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This is the result of my Dice & Diceless thread, and a previous thread on Exquisite, which helped along my musing.  There is also a thread on RPG.net.  It's something of an exercise in game design: "How can I squeeze the most utility out of Fortune and Karma?"  Exquisite is another of my games about hypercompetent people duking it out over the heads of the masses of the commoners.  It's not gritty, it's not dark, it's not realistic.

Mortals are weak. Mortals fail. They suffer and tread the long hard road of mediocrity. You do not. You have become Exquisite, perfect, beautiful beyond compare, beyond comprehension. You can be whatever you choose; you have entered the land where all limitations are removed.  The Second Breaking is too far off to be remembered by even the eldest immortals, but its effects can still be felt, through the touch of ones like you. When the gods were broken and their souls seeded over the ground, a few lucky mortals caught the sparks of divine power, and were remade as the Flawless Ones, the Exquisite, insects holding up radiant pieces of stars.

The gods of the world are dead and gone, and outside of Exquisite society they are forgotten.  The pieces of their souls that the blessed hold are blessing and curse - they give power beyond imagining of imagining, but also madness and a promise of loss and bitter betrayal.  There are only so many godshards in the world, and one shard is never enough.  Exquisites hunt each other across the realms, seeking the taste of immortal flesh, and new, fresh immortal might.

Characters in Exquisite have five Senses which describe their abilities.  Sense scores range from 1 to 10; for mortals they top out around 3.  The three uses of a Sense are their stereotypical applications from three attitudes: Mighty, Subtle, and Independent, but not the only possible uses.

[*]Touch is the character's power over his own body. The three archetypal uses of Touch are Exert, Control, and Endure.
[*]Hear is the character's power over his own mind.  The three uses of Hear are Understand, Imagine, and Observe.
[*]Taste is the character's power over the minds of others.  The three uses of Taste are Influence, Avoid, and Investigate.
[*]Smell is the character's power over plants and lesser creatures.  The three uses of Smell are Hunt, Herd, and Cultivate.
[*]See is the character's power over inanimate objects.  The uses of See are Shatter, Manipulate, and Construct.[/list:u]Exquisites also have Godmarks, which range from 1 to 10 and represent a piece of a god's soul, and the mangitude of its power.  A Godmark's power is much less broad than that of a Sense, but also different in its scope.  Rather than being a mode of interaction, a Godmark is something that the Exquisite can interact with, like truth, law, and the sea, the things that Godmarks of Véamandhi can affect.

Mechanic:
When an Exquisite wishes to make major changes to a state of affairs, the GM should set an Integrity for that state; this Integrity is a number that states how resistant that state is to change.  Then the player may choose to roll dice or to set the magnitude of his effort.
If the player rolls dice, he rolls as many d6 as his Sense and any relevant Godmarks;  rolls of 1 to 3 generate that much Force, while 4 to 6 are worth nothing.  The player divides the Force generated between Quality, the possible mangitude of the change, and Integrity, the new state's resistance to change.  Then the original state's Integrity is subtracted from the Quality to find the magnitude of the change that the character can create.
If the player chooses not to roll dice, he simply adds up the relevant numbers.  He may elect to increase the Force of the result by spending points of the relevant Sense or Godmark.  The resulting stat loss is not factored in to the Force of the result.  Spending points gets more efficient  with larger expenditures:

Points Spent:  Force Added: (Sense/Godmark)
1              1 / 1
2              2 / 2
3              3 / 4
4              5 / 8
5              8 / 16
6             13 / 32
7             21 / 64
What to do with Quality:
With 3 points of Quality you can decrease a character's Sense by 1.  9 points incurs a reduction of 2, 27 a reduction of 3.  Reducing a Sense to 0 incapacitates the character in that arena.
With a Quality of 1 you can do something minor, the work of a mortal's hour.
Quality 3 is worth an afternoon of skilled labor.
Quality 5 is a lengthy undertaking requiring broad expertise, like building a mansion.
Quality 7 is a creation unique in the world.
Quality 9 is something on the very edge of mortal capability.
Quality 11 is impossible for mortals.
Quality 13 is downright impossible.

Regaining Sense and Godmark points:
Every Exquisite has a code, usually based on the code of his strongest godmark.  The code is usually summarized in three to five simple statements.  One such code follows:

[*]Never lie to the virtuous.
[*]Beauty is truth; ugliness is therefore falsehood.
[*]There is virtue in adversity and in the law.[/list:u]
Being significantly inconvenienced by the code regains a point of Sense; being harmed by the code nets a character a point of a godmark.  Characters should also have all their abilities restored at the beginning of a story.  Accomplishing a major goal can also be rewarded with point restorations.

Magic:
Exquisites have three kinds of magical power.

Book magic adds to the longevity of things; it allows a character to bring a second Sense to bear on a challenge, but that Sense adds only to Integrity.  In the diced mode, the Sense is rolled but only 1 and 2 create Force; in the diceless mode, points can be spent from the additional Sense to add to Force, but the Sense's value is not added to the total.  Book magic is the magic of learning and ritual; it is studied, complex, arcane.  Sword magic adds to the might of things; it works like Book magic, but adds to Force.  Sword magic is like Exquisite kung fu.  Both of these are discussed farther on the previous thread (Color issues only; mechanics live here.)

Godmark magic has its mechanical effect built in to the resolution system, but it has consequences that Book and Sword magics do not.  It's essential to remember that godmark magic, though very powerful, only has utility in the godmark's specific realm of power.  To take an example from real-world mythology, a Godmark of Apollo might have power over music, the arts, and sunlight.  As the godmark's powers are drawn upon, its consciousness awakens and starts to intrude on the Exquisite's freedom.  The character starts taking on Aspects of the god.
Aspects can include the god's visual appearance, personality traits, special effects, and so on.  For each point that a Godmark is below its maximum, the Exquisite begins to display traits:
[list=1][*] Minor changes of appearance.
[*] Changes of mannerisms.
[*]Minor changes of environment.
[*]Major changes of self - extra limbs, attributes of the diety, that kind of thing.
[*]Actions outside of the god's purview are at half effectiveness.
[*]Personality traits of the god emerge.
[*]The Godmark nearly subsumes the character's personality; he effectively becomes a manifestation of the god.[/list:o]These traits have an Integrity equal to their level.

Certain measures can help calm the Aspect and suppress its manifestations, outside of simply resisting them through sheer personal power.  Using traditional tools of the diety will lower the Aspect a level, as will wearing garb in that diety's colors, or otherwise showing one's allegiance.  Breaking a god's code will make the aspect flare one level more severely, as will being in the presence of another person manifesting the same aspect one an inimical one.

Godshards are difficult to take from a person, but they are easily given, with a libation of tears or breath.  They can be taken from the unwilling, but only if the victim is deceased and the corpse is still warm.  When an Exquisite dies and no one claims her shards, they are scattered across the world again, and mortal children are born with sparks of the divine burning inside them.

How do you get points back in your Godmarks and Senses?
Further, can you spend points, and then roll dice, for potentially really huge results (i.e. blow 7 points of Godmark to add 64 dice to a roll?)

yrs--
--Ben

Your first question is covered in the post above, right after the Quality section.
Second question: No.  The point-spending mechanic is specifically exclusive of the dice mechanic.  In a way, it's a formalization of dice karma; if you roll really well once, you can expect to roll poorly for a while in order to "make up for it."  The dice mechanic doesn't have the range of variation that the spending does, but it does permit more or less predictable performance.

I must admit that I have a weak spot for games where characters are not only *do* magic, they *are* magic. This game fits that to a T. I am impressed, and I hope this continues.

But what do these people do? Why do they come into conflict? Can you provide us with this information, possibly creating a character and showing him or her in action?

How do they relate to the humans around them, in general? What keeps their existence out of the eyes of mortal men, if anything?

Sorry for the scattershot of questions; it only means I'm interested. ;-)

Sorry. I forgot these are Color questions, not mechanics questions.

But a mechanics question, then: How many points do they get to divide between Godshards and Senses? Is it randomly rolled? Is there a set amount? Can this set amount be varied by a merit/flaw system?

Again, just curious, and sorry if I'm overwhelming you.

The Color:

Exquisites do whatever they want to do.  They're big, bold people, and I can see a lot of different character concepts - the Hunter who goes out and slays young Exquisites for their power, the Architect who creates wonders, the Hero who champions a nation or the Emperor who rules it.  The Chimera whose Godmarks are so strong that he is in a constant state of flux, changing from one manifestation to another.  The Visionary who is trying to reassemble the shattered gods, one by one.  They come into conflict because it is in the nature of strong people to collide, and because of the nature of their power.  I can see a pattern of factions in conflict, or groups that are bound together because they are of different regional pantheons, and so forth.

The nature of Exquisite being is to be in the spotlight, to be forever surrounded by eyes.  The transformation is not only mystical, but also physical - like comicbook superheroes, Exquisites are bigger, better, and always the prettiest, and everyone knows it.  Mortals are aware of the mighty and what they do, but perhaps not what they are.  Naturally it is wise for most of them to keep their fingers of Exquisite affairs; they would be swept away like tears into the sea.

Mechanics:
I'm thinking you get like 75 points to distribute; Senses cost 3 per point, Godmarks cost 2 per point.  That'll get you a pretty spectacular character with no Godmarks, or a more average one that sizzles with divine power.  There'll be a system, probably modelled after the Gift system in Nobilis, for merits, and probably a system for flaws in the same spirit.  Of course, flaws will be metagamely useful, so they'll cost you instead of being a way to buy more merits.
There should also be a system for designing the gods that your characters have shards of, so when you burn out your Mark and become god-walking-earth, you know who you are and what you want.

I agree with spooky. It's beautiful. I try to write my game speach very similar to yours. Perhaps some time I can send you some and see if you have better ideas for word use (small token, of course. Not to take lots of time). Have you written gothic-style games?

Now, I do have at least one qualm. I like playing a character that feels threatened by more than equals. Somehow I want that millieu where the big Godzilla eventually has to come down with little ol me and my friends. I especially like the union of several types of creatures.

The 5 senses and how they play as attributes is cool. The book and the sword made me think to try all sorts of items with meanings.

If you haven't already mentioned: Are you using only Greek Gods? I also noticed on your website this system was used for several creatures (elves, dwarves, etc) was that one scratched for this? Or perhaps the 5 senses is a system for several games. I like that fantasy concept.

The title "Exquisite" doesn't catch my eye, but it does seem appropriate.

Taking each other's power reminds me of Highlander, a theme I loved.

If it's fair of me to say, my favourite games so far must be this and the Masque game (uh-oh, my apologies for forgetting the real name this time).

Anyhow, I'll be interested in viewing / buying the finished product.

I'd be glad to discuss editing - PM me.

As for the questions about the game:
I'm turning over some mechanics in my head for truly frightening things that happen when the Godmark is overused; the thread of a better-than-equal is, in Exquisite, the threat of a peer losing control over the source of his power, and becoming something he does not want to be.  But really, in this world there aren''t meant to be any things bigger than the Ecquisites themselves; there's an importance to that "lonely at the top" feeling.

Like Torchbearer or Nobilis, the game comes with a framework for you to fill out; I use Greeks in the example because it's easy; everyone should be casually acquainted with them.  The fantasy setting that I developed under the Exquisite name and the color attached to it are still there, but with the PCs dropped in; it's a different world than that described at the site, but only by a little bit.

Thanks, everyone, for the compliments and the questions.

Hmmm. Here's a thought I had:

Exquisite are not always their own or others' worst enemies. Sometimes they run afoul of the Mystery Cults.

Mystery Cults are those mortal affiliations who know magic, the magic of trapping an Exquisite and harnessing his/her power for their own ends, whether the Exquisite wills it or not. Their magic is the stuff of lengthy chants in dead tongues, symbols, books, sacrifices, and old worship ceremonies hideously twisted. They can use the power of the Exquisite, but what the Exquisite does effortlessly, the rituals may take an hour or more to accomplish. Most Exquisite view it as the worst sort of slavery, and give the Cults no mercy or quarter. The Mystery Cults return the favor, and have the advantages of numbers and fanaticism.

Why have the Exquisite not banded together and stamped them all out? Because there are some among the Exquisite who wisely believe that something besides other Exquisites needs to keep their nigh-omnipotent brothers and sisters in check, and thus quietly support the Mystery Cults, aiding them voluntarily in exchange for enforcable oaths against the Cult turning on them. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, after all...

Exquisite, no? ;-)

Also, a question:

Is there any way, using the senses, that an exquisite can curse/bless/geas someone, monkeying around with their fate? Or is that a power of their godshard, and players should pick a diety of fate if that's waht they want to do? It just seems appropriate for people with a bit of deity in them to be able to do that.

Also, can players select archetypes to embody, like The Warrior, The Magus, The Fool/Rebel, instead of actual deities?

Mystery Cults are frightening and exciting... I like it.  I don't know how I'd get them to work, matephysically, but it's too interesting an angle not to pursue.  Thanks, Spooky.

As for your second thing... I can see any godshard's power doing something like this, as long as the geas's effects are aligned with the shard.  Like, a shard of Butterflies could make curses relating to death, transformation, flight, fire; a shard of Thor could bless a man with bravery, might, or power over the storm.

It seems like the archetypes that you're suggesting make sense as character concepts, but not necessarily as shards... think of a Shard as a kind of Pokemon where you become the monster.  I have to go to the dentist; I'll post some character ideas when I get back.

Quote from: Shreyas SampatMystery Cults are frightening and exciting... I like it.  I don't know how I'd get them to work, matephysically, but it's too interesting an angle not to pursue.  Thanks, Spooky.

Anything to help, especially when I groove on the concept. Think of them kinda like the Cammorae from Nobilis, except rogue and independent-minded.

QuoteAs for your second thing... I can see any godshard's power doing something like this, as long as the geas's effects are aligned with the shard.  Like, a shard of Butterflies could make curses relating to death, transformation, flight, fire; a shard of Thor could bless a man with bravery, might, or power over the storm.

Ah, the Nobilis route, then. Well, it makes sense, although in my heart of hearts, I wanted the ability to do that tied to Taste, if only to make the time-honored line "Taste my wrath, puny fool!" take on a whole new meaning. ;-)

QuoteIt seems like the archetypes that you're suggesting make sense as character concepts, but not necessarily as shards... think of a Shard as a kind of Pokemon where you become the monster.

Ah. Again, this makes sense, although I had a vision of similarly-aligned Godshards mixing together for mutual support after the gods exploded; not enough to carry a distinct identity, but enough to carry on a similar theme. Still, I suspect whatever whammies you're tying in to having too strong a Godshard sort of depend on that Godshard having a will of it's own.

Speaking of which, is it possible to have more than one Godshard in you at the same time? I keep having this idea of two opposing godshards in the same body, giving new meaning to the words "internal conflict." ;-)

I hope this will answer some of your questions, Spooky; I actually rather assume that characters will have multiple shards.

Godshards
The power of a Shard is directly proportional to its strength of personality; a Shard that is more unique or of a god that was stronger originally will grant more mystical power to its holder.  Likewise, an insipid shard or one of a weak god is consequently less magically intense.  Shards cost 2 CP per level; an ordinary shard holds to a code of five laws and resonates with three symbols, each of which is associated with one of three spheres of influence; its maximum strength is 5.  Through spiritual tribulation, an Exquisite can strengthen his shards.  The following modify the CP cost and maximum strength of Shards:

Lax Code: -1
The shard holds to only three of its god's five laws.

Crippled Sphere: -2
The shard is incapable of affecting one of its god's spheres of influence.
Single Sphere: -3
The shard is capable of affecting only one sphere.
Twisted Sphere: +1
One of the shard's spheres is slightly different than that of an ordinary shard of the god; a Twisted Shard of Persephone might have Imprisonment instead of The Underworld or Naïveté instead of Youth.
Mighty Sphere: +2
One of the shard's spheres is broader than usual; a Mighty Hephaestus-shard could have Making rather than The Forge or Injury rather than Crippling.

Many Symbols: +2
The shard resonates with one additional symbol per sphere of influence.
Versatile Symbols: +1
Each of the shard's symbols resonate with two of its spheres.
Weak Symbols: -1
The shard does not resonate with one of its god's symbols; the associated sphere resonates with one of the other symbols instead.

Implacable Aspect: +1
The holder of the shard always manifests at least the 2nd level of Aspect display.
Volatile Aspect: +1
When the holder of the shard is manifesting Aspect, it displays at the next higher level.
Obscure/Distinctive Aspect: +1
The shard's aspect manifestations are rare and unusual; either they are virtually unknown as Aspects of that god, or are easily recognizable as being that of the god, more so than the ordinary aspect.
Subtle Aspect: -1
The opposite of Volatile Aspect.
Complacent Aspect: -2
The holder of the shard never manifests the highest 2 levels of aspect display.

Named Shard: +3
The shard holds a personality and a consciousness; it is unique among bits of its god.  It embodies a specific facet of the diety, and has one additional sphere and one additional symbol.  It automatically has the effect of Obscure/Distinctive Aspect.  The shard-mind is stronger than that of an ordinary shard; its aspect manifestations have +1 Integrity.


A Sample Character:
The Hunter (75 CP)
The Hunter seeks out young Exquisites and eats them before they have a chance to develop their abilities, then sells their Shards.
Touch 6
Hear 5
Taste 2
Smell 4
See 3

Shards:

Xipe Totec 3 (max 5)
Xipe Totec, Our Lord the Flayed, is a god of sacrifice and the spring.  He is very deliberate and ceremonial, and will take any opportunity to sacrifice when the Aspect presents itself.  His Aspect is that of spectral quetzal plumes and a gleam of gold; as it becomes stronger there is a charnel stink, with the scent of rain running underneath it.  The sound of chanting, smithy, and screams also accompanies his Aspect at times.
Spheres: Sacrifice, goldsmithing, spring.
Symbols: Obsidian, human skin, blood.
Colors: Green, yellow.
Code:
Always wear the 'golden garment', a jacket of human skin.
Always assist one in need of water.
Never spill blood without first consecrating it.
Let no flesh go to waste.
Gold is the flesh of the earth.

Tlazolteotl 4 (max 6)
Tlazolteotl, the goddess of guilty pleasures, is perfectly willing to take over the shardholder's body for an evening of regrettable debauchery.  She smells of dry leaves and venom, and her Aspect makes the Exquisite appear scarlet and serpentine, or like a huge black jaguar with red flowers for eyes.  All who see her are arrested by a feeling of mad desire.
Spheres: Serpents, Desire, Guilt
Symbols: Roses, Snakeskin, Ribbons
Colors: Red, black.
Code:
Never be denied.
Never refuse a pleasure offered out of fear of its consequences.
Likewise a request.
Be the most beautiful.
Power is a form of beauty.
Named Shard: Malintzin
Malintzin is the fertile, lifegiving facet of Tlazolteotl.  Her Aspect is full of greenery and the scent of fresh earth.
Sphere/Symbol: Growth/Corn
Lax Code: Ignore laws 3 and 4.
Subtle Aspect.

As always, your sense of aesthetic is profound.  So far, the game reads to me like a less setting-dependent version of Nobilis.  That is, in Nobilis, many of the game's central features and mechanics are tied directly into the background (Imperators, Chancels, the Realm attribute, Auctoritas, Rite of Holy Fire, etc).  Here, that doesn't seem to be quite so much of the case.  While talking about Godshards all the time does seem to hint at a specific setting, you could call them something else, use the same mechanics, and the game would still make sense.  That's probably why it feels comfortable dropping both Aztec and Achean heroes into it.  I'm with Spooky that, while the mechanics look solid, it's important to think about what you want the characters to actually be DOING.  One of the weaknesses of traditional game design is building an "open-ended" system that accounts for every eventuality, even ones that probably won't come up in the course of play.  Or, in the case of some games (such as In Nomine), not having mechanics for things that are likely to happen all the time.  But elegant designs support only what you need.  For instance, Nobilis doesn't have any rules for quantifying mortals or animals or anything that's not miraculous.  They simply don't matter.  You say as much by the absense of mechanics, as long as you're intentional about it, as you do with detailed systems.  So what is the existence of an Exquisite like?  Knowing you, I imagine something like "living out their passions while in the service to the Godshards within them."  How close am I?

I agree that it's profound. Perhaps to a fault.

Quote"living out their passions while in the service to the Godshards within them."

I'd buy that. Which makes for a great internal thought. But I'd be daunted trying to put it into play. I feel like I'd be bungling it all the time.

How about some help for those of us who aren't as aesthetically gifted, eh Shreyas. :-)

Mike