Exalted update project

Exalted (second edition errata project) is a fan effort to find the sweet spot somewhere after the Dawn Solution errata, but still prior to third edition. There were many waves of errata for second edition. Many only ever existing on a wiki that underwent frequent edits by I.P.-holding staffers. They did live beta testing with the community to mixed results. This makes going back to figure out which errata to apply a nightmare. Much of what is visible online elsewhere has been updated with new editions or otherwise, frankly, is inferior. This project attempts to fix mechanical issues while keeping balance issues unfixed when they are in line with lore implications. Almost all of this can be accomplished by applying the edition's later approach to wording the game mechanics. Much from the second edition core book also needed the table to know about forum posts where I.P.-holding developers were answering F.A.Q.s, or were otherwise responding to questions. Many of those were collected in .PDFs distributed online at the time, but those also expected knowledge of existing rulings already issued for Exalted first edition, Aberrant, Vampire: the Masquerade, etc. This project is just an attempt to harmonize all of that in one place, with awareness that the authors are making choices about what conflicting options to include or exclude. Unlike the I.P. holder, this isn't a steady game-balance-first effort like we've seen overwhelming the game in fourth edition ("Exalted Essence"). The various original Incarnae-vessels were supposed to lack nuance in their relative capabilities, so we aren't interested in game balance that doesn't disrupt the setting in significant ways. This project tries to leave balance issues for the individual table to decide on for themselves. Although we've put together a copyright and credits page using the original book's info, we've also realized we may not have properly credited a few of the artists where work was re-used from White Wolf Publishing's art in the original book. If you find uncredited artwork anywhere in this project please contact our team so we can speak to the artist. We'd like to either pay/credit the artist or we will replace the unattributed work.

• A character sheet meant to accommodate all types and castes, with enough circles for high-Essence ratings. For someone reason players keep being asking where the M.D.V.s are. They're next to the physical Defense Values; "Integrity" is your Integrity-derived Mental Dodge, "Truthful" is your Charisma-derived Mental Parry, and "Deceitful" is your Manipulation-derived Mental Parry. All six D.V.s are tagged in a way that makes knowing which one to use easier.
• Backgrounds for core book play: This is a handout for players who are playing Exalted for the first time. When running games we've found that selecting Backgrounds first is the best approach for a new player. This is meant to be presented as the whole of character creation, so that only after the Backgrounds are finalized an actual sheet can come out. Then the whole table can help make the rest of the character.
• Equipment update: This is a handout for players but is still in progress. The second edition core role book shipped with an unnoticed contradiction that was the result of two different authors being commissioned to write different parts of the chapter, with two different blocks of rules given for exceptional/masterwork equipment. Practically the first day that the book was in players' hands there was an errata issued. Consequently, house rules or errata were necessary. Those same rules turned out to be a mess anyway, with many scrapping the whole chapter completely. The purpose of this handout is to address these issues, as well as problems arising from the failure to explain what the fictional materials were, as well as the way the I.P.-holders kept printing new books detailing equipment that everyone in the setting was supposed to know exists, but that players probably don't know about. This is version 0.9 of this handout, with final typesetting corrections only about half completed. The .PDF is in good enough condition to be seen, though.
• Lawgiver/Solar Character Sheet: If you're a player of a Solar character you may find this alternative character sheet useful. There is a place to put everything you're likely to ever need to know.
• Lawgiver/Solar; non-Charm handout: The core rule book falls short of an ideal orientation for new players of Lawgivers, specifically because of the large amount of reading necessary to really know what's going on. Unlike the other types, who have various The Manual of Exalted Power books, the Solars have to share the pages with core game mechanics, explanations of the mundane setting, etc. An ongoing effort to do something like was done for the Stewards non-Charm handout is still in progress; this will be linked "soon."
• Lawgiver/Solar; Charm handout: This is a handout for players who are developing their Solar Exalted characters. This is meant to represent a complete catalog of Charms available to them before their Essence rating achieves the sixth dot.
• Steward/Lunar; non-Charm handout: We've noticed many players hate the way that The Manual of Exalted Power: Lunars is laid out. This has been true in multiple editions of the game. This is a handout for players, created to solve that problem. This isn't just a compilation of post-errata Knacks, this has all of the important rules about the First Age vs. Silver Pact versions of the Castes, plus other important details about the Stewards' unique subculture (not only game mechanics, but the fictional setting surrounding the Stewards). This handout includes information on their culture, Knacks, history, tattoos, the Silver Pact, Claw-Speech, etc.
• Steward/Lunar; Charm handout: An ongoing effort to compile all of the post-errata Charms for Stewards is still in progress this will be linked "soon."
• Ma.Arts: An ongoing effort to compile all of the approved updated post-errata Charms for Ma.Arts is still in progress; this will be linked "soon." In the mean time, here's the updated Sidereal Hero Style/Violet Biew of Sorrows Style that we're using under our house rules.
• Gaia's First Circle: This is a handout for new players that haven't ever played Exalted or have, but never a caster of any type. The purpose is to show a simple summary of what they're capable of so they can do character creation with as much of that awareness as they decide to read about, without showing them all the little-known niche techniques.
• the Deathlords' First Circle: This is a handout for players that want to portray a caster that works with ghosts, undead, the plane of trapped souls under Gaia, etc.
• Procedures: An ongoing effort to compile all of the widely known Procedures for Thaum. is still in progress. The project is virtually completed, but this is a partially-done version for players until the final version is uploaded.
• Just for fun, here's a Map of Creation.