>What is Exalted?
An epic high-flying role-playing game about reborn god-heroes in a world that turned on them.
Start here: http://theonyxpath.com/category/worlds/exalted/
>That sounds cool, how can I get into it?
Read the 3e core book (link below). For mechanics of the old edition, play this tutorial: http://jyenicolson.net/exalted/. It'll get you familiar with most of the mechanics.
>Gosh that was fun. How do I find a group?
Roll20 and the Game Finder General here on /tg/. With the new edition, though, chances are more games will crop up.
Resources for Third Edition
>3E Backer Core https://mega.nz/#!E1dRBBIa!ZbQG4IasYCJRli2bhgE2MOdWeFAeV3N1rqL9kAIGbNE
>Character Sheet & Init tracker: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByD2BL6J89Nick41YUk0RUt3YlU
>Just a charsheet w/o permission request shenanigans
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pfjmZKzcUqAX9mB58IAEUIFkZr8rq4CvdRRM4kzwwgU/edit?usp=sharing
>General Homebrew dumping folder: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByD2BL6J89NiQzdCWWFaY0c5Mkk&usp=sharing
>Collection of old 3e Materials, including comics and fiction anthologies https://www.mediafire.com/folder/t2arqtqtyyt28/Exalted_3Leak
>Charm Trees:
>Solar Charms: https://imgur.com/a/q6Vbc
>Martial Arts: https://imgur.com/a/mnQDe
>Evocations: https://imgur.com/a/TYKE4
Resources for 2.5 Edition:
>All books with embedded errata notes, as well as some extras: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/253ulzik1j9s5/Exalted
>Chargen software: http://anathema.github.io/
>Anathema homebrew charm files: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/pka3nz3vqbqda/Anathema_Files
>MA form weapon guide: http://www.brilliantdisaster.net/dif/ExaltedMA.html
>http://www.mediafire.com/view/ua7tanepy2jfkdp/Exalted_2nd_Ed_-_Return_of_the_Scarlet_Empress.pdf
Resources for 1e:
>https://www.mediafire.com/folder/9vp0e9id3by6m/Exalted_1e
Animal edition. What cool familiars have you had? What nasty wyld-mutants have you had fought?
>not including Exalted General in the subject
>>46572307
>not having an 'exalted' filter
Can Infernal learn Sorcery independent from their Yozi masters?
>>46572113
Well, I had a big wolf. Twice in fact, with two different characters. In 3e that is. The most fun Wyld mutant we've fought was a creature based of off Calydonian Boar that was rampaging through the Hundread kingdoms. But the way our ST described it was supposed to look like a Bloodstarved Beast, or at least that's how imagined it.
On a slightly related topic, I wish you could have a whole group of critters as a single familiar. Like maybe having a Battle Group that works as a single entity. I wishe I could have a whole pack of wolves with me, but making all of them into familiars just isn't feasible.
>>46572390
In 2E they can undergo the five trials an take the Sorcery initiation Charms regardless of what the Yozis think, sure, and in 3E they'll presumably be able to learn Sorcery like anyone else.
What exactly is the appeal of Exalted? I'm not trolling or anything, but I can't seem to wrap my head around it. The way it was pitched to me you're somehow more powerful than gods and limited only by some sort of insanity-curse everybody has; it seems to me like there is either no challenge at all to this or nothing except constant caster-fights, like the bastard lovechild of 3.5 and oWoD. What kind of stories do people play this for? I am in need of aid because my group got into it and refuses to get back off it while I spend my whole time bored to tears.
>>46572446
What version of Exalted did you play?
>>46572307
>>46572332
>just not
>>46572508
2nd edition. Every session is them starting over with the same characters while referencing this "totally great" game two of them supposedly once played in. This goes along with constant bragging about this-or-that charm exploit and how such-and-such a type of exalt could totally capture the "feel" of (insert geekbait movie of the month).
I am aware they're not the best group, but this time I also just do not see the point of the system.
>>46572446
Some people like to exaggerate the powerlevel of Exalted. Exalts are powerful as fuck, but there are plenty of things in the setting capable of challenging them. Exalts are relevant and noteworthy even among the most powerful entities of the setting, but not more powerful than all of them. That said, most of the time Exalts can expect to succeed in what they're doing and defeat the enemies they're fighting with relative ease, with the real challenge being in the consequences of that success. Like, sure you can defeat that forest god or whatever that's been reigning over your home region as a tyrant, but how will his worshipers react to that? How will the neighboring powers view this guy who can and will apparently kill gods? Who will fill the power vacuum left behind by the god? You? How will the skills that let you slay a go help with rulership? Ultimately the appeal of Exalted is different for different people and different groups, but by default I'd say it's kind of both a power fantasy and a game about how power doesn't solve everything. It also has a really cool setting, which I'm really not up to explaining in one post. You should grab the 3E Core, link provided in the OP, read the setting chapter and see if anything there seems interesting to you.
>>46572678
I guess I'll have to find a new group then. I really don't like too grand-scale high-power type games.
But I think I see more of the appeal now; thank you for this.
>>46572446
Yeah whoever pitched it to you like that was lying.
Exalted is absically about playing a mythical hero in a setting that is heavilly stilized to be akin to the backdrop of the Illiad, the Epos of Gilgamesh, and biblical stories, but with a very particular asin-like slant to it.
Basically, you're supposed to feel like you're telling the story of Heracles, Oddyseus, David and the like.
The challange is certainly there, after all heroes rarely acomplish their feats easilly and they often die horrible deaths brought on by their own hubris and machinations of evil fate.
>>46572678
>most of the time Exalts can expect to succeed in what they're doing and defeat the enemies they're fighting with relative ease, with the real challenge being in the consequences of that success.
zzzz. Can this meme please die? This has never been the case in any edition and in my experience the only people claiming this to be the case never actually played the game.
>>46572624
>2nd edition
Well, there's your problem.
>Every session is them starting over with the same characters while referencing this "totally great" game two of them supposedly once played in. This goes along with constant bragging about this-or-that charm exploit and how such-and-such a type of exalt could totally capture the "feel" of (insert geekbait movie of the month).
Well, there's your other problem.
>>46573063
ok holden
>>46573261
Pffff. I wish Holden was smart enough to actually think that's the case. I thought he was firmly in the camp of people thinking that Exalted is just one huge power-fantasy-wank-fest-clown-fiesta.
>>46573011
>>46573207
Yeah, looking at it now that I have typed it up I realize it's probably mostly the group that is or has the issue here. But even so I think I'll go and look into some Shadowrun instead. Thanks to you both in any case.
>>46573063
Well, I have actually played the game, and in my experience most of the time Exalts can indeed expect to succeed in what they're doing. If your ST cares a whit about verisimilitude you won't be facing Exalted opposition all the time, and when dealing with mortals or relatively weak spirits you certainly can expect success with relative ease. That 'meme' won't die because it isn't actually a meme.
>>46573410
To be fair, the barin-derp that causes people to completely ignore the narrative layer of Exalted and focus excessively on mechanical wank is a thing. It's gonna be especially lively in any online community, simply because this is the type of community autistics fucks are drawn to and nothing triggers autism better than copious amounts of pointless mechanics and lots of math.
>>46573410
Shit, we should have warned that anon that Shadowrun community is also horrible.
>>46573865
Some amount of horribleness is something you just have to deal with if you intend to have anything to do with any online community.
>>46574614
What would be the Evocations for Gervesin?
>>46575725
They're called Gervesin's charms, and he wields you.
>>46575725
As >>46575953 says, even if Gervesin is a spear, he is a demon, not an Artifact. His power is his own, and you can't wield it, not directly.
>>46575953
>>46576159
Alright. If one were to sorcerously bind Gervesin with the intention of wielding him into battle, what additional powers, Evocation or not, will this grant the wielder? Or is he to be treated as an Artifact Direlance, but with his own motepool and Charms, that could be activated on wielder's initiative?
>>46576370
>If one were to sorcerously bind Gervesin with the intention of wielding him into battle, what additional powers, Evocation or not, will this grant the wielder?
You personally? None. He might have some Charms that incidentally make you better, like an Excellency-alike, but they're still focused on him and his abilities.
>Or is he to be treated as an Artifact Direlance, but with his own motepool and Charms, that could be activated on wielder's initiative?
He'd be more like a mount with its own init track, but more or less.
>>46572446
The main appeal is that you're the ultimate wild card. Exalted, despite how it looks, it an EXTREMELY dark and mechanistic setting. The life of the average person in Creation is worthless. You could spend your entire life training to be a martial artist, and a Dragon-Blooded or the lowliest supernatural entity would stomp you.
The Solar Exaltation picks someone with the potential for heroism, and gives him the power to change the world. And I mean REALLY change it.
Which abilities can you substitute with Ride? I heard you can disengage with it instead of Dodge, but I don't rightly recall.
>>46577141
Ride covers all combat movement rolls you'd make while mounted, so mostly Dodge (disengage) and Athletics (rushing, jumping, etc).
>>46573063
It's true though; when you let the Exalt approach the problem within his own specialty.
It's really hard to challenge the Supernal Melee Solar Duelist with high awareness high resistance high dodge in a straight up fight; to actually make him sweat requires such supernatural might brought to bear that it's hideously unrealistic for him to attract such attention for every goddamn combat. That Solar's going to liquefy a thousand bandits easily. That Solar's going to bust up any local god into dust.
How good are their social skills, though? What about their occult knowledge? How good are they at stealth? Do they know anything about riding a horse? Can they discern someones true intentions in a conversation? If they were forced into a battle of wits, how would they fare? Could they win a card game?
No exalt can be good at everything. But they'll always be Real Real Good at the thing they're good at.
Could an Abyssal's trappings of the dead be a leather jacket with a skull, sunglasses and a cap (with another skull)?
>>46578104
Only if you're playing Exalted Modern.
If I commit a Transgression against the void, roll my essence and get 0 successes, does that mean I get no resonance?
>>46578362
Correct. Just like if a Solar trips their Limit Trigger and manages to roll 0 successes, they gain no Limit.
>>46572446
>The way it was pitched to me you're somehow more powerful than gods and limited only by some sort of insanity-curse everybody has
That is true, but Gods in the setting are more like traditional mythological Gods, not all-seeing-all-knowing-omnipotent wankers.
That said, what a lot of people miss about Exalted is that it is, and I stress this, not a game about "can" and "cannot". It is a game about "What happens when you do?" and the fallout thereafter.
You can kill all the Gods, stomp them into the floor and shatter their palaces. But then what?
You can drain the oceans and seal off the very idea of water itself. But then what?
You can conquer the realms of the dead and force their submission to you, or wholly erase that realm from existence via a crusade to lay all the ghosts of the world to rest. But then what?
>>46573063
>zzzz. Can this meme please die?
meme?
A TN 5 challenge is superhuman success. Doing things that are basically impossible for mortals.
That's a dice pool of 10 or 11. 15 to reliably reach it.
So yes, Exalts can expect to succeed at pretty much everything barring supernatural challenges. Which are few and far between.
Ex3 is playable, but it still has real problems with presenting challenges worthy of Exalts. QCs can either be ridiculously tough or ridiculously hard to hit, but the net result still the Exalts winning 99 times out of 100.
Sincerely, anon actually running the game
>>46579950
>QCs can either be ridiculously tough or ridiculously hard to hit, but the net result still the Exalts winning 99 times out of 100.
That's a problem? If your PCs have a 50/50 chance each time they get into a fight, it's going to be a short campaign.
The question shouldn't be "can they defeat these guys" but "how hard did they have to push to do it" and "what plans or opportunities did they blow when they were forced into exposing themselves".
Has there ever been a Dark Messiah Style conversion for Ex 3e?
>>46580963
Not yet, as far as I'm aware.
What breed of demon would make a kickass chef?
>>46579432
I kinda agree, but I think that's downplaying the challenge of doing those things just a bit. Exalted certainly have the potential to overthrow the gods and host a legendary picnic on the rubble of Yu-Shan, but that doesn't mean getting there won't be an epic campaign in itself.
>>46581377
I never said it wouldn't be difficult. How difficult is up to the GM, and in part, to which edition you played. 1e had Solars being wildly more powerful than everything else. 2e had NPC's getting retardedly superbuffed in every way (partly due to shitty rules), but adding in some splat shit also made Solars retardedly powerful again. And 3e...Remains to be seen. In a few splats, if the game even survives past the Core Rules, we'll have a better measure.
>>46579950
>A TN 5 challenge is superhuman success
It's always been this way in every edition.
People just completely forgot that because dice pools were so out of fucking control AND White Wolf always sucked fucking cock at writing rules and thought people would stop at 3 Att/3 Abil for everything. Which isn't what players do.
And then GM's just jacked up everything to compensate. Because "muh challenge" is somehow more important than just ensuring everyone has a good time.
>>46581630
This. It's amazing how so many posters here don't seem to understand that "hardship" isn't always necessary to have fun and that there are more ways to have an interesting game than just making the players always fight something.
>>46582206
Yeah. I honestly never felt challenged by hurling a large number of dice at something with inflated numbers.
I've spent more time debating with other players how to best handle a fucking hostage than actually taking the hostage in the first place, and it was a shitton more difficult than hurling dice at a problem.
>>46581630
>Because "muh challenge" is somehow more important than just ensuring everyone has a good time.
The ST is a player too. RPGs are very much an us vs. him existence
>>46583411
>>46577914
There is a big difference between a Solar Exalt being good at his specialities, and all Solar Exalt curbstomping all challenges and all opponents forever and ever. /exg/ has a pretty big issue with understanding this subtlety.
Every time somebody says that a Solar exalt does not immediately win at everything he does (which is the *truth*), there is somebody to answer that a Solar curbstomp everyone in his speciality (which is the truth, too). But a Dawn winning fights easily is not equal to every Solars winning every fights easily. Saying that all Solars win everything forever is *wrong*.
It is not a big subtlety, but people just don't understand.
How quickly do people run out of motes because I'm looking at charms and it seems to me that you would run out pretty fast. Maybe it's because I'm looking at 2E?
>>46584362
You should look at 3E.
And no, people did not run out of motes nearly fast enough in 2E.
>>46584362
>2E
STOP!
>>46584362
In 2e, a one-point stunt (very easy to get) nets you 2 motes; a two-point stunt (reasonably easy to get) nets you 4 motes. So you take the pools of Essence you start with and you have to actually spend more than 4m per action to start draining them at all.
>>46583411
OK Gygax.
>>46584362
In 3e, you respire 5 motes per round in combat, 5 per hour out of combat, and 10 per hour resting.
This means the fights aren't as much about draining your each others' motes like a healthbar until their defences fail them.
Also not having to come up with a 2 point stunt for every action or die.
>>46584627
Why do you get more in combat?
>>46584662
Because Creation rewards badassness
>>46584662
Adrenaline, ambient essence flows get stronger.
>>46577914
>It's really hard to challenge the Supernal Melee Solar Duelist with high awareness high resistance high dodge in a straight up fight; to actually make him sweat requires such supernatural might brought to bear that it's hideously unrealistic for him to attract such attention for every goddamn combat.
Not true. Apparently all you need is a mortal with 13 parry and you're good to go.
Now obviously this is a joke, but the point is this: there is absolutely no reason, none whatsoever, that the GM can't come up with a being that is simply stronger than your Solar and probably a couple of her friends as well. It's actually impossible by definition and funny enough, maybe if Exalted was more narratively focused and mechanically lighter it might have been possible, but because it's so rules-heavy your character is bound to be able to find their match and that match by no means has to be some kind of ultra-important on a world-scale superpower. After all, neither is your character.
>How good are their social skills, though? What about their occult knowledge? How good are they at stealth? Do they know anything about riding a horse? Can they discern someones true intentions in a conversation? If they were forced into a battle of wits, how would they fare? Could they win a card game?
All absolutely irrleveant questions, when you're tellinga story about a warrior, you want to tell a story about their prowess in abttle, you need to be able to challange them there. Do you really think that Batman comics would be interesting if instead of detective work or beating up bad guys his challanges consisted of knitting and tea ceremony contests?
>No exalt can be good at everything. But they'll always be Real Real Good at the thing they're good at.
And they will still fail at what their great at. They HAVE TO. Otherwise there is no drama and any alternative challange you force on them is going to feel artifical.
>>46579432
>That said, what a lot of people miss about Exalted is that it is, and I stress this, not a game about "can" and "cannot". It is a game about "What happens when you do?" and the fallout thereafter.
That. Is not, True.
Please stop confusing newbies. That is not what Exalted is and it actually can't be and if you try to make it like that it will result in a shitty story.
>>46584761
It's nice to see you have a good sense of humour about yourself, 13 parry moral anon.
>>46584761
>ultra-important on a world-scale superpower. After all, neither is your character.
EVERY Exalted is a world-scale superpower. Your character certainly is moreso. The fact Solars returning will rock the world to its foundation is the entire point of the game line.
Solar exalted can TRY almost anything, and have a chance at succeeding. They wipe the floor with anything within the mortal tier of their specialties, and face moderate difficulty as it scales up to legendary feats, which aren't a foregone conclusion and actually a challenge.
On top of those difficulties, yes, they have to consider the consequences of their actions, the resource cost and collateral damage if they chose to go all out and be direct.
A circle of solars can achieve epic objectives within the setting, but they still need like a campaign and clever moves to get that done, you don't just skip past it to the consequences
>>46584669
Is that why stunts give benefits. Creation sees you being a badass and is like "fuck yeah!"
I was looking through old 1e quotes by Grabowski and found this gem
>The First Age was not a fantasy setting, though I think its average inhabitant was an "agrarian peasant" in some absurd sense of the word, because their world wasn't based on the need to organize thousands of people to accomplish important tasks, and so they never really industrialized or modernized. They just lived on the Big Rock Candy Mountain courtesy of the Overmen.
>>46584872
Yes, it's fundamental to the setting and mechanics.
>>46584803
The point was that this:
>it's hideously unrealistic for him to attract such attention for every goddamn combat.
Is not true. As if the attention of something stronger than them was higsously unrealistic, when every time they fight their opnents have their full attention and somehow that is not "hideously unrealistic".
Whin this statement there is already an assumption that the Solar is stronger than anything they will encounter and it is entirely unrealistic that they would find somethings tronger while at the same it's completely realistic that enything theyf ace bumped into them. Special pleading AND circular reasoning in one argument.
The Solar character had to be able to encounter things stronger than him, by the very nature of how the game is written and presneted. It is impossible for this not to be the case, both logically and from the narrative stand-point of "in order to be entertaining a story should consists of a character facing challanges that directly question their skillset and they have to fail at some point in order to undergo development and become better at what they're supposed to good at".
If a character is a walking deus-ex machina and can solve their problem, even in a narrow field, with effrotless ease, there is no point in development. They can't ever get any better, in the context of the story, and there is no POINT to them getting better.
Which as was stated, makes for a pretty shitty story.
>>46584761
>Now obviously this is a joke, but the point is this: there is absolutely no reason, none whatsoever, that the GM can't come up with a being that is simply stronger than your Solar and probably a couple of her friends as well.
There are plenty of reasons why the ST shouldn't come up with such opponents all the time, though. I mean, I'm pretty sure that no one claimed that Solars will literally always succeed when it comes to their specialty, merely that they can expect to succeed most of the time. If most of the fights in a campaign are against entities that can truly challenge a Supernal Melee Dawn, not in the sense of forcing him to actually put in some effort but in the sense of him actually being in the danger of losing, something's gone...not necessarily wrong, but at least weird.
>
All absolutely irrleveant questions, when you're tellinga story about a warrior, you want to tell a story about their prowess in abttle, you need to be able to challange them there. Do you really think that Batman comics would be interesting if instead of detective work or beating up bad guys his challanges consisted of knitting and tea ceremony contests?
Characters not being able to operate within their area of expertise absolutely does contribute to interesting stories. If I play a badass warrior I'll obviously want to be able to kick ass in combat, but it would be one dull story if I never had to face intrigue, social situations, sneaky bastards who skulk in the shadows and refuse to fight fair, weird spirit shit and so on.
Why is Mnemon such an insufferable thundercunt?
>>46584927
>Whin this statement there is already an assumption that the Solar is stronger than anything they will encounter and it is entirely unrealistic that they would find somethings tronger while at the same it's completely realistic that enything theyf ace bumped into them. Special pleading AND circular reasoning in one argument.
I think you're a bit confused, anon. The guy you're replying to said that it's unrealistic for a combat-focused Solar to face equal or stronger opponents *every* combat. This does not in any way imply that Solars should *never* meet their match. It doesn't imply that the Solar is stronger than anything they will encounter. It just means that most of the time a Solar warrior won't be facing other combat-focused Celestials or Octavian or Ahlat or any other entity on that scale.
>>46584930
>I'm pretty sure that no one claimed that Solars will literally always succeed when it comes to their specialty, merely that they can expect to succeed most of the time.
I have encountered both in these threads. The former are more common, but the latter, ho make giant sweeping statements that make me cringe, indeed can be found.
>If most of the fights in a campaign are against entities that can truly challenge a Supernal Melee Dawn, not in the sense of forcing him to actually put in some effort but in the sense of him actually being in the danger of losing, something's gone...not necessarily wrong, but at least weird.
Obviously. But that then I read the statement "your character is going to succeed, the question is what comes after" and suddenly it's as if they were supposed to NEVER encounter a real challange to their skillset.
>If I play a badass warrior I'll obviously want to be able to kick ass in combat, but it would be one dull story if I never had to face intrigue, social situations, sneaky bastards who skulk in the shadows and refuse to fight fair, weird spirit shit and so on.
Absolutely, but you can't make these the central, most important challanges to the character in question, because then you are undermining the character's purpose in the story. Their most meaningful challanges have to concern things they are supposed to excell at for two reasons:
1) You're making a very confused story when a tale of a warrior turns into a tale of bureaucrat.
2) In the context of RPGs, when a player wants to play a warrior, that's because they want to fight stuff. That's where their enjoyment will come from. They need to be challanged in that space, because without a challange success isn't fun.
>>46584662
Because it allows characters to use their charms more liberally, which allows for more dynamic combat and, I suppose, a more satisfying experience.
>>46584669 and >>46584670 aren't wrong, but they're providing Ad-hoc in-setting explanations for a choice that was probably made for purely mechanical reasons.
>>46584975
I don't know. What I do know is that she is a qt3.14
>>46584988
>Absolutely, but you can't make these the central, most important challanges to the character in question, because then you are undermining the character's purpose in the story. Their most meaningful challanges have to concern things they are supposed to excell at for two reasons:
>1) You're making a very confused story when a tale of a warrior turns into a tale of bureaucrat.
>2) In the context of RPGs, when a player wants to play a warrior, that's because they want to fight stuff. That's where their enjoyment will come from. They need to be challanged in that space, because without a challange success isn't fun.
You can definitely tell interesting stories about a warrior who curbstomps his opposition in combat. Being an unmatched powerhouse in combat while knowing that direct physical violence won't solve everything can be both fun and interesting.
>>46585008
I mean I suppose.
But it's so limitting that that should be the only kind of story you can tell, when the classic story of a character facing challanges to their own prowess, ovecoming them after losing multiple times in the process, and achieving their goal, is something that from my experience most people would be interested in. It's classic for a reason.
>People jumping to opposite extremes every post.
>Literally from Exalted can do anything to Exalted can't do anything.
This is pants on head retarded.
>>46585031
How often did Achilles get defeated in combat?
The only time he did to my knowledge was because the Storyteller threw an arrow at his one weak spot because he was tired of his bullshit.
>>46585031
Right, but again, no one in this thread has claimed that Exalts should literally never be challenged. When people say that that Exalt will succeed most of the time they mean most of the time, not every time. When people say Exalted is about consequences of your actions more than whether those actions succeed, they usually mean that that's the way things generally go, not that that's the way things always go. I mean, for it to even make sense to say that Exalted is about consequences kind of requires there to be challenges that even Exalts have a hard time with - those consequences wouldn't matter much if they were easy to deal with, after all. I'm sure there are people who genuinely think that Exalts should always succeed, but those people are a minority both in general and in these threads, and haven't really been present in this discussion as far as I can see.
>>46585050
It would be pants on head retarded if either of those extremes had been present in this thread, sure, but no one has taken such extreme positions. I'm pretty sure that the anon or anons who want Exalts to face real challenger regularly are in no way opposed to Exalt actually overcoming those challenges, and I can say for sure that I, having argued for Exalts succeeding with relative ease *most of the time*, believe that Exalts should have limits and should be truly challenged from time to time. Just, you know, not all the time.
>>46585126
>I'm pretty sure that the anon or anons who want Exalts to face real challenger regularly are in no way opposed to Exalt actually overcoming those challenges
You haven't been to these threads for long, have you? There are people here who feel deeply offended whenever their players experience any amount of success, and they're fucking stupid enough to be interested in Exalted.
>>46585186
Autism. And the fact they think that RPG games are players versus game master/storyteller like it is a competition. Of course then you have the MY STORY GMs who do stupid shit like Cosmic Exalted.
>>46585186
On the other hand there seems to be a large number of people who claim to have played the game (I don't believe them) or be playing it, who think that if their success if ever empeded then the GM must be a meanie poop-head who doesn't want them to have their fun.
Exalted triggers all kinds of autism.
>>46585186
I have been frequenting these threads from around the time 3E was originally announced, I know that there are some, very few, people who have an attitude like that, and I was specifically, explicitly even, talking about this particular thread, not Exalted threads in general.
>>46585031
>>46585008
How about both?
I'm not being facecious. You're both acting as if those are mutually exclusive things and you can't have a story where your Dawn sometimes curbstomps opposition, sometimes gets challenged by impressive foes, looses a couple fights because he tried to bite more than even him can chew, and also regularly has to struggle with the non-combat challenges that come with his role as a great warrior.
Looking at my DB campaign right now, I can look at the party and see that :
-The Sorcery Know-It-All Batman Air Aspect has solved problems out of hand with Sorcery (Agatae OP), has been challenged by other Sorcerers, and has had to talk people into telling him all their secrets when social skills are his weakest point.
-The Ranger/Survivalist/Drugs Specialist Wood Aspect has been exploring the region the PCs are in and found a long lost ally in the process, has been doing great on the social front where he's not exactly established yet, and regularly gets challenged in combat, because archer roles just aren't the easiest.
-The Earth Aspect Warrior-Socialite has been wrecking faces, but failed to protect a party member in combat and only managed to avoid his death by teaming up with the Wood Aspect to Medicine him back from the brink of death.
-The Fire Aspect Socialite Bureaucrat has been negociating shit since the campaign started. He never stops. He got a handful of very juicy deals, but also got shafted by more connected, more experienced people, and knows about it, and is taking steps to extend his own influence so he can try to avoid that in the future. And he regularly has to struggle not to die when shit hits the fan and he ends up in the middle of combat.
The other Fire Aspect, a Captain/Duelist, has successfully crushed a clan of nomadic bandits headed by a crazy beastman sorcerer, and ensured the safe travel of an entire caravan crossing the Southern Desert from Urim to Zoatham, but had to dance last session.
>>46585280
Addendum : To be perfectly clear, anybody who thinks Exalted STs don't want to challenge their players is insane. This is a system that gives players a crazy amount of options, and a huge powerbase. It's also a game that encourages pulp action, impressive displays of skill, reckless attempts and crazy happenstance.
The natural response from any ST to such a system is to challenge players, because you know they can take it. I've got a session starting in two hours, where the players will have to deal with two Abyssals, two Infernals, the Scarlet Empress incognito, an Exigent of Oases, and a giant undead Sand Whale behemoth that just got raised. Everybody's got their own objectives, their own plan, and this the final session of a year and a half arc where the huge pile of consequences finally collapses. The players were just after a copy of the Broken Winged Crane they heard was somewhere around here, attracted the attention of the Mask of Winters' spies during the journey, and arrived at that weird City State built on top of the corpse of a giant Sand Whale. The Infernals are playing at home (we're in their very own Far South City-State of Demon Weirdness), the Abyssals just want to raise the sand whale and plunge it in the Underworld so they can bring it back to the Mask of Winters in Thorns. The Exigent was just here for business and is about to do a somersault off the fucking handle.
None of them but the Infernals know the copy of the Broken Winged Crane is inside the Whale.
It's easy as shit to challenge people in Exalted. If you think the escalation that naturally comes with the consequences of your PCs actions isn't enough, you're out of your mind.
What level of Sorcerous Working would be needed to make a doorway between the Isle and somewhere in the Threshold?
>>46585204
Two Terrestrial 3s could do it but you want to finesse 5 it which makes it difficult. The storyteller may veto it though.
But essentially its one doorway to Elsewhere. Then a second doorway to the same point in Elsewhere. You may need to do a 3rd working to send a hallway into Elsewhere and perhaps a 4th to make that hallway have Creation physics.
Your storyteller may not like that though but its what I would go with.
>>46585505
For some reason I linked >>46585204 instead of >>46585459. Weird.
So I have 10 soak and 0 hardness, is silken armour worth the extra 5 soak and 4 hardness, for 4 merit dots and 5 committed motes?
How valuable is 4 hardness?
>>46581134
Hm. Maybe a Neomah? Just don't ask about the ingredients.
But the idea of a cooking competition or just a restaurant, run by an eclectic bunch of seemingly inappropriate demons amuses me. It's got to have a Tomescu, who uses it's many swordhands to chop meats and vegetables comically fast. A Teodozjia to probe the their hive mind for recipes. A marotte or erymanthus waiter. Bisclavaret pastry chef. A Naneke, who searches for The Secret Ingredient, known only to the Yozis, to be carried away by Oramus.
>>46581570
Holy shit what is that
>>46585553
Not very? Hardness I don't really care for anyway as you won't decisive attack until your initiative is higher then the enemy's hardness. And once it is you will decisive. I am thinking in my game to double hardness values given for everything but make it a roll instead. It gives it a bit more meaning and it makes it much harder to meta.
>>46585586
Looks like your average Japanese sentai show?
>>46584872
>Creation
Pattern Spiders, but close enough.
>>46585603
>but make it a roll instead
What do you mean?
>makes it much harder to meta
Is this really a worthwhile goal? I mean, the entire Withering/Decisive split is meta in nature.
>>46584662
Just because, for gameplay reasons. I've already kinda accepted for myself, that while motes of essence do exist in-setting, they do not translate to their mechanical equivalent. Likewise, there is no such thing as "essence pools" for Characters - just spiritual exhaustion. As such, characters aren't aware that they respire essence faster in combat, though an particularly battle-eager individual may feel subjectively "invigorated".
>>46585411
>None of them but the Infernals know the copy of the Broken Winged Crane is inside the Whale.
What whale?
>>46585603
Add more dice rolling to combat resolution? Great idea.
>>46585631
>What do you mean?
When you make your decisive attack you roll the attack. Once that is done the defender rolls his hardness value. If you successes meets or beats his initiative pool it is negated as usual. I am still not sure if I will do this or not as for one it adds another roll to combat and could royally fuck it up. But I think I will test it out at least to see.
>>46585411
Huh, shit sounds awesome.
Tell us more, if you've the time when you get back?
>>46585667
The undead sand whale that had already been mentioned in that post.
>>46585687
Didn't read the post before posting, have to agree with >>46585685
>>46585577
Aaaaaand now I've got a cool subplot to throw at my players. Thanks!
>>46585674
A great idea!
But seriously though, while the randomisation might seem fun I'd personally go with less.
>>46585685
When I get back I'll tell y'all how it ended.
Who know, it might very well be a TPK. Funniest thing is the party's separated (two with one of the Infernals on top of the whale's rising corpse, two with the other Infernal in her Temple to Cecelyne a few miles from there just witnessing it all happen, and one at the foot of the cliff where the Abyssal Necromancer stood when he cast the spell, a few seconds ago.
So they're gonna have to find a way to group up or things might go south very quick.
>>46585751
Can't wait
Have fun
>>46585280
>Air Aspect
>Wood Aspect
>Earth Aspect
>Fire Aspect
Yes yes, keep going!
>other Fire Aspect
...goddammit
>>46584600
Gygax is a proponent of the 'Arbiter' DM philosophy, where everything in the world tried to kill you and the DM's job was to be sure he was impartial as possible to run the whole shtick smoothly.
The Players' goal is to survive. The Dungeon's goal is to kill the players. The DM is the impartial arbiter and judge of the game. He should not try to kill the player, as indeed as the ultimate god of everything in the table, this is completely pointless.
Lots of people (new people, the oldster from D&D 1 understand this perfectly) mix the roles up. A DM trying to kill his players is an abomination. He has no place on the table.
>>46585005
sauce?
>>46586029
Really? REALLY?
>>46586035
I have plunged into all the 2e and and most 1e books for pictures of Mnemon long ago. IIRC I have never seen that picture.
>>46586073
And yet you have not read 3e the best version of Exalted. Reevaluate your life.
>>46580424
>That's a problem? If your PCs have a 50/50 chance each time they get into a fight, it's going to be a short campaign.
Considering that one of the primary sources of Solar XP is "overcoming worthy challenges," it probably is. So not every encounter should be a coin flip, but it should be easier to make a coin flip encounter.
>>46581630
>People just completely forgot that because dice pools were so out of fucking control AND White Wolf always sucked fucking cock at writing rules and thought people would stop at 3 Att/3 Abil for everything. Which isn't what players do.
>And then GM's just jacked up everything to compensate. Because "muh challenge" is somehow more important than just ensuring everyone has a good time.
I'm actually more concerned with my group having a good time. Most challenges are TN 4 or TN 5. Relatively simple for a Solar; pretty much assured if they use a Charm. Which is fine. But it is tough to build challenging encounters for them. It's especially hard with social and combat challenges because that virtually requires building an Exalt to face them off against.
>>46583411
>The ST is a player too. RPGs are very much an us vs. him existence
Wow, no. If you're not okay with basically losing all of the time, you shouldn't be STing. What you get out of being Storyteller is the ability to really be in control of where the story goes.
>>46584662
>Why do you get more in combat?
Game balance requires it.
>>46585280
So you're playing Round Robin sessions?
I mean I'm not surprised that DBs can face real challenges. That's sort of the point of DB campaigns. Things are actually hard for them.
>>46586014
I got the impression from /tg/ that he was too brutal and aggressive with his players and did think he was in competition with them.
>>46586102
I have read the best version of 3e, that's enough. Why did you lose your time with shitty 3d art and broken evocations again?
>>46586257
That's most likely /tg/ projecting their shitty DMs on to Gygax.
Do we know when's the Dragon Blooded supplement coming out?
>>46586257
He created truly brutal dungeons, but he was a fair DM, as most people who played with him say. It just happens that, in traditional D&D pre-3.0 fashion, you were expected to use your wits and every single of your characters abilities to survive the day.
This is the golden age of RPG in my opinion, elegant in its simplicity. The Tomb of Horrors has no less than two false entrances filled with killing implements, and one (or two, I don't remember) false boss room. You were supposed to use your goddamn brain when you ventured in it and to consider the whole dungeon as a brutal, murdering riddle that wants you dead. And the Tomb of Horrors is not even the worse dungeon ever made, it's pretty tame by some standard.
Infernals don't have Craft charms, so how does Crafting work for them?
>>46586512
They will in Ex3.
>>46586525
But what about in 2e?
>>46586547
Who cares about 2e?
>>46586565
People
>>46586571
Bad people.
>>46586512
Just homebrew some for Malfeas/SWLIHN.
>>46586581
Still people
>>46586587
Yeah, but they're people we don't care about.
>>46586626
No one's ever cared about me anyway.
>>46586626
Anon's one of them, and I care about him. Admittedly, it's mostly to spite that you (and others) have already turned into elitists (justified or not) about an edition before it's even properly underway.
>>46586631
If you make choices like caring about or playing 2e then it is due to your life choices. Improve yourself and people will care anon-kun.
>>46586647
But we have rules. We don't have the splats but as the systems actually works fixing any charm fuck ups that are produced from the other splats is rather simple.
Well except for Craft. But we don't talk about Craft.
>>46586647
No you don't. If you cared, you'd answer his question. You're just tired of people being smug.
Anyway, so how do Infernals do Craft?
Holy shit this game is actually coming out? WTF. I dropped this thing ages ago and on a whim went on TG today I thought this is never coming out. So the early version is out now? Is it as bad as I came to expect it to be or did they finally make it playable?
Also when are Abyssals coming out? That's really everything I was interested in.
>>46586680
>when are Abyssals coming out?
Next millennium.
>>46586680
It's pretty great, dude. The actual release is just polishing and replacing the shitty art, but the game I'm in has gotten halfway to Essence 4.
>>46586680
>Is it as bad as I came to expect it to be or did they finally make it playable?
It is the best version of Exalted yet. Some say it is fun. I personally enjoy it. I have not really heard anybody say its shit. Its usually always good to great.
It has a couple pieces of shit in it here and there.
>Also when are Abyssals coming out?
Sometime between now and heat death of the universe... maybe.
Alternatively this an entire party of Wood Caste DBs. Mainly because Macbeth isn't a thing that happened in Exalted.
>>46586739
When the woods march on someone in Exalted, it isn't a metaphor.
>>46586750
You better belief it, brother.
>>46586771
>Not you better beleaf it
Wood you at least try?
>>46586665
An indev core book that isn't even technically out yet isn't underway. It's good and I enjoy it, but that doesn't make it more than it is.
>>46586670
I gave an answer: they don't unless you homebrew it.
>>46586750
Next you're gonna tell me Macduff was an Abyssal.
>>46586262
>>46586102
This art was split between two pages in the pdf, and google couldn't find a high res composite, so I extracted the images and slapped the two together.
Thought someone might appreciate it.
Have you guys used any gambits that aren't in the books? What were they?
Also wondering: Could trash-talking be a gambit?
>>46586912
That's supposed to be Mnemon in that picture? I had no idea.
>>46586945
>crown
>purple outfit
>red-brown hair
Yeah it is suppose to be her.
>>46586971
huh, I expected her to look more...regal, I guess
>>46586945
Here's her from the 2e Dragonblood book.
Also, the elf with the weird hands is a demon musician. Decadent demon-summoner doesn't always mean giant purple tits; often, but not always.
>>46586987
She is oujo-samaing it hard in >>46586912 with a splash of Tsundere.
>>46586998
Second page of that chapter comic. All the 2e books had comics, but not 3e. Not sure how I feel about that.
>>46586971
Aspect Book Mnemon is best Mnemon.
>>46586912
Appreciated mate.
>>46587017
>that 4th panel
>coupled with that 6th panel
>>46587044
In Exalted's End Time™, he fought against the 2nd circle demon of game and shit, and won. This kid is several kind of awesome.
>>46587068
Several kinds of mary sue.
But I think anon was pointing out more that the kid is blatantly ogling boobs and butt.
>>46587017
I liked the chapter comics, but sadly nobody on the OPP forums did
>>46587107
I was actually being entertained by just how smug this Kes guy is, but now that you mention it...
>>46587017
Just looking at the harp demon at the moment. Fun fact; they're one of the few demons that can disobey their summoners, if only when ordered to stop playing music.
Here's the fluff, because the crunch is expired.
ANGYALKAE, T HE HARPISTS
DEMONS OF THE FIRST CIRCLE ,
PROGENY OF THE KITE FLUTE
With its two-dozen fingers meticulously moving
through the air, an angyalka draws music from the
flow of Time as if it were an exquisite harp. Those
who hear the sound feel the moments of their lives
pass over them as they listen. The melodies of the
angyalkae do not reveal the future or speak of the past,
as they are the resonance of the present. Those who
listen hear the moments of their soul and know what
they have lost. Listeners who are happy with their
inner being find the song of the angyalkae beautiful.
Those who are discontented with themselves find the
music painful, whether it confirms their secret fears,
rekindles unsettled heartache or tears at the cracks in
their carefully constructed emotional walls. The music
of the harpists touches the spirits of gods and demons
as surely as it does the souls of men.
The angyalkae appear as beautiful men or women,
save that their hands each bear a dozen long, thin
fingers, and each finger has seven joints. An angyalka
cannot stop playing her music or she will soon die, so
her hands are in constant motion, pulling music from
the air. If an angyalka is forced to fight, she does so
using her prehensile hair. The harpists speak when
they wish but do not cease playing to do so. They hear
many things in the murmur of their audiences and
know many tongues.
>>46587107
Competence, even genius, is not enough to make a character a Mary Sue. An Exalted chess, sorry, I mean an Exalted Gateway prodigy winning against Sigereth in a game is hardly particularly out of place. As for ogling boobs and butts, isn't Ledaal Kes canonically gay?
>>46587118
This was the entire strategy of Mnemon, btw. That (tits and ass) and how distracting it is to listen to this demon's music: they make you relive memories, often bad memories.
She wanted to distract him into losing. Instead he made her revive all her bad mama issues in a clever way, and suddenly the demon's music wasn't so fun anymore.
>>46587142
>canonically gay?
This is 2e we're talking about, Exalts will stick thei dicks in just about anything
>>46587159
Yeah, but in 1E at least I seem to recall him being actually-gay-not-bisexual.
>>46587113
Well, complaints are always louder than contentment.
I suppose the comics present a specific aesthetic for Exalted that isn't necessarily what everyone wants. They've been really pushing that ancient greed myth angle, which doesn't necessarily gel with manga.
>>46586912 is awesome, and not at all manga outside of Mnemon's unnecessarily cute face.
>>46587170
Yeah, Manga is a pretty big inspiration for Exalted but not the only one. The problem is, it's often a huge turn-off for people not into it.
>>46587169
>actually-gay-not-bisexual
Man, what a prude.
Quick thought about Mnemon: she has access to celestial sorcery through the Emerald Thurible, right? Has that artifact ever been statted?
>>46587216
Think it was statted in both editions. It gives you access the the demon summoning spell of the next circle up, and has no effect for Solars.
>>46586680
oh you poor, sad anon
you will never know peace from angst
but at least you're not an infernals fan
>>46587240
I've been looking forward to Getimians since they were announced. I'm going to need to start eating healthier and exercising properly if I want to live to see them.
>>46587240
Yeah, at least with Abyssals you can honestly go 'Refluffed Solar'. It's not like that wasn't 90% of what they were in 2e. Where they were not 'More limited Solar'
>>46587236
Any idea which book it was statted in? I've got them all.
>>46584872
Oddly enough, one of my big issues with Stunting is that there are some things that are really hard to fluff up in a way that sounds impressive but looks visually impressive.
Like a martial artist with zero wasted movement being supremely practical and effective. If you watch it, it's like watching a fighting machine more than a person but it's hard to fluff in a way that really gets it across in a way that's easy to repeat and get decent stunts with.
On the other hand, flipping off the environment dramatically is a lot easier to pull off.
It's an issue I had once when I played a practical, pragmatic Abyssal who was a Social Infiltrator (She often pretended to be a faceless servant when she snuck into places rather than acting like a ninja). Some things are important and very skillful but hard to make stunt-worthy.
Three quick questions for anybody who has some good mechanical knowledge of the system:
1) What combat ability pairs best with Ride?
2) Is there synergy between Melee and Archery?
3) Is there mechanical space for two Solar Melee characters to not step on one another's toes but both be effective?
>>46587309
You could, although I'm still looking forward to seeing what 3e does with them. It seems like they have a lot of interesting ideas above and beyond "black mirror", although based on the castes they certainly are still that.
I know motivations aren't a thing any more, but I feel like Abyssals should still have a defining intimacy that can be resolved by destroying Creation. (Solars used to have to have something constructive, and Abyssals had to have something destructive. "End Slavery" was my favourite, because it sounds positive until you start killing everyone.) Agree/Disagree?
>>46587371
>She often pretended to be a faceless servant when she snuck into places rather than acting like a ninja
I hope that was deliberate. I really hope that.
But I agree. Your GM needs to appreciate the appeal of taking a half-step to dodge the boulder rather than a triple-backflip. 2e used to have a merit that let you augment (and therefore highlight) a particular stunt theme for your character. I doubt it'll be resurrected though, since in practice it was basically just "+1 to everything" but with more words. Then again, Wise Arrow. Badumtish.
I'd post the merit, but this post is already sort of long.
>>46587502
1 and 2; grab a flame piece, a lance and a shield. Use Parry Charms with your shield while shooting with your one handed Archery weapon. Do this from horseback, and then use your lance 1-handed with the same shield.
3 is trickier, since a lot of it depends on the players and how they roleplay with each other. Rules wise, sure, should be doable.
>>46587542
>I hope that was deliberate. I really hope that.
It was.
I really like stunting as an idea but I must admit, I've always have a bit of an issue with how it works out because it's so very much 'Does your group think it's cool'. Which is very specific to your table at lot of the time.
...that and my general dislike for the people who regurgitate a paragraph for every single action on IRC because they've been trained that 'If I put in enough stuff, I'll eventually hit enough for a 2 dot stunt'.
>>46587579
Not sure what the point of the flame piece is there. If you're going to be in short range or less anyway, may as well just melee.
>>46587502
1) Archery and/or Thrown.
2) Less so than between Archery and Brawl.
3) Yes.
>>46586912
Never noticed that Mnemon was in that image, huh.
>opening comic of the 2e DB book is a legion officer defying orders and refusing to marry because of muh independence
what sort of bullshit is this
>>46585603
I'm not sure I agree with your houserule opinions, I was looking for a general impression of the value of 4 hardness in vanilla 3e, anyone else got some input?
>>46587741
The sort of bullshit that probably happens with some frequency. I mean, it's not like the Dragon-Blooded are automatons or perfectly obedient servants. They're individuals, some of them are headstrong individuals, and sometimes they do things against the wishes of their elders. Besides, Elana's a magistrate, and magistrates generally have quite a bit of leeway to act as they see best.
>>46587597
>paragraph for every single action
Fortunately, the devs agree.
The action cannot be boring.
This is not meant to act as a harsh
quality bar players must strive to
jump over—mostly it means re-
petitive stunts stop qualifying as
stunts, as they’re no longer enter-
taining. This also means any stunt
so long and overwrought that
it bores rather than excites isn’t
a stunt.
I remember playing 2e with a guy who would always stunt by having his PC swirl his sword around, kick buckets into the air, twirl ropes (we spent a lot of time on a ship), and basically do anything other than interact with the scene or the target before eventually saying "and then stab the guy".
>>46587618
Neither am I, but I'm even less sure how to find synergy between Archery and Melee. Still, I'm willing to bet there'll be a few situations where you want a ranged weapon for that one additional range band, and using a shield and a one handed shooter means you can defend yourself with Melee rather than needing an additional defensive skill.
If range is a bigger factor than damage, grab a hand crossbow instead. Medium ranged weapon, but deals two less damage.
>>46587579
>grab a flame piece, a lance and a shield.
Or just a fire-wand with a bayonet and a shield.
>>46587774
4 hardness negates any Decisive attack that deals 4 damage or less, i.e. any Decisive attack from a combatant on less than 5 initiative. Clever combatants aren't likely to attack on less than 5, so that aspect is pretty weak. In addition, 3e is built with mechanical transparency in mind, so the GM is allowed to play intelligent opponents who simply will not attack until they have enough initiative to get through your hardness if the source of the hardness is obvious to the opponent (as it would be in this case, given that it's magical armour you're wearing).
However, there are some situations where a target will launch a weak attack, or many weak attacks. Charms that split a decisive into many different initiative pools come to mind. Circumstantial, but possibly useful.
I think Hardness also works against non-attacks, like environmental hazards, but I'd have to check that.
All in all, low Hardness doesn't do a lot for anyone. My Twilight shares your concern.
>>46587883
Firewands are not one-handed weapons, so that shield is out while you're shooting. Although short spears ARE 1h weapons, so the bayonet is fine.
In any case, shield and lance works better if you want a lot of damage, and shield and flame piece works better if you want to parry while shooting.
>>46587885
I agree with you about use of hardness against attacks, though silken armour should be undetectable to an opponent and they would try a weaker attack to take you down.
Soak and hardness are ignored for Environmental damage and falling damage.
Yeah, the twilight power is fairly expensive and not that useful to use by itself, but it's a nice little bonus when you're flaring.
I suppose then I should just consider whether the jump from 10 to 15 soak and the 4 hardness is worth 4 merit dots and 5 committed motes then, if the hardness alone seems situational.
>>46587885
Attacking with many low-initiative Decisive attacks via multi-attack Charms inflicts Onslaught penalties, though. If you do not expect to get through an opponent's Defence or prefer not to (due to synergy with Charms that give relevance to additional successes on decisive attacks), you probably won't be investing anything beyound minimum necessary Initiative. Against an opponent with a little bit of Hardness, those won't have a chance of doing even a little bit of damage.
Has anyone tried anything interesting with Single Point? Like activating Single Point Shining Into The Void Form, but using Snake style bare-handed kicks and punches on their own turn and only unsheathing their blade on its turn? Looks like there's some fun synergy for staying ahead in combat, like using Striking Cobra Technique to get up to 15 initiative and then using Shining Starfall Execution.
>>46587741
Well timed bullshit? You open the "the guys who spend all their time oppressing the PCs from the core book" book and get shown a different side of them straight away.
>>46588008
>Soak and hardness are ignored for Environmental damage and falling damage.
Apparently not. Well, that makes low Hardness useless for most situations.
>>46588074
Yeah, I was specifically thinking of that one archery charm, Trance of Unhesitating Speed. That charm's excellent for other reasons as well; it doesn't require an aim action for one.
>>46588112
My Twilight will be combining it with Melee Parry charms, as well as in-combat Sorcery since two actions means you can combine un-flurryable attack actions with un-flurryable shape sorcery actions, but I'm not interested in bringing in other martial arts. Being Vergil is interesting enough to me.
>>46588251
Combining it with sorcery is interesting even if Melee isn't. Personally I prefer Dodge charms with Single Point, I like my samurai duellists to lean away from near-fatal strikes. Also keeping the sword in its sheath for the first few turns, making them angrier while you don't bother to fight back is fun.
>>46573063
It's what the game claimed to be about from the beginning.
The fact that three increasingly-terrible editions of the game have gotten farther and farther away from achieving this means that the idiots who make the game have to keep shifting the goalposts to keep the failboat going.
>>46573063
But isn't this actually true?
Like, the 2nd Excellency allows you to succeed at literally any task you're skilled at. Solars can easily fight several Dragon-blooded and win, and can make a good stand against anything short of a Deathlord for at least a few rounds.
The whole idea is that you can win the battle, but winning the war is rather more complicated.
What does the world look like to intangible beings like dematerialized spirits?
Do they see stuff as they normally would, or is it distorted and faded like Twilight in nWoD?
Can dematerialized spirits see other dematerialized spirits, or are they all in their own little world/
>>46588306
That does sound fun. And parry isn't necessarily something you need for Single Point, since there's only one reference to it in the style.
Against that, I didn't want to invest too heavily in combat for my Twilight. If your idea of combat proficiency is "every parry charm and everything from Single Point" then that's actually achievable in a way that Supernal Anything isn't.
>>46572113
I personally wonder how love stories in Exalted go, especially since everyone seems to be omnisexual and the Exalted themselves are superhumans.
I mean, the classic one is the Solar and the Lunar mate, but I can't help but think that mortals are just too flimsy for any relationship to last. The closest you can get is a Dragonblooded. (It's especially bad when you can effortlessly mind-whammy your partner without even really intending to. I mean, you'll have to handle a mortal partner like she was made of impossibly fragile glass, Heroic Mortal or not, or you might do something terrible and destructive when you eventually Limit Break.)
And everyone eventually Limit Breaks.
>>46588424
Mortals being so fragile is what makes it tragic. Tragic love stories are central to these myths, how many myths have stable romances?
I mean Hercules accidentally kills his best friend, kills his wife and children in a rage. The Illiad would be dull if Patroclus was an exalted tier combatant.
>>46588424
I've got a character on the back-burner who as a mortal was in a tragic romance with a Dragon-blooded duellist in Prasad - due to the rigid caste system they could never be together. Of course, then she Exalted as a Solar and now the love of her life is coming to hunt down the 'demon wearing her body'. This whole story is complicated further by the blossoming romance between her and Blessed Adorei, her sword.
>>46588599
>by the blossoming romance between her and Blessed Adorei, her sword.
Dildo handle?
>>46588424
Limit breaks are stupid as fuck because players can go mad with power without mechanics to enforce it, and in fact are really good at it.
>>46588554
Yeah, but that can get fucked up and abusive. Remember the artifact that extended a mortal's life, but made them dependent on you?
What if your girlfriend lived or died at your whim?
>>46588724
Then she would probably remember to take out the trash.
>>46588607
Personally, I always thought that eventually you should be able to use an Evocation that allows her to manifest as, well, herself.
Like that hawk-themed powerbow in the Core Boo. I don't think she'll be any good in a fight (the hawk isn't), but at least you can have a physical relationship.
>>46588724
Any socially-focused Solar doesn't need an artifact to make somebody dependent on them.
is there an estimated release date for 3rd edition?
When a ship is built, what happens to the small gods of the planks it's made of? How is the ship's small god made?
>>46588796
*presses fingers to forehead, reading Holden's mind*
It'll be out just in time for Christmas 2018.
>>46588781
I dunno, I think it's too easy a solution. I mean, resolution should be possible but it should be the result of a story.
No idea what that story should be though.
>>46588812
Small gods don't exist.
>>46588796
Probably the three year anniversary of when it wasn't delivered when promised.
>>46588852
when was it promised?
>>46588977
October 2013
>>46589057
jesus christ
>>46589065
I know. Glad I didn't go for one of those orichalcum-tier copies.
Since someone mentioned Blessed Adorei: How often is Holy Miracle Strike ever going to come up? I mean 10m 1wp for a narrative effect, sure whatever it might be cool but you need TWO defining intimacies of the person the cut represents. Holy fuck, two? How often does that get used? What if they only have one?
>>46589308
It's true, but this is supposed to enable otherwise impossible feats. It's like a lot of things in Exalted; it only comes up in situations that can't be solved by direct conventional action, and yet a lot of people would say there's no situation that the Exalted can't resolve that way.
Personally, I think that idea is a load of rubbish, and would point to the Eclipse Caste as my first example of a thing that is pointless if you never encounter anything stronger than you. (Why negotiate when you can insist that things happen exactly as you want them to happen?)
Put another way, if a Solar can already "break an unbreakable lock" simply by being a Solar, then this evocation is useless. And if that's the case, then yes, activating it definitely doesn't need to be a unique event requiring two Defining Intimacies.
>>46589560
You can only use those two intimacies once too. So every time you use it you have to think 'is this really the best time to ever use it?' Like a master ball.
What's the best combat style to go with Supernal Dodge? I'm looking at the charms that improve disengaging and re-engaging to allow you to reap initiative before you even land an attack, and the effect of the E5A5 charm that gives you free initiative as long as you're in combat and not concealed. What works well with that? Is there anything that makes use of the constant movement?
>>46589996
Thrown and Athletics are both friends with Dodge for basically the same reason: they want to regularly be close, but not TOO close.
why are there no healing spells?
How often do you use full excellencies in combat?
>>46590061
Because if you could regularly and easily heal damage, combat isn't nearly as frightening.
>>46590070
Not very. Usually when you're hoping to slam someone into paste.
>>46590120
Do any summonable spirits have healing powers/
>>46590144
No.
>>46590144
The most common are sesseljae, bottle-bugs, and they don't really do "white mage" healing so much as "really good surgery" healing. I think in previous editions they could downgrade lethal to bashing, but that was it?
How many souls would you need to make a, say, Soulsteel Medallion?
>>46588796
According to Rich it's out now!
I mean. It's not. But they insist it is.
>>46590298
I use 20% of the 2e Followers background
1 dot Artifact = 1 soul
2 dot = 4 souls
3 dot = 20 souls
4 dot 200 souls
5 dot = 2000 souls
So what do the Infernal craft, if they don't have Craft charms?
Do they craft the same stuff as Solar (and others I guess?), but without charms?
>>46590350
They have Charms that help Craft, they just aren't explicitly Craft Charms because their Charm-trees were only clever up to a point.
She Who Lives has all the relevant stuff, iirc. I forget if they actually got a version of wonder-forging genius (the Charm that let Solars craft 4- and 5-dot Charms before achieving Essence 6+).
>>46590338
>pic related
>>46590367
Huh, cool.
So they can craft like everyone else, just with less Charm boosting.
>>46590350
Tool Transcending Construct & Experimental Acceleration Mastery cover pretty much anything relevant in 2e Crafting - remove need for tools and speed up crafting massively.
Summoned demons to take care of manpower.
Principle Invoking Onslaught and constructive Convergence of Principles take care of raw materials.
What more do you need?
>>46590426
Wonder-Forging Genius to actually have the dot minimums to make any artifact above 3 dots.
Do you usually crash an opponent before killing them?
>>46590450
Depends; some combat trees (Thrown, decisive-specced Brawl) don't particularly care about crashing you or not, while others (Archery) do care.
It's usually a good idea, of course, just in case they have any nasty defensive Charms with Perilous, but "he never decisives unless his enemy is crashed, meaning he usually waits for the enemy to throw their own decisive" is a little too predictable to be good.
>>46590522
What about Melee?
Is there a charm for you to steal the initiative from an enemy's attack aimed at you?
>>46590564
Loads in Dodge
>>46590551
Melee's highlights are defense and counterattacks, so it focuses more on punishing its enemy when it can, or applying pressure to everyone around it with AoEs. Though it does have some big attacks, and it'd really suck for those big attacks to get swallowed by a Perilous perfect.
>>46590070
>>46590120
How long do Exalted combats usually last? You've basically got a budget of 5 motes a round, with an overdraft of your personal or total essence pool depending on whether you're being subtle or not.
A full excellency probably costs you ten motes, if you're a minmaxing Dex5 tart like me, so you don't want to be using them every roll unless that's three or four rolls total.
>>46590581
>>46590564
This one stands out. It doesn't even have a cost.
Unbowed Willow Meditation
Cost: —; Mins: Dodge 5, Essence 3
Type: Permanent Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Balls of Ten Thousand Oxen, because you have to dodge a decisive from a serious opponent without using a charm, even your scene-longs.
Actual Prerequisite Charms: Thousand Steps’ Stillness
Harm passes through and over the Lawgiver. Untouched,
she only grows stronger. When the Exalt successfully dodges
a decisive attack without using a Charm, she steals all of
the attacker’s Initiative and crashes him. This Charm does
not work against gambits, battle groups or trivial opponents.
I expect that's the initiative they have after making the attack, but it's still good if so; you get 3 initiative and they get crashed so you get five more. Nonetheless, balls required.
>>46590740
>Balls of Ten Thousand Oxen
pic
>I expect that's the initiative they have after making the attack
I'd say you take all their initiative, not just the leftovers after they reset
>>46590740
>How long do Exalted combats usually last?
Really context-dependent. A combat with lots of alpha-strikers (Thrown+Stealth builds, ambush fighters like big cats, etc.) can be functionally over after the first flurry of attacks. A combat with two or more supertanks (Resistance builds, Octavian) can take 10 rounds easy.
>I expect that's the initiative they have after making the attack, but it's still good if so; you get 3 initiative and they get crashed so you get five more. Nonetheless, balls required.
Uh, no. You don't reset from a MISSED decisive attack. You get all the init they had, minus 2 for the miss, plus 5 for the crash.
>>46584771
>That is not what Exalted is and it actually can't be
How can one man be so wrong? Have you ever actually played the game? Because, and I rarely say this, you probably are literally playing it wrong.
>>46590812
>Really context-dependent
Good to hear.
>You don't reset from a MISSED decisive attack.
Damn, that's a very good point. That's pretty insane, then. Pull that off, and you've completely reversed the fight.
If you wanted to max out your mileage on that, you get all the charms that you can apply after you fail to dodge something, just in case. The game basically already has that built in as a combo, ready for use, in the form of Way of Whispers Technique.
Way of Whispers Technique
Cost: —; Mins: Dodge 5, Essence 2
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Rumor of Form
The Exalt’s burgeoning mastery of Dodge releases two of
her Charms from the burden of consideration. Upon learn-
ing this Charm, using Drifting Leaf Elusion and Rumor
of Form no longer count as the use of a Charm in conjunc-
tion with certain other Dodge Charms such as Unbowed
Willow Meditation.
You also get all the charms that apply after you already succeeded in dodging something, such as Safety Between Heartbeats. Steal even more initiative.
>>46590969
Is there any way to boost your dodge other than those 2 charms, like with an excellency or reed in the wind?
>>46590950
Joke's on you, I'm playing ti right now.
>>46591040
Sure, plenty. But they aren't compatible with Unbowed Willow.
>>46591040
It'd have to be a charm that defended you after you got hit, or it'd be pointless, and I can't find any of those other than the ones that WoWT is highlighting.
Alternatively, the only non-Charm options that I can think of are Full Defense and spending a point of Willpower to boost your Evasion by 1. If you did both, you'd have +3 Evasion, but if you did both, the other guy could just choose to attack someone else.
>>46591126
No, joke's on you. I'm playing you right now.
>>46584761
>Do you really think that Batman comics would be interesting if instead of detective work or beating up bad guys his challanges consisted of knitting and tea ceremony contests?
I think it would be hilarious, so yeah.
>>46591040
Full Defense. Stunts. Maybe penalizing opponent's attack instead of improving your Evasion - does that count for the purposes of UWM?
>>46585866
I'm the ST, back from the game and about to eat. I'm exhausted, and we didn't actually conclude (there's another fight to run, so we extended the season by one session).
I'll come back to write up the results when I've eaten and smoked a fat one.
>>46591392
>>46587371
>Like a martial artist with zero wasted movement being supremely practical and effective. If you watch it, it's like watching a fighting machine more than a person but it's hard to fluff in a way that really gets it across in a way that's easy to repeat and get decent stunts with.
I'd emphasize the simplicity, precision, and effect. See the fist fight scene from Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes.
>>46590070
When I need to drop a motherfucker fast. Case in point was when an assassin tried to kill an important plot-centric NPC, whom was a mortal non combatant. While he did stick her with a poison needle (that we barely managed to save her from the poison) my Dawn jumped up on the table, blasted him with a full archery excellency Firewand shot, crashed him, and them bayonet-gored him next turn.
