Athasian - The Green Gives Way to Black or White
Mar 17, 2020 19:11:31 GMT -6
Post by Traskus on Mar 17, 2020 19:11:31 GMT -6
Athasians come from various places. Most are the result of a world’s ecosystem desiring to protect itself, but some are the results of scientific research into the Ghyran (also known as the lifestream or the lore of life). It surrounds us, it penetrates us, and it binds the Wheel together. The philosophy of Athasians has been debated around the Wheel. At first glance preservers are good and defilers are evil, but prolonged observation shows their opposition is not dissimilar to the relationship between the gods. Each thinks the other is evil but an outside observer sees flaws in all parties.
Athasians are content with their existence until they see another Athasian. Dedicated defilers are competitive and territorial for resources because they're trying to gather all life force into themselves for the sake of making sure it's protected. Dedicated preservers are distrustful of each other and insist superiority over one another for peaceful coexistence to be possible. Novices may seek tutelage but they also might stay away from their own kind to avoid the influences.
Static Powers
Defile: When you spend Ley, allies in the scene lose one irreducible wound per Ley spent. These wounds may be allocated as you see fit.
Firebane: Not as bad as most type disadvantages, but I recommend caution anyway. Whenever you take damage from an E-type source, treat your resilience as 1 lower and increase damage taken by 1 wound after all other calculation. You take a check to resist catching fire.
Legno: As a plant, you are immune to poison and toxic properties, stunning, and don't need to sleep or eat. You ignore terrain caused by plant life (overgrown bushes, thorn brambles, and so on).
Preserve: When spending Ley, you may increase the Ley you spend by 1 to not Defile. You may spend Ley out of combat to heal others unless they have limitations preventing that (such as a Promethean's Refitting power).
Tell: An Athasian's Tell depends on whether they preserve or defile. If they defile, they draw the life out of their allies and ambient vegetation while the plants on their body bloom. The radius and severity of this grows as more Ley is spent to defile. If they preserve, vegetation sprouts in a radius around them and grows further as more Ley is spent to preserve.
Power stat: Ghyran
The lore of life is part of the Athasian's own. A young Athasian has extensive plant features due to their connection to it. As their Ghyran grows, their appearance changes to reflect their stronger connection to the Ghyran. The strongest of them have lines showing the magic circuits in their body and can even turn into incarnations of the Ghyran itself.
Resource stat: Ley
An Athasian has Ley equal to their Ghyran*2 + Intelligence*2. An Athasian can gain 1 Ley by spending half an hour basking in the light of a natural sun.
Ghyran | Power Gained
* Unending Abundance: You may spend Ley to grow an edible component that can feed one person per Ley spent. You may spend a Ley to give an acre of plants vibrant life to the point of bearing crop OR render an acre of land barren (a maximum of once per scene) to regain a Ley. The SM decides when and why one beats the other.
** Lore of Life: Whenever you spend any amount of Ley, regain 1 hp to a maximum of 1 hp per round. Your limbs can regrow if severed, fully functional when all critical damage is removed.
*** Athasian Savant: It is time to decide your true calling. Lose the Preserve OR Defile power. You gain speak language (Syrneth).
If you kept Defile, gain +1 constitution or strength. Your Defile power can now allocate wounds to enemies, but if you spend more than one on a single action at least one must allocate to an ally. You can no longer use Unending Abundance to give plants life. When you kill an opponent, regain hp equal to their constitution or the "size" of minions in a squad felled.
If you kept Preserve, gain +1 charisma or willpower. You may spend three Ley to re-roll a damage roll on attack you make. You can no longer use Unending Abundance to make land barren. When you spend Ley to recover hp (yours or someone else's), someone else nearby of your choice gains half the amount the target did to a minimum of 1.
**** Scion of Life: Whenever you take more than two wounds from a single hit, regain one Ley.
***** Maximum Dragoning: What you've been working for. You turn into a manifestation of your connection to the Ghyran. Once per session, the Athasian may use the spell Dragon Form, automatically passing the Focus Power test.
OR, if using revised core exalts
The transformation is a half action and lasts until the end of the scene. This power may be used more than once per session, but requires spending 4 Ley each time after the first.
[*]Their size is increased by 5
[*]They gain +1 dot to each physical characteristic and +2 to the characteristic chosen in Athasian Savant. If said characteristic is physical, only increase it by 2.
[*]Gain a giant pair of wings that grant the Flyer trait at twice your ground speed.
[*]Gain a breath weapon that may be used as a flamer once per round.
[*]They again a bite/claw natural weapon (2k2 R; melee, brawling)
[*]Any equipped gear is absorbed into their body for the duration of the transformation and therefore useless unless an effect such as the Dedication spell affects it
[*]Their size is increased by 5
[*]They gain +1 dot to each physical characteristic and +2 to the characteristic chosen in Athasian Savant. If said characteristic is physical, only increase it by 2.
[*]Gain a giant pair of wings that grant the Flyer trait at twice your ground speed.
[*]Gain a breath weapon that may be used as a flamer once per round.
[*]They again a bite/claw natural weapon (2k2 R; melee, brawling)
[*]Any equipped gear is absorbed into their body for the duration of the transformation and therefore useless unless an effect such as the Dedication spell affects it
Athasian Plantform Assets:
Bark
Your body is as though it were a wooden sculpture and might even be covered in a thick bark. Gain AP to all locations equal to your Ghyran. All non-E-type critical damage dealt to you is treated as I damage.
Beast
As a creature of nature you attune yourself to wildlife in ways other Athasians can't. Honestly I think that's a mistake but you do you. You may speak to and use social skills on animals. You can understand their speech, if crudely.
Herbs
Thanks to your various plant parts (needles, sharp leaves, sap, etc.), you count as always having a fully-stocked medkit and have a +0k1 bonus to crafts tests. Doesn't replace a full set of crafting tools but it helps when you have one.
Poison
A poison courses through the magic circuits of your being. You are immune to disease. Your unarmed attacks and natural weapons (yes, even the breath weapon) gain the toxic property.
Thorns
You can't rain such to pin people to the ground, but people hesitate to shake your hand. You gain a thorn weapon (1k1 R; melee, brawling). You may spend a Ley as a ready action to gain a shield.
Athasians: Maybe Black, Maybe White, Absolutely Green
Physical Features
Athasians begin as dryad-like plant life forms (thus the nickname “Woodlings”). They’re green and/or brown most often, with obvious features of vegetation. They are covered in nondescript leaves at first, but over time their choices manifest on their body. Preservers grow things such as clover, herbs, or flowers from most trees. Defilers grow more parasitic peripherals such as water hyacinth, mistletoe, rafflesia, and the like to reflect the accumulation of the Ghyran into themselves.
As an Athasian grows, their plantlike features give way to an appearance more indicative of the choices they have made. Defilers become more draconic and necrotic like the legendary Everblight and preservers gain a more aeon-like appearance in the vein of Orboros. Both have visible vein-like lines showing the magic circuits in their body.
Becoming an Athasian
The most common source of Athasians is the acclimation of an individual to conditions most stressful to life. Dying worlds birth the most Athasians. Not enough water, thinning atmosphere, runaway mycosynth infestation, or the like. A rarer source of Athasians is an individual looking to understand the lifestream. They tap into it and it changes them. Some say it’s a reaction from the Ghyran itself while others say it’s some god or another forcing this change upon them to enact their will. Nurgle’s fond of preservers, if nothing else.
Playing an Athasian
Playing an Athasian is a measure of priority. Defilers aren’t stronger, per se. Quicker, easier, more seductive, but not stronger. They aren’t necessarily selfish (though plenty are); most of them are just trying to survive but can't see the forest for the trees. Preservers try to be selfless but in so doing risk losing their individuality. Young Athasians may strike a balance but to gain true power requires risking their morality one way or another.
Athasians often serve as master and/or apprentice to other Woodlings. Allies, mentor, and status background dots are flavorful if nothing else. That said, you can just ignore all that nonsense and just play a magic dryad that favors nutrient fixing or parasitism/decomposition. That’s how this Exalt’s fluff started, believe it or not. This Exalt is open-ended but preservers tend toward casting and defilers tend toward melee combat as they advance. Dryads make good Athasians for their photosynthesis feat’s synergy with their resource regeneration.
In game
As far as plot hooks go there are some options. The Athasian might want to reach an Athasian they have ties with (they got kidnapped/missing/etc.). The Athasian might have a rivalry with another of same or different “alignment.” The branching path of the Exalt and the duality of each path prompts no shortage of conflict.
“Preserver” doesn’t mean “good.” “Defiler” doesn’t mean “evil.” This is a narrow view of the Exalt. Preservers seek to preserve nature but that can mean blowing up cities and innocent people who are culpable to the destruction of nature just as they might go out and plant a forest. A defiler can make a desert but that might finally bring about the end to a century-long war or starve out a polluting civilization. Call that peace. A preserver would have just kept growing crops to enable an army to keep fighting or to keep polluting.
Athasian Culture
Heh, culture. Because plants. Woodlings are looked upon with a level of distrust by everyone. They’re valued for their ability to feed others but that often comes at a price. Their fractured nature leads to bad apples on both sides disrupting the world around them. Conflict can arise across and even within the branches. Don’t think just because both Athasians in the party are preservers means they’ll get along hunky dory, nor should you believe two defilers will act in competition.
