Rules

Step One: Character Concept

• Choose concept, Caste and Motivation.
• Note your Caste’s Anima Powers.

Step Two: Attributes

• All Attributes start with one dot before you add any.
• Prioritize the three categories: Physical, Social, Mental.
• You have (8/6/4) dots to spend, based on your priorities.

Step Three: Abilities

• Note Caste Abilities.
• Select five Favored Abilities (may not be the same as Caste Abilities).
• You have 28 dots to spend.
  • At least 10 must go into Favored or Caste Abilities.
  • You must put at least one in each of your Favored Abilities (not required for Caste Abilities).
  • You cannot raise any Abilities past 3 without spending Bonus Points.

Step Four: Advantages

• Spend 7 dots on Backgrounds.
  • You cannot raise Backgrounds past 3 without spending Bonus Points.
  • See Background list below.
• Choose 10 Charms.
  • At least five must come from Favored or Caste Abilities.
• Spend 5 dots on Virtues.
  • Your Virtues start with one dot each.
  • You cannot raise a Virtue past 4 without spending Bonus Points.
• Choose or design your Virtue Flaw.

Step Five: Finishing Touches

• Your starting Essence score is 2.
  • Mortals and lesser spirits have Essence 1.
• Record your Willpower score.
  • Your Willpower starts as the sum of your highest two Virtues.
• Calculate your Personal Essence Pool:
  • (Essence × 3) + Willpower
• Calculate your Peripheral Essence Pool:
  • (Essence × 7) + Willpower + (sum of Virtues)
• Record your health levels.
  • Your base value is seven, plus any gained from Charms.
  • The only way to increase health levels is via Ox-Body Technique Charms.

Step Six: Spend Bonus Points

You have 15 Bonus Points (BP) to spend on further customization.

• Attribute — 4 BP
• Ability — 2 BP (1 BP if Favored or Caste)
• Background — 1 BP (2 BP if raising above 3)
• Specialty — 1 BP (2 dots per 1 BP if Favored or Caste)
• Virtue — 3 BP
• Willpower — 2 BP
• Essence — 7 BP
• Charms — 5 BP (4 BP if Favored or Caste)

Backgrounds

• Allies — Aides and friends who help in tasks.
• Artifact — Wondrous devices of the First Age.
• Backing — Standing and rank in an organization of influence.
• Contacts — Information sources and people in useful places.
• Cult — Mortals who worship you.
• Familiar — An animal companion.
• Followers — Mortals who look to you for leadership.
• Influence — Your pull in the world around you.
• Manse — A place of power and Essence.
• Mentor — A teacher and instructor.
• Resources — Material goods and money.

The die of choice in this game is the d10, or ten-sided die. For this game, we're using an online dice roller.

• Any dice that results in a number that is equal or greater than 7 counts as a success, and 0 counts as two successes.
  • The only case this is not true is when rolling damage.
• You botch when you roll your dice pool and the result is no successes and the appearance of at least one 1.
  • You must announce a botch to the Storyteller, and prepare yourself for the worst.
• The difficulty of an action is determined by the Storyteller based on how difficult the task is. This difficulty is sometimes directly opposed by another character, such as when trying to attack someone.
• The more successes you get on your roll, the more impressive the results.

Typically, your dice pool is a combination of an Attribute and an Ability, but that isn’t always the case.

There are multiple bonuses that might apply to your dice pool or the result after you roll. Bonuses come in the form of dice and automatic successes.

• You are permitted to spend a Willpower to give a given non-combat roll one automatic success.
• By spending a Willpower, you can also Channel a Virtue, adding a number of dice equal to one of your four Virtues to your pool.
• Specialties add bonus dice to a given roll, as long as the conditions are met, as might Equipment, like the accuracy bonus a weapon gives attack rolls.
• Magic might add either dice to your pool (such as using the First Melee Excellency) or automatic successes (such as using the Second Melee Excellency) and might allow you to reroll entirely (such as the Third Melee Excellency).
• Stunts are another source for bonuses, adding dice to the roll.

Internal vs External Penalties

There are two types of penalties you’ll encounter. Internal Penalties (which come from within) take away dice from your dice pool whereas External Penalties (which come from things happening around you) take away successes from your roll.

Note: Wound Penalties and multiple actions are always Internal Penalties. Your opponent’s Defense Value is an External Penalty, which is why it reduces the results of your attack roll.

Stunting allows for creativity and autonomy for characters and storytellers to paint actions how they wish. This directly gives Exalted its anime feel. I’ve been playing D&D since I was a pre-teen, and I’ll tell you, I’ve heard “I attack it,” so much it became a meme before I knew what a meme was. “I attack it,” is boring, but Exalted encourages you to do so much more. The cooler you describe your action, the more bonus dice you get for that action, from 1-3, adjudicated by the Storyteller. Not only does this give you the chance for more successes, but this gives you some additional perks:

• One Stunt: If the action is successful, you may regain 2m.
• Two Stunt: If the action is successful, you may regain 4m or 1wp.
• Three Stunt: If the action is successful, you may regain 6m or 1wp or 1bp.

Note: It is not considered bad form to ask the Storyteller whether or not you’ve earned any Stunt for your description, but it is considered rude to beg for higher numbers.

• Dramatic Actions and Systems Reference
• 10 Steps
• Combat Reference
• Social Combat Reference
• War Reference
• Armory Reference

• Dice Rolling and Playing
• We will be meeting via Facebook Messenger and playing live on a group video call.
• Dice rolls will be handled on the dice roller here:
  • Carl's Super Awesome Private Dice Roller

• Combos and Charm Timing
• Solars can use any Reflexive charm at any time.
• Players can make combos on the fly by spending the motes and an additional Willpower.
• If a player spends XP on a combo, they no longer have to pay the Willpower cost of the combo.