The Wyld of Exalted - a Different Kind of Chaos

[Jürgen Hubert]

Yesterday, I got the newly released "Compass of Celestial Directions II: The Wyld" for Exalted, and I can strongly recommend it to anyone interesting in having a different kind of chaos in his campaign.

In the world of Exalted, the material world is nothing more than an artificial island of stability within an infinite sea of rolling chaos. And in the boundary areas, the chaos gradually seeps into the world, creating places where the rules of Creation gradually break down. Here, you can have stone lions, creatures that result from the mating of a lion with a stone. Here, travel distances are not measured in miles, but in waypoints - places where you experience something significant. The number of events and encounters literally measures your progress to your destination. Here, the Fair Folk rule, creatures that feed on the passion of mortals and forever imitate the things and beings of Creation, for they have no creativity of their own.

There's too much packed into this book to cover it in detail. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend to anyone who is interested in a new kind of planar setup...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Exalted has done a good job refining and making more usable the oWoD cosmology. Tradition be damned, I've long felt that chaos frogs were a lot less compelling than the fey as the exemplars of chaos.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Exalted has done a good job refining and making more usable the oWoD cosmology. Tradition be damned, I've long felt that chaos frogs were a lot less compelling than the fey as the exemplars of chaos.

It really says something about the fey that when they fight each other in the Wyld, death is not permanent or especially inconveniencing. However, enslavement or being forced to swear harsh oaths is much more vexing...

And unlike Slaadi, there is a method to the madness of the fey. Their laws are the laws of myths and legends, and their desires all revolve around being protagonists or villains of stories. They desire to feed on the emotions of mortals - and to them, it does not matter if mortals love or hate them, as long as the emotions are strong and pure.

Really, Exalted Fair Folk are some of the best NPCs you could wish for as a GM. One Fair Folk noble played with the PCs for such an extent that half the party wishes to kill him - while the other one is content to have him as the governor of a province they "liberated". They bound him with strong oaths that prevent him from ever acting against their interest, but still some of the PCs will not trust him. And he is content with serving in his role, knowing that the emotions the PCs feel will remain strong as long as they live - which can be several thousand years...

 

[hong]

Did they get rid of "Rakshastan"?

I mean, everyone knows that it's the neighbour of Canuckistan.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Did they get rid of "Rakshastan"?

I mean, everyone knows that it's the neighbour of Canuckistan.

No, they didn't. But that's just the name the Fair Folk give to the border regions between the primordial chaos and creation. And everyone knows that the Fair Folk are pretentious as hell while not having a shred of creativity. So I guess the name works for them...