Editing Solar Exalted (section)

===Concept and Background===
Think big, or at least have big potential in mind. Nobodies don't exalt. Exalts are either exceptional now, or will be exceptional soon. A boy who spends his entire life in one village, cutting wood isn't going to exalt if it's his destiny to spend the rest of his life cutting that wood. Exalted all have tremendous strength of character in one way or another (the virtues system pretty much assures this), so your concept should reflect this. A good method to straddle the potential versus competence now line is through the Exaltation, which brings us nicely to the second part of concept and background: Exaltation. This is one the player and Storyteller should really go over together (a bit more than normal). Exaltation is the single most dramatic event in the characters life up until that point. No one Exalts lying comfortably in bed (unless ninjas burst through their window and try to kill them at the same point). Work up an Exaltation that ticks one or more of the following boxes with your Storyteller: 

*It must be cool. This is a bit of a vague category to fill, but it?s pretty much the cardinal rule of Exalted. For example battling the other relic scavenger who has been your nemesis since you took up the trade atop a ruined pyramid, in an elemental storm is a perfect time for you both to Exalt. However, a tense bargaining session, where the wrong word could cost you your life, in a bar the nemesis owns, which is full of his men could also be a great time for your character to Exalt. 
*The character must be under some pressure. Exaltation should happen at a time of stress for the character, the perfect time for a mortal hero to shine, and show the gods what he is really made of. 
*It should provide a plot hook. Sure, backgrounds exist to give the Storyteller plot hooks, but what better opportunity for the beginning of an epic quest than a message from a god. 
*It must be dramatic: Even if your exaltation is uneventful on the surface (e.g., you exalt while walking down a street of your city at night) you can make it eventful by having some sort of dramatic revelation for the character (the gladiator realises he?s wasted his time in the arena, when he could have been fighting to push back the dark in the world, the scholar who has never seen his knowledge leave the library realises that there is so much more potential for learning out there in the world). First age memories are excellent for this, as the character realises the revelation comes from the attitude of one of his former incarnations. 

With those guidelines, your Storyteller and you should be able to work up a kick ass Solar Exaltation in short order. 

Given the huge setting of Exalted, it is imperative that you work with your Storyteller to create a character appropriate to the area the game is going to be set in and the style of game you are going to be playing in (yup, I know this is stock advice, but in my experience, it is of more importance in Exalted than pretty much any other game I?ve played). Nothing sucks more than crafting a fantastic background for your northern ice-walker chief who exalted while battling the Fair Folk, and now leads a coalition of tribes to reclaim the North from the Fairies, only to find out your Storyteller wants to run a game of sea bound adventure in the South West, battling deadly pirates and demon cults. Not that it couldn?t be done, however.