Greetings Exalted Team and Onyx Path,

When Exalted first launched I fell in love with the setting. 1st edition was amazing! I fell out of Exalted in 2nd edition and while I own the 3e book and enjoy it, it is a lot. Enter Exalted Essence! I have spent the time since I purhcased this book devouring it. Having Access to all the Exalt types, is a huge step in the right direction. It gives the players so much breadth an depth of play in the game and their circles. I enjoy the the changes to Anima, and Essence, just making things more simple and straight forward is also a welcome change. Stepping away from the metaphsyics of 2nd edition and the metaplot are great choices as well. "Let the players create the meta in their games just give them the tools" is excatly what you have done with Essence.

Mechanically I have been enjoying the wide interprative method of applying the Attributes and Abilities to rolls and situations. The combat systems both physical and social seem to go with the less is more approach when it comes to things like timing in turns and how to apply the dice mods. While like Ex3 there are several steps, I think the system does a good job breaking these down in an orderly manner. The book is laid out in a good way and flows well from World Info to Exalts to Character Creation, and the hyperlinks in the PDF, and the page refernces in various places throuout are extremly helpful! I love the Stunt and Milestones as well.

The only problem I have with the book is the exclusion of Exalted weapons like Daiklaives and such in the equipment section. These weapons are refernced in other places like Wonders, and as weapons of antagonists, but no where in the equipment for players. Sure I can slap the Artifact tag on anything and describe it, or I can go to Ex3 and find them but it would have been nice to have at least descriptions of them mentioned.

Over all, this is a fantastic book. I have even created a Play-by-Post discord to start running it for a group I currently run multiple WoD games for but whom do not have time to add a physical game to thier schedules. Thank you for all the hard work in getting this book out to us! I am super excited to get back into the world of Exalted!

P.S. Please forgive any typos. I am typing on a keyboard that is old and sometimes does not register button presses well.

Good step in the right direction, but still way to clunky and rules heavy for my taste.

This is so much fun! If you've been waiting to play a particular type of exalted or just want a simpler more accessible system give this a try. (I particularly like how they handle the Great Curse here.)

my god how have i missed this game for so long. the art is impeccable, the setting interesting without being bloated, and the magic system is superb. goddamn this is a glorious game. Don't worry if this behemoth of a book seems confusing, You'll get it in no time and love it all they way.

very good but my god does the setting feel like it's far too much and that far too much is said, also the orpheus appendix is both unnecessary and muddles things up immensely.

on the whole a useful supplement for extra rules and details though the claims of whats included in the main book and whats actually there is slightly disingenuous, nevertheless very good

very useful supplement to run the magick system with, perhaps ideas like archmastery could have been elaborated on as well but it doesnt really matter

most of these are fine enough but the mage the ascension main sheet has half of the index attached. please fix

Exalted: Essence is the finest version of Exalted ever released. This edition condenses the rules into a coherent and practical system, drawing upon the extensive experience of the exceptional team at Onyx Path. Dixie Cochran, one of the most accomplished RPG developers in the industry, has assembled a dream team for this book. Richard Thomas, has forgotten more about RPG development than most people will ever know, and his involvement alone, brings invaluable expertise to the project, enhancing its value.

That being said, this book is meaty. While character creation seems concise, spanning only around 8 pages, the sections on different exalt types cover 40 pages, and the systems for skills encompass an additional 5 pages. The system itself is straightforward, and if this is your first exposure to an Onyx Path system, you're in for a treat. However, be prepared for a substantial amount of reading to establish a solid foundation.

Combat in Exalted: Essence is remarkably smooth, like buttery silk. The flow of combat rounds creates an incredibly cinematic experience, arguably the most immersive RPG combat available at present. If you or your players are familiar with recent titles like Final Fantasy, FromSoftware, or Team Ninja games, you'll find the combat descriptions and mechanics to be familiar and engaging.

However, where the system truly shines is in the diverse range of charms. With approximately 125 pages dedicated to charms (special attacks, abilities, spells, etc.), each character you or your players create will possess unique and tailored abilities. The interplay between charms and artifacts (which provide access to additional charms) allows for remarkable character customization options.

Finally, the appendix includes rules for custom charm creation, as well as a charm adaptation and modification system. This book exceeds the expectations of both new players and Storytellers, offering a fantastic gateway into the Exalted universe and will provide long-time fans of the setting with an exciting new way to engage with it.

An excellent game for Campy, cheesy and low budget films!

I am just starting to weave God Machine themes into my Changeling The Lost (2nd Ed) campaign, and this guide was invaluable to doing so. Thank you very much!

This is based on the pre-indexed version of the PDF, but this comes closest to giving me what I've always wanted out of an Exalted game since I first dived in during second edition. The authors did a fantastic job condensing and consoidating mechanics while keeping the flavor of individual options strong. Be forewarned, this ia a rules lighter Exalted, I would in no way call this game rules light. It's not a replacement for 3e if you appreciate the intricate crunch of the game, but it keeps that same spirit in a much more accessible form if you want something simpler. That being said, even fans of 3e that are content with that level of crunch might appreciate the window into Exalt types that are still years off from development.

Exalted 1st edition is the coolest game ever

This, on the other hand, may very well be the best edition of Exalted

Edit to add a bit of context:

• E1 is coolest, but the rules are broken, which may be even flavorfull but doesn't add to playability
• E2 was meant to be Great, even trading some cool for extra content...Even the errata is great with 100+ pages. Still broken rules
• E3 is a great game...and massive. The rules are not broken, but the sheer pagecount makes it somewhat harder to play. And (more ands) it may be a decade from now before it gives comparable options to ExEss

Now, ExEss has interesting mechanics that are fun to play and engage with but still are narrative and reasonably fast and accesible

Another good point is that the lighter rules make adding your own ideas or adapting from previous editions relatively easy. Adapting material from latter editions is a good thing, it means you can reuse all the good content from if you want, instead of building everything yourshelf. Adding your own content was a cool point in E1 that got a bit lost with the complexity of latter editions

Regards

A great example of a city/regional supplement for Scarred Lands. Or any setting, really. Just enough information to really immerse your games into the city, while compartmentalizing the books portion of the setting. Seamlessly adds to your Scarred Lands setting when your stories go to this location and doesn't try to add layers on to the setting as a whole by discussing anything outside this little pocket of the setting. A lot more intrigue and cloak & dagger than I was expecting from a book about Dwarves and Giants.

This is one of the best books a storyteller can have if they are running a crossover game. While very helpful for adjudicating effects on NPCs, it is invaluable if you ever intend to run a mixed party game with vampires, mages, changelings or other supernatural PCs playing together. While written as a companion to the Contagion Chronicle, you absolutely can and should use this book by itself. Fantastic book, exactly what I have been looking for. Cannot recommend enough.