Parne: Revolutionary City [Learn to Play Exalted 3E]

Creating your character

NOTE: This is, by design, an intentionally Political/Realm Building Game. There will be opportunities for Combat and Exploration, but that is not the Focus of this game. Design your characters appropriately. We will create characters by the rules in Exalted 3E (Starting on P. 120) during Session 0. Character Creation will be done as a group, though players are encouraged to pick their names and refine their concepts in advance. Players who join after Session 0 will create their characters as part of the First Session they join the game. All Exalts will begin as base-level, Essence 1 Characters of their Exalt Type. There will be some custom rules modifications to Character Creation to reflect the fact that most Player Characters were Enslaved before the Game began - for example, most Characters will not have Resources or Artifact, or be able to read and write. I will clearly explain all such modifications during Character Creation. There are multiple types of Exalts allowed in this game, and those who wish to play Non-Solar Exalts should refer to the appropriate book for Character Creation Rules (I.E., if you're making a Dragon-Blooded, you will need to refer to "Dragon-Blooded: What Fire Has Wrought" for how Character Creation is modified for making Dragon-Blooded): I will allow multiple Exalts of the Following Types: Solars, Lunars, Dragon-Blooded. I will allow ONLY ONE of each of the following Exalt Types, on a First-Come, First Served Basis (I.E., the first person to turn in their Pre-Game Survey Requesting to Play that Exalt Type gets to play it, and no one else does until/unless that character dies or the player leaves the game): Sidereals (Rogue OR Gold Faction ONLY), Abyssals (Rogue DeathKnights ONLY), Infernals (Disloyal Servants of Malfeas ONLY), Exigents (And YOU will be doing most of the Charm Design if you pick this one) Characters will be expected to be loyal to the Circle and the City they Govern as a baseline rule. Overt PVP is discouraged, and repeat offenses will result in your In-Character Explusion from the Council and your Out-Of-Character being asked to leave the game. We are going to be doing a LOT of politicking, so playing nicely with others is a requirement, not a suggestion. (NOTE: This doesn't mean outside forces won't try to make you disloyal, but it does mean you should find an in-character reason to resist that influence.) That said, the characters will have to learn to debate, argue, persuade, and disagree respectfully, because the Player Characters collectively will form the Ruling Council of Parne, and will have to work together to govern it. You don't always have to get along, but you should generally be able to work together respectfully. Each character should take Intimacies towards Parne (the City), Talia the Liberator (the Circle's Leader), and the Council itself. What flavor those intimacies have is up to you.

Preparing for the session

First, you will need to message me here with your best email (Ideally, the one linked to your Forge/Foundry Account) & your Discord Handle. (Telling me who you are and that you're interested in joining this game specifically helps too!) I will then send you the Pre-Game Survey. Completing the Pre-Game Survey is MANDATORY before your application to join the game will be approved, because the Pre-Game Survey is necessary for me to deploy certain Safety Tools (particularly Lines & Veils). I do try to make the Pre-Game Survey a fun experience, and we will also use it to start refining your Character Concept. Once I have your completed Pre-Game Survey, I will contact you, most likely via Discord, to arrange a brief voice call (about 15 minutes) to discuss the Survey and your Character Concept. I will tell you about the current party composition (After Session 0) and we will get you an invite to join the Discord Server I use to coordinate between games at the conclusion of the call. It is at this point, after the Pre-Game Survey & The Pre-Game Interview, that I will approve your application to join the Game and send you the Foundry Invite. You should download the Zoom Client (you do not need a paid account - Mine covers us all) and Sign up on Forge if you haven't already. I use Forge to Manage the Foundry VTT I use to run my games. Many of my Players find Lot-Casting Atemi to be helpful for Character Management, and I will create a Campaign in it, but I must note that this is OPTIONAL, not required. You are also not required to purchase/use physical dice, but I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE that you do so. A lot of the feeling of EPIC POWER that comes from Exalted is when you are rolling the LITERAL FISTFULS OF DICE that form your Epic Dice Pools. So I encourage you to roll your own physical dice, and I trust you to report the results accurately. I will never deny my players the choice of using a Dice Roller App, though, or using the VTT to do it. I do not Require a Webcam, but I strongly encourage it, to the point where I will literally credit you a session's worth of play so you can spend that money acquiring one to use for this game (The one I use cost $20 - they're really not that expensive). I really benefit from seeing my players' smiling faces, so please, please, please be "On Camera" with me. I get lonely just hearing your voices without seeing your faces. You will be invited to join my Discord Server. This is required, because that is where I coordinate the games and run blue-booking actions between games. This is NOT a Play-By-Post game, but I expect there will be A LOT of Between-Game Politicking/Planning/Intrigue that will all happen on the Discord Server. So be there or be square. If you want to do some out of game research, read up on Historical Revolutions with an emphasis on what happened AFTER the Revolution overthrew the oppressive government. You could become America . . . or revolutionary France . . . The choice is yours!

What Overlord Jim brings to the table

I have been a passionate Fan of Exalted since First Edition, and I have been playing it almost since it first came out. It is one of the most awesome fantasy worlds I have ever seen - and I've read a whole lot of fantasy books to know - and it is just one of the most fun games I have ever played. When asked "What's your favorite game?", I always, emphatically, and without hesitation declare "EXALTED!" I fell deeply in love with Creation in all its broken, flawed, Post-Apocalyptic Glory, and it is a love I am eager to share with you. I think once you get to know this world, you will never look at any other the same way again. As a GM, I am a big believer in the Rule of Cool, which I've been using since long before it got its name. While in my Learn to Plays, I tend to stick closer to Rules as Written, I have never met a Rule I won't bend to allow a Player's Cool Idea a chance to succeed. The Stunting System in Exalted is 100% Rule of Cool, so it's baked right into the system mechanics. Come up with a crazy idea, tell me how you're going to do it, and do it - Describe it well, and I'll give you bonus Dice/Successes/Willpower to help you do the crazy thing you're going to do and help it succeed. I am your character's biggest fan from the moment I meet them. I want your characters to be Big Damn Heroes, and everything I do behind this screen is to help you do that. My Villains will be terrible, so that your confronting them can be glorious. My worlds will be full of evils both grand and banal, so you always have something going wrong you can make right. I want you to become Heroes with a Capital "H", and I will cheer on your characters every step of the way. I have a confession to make: I love combat. I am a relentless action junkie who loves nothing more than throwing your precious characters to the wolves - figuratively and literally! My monsters howl for your blood and will gnaw on your bones if you don't fight smart and watch each other's backs. This game may not see combat as much as most of my games do, but when you do see it, it will be EPIC. Exalted is known for its Wuxia Inspired Cinematic Action scenes. Though this is a City-Based Game, I will give you the chance to do some exploring, as it is one of my very favorite things to see in a game, taking you somewhere no one has ever seen so you can have that *Moment of Discovery*. There is always Terra Incognita, even in a world as well explored as Creation - you just have to know where to find it. My favorite part of all, though, is the roleplaying. I live for that moment when I watch you become the character, speaking their words, affecting their mannerisms, and making choices that ring true for the Character above all. This game is going to be INTENSE is far as RP is concerned, and I'm here for it. I invite you to a deep immersion with your character, and can't wait to see you become them. I look forward to meeting you and your Chosen!

Homebrew rules

I freely mix Lore from all three Editions. Be aware of that. My Creation Will Vary. (See: Greg Stafford, Glorantha, and YGMV/YGWV) I will remind you that you can stunt every roll, in or out of combat, and you should be trying to stunt every roll. Essence Regeneration in Combat starts the Round AFTER 2 or More Exalts have spent Essence in the fight. It is not immediate - you have to quicken the power of Creation by spending your Essence first before it flows back to you. Training Time rules will be enforced, and Time spent Training takes away from time you spend doing things in character. Time spent using the skills in play does count towards training time, however. Experience to Increase Essence is applied not iteratively, but cumulatively. So once you gain enough XP to reach Essence 2 (50), you will need 175 total experience (125 MORE than it took to get to Essence 2) to reach Essence 3, and so on for higher levels. The chart will be posted on my server.

How Overlord Jim creates a safe table

I run all my games and my server as a safe space for everyone, and both are explicitly and aggressively inclusive. I don't care who you are, you are welcome at my table if you can follow the game's rules and play nice with others. Pronouns and identities are to be respected, BUT we also do not take offense when people make honest mistakes trying to honor them. (I guarantee I will flub your pronouns at least once, but will always try to self-correct when I do) I WILL NOT tolerate people deliberately and intentionally making my clients - who often become my friends - feel unsafe and uncomfortable. This is the expected baseline for everyone in my games and on my server. You WILL be asked to leave the game and the server for deliberate offenses against the other players. [99.9% of you didn't need that warning because you are a decent human being. I've never actually had to eject anyone, and hope never to have to, ever, but I have to be clear, I will do just that if you put me in that position. (Please don't make me do that, I want everyone to join the fun.)] I use a Pre-Game Survey to implement Lines & Veils. Once compiled, the Lines & Veils document will be posted on the Discord Server and reviewed as necessary, such as when new players join and their Lines & Veils are added. We will discuss them in Session 0. We use the X, N, and O Cards, and you can use them visually or submit X N & O Cards by PM, but the visual usually gets my attention faster. It is my usual practice to do a mid-game break, and we can do breaks as needed after intense scenes. I encourage high quality roleplaying and thus am prepared to deal with Bleed as it occurs. I often forget to do my Stars & Wishes, so please remind me so I get better about that. I am always open to constructive criticism, it's how I improve as a GM, and I'm always trying to run a better game than the last one. As you can see from the rather extensive set of warnings, this game can have a lot of dark spots - for example, many PCs will have been an Enslaved Person who was a Victim of Human Trafficking before the Game began. The World of Creation has a lot of evils both grand and banal to be confronted by the righteous, and there's a lot of ugly, mean, and all-too-human darkness in the Age of Sorrows. However, the Darkness in the game is there for a purpose: to make your Light Shine all the Brighter. Any and All Evil that exists in my game worlds is there to be confronted by Heroes like you. Find the Evil Cultists and stop their terrible plans. Confront the Demons some careless sorcerer unleashed and banish them back to Malfeas. Defeat the Enemy Army and save your city from total destruction. Evil exists to be defeated by Heroes. Be the Heroes.