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Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire for the Exalted 3E RPG

Created by Onyx Path

The next supplement for the Exalted Third Edition tabletop roleplaying game

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Socialize to War [Draft Manuscript Download 8]
4 months ago – Fri, Dec 05, 2025 at 06:10:53 AM

Hello Green Sun Princes,

That title sounds like a paper I wrote back in University, but it's actually the final section of Infernals Charms from our manuscript!


Draft Manuscript Previews

Over the course of the these 30 days, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in Exalt-sized sections throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next several weeks, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.

Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.

In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: https://forms.gle/vXsoupab1AyG81H29


You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Exalted creative team to help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.





GREEN FIRE DEALS - ONLY UNTIL DECEMBER 18!



We've jumped through a few hoops and made a deal with the Unconquered Sun to bring you a couple of big offers for the remainder of the campaign.



A couple things to know about these GREEN FIRE DAY deals-

  • While the rest of our Add On options will be available to grab in the Pledge Manager after the campaign, these digital bundle offers will only be available during this crowdfunding campaign. So if you really want them, you gotta add them to your pledge before we finish up on December 18.
  • These aren't necessarily cheap, but they are substantially discounted from the cost of buying all of these titles individually or even as a normally-discounted bundle.
  • They're obviously not Exalted Third Edition products, but these earlier editions offer a ton of ideas and lore that you can always use pieces of for your game. Some of the lore sits perfectly across all editions, some is wildly divergent, and some is just *out there* but it's always fascinating.
  • You can read the full list of contents in the Complete Collection: Exalted 1st Edition bundle <HERE> and the Complete Collection: Exalted 2nd Edition bundle <HERE>

It's a great way to add a LOT of Exalted content to your digital library in one easy click! And this is the only place you can get these prices, they are not part of any Cyber-Monday deal, only as an Add On to this Crowdfunding campaign, and only until December 18th.




Shipping Costs will be Collected in the Pledge Manager

First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. And that's as of today - we're all in the dark about how things will look in 2 years. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they haven't been able to set up ongoing international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.

The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you aren't sure you want one of the hardcover editions, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.

 

DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY

Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" link on the bottom and I'll see you below Six Wicked Strings.

Crowned by Hellfire - Chapter Five
4 months ago – Thu, Dec 04, 2025 at 07:45:35 AM

Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire

-Previously-

Chapter Five

With the new moon high in the sky, Nehramus called upon Astogal, the Hemlock Sigh, demon of the Second Circle, and waited for his noxious form to coalesce. A mandala of sickly green flame licked at the smooth stone floor; its shape was that of Astogal’s sigil. Astogal himself appeared within heartbeats, heralded by a wind that was like a hundred people gasping for air as their throats closed. Raindrops swirled around his lumpen shape. Where he touched the floor, the stone hissed and smoked. Flowers budded and bloomed and rotted on his skin: oleander, foxglove, brugmansia. 

Nehramus wasted no time, binding him to her will with a word. The sound of the spell reverberated in the air. As it faded Astogal went rigid, as though she’d bound him in chains and pulled them taut. The demon howled with displeasure at such an insult. He was her ally, after all, and had visited her in the Shifting Gardens many a time of his own volition. “Are we not friends?” he asked, in a voice dripping with malice.

“That’s one of the reasons I’ve called upon you,” she said. “Word has reached me of trouble in my duchy, and I see your mark upon it. I need the truth from you.” 

Astogal remained silent a moment, testing his will against his binding. Soon, though, the pain of resistance grew too great to bear. “Yes,” he let slip through broken resolve. “Yes, but it’s your own doings that caused it. Your meddling with a hierarchy far older than you. Your vainglorious love of the least.” 

Demons of the First Circle were welcome in her estates in Hell. Those who sought her out received her protection, no matter who demanded she hand them over. Their treatment had horrified her from the moment of her Exaltation — who was she if she railed against injustice in the mortal world and did nothing for those who were abused in the Demon City? Yet, helping them had proven far harder than she’d dreamed: too many came seeking her help, all requesting the wrong things, or with needs she couldn’t meet with the time or resources she had.

“They rise above their station and you offer them aid,” Astogal said, his voice now that of a jaded mentor. “Cecelyne’s priests have taken it out of my flesh, since you’ve been so busy here. They have a message for you.”

“Tell me.”

This, she didn’t need to force out of him. Astogal drew himself up and said, “It is not your place to make a paradise for the worms of Hell.”

Nehramus didn’t know whether it was the insult to the demons she’d sworn to aid, or the audacity of the rebuke: a demon, daring to speak to her of her place. Scouring winds whipped around Astogal at nothing more than a gesture, scattering his rains. Shredded petals fell all around him as the gales flayed him to the bone.

“Go,” she said when he lay gasping. “Show them my answer.”

When he was gone, her companion stepped out of the shadows. Six had come in case anything went awry. Though she hadn’t needed him, she was grateful for his presence. “You’re doing too much,” he said, and took her tired hand to kiss with a brotherly tenderness she had never expected of him. “What’s even left of yourself to give?”

The question startled her. Six was usually quick with a joke or a song. For him to let down his guard and voice concern meant her exhaustion must be showing. “It’s my duty. What happens to them is unspeakable.”

“Is it about them, or what happened to you?” 

“Don’t,” she said, and pulled her hand away. They’d all said awful things to each other since taking the city, insults that cut to the bone. Those, she could handle. Kindness? That she had no idea how to receive.

“Is it worth it?” he asked gently. “All your work for no reward? I don’t even know that Hell can be fixed.”

“I have to try,” she whispered as she began sweeping up discarded petals. “I have to try.”


Hello Green Fire Prices,

We're in the middle of the campaign, a time when things usually slow down as we plateau. Except... except we aren't. We're ahead of schedule and ahead of my projections, and in fact, we've already unlocked another Stretch Goal!



ACHIEVED! -At $145,000 in Funding - Infernals Companion: Charms 3

INFERNALS COMPANION SUPPLEMENT: CHARMS 3 - Further Charms for the Infernal Exalted will be added to the Infernals Companion supplement. Backers receiving the Infernals PDF will receive the Infernals Companion PDF as a bonus reward. Backers receiving the Infernals Deluxe hardcover will also receive links to purchase a discounted Print-on-Demand version of the Infernals Companion book.

So, let's set up our next goal and give ourselves the task of unlocking this one before the end.



At $155,000 in Funding - Infernals Companion: Hell on Earth

INFERNALS COMPANION SUPPLEMENT: HELL ON EARTH - New locales and plot hooks for Infernals in Creation will be added to the Infernals Companion supplement. Backers receiving the Infernals PDF will receive the Infernals Companion PDF as a bonus reward. Backers receiving the Infernals Deluxe hardcover will also receive links to purchase a discounted Print-on-Demand version of the Infernals Companion book.

And with that ahead, we've got our final Charms section tomorrow. Let's hear from the developers with another great sneak peek!



The Infernal Charmset approaches its terrible conclusion! Here’s a sneak peek at something brand new this edition — Infernal War Charms.

Brass-and-Iron Marching Camp

Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: War 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: Until next sunrise
Prerequisite Charms: City-Flesh Teratoma

The Green Sun Prince commands the very flesh of Malfeas to come forth into the world, raising up ramparts of brass and basalt.

The Infernal rolls to enact a Fortifications stratagem in mid-combat, raising battlements of the Demon City’s architecture. Their difficult terrain applies only to enemy battle groups, not individuals, unless the Infernal wins Join Battle and uses this Charm on her first turn. If she’s already fighting under a Fortifications stratagem, she instead grants allied battle groups the benefits of heavy cover for the scene.

Outside of combat, the Infernal can create a fortified camp that can accommodate up to a Size (higher of Essence or 3) battle group. It has little in the way of amenities, but solid defenses: if an enemy attempts to attack her forces while they’re encamped, they automatically receive the benefits of a Fortifications stratagem. Enemies infiltrating the camp suffer an (Infernal’s Essence) penalty on Stealth rolls. 

The battlements crack and crumble the next time the sun dawns or the tomescu cry out in Malfeas, unless the Infernal renews this Charm, waiving its Willpower cost. She need not be present to do so.

The fort normally dissolves within an hour of Creation’s sunrise or the next Tomescu cry, but the Infernal may activate this Charm again to reset the duration, waiving the Willpower cost.

Reset: Once per scene.

Keys

Brazen Fortress Conjuration (+5i): For a five-Initiative surcharge, the difficult terrain from Fortifications applies to all enemies. If the Infernal wins Join Battle and uses this Charm on her first turn, she succeeds automatically on the roll. Outside of combat, she can create a fortress capable of holding up to (Essence/2, rounded up) Size 5 battle groups over the course of ten minutes. Its gates, walls, and other defenses are nigh-impervious, adding (Essence) to the minimum Strength required and their difficulty. The penalty on Stealth rolls subtracts successes instead of dice.

From My Dread Keep (Essence 5, Brazen Fortress Conjuration) (+2wp): Once per story, the Infernal pay an additional two-Willpower surcharge when she uses Brazen Fortress Conjuration outside of combat to create a greater fortress-manse. It’s capable of holding up to (Essence) Size 5 battle groups, and increases the minimum Strength and difficulty of feats of strength by (Essence x 2). The fortress counts as a greater Infernal manse, and the Infernal recovers an additional point of Willpower when she rests within it. However, it produces no hearthstone: instead, the Infernal gains the benefits of a hearthstone suited to her fortress for as long as it stands, chosen when she first uses this Charm. She gains an additional. Characters within the fortress count as having a Minor Tie of terrified awe to her, or treat existing fear-based Ties as one step higher. 

Performance to Sail [Draft Manuscript Download 7]
4 months ago – Wed, Dec 03, 2025 at 05:59:46 AM

Hello Green Sun Princes,

We're at the halfway point in our campaign calendar and we get another great Charms section for you today! We're still adding new backers each day and getting closer to our next Stretch Goal, which will add even more Charms for the Infernals to our companion book.

But let's not take our foot off the gas just yet - these next few weeks will zoom by, and there could be more content to add to the companion and - even better - there will be more chapters of our book to read coming our way.



Remember, all supporters of this project will be able to download and read the entire draft manuscript before we get to the end of the campaign, before any pledges are processed or payments are collected. We've got one more section of Charms to come on Friday, and then the first four chapters will be available for you to peruse.

And there's a good reason we break it up into these smaller sections!


Draft Manuscript Previews

Over the course of the next 30 days, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in Exalt-sized sections throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next several weeks, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.

Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.

In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: https://forms.gle/vXsoupab1AyG81H29


You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Exalted creative team to help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.


DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY

Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" link on the bottom and I'll see you below Nehramus.



Crowned by Hellfire - Chapter Four
5 months ago – Tue, Dec 02, 2025 at 06:42:50 AM

Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire

-Previously-

Chapter Four


Dark circles sagged under the prisoner’s eyes. He hadn’t slept more than a few minutes since his failed rebellion three days ago, and sleep wasn’t likely to come anytime soon. Ajad and Qu had joined him in his prison cell. 

It was quiet down here. Before Nehramus had set the imprisoned free, the cells had been nearly full. Petty thieves and murderers rotted beside those who dared speak out against the king and his family. No longer did the Shumad Empire jail the hungry for stealing food — someday, perhaps, no one would be hungry in the first place. For now, such thefts were left to the community to deal with. More violent offenders were conscripted as laborers, and exiled if they proved more trouble than they were worth. 

Only a few of the most dangerous criminals had returned to their cells, hauled in while they awaited judgment from one of the Green Sun Princes. Ajad, Nehramus, or Qu would offer a choice: obey the laws or die. Cinnabar might recruit a couple for his crew. Six would probably just kill them. The criminals had rolled the dice when they squandered their chance at a new life.

Today’s prisoner, however, had never seen the inside of a cell before. He’d been a leader before the city fell, a businessman of some renown. The Circle had decided to root out only the royal family itself, letting Nerim’s other citizens choose a new life for themselves. A small group of royalists, however, had set their sights on ousting the new leaders.

“It was well put-together, I’ll hand you that,” Ajad said as she paced back and forth before him. Mortal questioners had already had their turns, but the prisoner’s loyalties ran deep. He was holding back.

At least he had the good sense to flinch when Ajad crouched down before him. 

“You could just tell me.”

His throat clicked when he swallowed. “There’s nothing more to say.”

“I tried.” She might have been talking about a vase she’d failed to glue back together. Ajad took hold of his head and held him tight. Pale green light enveloped them both as she forced him to meet her gaze. For a moment, her features mirrored his own: the pointed chin, shadowed eyes, his creased brow. Both of their mouths opened: his in despair, Ajad’s a mockery of his misery.

Then the prisoner began to scream. His limbs twitched and flailed. He tried flinching away from Ajad, as though she held a blade to his skin and was slicing him apart bit by bit. But she held no weapon, and he had nowhere to go.

After long, bloody, viscous screaming, names finally spilled from his lips. His voice cracked with each one, and sometimes his breath hitched in a sob.

From the corner where he sat taking notes, Qu watched phantom scenes play out in the air above the man’s head. Ajad reached up and reshaped them: removing someone from the memory, swapping in another. She whispered as she did so, dictating new details, planting seeds of doubt and guilt.

Qu found the procedure inelegant. His Circlemate had no finesse, and no desire to develop even a modicum of that virtue. The woman was brilliant, but vulgar. She ran roughshod over every problem laid out before her — in her own way, she was as reckless as Six or Cinnabar, but all the more dangerous for that magnificent mind of hers. Scowling, Qu took her dictation as Ajad recounted everything they needed to know about the royalists and their hiding places.



Hey folks, Vance and Elliott here. Want another sneak peek at Infernal Charms? Wish granted. ^_^ 

Verdant Emptiness Endowment

Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Presence 5, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Temple Self Apotheosis

In a breath of silver sand and delicate azure petals, the Infernal grants someone’s greatest desire — and few are careful what they wish for. 

When the Infernal hears someone express dissatisfaction or dislike for their current state, she temporarily grants him up to (Infernal’s Essence/2, rounded up) dots in an Attribute, (Essence) dots in an Ability, or (Essence) specialties. She must be there in person to hear him. If the target’s player is unwilling, she must make a special ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Presence) bargain roll against him. He can pay one Willpower to resist. Granted traits don’t count as bonuses from Charms. The target can gain them permanently by spending experience or incurring experience debt (p. XX), with no training time needed. 

If the Infernal maintains this Charm for at least a full story, her target falls into her debt. The same is true if he purchases the granted trait permanently. She may demand that he perform a single inconvenient task (Exalted, p. 216). He is not compelled to obey, but if he refuses, his wish curdles into a curse, causing him to suffer (Infernal’s Essence) botches at a dramatically appropriate moment. The consequences reflect the nature of his wish: if a merchant prince wished for great beauty, a botched influence roll might cause a potential business partner to become hopelessly enamored with him, getting in the way of business.

If the Infernal ends this Charm, her target immediately loses the granted trait unless he’s purchased it with experience. She has until the end of the story to call in any favors owed by him.

The Infernal may use this Charm multiple times simultaneously in response to a single expression of discontent, waiving the Willpower cost of uses past the first. She can bless multiple characters, but can’t stack more than (Essence) uses per character. Multiple uses potentially allow her to accrue multiple debts.

Reset: The Infernal can only use this on a given character once per story. This is reset if he learns the granted trait permanently with experience.

Keys

Bestowal of Accursed Fortune (Essence 2): The Infernal can grant a character a total of up to five dots of the Backing, Contacts, Followers, Mentor, Retainers, or Resources Merits, which are drawn into his life by the end of the current session or the next one. She can’t grant more than (higher of her Essence or 3) dots in the same Merit. Her target can lose these Merits based in story events even if he incurs experience debt, but this refunds any experience spent.

Scoured Perfection of Form (Essence 2): The Infernal can grant a character up to five dots of mutations as a body-altering Shaping effect. These mutations are often monstrous or demonic, though sometimes they’re possessed of an alien beauty.

As You Wish (Essence 3) (+1wp): The Infernal can pay a one-Willpower surcharge grant wishes even if she isn’t personally present, like when she hears a prayer with Penitents Like Scattered Grains.

Miracle Gift Mastery (Essence 3, Bestowal of Accursed Fortune, Scoured Perfection of Form) (+5m, 1wp): The Infernal can pay a five-mote, one-Willpower surcharge to instantly grant a character a Charm, spell, thaumaturgical ritual, or similar magical power whose prerequisites he meets. This applies even for magic the Infernal can’t learn, like Solar Charms, though it can’t teach Sidereal Martial Arts. The target must incur experience debt to gain it — the Infernal can’t sustain this Charm with a mote commitment.


Linguistics to Occult! [Draft Manuscript Download 6]
5 months ago – Mon, Dec 01, 2025 at 06:06:54 AM

Hello Green Sun Princes,

Lots of cool Charms coming our way today! First up, a few quick reminders...

 

GREEN FIRE DAY!



We've jumped through a few hoops and made a deal with the Unconquered Sun to bring you a couple of big offers for the remainder of the campaign.



A couple things to know about these GREEN FIRE DAY deals-

  • While the rest of our Add On options will be available to grab in the Pledge Manager after the campaign, these digital bundle offers will only be available during this crowdfunding campaign. So if you really want them, you gotta add them to your pledge before we finish up on December 19.
  • These aren't necessarily cheap, but they are substantially discounted from the cost of buying all of these titles individually or even as a normally-discounted bundle.
  • They're obviously not Exalted Third Edition products, but these earlier editions offer a ton of ideas and lore that you can always use pieces of for your game. Some of the lore sits perfectly across all editions, some is wildly divergent, and some is just *out there* but it's always fascinating.
  • You can read the full list of contents in the Complete Collection: Exalted 1st Edition bundle <HERE> and the Complete Collection: Exalted 2nd Edition bundle <HERE>

It's a great way to add a LOT of Exalted content to your digital library in one easy click! And this is the only place you can get these prices, they are not part of any Cyber-Monday deal, only as an Add On to this Crowdfunding campaign, and only until December 19th.

 

Shipping Costs will be Collected in the Pledge Manager

First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. And that's as of today - we're all in the dark about how things will look in 2 years. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they haven't been able to set up ongoing international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.

The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you aren't sure you want one of the hardcover editions, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs. 

 

Draft Manuscript Previews

Over the course of the next 30 days, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Infernals: Crowned by Hellfire, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in Exalt-sized sections throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next several weeks, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.

Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.

In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose: https://forms.gle/vXsoupab1AyG81H29



You can use this Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Exalted creative team to help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.


DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY

Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Learn More" link on the bottom and I'll see you below Adaj.