Exalted using OVA?

[Bubba333]

Forgive me if this has been covered, but a search of "Exalted" didn't turn up what I was looking for. That mentioned, has anyone tried this? I'm not looking for a Charm-per-Charm rewrite, but advice as to how to handle the different Exalts. I was thinking that two easy bits would be to 1) lower the Endurance cost of things depending on the type of Exalt and 2) adjust the difficulty. I'd use the slower advancement for "non-Caste/Favored" abilities and the quickest for those non-magical abilities that seem to fit the Caste and concept.

[Bubba333]

Nobody? Aww, poop.

[Bubba333]

Wow! I feel hated...

[Bubba333]

(Am I hated? )

[dexdeldio]

I'd help out but I'm afraid I haven't a clue what you are talking about.

[Bubba333]

You've never played Exalted? Man! A GREAT setting but AWFUL system. I'd love to see it use something more like OVA for its power-set (building cool power moves from a small, but very well-made set of options), called Charms. There are HUNDREDS of the damn things and the mechanics are too clunky. Many feel the same way I do and have been searching for something to capture the over-the-top anime/wuxia-esque feel of Exalted, without the clunk. OVA seems like it might be able to do this, but as I've never played it (I'm just finishing reading the book now) I was hoping to get advice. Sadly, it would take too long to explain the Exalted setting enough to really help, but I do appreciate it!

Please feel free to ask whatever you like and maybe I can answer enough to give an better idea of what I'm looking for.

[Erinak]

Right, that setting is packaged with the Storyteller system - which I am not a fan of the system either, but the setting is all right. There's no reason the setting cannot be used for OVA since it is a universal system not packaged with any specific setting. If one wanted to get really into it they could list the charms and what powers from OVA would match it, but I wouldn't even bother with converting charms unless the work involved would benefit your goal. The books themselves are mainly setting details which are useful in their own right.

btw, you aren't hated just these forums don't get a lot of activity.

[markodude]

well the only Exalted setting I'd play with OVA is this:
http://exalted.xi.co.nz/wiki/TheKawaiiEdition

By the way I think that Magic and Power Moves are pretty good to simulate Charms, the only problem is that Exalted uses a class system (well they are calles castes, aspects, whatever...) while Ova is more "tell me what you want to be", so character is different from another (and for me that's a wonderful thing!). Anyway I think it could be done, pity that charms and rules are too many to cover.

[Clay]

Sorry, Bubba. Was out for a few days. I swear Exalted has been discussed before on these forums, but as you said, the search engine sucks. This is what I came across with some manual searching, but I'm afraid it's not much.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1911&p=3381&hilit=d10#p3381

Father of Dragons mentions his d10 conversion for OVA and its relation to his Exalted rules. Perhaps you can contact him directly for more information?

[Bubba333]

well the only Exalted setting I'd play with OVA is this:
http://exalted.xi.co.nz/wiki/TheKawaiiEdition

That's pretty cool!

By the way I think that Magic and Power Moves are pretty good to simulate Charms, the only problem is that Exalted uses a class system (well they are calles castes, aspects, whatever...) while Ova is more "tell me what you want to be", so character is different from another (and for me that's a wonderful thing!). Anyway I think it could be done, pity that charms and rules are too many to cover.

My thoughts exactly on the Charms. As far as Castes go, that can be fluff. They're too mechanically rigid anyway. As long as you know the concepts of Exalted, I think you'll be fine. The one thing that's going to take experience with OVA is going to be the handling of power. For example, Solars are the pinnacle and should have an easier time with, well...most everything! I was thinking that a higher Endurance would be simplest and make sense. That allows for more drama dice (simulating their ability to unleash awesome) as well as being able to use "Charms" (i.e. Power Moves) more often.

What do you think?

Sorry, Bubba. Was out for a few days. I swear Exalted has been discussed before on these forums, but as you said, the search engine sucks. This is what I came across with some manual searching, but I'm afraid it's not much.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1911&p=3381&hilit=d10#p3381

Father of Dragons mentions his d10 conversion for OVA and its relation to his Exalted rules. Perhaps you can contact him directly for more information?

No sweat and thanks for the advice!

[Joe_Mello]

I'd say forsake the system. Instead of trying to mod all the rigorsm idiosyncrasies, and crunch of ST into OVA, take the defining traits of Exalted, determine their core components, and build an OVA character out of those.

This is how I was able to make an OVA version of a D&D Sorcerer

[Bubba333]

Pretty much how I felt. We're taking the core concepts and making them simpler. Then applying OVA.

[Bubba333]

Here are some concept we have for OVA-Exalted:

Marks and Anima banners have no effects beyond cosmetic and we'll figure out when they appear. Drama Dice are cheaper for the Exalted, costing 3 Endurance each.

Solars will have a +1 die to every "normal" skill, which will automatically match the highest die rolled. There are no Castes and the mark on their forehead will be a sunburst. All Power Moves will have the "Holy" aspect. Miracles are also cheaper, simulating their perfection and will cost 20 Endurance (we may forgo this entirely as their massive Endurance pool might be enough) . They also get Vitality at 4 for free. They spend 3 less XP for all abilities. They receive "Special Perk: Longevity (3,000 years)" for free.

Abyssals are the same as Solars, save the "Unholy" aspect for Power Moves. Their marks will be a black sunburst. They receive "Special Perk: Immortality" for free.

Lunars all get "Special Ability: Totem Form" for free, which allows them to take one animal form at no Endurance cost. They get Transformation at level one for free to simulate their war form. Shape Change and Transformation both cost half to raise. They get Vitality 3 for free. They spend 2 less XP for all abilities and receive "Special Perk: Longevity (3,000 years)" for free.

Sidereals can shift the result on their dice for 5 Endurance a digit. So, rolling a 4 and changing it to a six would cost 10 Endurance. They get Vitality at 3 for free. They spend 2 less XP for all abilities and receive "Special Perk: Longevity (5,000 years)" for free.

Alchemicals get Human Arsenal and Transformation at level 1 for free and both cost half to raise. They get Vitality 3 for free. They spend 2 less XP for all abilities and receive "Special Perk: Longevity (3,000 years)" for free.

Dragon-Blooded have their appropriate elemental aspects tied to their Power Moves. So, a fire-aspected Dragon-Blooded would have "Aspect: Fire" to all Power Moves. They get Vitality 2 for free. They spend 1 less XP for all abilities and receive "Special Perk: Longevity (500 years)" for free.

A lot of this will probably change as we actually try out, but it seems a good start to capture the themes of Exalted. We didn't want to have a ton of little rules such as "The Twilight Caste gets a cost-break on magic" and the like. The concepts we wanted to keep were that there are divinely-empowered beings that can lay waste to normal people and change the face of the world. It will need polishing as we play, but what do you think so far?