Pole of Metal

Description

• “The vast diffusion of alloys that comprise the Pole of Metal provides a strata of stability analogous to earth in the Gaian Elemental schema. Just as soil provides a verdant home in which wood may root above the raging conflagrations of volcanic depths, so too does the infinite machinery provide settings for countless crystal matrices and conductive circuit paths for blazing arcs of lightning. The Pole of Metal is unique among elemental poles for lacking any central radiating point that expresses the purity of its aspect, providing definition through ubiquity.”
• “The body of Autochthon exists in constant flux, divided into drifting organ-continents that grind upon one another in perpetual cataclysms of biotectonic force. Each nation resides upon one of these elastic plates, keeping all its cities in roughly the same proximity and configuration. Early settlements wisely congregated in areas of relative geological stability, as leaders correctly determined that this would promote social stability. Only once has a continent broken asunder in recorded history, costing the nation of Yugash a small strip of adjoining border-towns that vanished into the Far Reaches. The ceaseless motion of the continents ensures that the Octet can only estimate their proximity to one another and then only in useless linear distances uncorrelated to the span of mazes dividing them. Maps are but snapshots in time, artistic monuments of sacred alignments and the cleverness of explorers. Even the most genius among the Alchemicals remain stymied by the profundity of variables needed for accurate world modeling.
• So it is that the people of Autochthonia accept the unknowability of their god and focus chiefly on reliable retracing of their steps. Finding distant places can approach the impossible, but with the right technology, scouts can at least hope to find their way home.
• Heretics can blast tunnels with artifact weapons and powerful Exalted Charms to create shortcuts, but this sends a clarion to the Great Maker’s immune system. At best, such distress calls bring the fury of exmachina destroyers. At worst, the Adamant Caste mobilizes for holy war. Weaving protocols can sometimes rearrange geography more gently; this is tolerated so long as it disrupts nothing critical. Rare teleportation magic usually works, although some zones have wards against this kind of travel.”
• Dematerializing works best, but even this has areas where it is prohibited for unauthorized personnel.
• “The layout of Autochthonia boggles the mind. The place is a three dimensional dungeon maze filled with trap-like hazards and myriad denizens inimical to human and Exalted life. If this wasn’t enough, the whole thing is a puzzle-box that routinely obviates known paths, and walls that aren’t outright indestructible require siege-scale artillery to breach.
  • What this means for Storytellers is that distances are effectively arbitrary, rather than using the navigational guidelines suggested on pages 266-267 of Exalted. The artificial landscape makes everything as near or far as plot demands. If it serves the story to have travelers luck out and find a relatively unimpeded corridor between their origin and destination, so be it. In such cases, travel is little worse than “As the Crow Flies” (Absolute Calculated Distance in Autochthonic parlance). If explorers must make their way through a perilous gauntlet of industrial nightmare for a month to cross a seemingly simple expanse, this is no less plausible. Sometimes travel becomes nigh-impossible, such as when blast shields suddenly descend and cut one section off from another. Within these variations lie infinite stories of daring, adventure and horror.”
• “Light varies in the Reaches, rarely exceeding the brightness of the full moon in Creation except in the presence of naked electrical arcs and smelting furnaces. Most places are lightless or nearly so, forcing travelers who cannot see in the dark to bring their own sources of illumination. Should such light go out, travelers risk falling off a ledge, walking into rapidly whirring cogs or some equally unpleasant fate.
• Darkness alone does not account for poor visibility conditions in some parts of the Reaches. Heavy smoke belches from foundries in choking clouds, while sizzling chemical cisterns emit noxious plumes that sometimes precipitate before the ventilation fans can draw them away for processing. Where pollutants contaminate the sacred chemistry of the Great Maker, soot-black opaque fog bubbles forth and hisses as it clogs eyes and engines alike.”
• Common hazardous conditions are listed started on p. 106.

Metal Elementals

• Alchemicals: “Metal elementals represent the most physically diverse population within the elemental courts of Autochthonia. Each metal elemental appears as a large, hulking mass of ambulatory metal. Each is also physically unique. While any given oil elemental likely resembles a big glob of oil, no two metal elementals are ever identical. Because of their metallic composition, most metal elementals resemble automata, and a great many are indistinguishable from automata. Metal elementals are not automata in any sense, however, and spells and Charms designed to affect automata do not affect metal elementals and vice versa. Although weaker elementals sometimes have a crude form, most metal elementals carefully maintain a polished and gleaming appearance. The metal elementals as a whole are well aware of how much the Autochthonians depend on metal-based technology, and vanity and arrogance are common characteristics of these creatures. In general, metal elementals consider themselves incarnations of technology, progress and enlightenment and the elementals most beloved by Autochthon. The Maker himself has never expressed any opinion on the subject.
• The Metallic Courts are divided in a house for each type of metal, including inter-house alliances between houses of precious metals (silver, gold, platinum) and base metals (iron, copper, lead), who debate which is more useful to mortals – the former due to scarcity and the resultant demand, or the base metals due to their legitimate value.
• “There are no houses that represent the magical materials, as regulation of them is left to ministerial subroutines rather than elemental spirits. Elementals of the magical materials do exist, but they rarely condescend to involve themselves in the conflict between base and precious metals, both of which are far beneath their exalted status.
  • The progenitor of the metallic elementals is Geodesus, whose form constantly shifts to become every type of metal that exists and, occasionally, a few that do not. Wary of Geodesus’s versatility and arrogance, Autochthon waited until the metal titan had shifted into the form of mercury and then dispersed him throughout every nook and cranny of the Primordial’s interior spaces. Hopelessly diffused across thousands of cubic miles, Geodesus writhes in pain and impotence, his mind utterly shattered by the Primordial’s attack. Whenever Debok Moom requires the services of a new metallic elemental, he simply journeys to the Elemental Pole of Metal, scrapes off a piece of the ruined progenitor and molds it into the required shape.”

Trams

• Trams are used to travel between population centers. Intracity pneumatic trams are used to travel between floors or buildings, going up to fifty miles per hour. Intercity magnetic trams are larger, usually led by a steering sphere with life support and several cargo spheres without. There are passenger trams, cramped as all of Autochthonia, though it is better for upper-class passengers. These can end up over 200 miles an hour.
  • “Tram operation uses the Sail Ability. Pilots unfamiliar with these conveyances suffer a -2 internal penalty until they spend (5 - their Sail rating) weeks practicing with the controls. Along fixed paths, rolls aren’t required, as operating the controls is as simple as pushing the right sequence of buttons to initiate departure and let the extremely simplistic animating intelligence follow the track. However, tram AIs are woefully unsuited to handling the dynamic piloting conditions of arterial highways (average difficulty 2-4) . . . ”

Rats

• “Rats are ubiquitous throughout the habitable zones of the Realm of Brass and Shadows, thriving in countless varieties of species. Rat-Slaying Electrification Grids keep urban rat populations small, but the vermin have no less a presence in Autochthonia than its human inhabitants. While some urban Autochthonians regard rats with the same distaste as Creation-dwelling people would (and given the threat of gremlinized rats, this is not without cause), it is not uncommon for societal elites to keep a rat as pet in certain nations. Some Tripartite members raise capybara-sized ratkine for their meat, milk, and pelts, luxuries whose wastefulness makes them clear status symbols. Wild rats can chew through metal piping to reach veins of nutrient paste, and the species has evolved a sense for avoiding hazardous conduits (they do not automatically fail foraging rolls without tools). Many tribes of tunnel people use tamed rats as a way of finding food, especially prizing bioluminescent glow-rats.”
• “Productivity rats are a bizarre quirk of Autochthonian industry. Rats that have been thaumaturgically bred for cleanliness and appearance are caged in the workrooms of child laborers, acting as pets and mascots. Children have a better work ethic in a factory with a productivity rat, cheered by its puppy-like appearance and antics. Unfortunately, in the face of extreme scarcity, these rats are only useful if this improved morale outweighs the resources needed to feed and maintain them. Should a work shift fail to perform, their rat will be painlessly euthanized.”
• “Terrier-rats stand as large as a cat or small dog, bred for size and intelligence over centuries. Most hunt wild vermin in cities or herd ratkine, but regulators have taken to using these rat-hounds on patrol in cities wealthy enough to maintain them. Estasia trains terrier-rats for battle in a few small war-kennels, with vicious results. Terrier-rats have the base traits of a rat, but also have the Armored Hide, Giant, and Talons mutations, as well as Dexterity 3, Martial Arts 3 and Dodge 4.”
  • Stats of various breeds on p. 133.

Places of Note

• Ghosts are held in holding tanks, forming a a pseudo-ninth nation.
  • Blah blah blah not a great hook for Gunstar because I feel like it'd largely be solved?
• The Nameless Ones are perhaps back in the Far Reaches, and their first goal would be to free the souls of their ancestors from within soulsteel. Including soulsteel Alchemicals.
• Autochthon has 12,167 First Circle devas captured within himself, used as research to construct his current soul hierarchy.
  • This is something Autochthon might keep secret from the Deliberative, with it having possible ramifications.
• The Monolith Garden contains Autochthon's guilt of his betrayal and his love for his favorites of his sibling's creations. Maybe.
• Autochthon hides a simulation of Creation within himself to remember its details. Within the same fold is The Thing in the Mountain, an ishvara imprisoned by Autochthon early on.
  • Both hooks are usable.