Scroll of Kings

[Jeppe]

So-


Appearantly there's been no discussion of this book since it came out. I've only flipped through it, but I hate it already. The twin facts that they decided to introduce cannons - actual cannonball-shooting cannons - and also felt the need to create a flamethrower (as if firewands wasn't stupid enough, they needed to make an actual WW2 style flamethrower to enhance the Exalted gaming experience), are the reasons that I now have a 2e Exalted book, that I wish I'd never bought.


Anyone have an opinion on the Scroll of Kings?

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Eh, I liked the Steam cannons. That's ridiculous, though? Have you looked at the Exalted setting?

 

[Flagg]

So Jeppe,


You seem to think that firewands are retarded (I agree), but so are actual projectile guns. What do you want? Lasers?

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

That's what Essence cannons are.

 

[wordman]

Anyone have an opinion on the Scroll of Kings?

More useful for setting fluff than anything else. Sort of the "contractual obligation album" of the Exalted line.


Also, do Mnemon's breasts get larger each time she is drawn, or am I imagining things.

 

[skafte]

If you don't like the flame weapons then don't use them. I personally like the way they have done them, with it not being projectile weapons and you need an artifact projectile to make it a real gun. The flamethrower is a bit silly as it's drawn, but that should be easy to remove - just descripe is differently.


Why you don't have the option of using normal wood to heavy up the steam in a steam cannon I don't understand, expect for speed under heating, but the idea, that they actually had to use firedust to heat water in order to fire a cannon ball is great, and really shows why you can't make a normal gun.


But besides from that, the book is great, is have a lot of information on nations that have not been descriped before. And even if you are not going to run a war heavy campaign, this book can still see a lot of use.

 

[Persell]

That's what Essence cannons are.

Uh... don't they do bashing damage?


I mean... that would be rather odd for lasers, wouldn't it?

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

Eh, who the hell needs lasers in Exalted anyway when some characters are packing more explosive power than a goddamn nuke?

 

[Mr. S]

I like the book, but was really annoyed that they split up all the new mass combat rules into so many different sections. I wish they instead just had a chapter dedicated to it. On a related note, I can't help but feel the mass combat is still cumbersome. Despite my desire to use it I think I'll be using some homebrew rules instead.

 

[Jeppe]

You seem to think that firewands are retarded (I agree), but so are actual projectile guns. What do you want? Lasers?

Actually, in the buttom of my heart, I've always felt that focusing essence into raw blasts was a cheap way to use magic force into making laser beams and that it somehow lessoned the grandeur of essence and essence-wielding creatures. But I grew to agree to it, with Exalted being over the top as it is. Archery, magically enhanced or no, should be the pinnacle of ranged combat in Exalted in my opinion. But this is off track, and in my games I follow the principle that:

If you don't like the flame weapons then don't use them.

... And so I don't use flame weapons. But hey, each to his own.


But back to what I really wanna talk about: In my opinion a good Exalted book carries a lot of fluff that doesn't necessarily have any direct applicability in the game but that helps me understand how the world works and tries to breathe life into it. Scroll of the Kings seems a bit narrow in its applicability in mainly, if not only, describing the war-habits and techniques of these different societies.


However, since I've read that quite a few people agree to the book, maybe I should give it a second chance.

 

[skafte]

But back to what I really wanna talk about: In my opinion a good Exalted book carries a lot of fluff that doesn't necessarily have any direct applicability in the game but that helps me understand how the world works and tries to breathe life into it. Scroll of the Kings seems a bit narrow in its applicability in mainly, if not only, describing the war-habits and techniques of these different societies.

A few places I really liked where there are a lot of new fluff are:


page 28 - The Lap


page 30 - Gem


page 92 - Linowan


page 93 - Port Calin


page 98 - Mount Metagalapa


All places that haven't been explored in details before and was really nice to get some description of.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

I too enjoyed Calin and the Linowan bits.