Need help with new players

[redforth]

I'm a veteran of Exalted and I just started a new game with two new players, of the entirety of the system is foriegn to them. This is easy o overcome however but the biggest problems I've noticed with new players are two things.


    First, I at least have trouble getting them to understand how epic and over the top exalted really is, I mean there's a cliff ledge twenty feet up and I they still don't seem to understand with a stunt you can use the nearby twigs to jump up there. Or swat a boulder like a baseball with your daiklaive, despite the fact my NPC's stunt ALOT!!!


    Secondly, charms, every new player has a problem with charms it seems, because lets face it there are some that are esssentials, ox body, excellent strke or the excellecies in the case of 2E. Man of these seem to get ignored. New players always seem to have a mismatched smattering of charms that gimps them in almost all situations expcet for the role they envisioned for their character.


My question is this, does anyone have any methods or even just a way of explaining things to get it through their skulls they're not playing DnD,

 

[Jakk Bey]

One possible scenario, is that you give them a secondary cast.  


Call it flashbacks to their previous lives, or a cast that is doing something that will relate to their normal characters at some point in the future.  Up to you how you want to explain it.  


Either way, you hand them character sheets with balanced Charms, decent Combos, and then set the scene as these characters fade it, a few examples of their characters being Stuntalicious, and then hand the action over to them.  Consider it like an intro FMV for a video game, only in this example, their characters can actually perform all the coolio actions that you describe, instead of getting a character in the game that can only climb over certain obstacles but a hedge is just too much for them.*


Alternatively, work with them closer on the creation process, and make suggestions to help them through the system.  You can also work up a few dozen chargen characters that are well balanced and use them as examples to work with too.


*One of my biggest peeves in games.  A bush or curb that prevents the character from going around the nasty down the screen...

 

[Upaatk]

Or swat a boulder like a baseball with your daiklaive, despite the fact my NPC's stunt ALOT!!!

You've probably already done this, but, just in case, make it explicit to your players after you do something like this that it is a stunt.  They might be thinking that all of the NPCs are simply that much cooler than they are, with much greater abilities.


I personally think the best way to work through these things is just to explain them again and use some examples.  Infact, it wouldn't hurt to break the in-game feel for the first few sessions of game play (or next few if you've been playing for a bit with this problem) with explanations and examples whereever fitting until the players have the feel for it.

 

[Jakk Bey]

Ideally, you can see if you can get them to judge your NPC Stunts--not if they're applicable per se, but if they're worth one, two, or three dice.  Remind them of the other benefits as well.  They see NPCs getting Willpower, and they might clue in on the idea--as well as if you explain how the NPCs are firing up their Charms and abilities.  Show them these examples, and give them a chance to re-tool their characters after a few sessions without any experience penalty, after they get their feet wet with the system.

 

[Persell]

I'm going to be facing the same problem in a few months.  Here's what I've got planned for that.


First of all, I'm going to have them play mortals.  The way I've got it planned, they're going to fight Barrow Black, who's a Ghost-Blooded, and a Dragon-Blooded mercenary.  When they, as mortals, fight a single Terrestrial, the weakest of Exalted, they'll be able to see the power levels involved.  When you show them all the cool stuff the DB can do, they should be able to get into the groove and try to do the cool stuff too.


Secondly, when the heroic mortals Exalt, I'm going to tell them that the 10 charms they get can ONLY be Excellencies and Ox-Body.  The reason why I'm doing this is because since they're new they don't know the cool combos that veterans take for granted.  Also, it will allow the characters to increase in power at a basic even level.  If you're going to have one character use all of his Charms to start out with Iron Whirlwind Attack and Fivefold Bulwark Stance while another character gets a Melee and Dodge Excellency, an Ox-Body, and the rest are Presence and Socialize charms, the power levels between them will be vast.  Also, it doesn't make sense to me that a starting character should be allowed to instantly achieve the pinnacle of a single tree.  So instead make them work for it.  Also, it'll give them a chance to slowly learn the charm mechanics when they only have to learn how a new one works every two or three weeks.


True, it means you can't throw major badasses at them this way, but it will allow them to slowly get into the epicness of the game if you do it slowly.  Write up story that means they have to deal with mortals.  Then with beastmen.  Then with God-Blooded, Fae-Blooded or Ghost-Blooded.  Then with gods, elementals, rakshas or ghosts.  Then with Dragon-Blooded.  Then with Sidereals and Lunars.  Then with Abyssals.  Then with Deathlords.


By having them start out low-powered and then, as they grow in power and the difficulty of the conflicts they face, they'll see the scope of the game.

 

[Vanman]

Another possible idea is to use the excellent document provided by Jakk wherein he writes example stunts for pretty much every ability. This should provide them with examples of stunting in all it's forms. Not too sure where that thread is, but if Jakk can't point you to where it is, I've put it all down in a document that I'd be happy to send you. It's definitely worth checking out.

 

[Jakk Bey]

Found it.  Took a few minutes.  Pretty much forgotten I'd put that here.


Towards the end of the page are some examples of Stunts for various Abilities.  Hope they come in handy for you.

 

[redforth]

PWNAGE!!! Thanks a bunch guys, I have to say you've all been a big help and that stunt sheet will be worth it's weight in gold for certain, again thanks.