Post on 05-Dec-2015
description
== Introduction ==
One of the basic tenets of the Exalted system—arguably ''the'' most important tenet—is that the
player always matters. No matter how grand the villain's scheme or how great a disaster looms
over Creation, a sufficiently skilled player character always has an opportunity to stop them.
The White Wolf authors came a long way toward accomplishing this ambitious goal with the
release of Second Edition, when they introduced the comprehensive mass combat and social
combat systems. No longer did the Storyteller have to decide the fates of clashing armies or the
player characters' ability to win hearts and minds through arbitrary rolls and circumstantial
judgment calls: these things could now be definitively resolved within the system, and (just as
importantly) they were given a rich assortment of Charms with which they could be as effective
at leading armies or persuading people as they could at individual combat.
However, there was one conspicuous area in which the player had no apparent influence. While
the player characters could annihilate whole armies on the battlefield and win the loyalty and
obedience of powerful individuals, they could not wage extended wars or win the loyalty and
obedience of a nation, let alone do things like cure an epidemic or improve a nation's standard of
living. The system simply did not support national-scale actions like these. The authors,
recognizing this as a problem in a game about god-kings destined to reshape the world,
attempted to remedy this with the Mandate of Heaven system.
How well did they succeed? To be blunt, not at all. The dice rolls the system calls for are of the
most abstract sort, with only a tenuous connection to events within the game. You don't wage
wars; you roll (Military+War) against another dominion and figure out for yourself how the war
effort is going. You don't fight epidemics, you… well, it's unclear what you do, since MoH
completely lacks the Medicine Ability. As if that wasn't bad enough, most of the society-shaping
charms you would expect to have a major impact on the system (Harmonious Academic
Methodology, Foul Air of Argument Technique, and so on) have no effect at all, while the
Mandate charms intended to complement the system are little more than glorified Excellencies.
The end result is a more-or-less useless mess that provides no mechanical support, leaving the
Storyteller to adjudicated the results based on his own personal whims. The sad truth is that
ultimately, the player still does not matter.
That is where this system comes in. The Game of Kings was conceived as an answer to the
failed Mandate system, which aims to replace its vague narrative suggestions with concrete and
readily interpreted mechanics. Through application of this system, it will be possible for the
player and Storyteller to carry out full-blown military campaigns against rival nations, transform
a starving Third World nation into a kingdom of enlightened prosperity, rescue an empire from
the scourges of disease and famine, and even restore the people of Creation's faith in and loyalty
to the Solar Exalted--all supported by a system as robust and definite as that used in physical or
social combat.
== Concept ==
The central conceit of the Game of Kings is that of the dominion as character. Unlike mass
combat or social combat units, which function as little more than equipment to enhance their
commander's actions, dominions can be said to have a personality all their own. (After all, who
ever heard of a sword or suit of armor that rose up against its owner?) Every society has its own
social mores and its own ideas about its place in the world. A wise leader factors these
eccentricities into his policies, since ignoring them can lead to the kind of resentment that sparks
revolutions.
The rules for resolving political actions within the system are modeled off of those used for
combat between Exalts. All actions, from social attacks to public works projects to wars, are
resolved within a tick-based system much like that used for physical and social combat. Just as
the Exalted depend on their Essence pools to fuel their magic, from anima powers to artifact
attunement to the casting of sorcery, so too do dominions depend on their treasuries to finance
many of their actions. Even the Charms of the Exalted have an analogue, referred to as
Constructions, which enhance the dominion's capabilities in various ways.
== Mechanics ==
Intended as it is to describe virtually anything which can take place on a dominion scale, the
details of the Game of Kings system are far too complicated to present on a single page. For
ease of reference, the mechanics are divided into the following categories:
*Dominion Traits and Concepts
**[[Basic Terminology]]
**[[Numeric Traits]]
**[[Non-Numeric Traits]]
*Basic Mechanics
**[[Dominion Actions]]
**[[Dominion Dramatic Rules]]
**[[Treasury]]
**[[Dominion Social Combat]]
**[[War Mechanics]]
**[[Terrain Effects]]
*[[Constructions]]
*Supernatural Powers
**[[Modified Charms]]
**[[New Charms]]
**[[Other Powers]]
== Acknowledgements ==
The Game of Kings borrows heavily from the fanwork that inspired it, DMoonfire's Scroll of the
Lands project. (Our original discussion of the SotL system may be found
[http://forum.mfgames.com/index.php?board=23.0 here].) Due credit goes to him for (among
other things) introducing the Territory trait and the concept of Constructions, integrating
dominion Magnitude and mass-combat Magnitude onto the same continuous scale, and providing
the forum on which most of the early refinement of the system took place. Credit also goes to
oakthorne (a.k.a. Joseph Carriker, co-author of the original Mandate of Heaven) for suggesting
Talents as the dominion equivalent to motes, as well as Black Razor, coranis, Lord Heru, and
uteck for their invaluable feedback.
Basic Terminology
==Dominion==
A self-governing political entity. While it is generally assumed that a dominion is a politically
recognized group of people with definite boundaries--a village, a principality, a kingdom--the
term can be applied just as readily to any group capable of exerting large-scale political
influence. The Guild qualifies, as would the Great Houses of the Scarlet Empire if they chose to
act independent of the Realm they rule.
Note that "self-governing" does not necessarily mean "independent." A principality may govern
its internal affairs, and hence qualify as a dominion, but it remains part of a larger kingdom to
which it is subservient. Such a component dominion is referred to as a '''child dominion.''' For
the most part child dominions are irrelevant to the political actions of the '''parent dominions''' to
which they belong, and can be safely ignored for the purpose of actions which do not directly
target them.
Child dominions should not be confused with tributaries or protectorates, nominally independent
dominions which happen to be under the influence of a more powerful dominion. Such
dominions are always treated as seperate entities, and are generally kept in line by the threat of
military force or some other form of blackmail.
== Administrator ==
The individual who leads the dominion and declares its actions. In most dominions, to obtain the
privilege of leadership one must compete with other prospective rulers. This requires an
extended and contested ([Charisma or Manipulation]+Socialize) roll from all participants, with
bonus successes equal to each character's Backing. Each roll is treated as a Speed 6
miscellaneous action. If the current administrator is protecting his position from a usurper, he
must do so as an admin action. (The administrator is always considered to have Backing 5 with
his own dominion.) When one individual gains threshold successes over all other candidates at
least equal to the dominion's permanent Loyalty, that individual becomes the new administrator.
Note that these rules do not apply when there is only one viable candidate: for example, the heir
to the throne in a monarchy with rigid rules of succession. In such cases, the individual simply
becomes administrator with no roll required.
Some dominions possess multiple administrators, generally in the form of a ruling council or
legislature. Each administrator possesses equal power (though some members of the council
may be more influential than others), and so group consensus is necessary for any action to take
place.
== Construction ==
A political asset or tool of the dominion. Constructions grant the dominions that possess them
advantages beyond the basic capabilities granted by their Abilities and Attributes, from faster
transportation to mass-produced magical goods to a populace that is exceptionally resistant to
disease.
For more detailed information on Constructions, please look [[Constructions|here]].
== Locale ==
A place of significance within the dominion. The Locale is the basic unit of measure for a
dominion's physical size. For calculation purposes, it can be treated as a square measuring 20
miles on a side, giving it a Territory of 10. The Locale concept is loosely based on the Waypoint
system the Fair Folk use to describe their journeys within the Wyld. Though less necessary in
Creation, where distances and locations remain far more stable, it remains a good model for the
relationships between places of importance. There are also deep geomantic similarities between
the arrangement of Waypoints in the Wyld and demesnes in Creation, making it a useful
geomantic model as well.
Besides its most obvious use as a mathematical tool to calculate distances and areas in a
dominion, the Locale serves as a convenient unit for political actions. All demesnes occupy a
single Locale, as do most major cities. (Under natural conditions, a single Locale will not have
more than one demesne. Additional demesnes may be created with dedicated geomantic effort,
however, as was the case with many First Age cities.) For this reason the smallest-scale
Constructions occupy a single Locale, and the progress of a military campaign may be tracked by
which Locales each dominion controls. Finally, natural properties of the Locale such as terrain,
climate, and the presence of demesnes, the Wyld, or shadowlands can have a major impact on
the prosperity and habitability of the dominion.
Numeric Traits
==Magnitude==
The number of people who are governed by a dominion. A dominion's Magnitude is measured
on the same scale used for mass combat and social combat units, shown below:
{|border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
| '''Magnitude''' || '''Number of members'''||'''Maximum specialties'''||'''Magnitude''' || '''Number of
members'''||'''Maximum specialties'''
|-
| 0 || 1 || 3
| 15 || Up to 640,000 || 6
|-
| 1 || 2-10 || 3
| 16 || Up to 1.2 million || 6
|-
| 2 || 11-75 || 3
| 17 || Up to 2.4 million || 6
|-
| 3 || 76-150 || 3
| 18 || Up to 5 million || 6
|-
| 4 || 151-300 || 3
| 19 || Up to 10 million || 6
|-
| 5 || 301-650 || 4
| 20 || Up to 20 million || 7
|-
| 6 || 651-1250 || 4
| 21 || Up to 40 million || 7
|-
| 7 || Up to 2500 || 4
| 22 || Up to 80 million || 7
|-
| 8 || Up to 5000 || 4
| 23 || Up to 160 million || 7
|-
| 9 || Up to 10,000 || 4
| 24 || Up to 320 million || 7
|-
| 10 || Up to 20,000 || 5
| 25 || Up to 640 million || 8
|-
| 11 || Up to 40,000 || 5
| 26 || Up to 1.2 billion || 8
|-
| 12 || Up to 80,000 || 5
| 27 || Up to 2.4 billion || 8
|-
| 13 || Up to 160,000 || 5
| 28 || Up to 5 billion || 8
|-
| 14 || Up to 320,000 || 5
| 29 || Up to 10 billion || 8
|}
As a rule of thumb, a group should have at least Magnitude 3 in order to qualify as a proper
dominion. Smaller groups simply cannot support the infrastructure necessary to act as a self-
governing political entity.
Much as high Essence ratings imply great power among Exalts, a high Magnitude tends to make
a dominion politically powerful. Larger dominions can support much larger militaries, and
generally have much more money to finance their activities, which naturally makes them much
more intimidating to smaller dominions. However, high Magnitude can be a disadvantage at
times: the bureaucratic infrastructure required to oversee a large society can be quite expensive,
and projects that seek to improve the society at the national level can take a long time to
implement.
==Territory==
The amount of land the dominion actively controls. In many ways a sister trait to Magnitude,
Territory allows the players and Storyteller to distinguish populous but cramped dominions (such
as Nexus) from expansive but thinly populated dominions (such as the Haslanti League), rather
than lumping these very different dominions together as "large." The Territory trait is measured
an exponential scale, just like Magnitude:
{|border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
| '''Territory''' || '''Square miles'''||'''Territory''' || '''Square miles'''
|-
| 0 || 0
| 15 || Up to 20,000
|-
| 1 || Less than 0.25
| 16 || Up to 40,000
|-
| 2 || Less than 1
| 17 || Up to 80,000
|-
| 3 || 1-3
| 18 || Up to 160,000
|-
| 4 || 4-7
| 19 || Up to 320,000
|-
| 5 || 8-15
| 20 || Up to 640,000
|-
| 6 || 16-30
| 21 || Up to 1.2 million
|-
| 7 || 31-75
| 22 || Up to 2.4 million
|-
| 8 || 76-150
| 23 || Up to 5 million
|-
| 9 || 151-300
| 24 || Up to 10 million
|-
| 10 || 301-650
| 25 || Up to 20 million
|-
| 11 || 651-1250
| 26 || Up to 40 million
|-
| 12 || Up to 2500
| 27 || Up to 80 million
|-
| 13 || Up to 5000
| 28 || Up to 160 million
|-
| 14 || Up to 10,000
| 29 || Up to 320 million
|}
While high Territory does not translate directly into political power the way high Magnitude
does, an abundance of land does imply an abundance of farmland, mineral resources, and
demesnes. Such dominions often make a substantial profit from agricultural and mineral
exports, and they can easily support their populations through all but the worst famines. On the
other hand, the sheer size of such a dominion produces problems of its own: information
disseminates slowly across such great distances, and physical Constructions such as a national
highway system can take a long time indeed to complete.
==Attributes==
The dominion's raw prowess at one broad class of activities. The three Attributes used by
dominions are the same as those introduced in the original Mandate of Heaven system, albeit
fleshed out and modified for greater mechanical utility. As with character Attributes, no
Attribute may have a rating greater than 5 or less than 1.
===Government===
The power and complexity of the bureaucracies that support the administrator. Rather than
simple effectiveness, this Attribute measures the infrastructure devoted to the dominion's
government: how many people it employs, how well-funded its civil projects are, and so on. A
Government 1 dominion either has little government to speak of (such as the Marukani Alliance)
or has a weak government with little power over its citizens. A Government 5 dominion has a
powerful bureaucracy which is able to implement the administrator's decisions with no
significant resistance.
Government is used for most rolls that involve the direct intervention of a civilian government
agency, such as the dominion's rolls to quarantine or cure an epidemic. It is also used for
internal government affairs, such as audits to reduce wasteful bureaucratic infighting.
===Culture===
The sophistication of the dominion's customs and social traditions, as well as the level of
influence it exerts over other cultures. A dominion's Culture rating reflects the availability of
artisan-made goods, the quality of its popular literature and plays, the availability of privately
owned universities and parks, and so on. A Culture 1 dominion may be a new community which
has not yet developed its own customs, a primitive nation dominated by backwards traditions
like cannibalism, or an autocratic state which discourages individual expression, but in any case
its society is looked down upon by other dominions. A Culture 5 dominion is known across
Creation for the depth and richness of its culture, leading other dominions to imitate its customs
and trends.
Primarily social in nature, Culture is used for all actions which involve persuading or reforming
the society as a whole: festivals to placate the masses, social attacks to build Accords of loyalty,
cultural Constructions which seek to impose some taboo or mandate some behavior, and so on.
In addition, it can represent the quality and effectiveness of the folk traditions people use to get
by in the absence of direct government intervention: a dominion resists the spread of disease
with Culture (representing folk remedies, taboos regarding interaction with outsiders, and so on),
though the roll to treat the epidemic requires Government.
===Military===
The organization and general effectiveness of a dominion's military infrastructure. While high-
Military dominions often keep massive standing armies, such as the Realm's legions, such is not
always the case. Dominions with high Military and low Government may simply have a large
number of well-trained militias, who can be brought together as an effective fighting force in
times of war. A dominion with Military 1 may be a pacifistic nation with no national army, or it
may have a tangled, inadequately funded military bureaucracy that cannot effectively mobilize
itself. A dominion with Military 5 is a well-oiled military machine, able to quickly mobilize its
troops and effectively coordinate them in the field.
Obviously the primary use of Military is during a war, where it can be used to detect the buildup
of troops in another dominion, quickly mobilize its troops into battle, and ensure that they are
adequately supplied. It also represents the effectiveness of the dominion's police, spy forces, and
other agencies tasked with maintaining order and protecting national security.
==Abilities==
Specific capabilities of a dominion within a narrower field of activity. While dominions use the
same 25 Abilities that characters do, each Ability's meaning is altered to reflect its role as an
organizational aptitude rather than an individual skill. As with character Abilities, no Ability
may have a rating greater than 5.
Also like characters, a dominion may possess specialties within an Ability to add dice to certain
rolls or raise certain static values. The smallest dominions are limited to 3 specialties per
Ability, though as Magnitude rises the increasingly robust government bureaucracy allows for
greater specialization. For every 5 dots of Magnitude a dominion possesses (rounded down), the
maximum number of specialties it may possess increases by one. Regardless of how many
specialties it possesses, however, they may never add more than 3 dice to any roll or to its MDV
calculations; such specialization represents breadth of focus rather than depth. On the other
hand, the dominion MAY apply more than 3 specialties to Magnitude- or Territory-based static
values. (For example, a Magnitude 17 dominion with Sail 1 could purchase up to six Naval Unit
specialties to increase its navy to Magnitude 7, representing a large but poorly-trained marine
force.)
For the purpose of bonus point costs, all Abilities are treated as non-Favored.
===Archery===
The degree of specialized training the dominion's soldiers have in the use of bows, crossbows,
and similar long-range weapons. Members of the standing army and reserve forces receive a
number of additional bonus points equal to the dominion's Archery score, which may only be
spent on Archery or Archery specialties.
===Athletics===
The general physical fitness of the dominion's citizens. The standing army and reserve forces
receive a number of additional bonus points equal to the dominion's Athletics score, which may
be spent on Athletics, Dodge, Resistance, and related specialties.
===Awareness===
The dominion's ability to detect threats and emerging trends, both within its territory and from
other dominions. Awareness is used to detect the onset of a growing epidemic or the buildup of
armies in a hostile dominion.
===Bureaucracy===
The dominion's Bureaucracy covers matters relating to internal organization of the government,
the passage of official regulations and laws, and economics. Bureaucracy is used to detect and
weed out corruption within the government, enforce sanitation standards and building codes, and
engage in trade wars against other dominions. It also indicates the complexity and formality of
the government, determining how difficult it is to rise to a position of power.
===Craft===
The heart and soul of industrial economies, Craft measures the dominion's ability to produce
specific products. All dominions have access to the five elemental Crafts, which pertain to the
following sorts of goods:
*Air: Glassware, jewelry, technical equipment, similar high-precision items
*Earth: Brick and stone buildings, roads, stone fortifications
*Fire: Forged weapons and armors, ceramics
*Water: Leather and other treated products, drugs
*Wood: Ships, wooden buildings, carved wooden goods, fabric, clothing
A dominion's rating in a particular Craft indicates the infrastructure available to produce that sort
of good, as well as the typical quality of that good. A dominion may also have a rating in more
exotic Crafts such as Craft(Magitech) or Craft(Genesis), representing dedicated factory-
cathedrals or similar large-scale workshops, provided it possesses the normal prerequisite
Abilities. The dominion's rating in these Crafts may not exceed its Lore rating.
===Dodge===
This Ability represents the dominion's ability to relocate in times of crisis. The dominion uses
Dodge to determine how quickly and cleanly it can evacuate citizens from a natural disaster area,
transfer the offices of government in the face of an invasion force, or (in the case of actual
mobile dominions such as the Delzahn city-ship) physically move out of reach of hostile forces.
===Integrity===
The stubbornness and traditionality of the dominion. A dominion with high Integrity can more
easily resist attempts by other dominions to alter its culture or economy.
===Investigation===
The dominion's ability to uncover secrets, both from other dominions and from its own citizens.
Investigation is the basis of a dominion's spy network, and is also used by police forces searching
for the perpetrators of crimes against the state.
===Larceny===
The government's control over organized crime within the dominion, and/or the level of
infrastructure devoted to such activities within its own bureaus. While dominions with no
Larceny rating still have crime, such acts are almost always either individual acts such as
pickpocketing and murders of passion or the activities of independent crime syndicates which
operate beyond its control. Dominions with high Larceny are skilled at employing thieves'
guilds, assassins, and other extralegal operatives to pursue their agendas beyond the boundaries
of the law, and often have agencies within their governments specifically devoted to such
activities. The Ability is used to determine the dominion's skill at such activities, from stealing
rare artifacts from a rival dominion's armories to assassinating the leader of a reformist
movement within its own borders.
===Linguistics===
The number of languages in which the dominion can efficiently perform diplomacy and trade
with other dominions. Each dominion has a native language, which is the default language used
for all official administrative actions and internal commerce. Each dot of Linguistics indicates
that the dominion is fluent in one additional language, allowing it to perform economic and
cultural actions in that language without penalty.
===Lore===
The degree of education the dominion provides to its citizens. Dominions with high Lore have
many libraries and universities, and produce many of the finest scholars and administrators. As
with characters, a dominion with Lore 0 is assumed to be essentially illiterate, with the vast
majority of its population relying on oral traditions.
===Martial Arts===
The degree of specialized training the dominion's soldiers receive in barehanded combat and
related techniques. The standing army and reserve forces receive a number of additional bonus
points equal to the dominion's Martial Arts, which must be spent on Martial Arts or Martial Arts
specialties.
===Medicine===
The medical infrastructure of the dominion. A high Medicine rating indicates large numbers of
clean hospitals with well-trained staff, who often have access to advanced thaumaturgical
treatments. Medicine is used to combat plagues, mass poisonings, and similar dominion-wide
ailments.
===Melee===
The degree of specialized training the dominion's soldiers receive in hand-to-hand weapon
combat. The standing army and reserve forces receive a number of additional bonus points equal
to the dominion's Melee, which must be spent on Melee or Melee specialties.
===Occult===
The dominion's access to artifacts, thaumaturgy, sorcerors, and other sources of supernatural
power. Occult is used to determine how easily the dominion can influence the spirits within its
borders, how easily it can erect manses or mass thaumaturgical wards, and how many
supernatural beings are in its direct service.
===Performance===
The dominion's skill at persuasion through dramatic expression, both in the government and in
society at large. The dominion's Performance indicates the overall quality of its theaters,
authors, and musicians, and is used for cultural actions made through these media as well as
diplomatic actions based on showy displays or theatrics rather than political authority.
===Presence===
The dominion's skill at persuasion through force of personality or authority. Commonly
employed by religious organizations, Presence is used for both cultural actions based on moral
authority and diplomatic actions based on political authority or shows of force.
===Resistance===
The development of the dominion's sanitation infrastructure, as well as the general hardiness of
its population. The dominion uses Resistance to contain and fight off epidemics, and to survive
the scourges of poison and starvation.
===Ride===
The dominion's ability to handle and train mounts of all sorts, as well as the infrastructure to
support those mounts. Dominions with high Ride have dedicated schools of horsemanship and
government-sponsored breeding programs. The Ability is also the basis of the horse-based
messenger systems used in some countries. In addition, Ride indicates the military strength of
the dominion's cavalry units. A dominion has a maximum Magnitude of cavalry units equal to
its (Ride+Cavalry Unit specialties) in the standing army. Cavalry units in both the standing army
and reserve forces receive bonus points equal to the dominion's Ride, which must be used to
raise Ride or Ride specialties.
===Sail===
The dominion's harbors, dry docks, and other infrastructure related to sailing vessels of all sorts.
While rare among landlocked nations, the dominion's Sail applies to airships, dunerunners, and
other piloted vehicles as much as to water-based ships. A dominion has a maximum Magnitude
of naval units equal to its (Sail+Naval Unit specialties) in the standing army. Naval units in both
the standing army and reserve forces receive bonus points equal to the dominion's Sail, which
must be used to raise Sail or Sail specialties.
===Socialize===
The government's understanding of the dominion's social customs and popular opinions.
Socialize is used to calm a dominion that is suffering from high Unrest, as well as for most
actions in which the government seeks to directly alter some aspect of the dominion's culture.
===Stealth===
The dominion's ability to hide those secrets it does not wish its political enemies to discover.
Stealth is used to impede the efforts of spies within its infrastructure, to protect the existence and
location of secret weapons, and to conceal back-door political alliances from those who would
wish to interfere.
===Survival===
The dominion's ability to survive on its own resources. Survival is used to determine how well
the dominion can sustain its population without imports, as well as its ability to live off the land
in times of crisis. It is also used for rolls related to the movement of a military force or civilian
population through potentially difficult wild terrain. Finally, it is the basis of an agricultural
economy, used to determine how well it can feed its own population and how much income it
receives from exporting food.
===Thrown===
The degree of specialized training the dominion receives in the use of thrown weapons such as
slingshots and javelins. The standing army and reserve forces receive a number of bonus points
equal to the dominion's Thrown, which must be spent on Thrown or Thrown specialties.
===War===
The dominion's preparation for and general competence at military conflict. War is used in
almost every aspect of a military campaign, from the initial mobilization of troops to the
resolution of battles. A dominion has a maximum total Magnitude of troops equal to its
(Military+War+military unit specialties).
== Virtues ==
The general temperament of a society, as reflected in their social mores and customs. The
Virtues serve much the same function in political combat as they do in social combat, aiding the
dominion in resisting influence contrary to its core morals while making it more amenable to
suggestions that directly support those morals. A dominion may channel its Virtues like a
character, spending a point of Loyalty to add a number of dice equal to that Virtue to a single
action. The dominion recovers one channel in each Virtue at the end of a year, and these bonus
dice are not cumulative with any gained from the administrator's own Virtue channels.
As a dominion descends into chaos and anarchy, its dominant Virtues come to the forefront. A
dominion gains Unrest when its administrator attempts to act against its primary Virtue. (The
dominion's primary Virtue is the one with the highest rating. If the dominion has two or more
highest Virtues at the same rating, the Storyteller selects which Virtue is primary.) When
enough Unrest has built up to cause a Revolution, the extreme behavior that follows occurs in a
manner appropriate to that Virtue. A brief description of the consequences of Revolution is
given in the description of each Virtue.
===Compassion===
The dominion's desire to help the needy and oppressed. High-Compassion dominions are
notable for their generous social welfare programs and willingness to accept refugees from other
dominions.
When a Revolution occurs, a high-Compassion dominion will ignore the commands of its
administration, and possibly its own better judgment, in order to do what it sees as "the right
thing." This could mean unseating a particularly cruel and oppressive tyrant, laying down their
arms at the height of a war they consider pointless, or withdrawing inward to tend to their own
needy citizens.
===Conviction===
The dominion's determination and passion in pursuing its desired goals. High-Conviction
dominions tend to orient their governments and cultures around fulfillment of their Policy, be it
the conquest of a region or the absolute acceptance of a religious philosophy, and often have
fiery demagogues for leaders.
When a Revolution occurs, a high-Conviction dominion becomes obsessed with its Policy past
all bounds of reason. Order breaks down as overzealous military units launch skirmishes against
the armies of other nations, or religious fanatics carry out witch hunts against those they deem
heretics.
===Temperance===
The dominion's desire for a stable, ordered society. High-Temperance dominions are somber,
serious societies that place great importance on propriety and tradition. Socially enforced caste
systems are common in such places.
When a Revolution occurs, a high-Temperance dominion will isolate itself by pulling all its
attention and resources inward. It will withdraw from conflicts in progress, remove support from
its allies, and reject all advances by outsiders seeking or offering aid.
===Valor===
The dominion's dedication to courage and honor through battle. While many high-Valor
dominions are belligerent states with a focus on expansion through conquest, others are simply
boisterous societies whose social structure encourages fierce competition. Capital punishment
and other severe punishments are common in such places.
When a Revolution occurs, a high-Valor dominion dissolves in an orgy of violence. This
violence may be primarily directed at its cowardly rulers, its dishonorable enemies, or its
unlucky citizens, but the uprising leads to much bloodshed and destruction in any case.
== Loyalty ==
The society's strength of will. As most political combat is social in nature, this is one of a
dominion's most important traits. Loyalty serves many of the same functions for dominions as
Willpower does for characters: it is used to resist the political and cultural influence of other
dominions, suppress Virtue compulsions, enhance the dominion's rolls with automatic successes
or Virtue channels, and permit the creation of certain socially intensive Constructions. Like
Willpower, Loyalty has both temporary and permanent values; the dominion's temporary Loyalty
may not exceed its permanent Loyalty (except for the effects of Revolution and the rare Exalted
charm), and in no case can permanent Loyalty ever exceed 10. The dominion regains Loyalty
points at the end of every year, rolling its Conviction and adding the resulting successes to its
temporary Loyalty.
Non-Numeric Traits
== Policy ==
The most cherished ideals or driving goals of the dominion. A dominion's Policy functions
much the same as a character's Motivation, and it provides the same defensive benefit against
social attacks that oppose it as a Motivation. If a political attack that opposes its Policy
succeeds, it must spend a point of Loyalty to resist. Should the dominion have no temporary
Loyalty, the dominion still resists the influence--but the strain of doing so increases its Unrest by
an amount equal to its highest Virtue rating. Only in the throes of Revolution, when society's
most basic truths are called into question, can a dominion be forced to take actions that violate its
Policy.
== Accords ==
Political or cultural understandings between the dominion and others. While they often take the
form of political alliances, they can also manifest as informal admiration of a person or group, or
even as outright contempt. (Halta and the Linowan Nations each have a long-standing Accord of
contempt for the other dominion.) Accords serve the same function in social combat as
Intimacies do for individuals, and are just as broad: a dominion could have an Accord toward its
neighbor to the north, its king, gladiatoral combat, or even the art of swordmaking. A dominion
may not have more Accords at any given time than its (Loyalty+Compassion).
== Unrest and Revolution ==
While not subject to the Great Curse of the Exalted, dominions experience a similar weakness in
the form of Unrest. Much like Limit, Unrest is measured on a 10-point scale, with each point
indicated by a single slash through one of the boxes. When the actions of an administrator
agitate the population of a dominion in certain ways, that dominion risks the buildup of Unrest.
Attempting an action contrary to the dominion's primary Virtue costs the dominion a point of
Loyalty and accrues one point of Unrest, while attempting an action that violates its Policy forces
the player to roll the dominion's primary Virtue and add the successes to the current Unrest total.
At the Storyteller's discretion, certain other socially disruptive actions may also cause Unrest to
accumulate.
When total Unrest reaches 10, the dominion undergoes a Revolution. Similar to a Limit Break, a
Revolution is a period of chaos in which the administration loses control over its own citizens.
When a Revolution begins, the administrator automatically loses legitimacy and must regain it.
All administrator-directed actions, including the roll to reestablish legitimacy, suffer an internal
penalty equal to the dominion's primary Virtue. While the dominion may perform its own
actions (declared by the Storyteller) as appropriate for its highest Virtue, it does so in an
unfocused manner. Its MDVs are calculated without the benefit of the administrator's traits,
though any foreign dominions who wish to manipulate or conquer it suffer the same penalty. On
the other hand, the Revolution stokes the passions of the dominion, allowing it to immediately
gain a number of Loyalty points equal to the rating of its primary Virtue. If gained in this
manner, this can even allow the dominion's Loyalty to exceed 10.
A talented administrator may prevent the dominion's social upheaval from dissolving it into total
anarchy. When a Revolution occurs, the dominion's administrator may make a reflexive
([Charisma or Manipulation]+Bureaucracy) roll at a difficulty of the dominion's primary Virtue.
This roll is not subject to the internal penalty mentioned above, though he also does not benefit
from the dominion's Bureaucracy rating. If successful, his skillful management allows the
government to operate despite the chaos that prevails in the streets. The administrator need not
take an action to reestablish legitimacy, and he may direct the dominion's actions as normal
(though still at an internal penalty). The dominion does not gain Loyalty points when the
Revolution is controlled in this way. This roll must be made once per season, for as long as the
Revolution lasts. If this roll fails at any point, the dominion suffers the effects of an uncontrolled
Revolution as described above.
Ending a Revolution requires a successful ([Charisma or Manipulation]+Socialize) roll as an
admin action. The roll's difficulty starts at (dominion's highest Virtue rating x 2), and decreases
by 1 for each full season that has passed since the Revolution began; as with the roll to retain
control, this does not suffer from the difficulty increase. At the Storyteller's discretion, certain
factors may increase or decrease this difficulty: a Dragon-blood who liberated a heavily
Immaculate dominion from the control of a tyrannical Anathema certainly might benefit from a
substantial difficulty reduction. The Revolution automatically ends if the difficulty reaches zero,
so long as someone currently holds the office of administrator.
== Decimation ==
Certain large-scale disasters--epidemics, mass poisonings, genocidal military invasions--have the
power to kill a substantial part of a dominion's population. This widespread death is represented
as points of Decimation.
Decimation is tracked on the same 10-point scale as Unrest, and is indicated by an X through one
of the boxes. If the dominion currently suffers from any Unrest it is displaced to the right,
increasing the dominion's current Unrest total. Though Unrest no longer accumulates after
Revolution is triggered, the dominion may continue to suffer Decimation.
When the dominion's Decimation total reaches 10, the dominion loses a dot of Magnitude. Any
Revolution in progress immediately ends, and the dominion's Unrest/Decimation track resets to
zero, though any Decimation suffered beyond the tenth point carries over. A dominion heals
Decimation at the rate of one point per season, though the Magnitude loss it inflicts is permanent.
== Red Tape ==
Though no bureaucracy is perfectly efficient, some are structured more effectively than others.
A dominion's Red Tape rating is a generalized measurement of the excessive regulations,
institutionalized corruption, and low-level infighting that slow a government's actions and render
it ineffective in times of crisis. Mechanically, this rating manifests as an internal penalty to all
non-reflexive actions. Red Tape can never exceed 10, and this penalty cannot reduce a
dominion's dice pool below 1 die.
A certain level of inefficiency is inevitable in most governments, for all things tend toward
disorder over time. Once per season, the dominion reflexively rolls its
(Government+Bureaucracy) at a difficulty equal to (6 - current Red Tape, minimum 1); failure
adds 1 to its Red Tape total. (The most blatant forms of corruption and bureaucratic
incompetence are relatively easy to root out, but the subtler inefficiencies represented by the
lower Red Tape ratings require great skill to correct.) A concerned administrator may address
excessive levels of Red Tape by performing an Audit action, making a
(Government+Bureaucracy) roll at the same difficulty as the previous roll. If successful, the
reform effort reduces the dominion's Red Tape by 1 (to a minimum of zero).
Dominion Actions Actions within the Game of Kings system are resolved using a tick-based system like that used
for physical and social combat, with each tick equal to a week of in-game time. The range of
actions available to a dominion is vast, from social attacks to military campaigns to national
holidays to the building of manses.
While the administrator's authority allows him to dictate all the dominion's actions, he only has
time to dedicate his personal attention to a few at a time. For this reason, the dominion's actions
can be resolved in two possible ways:
*'''Administrator actions''' (or '''admin actions''' for short) are those that the administrator focuses
his full time and attention toward, allowing him to bring both his personal expertise and the
resources of his dominion to bear. The administrator rolls ([Charisma or
Manipulation]+[administrator's Ability rating+relevant specialties]+[dominion's Ability
rating+relevant specialties]), with the relevant Ability depending on the task at hand. Charisma
is used if the administrator relies on his personal charm or honest passion to accomplish the task
(for example, reducing bureaucratic corruption by selling honest government as a moral and
patriotic imperative), while Manipulation is used if the administrator employs coercion or other
underhanded tactics to get his way (for example, blackmailing or assassinating the most corrupt
bureaucrats). The administrator's effective Ability rating cannot exceed his Bureaucracy score,
though no such cap applies to the dominion's Ability bonus. He may enhance this roll with any
applicable Charms, including Excellencies, and may channel his Virtues to add dice. This is
treated like a normal character action for all purposes, inflicting multiple-action penalties on
other admin actions and reducing MDV as normal. Note that certain actions can only be
performed as admin actions, such as social attacks and the roll for the administrator to defend his
position against a usurper.
In order to perform any admin actions, the administrator must spend at least half of the given
turn working with the bureaucracy to oversee that action. If a given action would require him to
stay out of contact with the administration for more than half of the current turn (a diplomatic
visit to a distant land, for example), he must entrust his dominion to a regent. Actions performed
independently of the dominion are covered by the "Dramatic Action" action, which is described
below.
*'''Non-administrator actions''' (or '''non-admin actions''') are those that the administrator entrusts
to the bureaucracy below him, leaving them to execute his orders so he is free to focus on more
pressing issues. Non-admin actions use a dice pool of (dominion's Attribute rating+dominion's
Ability rating+relevant specialties), and cannot be enhanced with the administrator's Charms or
Virtue channels. On the other hand, they are exempt from some of the disadvantages of admin
actions: they do not suffer from or contribute to multiple-action penalties, and the MDV penalty
associated with that action is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of zero). Their Speed delays the
dominion's next turn as normal. A single dominion may perform up to (Magnitude)
simultaneous non-admin actions.
Most of the actions described below may be performed as either admin or non-admin actions,
depending on how much attention the administrator wishes to devote to them. In such cases the
listed dice pool is always (dominion Attribute+dominion Ability), with the admin dice pool
derived from the listed Ability. If the listed dice pool is ([Charisma or Manipulation]+Ability),
that action may ''only'' be performed as an admin action.
Actions which are classified as '''reflexive''' are a bit special, in that they can be performed on any
tick and do not interfere with the dominion's other actions. Reflexive admin actions do not suffer
multiple-action penalties or (generally) inflict MDV penalties, and reflexive non-admin actions
do not count against the maximum number of non-admin actions per turn. Most reflexive actions
can be performed as either admin or non-admin actions, though some reflexive actions cannot be
performed by the administrator or require a prior miscellaneous action on his part. Such
exceptions will be noted in the text.
= Deputy Administrators =
Sometimes an administrator is temporarily unable to attend to her dominion's affairs, whether
because she has fallen ill, she is visiting a distant land, or for any number of other reasons. At
other times the administrator lacks expertise in a subject critical to her dominion's well-being,
and requires the assistance of someone more knowledgeable. In both cases the wise
administrator calls upon the assistance of a '''deputy administrator,''' a designated individual who
acts as her surrogate under particular circumstances.
Most deputy administrators are temporary, promoted by the administrator to lend their talents to
one or more of the dominion's actions. Those actions are considered to be part of the same flurry
as the administrator's own actions and suffer corresponding multiple-action penalties, though the
deputy uses his own traits and Charms in place of the administrator's. The deputy's Ability rating
is capped by either the administrator's Bureaucracy rating or his own, whichever is higher, and
he has an effective Backing of 5 for the purpose of defending that action against political
interference (see below).
In addition to these temporary deputies, most dominions also have a designated official who
rules the dominion in the administrator's stead while she is unavailable. This more powerful
deputy administrator, generally referred to as a '''regent,''' assumes all the administrator's duties
and may dictate the dominion's actions for her. He must use his own Bureaucracy rating, but he
gains an effective Backing of 5 for all purposes except the roll to replace the current
administrator. (Though if he attempts to usurp the administrator in her absence, she does not get
a roll to oppose him. For this reason, most administrators only grant this position to those that
they trust implicitly.)
= Multiple Administrators =
Rather than entrusting all decision-making power to one leader, some dominions are ruled jointly
by a council, Deliberative, or similar decision-making body. Since all members of the ruling
body possess equal authority over the dominion's actions, such actions require special rules to
resolve.
Every turn, one or more members of the body propose a specific agenda for the dominion (which
actions it will take that turn, in what order they will be performed, and whether they will be
performed as admin or non-admin actions). If there are no objections, all actions are resolved
normally. If disagreement arises over a particular action, however, the council must resolve the
matter. The exact rules for doing so depend entirely on the body's governing procedures, and
range from ritual duels to astrological readings, though a simple majority vote is most common.
When the body elects to perform an admin action, it selects one member (generally the one with
the largest dice pool) as the leader. The dice pool rolled equals the leader's normal pool, plus the
dominion's Ability bonus, plus one die for each member that chooses to assist him (subject to the
normal maximum for limited teamwork—see ''Exalted Section Edition,'' page 125). Only the
leader may apply his Charms or Virtue channels to enhance that action. Regardless of who leads
which action, all admin actions in a given turn are treated as part of the same flurry and suffer
appropriate multiple-action penalties.
= Available Actions =
The following list describes virtually all of the actions available to a dominion in political time.
Each action has three values listed in parentheses next to its name: its Speed, the MDV penalty it
imposes on the dominion, and its Cost. The Cost is measured in Talents, and indicates how
much the dominion must spend from its Treasury pool to perform that action.
The following may only be performed as admin actions:
*'''Activate Charm/Power/Combo (Varies/Varies/Varies)''': This functions as described in
''Exalted Second Edition,'' page 142.
*'''Social attack (Varies/-1/0)''': The administrator targets another dominion with a social attack.
The rules for dominion social combat are more fully described below.
*'''Guard (3/-0/0)''': The administrator focuses his full attention on the dominion's social integrity,
leaving all other actions to his subordinates. This is the default action if the administrator does
nothing else.
*'''Study (3/-1/0)''': The administrator studies the culture and policies of another dominion in
order to better persuade them toward a chosen course of action. This functions as the social
action of the same name (see ''Exalted Second Edition,'' page 171).
*'''Dramatic action (5/-1/0)''': The administrator engages in a long-term project unrelated to his
leadership of the dominion. Any long-term action made without the dominion's direct support
falls under this category, from the forging of an artifact to a lengthy journey to a foreign land. In
Storytelling terms, this action can be used to represent any adventure that would require the
administrator to put off his administrative duties for a prolonged period of time.
*'''Flurry (Varies/Varies/Varies)''': The administrator devotes his attention to several actions at
once, sacrificing efficiency for overall productivity.
The following may be performed as either admin or non-admin actions:
*'''Build Construction (3/-1/Varies)''': The dominion begins or continues work on a particular
Construction.
*'''Festival (5/-1/10)''': The government sponsors a dominion-wide celebration to placate and
release the Unrest of its dissatisfied citizens.
*'''Audit (6/-2/5)''': The government analyzes its bureaucracies for inefficiency, removing the
most inept and corrupt officials from power and streamlining its administrative policies.
*'''War (5/-2/Varies)''': The dominion fields its military forces against one or more other
dominions. The specific results of the military campaign are resolved in war time rather than
political time, though to directly command his armies the administrator must invoke this as an
admin action.
*'''Miscellaneous action (Varies/-1/Varies)''': The dominion performs an action unrelated to any
of those described above, from forging weapons for its armies to assassinating its enemies to
treating an epidemic. When not explicitly listed, assume the action has a Speed of 5 and a Cost
of 0.
= Political Interference =
When a powerful character is unable to get his way through official channels, he may exert his
authority over lesser officials or call in favors owed to him to alter the government's actions. To
do so, he must have at least one dot of Backing or Connections in the government. The character
and administrator each roll ([Charisma or Manipulation]+Bureaucracy), adding a number of
successes equal to their Backing or Connections rating. This is a miscellaneous action for the
character and a reflexive one for the administrator. (If the dominion is ruled by a council, the
usual teamwork bonus applies.) The character may attempt to conceal his efforts with a prior
miscellaneous action, rolling (Manipulation+[lower of Socialize or Bureaucracy]) against the
administrator's (Intelligence+Awareness+2); success prevents the administrator from detecting
the power play, reducing his dice pool to zero, though he still gains the automatic successes from
Backing.
Should the character win, he either forces the dominion to perform a single non-admin action of
his choice on its next turn, or sabotages one of the dominion's current actions. In the latter case,
each net success imposes a –1 external penalty on the dominion's roll. If the targetted roll was
part of an extended project (such as the building of a Construction), and his remaining successes
equal or exceed the dominion's Government after cancelling all the dominion's successes, he may
choose to terminate the project and negate all accumulated successes.
Dominion Dramatic Rules == Assassination/Kidnapping/Theft (Larceny) ==
A dominion may employ its intelligence agencies and affiliated criminal organizations to kill or
capture a political enemy, steal valuable items from a rival dominion, and perform similar illicit
activities. Assassination and kidnapping attempts require a miscellaneous action and a
(Military+Larceny) roll, opposed by the target's (Wits+Survival). The dominion's difficulty
increases if the target takes measures to protect himself: +1 if he constantly stays on the move,
+1 if he employs skilled bodyguards to protect him, an additional +1 if he employs truly elite
bodyguards or those with minor supernatural powers (such as bound First Circle demons or
elementals), and so on. If the dominion gains more successes, the target is successfully captured
or killed.
An organized robbery likewise requires a (Military+Larceny) roll, opposed by
(Wits+Awareness) if the item is held by an individual or (Military+Awareness) if it is held by a
dominion. As with assassinations, the dominion's difficulty rises if the object is especially well-
protected: placing it within a well-guarded military base adds +2 difficulty, while the heavily
fortified underground armories of Lookshy could add +4 or more. At the Storyteller's discretion,
especially large objects may increase the difficulty further or render the attempt impossible:
there's no way to steal an airship or warstrider without drawing notice. (Creative use of stunts or
magic can change this, of course, and a sufficiently skilled character should always have the
option of fighting his way out.)
Note that these rules were intended for subtle, small-scale acts of murder and theft. A dominion
that doesn't care about subtlety may simply send an army to kill a target or defeat the forces
guarding an item, though in that case it must defeat all defenders in battle. If the attempt targets
an Exalt or similar being of power, or a person or object under the Exalt's protection, the
Storyteller is strongly encouraged to resolve the event in play. If stealth is possible, the
dominion may choose to conceal its involvement in the act by adding 1 to the difficulty. To
identify the dominion as the culprit, an observer must successfully roll
(Perception+Investigation) with a difficulty equal to the threshold successes on the Larceny roll.
== Tracking Down Individuals and Groups (Investigation) ==
When a fugitive from the law or political enemy tries to escape the dominion's punishment, it is
sometimes necessary to organize a manhunt to bring them to justice. The dominion rolls its
(Military+Investigation) once per week in an extended, contested roll against the target's
(Wits+Survival). The dominion may seek to track down a group of people instead of an
individual; in such a case, the dominion receives one bonus successes per three dots of
Magnitude the group possesses (rounded down). The Storyteller may grant the target bonus
successes if he takes extraordinary measures to conceal his identity—completing transforming
his appearance via sorcery would add two bonus successes, for example—or grant the dominion
bonus successes if he blows his cover in a particularly conspicuous way. Once either party gains
five successes over the other, the manhunt is over. If the dominion wins, it has pinpointed the
target's location and may attempt to kill or capture him as normal. If the fugitive wins, his trail
has gone cold and the dominion cannot attempt to track him unless he somehow exposes himself
again.
== Uncovering State Secrets (Investigation/Stealth) ==
Every government has certain secrets which it wishes to remain hidden from its enemies. When
a dominion uses its spy network or military reconnaisance forces to uncover such a secret, it rolls
(Military+Investigation) as a miscellaneous action against the target dominion's
(Military+Stealth). The Storyteller may award bonus successes to the Investigation roll if the
thing being concealed is particularly large or difficult to hide. As a rule of thumb, every three
dots of Magnitude (in the case of hidden populations) or Territory (in the case of secret areas),
rounded down, adds one success. Conversely, if the target dominion takes extraordinary
measures to keep the secret secure, the Storyteller may impose an external penalty on the
Investigation roll.
== Detecting Threats (Awareness) ==
While the dominion's Investigation is useful for deliberate inquiries into its situation or that of its
neighbors, it must rely on Awareness to react to sudden or unexpected threats. Whenever such a
threat presents itself--be it an approaching army, a hurricane, or a saboteur attempting to poison
the water supply--the dominion rolls its (Culture+Awareness) as a reflexive non-admin action.
The difficulty of the roll depends on the nature and suddenness of the threat. In the case of
deliberate sabotage, the saboteur must oppose the dominion's successes with his own
(Intelligence+Stealth) roll to remain hidden. If the dominion scores at least as many successes as
the saboteur, his plans are discovered and thwarted. An invading army is difficulty 1 unless the
unit travels through sufficiently dense terrain, such as thick forest or mountains, in which case
the commander may attempt to conceal its movements in the usual way (see ''Exalted Section
Edition,'' page 163). A natural disaster has its own Difficulty to Detect rating, a few examples of
which are provided in the table below. In the event that the threat requires evacuation from the
area (see below), the dominion has a number of days to do so equal to its threshold successes on
the Awareness roll.
== Mass Evacuation and Migration (Dodge/Survival) ==
A large population is not easily moved, even by a government that knows what it's doing. When
a natural or supernatural disaster is about to strike an area, the dominion may make a concerted
effort (as a reflexive non-admin action with a -2 DV penalty and a Cost of 20 Talents) to save as
many people as it can via evacuation. For each full day of preparation before the disaster strikes,
the dominion makes a (Government+Dodge) roll. The total successes rolled indicate the
Magnitude of the population that is successfully evacuated. If this total equals or exceeds the
population of the affected area, no Decimation is suffered (though random individuals may still
fail to be rescued, and physical Constructions will likely be damaged). If the dominion's
successes fall short, or there is simply no time to evacuate, then it must survive the disaster as
best it is able with a reflexive (Culture+Survival) roll against the disaster's Severity (see sidebar).
Each threshold success on this roll reduces the levels of Decimation the disaster inflicts by one,
to a minimum of zero.
{| class="wikitable" align="right" style="background: #ADF6BA; border: 4px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);
margin: 0em; padding: 0.5em;" width="35%"
| <center>'''Sample Natural Disasters'''</center>
|-
|{{:Sample Natural Disasters}}
|}
If the disaster that forced the evacuation lasts less than a week, such as a hurricane or Wyld
storm, the dominion may return the evacuees to their homes with no further rolls required.
However, if the threat renders return impossible for a longer period—for example, because a
hostile army has sacked their city—the evacuated population must live off the land until they can
find a safer place to settle. Use the "Foot/cart" travel rates from ''Exalted Second Edition,'' page
264, when calculating long-term movement. The dominion must roll to forage food from the
countryside every action (see below), lest it risk starvation on its long journey.
== Enduring Famine (Resistance/Survival) ==
In order to survive on its own resources, a dominion requires the equivalent of (Magnitude x 2)
Talents of food every season. If the dominion's effective ([Survival + Agriculture specialties] x
Territory) total is at least equal to (Magnitude x 2), the dominion's farms and herds are assumed
to automatically provide for its needs. If circumstances bring this total below (Magnitude x 2),
however, the dominion must import food from other dominions (with a total cost equal to the
number of Talents by which it falls short) in order to fight off famine. If the dominion cannot
purchase sufficient imports--whether because of a funding shortfall, a siege by a hostile military,
or simple geographic isolation--or it simply chooses not to, it must succeed at a
(Government+Resistance) roll every 5 weeks thereafter in order to effectively ration what little
food remains. This roll begins at standard difficulty, but the difficulty increases by 1 for every 5
weeks thereafter. (In order to benefit this roll, the administrator must have taken a miscellaneous
action at the beginning of that turn.) The current difficulty can never exceed the number of
Talents by which the dominion falls short, though any shortfalls from subsequent seasons are
cumulative. A successful roll merely postpones the inevitable, while failure inflicts two levels of
Decimation as the dominion's citizens slowly starve to death. The dominion's ordeal only ends
when it purchases enough food to completely cover its food shortfall, including any shortfall
from subsequent seasons (if the famine lasts that long), though any lesser amount of imports will
help to reduce the difficulty of the roll in the meantime.
As an alternative to merely waiting out a famine, a dominion can forage the countryside in order
to harvest what wild game and plants are available. The dominion rolls (Government+Survival)
as a miscellaneous action with a difficulty equal to half the dominion's Magnitude, rounded up.
While this roll's difficulty does not increase over time, any penalties that apply to the dominion's
(Survival+Agriculture specialties) total apply as external penalties to the roll. If the roll succeeds
the dominion avoids starvation until its next action, and each threshold success reduces the
dominion's cumulative shortfall by one Talent. If it fails, the dominion must roll to resist famine
as normal. Either way, the dominion's desperate focus on survival forces it to give lower priority
to all other concerns, imposing a -2 external penalty on all other non-reflexive actions until its
next turn.
== Surviving Epidemics and Mass Poisonings (Medicine/Resistance) ==
When a dominion is first exposed to the vector of a contagious disease, it reflexively rolls
(Culture+Resistance) as a non-admin action with a difficulty equal to the disease's Virulence.
Success means the dominion's taboos and sanitation infrastructure prevent an outbreak. Failure
causes it to blossom into a full-blown epidemic, and forces adjacent dominions to make the same
roll to keep it from spreading.
Once the epidemic has begun, the dominion reflexively rolls its (Culture+Resistance) at the
beginning of each action, with a difficulty of the disease's Untreated Morbidity. (This may be
performed as an admin action, representing quarantines and similar passive methods of
containing the disease, provided that the administrator took a miscellaneous action on the
previous turn to concentrate on the problem.) If the roll succeeds, the dominion suffers no
damage and the next roll is made at –1 difficulty. If it fails, the dominion suffers one level of
Decimation and the next roll is made at +1 difficulty. These difficulty increases and decreases
are cumulative, though in no case can the total difficulty exceed the dominion's Magnitude (or, in
the case of extremely small dominions, the disease's natural Morbidity). When the difficulty is
reduced to 0, the epidemic has run its course and can no longer inflict damage.
A dominion can control the disease somewhat through a medical treatment campaign, taking a
miscellaneous action (Cost 5) and rolling its (Government+Medicine). If this action succeeds,
the Morbidity roll is made against the disease's Treated Morbidity, and the difficulty will not
increase due to a failed roll during that action. A basic failure has no other effect, but a botch
causes the dominion's citizens to become outraged at its incompetence in the face of national
disaster, earning it a point of Unrest.
Mass poisonings use the same basic rules, except that the Resistance roll is made against the
poison's Toxicity rating, only a single Medicine roll is required (at a difficulty equal to the
poison's Damage), and there is no Virulence roll. The poison automatically stops inflicting
damage after a number of weeks equal to its Damage, minus one week per threshold success on
the Medicine roll (minimum one week).
== Mass-Producing Items (Craft) ==
When a dominion wants to produce large quantities of an item (most commonly weapons, armor,
or vessels for its armed forces), it does so as an extended roll of (Government+relevant Craft).
The difficulty is the same as for crafting an individual specimen of that item (see ''Exalted
Second Edition,'' pages 133-134), while the cumulative difficulty equals (Magnitude x Resources
cost). The dominion may choose to manufacture superior-quality versions of the item, in which
case the difficulty and effective Resources cost are increased accordingly. As with characters, a
dominion may not create items with a Resources cost higher than its (Craft+appropriate
specialties) rating. The Treasury cost depends on the item's Resources cost; see the
[[Treasury|Treasury]] rules for more details.
A dominion may also mass-produce artifacts, using rules similar to the manufacture of mundane
items. Each roll represents one season of continuous work, with a cumulative difficulty equal to
(Magnitude x Artifact rating x 2). Due to the magical materials and exotic ingredients required
for their production, artifacts tend to cost much more to produce than their mundane
counterparts. As with characters, a dominion must have Craft, Lore, and Occult ratings of 3 or
higher to mass-produce level 1-3 artifacts. Level 4 artifacts can only be produced by a dominion
in command of a functional factory-cathedral, while Level 5 and N/A artifacts cannot be mass-
produced.
NOTE: These figures assume that the dominion's available labor force is significantly larger than
the number of objects being produced. If for some reason the dominion's Magnitude is smaller
than the Magnitude of objects manufactured, the Storyteller may choose to account for the
limited workforce by adding the difference to Magnitude when calculating cumulative difficulty.
For example: ''A Magnitude 7 city famous for its high-quality steel is tasked with forging suits of
lamellar for a neighboring empire's Magnitude 9 army. Because the city's Magnitude is 2 less
than the quantity of goods manufactured, and lamellar armor costs Resources 3, the cumulative
difficulty becomes ([9 + 2] x 3) = 33.
Treasury A dominion's finances are its lifeblood, for without income a state cannot maintain its
bureaucratic infrastructure or bankroll new Constructions. The state of a dominion's Treasury is
a reliable indicator of its overall health, for a dominion that cannot afford its own upkeep hardly
has the means to deal with invading armies and other disasters, let alone attempt Constructions to
improve its infrastructure or standard of living. The ebb and flow of income is modeled in much
the same way as the expenditure and recovery of Essence by Essence-users, and like Essence is
tracked through an abstract unit known as a Talent. (For scaling purposes, a Talent can be
considered roughly equivalent to a low Resources 5 purchase.)
= Basic Income and Expenses =
A dominion's income comes primarily from the prosperity of its citizens, since greater wealth
means more tax money. This wealth comes in two main forms: agricultural exports (represented
by Survival) and manufactured goods (represented by the various Crafts). As agriculture is an
inherently land-intensive activity, requiring vast tracts of farmland to be profitable on a national
scale, it is tied to Territory: each action, the dominion receives a number of Talents equal to its
[(Survival + Agriculture specialties) x Territory]. A dominion's industries depend far more on
the number of people performing them than on land area, and so they are tied to Magnitude; the
dominion gains additional Talents each action equal to its [(sum of Crafts + Manufacturing
specialties) x Magnitude]. Outside of taxation, it can also gain Talents through tribute from
dominions under its control, loans from more prosperous dominions, and various other sources,
though no universal rules govern these transactions.
On the other side of the ledger, a dominion must pay certain expenses just to sustain itself as a
state. The larger and more robust the dominion's civil and military bureaucracies are, the greater
the cost to keep them running. Thus, basic upkeep costs a number of Talents per action equal to
([Government + Military]/2 x Magnitude). If the dominion cannot or will not pay this cost, the
dominion accumulates a point of Unrest every week as the engines of government grind to a halt
and anarchy takes over. If Unrest reaches 10 in this state, the Revolution that follows cannot be
controlled by the administrator. During uncontrolled Revolution, the dominion neither pays
these expenses nor gains income from taxes; until order is reestablished, it is a political and
financial nonentity.
Besides these basic costs, the dominion must also pay for the maintenance of its completed
Constructions and the ongoing creation cost of Constructions in progress. Failing to pay creation
costs results in either the delayed completion or the outright cancellation of the Construction,
while failing to pay maintenance costs will generally result in the degradation and eventual loss
of the Construction. Certain other dominion actions that require large-scale expenditure on the
government's part, such as the Festival action and the forging of new weapons for an army, also
require the expenditure of Talents. Finally, there are miscellaneous expenses such as tributes and
interest on loans, which again fall outside the scope of these basic rules.
{| class="wikitable" align="right" style="background: #ADF6BA; border: 4px solid rgb(0, 159,
64); margin: 0.5em; padding: 0.5em;" width="100%"
| <center>'''Convenience vs. Realism'''</center>
|-
|{{:Convenience vs. Realism}}
|}
= Treasury Pool =
While the national treasury of a dominion is vast by the standards of individuals, even the wealth
of a nation has limits. An elaborate system of guarded vaults and auditors is required to secure
and track the finances of a large dominion. This system may be stretched to the breaking point if
the dominion hoards its money for too long, as its vaults fill to capacity with currency and its
overworked auditors find it impossible to account for the movement of all that wealth--or find it
trivial to syphon it into their own pockets.
A dominion's capacity to control its wealth is represented by its '''Treasury Pool'''. This pool
equals the dominion's ([Government + 5] x Magnitude x 2) Talents, plus any bonus gained from
Constructions.
= Sample Costs =
== Manufacturing Costs ==
By default, a dominion may be assumed to have as much Resources 1 equipment--short swords,
buff jackets, any basic arrow type--as required to staff its troops and civilian personnel. Should a
dominion desire more expensive equipment for its troops, however, or should it desire superior
versions of its existing equipment, it must manufacture them using the rules described on
[[Dominion Dramatic Rules|this page]]. (It may instead contract another dominion to
manufacture these items, should it lack the expertise to do so itself, though the contracted
dominion will generally charge a heavy premium for its trouble.) The Talent cost for each roll is
dependent on both the Resources cost of the item and the total Magnitude of items to be
manufactured, as listed below:
*'''Resources 2''': (Magnitude/3, rounded up)
*'''Resources 3''': (Magnitude)
*'''Resources 4''': (Magnitude x 3)
*'''Resources 5''': (Magnitude x 10)
Attempting to manufacture fine-quality equipment increases the Talent cost by one half, rounded
up, while excellent and perfect equipment raises the base Resources cost as normal. Fine-quality
Resources 1 equipment has a Talent cost equal to (Magnitude/5).
These rules are intended solely for items produced in bulk quantity. Should a dominion wish to
manufacture an individual specimen of an item, it may do so as a reflexive action using the
normal rules. Items worth Resources 1-4 carry no Talent cost, while a Resources 5 object costs
one Talent for the entire creation process.
=== Manufacturing Artifacts ===
Though superficially similar to the production of mundane items, the manufacturing of artifacts
is vastly more expensive and resource-intensive. Between the magical materials, exotic
ingredients, and advanced workshops required to create them, producing large quantities of a
powerful artifact can be quite draining on a dominion's treasury.
For artifacts of level 1-3, the base manufacturing cost is equal to that of an item with Resources
cost two dots higher than its Artifact rating. (Mass-produced daiklaves, for example, are
effectively Resources 4, and thus cost (Magnitude x 3) Talents to manufacture.) Level 4 artifacts
can only be mass-produced by dominions with a functional factory-cathedral, in which case each
roll costs (Magnitude x 30) Talents.
As with mundane objects, a dominion could instead finance the construction of an individual
artifact as a single reflexive action (though the actual construction process takes as long as
normal). Level 3 artifacts cost one Talent, level 4 artifacts cost five Talents, while the rare level
5 artifact costs a dominion 20 Talents.
== Military Campaigns ==
During peacetime, the cost to maintain a dominion's armed forces is accounted for by the
Military component of its basic upkeep costs. When a dominion declares war against another
dominion, however, the process of mobilizing its forces imposes a significant additional expense
on the dominion. When the War action is declared, and every action thereafter until the conflict
is resolved, the dominion must pay a number of Talents equal to twice the total Magnitude of the
armed forces being fielded. (The dominion may reduce this cost by deploying only part of its
troops, though doing so usually puts it at a strategic disadvantage.)
Once paid, the cost of the War action covers all the basic logistic needs of the dominion's armed
forces: food and medical supplies for the troops, feed for a cavalry unit's mounts, and
maintenance of warships are all covered. However, some military tactics incur additional costs
that fall outside a unit's normal supply and maintenance expenses. In the case of reusable
equipment, such as ballistae and other siege weaponry, the dominion must manufacture sufficient
quantities of that item prior to distributing them to the troops. If the resource in question is a
consumable item, however, such as grenades or firedust fuel for flamepieces, the dominion may
resupply their forces as an unrolled reflexive action at the beginning of its turn. The cost to do so
equals the Talent cost of a single manufacturing roll. (As with equipment, Resources 1
consumables are a trivial expense that are automatically covered by the cost of the War action.)
Each purchase pays for five batches of the consumable item or five uses of the weapon which it
fuels.
Dominion Social Combat As waging war is expensive and draining on all parties involved, it is in the realm of persuasion
and intimidation that most political conflicts take place. Social combat between dominions uses
most of the same rules as social combat between individuals or groups (see ''Exalted Second
Edition,'' pages 171-175), though some modifications are required to reflect the vastly increased
scale.
= Dominion MDV =
A dominion's MDV is calculated based on its administrator's, as his cutting rebukes or steadfast
stubbornness supports his administration's position. So long as the administrator actively
oversees his dominion, its base Dodge MDV equals ([Administrator's Willpower +
administrator's (Integrity + specialties) + dominion's (Integrity + specialties)]/2), while its base
Parry MDV equals ([Administrator's Charisma or Manipulation + administrator's (Presence,
Performance, or Investigation + specialties) + dominion's (Presence, Performance, or
Investigation + specialties)]/2). In the event that the dominion is currently without a leader, such
as during a Revolution, the dominion's Dodge MDV becomes (Loyalty+Integrity+specialties)
and its Parry MDV becomes (Culture+[Presence, Performance, or Investigation]+specialties).
The dominion's Accords, Virtues, and Policy modify these values as normal, as do penalties from
actions taken in the current turn.
While high-Magnitude dominions still enjoy an advantage over smaller dominions, the sheer
scale of the interaction greatly diminishes the effect. For every three dots by which its
Magnitude exceeds that of the opposing dominion (rounded down), the larger dominion adds one
success to its social attacks and subtracts it from its opponent's social attacks. As usual, this
bonus/penalty cannot exceed +/-3. In addition, the dominions' MDVs are adjusted based on the
prestige afforded by their relative Culture ratings. This modifier is mechanically identical to the
modifier for relative Appearance (see page 172).
= Social Attack Effects =
Successful social attacks against a dominion have the effects described in ''Exalted Section
Edition,'' pages 173-174. A dominion may resist a successful social attack by spending one point
of Loyalty. A dominion need not spend more than two Loyalty to resist influence in a single
turn, though there is otherwise no limit to how quickly its Loyalty can be drained over successive
turns.
There is no such thing as unnatural mental influence in dominion social combat. Certain charms
may force the dominion to spend more than two Loyalty in a single turn, but the dominion may
ignore all other social attacks during that action--including other charms--without spending
Loyalty.
A dominion must spend Loyalty to resist social attacks that directly oppose its Policy. Even
when the dominion's temporary Loyalty is exhausted, however, it still resists the influence--but
instead of spending Loyalty, it gains points of Unrest equal to its primary Virtue. (This cost need
only be paid once per turn.) Only during a Revolution, when its stable social structures and
moral certainties are in collapse, can a dominion be forced to act against its own Policy.
= Creating and Destroying Accords =
Sometimes an administrator may wish to instill an abiding love (or contempt, as the case may be)
for something in his own dominion's cultural consciousness. The roll to establish a new Accord
is treated as a social attack for timing purposes, though the rules for resolving the roll are
somewhat different. In place of MDV, the dominion subtracts (Willpower/2, rounded down)
from the roll as an external penalty. If any successes remain, it counts as one scene spent
building that Accord. As normal, it takes a number of successful actions equal to the dominion's
Conviction to establish the Accord.
Rather than creating a new Accord, the administrator may decide to eliminate a troublesome
Accord that no longer serves the dominion's purposes. This is mechanically identical to the roll
above, except that each successful use counts as a scene spent weakening that Accord.
It should be noted that much like individuals, a dominion can only have (Compassion+Loyalty)
Accords at one time. If a new Accord pushes the dominion over this limit, it will lose another
Accord of the Storyteller's choosing at the beginning of its next turn. For this reason, the wise
administrator may choose to eliminate an irrelevant Accord in order to allow a more relevant one
to take root.
= Altering Policy =
A dominion's Policy is the bedrock of its cultural identity. Though dominions can and do change
their Policy, doing so is an immensely difficult process that can only be attempted in the midst of
a Revolution, when the dominion's cultural values and certainties are thrown into disarray. Each
step in the process is represented by a ([Charisma or Manipulation]+Socialize) roll against the
dominion's MDV, which is treated as a social attack that may be only be performed once per
turn. The attack suffers the usual -3 external penalty for directly opposing Policy, though the
dominion will not automatically spend Loyalty to resist. (It may choose to do so if the new
Policy opposes a valued Accord, however, or if it is a controlled Revolution and the
administrator chooses to resist.) The process is complete once the roll has succeeded a number
of times equal to the dominion's permanent Loyalty, at which point the new Policy replaces the
previous one.
War Mechanics War is a fact of life in the Age of Sorrows. Whether they are fought for wealth, survival, or the
greater glory of their gods, wars redraw the dominions of Creation and shift the balance of
power. With the forces of the Neverborn and the Yozis amassing their own armies to challenge
the defenders of Creation, the fate of the next Age will soon be written on a thousand battlefields
across Creation.
= Battle-Scale Warfare =
The exact rules used to resolve a military campaign depend on the scale and level of detail the
Storyteller wishes to devote to that war. Some Storytellers may wish to detail their players'
glorious heroism in every battle they fight. Others may wish to resolve individual battles
quickly, but still track the war's progress by the major cities each side holds and the damage it
has inflicted to the opposing dominion. And still others may view a given war as a mere
stepping stone to a greater conflict, and resolve it in a few rolls within normal political time. To
accomodate this, a dominion can wage a war at three different levels: battle-scale warfare, unit-
scale warfare, and dominion-scale warfare.
At its finest resolution, the Storyteller may portray the war as a series of skirmishes and mighty
battles between the opposing dominions' armies, each of which deserves the players' full
attention. The clash of armies is resolved using the mass combat rules described in ''Exalted
Second Edition,'' pages 163-169. While these rules cannot by themselves determine how much
territory each dominion controls or how well it deals with hostile terrain, they integrate easily
into the unit-scale warfare mechanics described below. A Storyteller could use those mechanics
to track the overall progress of the war, and adjust the starting Endurance and health levels of
each unit as its movements demand, but use the normal mass combat rules rather than the quick-
resolution rules to resolve the battles themselves.
= Unit-Scale Warfare =
Of course, a military campaign is more than the sum of its battles. Wars are complicated,
sprawling affairs, and the lay of the land often plays a major role in the final outcome. At this
scale, the Storyteller tracks the progress of the war via the status of the legions, navies, etc.
fighting for each side.
== Battle Resolution ==
It would be impractical to resolve every skirmish in a drawn-out military campaign via the
normal mass combat rules, which make for long battles even under the best of circumstances. To
quickly resolve minor encounters and allow the players and Storyteller to focus on the truly
important battles, combat at this scale is conducted via a simplified quick-resolution system. All
units use the same basic traits (Drill, Close Combat Attack, etc.) as they do in normal mass
combat, though a unit's current Magnitude and Endurance points may need to be adjusted based
on its recent activities. Notable differences from standard mass combat include the following:
=== Join War and Speed ===
As in normal mass combat, all unit commanders roll ([Wits + War] - Magnitude) at the start of
battle. If a unit wields ranged weapons, their distance advantage makes it easier to strike first.
Add one die for every 50 yards of Range, rounded up, though only if the unit actually performs a
ranged attack on its first turn.
Regardless of the results, all units begin battle on the same tick. Instead of its usual role, Join
War determines the order in which each unit acts. The commander with the most successes
gains the benefits of attacking first: any Magnitude loss inflicted on a unit with fewer successes
is recorded prior to that unit's first action, while his unit retains its original Magnitude against all
attacks during that tick. If the unit manages to destroy a unit with fewer Join War successes by
reducing its Magnitude to 0, the target unit cannot retaliate at all. On the other hand, the first
unit's actions do reduce its DV against those later attacks. For this reason, a unit may choose to
act after any other unit with equal or fewer successes. In the event that two units roll the same
number of successes, their actions are resolved simultaneously as normal (see ''Exalted Second
Edition,'' page 141).
By concealing itself with appropriate cover (see ''Exalted Second Edition,'' page 163), one unit
may ambush another to gain the upper hand. Rather than preventing the target unit from
defending itself, a successful ambush prevents it from reacting quickly, reducing its Join War
successes to zero. Actual unexpected attacks may only be performed in battle-scale warfare.
Multiple units may coordinate their movements to flank a unit at the start of battle, however, in
which case each success reduces the target's Join War results ''and'' its DVs against each initial
attack by 1.
Should the battle last beyond the initial exchange of attacks, each unit's next action is determined
by its weapon Speed as normal. If two or more units once again act on the same tick, order of
attack is resolved in the same way: those with more Join War successes act first, and those with
equal successes act simultaneously.
=== Attack Resolution and Damage ===
Attacks between units are resolved as described in ''Exalted Second Edition,'' pages 166-169,
with three modifications:
First, the unit may only attack a given enemy unit once per turn. The commander may choose to
attack several enemy units as a flurry, but it may not perform multiple attacks against the same
enemy.
Second, each action the unit automatically loses a number of Endurance points equal to the
Fatigue value of its armor. (This replaces the normal roll to check for fatigue.) The commander
may attempt to recover lost Endurance through a Rally action, though the difficulty increases by
1 each time it is attempted.
Third, each success on the damage roll inflicts seven health levels of damage rather than one.
This translates into a dot of Magnitude loss per "health level" inflicted for the vast majority of
units (which can be assumed to be led by heroic mortals), or a bit less for those led by
supernaturally hardy commanders such as the Exalted.
=== Charm Use ===
The unit commander may freely enhance his Join War roll with any Excellencies or other
instant-duration charms he knows. Once the battle starts, however, he may not enhance his unit's
actions with any charms which have a duration shorter than One scene. These rules were
designed for battles lasting a few hours or more, and a commander who relies heavily on instant-
or short-duration charms will find himself out of Essence long before its conclusion. If the
effects of short-duration charms are important enough to alter the course of a battle, that battle is
probably important enough (and brief enough) to warrant use of the full mass combat rules.
A commander may activate a scene-length charm as a Speed 3 action. He may place this action
in a flurry, in which case its benefits apply to all later actions in the flurry. If the charm provides
defensive benefits, and it is activated on the same tick as the unit is attacked, those benefits only
apply if it rolled at least as many Join War successes as the attacking unit.
Infinite (Ability) Mastery and its equivalents deserve special mention, since they are scene-
length charms which allow extended use of an otherwise instant-duration charm. Once invoked,
these charms allow the commander to freely enhance his actions with the appropriate
Excellencies, though he may not add more dice or successes to a given action than he could
purchase for free.
== Long-Term Movement ==
=== Movement Rates ===
In long-term travel, an infantry unit can cover up to (Stamina - mobility penalty, minimum 1)
miles per hour of marching. If it travels at a relaxed pace equal to five hours of full-speed
marching per day, it need not worry about exhaustion. Otherwise, the unit must check for
Endurance loss as described below. The unit may cover still more ground by taking a Dash
action, increasing its base speed to (Stamina - mobility penalty + 6) miles per hour, though this
greatly increases its rate of Endurance loss.
Cavalry units have a base movement rate of (mount's Stamina x 2) miles per hour, and use the
mount's (Stamina+Resistance) rating in place of the troops' when checking for exhaustion. Like
infantry, cavalry units can travel the equivalent of five hours per day at full gallop before they
have to check for exhaustion, and may Dash to further increase their speed. If the mounts are
themselves armored, the armor's mobility penalty is subtracted from their movement rates as
normal.
Units travelling in ships, dunerunners, and other artificial vehicles base their travel rates on the
maximum speed of their vessels rather than the traits of their crews. Such units do not check for
Endurance loss at all (except perhaps when their movement relies on human muscle power) and
obviously cannot Dash.
=== Endurance Loss ===
In addition to losing Endurance in battle, an army may become exhausted if it marches for too
long or through particularly harsh terrain. For every six hours of movement, roll the unit's
average (Stamina+Resistance) at a difficulty equal to their armor's fatigue value. The modifiers
from ''Exalted Second Edition,'' page 374, apply to this roll as difficulty modifiers: those factors
which would halve the time between rolls instead add 1 to the difficulty, while those which
would double the time subtract 1 from the difficulty, to a minimum of zero. In addition, for
every full day a unit has gone without resting it adds an additional +1 to the difficulty. (This
penalty completely disappears once the unit has spent at least 6 hours resting.)
If the roll succeeds, the unit suffers no penalty. If it fails, the unit loses one point of Endurance
per success by which it fell short. Dashing adds 1 to the difficulty, and causes the unit to
automatically lose one Endurance point in addition to any loss from failing the roll. Should the
unit be reduced to zero Endurance or below, it suffers a cumulative -1 internal penalty to all
actions for each failed roll. When this penalty equals the unit's (Stamina+Resistance), it can no
longer continue moving and can take no action except to rest as described below.
A unit can recover from the ravages of fatigue by taking a Set Camp action, settling down in one
place to recover its energy. For every three full hours the unit spends resting, it regains one lost
point of Endurance. If it suffers from exhaustion penalties, the unit must first eliminate that
penalty (once again, at a rate of one point per three hours) before it can begin to recover
Endurance. While it rests the unit is particularly vulnerable to ambush, suffering a -2 internal
penalty to its Join War pool on top of any exhaustion penalties it might suffer.
== Other Issues ==
=== Siege Warfare ===
The rules used for laying siege to a city are similar to those for envelopment in battle-scale
warfare. The besieging unit must have a Magnitude greater than the Territory of the target city,
and the attack roll to initiate the siege is made at a -2 external penalty. If the city has any units
outside the walls defending it, it must overcome their Parry DV to begin the siege.
Once it has begun, anyone left inside the city is trapped unless the remaining military units are
able to break through the surrounding army. This requires an attack roll at a -3 external penalty;
if successful, the dominion may roll its (Government+Dodge) to evacuate the civilian population
as described [[Dominion Dramatic Rules|here]]. (Evacuating the entire population requires the
defending units to do this for several consecutive actions, until the dominion has rolled sufficient
successes.). If they are unable to evacuate, the dominion must begin rolling to resist starvation
after five weeks. Should the dominion suffer Magnitude loss due to starvation, any military units
trapped in the city also lose a dot of Magnitude.
=== Engineering the Battlefield ===
The wise general will often alter the battlefield to his advantage when he anticipates an enemy's
arrival, setting traps and obstacles to hurt or obstruct his enemies. The mass combat effects of
battlefield engineering are described in ''Scroll of Kings,'' pages 112-115. Constructing such an
obstacle requires an extended roll of (Intelligence+War) from the commander, with each roll
representing three hours of work.
The cumulative difficulty depends on the complexity of the earthworks or traps being built, as
well as the Magnitude of the opposing force. The most basic earthworks, such as berms that
provide a height advantage to the defenders, require (Magnitude) successes. Clear-cutting a
forest and sharpening the stumps to create a field of stakes would require (Magnitude x 2)
successes. Especially complex traps, such as multiple large-scale dropfalls or a field planted
with firedust mines, might require (Magnitude x 3) successes or more. If the Magnitude of the
unit constructing the obstacles is less than the Magnitude of the opposing unit, the Storyteller
may account for its smaller labor force by adding one to the opposing unit's effective Magnitude
for each dot of Magnitude difference. (For example: If a Magnitude 6 army was constructing a
field of stakes to slow a Magnitude 9 legion's progress, it would require a total of ([9 + 3] x 2) =
24 successes to complete the obstacle.)
If the obstacles are built entirely from locally available materials, the construction process costs
nothing. The unit's soldiers provide the labor force, and the unit can be assumed to carry basic
tools like axes and shovels for just such occasions. However, if the obstacle requires unusual or
prefabricated components, such as the aforementioned firedust mines, the unit must have
previously been supplied with such components. Such components have a Talent cost of their
own, which is provided [[Treasury|here]].
=== Reconnaissance ===
It is typical for an army to send out a few fast, lightly armed scouts to gather useful information
on an enemy unit. A unit commander may at any time send out a few of his troops as a scouting
party to study an enemy unit. After it has intercepted the enemy unit it wishes to study, the
commander of the scouting party rolls (Perception+[lower of Awareness or War]) as a dramatic
action lasting three hours, in order to obtain relevant information about the opposing unit. If the
unit being observed is marching at the time, the roll suffers a -2 external penalty. A basic
success allows the commander to identify the target unit's commander, standard weapons and
armor, particularly conspicuous artifacts or other equipment the unit is carrying (such as a
warstrider or trebuchet), and allows him to estimate the unit's Magnitude to within plus or minus
one dot. Two successes allows him to estimate the unit's Drill and Morale to the same accuracy.
Three successes allow him to determine exact values for all these traits, and also gives him a
good idea of the army's overall combat prowess (as represented by its Close/Ranged Combat
Attack and Close/Ranged Combat Damage statistics) and current Endurance, again to within plus
or minus one dot. With five or more successes, he deduces the exact values for these traits as
well, and his observations allow him to make subtler deductions about the unit: he may notice
that the unit's training exercises focus heavily on performing a specific kind of battlefield
maneuver, for example.
While the scouting party may attempt multiple rolls in order to gather better information (subject
to the usual penalty for multiple attempts), it must stay hidden in order to avoid drawing the
attention of the much larger opposing force. When the scouting party makes contact with the
enemy, and every three hours thereafter, its commander must roll (Wits + Stealth - Magnitude)
against the enemy commander's (Perception + Awareness - Magnitude). If the enemy
commander wins, the scouts have been detected and must attempt to escape, lest they be killed
before they can relay their observations back to the unit commander.
=== Recovering Magnitude ===
In order for a unit to recover Magnitude via reinforcements (as described in ''Exalted Second
Edition,'' page 169), the dominion must maintain a reserve force with Magnitude at least 2
greater than that of all currently fielded units. Otherwise, the dominion simply does not have the
manpower to spare.
If the unit cannot count on reinforcements, or if it cannot wait several days to recover lost
Magnitude, its commander may appeal to the population of a friendly child dominion in the area,
asking for its aid in driving off the dominion's enemies. The child dominion must have a
Magnitude greater than the final Magnitude the unit wishes to recover. The commander rolls
(Charisma+Performance) with a difficulty equal to his unit's current Magnitude. For each
threshold success, the unit may recover an additional dot of Magnitude as civilian volunteers step
in to fill the ranks. This process takes (final Magnitude x 3) hours, and may not increase the
unit's size beyond (child dominion's Magnitude - 1). Since the volunteers are untrained, each dot
of Magnitude gained in this fashion reduces the unit's Drill and Closed/Ranged Combat Attack
ratings by 1 each (though Closed/Ranged Combat Attack may not be reduced to less than half the
dominion's relevant Ability rating). Should the unit suffer Magnitude loss in subsequent battles,
however, these penalties are reduced accordingly, until the unit returns to its original Magnitude
and Drill/attack ratings.
Alternatively, the commander may simply ask for reinforcements to recover health levels of
damage sustained on the battlefield, without recovering Magnitude. In that case the difficulty is
only half the unit's Magnitude (rounded up), the process takes (unit's Magnitude) hours, and the
unit does not suffer any trait reductions.
= Dominion-Scale Warfare =
Sometimes a military campaign is merely a stepping-stone to some greater conflict, a rearranging
of pieces for tactical advantage against a more formidable dominion. When the Storyteller
wishes to resolve a war quickly without delving into the fine details of equipment and troop
movements, they may simply use the dominion's own traits to resolve the conflict.
== Campaign Resolution ==
=== Join War and Speed ===
Unlike the unit-scale warfare model, Join War at the dominion scale functions exactly like its
normal mass-combat equivalent. Each dominion rolls (Military+Awareness), with their starting
ticks determined by the successes on this roll. (This may be performed as a reflexive
(Intelligence+Awareness) roll by the administrator, though only if he had already declared war as
an admin action.)
The "ticks" used in this model are the same week-long ticks used to track dominion actions,
though the dominion's military actions take place independent of its political actions. In order to
take any action other than Guard, the dominion must have previously declared the War action on
its turn. If the administrator wishes to lend his skill or that of his generals to the campaign, he'll
need to declare it as an admin action. (He may do so prior to the Join War roll, however, if he
anticipates a conflict in the near future.) All attacks occur as Speed 5 actions.
=== Attack Resolution ===
Military campaigns are resolved via an attack roll of (Military+highest of Archery, Martial Arts,
Melee, or Thrown). The target dominion's armies may repel the aggressors with its Parry DV of
([Military+higher of Martial Arts or Melee]/2), though if circumstances require they may also
flee the advancing invasion force to fight another day via its Dodge DV of ([Military+Dodge]/2).
The latter tactic is only used by the truly desperate, since it forces them to give up the territory
they held and leave the civilian population unprotected. A dominion with a supernatural
population, or whose military employs powerful artifacts, may have a Might rating, which
functions identically to its battle-scale equivalent. The dominion's DVs and MDVs remain
entirely seperate: the dominion's military actions do not penalize its MDVs (aside from the -1/-2
penalty for waging war in the first place), and its political actions have no effect on its military
DVs.
Since dominions can only wage war through their armed forces, most wars are direct contests
between two dominions' armies. Accordingly, it is the Magnitude of a dominion's collected
armed forces, rather than the dominion's Magnitude, which is used to determine Magnitude-
based DV bonuses/penalties. A dominion may perform multiple attacks against one or more
dominions as part of a flurry, representing a rapid series of offensives, though this inflicts
multiple-action penalties and lowers its DVs as normal.
If the administrator declares War as an admin action, he or a designated deputy administrator
may devote his full resources to the campaign, increasing the dominion's attack pools and DVs
and allowing him to further enhance them with charms. This is also necessary if he wishes to
personally command a unit in battle (if using the unit-scale resolution model).
=== Damage ===
When a military offensive overcomes the target dominion's DV, its raw damage is equal to the
Magnitude of the dominion's armed forces plus any remaining attack successes. The target
dominion's "soak" equals its Military rating, though this cannot reduce the damage to less than
one die. Any successes on the damage roll apply directly as Magnitude loss to the target
dominion's armed forces, or as levels of Decimation if targetting the civilian population (see
below).
== Other Issues ==
=== Genocide ===
Some invaders seek not merely to conquer a dominion's armies and claim its resources, but also
to slaughter its people. Such genocidal campaigns generally occur after the dominion's armed
forces have been defeated, since its civilians are easy prey without their defenders. The
dominion can only defend with its Dodge DV, though it does not suffer any DV penalties due to
differences in Magnitude or the dominion's own actions. If the dominion's armies survive they
may defend the civilians from the invaders, adding their Parry DV to the dominion's Dodge DV.
(This occurs automatically, requiring no action from the dominion, though the defenders suffer
all the usual DV penalties. If the attack penetrates the armed forces' DVs but not the dominion's,
the attacker may choose to damage the defenders instead.) If the attack connects, damage is
rolled as described above and any successes are applied as levels of Decimation.
If the invading forces are notably small compared to the dominion they are attacking, the
Storyteller may choose to employ a variation of the comparable-damage rules (see ''Scroll of
Kings,'' pages 40-42) to determine whether they can realistically threaten the dominion as a
whole. If their collective (Magnitude+Might) is no more than 2 less than the dominion's
Magnitude, they are powerful enough to directly attack and inflict Decimation on the dominion.
If their (Magnitude+Might) is between 3 and 5 less than the dominion's Magnitude, they are a
limited threat: they cannot directly inflict Decimation on the dominion, though they can still
undermine it by attacking its child dominions.
Example: ''A legion of war ghosts with Magnitude 8 and Might 3 is waging a campaign of
genocide against a Magnitude 15 city. Since their (Magnitude+Might) is 4 less than the
dominion's Magnitude, they can only attack its people by attacking a child dominion that it can
target directly--in this case, the Magnitude 13 southern quarter of the city. When the legion has
inflicted enough Decimation on the child dominion to cause Magnitude loss, the city as a whole
suffers levels of Decimation in proportion to the relative size of a child dominion. Because the
southern quarter contained one-fourth of the dominion's population, the unit suffers three levels
of Decimation (one-fourth of 10, rounded up). Since the Magnitude loss decreases the relative
size of the southern quarter, and hence the Decimation its destruction will inflict on the dominion
as a whole, the legion's general moves his campaign to the still-populated western quarter.''
If the invaders' (Magnitude+Might) is at least 6 less than the dominion's Magnitude, they are an
insignificant threat. While they may still attack the dominion's armed forces and destroy its
Constructions, they are simply too small to threaten the safety of the dominion as a whole.
=== Damaging Constructions ===
The concerted effort required to destroy a port, highway, or other Physical Construction is
essentially an inversion of the effort required to create it, though destruction is far easier and
faster than creation. The dominion targets the Construction as a normal attack. The
Construction does not have a DV of its own unless it is somehow mobile (in which case it
benefits from the dominion's Dodge DV), but any surviving armed forces may defend it with
their Parry DV. Damage is rolled normally, with the Construction gaining soak as normal from
its Military rating. For each success on the damage roll, subtract three successes from the
cumulative total required to build the Construction. When total successes have been reduced to
zero, the Construction is permanently destroyed.
Note that these rules only apply to ''Physical'' Constructions. Cultural or infrastructural
Constructions cannot be physically torn apart or burned down, but must be dismantled through a
deliberate process of political restructuring or social reengineering. For more information, see
the [[Constructions|Constructions]] page.
=== Individual Units ===
At times, a single military unit that is unconnected to any dominion will have a major effect on
the outcome of a war. Whether it is a revolutionary army attempting to lead an uprising against
government forces, a legion of Tiger Warriors bent on conquering a Realm satrapy, or a horde of
hobgoblins invading from the Middlemarches, some special rules are required to account for the
differences between the unit-scale and dominion-scale models. (The Storyteller is strongly
encouraged to restrict these rules to truly independent units. If a dominion wishes to divide and
strategically deploy its forces, it should do so using the unit-scale model.)
Many of the unit's traits must be altered to function at the dominion scale. Drill, Morale,
Endurance, and Close/Ranged Combat Damage serve no purpose, and thus are ignored. In place
of the bonus successes from Close/Ranged Combat Attack, the unit receives bonus dice equal to
the troops' average (combat Ability + specialties). Likewise, the unit's Dodge DV receives a
bonus equal to the troops' average (Dodge + specialties). A unit with Might 1 or greater still
gains the usual benefits of its Might rating.
Attacks made by the unit's commander use the same rules as attacks made by a dominion's
administrator, with raw damage based on the unit's Magnitude as usual. The unit may destroy
Constructions, commit genocide against the people, and otherwise attempt any action a
dominion's forces could attempt.
Terrain Effects = Terrain Types =
A dominion's culture, and its relationship with other dominions, is heavily influenced by the
environment it inhabits. The Haslanti are nomads largely in response to the harsh tundra where
they live, while the milder and more fertile land of the Blessed Isle allows the Realm to form a
much more stable and stratified society.
While a dominion's terrain can influence it in a number of ways, the most direct impact comes
from its '''terrain modifier.''' This number represents the bonus or penalty imposed on the
dominion's (Survival+Agricultural specialties) total, and influences both the dominion's income
from agriculture and how easily it can avoid famine. A positive terrain modifier signifies fertile
land that yields plentiful crops, while a negative modifier indicates harsh land that is difficult or
impossible to farm. Those cultures that inhabit the harshest environments must subsist on
hunting or fishing the local wildlife, a lifestyle that yields far less sustenance than agriculture.
Almost all of the natural lands within Creation's borders fall into one of the following terrain
types. In addition to its terrain modifier, many terrains impede travel through them, and are
treated as Difficult or Extreme terrain when following the Complex Travel rules (see ''Exalted
Second Edition,'' page 266).
*'''Flood basin''': The richest naturally occurring farmland, found primarily near the banks of
large rivers. Its terrain modifier is +3, and it is treated as Difficult terrain due to the muddy silt.
Unfortunately, the floodwaters which enrich the soil are also something of a danger to those who
harvest them. At the beginning of the Season of Water, any dominion that resides in such terrain
must reflexively roll (Government+Dodge) at difficulty 3. Failing this roll causes it to suffer
Decimation, one level for each success by which the roll fell short. (A dominion with the
Emergency Evacuation Routes Construction automatically succeeds on this roll.)
*'''Prairie''': Grasslands with fertile soil and ample rainfall, which provide excellent crop yields
without the dangers of living in a flood basin. +2 terrain modifier, and treated as Open terrain.
*'''Savanna''': Drier and less fertile grasslands, typically found in the Southern parts of Creation.
+1 terrain modifier, and treated as Open terrain.
*'''Forest''': Although abundant with plant life, the dense trees in such areas tend to draw nutrients
out of the soil and block the sunlight, making farming difficult. -1 terrain modifier, and treated
as Difficult terrain.
*'''Rain forest/Jungle''': The greater density of trees renders agriculture nearly impossible in such
areas, forcing residents to adopt a hunter-gatherer lifestyle or import their food from elsewhere,
and also requires large amounts of clear-cutting to make room for any large-scale construction
projects. -2 terrain modifier, +1 difficulty to Physical Construction rolls, and treated as Extreme
terrain.
*'''Marsh/Swamp''': In addition to the difficulties caused by dense vegetation, the muddy soil and
stagnant water undermine the foundations of any large structures and provide a breeding ground
for disease-carrying insects and other parasites. -2 terrain modifier, +2 difficulty to Physical
Construction rolls, +1 difficulty to all Virulence rolls to resist the spread of disease, and treated
as Extreme terrain.
*'''Tundra''': The semi-frozen wastelands of the North, notorious for their short growing seasons
and their frozen, rocky soil. -3 terrain modifier, and treated as Difficult terrain.
*'''Desert/Frozen Wasteland''': Despite the difference in their climates, the far reaches of the
Northern and Southern Threshold are very similar in terms of their harsh terrain. Neither
environment has arable soil or significant rainfall, and the harsh temperatures greatly limit the
flora and fauna available for residents to hunt. -4 terrain modifier, and treated as Extreme
terrain.
*'''Mountain''': Similar in many respects to tundra, except that the steep slopes and uneven terrain
provide an even greater challenge to travellers and builders. -3 terrain modifier, +2 difficulty to
physical Construction rolls, and treated as Extreme terrain.
*'''Ocean''': This relatively uncommon terrain type is used to describe the rare dominion which is
based entirely at sea (the Delzahn, for example), as well as island dominions which gain more
sustenance from fishing than from the limited land on their native islands. Such places have a
terrain modifier of -2, and are treated as Open terrain to naval vehicles. Floating dominions
suffer a +3 difficulty increase to Physical Construction rolls, due to the logistical problems
inherent to such places, though island-based dominions do not suffer any additional penalty.
Constructions = Construction Mechanics =
While high traits may provide a dominion a sizeable advantage over its rivals, it is often the
dominion's choice of Constructions which determine its success or failure. A dominion's
Constructions function similarly in many ways to a supernatural being's charms. Like charms, a
dominion's Constructions often provide it the crucial edge needed to repel an invading army, pull
itself through a desperate famine, win the alliance of its neighbors, or otherwise succeed in just
about any endeavor. That said, the vast majority of Constructions are far less powerful than any
charm. When such a comparison is meaningful, a typical Construction may be considered
equivalent in power to a thaumaturgical Procedure or non-supernatural Merit. (A notable
exception is charm-created Constructions, a few of which are described [[New Charms|here]]).
Creating a Construction requires an extended roll, with a cumulative difficulty based on the scale
and overall difficulty of the project. (It will often be some multiple of Territory or Magnitude for
dominion-wide efforts, depending on whether the area it covers or the population it affects is
more relevant. The individual rolls are usually made at standard difficulty, though particularly
challenging Constructions occasionally have a higher difficulty.) Each roll is treated as a Speed
3 action, and the pool is (Government+relevant Ability). Once the required number of successes
have been reached, the Construction is complete and the dominion gains its benefits beginning
on its next action.
== Presentation Format ==
Being similar in function to charms, Constructions are presented in a very similar format. While
not every feature of a charm writeup is applicable to Constructions (for example, a Construction
has no keywords or fixed duration), they share enough common features that charm writeups
serve as a good general model for interpreting a Construction. The important characteristics of a
Construction are as follows:
*'''Cost''': The price of each Build Construction action during the creation process. This periodic
cost is measured in Talents, representing the physical and logistical resources required to build
the supporting infrastructure. In addition, Constructions that place intense stress on (or require
close cooperation with) the dominion's citizens may also impose a Loyalty cost. (More difficult
or unusual Constructions might instead impose an Unrest or Decimation cost, or even more
exotic prices.) This cost is paid only once, on the first Build Construction action. All subsequent
Build Construction actions carry only a Talent cost, unless the creation process is terminated or
abandoned. Note that multiple iterations of the same Construction are still considered seperate
Constructions, and the cost for each must be paid seperately.
*'''Maintenance cost''': The upkeep cost required for the dominion to continue receiving the
benefits of the Construction. This cost is always measured in Talents, and by default must be
paid every action. (Then again, many Constructions carry a maintenance cost that need only be
paid once per season. The dominion may pay this cost over the course over several actions or all
at once, so long as it is paid in full during those 15 weeks.) As with the creation cost, the
maintenance cost for each iteration of a Construction must be paid for seperately. The
consequences of failing to pay a Construction's maintenance cost depend on the Storyteller. The
dominion may temporarily lose the Construction's benefits, those benefits may be permanently
degraded in some manner, the unpaid cost may be directly subtracted from cumulative successes
as if the Construction was being dissolved (see below), or some combination of the three may
occur. Note that some Constructions do not have a maintenance cost. Their benefits are
effectively permanent once the creation process is complete, though they are as vulnerable to
dissolution as any other Construction.
*'''Type''': Rather than determining timing rules (all Constructions are effectively reflexive for
that purpose), a Construction's Type indicates its nature and the role it plays within the dominion,
as well as the particular method required to dissolve it. Most Constructions are classified as
either Physical, Infrastructural, or Cultural. ''Physical'' Constructions are, as the name implies,
physical objects or structures. ''Infrastructural'' Constructions are agencies or programs that are
tied to the dominion's governing bureaucracy. ''Cultural'' Constructions are tied to the
dominion's civilian population, and directly affect or influence its people in some way. Aside
from these three primary categories, some Constructions are classified as ''Temporary.'' These
projects, which are Constructions in name only, endow the dominion with some benefit that
persists long after the Construction itself has ceased to exist.
*'''Difficulty''': The total successes the dominion must gain on the extended
(Government+Ability) roll in order to complete the Construction. This number is usually some
multiple of either Magnitude or Territory, depending on whether the number of people it affects
or the area of land it covers is more relevant. By default, the roll to build a Construction is made
at standard difficulty. In the event that the individual rolls have a higher difficulty, that figure
will be listed in [square brackets] next to the cumulative difficulty.
Note that the Magnitude/Territory figure used to calculate difficulty need not equal the entire
dominion's Magnitude/Territory. A dominion may use the rating of one of its subdominions if it
merely wishes for the Construction to benefit that subdominion, reducing creation time and total
cost accordingly, though the dominion as a whole only benefits if the dominion's full rating is
used. Likewise, military Constructions (with the notable exception of Guerrilla Indoctrination)
are based on the Magnitude of the affected troops rather than the dominion's Magnitude. In
order to function in dominion-scale warfare, most such Constructions must encompass all units
in the dominion's armed forces. (If the Construction itself places a limit on the Magnitude of
troops that can be affected, use this maximum figure instead.)
*'''Mins''': As with charms, not every dominion can build every Construction. All require a
minimum workforce to put them into action, and most require a minimum level of technical or
administrative sophistication as well. Because of this, every Construction has a minimum
Ability and Magnitude rating which the dominion must meet in order to begin the creation
process. The Ability in question is the one that is most relevant to its ultimate function, or (if
that is unclear) the one most important to the creation process.
== Dissolving Constructions ==
Naturally, anything that a dominion creates can also be destroyed. A dominion may choose to
destroy the works of another dominion it has conquered in order to weaken its defenses or assert
its dominance, or a dominion may choose to eliminate one of its own Constructions that has
become a burden to its government.
Physical Constructions must be literally burned down, torn apart, or disassembled. They are
deconstructed using the military rules (see [[War Mechanics|here]]), though if the dominion
prefers it may substitute a military unit for a civilian workforce. The workforce's effective
Magnitude equals half of the dominion's, rounded up, and the dominion rolls
(Government+relevant Craft) in place of the usual attack roll. To remove an Infrastructural
Construction, the dominion must reorganize its bureaus and agencies to purge them of the
Construction's influence. This requires an extended (Government+Bureaucracy) roll, with each
success subtracting 3 from the cumulative total required to create the Construction. Finally,
Cultural Constructions require the dominion to persuade, manipulate, or break the spirit of the
dominion's people so that they abandon the way of thinking that the Construction represents.
This requires an extended (Culture+Socialize) roll, which again subtracts successes from the
Construction's cumulative total on a 3-for-1 basis.
In all three cases, the action to dissolve the Construction is a Speed 3, Cost 5 action. Note that a
Temporary Construction cannot be destroyed in this way, as the Construction itself ceases to
exist as soon as it is complete. For most practical purposes, their benefits are effectively
permanent.
= Sample Constructions =
== General Constructions ==
=== (Trait) Infrastructure Upgrade ===
*'''Cost''': Varies
*'''Maintenance cost''': -
*'''Type''': Temporary
*'''Difficulty''': Special
*'''Mins''': (Trait) 1, Magnitude 3
This Construction is the means by which a dominion increases its numeric traits. Except for
Magnitude and Territory (which may only be increased through conquest or the passage of time),
any trait may be increased through application of this Construction.
Unlike most Constructions, the Build Construction action for (Trait) Infrastructure Upgrade is
not rolled. Instead, the entire effort takes a number of consecutive actions based on the rating
and type of the trait in question. Likewise, the cost of each action varies depending on the trait
to be increased. The duration and cost for each category are as follows:
'''Attribute''': (Rating x 5) actions, (Magnitude x 5) Talents
'''Virtue''': (Rating x 3) actions, (Magnitude x 3) Talents
'''Ability or Permanent Loyalty''': (Rating x 2) actions, (Magnitude x 2) Talents
'''Specialty''': Three actions, (Magnitude) Talents
=== (Ability) Infrastructure Establishment ===
*'''Cost''': (Magnitude x 2) Talents
*'''Maintenance Cost''': -
*'''Type''': Temporary
*'''Difficulty''': Special
*'''Mins''': Magnitude 3
This Construction functions similarly to (Trait) Infrastructure Upgrade, except that it allows a
dominion to purchase its first dot in an Ability in which it currently has no rating. This
Construction likewise requires no rolls, but is automatically completed after three consecutive
Build Construction actions.
A similar Construction is used to teach a dominion Degrees in a thaumaturgical Art. This
Construction requires an Occult rating appropriate to the Degree being learned (Occult 1 for an
Initiate degree, Occult 3 for Apprentice, and Occult 5 for Master), but is otherwise identical to
(Ability) Infrastructure Establishment.
=== Provisional (Specialty) Support ===
*'''Cost''': (Magnitude/2) Talents
*'''Maintenance Cost''': -
*'''Type''': Temporary
*'''Difficulty''': 1
*'''Mins''': (Ability) 1, Magnitude 3
A dominion may employ this Construction to provide a "temporary specialty" that enhances its
faculty in a specific activity for a limited period of time. The administrator chooses a particular
Ability-based specialty, then rolls (Government+Ability) as normal. The dominion gains the
benefits of the chosen specialty for a number of actions equal to the threshold successes on the
roll. A dominion may possess up to three such temporary specialties at a time through
concurrent Build Construction actions, though the difficulty rises to 2 for the second specialty
and 3 for the third. These specialties do not count against the maximum number allowed by a
dominion's Magnitude, though the dominion still cannot add more than 3 specialties to its dice
pools or base DVs/MDVs.
== Awareness ==
=== Rapid Deployment Protocols ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents
*'''Maintenance Cost''': 1 Talent
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Territory)
*'''Mins''': Awareness 3, Magnitude 6
An interconnected network of border guards has been established around the dominion's
perimeter, alerting it to to the approach of hostile military forces and allowing its military leaders
to quickly respond to any threats. The dominion may reflexively declare the War action in
response to any military offensive, paying the usual Talent cost and suffering the usual MDV
penalty, to allow its forces to retaliate as soon as its Join War results permit. If declared as an
admin action, the administrator may also enhance the Join War roll and the dominion's initial
attacks and DVs with his own traits and charms. This advantage comes at a price, however, as
the MDV penalty from the reflexive War action carries over into the dominion's next action (and
stacks with its next War action).
== Bureaucracy ==
=== Reserve Banks ===
*'''Cost''': 10 Talents
*'''Maintenance Cost''': -
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 3)
*'''Mins''': Bureaucracy 2, Magnitude 8
The dominion's treasury system has been supplemented by additional reserve banks, designed to
save surplus income from prosperous times so that it remains available during less fortunate
times. This Construction may be purchased up to (Government) times, with each purchase
increasing the dominion's Treasury Pool by (Magnitude x 2) Talents.
=== Market Economics ===
*'''Cost''': (Magnitude) Talents, 2 Loyalty
*'''Maintenance cost''': -
*'''Type''': Cultural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 5)
*'''Mins''': Bureaucracy 3, Magnitude 8
Evolving beyond the basic exchange of products or labor for cash, the dominion's people have
established institutions that create income through the movement of wealth itself: stock markets,
private banks, savings and loan institutions, and so on. For each purchase of this Construction,
the dominion gains an additional (Magnitude) Talents of income per action. It may be purchased
up to (Bureaucracy) times.
=== Internal Audits ===
*'''Cost''': 10 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': 2 Talents
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 2)
*'''Mins''': Bureaucracy 4, Magnitude 6
The dominion's bureaus form a self-policing network, detecting inefficiency and waste and
reporting it to their governing agencies. A dominion with this Construction may perform a
reflexive Audit action once per season, either as an admin or non-admin action, with an MDV
penalty 1 less than normal. This also reduces the difficulty of all Audit actions (including
reflexive ones) by 1.
== Craft ==
=== Flawless Workshops ===
*'''Cost''': 10 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': 2 Talents
*'''Type''': Physical
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 2)
*'''Mins''': Craft 4, Magnitude 6
A network of advanced workshops has been established across the dominion, allowing the
dominion to manufacture high-quality products in large quantities. Each version of this
Construction applies to a specific Craft, and the dominion may purchase it multiple times to
benefit multiple Crafts. So long as this Construction is active, the dominion gains a +2 bonus to
all rolls made with the given Craft.
=== Highway System ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': 2 Talents per season
*'''Type''': Physical
*'''Difficulty''': (Territory x 3)
*'''Mins''': Craft(Earth) 2, Magnitude 6
An extensive network of paved roads has been constructed across the breadth of the dominion,
allowing armies, trade caravans, and other travellers to cross its interior without the time-
consuming obstacles of wilderness travel. Any travellers through the region add 1/4 to their
movement rates (as per the Complex Travels rules in ''Exalted Second Edition,'' pages 266-267),
and treat the terrain as one step easier than usual: Extreme terrain is treated as Difficult, and
Difficult terrain is treated as Open.
== Dodge ==
=== Emergency Evacuation Routes ===
*'''Cost''': 8 Talents, 1 Loyalty
*'''Maintenance cost''': 1 Talent
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 3)
*'''Mins''': Dodge 3, Magnitude 6
Anticipating the possible need for mass evacuation of its population, the dominion has laid out
detailed plans to do so in the most efficient manner possible. This Construction allows the
dominion to evacuate its population as a reflexive admin action with a -3 MDV penalty. (This
penalty persists into the dominion's next action.) In addition, the prepatory efforts streamline the
entire process, adding an automatic success to each roll.
== Integrity ==
=== Aesthetic Reinforcement ===
*'''Cost''': 3 Talents, 1 Loyalty
*'''Maintenance cost''': 1 Talent per season
*'''Type''': Cultural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude)
*'''Mins''': Integrity 2, Magnitude 3
Through a carefully planned campaign of propaganda, the dominion enshrines an ideal deep into
its people's cultural consciousness. Each instance of this Construction is tied to one of the
dominion's Accords. So long as the Construction persists, destroying that Accord requires one
more successful social attack than usual. Aesthetic Reinforcement may be purchased up to
(Culture) times, either to further protect a single Accord or to support multiple Accords. Should
multiple versions of this Construction be built concurrently, the Loyalty cost need only be paid
once.
== Investigation ==
=== Focused Search Protocols ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': 2 Talents per season
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude)
*'''Mins''': Investigation 3, Magnitude 6
Through a combination of civilian informants and improved communication between
departments, the dominion's police forces have become highly adept at tracking down enemies of
the law. This Construction enhances the dominion's efforts to track down a fugitive or single
group of fugitives, adding a cumulative +1 bonus for each consecutive week of tracking after the
first. The total dice bonus cannot exceed the dominion's Military rating, and this bonus may only
apply to one search at a time.
== Occult ==
=== Demesne ===
*'''Cost''': (Rating x 5) Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': -
*'''Type''': Physical
*'''Difficulty''': (Rating x 10)
*'''Mins''': Occult (Rating + 3), Magnitude 8
The dominion engages in large-scale geomantic engineering, either to create a new demesne in a
previously barren Locale or to increase the power of an existing demesne. (The ratings listed
above are the new level to which the demesne will be raised. Any Degrees in the Art of
Geomancy are added to its effective Occult rating.) Each roll is made once per season; unlike
most Constructions, the dominion need only pay the construction cost on those turns when it
rolls.
Note that these rules assume a Magnitude 6 workforce of roughly 1000 workers. A dominion
with Magnitude 11 or greater may greatly accelerate the process by increasing the workforce to
Magnitude 9, allowing them to perform one roll per action rather than per season. However,
doing so triples the cost of the Build Construction action.
=== Manse ===
*'''Cost''': (Rating x 3) Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': -
*'''Type''': Physical
*'''Difficulty''': (Rating x 5)
*'''Mins''': Occult (Rating + 2), Magnitude 8
The dominion constructs a manse on an uncapped demesne within its territory. Creating a manse
uses the same basic rules as creating a demesne, save for the numerical differences listed above,
and like demesne construction each roll is made once per season.
=== Geomantic Zoning ===
*'''Cost''': (Degree x 3) Talents, 1 Loyalty
*'''Maintenance cost''': (Degree x Territory) Talents per season
*'''Type''': Physical
*'''Difficulty''': (Degree x Territory x 2)
*'''Mins''': Occult 1-5, Magnitude 6
Through stringent zoning regulations and massive public works projects, the dominion imbues
an area of land with the effects of a thaumaturgical Procedure from the Art of Geomancy. For
more information on the minimum Ability requirements and specific effects of thaumaturgy,
please see [[Other Powers|here]].
== Resistance ==
=== (Disease) Warding Precautions ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': 1 Talent per season
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude)
*'''Mins''': Resistance 3, Magnitude 6
After long experience battling the scourge of disease, the dominion's civil bureaucracy has
gained considerable expertise on the best methods to prevent and contain outbreaks. Each
version of this Construction applies to a specific disease, though it may be purchased multiple
times to protect against multiple diseases. The dominion gains a bonus success on all its
Virulence and Morbidity rolls to contain the chosen disease, as well as its Medicine rolls to treat
the disease.
== Ride ==
=== Advanced Breeding Programs ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': 1 Talent
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude)
*'''Mins''': Ride 4, Magnitude 6
Favored by the Marukani and other cultures with a keen interest in their mounts, this
Construction allows a dominion to breed superior versions of its favored riding animal for use by
the dominion's cavalry forces. The dominion gains a number of points equal to its Ride rating,
which may be spent to improve the mount's traits in the following ways: they may reduce its
Control Rating by 1 (1 point), increase its Valor rating (2 points), or increase one of its Physical
Attributes (2 points). Physical Attributes may only be increased by one dot above the species
average, while Valor may be raised to a maximum of 5. In dominion-scale warfare this
Construction adds 1 to the damage, soak, accuracy, OR base DVs of the dominion's armed forces
(the player chooses two to enhance), though only if the Magnitude of the forces fielded are less
than or equal to the dominion's (Ride+Cavalry specialties). The breeding programs may enhance
the mount in other ways, at the Storyteller's discretion, though in no case will it grant the mount
mutations or Essence-based powers. Such benefits may only be granted through thaumaturgy or
other supernatural powers.
== Socialize ==
=== National Holidays ===
*'''Cost''': 10 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': 2 Talents
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 2)
*'''Mins''': Socialize 4, Magnitude 6
Through an extensive series of national holidays, the dominion provides a reliable and safe way
for its people to vent their frustrations before they boil over into revolution. A dominion with
this Construction may perform a reflexive Festival action once per season, either as an admin or
non-admin action, with an MDV penalty 1 less than normal. This also reduces the difficulty of
all Festival actions (including reflexive ones) by 1.
== Stealth ==
=== Diversionary Regimentation Tactics ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': (Magnitude) Talents per season
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 2)
*'''Mins''': Stealth 3, Magnitude 6
This unusual Construction is favored by dominions whose military leaders prefer psychological
warfare and misdirection. By arranging their military formations and camps in unorthodox
ways, disguising their troops as civilians, and otherwise deliberately obscuring their activities,
their units can often enter battle against opponents who are woefully unprepared for them.
Affected units enjoy a +2 bonus to all attempts to ambush enemy units, and the difficulty for a
scouting party to analyze the unit's military strength increases by (Stealth/2, rounded up).
Should the scouting party fail to garner sufficient successes, it may misread the unit's traits as 2
less than their actual values, or may even fail to recognize it as a military unit.
Example: ''A scouting party observes a Magnitude 7 unit benefitting from Diversionary
Regimentation Technique, whose parent dominion has a Stealth of 4. If the scouting party rolls 3
successes, it correctly reads it as a large force with Magnitude 6 or 7 (since it achieved one
threshold success), but drastically underestimates its Drill and combat prowess. With just one
success it also underestimates the size of the force, recognizing only a few hundred troops and
mistaking the rest for local villagers from a nearby town. Had it failed to roll any successes, the
scouting party might have mistaken the entire unit for a nearby village and chalked up reports of
enemy soldiers to faulty intelligence.''
In dominion-scale warfare, this Construction simply provides a +2 bonus to all unexpected
attacks.
== Survival ==
=== Emergency Stockpiles ===
*'''Cost''': 10 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': 1 Talent
*'''Type''': Physical
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 3)
*'''Mins''': Survival 2, Magnitude 5
The dominion has set aside extensive food-storage facilities to keep its people fed during lean
times. Should the dominion's productivity fall to the point that it must [[Dominion Dramatic
Rules|check for famine]], this Construction allows the dominion to feed itself for an additional
10 weeks, during which time it need neither roll nor pay to ward off starvation. Once the crisis
has passed, the dominion must wait 3 weeks for every week it relied on the stockpiles before
they are fully replenished. It may purchase this Construction up to (Government) times, in
which case each purchase delays the onset of famine by an additional 10 weeks, though each set
of stockpiles must be refilled one at a time.
=== (Terrain Type) Adaptation ===
*'''Cost''': 10 Talents, 2 Loyalty
*'''Maintenance cost''': -
*'''Type''': Cultural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 3)
*'''Mins''': Survival 3, Magnitude 3
The tribes that dwell in the most inhospitable parts of the Threshold depend heavily on this
Construction, which represents the countless folk traditions that make a life in their native
environments possible. Each version of this Construction corresponds to a general category of
natural terrain, such as tundra or swamp. While it resides in that environment, the dominion
adds 2 to its terrain modifier (to a maximum of zero) when calculating income, and ignores it
altogether when checking for famine. At the Storyteller's discretion, the dominion may also
ignore other negative effects of the terrain: for example, the increased risk of disease in
swampland terrain. However, the eccentric traditions that make the dominion so well-suited for
its chosen environment leave it especially ill-prepared if moving to unfamiliar terrain becomes
necessary. The dominion suffers a -2 penalty to its (Survival+Agriculture specialties) total if it
finds itself forced out of its native terrain. Needless to say, a dominion may only possess one
version of this Construction.
== War ==
=== Superlative (Ability) Training ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': (Magnitude) Talents per season
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 2)
*'''Mins''': War 2, (Ability) 5, Magnitude 6
So skilled is the dominion at its favored mode of attack that it can field whole units of prodigies
against its enemies, wielding their chosen weapons with a skill their opponents cannot hope to
match. This is actually a cluster of four Constructions, each of which pertains to one of the four
attack Abilities (Archery, Martial Arts, Melee, and Thrown). Any units benefitting from one of
these Constructions gain an additional two bonus points to spend on the relevant Ability, and
may raise their members' rating in that Ability as high as 5.
When used in dominion-scale warfare, the dominion adds 1 to its effective Accuracy, Defense
(for Martial Arts or Melee) ''or'' Join Battle pool (for Archery or Thrown) when using the
relevant Ability. The player declares which trait to enhance when the Construction is purchased.
The dominion may only benefit from one version of the Construction on any given turn.
The maximum Magnitude of soldiers that any version of this Construction may benefit equals the
dominion's Military rating. The bonuses from this Construction stack with the Elite Forces
Construction, and a unit may possess multiple versions of this Construction to enhance multiple
Abilities, though the upkeep for each version must be paid seperately.
=== Elite Forces ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents
*'''Maintenance cost''': (Magnitude) Talents per season
*'''Type''': Infrastructural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 2)
*'''Mins''': War 3, Magnitude 6
This Construction is what allows a dominion to establish the elite military units that are the
strategic trump cards of Creation's greatest militaries. The Realm's Legion of Silence, Lookshy's
gunzosha units, and Sijan's Black Watch are all examples of such units. Such a unit gains a
number of additional bonus points equal to the dominion's War, which may be used to increase
any of its members' traits. In addition, such a unit may slowly accumulate experience to further
increase its traits, using the long-term experience awards on ''Exalted Second Edition,'' page 275.
In dominion-scale warfare, this Construction simply provides a bonus to the damage and soak of
the dominion's military units equal to half the total Magnitude of its elite units, rounded up.
(This bonus applies even if the Construction affects less than the maximum number of troops.)
Each iteration of this Construction may benefit a maximum Magnitude of troops equal to the
dominion's Military rating. It may be purchased multiple times, however, representing multiple
elite units with different statistics.
=== Guerrilla Indoctrination ===
*'''Cost''': 5 Talents, 2 Loyalty
*'''Maintenance cost''': -
*'''Type''': Cultural
*'''Difficulty''': (Magnitude x 5)
*'''Mins''': War 3, Magnitude 3
Inspired by patriotic fervor and the skillful rhetoric of its leaders, the people of the dominion are
prepared to pick up their hammers and plowshares in defense of their nation. The dominion may
add its War rating to its soak against any military offensive which targets the dominion's citizens
or Constructions. In addition, each action the dominion may make a single reflexive attack
against the enemy forces in its territory, even if all its military units have been defeated. This
attack may only be performed as a non-admin action, may not be coordinated with or otherwise
benefit from attacks by the dominion's military units, and does not benefit from any
Constructions which enhance military units. Since there is no formal military command behind
it, however, the invaders cannot stop these attacks by eliminating the attackers; only when the
invaders have withdrawn from the dominion's borders, or the people's spirit is broken (via the
termination of the Construction) will the attacks stop. The effective Magnitude behind these
attacks equals half the dominion's total Magnitude, rounded down.
In battle-scale warfare this Construction manifests as constant harassing attacks against the
invading forces, slowing their movements by 25% and adding 1 to the difficulty of all fatigue
checks while travelling. (Naturally, friendly units do not suffer from either penalty.) The
dominion's citizens may also assemble themselves into ad hoc military units if the situation
requires, a process that takes a number of days equal to the unit's eventual Magnitude. These
mobs have Drill 0, no armor, and whatever rough weapons they happen to have on hand
(typically household tools or farming implements), though since these units are just groups of
citizens the dominion can simply raise another unit as needed if one is eliminated in combat.
Modified Charms Aside from providing mere mechanical support, one of the major goals of the Game of Kings is
to give a purpose to the many society-shaping charms that remain largely irrelevant within the
game as written. Combined with the [[New Charms|new charms]] created for this system, these
powers are mighty tools for any Exalt with political or military ambitions.
= General Considerations =
== Charm Timing ==
By the nature of the system, only the dominion's admin actions may be enhanced with charms,
and even then only if the Exalt or spirit is the administrator or a deputy administrator. For more
information, read [[Dominion Actions|here]].
As in mass combat and social combat, the vast timespans between political actions render the
normal timing considerations of charm use irrelevant. Supernatural beings may thus freely
enhance their political actions with Excellencies and other Reflexive charms without a Combo,
even if they had previously used another charm in the same turn. All Supplemental, Simple, and
Extra Action charms remain subject to the usual limitations, with only one charm use per turn
outside of a Combo.
While the Exalt may use a Supplemental charm to enhance any of the dominion's actions during
a given turn, without limiting the other actions it can take, Simple and Extra Action charms are
much more restrictive. A Simple or Extra Action charm (and any Combo containing one) is
considered the administrator's entire action, and no additional admin actions may be performed
on that turn. The dominion may still perform additional tasks as non-admin actions, though
obviously without the benefit of charms.
A number of charms with Indefinite duration are capable of enhancing an extended action. For
this purpose, an "extended action" is any consecutive series of actions (which can be admin
actions, non-admin actions, or some combination of the two) where the dominion rolls successes
toward some cumulative total or otherwise progresses toward a clearly-defined endgoal. All
Construction projects qualify, as do successive War actions against a single enemy and the mass-
production of a weapon for the dominion's armies. These charms may only be invoked on an
action where the effort is performed as an admin action, though so long as the Essence is
committed its benefits persist even if it is performed as a non-admin action on subsequent turns.
Example: ''A Solar king begins the creation of a national highway system as a Build Construction
admin action, and invokes Insightful Buyer Technique in order to reduce the cost of the effort.
Even though all subsequent Build Construction actions are non-admin, each will benefit from the
cost reduction of IBT so long as the Solar maintains the Essence commitment.''
The dominion ''may'' invoke such a charm to enhance a instant-duration action, such as an Audit,
but the effect and commitment both end at the beginning of its next turn even if that action is
performed again.
== New Keyword: Dominion ==
While there are a great many personal-scale charms which might seem applicable to political
combat, the reality is that most of them are inappropriate to the task at hand. Some of their
effects simply do not make sense within this system (social charms that inflict unnatural mental
influence being an example), while others provide an overwhelming offensive or defensive
advantage at negligible cost (see below). Therefore, except for Excellencies (and, at the
Storyteller's discretion, similar general charms such as Supreme Perfection of [Ability]) no
personal-scale charms may be used within this system.
In their place, applicable charms are marked by the '''Dominion''' keyword, which simply
indicates that they function within the Game of Kings rules. Whether the effect is primarily
social, military, or civil in nature, all such charms have some direct effect on the dominion's
political activities. The charms listed below can all be considered to have this keyword, as do all
the new charms specifically created to support the system.
Note that in order to function within this system, the effects of all charms listed here have been
modified. In some cases, both the original effect and the new Dominion effect can function
comfortably within the same game (though each effect will obviously carry a different cost).
Consider Tiger Warrior Training Technique: it can be used either to improve the military as a
whole (allowing it to generate more powerful units or fight more effectively in dominion-scale
warfare), or it can be invoked at the original cost to provide elite training to a particular military
unit (which is immediately useful in battle-scale warfare). However, just as often it makes more
sense to simply replace the original effect, as it no longer functions within these rules. For
example, the original function of Speed the Wheels (essentially an enormous Speed reduction)
would wreak havoc with the tick-based turn system, which is why it has been modified to a more
appropriate form. The Storyteller should examine each charm on a case-by-case basis and
determine for themselves whether the original effect is appropriate to the system.
NOTE: There are a handful of Dominion charms--Wyld Shaping Technique being a prominent
example--which can have major effects on a regional scale even if the Exalt has no organization
to support his efforts. Although these actions must be resolved in dominion time, the Exalt can
perform these actions whether or not he is an administrator. (It is recommended that the Essence
costs of such charms remain committed for the duration as well, to balance the benefit they
provide, though that is the Storyteller's decision.) Unless specifically noted, Simple charms of
this type are treated as miscellaneous actions for the purpose of timing rules and do not limit the
charms or Combos the character may use in their admin actions, though they still suffer from and
inflict multiple-action penalties. Such charms will ''always'' be noted as such in the description;
any charm without such a qualifier can only be performed through a dominion in which the Exalt
has administrator status.
== Charm Costs ==
As mentioned above, one of the greatest problems with applying personal-scale charms to
dominion actions is that the cost to invoke them is wildly inappropriate to the timescale in
question. Because dominion-scale actions take place on a scale of weeks or months, the mote,
Willpower, or even health level costs of even the most expensive charm or Combo will be
recovered long before the next action rolls around. This simple fact eliminates the concerns for
Essence economy that prevent excessive charm abuse during traditional physical or social
combat, leading to the effective breakdown of the entire system. For example, any supernatural
being with a perfect social defense could invoke that defense repeatedly in response to EVERY
social attack, allowing their dominion to ignore social combat altogether at no long-term costs.
Because every Exalt type has some defense of this description (even the Dragon-blooded have
Inviolate Dragon Spirit), this would effectively render social combat irrelevant to everyone
except mortals.
There are two ways to fix this problem. The first is to simply require all mote costs to remain
committed for the entire duration of a political action, effectively changing their duration to "One
action" or "Indefinite." The Exalt may uncommit the Essence at any time, of course, but by
doing so they forfeit the benefits of the given charms. As written here this only applies to
Indefinite-duration charms, but Storytellers who do not wish to involve the dominion's resources
may apply it to all charms as a way to simplify the process.
The second is to alter the cost so it draws on the dominion's resources as well as the Exalt's.
Most instant-duration Dominion charms will carry a Talent cost, representing the additional
resources required to put these superhuman administrative techniques into action. The more
difficult and intensive Dominion charms may also carry a Loyalty cost, while a rare few might
carry Unrest or even Decimation costs. This is the main approach used by the Game of Kings.
(In particular, Storytellers are strongly encouraged to add 1 Loyalty to the cost of Supreme
Perfection of [Ability], Divine [Ability] Subordination, and any similar general charms which
grant automatic success at a dominion-scale action.) No additional cost is imposed on Combos
of such charms, apart from the experience required to learn that Combo in the first place.
Note that there are specific exceptions to these guidelines. Excellencies may still be used freely
at no long-term cost, for the same reason that extended Craft projects may be enhanced with
Excellencies at no long-term cost. Likewise, a special exception is made for the Dragon-blooded
charm Terrestrial Regency Mandate (see [[New Charms|here]]), whose potential for abuse is
limited because (a) it only functions against mortals, and (b) it still must be placed in a Combo to
stack with any non-Reflexive charms. It should also be noted that a number of Dominion charms
function by providing the ability to create certain Constructions, and thus have no cost except
that required to actually build the Construction.
= Solar Charms =
Taken from ''Exalted Second Edition.''
== Bureaucracy ==
*'''Insightful Buyer Technique''': This charm now costs 5 motes, has Indefinite duration, and
enhances an extended dominion action. So long as the Essence remains committed, the Treasury
cost of each action is reduced by (Essence) Talents. This charm may not reduce the action to
less than half of its original cost, and has no effect on costs imposed by charms.
*'''Speed the Wheels''': This is a Supplemental charm with a cost of 4 motes and 1 Talent. It
enhances an extended dominion action, negating all internal penalties (other than multiple-action
penalties) which apply to that action as long as the Essence remains committed. In addition,
while the charm is active any attempts to sabotage that action suffer an external penalty equal to
the Solar's Bureaucracy.
*'''Bureau-Rectifying Method''': Add 3 Talents and 1 Loyalty to the cost. This charm
supplements an Audit action to reduce the dominion's Red Tape. The Solar ignores all Red Tape
penalties which apply to that action. Additionally, if the roll succeeds the Solar may reduce Red
Tape by one point per threshold success, to a minimum of zero.
*'''Indolent Official Charm''': This is a Supplemental charm with a cost of 6 motes and 1 Talent,
which enhances a miscellaneous action to sabotage another dominion's extended action. The
Solar rolls his (Manipulation+Bureaucracy) in a contested roll against the opposing
administrator's (Intelligence+Bureaucracy). If the Solar wins, each roll for that extended action
suffers an internal penalty equal to the Solar's Essence, plus an additional -1 for each threshold
success.
*'''Foul Air of Argument Technique''': Add 3 Talents and 1 Loyalty to the cost. Similar to its
prerequisite, this charm supplements a miscellaneous action to sabotage a rival dominion's
infrastructure. The Solar rolls (Manipulation+Bureaucracy) against the opposing administrator's
(Intelligence+Bureaucracy). Each threshold success on this roll increases the target dominion's
Red Tape total by 1, to a maximum of 10.
== Craft ==
*'''Craftsman Needs No Tools''': In dominion time, the acceleration provided by these charms'
effects allows the Solar to single-handedly manufacture mass quantities of an object, as if she
were a dominion with Magnitude equal to her Essence. Naturally, she still must have the raw
materials (as represented by the Talent cost) to actually produce the product.
*'''Shattering Grasp''': The Solar may use this charm in dominion time to single-handedly destroy
a Construction. She is treated as a military unit with Magnitude equal to her Essence for this
purpose, and rolls (Intelligence+highest Craft) as an attack.
== Lore ==
*'''Harmonious Academic Methodology''': Add (Magnitude) Talents and 2 Loyalty to the cost.
This charm allows the dominion to permanently raise one of its infrastructural or social traits by
1 as a Simple action, to a maximum of 5. Applicable traits include Government, Culture,
Conviction, Temperance, and any of the Abilities listed in the charm description.
*'''Legendary Scholar Curriculum''': In addition to the normal options, Harmonious Academic
Methodology may be used to raise the dominion's Compassion, Valor, and any of the Abilities
listed in the charm description. It may also be used to purchase two specialties at a time in ''any''
Ability, provided they are nonmilitary in nature.
*'''Wyld-Shaping Technique''': By activating the charm as a Simple action in dominion time, the
Solar may use it to single-handedly carve land, wealth, or magical wonders out of the Wyld.
When creating stable land or people out of chaos, the Territory/Magnitude generated is equal to
the threshold successes on the roll (to a maximum of [Solar's Essence x 2]). When creating
wealth, each threshold success produces 5 Talents of non-magical resources (to a maximum of
[Essence x 5] Talents), which may be spent or saved normally. Because the reality of these
things depends on their interaction with stable Creation, the dominion reflexively rolls
(Culture+Occult) at difficulty 3 once per season. (This may be performed as a miscellaneous
admin action.) If this roll fails the created land shrinks by 1 dot of Territory, the created
population decreases by 1 dot of Magnitude, or 5 Talents of created wealth disappear. If the roll
botches, this loss is tripled.
*'''Wyld Cauldron Technology''': In order to bring an area of Wyld land permanently into
Creation, the Exalt must either pay the experience cost or sacrifice (Territory x 5) Talents of
wealth. (Talents of wealth are exchanged for sacrificed wealth on a one-for-one basis, making it
little more than a way to convert one form of wealth into another unless the Exalt elects to spend
experience.) The final effect may be used to impose a specific Wyld mutation on the people of a
dominion situated within the affected lands, requiring threshold successes equal to (mutation
point cost + Magnitude).
== Socialize ==
*'''Wise-Eyed Courtier Method'''/'''Wild Revelry Approach'''/'''Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe''': Each is
now a Supplemental charm, which costs an additional 4 Talents. Each charm enhances a social
attack to encourage a belief/emotion/behavior in the dominion, increasing the cost to resist to 3
Loyalty. If the dominion wishes to behave in a manner contrary to that influence, it must spend
one Loyalty to resist it for an action.
*'''Venomous Whispers Technique''': This is a Supplemental charm that costs 3 Talents. This
charm enhances a social attack for the dominion to reject an individual or a group (with
Magnitude no greater than the Solar's Essence), increasing the cost to resist to 5 Loyalty. To
willingly cooperate with the target, the dominion must spend one Loyalty per action; otherwise,
the target suffers an internal penalty equal to the Solar's Essence on all political actions affecting
the dominion. If the target is the administrator or a deputy administrator, ''all'' their admin
actions suffer this penalty.
*'''Understanding the Court''': This charm costs 8 motes, 1 Willpower, and 3 Talents, and has
Indefinite duration. Successes on the roll reduce external penalties on all social attacks and
related social actions directed at the target dominion.
*'''Gathering the Congregation''': Increase the duration to Indefinite. The social group formed by
the charm (whose Magnitude cannot exceed the Exalt's Essence) is considered a dominion for
the sole purpose of making social attacks against other dominions. This social group lasts as
long as the Exalt continues to commit the Essence, though unlike a real dominion its Magnitude
will be reduced (and Loyalty replenished) whenever its Loyalty pool is exhausted.
== Survival ==
*'''Food-Gathering Exercise''': The charm's cost is now 5 motes, its type is Supplemental, and its
duration is Indefinite. This charm enhances an extended action to forage the countryside for
food. The dominion adds a number of automatic successes to each roll equal to the Solar's
Essence, and does not suffer the usual -2 external penalty to its actions. This charm may apply to
a dominion of any size, so long as its effects are resolved in dominion time.
== War ==
*'''Tiger Warrior Training Technique''': Add (Magnitude) Talents and 2 Loyalty to the cost. This
charm allows the dominion to permanently raise one of its military traits by 1 as a Simple action,
to a maximum of 5. Applicable traits include Military, Valor, Thrown, and all of the Abilities
listed in the charm description.
*'''Legendary Warrior Curriculum''': In addition to the normal options, Tiger Warrior Training
Technique may be used to raise the dominion's Loyalty and (except for Medicine and Craft) any
of the Abilities listed in the charm description. In addition, the charm may be used to purchase
two specialties at a time in ''any'' Ability, provided they are military-focused.
= Lunar Charms =
Taken from ''The Manual of Exalted Power: Lunars.''
== Charisma ==
*'''Wolf Pack Training Technique''': This functions as Tiger Warrior Training Technique, save
that it can only raise the dominion's Valor, raise the Abilities indicated in the charm text, or
provide military-related specialties in those Abilities.
*'''Herd Reinforcement Stance''': This is a Supplemental charm with an additional cost of 5
Talents. It supplements a social attack to convince a dominion to live up to its own cultural
traditions or societal norms in a particular way. The charm creates an instant Accord for the
specified course of action, which costs 3 Loyalty to break. Acting in a manner contrary to that
Accord costs 1 Loyalty per action.
*'''Forsaking the Blood Posture''': This functions as Herd Reinforcement Stance, save that the
social attack it supplements must convince the dominion to reject some aspect of its culture or
society. The chosen Accord cannot directly contradict the dominion's Policy.
*'''Culling the Pride''': Add 3 Talents to the cost. Any social attack supplemented by this charm
costs 3 Loyalty to resist.
*'''Topiary Culture Meditation''': This is a Supplemental charm with an additional cost of 5
Talents. It enhances a social attack to convince a dominion to reject one of its current Accords.
Any social attack that opposes the targetted Accord costs three Loyalty to resist instead of one.
Breaking this influence costs 5 Loyalty.
*'''Herd-Strengthening Invocation''': The cost is now 4 motes, 1 Willpower, and 1 Loyalty, and
the duration is Indefinite. The charm functions as written, with "Accord" substituted for
"Intimacy." The Lunar may maintain up to (Essence) invocations of this charm at a time, though
the Essence cost of each must remain committed.
*'''Boundary-Marking Meditation''': The cost is now (Territory) motes and 1 Willpower, and the
duration is Indefinite. The Lunar may take ownership of an area of land with Territory no
greater than the Lunar's (Charisma+Essence), imposing a -1 external penalty on all actions
occurring within or targetting that area unless the Lunar specifically exempts the
individual/group in question. In the case of dominion actions, both the administrator and the
dominion they command must be exempted (unless the action is non-admin, in which case only
the dominion need be exempted).
*'''Ranged Wolf Marking''': This charm increases the maximum Territory of its prerequisite by 5.
== Manipulation ==
*'''Creating the Wolf Attitude/Feeding the Bear Progression''': These function as Wise-Eyed
Courtier Method, save for the specific influence inflicted.
== Perception ==
*'''Watchful Spider Stance''': The maximum Territory that this charm can affect equals the
Lunar's (Essence x 2).
== Intelligence ==
*'''Ritual of Lunar Stability''': This charm may affect a maximum area of one Locale (Territory
10).
= Sidereal Charms =
Taken from ''The Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals.'' All of these charms may be invoked
without the aid of a dominion.
== Bureaucracy ==
*'''Icy Hand''': This charm allows the Sidereal to reduce a target dominion's Red Tape as a Simple
action by touching the key individuals responsible for the dominion's governance, provided that
the dominion's Magnitude is less than his (Bureaucracy+Essence). The dominion's Red Tape is
automatically reduced by (Bureaucracy+Essence-Magnitude) points, to a minimum of zero, and
the dominion receives the same number of bonus successes to its next check for Red Tape
accumulation.
*'''Paralyzed Mandarin Infliction''': The Sidereal may use this charm to sabotage a dominion's
efficiency, though to do this she must personally spend time within its bureaucracies as a Simple
action. Once again, the dominion's Magnitude must be less than (Bureaucracy+Essence). The
charm imposes a persistent internal penalty to all of the dominion's actions equal to
(Bureaucracy+Essence-Magnitude), though its nature varies depending on the specific method
chosen. The Persuasive Ennui Sabotage imposes a mental influence which can only be ended by
paying three Loyalty, while the Frenetic Activity Infusion imposes additional Red Tape which
must be eliminated in the usual manner.
== Dodge ==
*'''Neighborhood Relocation Scheme''': The maximum Territory that may be moved equals the
Sidereal's Essence. The affected Territory retains its previous terrain modifiers, even if moved to
a region with much different terrain.
== Integrity ==
*'''Preservation of Resolve''': The Sidereal may commit the Essence cost to boost a dominion's
Dodge MDV for as long as the commitment lasts, though to invoke it he must spend time within
its bureaucracies as a Simple action. This bonus does not stack with any from the administrator's
charms.
== Larceny ==
*'''Conning Chaos Technique''': Each month of the charm's duration removes the Wyld influence
from an area of the Bordermarches with Territory equal to the Sidereal's Essence.
== Performance ==
*'''Ice and Fire Binding''': If the elemental has an Essence of 5 or more, the dominion gains a
bonus to its MDVs equal to half the elemental's Essence (rounded up). Alternatively, the
Sidereal may forgo this bonus to allow the dominion to benefit from the spirit's Reflexive charms
on any non-admin actions other than the War action. The Sidereal may only bind one elemental
in this manner at a time, and neither benefit stacks with the effects of other charms.
== Presence ==
*'''Easily Accepted Proposition Stance''': The maximum Territory that may be affected by this
charm's condition equals the Sidereal's Presence. The Sidereal may not target a given area more
than once per season, and if the Sidereal summons a physical disaster (such as an earthquake or
hurricane) its Decimation, Severity, and Difficulty to Detect are all capped by the Sidereal's
Essence.
== Resistance ==
*'''Water and Fire Legion''': If the elemental has an Essence of 5 or more, the dominion gains a
bonus to its DVs in dominion-scale warfare equal to half its Essence. Alternatively, the Sidereal
may forgo this bonus to allow the dominion to benefit from the spirit's Reflexive charms on all of
its dominion-scale military actions. The Sidereal may only bind one elemental in this manner at
a time, and neither benefit stacks with the effects of other charms.
== Socialize ==
*'''Fortuitous Fellowship''': This functions as the Solar charm Gathering the Congregation, save
for the differences noted in the charm text.
== Survival ==
*'''Sky and Rain Mantra''': The Sidereal may invoke this charm as a Simple action to temporarily
alter the climate of a region with Territory no greater than his (Survival+Essence). The Sidereal
rolls (Wits+Survival) at a difficulty equal to the dominion's Territory; each threshold success
increases or decrease the area's (Survival+Agricultural specialties) modifier by one, to a
maximum of 3. This bonus or penalty lasts for the Sidereal's next (Essence) turns.
*'''Wilderness-Commanding Practice''': The Sidereal may add or subtract 3 successes from all
Survival rolls made in the area (including dominion Survival rolls) as a Simple action until his
next turn. He may also intensify or diminish any natural disasters that pass through the area,
increasing or decreasing their Severity by up to 3 points (to a minimum of 1). This stacks with
the effects of Sky and Rain Mantra, and likewise affects a maximum area of (Survival+Essence).
= Dragon-blooded Charms =
Taken from ''The Manual of Exalted Power: Dragon-blooded.''
== Bureaucracy ==
*'''Benevolent Master's Blessing''': This charm has a cost of 1 mote per dot and a duration of
Indefinite. The Dragon-blood may commit more than one dot of Bureaucracy to an individual,
subject to the same limitations as Terrestrial Bureaucracy Reinforcement, though the total dots
committed cannot exceed the Dragon-blood's own Bureaucracy. The Dragon-blood retains his
full Bureaucracy rating while this charm is in use.
*'''Confluence of Savant Thought''': This charm has a cost of 3 motes and a duration of Indefinite.
It grants the Dragon-blood an effective Backing rating within a particular dominion equal to his
Essence (maximum 5), even if he has no previous experience with that organization. This rating
does not apply to efforts to replace the current administrator, but it does apply to attempts to
manipulate the dominion's actions or to requisition the dominion's resources as an unrolled
action. The Dragon-blood may only infiltrate one dominion at a time in this manner.
*'''Geese-Flying-South Administration''': The charm's duration is Indefinite. It may supplement
any extended dominion action, subtracting the Dragon-blood's Bureaucracy score from any Red
Tape penalties that action suffers (minimum zero). This charm has no effect on penalties
inflicted by other sources.
*'''Bestow the Saffron Mantle''': This charm's duration is Indefinite. In addition to raising the
target's Bureaucracy score, the Dragon-blood may enhance the proxy's rating in one Ability
relevant to their bureaucratic function (for example, War for a garrison commander), and may
purchase additional specialties in that Ability, to the usual limit. In each case, the Dragon-blood
must himself have the Ability rating and/or specialties he grants to the proxy.
*'''Thrashing Carp Serenade''': This charm has a cost of 5 motes, 3 Talents, and 1 Loyalty, and a
duration of One action. The Dragon-blood rolls his (Manipulation+Bureaucracy) as a
miscellaneous action against the (Wits+Bureaucracy) of the target dominion's administrator. If
successful, all of the target dominion's actions suffer an internal penalty equal to the Dragon-
blood's Bureaucracy until the Dragon-blood's next action.
*'''Finding the Water's Depths''': This is a Supplemental charm with a cost of 4 motes, 1 Talent,
and 1 Loyalty and a duration of One action. Until the Dragon-blood's next action, he may
subtract his Essence from the Talent cost of all admin actions. This may not reduce any action to
less than half its original cost, and has no effect on costs imposed by charms.
= Abyssal Charms =
Taken from ''The Manual of Exalted Power: Abyssals.'' Unless otherwise noted, all Mirror
charms function exactly as their Solar equivalents.
== Bureaucracy ==
*'''Regime-Toppling Lord of Misrule''': This charm permanently enhances Caustic Hatred
Diatribe. By adding an additional Loyalty to the cost, the Abyssal adds a mental influence that
ensures continued corruption and inefficiency within the administration despite even magical
efforts to eradicate it. The dominion gains an additional two points of Red Tape (maximum 10)
at the beginning of every action after the first, unless it spends one Loyalty to delay the onset of
corruption. The influence only ends when the dominion has spent six Loyalty to resist, though
the inflicted Red Tape persists and must be eliminated in the usual manner.
*'''Iron Tyrant Reign''': This charm permanently imposes an internal penalty equal to the
Abyssal's Essence on all rolls to oppose him while attempting to gain administrator status,
defend his position from a usurper, or prevent political interference with his political actions.
Only characters with a perfect defense against mental influence (such as Elusive Dream Defense
or Divine Integrity Subordination) may ignore this penalty.
== Socialize ==
*'''Cancerous Dissent Technique''': This charm has an additional cost of 6 Talents and a type of
Supplemental. It supplements a social attack intended to sow the seeds of distrust within an
organization. Though the administrator may defend with MDV as normal, he will not recognize
the Abyssal's social attack unless he successes at an (Intelligence+Awareness) roll opposed by
the Abyssal's (Wits+Socialize). The social attack does not take effect until the dominion's next
action, at which point it drains one Loyalty point plus an additional Loyalty for every 2 threshold
successes (rounded down) on the social attack.
= Spirit Charms =
Taken from ''The Roll of Glorious Divinity I.'' All of these charms may be activated without
administrator status in a dominion, though they still carry Talent and Loyalty costs (taken from
the resources of one of the dominions that falls within its domain) to represent the side effects of
their redistribution of resources on the affected dominion.
*'''Calculated Order of Immediate Action''': The charm carries an additional cost of (Magnitude
or Territory) Talents and 1 Loyalty. If the spirit's purview allows, it may immediately produce
mass quantities of a manufacturable item as a miscellaneous action. The maximum Magnitude
of the item that god may produce equals (Essence-Resources cost). It may produce exceptional
or perfect versions of the item, though this reduces the maximum Magnitude that may be
manufactured. If the spirit seeks to impose a specific mental influence on the dominion (mass
hysteria or a desire for peace, for example), its (Conviction+Essence) must exceed the
dominion's MDVs. The maximum Magnitude it can affect likewise equals its
(Conviction+Essence), and the resulting influence costs three Loyalty to resist. Other effects
should follow these general guidelines.
*'''Domain Manipulation Scenario''': The charm carries an additional cost of (Magnitude or
Territory) Talents and 1 Loyalty. It may be used to call more severe examples of its purview (a
major epidemic for a disease spirit, a tsunami for a water elemental), though in all cases the static
values the dominion must roll to resist (Virulence, Morbidity, and Difficulty to Treat for a
disease and Decimation, Severity, and Difficulty to Detect for a natural disaster) cannot exceed
the Power Level of the charm or their natural ratings, nor affect a Magnitude/Territory larger
than the spirit's(Conviction+Essence).
*'''Weather Control''': The charm carries an additional cost of (Territory x 2) Talents. The spirit
has (Conviction+Essence) points to spend on this charm, which are divided between the effect's
Power Level and the Territory that will be affected. The spirit may add or subtract the effect's
Power Level from the effective (Survival+Agricultural specialties) of all dominions that fall
inside the affected area. This effect persists for (Essence x 5) weeks after it is invoked.
= Arcanoi =
Taken from ''The Book of Bone and Ebony.''
== Shadow Constraint Craft ==
*'''Ghostly Magistrate Perception''': This charm costs an additional 3 Talents and has a type of
Supplemental. It supplements an extended action to track down an individual within the
Underworld, adding a bonus success to each roll. If the target is a living being, it instead adds
two successes.
*'''Impose Stricture''': This charm costs an additional 6 Talents. Any dominion actions that
require violation of the imposed taboo (such as military attacks in an area where weapons are
forbidden) suffer a -1 internal penalty. This cannot affect a dominion within Territory greater
than the ghost's Temperance.
New Charms = Notes on Charm Design =
The original charms presented here were designed with certain assumptions about each Exalt
type's role in mind. The charms of the Solar Exalted were designed specifically to aid them in
their role as the God-Kings of legend. It is they who possess the most powerful charms for
placating the population, enhancing and streamlining the bureaucracies that protect and serve the
masses, and defending their people from those who would seek to seduce or slaughter them.
The Lunar Exalted were created as companions and allies to the Solars, a role reflected by the
synergy between their own charms and those of their Solar mates. Individually, the Lunars
possess unparalleled self-reliance and an ability to survive through even the harshest of ordeals,
characteristics that their charms share with the dominions they protect.
The role of the Sidereal Exalted at the dominion scale is limited. The Maidens intended their
servants to be aides and advisers to the Solars and Lunars, not kings and queens in their own
right, and so their charms have only a limited and indirect influence on the fates of the world's
empires. Combined with the inability to invent new charms of their own, this limitation forces
the Fivescore Fellowship to rely heavily on their mortal, spirit, and Dragon-blooded pawns in
order to influence the state of Creation.
Like the Sidereals, the Dragon-blooded lack the Solars' and Lunars' skill at leading a dominion.
They were created as servants to the Celestial Exalted, captains within the Celestial-led armies
and prefects within the Celestial-ruled empires, and so their greatest strength is their ability to
support and enhance the effectiveness of their superiors. Though they have developed charms to
better dominate their dominions and compete with other dominions, these powers are nowhere
near as impressive as those of the Solars who were ordained by Heaven to do so.
The Abyssal Exalted possess many of the same administrative talents as the Solar Exalted,
though the corrupted nature of their Exaltations twists their charms toward more destructive
ends. The Abyssals possess unparalleled skill at degrading and obliterating those who would
oppose them, greater than even the Solars, though their powers are notably less effective at
creation and restoring balance.
The effects of the Infernal Exalted's charms are as variable as the natures of the Yozis who
created them, though virtually all reflect the malicious, twisted nature of the imprisoned
Primordials. While the charms of the Abyssals tend to be more wantonly destructive, even they
cannot compete with the corruptive influence of the Yozis' foul Essence.
= Solar Charms =
== Bureaucracy ==
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Heaven's Mandate
|cost= -
|type= Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion
|essence=1
|min=3
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Any Bureaucracy Excellency
|text=
The Solar Exalted are the ordained masters of Creation, declared so by Sol Invictus himself, but
their genius cannot be constrained to the political realm. They are also master craftsmen, artists,
explorers, and warriors, and such pursuits require a great deal of time in their own right. An
Exalt who knows this charm may tend to the affairs of her dominion with unparalleled speed and
efficiency, freeing up a great deal more time for her private pursuits.
So long as she spends at least 3 days in close contact with her administration during an action,
the Exalt retains full administrative control over her dominion, declaring admin actions and
enhancing the dominion's MDVs as normal. If her activities require her to be physically absent
for the entire action (for example, if she is launching an extended terraforming expedition into
the Wyld) she may instead spend an hour every day in contact with the administration via a long-
distance communication method such as the Infallible Messenger spell. Additionally, the time
freed up by this charm allows the Exalt to devote her nearly undivided attention to a single
dramatic action, eliminating multiple-action penalties associated with that action. Though any
additional non-political actions will penalize the Exalt's admin actions, the chosen action neither
suffers from nor inflicts such penalties.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Impeccable Efficiency Administration
|cost=15 motes, 20 Talents, 2 Loyalty
|type=Simple
|duration=Indefinite
|keywords=Combo-Basic, Dominion
|essence=4
|min=5
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Bureau-Rectifying Method
|text=
For mortal leaders, perfect efficiency is only an ideal to aspire toward. For the Solar Exalted, it
is standard operating procedure. While this charm is active, the Exalt's dominion no longer
accumulates Red Tape naturally. Only hostile charms and similar supernatural effects can cause
the dominion to accumulate Red Tape, and even then its Red Tape total will automatically be
reduced at a rate of one point per action.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Unsurpassable Ascendancy Style
|cost=5 motes and 3 Talents per action
|type=Extra Action
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=5
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Speed the Wheels, Indolent Official Charm
|text=
The dominions of the God-Kings are instruments of political action, which their rulers may wield
with superhuman effectiveness to impose their order on Creation. This charm creates a magical
flurry of admin actions, with a Speed and MDV penalty equal to the highest for any individual
action. The maximum number of actions in the flurry equals the Exalt's (Essence+1).
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Manifold Hands of the Unconquered Sun
|cost=8 motes, 5 Talents
|type=Reflexive (Step 1)
|duration=One action
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=4
|min=5
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Unsurpassable Ascendancy Style
|text=
As the masters of Creation, it is the responsibility of the Solar Exalted to be many places and do
many things for their subjects at the same time. While they cannot literally be everywhere at
once, this charm carries them one step closer to this ideal. The Solar invokes this charm at the
beginning of his turn to enhance an action. That action gains the benefits of a non-admin action
without suffering any of the drawbacks, negating multiple-action penalties and reducing MDV
penalties while allowing the Exalt to enhance the action with his own traits and charms. This
charm cannot enhance an action that can ''only'' be performed as an admin action (such as social
attacks), though the Solar may invoke it to enhance his personal dramatic actions. Up to
(Essence-3) invocations of this charm may be used concurrently.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Thousand Tricks of the God-Kings
|cost= -
|type=Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion
|essence=2
|min=3
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=None
|text=
Solar kings and queens are singular geniuses of statecraft, shaping dominions into their ideal
empires much like a sculptor shapes raw clay. This charm permanently enhances the Exalt’s
capabilities, allowing her to create certain magically enhanced Constructions. As a rule, these
Constructions emulate the effects of Solar charms of minimum Essence 1-3 and cannot provide a
perfect defense against either physical or social threats. (Storytellers are strongly encouraged to
disallow Constructions which duplicate the effects of other Dominion charms or otherwise
provide a benefit far beyond those shown here. This charm is meant to provide the Exalt’s
dominion access to a variety of specialized supernatural powers, not to provide it an
overwhelming advantage in any particular arena.)
This charm allows the Exalt to build two of the following Constructions when it is purchased,
while additional Constructions may be learned at a cost of 3 experience points or 1 bonus point
each. (The player may substitute Storyteller-approved custom Constructions for the ones listed
here, provided that they conform to the general guidelines given above.) Both the dominion and
the Exalt herself must meet the Construction’s minimum Ability rating, and she must commit 5
motes for the duration of the creation process. There is no further Essence cost once the
Construction is complete, but all such Constructions cease to exist and must be reestablished if
the Exalt loses administrator status or is otherwise completely absent from the dominion for
more than (Essence) consecutive actions.
The Ability minimum and cumulative difficulty for each Construction are listed in parentheses.
All of these Constructions have a minimum Magnitude of 3, a Cost of 5 Talents, and a
Maintenance Cost of 1 Talent.
*'''Pestilence-Weathering Treatment Regimen''' (Resistance 2, [Magnitude]): The dominion may
add bonus successes to its Resistance rolls to prevent or mitigate the effects of an epidemic or
mass poisoning, spending two Talents for each success added. The maximum bonus equals
([Government+Resistance]/2) successes, rounded down, though this bonus stacks with any from
the administrator’s charms.
*'''Battle-Hardened Survivor Indoctrination''' (War 2, [Magnitude]): The dominion may improve
its soak against any military attacks it receives, adding one point of soak per Talent spent. The
dominion may raise its soak as high as desired, though the attack will still do minimum damage
as normal. In unit-scale warfare, every two Talents spent reduces the post-soak damage the
dominion’s units suffer by one die, to a minimum of one (or the average Essence of the opposing
forces, if facing supernatural foes).
*'''Inviolate Ideal Hierarchy''' (Integrity 3, [Magnitude x 3]): This Construction enhances one of
the dominion’s preexisting Accords, which must be an ideal or long-term goal of the dominion.
All mental influences which oppose that Accord are treated as unacceptable orders. This
Construction costs an additional two Loyalty to create, and a dominion may only purchase it
once.
*'''Ever-Vigilant Sentinel Forces''' (Awareness 3, [Territory x 2]): When the dominion is required
to make an Awareness roll to notice some unexpected threat--be it a military assault, a sudden
outbreak of plague, or even a subtle propaganda campaign--it may spend one Talent to
automatically detect the threat. If the threat requires evacuation, the dominion is guaranteed a
minimum of 3 days to do so.
*'''Sun-Blessed Triumph Campaign''' (Presence 4, [Magnitude x 2]): The dominion may add 6
Talents to the cost of its War action to render all of its military actions Holy during that action.
This grants a bonus to damage and soak equal to the dominion’s Military against the armies of
the Underworld, Wyld, or Malfeas, as well as any other units composed primarily of creatures of
darkness, in both unit- and dominion-scale warfare.
*'''Plague-Banishing Brilliance Infrastructure''' (Medicine 5, [Magnitude x 3]): By paying an
additional (Magnitude) Talents when treating an epidemic or mass poisoning, the Exalt may
enhance the treatment effort with any Solar Medicine charms he knows. Only admin actions
may be enhanced in this way.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Forging the Celestial Kingdom
|cost= -
|type=Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion, Stackable
|essence=6
|min=6
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Bureau-Rectifying Method, Foul Air of Argument Technique, Bureaucracy Essence
Flow
|text=
The transcendent wisdom of the Solar Exalted allows their subjects to rise above their mortal
limitations, creating a world greater than any they could build on their own. This charm
increases the maximum Attribute and Ability ratings of the Solar's dominions by 1. It may be
purchased up to (Bureaucracy-5) times, with each purchase further increasing the maximum
rating of the dominion's traits. Though the dominion may continue to function at this level for a
time in its administrator's absence, it is ultimately dependent on the Solar's Exalted wisdom.
Should the Solar lose his administrator status or abandon his dominion, the high ratings
permitted by this charm will permanently fade at a rate of one dot per 10 years, until they are
reduced to 5.
}}
== Socialize ==
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Socialize
|name=Heaven's Reassurance
|cost=10 motes, 2 Talents, 1 Loyalty
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=5
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Understanding the Court
|text=
The words of the Solar Exalted calm and soothe the masses, for they carry the authority of the
Celestial Bureaucracy behind them. This charm supplements an admin Festival action, imbuing
it with supernatural potency. For every threshold success on the roll, the dominion reduces its
accumulated Unrest total by one point, to a minimum of zero.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Socialize
|name=Blessed Soothing Words
|cost=6 motes, 4 Talents
|type=Reflexive (Step 2)
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Mastery of Small Manners, Gathering the Congregation, Any Socialize Excellency
|text=
The Chosen of the Sun do not allow their faithful to be swayed by the lies and half-truths of
seditious malcontents. The Exalt may invoke this charm in response to any mental influence that
targets his dominion. It acts as a perfect parry that defeats even unblockable influences,
provided that they are not unexpected.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Socialize
|name=Celestial Serenity Defense
|cost=10 motes, 8 Talents, 1 Loyalty
|type=Simple
|duration=Indefinite
|keywords=Combo-Basic, Dominion
|essence=4
|min=5
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Heaven's Reassurance, Blessed Soothing Words
|text=
The Solar’s empires are bastions of stability, remaining tranquil even as the lands around them
succumb to dischord and anarchy. So long as this charm remains active, the dominion does not
suffer MDV penalties due to onslaught. It also reduces by 1 the penalties inflicted by the
dominion’s own actions, to a minimum of zero.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Socialize
|name=Triumphant Justice Affirmation
|cost=7 motes, 4 Talents
|type=Reflexive
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=3
|category=Eclipse
|prereqs=Wise-Eyed Courtier Method, Wild Revelry Approach, Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe
|text=
The Solar’s people draw renewed faith and vigor from their righteous victories. This charm may
be invoked whenever the dominion channels one of its Virtues to enhance an action. If that
action succeeds, the dominion instantly recovers a number of Loyalty points equal to that
Virtue’s rating.
}}
== Survival ==
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Survival
|name=Worldly Paradise Administration
|cost=25 motes, 30 Talents, 3 Loyalty
|type=Simple
|duration=Indefinite
|keywords=Combo-Basic, Dominion
|essence=5
|min=5
|category=Zenith
|prereqs=Food-Gathering Exercise, Trackless Region Navigation, Infinite Survival Mastery OR
Survival Essence Flow
|text=
In an Age when much of the world suffers in squalid misery, the Solar Exalted stand as shining
beacons of hope. It was thanks to their guiding hand that mankind was able to raise itself from
bare-bones survival to the opulent heights of the First Age, and they may yet restore the world to
its former glory.
While this charm remains active, the dominion adds 2 to its effective (Survival+Agricultural
specialties) total for all purposes. It also adds a bonus success to all Resistance and Medicine
rolls to survive disease, poison, or famine, which does not count as a charm bonus. Finally, the
dominion automatically heals one point of Unrest or Decimation at the beginning of every
action, as the supernatural security and fertility of its lands allow them to placate their people’s
fears and recover from even the most devastating losses of life.
}}
== War ==
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=War
|name=Fury of the Sun's Legions
|cost=4 motes and 2 Talents per die
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion, War
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Dawn
|prereqs=Fury-Inciting Presence, Any War Excellency
|text=
The armies of the Solar Exalted strike with the fury of the noonday sun. This charm supplements
a dominion-scale military attack, adding one die of post-soak damage for every 4 motes and 2
Talents spent. The maximum bonus from this charm equals (Essence/2) damage dice, rounded
up.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=War
|name=The Lawgiver's Providence
|cost=8 motes, 5 Talents
|type=Reflexive (Step 2)
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Dawn
|prereqs=Heroism-Encouraging Presence
|text=
Even in their people's darkest hour, the Lawgivers shine through. Whether the faerie hordes, the
armies of the Underworld, or the natural forces of Creation threaten them, the God-Kings will
always find a way to protect them. This charm may be invoked in response to any Decimation-
inflicting attack which targets the Solar's kingdom. For this purpose, "attacks" include both
military attacks and natural disasters such as volcanoes and tsunamis. This defense does not
apply against attacks which physically leave no room to run or hide (such as the explosion of a
Soulbreaker Orb), or to unexpected attacks, but in all other cases it functions as a perfect parry
against even magically unblockable and undodgeable attacks on the dominion.
}}
{{2eSolCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=War
|name=Aegis of Divine Protection
|cost= - (3 Willpower, (Territory) Talents)
|type=Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion, Obvious
|essence=5
|min=5
|category=Dawn
|prereqs=The Lawgiver's Providence
|text=
To the Lawgivers, "impossible" is a meaningless word: there are only the victors and those who
lack the power to protect what is theirs. This charm permanently enhances its prerequisite. By
adding (Territory) Talents to the cost of the charm, the Exalt may invoke it to negate even those
attacks which provide no opportunity for escape. This defense manifests as a miasma of golden
light that radiates from the Exalt's anima to blanket the entire dominion, temporarily forming an
impenetrable barrier that turns even the most formidable of supernatural forces away from the
dominion's borders. The maximum Territory which may be protected in this way equals the
Solar's (Essence x 2).
}}
= Lunar Charms =
== Charisma ==
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Charisma
|name=Blessing of the Bloody Huntress
|cost=4 motes and 3 Talents per dot
|type=Reflexive (Step 1 or 2)
|duration=Until next action
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Any Charisma Excellency
|text=
By Luna's grace, her faithful find the strength to resist their oppressors. This charm raises the
dominion's effective Military rating for all purposes until its next action. The maximum bonus
from this charm is equal to the Lunar's Essence.
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Charisma
|name=Mercurial Tide Defense
|cost=6 motes, 5 Talents
|type=Reflexive (Step 2)
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Face of the Moon Concealment
|text=
Like the receding ocean, Luna's power allows those her Stewards protect to slip from harm's way
into the dark safety of night. This charm may be invoked in response to any Decimation-
inflicting attack, provided that it is not unexpected. It acts as a perfect dodge that defeats even
undodgeable attacks, though it provides no protection to Constructions and similar objects which
cannot be moved.
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Charisma
|name=Braving the Teeth of Creation
|cost= -
|type=Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Maintaining the Pack
|text=
The Lunar Exalted demand hardiness from their wards, for the only societies worth protecting
are those capable of standing on their own. This charm enhances the Lunar's capabilities by
permitting the dominions he controls (either as an administrator or through use of Mindful
Steward Technique) to create the following Construction. The Lunar must commit 4 motes for
the duration of the creation process, and all invocations of the Construction are permanently lost
and must be re-established if the Lunar does not attend to the dominion for longer than a full
year.
*'''Moon-Blessed Fortitude''' (Cost 10, Maintenance Cost -, Difficulty [Magnitude x 3]): The
Lunar's patronage subtly alters all aspects of the dominion's society, from its cultural taboos to its
sanitation systems, leaving it better equipped to resist any sort of threat that would endanger the
society as a whole. This Construction increases the amount of Unrest the dominion can sustain
before undergoing Revolution, and the amount of Decimation it can sustain before losing
Magnitude, by one level, in effect granting it a bonus "health level" for this purpose. A
dominion may possess up to (Lunar's Essence) iterations of this Construction.
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Charisma
|name=Resilience of Luna's Faithful
|cost=8 motes, 5 Talents, 1 Loyalty
|type=Reflexive (Step 10)
|duration=Until next action
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=4
|min=5
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Braving the Teeth of Creation
|text=
Luna protects her flock not by mothering and coddling them, but by giving them the strength to
survive any hardships they may suffer. The Lunar may invoke this charm in response to any
threat which would force the dominion to undergo Revolution or suffer Magnitude loss. It
postpones the effect until the dominion's next turn, at which point the charm may be re-invoked
to extend the effect. Any additional Unrest or Decimation the dominion suffers continues to
accumulate past 10 and must be reduced as normal (either through the Festival action, the
passage of time, or the use of appropriate charms).
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Charisma
|name=Moon-Shadowed (Attribute) Puissance
|cost= -
|type=Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion
|essence=3
|min=5
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Flawless Charisma Focus
|text=
The Stewards are masters of adaptability, and they expect no less from their followers. This
charm enhances the Lunar's capabilities by allowing the dominions he controls (either directly or
through use of Mindful Steward Technique) to learn Attribute specialties. The actual creation
process is identical to that for normal Ability specialties, save that the Lunar must commit 3
motes while it is being built. Much like its prerequisite, the Attribute specialties it provides are
very broad: a dominion could purchase a Culture specialty in "Opposing the Realm" to raise its
MDVs against all the Realm's social attacks, or it could purchase a Military specialty in the
Melee Ability to raise all its (Military+Melee) dice pools, including attack rolls and Parry DVs.
A dominion may purchase up to 3 such specialties for each Attribute; these may stack with
appropriate Ability specialties, though only to the usual limit allowed by the dominion's
Magnitude. The specialties provided by this charm depend on the Lunar's reinforcement, and as
such all specialties are permanently lost if the Lunar does not attend to the dominion for more
than a year.
A second version of the charm exists which has Flawless Manipulation Focus as its prerequisite
and requires Manipulation 5 instead of Charisma 5. Aside from these changes, the two versions
are identical.
}}
== Manipulation ==
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Manipulation
|name=Blessing of the White Navigator
|cost= 4 motes and 3 Talents per dot
|type=Reflexive (Step 1 or 2)
|duration=Until next action
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Any Manipulation Excellency
|text=
By Luna's grace, her faithful find the cunning to overcome threats from both within and without.
This charm raises the dominion's effective Government rating for all purposes until its next
action. The maximum bonus from this charm is equal to the Lunar's Essence.
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Manipulation
|name=Mindful Steward Technique
|cost=5 motes
|type=Simple
|duration=Indefinite
|keywords=Dominion
|essence=3
|min=3
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Any Manipulation Excellency
|text=
Though the Stewards value independence and self-sufficiency in those they protect, there are
times when their people require a helping hand. This charm allows the Lunar to support the
actions of a dominion in which he has at least one dot of Backing. Both the Lunar and the
dominion's administrator may invoke their Dominion charms to enhance the dominion's actions,
and may even supplement the same action with both their charms, though all charm costs are
cumulative. (Bonus dice and successes from the Lunar's charms do not stack with those from the
administrator's charms: only the highest bonus applies.) Similarly, the dominion may use the
higher of the administrator's or the Lunar's traits when calculating the dominion's admin dice
pools and its MDVs. This charm does not permit the Lunar to declare any of the dominion's
actions, only enhance the actions it already takes, and it automatically fails if the administrator
rejects the Lunar's aid. However, neither the administrator nor any other observers will be aware
of the Lunar's influence unless they succeed at a reflexive (Intelligence+Awareness) roll,
opposed by the Lunar's(Manipulation+Stealth).
The Lunar may only aid one dominion in this manner at a time, and must devote at least one
miscellaneous action to the dominion on any turn when it is used to enhance the dominion's traits
or actions. A dominion may only benefit from one invocation at a time, though a Lunar who
wishes to take control from another may do so by scoring more successes on an opposed
(Manipulation+Essence) roll when she invokes the charm.
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Manipulation
|name=Stern Shepherd's Rebuke
|cost= -
|type=Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion
|essence=3
|min=5
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Mindful Steward Technique
|text=
At times the Steward's flock may go astray, and require a firm and forceful hand to guide them
back to the right path. This charm permanently upgrades Mindful Steward Technique, allowing
it to affect the dominion's actions even when the administrator opposes the Exalt. The Exalt may
reflexively roll (Manipulation+Bureaucracy) when his influence is discovered by a hostile
administrator, who must oppose it with his own ([Charisma or Manipulation]+Bureaucracy). If
the Exalt scores more successes, he may continue to apply his charms and traits. The Lunar may
also roll to manipulate the dominion's actions (see [[Dominion Actions|here]]) as a reflexive
action, provided that he commits 2 motes for each action so affected. Finally, the Exalt may
commit an additional 5 motes and perform the roll above at a -3 external penalty to seize
temporary administrative control. This allows him to declare all of the dominion's admin and
non-admin actions during that action, though this is treated as a Simple action and prevents the
Lunar from taking any non-reflexive independent actions while he leads in this manner. As
normal, the Exalt and administrator add their respective Backing ratings as bonus successes to all
of these rolls.
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Manipulation
|name=Wise Shepherd's Guidance
|cost= 10 m, 10 Talents, 2 Loyalty
|type=Simple
|duration= Indefinite
|keywords=Dominion, Obvious
|essence=4
|min=5
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Mindful Steward Technique
|text=
When his flock's situation is dire, the Lunar may choose to devote his full strength to their
protection. This charm allows the Lunar to act as a "co-administrator" of the dominion,
permitting both him and the administrator to declare admin actions independently. Either party
may perform a flurry without inflicting multiple-action penalties on the other's admin actions,
and only the higher of the two MDV penalties applies to the dominion. Like its prerequisite, the
Lunar's traits and charms may be used to enhance the dominion's MDVs and reflexive admin
actions. This charm also fails without the administrator's consent (in which case only the mote
cost of the charm is expended), and due to its Obvious nature there is no way for the Lunar to
conceal its use.
The Lunar ''may'' invoke the prerequisite while this charm is active, allowing him to enhance the
administrator's actions while performing additional actions of his own. However, the Lunar must
take a Simple action when Mindful Steward Technique is invoked (preventing him from
declaring any admin actions of his own during that turn), as well as a miscellaneous action on
any turn in which he enhances the administrator's actions this way. The mote commitment for
each charm must be paid seperately.
}}
== Appearance ==
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Appearance
|name=Blessing of the Two-Faced Bride
|cost=4 motes and 3 Talents per dot
|type=Reflexive
|duration=Until next action
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Any Appearance Excellency
|text=
By Luna's grace, her faithful find the confidence to resist even the most tempting of subversive
lies. This charm raises the dominion's effective Culture rating for all purposes until its next
action. The maximum bonus from this charm is equal to the Lunar's Essence.
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Appearance
|name=Majesty of the Herd
|cost=6 motes, 3 Talents, 1 Loyalty
|type=Simple
|duration=Indefinite
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=5
|min=5
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Perfect Symmetry, Blessing of the Two-Faced Bride
|text=
A united people is a thing of beauty and terror, for such a culture has the power to move the
world. This charm doubles the maximum MDV penalty/bonus the Lunar's dominion may benefit
from due to differences in Culture. At Essence 6+, the Lunar may commit 10 motes to ignore
this limit altogether.
}}
{{2eLunCharm|
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Appearance
|name=Unyielding Silver Drive
|cost=5 motes, 1 Talent, 1 Loyalty
|type=Simple
|duration=Indefinite
|keywords=Dominion
|essence=4
|min=4
|category=Changing Moon
|prereqs=Irresistible Silver Spirit
|text=
The Stewards are unyielding defenders of their chosen people, never resting or relaxing their
guard for an instant while their dominions stand threatened. When this charm is invoked, the
Lunar's player names a dominion the Lunar controls (either as an administrator or through use of
Mindful Steward Technique), along with a specific political goal he will achieve through that
dominion. So long as the charm persists the Lunar adds a bonus success to all of his admin
actions (though not to the dominion's DVs or MDVs), and his Attribute Excellencies may add up
to (Attribute+Essence) dice to these actions. He also ignores all fatigue penalties.
Until the Lunar's goal is accomplished, he must successfully roll (Willpower) in order to take
any action that does not directly support his chosen goal. Even then, such actions suffer a -2
internal penalty. (The Lunar's non-political actions, or actions taken through other dominions,
always suffer this penalty, and do not enjoy the charm's benefits.) Such actions may still be
performed as non-admin actions or by a deputy administrator, however, in which case the charm
neither penalizes nor benefits them. Ending the charm prematurely requires a Willpower roll at a
difficulty of the Lunar's Conviction, a roll which may only be attempted once per action.
}}
= Dragon-blooded Charms =
== Bureaucracy ==
{{2eTerCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Terrestrial Regency Mandate
|cost=4 motes, 1 W
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=2
|min=4
|category=Water
|prereqs=Any Bureaucracy Excellency
|text=
The Terrestrial Exalted were created to be the emissaries and executors of Heaven's will, a will
that no mere mortal may resist. This charm may supplement any admin action taken against a
mortal-led dominion, guaranteeing that the Dragon-blood succeeds with at least one threshold
success. If the roll would already succeed, he adds a single bonus success (which does not count
as a charm bonus). Outside of political combat, the Dragon-blood may use the charm to enhance
any Bureaucracy action which targets a mortal in the same way. This charm has no effect on
Essence users.
}}
{{2eTerCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Peerless Mandarin Style
|cost=3 motes, 1 Talent
|type=Reflexive (Step 1)
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Dominion, Cooperative
|essence=2
|min=3
|category=Water
|prereqs=Any Bureaucracy Excellency
|text=
The Chosen of the Dragons strengthen a dominion by pooling their power, protecting their lands
through humble service and strength of numbers rather than overwhelming displays of brilliance.
The Dragon-blood may use this charm to supplement a dominion's admin action, provided that
he has at least one dot of Backing in that dominion and the administrator consents. The action
gains a +1 die bonus, which does not count as a charm bonus, and the Dragon-blood may invoke
one of his own Dominion charms without need for a Combo. Only Supplemental and Reflexive
charms may be activated in this way, though this charm does not interfere with the
administrator's own charm use. Multiple Dragon-bloods may enhance the same action, in which
case the bonus stacks and each participant may add an additional charm. (In any case, multiple
Excellencies or similar charms do not stack; only the highest bonus applies.) The maximum
number of participants equals the highest Essence among all participating Dragon-bloods. A
single Exalt may supplement a maximum of (Bureaucracy) admin actions in this way, though he
may not take any admin actions of his own on a turn when the charm is invoked.
}}
{{2eTerCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Bureaucracy
|name=Lifted on the Dragon's Wings
|cost=6 motes, 5 Talents, 1 Loyalty
|type=Simple
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=4
|min=5
|category=Water
|prereqs=Peerless Mandarin Style
|text=
The Exalt's power complements and reinforces that of her superiors, allowing them to focus their
attention on the state's welfare while she attends to a particularly urgent matter. When this
charm is invoked, the Dragon-blood selects a single dominion action to focus her full attention
on. The Dragon-blood must have Backing in the dominion, and the administrator must approve
her use of the charm. That action gains the benefits of an admin action, allowing the Dragon-
blood to enhance it with her own traits and charms, but does not inflict multiple-action penalties
on the administrator's own actions. (It still inflicts the usual MDV penalty on the dominion,
however.) A dominion may only benefit from one invocation of this charm at a time, and while
she uses this charm the Dragon-blood may not take any other actions of her own.
}}
== Survival ==
{{2eTerCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Survival
|name=Aegis of the (Element) Dragon
|cost=6 motes, 3 Talents
|type=Reflexive
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Cooperative, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=4
|category=Wood
|prereqs=Tireless Caravan Prana
|text=
The Terrestrial Exalted are masters of the elements, and they may use that mastery to protect
their people from harm. Aegis of the (Element) Dragon is a group of five related charms, each of
which protects the Dragon-Blood's dominion from specific elemental threats. The Air version
provides protection against tornadoes and hurricanes, the Earth version defends it against
earthquakes and landslides, the Fire version shields it from wildfires and volcanic eruptions, the
Water version protects it from floods and tsunamis, and the Wood version guards against
epidemics and mass poisonings. Other natural threats should be grouped into one of these
categories, though no version of the charm protects against Wyld storms or other supernatural
threats without an elemental aspect.
When invoked in response to an appropriate disaster, the charm reduces the Severity and
Decimation of the disaster by 1. (The Wood version reduces the Difficulty to Treat and
Morbidity of the epidemic, or the Toxicity and Damage of the poison, by 1 instead.) Multiple
Dragon-blooded may invoke the charm simultaneously, reducing the difficulty by 1 per
participant (minimum 1). The maximum number of participants equals (highest Essence of
participants - 2).
}}
= Abyssal Charms =
== Socialize ==
{{2eAbyCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=Socialize
|name=Dissent-Quelling Brutality
|cost=3 motes + 1 Talent and 1 Decimation per
|type=Reflexive
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=3
|category=Moonshadow
|prereqs=Exquisite Etiquette Style, Any Socialize Excellency
|text=
In order to maintain order, some sacrifices must be made. This charm must be invoked at the
beginning of the dominion's turn, and allows the Exalt to cleanse his society of rebellious
elements through a series of violent purges. For every Talent spent on the charm, the dominion
may replace (Abyssal's Essence) points of Unrest with a single level of Decimation.
}}
== War ==
{{2eAbyCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=War
|name=Harvest of Misery
|cost=3 motes, 1 Talent
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion, War
|essence=3
|min=3
|category=Dusk
|prereqs=Arise and Slaughter
|text=
The Abyssal's forces feed off the suffering and devastation they leave in their wake. This charm
supplements a dominion-scale military attack. For every level of Decimation the target
dominion suffers, or every dot of Magnitude its armed forces lose, the Abyssal's dominion
recovers (Abyssal's Essence) Talents. This charm may not feed off more levels of
Decimation/Magnitude loss than the Abyssal's War rating.
}}
{{2eAbyCharm
|sourceThundaka
|trait=War
|name=Ecstatic Subjugation
|cost= - (2 motes, 3 Talents)
|type=Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion, War
|essence=3
|min=5
|category=Dusk
|prereqs=Harvest of Misery
|text=
The Abyssal's armies exult and draw strength from their enemies' downfall. This charm
permanently enhances Harvest of Misery, allowing the Abyssal's dominion to recover Loyalty as
well as Talents. By paying the surcharge listed above the dominion may convert each level of
Decimation/Magnitude loss into a point of recovered Loyalty, though it forfeits the Talents it
would normally recover from that Decimation. (The Exalt may choose to use both effects at
once, though, so the dominion converts some levels into Talents and others into Loyalty.)
}}
{{2eAbyCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=War
|name=Legion-Raising Massacre
|cost= 10 motes, 8 Talents, 2 Loyalty
|type=Supplemental
|duration= Indefinite
|keywords=Dominion, Obvious, War
|essence=6
|min=6
|category=Dusk
|prereqs=Ecstatic Subjugation
|text=
Even death is no escape for the Abyssal's enemies, for the power of the Neverborn reaches
beyond the grave. This charm supplements a dominion-scale military attack, allowing the Exalt
to raise the bodies of his fallen enemies and draft them to the defense of his kingdom. For every
two levels of Decimation/Magnitude loss inflicted on the target, rounded down, the Abyssal's
dominion "heals" one level of Decimation it has suffered. It could instead use the risen forces to
replenish the dominion's martial strength, recovering a dot of lost military Magnitude per 2 levels
inflicted, though only if the original Magnitude of the target was at least 2 greater than the new
Magnitude of the armed forces.
Example: ''The Mask of Winters catches the forces of Lookshy completely off-guard, inflicting
four dots of Magnitude loss in a single attack and reducing their Magnitude 11 forces to
Magnitude 7. If the Mask's forces had a Magnitude of 8, he could only increase the Magnitude
of his armed forces by one dot. The charm does not allow him to expand his armed forces to
greater than Magnitude 9 (11 - 2), so he cannot benefit from the second level of healing. Further
use of the charm would not provide any reinforcements, since the Mask's forces are now much
larger than those of Lookshy, though his dominion could still use the charm to recover any levels
of Decimation it has suffered.''
This healing is only temporary, unfortunately. Only the Exalt's necrotic Essence sustains the
reanimated troops, so if the Essence committed to the charm is released the healing granted by
this charm will be negated. However, any further Decimation the dominion sustains is
subtracted from these "recovered" health levels first, allowing the reanimated troops to act as a
buffer against further losses.
}}
{{2eAbyCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=War
|name=World-Slaying Genocide
|cost=10 motes, 8 Talents, 1 Loyalty
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=4
|min=5
|category=Dusk
|prereqs=All-Consuming Encirclement
|text=
The Abyssal Exalted are charged with bringing the end of all that lives, a role their dark powers
are more than capable of fulfilling. This charm supplements a dominion-scale military attack
that seeks to inflict Decimation on a dominion. If that attack would inflict Magnitude loss on the
target, it will permanently lose two dots of Magnitude rather than the usual one.
This charm may be re-purchased at War 7 and Essence 7, allowing the Abyssal to double the
charm's cost in order to inflict a third dot of Magnitude loss. A third and final purchase is
available at War 10 and Essence 10, which triples the cost in order to inflict 4 dots of Magnitude
loss.
}}
= Infernal Charms =
== Malfeas ==
{{2eInfCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=
|name=Glorious Tyrant Aura
|cost= -
|type=Permanent
|duration= -
|keywords=Dominion
|essence=4
|min=
|category=Slayer
|prereqs=Impervious Primacy Mantle
|text=
Malfeas is the rightful king of Creation, and none but him truly possesses the right to rule. This
charm permanently adds (Essence) dice to all of the Infernal's rolls to gain administrator status,
defend his position from a usurper, or prevent interference with his political actions. This aura of
terrible authority is not without its disadvantages, however: next to the Infernal's radiant visage,
his own subordinates appear weak and unworthy of the privilege of leadership. As a result, all
actions taken by deputy administrators lose the same number of dice as an internal penalty,
forcing the Infernal to constantly attend to his dominion if he does not wish to undermine its
government.
}}
{{2eInfCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=
|name=Salting the Ashes
|cost=8 motes, 10 Talents, 1 Loyalty
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion, War
|essence=5
|min=
|category=Slayer
|prereqs=Sun-Salted Fields
|text=
Malfeas is not magnaminous in victory. The King of the Yozis has not forgotten the pain and
humiliation he suffered at the hands of his creations, and would love nothing more than to force
the same suffering upon them. This charm supplements a dominion-scale military attack. If the
target dominion would lose Magnitude as a result of this attack, the Infernal may instead choose
to ravage the dominion's infrastructure, inflicting permanent trait losses on the dominion. The
cost to reduce a trait is equal to its unfavored bonus point cost: reducing the target's Military
rating would cost 4 points, while destroying a specialty costs 1 point. The Infernal receives
(Essence) points to spend on this charm, plus an additional two points for each level of
Decimation inflicted past 9.
}}
== She Who Lives in Her Name ==
{{2eInfCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=
|name=Harmony in Submission
|cost=3 motes, 3 Talents, 1 Unrest
|type=Reflexive
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=3
|min=
|category=Defiler
|prereqs=Analytical Modeling Intuition
|text=
It is the Defiler's holy duty to combat and eliminate disorder in all its forms, no matter what the
cost. This charm is activated at the beginning of the dominion's turn, and allows the Infernal to
quickly eliminate inefficient and wasteful bureaucratic practices through the imposition of
draconian (but effective) emergency measures. The dominion reduces its current Red Tape by
an amount equal to the Infernal's Essence (to a minimum of zero), though it also gains a point of
Unrest.
}}
== Adorjan ==
{{2eInfCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=
|name=Winds of Madness
|cost=6 motes, 8 Talents
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=4
|min=
|category=Scourge
|prereqs=Tragic Love Amusement
|text=
The Silent Wind destroys not out of hatred, but because destruction is her nature. This charm
supplements a social attack made against a rival dominion, touching them with the subtle
madness of the Silent Wind. If the social attack succeeds, the society as a whole is afflicted with
a derangement of the Infernal's choosing. They may suffer from a crippling fear of the Infernal's
dominion, leading the target to take every opportunity to appease and otherwise avoid
confrontation with them, or they may suffer a delusion of military invincibility that leads them
into a suicidal campaign against a vastly superior force. Note that this derangement afflicts the
populace and bureaucracy ''as a whole,'' rather than any particular citizen. The administrator and
other individual bureaucrats may well see the foolishness of the dominion's actions, but the
government as a whole will continue to act under the influence of the derangement.
Mechanically, these urges manifest both as resistance to a particular dominion action (either
admin or non-admin) and as spontaneous non-admin actions. In either case, the administrator
rolls the dominion's relevant Virtue. If this roll fails, he must spend a point of Loyalty to
continue with his chosen action or to prevent the derangement-inspired action. The dominion
will only be freed of the derangement's influence once it has spent 6 Loyalty in this manner to
resist.
}}
{{2eInfCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=
|name=Whispering Chaos
|cost=8 motes, 10 Talents, 1 Loyalty
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=5
|min=
|category=Scourge
|prereqs=Winds of Madness
|text=
Though she may be briefly pleased by simple acts of destruction, what the Silent Wind truly
savors is self-destruction. More than anything else, she loves to set a society against itself and
laugh as it tears itself apart from within. This charm supplements a social attack against a rival
dominion, causing it to infect that dominion with uncontrollable, self-defeating paranoia. Each
action, the administrator must roll his (Bureaucracy+Socialize) as a reflexive action with a
difficulty of the Infernal's Essence. Failing this roll causes the dominion to accumulate a point of
Unrest, which can only be avoided by spending two points of Loyalty. Should the dominion
undergo Revolution, the administrator automatically loses control, and all attempts to regain his
position suffer a -(Essence) internal penalty. The charm only ends once one of two things has
happened: either the administrator succeeds on the roll (Essence) times, or the dominion has
spent (Essence x 2) Loyalty to resist.
}}
== Ebon Dragon ==
{{2eInfCharm
|source=Thundaka
|trait=
|name=Shadows of Avarice
|cost=7 motes, 7 Talents
|type=Supplemental
|duration=Instant
|keywords=Combo-OK, Dominion
|essence=4
|min=
|category=Fiend
|prereqs=Damning Petulance Technique, Selfishness is Power
|text=
As the living incarnation of selfishness and vice, the Shadow of All Things scoffs at the so-called
virtuous of the world, and delights in twisting their precious Virtues against them. This charm
supplements a social attack against a rival dominion, causing it to corrupt the expression of one
of the dominion's Virtues. Whenever the dominion takes an action which directly supports the
chosen Virtue (as declared by the Storyteller), the influence of this charm corrupts it into an
extreme expression of that Virtue with disastrous consequences. These actions should follow the
guidelines for an [[Numeric_Traits#Virtues|uncontrolled Revolution]] of the appropriate type.
Resisting this self-destructive impulse costs the dominion a point of Loyalty, and even then the
action suffers an internal penalty equal to the Virtue's rating. The charm's influence ends once
the dominion has spent Loyalty equal to the rating of the affected Virtue.
}}
Other Powers = Sorcery and Necromancy =
== Modified Spells ==
''Sorcery'':
*'''Rain of Doom''': The venomous rain inflicts 15 levels of Decimation on the target area, minus
one level for every success on a (Culture+Resistance) roll. Additionally, the ravages to plant and
animal life reduce the area's terrain modifier to -5. The land recovers from the latter effect at a
rate of 1 point per year, until it eventually returns to its previous rating.
*'''Benediction of Archgenesis''': When cast in an area with a negative terrain modifier, that
modifier increases by one point per turn until it reaches +3. This fertility is effectively
permanent; only a supernatural effect of equal potency can permanently reduce the modifier.
When the affected area has a terrain modifier of 0 or greater, however, the modifier continues
increasing to a maximum of (sorceror's Essence). This supernatural fertility persists for a full
season, after which it decreases just as rapidly until it falls to -4. This decreased rating is also
effectively permanent, and cannot be undone by further castings of the spell.
*'''Curse of Unyielding Mist''': The mists decrease the dominion's effective Compassion and
Conviction ratings by one dot each (minimum 1), and cause the dominion to lose a dot of
Loyalty each action for as long as its people reside in that area. (This is not a mental influence,
but simply a side effect of living in such a supernaturally demoralizing place.) In addition, the
rampant rot and fungal growth reduce the terrain modifier of the area to -3 (assuming that it was
not already lower).
*'''Enemy of Nature''': The difficulty increase applies to all non-reflexive dominion actions, and
is determined based on the area's terrain modifier: +1 in areas with a -4 modifier, +2 in areas
with a -3 modifier, and +3 in more fertile areas. The massed attacks of these creatures are
represented by a single dominion-scale attack at the beginning of each turn. This attack is
backed by an effective Magnitude of (5 + terrain modifier) and strikes with 10 successes, plus or
minus any gained from differences in Magnitude.
*'''Light of Solar Cleansing''': This spell only affects dominions or military units which are
primarily populated by creatures of darkness and which lie within its area of effect. It inflicts
(Essence x 2) dice of Decimation or Magnitude loss, which cannot be soaked and can only be
dodged or parried with appropriate perfect defenses.
*'''Mirage of Protective Shelter''': The protected dominion and any other dominions it attempts to
interact with suffer a -(Essence) external penalty on all social attacks between them, due to the
difficulties of communicating with such an inaccessible location. To attack a dominion protected
by this spell, the attacking dominion must either pay 3 Loyalty or invoke a perfect mental
defense each turn. When it ceases to pay this cost, the attacker's forces will find themselves
wandering out of the protected dominion, and will be unable to find their way back.
*'''Pressed Beyond the Veil of Time''': This spell affects a maximum Territory of (Essence x 2).
Any dominion that attempts to take root in the territory that replaces the dominion suffers +1
difficulty on its Conviction rolls to regain Loyalty, and automatically gains an Accord toward
"Moving somewhere else." Needless to say, no large-scale military or social attacks are possible
against the dominion so long as it is protected.
''Necromancy'':
*'''Blood Monsoon''': In addition to its short-term effects, the spell also reduces the effective
terrain modifier of the land by 2 for the next year. In addition, once the spell is cast (and every
25 weeks thereafter until the year ends) the dominion must make a Virulence check at +1
difficulty to avoid an outbreak of the plague.
= Artifacts =
== Modified Artifacts ==
From ''Wonders of the Lost Age'':
*'''The Five-Metal Shrike''': In dominion-scale mass combat, the Shrike is treated as an
independent military force with an effective Magnitude of 8. Its attacks (which are aimed with
Archery) cannot be parried, and thanks to its Aegis power and healing abilities it cannot be
damaged at all in dominion-scale combat. Any small dominions (Territory 5 or less) unfortunate
enough to be targetted by the Godspear will suffer 20 levels of Decimation, assuming they are
not small enough to be completely vaporized.
*'''Sky-Mantis Tower''': Within its area of effect, the tower can increase or decrease the terrain
modifier by up to 2. It can also reduce the Severity and Decimation of any approaching
tornadoes or hurricanes by the same amount (minimum 1), though it has no effect on natural
disasters which are not based on weather. A single tower can benefit a dominion of up to
Territory 7. Larger areas can be protected by a linked network of sky-mantis towers, in which
case a Magnitude of them equal to (Territory - 7) must be manufactured.
*'''Thousand-Forged Dragon''': In dominion-scale mass combat, an individual dragon can be
treated as a force with a Magnitude of 5. A force of multiple dragons has an effective Magnitude
of (actual Magnitude + 5). Their Geomantic Singularity power will complete obliterate any
dominion with Territory 7 or less, while dominions of up to Territory 10 will suffer 15 levels of
Decimation as an unblockable and undodgeable attack (assuming that the dominion contains an
appropriate manse, of course).
*'''Soulbreaker Orb''': The detonation covers an area of Territory 7. If the dominion is composed
primarily of mortals, it is annihilated; every single person is killed, save perhaps a handful of
Exalts or spirits. If the dominion is largely composed of supernatural beings, it instead suffers 30
levels of Decimation. This damage cannot be soaked, dodged, or parried. Mortal dominions of
up to Territory 10 can be affected, in which case they suffer 20 levels of Decimation (which are
soaked normally).
From ''Dreams of the First of Age'':
*'''''Titan''-Class Aerial Citadel''': Each such fortress has an effective Magnitude of 10 in
dominion-scale combat, though its formidable shielding grants it a soak of 15. The Eye of
Judgment attack deals 30 levels of Decimation to an area of up to Territory 5 and cannot be
parried, though its slow release time adds 2 to the Dodge DV of any forces seeking to escape the
area. In the event that the fortress explodes, it will inflict 50 levels of Decimation to every
dominion within an area of Territory 21.
Miscellaneous:
*'''The Eye of Autochthon''': The Eye is a Shaping artifact of near-limitless power, which affects
an area of up to Territory 20. Within that area, its effects are limited only by the user's
imagination: it can turn barren desert into lush farmland, raise up whole mountain ranges to
block (or trap) an invading army, re-route dragon lines to create powerful new demesnes or de-
power existing ones, even obliterate hostile kingdoms with earth-splitting tremors and volcanic
eruptions. This final effect is treated as a natural disaster with a Decimation and Severity of 10,
and can target a dominion of up to Territory 10 within its area of effect. The Eye's Shaping
powers are even more deadly to the Fair Folk: the user may target them with a surge of
calcifying energy, which annihilates every fae within a radius of Territory 7 and inflicts 30 levels
of Decimation within a larger area of up to Territory 10, but leaves other creatures untouched.
Each effect is invoked as a seperate dramatic action, with the more permanent changes (such as
creating a new mountain range) going into effect over the course of a full week.
Unfortunately, the Eye's power is extremely unstable. Every time its power is invoked, the user
must roll a single die. (If multiple effects are invoked in the same turn, the user must roll
multiple times.) When a 1 is rolled, its power backfires catastrophically: every living thing in a
Territory 10 area, including the user, is instantly annihilated--typically by transforming into
pillars of salt, spontaneously bursting into flame, or in some other equally impossible manner--
while every dominion within its area of effect suffers 20 levels of Decimation as the world's
natural geomancy violently reasserts itself. The geography of the region returns to its original
state over the course of a week, while the Eye itself has inevitably vanished without a trace.
= Thaumaturgy =