LORE: THE INTERVENTION OF GAIA
There are rumors spread among only the most skilled of Ithaeur and Cahalith, that the real reason the Earthbound went into their slumber of ages was because of the combined efforts of not Father Wolf and Luna, but of Father Wolf and Gaia.
This Story is True.
There was a final gambit the Idigam (that not been captured yet) tried in order to prevent their banishment to the Moon. They chose to coalesce, turning their ever-shifting, quicksilver beings into something more solid, more real. They still could not be killed by Father Wolf, they were true immortals and reformed as quickly as they were destroyed, only back into the same shape as before.
So Gaia entreated with the monsters, in council with man's mortal fears the greatest of the Beasts were crafted, Primoridal monsters of earth and flame. Titans. They were called the Behemoth, and they were created as foils to the natures of the coalesced. And the Behemoth fought the Earth-Bound to a stalemate. They couldn't be killed completely but they could not act in the world without being countered. They hid, deep in the Earth and waited. They could not die but they also could not live. They entered the deathless slumber of the ages (Lovecraft much?). The Primordials could not find them, for they hid deep in the flesh of the Mother Earth herself. The Behemoth were so mighty that their mere presence shook the world, shattering mountains and warping the Primordial Nightmares of man and the dreaming world. So Gaia sang to these living weapons, her children, and lulled the Titans into a slumber.
Then Father Wolf was slain. The world was shattered in half, into the tangible and intangible. The Dark Mother was slain, Mother Earth was reduced, man's first city fell. The Time of Nightmares had ended.
Notes from Azazel: From this and legends like it, It's not really clear if the Behemoths are the children of Gaia, the Dark Mother, apart, together or with the Urfathar. In fact, not really clear if Gaia and the Dark Mother are two different entities or the same one. Popular mage cosmologists would say that the Dark Mother was a being of the Primordial Dream, maybe even the sum of Primordial Dream itself. Gaia should be a shadow spirit, one of two Rank 10 entities in the known Tellurian (Sol Invictus being the other). Neither of those Rank 10s are scientifically confirmed as you can't find or talk to them and live to tell about it apparently. Well, at least if anyone has confirmed findings they aren't sharing with the common body of mage lore. Adding further confusion, is Gaia a Celestial Spirit like the other planetary courts of the Deep Shadow or is she a Terrestrial spirit or Elemental? All this gets confusing really quick.
There are rumors spread among only the most skilled of Ithaeur and Cahalith, that the real reason the Earthbound went into their slumber of ages was because of the combined efforts of not Father Wolf and Luna, but of Father Wolf and Gaia.
This Story is True.
There was a final gambit the Idigam (that not been captured yet) tried in order to prevent their banishment to the Moon. They chose to coalesce, turning their ever-shifting, quicksilver beings into something more solid, more real. They still could not be killed by Father Wolf, they were true immortals and reformed as quickly as they were destroyed, only back into the same shape as before.So Gaia entreated with the monsters, in council with man's mortal fears the greatest of the Beasts were crafted, Primoridal monsters of earth and flame. Titans. They were called the Behemoth, and they were created as foils to the natures of the coalesced. And the Behemoth fought the Earth-Bound to a stalemate. They couldn't be killed completely but they could not act in the world without being countered. They hid, deep in the Earth and waited. They could not die but they also could not live. They entered the deathless slumber of the ages (Lovecraft much?). The Primordials could not find them, for they hid deep in the flesh of the Mother Earth herself. The Behemoth were so mighty that their mere presence shook the world, shattering mountains and warping the Primordial Nightmares of man and the dreaming world. So Gaia sang to these living weapons, her children, and lulled the Titans into a slumber.
Then Father Wolf was slain. The world was shattered in half, into the tangible and intangible. The Dark Mother was slain, Mother Earth was reduced, man's first city fell. The Time of Nightmares had ended.
Notes from Azazel: From this and legends like it, It's not really clear if the Behemoths are the children of Gaia, the Dark Mother, apart, together or with the Urfathar. In fact, not really clear if Gaia and the Dark Mother are two different entities or the same one. Popular mage cosmologists would say that the Dark Mother was a being of the Primordial Dream, maybe even the sum of Primordial Dream itself. Gaia should be a shadow spirit, one of two Rank 10 entities in the known Tellurian (Sol Invictus being the other). Neither of those Rank 10s are scientifically confirmed as you can't find or talk to them and live to tell about it apparently. Well, at least if anyone has confirmed findings they aren't sharing with the common body of mage lore. Adding further confusion, is Gaia a Celestial Spirit like the other planetary courts of the Deep Shadow or is she a Terrestrial spirit or Elemental? All this gets confusing really quick.
The Primordials existed since forever in the Wyld, though they were asleep until Cytherea woke up and helped the rest of them do the same.
The Primordials are impossibly vast alien beings with multiple souls. Imagine if Cthulhu was the size of Asia and you could meet and hold conversations with his major organs, which had separate identities, and you kinda get the idea.
They each have an overall Soul, which is their being, and that soul is composed of many subsidiary souls. They are defined by their Third Circle souls, and most importantly by their Fetich Soul (though it might be that they define their souls... the Fetich Soul contains their self-identity). Their Third Circle souls have multiple Second Circle souls, which are less important (their deaths affect the Third Circle soul less than the death of a Third Circle soul affects the Primordial). Both the Third and Second Circle souls are independent entities that can be off doing their own thing at any given time. Their Second Circle souls can have independent children that are First Circle souls, whose deaths do nothing to the higher souls besides occasionally offend them.
Each of these souls has one or more bodies known as jouten, and the overall Primordial has a worldform jouten (with its own name) that is usually a planet or realm made of their concept (though some settle for impossibly huge creature). Primordial souls are called devas, Yozi souls are called demons (which is more of a political distinction), and undead higher-circle souls are hecatoncheires.
List of Primordials[edit]
Although they were originally all bros the primordial war split them into two groups. The collaborators (who got cake) and the loyalists (who got soul lobotomies).
An altered Fetich changes the Primordial, a dead Fetich caused the Primordial to implode and become something completely new (but thematically similar), and all Third Circle souls dead "kills" the Primordial.
Intact Primordials[edit]
Originally all the primordials were alive, but following the great war only two remain fully intact.
Gaia: Mother of Creation. Being one of the few primordials with anything passing for empathy she wisely sat out the war and survived. Wandered off the edge of nowhere looking for answers and hasn't come back since.
Autochthon: The great maker. Got sick of his jerkass brothers and sisters wrecking his crap and sided with the humans (after operating on his fetich soul to install learning). Like the flatmate of a sociopath he got a little worried about sharing Creation with the now triumphant (and cursed) exalted and decided to sleep outside. Currently has a terminal illness that runs around his body trying to murder the people living inside him, who already had enough to deal with from the fact that his genius never led him to invent the safety rail since machines can't hurt him. Thanks to a bit of DIY brain surgery, he's replaced his fetich soul with himself, effectively meaning he's the only primordial able to understand things outside his paradigm. Unfortunately, he's terrible at it.
Yozis[edit]
Malfeas, the Demon City: The Manic-Depressive former king of the Primordials. Even when he was intact he had problems wrapping his head around the concepts that other beings had opinions, or that he should care. Currently sewed inside his own stomach imprisoning his kin (or, if you're feeling unkind, turned inside-out and shoved up his own ass), he wants nothing more than to flip the proverbial table on Creation and start over, though only after torturing everything in it to death forever, at least twice. Hates everything and everyone in Creation... but hates himself most of all.
Cecelyne, the Endless Desert: One-time head judge of the primordials and current insane desert, Cecelyne surrounds the Realm of Malfeas in an endless expanse. Her laws aren't as popular these days and mostly consist of "if you can kill it, then it belongs to you," as part of a big, nihilistic thingummy to show the meaninglessness of all law. Word of God says that she is Borderline Personality Disorder incarnate.
She Who Lives In Her Name, the Principle of Hierarchy: - Obsessive-Compulsive She Who Lives was in charge of order and hierarchy back in the day, and recent events have only reinforced her longstanding belief that freedom is the problem with creation. She was only narrowly convinced to give her exalts free will, and seeks to rectify the condition whenever and wherever she can. Also, blew up most of creation in a fit of pique after the war by smashing three of the orbiting crystal spheres that comprise her being into it, irrevocably reducing and damaging herself in the process. May or may not have been Malfeas's lover before both of them went balls-out crazy, and usually has her absurdly-long, problematic-for-the-books'-word-count name rendered as SWLiHN, or Swillin'.
Adorjan, the Silent Wind: Once Adrian, the river encompassing creation, she had her Fetich soul Lilike killed in the primordial war and turned into a howling windstorm. She's not really mad about it though. In fact she's happy as can be. She loves creation, she loves exalts, and she'd love nothing more than to summon up her winds and give you a big hug. Her exalts get a charm to instantly fall in love with people and then get bonuses for hurting them. She hates most sound though, hence the "Silent Wind" (and one of her charms is called Hateful Wretched Noise), so demons of Hell play loud music constantly in order to ward her off.
The Ebon Dragon, the Shadow of All Things: The original sociopath. The elemental embodiment of dickishness, or more simply, opposing other beings from their goals, which is about all he knows how to do (he had this urge before other beings had goals). He is the least mutilated of the Yozis due to a timely surrender and is still capable of (mostly) rational thought. As such he is one of the prime movers in the demon city. He was responsible for cursing the Solars (well telling the others how to do it and fueling it with their dying breaths) and was the driving force behind the Green Sun Princes. He is basically backstabbing everybody all the time, and if Return of the Scarlet Empress is to be believed he is so irredeemably treacherous even his own component souls are scheming against one another. Oh and he's also a stalker.
Kimbery, the Sea That Marched Against the Flame: The suffocating control freak to Adorjan's deranged stalker. If you're on her bad side she'll consume you under her acidic waves. If you're on her good side she'll lavish you with affection (usually in the form of acidic waves). Nobody survives Kimbery's attentions for too long one way or another.
Cytherea, the Mother of Creation: The Divine Ignition, she is the Big Bang itself. She helped wake the primordials and build creation. Beyond that not much is known about her.
Oramus, the Dragon Beyond the World: When the Celestial Incarnae and the Exalted Host imprisoned the Yozi, they assured themselves that escape was impossible. Then they glanced at the primordial whose entire schtick is "impossible", and realized that extra steps needed to be taken. They broke Oramus's wings, all seven hundred and seventy-seven of them, and wrapped him up inside a shell of his own self. So now the universe's most powerful reality hacker is trapped inside himself, becoming more and more insane. Needless to say, shit is going to get fun if he ever escapes.
Isidoros, the Black Boar that Twists the Skies: A yozi who takes the form of an unstoppable rampaging black hole in the shape of a boar. Likes screwing destiny and penetrating things, dislikes rules and inevitability. Unsurprisingly the cause of mountains of slash fic both in and outside of canon. Currently in a bromance with Szoreny that may or may not include a "b".
Sacheverel, Who Knows the Shape of Things to Come: The Abhorrent Prophet Unimagined. Another yozi who had his fetich soul killed (because that's always a good idea) and turned into a deranged seer as a result. While he sleeps he sees infallible visions of the present. If he should ever wake up he will see infallible visions of the future, forcing everyone to follow what he sees. Nobody wants Sacheverel to wake up. (Except maybe the SWLiHN.)
Hegra, the Typhoon of Nightmares: A storm of emotions and patron of traders. While she despises phyisical form, she loves fucking with people, demons and humans alike, by inciting riots of random emotions just to see what happens.
Elloge, the Sphere of Speech: Another victim of Fetich death, Elloge got gender swapped and turned into a silently moving sphere of linguistic concepts. Unlikemost Fetich deaths, not overwhelmingly terrible for everyone as a result. If you stumble into her by mistake prepare to engage in narrative kung fu battles with the past participle tense.
Szoreny, the Silver Forest: A giant silver forest and mimic. Szoreny loves you, Szoreny hates you. He's the quickest way to travel around Malfeas if you don't mind running through a twisted house of mirror inhabited by clones. Probably the least maniacal of the Yozis, he's working on getting a pardon for himself and his sometimes boyfriend Isidoros so he can have his revenge at long last live in harmony with creation. (Which may or may not involve conquering it first, but go back and read Malfeas's entry if you don't think that still qualifies him as "least maniacal.")
Qaf, the Heaven-Violating Spear: A mountain with no base or apex, ascending him involves spiritual growth.
Metagaos, the All Hunger Blossom: OMNOMNOM. A gigantic swamp that eats everything that steps within his confines, including abstract concepts, because haven't you been paying attention? Escape his grasp, you'll be riddled with diseases since he's devoured your health. Fail to, and you'll become a part of him as he devour your individuality. You'll know you're getting close when things start turning gray, because he's eaten all the color. There's only one way out of him, in fact there is only one possible direction to go, because he's devoured all the other directions. Not the paths, the concepts of those other directions. He's chewed holes in himself and pieces of his brother primordials have begun to bleed through. Those who pass through may have spent hours and found day have passed, or seconds and come out years later, as Metagaos has been chewing time itself. Adorjan would like him, as he devours sounds, but she likes silence for its solace and serenity, and Metagaos has eaten those things too.
Other[edit]
Mardukth, Who Holds In Thrall: The Mountain and the Beast Upon It. The original king of the Primordials who served as the cornerstone of Zen-mu, the Primordial's original homeland. He could never wrap his head around if he was real or not. The Ebon Dragon (then the The Dragon's Shadow) introduced him to Malfeas (then Theion, The Empyreal Chaos) who kicked his ass by virtue of being the concept of being the king.
Neverborn[edit]
Some of the Primordials were slain before they could surrender, struck down by Ghost-Eating Technique and other such spirit-destroying powers. Since primordials can't even conceive of death, let alone think to program the reality they built to handle it, reality promptly shit a brick and jammed. Now they sit trapped between existence and nothingness, whispering to people about how they should really consider the merits of killing everything everywhere forever. Also, their name is also another name for their still-living kin (there is nothing extra, they just took a synonym and ran with it).
On the one hand, they've effectively been trapped at the very moment of death and can feel the mold eating their bodies forever - killing everything is the best way they can think of to simultaneously do that (freeing themselves from their torment via oblivion) and give one last middle finger to the people that killed them. On the other hand, they could probably just let go of their primordial forms and go off into the wyld again, but they're forever stuck in a self-pitying downward spiral, too obsessed with their own depression and misery to actually improve their situations short of dragging everyone else down with them.
Abhorrence of Life
Father of Murder
He Who Holds In Thrall (while none of the Neverborn are really unique characters, this one was probably Mardukth)
Perfected Principle of Consumption
Tears of Want
Whose Whispers Chain - worshiped by the Pelagials, a species of manatee-people living in ruined underwater cities in the oceans of the West. Speaks through the mummified corpses of their princes.
The Dragon That Was - What the fuck did you do?! If this guy shows up in your campaign it means you killed the Ebon Dragon (somehow?). There's not much fluff on what this means, except that it's all-but guaranteed to be bad.
The Engine of Extinction - Similarly this is the result of what happens if you killed Autochthon, or let him die or whatever. Congratulations on turning one of the few benevolent cosmic entities in the game into the Rape-o-matic 9000.
Crafted by the Primordials in the dawn of time, or forged from the very fabric of Creation, behemoths are beasts that defy description. Though many were crippled or destroyed in the Primordial War and the ages that followed, they are difficult to destroy, and many of these mighty beasts still walk the lands.
Note that the word "behemoth" is also used officially for a type of creature that Fair Folk can use as shaping weapons. These are listed in Artifacts/WyldArtifacts.
Acasi, the Soul-Drake - A creature that grows weaker in the presence of souls.
ChaosMonsters are the 11 Terrible Monsters of the Sea of Chaos
Greenstar: the Southern relative of Lodestar from the North, awakened some hundreds of years ago by a Wyld Hunt.
Mahako, Mistress of the Pride
Omphalan, the God-City
Rask, Builder of Mountains
FrozenHermit/Behemoths
The Pack - CrownedSun
You can hear the huffing sound of their breath behind you, the light falling of padded feet on wet black earth. You run faster, every fiber of your being filled with terror. A howl rings out ahead, and you quickly change direction, moving away from it. You know they are running you down, channeling your flight where they wish for you to go, but you can do nothing else. The desire to survive is too great, and your clothes are still covered in the blood of your companions. The Pack has you.
Savants know them as the Prime Wolves, or the First Pack, yet among the Barbarians and Traders who linger too close to the Pole of Wood, they are simply known as the Pack. A remnant of the Primordial Age, once the Pack lingered all over the East and North, hunting anything that they caught the scent of or beckoning to the call of their Master, Arad the Hunter. They were five then, each the size of a pony; thick fur, rippling muscles, sharp claw and jagged fang, fast and strong. Little could stand against them, and food was always plentiful -- cities of humans, powerful gods, even Behemoths could fall before the combined effort of the Pack. Strongjaw was the Alpha, leading the Pack in service to the Creators and in the constant and never-ending search for food. Fastclaw, his mate, saw to the protection and well-being of the Pack in all things. The other pair, Ripper and Stalker, ran and ate and fought and mated -- living the lives that they had been created for, happy and full of purpose. And, of course, there was Runt.
Then came the Solar Exalted, and the War against the Creators. What could the Pack do but fight? For a time, the maws of the Pack ran red with the blood of endless numbers of humans and Exalted. When one of the Solar Exalted slew Strongjaw, however, the Pack was broken -- shattered, in fact. Runt ran first, yipping and scared off into the Woods to hide. Fastclaw, overcome with rage, fell upon the lines of the Dragon-Blooded and the other Exalted, only stopping in her slaughter when she was maimed to near the point of death. Ripper and Stalker ran off then, and the Pack was broken and lost. Fastclaw, limping away as quick as her injured leg would take her, howled mourning for her beloved and for the loss (and cowardice) of her Brothers and Sisters.
Yet, such unnatural states cannot last forever. The Pack are one, and slowly Fastclaw found the others. Runt had been nearly slain by the Dragon Kings in the days after the War, but she nursed him back to health. Ripper and Stalker had ran off into the dim reaches of the North, hunting the Mammoth and the Elk, when Fastclaw found them -- they did not wish to follow, but she grabbed Stalker by the throat and would not let go until she relented and after that a simple growl was enough to bring Ripper into line. The East, she told them, that is our home now. The Pack left then, to the furthest reaches of the East, leaving the Exalted to their stolen creation.
The Primordials are beings that existed in the Wyld long before Creation was formed by their efforts. A Primordial is composed of lesser souls - individual entities in their own right - which are also composed of autonomous lesser souls. Each Primordial has a favored concept or principal that it promotes or embodies, and each of its lesser souls also represent some aspect of the Primordial's personality, or favored concept.
The Primordials differed from the unshaped raksha of the Wyld in their desire to put order to the chaos of their environment. The unshaped raksha found the Primordials' desire for stability unsettling.
At the beginning of the Primordial War there were twenty-seven Primordials living in Yu-Shan.
Only two Primordials sided with the gods during the Primordial War. Gaia and Autochthon, Great Maker. The rest were either slain, becoming the Neverborn, or imprisoned, becoming the Yozis.
The Primordials were -- and are -- the beings that created Creation. They were overthrown by their servants, the gods in the Primordial War. The slain Primordials became the Neverborn; the survivors were imprisoned in one of their own (Malfeas) and became the Yozis. Two Primordials remain whole and unchanged: Gaia and Autochthon. There were also two further Primordials unaccounted for, one later returned to initiate the Aftershock War (where it was eventually slain) and the fate of the latter remains unknown. In 1st Edition, the slain primordials were known as the Malfeans; this changed to the Neverborn in 2nd Edition.
A large number of CreationTheories involve the Primordials.
in:
Exalted glossary
Primordial (AOS)
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you might also check Primordial (disambiguation)
Primordial is the term applied to those who came before the gods and first wrenched Creation from the chaotic stuff of the Wyld.
Contents[show]
Overview
EditThe Primordials originally lived in Yu-Shan with the gods managing affairs from the Blessed Isle, until the gods engineered a revolt against the Primordials using the Exalted as their agents (due to a powerful Geas placed on the gods at their creation, the gods cannot themselves attack their Primordial creators).
With their death, the Neverborn cursed the Exalted with the Great Curse, leading to the corruption of the Solars and the end of the First Age. Only two of the gods are even aware of the Great Curse (Lytek and the Maiden of Secrets), and despite their efforts, the Great Curse is effectively unbreakable.
Only two Primordials survive intact: Gaia, who remains in Creation, and the Great Maker Autochthon, who fled into exile in the void of Elsewhere. The rest were either slain, becoming the Neverborn, or imprisoned, becoming the Yozi. Primordials created the gods as administrative assistants, to manage creation while they played the wondrous Games of Divinity.
Nature
EditThe exact nature of the Primordials is open to extensive debate; the only Primordials left are Autochthon and Gaia, and Gaia has not been extensively detailed. However, some information can be gleaned from Exalted: The Autochthonians and Games of Divinity. GoD details the Yozis extensively, while E:TA covers Autochthon, who has some similarities to a Yozi. Within this section, we will assume that Yozis and Primordials are relatively close, although the Yozis may be twisted, perverted or otherwise reduced slightly.
Unlike the gods, who are somewhat comprehensible from the human perspective, and who can be bullied around even by a Terrestrial Exalted when necessary, the Primordials are a different order of being, closer to fundamental laws of the universe made manifest. The most basic difference between the Primordials and other entities is a simple matter of size and scope: Gaia is Creation; Malfeas, first among the Yozis, is a giant city containing all the other Yozis in some fashion; Autochthon is a separate realm unto himself.
In addition, the Essence of the Primordials is too large to be contained in one self. Primordials subdivide their personalities into at least 8 distinct souls, representing different aspects of their identity and worldview; these souls may themselves have subsidiary souls. In Autochthonia, these souls form an additional pantheon of deities.
Finally, life and death for Primordials is of a different nature than it is for other creatures. While Primordials can die, it appears to be more equivalent to a reconfiguration rather than a cessation of existence. Primordials do not enter Lethe or reincarnate, as they may be too big for such a concept to be meaningful; instead they become Neverborn. Neverborn, in turn are capable of activity - not the least of which being the creation of the Deathlords and continuously plotting to bring Creation to Oblivion (AOS). Even dead and asleep, the Neverborn are power incarnate.
GoD states that when a Yozi is slain, another aspect of the Yozi will replace the current one. This has happened to the Yozi Adorjan at least. It is not clear whether Yozis can be slain and turned into Malfeans.
Personality
EditThe exact nature and behavior of the early Primordials is open to debate; while the Yozis and Malfeans are certainly malevolent, that is at least partly a function of their death and imprisonment. In contrast, Autochthon is portrayed as quite fond of ordinary, unenhanced human beings.
The reason given for the gods' revolt against the Primordials is fairly petty: the gods wanted to have the Games of Divinity for themselves. Given the state of Yu-Shan and the management of Creation, it is open to debate whether the gods are an improvement over the Primordials.
Known Primordials
EditThese are not all existing primordials, but only some of the most important ones. Some primordials were slain so thorougly that they were actually eliminated from reality altogether.
In addition, at the end of the Primordial War two primordials remained unaccounted for. One was responsible for the Aftershock War during the Unfurling Horizon Era, whilst the whereabouts and status of the last is still unknown.
Below there is a list of known Primordials. However, it should be noted that a number of primordials do not fall into any of thse categories.
Two words: plot device.
Behemoths cover a range of creatures, spawned from different methods, but possessing the same general features. Some were created by the Primordials, some were created by the Fair Folk, later; some just assumed their own identity and crawled out of the Deep Wyld (CoCD: Wyld, page 66).
Individual details vary. They can probably be as small as a 5-story structure, or as large as your imagination warrants them being. The most "common" ones appear to just be massive variants of Creation beasts (there was a picture of a gargantuan praying mantis in one artwork), but CoCD: Wyld mentions a "coral reef behemoth".
Generally speaking, I wouldn't give these things a health track like most creatures. Rather, if you or your group was to fight one, I'd give whatever part of it the group was fighting a health track and its own armor, even if it's the thing's heart. A behemoth encounter should be something almost God of War-esque, possibly even subbing in dodge/athletics checks in the place of actual combat rolls, a la Quick-Time Events.
CoCD: Wyld also states that behemoths can have any intelligence from brick to brilliance; the Lion Turtles from the Avatar series would be a good inspiration for a benevolent, nigh-omnipotent, intelligent behemoth.
You'll also note that behemoths probably don't like being in Creation. It's not explicitly stated, but given that in reality they would have to consume enough protein on the daily to clear a forest (herbivore) or wipe out an ecosystem's worth of life in the span of a week, they would likely die of starvation before a supernatural hit squad/Wyld Hunt could be mustered to fight them off. My theory would be that most have fully integrated themselves into a sort of symbiosis with their ecosystems in the Wyld, such that getting them to move on their own accord would be a nigh legendary task of social combat.
If a behemoth was to be sent to attack something of dire importance, like a Reality Engine, for example, however, it would set the backdrop for a huge, 70s-80's rock-level epic combat involving nothing less than the Heavenly Legion.
EDIT: tl;dr version — think of behemoths as living scenery. The Sarlacc (and the Space Slug) from Star Wars is a good example of this: it's more like a terrain feature with a self-contained environment than a "creature" if that makes any sense.
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[–]capukee[S] 2 points 2 years ago
The coral reef behemoths sounds interesting seeing as its a lot of organisms. This could imply a behemoth beehive.
What if the behemoths feed off of streams of essence? Just an idea.
Now that I've heard them described like you have I realize that I have seen many of them in media.
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[–]Orabilis 1 point 2 years ago
Behemoths exist on a range. The lower end ones are mostly giant beasts. Then there is the other end of the scale, the Raksha have Ishiika an aspect of Nishkriya which is larger than creation, it probably serves as a plot device much like the Kukla.
They also come in different flavors. The primordials created a bunch, the Fair Folk create their own, the underworld has its own version in the hekatonhire. I believe the Mask of Winters keeps a citadel on the back of a zombified behemoth. Mostly they are large and immortal until slain in conflict.
Ravri, the Star-Serpent, Sidereal Behemoth
When the Maidens implemented the grand design of Fate upon Creation, they saw the need for a champion, eternally prepared to defend their domain from those who would rally against it. Though they cited such examples as Fae saboteurs when questioned by Theion, the foe they had in mind was Isidoros, who rankled still at the inclusion of Fate in Creation. Though they did not believe that Isidoros would go against the oath he swore upon himself to Theion to not interfere, if one of his creations stuck out against Fate on its own, how could the Empyreal Chaos blame him?
With this in mind, the Maidens grasped onto the grand tapestry of the Loom and the constellations. Each one wove from their domains powerful astrological signs, seamlessly integrating powerful destinies of journeys and secrets, peace and war, beginnings and endings. When they had finished, the Incarnae of Fate gazed together on their handiwork; a mighty feathered snake of stunning beauty and great strength. Such was the birth of Ravri, the Star-Serpent.
In her earliest days, Ravri did little more than patrol the starry vault, protecting the constellations from the very occasional Raksha or Wyld Behemoth that slipped past both Luna’s gaze and the baleful light of the Daystar. When the Maidens created their Exalted, however, Ravri instantly fell in love with them, viewing them as something akin to siblings. Thus, when the Exalts began the Primordial War, Ravri flew into battle with them. Time and time again she entered the fray with her adoptive siblings, each time swooping down to rescue a Sidereal from a hopeless fight. She fell in battle, swatted down by Primordial Souls and their god-monsters, but she would rise again, for Saturn had woven into her the time and place of her Ending, and it was not then. When the war ended she rejoiced, for her siblings and mothers were safe from the architects of Creation. The Sidereals would join her in her task, she thought, and her solitude would end.
Alas, it was not to be so. While those Viziers whose lives she saved would visit her from time to time, they grew increasingly few in number as time and battle brought them, one by one, into Saturn’s domain. Even the Maidens ceased their irregular visits, enraptured with the Games of Divinity. So, she continued her solitary vigil, far more lonely than before.
And so she continued. The Balorian Crusade gave the Star-Serpent a brief period of respite from her loneliness, as she battled the Fae from the opening engagements of the invasion to the Firing of the Sword of Creation without pause. She is wary of her siblings now, for she knows the Sidereals were responsible for the damage to the Mask, but is not sure how she does. The incident taught her to keep a closer eye on Creation itself, and now she idly wonders if she should reveal herself to a young Sidereal, perhaps one that just exalted, to end her solitude and assist her in finding a way to repair her charge.
Ravri appears as a large feathered snake, some 10 yards long, and perhaps a yard in girth at her neck. She has three mouths, nine eyes, and fifteen wings, all arranged to make her trilaterally symmetrical. Her razor-sharp starmetal feathers glow faintly, refracting the five colors of the Maidens. When the occasion calls for her to speak, Ravri does so in highly formal Old Realm.
Motivation: Protect the constellations, the Maidens and the Sidereal Exalted
Attributes: Strength 12, Dexterity 12, Stamina 6; Charisma 8, Manipulation 8, Appearance 6; Perception 8, Intelligence 6, Wits 6
Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 5, Temperance 3, Valor 3
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 4, Dodge 6, Integrity 6 (+2 against the Wyld), Investigation 2 , Lore 7 (+3 The Stars), Martial Arts 8, Performance 4, Resistance 7, Stealth 8 (+3 while flying)
Essence Abilities:
Starlight Traveler- As Mercury’s gift the Star-Serpent, Ravri knows all of the secret paths that crisscross the skies of Creation. Combined with her immense flying speed, Ravri can traverse the length of Creation at a whim. Mechanically speaking, Ravri can travel to any point in Creation from any other point in Creation in less than an hour.
Cessation of Strife- This enchantment of Ravri’s plumage with an aura against conflict and strife is Venus’ gift to the behemoth. This ability makes Ravri immune to any external penalty to her DDV, including onslaught and coordinated attack penalties.
Crimson Battle Pattern- Mars imbued the behemoth with this power, to better strike out against her enemies. Ravri’s attacks deal aggravated damage to Creatures of Darkness and the Wyld and gain the Starmetal Magical Material bonus.
Secrets of Woven Fates- This is Jupiter’s imbuement to the behemoth. This ability allows Ravri to know, at all times, the status of the 25 constellations. As a side effect, this allows Ravri to teach Sidereals any of their Native charms as if she knew them herself.
To All Things, an Ending- This ability is Saturn’s gift to the behemoth. So long as all of the constellations of the House of Endings remain, Ravri cannot be permanently killed by any force short of a Primordial, one of the Celestial Incarnae or Adamant Circle Sorcery designed for that effect. Should she die, Ravri is reborn out of the House of Endings on the next moonless night.
Join Battle: 10
Attacks:
Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 22, Damage 15L/2, PDV -, Rate 2, Tags P O2
Wing Strike: Speed 5, Accuracy 20, Damage 18L/2, PDV 8, Rate 3, Tags O2
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 18, Damage 13B, PDV -, Rate 1
Soak: 13L/21B (Starmetal Plumage +10L/+15B)
Health Levels: -0x10/-1x5/-2x5/-4x10/I
Dodge DV: 12
Willpower: 8
Essence: 6
Notes: Due to her close connections to the Loom of Fate, Ravri cannot defend against any effect enhanced with astrology. Both the Maidens and Ravri endeavor to keep this fact secret.
Kwileph, the Quicksilver Octopus, Lunar Behemoth
Once upon a time, Luna was dancing through the Wyld, singing and laughing from waypoint to waypoint. And as she danced, something caught her eye. From the infinite possibilities of the Wyld, a true intelligence was attempting to be born. Intrigued by this turn of events, Luna wrapped the nascent being in a protective layer of her light, and stood sentinel over it, protecting the tiny proto-self from the predations of the Fae. Perhaps the intelligence shaped itself after the first being that gave it kindness, or perhaps Luna’s protection imprinted a likeness of her power upon it. Either way, safe from the hazards of the chaos that had given it birth, the intelligence, neither raksha, nor god, nor primordial, but something beautifully unique, self-actualized. It crystallized the moonlight that enfolded it into its body, giving it a physical form. Amused, Luna gave the behemoth a hug and continued her dance, the new-born being in tow.
And they lived happily ever after.
Kwileph appears to casual observance to be naught more than a sphere of moonsilver roughly the same size as a large dog. Once it begins moving, however, the behemoth displays a nature so protean that the Lunar Exalted are put to shame. The Quicksilver Octopus can alter its physiology at will, making it a foe to be reckoned with. If Kwileph is capable of communication with anyone other than Luna, it has never done so.
Motivation: Slay Raksha
Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 10, Stamina 10; Charisma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4; Perception 6, Intelligence 3, Wits 6
Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, Valor 5
Abilities: Athletics 5, Awareness 4, Dodge 5, Integrity 3 (+3 against the Wyld), Martial Arts 5, Resistance 4, Stealth 6, Thrown 3 (+2 throwing parts of self)
Essence Abilities:
Armor of the Mutable Form- The last remnants of the protective aegis Luna placed over the behemoth while it was birthing itself, this ability grants Kwileph multiple effects. First, Kwileph is considered having armored hardness equal to its soak ratings at all times. Second, Kwileph is immune to external Shaping effects; this effect is mechanically identical to the effect of a Lunar’s tattoos. Third, Kwileph is immune to all wound penalties. In the event of mutations granting it additional health levels, all health levels are converted to -0.
Protean Quicksilver Flesh- This ability represents the Quicksilver Octopus’ capability to reflexively alter its physiology at will. Kwileph can manifest up to (Essence x2 + Willpower) (18 as written) points of mutations as a dice-less, reflexive action. These mutations remain manifested until such a point as the behemoth either chooses to drop them or manifest a new mutation package. Theoretically any mutation is applicable, so long as it can be justified as a function of physical shape-shifting. Kwileph can only alter this package once per tick, but may do so even when it is not its action. Some sample packages follow.
Join Battle: 10
Soak: 15L/20B (Moonsilver body, +10L/10B)
Health Levels: -0x20/I
Dodge DV: 10
Willpower: 8
Essence: 5
Standard Package
(Multiple Limbs (Tentacles) 6pts, Supernatural Quickness 6pts, Stone Body 6pts)
Join Battle: 10
Attacks:
Tentacle Strike (Based on Kick): Speed 5, Accuracy 15, Damage 13B, PDV 7, Rate 4
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 14, Damage 10B, PDV -, Rate 1
Soak: 22L/27B (Moonsilver body, +10L/10B)
Health Levels: -0x20/I
Dodge DV: 10
Offensive Package
(Multiple Limbs (Tentacles) 6pts, Gargantuan 6pts, Talons 2pts, Toxin 2pts, Gazelle’s Pace 2pts)
Join Battle:
Attacks:
Tentacle Strike: Speed 5, Accuracy 16, Damage 19L, PDV 7, Rate 4
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 15, Damage 16L, PDV +0, Rate 1
Soak: 17L/24B (Moonsilver body, +10L/10B)
Health Levels: -0x30/I
Dodge DV: 10
Defensive Package
(Stone Body 6pts, Gargantuan 6pts, Perfect Healing Factor 6pts)
Join Battle: 10
Soak: 24L/31B (Moonsilver body, +10L/10B)
Health Levels: -0x30/I
Dodge DV: 10
Aetna, the Fire-Stone Mountain, Gaian Behemoth
Though they rarely interact now, in the long millennia before the Primordial War Gaia’s Elemental Dragons met and worked together often, playing a large part in maintaining the geomancy of Creation. Aetna, a giant beast of flame and stone, was the unintended byproduct of one such meeting.
As the Elemental Dragons convened at the Pole of Earth, Mela and Hesiesh arrived to find their host, Pasiap, engaged in a deep slumber. Mela, ever the trickster, convinced Hesiesh that they should play a prank on their sleeping brother. Hesiesh would plunge his arms into Pasiap’s infinite depth and pull something out; this game would continue until Hesiesh grasped something that would wake their sleeping brother. It never reached that point, however, as Hesiesh pulled out something alive that scuttled away when Hesiesh dropped it in shock. Mela and Hesiesh ceased their game, and did not speak of it when their remaining siblings arrived and they went about their business.
That tiny centipede-lizard rode the dragon lines south until it found a powerful Fire Aspected demesne deep in a dormant volcano. There it slumbered, soaking in the essence of flame and earth, growing ever larger and ever stronger.
The behemoth appears as a long, sixteen-legged Komodo dragon made entirely of magma, and blown to apocalyptic proportions. It lives to devour essence. So far its demesne home has sustained the behemoth, but soon even that well will run dry. Then the beast will emerge and rampage around the South, draining the dragon lines until the beast is satiated or stopped.
Motivation: Sate itself with Essence
Attributes: Strength 30, Dexterity 6, Stamina 25; Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3; Perception 6, Intelligence 2, Wits 3
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 1, Valor 2
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 2, Integrity 3, Martial Arts 4, Resistance 3, Survival 3, Thrown 3 (+2 clinched opponents)
Essence Abilities:
Insatiable Essence Appetite- Aetna’s appetite for essence can never be sated. Aetna can be active this power as a Simple (Speed 6, DV -1 Action). When activated, the behemoth begins sucking in essence from the surrounding area, draining the landscape and nearby essence wielders. Each essence wielder present in the scene looses a number of motes equal to their Essence, starting from their peripheral essence pools if they have one. Hearthstones also become inert, as their effective rating drops by one each time it is used. For each essence wielder or hearthstone drained with this effect, Aetna gains 1 mote, which can be used to power its other effects. The draining effect of this power is a Shaping effect; any Shaping defense which protects an essence wielder from this effect is assumed to extend its effects to any hearthstones they are carrying. Hearthstones drained by this effect regain dots at a rate of one dot per day.
Blood of Flame and Stone- The touch of Hesiesh has imprinted the behemoth with a pale reflection of his power. Aetna can activate this power reflexively at a cost of 3 motes per tick. Anyone who strikes the behemoth with a Melee or Martial Arts based attack while this effect is active is immediately targeted by a counterattack that deals 6 levels of lethal damage from the heat. Any defense to dodge or parry this attack causes the triggering attack to fail, as it is the act of striking the behemoth that deals the damage. Since it has no essence pool normally, using this requires Aetna to devour essence using Insatiable Essence Appetite.
Font of the Dragon’s Might- Though Pasiap doesn’t know it, Aetna is the progeny of the Earth Dragon, and his might flows through the behemoth’s essence. Aetna can increase its ratings in any of its physical attributes at a cost of 10 motes per dot for a scene. Since it has no essence pool normally, using this requires Aetna to devour essence using Insatiable Essence Appetite.
Join Battle: 5
Attacks:
Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage 30B/3, PDV -, Rate 1, Tags O
Stomp: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 33B/3, PDV 5, Rate 2, Tags O
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 30B, PDV -, Rate 1
Soak: 23L/35B (Stone Flesh +10L/10B)
Health Levels: -0x5/-1x5/-2x20/-4x10/I
Dodge DV: 6
Willpower: 7
Essence: 5
Sachidu, the Roving Island, Kimberian Behemoth
Fishermen in the Western oceans sometimes find an island where none were before. If they grow the courage to land on the island, they find that the forests that appear to dot the island’s landscapes are in fact coral growths, and the stone that comprises the island is far closer to bone than stone. They soon flee with disquiet from Sachidu, the Roving Island.
The origins of this oceanic monster were always shrouded in mystery. Its oldest recorded appearance was late in the Primordial Age, when the Mostok record the Lintha using the behemoth as a beast of burden in their perpetual war with the Dragon Kings. Perhaps Kimbery created it for her favored children? Or maybe it was an inhabitant of her world-body that somehow found its way into Creation?
Regardless, this apparently mindless behemoth was exiled from Creation until the First Age, when a Solar called the behemoth from Kimbery in order to build a summer home atop the beast. Though viewed by the Solar as little more than humble summer cottage, it is more lavish and elaborate than even the most decadent pleasure-palaces of the Age of Strife. Kept safe from the elements by ancient spells, what wonders of sorcery and artifice could be found within its walls?
Sachidu appears as a man-of-war jellyfish, coated in stone-bone armor and grown to apocalyptic proportions. Coral “forests” dot its landscape, obscuring the solar mansion from casual sight.
Haran, the Chitinous Boar, Isidoran Behemoth
Early in Creation’s Prehistory, Kimbery sat among the Western Sea. She was crafting creatures in imitation of the inhabitants of her world-body, for she had just finished her turn at the Games and needed a way to occupy her time. She had crafted three roughs when a shadow blocked her light. She looked and saw the impossible bulk of her brother, Isidoros, wading through the seas. He gazed down at Kimbery’s handiwork and declared it a fine start. He then grabbed up her roughs and shoved them in his mouth. After chewing for a moment, he spat out his handiwork. The creatures had been fused into a single amalgam of great size and covered in black bristles. Proud with his handiwork, Isidoros left, deaf to the long train of acerbic curses Kimbery shot in his wake. Brewing with anger, Kimbery returned to her work, recreating and then finishing her work. Those creatures eventually became the progenitors of lobsters, crabs and horseshoe crabs. The result of Isidoros’ meddling became known as Haran, the Chitinous Boar.
During the Primordial War, Haran was ridden into battle by one of Kimbery’s Lintha champions. After the victory of the Exalted host, the behemoth was sealed with its Primordial master in Malfeas. At that point the behemoth faded from history, to reemerge recently when Kimbery attempted to gift the beast to one of her champions. Isidoros, who had forgotten about the behemoth millennia ago, demanded it be returned to him. Kimbery, however, claimed ownership as the initial creations were hers. Their argument has yet to be settled.
Haran appears as a monstrously huge amalgam of the creatures Kimbery was attempting to create. Its body is a large cylinder with several layers of protruding chitinous flaps which gives the behemoth the appearance of a deformed oval when viewed from above. Its head is sunk into its body, though it can extend out, revealing a quartet of small, dark eyes and a gaping maw. Each of the behemoth’s ten legs ends in a crushing claw, similar in proportion to the monstrous crab-monster’s body as those of its lobster cousins. This vision of primordial terror is then covered in a think mat of black bristles.
Motivation: Crush and Devour
Attributes: Strength 18, Dexterity 4, Stamina 16; Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2; Perception 4, Intelligence 1, Wits 2
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 1, Valor 5
Abilities: Athletics 6 (+2 Charging), Awareness 4, Dodge 2 (+2 while Charging), Integrity 4, Martial Arts 4 (+3 Claws), Presence 2 (+3 inciting fear), Resistance 8 (+3 against oceanic perils), Stealth 2 (+2 in aquatic environments), Survival 6 (+2 in aquatic environments), Thrown 2 (+3 throwing living creatures)
Essence Powers:
Oceanic Terror- Thought it is dangerous on land, Haran is inherently an aquatic being. Haran adds a 2-die bonus to all rolls made while submerged. Additionally, Haran may swim at a rate of up to 40mph without tire or pause.
Primal Horror of the Depths- The visage of Haran incites Primal fear in all. All beings that gaze upon the behemoth must make a Valor roll at difficulty 2 lest they suffer from an Unnatural compulsion to flee in terror. This compulsion can be resisted at a cost of three Willpower. Those native to Malfeas, the Underworld and the Wyld are more accustomed to witnessing the visions of primal terror such as those the Exalted banished from Creation, and as such gain a two dice bonus on this roll.
Unholy Searing Bristles- The quills which stud Haran’s hide smolder with unholy heat when the beast is excited or angry. This creates an environmental damage effect (6L damage, Trauma 2) to anything within 10 yards of the behemoth. Charms that defend against energy, heat or environmental effects defend against this as normal.
Join Battle: 6
Attacks:
Claw Smash: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage 24B/4, PDV 5, Rate 2, Tags O4
Claw Grab (Clinch): Speed 6, Accuracy 12, Damage 18L/2, PDV -, Rate 1, Tags P, O2
Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 14, Damage 14L, PDV -, Rate 1
Soak: 18L/36B (Chitinous Hide: +10L/+20B)
Health Levels: -0x5/-1x10/-2x10/-4x5/I
Dodge DV: 5 (6 when charging)
Willpower: 8
Essence: 4
The Twice-Risen Prophet, Cecelynian Behemoth
Once the Zenith known as Virtuous Son of the Sunrise was considered among the most pious and faithful of the Unconquered Sun’s Exalted priesthood. Yet, even the mightiest may fall when exposed to temptation. Sunrise sold his soul to Cecelyne for power. His corruption lasted several decades until his circle discovered his condition and hunted him down.
Yet, his legacy lived on after his death. Sunrise’s infernal cult raided his tomb shortly after his death, and then interred it in his uncompleted Manse-Temple in the depths of the Endless Desert. There, the cult prayed fervently for their Prophet-King to return to them or simply give them a sign of his continued powers. Perhaps their prayers fueled some unfinished powers of the Manse-Temple. Perhaps Cecelyne answered for her fallen champion. Perhaps the dead Exalt reached beyond the veil of death for his followers. Either way, miracles answered the cult’s entreaty. Emboldened by this the cult continued their worship. This was just over two millennia ago, and the cult thrived. Feed by regularly-replenished locust pits, the cult survived, praying fervently to their dead king. On occasion, strange visions would be revealed to the cult, and members would journey into either the Demon City or Creation to fulfill their strange purpose.
With the advent of the Green Sun Princes, a Malefactor arrived at the cult’s temple, lead on by strange visions from Cecelyne. There he found the cult and after a brief display of his Infernal Prowess, was declared the reincarnation of their long dead Priest-King. Not being one to argue, the Infernal delved into the incomplete manse, and recovered the mummified body of the long-dead Akuma. Brief, hazy vision proved to him that the cultists were, in fact, correct in their assumption. Realizing the metaphysical weight and power held within the corpse, however, he contacted one of his colleagues, and they began their work. The two Infernal Exalts labored long and hard, but in the end were successful. The Twice-Risen Prophet walked once more.
The behemoth looks, to casual appearance, as a short, heavily emaciated man wrapped in irregular strips of worn demon-leather. Closer inspection reveals that what little flesh the creature possesses is, in fact, red-brown sand, which writhes unnaturally. The Twice-Risen Prophet can manipulate these sands at will, making it a potent opponent.
Motivation: Destroy the worship of Creation’s gods
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 6, Stamina 6; Charisma 12, Manipulation 12, Appearance 4; Perception 8, Intelligence 8, Wits 8
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 5, Temperance 3, Valor 3
Abilities: Dodge 4, Integrity 4 (+3 Spirits), Linguistics 6 (Native: Old Realm; Others: High Realm, Skytongue, Riverspeak, Flametongue, Seatongue), Lore 8, Martial Arts 2, Occult 8, Performance 6, Presence 6, Resistance 4
Essence Abilities:
Walking Blasphemy- The Twice Risen Prophet’s mere presence erodes the worship of Creations gods and Exalted. All mortals that are present in the same scene as the Twice-Risen Prophet are assaulted with an 18-die unparryable Unnatural Mental influence. If this effect bypasses their MDV, the scene counts as a scene spent eroding any intimacies the mortal has towards any institution or individual that bears a religious context unaffiliated with the Yozis. If such an intimacy is completely eroded, or no such intimacy exists, this effect immediately begins creating an intimacy of worship towards the Endless Desert. This ability does not function in any scene in which the Sandstorm Demon God-Body is activated. This ability carries the Blasphemy keyword; any attempt to use astrology or the Loom of Fate to scry on any location within a mile of wherever this effect was active within the past day returns the same result: “The Endless Desert shall Return”.
Soul-Scouring Sand Attack- The Twice-Risen Prophet can send out its sand-flesh to flay the bodies and souls of its targets. This attack is mechanically identical to the Cecelyne charm Sandstrike Blast, except that it always affects both the material and dematerial and has no cost.
Sandstorm Demon God-body- The Twice-Risen Prophet has the power to convert its entire body into a roaring tornado of sand. This takes a simple (Speed 6, DV -1) action to transform into or out of this state. In this form, the behemoth counts as dematerialized for the purpose any attacks that it makes or that target it. In addition, the behemoth may make flurries of up to 4 Soul-Scouring Sand Attacks in this state as a Speed 6 action.
Join Battle: 8
Attacks:
Soul-Scouring Sand Attack: Speed 4, Accuracy 20, Damage 6L, Range 300, Tags P
Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 4B, PDV 5, Rate 3
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 4B, PDV -, Rate 1
Soak: 13L/16B (Demonic Sand-flesh +10L/10B)
Health Levels: -0x5/-1x10/-2x5/-4x5/I
Dodge DV: 8
Willpower: 10
Essence: 6
Ur-Thanagoth, The Spire That Breaks the World
One of the greater horrors haunting the Wyld, Ur-Thanagoth’s glassy claws periodically etch its yellowed ivory hide with tales of the mighty hunters it has crushed beneath its vast hooves or blasted into nothingness with the radiance of its many gazes. No prince of the Wyld has tamed the beast, though many have tried. The creature stands almost two hundred feet tall. An arching spire hewn with dozens of screaming faces sits atop a flat, powerful body, surrounded by a ring of dozens of bladed limbs like a grotesque crown. Five pillar-like legs bear it aloft, striding carelessly through the lands and dreams of lesser beings, ignoring some with caprice and destroying others in fits of incomprehensible rage. On the occasions that it has walked Creation, it has left a desolate swathe of grey ash in its wake through settlements and armies before returning to the Wyld to resume its wanderings through the realms of chaos.
Essence:6; Willpower:8; Join Battle:16 dice
Personal Motes:60
Health Levels:
Body: -0x10/-1x15/-2x15/Incap (Main)
Claws: -0x10/-1x10/-2x10/Disabled
Legs: -0x10/-1x15/-2x15/Disabled (Movement)
Actions: Feats of Strength: 30 dice (may attempt Strength 20 feats); Senses: 12 dice,
Appearance 4 (Hideous), Resolve 6, Guile 1
Combat:
Claws:
Attack (Ivory claws): 16 dice (Damage 22, minimum 5)
Attack (Grapple): 11 dice (25 dice to control). Ur-Thanagoth makes unopposed control rolls against enemies of smaller size, unless its victims use magic that allows them to clinch larger enemies, such as Dragon Coil Technique.
Legs:
Attack (Tower-Crushing Stomp): 10 dice (Damage 30, minimum 4, Smashing)
Body:
Attack (Unstoppable Bulk): 14 dice (Damage 30, minimum 5, Smashing)
Combat Movement: 15 dice
Evasion 4, Parry 6
Soak/Hardness: 18/10
Merits
Cold Iron Bane: Weapons made of iron deal aggravated damage to Ur-Thanagoth, blackening and cracking its ivory flesh wherever it is touched.
Legendary Size:Ur-Thanagoth is a living mountain of saga-writ ivory and unbridled hatred, well beyond the scale of most opponents. Attacks from smaller enemies do not impose onslaught penalties. Withering attacks from smaller enemies cannot drop it below 1 Initiative unless they have a post-soak damage of 10 dice (although attackers can still gain the full amount of Initiative damage dealt). Decisive attacks made by smaller enemies cannot deal more than (3 + attacker’s Strength) levels of damage to it, not counting any levels of damage added by Charms or other magic.
Expansive Engagement: Many opponents of significant scale cannot easily be attacked as a single target and may perform several actions at once. Characters with this merit effectively join battle as more than one opponent, using multiple component profiles. Exactly what this entails varies. Some characters with Expansive Engagement may be large enough to occupy multiple range bands with different component profiles. Some of their component profiles may have unique attacks or Charms. Some cannot be attacked in particular ways until other component profiles have been disabled or destroyed. Regardless, there will always be a single main profile which will disable all others if incapacitated. The Spire that Breaks the World is sufficiently immense to join battle with three component profiles. These three profiles share an Essence pool and Willpower, but track Initiative and Health seperately. Obviously, the three parts of the behemoth move together, and if one of them is moved through some titanic outside force they are moved together.
Legs: The Spire that Breaks the World stands aloft on five pillar-like legs, each the thickness of an ancient redwood and a hundred feet long. The legs are the only part of Ur-Thanagoth that stand at Close range with the ground by default. If they are destroyed, the behemoth will fall prone and the other component profiles will suffer a -2 wound penalty if their penalty from injury was not already greater. Crashing the Legs will inflict a -1 penalty on all of Ur-Thanagoth’s actions and removes its ability to make move actions until they recover. The Legs are the only part of the behemoth that can make movement actions.
Claws: The behemoth’s mighty back bristles with hundreds of massive limbs ending in smoked-glass blades, talons and claws. These limbs do not extend all the way to the ground, but can attack anything within Short range of the Body. If they are destroyed, the other component profiles will suffer a -2 wound penalty if their penalty from injury was not already greater.
Body:Ur-Thanagoth’s body is a great ivory spire, carved with dozens of screaming faces each the size of a bull yeddim. By default it stands at Medium range from the ground. The Body is Ur-Thanagoth’s primary profile and incapacitating it will also incapacitate the other two profiles. Only the Body respires motes each round during combat. The Body cannot normally attack except through its Charms, but it can crush opponents with the Unstoppable Bulk attack if knocked prone.
The Spire Stands: Ur-Thanagoth is simply too large and sturdy to be impeded by most efforts to bring it down. It is immune to any effect that would knock it down, even those backed with magic. There are three exceptions. First, those rare monsters that are even larger than the Spire That Breaks the World, such as Kukla and the Juggernaut, can cast it down with Smashing attacks and other effects as normal. Second, a character sufficiently mighty to successfully grapple the behemoth’s leg (and survive the Hero-Pulverizing Rebuke, below) can cast it down. Finally, a sufficiently cunning plan or trap may be able to temporarily bring the behemoth down. This requires a special Gambit of Difficulty 8. If knocked prone, the behemoth’s Legs cannot act for three rounds and will rise from prone automatically on their fourth round.
Ascend Gambit: Ur-Thanagoth’s legs can be targeted with an Ascend gambit at Difficulty 4 which allows a character to clamber on to them and ascend towards the body. The intrepid attacker climbs to Short range above the ground and within Short range of Ur-Thanagoth’s body. He is carried with Ur-Thanagoth whenever it moves, no longer a valid target for its leg attacks. However, the character must then contend with attacks from the Claws and succeed on a second Ascend gambit to climb to Ur-Thanagoth’s body, which can then be attacked at Close range. Those that brave leaping directly onto the behemoth’s back from a suitable vantage, like a moving airboat or one of the great towers of Chiaroscuro, can move to the body directly at an increased difficulty of 6.
Cliffs Guard The Range: Ur-Thagoth’s claws thrash and writhe to bat away any attempt to damage the central spire. Its Claws are always considered to be making a Defend Other action directed at the body in addition to their normal actions unless they are crashed or destroyed.
Ten Thousand Jagged Shards: The behemoth’s innumerable claws have little difficulty in restraining and dismembering its many enemies. Ur-Thanagoth’s claws can continue to make normal actions during a successful Grapple and suffer no penalties for the ongoing grapple. It can even maintain multiple grapples on different opponents.
World-Breaking Stride: Ur-Thanagoth’s massive legs plow through armies and fortresses without regard. Unless engaged by an opponent at least half its size, the behemoth can reflexively move on its Legs action regardless of opponents without using a Disengage action. Doing so inflicts a Tower-Crushing Stomp attack on all opponents within close range of the new location. The Legs gain initiative only for the most damaging roll. If the legs are destroyed or knocked prone, the Body can roll to crush enemies, making Unstoppable Bulk Withering and Decisive attacks on everyone within Close range. The behemoth can reflexively make a feat of strength roll to destroy any inanimate object in range of either of these attacks with double 9s.
Offensive Charms
Twin Leviathan Strike(5m, 1wp; Simple; Instant; Decisive-only; Claws Only; Essence 4): The behemoth’s many glassy claws, blades and stingers lash out in a blur, striking two opponents within range with a Decisive attack. The Claws Initiative is divided evenly between both to determine the raw damage of the attack. Once per fight, unless reset by building up to Initiative 20+.
Hero-Pulverizing Rebuke (8m; Instant; Counterattack; Perilous; Decisive-only; Legs Only; Essence 6): Many great and storied champions from Creation and the Wyld have sought to cast down The Spire that Breaks the World, but all have been crushed beneath its titanic hooves. If someone should be mighty enough to succeed in a Grapple gambit against the Spire’s legs, he will briefly receive its full attention. The beast’s pillar-like ivory hoof smashes down with all its might. The would-be grappler must succeed at a Feat of Strength at difficulty 20 (minimum Strength 10) in order to wrestle back the colossus. Those that fail at this roll suffer an immediate unblockable Decisive counterattack of Tower-Crushing Stomp, hitting automatically and dealing 6 additional dice of damage. Those that succeed at this prodigious feat can elect to immediately end the grapple on a special Throw/Slam action that casts the behemoth out to Medium range and doubles the extra damage gained from the premature forfeit.
Impossible Radiance Gaze (10m; Simple; Instant; Decisive-only; Body Only; Essence 6): Ur-Thanagoth’s many faces sing into being sparks of flame of many colours never seen in Creation, which blend together into a molten river of light, striking an area within Long range. The behemoth makes an undodgeable Decisive attack with 16 dice on any number of people within Short range of the target location, splitting initiative equally between its targets. The Impossible Radiance Gaze can only be deflected by Clashing it with a suitably potent ranged magical attack, such as Blazing Solar Bolt or Death Ray. A successful clash scatters the beam in flight negates all of the attacks.
Defensive Charms
Unbroken Spire Defence(8m, 3i/hl; Reflexive; Instant; Decisive-Only; Perilous; Essence 6): Ur-Thanagoth’s might is such that it can ignore even the most grievous blows against it. This defence can be used after a Decisive attack rolls damage against any of the behemoth’s component profiles. Each component profile pays 1i for each level of damage negated. This defence can place one or more of the behemoth’s profiles in initiative crash, but cannot be used if any of them are already crashed.
Horror-Mask Resurgence Roar (6m; Reflexive; Instant; Perilous; Essence 2): After a Withering or Decisive damage roll against any of its component profiles, Ur-Thanagoth may use this Charm to gain one point of Initiative for every 9 or 10 rolled. It may exchange five points of Initiative reaped from a single use of this Charm to heal a level of damage.
Mobility Charms
Horizon Spanning Leap (6m, 3i; Simple; Instant; Perilous; Legs Only; Essence 6): The behemoth crouches, preparing to bound across the landscape with a single leap. After using this Charm, the behemoth lowers its body to Short range and its claws to Close range above the ground, and can be scaled with a single Difficulty 4 Ascend gambit from characters on the ground. Unless the Legs are crashed or destroyed before the next turn, the behemoth will leap to any space within Long range, landing with a terrible impact and dealing an unblockable Tower-Crushing Stomp to all enemies within Short range of that point. If they make a Withering area attack, the legs gain initiative only from the the most damaging attack. Inanimate objects in range can be destroyed with a feat of strength, doubling 8s.
Utility Charms
Ivory Saga Writ(6m, 1i; Simple; Instant; Perilous; Body Only; Essence 3): Ur-Thagoth’s many faces make a choral proclamation in their screaming alien tongue, and the text scrimshawed into its ivory hide shifts in response. The behemoth can freely redistribute up to 10 points of initiative between its three component profiles, though it cannot take from or grant initiative to a profile in initiative crash. Using Ivory Saga Write also resets the Onslaught penalty of all three of Ur-Thanagoth’s component profiles to 0.
And to show I'm not just here to take people down, Here's a Hecktonkhire I made;
The Restless Spirit of the Brutal Legion
A massive centaur beast that seems to exude pyreflame from its hooves and the massive maw on it’s chest, that bubbles up and surrounds it’s skeletal head. A creature made of great horsemen who died in a long forgotten war, the souls of both themselves and their mounts were ground and trapped as they died to the last, forming into a monstrous being. He has a Soulsteel scythe; though such a thing is utterly terrible for fighting on a horse, he wields it with extreme ease, dragging it behind him to create sparks and flames.
Stats;
Essence: 5; Willpower: 8/8; Join Battle: 11 dice
Motes; 100/100
Health Levels: -0x6/-1x6/-2x6/-4x1/Incap.
Actions: Command Specters: 10 dice ; Feats of Strength: 13 dice (may attempt Strength 6 feats); Intimidation: 10 dice; Resist Poison/Disease: 9 dice; Senses: 9 dice; Strategy: 8 dice
Appearance 4 (Hideous), Resolve 4, Guile 1
Combat
Attack (Reaper’s Blade): 12 dice, Damage 20/6, Chopping, Reaching
Attack (Unarmed): 14 dice, Damage 18/5. Natural, Bashing
Attack (Grapple): 13 dice, 10 dice to control
Combat Movement: 13 dice
Evasion 5, Parry 6
Soak/Hardness: 16/10 (Pyreflame Reinforcement)
Notes; He is always considered Mounted, but this is not reflected in his stats; Mounted is +1 to Withering attack dice, against non-mounted opponents of human scale who lack the reaching tag, or +2 against similar battle groups, and a +1 Defense bonus so long as the opponent is using something Close Range that has the Reaching tag. He is presumably capable of Impale and Gore attacks if the Storyteller decides as such.
Special Gambit Rules; By making a Grappling Gambit with a difficulty of 4 instead of 2, a character can leap upon the Charger’s back and grapple him from there. In this position, the Charger can not race with this opponent; he is always treated as if he has his base stats against them, and he suffers a heavier penalty to defense and attacks so long as someone is upon his back; -3 to his attacks and -2 to his Defense. Similarly, as he is a centaur, he can not be Unhorsed. However, using an Unhorse Gambit upon him cripples his legs, reducing his Combat Movement pool by 1 for each gambit used on him. This can stack as high as the players wish
Kickstart; 8m; Add 5 successes to his Join battle roll.
Speed Demon; While in a fight with the Charger, it is a Race as much as a fight; he demands all his fights be mobile, and to fail is to give him the advantage. At the start of each Round, anyone who wishes to engage the Charger must make an opposed Race roll, that is, Dex + Athletics or Ride versus his Combat Movement. The Amount that he wins by, if he wins the roll, is important for his charms; as he ebbs and flows with his own speed. At its most basic level he gains a number of points of soak each to the amount that he won the roll by, to a maximum of 4. All charms that reference adding dice based on this track the score of the opponent; He is incentivized to pick off stragglers over those closest in power to him.
Hundred Legions Charge; 7m; Double Nines on a race or rush and rush anywhere he pleases, including reflexive feats of strength to break things.
Eternal Charging Spirit; 4m Reroll a number of dice equal to the amount of dice an Exalted opponent pays towards an excellency on the Ride Roll. Buying reroll dice (ala the Dragonblooded Excellency) or Changing the Target Number (Ala Sidereal Excellency) does not add to this number
Summoning The Brutal Legions; 10m, 1wp; If Charger Wins a roll by over 10, he may forfeit the extra dice to reach the maximum he can buy dice to instead summon a Size 1 Battle group of his Pyreflame Army. Doing so allows him to also roll the forfeited Initiative and regain that many motes. He must beat a target by 10, regardless of who it is. He can not activate this charm more than once per roll, even if he beats multiple targets by 10.
Essence: 1; Willpower: 4; Size; 1, Drill: Average, Might: 1 Join Battle: 6 dice
Health Levels: Magnitude 8/8
Actions: Read Motives: 4 dice; Senses: 7 dice; Threaten: 6 dice; Tracking: 9 dice
Appearance 2, Resolve 4, Guile 1
Combat
Attack (Long spear): 11 dice (Damage 16)
Attack (Self bow): 13 dice at short range (Damage 12)
Combat Movement: 8 dice (10 dice while mounted)
Evasion 5, Parry 6
Soak/Hardness: 9/0 (Lamellar)
Charging Assault; 1+i or 1+m; The Charger can add 1 dice to his attacks per mote or initiative depending on how many he won the race roll to a maximum of 6.
Power Kick; 3m; if the Charger wins by more than 4 against a foe, he may pay 5 motes to reroll ones until they fail to appear on his attack.
Defensive Handle Slider; 2m per -1; The Charger can reduce the successes of an opponent’s attack up to how much he won the race of his turn. To a maximum of -6.
Spinning Sickle Slice; 4m, 1wp; If the Charger successfully parries a Decisive attack, he may counter with a Decisive attack of his own; this has a base damage of his weapon, but doesn’t add his Initiative. Once Per Scene, but reset by activating Summoning the Brutal Legions
Yama-O, the Sower of Dreams
On first glance, Yama-O does not look too intimidating for a Wyld Behemoth. As a centipede the height of a Yeddim and merely thirty metres long he is far outsized by some of the more terrifying Behemoths the world has seen. Appearances can be deceiving, however. Many communities that took the threat of Yama-O too lightly have been fallen, their members forever lost in their own minds. Wherever Yama-O sets one of his thousand feet, ten-thousand scintillating flowers bloom, rapidly spreading until they form a field of otherworldly flowers regardless of the ground. Even deserts, glaciers and cities soon bloom in alien beauty where Yama-O passes, only liquids or iron-covered surfaces are spared. Most people do not have much time to admire the flowers before they touch them and discover that their petals are covered in an otherworldly drug that induces powerful visions of the Wyld, quickly losing themselves in endless possibilities until they die of thirst or starvation. A few survivors tell tales of a strange and haunting song that mourns their death, though none can identify the source
Essence: 5, Willpower: 7, Join Battle: 15 dice
Personal Motes: 50
Health Levels:
-0x10/-1x10/-2x10/-4x10/Incap
Actions: Feats of Strength: 15 dice (may attempt Strength 9 feats), Senses: 16 dice, Singing: 20 dice, Resisting Environmental Effects and Poison: 15 dice, Dream Manipulation: 20 dice
Appearance 2 (Hideous), Resolve 6, Guile 3
Combat:
Attack (Pincers): 15 dice (Damage 20, minimum 5)
Attack (Slam): 12 dice (Damage 25, Minimum 6, smashing)
Attack (Pin/Grapple): 10 dice (20 dice to control) Yama-O makes unopposed control rolls against enemies of smaller size, unless its victims use magic that allows them to clinch larger enemies, such as Dragon Coil Technique.
Combat Movement: 18 dice
Evasion 2, Parry 6
Soak/Hardness: 20/15
Merits:
Cold Iron Bane: Weapons made of iron deal aggravated damage to Yama-O, sickening and blighting his flesh and making his flowers wither.
Legendary Size: Yama-O is an unstoppable, house-sized centipede, trampling over most human-scale opponents without slowing down. Attacks from smaller enemies do not impose onslaught penalties. Withering attacks from smaller enemies cannot drop it below 1 Initiative unless they have a post-soak damage of 10 dice (although attackers can still gain the full amount of Initiative damage dealt). Decisive attacks made by smaller enemies cannot deal more than (3 + attacker’s Strength) levels of damage to it, not counting any levels of damage added by Charms or other magic.
Spreader of Dreams: Wherever Yama-O steps, countless dream-flowers bloom, their petals glistening with a strange substance known only as Dream-sap by the few scholars that study such things. At the end of each round, flowers start spreading around Yama-O, covering everything in close range of him. If all rangebands in close range are already covered, all bands in short range are covered instead etc, so a maximum of long range from Yama-O. All characters standing in the field at the end of their turn (except Yama-O) are exposed to dream-sap (see below). Only cold iron can keep these flowers from spreading, and scythes of iron, scattering iron dust etc. can rapidly wither the flowers and create a safe space.
Armour of flowers: When he (as a simple action) wills it, the flowers he spreads also bloom on Yama-O’s body for the rest of the scene, setting his Appearance to 7 and removing the hideous merit. In addition, all characters that hit Yama-O bare-handed, attempt to climb on him or are grappled or slammed by him are exposed to dream-sap as well.
Dream-Sap: (5i/round, special in Crash, Duration 5 rounds, -3 Penalty, Vectors: Ingestion, Contact and Damage)
Dream-Sap fills the minds of its victims with visions of colors, sounds and tastes that should not exist, overwhelming their senses and minds while filling them with a feeling of euphoria at experiencing these strange sensations.
A character affected with Dream-Sap that falls into Initiative Crash is overwhelmed by the need to experience the Dream-Sap even more. He must roll (Current Willpower - Poison and Wound Penalties) at the start of each of his turns. If he fails the roll he is overcome by the urge to lie down and roll around in the field of flowers, making him waste his turn, rendering him prone and subjecting him to a dosage of the Sap in addition to the one for standing in the field. He may resist this effect for a single turn by paying 1wp.
Offensive Charms:
Thousand-Feet Charge (10m 1wp; Simple; Instant): This Charm may only be activated to close with an enemy that has attacked Yama-O previously and is not in close range. Yama-O rolls a rush action against that enemy as normal. However, if he succeeds he may immediately move up to two rangebands towards that enemy, ignoring the need for disengage actions if he was in close range to other enemies. In addition he leaves behind a trail of dream-flowers and may roll a withering slam attack against all characters caught in his path and against the target of his rush, as long as he reaches close range with this charm. He also gets the usual benefit of a rush action, letting him keep up with his enemy should he try to retreat.
Gardener of Dreams (5m; Simple; Instant): A gardener must take care his plants grow and spread. With this Charm, Yama-O encourages his flowers to bloom. All dream-flowers within long range bloom and release their pollen, which inflict an additional dosage of poison on all characters that breathe them in and spread flower-fields by one range-band.
Harvest Comes Early(10m 1wp; Simple; Instant; Perilous): Though he prefers to wait and let people enjoy the fruit of his labour, Yama-O can hasten the process if he sees himself threatened. All characters within long range that are affected by Dream-Sap immediately roll dice equal to the rounds of Dream-Sap they are affected by. Each success on this roll makes them lose one Initiative, but each dice that fails to show a success removes one round of Duration. Yama-O gains all Initiative lost this way, to a maximum of 10.
Dreamer-Puppet Trick (10m, 10i, 1wp; Simple; Indefinite; Perilous, Stackable): Though he usually does not use it, Yama-O can influence the dreams and visions of those under the effects of his dream-sap, changing the desire to lie down amid his flowers into something else. Yama-O targets an enemy that has been crashed and is affected by his poison, rolling his Dream Manipulation pool against the enemy’s Resolve. If he succeeds he sets a single command or mission for his enemy. If his enemy fails his roll against the Dream-Sap at the beginning of his turn he must follow the command he was given instead of lying down amid the flowers.
If he is forced to go against a defining Intimacy this way he may roll his Permanent Willpower and remove as many rounds of Dream-Sap from his system as he got successes.
Yama-O may activate this charm as many times as he can afford and may instead target various mortals and animals that are affected by his sap, creating a Battlegroup.
Defensive Charms:
Mournful Cry of Wounding (5m, 5i; Reflexive; Instant; Perilous, Uniform): Yama-O may use this charm in response to being hit with an attack that inflicted at least 5 levels of Damage. Yama-O lets out a pained cry, shocked at being attacked when he only seeks to spread dreams and happiness. He rolls his Singing dicepool, augmented by his Appearance if he is not hideous, making an Inspire action to try and wake sympathy in his cruel assailants. Characters whose resolve is overcome automatically lose 1wp.
Severed-Dream Absorption (15m, 1wp; Reflexive; Instant): It pains Yama-O to rob someone of the dreams and visions he has granted them, but he will resort to it if he must. This Charm targets a significant enemy within long range that is crashed and affected by Dream-Sap. Yama-O rolls dice equal to the rounds of Dream-Sap remaining in that enemy and regains one health level for each success while the enemy loses one mote for each. However, all remaining rounds of Dream-Sap affecting that target are removed as they are consumed to heal Yama-O and he immediately resets to base Initiative, leaving Initiative Crash.
This Charm may only be used once per scene unless reset by taking damage to a -4 health level.
Shattered Concentration Defence (5m, 1wp; Reflexive; Instant; Perilous, Uniform): Yama-O may cause the visions of an enemy to flare up and distract them the moment the strike at him. This Charm may be activated in response to a withering or decisive attack. For every 1 on the attack roll the attacker takes a -1 Penalty to his attack, to a maximum of how many rounds of Dream-Sap that enemy is suffering from. Against enemies in a crash, 1s and 2s may be penalised. For each Penalty inflicted this way the enemy loses one round of Dream-Sap from his system.
Utility Charms:
Dreamspeak (1m; Simple; Round): Yama-O is incapable of speaking normally and does not understand any language except a strange and ancient fae-tongue, but he can visit the visions of those exposed to his Sap with this charm, letting him communicate non-verbally with his Dream Manipulation dicepool for a single round and understanding their reply.
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