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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Apok" data-source="post: 1480162" data-attributes="member: 1969">As I am currently running my third major Exalted game, I'm inclined to agree somewhat with your assesment.  Yes, most 'typical' challenges that you would see in a D&D-style game won't be very challenging for a group of beginning Exalts, so you've really gotta think outside the box.Combat - The most typical challenge.  Most Exalted parties are going to have at least one or two Combat Wombats, guys that focus solely on kicking ass and taking names.  They will carry the brunt of any encounter that involves 'diplomacy by other means' and you can expect them to trounce the hell out of any lesser opponent unless you use some really tricky tactics.  Because of this, most combats in Exalted are little more than window-dressing unless the PC's are dealing with a Big Bad (a fully statted NPC of relatively equal skill and power).  Expect the PC's to cleave through hordes and hordes of mooks, just like in the movies.  Properly balancing some combats can be tough, though, because not every PC is going to be a daiklaive-swinging killing machine, so be sure to draw the big hitters away so you can throw some mid to low powered threats at the other PC's.  Social Situations - Once again, a properly built social character with good charms can dominate, but it can be a bit tricker depending on the situation.  Remember that, for the most part, Solars and Lunars are Anathema; social outcastes who've been demonized by the Dragon-Blooded and their Immaculate Order, so be sure to play up the fear & loathing.  A Sidereal NPC working against the PC's from behind the scenes can make social challenges a nightmare and a half, given the power of their charms and their ability to craft and manipulate Fate.  Puzzles & Traps - You don't see many of these in an Exalted game, mostly because your typical dungeon-crawl is a bit out of genre for Exalted.  It can be done (and done well) but keep in mind that, like just about anything else, a PC with the right charms can get himself out of almost any situation.  I prefer puzzles and mysteries to outright trapped dungeons because it forces the players to think rather than just rely on their powers to hammer through the situation.  A few things I've learned that can help...Be Flexible.  If you have some grand plot or adventure designed, keep some of the details flexible.  The whole point of Exalted is for the PC's to drive the story and we all know that players don't always do what you expect or want them to do.  Keeping things flexible or having multiple plots or adventures handy to use at a moment's notice is always a good idea.Brute Force Won't Solve Everything.  Too many players think that all their problems can be fixed with enough force.  Do everything in your power to discourage this line of thought by enforcing serious in-game consequences for bull-rushing through a matter that would have been better solved delicately.  Is some powerful Baron plotting the assassination of one of the PC's political allies?  The Brute Force solution would be to kill the Baron and take his stuff, problem solved.  But what happens next?  Maybe the power vacuum left opens the way to a massive civil war, or perhaps the inheritor of the position is even worse than the original Baron.  Perhaps some power-group in Creation (Yozis, Deathlords, whatever) had a vested interest in the Baron staying alive and the PC's are now marked for death. Playing up on the consequences of the PC's actions is a huge part of running Exalted, especially since they are supposed to be the new big movers and shakers of world events.  Let them be the Elminsters and the Mordenkainens, but make sure they understand that with great power comes great responsability, and if they aren't careful it will come back to bite 'em in the arse.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

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