Exalted (role-playing game)

Exalted is a role-playing game published by White Wolf Publishing. The game is classified as high fantasy. It is strongly influenced by Japanese anime and manga, the cultures of China and Rome, and a number of literary sources such as the writings of Michael Moorcock.

The title of this article is based on the conjugation of a verb. For other articles whose titles are also based on conjugations of this verb, see Exalt.

Contents

1 Overview

Overview

The basic premise of the game is that the player characters are chosen by one of the gods (such as the Unconquered Sun, Luna, and the Five Maidens) and imbued with the powers of a demigod (thus, "exalted," or "raised high.")

Originally, the Exalted were created by the gods to overthrow the Primordials and to rule Creation. But the Primordials cursed the Exalted; the Solar Exalted worst of all. The rulers of the First Age grew decadent and corrupt in their great power before they were usurped by their Dragon-Blooded servants. Now, as they are allowed to survive and grow in numbers by a Creation that does not have time for them, they will inevitably make their mark on it, for good or ill.

Types of Exalted

Solar Exalted, the most powerful of the Exalted and the champions of the Unconquered Sun. They were intended to be the rulers of the world and the leaders of the Exalted. 'Logic, heroism, inspiration and nobility are their spheres of influence.' (Exalted, p 22). There are five castes of Solar Exalted - Dawn (the warriors), Zenith (the priests of the Unconquered Sun), Twilight (the scholars and the occultists), Night (the spies and assassins) and Eclipse (the ambassadors, diplomats and negotiators). In the era that the game is set, the Solar Exalted are returning to the world in great numbers for the first time in thousands of years, and their actions and choices can shape the fate of nations. While they lack the ability to specialize in the shapeshifting of the Lunars, the raw death-dealing of the Abyssals, the elemental manipulation of the Terrestrial Exalted, or the Fate-weaving of the Sidereals, their raw prowess in most skills easily exceeds any of the others, and the mightiest of sorceries are their purview alone. Their two greatest advantages are their large essence pools that give them more raw power to work with and their ability to use the highest of all forms or sorcery, Adamant Circle Sorcery (also known as Solar Circle).

Terrestrial Exalted, also known as the Dragon-Blooded, as they are the descendants of the Elemental Dragons. They were the elite infantry and servants to the rest of the Exalted in the First Age. Though less powerful than other types of exalted, they gain their strength from inheritance, rather than a being chosen by a god, and are not limited by a set amount of 'Exalted essences' like Celestial Exalted. Because of this, they are by far the most numerous of the exalted and were able to usurp the Solar Exalted at the height of their power, thus ending the First Age. The majority of the Dragon-Blooded in creation make up the ruling class of the Realm, the most powerful empire in creation. The state-sanctioned faith paints the Solar and Lunar Exalted as dangerous Anathema who will bring ruin to the world if allowed to exist. Because of this, the Realm organizes the Wyld Hunt, which actively seeks out newly Exalted Celestial Exalted and overwhelms them before they can master their new powers. This practice, which had effectively kept the Solars eliminated since The First Age, has faltered lately because of the recent disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, the absolute monarch of the Realm. The mad rush by the great Dragon-Blooded houses to fill the resulting power vacuum has destabilized the empire and allowed the Solar Exalted to begin their return. Their greatest advantages are the considerable resources granted to them by their noble status and their ability to work cooperatively with each other to create greater effects.

Sidereal Exalted, Celestial Exalted of the Five Maidens, are the least numerous of all the Exalted types, yet are major players in the fate of Creation, nontheless. Sidereals, in addition to their unparalleled mastery of martial arts, excel at foreseeing and manipulating fate, and were the viziers and cunning advisors of The First Age. Towards the end of that age, a most fateful prophecy came to them that seemed to offer two options: destroy the Solar Exalted or watch Creation be destroyed instead. In their pride, possibly under the effects of the Great Curse, they blindly followed their prediction without taking the time to verify it, and orchestrated the end of an age. It was with their behind-the-scenes guidance that the Dragon-Blooded were able to completely wipe out the Solar Exalted and effectively direct the Wyld Hunt to the predicted exaltations of new Solars. Always working behind the scenes, almost all Sidereals work for the Bureau of Fate in Yu-shan (Heaven), and as part of their nature now slip from the minds of those who meet them, god, mortal, and Exalt alike. Recent events, such as the devastating plague that eluded their predictions, have jarred their faith; and the loss of the Scarlet Emperess, their secret ally at the top of the Realm, has marginalized their influence. Now, with the emergence of the terribly powerful Deathlords (inscrutable to their power of prediction), the return of the Solars, and a growing rift within their ranks, the masters of fate are anything but certain of their future.

Lunar Exalted, Chosen of Luna, are the most chaotic and savage of the exalted. In the First Age they were cunning shapeshifters, skilled fighters and capable generals. Very commonly bonded in wedlock with the First Age Solars, they fled to the ends of Creation during the betrayal of their mates. There, at the borders of the order of Creation and chaos of the Wyld, they were changed over the great many years. Shunning civilization, some of them led and seeded sometimes anthropomorphic barbarian tribes; others went into deep seclusion in their territories; and still others, perhaps haunted by their abandonment of their Solar mates, let their shapechanging animalistic instincts overtake them for centuries until their humanity was a distant memory. Some even lost that memory in the Wyld, becoming terrible monsters beyond thought. Now with the return of the Solar Exalted, the teetering of the Scarlet Dynasty of the Dragon-Blooded, the encroaching influence of the Wyld and its Fair Folk manifestations, and the new and deadly threat of the Deathlords, the Lunar Exalted may once again return to a creation that has changed as much as they have.

Abyssal Exalted are the loyal servants of the Deathlords, who in turn serve the Malfeans, ancient Primordials slain by the Exalted during the great war between the Primoridals and the gods. Now, they sow their revenge from beyond the grave through their terrible Deathlord servants. Although no one in Creation would suspect it, they are each the corrupted remnants of fallen First Age solars and are easily among the most powerful beings to walk creation. As their masters do, they seek not to conquer or corrupt creation but rather to wipe it and everything from existence. Their agents in the world of the living are the Abyssal Exalted, also known as Deathknights, and are dark reflections of the Solar exalted and their equal in power. Deathknights find themselves bound to their dark fate, and holding onto the trappings of life inevitably spells disaster for those who rebel. Only recently have they and their masters begun to corrupt Creation as they have the Underworld and they field vast undead armies, bolstered by ancient knowledge and powerful necromancy. Though they only have a collective foothold in Creation, they likely represent its gravest threat. Abyssals cannot draw essence from creation as other exalts do and can only replenish their essence in the underworld. The only way for an Abyssal to restore their essence away from their dark realm is by feeding on the living.

Alchemical Exalted are constructs built in the world of Autochtonia - in essence, android creations made from clay and the Five Magical Materials. They are infused with the Souls of dead Autochtonian heroes. They serve as protectors of the inhabitants of this parallel world, and enforce the will of the Tripartite, the theocratic government of this world. They define themselves into castes according to which material was mainly used in their construction. The Alchemical Exalted are latecomers to the game; they are the only type of Exalted besides the Dragon Kings that were invented after the core rulebook was released.

Fair Folk aren't really Exalted at all, but they are, in game terms, a possible PC (player character) race, so they are included here. They are creatures composed of raw essence, and inhabit the Wyld, the place that exists between the ordered Creation and pure Chaos. Inhuman and beautiful beings born from chaos, they feed on the dreams and aspirations of the inhabitants of Creation in order to give them strength and form in their own intermediate realm. They were narrowly averted from overrunning Creation in The Second Age and they are now eager to try again on a much weaker, plague- and war-ravaged Creation.

Gameplay

Exalted has mechanical and thematic similarities to White Wolf's previous game series, the old World of Darkness, but exists in its own product line, called the Age of Sorrows. The game has an excellent sales record, on par with the company's flagship title, Vampire: The Masquerade. Perhaps to maintain a sense of continuity, the published material suggests that the Age of Sorrows is the pre-history of the World of Darkness -- however, this has not been officially confirmed outside of early promotional materials. It should be noted that White Wolf has continually inserted names and themes familiar to players of their previous World of Darkness line into the material, adding fuel to the fire of the speculation that it is a pre-history. However, the Developer has commented that the connections are tenuous, for players to grasp or let go--with the reboot of the World of Darkness, the similarities have become markedly more tenuous.

The game uses ten-sided dice and a rules mechanism called the Storyteller System to arbitrate the action, and, as with many other RPGs, requires little beyond the rules books themselves, dice, pencil and paper.

Books

Exalted: The core rulebook, detailing the setting and history of the world, and presenting rules for playing Solar Exalted.
Exalted: The Dragon-Blooded: The first hard-cover sourcebook (or "fatsplat"), detailing the Terrestrial Exalted, or Dragon-Blooded, the weakest of the Exalted, and the Realm they govern.
Exalted: The Lunars: a sourcebook detailing the culture and game mechanics of the bestial and savage Lunar characters and the barbarian tribes they associate with, as well as information on the Wyld, a zone of chaos that rings the world.
Exalted: The Abyssals: a sourcebook for Abyssal Exalted, ghost characters, the Underworld and a brief history of the Deathlords.
Exalted: The Sidereals: a sourcebook for Sidereal Exalted characters, including details on the Heavenly city of Yu-Shan.
Exalted: The Fair Folk: a sourcebook for the Raksha, also called the Fair Folk, beings born of passion and myth amidst the Wyld.
Exalted: The Autochtonians: a sourcebook detailing the parallel world of Autochtonia, and it's artificially created champions, the Alchemical Exalted.
Exalted Players Guide: a sourcebook detailing the Dragon Kings, Mortal Thaumaturgy, Merits & Flaws, Mass-combat, a revised combat system, plus new Martial Arts charms, including a firewand (gun) based form.
Assorted "Caste" and "Aspect" books, detailing specific sub-groups within the various Exalted.
Assorted soft-cover sourcebooks, such as Savant and Sorcerer, replacing Book of Three Circles as a reference for Exalted sorcery, and Time of Tumult,, a book of pre-generated adventures for Exalted parties.
A series of fictional novels, set in the Exalted universe.

Exalted Castes

The following table illustrates how each type of Exalted is subdivided into five castes, except for the Lunars, which only have three castes. Each caste is exemplified by a single broad character trait.

	Strength	Stamina	Wisdom	Cunning	Versatility
Solar Exalted	Dawn	Zenith	Twilight	Night	Eclipse
Lunar Exalted	Full Moon	n/a	No Moon	Changing Moon	n/a
Sidereal Exalted	Chosen of Mars	Chosen of Venus	Chosen of Jupiter	Chosen of Saturn	Chosen of Mercury
Terrestrial Exalted	Fire	Earth	Air	Water	Wood
Abyssal Exalted	Dusk	Midnight	Daybreak	Day	Moonshadow
Alchemical Exalted	Orichalcum	Soulsteel	Starmetal	Moonsilver	Jade