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General Exalted Thread

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When 3e was in development did the developers make statements that they wanted to remove or reduce Crossbows and fire-dust weapons from the setting? I've seen some discussion in old forums posts that lean in the direction but I can't find the original mentions. As I understand the developers claimed they wanted to make the setting more conan-sword and sorcery.
 
Mosshadow95 said:
When 3e was in development did the developers make statements that they wanted to remove or reduce Crossbows and fire-dust weapons from the setting? I've seen some discussion in old forums posts that lean in the direction but I can't find the original mentions. As I understand the developers claimed they wanted to make the setting more conan-sword and sorcery.
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I don't recall any bit of 3e talking about removing Crossbows and Fire Dust weapons but the Conan part was used at least a couple of times in regards to the power levels of the exalted. As what was described. "We want you to deal with mortals more, we want a starting solar to feel like Conan." was the term used in regards to the exalted themselves instead of setting itself.
 
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Yeah it's in the essence player guide preview

It's a simple sidebar that gives you questions to answer what sort of land your character held influence, five people where important your character like a lover or rival, and artifact of great importance to your character.
 
Mosshadow95 said:
When 3e was in development did the developers make statements that they wanted to remove or reduce Crossbows and fire-dust weapons from the setting? I've seen some discussion in old forums posts that lean in the direction but I can't find the original mentions. As I understand the developers claimed they wanted to make the setting more conan-sword and sorcery.
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Morke at one point made a rather cryptic remark about considering a firewand a sorcerer's weapon which could've been used to suggest they'd be much rarer in Ex3, I don't remember anything that might have given that impression about crossbows.
 
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Arrow Unity Paradox + Shades Made Real is an item duplication glitch. Does it work on artifacts?

What happens if I use Complete Focus and throw someone out of a window while time is stopped? What if I just keep the motes committed indefinitely?

Dispel Distance Illusion is crazy. Yeah, let me just pluck a mountain from the horizon and use the whole fucking thing as a thrown weapon. Let me just grab that city over there and toss it into the caldera of an active volcano.

Orphaning Blow is just really mean.
 
So, the Player's Guide Infernals Manuscript is out. It is an improvement on the Essence core, certainly. It can't entirely fix what I disliked, but it certainly feels better rounded.
At first glance I think better/well rounded applies to both the Themes and Roleplay part and the Charms. I can see myself enjoying playing this more complete Essence-Infernals now, while the Core verson felt too anemic and slanted to me.

Some charm things I really like:

From Integrity:
  • All-Encompassing Ego Dream is peak Yozi-solipsism, you just create a difficulty on anything you don't want to happen, and if those actions failed, then they were never attepted or thought about.
    And if things are out of anyone's control? No, they are under your complete control, obviously, as all things are. That's the good stuff, hope to see things like this in the full 3e book.

Infernal Craft now has more native Craft charms than irradiating an item and has been weirdified in an appropriate way.
  • Anvil Altar Sacrifice lets you accept thematically apropriate willing sacrifices of body, mind or spirit as materials, to craft things in minutes regardles of the effort involved. It fits well whith the themes touched upon in Ligier's craftsmanship and sets up dramatic bargains that will in no way backfire, promise.
The other Craft charms let you:
  • Echidna-Egg Gift: build mortal beings, humans with a repurchase
  • Mind-Hollow Shaping: rebuild people's personalities,
  • Unfair Excellence Endowment: create tools that make people depandent on them (and then recall them if needed - or explode them because MALFEAS)
  • Vile Scorn Decantation: decant your own hate as selective poison.
Excellent, this was badly needed. That one craft charm was sad, considering the potential.

For those who miss it Locust Mana Plague is back as Locust Mana Feast in Navigation and no longer limited to just Cecelyne themed locusts - any hellish food and drink will do.

And there is more I like, so yeah. Major improvement.

As a slight potential negative, the names of Infernal Monster Style Charms like One Hand Fury pop up in Close Combat, which may or may not indicate its demnise. A bit worrying, but it was always in a strage place as it conflicted with frequently better native charms.

The Althing and life in Malfeas are touched upon as integral parts of Infernal life, which is nice. Of course 3e Malfeas is not yet all that fleshed out until the mainline Infernals book, so I am not sure how playable this is right now, for newcomers on particular.
 
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Prince of Brass said:
As a slight potential negative, the names of Infernal Monster Style Charms like One Hand Fury pop up in Close Combat, which may or may not indicate its demnise. A bit worrying, but it was always in a strage place as it conflicted with frequently better native charms.
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I wouldn't be worried, Spell-Shattering Palm is a Sidereal Close Combat Charm in Essence instead of part of Prismatic Arrangement of Creation Style, so it's probably a similar thing where all the cool bits of a MA style couldn't fit in the compressed Essence cascades.
 
Prince of Brass said:
As a slight potential negative, the names of Infernal Monster Style Charms like One Hand Fury pop up in Close Combat, which may or may not indicate its demnise. A bit worrying, but it was always in a strage place as it conflicted with frequently better native charms.
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It would be very surprising if we got Infernal Monster as an MA in 3e. The other "natural styles" just got folded into their respective splat's brawl charms already.
 
Very pleased with the vibes of the expanded Infernal charms! This is something we sort of saw in the Essence core book, but I'm really pleased we get plenty of charms that are inspired by more than just the 2e Reclamation Yozis; we've got some Charms for Hegra, Qaf, Szoreny, etc. as well as lots of charms that are just generally hellish. I feel like this gives Infernals a more cohesive and unified identity: an Azimuth and Nadir caste both feel like the same splat, rather than one being the Malfeas Exalt and the other being the Adorjan Exalt.

I think my favorite Charm so far (admittedly having only skimmed through things) is "Anvil-Altar Sacrifice." It has magnificent vibes, I just love the idea of some warlock bargaining someone out of their youth or beauty to make magic robes like some sort of fairytale witch.

I have noticed one little error though: the new charms include "Cosmic Transcendence of (Virtue)," but there's already a Charm with that name in the core book.
 
Ok looking at it, does anyone else feel that the Essence 5 level has too much mass destruction on it?

As I see it Getimians can use the 'later move the calamity to a different place' trick of Cruel Cataclysm Substitution to instantly, unstoppably kill the inhabitants of one location by resurrecting the inhabitants of a place they destroyed with the first part.
They can also destroy, for example, any port city by standing on a boat and lifting it with Dispel Distance Illusion for 3 motes. Even if they fail their roll, the city is uncounterably sunk, just with them along the ride. As far as I see, there is no way to stop it, aside from preemptively killing them.

I am fairly sure that other splats have their own methods for such, but...does this not feel too easy?
 
Prince of Brass said:
Ok looking at it, does anyone else feel that the Essence 5 level has too much mass destruction on it?

As I see it Getimians can use the 'later move the calamity to a different place' trick of Cruel Cataclysm Substitution to instantly, unstoppably kill the inhabitants of one location by resurrecting the inhabitants of a place they destroyed with the first part.
They can also destroy, for example, any port city by standing on a boat and lifting it with Dispel Distance Illusion for 3 motes. Even if they fail their roll, the city is uncounterably sunk, just with them along the ride. As far as I see, there is no way to stop it, aside from preemptively killing them.

I am fairly sure that other splats have their own methods for such, but...does this not feel too easy?
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I mean, I feel like an Essence 5 celestial exalt should be able to wreck a city fairly easily? That's how it is in 3e and 2e, just look at what 3rd Circle Sorcery is capable of.

I dunno, like I can understand the objection, but it feels like an objection to the premise of Exalted rather than just the charms presented in this new supplement.
 
In Exalted Essence, an Essence 5 Getimian can destroy an entire Direction. Actually, they can destroy every direction, simultaneously, because the charm Cruel Cataclysm Substitution as written just takes one action and 3 motes (not committed) to use.
"It'll just get countered by a crack team of Sidereals" or such is only an answer for so long, especially when the Charm states that it can't be entirely averted.

IMO devastating (as opposed to utterly destroying) a city should be near the maximum of what a singular Exalt can do, and even then only with substantial preparation. The story just loses all sense of scope if the devastation becomes more widespread, and if such devastation becomes trivial as opposed to taking effort and being able to be counter-acted.
 
Amazing Abzan said:
I mean, I feel like an Essence 5 celestial exalt should be able to wreck a city fairly easily?
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Maybe. I don't so much mind the mass destruction as the speed and banality of it? If a Getimian can instantly destroy any city just by spending 3 motes with literally no way of counter it becomes a bit absurd to me. Part of me thinks that that is precisely what sorcery is for, preferably with some dramatic flair and gravitas involved.

More, if the premise of the game becomes 'anything you build can be instantly destroyed in a banal, uncounterable way', then as a player I would feel a pressure to be a murderhobo rather than do things like kingdom-building. Being a God-King means having enemies and having enemies means evidently no longer being a God-King. Were the same thing done, for example, through the summoning of a Third-Circle Demon or a major working, it would be a lot more satisfying narratively.

I feel like I see the Creation-Slaying Oblivion Kick in the distance, and I am not sure I like it.
 
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If I was going to try to reconcile some of the stuff in the essence players guide with the vision of things depicted in 3rd edition, I'd seriously consider some of the essence 5 stuff in the guide becoming elder essence(6+) charms if they were to exist at all.
 
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