Exalted
Exalted is a
role-playing game published by
White Wolf, Inc. The game is set in the "Second Age of Man" and is classified as
high fantasy. It is strongly influenced by Japanese
anime and
manga, the cultures of
China and
Rome, and a number of literary sources such as the writings of
Michael Moorcock.
The basic premise of the game is that the player characters are "Exalted", humans chosen by one of the Gods (such as the Unconquered Sun, Luna, the Five Maidens) and imbued with the powers of a demi-god. Exalted are far beyond the power of an average mortal to deal with, but there are plenty of threats in the world nevertheless - the Fair Folk, creatures composed of dream, the walking dead, demons, and even the Dragon-Blooded, a lesser form of Exalted who rule the world via a tyrannical empire.
The game has has an excellent sales record, on par with the company's flagship title, Vampire: The Masquerade. The game diverged from many of the traditions and mechanics of its predecessors, though it shares similarities of system with other White Wolf games (see White Wolf Dice Mechanics for a brief summary.) Though the game is not formally a part of the World of Darkness setting, there is a strong suggestion throughout the canonical Exalted material that the game is set in the pre-history of the World of Darkness, and that various Exalted types will go on to become the various types of supernatural found in that setting. The official name for Exalted's setting is the Age of Sorrows.
Several books exist:
- Exalted: The core rulebook, detailing the setting and history of the world, and presenting rules for playing Solar Exalted.
- Exalted: The Dragon-Blooded: The first hard-cover sourcebook (or "fatsplat"), detailing the Dragon-Blooded, the weakest of the Exalted, and the Realm they govern.
- Exalted: The Lunars: a sourcebook detailing the culture and game mechanics of the bestial and savage Lunar characters and the barbarian tribes they associate with, as well as information on the Wyld, a zone of chaos that rings the world.
- Exalted: The Abyssals: a sourcebook for Abyssal Exalted, ghost characters, the Underworld and a brief history of the Deathlords.
- Exalted: The Sidereals: a sourcebook for Sidereal Exalted characters, including details on the Heavenly city of Yu-Shan.
- Assorted "Caste" and "Aspect" books, detailing specific sub-groups within the various Exalted; for example, the Solar Exalts have five Castes: Dawn (the Warriors), Zenith (the Priests), Twilight (the Scholars), Night (the Spies) and Eclipse (the Diplomats).
- Assorted soft-cover sourcebooks, such as The Book of Three Circles, a reference for Exalted sorcery, and Time of Tumult, a book of pre-generated adventures for Exalted parties.
- A series of novels has been released, set in the Exalted universe.
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