Exalted101:Storytelling advice

So You Want to Run an Exalted Game!

What do you need?

At the bare minimum, you will need a copy of the Exalted core rulebook, about 10 ten sided dice, and a player (multiple players are good, though!).

You've probably grasped that already, though, so how about some more helpful advice?

RULE 0 - YOU ONLY NEED THE COREBOOK TO PLAY EXALTED.

This cannot be stressed enough. In fact, we're going to stress it often - too many folks are intimidated out of playing Exalted by the thought of too much reading and expenditure. The Exalted range is packed with heaps and heaps of great books, all of which can help enrich your games, but you don't *need* any of the other books unless you want to run a type of PC other than the Solars or mortals. Back in the day, people were running Solar and Mortal games with just the corebook, and those games were *great*. There's no reason why your game can't be just as great with that one big white book.

Which PC types

Decide what sort of game to run - which PC types will you support?

If you've only got the corebook, this is pretty easy - you can run either Solars or Mortals. If you have access to a broader library, the choice is a bit wider (and sometimes daunting!). Here's a rough guide:

Solar Exalted - Solars are the default and most powerful of the Exalted, and in many ways they are the easiest to run. Solars start out with relatively humble circumstances, but lots of potential - they begin hunted, hated and feared, but build up the power to overcome these difficulties reasonably quickly. Having no society of their own, they are in many ways the most "human" of the Exalted, at least to begin with, if particularly epic and heroic examples of the breed - thus they allow a very broad range of character concepts. The Charms of the Solars, while increasingly potent, tend not to be mechanically complicated, and in combat tend to be a bit more forgiving, requiring less tactical nous to use effectively. Solars are suitable for virtually any kind of heroic story, especially those whose direction falls increasingly into the players' hands as their characters increase in might and confidence. They are only a good choice for gritty or low-key games in the short term, as their abilities and Great Curse pull them increasingly towards the epic. Solars make an excellent first game.

Mortals and God-Blooded - Mortal and God-Blooded (those who derive power from some sort of supernatural heritage) characters are an eminently viable choice, despite the name of the game! They are also your only option other than Solars if you only own the core rulebook.

Mortals and God Blooded games are great for grittier and darker themes - Mortals are very fragile, are susceptible to infection and disease, but they are still Heroic, and can perform great deeds - it's just more dangerous for them to attempt them. They're also great for exploring challenges that the Exalted would normally bowl over - in many respects, a Mortals game is like a very low powered Solars game, so it might be a good way to start out before launching into Solars.

If you only have the Corebook, the rules for mortal characters are extremely simple (they're on page 103) and work just fine - go for it! If you want to run God-Blooded, or have broader options for mortal characters (and, uh, everybody else), then you'll need the Player's Guide. The Player's Guide gives a huge range of options for mortal characters - some of them are simple tweaks, some of them can be quite complex (like Thaumaturgy, which is mortal magic). These are all options, however, and there's no particular need for an ST to allow all of them.

Mortal character games also allow a very special type of game: letting the players play mortals who later Exalt. This allows you as a GM to walk new players through and give them a good grasp and grounding in the setting before laying on the wide variety of capabilities, powers, and sheer epic weirdness of the Exalted.

A simple mortals game makes a great introduction to Exalted.

If you only have the corebook, feel free to skip the following descriptions of other types for the moment, though they (and their expanded sections later in this guide) might help you decide whether or not to expand your library.

Dragon Blooded (Requires Exalted: the Dragon Blooded)- Almost the opposite of the Solars, Dragon-Blooded are far less magically mighty, but they begin ruling the world. The default Dragon Blooded are the members of the Scarlet Dynasty who rule the Realm - they begin as the height of nobility in their society, with all in the Realm raised from birth to worship them as warrior-bodhisattvas. They begin play with immense wealth, in the heart of a decaying and decadent empire ruled by their corrupt elementally-charged demigod elders, yet the chaos of the Empress' absence gives them scope to be either sucked into their elders' schemes or blaze their own path. Dragon-Blooded games begin with much more structure than Solar games, which can be helpful in giving a starting point, and while they never reach the dizzying heights of power the Solars are capable of, there's no reason why a Dragon-Blooded PC couldn't rise to become Emperor. Dragon-Blooded mechanics are not particularly more complex than those of the Solars, and they have less powers - hence they can be an excellent choice for STs or players intimidated by the sheer might of the Solars. Dynastic DBs are particularly suited for Machiavellian games of political intrigue, civil war stories, colonial power stories, and stories that revolve around their choice whether to drain the world dry as their brothers do, or become the heroes their religion insists they are. Alternately, a game set in the Threshold with a party of Dynastic DBs looking after matters far from home, or Outcaste DBs surviving as best they can in a harsh world can be a great way to induldge in heroic action without the pressures and power of a Solar game - DBs can always use their powers openly, but the powers don't become as extreme. Lookshy Dragon-Blooded, a third option (Requires Exalted: The Outcaste, and details even more DB PC options!), live in a much less decadent, more stringently organised society, and can make for a great highly-structured military game. Dragon-Blooded make an excellent first game.

Lunar Exalted (Requires Exalted: the Lunars)- [Help!]

Abyssals Exalted (Requires Exalted: the Abyssals) - The dark mirror of the Solars, the Abyssals have all the might of their golden brothers, and the grand social position of the Dragon-Blooded, if only amongst the dead. Abyssal games have the added complexity of the dichotomy between the realm of the dead, where they rule as the favoured servants of the Deathlords, and Creation, where all that lives is their enemy. Abyssal characters do not have to be evil, but their Exalted souls are dedicated to the task of casting all things into Oblivion, and they are slaves to the Deathlords, and through them the Malfeans. Their mechanics are nearly identical to those of the Solars (in fact cleaner in some places), and they start with just as much support and structure as the Dragon-Blooded. Many STs will also find the Deathlord an excellent tool, being able to give the PCs orders and helping them guide the plot, though it's quite reasonable for a Deathlord to allow his charges extreme freedom. Abyssal stories are tales of epic darkness, though stories of redemption are also possible. Abyssals are not quite as suitable for a first game as Solars or Dragon-Blooded, but can still work fine.

Sidereal Exalted (Requires Exalted: the Sidereals) - The Sidereal Exalted are hidden master manipulators of the world, Heaven's own elite cadre of martial-artist agents whose "prophecies" do not predict the future but instead dictate it. The Sidereals participate in almost the full scope of the Exalted setting - they live in Heaven, moving from its gates to almost anywhere in Creation, manipulating Dragon-Blooded and Solars alike, and often fighting against the Fair Folk and Demons. They participate in the corrupt and endlessly complex Celestial Bureacracy - in fact, they are its elite employees - and are directly responsible for the maintenance of Fate for the entire world. Sidereals can't really be reccomended for a first Exalted game - they demand a great and broad knowledge of the setting and system. They are nowhere near as mighty than the Solars, but they do a good job of seeming much more powerful! In truth, clever Sidereals can be extremely effective, and it's very easy to see how with careful planning and rigorously stacking the deck in their favour they could have lead the Dragon-Blooded to overthrow the Solars, but they can also be extremely fragile. However, one advantage of Sidereal games is that despite their complexity, they live the most structured lives of any of the Exalted - slaves as the Abyssals are, they're not expected to punch the clock every day to collect a wage, and an ST will probably find it very easy to direct the early parts of a campaign through the structure of the Bureaus, and Sidereals are generally snowed in with work - there's never a shortage of things for them to do! Sidereals are excellent for stories of hubris, politics, struggling against corruption, martial arts, and striving to fulfill great responsibilites amongst corruption and decay. Running Sidereals after experience with a Dragon-Blooded or Solars game is probably a good choice.

Fair Folk (Requires Exalted: the Fair Folk) - This space is left intentionally blank until the Fair Folk book is released.

Dragon Kings (Requires the Exalted Player's Guide) - The original combination of divinity and flesh produced by the Primordials, and stalwart worshippers of the Unconquered Sun, the Dragon Kings came in four breeds and resemble humanoid archosaurs (in spite of what others may have told you, only Raptok and Anklok are dinosaur-men; Pterok and Mosok are not). Their souls reincarnate similar to how Celestial Essences do. Dragon Kings ruled the world in the time before the Exalted killed the Primordials, but were on the receiving end of much of the offensives of the war, and so declined until, in the Second Age, they are mostly stuck in their spiritually unaware and undeveloped stages of life, known as "stalkers." Thus, most modern Dragon Kings will tend to either be very confused or very focused, though in both cases, would make terrific and loyal companions for Solar Exalted (not necessarily as other player characters). Fully integrating them with human interaction can be problematic unless they possess illusion powers (which are available for starting characters) or an artifact that makes them seem sublime wonders.

Dragon Kings that were alive during the First Age or very early Second Age are an entirely different kind of campaign. They have the potential to start out with Essence at six dots, and thus to be over a century old and able to help their kin aspire to learn their vaunted spiritually advanced state. While such characters can also potentially have Virtues, Abilities or Intelligence at six dots, and may be significantly more powerful than starting Terrestrials, they could actually be reasonable choices for player characters in beginning Solar campaigns. Such an individual, if an NPC, would most likely be a Mentor rather than Follower, as they also possess access to the Savant background. Using either an ancient survivor or a modern reincarnate can run into problems if you play with normal heroic mortals, as the Dragon Kings have inhuman physical and mental potentials for attributes as well as development in various powers that a human does not have access to, easy or otherwise. The ability of certain gods to use the Ride Charm to merge with Dragon Kings also deserves note - in such a case, an empowered ancient Dragon King might be able to keep up with slowly developing Celestials in terms of power.

Dragon Kings can also be played in campaigns before the Primordial War, where their doings will take on a far greater importance than any meddling by humanity, at least before the Exalted show up. Campaigns very far in the past would likely revolve around the politics of ritualized secular warfare of the Dragon Kings, which they were very fond of, or in hunting a threat to fellow Dragon Kings and sacrificing its heart to the Unconquered Sun. Politicking and dramas of intrigue can also abound here as well - what if a companion of your clutch were accused of a crime that you know he did not do? Before his heart is made a sacrifice as punishment, the real culprit must be caught and brought to justice. Or, the reincarnation of the clutchmate's soul may make it so that a newly turned juvenile Dragon King becomes incredibly violent around the individual that stabbed him in the back.

Mixed Games (Requires at least two books!) - Mixed games are much easier and smoother to do in Exalted than, for instance, the old World of Darkness game - the rules are absolutely compatible, and certain combinations of Exalted work quite well together. However, it can't really be reccomended for a first game - it's best to learn how the Exalted work one at a time, and it's easier to reconcile the different niches and story needs of the different Exalted with more experience. However, if you're brave (or, more likely, one of your players is only interested in joining your Solars game if they can play a Dragon-Blood!), check the guide to mixed games later in this chapter.

Decide on your setting and themes

Creation is vast - virtually any theme and any type of exotic locale can be found within its bounds. For your first game, you'll probably want to be fairly specific about both things - this will help you focus, and will help your players, since they know what sort of game they're likely to experience, and only have to learn part of Creation instead of all of it.

While your choice of theme is somewhat dictated by your choice of PC type or vice versa (Solars make for incredibly broad games, but they wouldn't do, say, a gritty game of urban crime where you struggle to survive by stealing enough to eat. Conversely, a story dealing with the effort to conquer the world and the consequences of your actions in doing so is going to be a tough ask for mortals), you should still have a fairly broad palette. The Storyteller's chapter in the core rulebook offers advice on choosing theme (**does it? It's been a while...**), but you should probably make sure that your players are OK with the theme - they may want to explore different things in game, or be adverse to a particular theme. Exalted isn't about disenfranchising players or characters, so it's best to make sure everyone is heading in the right direction. On the other hand, Exalted isn't about running games you don't want to run, so it's fine for you as an ST to set bounds for the sorts of themes to be explored in the game.

Choosing a beginning setting can seem overwhelming at first - the world is so big, and there are so many books detailing it! If there are any locations that leap out at you (or your players) from the setting chapter of the corebook, go for it - don't worry what may or may not be detailed about that location in later books, just run with what makes you think it's cool, and fudge any details. If you later invest in the appropriate books, you can have fun figuring out how and why things changed from canon to your version (blaming the Sidereals is always a popular choice!). Alternately, if nothing leaps out at you, create your own kingdom with whatever themes or imagery you like and put it whereever you want on the map (the Scavenger Lands are always a great choice, but literally anywhere will do) - Creation is so vast that there would be hundreds, if not thousands of significant kingdoms never mentioned in the books or appearing on the maps. With the exception of a few particularly advanced nations (like the Realm and Lookshy), the borders of any given nation aren't likely to be terribly definite, so feel free to literally put a kingdom wherever you like. It doesn't need to be spectacularly detailed - after all, who needs to know every branch of the local government if the Eclipse can make them dance to her tune with Bureacracy charms anyway - so don't feel intimidated out of it, grab your favourite themes and imagery, give it a few names, and go for it.

For a first game, it is easiest to choose a single location/kingdom to begin with and expand out as the characters grow in power and influence - that way nobody has to learn the ins and outs of the huge setting at the very beginning, only a localised version. Set loose boundaries on where characters can have originally come from - if their home nations or cities are reasonably close to your starting point, then they make natural story-fodder as the characters return and their histories rear up as plot hooks.

Work with your players to create their Circle

This can be quite an important element - at the very least, it can save a lot of headaches. In Exalted, many characters can be powerful, self-sufficient, and passionate. This is aggravated by the fact that the setting is vast - so very different bits of it will leap out at players. If they create their characters independently and you have them meet in a bar, you could have this scene (with some exagerations):

Dawn: I am the Invincible Sword Princess! With no fear of death, I shall singlehandedly crush the armies of the Realm in revenge for my fallen sister!

Zenith: Hey, good luck with that. I am personally so magnificently inspiring that I favour my chances of entirely reforming the spirit courts of the South, and convincing everyone not to destroy Gem.

Twilight: Awesome. I'll only be a mere half-world away on my archaeological dig in Rathess. My plan is to create a sorcerous utopia from its ruins and contemplate the ages in perfection.

Night: Sounds cool. Personally, because I am pretty sure no-one can pierce my invincible stealth, I'm going to steal the library of the Bodhissatva Annointed With Dark Water from under his nose.

Eclipse: Hey, I'll listen out for his screams of rage. Me, being the suavest thing in Creation, I plan to stop the war-machine of the Bull of the North by romancing Samea, his shaman. I'm just too damn slick for her to resist.

Suddenly they've cleared out of Nexus in five different directions, and your lovingly planned story of Guild vs Lookshy intrigue is gone in a puff of smoke. The characters are strong and driven enough not to need each other OR your story. While the example is slightly contrived and exaggerated, beginning by at the concept stage giving a group of potentially willful and independent characters reasons to be together and explore your story will make things much easier. True for most games, especially true for Exalted.

In addition, like many point-based character creation systems, Exalted does not offer any particular niche-protection. There's no reason why an Eclipse couldn't be a superior warrior than a Dawn, for instance. This tends to be a good thing, but it helps (to the extent to which players in your group dislike being overshadowed in areas they thought they owned, or like to have characters of diverse and unique capabilities) for the players to discuss which niches they'll be shooting for, and make sure they have a Circle that has a range of capabilities appropriate to the game.

Finally, it's good to have a bit of back-and-forth with your players about just what the capabilities of their characters are. Players assigning points to their characters are not only stipulating what their characters are capable of, but voting for what they want to actually do. This is worth discussing with them, and it's definitely worth listening to them. If the players create five social-heavy characters all ready to wax lyrical on political issues, jumping them with a surprise five-Immaculate Wyld Hunt in the first session is something you may want to rethink - better to have them hear about the Wyld Hunt coming and use their political nous to avoid facing its wrath. Conversely however, it's absolutely fine for you to say things like "I understand that from the characters you've created that you're not interested in combat, but you should be aware that you will have enemies, and in this savage world they will attempt to use your lack of martial might against you. You better be prepared to deal with that somehow - it's too rich a source of drama for me to just disregard." Make sure the characters get an opportunity to be heroic with the capabilities they've focused on, but don't feel obliged to make Craft (Basket Weaving) the solution to Creation's problems. Everybody gets a say in what sort of things the story/gameplay will involve, nobody is disenfranchised, but the players don't escape conflict or surprise thereby.

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Original Authors: Kasumi and Poisson Resistance (Dragon King section) on RPG.net