LoreOneExalted/KeepThemGuessing

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What a Twist!

Most people have seen at least one M. Night Shyamalan movie, and the first time, the twist ending is a real shock. Those who have seen more than one often become tired of his formulaic use of such twists. For an example that goes even further, look for a play called Deathtrap (a performance if you can, or the script if you can't). By the end, the play has gone through no fewer than four major plot twists! A serious murder mystery has by this point devolved into something more like a comedy (though I won't give any more away). Though I enjoyed it myself, the point is this: plot twists must be used sparingly, or they become silly.

The entire purpose of these LoreOneExalted pages is to provide potential twists, either to keep setting-savvy players guessing or simply to tailor Creation more specifically to a story you want to tell. This page exists to provide some advice on how far to go to get what you want, starting from the basic assumption that there is such a thing as too far. Too far means one of two things: your players stop having fun, or you can no longer use the majority of printed Exalted canon and so are basically playing a different game. It is possible to go way out there without going too far; FrivYeti's Wyldspan is an example of a well-developed alternate setting which still has enough connection to the canonical setting to allow most Exalted source material to be useful. "Going too far" is not absolute, therefore, but relative - relative to the source material and to the needs of your game.

Open Source Exalted

One constant of White Wolf games is rolling d10s; another is the golden rule, which states "do unto others..." wait, no, wrong golden rule. The White Wolf golden rule is "if you don't like it, change it" (this is philosophically similar to the more widely known "golden rule," but that's another can of worms). This "it's your game" attitude in design makes these games very easy to tool around with, so small changes are dead easy to make. Things that fall into the category of small changes include, but are not limited to:

• Lookshy's First Age tech makes the game too "Gundam"-ish for your tastes, so out go the warstriders and Essence cannons. If you still like them as a major military power, their ancient weapons may be of a more mystical nature, or they may simply have a larger force with better average equipment than anyone else.
• Raksi doesn't possess the Book of Three Circles - it was lost long ago and she merely claims to have it.
• Third Circle Demons can be summoned any time of year, it just takes longer if it's not Calibration.
• The Scarlet Empress disappeared somewhere besides "into the clutches of the Ebon Dragon."
• Ma-Ha-Suchi isn't planning to mount a destructive rampage through the realm, he's actually massing his forces to combat the Deathlords.

These changes are examples which could have far-reaching implications, to be sure, but no single change to a major NPC or group - even eliminating or entirely repuprosing it - will invalidate large swaths of setting material. The dangerous things to change are the internal factors - the nature of various things in creation; Exaltation, the Fair Folk, the Yozis, etc. Further, the changes only become dangerous when they involve intertwined mechanics and setting elements. Thus:

• Dragon Blooded do not have elemental aspects, instead having direction-oriented castes who favor certain abilities but may display whatever elemental aspects they choose. This affects charm mechanics, society, and more!
• Solars really are the Anathema the Immaculate Philosophy paints them as. This threatens to invalidate most of the printed material, which assumes that Solars are playable characters!
• Deathlords are actually good guys, whose plan for Creation is in fact benevolent. This could require retroactive continuity for a great variety of things involving them!

In short, "dangerous" in this context means "these changes could have unforeseen consequences if not carefully considered." Thus, before implementing a deep-seated change, it is wise to take such consideration. Imagine various scenarios which could test the credibility of the setting with the changes in place. Take into account the possibilities of player use and abuse of the changes (they are sure to find loopholes quickly in play - there are more of them thinking about it). Most importantly:

1. Consider your players, and ensure that what you are planning is to increase their fun.
   1. DO change things to give them a surprise and keep a sense of mystery.
   2. DON'T change things out of spite.
2. Examine your own knowledge of the setting.
   1. DO fill in gaps from books you don't own with your own material.
   2. DON'T suddenly replace it with the canon version when you get the books.
3. Take into account the experiences your group has had with Exalted.
   1. DO give an experienced group new variations to play with.
   2. DON'T start an all new group with too many changes to the setting.
   3. UNLESS you never play without those changes.

Of course, your mileage with this advice may vary. All of this is to expand on the simple concepts mentioned earlier: the point is to have fun, and if you can't use most of the printed material at all then you're not really playing Exalted. The first concept is more important, but the second one is important for the Storyteller's sake; using canon Exalted material saves a lot of time and effort, allowing him or her to better keep up with the whole group of players. Further, it allows him or her to use more Exalted fan content, since it's all basically connected to Exalted.

Comments

First draft. I may well update this as I think more about it. Commentary will, of course, give me food for thought. - IanPrice