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< Errata | House Rules | Tickless Social Combat >

Types of Intimacies

A character's Intimacies are everything: they're his arms and armor, his greatest strength and his most obvious weakness. In the world of Exalted, there are 12 different types of Intimacy, each associated with one of the four cardinal virtues (though Intimacies associated with the virtues of Compassion and Valor are considered to be the "strongest". All characters should be assumed to start with some intimacies, and there is no hard cap, though once a character has more intimacies than the sum of his virtues less important ones will tend to fade away unless constantly reinforced or maintained by charms or sorcery.

A starting character may have as many intimacies as he wishes, though an amount equal to his (Compassion + Valor) is a good guideline to aim for. There need be no correlation between the "types" of intimacies a character has and his virtue totals. Someone with Conviction 1 can have a number of Ideals, two Leaders and a Homeland if he wishes.

See also: Tickless Social Combat.

The most important note for Intimacies is their Strength, given in Parenthesis after their name. This denotes the size of the Social Defense Value bonus or penalty this type of intimacy gives, and is either 1 or 2 in most situations. Two intimacies, "Loved One" and "Villain", are potentially stronger and are considered to be ''Virtue Intimacies'. They have a Strength of 3, or equal to your Compassion or Valor (whichever is higher), allowing them to be more passionate than your Motivation (but lack a Motivation's primacy, so are not inviolate).

You can "stack" Intimacies, though usually not more than two or three at a time. The strengths of all the Intimacies combine, unless they are all of the same type, provided the storyteller rules that the intimacies in question are distinct (i.e., they don't ALWAYS apply together).

Intimacies of Compassion

• Friend (2): A friend is someone for whom you feel strong positive emotion, such as a neighbor you've known for years or your buddy on the Guild Caravan. Some relationships go beyond this level, and are instead represented as a Loved One (V).
• Principle (2): A principle is a system of behavior that demands action, as opposed to one that proscribes it (which is a Code). This could be a Guildsman's Philanthropic Impulse that makes him free slaves and feed the poor, or a Wench's warm and giving nature to paying customers.
• Passion (1): A passion is a strong emotional response that drives behavior. This is a very overactive libido, a collector's consuming weakness for curios and trinkets from the South, an Abyssal's distaste for the living, or a Thieves love of danger and gold.

Intimacies of Conviction

• Homeland (2): A homeland is a place whose existence you value, independently of any value to yourself. Some homes do not merit this intimacy, and not all people actually live in their homeland. The important thing is the intimacies affect on the character. This can range from The East, all the way down to a small district in Nexus, depending on the character.
• Leader (2): A leader is an individual who has had a great impact on the character, though they are not personally close. A leader is someone who inspires, and whom you would stand up to defend, not necessarily who you take you orders from. A soldier might have a Sergeant as a leader intimacy, rather than his commanding officer, while slaves are very unlikely to have their taskmasters as leaders but always follow their commands anyway.
• Ideal (1): An ideal is a vision for the world, and the people in it, often unrealistic but of real and true value to the character. A pacifists devotion to Peace regardless of circumstance or a Scholars boundless love of lore and the written word could both qualify.

Intimacies of Temperance

• Devotion (2): A devotion is a responsibility that the character takes seriously, regardless of nature. This could be a general's duty to his troops, a Guild Factor's interest in keeping his Caravan in the black, or some other necessity that shapes a characters actions regardless of his desires. The devoted follower of a Religion also has his faith as a Devotion.
• Code (2): A code is a system of behavior that shapes and directs action, setting certain aspects of life as forbidden or taboo, as opposed to encouraging one to take certain actions (a set of principles). Examples might include a warrior's code of honor, or the philosophy of a less-devout religion. A code can be outwardly imposed (and often is), but only counts as an intimacy if the character himself believes in it.
• Idol (1): An idol is someone whose mere existence has touched the character and shaped his life, even if they've never interacted at all. Idols can be normal people such as a historical figure held in high respect by a leader, but are often Gods, Exalts or such. If a religion inspires more adoration than ritual, it's probably an Idol intimacy toward it's God rather than a Devotion toward the faith itself.

Intimacies of Valor

• Enemy (2):; An enemy is a someone who inspires strong antipathy and an overall negative response, such as a hated business rival or a constant thorn in ones side who constantly upsets your plans. Some enmities go beyond this level, such as the man who killed ones family, and become full fledged Villains (V).
• Mission (2): A mission is a goal or a set task that the character feels a strong obligation to see completed. Unlike a Devotion, there is some clear and easily recognizable way to reach the "end" of this mission. Woo ones beloved, recover the stolen artifact, etc.
• Belief (1): A belief is a strong intellectual response that drives behavior. This could be a Dragon-Blooded's stereotypes about Thresholders, a King's trust in the Courtiers and Advisers of his Court, or a simple case of misogyny.

General Intimacy Related Rules

Building and Destroying Intimacies
In order to develop a new Intimacy, you must spend Willpower equal to your (Temperance + Integrity), plus the Strength of the Intimacy. You must spend at least one Willpower per day, and if more days than the Strength of your new Intimacy go by without you having spent any Willpower, you must start anew. You must also begin the process again if, at any point during this time, you're subjected to a successful Social Action that affects the Intimacy. The process of destroying an Intimacy you already possess is similar, saved that it is based on (Conviction + Integrity), and if the Intimacy being gotten rid of is Strength 0, you must spend at least one Willpower each and every day.

In general, only people with (Virtue + Integrity) totals of 1 are likely to use these rules frivolously. That number increases to 2 for Heroic Mortals, and all the way up to 3 for some Exalted. The more powerful an exertion of willpower is required to add or remove the Intimacy, the less likely that kind of action is to be undertaken without some notable reason. "Someone gave me this Intimacy in Social Combat" is not a notable reason, nor can you use "Compel Behavior" to force someone to undertake this process. However, completely ordinary people do both gain and lose Intimacies without being subjected to Social Combat. In fact, that is the normal way that one gains these traits!

As a guideline, assume that most people will spend 1 Willpower as infrequently as possible, though Heroic Mortals and Exalts will sometimes devote themselves more to this process by spending the required Willpower more quickly. Regardless of the amount of Willpower spent, though, the process always takes at least as many days as the Strength of the Intimacy being gained or lost.

Finally, the use of "days" is a dramatic convention, for the most rapid and dramatic possible speed. In periods of downtime when nothing particularly dramatic is happening it might instead take weeks or months (even years!) to make these changes to yourself.