This is my first review so I'll start by saying something about myself. I've played many FRPGs and most of White Wolf's games (both the WoD ones and the Trinityverse ones). I've been waiting for Exalted ever since word of it came out. Still I'll be as objective as I can. On with the review.
Exalted unlimited edition is a hardcover book with a glossy cover. Two cream colored blocks run at the top and the bottom of the cover framing a character collage done in very light colors. In front we have the Exalted logo and a depiction of one of the Solar Exalted holding a powerbow. The interior is black and white, and the art ranges from amazing (David Leri's painting in pg. 322) to merely good (Leif Jones' drawing in pgs. 68-69). Overall the art is very good and helps set the mood and tone of the game. Most of it (including the cover) is done in the anime style, and even though I'm not a fan of it (I prefer work like David Leri's)I found it enjoyable.
The book is done in the White Wolf style: opening chapters with a full page drawing and a page of fiction. A bar with a part of the cover's background illustration rus atop most pages with the chapter name and numbe. Page numbers are centered at the bottom, and ideograms grace the margins (I wonder if they actually mean anything) . The layout is clear, with good use of sidebars and unobtrusive illustrations. Font size and type are good, the pages have a slight background at the bottom but it's not a problem when reading the book. some sidebars (like the one in pg. 21) have an annoying background that makes reading harder.
There is only one example of the dreaded page XX, and there are not too many gramatical or style errors (probably due to rushing the game for a GenCon release). There is some errata but this is easily available on the Exalted forum at White Wolf's website, and it's not in the same order of magnitude as that shown by most of WotC's products (lots of errata, and they take a long time in making it available). Overall the book is very nicely done. Now to the core of the review.
Take a look at the genre tags. Done? They are wrong. Why did I choose them then? Because they are also right. Exalted is White Wolf's foray into FRPGs, and White Wolf has put its own peculiar spin on the genre.
The inside covers of the book have a map of the world of Exalted, the map is not very detailed but it's nicely done. One thing lacking is the scale (1:50,688,000 or 1 inch equals about 800 miles, this is from the errata, this makes the world to be about 13200 by 8266 miles, or about the size of Europe, Africa and Asia combined).
Next we have a nice piece of fiction that shows the anime/CFRPG nature of the game. Following that is the intoduction that gives us a rundown of the history of the world (how the Sidereals and the Dragon-Blooded slew the Solars, the Great Contagion and the invasion of the Fair Folk, and the rise of the Scarlet Empress and her sudden dissapearance), a lexicon, and a list of suggested resources that range from Tanith Lee´s "Night´s Master" to Homer's "Illiad", and include "Ninja Scroll" and "Final Fantasy VII".
Chapter One: Setting, gives us an overview of the Exalted (we're told they are the chosen of the gods, and that they helped slay the enemies of the gods), Essence (the fabric of Creation the Exalted can manipulate), Manses and Demesnes (places of power where Essence gathers), Artifacts, two histories of the world (this is a departure from the usual WW style of keeping the Storyteller in the dark, the histories are what the characters know, not the real history given in the introduction, I really liked this), and a description of the Realm's geography, climate, people, and social structure (the Perfected Hierarchy of the Dragon-Blooded has enough hooks to create several campaigns). This chapter is too short IMO (but then I bought the 3E Forgotten Realms setting and found it to be too short). Hopefully future books will add richness to the world.
Chapter Two: Systems introduces us to the modified Storyteller system that Exalted uses. It's almost the same system used in the Trinityverse books, except tens count as two successes for supernatural characters (but not when rolling damage), and with the addition of Stunts. In a nutshell Stunts give you extra dice for your action if you describe it in a fun, cool manner. This has the benefit of making the players try out heroic actions (like the ones seen in most anime), and thus helps set the mood of the game.
Chapter Three: Character Creation tells us how to create a character and walks us through the creation of one. The rules only describe the creation of Solar Exalted.
Of note is the fact that characters start with more points in their attributes than is normal for the Storyteller system (8/6/4 instead of the usual 7/5/3), and that bonus (a.k.a. freebie) points can be spent at any time during character creation.
Abilities are selected according to the character's caste (which is similar to a werewolf's auspice) and personal choice (there are five caste abilities, you choose another five, and spend 10 points on them, then you get 15 points to spend as you like), but one can choose to not have any points in the caste abilities (thus easing the splat effect).
Then the player chooses backgrounds (7), Charms (the powers of the Exalted, are based on abilities and players start with 10 of them instead of the usual three powers), Virtues, Essence and Willpower.
Chapter Four: Traits gives us a rundown of the five castes of the Solar Exalted: Dawn (warriors), Zenith (priest-kings), Twilight (sorcerers), Night (spies and assassins), and Eclipse (diplomats and jack-of-all trades). These are very soft splats. There only power tied to your choice of caste is the effect of your anima banner (see Essence below).
The four Virtues (Compassion, Conviction, Temperance, and Valor) are described next, and sample flaws for each are given. Virtues add to your dice pool in an action related to the virtue if you spend a point of willpower, they also reflect the curse lain on the Solar Exalted by the enemies of the gods, if the character acts against his flawed virtue (i.e. a Valorous character runs from a fight) he rolls his virtue, for every success he adds one to his Limit, when the Limit reaches ten the character suffers a Limit Break and goes insane acting out his flaw (the aformentioned character would go on a murderous rampage for example).
Abilities are then describe with and example for each level of difficulty. For example a standard Survival role alows you to: "Find food and shelter in the woods at night.", while the legendary one allows you to: "Find food and shelter after being abandoned, naked in the icy reaches of the North in the middle of a blizzard. Note the Storyteller will probably make you roll out the combat where you beat the polar bear to death with your bare hands"[sic]. Specialties now give extra dice (one per level of the specialty). Backgrounds are then described.
Willpower is described next (you roll Conviction to recover it each morning). Then we have Essence. One of the defining elements of anime is the glowing aura that surrounds characters when they excert themselves in the use of their powers. In Exalted spending essence has the same effect. IMO it's very cool.
Chapter Five: Charms and Sorcery describes the powers of the Solar Exalted. Charms are tied to abilities (you have to have a certain level of an ability to take the charm), and are organized in chains of powers (you have to have the prior charm(s) in the chain to get the next one). Charms all have asiatic sounding names like: Dragon Coil Technique, Essence Venom Strike, and Graceful Crane Stance.
Usually you can only use one charm per turn, but with it's possible to spend experience and buy a combo. A combo allows the use of two or more charms in one turn. Think of combos as the special techniques of characters in anime. The rules for combos are complex but clearly explained (the examples are excellent).
Sorcery is described next. Sorcery is divided into three circles of increasing power depending on what type of Exalted can use spells of that circle or below: Terrestrial, Celestial, and Solar. Learning to cast spells requires the appropiate charm (tied to Occult). Casting spells takes more time than using charms (from one more round per circle level to several hours or days). There are not many spells described but the ones in the book are powerful and interesting. A future supplement ("Book of Three Circles") will have more spells.
Chapter Six: Drama has mechanics for combat, healing, survival, creating items (including manses), social situations, feats of strength (it takes a combined rating of 16 in strength athletics to lift an elephant for example), the occult, etc.
Chapter Seven: Storytelling gives advice on setting the mood of the game. It defines exalted as dark, epic fantasy, a good description as any for a game that mixes so many elements. It also has advice on adjudicating Stunts. Guidelines for awarding experience (four to five points per session) and increasing traits.
Chapter Eight: Antagonists describes both mortal and supernatural foes, including the creatures of the Wyld, the Fair Folk, and the other Exalted (the "Exalted Storyteller´s Companion" fleshes them out further), spirits and their charms, demons, the undead, monsters, animals and diseases.
Chapter Nine: Wonders and Equipment describes both mundane equipment and magical artifacts like hearthstones, daklaives, and powerbows. It describes the effects of the five magical materials attuned to each type of Exalted (Orichalcum for the Solars, Moonsilver for the Lunars, Jade for the Dragon-Blooded, Starmetal for the Sidereals and Soulsteel for the Abyssals), and has an extensive list of weapons.
Overall the game is very good, the rules are concise and clear, but if you dislike the Stotyteller system you may not like them much. The game manages to have it's own identity despite the blend of sources. It has an East meets West feel, and a sense of the epic lacking in other FRPGs.
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