Questions about Exalted
 

So, my group has pretty much decided that we don't like 4e. Our DM has decided it's time for a change though, so we are either going to be converting to something called Fuzion, or Exalted. We're in a high level epic campaign right now, so low level Exalted characters are kind of the next step up.

I'm pretty convinced that Exalted is the best way for us to go (it might seem a bit odd, but there are reasons), but my DMs main concern is exactly what will and won't be able to make the conversion. I'm fairly new to this system, so my ability to answer his questions is limited. With that in mind, I have a couple of questions for you guys:

1. Is the second edition fair folk book out yet? If not, is it feasible to use the first ed rules, or are they not compatible enough?

2. Can anyone give me some examples of monsters and non-standard characters they've created? I know there's a lot of options for that sort of thing, and I'd like to be able to show that to him.

Any help is appreciated.

1.) No, but it doesn't really need to be. The origional fair-folk book was printed during what we fans of 1e would call the "1.5e" or a time post-Powercombat where the developers wanted to make the switch to a 2e system, but would face rules difficulties. Shaping combat was actually a precursor to 2e's social combat.

There may be difficulties fitting Raksha into said social combat, but they may very well be immune to it in the same way they are immune to most things affecting them mentally (Beside shaping.). A lot of the things that Raksha do don't quite fit into creation's mechanics, or aren't readily "concievable" or logical. It's a difficult concept to understand but most of the interactions are governed by the ST even with the mechanics.

That said, Raksha are rather easily convertable, and I enjoy playing them.

2.) Everything. No, literally. Exalted is a kitchen-sink setting and there are ways to fit literally anything into your game and make it work.

For example, I took the Kushan from the origional homeworld and put them into my exalted setting by making them a group of leftover first age mortals marooned in a wyld-pocket outside of creation, whom had recently repaired an airship and explored their way "home." Exaltless but full of determination and superior magitechnology, the sleepers attempt to reclaim their homeland in the realm.

Demons, spirits, ect. There's a god for literally everything. If you need a supernatural creature with any particular set of stats (within reason), it could be a god, or a demon, or a underworld horror... There are plenty of sources of high-power opponents capable of challenging young exalts in some fashion for the ST to use.

That said, exalts are rare. While fate will conspire to intertwine your destinies with those of other exalts (Often in more ways than you know...) your encounters with other celestials (and even dragonbloods) should be quite infrequent. Your ST should understand this, and plan his game with several encounters that challenge your strengths (and weaknesses) without overtly being equal or superior. Then again, if you're trying to stop the return of the Scarlet Empress, you could quickly find yourself fighting something allegedly impossible... It can run the gamut, but don't run the boring solars versus the wyld hunt scenario more than twice unless it's really relevant.

Of course, that's the real charm, right? You're big damn heroes, and your ST should try to give you the feel of being big damn heroes. Encounters with other celestials shouldn't give the impression that they're very common. An exalt's weakest "Sphere" is often a random mortal's BEST focus. Mortals will line up to follow the teachings of an influencial social character even if he makes no sense to them, possibly taking his inane ramblings as deeply philosophical parables. Combat characters will rip demons limb from limb without breaking a sweat. Savants will repair and reconfigure (and design) lost technology in ways that explode the common person's mind, and weild spells capable of leveling cities.

PS: Coming from DnD, you may have an oversupply of combat focused characters. While everyone should be proficient at it, overly focusing isn't required. (I have an amusing story of a character of mine defeating a incarnate deity with just her staff and a single combat charm...) That said, if anyone thinks the eclipse caste is weak, they should understand that a canny eclipse (and what eclipse isn't?) can quite trivially subvert a fledgling nation's economy and political system and install himself in a position of supreme authority in a relatively tiny timeframe.

I made the REGIS Mark 5 into a deathlord weapon, I think once you can duplicate Megas XLR, basically anything thats worth putting in, can be put in.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

*intrigued*

What exactly is Exalted? I'm used to DnD and White Wolf but Exalted seems... interesting...

Oh now you've done it.

"The Exalted are the Chosen of the Celestial Gods, who picked the finest, noblest and strongest of mortals to destroy the enemies of the Gods, the Primordials. There were four kinds of Exalted, each Chosen by different Gods. The Solar Exalted were the greatest of heroes, Chosen by the Unconquered Sun, greatest of the Celestials. The savage and mutable Lunars were Exalted by the Celestial God Luna, consort to Gaia, one of only two Primordials who sided with the Gods. The Five Maidens (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) Exalted the wise and cunning Sidereals. The Five Elemental Dragons created the Terrestrial Exalted, a.k.a the Dragon-Blooded, to be the lieutenants and foot soldiers of the Celestial Exalted. A great war at the dawn of time ensued, and when the dust had settled, the Primordials were either banished beyond the world or dead. The Celestial Gods were pleased and gave dominion of Creation to their Exalted, then retired to Heaven to enjoy the peace and play the Games of Divinity.

The Exalted ruled all the world for thousands of years of peace and prosperity, using the powers that the gods had given them to lead humanity into an unparalleled Golden Age. Unknowningly, the seeds of this Age's destruction were already planted. As the Primordials were defeated, they wove a Great Curse over the Exalted who had struck them down, proclaiming that the Exalted's greatest strengths - their virtue and nobility - would eventually become twisted and be their downfall. The Solar rulers of the First Age felt the brunt of the Great Curse, slowly devolving into maddened tyrants, drunk on their own power. Their Lunar consorts were hardly better. The Sidereals became blinded by their hubris. Eventually, the Sidereals, coming to the realization of the flaws in the nature of the Solars and Lunars (but not their own flaws), forsaw that the Solars would eventually destroy all of Creation if left to their own devices. Rallying the Dragon-Blooded Host, who were tired of the Solars' tyranny, they overthrew the Solars and Lunars. The Solars were killed almost to the last and their power and souls bound to prevent their return. The Lunars fled to the uttermost edges of Creation in exile. The Sidereals themselves, their work complete, disappeared from history, leaving the Dragon-Blooded to rule a wrecked and reduced ruin of the world's former glory. The First Age, the Golden Age, had ended, and the Second Age, the Age of Sorrows had begun.

In the RPG, you play some of these Exalted, nearly 2000 years after the fall of the First Age. The Solars are at last reincarnating and their power is returning to the world. The Dragon-Blooded still rule, and see the Solars as evil demons, and hunt them where they can, but their own Scarlet Empire is beginning to crumble from within.

The 'default' game has the PCs as Solar Exalted, but you can also run games around the Lunars, Sidereals and Dragon-Blooded, as well as a new kind of Exalted, which have only begun to appear in the Second Age, the Abyssal Exalted, who are a kind of 'inverted' Solar, sworn to the service of darkness and Oblivion instead of light and the Unconquered Sun.

You should probably just visit www.white-wolf.com and read the stuff on their website actually."

~ LiOfOrchid on rpg.net

Couldn't put it better myself.

Exalted is the game where Moses spent ten years in the desert learning the secrets of the Jehovah Fist martial arts from a burning bush before returning to Egypt and fighting through the Pharaoh's army of ten thousand jackal-headed ninjas before defeating the Pharaoh himself in a five-day one-on-one battle atop the pyramids of Giza in order to free the Israelites.

But his real adventure had just begun!

Arhra is entirely correct. Moses is a zenith with Solar Hero Style, a few custom charms, and Sorcery.

PS: Heavenly Sword and other such wuxia martial arts media are excellent inspirations of what exalted is. Nariko = Dawn caste.

You know how you see that one motivational poster everywhere? So I want to hear someone tell me where they actually managed to work Tyrannosaurs in F-14s into their game.

Stick a dragon king on a warhawk. Sorted.

For bonus macross points, stick him in a transforming aerial packaged royal warstrider.