Abyssals

The Abyssals in Exile

I myself think the Abyssals aren't nihilists here - they see themselves as messiahs. Even while captured, they never gave up - and their faith in their cause was rewarded, being the first able to permanently kill a Primordial. Even still, rising from its powerful grasp with part of its power to live again - and this time, with no clear limit their strengths. They are what the Exalted were always meant to be - perfect weapons.

Regardless, the Abyssals work together to make great and marring strikes against the Spiral, bringing as much as they can into their domains through their assaults. As all dead Primordials share the hivemind of the Neverborn, however, they hear the siren song of the Engine of Extinction among the stars - or perhaps it is the swan song of Autochthon. Regardless, the call has grown too tantalizing to ignore, and so they have sent an expeditionary mission to investigate what the Abyssals could stand to gain should they bring the rogue Primordial into the Black Non, and the answer they hear may excite them enough to make their dead hearts skip a beat.

Notable Abyssals

As such, I think their names are not 'this is the end,' but 'this is a new beginning.' Also, on the plus side, we don't have to look at the Abyssals at all, just the Deathlords. We COULD give them the power to make weaker and more manageable Abyssals from mortals (combining First Circle souls, perhaps), but as it is right now I think their narrative power is drawn from how rare and powerful they are.

• Oh wait that First Circle thing is maybe something only Third Circle Abyssals can do??? We'll see (even though it makes no sense from a soul hierarchy perspective, it makes sense from a rule of cool one!).

The Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible

• His normal name WORKS, but it's a bit flowery and not quite 'sunny,' you know? His other titles include 'The Shining One' and 'The High Priest . . . ' which are probably more what we're going for. Could just be the High Priest of the Shining Path?
• His bit (it's even called 'The Shining Path') translates 1:1 I feel, but for different reasons - he truly believes death is salvation, and those who embrace it have nothing to fear. He's been rewarded in own way, and is able to provide powerful benefits to ghosts that follow his cause, so it's hard not to believe him on some level.
• A Second Circle Soul, possibly Understanding/Wisdom, a sifu and priest for any forces of death without end. His staff also has the power to transform into a clockwork bat which he can use for scouting if need be, though there are others better suited for the task. Its touch can also turn a mortal into a ghost for a day, who is then bound to the Bishop's will, but I'm not sure to play that up. We can (and I think I saw a decently done) give him a full version of Gentle Embrace Style.

The Bodhisattva Anointed by Dark Water

• Name is too 'dark,' I'd go with The Bodhisattva Twiceborn (or Twice Reborn depending on how he view the Solar Exaltation) or something. Alternately, we could play up 'a 'Waterwalker' angle with him, but it hard to think of a title that flows well with that meaning. The Silver Prince is his other name, so we could easily make him the Golden Prince. The Bodhisattva of the Golden Crown/Throne maybe?
• Like the Bishop, it is easy to translate his front and just chop off the backside of the whole 'secret soulsteel island' bullshit. He draws people in with charm and charisma, and tells them they will live forever if they follow him, that's fine, he doesn't need to be a dick about it.
• I'd say even if we're limiting Third Circle Souls, he definitely gets one regardless, acting as a general for the dead rallying behind them. The Bodhisattva to me embodies the greatest strengths of the Deathlords - he is charming, powerful, and capable of leading an armed force. His sword forces anyone it strikes to follow him for the next 100 days in Vanilla, but we can probably tone that down.

The Dowager of the Irreverent Vulgate in Unrent Veils

• Name is too 'dead flowery' (deathblossomy???), and Shoat of the Mire is not a great alternative. Perhaps play up a 'Golden Child' angle, either as part of the actual title or in the figurative sense 'golden child' means prodigy and work a new title from there. The Glorious Child Born From Ash? Eh.
• The Well of Udr is a possible hook should she board the Gunstar (though I imagine until the Abyssals take more Neverborn it's still in Primordial hands), but the Great Contagion is much more. Perhaps not as strong, but she could roam through the streets of the Spiral (and later the Gunstar) spreading deadly disease by her mere presence as a Typhoid Mary, then take over another child's body to avoid any persecution and do it all again, bolstering the servants and power of the dead. She's also considered the best necromancer among the Deathlords, though I may transfer this to lover due to the Third Circle Soul bit. Regardless, she still probably has great acumen with it even if she's not the best.
• I'd say she has a Second Circle Reflective Soul in her, leading her to wander and change. But this makes her an excellent spy into the Spiral, as she able to steal bodies for herself as well as cause chaos among the population. Her bow shoots harpoons, which clasp around bone of the target they hit.

Eye and Seven Despairs

• Eye and Seven Triumphs is one we discussed and certainly not a bad one, though I'm open to anything that sparks in your mind.
• Eye doesn't really have much going for him in Vanilla. But we'll change that. He quickly learns of and embraces Voidtech, elevating gremlins from a minor threat to something that can threaten the health of nations. Perhaps he was even the one to find the flaw in Alchemicals that makes them go Apostate, and flipped the switch while whistling to himself. Later, he probably abuses that cult in Claslat of Tripartite members who are hungry ghosts stuck in bodies. Maybe he even started the idea, long ago.
• I'd say he has a Second Circle Soul, perhaps Gratifying/Indulgent, as he throws himself entirely into his work of necrotech, and is deeply fascinated by the related Voidtech. A capable infiltrator and inventor, and hey the soul choice would also explain his weird lethargy and seduction plays.

First and Forsaken Lion

• First and Transcendent Lion is one I threw out in passing, but again if you have a better one feel free.
• The Lion is a general, a strategist foremost among the others. As such, he's unlikely to approach the Gunstar any time soon, though like Above All Others, he probably largely coordinated any strikes.
• Probably Third Circle, it'd really kinda make sense (in the weirdest of ways) for him to have the Fetich if he WAS the first, but that's really not that important right now. Likely to the be the general and leader of the Abyssals planning their next move from start to finish. He likely allots the resources as well - what soulsteel can be used to make new warstriders and battle cruisers, what soulsteel go to arming the masses, and what go into promising new oddities each of the others hope to explore - himself of course benefiting the most from all three.

The Lover Clad in Raiment of Tears

• Too emo of a name at the end. The Lover works, of course, but again we want them to think of saviors first and dead second. The Lover in Radiant Raiments?
• I'd say the Lover is still in her hedonistic phase, drawing great pleasure from manipulating people - but she sees life after death as a way to indulge without end. There is are no needs, only wants, and she gets what she wants. Like in Vanilla where she let Lookshy capture her warstrider, she might favor feints where she puts herself in a position that appears as a loss to the unsuspecting, only to spring the trap whenever it so amuses her.
• Probably Third Circle, and easily still the best sorcerer among them. She routinely slips into cities, where people may recognize her threat but become entranced by her beauty anyway, causing civil war with her presence or just casting Total Annihilation and bringing them all back into the Black Non for an orgy of death. Her sword deals damage in temporary Willpower, and even parrying it causing the defender to desire to call off the fight, falling in love in the worst case.

The Mask of Winters

• Too emo to me. The Masked Savior, the Mask of Miracles, something like that.
• The Mask could be foolishly boisterous again, recklessly believing himself to be invincible after surviving death. He can have his corpse-behemoth the Juggernaut if we want, which might have been created by his original soul hence why it's loyal to him.
• Second Circle, Expressive Soul most likely, they're usually crusaders of a kind.

Princess Magnificent with Lips of Coral and Robes of Black Feathers

• Princess Magnificent works for sure, Lips of Coral isn't bad, Robes of Black Feathers might be changed to something more messianic.
• It's possible, mirroring Vanilla, she was sent because she was disgraced, perhaps she blundered due to her airhead nature and cost the Abyssals a mission. As it is, she's unlikely to betray the Abyssals in her current carnation, but she's likely enough to die and who knows then, huh?
• I'd say she has a Second Circle Defining Soul in her, possibly of the Fetich, explaining why she has such a close connection with the Whispers of the Neverborn. Also could explain her lack of direction a bit in some weird sense. Her cloak allows her to fly and move swiftly, and her umbrella causes allies to attack allies with its jingling, as well as being able to create a thunderstorm or complete darkness.

The Walker in Darkness

• Nope. He Who Steps Into the Light???
• Ambitious and cautious, the most likely to try to seek out new allies in strange lands, one of the greatest infiltrators among the Deathlords and certainly more capable of cultivating good relations than Eye and Seven Despairs.
• Probably Second Circle, Communicative/Messenger Soul. His sword reduces a target's Strength to 1 through a pox, as well as draining their Stamina and Willpower over time.

The Warden of the Primordials

• Perfect. No notes.
• Clink, clank.
• Third Circle, PERHAPS the Fetich just to be completely terrifying, but it could have just been a dark soul (ah, ah) before anyway.

If we want to pin down a the last three, the Shadow Isles champs probably aren't a bad place of inspiration actually, both Eve and Karthus in particular lends to interesting ideas that aren't covered by others, stealthy assassin and singing sorcerer.

• For reference, the only Second Circle type of Soul we haven't touched on Protective/Warden Souls, and technically a 'Progenitive' Soul which is used in the process of creating a Third Circle Soul. Both can be used, and then we have can one more Third Circle, it's poifect!

Instead of Golden: 'auspicious, bright, brilliant, coruscating, halcyon, harmonious, incandescent, infinite, lustrous, peerless, perfect(ed), prosperous, resplendent, serene, sublime, tranquil, unparalleled'

The Neverborn

At the Beginning of the Campaign

He Who Holds In The Thrall

• Mardukth defined himself through others, and shortly into the aftermath of the war and still wounded, thought to abuse prisoners in his game. His shaming backfired, as his toys broke his bonds and struck the weakened Primordial to a new pain previously unknown by all of them - permanent unlife - unable to act, only able to feel suffering. As he sank into the depths of Black Non, he clawed as his murderers with his soul hierarchy - and found in cruelty that they gain power and freedom from the attack. They all hear his whispers, the mental anguish that demands all things suffer the same fate as him - but only Princess Magnificent and the Warden seem to listen, and only the latter respond in kind. Mardukth despairs in silence, but he is not alone.

The Engine of Extinction

• Autochthon, for reasons unknown or at the least unsaid, has always his death transposed onto his own life. The Blight slowly ends him from the inside, manifesting his Neverborn state over his jouten. The Exalted host has worked together to remove the symptoms of the Blight by and large, but they have never cured the disease - as Autochthon acts as the Great Maker, the Engine of Extinction simultaneously cries out impotently. His cries reach a few in body, seemingly random Alchemicals and those who live in Blight Zones. But even beyond his walls, the cries for freedom reach all the way, echoing permanently in the halls of Black Non. Too long have they gone ignored, finally the Abyssals will explore what the Engine of Extinction has to offer.

Throughout the Campaign

The Deadwood

• Mitera is a Primordial about maintenance, balance, and control - and earns the ire of the All-Consuming Blossom for that, who seeks to envelop all his swamps. Metagaos strikes out in ways to weaken her domain, ensuring he always eclipses her in power, and though they push the limits of the laws the Primordial have set out, none have intervened. To many, Mitera contributes nothing to the war effort, nothing to the improvement of the Spiral, and has been coasting since its creation. A third circle death here and there might be just the motivation she needs to contribute something that will really impress the others.

The Ever-Stripping Claws

• The Tentacled One dies WAY too easily to not be an Abyssal target, just saying.

DM and Player Choices

The Dragon That Was

• The Ebon Dragon is bottom bitch among the Primordials. His M.O. is to barter power in exchange for his abilities, but a master of escape and betrayal is only a hindrance in the Spiral. There are those who even speculate he engineered the war from the beginning, and these suspicions are fed by the defection of one of his Third Circle Souls. Things are not looking good for him, and he knows this, and he tries his best to make things better for him - even if it's only relatively, by making things worse for others. In his most desperate moments, he might join forces with the Gunstar on its glorious return, or sell other Primordials out to the Abyssals in the agreement that he gets to live. But you can't hold off the inevitable forever, and he is an appealing target.

The Mistress of Barren Wastelands

• Gaia herself might be beaten and wounded in her escape, and her voyage on Gnosis is the opportune time to deliver the killing blow. She's tending to a wounded Luna, and surrounded only by Dragon-Blooded and mortals, not a threat should the Abyssals truly commit. And in her death and compliance, perhaps they would even be able to seduce Luna to their cause.