>What is Exalted?An epic high-flying role-playing game about reborn god-heroes in a world that turned on them.Start here:http://theonyxpath.com/category/worlds/exalted/>That sounds cool, how can I get into it?Read the 3e core book (link below). For mechanics of the old edition, play this tutorial:http://mengtzu.github.io/exalted/sakuya.htmlIt’ll get you familiar with most of the mechanics.>Gosh that was fun. How do I find a group?Roll20 and the Game Finder General here on /tg/. good luck>Resources for Third Edition>3E Core and Splatshttps://www.mediafire.com/folder/b54o6teut3fx6/Exalted_3e>Errata for Third Editionhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1n3ooTmopm3CBxW5jwPp1761xsaIccea-5XIhVM_PQEc/edit>Other Ex3 Resourceshttps://pastebin.com/fG1mLMdu>Resources for Older Editionshttps://pastebin.com/BXSGuFdQ>Current Quixalted Extended QE Version (Fanmade Supplement)https://files.catbox.moe/rjgmo5.pdf>Optional Quixalted Exaltshttps://www.mediafire.com/file/jg86yrewnhx2ov3/QE_Reject3eExaltHomebrew.pdf/file>4thchan Edition (4.2E)https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XqjkwQIR38ov7uZVSZGpcjI0QCPIiFaQkVosZVlhGH8/>Exalted Demake/Black Vault (Now with updates):https://pastebin.com/Tt1PjuYthttps://pastebin.com/qHRW9N51>collection of Exalted Hackshttps://pastebin.com/gtZnycJs>stuff that might be interestinghttps://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/the-exalted-thread-with-no-original-ideas.317216/Last thread: >>94729894TQ: What are your ideas about Zen-Mu?
Who sent the fancord spam?
>>94786217Fancord spam?
>>94786240Yes, somebody sent spam to all members, repeatedly.
It's cool that they exist in it, but looking over the Dragon King rules in ExWoD, is it just me, or do they kind of suck? And I'm not talking about in comparison to Exalts, I mean when compared to other supernaturals.
>>94786182>What are your ideas about Zen-Mu?I don't really care about it. It could be anything but almost none of the special and unique things it could be are particularly interesting. In my own game it's a prototype for Creation that hasn't had any upkeep since prior to the First Age, which means it's entirely devoured by the Wyld, and the Wyld in there is getting Underworld incursions. It came up once as the primary mission for an outpost on Palanquin that the group was using as convention HQ.
>>94786182>What are your ideas about Zen-Mu?Should probably have shit the Primordials locked away for being too dangerous, or physics that don't work properly because they're unfinished. Might have a portal to another even older proto-Creation.
>>94786955It leads to 3E, the endgame in 3e is to find it and go back to 2e.
Exalts by how good of a waifu they'd be:>SSS: Hearteater (mind-controls you into thinking she's perfect), Getimian (rewrites you into thinking she's perfect)>S: Solar (is actually perfect), Abyssal (loves you enough to accept being tortured by Neverborn)>A: Dragon-blood (isn't perfect, but is rich)>B: Achemical (generally good, but is a robot)>C: Lunar (unless you are a furry)>D: Infernal (obvious), Liminal (gross)>F: Sidereal (you'll just forget her)
>>94787582Nobody gives a shit about Hearteaters since they are not canon, their mind control powers make them antagonists only and they are not real exalts even if they are canon. I heard even a writer made them antagonists only in Essence.People say they are like infernals due to them having some fans like them, but they will never be recognized or liked by the rest of the fandom.The 2e fansplats like Nocturnals and Eternals are far better than them.
Alright so I know that a lot of people say that Ebon Dragon's 1e and 2e characterisation were fairly different, but my question is has ANYONE across the decades ever made a homebrew of more Ebon Dragon Infernal charms that reflect this?Stuff like>Drinking from forbidden wells beneath the earth>Intrigue with the afterlife or what happens after death>Love things that are doomed to die
Which edition should I start with, based purely on the mechanics?
>>94788616What do you mean, based purely on the mechanics? There isn't a best or worst based purely on mechanics, there's just different flaws. Like, I'd probably say 1e for something relatively robust with a little tuning if you don't care about how easy the mechanics are to get into, but you might be looking for Essence, which equally robust but revolves around what is the early-to-mid game in other editions without any progression past that, and in return provides an exceptionally smooth experience for people learning Exalted. On the other hand, if you're looking for hype mechanics that'll drag you into the game, grabbing your interest and reeling you in, 2e's where you want to be for all it's grindy combat and poorly thought out battlewheel. If the kind of mechanics you want are complex and poorly balanced but also deep and involved such that the system wheels between knife-edge and easy-peasy in a manner that maximizes drama, you might prefer 3e.It's like asking 'based purely on mechanics, is D&D better than chess?' in that it doesn't make sense because the systems are completely different with strengths in different areas.
>>94788616Essence is the one you will be able to comprehend. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, 2e and 3e are a crapshoot. And 1e has a lot of dated design expectations.Naturally though once you're comfortable with Essence you should read other editions, but try to make a choice which one is your first since they tend to have mutually exclusive lore. 3e is meant* to be Essence compatible, so you can start there. 2e is less applicable, but also the next best thing if you're interested in looking at how Infernals were changed. 1e is again, the last here, because there's so many changes in expectations.However...if you bounce off Essence, you should read 1e next since that is way more comprehensible than 2e or 3e.*what this actually means is that Essence isn't allowed to do certain things because 3ekeks freak out. Essence already has lore divergences.
>>94788616Literally every edition is practically unplayable. Choose 2e if you want the most content and 3e if you want the most active community.
>>94786611I'm pretty sure as they currently are, they're bargain bin Mokole. At their base, not only is the archid form stronger than breed bonuses, but they also deal aggravated damage, regenerate, and have Rage. I think Paths might be a bit stronger on average than Gifts, but I haven't carefully looked over the Mokole Gift list either, so I might be off base. After thinking on it for a while, the obvious thing to do is reintroduce ochilike. The two laziest ways to implement it is to either use the kami rules or having it so its done by servants of the Smokey God after offering up a crap ton of hearts and it mostly just letting them use basic Exalted stuff, like experience costs (spirit of excellence), soaking aggravated, and early access to Ancient Sorcery. Maybe even Celestial essence pools too.
>>94786611I don't think Holden playtested them.
>>94788059>their mind control powers make them antagonists onlyTell this to 1e/2e Solars.>I heard even a writer made them antagonists only in Essence.>People say they are like infernals due to them having some fans like them, but they will never be recognized or liked by the rest of the fandom.These 2 are connected, writers and 3efags fear the possibility of Hearteaters ending up as 2e Infernals 2.0.It is noticeable that the took measures to make sure no splat can end up stealing the show; because of this, Solars and Infernals ended the way they are.
My ExWoD campaign continues. The Infernal is now a Yama King with her own Umbral Realm and the arc is slowly wrapping up after some inter-character [not inter-player] drama finishes. Then it’s on to the SHAGames, a Shonen tournament arc that will serve as my campaign’s conclusion. The tournament is being preceded by the appearance of the Red Star, the herald of the Apocalypse, appearing in mortal skies. Lately I’ve been talking to an old player I had when I used to run Mage the Ascension, and since that campaign ended abruptly and my Lunar left I’m in talks of canonizing [slightly altered] versions of that game’s events, making my final arc the final arc to both campaigns and introducing his old PC to replace the Lunar. There’s another old player who might be interested too but idk if I want five players. So going into the last arc my party would be >Black Hole Sun, an Essence 4 Dusk Caste Abyssal who is the son of the PENTEX CEO, older brother of Queen Faerilyth’s reincarnation and the most wanted terrorist in America.>Adam Parluge, an Essence 4 Eclipse Caste Solar who is the new CEO of Endron and America’s current sweetheart. Secretly to blame for most of the Abyssal’s crimes.>Arsinoe Adams, Essence 4 Urge of the Destroyer Infernal, youngest of the Yama Kings, Empress of the Demon World of Tenmakai, claimant to the throne of the Demon Emperor.
>>94790752>Alexander Felix, Arete 8 Hermetic Master of Time and Correspondence. An English professor and expert in Arthurian lore. Three years ago he was embroiled in a scheme by Merlinus to use the Consensus to combine Caliburn and Excalibur into one blade with power sufficient to alter the Consensus by fiat. After seeing a vision of Horizon burning by his using the blade, Felix casts it into the distant future beyond anyone’s reach. Recently involved in an archeological survey to Mount Everest where he and a group including Sabrina Adams [the Infernal’s Verbena mom] found a large stone tablet written in Old Realm, a book in a chest written in the same tongue, and a featureless twelve foot tall Black Vault standing open. Still debating the relative merits of doing a crossover to end a crossover, but the more I think it over the more I think I can incorporate the idea in some way.
>>94790506I got the same vibe. It's too bad, because a game of fighting Nazi mages and/or going to the surface in an attempt to collect lost Dragon King souls sound like fun ideas. Them using a worse experience track is also sort of weird since they were around Dragon-Blooded level in power. The fact they can't get Ancient Sorcery before Essence 5 is especially galling since they would genuinely benefit from having some way to create fetishes. I've got half a mind to port over Eye of Heaven Style to help buff them a bit.
>>94790766Yes, Holden out them in, because a friend asked
>>94788481There was stuff like this on the White Wolf Forums but that got kaput.
>>94788481Somebody homebrew more charms for him over Sufficient Velocity
>>94799116>>94797138NTA but is /exg/ so weak we can't offer anything of our own?
>>94799449Some anon posted a 600+ pages pdf of collected homebrew, but in general, anons post more for ExVsWoD.
While I'll probably never finish because I'm adhdmaxxing, I'm drafting up conversions of the Dark Paths for ExWoD with the idea that they were forbidden to learn, but some have started to do so to better fight the Nazi mages. It's getting into some weird design space stuff. For example, the Coagulated Eucharist Path already makes you more vampire-like, to the point where I'm considering making the fifth Step lets you convert Essence and your blood into Vitae, allowing you to blood bond people and maybe even ghoul them. I want the fifth Steps to all be rather powerful, since learning them makes you perma-Wyrm tainted and they all come with drawbacks too.>>94790757It sounds like a fun idea.>>94799867ExWoD's Charm system is less complicated so easier to homebrew for. I haven't played 2e in over a decade and my experience with 3e is limited.
>>94786611It is a recurring trend in Holden's work that sometimes he will design something to suck on purpose and declare that it "has to exist in the setting", yes. He is autistic about shit like this. He has the exact opposite design philosophy of 3e trying to make everything player-facing and generic, and it is awkward and janky for the exact opposite reasons. See also: The Anathema system being more threatening because it gives antagonist Exalts access to funni Celerity rules (including plot device-level Antediluvian powers lmao) than anything else (although potentially Exalts with Earthbound powers are walking chaos nukes), and prayer-eating being actually worse than the other methods of regaining Essence.>>94786182As things stand Zen-Mu is more of a concept than an actual location. A concept I don't mind but one that is also irrelevant for all intents and purposes in most games. I would like a Compass book for it, but I am also resigned at this point to the fact that the current crop of developers aren't creative enough to do it justice and that Karvara is probably the most we're ever getting to hear about what Zen-Mu was like.Exalted peaked creatively when the original writers were just ripping off Gods of Pegana, Tanith Lee and Requiem Vampire Knight (seriously, look at it. Then look at Abyssals as they were originally presented, and 2e Deathlords. Explains a lot).
>>94788616>based purely on the mechanicsExWoD runs on the caveat that you should probably rejigger everything that isn't combat, but combat at least functions mostly as intended. Mostly.Stupid Holden, not giving Infernals skyscraper-swinger Charms.
>>94790752>The Infernal is now a Yama King with her own Umbral Realm and the arc is slowly wrapping up after some inter-character [not inter-player] drama finishes.I've been out of the loop for a while. How did you wank Infernals becoming Yama Kings? I remember Holden alluding to it being possible but little more. Did the Infernal eat an Umbral Realm? Did you homebrew a way for her to purchase the other upgrades for her hell, unique Yama King powers like the ones in the book for Antes or something else? Can she grant others the Anathema system now? And how has this influenced the other Yama Kings' scramble to become Demon Emperor? Especially since lorewise until they get their own hell Infernals are technically damning people into a different Yama King's hell with their kill immortals-charms and therefore techniacally givine them a trickle of empowerment.
>>94801585>Exalted peaked creatively when the original writers were just ripping off Gods of Pegana, Tanith LeeAfter reading both, it was a case of "1 +1 = 3".1e had noticeable things from these works, but 1e made them its.For example: Saturn isn't the female aspect of Mung, she is closer to a daughter.
>>94801585I don't think that's necessarily the case. From what the book says, they're supposed to be about as strong as other supernatural creatures. In this case, I don't think Holden bothered to actually compare them to anything except maybe vampires. It is sort of funny that the book proposes they might work well in a group of mages. I will admit a dinosaur man getting in a fight with a terminator does sound cool though.
>>94799867Say, any chance you know where the link is?
>>94801611I’m assuming that the Yama Kings are Incarna-level spirits, which according to early Exalted 1E materials which still used WoD naming conventions like Incarna and Celestine are equal to Essence 6-8 Celestial gods. The WoD book Thousand Hells says they can do nearly anything within their own Hell but outside it, even in other Umbral Realms, they’re weaker and have been occasionally defeated by Kuei Jin Bodhisattva. Which again, puts them in firmly in the camp of the gods from Games of Divinity number wise. So there’s no fancy game-breaking mechanic, she’s just a soon to be Essence 4 Infernal sitting on about four hundred experience points [210 Essence Experience, 140 Mundane Experience and I made Essence advance automatically so that’s 48 free EXP] and with both her own personal Hell and an upgrade Charm that lets her open a portal to it on a whim. She will announce herself as a Yama Queen and send diplomats from her Realm of Tenmakai to the other Yama Kings and to the Maeljin Incarnae and formally announce her bid for the throne of the August Personage. As to how they’ll react I haven’t decided yet. I imagine they’ll try to figure out more about her and until then send flattering gifts of souls while plotting how to gut her and feast on her chi. OH she does have plans to possibly start spitting out subsouls though, or maybe learning Solar sorcery. I’m working on adapting both those things as just more of my general ‘fuck how Holden wanted this ran’ schtick. But that’s not Yama King specific, which again I’m treating as mostly just a title not a metaphysical designation,
>>94802239Last thread near the end
What upcoming publications are on the list?
>>94803752Sidereals, Exigents, and Deeds Yet Undone in Essence have art and all that. The last weekly update had Exigents and Sidereals at pretty much the same spot, which surprises me since the Exigents preview came out much earlier than Sidereals.
How do you make a non-combatant type of character useful in the average party, assuming your ST isn't going to just hand you perfectly tailored scenarios? Which skills and charms work best?
>>94803757>which surprises me since the Exigents preview came out much earlier than Sidereals.With Exigents they have to create a framework for new type of exalted that are also very hevy on homebrew. Sids are easier to do because they are just rework of already existing splat and adapting it for 3e.
>>94799867I'd say I see about an equal amount of QE homebrewers and ExWoD homebrewers...that is to say, there is one each.
>>94803918Why didn't this guy specify which edition or which splat? Strange.>>94799116Searching SF is such a crapshoot because of how bad the search engine is, how everything is in a mega thread. I wish more people used Sword of Creation personally.
>>94803757No, the finished digital version of Exigents has been on sale since May of last year, and Sidereals came out in November. They're doing a print run of both currently, so maybe that's where you got confused?
>>94803964>With Exigents they have to create a framework for new type of exalted that are also very hevy on homebrewThey'd already done that when the preview came out. You can tell because of the fact that it's in the preview. They don't need to do it again afterwards, so it shouldn't impact development time from writing to release much if at all. I didn't see it get stuck in errata particularly much. If anything Sidereals were the ones who had a lot that wasn't written yet in time for the previews, Endings and Secrets had barely any charms.
>>94804259>They're doing a print run of both currently, so maybe that's where you got confusedYeah
>>94804308They have to create several exalted types for Exigents, and have to be flavorful in a very limited amount of word count. And some of these were meant to ony exist as "evocative paragraphs".
I haven't checked in with Exalted since 3e came out and Celestial Bliss Trick was the talk of the town. I was so disappointed I needed time to get it out of my systemHow's the game doing these days?Have they fixed the Solar charmset and craft mechanics? And DBs, are they finally good?Those are the only Exalts I care any amount about.
>>94804544>How's the game doing these days?Pretty eh. New dev team has been doing alright with the new stuff they've put out, especially the lore chapters which've been the highlights of their books. There's no errata for the botched Core though, and they're not pulling back on a lot of the messaging for the edition, and the art's still not to my taste, but the mechanics are better-written now with the new dev team but suffer from an awful foundation.Also, there's a new edition. It's called Exalted Essence, and it's pretty great. The main problems with it are a lack of content, a pretty hard power ceiling, and combat in it feeling so wildly different from mainline Exalted that it puts off some fans (mostly 3e grognards from what I've found).>Have they fixed the Solar charmset and craft mechanics?No.>And DBs, are they finally good?Surprisingly, they're actually alright. A lot of their mechanics are botched but enough weren't that they're pretty playable in practice, despite what they look like to most people who just take a glance and see the worst of their charmset being clearly worse than Excellency, because regardless of all that it turns out that scene-longs aren't really very potent in 3e and just having three or four guys throwing Excellencies around is all you ever actually need to beat up one idiot. Plus, there is a lot of functional stuff in their set, and they have more options than ever before to expand out of it since evocations are there, sorcery has opened up more, and martial arts are less of a pain in the ass to learn. I've had several good games with them and they're the only splat in 3e I feel good about going back to play again.
>>94787582I'd say Alchemicals, Lunars, and Infernals are all variable depending on what you're into
>>94804648>especially the lore chapters which've been the highlights of their booksThis is only true in Sidereals. AT8D committed the cardinal sin of wasting pagecount on cuisine descriptions.
>>94802239If you haven't found it, I think this is what that other anon was talking about
>>94804853>AT8D committed the cardinal sin of wasting pagecount on cuisine descriptions.3e is weird, for all the talks about personal stories, the books aren't written to touch them.Despite the word count on food, there is no cooking charms.
>>94801585Zen-Mu is where Rakan Thulio and all his Getimian followers hang out. We'll likely get more about it in the Getimian book.
>>94805324I wonder how the human communities will look like.
>>94804989There's a single Sidereal charm in Sidereals about cooking.Also the no cooking thing is really weird. Like how many fucking nerds in the TTRPG space are super into food and stuff and yet not even Solars get cooking evocation charms?
>>94805793Cooking's fun, I don't know why that one anon is fixated on it thoughI say, despite cooking being one of my Infernal's big hobbies and having derailed at least one Sidereal plot by pointing out "I'm an expert at poisons and I've been cooking for you for the past three months, if I wanted you dead you would be"On that note, I don't really see why there needs to be more charms for it than the ability to slap an Excellency on the Craft roll for cooking
>>94805917It is a microcosm of the lack of interactivity of 3e, 3e introduced a lot of ideas, but no means of the player interacting with them.Another example is the telepathic twins.
https://youtu.be/8U49X2pkcz4&t=1763This has vibes of either Defiler Stuff or that one Alchemical thing that lets you cure Gremlins and I'm not really sure which it is.
>>94806022Thinking on it "Breaking someone up into floating chunks so you can shove something into them which you made from someone else." seems very much like Defiler Stuff.
>>94803752What list? The list of shit we don’t have? There’s a large one in the share thread, no one’s bitingThe list of notable stuff? There’s the essence adventure book Deeds Yet Undone (nearly finished apparently), companion Pillars of Creation, and the Player’s Guide. The main line has the Sidereals Jumpstart and Companion, the Exigents companions Miracles/Champions of Divine Flame, Abyssals/Alchemicals and their companions, Infernals which starts development when alchemicals finishes it, and liminals/getimians last with an as yet unknown arrangement
>>94806022Oh yeah, that is 100% Defiler
>>94805952do you need a charm to interact with food
>>94806317Yeah, I feel like Pantheon is cool for Exalted Fight Visuals. I mean there's gotta be an Infernal Charm for "Turn yourself into a giant floating stone head and then crush your enemies with a big hand."https://youtu.be/9v6aJzBMvV8&t=1321
>>94807044>I mean there's gotta be an Infernal Charm for "Turn yourself into a giant floating stone head and then crush your enemies with a big hand."Literally Shintai. Or Devil Body as they're called in Ex3.
>>94807070I'd assume Charmtrees that could include a"Big Stone Shintai" would probably be those aligned with SWLIHN, Cecylyne or Qaf.
>>94805917>>94805793>I don't know why this can't be an Excellencyyou could say this about like 99 percent of abilities in the game though. Cooking charms would be fun and flavorful. Not sure why you're disagreeing here.
>>94806764yes, what kind of question is this
I want a fucking Lunar Charm where you cook someone you've hunted and get their powers for a week. A Solar Charm where you can feed ANY motherfucker with ANY appropriate food. Or gives you an immense boost of national pride for a day. Or a Senzu Bean. A Dragonblooded Charm where you make a healthy as hell salad that's an ultra ration. If your stupid ass game has more than 1 spell about TASTE profiles and a bunch of material on cuisine then you better let me do cool things with it other than include it in my short stories or exclusively only have it as minor flavor at my tea party roleplay. I WANT TO MAKE MAGIC POWERFUL MEANINGFUL TEA YOU FUCKING HACKS. I WANT THIS >>94805917 DISINGENUOUS FAGGOT TO FUCK OFF BACK TO SF WHERE HE CAN GET GOOD BOY POINTS
>>94807044>>94807070>>94807126Make it crystals and it's SWLiHN's Shintai, it's usually a mass of spheres, but you can make yourself look like anything according to the charm text>>94807188>A Solar Charm where you can feed ANY motherfucker with ANY appropriate food.Hilariously, that's an Infernal Charm, By Hunger Nourished, you can poke someone and give them the ability to safely consume anything they can fit into their mouth baring indestructible things like artifacts (they can still safely swallow them though, they just come out later, also safely). You can also make it the most delicious thing they've eaten while the charm is active, and/or limit them to ONLY being able to eat one substance for the day
>>94807143why would cooking need its own unique charms instead of using the same charms you would use to make potions, swords, capes, architecture, and artifacts?
>>94804175Obviously 3e.
>>94807522>why would cooking need its own unique charms instead of using the same charms you would use to make potions>potionsnta but the game doesn't cover this at all. Also there are specific charms for architecture over artifacts. There's even separate Craft Abilities between swordmaking, horseshoe making, carpentry and so on. You should really play the game before commenting dumb shit.
>>94807641I mean, 2e had specific charms for crafting artifacts in particular and more general charms that applied to any craft you did, and while it's much maligned, each of the elemental crafts could be used to make a wide range of things, so you could be good at a number of things, but not have to buy Craft for individual things
>>94804648I'm the anon who asked, thank you for answering.I'm glad that at least half of the splats I care about are mostly fine, will check out the DB book at some point.Same for Essence.
>>94807641>There's even separate Craft Abilities between swordmaking, horseshoe making, carpentry and so on.There are no separate horseshoe making Charms, however, and that seems like a more pertinent point here than the existence of multiple Craft Abilities.
>>94809060There are no anything-specific making charms at all because that's not what they consider in-theme for the Solar charmset, just like there are no sword-only Melee charms, and why Occult charms that enhance sorcery only are thin on the ground. I even have developer commentary in the books indicating that this is the case - that they want Solar charms, particularly relevant to dicetricks, to be applicable across the whole Ability where possible without regard for what would be specialty niches.>On Six Eternities’ Travail>The backer wanted a Charm that would help him as a sorcerer. I decided to bring it in line with the Solar Charm set by making it applicable to any Occult roll.>Miracles of the Solar Exalted pg22
>>94809060why would you pretend like the game's system covers potions though>>94809680>Occult charms that enhance sorcery only are thin on the groundthis in particular is just a complete change in vision from one dev to another because the original plan was that no one would have charms that did the things Lunars/Sidereals can do with sorcery.
I am really glad the Solar Craft Charmset is 90 percent useless gay bullshit and they don't have the actual cool craft charms from 1e and 2e and maybe more over 10 billion Gold Superior Silver Project skipping Charms.Also yeah Solar charmset is so omniapplicable and that's why Oratory is a separate Charmtree in Performance of all things, Singing/Acting(KEK)/Instrument/Dancing are all separate and specific.3e Solars are definitely a coherent vision and uncontroversial. I also definitely was not born oxygen starved.
>>94809986>3e Solars are definitely a coherent vision and uncontroversialI didn't claim the vision was coherent or uncontroversial, only that is exists and that this was part of it at one point.>>94809979>this in particular is just a complete change in vision from one dev to anotherI believe it's accurate to say that they had complete vision changes and they probably cover this instance, but independently from your reasons why it is the case (anything after 'because').>because the original plan was that no one would have charms that did the things Lunars/Sidereals can do with sorcery.I don't understand what you're trying to say, the sentence fragment 'charms that did the things Lunars/Sidereals can do with sorcery' doesn't make sense because Lunars and Sidereals can't do anything special with sorcery compared to Solars or whatever, and Solar charms pretty much covered whatever you could do from Core - Dogstar Ruminations covering what they appear to think Demon of the Third Circle does (summon a big monster) and Rain of Doom, Investigation charms covering Shadows of the Distant Past, teleport charms in Stealth, Bonfire Anima Wings covering Cirrus Skiff, etc etc.Did you mean they the original plan was that no one would have spells that did the things Lunars/Sidereals are supposed to be unique for? That also sounds inaccurate, there's combat shapeshifting and astrology in there in core.
>>94809999the previous devs actually did have the opinion that no one was meant to get sorcery enhancer charms beyond excellencies and dice tricks for shaping. Lunars and Sidereals getting to flurry with it and do things like that is a change in vision. not sure what the rest of your post is hinting at because sorcery and charms have always been able to do broad shape similar things with the individual balance being different - Dogstar Ruminations and 3CD is a great example of how being very reductive obfuscates the fact that one is a weird time bomb that can be diffused through moralising and the other is a total slave for a year and a day.
>>94810029>the previous devs actually did have the opinion that no one was meant to get sorcery enhancer charms beyond excellencies and dice tricks for shaping. Lunars and Sidereals getting to flurry with it and do things like that is a change in visionAh, I see what you mean now, you're referring to that kind of thing. When you say 'What Lunars/Sidereals can do with sorcery' the clearer way to interpret that, to me, was to ask 'what kind of spells do Lunars/Sidereals have access to' and consider end-results rather than mechanical shit. I blame never having played either despite having been Storyteller for all Sidereal/Lunar circles for decent chunks of time before.
>>94810035Sidereals and Lunars are great, maybe the latter has a few too many filler charms, but overall a good experience.
>>94810075As a Storyteller Lunars were quite alright but my Sidereal game was not good, and I chalk some of it up to the way the book was written. I've complained enough about 3e Sidereals here though and fuck going over that again.
One thing I've never could understand is why Exalted tries to be so "realistic" with its mechanics. Wounds, healing times, diseases, those EXP crafting etc. Its supposed to be epic fantasy with super sayans.Sometimes I think D&D mehanic would is better at epic fantasy feel than Exalted.
>>94810929Because that's how it was in WoD.
>>94810538Sidereals are like the only good charmset other than some Exigents they've released so far what the hell are your issues with their set?
>>94810929At its core, exalted is fantasy wod but the characters start as wod!demi-elders.On the other hand, D&D drank directly directly from the wells of pulp fantasy, the wells Exalted pretend to to have done.
I hope the full Alchemicals manuscript doesn't get posted here because they suck and shouldn't be exalted. They are prototypes to exaltation rather than being truly exalted and there is no problem playing as one, but they will never be seen as true chosen.I will be very glad if that fake gay furry pdf gets posted instead because their fans deserved it for whining "muh they are Autochton's champions so they must have N/A craft charms like Solars". I will be more happy if the devs refuse to listen to them.
>>94811627>muh they are Autochton's champions so they must have N/A craft charms like Solars"This is the first time somebody talked about this in these threads.>I will be more happy if the devs refuse to listen to them.Oh, Ted?! How are the marriage plans going?
>>94810929All of those just exist to show how awesome your character is. Wounds? Your character can take more than mortals.Healing times? Your character is healing an open chest wound in a couple days of good sleep. Everything else is just projects and things your character can do.
>>94786182Weekly Update> EDITINGChampions of the Divine FlameThe Divine Flame continues to burn! After setting the approvals world on fire, it’s now off to editing!>Art DirectionMiracles of the Divine Flame – Full page sketch approvals sent, half-page sketches coming in>PressExigents – Quoting and press filesExigents Screen – At Studio 2Sidereals – Quoting and press filesEssence Deeds Yet Undone – PoD uploadedseems the essence adventures will release soon, likely next month but possibly as soon as next week
>>94811627
>>94813314why is the companion taking so long for Essence bros
>>94813688Too much stuff, it has more charms for the previous splats and a lot of new ones.
>>94788792>>94800151This Dragon King thing is getting mission creeped to hell and back. If I do end up finishing it, it's gonna be a proper expansion. I'm talking Merits, olchilike, the Dark Paths, the 4 Dragon King TMAs using qiao rules (maybe Golden Janissary too), and Eye of Heaven Style and Arms of the Unconquered Sun Style based off of the Secret Art rules.
>>94814023How many dark paths are you planning to do?
>>94814042All of them, of course.
Is there a book that goes into detail on the mechanics of half-castes? Preferably sidereals, but also in general.
>>948151371e Player's Guide, 2e Scroll of Heroes, 3e half-caste are not explicitly confirmed as a canon version of Godblood.
>>94813776Those new charms are Exalt specific or is it just a new set of universal charms?
>>94816668Hopefully it leans more towards Universal, with more of both. We needed a lot of Exalt charms in the preview specifically because Exalt milestones were common and could only be used to buy Exalt charms, which meant you would straight up run out of charms to buy. The full release updated the Milestone system significantly, though, and now you can buy either Universal or Exalt Charms with Milestones. There's literally no meaningful difference between a Universal Charm with an Exalt Mode and an Exalt Charm other than that it saves a whole load of space you'd otherwise have to spend rewriting between splats.
>>94816813>There's literally no meaningful difference between a Universal Charm with an Exalt Mode and an Exalt Charm other than that it saves a whole load of space you'd otherwise have to spend rewriting between splats.I think best way to distinguish them is to make it so that no universal charms have essence requirements higer than 3 and 4-5 Essence charms are reserved for Exalt specific charms. Maybe there can be only handfull of exemption.
>>94817248>I think best way to distinguish them is to make it so that no universal charms have essence requirements higer than 3 and 4-5 Essence charms are reserved for Exalt specific charms. Maybe there can be only handfull of exemption.Why would there need to be a way to distinguish them? I strongly approve of the decision to make them less distinguishable between the preview and the full release by removing the difference in how they were treated in character advancement. Universal Charms are a design decision pretty clearly aimed at declaring that there are certain powers Exalted share and making those powers easier to present. Anything that splits off shared powers into Exalt charms is a mistake. If certain powers become common at Essence 4-5, which might mean for example healing grievous wounds and mutations, or short-ranged teleports, or limited charm copying/share, or return-from-death mechanics, or whatever, and they're supposed to be like that, then those powers should be Universal.(PS: Those examples are not things I think should be commonly available in high essence play, only that they are shared around a lot of splats at about that point in 3e)
Question. Did anyone here ever plaued more smut oriented Exalted game? One ST will be doing it and I have chamce to join. To be more precice it woul be typical Exalted game, Bunch of superpowered maniacs getting together to either solve the crisis and fuck shit up. Not smut f9cused but there won't be any "Fade To Black" when rauchy stuff will happen.I'm not against it. Might be quite fun. ST also writenn Rule34 fanfiction and he's really good at it.But I dunno if I'm good enough to give better descriotions on the actions than Ikea Sex. Any advice?>>94813314>Essence Deeds Yet Undone – PoD uploaded>seems the essence adventures will release soon, likely next month but possibly as soon as next weekGod I hope so. Essence is best idea devs had for this Exalted line.Biggest gripe I have with it's the mechanic are main stats. They are too simplified. At my table me houserulled them into a table so they could be better reflecting complexity of character built but still kept it simple with a table that would look something like this: Power Finesse EndurancePhysical P+P P+F P+EMental M+P M+F M+ESocial S+P S+F S+EWere you asign score to each and then add them you get more proper stats. So for example someone can be relatively powerful and durable but lack physical Finesse. But weak Finnese won't be meaning character is devoid of cunning and subbtetly as weak Finesse can be compensated with strong Mental or Social stat.
>>94817879>Question. Did anyone here ever plaued more smut oriented Exalted game?I had a game destroyed by smut players bullying people into ERP when I was new to GMing Exalted, if that's what you mean. Despite that, I don't hate it.>Any advice?Any game that orients itself towards smut is also orienting itself towards romance and drama, and it's a better idea to think of the game in those terms than it is to think of it as an excuse to get your and other people's rocks off. At the end of the day it will still be a game, if a lurid one, and the smut will be best used to draw in you and your fellow players and get you involved, engaged, and invested in the characters. As a player in chargen, I recommend coming up with a fun quirk or gimmick for your character, a strong and simple concept that is easy for others to grasp, because even if it's a one-dimensional character to start you can give them context and flavor very easily to fit the group and as play develops, and because being able to give people a one-dimensional character description or archetype that's not inaccurate helps them fit you into the scenarios they'd like to push for. In play, I say be proactive rather than reactive. Seek out the scenes you want to see, even without a plan. Push very hard for your own character development, and to talk to and interact with other player's characters. Split the party a lot so that you're not all in one social scene, especially if you're up at five players or more, as too many cooks ruin the stew and too many talkers creates a mess of communication. Talk to the other players out of character regularly, too, try to ask them what they'd want to have happen in the game. Aim for drama as in theatrical displays used to emphasize serious narrative, rather than drama as in everybody throwing shit at each other, especially out of character (that's how games blow up). Light comedy in-character is useful to let off steam out-of-character.
>>94817879In terms of advice on how to make good descriptions, a good way to remember that it's good to describe how the character feels, rather than not what is actually happening in the scene. This goes beyond just describing their senses - which is important too - but also to the way you describe their feelings. Rather than saying that someone 'felt sad, on the inside', describe how feeling sad feels - 'choking on the tear they couldn't shed', or something like that. Going back a moment, when you're describing something sensual, engage senses. Add texture, feel, softness/hardness, heat, the things you touch and feel, because most people are kinesthetic to some degree and engage with that best. Add sound in next, then visuals. Smell and taste are sort of a thing you pepper in rather than throw in chunks of, usually. In a sensual scene specifically, it's a good idea not to linger on one particular thing happening at a time. Be active. Change positions, pull people around, have the character try harder or make a small mistake, etc etc.Beyond all of that though, do what makes you happy.>God I hope so. Essence is best idea devs had for this Exalted line.>Biggest gripe I have with it's the mechanic are main stats. They are too simplified.Entirely right on all counts.
>>94818093>a good way to remember*a good way to start is to rememberAlso, if you're playing by text, play in something that lets you edit easily. It saves so much hassle.
Lunars should be considered enemies of fate so Sidereal charms can be used against them since they are corrupted by the Wyld and their patron is fickle.I hope they do this next edition.
what's up with Solar Lore being the most schizophrenic fucking set of charmtrees
>>94818591Not everything needs to be an Enemy of Fate, and there's no particular reason for them to be corrupted by the Wyld when they have tattoo magic.I could see a certain branch of Lunars doing some weird magic to put themselves outside of fate so they can more effectively fight Sidereals, though.
Uploaded Alchemicals to the OP.
>>94818998Thanks, anon, you're a scholar and a gentleman.
My game group (the core group has been running games for over a decade) has cycled in enough new people that the only ones who played Exalted are myself and the only other one who was there at the start 15 years ago.We're running 2.5e, and I finally get to run the pirate adventure in the west of my dreams.Books I have read from cover to cover (save for glossing over charm sections) in preparation for this game, since we first brought it up in December: compass of celestial directions iii - yu shancompass of terrestrial direction ii - the westDreams of the First Age - Book 2 (Lords of Creation) [revised]Exalted 2e CoreGlories of the Most High - LunaGlories of the Most High - The Maidens of DestinyGlories of the Most High - The Unconquered SunManual of Exalted Power - Abyssals (2.5)manual of exalted power - Sidereals (2.5)scroll of heroesThe Masters of JadeThe Broken Winged CraneBooks I plan on reading cover to cover (Except for glossing over charm sections):books of sorcery 1 - wonders of the lost agebooks of sorcery 2 - white and black treatises(1)books of sorcery 3 - oadenols codexBooks of Sorcery 4 - The Roll Of Glorious Divinity 1 - Gods and ElementalsBooks of Sorcery 5 - The Roll Of Glorious Divinity 2 - Ghosts and Demonscompass of celestial directions i - the blessed islecompass of celestial directions ii - the wyldcompass of celestial directions iv - the underworldcompass of celestial directions v - MalfeasGraceful Wicked Masques - The Fair FolkManual of Exalted Power - Dragon Blooded (2.5)Manual of Exalted Power - Infernals (2.5)Scroll of Exaltsscroll of fallen racesscroll of kingsscroll of the monkScroll of the Monk The Imperfect LotusThe Mandate of Heaven Just wanted to post something I'm excited for, we're set to run in June-ish.
>>94819720>Just wanted to post something I'm excited for, we're set to run in June-ish.Good luck and have fun anon.
>>94818998What is this? Special needs Tranformer?
>>94819799Thank you!I really want to model the oceanic trade network, so as the groups move through different sea lanes, we have accurate probabilities for the ships they might find to rob. I'm pulling from the game starsector for the initial idea, but I'm afraid I might be overplanning and not able to keep the ball rolling.Has anyone tried/heard of something similar in a TTRPG? I don't want to create another spreadsheet for my game but I will if I have to.
>>94818900A few reasons>It's always been like thatSo people will always defend Lore being weirdly out of step compared to other abilities.>Occult and Lore have always been differentDespite Occult being the place where you'd think 'Charm' and 'Essence' goes, it's Lore. Lore is geomancy, Evocations and so on. I don't know why>Few ideas for LoreWhat themes and charmtrees might you expect to see out of Lore that is distinct from other charmsets?
>>94819808Well, we already had a wheelchair bound Alchemical in Crucible, so maybe?
>>94818998Thank you very much. Will notify in usual manner if I find anything
>>94819951Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that stupid thing.
>>94819951>>94820277>wheelchairI understand that modern trpg people go feral over the battle wheelchair but I don't see how this would be an issue here. And Alchemical exalt whose lower half is a mass of whirling gears and wheels doesn't sound out of place.
>>94820438>And Alchemical exalt whose lower half is a mass of whirling gears and wheels doesn't sound out of place.It isn't, but that's not what we got.
>>94820467Dear god 3e art is soooo fucking bad.
>>94820467I don't know, that's not necessarily a wheelchair unless you know it is from the text. That could just be a mobile throne or whatever.
>>94820467>>94820886>It's a mobile throne...and that's why we made it look like a wheelchair
>>94820467Sincerely, I don't understand how this kind wheelchair can be empowering.
Haven't touched Exalted since late 2e and very early 3e. How are Sidereals looking these days compared to their 2e equivalents?
>>94821651The lore is altered to the Sidereals no longer secretly controlling everything in the world, and now they just know all of the best people to bribe and threaten, and vast swaths are outside of their influence. They also basically ignore the Underworld to the point of not knowing the Silver Prince, who openly parades around his deathknights and says "these are magical death people I resurrected from the dead," is a deathlord.Confusingly, large numbers of Sidereals are now true believers in the Immaculate creed or Cult of the Illuminated, even though they logically should know way too much about how the sausage is made to ever believe any of it for long.SMAs are changed to be less powerful, but actually obtainable for non-elders, so normal PCs can actually learn them.Chejop's importance is massively dialed down, and he's barely mentioned except as the faraway Bronze Faction leader nearing death.They got a new rival type of exalt, Getimians, who are people from alternate timelines that the Sidereals prevented from occurring (such as "My father led my city in defense against a horde of horseriders and then married the princess, but the Sidereals stopped the horseriders from ever invading, so I was never born"). The Getimians have the power to gaslight people into thinking their timeline is the real one, and mostly just sneak around Heaven planting bombs and doing terrorist attacks. I don't really like them very much.
>>94821808>The lore is altered to the Sidereals no longer secretly controlling everything in the world, and now they just know all of the best people to bribe and threaten, and vast swaths are outside of their influence. They also basically ignore the Underworld to the point of not knowing the Silver Prince, who openly parades around his deathknights and says "these are magical death people I resurrected from the dead," is a deathlord.>Chejop's importance is massively dialed down, and he's barely mentioned except as the faraway Bronze Faction leader nearing death.>They got a new rival type of exalt, Getimians, who are people from alternate timelines that the Sidereals prevented from occurring (such as "My father led my city in defense against a horde of horseriders and then married the princess, but the Sidereals stopped the horseriders from ever invading, so I was never born")I think it is funny how much Getimians don't belong to 3e lore.
>>94821808Huh. So they're dumbed down lore wise. Are their charms still the "narrow but powerful" kind, or did they get hit with the nerf bat?Are SMAs still approximately Solar tier even if they're no longer as stupid broken as they used to be?
>>94821878Sorry, I don't know their charms or SMAs well enough to compare them to Solar charms. I do know that everyone says Solar brawl is basically the best combat tree in the game, to the point where an E1 Solar specialized in brawl can consistently defeat Anys Syn's statblock.
>>94787582Lunars can still shapeshift into your perfect type even if you're not a furry. They can also instill fearboners, so I'd bump them up a tier.
>>94787582As with porn stars, an Infernal's ranking is /d/ependent on how /d/ your tastes and their charms are
>>94821808>Confusingly, large numbers of Sidereals are now true believers in the Immaculate creed or Cult of the Illuminated, even though they logically should know way too much about how the sausage is made to ever believe any of it for long.Is it always the same fucking reddit fedora tipping autist going on about this shit?
>>94822240>ng.>Is it always the same fucking reddit fedora tipping autist going on about this shitIronically enough, it is the other way around.3e depiction of religion is like somebody from r/atheism trying to praise religions that aren't Christianity.
>>94821808>The lore is altered to the Sidereals no longer secretly controlling everything in the worldI don't recall this being how the background was presented in any edition of Exalted. The Bronze Faction has always enjoyed great influence over the Realm and that goes very far, but it doesn't translate to being able to tell people outside of that sphere what they should be doing.>Confusingly, large numbers of Sidereals are now true believers in the Immaculate creed or Cult of the Illuminated, even though they logically should know way too much about how the sausage is made to ever believe any of it for long.This thread has a problem with hasty generalizations, considering how this only describes two Sidereals (Ayesha Ura finds fulfillment in the Cult of the Illuminated's rites and Sad Ivory believes the Immaculate Order is the most important force for good in the world), but you've decided that this describes "large numbers". Its like how a few threads ago someone said that AT8D has too many societies led by Exalts with missing/dead god-queens and it turns out there was only two of those that fit the description and one of them was already detailed in another book.
>>94822630>I don't recall this being how the background was presented in any edition of Exalted. The Bronze Faction has always enjoyed great influence over the Realm and that goes very far, but it doesn't translate to being able to tell people outside of that sphere what they should be doingI think that anon is talking about stuff like the mouth of peace being Chejop's friend.
>>94822630>Its like how a few threads ago someone said that AT8D has too many societies led by Exalts with missing/dead god-queens and it turns out there was only two of those that fit the description and one of them was already detailed in another book.The complaint was more "old conquerors with succession crisis" it was targeted to the Haslanti League’s in particular.
>>94821878>>94821651Oh shit, there's no longer a distinction between Terrestrial and Celestial Martial Arts. Only between MA and SMA unless I'm missing something?
>>94822630>I don't recall this being how the background was presented in any edition of Exalted. The Bronze Faction has always enjoyed great influence over the Realm and that goes very far, but it doesn't translate to being able to tell people outside of that sphere what they should be doing.In 2e at least, the Mouth of Peace was just a Sidereal mouthpiece, and the Empress was noted as being somewhat scared of Chejop.>This thread has a problem with hasty generalizations, considering how this only describes two Sidereals (Ayesha Ura finds fulfillment in the Cult of the Illuminated's rites and Sad Ivory believes the Immaculate Order is the most important force for good in the world)Ayesha is explicitly stated as believing in the Cult being real, and there's a BF Sidereal who's noted as coaching newbie Sids through their crises of faith when they learn more about their religion that isn't public so they can keep believing. Numerous BF Sids still believe in the concept of anathema despite knowing way too much about how the religion functions.
>>94822684>Oh shit, there's no longer a distinction between Terrestrial and Celestial Martial Arts. Only between MA and SMA unless I'm missing something?It's more complicated now.For regular MAs, there's Mastery and Terrestrial keywords. Mastery is something Solars and Abyssals get and that Sids can get temporarily, which give a bonus to the MA, and Terrestrial keywords penalize DBs and Liminals when they use it.For SMAs, there's the Enlightenment keyword, which simply means that Sids get a bonus when using it (or Abyssals for that one special death SMA).Lunars are the only ones with no special MA interactions.
>>94822661>In 2e at least, the Mouth of Peace was just a Sidereal mouthpiece, and the Empress was noted as being somewhat scared of Chejop.I think you should note that immediately before it says he acts as a friend and confidant that he is also acting as a Sidereal puppet master.>and there's a BF Sidereal who's noted as coaching newbie Sids through their crises of faith when they learn more about their religion that isn't public so they can keep believingAgain, another strange extrapolation from the text (Holok consoles recently Exalted Sidereals who are having crises of faith) to something the text doesn't say (every Sidereal that has a crisis of faith is an Immaculate and Holok always makes them more Immaculate).
>>94822733Huh. I also can't find 3e Sapphire Veil of Passion style which was previously the go-to SMA that you could learn as a non-Elder Sidereal.
>>94786182Is evolution a thing in Creation?
>>94822719>Ayesha is explicitly stated as believing in the Cult being realThe Cult is fairly fragmented in modern times, but the original cult was "devoted to the pursuit of poetry, philosophy, and ethics," and those teachings still survive in its modern day incarnation. She finds fulfillment in those aspects, but I'm sure she knows that the "Shining Ones" were originally very philosophically intriguing garda birds and not Solars.
>>94822775They haven't made it yet. They're going to add it in Essence, but that won't be the full 3e style. It will likely be added in the Sid companion or Get book, but that's years from now.>>94822766I didn't say that every Sid with a crisis of faith is Immaculate, but it does say that Sids who believed in Immaculate shit do talk to him, and given that he's Bronze and helped make up the religion, I don't see what other reasonable interpretation there is except that he tells them to keep being what they are. You see it in action with Siaka, who still believes in anathema and so on. Honestly, the same question also should apply to Immaculate DBs who go to Heaven and see it in action.>>94822804>It was she and her inner circle who first recognized the potential of the Cult of the Illuminated, even before the Jade Prison was broken, seeing how its traditions and theology could be used to make it a support network for the few Solars who’d escaped the Jade Prison and a shelter from the Wyld Hunt.>What Ayesha hadn’t planned on was rediscovering her own faith. As she spoke with Illumined faithful across Creation and debated theology with Illuminated priests and philosophers, she came to see the worldthrough their eyes, experiencing the same spiritual fulfillment they found in their traditions, beliefs, andrites. After that, using the Cult as a mere tool was out of the question.>But Ayesha’s idealism won her little acclaim within the Gold Faction — some of her peers had already questioned the wisdom of allocating resources to the small handful of Solars left in Creation, and theHarbinger’s newly espoused spirituality drew derision from some of her peers. For centuries, she remainedon the faction’s fringes, embracing her reputation as a headstrong idealistI know it doesn't say the exact words that "Ayesha is a true believer," but that's clearly what it's saying.
>>94822839>in the Sid companionAh. Makes sense then. Dunno why they'd delay putting it in when it's supposed to be for low essence characters though, but oh well.>true believers thingIf they fluffed it as Sidereal hubris causing them to get high on their own supply of propaganda it feels like it would work a lot better.
>>94822781It is likely that it exists.
>>94822781Ask the Bureau of Nature I suppose.
>>94822839>but it does say that Sids who believed in Immaculate shit do talk to himIt doesn't specify from what I see in his write-up.>I don't see what other reasonable interpretation there is except that he tells them to keep being what they areConsidering he's not ideologically Bronze, I could also see him being genuinely helpful instead of partisan.>I know it doesn't say the exact words that "Ayesha is a true believer," but that's clearly what it's saying.I'm not disputing that, I just think its strange to be upset that she prefers one philosophical and ethical framework over others and equate that to, I don't know, believing in Christianity if you had bulletproof evidence that Christ was just some dude and not the Son of God. Would you rather that everyone in the Sidereal Host be utterly cynical about everything they do?
>Successful merchant somewhere in creation>Has three children>One son is supposed to become a moderately successful military captain>Other son is going to be a brilliant scholar>The daughter will go on to marry a minor noble and become a local patron of the arts>Some Dynast uses a bureaucracy charm to corner the local commodity market>The Merchant goes bankrupt and his family's destinies unravel>The God of Bankruptcy over at the Bureau of Endings is too high ranked to petition to do something about the bankruptcy of this minor merchant>Junior Sidereals from the Serenity, Battles, and Secrets departments have to have a meeting to coordinate what to do with this family due to the bankruptcy erasing their destinies>This sort of thing happens constantlyI wonder if a campaign done in the style of The Office but with magical kung fu would be fun.
>>94822954>, I don't know, believing in Christianity if you had bulletproof evidence that Christ was just some dude and not the Son of God. Would you rather that everyone in the Sidereal Host be utterly cynical about everything they do?Sincerely, if it was realistic, the first challenge when dealing with a new Sidereal would be to convince them they aren't being attacked by demons.
>>94818591>Lunars should be considered enemies of fate so Sidereal charms can be used against themGiving foil splats blanket immunity to the good half of one side's powerset is piss poor design.
>>94823147Didn't Sidereals receive a not!holy effect against enemies of fate?
>>94822781>Is evolution a thing in Creation?Evolution as in a gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form, and as in the result of that process, yes. That term is sometimes used, such as in the Lunar charm 'Wound-Mastering Body Evolution', or in phrases like 'the Pale Snake School is the evolution of a tradition among martial artists that came together around these crossroads'. Evolution as in changes in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations is more questionable, but it has been indirectly referenced a few times, mostly as a negative force that rapidly diffuses power across wider demographics, especially in relation to things like divine bloodlines.>>94823186>Didn't Sidereals receive a not!holy effect against enemies of fate?It's shit-tier.
>>94822954>I'm not disputing that, I just think its strange to be upset that she prefers one philosophical and ethical framework over others and equate that to, I don't know, believing in Christianity if you had bulletproof evidence that Christ was just some dude and not the Son of God. Would you rather that everyone in the Sidereal Host be utterly cynical about everything they do?I don't mind her being in charge of Gold Faction and genuinely thinking that Sidereals advising Solars will be better for Creation than the status quo, that's fine to me. It's just a little hard to believe that a Sidereal of all people could believe in a prophecy made outside of Heaven about the Illuminated Ones.
>>94824233>It's just a little hard to believe that a Sidereal of all people could believe in a prophecy made outside of Heaven about the Illuminated OnesBut she doesn't. She believes in the Cult's philosophical teachings, which extends beyond some of them having a belief that the Shining Ones may return.
>>94824893Similarly to this, even 1E stated that many Sidereals have genuine respect for the Immaculate Faith and take solace in taking part in its practices - they know it lies about metaphysics, but they believe in the underlying philosophy and consider the Faith a genuine force for good.
>>94824987>Similarly to this, even 1E stated that many Sidereals have genuine respect for the Immaculate Faith and take solace in taking part in its practices - they know it lies about metaphysics, but they believe in the underlying philosophy and consider the Faith a genuine force for good.And, I mean, why wouldn't they? If you're going to build a religion and induct everybody you can into it, you're going to build it around a philosophy you like and want everyone to have. Of course Sidereals tend to respect the Immaculate philosphy; at the end of the day it's Sidereal philosophy draped in mythology and stuffed with as many useful lessons as they can fit into it. Yes, it teaches that working in the now is rewarded in reincarnation, but the important part of that was always that you should get to work doing the best you can in the role you were born to, regardless of how life or arrogant shitlords try to kick you out of it. That's a theme that resonates with Sidereals as much as anybody, since their position in Heaven is that of the get-to-work glowie agents getting dunked on by up-themselves bureaucrats but doing their jobs anyway because they can see that what they do preserves and upholds the world's order. Similarly, if mortals would stay in their lane more then Sidereals would have an easier time setting everything up to have a good time, and if the Dragonblood would be virtuous heroes it might even justify how much effort goes into the Convention on Essence Users.
>>94820467lmao they added the combat wheelchair to exalted
>>94821843>I think it is funny how much Getimians don't belong to 3e lore.Less not belonging and more their existence seems to be much more antagonistic on par with 2e Abyssals or Infernals.If they keeps Sids as those ultimate puppetmasters of Fate then a group that is opposing them for all that mingling with Destiny to thier own devices theu would be this rebellios anti Fate predetermined faction. In context of 3e Lore? They are now anomaly, a threat and assholes that interfere in the works of the Agents of Heaven who try thier best to make sure Creation won't go to shit and things get improved in the long run. Writers till now depicted them as former not the latter.So yeah. 3e writers cant be consistent even within thier own lore. First they neutered Infernals and Abyssals, completly fuck up Alchemicals art direction, and their brand new idea doesn't work.I hope that 3e will end ASAP and 4e will be less retarden and they get better artist.
>>94818086>>94818093Thanks for the advice.>>94818098It will be pbp on Discord channel. GM, Players will be from diffrent timezones US, Europe and SEA, so that's best solution for us to maintain seamless communication and shitposting.We already played Cyberpunk 2070 and D&D FFXIV games like this.
>>94821051You know how there are chainsaw weapons in Autochthonia that all share the Evocation that allows them to carve chunks out of people? Like that, only with the ability to run over anyone, at any time. And that's just the basement level function; having spiked monster truck wheels that allow the character to gain massive amounts of Initiative from rolling over battle groups couldn't be far behind.Everything is over the top in this game, and if you're questioning why you aren't thinking of how it could be a spectacle fighter boss fight or the bizarre liberties with history that Warriors games and Sengoku Basara take.
>>94821878Sidereal charms are very fun and good. There's a few charms in Medicine where it feels like it should have just been one Charm considering how niche they are compared to how emotionally impactful they are.
>>94825885i'd be more sympathetic to this if this wasn't like the 3rd time this edition that they tried to make combat wheelchairs cool(and failed), for a fucking Alchemical none the less. there are characters that can look cool in a wheelchair, but they actually need good artists to sell it because wheelchairs are inherently not cool.
>>94822781I remember some solar creations mentioned to be "bred" that implies lifeforms changing from generations to others.
Any good recent Exalted modern shards like how Sandact did for Heaven's Reach?No, ExWoD or Demake are not that.
>>94825901It is in part because of the lack of logistics.
>>94825805I'm on the fence about Getimians and Liminals. I really like the idea of other powerful entities seeing exalted in action, then creating their own exalts, but they had to jury-rig and backtrack to figure out how, so theirs don't work quite the same way as the Autochthon-derived versions.The problem is, I just don't like Getimians at all. Their lore is inconsistent and completely superfluous to the greater world, their powers are very wonky and one-note, and the position of "rivals to the Sidereals" should have just been held by the Lunars.Liminals, I can accept a little more, even though I'm not in love with them. I don't like how they step on Abyssals' toes as champions of the dead, I don't like how they're born as what they are like Alchemicals, and I don't like how they're basically just a faction of Frankenstein's Monsters.
>>94825886>The Sidereal Socialize charms turn you into the ultimate Domme
>>94828486Technically they top from the bottom.
>>94828374>Liminals, I can accept a little more, even though I'm not in love with them. I don't like how they step on Abyssals' toes as champions of the dead, My hope for Liminals is they lean on that minor plot thread mentioned in the Synergy effects in 2e's Alchemicals implying Autocthion DID design a Champion of the Dead splat of Exalts, but Abyssals aren't (and can't be) them, but might be close enough to work. Maybe make them the champions of a fallen Incarna or of how the Underworld was before the Neverborn were a thing>I don't like how they're born as what they are like Alchemicals, I don't like how they're basically just a faction of Frankenstein's Monsters.The first I do sorta like, as being 'born' with their Exaltation fits with them as a Terrestrial level Exalt I think (they're not being empowered by something, rather something is being awakened within them, it's just unlike DBs what awakens allows them to y'know, not be a corpse), the latter... yeah, if feels like they're trying to shove Prometheans into Exalted from what we've seen so far
>>94828675>Maybe make them the champions of a fallen Incarna or of how the Underworld was before the Neverborn were a thingIt is really weird how Holden went with magitech for them, maybe it is an artifact from 2e plans?
>>94828675I think I'd like Liminals more if they were maybe like an amalgamation of ghosts merged into one soul or some shit? Or maybe made by a mega ghost instead of a god or Primordial.Really, the only nu-exalt I think fits into the setting is Hearteaters, and that's just because they accidentally provide more context for the Sidereals locking away inconvenient exaltations and more for the Primordial War, as an Incarnae dying makes it more of a war.
>>94828760Possibly, there are very little details on Liminals in 2e, IIRC there's only that (maybe) that bit in Alchemicals and some bits in Masters of Jade about how they fight the dead, harvest body parts, have a good relationship with the Guild for some reason, and serve something called the Dark Mother, but there were some dev comments about how they were planned for a while. Holden apparently was quite fond of them, could be they were planned to have a closer relationship to Alchemicals for whatever reason, and come to think of it, the Liminal Creation process isn't too far from the Alchemical one, at least on the surface (guy(s) assemble a body, put a soul in it, something infuses it with life)>>94828832>I think I'd like Liminals more if they were maybe like an amalgamation of ghosts merged into one soul or some shit? Or maybe made by a mega ghost instead of a god or Primordial.I mean, I think the only place the Dark Mother is called a god or anything at all is in Essence, could be she's actually something like the first ghost or something? I doubt the devs would be that clever though>Really, the only nu-exalt I think fits into the setting is Hearteaters, and that's just because they accidentally provide more context for the Sidereals locking away inconvenient exaltations and more for the Primordial War, as an Incarnae dying makes it more of a war.I don't mind the idea of most of the nu-exalts, I just feel like they either are a case of "Good core idea, bad follow ups" (Getimians, some Exigents), "Good idea, meh execution" (other Exigents, Liminals), or "Shouldn't be Exalts, but very cool idea" (Hearteaters)That said, you do have a good point about how the latter fits, and dead Incarna and lost types of Exaltations have been a thing in the setting in previous editions, albeit only mentioned in passing
>>94828832Nocturnals made sense back in 2e, but Getimians are a pretty meh take on the original concept.
Are other Exalts a valid target for Breaking the Wild Mortal?
>>94830034>The Sidereal can pay a one-Willpower surcharge to present the Ordained Bridle of Mercury to a mortalIt's clearly only for mortals, not exalts. Not even clear if godbloods apply.
>>94830079Makes sense given that the rest of the tree is basically a follower boosting tree. I was mostly looking for ways to put intimacy wammies on people, but the serenity trees do that extremely well without the need for the bridle charms.
>>94830079>It's clearly only for mortals, not exalts. Not even clear if godbloods apply.I mean, in earlier editions godbloods counted as mortals, but I think by RAW in 3e godbloods or any other sort of enlightened mortals doesn't count as mortals, they don't count as anything
Do you guys feel like the initiative system and withering vs decisive attacks have made combat more fun?
>>94830803No, it makes things take too long, and the 'cinematic combat' thing only makes sense in conversation rather than at the table.However, with some specialised software / maybe even a game, it could feel fun and dynamic.
>>94830803Unfortunately Sekiro only released after it.>>94831084>Exalted game.I wonder what it would look like.
>>94830803I think it beats chungian combat. I'm unaware on if that's still a thing in 3e.
>>94831084>No, it makes things take too long???3e has the fastest combats on average between every edition of Exalted, if you look purely at number of rounds/steps taken. They're almost always over by round three. There are certain builds that can tank longer but that's a flaw in Soak, not initiative. Outside soak stacking builds designed to dodge ways that avoid that, it takes forever to get through fights mostly because of charm design, not because of initiative. Having hundreds of compatible charms you need to sort through for applicability every roll was a huge mistake, and it's why Essence limited you to one charm per step and moved it's charm design back to the bigger individual charms with little dice manipulation of 1e/2e.1e does double persistent grind, 2e does perfect defense grind, Essence (used to) have Soak-max grind, whereas 3e doesn't have perfects or ways to reliably prevent people hitting you and damage scales up indefinitely.
>>94832668As long as there are white-room number crunchers in your game, it will be
>>94832816Ah, but not every blow has to be stopped by a perfect defense anymore. At least in theory.
>>948328163e white-room number crunchers pretty much concluded that going nova and winning turn one or two off Join Battle was the way to go, last I heard. You basically blow your mote pool on either a stacked Iron Whirlwind or giving people the Crashing Wave Special.
>>94832853>At least in theory.Key phrase there, and also side steps what the big issue with Chungian combat wasChungian combat's assumptions break down outside of a white room, if a player is incapable of describing a 2 dot stunt for every single roll, and/or if the ST doesn't make every encounter a hyperlethal combat encounter, which right there should start to tell you the actual issue with itWhite-room minmaxingChungian combat itself stemmed from an attempt to make a mathematically perfected strategy, 3e and Essence just changed the paradigm to "Build your meter quicker than your foes and instagib them, repeat" as opposed to 2e's "Tear down your opponent's meter faster than he does yours and instagib them, repeat"
>>94833012>Chungian combat itself stemmed from an attempt to make a mathematically perfected strategyIt was more because of the rocket tag nature of 2e combat.
>>94833012I mean, isn't 3e potentially swingier in the sense that tearing down your opponent's meter boosts yours? Unless we're assuming that anyone with even a modest edge in combat is going to be able to easily boost their initiative before going for the throat because their combat is so optimized.
>>94833078It doesn't even matter. Just use Brawl and Stealth to kill from JB.
>>94833097>Ambush is still insta-gibIs this true?
>>94833113Nta, but as far as I know yes
>>94833113Devs have even triple downed on this and said you can't use charms when you get ambushed.
>>94833113>>94833123>>94833129>The optimal way to play post paranoia combat is to actually be paranoid both in and out of characterYou know what? No, I take everything bad I've said about 3e back, this is clearly one huge joke on the fanbase
>>94833129That's fucking retarded. What is the point of awareness charms then?
>>94833163The wording is "the Charm has to directly specify if it can be used against ambush", which shuts resistance charms.
>>94833221....I count three solar charms that are allowed to be used against an ambush, two that make ambushing you harder, only one that allows you to apply other charms to defend yourself, and only dodge charms. Am I missing something?
>>94833257No, it is like falling prone.
>>94833262With every new thing I learn about it, the more I find myself believing that the devs did near 0 playtesting of 3e before releasing it
>>94833316To be fair, I think the ambush is from Vance.>3e not having playtest.Hundreds of charm and the dev circle was really insulated.
>>94833316>near 0kek
>>94833163You know what? All those Lunar shapeshifting disguise charms and all of those Sidereal fate based "I'm not a threat don't target me" disguise charms now look fucking great.
>>94833129I'm pretty sure each Celestial type has a charm that can mitigate/negate the ambush penalty, but I don't really see ambushes being that frequent in most games on the side of the ST. Most NPCs aren't ninjas and if you're constantly throwing ninjas at the players because you have envisioned a Creation in which everyone has Stealth maxed out, the players will just buy the anti-ambush charm.>>94832721I don't think people ITT actually remember how 2e played or never played at all and just read the fluff..
>>94833350>I'm pretty sure each Celestial type has a charm that can mitigate/negate the ambush penaltyNot solars lol
>>94833380>Not solars lolSurprise Anticipation Method and Reflex Sidestep Technique both counter ambush to some extent.
>>94833390>Surprise Anticipation MethodOnly if you're asleep>Reflex Sidestep TechniquePretty useless all in all
>>94833390Reflex Sidestep Technique gives you a DV of 2. Plus the number of 1s and 2s the opponent rolled on their attack.
>>94833350>the players will just buy the anti-ambush charm.The Solar anti-ambush charm doesn't even stop ambushes, it just lets you use other dodge charms on the attack if, and only if, your ambusher gets enough 1s and 2s on his attack to equal your Evasion - 2, if they don't roll badly you still get fucked>>94833390Surprise Anticipation Method doesn't actually stop an ambush if it goes through, and Reflex Sidestep Technique is a better ambush stopper the worse your Evasion is
You know what's hilarious? Adamant Skin Technique doesn't cover ambushes anymore, but a Sidereal charm in the resistance tree lets them have essence hardness against ambushes.
>>94833380>>94833405Now I am curious about Abyssals
>if you're a solar suspecting an ambush, the best thing for you to do is to take a power nap
>>94833415or you could simply use your Awareness charms to beat their stealth roll or initiative roll
>>94833405The Sidereals have better options than that. Thrown and Archery let them clash with an ambush, and I think they have another charm that does something similar, and they have knock-off Reflex Sidestep Technique.
Wait. Wait. What if you just walk around in armor with a high enough hardness rating to shrug off an ambush made with an optimized JB?
>>94833433No such armor exists.
>>94833436The experience Dragon Blooded statblock in the core book has hardness 10 thanks to their armor.
>>9483344610 is nowhere near enough and that's the max.
>>94833422>Get high as fuck Awareness to ensure you're never ambushed>As a side effect, this makes your Join Battle rolls high as fuck letting you nuke foes with a small bit of optimization>To give you a challenge the ST starts facing you against foes with excellent Stealth Congrats, you've reinvented the basics of paranoia combat
>>94833453Do people have some goofy way of boosting their JB rolls to make their first decisive attack uber lethal and get past 10 hardness readily? If so, then >>94833347 new paranoia combat is super stealth/disguise and awareness charms dialed up to 11 at all times.
>>94833464>Do people have some goofy way of boosting their JB rolls to make their first decisive attack uber lethal and get past 10 hardness readily?Wouldn't a full Solar Excellency + artifact weapon suffice?
>>94833485Eyeballing it? A full Solar Excellency means a pool of 21. Let's call that 11 successes. That means 14 initiative. IIRC you only roll raw initiative for decisive attacks. That averages out around 7. Which means that medium armor, on average, stops an ambush with 7 hardness and heavy armor shuts it down at 10 hardness.
>>94833464A quick google and it seems if you max Dex, Wits, Stealth, and Larceny + Blinding Battle Feint, Living Shadow Preparedness, and the relevant excellencies and you have a 31.5 Join Battle roll on average, I see some more stuff that lets you boost that to ~63 always, ~80+ in the right situations, but I'm dubious about some of the logicBut yeah, even if like, half that doesn't work, you can get some absurd Join Battle rolls if you minmax for it
>>94833513Reread how hardness works.
>>94833527What's the essence and xp requirement on that setup? White room munchkins always ignore that. If it's some narrow requirement for a specific build that you can make when you're up to Essence 3 then it opens the door for doing all of the bullshit things to min-max counter-ambush builds.
>>948335452 charms with no prerequisites, essence 1 and 2.
>>94833540Hardness isn't like soak, I know. It has to beat damage.
>>94833551You don't know. Read it again.
>>94833549That's fucking stupid who the fuck wanted ninja supremacy in 3e?
>>94833455This sounds similar to saying that D&D melee fighters suffer under paranoia combat because the DM can technically add some more archers to a fight that are out of his reach.
>>94833739>sounds similarHow so?
>>94833527/exg/ makes stunning discovery: solars are very strong.
What happens to Abyssals in 3e?
>>94833791What?
>>94833752very specific parts of solars are very strong, not solars as a whole
>>94833797In 2e Abyssals were basically Solars in terms of combat but shitty in comparison everywhere else.
>>94833743Well, anon, is it a bad thing if your gamemaster is adjusting the difficulty to challenge the particular characters you built?
>>94833840The first session of Exalted that I ever played in person with an IRL group I played an Eclipse Caste Solar. The rest of my Circle were playing combat focused characters, so I didn't invest anything into combat. I invested in being the party diplomat. I wasn't trying to step on toes.I derailed the entire campaign by using basic social charms in a singular encounter with the early game boss that a veteran D&D DM built. I had previously talked to this particular DM about the system shock of playing a game that has Social Combat. He ignored me. I demonstrated sub-optimized social combat as a starting Solar. It derailed his whole carefully written plot.This is not D&D.
>>94833863>*spends 1 willpower*
>>94833739It kinda is? Paranoia combat only becomes an issue if the ST throws hyperlethal opponents at the PCs. The simple option of NOT throwing the equivalent of tucker's kobolds at the party nullifies one of the base assumptions of paranoia combat
>>94833870You min-max willpower expenditure?
>>94833904It's still an issue when the PCs use it against NPCs.
>>94833917No, not really. If NPCs don't use it against PCs you've removed all reason for the PCs to go all in on defense, in which case you end up with just regular ol' combat minmaxing. And even then, the answer remains the same, don't throw hyperlethal combat encounters at the PCs, or at least give them combat encounters where the goal isn't just kill everything. Like incentivizing them to capture someone, or have a third party who will reward them if they make a show of it or humiliate someone in a fight (but leave them alive), etc. This won't stop a PC who just wants to murderhobo their way across Creation, but no rule really will
>>94833870Right. He didn't know the system.
>>94833946Yes, really. NPCs not adhering to the meta are still going to die in droves.
>>94834096>Foes the party faces and has no reason to keep alive will probably dieYou don't say?
>>94834112Would have been great in a world where that's the definition of NPC.
>>94834123If the PCs are attacking everyone they meet you have a murderhobo problem, and once more, no rule will stop that
>>94834137>jumping from one nonsensical extreme to the nextYou sound completely deranged.
>>94834145You're the one who went straight to the extreme anon. I already said, the two best ways to resolve the paranoia combat issue are don't routinely throw hyperlethal foes at the PCs and give them a reason to not go hyperlethal to every foe.Will NPCs still die? Yeah, combat is still a thing, it's in the nature of most TTRPGsWill the PCs kill every foe? As long as you give them a reason not to, no, not unless murderhobos gonna murderhobo
>>94834195I didn't go to any extremes. Not even reading the rest of your post. You need meds.
>>94834207Anon, you haven't given a single counterargument other than "But the PCs will go straight to killing everyone". That's not paranoia combat, that's murderhobo behavior. Get better bait
>>94834220Not much use in arguing against someone experiencing hallucinations.
>>94833870>>*spends 1 willpower*>laughs in Fulminating Word flurry
>>94834226Suppose you are right there at least
