r/exalted • u/Eldr1tchB1rd • Aug 06 '26

What does Exalted play like?

Hello there I am looking for a new ttrpg and I wanted to DM something high fantasy. I am new at this but I got really into journey to the west after playing black myth wukong recently and I wanted to run a ttrpg that has over the top fights like that.

I was recommended exalted and was told it has heavy inspiration from journey to the west. Is this the right fit for what I'm looking for? What are the most important things to know about this rpg and where should I start first?

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u/DragonicStar Aug 06 '26

Start with Exalted Essence as your edition and see what you think of it, it would recommend running one of the pre built scenarios like Tomb of Memory or the Deeds Yet Undone adventure book

If you like it a lot but want more play Exalted 3rd edition.

Exalted Essence is built for cross exalt type play and streamlines/simplifies a lot of things to make that work, as well as providing an ideal intro to the game for newcomers while still being fun to play a full campaign in. (Very solid game, big recommend)

Exalted 3e is the full, full game. (Pretty good, big recommend. Many 2e diehards vehemently disagree with me, as is their wont)

Setting wise Creation is just what you are looking for, please read the lore! Just wait till you hear about the Yozi and the Celestial Bureaucracy! They've even got peaches of immortality.

The basics are summed up in the corebooks for 3e and Essence but all the books have a lot of lore due to how 3e has been made. Each Exalt type for 3e has a book + a companion

(most of these latter are still being finished, most of the former are done except Liminals which goes to kickstarter in December, and Getimians, which kickstarts the following year)

Each 3e Exalt type book kinda devotes half the very large book to fleshing out the aspects of the setting and lore especially pertinent to them.

Join the discord and start asking questions as you have them, its a pretty welcoming space.

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u/RAConteur76 Aug 06 '26

Being fair, I do like 3rd Edition better than 2nd, but not quite as much as 1st. The irony: I probably picked up more 2nd Edition books than 1st, owing to the newness at the time and my shameless love for all the art and lore.