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Rules for playing the Lunar Exalted, an extensive discussion of their history, culture, and beliefs, and tons of new Charms and other abilities can all be found within this tome.
The Good: Reading this book makes me want to play a Lunars game immediately. The Lunar Exalted are downright fascinating, exercising genetic manipulation and empire building on the small scale to prepare themselves for a new world order.
The Bad: Charms are distributed by Attribute and it can at times be difficult to find a particular type of Charm. There may be some balance issues when Lunars are mixed with other Exalted types.
The Physical Thing
This 238 page black and white hardcover showcases excellent production values for its $31.99 price tag. Good formatting and editing lead to an easy to ready product, which is great since the writing is so enjoyable that once you start you won’t want to stop. The artwork is good, as usual, and the opening comics are very entertaining and even connect up well with the text.The only downside here is that the index seems incomplete and rushed, filling only one page and containing formatting errors. This ultimately results in somewhat involved Charm navigation.
The Ideas
During the Usurpation, when the Dragon-Blooded and their allies rose up to slay the Solars, the Lunars suffered even worse than their mates. Some were killed, some watched their lovers die, and others experienced a great conflict of loyalties between their mates and the seemingly just rebellion against them. Many Lunars died in this period, but a few escaped and hid at the edges of civilization. They’ve had a long time to think about what happened, and they have a plan. While some teams of Lunars brave the most civilized and settled areas of creation to save newly exalted Lunars others build new societies in an attempt to find an alternative to the Solar Deliberative. Some are disasters, others mere failures, but a few shining successes bring hope to these scattered Exalts who spend their time looking to the future.Under the Cover
Chapter One The Silver Pact 40 pages.
Mythology, political organizations, history, and philosophy all fill this chapter, effectively telling us who the Lunars are and what they’re about. Originally created by Luna to be the second most powerful of all Exalted, who were also tied to Solar lovers, the Lunars filled the roles of advisors and generals but rarely politicians and leaders. After the Solar Exalted were slain and the world was thrown into chaos the Lunars had an opportunity to reinvent themselves. Political parties among the Lunars that were weak before became influential. While deciding what their next step would be the Lunars moved to the edges of Creation, avoiding their Dragon-Blooded pursuers and often living in the Wyld.
As time passed the Lunars began to suffer the effects of the Wyld. Their shapechanging nature made them especially susceptible and many became ever-shifting monstrosities called Chimerae. Horrified at what was happening to their people the Lunars worked diligently until they invented a way to protect their bodies from Wyld influence – Moonsilver tattoos. With these tattoos a Lunar would never become a Chimerae, but it was important to apply them early in a Lunar’s life to prevent the creation of more monstrosities. While this invention saved the people as a whole, it resulted in the destruction of several Castes and the loss of many Lunar heroes.
Today the Lunars are organized into a large society called the Silver Pact. Members follow the Silver Way, a common philosophy that arose to address many new difficulties in Lunar life. Tents include “Never Flee; Never Surrender”, “Repay Your Debts”, “Be Just And Generous To Those Beneath You”, “Slay Not Your Brothers And Sisters”, and “Defend What Is Yours.” The reasoning behind many of these is obvious. The Lunar population has been small, due to their often violent lives, and killing other Lunars is too costly to be allowed except in the most extreme of situations. Ritual dueling, with the loser owing the winner a great debt, has replaced the more lethal ritual combat of the past. Repay Your Debts allows elders to guide the society as a whole, as many younger Lunars owe several debts to their elders. More importantly, this code enables the roleplaying aspect of playing a Lunar. It drives story forward through simple debt collection (“Now I call in the debt you owe”), provides non-lethal trial by combat (ritual dueling), and encourages characters to help one another (“Slay Not Your Brothers And Sisters”).
The five major factions presented each cover a distinct area of Lunar life, from a martial approach to existence to the desire to protect the natural world from encroachment. While not supported by mechanics, these factions do a good job of further fleshing out Lunar society and providing the reader with a host of character concepts. Given that they don’t all get along they also provide an excellent opportunity for political drama within Lunar society.
Chapter Two A Better World 36 pages.
The Solar Deliberative failed. It ended in corruption, decadence, and rebellion. Now that the Solar Exalted are finally returning to the world it’s more important than ever to find a way to structure and maintain societies that doesn’t require the ruling hand of a Solar Exalt. This is the goal of many Lunar Exalted, and behind many great and horrid societies across Creation a Lunar may be found.
This chapter kicks off with a wide variety of approaches towards nation building. Does the Lunar declare herself ruler overnight, or does she rule from the shadows using visions and omens? What sorts of positive reinforcement does she use to guide her people? Military superiority over their neighbors? Bountiful harvest? What does she do when her experiment fails? Many questions and potential answers are presented, and they do a great job of focusing the reader’s attention and helping a group interested in nation building to figure out how they want to go about it.
The rest of the chapter details different societies built by Lunars. How they were made, where they went, and what they’re like now are all discussed. Some of these societies are tiny – just one or two islands in size. Others, like the Haslanti League, have grown to be small and successful empires that demonstrate the effectiveness of wise guidance from an immortal patron. Every one of these tales is fun to read, interesting, and guaranteed to give the reader ideas for what they want to do in their Lunar game.
Chapter Three Character Creation 11 pages.
Lunars are built under different point totals than other Exalted and have different options available to them. Let’s start exploring those!
Unlike Solar Castes, Lunars are separated into three major groups and a fourth that exists outside the Silver Pact. These are the Full Moon Caste (warriors), the No Moon Caste (mystics), and the Changing Moon Caste (tricksters and rogues). Each has its own unique abilities and aptitudes in addition to a sort of cultural heritage. The fourth group, Castless Lunars, represents those who haven’t been found by other Lunars who intentionally avoid Lunar society and have chosen not to accept the Moonsilver tattoos.
Want to learn more? Let’s build a character! First step: Character concept!
| Example: I want to play Seleph, a young Lunar male whose abilities and Spirit Shape (every Lunar has a special animal form they may take at will) are at odds with one another. Known as the Silent Elephant, Seleph’s Spirit Shape reflects his single mindedness and dedication to duty but does conflict with his role as a spy and infiltration specialist. His goal in life is to infiltrate the Imperial Manse and gain access to the First Age weaponry stored within so that Creation may be protected from the next inevitable Fair Folk invasion. |
Caste, Tell, and Motivation are chosen at this stage in addition to the Spirit Shape. The Tell appears in all the Lunar’s forms and hints at their true nature. Motivation describes a character’s goal in life.
| Example: I choose the Changing Moon Caste for Seleph. His Anima power for being a Changing Moon is the ability to spend 10 motes and appear as anyone he knows. He also gets Charisma, Manipulation, and Appearance as Caste Attributes which means they’re cheaper to increase and he gains an extra Attribute point to spend on one of them. His Tell is big, floppy ears in all his forms. For Motivation I choose “To bring the Imperial Manse under my control.” |
Eight, six, and four dots are distributed among the three groups of Attributes, similar to how Solar Exalted are created. Players also gain a Favored Attribute which works the same as the Caste Attributes and, after selecting it, are allowed to distribute a free Attribute point to one of those four Attributes.
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Example: I prioritize Social, Physical, and Mental Attributes in that order. I imagine him as being friendly but generally unstudied and a little stupid at times. I choose Dexterity as my Favored Attribute and drop my additional Attribute point there.
Str 2, Dex 5, Sta 3, Per 3, Int 1, Wits 3, Cha 3, Man 4, App 4 Favored Attribute: Cha, Man, App, Dex |
I have 25 points to spend on Abilities and none may be higher than three at this stage. Ratings in certain Abilities are mandatory to reflect the training a young Lunar receives. Additionally, all Lunars receive Survival as a Favored Ability and may select a second Favored Ability for free.
| Example: I select Stealth as my second Favored Ability and spend my points on the following: Survival 2, Martial Arts 3, Awareness 3, Stealth 3, Socialize 1, Presence 1, Athletics 3, Dodge 3, Investigation 3, Bureaucracy 3 |
Lunars receive a number of additional Backgrounds, discussed later in the review, and have a total of 7 points to spend on them. They also buy 8 Charms or Knacks. Knacks are similar to Charms but are only shapeshifter powers – thus making them distinct and easy to find in the text.
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Example: I pick up the following Backgrounds: Contacts 3, Mentor 1, Resources 1, Reputation 1, Heart’s Blood 1 (Elephant, Black Cat, Cardinal)
I decide to buy half Charms and half Knacks to get a balance of shape shifting and mystical abilities. Here’s what I end up with: Knacks Towering Beast Form (allows the Lunar to shift into very big creatures, such as Tyrant Lizards) Prey’s Skin Disguise (allows the Lunar to take the form of humanoids) Deadly Beastman Transformation (allows the Lunar to turn into a powerful human/animal hybrid) Internal Form Mastery (use the higher of the Lunar’s Dex or the new form’s Dex) Charms 1st Charisma Excellency (spend Motes to add dice to Charisma-based rolls) Third Dexterity Excellency (spend 4M to re-roll a Dexterity-based roll) Finding the Needle’s Eye (reflexive defense against ranged attacks) Dog-Tongue Method (talk to animals) |
As with Solar Exalted, Lunars purchase Virtues, Intimacies, and spend Bonus Points to round out their capabilities.
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Example:
Virtues
Compassion 2
Conviction 2
Temperance 2
Valor 3 Flaw: The Curse of the Raging Bull
Bonus Points +1 Cha – 3 +2 Stealth – 2 +3 Virtues – 9 +1 Resources – 1 Essence 2, Willpower 2(3)+3(5)=8, Personal Ess (Ess + Willx2), Peripheral (Ess x 4 + Willx2 + Virtuex4) Personal Essence: 18 Peripheral Essence: 44
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That’s it! Note that Lunars who exist outside the Silver Pact are built under slightly different rules that emphasis their flexibility but lesser capability, due to their lack of having been trained.
Chapter Four Traits 20 pages.
While some of the existing Backgrounds are altered slightly, the new Backgrounds are what will draw the attention of most readers. Heart’s Blood, a familiar staple from 1E, has been pumped up. Lunars normally must consume the blood of a creature to be able to shapeshift into it, and the default assumption is that a starting Lunar can only transform into his single animal form. While one rank gives the character 1-3 known forms to shift into, 4 ranks will allow for up to 40 distinct forms and 5 ranks takes it even higher.
Reputation provides an established and powerful reputation among the Lunars. Solar Bond provides a powerful connection to a lover and companion from an earlier Age. Taboo allows a Lunar without Moonsilver Tattoos to partially resist the effects of the Wyld. Finally, Tattoo Artifact allows for the Moonsilver Tattoos to also possess potent mystical powers. Lunar Anima Banners, Caste Powers, Virtue Flaws, and other details round out this chapter.
Chapter Five Charms And Shapeshifting 73 pages.
Unlike Solar Charms, Lunar Charms are grouped around Attributes and often involve raw power rather than unbelievable skill. Seemingly well balanced and diverse, the system does a good job of including a diverse group of Charm sets under every Attribute such that a character isn’t stuck in just one specific role. While the Charms are diverse the real powerhouse Charms are the Excellencies which comes in three forms – add dice to an Attribute roll, add Successes to an Attribute roll, and re-roll an Attribute roll. Other Charms cover everything from balance to crafting to social manipulation.
Knacks are different. They’re like Charms in that they have Attribute and Essence prerequisites, but many don’t have an activation cost and just extend the Lunar’s shapeshifting ability. For example, one Knack will allow the Lunar to take the form of a plant while another will allow the Lunar to steal forms without drinking blood. The range of possible abilities is broad, but each ability is narrow offering only one permutation on the basic idea of shapeshifting into an animal.
I love both the Charms and the Knacks. The Knacks, in particular, are beautifully simple while offering new options so cool my imagination was fired up with ideas. Who doesn’t want to walk into the magistrate’s office and turn into a Tyrant Lizard? But, be aware that many of the Knacks just allow for a narrow variant on shapeshifting. Those more accustomed to games where a player buys “shapeshifter” and moves on may find this irritating.
Chapter Six The Casteless And The Chimera 17 pages.
This chapter focuses on two things: Chimera and Mutations. Chimera are Lunars who have been exposed to the Wyld without Moonsilver tattoos to protect them and have lost their sense of self, becoming ever changing, destructive monstrosities. A discussion of these strange beings and how Lunars can transform into them over time is presented.
The Mutations, however, are useful for everyone. Some Charms, notably Deadly Beastman Transformation, allow a Lunar to select appropriate Mutations as special powers granted by a new form. They’re also used to build the abilities of a Chimera. On the whole they do a good job of representing a wide range of natural and supernatural animal-like capabilities, and should be especially fun to play with for players building their Beastman forms.
Chapter Seven Storytelling 19 pages.
A good portion of this chapter just expands on standard GM advice with a little more focus on Lunars specifically. The most interesting and exciting part of the chapter, however, is a collection of campaign seeds. Several of them alter many of the basic assumptions of Exalted. What about a campaign where a Fair Folk invasion force twice the size of Creation itself is just spilling over the edges of creation? How about one based in the Shogunate? In addition to a variety of cool ideas, brief but useful support for playing in different regions is provided.
My Take
Lunars is an excellent product, improving on the earlier edition in every way. The book was fun to read and left me filled with ideas and really wanting to get a game going. It’s hard to say anything more positive about an RPG than that. The Lunar Exalted have their own unique feel now, and with a large variety of play options I can easily imagine a group enjoying a dozen campaigns focusing exclusively on Lunars without growing tired.If you’re a fan of Exalted be sure to pick this one up!
