Editing Character:Ganamede, Flawless Orichalcum Gear

[[Category:Character]]

A character for ''Exalted Solars 1st Ed.'', created by Thanatos02. <br>

All of my characters follow the same basic rules, as noted here, though I don't expect anybody else to follow them. All of the characters are starting characters as outlined in the books. In generic books where a setting is assumed, I build a character that would fit in the setting. Where no setting is assumed, I build towards the contemporary era as the setting allows. In games that have no set point values or start character generation rules, I'll list specific guidelines built towards my assumptions of a 'beginning' or starting character.

My rules regarding fat-splats or series of games that utilize the same core mechanics is that when rules create suitably diverging types of characters, I'll construct one per setting I own. (For example, using Exalted, Dragon-Blooded and Solars are sufficiently different. In OMage, Order of Hermes and a Hollow One are not sufficiently different. In games with classes, different classes are not enough. They must essentially be different characters. Other people's opinions on what are different 'enough' really arn't my area of expertise. I build in good faith.) 

In any event, should the character posted not be according to the assumed structure of the Challenge Wiki, it '''will''' be alter shortly, and was probably the result of a time crunch. Thanks! I hope you have as much fun with this as I did. ^_^

== Campaign ==
This is a character for your bog-standard Exalted game, with no particularly unusual qualities. I wasn't able to find any notes about buying spells at character creation, but because they're treated the same as Charms are after creation, I let myself buy one (Demon of the 1st Circle) as if it were a favored Charm (due to Occult being favored). There's no Manse or hearthstones, but equipment might be a bit out of line for some Storytellers. 
On the other hand, a Resources 3 character with 5 dots in Craft with a double specialization can probably whip something up. I did set her up with orichalcum scalpels, but that's more for flavor then anything.

It turns out that magical materials (MM), of which orichalcum is one, add special bonuses when wielded by their matching Exalt type, so if miss Ganamede uses her Excellent orichalcum scalpel-knife in combat, then she gets several small bonuses. I'm mostly choosing to forgo these bonuses in concept, since I'm not yet sure how those bonuses react to either high-quality craftsmanship, artifact dots, or resources points. It was just something that sounded cool, so I'd recommend until I note otherwise, just assuming there's not enough of the material to add a substantial bonus.

My concept was of a character who, until she joins a circle or decides to do something epic, mostly worries about new inventions and creations. While this would eventually create game hooks, it's also easy to have an NPC who just makes things with cool shit PCs find (should they be lacking a crafting-type Exalt). Demons fetch materials, work bellows, and help defend from misguided attacks, and her crafting ally takes care of things she isn't required for. (I assume they were partners, lovers, or friends. He's heroic, and I haven't decided if he's more craft-y or more savant-y.)

== Character Stats ==

Name: Ganamede, Flawless Orichalcum Gear  <br>
Age: 19 <br>
Player: K Weston <br> 
Concept: Brilliant Engineer <br>
Nature: Savant <br>
Caste: Twilight <br>
Anima: Indigo Gearset <br>
Limit Break: Heart of Flint <br>


'''Attributes:''' <br>
Strength: ** <br>
Dexterity: *** <br>
Stamina: **** <br>

Charisma: ** <br>
Manipulation: ** <br>
Appearance: *** <br>

Perception: **** <br>
Intelligence: ***** <br>
Wits: ** <br>


'''Skills:''' <br>
''Dawn Caste:'' <br>
Melee: *** ''(Tools +1)'' <br>

''Zenith Caste:'' <br>
Endurance: ** <br>

''Twilight:'' <br>
Craft: ***** ''(Well-Equipped Workshop +2)'' <br>
Investigation: * <br>
Lore: ***** ''(First-Age Machinery +2)'' <br>
Medicine: * <br>
Occult: **** <br>

''Night:'' <br>
Larceny: *** <br>
Dodge: *** <br>

''Eclipse:'' <br>
Linguistics: ** <br>

'''Backgrounds:''' <br>
Artifacts: *** <br>
Resources: *** <br>
Allies: * <br>

'''Charms:''' <br>
Melee: Golden Essence Block <br>
Melee: Dipping Swallow Defense <br>
Craft: Flawless Handiwork Method <br>
Craft: Object-Strengthing Touch <br>
Occult: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery <br>
Dodge: Reed in the Wind <br>
Dodge: Shadow Over Water <br>
Larceny: Flawless Pickpocketing Technique <br>
Larceny: Lock-Opening Touch <br>
Linguistics: Whirling Brush Method <br>

'''Spells:''' <br>
''Terrestrial Circle:'' <br>
Emerald Circle Countermagic <br>
Demon of the 1st Circle <br>

'''Virtues:''' <br>
Temperance: ** <br>
Conviction: **** <br>
Valor: ** <br>
Compassion: ** <br> 

Essence: *** <br>
Will: ******** <br>
Personal Essence: 17 <br>
Peripheral Essence: 39 <br>
Committed: <br>
Limit: <br>
Health: 7 <br>

'''Listed Equipment:''' <br>
Excellent Hammer (Wrench)<br>
Excellent Chain Shirt <br>
Excellent Knife (Ori. Scalpal) <br>
Artifact Dots Unused <br>

Heroic Mortal Craftsman Assistant (Ally *) <br>

== Character Description ==
Ganamede represents two different design principles that I mostly see represented on RPG.net's discussions about Exalted. Because my mechanical skills are all second-hand (I picked up most of what I know by skimming mechanical information posted liberally on the boards), what I hear most often is the importance of reflexive defensive charms to stay alive and how easy and powerful it is to be able to hyper-focus. Because of Exalted's general skew towards a more potent character, I found I was easily able to max out Ganamede's  mundane crafting and lore capabilities and still be able to rely on a variety of potent defensive charms. 

Still, I might have over-done it. I'd have to re-look to see how redundant Dodge and Melee defense Charms are, to discover if I'd be better off buying up the chain on either one, or split the difference and retain Dodge while being more offensive with Melee. (Or if I should just buy up Crafts Charms or a few more spells.)

Regardless of my mechanical flubs, this wouldn't be a character I'd be embarrassed to take to a Solar campaign. She can function in a variety of roles (primarily so she doesn't slow down her Circle too much) and her power can only go up once those Artifact points are spent. Why they arn't is primarily a subject of the next section.

== Commentary ==
Exalted 1st Ed. never seemed to know whether it was a game of fluff or a game of immaculate crunch, and it shows. Charms are a granular and extensive part of the system, spells are in list form, and equipment has a bevy of associated numbers to compute, but when it comes to Artifacts (like OMage's Wonders), the rules are maddeningly elusive. 

What does a three-dot artifact do? How is it different from a two-dot artifact? When dealing with Artifacts, do the scale like Resources, where 5 dots might mean a nearly unending stream of 1-dot trinkets? The answers are available, but they're scattered and difficult to find. Even when they do make themselves clearer, they're still pretty vague. Which is why I'll define those dots, but at a later time.

Frankly, that's not the only issue I've got. Like D&D, Charms are huge in number and important to game play. Unlike in D&D, Charms are the majority of ones powerset, which means that poorly chosen Charms will hurt you more then poorly chosen Feats ever would. When playing Exalted, it's important to note that your character is primarily defined by Essence totals and Charm selection, plus whatever limits are encoded into the characters by the setting conceits.

I love Exalted, but it's a high-maintenance mistress. There are tricks to making it easier, but a lot of critical data is actually missing from the books.