Solar Exalted

Created by White Wolf Game Studios, Solar Exalted are the main characters in the Exalted Role-playing Game developed by Geoffrey C. Grabowski.

They are the gods reborn, wiped out before the Contagion by the Dragon Blooded. They were the kings of all creation, though all the power they wielded began to corrupt some of them and they began to fall to decadence. After a time their servants, the Dragon Blooded, recognized this in them and banded together with the Sidereals to orchestrate the genocide of these mighty creatures. The Solars were exterminated to a man while their allies, the Lunar Exalted, were pushed into the Wyld where the Dragon Blooded feared to pursue them.

When the Contagion struck, the world lost its memory of what it was and as a consequence it lost its shape. All of creation was nearly lost until the Scarlet Empress, a Dragon Blooded, assumed power and pushed the Wyld back beyond the Threshold. She organized the many families of Dragon Blooded and set up a system to ensure that the Wyld would stay on the fringes of the world. She also instructed her followers in how to hunt the Solar Exalted whenever they were reborn. For this reason, Solar Exalted have been rare creatures and rarely survive for very long before being destroyed by a Dragon Blooded Wyld Hunt. They have been declared Anathema by the Immaculate Order, the official religion of the Realm, and stories are spread around the commoners to make them universally feared and hated. However, there is one problem with all of his. A problem that is allowing the Solar Exalted to return to the world. The Scarlet Empress is missing and her Dynasties are ignoring their duties to war with each other.

Solar Exalted are born human, like anyone else. There is no way to tell who will receive the Exaltation. Often they are extraordinary in some way that causes the Unconquered Sun, their patron god, to take notice of them and give them his mark. Exaltation can happen at any time in a person’s life, but when it happens that persons life is forever changed. The Unconquered Sun appears and marks his child with a symbol on the forehead. Also during this time the Solar's Anima Banner appears (this comes in many forms, sometimes as a giant flaming animal, other times as a huge muscular man, etc) and s/he is surrounded by a bonfire of energy that all can see. Exaltation is not a secret affair since it is intended to be a mark of pride. However, given the current political nature in the world of Exalted, such displays of power are dangerous. In addition, any time a Solar Exalted uses his/her powers, a mark appears. If it is a minor power then simple the Solar's Caste symbol appears in blazing gold on his/her forehead. If it is a major power, a huge bonfire of energy envelopes the Exalted and sometimes even the Anima Totem may appear. This is because the Unconquered Sun isn't known for his intelligence, just his courage and pride. He wants all to see his chosen when they do his work.

There are 5 castes of Solar Exalted. The Dawn Caste are warriors and tacticians. The Zenith Caste are priests and zealots of the Unconquered Sun. The Twilight Caste are scholars and sages. The Night Caste are the thieves and assassins. And the Eclipse Caste are the diplomats.

Your caste is chosen at the time of Exaltation. If you are exalted when there is an Eclipse, for instance, then you will be of the Eclipse caste. A group of Solar Exalted are known as a Circle, and if one of every Caste is represented in the Circle then it is known as a Perfect Circle.

Solar Exalted are detailed in the Exalted Main Book. It is 350 pages and fully illustrated.

Each of the five castes of Solar Exalted are known for different skills or attributes, and they all have unique powers focused through their Anima Banners

Dawn Caste Solar Exalted- The Exalts of Dawn are the warriors of the Solars, masterful in every facet of the art of combat. To compensate, they rarely excel at any mental or social skills. When they exert their Anima, the sheer might of the Unconquered Sun flows through and any foes near him are scared witless.

Zenith Caste Solar Exalted- The Exalts of Zenith are the priests of the Unconquered Sun, competent in the skills required to teach, preach, and rule. On the other hand, they are known for fanatical adherence to rules, to the point of being incapable of bending in some situations. The exerted force of their Anima can prevent corpses from rising as Undead or even decimate already risen zombies and ghosts.

Twilight Caste Solar Exalted- The Exalts of Twilight are the scholars of the Solar groupings, capable of great working with Lore and Artifice. This does mean that they have a reputation for both social ineptitude and frailty. When they expend power through their Anima, a shimmering defensive barrier is projected around the things or people they need to protect.

Night Caste Solar Exalted- The Exalts of Night are the assassins and thieves of the Solar castes, fleet of foot and possessing sharp marksmen’s eyes. They are known for being somewhat cold socially, as they tend to hide many things, and being low in Stamina to reflect their extremely lithe frames. Their expended Anima force can disguise them from the sight of other people, and even from magical detection.

Eclipse Caste Solar Exalted- The Exalts of the Eclipse are the ambassadors of the Solars to the world at large, silver-tongued and pleasant in visage. They are not known for any remarkable weakness, instead they are generalists with no major high points. Their expended Anima powers can be used to sanctify oaths in such a way that all the gods will punish the oath breaker.

A tale attributed to many Perfect Circles over the years involves the group being ambushed by a rival mage or Exalt, and the foe saying
"You call yourself a Perfect Circle, but I can plainly see there is no Night Caste member her-GHK!!"