General Exalted Discussion XII: One More and Get a Free Deathlord

[Weimann]

The problem with DBs wasn't that they were written early. It's that they were written before the core rules were finalized. This is why without errata many of their Charms don't make sense or just don't do anything.

Yeah, a lot of their Charms were just straight-up copied from 1e. Also, the guy who wrote them didn't know the system. I mean, you can target Elemental Bolt with Athletics. Why? Because in WoD throwing stuff is an Athletics roll. He just went with that. Nevermind there was an Ability called THROWN.

I'm sort of interested in seeing a trend here: which is your preferred order of splats? Just interest-wise; not actually playing as them in 2e. Let's not chat about the topic until three or four people have already posted. Please and thank you.

Eh. This changes so often. Also, I can't properly say that THIS one is better than THAT one; I tend to stuff them into tiers rather than strict one-by-one lists.

1) Terrestrials
2) Sidereals
3) Solars

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These are my favourites. Terrestrials were my first love. After the Sidereal errata, I finally took the time to look into them and found a goldmine. Solars... well, it's good to be king.

4) Alchemicals

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Alchemicals is a mixed bag. It's in-between groups because I'm a fan of their idea as such, but I've not read up on Autochthonia a lot and they are so heavily tied to their robot aesthetics.

5) Infernals
6) Lunars
7) Abyssals

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These are the ones that have some interesting themes but also carry ideas I found to turn me off. Abyssals are cool, in a way, but the "two viable stories" problem is indeed a problem. Infernals kind of get a bit of that as well, for me, but it's also the fact that they are also rather aesthetically locked; a Yozi Charm set makes you become as that Yozi, not much else. Lunars have been grossly miscast throughout 2e. They need to take a long step away from being furries (if anything, Wood Aspects should be the most animal-related Exalts) and more towards a middle-thing between Solars, Abyssals and Infernals. I'd play that Lunar in a heartbeat.

8) Mortals
9) Godbloods (non-Lintha)
10) Spirits

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These could be interesting, of done right. The last parts of 2e got mortals and, by association, goodblooded kind of vindicated. I hope 3e continues down that path. Spirits are cool becasue they are what makes the world tick, but the different subclasses' mechanical expression needs a revision.

11) Dragon-Kings
12) Jadeborn
13) Lintha
14) Tyrant Lizards

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These are just bleh to me. Part of the thing with Exalted is that it skips the whole "all these races" thing and is about humans instead, so Dragon Kings and Jadeborn actively annoy me. The Lintha are kind of cool, but they get some kind of special Kimbery Charms, the hell is up with that? Tyrant Lizards are damn animals.

15) Raksha

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I can't abide the metaness. Sorry. Trying to make "stories" into something mechanically coherent is not a clever thing.