Exalted: Arc of Justice
The Sultanate of Tharwa is an ancient land of vast wealth and pious people. The mountains are laced with bountiful veins of iron and precious metals. Her forests are lush and filled with game. The soil itself is blessed by the Gods, producing wines and dried fruit that attract merchants from as far away as Port Calin. The altars of the Gods are kept heavy with offerings, as the best of each harvest is tithed to them in praise by castes of priests who have tended the temples since the First Age of Man. In piety the land knew peace and plenty, but such good fortune could not last. That was until Sesus Rafala became satrap.
A nation as wealthy as Tharwa could not avoid the attentions of the outside world. When the Empress disgorged her legions upon the Threshold the Princes of Tharwa bent their knee in supplication, offering tribute to the Scarlet Throne in exchange for peace and protection. A satrap, an "adviser" to the Princes, was dispatched to ensure that the yearly tribute was always on time and inflict the wrath of the Scarlet Empress if homage was light or late. Despite the occasional abuse by a rapacious satrap the Sultanate ran its affairs with little disruption, with the Empire quickly removing its incompetent overseers. This state of affairs, the trade of treasure for peace, appeared as if it would last forever as the Scarlet Empress appeared immortal with her reign quickly nearing its eighth century. Nothing lasts forever in the blighted Second Age of Man, as hope is fleeting and darkness lurks behind every corner. As one day the Scarlet Empress disappeared, vanishing during the Calibration Festival that banishes bad luck and heralds in a new year.
At first her servants dutifully awaited her return, as every now and then she would escape to steal private moments with a lover, or attend some mystic ritual which renewed her occult powers. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years as slow dread into the mind of every citizen. The Empress, Savior of Creation, Ruler of the Blessed Isle, Mother of 10,000 Dragons, would not return to the Realm forged in her image. The people despaired while the ambitious pounced, capitalizing on her absence to grab hold of every source of wealth and power.
With the Empress gone so was the only check on the satrap’s power, and the land suffered to sate his greed. His troops stormed into the temples, upturning altars and unsealing vaults. Searching for any treasures or relics of the First Age. The priests resisted the desecration of their sacred spaces, fighting with word and sword to rally the people to rebel and cast off the yoke of tyrants. The satrap's genius and cruelty knew no bounds as his suppression was swift and brutal. The priests were cut down to the last man, with their bodies strung up on the trees that line the roads into every town as a reminder of the price of rebellion. Their temples now lie in ruin.
The Gods have stopped answering prayers, and their blessings fade from the world leaving only dry cracked earth and skies devoid of clouds. A pliable puppet now sits upon the throne of Tharwa, replacing his cousin now in exile, as the satrap continues to plunder the land. A few whisper in the depths of night that the Sultana is still here, leading the rebellion from the shadows to restore the sultanate to its glory. Be it fact or fables told merely to assuage the conscious of desperate men a few rebels cling to the story and continue the fight against injustice. Searching for heroes to join their ranks and fight to liberate their lands.
There prayers may have been answered, or their fates sealed, as the God-Kings of the Solar Host awake from their slumber. They return to a world much changed in the 2,000 years of their absence, rife with poverty, slavery, war, and hunger. Their essence burns in their veins, calling them forth to set the world aright with their twin mandates of justice and perfection. By their hand shall a new age be forged.
Mechanics / House Rules
The following XP Cost table will be used instead of the book one:
Attribute 8xp
Favored Ability 3xp
Unfavored Ability 4xp
Specialty 2xp
Merits 3xp per dot
Willpower 6xp
Favored Charm 8xp
Unfavored Charm 10xp
Evocation 8xp
The XP thresholds for levels of essence will be:
Essence 2: 50xp
Essence 3: 125xp
Essence 4: 200xp
Essence 5: 300xp
Initiation into a new circle of Sorcery REQUIRES a trainer or other source of instruction
(including texts). Terrestrial Circle Sorcery is the exception, but requires extensive personal
training time of at least a year.
If you take a Summoning spell as your Control, all beings summonable with that spell gain a
minor intimacy of fear, respect, trust, etc. (as appropriate for your actions and their character)
towards you.
Withering and Decisive attacks may use Strength in place of Dexterity for the purposes of
accuracy. This applies to any charms or maneuvers that make an attack as well.
A nation as wealthy as Tharwa could not avoid the attentions of the outside world. When the Empress disgorged her legions upon the Threshold the Princes of Tharwa bent their knee in supplication, offering tribute to the Scarlet Throne in exchange for peace and protection. A satrap, an "adviser" to the Princes, was dispatched to ensure that the yearly tribute was always on time and inflict the wrath of the Scarlet Empress if homage was light or late. Despite the occasional abuse by a rapacious satrap the Sultanate ran its affairs with little disruption, with the Empire quickly removing its incompetent overseers. This state of affairs, the trade of treasure for peace, appeared as if it would last forever as the Scarlet Empress appeared immortal with her reign quickly nearing its eighth century. Nothing lasts forever in the blighted Second Age of Man, as hope is fleeting and darkness lurks behind every corner. As one day the Scarlet Empress disappeared, vanishing during the Calibration Festival that banishes bad luck and heralds in a new year.
At first her servants dutifully awaited her return, as every now and then she would escape to steal private moments with a lover, or attend some mystic ritual which renewed her occult powers. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years as slow dread into the mind of every citizen. The Empress, Savior of Creation, Ruler of the Blessed Isle, Mother of 10,000 Dragons, would not return to the Realm forged in her image. The people despaired while the ambitious pounced, capitalizing on her absence to grab hold of every source of wealth and power.
With the Empress gone so was the only check on the satrap’s power, and the land suffered to sate his greed. His troops stormed into the temples, upturning altars and unsealing vaults. Searching for any treasures or relics of the First Age. The priests resisted the desecration of their sacred spaces, fighting with word and sword to rally the people to rebel and cast off the yoke of tyrants. The satrap's genius and cruelty knew no bounds as his suppression was swift and brutal. The priests were cut down to the last man, with their bodies strung up on the trees that line the roads into every town as a reminder of the price of rebellion. Their temples now lie in ruin.
The Gods have stopped answering prayers, and their blessings fade from the world leaving only dry cracked earth and skies devoid of clouds. A pliable puppet now sits upon the throne of Tharwa, replacing his cousin now in exile, as the satrap continues to plunder the land. A few whisper in the depths of night that the Sultana is still here, leading the rebellion from the shadows to restore the sultanate to its glory. Be it fact or fables told merely to assuage the conscious of desperate men a few rebels cling to the story and continue the fight against injustice. Searching for heroes to join their ranks and fight to liberate their lands.
There prayers may have been answered, or their fates sealed, as the God-Kings of the Solar Host awake from their slumber. They return to a world much changed in the 2,000 years of their absence, rife with poverty, slavery, war, and hunger. Their essence burns in their veins, calling them forth to set the world aright with their twin mandates of justice and perfection. By their hand shall a new age be forged.
Mechanics / House Rules
The following XP Cost table will be used instead of the book one:
Attribute 8xp
Favored Ability 3xp
Unfavored Ability 4xp
Specialty 2xp
Merits 3xp per dot
Willpower 6xp
Favored Charm 8xp
Unfavored Charm 10xp
Evocation 8xp
The XP thresholds for levels of essence will be:
Essence 2: 50xp
Essence 3: 125xp
Essence 4: 200xp
Essence 5: 300xp
Initiation into a new circle of Sorcery REQUIRES a trainer or other source of instruction
(including texts). Terrestrial Circle Sorcery is the exception, but requires extensive personal
training time of at least a year.
If you take a Summoning spell as your Control, all beings summonable with that spell gain a
minor intimacy of fear, respect, trust, etc. (as appropriate for your actions and their character)
towards you.
Withering and Decisive attacks may use Strength in place of Dexterity for the purposes of
accuracy. This applies to any charms or maneuvers that make an attack as well.
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