Become Legend As Onyx Path Release Exalted Third Edition
April 21, 2016 by dracs
Onyx Path are stepping away from the World of Darkness to turn their attention to the Second Age of Man with the release of the third edition of the classic high fantasy RPG Exalted.
Taking place upon a flat world in the middle of a sea of pure chaos, Exalted sees players take on the role of legendary beings, favoured by the gods themselves. Drawing upon a diverse array of sources for inspiration, from world mythology to Japanese anime, Exalted differs from its original publisher, White Wolf's, World of Darkness series by letting the player really let loose with their god given powers.
The new edition's cover art appears to step away from the more anime-inspired style we have seen with the game previously. It also contains a lot of content. Here's what Onyx Path have said we can expect to see:
- New Fiction – Read a new tale by original Exalted developer and author Geoff Grabowski.
- New Artwork – See the Realm in a new light with stunning artwork by both new and classic Exalted artists working under the direction of Maria Cabardo.
- Expanded Locales – Expand your campaigns with a detailed overview of the sprawling and decadent Second Age of Man. In addition to classic locales such as Chiaroscuro and Nexus, find many new locations not detailed in previous editions, from the treacherous intrigues of Port Calin to the proud warriors of the frigid plains and forests of Medo, held in check only by the iron hand of the Realm.
- Intrigue and Mystery – Discover a revitalized Realm, still standing at the brink of civil war, but more dangerous than ever before; and the Lunar dominions which harry its borders, seeking redress for ancient crimes while pursuing modern ambitions.
- Expanded Character Creation – Create and play Solar Exalted characters and compelling mortal heroes with more information and fleshed out details.
- Combat System – Fight with a new cinematic combat engine, primed to deliver dynamic, exciting, and easily resolved battles between heroes, gods, and armies.
- Charms – Explore a vibrant new Charm set encompassing both classic Solar powers from previous editions and all-new powers to shift the course of Creation.
- Onyx Path Publishing
With all this, it's easy to see why the new edition is so large!
That's quite the weighty tome. I wonder how many coffee tables that is going to wreck!
Did you ever play Exalted? What changes do you hope this edition has brought to the game?
"Exalted sees players take on the role of legendary beings, favoured by the gods themselves..."
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Loved the core setting, was much less enamoured with the mechanics.
I had a lot of fun with Exalted, the core mechanics were good (as with all oWoD) but despite streamlining the fighting was far too clunky and involved too many dice. There was a real desire to avoid combat because a fight scene was definitely going to take up the rest of the session, and there’d be no time for the fun part of being semi-Godlike. I think the setting was always as anime as you wanted it to be – they always had interpretations of the characters and world in many different styles – and more than any other… Read more »
Exalted is a great setting, but both previous editions were hampered by what was a clunky system for combat – something which Exalted should have alaways been able to do seamlessly at all scales of conflict.
Most of my inspirations for the game were Ninja Scroll, Escaflowne, Shadow Skill, and Book of the New Sun.
I need to get the pdf to look at the rules though in order to give this edition a good assessment.
I backed this on Kickstarter, way back when, so I got a look at the backer pre-release. Trust me; the combat mechanics are a *hell* of a lot more streamlined this time around. Each turn, a character gets a move and an action. Multiple attack abilities are rare. Most attacks you make are Withering Attacks – these don’t do any health damage and are rolled against a semi-static defence value (the target, if they’re another Exalt, a spirit or some other supernatural being, can use their Essence to raise it against that attack, of course). If the attack hits, you… Read more »
That sounds interesting, but I guess I’ll reserve judgement until I see it and try it out. I’m assuming there are other streamlining aspects, because the part you’ve explained sounds cool for Exalted but it does sound like a lot more goes on between damaging attacks, which sounds intrinsically slower.
Although it was a bit complex at times, I really did like the speed mechanic as an alternative to rounds, but then if things like that stop you playing the game so much in practice I guess they need to go no matter how cool they are in theory.
Well that whole “actions take X ticks to perform” thing’s been dropped, it just made 2e more convoluted than it needed to be. And while it does sound like more happens between damaging attacks (I assume you’re referring to Withering Attacks here, which do no health damage but shifts points of Initiative which can change turn order), you really only need to get a couple of good Witherings in to get enough Initiative for a good Decisive. Well, unless the other guy’s making equally-good Withering Attacks on you and taking back that Initiative, of course. Big problem with that, though,… Read more »