Goto [ Index ]

Castebook: Eclipse is the fifth splatbook for White Wolf’s Exalted line, and the last for the Solar Exalted. This book focuses upon the diplomat caste of the Solar Exalted, and it goes some way to expand upon that concept to include damn near any socially-centered archetype: demagogues, heralds, bards, ombudsmen and more are here in the Eclipse caste. As with the first four in the series, most of this book’s 96 pages focus upon how Solars of the Eclipse caste think and feel, using a handful of characters to exemplify common points of view amongst them. Only at the very end are there any new Charms, Hearthstones, etc. that one expects to see in a faction-specific supplement.

The book’s appearance is identical to the rest of the series--the interior art is all in black-and-white, the cover is a colored version of the portrait of Swan (the iconic Eclipse character) first seen in the rulebook, etc.—and it follows the same presentation formula that Dawn established. It’s still a high-quality book, as I’ve come to expect from this series of supplements. The content itself is—as usual by now—well done. All of the familiar elements are there: the opening story, the get-to-the-point introduction, the chapters doing again what’s been done since Dawn as well as Dawn (if not better), the new Charms and Artifacts, the sample characters with full fresh-from-character-generation stats, the other notable Eclipse caste members and the stories woven throughout the book that serve to entertain as well as demonstrate both the caste’s role as well as the diversity of that role’s execution. It’s all there, all good and all as I’ve come to expect.

The new Charms herein are quite welcome additions to the game. An alternate prerequisite to Tireless Runner’s Stride is much-needed, Masterful Training Method is the non-violent counterpart to Tiger Warrior Training Technique (though not by usual the same methods; you write a manual that gives the reader a break on XP and time costs to improve a Trait, and there’s no limit to how many can benefit from the manual), Sail gains some top-end Charms that allow the user to create sails (or crew, or whole ships) from Essence alone, Socialize gains Charms that are useful in combat (distracting banter, etc.), Presence gets a low-end “Come Hither, Big Boy” Charm, and then there’s that wonderful new Martial Art form--Mantis Style--that allows its practioners to parry Lethal Damage attacks bare-handed and abort to a cascading parry (which works like a full dodge) as well as add the user's Martial Arts rating to his Initiative and Soak totals. (That, by the way, is just the Form Charm; the top end ones are even better.) The new Artifacts are few but useful; the Solar Seal, Lotus Blossum Cup and Silver Quill ought to see a lot of practical gameplay use when in social situations while the Iron Horse and Folding Boat are powerful enough to get every character interested in acquiring or making one for themselves.

If this little overview isn’t enough to get you interested, then this probably isn’t for you. If it is, then get yourself to the game store as soon as you can and acquire your own copy; it's worth the cash.

Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.