DarSys/Reasoning

I made these changes to the exalted system for various reasons, which are listed below for the convenience of those reading and seeking to understand the system, and also to guide comments and suggestions for improvement.

Reasoning

• Exalted is a game of heroic action, not reaction - The best strategy should not be to sit back and wait to see what your opponent is doing before acting, acting first should be a good thing not a minor disadvantage, and actions should not be penalized
  • This is the direct reasoning for the two charm slots - it lets you use cool offensive powers without leaving yourself worryingly open, and the different combos allow signature attacks quicker and easier, as well as removing the need to have certain reflexive defences in every single combo.
  • Rate is supposed to be an advantage - penalizing attacks so heavily makes rate less useful. Most exalts have charms to get around this but they shouldn't -need- them, even mortals should be able to gain a bonus from a quicker weapon.
  • DVs are a good idea, giving everyone a base level of defense. How exactly to penalize that is a difficult question, because too many penalties in either direction make a strategy too effective. my original attempt swung the balance too far towards multiple attackers, and they will usually win. However, I believe the original system had the balance off with the opposite problem - DV dropped too much when you acted, especially for high-rate combatants. My current idea is a little more complicated, but hopefully approximates some middle ground.
  • Offensive combos lack a willpower cost because they almost always dictate your actions - supplementals, simples and extra action charms all usually impose some restriction, thus, you spend for the combo, which has a minimum cost. Defensive combos have no minimum cost, they are often entirely reflexive, letting you choose the best combination to any given situation. As such, unless they are fairly expensive, they can and will be invoked every turn. Finally, this gives an advantage to the offensive side, as defense may be more effective in an instant, but in the long (or perhaps medium) run, attack should win, or the game gets boring as noone can effectively win any conflicts.
• Speed and the timing game annoy me for various reasons - there's no good explanation for why Speed should also govern charmslots or charmspeed, at least for reflexive charms. Speed currently is far too effective, a speed 4 weapon in the hands of an exalt can often beat a much 'better' speed 5 weapon as the speed4 wielder can use an offensive charm, flurry, etc, and still be back to full DV with a charm ready by the time the speed5 wielder can act again.
  • It's possible to say it's a fantasy world and thus weapons should govern speed of everything including reflexive charms, but the question is why? I contest that it does not make the game more fun, if anything, the opposite.
  • Rate already abstracts the speediness of a weapon, I don't think there's a need for both. With some extra work, someone could make a system which removed Rate instead, see Wordman's idea on the front page for a possible starting point.
  • Simplifying it to the "one action per turn (assuming no other influences)" paradigm means that the game is easier to play - people can rely more on not being surprised by the changing speed of their foe's actions, don't have to work out when they should delay by one tick to get the optimal tactical payoff, etc. While I know that some people may like the complexities, it creates a horrid disparity for anyone that doesn't, and can lead to 'unfriendly' mechanics, where if you don't fight in a certain style, you die much easier. For sure, penalize hotheaded and unthinking rage style attacks, but forcing everyone to pick their moment carefully and with forethought? Too much, I believe. Tactical complexity is maintained through the use of specific initiative altering actions, and charms that would alter speed instead alter rate or, if they are powerful enough, shift the user around in the initiative order without requiring an action.