File: Maka Character Sheet 2.jpg (574 KB, 1119x982)

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>Who are we?
Maka, an exiled noble Exalted as a Zenith-caste Solar. She was in the western city of Tianna as a guest of queen Amata, an old friend. Abyssals are targeting the city for conquest, Lintha pirates have infiltrated it with spies and agents, and the Realm is probably planning to get rid of you.
But things are also looking up. You have gathered a lot of allies and friends, have a powerful Manse under construction, and are unifying Tianna in a great nation under your overwhelming charisma.
You just discovered the reason everyone seems to be so interested in Tianna: an enormous magical fortress lies buried underground, a relic of the First Age with enough firepower to destroy anything...

>Solar? Zenith? I don't know Exalted...
This quest is as newbie-friendly as possible, and I want it to work as a newbie's intro to Exalted. If you have ANY question, ask in thread. For the setting, google "1d4chan exalted".

>Archive?
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Solar%20Quest

>System?
Dicepool-like system. When performing an action, everyone rolls 1d10 when posting. the first X rolls are considered, where X is equal to attribute + ability. Yes, this means that the more people are posting, the stronger Maka is, up to a limit of her attribute + ability.

>XP?
Attributes cost [current score x5] xp. Abilities cost [current score x3] xp, except Zenith costing [(current score x3) -1]. Charms cost 10 xp, except for Zenith-based charms (related to charisma and physical/mental fortitude) which cost 8 xp. At the end of every "session" (thread) you will be presented with a list of possible acquisitions.

>Twitter?
@exaltedfag

>Any questions?
http://ask.fm/Exaltedfag

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38147292
>(Other)
BE
RIGHT
BACK
PRAYING TO UCS FOR GUIDANCE ON WHATEVER THE FUCK THESE VOICES ARE

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38147292
>How did you become a Deathlord anyway?
Nice to see back again so soon EF.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38147292
>>Nod, smile, let her talk for now.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38147292
>How do I know I can trust you?

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38147292
>Nod, smile, let her talk for now.

File: Tyrant of the Doomsday Machine.jpg (1.84 MB, 1200x1920)

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You nod, smile, and wait for her to continue.

She just looks at you, apparently waiting for YOU to continue.

The awkward silence continues for a short but intensely embarrassing length of time, as frustration grows.

Driven by the instinct to say something, anything to break it, you both start talking the same second and interrupt each other.

Some more confused silence.

"Aw, just make out or something." Tia saves the day walking back into the throne room, slamming the heavy iron-bound door behind her. She makes both of you jump in surprise.

You giggle nervously and refocus your attention on the Tyrant of the Doomsday Machine. Looks like she's waiting for you to say something after all.

>Refuse to say anything.
>...What do you mean, "back"?
>Wait, what does this have to do with the Titan?
>I don't think you can go "back", sorry.
>If this is what you want, why did you want to speak with me? What do I have to do with this?
>How do I know I can trust you?
>How did you become a Deathlord anyway?
>What do you know about the Titan?
>I will never let you have the Titan.
>I might let you have the Titan, but under some conditions.
>What do you WANT from me?
>What do you WANT from the Unconquered Sun?

>>38147655
>What do you WANT from me?
>What do you WANT from the Unconquered Sun?

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38147655
>How did you become a Deathlord anyway?

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38147655
>>What do you WANT from me?
>>What do you WANT from the Unconquered Sun?
>>38147672
dice+1d10

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38147655
>How did you become a Deathlord anyway?

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38147655
>Make out
Ok, the husbando said so.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38147655
>>How did you become a Deathlord anyway?
Will it work, you blasting this spot will change you into not being a Deathlord?

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38147655
>>How did you become a Deathlord anyway?

And do you actually want to make out after this, or what?

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38147655
> First, tell me what you mean by " back"

>also, let's agree to speak clearly here. Enough with the riddles and the misunderstanding

>>38147655
>...What do you mean, "back"?
>Wait, what does this have to do with the Titan?
>If this is what you want, why did you want to speak with me? What do I have to do with this?
>How did you become a Deathlord anyway?
>What do you know about the Titan?
>What do you WANT from the Unconquered Sun?
>Make out
Alright, this should be enough and cover everything we wanted to ask.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38147655
>...What do you mean, "back"?

And maybe make out if there's time.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38147655
>...What do you mean, "back"?
>Wait, what does this have to do with the Titan?
>If this is what you want, why did you want to speak with me? What do I have to do with this?
>How did you become a Deathlord anyway?
>What do you know about the Titan?
>Make out

With the amount of successes we got so far, we should be able to ask all of this. Or seduce her, I dunno.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38147806
>With the amount of successes we got so far, we should be able to ask all of this.
Not really how that works, successes just represents how well we got through to her, not how much we can talk about. More topics just dilute the conversation.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38147831

Does it represents our eloquence ?

File: Tia.jpg (129 KB, 850x1275)

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"How did you become a Deathlord, anyway?" You ask.

[Social + Zenith = 8 4 9 7 7 9 9 1 1 =6 successes]

She shifts her weight uncomfortably on the throne.

"I once was a Solar. During the First Age. I think all of the other Deathlords were Solars too. I... I don't remember much. Flashes. Glimpses. The clash of steel. The color of blood. Something warm pressing on the palms of my hand. A dull pain in my forehead. Wind blowing through my hair and clothes. Anger. Rage. Disappointment."

You feel your stomach knotting up.

"I fell into darkness. I used to have so many people orbiting around me, grovelling at my feet. At my beck and call. But now I was alone. Or maybe I was alone even before, but only then I realized how empty it had all been."

You feel Tia gently tugging on your clothes. Not to call for your attention, you realize, but just to keep a hold of you.

"Then, I heard the Voices. It was the first time for me, but they knew me already. They had known me for a long time. I trusted the Voices. They knew things."

"What things?" You ask her.

"I... I don't want to talk about it. Private things. Personal things. They knew. I trusted them. They knew what was best for me. They gave me back my station. I was once again a lord. I had servants. An army. People under me. For a while, it felt good. They wanted me to kill. I did that. I was used to that. It wasn't so different from what I used to do, so it came natural. The scale was just a bit different. I got used to that pretty quickly."

Tyrant was being so polite earlier that you almost forgot. She's a Deathlord. You cannot even begin to imagine how much blood is on her hands. The thought gives you gossebumps.

>Let her finish the story.
>Guess: "You realized were still lonely."
>Guess: "You realized it was wrong."
>Guess: "You realized you missed the Light."
>Guess: "You realized the Voices were manipulating you."
>(Other?)

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38147903
>>Let her finish the story.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38147903
>Guess: "You realized were still lonely."
Nothing had changed

>>38147903
>Guess: "You realized you missed the Light."
Well, it's true

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38147903
>>Guess: "You realized you missed the Light."

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38147903
>>Let her finish the story.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38147903
>Let her finish the story.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>38147903
>Flashes. Glimpses. The clash of steel. The color of blood. Something warm pressing on the palms of my hand. A dull pain in my forehead. Wind blowing through my hair and clothes. Anger. Rage. Disappointment."
So she doesn't actually remember how she died?

Well, it's probably not something she wants to remember.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38147903

>let her finish
>hug Tia

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38147903
>Let her finish the story.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38147903
>You feel Tia gently tugging on your clothes. Not to call for your attention, you realize, but just to keep a hold of you.
Sad Tia pulls at my heart.

>>38147903
>Let her finish the story.

You know, as much as I would like to help her, there no way I'd trust the Tyrant as long as she keeps her troops.

Her greatest flaw isn't hubris, it's how quickly she turns off her empathy when it's easier than the alternative

You try to not interrupt her and wait.

"...I realized I wasn't feeling alright. Nothing I was doing was making me happy. I killed because it came natural, but just because something comes natural it doesn't mean you enjoy it. Just because something comes natural, it doesn't mean that's who you really are. And I didn't want to be that."

"...so..."

"I felt empty. I wanted to change. I wanted to find who I really am. And then I found out something."

Her expression becomes sullen and dark.

"The Voices don't want me to find myself. They don't care for my happiness. They want me to listen. They want me to be obedient. They don't want me to stray from the path they traced. They gave me the illusion of happiness and power, they made me trust them. But just because someone knows your secrets if doesn't mean you should trust them. Just because someone gives you purpose it doesn't mean fulfilling that purpose will fulfill you as well."

That much sounds obvious to you, but it's clear now that Tyrant is a bit loopy.
Death, memory loss and hearing manipulative voices for who knows how long might do that to someone's common sense.

"So now I want to be free. I want to find a myself to be again."

>And you think I can help you regain your freedom?
>And you think I can help you find your purpose?
>And you think the Sun can help you regain your freedom?
>And you think the Sun can help you find your purpose?
>You hurt a lot of people. I don't think you can be forgiven for that.
>Are you sure more violence is the answer, regardless of how much the Voices might deserve it?
>You're talking a lot about yourself, but what about all the death and destruction you've caused?
>Have you really turned on a new leaf, or do you just want to kill the Voices as vengeance for how they used you?
>(Other)

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38148098
>>And you think the Sun can help you find your purpose?
>Have you really turned on a new leaf, or do you just want to kill the Voices as vengeance for how they used you?

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38148098
>And you think I can help you regain your freedom?
>And you think the Sun can help you find your purpose?
>You hurt a lot of people. I don't think you can be forgiven for that.
>You're talking a lot about yourself, but what about all the death and destruction you've caused?
>Have you really turned on a new leaf, or do you just want to kill the Voices as vengeance for how they used you?
Some of these options go really well together, like Maka = freedom and Sun = purpose

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>38148098
>And you think I can help you regain your freedom?
>And you think the Sun can help you find your purpose?
>Have you really turned on a new leaf, or do you just want to kill the Voices as vengeance for how they used you?

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38148098
>you're talking a lot about yourself, but what about the deaths and destructions you caused ?

>what do you want from me? My blessing on your project

>>38148121
* My blessing on your project ?

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38148098
>And you think I can help you regain your freedom?
>And you think the Sun can help you find your purpose?
There's a lot I want to talk to her about honestly, but let's do this one step at a time. She wants to repent and be redeemed, let's start with that.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38148098
>And you think I can help you regain your freedom?
>And you think the Sun can help you find your purpose?
>Have you really turned on a new leaf, or do you just want to kill the Voices as vengeance for how they used you?
Should we use MRP?

>>38148132
The million obol question remains though.

Is the Tyrant being honest about this?
Or is she lying to get the weapon she needs to ravage Creation.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>38148098
>>And you think I can help you regain your freedom?
>And you think the Sun can help you find your purpose?

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38148148
That's what we want to find out here.

Assuming she's telling the truth, I'm not completely against trying, but there's so many things I'd want to do before we even get started.

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38148145
I'm not against it.

>>38148098
>Have you really turned on a new leaf, or do you just want to kill the Voices as vengeance for how they used you?
>Once that Titan's in play we're stuck with it.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

Dice

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38148249

Plus

"Have you really turned on a new leaf, or do you just want to kill the Voices as vengeance for how they used you?" You ask.

[Social + Zenith = 4 4 10 8 1 2 10 2 6 = 5 successes]

She seems to stare into the distance, as if searching her feelings.

"I have decided I no longer want to kill as the Voices tell me to. But... I don't feel sorry for the pain I caused. I don't feel regret or remorse. I don't think I can. Maybe the Voices have removed that from me. Maybe I never had it in the first place."

...She does seem genuinely sad for that, but more in the sense of "being sad because she's broken and incomplete, missing a piece that should be there", rather than "being sad because she has lost the ability to feel genuine empathy towards humans".

"...And you think I can help you regain your freedom?" You ask.

"You have everything." She replies. "You have the weapon. And you speak for the Sun. This can't be a coincidence. You can free everyone from the Voices." She puts her hands together. "I need your help. Without it, I cannot accomplish anything. This is why I didn't want to take over the Titan by force once I learned you were here. The Sun sent you here to aid me. I cannot ignore that."

That sounds like crazy talk to you. He would have mentioned something like that. Wouldn't he?

"And you think the Unconquered Sun can give you a purpose."

She seems to lightly shrug. "If not Him, who? The Voices have lied to me. My past is lost to me, except for flashes of pain and darkness. I don't know where to turn to. All that's left to me is to see Him once more."

That's a huge load on your shoulders. She stares into you with glowing red eyes filled with expectations.

(cont.)

>>38148345
Hmm, the lack of remorse really makes this harder, woman.

>I can intercede for you with the Sun. He will listen to you through me.
>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.
>I think a new purpose has to come from within yourself, not some other source.
>Without regret or repentance there can be no forgiveness. And without being forgiven you cannot be truly free.
>Despite your words, you are a monster and doomed to be bound to darkness for eternity.
>(Other solution for the Deathlord?)

Combined with:

>I will give you the Titan, but at some conditions.
>You'll have the Titan over my dead body.
>I cannot decide on my own regarding the Titan. I'll have to return to Tianna first.
>I will not let you have the Titan, but I can give you just the Eye of Judgement.
>I cannot give you the Titan now, but does it need to be now? Can it wait?
>I would give you the Titan if I knew I could trust you with it.
>(Other solution for the Titan?)

>>38148381
>>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.
>>I cannot decide on my own regarding the Titan. I'll have to return to Tianna first.

>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.
>I think a new purpose has to come from within yourself, not some other source.
>Without regret or repentance there can be no forgiveness. And without being forgiven you cannot be truly free.

Combined with:
>I can not let you have the Titan.

EF, the top three go well together, imo. Are we supposed to pick only one?

>>38148381
>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.

>I cannot decide on my own regarding the Titan. I'll have to return to Tianna first.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38148381
>>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.
>I cannot decide on my own regarding the Titan. I'll have to return to Tianna first.
She has to pull back her army though, no matter what that can't stay

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38148417
dice

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38148381
>I can intercede for you with the Sun. He will listen to you through me.
>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.
>I cannot decide on my own regarding the Titan. I'll have to return to Tianna first.
we can relay her wishes to the Sun, but its up to him to decide for her, we'll just present the facts

also, don't forget your dice anons

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38148381
>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.
>I would give you the Titan if I knew I could trust you with it.

Rolled 8 (1d10)

where did all the players go?

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38148470
Quit after last session

>>38148381
>I can intercede for you with the Sun. He will listen to you through me.
>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.

>I cannot decide on my own regarding the Titan. I'll have to return to Tianna first.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38148478
i doutb that very much

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38148486
Forgot dice

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38148387
>>38148407
>>38148486
TURN ON YOUR DICE

>>38148407
Well, "You can't be forgiven no matter what.. If you want to be forgiven, you must do what I say. You have to decide what to do on your own." would make Maka sound like she's finally gone completely insane.

I have to AFK a bit, will count votes and write reply when I get back.

>>38148478
Good riddance.

>>38148381
>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.
>I think a new purpose has to come from within yourself, not some other source.

>I will not give you the titan
Why is there no default option to not give the titan at all?

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38148470
It's still pretty early in USA, people will be waking up soonish

>>38148345
>>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.
>>I think a new purpose has to come from within yourself, not some other source.


combined with

>>I would give you the Titan if I knew I could trust you with it.

>But let's be clear: I do not trust myself with it, and I do not trust thousands people more reliable, humble and altruistic than me with it. You will have to earn this trust, and to do so, there is no easy way.

>You will have to prove you are no threat to this world, no, to Creation, and make amend for everything you did.

>Those are my conditions

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38148501
dice

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38148501
There is one
>You'll have the Titan over my dead body.

Not a vote by the way

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38148496
>You can't be forgiven no matter what
but none of those options that anon listed in any way mean that...

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38148514
That's what the last option is saying
>>Without regret or repentance there can be no forgiveness. And without being forgiven you cannot be truly free.
This one is saying well fuck you broken monster no one can help you.

>>38148496
I was thinking more of
"without regret and repentence, you cannot be truly redeemed and forgiven. But I will give you a chance to find your mortal heart once more and discover what it truly desires."

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38148345
>>38148507

Forgot dice

Also, I vote that we use Enemy-Castigating Solar Judgment and Majestic Radiant Presence

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38148527
not really, its saying that she can't be free with those things, not that she can't ever possibly earn that chance and get back and regret or repent and seek forgiveness, it makes no assumptions about that at all and to jump to the conclusion that it means that is stupid

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38148539
I'll vote for ECSJ, but we don't really need MRP

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38148548
can't be free without*

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38148539

Precision: or at least MRP

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38148532
Isn't that just the first option just extra flowery?

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>38148539
>I vote that we use Enemy-Castigating Solar Judgment
I'll second that.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38148381
>I can intercede for you with the Sun. He will listen to you through me.
>I cannot speak for the Sun, but if you want to change, I will give you a chance to prove it.

>I would give you the Titan if I knew I could trust you with it.

>>38148539
Fine by me.

>>38148563
Somewhat, it mixes with the "You're a damn monster" part. It both takes and gives hope, which I think is an important thing.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38148539
If I'm counting right MRP won't give us anything, but I'll second ECSJ

>>38148539
Nah, only one of them, not MPR.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38148381
>I can intercede for you with the Sun. He will listen to you through me.
>I cannot give you the Titan now, but does it need to be now? Can it wait?

You don't answer immediately. Instead, first, you spend a moment thinking.

You don't feel like this is a destiny that has been laid out for you to fullfill in advance. Tyrant might believe that, but you have no reason to. After all, you've talked to the guy in charge of this sort of things.

Which means that the responsibility for this is entirely on your shoulders. You glance once at Tia, but her eyes just tell you that same thing. Still, her look of unwavering faith in you does give you a small measure of confidence.

[ENEMY-CASTIGATING SOLAR JUDGEMENT]
[ESSENCE: 2/6]

Social + Zenith = 1 4 5 2 8 8 7 5 = 6 successes

"I might be a Zenith, but that doesn't mean that my word is the word of the Sun. I am my own person, and can only judge you according to my own conscience. Whether the Sun will approve of it or not is not something I can know beforehand."

She seems to accept that, slowly nodding, but saddened that you are not, apparently, what she thought you'd be for her.

"You say you want to change. That you want to be free. I can give you a chance to prove that."

"...prove? To whom?" She wonders.

"Who do you want to prove it to? The Voices? The Sun? Or yourself?"

She pauses. She looks stunned by the question, and doesn't reply.

"And I'm not giving you the Titan. Not yet. It is not mine to give."

She recovers. "Yes it is." She insists.

(Cont.)

"No, it isn't." You reply. "I'm afraid you're mistaken on a number of issues. Is is just one of them. I'll have to go back to Tianna and talk about this with other people, and decide together."

"I don't care about what other people want." She replies, instinctively.

You smile humorlessly at her. "And that is exactly your problem, Tyrant.'

Her eyes widen.

"You've built this narrative where I am your conduit for salvation, but that's not how things work. You've spared the people living in Tianna only to not upset me, not because you believe their lives have value. And that's not right. I'm sure you just thought about having whoever else is responsible for the Titan killed so that it would all be up to me, right?"

"...yes." She admits, almost ashamedly.

"And you decided to not do that only because you knew that it would make me your enemy, and not because you want to try solving problems without murdering people?"

"Yes."

"...so, you're deadlocked." You can't help but smile at the irony of the pun. "You want to free yourself from death and murder, but your only tools for doing so are more death and more murder. You've latched onto me like an anchor to stop yourself from killing and murdering more, but now you don't have anything left, because killing and murdering is all you believe yourself capable of doing."

She stays silent.

"So, this will be your chance to break the chain. To free yourself." You start.

You have no idea if this was fruit of the Sun's intercession, the hand of destiny, or simple happenstance, but you have been given the opportunity to offer a Deathlord a lifeline to salvation.

>(What chance do you offer to the Tyrant of the Doomsday Machine?)
(There's sucha variety of options here, and it's such a big choice, that I feel uncomfortable making a list of options. I feel this is best left as a pure write-in, though feel free to ask for advice if you have an idea you're not sure about.)

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38149040
.... I got nothing, hell I don't even know where to begin addressing this.

>>38149040
>I feel this is best left as a pure write-in
And then the quest went on hiatus in this choice. Forever.

>You have forgotten, so you must remember what it is to live and to love.
>Abandon what has been given to you by your masters. Instead of a deathlord, live as a mortal.
What she needs is empathy. Power spoils people, she needs to be put in the shoes of mortals, who suffer the most the actions of the exalted.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38149040
We offer to pray with her to the Unconquered Sun.

She might be able to lie to anyone so convincingly that we'd never be able to wrangle the truth.

But she can't hide from the Sun.

I get the feeling that if she's legit about this desire to go legit then she'd jump at the chance to bask in the Sun's radiance. Maybe some inspiration by the big boss will give her some insight or means to recover a bit of the person she was before the lies of the Neverborn.

>>38149119
I like this idea in general, but can deathlord even enter creation without passively killing people around them or something?

>>38149040
Any chance you can give some ideas that Maka might have some thoughts on? To help springboard us? Because this is such a giant open choice that I have no idea what kind of 'chance' we want to offer, other than 'redemption' and whatever that might entail.

>>38149119
>Instead of a deathlord, live as a mortal.
>And then she immediately died.
Thats a terrible idea.

This choice is so frustratingly vague and hard to think about because I have no idea what we can offer as Maka, what we can follow through on.

>>38149136
This is a good start, but it should be the beginning of whatever chance we offer, not the offer entirely itself.

Fuck my brain is too tired for this, I'm going to sleep, don't fuck this up anons and EF, try to not just throw us into the ocean with nothing to cling to metaphorically.

>>38149040
>Cast aside what has been offered to you when you died and strive to do the opposite of today. Instead of hurting, heal, and abandon all forms of violence.

>>38149144
A good question.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38149040

I propose this as the chance we give her:

She will surrender unconditionally. Whoever can be freed in her armies will be, and what is too dangerous or unholy to be left will be destroyed or contained. The part of her arsenal that can be used without offending Creation will be given to Tianna.

She herself will be taken into custody. She will help us in any task she can fulfill. She is not to use any power that we would not use.

On our side, we will do our best to help her become a better person and make amend for her acts, even if we're far from perfect ourselves

Also, I say we use ECSJ and MRP, because that's a pretty big deal to shallow.

>>38149156
>and abandon all forms of violence.
maybe that should be only use violence when it is a last resort of to help? because hell, we're not even that pacifistic, I doubt she ever could be and it is a retardedly naive notion

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38149040
I support these >>38149119 >>38149136.

She should cast away her powers and property, reverting to a simple life to truly find what she has lost. When/If she finds her answer we once again pray together to the Sun for guidance.

>>38149169
Well, Maka is not the one seeking to atone, but you make good points. use violence only to help and save people.

>>38149119
>Instead of a deathlord, live as a mortal.
I am confused on this point, do you mean to make her mortal and give up her immortality and powers/abilities/skills, or instead make her not use them to experience the life of a mortal from their perspective rather than transforming her into a mortal?

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38149040
Tell her what the Sun told us. No evil born of a human heart is beyond redemption. I don't have an opinion on what else we should suggest.

>>38149160
Except this. This is just fucking dumb, going this specific and victorious with it.

>>38149040
> because killing and murdering is all you believe yourself capable of doing."
End goal here is learning to care about people again, I feel like the best place to start is with the people already close to her, her Abyssals.

Phoenix once mentioned that even the dead need heroes and if what Karas suspects is true of what the Silver Prince is doing then they need one right now. We won't abandon her and make her do it alone, but that seems like a good place to start while we deliberate on whether or not to let her use the Titan.

>>38149184
>She should cast away her powers and property
Worst idea ever, there is teaching her empathy and to feel for those on the receiving end of her actions, and then there is just being retarded.

Taking away her powers and property achieves nothing, not for us, nor for her, and worse, it doesn't actually help her help herself.

>>38149188
>make her not use them to experience the life of a mortal from their perspective
This. We can't really transform her into a mortal, anyway.

>>38149151
>Thats a terrible idea.
Why is that? I admit I don't have my crunch and fluff 100% right about abyssals, so if you could please explain...

>>38149184
>She should cast away her powers and property, reverting to a simple life to truly find what she has lost.
That won't help her find what she has lost at all, thats just broken logic anon, she can go on that journey to find herself truly, and find what she lost without telling her to fuck off and be a mook for a couple years.

>>38149160
...

You couldn't be any more fucking stupid if you tried, in fact I'm half convinced you did try.

Terrible idea, don't do this.

>>38149189

Why is it dumb? This is pretty much like if Emperor Palpatine was asking for redemption while his fleets of space destroyers surrounded the rebel base

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38149219
Because the tone is presumptuous and hostile. That's the perfect tone to use to provoke her into an attack, not set her on the path to redemption. The rebel leader standing in Palpatine's throne room, surrounded by his army telling him to surrender when he's asking for advice on where to go from here is fucking stupid.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38149219
Well one problem is that it's the ultimatum of a victor demanding unconditional surrender from a far weaker opponent.

The Tyrant doesn't have to unconditionally surrender to SHIT right now.

We have to treat her with a modicum of compassion or this will never work.

>>38149219
What? Even in that scenario its fucking stupid.

>>38149119
>>38149136
These so far are the best, and they are in the right direction, but we need more and my brain is too fried for this so I'm heading to bed.

>>38149211
Going on a journey with her vassals and army which she is used to commanding would not lead to an epiphany. By suppressing herself and putting her outside her comfort zone, she can learn without constantly resorting to her usual actions.

>>38149211

Casting her armies and arsenal away would remove a temptation to come back to her old ways.

Sure, there is no merit in acting good if it's just because you don't have the opportunity to be evil, but I wouldn't let someone keep their undead armies, especially when this someone just admitted she would murder people close to us just so that we'll be the one to give her approval

>>38149199
I like this one alot, I don't think it's perfect, but something like this would be good.

>>38149253
>Going on a journey with her vassals and army
Where the fuck did I say she should do that? Don't put words in my mouth anon.

>By suppressing herself and putting her outside her comfort zone, she can learn without constantly resorting to her usual actions.
...

Pushing someone out of their comfort zone results in them returning to their instincts, muscle memory and reflexes to deal with things, the very things we and her are trying to get her away from.

Brilliant idea if you want to sabotage everything...

>>38149259
>Casting her armies and arsenal away would remove a temptation to come back to her old ways.
a single temptation that we can deal with without such a stupid and extreme measure.

also it is forgetting that the evil Silver Prince dude is about to make his move, for which we WILL need the Tyrant and her forces for, no ifs or buts, if she is to go on any journey without them, whether she gives them up or what, it must happen AFTER she helps us deal with the Prince.

to even consider asking her to give all that up before we deal with the prince is simply moronic.

>>38149231
>>38149234

It's not literally what we'd say to her, dudes. I just think that it's what she needs to do in order to get even a minimum of trust from us.

Also, yes, she has to cast away her evil ways. And her fucking evil armies are ready to level the island. She asked us what to do, well, renounce to do that is the first step.

>>38149040

>>38149136
>>38149199
These are good.

You couldn't even give us bread crumbs to build upon EF? If we don't get more focus and detail on this then we'll be here for the next 15 threads deciding what to do because this is such a massively vague and hugely important choice.

>>38149287
>a single temptation that we can deal with without such a stupid and extreme measure.

Can we fight her armies, anon ? Her unholy armies who are literal blight to this world?

>>38149305
>she needs to do in order to get even a minimum of trust from us.
Why would that make her trust us when it is pointlessly antagonistic and provocative, it is exactly what she would ask of us if she remained who she is and was if we were in her place.

>>38149322
Why the fuck would we fight her armies? What the hell are you smoking anon, I have no fucking idea what you're point is but clearly you are lost on it yourself.

>>38149322
Wut? I don't know what point you were trying to make, but you didn't make it. How is that even connected to that anons post?

If we are to help Tyrant, she is to accept our help willingly, so why would we be fighting her forces? That's like saying "Alright, I have a drug addiction and I want you to help me with it, so to start you must let me beat you unconscious".

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38149040
>(What chance do you offer to the Tyrant of the Doomsday Machine?)
How about a chance to learn from us, we'll try and show her another way and try to teach her by example, us and her own Deathknights.

Anon mentioned her needing to deal with the Silver Prince, we can help with that, everyone there needs help, both living and dead and we can work together to help them. Maybe it does end with us needing to kill Silver Prince, but we can show her that it doesn't have to be all death and murder, we save who we can and stop who we can't.

>>38149269
>she can go on that journey to find herself truly, and find what she lost without telling her to fuck off and be a mook for a couple years.
You wrote that yourself. Not casting away her powers/property means that she continues to lead her army with her vassals. Thus having access to it while she travels.

Putting someone out of their comfort zone is a way to conquer your fears. We don't want to get her away from her instincts/reflexes but to actively suppress and fight it. Teaching her about other methods through experience, she may make errors along the way but that is what she needs in order to grow. The only way to do that is to put limits and push her.

>>38149287
Hm, point.
We can demand she switches sides, then. Put herself in place of the living, but to do that, she must help to keep the living alive (fight the Silver Prince), and then abandon the Deathlord path.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

We had a way easier time deciding what to say to Dancing Swallows.

Ah shit, he's going to come back and see us walking around with a Deathlord.

Also, guys, this is not a time for moderation. The Tyrant is, as much as I think her desire to change is genuine, if self-interested, an extremely powerful and extremely evil monster whose only reason to not destroy everything we hold dear is that she convinced herself she was destined to talk to us.

We're at the crossroad here. Whatever power her armies and her weapons, whatever mean she use to keep her elite working for her, it can't be good. If she ever want to turn into a new leaf, she will have to stop using those things.

>>38149362
>Not casting away her powers/property means that she continues to lead her army with her vassals.
No, no it does not, there is such a thing as a middle ground anon whereas you seem to think there are only 2 possible outcomes, both absolutes as extreme as possible.

>>38149362
>Teaching her about other methods through experience, she may make errors along the way but that is what she needs in order to grow. The only way to do that is to put limits and push her.
Which we can all do without just throwing away her army stupidly...

>>38149381
>We're at the crossroad here. Whatever power her armies and her weapons, whatever mean she use to keep her elite working for her, it can't be good. If she ever want to turn into a new leaf, she will have to stop using those things.
I agree, but we also need her help in dealing with the prince so she can't just throw them away immediately.

Hell I'm sure there are some among her forces that are decent undead people and follow her willingly.

>>38149334
>Why would that make her trust us when it is pointlessly antagonistic and provocative,

No, it would be for us to start trusting her.

I don't trust a child with a loaded gun, and I don't trust a superpowered mass murderer with an army.

>Why the fuck would we fight her armies?

Because if she decides redemption isn't worth it she'll murder our loved one with them?

>>38149351

No, it's like us saying "alright, you have a drug addiction and I will help you, but you have to stop hanging out with your dealer and destroy your drug lab"

>>38149430
>Because if she decides redemption isn't worth it she'll murder our loved one with them?
Have you completely forgotten the part where she is at odds with the Silver Prince, and also wants to ally herself with us to punch the Voices in the face? Because it seems like you've completely forgotten everything she's said in this thread.

>>38149395

It's a fucking evil armies full of abominations, probably collected through various horrible means.

We couldn't claim to be better than the Prince (you know, the one who tortured our brother) if we used the same tools.

>>38149385
Yes, but you did not actually mention that fact. You completely opposed what I wrote. No where did it say that you supported in at least removing anything from her.

>>38149395
I am only telling her to abandon her position which grants her the power over her army not including actual loyalties. By losing her position it removes that temptation to resort to her usual actions. Even just taking a temporary leave still leaves the temptation which could interfere which her future decisions while trying to redeem herself. I would assume the other abyssals would take over and we deal with them instead.

Rolled 6 (1d10)

Just tell her the message the Sun told us about redemption for now, for fuck's sake. We're talking to her in the here and now, not sitting down for a big, detailed action plan. We literally have words about redemption from the big man himself sitting in our hand waiting to be played.

>>38149462
>We couldn't claim to be better than the Prince (you know, the one who tortured our brother) if we used the same tools.
We also couldn't claim anything if we don't use her against the Prince because he would kill us and everyone we care about as well as everyone on Tianna to get the Titan...

To take the moral highground first you must survive to reach the highground anon.

>>38149040
>>38149136
>>38149199
>>38149486
These.

>We literally have words about redemption from the big man himself sitting in our hand waiting to be played.
ESPECIALLY THIS.

>>38149144
as fas as powers go, Deathlords are avatars of death (of course). There's a reason she had Regis and Millian stay out of the room.

>>38149318
I'm really liking the discussion that's going on, really good arguments and ideas are popping up.

But in general, consider the following factors:
-she wants to be free from the Voices.
-she has no human empathy and it might have been surgically removed from her.
-she is unsatisfied with her current condition and is loking for something that will be fulfilling.
-she believes that the UCS can help her and at you speak for him.
-she never talked about "redemption", or morality, or in terms of "right" and "wrong". Just that she wants to be free and that she feels empty.
-she seems to be a logical creature, but with human emotions like likes and dislikes, and an understanding of basic human relationships.
-however she also seems to be fundamentally selfish, in the sense that she considers other people only through the lens of her own self-interest.
-at the same time, selfish doesn't mean callous. She's not one who goes out of her way to hurt people, or who takes joy in it.
-it might be different with her Abyssals, she might have actual feelings for them. They definitely seemed to genuinely like her.
-she is antagonistic towards the Silver Prince, probably because both want the Titan. You don't think there are any deeper reasons.

Anything else?

Also, one personal note. Remember this is Exalted and you are a Zenith. A cool, charismatic, quotable line beats a detailed but boring thirty-step business plan every day.

>>38149486
Yes this, we should start with this.

>>38149449

She says that now. Do you really expect people to keep every good resolutions they take?

Criminals who said they'll quit to stop go back to crime. Drug addicts who swore to quit are found dead from overdose.

I want to believe she chan change. But she's an merciless mass murderer who only want to change boss because she realized they were a crappy boss.

Normal humans go back to their bad ways. Imagine how hard it would be for someone who has literal omnicidal maniacs whispering under her skull. And now take into account that she doesn't feel bad for any of the horrors she did.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38149486
>We literally have words about redemption from the big man himself sitting in our hand waiting to be played.
>>38149527
>A cool, charismatic, quotable line beats a detailed but boring thirty-step business plan every day.
We need to start with this, and turn on our charms

>>38149527
>Remember this is Exalted and you are a Zenith. A cool, charismatic, quotable line beats a detailed but boring thirty-step business plan every day.

"So, Wanna Make Out?"

>>38149498
>the Great Curse
Cool story, anon, but that kind of logic is literally the great curse. We need to lead by example, not write history as the victors. That's EXACTLY what the Sun told us.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38149534
>Do you really expect people to keep every good resolutions they take?
No, but I expect that we can put in place some measures as insurance against that.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38149527

>>38149543
Don't forget to activate HSDD.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38149527
>>38149486
I really want to mention that how Sol felt partly to blame too, this thing I mean.

>"BLINDED BY MY LOVE FOR YOU, AND BY THE SPLENDOR OF THE WORLD THAT YOU HAD BUILT, I REACTED TOO WEAKLY, AND TOO LATE. OFFENDED, IN ANGER I TURNED MY FACE FROM YOU AND FROM CREATION."

>>38149527
>Also, one personal note. Remember this is Exalted and you are a Zenith. A cool, charismatic, quotable line beats a detailed but boring thirty-step business plan every day.


"Tyrant of the Doomsday Machine, would you be ready to live as I do ?"

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38149527
>But in general, consider the following factors:
Those are things you probably should have presented to help the discussion start with 50 minutes ago...

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38149486
>We literally have words about redemption from the big man himself sitting in our hand waiting to be played.
>"NO EVIL BORN OF A HUMAN HEART IS BEYOND REDEMPTION. NO DARKNESS BORN OF A HUMAN SOUL IS TOO BLEAK FOR LIGHT."
>"THIS IS THE REASON WHY THE GIFT OF EXALTATION WAS GIVEN TO THE HUMAN RACE, AFTER ALL."
Sol has some good lines, both Sol and us think she has a chance at redemption, we'll be with her to guide her and help her along.

>>38149555
>No, but I expect that we can put in place some measures as insurance against that.


Like preventing her from using her mass destruction weapons and armies?

Rolled 5 (1d10)

So what charms should we be using? Because it would be absolutely fucking retarded to go through all of this and then only get 1 or 2 successes and fall on our face...

>>38149595
MRP which we should of activated in the beginning of the scene and ECSJ as it only lasts for 1 attack. But we would have 0 essence if we use both.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38149595
I think we should be going for Talking to the Heart, let her know absolutely sure how we feel about her.

Give her a glimpse at our own empathy so to speak

>>38149595

The ECSJ and the MRP

>>38149593
I'm all for redemption, but please, can we not trust her with an army of blight to all of Creation?

>>38149638

Oh, yeah, I had forgot talking to the heart.

TttH and the words of the Sun could do a lot.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38149638
TTTH would go really good now, as would MRP and ECSJ.

This is why I'm not a fan of EF's essence system, its so utterly crippling and restrictive that we can't be awesome like an Exalted should be, instead we're stuck micromanaging our bullshit mana levels like someone who can't afford fuel for their car, it feels completely at odds with the setting, the characters and the story.

>>38149527
Well, now I feel everything was for nothing.

Except if we convey to ther that her freedom and fulfillment will never happen while she is an uncaring murder machine.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>38149741
>Well, now I feel everything was for nothing.
Yeah same... An hour of aimless vague discussion wasted and we're still no closer to any idea what to do other that relay Senpai's words to her and maybe pray to him with her or something.

>>38149639
How about you just fucking wait a minute until her army is even a talking point. We're not trying to build a detailed action plan yet - and even if we were, we're a Zenith, not an Eclipse. Right now, our ONLY goal is getting her off the fence with one really good pitch.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38149767
>We're not trying to build a detailed action plan yet
Except we are, thats literally what EF dumped at our feet.

>>38149789
What EF just explicitly tips us was that we're looming for a good, quotable line right now, not a bigass action plan. Do you not even read?

So it seems the options are mostly these two.

>No evil born of a human heart is beyond redemption. And in returning to the Light, you will find purpose.
>Give up all your armies and forces and learn what it means to be human.

In one she seeks freedom trough redemption and by trying to re-embrace the Sun, in the other she seeks freedom by abandoning the trappings of death and most of her powers.

Feel free to start voting on these two choices, or proposing further write-ins.

>>38149741
Well, she IS an uncaring murder machine, and simply telling her "stop being an uncaring murder machine" might not accomplish much. You could think of a way to make her stop being an uncaring murder machine, or deal with her tghe way she is, or goive up and tell her she's unfixable. Your choice.

Also, discussion is good. I found this discussion interesting, and just because the plot didn't move on it doesn't mean it's been useless. Remember, these are Maka's thoughts in-game (more or less), so even discussion is character developement.

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38149812
Yet he told us to keep in mind all those points that we should have had at the start of this discussion.

Right now we're not even close to having a good quotable line at all, we just know we want one, and that it should include UCS' words to us in it in some way.

How about:
"The Light told me that no evil from human heart is beyond redemption. I will help you find your path, Tyrant of the Doomsday Machine, but you will have to walk on mine for this"

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38149850
>>No evil born of a human heart is beyond redemption. And in returning to the Light, you will find purpose.

+1

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38149850
>>No evil born of a human heart is beyond redemption. And in returning to the Light, you will find purpose.
She has power, power she's used to hurt an untold amount of people, she needs to learn to use that power to help people.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38149850

THIS IS NOT A VOTE

>No evil born of a human heart is beyond redemption. And in returning to the Light, you will find purpose.
>Give up all your armies and forces and learn what it means to be human.

Can we blend the 'to be human/of a human heart' elements of these? maybe say something like
>"No evil born of a human heart is beyond redemption, you were once upon a time long ago human, and part of you still is, but you must search for it and find it, I can help you with that but you will need to give up those which are stopping you from finding that. In finding your humanity you will return to the light, and in returning to the light, you will find purpose."
?

I dunno, just vomiting thoughts into the post box as I'm tired as hell and need to sleep now.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

"You fell into darkness so long ago, and ever since, you've been hiding from the light, because of what you might see. You hid behind the voices and their promises, taking solace in their power. You hid behind your armies and knights, taking solace in the distance they afforded you."

"But you can't hide if you want the light back inside of you. You can't hide if you want to be COMPLETE again. It won't be easy. It won't be quick. But to start on the path to freeing yourself from the Voices, to rekindling what you've lost, the path isn't to descend back down to them - that's just hiding behind what's familiar."

"The path is taking your first step back towards the light."

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38149850
>No evil born of a human heart is beyond redemption. And in returning to the Light, you will find purpose.
And hit her with a Talking to the Heart and a ECSJ

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38149904
Follow this immediately with the Sun's quote:
>"NO EVIL BORN OF A HUMAN HEART IS BEYOND REDEMPTION. NO DARKNESS BORN OF A HUMAN SOUL IS TOO BLEAK FOR LIGHT."
>"THIS IS THE REASON WHY THE GIFT OF EXALTATION WAS GIVEN TO THE HUMAN RACE, AFTER ALL."

>>38149889
Or maybe "you will have to walk alongside me for this"

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38149889
This is good. I say we use this somehow.

Hopefully EF uses our dice from his latest post onwards, with ECSJ/TTTH and MRP it would be fucking awesome and full Zenith Praise the Sun mode.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38149904
>>38149916
this is good, hopefully we use these dice too, what charms do we pop anons?

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38149904
>>38149916

Let's do this.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38149935
We're at two essence I believe, so I'm in favor of TttH and ECSJ

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38149904
>>38149916
I like this. Maybe slip in a line about how the dawn has come, and it's time for her to open her eyes to the light? If she has any vestiges of her memory of the Usurpation left, that might have incredible weight to it, considering how she died, and the redemption she chased in her last moments.

I say we need at least ECSJ

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38150003
>>38149984
Agreed. TttH and ECSJ. This EXACT situation is literally the reason why we got ECSJ in the first place.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38150003

>>38149921
>>38149935
>>38149980
>>38149986
Dicegods pls.

>>38150003
I'll second it if it will help, we don't know what dice we'll be using.

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38149852
>>38149890
>>38149898
>>38149902
>>38149904
>>38149914
>>38149916
>>38149921
>>38149935
He usually takes dice starting from the vote, so 4 successes doubled with ECSJ for 8 successes and a TttH for good measure

Rolled 4 (1d10)

On a kind of related topic, I think if we do spend two essence we'll be totemic, I really want this chance to verify our Anima banner as having UCS imagery.

I think the most liked suggestion was an aegis/shield with Gem's heraldry being held up by four golden hands.

What do you guys think, appropriate or should we hold off?

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38150071
Sounds good to me. Probably a blue gem, because blue is the Zenith caste color.

I'd also be interested in a crown-shaped glowing halo forming behind our head, and maybe shadows resembling bulls cast from our anima's light, as a reference to the South and Maka's strength and fortitude?

Definitely the four golden arms, aegis, and gem, though, and I'm very strongly in favor of some kind of blazing golden crown.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38150134
>blazing golden crown
If our totemic anima includes a crown, I'd be very interested in it being some kind of tiara, or featuring some kind of ornate, mandala-esque bindi, into which our caste mark is set like some kind of precious golden gemstone.

>>38150071

I don't know enough to say, but would it has something to symbolize our fiancee and our fiance ?

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38150134
>>38150150
Ooh nice.

Is anyone actually against this, I hope not this is really nice and our anima banner is something that has gone undescribed for too long I think

>>38150134
>>38150150
>>38150162

A crown looking like the one of our future wife, but with something that reminds us of Tia ?

>>38150071
>aegis/shield with Gem's heraldry being held up by four golden hands
Heart-shaped aegis/shield with Gem's heraldry being held up by four golden hands, because Maka is love.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>38150210
>Heart-shaped aegis/shield
Right right.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38150210
>Heart-shaped aegis/shield
Agreed.

>>38150205
Nah. For the anima banner, I'd rather have it fundamentally tie in to Maka. Her real-life crown can have all of those things.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38150205
We could do the reverse of we don't want to shove too much into it, make Amata and Tia something from our Anima, maybe tiara's in the same shape as the one from out anima.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38150219
>For the anima banner, I'd rather have it fundamentally tie in to Maka. Her real-life crown can have all of those things.
Yes, that sounds good.

>>38150071
I had requested a banner for Pearl once on a drawthread, but I forgot all about it. It was the sun holding pearl woth his 4 arms. Unrelated, but similar.

Anyway, I'd rather we leave this discussion for after the thread.

>>38150219
>>38150225

Alright.

Does the anima shape have an effect?

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38150317
Nah, it just looks cool.

>>38150071
>Gem's heraldry
It's better to avoid real heraldries, that shit is too biased for an anima, even if the exalted is biased or not. Kinda reeks of dragon-blooded, for some readon.

Even a pair of panties would be more neutral and fitting for an anima.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38150317
Nah, it's just a rad hologram laser light display that appears around us when we go full rad-mode.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38150329
An anon suggested a big blue gem, which I thought sounded nice, not specifically it's heraldry, but a good symbol for it.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38150329
It's not Gem's heraldry, it's a heraldric-style shield with a gemstone on it. It's a reference to Gem, not Gem's actual heraldry.

Sorry, moving. gonna afk a bit. Please be patient a bit more.

Can we have something sexy in her anima? Maka is a loving violence machine, so I feel her anima should have elements of her modus operandi: love and violence.

You take a deep breath.

You don't feel qualified for this. Even though, thinking about it rationally... You're a Zenith. You don't think there's anyone more qualified than you in Creation for this.

Maybe that just means that no one really is qualified for this sort of decisions. For giving this sort of speeches.

"Tyrant." You tell her. You let your caste mark shine.

This seems to make a great impression to her. Her eyes fix on to it.

[TALKING TO THE HEART]
[ENEMY-CASTIGATING SOLAR JUDGEMENT]
[ESSENCE: 0/6]

social + zenith = 6 8 8 4 7 3 8 3 3 = 8 successes

"...when I had just Exalted, the Sun told me something I will never forget."

She leans in closer.

"No evil born of a human heart is beyond redemption. No darkness born of a human soul is too bleak for light. That is the reason why the gift of Exaltation was given to the human race."

The room seems to suddenly become much darker all of sudden, leaving her eyes and your castemark as the only sources of light.

"...you are still human. You were born with a human heart. You fell into darkness long ago, but something has survived inside you. You trusted the Voices, and hid behind armies and Deathknights. But now, if you are truly ready, is the time for you to step back into the light."

As your Essence builds up, slowly your full, iconic Anima blazes in full view, dragging the dark room kicking and screaming into pure sunlight.

A shield of gold and adamant burns itself into existance, heart-shaped, two bulls rampant supporting a pillar upholding a hammer and anvil, lightning bolts crossing in the background. Outside of the shield, a shining tiara carrying in its centre a single great sapphire springs into existance. The shield moves behind you and spreads wide as a background, leaving the crown to hover over your head.

"...it hurts." She mumbles, shielding her face from the light.

>(other?)

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38150388
That's the heart-shaped shield, yes.

>>38150348
Hm, a reference to Gem sounds more like Karas' anima than Maka's, to be honest.

"It does. Changing is never easy. It would probably be much easier, much more painless for you to just take the Titan by force, fly it into the Underworld, and try and destroy the Voices with the last shot left in the Eye of Judgement."

She doesn't ask the inevitable question, but it's pretty clear she thought about it.

"Because I think that even if doing that could make you free... It wouldn't make you happy." You answer to it.

"...I don't remember what happiness is like."

"You'll have to learn again."

"But... If not with the Titan, how will I destroy the Voices?"

>you don't need to destroy them. You need to become stronger than them.
>you're not ready for that. When you will be, I'll help you.
>the Sun will guide you, once you return to Him.
>what is more important to you: freedom or happiness?
>(other?)

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38150456
>the Sun will guide you, once you return to Him.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38150437
>(other?)
Something about doing the right thing being hard and hurting, but being worth it. Who knows that better than a Zenith, speaker of truths and bearer of impossible pains?

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38150456
>the Sun will guide you, once you return to Him.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38150456
>you don't need to destroy them. You need to become stronger than them.
"Trying to destroy them wouldn't FREE you from them, it would just make you fall even deeper."

>>38150437
Damn.
I know what to spend my next paycheck now.

>step into the light, lost child. Abandon the evils ways of your dead masters and praise the sun. You no longer fight to kill, you shall now fight for the living's justice.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38150456
>you don't need to destroy them. You need to become stronger than them.
>the Sun will guide you, once you return to Him.

>>38150456
>you don't need to destroy them. You need to become stronger than them.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38150456
>the Sun will guide you, once you return to Him.

File: Coat.png (341 KB, 1074x1085)

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(I actually know some stuff of actual medieval heraldry and blazon, did some studies oln my own for a game and started getting quite into it. At the end of the thread i will try and put togetgher a full, detailed description.)

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38150564
Super nice

Thanks EF you da best

>>38150456
The Sun will guide you, and I will walk the path with you. If you stumble, I will hold you up. If you get lost, I will guide you back. When you feel weak, I will remind you of your strength untilno-one and nothing can take it away again. Your true strength, the ability to make your own choices and be happy with them.

And I promise I won't let you be alone again.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38150588
Forgot to roll

Still on bus, tablet battery dying, will continue once I get back home.

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38150456
>you don't need to destroy them. You need to become stronger than them.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38150456
>the Sun will guide you, once you return to Him.

>there are other voices you can depend on, like those of your Deathknights and me

And maybe he'll guide me to following your suggestion and destroying the Neverborn, because that sounds like a GREAT idea.

File: 1403437103588.gif (262 KB, 500x281)

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Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38150437
>A shield of gold and adamant burns itself into existance, heart-shaped, two bulls rampant supporting a pillar upholding a hammer and anvil, lightning bolts crossing in the background. Outside of the shield, a shining tiara carrying in its centre a single great sapphire springs into existance. The shield moves behind you and spreads wide as a background, leaving the crown to hover over your head.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38150712
>there are other voices you can depend on, like those of your Deathknights and me
Yes, nice good idea.

Is Tia still in the room, I'm feeling really cool right now and I want someone to have seen us do this thing.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>38150456
Seconding >>38150712

I want to poll my fellow anons. It seems like we're moving against the idea of using the Titan to destroy the Neverborn. Assuming that it can be activated without disrupting Tianna too much and that the Tyrant can, indeed, be trusted, it seems like a win-win (aside from bringing the Realm down on us). Is this just a momentary shift in dialogue to move the Tyrant away from going after Tianna or are we not going to pursue it? Sorry if it's a dumb question, I just wanted to know the mood of the thread.

I'm back, writing new post now

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38151045
I'm all for it eventually, I just kind of want to get Tyrant away from the idea that it will solve her problems.

>>38151045
I am totally fine getting rid of the Neverborn, and the underworld with them.

>>38151086
Exactly

>>38151045
1. We don't know the Neverborn actually exist, we think she might just be crazy in-character.

2. That probably wouldn't destroy the Neverborn, just put them in even more undying pain; that's kind of the point of the Neverborn.

3. That's so fucking long-term it's not even worth discussing yet. The Silver Prince and retaking Gem are the key items on our future agenda.

4. It would, I guarantee you, be utterly destructive for the people and island of Tianna.

>>38151045
If we can kerp the islands intact while still using the Titan, I love to use it. Taking Gem back would be easy as shit with it.

I am not fond of using it against the Neverborn, though. I'd rather keep the last shot as a last measure defense, not offense (using it to take Hem would be more of psychological warfare than actual nuking). Besides, Would it even work?

>this thread

PRAISE THE SUN!

>>38151086
I guess when your past life commanded the First Age's greatest hammer, everything looks like a nail.

>>38151114
Probably not. The entire problem with the Neverborn is that, after beyond killed, they were too grand and impossible to reincarnate, so they got stuck halfway and in horrible agony, creating the Underworld as a result of that clog. Shooting them again would just make them angrier/in more pain. The Neverborn are not one of the problems that can be solved with violence; that's the point of their existence, that they show that merely killing enemies in Exalted is far easier than actually solving the problem.

>>38151114
Using the titan is a bad idea, letting anyone know we have a titan is a bad idea.

>>38151204
Besides, even if the Titan could blow a hole in Oblivion wide enough for the Neverborn to enter and be gone forever, what's to say Creation wouldn't follow?

>>38151229
Exactly. The Tyrant's entire idea for shooting the Neverborn is utter trash - and that's not even counting the fact that there's no way to use it without also destroying Tianna.

>>38151114
>Taking Gem back would be easy as shit with it.
Quest for the Five-Metal Shrike when?

>>38151229
Maka's makas are good enough to keep Creation afloat and not sink into oblivion.

>>38151278
That's what our twilight is for. To come up with the SCIENCE/MAGIC solution to that problem.

"The Sun will guide you, once you return to Him." You tell her, confidently.

She hesitates, her face still turned away from you. "...Like he guided you?"

"He didn't say me much." You admit. "Just very few words. But they meant a lot to me."

Her shoulders slump down. "...I don't think it can work. The Voices are powerful. They already hate me for defying them. If I turn my defiance into open rebellion without doing anything about them, I have no idea what they will do to me."

"It's not about killing them. It's about becoming stronger than them." You tap your temple. "We all have our darker feelings, our most evil impulses. Whether they come from outside us or within us, it's the same: to become better people, we need to become stronger than those voices. That's a battle each of us must face, especially us Exalted, or... well, or you now, I guess. We who wield great power also need the greatest strength of character, the strongest sense of right and wrong."

She seems to consider your words.

"And you're not going to be alone. I'm going to be with you."

Finally, she turns back to you, opening her eyes, trying to look at you directly...

...and instead, you see her fixing her eyes behind you, to where your iconic anima burns.

...or is she? She seems absolutely startled, staring behind you with eyes wide open, mouth gaping, frozen in an expression of absolute astonishment. You weren't expecting that reaction.

(cont.)

It's so weird, you actually turn around to check if something odd happened behind you, but you don't see anything out of place. You turn back to her.

She slowly seems to return to the here and now. "...I want to stay in Tianna until I figure things out. What I want to do, where I want to go, and how to conquer the Voices from inside me. And... I don't want to return to the Underworld yet. The Voices are too strong there. I need a place to hide."

You might question why her idea of "hiding" entails a giant undead army and a soulsteel skyship, but maybe it's just how deathlords roll. If you had a skyship, you can't really deny that you'd be tempted to keep it with you no matter what.

>You should keep your base here on this hill.
>You should come to Tianna city.
>I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna...
>You should probably move somewhere else on the island. (Where?)
>I don't think you should stay on this island.

Combined with:

>You should keep your assets and forces as much intact as possible
>You should only keep those you can really trust
>You should let everyone go and only keep with you those you don't think you can do without.
>You should entirely dismiss your death army and spend time alone for a while.

>>38151323
I swear to the sun, if the Silver Prince is standing right behind us...

>>38151371
>I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna...

>You should let everyone go and only keep with you those you don't think you can do without.

Yes, under the 5 dot Solar manse is the best place to hide a deathlord. No one will expect it!

>>38151371
>You should come to Tianna city.
>You should entirely dismiss your death army and spend time alone for a while.
It's happening! Aw yeah!

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38151371
>You should let everyone go and only keep with you those you don't think you can do without.
I don't have an opinion on the first point.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38151371
>>I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna...

>You should only keep those you can really trust

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38151371
>>I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna...
She can hide out in the Wyld if she wants to instead though, but either way we should be with her and not leave her alone. Both for her sake and everyone else's peace of mind.
>You should let everyone go and only keep with you those you don't think you can do without.
Give the rest to some of your Abyssals for a while.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38151323
>It's so weird, you actually turn around to check if something odd happened behind you, but you don't see anything out of place. You turn back to her.
I thought Sempai was behind us for a second

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38151371
>I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna...
It would make Tianna feel better, plus when she finally gets around to communing with the UCS, there's no better place for it. All this assuming she can survive the aura of the Solar manse, of course. I also don't want her in Tianna proper with her whole aura-of-death-to-mortals thing. Maybe just outside Pearl?

>You should only keep those you can really trust
Only those willing to go into full revolt. Though a sizable force to help fight against the Silver Prince would be nice.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>38151371
>You should only keep those you can really trust
>I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna...
She and her knights could probably do with spending time in a future cathedral-city to the Sun. It's the perfect place for contemplation and redemption.

>>38151371
>I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna. You can hide there and you should take with you only those you can trust.
>Everything else, you should put under Tianna's needs until the Silver Prince is dealt with. After that happens, dispose of everything.

I want her to go humble, butthe Silver Prince is coming, no?

>>38151455
That would have been so fucking rad. Maybe if we had already taken Mentor (UCS).

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38151371
If we take her to Pearl our cult might fear and hate her, not to mention she might mess up the geomancy with her "Incarnation of Death" thing.
And the people of Tianna proper might object to having the leader of the Evil Undead Army living with the Queen and the Anathema.
She doesn't want to be lonely, so telling spend some time alone might not work...

>You should keep your base here on this hill.
>You should only keep those you can really trust

I might have a Write-In in ready in a few minutes.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38151424
Changing from this to these:
>>38151464
>>38151457

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38151472
>If we take her to Pearl our cult might fear and hate her, not to mention she might mess up the geomancy with her "Incarnation of Death" thing.
We could keep her in Silk's Wyld until finish converting the manse, we need to do that too, we've been holding off on it for a while now.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38151472
>If we take her to Pearl our cult might fear and hate her

I'm not voting to do that, but if they do that we'll need to teach them some things. No evil from human heart is beyond redemption.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38151472
>If we take her to Pearl our cult might fear and hate her, not to mention she might mess up the geomancy with her "Incarnation of Death" thing
I do worry about that, we need to get on the geomancy right after this.

Any chance someone could repost the map of Tianna?

>I have thigs thing going on in western Tianna...

We have a Wyld area. Seriously we can hide her there. Even the army. Problem is does she want and need the army? Is it detrimental or helpfull to her recovery and defence?

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38151472
How about this:

>Suggest she set up base near Tianna, and keep those she trusts and those who wish to remain with her.
>Tell her that you will intercede for her with the Queen and the inhabitants, and that you will spend time with her to help her on her path to redemption.
>Offer to take her to Pearl after smoothing things over with the Cult of the Unconquered Sun.

This adresses where she will stay, how we will convince Amata that she will not have to worry too much about the Deathlord living nearby and deals with making sure the Tyrant will not be alone with her underlings all the time.
Really, a few occasional visits to Pearl would be great for her after we convinve everyone to give her a chance, especially since all we'll need to do is say she wishes for redemption and that the Ignis Divine himself said she Can be redeemed if she tries and people give her a chance.

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Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>38151595

>>38151606
>Is it detrimental or helpfull to her recovery and defence?
Helpful for her -And our- defenses, detrimental for her mindset. She can't be the Great Tyrant commanding armies of murderous undead, but a woman seeking redemption.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>38151371
>You should keep your base here on this hill.
>You should only keep those you can really trust
I want to take her to Pearl, but it's kind of unstable at the moment, let us finish somethings up and we'll take you to visit before you go.

>>38151624
Thank you.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>38149040
Not a vote necessarily, but no matter what wins on where she stays I think she should wait to move until we head back to Tianna and explain the situation to everyone, then we can come back and go wherever.

>>38151371
>You should only keep those you can really trust
>I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna...

Rolled 1 (1d10)

She might actually find helping to design and build a cathedral-manse to the sun therapeutic. After all it does sound like, in death, she's gotten very into artifice.

Can we have Mik take an oath from her?
I definetly would say if yes, this could be our chance to make all of creation go ¨what the flying fuck¨, especially if we manage to pull through

File: Soaring Crimson Phoenix.jpg (436 KB, 733x1000)

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You smile. "I have this thing going on in the western side of Tianna..." you suggest her. "I'm calling it Pearl. For now, I'm just building a Manse, but I plan on it being a great city dedicated to the Unconquered Sun."

She nods. "And the western side of the island is quite uninhabited. That sounds good. I need time to figure out how to handle things."

"And you should lose the... you know, the giant undead army."

Social + Zenith = 2 2 1 3 3 9 6 7 7 = 3 successes

She stares at you, confused. "Why?"

"...What do you mean why." You nearly facepalm. "Don't you want to redeem yourself and all that?"

"I want to be free from the Voices. I want to find myself again." She points out, carefully avoiding a direct answer to your question.

This is going to be harder than you thought, and you thought it was going to be pretty hard.

"You should get rid of the things that are connections to the world of death."

"Why?" She asks again. "It's my home."

"It's also where the voices come from." You point out.

"A lot of things come from there. You have enemies in Creation, but you'd call me crazy if I told you to cut your ties to Creation and come live in the Underworld just because of that."

You don't know how to reply to that.

"If I let my people go, they have nowhere to return other than the Underworld. Then, they will be punished for having been my underlings. Should I do that?" She asks.

"No- no, of course not." You reply instinctively.

"Then it's decided." She states solemnly. "I will make arrangements. Thank you for your hospitality."

You're about to reply, when Phoenix cracks the door open and walks in.

"I told everyone not to disturb us." Tyrant states.

"I think this warrants an interruption, mistress." He says, giving you an odd look, probably looking at your slowly-vanishing Essence glow, then checking the room for damage, almost as if he expected a fight. "It's the Silver Prince."

(cont.)

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38151831
Bear in mind that an Oath isn't necessarily binding, per se. You can freely break it whenever you want and for any reason, but in doing so, a bad luck curse follows you around making you fail at all of the most important things in your life. In the normal game, it ruins Essence number of actions, waiting for the most critical/important moments in your life to do so (like our social roll against the Tyrant just now) with no save, no matter how good your dice pool or whatever is. In this game, it would probably have Eclipse charges.

And Eclipse's Oath is less something used to bind someone to a course of action, and more something to say, 'And if you break your word, your shit's getting WRECKED.'

>>38151849
DAMN IT

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>38151849
>"Then it's decided." She states solemnly. "I will make arrangements. Thank you for your hospitality."
Reverse social fu-ed

>>38151877
As expected of Maka 0.2

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>38151877
She's a Deathlord, yo. The only reason we were able to push her onto a path of redemption was because she wanted to be there in the first place.

>>38151866
Well aware, but imagne havingg that bad luck being chased by us, other deathlords and servants of the neverborn... and every lving thing in creation that is affiliated with them... and when word comes around how fucked you are the realm as well

She says nothing, but just nods, while you feel your blood freezing. You have the odd feeling you can guess what he's about to say...

"A thirty-ship fleet heading towards Tianna." He cuts straight to the core.

"I should have expected that." She grumbles. "He knows I'm here, and he's trying to beat me to the Titan. We should hurry up and-"

"Actually, mistress." The Day caste interrupts her, "I believe he's coming for you. His flagship is flying the War Flag of Oblivion. He's on a mission from the Neverborn."

"Ah, yes. Ever the loyal lapdog. I never thought he'd move so soon." She turns to you. "My dear Maka, if you have the ability to call on miracles from the Unconquered Sun Himself, this would be about the time."

[Session end]

>>38151950
Thanks for running EF, it was a pleasure, as always

Base: 2 XP
Talked the Tyrant Down: 1 XP

Fists of Iron (1 Ess, Scene. +1 damage once per combat, per enemy)
Shockwave Fist Technique (Permanent, every other Unarmed attack can be carried out at a range of [Dawn] meters)
Regiment-Slaying Strike (1 Ess. Allows you to atttack an entire crowd, mob or military unit at once.)

Respect-Commanding Attitude (1 Ess, Scene. Interrupts everyone and anything going on, in order to deliver a statement that will be heard)
Terrifying Glorious Presence (upgrades Majestic Radiant Presence: on top of its effect, all social attacks have 1 automatic success)
Rose-Lipped Seduction Style (1 Ess. Adds +3 to the effect of a successful social attack performed via seduction. Stacks with Husband-Seducing Demon Dance.)
Kiss of the Sun (1 Ess. Grants Awakened Essence to a Mortal. Can only have up to [Social] Mortals blessed by this charm at a time. Blessing cannot be withdrawn.)
Final Ray of Light (Special. Automatically activates when at 0 Health, and receiving a lethal coup de grace. Immediately restores you back to full Essence and full health. Can only be used once.)

Lore-Master's Gaze (Scenelong, 1 essence, +3 to Knowledge rolls)
Judge's Ear Technique (1 Ess, Scene. Can tell when a person lies knowingly)

Shadow Arts (1 Ess, add +3 to all stealth rolls for the scene.)
Thunderbolt Attack Prana (Permanent, +1 damage to your first attack in a fight if you charge, run or leap into battle)

Sagacious Reading of Intent (1 Ess, you select a statement you either heard or read, and can discern the true reason that caused its author to utter or write it, and what he intends to gain from it.)
Shining Ruler's Benevolence (1 Ess, Scene, add +3 to all politics or organizational rolls for the scene.)

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>38151950
Ah shit.

>[Session end]
Thanks for the thread EF, especially great today.

Shit this was huge, like this was the whole reason we Exalted.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38151949
I literally cannot understand what you're trying to say. Something about the Realm and bad luck?

>>38151991
Kiss of the sun

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>38151991
>Kiss of the Sun (1 Ess. Grants Awakened Essence to a Mortal. Can only have up to [Social] Mortals blessed by this charm at a time. Blessing cannot be withdrawn.)

>>38151849
>She stares at you, confused. "Why?"
I'm imagining the Tyrant doing that anime Headtilt thing here, looking all confused and adorable because she doesn't understand why she should get rid of her toys.

Shit, I've found her strangely endearing these past few updates, even if she is a creature of Death and Oblivion.

File: Larro that's backwards.png (114 KB, 700x500)

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Here's a thing Larro messed up on, I guess you could say it's Maka thinking she could the Sacred Hunt for Tia or something.
Exp please.

>>38151991
Social 5 Yo

>>38151991
>Shockwave Fist Technique
We will need this to fight the new army.
That essence recovering charm would also be pretty good.

>>38152032
That's Maka? She's not even chocolate skinned, this is heresy!

>>38151999
>be a renegade deathlord
>be hunted by everything dead
>be hunted by everything undead
>be mortal enemy of the solar who tried to redeem you
>be cursed with oathbreaking bad luck
Just talking about the oath of the eclipse andthe hypothetical shit that would go down when the hypothetical oath would be broken
Also don't mind being unable to understand me, happens most of the time

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Alright, time to post decu's last batch of EQ requests. They are all portraits, enjoy.

>>38152059
To be fair, Larro was drunk and tired when he did this one.

>>38152032
+1 XP

I'll have to AFK a bit, but the thread isn't even at the bump limit yet so it can probably last a bit more. I'll be back in a short bit.

>>38151991
Social 5

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>>38152092
Everyone's favorite little brother posing like a magical girl. Probably while having Private Times.

Social 5

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Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>38152111
Fuck, now I REALLY want our Dawn to be a trap whose 'battle armor' is totally a magical girl outfit.

>>38151991
So definetly social 5 it hurts

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>>38152097
I had to bail out of that stream before that request came up. May I ask who requested it?

>>38152111
Last one of decu's valentine drawthread art. Yes, this is Amata.