>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
What's the hardest fight you've faced?
A little boring, but our Circle came extraordinarily close to dying to the Immaculate circle from the core books. We didn't have a combat supernal, and had an absolutely abysmal night with the dice. I believe the low point was 5 sux from 21 dice on an attack roll, but there were plenty not that much better.
Our Sorcerer managed a couple of decent hits with Obsidian Butterflies, which inflicted enough wound penalties to give us a leg-up, but it was a close-run thing.
>>46648407
Ouch. Did anyone have to take a crippling injury?
>>46648476
No; we actually managed to end it without anyone getting beyond their -1s; but the whole circle was mote-tapped, and all bar one were crashed, and multiple DB auras each turn SUCKS when you're in crash. Twilights have a good thing going with that Hardness-in-crash anima power.
>>46648407
Bad shit happens dude. If played properly (by a good DM, though) the Immaculate circle from the core books can absolutely rekt the shit out of one or two starting Solars.
I'm waiting patiently for the upcoming DB gamebook to create a brotherhood of elder Immaculates. Just to ravage the anus of any players doing suspicious shit in the Realm proper.
>>46648589
>those secret loyalist Solars and Lunars strewn about
Are there any charms that increase your ability to pin your opponent down, other than a generic excellency?
There seem to be plenty to allow you to *succeed* on a disengage roll, but almost none to successfully contest one. The only ones that do seem to be Tiger Form and Righteous Devil Form, which are mutually incompatible.
>>46648535
I'm kind of envious, I've invested a bunch into Resistance but I've never even got a chance to use it. We've curbstomped all of our enemies.
>>46648342
>tfw no athletic Dawn waifu tocuddle and hold hands with
>>46648895
No, though there's probably narrative room for some to exist.
In the game I'm running, my players have proved that a fascist state can work as long as you have a ruling class of supermen at the top making sure everything is running properly.
In other words, that Hitler was right.
>>46649001
>tfw made athletic female dawn in new campaignShe's 9'3, intimidating as fuck and is also super friendly
>>46649653
>In the game I'm running, I'm letting the players do whatever they want with no consequences to prove a point
>>46649671
At some point you've got to start measuring in yards or meters dude, that's retarded.
>>46649693
But I refuse. Feet only.
>>46649677
Oh there have been consequences. They've just been dealing with them using their incredible solar skill set. And the people are technically better educated and happier than most of the surrounding lands... which, to be fair, is because they're an expansionist fascist state.
And to be further fair, they didn't even realize their characters had accidentally become fascists.
>>46649823
An expansionist empire that by design has made a lot of the surrounding lands pretty miserable.
>>46649823
You don't make people happier by murdering their loved ones and raping them. You don't do it by demanding their wealth and soldiers either.
>>46649823
>fascist
So they're an Italian political party from the early to mid 20th century anno domini?
Because seriously, I have to agree with Orwell on that word.
>It will be seen that, as used, the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else.
>Yet underneath all this mess there does lie a kind of buried meaning. To begin with, it is clear that there are very great differences, some of them easy to point out and not easy to explain away, between the régimes called Fascist and those called democratic. Secondly, if ‘Fascist’ means ‘in sympathy with Hitler’, some of the accusations I have listed above are obviously very much more justified than others. Thirdly, even the people who recklessly fling the word ‘Fascist’ in every direction attach at any rate an emotional significance to it. By ‘Fascism’ they mean, roughly speaking, something cruel, unscrupulous, arrogant, obscurantist, anti-liberal and anti-working-class. Except for the relatively small number of Fascist sympathizers, almost any English person would accept ‘bully’ as a synonym for ‘Fascist’. That is about as near to a definition as this much-abused word has come.
>>46649870
No, you do it by creating an educated class who is interested in creating a strong economic infrastructure micromanaged constantly by a Bureaucracy supernal with propaganda handled by a Linguistics supernal, and a hyper charismatic Zenith exhorting the honor and values of military service while the Twilight ensures a high level of overall nationwide scholarship and invents new and glorious lifestyle improvements with a Dawn caste that is unwittingly the military figurehead of mercy, justice, hope, and compassion, and a Night caste who heads up an initiative to root out corruption.
In other words, if the Solars ever leave, it's fucked. I already have plans for the new revolution.
>>46649946
They're an expansionist nationalist military state that has compulsory military service and worships (literally) a ruling class of benevolent exalted dictators who have a habit of promising to make things better and then follow through.
>>46650052
So you invaded, raped pillaged and then educated? And it's okay because they're brainwashing the populous with propaganda.
So what charms have you made for your games?
>>46649653
>In other words, that Hitler was right.
Only Hitler can't throw 21 dices to a problem without really even trying.
Everything works when you are a demigod that is objectively better than anyone.
A fascist, racist, xenophobic state can be incredibly peaceful and a great place to live, as long as you are 'in' the people protected by the state. You don't even need to be a superman to make it happens. In Creation, where 95% of the mortals are piss poor peasants twenty feet away from a rape ghost or a hungry fey, and where having two meals a day is considered being wealthy? When the rulers are literally appointed by God to do as they please with their awesome powers? Being a successful fascist state is piss easy!
Just look at Paragon. Fascist? Yes. Population enslaved to the whim of a ruler? Yes. One of the most peaceful, best place to live in the world? Hell yes.
It should be noted than even in real life, China is one of the less dangerous place to be after dark. Chinese parents often leave their kids playing after dark miles away from home, because they know they are not at risk. Try the same thing in the USA, watch your children getting raped.
>>46649823
Hey, that was just musa. I realized this a Long time ago, just didn't care because my character wouldn't.
And I mostly blame you know who for the whole facism thing. CONQUERING IS MY RIGHT
Question: could anyone possibly influence who gets what solar exaltation? Like, who decides who gets which exaltation, is it random?
>>46650818
Presumably the Unconquered Sun gets to decide somewhat amongst his own Exalted. Why?
>>46650818
>>46650984
Conky gets to Choose, but he can't NOT Choose if someone is worthy; if someone was ready to burn all of Heaven down and personally fuck Conky's neckstump, he goes "shit, that's pretty cool" and bam, golden fuckboy. It's automatic, but a non-random process.
>>46650052
Surely the corruption is the Night Caste, the Bureaucracy Supernal and - possibly - the Linguistic Supernal.
>>46651010
In earlier editions, it was the opposite - the Exaltation itself chose based on the UCS's rules, but he himself had veto rights, though he tended to stamp the forms without reading them if he was playing the Games.
>>46651101
If by "earlier editions" you mean 2E specifically, because it tried to solve a problem that didn't exist.
They were called Chosen from the beginning for a reason.
>>46650984
Nah, I mean specifically WHICH exaltations. Like each solar exaltation has had a bunch of hosts before it, how is it decided which of the solar exaltations a given dude gets when he exalts?
>>46651377
Well, caste is decided by your aptitude, but if you mean which of the Twilight Exaltations will go to your particular nerd, there's no explicit logic.
People who care more about past lives than me shoot for everything from "his most prominent past life is completely opposite to him" or "his most prominent past life is him but [x]," or whatever.
So at what point is a character comparable to a godmodder and where is that silver line in the sand anyway?
>>46651966
These aren't community things, anon, there doesn't have to be one particular "standard" that has to apply to everyone that walks in. Every group will have different standards for how much control players have over the world and other characters.
If you don't like how your group is being run, bring it up. "I think [player character] is overstepping their bounds, and I feel smothered." "Well anon,we don't really see a problem with their behavior, so I guess you'll have to leave." or "Oh that's good, we were keeping quiet because we thought everyone else was fine with it. [problem player], you're out."
If other people have a problem with how you play/run, listen to what they say, and act accordingly (whether that's "well, I want to run/play it this way, so I guess I'll have to leave, sorry" or "oh you bring up some good points, I'll see if I can't tweak my behavior").
Is there a point to not letting Mara's Soul Feeding be used on Exalts?
I mean, I'm the ST I can just rule it away, but I was wondering if there's a good reason for it.
Speaking of castes, what's the latest word on Sidereal castes, and SMAs?
If I were to use White Reaper's Revolving Crescent Defence to cancel onslaught penalties to my Crane Style parry, would it work if I was using a Hook Sword, or only if I was defending unarmed?
>>46652292
Mostly because Exalts are too narratively important to get no-save-just-die, let alone to something that costs nothing and isn't even supposed to be a weapon.
Same reason you can just roll Dex+Archery to assassinate a mortal governor, but a DB politician to have more to say about it.
>>46652314
Sidereal castes probably won't change, and nothing concrete about SMA.
>>46652325
Form weapons have to be compatible across all the styles you combo together, so you'd have to be unarmed.
Buuut since you can parry with your foot, that's not much of a problem.
>>46652353
Anon, I think you misunderstood. I am talking about her charm called Soul Feeding (10m, 2wp; Simple; One month; Essence 5), which lets her feed a mortal soul to someone to empower them. For example, she can consume a soul she's captured to give her lover stat boosts or something. I was wondering why she can't use that to for example give an exalt a new shaping ritual or something.
>>46652400
WHOOPS you're right, I thought you meant the shaping ritual.
And: I presume it's largely by mechanical logic, since Soul Feeding doesn't cost anybody any XP. It'd be way too tempting to conjure Mara up and just max out your dots.
If you need a narrative reason, something like "Mara's feeding makes you a part of her, a metaphysical extension of her darkness, and the Princes of the Earth are too spiritually powerful to be ensnared in the spirit of a 2CD."
>>46652498
But I _want_ people to be ensnared by the demons they summon if they're not careful. She even has super-powerful charms to use against them.
>>46652560
If you're the ST, just have Soul Feeding work on Exalts then, or have her ensnare them by other, more interesting means than "activates a Charm, gives huge dots in exchange for being more of a cock."
>>46652560
Might need to somehow encourage use of sorcerous workings or an alternative spell to summon demons then, because it's super easy to avoid being ensnared with the social influence stuff Summon First/Second/Third Circle Demon gives you. Even someone with utterly shit social pools could have them built up to a defining intimacy not to ensnare them in like 30 minutes, which they definitely have time to do if they have 6 hours to summon a demon.
Any information on Infernal Charms for 3e?
What does Appearance 13 look like?
>>46653142
>Even someone with utterly shit social pools could have them built up to a defining intimacy not to ensnare them in like 30 minutes, which they definitely have time to do if they have 6 hours to summon a demon.
I have no idea what you just tried to say, can you rephrase that?
>>46653190
Whatever makes you moistest and most willing to bend the knee to.
>>46653221
Demons have Resolve 0 against their summoners, is his point. It'd be very easy to convince a demon to just not do something.
>>46653172
They'll probably be Ability-based, certainly aren't going to be "literally the Yozi's Charms exactly," and will probably be based more on Demons in general.
>>46653292
>Demons have Resolve 0 against their summoners, is his point. It'd be very easy to convince a demon to just not do something.
Resolve 0 won't do shit if you're going against the very nature (and defining Intimacies) of a demon, and all the successes in the world won't do you any good if you don't have evidence for your influence.
You can no more tell Mara to not influence you as she teaches you things as you can't tell a Blood Ape to be nice to cats and become a pacifist.
hey anyone have suggestions for good movies or tv shows or stuff about the russian mafia/gangs/crime? I'm running a campaign set in fortitude and want inspiration :D
>>46653353
>Resolve 0 won't do shit if you're going against the very nature (and defining Intimacies) of a demon,
You mean like the Defining Intimacy to serve you, which is just as genuine in their mind as all the rest?
>and all the successes in the world won't do you any good if you don't have evidence for your influence.
Convincing someone to not do something is almost always an Inconvenient task at best, since NOT doing something is rarely something that incurs risk or penalty (barring things like "not checking the papers of a potential spy").
>You can no more tell Mara to not influence you as she teaches you things
This is true, insofar as Soul Feeding does so as its intrinsic effect. She can't "half-activate" her magic.
> as you can't tell a Blood Ape to be nice to cats and become a pacifist.
This one is false. You could do so. It wouldn't last long past your binding, but you could do so while it was under your thrall.
>>46653353
Only you're going with the defining intimacy they're given when you summon them, so sure you can.
>>46653376
John Wick, Eastern Promises, The Equalizer, and The Boondock Saints 1 (2 is crap).
All I got sorry.
>>46653412
>Only you're going with the defining intimacy they're given when you summon them, so sure you can.
It's an Intimacy of Loyalty. Mara herself takes pleasure from pain and suffering, so she won't see it as something bad, so Loyalty to her is not a valid argument for why she shouldn't give you the same Intimacy.
>>46653398
Fun fact: the harp demon from the 2e demons book is actually stated as being able to disobey its summoner if they order her to stop playing. It's not even worded like the demon is incapable of stopping, either, they're described as refusing.
>>46653482
It's an unacceptable order, ike making a person suicide
>>46653426
>John Wick
>Boondock Saints
>Nights with Firearms Supernal
>>46648342
Mmmmm, Kiyo art.
>>46651083
Actually busting into cities to go straight medieval on corrupt officials is the Night Caste's job. She's kind of like Batman if Batman was a chronic stoner.
>>46654355
Alas, a lot of it isn't online.
>>46654397
Sounds more like Leatherwing of Earth-10.
>>46654017
Oddly enough, Thrown charms work exactly how you'd expect firearms charms to work.
>>46654017
>>46655478
In this vein, I put pistols under the domain of Thrown (small, stealthy weapons that you alternatively fire en masse) and larger guns under the domain of Archery (snipers, shotguns,etc.)
Even the accuracy rules line up, with pistols wanting to be close and longarms wanting to be further away.
>>46648342
Is there a fighting style that complements Dodge's disengage then re-engage approach? I'm specifically thinking of Shadow Dancer Method here.
>>46656184
Tiger and Athletics, I think? Both like charging from close range, iirc.
>>46650181
It's obviously okay. You can't build a great empire without a few broken eggs.
Remember, the First Age's utopia was built entirely on Solar rule and it was an amazing place to live.
>>46656426
"It was great until it went bad" describes literally every political system.
>>46656531
Not all of them. Some were always shit.Like democracy
>>46656184
Dreaming Pearl Courtesan really loves to disengage. Demure Carp Feint is a discounted dice-adder that steals initiative from your enemies for doing so.
Don't bother unless your beautiful, though.
There's no game finder thread at the moment, so I'll just do it here.
I'm trying to GM an Exalted 3E game, I already have 3 players, but 2 got out of the group before even starting (we were 5 in total). It will be my first time GMing anything. The game will be with voice and is scheduled to be Sundays around 16:30 EST (can change it though).
Here's the discord for the game
https://discord.gg/0vSDQboNnzxU5Z2Q
>>46657708
How cute are you and your players? I only play with cute people.
Shameless self promotion of my autism.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pfjmZKzcUqAX9mB58IAEUIFkZr8rq4CvdRRM4kzwwgU/edit#gid=1572445345
Has anyone used it to create a character? The character generation was pretty complicated to set up and I very likely could have left some weird circumstance that breaks the formulas. I can only think of so many things myself and I rarely go through and make a full character with it.
If anyone has some input on it that would be swell.
>>46658361
I'll try it out tomorrow and report back.
>>46658361
I think the dot cells look dumb, numbers are a lot easier to read, and easier to calculate.
Does Flash-Eyed Killer's Insight make Shadow Victor's Repose reflexive, or is it still a simple action but reset to be used again in the battle?
If the latter, is there any way to speed this up?
Or any other sneak attack combos?
Okay, I'm putting the finishing touches on my Exalt, and I need to know - does Resistance actually do anything for you in combat if you don't have Resistance Charms? I mean, you can resist poisons, but those aren't super common.
>>46659713
Fire too.
>>46659523
The latter. FEK just resets SVR's use limitation.
>If the latter, is there any way to speed this up?
Not that I'm aware of.
>>46659713
> you can resist poisons, but those aren't super common.
It's less about how common they are and more about how punishing they are.
You might only ever roll Resistance on in every 5 battles (whether to deal with an environmental hazard, poison, disease, etc.), but the consequences for having it at 0 devastating.
>>46659838
Okay, how does this order sound?
Start the fight with Blinding Battle Feint and Perfect Shadow Stillness to boost my JB.
Then go straight for an ambush Decisive doing about 6HL damage.
I then take a turn to use Shadow Victor's Repose to roll JB again with the same boosts, combined with Mind Shroud Meditation to make it an ambush again.
I make another decisive attack for 6HL again, and if I want to continue this roll, I've gotta add FEKI to reset SVR.
That's the base version, I can spend an excellency on each JB roll, and maybe start the fight with reflexive Ebon Form, all giving me higher initiative pools and about 8HL damage each time.
Thoughts?
>>46660540
It's definitely a way of going about it, but it's expensive; you're gonna be going through willpower like the dickens, and god help you if someone survives one of the ambush attacks (or no-sells it).
>>46660926
Is there a more efficient way to do sneak attacks without using Thrown?
>>46661059
Sure, just settle for regular sneak attacks (Defense -2) instead of ambushes.
Ambushes are kind of expensive on purpose, man.
>>46661084
Oh, this was just for the purposes of powerful enemies with high soak or defence.
I do need to plan out my regular surprise attack plan, can I enter stealth as a reflexive action or maintain it after a withering attack?
Keeping up surprise seems like it'd take a lot of rounds for little reward.
How good is Steel Devil style in practice? Like not comparing to melee but just on its own how solid is it?
>>46661172
>can I enter stealth as a reflexive action or maintain it after a withering attack?
I don't think there's a withering-equivalent to Hidden Snake Recoil, no, so it eats up an action.
>Keeping up surprise seems like it'd take a lot of rounds for little reward.
You're not supposed to maintain it on the regular, you know. "everyone else sits around with their thumb up their ass while the stealth Solar attacks them without them being able to swing back" is not a sustainable gamestate.
>>46661303
I thought an Ebon Style Stealth Supernal would be able to pull off the riddick/batman/predator feel of picking of enemies one by one while they can't see you.
I'd rather that concept just worked rather than needing it to be powerful.
>>46661383
>I thought an Ebon Style Stealth Supernal would be able to pull off the riddick/batman/predator feel of picking of enemies one by one while they can't see you.
1) If they're COMPLETE scrubs, you just roll Stealth and say you took them out all badass like.
2) You do know that those fights weren't made up of ambush attacks, right? They were sneak attacks, because the goons KNEW they were being picked off (after the first one, who does in fact go down to an ambush attack).
3) As already mentioned, it does work, it's just expensive and risky, BECAUSE it's powerful. Like every other powerful combo in the Solar Charmset, there's an element of risk and an element of expense to it.
4e when?
Hardness is for not getting hit, and Soak is for not mitigating damage for when you get hit, wasn't it?
I always mix the two
>>46662887
Defense is for not getting hit.
Hardness sets a minimum threshold of damage before a decisive attack even gets to roll against you. Throwing a decisive attack at 9 init against something with 10 hardness == ya blew it, you don't get to roll at all. With 11 init == you roll all 11 dice.
Soak reduces how many dice withering attacks roll, down to a minimum (the weapon's overwhelming value, which is usually 1).
>>46661297
Against things that can have their defense remain high, not very.
If you can get the Dawn's Fangs or really Falling Hammer Strike as an evocation? 10x more lethal
>>46661172
> can I enter stealth as a reflexive action or maintain it after a withering attack?
There's a Dodge Charm that let's you enter Stealth after a successful Dodge attempt.
>>46648895
Lightning Speed and the rest of the speed tree also apply to contesting a disengage, iirc.
>>46648895
There's a whole branch of Athletics devoted to giving you more movement.
>>46663078
Those just apply to Rushes or Tests of Speed which contesting a Disengage is neither of.
>>46663109
Contesting a disengage is Athletics, which Lightning Speed would apply towards.
>>46663109
There's no definition for a Test of Speed in the book.
>>46663162
>Like a flashing bolt, the Exalt streaks toward her goal, trailing streamers of anima. This Charm can be used to enhance a rush action (see p. 197). The Exalt moves with terrific speed—add one automatic success and reroll all 5s and 6s until 5s and 6s fail to appear. Lightning Speed can also be used each interval of a foot race or other test of speed (see p. 197).
>This Charm can be used to enhance a rush action
>Lightning Speed can also be used each interval of a foot race or other test of speed
>rush
>foot race
>test of speed
None of which are contesting Disengaging.
>>46663239
Test of speed is not defined, though.
>>46663276
It can be inferred from the text and later was confirmed by the developers that it's just an extended contested action with Intervals.
Set total Successes needed and the timing for the Interval. First one to succeed gets to the goal first while the amount generated during the race is roughly how well each is doing.
30 Successes to get there, the Intervals are each 1 hour long. Go.
It does bear clarifying in the text though.
Regardless, it has nothing to do with contesting Disengages.
>>46663328
Also, it bears mentioning that there are no specific Charms for contesting Rushes either. So, they're stuck in the same boat when you Rush them.
>>46663239
Natural Language bullshit.
Nothing breaks if you let it contest disengage, I mean you are making sure the bastard can't get away.
>>46663384
>Natural Language bullshit
Friend, there is plenty natural language bullshit to get mad at in Exalted but this isn't it. It explicitly details what it supplements. A Rush Action or a Test of Speed. Contesting a Disengage is neither or those things. You are not taking a Rush Action, nor are you racing them in a Test of Speed you are trying to bodily block them or make it unsafe for them to move outside your range.
As for nothing breaking? It'll make it make close combatants have more power since contesting a Rush is still an Athletics roll. Athletics focused people already have an edge since contesting the Disengage and Rushing are both Athletics based rolls so you don't need to have as many dots in things compared to the person who wants to Disengage needing Dodge and Athletics to Disengage and not get Rushed.
Currently, two people focused on Rushing and Disengaging will typically succeed at the action they are focused on. Which means if things go as probability trends towards, both end up losing an action with the status quo being the same. It takes a lucky break on either side for the status quo to shift. If Rush charms can supplement contesting Disengages then Disengages will then more often times fail than succeed meaning Disengage focused builds will then lose an action as opposed to both sides if probability goes as expected.
If you ambush an enemy, and they're completely unaware of you, what defences can they employ against your attack? Dodge charms, Resistance charms, Reflexive charms?
>>46663627
Anything reflexive (or supplemental, if relevant), so long as it doesn't specifically say it doesn't work against ambushes, and would actually help.
The Dodge Excellency, for example, won't help by default, because your Evasion is ignored and considered to be 0, no matter how many motes you pump into it.
Spirit Strengthens the Skin, however, would be usable, since it's just increasing soak (not affected by ambushes) and doesn't specifically say it doesn't work against surprise attacks.
>>46663627
None. That's what makes Ambush attacks so strong. Their defences are set to 0 and they can't even use Reflexive Charms because technically the combat didn't even start yet.
Supposedly they can still use Resistance Charms or maybe Heavenly Guardian Defence, since they interact with damage not attacks, but by RAW they shouldn't be able to.
At least unless they have one of several Ambush-negators. I only remember there's one in Awareness and one in Dodge.
But do remember that an Ambush attack is very hard to acomplish. Your oponent needs to be COMPLETELY unaware that they're being attacked. They must suspect nothing. A caravan strolling through a woods? Still only a sneak attack- they are obviously on guard and expecting bandits. A king at the meeting with his guards doing Defend Another on him at all times? A sneak attack, everyone knows that that is the place an assassin would chose.
The only way to execute an ambush is to pretty much attack somebody when they're sleeping or in a setting they have abolsutely no reason to suspect an attack.
>>46663627
>>46663627
None, ut tey still roll join batle so you can't decisive tem on your first hit without a load of boosting charms
>>46663679
It's important to note however that very often your soak will be irrelevant as well, because it's a pretty poor assassin who wastes their ambush on a Withering attack.
>>46663729
>can't even use Reflexive Charms because technically the combat didn't even start yet.
Uh, no.
Reflexive Charms absolutely do not care whether a combat has "started" or not.
You can activate Peony Blossom whenever you feel like, it would just be wasteful to do so.
>>46663729
How much does Heavenly Guardian Defence cost to stop a completely unexpected ambush attack?
Does Seven Shadow Evasion stop it too?
>>46663837
>How much does Heavenly Guardian Defence cost to stop a completely unexpected ambush attack?
As many successes as you rolled on your damage, in init.
>Does Seven Shadow Evasion stop it too?
Yes.
>>46663729
Your definition of ambush seems wildly limited and small, if there's been no recent threat made on the king, no stranger or armed person moving within range, or if the assassin was completely unseen, all of those should be unexpected ambushes.
>>46663729
>>46663871
Y'all niggas realize there's an actual procedure to determine whether it's an ambush or not, right.
It's right there in the book.
>>46663857
Thanks, HGD's 4m cost isn't used for this? It mentions unexpected attacks.
>>46663903
The 4m cost is used, I was just assuming you were smart enough to realize that would also be included, since both modes of the Charm cost 4m + [something else].
>>46663817
Well, wrong example, because Peony Blossom Attack has Anima cost, but that's irrelevant. I meant that you can't use any reflexive Charms that interact with your Initiative, because you don't have an Intiative pool yet, the combat didn't started for you, that's what an Ambush represents- it's a free attack an oponent gets on you. And do note that a lot of big defensive Charms are Perilous. since you don't HAVE Intitaive, I'd wager they can't work. And Heavenly Guardian Defence wouldn't work anyway, because it costs Initiative to burn the damage.
>>46663837
>How much does Heavenly Guardian Defence cost to stop a completely unexpected ambush attack?
I wouldn't allow you to use it against an ambush attack at all, but I'm not your ST. If it works at all, it's probably 4m, 1wp, just like trying to slice a hurricane in half. System-sie it's the same "level" of impossible.
>Does Seven Shadow Evasion stop it too?
It shouldn't, at least I would not allow it to. But if your ST does, great for you.
>>46663871
I mean if I were a king I'd be expetcing an attack every time I go to a party and my guards aren't hugging me. But maybe your target king is a bit less paranoid. It is definitely very contextual, but I would make it as hard as possible for a player to execute an Ambush.
>>46663937
>I meant that you can't use any reflexive Charms that interact with your Initiative, because you don't have an Intiative pool yet,
Yes you do. YOU LITERALLY HAVE TO ROLL INIT TO TELL IF IT WAS AN AMBUSH OR NOT.
There is NO WAY to ambush someone who doesn't have an init pool, because "I rolled more init than him" IS ONE OF THE CONDITIONS OF AMBUSHING SOMEONE.
>>46663937
>It shouldn't, at least I would not allow it to. But if your ST does, great for you.
Any particular reason?
The Solar’s perfect form is quicker than an eyeblink and
more tractile than water. Once per scene, the Solar may
invoke this Charm to dodge any attack from any source
without a contest. The Solar’s anticipation of harm is so
perfect that she can even evade recurring uncountable
damage with a single use.
>>46663932
Sorry, I'm not as familiar with Melee and its pricing seemed to have a lot of variables.
>>46663937
Unexpected attacks are explicitly stated in the description for HGD, not so for SSE though.
>>46663966
Because you don't know that it's happening. I usually simply take a stance that if a Charm doesn't specify that it can be used against an Ambush or a trap (like Reflex Sidestep does) I assume it can't. Otherwise there'd be little point in specifying that.
Do note however, befor you start bashing me, that that actually helps players, because it makes their attacks that much more potent. I don't tolerate PVP so the fact that that could make a conflict between two PCs lopsided isn't a concern of mine. Also it makes a patient assassin have to plan their moves very carefully.
Maybe I AM bending the rules slightly, but a) that's arguable and b) I'm doing it for the enjoyment of my players so...
>>46664014
>I usually simply take a stance that if a Charm doesn't specify that it can be used against an Ambush or a trap (like Reflex Sidestep does) I assume it can't. Otherwise there'd be little point in specifying that.
And so when a Charm does explicitly say it works against unexpected attacks you go against this rule anyway? Great logic.
>Do note however, befor you start bashing me, that that actually helps players, because it makes their attacks that much more potent.
Because NPCs never make ambush attacks, ever.
>>46664014
>Maybe I AM bending the rules slightly
>any attack
>from any source
>without a contest
You are definitely bending the rules, which is fine as we all know because it works for you. But you shouldn't claim charms don't do something because you've houseruled them that way
How would you kill someone quietly?
Just roll stealth when you kill them to keep the noise down?
>>46664032
>And so when a Charm does explicitly say it works against unexpected attacks you go against this rule anyway? Great logic.
Yeah ok, you have a point. That means HGD works. Good for the whenver one of the players decides to gank an enemy Solar with Melee I guess? Not sure it would come up often in my games but... Sure.
>Because NPCs never make ambush attacks, ever.
I avoid that like fire the same reason I avoid throwing Grapplers at PCs with low Strength and no Brawl. It would feel fundamentally unfair to them.
Now it might be realistic that the opposition, if given enough time and information, will prepare the attack so that ti exploits the weak points of the party, but I just honestly don't care about realism. I want these people to have fun, that means throwing things on their terms most of the time. Sue me for trying to have my boys have fun.
>>46664084
>I'm a good ST, I don't challenge my players and change the rules so that they can never conflict with one another
>>46664080
If it's someone you can kill without a fight, yeah.
>>46664044
I mean I never pretended like I'm not expressing my personal opinion here, I DID say that, quote "I wouldn't allow it, but if your ST does, great".
>>46664084
>I avoid that like fire the same reason I avoid throwing Grapplers at PCs with low Strength and no Brawl. It would feel fundamentally unfair to them.
Okay, except for the part where you've made ambush attacks STRONGER and then... lament that they're unfair?
If you made ambush attacks work properly, they'd be something you could actually use against your players as a threatening-but-not-totally-unfair obstacle, like environmental hazards or poison.
Or, yes, even grapplers, who are super dangerous... unless your party does the smart thing and immediately kicks the shit out of one before he can finish unscrewing the nerd's face.
>>46664097
I do try to challange them, I'm just trying to challange them where they want to be challanged and not where they don't. Unless they do. The guy playing the party Dawn came to me a few sessions ago and said that he'd like to play a sbigger role in a social setting next time, because he feels it could be funny (he has hideous merit and is hilariously socially awkward, he's basically the Beast form Beauty and the Beast) and they're going to a Cynis Party.
But yeah, no, bandits will not suddenly start rolling Initiative the moment the Eclipse opens her mouth just because that would work well against her.
>>46664142
>Okay, except for the part where you've made ambush attacks STRONGER and then... lament that they're unfair?
Maybe you're mistaking me for another anon? I didn't lament how they're unfair. I make them stronger albeit harder to execute for the convenience the Night PC in my game.
>>46664197
You literally fucking said
>It would feel fundamentally unfair to them
in the post I was responding too.
>>46664256
If I threw Ambushes at them they work for them, yeah it would. I mean I COULD treat it more leniently when applied against the PCs and less so against NPCs? I could try that. We'll see if I can design a ninja encounter with lots of ambushes that would be fun for them.
>>46661758
3e has to release first, so no earlier than 2050.
I'm starting a new character after my last one died, have like twenty six combat Charms, and my last one wasn't very combat oriented. Any tips or tricks on how to remember all this shit so I don't piss off the other players/GM by taking five minutes every turn?
>>46664424
Try practicing your moveset in mock battles so you get a feel for when you want to use different charms. Also keep neat little summaries of their effects.
What combat abilities did you take?
>>46664601
>What combat abilities did you take?
Dodge/Stealth/Single Point.
>>46664624
>stealth
>>46664694
Stalking Wolf Attitude my man.
I have come to the conclusion that flubbing a bow shot would be like this.
>"Okay, wait for it, wait for it...*lets fly and flubs*... oh fuck arse!"
>>46664014
>Because you don't know that it's happening. I usually simply take a stance that if a Charm doesn't specify that it can be used against an Ambush or a trap (like Reflex Sidestep does) I assume it can't. Otherwise there'd be little point in specifying that.
RST is explicitly specified because it allows you to apply Evasion against an ambush, something that is normally impossible.
On the subject of Ambushes, Mind Shroud Meditation says you vanish from people's memory so you can Ambush them again, but if the rest of your circle is still in the fight, would it be just an Surprise Attack, since the enemies know they're in battle, or just go ahead and give them the Ambush, since that's what the charm says?
>>46665144
It would be rather pointless if it didn't let you Ambush again even if the rest of your team is already in the fight.
>>46665144
Just a normal surprise attack
>>46665144
When in doubt, default to what the charm says. So yes, it would be an ambush.
>>46665264
I disagree. The effect wouldn't be any different from just re-establishing surprise, then.
>>46665144
>>46665261
>>46665264
Okay, after rereading the specific wording a little more closely, I think the intent is to let it be an ambush regardless, since it says:
>allowing her next unexpected attack to ACT as an ambush provided it occurs within that period.
Emphasis mine. It acknowledges that it ISN'T an Ambush, but treat it like one anyway.
>>46665350
Mmm, you're right
>>46664328
If 3e doesn't actually get released formally and Exalted gets a second reboot attempt down the line, would that be 3e or 4e?
>>46657708
>do the math
>5am my time
Why must the world be round...
So does nobody homebrew? I've not seen a new charm on here for months.
>>46667707
That's because homebrew generally either gets met by hostility or apathy.
>>46658361
Looks pretty good. Was going to say something about it not accounting for Pain Tolerance, but it's super easy to edit in.
>>46667753
That's a shame, I'd personally like to see the stuff other people have made for their games. Does it get posted anywhere?
>>46667707
I'd like people's thoughts on this:
Riding Night's Coattails
Cost: -; Mins: Stealth 4, Essence 2
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Mute
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Guardian Fog Approach
This charm upgrades the prerequisite to add all of the Solar’s successes and any stunt bonuses on the action as dice to her charges' own Stealth roll, instead of half.
At Essence 3+, she may apply Guardian Fog Approach to (Essence) allies indefinitely. At Essence 5+ this increases to (Essence*2) allies.
Why is Thaumaturgy inborn? Why is the ability to read tea leaves a mutant power, rather than a skill? It doesn't make any sense and is fucking stupid to boot. Fuck you Holden.
>>46667975
It's a pretty game changing ability, I'd probably put it at Stealth 5 Essence 3 (and Essence 4 for the first upgrade). The only issue is what does that even look like? Guardian Fog Approach is pretty clear in how it operates, but I don't know how you're guiding up to 10 people at once with it, it looks pretty silly in my head.
>>46667991
No magic humans allowed. You're either an exalt, a demi-human or a mutie. same reason mortals have to buy a 4 dot merit to learn ma styles then can't use any of the powers.
The devs didn't want people playing the game wrong like they did with the previous edition
>>46667991
Same reason the 'second sight' is often an inherited ability in myths. The story of a grandchild for instance learning a special ability that skipped a generation, or a lineage of fortune tellers who can really read fortunes, is cool. It's not a skill in the way you're thinking of, in the same way that Solar charms are. They're skills enhanced by magic.
>>46666290
Wait, is 3e really still not out? The last time I dropped by the general was when we were busting the plagiarists and it seemed like there was an almost-finished product (art aside) back then. That was a long fucking time ago! what's the hold up?
>>46667991
>>46668053
I don't quite see the reason why Thaumaturgy is a thing at all. Why can't there just be things you can do with Occult and supernatural Merits representing inherited powers, blessings of powerful entities and such? Is there any real reason to group various unrelated powers under the label 'Thaumaturgy'?
>>46668019
Sure I that seems like fairer dots minimums.
Maybe it feels less silly in less crowded conditions, over the course of a scene, plus that's essence 5 which can pull off crazy stuff like that.
I just wanted a charm that stopped my circle from being left out of the Night's infiltrations, they're not a liability, and they're not bored while one player handles that scene solo.
>>46668128
Yeah, I understand the intent and I think the charm is fine. Maybe it just needs some magical sounding flavour text about how sound and colour itself is dulled in the Night's wake, and those following her seem almost phantoms.
>>46668108
I would be fine with it if, say, anybody could just roll Occult + Per to perform an augury based off of tea leaves (or sheep intestines, or the stars, or whatever). But instead there's this obnoxious nonsensical tacked on Thaumaturgy system you have to move through in order to do it.
>>46668171
>>46668108
It's pretty easily houseruled, if you don't like the setting as-is.
>>46668202
I can also houserule out all the fucking Charms. Doesn't mean Charm bloat isn't a problem.
>>46668152
Oh sure, i was gonna add flavour after it seemed balanced. Plus I'd make sure the flavour was distinct from the mechanics, unlike in the core.
>>46668212
Charm bloat isn't a problem. Still, adding the Thaumaturgy rituals as something you can do with the Occult skill is trivially easy, I don't know why you're so annoyed with it.
>>46668235
I had to spend like five hours making a character yesterday and it made me hate Exalted 3e all over again, don't tell me Charm bloat isn't a problem.
>>46668235
>Charm bloat isn't a problem.
Not that anon, but...
It is.
>>46668252
But it isn't. Building characters quickly isn't a virtue all systems should aspire to.
>>46668252
Charm bloat isn't a problem! I've had fun with Ex3 character creation, and I've had people new to Exalted make characters for Ex3 with no problems or complaints. I feel confident in saying that, while you may dislike the number of Charms, it's not a problem in any objective way.
>>46668303
If it were just a kid in a candy store with so many useful and interesting options to pick from, chargen would be less taxing.
But it isn't, charms are filled with filler, speed bumps, confused wording, and dull or ineffectual dice tricks, dragging the process down and overwhelming new players.
>>46668326
>I've had people new to Exalted make characters for Ex3 with no problems or complaints.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the characters they were making were E1.
>>46668152
I really appreciate your help, I have no clue how to balance a charm and a few custom ones I'd like to tidy up my character concepts without slowing down play.
Anyone have comments for this?:
Gotta Go Fast
Cost: 5m 1wp; Mins: Athletics 5, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Mute
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Spider Foot Style, Racing Hare Method
The Solar's legs are always ready, prepared for their extraordinary exertions at a moment's notice and trained to keep going all day.
This charm allows the Solar to activate Graceful Crane Stance, Feather Foot Style, Spider Foot Style, and Racing Hare Method together and indefinitely, at the highest charm's cost of 5m 1wp.
>>46668252
>not enjoying the character creation process and sometimes making chars just for fun.
Go back to your freeform shit, anon
>>46668383
>Essence 2
>Inherits the purely beneficial mute keyword even though only half of them have it
>Upgrades not one, not two, but four charms, all of varying lengths (scenelong, one hour, until running ceases, Ess+1 turns) into indefinites while simultaneously granting a pretty massive cost reduction of lowering a 14m, 1wp activation to 5m, 1wp
>Being indefinite and 5m practically invalidates the wp cost
My suggestion is you kill yourself.
>>46668383
Cut the Mute Keyword and up the cost to 10m. It's a pretty powerful effect even with that.
>>46668108
It's just for minor powers, man.
>>46668548
Spider Style should have an out of combat length anyway, and feather foot is basically scene long.
Racing Hare already works similarly to an indefinite cost, but I wanted the other mobility charms combined with it so the speed isn't hampered by terrain type.
I can bump it up to ess3 even if that'll make it a lot further away for my character, ess 3 is a lot more fair.
I can make it simple instead of reflexive, take out Mute, and add an extra 1wp to the cost.
How would that sound?
>>46668613
Or I can try this, but the longterm discount is what I was buying the charm for.
>>46668648
That isn't really relevant to what I said, though.
>>46668668
>Or I can try this, but the longterm discount is what I was buying the charm for.
Being able to have all those Charms active indefinitely is still extremely useful and quite a bit cheaper than activating them separately every time you need them. It's easily worth 10 committed motes.
What are some fun terrestrial circle sorcerous workings for a doctor character that practices Righteous Devil Style?
Tg, let's talk about mythology and stealing ideas from it. I know stealing stuff from anime is fairly popular, but how about the classics? Anything memorable you used in your games, and did your players notice?
I'm planning to include a ring similar to the one Aladdin gets in the original story, as a kind of super-efficient Yasal Crystal
>>46668713
Yeah, that's a fair point. I wouldn't be using all those effects all the time though, and without this charm I would already pretty much be able to reflexively activate each at the same time and keep it up for hours or a scene, just for 4m more.
How about combining those suggestions for an essence 2 version, simple, not mute, 10m 1wp. And then and essence 3 upgrade option of 5m 2wp?
What does Occult (the skill, not the Charmset) do if you don't have Thaumaturgy or Sorcery? Anything besides let you go "My word. That's a demon!"
>>46669128
It means you know roughly how spirits work, how to tell them apart, how to appease them, etc.
>>46669151
I already know how to get spirits to do what I want, that's what GET is for.
>>46669224
GET is your exaltation taking your knowledge of spirits from your Occult dots and giving it supernatural form.
You know GET because you're a spirit nerd, without already knowing how they work you'd be unable to use GET.
>>46669279
More seriously, aren't spirits just people and therefore I would use normal social skills to appease them?
>>46669517
Occult =/= presence
Occult is to spirits what Socialize is to humans. It's how you interact with them, lets you recognise social pitfalls and avoid them,how local culture affects how they'll respond to you. Throw in some Lore to cover knowledge of what they like as offerings, the nature of their essence, etc.
>>46669555
So... do I roll Int + Occult for Read Intentions with spirits? Am I supposed to roll it before entering negotiations with them to make sure I'm starting off on the right foot? Does it provide a situational bonus to Resolve against spirits?
>>46669575
I don't know, ask your fucking ST
>>46669582
So there's no actual rules for how it helps. Thanks.
>>46669575
If I was your ST, I'd let you roll Int+Occult beforehand to try and remember something about the spirit/its nature. What exactly that does will depend, but you'd probably for example know about any Intimacies/Principles that kind of spirit shares.
>>46668358
Not that guy, but E1 IS so much easier, isn't it?
I feel like the game could do with a guide which just shows you the Essence 1 charms, presented plainly, and then lets you get more detailed once you're ready to go diving into the depths of your Supernal choice. But I wouldn't put that in the core book because holy fucking god is it really 650 pages long? The core book doesn't need more content, which sadly means that optional reprints of rules mentioned elsewhere with added commentary gets axed.
Just think of how much money they could have saved on printing if they hadn't (I assume) had a Kickstarter backer reward to get your name in the book.
>>46663048
Considering I am trying to make a threat of an NPC with a duel sword fighting style I went with it. I could come up with a completely new Melee charm style around it but it seemed good on paper. So all I need is something to drill down their defense first?
I have two short swords to work with evocations though as you said so I can easily design them to work to be advantageous to the style.
Thanks for the advice. Anything else I can do to make it more effective?
>>46670711
Dual-wield hook swords and use Snake to inflict penalties with gambits.
>>46670711
Are you saying you're running a game with a dual-wielding NPC? Because you really don't need to create them using the PC rules or create a significant number of charms for them; trust someone who spent a year running Shadowrun, if you just assign dicepools arbitrarily (but consistently) your players will not notice the difference and you will have more time for sleep.
>>46669128
Knowing various rituals, geomancy, magicks, weakneses and ways of spirits. I think it's mostly theoretical, like supernatural version of Lore.
>>46670791
She is hopefully going to be a major NPC. For major NPCs that are around all the time I like to have solid numbers and a semblance of balance. Second she is a Dragonblooded. Well sort of. I can't go really overboard with her base charms. At least not right away since she is far more then a Dragonblooded. She has a few powerful charms that she may activate at shit got real moments but for the most part those are extraordinary and I want her rank and file charms to be the ones usually used.
And this is not my first Exalted game. For 3e it is but I have been storytelling Exalted for the better part of a decade. I tend to always stat NPCs with PC rules. I just can't right now as most enemies have no player stats yet so I am forced to fudge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts_WDlgNMoo
Would this be an example of a Solar Exaltation? O am I talking out me arse?
>>46671327
>I tend to always stat NPCs with PC rules.
Well, if it works for you and you don't mind the effortthen disregard my advice entirely.
So how are you finding GMing 3e so far, at least as far as the planning goes? I'm trying to get people at work interested and I'm hoping I'll be able to sell someone on running it. I REALLY don't fancy running another game I like rather than playing it, although I volunteered for another Shadowrun campaign after my last attempt to drum up Exalted interest failed.
>>46671515
It is hard to say as I have no experience with how the system actually works. I have theory but that can mean shit in actual practice. Like I thought Steel Devil looks good but as the other anon pointed out it does have some glaring weaknesses I did not really spot on my readover. I'll adapt quickly enough but the first few sessions are probably going to suck as I get used to it.
>>46670747
How's the synergy on Snake and Steel Devil? You'd have to use Steel Devil Form but A) the double form is amazing and B) Snake doesn't need the form up.
>>46671622
There's a couple of cool tricks in there, Snake helps soften them up and deal with heavy armour and Steel Devil hits them when they're down but Snake's main issue synergising with any martial art is that it wants to Dodge rather than Parry.
>>46668328
>>46664424
>complains about "charm bloat" making chargen take 5 hours when he is rerolling a player character
But more seriously, there are much fewer filler charms than you think there are. This perception is due to not understanding why they are valuable or how to use them.
Also, if you just don't care, how hard is it to find a couple charms you do like and just buy them and their pre-reqs? Christ.
>>46671854
Meaning get Dodge favoured and ignore the four Steel Devil parry charms? I'm OK with that to be honest; they don't even act as pre-requisite for non-Parry charms.
This would make a pretty nice combo with Supernal Dodge and the "I steal your initiative" combo, since that style needs all the charms that let you increase your evasion after the attack is rolled in case you try and fail to dodge without charms, and Snake Style has two.
>>46672699
Going Dodge is a good idea, Snake has one of the best Dodge charms in the game.
>>46672699>>46672720
>Meaning get Dodge favoured and ignore the four Steel Devil parry charms? I'm OK with that to be honest; they don't even act as pre-requisite for non-Parry charms.
Steel Devil gives you a Scene-long +2 Parry, that's really top tier as far as persistent Defence Boosts go
What Martial Art styles work great with one another? And what would they look like? Easiest one that comes to mind is Crane and Dreaming Pearl Courtesan because both have War Fans as Form weapons and focus on social combat during a fight. I like to think this combination is essentially Kimi Aoi's dance from Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere. Be lewd as fuck, dance going full defense, and then social attack the shit out of your enemy into submission.
Looks like Snake and Steel Devil make a good combination but I am not sure how that would look.
>>46672785
While true, you're probably not going to use it until you've mastered the style. Of course at that point, you might regret some Dodge charms but more options is always good.
>>46672641
>But more seriously, there are much fewer filler charms than you think there are. This perception is due to not understanding why they are valuable or how to use them.
There not being "filler charms" does not change anything about Charm bloat. 500 Charms, all of which are useful and viable, is still 500 Charms to go through and read and copy out.
>Also, if you just don't care, how hard is it to find a couple charms you do like and just buy them and their pre-reqs? Christ.
I have to... a) read the Charms to find ones I like; b) figure out if the ones I like are actually useful enough (i.e. aren't highly situational, aren't irrelevant to the campaign, aren't a chore to use, etc); c) reread them, making sure I comprehend them through the thick veil of "natural language," and then d) copy them in a clear, concise form on my character sheet for future consultation when I need to use them.
The latter two steps can easily take a few minutes for each and every Charm (especially considering some Charms can require several readings before you can distill down their mechanical effect), which adds up when you're picking out twenty or thirty Charms, to several fucking hours just reading, studying, and rewriting Charms.
(My irritation with this process, by the way, in no way implies that I don't care about my Charms. It implies I do not like spending hours of my life creating a character.)
>>46672788
Your form is going to make the biggest difference in terms of appearance. With Steel Devil form this means both hookswords are held in a back-grip against the arms stood in a wide stance. Using Snake charms would mean that you slip into more sinuous, unexpected movement in the middle of your blade-dance and strike your foe.
Snake and Tiger are good for wearing your opponent down and hitting him hard, never letting them escape even after you've paralysed both of their arms and left them blind. Snake and Single Point have some minor synergy, using unarmed attacks to build initiative/ignore soak, Snake's dodge charm and Single Point's massive devastating damage. Tiger and Ebon Shadow are a great combination, Ebon Shadow is a great enabler of Tiger's ambush tactics and Tiger is a great fall-back when stealth has failed. Tiger and Black Claw are hilarious for savagely attacking someone and saying 'who, me?' at the same time and Tiger's ability to attack while prone raises some amusing mental images. Tiger and White Reaper combine very well for high strength characters, providing bonuses to defense and damage - these two synergise well with Earth Dragon from the looks of things, but there are no Mastery bonuses on Immaculate Styles.
There are probably more though, even styles that seem to have no synergy could probably be cool with some work and a bunch of native charms.
>>46673125
>There not being "filler charms" does not change anything about Charm bloat.
It changes pretty much everything about "Charm bloat". A lot of useful and interesting options isn't "bloat", even if these options mean that figuring out character builds takes more effort than it otherwise would. Having a lot of boring, useless, redundant or otherwise unneeded content is bloat. There is some of the latter in Ex3, but not enough to make it a huge problem.
So according to some people in these threads, libraries suffer from 'book bloat'.
Am I the only one in the this game that things there are too many things to track? I personally think motes should be rewritten to be more valuable and half the total size of the motepool, while charms that cost mainly 1-3 motes should be just free.
>>46664916
ok holden
>>46668019
If you're guiding 10 people, you're essence 10. If you're essence 10, a lot of the things you can do will look silly. Exalted is a silly game.
>>46673201
>A lot of useful and interesting options isn't "bloat"
Yes it is. Having an unnecessarily large number of options is bloat. A charm can be interesting and useful and completely unnecessary. Many charms, for example, seem to exist primarily to be prerequisites and wouldn't be missed if they were removed and replaced with their successor. For example, do we *really* need a Charm that makes you invisible while stationary, and another Charm that makes you invisible while moving slowly? A good chunk of Charms work like this, where you have a Charm that's basically just a worse version of another Charm, strictly to increase the number of Charms. There's also Charms where you have the same basic Charm but with some keyword changed (enhanced touch v. enhanced smell, +dance v. +sing), etc.
Part of the issue with the Charm bloat is, of course, the insistence on illegible natural language that makes the process of picking out Charms take much longer as I'm forced to translate it from purple prose to game function. Part of it is the meaningless stupid Charms that double 9s and give you two non-Charm dice. But part of it, also, is the meaningfully different Charms that exist to chop up an effect that would function perfectly fine in a single Charm just to make sure there are thirty Charms for the ability.
>>46673266
Fuck off retard.
>>46673484
>Essencex2
>>46673488
>Fuck off retard.
Lovely retort.
>>46673516
If I was expected to read a tenth of the books in the library in one extended session, I would certainly consider there to be too many books in the library. Now fuck off, retard.
>>46673488
>>A lot of useful and interesting options isn't "bloat"
>Yes it is.
Please get a name so I can filter you, retard
>>46673578
Way to ignore the rest of the post you fuckwit.
>>46673603
I do not continue reading after discovering I am reading literal shit
>>46673636
You're a fucking idiot who can't read two paragraphs because boo hoo somebody disagreed with you about the definition of a word.
>>46673636
Then how can you claim to have read through the entirety of the Exalted Charm list?
>>46672788
That's a bit hard I think, as both are very reliant on their own form charms.
>>46673383
You have no sense of humour.
>>46673603
The rest of the post is ignorant dogshit that would jump the problem right back to 2e.
Too much power shoved into way too many small slots, meaning tiny-ass charmtrees that let you do anything.
Fuck off.
>>46673798
Not him, but I do think there are a few charms that could use considerable buffing up from how little they do.
>>46673689
That post had word bloat, they didn't have the time to continue.
>>46673798
What does the Solar Charmset gain, as a method of meaningful character customization, by having both Invisible Statue Spirit and Blurred Form Style? Searing Quicksilver Flight and Force Stealing Feint? Nothing. Nobody comes in with a character concept that fits with the one but not the other. They exist purely as speedbumps to advancement.
These are not "Charms that let you do anything," these are one single effect, and a shittier version of that effect, to stretch out the Charm tree. They are completely, 100%, superfluous. You would never in a million years miss them if they had never been there.
>>46673729
Eh. Crane is probably the better form. And with it you lose out on the armor bonus and making a paper fan into an artifact fan. Oh and the capstone charm for Dreaming Pearl Courtesan. But that is to be expected. In general it can help with disengage attempts as well as adding punch to your decisives.
>>46673488
Devs explicitly stated that they do now want to go back to how 2E did things. There you had small (let's forget monsters like Solar Hero Style) charmset with big Charms that basically said "you can do X very good/nearly perfectly". So any two Solars making Stealth their speciality were mechanically identical. There was no granularity, no meaningful choice. Now those Solars can both take Stealth as their Supernal and focus on different branches of it or stop at different level of mastery. That also means that you aren't supposed to have all Charms from a given tree, unlike in 2E when it was relatively easy.
>>46674115
You meant do NOT want, yes?
>>46674048
Way to ignore what the post actually said, fuckwit.
>>46674165
Yeah, do not want.
>>46674091
Dreaming Pearl also makes your attacks short range, that is very big.
>>46674246
Nothing in that post you were replying to was advocating a "return to 2e." That is a wildly out of proportion description of my position, and as such, I attempted to clarify my position by using concrete examples of Charms that are useful, interesting, and completely superfluous speedbumps that could be removed without anyone noticing.
>>46674443
If you are doing Crane you can counterattack out to extreme range for 2 motes. While not ideal you will still be spending less motes then them since if you min/max you will be sitting on 10 Parry Defense without spending any motes and they have to overcome that. Meanwhile you are free to social attack them the whole fight if they decide not to attack you. And if they range you all you need to do is spend 2 motes to send it flying right back to them.
>>46674528
No, it's exactly what you want. Shoving the charms together, so it's all one homogeneous mess.
The fact that you are too fucking stupid to realize that is what would happen? Ain't my fault.
Custom Martial Art or Melee/Thrown/Archery?
>>46674706
They're talking about obvious overlap and unnecessarily split up shit, not the rest of the hugely distinct trees.
Passive invisibility while still vs passive invisibility while moving slowly, and making your enemy lose 1i when you dodge, vs giving that 1i to you.
It's petty shit not worthy of an entire charm cost in itself, slowing down people on their way to the good, interesting, flavourful and mechanically rewarding stuff.
>>46674784
That was like, three different fighting styles.
>>46667754
It should account for Pain Tolerance, did you put it in the Merit area and put in dots for it?
>>46675180
I meant in the wounds boxes.
>>46675320
Yeah, if you fill it in it should adjust it.
>>46675349
It works on mine, Stretch.
>>46674790
Those are mechanically strong effects worthy of being separate charms.
As far as flavorful goes, they don't have a ton of fluff written in the charm text but they make dodge mechanically different from say, Melee.
And yes, despite that, they ARE speedbumps - I don't see this as a problem because the game is forcing you to invest down a tree if you want even better charms, which is exactly the point. Power granularity and deep investment to be an undisputed master of X ability.
If you don't like it, don't play.
>>46677801
>If you don't like it, don't play.
What a great defense. Right up there with "well, what RPGs have YOU made?" Truly, my friend, you are a sage.
>>46677801
>Those are mechanically strong effects worthy of being separate charms.
No, they're not. See, I can make unsupported assertions too.
> As far as flavorful goes, they don't have a ton of fluff written in the charm text but they make dodge mechanically different from say, Melee.
No, they don't . Sure, *having* those mechanical effects makes Dodge different from Melee, but splitting them into multiple itty-bitty charms does absolutely nothing on that front.
>>46677801
>And yes, despite that, they ARE speedbumps - I don't see this as a problem because the game is forcing you to invest down a tree if you want even better charm
So contract the trees, and double the cost of charms. Same mechanical effect, with half the reading/memorizing/looking shit up required.
> If you don't like it, don't play.
What a solid argument. Did you use the same one to defend 2Es well-known mechanical integrity?
>>46650336
>Try the same thing in the USA, watch your children getting raped.
more like try the same thing in the USA, watch your children get raped at a lower rate then 50 years ago when people did the same thing they do in china. The media is at fault there, not the criminals or the justice system.
>>46678685
"Don't like it, don't play" is not a statement meant to refute any point in your arguement.
It is me sincerely telling you that it sounds like Exalted 3e is not what you want in a ttrpg, so you shouldn't play it.
>>46678846
Actually just don't play in my game you piece of shit
