sol invictus.indd

EXALTED • SOL INVICTUSRebuilding the Solar Deliberative. Many Solars willseek to return to the “proper” working of things— with the Solar Exalted the undisputed rulersof Creation. For some, this will require building aconsensus of the Solars as a whole, drawing themall together to form a new Solar Deliberative whichcan issue its pronouncements to the corners of theworld. This may prove far more difficult than itmight first appear, however. There are hundredsof Solars in Creation — and unlike in the FirstAge, each has been brought up with a differentheritage, homeland, and view about what’s bestfor Creation. Trying to get the Solars, who vary asmuch as humanity itself, to agree even to disagreemight prove to be more than the PCs can handle.To accomplish this goal, they’d best be prepared totravel across the face of Creation, and get involvedin some fairly significant negotiations with a varietyof bizarre and eccentric characters. Having a baseof operations and something that might pass fora recognized mandate probably couldn’t hurteither.Acquiring an unimaginably powerful artifact. InCreation, there are some objects that providenearly unimaginable power to their possessors.The Sword of Ice. The Mantle of Brigid. The Eyeof Autochthon. These and more are artifacts thatpromise their wielders the ability to accomplish anygoal or achieve any victory. Of course, as a result,finding and acquiring them will be that muchmore difficult. Many such artifacts are lost to themists of time, with only rumors of their existenceto lead hunters towards them. Others are only toowell known in the Second Age — and wrestingthem from their owners would be a challenge initself. Still, a significant plot can revolve aroundresearching the location of a fabled object, questingafter it, and defeating whatever forces stand in theway of the characters acquiring it.Restoring the glories of the First Age. Many looklongingly at the past, bitterly regretting the vastloss of knowledge and power that occurred in theUsurpation. For the Solars, however, the abilityto reverse that loss is available. With the poweravailable to them, Solar Exalted can learn to buildthe wonders of the First Age again, restore thosethat have broken or failed, and usher Creation intoa new era of paradise. This is an excellent long-termgoal for PCs — it’s something that can serve as thebasis for a large number of individual adventureswithout necessarily dominating the chronicleas a whole. Questing for damaged artifacts, losttomes, or First Age mentors can make for excellentgames.Journeying to other worlds. The world of Exaltedis larger than just Creation — numerous otherworlds lie beyond its borders, waiting for theintrepid adventurer. For characters who begin togrow complacent about adventuring in Creation,a trip to Autochthonia, the Underworld, Yu-Shanor Malfeas may very well be in order. Each of theseworlds has its own unique logic and its own specialdangers, ready to harm the unwary Exalt. Forcharacters used to operating in a familiar millieu,the unusual rules of these alternate worlds canprove to be an unending source of interest. Thereasons for characters to journey to these worlds arealmost endless — seeking out a powerful treasureor a wary foe, seeking lost information, or lookingto rescue a friend, for example.Defeating an all-out invasion from Malfeas. The timehas come: after millennia of seeking to test thelimits of their prison, the Yozi have finally decidedto win their freedom from the vile, hated beingswho imprisoned them so long ago. There is almostnothing that could pose a greater threat than thearmies of Malfeas, hordes of horrific demons withpowerful Infernal Exalts at their head, pouringinto Creation to tear it asunder and pave the wayfor their masters to return. For Solars, this wouldrepresent the greatest possible challenge to theirrule over Creation — and the greatest opportunityfor heroism they might ever encounter. This storywould need to be built up over a great deal of time— carefully introducing the Yozi and their minionsas long-running, epic villains and preparing theplayers to battle them. All the advice given abovefor running games of conquest suddenly turns on its184