Rating: Summary: This Is What Aberrant Should Have Been Review: Aberrent, as a game system, was boring and inbred, and a world which was bogged down with lots of background information, but no feeling or flavor.Exalted, however, is the opposite. It's a world formed just enough for a good GM to add what he wants to it with all the hints you'd need instead of spoon-fed concrete details and conspiracies that are nebulous, and hardly conspiracies to anyone who even glances at one of the books. But at the same time, you get a real feeling of what it's like to be an Exalted character, what's expected of you. It's hard to imagine being a superhero in Aberrant, however, in Exalted, the powers they give you, and the descriptions they provide with how you do stunts, or charms, it's more cinematic, more anime, dare I say a better comic book game than Aberrant itself? Change a few names, and I'd say you've got a good modern campaign, with fantastic, vibrant, rooftop hopping, arrow sidestepping, castle smashing heroes that make your powerful but bland superhipsters seem like the legion of cyphers they are. White Wolf fumbled the ball starting with Wraith, but the new breed books and Exalted MORE than make up for this!
Rating: Summary: A sign of things to come Review: All I can say is wow. I never expected White Wolf to take on the Fantasy genre with such vigor or inspiration. The systems in this game are much easier to use than those in the WoD. Having a set number is a hell of a lot easier than the WoD's adjustable values for challenge ratings and such. The plot is epic and is very reimessant of anime, as is the art in the book. Very cool. I'm gonna have to search for a group who wants to play in the age of sorrows. I can't see this game apealing to the typical hardcore White Wolf player.
Rating: Summary: Good opener for a new world Review: At first glance this seemed to be something like an adaption of Aberant in ancient times. That isnt the case. The system is obviously built on top of the normal White Wolf game system with dots and combining a skilll and ability to arrive at likelihood of success. When it differs radically was with the advantages. They are linked to the skills, but look like Wizards of the Coast with the knacks. Not close enough that anyone will get sued, but close enough that the influence is clear. I am undecided about the world that they create. The history is ok, but I was left without a feel for the world at large. The descriptions of the cities was a bit vague. I suppose that is what supplements are for...
Rating: Summary: Simply Amazing in Every Possible Way Review: Exalted is about the biggest breath of fresh air that the pen and paper RPing world has recieved in quite a long while, particularly for the fantasy genre. This is a truly original system, it incorporates only the smallest outside elements but it is abut as new and fresh as anything can be. The book contains a wealth of fascinating as well as helpful background information but leaves tons of room for storytellers to come up with their own new and exciting people and adventures. Exalted has combat, and it will cater to those who like combat games in a new and cool way but even better is the incredible depth the creators worked hard to breathe into this world. It has all the combat opportunities if that's what you desire but it also has as much or more social and emotional depth as you could possibly expect, something White Wolf's World of Darkness games have become more known for. For me it is this true roleplaying element that is of the most value in the system but it's not at the cost of action. I really don't know what I can say that could truly capture how well While Wolf has performed here. BUY THIS BOOK, USE THIS SYSTEM, believe me, it's so very worth it.
Rating: Summary: Exalted... Wow! Review: Exalted is not like the standard "horror" genre that White Wolf makes. It is a story of flawed heros with powers to shape the world. If you are familiar with Anime, you'll see a lot of its influence in the game. In fact, the game was designed to be "over the top" with kung-fu and plots to destroy the world. This is perhaps better than and outstyles Trinity (my favorite). And if you don't want to play heros, you can play the antagonists in the next few supplaments (Dragon-Blooded (out), Lunar (this month!), Sidereal, Abyssal, and others!).
Rating: Summary: Exalted... Wow! Review: Exalted is not like the standard "horror" genre that White Wolf makes. It is a story of flawed heros with powers to shape the world. If you are familiar with Anime, you'll see a lot of its influence in the game. In fact, the game was designed to be "over the top" with kung-fu and plots to destroy the world. This is perhaps better than and outstyles Trinity (my favorite). And if you don't want to play heros, you can play the antagonists in the next few supplaments (Dragon-Blooded (out), Lunar (this month!), Sidereal, Abyssal, and others!).
Rating: Summary: Epic scale roleplay in Earth's forgotton past! Review: Exalted takes fantasy roleplaying to the grand epic scale of ancient myths and legends such as Gilgamesh and Beowulf. Players assume the identity of one of the great heroes of a forgotton world lost to modern secular history. It was a time when men walked with spirits and the shroud between life and death was so thin that you could walk into a town by day and depart into the obsidean spires of the Underworld by night. At the edges of creation, in unformed areas of pure elemental energies the fae prey upon those reckless enough to stray that far into creation's borders, tearing them apart both mind and body--often leaving them no more than soul-less husks. The characters bear the might of the most powerful of the gods, the Unconquered Son--making them more powerful than armies of lesser men. They stride into battle swathed in plate and chain wielding weapons and armor made from magical metals of legend fitted with magical crystals that fill the bearer with the raw magical energy of the world. It is an incredible game. The negatives are few, but must be mentioned. The artwork, for one thing, is LOUSY. I was sorely disappointed. They try for an anime look, but it ends up just looking cartoony. Second, the details of the world are poorly defined--a lot of the details are left to the GM, but it still seems only quasi-formed. The castes also seem to break down into what are basically the character classes from AD&D (Warrior-Dawn, Mage-Twighlight, Thief-Night, Cleric-Zenith) and the Charm system and socketable hearthstones seem incredibly close to the system in Diablo II--like copyright infringement close. But those faults aside it is truly a great game.
Rating: Summary: Inspired, fluid, artful... definitely outdoes D&D! Review: I am a gamer of about 12 years, and in even my jaded opinion, Exalted is something to get excited about. The world created by the authors is nothing short of fascinating, the dice system is an old favorite of mine (though tweaked from games like Vampire to be more heroic), and the Charms are an inspired method of magic. Combat, if done correctly, is very smooth and dynamic, unlike the unwieldy systems of other games. The only flaws are the "extra dice for stunts" rule (and even that is only applicable with immature players), and the severe lack of sorcery spells in this book. I'm going to pay the extra $30 to buy the sorcery supplement "Book of Three Circles," but a few more spells in the core book would be nice. How great is this game? Well, suffice to say that I haven't bought anything but Exalted supplements and food for the past couple months. It's addictive!
Rating: Summary: Epic, Heroic Fantasy in Final Fantasy style Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: World of Light...it is about time... Review: It is about time. White Wolf finally produced a system for all of those of us who prefer there to be some chance that the heroic characters can actually make a difference. And they managed to do so without being fluffy! There are still vast challenges and dramatic evils. But now there is hope! Other reviewers have questioned whether Exalted will even appeal to hard-core WoD players. My answer is: yes! Sure, there is hope in Exalted, unlike the doom-n-gloom of the typical WW game. But a storyteller who just can't let go of his angst can always play up the dread empire of the Dragon-Blooded, and still gain the benefit of a fresh new genre. Paul G. says it took flak for being the ancient history of the WoD; myself, I think that is yet another strength of Exalted. If you've ever enjoyed pondering the mystic connections between the genres of the WoD (as I have), you'll find no end to pondering the links and implications of Exalted. My favorite is this: Where are the Solars in the WoD? [The answer I'd like to see for 'where are the Solars': Aberrant was a figment of your imagination...what will really happen in the future of the WoD is that at the Apocalypse/Gehenna/LongWinter/etc, the Solars will return again and bring some light back to the WoD, setting the struggle into a still-hard-but-not-hopeless situation. Maybe WW can learn from their Exalted and find a way for some of the light to leak into the WoD?] Of course, aside from all that, Exalted stands well even if you haven't played a WoD game before.
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