Gtroc/Simplethoughtsonstorytelling

Storytelling the easy way

so I am constantly amazed at the people I have met, who claim that it is dificult STing Exalted. I guess they start looking at all the numbers, dice pools, charms, artifacts, and what have you, and I guess they kind of freak out. I have found that you can simplify all of the stats down to just the most important dice pools for that particular NPC. usually you need no more than three dice pools. As an example, for a battle, all you need is the relevent attack/parry pool, and the damage pool. that's it, nothing more. if you are making a charm user, you do not need to memorize a whole charm list. most of the time the relevant charms are not that high in number. again as an example, in combat, you generally need no more than three or four charms. an attack charm, a defense charm, and a special charm, or two. most combat charms are dice adders or extra actions. and defense charms, I like to go simple, a dex+dodge, or just a dodge, reflexive. I also do not really keep track of bad guy essence, I just use it as the PCs use it, two or three rounds into combat, there anima flares up, and each round it gets bigger and flashier, at ten rounds or so, they are out of essence. if they ar DBs, or DKs, or a lesser being, then they peter out at an earlier round. there, that is as complex as I have ever made a battle in Exalted, and you know, my players have never figured it out. never, in three years of running games. I think people tend to over complicate being a storyteller, they take all the fun out of being an storyteller. that is my thought on the matter anyhow.