Arianna (Exalted 1e)
Quote: This power is a tool that the Unconquered Sun has given us—and I intend to use it.
Prelude: Before, you were the shy assistant in a large library in a Northern kingdom. Timid as a mouse, you did as you were told—cleaning and rearranging books, working all day, always hoping to break through the glass ceiling imposed by your gender. At night, you read and read. You were proud and open in your knowledge, though you hid your fragile beauty, wanting to be accepted for your skill. But no matter how much you knew, you were still a woman, and it was never enough. Until your Exaltation. The Unconquered Sun and the souls of its Exalted know and care not for gender. You were transfigured, and the forgotten texts in the library became your treasure. The tomes of sorcery, books the Dragon-Blooded had not bothered to take and whose magic was useless to the un-Exalted, became your tutors and guides, and you discovered realms of knowledge that surpassed any scholar. Those who once mocked you as a mere assistant could never imagine the spells you now command.
Though you tried to hide, your power grew until it became a beacon that attracted the Wyld Hunt to you. You barely escaped it, and to this day, your face carries a scar from the encounter. Now you travel the countryside, never staying too long in one place, seeking knowledge and power. While you have many acquaintances, you have few close friends and have been forced to flee more than one court or city with enemies in pursuit.
Roleplaying Hints: You finally have the power and recognition you always wanted—the catch is that it involves hordes of deluded fools trying to hunt you down and kill you. You are sensitive about the scar on your face, a reminder of the Wyld Hunt (though it is only a small scar and not disfiguring), and you use a scarf to cover it from casual glances. Your brush with death has left you cold and determined, resolved never to be so weak and helpless again. You do not have a great thirst for universal justice: When you take revenge, it is for personal reasons, and you savor every drop of blood.
Image: Arianna is a tall, fine-boned woman who appears to be in her early 30s. She wears her pure white hair in a thick braid and often covers her face with a scarf to conceal the fine scar running across it. Her eyes are large and dark, and her lips red and tempting. She wears multiple layers of robes and a wide sash at her waist that holds a surprising number of throwing knives but bears no ostentatious jewelry or Hearthstones.
Equipment: Fine silk and cotton robes, various scrolls and books with her own annotations, throwing knives, several maps, and letters of introduction to various nobles.
Arianna, the Implacable Sorceress (Exalted 2e)
Quote: "You'll stay out of my way if you know what's good for you."
Arianna was never a nice little girl. A life of quiet marital servitude to some piggish oaf and his snotty, demanding brat was not for her. At age 14, when her parents announced that they'd chosen her a husband, she ran away, haring north out of the Hundred Kingdoms in search of a more enlightened society. She thought she'd found it in the Northern city of Rylea, which claimed to have the grandest library of ancient lore in the entire region. Arianna made her way there and did her best to insinuate herself into the society of the scholar in residence. In trying to do so, she found that Rylea was a chauvinist kingdom no more enlightened than her own home, despite the treasure trove of knowledge its library offered. The scholars were too proud to accept her as one of their own but plenty willing to let her try as a serving girl. One even tried to make a biddable mistress of her. She told the scholar's wife, who—it turned out—had a notorious temper and a father connected to Rylea's criminal underground. That scholar was never seen again, and none of the others approached Arianna with similar intentions thereafter.
That settled, Arianna proved herself a quick study with as sharp a mind as any man at the library had. She read and studied in the hours not devoted to cooking and cleaning, always assuming her intellect would eventually win the scholars over and earn her a place among them. In all the years she spent there, that never happened. Fortunately, her cleverness did manage something remarkable, a path to another of Rylea's most respected men, a higher authority elevated far above the petty squabbles the scholars achieved. It came over her not in a bonfire of Essence or in the heat of battle, but in a subtle moment as she puzzled out the subtext in an innocuous-seeming book that none of the other Rylean scholars had deemed important. She knew from earlier readings exactly what she had become and that the Immaculate Order's "Anathema" label was a self-aggrandizing sham.
Despite her awful experiences thus far, Arianna intended to stay at the library for a while. Dozens of "untranslateable" volumes were gathering dust in storage there, and if she could keep her new nature a secret, she could glean a wealth of secret from them. Her charade seemed to be going smoothly at first, but that calm was just a lull before a storm. In a few short months—before she'd had time to learn more than the rudiment of Exalted sorcery—the Wyld Hunt tracked her down in spite of all her caution and discretion.
The shikari attacked in the night, one of them marring Arianna with a slash from forehead to cheek that would leave a fine-but-indelible scar. She overcame two of her Dragon-Blooded attackers, nearly destroying the library in the process, but the last one's arrowhead flushed her out into the countryside. She might have died by the roadside that night if not for the timely arrival of a Coral Archipelago junior diplomat named Swan who, it turned out, was also a Solar Exalt. He protected her and took care of her after the fact.
Her wounds were quick to heal, and as they did, Arianna's resolve strengthened. She'd been thinking small at Rylea's library, she realized. There were bigger cities, older libraries and more magnificent wonders out there. In them, she could find the knowledge to unlock the power she knew to be rightly hers. That day, she determined to visit them all and do just that. Swan traveled with her for a while, which was alternately comfortable and taxing. She also traveled alone, crossing paths with the likes of Yurgen Kaneko, Grendis Lam, the Shoat of the Mire and a host of luminaries, criminals, kings and gods. She eventually found her way back to Swan, who brought her into the circle of Solars with which he had fallen in himself. Since then, they’ve been able to accomplish great things, with even greater achievements just around every corner.
Arianna is a self-absorbed woman, driven to retake every right and advantage to which she feels her Exaltation entitle her. In her pursuit of that goal, she will stop at nothing short of betraying those of her associates who can best help her achieve it. Those associates currently include her circlemates—Dace, Panther, Harmonious Jade and Swan. Of them, she most appreciates the Eclipse Caste, Swan, who saved her life, has proven himself a competent sidekick and seems the least inclined to argue with her when she’s trying to get things done. Her feelings for her circlemates are based more on respect than honest affection, however.
Estatísticas de Jogo:
Name: Arianna
Goal: To restore the Solar Exalted to their rightful station as rulers of Creation.
Level: 1
Effort: 2 (1 subtle)
XP:
Influence: 2
Dominion:
Strength: 10 (0) [11]
Dexterity: 16 (+2) [5]
Constitution: 12 (0) [9]
Intelligence: 18 (+3) [3]
Wisdom: 15 (+1) [6]
Charisma: 13 (+1) [9]
Max HP: 8
Current HP: 8
Armor Class: 7
Attack Bonus: +1
Fray Die: 1d8
Hardiness 15
Evasion 12
Spirit 14
Facts
- Runaway noble girl with aspirations to sagehood.
- Seeker (and finder) of hidden secrets and forbidden knowledge.
- The respect (if not love) of her circle.
Caste: Twilight (Dispel a theugic incantation or low magic spell instantly or instantly cast a theurgic incantation once per scene. Sense magic or magic items by concentrating for one round.)
Anima Banner: Tall, broad lapis-lazuli wings of Essence with golden tips unfurl behind her, seeming to transform Arianna into a terrible angelic figure.
Words
- Athletics: Set Dexterity to 16. Cannot be surprised.
- Investigation
- The Unveiled Truth (Action): Commit Effort for the scene to learn the answer to any one question to which the truth is not concealed by all who know it.
- Lore: Set Intelligence to 18.
- Vital Furnace (On Turn): Commit Effort for the scene. Instantly heal lost hit points from one injury received last round.
- Occult: Commit Essence for the scene to instantly negate any low magic or banish or destroy log magic constructs or entities
- Adept of the Gate: Learn four invocations of the Gate.
- Ruler of the Lesser Paths (Constant): Commit Effort. Meditate for an hour to learn at archmage level any one path of low magic you have studied. Cast spells as an archmage of that path until the Effort is reclaimed.
- Navigation
- Dust At Your Heels (On Turn): Commit Effort. You and those traveling with you cannot be caught by pursuers.
Spells
- Demon of the First Circle: Summon a lesser demon, no greater than caster’s level x 2HD, bound to a single Word, with no Gifts. Must be cast slowly. Roll a Spirit save to control the summoned demon once it arrives.
- Invulnerable Skin of Bronze: AC 3 until the sun next crosses the horizon. The sorcerer becomes 100 pounds heavier.
- Sunder the Lesser Spell: Destroy a single invocation of the Gate along with all low magic enchantments within thirty feet. The sorcerer takes 1d10 damage each time.
- Wood Dragon’s Claw: Transform hands into twisted claws of wood, only useful for fighting, doing 1d10 damage. The sorcerer may choose which attribute to use for attack and damage.
Arianna was the most difficult so far, given that I had to translate her spells. I have a poor sense of balance when it comes to game mechanics, so I have no idea how this would fly until I actually play it. I expect I may end up giving the First Circle Demon a lesser gift of the caster's choice. The other two Exalted spells are both hampering and extremely obvious, so I figure that was drawback enough for their benefits. Emerald Counterspell, of course, is pretty much the same as Sunder the Lesser Spell, so I just went with that.
For all her knowledge, Arianna had no Lore charms, so I didn't give her any Lore Gifts. I did give her the supernatural ability to suss out knowledge at need. It seemed like it would fit.
The main focus was on Occult. Since she is a sorcery-focused character, half her Gift allocation was devoted to that.
I gave her a Navigation charm for her Ride skills. Though she doesn't need a horse, she can definitely miracle one up if necessary (and it will outpace any pursuers). Finally, since I incorporated Medicine into Lore, that's where I put her healing meditation charm. Here, it's more of an emergency rapid regeneration. I'd say it's useful for surprise attacks, but thanks to her superior dexterity, she can't be surprised. (I gave her the Alacrity special ability to substitute for Graceful Crane stance. And with Athletics as a skill, she can also run up walls and do other crazy tricks if she's willing to spend the Effort.)
Overall, she still seems more powerful and dangerous than her Exalted counterpart -- if she has time to get her defensive spell off and then invoke Wood Dragon's Claws.
