White Wolf Online

Exalted Magitech
And the Exalted Second Edition Lexicon of the Day
Posted: 2006-03-09

Exalted Second Edition releases March 20th along with the Exalted Second Edition Storytellers Companion and the Character Sheet Pad. April 3rd brings the release of the Exalted Second Edition Deluxe Screen, a "hardcover" Storyteller's screen with handy charts for the new game. On April 17th, we will release the first of the Books of Sorcery for Exalted, Wonders of the Lost Age. So far this week we have been talking about the magical artifacts which the Exalted wield against their enemies or use to manipulate Creation. The Books of Sorcery, Volume 1: Wonders of the Lost Age is a 160 page softcover packed with artifacts for Exalted Second Edition. From power armor to unsinkable warships, and from Essence cannons to self-aware automata, this supplement has all the magitech items players and Storytellers might want and rules for maintaining them. Wonders of the Lost Age includes a plethora of First Age weapons, devices and vehicles, plus complete rules for warstriders, including spiritually active ones.

An Excerpt from the Introduction to Wonders of the Lost Age:

Most artifacts used and built in the Second Age are simple in design with few moving parts, built of a single magical material to be nigh-indestructible. Such devices typically have one or two related powers, activated by direct expenditure of Essence or constantly operating as long as the wonders are attuned to their owners. This preference for durable simplicity exists for a number of reasons. First, most Exalted in the Time of Tumult are not well-educated savants. They do not grasp the subtle nuances of clockwork engineering, motonic physics, metallurgy or the myriad other academic disciplines required merely to understand sophisticated artifacts, let alone actually maintain them. Therefore, the Chosen prize best those artifacts that are sturdy, portable and built on the straightforward model of "Essence goes in, magic comes out."

By contrast, many artifacts built during the First Age—especially the High First Age and early Shogunate—follow different aesthetics and priorities. The master artificers of the ancient world understood that sophistication and complexity were the best routes to greater power. In theory, a common warstrider is no greater a wonder than a grand daiklave (both are Artifact 3), but ask any legionnaire which he'd rather face on the battlefield, and the disparity becomes clear. Even so, warstriders are useful only in certain types of engagements, and they demand far greater Essence (to the point of needing an inset hearthstone just to move), not to mention regular and expensive maintenance by trained technicians. Such drawbacks are not inconsequential, particularly as the inhabitants of the Second Age lack the educated society and vast technomagical infrastructure of their forebears.

Despite prevailing trends, not all Exalted eschew the complexities and complications of advanced First Age artifacts in favor of lesser, more stable devices. For those who can obtain and keep them, the wonders of the past afford great power. Lookshy's hegemony over the Scavenger Lands and ongoing defiance of the Realm stands as the most visible testament to the power granted by access to technology, but the Seventh Legion is by no means the only example. All who choose this path, however, must also educate themselves sufficiently to keep their devices operational, plus secure sufficient funds to replace worn-out or damaged components.

Lexicon of the Day

hearthstone: This is an egg-sized crystal of pure solidified magical energy accreted at the center of a manse. If an Exalt attunes to the manse whence the hearthstone comes and carries the stone on his person in a focal device constructed from one of the five magical materials, he can draw upon the capped demesne's power to perform miraculous feats. The power and nature of these feats depends on the aspect of the demesne. The precise manifestation of power, however, is based on the geomantic Essence-focusing of the Manse's occult architecture.

Don't forget that tomorrow (Friday March 10th) we will release the PDF ebook version of the Exalted introduction and adventure, Return to the Tomb of 5 Corners.

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