GURPS Exalted - Once More, From The Top

[Jürgen Hubert]

I still haven't quite given up on converting Exalted to GURPS. This time, I've decided to take a slightly different approach. I want to leave the templates for the Exalted aside for now, and instead concentrate on skills and charms (the innate magical powers of the Exalted) - in particular, as these apply to the Solars, who are paragons of skill.

First of all, some basic guidelines:

- No mortal in the setting, and no Exalted below the age of 100 years, can have a base skill level higher than 20 (elder Exalts may have higher skill levels). If a skill should be increased to higher than 20 because the underlying attribute is increased, the character is "reimbursed" the excess points (which should preferably be invested into charms related to that skill.
- The effective skill level may be boosted by charms beyond the base skill. For Solars, the maximum effective skill level they can reach is (base skill level)x2 -10. For example, if you have a base skill level of 18, you can boost it up to 26 with magic. Other modifiers (like Accuracy bonuses from ranged weapons and the like) can be added afterwards.
- Generally, all Solar charms should be linked to one or more appropriate skills (if in doubt, the GM decides what is appropriate). The maximum number of character points that can be put into a particular charm depends on the base skill level. If several skills are appropriate for a particular charm, the highest skill level determines the number of character points. The following rules apply:

If the use of the charm in question is not obvious and it can function continuously without any drawbacks, the limit is:

(base skill level - 10)x2

Thus, a Solar with an age of 99 years or less could spend a maximum of 20 character points in a single charm of this type.

If the charm either has the Nuisance Effect (Obvious), the Costs Essence limitation, or the Temporary Disadvantage (Reduced Energy Reserve - see below) the limit is:

(base skill level - 10)x10

Thus, a Solar with an age of 99 years or less could spend a maximum of 100 character points in a single charm.

- The character point limits apply after all enhancements and limitations are factored in, so it is entirely appropriate to pick several limitations to get a more powerful effect.

[Jürgen Hubert]

In the original rules, 25 different "Abilities" (the equivalent of skills) exist. Solar charms are all linked to a particular Ability, and each Solar has five "Caste Abilities" depending on his type, and five others which he may choose freely. For this purpose, I decided to keep those Abilities as a way of organizing the GURPS skills into different groups. Again, each Solar has five Caste and five Favored Abilities. So, why do these matter?

First of all, it has a huge effect on training. Solar characters should gain huge amounts of character points during play (more guidelines on that at a later date, but at least twice as much as in normal games is probably appropriate), but they cannot necessarily spend them instantaneously to increase skills - often, lengthy training times are necessary. Use the following table:

Learning the first level of a skill (i.e. putting a single character point into it): 3 weeks
Improving a skill or technique associated with a Caste/Favored Ability: Instantaneous
Improving a skill or technique not associated with a Caste/Favored Ability: 4 days per character point
Learning a charm associated with a Caste/Favored Ability: 1 day per 5 character points.
Learning a charm not associated with a Caste/Favored Ability: 1 day per 2 character points.

Learning anything without a teacher will double the time required. Thus, Solars will improve rapidly at their core areas of competence, but other fields will take significantly longer to learn.


The Abilities and Skills associated with the various Castes of Solars are:

Dawn

* Archery: Artillery, Beam Weapons, Blowpipe, Bow, Crossbow, Fast-Draw (ranged weapons), Gunner, Guns, Innate Attack, Liquid Projector, Sling, Zen Archery
* Martial Arts: Boxing, Brawling, Judo, Karate, Pressure Points, Pressure Secrets, Sumo Wrestling, Wrestling
* Melee: Axe/Mace, Broadsword, Cloak, Fast-Draw (Melee weapons), Flail, Force Sword, Force Whip, Garrote, Jitte/Sai, Knife, Kusari, Lance, Lasso, Main-Gauche, Monowire Whip, Parry Missile Weapons, Polearm, Rapier, Saber, Shield, Shortsword, Smallsword, Spear, Staff, Tonfa, Two-Handed Axe/Mace, Two-Handed Flail, Two-Handed Sword, Whip
* Thrown: Bolas, Dropping, Net, Spear Thrower, Throwing, Throwing Art, Thrown Weapon
* War: Soldier, Strategy, Tactics


Zenith

* Integrity: Autohypnosis, Dreaming, Meditation, Mental Strength, Mind Block
* Performance: Captivate, Combat Art, Combat Sport, Dancing, Enthrallment, Erotic Art, Fire Eating, Group Performance, Kiai, Makeup, Mimicry, Musical Composition, Musical Influence, Musical Instrument, Panhandling, Performance, Poetry, Public Speaking, Religious Ritual, Sex Appeal, Singing, Stage Combat, Suggest, Sway Emotions, Ventriloquism
* Presence: Brainwashing, Fast-Talk, Hypnotism, Interrogation, Intimidation, Leadership, Persuade
* Resistance: Body Control, Breath Control, Hiking, Immovable Stance
* Survival: Animal Handling, Falconry, Fishing, Naturalist, Navigation, Packing, Scuba, Survival, Teamster, Tracking, Urban Survival


Twilight

* Craft: Architecture, Armoury, Artist, Bioengineering, Carpentry, Chemistry, Cooking, Electrician, Electronics Operation, Electronics Repair, Engineer, Explosives, Farming, Gardening, Jeweler, Knot-Tying, Leatherworking, Machinist, Masonry, Mechanic, Metallurgy, Photography, Sewing, Smith
* Investigation: Criminology, Detect Lies, Forensics, Fortune-Telling, Intelligence Analysis, Market Analysis, Research, Search
* Lore: Anthropology, Archaeology, Area Knowledge, Biology, Cartography, Computer Hacking, Computer Operation, Computer Programming, Current Affairs, Expert Skill, Games, Geography, Geology, Hazardous Materials, Heraldry, Herb Lore, Hidden Lore, History, Hobby Skill, Literature, Mathematics, Meteorology, Paleontology, Philosophy, Physics, Professional Skill, Prospecting, Spacer, Teaching, Theology, Weather Sense, Weird Science
* Medicine: Diagnosis, Esoteric Medicine, First Aid, Pharmacy, Physician, Physiology, Poisons, Surgery, Veterinary
* Occult: Alchemy, Astronomy, Exorcism, Occultism, Ritual Magic, Symbol Drawing, Thaumatology


Night

* Athletics: Acrobatics, Aerobatics, Aquabatics, Breaking Blow, Climbing, Flight, Flying Leap, Forced Entry, Free Fall, Jumping, Lifting, Mount, Parachuting, Power Blow, Push, Running, Skating, Skiing, Sports, Swimming
* Awareness: Blind Fighting, Body Language, Body Sense, Forward Observer, Lip Reading, Observation
* Bureaucracy: Accounting, Administration, Economics, Finance, Freight Handling, Housekeeping, Law, Merchant
* Dodge: No skills, but the character's unencumbered Dodge value counts as "skill level" for the purpose of charms.
* Larceny: Acting, Counterfeiting, Disguise, Escape, Filch, Forgery, Gambling, Holdout, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Scrounging, Sleight of Hand, Smuggling, Streetwise, Traps


Eclipse

* Linguistics: Cryptography, Gesture, Linguistics, Propaganda, Speed-Reading, Typing, Writing
* Ride: Battlesuit, Bicycling, Diving Suit, Driving, Environment Suit, Piloting (small vehicles), Riding, Vacc Suit
* Sail: Airshipman, Boating, Crewman, Piloting (large vehicles), Seamanship, Shiphandling, Submarine, Submariner
* Socialize: Carousing, Connoisseur, Diplomacy, Politics, Psychology, Savoir-Faire, Sociology
* Stealth: Camouflage, Invisibility Art, Light Walk, Shadowing, Stealth

[Jürgen Hubert]

A few general guidelines for Solar charms:

- Solar charms should always be associated with particular skills - they should improve them or heroically exaggerate their capabilities.
- For the purpose of Solar charms, it is permissible to treat skill and technique character points as advantages, and modify them with enhancements or limitations.
- Techniques, in particular, are useful fodder for Solar charms, and players and GMs are encouraged to come up with new techniques which eliminate modifiers for unusual circumstances and convert them into charms. They shouldn't be so overpowering as to make the main skill useless, but the GM should cheerfully ignore if the results of the technique are implausible or unrealistic - after all, Solars are the quintessential heroes who go "beyond the impossible" on a daily basis!
- In GURPS Exalted, there are no charm trees with weaker charms acting as prerequisites for stronger charms - only lots and lots of example powers which may be modified by players as much as they want, as long as they fit into the overall themes of Solars and don't exceed the usual limits for their character's skill level.
- Solar charms are generally powered by a special Energy Reserve, called their Essence Pool. Points in this Energy Reserve are called "motes".
- Some charms require that you "commit" motes to them. This is the equivalent of a Temporary Disadvantage, and represents a limitation worth -3% per mote committed. This is lower than the normal Costs Energy limitation - but it has the advantage that you don't need to spend more energy after a minute has passed and thus perfect for long-duration charms.

[Jürgen Hubert]

And now, let's work out some sample powers.

(Skill) Excellency
Ability: Any, except for Dodge
CP Cost: Determine the maximum skill level you want to achieve, up to the usual limit of ((base skill)x2 - 10). Figure out how many character points it would cost to increase the skill to that level normally. Add a (Costs Energy) limitation with a modifier of (maximum bonus + 1)x5%.

Solars are known for their peerless use of their skills. This charm may be purchased for each skill a Solar has. For each mote put into this charm, the Solar may boost the effective level of the skill by +1 for one second, up to the maximum permissible.

Designer's Notes: The limitation cost for this advantage was calculated as per the explanation for variable fatigue costs on p. 101 of GURPS Powers.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Flawless Impersonation Style
Ability: Larceny
Prerequisite: Acting at 12+
CP Cost: 12

If a member of the Night Caste wishes to impersonate someone, even strangers will welcome her as her own. By committing 7 motes to this charm he negates all penalties for either unfamiliarity with the subject being impersonated, or trying to fool acquaintances (even close ones) of the subject. However, a disguise is still necessary.

Designer's Notes: This was built as a combination of two custom techniques, one of with eliminates the -5 modifier for lacking acquaintance with the subject, while the other eliminates the -10 modifier for fooling close acquaintances. As he effectively loses 7 levels of his Energy Reserve, this is the equivalent of a Temporary Disadvantage worth -21 points. Without it, the charm would cost 15 CP and require an Acting skill level of 18!

[Jürgen Hubert]

Craftsman Needs No Tools
Ability: Craft
Prerequisite: Any appropriate Craft skill at 11+ for levels 1-2, 12+ for levels 3-5, 13+ for levels 6-7, and 14+ for levels 8-10.
CP Cost: 4/level

The genius of the Copper Spiders cannot be constrained by the mere lack of tools. By committing 7 motes to this charm, the Solar can reduce the penalties for insufficient equipment (see GURPS Basic Set, p. 345) for creating and repairing items by one per level of the charm - and if he has bought the maximum 10 levels, he can create and repair items without any tools at all! However, only one particular skill can benefit from this at any one time, although the character may switch to a different skill after concentrating for one second.

Designer's Notes: Reducing penalties for insufficient equipment is treated as a technique worth 1 point per level. The ability to use this on all Craft-related skill is treated as a Modular Ability (Cosmic Power) worth a base 10 points/level, with a -40% limitation for "subset of a medium-sized class" (see GURPS Powers, p.64) and -21% for committing 7 motes, for a total of -61%.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Bountiful Forge Methodology
Ability: Craft
Prerequisite: Any appropriate Craft skill at 11+ for levels 1-2, 12+ for levels 3-5, 13+ for levels 6-7, and 14+ for levels 8-9.
CP Cost: 4/level

Solars have no time to spend whole seasons at the forge to produce their wonders - they have worlds to conquer! By committing 7 motes to this charm, the Solar can reduce the penalties for haste at a task (see GURPS Basic Set, p. 346) for creating and repairing items by one per level of the charm - which effectively means that he can reduce the time spent on such projects by 10% per level of this charm, up to a maximum reduction of -90%. However, only one particular skill can benefit from this at any one time, although the character may switch to a different skill after concentrating for one second.

Designer's Notes: Reducing penalties forhate is treated as a technique worth 1 point per level. The ability to use this on all Craft-related skill is treated as a Modular Ability (Cosmic Power) worth a base 10 points/level, with a -40% limitation for "subset of a medium-sized class" (see GURPS Powers, p.64) and -21% for committing 7 motes, for a total of -61%.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Leaping Dodge Defense
Ability: Dodge
Prerequisite: For each level of unencumbered Dodge above 10, the character may take up to five levels of this charm.
CP Cost: 2/level

The Solar is as elusive as a dream. By paying 2 motes, the character increases the total number of yards he may move during a single round with the Dodge and Retreat defense by the number of levels he has purchased.

Designer's Notes: This charm assumes that the campaign uses the Chambara Fighting rules (see GURPS Martial Arts, p. 128-130), which are extremely appropriate for Exalted campaigns. This charm is built using additional levels of Basic Move (5/level) with the Accessibility (only when using Dodge & Retreat, -40%) limitation, as well as Costs Energy 2 (one second only, -20%).

[Jürgen Hubert]

(Type) Wyld-Shaping Technique
Ability: Lore
Prerequisite: Physics or Weird Science at the usual levels.
CP Cost: 8/level for the "Create" variants, different values for the "Control" variants

The Solars can shape matter out of the rolling chaos of the Wyld. This represents several different charms. First, the Solar needs to purchase one of several variants for raw substances. This works exactly like the Create power (see GURPS Powers, p.92), except that it works only in the Wyld, it costs 2 motes of energy to use, and it requires 8 seconds of concentration to use. The Physics or Weird Science skills may substitute for the IQ roll. Note that the Wyld counts as "normal environment" for any material imaginable.

After that, the Solar may purchase one or more variants of Control (see GURPS Powers, p.90) to reshape these raw substances into more complex forms. Like the Control variants, these also work only in the Wyld, cost 2 energy to use, and require 8 seconds of concentration.

This power can used at the base skill in the Pure Chaos of the Wyld. Regions closer to the Great Machine of Creation already have their reality partially defined, and thus are harder to shape. Apply a -2 penalty in the Deep Wyld, -5 in the Middlemarches, and -10 in the Bordermarches.

The resulting creations are not quite "real" from the perspective of Creation (and thus don't require character points to stabilize). However, they remain in existence as long as they interact with Creation (in the First Age, Wyld regions were stabilized via the establishment of trade routs, for instance). As Chosen of the God of Order, any continued interaction with Solars counts for this purpose.

Designer's Notes: These are Create and Control with Accessibility (Only in the Wyld, -40%), Costs Energy (-10%), and Takes Extra Time (x8, -30%), for a total Limitation of -80%.

[Jürgen Hubert]

Ox-Body Technique
Ability: Resistance
Prerequisite: Body Control - for each level above 10, the character may purchase two levels of this charm.
CP Cost: 2/level

This charm adds to the character's hit points. As an exception to the normal limits on permanent charms, the character may purchase two levels of this charm for each level the prerequisite skill has above 10.

Designer's Notes: As Ox-Body Technique in the original version approximately triples a Solar's hit points when he buys it five times, I figured permitting up to 20 extra hit points with this for Solars below the age of 100 sounded about right.