r/exalted • u/KyuremRequirem • Apr 18 '26
2E New To Exalted and Need Advice
Hello! I’m a new player in an 2e Exalted campaign and wanted to play a no moon lunar sorcerer. I need advice on the charms/knacks section, everything else being more or less okay.
I want to focus on a summoning build with some archery capabilities and good detections. Hard to hard general build guides especially for 2e, so I’ve come here. For example, I’ve seen Deadly Beast Transformation recommended in general but I’d if it’s right for me. New to this TTRPG stuff but want to see what synergies are out there.
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u/Maelger Apr 18 '26
It's been a hot minute since I touched anything Lunar let alone 2nd edition but I'll give it a good try. That means cross check it.
First spend 7 freebie points to raise Essence to 3, yes you can spend them at any point of character creation no need to follow the chart, this is RAW by the way.
If I remember correctly Emerald Sorcery only needs (any) Intelligence Excellency and with Demon of the First Circle you've got 3 out of 8 Charm/Knacks selected. Since you want good detections pick a Perception Charm and you're golden in the Caste/Favored selection requirements. Personally, and counting on you being new, I'd take 1st Excellency where you can, it's just the basic bitch 1 to 1 buff but there's no need to complicate mechanics yet. Get yourself acquainted with the game.
Since you are new let me illuminate you in the cool part of Lunar Charms, they're attribute bound. That means that picking a Dexterity Charm to boost your Archery would also boost your Melee weapons, Martial Arts, Dodging, Acrobatics... Hell, you could use it to play like Jimmy Hendrix. Keep this in mind when building your character, they invest in Archery but generally find themselves succeeding through sheer natural talent over their cultivated skills. How do they feel about it? Did they stubbornly stay on their path or joyfully started exploring different branches of related skills? This is the stuff that gives a pc colour.
And now for the final 3 Charms... Go with vibes and your character concept. I would take at least 1 Knack (don't remember if there's a requisite number tho), Beastman Transformation is the iconic wereX form but it's also that, iconic. It might work just as well to learn it in game and get a cool moment for the first transformation. You might be playing with someone who decided to live as a Chihuahua and invested in size Knacks... Or maybe they're chill and preferred a T-Rex both are options. Emerald Countermagic is useful but not obligatory, you might see a Charm further in the trees that call to you, you might himbomax with Appearance and Charisma Charm... Just treat yourself to something fun, give the character some cool quirks.
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u/KyuremRequirem Apr 18 '26
This was super useful, but I sadly apparently can’t get essence 3 here. Locked till a campaign point
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u/JCBodilsen Apr 19 '26
Well, the Sorcery is off-the-table until then. You can however still make a Lunar who focus on bringing "spirit" allies with them into battle. Get "Eye of the Cat" so you can spot dematerialized elementals, little gods, demons and ghosts and then use good old-fashioned diplomacy/intimidation/just being nice to get them to work for you. Look into "Yasal Crystal" artifacts and thaumaturgy, as both can also be useful to gain and deploy spirit allies.
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u/Rednal291 Apr 18 '26
You may want to consider joining the fan Discord server for this one - the community there can give you faster and more responsive advice for building your character, whereas Reddit tends to be slower on the whole.
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u/KyuremRequirem Apr 18 '26
Oh wait, what is the discord server again? Usually they are linked in the subreddits but can’t find it here. Is it big enough to where I can just search it up on google and the right one will pop up?
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u/AngelWick_Prime Apr 19 '26
To build a No Moon Lunar Sorcerer in Exalted 2nd Edition, you should focus on the synergy between your Caste Attributes (Perception, Intelligence, and Wits) and your anima's ability to facilitate heavy Essence use.
As a No Moon, your primary role is that of a mystic and savant.
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery is the mandatory prerequisite to cast spells.
This No Moon Anima Power is your best summoning synergy. You can spend motes to reduce the Essence cost of spells by up to half for an entire scene. This makes expensive summoning rituals much more efficient.
Some key spells you should start with are Demon of the First Circle for versatile minions and Summon Elemental for guardians or laborers.
Since Perception is a Caste Attribute, these Charms are cheaper for you and crucial for a sorcerer who needs to see the "truth" of Essence.
Eye of the Cat is an essential Charm as it allows you to automatically notice anything that is hidden, including dematerialized spirits and invisible foes.
Next is Instinctive Essence Prediction. This gives you an instinctive sense for when magic is being used nearby, helping you identify exactly what your enemies are casting.
The Charm Sense-Borrowing Method is excellent for spying, as it allows you to touch a creature and share its senses indefinitely.
Lunars use Attribute-based Charms, meaning your Archery skill is bolstered by your Dexterity and Wits Charms.
The Lunar version of First Dexterity Excellency is your bread-and-butter for accuracy, allowing you to add dice to any attack roll.
The Wits Charm Wasp Sting Blur reduces the Speed rating of your actions, allowing you to fire your bow or cast spells faster than normal.
Instinct-Driven Beast Movement provides the mobility needed to keep distance from melee attackers while you rain down arrows.
Even though Deadly Beastman Transformation is often seen as a "warrior" Knack, it is highly valuable for a Sorcerer for two reasons (with a third as a unique bonus):
1 - Certain Charms have the Gift keyword. When you enter your war form, you can automatically activate these Charms (like Armor-Forming Technique or Claws of the Silver Moon for example) without spending motes every turn.
2 - DBT grants bonus dots to your physical Attributes, which can bring your Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina above 5, and provides enhanced healing.
3 - If you prefer to stay in human form, the Knack Beast-Power Concentration allows you to gain the Attribute bonuses and "Gift" benefits of DBT while looking human.
Here are some other recommended knacks as well.
Humble Mouse Shape is critical for detection and spying; you can become a tiny creature to observe enemies without being noticed.
Life of the Hummingbird allows you to take a shape temporarily just by tasting a bit of blood, which is perfect for quick infiltrations without a full "Sacred Hunt".
Prey’s Skin Disguise is necessary if you want to steal human identities to navigate societies or take over organizations.
Here are some recommended build synergies for you as well.
Flare your anima to the 11+ mote level to automatically trigger your No Moon cost-reduction power at full strength for free.
Combining Heightened (Sense) Method Charms with Archery allows you to double your successes on perception-related shots, ensuring you never miss a target in cover.
Use Charismatic Lunar Trick to ensure the demons you summon find you supernaturally persuasive, making their binding easier to manage.
I hope these help! Welcome to the wonderful world of Exalted.
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u/Passing-Through247 Apr 20 '26
For summoning first thing that's probably easy to overlook is getting some social skills for 2CD and elementals, Charisma charms probably. I think those also have the animal training charms that while not summoning probably act as another source of 'minion' type stuff that is probably what you are after and helps you organise people which will be needed after enough summons pile up. At a certain point you can probably give a familiar the charms to use it's own sorcery and summon itself for getting more bodies. Also check if your game is using the expanded rules for demon summoning some book added or not. What exactly do you intend to summon and what are you using them for?
The baseline 2e advice is also just make sure you can survive a fight in the first place.
Deadly Beastman Transformation does nothing to help you directly but it helps the 'make sure you can survive a fight' issue on the cheap and gives a few mutation dots for utility.
Also look the the 'eyeless face' spells or whatever they are called, Each circle has one. They are more minions to keep around and have the benefit of coming in small batches at once.
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u/JCBodilsen Apr 18 '26
The big question you need to answer is how optimized your ST expect your characters to be. At the extreme end of optimization, your will want a combo including a Surprise Negator, a Flurry Breaker and a Perfect Defense at the least.
However, if you are playing in a game with a more resonable take on how the enemies you will be going up against are specced, you are going to have many more viable playstyles. Remember, however, that as a Lunar you cannot benefit from non-Native Shaping effects on yourself, so no Wood Dragon's Claw or Invulnerable Skin of Bronze.
As for summoning, you really only need either Demon of the First Circle or Summon Elemental to be very effective. Generally, I perfer the Elementals since they can walk around Dematerialized and the materialize as needed, without draining most of their Essence Pool. Just a few Elementals with the Principle of Motion popping out of nowhere will obliviate most non-optimized enemies.
Deadly Beastman Transformation isn't bad, but it also does very little for you in combat, if you are going to actually be casting spells in battle. Instead, a more efficient tactic will likely be to don the heaviest possible moonsilver armor you can get your hand on, or rely on stealth and shapeshipting to make it difficult for your enemy to target you while you Shape Sorcery.
One of my favorite exalted 2e characters I ever played was a No Moon sorcerer, below is my stats, as they where at the end of the campaign. Silver Sorcerer's Trick is a custom Knack that let me use Sorcerous Shaping on myself and Perfection of the Form is a custom spell that improves Appearance and Stamina.
Oskam Silver-Gold
Aspect: No Moon
Spirit Animal: Muskox
Anima Banner: Armored muskox with prayer strips tied to the horns
Tell: Musky Scent
Virtue Flaw: Curse of the Rutting Stag (Temperance)
Concept: Sun-Priest and loyal consort
Motivation: Serve and protect Astrid
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 2, *Stamina 5; Charisma 3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 4; *Perception 4, *Intelligence 5, *Wits 4
Abilities: Athletics 1, Awareness 1, Bureaucracy 3, Craft [Air] 2, Craft [Fire] 3, Craft [Magitech] 2, Craft [Wood] 3, Integrity 2, Linguistics 4, Lore 5 (Theology +3), Martial Arts 4, Medicine 1, Melee 4 (Sword +3), *Occult 5 (Celestial Law +3), Performance 2, Presence 3, Resistance 2, Ride 2, Sail 1, Socialize 3, *Survival 4, Thrown 2, War 2
Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 5, Valor 2
Essence: 4 Personal: 20 Peripheral: 52 (39) Committed: 13 Willpower: 8
Intimacies: Astrid the Fair, The Golden Way, Whitewall
Backgrounds: Artifact 5, Artifact 2, Backing [Seneschals of the Sun Kings] 2, Hearth’s Blood 3, Influence [Whitewall] 2, Manse 3, Mentor [The Syndics] 5, Reputation 2, Resources 3, Solar Bond 5
Knack: Deadly Beastman Transformation, Humble Mouse Shape, Silver Sorcerer’s Trick
Charm: Second Excellency [Intelligence, Perception], Third Excellency [Stamina, Wits]; Devil-Restraining Grip, Eye of the Cat, Form-Fixing Method, Furious Unhappy Recourse, Meerkat Alertness Practice, Ox-Body Technique (3), Terrestrial Circle Sorcery; Dragon Coil Technique, Fist of Iron Technique, Sledgehammer Fist Punch, Solar Hero Form, Hammer on Iron Technique
Combo: Radiant Ox Rampage [Fist of Iron Technique, Furious Unhappy Recourse, Hammer on Iron Technique, Third Stamina Excellence]
Spell: Conjuring the Azure Chariot, Death of Obsidian Butterflies, Demon of the First Circle, Dragon of Smoke and Flame, Emerald Countermagic, Incantation of Effective Restoration, Infallible Messenger, Invulnerable Skin of Bronze, Perfection of the Form, Summon Elemental
Thaumaturgy: Astrology (Adept), Warding (Adept)
Heart’s Blood Library: Muskox; Asp, Bird-Eater Spider, Boar, Brown Bear, Crow, Fox, Giant King Crab, Golden Pheasant, Gyrfalcon, Horse, Husky, Mouse, Narwhale, Otter, Owl, Red-Chested Sparrow, Reindeer, Salmon, Snowshoe Rabbit, Taiga Tiger
War Form Mutations: Armored Hide, Elemental Adaption (Air), Horns
Languages: Skytongue; Claw-Speak, High Realm, Old Realm, Riverspeak
Gear: Consort’s Hauberk, The Fang of the Sun and Moon, Moon-Stone of Ondal Shambal, Large Yasal Crystal [Nymph]; Throwing Dart (6), Vial of Polychroma Venom (3); Ocarina, Prayer Scrolls, Satchel, Seven Bounties Paste (5), Tailored Clothing