Thus Spake Zaraholden/OnSolarPower
(Responding to general questions and objections related to Solar power.)
> This is true of pretty much every non-Solar Charmset, and is the entire reason the Eclipse Caste
> Anima power exists. If Solar Charms were better at everything under all conditions, it would be
> fairly pointless.
A Solar can't turn into a bird, but then, he doesn't need to in order to fly.
Worth considering:
• A Solar who dedicates himself to being the ultimate Primordial-slayer.
• A Primordial that styles itself unkillable.
I think you know where that story goes.
> Not to mention rather deprotagonizing for other splats.
This is pretty much where things went in the First Age.
Source: http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/p/30148/624235.aspx#624235
> :(
That's what the Lunars said, too.
(The Sidereals and DBs eventually said "stab")
Source: http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/p/30148/624525.aspx#624525
> Does this mean that other splats aren't capable of catching up to the Solars, even in their
> specialized niches, or was this deprotagonization of every non-Solar splat at least partly a
> function of how First Age infrastructure was set up to favor the Solars above all else?
Define 'niche.'
The thing is, the Solars mostly don't need to go invading the lesser Celestials' niches. They set the pace and the Lunars and Sids chase them. A Solar leaps across mountains, or soars into the air, because he is that awesome. A Lunar has to turn into a bird to keep pace. Why would the Solar need to turn into a bird, or want to? He can go soaring through the air himself. As himself.
The Sids manipulate a hundred subtle factors to guide the course of the world. Solars don't need to go mucking about with fate; they speak with the voice of thunder, and the world obeys.
Yes, the Sidereal has "naffs about with fate" as his niche, and the Solar isn't going to be doing that, but really, what niche are we talking about here? That's not a niche, it's a motif. When you get down to the end result accomplished via execution of your schtick, the Solar almost always comes out on top.
Hell, let's look at one of the few scenarios where Solars are explicitly second-best, martial arts. The Sidereals have undeniable advantages in the martial arts department thanks to their greater facility with SMA. But they still tend to lose bare-knuckle fights with Solars of equal age and XP.
The Solar doesn't need to be Old Master, who is peerless in the arts of Shaolin. He's the plucky young fighter who shows up and wins against all odds.
(edit: As for being superfluous, who do you figure trained the plucky young fighter? Who unraveled the plot to assassinate him before the tournament could get underway? The Exalted were designed to function as a cohesive whole... with the Solars at the center of that configuration.)
Source: http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/p/30148/624543.aspx#624543
