Nisarg said:
Correct. However, in the mid-90s they had clearly won the war of ideas with TSR.. being that TSR had none, and chose to copy all of WW's (flawed) theories of game design instead of coming up with their own.
Yeah, TSR sucked badly at that time. I don't think they copied WW though. Anyway, let's hope WotC will keep having more skill that that.
Nisarg said:
... [the Exalted fans in rpg.net are] pretty well constantly claiming that Exalted is about so much more than D&D, its actually about deep social issues and "dealing with the consequences of massive power" (secret code for "i'm a munchkin but can't admit it, so i'll make up a pseudo-intellectual justification for my munchkinism").
I'm pretty sure that if you posted a thread there saying that Exalted is pretty much the same as D&D and its basically about killing things and taking their stuff in a slightly different world, you would have four to eight pages of thread within 24 hours of people claiming it isn't that at all, denouncing you for attacks, and reporting you to the mods.
I think it depends on what you say and how you say it.
BTW, it occurs to me that killing things is par for the course in both games, but taking their stuff is not quite as common in the less equipment-dependent Exalted. Anyway...
I think I can argue that:
Both games are generally intended for campaigns featuring rather martial PCs (whether warriors or combat spellcasters, though Exalted has fewer dedicated spellcasters) who defeat numerous foes on their adventures.
Purely subtle or social characters can have a role to play as well but are less common. ('cause most characters who have skills tend to have some martial/magical prowess as well.)
Both games have a lot of combat rules that can get quite complex at times. Exalted rewards cool descriptions; D&D has detailed movement/AoO/etc. rules and support for miniatures play and can get quite tactically detailed.
You can also run a political campaign or something in either game. In fact, at the higher power levels, PCs in both games can hardly help affecting politics (even if only indirectly) with their adventures.
Even at lower power levels, a certain involvement in politics is common: D&D campaign worlds like GH and FR have many power groups trying to influence society on all levels, and PCs often work against, and sometimes with, such groups. Likewise, the background of Exalted lends itself well to intrigue and power struggles.
Both games' PCs are a cut above the common man and growing ever stronger. (But the difference between a low-level D&D character / heroic mortal in Exalted and the man on the street is not overpowering.) Exalted starting characters are often more able to influence the world around them than their D&D counterparts but sometimes the reverse is true. (Depending on what level the characters start at and what kind of Exalted characters are used.) In the end, either game's protagonists are no slouches at the low end of power and can greatly influence the world around them at the high end.
Both games' PCs amass more and more power over time. (Although Exalted characters that aren't Solars often have a practical limit to the raw power they can attain. They can still become more flexible, though...)
PCs also acquire more, and more powerful, magic items over time. (In D&D, this is practically a necessity if you want to play the game as written.)
Money is also a resource they often gather. Exalted glosses over exact monetary details and you don't generally find cash in some creature's hoard, but you might find other valuable things. Also, considering that the game is not as equipment-dependent, not all Exalted PCs need to gather money.
Just as an example...
