Exalted

1. #1The Solar Exalted

   Keys: Solars, Solar Exalted, Lawgivers

   The Solar Exalted are the Chosen of Sol Invictus, The Unconquered Sun, King of Heaven. Uniquely powerful among the Exalted, Solars are intrepid demigods capable of shaking the world's foundations from the moment they're Chosen. They are assigned one of five Castes on Exaltation: The Dawn Caste, who are incredible warriors and generals; The Zenith Caste, inspiring hierophants and rulers; The Twilight Caste, wondrous miracle-workers, healers, investigators, wonder-forgers and savants; The Night Caste, who are spies, socialites and assassins reaching their targets where the Sun won't reach; and The Eclipse Caste, world-trotters and occultists who bridge disparate peoples together.

   Solars have powers rooted in the concept of Arete - excellence and virtue combined. A Solar warrior's strikes are flawless in form and hit harder the more they care about the current battle; a Solar demagogue's words crack stone hearts and bring revolts to nations in one speech; a Solar prince's presence is so imposing that even thinking to harm them is difficult; a Solar assassin can completely hide their presence from all senses, as impossible to perceive as the sun at night. Solars tend to be extremely focused in one area of excellence, but have notable weak spots elsewhere; perhaps the Solar warrior is undefeated in battle, yet his heart is easily swayed by well-chosen words.

   Solars draw the maximum power from any Artifact they use regardless of material. Solar martial artists likewise draw the full power of Martial Arts, although they require a Sidereal teacher to learn Sidereal Martial Arts. They can grow powerful enough to eventually learn the lost secrets of Solar Sorcery.

   Solar Essence compels them to act, to do something about things they care about, to go out there and get shit done. If the Great Curse flares within them, their virtues are exaggerated temporarily into flaws - a brave warrior becomes an unstoppable berserker, a sensitive soul does nothing but cry for a day straight, a martyr foregoes her personal safety to provide for those she deems need her patronage or protection.

2. #2The Lunar Exalted

   Keys: Lunars, Lunar Exalted

   The Lunar Exalted are the Chosen of Luna, the Moon Incarnate. The Lunar Exalted are shapeshifters, dancing between human and animal shapes that they gain by metaphysically "hunting" them. At first, this is done by declaring a Sacred Hunt on their target, then drinking their heart's blood; however, each Lunar can learn how to hunt prey in stranger ways, such as winning their target's shape in a betting game, earning it by earning their love, or stealing their shape by stealing from their home while they're inside of it.

   Unlike other Exalted, they are Casteless when they first Exalt, and can choose one out of three Castes by having Moonsilver Tattoos drawn on their bodies: The Full Moon Caste, who are monstrous warriors, athletes and survivors; The Changing Moon Caste, troublemaking tricksters and culture-defining icons; and The No Moon Caste, darkness-drinking shamans and pack-herding guardians of the night.

   Lunars have powers rooted in the themes of Shapeshifting, Monstrosity, Trickery and Witchery. A Lunar warrior's arm might shapeshift into a snake to whip a venomous bite punch at her enemy, and her wounds seem to heal themselves in seconds; a Lunar trickster turns communities against their own until it devours itself, sowing doubt and fear or turning into known humans to use or destroy their reputations; a Lunar witch may curse targets to become animals (or other people) by having them drink his blood, or claim a territory in which his allies are given succor and his allies are hounded by its natural properties.

   Lunars draw the maximum power from Moonsilver Artifacts. Lunar martial artists are unique in that they can combine their combat powers with Martial Arts powers, making them deadly but focused in one style at a time. They can learn up to the Celestial Circle of Sorcery, and up to the Shadow Circle of Necromancy.

   Lunar Essence compels them to act on their rage in useful ways, stoking their wrath into a drive to do something about it. If the Great Curse flares within them, they temporarily gain monstrous urges reflecting their personality - some are compelled to prove they are the most beautiful in a room, others become resolved to humble a target by any means necessary, yet others feel driven to terrify everyone who beholds them.

3. #3The Dragon-Blooded

   Keys: Dragon-Blooded, Terrestrial Exalt

   The Dragon-Blooded are the Chosen of The Five Elemental Dragons, children of Gaia. Uniquely weak among the Exalted individually, the Dragon-Blooded are an order of magnitude more numerous than every other Exalted type combined, numbering 25.000 Dragon-Bloods world-wide.

   They are assigned one of five Aspects on Exaltation, which tint their personality and drive: The Air Aspect, who are aloof and principled; The Earth Aspect, who are grounded and stoic; The Fire Aspect, who are passionate and explosive; The Water Aspect, who are flexible and ruthless; and The Wood Aspect, who are sensual and cultivators.

   The Dragon-Blooded's powers come out of the five elements. When their anima flares, it actually hurts to be around - it becomes literal flames, acid, biting cold or other forms of elemental hazards. While they can hurl lances of flame or call down lightning or hail, they can also invoke the associations of the elements - a Dragon-Blooded warrior might swing her sword backed by flame jets to hit harder, but she can also draw from her immense "flaming" passion to empower her strikes. A Dragon-Blooded courtier might "poison" words as they flow through the air, making an innocent comment from a rival appear ill-mannered or contemptuous. A Dragon-Blooded savant might declare facts with such striking passion that onlookers are blinded as if thunderstruck.

   Dragon-Blooded draw the maximum power from any Jade Artifact they use regardless of the color of Jade. Dragon-Blooded martial artists suffer diminished returns compared to most Exalted, but they can learn unique martial arts called Immaculate Martial Arts that they draw full power from: Air Dragon Style, Earth Dragon Style, Fire Dragon Style, Water Dragon Style and Wood Dragon Style. They can only learn Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, although certain deathly-haunted Dragon-Blooded can learn Ivory Circle Necromancy instead.

   Dragon-Blooded Essence compels them to act more like their element - a Fire Aspect librarian might still be shy, but he becomes very passionate when discussing his favorite authors. If the Great Curse flares within them, this elemental personality is stoked into very temporary but potentially harmful impulses.

4. #4The Exigents

   Keys: Exigent

   The Exigents are the Chosen of the little gods, the incredibly varied spirits of the Celestial Bureaucracy. Such gods first need to earn an Exigence: The correct way to do so is to petition The Unconquered Sun for a Flame of Exigence, which is seldom granted for any selfish purpose, but often granted if the petitioner is in genuine and urgent need of a champion. However, once a god has an Exigence, it can be stolen, coerced out of them, traded or otherwise lost, although only other gods can interact with it. When the Exigence is used, most gods die in the process, while others barely seem affected; this seems to be completely random, although powerful gods tend to survive more often than weaker ones.

   Exigent powers are extremely bespoke; no two Exigents are the same or even similar at all. The Chosen of Intoxication could punch alcoholic poisoning into someone, then strike a hangover into them, or spread rumors like weed smoke; meanwhile, The Chosen of Dice could gamble anything at a gaming table - even memories, souls, or powers. Some Exigents are Patchworks: Chosen by multiple disparate Gods, their Essence is cursed and unholy, in exchange for the gods being less affected by the diminishment. An example is Braze the Accursed, a mutated grotesque monster of a man with broken and interwoven powers related to echoes, ruins, spiders and treasure - he can vomit ruby spiders, blend into crowds like an echo in the ruins, or grow a spider-like exoskeleton of hard gemstones.

   Exigent powers are not entirely based on the god that Chose them. They also gain powers based on the purpose for which they were Chosen, and their own personal legend. For example, Janest, The Chosen of the Harvest, was Chosen to drive back a horde of Fair Folk attacking her town. Despite harvesting having nothing to do with combat or the Wyld, Janest's Exigence came with an Artifact Scythe of black iron and green jade that cut through the Fair Folk hordes with calcifying power, she gained incredibly powerful combat powers, and also gained powers to specifically combat the forces of the Wyld with ease.

   Some Exigents are Chosen in batches or groups. The Sovereigns of Uluiru come from a fountain of divine blood that curses them with painful power over auroras and gemstones. The March Lords were Chosen by a whole court of gods of directions, boundaries and locations, spreading their wanderlust-filled Exigences to the five winds despite the creeping Wyld infection affecting them. The God-Admirals of Cabochon were Chosen by six powerful gods - a monsoon god, a squall god, a god of the fear of drowning, a god of wanderers, etc - and now go on endless seafaring adventures, fearing the only thing that can diminish their immortal numbers: another God-Admiral killing one of them and taking their power. And the Architects are the Chosen of Cities, appearing wherever a City Father deity needs a champion.

5. #5The Sidereal Exalted

   Keys: Sidereal

   The Sidereal Exalted are the Chosen of The Five Maidens of Destiny: Mercury, Maiden of Journeys; Venus, Maiden of Serenity; Mars, Maiden of Battles; Jupiter, Maiden of Secrets; and Saturn, Maiden of Endings. Sidereals are subtle manipulators of the fabric of reality, with an innate ability to proclaim prophecies that the world takes pains to enact in their behalf. However, they are cursed by their own hand - this curse is Arcane Fate, which causes all but the strongest-willed beings to forget about the Sidereals' identities, although not their actions. They can combat this curse by weaving Resplendent Destinies around themselves, but these are cursory stock identities such as "a sailor" or "a king", and little more than such basic detail is remembered of them.

   Sidereals, unlike other Exalted, have powers known by name and effect among their kind, as their powers - Sidereal Charms - are literally written in the stars. These powers tend to be strange and limited, but extremely powerful within these limits. A Sidereal warrior is capable of running thousands of possible combat encounters in their minds in an instant, so that they begin combat already knowing exactly what to do in order to win, using "The Spear Not Held"; a Sidereal socialite might connect any two creatures with the ability to communicate with each other using "Blue Vervain Binding"; a Sidereal spy may hide behind impossible cover such as a single hair or inside a teacup by using "Everywhere-and-Nowhere Technique".

   Sidereals draw the maximum power from Starmetal Artifacts, and struggle with any other material. Sidereals are the strongest martial artists among all the Exalted, capable of creating Sidereal Martial Arts and learning them without a mentor. They can learn up to the Celestial Circle of Sorcery, but only the Ivory Circle of Necromancy.

   Sidereal Essence compels them to believe that their way is the right way, that they know best, even if others are much more experienced or knowledgeable. If the Great Curse flares within them, their hubris temporarily becomes a flaw in and of itself, in ways that fit their personality.

6. #6The Abyssal Exalted

   Keys: Death's Lawgivers, Deathknights, Abyssal

   The Abyssal Exalted are the Chosen of the Deathlords, crazed ghostly overlords who promised the end of the world in exchange for impossible power. Abyssal Exaltations are actually corrupted Solar Exaltations, and an Abyssal who sufficiently suffers in pursuit of virtue and glory might cleanse this corruption and become a Solar one day. Their Castes are dark reflections of Solar Castes: The Dusk Caste, The Midnight Caste, The Daybreak Caste, The Day Caste and The Moonshadow Caste.

   Abyssals are Chosen when they are close to death, and they are made to promise to end the world if they want to live. Those who take this Faustian bargain lose their name forever; they are henceforth known by a title, such as "The Mendicant of Ashes", "The Drowner of Saints" or "A Crow Poet's Blood Tears". Abyssals don't need to intend to make true on their part of the bargain - it was sworn under duress, and the Deathlords have their own reasons to stall the apocalypse as much as possible.

   Abyssals keep the basic Arete excellence of the Solar Exalted, but as their powers grow, they begin to gain the themes of the Deathlords and their legends. An Abyssal knight at first can toughen her skin just like Solars, but then she becomes capable of nailing herself to her armor in emulation of The First And Forsaken Lion, then her armor grows barbed chains that behave like combat tendrils, until eventually she can use her armor like an Iron Maiden to encase enemies and murder them within it. An Abyssal assassin at first dodges with impossible Solar-like grace, but then blinds foes she dodges with an explosion of black feathers in emulation of The Black Heron. An Abyssal preacher inflames hearts all the same, but then learns to send messages in the gore of those he eviscerates in emulation of The Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible.

   Abyssals draw the maximum power from Soulsteel Artifacts. Abyssal martial artists likewise draw the full power of Martial Arts, although they require a Sidereal teacher to learn Sidereal Martial Arts. They can grow powerful enough to eventually learn Void Circle Necromancy, previously unknown before they appeared.

   Abyssal Essence compels them to follow the tenets of Death's Chivalry: they dress in death-associated clothing, hang around deathly locations, prefer to humiliate and murder the strong rather than the weak masses, leave survivors to tell the tale, and otherwise behave like gothic villains. If the Great Curse flares within them, it spreads out to the world in omens and dangerous hazards - the walls bleed, crops die, loved ones suffer harm, and other gothic punishments for transgressions against the Abyssal's role.

7. #7The Infernal Exalted

   Keys: Green Sun Princes, Infernals

   The Infernal Exalted are the Chosen of The Yozis. Similar to Abyssals, they are corruptions of Solar Exaltations; unlike Abyssals, their powers have no similarities with Solar power except for how immense and overwhelming it is. Their Castes are twisted alterations of Solar Castes: The Azimuth Caste, The Ascendant Caste, The Horizon Caste, The Nadir Caste and The Penumbra Caste.

   Infernals are Chosen from those who feel wronged by the world; a demon serf approaches them bearing their Exaltation, and merges with their soul in a moment of divine suffering. A chrysalis grows around their body, and then begins to drag itself to Hell for five days and five nights, although the nascent Infernal can break out of it if they have unfinished business. Once in Hell, they are crowned as princes and celebrated in kind, soon becoming immersed in Hell's politics and societies.

   Infernal powers are alien, hateful and eldritch, derived from the Yozis' unknowable vastness and nature as well as the legends of the many Demons that compose each Yozi. An Infernal warrior might wreathe his arrow in sickening green light, inflicting a wasteful supernatural disease on whoever it pierces. An Infernal socialite might develop an immense love for someone in a single hour of conversation, only to cast that love aside the moment she no longer needs to act the part. An Infernal lorekeeper might declare a specific piece of information as Forbidden - those who read that information find their eyes melting into red-hot glass. All Infernals have a Devil-Body Apotheosis, a transformation that turns them eldritch and inhuman while magnifying their power. All Infernals also have the capability to grow their own spiritual pantheon and inner world, cultivating each of their personality traits into a demon within their souls that they can then unleash into the world, just like the Yozis have many souls and subsouls that make them.

   Infernals draw the maximum power from Orichalcum Artifacts. Infernal martial artists likewise draw the full power of Martial Arts, although they require a Sidereal teacher to learn Sidereal Martial Arts. They can grow powerful enough to eventually learn the lost secrets of Solar Sorcery.

   Infernal Essence compels them to strike back against those who wronged them, whether directly or by succeeding to spite them. If the Great Curse flares within them, their personalities grow temporarily touched by eldritch influences, gaining strange urges and tastes.

8. #8The Getimian Exalted

   Keys: Getimian

   The Getimian Exalted were never meant to exist. They were merely the plans of Gods and Sidereals, mere prophecies that ended up discarded in favor of better options. These discarded plans are snatched by the Getimian Exaltation, which weaves the entire Getimian ex-nihilo. Their Castes are assigned based on what kind of prophecy they were woven out of: The Spring Caste is for those who would have made their reality more beautiful. The Summer Caste is for those who would have conquered their reality. The Autumn Caste is for those who would have sacrificed so much for their reality. The Winter Caste is for those who would have made their reality more orderly.

   To the Getimian, the "prophecy" really happened; they remember being born, growing up, their parents, friends, enemies, deeds, all of it. Yet, they soon realize the world does not remember them, as if they never existed. Worse, they awaken strange powers that break reality only to replace it with their memories.

   Getimians have powers rooted in internal alchemy Taoism, as well as replacing what is real with what could have been. A Getimian warrior's slash cuts through space itself to reach its opponent far away; a Getimian courtesan replaces memories of her target's wife with memories of herself, because her target used to be her husband in her own memories; a Getimian savant declares lies that become truths for a while, until the world remembers otherwise.

   Getimians draw the maximum power from Starmetal Artifacts, and struggle with any other material. They are the only type of Exalted who rivals the Sidereals at their mastery of martial arts.. They can learn up to the Celestial Circle of Sorcery, or use strange alchemical methods to learn Shadow Circle Necromancy instead.

   Getimian Essence compels them to leave a mark on the world, to prove their existence. If the Great Curse flares within them, their unreal nature begins to scar the world around them, causing glitches in reality and other problems.

9. #9The Liminal Exalted

   Keys: Liminals, Chernozem

   The Liminal Exalted are the Chosen of the Dark Mother. Unlike other Exaltations, she does not Choose living mortals; rather, when a corpse is subjected to extremely emotional attempts at reanimation - completely futile in Exalted's setting - she sometimes stirs and detects this attempt, and Chooses the dead body, which rises to life... as a new person in a body not its own. The Aspect they receive upon reanimation is determined by the emotion involved in their reanimation; this emotion also tints their own character. The Blood Aspect is defined by passion, greed or ambition; The Breath Aspect by regret or repentance; The Flesh Aspect by rage, madness or vengeance; The Marrow Aspect by curiosity or obsession; The Soil Aspect by sorrow, yearning or despair.

   Liminals are not the deceased person whose body they inhabit, their personality entirely new, their memories a broken mishmash of the deceased's memories. The person who revives them is their Lifeline, someone they feel a deep connection to and who tethers them to humanity; should their Lifeline die, they must find a new one under risk of becoming undead monstrosities. All Liminals are incredibly hard to kill - as long as their brain is intact and they are not submerged in water, they will revive within hours, days or weeks if killed. When their anima flares, their seemingly living flesh begins to show signs of its undead nature - at iconic anima, they are pure body horror given human shape.

   Liminals have powers rooted in body horror and ghostly mediumship. A Liminal swordsman may distend and stretch his limbs horribly long in order to strike far away, or launch hooks of coagulated blood with which to reel targets or rip their flesh. A Liminal exorcist may cut through a possessed person without harming them, only hurting the ghost possessing them instead. A Liminal savant might pick up body parts from the dead, extracting skills and knowledge from those parts by replacing her own body parts with them.

   Liminals draw the maximum power from Artifacts whose previous owner they graft the appropriate body part of onto their own bodies - for example, they can draw the full power of an Orichalcum sword by severing its Solar wielder's arm and replacing their own arm with his. They are similarly limited in martial arts as Dragon-Blooded are, but can combine their combat powers with their limited Martial Arts powers. They can only learn the Ivory Circle of Necromancy.

   Liminal Essence compels them to find the undead and put an end to them, to walk the line between the worlds of the living and the dead to bring them both to harmony. If the Great Curse flares within them, their undead and patchwork nature takes over temporarily, driving them to single-minded hatred of the undead or to emotional outbursts related to their Aspect emotions.

10. #10The Alchemical Exalted

    Keys: Alchemicals

    The Alchemical Exalted are the Chosen of Autochthon, a Primordial whose world-body serves as the setting for his Champions. The Caste assigned to each upon their creation reflects the magical material that makes most of their body: The forceful and charismatic Orichalcum Caste; the rapid and espionage-oriented Moonsilver Caste; the social manipulators and high-processing Starmetal Caste; the intimidating and lethal Soulsteel Caste; the labor-oriented and popular Jade Caste; and the inspiring, iconic Adamant Caste.

    Alchemicals are made rather than born, created through the confluence of secrets from five different specialist guilds each of whom jealously guards their part of the process. Their flesh is clay, and their powers are installed into them as body parts made out of magical materials, such as fast-processing Starmetal brain-folds or hypnotic Adamant earrings. Despite this artificial body, they are humans: their brow holds a Soulgem that hosts the soul of a hero, given the honor of becoming an Alchemical after their passing.

    Alchemical powers tend toward inspiring unity, quashing dissent, and enacting golem/cyborg fantasy in a magi-tech aesthetic. They can punch with explosive soulsteel pistons, change gravity on their own bodies to walk on walls, or use a magnetic field to suspend objects in midair. As their powers are literally installed on their bodies, some of them might be obvious even when not in use - a Megaton Piston Hammer is very hard to miss, even if not punching anything.

    Alchemicals draw the maximum power from Artifacts whose material matches their Caste (so Orichalcum Caste Alchemicals resonate with Orichalcum Artifacts and so on). They share the advantages of Lunars with martial arts. They can learn up to the Celestial Circle of Sorcery, but cannot learn Necromancy at all.

    Alchemical Essence compels them to serve their community rather than rule it. Their Great Curse is slow but steady, causing them to lose empathy and see things as pure numbers and 'greater good' calculations. This can be brought back to normal through frequent human interaction.

11. #11The Dream-Souled

    Keys: Dream-Souled

    The Dream-Souled are the Chosen of Ketu, an eldritch entity of the Wyld who perceives only dreams. It Chooses those with strong ambitions and vivid dreams both, giving them world-warping power over dream, nightmare, illusion and ideals with which to bring about their ambitions.

    Dream-Souled powers warp both the Wyld and reality. They can enter dreams to talk with the dreamer, have a singular ideal for the world that cannot be altered, and they can weave dreamstuff into convincing illusions - so convincing that they can actually hurt others. They can force the Wyld to only warp things in accordance with their ideal, or mentally communicate with others who share that ideal. Extremely powerful Dream-Souled can treat reality itself as a dream with sufficient effort - should one be killed, he wakes up with a start, realizing it was all a dream, while those who saw him die only see one of his illusions vanish instead.

    Dream-Souled draw moderate power from Moonsilver Artifacts, and struggle with any other material. They struggle with Martial Arts like Dragon-Blooded do. They can the Terrestrial Circle of Sorcery or the Ivory Circle of Necromancy.

    Dream-Souled Essence compels them to enact their Ideal and change the world in its name. If the Great Curse flares within them, they enter a fugue in which they cannot tell reality from fantasy for a while.

12. #12The Umbral Exalted

    Keys: Umbrals

    The Umbral Exalted are the Chosen of Nebiru, Lord Of Things Unseen. This peer to the Unconquered Sun was drawn and quartered ages ago due to a prophecy that foretold his betrayal, then imprisoned in his invisible planet for eternity in his de-limbed state. Desperate for the release of death, he used Exaltation over and over until his life sputtered out.

    Umbrals are Chosen from those who are capable of great things, but have intense mental hangups - self-hatred, self-confidence issues, and the likes. Once they Exalt, a Shadow takes root in their mind: a shard of Nebiru's consciousness pooled within all of those mental hangups, now having thoughts of its own.

    Umbrals have powers rooted in psychic superpowers but themed as darkness manipulation: they can grow shadow-limbs to manipulate their surroundings, read hearts by looking into the darkness inside every person, blind opponents by encasing the battlefield in a dome of utter black, or teleport by sinking into shadows. They also have powers informed by their internal Shadow: They can wreathe themselves in the Shadow to hulk out in full power, or cause investigators to learn what the Shadow thinks rather than themselves, misdirecting the information they learn.

    Umbrals draw the maximum power from Soulsteel Artifacts. They share the advantages of Lunars with martial arts. They can learn up to the Celestial Circle of Sorcery, or the Ivory Circle of Necromancy

    Umbral Essence compels them to give in to their Shadow, but this feels like trusting the worst parts of yourself, the parts you could never trust. They have no Great Curse, but rather, as they use their stronger powers or give into the Shadow for immediate advantages, the Shadow's personality slowly gains hold over their minds and actions. This is reversible, but a constant struggle for Umbrals who don't give in.

13. #13The Hearteaters

    Keys: Hearteater

    Hearteaters used to be the Auroral Exalted, muses and teachers and icons without peer. But during the Divine Revolution, the Primordials murdered Aurora and used his corpse for profane rites, cursing his Exalted to become hungry for free will.

    Hearteater Exaltation passes on when a mortal touches the imperishable opal bones of a Hearteater, commencing a battle of wills in which the old Hearteater may possess the mortal, or the mortal may retain his personality but gain the Exaltation. Immediately after, there is a hollow, a hunger. Hearteaters have the unique capacity to turn other mortals into Pawns, hollowing out their free will to fill up that blank with the Hearteater's own will. Pawns often end up being mere extensions of the Hearteater's will, and that's without counting the Hearteater's ability to control any Pawn directly by meditating.

    Hearteaters have powers themed around expanding their hunger - some learn to turn animals into Pawns, others turn the ghosts of their victims into Pawns, yet others aim higher and Pawn the gods and the Fair Folk. Their powers then allow them to connect Pawns together as a terrifying hivemind: they can combine all knowledge that Pawns have into one cohesive library of knowledge, or coordinate Pawn attacks with horrible synergy in combat. They also retain power over auroral lights, although theirs is calcified into a creepy opal unlight that devours flesh and eats through bone. Through their association with auroras, they can also languidly float above the ground or fly through the sky in their sleep.

    Hearteaters draw the maximum power from Adamant Artifacts. They have the same martial arts benefits that Lunars do. They can learn up to the Celestial Circle of Sorcery, or Ivory Circle of Necromancy.

    Hearteater Essence curses them with hunger for adulation and companionship, a permanent feeling of cold loneliness that does not abate until the Hearteater claims a Pawn - and even then, just like any other hunger, it returns eventually. If the Great Curse flares within them, their beautiful monstrosity comes to the shore and their humanity is temporarily abandoned in favor of claiming more Pawns at any cost - or, alternatively, the psychic link between them and their Pawns becomes compromised, with the Hearteater gaining memories and feelings from their Pawns and/or vice versa.

14. #14Martial Arts

    Keys: Martial arts

    The Exalted can turn any form of regimented combat style into a supernaturally-powerful set of magical techniques of battle. For example, while Snake Style Kung Fu practiced by mortals would be no different as it is in real life, an Exalted practitioner may strike venom into a target, pierce through armor or gain a snake's evasive agility by learning Snake Style techniques. Martial Arts can be fairly grounded, such as Bear Style's focus on grappling targets and then savagely mauling them, or they can be extremely out there, such as Thousand Blades Style letting its practitioners fight with arrays of floating weapons, or Laughing Monster Style allowing practitioners to draw their target's feelings and principles as little imps that betray their owners' thoughts.

    A unique form of martial arts are the Sidereal Martial Arts. These styles were created by Sidereal masters, and rather than being merely a form of combat, they are distillations of concepts into violence through the lens of an aesthetic. They are all named as "(Color) (Noun) of (Concept/Aesthetic)." For example:

    Charcoal March of Spiders Style is a meditation on the concept of consumption through the aesthetic of spiders. Its practitioners can create razor wire from their fingers, move terrifyingly fast as if they had eight legs instead of two, or strike a venom into its opponents that consumes their Essence from within. Its greatest technique, Pattern Spider Touch, consumes its target's entire identity, turning them into an animal, another person, or even an inanimate object.

    Citrine Poxes of Contagion Style is a distillation of the concept of decay through the aesthetic of disease and wholeness. It heals people by striking their Essence meridians into alignment, punches deadly diseases into its targets by knocking those meridians out of wack, and ruins internal organs with a touch. Its greatest technique, Essence-Shattering Typhoon, strikes the air itself to infect reality with pure disease, causing all objects in the surroundings to behave as if infected by it, and to become vectors for infection.

    Obsidian Shards of Infinity Style distills the concept of the infinite, understood through the aesthetic of reflective shards: every decision taken is murder, for it ends countless possibilities. Practitioners can relocate characters in the battlefield through tricks of perspective, strike into reflective surfaces only for their limbs to come out of reflexive surfaces near their enemies, or trap enemies within those surfaces. Its greatest technique, Breathing on the Black Mirror, allows a practitioner to foresee five ways in which he can overcome the current encounter victoriously, each with its own consequences or sacrifices; choosing one causes it to happen immediately, even if the conflict was still ongoing.

15. #15Sorcery

    Keys: necromancer, sorcerer, sorcery, necromancy

    Sorcery is the ability to shape the cosmos' Essence through codified Spells or freeform Workings. It is divided in three Circles: Terrestrial, Celestial, and Solar.

    Terrestrial Sorcery is grounded and focused on the material rather than the supernatural and untouchable, but still is extremely powerful even in the hands of the Exalted. Mortal humans can also learn it. Terrestrial spells can hurl a flying phoenix of flame that explodes into a massive conflagration; absorb all the water in a straight line from the sorcerer through an open monstrous mouth that appears on the sorcerer's hand; or curse someone to be incapable of speaking of a specific subject, lest he's willing to vomit maggots at the mere thought. Terrestrial Workings focus on tweaking the mundane - adding mutations to a person or animal, combining two animal species, and the like.

    Celestial Sorcery is immensely larger in scope by comparison. Only powerful Exalted or even more powerful spirits or Fae can even learn it at all, and its spells can be as catastrophic as a spear of ice that expands into a localized winter after it strikes its target, or as helpful as a huge cloud vehicle that can take a whole army, cargo and the sorcerer flying through the sky while protecting them. Celestial Workings can be purely supernatural, such as creating a spirit, opening a portal between locations, or turning a female body into a male body or vice versa.

    Solar Sorcery is even broader in scope, and only mastered by the Solar and Infernal Exalted. It can bless the land with immense crops in miles upon miles around, or bring forth a storm of corrosive acid that obliterates cities in an afternoon. Solar Workings can reach the broadest scope imaginable in the setting, to the degree of altering the laws of the cosmos in a subtle manner.

    Not every mortal or Exalt or spirit can learn sorcery. It takes a certain spark to learn: you either can or can't learn it. Even so, learning sorcery is done through initiations, of which thousands exist. Sorcerers tend to be feared or otherwise given a wide berth, usually because sorcery incentivizes sorcerers to be weird - some sorcerers burn expensive possessions for power, others play games with themselves for hours, while others ritually drown themselves. All of these are initiations by which they gain sorcerous power, but to any onlookers, they just look crazy.

16. #16Artifacts

    Keys: Artifact, Magical Material

    Artifacts are wondrous items forged by supernatural Essence-weavers, whether an Exalt, spirit or stranger blacksmith yet. They are often nigh-unbreakable, only usable by those capable of using Essence, and capable of developing Evocations - powers drawn from the Artifact itself and its rapport with the wielder. For example, the Artifact sword Mistweaver has an Evocation to spread fumes of blinding mists around the wielder.

    Artifacts are usually created by combining Magical Materials (Orichalcum, Starmetal, Moonsilver, Jade, Adamant or Soulsteel) with exotic materials, such as frozen lightning, liquefied love, or the corpse of two Fae rivals.

    Orichalcum appears to be gold, yet shines even without any light to reflect and feels warm to the touch. Orichalcum Artifacts have powers related to virtue, zeal, overwhelming power and unsubtle authority.

    Moonsilver appears to be a strangely warping silver. Moonsilver Artifacts have powers related to changing shapes or forms, beasts and bestial traits, trickery and witchery.

    Starmetal appears to be lighter iron that shines in five colors when the light hits just right. Starmetal Artifacts have powers related to spirits, subtlety, stars and manipulation of concepts (for example, Artifact Hook Swords that can "disarm" intangible things such as feelings).

    Jade comes in five colors: Blue (Air), white (Earth), red (Fire), black (Water) and green (Wood). Jade Artifacts have elemental associations depending on their color; a Blue Jade pistol can fire gusts of compressed air rather than bullets, while a Green Jade spear can grow branches that disarm and hold onto disarmed weapons that hang from those branches.

    Soulsteel appears to be black steel in which trapped souls can sometimes be seen or heard. Soulsteel Artifacts have powers related to negative emotions, death, suffering, necromancy, body horror and the like.

    Adamant appears to be impossibly refined diamond, even when found in the rough. Adamant Artifacts have powers that express eternity, timelessness, history, heat or cold extremes, pressure, refraction, reflection and illusion.

17. #17Exaltation

    Keys: Anima, Exaltation, Exalted

    The Exalted are divine champions Chosen by gods and stranger beings of this setting. Usually, this happens when a mortal fulfills a condition that catches the being's attention, but in other cases it varies - the Dragon-Blooded Exaltation is passed down genetically, the Liminal Exaltation does not choose the one who acts, Sidereals are marked by the Maidens before birth, and Alchemicals are Chosen at the time their artificial bodies are finished.

    Exaltation happens in a rush of power, flaring an aura of light called an Anima Banner. Anima Banners have four stages: Dim, in which it's invisible; Glowing, in which the Exalt has a faint luminous outline around them; Burning, in which the outline grows to an actual burning aura; and Iconic, in which the aura grows to a huge peak visible for miles before starting to display iconic imagery or heraldry of the Exalt. Anima colors often depend on the Exalt type: Solar animas burn in golds mixed with Caste-dependent colors such as red or purple, while Lunar animas tend toward silvers, blues, purples and blacks. Anima doesn't just happen when Exaltation occurs, but also when an Exalt uses too much Essence in too short a time by using a lot of their powers. However, this does not tend to affect stealthy powers.

    Exaltation has other benefits. The Exalted tend to have incredibly long lifespans and die of misadventure rather than old age; they don't age until their very last weeks, in which aging happens rapidly, and they remain spry and capable until their final days. The Exalted cannot bleed out at all, and they almost always heal perfectly from their injuries, although sufficiently gruesome injury can still cause scarring. They also cannot die due to mundane diseases.

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