#Exalted game

[prokopetz]

I know Exalted 3rd Edition is just using "uncountable" as a game-mechanical term of art because saying "infinite" would clash tonally, but I kind of love the idea that some baddies can punch you so hard that they inflict a non-countably infinite number of levels of damage. I'm not sure what inflicting non-countably infinite damage would look like in practice, but I'd like to see it.

[aurelion-solar]

the audacity of Riot to announce more cosmetics including a new tier of gacha skins that could cost up to 32,000 RP (over £200) after announcing even more layoffs during their 15th anniversary celebration and just before Arcane season 2 comes out

it's hard to find motivation to keep running this tumblr when they're clearly trying to take advantage of both their players and their employees

[vintagerpg]

Man, I love Ultraviolet Grasslands. This is the second edition, which came out last year in hardcover. It has a giant interdimensional root vegetable on the cover. I know this is a road trip RPG, so you’d think, “Hm, perhaps a picture of a road,” but no. Root vegetable is actually probably the correct vibe.

For the most part, 2E has more. To make room for that, there’s 50ish extra pages, but also the on-board SEACAT system has been toned down (those rules are now called Synthetic Dream Machine and will be published separately in a more robust form). The new real estate is full of more things to noodle around with: vehicles, pets, spells, rules for caravans (this last is particularly in depth, feels crucial to the experience and I am surprised I didn’t feel its absence in 1E). So many tables. There’s a brand new bestiary. I’ve not thoroughly re-read the main campaign/travel guide, but I don’t think much if anything is changed there, which is OK, I liked that just fine the way it was.

The main thing, though, the main attraction is the art. There is more of it, new, weird, mostly purple. Luka’s got a dizzying talent for creating curiously proportioned robots. His psychedelic landscapes are both strange and welcoming, dangerous but also kind of cozy. I am always down for new Luke Rejec art. And a lot of the old art is bigger. Which is kind of like being new, in its way.

If you missed UVG the first time around, there is really no good reason to skip it this time. So don’t skip it.

[lizzybeeee]

Personal take: One of the weirdest things Veilguard did, outright baffling, in fact, is how it feels like they reset the status quo of the world to Origins - even further back, if anything.

The game avoids (at all costs) meaningfully delving into exploring what these events/lore reveals mean to the world and characters at large. But the entire time I was thinking: holy shit this is bad.

What happens in game has very, very bad implications for the rest of Thedas and how they're going to look at groups like the Elves and Mages. I'm looking at this from the perspective of someone whose played all three previous games, not from the perspective of datv which really brushes over all moral complexity and sociopolitical issues. Of course, it's just my interpretation but its based off what happened in previous games.

Elves

The Elvish Gods of legend came back, blighted, and ended up wiping out the majority of the South - I find it hard to believe that the elves would not be 'roped in' as being responsible somehow.

Elves could sneeze in a previous game and people would blame them for causing a plague and purge the alienage -> life is shit for an elf and the events of datv would have absolutely made life a thousand times worse.

Would there be purges of alienages? Are there groups like the chavaliers or mobs of humans going about an killing elves because 'It's your Gods. It's your fault.'

Obviously, it isn't. But there are plenty of examples in Thedas' history of people acting rashly/cruelly out of terror and anger - and it's the most vulnerable people, like the Elves and Mages, who are targeted.

The Dalish Elves, what remains of them, would likely be perceived as 'Blight/Old God worshipers' - people would chase them off for the 'crime' of living too close to them in the woods in DAO.

Terrified, angry people would not care if the Dalish said they had nothing to do with what's happening - there would be bloodshed.

If anything improved for the elves from the time of Origins -> Mahariel, Tabris, Lavellan, or Briala...it's likely back to ground one as the best possible outcome, and closer to the Exalted March on the Dales at it's worst.

Mages

Mages could, potentially, have been living a life of unprecedented acceptance if Leliana was Divine -> along come the Evanuris, mages, who are allied with the Venatori who are causing devastation in Orlais and the Free Marches specifically.

Missive - Message from the Front -> The Tide Turns "The Venatori and the Orlesian royal armies clash daily in Orlais. Val Royeaux is now under control of the rebels, and from there the Venatori launch attacks as far east as Kirkwall."

The original magisters (evanuris) wielding the Blight and Old Gods 2.0 x2.

Any templars who remained, who had the old mindset and outlook of how mages should be treated, absolutely would be pointing at the venatori and saying "we warned you what would happen without the Order."

Normal people wouldn't give a shit that it's only a 'few' mages -> their entire home is gone, their families are dead, and the people responsible are wielding magic.

Fear of magic would likely be at an all time high - If the Order doesn't exist people would likely be demanding for them to come back.

The mages - whatever goodwill they earned - are likely being faced with suspicion and terror because this is proof of what magic can do in the hands of power-hungry douchebags.

Maybe they help to fight and people don't get so suspicious of them - who knows! This game doesn't want to address the previous games so it's in limbo.

Spirits

Other people have done great posts about how the spirits were completely tossed aside in this game. Three games worth of humanizing spirits, with Justice and Cole, only to go back on it with Solas reinforcing the Veil and...maintaining the status quo?

He so earnestly discussed with us his perspective on spirits and how they're just as 'real' as those on this side of the Veil - we saw it with Cole firsthand. But I guess they can all chill in the Fade till Solas dies or whatever.

I'd argue that the elves and mages are in an even worse position than they were in Origins. It's just not fulfilling, to me at least, to see the World I got so invested in just regress to the status quo after three games of challenging it. For it to not be meaningfully discussed or spoken about in-game, just brushed aside...I may not have liked the decision to do this but it could have been interesting (at least) if they actually discussed it.

Also, people don't just 'band together' because of the Blight - Origins showed us very well that in times of strife and pressure peoples petty/deeply ingrained beliefs, prejudices, and values come to the forefront. Alistair's comment about “You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together" -> was him being snarky about how everybody as Ostagar was on the verge of throwing hands with each other. They were united in cause not in belief - the cause being to eradicate the darkspawn.

It's just so grim, and with how they handled sociopolitical issues and moral complexity in datv (not at all) I have no hope that they'll be able to address this at all, if they even bother to and don't just...ignore it, I guess.

Maybe this is what the devs meant when they said that the 'tone' was similar to Origins - just straight up erasing whatever strides was made in the previous games and setting it back to square one lmao

[dare-to-dm]

I don't really have a dog in this race as I'm very happy with my current TTRPG experiences and not looking to make any changes.

But y'all throwing tantrums about people wanting to play or mod D&D instead of trying other systems are not making it a very attractive prospect. I mean, the very way you express it comes off as insulting to your target audience, like if only they weren't so dumb and stubborn they'd be willing to try something else.

I've always been willing to try something new when someone's like "Hey, I'm running a game of [x], wanna join?" But I'm generally not willing to spend time with people who insult one of my favorite hobbies and act like I'm dumb for liking it. It's honestly a huge turn off.

And frankly, I've tried a few other TTRPGs and I still liked D&D 5E better than any of them. 5E is my least favorite version of D&D but it's still really fun. So the implication that if I could only bring myself to try something else I'd see what a fool I've been this whole time is just kind of dismissive.

[probablybadrpgideas]

Book of Vile Darkness has been knocked down to a U rating and can no longer contain swears, graphic content or threatening imagery.

[heedra]

it is extremely lunar rights to hang out solving a mystery with an immaculate monk for several weeks disguised as a friendly little sparrow like he's a disney princess and ur his sidekick only to rob him in the middle of the night and leave him a gay little note signed with a heart and ur own honorific from when you were in the temple. this is normal enrichment.

[impernious]

At the Gates

Is live on Backerkit now! Please go check it out. When you pledge to the campaign, you gain access to manuscript previews that we release throughout the campaign. The manuscript is fully written. We fund to get money for a traditional print run. So this game is getting made one way or another, but with your help, we can get the book into distribution, get gorgeous deluxe editions printed, and cool swag made!

You also get to see beautiful art by Mel Uran. And if you fund this, we can also afford some of the other amazing artists that I've been eyeballing who I know can knock out the style of art this game deserves.

Also, also, I will love you forever!

[dice-wizard]

Hello everyone looking for a new fantasy tabletop game!

You can buy Exalted Essence now.

What's Exalted you ask?

Exalted is an epic fantasy TTRPG where players play the titular Exalted - humans elevated to superhuman/demigod status - in a wild and unique setting that draws inspiration from the ancient world rather than medieval Europe. Creation (the setting) draws key inspirations from the entire world. If you're used to having to make yourself visible on your own in other fantasy, there's probably some representation in Exalted.

It has explicit queer and trans themes about finding your people, creating your own identity, and having the power to punch back at the people who hate you. This isn't incidental. The writing staff is queer as hell. You can hear me break this down more here.

Curious to learn all you can? Well you can get a detailed overview of the entire game on the podcast Systematic Understanding of Everything hosted by myself, @presidentofbirds and @phillycuriosity

If I'm used to D&D 5e why should I pick this up?

Well, I presume if you're reading this post you're already interested in trying something new, so:

The entire game in one book. Exalted: Essence is self contained, character types, equipment, enemies and all!

An exciting style of fantasy that's different than classic D&D but like, textually gay, and very easy to have scenes like ballroom fights, epic galas, and touching homoerotic healing scenes - no house rules required.

But also, tactical depth and combat you can really sink your teeth into if fighting monsters and villains is your bag.

An excuse to use all your d10s at once

Character building and advancement mechanics designed to be familiar to a 5e audience. Characters "level up" based on story beats, and have Advantages, which are functionally similar to class and race features.

A world welcoming to most heroic archetypes, so it's easy to convert your favorite OC.

Extremely kissable dragons, demons, gods, elementals, ghosts, faeries, and unnamed ancient horrors

I'm a fan of a previous edition, what's Essence got for me?

Design focused on alleviating some of the previous versions' missteps

Virtues are back, baby

2e fans will find it an improvement from second edition's mechanical strengths - it's pretty easy to convert all your favorite 2e Charms to XS.

Streamlined versions of familiar rules to make it painless to introduce new friends to the game we love.

The Cliff's notes on Ex3's new Exalt types.

Did I mention it's all of Exalted in one book?

How does it play?

d10 dice pool looking for 7,8,9 as successes. 10s count as two successes, which can lead to explosive, heroic outcomes

Combat system designed to keep all players engaged the entire time - even characters who aren't focused on fighting at all.

Combat also narrows the gap between experienced and new players and players who want to win at RPGs and players who just wanna vibe so GMs aren't tearing their hair out trying to balance encounters.

Social system designed to resolve in a single roll so you can be immersed in role play and not interrupt it with constant rolling - without sacrificing a variety of social approaches

"Ventures" system for characters working on long term projects from traveling across the world to crafting magical wonders to building communities without forcing this to be "downtime" activity

Characters have access to Charms - exception-based special powers that make them extremely good at whatever they focus on.

It's easily my favorite game (and the project I developed that I'm the proudest of), so I'm excited for everyone to try it out.

[voydcat]

I’m just posting here to see if anybody still knows or cares about Exalted. Cuz I have things to share and don’t know other people who’d be interested ^^;

[viewsoftyria]

Views of Tyria - Auric Basin - Exalted structures

[prokopetz]

Considering you just had one post referencing WotC's constant need for establishing new players and another post that devolved into MtG nonsense, I have a question about both: MtG just announced a drastic increase in the amount of crossover products (called "Universes Beyond") to the point that they make up half the sets of the upcoming year. Is this going to create a similar striation to DnD of new and old players with different feelings on the "spirit" of the game?

(With reference to this post here and this post here, respectively.)

The TCG fandom still has active players who think Magic: the Gathering lost its way when it introduced a LIFO stack to replace batching. Dungeons & Dragons fans have no frame of reference for the depth and diversity of grognardism which exists in TCG spaces.

[sondersonne-art]

To Dynastic tourists in the City of the Steel Lotus, a pretty face makes for a most efficacious lure. The native Tengese speak of the Pale Mistress; so too do the Dragons. In the wake of her gentle ruin, they must assume they speak of the same woman.

[vintagerpg]

Whimsical, but also dangerous. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk to Jean deMers about Ballads of Oræd, forthcoming from Exalted Funeral. A setting book for Old-School Essentials, it's a 232-page gazetteer of a mysterious world full of music, talking animals and, of course, horrible monsters and dangerous locales. It's also a massive portfolio of deMers' evocative, Tarot-like art, which will surely fill your head with new ideas all on their own. It's a dream, full of strange songs.

[thefandomentals]

Fight for freedom and master your own fate in Forsaken, a new game from Kyle Tam (MORIAH, Hit The Road Jack) and Exalted Funeral.

[forgefiend]

Done!