient for artifacts) will be revealed, and 
  the malachite snake will become a paragon of kindness 
  (Compassion 5, rather than 1). However, the snake will 
  also be unable to regain Essence or Willpower, and will 
  die permanently at the next new moon.
  Summoning: A sorcerer who commands a serpent-and-
  egg to speak of itself will earn the elemental’s eternal 
  (possibly vengeful) enmity. These creatures immediately 
  forget orders to break their own eggs, and any sorcerer 
  who breaks one herself will face the Celestial Hierarchy’s 
  wrath (other egg breakers need merely deal with Jealous 
  Saffron Rage). A serpent-and-egg can be compelled 
  to move, but the serpent will be forced to swallow its 
  egg for safekeeping while it slithers; such is unlucky, 
  presaging a loss of harmony such as a bad harvest or 
  the disruption of a truth-seeker’s quest. Beyond these 
  things, a serpent-and-egg is passive and content to do 
  as it’s bound. Usually, it’s asked to seek precognitive 
  visions in its egg’s mirrored surface.
  The vast majority of serpent-and-eggs have too much 
  Conviction to become Viziers, but sorcerers often wish 
  to bind the creatures to that plate. An a result, the few 
  serpents-and-eggs with Conviction 3 or less have been 
  called an awful lot, and are more accustomed to dealing 
  with humans than their brethren. (They even have a few 
  different Traits, labeled “Vizier-bound” in the stat block 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  111
  below.) These elementals know that their advice leads 
  to terrible passions and ill ends; if Vizier-bound, they’ll 
  warn the summoner of that. More importantly—because 
  a Vizier offers what it truly believes is good advice—these 
  elementals second-guess themselves, and occasionally 
  give their summoners what they think is bad advice in 
  an attempt to counteract their uneasy self-knowledge.
  The “bad” advice makes little difference, for the knowl-
  edge serpents-and-eggs impart is ill-fated even when 
  they don’t want it to be. Their self-contradictions end 
  up harming the sorcerer more than truth would. Most sa-
  vants don’t fully understand this facet of serpent-and-egg 
  psychology, but its repercussions have led to a common 
  belief that the creatures don’t take well to Abscissic bind-
  ings. Knowledgeable teachers (for instance, professors at 
  sorcerous academies such as the Heptagram) discourage 
  summoning serpent-and-eggs as Viziers.
  Because sorcerers tend to be powerful people with lots of 
  potential to hurt others, Jealous Saffron Rage instructs his 
  servants to watch for their emotional weaknesses when 
  summoned and report those weaknesses back to him. 
  Later, he may capitalize on the information. But serpents-
  and-eggs can explicitly be bound—or even persuaded—to 
  attack or disobey the Underground Fire.
  Motivation: Learn its own future.
  Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4 (Vizier-bound 3), 
  Temperance 3 (Vizier-bound 4), Valor 2
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 0 (Vizier-bound 3), 
  Integrity 3, Investigation 4, Lore 3, Occult 3 (Vizier-
  bound 5), Presence 0 (Vizier-bound 3), Resistance 3, 
  Socialize 4
  Backgrounds: Mentor 4
  Charms:
  Dematerialize—Costs 50 motes
  Foretell the Future—Occasionally senses fates
  Hurry Home—Moves the spirit to where it needs to be
  Landscape Hide—Covers itself in stone to hide
  Measure the Wind
  Natural Prognostication—Knows places of passionate 
  turmoil
  Plague of Menaces—Automatically curses the area 
  around it when it must swallow its egg or is angry
  Spice of Custodial Delectation—Delights in strife
  Stoke the Flame—Encourages dark passions
  Subtle Whisper—Affects others without moving
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Investigation, Lore, Oc-
  cult, Socialize
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Occult, Socialize
  Join Battle: 5
  Attacks:
  None
  Soak: 4L/9B (Malachite scales, 3L/6B; 
  Hardness: 1L/1B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 (can dodge only while egg is swal-
  lowed) Willpower: 7
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 65
  Other Notes: Serpent-and-eggs cannot dash.
  SEVENTH AMETHYST
  Seventh Amethyst is the Minister for Unforeseen 
  Events of the Island of Broken Masks, one of the many 
  isles secreted away in the West’s Archipelago of the 
  Exiles. Her rank makes her general of the largest military 
  force in the archipelago and one of the most magically 
  potent navies in the West, on those rare occasions when 
  it sets sail. She works hard at manipulating events so that 
  military conflict is never necessary, however, because 
  the laws of Heaven demand that the archipelago stay 
  hidden from the view of the rest of Creation. There-
  fore, the forces at her command go to war only against 
  the token forces of the other islands, and any conflict 
  with outsiders is viewed as a failure of the island chain’s 
  security. This has made Seventh Amethyst a master of 
  intrigue the equal of any being within the archipelago 
  and one of the few exiles who actively cultivate spies 
  in the other governments of the West. Any hints that 
  Western Deathlords, pirate bands or Wyld barbarians 
  seek to raid the archipelago are dealt with before those 
  forces even set sail.
  Seventh Amethyst has risen to her current position 
  from the humblest of beginnings, exiled from a family of 
  earth elementals shortly after her creation due to some 
  fluke of astrological forecasting that said that she was 
  doom-wracked. By the time she found her way to the 
  archipelago, she had survived enslavement by renegade 
  gods, forced labor by the Guild and the policing of the 
  Immaculate Order. The King of the Island of Broken 
  Masks appointed her to his private guard, and she was 
  soon climbing its ranks, subjugating those less crafty 
  and arranging accidents for those who posed a genuine 
  threat, until she finally was elevated to her current title. 
  If it were not for the paucity of actual threats to the 
  Island of Broken Masks, it might find itself imperiled 
  by Seventh Amethyst’s culling of those possessed of 
  any competence. 
  Seventh Amethyst’s form is that of a beautiful 
  statue of a girl of 10 years, carved from black marble. 
  
  112
  As with all spirits who reside on the Island of Broken 
  Mask, she has been disfigured. She cut out both of the 
  amethysts that once rested where her eyes should be, 
  and now wears them around her neck on a golden chain. 
  The dagger Seventh Amethyst used to do this rests at 
  her side, on a crimson sash she wears across her waist. 
  When she rests, she is serene and unmoving, but she 
  despises inactivity and wanders the corridors of power 
  ceaselessly, always thinking about potential threats and 
  intrigues. Recently, Seventh Amethyst has begun to 
  wonder about who uttered the horoscope that led to her 
  expulsion from her clan, and if her path has not been 
  directed by some force in Heaven. If so, is her position 
  as Minister for Unforeseen Events part of some plot? 
  Is she a flaw in the archipelago’s security? She would 
  do anything to answer that question, and has become 
  increasingly hostile to Sidereal and Celestial visitors 
  to the island chain because of it.
  Summoning: Seventh Amethyst has never been sum-
  moned. She has no particular notoriety amongst the 
  summoner communities of Creation, and no sorcerer 
  has ever seen fit to mention her by name in any guide 
  to summoning. She does not expect to be called up by 
  a sorcerer at any point during her life and gives little 
  thought to what she’d do were it to happen.
  Motivation: Protect herself from betrayal, and make 
  herself invaluable.
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 1, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 3 
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Awareness 2, Dodge 3, Integrity 3, Lore 4, 
  Martial Arts 4, Medicine 2 (Torture +1), Melee 4, 
  Presence 2, Resistance 3, Sail 4, Stealth 3, War 4
  Backgrounds: Backing 4, Contacts 5, Followers 5, 
  Resources 2
  Elemental Powers: Elemental Rejuvenation 
  Charms: 
  Affinity Earth Control—Stone
  Dematerialize—Costs 50 motes
  Fruit of Living Essence—Rivals
  Landscape Travel—Stone
  Memory Mirror—Enemies of the Island of Broken 
  Masks
  Mirror of the Infinite Wardrobe—Items of rock and stone
  Paralyze—Rivals
  First (Ability) Excellency—Bureaucracy, Sail, Presence, 
  War
  Join Battle: 5
  Attacks: 
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 6, Damage 7B, Parry 
  DV 2, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 4B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Jade Dagger: Speed 4, Accuracy 7, Damage 7L, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 3
  Soak: 7L/12B (Stone skin, 6L/6B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 5
  Essence: 5 
  Essence Pool: 75
  Other Notes: None
  ELEMENTALS OF FIRE
  The elementals of fire are the most respected of the 
  elemental beings. The garda birds are the only elementals 
  not of dragon stature with passing influence amongst 
  the gods. The ifrit are the elementals most respected 
  amongst humanity. Virtuous yet aloof, the ifrit and garda 
  birds who lead the fire courts remain neutral in conflicts 
  between other elementals, and so garner a reputation as 
  moderators and hosts during talks of peace. Only the water 
  elementals despise the elementals of fire, for refusing to 
  come to water’s aid against the Court of Winds.
  It needn’t have been this way. In the chaos following 
  the death of the Great Garda, amidst the endless inferno 
  clouds of need fires, the garda birds were born immortal, 
  and could join with each other to create wise and pure 
  beings. By an accident of history, a few such gardas broke 
  past Creation’s barriers and found their way into Heaven, 
  where they remained pure and unsullied by the rage and 
  chaos of a world torn by war. At war’s end, when the 
  gods claimed Heaven for themselves, the garda birds were 
  already there, and these Celestial gardas traveled back to 
  Creation, where they joined with the rage-filled garda 
  birds of the Terrestrial sphere. The withdrawn wisdom and 
  Temperance-countered Valor of the garda birds shaped 
  the fire courts thereafter. Other fire elementals are base, 
  violent and emotional, but by ifrit and garda guidance, 
  the fire courts remain at peace. Had no gardas found their 
  way into Heaven, the fire courts and all of Creation would 
  have reached a far different outcome.
  Fire court peace comes at the cost of influence. 
  Unlike earth elementals, who never seem to concern 
  themselves with outside affairs, fire elementals have 
  consciously surrendered the possibility of a great and 
  centralized authority to retain the respect and admira-
  tion of the other elemental courts. Fire elementals have 
  left the role of grand generals to the Wind Masters.
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  113
  JEALOUS SAFFRON RAGE, 
  THE UNDERGROUND FIRE
  LESSER ELEMENTAL DRAGON OF FIRE
  Though the fire courts pride themselves on their 
  clear heads and calm manners, the children of the 
  Great Garda are prone to unreasoning emotional flares. 
  Many fire elementals keep a careful watch on their own 
  hearts. They recognize the potential influence of their 
  passion-inspiring fellows, and the one they fear most 
  is the Underground Fire.
  Jealous Saffron Rage is only physical when there’s 
  a tree nearby, preferably an old and stately one. Those 
  around him will smell faint burning, but may not 
  understand what it portends: the dragon is a root fire 
  afflicting that tree, devouring its base and then burning 
  up through the center. If someone chops his way into 
  a tree afflicted by the Underground Fire, he’ll find a 
  smoky inferno inside. Within that yellow blaze flares 
  eight clawlike tongues of flame—the only indication 
  that it’s truly the body of a dragon.
  Whether or not Jealous Saffron Rage is burning 
  the heart from living wood, he manifests as dark pas-
  sions. Wherever he is, there’s wrath, uncaring lust and 
  (naturally) jealousy. If there aren’t any nearby trees 
  to burn, these emotions will be his only presence. He 
  speaks little, but if he must, he does so through the 
  mouth of whomever’s most under his sway.
  Many tragedies are attributed to the Underground 
  Fire. He rarely attends the flame courts, for mayhem 
  ensues when he does. In his presence, lovers are enraged 
  enough to kill each other, and peaceful gatherings 
  become impassioned mobs. Fortunately for humanity, 
  the dragon remains mainly in the depths of the East. 
  But he sometimes receives word of sorcerers’ emotional 
  weaknesses from his servants the serpents-and-eggs (see 
  pp. 110-111), and may personally try to capitalize on 
  that knowledge during a foray into civilization.
  In forests, Jealous Saffron Rage’s subsurface fire can 
  ignite the ground where roots meet underbrush. Hence, 
  the dragon sometimes causes wide-ranging devastation. 
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  eight clawlike tongues of flame—the only indication
  that it’s truly y the body of a dragon.
  g
  g
  ,
  the dragon sometimes causes wide-ranging devastation. 
  
  114
  Though terrified of the Underground Fire, Creation’s 
  wood dragons recognize that fire revitalizes forests, so 
  they’ve worked out a deal. The fire dragon restrains 
  himself somewhat, slowly burning his way though stag-
  nant woods that need renewal, and taking sabbaticals 
  three times a century. In exchange, the wood courts 
  never interfere with his activities.
  Anyone who finds this dragon and addresses him by 
  name will gain his attention. Practically no one seeks 
  him out, and he’s unaccustomed to bargaining for his 
  favor. He asks for simple things in return for his help. 
  A seductive petitioner might be asked to undermine 
  a famous relationship by instigating jealousy, thereby 
  setting a famous example; an assassin might be sent to 
  carefully murder two heads of Dragon-Blooded families 
  at odds with each other, thereby arranging a long and 
  vicious vendetta.
  Summoning: If summoned, Jealous Saffron Rage has 
  the right to send a servant elemental in his stead.
  Motivation: Inspire destructive passions. Jealous Saffron 
  Rage has an Intimacy toward burning out trees.
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 9, Manipulation 9, Appearance 3; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Awareness 4, Bureaucracy 3, 
  Dodge 6, Integrity 7 (Destructive Passions -7), 
  Lore 5, Occult 4, Performance 10, Presence 10, Social-
  ize 7 (Reading Emotions +5), Survival 3 (Forests +3), 
  Thrown 0 (Dragon’s Suspire +3)
  Backgrounds: Contacts 4, Followers 4, Influence 3, 
  Resources 3
  Charms:
  Affinity Fire Control—Uses eight barrels of fire to attack
  Banish—Works on himself, teleporting him to a random 
  tree as a means of escape
  Capture—Summons any creature to the foot of his 
  tree
  Dematerialize—Costs 75 motes
  Essence Bite—Deals three aggravated health levels of 
  fire damage that bypasses armor
  Essence Plethora (x1)
  Fire Dragon’s Embrace—See below
  Form Reduction Technique—Jealous Saffron Rage has 
  never attempted to use this Charm.
  Geas—Tasks whose completion inspires jealousy or 
  vendetta
  Impromptu Messenger—Through those most impas-
  sioned
  Measure the Wind
  Regalia of Authority—Orders others to obey him
  Reserve of Will (x1)
  Ride—Jealous Saffron Rage has never attempted to use 
  this Charm.
  Stoke the Flame—Inspire incredible passions
  Subtle Whisper—Inspires emotions through mere 
  presence
  Stoke the Flame—Inspires negative passions only
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Performance, Presence, 
  Socialize
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Socialize
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Performance (Inspiring 
  Negative Passions)
  All-Encompassing Divine (Ability) Subordination—
  Presence
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  Dragon’s Suspire: Speed 6, Accuracy 6, Damage 6L, 
  Range 10, Rate 1
  Soak: 9L/19B (Entirely fire, 8L/16B; Hardness: 8L/8B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 9 
  Willpower: 7 (8)
  Essence: 8 
  Essence Pool: 125
  Other Notes: As a dragon, Jealous Saffron Rage can 
  fly at double his normal movement rate. He can also 
  move through root systems at full speed.
  The Underground Fire absorbs fire elemental damage 
  per Blessed Fire Body (see pp. 163-164).
  Jealous Saffron Rage’s Dragon’s Suspire is an unblockable 
  explosion that targets all creatures within 10 yards of 
  him. It is a fire elemental attack.
  Jealous Saffron Rage has traded much of his physical 
  draconic power for emotional and insubstantial power. 
  As a result, his physical scores are much lower than a 
  normal elemental dragon’s, and he cannot physically 
  attack. However, the dragon is completely immune to 
  all physical attacks that are not elementally aspected 
  toward water. Furthermore, the Fire Dragon’s Embrace 
  of the dragon are special. They cost no Essence, acti-
  vate reflexively, inflict only the negative effects of the 
  charm and cannot be avoided, because they are Jealous 
  Saffron Rage. One who successfully resists this Charm 
  still feels jealousy, rage, lust—whatever dark emotion 
  is most appropriate to the moment. Resisting targets 
  simply recognize the emotion’s supernatural origin and 
  suppress it to a manageable level, basically becoming 
  just rather touchy. Only characters with Temperance 
  5 and Compassion 5 totally overcome the emotions 
  that make up Jealous Saffron Rage. Such characters 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  115
  cannot be detected by the dragon: he won’t see them, 
  hear their words, etc. (though he’ll certainly still be 
  wounded if they fight him).
  It’s comparatively easy to inspire dark passions in 
  Jealous Saffron Rage; against attempts to do so, his 
  Integrity is 0.
  AMABOSAR
  During the invasion of the Fair Folk, after the 
  dragon lines were bent out of millennia of alignment, 
  the border between elements was terribly injured. Time 
  eventually mended the wound, but in the meantime, 
  elementals of mixed affiliation coalesced in great 
  numbers. Amabosars, squat and unsightly humanlike 
  beings, are some of these.
  When Gaia healed, amabosars assumed the ele-
  ment of fire; but their nature had many aspects of 
  earth. This contradiction affected them keenly. They 
  had been reserved, but passionate. Now they’re lazy 
  and ill-tempered. Their fire makes them leaders with 
  bold new ideas, but the thwarted earth within warps 
  them toward an incoherent traditionalist bent: easily 
  amassing cults, amabosars cannot command. Once, 
  they were consummate warriors with hand and blade; 
  now, they’re too confused to choose one method. When 
  threatened, they just discharge quantities of fire from 
  their rough-skinned joints.
  Amabosars often use their cults to claim rocky, 
  warm areas, particularly if they’re demesnes. The cults 
  usually fall apart quickly, but the amabosar will stay in 
  its new territory till driven out. Truly happiest alone, 
  the grumpy, disagreeable amabosars have trouble mak-
  ing allies even of fellow Essence-wielders.
  Summoning: Just as other blurred elemental types 
  born of Gaia’s indisposition, amabosars are prized by 
  sorcerers. The elementals aren’t much help as servants. 
  Their nature is weird enough that it’s hard to predict 
  which commands will contradict it, and thus hard to 
  find orders the amabosar won’t forget. But their Essences 
  demonstrate unique ambiguity, useful for a variety of 
  occult studies. These beings are especially fascinating 
  for the very few sorcerers interested in spiritual psychol-
  ogy, for amabosars enjoy Abscissic bindings. Indeed, the 
  plates other elementals most abhor—notably Slave and 
  Sufferer—are gratefully welcomed by amabosars. Some 
  literally beg for the empty clarity of Slavery.
  Motivation: Find a home matching its elemental 
  imbalance.
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 4; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 1, Dodge 3, 
  Integrity 2, Larceny 3, Linguistics 1, Performance 2, 
  Presence 2, Resistance 3, Socialize 1, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Cult 1, Demesne 2
  Charms:
  Affinity Fire Control—Shoots three barrels of fire at 
  targets
  Blessed Fire Body—Non-magical fire only
  Dematerialize—Costs 40 motes
  Landscape Travel—Magma
  Shapechange—A man’s height for one scene
  Stoke the Flame—Rash and reactionary hate and anger
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Performance, 
  Survival
  Join Battle: 3
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 2, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 2, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 2, Damage 7B, Parry 
  DV 1, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 4, Damage 4B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Affinity Fire Control: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, 
  Damage 9L, Range 10, Rate 3
  Soak: 5L/8B (Burning aura, 3L/6B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 5
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 55
  Other Notes: None
  FIRE BUTTERFLY
  In 13 places stand the Quiet Fires, mute witness to 
  a long-ago world-spanning holocaust. The sky-reaching 
  pillars of flame burn silently, but so hot that none but 
  fire spirits can approach. Sparkling creatures born of the 
  Quiet Fires, fire butterflies usually swarm around their 
  birthplace till death, but some flutter out into the wider 
  world and bring back reports of everything beautiful.
  Fire butterflies hate other pretty spirits with a burn-
  ing passion that will never die. These lovely palm-sized 
  insects, which seem made of solid black-spotted flame, 
  can’t handle the idea of anything more gorgeous than 
  they. In particular, they resent flame ducks (see pp. 
  116-117), who aren’t (they’re quick to point out) even 
  that beautiful—so why do they always get all the ifrit 
  attention? Not that the butterflies don’t also dislike 
  ifrit (see pp. 119-120)—after all, those human-loving 
  jerks are just so full of themselves. But the thing fire 
  butterflies loathe most is gold (or orichalcum), which 
  
  116
  most butterflies secretly feel is the loveliest thing in 
  the world. Just seeing a golden earring or bracelet can 
  drive a fire butterfly to fury.
  When flying across Creation, these elementals pause 
  to observe each beautiful creature, learn everything 
  they can, then seek out their new victim’s enemies and 
  reveal all her secrets. Near the Quiet Fires, attractive 
  men and women go hooded in hopes of evading the 
  butterflies’ notice.
  The hottest of sensual passions come to life in fire 
  butterflies. In insect form, their mere touch ignites 
  nothing—but if one loses its temper, it’ll become a fiery 
  human who sets everything possible aflame. The powder 
  coating their lower wings can be mixed in oil and used 
  as body paint that causes 24 hours of violently sexual 
  hallucinations in any human the butterfly decorates. 
  On the bright side, this also gives the victim the abil-
  ity to set fires with a glance. When dissolved in water, 
  this powder cures fevers; it’s also a useful ingredient 
  for explosives.
  Summoning: For obvious reasons, some sorcerers 
  like having fire butterfly consorts (at least, if they 
  also have powers that make them immune to fire). 
  They make excellent Courtesans, but will inconve-
  niently attack the summoner’s other lovers if given 
  half a chance. Most sorcerers avoid fire butterflies 
  entirely, especially since they’re not good for much 
  besides… ahem.
  Motivation: Be the prettiest.
  Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; 
  Charisma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 5; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 2, Dodge 3, 
  Linguistics 3, Performance 2, Presence 3, Socialize 3
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms:
  Dematerialize—Costs 40 motes
  Dreamscape—Sends passionate dreams
  Essence Bite—4L fire damage
  Fire Dragon’s Embrace—Lust that burns
  Hoodwink—Passionate visions
  Malediction—Reduce Appearance by one dot (does 
  not stack)
  Natural Prognostication—Find beauty, or lust
  Shapechange—Fiery humanoid
  First (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Presence, Socialize, 
  Stealth
  Join Battle: 5
  Attacks:
  Fiery humanoid form:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 1B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 3, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 1, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 3, Damage 1B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 1L/2B
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 50
  Other Notes: In butterfly form, fire butterflies fly to get 
  from place to place, at their full movement speed.
  In fiery humanoid form, fire butterflies have a tendency 
  to ignite any combustible materials that they touch.
  Fire butterflies absorb fire elemental damage per Blessed 
  Fire Body (see pp. 163-164).
  FLAME DUCK
  As short, fit women with dark green skin and flame-
  red hair, or as small bright ducks with flame-edged wings, 
  these elementals wander the South in the pursuit of jus-
  tice. Once, they followed Sorsa Endi, a lesser elemental 
  dragon of fire whose brother was lost during the Usurpa-
  tion. Certain her brother wasn’t dead, Sorsa Endi became 
  obsessed with finding him. She even released her flame 
  ducks to pursue their own lives while she searched, but 
  they didn’t relish the freedom. Longing for their mistress 
  to lead them through the sky again, the ducks watched 
  her grief-stricken search for centuries before deciding 
  enough was enough. Together, they secretly plotted to 
  make their mistress forget her heartache.
  The flame ducks themselves weren’t powerful 
  enough to work such enchantments upon a dragon. 
  So, though they wished their mistress only good, the 
  flame ducks found themselves allying with her enemies. 
  Those enemies swore holy oaths that they’d only make 
  the dragon forget her brother—but they lied. They used 
  the flame ducks’ aid to destroy Sorsa Endi, and left the 
  devastated elementals with nothing to do but repent.
  In the aftermath of their sin, Creation’s flame ducks 
  found themselves at loose ends. They follow a variety of 
  professions, and use the skills they learn to venerate the 
  fallen dragon’s memory. Some flame ducks capitalize on 
  their exotic good looks and charm, becoming high-class 
  courtesans, gamblers or merchant princes. Others take 
  advantage of their fighting prowess to lead mercenary 
  companies or work as highly paid bodyguards. Just as 
  most fire elementals, flame ducks are emotional, but 
  they’re also smart. One of the few things they aren’t 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  117
  good at is blindly following orders, which is why they 
  tend toward freelancing and leadership positions.
  Those flame ducks who were alive when their race 
  betrayed Sorsa Endi want nothing but to atone. They 
  work for just causes because the dragon would have 
  served them, and burn sulfurous incense to her memory 
  every day. Younger flame ducks, though deeply affected 
  by the tales of their sisters, have no such emotional 
  wound. They do as their sisters expect, but they’ll soon 
  be a majority. When that day comes, there will be a 
  shift in flame duck culture—for though flame ducks 
  honor justice in Sorsa Endi’s memory, they’re born 
  seeing little virtue in justice for its own sake.
  Summoning: Flame ducks make fair lieutenants and 
  majordomos, being good at many things, but their 
  sometimes-unorthodox approach to problem-solving 
  means that they require a lot of oversight, and their 
  distaste for following orders makes them sulky and ill-
  tempered even when influenced by sorcerous loyalty. 
  These elementals often form tight, sisterly groups with 
  oaths of mutual protection, and in areas where Celestial 
  law is weak, a flame duck’s siblings may hunt down her 
  summoner, observe the situation and attack if they sus-
  pect that their fellow elemental is being mistreated—and 
  the flame ducks take a more all-encompassing view of 
  what constitutes abuse than the Celestial Order does.
  Motivation: Venerate Sorsa Endi’s memory.
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 2, Dodge 3, Larceny 2, 
  Linguistics 2, Martial Arts 4, Presence 3, Resistance 1, 
  Survival 2, Socialize 3, War 2 (Duck Formation +3)
  Backgrounds: Contacts 3, Mentor 4, Resources 3
  Charms:
  Affinity Fire Control—+3 fire damage
  Call—Scream for aid in battle
  Dematerialize—Costs 40 motes
  Eye of Inspiration—Combat prowess
  Harrow the Mind—Illusions of dangerous people with 
  weapons
  Landscape Travel—Flight at running speed
  Loom Stride—Rejoin formation
  Measure the Wind
  Meat of Broken Flesh—Fists drain warriors’ Essence
  Shapechange—Small woman or fiery duck
  Sheathing the Material Form—+6B/3L vs. hand-to-hand 
  attacks
  Tracking—Other flame ducks
  First (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts, Presence, 
  War
  Join Battle: 6
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 3B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 6B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 3B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Javelin: Speed 4, Accuracy 9, Damage 6L, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 2
  Soak: 5L/12B (Fiery plumage, 4L/9B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 5
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 50
  Other Notes: None
  GARDA BIRD
  Rumors surround the mysterious garda birds, who 
  originate from the Great Garda that (some savants say) 
  brought fire to humanity. Perhaps the Great Garda, 
  storytellers whisper, was torn into many birds by the 
  machinations of the gods, who felt angry that it had 
  given wisdom to mortals. Perhaps the Great Garda was 
  the font of all forbidden knowledge—and perhaps every 
  lesser garda is a source of secrets and temptation.
  Garda birds, after all, have hidden knowledge of men 
  and women. They boast both emperor forms—beautiful 
  peacocks with purple and flame feathers—and empress 
  forms—enormous, burning silver-eyed pheasants. Their 
  third form—a blazing phoenix with a man’s legs and 
  the head, talons and wings of an eagle, six arms and six 
  fiery swords—expresses primal secrets of fear; almost 
  everyone who sees this form flees in terror. The birds 
  even understand immortality. Unlike other elementals, 
  garda birds aren’t replaced by the world when they 
  die. After every death, a garda bird will rise again in 
  flame—self and individuality intact.
  Because of this last secret, garda birds are willing to 
  destroy themselves. If backed into a martial corner, the 
  bird sings a requiem of victory, then detonates across 
  the sky in a tremendous Essence flare. Only fools fail to 
  run when faced with a garda bird girding its loins.
  Garda birds, perhaps the oldest fire elementals in 
  existence, are sometimes involved in the flame courts. 
  There, their wisdom and mystery are respected. They 
  rarely gain quite the influence they could, because they 
  aren’t considered very reliable, but when they speak their 
  words gain great attention. Still, most of these elementals 
  
  118
  are solitary. They never pursue affairs with any creatures 
  but each other. When two garda birds are truly in love, 
  they have a unique way of expressing it: they immolate 
  themselves together (probably wrecking an entire region 
  in the process), then rise again as a new garda with a new 
  self. The only thing left of the former birds will be their 
  tail feathers, which are avidly sought by sages. All garda 
  tail feathers burn with a cold, painless indigo flame, which 
  cannot be quenched but also cannot spread.
  Summoning: Garda birds are obviously the perfect tacti-
  cal weapon for sorcerers, who can bind these elementals 
  to detonate over a designated area. This irritates the 
  birds, as they think it an ill and unvalorous use of their 
  sacrifice. They must personally seek redress over this, as 
  the Celestial Order cares not, but garda birds’ immortal 
  nature makes them tenacious enemies. Sorcerers who 
  call garda birds usually just use them as warriors, and 
  occasionally advisors in matters historical or magical.
  The secrets of garda birds—immortality, fear, sex—are 
  part of their nature; garda birds cannot reveal their 
  secrets even to a summoner, because they cannot 
  be articulated.
  Motivation: Find the perfect mate, with whom it shall 
  combine. Garda birds are very choosy about this—only 
  the greatest love is worth sacrificing immortality.
  Attributes: Strength 4 (Phoenix 6), Dexterity 5, 
  Stamina 4; Charisma 5, Manipulation 3 
  (Phoenix 2), Appearance 5; Perception 4, Intelligence 4 
  (Phoenix 3), Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 5
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 4, Dodge 4, 
  Integrity 3, Lore 4, Melee 0 (Phoenix 5),
  Occult 4, Presence 4 (Intimidation +3), Resistance 3, 
  Socialize 2, Stealth -3, War 3
  Backgrounds: Contacts 4, Influence 2
  Charms:
  Dematerialize—Costs 60 motes
  Divine Prerogative—Will punish any crimes against its 
  person
  Dreamspeak—All-Encompassing
  Immolation—With the expenditure of one mote, the 
  garda bird erupts in a fiery explosion. Every character 
  within (Essence x20) yards suffers an attack. Roll the 
  bird’s (Charisma + Valor), adding (Essence) automatic 
  successes; the result is the attack’s successes. This attack 
  can be blocked or dodged normally. The attack’s raw 
  damage is equal to the motes remaining in the garda bird’s 
  Essence pool at the moment of immolation. The garda 
  bird dies, though it will be reborn. A garda bird shifting 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  119
  into phoenix form unleashes a similar attack reflexively, 
  at no mote cost, with a raw damage of 16L.
  Landscape Travel—+2 Dexterity and double speed 
  when flying
  Memory Mirror—Sense the passions and purity within
  Paralyze (Phoenix form only)—-2 internal penalty to 
  Valor with a successful hit
  Regalia of Authority (Phoenix form only)—All opposing 
  the garda suffer utter terror.
  Shapechange—Emperor, empress or phoenix (see de-
  scription)
  Stoke the Flame—Inspire awe and terror
  Subtle Whisper—Subtly encourages curiosity and awe
  Tracking—Invests Essence in any summoner or unholy 
  being
  Words of Power—Sings out burning, passionate mysteries
  First (Ability) Excellency—Melee, Presence
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  Emperor and Empress form:
  Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 6, Damage 7L (Empress +2 
  Fire), Parry DV 3, Rate 3
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 5, Damage 4B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Arc of Flame: Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 4L, 
  Range 10, Rate 1
  Phoenix Form:
  Phoenix Sword: Speed 4, Accuracy 12, Damage 11L 
  (+2 Fire), Parry DV 6, Rate 3
  Soak:
  Emperor: 2L/4B
  Empress: 4L/6B; 8L/10B vs. Fire (Halo of flame, 2L/2B; 
  6L/6B vs. Fire)
  Phoenix: 10L/14B; 14L/18B vs. Fire (Halo of flame, 
  2L/2B; 6L/6B vs. Fire) (Lamellar armor, 6L/8B, 
  -2 mobility)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2
  /-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 7 
  Willpower: 8
  Essence: 4 
  Essence Pool: 80
  Other Notes: In any form, garda birds may fly at their 
  full movement speed. Landscape Travel may increase 
  this speed.
  In Empress and Phoenix forms, garda birds set fire to any 
  combustible material that they touch, and absorb fire el-
  emental damage per Blessed Fire Body (see pp. 163-164).
  Due to their blazing plumage, garda birds take a -3 
  internal penalty to any Stealth checks they’re unwise 
  enough to make.
  Neither Eclipses nor Moonshadows can learn 
  Immolation.
  IFRIT
  Ifrit resemble tall, handsome desert nomads, reach-
  ing up to eight feet in height, with smooth foreheads 
  and noble noses—save only for their incandescent skin. 
  The skin of the ifrit glows with an orange light, visible 
  for miles at night. By nearly everyone they meet, the 
  ifrit are prized. They make excellent warriors, diplomats 
  and generals. They are virtuous, honorable and hon-
  est. Unfortunately, that they sided quickly with the 
  Dragon-Blooded during the Usurpation lent the ifrit an 
  undeserved reputation for treachery in Yu-Shan—while 
  once ifrit and garda birds visited Heaven together, now 
  the gardas go alone and the ifrit aren’t welcome.
  Ifrit are incredibly proud. An ifrit who chooses to 
  become an ascetic must go through the worst priva-
  tion and offer the sagest, most impenetrable insights. 
  A diplomat-ifrit must be renowned for its wise and 
  evenhanded compromises. A warrior-ifrit will seize 
  every opportunity to demonstrate bravery and mercy. 
  An ifrit who feels no mortal respect for its character 
  will be unhappy—even if it claims all it wants to do is 
  sit meditating on a 50-foot column, alone and uninter-
  rupted. Thus, ifrit dislike being around other ifrit and 
  enjoy granting favors to suitably humble petitioners: 
  a lone ifrit will often go unchallenged as a city’s most 
  upstanding citizen.
  Ifrit excel at nearly everything. Their aspect is 
  inspiring and intimidating, and their commands form 
  hot words that cannot be challenged. Elemental courts 
  welcome ifrit gladly, and quickly elevate them to high 
  positions. Even the Terrestrial courts, which normally 
  treat elementals disdainfully, sometimes receive ifrit 
  with respect and request their help with thorny issues. 
  Ifrit don’t often settle down, but one might commit 
  itself to a cause or region that’s having a great many 
  problems. This can be a curse in disguise, for when these 
  elementals dedicate themselves to something, they are 
  more likely to feel stress over its shortcomings—and 
  their tempers can be fiery indeed.
  It’s not unusual for ifrit to take flame ducks (see 
  pp. 116-117) as consorts, and the South has more than 
  a few ifrit-flame duck teams.
  Summoning: An ifrit will warm somewhat to a sorcerer 
  who gives it interesting and challenging assignments 
  (thus, ifrit make good Hunters), particularly if the 
  summoner is polite. Nothing insults an ifrit so much as 
  being called to do something easy, such as guarding an 
  unthreatened front door for show or carrying written 
  messages like a street urchin. These elementals would 
  never whine or seek their own revenge, but an ifrit 
  
  120
  bound to demeaning purpose will later drop complaints 
  in powerful, well-chosen ears.
  Motivation: Provide a good role model for less righteous 
  folk (i.e., everyone).
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; 
  Charisma 4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 5; Perception 3,
  Intelligence 4, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 4, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, 
  Integrity 4, Investigation 3, Linguistics 4, Lore 3, Per-
  formance 3, Presence 4, Martial Arts 5, Resistance 2, 
  Socialize 3, Stealth -3, Survival 2, War 4
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Contacts 5, Influence 1, 
  Resources 4
  Charms:
  Benefaction—Bonus die to any one Ability
  Dematerialize—Costs 55 motes
  Destiny Sponsorship—Safe in the desert
  Domain Manipulation Scenario—Brighten to anima 
  banner level
  Harrow the Mind—Illusions plague the guilty
  Landscape Travel—3x speed over the desert
  Material Tribulation Divestment—Cleanses any Crip-
  pling, Poison or Sickness effects
  Regalia of Authority—Inspire awe in mortals
  Sheathing the Material Form—All-Encompassing
  Spice of Custodial Delectation—Gain Essence from hav-
  ing others thank him profusely
  Stoic Endurance—Soaks, heals, bleeds, recovers and 
  ages similar to an Exalt
  Tracking—Find anyone the ifrit has blessed
  Worldly Illusion—Target is alone with his sins
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Integrity, Mar-
  tial Arts
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Integrity, Martial Arts
  Join Battle: 6
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 7B, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 4B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Excellent Straight Sword: Speed 4, Accuracy 12, 
  Damage 8L, Parry DV 6, Rate 2
  Soak: 8L/12B (Lamellar armor, 6L/8B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 4 
  Essence Pool: 75
  Other Notes: Due to ifrit’s blazing flesh, ifrit take a -3 
  internal penalty to any Stealth checks they’re unwise 
  enough to make.
  LLAMA-YU
  Every five to 15 years, scarlet eyes couched in in-
  candescent flame roar from the desert, devastating the 
  habitations of men. Behind these eyes, the heat waves 
  upon the sands melt and intensify into extraordinary 
  visions. These depict scenes from stories valued by the 
  llama-yu: simple tales of the triumph of loyalty and love. 
  Rarely, they include flashes of the future.
  In the uncharted desert, llama-yu travel in roving 
  bands, some numbering in the hundreds. They have 
  no malice to them, but that doesn’t mitigate their de-
  structive capacity: unless they work to control it—and 
  wild llama-yu never do—they’ll set nearly everything 
  they see aflame. Some thaumaturges make a career of 
  keeping close track of llama-yu migration patterns, then 
  traveling ahead of a herd, offering protective wards to 
  those in its path.
  Often kept as fierce pets that double as bodyguards, 
  llama-yu can be trained (this requires Survival and Oc-
  cult scores of 2+ each). Thousands are gathered and 
  domesticated by trainers in the employ of the Court 
  of the Orderly Flame, then sold to wealthy owners 
  throughout the South. For flaming balls of destruction, 
  llama-yu are surprisingly affectionate. The elementals 
  form swift attachments, and work hard to make their 
  masters happy.
  Llama-yu have a certain degree of occult emotional 
  understanding. As they speed past villages or are shep-
  herded through cities, the mirages that trail llama-yu 
  portray recent joys and heartbreaks of those they pass. 
  Many secrets are betrayed by unwitting llama-yu, who 
  leave the visions as a “footprint” of their passage, not a 
  deliberate revelation. This and the fires they spread lead 
  cities to license llama-yu ownership; citizens with impor-
  tant confidences to protect rarely buy the elementals.
  The rare llama-yu who takes a particular liking to 
  someone will rush straight toward her and surround her 
  in white fire. After a moment, the blaze will clear, with 
  the llama-yu nowhere to be seen. The favored person 
  will later find herself seeing auras or even envisioning 
  near futures; when she does so, a red eye opens on 
  her forehead. The llama-yu has possessed her, though 
  gently, for she can still act as she wills. It will leave 
  in a crimson flash if she does something the llama-yu 
  finds distasteful—such as acting solely from cruelty or 
  moving to the snowy North—or if the llama-yu begins 
  to miss its wide and open home.
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  121
  Once trained, a llama-yu forever loses its ability to 
  possess others and grant them insight.
  Summoning: Sorcerers avoid llama-yu for the same 
  reasons some refuse to buy them: many have emotional 
  secrets they don’t want shown to an audience. There 
  are better warriors to call, and since llama-yu cannot 
  control the visions they trail, sorcerers can’t even ef-
  fectively use llama-yu to learn the secrets of others. In 
  addition, although sorcery may compel a llama-yu to 
  possess someone, the red eye will never appear unless 
  the creature actually likes her.
  Those few who call llama-yu often use the Slave plate, 
  reasoning that these creatures are unaware animals 
  anyway. The Court of the Orderly Flame would gladly 
  inform them that those llama-yu suffer emotional prob-
  lems at the end of their servitude, becoming practically 
  impossible to train. The elementals will be much less 
  traumatized if the Ecstatic plate is used instead.
  Motivation: (Wild) Spread beautiful fire with the lov-
  ing fellows of its herd.
  (Trained) Spread beautiful fire at the will of its loving 
  master.
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 1, Appearance 3; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 1, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 2, Dodge 3, Integrity 4, 
  Martial Arts 3, Presence 2, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Backing 0 (Trained 1)
  Charms:
  Amethyst Awareness—Senses the emotional intent of 
  powers
  Dematerialize—Costs 40 motes
  Endowment—Bestow Memory Mirror
  Landscape Travel—Move through burning areas at full 
  movement speed
  Memory Mirror—Senses emotional states
  Possession—Enters the minds of those she likes, but 
  doesn’t control them
  Sheathing the Material Form—+4B/2L vs. missile attacks
  Stoke the Flame—Movements cause intense curiosity
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Martial Arts, 
  Presence
  Join Battle: 6
  Attacks:
  Firebite: Speed 4, Accuracy 8, Damage 5L, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 2
  Soak: 4L/9B (Aegis of flame, 3L/6B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 50
  Other Notes: Having no arms, llama-yu cannot carry 
  things. 
  NEED FIRE
  Every vivid spark is a portion of the Great Garda. 
  Such tiny motes may come together to form a whole 
  far more than the sum of its parts: a floating, sparkling 
  ball called a need fire. Usually this is at the behest of 
  a summoning, but need fires are also created when-
  ever a wood elemental burns to death. Those last are 
  known as will-o’-the-wisps, which protect forests and 
  their ashes.
  Since need fires come into being for a purpose, 
  they’ll dissolve into disparate sparks once they’ve 
  fulfilled it. When a need fire finds its own Motivation 
  while serving its created function, though, the need 
  fire continues on. All need fires are nearly impossible 
  to fight physically, since they’re nothing but a group of 
  burning motes; but they can be quenched with water. 
  Spirits of Essence 3 or lower are horribly repelled by 
  the scent of a need fire’s smoke (though they grow ac-
  customed to it within a month). Thus, if the smoke is 
  breathed by one who’s been possessed by such a spirit, 
  she’ll violently cough up her possessor.
  If a cremation fails to prevent the rise of a hungry 
  ghost, some of its death-Essence will taint the flames. 
  A need fire may coalesce from those sparks, cherishing 
  a warped darkness in its blazing heart. Such need fires 
  are not obviously different from others, but they burn 
  maliciously, setting fires in the most dangerous possible 
  places. Naturally, they make favored servants of Abyssal 
  Exalted. On the other hand, need fires can also come 
  together from the pyres set by the Zenith Caste, whose 
  holy flames cleanse souls. Those elementals wish only 
  to destroy the unholy, and will seek out demons and 
  other unclean things to attack.
  Summoning: Even mortals can command need fires 
  though the use of thaumaturgy. See the ritual below.
  A true sorcerer can summon need fires without birth-
  ing one from flame, and bind them not to burn what 
  she doesn’t wish burned (rather than controlling them 
  with water), often as Ecstatics. Since mortals can call 
  need fires, though, formally trained sorcerers consider 
  it a tad déclassé.
  Motivations: (Created by summoners) Varies, but 
  always involves setting fires.
  (Created by the burning of a wood elemental) Guard 
  the site where the wood elemental lived till a new one 
  arises (if ever).
  
  122
  (Created by the pyres of unsettled spirits) Start fires 
  wherever they can cause great pain and death.
  (Created by the Zenith Caste anima) Burn creatures 
  of darkness.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 4; Perception 3,
  Intelligence 2, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Dodge 4, Occult 0 (Spirits +3) 
  (Fire +3), Resistance 3, Survival 2
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms: 
  Dematerialize—Costs 45 motes
  Domain Manipulation Scenario—Start and direct fires
  Essence Bite—2 lethal health levels of fire damage that 
  bypass armor
  Fruit of Living Essence—Regains motes as it burns
  Natural Prognostication—Seek what they were brought 
  forth to burn
  Spice of Custodial Delectation—Regains motes from 
  fueling the fire
  Subtle Whisper—Those who speak of the flames sub-
  consciously realize their purpose.
  Touch of Grace—Cures disease in animals
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Dodge
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  None
  Soak: 4L/6B; 10L/12B vs. Fire (Body of fire, 3L/3B; 
  9L/9B vs. Fire)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 60
  Other Notes: Having no solid bodies, need fires can-
  not carry things. They are always floating, but may 
  not fly higher than 20 yards off the ground of their 
  own power. They move through burning material at 
  their full speed.
  Need fires absorb fire elemental damage per Blessed Fire 
  Body (see pp. 163-164).
  ELEMENTALS OF WATER
  After more than a thousand years of persecution, 
  the elementals of water are fragmented and without 
  guidance. The Wind Masters have hunted not just the 
  most numerous of the water elementals but their lead-
  ers as well, and the only vocal opponent of the Wind 
  Masters amongst the water dragons is spiteful, unpopular 
  Ogime. Amongst the other lesser elemental dragons of 
  water, Fakharu’s loyalty is to himself, his lover and his 
  nostalgia for the First Age, while Naresh, the Arbiter 
  of Northern Storms, allies with the Bureau of Seasons 
  and works alongside the Wind Masters, turning a blind 
  eye to their crusades. The rest of the water dragons, too, 
  have abandoned their lower kin.
  The water courts are desperate. None aid them; 
  even the elementals of fire turn a blind eye. Nymphs 
  seek succor in the company of the sorcerers who bind 
  them, prostituting themselves to avoid air elemental 
  death squads. Sobeksis gather cults to defend them-
  selves. Water children mimic humans and conceal 
  themselves at all times. With no help from anyone in 
  the Celestial Order, the water elementals have begun 
  to look outside it. Lord Verethine of the vodonik 
  bargains with the Lintha and their Yozi patrons for 
  aid. Other water courts speak of allying with the 
  Fair Folk. Better to side with Creation’s enemies, 
  the water courts say, than tolerate their lot further. 
  Though their loyalty to each other is strong, it may 
  one day be that the elementals of water turn their 
  backs on Creation, and rise up to drown the world 
  entire—if the elementals of air don’t wipe the water 
  courts out first.
  SUMMON NEED FIRE
  (2, Charisma, 3, three hours)
  Since every fire holds sparks, every fire 
  can birth a need fire; a mortal need only offer 
  the potential need fire a reason to come into 
  the world. The summoner must be careful, for 
  need fires like to spread their birthing fires as 
  far as possible. But, aside from caution (many 
  buckets of water are usually kept nearby), the 
  summoner requires only a special wreath of 
  wormwood and laurel, which she feeds to the 
  flames while chanting her request: perhaps 
  “Come, need fire, to burn in a spirit-repelling 
  circle about me as I work,” or “Come, need fire, 
  and burn beneath my son’s nose so the fox god 
  that took him departs.” If creating the need 
  fire in front of an audience, most summoners 
  will make an ostentatious ceremony of it, but 
  only the wreath and words are necessary. Any 
  successes at all will summon a weak need fire 
  for (successes x 10) ticks. Four successes or 
  more will birth a permanent fire. This ritual 
  requires no resources.
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  123
  OGIME, THE FROG QUEEN
  LESSER ELEMENTAL DRAGON OF WATER
  Though she can give herself a body as beautiful as 
  any girl’s, Ogime travels among mortals as a warty crone. 
  She delights in being treated badly by humans—it gives 
  her an excuse to take whatever vengeance she wishes. 
  Tsunami and waterborne disease are both at her com-
  mand, as are her frog-headed daughters the heketa (see 
  pp. 125-126); she herself can become a frog-headed, 
  smooth-skinned sea dragon in a trice. If she’s feeling 
  particularly irritable, she’ll find the offenders’ families 
  and destroy them, too, using her vicious curses or toxic 
  breath. Ogime was once the protégé and is now a close 
  friend of the Chiaroscuro god Grandmother Bright (see 
  pp. 52-54), who was herself once goddess of revenge. 
  As a result, Ogime comes to the South more often than 
  other water elementals, and Chiaroscuro natives treat 
  ugly old women with superstitious respect.
  Among other elementals, the Frog Queen’s retribu-
  tion cannot be so violent or direct. This doesn’t prevent 
  her from finding ways to exact it on anyone she thinks 
  might have slighted her, and she’s greatly feared in the 
  Western water courts. Ogime usually transports herself 
  in a gorgeous coral chariot with dozens of doting heketa 
  attendants, and spends a lot of time telling water court 
  leaders that her enemies ought to be punished—even 
  though she holds no official position. Nor is she likely 
  to take one, since that would involve doing actual work, 
  and she considers such a thing below her. Still, “Frog 
  Queen” is a great and ancient title, whether it holds 
  bureaucratic cachet or not. For one thing, it entitles 
  Ogime to the undersea coral and starmetal manse Goji-
  pon, which many Sidereals would love to visit.
  A stinking, three-legged toad called the Whistling 
  One follows Ogime everywhere, constantly making its 
  eponymous shrill noises. Ogime takes it in her lap and 
  caresses it while sitting, and she’ll passionately defend 
  the toad against the slightest appearance of threat. Some 
  among the water courts speculate that this shows she 
  can love wholeheartedly, but in truth, the Frog Queen 
  is fundamentally selfish. She’s ultimately protective of 
  the Whistling One not just because she loves him, but 
  because she invested a facet of her nature in him. He is 
  the portion of her hermaphroditic self that can fertilize 
  her and give her heketa children. If the Whistling One 
  is slain, Ogime will be unable to lay heketa eggs for 700 
  years (though she’ll still be capable of giving birth to 
  the children of any man she copulates with).
  Of everyone who has offended her, the Frog Queen 
  most loathes the thunderbirds and Wind Masters (see 
  pp. 97-98 and 90-93), followed by the dragon Fakharu 
  (see Exalted, p. XX). She chose to bear Fakharu a 
  child after their one-night stand. He claims never to 
  have spoken to her. During her pregnancy, she tried to 
  reclaim his affections, but abandoned the effort once 
  she’d given birth. Ogime has raised the son to hate his 
  father and has planted two agents in Fakharu’s home; 
  the other dragon has discovered one, and thinks he 
  has outsmarted her. He’ll be nearly as upset to meet 
  his child as when Ogime kidnaps his lover.
  Summoning: Ogime is powerful enough that, if sum-
  moned, she has the right to send a servant elemental 
  in her stead.
  Motivation: Avenge herself on everyone who’s ever 
  offended her.
  Attributes: Strength 11, Dexterity 7, Stamina 11; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 6; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 3 
  (Vengeance -2), Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 4, Bureaucracy 2, 
  Dodge 7, Integrity 7, Linguistics 3, Lore 3, Martial 
  Arts 8, Occult 5, Presence 4 (Intimidation +3), Resis-
  tance 5, Socialize 2, Survival 3, War 4 (Heketa +2) 
  Backgrounds: Contacts 5, Followers 4, Influence 3, 
  Manse 4, Resources 5
  Charms:
  Calculated Order of Immediate Action—Can summon 
  great poisons, frogs and ugly beasts from the depths
  Capture—All-Encompassing
  Dematerialize—Costs 75 motes
  Divine Decree—Controls frogs, slow poisons and ugliness
  Dreamspeak—Speaks only in curses
  Essence Plethora (x4)
  Form Reduction Technique—Become any amphibious 
  creature or a human
  Geas—All-Encompassing
  Hurry Home—Return to the briny depths of her lair
  Impromptu Messenger—Speaks through frogs and pools 
  of still water
  Measure the Wind
  Principle of Motion—Eight stored actions
  Regalia of Authority—All-Encompassing
  Scourge—All-Encompassing
  Touch of Saturn—Can cause basically any poison effect
  Weather Control—Creates storms
  Wine of Intimate Heartbreak—Delights in the hatred 
  of her enemies
  Words of Power—Curses of enormous power
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Integrity, Martial Arts, 
  Occult, Presence
  
  124
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Martial Arts
  All-Encompassing Divine (Ability) Subordination—
  Martial Arts
  Sorcery—Ogime knows a number of Terrestrial Circle 
  spells and a few Celestial Circle ones, including Blood of 
  Boiling Oil, Summon Ghost and Torrential Cascade.
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 16, Damage 20L, Parry 
  DV 7, Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 17, Damage 16L, Parry 
  DV 8, Rate 4
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 19, Damage 11B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Poison Frog Blast: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage 11L, 
  Range 30, Rate 1
  Tail Slap: Speed 4, Accuracy 18, Damage 26B Parry 
  DV 9, Rate 3
  Soak: 13L/27B (Slippery dragon hide, 8L/16B; 
  Hardness: 8L/8B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 11 Willpower: 8
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 150
  Other Notes: As a dragon, Ogime may fly at double 
  her normal movement speed. She may also swim at 
  double her normal speed.
  The Frog Queen absorbs water elemental attacks per 
  Blessed Water Body (see pp. 163-164).
  Ogime’s Dragon’s Suspire is an unblockable spray of 
  acidic venom that explodes out of a frog that she 
  disgorges at a nearby target. The spray coats every-
  one within 10 yards of the frog’s gruesome death. 
  In addition to the listed damage, the attack poisons 
  the characters with seven doses of a deadly slow 
  poison. See stats for the poison below. It is a water 
  elemental attack.
  Ogime’s underwater palace Gojipon is a rating 4 
  Sidereal manse. It produces the level-3 Precision 
  of Form Gemstone, which reduces the mote cost of 
  one style’s Martial Arts Charms by 2 as long as the 
  bearer has activated that Form (see The Books of 
  Sorcery, Vol. III—Oadenol’s Codex, p. 105, for 
  more information).
  BRINE CUR
  Vodonik (see pp. 128-130) tolerate brine curs, 
  though they’re water elementals, because the vodonik 
  see the huge sea-colored dogs as mere animals; vodonik 
  warlords make steeds and guardians of the fierce beasts, 
  which can grow to the size of small boats. Wild brine 
  curs have been known to attack ships in packs, and 
  sailors passing through cur-infested waters will keep 
  animals on board that the sailors can cut open and throw 
  overboard if necessary (thereby attracting the brine curs 
  to the fresh blood, and allowing the ship to make its 
  getaway). The curs’ kelp fur allows them to blend into 
  the water’s surface, though, and their terrible double 
  rows of teeth, seven deadly tongues and 10-tined claws 
  can rend sturdy wood in seconds—long before they can 
  be distracted. Thus, sailors usually decide to sail around 
  cur territory entirely.
  Summoning: A sorcerer might summon a brine cur to 
  ride and train it to remain loyal beyond the sorcery’s 
  end, just as any dog. Most sorcerers don’t bother, because 
  the creatures die within a day of leaving saltwater. Most 
  sorcerers bind brine curs as Slaves.
  Motivation: (Wild) Protect the pack.
  (Tame) Protect its master.
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4; 
  Charisma 2, Manipulation 1, Appearance 2; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 1, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 2, Dodge 3, Martial 
  Arts 3, Stealth 4, Survival 0 (Water +2)
  Backgrounds: Backing 0 (Tame) 1
  Charms:
  Bread of Weak Spirit—Anything with Essence 1
  Dematerialize—Costs 30 motes
  Intrusion-Sensing Method—Sensing incoming ships
  Landscape Hide—Sink into the sandy sea floor
  Measure the Wind
  Ox-Body Technique (x1)
  Tracking—Invests through smell
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Martial Arts, 
  Stealth
  Join Battle: 5
  OGIME’S POISON
  Damage 
  Toxicity 
  Tolerance 
  Penalty
  3L/1 day 
  3 
  (Stamina)/1 week 
  -1
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  125
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 6, Damage 9L, Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 7, Damage 7L, Parry DV 4, 
  Rate 3
  Tongue-Spear: Speed 3, Accuracy 6, Damage 5L, Parry 
  DV 1, Rate 4, Tags: P
  Soak: 4L/8B (Kelp fur: 2L/4B; Hardness: 1L/1B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 4
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 40
  Other Notes: Brine curs swim to get from place to 
  place. They swim at full speed, but double their speed 
  when they dash.
  HEKETA
  Once, a monarch killed a frog. In one telling, the 
  king was a Solar whose frog-totemed Lunar mate plotted 
  his downfall. In another, the king’s naïve daughter was 
  seduced and abandoned by the Frog Queen’s son, and 
  the king found a champion to avenge her heartbreak. 
  In a third, the frog was placed in his bed as a practical 
  joke. Whatever the case, the Frog Queen’s vengeance 
  was immediate and terrible. Five frog-headed women—
  heketa—were sent to the kingdom, where they poisoned 
  every well and aborted every pregnancy. When certain 
  elemental courtiers suggested to the Frog Queen that 
  her actions were extreme, she shrugged and went back 
  to haranguing the court about thunderbirds.
  Heketa are beautiful women with alabaster skin and 
  the heads of frogs. They exist as forces others call up 
  for vengeance. Heketa have no society as other sorts of 
  elementals sometimes do. However, heketa are not natu-
  rally thus. When Ogime (see pp. 123-124) lays eggs, the 
  tadpoles are hatched into a darkened pool that she poisons 
  every day. Three weeks later, heketa emerge. If a tadpole 
  were to escape the pool and the three-week regimen, the 
  tadpole wouldn’t be hatched without ambition—on the 
  contrary, the resulting elemental would be every bit as 
  driven as its mother. Ogime keeps close watch on the 
  tadpoles, for she herself was once just such a heketa, and 
  unseated her mother as Frog Queen long ago.
  Though heketa can darken the sky and call storms, 
  doing so invites the retribution of thunderbirds (see 
  pp. 97-98), who see it as an unacceptable intrusion 
  on their domain. Poisoning vast bodies of water can 
  likewise annoy other water elementals, such as sobeksis 
  (see pp. 126-167), but given Ogime’s influence in the 
  water courts, there are never any real consequences. 
  That influence also allows heketa a lot of control over 
  their element: they can become water (and often do, 
  particularly during the split second that a sword would 
  otherwise slash them open); they can jet water from 
  their mouths with enough force to break bones.
  Each heketa possesses a smidgen of unconscious 
  understanding of how her own mother ruined her, and 
  therefore loves to disrupt pregnancies. Sorcerers are of-
  ten warned that summoned heketa must be specifically 
  ordered not to do so whenever they come near a gravid 
  being. A heketa can’t force a miscarriage upon anyone 
  with an Essence equal to or greater than hers.
  Summoning: As a devotee of vengeance, Ogime is fas-
  cinated by watching what others do with her children. 
  She takes any summoning of her heketa for purposes 
  other than vengeance as an insult. Though Celestial law 
  doesn’t technically permit her to punish every summoner, 
  she’ll often do something. As the Frog Queen’s attention 
  is a hassle at the very least, most summoners call on the 
  heketa only to ruin those who’ve wronged the summoners. 
  Normally, summoners bind heketa as Slaves.
  Heketa can explicitly be bound to attack or disobey 
  Ogime.
  Motivation: Deliver vengeance. A heketa who escaped 
  Ogime’s tender maternal care would want nothing more 
  than to grasp as much power as possible, so as to be in 
  the best possible position to avenge itself against her.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 1, Manipulation 2, Appearance 4; Perception 3, 
  Intelligence 1, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 5, Temperance 3, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, Integ-
  rity 8, Martial Arts 4, Performance 3, Resistance 3, 
  Survival 2
  Backgrounds: Backing 3, Mentor 4
  Charms:
  Affinity Water Control—Water jet attack or turn all 
  water within (Essence) miles black and toxic for one 
  hour for every five motes spent
  Bread of Weak Spirit—Any water or air spirit with its 
  tongue
  Dematerialize—Costs 25 motes
  Landscape Travel—Swim at double the normal speed
  Touch of Saturn—Lick target for Damage 1L/week, 
  Toxicity 1, Penalty -1, touch pregnant belly to induce 
  miscarriage
  Tracking—Anyone they’ve cursed with poison
  Weather Control—Cause heavy, wet storms
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Dodge. Defense against 
  attacks with a physical component only; conviction 
  flaw. Heketa’s bodies are liquid before material attacks, 
  
  126
  though they cannot use this Charm against attacks 
  incorporating magical fire.
  Join Battle: 6
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 2B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 2B (piercing), 
  Rate 1
  Tiger Claws: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 5L, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 3
  Water Jet: Speed 6, Accuracy 5, Damage 4L, 
  Range 10, Rate 1
  Soak: 5L/4B (Breastplate, 4L/2B, -1 ,mobility)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2
  /-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 (5 without armor) Willpower: 8
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 70
  Other Notes: None
  SOBEKSIS
  Appearing as huge crocodiles or muscular crocodile-
  headed humans, sobeksis protect Threshold rivers and 
  ensure the fertility of local lands. Those who’d cross a 
  sobeksis’s river, the elemental threatens with drowning, 
  unless the pilgrim offers a toll—the elementals prefer 
  lapis, gold or outright worship—or demonstrates great 
  power. Sobeksis stay in the water, sunning themselves 
  or swimming lazily, and resist leaving their rivers at all 
  costs. If dragged from its home, or if the watercourse 
  dries, a sobeksis’s body will take a month to fade to dead 
  white. The next day after the sobeksis’s color finishes 
  fading, the sobeksis expires; only at such a drastic time 
  can a sobeksis weep.
  A poultice properly made from river kelp, mud 
  and sobeksis blood and urine will halve the healing 
  time of wounds the poultice is applied to for a week. 
  Sobeksis treat injuries thusly for a price: some for as 
  little as a well-composed verse, others for as much as 
  a fist-sized black pearl. For this reason, they are wor-
  shiped by doctors as well as the farmers whose crops 
  the sobeksis feed.
  Each month, humans who would seek these el-
  ementals’ favor come to the riverbank to propitiate the 
  haughty sobeksis. Filling cats’ bladders with blood to 
  be steadily dripped in the water, the worshipers abase 
  themselves and chant an epic poem called the Jaji Po. 
  As they kneel, three sobeksis swim to shore with their 
  eyes closed. Only an improperly recited phrase stirs 
  the elementals (they eat the offender); otherwise, they 
  remain still and silent. When the Jaji Po reaches its 
  final verses, the humans send a recent mother to beg 
  the sobeksis for a boon: a good harvest, more fish, oc-
  cult medicines. In a hypnotized fashion, the sobeksis 
  agree and submerge.
  The humans return home feeling pleased, but 
  tired. The rite they believe controls and binds sobeksis 
  has actually drained half the mortals’ Essence pools, 
  feeding the motes to the elementals. Perceptive and 
  learned worshipers occasionally figure out the decep-
  tion, but rarely care—the sobeksis do keep the rivers 
  fertile and flowing.
  Female sobeksis won’t tolerate any children within 
  sight, immediately grasping them in their jaws to swal-
  low them whole. Once in a long while, a sobeksis finds 
  herself pregnant after doing so. Delivered one month 
  later, the child is a God-Blood with the soul and exact 
  appearance of the devoured child—as well as the preda-
  tory urges of a crocodile. Sobeksis mothers apparently 
  care nothing for these, abandoning them near the closest 
  human village to be found and adopted.
  Notwithstanding their harsh demeanor and in-
  ability to weep, sobeksis feel deeply. They compose 
  heartrending, tragic poems and enjoy hearing those 
  of others. Exacting judges, they won’t hesitate to eat a 
  bard who recites mediocre verse.
  Summoning: Most useful as doctors, sobeksis are some-
  times called en masse as battlefield medics. If they’re 
  not from nearby rivers, of course, they’ll need to be 
  sent home within a month lest they die. A sorcerer 
  who permanently kills a sobeksis will suffer a terrible 
  vengeance from whomever depended on the sobeksis’s 
  presence, as the elementals are irreplaceable.
  Motivation: Demand worship. It’s exceedingly unusual 
  for a sobeksis to change this Motivation. If one does 
  so, it immediately gains an Intimacy to demanding 
  worship; furthermore, its mindset will usually revert 
  over the course of the next Calibration Period. Most 
  sobeksis also have an Intimacy to the delicious taste 
  of human flesh.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5; 
  Charisma 5, Manipulation 5, Appearance 2; Perception 4,
   Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 2 (Straight Ahead +3), 
  Awareness 3 (Hearing +3), Dodge 3, Linguistics 5, Martial 
  Arts 4, Medicine 5, Presence 3, Performance 3 (Poetry +1), 
  Resistance 3, Sail 3, Socialize 2, Survival 0 (Rivers +3) 
  Backgrounds: Cult 2, Followers 3, Influence 1
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  127
  Charms:
  Bane Weapon—Children
  Bread of Weak Spirit—All-Encompassing
  Dematerialize—Costs 55 motes
  Divine Prerogative—Must demand worship
  Domain Manipulation Scenario—Raise and lower home 
  river
  Essence Plethora (x1)
  Fruit of Living Essence—Mmm, tasty worship
  Measure the Wind
  Memory Mirror—Painfully invades thoughts
  Sense Domain—Senses home river
  Shapechange—Crocodile or crocodile-headed human
  Stoic Endurance—Halts bleeding, allows supernatural 
  healing
  Touch of Grace—All-Encompassing
  Words of Power—Bleak poetry
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Craft, Martial 
  Arts, Performance, Stealth
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks:
  All forms:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 10L, Rate 1
  Crocodile Form:
  Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 8, Damage 6L, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Humanoid form:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 8B, Parry 
  DV 4, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 8L/17B (Crocodile hide, 6L/12B; Hardness: 3L/3B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 4 
  Essence Pool: 85
  Other Notes: In crocodile form, sobeksis swim at full 
  speed, but double their speed when they dash in the 
  water.
  UNDERTOW
  Undertows have no surface and no appearance. 
  They’re unlikely to venture from their swift-flowing 
  undersea homes, but when these elementals do, nearby 
  surface-dwellers detect only a vague pulling sensation. 
  With no voices, undertows communicate by means of 
  
  128
  odd telepathic images and isolated phrases. So obscure 
  are these beings that many other water elementals don’t 
  even know undertows exist. Still, the quiet elementals 
  love to listen. Many a water court has unknown un-
  dertow residents who drop by to observe, then leave 
  to share their insights with each other.
  Every secret has its least god, and those gods live 
  where they’re least likely to be found—in the darkest 
  depths of the water. Invisible and intangible, secret-gods 
  speak to no one save the undertows, who weave around 
  and through the secret-gods during the course of their 
  travels. Some undertows even incorporate secret-gods, 
  pulling the others into themselves and flowing together 
  for months or years.
  Unsurprisingly, undertows are of a slightly paranoid 
  bent. They see the world as layered in a vast, unavoidable 
  web of secrets, and usually won’t shake off that attitude 
  when summoned to Creation’s bright surface. These 
  elementals can’t help but examine things within the 
  context of their own secret-ridden world; they look for 
  the clandestine connections among everything around 
  them. Having quick and devious minds—not to mention 
  vast experience with secrets—undertows can swiftly 
  extrapolate the mysteries and unknown forces behind 
  everything they encounter. However, undertows’ll have 
  a very hard time explaining those things to anyone 
  besides their brethren, because undertows simply don’t 
  draw conclusions the way others do. Furthermore, things 
  that are mysterious to an undertow might not be that 
  confusing for a mortal. One of these elementals might 
  spend hours trying to express a magnificent new insight 
  to a mortal—only to feel hurt when she cries, “You 
  mean all this time you were talking about the nature 
  of sunlight?” and stomps off in frustration.
  Summoning: The least gods of secrets are nearly 
  impossible to find and, similar to most gods, can-
  not be summoned. Thus, sorcerers call undertows in 
  hopes of learning the confidences of loved ones and 
  the weaknesses of enemies. The elementals are more 
  than willing to share such things, for undertows have 
  no comprehension of how important secrets can be. 
  However, their weird communication style and com-
  plete lack of worldly understanding combine to mean 
  that teasing out a particular secret can be incredibly 
  frustrating. At the very least, a summoner needs one 
  small, related secret to tell an undertow if she wishes to 
  learn a large one; that way, she’ll have an example of 
  what she’s looking for and (hopefully) a connection to 
  the right place in the undertow’s mental secret-web. If 
  she’s particularly unlucky, she won’t be able to explain 
  what she needs without three or four related examples. 
  Unfortunately for Dynastic sorcerers, secrets protected 
  by Charms and sorcery never wend their way to the 
  undercurrents of Creation. Hence, undertows never 
  encounter them.
  These elementals are also occasionally bound to drag 
  someone or something below the waves.
  Motivation: Figure out all the mysteries of the world.
  Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2; 
  Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 0; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 2 
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 5, 
  Bureaucracy 1, Integrity 3, Lore 3, Martial Arts 4, 
  Occult 2, Presence 2, Stealth 4 
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms:
  Claws of the Angry Dragon—Steal breath
  Dematerialize—Costs 30 motes
  Domain Manipulation Scenario—Undertows
  Hoodwink—Shattered perspective
  Natural Prognostication—Finding hidden things
  Subtle Whisper—Silent calls
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Awareness, Stealth
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks:
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 6B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 3L/6B (Bodiless, 2L/4B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 2 
  Willpower: 4
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 40
  Other Notes: Undertows swim to get from place to place, 
  and do so at triple the normal movement speed.
  Undertows absorb water elemental damage per Blessed 
  Water Body (see pp. 163-164).
  VODONIK
  Master shapeshifters, every vodonik can appear as 
  anything from a fat old man to a floating kelp bed to a 
  fish-tailed monster with claws of ice. If the relevant species 
  is divided into sexes, vodonik always choose the male form, 
  and most commonly look like tall, white-eyed men with 
  chiseled features and long, foam-colored hair. Vodonik are 
  ambitious and socially adept, and deal with powers outside 
  the oceans for their own gain. They don’t leave the sea, 
  but a vodonik tooth placed under a mortal’s tongue will 
  enable her to breathe underwater; hence, vodonik can 
  receive delegates of all stripes. Lord Verethine, a vodonik 
  king, has set his warriors and brine curs (see sidebar) to 
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  129
  patrol Lintha territory in exchange for some of the pirates’ 
  captives. These he releases into underwater preserves, 
  targets of a stylized and glorious hunt.
  These elementals dislike other water spirits, 
  however, and keep to their own palaces and courts 
  instead of attending the official water courts. Even a 
  vodonik ruler will say he’d rather go without servants 
  than invite other water elementals into his home (of 
  course, he won’t need to make that choice, since he 
  can put one tooth under a human slave’s tongue to 
  keep her underwater). As a result, vodonik have little 
  influence over most of the ocean—though in places 
  where vodonik outnumber their fellow elementals, 
  vodonik have been known to take over local courts 
  and make them vodonik-only. Such situations seldom 
  last longer than a century or two.
  Each vodonik believes it once had a mortal soul, 
  and has been reincarnated in its current form. Sadism 
  inspires the strongest emotion, though they’ve not 
  identified how it makes them feel; after that, greed and 
  desire exert a powerful sway. The predominant opinion 
  amongst vodonik scholars holds such strong feelings to 
  be their only clues for discovering their past selves, and 
  many vodonik pursue such feelings obsessively. These 
  elementals love committing acts of grand and creative 
  cruelty, hoarding undersea treasures, decorating their 
  palaces strangely, seizing beautiful concubines—and then 
  analyzing their pleasure at length. Vodonik might watch 
  a captive boiled alive in an undersea fissure, for instance, 
  or redecorate a palace with blood-filled orange porcelain 
  globes, then turn to each other and discuss the exact 
  flavor of enjoyment derived from the experience.
  Though they might attack a ship in order to pil-
  lage it—particularly if it carries butter, porcelain or 
  tobacco—vodonik are more likely to watch for ships 
  wrecked by rocks or storms, then search the sunken 
  hulks. If given the choice, vodonik prefer negotiation 
  over physical means (though a lone mortal straying 
  near vodonik territory risks being forcibly dragged un-
  derwater and enslaved). Lord Verethine has carefully 
  spread a legend that encourages sailors wishing to ap-
  pease vodonik to pour butter into the sea; tobacco, he 
  assures, is also acceptable. Sometimes, vodonik attend 
  such tributes in a mood to discuss new agreements, and 
  they’ve been known to grant favors to their most regular 
  and dedicated petitioners.
  Summoning: Vodonik cannot survive outside the water: 
  a moment on dry land will melt one into black ooze, 
  destroying the vodonik permanently. Hence, sorcer-
  ers almost never call vodonik. Some use the spell as 
  a heavy-handed threat, since summoning one outside 
  the ocean is a death sentence, but the water elementals 
  are rarely intimidated.
  Motivation: Figure out the consciousness of its past 
  incarnation. Most vodonik also have an Intimacy 
  toward watching others suffer.
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; 
  Charisma 2, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 4, 
  Bureaucracy 2, Dodge 5, Integrity 6, Linguistics 2, 
  Lore 2, Martial Arts 3, Melee 4 (Spear +2), 
  Performance 4, Presence 3, Resistance 4, Ride 6, 
  Sail 3, Socialize 3, War 4
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Cult 1, Backing 2, 
  Contacts 1, Influence 2, Resources 4
  Charms:
  Affinity Water Control—Five-barrel environmental 
  hazard of aquatic dominance
  Blessed Water Body—All-Encompassing
  Dematerialize—Costs 50 motes
  Essence Bite—Stinging coral 4LHL bypasses armor
  Impromptu messenger—Manipulate from a distance
  Landscape Travel—+2 Dexterity and double speed 
  while swimming
  Measure the Wind
  Mirror of the Infinite Wardrobe—All-Encompassing
  Regalia of Authority—Aura of aquatic command
  Sense Domain—Access connections from a distance
  Stoke the Flame—Rabble-rousing
  Storm-Shuttle Passport—All-Encompassing
  Tracking—Investing in contacts
  Words of Power—Sharp rhetoric
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Dodge, Integrity, Melee, 
  Performance, Ride
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery—Melee, Ride
  Join Battle: 8
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 4B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 7B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 4B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Spear of Obedience: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage 
  8L, Parry DV 7, Rate 3
  Soak: 8L/12B (Seaweed lamellar armor, 6L/8B, 
  -2 mobility)
  
  130
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 (7 without armor) Willpower: 5
  Essence: 5 
  Essence Pool: 75
  Other Notes: The excellent spears used by vodonik are 
  powerfully enchanted. Anyone struck by a Spear of Obedi-
  ence without a Dodge MDV at least twice as high as the 
  number of health levels suffered by the attack suffers an 
  Intimacy and a Compulsion effect to serve the vodonik. 
  Breaking the commitment to the vodonik costs one Will-
  power per scene, and resisting the Compulsion costs three 
  Willpower points per scene while the Intimacy lasts.
  As is usually the case with elementals who are more 
  ambitious or have more varied experiences than their 
  brethren, Lord Verethine’s statistics are higher than 
  the above.
  WATER CHILD
  Born of the chaotic swirls that attend the drowning 
  of a child, water children first take the appearance of 
  that child. The elementals, having observed that ter-
  rible death, often draw conclusions based entirely on 
  what they saw; if a parent on the shore seemed not to 
  notice as the child died, for instance, then a water child 
  might conclude that the mother wanted the child to 
  perish. Whether correct or incorrect, the water child 
  creates a goal for itself based on its deductions. The 
  water child may decide to kill a murderer, or comfort 
  a bereft parent by becoming her new child.
  Wherever a water child goes, even immaterial, it 
  leaves wet footprints. With a glance, it can tell whether 
  someone’s parents are biologically hers—or whether a 
  person has ever killed a baby. It might deviate from its 
  mission to drown sinners or protect the innocent, but 
  usually remains fixated.
  Some water children fade away once they’ve ac-
  complished their purpose; others travel the waterways, 
  seeking other drowned children to echo and avenge. 
  Sometimes a water child is imprinted when a sobeksis 
  eats a human infant (see p. 126). If the sobeksis later 
  gives birth to the baby’s duplicate, that God-Blood and 
  its water child twin will have a mystical connection, 
  sharing certain dreams and feelings. The water child 
  will follow its twin as closely as it can. It may or may 
  not introduce itself, but will never allow itself to be 
  seen by others unless the sobeksis’s child is threatened, 
  in which case the water child intervenes.
  After the sobeksis’s child passes age 21, the wa-
  ter child must make a choice. The water child can 
  imprint itself from a new drowned baby, or die over 
  the course of the next year. Only if the sobeksis-born 
  twin agrees to share his soul with the water child 
  can it survive as it is, and though the water child 
  knows this instinctively, it doesn’t know the ritual 
  that must be performed to split the soul. A female 
  sobeksis could tell them the rite—but would also warn 
  that the consequences of using it are inevitably very 
  weird. Though the magic can certainly preserve the 
  water child’s life and self, the two might feel each 
  other’s injuries or even share minds.
  Summoning: Aside from the tasks of determining 
  paternity or figuring out who murdered a child, sor-
  cerers would find water children useless—save that 
  they can predict familial betrayal. Whoever kisses a 
  water child and swallows a mouthful of liquid from 
  its mouth will immediately collapse in a trance. She 
  is under an Illusion effect that will show her three 
  ways her relatives could turn on her. After five hours, 
  she awakens; nothing but time can pull her out of 
  these dreams.
  Such predictive visions are vivid, but inchoate. Sorcer-
  ers who’ve seen such visions have taken action against 
  their families that not only worsened their situation but 
  may have caused the ends they foresaw. And dreaming 
  of so many potential betrayals could drive any sorcerer 
  to acute paranoia. Thus, most summoners—even in the 
  backstabbing Scarlet Dynasty—resist the temptation 
  to call water children.
  Motivation: Correct the circumstances it believes led 
  to its imprinter’s drowning.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3; Perception 3,
   Intelligence 2, Wits 3 
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, 
  Integrity 3, Martial Arts 4, Resistance 1, Stealth 3 
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms:
  Dematerialize—Costs 40 motes
  Endowment—Sense familial betrayal (see above)
  Foretell the Future—Sense familial betrayal (see above)
  Landscape Hide—Become part of the water at spot of 
  birth
  Malediction—Internal penalty of 1 while in water
  Memory Mirror—Sense sin of a child’s murder
  Natural Prognostication—Knows parents and twin
  Paralyze—Stamina drops by 1 with a hit
  Spice of Custodial Delectation—Receives what is dropped 
  into the water at spot of birth
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Martial Arts, Stealth
  Join Battle: 6
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  131
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 8B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Soak: 1L/3B
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 50
  Other Notes: None
  ELEMENTALS OF WOOD
  The elementals of wood are the most devoted to 
  their elemental principles: fecundity and competi-
  tion. Philosophically, the elementals of the wood 
  courts espouse that no life has a right to exist, and 
  only the strongest survive. Practically, many are 
  cruel, violent bullies. Most famous of these are the 
  children of the elemental dragon named First Wood 
  Spider, but the Willow Ichneumon wasp-dragon is 
  no different. The efforts of the wood elementals en-
  sure that Creation’s mortals fear deeply the darkest 
  forests, and with good reason.
  The forest courts are kingdoms of aggression and 
  vendetta held in tenuous check by endless ritual. 
  The kings of the wood rule the forest courts with the 
  strength of ancient giants, keeping the wood elementals 
  from destroying each other. Yet, though they compete 
  amongst themselves, wood elementals unite to fight 
  most viciously against Creation’s enemies. It is this 
  dedication the kings of the wood strive to maintain, 
  and by the actions of the wood elementals is the East 
  of Creation the most populated of the Threshold 
  directions—though the East is also the direction that 
  fears wood elementals the most.
  JOYOUS YOUTH JURITSU
  LESSER ELEMENTAL DRAGON OF WOOD
  Few elementals have as many children as Juritsu. 
  Able to carve himself into the shape of any natural 
  animal, he’s had affairs with leopards and dolphins, 
  queens and peasants. He once had a child with an ice-
  scaled air dragon, and dark rumors hint at half-raksha 
  or half-demon descendants. It doubtless helps that in 
  every appearance, he’s flower-scented and beautiful. 
  Vines spiral about the limbs of dragon-formed Juritsu, 
  whose coils are carved from seven woods and whose 
  eyes are emerald spheres. As man or animal, his body is 
  a warm brown, and his gaze flares bewitching green.
  The children of Juritsu inherit their father’s 
  pleasure-loving nature as well as power. Indeed, they 
  can inherit more than they know: a particularly unique 
  descendant may become an avatar of her father. Juritsu 
  closely watches each and every child—plant, animal 
  or human. If she meets his specifications, he’ll intro-
  duce himself. At first, he’ll shower her with gifts and 
  attention and awaken her Essence (if necessary); his 
  easy laugh and extraordinary kindness often win her 
  over completely. Within a year, though, he’ll either 
  abandon her forever and without explanation—or 
  take over her body and life. In the latter case, Juritsu 
  gives his descendant his “greatest gift”: an exquisite 
  rowan bracelet. As it settles around her wrist (or paw 
  or root), her soul flees to Lethe, and Juritsu is drawn 
  into its place.
  Because he cannot release himself from an avatar 
  once he’s within it—in fact, will not remember him-
  self till an incarnation dies—Juritsu is very selective: 
  not for power or beauty, but for potential to have an 
  interesting and far-ranging life. To those who know 
  her, Juritsu’s avatar will seem different once he pos-
  sesses her, but since she’ll insist (and believe) that 
  nothing has changed, most dismiss their concerns. In 
  cases where Juritsu’s personality is radically different 
  from the body’s former soul, the avatar itself experi-
  ences cognitive dissonance and will need to “evolve” 
  into its new ideals. Once the avatar dies, Juritsu coils 
  invisibly up from its corpse and heads straight to his 
  manse Kurie-Tibu, there to meditate and digest his 
  latest lifetime of experiences.
  Since he spends so much time experiencing Cre-
  ation “firsthand,” Juritsu is far more in touch with 
  life “on the ground” than most spirits. He has always 
  campaigned for the rights of mortal creatures, scold-
  ing careless elementals whose inattention harms the 
  living, and cracking down on kings of the wood who 
  torture humans (see p. 136). His approach is invariably 
  gentle and pleasant; only when a situation is dire will 
  he stop smiling. Principled and persistent, Juritsu is 
  unsusceptible to distraction or “political expediency.” 
  Recently, he finished a lifetime as a princeling in the 
  Threshold; when he returned to himself, he wept for 
  a full season.
  Juritsu’s servants are the artisans (see pp. 134-135), 
  which he painstakingly carves from Essence-imbued 
  wood and breathes alive during Calibration. Similar 
  to Juritsu, they love to create beautiful wooden things, 
  and he uses them as assistants on his huge and amaz-
  ing sculptures. During Juritsu’s long incarnations, 
  three artisan viziers are entrusted with his authority. 
  
  132
  Those artisans are more outgoing than their fellows, 
  but only speak for Juritsu in crises—otherwise, they 
  let the wood courts run without input. Juritsu him-
  self is an active participant in the courts when he’s 
  around, and sometimes jockeys for the position of 
  Eastern Censor, for he feels that none care for the 
  East as much as he. Given his extended absences, 
  he’s never been considered a good candidate for 
  that important position. Still, the dragon is now very 
  agitated by the state of the world—and certain no 
  one else can see it. He’s been gathering allies, and 
  will soon attempt to become Censor by trickery or (if 
  necessary) force. Once he’s in charge, he promises, 
  the East will change.
  Summoning: If summoned, Juritsu has the right to send 
  a servant elemental in his stead.
  Motivation: Experience all aspects of life.
  Attributes: Strength 9, Dexterity 6, Stamina 9; 
  Charisma 6, Manipulation 6, Appearance 6; Perception 5, 
  Intelligence 5, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 5, Conviction 4, Temperance 4 
  (Lust -3), Valor 2
  Abilities: Archery 5, Athletics 4, Awareness 5, 
  Bureaucracy 5, Craft (Wood) 8 (Aesthetics +3), 
  Dodge 4, Integrity 5 (Protecting Mortals +2), 
  Investigation 3, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; 
  Others: Forest-Tongue, Guild Cant, Riverspeak, 
  Eastern tribal tongues) 5, Lore 5, Martial Arts 5, 
  Occult 3, Presence 7 (Seduction +3), Resistance 3, 
  Ride 3, Socialize 4, Survival 4, War 3 
  Backgrounds: Allies 4, Contacts 4, Followers 4, Influ-
  ence 4, Manse 5, Resources 5
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  133
  Charms:
  Chrysalis of Preservation—All-Encompassing
  Creation of Perfection—All-Encompassing
  Dematerialize—Costs 75 motes
  Divine Prerogative—All of his children are sacrosanct.
  Dreamspeak—All-Encompassing
  Essence Plethora (x2)
  Form Reduction Technique—Become any natural animal, 
  including humans
  Hand of Destiny—Protects a life
  Hollow Out the Soul—Used to craft his child’s body 
  into the perfect vessel
  Melodious Diagnostic Report—All-Encompassing
  Possession—Enter biological child. When Juritsu be-
  comes one of his children, most of her Traits—including 
  Motivation and Intimacies—remain, but her Virtues 
  are permanently replaced with his scores, and she gains 
  a permanent Intimacy to carving beautiful things from 
  wood. During that lifespan, he does have access to all 
  his own Charms—he just won’t know they exist (unless 
  someone manages to convince the avatar that she’s 
  actually a lesser elemental dragon of wood).
  Principle of Motion—Nine banked actions
  Reserve of Will (x3)
  Wine of Intimate Heartbreak—All-Encompassing
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Craft, Integrity, Martial 
  Arts, Presence
  Divine (Ability) Subordination—Craft (Woodworking), 
  Presence (Social attacks that cause others to form 
  Intimacies)
  Martial Arts—In one incarnation, Juritsu became an 
  Immaculate monk. His Dragon-Blooded teachers were 
  
  134
  shocked by his aptitude for the Wood Dragon Style. 
  They never did figure out why he was able to learn 
  the entire style, though no God-Blood before or since 
  has been enlightened enough to do so. Juritsu retains 
  knowledge of the entire Style.
  Join Battle: 9
  Attacks:
  Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage 18L, Parry 
  DV 5, Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 13, Damage 14L, Parry 
  DV 6, Rate 4
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 14, Damage 9B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Hail of Thorns: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage 18L, 
  Range 30, Rate 1
  Tail Slap: Speed 4, Accuracy 14, Damage 24B, Parry 
  DV 7, Rate 4
  Soak: 11L/27B (Oaken dragon hide, 7L/18B, 
  Hardness: 7L/7B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2
  /-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 8 
  Willpower: 9 (12)
  Essence: 7 
  Essence Pool: 125
  Other Notes: As a dragon, Juritsu may fly at double the 
  normal movement speed. His movements are completely 
  unimpeded by plant life.
  Joyous Youth Juritsu absorbs wood elemental attacks 
  per Blessed Wood Body (see pp. 163-164).
  Juritsu’s Dragon’s Suspire is an unblockable wave of 
  thorns that weaves around objects and people that 
  he wishes not to harm, targets all of his enemies 
  that are generally in front of him. It is a wood el-
  emental attack.
  Juritsu’s manse is named Kurie-Tibu; he calls it “the 
  tree of myself.” One of his previous avatars was a 
  rowan that grew for five centuries in the center of a 
  powerful demesne. When the avatar died, Juritsu was 
  released into his dragon form, and left to check up 
  on the courts. On a subsequent visit, he found that 
  his artisan servants had carved the dead tree, as they 
  said, into the form that “went best with the grain.” 
  This turned out to be a curving tower, whose panels 
  are so thin that sunlight shines straight through and 
  everything within can be seen as silhouettes. As it 
  happens, the structure also channels the demesne’s 
  Essence in such a harmonious way that the dead rowan 
  became a rating 5 Wood manse. Its hearthstone is the 
  level 4 Song of Life Stone, which causes plants near 
  the bearer to grow with supernatural speed and vigor. 
  Anyone who rests within the manse’s walls will awaken 
  feeling magnificently inspired and creative.
  ARTISAN
  Each artisan is an expressive humanlike sculpture 
  with long limbs and seven-jointed fingers. Artisans all 
  begin as introverted, careful creatures who step deli-
  cately through field and forest in search of deadwood. 
  Later, they learn to whittle new facets of themselves 
  and become whatever they wish.
  Similar to Juritsu, artisans can carve themselves 
  into new forms; unlike the dragon, artisans’ per-
  sonalities can change with their shapes. An artisan 
  spends at least three seasons considering every 
  alteration, practicing the new shape on deadwood. 
  Each change is exactly calibrated, based on the 
  type of wood used and the pattern it follows. Plain 
  oak details render artisans more steadfast, though 
  conservative. An elaborate birch pattern makes an 
  artisan loyal, but unwilling to let go of bad ideas. 
  The elementals can make gross alterations as well—
  animal traits are common, such as an deer’s legs 
  or a ram’s curling horns. No matter what artisans 
  become, they’re aesthetically pleasing, and retain 
  their long-fingered hands.
  Artisans have a horror of carving live wood (aside 
  from themselves), and never voluntarily work it unless 
  it’s been dead for more than a month. When another 
  wood elemental dies, the first artisan to find it will 
  summon two siblings to create a memorial. After 
  a respectful rite, the three elementals carve that 
  deadwood into a wondrous homage: for instance, a 
  small sword inscribed with honorable maxims from a 
  dead tree that birthed stick people (see pp. 137-138). 
  Often, artisans use trace amounts of green jade to 
  make such tokens magical (use normal artifact cre-
  ation rules).
  Summoning: A sorcerer wanting something made from 
  wood could do no better. Artisans can also identify the 
  occult associations of any wood, aid in the crafting of 
  wooden artifacts and faultlessly lead sorcerers to the 
  nearest tree of a given type. Sorcerers often bind artisans 
  as Functionaries or Hunters.
  Sorcerers can bind artisans to carve live wood, but after 
  the sculpture is finished, the unfortunate elemental’s 
  fingers become painfully stiff—immovable for a year 
  and a day.
  Artisans can explicitly be bound—or even persuaded—
  to attack or disobey Juritsu.
  Motivation: Find beautiful traits to carve into itself.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 2, Manipulation 1, Appearance 3; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 2
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  135
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Craft (Wood) 5 
  (Aesthetics +3), Dodge 3, Integrity 3, Investigation 3, 
  Occult 4, Stealth 2, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Mentor 4, Resources 3 (valuable carvings)
  Charms:
  Affinity Wood Control—Used for shaping and self-
  defense
  Dematerialize—Costs 35 motes
  Landscape Hide—Becomes a knot on a certain type 
  of tree
  Landscape Travel—Swings through branches at full 
  movement speed
  Natural Prognostication—Always finds the best dead-
  wood
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Athletics, Craft, Occult, 
  Survival
  Join Battle: 6
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 5, Damage 2B, Parry 
  DV 3, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 1, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 4, Damage 2B (piercing), 
  Rate 1
  Affinity Wood Control: Speed 5, Accuracy 6, Damage 
  6L, Range 7, Rate 2
  Soak: 3L/7B (Oaken overlay, 2L/4B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 5 
  Willpower: 5
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 45
  Other Notes: Artisans are flammable. An artisan that 
  catches fire will continue to burn, suffering damage until 
  the elemental can extinguish the flames, which will 
  require more than just rolling around on the ground.
  These statistics are for a newly made artisan. Most of 
  the time, an artisan’s self-change subtracts as much 
  from one of that Trait type as it adds to another: for 
  instance, an artisan could raise its Valor by 1 but would 
  usually have to reduce another Virtue by 1. More 
  elaborate changes can be balanced as the Storyteller 
  sees fit: an artisan with wings might be able to fly 
  but incapable of walking or running. Older artisans 
  have experienced technical breakthroughs that can 
  sometimes circumvent this necessity.
  Juritsu’s three viziers (see pp. 131-132) have hawthorn 
  inlays, making them much more charming and confident 
  than the above. At the Storyteller’s discretion, they 
  may also have other higher statistics.
  CARMINE LILY
  Arguably the most horrific of advanced necromantic 
  spells, the Blood Monsoon drenches an entire region in 
  sanguine rain. On several occasions, two peculiar and 
  awful omens have followed the storm. The first: any 
  pregnant woman who felt the rain on her flesh later gave 
  birth to a heartbreakingly beautiful child. This infant 
  (which has appeared as different sexes) had blood-red 
  eyes and some control of its Essence. Its horoscope 
  could not be cast, for it was outside Fate.
  The second omen: supernatural items exposed 
  to the rain (artifacts, manses, even magics invoked 
  while the user was bloodied) took on a reddish cast 
  and a warped fate—to accomplish something terrible 
  before the end of their sojourns in the world. Those 
  dark destinies each manifested in a blood-colored, 
  bone-stemmed lily, growing upon the spot where the 
  things were tainted . . . even if that spot was deadwood 
  or solid brick.
  Carmine lilies grow tall, opening their petals 
  to reveal bone pistils and let loose a bloody stench. 
  They dematerialize apparently at random; it takes 
  a talented occultist to deduce that it happens only 
  during certain star-formations. A truly brilliant as-
  trologer (succeeding on a difficulty 5+ [Intelligence 
  + Occult] roll) might note that the petals’ black 
  markings resemble detailed horoscopes. Each lily, in 
  fact, is an arcane link to the supernatural item whose 
  tainted Fate begat it. The lily’s petals tell the story 
  of what that thing will accomplish. If the object is 
  destroyed, the lily wilts.
  As a red-eyed infant grows, it will be seen to 
  control carmine lilies. They’ll twist their open petals 
  in its direction whenever the infant passes, and it can 
  signal them to dematerialize or release a particular 
  toxic scent. On some occasions, such children have 
  been burned alive by frightened mortals. The lilies 
  can likewise be burned to death, but many humans 
  are too terrified to go near the lilies after realizing 
  that the elementals can’t be uprooted or killed with 
  plant-wilting toxins.
  Summoning: No one’s ever tried to call a carmine 
  lily, but the ritual would likely involve plenty of 
  blood and bone. The plants are not remotely sapient, 
  though they register and respond to certain stimuli. 
  Still, they could theoretically be bound to any tasks 
  they’re capable of performing. 
  The red-eyed child is not an elemental.
  Motivation: Attract ill Fate and undead. These processes 
  are instinctive, since the lilies don’t think.
  
  136
  Attributes: Strength 0, Dexterity 0, Stamina 1; Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 0, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 1, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 1
  Abilities: Awareness 5, Integrity 7, Occult 3, Perfor-
  mance 4, Presence 3, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: None
  Charms: 
  Dematerialize—Costs 45 motes
  Divine Decree—Unholy omens
  Malediction—All-Encompassing
  Material Tribulation Divestment—Surprisingly difficult 
  to uproot or wilt with toxins
  Natural Prognostication—Grows toward the unholy
  Sustenance—Flourishes in the presence of agony or 
  wickedness
  Touch of Saturn—Persistent pollen bestows an aggravat-
  ingly itchy Sickness effect
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks: 
  None
  Soak: 0L/1B
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 0 
  Willpower: 2
  Essence: 3 
  Essence Pool: 40
  Other Notes: Carmine lilies use Abilities such as 
  Presence and Performance when giving off compelling 
  scents, and Awareness when growing into environmen-
  tal changes or determining whether to bring bad luck 
  to their surroundings.
  KING OF THE WOOD
  The rulers of Creation’s most brutal forest courts 
  are ugly, vicious man-shaped trees with hooked noses 
  and mossy hair. Some have the heads of beasts; some 
  possess other animal parts, such as paws or tails. None 
  admit that other wood kings exist, and all claim do-
  minion over every forest in the world.
  Kings of the wood wish mainly to protect their 
  homes, but their methods of doing so can be cruel. 
  Their philosophy is that it’s best to rule by fear (and 
  that, as kings, they may feed their own appetites 
  however they wish). The Ironwood Kings of the 
  Coral Archipelago have spent long centuries push-
  ing Coral’s culture toward worship of strength and 
  contempt for the weak, to match their own ideas of 
  how a home should be defended. Some kings also 
  demand a certain quota of attractive young men 
  and women, whom the kings sexually abuse and 
  send home traumatized. The methods of torture 
  these elementals use can be astoundingly creative; 
  and they don’t hesitate to apply such methods to 
  the elemental members of their courts as well. Yet 
  for all their bluster, the kings of the wood keep poor 
  control over their forests, holding power only by iso-
  lating themselves in palatial manors and appearing 
  personally only during court. Their terrible cruelty 
  against human captives serves first and foremost to 
  foist terror on their wood elemental subjects.
  Although mortals sometimes, in sheer despera-
  tion, wage losing battles against the dark forest ruled 
  by the kings of the wood, the forests’ wood elementals 
  almost never rebel. They know their king represents 
  the forest’s health, will and the lingering Essence 
  of Mindful Forest itself—and they also know that 
  Mindful Forest’s echo deposes and replaces any king 
  who truly demonstrates itself unfit to rule. In that 
  case, the last sunrise of Calibration will herald the 
  arrival of a new king crowned in hawthorn. As soon 
  as the king steps past the palace’s threshold, it’s fated 
  to defeat the old king in ritual battle and assume the 
  rowan throne.
  The oaken palaces of kings of the wood are well-
  hidden: sometimes high in a nest of crisscrossing 
  branches, sometimes in deep glades screened over by 
  leaves. Every king enjoys politics and often receives 
  spirit and elemental guests, whom the king will be 
  shower with luxuries and interrogate for news of 
  courts outside the forest. Though kings can’t leave 
  their woods, they make up for it by cultivating pow-
  erful foreign contacts and collecting spiritual gossip 
  at every opportunity.
  Summoning: Sorcerers summon kings of the wood 
  from within rather than outside their forests, because 
  the king will die if it leaves. These elementals know 
  their domains nigh-perfectly, and can answer any geo-
  graphical question a summoner might have. They also, 
  of course, command every other elemental within that 
  forest, and though a king’s order isn’t usually as effective 
  as another sorcerous binding would be, calling a king 
  could get a sorcerer a veritable army of wood elementals. 
  Naturally, though, most kings give their courts stand-
  ing orders to destroy any sorcerer the courtiers suspect 
  might be controlling their ruler. In particular, some 
  kings have taught their viziers every known Abscissic 
  plate, and given strict instructions that sorcerers using 
  Abscissic bindings must receive no mercy if discovered. 
  The notable exception to this is the Killer plate: few 
  kings have the necessary Valor to become Killers, but 
  those who do rarely mind.
  
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE ROLL OF ELEMENTAL BEINGS
  137
  A few kind sorcerers have simply bound kings against 
  the horrific demands they make of mortal worship-
  ers. (Some take the more diplomatic tack of offering 
  Cselenite pacts to kings who refrain from making 
  such demands.) However, those who went further 
  and bound kings of the wood against cruelty have 
  often come back to find either a court collapsed in 
  shambles… or a new king of the wood, and no trace 
  of the predecessor.
  Motivation: Protect the forest with an iron fist.
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 3, Stamina 5; 
  Charisma 6, Manipulation 5, Appearance 1; Perception 4, 
  Intelligence 3, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 5, Temperance 2, 
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 4, 
  Bureaucracy 4, Dodge 3, Integrity 4, Linguistics 4, 
  Lore 3, Melee 3, Occult 3 (Sorcery +3), 
  Performance 1 (Speeches +3),Presence 6, 
  Resistance 4, Socialize 5, Survival 2 (Forests +3), 
  War 5
  Backgrounds: Backing 5, Contacts 4, Cult 2, 
  Followers 3, Influence 2, Resources 4
  Charms: 
  Affinity Wood Control—+5 wood damage to attacks
  Dematerialize—Costs 60 motes
  Endowment—Natural Prognostication, -1 Appearance
  Mirror of the Infinite Wardrobe—Can appear to be any 
  animal in the forest
  Geas—Target cannot leave the forest
  Landscape Travel—Triple speed through the woods
  Regalia of Authority—Demands subservience from wood 
  elementals
  Signet of Authority—Creates a small twig on the target’s 
  forehead that cannot be removed
  Malediction—All-Encompassing
  Measure the Wind
  Natural Prognostication—Always knows when it’s 
  threatened
  Scourge—Wood-oriented deformities
  Words of Power—Hurls deadly insults
  Second (Ability) Excellency—Presence, Socialize
  Join Battle: 7
  Attacks:
  Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 2, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 2, Rate 3
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 1, Damage 8B, Parry 
  DV 1, Rate 2
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 3, Damage 5B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Huge Cudgel: Speed 6, Accuracy 5, Damage 17B/4, 
  Parry DV 2, Rate 1, Tags: 2,O,P,R
  Soak: 7L/15B (Bark skin, 5L/10B, Hardness: 2L/2B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Dodge DV: 6 
  Willpower: 7
  Essence: 5 
  Essence Pool: 85
  Other Notes: A king of the wood’s Stamina and Re-
  sistance scores will rise if its forest expands and fall if 
  its forest is shrunk by fire or disease.
  STICK PERSON
  Humans regard stick people as incredibly cute. 
  They’re a few feet tall, have huge green eyes and 
  invariably wear playful smiles. Stick people love to 
  play imaginative games involving everything from 
  miniature mock-tourneys to elaborate practical jokes 
  to constructing small hang-gliders from leaves. With 
  a childlike and dramatic view of morality and combat, 
  stick people carry little bows and swords; these stick 
  people use to defend justice, goodness and whatever 
  the local king of the wood has told them to protect. 
  Since they are rather naïve, the elementals will believe 
  almost any petitioner who claims to also be on the side 
  of justice and goodness, excitedly promising aid to any 
  “good cause.” The stick person can then be expected to 
  forget such offers at least twice, but will follow through 
  if reminded often enough.
  An unmoving stick person can’t be distinguished 
  from an orange-berried branch, partly because stick 
  people are branches that have gained consciousness and 
  ventured away from their trees. When the elemental’s 
  tree dies, the elemental dies; happily, trees that birth 
  stick people tend to be long-lived. An injured stick 
  person bleeds golden sap, but if the stick person flees 
  home to its parent tree and reattaches, new sap will 
  invigorate the stick person and heal its wounds (one 
  health level per turn at the tree).
  It’s hard not to trust stick people. In fact, the 
  seeming of trustworthiness is a property of their 
  substance: their sap carries trustworthiness. If stick 
  person sap is collected and hardened into amber, then 
  enchanted with a certain seven-day rite, the sap can 
  be given as a present that places the recipient under 
  an Emotion effect to trust the giver for one day. For 
  this reason, many Threshold natives are taught from 
  childhood never to accept amber gifts, though the 
  rite is now known only to a few kings of the wood. 
  The kings protect the secret fiercely, anxious to 
  keep their subjects from becoming a commodity and 
  prevent the havoc that a token of instant trust might 
  cause in their courts.
  
  138
  Stick people themselves certainly gain people’s 
  trust incredibly easily, and gleefully exploit this ability 
  to convince unsuspecting humans to eat their orange 
  berries. The victim then staggers about laughing, beset 
  by hilarious hallucinations and trailed by giggling el-
  ementals who keep asking him to describe everything 
  he sees. This is a Poison effect with statistics listed in 
  the notes below.
  Summoning: Binding won’t improve a stick person’s 
  memory, so a sorcerer will need to be very patient 
  with her new servant. The elementals feel no animus 
  against summoners, and act just as friendly (and mis-
  chievous) with sorcerers as with everyone else. In the 
  woods, stick people are ideal guides and spies, not even 
  needing to dematerialize to be practically invisible. 
  Some diplomacy-minded sorcerers call stick people as 
  emissaries, hoping to take advantage of the elementals’ 
  apparent trustworthiness, but most would find the 
  elementals too easily distracted to be much use.
  Stick people have fun being Ecstatics (rhapsodizing 
  at great length about true love) and Wardens (rais-
  ing their little swords to swear great and honorable 
  protective oaths). When bound to these roles, the 
  elementals occasionally convince themselves the 
  binding changed nothing about them—they’ve always 
  been like that! They might even stick with oaths they 
  swore while bound.
  Motivation: Protect all that is just and good; if necessary, 
  the forest takes precedence over other causes.
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3; 
  Charisma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4; Perception 2, 
  Intelligence 2, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, 
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 3, Awareness 3, 
  Dodge 3, Larceny 3, Linguistics 3, Melee 3, Presence 5 
  (Gaining Trust +3), Resistance 2, Socialize 5 (Gaining 
  Trust +3), Stealth 3, Survival 4, War 2
  Backgrounds: Allies 4, Backing 1
  Charms:
  Call—Contact nearby stick people
  Dematerialize—Costs 40 motes
  Essence Bite—Tiny sword does 3L
  Hurry Home—Return to home tree
  Intrusion-Sensing Method—Sense danger to home tree
  Landscape Travel—Run through branches at full move-
  ment speed
  Sheathing the Material Form—+2L/5B against weapons
  Subtle Whisper—Earns trust quietly
  Third (Ability) Excellency—Melee, Presence, Stealth, 
  Survival
  Join Battle: 5
  Attacks:
  Claw: Speed 5, Accuracy 4, Damage 2L, Parry 
  DV 2, Rate 3
  Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 3, Damage 2B (P), Parry 
  DV –, Rate 1
  Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 3, Damage 5B, Parry 
  DV 1, Rate 2
  Wooden Short Sword: Speed 4, Accuracy 8, Damage 
  5L, Parry DV 4, Rate 2
  Bow: Speed 6, Accuracy 6, Damage 2L, Range 150, 
  Rate 2
  Soak: 3L/11B (Spry bones, 2L/8B)
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-4/I
  Dodge DV: 4 
  Willpower: 6
  Essence: 2 
  Essence Pool: 50
  Other Notes: Stick people are flammable. A stick 
  person that catches fire will continue to burn, suf-
  fering damage until it can extinguish the flames, 
  which will require more than just rolling around on 
  the ground.
  ORANGE BERRY
  Damage 
  Toxicity 
  Tolerance 
  Penalty
  2B/1 hour 
  4M 
  (Stamina + Resistance - 2)/10 minutes 
  -3
  
  139
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  
  140
  APPENDIX
  APPENDIX
  DIVINE MECHANICS
  DIVINE MECHANICS
  SPIRIT CHARMS
  The natural power of spirits manifests most obvi-
  ously in their Charms. Unlike Exalted, spirits don’t learn 
  to call upon awesome supernatural power. The Essence 
  manipulations of a spirit—its abilities to materialize 
  and dematerialize, speak to favored mortals through 
  dreams, curse an enemy to failure and so on—are 
  intrinsic to the spirit and related to the function the 
  spirit is intended to serve.
  Because Charms are expressions of a spirit’s nature 
  and personality, spirits sometimes use Charms uncon-
  sciously. A river god might use Domain Manipulation 
  Scenario (see p. 154) to cause his river to flood in reflec-
  tion of his emotional state, even without realizing it.
  Spirits treat the minimum Essence of their 
  Charms as guidelines. Many spirits possess Charms 
  with a minimum Essence higher than their own 
  Essence scores. For example, though Dematerialize 
  has a minimum Essence of 3, nearly all elementals 
  possess this Charm; likewise with gods greater than 
  least gods and Materialize.
  UNIQUE LIMITATIONS
  When a spirit uses a Charm, that spirit does so in a 
  unique fashion. Typically, a given spirit can only invoke 
  a Charm a certain way or at a certain time or against 
  certain foes. This limitation is usually tied to the spirit’s 
  nature and domain. For instance, a god of lust might 
  need to deliver its Malediction (see p. 165) through a 
  kiss. The weak Terrestrial deity of a forest pool under 
  the effects of Sheathing the Material Form (see p. 164) 
  might only protect herself from the attacks of those who 
  don’t know the properties of her water (i.e., lack dots 
  of Survival), or perhaps the armor is only effective as 
  
  141
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  long as she remains at least ankle-deep in water. Such 
  limitations can be narrow or broad, depending on the 
  power of the spirit, but they’re always limited in a way 
  a foe can exploit.
  Powerful spirits can have unrestricted, All-Encom-
  passing Charms. All-Encompassing Charms usually cost 
  five motes and one Willpower point more than their 
  restricted versions and require an Essence 2 greater 
  than the base Charm. Sheathing the Material Form, for 
  instance, costs two motes per extra 2B/1L of soak and 
  has a minimum Essence requirement of 2. An All-En-
  compassing Sheathing the Material Form that protected 
  a spirit from all forms of damage would cost around one 
  Willpower point, five motes and two motes per 2B/1L, 
  and a spirit would need an Essence of 4 or more to have 
  the Charm in the first place. Aside from most Excellen-
  cies, Materialize or Dematerialize, Principle of Motion, 
  Essence Plethora and other Charms where limitations 
  make little sense, All-Encompassing Charms are rare. 
  Most powerful spirits’ Charms will be very powerful in 
  their effects, but as limited or more limited as the same 
  Charm in the hands of a lesser spirit.
  COMBOS
  Because spirits’ Charms are instinctive, spirits don’t 
  need Combos to use more than one spirit Charm during 
  the same action. However, they still follow the normal 
  type and keyword restrictions. A spirit can’t use a Sup-
  plemental Charm to enhance a Combo-Basic Charm, 
  and it can’t use more than one Extra Action Charm 
  during the same action. In effect, a spirit has access 
  to every valid Combo that could be constructed from 
  every Charm it knows, and need not spend Willpower 
  for their access nor develop signature anima displays (as 
  spirits have no anima banners). The exception is foreign 
  Charms. Spirits using multiple non-spirit Charms (such 
  as supernatural martial arts techniques) within the same 
  action, or in combination with native Charms, must 
  form Combos and must include spirit Charms in those 
  Combos as if the spirit Charms were non-native.
  KEYWORD: ELEMENTAL
  (This keyword first appeared, in expanded form, in The 
  Manual of Exalted Power—The Dragon-Blooded.)
  A Charm with this keyword has an elemental effect. 
  In some cases, this effect is purely cosmetic, and the 
  underlying Charm functions the same way regardless 
  of element invoked. More often, however, the Charm 
  functions somewhat differently depending on element. 
  Damaging elemental effects produce the same base 
  damage regardless of element, but fire causes damage 
  through burning, while wood causes damage through 
  sharp thorns or a plant toxin.
  EXCELLENCIES
  Spirits can use the First, Second and Third (Ability) 
  Excellencies for each Ability, as well as Infinite (Abil-
  ity) Mastery, as long as they meet the prerequisites for 
  each Charm as described on pages 181–186 of Exalted. 
  These count as spirit Charms, and most are related to a 
  specific Virtue, just as their other Charms are. A spirit 
  cannot use Charms to add more dice to any dice pool 
  than the spirit’s Essence. A spirit cannot increase its 
  static values by more than half that amount.
  Virtue 
  Associated Excellencies and 
  Ability-Based Charms
  Compassion 
  First, Second and Third: Awareness, 
  Craft, Investigation, Linguistics, Lore, 
  Medicine, Survival, War
  Conviction 
  First, Second and Third: Bureaucracy, 
  Integrity, Larceny, Performance, Pres-
  ence, Ride, Socialize, Stealth
  Temperance 
  Infinite (Ability) Mastery and Di-
  vine (Ability) Subordination for all 
  Abilities
  ECLIPSES, MOONSHADOWS 
  AND GOD-BLOODS
  Eclipse Caste Solars, Moonshadow Caste 
  Abyssals and some God-Blooded can learn spirit 
  Charms. Learning such Charms is as radical as 
  learning sorcery or the Blossom of the Perfected 
  Lotus. Learning a divine Charm always requires 
  a tutor, and the student always learns the version 
  of the Charm her teacher uses. For instance, if 
  an Eclipse Caste learns Touch of Saturn from 
  a spirit who spits on a target to cause miscar-
  riage, then the Eclipse herself must spit on her 
  target when invoking Touch of Saturn, and the 
  Charm will cause only miscarriages. An Eclipse 
  who wishes to learn additional curses must learn 
  them separately.
  Unlike spirits, Eclipses, Moonshadows 
  and God-Bloods treat the minimum Essence 
  of spirit Charms as a rule. An Eclipse or 
  God-Blood cannot learn Dematerialize until 
  Essence 3, even if his tutor is an elemental with 
  Essence 2.
  
  142
  Valor 
  First, Second and Third: Archery, 
  Athletics, Dodge, Martial Arts, Melee, 
  Resistance, Thrown
  Universal 
  First, Second and Third: Occult
  Spirits have one additional Ability-based Charm, 
  Divine (Ability) Subordination. This is a Temperance 
  Charm.
  DIVINE (ABILITY) SUBORDINATION
  Cost: 5m, 1wp ; Mins: (Ability) 5, Essence 5; 
  Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Combo-OK
  Duration: Instant
  Spirits with this Charm exercise their divine will 
  to automatically succeed on any check of the Abil-
  ity in question. When the spirit’s player invokes this 
  Charm, she forgoes rolling for a single task and instead 
  the spirit succeeds on that task with a threshold of 0, 
  regardless of the roll’s difficulty or external penalties. 
  When associated with a combat Ability used to calcu-
  late a Defense Value (Martial Arts, Melee or Dodge), 
  the spirit’s player can invoke this Charm to perfectly 
  defend against a single incoming attack, whether the 
  attack can normally be blocked or dodged. Used in this 
  manner, the Charm possesses one of the Four Flaws of 
  Invulnerability (see Exalted, p. 194).
  As with almost all spirit Charms, each spirit with 
  Divine (Ability) Subordination will have unique limita-
  tions applied to its invocation (in addition to the Flaw 
  of Invulnerability). Even when All-Encompassing, this 
  Charm suffers one of the Four Flaws of Invulnerability 
  when used for defense.
  UNIVERSAL CHARMS
  Universal Charms aren’t tied to Virtues.
  ESSENCE PLETHORA
  Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1; 
  Type: Permanent
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Permanent
  A spirit increases its Essence pool 
  by 10 with this Charm. Spirits may 
  take this Charm (Essence) times, and 
  its effects stack.
  HURRY HOME
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; 
  Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  This Charm dematerializes a spirit 
  and teleports it instantly to a place 
  within the spirit’s domain, its sanctum, 
  the nearest gate to Yu-Shan or the point 
  where the spirit entered Creation. A 
  spirit must be dematerialized or be able 
  to dematerialize to use this Charm.
  Hurry Home follows all Relocation 
  guidelines (see p. 156).
  MATERIALIZE
  Cost: Varies; Mins: Essence 3; 
  Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious
  Duration: Varies
  With this Charm, a god may be-
  come material by spending ([Essence 
  + Willpower] x 5) motes. These motes 
  are not committed, and a materialized 
  
  143
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  spirit may respire Essence normally. A material god 
  may dematerialize as a miscellaneous action at no mote 
  cost. Normally, only gods and demons may learn this 
  Charm.
  Elementals, Eclipse Caste Solars, Moonshadow 
  Caste Abyssals and God-Bloods learn a Charm called 
  Dematerialize. With Dematerialize, a naturally material 
  being may become immaterial by spending ([Essence 
  + Willpower] x 5) uncommitted motes. A being under 
  the effect of Dematerialize may become material once 
  again with a miscellaneous action at no mote cost.
  Materialize and its counterpart are exceptions to 
  a number of rules and guidelines about spirit Charms. 
  First, only the most unusual of spirits have restrictions 
  on how they can use these Charms. There’s no All-
  Encompassing Materialize or Dematerialize, because 
  the Charm itself is All-Encompassing in most cases. 
  Second, when an Eclipse or Moonshadow learns De-
  CHARM CONCEPT: MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL
  Immaterial beings are invisible and intangible to the material world, but they may spend one mote or 
  one temporary Willpower to become visible and audible (though still obviously immaterial to all viewers) 
  for the remainder of the scene. Immaterial objects the immaterial beings carry likewise become visible 
  and audible. Structures such as floors and walls support an immaterial being’s weight only so long as the 
  being does not will itself to pass through them—an immaterial knife can rest on the material second 
  floor of a two-storey building, but will pass through the material wall of the same building if thrown by 
  an immaterial creature. Use common sense when adjucating this.
  Immaterial creatures are not as affected by the bodily needs of the material world. Immaterial creatures 
  do not require air to breath or food or water. They can still appreciate these things for their virtues but 
  no longer need them to survive. (And most spirits never need those things anyway.)
  As follows, immaterial creatures do not affect the material world without powerful Charms designed 
  to do so. Most of an immaterial creature’s Charms will not affect the material world.
  A creature that dematerializes may bring along objects it owns (as defined in Exalted, on p. 238) and 
  can carry. Unattended immaterial objects do not materialize alongside their owners and, if left unattended 
  for more than a fortnight, fall under the domain of Madame Marthesine of the Lost and her hoarders (see 
  pp. 55-56 and 47). Hoarders sometimes attempt to claim immaterial objects before that time limit is up.
  Many relatively common effects, such as thaumaturgical wards, can interact with immaterial beings, 
  and places that have access to a decent thaumaturge can force immaterial beings to materialize if they 
  wish to enter warded places. See The Books of Sorcery, Vol. III—Oadenol’s Codex, pages 140–144, 
  for the Art of Spirit Beckoning and the Art of Warding and Exorcism.
  Naturally material creatures that dematerialize must concern themselves with their location in the 
  real world, because an immaterial being that materializes in a place where it cannot normally survive will 
  die. In other words, an immaterial Eclipse Caste forced to materialize while walking straight through, 
  say, a wall or a mountain will indeed be gruesomely killed as the wall splits her apart or the mountain 
  instantly crushes her.
  There are realms in which the chasm of the material does not exist, and nothing can demate-
  rialize. Everyone and everything in the Underworld, Malfeas and the Celestial City of Yu-Shan is 
  considered material.
  materialize, his player calculates the cost in motes from 
  the character’s own traits, rather than using a version 
  of the Charm with a mote cost defined by the spiritual 
  tutor’s traits.
  The meaning and potential applications of this 
  Charm are highlighted in the “Charm Concept: Mate-
  rial and Immaterial” sidebar below.
  MEASURE THE WIND
  Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Combo-OK
  Duration: Instant
  This Charm determines the Essence trait of all 
  living creatures within a number of yards equal to 
  the spirit’s Willpower. This Charm also allows for 
  a (Wits + Perception) roll to find hidden creatures 
  within this range, and the difficulty of this roll is re-
  duced by 2. This Charm recognizes what type of being 
  
  144
  each creature is—Exalt, spirit, ghost, etc. Finally, 
  the Charm detects whether any creature the spirit 
  examines is capable of killing a god permanently, as 
  with Ghost-Eating Technique.
  Measure the Wind follows all Divination guidelines 
  (see p. 148).
  PRINCIPLE OF MOTION
  Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple (Speed 
  6, DV -2)
  Keywords: Obvious
  Duration: Indefinite
  A spirit may invoke this Charm to gain a number of 
  “banked” actions equal to the spirit’s Willpower. At any 
  later time, on the spirit’s own turn to act, for as long as the 
  spirit retains motes committed to this Charm, the spirit 
  may reflexively use these banked actions to construct a 
  magical flurry following the same guidelines as the Solar 
  Charm Peony Blossom Attack (see Exalted, p. 191). Such 
  a magical flurry contains a number of actions equal to the 
  banked actions the spirit draws forth, plus one. Banked 
  Principle of Motion actions need not be draw forth all 
  at once. Principle of Motion may not be invoked while 
  motes remain committed to a previous activation of 
  Principle of Motion, and may not be invoked using an 
  action in a flurry Principle of Motion provides.
  The magical flurry generated by drawing forth 
  Principle of Motion actions carries a few limitations due 
  to its peculiar nature outside the normal flow of time. 
  This Charm cannot contain Shape Sorcery actions, 
  Shape Necromancy actions, actions requiring long 
  ticks, actions operating on a dramatic timeframe, Extra 
  Action Charms or Combos (though this last limitation 
  applies only to Eclipses and Moonshadows who learn 
  the Charm, as spirits need not use Combos to activate 
  multiple Charms within the same action).
  Note that it takes an action to invoke this Charm, and 
  one who uses the Charm may only draw banked actions 
  on his turn to act, so it’s impossible to invoke Principle 
  of Motion and then make a magical flurry immediately—
  after invoking Principle of Motion to bank actions, the 
  Charm’s user must wait until his next action to draw 
  those actions and construct a magical flurry.
  RESERVE OF WILL
  Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Permanent
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Permanent
  This power allows a spirit to increase its tempo-
  rary Willpower pool beyond its Willpower trait. Each 
  instance of this Charm grants a spirit an additional 
  temporary Willpower.
  This Charm can be taken no more than (spirit’s 
  Essence) times.
  BLESSINGS
  GIFTS FROM THE GODS (COMPASSION)
  Spirits use blessings to aid their allies in battle, but 
  more importantly, blessings often ensure the loyalty 
  and effective service of a spirit’s messengers, followers 
  and lieutenants.
  All recipients of a blessing must be willing. If the 
  target (or targets) possess Essence 1, the motes the spirit 
  spends to power the blessing Charm are uncommitted, 
  and the spirit may do so from any distance (unless the 
  spirit possesses a version of the Charm that must be de-
  livered through physical contact or presence), provided 
  she has an arcane link to the target (most commonly 
  prayer; see pp. 168-169). If a target possesses Essence 
  2+, the spirit must be in his presence in some fashion 
  and commit the motes to bless the target.
  Some spirits can issue blessings that deactivate 
  under certain conditions. Blessings from similar sources 
  and with similar purposes don’t stack their effects.
  BENEFACTION
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The target receives a one-die bonus to some sort of 
  roll (any or all rolls only in the case of All-Encompassing 
  Benefaction).
  (ELEMENT) DRAGON’S EMBRACE
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Elemental, Holy, Emotion, Illusion, Obvi-
  ous, Shaping, Sickness, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit adjusts the target’s core Essence balance in 
  favor of one element, Celestial Incarnae or Primordial. 
  The effects are somewhat positive—but ultimately, any 
  such imbalance is unhealthy, even when administered 
  benevolently. As a result, this power can be used as a 
  curse against unwilling targets, in which case it follows 
  Curse guidelines (see p. 165).
  Potential effects include the following:
  • Eliminating the normal penalty for having 0 dots in 
  any Ability associated with the element in question
  • Removing the mote surcharge from certain elemen-
  tally aspected Charms
  • Removing the penalty associated with working one 
  magical material
  • Fooling certain powers that can ascertain elemental 
  associations
  
  145
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  • Variously altering Charm effects that have the Holy 
  or elemental descriptor
  • Increasing Essence respiration in appropriately 
  aspected areas by one mote per hour, which might 
  thereby allow respiration in places where it wasn’t 
  previously possible
  Stranger and more powerful effects are possible, 
  especially when esoteric creatures or other gods are 
  infused. Most gods possess a version of (Element) 
  Dragon’s Embrace capable of producing only one of 
  the above effects; some can use two or three.
  For every positive effect granted by this Charm, 
  the target suffers an emotional or mental imbal-
  ance of some sort. These take the form of Illusion or 
  Emotion effects that occasionally force the target’s 
  player to spend one Willpower lest they dramatically 
  manifest. They might influence a character into act-
  ing strangely—perhaps out of uncontrollable, fiery 
  HIGH-ESSENCE BLESSING GUIDELINES
  Normally, blessings affect one target for one scene, but powerful spirits may spend one temporary 
  Willpower to extend the duration or to affect a larger group. The spirit gains a number of points equal 
  to its (Essence + Compassion - Charm’s minimum Essence), which the spirit can divide between the 
  magnitude of the group the spirit wishes to affect and the duration of the effect, as determined by the 
  chart below.
  When the target of a blessing expires with duration on the blessing still remaining, the blessing passes 
  to the deceased’s legal heir. Inheritance is according to the law of the target’s culture, or the predominant 
  law of Creation (currently imperial law) if the local culture has no inheritance policy. Under imperial 
  law, the spouse is the primary inheritor, with the eldest child inheriting next, with all Exalts inheriting 
  before unExalted relations. However, blessings don’t pass to invalid targets, which means they don’t 
  usually pass to the Exalted as most spirits who leave blessings that last long enough to pass on to heirs 
  only do so to mortals and don’t leave the motes committed.
  For the purposes of the chart, one generation is 20 years, and laying a blessing on beings whose 
  “generations” are longer (such as the Dragon-Blooded) will not extend the effect’s duration beyond that 
  period of time.
  Points 
  Duration
  0 
  scene
  1 
  Day
  2 
  Week
  3 
  Month
  4 
  Season
  5 
  Year
  6 
  10 years
  7 
  20 years
  8 
  60 years (unto the 3rd generation)
  9 
  140 years (unto the 7th generation)
  10 
  260 years (unto the 13th generation)
  11 
  600 years (unto the 30th generation)
  12 
  2,000 years (unto the 100th generation)
  No more than once a year, an Essence 5+ spirit may sacrifice one permanent Willpower to grant 
  a permanent blessing. No spirit makes this sacrifice lightly. Permanent blessings don’t pass on to heirs 
  when the subject dies.
  
  146
  rage—or based on incorrect beliefs—perhaps due to 
  wispy, airy hallucinations.
  Some spirits, especially elementals and servants 
  of the Celestial Incarnae, seem to spring into being 
  with the effects of this Charm as a permanent part of 
  their existence.
  ENDOWMENT
  Cost: Varies, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The target gains an immense boon. This Charm 
  can grant dots of traits such as Attributes, Abilities, 
  Willpower, Virtues—even Essence. Endowment can 
  grant the use of Charms. It can even grant physical 
  or metaphysical alterations. Almost any sort of boon 
  is possible, though generally the spirit possess that 
  quality itself. The minimum Essence of this Charm 
  is determined by the granted power, and the mote 
  cost is equal to triple the final minimum Essence. 
  When bestowing trait dots, increase the minimum 
  Essence by two for every dot gifted after the first. 
  Blessing a target beyond her normal potential—for 
  instance, beyond five Attribute dots or one Essence 
  for a mortal—increases the minimum Essence by 
  two more.
  If an Endowment bestows the use of a Charm, then 
  use the minimum Essence of the bestowed Charm (if 
  higher than that of Endowment). If it bestows the 
  effects of a Charm, on the other hand, the duration 
  of the Endowment is limited to the duration of the 
  gifted Charm, and the spirit must pay the cost of the 
  Endowment plus the cost of the bestowed Charm.
  Endowments that grant physical benefits other than 
  Charms or trait dots can be modeled with the “Touch of 
  the Wyld” section on pages 288-290 of Exalted. (Even 
  more such benefits may be found on pp. 144-148 of 
  The Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol. II—The 
  Wyld and on pp. 206-209 of The Manual of Exalted 
  Power—The Lunars.) Endowment can add positive 
  qualities or remove negative ones. If the Endowment 
  is about as useful as an affliction or heals a problem as 
  bad as a debility, add one to this Charm’s minimum 
  Essence. Blights and deformities raise minimum Essence 
  by two; abominations by three.
  Most spirits have one unique version of this Charm 
  that bestows a combination of effects. If a spirit’s 
  Endowment grants dots of various traits, physical 
  changes and Charm effects, use the highest minimum 
  Essence of all of the effects and add one for every ad-
  ditional effect. 
  EYE OF INSPIRATION
  Cost: 15m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The target is blessed by one of the spirit’s Excellen-
  cies, which can add up to the spirit’s Essence in dice. 
  These dice always count toward the maximum number of 
  dice the target can add to her pools through Charms.
  The recipient may be allowed to instinctively 
  understand how to draw upon it when she needs it, or 
  the spirit might set conditions in which the Excellency 
  activates (for instance, “When fighting an enemy of 
  my faith”), or the spirit may choose when to use the 
  Excellency itself to assist the recipient. 
  A target of this Charm with her own mote pools 
  may fuel the Excellency’s activation with her own 
  motes. Otherwise, the spirit must allow her to draw 
  from its own pool.
  SIGNET OF AUTHORITY
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The target is marked by the spirit’s sigil (though 
  the mark may only be visible to senses that penetrate 
  the immaterial) and can give orders in its name. She’s 
  much less likely to be attacked by the god’s inferiors, 
  and may spend one Willpower to call upon the Mandate 
  of Subordination (see p. 169) and give an order that 
  such an inferior must follow, as long as it’s seen the 
  signet on the target.
  TOUCH OF DIVINITY
  Cost: 3m+, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  This Charm can be a gift of motes, Willpower points 
  or some other temporary spiritual renewal. If motes are 
  transferred, then they’re given on a one-for-one basis. 
  Temporary Willpower costs three motes of Essence and 
  one of the spirit’s own temporary Willpower per point. 
  More potent examples include nourishment or Virtue 
  channels, which cost more than motes or Willpower. 
  Spirits cannot spend more motes per use of this Charm 
  than their (Essence x 3).
  If the spirit consents, the target may receive this 
  boon permanently; the spirit may also withdraw it at 
  any time before the Charm ends. These blessings are 
  usually much more specific and interesting than motes 
  or Willpower. Recipients have been known to use the 
  divine boon as a guide to awaken their own Essence, 
  
  147
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  uncover esoteric truths buried deep within themselves, 
  relive memories lost to the Ages and so on.
  TOUCH OF ETERNITY
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The target’s body and soul are reinforced with the 
  resilience of immortality. The effects vary, but examples 
  include the following:
  • Soak lethal damage with half Stamina, as do Essence 
  wielders
  • Rapidly stop bleeding as an Exalt does
  • Resist poison and disease as an Exalt does
  • Heal as fully and rapidly as an Exalt does
  • Shrug off enchantments and curses as an Exalt 
  does
  • Half aging speed (does not stack with other uses of 
  this Charm)
  Powerful gods can imbue recipients with more 
  powerful and creative effects. Some can even enhance 
  the Exalted, but this blessing cannot generally bestow 
  powers the spirit itself doesn’t possess.
  TOUCH OF GRACE
  Cost: 3m+, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  Touch of Grace allows a spirit to pour its own 
  ephemeral substance into cracks and wounds, mending 
  them. Spirits might use the Charm to fix broken parts of 
  their domain, to perform miraculous healings or perhaps 
  to relieve themselves of minor damage.
  For every three motes a spirit spends powering this 
  Charm, the target removes one health level of damage 
  (one mote per level, if the damage is bashing). Recipi-
  ents may even remain healed after the duration of the 
  Charm has expired, if the spirit wishes.
  This considerable power has weaknesses. Wounds 
  that are too deep cannot be healed: a spirit may spend 
  no more motes per usage than its ([lower of Essence or 
  Compassion] x 3), and if the spirit can’t heal the target 
  completely with a single use of Touch of Grace, the 
  Charm has no effect. Also, damage of a supernatural 
  nature, including all aggravated damage, can be healed 
  only until the spirit uncommits the motes fueling the 
  Charm—whereupon it returns.
  
  148
  Touch of Grace can cure Crippling, Poison or Sick-
  ness effects. To determine the mote cost, each counts 
  as a number of lethal health levels equal to a Poison’s 
  Toxicity, a Sickness’s Untreated Morbidity or a Crippling 
  effect’s relative seriousness, as decided by the Storyteller 
  on a scale of 1 to 5. Unusually powerful effects may 
  count as up to 10. Supernatural effects, such as magical 
  wounds, also return when the duration ends.
  Touch of Grace has no effect on artifacts or on 
  things that are in stark opposition to the spirit’s nature. 
  For example, undead or demons usually cannot benefit 
  from this Charm if it’s used by a god of the Celestial 
  Hierarchy, and a water elemental may not understand 
  how to heal a creature made of fire.
  DIVINATIONS
  EYES OF THE GODS (COMPASSION)
  Spirits can perceive many things beyond mortal 
  ken.
  Divinations are an exception to the normal rule 
  for retries; similar Divinations can interfere with each 
  other. A Divination that would glean data contradict-
  ing another Divination the spirit has made within the 
  past month won’t yield information contradicting the 
  earlier Divination, and might be influenced into giv-
  ing false predictions. As a result, diviner-spirits prefer 
  to ritually invoke their foresight no more often than 
  once a month.
  Divinations can see only into the sanctums of will-
  ing gods, and only the most powerful divination can 
  see into other realms of existence.
  AMETHYST AWARENESS
  Cost: 6; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Indefinite
  This Charm provides the benefits of All-Encom-
  passing Sorcerer’s Sight (see Exalted, p. 222).
  FORETELL THE FUTURE
  Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: None
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit spends one entire scene in prayer formu-
  lating a personal passkey into the Bureau of Destiny’s 
  archive of fates. At the scene’s end, the spirit dreams 
  her way through the archives, researching her domain. 
  She has access only to materials associated by the Bureau 
  with her domain. The Bureau of Destiny has the right 
  to restrict access to this information to beings who pos-
  sess a certain Essence score, but a spirit may spend one 
  Willpower to perform a priority override (requiring a 
  Compassion roll and then adding the successes to the 
  spirit’s effective Essence score). The Bureau is alerted 
  to priority overrides and who knows what else that goes 
  on in its dream archives.
  With this Charm, the spirit has limited access to the 
  future. If the Bureau of Destiny cannot determine what 
  will happen, neither then can the spirit. If a destiny is 
  in flux, the spirit receives incomplete prophecies—the 
  best Heaven can reasonably determine.
  This Charm is an exception to the usual prohibition 
  against Divinations crossing realms of existence.
  HAND OF DESTINY
  Cost: 20m, 2wp; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Simple
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Indefinite
  Using Hand of Destiny, a spirit marks a certain 
  part of its domain for personal attention. The spirit 
  personally decides what must happen, and personally 
  accomplishes that end. Subordinate spirits governing 
  affected domains immediately become aware of their 
  superior’s floating decree and level of personal involve-
  ment; thus, those spirits also actively work toward the 
  end the Charm is shaping.
  By using this Charm, the spirit sets itself upon a path 
  that leads to the spirit’s goal. The spirit becomes the Hand 
  of Destiny: an instrument of its own decision to interfere 
  with Creation. The spirit has a perfect, unconscious 
  instinct for everything that brings it closer to success, 
  and often takes great steps toward its larger goal without 
  even realizing its actions were relevant till later.
  CHARM CONCEPT: 
  REALMS OF EXISTENCE
  Malfeas, Yu-Shan, the Wyld, the Under-
  world, Autochthonia, Elsewhere and similar 
  places are realms apart from Creation. Many 
  powers aren’t designed to work between such 
  places, which are described as “realms of exis-
  tence.” For instance, since spirits can’t invoke 
  Sendings into other realms of existence, a spirit 
  couldn’t send a dream from Heaven to a follower 
  in Creation or a friend in the Wyld. Celestial gods 
  who wish to send dreams to mortals must travel 
  through a Yu-Shan gateway and send from the 
  other side (though this limitation doesn’t apply 
  to the Incarnae).
  
  149
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  This Charm is essentially a managerial priority 
  override—it brings the spirit into conflict with the 
  way things will work out “naturally.” As a result, spirits 
  using this Charm without permission from the Bureau 
  of Destiny risk that Bureau’s wrath.
  INTRUSION-SENSING METHOD
  Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit defines a potential change within its 
  domain and commits the requisite motes. If that event 
  occurs, roll the spirit’s (Perception + Awareness), adding 
  (Compassion) automatic successes. This constitutes a 
  check to notice that change as though the spirit were 
  present at the event’s location.
  MELODIOUS DIAGNOSTIC REPORT
  Cost: 15m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple
  Keywords: None
  Duration: One Scene
  The spirit focuses on a problem affecting her do-
  main and issues notice of impending analysis. By the 
  end of the scene, her being resonates with the wise 
  prayers of every aspect of Creation that owes fealty 
  to the spirit. Unless the problem is masked by magic 
  backed by a higher Essence score than the spirit’s, the 
  spirit will determine the problem’s source, and may 
  then roll (Intelligence + Compassion) to determine 
  how to fix it. Problems well beyond the spirit’s normal 
  scope of operations may impose an external penalty to 
  this roll. For instance, if the issue is a Essence 9 Lunar 
  working against the spirit’s domain, then the spirit will 
  likely take a large penalty to the spirit’s (Intelligence + 
  Compassion) roll—it’s really hard to find a solution to 
  a Essence 9 Lunar. The number of threshold successes 
  determines the wisdom of the spirit’s conclusions, and 
  subsequent mental rolls made to deal with the problem 
  receive bonus dice equal to those successes.
  Subordinate spirits involved in the diagnostic 
  report must pray to issue their decisions, and any such 
  spirit with an Essence score 1 less than the user may 
  attempt to upset the process, creating an external 
  penalty equal to its ([Charisma + Performance] / 2). A 
  greater number of rebellious smaller spirits might also 
  upset this Charm.
  MEMORY MIRROR
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit finds what it seeks in the target’s mind. 
  The spirit attempts to read her per Reading Motiva-
  tion (see Exalted, p. 131), but actually reads something 
  besides Intimacies and Motivation, such as a memory. 
  Unless the target’s Essence exceeds the spirit’s, the 
  Reading Motivation check receives (Compassion) 
  automatic successes.
  NATURAL PROGNOSTICATION
  Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit’s words and actions casually reveal 
  fate’s plans. This Charm activates automatically when 
  the spirit encounters a character or region for which 
  Heaven has a weighty plan. The Charm reveals the 
  preplanned fates of those with the Destiny Background 
  (see Scroll of the Monk, p. 151), though the Charm 
  cannot determine the Background’s strength. Natural 
  Prognostication also senses the effects of ascending or 
  descending destinies caused by Sidereal astrology.
  SENSE DOMAIN
  Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Instant
  When the spirit invokes this Charm, the spirit’s 
  player makes a single Awareness roll pertinent to the 
  spirit’s domain’s status or interior (if the domain is a 
  location). The Charm adds (Compassion) automatic 
  successes to the roll, and the spirit may count its priests’ 
  senses as part of its domain. The spirit can explicitly 
  notice anything within its domain that the Storyteller 
  deems noticeable—even things beyond the reach of 
  its normal senses.
  TRACKING
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit tracks something or someone to which 
  the spirit has committed Essence, whether by a bless-
  ing, a curse or any Charm requiring committed motes. 
  The spirit instinctively knows the target’s distance from 
  the spirit, as well as in what direction the target lies. 
  Any spirit with this Charm may also commit a mote 
  to a target for an indefinite period with a touch and a 
  successful (Essence + Compassion) check; unwilling 
  targets apply an external penalty to this roll equal to 
  their Essence. Removing this “tag” usually requires 
  specialized thaumaturgy or sorcery, though cutting the 
  tag out occasionally works. This tag is an arcane link to 
  the spirit, so cautious spirits use the tag sparingly.
  
  150
  If the target of this Charm has access to supernatural 
  stealth, the spirit’s player rolls (Essence + Awareness), 
  adding (Compassion) successes, and the target’s player 
  rolls (Essence + Stealth), adding dice or successes from 
  other sources. The power associated with the winning 
  roll overrides the power associated with the losing roll. 
  The target’s player may invoke Excellencies to increase 
  the dice pool for this roll even if the target character is 
  unaware she’s being tracked.
  SENDINGS
  VOICES OF THE GODS (COMPASSION)
  Spirits send dreams to their worshipers and visions 
  to their priests, and often manipulate humanity from a 
  distance. A spirit can use a Sending on a target within 
  Creation from within the spirit’s own sanctum, but 
  Sending can only enter the sanctum of a willing spirit 
  and cannot otherwise cross between realms of existence. 
  A spirit doesn’t necessarily know if its Sending failed 
  to reach the target.
  Sendings may reach material targets, even if the 
  spirit itself is immaterial.
  CALL
  Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit sends (Compassion) simple ideas to 
  any or all creatures within range, but only those who 
  share a particular quality with the spirit will hear the 
  message. Many spirits and demons use this Charm to 
  communicate with others of their kind.
  DREAMSCAPE
  Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Emotion
  Duration: Instant or Indefinite
  The target receives a dream of the spirit’s design. 
  Sleepers can enter only one such dreamscape per period 
  of sleep. If more than one spirit seeks to place a target 
  within a dreamscape during the same period of sleep, 
  the highest-Essence spirit’s dream takes precedence. 
  In case of ties, the target enters the dreamscape sent 
  first. A spirit may commit the motes for this Charm, 
  specifying that it activates as soon as the target is 
  willing to receive the dream or falls asleep, but won’t 
  necessarily know when that happens. Most spirits with 
  this Charm may send dreams only to mortals the spir-
  its can see, though they may do so while immaterial. 
  Spirits with Essence 6+ may send dreams (Essence x 
  Compassion x 100) miles.
  HIGH-ESSENCE SENDING GUIDELINES
  A spirit with one Essence can use a Sending 
  out to a range of 10 yards. For every additional 
  dot of Essence possessed by a spirit using a 
  Sending, this maximum range is multiplied by 
  10. For example, the Sendings of an Essence 
  3 spirit have a maximum range of 1,000 yards, 
  over half a mile. A spirit who takes advantage 
  of an Essence score higher than its Compassion 
  when using a long-distance sending will find its 
  message slowed. Occasionally, this is as little as 
  a few ticks; more often, a few minutes or hours. 
  The longest a Sending can be thus delayed is 
  one day, which can cause serious bureaucratic 
  problems if it’s not properly planned for.
  ENCHANTMENTS AND SENDINGS
  Sendings can be supplemented with En-
  chantment Charms (see pp. 157-160). Gods 
  thus manipulate followers and enemies without 
  leaving their sanctums. A spirit may transmit the 
  power of one of its Enchantment Charms with its 
  communication, so long as (the Enchantment’s 
  minimum Essence + Sending’s minimum Essence) 
  doesn’t exceed the spirit’s own Essence score.
  Enchantments transmitted through Sendings 
  are less powerful than they would be in person. 
  Subtract the Sending’s minimum Essence or the 
  Essence a spirit would need to send its message 
  the desired distance, whichever is higher, from 
  the spirit’s Essence trait for the purposes of de-
  termining the Enchantment’s power.
  From within the dream, the target may receive any 
  message of any length—through this message, the spirit 
  may deliver a social attack that gains twice the normal 
  benefit from using the target’s Intimacies, Virtues or 
  Motivations against him, up to a maximum bonus equal 
  to the spirit’s Compassion. If the spirit is activating this 
  Charm while the target sleeps, the spirit may enter the 
  dream and communicate with her in real time, in which 
  case the spirit may deliver one social attack at the above 
  bonus or hold a regular conversation, including the pos-
  sibility of participating in regular social combat where 
  the spirit’s as vulnerable to the dreamer as the dreamer 
  is to it. The dream message may also constitute up to 
  a full day’s worth of training. Finally, the dream can 
  simply be a nightmare, designed to prevent the target 
  from regaining Willpower upon waking.
  
  151
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  For one Willpower, spirits with an Essence score 
  greater than the target’s Dodge Mental Defense Value 
  can force conscious targets into a dream, which lasts 
  but a moment, though its effects may be profound. 
  Targets may lower their Dodge Mental Defense Value 
  voluntarily should they wish to receive such a dream.
  IMPROMPTU MESSENGER
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: None
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit usurps control of a mortal’s voice or speaks 
  through an inanimate object if the object has a feature 
  that could function as a mouth. Assuming they share 
  a common language, the spirit can hear and speak to 
  anyone near its vector.
  WORLDLY ILLUSION
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Illusion
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit uses its understanding of immortality to 
  place itself and its targets outside of time. While this 
  Essence is committed, the spirit (or another of its Send-
  ings) and a number of targets up to the spirit’s Essence 
  depart the normal flow of time and enter into a mass 
  dream. This effect is usually consensual, but targets with 
  a Dodge Mental Defense Value greater than the spirit’s 
  (Essence + Compassion) may choose to be unaffected. 
  One spirit may cause the world to appear to freeze in 
  place. Another may appear to transport itself and its 
  targets to a far away location or to a location the spirit 
  imagines. There, the spirit and its targets may wage 
  social combat between the blows of a sword or strategize 
  in the midst of a battle. Once the committed Essence 
  is released, all the participants return to exactly where 
  they were just before this Charm was used.
  What happens in the dream is purely social. No 
  changes whatsoever last beyond the end of the con-
  versation save the effects of social combat, with the 
  special exception of Compassion Charms invoked 
  during that “time.”
  A player who wants her character to leave the dream 
  world may spend three Willpower to do so.
  This Charm may be used a number of times per 
  scene equal to the spirit’s Compassion.
  DIVINE WORKS
  HANDS OF THE GODS (CONVICTION)
  Many spirits can affect their domains without 
  personal interaction—examples include raising and 
  lowering mountains, erupting volcanoes and deciding 
  the bounty of the harvest.
  Spirits complete Divine Works by calling upon 
  their domains, so these Charms function at limited 
  capacity—if at all—when a spirit is outside its station. 
  Gods outside Creation, demons outside Malfeas and 
  elementals in places where their elements cannot exist 
  (for instance, a wood elemental in a howling inferno) 
  count their Essence scores as being 3 lower when in-
  voking Divine Works.
  Some of these Charms are Shaping powers. They 
  casually alter extras’ minds and could change Creation on 
  almost any level. However, Divine Works cannot reshape 
  anyone of Essence 2+, or any artifact, in any dramatic 
  fashion. The Charm might still affect such targets—it 
  just can’t use them to complete its effect: a Celestial Exalt 
  might be affected by a Divine Decree that the Imperial 
  City is inhospitable to Anathema, but the Decree can’t 
  force her to make it inhospitable to Anathema.
  Divine Works can only be performed while the 
  spirit is material.
  AFFINITY (ELEMENT) CONTROL
  Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Elemental, Obvious, Stackable
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit has considerable control over a particular 
  element. The spirit may manipulate (Essence) barrels 
  worth of that element equal within (Essence x 10) 
  yards. Every action, each barrel can be used to one of 
  a number of effects.
  • Elemental Corruption/Purification—The spirit makes 
  its element poisonous, changing sand into toxic salt, 
  befouling waters, etc. The Damage is 1L/minute and the 
  Toxicity is 1. Every additional barrel committed to the 
  poison adds 1 to the damage and 1 to the Toxicity. This 
  poison is only dangerous if internalized. Every barrel 
  contains 100 doses of this poison. With the purifica-
  tion effect, the spirit may cleanse its element, removing 
  poisonous qualities. The spirit may also cleanse its ele-
  ment of diseases with Virulence less than the spirit’s 
  Essence. These effects are permanent.
  • Elemental Damage—Every barrel adds 1 to the dam-
  age of the spirit’s attacks.
  • Elemental Hazard—The spirit creates an environmen-
  tal hazard from its element. This hazard has a damage 
  of 1L/minute and a Trauma of 1L. Every additional 
  barrel committed to the hazard adds 1 to the damage 
  and Trauma. Barrels of the element committed to an 
  already existing hazard enhance it in the same way 
  or add the L tag to the hazard’s trauma. This effect 
  
  152
  supersedes the effects of Elemental Expression (see p. 
  170) and cannot be combined with hazards created or 
  enhanced by other spirits.
  • Elemental Material—The spirit may manipulate its 
  element as though it were a much more useful mate-
  rial. The spirit’s Craft score for this is limited to its 
  Conviction, but it requires no tools, and what would 
  take scenes takes only actions. If the material is solid, 
  then it remains after the Charm expires.
  • Elemental Resistance—Every barrel adds 1 to the 
  character’s bashing, lethal and aggravated soak values, 
  or triple that amount against damage from the same 
  element. This soak counts as armor.
  • Elemental Weapon—The spirit may launch attacks 
  with its element, rolling (Wits + Conviction) to hit. 
  This attack has Speed 5, Accuracy +1, base Damage 3B 
  or 3L and a Rate of 1. Every additional barrel commit-
  ted to an attack adds 1 to the Accuracy and Rate and 
  3 to the damage. Some spirits may make special attacks 
  with the elements that they control, such as grapples or 
  disarms, and other can even use their element to make 
  ranged Athletics actions.
  Not every spirit can perform every function of the 
  Charm.
  CALCULATED ORDER OF IMMEDIATE ACTION
  Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
  Duration: Variable
  With this power, the spirit outright creates or de-
  stroys an instance of its domain within (Essence x 10) 
  yards. The spirit’s authority cuts the red tape that delays 
  projects, making complicated and difficult feats as quick 
  as stamping a form. As long as the spirit has the neces-
  sary power, Abilities and raw materials to mundanely 
  create or destroy the spirit’s target, this Charm makes it 
  happen within a matter of seconds. The first moments of 
  Calculated Order of Immediate Action begin the process; 
  this is Power Level 0 (see chart, below). This Charm 
  can then be re-invoked, with each new use increasing 
  Power Level by one until the spirit is finished. At that 
  point, the Divine Work is complete. If interrupted, the 
  process must be entirely restarted. Objects created with 
  this Charm are born with weak least gods, making them 
  particularly vulnerable to ownership and Inhabitings.
  This Charm’s Essence minimum increases by the 
  desired Power Level—a god with Essence 2 can invoke 
  only Power Level 0 effects, and a god must be Essence 
  7 to invoke effects of Power Level 5.
  CHRYSALIS OF PRESERVATION
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit invests some of its immortal, intangible 
  self in something, making that thing immune to age and 
  anything that can’t affect the immaterial. Against things 
  that affect dematerialized creatures, this Chrysalis has a 
  Hardness equal to the spirit’s (Essence x Conviction). 
  However, crystallized things can’t change, move, be 
  used, improve or do anything but be perceived. Only 
  creatures with Charms that can affect things even more 
  intangible than the immaterial—for instance, Creation 
  of Perfection (below)—can touch it.
  Anything at all can be thus crystallized. Concepts 
  lose a little potential, but gain a pseudo-material form 
  holding part of their power. People and artifacts can be 
  crystallized, but only by Essence 6+ spirits; Exalted and 
  their Essences can’t be crystallized by any being of less 
  than Essence 9. However, the spirit may not surround 
  a being of Essence 2+ with a Chrysalis of Preservation 
  without the target’s consent. Since crystallizing things 
  can weaken their spirits, gaining consent can be tricky. 
  Furthermore, only spirits with an Essence equal to or 
  greater than the target’s Essence or the Essence of the 
  target’s spirit can crystallize a thing. As most things 
  only have least gods, this is seldom a concern when 
  creating a chrysalis around an object.
  Power Level 
  Description 
  Example
  0 
  Common, Resources 0 
  Walking stick, sound of drums
  1 
  Simple, Resources 1 
  Sword, common lust
  2 
  Useful, Resources 2 
  Chain shirt, romantic feelings, small apartment
  3 
  Effective, Resources 3 
  Firewand, familial ties, one-story house
  4 
  Rare, Resources 4 
  Mundane artillery, nationalism, substantial building
  5 
  Awesome, Resources 5 
  Articulated plate, city-wide hysteria, a furnished mansion
  
  153
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  Releasing this Charm’s motes decrystallizes the 
  thing, as does inflicting any damage upon it at all. A 
  spirit whose Essence or Conviction is higher than the 
  Conviction of the crystallizing spirit might itself be 
  able to use this Charm to end a chrysalis.
  CREATION OF PERFECTION
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Shaping
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit becomes tangible to everything—material, 
  immaterial, barely substantial or wildly conceptual, though 
  concepts at least need a representation for the spirit to 
  touch. A spirit might use this Charm to work Fate through 
  the Loom of Fate, or to prune a concept wrapped within a 
  Chrysalis of Preservation (see above). This uses the normal 
  Craft rules. Conviction limits the spirit’s Craft score, but 
  the spirit can call upon the Excellencies.
  DIVINE DECREE
  Cost: Varies; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Shaping
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit delivers a powerful order that is unhesi-
  tatingly enforced by subordinates who control lesser 
  aspects of the spirit’s domain. The relative power of 
  the spirit’s invocation is determined by the Decree’s 
  Power Level. A Power Level 1 decree might be: “This 
  statue of me shall stay spotless,” at which point the 
  idol will never again need polishing. A Power Level 3 
  decree might be: “The ocean shall swallow you and your 
  children,” in which case it would be prudent for the 
  target to avoid the sea. A Power Level 5 decree might 
  be: “The Imperial City offers no quarter to Anathema,” 
  in which case all doors might close and lock when any 
  Celestial Exalt approaches, and citizens would normally 
  show distaste and distrust toward them.
  Each Divine Decree has one Power Level for every 
  invested 10 motes and one Willpower. Using this Charm 
  involves harassing and commanding spirits with all Es-
  sence scores equal to or less than the Power Level, so 
  using high levels runs a serious risk of angering other 
  powerful bureaucrats, who can spend Willpower to resist 
  this Charm as they would the Mandate of Subordination. 
  In any case, a spirit can’t manifest a greater Power Level 
  than its (Essence - 1).The exact effects of this Charm are 
  unpredictable, but as a quick rule, attempts to contradict 
  the decree always require a roll, to which an external 
  penalty equal to the Power Level is applied.
  
  154
  DOMAIN MANIPULATION SCENARIO
  Cost: 6m or 12m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: 
  Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
  Duration: Indefinite
  For six motes, the spirit commands its domain to 
  do something normal, or “naturally” calls its domain 
  into existence. The spirit can slow or stop its domain’s 
  natural processes, but only in a relatively plausible way. 
  This Charm has a range of (Essence x 10) yards. The 
  god of a volcano could make his volcano erupt if he’s 
  inside it; a love goddess could make two nearby people 
  who are actually right for each other fall in love.
  Essence 3+ spirits might spend 12 motes and one 
  Willpower to guide their domains in temporary, moderately 
  powerful ways. A spirit might cause its domain to do almost 
  anything that isn’t extremely rapid or outside its nature: 
  a disease spirit could induce plague in an unexpected 
  area—but not a magically sterilized one; a river spirit could 
  cause its river to dry up, overflow its banks or even alter 
  its course—but couldn’t make it fly. A city father might 
  decide that all shops are closed for the day, but couldn’t 
  move the place or make it invisible. This Charm’s threats 
  are never so powerful that a person with a Defense Value 
  (or Mental Defense Value, when appropriate) greater than 
  the spirit’s Conviction couldn’t best them.
  WEATHER CONTROL
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: None
  Duration: (Essence) hours
  The spirit manipulates nearby weather in a semi-
  natural way. For the first scene, the spirit “mildly” affects 
  the weather within a one-mile radius. The next scene, the 
  spirit intensifies the weather within this zone by one level 
  of severity (see chart), creating a “mild” zone around that 
  for another mile. This continues till the weather reaches 
  its maximum radius: one mile per Essence dot. The spirit 
  need not intensify the weather to expand its radius.
  Excellent thaumaturgy or a spirit with greater 
  Essence and Weather Control could both counteract 
  this Charm. Spirits who commonly regulate an area’s 
  weather have the appreciation of Heaven’s Celestial 
  Monitors of the Seasons and Weather. Others, without 
  such permission, might attract the Bureau’s ire.
  EIDOLA
  FORMS OF THE GODS (CONVICTION)
  Spirits can take many shapes and can even re-form 
  their domains to protect them.
  Eidola can only be performed while material.
  FORM REDUCTION TECHNIQUE
  Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Shaping
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit compacts its substance into a smaller 
  shape; this shape doesn’t usually have traits or signifi-
  cantly useful qualities that the spirit could not otherwise 
  call upon—it thus becomes the lesser creature in all 
  respects, and could be a lower-Essence spirit, mortal, 
  animal or any other living thing.
  This Charm can’t emulate specific creatures; it 
  mimics certain types of creatures or creates new ones. 
  Unlike other Eidola, Form Reduction Technique actually 
  remakes the spirit in every way that matters. No senses, 
  spiritual or otherwise, will perceive the spirit as anything 
  but what it’s become. This isn’t an Illusion effect. Short of 
  extrapolation based on considerable knowledge of a given 
  spirit—its exact speech patterns, for instance—there’s 
  no way anyone can figure out the deception. Picking 
  up those subtle cues requires a successful (Perception + 
  Occult) roll, suffering an external penalty of the spirit’s 
  (Essence + Occult + Conviction).
  Weather Severity 
  Description 
  Spirit’s Prerequisites
  Normal 
  Subtle effects, but no unseasonable ones.
  Mild 
  Unusual effects, not terrible ones; makes travel 
   
  more difficult, but doesn’t cause damage. 
  Essence 2, Conviction 2
  Severe 
  Potentially dangerous or extremely unlikely. 
  Essence 3, Conviction 3
  Drastic 
  Extremely dangerous; imposes penalties to all 
   
  rolls. Might freeze fast-moving rivers or uproot trees. Essence 4, Conviction 4
  Legendary 
  Conditions of the elemental poles; without 
   
  excellent shelter, mortals die quickly. 
  Essence 5, Conviction 5
  
  155
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  If the spirit becomes a creature with a smaller Es-
  sence pool than the spirit’s own, the extra motes go 
  Elsewhere, and the spirit regains them upon resuming 
  its normal form. This Charm shapes no equipment save 
  the being’s divine panoply.
  HOST OF SPIRITS
  Cost: 3m per copy; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Shaping
  Duration: One scene or indefinite
  The spirit animates a piece of itself into its full 
  shape. Weak spirits create doppelgangers to fool or 
  outnumber foes; powerful ones also create units of fol-
  lowers or avatars to send out into the world.
  (Conviction) copies can be formed per action, to a 
  maximum of (Essence x Conviction) at any one time, 
  and each costs the spirit three committed motes. These 
  doppelgangers possess all of the spirit’s traits and other 
  qualities, but two fewer dots of each Attribute save Ap-
  pearance (Minimum 0), only the illusion of equipment, 
  no Charms, motes of Essence or temporary Willpower, 
  and only a single -0 health level. Each member of the 
  Host has an Essence three less than the spirit’s (minimum 
  1). Such copies last until the end of the scene under 
  the perfect mental command of the spirit.
  With a touch, copies can be invested with motes or 
  temporary Willpower by the true spirit, but never recover 
  them once they’re spent or lost. If a copy meets the pre-
  requisites, it can also be imbued with the spirit’s Charms, 
  but the original will lose access to those Charms as long 
  as the doppelganger persists. Charms return to the spirit 
  upon a copy’s destruction, but not motes or Willpower. 
  Essence 3+ spirits may spend one Willpower to 
  allow another character to don one of the spirit’s copy 
  bodies. Any basically humanoid creature smaller than 
  the spirit may enter into a Host copy, riding it until she 
  chooses to leave or the spirit releases the three com-
  mitted motes. While inside, the inner creature sees as 
  the copy would see, with the spirit’s senses. The inner 
  creature may not, however, use any of her own Charms 
  without disrupting the power, and all of her Physical 
  Attributes and Abilities are considered those of the 
  doppelganger, as well as its Essence score.
  Wearing a copy constitutes a perfect disguise, per 
  the Charm Flawless Mirror (see Exalted, p. 228); if the 
  character suffers any damage while wearing a Host copy, 
  however, she’s exposed.
  The spirit need not invoke a Host that looks 
  exactly like it, but it will need other Charms such as 
  Shapechange if the spirit wishes to alter forms more than 
  a little. If the spirit decides its doppelgangers are exact, 
  then onlookers seeking the original must succeed at a 
  (Perception + [Awareness or Occult]) check with an 
  external penalty of (spirit’s Conviction) to do so.
  MIRROR OF THE INFINITE WARDROBE
  Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Illusion
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit disguises itself as something it can per-
  ceive. Creatures with a Dodge Mental Defense Value 
  greater than the spirit’s (Essence + Conviction) can 
  pierce the Eidola just by spending one Willpower, and 
  if the illusion is pointed out, anyone may spend one 
  Willpower to spot it. Otherwise, the Mirror of the Infinite 
  Wardrobe requires either Willpower or successes on a 
  (Perception + Occult) roll equal to the spirit’s Convic-
  tion to overcome the unnatural mental influence.
  Most spirits have one alternate form, and may carry 
  a likeness of that shape. Powerful ones are more flexible; 
  one demon is known for using Memory Mirror (see p. 
  149) to retrieve the memory of the demon’s victims’ 
  lovers, then matching those loved ones’ forms.
  PAPER TIGER ARRANGEMENT
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Illusion
  Duration: One scene/indefinite
  The spirit creates an illusion surrounding everything 
  within (Essence x 10) yards. If Paper Tiger Arrange-
  ment is used only to make something appear as part of 
  the spirit’s domain or make a part of the spirit’s domain 
  seem to not be, the duration is indefinite. Otherwise, the 
  illusion lasts for a scene, but may be instructed to act in 
  a certain fashion with a Willpower. With a successful 
  Conviction roll, the instructions may be changed by the 
  spirit. Failure means the paper tiger becomes confused, 
  frays and quickly disintegrates.
  Anyone whose Dodge Mental Defense Value ex-
  ceeds the spirit’s (Essence + Conviction) recognizes 
  the illusion. Others who are suspicious may spend three 
  Willpower to disbelieve; if the illusion’s pointed out, 
  the recognition costs only one Willpower.
  SHAPECHANGE
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit can alter its physical form. Most spirits 
  of a certain type possess unique alternate forms that 
  they can assume. These spirits generally take on some 
  minor useful physical characteristics of the new form, 
  such as attack modes or different Physical Attributes. 
  
  156
  These changes don’t usually exceed the effects of 1 or 
  2 Essence spirit Charms. Other spirits are able to as-
  sume nearly any shape, and these spirits usually have 
  severe limitations to the powers of those forms that the 
  spirits can assume or suffer from restrictions while in 
  those forms. Almost all shapechanged forms are easily 
  identifiable as the spirit in a new body—those spirits 
  whose Shapechange Charm is useful as a disguise gain 
  a number of automatic successes on their disguise rolls 
  equal to their Conviction. Spirits who possess powerful 
  alternate forms usually have the powerful form as their 
  true form and use Form Reduction Technique (see pp. 
  154-155) to assume a weaker form.
  RELOCATIONS
  MOVEMENTS OF THE GODS (CONVICTION)
  Spirits soar on wings of light and travel Creation as 
  natural forces, sometimes flashing across vast distances 
  in the blink of an eye.
  Relocations can target anything the spirit can 
  perceive within (Essence x Conviction) yards.
  When these Charms involve moving targets to 
  or from a domain, that function of the Charm can 
  only be used by spirits with physical domains. Spirits 
  who wish to banish foes from an abstract domain, or 
  drag them into it, will need to use other methods—a 
  war god cannot end a war simply by expelling all the 
  soldiers fighting it from “war” or by Banishing the war 
  itself. Any spirit whose domain is affected by a Relo-
  cation may prevent the Charm’s use with nothing but 
  a moment’s concentration, but only if its Essence is 
  higher than the spirit using the Relocation, and only 
  if it knows the Relocation is occurring. Some spirits 
  set Intrusion-Sensing Method (see p. 149) to watch 
  for Relocations.
  BANISH
  Cost: 12m 1wp; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit purifies its domain of an unwanted 
  element, forcing the target through a portal (see p. 
  157) out of the spirit’s domain or sanctum. Banish 
  may not cross the boundaries of realms of existence 
  save to force the target out of a sanctum, and the 
  spirit has no control over where she goes beyond 
  “away.” The portal never deposits the target more 
  than the spirit’s (Essence x Conviction x 5) miles 
  away, and always on safe ground. The player of 
  an unwilling target rolls (Stamina + Integrity) 
  to resist, with an external penalty of the god’s 
  ([Essence + Conviction] / 2); success protects the 
  character against this Charm for a scene.
  Spirits might also banish instances of their domain 
  from their presence.
  CAPTURE
  Cost: 16m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit opens a portal (see p. 157) and drags the 
  target into a specific place within its domain or sanctum. 
  Capture can pull a target from Creation into a sanctum, 
  but cannot otherwise cross realms of existence. The 
  Charm always deposits targets to the same place. An 
  unwilling target rolls (Stamina + Integrity) to resist, 
  suffering an external penalty of the spirit’s ([Essence + 
  Conviction] / 2); success protects her for a scene.
  Spirits might also capture instances of their domains.
  EMERGENCY PRAYER RELOCATION
  Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Variable
  When a spirit receives a prayer, the spirit may invoke 
  Emergency Prayer Relocation to travel to the petitioner 
  in less than a scene, no matter how far away the prayer is. 
  The actual time taken depends on the target’s distance 
  from the spirit—generally one tick per 100 miles. 
  Because the spirit’s departure is so hasty, the spirit 
  cannot take its entire Essence along. When the spirit 
  arrives, its Essence score is limited to the number of 
  threshold successes the target scored on her prayer roll, 
  and it cannot use Charms with Essence minimums 
  greater than the new Essence score. Furthermore, the 
  spirit cannot remain divided. After taking (Convic-
  tion) actions (or up to [Conviction x 6] minutes if it 
  engages only in behavior with no mechanical effect, 
  such as conversing without using social combat), the 
  spirit returns whence it came. The spirit is aware of the 
  strength of the target’s prayer and must decide whether 
  such a hasty move is worth the risk.
  HIGH-ESSENCE RELOCATION GUIDELINES
  Normally, Relocations affect only individu-
  als, but powerful spirits may spend temporary 
  Willpower to expand a Relocation’s scope. For 
  every dot of Essence that the spirit possesses in 
  excess of the minimum Essence of the Charm 
  used, the spirit may increase the Magnitude of 
  the group that the spirit can move by 1.
  
  157
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  The spirit finds dividing its Essence arduous. Every 
  time a spirit uses this Charm in a single scene after 
  the first, the spirit suffers one level of unsoakable ag-
  gravated damage.
  LANDSCAPE TRAVEL
  Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Combo-OK
  Duration: One scene
  For every two dots of Essence the spirit possesses, 
  it grants itself one of three bonuses:
  • One die to all Dexterity rolls associated with a par-
  ticular form of movement, to a maximum of the spirit’s 
  Conviction.
  • Double the speed of a particular form of movement.
  • Grants itself a new form of movement, just as fast as 
  it would be on land.
  LOOM STRIDE
  Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Combo-OK
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit replaces its normal Move action with 
  a special Move action that doesn’t require it to cross 
  space. This Charm must be invoked on a tick on 
  which the spirit acts. The spirit focuses on a point 
  within (Essence x Conviction) yards, and its player 
  rolls (Wits + Conviction), taking into account vision 
  and cover-based penalties as though the spirit were 
  making a ranged attack. With a successful roll, the 
  spirit instantaneously moves up to (Essence x Convic-
  tion) yards. The spirit cannot dash or reflexively move 
  until its next action. Successes on this roll constitute 
  successes on a roll for the spirit to reestablish surprise, 
  which is resisted normally.
  PORTAL
  Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit summons a door to its sanctum or domain, 
  which appears within (Essence x Conviction) yards of 
  the spirit and lasts up to a scene. The spirit may only use 
  this Charm within (Essence x Conviction x 5) miles of 
  the destination. Characters cannot be moved through a 
  portal against their will (with the exception of portals 
  created through the Banish Charm, see p. 156).
  STORM-SHUTTLE PASSPORT
  Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious
  Duration: (10 - Conviction) ticks
  Spirits traveling long distances on official business 
  often rely on storm travel. While a cloud is overhead, 
  the spirit calls down a bolt of lightning that takes the 
  spirit into the cloud; when the cloud reaches the god’s 
  destination, the spirit returns to Creation riding the 
  lightning. The spirit must refrain from moving for the 
  Charm’s duration. Using this Charm places a certain 
  amount of control—and, therefore, trust—in the hands 
  of the Bureau of Seasons.
  Some spirits with Storm-Shuttle Passport learn 
  thaumaturgy that allows them to summon storms and 
  command their movement.
  ENCHANTMENTS
  TRICKERY OF THE GODS (TEMPERANCE)
  Spirits befuddle, awe and inspire.
  Enchantments override a target’s essential belief 
  structure. A high Mental Defense Value is a good de-
  fense, but Enchantments simply don’t work on targets 
  whose Essence scores are higher than the spirit’s.
  GEAS
  Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Crippling, Social
  Duration: One month
  The spirit makes a normal social attack to persuade 
  the target to do something; if the attack is successful, 
  the target may still spend Willpower to shrug off the 
  Mental Influence, but her soul cannot. Every day the 
  target doesn’t spend working toward the spirit’s stated 
  end, she suffers a Crippling effect. (For many spirits, 
  including most Celestial censors, this drains the target 
  of one Willpower and one bashing health level.) The 
  losses can’t be recovered while the target isn’t working 
  toward her geas, and only begin coming back a day after 
  she starts. “Working toward her goal” means the character 
  spends more effort than she is used to spending, even on 
  important endeavors, to pursue the geas. She can only stop 
  to eat, sleep or rest for a few hours a day. The target must 
  sacrifice one Willpower and one bashing health level to 
  take any action that significantly distances her from the 
  geas, and she won’t recover that damage on that day. At 
  the end of the month, if the target hasn’t done her duty, 
  she suffers as if she missed (spirit’s Essence) days.
  Spirits choose geasa carefully; the wording must 
  be very simple to work at all, and clever targets have 
  twisted geasa in the past. Targets can’t be geased to 
  perform deeds that they couldn’t reasonably complete 
  within the month. Social attacks that are unacceptable 
  orders will also fail unless the spirit can make a target 
  accept unacceptable orders.
  
  158
  HARROW THE MIND
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Crippling, Illusion, Social
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit convinces the target that something is 
  true, supplementing a (Manipulation + Presence) attack, 
  adding (Temperance) successes. If this social attack is 
  successful, the target finds the impossible possible, then 
  probable, then certain: she’s forced to believe the spirit. 
  She sees things the spirit says are there, feels what the 
  spirit says she feels; she may explicitly act on this informa-
  tion however she wishes, but shw cannot doubt that it’s 
  true. Spending one Willpower allows her to disbelieve 
  the illusion for a single action; once the target has spent 
  as many points of Willpower as the spirit’s Essence, she’s 
  overcome the Charm’s effects completely.
  A spirit with Essence 4+ may spend a point of 
  Willpower when invoking this Charm to make its effect 
  Crippling. The illusion persists, in a more manageable 
  form, forcing the target to spend one Willpower each 
  day and during any scene in which the illusion is in any 
  way reinforced to avoid acknowledging the illusion as 
  reality. The effect fades entirely only after the target 
  has successfully resisted the illusion for a number of 
  days equal to the spirit’s Essence.
  HOODWINK
  Cost: Varies; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Social
  Duration: Instant 
  With a thousand tricks, the spirit overloads the 
  target’s mind. The spirit spends as many motes as it 
  wants. It then counts (motes spent) successes on a spe-
  cial social attack, which can only be made during the 
  tick that an opponent acts, and can only be defended 
  against by the target’s Dodge Mental Defense Value. 
  If the spirit is successful, the target suffers a (spirit’s 
  Essence) internal penalty to all actions that tick. On 
  a threshold of 5, the target becomes Inactive; at 7, the 
  target forgets where he is and what he was doing, and 
  cannot recall anything about the past scene. This most 
  potent effect usually fades after the target takes (spirit’s 
  Essence) actions, but mortals must spend one Willpower 
  before they can begin to recover at all. Finally, until 
  the target’s next action, he must make a (Perception + 
  Awareness) roll with a difficulty equal to the threshold 
  to perceive any of the spirit’s attacks against him.
  The spirit gains one bonus success if this Charm 
  is used within a social timeframe, and another if the 
  target is taking any actions that don’t focus on the spirit 
  specifically. Because Hoodwink is only tiny tricks, the 
  
  159
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  target may spend one Willpower to double his Mental 
  Defense Value against this attack.
  MIND-KNIFE SACRAMENT
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Combo-Basic, Social, Touch, Training
  Duration: Instant
  Mind-Knife Sacrament reshapes the target’s mind. 
  This Charm works only if the spirit is able to repeatedly 
  and freely touch the target during the social action, 
  which requires either restraining the target, or trust. 
  The spirit issues a social attack using ([Charisma or 
  Manipulation] + Temperance), which only the target’s 
  Dodge Mental Defense Value may defend against. 
  Successes may seal off or bestow Abilities, Virtues, 
  Intimacies or memories, or bestow priesthood. Sealed 
  traits cannot be used as prerequisites for Charms, and 
  characters who lack the prerequisites for their Charms 
  lose access to those powers.
  • Ability dots may not be raised by more than 1, and 
  may not be caused to exceed the spirit’s own. They can 
  be reduced to as low as 0. Ability dots require three 
  successes per dot to add or remove.
  • Virtue dots also require three successes per dot to 
  add or remove, but the spirit’s own Virtues are not a 
  limitation.
  • Intimacies cost one success per scene’s worth of build-
  ing or eroding the Intimacy, and the spirit must possess 
  the Intimacy, or a similar one, to bestow it.
  • Memories cost one success per scene’s worth of 
  memory. Removing elements from larger sections of time 
  requires five successes. Rewriting life-long memories 
  requires 10 successes.
  • Priesthood costs five successes.
  Raising a target’s traits puts the target into experi-
  ence debt per normal for training effects.
  Large-scale revisions to a target’s mind are 
  possible because repeated uses of this Charm are 
  cumulative; however, every success applied to the 
  target saps one Willpower from the target, or deals 
  one unsoakable aggravated level of damage if the 
  target runs out of Willpower. When this Charm is 
  used to lower traits, the effects of this Charm are 
  temporary. Every time the target dreams, and every 
  time she is placed in a new situation in which her 
  old mind has an opportunity to resurface, such as a 
  warrior who has lost Melee wielding a new familiar 
  weapon, the target automatically rolls (Wits + In-
  tegrity). Successes on this roll negate the Charm’s 
  successes that have been applied to her. Mortals 
  suffer a -1 external penalty to this roll.
  The roll for this Charm suffers a cumulative -1 
  external penalty for every use on a single target. These 
  negated successes still damage the target.
  REGALIA OF AUTHORITY
  Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Compulsion, Obvious, Servitude, Social
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit speaks as a godly commander, socially 
  overwhelming every character who perceives it whose 
  Essence score is not greater than the spirit’s own. The 
  mental influence the spirit exerts against such inferiors 
  is unnatural. More importantly, everyone affected im-
  mediately gains a normal Intimacy toward worshiping 
  the god, unless his Mental Defense Value is greater than 
  its Temperance. While the Charm remains active, such 
  weak minds even suffer from a Servitude Compulsion 
  effect to honor and serve the god, which can only be 
  resisted at the cost of one Willpower per action. Spend-
  ing (spirit’s Essence) temporary Willpower frees a target 
  from the Compulsion, but not the Intimacy. Finally, 
  the spirit’s may substitute its Essence for its Appearance 
  score for the duration of this Charm.
  STOKE THE FLAME
  Cost: 3m per dot of Magnitude; Mins: Essence 2; Type:
  Supplemental
  Keywords: Emotion, Social
  Duration: One scene
  This Charm adds (spirit’s Temperance) automatic 
  successes to a social Performance attack designed to 
  provoke an emotion. If the roll is successful or the target 
  is otherwise willing, the Charm induces an unnatural 
  mental influence emotion; this counts as (spirit’s Tem-
  perance) scenes building or eroding an intimacy defined 
  by the spirit. Furthermore, everyone affected must act on 
  the their induced feelings for the remainder of the scene, 
  unless a target spends one Willpower point every action, 
  in which case the Emotion effect only lasts till she’s spent 
  Willpower equal to the spirit’s Temperance.
  Unresisting targets do as the spirit suggests; those who 
  succumb recover all Willpower spent resisting this Charm 
  (if any) and gain a pool of “Stoked Willpower” equal to 
  the spirit’s successes (maximum Temperance). Stoked 
  Willpower is independent of a target’s normal Willpower 
  pool, can only be spent on actions relating to the spirit’s 
  suggestion and vanishes at the end of the scene.
  SUBTLE WHISPER
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Social
  Duration: One scene
  
  160
  A spirit supplementing an attempt at natural mental 
  influence with Subtle Whisper won’t obviously be the 
  source of the influence. The spirit might roll to make 
  a target calmer when it sees her enter its temple, for 
  instance. Characters resisting the attempt with one 
  Willpower may attempt to determine the source of this 
  feeling; realizing that a social attack came from a divine 
  source requires success on a (Perception + Occult) check 
  with an external penalty of the spirit’s Temperance. 
  Subtle Whisper may be used by immaterial spirits 
  against material targets.
  INHABITINGS
  POSSESSED BY THE GODS (TEMPERANCE)
  Immaterial spirits can go places that material crea-
  tures can’t, such as into people or objects.
  Inhabitings require a material host, such as a person, 
  object or natural feature. People must be living. Objects 
  must be at least whole enough to function. Natural 
  features must be at least man-sized, but cannot usually 
  exceed the size of a large tree. If a spirit’s host becomes 
  unusable—for instance, an elemental dematerializes, a 
  person dies or an object is broken—the spirit is ejected 
  over at least five ticks, during which time the spirit’s In-
  active. Ejection deals 10 dice of aggravated damage that 
  can only be soaked internally, and probably not at all.
  Under normal circumstances, only one spirit may 
  inhabit any potential target, by immaterially touching 
  it and entering the same space that it occupies. Living 
  creatures’ souls don’t count as possessing spirits for this 
  purpose. Because most Essence 1 spirits can use the Charm 
  Landscape Hide, it can be difficult for a spirit to find a 
  place to inhabit that isn’t the spirit’s own domain.
  Inhabiting spirits are counted as immaterial for the 
  purpose of determining what can affect them. They can-
  not move independently of their host without ending 
  the Inhabiting. The external soak of the host does not 
  stack with the external soak of the inhabiting spirit.
  Inhabitings can only be used while immaterial. 
  Inhabiting spirits are considered material, except that 
  they may continue to perform Inhabitings, and become 
  immaterial if they leave their host.
  ANIMATING MANAGEMENT
  Cost: 12m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Touch
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit possesses an object, requiring Essence 
  and Temperance scores greater than an artifact’s level if 
  the target is an artifact. (Possessed artifacts that require 
  attunement to function still require that attunement.) 
  The spirit may then activate the object and use it as its 
  designer intended. The spirit may use its own traits to 
  accomplish things from within the object, but Attribute 
  scores are limited to the spirit’s Essence, and Abilities are 
  limited to its Temperance. For instance, a spirit inhabit-
  ing a daiklave may swing it with ([lower of Dexterity 
  or Essence] + [lower of Melee or Temperance]); the 
  sword’s bonuses would still count. A spirit in an Essence 
  cannon could fire the cannon. Spirits possessing armor 
  could walk the empty suits around. For the purposes of 
  this Charm, “an object” needs to be a self-contained 
  unit, but it may consist of multiple components, such 
  as a suit of armor or a magitech artifact.
  By spending another 10 motes and one Willpower 
  point, a spirit of Essence 3+ can imbue its possessed 
  object with a certain level of flexibility. This might 
  move the object in weird ways or allow it to be used it 
  in a way it wasn’t designed to be used.
  Spirits possessing objects can be recognized by any-
  one who can see the immaterial. Another spirit with 
  domain over the inhabited object and higher Essence 
  can eject the possessing spirit just by wishing to, but 
  this takes a scene.
  COMMANDEER
  Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  This Charm has two effects. If the spirit touches 
  a host and a successful roll of the spirit’s (Essence + 
  Temperance) is made against an external penalty of a 
  possessing spirit’s ([Essence + Temperance] / 2), it may 
  eject the current inhabitant. Second, if this Charm is 
  used while another character is attempting to eject or ex-
  ercise the spirit from its host, it may activate this Charm 
  to add an external penalty of (spirit’s Temperance) to 
  any rolls to do so. Any character who is successfully 
  rebuked through either effect of this Charm by a spirit 
  with a higher Essence than her own loses a number of 
  Willpower points, is knocked back a number of yards 
  and is considered Inactive for a number of actions equal 
  to the difference in Essence scores.
  HOLLOW OUT THE SOUL
  Cost: 20m; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Crippling, Obvious
  Duration: One day or instant 
  The spirit erodes the soul of a creature the spirit’s 
  inhabiting. It attacks a part of its host’s soul, usually 
  a Virtue or Willpower, and its player rolls (Essence + 
  Temperance), applying an external penalty of (the 
  
  161
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  host’s Essence). If the spirit scores more successes than 
  the rating of the trait the spirit wishes to damage, that 
  trait is reduced by one dot. If this power is used again 
  on the same target within a week, successes from earlier 
  in the week carry over; but once a dot has been lost, 
  accumulated successes vanish.
  The traits of an Exalt or similarly fortified creature 
  will return at a rate of one dot per week once the spirit 
  stops hollowing her soul, but mortal traits don’t recover 
  without magical aid. 
  If a spirit possesses at least four more dots of per-
  manent Essence than the spirit’s target, the spirit may 
  also attack the host’s permanent Essence, but must score 
  (5 x normal) successes to damage that trait. Exalts are 
  immune to this effect.
  If the motes powering this Charm are committed 
  for a full day, the spirit works slowly. It may attempt 
  to conceal its actions, represented by a (Manipulation 
  + Temperance) roll, suffering a (host’s [Perception + 
  Occult] / 2) external penalty; but if the spirit is suc-
  cessful, the target is unaware of the attack even if one 
  of her traits loses a dot.
  Hosts reduced to 0 Willpower can’t contest In-
  habitings. 
  LANDSCAPE HIDE
  Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Touch
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit exists in an object or natural feature. While 
  inhabiting it, the spirit senses only its host and what 
  touches it, and cannot affect its host in any way. Thus 
  tucked away, the spirit can’t easily be analyzed; only its 
  existence can be detected, and then only through the use 
  of thaumaturgy or similar powers that examine objects 
  spiritually. Measure the Wind, Essence sight and other 
  such generic powers don’t differentiate objects containing 
  spirits using this Charm from those that don’t.
  POSSESSION
  Cost: 12m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit fills a gap in a mortal soul. While dema-
  terialized, the spirit must “touch” the target and select 
  one of her Virtues; if the spirit’s Essence exceeds both 
  the target’s Essence and the selected Virtue, then roll 
  the spirit’s (Essence + Temperance). This roll suffers 
  an external penalty of the target’s (Essence + [higher of 
  selected Virtue or Integrity]). If the spirit uses Possession 
  while or immediately after the target takes an act on an 
  action that forced him to override a Virtue of 3+ (see 
  Exalted, p. 102), that Virtue counts as 2.
  If the roll is successful, the spirit may take control of 
  the target’s actions whenever it sees fit. The target loses all 
  control. The spirit must use the host’s Physical Attributes. 
  The spirit may, but doesn’t have to, use the host’s voice and 
  senses. Without using Charms, it can’t perform physical 
  actions that the host can’t. The host retains her attune-
  ments, and if the spirit knows how, it may use the host’s 
  artifacts. Any physical properties of the host are the spirit’s 
  to command, but it can’t draw on the host’s Essence or use 
  her Charms (Charms that were already active instantly 
  end when the spirit floods into its target).
  The player of a host with a permanent Willpower 
  score of 1 or higher can at any time make a (Willpower 
  + Integrity) roll, adding (Essence) successes, in an 
  attempt to regain control from the spirit. The spirit’s 
  player resists with a (Willpower + Temperance) roll, 
  adding (Essence) successes. If the spirit wins, it retains 
  control, and the host loses one Willpower point. If the 
  host wins, he gains control for a number of actions equal 
  to the successes scored in excess of the spirit’s player’s 
  roll, and the spirit loses one Willpower point. If the host 
  scores successes in excess of the spirit’s successes equal 
  to the spirit’s Temperance, the spirit is ejected. Hosts 
  may not regain Willpower while possessed.
  If a spirit uses Possession on a target reduced to 
  zero permanent Willpower (most often through Hol-
  low out the Soul, see p. 160), the Charm’s duration 
  becomes indefinite.
  RIDE
  Cost: 18m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Touch
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit enters a willing host. The result is often 
  an uncomfortable amalgam of man and spirit vying for 
  consciousness, thought and dominance, but sometimes, 
  a true and beneficial union occurs. If either spirit or host 
  boasts three or more dots of permanent Essence than 
  the other, or they don’t have similar positive Intima-
  cies toward each other, the union will be incomplete. 
  Otherwise, after an uninterrupted month of this Charm, 
  the union becomes complete. 
  In an incomplete union, the partner with the high-
  est Essence dominates, and the gestalt entity has the 
  dominant partner’s traits. Only the dominant character 
  may use her Charms, but gains the use of (spirit’s Tem-
  perance) of the other character’s Charms. These are 
  chosen by the spirit when it begins its ride. The dominant 
  character uses the formula that she’d normally use to 
  
  162
  compute her Essence pool, but if either character was 
  an Exalt, all their motes become peripheral.
  In a complete union, the personalities mix, keeping 
  no secrets from each other. A number of traits equal to the 
  spirit’s Temperance use the highest of their two scores—
  these are the traits with the largest difference between 
  spirit and host, and are never Willpower or Essence The 
  traits that don’t use the higher of the two characters’ scores 
  are averaged and rounded up, including Willpower and 
  Essence. Furthermore, the pair may use all their Charms 
  and may even Combo them normally. The team uses the 
  most advantageous of the two formulas for calculating 
  their Essence pool, but if either of the characters was an 
  Exalt, their motes are still all peripheral.
  No matter what, both characters retain their Virtues 
  and can channel through either set as usual. Whenever 
  the gestalt entity faces circumstances that challenge 
  Virtues, each partner must check for Virtues influencing 
  behavior separately. A gestalt with two Valor scores each 
  at 4 would have to fail two subsequent Valor checks to 
  stand down from a martial challenge.
  In the mists of prehistory, the patron gods of the 
  Dragon Kings merged with the saurian race’s heroes to 
  become olchiliké, which means “Chosen” in High Holy 
  Speech (this name was later appropriated by mortals and 
  applied to the Exalted). Some gods near Rathess still pos-
  sess Ride, but it’s rare throughout the rest of Creation. 
  The Immaculate Order especially considers this power 
  blasphemy and acts against spirits known to use it.
  TANTRA
  THE HUNGER OF THE GODS (TEMPERANCE)
  Spirits devour life with these Charms.
  How a spirit sustains itself matters. A spirit’s form 
  shifts to match the resonance of the Essence on which it 
  subsists. The changes occur subtly over time, but mindful 
  spirits can see them happening. Weak or easily manipu-
  lated spirits might show signs after a season, while stronger 
  spirits remain unchanged for years, even centuries.
  BREAD OF WEAK SPIRIT
  Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious, Touch
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit consumes another willing (or Incapaci-
  tated) spirit, inflicting up to its Essence in aggravated 
  levels of damage. For every such health level, the 
  cannibalizing spirit converts one lethal health level of 
  damage to bashing or recovers five motes.
  Instead of inflicting a level of aggravated damage to 
  the target, a spirit can also drain one Willpower point 
  or 10 motes. If the spirit cannibalizes a being of higher 
  Essence, the spirit may also recover one Willpower 
  point for every two health levels, but can’t bring its own 
  temporary Willpower higher than its Temperance.
  It’s worth noting that, for the purposes of this 
  Charm, Exaltations and the souls of living humans 
  aren’t spirits.
  FRUIT OF LIVING ESSENCE
  Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious, Touch
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit touches its target and its player rolls (Es-
  sence + Temperance), with an external penalty of (the 
  target’s Essence). If the target actively resists, she may add 
  half her permanent Willpower to the external penalty; 
  she can also consent, and thereby remove all penalties. 
  Every success steals three motes of Essence, which go 
  right to the spirit. If it scores three or more successes, it 
  may steal one Willpower point instead of motes.
  A spirit stealing from a creature without an Essence 
  pool still gains Essence or Willpower; the creature just 
  pays the cost in other ways. She suffers a Crippling or 
  Sickness effect that inflicts at least an internal penalty 
  equal to the spirit’s successes. This effect vanishes within 
  a day from magically fortified creatures, but mortals must 
  be treated normally. What sort of Crippling or Sickness 
  effect the Charm inflicts depends on the spirit.
  MEAT OF BROKEN FLESH
  Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit supplements an attack with this Charm, 
  and if that attack deals any health levels of damage, 
  the target loses (spirit’s Essence) motes. If the attack 
  inflicted lethal or aggravated damage, the spirit gains 
  all those motes, but if it dealt bashing damage, the spirit 
  only gains half those motes. Either way, the spirit can’t 
  gain more than (Essence + Temperance) motes from 
  Meat of Broken Flesh during one normal action.
  SPICE OF CUSTODIAL DELECTATION
  Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Permanent
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Permanent
  During any scene in which the spirit’s domain 
  receives proper care, the spirit gains a mote of Essence. 
  This can only be invoked if the care is performed by the 
  spirit or by creatures within (its Essence x 100) yards, 
  and those creatures’ qualifications matter: A priest’s 
  ministrations net the spirit one mote for the scene. 
  
  163
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  An occultist nets the 
  spirit one mote per dot 
  of Occult the occultist possesses. A 
  group of otherwise unqualified individuals net the 
  god one mote per dot of the group’s Magnitude.
  WINE OF INFINITE HEARTBREAK
  Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion, Social, Stackable
  Duration: One week
  The spirit flavors a mortal’s Essence with divine power 
  and drinks in the nectar of her joy. Repeated targets of this 
  Charm become enthralled with the parasitic spirit, longing 
  for the magical feeling of power and completion.
  This Charm supplements a social attack designed to 
  build an Intimacy toward the spirit. If the attack is suc-
  cessful, the spirit invests a mote into the target for one 
  week, and cannot retrieve the mote early. In exchange, it 
  regains (target’s Essence x 3) motes. (The spirit can stack 
  the effect to receive [target’s Essence x 3] motes for every 
  mote still in the target, to a maximum of [Temperance] 
  motes.) If the target has an Intimacy toward the spirit, 
  the spirit also regains one Willpower point.
  While this Charm is active, the target is counted 
  as having at least as many scenes devoted to building 
  an Intimacy toward the spirit as the number 
  of motes invested in her. If the spirit has more motes in 
  a target than her Conviction, she cannot even begin 
  to break her commitment to the Intimacy while the 
  Charm lasts. 
  Each victim’s hourly mote respiration rate is reduced 
  by the number of motes invested in her. If this would 
  bring her respiration rate to below 0 (as is always the case 
  with mortals), she counts her permanent Willpower as 
  one lower for each point below 0. Finally, if the target 
  has an Intimacy to the spirit, and the spirit achieves 
  a threshold on the original social attack greater than 
  (target’s Temperance), the target also suffers from an 
  Emotion effect that forces her to spend two Willpower 
  per day to avoid feeling so devoted to the spirit that 
  she’s practically its slave.
  AEGIS
  SHIELDS OF THE GODS (VALOR)
  Spirits do what they can to stay immortal.
  BLESSED (ELEMENT) BODY
  Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Elemental, Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  
  164
  The blessing of an Elemental Dragon is upon the spirit, 
  for harmful elemental energies become beautiful dancing 
  dragons, butterflies or simple streams of power as they 
  course into its hungry chakra, which glow in acceptance. 
  The spirit has access to all of the benefits of Elemental 
  Rejuvenation (see p. 170), and this Charm supersedes 
  that power. Furthermore, if the spirit would be damaged 
  by an effect of its chosen element, the spirit may spend 
  two motes to perfectly and completely negate the damage 
  from that effect. For every three dice or one health level of 
  raw damage that the effect would have inflicted, the spirit 
  instead heals one level of damage or regains one mote.
  DESTINY SPONSORSHIP
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
  Duration: Indefinite
  The spirit has reached an accord with destiny that 
  shields the spirit from most casual troubles. This sacred 
  contract imposes a an external penalty equal to the 
  spirit’s (Essence + Valor) to most rolls which could 
  opposed by the spirit’s Resistance, Integrity, or Dodge, 
  even if the spirit is unaware of the effect. The spirit also 
  gains soak equal to its (Essence + Valor) against most 
  lethal or bashing damage. The only things that bypass 
  this power are Essence-enhanced effects intended to 
  affect the spirit specifically and the machinations of 
  character with a Destiny (see Scroll of the Monk, pp. 
  151-152) greater than the spirit’s ([Essence + Valor] / 
  2). This Charm has no effect during Calibration.
  The Destiny Sponsorship contract involves a num-
  ber of taboos and restrictions equal to the spirit’s Essence, 
  which she must always observe. Any spirit who fails to 
  observe these taboos loses the effects of this Charm and 
  cannot reactivate it until Calibration.
  Any spirit requested to state the conditions of its 
  Destiny Sponsorship in Old Realm must immediately 
  and honestly do so, lest the spirit lose the benefits.
  DIVINE PREROGATIVE
  Cost: —; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
  Keywords: None
  Duration: Permanent
  Per Righteous Lion Defense (see Exalted, p. 199), save 
  that the Intimacy must involve a material object, a creature 
  weaker than the spirit, another spirit (to whom Creation 
  believes the spirit owes fealty) or the spirit’s domain.
  MATERIAL TRIBULATION DIVESTMENT
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
  Duration: One action
  The spirit briefly dematerializes, avoiding material 
  consequences and removing material afflictions. The 
  instant this Charm is used, the spirit dematerializes. On 
  the tick the Charm is used, its action switches to Inactive. 
  During this time, all effects not designed to affect immate-
  rial being pass through it harmlessly. Ongoing Crippling, 
  Poison and Sickness effects not specifically designed to af-
  fect immaterial spirits become heavy vestments, imbedded 
  weapons and sucking leeches on the spirit’s immaterial 
  form. It automatically knows which hindrances relate to 
  which effects and may remove a number of them equal 
  to its Valor. Effects created through magic resist being 
  cast off, and the spirit must score successes equal to the 
  Essence rating of the effect on a roll of (Essence + Valor). 
  Failure not only means that the spirit cannot remove the 
  item, but also that the spirit has spent the rest of its action 
  trying. Attempts to remove effects backed by an Essence 
  score higher than the spirit’s automatically fail. At the 
  conclusion of this Charm, the spirit rematerializes in the 
  same place that it was before.
  If the immaterial items created by this Charm are 
  replaced on the spirit, then their effects resume.
  OX-BODY TECHNIQUE
  Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Permanent
  Keywords: Stackable
  Duration: Permanent
  The spirit gains extra health levels (one -1 and 
  one -2). This Charm may be purchased (spirit’s Es-
  sence) times.
  SHEATHING THE MATERIAL FORM
  Cost: 1m per 1B/halfL; Mins: Essence 2; 
  Type: Simple
  Keywords: Combo-Basic
  Duration: One scene
  For every two motes spent, the spirit increases its 
  lethal soak and hardness by 1 and bashing soak by 2. 
  A spirit may spend no more than (Essence x Valor) 
  motes on this Charm.
  SYMBOL OF INVINCIBLE AUTHORITY
  Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
  Duration: One scene
  A glowing rune symbolizing the spirit’s domain ap-
  pears surrounding it, announcing to all things its divine 
  authority over its concept. The spirit becomes effectively 
  immune to its domain. Poison, Sickness and Crippling 
  effects originating from the spirit’s domain all mean 
  nothing. The spirit’s even immune to such effects caused 
  only in part by its domain, unless they’re backed by an 
  
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  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  Essence greater than its Valor. Raw damage related to 
  the spirit’s domain is reduced to 0 before any added by 
  Charms. If the spirit’s domain has a social component, 
  the spirit may create a temporary magical Intimacy 
  involving its domain. Any mental influence opposing 
  this Intimacy counts as an unacceptable order.
  CURSES
  WRATH OF THE GODS (VALOR)
  Spirits curse their nemeses and battle foes, of course, 
  but most often use these Charms to show displeasure 
  with a mistaken follower.
  A cursing spirit must normally be within (Essence 
  x 100) yards of Essence 1 targets, but may be further 
  away if it has an arcane link. Essence 2+ targets must be 
  within (Essence) yards. Some spirits take Supplemental 
  versions of Curses that affect their natural attacks or 
  other offensive actions. 
  Like Blessings, Curses do not require a roll to enact. 
  However, a spirit attempting to curse a character with 
  a higher Essence score than its own increases the mini-
  mum Essence of the Charm by the difference between 
  the characters’ Essence score.
  Furthermore, targets who defy the spirit may spend 
  one Willpower to attempt to shrug off the effect, but 
  may attempt this only once for each effect. This spiritual 
  resistance requires only a successful Essence roll, but 
  the roll suffers a -1 external penalty for every point the 
  spirit’s Essence exceeds the target’s. A particular curse 
  may only be attempted once per scene per target.
  Curses affecting Essence 1 creatures continue 
  to affect them for the duration of the Charm or 
  until the spirit calls the effect off, even if the spirit 
  releases the committed Essence. However, they only 
  affect Essence 2+ creatures while the spirit keeps the 
  necessary motes committed.
  Some spirits may issue Curses that deactivate under 
  certain conditions.
  Different Curses with similar effects don’t stack.
  CLAWS OF THE ANGRY DRAGON
  Cost: 3m+, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit removes powers such as those bestowed by the 
  blessing Touch of Divinity (see p. 146). The spirit doesn’t 
  steal Essence or Willpower; the spirit simply drains it. 
  This Charm can’t unawaken a target’s Essence. 
  Touch of Divinity doesn’t actually awaken Essence; 
  the Charm simply grants its target power that helps 
  her awaken on her own.
  DREADED EMBRACE OF MUNDANITY
  Cost: 15m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  By interrupting the connection between the target 
  and the source of her power, the spirit may negate the 
  dice that a particular one of the target’s Excellencies 
  would add at a cost of one mote per die. The spirit 
  can’t negate more Excellency-added dice than its 
  Essence, and the target can’t spend more motes than 
  she would normally be able to (i.e., the target’s dice 
  pool cap is reduced by every mote the spirit spends). 
  The spirit may counteract an Excellency (Valor) times 
  with a single invocation of this curse. 
  Blocking power to an Exalted Essence is like 
  smothering a fire by closing your fist around it, and 
  deals to the spirit one die of armor-bypassing ag-
  gravated damage for every die the spirit attempts 
  to negate.
  MALEDICTION
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The target receives a one-die penalty to rolls 
  related to a certain task (or all rolls, in the case of All-
  Encompassing Malediction).
  PLAGUE OF MENACES
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  The target is marked as the spirit’s enemy (though 
  the sigil may only be visible to senses that penetrate 
  HIGH-ESSENCE CURSE GUIDELINES
  Spirits may extend curse duration and/or 
  expand the effect to a group using the same guide-
  lines as Blessings (see p. 144). For Curses, simply 
  replace instances of “Compassion” with “Valor.” 
  Unlike Blessings, Curses fall dormant for a month 
  following the death of a target, and only at that 
  month’s end pass on to the target’s heir.
  Powerful spirits may enact a permanent 
  curse just as they might a permanent blessing. 
  Spirits must place a condition on these, though; 
  the only way for targets to end such eternal 
  Curses is to fulfill that condition. A permanent 
  curse with an impossible-to-fulfill end condition 
  immediately ceases to be.
  
  166
  the immaterial). All of the spirit’s subordinates treat 
  the mark as an order to harm the target. Some spirits 
  resent this Charm, but they must still obey it. Non-
  subordinates who have reason to support the spirit’s 
  agenda, and any spirits looking for an excuse to make 
  the target’s life difficult or have fun at the target’s 
  expense may also participate in the curse.
  The Division of Endings has authority over five 
  plagues: diseased rats, poisonous amphibians, hungry 
  locusts, feral dogs and ichneumon. These creatures take 
  great joy in harassing targets of this Charm and all those 
  around him. Most spirits with this Charm know how 
  to call down at least one of these menaces.
  SCOURGE
  Cost: Varies, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  Scorge functions as per Endowment (see p. 146), 
  save that this Charm removes positive traits, bestows 
  negative traits or removes the effects of a Charm. For 
  traits, the cost to remove them is identical to the cost 
  to Endow them. For physical alterations, all positive 
  effects are switched with their equivalent negative 
  effects. The spirit may only remove the use or effects 
  of a Charm that the spirit can itself use. If the spirit 
  removes the effects of a Charm, those effects are negated 
  for as long as the Charm would last if the spirit used 
  the Charm upon the target. However, spirits Scourge 
  targets of traits they don’t possess.
  TASTE OF MORTALITY
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping, Touch
  Duration: One scene
  This Curse removes such abilities as those bestowed by 
  the blessing Touch of Eternity (see p. 147), and can make 
  targets without those abilities considerably weaker.
  TOUCH OF SATURN
  Cost: 3m+, 1wp+; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
  Duration: One scene
  For every three motes the spirit spends, its target 
  suffers one lethal health level of damage or two bash-
  ing health levels of damage. Spirits of Essence 4+ can 
  change the damage from lethal to aggravated by adding 
  one Willpower point per level. The spirit may spend 
  no more than ([lower of Essence or Valor] x 3) motes 
  on this Charm.
  The Touch of Saturn can inflict Crippling, Poison or 
  Sickness effects. To determine the mote cost, each counts 
  as a number of lethal health levels equal to a Poison’s 
  Toxicity, a Sickness’s Untreated Morbidity or a Crippling 
  effect’s relative seriousness, as decided by the Storyteller 
  on a scale of 1 to 5. Unusually powerful effects may count 
  as up to 10 and are considered supernatural.
  Aggravated damage and supernatural Crippling, 
  Poison or Sickness effects definitely vanish when this 
  Charm’s duration expires; other effects might not.
  EDGES
  STRIKES OF THE GODS (VALOR)
  Spirits may not often interfere with Creation, but 
  when they must fight, they’re fearsome foes even of 
  the Exalted.
  Unless otherwise stated, Supplemental Edges affect 
  only a spirit’s natural attacks and those made with its 
  divine panoply (see p. 169).
  Edges can only be performed while material.
  BANE WEAPON
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  Attacks supplemented by this Charm do aggravated 
  damage. If the spirit’s attack is useful against objects, 
  it instead ignores the object’s soak and Hardness. The 
  limited nature of this Charm deserves special mention, 
  as aggravated damage is particularly dangerous. There is 
  no All-Encompassing Bane Weapon Charm; every spirit 
  with Bane Weapon can inflict aggravated damage only 
  upon a narrow range of creatures. For example, the demon 
  Octavian (see Exalted, p. 309) may deal aggravated damage 
  to earth elementals. Groups such as “all elementals” and 
  “all mortals” are too broad for this Charm to encompass, 
  though “all redheads,” “all djala” or even “all men” would 
  be possible. This Charm cannot distinguish between 
  the Exalted and the unExalted, so no spirit has a Bane 
  Weapon Charm that deals damage to all Exalted in gen-
  eral, all Solars, all Dragon-Blooded or the like. Generally 
  speaking, this Charm is not used to represent increased 
  competence against a particular opposed group; instead, 
  this Charm is the manifestation of a grudge or vendetta 
  that lies orthogonal to the spirit’s assigned purpose.
  If the spirit’s attack is useful against objects, attacks 
  supplemented by this Charm instead ignore the object’s 
  soak and hardness.
  ESSENCE BITE
  Cost: Varies; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
  Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
  Duration: One scene
  
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  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  The spirit does damage to every creature that strikes 
  the spirit, touches it or is struck by it. The Charm can 
  deal bashing damage at a cost of one mote per die, lethal 
  damage for two motes per die or aggravated damage for 
  four motes per die. Lethal damage requires the spirit to 
  have at least two Essence. Aggravated damage requires 
  four Essence. No more than ([Essence x 2] + Valor) 
  motes may be spent per invocation.
  A more potent effect—inflicting health levels rather 
  than dice, and bypassing armor—would raise the cost by 
  one mote per health level and the Charm’s minimum 
  Essence by 1. If the damage takes the form of an element, 
  this Charm carries the Elemental keyword.
  PARALYZE
  Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Variable
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit converts an attack’s damage into a Crip-
  pling effect, a Poison effect, a Sickness effect, a wound 
  penalty, a Shaping effect or an unnatural mental influ-
  ence (pick one). Until the spirit’s next action, all the 
  target’s non-reflexive dice pools are reduced by (spirit’s 
  Essence), or one of her traits is reduced by (spirit’s 
  Essence/2). For every three dots of (Essence + Valor) 
  the spirit possesses, it may include an additional reason 
  for the effect in the attack: for instance, a spirit with 6 
  (Essence + Valor) might inflict paralysis that’s both a 
  Sickness and a Poison effect.
  A target immune to all the associated keywords, 
  or with an Essence higher than the spirit’s, is immune 
  to its version of Paralyze. Other targets resist Paralyze 
  with a successful (Stamina + Resistance) roll, with an 
  external penalty of the spirit’s Valor.
  SHATTER
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Extra Action
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  The spirit unleashes a cacophonic shout, a crushing 
  wave of energy or some other all-encompassing attack 
  on the area around it. The blast affects all creatures 
  and/or objects within (Essence x 10) yards, and is 
  either unblockable or undodgable. Whichever mode 
  of defense works requires a Defense Value equal to 
  the spirit’s (Valor + Any Attribute) to avoid. Dam-
  age from the attack is equal to the spirit’s (Essence + 
  Valor + Attribute). This damage is usually bashing, 
  but spirits of Essence 5+ may spend an additional five 
  motes and one Willpower to convert the damage to 
  
  168
  piercing bashing or lethal damage. Shatter is a natural 
  attack. If the spirit uses other Charms to supplement 
  Shatter, count it as a number of attacks equal to the 
  spirit’s ([Essence + Valor + Attribute] / 2).
  SHATTERED ADAMANT ATTACK
  Cost: 10m; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  Attacks supplemented by this Charm affect the 
  material world. Subtract 5 from the spirit’s effective 
  Essence when enhancing the attack—the spirit cannot 
  invoke other Charms that require a minimum Essence 
  higher than the modified figure, and those Charms use 
  the modified figure to calculate their effects.
  Unlike other Edges, Shattered Adamant Attack 
  can obviously be used while immaterial; the attack itself 
  becomes material before it begins, though, which might 
  allow the target a roll to notice it. This also means other 
  Edges can enhance it. If a spirit invokes this Charm 
  more than (Valor) times in one scene, every additional 
  use inflicts an unsoakable aggravated health level upon 
  the spirit as its substance is lost in the rapid transition 
  to materiality and back.
  SPIRIT-CUTTING
  Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
  Duration: Instant
  Attacks supplemented by this Charm affect the 
  immaterial.
  WORDS OF POWER
  Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
  Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
  Duration: One scene
  The spirit rolls (Manipulation + Valor) to use its 
  words as a physical attack against any creature it could 
  socially attack. This attack does a base bashing damage 
  of (Valor) in health levels; successes add damage dice, 
  as normal; the whole can only be soaked naturally. 
  For every health level of damage the target suffers, 
  she incurs a -1 internal penalty to all actions or a -2 
  internal penalty to actions with a specific Ability for 
  (spirit’s Essence x 3) ticks.
  OTHER SPIRIT TRAITS
  Not all spirit powers are Charms. Permanent facets 
  of natural form, such as Fakharu’s dragon hide, the 
  terrible maws of the leech gods and Zhuzhiao’s great 
  mass and many tentacles are just that—natural traits 
  some spirits possess. Likewise, the gods’ ability to hear 
  prayers is not a Charm. Spirits cannot “teach” these 
  traits to Eclipses or Moonshadows; there’s nothing to
  teach. The most obvious of these traits provide armor 
  or methods of attack or movement. Often, traits other 
  than armor function according to the rules for the 
  mutation matching the trait’s description. See Exalted, 
  pp. 288–290, The Compass of Celestial Directions, 
  Vol. II—The Wyld, pp. 144–148, and The Manual 
  of Exalted Power—The Lunars, pp. 206–209, for 
  mutations you can use to represent the unique forms 
  of spirit you create. Natural elements of spiritual form 
  that adhere to the rules for individual mutations aren’t 
  actual mutations, and powers that remove mutations 
  can’t remove these traits from spirits. They also tend 
  to appear fully integrated into the spirit’s form, unlike 
  mutations inflicted by the Wyld, which often appear 
  crude and inelegant.
  (Note that spirits can be twisted by the Wyld just as 
  mortals can; mutations inflicted by Wyld exposure are 
  normal mutations and follow all the rules for affliction 
  and removal, etc.)
  Some spirits possess natural armor, representing 
  tough hides or unusual forms. This armor is unrelated 
  to divine panoplies (see p. 169) or the Sheathing the 
  Material Form Charm (see p. 164). While an Eclipse 
  can learn Sheathing the Material Form and anyone can 
  (theoretically) steal a god’s panoply, natural armor is 
  an intrinsic spiritual trait, and the spirit cannot usually 
  teach it or lose it.
  HEARING PRAYERS
  Most gods’ existences are filled with the constant 
  requests of their worshipers. It’s intrinsic to a god’s na-
  ture that the god hear prayers sent to its domain. They 
  form a sort of a painless melody within its Essence, a 
  familiar, constant hum that the god feels somewhat in 
  the way a person would feel a song stuck in the back 
  of her mind.
  Most of the time, though, a god won’t recognize a 
  prayer’s source. The mortal’s voice will be lost in the 
  sea of infinite notes playing out the prayer song. With 
  concentration (and the expenditure of a Willpower 
  point), a god can sometimes listen closely to pick out 
  a single prayer, especially if the petitioner is desperate. 
  Gods with high Compassion and Perception are best 
  at this, but mortals can rarely rely on a common prayer 
  to satisfy their desires, for most deities—even kind 
  ones—simply don’t feel the need to seek out mayfly 
  mortals to help.
  Sometimes, one voice rises above the rest. The 
  prayer rules on page 132 of Exalted explain how a 
  
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  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  mortal might achieve this end. If the prayer roll is 
  successful, the god can’t help but notice the request. 
  Such prayers are loud and clear enough that deities 
  can distinguish the petitioner’s general wishes—but 
  prayers don’t arrive in words or specific thoughts, just 
  emotionally charged desires.
  Each prayer forms a channel to the deity receiving 
  it; the god can then use the prayer as an arcane link, 
  sending Charms to (or targeting sorcery at) distant 
  worshipers. Characters who fall out of favor with 
  powerful gods should be careful what they wish for, 
  lest their desires allow the angered spirit to enact a 
  terrible retribution.
  Since elementals’ domains aren’t regulated by 
  the prayer-channeling powers of Heaven, elementals 
  cannot hear prayers or use them as arcane links.
  THE MANDATE OF SUBORDINATION
  As stated on page 295 of Exalted, each spirit 
  may spend a temporary Willpower to give an irresist-
  ible order to spirits under its command. This effect 
  constitutes a powerful unnatural mental influence 
  Compulsion effect, which can conceivably be resisted 
  (though it almost never is). Resisting spirits must 
  pay one temporary Willpower per dot of Essence 
  that the spirit giving the order possesses greater than 
  their own. Spending the necessary Willpower allows 
  a subordinate to resist all orders from a given greater 
  spirit within that scene.
  DIVINE PANOPLIES
  A powerful spirit can expect Heaven to issue 
  her one or more artifacts that are intimately tied to 
  her domain or nature. These items are known as the 
  spirit’s divine panoply. The spirit caretaker does not 
  have to spend any motes to attune those artifacts, and 
  she may do so instantly, reflexively and completely 
  anytime she comes in contact with them. The items 
  automatically count as being owned by the spirit. The 
  spirit finds her divine panoply’s use natural—divine 
  panoply armor, for instance, carries no fatigue value 
  for the spirit for whom the armor’s intended.
  Most artifacts in divine panoplies range from Ar-
  tifact rating 2 to 4. The sum of the artifacts’ ratings is 
  usually equal to the appropriate Essence rating for the 
  domain’s caretaker— even if the spirit has greater or 
  lesser Essence than that rating.
  Otherwise, the artifacts in a divine panoply are 
  normal artifacts. They incorporate magical materi-
  als, and anyone else can use the artifacts as if they 
  were otherwise unremarkable. A number of daiklaves 
  PRIESTHOOD
  Priesthood is dedication to a single god. 
  Many gods ask that their priests perform regu-
  lar religious tasks, observe taboos or practice a 
  certain philosophy; others don’t. Either way, the 
  process of becoming a priest to a particular god 
  usually requires the expenditure of five experi-
  ence points (or one bonus point during character 
  creation), which are dedicated to becoming what 
  the god needs.
  A priest has a much easier time reaching 
  her god than other mortals. She receives a one 
  point of difficulty reduction on all prayer rolls 
  to her deity (see Exalted, p. 132). Further-
  more, gods can tell whether particular prayers 
  comes from their priests, and so can often tell 
  whether a particular character who prays to 
  her is a priest.
  There are usually conditions that could 
  revoke a character’s priesthood, such as worship-
  ing competing spirits, failing to observe a taboo 
  or simply ceasing to care; but priesthood is not 
  under the spirit’s control. The quality belongs 
  to the follower and her actions.
  Zenith Caste Solars, Day Caste Abyssals and 
  No Moon Lunars are always considered priests of 
  every god. Sidereals are considered priests of any 
  god whose domain falls within the associations of 
  an astrological college into which they’ve been 
  initiated. (This may require some Storyteller 
  arbitration. We advise leniency.)
  used by the Exalted started out as belonging to a 
  god’s panoply.
  A god can only have one divine panoply at a time. 
  If she loses it, Heaven will be unable to issue her a 
  replacement unless the first is destroyed.
  ELEMENTAL POWERS
  Exalted, page 302, describes powers unique to 
  elementals. However, the core book then goes on 
  to describe one of those powers (Dematerialize) as a 
  Charm. For clarity, the rules for those powers are revised 
  here. Though Dematerialize is unique to elementals, 
  it is a Charm, examined in more detail on page 142. 
  Elementals can teach Dematerialize to Eclipse and 
  Moonshadow Caste Exalted. The rest are not Charms, 
  and Eclipses and Moonshadows cannot learn them. 
  All elementals possess Elemental Expression and 
  
  170
  Elemental Rejuvenation, unless otherwise described. 
  Only some elementals possess Dragon’s Suspire. These 
  descriptions supersede the descriptions in Exalted.
  (Readers familiar with Exalted’s previous edition will 
  recall a broader array of elemental powers. Those powers 
  that aren’t unique abilities such as the garda bird’s Im-
  molation have been folded into the general set of spirit 
  Charms—few were sufficiently elemental in nature to 
  warrant denying them as potential abilities for gods.)
  DRAGON’S SUSPIRE
  Some elementals (most famously, the lesser elemen-
  tal dragons) can make a ranged attack that emanates 
  from their bodies, usually in the form of breath. This 
  effect might be a gout of flame, a rain of splinters, a 
  thunderclap, an explosion of rock, a freezing fountain of 
  water or any other appropriate effect. Dragon’s Suspire 
  is effectively a mode of attack that costs five motes and 
  one Willpower point to use. By default, an elemental 
  using this attack takes a Speed 6 and Defense Value -1 
  action to exhale a burst of elemental force 10 yards long 
  and five yards wide. Every individual within the blast 
  is subject to an attack with an Accuracy equal to the 
  elemental’s (Dexterity + [highest of Athletics, Archery 
  or Thrown]) and a damage of 4L. Extra successes on the 
  attack add dice to the damage roll per normal. Some 
  elementals possess versions of Dragon’s Suspire with 
  altered traits, as noted in their descriptions.
  ELEMENTAL EXPRESSION
  All elementals can expend their own Essence to affect 
  or control natural phenomena of their own elements. A 
  mote of Essence reflexively spent either doubles or halves 
  the effects of any natural phenomenon, including heat, 
  wind, fog, rain, thunder, undertows, flames and earth-
  quakes. These effects may amplify a natural effect until 
  it can cause damage to material creatures, as described 
  on Exalted, p. 131. The resulting environmental hazard 
  has a damage of (the number of motes spent)/minute 
  and a Trauma of 2L. The elemental can also amplify an 
  existing hazard (including a hazard created with Affinity 
  [Element] Control) through use of this ability, provided 
  another elemental has not already done the same: El-
  emental Expression adds one to the hazard’s Damage per 
  mote spent, as well as making that damage lethal and 
  adding the L tag to the hazard’s Trauma. Furthermore, 
  the elemental can render an existing hazard less severe 
  (every mote spent decreases the hazard’s damage by 1). 
  The effects of this power last for as long as the elemental 
  remains in the vicinity and keeps the motes committed. 
  No elemental may spend more than one mote on this 
  power per dot of Essence the elemental possesses on any 
  given hazard, or create or enhance through this ability 
  a hazard with a radius larger than (the elemental’s Es-
  sence x5) yards. Elementals with insufficient Essence to 
  enhance the effect of a large pre-existing hazard may opt 
  to enhance only part of it.
  Elemental Expression represents only the most base 
  command over a given element. Elementals with greater 
  control over the elements of Creation often possess the 
  Affinity (Element) Control Charm (see pp. 151-152).
  ELEMENTAL REJUVENATION
  All elementals can rejuvenate themselves when 
  in contact with the raw element with which they 
  are aligned. When an elemental comes into contact 
  with a naturally occurring instance of its element, the 
  elemental may take a Speed 3 and Defense Value -2 
  action to heal one level of damage or regain one mote. 
  This action may not be part of a flurry.
  UNIQUE SPIRIT POWERS
  Aside from the powers elementals possess, certain 
  spirits possess their own unique powers that aren’t 
  precisely Charms. The garda bird (see pp. 117-119) 
  can immolate itself without permanently dying, for 
  instance. Also, the Ocean Father in The Compass of 
  Terrestrial Directions, Vol. II—The West cannot 
  be killed save by the dagger Black Depths Foretold (or 
  creatures outside fate). These powers are called out as 
  unique in their descriptions. As they’re not actually 
  Charms, Eclipses, Moonshadows and God-Bloods can’t 
  learn these powers.
  DESIGNING AND RUNNING SPIRITS
  Far more spirits inhabit Creation than could ever 
  be detailed in a hundred books. The best way to present 
  them is to provide guidelines for creating them. Here, 
  then, are just such guidelines.
  It’s important to remember what “guideline” means. 
  This section presents formulas for deriving a spirit’s At-
  tributes, Charms and other traits from its Essence and 
  Virtues. These formulas are a baseline from which to 
  deviate. Far more spirits vary from these formulas than 
  adhere to them. Some spirits may possess unusually high 
  Attributes at the expense of the number of Charms they 
  know. Others may simply be inexplicably more or less 
  powerful than they might seem. Take the formulas into 
  account, but don’t feel confined by them.
  What the formulas are more useful for is determin-
  ing spiritual change. If a spirit gains a dot of Cult, the 
  traits derived from the spirit’s Cult score should probably 
  
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  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  change accordingly, even if it didn’t start with Cult-
  derived traits adhering to the formulas. This change 
  doesn’t occur immediately—it can take anywhere from 
  seasons to decades—but it happens eventually.
  ATTRIBUTES AND ABILITIES
  A spirit often possesses Attribute dots equal to ([Es-
  sence x 3] + [Cult x 3] + [Sum of Virtues x 2]). These 
  can be divided any way the Storyteller chooses; spirits 
  are much more likely to have very high or very low 
  scores in certain Attributes than mortal creatures are. 
  A spirit with Strength 5, for instance, isn’t particularly 
  unusual. Rarely will any of a spirit’s Attribute scores 
  exceed (Essence + 4).
  Most spirits spring into existence with dots in Abili-
  ties they’re predisposed to. Rare would be the god of war 
  without more than a few dots of War! Over the course 
  of their existences, spirits can even pick up and forget 
  Abilities. Generally, though, spirits have sufficient dots 
  in Abilities they use over the course of their existences, 
  and shockingly little skill at anything else.
  CHARMS AND COMBOS
  A spirit possesses a minimum number of Charms 
  equal to its Willpower, and generally possesses a num-
  ber of Charms equal to ([Essence x2] + [Cult x2] + 
  [the sum of Virtues]). The specific Charms the spirit 
  knows can change. Sometimes, spirits’ powers simply 
  evolve over time; most gain and lose a few Charms over 
  the centuries, as Creation itself changes. A spirit will 
  almost always have at least one Charm associated with 
  a particular Virtue per dot of that Virtue.
  Spirits who learn supernatural martial arts or sorcery 
  (see p. 17) normally retain those Charms indefinitely, 
  and learn them in addition to their spirit Charms. Di-
  vine martial artists must learn Combos to effectively 
  combine their spirit Charms with their martial arts 
  Charms… but since spirit Storyteller characters don’t 
  develop through experience, it’s up to the Storyteller 
  how many such Combos the spirit knows.
  VIRTUES AND WILLPOWER
  The ephemeral substance of a spirit is not quite like 
  that of the solid world, and it is influenced by its Virtues in 
  a much more profound way than that of a mortal or Exalt. 
  Certain types of spirits are predisposed to certain Virtues, 
  but Virtues are still a unique part of a spirit’s personality. 
  A spirit’s Virtues determine what types of Charms she has 
  an affinity for, and contribute greatly a spirit’s temporal 
  power. Approached sociologically, this means spirits with 
  high Virtues are more likely to stand out, break out of their 
  station and generally contribute to stories.
  If Essence is a spirit’s blood, Willpower is the spirit’s 
  bones. Its Willpower score is an effective measure of how 
  long the spirit can sustain itself in the face of social or 
  physical assault. A high Willpower is especially necessary 
  for spirits who wish to maintain any level of independence 
  from their superiors, since they must spend Willpower 
  to resist superiors’ orders and will then have difficulty 
  regaining it. Exalted, page 295, presents an array of ways 
  spirits can regain spent Willpower points.
  ESSENCE
  As spirits are woven into the Loom of Fate, they 
  emerge into existence with an ordained amount of 
  power. If the spirit’s domain drastically gains or loses 
  importance, a spirit’s Essence score will likely go up or 
  down—though it may take a while to change. Essence is 
  the most direct measure of a spirit’s power. It’s not just 
  spirits’ only Charm prerequisite, but usually determines 
  the power and scope of their effects. A spirit of low Es-
  sence will be a minor functionary with little real power, 
  even if her Abilities and Virtues are extraordinary; but 
  one with high Essence is capable of altering the world 
  in the blink of an eye. However, even if the importance 
  of a spirit’s domain shifts, the spirit generally won’t lose 
  more than two dots of Essence, and a spirit of Essence 
  2+ won’t ever fall below Essence 2.
  As Exalted, pages 294-295, says, spirits have only 
  one mote pool, equal to ([Essence x10] + [Willpower 
  x5]). This is not a guideline; spirits gain larger mote pools 
  through the Charm Essence Plethora (see p. 142).
  MOTIVATION AND NATURE
  Motivation is usually what links a deity to its do-
  main; a spirit’s born with a Motivation that encourages 
  the spirit to follow its purpose. To mortals, the Moti-
  vation of a god would seem more like an obsession or 
  a mysteriously inevitable direction in its life. Deities 
  can change Motivation, but such incidents occur under 
  none but the strangest circumstances, usually when 
  the being’s domain shifts radically or its perspective is 
  dramatically redefined.
  Elementals, though they resemble gods in most 
  other ways, interact differently with their domains. They 
  spring into existence when an elemental imbalance 
  warps the Loom of Fate in a certain way. The creatures 
  begin life with a Motivation and domain defined by 
  that imbalance, but as they experience the world’s 
  other elements and the Loom weaves away from the 
  circumstances that produced them, they become more 
  and more independent. Their domains are assigned 
  by automatic forces of Creation, rather than Heaven, 
  
  172
  and their purpose is largely to exist (thereby express-
  ing certain elemental truths) rather than oversee (like 
  gods, who regulate the world). This isn’t to say that no 
  elementals regulate parts of Creation, but they usually 
  don’t actually have to unless they’ve been assigned a 
  station in one of the spiritual Bureaus of Heaven. (The 
  Wind Masters, pp. 90-93, are an example of this, as are 
  all Celestial censors.) Elementals are hence more flexible 
  in outlook and action than other spirits, and change 
  Motivation far more frequently than gods.
  A god’s nature should be unique. Gods who’ve 
  served in the same position for a long time usually have 
  a nature tied very closely to domain and come off as 
  somewhat one-dimensional creatures as a result. This is 
  because the Primordials created the gods to be effective 
  first and foremost, and their knowledge of the nature 
  of Essence allowed them much accuracy when creating 
  new beings. Gods who’ve changed positions a lot since 
  the dawn of the First Age and gods who’ve sprung into 
  existence since after the Primordials were defeated often 
  have natures tangentially or orthogonally related to their 
  domains and are much more complex as a result. Amoth 
  City-Smiter, the Sub-Director of Bribery and Finance 
  in Heaven’s Bureau of Humanity, began his existence 
  as the god of tumbled ruins (and he still counts that 
  amongst his titles). He now applies the attitudes of his 
  original city-destroying monster domain and nature to 
  his new station as a bureaucrat, and is more interesting 
  as a character than would be a god of bribery and finance 
  totally defined by bribery and finance. Ahlat, Southern 
  God of War and Cattle, began his existence as the god 
  of bull-walrus mating duels in the Far North, and after 
  he was made god of cattle in the South as a reward for 
  leading a contingent of angry bull-walruses in defense 
  against Creation’s first major Fair Folk incursion, he 
  expressed his nature as a god of both fecundity and 
  violence by first teaching mortals how to domesticate 
  cattle (introducing humanity to animal domestication 
  and agriculture in the process) and then how to kill each 
  other over the herds they gathered.
  By contrast, Han-Tha, Ghoul King and Eater of the 
  Dead, the god of cannibalistic decay who lurks around 
  Rathess, has always been a god of cannibalistic decay, 
  and isn’t much more than a horrible cannibal monster 
  god. The leech gods are likewise primitive. Creation 
  has room for gods of all different depths.
  When designing a spirit’s nature, ask yourself, “Has 
  this spirit always been this way?” Did the god always serve 
  in its current position, or was it promoted from another 
  role? Did the lesser elemental dragon spring forth fully 
  formed, or did it begin life as a simpler elemental? As 
  immortal or just long-lived beings, spirits can have a lot 
  of past. How does the spirit’s past inform its present?
  As established earlier in the text, forcing a spirit to 
  go against its nature is usually an unacceptable order. 
  Summoned elementals are the exception—they can 
  sometimes be ordered to go against their nature, but 
  will usually forget the order within an hour or so.
  INTIMACIES
  Similar to mortals, spirits possess Intimacies, but 
  because their lives are so different from humans’, their 
  Intimacies might seem odd.
  HEALTH AND FORM
  As it says on Exalted, page 295, spirits have a 
  number of health levels equal to (Willpower + high-
  est Virtue)—one health level is -0, one is -4, and 
  the remainder are divided evenly between -1 and -2, 
  favoring -1 if (Willpower + highest Virtue) is an odd 
  number. The Incapacitated health level doesn’t count. 
  Spirits with more health levels than that use Ox-Body 
  Technique to gain them.
  A spirit can possess an effectively arbitrary number 
  of mutation-like traits to represent an inhuman form, 
  though these are not mutations and magic that banishes 
  mutations can’t get rid of them. Try not to go overboard 
  with this—give spirits the minimum number of muta-
  tions necessary to approximate inhuman forms.
  Likewise, a spirit can possess an effectively arbitrary 
  amount of natural soak and hardness. Once again, try 
  not to go overboard. Look to similar spirits and also 
  animals and monsters with a similar form for an idea 
  of how much natural soak to give a spirit. It should 
  probably approximate a non-magical form of armor 
  (or magical armor if the god’s form prevents wearing 
  such) and never be so much that soak-enhancing 
  Charms are superfluous.
  SPIRITS AS PLAYERS’ CHARACTERS
  Spirits aren’t designed for use as players’ characters 
  in mind. A lot of spirit powers rely on Storyteller ar-
  bitration to function. They’re also not really suited to 
  the sort of behavior players’ characters often engage in, 
  and spirits don’t advance the way players’ characters in 
  most games advance. The spirits’ Charm set is designed 
  with easy creation of antagonists, supporting characters 
  and foils in mind—it’s not as broad, as deep or as finely 
  balanced as a Charm set for a player’s character type. 
  For all these reasons, playing a spirit is tricky.
  That said, spirits can make excellent characters. 
  Anyone who’s ever run a game in which one player 
  
  173
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
  plays a Solar and another plays a Dragon-Blooded 
  has run up against problems similar to (though lesser 
  than) those faced by a group where one of the player’s 
  characters is a spirit. The multitude of successful games 
  with varied character types proves that a lot of players 
  and Storytellers are up to the challenge.
  If the rules presented in this section are treated 
  more like character creation rules than Storyteller 
  guidelines, there’s no reason the resulting character 
  can’t interact with other players’ characters in a fun 
  way. Playing a spirit offers a unique, strange perspective 
  on Creation. Spirits were never human, and pondering 
  their existences is a good basis for a character-oriented 
  game all by itself.
  Spirit characters created to be balanced with 
  Exalt characters (and we stress that this balance will 
  be tentative) should be created with at least as many 
  dots of Essence as the other characters. Spirit player 
  characters get Virtue dots numbering (Essence + 5) 
  in addition to the first dot. Their permanent Will-
  power score is the sum of their two highest Virtues. 
  The player may choose one Favored Ability and 
  (Essence x 10) Ability dots, which are capped at 3 
  before bonus points. Panoply is effectively the Artifact 
  Background. Just as other characters, spirits start with 
  a number of Intimacies equal to their Compassion 
  score. Spirits get 15 bonus points, spent just a Solar 
  would spend them save that all Charms—including 
  non-spirit Charms—cost seven bonus points. Inhu-
  man forms are bought as mutations: a pox costs one 
  bonus point, an affliction costs two, a blight, four 
  and an abomination, six. Players may take negative 
  mutations to offset the cost of positive ones: a defi-
  ciency reduces the total bonus point cost for positive 
  mutations by one, a debility reduces it by two and a 
  deformity reduces it by four. While negative muta-
  tions offset the cost of positive mutations, they don’t 
  provide extra bonus points, though, and very, very 
  few gods have them.
  In terms of experience, spirits can gain and spend it 
  as the other characters do, but can only buy Abilities, 
  Virtues, sorcery and supernatural martial arts. Story-
  tellers may wish to charge for Essence raises incurred 
  by promotion or Endowments from more powerful 
  gods, but the player can’t decide to buy Essence up 
  on her own. She could seek to grow her character’s 
  Cult, though.
  Storytellers are, of course, free (and encouraged) 
  to tinker with the above when allowing spirit play-
  ers’ characters.
  Elementals may be treated similarly, but there’s 
  one issue for elemental characters that gods lack: 
  even Dragon-Blooded sorcerers can summon and bind 
  elementals, and that might be a problem for a player’s 
  character. Storytellers could play this up as a source 
  of drama—for instance, an elemental character could 
  be bound, then struggle to outwit her captor while 
  the other players’ characters seek ways to free her. 
  A Storyteller might also wish to implement slightly 
  harsher rules about what elementals cannot be forced 
  to do. Perhaps they not only can’t go against basic prin-
  ciples of their nature, but also can’t be bound against 
  Motivations or Intimacies, or can spend Willpower to 
  act against such bindings. (Obviously, this latter rule 
  should then be consistent with creatures summoned 
  by players’ characters, so it’s best used with caution.) 
  The easiest approach, and the most comfortable for 
  most players, may be to ignore summoning entirely. 
  Just because the plot hook is there doesn’t mean it 
  must be used, especially if it could ruin a player’s 
  fun… and a lot of players have their fun understand-
  ably ruined when control of their characters is taken 
  away from them.
  Ultimately, it’s up to the Storyteller to decide 
  whether spirits are open as a player character type, even 
  more so than it’s normally up to the Storyteller which 
  character types are available. But while it’s not for every 
  group, playing spirits is worth experimenting with. 
  
  174
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  175
  APPENDIX • DIVINE MECHANICS
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  176
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Storyteller [multi]/Exalted/Exalted The Books of Sorcery Vol IV - The Roll of Glorious Divinity I.pdf