Sep 22, 2021 10:58 pm
Heroic acts and magnificent deeds echo throughout Creation, but the Exalted cannot escape the price of power. Curses spat by dying divine monsters in the final moments of Creation’s liberation touch the lives of all Exalted, drawing forth their worst natures during times of emotional turmoil and personal strife. Its very existence and nature unknown, but the Great Curse binds the Exalted all the same.
The Great Curse both serves as a connection to the Exalted’s origin as warriors in the ancient war against cosmically terrible foes, and as a constant reminder of the potential disaster for power let astray. Perhaps the Chosen overcome future calamity, but they will not do so unmarked by the strain of their power.
Rules
In Exalted Essence, certain inciting events cause Exalted characters to express the Great Curse: a stressful or traumatic moment leads to an explosion of distorted and warped behavior by the character.
When an inciting event occurs for a character, the Storyteller, that character’s player, or another player at the table can suggest that the Great Curse express itself for the affected character.
Incitement
All characters possess the following conditions to incite the Great Curse:
• A character acts against a Major Intimacy.
• A character acts against their Major Virtue.
Each Exalt type in this section lists additional incitement triggers, and whether they’re predetermined or defined by the player. When one or more of the applicable incitement conditions occur, while the Storyteller or other players may suggest an event is an appropriate incitement condition, it’s ultimately up the character’s player. If they do, then their character manifests the Great Curse.
Great Curse Manifestation
Great Curse manifestations exist for each Exalted type. Manifesting the Great Curse doesn’t involve the player losing control of their character, but often involves playing an exaggerated form of the character’s personality, flaws, and even virtues, as the curse heightens factors that are already present within in the character. Most such expressions of the Great Curse last either a Scene or until the end of the current Session, with certain circumstances causing them to end prematurely.
When a player decides the Great Curse manifests, the Storyteller and player should decide on the appropriate curse manifestation for that moment. This is a choice made each time the curse manifests, and will be different from occasion to occasion. Each Exalt type lists several potential manifestations, but players and Storytellers should feel free to create additional manifestations appropriate to characters and circumstances.
The excesses and extremity caused by the Great Curse can be dramatic and interesting to play out, but this isn’t an excuse to ruin other players’ time at the table. If everyone at the table enjoys the experience, it qualifies as a personal milestone for advancement purposes.
While the Great Curse affects a character, attempts to challenge their behavior with the Social Influence system count as if they were opposing both a Major Virtue and a Major Intimacy. Most Great Curse manifestations mark a duration for how long the manifestation will remain, as well as providing conditions under which it will end prematurely.
The Great Curse both serves as a connection to the Exalted’s origin as warriors in the ancient war against cosmically terrible foes, and as a constant reminder of the potential disaster for power let astray. Perhaps the Chosen overcome future calamity, but they will not do so unmarked by the strain of their power.
Rules
In Exalted Essence, certain inciting events cause Exalted characters to express the Great Curse: a stressful or traumatic moment leads to an explosion of distorted and warped behavior by the character.
When an inciting event occurs for a character, the Storyteller, that character’s player, or another player at the table can suggest that the Great Curse express itself for the affected character.
Incitement
All characters possess the following conditions to incite the Great Curse:
• A character acts against a Major Intimacy.
• A character acts against their Major Virtue.
Each Exalt type in this section lists additional incitement triggers, and whether they’re predetermined or defined by the player. When one or more of the applicable incitement conditions occur, while the Storyteller or other players may suggest an event is an appropriate incitement condition, it’s ultimately up the character’s player. If they do, then their character manifests the Great Curse.
Great Curse Manifestation
Great Curse manifestations exist for each Exalted type. Manifesting the Great Curse doesn’t involve the player losing control of their character, but often involves playing an exaggerated form of the character’s personality, flaws, and even virtues, as the curse heightens factors that are already present within in the character. Most such expressions of the Great Curse last either a Scene or until the end of the current Session, with certain circumstances causing them to end prematurely.
When a player decides the Great Curse manifests, the Storyteller and player should decide on the appropriate curse manifestation for that moment. This is a choice made each time the curse manifests, and will be different from occasion to occasion. Each Exalt type lists several potential manifestations, but players and Storytellers should feel free to create additional manifestations appropriate to characters and circumstances.
The excesses and extremity caused by the Great Curse can be dramatic and interesting to play out, but this isn’t an excuse to ruin other players’ time at the table. If everyone at the table enjoys the experience, it qualifies as a personal milestone for advancement purposes.
While the Great Curse affects a character, attempts to challenge their behavior with the Social Influence system count as if they were opposing both a Major Virtue and a Major Intimacy. Most Great Curse manifestations mark a duration for how long the manifestation will remain, as well as providing conditions under which it will end prematurely.
[ +- ] Abyssals
The Abyssal Exalted walk in unfathomable darkness, but even dire connections to dread powers cannot shield an Exalt from the Great Curse. Instead, the Curse taints their connection between the Underworld and Creation, often rising to the fore whenever the erstwhile deathknights engage too closely with the warm world of life and light.
All Abyssals possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• They attempt to exist amongst the mortals as a member of the living.
• They respond to or accept address by a living name, rather than a sobriquet or title.
When an Abyssal succumbs to the Curse, they experience Grave Extremity. Grave Extremities often involve the Abyssal’s deathly nature or alienation from the living world manifesting.
Lure of the Tomb (Scene) The Abyssal seeks the solitude of the grave, and removes themselves to whatever sepulcher, burial sites, or charnel fields are available to mediate in motionless silence. In the Underworld, they seek the nearest place empty of ghosts or other animate beings.
The Exalt strenuously avoids attempts to interrupt them, and meets persistent interlopers with sudden, dispassionate violence. Lure of the Tomb ends prematurely if the Abyssal is attacked, or if someone they have a Major intimacy to is seriously injured or incapacitated due to their inaction.
Undying Order (Session): The Abyssal becomes obsessed with upholding or spreading the primacy of Underworld hierarchy into Creation. Amongst the dead they establish strict order and obtain the obedience of all spectral entities present, while amongst the living they enforce the rule of the ancestor cults or similar Underworld-centric order. Those Abyssals who do not normally hew to established orders may invent their own ad hoc affairs, often foisting strange and singular demands on whatever horrified adherents are available. Undying Order ends prematurely if the Abyssal is unable to uphold their responsibilities as a leader to one of their
erstwhile subjects.
Macabre Fascination (Session): The Abyssal obsesses over the material of death, pursuing both the physical inspection of interesting corpses and the spiritual inquiry into remarkable ghosts with equal measure. They abandon existing plans or companions to do so, moving into Shadowlands or the Underworld if available. Macabre Fascination ends prematurely if the Abyssal’s obsession brings them to physical injury.
Mortality’s Shadow (Scene): Unable to stand the gaze of the living but also unable to bear their absence, the Abyssal avoids living creatures’ notice at all costs while still staying close enough to monitor life’s inevitable slide towards decay. They utilize whatever means necessary to disengage and lurk unseen from mortals and Exalts alike, while still staying close enough to observe them. Mortality’s Shadow ends prematurely if such lurking causes a serious setback for the Abyssal.
Infinite Anguish (Session): The impossibly heavy burden of life’s pain and continuing struggle descends upon the Abyssal. They indulge in loud and public mourning for the state of the world, conscripting anyone under their power to join them in a continuous and growing funeral procession. Any activity or goals they pursue invariably carry constant references to the great and awful suffering of the world, means and ends both tainted by their realization of the impossible weight of universal misery. Infinite Anguish ends prematurely if the Abyssal is provided concrete evidence of improvement or transcendence in the world.
All Abyssals possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• They attempt to exist amongst the mortals as a member of the living.
• They respond to or accept address by a living name, rather than a sobriquet or title.
When an Abyssal succumbs to the Curse, they experience Grave Extremity. Grave Extremities often involve the Abyssal’s deathly nature or alienation from the living world manifesting.
Lure of the Tomb (Scene) The Abyssal seeks the solitude of the grave, and removes themselves to whatever sepulcher, burial sites, or charnel fields are available to mediate in motionless silence. In the Underworld, they seek the nearest place empty of ghosts or other animate beings.
The Exalt strenuously avoids attempts to interrupt them, and meets persistent interlopers with sudden, dispassionate violence. Lure of the Tomb ends prematurely if the Abyssal is attacked, or if someone they have a Major intimacy to is seriously injured or incapacitated due to their inaction.
Undying Order (Session): The Abyssal becomes obsessed with upholding or spreading the primacy of Underworld hierarchy into Creation. Amongst the dead they establish strict order and obtain the obedience of all spectral entities present, while amongst the living they enforce the rule of the ancestor cults or similar Underworld-centric order. Those Abyssals who do not normally hew to established orders may invent their own ad hoc affairs, often foisting strange and singular demands on whatever horrified adherents are available. Undying Order ends prematurely if the Abyssal is unable to uphold their responsibilities as a leader to one of their
erstwhile subjects.
Macabre Fascination (Session): The Abyssal obsesses over the material of death, pursuing both the physical inspection of interesting corpses and the spiritual inquiry into remarkable ghosts with equal measure. They abandon existing plans or companions to do so, moving into Shadowlands or the Underworld if available. Macabre Fascination ends prematurely if the Abyssal’s obsession brings them to physical injury.
Mortality’s Shadow (Scene): Unable to stand the gaze of the living but also unable to bear their absence, the Abyssal avoids living creatures’ notice at all costs while still staying close enough to monitor life’s inevitable slide towards decay. They utilize whatever means necessary to disengage and lurk unseen from mortals and Exalts alike, while still staying close enough to observe them. Mortality’s Shadow ends prematurely if such lurking causes a serious setback for the Abyssal.
Infinite Anguish (Session): The impossibly heavy burden of life’s pain and continuing struggle descends upon the Abyssal. They indulge in loud and public mourning for the state of the world, conscripting anyone under their power to join them in a continuous and growing funeral procession. Any activity or goals they pursue invariably carry constant references to the great and awful suffering of the world, means and ends both tainted by their realization of the impossible weight of universal misery. Infinite Anguish ends prematurely if the Abyssal is provided concrete evidence of improvement or transcendence in the world.
[ +- ] Alchemicals
From savant-run machine shrines to autonomous sorcerous collectives, communities allow Alchemicals in Creation to thrive. The Great Curse inflames relationships between the Exalts and the communities they are inextricably linked to, causing rampant and dangerous behavior rooted in the places the Alchemical is most tightly tied to.
All Alchemicals possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• A community they have an Intimacy towards is threatened, ignores their advice, or openly disdains their help.
When an Alchemical succumbs to the curse, they are affected by Crisis Behavior. The Alchemical attempts to materially protect or alter their communities of interest, focusing on their immediate companions as a proxy community if their actual community is inaccessible. All Crisis Behavior ends prematurely if the Alchemical’s actions cause a community they have an intimacy towards to be damaged.
Gathering Procedures (Scene): The Alchemical attempts to supplement a dangerously lacking community with new members, or to create a new community from whole cloth. They will identify and attempt to convince potentially useful individuals to join their expanding or new community, resorting to steadily more extreme methods when rebuffed until resorting to kidnapping or coercion.
Necessary Instruction (Session): The community must be improved through improving its members. The Alchemical lectures, instructs, and teaches even the most learned of leaders and savants, improving both moral conduct and practical behavior. They will not be dissuaded by their pupils being otherwise occupied; what could possibly be more important than improvement of the community via improvement of the self?
Revolutionary Reactions (Session): The Alchemical becomes determined to replace their community’s leadership with candidates they see as more appropriate While they will initially restrict their efforts whatever lawful or peaceable means they have available, a violent or forceful response from the leadership will cause the Alchemical to similarly escalate their efforts.
Supply Paranoia (Scene): Durable goods and perishable necessities obsess the Alchemical, who must secure larger and larger supplies of both. Even if their community has plenty, the Alchemical stores more and more away in apprehension of some future disaster. The Alchemical will consider laws or property owner’s objections only as long as they do not impede the Alchemical’s efforts.
Universal Threat Detection (Scene): The Alchemical identifies and prepares to strike against threats to the community. Any theoretical enemy or hazard is a potential target, no matter how unlikely or distant its danger may seem. Should others attempt to dissuade the Alchemical from their actions, the Alchemical may categorize them as threats as well.
All Alchemicals possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• A community they have an Intimacy towards is threatened, ignores their advice, or openly disdains their help.
When an Alchemical succumbs to the curse, they are affected by Crisis Behavior. The Alchemical attempts to materially protect or alter their communities of interest, focusing on their immediate companions as a proxy community if their actual community is inaccessible. All Crisis Behavior ends prematurely if the Alchemical’s actions cause a community they have an intimacy towards to be damaged.
Gathering Procedures (Scene): The Alchemical attempts to supplement a dangerously lacking community with new members, or to create a new community from whole cloth. They will identify and attempt to convince potentially useful individuals to join their expanding or new community, resorting to steadily more extreme methods when rebuffed until resorting to kidnapping or coercion.
Necessary Instruction (Session): The community must be improved through improving its members. The Alchemical lectures, instructs, and teaches even the most learned of leaders and savants, improving both moral conduct and practical behavior. They will not be dissuaded by their pupils being otherwise occupied; what could possibly be more important than improvement of the community via improvement of the self?
Revolutionary Reactions (Session): The Alchemical becomes determined to replace their community’s leadership with candidates they see as more appropriate While they will initially restrict their efforts whatever lawful or peaceable means they have available, a violent or forceful response from the leadership will cause the Alchemical to similarly escalate their efforts.
Supply Paranoia (Scene): Durable goods and perishable necessities obsess the Alchemical, who must secure larger and larger supplies of both. Even if their community has plenty, the Alchemical stores more and more away in apprehension of some future disaster. The Alchemical will consider laws or property owner’s objections only as long as they do not impede the Alchemical’s efforts.
Universal Threat Detection (Scene): The Alchemical identifies and prepares to strike against threats to the community. Any theoretical enemy or hazard is a potential target, no matter how unlikely or distant its danger may seem. Should others attempt to dissuade the Alchemical from their actions, the Alchemical may categorize them as threats as well.
[ +- ] Dragon-Blooded
The Great Curse strikes the Princes of the Earth like it does all Exalted, but leaves a somewhat lighter mark on their existence. The Dragon-Blooded still find their Exalted natures roused against them, Elemental Aspects pushing their personalities and virtues to dangerous extremes, but to a lesser extent. Once instigated, they don’t have a set duration, and Dragon-Blooded potentially return to normal within the events of a single scene.
Each Aspect possess its own additional condition for inciting the Great Curse.
• An Air Aspects finds their ideals challenged by individual failings or the state of the world.
• An Earth Aspects experiences challenges to traditions or institutions they have relied upon or value.
• A Fire Aspect undergoes extremes of their own emotion and passion, whether due to their own actions or those of others.
• A Water Aspect confronts dangerous and difficult obstacles which are not soon overcome.
• A Wood Aspect experiences overwhelming sensations, either of their own or by proxy, for those they care for.
Great Curse manifestations for the Dragon-Blooded don’t reach the level of a Virtue Flaw, but are rather Elemental Behaviors that blend insidiously into the Exalt’s life. All the following are examples, but Storytellers and players shouldn’t hesitate to develop additional Elemental Behaviors that reflect a character’s relationship to their Aspect element.
• Air Aspects may ignore the consequences of heedlessly pursuing their own idealism, or lash out at those who try to moderate their behavior or convince them to take a different course.
• Earth Aspects can become entrenched and unmoving in their positions, if they don’t release a sudden explosion of violent or self-destructive emotion against continued attacks on tradition.
• Fire Aspects may become furious dynamos in support of a cause behind the inciting event, or turn that same energy to self-hatred and despair in the case of perceived personal failings.
• Water Aspects tend to attack the obstacles that stymie them with total abandon, utilizing disproportionate, ruthless, or impractical means without hesitation.
• Wood Aspects may pursue greater and greater hedonistic pursuits, glutting on the sensations of overindulgence or even the moldering lows in its wake, or instead envelop those people that surround them in equally overwhelming and nigh stifling attempts to nurture and control them.
Each Aspect possess its own additional condition for inciting the Great Curse.
• An Air Aspects finds their ideals challenged by individual failings or the state of the world.
• An Earth Aspects experiences challenges to traditions or institutions they have relied upon or value.
• A Fire Aspect undergoes extremes of their own emotion and passion, whether due to their own actions or those of others.
• A Water Aspect confronts dangerous and difficult obstacles which are not soon overcome.
• A Wood Aspect experiences overwhelming sensations, either of their own or by proxy, for those they care for.
Great Curse manifestations for the Dragon-Blooded don’t reach the level of a Virtue Flaw, but are rather Elemental Behaviors that blend insidiously into the Exalt’s life. All the following are examples, but Storytellers and players shouldn’t hesitate to develop additional Elemental Behaviors that reflect a character’s relationship to their Aspect element.
• Air Aspects may ignore the consequences of heedlessly pursuing their own idealism, or lash out at those who try to moderate their behavior or convince them to take a different course.
• Earth Aspects can become entrenched and unmoving in their positions, if they don’t release a sudden explosion of violent or self-destructive emotion against continued attacks on tradition.
• Fire Aspects may become furious dynamos in support of a cause behind the inciting event, or turn that same energy to self-hatred and despair in the case of perceived personal failings.
• Water Aspects tend to attack the obstacles that stymie them with total abandon, utilizing disproportionate, ruthless, or impractical means without hesitation.
• Wood Aspects may pursue greater and greater hedonistic pursuits, glutting on the sensations of overindulgence or even the moldering lows in its wake, or instead envelop those people that surround them in equally overwhelming and nigh stifling attempts to nurture and control them.
[ +- ] Getimians
Heroes from worlds cruelly denied, the Getimian Exalted must endure the loss of entire histories and lives alongside the common tragedies in the Age of Sorrows. Though supernaturally anchored in the Creation that is, exposure to reminders of the lives never lived and potential worlds they’ve lost will often cause the Great Curse to manifest in dangerous imbalances.
All Getimians possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• They are confronted with reminders or material evidence of the world and life that are lost to them.
• They encounter someone who they remember but who does not remember them.
Creation reacts wrongly to them, causing inconsistencies and inconveniences as meals eaten appear untouched, their footprints appear before they take a step, or reality otherwise reminds the Getimian that they do not belong.
When a Getimian succumbs to the curse, they suffer a Catastrophic Imbalance, influenced by whether their Flowing or Still mode has most recently been dominant.
Desperate Discovery (Still, Session): The Getimian becomes unable to believe the truth they already know. Racing thoughts convince them that some proof of the world as it should be exists, and they are driven to desperately search it out in places or people that should be familiar to the life the Getimian believes they lived. Other activities become unthinkable while they engage in this, whether it involves trying to find proof hidden away in Dynastic vaults, or confronting high members of state who must surely remember them. Desperate Discovery ends prematurely if a character who the Getimian believes they know develops a negative intimacy towards them.
Immanent Bliss (Flowing, Session): The pressure of Creation collapses the Getimian’s perceptions: If their alien pasts are an unreliable map of the world, how can they possibly consider the future? The Getimian abandons all attempts to plan, consider consequences beyond the immediate, or devote effort for future results. Instead, they devote their energies to fully embracing and experiencing the current moment, no matter how mundane…or what trouble it may cause them later. They will break bread and discuss gossip with tomorrow’s enemies, squander resources painstaking collected for long term plans in favor of immediate fancies, and insult necessary allies over transient differences of opinion. Immanent Bliss ends if the Getimian causes serious complications for a plan that involves one of the Getimian’s intimacies.
Impassioned Fury (Still, Scene): The flaws in Creation-That-Is are unacceptable to the Getimian who knows of a better world, and they seek to remove them, forcefully. They immediately seek to redress social, personal, and even physical flaws in the world around them, the appropriateness of castigating a Guild officer for their greed in the middle of Nexus or danger of seeking to clear river dragons from a village’s local waters entirely ignored. Attempting to stop or moderate the Getimian’s actions results in avoidance at best and violence at worst. Impassioned Fury ends prematurely if the Getimian or something they hold a positive intimacy is injured or otherwise has their wellbeing hurt by the Getimian’s actions.
Melancholy Fugue (Flowing, Scene): The Getimian respond to Creation’s insults by turning inward and still. Overwhelmed with memories and visions of a world lost, of regrets and mistakes that they cannot and could never make right, they ignore the outside world as best they can. If friends or bystanders attempt to intervene, the Getimian responds either with breathless explanations of what they’ve lost, or by lashing out violently at disruptive individuals. Melancholy Fugue ends prematurely if the Getimian or someone they possess an Intimacy towards is injured due to the Getimian’s inaction.
All Getimians possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• They are confronted with reminders or material evidence of the world and life that are lost to them.
• They encounter someone who they remember but who does not remember them.
Creation reacts wrongly to them, causing inconsistencies and inconveniences as meals eaten appear untouched, their footprints appear before they take a step, or reality otherwise reminds the Getimian that they do not belong.
When a Getimian succumbs to the curse, they suffer a Catastrophic Imbalance, influenced by whether their Flowing or Still mode has most recently been dominant.
Desperate Discovery (Still, Session): The Getimian becomes unable to believe the truth they already know. Racing thoughts convince them that some proof of the world as it should be exists, and they are driven to desperately search it out in places or people that should be familiar to the life the Getimian believes they lived. Other activities become unthinkable while they engage in this, whether it involves trying to find proof hidden away in Dynastic vaults, or confronting high members of state who must surely remember them. Desperate Discovery ends prematurely if a character who the Getimian believes they know develops a negative intimacy towards them.
Immanent Bliss (Flowing, Session): The pressure of Creation collapses the Getimian’s perceptions: If their alien pasts are an unreliable map of the world, how can they possibly consider the future? The Getimian abandons all attempts to plan, consider consequences beyond the immediate, or devote effort for future results. Instead, they devote their energies to fully embracing and experiencing the current moment, no matter how mundane…or what trouble it may cause them later. They will break bread and discuss gossip with tomorrow’s enemies, squander resources painstaking collected for long term plans in favor of immediate fancies, and insult necessary allies over transient differences of opinion. Immanent Bliss ends if the Getimian causes serious complications for a plan that involves one of the Getimian’s intimacies.
Impassioned Fury (Still, Scene): The flaws in Creation-That-Is are unacceptable to the Getimian who knows of a better world, and they seek to remove them, forcefully. They immediately seek to redress social, personal, and even physical flaws in the world around them, the appropriateness of castigating a Guild officer for their greed in the middle of Nexus or danger of seeking to clear river dragons from a village’s local waters entirely ignored. Attempting to stop or moderate the Getimian’s actions results in avoidance at best and violence at worst. Impassioned Fury ends prematurely if the Getimian or something they hold a positive intimacy is injured or otherwise has their wellbeing hurt by the Getimian’s actions.
Melancholy Fugue (Flowing, Scene): The Getimian respond to Creation’s insults by turning inward and still. Overwhelmed with memories and visions of a world lost, of regrets and mistakes that they cannot and could never make right, they ignore the outside world as best they can. If friends or bystanders attempt to intervene, the Getimian responds either with breathless explanations of what they’ve lost, or by lashing out violently at disruptive individuals. Melancholy Fugue ends prematurely if the Getimian or someone they possess an Intimacy towards is injured due to the Getimian’s inaction.
[ +- ] Infernals
Even those Chosen by Hell are not immune to the Curse’s poisons. Torn between their own unleashed desires and the constrained rage of the Yozis, their monstrous devil body forms burst free as they succumb to Curse-driven frenzies.
All Infernals possess additional conditions which may incite the great curse:
• Their plans or ambitions are directly thwarted.
• They are obviously outmatched or defeated in a contest or challenge.
When Infernals succumb to the Curse, they lash out in Hellish Eruption. All Eruptions last for a Scene, the Infernal’s devil body mode forcefully activating for the duration. The Infernal may choose how to pay for devil body mode activation as normal.
Throne Toppling Mood: The Infernal refuses to submit to any authority or demands for obedience. They oppose and destroy rulers and states through the most efficacious means available. Throne Toppling Mood ends if the Infernal’s efforts result in serious damage to their long-term goals.
Shrine Scorning Tirade: The idea of veneration itself offends the Infernal, both in the abstract and the specific. They act out against public displays of piety, disrupt any organized religion and harangue or even assault available religious figures. Priests and gods receive the brunt of their abuse if present, but failing that, the Infernal will happily desecrate relics, vandalize shrines, and otherwise lay waste to the trappings and architecture of faith. Shrine Scoring Tirade ends prematurely if the Infernal’s actions result in a character who the Infernal has a positive Intimacy towards to reject the Exalt.
Heaven Challenging Thunder: The Infernal demonstrates their supernatural power over the world, employing whatever the most obvious and impressive powers they possess to overawe those in their presence. Anything they do will be accomplished with mystical power, if at all possible: doors will be blown open by bolts of essence, crowds will be dispersed by dread magics, messages will be delivered by carving the earth with summoned demons. Heaven Challenging Thunder ends prematurely if the Infernal’s efforts cause major setbacks for their immediate plans.
Luxurious Hoarding Tendency: What is, is theirs. The Infernal desires and attempts to acquire anything of particular value or desirable quality in their presence, and then seek out more. Treasures they consider priceless and worth killing for one moment are discarded as mere baubles the next, their insatiable avarice always driving them on to the next prize. Luxurious Hoarding Tendency ends prematurely if the Infernal suffers injury due to their greedy efforts.
Tyrannous Hell Presence: That mortals and lesser beings would not join the Infernal’s cause is unthinkable. They attempt to coerce, suborn, or otherwise demand support, patronage, or serviceof mortals and lesser supernatural creatures, resorting to violence in the case of serious opposition. Receiving compliance, the Infernal becomes determined to put their allies and subjects to use, devising taxing and strenuous tasks for their new allies and minions. Tyrannous Hell Presence ends prematurely if the Infernal is bested by those they are attempting to subjugate.
All Infernals possess additional conditions which may incite the great curse:
• Their plans or ambitions are directly thwarted.
• They are obviously outmatched or defeated in a contest or challenge.
When Infernals succumb to the Curse, they lash out in Hellish Eruption. All Eruptions last for a Scene, the Infernal’s devil body mode forcefully activating for the duration. The Infernal may choose how to pay for devil body mode activation as normal.
Throne Toppling Mood: The Infernal refuses to submit to any authority or demands for obedience. They oppose and destroy rulers and states through the most efficacious means available. Throne Toppling Mood ends if the Infernal’s efforts result in serious damage to their long-term goals.
Shrine Scorning Tirade: The idea of veneration itself offends the Infernal, both in the abstract and the specific. They act out against public displays of piety, disrupt any organized religion and harangue or even assault available religious figures. Priests and gods receive the brunt of their abuse if present, but failing that, the Infernal will happily desecrate relics, vandalize shrines, and otherwise lay waste to the trappings and architecture of faith. Shrine Scoring Tirade ends prematurely if the Infernal’s actions result in a character who the Infernal has a positive Intimacy towards to reject the Exalt.
Heaven Challenging Thunder: The Infernal demonstrates their supernatural power over the world, employing whatever the most obvious and impressive powers they possess to overawe those in their presence. Anything they do will be accomplished with mystical power, if at all possible: doors will be blown open by bolts of essence, crowds will be dispersed by dread magics, messages will be delivered by carving the earth with summoned demons. Heaven Challenging Thunder ends prematurely if the Infernal’s efforts cause major setbacks for their immediate plans.
Luxurious Hoarding Tendency: What is, is theirs. The Infernal desires and attempts to acquire anything of particular value or desirable quality in their presence, and then seek out more. Treasures they consider priceless and worth killing for one moment are discarded as mere baubles the next, their insatiable avarice always driving them on to the next prize. Luxurious Hoarding Tendency ends prematurely if the Infernal suffers injury due to their greedy efforts.
Tyrannous Hell Presence: That mortals and lesser beings would not join the Infernal’s cause is unthinkable. They attempt to coerce, suborn, or otherwise demand support, patronage, or serviceof mortals and lesser supernatural creatures, resorting to violence in the case of serious opposition. Receiving compliance, the Infernal becomes determined to put their allies and subjects to use, devising taxing and strenuous tasks for their new allies and minions. Tyrannous Hell Presence ends prematurely if the Infernal is bested by those they are attempting to subjugate.
[ +- ] Liminals
The Liminal’s Curse inexorably entwines with their unnatural creation. No matter whether they adore, despise, or ignore their creators or subsequent anchors, the Dark Mother’s chosen cannot deny the strong pull these living lodestones have on their passions. Similarly, their fraught relationship with the living masses of Creation can also threaten to rise the Curse, as the Liminal Exalted attempt to navigate the boundaries of life and death.
All Liminals possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• The Liminal fails to intervene when the life or welfare of their creator or bonded anchor is threatened.
• Mortals reject the Liminal due to their unnatural nature and gross construction.
When a Liminal succumbs to the Great Curse, they become possessed by Undying Horror. Perhaps because of their unique natures, the curse quickly abates. Once instigated, Horrors don’t have a set duration. Liminals are potentially able to return to normal within the events of a single scene, often after companions or local mortals turn against them.
Raging Blood: The Liminal’s future desires and passions ride them ragged and bloody. The Liminal will abandon a hunt or present concerns in favor of future ambitions, grandiose plans, and far off goals even if they only exist in flights of fancy or as theoretical constructs. Objections from their friends, mortal law, or threats of physical violence will not stop them as they pursue their goals, inhumanity on full display.
Choking Contrition: Stopping at nothing to make up for past misdeeds, the Liminal atones to the living and the dead who have suffered due to the Exalt’s actions or inactions. Their attempts to assuage mortals who the Liminal believes they have failed will take grotesquely overbearing form, as the undying Exalt utilizes their supernatural abilities to solve prosaic problems in mortal
life.
Wounded Soul: Every source of irritation, emotional harm, or physical comfort becomes intolerable for the Liminal. They lash out disproportionately at whatever torments them, unrestrained strength deployed against biting flies or snide nobility alike.
Bone-Deep Musings: Every incidental detail and mundane diversion catches the Liminal’s attention. They abandon any manner of focus or haste in favor of pursuing investigations into sensation and common phenomena, their alien nature readily apparent as they are transfixed by water droplets, piglets eating, or the patterns their own blood makes on the ground.
Smothering Despair: The Liminal descends into bleak emotional depths, regret for their past deeds and failures overwhelming them. They will resist all attempts to rouse them to action, even in the face of danger or personal suffering, and will openly display their unliving nature as an action of horrifying self-loathing.
All Liminals possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• The Liminal fails to intervene when the life or welfare of their creator or bonded anchor is threatened.
• Mortals reject the Liminal due to their unnatural nature and gross construction.
When a Liminal succumbs to the Great Curse, they become possessed by Undying Horror. Perhaps because of their unique natures, the curse quickly abates. Once instigated, Horrors don’t have a set duration. Liminals are potentially able to return to normal within the events of a single scene, often after companions or local mortals turn against them.
Raging Blood: The Liminal’s future desires and passions ride them ragged and bloody. The Liminal will abandon a hunt or present concerns in favor of future ambitions, grandiose plans, and far off goals even if they only exist in flights of fancy or as theoretical constructs. Objections from their friends, mortal law, or threats of physical violence will not stop them as they pursue their goals, inhumanity on full display.
Choking Contrition: Stopping at nothing to make up for past misdeeds, the Liminal atones to the living and the dead who have suffered due to the Exalt’s actions or inactions. Their attempts to assuage mortals who the Liminal believes they have failed will take grotesquely overbearing form, as the undying Exalt utilizes their supernatural abilities to solve prosaic problems in mortal
life.
Wounded Soul: Every source of irritation, emotional harm, or physical comfort becomes intolerable for the Liminal. They lash out disproportionately at whatever torments them, unrestrained strength deployed against biting flies or snide nobility alike.
Bone-Deep Musings: Every incidental detail and mundane diversion catches the Liminal’s attention. They abandon any manner of focus or haste in favor of pursuing investigations into sensation and common phenomena, their alien nature readily apparent as they are transfixed by water droplets, piglets eating, or the patterns their own blood makes on the ground.
Smothering Despair: The Liminal descends into bleak emotional depths, regret for their past deeds and failures overwhelming them. They will resist all attempts to rouse them to action, even in the face of danger or personal suffering, and will openly display their unliving nature as an action of horrifying self-loathing.
[ +- ] Lunars
The Great Curse calls to monstrosity in the hearts of Luna’s Chosen. When emotions run high, Lunars run the risk of giving in to urges which amplify and distort the Lunar’s Exalted nature.
All Lunars possess the following condition for inciting the Great Curse
• They experience strong anger they are unable to express or address.
All Lunars possesses an additional condition which may incite the Great Curse, relating to frustrating, stressful, or traumatic situations the Lunar may find themselves in. Lunar inciting conditions often relate to rage and anger, existing as either as its cause or its effect.
Players of Lunar characters should pick one of the following or create their own:
• The Lunar loses something or someone valuable to them.
• The Lunar is deliberately insulted or mocked.
• The Lunar sees victory and success stymied at the last moment.
• A peer or mentor humiliates or rejects the Lunar.
• An adversary causes the Lunar to endure suffering and deprivation.
• Others ignore the Lunar’s wisdom and good advice.
• The Lunar’s virtue is taken advantage of by the iniquitous.
When the Lunar succumbs to the Great Curse, their Monstrous Urge manifests. The worst elements of the Lunar’s personality swell, waxing as their suppressed anger and frustration pour forth in a torrent of driven awful behavior.
Bellowing Tyrant Proclamation (Session): All must know the Lunar’s majesty and might! Those who do not acknowledge the Lunar’s primacy must be put in their place, whether through barbed insults, blatant displays of superiority, or some other means of making the offender submit. Bellowing Tyrant Proclamation ends prematurely if the Lunar suffers a serious setback or meaningful defeat through attempting to provide their obvious quality.
Enraged Behemoth Rampage (Scene): The Lunar’s rage provides the solutions for all problems. If anything stands in the Lunar’s way? Smash it. If anything disturbs the Lunar’s senses? Destroy it. Only people or things to which the Lunar has positive Intimacies escape their wrath, and the Lunar will even try to overawe them into compliance with the Lunar’s ire. Enraged Behemoth Rampage ends prematurely if the Lunar’s behavior causes a character who the Lunar has a positive Intimacy towards to reject the Lunar.
Laughing Devil Spirit (Session): A trickster-sage dispensing lessons to the unwary and the unwilling; that’s what the world needs! The Lunar provides such a service by subjecting Storyteller characters to what the Lunar sees as instructive disruption, causing problems and chaos that will surely teach lessons to their victims. The Lunar targets the powerful and established with these efforts first; who better to receive such useful instruction? Laughing Devil Spirit ends prematurely if the Lunar’s efforts create a major obstacle for them or their entire circle.
World-Ways Scurrying (Scene): The places nearby that the Lunar does not know intimately become intolerable to the Exalt. They will investigate every secluded or hidden space, infiltrate secured compounds and explore cracked foundations to the exclusion of all else. The Lunar will attempt to disengage for anyone trying to waylay or slow them; they have more important business in the unseen places of the world. World-Ways Scurrying ends prematurely if the Lunar’s investigations cause physical harm to befall them or something they have a positive Intimacy towards.
Lair Dwelling Beast Frenzy (Session): There can be no safety without ownership, no ownership without safety. The Lunar secures a nearby place against enemies and threats, attempting to cajole allies and loved ones into staying inside boundaries the Lunar considers theirs, while building defenses and sealing off entrances. That others may consider the territory theirs is of little concern to the Exalt; the den must be claimed and protected! Lair Dwelling Beast Frenzy ends prematurely if the Lunar or someone they are trying to keep safe is physically injured in the process of trying to secure the lair.
All Lunars possess the following condition for inciting the Great Curse
• They experience strong anger they are unable to express or address.
All Lunars possesses an additional condition which may incite the Great Curse, relating to frustrating, stressful, or traumatic situations the Lunar may find themselves in. Lunar inciting conditions often relate to rage and anger, existing as either as its cause or its effect.
Players of Lunar characters should pick one of the following or create their own:
• The Lunar loses something or someone valuable to them.
• The Lunar is deliberately insulted or mocked.
• The Lunar sees victory and success stymied at the last moment.
• A peer or mentor humiliates or rejects the Lunar.
• An adversary causes the Lunar to endure suffering and deprivation.
• Others ignore the Lunar’s wisdom and good advice.
• The Lunar’s virtue is taken advantage of by the iniquitous.
When the Lunar succumbs to the Great Curse, their Monstrous Urge manifests. The worst elements of the Lunar’s personality swell, waxing as their suppressed anger and frustration pour forth in a torrent of driven awful behavior.
Bellowing Tyrant Proclamation (Session): All must know the Lunar’s majesty and might! Those who do not acknowledge the Lunar’s primacy must be put in their place, whether through barbed insults, blatant displays of superiority, or some other means of making the offender submit. Bellowing Tyrant Proclamation ends prematurely if the Lunar suffers a serious setback or meaningful defeat through attempting to provide their obvious quality.
Enraged Behemoth Rampage (Scene): The Lunar’s rage provides the solutions for all problems. If anything stands in the Lunar’s way? Smash it. If anything disturbs the Lunar’s senses? Destroy it. Only people or things to which the Lunar has positive Intimacies escape their wrath, and the Lunar will even try to overawe them into compliance with the Lunar’s ire. Enraged Behemoth Rampage ends prematurely if the Lunar’s behavior causes a character who the Lunar has a positive Intimacy towards to reject the Lunar.
Laughing Devil Spirit (Session): A trickster-sage dispensing lessons to the unwary and the unwilling; that’s what the world needs! The Lunar provides such a service by subjecting Storyteller characters to what the Lunar sees as instructive disruption, causing problems and chaos that will surely teach lessons to their victims. The Lunar targets the powerful and established with these efforts first; who better to receive such useful instruction? Laughing Devil Spirit ends prematurely if the Lunar’s efforts create a major obstacle for them or their entire circle.
World-Ways Scurrying (Scene): The places nearby that the Lunar does not know intimately become intolerable to the Exalt. They will investigate every secluded or hidden space, infiltrate secured compounds and explore cracked foundations to the exclusion of all else. The Lunar will attempt to disengage for anyone trying to waylay or slow them; they have more important business in the unseen places of the world. World-Ways Scurrying ends prematurely if the Lunar’s investigations cause physical harm to befall them or something they have a positive Intimacy towards.
Lair Dwelling Beast Frenzy (Session): There can be no safety without ownership, no ownership without safety. The Lunar secures a nearby place against enemies and threats, attempting to cajole allies and loved ones into staying inside boundaries the Lunar considers theirs, while building defenses and sealing off entrances. That others may consider the territory theirs is of little concern to the Exalt; the den must be claimed and protected! Lair Dwelling Beast Frenzy ends prematurely if the Lunar or someone they are trying to keep safe is physically injured in the process of trying to secure the lair.
[ +- ] Sidereals
The Chosen of the Maidens enmesh themselves deeply in the web of fate, and the Great Curse follows. The Sidereal’s connections to other members of their rare fellowship and to their closely held confidants alike can become twisted and perverted by the Curse’s influence. With the Great Curse ascendant, feelings of comradery and intimacy turn into dangerously rampant distortions of the Sidereal’s true intentions.
All Sidereals possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• When serious difference of opinion or suggested course of action strains the Sidereal’s relationship with another Chosen of the Maidens
• When a non-Sidereal who the Sidereal has positive Intimacies towards is exposed to danger or emotional strife.
When a Sidereal succumbs to the Great Curse, a Dolorous Portent affects them, usually centering on the Sidereal’s relationship to their peers and confidants. All Dolorous Portents end prematurely if the Sidereal’s behavior causes an Intimacy to weaken or a negative Intimacy to form.
Sign of Separation (Session): The present circumstances presage disaster and calamity. The Sidereal knows that unless they swiftly vacate the current course of action, point of view, or even physical location, the consequences will be dire. They will try to convince everyone of the importance of deserting the situation, no matter how inappropriate or inopportune the behavior, and potentially resort to coercion or duress to try and force their companions to the Sidereal in their flight.
Placid Tidings (Session): Whatever the pressing issue, threat, or argument, the Sidereal knows that it’s the disruption it’s causing that’s the real problem. The Exalt becomes convinced that as long as they can prevent anyone from doing anything rash, drastic, or hasty, everything will be just fine. Decorum, proper procedure, and agreed upon form become the Sidereal’s primary concerns, along with ensuring their companions behave properly. The Sidereal will prioritize preventing disruptive and uncouth behavior through subtle interference or forceful suasion even in the face of evidence that such an approach is ineffective or counterproductive.
The Breaking Hour (Scene): There is a threat, a concern, an enemy: these things are targets. The Sidereal knows that it is the moment to strike, to break the foe or dispute or issue through immediate force, and that their allies and loved ones must help guide the strike. Hesitation isdeath; inaction is anathema. If the Sidereal’s friends will not act, the Sidereal will do their best to make them act, going to extreme measures if necessary.
Omen of Occlusion (Scene): Strife, suffering, and difficulty spread like the Contagion from the knowledge of their presence; so it’s best to quarantine it. The Sidereal is utterly convinced that her friends and allies already know too much for their own good; strict information security and secrecy are what’s required. Distorting the truth, hiding facts and evidence about the source of harm, and outright fabrication are all just different ways for the Sidereal to protect those closest to them.
Annihilation’s Augury (Session): The current problem, issue, and enemy are symptoms of a greater problem. There is always another threat waiting in the wings, or another mover providing the impetus for the current disaster. The Sidereal knows this, and the importance of ignoring the transient problem in front of them in favor of dispatching the true problem on the horizon. If their comrades insist on addressing the paltry immediate concern, the Sidereal will either have to lead them after the true threat, or take matters into their own hands.
All Sidereals possess additional conditions which may incite the Great Curse:
• When serious difference of opinion or suggested course of action strains the Sidereal’s relationship with another Chosen of the Maidens
• When a non-Sidereal who the Sidereal has positive Intimacies towards is exposed to danger or emotional strife.
When a Sidereal succumbs to the Great Curse, a Dolorous Portent affects them, usually centering on the Sidereal’s relationship to their peers and confidants. All Dolorous Portents end prematurely if the Sidereal’s behavior causes an Intimacy to weaken or a negative Intimacy to form.
Sign of Separation (Session): The present circumstances presage disaster and calamity. The Sidereal knows that unless they swiftly vacate the current course of action, point of view, or even physical location, the consequences will be dire. They will try to convince everyone of the importance of deserting the situation, no matter how inappropriate or inopportune the behavior, and potentially resort to coercion or duress to try and force their companions to the Sidereal in their flight.
Placid Tidings (Session): Whatever the pressing issue, threat, or argument, the Sidereal knows that it’s the disruption it’s causing that’s the real problem. The Exalt becomes convinced that as long as they can prevent anyone from doing anything rash, drastic, or hasty, everything will be just fine. Decorum, proper procedure, and agreed upon form become the Sidereal’s primary concerns, along with ensuring their companions behave properly. The Sidereal will prioritize preventing disruptive and uncouth behavior through subtle interference or forceful suasion even in the face of evidence that such an approach is ineffective or counterproductive.
The Breaking Hour (Scene): There is a threat, a concern, an enemy: these things are targets. The Sidereal knows that it is the moment to strike, to break the foe or dispute or issue through immediate force, and that their allies and loved ones must help guide the strike. Hesitation isdeath; inaction is anathema. If the Sidereal’s friends will not act, the Sidereal will do their best to make them act, going to extreme measures if necessary.
Omen of Occlusion (Scene): Strife, suffering, and difficulty spread like the Contagion from the knowledge of their presence; so it’s best to quarantine it. The Sidereal is utterly convinced that her friends and allies already know too much for their own good; strict information security and secrecy are what’s required. Distorting the truth, hiding facts and evidence about the source of harm, and outright fabrication are all just different ways for the Sidereal to protect those closest to them.
Annihilation’s Augury (Session): The current problem, issue, and enemy are symptoms of a greater problem. There is always another threat waiting in the wings, or another mover providing the impetus for the current disaster. The Sidereal knows this, and the importance of ignoring the transient problem in front of them in favor of dispatching the true problem on the horizon. If their comrades insist on addressing the paltry immediate concern, the Sidereal will either have to lead them after the true threat, or take matters into their own hands.
[ +- ] Solars
The Sun’s Chosen unknowingly shoulder the heaviest portion of the Great Curse. When their passions become inflamed, their principles challenged, or they reach emotional extremes, the Curse threatens to rise up and cast a great and destructive shadow across all their actions.
All Solar Exalted possess the additional condition for inciting the Great Curse:
• A Solar Exalt acts against a Minor Virtue.
Each Solar also possesses an additional, personal condition which may incite the Great Curse, relating to frustrating, stressful, or traumatic situations in which the Solar may find themself. Players should determine what their individual characters treat as an additional inciting condition, either by choosing one from the following list, or by working with the Storyteller to make one that makes sense for their character:
• The Solar endures serious insults or disparagement by another character.
• The Solar engages in deceitful or treacherous behavior, or circumstances and companions attempt to push the Solar towards such acts.
• The Solar encounters the needy and suffering, but events and circumstances conspire to prevent the Solar from helping.
• Allies or companions refuse the Solar’s advice or leadership and suffer for it.
• The Solar’s mistakes present themselves in unavoidable fashion.
• The Solar’s companions overindulge in vice and personal gratification despite the Solar’s best efforts.
• The Solar’s companions prevent the Solar from engaging in their preferred vices.
When Solars succumb to the Great Curse, their Virtue Flaw manifests. These cause the Solars to become a source of harm for themselves or others, as the Great Curse amplifies and twists their personalities in the moment.
All-Consuming Grief (Scene): The Solar obsesses over death and injury, to their companions, themselves, and all of Creation. They breathe only to mourn, seeking solitude away from others, and ignoring the outside world when they are forced to endure company. All-Consuming Grief ends prematurely if the Solar is attacked, or if someone they have a Major intimacy to is
seriously injured or incapacitated.
Berserk Anger (Scene): The Solar becomes a ceaseless engine of violence. The strike out at anyone in reach, starting with enemies and attackers, but assailing bystanders and rampaging through noncombatants when there are no more foes to slay. They can spare those they have intimacies towards in their frenzy, unless those companions raise weapons or opposition to the Solar’s rampage. Berserk Anger ends prematurely if there are no potential victims left, or if the Solar incapacitates someone they have an Intimacy to.
Contempt of the Virtuous (Session): The Solar embodies moral certitude, and woe to anyone who falls short of their expectations. The Solar will admonish and correct those who overindulge, lie, or otherwise fall short of the Solar’s moral expectations with all angry condemnation. Should the Solar’s instructions be dismissed or belittled, they may use force. Contempt of the Virtuous ends prematurely if the Solar is provided with reason to doubt the righteousness of their own actions.
Seething Genius (Session): The Solar stops at nothing to work on their long-term projects and aspirations, whether magical constructions or societal revolutions. They abandon immediate concerns and joint efforts in favor of their individual interests and bespoke masterpieces, no matter how impractical or far from completion those efforts are. Allies who object to their conduct will be ignored or actively belittled. Seething Genius ends prematurely if immediate or short-term problems damage the Solar’s long-term efforts.
Imperfection’s Scourge (Session): The Solar becomes convinced that their previous works are fatally flawed: Their treaties will lead to war, their magical workings will bring calamity, and their cooking will poison their families. The Solar works ceaselessly to tear undo their past efforts, seeking to destroy what they can and seal away things too durable to break. Imperfection’s Scourge ends if the Solar’s disassembly leads to provably worse results or others’ suffering.
All Solar Exalted possess the additional condition for inciting the Great Curse:
• A Solar Exalt acts against a Minor Virtue.
Each Solar also possesses an additional, personal condition which may incite the Great Curse, relating to frustrating, stressful, or traumatic situations in which the Solar may find themself. Players should determine what their individual characters treat as an additional inciting condition, either by choosing one from the following list, or by working with the Storyteller to make one that makes sense for their character:
• The Solar endures serious insults or disparagement by another character.
• The Solar engages in deceitful or treacherous behavior, or circumstances and companions attempt to push the Solar towards such acts.
• The Solar encounters the needy and suffering, but events and circumstances conspire to prevent the Solar from helping.
• Allies or companions refuse the Solar’s advice or leadership and suffer for it.
• The Solar’s mistakes present themselves in unavoidable fashion.
• The Solar’s companions overindulge in vice and personal gratification despite the Solar’s best efforts.
• The Solar’s companions prevent the Solar from engaging in their preferred vices.
When Solars succumb to the Great Curse, their Virtue Flaw manifests. These cause the Solars to become a source of harm for themselves or others, as the Great Curse amplifies and twists their personalities in the moment.
All-Consuming Grief (Scene): The Solar obsesses over death and injury, to their companions, themselves, and all of Creation. They breathe only to mourn, seeking solitude away from others, and ignoring the outside world when they are forced to endure company. All-Consuming Grief ends prematurely if the Solar is attacked, or if someone they have a Major intimacy to is
seriously injured or incapacitated.
Berserk Anger (Scene): The Solar becomes a ceaseless engine of violence. The strike out at anyone in reach, starting with enemies and attackers, but assailing bystanders and rampaging through noncombatants when there are no more foes to slay. They can spare those they have intimacies towards in their frenzy, unless those companions raise weapons or opposition to the Solar’s rampage. Berserk Anger ends prematurely if there are no potential victims left, or if the Solar incapacitates someone they have an Intimacy to.
Contempt of the Virtuous (Session): The Solar embodies moral certitude, and woe to anyone who falls short of their expectations. The Solar will admonish and correct those who overindulge, lie, or otherwise fall short of the Solar’s moral expectations with all angry condemnation. Should the Solar’s instructions be dismissed or belittled, they may use force. Contempt of the Virtuous ends prematurely if the Solar is provided with reason to doubt the righteousness of their own actions.
Seething Genius (Session): The Solar stops at nothing to work on their long-term projects and aspirations, whether magical constructions or societal revolutions. They abandon immediate concerns and joint efforts in favor of their individual interests and bespoke masterpieces, no matter how impractical or far from completion those efforts are. Allies who object to their conduct will be ignored or actively belittled. Seething Genius ends prematurely if immediate or short-term problems damage the Solar’s long-term efforts.
Imperfection’s Scourge (Session): The Solar becomes convinced that their previous works are fatally flawed: Their treaties will lead to war, their magical workings will bring calamity, and their cooking will poison their families. The Solar works ceaselessly to tear undo their past efforts, seeking to destroy what they can and seal away things too durable to break. Imperfection’s Scourge ends if the Solar’s disassembly leads to provably worse results or others’ suffering.