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Exalted: The Autochthonians (E:tA)

In Short

E:tA is an optional book that doesn't have to be a part of the Exalted cannon. This is great news for many folk who don't care for technomagic in their Exalted. However, if you're the type of person who likes clockwork daiklaves, crossbow wielding secret police, lightsabers, mecha, gun-arms, and other such blendings of fantasy, steam punk, and science fiction then you'll love this book.

I assume the reader has a general familiarity with Exalted products, though I do try to clarify a few things in the review for those that don't. The 1st Edition Exalted Core Book is required to play this game.

The Physical Thing

The art in the book is Above Average, and is a definite treat as many of the pieces really make the setting material come alive. Imagining Alchemicals with blaster arms and clockwork daiklaves is one thing, but seeing it is something else. All of the art in this book is black and white.

The Ideas

History

Autochthon was one of the Primordials, ancient beings before gods, and created most of the universe. Autochthon warred with its brethren and gave the secrets of making Exalted and powerful weapons to the gods so that they could destroy and drive away the primordials. After this war, Autochthon retreated from creation and sealed itself off to sleep away the years because of fear that its presence would incite jealousy and rebellion in the gods.

When it left Autochthon took some members of humanity with it and taught them many of its secrets. It created the Alchemical Exalted to assist in repairs and protecting the populace and fell into a great sleep. The humans settled in eight major cities where eight religions took root, and while they warred with one another on occasion they spent most of their work on the most important task of all – keeping Autochthon repaired.

Over four thousand years later Autochthon is falling apart. The original small group of settlers has expanded to millions, and the original eight cities are eight capitals among hundreds of cities. Still, Autochthon is far larger than creation and no being has ever come to know any of its borders. A three dimensional landscape of clockwork, piping, and tunnels Autochthon expands in all directions to an unknowable degree.

The magical materials necessary to keep Autochthon together are running out, and the souls taken from creation when Autochthon left are also running out causing some children to be born soulless and die. With the barrier separating Autochthon from creation knocked down, now is a time the people of Autochthon need heros more than any other. Someone to protect them from the gears and steam, from the clockwork antibodies of Autochthon, from the deprivations of the ruling class, and perhaps from Creation itself. They need the Alchemical Exalted.

Player Roles

Players take on the roles of the Alchemical Exalted, beings of metal and synthetic flesh build in laboratories and infused with powerful weapons to defend Autochthon from threats near and far. They are the celebrated and respected heros of their land, every citizen knows who they are and respects their service to Autochthon. It's the Alchemicals that fix the most complicated of machines, guard the cities from the exiled and incomprehensible monstrosities, and perhaps wage war in a foreign land so that Autochthon may survive.

Under the Cover

I should note that this book embraces the Exalted Player's Guide. Power Combat stats are listed for the equipment, and several times it references options presented in that book. The book has a great index, and frequently references material it discusses that is found in other books.

Here's a chapter by chapter breakdown of what you get.

Chapter 1 Autochthon and Autochthonia 42 pages.

This chapter provides a complete history of Autochthon, and is an interesting read on it's own. In addition to history we get political entities, geography, religion, international relations, the class based system and daily life in Autochthon, and a variety of interesting factions that can be found in the universe.

One of the most interesting aspects of the setting is the class system that every resident of Autochthon belongs to. Everyone in the world wears a Soul Gem which contains their soul for later use, and this soul gem has a cut and color which designates which class they belong to. While an individual can move, socially, within their class they can never transition up or down into other classes.

Chapter 2 Character Creation and Traits 30 pages.

Character creation is very similar to creation in the Exalted core book. The big difference here is that instead of receiving primary skills and points to spend on those skills Alchemicals get it for attributes. This isn't particularly weird, as I thought it might be when I heard of it. You just spend pools of points beginning with primary attributes, then Favored attributes, and then on anything you like. Primary attributes are determined by Caste and Favored are selected.

If I had to compare it to other games I would say that Caste is a strange mixture of race and class built more around a conceptual idea. In E:tA there are five Castes: Orichalcum, Moonsilver, Jade, Starmetal, and Soulsteel. Those familiar with Exalted will note that these are the Five Magical Materials of Creation, and they do indeed loosely relate to the five types of Exalted.

Each of these Exalted has a body composed largely of the materials they get their name from. Each of them may invoke an ability unique to their Caste called an Anima Effect, which is an aura which gives them a special power in addition to their Charms.

Orichalcum Exalted are the shining paragons. They are leaders, sages, and visionaries who guide Autochthon to a grand tomorrow. Their Anima, a field of crackling golden lightning, lets them use the destructive energy to smite their foes.

Moonsilver Exalted are the lurking spies that keep an eye on the populace and those that rule them. Speed, stealth, and deception are their trademark and they use it to make sure Autochthon continues to run smoothly. Their Anima, flowing quicksilver, lets them move faster than the eye may follow.

Jade Exalted are the face of the Alchemicals, interacting with the public daily. They're what the average joe worker looks up to, what the local community feels proud of, and the champion of the average person. They use their great bodies to protect workers from an accident as often as they patrol the city borders. Their Anima, which turns their clay-like flesh to stone and steel, protects them from harm.

Starmetal Exalted are the shadowy advisors, pragmatists, and scientists. They work behind the scenes to make sure there will be a future for Autochthon. Their Anima, an alignment of their soul with the Design of the Great Maker, gives them an aura of inevitability which makes them better at all things martial they undertake.

Soulsteel Exalted are the psychologists, the problem solvers, and the knives in the dark that keep society functioning. Their sinister patrols remind citizens of their place, and their patrols outside the walls protect citizens from things they will never know about. Their Anima, a wailing nimbus of fear, comes from the souls stored in their frames.

In addition to these flavorful new Exalted, appropriate virtues are recommended, new backgrounds are introduced, and a new stat called Clarity is brought in. Clarity is basically the battle between the humanity of an Autchthon's soul and the machine nature of their body.

One of the new backgrounds, Vats, is particularly interesting. When the Alchemicals want to swap out their charms, they must visit the Vats to do so. Vats gives them extra charms to switch out and decreasing the average wait time for them to get into the Vats and have a technician work on them.

Chapter 3 Charms 56 pages.

Charms in E:tA are different, but easy to explain. Instead of having as many Charms as they want, each Alchemical has Charm slots which they may place Charms in. Think of it as a number of places they can put cyberware if you like, for the Charms are all enhancements to their bodies. Alchemicals may learn more Charms and slots over time, with the one giving them more versatility when they know what they need ahead of time and the other giving them more raw firepower and options once a battle is upon them.

The Charms are incredibly well flavored to the setting, and reading over them gave me a great inspiration to play this game. This book does what many of its predecessors is so good at: making the reader think of how darn awesome a charm or situation is.

From such simple ideas as internal pulse cannons, essence capacitors, and reinforced frames to such incredibly neat ideas as the Perfected Lotus Matrix all of these charms are clever and fun to read. Perfected Lotus Matrix fits in the back of an Alchemicals skull and lets them learn any Terrestrial or Celestial martial arts. Neat, mechanically simple, and really cool to think about.

There are a lot of charms here presenting a wealth of options for Players and Storytellers alike. The real fun of a lot of these charms is how they alter the appearance of an Alchemical, in subtle or major ways, and how to incorporate that into a mental picture of these living mechs. In E:tA, it's very easy to tell what most of the charms other Exalted have are as you can see them prominently displayed.

Mechanically, Charms have minimum attribute requirements instead of minimum skill requirements and come in both Favored and normal varities. Favored charms are those that correspond with one of a character's favored attributes. Charms also cost essence to install, which can be a major balancing factor as some more impressive charms require a higher dedication of essence to install.

Another important and fun difference with these Charms is that individual charms often have additional abilities that can be purchased. In effect an Alchemical may “upgrade” a previously purchased Charm by buying another one of it's effects. Those familiar with past Charms like this, such as the Dragonblood Sense Charms, wont blink an eyelash. The upgrades are interesting and flavorful.

Chapter 4 Miracles of the Machine God 54 pages.

This chapter introduces Alchemical Sorcery, which takes the form of Protocols that affect Autochthon's systems. Most of the Sorcery is performed by summoning elemental golems and using their abilities. For example, an Oil Golem might be summoned and the Sorcery might take charge of it's powers by spending additional essence.

While it's just as thematic and evocative as the Charms, the Sorcery did not seem as fully realized and I suspect it's not meant to be as large of a focus for the Alchemicals as it is for many other types of Exalted.

I should note here that the six elements found in Autochthon are Crystal, Lightning, Metal, Oil, Smoke, and Steam. Each one relates directly to Autchthon's life processes and, like Creation, there is an elemental pole for each. Given that Autchthon is a three dimensional world more like a honeycomb than a plane the exact location of these poles is indeterminate.

Spirits and gods are also included, and a brief write up is presented on the eight major gods of Autochthon and what their role is. The spirits have their own spirit charms and each have a mechanical aspect to them just like the rest of the material in the book. The spirits and gods were both interesting and a welcome addition to the book.

The equipment was what I was drooling over, and for good reason. Everyone loves lightsabers, and the Beam Klave is a common weapon among the Alchemicals. Other common and nifty devices include a variety of crossbows, Gyroscopic Chakram, Armored Exoskeletons, Flaw Scanners, Filter Masks, and a variety of other neat devices. It should be noted that Alchemicals get three times the dots they spend on the Artifact background, so buying fun toys is encouraged.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7 A Brief Note

These three chapters each present a potential scenario from which a Storyteller could weave a campaign. They don't have stats for major NPCs, and they aren't structured in a session by session format. Think of them as What Ifs?, imagining the future as it might involve the Autochthonians. They take advantage of extensive information found in the other splats, and I would consider having at least a good familiarity with the Exalted cosmology important to enjoying them. While they do not have stats for NPCs and such, they often provide helpful information on what sorts of roles and skills are necessary to overcome various challenges.

These scenarios generally assume you're not just adventuring in Autochthon and that the characters are interacting with creation in some way. Let me be clear: I can imagine a hundred stories in Autochthon without even trying and consider it to be an interesting and fun setting. It would be very easy to run a campaign there without touching any of these scenarios, and they should not be considered necessary. That said, I think they're well put together and a fun read. I'd be excited to play in an Exalted campaign using any of them.

Each of the scenarios begins by giving an overview and describing what sorts of resources the PCs need for the campaign and what sorts of PCs are appropriate. This is well done and thoughtful on the part of writers because few campaigns like this go into such description as to how it should be setup.

Finally, Exalted is often an epic game. These campaigns are epic by Exalted standards.

Chapter 5 The Locust War 34 pages.

The general idea behind this scenario is that the Autochthonians invade Creation in order to harvest souls and Magical Materials for their own use. The Autochtonians are the aggressors here and might be considered the “bad guys”. This scenario is great for people who do not like the Autochtonians, as they make a great and horrible enemy that everyone can fight against.

If you've ever wanted to run a mixed Exalted campaign but could never think of a reason to keep all of the characters together then this is the 34 pages for you!

The chapter details how the Autochthonians fight (used to small group combat), what equipment they use (tanks!), and gives a step by step guide to their invasion. All of the scenarios, including this one, embrace the entire Exalted cosmology. This one describes how every faction reacts, notes that the Sidereals cannot foretell the future any longer fore the Autochthonians lie outside their sight, and includes a variety of the major NPCs from the other books.

There's even an invasion map depicting troop movements and what route the Alchemicals take in their conquest of creation. This is a wonderfully thought out scenario, and even if a Storyteller chooses to ignore it it's sure to stimulate the imagination.

Chapter 6 The Quest for the Great Source 42 pages.

Autochton has woken up, but is dying. The Eye of Autocthon hovers above creation, and it's up to the player characters to save the universe by bringing new souls to Autochthon. How will they do this? They'll forge a connection between Autocthon and the Well of Souls, creating a new era for all beings living and dead! See, I told you it was epic even by Exalted standards.

The players can take the roles of just about anything, but this scenario is probably best with an all or mostly Alchemical party working to save Autocthonia. Unlike the previous scenario, this one casts the Autochthonians in a more positive light and is much more appropriate for those who want to play heroic characters. As with all the other scenarios, however, this one offers advice on how to include anything you want into the PC group. Marvelous.

I think this is the most fun scenario as it provides a lot of travel across creation, while giving opportunity to occasionally revisit Autochthon when necessary. This is also the longest scenario, as it has a ton of ideas and information. I could easily imagine a multi-year campaign using this scenario, which would be a lot of fun.

Chapter 7 Engines of Extinction 24 pages.

The Great Contagion spills over into Autochthonia, the Abyssals invade, and only the player characters can stop them. Multiple potential solutions to this invasion are presented, and the price of failure is having all of Autochthonia plunge into the underworld when the great primordial itself dies. The final result would leave most of Creation at the mercy of the Abyssals.

This scenario is, believe it or not, more epic than the other two. Curing the Great Contagion and saving a primordial's life are pretty up there on the Exalted epic scale, and the intro recommends diverse characters that work as a team and have access to things as grand as Solar Circle Sorcery. Direct combat with a Deathlord is also a part of the scenario, and I can only imagine this scenario as being winnable by characters who are already high xp at the start.

The introduction of shadowlands in Autochthonia fuels the geek inside of me, and the book doesn't disappoint. Technonecromantic alterations to zombies and Deathknights are included, and suggestions on various ways in which the presence of death will affect Autochthon are provided.

My Take

This book is, in my humble opinion, underrated by a great many people. While I consider the technomagical elements of the setting to be incredibly cool, this book can also serve as an excellent campaign book for Storytellers wanting a reason to keep a group of disparate Exalted together. The Locust War scenario is especially good for those groups that want a grand Exalted story where they can play all types of Exalted unified against strange and alien invaders from beyond.

Just imagine a Night Caste Archer punching holes in a tank, an Air Aspect Immaculate dancing on the clouds and destroying supply blimps, and a pack of Lunar barbarians raiding a foul smelling outpost of the invaders.

I can say for certain that if you don't like technomagic, even as a weapon of the bad guys, then this book isn't for you. If, however, you like the Technomagical concepts of the Final Fantasy Seven or Xenosaga videogames and would like to see them in the over the top Exalted universe then you'll love this product.

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