sol invictus.indd

CHAPTER 3 • STORYTELLINGthe goal as there are Solars — force of arms, subtlemanipulations, impersonation, magical coercion,becoming the power behind a throne — the list goeson and on. Accomplishing this goal can easily formthe basis of a significant chronicle, as well, as theSolar gathers resources, scopes out the competition,and finally makes her strike. In addition, it makes agreat springboard to many other plotlines as well— including several discussed below.Building an empire. For certain Solars, a singlenation just isn’t enough. Some characters mayhave conquest in their eyes, and decide to buildand lead a huge army to conquest on a massivescale. This is an excellent opportunity — not onlydoes it provide you with an excellent knowledgeof what opponents the characters will face, it alsogrants you the opportunity to throw all kinds ofunexpected complications in the players’ way. Along campaign of conquest can generate a greatdeal of play just during the planning stage —gathering allies, locating materiel, and making upa plan of attack. Once the combat begins, beyondthe basic excitement of the conquest itself, there arenumerous surprises you can introduce — surprisealliances, sudden magical discoveries by opposingforces, or unexpected new forces joining the battle.(Fair folk, demonic hordes, and the vanguard ofan Autochthonian invasion force all work well forthis.) With a little work, you can keep such a plotsurprising and tense all the way up to the finalbattle.Conquering the Realm. A very specific sort of empirebuilding,the lion’s share of Solar conquest gameswill end with the aim of conquering the Realm itself.The reasons are obvious — it’s the richest nation inCreation, it’s the only world power likely to havethe resources necessary to defeat a well-establishedSolar empire, and, most personally, it’s run by abunch of conceited upstarts who slaughtered theSolars and robbed them of their birthright. All of theadvice listed for a general conquest campaign goesdouble here. An entire chronicle can revolve aroundconquering the Realm — with the number of alliesit can field and the sheer power of its forces, anySolar army will have to fight many, many battlesto draw near to the Realm itself. The PCs should beprepared to face foes beyond anything they wouldencounter when fighting against any other forcein Creation. The Realm has access to warstriders,Thousand-Forged Dragons, and numerous otherFirst Age weapons, and even in its current dividedstate would be certain to field them against anythreat of a great enough magnitude. In addition,the threat of the Imperial Defenses should hangover the PCs’ heads at all times — if anyone elsegains access to them, or the Empress returns, evena tremendous Solar-led army will find itself rapidlyoutmatched. Even with all these risks, though, therewards are more than worthwhile — ruling theRealm is clearly the first step toward restoring Solarrulership of all of Creation and the glories of theFirst Age.Defeating a Deathlord. Deathlords are built into theExalted setting as the perfect long-term, powerfulvillains. Their agenda of Oblivion makes sure they’llbe opposed to the long-term desires of almostany Solar; their power makes them incrediblythreatening, while their unique weaknesses keepthem from becoming untouchable. As such, a longgame can easily revolve around defeating one.The challenge posed by a Deathlord is obvious— each has the personal power of an Essence7+ Solar, access to the endless knowledge of theMalfeans, a potential retinue of millions of ghosts,zombies, and other servitors, personal access toExalted champions, and a storehouse of artifactsthat is second to none. However, the players arelikely to encounter these threats gradually — theDeathlords’ ability to operate in Creation directlyis limited, and each has numerous plans to devoteresources towards; thus, players are likely to havesmall encounters with their servants well before theyenter into full-scale conflict. By carefully playing upthis evolution, you can draw such a conflict out overa long time, letting players defeat the Deathlord’sindividual schemes at first and slowly build up toan all-out assault on his Underworld citadel.183