D&D 4E 4E and Exalted: Use the setting

[Engilbrand]

This is not a comparison between Exalted and 4E.
I like what I'm seeing about 4E. I like Exalted. I was reading a thread talking about White Wolf's "Graduate your game" promotion. Someone said, "I like the setting, but I don't like the mechanics." It got me thinking.
How would you use the Exalted setting to play 4E?
If we keep in mind that the characters are Heroes, and therefore better, normally people would all be "minions". The Dragon-blooded would need to be leveled "heroes" that wouldn't be able to be as powerful as the Celestial Exalt types. Maybe they could have skill boosts, an extra feat or a cooperation ability to distinguish them.
One could theoretically assign Essence values to the at-will/encounter/daily powers that would make caste marks glow as points were used.
The different maneuvers/exploits/spells would be the things that would distinguish someone as an Exalt.
What could you do for the different castes, though? And the different types of Exaltation? Would you just use the stats and abilities for the different races to distinguish Exalt type, but describe everyone as being Human? Would the different castes provide an extra stat bonus? What about an extra ability?
Does this seem like an interesting idea that is worth fleshing out? Is anyone interested in helping?

 

[Sound of Azure]

Hey, get out of my head!

I was planning on doing something like that, combined with elements of the Claymore anime/manga setting (in that the PCs are created to be part monster/god, as well as the grim POL setting combined with over the top action).

It certainly helps explain why the PCs are so special. I say go for it!

 

[Atlatl Jones]

I was thinking of doing something like that too.

The part of Exalted that doesn't really fit well, as far as we can tell, is all the charms that are made for non-combat uses. Twilight charms especially. But a lot of those can be hand-waved, since they're story powers not combat powers.

I can't see Solars being 1st level, so maybe start at a higher level, or start at 1st and rapidly advance them.

With the new exception-based monster design, it would be simple to create dragon-blooded opponents

 

[Engilbrand]

This is rather freeform because I went back and added things as I thought of them. I hope the ideas make sense.
I think that things will become a little easier with certain castes when the books are released and we can actually see more maneuvers. I hope that they have some in the main books that are for non-combat times. If they've revamped the social rules, they may have included things to aid you in "social combat". It shouldn't be too hard to invent "Exploits" or whatever to do better in social situations.
I'm not looking for this to be as crazy Exalted. Just the idea of certain people picked by the gods to be special, while those in control have been chosen by the forces of the Elemental Chaos or whatever it's called. Hmm... that just came to mind. That can be built upon.
What I'm looking for at the moment, though, are recommendations on the sorts of changes you would make to simulate the different types of Exalts. I guess you could just say, "Only the Solars have returned. Use each of the stats for the different races to simulate that." In that case, the Dawn Caste would probably be Dragonborn. The Night Caste would be Elves. The Tieflings or Eladrin would probably be the Eclipse Caste. The Eladrin would probably be the Twilight Caste. You would use everything about the race while still calling them Human. I don't know what you would do with Humans or Half-Elves. Let them be the normal people? If everyone looks human, and normal people are "minions", do you even worry about the racial distinction? Humans and Half-Elves could be used for the different types of Dragon-Blooded. The rest of the people wouldn't have any type of abilities. They would just be blank canvases.
Do you just ignore the other types, or have those be some of the other races that haven't come out, yet?
I like the idea of the ancient and hidden Exalts being the high Epic level characters that exist in the world. The Elminsters and such.
Is there anyone more fluent in Exalted who would like to weigh in on this stuff? I appreciate people saying, "I've thought about that. Have fun." I'm looking for a, "Good job. Here's what I think..."

 

[adamda]

Caste is more than just something that could be done via racial traits, they would be more like classes. Or perhaps mixing a racial type modifier in with a class - ie, a class that grants stat bonuses.

As for non combat charms, what about rituals? If they don't work out of the box, I'm sure they can be tweaked.

 

[ArmoredSaint]

See, I'm just the opposite. I think Exalted would be a nice little game if you edited out the horrid setting and the Exalted themselves. If you just use Mortals & have the PCs represented as Heroic Mortals, then it can be almost as much fun as D&D. It helps to trim out all the stupid, over-the-top "charms" and stunts and such.

The setting...

I know that some people like to hold up the out-of-the-ordinary elements as being somehow more creative than other, more traditional settings, but wow....Exalted's "Creation" is just too far out there in wackyland for me. I could never play a character from such a world. There are no cultural touchstones like there are in other settings; I couldn't related to such a character at all...

 

[Atlatl Jones]

What I'm looking for at the moment, though, are recommendations on the sorts of changes you would make to simulate the different types of Exalts. I guess you could just say, "Only the Solars have returned. Use each of the stats for the different races to simulate that."

If all the PCs are of the same type of Exalted, like if they're all Solars, then you don't need race & class rules for the rest. Create them using the monster rules, based on the flavor and tactics of the exalted types, or take existing MM monster states and file off the serial numbers.

Caste is more than just something that could be done via racial traits, they would be more like classes. Or perhaps mixing a racial type modifier in with a class - ie, a class that grants stat bonuses.

It would be easy enough to just take the racial stats from the PH & MM and rename them, or make new racial stats based on them. As you mentioned, Night caste solars could use the elf stats, and twilights could use the eladrin stats. Then use the existing racial feats, and/or create new ones.

For classes, I don't think you'd need to modify them. To keep the specializations, you could restrict class choices. Say, rule that Dawn caste solars can be fighters or warlords, nights can be rangers or rogues, zeniths can be clerics or paladins, twilights can be wizards, warlocks, or artificers (when they come out), and eclipses can be rogues or bards.

We don't know anything about multiclassing yet, but it would be a helpful tool for customizing characters.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

We don't know anything about multiclassing yet, but it would be a helpful tool for customizing characters.

Captain Obvious to the Rescue
Just kidding. This thread makes me want to find out what this wacky Exalted is all about. Which means I have to spend some money getting, it, right? And then some time reading, right? Dang, RPGs are stealing all my time! How shall I ever do other geeky stuff?

 

[hong]

I got into big fights on RPGnet about how the Immaculate Order is depicted in Exalted. It was like my own personal 1-1-1 diagonal issue. Cool setting, but things like that ruined it for me. Have they changed that in Exalted 2?

 

[Stone Dog]

I got into big fights on RPGnet about how the Immaculate Order is depicted in Exalted. It was like my own personal 1-1-1 diagonal issue. Cool setting, but things like that ruined it for me. Have they changed that in Exalted 2?

Well, what was your problem with how it was depicted?