This adventure assumes that Exalted characters are motivated directly or indirectly by the desire to explore the lost city of Old Crystal and loot its riches, while Fair Folk characters are probably drawn by the possibilities pre-
sented by a powerful unshaped Fair Folk ripe for questing that’s trapped where it can’t escape.
What follows is a basic rundown of ideas for character motivations for this story, broken up by various Exalt types:
Solars: Solars are the Exalted most likely to come in
contact with Swar. They are the Exalts most eager to search for untapped power and the most driven to desper- ate risks to meet their needs. They are also the ones most in danger from contact with Swar. Unlike the Dragon- Blooded, Solars are unlikely to immediately turn tail when they realize the scope of the threat. Unlike Lunars, Solars are not immune to the Wyld. Unlike the Sidereals, Solars cannot call for a huraka assault force. And yet, if bent to Swar’s will, Solars will form the most excellent pawns.
Dynastic Dragon-Blooded: The Realm and any of the
countless subgroups that compose it can all agree on one thing: they need more wonders under their command, and they don’t need to pay anybody too terribly much for them, what with the incipient civil war and all. One way or another, Dynastic characters sent to Old Crystal are going to be all or part of an expeditionary force sent to claim new resources for the Realm, their Great House, their sworn brotherhood or some similar assemblage of worthies.
Dynasts coming to Swar are really in a terrible situa- tion. They are far beyond the borders of the Realm, on the very edge of Creation, probably having just pushed the Haslanti out from the area by force of arms and having
occupied the area at swordpoint. Surrounded by hostile natives, the Dragon-Blooded probably plan on using the city of Old Crystal as a fortress as they loot it. Perhaps they will even get involved in this project before the Dynasts come face-to-face (as it were) with the City of Formless- ness Constrained, for whom they will make excellent pawns. As noted above, the one good thing about Dynasts in this situation is that they will be so clearly outclassed they have a very good chance of surviving.
Lunars: The Lunar Exalted have their own contacts
with the Haslanti people. The story of the city of antique madness beneath the ice near Crystal moved as quickly among the Silver Pact as it did among every other gang of wind-tongued gossips in Creation.
Lunar characters may well be young Exalts of low status who go to Swar on their own to explore there and prove their worth as members of the Silver Pact. Alter- nately, they may be sent as scouts or fetchers-of-trinkets for their elders.
In the latter case, it is possible that the young Lunars will be equipped with knowledge of what Swar’s true nature is. The elder No Moons are as old and as wise as the Deathlords. It is entirely possible that young characters may be sent to Swar not to slay the city, but to enslave it. More than any other sort of Exalt — other than perhaps the equally arcane Forest Witches — Lunars can find a use for Swar other than as taskmaster or combat practice. Properly equipped with the wisdom of the No Moons, Lunars may force Swar to forge them Graces, wrest raksha magic or accomplish whatever other possibly fatal brush with power an elder Lunar can imagine for his young pack of whelps.
This isn’t only a goal for young members of the Silver Pact. Older Lunars may very well have a reaction similar to that of the Fair Folk on discerning Swar’s location, seeing it as a captive target for Lunar ambitions to learn the magics of the raksha. If the player group is running more experienced Lunars, it is likely that this is the reason they have come to the City of Formlessness Constrained and not on a search for a new daiklave or a heap of riches.
Abyssals: Abyssals intersect more strongly with Swar
than might seem the case at first. The Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears’ Fortress of Crimson Ice lies not far from the gates of the city (as Deathlords reckon distance), and the other Deathlords presumably have some interest — negative or positive — in having a vast unshaped raksha smashing its way through the North. Abyssal characters may be sent to free Swar, they may be sent to destroy it or they may simply be another pack of would-be scavenger lords, seeking to sack a ruined city of forgotten miracles — but wearing a rather dark set of clothes.
Sidereals: Assuming that the Sidereals become aware
of Swar, it seems unlikely the city will not receive a visit from them. In some ways, the Sidereals are the least exciting visitors to Swar because, other than killing them, it offers
few threats. Sidereals who happen on Swar and are enslaved can almost certainly count on their fellow Exalted and gods in the Celestial Bureaucracy to heal them from this malady. And afterward, a strikeforce of powerful Celestial beings with Wyld immunity is fairly certain to pay Old Crystal a visit and leave the place a smoking Wyld-twisted ruin.
Unless the Storyteller wants to simply display how this terrible threat is a morning’s work for the Five-Score Fellow- ship, it is probably best to make sure that there are real motivations for interacting with Swar. Perhaps the city has something the Exalted need, or is of some use to them or contains some secret that will not survive Swar’s destruction. Whatever the case, as with all Sidereal games, it’s not going to be a very exciting game unless there’s some external motivation that ties the adventure into the overarching Sidereal plot. Just as with everything else in Exalted, from the Sidereal perspective, it’s all actually about them and their ongoing mission, and Storytellers must hook this adventure to their politics and personal machinations, just like any other game in which they are involved.
Outcaste Dragon-Blooded: More powerful Dragon-
Blooded outcaste groups such as the Seventh Legion can probably make serious designs on ownership of Swar sight unseen. The Forest Witches have the resources to attempt to loot Old Crystal as well. While the Seventh Legion is likely to simply nuke the site from orbit and move on, it is an interesting question if the Forest Witches might actually be capable of making some use out of Swar. Certainly, there are certain aspects of the City of Formlessness Constrained that appear similar to effects with which the Forest Witches are familiar. While the specifics of their strange magical paradise were never explored, it is certainly possible that Forest Witches seeking tribute to their own masters will stumble upon Swar and find it more of a resource than a hazard, but that is a variation on this material that indi- vidual Storytellers will have to prepare for themselves.
Others: There are certainly reasons for Alchemicals,
Dragon Kings and various other playable oddities to come to Swar. Most of these are the same as outcaste Terrestrials — these others are either with someone else or indepen- dent freebooters out for lucre.
Fair Folk: Fair Folk have their own peculiar reasons
for wanting Swar. Those who are still loyal to the Balorian ideal are likely interested in freeing one of the great generals of the Balorian cause. Those who are more ruth- less will likely see Swar as a handy piggybank of power to be looted as they wish and require in order to fuel their questing. Those hostile to the Balorian cause cannot fail to see that Swar would be a major addition to the arsenals of their world-destroying foes. It would be profound irony for Swar to be destroyed by a group of Fair Folk seeking to protect Creation, but it is far from impossible.
Storytellers should be careful — because if putting Swar into a story with Exalted is asking for dead characters,
then putting it into a story with Fair Folk is asking for worse. Asking Fair Folk characters to fight Swar is like asking Exalted of comparable Essence to face Raksi Queen of Fangs and her five angry Lunar henchmen. It’s just not going to end well.
REQUIREMENTS
The city of Swar is a dangerous locale. While the mortals who have recently discovered it have come and gone with only minimal casualties, this is because Swar wishes to lure in those it feels it can use in its endeavors to escape. Characters whom the Storyteller wishes to come into contact with Swar and defeat it must have some very powerful Traits.
However, there’s no reason that the characters must defeat Swar when they first encounter it. The City of Formlessness Constrained is exactly the sort of terrible hazard that young Exalts can happen upon and thereby suffer the sort of grave misfortune that defines heroes. Swar will not destroy those it ensnares, so it is not necessary that the city be defeated. Instead, defeat by Swar produces more adventures, for the characters merely obtain another pa- tron whose requests cannot be ignored.
Swar treasures its victims more than anything, as only Essence wielders have any chance of undoing the surveil- lance patterns that lock Swar into its Freehold. If the players are mature enough to handle compulsion, there is no reason that a trip to Swar cannot be part of the initial events of a series, wherein the characters are compelled to obey their geasa with the city while presumably attempting to escape the binding. However, Storytellers should be careful with this, as players will often fight to the death rather than concede any control of their characters. Be sure the players know ahead of time that there are some fights that cannot be won, and make certain the players are willing to accept the loss of autonomy on their characters’ parts.
For characters to have a good chance of defeating Swar and slaying it in a direct confrontation, the following Traits are required:
Powerful Abilities: Swar has an Essence of 8. Sooner
or later, characters will not be able to allow it to sap their Willpower any longer. That means Swar can impose die penalties of up to -8 on characters. The group of characters that challenge Swar should, as a group, have at least one individual with them capable of accomplishing remark- able (difficulty 3 or better) feats each of combat, athletics, perception, strength and occult knowledge, even while at a eight-die penalty.
Real Might: Characters should probably have Es-
sence 6, 7 for Dragon-Blooded, with focus Traits at the maximums permitted by their Essence and complemented by advanced Charms. Sorcerers should have bound de- mons, elementals or other powerful sorcerous servitors. Characters should each have multiple Artifact ••• type
items, and one or more Artifact •••• item in the Circle will probably ease matters considerably.
Wyld Immunity: Lunar Exalted are largely immune
to the effects of the Wyld due to the tattooing they receive during their initiation. Other Exalted can achieve similar immunities through the use of powerful Charms. This adventure primarily involves challenging one of the un- shaped Fair Folk. Characters who are not immune to the Wyld will find Swar the deadliest of hazards and a sepul- cher for heroes. Characters who are immune to the Wyld’s effects and can shrug off Swar’s shaping attacks will simply need to survive the various hazards and wee folk of the city. Characters who are immune to the Wyld can probably slay the city even if they possess only Essence 4 and 5, provided they are sufficiently frugal with their Essence.