Advice anyone?

[Persell]

i have been a player of exalted as soon as it came out. i love the game more than most other Old WoD games, and most definetely, the New WoD. the game, essentialy, kicks so much ass. i have never been much of an ST though. i have read most of the core books. Solar, most of it, Lunar, all the way through, DB, majority,Sidereals (some, the politics give me headaches) and read through the majority of some supplements. i have always ran stories that really had nothing other than a "this is the world of exalted, you area Demigod, what do you want to do?" I never really knew all the rules, and with all the supplements i havent read, im at a loss of so much. what books should i read up on for having some idea of how to run a story that has consistency with the Exalted idea, and not just have the old "kill this and kill that, now you have a shitload of items to sell," stuff we all see in so many video games.


any advice?

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Well, just make it a regional prospect or a grand epic. Come on, steal a plot from a movie that everyone loves and translate and change it to what you see fit for Exalted. Love Braveheart? The lone hero and his allies lead a war against the Realm trying to restore the Delibrative or their own Empire good for all Exalt types. Like Lord of the Rings? A grand sweeping epic about a level NA artifact and all who want it and it's corrupting power? Anything goes.

 

[Persell]

well, i had an idea after reading the SaS artifact section, to lead a Twilight caste and friends to an old Factory-Cathedral. broken down and in need of repairs of course. i just need something to kick off the story. mid-story they would find it, and End they would restore it to either full or some measure of power to use it. but i have no idea how to start off the whole story.

 

[Sherwood]

If you can get ahold of the suppliment 'Ruins of Rathess', do so.   You can set a entire game around that city soooo easily.  Trying to rebuild the city as a new capitol to draw in more Solars and having to learn how to make the city work again, all the while dealing with the Fae, Goblins, a few intelligent Dragon Kings, and the Empire that keeps a watch on the city just to keep tabs on who is poking around.


There is also a crashed air battleship in the city.  Gaining the favor of the various Gods in the city to get their permission and help in fixing it, getting the parts to fix it, and what to do with it once you have it up and running can be the focus of a lot of work.

 

[Jakk Bey]

Think in terms of theme.


The biggest theme in Exalted is that of responsibility.  As a demi-god, powered by the Unconquered Sun, and returned to the Creation, the Solars have a lot to answer for, and a lot to take care of.


There's revenge. There's power. But all of them hinge on the idea that the Solars are responsible, not just for the fall of the Primordials, but also for their own fall.  They are jacked up, powered up, and at the height of their power, bugshit crazy. And in response to that, they were overthrown, trapped away in the Jade Prison, and most of all, they were betrayed.


Someone is responsible for all that shit. And that means that you can mine the theme who is responsbile for what, for a long, long, long time.


To be honest, you can run a great game with the Big White Book. The others are icing. They are ways to expand on the setting, but don't get it fucked up, that you need any of these books to make a great Exalted game.


You want to run a great game that is chock full of great epic themes?  Take your characters and tell small stories. Lead them through small adventures what deal with their responsibilities as newly awakened Demi-Gods.  They are Heroic Mortals perhaps, strong men in their area, and people turn to them when things get jacked up.  Bandits come a raiding.  Spirits act a fool  Herds go missing and goblin faced spider Fae is responsible.  Then, they get the tap by the US, and they are now able to really get things done.


The key is to start small.  Small, personal stories.  Get them to care about an area, people in it, then, slowly introduce bigger elements.  Save the village or town from a fair threat from barbarians, perhaps led by a few Outcaste DB's or powerful God Bloods.  The people are grateful, and they turn to the US as their faith--after all, his scions just saved them when the Elemental Dragons didn't do squat, right?


That then brings some attention.  The Guilder maybe mention this little incident. Maybe word gets back to the DB's who are supposed to be watching the area.  Rather than call in the Wyld Hunt, they decide to come in and deal with the Anathema themselves, to get some dap and a rep for being hard asses.


The raid doesn't just involve the Solars though. The DBs' forces rampage around, and the town gets beat down a bit. Enter more tales of responsibility.  Do the Solars repair the town, and shore up its defenses?  Do they make restitution to those who lost their homes in the fight?  Are the townspeople inspired by the defense of their town that they swear to follow the Solars, no matter what, or do they turn on them when the Solars look to their own skins?


Does this sort of thing bring other critters' attention? This set things into motion for larger, grander missions, and expand on their original tales, and it makes them a part of the world, a part of communities.  It grounds these heroes.


Look at the Labors of Hercules.  Look at most of the tales of just about any great hero.  They have great power, but they pay for that power by having interesting lives. When they show hubris, they are punished from on high. They betray someone, they are betrayed in return. Use those themes, use those examples.  When a character does something that is horrible, make a note--because that is great fodder to see the cosmic scales returned.  Heroes are usually hoist upon their own petard and suffer greatly from great cases of dramatic irony.


Don't be afraid to start small, and then when you get a feel for the characters, then introduce larger elements. Use the Art of the Retcon to explain that some of the incidents were perhaps a part of your larger villain or antagonist to test the heroes.  Don't be afraid to lose an antagonist--if the heroes beat him or her in a square fight, then you can always bring in their boss--in fact, losing a 'major' villain, only to discover that they were someone else's catspaw is a tried and true method for upping the ante.


Find an area that interests you. Develop it. Populate it. Give it a few different factions. Give them several story hooks, and then see where they go. Then, develop those areas, and work from there.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Once again, Mr. Bey makes my own statement look like drivvel x.x LoL, but I agree with him.

 

[Forn Clakes]

I've had the opportunity to run several Exalted stories, and most have been BIG SCALE EPICS with loads of battles and saving kingdoms, blah, blah, blah.


With my most recent story I deceided to go small.  Little, everyday events that can effect one of the Chosen, and the way that they can develop.  And guess what?  It has been the most enjoyable experience for everyone involved.  The players have actually been so riveted and 'into' their characters that they have found themselves talking about the sessions for weeks afterwards, not being able to wait for the following session.  For me, as ST, it has opened my eyes to the way that big isn't always better, but if the story is done with enough emotion and identifiability, it will grow into an epic, just on a smaller scale; a personal epic.


~FC.

 

[Jakk Bey]

Look at how Lord of the Rings starts out.  Same with The Hobbit or any number of great epics. You first start small, so that your reader can identify and get to know the protagonist.  Same with epic RPG's. You have to be able to relate and identify with the character.  You have to place them in the world, with real hooks and real consequences for their actions.


That way, when they are holding on to that rope, dangling from a half-broken Deadite War-Corpse Juggernaut, lashed to a spur of bone, they can remember that promise to get home to Little Timon, and to save his sister, still in the Keep of the Reeve of Dark Annointed Waters, and with that vision, the character is inspired to get off his sorry ass, and pull himself up the line to give the Reeve a piece of his own Deadite ass.


Little events spawn greater. And the smallest of promises can lead to the greatest of adventures.

 

[Persell]

alright, that alot of good advice, thanks guys. i really do appreciate all the advice!