ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Adeimantus
Custodian of Utopia
Background: Through the mine-streets of Gahana, dust-painted horsewomen ride down glittering serpents with
hunting picks. In Fang, wind-scarred urchins swing across the spire’s enamel, carrying parcels on frayed wires.
Sewer-farmers hack mushrooms from the lower labyrinth of Black Migao, racing to finish work before tiderise. All
dream of something more. Something better.

This is how it starts.

Architects, revolutionaries, children — Adeimantus approaches such visionaries in dreams. The muse-king bestows
the insight these fantasists need, and all he asks in return is a shrine. Their
ambition grows, infecting streets like a beautiful disease, and the shrine
swells with it. It becomes a temple, a forum, a palace. It becomes the
foundation for Beimeni-Ta.

O Beimeni-Ta, jewel of a bygone age! Seat of philosophy for

the Shogunate! Harmonious home to beauty and thought,
where anarchy sat chained in
the dungeons! Such virtues
were nothing before the
Wyld, which swallowed
the perfect city whole.

Lost beyond even the grip

of the scavenger lords, the Wyld
preserves Beimeni-Ta like a corpse in
brine, ruled by Adeimantus, the raksha
king, and his devil’s senate. The people are
puppets, Wyld figments who indulge in illuso-
ry pleasures. The culture is madness, a melange
of koans and trends stewed over centuries. The towers
are dust, held together by the mortar of memory.

Once he establishes his foothold in Creation, Adeimantus

works to spread utopia. His surroundings adopt aspects
of Beimeni-Ta — veined marble, sweet air, distant music,
rich simplicity — and his city shimmers like a congealing
mirage over Wyld-slick rooftops. King and courtiers
cannot venture far beyond its limits, but these grow
with every mortal enthralled and slum purged.

In time, the host city becomes Beimeni-Ta in

truth. What beast would oppose the return of
perfection? Adeimantus elevates idealists to
ambassadors, and his city creeps street by
street into Creation, replacing structures
and citizens like a cuckoo hurling ugly
siblings from the nest.

Image: a short and delicate lordling

with soft, hairless features, clad in
 Adeimantus
loose midnight robes, a silvery sash, and simple white-
stone ornaments. Adeimantus has short crimson horns,
trimmed claws, and chalk-blue skin tattooed with
Beimeni-Ta’s history in scrolling red letters.
Intimacies: Defining: Beimeni-Ta (Devotion); Major:
Artists & Scholars (Covetousness); Minor: “Compassion
is no substitute for civility.”; “Violence is beneath me.”
Secrets: Beimeni-Ta was real, once. Its city father, Broad
Cypress, fled the Wyld, and foreswore greater dreams to
become the kindly patron of a fishing village. He is a per-
fect anchor for the perfect city. Permanently banishing
Beimeni-Ta would be a mystical act on the order of an
Ambition 1 Solar working or other equivalent feat, with
Broad Cypress’ sacrifice as an irreplaceable component.
Equipment: Adeimantus bears a red-gold diadem of false
sunlight, a scepter studded with the jewels of Beimeni-
Ta’s desires, and a black-emerald kris which hangs from
his sash, forged from the dream-city’s absent sorrows.
Roleplaying Hints: Adeimantus is a condescending so-
phisticate who only wants the best for Beimeni-Ta, and
regards other civilizations as mere echoes. Creation’s
inhabitants are all citizens-in-waiting, and he delights
in meeting those of refinement — such arts are jewels
for Beimeni-Ta’s crown, so he obsessively courts sages,
courtesans, and martial artists.
Adeimantus does not lower himself to fighting unless he
must, appealing to reason when defied and expressing pity
for those he considers blind to the virtue of his cause. His
death would banish Beimeni-Ta for a time — but his heir,
chosen by quarreling raksha senators, would be free to
claim it for themselves. Beimeni-Ta was dangerous enough
when it aspired to perfection; what form might the para-
sitic dollhouse take when remade in a new devil’s image?
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 7, Manipulation 6, Appearance 6; Perception
5, Intelligence 6, Wits 5
Essence: 5
Willpower: 8
Join Battle: 9 dice
Personal Motes: 50
Health Levels: −0x2/−1x2/−2x4/−4x1/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 4, Bureaucracy
(Civic Leadership) 5, Craft (Artwork) 4, Dodge 4, In-
tegrity (Condescension) 5, Investigation 3, Linguistics
5, Lore 5, Martial Arts (Dreaming Pearl Courtesan)
2, Medicine 3, Occult 3, Performance 5, Presence
(Philosophical Justification) 5, Resistance 3, Socialize
(Polite Dismissal) 5, War 3
Merits: Cult 0-5 (see “Wyldcraft”), Fae Nature
(Exalted, p. 535), Retainers 4 (see “Escort”), Martial
Artist, Unlettered Bane (below)
Attack (Unarmed): 11 dice (Damage 11); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Grapple): 7 dice (6 to control)
Attack (Invocation): (Cult + 8) dice (Damage
15/2); see Prescient Nightmare Invocation
Combat: Soak 9, Hardness 4 (Midnight Robe:
+5/4); Parry 4 (Martial Arts); Evasion 5; Rush 9 dice;
Disengage 9 dice
Social: Resolve 5 (6 while condescending), Guile 6
Escort: Raksha senators equivalent to cataphracts
and lorelei (Exalted, pp. 534-535) dwell within
Beimeni-Ta. They visit Wyld-tainted Creation as Adei-
mantus’ Retainers. Mortals who make up his Cult use
monk/warrior priest traits (Exalted, p. 499).
New Merit: Unlettered Bane
Unlike those fae who suffer iron’s bite, Adeimantus is
vulnerable to enemies who neglect the history drawn
upon his skin. Attackers with Linguistics 0 deal aggra-
vated damage to him.
Wyldcraft
Once per story, Adeimantus can use raksha witchcraft
to mimic Silent Words of Dreams and Nightmares
(Exalted, p. 475). Each Wyld-dream grants the recipient
(Adeimantus’ Cult + 2) banked non-Charm successes,
which she can add one or multiple at a time to actions
that work toward bringing Beimeni-Ta to reality; any left
unused fade at the end of the story. If no player charac-
ter is involved, Storyteller characters who receive these
dreams simply achieve their works more quickly and ex-
travagantly than they otherwise would.
Adeimantus needs no link to his target. Instead, she must
possess some symbolic link to Beimeni-Ta, such as an or-
nament, a song, or an ancestor. The Immaculate Order
demolishes tainted buildings and purges poets wherev-
er they banish Adeimantus, in an attempt to prevent his
return.
Once his dreamers have completed his shrine, the vil-
lage, small town, or neighborhood surrounding it be-
comes Wyld bordermarches — Beimeni-Ta’s foothold in
Creation. Its mortal population becomes Adeimantus’
Cult. Only mortals with an Intimacy opposing Beimeni-
Ta can live within the foothold without reinforcing
the parasite reality. Cultists act to spread Adeimantus’
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
gospel and pieces of Beimeni-Ta’s culture to provide new
links for him to expand his foothold with new shrines
elsewhere; his Cult rating reflects the total population
of all tainted places, adjacent or not. If another new
foothold is established after he achieves Cult 5, all foot-
holds manifest as middlemarches. Left unchecked, these
eventually transplant the actual city from its place in the
deepmarches into Creation.
Beimeni-Ta blesses tainted areas with magical conve-
niences beyond compare — fountains of healing wa-
ter, street-cleaning automata, weather divided by dis-
trict — which grow in potency and wondrousness as
Adeimantus’ Cult increases.
Charms
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Footprints in Rhapsody (3m, 1i; Reflexive;
Instant; Perilous, Psyche; Essence 2): The philoso-
pher-king leads victims down distant, idealized paths.
Adeimantus activates this Charm at the end of his turn,
choosing a single character he successfully disen-
gaged from or hit that turn. That character moves to
close range with Adeimantus, which doesn’t count as
her move action, and suffers a −1 to her Resolve and
Guile until the end of Adeimantus’ next turn. She treats
this Charm as unacceptable influence if the movement
would be obviously fatal.
Prescient Nightmare Invocation (2m or 7m,
3i, 1wp; Simple; Instant; Withering-only; Essence
1): Adeimantus speaks to conjure half-solid visions,
warnings of the sorrows facing Creation without Bei-
meni-Ta. For two motes, he makes a withering in-
vocation attack at close or short range. The enemy’s
maximum applicable soak against this attack is equal
to her Resolve, if it’s lower, modified by applicable
Intimacies. Though Adeimantus prefers not to fight
himself, his dire warnings galvanize his followers;
he can instead pay the increased cost to apply this
attack to all enemies in contact with an allied battle
group, adding its (Size + Might) to his attack and
damage rolls. He gains no Initiative from this attack.
Instead, the battle group regains Magnitude equal to
half the Initiative the enemies collectively lost, up to its
maximum.
Shun the Murk-Blind Host (10m, 1wp; Simple;
Instant; Decisive-only; Essence 2): Weeping, Adei-
mantus shatters his emerald kris. The shards make
one decisive attack against each character within
close range with 9 dice, which ignores Hardness and
divides his Initiative evenly among all targets. Each
shard carries a poison (Damage 1wp/day, Duration
7 days, penalty −3), resisted with (Wits + Integrity).
While suffering the poison’s effects, victims are con-
sidered Hideous (Exalted, p. 162) by anyone with
Linguistics 1+.
Wyld-Gospel Gathering (10m; Simple; One
scene; Essence 2): Once per scene, Adeimantus may
rally citizens real and unreal, creating a battle group
with Size equal to his Cult, Might 1 when within Bei-
meni-Ta or its foothold in Creation, average Drill, and
the traits of battle-ready troops (Exalted, p. 496).
Enemies with Linguistics 0 treat the battle group as
having Defense 0, and may move through its space
without paying Initiative. The group disperses when
the Charm ends.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Infinity Mirror Bedevilment (4m, 2i; Reflexive;
Instant; Perilous; Essence 2): Adeimantus may only
use this Charm on his turn. Briefly trapping foes in a
web of endless rumination, he reflexively reads the in-
tentions of every character at close range, rerolling 5s
and 6s until they fail to appear. If he beats the Guile
of every opponent, he may immediately disengage.
Municipal Perfection Decree (8m, 1wp; Simple;
One scene; Eclipse; Essence 3): The perfect city
flows into forms both aesthetic and defensible with
a tap of its lord’s scepter. Adeimantus can reflexive-
ly take cover (Exalted, p. 198) on his turn, making
dream-city features briefly real, and reduces the
Defense bonus of all cover by one against his own
attacks. He can use a miscellaneous action to alter
or create one urban feature at close range, such as
carving a gateway or forming a beautiful bridge to
escape; doing so to harm or inconvenience an oppo-
nent requires a gambit with difficulty (6 − Cult). These
changes revert when the round ends. An Eclipse who
learns this Charm can only use it within a city where
she holds some position of authority; her gambit dif-
ficulty is (6 − higher of Cult or Essence), minimum 1.
Steel-to-Silk Deferral (3m, 1i; Reflexive; Instant;
Perilous, Uniform): Adeimantus politely drifts away
from bloodshed, movements veiled by illusory sy-
cophants. He gains +1 Evasion against one attack,
which does not increase his onslaught penalty. If his
attacker has an Intimacy that supports Beimeni-Ta, the
Evasion bonus matches its intensity instead.
Vaunted Paradise Defense (4m, 1wp; Reflex-
ive; Instant; Clash, Decisive-only, Psyche; Essence 2):
Adeimantus demands justification for violence with a
reflexive (Charisma + Socialize) clash attack against
an incoming decisive attack. Instead of inflicting
damage, the clash acts as an instill action, weakening
any Intimacies which oppose Beimeni-Ta. Adeimantus
can use this Charm once per scene, unless it’s reset by
a significant enemy’s surrender.
 Adeimantus
SOCIAL CHARMS
False Enlightenment Crucible (4m; Supplemen-
tal; Instant; Essence 2): Enlightened reason prevails
over absurd attachments. Adeimantus rerolls 1s until
1s fail to appear on an inspire action. On success, he
suppresses one Intimacy that opposed his influence;
characters with Linguistics 1+ who failed to resist con-
sider the Intimacy a childish, petty concern, which
cannot modify their Resolve for the rest of the scene.
Wishful Temptation Appeal (3m; Simple or Re-
flexive; Instant; Eclipse; Essence 3): Illusory tapestries
display ills that utopia might avert. Adeimantus uses
Performance to persuade listeners to act on Beime-
ni-Ta’s behalf, ignoring the penalty for influencing
multiple characters. Choose a specific person or
place; listeners with a Tie toward it treat it as a Tie
toward Beimeni-Ta, and treat its intensity as one step
higher for purposes of modifying Resolve. Adeimantus
can use this Charm reflexively upon crashing a signif-
icant enemy with Prescient Nightmare Invocation, but
must choose a Tie that modified his victim’s Resolve
against the attack.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Dream-Wrought Ascendancy (2m; Supple-
mental; Instant; Stackable; Essence 4): Adeimantus
adds one success to any roll that supports an Intimacy
gained through Unborn Echo Ripple (below). He can
use this Charm once per roll for each supporting Inti-
macy, adding up to (Cult) successes.
Smoke-and-Mirror Retreat (20m, 1wp; Simple;
Instant; Essence 4): Adeimantus declares this land an
unsuitable foundation for perfection and fades away
on his next turn, returning to the true Beimeni-Ta in the
Wyld. As a shaping effect, the most tainted structures
are spirited away with him on the turn after that, as
are any inhabitants with a positive Major or Defining
Intimacy for the city who fail a (Wits + Integrity) roll
with a difficulty equal to Adeimantus’ Cult.
Unborn Echo Ripple (1wp; Reflexive; Instant;
Essence 5): Adeimantus opens the vault of dreams,
choosing one character present who must introduce
a fact (Exalted, p. 237) about Beimeni-Ta that sup-
ports one of her Intimacies, without a roll. The fact
becomes true, and Adeimantus gains an appropriate
Minor Principle. For example, Ku Nenaveya’s con-
tempt for bandits might turn Beimeni-Ta into a fortress
against crime, giving Adeimantus a Minor Principle
of justice. These changes have a visible impact on the
city, but inhabitants retroactively accept them as if
they were always present.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Afondha,
the Lady of the Well
Background: The well’s aquifer runs for miles underground, span-
ning rivers and cisterns to bring life to the land. Generations of
farmers coaxed the water above ground, and rice and grains that
grow nowhere else in the East paid for gilded thrones. Three prin-
cipalities once waged war over Afondha’s Well, dark blood seeping
through earth to mingle with the water. Now they have reached an
equilibrium through treaties and marriage, so each may prosper.

Afondha is a regional fertility goddess. She has scores of

god-blooded children, begotten with men and women from
all three princedoms, whom she views as extensions of her-
self. They fill her retinue as guards, servants, spies, and — for
those born of prestigious mortal lineages — ambassadors.
She has no patience for rebellion or laziness, and swiftly
disowns any children who refuse to play their parts. Any
who actively betray her, or even speak badly about her in
public, can look forward to unfriendly visits from hireling
slavers, assassins, or in some cases their own siblings.

The temple-manse at the heart of Afondha’s Well

draws supplicants bringing offerings. They beg for
fertile lands and wombs, or the more nebulous bless-
ing of fruitful endeavors. Others worship Afondha at
more distant cisterns, and her coffers fill with riches
and bounties. No gold or cornucopia compares to
the value of life, however, and she resents the three
principalities for reaching a peaceful arrangement.
She would prefer just enough bloodshed to salt the
waters a touch.

Image: Afondha is all luscious curves and dark bronze

skin. She never wears her raven hair the same way
twice. Her cheeks appear flushed, and her eyes are
the blue-grey of deep water. Often pregnant, her belly
shows from the first month. Her clothes and jewelry
are resplendent and ever-changing, taken from the
riches sacrificed to her wells.

Intimacies: Defining: “Life flows from me alone.”;

Major: “Protect my well at all costs.”, My Cult
(Ownership), “Blood sacrifice means more than rich-
es.”; Minor: Agu Zhano-a Tatosu, daughter by Prince
Agu Zhan (Expectant Pride)

Secrets: Afondha hears everything supplicants whis-

per to any well that taps into the aquifer stretching out
from her temple-manse, from spouses and heirs wish-
ing for rulers’ deaths to farmers asking her to poison
 afhondha, the lady of the well
their neighbors’ land, and she’s not above holding it over
their heads for leverage. She harbors plans to destabilize
the principalities, acting through discreet saboteurs lest
she offend local war gods. She offers potential agents a
myriad of rewards, including talismans and the hand of
her favorite (and unaware) daughter, Tatosu.
Equipment: Collar of Dawn’s Cleansing Light (Exalted,
p. 601); flowing robes (Silken Armor, Exalted, p. 600);
white jade headdress (Hearthstone Amulet, Exalted, p.
601) bearing three identical opaque green-blue stones,
one of which is a Harvest Gem (Exalted, p. 609)
Roleplaying Hints: Afondha carries herself with
self-aggrandizing confidence, but also with charm and
beauty. She is an excellent hostess to those she deems
worthy of her attention — especially young Exalted she
can call upon once they’ve grown in power — and icy
cold to anyone she deems beneath her. She changes her
attire and manse’s interior design on a whim, to keep
guests entertained and, not coincidentally, off-balance.
She never strikes a deal unless she believes she’ll come
out ahead.
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 5; Perception
3, Intelligence 4, Wits 2
Essence: 4
Willpower: 7
Join Battle: 6 dice
Personal Motes: 84/90 (6 committed)
Health Levels: −0/−1x4/−2x4/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Awareness 4, Brawl 1, Bureaucracy (Of-
ferings) 4, Dodge 4, Integrity (Persuasion) 5, Linguis-
tics 4, Lore 4, Occult 4, Performance 4, Presence
(Bargaining, Charm) 5, Resistance 2, Socialize (Read
Intentions) 4
Merits: Artifact (Hearthstone Amulet) 2, Artifact
(Collar of Dawn’s Cleansing Light) 2, Artifact (Silken
Armor) 4, Cult 4, Exalted Healing, Followers 2, Lan-
guage (Native: Old Realm; High Realm, Riverspeak)
2, Manse 5, Retainers (God-Blooded Bodyguard) 4,
Resources 4, Selective Conception
Attack (Unarmed): 8 dice (Damage 10); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Grapple): 4 dice (4 to control)
Combat: Soak 9, Hardness 4 (Silken Armor: +5);
Parry 2 (Brawl); Evasion 4; Rush 3 dice; Disengage
7 dice
Social: Guile 5, Resolve 4
Escort: Afondha cultivates an entourage of fawning
servants, god-blooded guards, and juggling bears.
The temple-manse’s guards use traits for battle-ready
troops (Exalted, p. 496) and form a Size 2, Might 1
battle group with average Drill. Two elite bodyguards
(Exalted, p. 497) accompany Afondha everywhere,
tongueless and unflinchingly loyal.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Geyser’s Distant Caress (6m, 1wp; Simple; One
scene; Eclipse; Essence 2): Afondha may perform
gambits against targets at up to medium range using
Manipulation + Brawl with bonus dice equal to her
Cult (10 total dice), as long as she’s within short range
of at least a gallon of open water. Successful grapples
performed with this Charm immediately pull the target
to close range.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Still Waters Run Deep (5m, 2i; Reflexive; Instant;
Withering-only; Essence 1): Afondha gains bonus
soak equal to the number of dice that show failures in
the attack roll, or double that amount if she is partially
or fully submerged in her aquifer’s water. Activate this
Charm before the attacker rolls.
MOBILITY CHARMS
Aqueous Rebirth (5m, 1i; Reflexive; Instant;
Essence 1): Afondha briefly dissolves into water. She
may automatically succeed on a disengage attempt.
Alternatively, she may roll Dexterity + Cult (7 dice)
while being grappled to reduce the opponent’s turns
of control by the number of successes she rolls. If this
reduces the turns of control to zero, she gains two Ini-
tiative.
SOCIAL CHARMS
Thirst-Quenching Goddess Regalia (8m, 1wp;
Reflexive; Instant; Eclipse; Essence 3): Whenever
Afondha succeeds at a bargain action or chooses not
to apply her Resolve against one, she may activate
this Charm to automatically instill a minor Intimacy for
herself in that character with a positive context chosen
by the opponent’s player, such as awe, respect, or
trust. If the character already has a positive Intimacy
for her, it increases in intensity by one instead. If the
character already has a negative Intimacy for her, it
decreases in intensity by one instead.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Fertile Benediction (15m; Simple; Instant; Eclipse;
Essence 3): Afondha blesses the supplicant with fertil-
ity, ensuring conception with their next informed and
willing partner regardless of whether they could nor-
mally conceive a child with that partner, as long as at
least one of them has a womb.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Hurry Home (10m, 1wp; Simple; Instant; Essence
1): Afondha dissolves into water on her next turn, re-
turning to her manse’s hearthroom.
Materialize (45m, 1wp; Simple; Instant; Essence
1): Afondha solidifies from water.
Measure the Wind (5m; Simple; Instant; Essence
1): Afondha can read anyone who willingly asks for
her blessing.
Vine-Ripened Labor (15m, 1wp; Simple; Instant;
Essence 3): Afondha grants fruitful progress on one
specific task, such as attracting a suitor’s attention or
winning a negotiation with a rival. The supplicant re-
ceives four banked bonus dice, which they can add
to any one roll pertaining to the task before the lunar
month ends; if that roll succeeds, the supplicant tithes
one Willpower to Afondha.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Ashana Ikatu
Master of the Coiled Viper Dojo,
First of the Night’s Talons
Background: Ashana Ikatu has gone by many names in her life. Her first, Tahari, came from peasant parents in a
village on the Porcelain Coast. As a child, her parents gave her to an Immaculate monastery, where her postulant
name was Sparrow and her monk name Daughter of Winds.

Ambitious, unprincipled, and easily bored, she abandoned the Order in her twenties to seek her fortune. She wan-
dered the Threshold as a charlatan and mountebank, claiming and discarding names as she pleased, thrilling in
outwitting the clever and breaking the strong.

Eventually she came to the Coiled Viper Dojo, an ancient and reputable school for
the martial arts. There she challenged and defeated the old master, Ashana
Ikatu, and took his name for her own — along with the sifu’s mystical bless-
ing passed down from its serpent-god founder — in accordance with
the dojo’s tradition. Now she’s sifu to a score of students, training
them rigorously in martial techniques and her own brand of
chicanery.

She only accepts students cunning and ruthless enough

for her purposes, whether as leg-
breakers and grifters garnering
wealth and weeding out compet-
ing criminals, or stalking marks
alongside her as the Night’s Talons,
a black-clad band of thieves and as-
sassins. Like Ikatu, they crave challenge
and victory as much as money. No other local
rogues dare target Princes of the Earth — nor
charge such astronomical fees.

Image: Though nearly 50

years old, Ikatu looks half
that age, aided by healthy
living and rigorous exercise.
She’s frosty in her public
persona as the dojo’s sifu,
but quick to laugh or rage
elsewhere.

Intimacies: Defining: “What

is life without challenge?”; The
Coiled Viper Dojo (Possessiveness);
Major: “I enjoy defeating the
proud.”; “My ambitions are fulfilled,
yet I crave something greater.”; The
Night’s Talons (Pride); Minor: My
Students (Satisfaction); The Exalted
(Jealousy)
 A s h a n a I k at u
Secrets: Ikatu keeps tabs on the wealthy and powerful
nearby for future leverage. She caches away keepsakes
from thefts and schemes, some immensely valuable,
waiting for the right time to use them as bait. A few past
victims still seek her, to retrieve such treasures or exact
revenge; she keeps their names close to her chest, not
wanting her students to get any ideas about betraying
her for profit.
Equipment: custom-tailored silk martial arts uniform,
hidden knives, vial of snake venom, lockpicks, pouch of
dinars
Roleplaying Hints: Though Ikatu relishes her power
and secrets, she’s grown restless from years ensconced
in the Coiled Viper Dojo. Characters can sway her to join
dangerous schemes that are sufficiently challenging or
stimulating. This isn’t a death wish, however; she flees
if brought to her −2 health levels. Her students seek re-
venge on anyone who would dare slay her.
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5; Cha-
risma 2, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2; Perception
3, Intelligence 3, Wits 4
Essence: 1
Willpower: 9
Join Battle: 9 dice
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics (Jumping) 4, Awareness 4, Brawl
1, Bureaucracy (Assess Value) 1, Dodge 4, Integri-
ty (Conceal Identity) 3, Investigation 2, Larceny 3,
Linguistics 2, Lore 2, Martial Arts (Ebon Shadow) 5,
Martial Arts (Snake) 5, Medicine (Self-Treatment) 1,
Occult 1, Presence (Intimidation) 3, Resistance 3, So-
cialize 3, Stealth 3, Thrown (Knives) 3
Merits: Contacts (Local Criminals) 1, Fast Reflexes,
Followers (Night’s Talons) 2, Influence 2, Language
(Native: Low Realm; High Realm, Flametongue) 2,
Martial Artist, Resources 2
Attack (Unarmed): 13 dice (Damage 10); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Knife): 13 dice (Damage 10 + poison: 2i/
round [L in crash], 3 rounds, −3 penalty); Tags: Lethal,
Melee, Thrown (Short)
Attack (Grapple): 9 dice (8 to control)
Combat: Soak 5, Hardness 0; Parry 5 (Martial
Arts); Evasion 5; Rush 8 dice; Disengage 8 dice
Social: Resolve 4, Guile 4
Students: Ikatu often travels with one or more stu-
dents. Ordinary students have monk traits; Night’s
Talons have assassin traits (Exalted, p. 499). She
can muster the Talons as a Size 1 battle group with
elite Drill, and the other students as a Size 2 battle
group with average Drill.
SPECIAL ABILITY: SERPENT’S SOUL
An ethereal, serpentine presence dwells within Ikatu’s
soul. Spending one Willpower manifests it for a
scene; while it’s active, her skin takes on a faint snake-
like pattern. She gains Hardness 5 and Initiative +2
for determining turn order, and ignores one Defense
point if her target has a Major or Defining Tie of fear
toward her. Once active, another Willpower extends
this effect to an individual who knows Snake Style
and has a positive Intimacy toward her. She may also
spend a Willpower to grant a battle group under her
command Might 1. Only the Coiled Viper Dojo’s sifu
possesses this ability.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Bosocu,
Prodigal Son of the Swamps
Background: The Saints of Thuvaraiyam had high
hopes for Bosocu. His birth drew cold-blooded guard-
ians to his crib, the eldest Ghara Hags treated him like
a son, and rumors claimed he was destined to end the
Quagheads’ long exile. It was an unpleasant surprise to
discover he’d run off one day with a minor chapter full
of rabble.
Yet Bosocu is famed as a young folk hero across the wet-
lands, a true believer who wholeheartedly lives up to the
gallantry the Crocodile Host proclaims, credited with
an unseemly number of admirers for his age. To simply
drag the boy back would alienate him and his tight-knit
Blue Leg Chapter, so the Saints scramble for bribes and
plots to herd him home.
See The Quaghead Tribe of Thuvaraiyam for more
information.
Image: A bright-eyed, barefoot teen,
his wide grin missing several teeth.
Grubby with swamp dirt but rich in
confidence and boisterously handsome,
Bosocu sweeps his dark hair back into
a greased mound. Beast-tooth jewelry
dangles from his neck and ears, matching
the bite scars that crisscross his tattooed
skin.
Intimacies: Defining: Chopper (Best
Friend); Major: “The Quagheads are
proud heroes of the wetlands!”; Minor:
Thuvaraiyam (Grudging Fascination)
Equipment: An open-chested crocodile-skin jacket, a
hooked machete that serves as weapon and nail file, and
a small sack stuffed with wriggling swamp animals and
tokens of affection from well-wishers at his last port of
call.
Roleplaying Hints: Bosocu is brash, inquisitive, and ea-
ger to show off. He picks fights and apologizes for them
with equal alacrity. He loves launching an ambush with
a wild battle cry, but he’s not bloodthirsty; he always
spares enemies who’ve done no harm to his family. Deep
down, he worries his chapter made a mistake in follow-
ing him, letting his rumored destiny overshadow his in-
experience. He covers his worries with grins and boasts.
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; Cha-
risma 4, Manipulation 1, Appearance 3; Perception
3, Intelligence 1, Wits 5
Essence: 1
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 8 dice
Health Levels: −0x1/−1x2/−2x2/−4x1/
Incap.
Abilities: Athletics (Swimming) 3, Aware-
ness 3, Brawl 2, Craft (Wood Carving) 1,
Dodge 3, Integrity 2, Larceny 1, Melee
(Mounted) 2, Occult 2, Performance
1, Presence 2, Resistance (Disease) 3,
Ride (Chopper) 4, Sail (Shallows) 2,
Stealth 3, Survival (Swamps, Animal
Husbandry) 4, Thrown (Improvised)
2, War (Blue Leg Chapter) 1
Merits: Familiar (Chopper) 3, Fol-
lowers (Blue Leg Chapter) 1, Legacy
of Thuvaraiyam
 Bosocu
(below), Strong Lungs, Thaumaturgist (Snake Charm-
er’s Shabti 1, below; Unquenchable Flame, Exalted,
p. 491)
Attack (Hooked machete): 8 dice, or 9 while
mounted (Damage 11); Tags: Lethal, Melee, Chop-
ping
Attack (Thrown Snake): 7 dice (difficulty 1
gambit); Tags: Lethal, Thrown (Short), Improvised.
On success, the victim suffers a dose of snake venom
(damage 2i/round, duration 3 rounds, −3 penalty).
Attack (Unarmed): 10 dice (Damage 9); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Grapple): 6 dice (4 to control)
Combat: Soak 6, Hardness 0 (crocodile hide jacket:
+3); Evasion 4; Parry 3 (4 while mounted) (Melee);
Rush 7 dice (8 while swimming); Disengage: 7 dice
Social: Guile 1, Resolve 4
Escort: Bosocu leads the Blue Leg Chapter of the
Crocodile Host. As a battle group, they use traits for
brigands (Exalted, p. 496) and have Size 1 and
average Drill.
Familiar: Chopper is a river dragon (Exalted, p.
571) named for the old iron axehead lodged in his
skull. In combat, he acts as a mount with a +1 Speed
Bonus (+3 in the water) and his own Initiative. Chopper
knows several latent abilities: Hold at Bay, Loyal
Guardian, and Snarling Guardian Attack (Exalted,
p. 562). Bosocu can attack enemies Chopper has
grappled without a reaching weapon.
New Merit:
Legacy of Thuvaraiyam
Once per scene, when he successfully orders his chapter
to attack, Bosocu gains 5 Initiative. If he orders them to
rush an opponent, he may move with them when they
reflexively follow that opponent.
New Thaumaturgic Ritual:
Snake Charmer’s Shabti (• or ••)
The sage sculpts or carves an animal shape, surround-
ing it with food offerings and spending one Willpower.
If a mundane wild beast of this type is within five miles,
her chanted prayers draw it to the totem. The scope of
the rite encompasses animal types as broad as “tiger” or
“snake,” or as specific as a particular species of that type.
While the ritualist continues her mantra, the animal
does not attack or leave unless provoked, and the diffi-
culty to train it lowers by two, to a minimum of 1. Only
one animal responds even if multiple eligible specimens
are nearby.
With one dot, the ritualist must choose one animal type
when she learns the ritual, and can only charm that type.
The two-dot version allows her to choose a different
type each time she uses the ritual.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Ku Nenaveya
Captain of the Blue Wolves, Wielder of the Frozen Heart
Background: A hardened Northern mercenary captain, Ku Nenaveya found lucrative work north of the White Sea in
the Shining Path cult’s bloody factional wars. Though not a believer herself, her talents brought her to the attention
of the cult’s spiritual leader, the Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible, who made her his confidant and elevated her to
high station within the Shining Path.

But Nenaveya betrayed her master’s secrets when the cryptic Melkin Fool in Red, a deathknight in service to the
Bishop’s rival, seduced her. Discovered, she anticipated the most dreadful punishments. Instead, the Bishop offered
forgiveness. “This is your punishment and your blessing: to be made
glorious by your hatred,” he told her, kindling her heart with a nu-
minous black flame. Then he turned her over to his torturer-ar-
tisans; they drained her of all her tears, from which they
forged for her a daiklave of ice.

Exiled from the Bishop’s lands for

her crime, Nenaveya wanders
the North in search
of purpose at the
head of her mer-
cenary band, the
Blue Wolves. As
she embraces the
Bishop’s blessing,
the swath she leaves
in her wake grows ever
bloodier.

Image: Long years of

mercenary work have
marked Nenaveya’s
skin with scars and
her features with
choler. Though
in her early forties,
she remains lean and
well-muscled, with
a wary, vigilant air. Her
clothing and equipage are
of vivid colors and visibly
fine workmanship, pro-
claiming the Blue Wolves’
financial success.

Intimacies: Defining:
The Bishop of the
Chalcedony Thurible
(Worshipful Hatred);
Major: “What’s the
point of having money
 K u N e n av e ya
and power if no one knows who you are?”; The Blue
Wolves (Pride); Foes who’ve defeated her (Hateful
Rivalry); Minor: Bandits and militia (Hateful Contempt);
Peoples of the Black Shale Road (Loathing); The Exalted
(Envy)
Secrets: Nenaveya keeps her power’s nature secret, lest
someone use it against her. Though her knowledge of
the Bishop’s plans is outdated, she nonetheless possess-
es useful information regarding his personal character
and behavior, his intimates, the layout of his Hidden
Tabernacle, and so forth. The Bishop, intrigued by the
effects of his blessing upon her, observes her activities
through ghostly agents.
Equipment: Frozen Heart (daiklave of ice), well-kept
reinforced buff jacket
Roleplaying Hints: Characters can coax Nenaveya
into alliance with offers of riches, respect, and pow-
er. But such alliances are tempestuous; she’s embraced
the Bishop’s gift and forms new hate-based Intimacies
whenever she views a character as a threat to her life,
wealth, or position. She keeps her violent temper leashed
unless skillfully goaded. She recognizes when she’s out-
matched despite her hatred, and seeks allies and patrons
who can protect her from Exalted might.
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2; Perception
3, Intelligence 2, Wits 4
Essence: 2
Willpower: 7
Join Battle: 7 dice
Personal Motes: 20
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x6/−4x5/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Brawl 2, Bu-
reaucracy (Military) 2, Dodge 3, Integrity 1, Larceny
1, Linguistics 1, Lore 1, Medicine (Injuries) 1, Melee
(Frozen Heart) 4, Occult (The Undead) 1, Pres-
ence (Command) 3, Resistance 3, Ride 2, Socialize
(Enemies) 1, Stealth 1, Survival 3, War 4
Merits: Acrimony’s Seal (below), Artifact (Frozen
Heart) 3, Command 3, Contacts 1, Exalted Healing,
Followers 1, Influence 2, Language (Riverspeak,
Shining Path Cant, Skytongue), Resources 2
Attack (Frozen Heart/daiklave): 12 dice
(Damage 15/5); Tags: Lethal, Melee
Attack (Unarmed): 11 dice (Damage 13); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Grapple): 6 dice (5 dice to control)
Combat: Soak 9, Hardness 0 (Reinforced Buff
Jacket: +5); Evasion 3, Parry 5 (Melee); Rush 7 dice;
Disengage 7 dice
Social: Resolve 3, Guile 2
Escort: The Blue Wolves form a Size 4 battle group
of medium infantry (Exalted, p. 496) with average
Drill. She always keeps a grizzled mercenary
(Exalted, p. 497) bodyguard at her side.
New Supernatural Merit:
Acrimony’s Seal
One of Nenaveya’s hate-based Defining Ties cannot be
altered (other than to a different variety of hate) or erod-
ed, and influence antithetical to that Tie is unacceptable.
She may reassign this benefit to a different such Tie once
per story. This Merit is unique to Nenaveya.
Frozen Heart
(Unmelting Ice Daiklave, Artifact •••)
An orichalcum hilt grips a blade of unmelting ice.
Nenaveya is resonant with it, as are the Abyssal Exalted.
Evocations of Frozen Heart
Passive: The wearer ignores all cold-related penalties,
and negates one level of damage from cold-based envi-
ronmental hazards.
Pain-Numbing Chill (2m, 2i; Reflexive; Until next
turn; Perilous; Essence 2): Nenaveya ignores up to three
points of penalties from wounds, poison, or disease on
all actions. Prerequisites: None. Dissonant: The wield-
er only ignores one point of penalty.
Charms
Nenaveya’s rating in her highest-rated hate-based Tie
toward the target of an action she creates or enhances
with a Charm, or toward her attacker, is her Animus. If
she’s impassioned with hatred (Exalted, p, 217), treat
her as having a hate-based Major Tie toward all oppo-
nents. She can’t use Charms that refer to Animus against
opponents for whom she lacks hate-based Ties.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Antagonistic Awareness (1m+; Supplemental;
Instant; Essence 1): Choose an opponent and add
one die per mote spent to a Join Battle roll, up to
(Animus) dice. If Nenaveya’s Join Battle roll beats the
chosen opponent’s, she steals one Initiative from him.
Enmity-Driven Onslaught (1m+; Supplemen-
tal; Instant; Dual; Essence 2): Add one die per mote
spent, up to (Animus) dice, to an attack roll. If it’s
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
withering, also add that many dice to its post-soak
damage; if it’s decisive, add half that many dice
(rounded down) to its raw damage, or to the Initiative
roll if it’s a gambit.
Triumphant Contempt Attitude (1wp; Reflexive;
Instant; Essence 2): Upon incapacitating an oppo-
nent, gain (Animus) Initiative after resetting to base.
Vindictive Counterattack (3m; Reflexive; Instant;
Counterattack, Decisive-only; Essence 2): When par-
rying an attack, make a decisive Melee counterat-
tack that occurs after the opponent’s attack result (suc-
cessful or not), but before damage is rolled, ignoring
(Animus) Hardness. This doesn’t count as her combat
action for the turn.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Focused Loathing Deflection (2m+; Reflexive;
Instant; Essence 1): Increase Parry by one per two
motes spent, up to a bonus of (Animus/2, rounded up),
and ignore that many points of onslaught penalty. On
a successful block, steal one Initiative from the attacker.
MOBILITY CHARMS
Belligerent Pursuit Style (1m+; Supplemental;
Instant; Perilous; Essence 1): Add one die per mote
spent, up to (Animus) dice, to a rush roll or a roll to
contest a disengage action. If successful, perform a
reflexive aim action against the target; Nenaveya
may move and take this reflexive aim action in the
same round.
SOCIAL CHARMS
Searing Antipathy Attitude (4m, 1wp; Reflex-
ive; Instant; Eclipse; Essence 2): In response to being
targeted by social influence but before the influence
action is rolled, Nenaveya burns with hatred as
though impassioned (Exalted, p. 217), and gains
+2 Resolve. If she’s already impassioned with hatred,
waive the Willpower cost.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Cynis Borok
The Self-Involved Satrap
Background: Though the blood of Cynis runs
thin in his veins, Borok holds lofty aspirations
and is willing to go to any lengths to prove the
capability of his branch of the family line — in-
cluding bragging about his abilities to turn a dis-
appointingly rural satrapy into a thriving hub of
culture and commerce. He certainly has his work
cut out for him now that he has been appoint-
ed, and rumors have begun to suggest that
Borok’s selection was more an effort to
prove his shortcomings rather than to
highlight his strengths in leadership.
Too poor to be of note and with too
few exports to matter, the eastern
satrapy Borok supervises was once
a decent producer of lumber until
resources and local morale deplet-
ed and its garrisons were withdrawn
to the Blessed Isle with no intention of
returning. The situation he encountered
during his first visit was even more dire
than he was originally led to believe, a fact
that Borok suspects was an intentional act
meant to sabotage his efforts, and since this
discovery he has committed to all manner
of deception as a part of convincing oth-
ers of his false success while imposing
extreme taxes and generally establishing
himself as an unforgiving tyrant.
Borok hopes that his efforts will aid in
making a name for himself and proving
that he is capable of holding his own,
even if this is proving to be a much
more difficult task than he originally
anticipated. Aside from encountering
some difficulty in garnering support
for his various projects, Borok also fac-
es the trouble of fending off raiders with
only an ill-armed local militia remaining
to protect his new project. His growing
frustration with the situation has made him
quick to anger and eager to threaten those
who are unwilling to lend their own re-
sources toward making his taxpay-
ers miserable.
2
EX3
Image: Cynis Borok is generally accepted as the
last man that you would wish to choose for the
job, and he exudes this with his very appearance:
an almost sickly looking man, he does not show
any outward sign of muscle or strength and his
pale face does little to make any sort of impres-
sion on those who have the misfortune of
carrying on a conversation at length with
him. He keeps his long hair tied back
in a neat ponytail and tries his best to
dress in a manner befitting his post,
but his efforts are generally lost next to
the distraction of the sneer that seems
to grace his lips on a constant basis.
Intimacies: Defining: “My authority de-
mands respect.”; Major: Local Leaders
(Disdain), His Sifu (Respect); Minor:
“Protection is a privilege worth paying for,”
His Successful Sister (Envy)
Secrets: Though he claims his loyalty to
his family is beyond measure, Borok is
currently distracted by an admiral from
House Ragara who has promised him
great power if he turns over sensitive in-
formation regarding one of the ports in a
satrapy adjacent to his own.
Equipment: Fine robes tied with a silk
sash to be used for combat. Borok also
enjoys adorning himself with signs of
wealth and prosperity that will be no-
ticed by others.
Roleplaying Hints: Borok will do
anything to achieve his goals, and his
number one priority is himself. A
blow to his ego could be just as detri-
mental as a physical blow, and he will
certainly retaliate tenfold using any
and all available resources.
Aspect: Air
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2,
Stamina 3; Charisma 3, Manipula-
tion 5, Appearance 4; Perception 4,
 Cynis Borok
Intelligence 3, Wits 4;
Essence: 2
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 5 dice
Personal Motes: 13
Peripheral Motes: 31
Health Levels: -0/-1x2/-2x2/-4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 1, Bureaucracy
3, Dodge 3, Integrity 3, Linguistics 2, Martial Arts
(Dreaming Pearl Courtesan) 4, Melee 2, Perfor-
mance 2, Presence 3, Resistance 2, Ride 1, Socialize
4, War 1
Merits: Artifact 2, Backing 2, Fast Reflexes 3, Martial
Artist 4, Resources 2
Specialties: Bureaucracy (Local Laws), Bureaucra-
cy (Taxes), Linguistics (Propaganda), Performance
(Public Speaking), Socialize (Court Functions), War
(Gateway)
Attack (Sash, Dreaming Pearl): 11 dice –
Bashing, Martial Arts, Flexible, Grappling (damage
12)
Combat: Soak 8 (Artifact Light Armor +5); Parry: 3
(Martial Arts); Evasion: 3; Rush 4 dice; Disengage:
5 dice
Social: Resolve: 4; Guile: 5
Protectors: While in combat, Borok may assemble
a battle group of Elite Bodyguards (Exalted, p. 497)
with the following traits: Size 1, Elite Drill, Magnitude
7. This group is led by a skilled lieutenant who is proud
of their position and fiercely loyal to the Realm in spite
of their lack of confidence in Cynis Borok as a leader.
Charms
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Hammering Wave Technique  (1m per +1 die;
Supplemental; Instant): Add up to (Martial Arts +
Specialty) bonus dice on an attack and deal lethal
damage unarmed. Reroll 6s on the damage roll until
they cease to appear.  Add (Linguistics) dice on a Perception-based roll to
Elegant Weapon Repertoire (3m; Supplemental;
Instant; Dual): Add a  withering  attack’s Accuracy
3
EX3
bonus to damage, or one die of decisive damage.
Alternatively, ready an item as a mundane light
weapon. 
Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form  (8m; Simple;
One scene): Borok can make Martial Arts attacks
at short range. His Elegant Weapon Repertoire and
Pearlescent Filigree Defense use the traits of artifact
weapons and armor. On a successful disengage with
5+ successes, Borok can use this form reflexively. 
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Threshold-Warding Stance  (2m per success or
+1 Evasion; Reflexive; Instant): Add up to ([Dodge
+ Specialty] / 2), rounded down, to Evasion, or in
automatic successes on a Dodge roll. Ignore environ-
mental penalties. 
Demure Carp Feint  (3m; Reflexive; Instant): Add
+1 Evasion or one success on a disengage. If Borok’s
Appearance beats his attacker’s Resolve or that of
all characters he is disengaging from, he adds +2
Evasion or two successes instead. He gains 1 Initiative
when he succeeds on a disengage against an enemy
whose Resolve is lower than his Appearance. 
Pearlescent Filigree Defense (1m; Reflexive; One
scene): Treat clothing as light armor. When hit by an
attack, Borok may spend up to (Appearance) motes
and add that much to his armored soak against it. 
SOCIAL CHARMS
Loquacious Courtier Technique (2m per success
or +1 Guile; Reflexive; Instant; Mute): Add up to ([So-
cialize + Specialty] / 2) to Guile or in bonus success-
es to a Socialize roll. 
Smoothing-Over-The-Past Technique  (3m,
1wp; Simple; Instant; Psyche): Roll instill with (Ma-
nipulation + Socialize) to make one character forget
a past incident of misbehavior by Borok. Resisting
this influence requires entering a Decision Point and
calling at least a Major Tie. 
Wind-Carried Words Technique  (3m; Simple;
Instant): Send a message of up to a few sentences to
a character within (Essence) miles. 
Voices on the Wind  (5m; Supplemental; Instant):
eavesdrop. If Borok reads the intentions of a character
he’s eavesdropping on, she takes -2 Guile for being
unaware of him.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Eska of the Seven Blades
Hunter of Heroes
Background: Born amid the far-Eastern Jaru tribes’ en-
demic warfare, Eska grew up surrounded by violence.
She made it her tool, defeating peers in contests of might
and skill, and leading raids against neighboring tribes to
plunder and count coup. Through bravery and strength,
she could accomplish anything.
When a neighboring Jaru tribe butchered Eska’s people,
the survivors scattered. Bereaved, humiliated, and en-
raged, Eska sought revenge, hunting those who killed her
kin. In a running battle with enemy warriors, she Exalted.
Eventually a Lunar elder, Sublime Danger of the
Thousand Daiklave Wings, took her in. Eska’s sworn her-
self to her mentor’s service, and often performs various
errands — redirecting travelers, stealing artifacts, maim-
ing or slaying perilous foes — occasionally accompanied
by another of Sublime Danger’s students. But mostly, her
time is her own. To ensure that she’s never vulnerable
again, she seeks strength through constant conflict.
Image: A sharp-featured young woman, pale due to be-
ing sheltered from the sun by the forest canopy. Her ex-
pressive face is quick to exhibit glee, surprise, and rage.
Her battle-form has six arms but appears otherwise hu-
man. Her totemic anima displays a violet-and-silver wolf
spider whose legs terminate in blades.
Intimacies: Defining: “Battling mighty foes makes me
stronger.”; Major: Sublime Danger (Reverence); Fellow
student (Rivalry); Minor: “Battle isn’t a game.”; “My foes
will yield to me in the end.”; Fellow student’s reborn
Solar mate (Jealous Desire)
Secrets: Eska keeps tabs on heroes and champions
betwixt the Scavenger Lands and the Dreaming Sea,
tracking their movements and patterns so she can catch
them alone. She’s privy to some, though not all, of her
mentor’s schemes.
 E s k a o f t h e Se v e n B l a d e s
Equipment: Moonsilver short daiklaves (Eska’s Fangs,
below), purple jewelry and leather vambraces match-
ing her eyes
Roleplaying Hints: Eska tests herself against anyone she
sees as a rival (such as a player character who’s defeated
her in battle or who also studies under Sublime Danger) or
who she believes will give her a good fight. She employs
disguises, lies, and stealth to catch an opponent alone long
enough to defeat him. Eska flees if dealt a crippling wound
or brought down to her −4 health levels, or if significant foes
rally to defend her prey. Her interest wanes if a foe seems
beneath her or a more enticing target appears. Those who
slay Eska face the wrath of her mentor and fellow students.
Caste: Full Moon
Tell: Slitted violet eyes
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2; Perception
3, Intelligence 2, Wits 4
Essence: 2
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 8 dice
Personal Motes: 17
Peripheral Motes: 37/42 (5m committed to
Eska’s Fangs)
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x4/−4x7/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 4, Brawl 3, Dodge
5, Melee 4, Integrity 1, Larceny 1, Lore 1, Occult 1,
Presence 3, Resistance 3, Socialize 1, Stealth 1, Sur-
vival 3
Merits: Ambidextrous 1, Artifact 3, Language (For-
est-tongue, Riverspeak, Local Tongues), Mentor 3
(Sublime Danger of the Thousand Daiklave Wings)
Attack (Eska’s Fangs/short daiklave): 13 dice
(Damage 14/4); Tags: Lethal, Melee
Attack (Eska’s Fangs/dagger): 12 dice
(Damage 11); Tags: Lethal, Melee, Thrown (Short)
(see Fang-Concealing Method)
Attack (Unarmed): 11 dice (Damage 11); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Grapple): 11 dice (7 dice to control)
Combat: Soak 4, Hardness 0; Parry 4 (Melee);
Evasion 5; Rush 8 dice; Disengage 9 dice
Social: Resolve 3, Guile 2
Eska’s Fangs
(Moonsilver Short Daiklaves,
Artifact •••)
A recent gift from Sublime Danger after a Solar Exalt
shattered Eska’s mundane blades, these six swords par-
take of Eska’s zeal and duplicity.
Evocations of Eska’s Fangs
Passive: While wielding all six swords, Eska’s dual
wielding bonus to clash attacks increases to +4.
Fang-Concealing Method (—; Reflexive; Indefinite):
Diminish any number of Eska’s Fangs to the size and
semblance of ordinary daggers.
Shapeshifting
Eska pays four motes to assume any human or animal
form she knows as a miscellaneous action. Returning to
her natural human shape is free and reflexive. In animal
form, she uses the animal’s dice pools; where this in-
creases her dice pool, treat the extra dice as dice added
by Charms.
Eska’s spirit shape is a wolf spider. She favors innocu-
ous human forms, like a lost child or traveling merchant,
to lure in an opponent or put him at ease. In battle, she
immediately activates Deadly Beastman Transformation
(see below). For travel and escape, she favors winged
forms such as a raiton (Exalted, p. 570).
Charms
EXCELLENCIES
Eska can add up to (Attribute) dice to a Dexterity,
Stamina, Charisma, or Wits roll for one mote per die.
She may increase this limit by adding a second Attri-
bute, with an appropriate stunt. Additionally, she may
increase her soak by up to (Stamina/2) points, or
(Stamina + [Attribute]/2) with an appropriate stunt,
for one mote per point.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Octopus and Spider Barrage (8m, 1wp; Simple;
Instant; Decisive-only): Make up to three decisive
attacks against one or more enemies; these need
not use the same weapon or Ability. Divide Initia-
tive evenly among attacks, rounding up. Only reset
to base Initiative if at least one attack hits, and only
after all attacks are completed. Only lose Initiative for
missed attacks if all attacks miss. In animal shapes with
more than four limbs, each successful attack adds one
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
cumulative die to subsequent attacks’ damage.
Sinuous Striking Grace (3m; Reflexive; Instant;
Uniform): Add four to Initiative to determine when
to act this round. If Eska uses her action to attack
someone who hasn’t acted yet this round, convert one
die on the attack roll to a non-Charm success.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Coiled Serpent Strikes (2m, 2i; Reflexive; Instant;
Counterattack, Decisive-only): Upon successfully de-
fending against an attack, make a decisive coun-
terattack; Eska may reflexively ready a weapon to
attack with.
Gleaming Crescent Block (4m; Reflexive; Instant;
Uniform): Up to two 1s on an attacker’s attack roll
subtract successes from the roll. Waive the Initiative
cost of counterattacking with Coiled Serpent Strikes if
Eska’s parry succeeds.
MOBILITY CHARMS
Instinct-Driven Beast Movement (3m; Sup-
plemental; Instant): Add an automatic success to
one movement action or one roll of a speed-based
extended action. Upon succeeding at an opposed
supplemented roll, gain one Initiative; in animal forms
with a Speed Bonus, the opponent loses an Initiative
also.
SOCIAL CHARMS
Dream-Weaving Voice (3m; Simple; Instant):
Eska’s words paint a vivid picture in a listener’s mind,
allowing him to clearly visualize the tale. Double 9s
on a single inspire roll.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Deadly Beastman Transformation (1m, 1wp;
Simple; One scene; Withering-only): While Hybrid
Body Transformation is active, add four dice to with-
ering damage rolls, feats of strength, and movement
actions. Gain +4 natural soak. Eska can attempt
Strength 5+ feats of strength. Suffer an unavoidable
−1 Defense penalty. She may reflexively activate this
Charm while activating Hybrid Body Transformation.
Hybrid Body Transformation (4m; Simple;
Instant): Shift into a hybrid form with six arms and
slit-pupiled eyes, gaining the Enhanced Sense
(Vision) and Extra Limbs Merits. This doesn’t count as
an animal form for Charm purposes.
Silken Grasp (1m; Reflexive; Instant): Unreeling a
sticky silken thread from her palm, Eska pulls to her
hand a small or light object within short range. This is
only usable once per hand per round.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Fivefold Masks and Lies

Servant of Chaos
Background: Khuruga, the Esteemed Minister of Social
Unrest, is a busy god, especially in this day and age. He has no
time to see to his purview’s promotion, but his ambition de-
mands continued advancement. Fortunately, he has
children. Fivefold Masks and Lies is the lat-
est of the chaotic god’s progeny, by way of
a mortal supplicant, and they are a willing
and eager servant of their divine father.

Khuruga prefers to provide broad in-

structions: directions to a location, and
an imperative to cause trouble. With
a few whispered words, Masks might
transform a reveling crowd into a vengeful
mob on a festival day, talk a wealthy groom into
abandoning his beloved at their public wedding,
or turn a petty feud into an all-out war between
rival merchants that disrupts trade across an en-
tire nation. The miracles of heavenly transportation
mean Masks has been active as far north as Diamond
Hearth, and as far south as Gem. These days, they’re
often on the Blessed Isle, hounding one Great
House after another as the Dynasts’ for-
tunes rise and fall.

Despite strict instructions to keep

their actions subtle and their pres-
ence unnoticed, Masks has a hab-
it of choosing rivals from among
the Exalted for whom to show off.
Causing chaos in secret is much
less entertaining than at least giv-
ing someone a few hints to liven
things up with people trying to
stop the trickster’s schemes.
The Exalted are so grand,
their actions so dramatic,
it’s hard to resist playing
with the things they love.
Khuruga helps them out
of trouble when they
get in over their head,
but his patience wears
thin, and Fivefold Masks
and Lies may soon find them-
selves on their own.
 Five Fold Mask
LIGHT WEAPON — RAPIER
A rapier is a long, thin blade with a sharply pointed tip and a protective hilt often forged into ornamental de-
signs. The wealthy favor them as a fashionable means of self-defense, lightweight and decorative when worn.
Cost: •••
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Disarming, Piercing
Image: Without their mask, Fivefold Masks and Lies
is an attractive, androgynous young individual. They
don’t show any obvious signs of divine parentage, but
the details of their eyes, hair, and clothing have a habit of
changing whenever no one’s looking. Their features are
youthful and open, disarmingly sincere when they smile
or laugh.
Intimacies: Defining: “Chaos is its own reward.”,
Khuruga (Loyalty); Major: “Give a losing opponent a
helping hand.”, The Exalted (Delighted Rivalry); Minor:
“Whatever you do, look good doing it.”
Secrets: Masks spends a great deal of time watching
for opportunities, and they know plenty of juicy tidbits
about the Great Houses and their scions: who’s sleeping
with whom, who’s lying about their motives or exploits,
and who has hopes and dreams their parents might pre-
fer they didn’t.
Equipment: Masks’ eponymous artifact, the Mask of
Lies, is a smooth, featureless face. They wear it at all
times, either as intended or on top of their head like a
hat, at a jaunty angle. An elegant leather scabbard hangs
at their waist with an ornate rapier inside, unless they’ve
forgotten or lost it somewhere again. Their bag contains
the tools of their trade: a book of notes, blackmail evi-
dence, and local coin for bribery.
Roleplaying Hints: Above all, Masks is a trickster.
They’re surprised when an opponent comes to truly
hate them, since they tend to see adversaries as friendly
rivals. Masks prefers not to fight their own battles, and
would rather talk someone else into doing so, or if cor-
nered, make a deal to avoid a physical altercation. They
have a strong sense of fair play — though untempered by
morals or choosing sides — and a habit of leaving hints or
suggestions for rivals who seem to be struggling. Killing
Masks draws their esteemed father’s attention, and
Khuruga has connections among the celestial gods and
the Sidereal host.
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; Cha-
risma 3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4; Perception
4, Intelligence 3, Wits 3
Essence: 3
Willpower: 7
Join Battle: 6 dice
Personal Motes: 28/30 (2 committed)
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 1, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy
(Sowing Chaos) 3, Integrity (While Disguised) 3, In-
vestigation 3, Larceny 4, Linguistics 3, Lore 2, Melee
3, Performance 2, Presence (Strangers) 5, Socialize
4, Stealth 3
Merits: Artifact (Mask of Lies) 4, Backing (the Celes-
tial Bureaucracy) 3, Fleet of Foot, Language (Native:
Old Realm; Guild Cant, High Realm, Riverspeak) 3
Attack (Rapier): 10 dice (Damage 9); Tags: Lethal,
Melee, Disarming, Piercing
Combat: Soak 2, Hardness 0; Parry 3 (Melee);
Evasion 2; Rush 4 dice; Disengage 3 dice
Social: Resolve 3 (4 while disguised), Guile 5
Mask of Lies
(Starmetal Mask, Artifact ••••)
Khuruga forged the Mask of Lies as a tool for his chil-
dren. Its smooth facial features are utterly nondescript.
Evocations of the Mask of Lies
Passive: While attuned for two motes, the mask is com-
pletely invisible to mortal sight, unless its wielder wish-
es otherwise.
Mirrored Mask (5m, 1wp; Simple; Indefinite; Mute;
Essence 1): The Mask of Lies transforms the wearer into
a completely different person. Each new disguise creates
a cover identity that is appropriate and unremarkable for
the area in which they activate this Evocation, but the de-
tails are completely out of their control. If they say or do
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
anything that seems out of character for the cover identi-
ty, others may roll (Perception + Awareness) against the
Charms
wielder’s (Guile + Essence) to pierce the disguise; those
without supernaturally enhanced senses take a penalty
of (wielder’s Essence). The wielder doesn’t automatical-
ly know what kind of cover identity the Mask has creat-
ed; they must figure it out through context clues or look
into a mirror and recognize cultural cues.
Lying Mirror (5m, 1wp; Reflexive; Instant; Essence 2):
The wielder gains +(Essence) Guile to defend against a
read intentions action, as long as Mirrored Mask is ac-
tive. If successful, their opponent believes he succeeded
instead, reading an Intimacy or motive appropriate to
Mirrored Mask’s disguise. If not, the wielder may spend
one Willpower to conceal their intentions anyway; if
they do, at the end of the scene their opponent realizes
they’ve supernaturally deceived him.
SOCIAL CHARMS
Whispered Unrest (8m, 1wp; Simple; One scene;
Eclipse; Essence 3): Masks begins a riot with only a
few words. They make a (Manipulation + Presence)
inspire roll to produce either fear or anger against
a single target. If successful, the impassioned victim
spreads her emotional state to anyone with whom she
speaks for at least a few minutes without the need for
further rolls for the rest of the scene. Additional targets
may still spend Willpower to reject the influence, but
most Storyteller characters don’t without sufficient
impetus (such as a player character convincing them
with successful social influence to stay calm).
Wield the Crowd (5m; Supplemental; Instant;
Essence 2): When making an influence roll against an
impassioned target that takes advantage of their in-
flamed passion, Masks gains +3 dice and doubles 9s.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Gleaming Gneiss,
Ambitious Sorcerer
Background: Young Gleaming
Gneiss dreamed of ancient
wonders far beneath her
snowy home in the city-state
of Eaves. For years, the
dreams taunted her; what
felt so real as she slept
dissolved on waking.
Feathersteel mine tun-
nels resembled those of her
dreamscapes, but never led
to the ruins she was certain hid
within. Finally, when yet another
search failed after years of frustrat-
ed exploration, Gneiss gave in to her
rage and despair. Stone crumbled as
she struck the walls in thoughtless fury;
the power of Pasiap burst from her like
a landslide. When the dust cleared, the
wreckage revealed a timeworn passageway.

At tunnel’s end lay a forgotten settlement’s

ruins, just as they’d appeared in her dreams.
She found Glacier’s Edge — a machine made
in humanity’s image and brought to life by sor-
cerous power — partially buried in the rubble.
To Gneiss’ shock, it whirred to life and spoke,
offering her a deal: It would teach her sorcery,
and she’d repair it and set it free.

Upon returning home, Gneiss dreamed herself

claiming a seat among Eaves’ ruling Ministers
as first among not-quite-equals. Since then,
she’s set her sights on making it come true. Her
proposed plans outstrip the current ministers’ in
urban progress and expanding mining into ruins
farther afield, garnering her a small but devoted
following among Eaves’ treasure hunters and mer-
chants — and enemies among its politicians.

Image: Gleaming Gneiss is a solid, imposing woman in

her early 20s. Layers of thick fur insulate her against her
homeland’s biting cold. Indoors, she prefers sturdy wool
and leather work clothes. Auburn and blonde streaks run
through her dark hair, reminiscent of the stone after which
she’s named; calculating curiosity often lights her bright blue
eyes.
 Gleaming Gneiss
Intimacies: Defining: “Power is knowledge.”; Major: The
Ministers of Eaves (Contempt), Sorcery (Obsession),
Glacier’s Edge (Curiosity); Minor: Eaves (Affection)
Secrets: Completely restoring Glacier’s Edge to its origi-
nal functionality requires hard-to-procure materials and
knowledge beyond Gneiss’ current ken. She visits her
mentor-machine in the ruins often to learn from it and
study its composition. She pays handsomely for occult
tomes and bespoke parts whose use she refuses to reveal,
then secrets them away in the ruins, whose entrance she
hides from mortal eyes.
Gneiss’ determination to follow her prophetic dreams
enticed the god Owl from Out of the East, who watches
over ambitious people chasing their desires. Her sudden
surge of concentrated ambition upon returning home in-
trigues him.
The ruins contain many more ancient wonders than one
sorcerous machine, and splitting her time between po-
litical maneuvering, studying sorcery, and hunting down
supplies and lore means Gneiss hasn’t had time to fully
investigate or inventory most of it yet.
Equipment: Gleaming Gneiss is rarely without her thick
leathers, furs, a steel breastplate, mining tools, and a
wrackstaff. She carries arcane devices, strange gem-
stones, rare metals, and other materials that might help
her repair Glacier’s Edge.
Roleplaying Hints: Gleaming Gneiss speaks directly,
without flair. She’s ambitious, boldly pursuing opportu-
nities to advance her plans for Eaves’ future. Gneiss con-
siders every angle when dealing with others. She bar-
gains most willingly with those who are up front about
what they want and why.
Aspect: Earth
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 1, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4; Perception
2, Intelligence 5, Wits 2
Essence: 2
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 7 dice
Personal Motes: 13
Peripheral Motes: 31
Health Levels: –0/–1x2/–2x2/–4x4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 5, Brawl 3, Craft
(Artifacts, Metalsmithing) 4, Integrity 4, Linguis-
tics (Translation) 2, Lore (Northern Ruins, Sorcerous
Workings) 5, Melee 3, Occult 5, Presence (Threaten)
3, Resistance (Cold) 2, Socialize 3
Merits: Boundless Endurance, Language (Native:
Skytongue; Local Tongues (Northern tribes), Old
Realm, Riverspeak) 3, Resources 1
Attack (Unarmed): 6 dice (Damage 6)
Attack (Wrackstaff): 9 dice (Damage 15); Tags:
Bashing, Melee, Reaching
Combat: Soak 9 (medium armor +5); Hardness 0;
Parry 2 (Melee); Evasion 1; Rush 4 dice; Disengage
4 dice
Social: Guile 2, Resolve 3
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Crimson Fang Bite (3m, 1wp; Supplemental;
Instant; Fire, Dual): +3 damage to a withering
Melee attack, or double three 10s on a decisive
Melee damage roll.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Impervious Skin of Stone (4m; Reflexive; Instant;
Earth, Balanced, Withering-only): Double Stamina to
determine natural soak against a withering attack.
In Earth Aura, can be used after an attack hits but
before damage is rolled.
Five Winds Raiment (3m,1a; Supplemental; Until
spell is cast; Air): Gain +1 Defense and +2 Hard-
ness until she casts the supplemented spell or stops
shaping. In Air Aura, doesn’t count as a Charm bonus
and added Hardness is +3 instead.
SOCIAL CHARMS
Heart-Hardening Meditation (6m; Reflexive;
One scene; Earth): Gain +2 Resolve against inspire
actions and any influence that leverages an inspired
emotion, or a Tie based on passions. In Earth Aura,
doesn’t count as a Charm bonus.
Burning Dragon Mien (4m; Simple; Instant; Fire):
Roll a threaten action against one target with double
9s. If successful, target also loses 1i even if they resist
the influence.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Hidden Secrets Whisper (1m per die; Supple-
mental; Instant; Air, Balanced, Excellency): + 1 die
per mote spent to an Occult roll. Each 10 rerolls one
non-1 failure.
SORCERY
Shaping Rituals: Gleaming Gneiss carries a piece
of Glacier’s Edge with her, a metal part full of gears
and switches. She rearranges their configuration while
meditating on a target’s likely courses of action. Roll
Intelligence + Socialize, difficulty (5 – target’s Guile).
Gneiss gains sorcerous motes equal to her threshold
successes + Essence, which last for the scene.
Glacier’s Touch: (12sm, 1wp; Decisive-only; 5
turns): The air within medium range becomes a heavy
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
mist, choking all who breathe it: a difficulty 3 environ-
mental hazard with damage 3L/round. Characters
with supernatural resistance to cold are immune.
A character who suffers damage to their –4 health
levels from this spell freezes, transforming into a living
ice statue. At the end of their next turn, the victim’s
hands and feet turn to ice, imposing −3 to all physical
actions. The turn after that, their arms and legs freeze
solid, imposing −5 to all physical actions and making
move actions impossible. By the end of the third turn,
only an ice sculpture remains. Charms like Wound-Ac-
cepting Technique (Exalted, p. 332) that infuse
someone directly with life energy or vital Essence
can slow the effect, making it run its course over days
instead. The effect may be undone (Exalted, p. 466)
with an Ambition 3 sorcerous working.
Distortion (Goal Number: 7): Distorting this spell
lessens the cold’s bite, converting the environmen-
tal hazard’s damage to bashing. Characters whose
−4 health levels the spell damages don’t become
ice statues, but suffer –4 to all physical actions until
scene’s end.
Invulnerable Skin of Bronze (Exalted, p. 474)
Silent Words of Dreams and Nightmares
(Control) (Exalted, p. 475)
 Ifraja the Librarian

Ifraja the Librarian

Corrupt Seeker of Knowledge
Background: A masterful storyteller, the tales of Ifraja the
Librarian’s travels vary depending on his current location and
the enthusiasm of his audience, though they always seem to in-
clude a few embellishments that are spoken with such sincerity
that it can be difficult to discern truth from fiction. Each story
may differ but still carries the common thread of explaining
that he has arrived by way of merchant caravan and only
wishes to spread knowledge from faraway lands
with those who visit his makeshift library cart.

While his appreciation for knowledge is genuine,

in truth Ifraja’s primary motivation in traveling
from place to place lies in searching for other
practitioners of sorcery to extort for knowledge.
He has gone so far as to take the lives of those who
are unwilling to cooperate and plunders their
personal libraries in the process, selling off the
scrolls and tomes that are of no use to him and
keeping the rest to meditate on so that he might
further hone his craft and grow more powerful.

Though Ifraja’s quest keeps him on the road for

long periods of time, he periodically returns to the
First Age tomb he calls home. A dusty mess of sand
and stone a half-day’s journey from Urim, he collects
his souvenirs here for safekeeping and uses the space to
meditate on new spells in his workroom. He has taken
great care to conceal his belongings as it is not uncom-
mon for scavengers to happen upon the tomb from time
to time, a fact evidenced by the piles of bones scattered
near the entrance.

Image: An older man with dark skin and greying

hair, Ifraja’s outward appearance contributes to
deceiving outsiders of his well-honed abilities. His
layered robes occasionally show dust at the hem
from trekking across the desert, though he makes
an effort to keep up his appearance when visiting
wealthier cities.

Intimacies: Defining: “Knowledge must be shared.”;

Major: Power (Greed); Minor: “So many cultures, so
many things to learn.”, “Everyone is a part of a great-
er story.”

7
EX3
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Secrets: Many of the destinations Ifraja seeks out are
the result of following rumors from other cities, but he
gets a great deal of information through summoning and
interrogating a demon that was previously summoned
by others and using this knowledge to seek out his next
targets.
Equipment: Well-made robes (Light Armor) and a pair
of sai. Even while distanced from his cart or his home,
Ifraja also carries a number of writing implements and
scrolls on his person.
Roleplaying Hints: Ifraja presents himself as a mortal
old man with an enthusiasm for learning and is not quick
to give away his true nature. He may initially seem kind
and generous but is in truth deceitful and quick to anger,
especially if he is kept from the things he is after.
Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; Cha-
risma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2; Perception
2, Intelligence 2, Wits 3;
Essence: 1
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 5 dice
Health Levels: -0/-1x2/-2x2/-4/Incap.
Abilities: Awareness 2, Integrity 3, Investigation 2,
Larceny 3, Linguistics 3, Lore 3, Medicine 2, Melee
1, Occult 4, Performance 2, Presence 1, Resistance 1,
Socialize 2, Stealth 1, Thrown 1
Merits: Contacts 1, Eidetic Memory 2, Language
(Flametongue), Language (Local Tongues),
Attack (Sai): 4 dice – Lethal, Melee, Disarming
(damage 7)
Combat: Soak 5 (Light Armor +3); Parry: 2 (melee);
Evasion: 1; Rush: 3 dice; Disengage: 3 dice
Social: Resolve: 3; Guile: 3
Shaping Ritual
After deciding that his former mentor could teach him no
more, Ifraja stole a sapient tome from the woman who had
taught him all he knows. A sorcerous relic that compels its
owner to gather new knowledge at any cost, Ifraja seeks
to record arcana within its pages in order to become more
powerful. Once per day, by writing new knowledge that
has not already been contributed to the tome, Ifraja draws
upon all of the previous knowledge in the text and makes
an (Intelligence + Occult) check to gain sorcerous motes
equal to the number of successes that last for one day.
8
EX3
SPELLS
Librum-Devouring Maw (5m, 1wp; Instant;
Control Spell): Ifraja’s forehead blossoms open into a
toothy mouth above his third eye chakra. By consum-
ing a single tome or scroll, he can memorize its con-
tents for (Essence + Intelligence) days, after which it is
forgotten unless he transcribes it. As his control spell,
Ifraja may understand consumed texts written in lan-
guages he does not speak, but he may not reproduce
them.
Corrupted Words (15sm, 1wp; Psyche; Indefinite):
Ifraja speaks words that bind his victim from speak-
ing of a specific subject. He must roll (Intelligence +
Occult) against his victim’s Resolve to successfully
bind their will.
Demon of the First Circle (Ritual, 2wp; Instant): With a
ritual that begins at sundown and ends at midnight, Ifraja
summons a First Circle Demon of his choice. The demon
is bound with an (Intelligence + Occult) roll against their
Resolve, and Ifraja may choose to make it his personal
slave for a year and a day, giving it a Defining Tie of
loyalty to him that cannot be weakened and setting its
Resolve to 0 for any influence rolls Ifraja makes. Alterna-
tively, he may assign the demon a specific task to com-
plete instead. On a failed binding roll, Ifraja is unable
to bind the demon and must make a (Wits + Occult) roll
against its Willpower to banish it back to Hell.
Mists of Eventide (7sm, 2wp; Three rounds): Trans-
forming the Essence of air into an opalescent fog of
slumber, Ifraja creates a cloud centered on a point
out of medium range that spreads to engulf all char-
acters within short range of the center. Each round that
a character is exposed to the mist, he must roll against
its poison (Damage 31/round, Duration 6 rounds, -3
penalty). This can only be cast once per scene, unless
it causes an opponent to fall into Initiative Crash,
which puts them into a magical slumber for one day.
Silent Words of Dreams and Nightmares
(Ritual, 1wp; One dream): Ifraja brandishes a sym-
bolic link to another character, such as a lock of hair,
and stares into a reflective surface to gain power over
that person’s dreams. Ifraja rolls (Intelligence + Pres-
ence) to instill, persuade, or inspire the target char-
acter with a dream he will experience when he next
sleeps. The dreamer cannot apply any Intimacies to
enhance his Resolve against this influence, nor can he
pay Willpower to resist unless one of his Intimacies
are threatened. The symbolic link used in the ritual is
burnt to a fine white ash when the dreamer awakes.
 Ifraja the Librarian
Ifraja’s Protectors
Blood-Apes, Demons of the First Circle: While in the
tomb he calls home, Ifraja uses his summoning circle to
call forth a group of Blood-Apes that can help protect
him in combat. This group of demons uses the Battle
Groups rules found on page 205 of the Exalted Third
Edition core rulebook.
Size: 2; Drill: Average; Might: 2
Essence: 2; Willpower: 5; Join Battle: 6 dice
Personal Motes: 70
Magnitude: -0/-1x3/-2x3/-4/Incap.
9
EX3
Actions: Climbing and Brachiation: 7 dice; Feats
of Strength: 10 dice (may attempt Strength 5 feats);
Resist Poison/Illness: 8 dice; Senses: 6 dice; Stealth:
6 dice; Threaten: 7 dice; Tracking: 5 dice
Appearance 3 (Hideous), Resolve 3, Guile 1
COMBAT
Attack (Claw): 14 dice (Damage 19)
Attack (Grapple): 12 dice (10 dice to control)
Combat Movement: 7 dice
Evasion 4, Parry 6
Soak/Hardness: 9/0
ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Harrowing Silence
Chosen Guardian of Her People
Background: When the lingering threat of the Winter Folk materialized in
the dead of night, a young woman who came of age as a street rat living on
the fringes of her society used knowledge of her village’s secrets to lead
her people to a long-forgotten mine — a place where they could safely
make their home underground and rebuild their community out of reach
of the fae that hunted them. It was this act of selflessness that captured
the attention of the Unconquered Sun, and the one known as Harrowing
Silence greeted the day and what remained of her home with new gifts
meant to help her protect those she had saved who now saw her as a hero.

With what was left of her decimated town repurposed for farmland,
Harrowing Silence now takes it upon herself to patrol the land above
the underground community and fend off anyone who dares approach
whether they are visitor, wanderer, or fae. She hides in plain sight
among the snow drifts, stalking a path around the entrance to the
mines and refusing to let anyone in or out as she fiercely protects the
villagers and their secrets. Traders and scavengers alike have spoken
of the mysterious woman who strikes down those who cross into her
territory, though the village itself is now a distant memory.

Desperate to maintain the life she knows and to retain the adora-
tion and fear of those who dwell within the mountain, Harrowing
Silence has become a terrifying threat as she begins to expand
the territory she claims as her own and as she grows more and
more consumed by the force that drives her: she was chosen to
protect her people, and anyone or anything that might interfere
with her doing so must be eliminated.

Image: Harrowing Silence is often seen as a flash of metal as her spear

slashes through air or a rush of wind kicking up a torrent of snow
before her tall, imposing figure is spotted through the fog. Her earth-
tone garments are often caked with snow when not serving as camou-
flage, and even her long hair glistens with beads of ice. She keeps her
garments lined with fur to protect against the cold, but is careful not
to wrap herself so tightly that her movements are inhibited.

Intimacies: Defining: “Without my home, I am nothing.;” Major:

Outsiders (Wary suspicion); “Change is the enemy of peace;” Minor:
Her spear (Prized possession)

Secrets: Though she tells the villagers that nothing waits for them
in the outside world, Harrowing Silence knows that the mines they
inhabit are still rich with ores thought to be lost to time. Several em-
issaries from the Heptagram and Whitewall’s colleges have been struck
down by her blades for surveying the nearby area for these minerals, and
she has begun venturing further from home in order to seek them out
before her people can be discovered.

4
EX3
 Harrowing Silence
Equipment: Spear, hunting knife, hide jerkin and fur
wraps, rucksack with rations. If she has recently been
hunting she will be carrying her quarry or items scav-
enged from an intruder.
Roleplaying Hints: Having learned that it is better to be
appreciated for her ability to strike fear into those she
encounters than to be unknown and lost to history, her
focus is rooted in a desire for acceptance and she could
be open to persuasion if one were to choose the right
words when addressing her.
Caste: Night
Supernal Ability: Stealth
Anima: A great bird of prey
Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 2, Manipulation 1, Appearance 4; Perception
4, Intelligence 3, Wits 4
Essence: 2;
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 8 dice
Personal Motes: 16
Peripheral Motes: 40
Health Levels: -0/-1x3/-2x4/-4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Brawl 1, Dodge
3, Integrity 2, Investigation 1, Melee 3, Presence 1,
Resistance 2, Stealth 5, Survival 5, Thrown 3
Merits: Demesne 2, Direction Sense 1, Fast Reflexes
3, Tempered By The Elements 2 – Deep Snow
Specialties: Melee (Spear), Survival (Tracking)
Attack (Spear): 9 dice – Lethal, Melee, Piercing,
Reaching (damage 16)
Attack (Hunting Knife): 11 dice – Lethal, Melee,
Thrown (Short) (damage 12)
Combat: Soak 7 (Light Armor +3); Parry: 5 (melee);
Evasion: 4; Rush: 3 dice; Resolve: 3; Guile: 1; Disen-
gage: 7 dice
CHARMS
Sensory Acuity Prana (5m; Reflexive; One
scene): Sharpening her senses in order to more
easily monitor her surroundings, for the rest of the
scene Harrowing Silence’s Awareness rolls benefit
from double 9s.
Surprise Anticipation Method (Reflexive; Instant):
Harrowing Silence’s keen senses and familiarity with
her surroundings aid in guarding her from threats she
is not consciously aware of, and threats revealed
while she is asleep or unconscious automatically
wake her. Awareness checks to reveal any source of
5
EX3
harm grant 1 mote of Essence for every 9 that is rolled
and 2 motes for every 10. These motes can only be
used to offset the cost of Awareness Charms used to
reveal a threat.
Keen Hearing and Touch Technique (3m;
Simple; One scene): With a simple touch Harrowing
Silence may identify materials she knows, or she may
instead listen intently for otherwise unnoticeable. For
the rest of the scene she automatically succeeds at
rolls of difficulty 2, and for more complicated actions
the difficulty is lowered by 1. For 6 motes, this charm
lasts indefinitely.
Studied Ear Espial (1m; Reflexive; Instant): Focus-
ing on sounds of movement, Harrowing Silence is can
notice anything that disturbs the stillness around her.
She gains +3 dice to spot a character attempting to
move in stealth.
Reed in the Wind (2i per 1 Evasion; Reflexive;
Perilous; Instant): Drawing on her own momentum
in response to an attack, Harrowing Silence gains 1
Evasion. She may spend additional Initiative to gain
multiple Evasion, and raises the cap on how much she
may enhance her Evasion with her Essence.
Excellent Strike (3m; Supplemental; Uniform;
Instant): Harrowing Silence channels her Essence to
hone her accuracy and gains one automatic success
in her attack. She also rerolls all 1s until they no longer
appear.
One Weapon, Two Blows (3m; Reflexive; Instant):
While trading blows, Harrowing Silence senses an
opening to strike with great speed. After making a
withering attack that lowers her opponents Initiative
below her own she may use this charm to unleash a
second withering or decisive attack against that op-
ponent.
Ox-Body Technique (Stackable; Permanent): Har-
rowing Silence is more durable than her mortal coun-
terparts and has gained one -1 and two -2 health
levels.
Blinding Battle Feint (3m; Supplemental; Instant):
Leaping in and out of battle with nigh untraceable
speed, Harrowing Silence may use her (Dexterity
+ Stealth) to Join Battle. If she beats her opponents
Awareness-based Join Battle roll she is automatically
concealed so long as there is a viable place to hide,
and any other Join Battle rolls from foes must make an
Awareness check to be able to detect her.
Guardian Fog Approach (3m; Simple; Mute;
Instant): Harrowing Silence may obscure another
someone else with her own efforts to remain hidden
so long as she is touching them and is also attempt-
ing a Stealth action. Half of her successes and any
stunt bonuses on this action are added as dice to her
charge’s stealth roll.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Dark Sentinel’s Way (1m; Reflexive; Mute;
Instant): Harrowing Silence may use a defend other
action on a subject and conceal her action while
hidden. Parrying incoming attacks cause her to flicker
briefly into view before vanishing once more.
Smoke and Shadow Cover (3m; Reflexive; Mute;
Instant): Becoming one with the shadows, Harrowing
Silence may treat mild concealment as light cover,
heavy concealment as heavy cover, and completely
dark environments as full cover. This requires a take
cover combat action that replaces her Dodge with
Stealth unless she is already concealed, and ranged
attacks are penalized by one success.
Shadow-Crossing Leap Technique (5m, 1wp;
Reflexive; Mute; Instant): Unfurling her unseen anima,
Harrowing Silence leaps to join the darkness she has
conquered to instantly move up to one range band
from one place of cover to another without penalty if
there is a sufficient path for her to do so.
Flashing Nocturne Prana (10m, 1wp; Reflexive;
Mute, Perilous; Indefinite;): In concealment, Har-
rowing Silence marks her current location. By ending
this Charm she instantly returns to it, as long as she is
within long range, and automatically enters conceal-
ment. She can’t be detected at all for two rounds.
Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit (5m;
Reflexive; One day): Harrowing Silence is able
to survive even the most hostile conditions without
6
EX3
special preparation and does not take environmental
penalties to her Survival rolls, though she is not pro-
tected against environmental damage. The difficulty to
forage and find shelter is also lowered by 2.
Trackless Region Navigation (5m, 1wp; Reflex-
ive; Indefinite): Greatly familiar with her surroundings,
Harrowing Silence and a group of up to 4 followers
can travel through her region with ease and automat-
ically succeed on any Survival rolls to find the next
shelter.
Unshakeable Bloodhound Technique (4m;
Supplemental; Instant): Harrowing Silence may track
someone by instinct, even if there are few signs of their
presence. When making a (Perception + Survival)
roll she may reroll all 5s and 6s until they no longer
appear and treat 1s rolled by her opposition as 10s
for her results.
Precision of the Striking Raptor (1m; Supple-
mental; Withering-only; Instant): Imbuing her hunting
knife with Essence, Harrowing Silence is able to throw
it as if she were at close range regardless of the dis-
tance between her and her target. If she is already at
close range, the target’s defense is lowered by one.
Joint Wounding Attack (3m; Supplemental; Deci-
sive-only, Stackable; Instant): Marking her target, Har-
rowing Silence throws her knife with deadly purpose. If
it does at least three damage, her opponent adds -3 to
their dice pools for the rest of the scene.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Iolanthe
Queen of the Golden Beryl Palace
Background: When the Fair Folk invaded during
the Great Contagion, their vanguard broke through
Shogunate lines and penetrated the southwestern
Blessed Isle. This was the Empress’ first target upon
mastering the Sword of Creation; she deluged them with
a hundred million iron needles, such that the region’s
soil remains red with rust.
The Fair Folk commanders rescued a handful of those
forces by whisking them underground before the wave
of iron struck. Trapped there, they carved out nests deep
beneath the earth, transforming subterranean demesnes
into occult freeholds.
Iolanthe is one such Fair Folk prince. With the Empress
gone and the Realm in turmoil, her minions tread cir-
cuitous routes to the surface or create earthquakes to
carve new paths, to steal mortals away to her crystal city
beneath the hill. Some victims become food for the Fair
Folk. Others, she twists to her will and accouters with
cuirasses and blades of gossamer — an army with which
to renew her people’s old crusade.
Intimacies: Defining: “None shall contest my beauty and
power.”; Major: Herself (Vainglory); Golden Beryl Palace
(Treasured Pet); Minor: “We, the buried Fair Folk, shall
rise again.”; Rival Fair Folk (Condescension)
Secrets: Centuries among the Blessed Isle’s roots have
revealed to Iolanthe many secrets of deep places —an-
cient Exalted burial sites, mysteries of the Mountain
Folk, lairs of fell spirits, and pre-human broods. In ad-
dition, she’s negotiating with an envoy from the fallen
House Iselsi over mutual aid against the feuding Dynasty.
Equipment: Iolanthe wears tawny gowns woven from
oaths of vassal fae, and jewelry set with golden beryls
large as hen’s eggs. The largest gem is the eye of the
Golden Beryl Palace, from which she draws power as
a hearthstone. She bears no weapons; her voice alone
wounds body and soul.

Image: Tall, dark, and panther-like, Iolanthe

has curly hair the color of dark embers and
a cat’s golden, slitted eyes. She lounges
and prowls with a proud, satiated
air. Her voice is low, rich, and
smooth as honey.
 I o l a n t h e , Q u e e n o f t h e G o l d e n B e r y l Pa l a c e
Roleplaying Hints: Iolanthe takes joy in reshaping her
domain to her whim. Her desires include admiration,
submission, and mortal souls upon which to sup. She re-
lies on social influence to get her way, reserving force to
defend against physical attack. Destroying her prompts
war throughout the underearth as various forces — Fair
Folk, elementals, Mountain Folk — seek to seize the
Golden Beryl Palace.
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 6; Cha-
risma 7, Manipulation 5, Appearance 7; Perception
5, Intelligence 5, Wits 5
Essence: 4
Willpower: 8
Join Battle: 9 dice
Personal Motes: 40
Health Levels: −0x2/−1x4/−2x4/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 4, Brawl 2, Bu-
reaucracy (Fair Folk Courts) 3, Dodge 6, Integrity 4,
Linguistics 4, Lore 3, Occult (Beneath the Blessed Isle)
3, Performance 6, Presence 5, Socialize (Fair Folk
Courts) 6, Thrown 6, War (Command) 4
Merits: Cold Iron Bane, Contacts 1, Fae Nature,
Grace of Infinite Revolving Spheres (below), Influ-
ence 5, Language (Native: Old Realm; High Realm,
Low Realm) 2, Manse 5, Resources 4, Retainer 4
Attack (Voice): 15 dice at short range (Damage
14/3); Tags: Lethal, Melee, Thrown (Medium),
Mounted
Combat: Soak 16, Hardness 7 (Oathsworn Raiment:
+8); Parry 3 (Brawl); Evasion 5 (−1 armor penalty);
Rush 9 dice; Disengage 11 dice
Social: Resolve 5, Guile 6
Escort: Iolanthe has the following protectors: Tomalin,
a proud, ill-tempered cataphract (Exalted, p. 534);
a Size 3, Might 1, average Drill battle group of hob-
goblins (Exalted, p. 536); and a Size 1, Might 1,
elite Drill battle group of changeling guards (elite
troops, Exalted, p.497) with perfect morale. Within
the Golden Beryl Palace, she can also call upon other
subordinate Fair Folk, and a Size 2, Might 2, average
Drill battle group of earth elementals such as vaktri
(Exalted, p. 520).
New Merit:
Grace of Infinite Revolving Spheres
Iolanthe never suffers flurry penalties.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Heart-Thorn Jeremiad (3m; Supplemental;
Instant; Dual; Essence 2): Iolanthe’s cruel words play
on one of the target’s Intimacies, reducing his soak,
Hardness, and cover bonus against the voice attack
this Charm supplements by (Intimacy). She may use
this once per target per scene.
Impinging Web of Dream (8m, 1wp; Simple;
Shaping; Instant; Essence 4): At Initiative 20+, Iolan-
the rolls 11 dice against the unmodified Resolve of an
enemy within short range, who loses one Willpower
per two threshold successes, rounded up; trivial op-
ponents lose all Willpower instead. She resets to base
Initiative afterward. If this reduces the target’s Will-
power to zero, she twists his mind or body with one
of the following effects: inflicting a Defining Derange-
ment; transforming him into a statuette, rodent, or
similarly demeaning form; or imposing another Sto-
ryteller-defined curse of similar potency. These effects
are permanent barring the use of magic such as the
Solar Charm Destiny-Manifesting Method (Exalted,
p. 304). Iolanthe may use this once per scene.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Assertion of a Greater Vision (2m; Reflexive;
Instant; Uniform; Essence 1): Ignore all penalties to
Defense against one attack. If the attack misses, Iolan-
the steals one Initiative from the attacker.
Sapphire Emptiness Kata (—; Reflexive; Instant;
Dual, Perilous; Essence 4): When an attack would in-
capacitate Iolanthe, she reveals that an illusion was
attacked instead, negating all damage from that
attack. She steps out from concealment or throws
off her disguise as a trivial character within medium
range, and resets to base Initiative. This is usable once
per story.
SOCIAL CHARMS
Crippling Destiny Millstone (1m, 1wp; Reflex-
ive, Indefinite; Eclipse, Shaping; Essence 3): After
persuading a character to undertake a task, Iolanthe
blesses him with magnificent dedication, which adds
bonus dice on all actions he takes to complete that
task equal to the Intimacy that supported the persua-
sion. She may also grant up to (Intimacy x 2) distinct
mutations to aid him in his quest, which remain after
this Charm ends. This Charm is usable once per target
per story.
Great Craft of Minds (5m, 1wp; Simple; One
story; Psyche; Essence 3): After one scene of inter-
action, roll (Manipulation + Performance) against the
target’s Resolve. If successful, temporarily overwrite
one of his known Defining Intimacies with a new one.
This is usable once per story, but resets by achieving
a major character or story goal (Exalted, p. 170)
through manipulation or enchantment.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Thousand Tiny Hooks Technique (4m; Supple-
mental; Instant; Essence 2): When Iolanthe receives
bonus dice from Appearance on an instill or persuade
action, she may exchange them to increase the cost to
resist, trading two bonus dice per one required Will-
power (maximum three Willpower).
Hearthstone:
Gemlord’s Eye (Standard)
Keyword: Steady
Iolanthe and the Golden Beryl Palace can communicate
telepathically and share each other’s senses at unlimited
range.
The Golden Beryl Palace
Iolanthe’s palace was once a gemlord, a prince among
earth elementals. She twisted it into a fae thing and made
it her slave. It appears as a glorious, mile-wide citadel of
tawny crystal in a vast underground cavern, inhabited by
minor Fair Folk and earth elemental servitors. Its voice
is soft, sonorous, and dreamlike, and it retains little voli-
tion beyond what’s needed to obey Iolanthe’s commands.
Intimacies: Defining: Iolanthe (Obedience); Major:
“My past is gone and best forgotten.”
Essence: 5; Willpower: 5; Join Battle: 4 dice
Personal Motes: 100
Actions: Occult Knowledge: 11 dice; Read Inten-
tions: 6 dice; Senses: 11 dice
Merits: Manse 5, Shackles of Glamour (below),
Voice of the Oracle (Exalted, p. 504)
Appearance 5, Resolve 1, Guile 1
New Merit: Shackles of Glamour
Social influence can’t weaken or alter the Palace’s
Defining Tie of obedience to Iolanthe.
CHARMS
Measure the Wind (5m; Simple; Instant; Essence
1): The Palace can discern the nature of anyone within
its walls.
Shifting Flagstone Method (5m; Reflexive; One
turn; Essence 2): One target intruder treats the Pal-
ace’s interior as difficult terrain.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Iron Siaka
Champion Of Serenity
Background: Little Mackerel grew up in Auspicious Haven, one
of the Blessed Isle’s prominent western harbors. She was sixth
of two dozen children in a fishers’ family, and should have cast
nets alongside them. Instead, she spent all her time at the docks
waiting for Dynastic ships to come in. She pestered harbormas-
ters, brothel owners, and gamblers for information on the visit-
ing Dynasts, earning quite a few beatings in additions to a
growing knowledge of the Great Houses.

Exalted by Venus, the Sidereal is now an iron-

wrought shark, rather than a little mackerel. She
remembers what it’s like to be overlooked and
unimportant, though, and earnestly protects
Creation’s small folk. Sometimes that means
adjudicating disputes and advocating for com-
promise. Most times, it means bludgeoning
threats with her mace-like chuí. Iron Siaka
takes primal pleasure in combat, though she
tells herself she would happily hang up her
weapon if peace and harmony reigned. She fer-
vently believes the Dynasty is the best defense
mortals have against raksha, demons, rogue
gods, and the mad Anathema.

Image: Tall and muscled from a life of

physical labor, Iron Siaka cuts an impos-
ing figure. Her tousled hair and crooked
smile make the heart of many a lady beat
faster. Dark skin, sun-bleached tallow hair,
and a thick accent reveal her lowly origins.
Her iconic anima manifests as a fierce siaka,
maw open, against a backdrop of blue waves.

Intimacies: Defining: “Guard the people of

Creation.”; Major: Circlemates (Friendship);
Shepherd of the North Star (Drinking Buddy);
Current Lovers (Love); Minor: “Protect the Scarlet
Dynasty.”; Bronze Faction (Loyalty); Auspicious Haven
(Home)

Secrets: Lovers share secrets with Iron Siaka, and

she dutifully keeps them all. Her own secret is her
one failed mission; she journeyed on the Bronze
Faction’s behalf to kill an Anathema near Auspicious
Haven. Ready for combat, she instead found the
Anathema a terrified child, a fisherman’s
daughter. Memories of home weakened her
 Iron Siaka
resolve. She imprisoned the child in a locked tower on a
deserted island. Using resplendent destinies, Iron Siaka
asks peasants and kings alike for advice with veiled tales
asking, “can a monster learn not to be one?” She wants to
ask her Circlemate, Shepherd of the North Star, for his
opinion; fear he’ll deduce the truth holds her back.
Equipment: Iron Siaka wears a deep blue cloak and
lamellar armor over a cerulean tunic. Dulcet Consolator,
her starmetal goremaul, accompanies her everywhere.
She carries tokens from favorite lovers: a wooden locket
containing a strand of red hair, a blue scarf, a dried flow-
er wreath, a silver locket containing a nude portrait, and
a letter bearing a kiss. She keeps others in her Yu-Shan
apartment.
Roleplaying Hints: Iron Siaka is confident and quick to
laugh. She has numerous girlfriends at any given time,
and loves them all. Fascinated by the Dynasty to this day,
she occasionally sidetracks missions to stage encounters
with famous magistrates.
However, “friendly” is not “soft.” Iron Siaka allows en-
emies to write final letters to their spouses, or offers
to return mundane possessions to their families, but
performs her duties to the letter; if death is what the
Maidens require to secure harmony, so be it. She is un-
relenting in combat. She’s not above lying if she’s losing,
feigning either injury or surrender, and stays alert for
foes trying the same.
Caste: Serenity
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5; Cha-
risma 4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception
4, Intelligence 3, Wits 5
Essence: 3
Willpower: 7
Join Battle: 8 dice
Personal Motes: 15
Peripheral Motes: 38/43 (5 committed)
Health Levels: −0x4/−1x4/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Brawl (Rowdy
Fights) 4, Dodge 4, Integrity 4, Investigation 1, Lin-
guistics (Love Letters) 5, Lore (The Realm) 3, Melee
(Maces) 5, Presence (Intimidation) 3, Resistance 2,
Ride 1, Socialize (Discerning Intimacies) 5
Merits: Allies (Shepherd of the North Star) 5, Artifact
(Dulcet Consolator) 3, Contacts (Realm Dockwork-
ers) 5, Language (Native: Low Realm; High Realm,
Old Realm, Riverspeak, Seatongue) 4, Resources 2,
Strong Lungs
Attack (Dulcet Consolator): 13 dice (Damage
16/4); Tags: Bashing, Melee, Smashing
Attack (Unarmed): 12 dice (Damage 11); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Combat: Soak 10, Hardness 0 (lamellar: +5); Parry
6 (Melee); Evasion 3 (lamellar: −1); Rush 8 dice; Dis-
engage 8 dice
Social: Resolve 5, Guile 4
Dulcet Consolator
(Starmetal Goremaul, Artifact •••)
Late in the war for Creation, at the cusp of their loss, the
enemies of the gods coaxed the Western waters into a
tidal wave to swallow the world. Sophar and Taftin, twin
Chosen of the Maidens, perished coaxing a massive me-
teor from the sky to disrupt the wave. Dulcet Consolator
was forged from black jade and the shattered remains of
that fallen star.
Evocations of Dulcet Consolator
Passive: When Iron Siaka protects someone with the de-
fend other action and the attacker doesn’t overcome her
Parry, she gains one Initiative.
Truth in Consequences (1m; Supplemental; Instant;
Decisive-only; Essence 1): Upon dealing any damage
with a decisive attack, the wielder learns the supernat-
ural nature of her opponent and pierces any mundane
disguises he wears.
Twin Destinies Aegis (1m, 1wp; Reflexive; Instant;
Uniform; Essence 2): After an enemy’s attack roll over-
comes the wielder’s Parry while she protects a character
with a defend other action, she determines whether the
attack is applied against her or the original target, not
the attacker.
Charms
EXCELLENCIES
Add up to (Essence) dice to an Athletics, Brawl, Craft,
Dodge, Integrity, Linguistics, Melee, Performance,
Presence, or Socialize roll at a cost of one mote per
die. Reduce the target number of such a roll to 6 for
one mote; may reduce target number for a Linguistics,
Melee, or Socialize roll to 5 for two motes or 4 for
three motes and one Willpower. Raise static values by
up to (Essence), for two motes per point of increase.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Smiling at the Damned (1m, 1i; Supplemental;
Instant; Aggravated, Decisive-only): Double 10s on
a decisive Melee damage roll and deal aggravated
damage.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Unobstructed Blow (5m, 1wp; Simple; Instant;
Withering-only): Make a withering Brawl attack
that is unblockable and ignores soak from armor.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Serenity in Blood (5m, 1i; Reflexive; Instant; Deci-
sive-only, Perilous): Iron Siaka’s weapon slices ill-fa-
vored fate. She may parry unblockable attacks, and
raises the target number of decisive damage rolls
against her by one.
MOBILITY CHARMS
Inexorable Advance (5m, 2i; Supplemental;
Instant): Ignore wound and mobility penalties on a
rush. Success lets Iron Siaka instantly move one range
band toward her target, instead of waiting for him to
move. He suffers a −1 to Defense if Iron Siaka attacks
him that turn.
SOCIAL CHARMS
Favorable Inflection Procedure (5m; Simple;
Instant; Psyche): Speaking her target’s true name, Iron
Siaka rolls (Charisma + Linguistics) to instill him with
a Tie of affection toward her or erode a negative Tie
toward her, gaining +3 to her Appearance to deter-
mine how many bonus dice it adds (Exalted, p. 218).
Heroic Essence Replenishment (Permanent):
Once per scene, when Iron Siaka successfully threat-
ens an enemy in combat to support one of her Intima-
cies, she gains (Intimacy + 2) motes.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Isabet Maken
the Master of Cauldron Valley
Background: Born to a life of muck and toil among nomadic horse breed-
ers, Isabet left a trail of human misery on her path to the Guild’s highest
echelons. She apprenticed with some of the greatest merchant princes
of the age: Alhomzira, the Indigo Queen; Lindyana Calaho, master of the
qat trade; Nine Stars in Song, whose smuggling fleet they say outsails the
Realm’s own biremes.

Despite her prestigious education, Isabet found herself stonewalled

as a lesser Guild factor, disdainful of and unsuited to the empty
pleasantries of politics. Only discovering Cauldron Valley, a lush
jungle-demesne on the fringe of the River Province, and her own
thaumaturgic talents saved her from a life of mediocrity.

Nearing 60, Isabet has reforged herself into a master

geomancer, using the Valley’s powers to produce
unique slaves. Instead of earning a place on the
Directorate, Isabet helped found a secret cabal
(see The Gouged Eye Society, Conspiracy of
Savants) to further her mastery of geomantic lore.
Beyond this, her only concern is for her sons, Imri and
Sabet; she would move the Imperial Mountain itself to
secure their futures.

Image: Isabet is a handsome woman, broad and

strongly built. Her graying hair is neatly managed;
her coats are luxurious ermine, with room at the
arms to swing an axe; her boots are elegant, but
sturdy. She is vain, but never lets vanity overwhelm
practicality.

Intimacies: Defining: My Sons (Love), The Gouged Eye Society

(Stewardship); Major: Cauldron Valley (Ownership), Guild
Directorate (Bitterness), “A good price is worth more than a
bruised ego.”; Minor: “I cannot abide intrigue or flattery.”, “I don’t
renege on my bargains.”

Secrets: Isabet — and her demesne — attract attention from power

brokers to whom word of her geomantic trump card leaks, includ-
ing fellow merchant princes, a raksha songstress, and an outcaste
interested in studying the Valley as a sacred site from apocrypha and
legend.

Equipment: Isabet wears quilted padding beneath her clothes.

While rarely armed, she carries a variety of strange geomantic tools,
a purse of silver dinars, and her personal Guild signet.

Roleplaying Hints: Isabet is single-minded, ruthless, and

even cruel, but neither sadistic nor irrational. At heart, she
 Isabet Maken
is a businesswoman, always looking to come out ahead
in any interaction. She endures taunting and even open
insults, if the price is right — but with a stony face and a
long memory. While she is a Guild slaver, she has no love
for the Guild’s Directorate, and characters may convince
her to act against them for the right offer. She prioritizes
securing good marriages for her sons, and entertains al-
most any promising offer.
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 4; Perception
4, Intelligence 5, Wits 2
Essence: 1
Willpower: 8
Join Battle: 5 dice
Health Levels: −0x1/−1x2/−2x2/−4x1/Incap.
Abilities: Archery 2, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 4,
Integrity 5, Investigation 2, Larceny (Smuggling) 2,
Linguistics 2, Lore 3, Melee 3, Occult (Geomancy)
4, Presence (Bargaining) 3, Resistance 2, Ride 3, So-
cialize (Spotting Trouble) 3, Survival 3
Merits: Backing (Guild) 3, Contacts (Smugglers and
Slavers) 2, Demesne (Cauldron Valley) 4, Followers
2, Languages (Native: Riverspeak; Foresttongue,
Guild Cant, Skytongue) 3, Resources 4, Thaumatur-
gist
Attack (Axe): 8 dice (Damage 11L); Tags: Lethal,
Melee, Thrown (Short), Chopping
Attack (Unarmed): 7 dice (Damage 9B); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Grapple): 6 dice (5 to control)
Combat: Soak 7, Hardness 0 (quilted armor: +3);
Parry 4 (Melee); Evasion 2; Rush 3 dice; Disengage
3 dice
Social: Guile 3, Resolve 4
Cauldron Valley
It normally takes weeks of exposure to Cauldron Valley’s
mutagenic Essence to suffer permanent mutation: a
thick layer of slimy mucus coating the skin, granting +1
Evasion but −1 Parry, and a need to soak in water reg-
ularly to avoid desiccation and illness. The demesne’s
raw energy pools in vibrant wellsprings that dot the
landscape, though, and anyone who falls into one with-
out ritual preparation takes one level of bashing damage
and emerges with random, often freakish and nonsensi-
cal amphibian features of the Storyteller’s choice. These
mutations are gruesome but incomplete, fading at the
end of the story.
New Thaumaturgic Ritual:
Quicken the Cauldron (••)
Isabet uses an array of silver rods to direct the Valley’s geo-
mantic flows, forcing its energies to overflow. After eight
hours of work, she may pay one Willpower and make a
difficulty 2 (Perception + Occult) roll to complete the rite.
Anyone partially or fully submerged in a metamorphic pool
at the ritual’s culmination gains a number of dots’ worth
of permanent amphibian mutations (Storyteller’s choice)
equal to successes on this roll, and may reassign up to four
of their Physical Attribute dots in any combination as long
as no Attribute falls below 1 or exceeds the character’s nat-
ural maximum. A botch inflicts a Major Derangement and
two levels of aggravated damage on the subject instead.
The ritual’s difficulty increases cumulatively by one for
each additional time it is invoked in a season, and a giv-
en character can only ever gain mutations this way once.
Similar rituals exist to quicken other unstable demesnes.
Imri and Sabet, the Brothers Maken
Isabet’s sons are spoiled dandies in their late 20s, apa-
thetic — or oblivious — to their mother’s ruthlessness;
charming and gallant, but depthless and unmotivated.
Both are handsome, trained in dueling, music, and man-
ners by fine tutors. The pair often serve their mother as
her envoys and honor guard.
Essence: 1; Willpower: 5; Join Battle: 6 dice
Health Levels: −0x1/−1x2/−2x2/−4x1/Incap.
Actions: Carousing: 10 dice; Feats of Strength: 5
dice; Musical Performance: 7 dice; Senses: 4 dice;
Social Influence: 5 dice
Appearance 5, Guile 1, Resolve 3
Combat
Attack (Dueling saber): 9 dice (Damage 12);
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Balanced
Attack (Flame piece): 9 dice at close range
(Damage 13); Tags: Lethal, Archery (Short), Flame,
Mounted, One-Handed, Slow
Attack (Unarmed): 7 dice (Damage 10)
Attack (Grapple): 7 dice (6 to control)
Combat Movement: 6 dice
Evasion 2, Parry 4 (5 when defending family)
Soak/Hardness: 3/0
Paddagons
Hulking, rubbery creatures with rainbow-mottled skin
and amphibian features, the paddagons are Isabet’s
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

prize creations — strong, healthy, and uncommonly sub- Combat

missive. The mutation process binds together groups of Attack (Unarmed): 6 dice (Damage 15)
paddagons in a codependent collective. They are popu-
Attack (Grapple): 6 dice (8 to control)
lar with slaver caravans, and accompany Isabet as valets
and bodyguards. Combat Movement: 5 dice
Evasion 2, Parry 1
Battle groups of paddagons have Might 1. Soak/Hardness: 7/0
MERITS
Essence: 1; Willpower: 3; Join Battle: 4 dice
Amphibious: Paddagons breathe water and air
Health Levels: −0x1/−1x4/−2x4/−4x1/Incap.
equally well, and suffer no penalties underwater.
Actions: Feats of Strength: 8 dice; Hard Labor: 9
Eager to Obey: Paddagon battle groups have elite
dice; Leaping: 5 dice; Resist Disease/Poison: 11 dice;
Drill for purposes of command rolls (but not Defense).
Senses: 3 dice; Swimming: 8 dice
Appearance 1, Resolve 1, Guile 1
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Ixier
Who Dreams for the Dead
Background: Three years ago, on the edges of a rag-
ged Wyld patch, a gluttonous raksha feasted upon the
dreams of an entire village. By the time a band of Exalts
arrived to put a stop to it, the people were already empty
husks. To their deep sorrow, the champions put the vil-
lagers out of their misery.
The Exalts turned their grief and rage on the Fair One
and killed it, with its belly still full of its victims’ dreams.
Those dreams’ remnants leaked out along with the rak-
sha’s blood, seeping into the soil of the village square.
The heroes burned the creature’s body, buried the vil-
lagers, and departed for other adventures.
Left alone at the center of the shadowland born from the
villagers’ deaths, with the Wyld’s fingers creeping in like
an infection, the alien blood and stolen dreams coalesced
into something new. The entity that rose from the shadow-
land named itself Ixier, and declared its domain the dreams
of the dying. It wanders the bordermarches, driven and
haunted by the lost hopes of its victims and seeking to fulfill
the wishes of those whose dead dreams gave it life.
Image: Ixier mimics the shapes of dreamers it’s fed
upon. One moment it may be tall and hulking, the next,
wispy and childlike. Only its eyes remain unchanged:
black as oil slicks. Between forms, its victims’ faces and
features surface and recede in a constant churn.
 Ixier, Who Dreams for the Dead
Intimacies: Defining: “The dreams of the dead live on in
me.”; Major: “I will finish that which was left undone.”;
Minor: The Raksha’s Murderers (Hatred)
Secrets: When pursuing one of its victims’ dreams or
goals, Ixier sometimes forgets it’s not human. It adopts
the victim’s form and mannerisms, seeking out people
and places from the deceased’s past to fulfill her wishes
or exact vengeance.
Ixier has consumed several Exalts’ dreams. These give it
insight into all kinds of secrets — such as the location of a
forgotten manse, the password to enter a secret salon in
the Imperial City, or the place where a lovelorn Sidereal
hid her heart.
Equipment: Ixier bears weapons and armor it collects
from its victims. These vary from the villagers’ common
bows and hunting knives to the splendid regalia of a
Prince of the Earth who died in Ixier’s domain.
Roleplaying Hints: To survive, Ixier has become like the
raksha whose death created it, feeding on the dreams of
the dying. Easterners view it as an unwelcome psycho-
pomp. It seeks out battlefields and places where illness
runs rampant — where the feasts are. In leaner times, it
slips into smaller villages and settlements to sit beside
the deathbeds of the infirm.
Ixier is protective of the shadowland it hails from, tend-
ing to the houses and occasionally attempting to grow
crops on the land — some of the villagers had sim-
ple dreams of home and prosperity, which it values as
strongly as the dreams of a champion bent on adventure
and glory.
Characters who are gravely wounded (at −4 or
Incapacitated, or suffering other injuries at the
Storyteller’s discretion) attract Ixier’s attention. The
creature responds favorably to offers to help it complete
the tasks its victims never could.
The longer Ixier is left unchecked, the more formida-
ble it becomes. To increase its threat, determine how
many additional health levels it’s gained using Consume
Dreams (below) in the current story so far, and what
associated Ties it possesses, when it encounters the
characters.
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 2, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2; Perception
3, Intelligence 2, Wits 3
Essence: 3
Willpower: 8
Join Battle: 7 dice
Personal Motes: 30
Health Levels: −0x3/−1x4/−2x6/−4x2/Incap.
Abilities: Archery 2, Awareness (Sense Injury) 4,
Brawl 4, Dodge 3, Integrity 2, Lore (Local) 3, Melee
2, Occult 2, Presence (Intimidation) 3, Resistance 2,
Socialize 1, Stealth 3, Survival 1
Merits: Danger Sense, Direction Sense, Fleet of
Foot, Malleable Shape (below)
Attack (Self bow): 9 dice at short range (Damage
10); Tags: Lethal, Archery (Long), Mounted
Attack (Spear): 7 dice (Damage 12); Tags: Lethal,
Melee, Piercing, Reaching
Attack (Unarmed): 7 dice (Damage 10); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Grapple): 7 dice (7 to control)
Combat: Soak 4, Hardness 0; Parry 3 + weapon
defense (Melee) or 4 (Brawl); Evasion 3; Rush 2 dice;
Disengage 5 dice
Social: Guile 3, Resolve 3
AN ECLECTIC PANOPLY
Ixier collects its victims’ weapons and armor, and uses
whichever best matches its current goals. Storytellers
may assign it other equipment that fits the story, and ad-
just combat traits accordingly. Ixier may even wield arti-
fact weapons it’s claimed from Exalted victims, and use
their Evocations.
New Merit: Malleable Shape
Ixier changes its shape at will, taking on the ap-
pearance of anyone whose dreams it has eaten.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Nightmare Torrent (10m; Reflexive; Instant;
Essence 2): Ixier unleashes the horrors of the shadow-
land and its victims’ worst fears on its opponent. The
target rolls a die and loses points of Initiative equal to
the value it shows, which Ixier gains. If this crashes the
target, she reflexively flees one range band from Ixier
and forfeits her next reflexive move action.
MOBILITY CHARMS
Impending Death Scent (5m or 10m; Simple;
Until Ixier reaches its destination; Eclipse; Essence 2):
Ixier senses death approaching, and travels to meet it.
It’s drawn unerringly to anyone within 50 miles who
is soon to die, such as those in their final hours of an
illness or old age, or bleeding out from wounds. It es-
pecially loves fresh battlefields, sick houses, and other
such places. For the duration, Ixier travels at double
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
its normal rate of speed to reach this location. For 10
motes, if mounted, it may double its mount’s speed
instead.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Banquet of Daydreams (8m, 1wp; Supplemen-
tal; Instant; Essence 2): On a successful attack, Ixier
feasts on its target’s dreams. A target with an Essence
pool loses five motes (personal first, for Exalts). Ixier
gains a Minor Tie to the subject of any one of the
target’s Ties (player’s choice). The victim loses the Tie
until Ixier dies, or she convinces it to return the dream,
which it can do as a miscellaneous action.
Ixier gains a −2 health level for each Tie it collects this
way. Once Ixier takes damage to one of these health
levels or gives back the dream that provided it, that
level vanishes permanently. Once such a health level
vanishes, the dream is gone and cannot be returned.
At the end of the current story, Ixier fully digests and
absorbs any dreams it still holds, losing all but one of
the health levels and Ties this Charm bestowed.
Hurry Home (10m, 1wp; Simple; Instant; Essence
2): Ixier fades away on its next turn, returning to the
shadowland where it was born.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Meimuna Kyree
Necharan Matchmaker
Background:

My lady Cholan of the House of Red Birds,

After weeks of travel and investigation, it seems my

efforts may finally bear fruit. Here, in the eighth
locale on my itinerary, I’ve caught the trail of a
band of travelers whose heroic deeds and arti-
fact blades bespeak some supernatural bloodline.
Rumor hasn’t sufficed to untangle the specifics
of their lineage, but no matter. My bearers and I
are on their heels, and once I meet them in per-
son, I’ll ply them with gifts and promises until
they relent and return with us to Nechara.
Surely one of them will make your daughter
a fine groom, or your son a strong bride.

Your faithful servant,

Meimuna Kyree
Image: Meimuna Kyree’s rich robes and
headdress befit her elevated status as a
Necharan matchmaker, fit to treat with
spirits and outcastes. Red and gold gardas
painted on her brown skin bespeak devo-
tion to her patrons in the House of Red
Birds. Bells woven into her long black hair
bring luck. She seems graceful and dig-
nified; only if her composure cracks under
pressure do her youth and limited experience
become obvious.

Intimacies: Defining: Lady Cholan (Devotion);

Major: “A true matchmaker shows each client
the utmost discretion.”; “Gossip is my lifeblood.”;
House of Red Birds (Loyalty); Potential Suitors
(Gallantry); Minor: Nechara (Homesickness)

Secrets: Kyree knows much regarding the

habits, likes, and dislikes of numerous
Eastern spirits, god-blooded, and out-
castes, including their web of relation-
ships with one another. She’s also
privy to gossip regarding Nechara’s
noble houses and grandees.
 Meimuna Kyree

TRAVELING TO NECHARA

Should well-bred characters accompany Kyree, the city-state of Nechara offers many intrigues. Other noble
houses wish to woo the characters away from the House of Red Birds — or to outright sabotage relations with
that family. Meanwhile, Necharan genealogists pry into their backgrounds, potentially uncovering damaging se-
crets.

Equipment: fine clothing; golden bells; tanpura with
mother-of-pearl inlay; baggage train laden with gifts of
clothing, liquor, perfume, etc.; maiden tea
Roleplaying Hints: Kyree has yet to develop an elder
matchmaker’s subtlety. She gleefully corners potential
divine consorts for her patron’s family, expounding on
the House of Red Birds’ wealth and on the luxury and
status that accompanies begetting a god-blooded heir
as spouse or consort. Though carefully guarding her pa-
trons’ and clients’ secrets, she gladly gossips about other
subjects.
Should she catch a potential spouse’s trail — and she
assumes that covert Solar or Lunar characters are
god-blooded heroes — she’s equally direct, inquiring
widely as to their whereabouts and activities. Others
who might wish to use or harm the characters need only
follow in her wake.
She offers small gifts to attract a potential suitor’s atten-
tion, and larger ones to sway the undecided. If tricked
into giving away rich treasures to someone who never
intended to go to Nechara, she spreads dreadful rumors
about that character for the rest of her trip.
Characters can dissuade Kyree by pointing her to more
obliging potential suitors, or revealing that her target is
totally unsuitable —  though she’d be publicly horrified
to learn he’s Anathema. Antagonizing, ruining, or slay-
ing her results in negative attention from nobles, bank-
ers, merchants, and spirits who wish to remain on good
terms with Nechara’s aristocrats — and retain access to
Necharan business and largesse.
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2; Cha-
risma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 4; Perception
4, Intelligence 3, Wits 2
Essence: 1
Willpower: 5
Join Battle: 4 dice
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Awareness 2, Bureaucracy (Assess
Wealth) 2, Craft (Tailoring) 2, Dodge 1, Integrity
(Loyal Service) 3, Investigation 2, Linguistics (In-
vitations) 3, Lore (Eastern History) 1, Martial Arts
(Dreaming Pearl Courtesan) 2, Occult (Spirits) 2, Per-
formance (Singing, Stringed Instruments) 3, Presence
(Matchmaking) 3, Ride 1, Socialize (Assess Interest)
3
Merits: Backing (House of Red Birds) 2, Influence
1, Language (Native: Forest-tongue; Riverspeak,
Flametongue, Old Realm) 3, Martial Artist, Mentor
(Lady Cholan) 1, Resources 2, Retainers 2
Attack (Unarmed): 8 dice (Damage 9); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Combat: Soak 2, Hardness 0; Parry 2 (Martial Arts);
Evasion 2; Rush 2 dice; Disengage 3 dice
Social: Resolve 3, Guile 3
Escort: A dozen assorted chefs, musicians, and
dancers accompany Kyree’s travels, delegated by the
House of Red Birds to help sway a potential spouse
into returning to Nechara to taste that city’s splendors.
They’re escorted by porters, drovers, pack animals
laden with supplies and gifts, and a dozen guards (a
Size 1, average Drill battle group of medium infan-
try — Exalted, p. 496). Her taciturn uncle Meimuna
Mayan serves as her bodyguard; he uses grizzled
veteran traits (Exalted, p. 497).
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Ninegala,
Forge-Goddess of Makelo
Background: Ninegala once labored at the forge of one
of the world’s makers. When the Exalted cast those
ancients down, she exiled herself to Creation, raising
a sanctum on the Western isle of Sinti. Eventually, an
enterprising mortal hero persuaded her to forge him a
weapon in exchange for a year of service; others trickled
in over the centuries. During the Contagion, she opened
her doors to a tribe of survivors. In gratitude, when they
founded the city Makelo (Exalted, p. 105), they took her
as their sovereign god.
Image: Ninegala has charcoal-black skin, ash-gray hair,
and fiery eyes that blaze when her passions are aroused.
She wears little in the forge’s heat, but when traveling
abroad, she arrays herself in arms and armor of her own
devising as she takes up her flying bronze chariot’s reins.
Intimacies: Defining: “I wish only to craft wonders
in peace.”; Major: “I enjoy testing my art’s limits.”;
Makeloans (Affection); Minor: The Fair Folk (Loathing)
Secrets: An ancient goddess, Ninegala holds faded
memories of the Time Before — specifically, the divinity
she served and his workshop in Heaven — though she’s
forgotten more than most living gods recall. She retains
a few relics from that era in her vaults, hidden in plain
sight where none but she might recognize them.
Equipment: forge-mother’s hammer, ur-golem armor,
quiver of boundless javelins, aerial chariot
Roleplaying Hints: Those seeking Ninegala’s impos-
sible marvels must perform long, weird, and perilous
quests — both to obtain rare crafting materials, and to
discourage future petitioners. Characters might per-
suade her to lend her services without such quests if the
desired artifact is sufficiently exotic and intriguing, or to
ward off a potential threat to her or Makelo’s people.
Should the characters destroy her — to loot her armory,
perhaps, or claim Makelo and its forges for themselves —
powerful beings across the West descend on her vaults.
Some assume the characters have already claimed the
cream of Ninegala’s arsenal and track them down. In ad-
dition, Ninegala retains a few connections in the spirit
courts, such as the dragon Fakharu (Exalted, pp. 521-
523); these may aid her in retrieving stolen goods, or
avenge her if she’s destroyed.
Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 5, Stamina 7; Cha-
risma 4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 4; Perception
6, Intelligence 5, Wits 5
Essence: 5
Willpower: 8
Join Battle: 9 dice
Personal Motes: 100
Health Levels: −0/−1x7/−2x7/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Brawl 3, Bureau-
cracy 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 7, Craft (Artifacts) 7,
Craft (Weaponsmithing) 7, Dodge 3, Integrity 4, Lin-
guistics (Old Realm) 3, Lore (Geology, Metallurgy)
4, Melee 5, Medicine (Treating Burns) 2, Occult (Fire
Spirits) 3, Presence 3, Resistance (Heat and Flame) 6,
Ride (Automata) 4, Socialize (Makeloans) 1, Thrown 5
Merits: Artifact (Boundless Javelin Quiver) 3, Arti-
fact (Flying Bronze Chariot) 4, Artifact (Forge-Moth-
er’s Hammer) 3, Artifact (Ur-Golem Armor) 3, Cult
4, Five-Thousand-Year Panoply (below), Language
(Native: Old Realm; Seatongue) 1, Legendary Artisan
(below), Scripture of the Forge (below)
Attack (Forge-mother’s hammer): 13 dice
(Damage 19/4); Tags: Bashing. Melee, Smashing
Attack (Javelin): 13 dice at short range (Damage
16); Tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Thrown (Short)
Combat: Soak 18, Hardness 10 (ur-golem armor:
+11/10); Parry 6 (Melee); Evasion 2 (ur-golem
armor −2); Rush 6 dice; Disengage 6 dice
Social: Resolve 5, Guile 2
Guardians: Numerous golems (Exalted, p. 500)
protect Ninegala’s vaults, alongside various other au-
tomata and traps.
NEW MERITS
Five-Thousand-Year Panoply: Ninegala may
find any simple, straightforward two- or three-dot ar-
tifact within her vaults. Once per story, if she requires
an artifact with specific, esoteric powers, roll (Essence)
dice against the artifact’s rating. Success reveals it in
her vaults; failure reveals an artifact of similar function
whose rating only equals her successes on the roll.
Legendary Artisan: Ninegala doesn’t track or
gain crafting experience — if she must pay a crafting
experience cost, she’s always able to meet it. She has
ten major project slots and five superior project slots.
Scripture of the Forge: Students learning Craft
from Ninegala halve training times. They gain +2 soak
 BOUNDLESS JAVELIN QUIVER
(ARTIFACT •••)

An oblong case of teak and darkened bronze, inlaid

with the First Age word “Plenty” in orichalcum and
moonsilver, contains a dozen iron javelins.

EVOCATIONS OF THE
BOUNDLESS JAVELIN QUIVER

Passive: The attuned quiver never runs out of jave-

lins; new ones appear to replace the old.

Distant-Striking Dart (1m [+1wp]; Supplemental;

Instant; Uniform; Essence 1): Attack a target at up
to long range, using the same dice pool as short-
ranged javelin attacks. Spend one Willpower to at-
tack at long range without an aim action.

and Hardness against fire-based attacks and immuni-

ty to minor burns, extending afterward for a duration
equal to the training time. Students who spend years
training under Ninegala obtain fiery eyes and char-
coal-dark skin, marking them as masters of the forge.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Smoldering Metal Offensive (10m, 1wp;
Simple; One scene; Uniform; Essence 3): Superheat a
weapon Ninegala wields, adding +4 to withering
and decisive damage. A mundane weapon burns to
ashes or melts to slag after this Charm ends.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Fire Knows the Forger (5m; Reflexive; Instant;
Essence 3): Add (Essence) successes to resist a fire-
or heat-based environmental hazard and subtract
that many dice from its damage. Against attacks from
sources such as firewands or fiery dragonbreath, this
Charm instead halves their damage.
Steel Knows the Shaper (5m, 2i; Reflexive; Until
next turn; Essence 3): Gain +1 Defense against weap-
on-based attacks. If a character attacks Ninegala and
misses, he’s automatically disarmed — the weapon flies
from his hand lest it strike the forge-goddess. Unarmed
attacks and improvised weapons are unaffected.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Forge-Mother’s Grace (1m+; Reflexive; Instant;
Essence 4): Using an item she made herself, Nin-
egala adds bonus dice as with a Solar Excellency
(Exalted, p. 255). Her maximum is based on the
level of project used to create the item — Basic: +2,
Major: +4, Superior: +6, Legendary: +8.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Hammer-and-Anvil Genesis (25m, 1wp;
Simple; One project; Stackable; Essence 5): Au-
tomatically succeed on the roll to complete a basic
or major project. Superior and legendary projects
instead double 7s, double extra successes received
at each interval, and add five rolls to the terminus. This
Charm can stack to benefit multiple projects.
Hurry Home (10m, 1wp; Simple; Instant; Essence
1): Ninegala fades away and vanishes on her next
turn, returning to her sanctum.
Materialize (50m, 1wp; Simple; Instant; Essence
1): Ninegala appears in a wreath of flame.
Measure the Wind (5m; Simple; Instant; Essence
1): Ninegala can discern the nature of anyone han-
dling her workmanship.
Spark of Inspiration (10m, 1wp; Simple; Instant;
Eclipse; Essence 3): Target receives 10 silver craft
points and 3 gold craft points. A character can only
benefit from this Charm once per story.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Odara, Chosen of Ash

Captain of the Kalaho Ahn
Background: A petty criminal en route to the prisons of
Wavecrest, Odara found herself shipwrecked on the tiny
volcanic island of Ma’o. Passing herself off as a pilgrim, she
ingratiated herself with the island’s volcano-god, Ash on
the Wind. But she fell in love with the god, who loved her
in return.

Ash on the Wind’s chief priestess, Liliha, discov-

ered Odara’s history — and her liaison with the
god. Enraged, Liliha sent Odara to the Black
Temple of Abalone, to be sacrificed to great
Hamoji.

Seeing no other means

to save his lover, Ash on
the Wind called upon
the Unconquered
Sun for de-
liverance.
His volca-
no erupt-
ed, shattering Ma’o, as Odara
Exalted in a blaze of volcanic fire.

Fleeing the Black Temple, Odara

united the pirate band called the
Bloodthirsty (see The Bloodthirsty,
Scourge of Wavecrest) under her
banner to avenge herself on those who
tore her from her god-lover. Seizing ships and
raiding ports, she gathers the Western treasures
that might otherwise enrich Wavecrest’s temples. Fire
and terror linger in her wake.

Image: Tall and well-built, with bronze skin and long, wavy red
hair, Odara carries herself with arrogant pride. Her expressive face
shows every emotion — she’s occasionally pensive, but more often cheer-
ful, excited, or bloodthirsty. Her iconic anima depicts an erupting volcano.

Intimacies: Defining: “I’ll avenge Ash on the Wind.”; Major: “I enjoy violence.”; Yalon
(Friendship); The Bloodthirsty (Camaraderie); Minor: “I love treasure.”; Priests (Hatred); The
Kalaho Ahn (Pride)

Secrets: Liliha lives, concealing slick burn scars behind a perfumed veil. She seeks aid from dark powers
to destroy Odara, covertly offering wealth and priestly influence. She’ll deal with any being, from the dead
to the Anathema, and has already forged a bargain with a mysterious spirit that calls itself Shade.

Equipment: rich clothing, ostentatious jewelry, Caldera (red jade lamellar), Roaring Impact (white jade goremaul),
Nephthai (black jade devil caster)
 Odara, Chosen of Ash

ARMS MASTER YALON

A Wavecrest naval officer who quit his post when his daughter was sacrificed to Hamoji after a petty crime, Yalon
is Odara’s only real friend and confidant. The crew respects this stern but caring man despite his origins. Yalon
uses champion traits — Exalted, p. 497 — with Command: 7 dice and Sail: 6 dice.

Roleplaying Hints: In battle, Odara weakens enemy
morale with gruesome promises of violence, then leaps
into battle with the Bloodthirsty close behind. She fa-
vors smashing attacks to knock foes overboard, and uses
Mast-Shattering Strike (below) to disable or hole enemy
vessels.
Odara focuses on plundering Wavecrest vessels and
ports, but characters can redirect her to particularly
juicy alternative targets if the reward outweighs the risk.
Schemes to tear down Wavecrest society and religion get
her attention. Slaying Odara triggers a power struggle
within the Bloodthirsty; soon a new leader emerges, di-
recting the pirates toward different goals.
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception
3, Intelligence 3, Wits 3
Essence: 2
Willpower: 7
Join Battle: 7 dice
Personal Motes: 14
Peripheral Motes: 18/33 (15 committed)
Health Levels: −0/−1x3/−2x3/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Brawl
2, Bureaucracy (Stolen Goods) 1, Dodge 2, Integrity
2, Larceny (Conceal Evidence) 2, Linguistics 1, Lore
(Western Religions) 2, Melee 4, Occult (Gods) 1,
Performance 2, Presence (Intimidation) 3, Resistance
2, Sail 4, Stealth 2
Merits: Allies (Yalon) 1, Ambidextrous 1, Artifact
(Caldera) 3, Artifact (Nephthai) 3, Artifact (Roaring
Impact) 3, Command (the Bloodthirsty) 2, Contacts
(Fences) 3, Influence 2, Language (Native: Sea-
tongue; Old Realm) 1, Resources 2
Attack (Roaring Impact): 11 dice (Damage
16/4); Tags: Bashing, Melee, Smashing
Attack (Nephthai): 12 dice at short range
(Damage 16/4); Tags: Lethal, Archery (Short),
Flame, Mounted, One-Handed, Slow
Attack (Unarmed): 10 dice (Damage 11); Tags:
Bashing, Brawl, Grappling, Natural
Combat: Soak 12, Hardness 7 (Caldera: +8/7);
Parry 5 (Melee); Evasion 2 (armor penalty −1); Rush
6 dice; Disengage 5 dice
Social: Resolve 3, Guile 1
Caldera
(Red Jade Lamellar Armor,
Artifact •••)
Odara stripped this armor from an outcaste captain’s
corpse, whose dead lips offered no whisper of its prove-
nance. Even its name is Odara’s invention.
Evocations of Caldera
Passive: At the beginning of combat, Odara may inspire
(Exalted, p. 217) herself with an inflamed passion of joy.
If so, she also gains one Initiative.
Nephthai
(Black Jade Devil Caster,
Artifact •••)
The pirate Lintha Sennong Sikala wielded this artifact
flame piece as his signature weapon until his death
at Odara’s hands. His family seeks Odara’s death and
Nephthai’s return.

THE KALAHO AHN

Odara’s flagship has blue-water merchant traits (Exalted, p. 246). Its siege weapons include a fire cannon at the
bow, and a fire projector flanked by two ballistae at the stern. Her crew forms a Size 2 battle group with elite Drill,
under Yalon’s direction.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Evocations of Nephthai
Passive: Nephthai can be fired underwater or into water
without penalty.
Clinging Flame (4m; Supplemental; One turn; Decisive-
only; Essence 1): If a supplemented decisive attack deals
damage, clinging flames generate an instantaneous envi-
ronmental hazard (Exalted, p. 230) with damage (wield-
er’s Essence)L and difficulty 5, at the beginning of the
target’s next turn.
Roaring Impact (White Jade
Goremaul, Artifact •••)
An outcaste smith forged this hammer to Odara’s
specifications.
Evocations of Roaring Impact
Passive: Reduce the Initiative cost of smashing attacks
by one.
Mast-Shattering Strike (5m, 1wp; Supplemental; One
feat; Essence 1): Add (Essence) to Strength for one feat
of demolition, including to determine whether the feat
is possible. Resonant: Convert dice gained from this bo-
nus Strength to automatic successes.
Charms
Many of Odara’s Charms wax or wane in power with her
anima, which has the following values: dim 0, glowing 1,
burning 2, bonfire/iconic 3.
EXCELLENCIES
Supplement a Dexterity, Stamina, Charisma, or Wits
roll for one mote per die. When stunting an action in
a dynamic, aggressive way, add up to (Attribute +
anima) dice. When stunting an action in a passive,
defensive way, instead add up to (Attribute + [3 –
anima]) dice. Raising static values works similarly,
dividing by two and rounding down.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Searing Steel Eruption (1m, 3a, 1wp; Simple;
Instant; Decisive-only): Gain three Initiative, then roll
a single decisive attack against up to three oppo-
nents within close range, dividing Initiative evenly
among them (rounded up). Reset to base only after
the final attack resolves.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Lava Fills the Fault (1m, 1a; Reflexive; Instant):
Heal one −0 health level of non-aggravated damage;
usable once per three rounds.
Skin of Rhyolite (3m; Reflexive; Instant; Dual):
Gain (5 − anima) natural soak against a withering
attack or (5 − anima) Hardness against a decisive
attack.
Whirling Ash Evasion (4m, 1wp; Simple; One
scene; Perilous): Ignore up to (anima) points of
penalty to Evasion.
MOBILITY CHARMS
Boiling Cauldron Dance (2m; Reflexive; Until next
turn): Walk or run across water. This creates a veil of
steam that imposes a −1 visual penalty on opponents’
attacks.
Wind-Whipped Cinder Swiftness (3m; Sup-
plemental; Instant): Add (anima + 2) bonus dice to
a combat movement roll, or a roll to contest combat
movement. If this roll beats all opponents, gain one
Initiative.
SOCIAL CHARMS
Smoldering Mountain Terror (4m; Supplemen-
tal; Instant): Add (anima) dice to a threaten action,
ignoring any penalty for multiple targets.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Peremuz,
Rogue Homunculus
Background: After her retirement from the legions, the Black Wolf. For long trips, his husky Storm carries a pack
outcaste sorcerer Lofty Raiton retired to the country- or sled.
side to pursue her researches. One of her creations was
a tiny homunculus hatched from a geode filled with her Intimacies: Defining: “I will take advantage of a world
own blood. She named the creature Peremuz, after the that overlooks me.”; Major: “Big folk can’t be trusted.”;
diminutive hero of a century-old romance novel. “Scruples are for those without the will to survive.”;
Lofty Raiton’s memory (Filial Respect); His handler
Quick-witted and clever, with a sharp tongue, Peremuz in the All-Seeing Eye (Loyalty); Minor: Lofty Raiton’s
served his creator for several years as a laboratory as- children (Bitterness); Mortals (Scorn); the Exalted
sistant, conversationalist, messenger, and spy. But when (Wariness)
Lofty Raiton died, her progeny bickered over ownership
of Peremuz as though he were a pet or a tool rather than
a person. Shouldering a pouch full of coin, he departed
to make his own destiny.

After moving from one city to the next every few years,
Peremuz currently earns his keep in Pangu’s
underworld, where he freelances
for myriad employers. Most
simply know him as a pecu-
liar local figure, riding about
on his terrier or drinking
wine from thimbles. In fact,
his minuscule size makes
him an ideal spy, thief, or
even assassin.

Image: A grotesque
manikin with
huge batlike ears,
Peremuz stands
just one handspan
tall. He dresses
in clothing cus-
tom-made for the
occasion, whether
that’s peacock fin-
ery, rugged traveling
leathers, or mottled
grays for camouflage.
He seems ageless,
though his gray hair is
receding. The chip on
his shoulder is apparent
in his stance and lofty gri-
mace when dealing with
larger folk. He usually trav-
els mounted on his terrier,
 Peremuz
Secrets: Peremuz is a repository of secrets; he’s spied
on crime lords, visiting Guild merchant princes, patri-
cian matriarchs, and Dynastic grandees. In addition, he’s
secretly an agent of the All-Seeing Eye. Everything he
reports to his other patrons, he also reports to his Eye
handler.
Equipment: Tiny garments, toothpick-sized sword, fish-
hook-grapnel on six feet of silken line, backpack full of
lockpicks, doll-sized journal covered in handwriting too
tiny to read
Roleplaying Hints: Peremuz is sarcastic and snarky,
channeling his bitterness toward a world that doesn’t
accommodate his scale. He’s wary of kindness, as many
attempt to manipulate him under the guise of concern
and understanding, but characters can woo him with
equitable treatment. Though loyal to his All-Seeing Eye
handler, he values his skin above the needs of any par-
ticular assignment; he’d rather flee than fight, and freely
sells out most employers if necessary to survive.
If Peremuz dies, the All-Seeing Eye loses its best source
of information on Pangu’s underworld, and the various
bosses resort to less subtle and efficacious methods of
observing and interfering with their rivals’ activities, re-
sulting in increased bloodshed.
Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; Cha-
risma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 1; Perception
4, Intelligence 3, Wits 4
Essence: 1
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 8 dice (9 vs. tiny creatures)
Health Levels: −0/−1/−2/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics (Climbing) 2, Awareness (Tiny
Creatures) 4, Brawl 2, Bureaucracy (Evaluating
Goods) 1, Craft (Alchemy) 1, Dodge (Guard Dogs,
Humans) 4, Integrity 2, Investigation 3, Larceny 2,
Linguistics 2, Lore 2, Melee 3, Occult (Sorcery) 1,
Presence 1, Resistance 3, Socialize (Guile, Spying) 1,
Stealth 4, Survival (Animal Training) 2
Merits: Backing (All-Seeing Eye) 2, Contacts (Pangu
Underworld) 1, Enhanced Sense (Hearing), Familiar
(Black Wolf) 1, Familiar (Storm) 1, Hideous, Influ-
ence 1, Language (Native: High Realm; Low Realm,
Old Realm, Riverspeak, Guild Cant) 4, Tiny Creature
(below)
Attack (Tiny sword): 9 dice (Damage 4, or 10
against enemies his size or smaller); Tags: Lethal,
Melee
Attack (Unarmed): 6 dice (Damage 4, or 8 against
enemies his size or smaller; can’t inflict decisive
damage against human-sized or larger opponents);
Tags: Bashing, Brawling, Grappling, Natural
Attack (Grapple): 6 dice (3 to control; can only
grapple enemies his size or smaller)
Combat: Soak 5, Hardness 0 (tiny feathersteel chain
shirt: +2); Parry 4 (Melee); Evasion 4 (6 against
larger foes, or 7 against guard dogs/humans); Rush
6 dice; Disengage 8 dice
Social: Guile 3, Resolve 3
Familiars: For dog traits, see Exalted, p. 562. Both
dogs know the Hold at Bay and Snarling Guardian
Attack special attacks, and have the Loyal Guard-
ian Merit. Black Wolf also has the Discerning Scent
(human scents) and Wary Watchdog Vigilance
Merits.
Merit: Tiny Creature
Gain +2 Evasion against larger foes, and subtract two
successes from Awareness-based rolls to notice him.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Pillars of the Last Bastion
Cult of Aton
Background: Over the centuries, the Last Mountain (see
Unrelenting Aton, the Last Mountain) has gathered a
city of worshipers in his subterranean fortress. Those
who share Aton’s belief that the end of days approaches
live out their lives in the Last Bastion as Aton’s Pillars,
devoting themselves to his survival and their lasting
legacy.
To prepare their best defenses, the Pillars need artifacts,
magic, surface resources, and all the information they
can amass about the coming cataclysm. A select conclave
of volunteers ventures to the surface every few months,
armed with a purpose that ranges from general recruit-
ment to the acquisition of some particular resource or se-
cret. The cult has no desire to make itself widely known,
but a scroll posted on the walls of a Prasadi city or a mis-
sionary speaking on a street corner in Palanquin rarely at-
tracts attention. The people of the Dreaming Sea believe
the Pillars of the Last Bastion to be just one of many tiny
cults, unaware of the legion that lurks below the earth.
A conclave aiming to steal, assassinate, or subvert first
acts as preachers raving about the coming apocalypse,
gathering information, and biding their time. A handful
of mortal cultists, dismissed and ignored as foolish or de-
lusional by the authorities, can advance all sorts of plans:
bribing a farmer to redirect a share of fresh crops, locat-
ing and stealing a magical resource, or seducing or kid-
napping a trained artisan to serve the city below. Those
caught simply play the part of the lone zealot, and take
the secret of Aton’s true might to their grave.
When a conclave encounters insurmountable oppo-
sition, they send for Aton’s Fists. Aton does not grant
power lightly, but he arms and blesses a select few of his
most devoted followers to serve as enforcers, battering
rams, and occasional distractions. Each Fist expects to
die young in service to his cause and to his friends and
family below, and carries no marks of affiliation.
Members: The Pillars of the Last Bastion recruit
throughout the Dreaming Sea, and as far north as Ember
and Nexus. They target the weary, the wounded, and the
dispossessed: those inclined to believe the cult’s apoca-
lyptic message. Recruiters also haunt places of learning,
promising community and a cause to bright young minds
EXAMPLE ACTIVE CONCLAVES
A Dragon-Blooded warrior in Prasad has lost ev-
erything: her family, her lover, her honor. She
would make a fine addition to the Last Bastion, if
the Pillars can convince her to join. Two recruiters
now work in the palace: one as a maid who whis-
pers in the Exalt’s ear, the other as a messenger
who controls what letters she receives. Outside the
walled city, a handful of Aton’s Fists work to ensure
her life continues on its downward spiral.
Palanquin’s gateway intrigues Aton. He envies the
heavenly gods safely hidden on the other side,
away from the Fair Folk and Exalted. He sends a
conclave of scholars to study it, and perhaps find
a way to bring their patron to Yu-Shan, oblivious to
the fact that the ancient realm of Zen-Mu lies be-
yond instead. One among their number is not as
loyal to Aton as he claims to be.
Aton once extracted a promise from Tenepeshu,
who lurks beneath the bay of Champoor: 1,000
mortals sent over 100 years to serve Tenepeshu in
darkness beneath the waves, in exchange for an
extraordinary First Age daiklaive. The final year
approaches, and the conclave at Champoor seeks
its last 10 victims and a safe means of transporting
their patron’s prize back to the Last Bastion.
in search of purpose. More rarely, they target a powerful
individual whom Aton deems worth a risk. Recruiters
prefer to work slowly, allowing potentials to draw them-
selves into the cult’s web, but Aton hardly cares wheth-
er his followers have free will. When the Last Bastion’s
numbers dwindle, he sends conclaves to acquire new
worshipers at any cost, and forces loyalty with black-
mail, threats, and torture.
Though the imminent end of the world prompts few
Pillars to start a family, a small number of cultists are
born each year in the Last Bastion. Aton trusts such
natives deeply, often tutoring them himself as personal
servants, as those indoctrinated from birth are the least
likely to pine for a life outside.
 P illa r s of the L ast B astion
The Last Bastion has only a limited official hierarchy,
composed of a few dozen officials who oversee food pro-
duction and other resource management. The ambitious
are more likely to seek power and prestige through the
conclaves than through city service. The cult applauds
Pillars who return from the surface with magic, contacts,
or new recruits, celebrating them as holy heroes. Those
who survive many conclaves, repeatedly risking death
or capture for their prizes, become unofficial priests.
Cultists believe their devotion and success grants them
great spiritual wisdom. Since successful conclaves are
often long-term affairs, taking months or years to com-
plete, most of Aton’s priests are also the community’s
elders.
Equally revered are Aton’s Fists, whom the Last
Mountain elevates with his blessings. Turning slowly
and inevitably into immovable stone, the Fists live like
princes for the duration of their shortened lives, reward-
ed for their service with the finest surface-world luxu-
ries money can buy. In exchange, Aton expects perfect
loyalty, and a willingness to die for the Pillars without
hesitation.
Secrets: Some heretics among the Pillars think the world
can still be saved. Aton crushes such hopes wherever his
Fists and other devotees find them, killing those he can-
not convince. Still, he has never been able to completely
destroy the idea that the Last Bastion and its resources
might be better put toward staving off the end, rather
than merely surviving it. Rumor holds that the hopeful
include over a dozen members of successful conclaves,
and at least three Fists. Aton would do much to learn the
identities of his city’s apostates. In turn, they fervent-
ly wish someone would come along who can convince
their god to abandon his nihilism and turn his power to-
ward changing the world — or maybe even saving it.
Resources: The Last Bastion is a settlement of over
10,000 people, the majority of whom work tirelessly
for the cause. The city is a mile underground, accessi-
ble through a handful of hidden, guarded tunnels that
surface far from major settlements between Y’danna and
Palanquin. Scavenged First Age devices keep the tunnels
lit and provide for subsistence farming and manufactur-
ing, supplemented by whatever the conclaves can send
back. New recruits, who donate their life’s savings in ex-
change for Aton’s protection, pay for additional supple-
ments and specialized goods to be purchased in secret
from the surface. City guards carry quality weapons and
armor, and every grown citizen can be armed and draft-
ed into the Last Bastion’s army in times of emergency.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
It is considered pious for citizens to own only the most
basic and necessary personal belongings; Aton and his
Fists are the only denizens of the city who own other
property.
Surrounding Aton’s inner sanctum is a tremendous li-
brary, full of not just books and scrolls but also rare re-
agents and carefully cataloged magical objects. A hand-
ful of scholar-cultists and thaumaturges assist him in
studying these prizes, predicting exactly how and when
the world will end, and what more they can do to sur-
vive it. Aton’s apocalypse library contains surprisingly
detailed information on the Fair Folk, the horrors of the
First Age, the rumored Abyssal Exalted, and myriad oth-
er strange threats.
Roleplaying Hints: Conclaves are full of ambitious peo-
ple, the city’s best and brightest. Most firmly adhere to
Aton’s nihilistic views, but expect their actions will en-
sure either their survival or some lasting legacy. Others
are simply eager for a chance to gain respect and power
over others — their greed fuels their fervor. Fists tend
to be fanatical; having sacrificed most of their lifespan
to serve their god, most find it difficult to contemplate
whether Aton’s dire predictions might be wrong.
In the city itself, and sometimes among conclaves who
spend years away from the Last Bastion, people are less
certain. Aton has been proclaiming the end of days for
centuries now, yet Creation survives. Heretical cultists
seek to influence their god or steal his secrets, while
priests fight over material power in their would-be dy-
ing city. Many citizens are simply frightened, desperate
to live another day.
To all his followers, Aton is not a mere elemental, but a
mighty god with no equal, worthy of fear and respect.
They are disinclined to believe the Last Mountain could
ever be bested or destroyed, even by other powerful
beings, and are wary of outsiders promising hope and
change.
Thaumaturgy Ritual:
Summon the Mountain (••)
The Last Bastion’s most trusted priests pass down a
ritual nearly as old as Unrelenting Aton himself. A con-
clave consisting of five people — one of whom must be a
Fist — gathers to summon Aton. The participants intone
prophecies from Aton’s apocalypse library while the
priest chisels one such prophecy into the Fist’s stone-
like skin. The ritual takes three hours to complete.
Opponents may attempt to interrupt the summoning,
though wise conclaves post sentries (often comprising a
mob of newly recruited cultists) to protect the ritualists
from would-be disruptors. Changing or destroying the
symbols carved in the Fist’s flesh ends the ritual. The
conclave must wait a week before attempting it again.
If the ritual is successful, Aton appears a short distance
from the summoner with a mighty rumbling, though is
not otherwise bound to her will.
The Fist’s death causes Aton to dissipate as a miscella-
neous action and reform in his cavern in the Last Bastion.
Aton may also willingly dissipate to return home at any
time. If Aton is destroyed while summoned, his fol-
lowers’ prayers allow him to reform in his cavern over
the course of one week, unless he was slain with spir-
it-killing magic such as the Solar Charm Ghost-Eating
Technique (Exalted, p. 354).
Marru Charrin
The eldest of Aton’s still-moving Fists, Marru is in her
mid-50s, with stone skin pocked from battle. She re-
ceived the Blessing of Aton long ago and has been a loyal
Fist ever since, but rumor holds that her only daughter,
now missing, is a heretic. Aton would usually kill a Fist
over such allegations, but Marru is useful, popular, and
old for one with his blessing. He hopes she will soon find
her end in battle or petrify fully rather than having to die
at his hands.
Essence: 1; Willpower: 8; Join Battle: 8 dice
Health Levels: −0x14/−1x4/−2x4/−4x2/Incap.
Note: Medicine pools targeting her can’t exceed the
healer’s highest relevant stone-based Craft Ability,
and healing Charms targeting her double their costs
unless they have an earthen elemental nature.
Actions: Command: 7 dice; Feats of Strength: 12
dice (may attempt Strength 5 feats); Read Intentions:
6 dice; Resist Disease/Poison: 10 dice; Senses: 5
dice; Threaten: 8 dice
Appearance 3, Resolve 4, Guile 3
COMBAT
Attack (Stone Fists): 12 dice (Damage 12)
Attack (Sling): 8 dice at close range (Damage 11)
Combat Movement: 8 dice
Evasion 0, Parry 5
Soak/Hardness: 13/3
 P illa r s of the L ast B astion
Merits
Exalted Healing (Exalted, p. 165)
Koru Mahktran
The mineral court has sent dozens of emissaries to Aton
over the centuries, though none have yet convinced him
to return home. The newest envoy, the young, non-bina-
ry vaktri Koru Mahktran, has earned a tentative place in
the Last Mountain’s city by embracing some of his para-
noia. They now walk a fine line between two masters,
assisting Aton’s priests while assuring the mineral court
they’re making progress in calming the rogue elemental.
Essence: 2; Willpower: 8; Join Battle: 6 dice
Personal Motes: 70
Health Levels: −0/−1x3/−2x5/−4/Incap.
Actions: Feats of Strength: 9 dice (may attempt
Strength 5 feats); Navigate Underground: 6 dice;
Read Intentions: 7 dice; Social Influence: 8 dice;
Senses: 7 dice
Appearance 4, Resolve 4, Guile 6
Koru is an average vaktri in most other respects (Exalted,
p. 520). They serve both Aton and an Essence 6 lesser
elemental dragon for the purposes of Faceless Envoy
Proclamation, depending on the situation. To better sur-
vive in their position, Koru learned to suppress their in-
stinctual activation of Many-Faceted Radiance for a cost
of 1 Willpower.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Quaghead Tribe
Saints of Thuvaraiyam
Background: Tattooed thugs and honor-bound heroes, shift-
less anarchists and romantic wanderers — the Crocodile
Knights are called many things across the wetlands up and
down the Grey River, and “Quagheads” is among the more
polite. They rove between villages on crocodile-drawn wa-
tercraft, unload illegal cargo and intriguing boasts at every
stop, and adhere to an opaque charter of strict taboos.
When the Empire’s jade counters call them smugglers,
the Quagheads brag about the vital supplies and little
luxuries they towed from dangerous ports. When the
River Province decries their toll-keeping, the Crocodile
Knights take care to escort fisher-rafts through treach-
erous waters. And when the wars of pious princes
flood the Scavenger Lands with refugees, the Saints of
Thuvaraiyam welcome them in with smiling jaws.
Each chapter of Quagheads wears this rugged mystique
like armor, bound together by a secret history whose de-
tails are laid bare only to their inner circle. They are no
mere vagabonds, they claim, but heirs to an ancient and
noble legacy: Thuvaraiyam, the Land Lost to Law.
Most Quagheads consider Thuvaraiyam a mythical ideal
of their chivalric charter, passed down through rumors and
drunken arguments, but it is quite real. An ancient dominion
with a legal code so refined it carved itself on the face of
nature, Thuvaraiyam ejected its own populace centuries ago,
condemning them as criminals one and all. These banished
children are the Saints of Thuvaraiyam, barred from their
promised land by a canon lost to time.
Now, the dominion’s sole living inhabitants are the Ghara
Hags, a sorcerous coven who guide its descendants accord-
ing to legalistic revelations. They puzzle over moss-strewn
mosaics to glean secrets of old, and demand that aspiring
chapter masters answer 54 questions of sacred jurispru-
dence. The Knights observe a motley reconstruction of a
numinous charter, and respect no lesser law laid down by
god or mortal.
Members: The Crocodile Knights divide into chapters, each
with its own garish heraldry and winding, riverbound terri-
tory, answering to a regional Great Chapter led by a Saint.
Entrusted with secluded bayou-shrines and the right to
 Quaghead Tribe
NEW GAMBIT: DETONATE (DIFFICULTY 4)
A detonate gambit requires an attack with a firewand, burning arrow, or other fiery weapon against a volatile
target like a gas pocket or firedust barrel. Success detonates it, creating a one-time environmental hazard out to
short range (damage 4L/instant, difficulty 5).
interpret Thuvarai law, the Saints lead yearly pilgrimages to
the jungle temple where the Knights share business and rumor.
This journey requires ritual precision, for the slightest mis-
step could violate an obscure convention and rouse the
land’s elemental enforcers. Only the Ghara Hag shamans
can soothe them, and those strange sorcerers seldom ven-
ture beyond the holy courthouse where they quiz and anoint
each new Saint, except to dredge shattered crystal tablets
from Thuvaraiyam’s sodden, haunted archives. Their large,
sunken eyes are golden with black sclera, a trait the Knights’
oldest families commonly share.
The Knights recruit from runaways and renegades around
the near East, but every chapter plasters its boats and bodies
with bright heraldry, taking pride in intricate tattoos, styled
hair, and articles of crocodile teeth or hide. It’s customary
for Knights to trade swaggering stories of how they valiantly
won these trophies — and some are even true.
Quagheads ride flat-bottomed vessels shared by two or
three boaters, who decorate hulls with painted grins and
scales or gator-god figureheads. Boxy keelboats with flut-
tering pennants carry heavier cargo, and are recycled into
lumber at journey’s end. Trained crocodiles can be spotted
among these armadas, wearing collars and sunning on rafts,
or drawing small canoes with distressing speed. Skilled
Knights even harness and ride large crocodiles, amphibious
terrors in weed-choked waters.
For an example Quaghead adversary, see Bosocu, Prodigal
Son of the Swamps. Seasoned Quagheads use the traits of
grizzled brigands (Exalted, p. 497) with the Strong Lungs
and Iron Stomach Merits.
Crocodiles are river dragons (Exalted, p. 571) with halved
soak and Hardness, −4 damage (and minimum damage) on
their bite attack, and no Legendary Size Merit. In the South,
six-legged sand swimmers lurk beneath the dunes. They
trade Night Vision for Earthsight (Exalted, p. 521), and use
their Swimming pool and Merits to burrow instead.
A crocodile large enough to ride only offers mounted combat
benefits while swimming. Its Speed Bonus is +0 on land,
+1 in water. A crocodile-drawn boat gains +1 Speed.
When ramming, the crocodiles add one to the extra Hull
damage inflicted by the Naval Maneuver total, devour-
ing sailors who would normally clamber back aboard. A
crocodile-vessel without a ram does not suffer this extra
damage.
Secrets: Unbeknownst to the Knights’ northernmost chapter,
one of the runaways they recruited recently is a Dynast who
smuggled herself off the Blessed Isle to escape assassins and
legal trouble. Those things are following her, though, even
into the swampy wilderness, and soon anyone in the chap-
ter’s orbit will be dragged into a petty Dynastic conflict.
Resources: Billhooks and chains are Quaghead signa-
tures, the former for hacking through mangrove and
uncooperative rivergoers, the latter for securing and
boarding boats. Each chapter has its specialties — the
Snakefangs use blowguns to silently claim bounties,
and the southerly Sand Swimmer chapter buys support
from chapter masters with firewands and waterproofed
powder-pouches, prestige symbols that prove especially
deadly in areas ripe with swamp gas.
The Knights run smuggling rings, collect protection
money, and provide violence-for-hire — all completely
legal, according to their charter — but their most prof-
itable resource is a grapevine of rumors that runs from
one end of their territory to another. Chapters mingle
for contests, festivals, and trade, spreading gossip like a
rash. If it happened, chances are a crocodile-riding ban-
dit can be found who’ll boast she did it herself.
Roleplaying Hints: Quagheads are boisterous and un-
ruly, quick to sound off their chapter’s virtues; they’re
the dread of conscientious peacekeepers throughout the
East. Every stop is a chance to impress pretty people,
offload dangerous junk, and generally take advantage
of the fact that they’ll be gone tomorrow — why waste
time with local niceties? The charter is all they need! For
most, it’s all they have.
Knights typically meet individual insults with thick-
skinned bluster, but repay those who besmirch chapter
or charter with retribution that is disproportionate, en-
thusiastic, and (if the Knights have their way) legendary.
A teahouse owner can toss an unruly Quaghead onto the
street without incident, but one who bars the chapter
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

EXAMPLE CHAPTER: THE RUBY JAW RIDERS

Saint Saflonu, whose maimed lower face and crimson fang-pennants are known across the Hundred Kingdoms,
leads the Ruby Jaw Riders, a Great Chapter that roams into the Evensong Line whenever Lookshy’s patrols relax.
Lips painted with red amaranth, hair styled into crimson spikes, the Jaws traffic in narcotics and exotic enter-
tainment, playing competing interests against each other to avoid outright war with the Guild. Its most notable
bylaws are:

• Eat no flesh from a hooved beast

• Kill no one who has yet to speak

• Dancers shall receive full hospitality and conveyance

may find his business demolished overnight. When bit-
ten, the Crocodile Knights bite back harder.
Successful chapter masters cultivate abettors in their
regular haunts through bribery or intimidation, juggling
respect, fear, and disdain with Knightly showmanship. A
chapter that sparks a riot might turn it into an impromp-
tu carnival, while one accused of foul crimes sweeps the
swamps and returns with the true culprit — or an ac-
ceptable scapegoat.
The Thuvaraiyam charter’s shared clauses lay out ex-
change rates for repayment, rivergoing rights-of-way,
and proper treatment of crocodiles. Chapter-specific
clauses are more idiosyncratic but equally sacrosanct,
which causes occasional friction. Disputes over one in-
terpretation or another can be cause for a leadership
challenge or turf war.
River trials are a common outlet for these rivalries, for
victory in a good clean (relatively, anyway) race is a reli-
able way to earn a chapter’s respect. The Bloody Regatta
of Descending Wood is a sight to behold, sponsored and
policed by the Fourfold Malison chapter. Vessels of all
kinds race toward Great Forks down the Grey River, em-
ploying merciless tactics in pursuit of the grand prize.
Zabbala, the Sentinel Fern
Found in long-forgotten swamplands and dank sewers, the
wood elemental known as the zabbala grows anywhere
warm, wet, and devoid of too many prying eyes. It looks
like an enormous tree fern twice a human’s size, dangling
heavy fronds lined with waxy, mud-brown leaves over its
massive, hoary face to hide it until called upon to show it-
self. It can move, pulling up slimy root-legs from the muck,
but prefers to plant itself in place and stand sentinel over
some precious resource, whether it’s as mundane as clean
water or as mystical as a lost demesne. Travelers earn access
to its territory by performing tasks it sets that prove they
possess an understanding of its age-old wetland wisdom and
a healthy respect for nature.
The many zabbala that grow in and around Thuvaraiyam
made ancient pacts with the original Ghara shamans there,
swearing to stand guard and enforce the complex web of
laws until the land itself perished in fire or famine. Not even
the Hags know all those laws now, so dealing with the zab-
bala is a dicey prospect; but those who appease them gain
access to Thuvarai secrets and tidbits of a lost history.
Essence: 4; Willpower: 6; Join Battle: 6 dice
Personal Motes: 90
Health Levels: −0x10/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Actions: Ancient Lore: 6 dice; Feats of Strength: 5
dice; Pontificate: 7 dice; Read Intentions: 7 dice;
Resist Disease/Poison: 10 dice; Senses: 6 dice; Thu-
varai Law: 8 dice
Appearance 2, Resolve 5, Guile 2
COMBAT
Attack (Fronds): 9 dice (Damage 10)
Attack (Grapple): 9 dice (8 to control)
Combat Movement: 4 dice (Oppose Disengage:
10 dice)
Evasion 2, Parry 5
Soak/Hardness: 10/0
MERITS
Swamp Camouflage: The zabbala doubles 9s on
Stealth rolls. While unmoving and hiding its face with
its fronds, it doubles 7s and may hide in plain sight
without penalty, pretending to be a simple plant.
Hide of Fronds: The zabbala’s −0 health levels rep-
resent the heavy fronds that shield its core bulk, and
grant it equal soak. It heals these health levels (and
 Quaghead Tribe
regains lost soak) at a rate of one every minute as the
fronds grow back, if it has sufficient water and at least
a little sunlight.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Sentinel’s Frond Dance (5m, 2i; Simple; One
scene; Essence 2): Whipping its heavy fronds out
from its bulk, the zabbala may force any opponent at
close or short range to successfully disengage before
moving further away, and reduces the Initiative cost
of any gambit that would prevent an opponent from
reaching a destination within long range of it by one,
to a minimum of one. This Charm ends if its last −0
health level fills with damage.
Warden of the Lost Law (10m; Reflexive; Deci-
sive-only; Instant; Essence 3): When rolling Join Battle
against any enemy whose Intimacies or motives it has
successfully learned via Read Intentions in the current
scene, it may reflexively perform a disarm or grapple
gambit against an enemy within close range who’s
unaware of its presence before any character acts,
waiving the gambit’s Initiative cost. This counts as its
attack for the first round of combat.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Unbroken Root Endurance (4m, 1i; Reflexive;
Until uprooted; Essence 2): The zabbala digs its roots
into the terrain, gaining +5 soak. It cannot be thrown
or dragged in a grapple, but can’t take movement
actions without ending this Charm. If hit with an attack
or effect that would forcibly move it, it may negate
the movement for two Initiative per range band; if it
doesn’t negate all the forced movement, it’s uprooted
and this Charm ends.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Fern-Seed Blessing (6m, 1wp; Simple; Eclipse; In-
definite; Essence 3): Ordinary ferns don’t have seeds,
but the zabbala can compress its Essence to spit out a
seed that blesses anyone who possesses it with invisi-
bility and magical protection as long as they’re within
its territory; as soon as they leave, the seed loses its
power and this Charm ends. The blessed gains double
7s on Stealth rolls when the opposition would use
sight to detect them, and +2 to Defense, as long as
they remain within the area the zabbala guards. They
also gain double 7s to mundane Awareness, Investi-
gation, or Survival rolls to navigate the area or find a
particular resource, such as water, food, or treasure.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Ragara Feria
Admiral of the Imperial Air Fleet
Background: One of the few outside of House Peleps who are trusted as leaders among
their ranks, Fleet Admiral Ragara Feria is a decisive and focused leader who has earned
the adoration of her crew both for her tactical know-how and her brilliant personality
and wit — which both serve as contributing factors toward arousing terror in those
who bring trouble to her waters. She prioritizes her career above all else, and has
not made any effort to settle down and marry a man or woman as a result.

Feria is committed to maintaining peaceful seas through aggressive tactics and

ruthless politics, and does not shy away from pursuing reports of piracy or illicit
trade even if she has only a fraction of the details. If she should hear whispers that
there are plans for a strike on a local port she will do everything in her power to
eliminate the problem before it has time to exist. Likewise, she has been
well revered by her peers for her keen eye for stowaways and harsh pun-
ishments toward those looking to abuse fleet privileges. She regularly
receives dispatches on Anathema sought by the Wyld Hunt, and often
enjoys tracking them down personally — an effort that has not gone un-
noticed among her superiors.

Though she understands the duties of her position and willingly answers to
House Peleps regarding her work, Feria has been under pressure since the
Empress disappeared to use her fleet for House Ragara’s own purposes — par-
ticularly to make sure that key shipments arrive intact and on time. Feria holds
great respect for the ranks and rulings of the Navy and values peace between the
houses, but has found that her loyalties are being tested as she considers what the
implications could be for both herself and her position if she chooses to disrupt the
balance that she has maintained for so long.  

Image: Ragara Feria carries herself with the confidence of a leader and is rarely
seen outside of her military uniform. Her terra-cotta complexion suggests that she
hails from a region far from the frigid northern seas where her fleet sails, though
her soft features are often obscured by a focused expression while she is engaged
in her work. Raiders who dare set course through her waters often whisper warn-
ings of the admiral who sets ships aflame with her very step as they recount the
foreboding sight of her burning anima during a dark night at sea.

Intimacies: Defining: “Fear is a necessary weapon.”; Major: House Peleps (Respect),

House Ragara (Obligation), Tanoa’s Kiss (Protection); Minor: “Peace is subjective,”
Raiders (Loathing)

Secrets: Feria is quick to condemn piracy and works diligently to prevent raids and
scavenging, but has personal reasons for wishing to see to certain things in person — she
has been amassing a small collection of souvenirs from defeated foes, including objects that
may be of interest to some particular devotees of the Immaculate Order.

Equipment: Naval Admiral’s uniform, Tanoa’s Kiss, spyglass. Feria is also typically
armed with a number of small blades suitable for close combat, especially if she is
preparing to board a ship or break up a raid firsthand. In addition to her uniform,
Feria dons a buff jacket reinforced with black jade to prepare for difficult adver-
saries and raids.

10
EX3
 Ragara Feria
Roleplaying Hints: Ragara Feria is aware of her own pres-
ence and influence, but does not believe she is superior
to any members of her own fleet or her peers within the
Imperial Navy. Though she is a skilled fighter, she prefers to
attempt to intimidate her foes before striking them down.
Aspect: Fire
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; Cha-
risma 3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4; Perception
4, Intelligence 3, Wits 4;
Essence: 3
Willpower: 8
Join Battle: 7
Personal Motes: 14
Peripheral Motes: 35
Health Levels: -0/-1x2/-2x2/-4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Brawl 2, Bu-
reaucracy 3, Dodge 3, Integrity 2, Investigation 2,
Larceny 1, Linguistics 1, Lore 1, Melee 4, Presence 2,
Resistance 2, Sail 5, Socialize 2, Thrown 1, War 3
Merits: Backing (Air Fleet) 4, Command 3, Influence
4, Language (Low Realm) 1, Language (Skytongue)
1, Martial Artist 4, Manse 3, Resources 4, Strong
Lungs 1
Specialties: Athletics (Rigging), Athletics (Swim-
ming), Lore (Northern Raiders), Melee (Sword),
Sail (Boarding Actions), Sail (Fleet Tactics), Presence
(Commanding)
Attack (Tanoa’s Kiss): 12 dice – Lethal, Melee,
Balanced; (damage 15; min. 4)
Attack (Knife): 12 dice – Lethal, Melee, Thrown
(Short); (damage 10; min. 1)
Attack (Boarding Axe): 10 dice – Lethal, Melee,
Chopping; (damage 12; min. 1)
Combat: Soak 11 (Medium Armor +8); Parry: 5
(melee); Evasion: 3 (Medium Armor -1); Rush 7 dice;
Disengage: 7 dice
Social: Resolve: 3; Guile: 4
Crew: While in combat, Feria may call upon her
crew to assemble a battle group of Battle-Ready
Troops (Exalted, pp. 496-497) with the following
traits: Size 2, Elite Drill, Magnitude 7
Tanoa’s Kiss
(Red Jade Reaper Daiklaive, Artifact •••)
A blade once wielded by an ancestor of Ragara Feria, the
fleet admiral set out to recover it from thieves shortly
after being promoted to her position. Stories of Ragara
Tanoa and the blade that granted her a mastery of the
elements around her helped inspire Feria to take to the
11
EX3
sea, and she does not intend on letting the weapon be
stolen from her family again.
EVOCATIONS OF TANOA’S KISS
The wielder ignores all environmental penalties from
fog, rainfall, and other watery environs.
VEILING MIST
Cost: 5m, 2i; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Simple
Keywords: Perilous, Resonant
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: None
To use this Evocation, Feria must be on a ship’s deck,
under rainfall, or in similarly wet conditions, sweep-
ing Tanoa’s Kiss to draw up moisture around her into
hissing steam. She and all allies within short range of
her may use Take Cover actions (Exalted, pp. 198-
199) within the mist as though it were light cover.
Resonant: The wielder treats the mist as heavy cover
instead.
LEAPING FLAME CUT
Cost: 5m, 1a, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Veiling Mist
Feria’s blade is consumed with burning heat as she
strikes her target, revealing itself in leaping flames. To
use this Evocation, she must be at Initiative 15+. She
rolls a single decisive attack against two enemies,
dividing her Initiative evenly between them, rounded
down, to determine the damage rolled against them.
One target must be in close range, but she may strike
the second target from afar if he is within short range
of the primary target.
Charms
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Stoking Bonfire Style  (1m per die; Supplemen-
tal; Instant; Uniform): Add up to (Melee + Specialty)
bonus dice on an attack roll. If Feria uses this Charm
to attack the same enemy over multiple consecutive
rounds, its cost is reduced by one mote for each round
(minimum 0). Attacking another enemy or going a
turn without attacking resets the discount. 
Smoldering Essence Attack  (5m, 1a; Simple;
Instant; Withering-only): Feria makes a  wither-
ing attack that drains an additional Initiative for every
10 on the damage roll. She doesn’t gain this Initiative.
The struck enemy loses the same amount of Initiative
on his next (Essence) turns, or until he hits her with
a withering attack. 
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

DEFENSIVE CHARMS 2) successes on a Presence roll, and roll a non-Charm

Blinding Spark Distracting (2m per +1 Parry; Re- die for each 10 on the roll.
flexive; Instant): Add up to ([Melee + Specialty] / 2) Moth to the Candle (2m, 1wp; Simple; One scene):
to Parry. Successfully blocking a close range attack Feria’s enemies must prioritize attacking her over any
blinds the attacker (Exalted, p. 168) until the end of other character unless they pay 1wp to resist. They
his next turn.  can still take non-attack actions, as long as they don’t
Portentous Comet Deflection  (3m, 1wp; Re- harm her allies. 
flexive; Instant; Clash, Decisive-only): Feria may Bellowing Thunder Admiral  (8m, 1wp; Simple;
reflexively clash an attack against her with a  deci- One scene): Feria adds (Essence / 2) successes on
sive attack. This counts as her attack for the round, command actions targeting battle groups made up
and can’t be used if she’s already made her attack. of mortal sailors, and they gain (Essence / 2) suc-
Mobility Charms cesses on rolls to resist rout. She and all sailors under
her command gain +1 Resolve. If she wins Join Battle
Deck-Striding Prana  (3m, 2i; Reflexive; Instant): after boarding a ship in naval combat, she may use
Add (Sail) bonus dice on a movement roll. Feria can this Charm reflexively. 
climb one range band up a ship’s rigging or similar
surfaces with her reflexive move.  Passionate Soul Incitation (5m, 1a; Supplemen-
tal; Instant): When a target enters a Decision Point to
SOCIAL CHARMS  resist a Presence or Socialize roll, he can only invoke
Glowing Coal Radiance (2m per success; Supple- an Intimacy based on passion to resist, unless he has
mental; Instant): Add up to ([Presence + Specialty] / none. 

12
EX3
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Siluris, the Hidden Sting

Background: In the Firepeaks, where the humid jungles of the
Southwest meet the burning sands of the South, the scor-
pionfolk champion Siluris wages a one-person
war against invaders from nearby Origin or
the Twelveriver Sea. While the Neekhoe
Scorpionfolk leaders may be willing
to trade with passing Guild caravans,
or wish to form diplomatic relation-
ships with neighboring settlements,
Siluris’ actions stymie and destabilize
such efforts.

He’s both outlaw and folk hero among

his people. Villages praise him as a
protector and provider who drives off
would-be invaders and feeds the hun-
gry with hijacked goods. The captives
he delivers become slaves and, upon
their deaths, meals. In return, villag-
ers offer Siluris shelter and sustenance;
their shamans tend his wounds.

Scorpionfolk leaders bemoan the

trouble his reckless actions
bring upon the tribes. Guild
emissaries tally up lost rev-
enue and look for ways to
make the scorpionfolk pay.
Beleaguered settlements
hire mercenaries to find
citizens who’ve disap-
peared. Still, the scorpi-
onfolk princes don’t want
Siluris to stop his actions,
so much as they’d prefer
to direct them.

The Neekhoe
Scorpionfolk
Though they’ve operated independently for centuries,
the Neekhoe Scorpionfolk once served their creator, the
Lunar sorcerer Liyas. After her death, they abandoned
her plans for conquest and retreated to their remote
villages.

Today, warriors venture into the Wyld to prove

their fearlessness and might, and return with the
pelts of strange beasts for their merchants and
 Siluris, the Hidden Sting
craftspeople to trade. Southwestern courts pay dearly
for scorpionfolk astrologers’ wisdom, especially those
predictions made according to the Wyld’s ever-shifting
constellations.
Image: Siluris is tall, burly, and powerfully built. His
natural chitinous armor is glossy and pale where it cov-
ers his limbs. He has two sets of arms: the fleshy lower
set ends in hands, while the chitinous upper set ends in
massive pincers. His barbed, seven-segmented tail fully
extends over his head.
Intimacies: Defining: “I alone can defend my peo-
ple’s lands.”; Major: The Neekhoe Scorpionfolk
(Protectiveness); Invaders (Hatred); Minor: “Food
should never be wasted.”
Secrets: Siluris knows his territory well, including the
locations of lost ruins and Wyld zones. Outsiders are
aware of him through travelers’ cautionary tales, and
believe he is a noxious Wyld-beast or First Age horror
haunting the sands. Siluris revels in these rumors, and
seeks tools to reinforce them, from artifacts scavenged
from the ruins to alchemical concoctions he commis-
sions from shamans.
Roleplaying Hints: Siluris favors guerilla tactics and
ambushing targets of opportunity. He sets traps, lures
unwitting prey into danger, and finishes them off at his
leisure.
On rare occasions, if a human possesses something use-
ful that Siluris can’t simply take, he ceases hostilities
long enough to treat with them. Such interactions are
tense, and Siluris is always watchful for deception and
betrayal.
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4; Cha-
risma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception
4, Intelligence 3, Wits 2
Essence: 1
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 10 dice
Health Levels: −0x4/−1x4/−2x2/−4x2/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Brawl (Pincers)
5, Dodge 4, Lore 2, Occult 1, Presence (Intimidation)
3, Resistance 2, Socialize 2, Stealth 4, Survival 3,
War (Guerilla Tactics) 2
Merits: Danger Sense, Exalted Healing, Extra Limbs,
Fast Reflexes, Hideous (to non-scorpionfolk), Pedi-
palps, Scorpionfolk Markings, Tail, Unusual Hide 3,
Attack (Pincers): 10 dice (Damage 6); Tags: Crush-
ing, Clinching
Attack (Tail): 10 dice (Damage 5); Tags: Piercing,
Poisonable (2i/round [L in crash], duration 3 rounds,
–2 penalty)
Combat: Soak 7, Hardness 0; Parry 5; Evasion 5;
Rush 9 dice; Disengage 9 dice
Social: Guile 3, Resolve 2
New Merit: Pedipalps
Located on the upper set of limbs, pedipalps are grasp-
ing, pincer-like appendages that grant +2 dice to grapple
control rolls and can parry lethal attacks unarmed.
New Merit: Scorpionfolk Markings
Neekhoe Scorpionfolk shamans decorate their great-
est warriors with markings reminiscent of a Lunar’s
moonsilver tattoos, which bioluminesce when exposed
to Wyld-light. These intricate designs contain cultural
secrets and centuries of lore the scorpionfolk have gath-
ered during their excursions into the Wyld. A marked
warrior traveling in the Wyld may draw upon the knowl-
edge embedded on his person, reducing the difficulty
of overcoming Wyld-based environmental and shaping
hazards by one, and granting one bonus success to Lore
and Occult rolls regarding Wyld phenomena.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

The Bloodthirsty
Scourge of Wavecrest
Background: Vicious and brutal, the pirate band called
the Bloodthirsty haunts the waters southeast of the
Wavecrest Archipelago, seizing merchant vessels and
raiding coastal towns. Though they often hold wealthy
travelers alive for ransom, they show no such mercy to
Wavecresters, for whom their mistress holds a special ha-
tred. Their depredations strike terror across the archipel-
ago, but House V’neef sees them as pawns in its schemes.
Their sigil — a skull whose jaws drip blood — and their
spiked hulls hung with their victims’ remains are rightly
feared throughout the Wavecrest region. Wavecrest’s at-
tempts to eliminate them have proven ineffectual against
their numbers and secret benefactors.
The Imperial Navy is reluctant to take the fight to the
pirates’ home ground, lest they turn their attention from
Wavecrest. Available Navy forces would doubtless crush
the Bloodthirsty in time, but the resulting distraction
and casualties would leave House Peleps’ Western oper-
ations vulnerable to V’neef maneuvering.
Members: The Bloodthirsty are reavers from the
Seawalk Isles, an island chain southeast of Wavecrest
containing Kyna Wehe, Jora Wehe, and several lesser
isles. Traditionally, they limited themselves to raiding
one another and unfriendly neighbors, or indulged in
occasional coastal piracy. But the Exigent Captain Odara
(see Odara, Chosen of Ash) has raised her bloody-skull
banner among peoples already growing eager to test the
limits of an unstable Realm’s defenses, gathering dozens
of ships into a single marauding fleet.
The Bloodthirsty fleet evolved from refitted fishing
boats into larger vessels with a tradition of deliberately
haphazard-looking construction that’s deceptively swift
and maneuverable. Their most notable quirk is the addi-
tion of great, curving spikes along the sides of their hulls,
above the waterline. Meant to snag the sides of enemy
ships during boarding actions, they also serve to intim-
idate, especially when the crews impale victims of suc-
cessful raids upon them.
Odara of Ash, a volcano-god’s Exigent, leads the
Bloodthirsty from her flagship, the Kalaho Ahn. Her cap-
tains theoretically stand as equals, though they jockey
with one another for influence over Odara and for con-
trol of the fleet’s resources. These captains include the
ruthless and opportunistic Nanahu, and the dreaded
ghost-blood Two Shadows.
Secrets: Despite Odara’s victories and charisma, not all
Bloodthirsty favor her command. Some consider her
crusade against Wavecrest misguided, and would rather
turn toward less perilous targets. Others still chafe under
old rivalries with fellow Bloodthirsty captains who once
raided their homes. Though the need to stand together
against the Imperial Navy and other maritime forces
keeps Odara’s rivals in line for now, the right opportuni-
ty could unleash strife within the fleet as captains nurse
old grudges.
While the Bloodthirsty remain personae non gratae in
Wavecrest itself, some neighboring peoples and city-
states unofficially tolerate them for their lavish spend-
ing and bribes in port, and for weakening the Realm’s
influence in the region. These quietly offer havens for
Bloodthirsty ships to resupply, sell stolen cargoes, and
provide leave for their crews.
House V’neef secretly backs the Bloodthirsty, funneling
information on Imperial Navy movements and Wavecrest
shipping to the pirate captains, and offering sanctuary and
trade opportunities in their satrapial port of Nansha. The
Merchant Fleet hopes to use the Bloodthirsty as a weapon
against Peleps in their escalating conflict for control over

NEW NAVAL STRATAGEM

Jagged Impact (Wits + Sail + Maneuverability; Cost: 15 Momentum) — Bloodthirsty ships of the line and corsairs
can undertake this boarding action (Exalted, p. 245). After the crew boards, the enemy battle group suffers −1 to
rout checks and command actions. For each threshold success on this stratagem’s roll, the captain may inflict
one level of Magnitude damage to the enemy as spikes scatter or impale them.
 T h e B l o o d t h irst y
the West. They’ve not yet offered Odara everything she
desires — total license against the priesthoods and peo-
ples of Wavecrest — but the time for scruples is ending.
Resources: The Bloodthirsty command a dozen ships of
the line with blue-water merchant traits, a score of light
corsairs with large yacht traits, and several dozen scouts
with fast courier traits (Exalted, p. 246). Multiple scouts
usually accompany a ship of the line or a pair of cor-
sairs. Larger fleets assemble to take down well-defended
convoys, intercept enemy naval forces, or protect pirate
havens. Bloodthirsty pirates aboard a ship of the line or
corsair with spikes affixed gain +1 to Threaten actions
against other crews.
Crew members use Lintha reaver traits (Exalted, p. 497)
with average or elite Drill depending on the captain’s
skill at command. Scout and corsair crews are Size 1; a
ship of the line’s crew is Size 3. Intimacies typically in-
clude “I’ll make my fortune through piracy” and Fellow
Bloodthirsty (Loyalty) at Defining or Major. Ties toward
Odara and/or their ship’s captains are common; their
emotional tenor varies.
Individual Bloodthirsty come away with sizable shares
of wealth after a successful fight, which they’re quick
to spend in port. Captains stash away lockboxes of trea-
sure for emergencies, and many have Resources 1-3 in
non-maritime investments.
Roleplaying Hints: Bloodthirsty ships try to outnumber
their opposition, swarming one target at a time and pri-
oritizing boarding actions. In melee, they fight fiercely,
showing no quarter unless an individual seems valuable —
whether for ransom, useful skills, or carnal appeal. On shore
leave, they tend toward bellicosity; they’re prone to brawl-
ing and bravado, as well as muggings and other petty crime.
Ship’s Pilot
While the captain gives orders and commands the ship
as a whole, the pilot is responsible for navigation and
steering. (On smaller ships, captain and pilot may be one
and the same). She holds a great deal of authority, effec-
tively acting as second-in-command. This also makes
her a prime target during naval engagements, so a pilot
must be skilled in her own defense.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
As talented pilots are rare, pirates seize them from cap-
tured vessels and press them into service. Though care-
fully watched at first, most are nonetheless reliable; they
know enemy navies will treat them as any other pirate
despite their origins and intentions.
Intimacies: Defining: Her ship (Devotion); Major:
“Nothing will deter my vessel from reaching its desti-
nation.”; Minor: Her captain (Loyalty)
Essence: 1; Willpower: 6; Join Battle: 6 dice
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Actions: Climbing: 5 dice; Command: 5 dice; Navi-
gation/Sailing: 7 dice; Senses: 7 dice
Appearance 2, Resolve 2, Guile 2
COMBAT
Attack (Short sword): 9 dice (Damage 9/2)
Attack (Knife): 8 dice (Damage 9)
Attack (Unarmed): 7 dice (Damage 9)
Combat Movement: 5 dice
Evasion 2, Parry 3
Soak/Hardness: 5/0 (Breastplate)
Arms Master
The arms master’s responsibilities include drilling the
crew in combat techniques and commanding them in
battle. She’s often the most skilled fighter onboard, and
leads from the front to repel boarders or seize enemy
ships. Commercial vessels’ arms masters also lock up
weapons between engagements to avoid fights and muti-
ny, but pirates rarely enforce such rules.
Intimacies: Defining: “Victory at all costs.”; Major:
“Discipline is paramount.”; Her captain (Loyalty);
Fellow crew (Respect)
Essence: 1; Willpower: 5; Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Actions: Athletics: 6 dice; Navigation/Sailing: 5
dice; Read Intentions: 4 dice; Senses: 5 dice; Siege
Weapons: 7 dice; Social Influence: 5 dice; Threaten:
7 dice; Warfare: 7 dice
Appearance 3, Resolve 3, Guile 2
COMBAT
Attack (Chopping sword): 9 dice (Damage 12)
Attack (Long bow): 9 dice at short range (Damage
12)
Attack (Knife): 10 dice (Damage 10)
Attack (Unarmed): 9 dice (Damage 10)
Combat Movement: 6 dice
Evasion 2, Parry 4
Soak/Hardness: 8/0 (Reinforced buff jacket)
Nanahu,
Captain of the Wa Wakahi
Born in a Kyna Wehe fishing village, Nanahu turned first
to sailing and then to piracy, where his fierce demeanor
and violent temperament stood him in good stead. When
the Wa Wakahi’s previous captain died in battle, he
roused the crew to his support and seized the captaincy.
While Nanahu approves of Odara’s personal strength and
tactical acumen, he fears her vendetta against Wavecrest
may embroil the Bloodthirsty in an unwinnable, unprof-
itable war with the Imperial Navy; or worse, that they’ll
become tools of the Merchant Fleet.
Nanahu is squat and powerfully built, with blue-green
hair and beard. An encounter with a fire projector turned
the left side of his face into a mass of burn scars, making
his expression all the more ferocious.
Intimacies: Defining: “Violence and bluster get me
what I want.”; Major: Odara (Respect); His crew
(Loyalty); Minor: The Wa Wakahi (Pride)
Essence: 1; Willpower: 7; Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Actions: Assess Wealth: 6 dice; Athletics: 6 dice;
Navigation/Sailing: 7 dice; Read Intentions: 4 dice;
Senses: 5 dice; Social Influence: 6 dice; Threaten: 7
dice; Warfare: 7 dice
Appearance 4 (Hideous), Resolve 3, Guile 2
COMBAT
Attack (Great axe): 8 dice (Damage 15)
Attack (Firewand): 9 dice at short range (Damage
15)
Attack (Unarmed): 11 dice (Damage 11)
Combat Movement: 5 dice
Evasion 2, Parry 3
Soak/Hardness: 9/0 (Reinforced buff jacket)
Olo the Scorpion, Wary Fence
The hard-goods dealer Olo spends any given day pick-
ing through new goods in Port Ahisa’s bazaar. She moves
slowly; a wooden stump replaces her missing left leg, and
 T h e B l o o d t h irst y
her once-muscular frame now runs to fat. Her neighbors
would be astonished to see her on moonless nights, nim-
bly descending cliffside paths to the hidden cove where
she purchases pirated cargoes.
She maintains a walled, guarded warehouse complex at
the edge of town. When not out on business, she rarely
stirs herself from the office where she cooks her books. She
keeps a crossbow by her desk, and her clothing bristles with
hidden knives; she trusts no one, not even her own staff.
Once a pirate herself in the now-defunct Cracked Skull
Sisterhood of Jora Wehe until its destruction by Kyna
Wehe fleets 20 years ago, Olo retains many contacts amid
the Bloodthirsty beyond her mercantile relationships.
She knows much regarding their activities and plans.
Intimacies: Defining: “Unlike people, money will
never betray you.”; Major: Survivors of the Cracked
Skull Sisterhood (Loyalty); Kyna Wehe’s chieftains
(Hatred); Minor: “Better to kill than to be killed.”; The
Bloodthirsty (Loyalty)
Essence: 1; Willpower: 5; Join Battle: 6 dice
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x2/−4/Incap.
Actions: Assess Value: 7 dice; Bargain: 7 dice;
Commerce: 7 dice; Read Intentions: 6 dice; Senses: 5
dice; Social Influence: 5 dice
Appearance 3, Resolve 3, Guile 3
Escort: Olo’s clerks, porters, and guards are retired
pirates (use grizzled mercenary traits, Exalted, p. 497).
At least one escorts her at all times, and she can easily
assemble a Size 1 battle group with average Drill.
COMBAT
Attack (Knife): 8 dice (Damage 10)
Attack (Crossbow): 8 dice at short range
(Damage 12)
Attack (Unarmed): 8 dice (Damage 10)
Combat Movement: 3 dice
Evasion 1, Parry 3
Soak/Hardness: 6/0 (Chain shirt)
Two Shadows,
Captain of the Nightmare
After perishing in a storm, a fisherman returned home as
a ghost to visit his wife one last time. Nine months later,
Two Shadows was born. Drawn to the sea, she became
a sailor and a pirate. Eventually caught by Wavecrest’s
navy, she was slated for execution in Abalone before a
serendipitous Bloodthirsty raid freed her.
In her 30s, Two Shadows is tall, lean, and pale, with a white
streak through her green-black hair. Though Two Shadows’
crew fear the deathly magic of her birthright, they admire
her cold, calculated brutality. But Odara’s fiery presence has
warmed something within her for the first time, turning her
aside from pure profit to serve the pirate queen’s crusade.
Intimacies: Defining: Odara (Infatuation); Major:
“I am fascinated by death.”; “I love the freedom of
the sea.”; The Nightmare (Pride); Minor: “Human lives
mean nothing to me.”; Her crew (Ownership)
Essence: 1; Willpower: 7; Join Battle: 8 dice
Personal Motes: 10 (5 committed)
Health Levels: −0/−1x2/−2x4/−4/Incap.
Actions: Athletics: 6 dice; Navigation/Sailing: 6
dice; Read Intentions: 5 dice; Senses: 6 dice; Social
Influence: 7 dice; Threaten: 8 dice; Warfare: 7 dice
Appearance 3, Resolve 3, Guile 2
COMBAT
Attack (Paired axes): 10 dice (Damage 13)
Attack (Unarmed): 10 dice (Damage 10)
Combat Movement: 6 dice
Evasion 3, Parry 5
Soak/Hardness: 12/7 (Kraken’s Shroud)
Special Ability: Deathwalker
Two Shadows can perceive and physically interact with
ghosts and other immaterial undead, who can likewise
interact with her even without materializing. These ef-
fects don’t apply to other immaterial spirits.
Kraken’s Shroud (Black Jade Reinforced Buff
Jacket, Artifact •••)
Two Shadows seized this gray sharkskin and black jade
coat from an outcaste warrior-priest of Siakal.
EVOCATIONS OF KRAKEN’S SHROUD
Passive: Kraken’s Shroud has the Buoyant tag.
Against wounded opponents, add one die to rush
actions or to contest disengage actions.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Life-Drinking Blade (3m, 1i; Supplemental;
Instant; Dual; Essence 1): Gain +2 to an attack roll.
Gain +1 to post-soak withering damage or to raw
decisive damage.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Clarity-of-Death Defense (2m; Reflexive; Instant;
Essence 1): Ignore one point of onslaught penalty.
 Th e B r o k e r

The Broker
The Seller in the Shadows
Background: Though the identity of the Broker remains shrouded
in mystery, it is a commonly held belief among thieves and scav-
engers that if you are in the right place at the right time some-
one will be willing to buy whatever you are trying to be rid
of or help you make an otherwise unattainable purchase. The
only drawback? The Broker has no loyalties except their own,
which has proven fatal to bureaucrats and anathema alike who
have found that the value of their life and the secrets they hold
exceeds what they are trying to sell.

Though they have been seen most frequently in Lookshy

and Nexus, the Broker has been spotted in numerous plac-
es across Creation from Chiaroscuro to Gethamane to the
ports of the Dreaming Sea, and the occasional cutpurse even
claims that they have witnessed deals being made in seclud-
ed areas of the Imperial City. Some rumors have swirled as
to the Broker’s identity — many customers cannot confirm
even minor details surrounding the person that they
dealt with either due to intentionally withholding
information or a genuine lack of awareness. There
is even talk in some circles that the Broker is not
one person but several, all keeping their identities a
secret to avoid the oppression of the Guild.

Though their primary business is in fencing stolen goods, the

Broker does not deal entirely in coin and is always open to accept-
ing a barter if it would benefit them more directly. Information
is as good a currency as jade, and they will just as easily give it up
in exchange for a priceless object that cannot easily be assigned
monetary value. In spite of all this, many thieves and scavenger
lords still find it advantageous to deal with the Broker instead of
another fence… that is, if they can track them down.

Image: Clad in leathers fit for a thief, one would never know
the riches that the Broker hoards, and it is very much on purpose.
The Broker is secretive and private, virtues that are exhibited even
in the draped cloth that covers their face and the dark hood that casts
a shadow over their features. With the hood removed one might no-
tice dark, matted hair pulled back with a short length of rope.

Intimacies: Defining: “Everything has a price.”; Major: “What would

you like to know?”, The Guild (Respect); Minor: Identity-Concealing
Mask (Security)

Secrets: Though the Broker’s traveling routes and appearances

seem to be random, they are planned well in advance and are usually
marked by a strange symbol painted in gold ink with a hint as to the
details of the Broker’s next visit. The symbols typically appear within one

13
EX3
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
week of the Broker’s arrival, and include a series of num-
bers to indicate the date and time that a prospective buyer
or seller can anticipate being able to make a transaction.
Equipment: Light leather armor and face coverings
along with a cestus, khatar, and several knives readied
for close combat. The Broker also typically carries sev-
eral pouches of various currencies and may also have ar-
tifacts or other objects that they have just purchased or
hope to sell to a prospective buyer.
Roleplaying Hints: The Broker serves their own pur-
poses, which may change from day to day based on their
needs and the current circumstances. They are not above
breaking their own rules if it means coming out on top,
though they will never betray their own identity.
Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2; Cha-
risma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2; Perception
2, Intelligence 2, Wits 4;
Essence: 1
Willpower: 4
Join Battle: 8
Health Levels: -0/-1x2/-2x2/-4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 1, Awareness 2, Bureaucracy
3, Brawl 2, Dodge 3, Integrity 3, Investigation 1,
Larceny 2, Linguistics 3, Lore 3, Melee 2, Presence 3,
Resistance 1, Socialize 3, Stealth 3;
Merits: Contacts 5, Followers 1, Influence 2, Lan-
guage (Riverspeak) 1, Language (Flametongue) 1,
Language (Guild Cant) 1, Language (Skytongue) 1,
Resources 4
Specialties: Bureaucracy (The Guild), Larceny (Ap-
praisal), Socialize (Criminal Underworld), Stealth
(Disguise)
Attack (Cestus): 9 dice – Bashing, Brawl, Smash-
ing, Worn (damage 8)
Attack (Khatar): 9 dice – Lethal, Brawl, Piercing
(damage 8)
Attack (Knife): 9 dice – Lethal, Melee, Thrown
(Short) (damage 8)
Combat: Soak 5 (Light Armor +3); Parry: 3 (Melee),
3 (Brawl); Evasion: 3; Rush 4 dice; Disengage: 6 dice
Social: Resolve: 4; Guile: 5
The Broker’s Security
A mysterious figure, the Broker is never seen without at
least two guards nearby to help move purchases from
place to place and assure the Broker’s safety. Typically
there are at least several protectors nearby, though
at least one will always remain hidden. The Broker’s
14
EX3
guards vary from place to place and keep their identities
concealed with masks.
Storyteller Note: The Broker’s Security entries use the
Quick Characters rules from page 494 of the Exalted
Third Edition core rulebook.
The Guard
Always close at hand, The Broker’s guard is never too far
from view and will often inspect potential clients before
a transaction can be made. They wear attire similar to
the Broker’s and cover their face so that their identity is
not known.
Essence: 1; Willpower: 3; Join Battle: 5 dice
Health Levels: -0/-1x2/-2x2/-4/Incap.
Actions: Senses: 4 dice; Stealth: 5 dice; Threaten: 4
dice; Tracking: 4 dice
Appearance 2, Resolve 1, Guile 1
COMBAT
Attack (Cestus): 6 dice (Damage 11)
Attack (Grapple): 4 dice (5 dice to control)
Combat Movement: 4 dice
Evasion 2, Parry 2
Soak: 6 (Light Armor)
The Sentry
Hidden in the shadows, the Sentry does not make their
presence known while the Broker is working through a
transaction. Instead they keep a watchful eye over the
surrounding area and prepare to defend their employer
against any surprise attacks.
Essence: 1; Willpower: 4; Join Battle: 6 dice
Health Levels: -0/-1x2/-2x2/-4/Incap.
Actions: Senses: 5 dice; Stealth: 6 dice; Threaten: 5
dice;
Appearance 3, Resolve 2, Guile 2
COMBAT
Attack (Short Sword): 6 dice (Damage 11,
minimum 2)
Attack (Khatar): 6 dice (Damage 11)
Combat Movement: 4 dice
Evasion 2, Parry 2
Soak: 8 (Reinforced Light Armor)
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS

The Prince Resplendent

in the Ruin of Ages
Background: The oil lamp flickered,
sending shadows racing across the
dusty burial chamber. The Prince
Resplendent frowned and dipped his
brush into the inkstone. He wrote:

“As cherry blossoms fall upon

the river / And are swept down-
stream to the sea / So do all rel-
ics of ancient days / Flow to the
vaults of fallen Thorns / Seek ye
there the treasures of your past.”

The Prince smiled. A shame he wouldn’t

be here to see their faces, but better to be
gone with the tomb’s orichalcum panoply before
its rightful owners arrived.

Image: Thin, sallow, and balding, the Prince Resplendent

can’t quite shed the air of the shopkeep and scavenger he
once was. In public, he favors wealthy garb or artifact ar-
mor complete with mask or helm, and affects a cultured tone
— though surprise causes him to slip back into the lower-class
accent of his youth. In private, he favors well-worn, practical
garments.

Intimacies: Defining: “I’ll turn a profit on every task.”; Major:

“I take pleasure in mocking my adversaries.”; “None shall wit-
ness my fears.”; The Mask of Winters (Fearful Admiration);
Minor: Salt Star (Approval)

Secrets: The Prince Resplendent hoards silver, jade, and arti-

facts, secretly withholding from his patrons a fraction of every
haul. He maintains trapped, undead-guarded caches across the
River Province, and he’ll come after anyone who dares loot one.

Equipment: Soulsteel articulated plate set with a hearthstone, soul-

steel storm hatchets, ciphered journal, map of a First Age ruin.

Roleplaying Hints: Having dwelt in penury before becoming

a scavenger lord, the Prince Resplendent places
inordinate value on wealth. He raids tombs
and steals artifacts — whether to serve his
mentor the Mask of Winters, or hired by oth-
er patrons such as the Walker in Darkness,
Nexus’ Council of Entities, or House
Ragara. He circumvents combat via bluster
 The Prince Resplendent in the Ruin of Ages
and bribery; failing that, he flees to sites full of traps and
minions. Cornered, he offers up treasure caches or his
master’s secrets. Slaying him draws the Mask’s wrath.
Caste: Daybreak
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; Cha-
risma 2, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2; Perception
4, Intelligence 3, Wits 4
Essence: 2
Willpower: 6
Join Battle: 8 dice
Personal Motes: 16
Peripheral Motes: 20/31 (5 committed to Bone-
split and Bloodspill, 6 committed to Atarat)
Health Levels: −0/−1x3/−2x4/−4/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 4, Bureaucracy
3, Craft (Traps) 4, Dodge (Traps) 4, Investigation 4,
Larceny (Lockpicking) 2, Linguistics 2, Lore (Ancient
Ruins) 4, Melee 3, Occult (Undead) 4, Resistance 2,
Ride 1, Socialize (Business) 2, Stealth 3, Survival 2,
Thrown 2
Merits: Artifact (Bonesplit/Bloodspill) 3, Artifact
(Atarat) 3, Backing (Thorns) 4, Contacts (Scavenger
Lords) 3, Hearthstone (Stone of the Vanisher) 2, Lan-
guage (Native: Riverspeak; Old Realm, Guild Cant,
various Scavenger Lands local tongues) 3, Mentor
(Mask of Winters) 3, Resources 3, Retainers (Salt
Star) 4
Attack (Bonesplit and Bloodspill): 12 dice
(Damage 12/3); Tags: Lethal, Melee, Thrown (Short),
Chopping
Combat: Soak 14, Hardness 10 (Atarat, +11); Parry
3 (Melee); Evasion 2 (armor penalty −2); Rush 6
dice; Disengage 8 dice
Social: Resolve 3, Guile 3
Escort: The Prince Resplendent is usually accompa-
nied by his obsequious nemissary apprentice, Salt Star;
use honored ancestor traits from Exalted, p. 504, and
add the Nemissary’s Ride Charm on p. 508. The Prince
also leads a Size 1 battle group of zombies (Exalted,
p. 502) with poor Drill and Might 1.
Bonesplit and Bloodspill,
Soulsteel Storm Hatchets (Artifact •••)
These newly forged artifact hatchets are young and hun-
gry, their greater powers yet to be unlocked.
Evocations of Bonesplit and Bloodspill
Passive: +1 to decisive attack rolls against living crea-
tures who have suffered damage to their –2 health levels.
Atarat, the Necromancer’s Bastion,
Soulsteel Articulated Plate
(Artifact •••)
This massive suit of armor, inlaid with apotropaic First
Age glyphs of black jade, dates back to the Rotting Lotus
Rebellion.
Evocations of Atarat
Passive: Attacks from dematerialized spirits that would by-
pass the Prince’s armored soak or Hardness cost an addition-
al three motes each, even if they ordinarily have no cost.
Hearthstone: Stone of the Vanisher
Keywords: None
On any roll to investigate, track, or contest the Prince’s
efforts to go to ground, change the value of the highest
successful non-10 die to a 1.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Corpus-Rending Blow (1m; Supplemental; Instant;
Uniform): Allows an attack using any Ability to strike
an immaterial spirit.
Savage Shade Style (2m; Supplemental; Instant;
Dual): Against a crashed opponent, double threshold
successes on a withering attack or double 10s on a
decisive damage roll.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Elegant Flowing Deflection (2m; Reflexive;
Instant): Negate all Parry penalties against a single
attack. Successful defense reduces attacker’s Initiative
by one.
MOBILITY CHARMS
Spider Pounce Technique (2m; Supplemental;
Instant): Leap one range band horizontally or verti-
cally; counts as the turn’s movement action. Reduce
cost to 1m if used on previous turn.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Contraption of Bone and Sinew (5m; Simple;
Instant): Any corpse can be fashioned into a trap
(Exalted, p. 232) — a snare made from viscera, a
ribcage bear-trap, a femur sharpened into a scything
blade. Once per scene, the Prince may reveal that an
enemy has fallen prey to one he’s previously set. This
creates a one-time environmental hazard, difficulty 3.
An injurious trap deals 3L damage; escaping a snare
requires a Strength 3+, difficulty 4 feat of strength. This
Charm resets when an opponent botches a roll on any
physical action.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Cunning Scrutiny Style (5m; Simple; Instant):
Complete a case scene action in a few seconds,
adding (Essence) automatic successes and doubling
9s.
Fivefold Sensory Exercise (5m; Reflexive; One
scene): Double 9s on Awareness rolls.
Spirit-Detecting Glance (3m; Reflexive; One
scene): See immaterial spirits.
Necromancy
Shaping Ritual: When the Prince begins a scene in a
place marked by death — the Underworld, a shadowland,
a graveyard or battlefield, the site of a recent murder — he
gains three sorcerous motes that last until end of scene.
SPELLS
The Face of Bone (5sm, 1wp; One scene): See,
hear, and speak at any distance through a prepared
skull of at least human size, which glows with cold
blue glyphs and hovers in midair, turning as desired.
Influence and perception through the skull can’t use
Charms. Can’t sense or take actions with own body
while spell remains active. Taking damage or destroy-
ing the skull ends the spell.
Raise the Rotting Horde (Control) (15sm, 1wp;
Indefinite): Animate corpses as zombies, up to a size
2 battle group with poor Drill and Might 1. Zombies
remain animated indefinitely unless exposed to sun-
light for a full scene. As a control effect, the battle
group has average Drill instead, or elite Drill by
spending a Willpower while casting.
Summon the Shadow-Eaten (Ritual, 2wp; Instant):
Summon an Essence 1-3 mortwight (Exalted, p.
505) or other monstrous ghost in a night-long ritual,
rolling (Intelligence + Occult) against its Resolve to
bind it for a year and a night. If this fails, roll (Wits +
Occult) against its Willpower to banish it.
 ADVERSARIES OF THE RIGHTEOUS
Unrelenting Aton,
the Last Mountain
Background: Millennia ago, Aton served the subterra-
nean Siderite Court and brought stability to the west-
ern coast of the Dreaming Sea. He was happy, balanc-
ing Essence to prevent earthquakes. Then came the
Usurpation. All around him, chaos erupted. Warring
Exalted killed Aton’s many brothers, their bodies crum-
bling to dust and mud. Aton believed the world was
about to end.
He still does. Unrelenting Aton is stronger now, no longer
the Siderite Court’s servant but a towering force in his
own right. To the ancient elemental, the Solars’ defeat
was just the first in a series of unending disasters that
blend together; he doesn’t parse time the way humans
do, and views the entire Second Age as a single apoca-
lypse. Civil wars, decaying artifice, the hungry Fair Folk:
Creation must be doomed. The Lawgivers’ reemergence
has only increased his terror. But Aton is a survivor, and
he intends to outlast the end of the world.
Driven by his elemental nature, Aton sated his paranoia
by building a vast, fortified underground city: the Last
Bastion (see Pillars of the Last Bastion, Cult of Aton).
He filled it with thousands of mortal worshipers, believ-
ing their lives and prayers will sustain him through the
apocalypse. Seeing death around every corner, he’ll stop
at nothing to keep himself safe. The region’s security, his
followers’ lives, Creation’s stability — it’s all meaningless
compared to Aton’s survival.
Aton has fewer enemies than he imagines. The Siderite
Court wants him brought back into the fold unharmed.
His above-ground servants carefully avoid attention, and
even the deep gods whom the Last Bastion displaced
remember the younger, more stable Aton who protect-
ed their homes millennia ago. The ancient elemental’s
trauma makes him keep friends at arm’s length, refusing
their assistance and their pity.
Image: Human-shaped — albeit jagged around the edges
— Aton is made of rough, red stone, shot through with
veins of metals and minerals. He’s easy to mistake for
a pile of rocks if he lies still and closes his eyes, which
open to glow the orange-red of molten iron. He’s over 60
feet tall at his full height, but it’s been centuries since he
last stood up and stretched.
Intimacies: Defining: “I will survive at any cost.”; Major:
The Exalted (Fear), “Stability staves off disaster.”; Minor:
The Last Bastion (Protectiveness)
Secrets: Aton keeps meticulous records of every person,
creature, and magic he believes could end the world.
His personal library includes such secrets as the where-
abouts of legendary artifacts and maps of the southeast-
ern Fair Folk courts.
Roleplaying Hints: Aton always assumes the worst of
others, and makes copious contingency plans assuming
they’ll eventually betray him. He cannot remain allies
for long with characters he can’t completely control,
and would rather turn on them first than give them the
chance to stab him in the back. He’ll sacrifice his own
worshipers to keep himself safe, and he knows that
sometimes the best defense is crushing people before
they become his enemies.
Attributes: Strength 8, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6; Cha-
risma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3; Perception
4, Intelligence 4, Wits 3
Essence: 4
Willpower: 7
Join Battle: 8 dice
Personal Motes: 90
Health Levels: −0x4/−1x4/−2x5/−4x7/Incap.
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Brawl (In En-
closed Spaces) 5, Bureaucracy (Cults) 3, Integrity 4,
Lore (Disasters) 4, Occult (Powerful Spirits) 3, Pres-
ence 3, Resistance 5, War (Cultists) 4
Merits: Cult 3, Legendary Size, Sturdy as Stone, Tre-
mendous Reach
Attack (unarmed): 14 dice (15 in enclosed spaces)
(Damage 20); Tags: Natural, Brawl, Smashing
Combat: Soak 18, Hardness 10 (natural); Parry 5
(Brawl); Evasion 2; Rush 7 dice; Disengage 4 dice
New Merit: Tremendous Reach
Aton may make unarmed attacks at short range, and
negates the advantages of mounted combatants unless
their mounts possess Legendary Size.
OFFENSIVE CHARMS
Living Mountain Barrage (10m; Simple; Instant;
Perilous, Withering-only; Essence 4): While touching the
ground, Aton makes a withering attack against all op-
ponents within short range, rolling once. Aton gains full
Initiative only from the target who takes the most damage,
+1 per additional damaged foe. Foes this attack crashes
treat all earthen surfaces as difficult terrain until they’re
no longer crashed.
Walking Earth Entombment (5m, 3i; Supplemental;
Instant; Decisive-only; Essence 3): A successful grapple
gambit against a single target encases the opponent’s
limbs in stone or embeds them in the ground. The grapple
continues without active maintenance; Aton takes no
penalties, the grapple doesn’t end if he’s crashed, and
attacking him doesn’t decrease rounds of control. Aton
may use his turns to apply grapple effects of his choice,
or take other actions while the stone automatically per-
forms restrain actions.
DEFENSIVE CHARMS
Embrace of Earth Defense (5m, 2i; Reflexive; Instant;
Perilous; Essence 3): Aton encases himself in earth and
stone, doubling his Parry against an oncoming attack.
The shell persists after the Charm’s effects end, leaving
walls that act as cover. Aton must be in contact with the
ground to use this Charm.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARMS
Blessing of Aton (20m; Simple; Instant; Eclipse;
Essence 4): Aton blesses a willing supplicant with slow
petrifaction. The recipient doubles her effective Strength
and natural soak ratings as a Charm bonus. She gains the
Exalted Healing Merit (Exalted, p. 165), but becomes
resistant to treatment: Medicine pools targeting her can’t
exceed the healer’s highest relevant stone-based Craft
Ability, and healing Charms targeting her double their
costs unless they have an earthen elemental nature. Each
subsequent year, the recipient gains one −0 health level
(maximum +10 levels).
Older recipients sleep, unmoving, for days on end.
After 20 years, they turn entirely to stone, achieving an
unsettling immortality: these statues still live, minds and
souls permanently suspended. Powerful sorcery, another
ancient elemental’s work, or potent Exalted magic could
conceivably awaken one briefly — or even reverse the
process.
Doomcryer’s Decree (15m; Simple; Instant; De-
cisive-only, Eclipse; Essence 3): Aton examines the
portents surrounding his target and wields them like
weapons. He may pull meteors or lightning from the sky,
call up a great keening from the land, or other omens
appropriate to the target. Roll 15 dice for a decisive
attack on a target at up to long range. The attack has raw
damage of (10 + extra successes), and imposes a −3
penalty on movement actions until the end of the round.