Okay, so, what follows will probably be long and rambling and for all those of you out there who aren't tabletop RPG players, this will be immensely boring. In fact, even to those of you who are tabletop RPG players, this will probably be immensely boring, so, please, those of you who aren't interested in Exalted, please, skip this post. Intense geekery is to follow.
That said.
Any other Exalted fans out there?
For all those who don't know what it is, Exalted is a tabletop RPG game-- as if that isn't already obvious-- created by White Wolf using the d10 system (which is very different from the d20 system that games like Dungeons and Dragons uses). Essentially, in almost all games, you play a kind of Exalted-- mortals imbued with a shard of divinity by a patron god/power. Essentially, Demigods. Which, for the typical D&D player, is very different from starting a game playing a character armed with a rusty dagger and dressed in rags. But therein lies the fun. From the get-go, even the weakest Exalt is mightier than most mortals can hope to be, and is able to make a different in the world, or at least the society around him or her. Of course, other Exalts, Gods, Demons, Spirits, and armies still present you with more than enough challenge, and even starting as Demigods, there are forces that would be suicide for any starting team to even consider facing.
I'm a horrible person for buying books that I'll probably never use, but the playing world is so rich and amazingly detailed while still being open enough to be a playground for pretty much anything. I can't speak to 1st ed. vs. 2nd ed., since I didn't get the books until 2nd edition hit, but even now, I'm still amazed at just how cool they can be. There are times when I feel frustrated-- unlike D&D, there isn't really a bestiary book that gives you all the info you need to run monsters and villains of every stripe-- but on the other hand, the individual books and Exalted varieties are simply breathtaking.
On a larger scale, Exalted is interesting because no matter what you play, what side you take, you can be the "good guys"... or, for that matter, the "bad guys". No force is without its philosophically valid points... and none is without corruption. There's no one right way to do things, and there's no alignment to say what's right and wrong for certain.
To give you an idea, the standard Exalted game is played using Solar characters: the reincarnations of the ancient Solars who once ruled all of Creation. The Chosen of the Unquonquered Sun (the top god, in the setting, like Odin or Zeus) were overthrown long ago because, while they created a Utopia, a world where every want and need of the masses could be provided for, eliminating poverty and hunger, the longer they remained in power and the more power they gained, the more distanced from their humanity they became. The Dragon Born, overthrew them, seeing that they might well destroy the world in their hubris, and in doing so, ruined a Golden Age... and now, centuries later, rule over a much smaller, much more chaotic empire, and, while perhaps are not as alien and staggeringly powerful as their predecessors, are very much corrupt and oppressive. You could play a Solar trying to re-establish an orderly, virtuous empire and overthrow the corrupt Dynasts of the Dragon Blooded, or a Dragon Blooded, trying to rise to the top of the Dynasty to change it for the better-- or, at least, to better suit your needs-- while fighting off the Solar Exalts to slay them before they become the monsters they will inevitably become.
If anyone likes, I could give a rundown of the Exalted types and such, but I think I've bludgeoned you all with enough text for now.
Oh, one last thing: For any of you who ARE into Exalted already, do any of you have Graceful Wicked Masques or Manual of Exalted Power: The Infernals? If so, how are they?
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