Best way to play Exalted...

[Grod_The_Giant]

...without, you know, playing Exalted. I've been playing in a friend's campaign for a few months now, and while I love the setting and flavor, and even like the ideas behind the mechanics, they all break down when combat starts. And by "break down," I mean "take an hour to get through a single round." So I ask... has anyone done work to make the system smoother? Or, failing that, translate things into another medium?

[Lord Raziere]

Get Strands of Fate. It can do Exalted much faster and better

It can do all other settings to. So you won't just be getting an Exalted conversion, but a conversion tool for everything else as well.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I really want to buy Strands of Fate... I'll have to get my mom to order it from Amazon when she gets home.

Edit: Make that Lulu Press. Apparently, it has the correct prices, while Amazon has paperback at 60$, and I didn't see a hardcover. And I'll be ordering it tomorrow at the earliest.

Do I have to get Strands of Power as well? That seems like it would have the higher-powered stuff. Plus, in the Exalted Discussion, Raziere mentioned "Power Advantages" as an Advantage type.

[Grod_The_Giant]

After posting this, I actually sort of started thinking about Mutants and Masterminds. If nothing else, it runs smoothly, has a similar sort of point-buy system, and is built around silly-epic characters.

I was kind of thinking that you'd start with power level 3 or 4 and no super-powers, representing the badass mortal that you were before Exaltation, then gain an array of power points equal to... oh, 10-20 times your essence (in Exalted terms). A "charm" would be an Alternate Effect, probably a dynamic one. Possibly with the Activation flaw for supplemental charms.

Thoughts?

[Geostationary]

I've seen some people look at how to convert Exalted into Nobilis, but that's only rational if you want to play elder exalts; otherwise the system can be too powerful at times.
Charms would be either specified uses of Domain/Persona or gifts bought with Destiny or Character Points. All the swag would be covered with Treasure, and Aspect is for general ass-kicking.

[The_Snark]

Do I have to get Strands of Power as well? That seems like it would have the higher-powered stuff. Plus, in the Exalted Discussion, Raziere mentioned "Power Advantages" as an Advantage type.

You don't have to, no. It's not a bad book, but it basically just expands on the list of advantages (Power and otherwise) given in the core book. Handy but not essential.

I like the Fate system in most of its incarnations, but am dubious about using it for Exalted. It's never felt quite right.

I've seen some people look at how to convert Exalted into Nobilis, but that's only rational if you want to play elder exalts; otherwise the system can be too powerful at times.
Charms would be either specified uses of Domain/Persona or gifts bought with Destiny or Character Points. All the swag would be covered with Treasure, and Aspect is for general ass-kicking.

Heh. Nobilis is the sort of game where you could feasibly run the Incarnae as a party. Granted, you'd probably want more than the starting number of character points to do them justice... but not all that much more.

So it could definitely work, but I don't think the characters would feel quite the same.

Anyway. If you want something rules-light, there's Wushu, which basically boils everything down to stunting plus a few statistics to make sure everyone has their niche. If you love the setting and just want to dispense with rules so you can get on with the story, it's a good choice. If you're looking for interesting mechanics too, perhaps not so much.