The New Battle

A Change to Speed and a Balanced Armoury

While Exalted 2nd edition is, generally speaking, a vast improvement on its predecessor, there are a few places where it falls from the high standards that it set for itself, and one of those is the matter of weapon statistics. Apart from being riddled with examples of poor editing there are several instances where balance is lacking. A prime example being that the short sword and straight sword share identical characteristics, except that the latter is more expensive and has higher prerequisites.

Furthermore there is an issue with Speed in combat, wherein the character with the lowest Speed of his attacks has a distinct, and potentially overpowering, advantage - particularly if the character is Dragon-Blooded or otherwise likely to attune to jade artefacts. Simply put, the tick-based system of combat becomes untenable when a character's Speed drops below 3.

This is an attempt to correct both of those issues in a fair manner, while retaining the degree of mechanical depth and player choice that Exalted has.

Hard or Fast

The Attack action as described on pg. 142-3 no longer exists; neither does the Speed trait for weapons. Instead there is a pair of actions - Swift Attack & Heavy Attack. They are described below:

Swift Attack (5/-1): The character launches a single attack at a chosen opponent within range. This action follows the procedure for attacks given in Exalted 2nd edition starting from pg. 145.

Heavy Attack (6/-1): The character launches a single attack at a chosen opponent within range, sacrificing speed for damage. This action follows the procedure for attacks given in Exalted 2nd edition starting from pg. 145, but the attack's base damage has a +2 modifier.

Rebuilding the Armoury

The panoply of weapons that Exalted characters can choose from has never been entirely perfect. There have always been certain weapons that, thanks to simple statistics, players were funnelled away from because they were functionally worse than other weapons with a similar cost.

There are arguments that such instances of inferiority are realistic and that players who wish to adopt a certain style for their character should be willing to accept a degree (albeit a small one) of weakness when compared to their circlemates. This attitude is not one that I agree with - a character should not be punished simply because he wants to use a different weapon from the ones favoured by the game designers.

Weapon Profiles

The characteristics of a weapon are derived from the Resources cost of the weapon so that, for example, every available weapon that costs Resources •• starts from the same place. These baseline characteristics are as follows:

Resources •: Accuracy +0, Damage +2L or +3B, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex •
Resources ••: Accuracy +0, Damage +3L or +5B, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex ••
Resources •••: Accuracy +1, Damage +4L or +7B, Defence +2, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex •••
Resources ••••: Accuracy +1, Damage +7L or +10B, Defence +2, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex *
Resources •••••: Accuracy +2, Damage +10L or +15B, Defence +3, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex *

The minimum Attribute required for a given weapon can be either Strength or Dexterity, depending on the type of the weapon and its wielder's style. However some keywords (see below) force the use of one of these Abilities, removing this choice.

Weapon Keywords

Deviation from the standard profile is accomplished by means of keywords, each one stating how the weapon varies from the baseline. The degree of variation is determined, again, by the Resources cost of the weapon; this provides a simple method of scaling weapon against one another. With the exception of Fast and Slow (see below) any combination of keywords is allowed on a weapon, but each keyword may only be used once. Finally, standard weapons are limited to a number of keywords equal to their Resources cost, although exceptional circumstances and cunning players can exceed that limit.

The available keywords, together with their effects, are listed below:

Accurate (Acc): The weapon's construction and balance are both excellent, making it easier to use precisely than some of its cousins. The Accuracy of the weapon is increased by one-half (round up) of its Resources cost. Accurate weapons usually require a minimum Dexterity score.
Brutal (Brt): The business of this weapon has been designed to be particularly damaging on those that it strikes. The Damage of the weapon is increased by its Resources cost. Brutal weapons usually require a minimum Strength score.
Defensive (Def): The weapon has a large guard or has otherwise been forged in such a way as to enhance its ability to parry the blows of its wielder's enemies. The Defence of the weapon is increased by one-half (round up) of its Resources cost.
Fast (Fst): This weapon was designed with speed and efficiency in mind, making it lighter than others that cost of the same. The weapon's Damage is reduced by one-half (round up) of its Resources cost, and its Rate is increased by 1. Fast weapons cannot be used to perform a Heavy Attack action and always require a minimum Dexterity score.
Martial (Mrt): This weapon is meant for use by those knowledgeable of the arts of unarmed combat as much as by those who call themselves soldiers and warriors. Attacks can be made using this weapon with either the Martial Arts or Melee skills, but if Martial Arts is used then the weapon's profile adds to the appropriate unarmed combat profile rather than replacing it. These weapons cannot be used to block attacks that inflict Lethal damage without a stunt.
Overwhelming (Ovr): This is a truly massive weapon, capable of delivering blows that can be felt through all but the thickest artefact armours. This weapon has a minimum damage after soak equal to its Resources cost.
Paired (Prd): This weapon has been cleverly balanced such that it is very easy to use in pairs, without sacrificing accuracy in the wielder's off-hand. This weapon is always bought it pairs and when used in this manner the -1 internal off-hand penalty is negated, but the weapon's Rate is reduced by 1.
Piercing (Prc): Through extreme sharpness or sheer mass, the armour of an enemy provides little defence against the wielder of this weapon. The weapon inflicts Piercing damage, reducing the armour soak of its wielder's enemies by half (round up).
Reach (Rch): The long haft of this weapon means that it can be used to accurately and easily strike at enemies who are above the wielder. Reach weapons negate any external penalties for attacking mounted or elevated opponents. A weapon with this keyword that is neither Fast nor Slow can be a Lance-type weapon - doubling its Damage when used on the charge or when set against a charging opponent. They are always two-handed weapons.
Slow (Slw): The sheer mass of this weapon is impressive, allowing him to deliver powerful blows but greatly reducing the pace of battle for its wielder. The Damage of this weapon is increased by one-half (round up) of its Resources cost and its Rate is reduced by 1. Slow weapons cannot be used to perform Swift Attack actions and always require a minimum Strength score. They are always two-handed weapons.
Specialised (Spc): An atypical weapon designed for use by martial artists, it requires knowledge of the unarmed combat arts to be used properly, but its capabilities are greatly improved as a result. A Specialised weapon gains a number of points equal to its Resources cost +1 to be distributed between Accuracy, Damage and Defence as desired. However, it also gains a Martial Arts prerequisite equal to its Resources cost +2.
Trick (Trk): This weapon has some additional function, not directly combat-related but useful nonetheless. Examples would be the ease with which hook swords can disarm an opponent, or the way that razor claws make climbing easier. The weapon adds two dice to all attempts by the character on one such specific function.

Designing Weapons

To make a weapon using this system simply apply the effects of appropriate keywords to the standard statline for a weapon of that Resources cost. As a rule, commonly available weapons will have no more keywords than the Resources cost of the weapon, i.e.: a sword that costs Resources •• won't generally have more than two keywords attached to it. This doesn't mean that it is impossible for weapons with additional keywords to be made, but rather that they are less readily available. Note that mundane weapons only use the baseline characteristics for Resources • to •••; the higher ranges are for warstrider weapons and other implements of war with a similar scale of construction.

Some example weapons and their modified statlines are shown below:

Hatchet (•): Accuracy +0, Damage +3L, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str •, Brt
Waraxe (••): Accuracy +0, Damage +6L, Defence +1, Rate 2, Min. Str ••, Brt, Slw
Greataxe (•••): Accuracy +1, Damage +9L/3, Defence +2, Rate 2, Min. Str •••, Brt, Ovr, Slw
Dagger (•): Accuracy +0, Damage +1L, Defence +1, Rate 4, Min. Dex •, Fst
Shortsword (•): Accuracy +1, Damage +2L, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min Dex •, Acc
Chopping Sword (••): Accuracy +1, Damage +5L, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min Str ••, Acc, Brt
Greatsword (•••): Accuracy +3, Damage +9L, Defence +2, Rate 2, Min. Str •••, Acc, Brt, Slw
Slashing Sword (••): Accuracy +1, Damage +2L, Defence +1, Rate 4, Min. Dex ••, Acc, Fst
Straight Sword (••): Accuracy +1, Damage +3L, Defence +2, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Acc, Def
Club (•): Accuracy +0, Damage +4B, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str •, Brt
Mace (••): Accuracy +0, Damage +7B/2, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Brt, Ovr
Warhammer (••): Accuracy +1, Damage +5B(P), Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Acc, Prc
Sledge (•••): Accuracy +1, Damage +12B/3, Defence +1, Rate 2, Min. Str •••, Brt, Ovr, Slw
Spear (••): Accuracy +1, Damage +3L, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Acc, Rch
Polearm (•••): Accuracy +1, Damage +9L, Defence +2, Rate 2, Min. Str •••, Brt, Slw, Rch
Seven-Section Staff (••): Accuracy +0, Damage +8B, Defence +3 Rate 3, Min. Str •• MA ••••, Brt, Spc
Wind-Fire Wheels (••): Accuracy +2, Damage +3L, Defence +2 Rate 2, Min. Dex •• MA ••••, Prd, Spc
Hook Swords (•••): Accuracy +2, Damage +5L, Defence +4, Rate 2, Min. Dex ••• MA •••••, Prd, Spc, Trk (Disarm)
Cestus (•): Accuracy +0, Damage +3B, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str •, Mrt
Fighting Gauntlet (••): Accuracy +1, Damage +5B, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Acc, Mrt
Khatar (••): Accuracy +0, Damage +3L, Defence +2, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Def, Mrt
Tiger Claws (••): Accuracy +1, Damage +3L, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Acc, Mrt

Note that the names of the weapons above are simply interpretations based on their Resources cost and the keywords used. If a character wishes to have a club that is Accurate rather than Brutal then that is a perfectly acceptable use of this system.

Crafting Weapons

If characters wish to construct weapons in games where this system is being used then the crafting rules presented on pg. 133-4 of Exalted are used as written, but with the following alterations:

Should the crafting character achieve a threshold of three successes he forges a fine weapon. The character can apply an additional keyword, above and beyond those normal for its type and Resources cost, to the weapon. The weapon is (to the trained eye) visibly better than its lesser cousins, but the actual type (for the purposes of specialties and Martial Arts forms) doesn't change. Also, although such a weapon costs more in terms of jade obols or silver florins, its Resources cost remains unchanged.

If the character manages to get a five-success threshold on his Craft roll then he has been lucky enough to create an exceptional weapon. This causes the Resources cost of the weapon to increase by •, for the purposes of purchase and the standard statline only; the cost of materials remains unchanged and the intended Resources is the source of any statline modifications due to keywords. The number of keywords and the type of the weapon remain unchanged, and the weapon is now obviously an example of amazing craftsmanship, even to the unlettered.

Finally, a character may choose to construct a weapon with no keywords. If this is the case then the difficulty to construct the weapon is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1), since the simplicity of the design makes manufacture much easier. These weapons are also much easier to use, and any prerequisites are reduced by •, to a minimum of -.

The Occult Armoury

Artefact weapons are the preferred arms of the Exalted and most other supernatural creatures; they outclass mundane weaponry so thoroughly that only one of the Chosen with no other choice (or who wishes to remain unnoticed) will use them.

Not-So-Simple Metal

As above, artefact weapons built using this system begin with a standard profile that depends upon their Artefact rating (from • to •••••), and then keywords are attached to that profile to modify it. Artefact weapons are far more powerful than their mundane counterparts, as can be seen from the profiles below:

Artefact •: Accuracy +1, Damage +3L or +5B, Defence +2, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex •, Attunement 3
Artefact ••: Accuracy +1, Damage +5L or +7B, Defence +2, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex ••, Attunement 5
Artefact •••: Accuracy +2, Damage +7L or +10B, Defence +3, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex •••, Attunement 8
Artefact ••••: Accuracy +3, Damage +10L or +14B, Defence +3, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex •••, Attunement 11
Artefact •••••: Accuracy +4, Damage +15L or +20B, Defence +4, Rate 3, Min. Str/Dex ••••, Attunement 15

Artefact weapons default to having a number of hearthstone sockets equal to one-half (round up) of their Artifact rating, although this number can be increased by the Hearthstone keyword (see below).

Artefact Keywords

The keywords for mundane weapons can all be used on their artefact equivalents, but where they say the Resources cost of the weapon use its Artifact rating instead, furthermore certain of these keywords can be used twice on a single weapon, but this second application comes with a price - usually a reduction of one of the weapon's other characteristics. There are also a few artefact-specific keywords, such as Hearthstone mentioned above. The modified and new keywords are listed below:

Accurate (Acc x2): This artefact has been designed for particularly precise and aggressive use and can cut a single hair lengthwise in the hands of one skilled enough. Unfortunately, it pays for this delicacy with its capacity in defence. The weapons adds one-half (round up) of its Artifact rating to its Accuracy score, but reduces its Defence by the same amount.
Brutal (Brt x2): The sheer size and mass of this weapon is intimidating to those who see it, and its wielder could likely not even pick it up were he not attuned to this monstrous artefact. This capacity for destruction is balanced by a loss of defence, though. The weapon adds its Artifact rating to its Damage score, but reduces its Defence by one-half (round up) of this amount.
Defensive (Def x2): In the hands of a capable warrior this weapon can provide an almost impenetrable defence, parrying otherwise irresistible attacks with ease, but its suzerainty in this field means that its offensive ability has been reduced. The artifact adds one-half (round up) of its rating to its Defence, but reduces its Accuracy by the same amount.
Fast (Fst x2): This weapon can be wielded at lightning speed by one of the Exalted, slicing back and forth faster than a mortal eye can track and leaving only destruction in its wake. However, this massive speed means that the weapon is not only less damaging than others of its class, but its light construction renders it less able on defence. The Rate of this weapon increases by 1, but both Damage and Defence are reduced by one-half (round up) of its Artifact rating.
Hearthstone (Hrt): The weapon has an additional hearthstone socket beyond what would normally be expected for its type. This keyword can be used any number of times on a single artefact weapon, adding an additional hearthstone socket each time.
Overwhelming (Ovr x2): The sorcerer who forged this weapon made it almost excessively huge, such that a single blow delivered with it could crack mountains or shake fortresses, and rendering armour almost pointless as a defence against it. Its incredible scale means that the Exalted who lofts it cannot do so with any degree of precision, though. The minimum damage of this weapon increases by one-half (round up) of its Artifact rating, but it reduces its Accuracy by the same amount.
Paired (Prd): This operates precisely as it does for mundane weapons, but if the attunement cost for the weapon(s) is an odd number increased it by 1 to get the attunement cost for the pair.
Slow (Slw x2): The ponderous and imprecise swings of this artefact may seem comical, but they are a sign of the extreme destruction that it wreaks on those unlucky enough to be in its path. The weapon's Damage is increased by one-half (round up) of its Artifact rating, but its Accuracy is reduced by the same amount and its Rate by 1.

Designing Artefact Weapons

In much the same way as for mundane weapons, to create an artefact weapon using this system simply take the standard profile for the approprate Artifact rating (see above) and then apply keywords to it. Unlike the mundane system, however, artefact weapons can have a number of keywords equal to twice their Artifact rating.

Some examples of artefact weapons made using this system are shown below:

Short Daiklave (••): Accuracy +3, Damage +4L, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Attunement 6, Acc x2, Fst, Prd
Daiklave (••): Accuracy +3, Damage +6L, Defence +2, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Attunement 5, Acc x2, Brt, Def
Reaver Daiklave (••): Accuracy +3, Damage +9L, Defence +0, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Attunement 5, Acc x2, Brt x2
Reaper Daiklave (••): Accuracy +3, Damage +4L, Defence +2, Rate 4, Min. Dex ••, Attunement 5, Acc x2, Def, Fst
Wavecleaver Daiklave (••): Accuracy +2, Damage +7L, Defence +3, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Attunement 5, Acc, Brt, Def, Hrt
Grand Daiklave (•••): Accuracy +4, Damage +12L/3, Defence +1, Rate 2, Min. Str •••, Attunement 8, Acc, Brt x2, Hth, Ovr, Slw
Goremaul (••): Accuracy +2, Damage +11B(P), Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Attunement 5, Acc, Brt x2, Prc
Grand Goremaul (•••): Accuracy +0, Damage +18B(P)/5, Defence +1, Rate 2, Min. Str •••, Attunement 8, Brt x2, Prc, Ovr x2, Slw
Grimcleaver (••): Accuracy +2, Damage +10L, Defence +1, Rate 2, Min. Str ••, Acc, Brt x2, Slw
Grand Grimcleaver (•••): Accuracy +2, Damage +15L/5, Defence +1, Rate 2, Min. Str •••, Acc, Brt x2, Ovr x2, Slw
Mountaincleaver (•••): Accuracy +4, Damage +13L/3, Defence +1, Rate 3, Min. Str •••, Acc, Brt x2, Hrt, Ovr, Slw
Grimscythe (••): Accuracy +3, Damage +8L, Defence +1, Rate 2, Min. Str ••, Acc x2, Brt, Slw
Serpent-Sting Staff (••): Accuracy +2, Damage +10B, Defence +5, Rate 3, Min. Dex •• MA ••••, Attunement 5, Acc, Brt, Def, Spc
Direlance (••): Accuracy +2, Damage +7L/14L, Defence +3, Rate 3, Min. Str ••, Attunement 5, Acc, Def, Rch, Brt
Smashfist (•): Accuracy +1, Damage +5B, Defence +2, Rate 2, Min. Str •, Attunement 4, Mrt, Prd
Razor Claws (••): Accuracy +2, Damage +5L, Defence +2, Rate 2, Min. Str ••, Attunement 6, Acc, Mrt, Prd, Trk (climbing)

The Magical Materials

Artefact weapons under this system gain the same Magical Material bonuses as in Exalted pg. 387, with the clarification that jade weapons reduce the Speed of the Swift Attack and Heavy Attack actions taken with them, rather than reducing the Speed of the weapon itself (since weapons no longer have a Speed trait).

Broken Armbands

Jade hearthstone bracers have been the source of much disagreement because of the ease with which they can cause the tick-based combat system to break. They are therefore the only non-weapon artefact that this system makes any alterations to. Now, in addition to their ability to add three dice to any dodge attempts made by an attuned wearer, they decrease all multiple action penalties by 2 for the harmonised Exalted.

Comments

Wow. I've only gone through it once, and it seems like you've hit on a really solid and tractable solution. The only places I immediately noticed issue are:

Accx2 (and similar Artifact Keywords) - By having a reduction of "One half Artifact rating (rounded up)" for one trait (e.g. defense), an artifact 4 will give a -2 penalty, and artifact 5 gives a -3 penalty. The 'base' case between the two doesn't change that much, and so you end up with a larger effective penalty for taking the Accx2 (or similar keyword) with an artifact 5 than an artifact 4. Seems backwards to me that a keyword would be a bigger drawback as the artifact rating goes up. A flat curve, I can see, but going down? Perhaps changing the drawback to "Uses the base defense rating from the artifact of 1 level lower, cumulative with any other keywords that induce this drawback" or some such.
A Grand Daiklave seems surprisingly accurate. More accurate than almost anything else? Similarly, the 7-section staff seems low on Defense, but not nearly as big a deal as the super-accurate Daiklave.

-- GreenLantern

1. Yeah, higher level artefacts do garner greater penalties for using the x2 keywords. This is deliberate - the x2 system represents an extreme version of that effect and, at least in my eyes, extremism needs to be paid for. Also, keeping everything scaling the same way off of Resources keeps the system simple, a few minor hiccups are worth that simplicity IMO. Anyway, that five-dot sword with Acc x2 is increasing its Accuracy bonus by +6 - this is not an insignificant bonus.
2. The weapon examples shown are just that - examples. The keywords attached to a given weapon type are not locked in stone, they are simply those that I felt were most appropriate to that weapon. If the massive Accuracy of the Grand Daiklave bothers you it would be quite simple to swap the Acc for a Rch to signify a truly huge weapon.

Thanks for the complements, though. :) - pleased Moxiane

Interesting: I like it. Although it seems like alot of the x2 keywords just shift points around. But I think it works, and I buy the reasoning.

I do wonder why bother having a tick system if everyone is gonna be speed 5 or 6? I suppose you can use aim/guard to mix it up a bit. (I had a slighly different solution to the speed problem. FlowsLikeBitsMoxiane/WeaponsRedoneForEx2/SpeedFix (pimp). Hmm..

The one concern I have is that there doesn't seem to be a reason not to make every artfict piercing(unless it's purely defensive), as that keyword seems far better than the others. Also: What does the MA keyword do? Do you mean it gains a martial arts pre-req of it's resources + 2? I do like the way it encourages you to start adding artifact powers of stuff over ***, as there arn't that many good base keywords to apply. Pretty cool though. Better than the other systems I've seen actually.

I don't mind the accurage daiklaive, I think it fits. -FlowsLikeBits, may have to play with this a bit

The Speed thing is partly to make things like Aim & Dash more worthwhile. Since (barring jade) everyone will have attack Speeds in the 5-6 range, it's possible to convert a 3-tick gap in an attack sequence into a burst of movement or a chunk of extra dice to thump the other guy with. The other reason is that 5-6 feels like the optimum base range for attacks.

The Martial and Specialised keywords are quite different. Martial means that you can use the weapon with MA or Melee, but that using it "unarmed" gets you a slight but significant bonus - however the weapon itself doesn't have an MA prerequisite. Specialised gives the weapon an MA prerequisite equal to Res+2, but you get a decent amount of bonus points to add to the weapon wherever you like. There's no rule against designing a weapon that uses both, though. - explicative Moxiane

Doh. Specialized is what I was asking about, as it says "it also gains a Martial Arts prerequisite equal to its Martial Arts +2". I figured it meant resources, but was a little confused. - FLB

Ah, yes... that would an example of the species known as typoticus spelliticus, which has been eradicated and the correct words, i.e.: "Resources cost" have been put in their place. - blushing Moxiane

Actually, could you explain that MA thing further? Perhaps with examples, even? I'm not sure what the difference would be between, say, a MA-enabled sword, and a normal sword, in the hands of either a Martial Artist, or a standard Melee-ist. Similarly with the 'specialized' keyword. I'm not quite getting it yet.-- GreenLantern

OK. The Martial keyword is intended for weapons like cesti, khatars, iron boots and so on... weapons that basically act as extensions of the body - you don't need any special skills to know how to use brass knuckles, frex - put them on and punch the guy, it's all good. They can be used by a character with Melee, since Melee covers all weapons, but they grant an extra bonus to people who uses them as they are "meant" to be used.

The Specialised keyword is for weapons that need a buttload of special training for a character to be able to use them properly, such as the fighting chain, hook swords, etc... If you meet the prerequisites you can use it with either Melee or Martial Arts, but you don't get any special bonus for using either one. If you don't meet the prereqs then you suck penalties instead.

As to examples, well the weapons listed above were all made with the system, so I guess they are the examples. As a simple exercise, though I'll make the bog-standard straight sword (Res •• Acc, Def) into a kung-fu sword.

Jian sword (••)

Accuracy +2, Damage +3L, Defence +3, Rate 3, Min. Str •• MA ••••

Took away the Defensive keyword and put Specialised on it instead. This gave me three points to spend - I put one on Accuracy and two on Defence. Thus is it better than a standard straight sword, but has far more stringent requirements for use. Hope that helped. - informative Moxiane

I Like the normal weapons table a quite alot, Althoug I prefer to keep S&S for Making. artefacts . I use FLBs solution to the speed problem, Excepet that I allow speed to go below 3 with certain charms. It Is a use full Ea mechanic. BTW Have you considern X2-ing your ultimate weapons? Also, I think armor is In far mor need of being redone then weapons. -Azurelight

I was looking at it, and i really like it, but what about bows? -[Guamae]

Moxiane/WeaponsRedoneForEx2

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