Exalted/Sidereal

The masters of fate. The unseen hand on the history of the Realm. The true leaders of an apocalyptic cult gaining ground rapidly on the threshold. The hidden shapers of mankind's destiny.

Or so they would like to think. The chosen of the maidens (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) are astrologers par excellence, master assassins and deadly martial artists. They are excellent at remaining hidden; indeed, the numbers of those who know the Sidereal exist are few.

Clarification: Mercury, etc. are the chosen rather than the maidens, right?

No, they're the maidens. "The chosen of the [entity]" is a synonym for "The [type] Exalted", often used in background bits of the rulebooks. Mercury is the Maiden of Journeys, Venus is the Maiden of Serenity, Mars is the Maiden of Battles, Jupiter is the Maiden of Secrets, and Saturn is the Maiden of Endings.

Someone has a very strange naming scheme.

: Someone might even have been watching SailorMoon... nah.

For completeness, the distribution of Abilities is:
Journeys: Endurance, Ride, Sail, Survival, Thrown
Serenity: Craft, Dodge, Linguistics, Performance, Socialise
Battles: Archery, Brawl, Melee, Presence, Resistance
Secrets: Investigation, Larceny, Lore, Occult, Stealth
Endings: Athletics, Awareness, Bureaucracy, Martial Arts, Medicine

Sidereals also have a mean ability to do practical Astronomy (ie, Craft - Fate); each ability is tied to a constellation, which can be used in various ways. These constellations are called "Colleges" and map as (IIRC):
Endurance - The Mast
Ride - The Messenger
Sail - The Ship's Wheel
Survival - The Captain
Thrown - The Gull
Craft - The Pillar
Dodge - The Ewer
Linguistics - The Musician
Performance - The Peacock
Socialise - The Lovers
Archery - The Quiver
Brawl - The Gauntlet
Melee - The Spear
Presence - The Banner
Resistance - The Shield
Investigation - The Key
Larceny - The Guardians
Lore - The Treasure-Trove
Occult - The Sorceror
Stealth - The Mask
Athletics - The Rising Smoke
Awareness - The Crow
Bureaucracy - The Haywain
Martial Arts - The Sword
Medicine - The Corpse

Unlike the other Exalted, they know the stakes...the Sidereals have seen the fates of humanity in the stars. They know that if they fail to shape history correctly, a WorldOfDarkness awaits.

Unfortunately, they can't agree on what they should be doing...

Well suited to a bunch of PCs then really -- Gwyntar

: Err, yes.... *embarrassed* -- Senji

StuartFraser is running a Sidereal campaign this year; working title is AllsFairInLoveAndWar. If no-one else rolls a quadruple botch on an investigation roll (hi Senji) the party might even find out why...

Oy, I rolled a quadruple botch on an avoid-glamour roll. (4 1s and nothing higher than a bl**dy 5 on 8d10!) -- Senji

: You were randomly blundering around in a cargo hold looking for suspicious stuff. It was an investigation roll, even if it didn't involve rolling investigation.

Say Again? -- Nellens Alina Kira

Ask no questions and say 'ooh' at the shiny woven jade dresses

: Ooh, shiny jade dresses... -- Kira

"Mercury!" "Mars!" "Jupiter!" "Saturn!" .... "Syrtis, where are you?" "Sorry, wh- oh, right. Venus."

When your powers combine I am Captain Planet.-- King DJ

Nah, that's a Solar circle sorcery (Unity of the Closed Fist). Sidereals just make a 30-50 metre radius glow a slightly unsettling shade of puce (estimated hex value #CFB0B0). Except that in our circle, it's slightly greener (about #CFBAB0) --CH

: 'cos of it being more ellipse shaped -- Senji

I just wanted to say, for the record, that Sidereals rock: they are by far the best Exalted. (Opinion stated, ready to be argued with) --PHL4IVI3R1D3R