[Exalted] Need advice on running a chronicle

dave_o · Aug 29, 2003

blackshirt5 said:
Where is your PbP, Dave?

Linked in the sig, dude.

Staffan · Aug 29, 2003

Ferret said:
ME ME ME! I know the WW system as I've played a V:TM game before, but i haven't a clue about Exalted...

Exalted uses a different variant from Vampire - I'd say they're about as close as AD&D2e and D&D3e. Notable differences:

1. All rolls are made against a target number of 7. Higher difficulty simply means you need more successes. The Sidereal exalted supposedly have charms that change the target number (manipulating fate and stuff). A roll of 10 indicates two successes for non-Extras (Extras are faceless NPCs whose main purpose is to stand around and be killed in cool ways by the PCs).

2. There is no declaration phase in combat. You just wait until your turn, and then you do your stuff. This means that you can't take multiple actions to parry/dodge people attacking before you. However, you can "abort to parry" or "abort to full dodge" if you're attacked before your turn. Abort to Parry means you get one parry with your full dicepool against that attack. Abort to Dodge means you get to dodge the first attack with your full pool, the next with one die less, and so on. On the other hand, Parry is usually higher on account of getting a bonus from your weapon.

3. Damage works differently. In Vampire, the sequence is something like: Roll damage dice, roll soak dice, subtract soak successes from damage successes, take the difference as health levels. In Exalted, you subtract soak from raw damage before you roll, though with a minimum of one die (though there are exceptions to that). Also, all attacks add successes to damage - I think only firearms do that in Vampire.

4. Instead of using a Willpower point to get one automatic success, you can use it to get a number of dice equal to one of your virtues (that's relevant to what you're doing). The virtues are: Compassion, Conviction, Temperance and Valor.

5. When performing multiple actions, you don't split your dice pool. Instead, if you're performing X actions, you get X dice less on the first one, (X+1) less on the second one, and so on.

I think those are the major mechanical differences between the Storyteller versions. The setting, of course, is even more different than this. I think there's a pretty good introduction to the setting hidden somewhere on the WW website, if you look for the Exalted quickstart (NOT the recent Tomb of Five Corners, but the older one that can be accessed through their Exalted site).

Teflon Billy · Aug 29, 2003

Thanks Staffan, that list has just been cut-and-pasted into my files

It sums things up nicely

Teflon Billy · Aug 29, 2003

So I guess that's the list then...

1) Dave-o
2) Blackshirt
3) Victim
4) Skade
5) Ferret

Contact me by email with your characters, and background writeups in the "Questions you should be able to answer about your characters" part of the rulebook.

I will be extremely cross should I get even one Amnesiac Orphan with no friends

Dr. Strangemonkey · Aug 30, 2003

ooo, though it seems things have moved beyond it my take on the original question is that while Dragon Blooded are a lot less powerful they are also far more useful than the other types of exalted.

Lots of skills.

Lots of better backgrounds.

Socially acceptable.

All the best buffs.

Nightfall · Aug 30, 2003

Uhm excuse my ignorance and busting up the thread...but isn't Worlds of Darkness ending? Or did I miss something about Exalted being exempted from this...?

Welverin · Aug 30, 2003

Staffan said:
Exalted uses a different variant from Vampire - I'd say they're about as close as AD&D2e and D&D3e. Notable differences:

1. All rolls are made against a target number of 7. Higher difficulty simply means you need more successes. The Sidereal exalted supposedly have charms that change the target number (manipulating fate and stuff). A roll of 10 indicates two successes for non-Extras (Extras are faceless NPCs whose main purpose is to stand around and be killed in cool ways by the PCs).

That's the rule of ten. Another important one is the rule of one, which is if you role any ones you botch, but if you role one or more successes all ones are ignored. An important distinction from Vampire.

4. Instead of using a Willpower point to get one automatic success, you can use it to get a number of dice equal to one of your virtues (that's relevant to what you're doing). The virtues are: Compassion, Conviction, Temperance and Valor.

Just to be clear, you can still use a willpower point for an auto success. Which with the rule of one above prevents a botch.

5. When performing multiple actions, you don't split your dice pool. Instead, if you're performing X actions, you get X dice less on the first one, (X+1) less on the second one, and so on.

I think those are the major mechanical differences between the Storyteller versions. The setting, of course, is even more different than this. I think there's a pretty good introduction to the setting hidden somewhere on the WW website, if you look for the Exalted quickstart (NOT the recent Tomb of Five Corners, but the older one that can be accessed through their Exalted site).[/QUOTE]

The Quickstart, Main Exalted site.

To reiterate, Exalted has a bunch of changes so you can't just take your V:tM knowledge over whole sale, you will need to familiarize yourself with Exalted's rules.

Nightfall said:
Uhm excuse my ignorance and busting up the thread...but isn't Worlds of Darkness ending? Or did I miss something about Exalted being exempted from this...?

A few things:

1) The current WoD is ending, a new one (or some such) will be taking it's place.

2) Exalted is the Age of Sorrows

3) The two really have nothing to do with each other, except for a similar rules set and some vague connections between types of Exalts and Supernaturals.

Skade · Aug 30, 2003

Teflon Billy said:
I will be extremely cross should I get even one Amnesiac Orphan with no friends

That was my whole concept... Back to the drawing boards.

When should we get this to you by?

Staffan · Aug 30, 2003

Nightfall said:
Uhm excuse my ignorance and busting up the thread...but isn't Worlds of Darkness ending? Or did I miss something about Exalted being exempted from this...?

Exalted is not a part of the World of Darkness. The marketing has sometimes said things to indicate that it's what came before the WoD, but they're really quite separate. If you really want to, you can see parallells (for instance, both have something called Autocthonia, and you can see where Exalt-type X might become WoD-supernatural type Y), but that's the extent of it.

Personally, I suspect that the success of Exalted (and d20) is what has allowed White Wolf to take the bold step of killing off the WoD. Even if the new WoD won't sell as well as the old one, they still make money. Before Exalted and d20, WoD probably made up too big a portion of their revenue to kill off.