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Exalted 3E was announced not too long ago, joining the ranks of games that are being released that I want and the larger, more comprehensive list of games I just generally really, really want. But, it's pretty far down the track and release cycles being what they are, Sidereals, Dragon-Blooded, Lunars, and all the others are going to take quite a while to make their appearances so, practically speaking, 2.X Edition has still got a healthy shelf life on it.
More to the point, if I remember what I've read correctly, there's going to be a fair amount of system shakeup and the greater it is, the more that 2.X (and 1st Edition) retains its value. I never moved on to 4th Edition D&D because I didn't have the money and what I saw of the mechanics didn't really resonate with me enough to make my list, but lots of people signed on with 4E, or Pathfinder, or any number of alternatives to 3.X D&D. Many, I know for a fact, have or had shelves full of older D&D editions already but many where probably dipping their feet into the ocean of roleplaying for the first time.
Which is to say, I think that a new edition is ultimately a sound idea because while I know a lot of people already have invested heavily in previous editions of Exalted, there are a lot of people that don't even have a single Exalted book on their shelves. It's a gameline famous for its mechanical issues, impressive setting, and for better or worse, it's anime-styled art and over-the-top abilities. For many fans, the last point is one of the biggest points of contention, but if White Wolf can really sell a new, robust system and a change in ambiance, they may be able to pick up the market of people who haven't already bought into the line.
My interest lies chiefly with the modified system and the hope that 3rd Edition is going to be what 2nd Edition probably should have. 1st Edition Exalted, when I first cracked those books, was a game that probably needed to be seen to be believed. It was full of impressive line art and characters, and I hadn't ever seen a power set quite like it. It was a long time before I actually got to play it, but it turned into a campaign that lasted off and on for over 5 years of fairly regular play and spanned a majority of the Exalt types as PCs. 2nd Edition didn't really fix the problems that had cropped up, though, so much as it created seperate issues that took the place of 1st Eds. Some books were excellent, but others were so bad as to be considered unplayable (Sidereals, I'm looking at you) while others were cut-and-paste jobs like Dragon-Blooded. Meanwhile, some splats were consigned to the dustbin almost as they were being written (Abyssals), and the huge step up that the Lunars got moved them from fuzzy rape-monsters to mearly mediocre. Whole segments of the gameline designed to accentuate certain aspects of the Exalted setting have been panned as hilariously unplayable. (Scroll of the Monk)
One thing I don't want to do is get on the writer's case in a personal way. Exalted is a tough line to write for; the mechanics are almost intentionally over complicated and everyone has a different view on what the setting emphasis should be, so mistakes are going to happen. All I really want to emphasize is that the quality needs to be consistent - especially the books for the main character types. A new edition is a chance to start fresh because, well, I love reading through the 2.5 Errata, actually*, but it never should have been needed in the first place.
What I will say is that I'm especially thankful for the Ink Monkey crew for their incredible devotion to a flagging gameline that I love. I think that WW has made a great decision in continuing to employ their devious paws for future developments, and I'm very glad to hear that Grabowski is back on the team.
* because I'm a neurotic fan-boy
More to the point, if I remember what I've read correctly, there's going to be a fair amount of system shakeup and the greater it is, the more that 2.X (and 1st Edition) retains its value. I never moved on to 4th Edition D&D because I didn't have the money and what I saw of the mechanics didn't really resonate with me enough to make my list, but lots of people signed on with 4E, or Pathfinder, or any number of alternatives to 3.X D&D. Many, I know for a fact, have or had shelves full of older D&D editions already but many where probably dipping their feet into the ocean of roleplaying for the first time.
Which is to say, I think that a new edition is ultimately a sound idea because while I know a lot of people already have invested heavily in previous editions of Exalted, there are a lot of people that don't even have a single Exalted book on their shelves. It's a gameline famous for its mechanical issues, impressive setting, and for better or worse, it's anime-styled art and over-the-top abilities. For many fans, the last point is one of the biggest points of contention, but if White Wolf can really sell a new, robust system and a change in ambiance, they may be able to pick up the market of people who haven't already bought into the line.
My interest lies chiefly with the modified system and the hope that 3rd Edition is going to be what 2nd Edition probably should have. 1st Edition Exalted, when I first cracked those books, was a game that probably needed to be seen to be believed. It was full of impressive line art and characters, and I hadn't ever seen a power set quite like it. It was a long time before I actually got to play it, but it turned into a campaign that lasted off and on for over 5 years of fairly regular play and spanned a majority of the Exalt types as PCs. 2nd Edition didn't really fix the problems that had cropped up, though, so much as it created seperate issues that took the place of 1st Eds. Some books were excellent, but others were so bad as to be considered unplayable (Sidereals, I'm looking at you) while others were cut-and-paste jobs like Dragon-Blooded. Meanwhile, some splats were consigned to the dustbin almost as they were being written (Abyssals), and the huge step up that the Lunars got moved them from fuzzy rape-monsters to mearly mediocre. Whole segments of the gameline designed to accentuate certain aspects of the Exalted setting have been panned as hilariously unplayable. (Scroll of the Monk)
One thing I don't want to do is get on the writer's case in a personal way. Exalted is a tough line to write for; the mechanics are almost intentionally over complicated and everyone has a different view on what the setting emphasis should be, so mistakes are going to happen. All I really want to emphasize is that the quality needs to be consistent - especially the books for the main character types. A new edition is a chance to start fresh because, well, I love reading through the 2.5 Errata, actually*, but it never should have been needed in the first place.
What I will say is that I'm especially thankful for the Ink Monkey crew for their incredible devotion to a flagging gameline that I love. I think that WW has made a great decision in continuing to employ their devious paws for future developments, and I'm very glad to hear that Grabowski is back on the team.
* because I'm a neurotic fan-boy
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