Are there any examples of moving Manses?

Question

In Exalted Manses are built on Demesne's which are spots of power but I was kind of curious as to whether moving Manses were possible or not. While technically anything is possible for an Exalt I was curious as to if there were any examples within the setting?

Answer 1

It was possible (kind of) in past editions

TimothyAWiseman's answer already addresses the only mention of a moving manse in Third Edition I'm aware of, so I'll instead mention that there was some mention of moving manses (kind of) in Second Edition.

In Oadenol's Codex, chapter two, we find rules for building and designing manses, including a list of various powers it can be engineered to have. While mechanically outdated, you can still look at it for some inspiration of how manses could move:

LIMITED MOBILITY A manse must stay on the demesne it caps, but some manses can rise on pillars or sink into a pit, spin in place, or otherwise move in some limited manner. This was more common in the Age of Splendor than in the Second Age, where architects find stationary manses quite challenging enough

Limited Mobility, as the name suggests, is rather limited and doesn't really cover what I think you are looking for. On the other hand:

ALTERNATE LOCATIONS The builder has given up to 5 other locations the same geomancy as the manse—and the manse may vanish from its current location and appear in one of them, while still drawing Essence from its demesne. This process takes one hour, cannot happen more than once a day, and transports everything within the manse’s walls. Usually, manses are built to translocate on a set schedule. Buying this power twice enables the manse to shuttle between 25 locations.

Let's a Manse teleport around between prepared spots. What's more, the book also has an example of a manse with this power: The Hidden Tabernacle. An Abyssal manse used by the Deathlord Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible, which teleports between 25 different shadowlands.

Answer 2

Yes, but it is presented as a powerful adversary.

Assuming we are talking about 3e, in Hundred Devil's Night Parade starting on p. 22 there is a write up for Gajam-Un, a living manse that is considered a behemoth. In an earlier age, it "strode unfettered upon the world, razing cities and blighting nations.". If it awakens again, it would have 10 dice for movement.

I am not aware of any write up for a moving manse that a player or indeed an NPC could ever command. If Gajam-Un is defeated, it could be converted into a traditional manse, but that would mean it was no longer awakened and could not move. (See p. 23 under Geomantic body).

As a storyteller, I would be reluctant to let the players have a mobile manse. Such a thing is complicated from an environmental/setting standpoint as usually a manse must be located over a demesne or similar as you point out. A mobile manse means you have to deal with the idea of either a mobile demesne or answer the question about what happens to a manse that is not on a demesne. More significantly, the simple act of moving something that size would be inherently destructive. I would be reluctant to let the players destroy a rival by having their manse just walk through its city. Still, this exalted and laughing at the idea that something is impossible is in line with the exalted, particularly (though definitely not limited to) the solars.

If I wanted an adversary to have a mobile manse, I would probably use Gajam-Un as a template and assume the adversary found a way to control Gajam-Un and prevent it from eating its controller and the allies. That could certainly be interesting. But that would be a formidable threat that even a circle of a high essence exalted might have a hard time facing head on. It would be similar in many ways to the behemoth that the Mask of Winters used to conquer Thorns. That could be a very interesting campaign if handled well.

Answer 3

In 2e, Sidereals have a charm (Neighborhood Relocation Scheme. MoEP:S p.144) that allows them to drag "terrain, habitations and people" with them as they move.

As long as the manse fits within a [Ess] mile radius it could be moved anywhere the Sidereal can survive traveling while taking 2 bashing damage per hour. As an added bonus the demesne powering the Manse might very well be moved along with it, depending on if your GM considers the Demesne a discrete terrain feature or a small part of a larger dragon line.