Godbound/Exalted: Random Dragon-Blooded Foes, Part 2

(Shout out again to the Verse of the Champions!)

Last post, the baseline for the Dragon-Blooded NPC were laid down. This post will tackle the vast majority of Dynasts: those whose craft is that of war, command and/or sorcery. While these will include Martial Artists in some capacity I've decided to put the Immaculate Monks in a different set of tables entirely as the most ardent Immaculates are not quite the same as their brethren, being devoted body, mind and soul to their sacred scriptures, martial arts and a more ascetic way of life.

Haruka by Nick Dawson.

Tools of the Trade

The crafts of the Terrestrial Exalted is one of war: when the Princes of the Earth ride into battle, they wear ornate armors, partially or entirely composed of Jade. The element of Jade, in Creation, is radically different from the one we know, being a rare, magical and elementally-infused material used in weapons and armors for the Dragon-Blooded. While the armament  of standard Realm legionnaires is mostly standardized, the Dynasts are given a much greater freedom in terms of what weapons they use in battle and what armors they wear. In many cases, these are at least partially-magical weapons and armors of fine craftsmanship and baroque splendor with the greatest of them being capital-A Artifacts in their own right.

D12	D6	Armor Style	Weapon Style
1-3	1-2	White Rose: Animal imagery and scenes related to that.	Oversized: Weapons are non-Artifact (well, capital-A Artifact) daiklaves and other oversized weapons.
4-6		Thundercloud: Fantastic beasts and wyld monsters.
7-9	3-4	Elemental: Elemental aspects and masks of the Elemental Dragons.	Baroque: These weapons are overly designed, with little regard for pragmatism and all thoughts given to intimidation.
10		Shogunate: An antique style emulating that of the Shogunate, very samurai-esque.
11	5	Geometric: The most utilitarian style, very little embellishment, preferring large and smooth plates of Jade and bronze.	Shogunate: While undeniably well-crafted, these weapons come off as ‘old fashioned’ to anyone familiar with Realm weaponry.
12	6	Flowing: Makes heavy use of baroque robes and capes, sometimes with segmented capes made of Jade pieces.	Pragmatic: Weapons are comparatively bland and normal-sized. May indicate a less prosperous household.

Need to find the artist for this.

Entourage and Minions

While their powers exceed those of all common mortals, the Dragon-Blooded rarely travel alone: be it companions, soldiers, retainers, guards or even fawning admirers and sycophants they are invariably going to be found with minions around them if not within arm's reach should the Dynast need to call upon allies following a hasty retreat from combat. How loyal these allies are to the Dragon-Blooded vary on a case-by-case basis.

D8	Entourage
1-4	These are Realm soldiers under their direct military command. Roll on the Realm Soldier table.
5-6	These are Henchmen of a variety of possible origin. Roll on the Henchman table.
7	Rather than a group of henchmen, this Dynast has a stalwart companion to its side. Roll on the Companion table.
8	The entourage of this Dragon-Blooded is quite unusual. Roll on the Unusual Entourage table.

D8	Soldiers
1-2	The Dragon-Blooded has under its command a ‘Scale’ of up to 25 soldiers, forming a Small Mob of Trained Soldiers.
3-5	The Dragon-Blooded command a Talon of up to 125 Soldiers, forming two Small Mobs of Trained Soldiers or one Medium Mob.
6-7	The Dragon-Blooded command a Wing of up to 250 Soldiers, forming three Small Mobs of Trained Soldiers, two Medium or one Large.
8	This Dynast, through connections and/or reputation command more prestigious troops, forming a Small Mob of Elite Soldiers.

D4	Henchmen
1	This Dynast travel around with mercenaries, which they either command or have hired their service for a job or mission of some kind. While similar to the military personnel they tend to be knowledgeable about the region compare to off-the-boat soldiers.
2	Foreign warriors, dressed in garbs civilized folks would see as ‘barbaric’: they obey the Dragon-Blooded either because they’ve sided with the Realm or been recruited from the region by the Dynast.
3	Rather than soldiers, this Dynast is accompanied by a variety of retainers able to perform all manners of non-combat tasks, including political blackmail and assassination.
4	Vicious thugs who serve the Dynast as enforcers. They excel at intimidating mortal foes and can even work as assassins if push come to shove.

D4	Companion
1	The Dynast has acquired the loyalty and service of one or more Mortal or even God-Blooded hero, be it a mortal military hero or an immaculate convert eager to please it’s new master.
2	The Dragon-Blooded is accompanied by a Sorcerer or Necromancer of some kind, which could be a non-Exalted Heptagram graduate.
3	The Dragon-Blooded is not alone and is accompanied by another of their kind, be it friendly rival, a subordinate, a younger sibling or lover who is loyal to them. In turn, roll for their OWN entourage!
4	As above, but the Dragon-Blooded which accompany them is not loyal and the two are reluctantly working together. Roll for their own entourage.

D6	Unusual Entourage
1	Formed in a time of need, these henchmen are a mob of rabble held together by the charisma of the Dynast, their political power or perhaps even Charms. Their effectiveness and loyalty is questionable.
2	Non-Exalted Immaculate Monks follow around the Dragon-Blooded. Just what their relationship to the Dynast is vary on a case by case basis.
3	The Dragon-Blooded has acquired the services of a lesser Elemental, giving it a powerful and unique spirit ally. This may somewhat go against Immaculate Doctrine depending on the relationship.
4	The Dragon-Blooded has secured the services and compliance of local minor warlords/nobles/tribal chieftains, who can bring their military skill and resources to aid the Dynast should the need arise.
5	This Dynast is connected to the local criminal underworld and given time can get just about whatever it want from local scum and thugs.
6	The worst kind of minions: politicians swayed to the side of the Dragon-Blooded, who can make the life of all those around them miserable, shut down trade routes and enable the Dragon-Blooded to perform whatever task they need with impunity.

Way of the Warrior

With the tools of war in hand, garbed in the imposing Regalia Armor to showcase his status to all around him or herself and to inspire fear in the heart of Anathema and surrounded by allies, it is time to prepare ourselves to know how this Dragon-Blooded wage war on the foes on the Realm. What is their preferred method of shedding blood? Each Dynast has  their own personal skills and way of fighting: while there is a standard curriculum taught to the children of the Scarlet Dynasty and only so many officially-recognized fighting styles each individual will invariably adapt to a specific way of fighting which is a natural extension of both their skill and essence flow. No Dragonblooded is truly ever identical to his comrades.

D6	Traits
1	Inspiring Commander: The Dynast inspire its men, be it through sheer presence, essence-fueled charms or just troops fearing it more than any foe. Any mob of soldiers under the direct command and presence of the Dragon-Blooded gain +2 to hit and a Morale of 11.
2	Veteran Warrior: The Dragon-Blooded has been through some serious crap and pulled through and if not for their Exalted healing would have scars to prove it. Mental scars are another issue. They gain a +2 to hit as well as +1 HP/Level.
3	Obliterator: The Terrestrial Exalted, for all their supposed ‘lesser’ status amongst Exalt, still command impressive amount of power. This particular Dragonblooded is not afraid to unleash said power to mow down entire mobs if need be. They gain the Corona of Fury (tied to their Elemental Word) Gift.
4	Artifact Bearer: This particular Dragon-Blooded carries a true Artifact (worth 14 Dominion or less), be it a weapon, armor or something else. While potentially powerful, such an Artifact would be jealously guarded to not fall into Anathema hands.
5	Hearthstone Bearer: As above, the Dragon-Blooded carries an Artifact, in this case   a Hearthstone. Hearthstones allow the bearer (if harmonized to the source manse) to recover Effort more quickly, regardless of how far they are from the source manse. A hearthstone has Effort equal to one-half the source manse’s demesne, rounded up. As an action, the bearer may commit one Effort from the hearthstone for the day; doing so causes one Effort he previously committed for the day to instead be committed until the end of the scene.
6	Essence Cultivation: Through years of meditation and self-reflection, the Dragon-Blooded has learned to refine its essence and increase its power beyond that of peers of similar status and age. Such a foe is likely well skilled in manipulation of Essence. Gain +1 Effort.

Roll on these tables twice, once for Option A and once for Option B. If a Dragon-Booded end up with the same Gift twice, just pick whatever Minor Gift is appropriate. Dragon-Blooded can only gain Greater Gifts if they are Level 8 or above.

D6	Fighting Style A	Fighting Style B
1	Melee: The Dragon-blooded fights in the thick of combat with a melee weapon.	Reroll on Fighting Style A
2	Archery: The Dynast prefer to fight from away with a bow weapon.
3	Thrown: Chakram, daggers and other thrown weapons this Dynast weapons.	Defensive: Fighting defensively, this Dynast use charms to stay in the fight.
4	Martial Arts: This Dragon-blooded fight with Terrestrial Martial Arts.	Combat Master: This Dragon-blooded is an expert at controlling the flow of battle.
5	Sorcery: The secrets of Sorcery are this Dynast main weapon.	Commander: A skilled tactician, the Dragon-Blooded bolster mortal troops with War charms.
6	Elemental: This Dynast fight in an unorthodox manner, prefering to wield the elements directly.	Trickster: The Dragon-blooded fights with subterfuge and manipulation.

Next step: randomly generating Gifts!