Advice for GMs

This section contains information and advice for GMs running the Exalted Wheel. If you're a player then you may move along to the next section, or continue reading this one.

Anima Flare
The Anima is a powerful and scary and somewhat uncontrollable thing. There’s the initial fear or wonderment that a mortal feels when they see it, but that doesn't happen in a vacuum. They'll remember it (if they survive), tell stories about it, make legends out of it. The word always gets around eventually... So here are some example consequences that you may use if a PCs Anima was witnessed:

Slow Burning Consequences
In a few days, weeks, or months (or before the end of the adventure): Word is passed on to the wyld hunt and a cadre of inquisitors show up in town to conduct a formal investigation (anathema only); Word reaches the bureau of destiny, in heaven, and a sidereal shows up a to see what went on (and perhaps hopes to recruit you to their cause); Prayers of salvation are made to a local spirit and they decide to finally listen to their cult for once and start plotting an intervention; Rumours reach a king or queen, a cartel or magnate, or another exalt in a nearby region and they reach out to contact you to further their own agendas; A relationship, affiliation, or circle hears the word and grows suspicious, nervous, or distrustful of you (if it keeps happening they may even become an enemy); You gain an infamous reputation, or lessen a positive reputation; A deathlord hears of your exploits and sends some ghosts or an abyssal from the underworld to spy on you; A demon wishes to meet you, and will try to find you the next time they are let loose in Creation (or the next time you visit hell).

Fast Burning Consequences
Immediately, in a few hours, or the next day (or before the end of the session): An undercover wyld hunt agent was present in the scene, witnessed your transgression, and wants to kill or capture you (anathema only); A bystander is so distraught by your presence that they start screaming bloody-murder, or threaten to kill you, or attempt to kill themselves just to get away from you; A spirit is present or nearby and tries to intervene; Someone attempts to assassinate you; All the shops close up, the streets are abandoned, and no one wants to talk; The guards show up to arrest you or levy a fine; The ship leaves without you; You gain an annoying adoring fan.

Footnote: Obviously these shouldn’t all be invoked at once, and you can add to these lists, or modify them to suit your situation. You can also combine them. Don’t be too punitive, but have a little fun. Also, if you're familiar with the "Powered by the Apocalypse" way of gaming, then you could even start clocks for such consequences.

Too Much Anima Flare
If a character fails an Essence test after continually opting for Anima Flare: Their anima flares too strongly and all mortal witnesses are blinded, injured, mutated, or gain some other trait; They draw too strongly on the essence of the world around them and force all other characters in their presence to make Tax tests; They must make a Steel test with the margin of failure added to their hesitation Ob; They accidentally cause a thematically appropriate disaster (e.g. earthquakes, avalanches, fire-storms, a plague of frogs, burning daylight, terrifying nightmares, wyld taint infections, paradoxes, animated dead, poison gas clouds); They get the exact opposite of their intent; They lose their ability to use channeling powers for the rest of the day (or the rest of the session), or until they perform an appropriate ritual or meditate.

Note: If one of these consequences is chosen, the GM must inform the player of it and explain why it’s appropriate (if it’s not obvious) before they roll—to give them a chance to back out or choose Tax instead.

Supernatural Martial Arts
What about the Supernatural Martial Arts? You may impose that failure for an ‘ordinary’ use of the martial art causes accidental Anima flare, which can have similarly apt consequences to those mentioned above, but this is an extreme option. Generally speaking it is assumed that the character is well-trained enough in a martial art that you can keep it from going totally off the rails… Treat most failures for ordinary uses of a martial art like you would an Elven skill-song.

Shapeshifting
When successfully using the Lunars Shapeshifting powers there are normally no major consequences, but when a Shapeshifting test fails, you may invoke Tax, Hindrance, Enmity, Infamy, or an Unintended Effect (BWC pp 288-289). What follows are some additional unintended effects that are specific to shapeshifting:

Cursed with this form!
If the you're feeling nice (or maybe this is harsh?), an Unintended Effect could be that the lunar gets their intent, but is now trapped in the new form they've taken. It becomes their new "true form" for a number of lunar months equal to the margin of failure; or until some other condition is met. If the lunar needs to present as their real true form, they must make a new transform action to turn back into themselves; but this alternate version will suffer from Tells and Abjection as per the usual rules.

Bird brain!
The character believes that they have successfully taken the desired form, but hasn’t. (Only use this one if the player is willing to play along.) If properly roleplayed this can earn them a persona for embodiment, and probably a fate for humour; but remember that they still failed their Shapeshifting test!

Alternatively, the transformation is successful but one of the lunars beliefs or instincts is randomly replaced by one of the new form's until they change into something else. If it's an instinct that gets replaced mark and Ob 4 test for Abjection, if it's a belief mark an Ob 6 test.

Doh, not that one!
If the character is attempting to turn into a creature for which they have an affinity, then a funny unintended effect could be that they instead transform into a one of their other affinities (chosen randomly). It can be awfully inconvenient turning into a fish when you meant to be the Swedish ambassador.

This can't be right?
If the lunar is trying to turn into something completely new (and never before tested) then maybe they get something wrong. The character get's their intent (or something close to what they intended), but it's either another creature of the same order or class, or the creature has some random mutation or deformation. Either way, add the margin of failure as superficial wounds while in that form. (I'm using wounds he just to make the calculations easier, the wounds are removed as soon as you turn back.)

When to “Yes” Essence?
If the scene is private, or all present characters are friendly and aware of the player’s status as an essence wielder; when using Essence to do something more mundane, or non-violent; if the scene happens over an extended period; when there are no compelling failure conditions; if the intent is valid, but you know the answer doesn’t matter (e.g. the character want’s to to check for traps, or intruders, but you know there are none): These are all reasons to just say “yes” and narrate their effect without consequence.

See BWC pg 221, and pp 270-278 for additional commentary on Faith, which can largely be applied to Essence.

Commentary on Charms
Channelings—as the default replacement of most of Exalted’s Charms—have an improvised feel to them, which I like, especially since there are no “motes” in this system (though taxing to avoid anima flare kind of works like motes-by-proxy). The original Exalted material on charms can therefore be used predominantly as inspiration, rather than doctrine.

When a player wants to use an anima channelling it should inform you as a GM that you can take your grim and gritty boots off for a little bit. The mere act of getting Essence involved allows normally impossible things to happen. The Miracles of Essence section has examples that will give you a far better example of what the "power levels" at play here are.

Thus, it is only when that consistency is integral to the function of the charm that the Trait Burner from the BWMB (pp 68-76) should be used to develop trait-like charms. A few examples of these can be found in the Traits List (such as Ox-Body Technique). These can rack up a high cost of trait points though, and the trait burner is a somewhat clunky and rightly criticised system, so take care if you decide to use it—and make sure the GM and all other present players agree to it’s use.