1) what's the best way people have found to represent placement/range bands? Best thought I've had is an excell sheet with every combatants relative placement to eachother.

2) is there a place where all the spells for sorcery/necromancy can be found?

3) am I right in reading that the underworld is basically a massive ocean now?

4) any general tips/tricks for adapting to the new edition?

Thanks!

Back again, continuing our investigation after last time. We're gonna jump into Charms now, and show how they work differently for Alchemicals compared to literally everyone.

---

First off, you don't just have Charms themselves, you've got Charm slots. You get 15 of each, but it's very unlikely you fill each slot (and probably not a good idea, at that). Why? You can buy Charm submodules via your 15, as well as being able to buy MA/spells/Evocations as per usual. As a result, you're almost certain to have open slots at chargen... at least until bonus points come into play, as Caste/Favored Charms, for example, are actually perfectly reasonable to buy with BP.

Other than that, standard chargen rules apply; I recommend as always buying up as much stuff that you don't get at a discount as you can.

---

Odd thing about submodules (the upgrades to installed Charms) as well as Charm slots: they don't seem to ever be favored or unfavored, and so when you're making out your XP shopping lists remember your Caste/Favored discounts will only be in the actual Charms themselves (and spells, if applicable). On the upside, neither of these have much training time, especially useful for Charm slots, so don't worry overmuch about going over cap; write it down, but you're unlikely to have issues with it.

It's more important to remember that you have 17 + (Ess*3) slots, and that's what will start annoying you (especially since a few Charms can't be removed). Lean on submodules once this starts being a thing, and never be afraid to take out stuff that you aren't going to need over short time frames. Do you need to have crafting stuff all the time, barring maybe some repair Charms? One big thing, though, is that you probably can't be maximally fighty and social at the same time... but keep your defenses first, then your specific niche. This will almost certainly be easier to manage in real time than going from a guide, but I'll offer some advice as we go along.

---

So. First off, Transpuissant (Attribute) Upgrade. Let's talk about it. First off, remember you only get one per Attribute at E1, and your second isn't until E3. It's still a major feature for you, as even one free Charm die adds up quickly. Also, weirdly, this Charm is Universal, meaning you always favor it no matter the Attribute. Further, Clockwork Perfection Nodes is something few Exalts have ready access to. Adding successes rather than dice can be very impressive, especially in the face of penalty effects; just remember that if you've got something like double 9's or better on a roll then dice get better than successes for the most part.

Now we'll want to go through the other submodules and figure out how to go about making use of them. I went over this a bit for my M.A.D. series, but it's worth an in-depth look. One general thing that changes calculations for this is TAU itself, as you can have a naturally higher gap between Attributes, making the replacement calculations more effectual. Still, as ever, you don't have to take these, especially with limited slots.

*App instead of Manip for Guile - perfectly reasonable, but not mandatory. If you're pushing Charisma, you paradoxically want this, as Cha+Manip don't really bolster each other. If you're not going heavy on social stuff leave it at home.

*Per instead of Dex for Evasion - it's certainly intriguing, but there are some issues with this. The big one is that every relevant defensive Charm is in Dex, so you've increased your base Evasion but nothing else. That said, there's a decent amount of defensive effects you can pick up with just Dex 3. You could also focus more on Stam... but then why aren't you using that to Parry? That said, there's probably an MA and/or Evocation build that gets a lot of non-Alchemical Evasion boosts and that works with this, but I can't think of it offhand. Feel free to get brewing.

*Stam instead of Dex for Parry - gets around the issue of the previous in that Stamina has plenty of defense of its own, so this is great for that build without complication.

*Str instead of Dex for movement - also fantastic. Only Lunars also get this, and it's just as good for you. Maybe better, as you're buying submodules instead of whole Charms.

*Stam instead of Str for feats - not amazing, but notably this makes the whole set of relevant Charms compatible with Stam for discounts and such. It's interesting for Alchemicals, it's on theme, and despite my focus you don't have to be optimal in all things.

*Int instead of Wits for Resolve - notable, but not a slam dunk. Int is great for a lot of things, but it doesn't bolster your Resolve nearly as much as Wits Charms can. That said, Wits 3 grants access to a whole bunch of Resolve Charms, so this can still be fine.

*Str instead of Dex for heavy/unarmed melee attacks - oh yes. Good as it ever is. You don't need me to spill more ink.

*Per instead of Dex for ranged attacks - well, Per does at least have a few attack Charms, but there really aren't that many. Even so, this is easier to justify than using Per for Evasion, and again there might be an interesting brew or two out there. That said, it does seem a good bit tougher to put together compared to, say, Mind-Hand Manipulation.

*Anything instead of Wits for JB - er, this you're missing. It's like the only such thing, but be aware. I genuinely don't see many Alchemicals not having Wits 3 at least.

---

Outside of TAU, I'd wait on most of the Universal Charms until after chargen, as for most of them you need to get pretty geared up for them to be useful. The obvious exception is the Charm that lets you learn MA; you can take it later but it's almost certainly better to get started with that stuff ASAP.

---

Now I'll go over each Attribute in turn, covering some of what to expect and some standout Charms. ... Or at least, tonight I'll go over Appearance, and leave the rest for the next two installments.

The Influence section for Appearance has a notable amount of Attribute-agnostic Charms. Makes sense, as App often supplements other Social Attributes. That being said, there's still a few for those pushing App specifically, such as Patriotism-Provoking Display. Conversely, anything referring to bonus dice from App works in any capacity (and remember TAU boosts that explicitly).

One unusual effect from this section is Blinding Strobe Projector, which literally blinds opponents. It's a handy pickup and has some good submodules, and it's especially good if you're taking more Stealth effects from here or elsewhere. Another effect that you wouldn't expect is Fearless Paragon Calibration, which is a Resolve buff against fear. It won't buff you, and you need decent Resolve yourself, but this can keep a party together.

The Guile section is pretty short, and notably all but one Charm requires a pretty sizable App investment. There also aren't that many submodules, so this section will tax your slots a bit. I wouldn't completely dump Manip, is what I'm saying, unless you can buff Guile some other way.

The Subterfuge section starts with a really common pickup, Integrated Artifact Transmogrifier. This doesn't just hide your Charms, it can make you look human. You may not need this in Autochthonia as much, but it's huge in hostile or uncertain territory. Aura-Dampening Component is your Charm for muting motes spent on sneaky stuff and so a lot of builds will take it. Husk-Sculpting Apparatus may seem like a generalist effect along the same lines, but since its disguise roll has to use App it's not nearly as accessible as it looks. That said, it's loaded with submodules, which is nice if you pick it up and you don't Favor App.

A big note about Optical Shroud and all of its extensions: it's not good for combat (at least not for long), it's for sneaking around. Stealthy builds will probably look to it, but it's not as fundamental an effect as you might think, and you may leave it at home at times even if you're a sneaky sort.

Not much to say about Warfare, other than that virtually all of its effects are App specific and don't seem to combine well with other Attributes. Also, as a general rule for Warfare stuff, I don't recommend walking around with these unless you're walking around with an army (or if you just don't have anything to replace them with). Worried about an ambush? Run away and come back.

---

That's all for now, I'll split the remaining Attributes up among the next parts of the guide (hopefully two, depends on how in-depth I need to get). See you then.

Hey guys and girls, I have a copy of the limited edition 3rd edition book to sell. Any idea of the actual value? Google is throwing out some wild prices…

Isn’t it a nice version of the map of creation ? Now you know what to cook for your friend for your next exalted session

is there an order the 2nd circle souls need to be produced in. like should defining come before indulgent?

do Infernal subsoils ever start spawning first circle demons?

im sure ill have more. any insight is appreciated.

So I've written some stuff for Alchemicals before, for example this. But while that was decent enough for building an Alchemical in terms of assigning your dots, there's more to it than that, as I'm all too aware. I've bounced off Alchemicals to varying degrees since 1E, almost exclusively because they're always built so differently compared to other splats.

However, when I go looking for info about them, I am Pagliacci. Not that no one else has done anything, but there isn't much in-depth that I know of. So, this is pretty much going to be a guide for me as well as you. Let's work it out. (I would recommend at least skimming through my earlier given example before or after this, as I'll mostly avoid going over the stuff in it.)

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So to start consider the implications of Caste. There's two and a half big things: Caste Attributes, anima effects, and magical material resonance. The last one is the half; you can spend a Charm to get Resonance with any material, but as Charm slots are limited it's not something I'd take early.

So how do Caste Attributes shape your character? Well, one thing I'd point out is that you don't need to utilize all three, but you'll probably want to get mileage out of at least two. That's not so difficult, as a number of Alchemical Attributes cover a wide variety of capabilities. In fact, I'll go ahead and give a general list below. Check a Caste you're interested in and I'll bet you can put together an effective mechanical framework for your concept.

Appearance - Influence (versatile, persuasion and more, good for any social type when face to face), Sneakiness (disguises, stealth, quite a lot in this vein), Mass Combat (some strong Charms, very focused on this Attribute specifically). Worth a look if you're at all social or sneaky, as both of those trees work if you focus on them or support another Attribute.

Charisma - Influence (less versatile but strong and deep, focused on leadership and organizations, often large scale), Warfare (fewer than App, but potent). This is very focused on its particular social niche, but it's certainly good at it.

Dexterity - Combat (as usual it's got both offense and defense but not much to increase damage, and there's a lot of specifically ranged stuff here), Mobility (mostly the usual stuff here), Sneakiness (the rogue stuff to App's spycraft, not that you can't use both). Dexterity is good for a lot of builds, I'm sure you're shocked.

Intelligence - Analysis (kind of a grab bag of Lore and Bureaucracy stuff in particular, but this does cover a lot of ground and the Charms themselves are flexible), Crafting (a notable Alchemical strength/focus), Healing (standard but good), Spirits (also standard, but notably has Shaping defense and learning Eclipse Charms), Warfare (short, and per usual all Strategic Maneuvers), Sorcery (yup). Intelligence is really versatile even beyond learning spells, but that certainly helps a lot. Always worth a look.

Manipulation - Influence (focused on negative influence, threats, and subterfuge, and has some mean physical stuff and debuffs), Guile (App has some stuff as well, this has much more), Sneakiness (mostly social sneakiness). Like Cha, this is mostly for those who are really going in on social influence, although it's got a little unusual stuff.

Perception - Combat (notably exclusively offense, and leaning hard towards ranged attacks), Senses (has the usual, but you also get stuff like drones and unique senses), Scrutiny (the usual social rolls with Per), Spirits (see 'em, shoot 'em). Feels a bit oddly limited, but if you're a ranged fighter or if you just want to be observant it works for that.

Stamina - Combat (lots of soak stuff, but also a bunch of stuff like poison and fire), Endurance (maintaining yourself, and others a little bit). It's combat-focused, but it's even more versatile for that compared to Lunars.

Strength - Combat (all offense, has a grappling tree, and notably has a lot for unarmed fighters), Mobility (leaping and weight stuff mainly), Working (labor stuff, notably available for Stamina too). This is mostly for close-up bruisers but it can supplement a ranged fighter too.

Wits - Combat (not a ton, but all JB stuff is here and there's Initiative trickery), Resolve (very concentrated here), Familiars (some decent buffs here, but short), Crafting (more supports Int for this, but some good stuff here), Navigation (the usual). I think most people will go deep into this if they're looking to buff Resolve specifically, but while there isn't that much combat stuff it's good.

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A note when you're assigning your Attribute dots: yes, you can use Transpuissant (Attribute) Upgrade to meet Charm prereqs (only once, mind). That said, I'm inclined to avoid using it for that, as that Charm is better for doubling down on what you're good at. (At least, I think so. Comment below with any exceptions you've found.)

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We haven't yet gone over anima powers, so let's further differentiate Caste choice with that.

Orichalcum - as ever, you can buff the damage of your attacks, but you can also boost positive Ties and get buffed from upholding your beliefs. Feels like a paladin sort, although you don't focus on any one type of enemy. You'll probably be both social and combat focused to varying degrees, but don't forget you get discounted spells.

Moonsilver - you've got a decent set of combat boosts, especially for mobility, and you can argue well, but the big boost is a penalty to revealing you skullduggery. And you very much will want to be some flavor of sneaky with this Caste.

Jade - you're tough, you're good at getting people to like you, and you stick with your friends. Cha and Wits plus these powers push you into a social role, but you won't be squishy.

Starmetal - you can boost all physical actions, but in a mitigating failure way rather than sheer brute force. You're also good at detecting danger and reading people. Probably The Caste if you're looking to go deep into Int stuff, but you'll also make a good generalist.

Soulsteel - you penalize attackers, can boost base Initiative when defending your community, and of course you can just scare people. Soulsteel is different; while you're tough you've got some incentive to do a ranged build, and while you're equipped to be social you might go about it in an unusual way. It certainly can work, though.

Adamant - you tend to boost others, handing out minor buffs for combat and/or social stuff and inspiring others in general, plus you can turn off your anima to give everybody motes and Initiative. Well, no group won't want that, but what's your build? You're probably going social with App and Per, but you can also be pretty punchy, observant, and even sneaky.

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I'll repeat it here, but it's especially good for Alchemicals to have effects that aren't from their native Charms, given the limited slots. That doesn't lock you into any particular path, however: sure, you can be a Martial Artist or sorcerer, but Evocations offer similar versatility, and even a couple of artifacts can offer a whole pile of effects, and not just for combat.

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A quick note on Clarity: your Great Curse has mechanical impact. It can boost analytic-type rolls, but makes you bad at anything social that's not scary, and also can make your Intimacies less potent. There's ways to mitigate the penalties, but watch out for this.

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I'll get into Charms more tomorrow, especially the more unusual effects. See you then.

Hello!

A friend told me a bit about Exalted and I want to give it a try. I am looking for a 3rd edition game.

Ledaal Kebok Coren is one of the NPC crush of my fire aspect DB, that accompanied him to slay the Bull of the North. There is still some stuff to unpack, we may have to talk a bit more about those horns and wings that poped mid fight...

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

Here's the template:

where do I begin…

Does the duplicate disappear if slain but still in range?

if not, can you absorb its memories up to death if you touch the corpse.

Can I gain sustenance from Murder is Meat by slaying these?

That’s him thinking he matters to no one, because he shitty and powerless, and question whether his life has a purpose or not

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky )

Took a day off yesterday, finishing a drawing oer day is a lot sometimes.

For this one, I drew my Auroral's anima, that has an iconography of a Quetzalcoalt.

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

I’m currently digging through every infernal charm tree to try and find ways to improve Constructive Convergence of Principles.

in the process I’ve had the chance to really look at Linguistics and man does it look fun.

The capstone gives me pause: it says you can opt into Int+Linguistics in place of any pool, but makes no mention of how this works with other abilities’ charm sets.

does that mean I can freely mix and match MA and melee or MA and Archery using Linguistics as a bridge?

I was not super inspired for the theme, so I went for THE canon overpowered Exigent

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

I’m a little confused by the order of operations for shaping things other than land and how tweaks work. I’ll bullet out how I think it works and someone let me know if I’m off:

I’m in Deep Wyld, activate Constructive Convergence of Principles 15m, 1wp

- roll Int/Lore Diff 3, need 5 successes and make Ess radius miles of land.

Done, I’ve made a massive featureless territory similar the nearest recognizable terrain (I think this means elemental pole maybe).

New project: activate charm, roll vs diff 3 to expand range, need 5 threshold successes to expand, but it’s irrelevant because I’m not making land this time

wait a minute, new interval, reactivate charm, roll vs diff 4, need 10 threshold successes. If I don’t get them, I can activate the charm again a minute later, roll vs diff 5 and try to get additional threshold successes to make up the difference.

once I have my 10 successes I have enough “population” for that terrain. So an ocean, desert, mountain, or forest has an ecosystem.

is that how it works or do I start from “make a plot of land, expand it, then do your actual thing every time.

if it’s the latter, does that mean I also get a big island of land every time in addition to the people or buildings?
threshold successes have to carry over to subsequent rolls and activations similar to crafting, right?

This spell is essentially Professor Farnsworth‘s What-If Machine for the caster. The question is, does an Infernal with Essence Dissecting Understanding realize they‘re in a simulation?

For this one, I drew u/angelasasser soil aspect Nadia. She was a master surgeon, until she died and her student resurrected her. But resurrection is not really a thing in exalted, so now she is a new person that has to learn to live again.

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

If I go to Gem, or the Lap or whatever, is there guidance as to what the people look like? I've always imagined Dynasts as Han Chinese with anime hair but I don't think that's canon

For this one, I drew the Forsaken Bride of Crimson Vows, a character from Toxinfox's comic that can be found here.

I tried to go for a sort of old engraving style.

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

Well, you got to see the designs yesterday, so here is a hug

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

Ok so for this one, I took the time to design the first Incarnation of my Auroral. Technically, she did not see the First Age, as she was sealed in an artifact by the end of the primordial War.

Inaya (First Age Incarnation) was a deeply pacifist diplomat, doctor, and Cerulean Lute of Harmony stylist. She embodied love toward all things. When Aurora died and she started turning into a hearteater, it absolutely broke her, and she basically committed suicide.

Yaretzi (Age of Sorrows Incarnation) ressemble her a lot. He loved to love, and was the kind of kid that was afraid to walk in the grass in fear of killing the insects that might live here. But his mother and Black Claw master utterly destroyed his personality and values, and he is now convinced love is a lie.

The exaltation chose him as his core is aligned with Inaya's beliefs, but he has been broken too. They will either be able to restore themselves, or go further down in corruption.

(I've yet to chose their exalt name but there are too many words and I can't choose) They share the title Agape of the Firmament !!!

(As always I also post art on insta and bluesky)

Investigation Tree

Destructive Analytic Tooling

Cost: 5m, 1WP

Mins: Investigation 3, Essence 2

Type: Simple

Keywords: None

Duration: Indefinite

Prerequisite Charms: None

The Infernal’s regard is a terrible thing, her gaze scouring flesh from bone as she dissects your very essence.

While active, this infernal is capable of firing destructive beams of scouring light. This beam has the same statistics as a Powerbow. It uses (Perception + Occult) for the attack roll. Creatures and materials damaged by this beam provide the Infernal with information equivalent to a medical examination; details such as sex, age, material properties and whether the target is currently suffering from any diseases are all revealed to the infernal.

The infernal may buy evocations for this attack as if it were an artifact weapon. A sample evocation is listed below.

Essence Flaying Investigation (Evocation)

Cost: 6m

Mins: Investigation 3, Essence 2

Type: Simple

Keywords: Reflexive

Duration: Instant

Prerequisite Charms: Destructive Analytic Tooling

This charm can be activated when the Infernal kills a supernatural creature with Destructive Analytic Tooling. This permanently destroys the target and grants Craft points as if the Infernal had just completed a Crafting Project. Essence 1 or 2 targets grant craft points as if the Infernal had just completed a Basic project, Essence 3 or 4 targets grant craft points as if they Infernal had just completed a Major project, and Essence 5 targets grant craft points as if she had just completed a Superior project.

Keys

Detailed Vivisection Analysis (Investigation 5): If the infernal drags out the destruction of a helpless foe over an entire scene, she doubles the rewards granted by this charm.

Unwilling Muse Sacrifice (Glory Forging Sacrifice or Demon Smelting Furnace): When enhancing a Craft project Glory Forging Sacrifice and/or Demon Smelting Furnace she may treat a creature slain by this charm as the sacrifice required to activate those charms. Creatures slain by this charm cannot be “reused” for multiple craft projects; the Infernal must ever seek further inspiration.

Memory Devouring Interrogation

Cost: 5m, 1WP

Mins: Investigation 3, Essence 2

Type: Simple, Psyche

Keywords: None

Duration: Indefinite

Prerequisite Charms: None

Certain thoughts and memories are antithetical to the Infernal's designs, better she prune them then allow them fest.

The Infernal supplements an Instill roll, allowing the Infernal to reduce or remove a target's intimacy without citing a supporting intimacy. If successful, the memories supporting the intimacy are excised along with it.

Keys

Technique Devouring Meditation (10m, 1wp): If the infernal spends a day meditating over a stolen intimacy, she may spend XP to instantly gain up to (Essence) dots of abilities relevant to the intimacy. She gains an intimacy identical to the one stolen, at a minor intensity. Subsequent uses of this charm increase the intimacy by one step. If the Infernal loses this intimacy, she loses these abilities and is refunded their XP cost.

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Analytic Modeling Intuition (Errata)

Analytic Modeling Intuition cannot be used to identify a target's ties, or understand their emotional state. The magic of SWLIHN deals in facts, not feelings.

Glory Forging Sacrifice (Errata)

Keys

Unwilling Teacher Inspiration: When the Infernal activates Glory Forging Sacrifice, she may choose to learn up to (Essence) Eclipse Charms. She must pay for these charms with XP as normal.

Solipsism Tree

Crystallized Heart Doctrine

Cost: -

Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2

Type: Permanent

Keywords: None

Duration: Permanent

Prerequisite Charms: Cosmic Transcendence of Virtue

The Magic of She Who Lives in Her Name hardens the Infernal's heart into Pyrian Crystal. No more shall emotion sway her from her purpose.

Upon purchasing this charm, the Infernal selects a single Defining Principle. Subsequently, the Infernal treats any influence which would cause the Infernal to act against the principle or weaken it in any way as Unacceptable Influence. If she rolls dice for acting against this principle, those dice are considered automatic successes.

Ubiquity of Correct Beliefs

Cost: -

Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2

Type: Permanent

Keywords: None

Duration: Permanent

Prerequisite Charms: Crystallized Heart Doctrine

The self-evident rightness of the Infernal's believes infects all who hear her. When attempting a social influence she can leverage the Defining Intimacy she selected when purchasing Crystallized Heart Doctrine as if it were a minor intimacy.

The 10,000 Correct Actions

Cost: 8m

Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2

Type: Supplemental

Keywords: None

Duration: Instant

Prerequisite Charms: Ubiquity of Correct Beliefs

The words of the Whispering Pyre crackle in the thoughts of those who bear her principles. 10,000 Correct Thoughts leading to 10,000 Correct Actions.

This charm supplements a Persuade attempt bolstered by an intimacy that the Infernal and her target share. The charm doubles 9s when the target's intimacy is rated minor, 8s when the intimacy is rated Major, and 7s when the Intimacy is rated Defining.

Unneeded Values Rejection

Cost: 6m

Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2

Type: Supplemental

Keywords: None

Duration: Instant

Prerequisite Charms: The 10,000 Correct Values

The flames of the Whispering Pyre burn away the dross of unneeded thoughts.

This charm supplements an Instill action aimed at removing a Principle she and the target do not share, one based on emotion, or a Tie, doubling 9s. '

Clarity of Correct Thoughts

Cost: 3m

Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2

Type: Supplemental

Keywords: None

Duration: Instant

Prerequisite Charms: The 10,000 Correct Values

This charm supplements an Inspire aimed at calming someone, removing emotion, or persuading them to think rationally. The Infernal doubles 8s on this roll.

Correct Thought, Correct Action

Cost: 15m, 1 WP

Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 2

Type: Supplemental

Keywords: None

Duration: Instant

Prerequisite Charms: The 10,000 Correct Values

The Flame of the Whispering Pyre kindles in the thoughts of all who hear her, whispering thoughts which stir the mind and quicken the hands.

This charm supplements a Persuade action aimed at a target who shares a Defining Intimacy with the Infernal. As long as the two are in the same realm of existence, this Persuade action can be made regardless of distance, the shard of the Whispering Pyre which lives in the intimacy whispering suggestions into their ear. This charm can only be used once per story.

Reset: the Infernal Instills one of their Defining Intimacies in a target.