ExaltedPage

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Exalted! is a role-playing game/system produced by White Wolf, the makers of the World of Darkness universe. As such, one might expect it to hold the same kind of tragic undertones that Vampire is famous for. One would be hilariously incorrect.

Exalted History

Exalted! takes place in Creation, a world considerably larger than Earth. Creation is a flat plane, upheld by the Five Elemental Poles of Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Wood. These form a diamond about the map, with the pole of Earth under the Imperial Mountain at the center of the world, and the area around each one is called a Direction. These Directions vary wildly in contrast to one another.

At the beginning of all things, there was no 'Creation'. The chaos-that-transcends, called the Wyld, was all, and there was no shape or definition.

This made some things, or rather, not-yet-things upset. They had grown tired of the eternal formlessness, and decided to invoke Shape upon the Wyld. The Primordials worked a wonder- they built Creation out of Wyld, and with it a peerless order which the endless energies of the Wyld could not drown, but only empower. This made the Raksha, the dwellers within the Wyld, quite upset, for now that Creation existed, all things in the Wyld had definition (Except for the great Pure Chaos, which they could not reach, for a being with definition cannot escape their own condition by fleeing).

In any case, the Primordials, having finished Creation, built Yu-Shan, the glorious city of Heaven. This was a place outside the influence of the Wyld entirely; though Creation was built upon the Wyld, Yu-Shan was built upon pillars of power wrought of Creation, and the Raksha could not see it. In Heaven, then, the Primordials sought to play the Games of Divinity- but they could hardly do this AND maintain their new playpen. So they made the Gods, from the least gods of each blade of grass to the might of the Unconquered Sun, to uphold Creation, and made them swear great oaths never to harm their masters.

But the Gods grew restless under these proscriptions, and sought a way to depose their makers. With the aid of Autocthon and Gaia, Primordials who did not approve of the others, they created shards of glory to bind to the souls of the mortals they had themselves created. These were the Exalted, and these were weapons which could slay even the creators of the universe.

After a great war, the Solar Exalted, received the surrender of the Primoridals, who became the Yozis. These were placed away from Creation, in Malfeas, and the Gods ascended to Yu-Shan to live in luxury and play the Games of Divinity. For many, many years thereafter, the Solar Exalted, with the aid of their Lunar mates, Dragon-blooded servants, and Sidereal advisers, built Creation anew, expanding it into the Wyld and creating wonders so mighty that those of future years would despair of ever understanding them.

This was the First Age of the world, the Age of Wonders.

Now, though the Solar Exalted were glorious beyond imagination, they were also human. As the Age wore on, they grew more and more fey, transforming slowly from the Heroes of the Dawn into something... darker. Men died ceaselessly in the tests of the Solars, and the foundations of the world shivered as they tested their bounds. Their expenditures of power grew so great that the Loom of Fate strained under the pressure. At last, the Unconquered Sun turned His face from the ones He had chosen, dismayed by their excesses.

Then, during one fateful Calibration, the five days in which darkness rules Creation, the Dragon-Blooded struck, aided by the Sidereal Exalted, struck, slaughtering the Solars and driving their Lunar mates into the fringes of the world. For five days, they killed the Solars, and when it was done, the Solar Exaltations were sealed away, that the abuses of the First Age never be repeated.

This was the ending of the Age of Wonders, and began the Second Age of Sorrows.

Though the Exalted of the Dragons fought to retain the world their Solar Masters had run, it was much diminished, beyond the capacity of the survivors to save entirely. But still, the world went on, and for many years the Chosen of the Dragons ruled haphazardly.

Then- disaster struck. A terrifying plague, virulent beyond anything the world had ever seen, descended upon the world. The Great Contagion was the death of ninety percent of the human population, a staggering blow against Creation. Just to make matters worse, it was at this point that the Raksha, the Fair Folk, poured out of the Wyld, hoping to slaughter the rest and return the world into the Wyld-that-was. Their armies were greater than anything the diminished Creation could field, and hope seemed lost.

Then, a young Dragon-blooded officer managed to enter the long-abandoned Imperial Manse and activate the masterless Realm Defense Grid. Effortlessly, the Sword of Creation, crowning wonder of the First Age, obliterated the Fair Folk's forces, turning their victory into rout. This done, the girl declared herself Scarlet Empress over the Blessed Isle, center of Creation. For 750 years she ruled, running her empire with supernatural cunning.

Five years ago, she vanished.

Since then, the mysterious Deathlords have begun their campaign against Creation from the ghostly Underworld, the Fair Folk have been toeing the borders of reality, the Yozi have begun demonic infiltration of the world they used the rule, and the throne of the Blessed Isle is held by an idiot. Amidst all of this, however, there is good news:

The Solars have returned.

No, that's fluff. What is Exalted?

Exalted's world is a sandbox. The players assume the roles of men and women who have recently Exalted, gaining strange powers, and they work to fulfill their character's motivation as the Storyteller unfolds the plot. The largest difference between this and other RPGs White Wolf has produced is the sheer power the players may attain. In the First Age, the Solar Exalts were inferior to no power under Heaven, and none above it either, and each character has the potential to change the setting for the better or worse in sweeping fashion. Indeed, it is not uncommon for newcomers to the game to pause every few Charms they read, astounded at the raw might of an Exalt's power.

What's Exalted About, Really?

The Exalted are awesome. The entire premise of the world, of the system, is that these are the kinds of kickass individuals that action-heroes in movies are stunned by. As such, the setting encourages players to be cool, to do impossible things, and even to challenge the bounds of the world laid out by the system.

How Are You Running This?

The (hopefully!) first game of Exalted is designed for players of the Solar Exalted, but there are no restrictions on Exalt type. Be aware that the Solars have few mechanical limits, and unless you have some experience with another type, only Abyssal Exalted are likely to match them in raw power. It is very easy to become overshadowed by Solar PCs, or be overwhelmed by foes designed for a party of such demigods.

Each group of Exalted is called a Circle, and it is mechanically convenient for players to remain largely together (though there is no restriction on 'going off alone'). Depending on the number of players, more than one Circle may be required- these will be held in separate channels, unless they are interacting with each other, but are not intended to be anything more than a device to avoid allowing the RP to be bogged down. A player may switch to another Circle at any time.

Circle 1-

Circle 2-

What Shall I Do Now?

The channel for this game is #Exalted, with ooc and other channels likely generated at the time of the game. The Storyteller for the current game is Rimblade, but others are welcome to try their hands at Storytelling with the player characters.

Character profiles go here: http://www.tellaerad.net/wiki/ExaltedCharacters

Custom Charms, Artifacts and other things can be found here: http://www.tellaerad.net/wiki/ExaltedCustoms

Other Links To Check Out

http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/17.aspx - Official Exalted! Forums

http://wiki.white-wolf.com/exalted/index.php?title=Main_Page - Official Exalted! wiki

http://lore5.patternspider.net/ - A compendium of player-submitted errata and other such things

http://keychain.patternspider.net/ - Bloody awesome Exalted! webcomic

Interesting comments may also be found by googling Exalted and RPGnet. By using the keys at the bottom of posts, one can find a variety of informative and funny Exalted topics there.

These Questions Do Not Represent My Actual Feelings. How Can I Ask My Own

Feel free to PM me on IRC. Or else just stare paralyzed at your computer.

Now I Feel Boundless Rage For You Personally. How Can I Injure You?

You can't. Heavenly Guardian Defense. Suck it.

What if I use Zeal?

SURELY YOU'RE NOT SUGGESTING SUCH AN OVERPOWERED CHARM EXISTS, ARE YOU? ARE YOU?!