13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Epic, Heroic Fantasy in Final Fantasy style, June 6, 2003
This review is from: Exalted (Role Playing Game Book) (Hardcover)
In stark contrast on many of the 'realistic' game systems in the market, Exalted caters for players who wish to inhabit characters like the epic heroes of heroic fantasy. The mechanics of the rules are based on White Wolf's storytelling system used in their other games like Vampire and Werewolf.
The story behind the game is that certain exceptional people in the Exalted game world of Creation are selected by the Heavens and granted a spark of divinity in a process known as Exaltation. These former mortals (called Exalted) have the ability to manipulate the energy - Essence - that flow through all of Creation channelling it to power their Charms and Sorceries. Charms tend to be action-oriented moves of limited effect (just think of them as Special Attacks) whereas Sorcery produces much more powerful effects but takes longer to prepare. Since their abilities were exceptional to begin with, coupled with the additional power of Charms and Sorcery, even a starting character will have more than enough power to make just about any number of mortal enemies flee like frightened rabbits (very satisfying). The ability to use essence is limited, but while it lasts, players can throw trees around, leap onto the roof of buildings from a standing jump, and slay a dozen foes each round.
This book does just about everything right: it is beautifully produced and bound (many expensive rulebooks come apart with regular gaming) with a hefty chunk of details on the geography and politics, and a large section on character creation including the very cool charms and sorcery. But truly the best part about this game is that it is written with such flair and passion that makes the gamer want to try it out at once.
The only (minor) faults I can find is that a sample adventure was not included and some of the illustrations are not particularly inspiring. Highly recommended if you have any interest in heroic fantasy on a epic scale. And PC gamers, if you have ever wanted to visit the excitement of Squaresoft's Final Fantasy series, this game is your ticket.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting, but muddlesome, January 7, 2004
This review is from: Exalted (Role Playing Game Book) (Hardcover)
Many of the previous reviews accurately sum up the overall setting and tone of Exalted, which is excellent. Anyone who has ever been a big fan of eastern legends and mythology, drawn out martial arts films (whether as campy as "The One" or as elegant and theatrical as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), or the often explosive action of typical Japanese anime, can probably find something to appreciate here. Excellent guidelines are given for managing such over-the-top action, making sure that new Storytellers are well prepared for the sort of epic, Odyssean drama that this game lends itself to.
For its rich (but not restrictive) background and thoroughly original take on the exagerrated, psuedo-superhero approach, this game is not without flaws. The highwire fights and rapid-fire action sequences tend to get bogged down by the ridiculous numbers of successes the average Exalted can accrue or lose (using a version of White Wolf's typical, but still effective, D10 rules). By the time you're done subtracting penalties and adding bonuses to a roll, the thrilling narrative you've just given for your heroic, elaborate attack has gotten a little stale. Also, Charms tend to be somewhat muddy. Rather than keeping it down to general archetypes, some Charms (the supernatural abilities of the Exalted) are painfully broad while others are exactingly specific, requiring incessant re-reading of the rulebook to remember what does what and making the otherwise fine Combo system (which allows players to string together multiple charms in devastating conjunction) painfully difficult to draw anything out in. Weapons are also dazingly complex, each with their own speed, variable damage, defensive values and what-have-you, but thankfully, these rules are not hard to omit if one desires a more high-speed game.
All this is counterbalanced in the end, however, by the narrative freedom and vast, luxurious setting lent by the story. Although details are somewhat scant on certain groups or types of Exalted (leaving the average Storyteller perhaps a bit unsure of how to portray their machinations), everything is left open-ended enough to allow a Storyteller to sculpt whatever sort of world they desire, whether dark, gritty and political or just world-scouring action reminiscent of the Final Fantasy games or Lord of the Rings. If you like White Wolf's system but have gotten just a little tired of brooding and lamenting about the Beast, the apocalypse, or the nature of reality, the action-packed but surprisingly deep world of Exalted may just fit your bill.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy Roleplaying With a Wuxia Twist, August 13, 2005
This review is from: Exalted (Role Playing Game Book) (Hardcover)
I love RPGs. I'll take them anyway I can get them. Pen-and-paper or computer. Single player or MMORPG. Live action or table-top. You name it, I've probably played it at least once.
Where fantasy table-top pen-and-paper RPGs is concerned, D&D used to be it. But what always killed me about the game was how small and insignificant your character was at 1st level and how long it took to get him to a level where he could really be heroic.
Those days are gone.
Exalted leaves behind the Tolkien inspired fantasy of D&D and it's various clones in favor of a world based on classic epics and wuxia martial arts films. Throw in demigod-like heroes with powers similiar in form and function to those found in most action-adventure anime shows, and you have a game that's original and fulfills many players' desires to play very powerful characters from the beginning.
And what powers they are. In Exalted, players take on the roles of humans who have been granted incredible power by the Gods. These beings are called Exalted and they are stronger, faster, and thanks to their status as living near-gods, they can accomplish feats and miracles beyond anything a mere mortal could ever dream possible.
With these powers, the Exalted are expected to go forth and be the Gods' army against those who would destroy Creation, namely the Yozi and their demonic hoardes. There's also the problem of the Fair Folk, chaotic beings from beyond Creation who want to digest the Essence of all things living. And then there's the Deathlords of the Underworld and their champions, the Abyssals.
Unfortunately, things seldom go the way they're planned. In Exalted, the Gods are falable beings given to pursuing their own, very human, lusts and desires with as much vim and verve as Zeus, Ares, Aphrodite, or any Greek God. And their champions are no different.
The rules present you with great choices for your character. At character creation, you have the opportunity to give your Solar Warrior of Virtuous Zeal a staggering array of high-level skills and abilities right off the bat. Combine this with an array of Charms - special mystical abilities inherit to the Exalted, that double his already high stats - and spells that can literally shake the foundations of Creation itself and you have a powergamer's wet dream made real.
And the rules encourage this. As much as the setting is grand in scope and scale, filled with characters of long and flowery titles, the rules are just as epic. A few dice aren't enough to determine Fate's favor for our heroes. Oh no. You must roll scores of dice. Using a system similiar to the one used in the World of Darkness games, players roll a number of 10 sided dice equal to their ratings in the pertinent abilities. Success or failure is determined by the number of dice that score 7 or better. Some actions require more successes than others, according to conditions, tools used, and the situation.
As you can see, combat is serious and complicated. Perhaps too complicated. When you add the number of modifiers and penalties from weapons or wounds or terrain, plus the dice for not just one, but two or three Charms linked in a combo you have a very lengthy procedure that threatens to turn a very narrative and cool battle into a morass of dice rolling and number crunching.
But that's cool. Cuz my Warrior of Dawn's Indomitable Light has just leapt over a battalion of Dynasty Legionnaires and released a hail of sun bolts from his bow while executing a perfect somersault, annihilating the lot of them. All in bullet-time.
What is not to love about this?
Exalted 2nd Edition is coming very soon and claims to make a great game better by fixing the little rules problems that seem to bug so many players so much. I've had the book from the beginning and I have to say, it's pretty solid the way it is. Don't mess with what isn't broken, I say. But who knows, maybe the best is yet to come.
What I really want to know is, does anyone want to play? Cuz this game rocks!
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