Thursday, March 24, 2005

Ripped Straight From RPGnet

Exalted Stunt Cheat Sheet
By Mailanka

1 die Stunt: Must impact the senses.
2 die Stunt: Must make use of continuing action or scenery
3 die stunt: must take players breath away

Note: Stunts are not essays. You do not need to spend five minutes describing your action. A brief and evocative sentence will be more powerful than a drawn out paragraph.

The Character:

Hair: Hair whips in the wind, moves and flows with your movements and attack (especially if long). It shadows your (gleaming) eyes. Gets messed up by battle. Gets slicked by sweat

Eyes: Eyes flash and glint when angry, widen in shock, narrow or harden with determination, or sparkle when happy or mischievous. Enemies and attacks can be reflected in the eyes of the warrior, as can other important events.

Face: Mouths smirk, grin, bare teeth, snarl. Teeth flash when speaking angrily. Ears quiver, nostrils flare, cheeks redden and flush. Blood leaks from the mouth when hurt, bruises and cuts can be described. Sweat beads on forehead with effort.

Body: Muscles bunch, tighten, and ripple. They are like steel, stone, or thick rope. Feet slip against the ground, make puffs of snow. Veins throb and bulge. Hands tighten on pommels.

Clothes: Cloaks whip and flow on the wind. Armour gleams in the sunlight (especially if Solar). Clothes get rent and torn. Boots thud against wooden floors and click against stone. Clothes rustle and whisper as you move quietly.

Emotions: Characters are often emboldened by the memory or the thought of that which they fight for. Apparitions haunt or cheer the defender, ambition fuels your strength. Humiliation burns through your body. Joy puts spring to your step. Laughter echoes and humiliates or brightens. Tears can be shed when emotions hit high points. Anger gives titanic strength and need (don't forget to roar)

Anima: Animas impact your surroundings and are symbolic or your actions. Solar anima's bleach things when they get powerful, leaving pale foot prints, bleaching cloth and wood. DB animas damage things, put cracks in the ground, leaving frosted/ashen/wet footprints. When Animas really play up, they can push small extras aside, make areas rumble or rattle. Totemic images act with the character, roaring, fighting for/with him, attacking the OTHER totemic image, mocks your opponent, etc.

Scenery:

Background: Bars have stools, tables, lanterns that can be used. Streets have stalls, wagons, rooftops. Gates/doors can be torn off hinges, walls can be shattered with the force of your hit, pillars can be toppled, curtains can be lit on flame or cut down onto your enemies. Tables can be broken by falling people, wagons over turned, stalls can be smashed into. Collateral damage, people!

Environment: The sun gives a halo (especially to Solars). Wind whips cloaks and hair. Water splashes and ripple. Snow and sand crunches and flies up behind a runner. Trees sway and rustle. Shadows hide features and play tricks. Rain wets hair and clothes and makes things slick, and ghostly. Scenery tends to fall apart in big battles. Again, collateral damage.

Extras: Extras are there to make you look good. Let them do so. They unconsciously back away when you are angry, crowds murmur and smile at clever comments or attractive people. Extras can be thrown at other extras, or torn apart as examples to others. Descriptions of your events can come from some Extra's perspective.

Bonus:

Time: Attacks can appear to be speed up, while one deadly attack will be shown in slow motion. Truly fast characters will make their surroundings seem to slow down while they move at normal speed (things like raindrops, falling sparks or leaves are great to show this). Jumps freeze for a moment at their apex, and time can stop for a moment as someone realizes they are dead.

Close ups: A shot of your face, mouth, eyes, or your attack. Zooms can change backgrounds while your character is powering up or extremely emotional. The "screen" goes black during a powerful attack, and all we can see is the slash as a bright mark against the darkness.

Alternate shots: Show the action from a different perspective, or don't show it at all, but only imply it. Birds suddenly flying away, glass falling and breaking, the earth shuddering. Reeds swaying in the wind, someone else’s expression (as blood splatters on their face). The sounds of your action echoing.

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