Thus Spake Zargrabowski/WhatDoTheyDo

>>>Exactly what do the Solar Exalted end up doing in the world, and how do they do it?<<<

The same thing as heroes in our world -- perform great deeds, conquer kingdoms, wage lavish wars for love or ideology.

>>>As I said, this is likely my stupid question, but as I read through the book, I just keep getting the image of any exalting Solar being quickly killed by the locals and the Dragon-Blooded, or quickly pressed into service of a Deathlord or major spirit.<<<

Well, it's like this. Many of them do get killed, or kill themselves. That's why the default character is several years post-Exaltation; so that the "oh my god what am I and how do I hide?!" plotline is over.

Also, consider this: you meet an infant god. Do you enthrall it so you can suffer its unending wrath in 200 years when it grows to the fullness of its power? Even if it can't escape, sooner or later some other Solar or Lunar is going to come along and gack you to make sure that nobody thinks this sort of foolishness is an option. Obviously, some people will say "hell yeah!" and try to slap you in chains anyway, but there are some persuasive arguments why trying to immediately enthrall every Exalt you meet is a bad idea, and they're hardly unequipped

>>>Now, assuming that I don't particularly want to start off any game that I might center around Solar characters with either their death or the complete and continual subjugation to some greater power, what would the Solar do?<<<

Lay low and try to gather power without making a spectacle of herself? Try to find gods and Exalts willing to be allies rather than masters? Not everyone plays out of the Machivellian side of the court. There's always lovers and idealists, at the very least. Finally, a careful Solar can be pretty open. Who's going to come stop you? As long as your supernatural neighbors support you and you don't park yourself on someone's strategic interest or start to look like a serious competititor to a global or regional power, people are going to care about as much as they do in the real world. The power-players in Creation have other things to worry about. In the cracks between their spheres of interest is where Solars can take root and establish powerbases. It's when they try to translate themselves into a regional power that things get ugly.

>>>And on a slightly related note, is there a particular good thematic reason for keeping the Limit Break/angst angle of the Solars? For some reason, that just keeps striking me as out of character for the game...<<<

Not at all. Actual heroes from actual epics make all sorts of irrational and bad decisions. Limit break and the great Curse, while they're nice additions to the game's Big Story, are mostly just there to provide an "in-setting" justification for people who go "but my character would /never/ do that!" when in fact they should.

Geoffrey C. Grabowski
Exalted Developer, WWGS
raindog@white-wolf.com