OPEN YOUR EYES.
THE REALM IS IN CHAOS.
THE DRAGON-BLOODED’S
WYLD HUNT IS IN SHAMBLES.
THEY CAN HOLD US BACK
NO LONGER.
A THOUSAND YEARS AGO, WE RULED THIS WORLD TOGETHER.
OUR MIGHT WAS SUCH THAT WE SLEW THE FOES OF THE GODS
WITH OUR BARE HANDS. AND FOR OUR SERVICE, THE HIGHEST
AMONG THE GODS, THE UNCONQUERED SUN, GRANTED US
EXALTATION.
WE ARE THE EXALTED.
WE CHANNEL ESSENCE, THE POWER OF THE COSMOS, THROUGH
OUR FINGERTIPS, OUR FISTS, OUR FEET. OUR BLADES ARE CAST
OF ORICHALCUM AND SET WITH HEARTHSTONES, AND THEY
NEVER DULL.
YET OUR ENEMIES ARE MANY. ALTHOUGH THE EMPIRE OF THE
DRAGON-BLOODED IS DISTRACTED BY INTERNAL CONFLICT, ITS
SOLDIERS ARE STILL POTENT FOES. AND THE OTHERS ARE
WORSE. DEATHKNIGHTS RISE FROM THE UNDERWORLD FOR
GODS KNOW WHAT PURPOSE. THE FAIR FOLK SEE THAT THE
REALM IS IN TURMOIL AND WAIT WITH COVETOUS HEARTS TO
UNDO CREATION ON THEIR MERCURIAL WHIM.
JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT.
OUR TIME HAS COME AGAIN.
Back in 2001, these were the words that I first read when Exalted’s 1st Edition was announced. It was the biggest thing to come out of White Wolf, and the very concept of a high powered fantasy game with an original and exotic setting was one that captivated me. It was easy to see how something like this set my imagination ablaze, and I recall actually formulating a character concept for this game even while the website had no mechanics to show for it, and all I had was a preview of the Eclipse Caste.
Such was the power of not knowing, that it generated an immense sense of Wonder, leaving me inspired and completely stoked to run this game.
—-
“Some people bring the past into the future, it kills all possibilities.”
- Patti Muldoon, London, Ontario
In an effort to get myself deeper, and more thoroughly into the Exalted mindset, I’ve decided to drop everything. All my emotional luggage, my bad experiences from play and running, and forget them. They are obstacles to my ability to run, because they slow me down, make me second guess myself.
I hope that in breaking my preconceptions and starting over, back to the very beginning of my appreciation for Exalted, I can look at it again with new eyes and find new and exciting things that I’ve not had the chance to enjoy thanks to my previous experiences.
What I’ve discovered is fascinating. By going back to the beginning and discrediting all that I’ve learned to reject as a knee jerk reaction, I’ve come to appreciate the Exalted setting again. Perhaps I understood it back when it was simpler… or maybe it was the writing… I’m not sure if I can put a finger on it, but what matters is that I’ve found a few more things to fuel my drive to run this game.
I still consider the upcoming Dawn of Sorrow’s campaign to be “Exalted for people who hate Exalted,” but at least now I know where I can change things, what facets of the game and the setting I can use to bring out what made me happy about the game eight years ago.
