I'm new to Exalted

[Val Hallen]

And I've never played it before. So if I want to play a game (and I do), I'm going to need the materials and resources to get it right. So...could you be so kind as to inform me of the materials (besides the core rulebook) I should acquire in order to prepare myself?

 

[Tabby]

Depends on exactly what sort of game you want to get into. If you're just looking for the default Exalted experience, the core rulebook gives you everything you need and more - the general setting, information on most of the really big players and powers, and obviously all necessary info on Solars, though for stats stuff you will need the errata book (Scroll of Errata 2.5e, free on drivethroughstuff) - it alters chargen a bit and has some info on updated charms, biggest would be perfect defenses getting nerfed.


Beyond that, there are Compasses of Terrestrial/Celestial Direction books for the major geographical directions as well as the weirder places inside and outside of creation - if you're playing a game in say the Underworld you'll probably want that book for more information. You don't NEED any of those books, but if you want extra info, they're there. From a totally biased point of view I very much enjoyed reading most of them, especially the Celestial ones; it's pretty cool to get more info on Malfeas and the Wyld, and like all Exalted books they're generally very well written.


If you want to play a different Exalt type (Infernals, Abyssals, etc) you need the associated Manual of Exalted Power.


tl;dr version; Corebook+Scroll of Erata is enough if you want to play a Solar and your ST is willing to explain a few terms. Definitely use the http://anathema.github.com/ app for chargen - it comes with Errata stuff built-in and helps you keep track of all the number bits. Turns chargen from an insurmountable clusterfuck of OGODWAT into a pretty simple ordeal.

 

[Persell]

To complement what Tabby talked about -- if you want to pursue a niche for your character (such as martial arts, summoning, warfare, sorcery, magitech, etc.), you might want to check out Scrolls of Esoteric Wisdom and Books of Sorcery. They cover specific topics within the setting and provide fluff and crunch for them. These are fun to read if you just want to explore the setting further, too.


(Be wary, though -- Scroll of the Monk, the martial arts book, is nearly universally claimed to be the worst Exalted book printed.)

 

[Cirno]

If interested in martial arts, White Wolf's Exalted wiki and this list are handy.

 

[MrSerious]

A bit Off Topic, but is there any way to add Alchemical Exalted to the Anathema character editor?

 

[Lord of Chaos]

Not at the moment, but he may add that functionality later

 

[Persell]

If interested in martial arts, White Wolf's Exalted wiki and this list are handy.

As a word of warning, though, this information might have been made obsolete with the release of Exalted 2.5. It should generally hold true, but Violet Bier of Sorrows and Throne Shadow have changed substantially (for the better, mostly).

 

[The Dark Wizard]

A bit Off Topic, but is there any way to add Alchemical Exalted to the Anathema character editor?

You should post about it in this thread: http://www.rpdom.com/threads/anathema-4-0.51341/

 

[Thorn Darkblade]

[QUOTE="Val Hallen]And I've never played it before. So if I want to play a game (and I do), I'm going to need the materials and resources to get it right. So...could you be so kind as to inform me of the materials (besides the core rulebook) I should acquire in order to prepare myself?

[/QUOTE]
I'm assuming you're starting off with a standard vanilla Exalted game, yes? Young Solars, new to their thing, learning the world? In that case, don't start off with too much. Core book, Scroll of Errata 2.5 are both enough to get the basics started. Also, for a lot of other fixes, find yourself a copy of the Ink Monkeys collection, which is also free and floating around on the net.


For an additional bit of extra stuff, I suggest the first 3 books of Sorcery, for additional spells and artifacts, the 2nd and 3rd books especially. 1st Book of Sorcery is mostly magitech, and, for a brand new campaign, those things can be a bit iffy.


Also, if you really wanna play up the kung-fu aspect, Scroll of the Monk is a must, although, be careful about Sidereal Martial Arts. Those can be broken rather quickly. Oh, yeah, the Abyssals book has a few good Mirror Charms for Solars as well, but, that's not completely necessary.


If you're playing, that -should- be most of what you need for quite a while. If you get to higher Essence levels, Dreams of the First Age and Glories Most High can be acquired later. Oh, and, if the ST is allowing Merits/Flaws, Scroll of the Hero is essential as well, but, do not assume they are allowed without explicit permission. Some ST's dislike them highly, others don't mind them within reason.


If you're STing, in addition to those books, for early campaign, I suggest picking up the Compass of Celestial/Terrestrial Directions relevant to the current area you're running in. I personally find the Scavenger Lands easiest to get new players up to speed with the world, but, hey, each ST has different preferences. The ST's guide also can help with creating NPCs on the fly, but, for recurring/major NPCs, I suggest picking up the splatbook of the appropriate Exalt type. Early on, that'll most likely be Dragonblooded, if you're running a 'vanilla' campaign. However, as I said, each ST has their own preferences. Beyond that point, it's all really dependent on what you need for your campaign.

 

[Sarky]

I used to recommend the 1st ed. Dragon-Blooded book without hesitation, as it went into a great amount of detail as to what the average person's life was like in present-day Creation, as well as the DBs themselves who were essentially the people in charge.


These days, The Blessed Isle and the Scavenger Lands would be a good start to figuring out what the majority of Creation is like. Add in the other Terrestrial Direction books for whichever Direction you're most interested in.