Exalted

For other uses, see Exalt.

Exalted

Exalted Second Edition front cover, featuring the images of Arianna, Swan, Panther, Harmonious Jade and Dace
Designers	Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli, Stephan Wieck, Andrew Bates, Dana Habecker, Sheri M. Johnson, Chris McDonough and Richard Thomas Robert Hatch and Geoffrey C. Grabowski (game direction first edition) John Chambers (game direction second edition)
Illustrators	Brian Glass (art direction), UDON Comics and many others
Publishers	White Wolf Publishing
Publication	2001 (1st edition) March 13, 2006 (2nd edition)
Genres	High fantasy
Systems	Storyteller Game System Design by Mark Rein•Hagen
Age range	12+
Website	[1]

Exalted is a role-playing game published by White Wolf Publishing. The game is classified as high fantasy, but may be more accurately described as "mythic fantasy," as the original developer specifically avoided drawing on J. R. R. Tolkien for inspiration. A second edition of the core rule book has been published, and new supplements for this edition are being released. First Edition is no longer in development, but was originally created by Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli and Stephan Wieck. The original core rulebook was published in July of 2001.

Setting

The basic premise of the game is that the player characters are chosen by a higher power and imbued with the powers of a demigod (thus, "exalted," or "raised high"). There are numerous varieties of Exalted, though the core game is based around the Solar Exalted, with the Core Rulebook covering the Solars and their abilities and skills.

According to the core sourcebooks and the supplementary materials, the history of the setting begins with "the time before anything", where there were the Primordials: vast, unfathomable eternals similar to the Primordial Deities of Greek mythology or the Outer Gods of H.P. Lovecraft's works, even going so far as to use similar epithets to the latter. The Primordials brought the Unshaped Chaos and formed it into the Creation – a flat, elementally based world. The elements of the Creation are similar to the five elements of Chinese and Japanese philosophy. The Primordials created all life, and then created the gods, immortal spirits without number, resembling a hybrid of the Titans of Greek mythology and the Kami of Shinto. Foremost amongst the gods were the Celestial Incarnae, or Celestines; seven deities representing the sun, moon, and major planets who were charged with governing Creation while the Primordials abdicated to play the mysterious Games of Divinity. These Celestial Incarnae are the chief deities involved in exalting mortals.

Peace reigned for millennia, but in time, the gods grew to despise the absent Primordials. Envious of the phenomenal power to create life and everything, and desirous to play the Games of Divinity denied them for so long, but due to powerful oaths they had sworn upon being made governors of the world, they could take no direct action to controvert the opinions of the Primordials. In order to strike at their creators, the Celestines exalted hundreds of mortal men and women, imbuing them with portions of their power as gods. After centuries of cataclysmic struggle, the Exalted finally triumphed over the Primordials, slaying many and imprisoning the rest. Upon electing themselves rulers of all from Heaven, the Celestines retreated to their city of Yu-Shan, to oversee from on high and participate in the Games of Divinity, leaving the Exalted to steward the order of Creation along with the innumerable lesser godlings. The slain Primordials travelled to the Underworld, their place for the gradual annihilation and recycling of Creation, to become the Neverborn, quiescent monsters whose presence there disjoints the ordained cycle of life, reincarnation, and death. The imprisoned Primordials, twisted and broken by the Exalted and locked together inside the body of Malfeas, their great war leader, would become known as the Yozis.

Common to all of White Wolf's games, the primary character archetype, the Exalted, suffer from a character flaw. In this case, this flaw is represented by a "Great Curse", placed upon them by the defeated Primordials. This Great Curse manifests itself in a variety of ways and causes the "heroes" of the setting to be flawed and thus more interesting. In the game's history the Solars grew decadent and corrupt in their great power. After centuries of plotting and waiting, the Solars were slaughtered in a massive insurrection by the Terrestrial and Sidereal Exalted known as the Usurpation.

The godly "essence" or "shard" (different from the magical energy in the game, also known as Essence) of each Exalted who passes from life reincarnates in a new mortal, and thus, most Exalted are reborn. The exception to this rule lies with the Terrestrial Exalted, also known as the Dragon-Blooded, who instead pass their Exaltation down to their descendants. After the Usurpation, the majority of the essences of the Solar Exalted were locked away in the Jade Prison, and a periodic event known as the Wyld Hunt was organised by agents of the Sidereals and Terrestrials to drive the Lunar Exalted from the civilised lands of Creation and prevent them from releasing the essences of their ancient companions. During the intervening age, the Terrestrial Exalted became the rulers of the world, ruling in a system not unlike the Shogunate of classical and feudal Japan. After a great plague and war with the Fair Folk (manifestations of the Unshaped Chaos trapped in Creation, similar in many ways to the faeries of mythology, but more sinister) a strong leader of the Dragon-Blooded, the Scarlet Empress, emerged and forged the Scarlet Empire to rule over Creation. Five years prior to the present of the Exalted setting, the Scarlet Empress disappeared, casting the Scarlet Empire to the brink of civil war. Not coincidentally, the Solar essences held in the Jade Prison have been released by agents of the Yozis, and with no recent Wyld Hunts due to the calamities, new Solar Exalted are being born into Creation, their numbers slowly growing. Thus, the backdrop to the setting sees the newly-arisen Solar Exalted (among various other heroes and villains) struggling to survive their enemies in this time of tumult long enough to make their mark upon the fate of Creation, for good or for ill.

The flat world of Creation is the primary setting of Exalted. Creation has two continents, the Blessed Isle and the unnamed super-continent which covers the northern, eastern and southern edges of Creation, populated by many nations and tribes. The Blessed Isle is located in the center of Creation. The Realm, a loose term for the disparate remnants of the Scarlet Empire, rule the Blessed Isle and its proximate archipelago directly. The frigid North is divided by the White Sea. The heavily forested East is the most densely populated region of Creation other than the Blessed Isle. The Scavenger Lands, formally named the Confederation of Rivers, is an organization of allied nations within the East. The South is a hot, arid region. The West consists largely of the Great Western Ocean and various major and minor island nations. Creation has five Elemental Poles, the five powerful elementally charged hubs of Creation's dragon line network. The Elemental Pole of Earth, the least dangerous of the five, is located at the top of the Imperial Mountain in the centre of the Blessed Isle, and the Elemental Poles of Air, Wood, Fire and Water are located at the far northern, eastern, southern and western edges of Creation respectively. Beyond the Elemental Poles of Creation are the Wyld, marginal zones separating the stability and mundanity of Creation from the Unshaped Chaos. The Wyld are divided into the Bordermarches, a region in which the world becomes increasingly magical and queer; the Middlemarches, in which the world becomes progressively more illogical, paradoxical, and otherwise deranged; and the Deep Wyld, where reality begins to fundamentally disintegrate and ordinary mortals generally lose their sanity if they survive. The cosmology of Exalted also includes the Underworld, the celestial city of Yu-Shan, the demon realm of Malfeas, the machine world of Autochthonia, and Elsewhere.

Types of Exalts

At the core of the setting, there are several different types of Exaltation, which largely determine both background and point of view for the various protagonists and antagonists of the game. Each different type of Exalted will often have certain predispositions toward or against other Exalt types, and may be viewed differently by the various mortals of Creation; for instance, either as monsters or demigods. The Exalted of Creation can be divided into two categories: Terrestrial Exalted and Celestial Exalted. Celestial Exalted, being the chosen of the Celestial Incarnae, are significantly more powerful than Terrestrial Exalted, and can live for millennia, but their numbers are limited by a fixed number of Exaltations passing from mortal to mortal at any given time. Terrestrial Exalted are the chosen of the Elemental Dragons, archaic but powerful servants of the gods who maintain control of the elemental underpinnings of Creation. While less powerful, Terrestrial Exalted, or Dragon-Blooded, can pass on their Exaltation to their children, much like one would pass on other genetic features. The Abyssal and Alchemical Exalted technically fall outside of the two categories, as do the Green Sun Princes, though their power level is comparable to that of Celestial Exalted. A brief synopsis of each type is given here, organized by relative power and significance within the game.

Solar Exalted (Lawgivers, Solars)

The default protagonists of Exalted and the champions of the chief of the gods, a being known as the Unconquered Sun. There are five castes (similar in nature to the Portuguese "caste") of Solar Exalted: Dawn (the warriors and generals), Zenith (the priest-kings of the Unconquered Sun), Twilight (the scholars and sorcerers), Night (the spies and assassins) and Eclipse (the ambassadors, diplomats, and negotiators).

In the era that the game is set, known as the Second Age of Man, the Solar Exalted are returning to the world in numbers for the first time in thousands of years, and their actions and choices have the potential to shape the fate of nations due to the nature and potency of their birthright. The Solar Exalted are the most powerful of the Exalted and during the First Age of Man, they were the rulers of the world. Their achievements were a beacon to humanity. The Terrestrial Exalted who served them, murdered the Solars at the close of the First Age. In order to prevent mass reincarnations, nearly all Solar essences were systematically captured and imprisoned with the assistance of the Sidereal Exalted. However, those that were not imprisoned continued to reincarnate again and again through the ages. Each time a Solar re-emerged into the world by reincarnating in a mortal, they were hunted down and killed by Terrestrial Exalted, who used their greater numbers to overcome the newly-Exalted person in a crusade known as the Wyld Hunt.

Considered to be anathema by the mortal world of the Second Age, the Solars are regarded as monstrous demons and few remember their former greatness. This is due to a prolonged and widespread campaign of propaganda orchestrated by the Terrestrials, via a now firmly established religion known as the Immaculate Order.

Various sourcebooks for Exalted state that Solars lack the ability to specialize in the shapeshifting magic of the Lunars, the raw aggressive force of the Abyssals, the elemental manipulation of the Terrestrial Exalted, or the Fate-manipulation of the Sidereals, though their raw prowess in most skills easily exceeds any of the others. Their two greatest advantages are their large Essence pools that give them more raw power to work with, and their ability to use the highest of all forms of sorcery, the Solar Circle – likely named due to the Solars alone being able to access that circle of sorcery.

Abyssal Exalted (Deathknights, Abyssals)

Twisted souls that are loyal servants of the Deathlords, powerful spirits of long-dead Exalts, who in turn serve the Neverborn, the dead husks of what were once the ancient Primordials slain by the Exalted before the First Age.

The source materials, primarily the first-edition sourcebook Exalted: The Abyssals, present the Deathlords as corrupted remnants of fallen First Age Solars who are easily among the most powerful beings in the Underworld of Exalted. The Deathlords have varied goals, but most strive not to conquer or corrupt Creation but rather to wipe it and everything else out of existence, although conquest and corruption are among their strategies in this regard.

In the present of Exalted, the Neverborn sow their revenge from beyond the grave through their Deathlord servants. The named agents of the Deathlords in the world of the living are the Abyssal Exalted, also known as Deathknights; these antagonists are dark reflections of the Solar Exalted and are presented as being their equal in power. Deathknights are described as finding themselves bound to their dark fate; holding onto the trappings of life inevitably spells disaster for those who rebel. Within the last five years of the game's fictional history, they and their Deathlord masters have begun to corrupt Creation with the power of the Underworld. They field vast undead armies, bolstered by ancient knowledge and powerful necromancy. Several sourcebooks present the Abyssals and the Deathlords as having a tentative foothold in Creation, likely representing its gravest threat.

Abyssals cannot draw Essence from Creation as other Exalts do and can only replenish their Essence in the Underworld or with powerful artifacts. The easiest way for an Abyssal to restore Essence away from the Underworld is by feeding on the living. Willing Solar Exalted can be converted to Abyssal Exalted with a powerful necromantic spell.

Lunar Exalted (Chosen of Luna, Stewards)

Presented as the most chaotic and savage of the Exalted. In the sourcebooks, they are often referred to as cunning shapeshifters, skilled fighters and capable generals. Their history and characteristics are described in the first-edition book Exalted: The Lunars and the second-edition book The Manual of Exalted Power: Lunars. In second-edition materials, they are presented less as barbaric warriors and much closer to their original First Age description.

Within the game's history, they were very commonly bonded in wedlock with the First Age Solars; those that were not killed along with their Solar mates fled to the edges of Creation. At the borders of the order of Creation and in the chaotic energies of the Wyld, their natures were changed over a great many years. Lunars follow a tribal hierarchy and ritually tattoo each other to protect themselves from the warping effects of the Wyld. This further serves to mark them as different from the rest of humanity, as the tattoos are often visible over much of the Lunar's body. In addition to their self-inflicted distinguishing marks, each Lunar has a "Tell" that manifests as an animal-like characteristic that is visible to some degree or another in their human forms, further setting them apart from mortals.

Lunars often shun civilization; some of them lead and sometimes breed or guide anthropomorphic barbarian tribes. Other Lunar Exalted went into deep seclusion in their territories, and still others let their shapechanging animalistic instincts overtake them until their humanity was hardly recognizable. This last group of Lunars are known as "chimera", having been changed by the chaotic energies of the Wyld, becoming monsters with no unifying form, or sometimes forms that constantly change.

With the return of the Solar Exalted, the uncertainty of the imperial rule of the Dragon-Blooded, the encroaching influence of the Wyld and its Fair Folk manifestations, and the new threat of the Deathlords, the Lunar Exalted are possibly returning to a Creation that has changed as much as they have – though this is entirely at the discretion of the Storyteller (see Storytelling System).

One of their most notable feats is the Thousand Streams River Project, a complicated system of social engineering designed to create self-sufficient human societies that do not require Exalted leadership to function. Such social engineering is presented within the game to give players who wish to play Lunar Exalts optional goals to work toward, or as antagonists, a plot hook for Storytellers to include within their own games.

Sidereal Exalted (Chosen of the Five Maidens, Viziers)

These Celestial Exalted are the least numerous of all the Exalted types, yet are described as major players in the fate of Creation. Sidereals, in addition to their unparalleled mastery of martial arts, evidenced by their access to the highest forms of martial-arts magical abilities (known as Charms), excel at foreseeing and manipulating fate. Within the Exalted universe, they are often presented as celestial bureaucrats who often work in the Bureau of Fate of the Celestial City of Yu-Shan, the home of the gods, directing events in the mortal world from behind the scenes.

They were the viziers, prophets and cunning advisers of the First Age. Toward the end of the First Age, a prophecy came to them that seemed to offer two options: either destroy the Solar Exalted or watch Creation be destroyed instead. The arrogant and prideful Sidereals, possibly under the effects of the Great Curse laid upon them by the Neverborn, blindly followed their predictions without taking the time to verify them, orchestrating the end of the First Age, known as the Great Usurpation. It was with their behind-the-scenes guidance that the Dragon-Blooded were able to completely wipe out the Solar Exalted and effectively direct the Wyld Hunt to the predicted Exaltation of new Solars. The Bronze Faction of the Sidereal Exalted supported and orchestrated the purge of the Solar Exalted from Creation, while the Gold Faction worked to support the Solars and lost much in the way of power and influence at the end of the First Age.

Because of the effect of the Great Curse, Sidereals slip from the minds of those who meet them, mortal and Exalt alike, which can be beneficial to Sidereal characters or harmful, depending on their intended goals as player characters and non-player characters. Some events prior to the "present" setting of Exalted, such as a devastating plague known as the Great Contagion which eluded their predictions, have jarred their faith in their precognitive abilities, and the loss of the Scarlet Empress, their secret ally at the top of the Scarlet Dynasty, has marginalized their influence.

With the emergence of the Deathlords (who, as the authors describe them, are inscrutable to their power of prediction), the return of the Solars, and a growing rift between the Bronze Faction and the Gold Faction, who are now gathering their power and directing it into an organization known as the Cult of the Illuminated, the Sidereal Exalted are uncertain of their future.

Terrestrial Exalted (Chosen of the Elemental Dragons, Dragon-Blooded)

In the history of Exalted, they were the elite infantry and servants to the rest of the Exalted in the First Age. They are less powerful than other types of Exalted, but most of their strength lies in their inheritance – rather than being chosen by a god, the Dragon-Blooded have the potential to pass their Exaltation on to their children, although some Dragon-Blooded, the "Lost Eggs", Exalt into families that have no Dragon-Blooded in their genealogy. The Dragon-Blooded are not limited by a set amount of "Exalted essences" like Celestial Exalted. Due to their overwhelming numbers in comparison with the Celestial Exalted (Terrestrial Exalted numbering in the tens of thousands as compared to the hundreds of Celestial Exalted), they were able to usurp the power of the Solar Exalted at the height of their power with the help and guidance of the Sidereal Exalted, thus ending the First Age.

The majority of the Dragon-Blooded in Creation make up the ruling class of the Realm, currently the most powerful empire in Creation, although the Old Realm ruled over by the Solars was far more advanced and successful than the current Realm ruled over by the Dragon-Blooded. The state-sanctioned faith known as the Immaculate Order paints the Solar and Lunar Exalted as dangerous anathema who will bring ruin to the world if allowed to exist, thus encompassing the propaganda against Celestial Exalts. Because of this, the Realm organizes the Wyld Hunt, which actively seeks out newly Exalted Celestials (Solars and Lunars, although they also hunt Abyssals and God-Blooded) and overwhelms them before they can master their new powers. This practice, which had effectively kept the Solars from rising to power again since the end of the First Age, has faltered recently in the Exalted timeline because of the recent disappearance of the Scarlet Empress – the absolute monarch of the Realm – and the stability and leadership that she was able to bring to the Dragon-Blooded. The power struggle by the great Dragon-Blooded houses to fill the resulting power vacuum has destabilized the Scarlet Empire and allowed the Solar Exalted to escape the purges of the Wyld Hunt and rise in Creation once more.

The greatest advantages of the Dragon-Blooded are the considerable resources granted to them by their noble status and their ability to work cooperatively with each other to create greater effects with their Essence. There are five elemental aspects to the Dragon-Blooded: Air (the Azure Children of Mela), Earth (the Ivory Children of Pasiap), Fire (the Scarlet Offspring of Hesiesh), Water (the Ebon Offspring of Daana'd) and Wood (the Verdant Children of Sextes Jylis). The ruling Dragon-Blooded of the Realm are made up of the eleven Great Houses. Most houses were founded by and named after one of the Scarlet Empress's Exalted offspring, though at least two are descended from the Empress' late husbands, and three unspecified houses are descended from adopted children of the Empress. Of the 13 former Great Houses, only two, Jerah and Manosque, have been named. The prominent Dragon-Blooded families are known as Gentes. There are five major or great Gentes: Amilar (Air), Karal (Fire), Maheka (Earth), Teresu (Water) and Yushoto (Wood), as well as approximately a dozen minor Gentes.

Alchemical Exalted

Android creations made from clay and the Five Magical Materials, built in the world of Autochthonia. They were introduced in the supplement "Time of Tumult." They are the only type of playable characters besides the Dragon Kings that were designed after the core rulebook was released, and are occasionally referenced in subsequent materials. Alchemicals serve the Great Maker Autochthon, one of only two primordials that was not imprisoned or killed in the Primordial War, and are infused with the souls of dead Autochthonian heroes. Within the context of the game, they serve as protectors of the inhabitants of a parallel world made up of the body of Autochthon himself, and enforce the will of the Tripartite, the theocratic government of this world. They divide themselves into castes according to which material was mainly used in their construction: there are five canon castes, one for each of the Five Magical Materials, as well as the optional Adamant caste. Autochthon designed them before the other four original types of Exalted, but they were not constructed until after the Primordials were overthrown and Autochthon retreated from Creation. Instead of wielding Essence directly and using their Charms in a "magical" fashion like other Exalted do, the Alchemicals have Charms "installed" like peripheral parts and fuel these machine implants with Essence from their own bodies. Unlike the Celestial Exalted, there is no hard cap on the number of Alchemicals, the main limiting factor on their numbers being the immense resource investment required for their construction. As Alchemical Exalted raise their Permanent Essence, they increase in size, eventually joining with Autochthon and growing into cities. The Alchemicals are not subject to the Great Curse, as they did not fight in the Primordial War. In gameplay, in place of a Limit track, they have a Clarity track which measures their distance from humanity. Those Alchemicals who suffer from Gremlinism have a Dissonance track in place of a Clarity track, with Dissonance measuring their madness and corruption. Willing non-Alchemical Exalted can become "Akuma" of Autochthon, gaining the ability to have Alchemical charms installed and gaining a Clarity track. A brief tour of the world of Autochthonia can be found on the game's website.

Infernal Exalted (Akuma, Green Sun Princes)

They currently have less published material covering their nature, back-story and abilities than other Exalts. There are two types of Infernal Exalted, the Akuma and the Green Sun Princes. Akuma are Exalted of another type who have given themselves over to the cause of the Yozis and have been remade according to their masters' desires. They retain access to their native charm set and gain the ability to learn and use Infernal charms. The Green Sun Princes are made with the fifty Essences of Solar Exalts which the Yozis took in payment from the Neverborn and corrupted in exchange for teaching the Neverborn to corrupt Solar Essences to create the Abyssals. The only confirmed modern Akuma in print is Lintha Ng Hut Dukantha. Dukantha was a Water-Aspected Dragon-Blood before his change into an Akuma. This detail, and the Investiture of Infernal Glory charm in the Exalted Player's Guide can be used to create Akuma from any Exalt type. An unnamed female Infernal with a Solar Dawn caste mark is depicted in two comics: one in the second edition Storyteller's Companion and one in Compass of Celestial Directions Volume 2: the Wyld, but she has not been mentioned outside of those comics. A sourcebook covering Infernals is in development as of May 2008.

Other magical beings

Alongside the various types of Exalts found in Creation, there are also other magical creatures that use the same Essence that Exalts use to power their magical effects.

Behemoths

Behemoths are unique, immortal monsters. There are two broad categories of behemoths: Primordial Behemoths, created by the Primordials, and Wyld Behemoths, created by the Fair Folk. Wyld Behemoths are classified according to power; in ascending order, the three types are fey beasts, daikaiju and Deep Wyld horrors.

Dragon Kings

Like the Fair Folk, the Dragon Kings are not Exalted; they are supernatural creatures offered as a player character type. The Dragon Kings are large dinosaur-like beings of great power. Dragon Kings are sworn in allegiance to the Unconquered Sun, their creator. According to the fictional history of Exalted, before the time of the Exalted, the Dragon Kings ruled Creation and the mortals who dwelt there, but as the methods of Exaltation were crafted and improved they become obsolete in the gods' eyes. The Unconquered Sun used them as powerful servants to his chosen whom they served faithfully, honoring their Exalted brethren. After the First Age ended in war and disease, few survived. Their numbers grow slowly but steadily in the Second Age, though the once great Dragon Kings remain hidden in the farthest corners of Creation. Their most powerful stronghold is Rathess, an ancient home filled with a variety of powerful artifacts made by the Dragon Kings in the glory days of the First Age. The developers describe four types of Dragon Kings, each living in a quadrant of Creation; the graceful flying Pterok (North), the nimble and lithe Raptok (East), the powerful and loyal Anklok (South), and the clever amphibious Mosok (West). Rules for playing Dragon Kings are presented in the Exalted Player's Guide in 1st edition and Scroll of the Fallen Races in 2nd edition.

Fair Folk

Like the Dragon Kings, they are an alternative player character race. Also referred to as Raksha, they are creatures composed of raw Essence, and inhabit the Wyld – the place that exists between the ordered Creation and pure Chaos. Inhuman and beautiful beings born from chaos, they feed on the dreams and aspirations of the inhabitants of Creation in order to give them strength and form in their own intermediate realm. In essence, they are the "kissing cousins" of the Primordials, their territory having been pushed back when the Primordials formed Creation. They prey upon the dreams of mortals and do a brisk slave trade with The Guild, a powerful economic organization in Creation. The Raksha are divided into four castes: Diplomats, who favor the Staff Grace and the virtue of Conviction, Entertainers, who favor the Cup Grace and the virtue of Compassion, Warriors, who favor the Sword Grace and the virtue of Valor, and Workers, who favor the Ring Grace and the virtue of Temperance. Noble Raksha belong to two of the four castes, favoring the Graces and virtues of both. There is also a fifth Grace, the Heart Grace, which is associated with identity and the trait of Willpower. Graces are differing outlets for the use of Essence and are similar to the suits of tarot. The most powerful of the Fair Folk are the Unshaped. Unlike the Raksha, the Unshaped are unable to survive within Creation for extended periods of time; each Unshaped is actually a symbiotic cluster of Fair Folk consisting of a single "guiding intelligence" and one or more "subsidiary intelligences" with no true form. Rules for playing Fair Folk are presented in Exalted: The Fair Folk in 1st edition, 2nd edition rules are due to be included in Graceful Wicked Masques: The Fair Folk, scheduled for release in 2009.

God-Blooded

Refers to, as a collective whole, offspring of a mortal or animal and a magical being, or the mortal offspring of two magical beings, in which case they take after the more powerful of the two. The resulting offspring bears traces of its mystical parentage. According to the authors, they stand somewhere between divinity and mortality, less than Exalted, but more than human. Those with awakened Essence can purchase the same types of Charms as their supernatural parent, though their power is limited by a low Permanent Essence trait and a small Essence pool.

There are several subtypes of God-Blooded: God-Blooded are the children of gods, Elemental-Blooded are the children of elementals, Demon-Blooded are the offspring of demons, Ghost-Blooded are the children of ghosts using powerful Charms to help them reproduce with mortals, and Half-Caste are the children of powerful Exalts (although exceedingly rare). Solar, Abyssal, Lunar, Sidereal and Terrestrial Half-Castes are known as Golden Children, Shadewalkers, Moon-Born, Star-Blessed and Dragon-Touched respectively. The Fae-Blooded are the children of a union between the Raksha and mortals. The Mountain Folk can also produce God-Blooded offspring, but there is no specific term for them.

Mountain Folk

Also known as the Jadeborn, a long-lived subterranean race distantly related to the Fair Folk. The Mountain Folk are divided along two lines, Caste and Enlightenment. The vast majority of the Mountain Folk are Unenlightened – limited in intelligence, creativity and supernatural power. A small minority, including the entire Artisan Caste, are Enlightened, with much greater creativity as well as mundane and supernatural potential. The three Jadeborn Castes are the Artisans, Warriors and Workers. Mountain Folk society is ruled by the Artisan Caste, who make up the nobility, with Unenlightened Warriors and Workers making up the commoners and Enlightened Warriors and Workers occupying an intermediate position. Rules for playing the Mountain Folk are presented in 1st editon's Exalted: The Fair Folk and 2nd edition's Scroll of the Fallen Races.

Spirits

Spirits are divided into four broad categories: demons, elementals, ghosts, and gods. With the exception of elementals, spirits are naturally immaterial, generally require Charms to materialize in Creation, and will reform when killed unless some supernatural effect prevents them from doing so. Rules for playing ghosts in 1st edition are presented in Exalted: The Abyssals, and rules for 2nd edition are presented in The Books of Sorcery, Vol. V: The Roll of Glorious Divinity II: Ghosts & Demons. Rules for playing elementals and gods are presented in The Books of Sorcery, Vol. IV: The Roll of Glorious Divinity I: Gods & Elementals.

Demons

The greatest of the demons are the Yozis, exiled, imprisoned and twisted Primordials. For each Yozi, there are at least a dozen Third Circle demons, each of which rivals the most powerful gods and elementals in power and embodies an aspect of the Yozi, and each Third Circle demon has seven Second Circle demons which reflect facets of its nature. First Circle demons are the descendants of greater demons rather than aspects of them, generally divided into various demonic species, with individuality and uniqueness quite rare among them. All demons other than the Yozis can be summoned through sorcery.

Autochthon and Gaia, the two remaining free Primordials, have counterparts to Third Circle demons in the form of Gaia's Five Elemental Dragons and Autochthon's eight Divine Ministers and Core. Autochthon also has a counterpart to Second Circle demons in the form of the Revered Subroutines. Unlike true demons, these beings cannot be summoned through sorcery.

Elementals

Elementals maintain Creation, and with a few exceptions, embody one of the five elements: air, earth, fire, water or wood. Elementals are naturally material, requiring charms to dematerialize, and with a few exceptions, cannot reform when slain. Unlike other spirits, their growth is largely unrestricted. The most powerful elementals are the Lesser and Greater Elemental Dragons. Elementals are generally outranked by gods of similar power. Elementals can be summoned through Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, however, unlike demons, powerful elementals often have designated proxies who can be sent to respond to the summoning in their stead.

The elementals of Autochthonia embody one of the machine world's elements: crystal, metal, oil, lightning or steam, and cannot be summoned through sorcery.

Ghosts

The most common type of ghosts are the hun or higher souls of mortals who have refused to pass into Lethe and reincarnation due to their attachment to their mortal lives. Ghosts are much weaker than Exalted, and they can only respire Essence in the Underworld and Shadowlands. Hungry ghosts generally come into existence due to betrayal, vengeance or a traumatic death. Initially, a hungry ghost includes both the higher soul and the po, or lower soul, but the hun soon moves on, leaving the hungry ghost largely mindless. Unlike other ghosts, hungry ghosts are naturally material in Creation at night. Nephwracks are ghosts who have been corrupted by the Neverborn. Unlike uncorrupted ghosts, they are capable of using necromancy. The Deathlords are thirteen ghosts of powerful Solar Exalted who have been empowered by the Neverborn, and although they are not technically Exalted, they have access to Abyssal Charms. Spectres, also known as plasmics, are bizarre creatures spawned by the nightmares of the Neverborn. Hekatonkhire are the ghosts of demons and Primordial behemoths, as well as the manifested nightmares of the Neverborn. The Neverborn are the ghosts of slain Primordials. Immensely powerful, they are difficult to rouse from their slumber, and their power seems largely constrained to the Labyrinth. Only mundane ghosts and Hekatonkhire can be summoned through necromancy, and only mundane ghosts can be summoned through sorcery.

Gods

Gods represent objects, locations and concepts, but they are separate from them. In order of least powerful and influential to most, there are least gods, minor gods, gods, major gods and Celestial Incarnae. Examples of least gods include gods of a single pebble, whereas major gods include gods of concepts such as wealth or war. Most gods are members of the Celestial Order, which is stratified into two divisions: the Celestial Court, comprised of gods of concepts, and the Terrestrial Bureaucracy, made up of the gods of physical objects and locations.

The Celestial Court is ruled by the seven Celestial Incarnae, and is divided into the Bureaus of Destiny, Heaven, Humanity, Nature and Seasons, with the other four bureaus reporting to the Bureau of Heaven. The Terrestrial Bureaucracy is nominally ruled by the Five Elemental Dragons, and is divided into various spirit courts. Technically, all members of the Celestial Court outrank all members of the Terrestrial Bureaucracy. In practice, Terrestrial courts are largely independent.

Outside of the Celestial Order, there are also the machine spirits of Autochthonia, unemployed gods whose domains have been usurped or destroyed, rogue gods who have abandoned their duties, and forbidden gods who have been exiled due to madness, an abhorrent nature or because they sided with the Primordials. Gods can generally only significantly increase their power by getting promoted or expanding their purview.

Essence

Essence is the mystical force which the Exalted and gods manipulate to gain their supernatural powers. It is similar to the philosophical terms "Essence" or "Quintessence". Within the game, the mystical force "Essence" is always capitalized to distinguish from other uses of the word.

Five Magical Materials

The Five Magical Materials are used to forge artifacts and weapons. Each material is associated with a type of Exalted, as well as one of the castes of Alchemical Exalted, who are partially constructed from that material. These materials are all easily enchanted, and each one resonates with a particular type of Exalted. This resonance makes any item that is both constructed from one of the magical materials and attuned to an Exalt's anima preternaturally deft and sure in that Exalt's hands. It also gives the Exalt access to the powers of any hearthstone mounted on the item.

Jade

is the most common material, and is associated with the most common, least powerful of the Exalted, the Terrestrial Exalted. There are six different colors of jade, five of which correspond to one of the Elemental Dragons. Blue jade resonates with Air, white with Earth, black with Water, green with Wood, and red with Fire. The sixth- Yellow jade is something of a mystery, in that it shouldn't exist and only comes into existence through Alchemical mistakes. Jade weapons are unnaturally fast, and jade armor doesn't tire the wearer.

Starmetal

is the rarest of the magical materials, forged from meteors, the husks of godlings cast out of Yu-Shan, the Heavenly City. Like its wielders, the Sidereal Exalted, Starmetal re-weaves fate, causing weapons to strike especially lethal blows and armor to turn aside all but the mightiest attacks.

Moonsilver

is considered by the Lunar Exalted to be a gift from their patron, Luna. It must be harvested by moonlight, using no crafted tools, forged at night and cooled only with water that has never seen the sun. Swords made of Moonsilver are more accurate, bows shoot farther and armor does not impede the wearer's mobility. Like the protean Lunars, Moonsilver can shift into new forms easily.

Soulsteel

is made from human souls and the substance of the Labyrinth of the Underworld. It is jet black, and agonized faces of the souls it contains can be seen moving and screaming in the metal. Unsurprisingly, this material is used almost exclusively by the Abyssal Exalted. Soulsteel weapons inflict heavy damage on living beings and frequently drain small quantities of Essence as well.

Orichalcum

is used primarily by the Solar Exalted. Orichalcum is rarely found in pure deposits; usually, it is created out of gold that has been heated by lava and sunlight reflected from mirrors of occult design. Orichalcum weapons excel at no one thing; instead of adding a large bonus to speed, damage or defense, they add a small bonus to all.

First Edition Exalted hints at a sixth magical material, but it is not presented in full until the Second Edition release of Dreams of the First Age.

Adamant

a super-solid crystal that is refined down to the sharpest substance known. It is largely present within the body of the Primordial Autochthon, but was also known in Creation during the First Age. This material is used primarily by the Alchemical Exalted.

Influences

The setting is strongly influenced by Tanith Lee's Tales from the Flat Earth, Michael Moorcock's Hawkmoon, Lord Dunsany's Gods of Pegana and Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Ninja Scroll. Other influences include Glen Cook's Black Company; Sean Stewart's Resurrection Man, The Night Watch and Galveston; Homer's Odyssey and Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West.

System

The game uses ten-sided dice and a rules system similar to the Storytelling System to arbitrate the action, and, as with many other RPGs, requires little beyond the rulebooks themselves, dice, pencil, and paper. The ten-sided die storyteller system is one where the storyteller (or game master) is the person setting up a story and creating the adventure. The players create their characters using a pre-assigned number of points (as opposed to games like Dungeons and Dragons where an element of randomness can be introduced into character creation) and begin to interact with the story that the storyteller presents them with, much like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, although the possible actions are limited only to the imagination of the players and the discretion of the storyteller. When a challenge presents itself to the characters, they roll a number of dice determined by the statistics of their character with a difficulty assigned by the storyteller. If they gain the required number of successes (7 or higher on any given die, 10's usually counting as double), they succeed in their efforts. If they do not gain the required number of successes, they fail. The storyteller describes the nature of the success or failure and the game and story continue on. Since the stories are player-created (by the storyteller, of course), there is no one way to "win" the game, except to achieve the goals set out in each individual story.

The rules system used in Exalted uses the attributes from the old World of Darkness system. These are Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance, Intelligence, Wits and Perception. There are many differences in skills, in line with the difference in setting. For example, while the standard Storytelling system uses the skills Academics, Firearms, and Politics, the Exalted system uses the skills Lore, Archery, and Bureaucracy. For these and other reasons, the two systems are not directly compatible without adaptations. White Wolf's Scion game uses the same attributes, but not the same skills, as Exalted.

The Storytelling System itself has been applied both to tabletop and video gaming systems, and has been a subject of note to gaming enthusiasts such as Chris Crawford, who wrote a book entitled Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling which details many elements similar to the Storytelling System in use in Exalted.

History

Exalted has mechanical and thematic similarities to White Wolf's previous game series, the old World of Darkness, but exists in its own product line, called the Age of Sorrows. The game has an excellent sales record, on par with the company's flagship title, Vampire: The Masquerade, the second edition core rulebook achieving a sales ranking at #23,558 on Amazon.com with a 4.5-star mean user review rating based on 13 user reviews as of January, 2009. Exalted, being White Wolf's second largest franchise, has helped White Wolf Publishing to grow and maintain an average 26% market between 1991 and 2003. As of November 11, 2006, White Wolf Publishing had averaged a 22% market share since 1991, with the Exalted line maintaining second place behind the New World of Darkness line, and RPG.net also confirms White Wolf Publishing as one of the biggest trends in the roleplaying industry since the 1990s, which can partially be attributed to the success of the Exalted line.

There is speculation among fans that to maintain a sense of continuity, the First Edition published material initially suggested the Age of Sorrows as the pre-history of the old World of Darkness — however, this has not been officially confirmed outside of early promotional materials. It should be noted that White Wolf has continually inserted names and themes familiar to players of their previous World of Darkness line into the material, adding fuel to the fire of the speculation that it is a pre-history. However, the Developer has commented that the connections are tenuous, for players to grasp or let go – with the end of the old World of Darkness and the creation of the new World of Darkness, these similarities have become even weaker. Moreover, Exalted Second Edition seems to imply that its story is the prehistory of our own world.

Promotions

In March 2008, White Wolf Publishing, Inc. unveiled a promotion that would allow 2,500 Dungeons & Dragons players to exchange their copy of their Edition 3.5 Player's Handbook for a copy of the Exalted Second Edition Core Rulebook. The promotion was called "Graduate your Game" and has received mixed reviews from fans of both games. The success of this promotion has yet to be revealed.

In March of 2009, White Wolf Publishing, Inc. authorized the Exalted Wiki Contribution Contest, where users could come and edit the Official Exalted Wiki, contributing information in a month-long contest to win one of seven copies of an unannounced book signed by Exalted developer John Chambers and Exalted art director Brian Glass. The contest is not run by White Wolf employees, but rather, fans and freelance writers for the Exalted line.ref>Peter K. Ullmann (2009). "Exalted Wiki Contribution Contest". White-Wolf.com. Retrieved 2009-03-18.</ref>

Books

1st Edition (2001-2006)

See the list of Exalted sourcebooks for further information.

2nd Edition (2006 - present)

See the list of Exalted sourcebooks for further information.

See also

• Storytelling System.
• White-Wolf's World of Darkness.
• White Wolf, Inc.

External links

• The White Wolf Exalted page
• Official White Wolf Exalted Wiki
• Exalted Wiki, a Wiki containing fan-created material and archived quotes by the developers
• The Exalted Compendium Redux
• Conrad Hubbard (author) personal website
• A site containing fan-created character sheets and charm cards for Exalted 2e