Games - Terrestrial Exalted

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	Games - Terrestrial Exalted

The Terrestrial Exalted, also known as the Dragon-Blooded, are a sub-category of semi-divine heroes from the high fantasy role-playing game Exalted published by White Wolf Game Studio. Their society is outlined in the game's core rulebook, but they are given full attention in the "fatsplat" (hard-cover sourcebook) entitled Exalted: The Dragon-Blooded (ISBN 1588466566). Many readers have commented on the book's distinct resemblance to the world of Elric of Melniboné created by Michael Moorcock.

Overview

The central premise of Exalted is that gods have the ability to infuse ordinary mortals with a shard of their divine soul, exalting the individual into a demigod. The original Terrestrial Exalted were chosen by one of the five Elemental Dragons. In terms of raw power, the Dragon-Blooded are clearly the weakest of the five types of Exalted, but they compensate for their individual shortcomings with coordinated teamwork and sheer numbers (the Dragon-Blooded are the only Exalted type who are able to increase their numbers by breeding, and Dragon-Blooded nobility are expected to breed like rabbits; consequently, there are something like 10,000 Dragon-Blooded scattered across Creation, as opposed to approximately 150 Solars, 100 Abyssals, and 100 Sidereals).

During the First Age, the Exalted ruled an empire of unparalleled beauty. The three types of Celestial Exalted--the Solar Exalted
, the Lunar Exalted
and Sidereal Exalted
--formed the upper ranks, while the Terrestrial Exalted were their loyal servants. But the Solars grew arrogant, and the Sidereal and Terrestrial Exalted schemed to overthrow them. After the Solars were slain, the myriad enemies of Creation attacked, and the world would have been destroyed had not a Dragon-Blooded officer not managed to puzzle out the secrets of the Imperial Manse and repel the invasion.

This woman would become known as the Scarlet Empress, and would rule the world from the Blessed Isle, a 4,400-mile long continent, for seven centuries. Five years ago, she inexplicably vanished. Now, with her children fighting for her throne, the enemies of Creation have returned, along with the Solars.

Gameplay

The Terrestrial Exalted are brave, arrogant, decadent and sophisticated. They believe themselves mentally, physically and spiritually superior to everyone else in the world, and few have challenged that claim, until recently. Eleven squabbling Great Houses compose the Dynasty of the empire:

House Cathak: fire-aspected; militant expansionists.
House Cynis: wood-aspected; idle hedonists.
House Iselsi: water-aspected; almost exterminated; sneaky survivors.
House Ledaal; air-aspected; far-thinking strategists.
House Mnemon; earth-aspected; devout believers; second strongest family.
House Nellens; no aspect; scorned for their common-tainted blood.
House Peleps; water-aspected; conniving merchants and sailors.
House Ragara; earth-aspected; financiers with everyone in their debt.
House Sesus; fire-aspected; probably the strongest family.
House Tepet; air-aspected; recently suffered a devastating military loss.
House V'neef; wood-aspected; adaptable; the youngest House.

While most Dragon-Blooded are born into (or quickly adopted by) one of the Great Houses, individuals need not manifest the same elemental aspect of their house. Each aspect shapes the personality and powers of the Terrestrial Exalted in a different way. All Dragon-Blooded share an affinity for jade, one of the five magical materials; jade itself comes in five different types, each with different powers, to match an aspect.

Air-aspected (blue jade) are typically scholars, sorcerers and dreamers.
Earth-aspected (white jade) are craftsmen and martial artists.
Fire-aspected (red jade) are passionate socialites and soldiers.
Water-aspected (black jade) are tradesmen, criminals and sailors.
Wood-aspected (green jade) are healers, archers and rangers.

The children of the Dragon-Blooded are raised to expect Exaltation as their birthright, and are continually pushed to excel in all fields: academic, athletic, artistic and martial. After attending a primary school from ages nine to fifteen, they are expected to attend one of four prestigious secondary schools:

The Cloister of Wisdom, run by the monks and martial artists of the Immaculate Order;
The Heptagram, an academy that teaches the occult arts of sorcery and spirit lore;
The House of Bells, which trains its students to be officers in the Imperial Legions;
The Spiral Academy, where young men and women prepare to become bureaucrats in the countless bureaus of the Thousand Scales, the least prestigious but often most lucrative of professions.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Terrestrial Exalted ]

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