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2009-11-27, 08:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
It wasn't too long ago now that a friend recommended Exalted to me. At the time, I knew very little about it, other than his disjointed explanations of the game and a collection of some rather epic-looking pics on his computer. From what I gathered, it was a rather high-powered game with an anime-esque feel to it, in which the players step into the roles of characters on par with Hercules and the like in terms of power.
Well, I started reading the book, and so far, my guesses don't seem to be too far from the truth. I just hope I have enough d10s...
The friend intends on being the ST for an upcoming Exalted game, and he said that if I was interested, I could join. He told me that the game would be taking place in the eastern part of the world, shortly after Thorns was sacked by Mask of Winters, and that we could play Solar or Lunar Exalted.
By the time I was done with the first chapter, I already had a character concept in mind: a refugee from Thorns who took his Second Breath while defending other refugees from a mass of zombies; a martial-minded Dawn Caste Solar who dual-wields orichalcum trench spikes (though I haven't seen evidence of them in the books just yet, hoping to get some help with that), and still doesn't fully understand what he's become.
As I started going through the character creation guidelines, here's what I came up with...
(No name yet)
Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3
Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 3
Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2
Not sure what to take for abilities yet; would the trench spikes be used with Melee or Martial Arts? Also wanna go with Athletics, Awareness, Dodge, Integrity, and Resistance.
Not sure what to do for background, either - since his home just got sacked, I doubt he'd have high Resources, for instance.
Gave him Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, and Valor 4. As for my Virtue Flaw, I went with Foolhardy Contempt. That gives me 7 Willpower and 1 Intimacy, Essence 2, Personal Essence 13, and Peripheral Essence of 30, if I did my math right.
I'm also not sure what Charms I want to go with, for that matter; any suggestions?Last edited by TheCountAlucard; 2009-11-27 at 08:07 PM.
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2009-11-27, 08:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted...
Why would a Compassion 1 character defend anyone without seeing any gain in it or being ordered/forced to?
As for trench spikes, I think the best weapons to represent them are short swords. For artifacts, that'd be short daiklaves. The problem, though, is that dual wielding kinda sucks in Exalted - it pretty much means your Rate is increased and that's it.
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
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2009-11-27, 08:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted...
Last edited by TheCountAlucard; 2009-11-27 at 08:20 PM.
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2009-11-27, 08:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2009
Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
What exactly are trench spikes? Daggers/knives/very shorts swords with possibly added brass knuckles?
Not sure what to take for abilities yet; would the trench spikes be used with Melee or Martial Arts?
I'm also not sure what Charms I want to go with, for that matter; any suggestions?
Other than that, it depends on what type of combat style you want, and what type of non-combat stuff you want to do.
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2009-11-27, 08:29 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
Yeah. In general, starting with more than one virtue at 1 is not seen well by many STs, because it means you're min-maxing for easy willpower. Not to mention, 1 in a virtue means you basically lack it - 1 Compassion characters are heartless bastards, 1 Conviction have no determination and get discouraged easily, 1 Temperance are easily provoked hot-heads, 1 Valor are cowards.
It depends on your attack roll - the higher it is, the more chances you'll want to do more than 3 attacks in one flurry. But, more importantly, it depends on your character concept - if you think it's cooler to dual-wield them, go on! It's only 1 more dot in Artifact anyway, and even if you don't do many attacks usually there should be situations where having two swords is useful.
Perfect defenses become practically mandatory later on for any character that wants to participate in combat, but they're not really that necessary for a completely fresh character. Still nice to have, though.
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
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2009-11-27, 08:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
Yeah, basically picture a knife or dagger with brass knuckles built into the handle.
I can use either skill for them, then? Might save me points if I just put my points into Melee, if that's the case.
Will keep that in mind.
I admit, the reason I got Valor 4 and not Compassion 2 was the dot of Willpower.
This one I don't mind so much. Might give me an excuse to quote Kamina, even. Who the hell do you think I am?
On that note, any thoughts as to how I should distribute my Background points?Last edited by TheCountAlucard; 2009-11-27 at 08:40 PM.
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2009-11-27, 08:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
As for martial arts and melee: You can use melee with any melee weapons. Which weapons you can use with martial arts depends on the school you're using - some of them even allow you to use swords, for example.
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
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2009-11-27, 08:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted...
Hi, and welcome to Exalted :D
Now, I'm not entirely experienced either, but I'll try to answer some of your questions.Originally Posted by TheCountAlucardOriginally Posted by TheCountAlucard
However, it's pretty certain you'll wield it with Melee. Martial Art is almost exclusively for barehanded fighting, using particular Martial Arts weapons (such as nunchucks, clawed fists and the like) or certain weapons explicitly associated with they Martial Art style you are performing.Originally Posted by TheCountAlucard
No matter what you go with, consider putting at least one point in Resistance for the Ox-Body Concentration charm. It's almost the only way you can increase your amount of health levels, and taking it at least once is recommended unless you have a really good reason not to.Originally Posted by TheCountAlucard
Of course, if he was a common soldier, that's probably not the case, but remember that you can fix your character up in almost anyway you like. As a fighter, you're likely to want some Artifact background, for your Orichalcum trench spikes, and maybe a suit of armour as well? Come up with a story about how you obtained them! Maybe you found the grave of your old incarnation where your equipment lay? Maybe you met a strange man who gave them to you with some omnious words about your future? The possibilities are endless.Originally Posted by TheCountAlucard
I notice you have two Virtues at 1. Virtues rated 1 is considered to be significantly below common standard, and would likely show on his behaviour. They can work as great hooks to build your character on! Consider how your Compassion 1 correspond with your Exaltation story, however. You might want to revise it slightly, or buy higher Compassion with Bonus Points.Originally Posted by TheCountAlucard
Beyond that, it's hard to give and general advice, except that investing in a few defense charms is something of a requirement. If there is one thing the Exalted aren't overly badass at, it's taking pain. The damage slugged around from another Exalt can kill you in a few hits, so defense is a priority.
If you want, it's not even an overkill to get a perfect defense even at character creation. A perfect defense is a charm that allows you to not take damage, period. Denied. You are immune. It's probably not required in the first stages, but when your ST decides you've had enough warm up and starts to pit you against other battle-focused Exalt, you will likely want one of them.
I hope this helped, and good luck with your game! :D
Edit: I knew I'd get ninja'd, but ninja'd that hard? I need to type faster.Last edited by Weimann; 2009-11-27 at 09:03 PM.
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2009-11-27, 08:50 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
How powerful should my character's artifact weapons be?
I'd also like to point out that at this time, I'm still in the process of getting through the core book; I've only just gotten to page 250 (discussing the merits and flaws of armored and unarmored defense). And while we're on that subject, armor is still something I'm rather on the fence about; from the looks of things, armor isn't Strictly Necessary, but on the other hand, might be a nice thing to have, y'know?Last edited by TheCountAlucard; 2009-11-27 at 08:52 PM.
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2009-11-27, 08:59 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
How powerful should my character's artifact weapons be?I'd also like to point out that at this time, I'm still in the process of getting through the core book; I've only just gotten to page 250 (discussing the merits and flaws of armored and unarmored defense). And while we're on that subject, armor is still something I'm rather on the fence about; from the looks of things, armor isn't Strictly Necessary, but on the other hand, might be a nice thing to have, y'know?
Whether to take it or not... It's really up to your taste. There are no game-breaking advantages with any approach. If you want the feel of a heavy melee slugger, go ahead; if not, don't.Last edited by Weimann; 2009-11-27 at 09:02 PM.
Quoth the raven, "Polly wants a cracker."
Pony avatar by the Great and Powerful DirtyTabs. Lotsa hugs!
Scourge Caste avatar by the illustrious Akrim.elf. Thank you!
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2009-11-27, 09:03 PM (ISO 8601)
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2009-11-29, 03:41 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
Well, got a chance to talk to the ST again a few hours ago. Turns out that at the moment, there's only one other person who's decided to play, and he's also playing a Dawn Caste Solar. The ST gave me permission to invite a few players to the game, so I'll be giving that a try sooner or later, although they'll likely be just as fresh to the game as I am. Also, the ST told me I could use either Melee or Martial Arts for the trench spikes, though if I went the Martial Arts route, I'd have to justify it with my backstory.
He also wants the players to make "First Age counterparts" for their characters, representing past incarnations of our characters, who will be pretty much unrestricted, build-wise.
Still stumbling my way through the book, although the end is in sight! Well, not really, but getting there.
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2009-12-02, 08:12 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
So, checking in with you guys...
My character is finished. I fixed my Virtues, increased my Essence by one, bought my Charms, went over everything relevant with the ST, and came up with a name - not necessarily in that order, mind you - and now I'm as ready as I'll get.
I talked with that other player, who it turns out decided on playing a Zenith-caste instead, a real paladin-type with a permanent caste mark on his forehead and is known Anathema.
I also talked with friends and got them interested...
One has a history of playing supportive-type characters, typically with some healing capability; he told me he was going to build a Twilight-caste Solar who is being pursued by the Wyld hunt... at least he managed to realize that healing in Exalted is a little less useful than a paper bag full of hammers.
The other two had no chance to look at the books, but I talked to them about the game. One's interested in playing a sneaky-type character with the ambition of pulling off a truly epic heist; the other typically plays sneaky-types herself, so we'll probably have two such characters come game day (which is Saturday).
Of course, the ST's been talking to me about stuff, going on about how our First Age counterparts' actions will affect what happens to our characters, and how he suggests that we have an Eclipse caste character in the party, and that the South might have some importance despite the fact that we're starting in the East, and that we'll likely end up facing Mask of Winters if the game survives long enough; that last one's okay by me, considering it was on my character's agenda anyway...
Of course, a casual look at Mask of Winters' statblock was a little unsettling, considering that he has forty-five health levels, every Solar Charm ever, and three hundred motes of Essence to rock our faces off with. Kinda wondering how to overcome all that without sitting on a few hundred experience points.
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2009-12-02, 08:39 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
Healing is okay - it's not useful in actual combat, at least if you're a Solar, but if someone gets wounded it greatly speeds up recovery. And there are also Wound Mending Needles from Wonders of the Lost Age, these are awesome and totally worth the cost of a 3-dot artifact.
If you fight him on even ground, you pretty much need everyone to be Essence 5 to tackle him. If your ST plans for you to take him on earlier, however, I imagine he has something special prepared for you, like having to find a MacGuffin that will give you a serious advantage or him a serious disadvantage.Last edited by Tengu_temp; 2009-12-02 at 08:43 AM.
Siela Tempo by the talented Kasanip. Tengu by myself.
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2009-12-02, 08:59 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
I think the keyword there is eventually. Plus, with the right approach you can take apart a deathlords extended infrastructure; you may face him by blowing up his toys then running away.
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2009-12-02, 12:27 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
Actually, Solar Medicine Charms can get you up and running again much faster than even the rate at which the Exalted heal. Wound penalties suck, so the faster they go away, the better. They just aren't D&D heal spells.
Of course, a casual look at Mask of Winters' statblock was a little unsettling, considering that he has forty-five health levels, every Solar Charm ever, and three hundred motes of Essence to rock our faces off with. Kinda wondering how to overcome all that without sitting on a few hundred experience points.
Once you have his Essence Pool gone, those health levels will disappear as fast as you can say "Grand Daiklave to the Face!"
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2009-12-02, 10:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Diving into Exalted... [Exalted 2e]
Last edited by TheCountAlucard; 2009-12-02 at 11:08 PM.