Whatup peeps!
It is I - sumocat! I have actively avoided contact with all things Exalted for a while now because I had been locked down by an iron-clad NDA that prevented any mention of anything Ex2 (my lip was getting sore from constantly biting it). But now that I'm free, I thought I'd swing by and share some wisdom I acquired during the playtest. And from what I've read, there are a few things you should know.
First, the tick system. Lot of good info floating out there now, but the examples I have seen typically miss the point. The key element you must understand is that it is designed for gameplay with a *group* of players, much as we normally enjoy. This means the standard "Bob vs. Joe" examples fail to convey the true impact it has on gameplay, unless most of your battles do involve only one character against one other.
With five players, combat felt urgent, not bogged. In fact, I thought it was the fact that we had a good number of contributing players that helped to speed things along. The ticks go by rapidly when there is always someone waiting to act. I also felt it encouraged interaction between characters and spontaneity, as the situation could change quickly from tick to tick.
Also, someone asked about speed and ticks. Speed determines when you can take your next action, not your current one. For example, if you Join Battle on tick 4 and assume the Snake Form, which I believe is speed 3, you take your next action on tick 7. Activating Snake Form takes an instant; the speed is just a mechanic that determines when you act next. No snags here.
Regarding DV, I admit it is important to keep combat flowing and it did its job well. I personally don't like it, but that's because I use digital dice and don't need the speed (I can calculate the results of a flurry with any number of starting dice in a second). Also, during playtest, any dice additions to DV were just that: dice rolled normally.
The addition to the system I most enjoyed was Mandate of Heaven, constructed by our ST Zach Bush. It is an abstraction, not a simulation, so it is not bogged down with complex rules. The system follows the standard system and is very intuitive. If you can play Exalted, you will understand Mandate of Heaven.
Although it is intended as an extension of the system, enabling you to roleplay ruling a Dominion, we focused on the Dominion vs. Dominion rules to ensure they flowed. Wonderful fun. Action types are layed out like Charms, so they are easily understood (again, intuitive). Stunts are described as usual but then played out, so they open the door for adventuring. You must deal with tragedies on a regular basis, as happens in a primitive world like Exalted. In D vs. D combat, your opponent can inflict or direct hardship. In one instance, we blamed the opposing Dominion's drop in War on an offense against a war god. But again, MoH is really intended as a system for influencing, building, and/or ruling a nation. Really opens up a higher level of gaming for Exalted.
That's about all I can share really. We were part of the early testing, so I'm sure there have been changes in the specifics since then. The broad strokes, however, are the same. The playtest was great fun, although we always have fun so it's hard to gauge. Tick system is a definite improvement and Mandate of Heaven is a welcome extension.
sumocat
It is I - sumocat! I have actively avoided contact with all things Exalted for a while now because I had been locked down by an iron-clad NDA that prevented any mention of anything Ex2 (my lip was getting sore from constantly biting it). But now that I'm free, I thought I'd swing by and share some wisdom I acquired during the playtest. And from what I've read, there are a few things you should know.
First, the tick system. Lot of good info floating out there now, but the examples I have seen typically miss the point. The key element you must understand is that it is designed for gameplay with a *group* of players, much as we normally enjoy. This means the standard "Bob vs. Joe" examples fail to convey the true impact it has on gameplay, unless most of your battles do involve only one character against one other.
With five players, combat felt urgent, not bogged. In fact, I thought it was the fact that we had a good number of contributing players that helped to speed things along. The ticks go by rapidly when there is always someone waiting to act. I also felt it encouraged interaction between characters and spontaneity, as the situation could change quickly from tick to tick.
Also, someone asked about speed and ticks. Speed determines when you can take your next action, not your current one. For example, if you Join Battle on tick 4 and assume the Snake Form, which I believe is speed 3, you take your next action on tick 7. Activating Snake Form takes an instant; the speed is just a mechanic that determines when you act next. No snags here.
Regarding DV, I admit it is important to keep combat flowing and it did its job well. I personally don't like it, but that's because I use digital dice and don't need the speed (I can calculate the results of a flurry with any number of starting dice in a second). Also, during playtest, any dice additions to DV were just that: dice rolled normally.
The addition to the system I most enjoyed was Mandate of Heaven, constructed by our ST Zach Bush. It is an abstraction, not a simulation, so it is not bogged down with complex rules. The system follows the standard system and is very intuitive. If you can play Exalted, you will understand Mandate of Heaven.
Although it is intended as an extension of the system, enabling you to roleplay ruling a Dominion, we focused on the Dominion vs. Dominion rules to ensure they flowed. Wonderful fun. Action types are layed out like Charms, so they are easily understood (again, intuitive). Stunts are described as usual but then played out, so they open the door for adventuring. You must deal with tragedies on a regular basis, as happens in a primitive world like Exalted. In D vs. D combat, your opponent can inflict or direct hardship. In one instance, we blamed the opposing Dominion's drop in War on an offense against a war god. But again, MoH is really intended as a system for influencing, building, and/or ruling a nation. Really opens up a higher level of gaming for Exalted.
That's about all I can share really. We were part of the early testing, so I'm sure there have been changes in the specifics since then. The broad strokes, however, are the same. The playtest was great fun, although we always have fun so it's hard to gauge. Tick system is a definite improvement and Mandate of Heaven is a welcome extension.
sumocat