Books/TheScrollOfTheMonk

Scrolls of Esoteric Wisdom: Scroll of the Monk

Came out November, 2006; 160 pages. Softcover.

Writers: Carl Bowen, Lydia Laurenson, Peter Schaefer, Dustin Shampel, Dean Shomshak

ISBN: 1-58846-689-2

Review total: 1

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Catalog Blurb

From the back alleys of Nexus to the hectic thoroughfares of the Imperial City, from the wide avenues of Yu-Shan to the twisting corridors of the Labyrinth, martial artists of all kinds stride the mean streets of the Exalted world, living their lives by esoteric codes of honor and neither offering nor accepting quarter from their enemies. Will the return of the Solar Exalted throw the Martial Arts World into chaos, or will that culture’s Sidereal masters rein in the Lawgivers or put them down permanently?

A martial arts sourcebook for Exalted featuring:

• Details on the Martial Arts World, a warrior culture that spans Creation

• More than 25 supernatural martial arts styles, ranging from the simplest Terrestrial styles to the inscrutable Sidereal fighting arts

• An array of martial arts weapons and their artifact equivalents

160 page softcover supplement for Exalted Second Edition

Review by GreenLantern

The Scroll of the Monk has one type of content, and it hammers it home: Martial Arts styles. If you were a fan of 1E, you'd remember that there were styles in almost every book. Those styles have been re-packaged into a single tome, now known as "Scroll of the Monk". With surprisingly little new content in the Celestial arena, the Terrestrial Arts get what I think of as a big boost, while the Sidereal styles get roughly 3-4 new styles, most all of which are, as might be expected 'crazy'. And not necessarily crazy in a good way. One style starts at or above Essence 6, while another uses Gossamer and dream-weaving at a fundamental level, and can cause the practitioner to have dissonance with reality, with loved ones forgetting you ever existed.

Personally, I found the book slightly underwhelming, in that the primary art style, Celestial, got such little love, other than some minor 2E updates. Sidereal styles, while cool, aren't helpful to most games, but are great for mental-candy. I really enjoy playing mental games of "ooooh... This is how one Sidereal Master could take out the entire Tepet Legions...", but for game purposes, not so helpful.

On the other hand, if you routinely play Dragon-Blooded games, the Terrestrial styles are both abundant, solid, and fun to use. I just can't imagine most Exalt-types lowering themselves to Terrestrial Styles.

So... How's my first book review?

Comments on GreenLantern's review

Personally, with the stated canon being "there are thousands of Terrestrial styles, with far fewer Celestial styles and a paucity of Sidereal styles," I like the fact that most of the new styles are for DBs and other essence-awakened beings of the root level of the perfected lotus. I also like the fact that we're shown that Sidereal styles aren't all so directly godlike as the three original ones, but rather that they are in fact thought experiments more made up to prove a concept than to devastate opponents in combat. - IanPrice

In the future it would be easier to read if you set up review pages by similar standards to previous review pages (example). Plus, it's generally good practice to put your name on your work. I cleaned up a little, and arrogantly linked to myself.
~ Shataina

Shataina - not a problem. Sorry for the poor standards. I didn't notice the earlier reviews, and am happy to have you make changes. -- GreenLantern