Lunar Exalted
Who Are the Lunars?
The Lunar Exalted are the Stewards of Creation. When they fought against the forebears of the gods during the Primordial War, this was perhaps most clear. Preparing for the war, Luna forged her Chosen with an eye toward defending the Essence of the world, since it was inextricably tied to her Primordial lover Gaia. The Silver Lady realized that the fighting might destroy the very Creation they hoped to gain, and she endeavored to instill a persistent defense against this possibility within the hearts of her Exalted.
The Lawgivers sought to co-opt this role later in the later First Age, but they did not completely succeed. Some Lunars never completely accepted Solar rule, and even those who did often resisted Solar domination better than the rest of Creation. Most Children of the Moon still considered their stewardship to extend from Luna, however much the Solars might have manipulated the Lunars to the contrary.
In the Time of Tumult, the claims of stewardship are as varied as the Lunars themselves. Raksi has become queen of the ruined City of Sorcerers and custodian of the priceless Book of Three Circles. Tamuz leads a handful of tribes in the South and secretly considers the mighty Delzahn of Chiaroscuro his personal ward. Younger Lunars, such as Seven Devils Clever, might initially protect a single crime-ridden neighborhood in Nexus, but the goals of the Exalted cannot stay so small for long.
Many of the eldest Lunars feel some degree of duty to defend the entire world against the omnipresent threat of dissolution by the Wyld and invasion by the Fair Folk. As such, the Lunars claim vast territories at the edges of Creation or near unstable Bordermarches. Younger Lunars often try to act in a similar role, if only because the Silver Pact encourages its members to join in defense against the Wyld. Nonetheless, the Pact has never managed to unite every one of the Children of the Moon, and Lunar Exalted can be found in nearly any quarter of the world. From the dismal swamps of the Southwest to the halls of the Haslanti Oligarchs, the Silver Lady's Chosen win renown as mighty warriors or remain unknown due to their cunning. Only the Blessed Isle remains free of their presence, for smart young Lunars are quick to leave if they can, and foolish ones perish at the hands of the Wyld Hunt.
Castes (Short)
Each Lunar begins without any caste at all. Those known as the Casteless spend their Exalted lives shifting from one castelike state to the next as surely as the eternal phases of the moon. Given their close connections to the Wyld, this is a dangerous state of being in the Time of Tumult. Most Moon Chosen eventually meet elder Lunars who convince them to accept the Wyld-suppressing tattoos and fix their caste. Once branded, the Lunar gains protection from the Wyld and becomes a member of the Full Moon, Changing Moon or No Moon Caste.
- Full Moon: Deadly warriors who survive via speed and strength.
- Changing Moon: Cunning agents who survive through guile and subtlety.
- Caste Attributes: Charisma, Manipulation and Appearance.
- Anima Powers: May appear as a person known to the Lunar for one scene. Gains Essence dice to actions assisted by trustworthiness of chosen image.
- No Moon: Wise mystics who survive due to their intellect and ancient lore.
- Caste Attributes: Perception, Intelligence and Wits.
- Anima Powers: May reduce the mote cost of all Occult-related actions (whether Charm or spell) taken for the remainder of the scene. Also gains an obscuring aura of shadows.
Shapeshifting
The Lunar Exalted have two separate magical skills granted them by Luna: their Charms, intuitive but powerful abilities, and an inherent ability to change their shapes, refined through Knacks. Both are integral to the lifestyle of a Child of Luna.
As Luna shows many faces to Creation, so too do her Chosen, changing their shapes with skill and cleverness. Changing from any form to any other takes a single miscellaneous action. Other than the time required, changing shape requires no concentration and only a little Essence. No dice roll is needed. Essence spent on changing form is not committed, and changing does not count as Charm use. As with other miscellaneous actions, the shapechange is effectively instantaneous—its Speed determines only when the character next gets to act.
During the change, observers see the character's features shift. Hair grows or scales form on his skin, the face acquires a beak or loses the porcine snout, and hands become hooves or talons turn to feet as he changes to or from an animal form. When in a given form, the Lunar is really that creature. His skin is its skin, his voice the animal's voice, his blood its blood. It does not register as a magical disguise to Essence sight. Only the character's mind and the core of his Essence remain his own. Anything the character carries or wears disappears with the transformation. These tools usually fade into Elsewhere as the Lunar takes on a new form. When the new shape can use the equipment, it carries over instead. A character's clothing and knife go away when she changes from her human true form to her Spirit Shape, but remain when she changes into another person. Clothing and other fitted materials shift somewhat to make sure they fit. Lunars with Changing Plumage Mastery can shift their clothing even more.
When in a form other than her human form, the Lunar uses the Strength, Stamina and Appearance natural to the other form. A Lunar in animal form uses the lowest of her Dexterity or the animal's natural Dexterity—you just can't make a tortoise tap-dance or run like a racehorse... without the Internal Form Mastery Knack, anyway. (Human forms use the Lunar's own Dexterity.) Her other Attributes remain her own. Most characters in animal form suffer severe penalties trying to enter social combat with humans, if it is possible at all. The Lunar also gains any special attacks, such as trampling, and methods of movement, such as flight or speedy burrowing, available to the creature. Instincts that come with the animal form are under the Lunar's control, and they give the Exalt limited ability to communicate with animals of the same species.
No known physical or magical force can prevent one of Luna's Children from shifting shape. If a Steward chooses to wear a different form and it lies within her power, she can take the action to change, even when magic constrains her from taking any action at all. Only some force that prevents her from choosing to change shape, such as unnatural (or perhaps natural) mental influence or being unconscious. Some Charms may eliminate even that danger.
Although shapeshifting is not a Charm-based power, shapeshifting qualifies for the Obvious keyword. When observers see a Lunar transform, they know the character did something magical—no Essence display needed. On death, the Lunar always returns to the last worn of his true forms. Any Lunar's first true form is the shape he wore when he Exalted. The second is his spirit shape.
Spirit Shape
At the moment of Exaltation, a Lunar gains her first animal shape. This is the character's spirit shape, reflecting the character’s nature and temperament. Exalted who are sly might discover the snake or raccoon, the mighty could find bulls or bears, the wise sometimes see raitons or the lone wolf. Of the last, for example, a character who speaks with wise deliberation found over many travels might take the wolf as spirit shape; the one who prefers to spend more time with the dead and speak in cryptic squawks chooses raiton.
From that moment on, the Lunar Exalt can take on the shape of her spirit animal. This is one of the Lunar's true forms, the first she receives after her natural human shape, and Luna's first gift to the Lunar. Changing to this true form or to the Lunar's true human form costs only one mote, no matter what shape the Lunar wears at the moment. As a true form, the Strength, Stamina and Appearance of the spirit shape are considered natural.
In her spirit shape, a Lunar displays her permanent moonsilver tattoos, which arrange themselves artfully along the natural contours of her animal body. Likewise, scars, losses of limb and other permanent damage suffered by one true form become visible in the other. Such markings benefit from the same magic as the Tell, becoming difficult to notice. It is the same for the war form.
The spirit shape of a specific Lunar is unique and personal. Two different Lunars might both have a wolf as their spirit shapes. The bloodthirsty warlord may assume a massive, red-maned lupine form, while the hardy Northern shaman takes the shape of a lean, white winter wolf. Barring the use of Charms or shapeshifting, the warlord's wolf-shape is unique to him, a distinctive, individual example of the red-maned wolf. As a consummate shapeshifter, the warlord might devour the Heart's Blood of other wolves and steal their shapes as well. Only his personal spirit shape is one of his true forms, however.
Choose a single, specific animal you consider totemic to your Lunar character. Try to describe this spirit shape with the same care you give to your character's human form. What are the distinguishing characteristics of your second shape? Does your winter wolf have eyes as blue as the Northern sky on a clear day? Does your fox form's fur have a darker undercoat that seems to give it a faintly purple shading?
Players may only choose creatures that are valid targets for the sacred hunt as a character's spirit shape. In order to create a character with a mouse or yeddim totem, the character must take the appropriate Knacks.
The Tell
Luna moves through the sky, ever-changing in her glory. Yet, she is always the moon. So it is for the Lunar Exalted: Whatever form they might take, their Essence stays the same. Each Moonchild possesses a singular characteristic known as a Tell, which marks her in some way regardless of what shape she might assume. Though the Tell may express itself differently depending on the Lunar's current form, the fundamental signature of the Tell does not change. Some Lunar elders believe the Tell is essential to holding together their protean forms, and certainly, the moonsilver tattoos used by the Silver Pact incorporate the Tell into their designs.
Choose a Tell that represents your spirit shape and will appear in some manner throughout your shapeshifting. Many Tells appear white or silver in color. If your second shape is that of a snowy owl, you might have a fine mantle of down upon your shoulders in human form. In every other form, your character might show mottled marks reminiscent of an owl's feathers. For complete rules on the Tell, see Tells.
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