From waging a campaign to spreading a mercantile Guild to infiltrating and converting a spy network, to building a grand Manse, sometimes the Exalted want to do long-reaching, large-scale endeavors that are best handled through a broad-stroking brush.
All characters can perform projects, and the nature of the project is informed by their abilities. Social characters interact with masses of people to form networks; martial characters can train and inform troops; crafter characters can create tools, manses, artifacts.
Projects require a certain number of Resources (RES) to complete. This resource is a generalized representation of everything from labor, physical materials, knowledge, and the like that can be applied to the Project. Once applied to the project, RES is permanently consumed—while the labor force may still be there, perhaps payment toward them ran dry, or they can no longer delay tending to their crops.
Much like XP, The Storyteller should periodically award RES to the players. However, unlike XP, RES should be more based on events within the campaign, such as recovering materials from a lost manse, gaining the workforce of a thankful village, etc.
Larger and more ambitious projects will require certain Keystone to complete. This can range from needing a General to command an army to requiring a significant amount of magical materials, such as Orichalcum or Moonsilver.
Keystone Resources are things that Players must seek out, which may spawn scenes, or even an entire Story!
Due to the generalized nature of Projects, the source of RES does not always match the application of them. It is simply assumed as part of the Project that RES is converted into the most applicable asset, based on a series of complicated trades and “off-screen” character activities: recovered gems could grease the eye of a noble, allowing for backroom deals that allow military training of civilians, for example. In general, this is all assumed to have happened, and does not need attention drawn to it.
In essence: RES is universally transitive.
One caveat is that the completion of a Project must be possible, given the time and circumstances of the characters. A militia cannot suddenly appear in the middle of the abandoned wilds simply because the player finally got enough RES after this session.
Players may freely transfer and give RES to other characters, should they so choose.
[[You need to choose an ability you are working off of.
The project you are undertaking must be justified in what you are doing. You are socializing to make a spy network, crafting to outfit an army, doing a sorcerous working to raise manses.
Anything that doesn’t match can’t be done.]]
Projects can be a way for characters to gain or improve Merits. For example, the character might decide to recruit Followers, establish a network of Contacts, or make an Artifact.
Common Sense, and the Storyteller’s approval, should be applied when gaining or improving a merit. People generally don’t simply just grow Extra Limbs out of the blue…unless they are in the deepest recesses of the Wyld.
If a character is improving a Merit to a higher rating, they pay the difference in RES, Keystones, and time between the ratings. For example, improving Contacts from Rating 1 to Rating 2 would be the difference between a Minor and Basic Project: 4 RES and 6 days.
All projects, save Basic Projects, will have at least one Obstruction Roll. These are events that pop up during the Project that can potentially derail, complicate, or even aid in the project.
If a Project requires multiple Obstruction rolls, it should be spaced out roughly evenly across the lifespan of the project.
For each Obstruction Roll, the player should roll a single d10:
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[[ Examples of extra benefits that can happen]]
Oddities are events that, while unexpected, are not directly harmful to the completion of the project. They could potentially be a boon, even, but require direct attention of the Exalt to resolve.
Beastmen have heard of your militia, and wish to join. Current members are uneasy and do not wish them to without your input.
Your cult desires a clarification on one of your rules: currently one of the members is in violation of the technical aspects of the law, but not the spirit.
The magical materials to create your artifact were slightly flawed, leading to a variance in essence flow. It might lead to a new and unintended strange power.
Problems, if not dealt with, will set back the Project.
A spy has not returned on time. You know they are not simply late.
Loss of a minor cache of resources. A spirit has started to disrupt the village.
An explosion rocked your campsite.
Supply lines are being disrupted.
Rumors of the Wyld hunt are near your border, but are unproven.
A Major Problem will derail the entire project if not dealt with.
Your workers have split into two different groups, on the brink of a civil war.
There seems to be an element inside your organization actively and effectively disrupting your society.
One of the magical materials was corrupted with Vitriol, and has started to speak the demon-tongue of Malfeas.
Oddities and Problems can usually be handled with a short scene with the Player explaining how the character handles the situation.
Major Problems, on the other hand, usually take at least a full scene, and potentially an entire session to resolve.
The total Cost of a Project is equivalent to the Base cost, multiplied by the sum of any opposition.
You must have a base score in the related Ability to start a Project.
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| Scale | Resource Cost | Obstruction Rolls |
Required Ability Score | Affects Population |
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Some Projects focus on altering an existing aspect of the world—such as repairing a great Manse or taking an existing network of people and converting them to work for you, or completely eradicating it altogether.
Since much of the work has been done already, these types of Projects will be reduced in scale, depending on the severity of the repairs or changes needed to be made.
Destruction of a Projects focuses more on doing so safely, and in a controlled manner.
Minor (-2 to Scale). The repairs and/or changes needed to be made are significant enough to warrant attention, but will not consume the Character endlessly.
Major (-1 to Scale). There is significant damage or resistance to your changes.
Monumental (-0 to Scale). It would be the same amount of effort to repair and or alter the Project as it would be to create a new one from the ground up.
This cannot decrease the Scale below 0.
There’s a Size 3 Assassin network the Eclipse Caste has recently become the leader of. Being a pacifist, he wants them to stop killing and convert into simply a network of Spys. There is enough internal resistance to this command that he must make a Minor Alteration Project (Base 3, -2) and so it becomes a Scale 1 Project.
Altering Owned Projects You can’t alter a Project if someone else currently owns it. You would first have to depose the current leader of a Spy Network and then take over the leaderless network as your own. |
When making a change on the world, sometimes the world pushes back. Modifiers will multiply the Resource cost of the Project.
Opposition Modifiers are typically active
If there are any Powers or effects that modifies the Resource cost, first resolve those and then apply this multiplier.
x2 - Significant
Results in a minor, but permanent supernatural force.
Change is directly opposed by powerful entities, ranging from mortal nations to other Exalted.
x4
Results in a permanent, significant supernatural force.
Opposed by powerful forces, such as the Deep Wyld, Gods, or a High-Level Exalted.
Example Projects:
Arming Militia
Repairing a burned down village
Establishing a spy network
Repairing a manse
Establishing trade
Creating a manse