Exalted: what's the big friggin' deal?

[Psion]

Anyway, please tell me why everyone at RPG.net is blathering on and on about Exalted. You'd think it's the cure for the common cold or something.

RPGnet is (largely) gaga about Exalted because WW forums teh suck, and they don't have a good alternate forum like WoD fans, so they get shunted to RPGnet.

 

[Arthur Tealeaf]

One of the big things I like about the game is you aren't quite as dependant upon equipment like you are in D&D. Sure, having a couple of Level 5 Artifacts and a Manse or three is going to make you even more badass than you already are, but most of your power comes from your Charms; those innate magics common to all Exalted.

This is an extremely good quality in my eyes (compared to D&D).

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Recipe for Exalted
1 cup Grecian myth.
1 cup Wuxia
1 cup Anime
1 cup Final Fantasy
1/2 cup Aztec
Mix well with some gods and elementals. Pour into a world that is both fraught with peril and dangerous. Cook over the fires of the Coolest Hell in Gaming <tm>. Serve warm.

Exalted is just an incredibly beautiful game. It's enhanced and made even more beautiful by the Player's Guide that just came out. It's a total blast. Think the poetic feel of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon mixed with the over-the-top butt-kicking of Iron Monkey, throw in some high powered magic and a group of tragic heroes. And airships. And giant magical robots. And, as I said before, the Coolest Hell in Gaming.

It's just one of the best games ever. It's so extremely epic even from the start it's mind-boggling. Your characters don't begin as some 1st level fighter with 10 hit points, no, they are able to shape the world around them and make a real difference from the beginning.

 

[Sarellion]

RPGnet is (largely) gaga about Exalted because WW forums teh suck, and they don't have a good alternate forum like WoD fans, so they get shunted to RPGnet.

There is the Exalted Compendium which is pretty good but the rule gurus of this board seem to be a bunch of arrogant snobs who enjoy using harsh language in 75% of their posts.

 

[Hawkshere]

It sounds kind of like a 'dice-full' (if you'll pardon the tortured expression) version of Amber. Any reason you couldn't run an Amber campaign using Exalted? (I know Amber Diceless is already great and all, but say that you had players resistant to the diceless concept, and needed an alternative.)

 

[barsoomcore]

Investment? I have the basic book -- can I run a game with just that? ThoughtBubble says yes -- other folks care to weigh in?

To spend much more money is not very interesting to me. I spend money on D&D because I get different settings each time, pretty much. To buy multiple books to support just one setting is not really my style. So if it'll work with the one book, I might give it a swing. Sure is a purty book.

 

[Vocenoctum]

I guess the further a game gets from the core RPG experience --- which has both tactical/hack-n-slash and role-playing components, but doesn't take itself too seriously ---

--- and into the more artsy "The themes of this game are power and loss, and what it means to have free will..." and calling your gaming buddies a "troupe" and having a "collaborative storytelling experience"....well, then you end up being pretentious, by some folk's standards.

I think that's it. It's the whole "this game is a storytelling game of exploring the deep recesses of your mind and blah blah blah" attitude that permeates some of the WW material that gives it the "haughty" feeling. A lot of the more vocal fans also tend to regard themselves as better for playing a "real" roleplaying game.

It's a similar arguement to the "munchkin vs roleplaying" arguement, except that vocal group paints all D20 players as munchkins.

I think Vampire 1&2 had this attitude ingrained in the books, whereas 2revised was more open and didn't come off that way to me. The "philosophical" manner of Mage lent itself to such pretentiousness as well.

I have glanced over Exalted, but it just didn't have the draw for me. I've found Demon & Vampire (and, Nephilim) to be the aforementioned "make a PC, then what?" problem for me.

 

[clark411]

Investment? I have the basic book -- can I run a game with just that? ThoughtBubble says yes -- other folks care to weigh in?

To spend much more money is not very interesting to me. I spend money on D&D because I get different settings each time, pretty much. To buy multiple books to support just one setting is not really my style. So if it'll work with the one book, I might give it a swing. Sure is a purty book.

You can absolutely run the game with just the core book. However, you as a Storyteller and your friends as players will have to become accustomed to a couple strands of thought that are uncommon in many of the popular DND setting-centered products out there:

1- There's a massive setting out there that, without the corebook, is completely customizable by collaboration between the ST and Players (or just the ST if the players don't want in). There are a few anchor points (well known cities), and there's lots of general information and terminology regarding the setting, but by and large, there are entire swaths of land hundreds of miles long that are aligned to "Themes" more than well-laid out nations/tribes/peoples. You'll be inserting setting as you see fit. Personally, I have Sparta here, Korea there, Babylon in this nook and a cross between Aztec culture and Teutons there... wierd neh?

2- There are lots of potential allies and adversaries out there who, with only the Core, have only the most basic of guidelines to define their abilities. There's no CR, there's no way to state, or equate, with a guarantee, that any individual Storyteller crafted character could not rip a new one in a Solar. Generally speaking, the guidelines show limitations- and by and large, most Exalts are weaker than the Solars that your players will be playing with just the Core.

3- The Charms, Sorceries, and Artifacts listed in the book are suggested to be a fractional part of the powers that a Solar Exalt can bring to the forefront. It is recommended that Players work with their STs to craft personalized Charms (and Charm trees) that have unique effects. Blanks are made in this game to be filled in.

4- Same goes for plot. White Wolf has a commitment of 8 books a year for Exalted, and has in the last 12 months managed to put out 10 books- but really, they're all Optional. You don't need to read any of the books to keep up to date with a Metaplot- at it's heart, there is no Metaplot. The story in every book stops right at "and the campaign begins" simply because Creation is a sandbox for the PCs to romp around in... the books can't exactly describe how the sand castles look 4 years from now, with all the feet kicking around.

That said, additional books are useful for numerous reasons, and I can't look at any of the purchases I've made with regret (and i've made every possible purchase in the series). If nothing else, they're great inspirational tools, and also good guidelines on how to customize NPCs and the setting.

The top 4 books recommended usually are:

Exalted Core (Hardcover)
The main book, so you can run a Solar game (duh heh).

Games of Divinity (soft)
GoD covers the creation myth more fully, and details elementals, demons, and spirits (including the Celestial Incarna- the greater spirits who are responsible for the Exalts)

Book of Three Circles (soft)
Bo3C has artifact guidelines, and bunches of new spells of all three circles (Terrestrial, Celestial, Solar). As a note, it's being revised as Savant and Sorceror.

Scavenger Lands (soft)
SL covers the North, South, East, West, the Scavenger Lands, and Nexus- the largest city in the Threshold of the world. This book pretty much gives greater detail to the major regions of Creation that a Solar party will be stomping around in. It does not detail the Blessed Isle, which can be found in the hardcover Exalted: Dragon Blooded.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Investment? I have the basic book -- can I run a game with just that? ThoughtBubble says yes -- other folks care to weigh in?

To spend much more money is not very interesting to me. I spend money on D&D because I get different settings each time, pretty much. To buy multiple books to support just one setting is not really my style. So if it'll work with the one book, I might give it a swing. Sure is a purty book.

You can definitely run with just the core book. That being said, your game will certainly be more rich with the "phatsplats."

In each of the phatsplats, not only do you get the specifics of that type of Exalt, you also get a bit of info on different parts of the game universe.

Dragon-Blooded explores the Realm and the world of the Dynasts.
Lunars explores the areas that border Creation and the Wyld.
Abyssals explores the land of the dead.
Sidereals explores Heaven.

Also, if you're interested for even more different settings, look into Games of Divinity which has a whole section on Malfeas (the aforementioned Coolest Hell in Gaming).

 

[HeavyG]

Basically, I like Exalted more because of it's emphasis on fluff over crunch, not only in the published books, but also in play. Descriptions and cool moves are more important than the rules, really. I mean, you can play D&D that way, but you'd have to mangle the system pretty far. I've found it more condusive to role-playing, too*.

Then, there's the power level, which is higher, true, but that's not really a minus or a plus, as far as I'm concerned. The power level is also customizable as you are not forced to play Solars. You can also play weaker exalts, ghosts, god-blooded or heroic mortals too (though you will need other books to do so).

Exalted is D&D for White Wolf fans.

I don't know, I can't stand anything World-of-Darkness-related, but I love Exalted. Go figure.


* Note that I am NOT saying that D&D precludes roleplaying and Exalted will make thespians out of your players. It's just a tendency I've observed.