Exalted Third Edition: The Tomb of Dreams

[Gregness]

So, after nearly a year of no releases and very little official word on the subject, Exalted Third Edition has changed its development team, and within the last two weeks we've had two (https://www.dropbox.com/s/15xddoahzedtkwu/Arms%20of%20the%20Chosen%20Preview.docx?dl=0) separate previews (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7FqViticwNuam9lbVJBWFhJM2s/view) of the next book in line for release, a Q&A thread to address long standing questions that people have had, plans for monthly online releases of antagonists and monsters, and changes to the expected release order to try and make up for lost time.

In other words, the game has a pulse now!

I've been running an Ex3 campaign for... six or eight months or so, and we've been having a blast so far. While I don't think I have the time to run an entire additional campaign, the other thing due to release soon is a one-shot adventure module and if there's enough interest here, I definitely would be up for running some people through that.

So how 'bout it? Anyone here want to be a demigod for an afternoon?

[mauve]

I know nothing about Exalted, but if you're willing to take on a newbie I'd be interested in giving it a try.

[Gregness]

Yeah, that's not a problem at all. The Tomb of Dreams is designed to be an introductory adventure, so it comes complete with premade characters and a rules reference so you don't have to dig through the core book itself (which is a good thing, 'cause it's pretty meaty).

Speaking of the premades, I guess I should have said something about them, if I'm wanting people to know what they're getting themselves into. ::V:

There's a lot of really great writing in the setting information and backstory, but the only grounding you'll need to enjoy the module is the blurb from its first pages:

Long ago, the gods made war against ancient monsters who forged the world. They chose as their champions mortal women and men, and through the gift of Exaltation uplifted these heroes with divine power. The goddess of the moon made the Lunar Exalted, who could take the forms of beasts. The five maidens of the stars made the Sidereal Exalted, who could compel destiny. The world-dragons made Dragon-Blooded legions empowered by the elements. And the Unconquered Sun, chief of the gods, made the Solar Exalted. The Solars became the Exalted’s mightiest generals and heroes, the apex of human potential. They led the Exalted to victory, and the First Age of Man dawned.

But the death-curse of the world’s creators ate at the hearts of the Exalted. The star-chosen Sidereals whispered to the Dragon-Blooded of the Solars’ tyranny and debauchery, of how they’d squander their rulership of the world. Together, the Sidereals and Dragon-Blooded chased the shapechanging Lunars beyond the world’s edge, slew the ruling Solars and locked away their power, and usurped the Realm that the Solars had built. The First Age ended, and the Second Age began—an age of sorrows.

The Sidereals vanished. Centuries of war and catastrophe cleansed away all but the Old Realm’s most meagre remnants. The great Dragon-Blooded empire ruling from Creation’s center has lost its immortal empress, and the world’s lesser powers chafe to be free of her dynasty’s yoke—free to make their own conquests, free to forge their own empires, and free to keep for themselves their harvests of luxuries and slaves.

Into this time of tumult the power of Solar Exaltation has returned from death and banishment—once again the Unconquered Sun raises mortal heroes to glory. The returning Solars will end this age of sorrows, but with their unbridled power and ambition, will they bring light to the world or ignite its funeral pyre?

What Is Exalted?

Exalted is a tabletop roleplaying game where the players take the role of heroes empowered with divine might. In this scenario, and in the Exalted Third Edition main rulebook, players will take the role of the Solar Exalted. Additional books provide rules for playing Lunars, Sidereals, Dragon-Blooded, and other character types. Paragons of will and excellence, the Solars are charged by the Unconquered Sun with bringing Creation to righteousness as best they know how, but are ultimately beholden only to their own ambitions.

Exalted makes itself distinct from conventional fantasy in that rather than drawing its primary inspirations from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and the books and games that followed in his wake, it sets its roots elsewhere—in Exalted you will find material inspired by ancient Greek, Middle- Eastern, Indian, and Asian myth-cycles; as well as pulp fantasy works like Robert E. Howard’s Conan and Michael Moorcock’s Elric. Exalted draws heavily from wuxia, anime, and manga for look and feel—characters in Exalted might be able to run along walls or the surface of a lake, fell a foe with a sword-blow delivered from ten yards away, or craft an argument so perfect none may deny its truth. But while the Exalted are powerful, they are not necessarily wise, and while their magics aid great deeds, only their human judgment can help them discern worthy action from unworthy.


Exalted doesn't have character classes per se. Rather, each kind of Exalt (lunars, Solars, Sidereals, etc.) has their own set of castes that determine trends or roles, but leaving lots of flexibility within them. For Solars, you have castes named for the positions of the sun in the sky:

-Dawn Caste: Warriors, generals, and gladiators; the kind of person for whom violence is a way of life.

-Zenith Caste: Priests, kings, and prophets; the kind of person who inspires others.

-Twilight Caste: Inventors, sorcerers, and scholars; the kind of person who pursues knowledge to the utmost.

-Night Caste: Thieves, Spies, and investigators; The kind of person who is at home out of the limelight.

-Eclipse Caste: Travelers, diplomats, and explorers; The kind of person who is equally happy dealing with a foreign culture or a court full of intrigue.

As I said before, there's a lot of flexibility in the castes and you can have Dawn caste sorcerers or Twilight caste investigators and so on. The Tomb of Dreams has one premade character of each caste. The backstories for each are fairly straightforward and most importantly, short enough that I'll post 'em here:

-Volfer (Dawn): Volfer doesn’t speak of his Exaltation. When pressed, he’ll say only this: “I had it handled; the Sun didn’t need to get in my business.” He’s a brute and a tough and a pit-fighter, and knows his worth only through violence. And he does enjoy violence.

And yet, he’s not a bully, if only because easy fights do nothing for him. He may enjoy the feel of a nose breaking against his fist, but he wants landing the hit to be a challenge. And he loves to see the prideful brought low, the officious humiliated, and the tyrannical pulled down into the mud. Though no one could accuse him of having a heart of gold, the downtrodden often find reason to be thankful for his presence anyway. From a safe distance.

-Karal Fire Orchid (Zenith): Karal Fire Orchid is the daughter of a powerful Dragon-Blooded family from the Threshold city of Lookshy. She did not Exalt as a Dragon-Blooded herself, but she honored her mother through service to the Lookshyan military, rising eventually to command more than 600 troops. Her 40-year career ended with her retirement to a farming villa, but when the Fair Folk attacked nearby settlements, she took up arms and armor one last time.

She expected to die in defense of her home. Instead, she heard the Unconquered Sun’s voice, exhorting her to strike down the unrighteous and share her wisdom with those who need it. She fought off the raiders, but knew then she was now Anathema to her family and city, so she fled to ponder the blessing and burden given to her.

Fire Orchid believes it’s her purpose to pass her strength and wisdom to others, and to ensure they can survive in the world without exploiting those around them.

-Iay Selak-Amu (Twilight): Iay spent his youth apprenticed to the witch of the Windward Isle in the far West, learning the songs and prayers that kept the Wyld from dissolving the island into the ever-hungry sea. When she died, he took up her role, walking the boundaries of the land and reminding the world of its existence. Dreams brought him to a remote settlement in danger, but he was too late, and as the tide drowned and dissolved it, he was lost. Days later he woke in his tiny boat adrift in the Wyld, and felt sure the hour of his death had come, but as the sun set, a voice told him not to die. He Exalted as a Solar of the Twilight Caste.

Iay returned to the witch’s old place of power and studied all the secret lore she’d never shown him. He learned the deepest secrets of her magic and more; he tapped into the fundament of Creation and felt its pulse. Then he left the Windward Isle, and his wife and children, to learn more.

-Faka Kun (Night): Faka Kun is of the Djala, hairless desert pygmies with chalk-white skin marked by large, panda-like black spots, popular as slaves among the wealthy for their novel appearance. She herself is a famous acrobat and thief, using her travels with the Gerontine Circus between the major cities of the South as cover while she robbed the mansions and treasure-troves of the wealthy. During one such robbery, she was caught, but as she turned to fight her captors she felt light suffuse her. Exalting as a Solar of the Night Caste, she escaped pursuit and went to ground.

Faka Kun wants wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, but since her Exaltation, her thoughts have turned to its purpose. She currently seeks the resources to free her tribe from the Varang City-States and establish them as an independent power.

-Mirror Flag (Eclipse): Once there was traveling performer, famed as a student of the gods of a great city in the East, who roamed Creation telling stories of injustice and rebellion against it. Wherever she went, rebellion fermented and the unjust were overthrown. How marvelous, that Creation should conform to her stories!

Once, a troupe of traveling actors stood accused of theft by the gods of the Eastern city of Great Forks. One of the accused wove a tale in their defense, and while it was rejected and the other actors hanged, it won her the favor of the judge. Ever after she claimed she’d been ignorant of her fellows’ guilt.

Once, a wealthy merchant had a daughter bored by finance but with a passion for the arts. She fled to join a troupe of actors, and only returned years later to claim her inheritance when he died. But while the records showed her clearly as his heir, none of his friends recalled he’d ever had a daughter.

The Mirror Flag wears masks under her masks under her masks.

Okay, beyond all that, we'd be playing online using a dice bot, so the only thing you'd need is a microphone.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Im actually curious about 3.0 and I'll be done with exams in a bit over a week, so color me interested, a one-shot or two-shot game would be the perfect way to get my feet wet.

[Arcanum]

I'm tentatively interested. Will get around to reading more about Exalted in the next couple days, but so far I like the sound of it.

[Sithdarth]

Seeing as I was partly the genesis of this idea I'm sure it comes as no surprise to Greg I am interested. I figured I should make it explicit though.

[Gregness]

Well, that makes four.

Now, I figure the easiest way to figure out the scheduling is to have everyone fill in colors for when you're free next Saturday on this very bad spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_w5wgGcpMR-idNTP85mL_vVOokt4kQFAW7_FA5W3Yc/edit?usp=sharing) I made over the course of like 5 minutes.

I'm kind of assuming Saturdays are fairly alright for everyone? If not, we can figure something else out.

Edit: What I'm hoping for is a window of like 4-5 hours where all our availabilities line up.

[mauve]

I will not be available during the weekend of May 6th or during Memorial Day weekend (May 27-28), but otherwise I'm generally around during the evenings, 6-10ish PST.

[Gregness]

I suppose I just kind of assumed a weekday would be super hard to make happen scheduling-wise, but if you all can swing it, I'm in. I can't do this Wednesday, Friday, or the Friday after that, but otherwise I'm pretty flexible.

[Arcanum]

If it's a weekend I should be good for any time.

As for week days, since at least two of you are PST and I'm over here living in the future times of EST I'd only be able to pull off a 6-10 PST session (which would be 9-1 EST) on Thursday.

[Tev]

Exalted was one of the few White Wolf properties that never really clicked with me. To be fair to the game, I had one overzealous power-gaming friend who wouldn't shut up about all the crazy ridiculous things the system let him get away with and the one time I did play with a group, we were all pretty lost in the weeds the entire time, from character creation until we gave up near the end of the first session. I did really like that one webcomic someone made that followed around a group of Exalted during their adventures, Keychain of Creation (https://keychain.patternspider.net/). If normal Exalted games played out similarly to that comic, I think I might have given it a warmer reception.

Either way, it's good to see some old properties get some new life.

[Gregness]

We do still have one spot left in the one-shot Tev. Just sayin'.

[mauve]

If it's just one or two Saturdays I can probably be available any time of the day if I know the date ahead of time. If it's going to be a regularly recurring event, I can only promise 6-10 pst.

[Gregness]

Well, from what you said earlier the two weekends after this next one are okay for you? Aiming for one of those might be best since it seems like it'd take until then to get everyone to check in with the thread anyway. ::V:

[Tev]

We do still have one spot left in the one-shot Tev. Just sayin'.As fun as that sounds, I'm really hurting for time right now, you know, that thing that is the bane of all RPGs.

[Sithdarth]

PST as well here. I'm generally good for anytime after about 2pm on the weekends. Weekdays other than Tuesday and Thursday I'm free after 6pm PST. Weekends would probably be easiest though.

[Gregness]

Exalted was one of the few White Wolf properties that never really clicked with me. To be fair to the game, I had one overzealous power-gaming friend who wouldn't shut up about all the crazy ridiculous things the system let him get away with and the one time I did play with a group, we were all pretty lost in the weeds the entire time, from character creation until we gave up near the end of the first session. I did really like that one webcomic someone made that followed around a group of Exalted during their adventures, Keychain of Creation (https://keychain.patternspider.net/). If normal Exalted games played out similarly to that comic, I think I might have given it a warmer reception.

Either way, it's good to see some old properties get some new life.

Keychain was fucking amazing. Its depiction of initiating into sorcery still probably edges itself into being my favorite part of the comic despite all of it being as good as it was. In fact, the game I'm currently running is basically playing the offscreen plot from that comic. My players got the Key of Moonsilver at the culmination of their last arc, and they're now in the middle of consolidating some important allies for the eventual confrontation with not only the Silver Pact who are going to want such a powerful moonsilver artifact returned to them, but also the eventual conflict with the First and Forsaken Lion who wants it for all the reasons from the comic.

If it's just one or two Saturdays I can probably be available any time of the day if I know the date ahead of time. If it's going to be a regularly recurring event, I can only promise 6-10 pst.

Well, from a couple posts back, it doesn't look like you blacked out Saturday, May 13th. Does that work for everyone?

[Arcanum]

Well, from a couple posts back, it doesn't look like you blacked out Saturday, May 13th. Does that work for everyone?

Works for me

[mauve]

Likewise!

Would this be played on the NPF discord chat? Or maybe Roll20?

[Gregness]

The way I've been running my other game is having everyone in a voice channel (and yeah, I was thinking NPF discord for the purposes of the one-shot), and then I've been using a lobby in rolz.org, since it's pretty lightweight (you don't need to sign up for any kind of account to use it, free or otherwise) and the dice syntax isn't too complex. Third, I have a google doc I've been using to track combat, since initiative and turn order can swing pretty drastically from round to round (I'll cover the details when we actually play).

So, no more than 4 browser tabs depending on where you have the character sheet up at (i.e. have it running in adobe reader or whatever).

4 tabs may sound unwieldy, but in my defense I started my campaign before Ex3 was technically released, so roll20 and its ilk didn't have official support for it yet, and I haven't checked up on it since to figure out if they've added it and to learn the tools if they had. ::V:

Anyway, all those things are lightweight enough that as long as you all have computers with internet connections and a microphone, there's not a lot else that'll go wrong.

[Sithdarth]

I am also good with May 13th.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Woah! This really took off while I was away. Sorry about vanishing there, I've only just crawled out of my battle with Final Exams.

13th should be good. I assume all the character sheets are pre-genned? If so, is there a way to get a look at them ahead of time? Also, I'll probably need to be invited to NPF Discord.

[mauve]

I think the Join Chat link at the top of the page goes to the NPF Discord.

[Gregness]

Woah! This really took off while I was away. Sorry about vanishing there, I've only just crawled out of my battle with Final Exams.

13th should be good. I assume all the character sheets are pre-genned? If so, is there a way to get a look at them ahead of time? Also, I'll probably need to be invited to NPF Discord.

Yep, sheets are pre-genned. I'll just put the whole jumpstart pdf (https://www.dropbox.com/s/0fq6nq7mal3jr24/The%20Tomb%20of%20Dreams%20-%20A%20Jump%20Start%20for%20Exalted%20Third%20Edit ion.pdf?dl=0) on my dropbox. If you're using adobe reader, there are bookmarks you can use to jump straight to chapter 3 where the character sheets are. Chapter 1 explains all the rules, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to go over at least some of it before we do this, but I'll also be explaining the rules as we go along so don't worry about getting it all right off the bat. The basics are fairly easy, even if some of the interactions aren't entirely obvious. Minor note, this is technically the kickstarter backer preview version, so there could be some minor errors in some spots. The dice pools shown under Volfer's weapon stats weren't calculated correctly, for one.

Chapter 2 has the stuff on the scenario you'll be running through, so avoid that if you don't want to spoil yourself.

Anyway, we're all on for the 13th, so now we gotta decide on a time. I had something get moved to 2pm that day, so I can do from 9a-1p, or like 6:30-10:30p. That's all in pacific time, of course, so adjust for yourself as you need.

[mauve]

I can make either time slot work. The 6:30 - 10:30 works slightly better for me, but I know that's crazy late for anyone NOT in the Pacific Time Zone so I'm fine with either.

[Arcanum]

I'm good for either time as well.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Im on Eastern Time, but I can probably swing either slot if its just 4 hours. Latter slot might be better.

[Sithdarth]

The 6:30-10:30p slot works for me as well.

[Gregness]

Well, given we had some people on EST I wouldn't have guessed the later slot would end up winning, but I suppose I underestimated the night owlishness we've all clearly still got. 6:30-10:30pm (PST) this Saturday it is.

Was everyone able to see the scenario PDF alright? Like I said, avoid chapter 2 if you don't want to spoil yourself, but use the rest of it to start thinking about which of the premades you all want to claim.

[mauve]

Yep, I was able to access it. Still working on wrapping my head around the rules, but so far it doesn't look too intimidating.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I'm leaning on the Zenith myself. Second choice would be that trippy Eclipse.

[Sithdarth]

I was thinking of taking the Twilight but the Dawn is a close second.

[mauve]

I'm fine with any of them, so I'm cool with picking a character after those who have preferences decide.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I went home for the weekend and accidentally forgot to bring with me the charger that my laptop needs to live. Thankfully, my brother has an identical laptop with an identical charger, so I should be good tomorrow night, but I may end up needing to switch to my phone at some stage as a fair warning.

---------- Post added 05-13-2017 at 08:55 PM ---------- Previous post was 05-12-2017 at 08:58 PM ----------

So are we using the general voice channel on the Discord for this? ANd are there any special links to to other tabs we'll need to have opened?

[Gregness]

Yeah, the general voice chat in Discord. I had just planned on handing out the necessary links when we get there.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Sorry, for some reason I had this as being 30 minutes earlier in my head. I also remembered we had an extra laptop at home, thankfully, so I have a fallback should battery life become an issue!

[mauve]

---------- Post added 05-14-2017 at 04:37 PM ---------- Previous post was 05-13-2017 at 06:27 PM ----------

This was a lot of fun! Thanks, Gregness!

[Gregness]

---------- Post added 05-14-2017 at 04:37 PM ---------- Previous post was 05-13-2017 at 06:27 PM ----------

This was a lot of fun! Thanks, Gregness!

No problem, I'm glad you all enjoyed it! You guys did well finding the third (-ish*) option out of the final confrontation as well, especially considering a bunch of you hadn't had any exposure to Exalted previously. There was an exchange in the feedback thread on the official forums that got some comments from the scenario's writer:


Q:So, query: how does one get out of this situation without hurting anybody that doesn't deserve it?

A:Well, for starters, (http://forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/main-category/exalted/1074325-tomb-of-dreams-is-out-to-backers?p=1074801#post1074801) it'd probably be a good idea to go in with more setting knowledge and occult puissance than the premades have. Maybe something that actually lets you compel the demon to do no harm once it's released, or even just tell with some certainty what it's likely to do if freed.

...

I should probably note at this point that the phrase "Tomb of Dreams" is not merely a description of the scenario's setting or a joke on Exalted demo adventures always having "Tomb" in the title. (Though it is those things!) The scenario is ultimately a dilemma where your power is sufficient to ensure you're the only one who can force a resolution, but not sufficient to determine what that solution ought to be; if you had dared hope your status as a Solar Exalt would be sufficient to always Captain Kirk Third Option your way out of these things, welp.

(I am very pretentious.)

I'm super-interested in hearing how it plays out at actual tables.

...

By default, the scenario doesn't include a clear way to keep Cseke bound. Either you free it, or it fights you to the death.

Of course, Mirror Flag has an oathsealing power....


I may try to keep this thread alive as a general Exalted hype thread since we've got actual release schedules popping off for the line again. Also, Exalted in general, and third edition in particular have been very good at getting community homebrew going, to the point where someone has actually completed a draft for an entire homebrew Dragonblooded book, (https://www.dropbox.com/s/wv52ypwhbnj3xm0/A_Clutch_of_Dragons_Preview.pdf?dl=0) and there's more than one fan conversion of the Sidereals. The official DB book is due to be released later this year, but the fact that this dude slapped together 170+ pages is kind of nuts. I've written a few artifacts and monsters for my own game, but nothing on that scale.

If more modules come out, I'd be willing to run other one-shots, or if some of you lurkers avoided any spoilers in the thread and you wanna run it with or without some of the vets I'm up for that, too!

*Technically speaking, Cseke has the option of just staying in Creation, violating his oath and dealing with whatever consequences the oathbreaker's curse sends his way as a result. Hence, third-ish. Even this doesn't guarantee a perfect outcome.

[Sithdarth]

I'm definitely way more motivated to get the 3rd edition books now. The lower lethality of combat makes me feel like there is more room for me to do interesting things. Also, I feel like I kinda want to try and break the initiative system at some point.

[mauve]

I learned it's very hard to come up with sick combat/dodge stunts for a character who is very much not a combat-focused character. But it was an enjoyable game nonetheless.

[Gregness]

I'm definitely way more motivated to get the 3rd edition books now. The lower lethality of combat makes me feel like there is more room for me to do interesting things. Also, I feel like I kinda want to try and break the initiative system at some point.

Heh, I've found the system to be fairly robust, given that the full rules have little GM sidebars that say stuff like 'no, your players cannot attack each other in order to get initiative, and you should thwack them with a newspaper if they try'. What're your first few ideas?

I learned it's very hard to come up with sick combat/dodge stunts for a character who is very much [b]not [\b]a combat-focused character. But it was an enjoyable game nonetheless.

Honestly, I really liked your stunts! Even if Arcanum's 'Imma yell at the wolf' parry stunt ended up being my overall favorite of the night.

[Sithdarth]

I learned it's very hard to come up with sick combat/dodge stunts for a character who is very much not a combat-focused character. But it was an enjoyable game nonetheless.

At least you didn't have to try to come up with a stunt for chanting.

Heh, I've found the system to be fairly robust, given that the full rules have little GM sidebars that say stuff like 'no, your players cannot attack each other in order to get initiative, and you should thwack them with a newspaper if they try'. What're your first few ideas?

Without spending some time with the core rulebook and a bigger selection of charms and artifacts I'm not entirely sure how things would shake out. However, it seems in general there should be an optimum combination of evasion and soak that'll minimize initiative loss and then from there it is just a matter or maximizing initiative gain. Of course the first step to high initiative is a high join battle roll which should be compatible with high evasion.

Another thing that would be potentially useful is mixing in some high mobility to move into and out of range quickly.

[Bard The 5th LW]

The session definitely got me interested in the system, and I hope to play/run it at some point in the future! A lot of the new systems seem really intimidating in the core book, but the module did a good job at breaking them down, especially combat. I kinda worried that I knew more than my character towards the end there, but it seemed to go well enough.

[Gregness]

Without spending some time with the core rulebook and a bigger selection of charms and artifacts I'm not entirely sure how things would shake out. However, it seems in general there should be an optimum combination of evasion and soak that'll minimize initiative loss and then from there it is just a matter or maximizing initiative gain. Of course the first step to high initiative is a high join battle roll which should be compatible with high evasion.

Another thing that would be potentially useful is mixing in some high mobility to move into and out of range quickly.

Hah! I was expecting you to be trying to make some pun-pun-esque rules abuse monstrosity. Where I come from we just call all that 'being heavily invested in combat'. ::V:

Seriously though, It's possible to make some really, really beastly combatants, especially once you get into higher essence (which is 5 for most purposes in Ex3 now. Essence 6+ is explicit ST permission territory), but each combat ability kind of has its own 'thing' that it's best at, with other abilities being able to exploit different niches. Brawl has the best single target damage potential and specializes in killing the everloving shit out of giant monsters, and dodge gives you the absolute best defense against a single person. Melee tends to be a solid generalist tree, plus has really good clash-enhancing charms and penalty negators. Resistance has the stuff you want if you're getting mobbed on by a ton of opponents, and just in general makes actually killing you ridiculously difficult (in fact, the newbie advice from previous editions of 'buy an Ox-Body' that was always kind of a trap purchase is actually a solid idea now with the way extra health interacts with initiative). Thrown really rewards dropping a huge alpha strike out of stealth and Archery gives you range, efficient damage adders, and one of the few withering clashes in the whole charmset.

And all that is even ignoring the fact that non-dawn castes can make up some pretty mean combat builds in their own right. Zeniths have a ton of familiar-enhancing charms in Survival that can enable a pretty mean beastmaster style, and nights and eclipses can be annoying as hell with a ride focused build that kites almost forever.

You can certainly buy your way into a big chunk of that, but at that point you're an Essence 5 master combatant of the Solar host, which is exactly the kind of being that is explicitly intended to be dunking rings around the vast majority of the setting. As far as I know there's no weird loophole abuses a-la kobold sorcerers or infinite wishes or anything like what existed in past editions of D&D.

[Sithdarth]

Hah! I was expecting you to be trying to make some pun-pun-esque rules abuse monstrosity. Where I come from we just call all that 'being heavily invested in combat'. ::V:

That would be a feat for me to accomplish without having really seen the entire ruleset. However, there might be something along the lines of maybe Hulking Hurler level lurking in the rules especially as the amount of content grows. Once you've got an artifact book, a dragonblood book, a sidereal book, an alchemical book, an Infernal book, and an abyssal book (maybe a first age book as well) then you've definitely got some room to play with the really really broken stuff (i.e. characters that can move at relativistic speeds).

But honestly I don't enjoy going that far usually. I like to limit myself to things I think I could realistically sneak by the person running the game. I guess "break" might have been too strong a word. I'm definitely interested in testing the outer limits of what can be accomplished when you specialize a character in initiative.

I'm more for choices that are maximally efficient and highly synergistic that when combined with the right strategic play make me basically as powerful as a full circle of characters at my level. I'm not usually looking to build starting level characters that can complete end game content. I'm looking to build starting level characters that will face roll starting level content and could probably handle things meant for characters a few levels higher.

[Gregness]

Ooh, we've got new previews for the Dragonblooded! They did the first of these previews (http://theonyxpath.com/dragon-blooded-charms-preview-exalted/) a few weeks back to show how they're giving charms elemental keywords, rather than just have each tree be 100% one element or another, and now part II (http://theonyxpath.com/the-elemental-aura-dragon-blooded-pt-2-exalted/) is showing how they'll be able to manipulate 'aura states' to power up their skills (also, combat charms this time!).

[Sithdarth]

Dragon's hidden treasure could be good for shenanigans. I'm thinking store a bunch of dangerous things (possibly that explode) in a boulder then chuck it very hard near an enemy to destroy it and release all that stuff to damage the enemy. Basically tactical nuke if done right.

[Gregness]

Another preview for Dragonbloods! (http://theonyxpath.com/signature-charms-dragon-blooded-pt-3-exalted/)

I like the direction they're going with the charms so far. One thing I've seen from people who are fans of Dragonblooded is tension between people who want them to be Avatar-style benders, and people who really like the more metaphorical effects like fire-aspected 'my eyes smolder seductively for extra successes'. There was a quote that went something like 'It's stupid that my elemental supersoldier can use the constancy of earth to hold fast to his principles, but not build a wall'. It looks to me like they're threading the needle and delivering both.

Also, as someone who's a total strategy nerd, that War charm is the shit.

[Gregness]

Motherfuck. I just lost a big post I was making trying to summarize all the various updates and previews from the last few weeks, only to have it get eaten. Let's see how much I can bring myself to reconstruct:

First up, MOAR PREVIEWS! (http://theonyxpath.com/the-realm-preview-exalted/) This time it's detailing the Empire of Prasad, one of the new-to-Ex3 Realm Satrapies along the Dreaming Sea. It sits in the area between Kamthahar and Champoor in the lower-right section of the map. (http://i.imgur.com/VPLfoiV.jpg) There's a lot of cool details here, like the jati stuff which was apparently adapted from the Indian caste system, as well as the notes about the quasi-heretical offshoot of the Immaculate Philosophy that they use. Also, though this isn't mentioned in the article itself, Prasad has ~2000 dragonbloods, which makes it the third or fourth most concentrated faction of Exalts in the setting.

In addition to this, they've started making good on the periodic NPC releases and there's already been a lot of good stuff:

First, Ragara Feria serves not only as an experienced dragonblood in her own right with the stat block, but she has a partial artifact write up as well as our first look at dragonblooded dice-adders, which we haven't seen before. Where the Solar Melee excellency works on both attack and defense and comes free with any amount of investment in the Ability, Dragonblooded dice adders seem to be full charm purchases, split by attack and defense, but with extra bonuses to make up for it:

"Stoking Bonfire Style (1m per die; Supplemental; Instant; Uniform): Add up to (Melee + Specialty) bonus dice on an attack roll. If Feria uses this Charm to attack the same enemy over multiple consecutive rounds, its cost is reduced by one mote for each round (minimum 0). Attacking another enemy or going a turn without attacking resets the discount.

Blinding Spark Distracting (2m per +1 Parry; Reflexive; Instant): Add up to ([Melee + Specialty] / 2) to Parry. Successfully blocking a close range attack blinds the attacker (Exalted, p. 168) until the end of his next turn."

Next, the Rantai is an underworld creature that's a real nasty piece of work that's comprised entirely of chain links made of bone, with ghosts barbed on them which the beast uses to battle or bargain with. "It isn’t above parleying to learn its enemies’ Intimacies, then trying to murder those Intimacies to strengthen itself and capture their ghosts for leverage."

I don't know if forgiveness is the right word, exactly, but the new rate of previews and actual releases is a welcome piece of proof that the dev change wasn't just symbolic. Arms of the Chosen is supposedly coming out in the next month or so, and hopefully we get the first of the dragonblooded books before the end of the year.

[Gregness]

Here's a new preview (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7FqViticwNuS2pvcEF2TGlUYW8/view) from the upcoming Dragon-Blooded book. This one focuses on House Tepet, one of the ruling Great Houses of the Realm.

Fear-Eater is surprisingly memorable considering he's only in the intro fiction, and there's a lot of neat plot hooks in among the alliances and major holdings sections. Tepet Niruz also seems like a rad character, and I'm hoping Medo ends up with a more detailed writeup someplace to get a better picture of them.