Exalted: what's the big friggin' deal?

[ThoughtBubble]

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.

And, just to chime in annoyingly, you pretty much NEED to buy three books to run a D&D game. While you can do Exalted with the core book, there's a bit of extrapolation, and self work that needs to be done to get it to work. Though I feel more comfortable making charms after a week in Exalted than I do spells in D&D. Heh. Go figure. But yeah, there's a shortage of enemy types (especially the big ones), artifacts, and spells. I've been shoring my holes out with online resources.

And one other note. I think the idea that my players associate with Exalted helps. It's the tale of a few hugely awesome guys. D&D has this stigma associated with it of "Let's put on funny hats and kill stuff!"

 

[JPL]

It's funny that after so many years of White Wolf players being stereotyped as more mature "real role-players," and D&Ders as adolecent powergamers, WW should create a game that embraces the "juvenile empowerment fantasy aspect" of the hobby.

And I think it's a good thing.

 

[Apok]

So it's high level D&D then?

Very similiar, yes. The difference is that, in Exalted, you start out that way rather than having to work up to it and the game is built around this fact.

Of course, it's alot easier to kill a starting Exalt than a 20th level D&D character, but that's just a function of the system.

 

[Liquidsabre]

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.

So instead of starting the campaign at 1st lvl you start at 10th. The more folk talk about Exalted the more it sounds exactly like a high level-Epic level D&D game. Whatever floats your boat oi, but I'm intrigued to at least take a look now, cool.

 

[Apok]

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.)

It's possible, I suppose, though I myself have never played the Amber Diceless system.

One major hurdle would be overcoming the fact that all of the charms are built around the dicepool mechanic resolution system, so if you could somehow convert this into whatever system Amber Diceless uses, then you're ok.

 

[JPL]

So instead of starting the campaign at 1st lvl you start at 10th. The more folk talk about Exalted the more it sounds exactly like a high level-Epic level D&D game. Whatever floats your boat oi, but I'm intrigued to at least take a look now, cool.

Well...you start as an ordinary Joe [albeit one with a special something], and then one day you are imbued with the mojo of a demigod with powers far beyond those of ordinary men.

I'd compare it to suddenly getting Divine Rank of 0, plus eligibility for epic abilities...or being bitten by a radioactive foo dog...

 

[Nightchilde-2]

I'd compare it to suddenly getting Divine Rank of 0, plus eligibility for epic abilities...or being bitten by a radioactive foo dog...

Actually, yeah, that's not wholly inaccurate. Once you Exalt, your lifespan increases, you become more resilient to damage, you barely have to worry about disease and infection, you heal a lot faster than a normal human and you get access to funky fu powers and the ability to mow through mooks like so much wheat.

After all, how many times have the heroes in films and literature cut through swaths of badguys with little injury to face the final battle with the big badass that's in charge? Exalted simulates this quite well (though a mook can get a lucky shot in...)

Sorry. I'm in "Exalted fanboy mode" right now.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

It's possible, I suppose, though I myself have never played the Amber Diceless system.

One major hurdle would be overcoming the fact that all of the charms are built around the dicepool mechanic resolution system, so if you could somehow convert this into whatever system Amber Diceless uses, then you're ok.

Not only that, but you'd have to rewrite the powers so that they could emulate the abilities of Pattern, Trump, Logrus and Sorcery. The rules for Lunars could make a fairly good basis for Shapeshifting, though.

I ran Amber for a while. One of my most beautiful gaming experiences was when the pattern ghost of Brand managed to convince the party to make him fully real..even talked Merlin's daughter into chopping off her own fathers' hands to steal the..uh..those magic rings (spikards? Can't remember what they're called).

Sorry..veered off topic, didn't I?

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

I think ThoughtBubble's really gotten me interested in looking at this system. I've never had a Problem with Vampire or Werewolf; actually, to be quite honest I liked them a lot. I've only played a game of it, but I thought the whole environment was really conducive to roleplaying.

While Exalted intrigued me, I didn't bother with it so much because I didn't want to learn a new system. Character creation and the d10 system are basically foreign to me, and while I'd be more than willing to run a game, I'd hate to give my players the short end of the stick by not understanding the system properly. Plus 3.x - more specifically MC's Arcana Unearthed - is my baby I the simplicity and flexibility of the system. It allows you to make what you want.

But I really like the sound of creating a powerful characters. That's not so much because I want to go buck wild with my +5 holy vorpal keen Huge Greatsword (or its Exalted equivalent); rather, I'm drawn to the chance to create powerful characters with stories and room to grow. 1st level doesn't leave much room for background, and 15th level doesn't leave much for progression. Sound's like Exalted gets it right both ways. If my estimation is correct, that's why I find it so appealing.

 

[evildmguy]

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.)

Um, not so sure I agree with this. I played in an Amber game recently and of the seven PCs, only one had shadow walk ability. One. No one else was particularly powerful.

This only served to frustrate me. As a player and character, I was completely dependent on the shadow walk character. Given the type of game Amber was, if my character fell out of favor, I could be left behind and there would be little I could do about it. Further, walking the shadow worlds, imo, is what Amber is all about. Not having that didn't make it feel like Amber to me.

Finally, as part of the rules, Amberites don't advance very quickly. I think I figured out it was going to take me nearly 15 months REAL TIME to have enough xp to have the points for shadow walking. That doesn't include the story elements of having someone let me walk the pattern. This also means saving all of my points and only gaining that.

sigh

Yes, I am bitter. I wanted it to be fun but the game wasn't. I tried, I tried several session beyond what I wanted to but it was never fun. I chalk it up to the game mechanics, of which diceless didn't bother me but the game itself needed more, and better, rules. Regardless. . .

By comparison, from what I have read, an Exalted character would start at the perfect level for a "lesser" Amber character. They would have power and ability, would be able to make changes but there are others out there more powerful that they can't piss off. FWIW, if you could convert Amber to Exalted, I think it would work very well.

Sorry for the rant. As I said, I had a bad experience. I really wanted it to work, too. Ah, well.

Have a good one!

edg