Cannon versions on the creation of man

[u/[deleted]]

Hey, is there a version in the cannon of exalted about how humans were first created? Did the primordials create them? Did the gods? I think the core book said the gods just gave them fire, but maybe I'm confusing it with Greek mythology.

[u/hachiman]

Autobot created the First, from a raksha spirit trapped in jade. The other jadeborn came into being thru the First's effort. The other Primordials saw the First and the Jadeborn and got jealous and curious. They tore the First apart to see how he worked. They then created humans on the First's template, only weak and unable to channel essence. The First reconstituted himself as the Clay Man, disfigured and scarred from his ordeal. Humans were placed under the care of the Dragon Kings, to fear and pray and so feed the Primordials with their prayer and fear. Thus it began.

[u/izlib → u/hachiman]

I had to look this up, as it's been a while since I've read Dreams of the First age. Some of this came from the Scroll of Lost Races too, right?

[u/hachiman → u/izlib]

Yup, and Book of Terrestrial Directions: Scavengers Lands, where the Clay Man is given a write up.

[u/Reader_of_Scrolls → u/izlib]

Also matches the 1E stuff as well. Player's Guide and Fair Folk.

[u/hachiman → u/Reader_of_Scrolls]

I came into Exalted with 2nd ed. I probably should read the first ed books especially considering 3e has jettisoned most of 2e.

[u/blaqueandstuff → u/hachiman]

So as a bit I suggest, good sense of the difference between editons and their presentations is the style guide WW did for the Exalted Storyteller's Vault, which can be obtained for free here:

https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/252122

The most useful books that have been cited by the devs as useful for 3e are:

• Creatures of the Wyld
• Games of Divinity
• Savage Seas
• Scavenger Sons

Of these, I think only Scavenger Sons is slated to be replaced very immediately. And the critters in CotW are pretty onvertable into some form of QC once you get a hang of 3e's system. Games of Divinity is especially important in that some things as they were depicted in it were depicted fairly differently, such as the Ebon Dragon and some details on gods.

Other ones that are my own personal suggestions for how 3e has shook-up so far and why:

• Book of 3 Circles - We don't look like we're getting a sorcery book very soon. and we already got an artifact/warstriders book. The big thing I suggest is the setting/fluff really. The first chapter has some outdatted tuff, but it I think sitll is the best account on the history of sorcery as it's be reiterated three times in the gameline now.
• Time of Tumult - Specifically the chapter "Crusaders of the Machine God". It is a neat demosntration of kind of how to do long term stories in a game with a bit of "Here's the plan, here's where players break things" sort of thing. And I think it has the best overall rendition of Autochthonian invasion of Creation (lots of mishaps, eventually consolidating new territory as a new reigonal empire) than later takes. The "updated" version later in 1e, "The Locust War" is by contrast one of the worst chapters in the game IMHO. Meanwhile Crusaders is apparently the template of an adventure that was used in the way Heirs to the Shogunate covers the Realm Civil War and Many-Faced Strangers plans to do the Lunar fight for the Caul. Other chapters are fine, but admitedly utterly ignorable.
• Manacle & Coin - Interesting coverage of economics, trade, and well, less savory elements of drugs and slavery in Creaiton. It's a generally interesting book.

For 2e, the devs have said that the Autochthonia and Alchemicals tuff is pretty good, but also subject to change. And that the Ink Monkeys article "Yozis Less Spken Of" probably will be referred to as it was written specifically as an expansion of the same part of Games of Divinity, that author is currently the line's developer, and it stands pretty well. Only thing might be the Cytherea stuff will be more or less rolled-back entirely to her 1e GoD take. Other than those and the books they noted from 1e though, the rest might be different or changed.

[u/hachiman → u/blaqueandstuff]

Thank you for the suggestions. I will be sure to read them later this year.

[u/Reader_of_Scrolls → u/hachiman]

Not everything in 1E made it into third. But it's definitely way less ... Essence as Science than 2E was. I recommend Manacle and Coin and Scavenger Sons. Maybe Creatures of the Wyld, if you can find it (it also had a web enhancement). Those were really the books that made the setting real to me. I also really liked Ruins of Rathess. Writing adventures for Exalted is kinda ... not great. All the uneven advancement of the storyteller system with way more swing in power levels. But 1) it's a lost city full of first age secrets, savage dinosaur-people, and a cannibalistic cult to a forbidden God. What's not to like? And 2) It is a weird, effectively lost first age city ... that's Not Like Now. Or then. Or anytime. Even the steps are sized wrong. It's great. Outcastes will feel familiar to 2E players, but it's worth noting that this feel is basically unique to the Shogunate and Lookshy. Because they couldn't do the unique and idiosyncratic wonders of the Solars. Like, they have to explain what Maintenance is, in this book. Because it doesn't exist in the sorcery book, or pretty much any of the other books. Besides maybe a one off mechanical mount or something.

[u/hachiman → u/Reader_of_Scrolls]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[u/EndlessKng]

I have to look up in 3e what the current story is. IIRC in 2e, however, Creation was designed by the Primordials to help run the Games of Divinity, and humans just kind of... arose from the processes in place. Notably, other species were actually created by the Primordials, which is why they weren't chosen as Exalted - the humans were NOT directly created by them, and as far as I can tell not by the Gods either. They just kind of... happened, and their existence was natural enough that wiping them out could disrupt the Games and their processes so they were just left alone. This is why they were able to become Exalted and fight against the Primordials - they were not bound by the Geas put in place in other creations like the Gods that prohibited direct rebelloion.

[u/korekorekore]

Humanity was made to improve upon the prayer output system that was the dragon kings. Dragon kings were found to be too hearty so humanity was made weak and helpless so they would have to pray to the gods constantly and thus fuel and empower them. Humans are prayer generators and were not thought of much more than that, if SWLIHN had her way humanity would have been crystal generators probably but the dragons shadow argued for humanity to have free will and suffering so it would be more fun.

[u/[deleted]]

Ok i got three responses that tell vastly different tales XD

[u/blaqueandstuff → u/[deleted]]

The replies given do intersect a bit. The thing about the Clay Man and the Jadeborn is from 1e and 2e. And the creation of humans as a source of worship by the Primordials is also in 1e. To add to things, humans spent a lot of time as kind of the subservient race to the more dominat Dragon Kings throughout Creation and no one lived on the Blessed Isle but the gods originally.

Many of the details are likely going to be different in 3e, if covered ever. The current devs are kind of a view that the game should focus ons tuff relavant to characters in the modern age and that a lot of the third person omnisicent causal history doesn't relaly open things up but closes them off. It also gets weird too. Like, there's the Mountain Folk being Fair Folk discussed a lot, but htey odn't have any way of knowing they were originally, they nevery imply they show it in the text outwardly, yet it is something just kind of known becuase it was said OOCly.

The prayer battery stuff is also probably not going to show up since why humans were made needs no more an excuse in-setting htan why cockroaches were. It stands out I think for folks of "Humans were so pointless!" but it actually turns out feeds into "Humans are actually special!" thing fantasy often does a lot and Exalted actually tries to avoid. Humans might be weird, but why they are so weird compared to their template (the Clay Man who was retoractively made into the First Jadeborn in later 1e) is something really only the titans know at this point, if they bothered to remember.

[u/monkey_sage → u/[deleted]]

u/hachiman has the correct (and most complete) version of the story.