Fair Folk (Exalted)
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The Fair Folk are one of many groups of villains from the high fantasy role-playing game Exalted published by White Wolf Game Studio. They are briefly described in the game's core rulebook, but are given full attention in the "fatsplat" (hard-cover sourcebook) entitled Exalted: The Fair Folk (ISBN 1-58846-678-7). Note that the title is a misnomer, since the Fair Folk aren't Exalted at all.
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[edit] Overview
In the beginning of time, Creation, the world, was created out of the Wyld, the mutable murk of unconsciousness. The natives of the Wyld, taking affront to this island of order in their infinite sea of beautiful chaos, immediately attacked this blasphemous stability in a war called the Balorian Crusade. The leaders were Prince Balor of the Terrible Gaze, Princess Melusine of the Glittering Train, the Duke of Mirrors, the sisters Incarnadine and Veridian, and lastly the Thief of Words. The invasion would have been successful, had the woman who would become known as the Scarlet Empress not puzzled out the long-forgotten secrets of the slain Solar Exalted and repelled the invasion.
The above story may cause some confusion, as it dates the formation of this brief Crusade at the very beginning of the First Age, untold thousands of years ago, and the same Crusade's failure at the beginning of the Second Age, a mere seven centuries ago. This contradiction seems not to bother the Fair Folk.
Unfortunately for the invaders, those who entered Creation were immediately forced into relatively stable minds and bodies. Knowing the pure Fair Folk would despise them as polluted creatures, these new beings, the raksha, retreated to the borderland between Creation and the Deep Wyld. They called this the kingdom of Rakshastan, which was comprised of an inner ring, the Bordermarches, and a much wilder outer ring, called the Middlemarches.
[edit] Gameplay
The Fair Folk are immortal, capable of being slain by their species again and again, however, a raksha slain by someone from Creation remains permanently dead. They are capable of shaping the Wyld into nearly anything they can imagine. Raksha have no need for food, drink or sleep. They feed on the Virtues of mortals and thrive on excitement and melodrama; to a raksha, boredom is terrifying. They are an alien race, merciless and wild, congregating in courts and households governed by many Byzantine laws. Many raksha are stronger, faster, smarter and more charismatic than even those Exalted by the gods.
All mortals possess four Virtues, as well as Willpower. Raksha share these qualities, but they also have corresponding Graces, which are actually feeding maws designed to devour the corresponding character trait.
- The Cup Grace feeds on Compassion and represents desirability;
- The Ring Grace feeds on Temperance and represents self-awareness;
- The Staff Grace feeds on Conviction and represents social power;
- The Sword Grace feeds on Valor and represents greatness;
- The Heart Grace feeds on Willpower and allows the raksha to exist.
(Note that, if you change the ring to a pentacle, the first four Graces correspond to the suits of the tarot.)
Common raksha are divided into four equally-important castes, depending on their strongest Grace. (The Heart Grace doesn't count in this reckoning.)
- Diplomats embody the Staff;
- Entertainers embody the Cup;
- Warriors embody the Sword;
- Workers embody the Ring.
Noble raksha are likewise divided into twelve castes, depending on their first and second strongest Graces.
- Anarch: Sword over Staff;
- Artisan: Ring over Cup;
- Cataphract: Sword over Ring;
- Courtier: Staff over Cup;
- Eshu: Cup over Sword;
- Imperial Raksha: Staff over Sword;
- Luminary: Cup over Staff;
- Ornamental Raksha: Cup over Ring;
- Panjandrum: Ring over Staff;
- Scribe: Staff over Ring;
- Strategos: Ring over Sword;
- Xia: Sword over Cup.
All raksha have access to Charms of assorted types, ranging from Heart-Stealing Kiss to Limitless Wealth Conjuration Technique to All-Consuming God-Monster Stance. In addition, many raksha can master the art of reality shaping, which allows them to do very nearly anything, though others are capable of rejecting the new reality.
One chapter of the book also deals with the Mountain Folk, dwarf-like Wyld natives who were trapped in the very center of Creation and reformed as beings of timeless stability. While they may share a common origin with the Fair Folk, they otherwise bear little resemblance to them. Their society is rigidly structured into a caste system, with the Artisan caste ruling over the Warrior and Worker castes. They have no Graces, and they have their own set of Charms that are organized into caste-based Patterns.
[edit] Criticism
The Fair Folk can be seen as one of the most divisive topic in Exalted Fandom. While many fans of Fair Folk (most largely seen as fans of the major contributor of the Fair Folk, Rebecca Sean Borgstrom) cite the focus on the artistic quality over the game mechanics and grandiose style of gaming it is intended for, critics often point out what they see as overly complicated rules and lack of compatibility with the rest of the Exalted Types. As well much controversy has stemmed from the editors' decision to change the name from Faerie to Raksha, which is seen by some as an unnecessary retcon. However, with the release of Exalted: Second Edition, and finding no reference to Raksha within, it can be assumed that Raksha is only the name that the Fair Folk use to refer to themselves as, and are otherwise known as Fair Folk within Creation.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Structure and Meaning in Roleplaying Game Design an article by R. Sean Borgstrom on game design with specific examples from the creation of Exalted: The Fair Folk.
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| Types of Exalts and other Magical Beings | Solar Exalted | Abyssal Exalted | Infernal Exalted | Lunar Exalted | Sidereal Exalted | Alchemical Exalted | Terrestrial Exalted (The Dragon-Blooded) | Raksha (The Fair Folk) | Dragon Kings | God-Blooded | |
| Major Magical Beings | The Primordials | The Yozis | The Neverborn | Gaia | Autochthon | The Unconquered Sun | Luna | The Five Celestial Maidens | The Five Elemental Dragons | The Deathlords | |
| Five Magical Materials | Orichalcum | Moonsilver | Jade | Starmetal | Soulsteel | |
| Signature Characters | Solar Exalted: Dace | Yurgen Kaneko, the Bull of the North | Panther | Samea | Arianna | Harmonious Jade | Swan Abyssal Exalted: Maiden of the Mirthless Smile | Lady of Darkness in Bloodstained Robes | Seven Degreed Physician of Black Maladies | Disciple of the Seven Forbidden Wisdoms | Prince of Shadows | Falling Tears Poet Lunar Exalted: Lilith, the Owl Woman | Strength of Many | Magnificent Jaguar | Anja Silverclaws Sidereal Exalted: Shepherd of the North Star | Iron Siaka | Crimson Banner Executioner | May Blossom | Chejop Kejak | Black Ice Shadow | Sad Ivory Terrestrial Exalted: Tepet Arada | Mnemon | Cynis Denovah Avaku | Sesus Rafara | Peleps Deled | Sesus Nagezzer, the Slug | Tepet Ejava, the Roseblack Alchemical Exalted: Stern Whip of Industry | Fair-Spoken Rishi | Excessively Righteous Blossom | Unhesitatingly Loyal Weapon (?) | Lissome Avid Engineer Infernal Exalted: Lintha Ng Hut Dukantha The Raksha: Lord Kazour | Neshi of the Double Whips | Subarto | Dilari of the Sea Foam | Nlassa of the Lion's Mane | Laughing Boy | Shikuzi the Weaver | Judge Nehemeth The Mountain Folk: Kravah |
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| Exalted Universe | The Scarlet Empress | The Blessed Isle | Creation | The Threshold | The Scavenger Lands | The Underworld | Yu-Shan, the Heavenly City | Malfeas, the Demon Realm | The Imperial City | Denandsor | Lookshy | Nexus | Thorns | Shadowlands | Whitewall | The Lap | The Imperial Mountain | The Skullstone Archipelago | Celestial Gateways | The Heptagram | The House of Bells | Elemental Poles | Rakshastan | Anima Banner | |
| Source Materials | Sourcebooks | Novels | Comics | |
