Exalted 3rd Edition Chatter

[tragedyjones]

So this dropped last week, and I am still plowing through it. Anyone else begun reading it yet? I am going to need to play the system to really understand it, but off hand, here are the biggest changes I have yet noticed:

• Martial Arts styles get stronger or weaker by your Exalt type, but are open to all
• Artifacts are a lot more unique and specialized, which adds flavor but cuts on ease
• Combat is all sorts of different, with two different damage tracks
• 2 New classes of Exalt mentioned in the core rules - Liminal, which are like Frankenstein monster patchwork exalts and seem to be a terrestrial analogue to Abyssals, and Exigent, which are random ass one-off Exalts of minor gods. Neither gets a full write up in the main book, however
• Sorcery - It is greatly expanded on and it seems counterspelling is now inate not a separate spell

[Monogram]

Damn, I'm behind. I've only ever played 1st edition.

[somasatori]

Now that it's out, I should probably pick up the PDF. I initially supported the Kickstarter, but ran out of money right before the end of it. Soooo... Tell us more.

[Arkandel]

I know some people will mock me and perhaps I deserve it, but I've never played it.

What are Exalted's themes? Why is it cool?

[somasatori]

@Arkandel

You can't be told about how cool Exalted is; you have to be shown. </morpheus>

But seriously, the game's an eastern fantasy-based system that incorporates a lot of anime-like systems into a very rich and detailed world. All of the splats from WoD are there in some fashion if you squint a bit, and there's so much lore that it's one of the fullest games I've ever played. Plus, you get bonus dice for describing your actions in a cool way (stunt dice). The character types (Exalts) are all very different from one another with a lot of history built into them.

Redemption's a big theme for the Solar Exalted, who went crazy at the end of the First Age and started committing great depravities on humans and other Exalts alike. They were ousted by the Dragon-Blooded (Terrestrial Exalted) who seek to remain in power. I'm not sure about 3rd Ed, but in 2nd Ed, the leader of the Dragon-Blooded had just come back from the Yomi Hells and was basically made into an evil, evil creature.

Protecting creation is another big theme, since you've got the Deathlords and their Abyssal Exalted, and the Fair Folk on the edges of Creation in the Wyld. So you have to be a big damn hero and save the world, more or less. It's just fun, and doesn't have the grind that D&D does, nor the inherent WHY ME that WoD does.