The following are house rules that are currently in effect. Make sure you read through these changes and understand them. They are currently in effect and add to or replace the rules in the Core book.
Sturdy StaminaHealth Levels are calculated for an adult human thus: 5 + Stamina. The wound penalties each health level has follow a pattern. Your first health level is always -0. Your last two health levels are -4 and Incapacitated, in that order. The remaining health levels are split evenly between -1 and -2 beginning with -2. As an additional benefit to high Stamina characters, the 5th (as well as 10th, 15th, etc) dot in Stamina gives a -0 health level rather than a -1 or -2.
Mental Defense ValuesDodge MDV is now calculated as the following: (Appearence + Integrity + Essence)/2 rounding up. Instead of giving up to +/-3 to MDVs, Appearance now compares to Temperance and, if higher than attacker's Temperance, gives the difference between the two Traits as a die penalty to the attack roll. This effect has no limit to it's magnitude.
Parry MDV is calculated as ([Attribute] + [Ability] + Linguistics)/2, round up.
Craft and Occult KnowledgesThese skills are very general, and have several sub-categories. To fix this, each dot placed into these Abilities give you 1 Knowledge Point. You spend that Knowledge point on one of the Ability's sub-categories to gain proficiency.
Craft:Craft Knowledges max out at 5. If you buy a Specialty in a specific sub-category, not only will you get the dice bonus to Craft, but you also increase the level of Knowledge in that category.
Craft (Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Wood) < - Mundane crafts. Each level in this category allows you to craft higher and higher quality goods. 1 = normal, 2= fine, 3= exceptional, 4 = perfect. At level 5 you get a permanent difficulty reduction of 2 to Craft anything in this category.
Craft (Magitech, Genesis, etc) < - Magical crafts. Each level in this category allows you to craft a higher level of Artifact or Manse.
Occult:Occult Knowledges are the Thaumaturgal Arts, which max out at 3. It should be noted that Occult (Geomancy) is required to build Manses.
Buying additional Knowledges costs 2xp with a week of training (1xp for Caste or Favored, with no training)
Punches, Kicks, and ClinchesThe Punch/Kick, Gauntlet/Iron Boot and Smashfist/God-Kicking Boots are unbalanced. The body part used in the attack doesn't matter anymore; these variations may be used in any type of 'basic' attack.
Unarmed AttacksLight: Spd 4 Acc +1 Dam +0B Def +2 Rate 3
Heavy: Spd 5 Acc 0 Dam +3B Def -2 Rate 2
Clinch: Spd 6 Acc 0 Dam +0B Def - Rate 1 (piercing)
Gautlets & Iron Boots (Resource 2 cost for 2 gloves & 2 boots)Light: Spd 5 Acc +1 Dam +3B Def +2 Rate 2
Heavy: Spd 5 Acc 0 Dam +6B Def -3 Rate 2
Clinch: Spd 6 Acc 0 Dam +3B Def - Rate 1 (Piercing)
Smashfists & Smashfeet (Artifact 1 for the two Smashfists or Smashfeet, Artifact 2 for the whole set)Light: Spd 4 Acc +2 Dam +5B Def +3 Rate 3 (Piercing)
Heavy: Spd 5 Acc +1 Dam +9B Def -1 Rate 2 (Piercing)
Clinch: Spd 6 Acc +1 Dam +7B Def - Rate 1 (Piercing)
God-Killing Hand (Artifact 2 for the single weapon. It resembles over-sized armor you wear on one arm.)Light: Spd 5 Acc +1 Dam +8B/4 Def +1 Rate 2 (Piercing)
Heavy: Spd 6 Acc +0 Dam +12B/4 Def -2 Rate 1 (Piercing)
Clinch: Spd 6 Acc +0 Dam +10B/4 Def - Rate 1 (Piercing)
Jumping DistancesAs the current jumping distances are quite unrealistic and believable, I have changed them to the following limits.
Vertical jump is (Str + Ath)/4 for Mortals. (Str + Ath)/2 for Exalted.
Standing jump is (Str+Ath)/2 for Mortals. (Str + Ath) for Exalted.
Running jump is (Str + Ath) for Mortals. 2x(Str + Ath) for Exalted.
A running jump is whenever a character has at least 3 yards to run before jumping.
ArtifactsArtifact Articulated Plate and Superheavy Plate (rank 4 and 5) also include Smashfists and Smashfeet of the appropriate material at no additional cost (in either attunement or artifact dots). Being punched or kicked by Artifact gauntlets and boots is just as damaging as with weapons.
Sorcery and NecromancyObtaining the Initiation Charms provides 1 free Spell in the appropriate Circle.
Each shaping action costs 1 willpower, as opposed to paying the full willpower cost up front. If a 2nd circle or higher spell is disrupted before it is completed, any unspent willpower is not lost.
Divide the total cost of a 2nd or 3rd circle spell by 2 or 3 (respectively), this is the amount paid per shaping action in motes (add any odd remainder to the last shaping action). If a spell is disrupted before it is completed, the caster need not spend the motes for any actions they hadn’t taken yet.
Motes and willpower may be committed to “prepare” the tapestry of a spell. So long as the cost remains committed, the character may perform the required shaping actions at no further cost and invoke the spell an unlimited number of times. Ritual spells may not be prepared this way.
Example: For 15 motes and 1 willpower committed, a character may take a single shape-sorcery action whenever they like to cast Death of Obsidian Butterflies.StuntsEach level of stunt gives a bonus success on rolls (instead of bonus dice), and increases static ratings by the stunt level.I have removed this house rule as I am finding that I do not like it. Attacking DV PenaltiesNo DV penalty from making an attack, unless it's a flurry. A guard action now adds a bonus to DV.
Quick Draw and Kip-UpA few Miscellaneous actions were missing, I felt. The first is Quick Draw. The DV penalty for Quick Draw is -2, and the Speed is determined as following: (Speed of Weapon Drawn - lower of character's Dexterity or proper combat Ability). Thrown and Unarmed Attacks are always Quick Drawn at a Speed of 0 and DV penalty of 1 as per normal.
The second is a jump-up in place of standing for added 'awesome'. A Kip-Up is a Speed 3 action with a -2 DV penalty. You roll Dex + Athletics, Diff: 1. On a failure, your character stands up at Spd 5, but retains the -2 DV penalty.
Dice PenaltiesIf a dice pool would be reduced below 0 by penalties before charm use, it is instead reduced to 0, and then the difficulty is increased by the remainder.
Staying Awake Extended PeriodsAfter each interval of time equal to 8 hours x (Stamina + Resistance), you must make a Stamina + Resistance roll DC 1. Success allows you to remain awake, but with a cumulative -1 Internal Penalty to all actions thereafter. Failure indicates you have fallen asleep. When the Internal Penalty is equal to the lower of your Essence or Willpower, you can no longer respire (regenerate) motes naturally. When the Internal Penalty is equal to the greater of your Essence or Willpower, you can no longer gain motes of Essence from any source. When you do fall asleep willingly or not, you remain asleep for 8 hours + 2 hours for each Internal Penalty accrued. If you pass out, you can only be awoken before this time has passed trough supernatural effects or taking damage. If you go to sleep willingly, you can be woken up before this time passes and your penalty will be reduced by an amount in relation to the sleep you got. After the reason you were woken passes, you must then make another Stamina + Resistance roll to remain awake again. When you've finally gotten enough sleep, you wake without any penalties or the ill effects they bring as a result.
Recovering Willpower and Virtue ChannelingWhenever you take a significant step towards fulfilling your Motivation (determined by the ST), you may recover half of your maximum Willpower. If you spend a scene involved in a meaningful way with one of your Intimacies, you may recover two spent Willpower.
When channeling Virtues, you spend a Willpower point and cross out a Virtue Channel, as per normal. However, instead of simply extra dice, you also receive the automatic success that spending a Willpower usually provides.
Regaining ResourcesWhenever you make a Resource purchase that would normally cause the loss of a permanent dot, instead simply cross out that dot. Permanent dots of Resources imply that your character knows how to maintain that Resource dot with a job, craft, thievery, stipend or other sort of activity or property that your character should be assumed to be doing or own already. Therefore, a month later, you 'regain' one dot of your Resources, un-crossing it out. As a note, buying anything in bulk (100 or more at a time) of a lower Resource cost should be considered a purchase of 1 Resource dot higher.
Selling ItemsWhenever you sell an item, compare it to your Resources. If the item was sold for a price higher than your permanent dots, ghost in an extra temporary dot to account for your sudden income. Selling something at a Resource level lower than your permanent dots yields no benefit. Selling something with a cost twice your permanent rating gives you two temporary extra dots of Resources. If you sell something and have any dots crossed out from previous purchases, compare this to how many dots you have un-crossed. If the thing you sold is worth more dots than those you have left, you may regain one dot of Resources. If you've sold something twice the amount of dots than you have left, you may regain two dots of Resources, perhaps even gaining a temporary dot over your permanent rating (For example, assuming you have Resources 3, but have recently made a purchase so have your 3rd dot crossed out. Then you sell an item worth Resources 4. You may un-cross 2 dot, but since that is double you current, you regain your 3rd dot and also get a temporary 4th) Temporary dots are removed after two months, assuming that eventually the extra money is used up.
Crafting Faster, Easier, and way more funThe current crafting system is slow and impractical. Sure, maybe it's realistic, but that's not the point of Exalted. You want your Twilight to pick up a bunch of parts and walk away with an Essence Cannon.
Dice Pool: The Dice Pool for Crafting is ALWAYS Intelligence + Craft. Fine motor control (Dex) and attention to detail (Per) are relevant, but you shouldn't need three Attributes for this task.
Researching Designs: With enough time, your character should be able to find a proper design for the thing he wants to make. Researching designs is an Intelligence + Lore roll. You are allowed make this roll once per day as many times as the Storyteller allows based on how extensive your library or wherever you're researching.
0 Successes: No Design - You have to start from scratch, +5 successes required to build.
1 Success: Good references - Standard building time
3 Successes: Partially complete Design - Successes needed reduced by 1/4
5 Successes: Complete Design - Successes needed reduced by 1/2.
Manpower: The following Crafting chart assumes that you're working alone. But the bigger the project, the more help that can be used. If your character can assemble a Magnitude of assistants equal to one less than the Resource/Artifact rating of the attempted project, you may use the Duration between rolls as if it were Resource/Artifact rating less (Duration in Hours is reduced by half). However, this also increases the Resource Cost by 1, assuming you're paying the people helping you. If you wish, you may continue hiring a larger magnitude to further reduce the duration by one Resource/Artifact rating, increasing the Resource Cost again by 1. However, after that point there's too many chefs in the kitchen.
Crafting Mundane Items: The Difficulty, Needed Successes, Duration between Rolls, Resource Cost and Craft Knowledge prerequisites are based on the Resources cost to buy the item.
1 = Diff: 1, 5 successes, Duration: 6 Hours per roll, Resource Cost: 0, Craft Knowledge 1
2 = Diff: 1, 10 successes, Duration: Day per Roll, Resource Cost: 1, Craft Knowledge 1
3 = Diff: 2, 20 successes, Duration: Week per Roll, Resource Cost: 2, Craft Knowledge 2
4 = Diff: 2, 35 successes, Duration: Month per Roll, Resource Cost: 3, Craft Knowledge 2
5 = Diff: 3, 55 successes, Duration: Season per Roll, Resource Cost:4, Craft Knowledge 3
Crafting Artifacts: The Artifact rating of the desired project determines the same variables as mundane items, except that exotic materials are also required. (If a magical material is desired to make the Artifact, it counts as a single exotic material). The Ability prerequisites follow different rules. Most Artifacts can be made simply with a Knowledge in Magitech equal to the Artifact rating. Any Artifact that will incur a Repair cost requires your Lore skill to be at least one less than the Artifact rating required to build due to the fast that you're probably basing your design off of First Age or Shogunate research.
1 = Diff: 2, 10 successes, Duration: Day per Roll, Resource Cost: 2, Exotic Materials: 1
2 = Diff: 2, 25 successes, Duration: Week per Roll, Resource Cost: 3, Exotic Materials: 2
3 = Diff: 3, 45 successes, Duration: Month per Roll, Resource Cost: 4, Exotic Materials: 3
4 = Diff: 3, 70 successes, Duration: Season per Roll, Resource Cost: 5, Exotic Materials: 4
5 = Diff: 4, 100 successes, Duration: Year per Roll, Resource Cost:6*, Exotic Materials: 5
* - Resource costs over 5: When the Resource cost goes up to 6, then you require a Sponsor. The Sponsor must also have a Resource rating of 5 to properly aid you financially. However, both you and the Sponsor lose one Resource dot as if you both had just made a Resource 5 purchase. To prevent your Sponsors from losing too much money, you may find three times the number of Sponsors required. No matter how many Sponsors you gain, you always will lose one Resource dot. (See above for regaining Resources).
6 = 1 Sponsor or 3 to avoid Resource loss
7 = 2 Sponsors or 5 to avoid Resource loss
8 = 3 Sponsors or 7 to avoid Resource loss
If you somehow manage to raise the Resource cost above 8, then just follow this pattern.
Specialty CostsBuying Specialties with Exp in Caste or Favored Abilities cost 2 Exp instead of 3 and require no training time.
CombosA character may spend 1xp per charm to copy part of a combo they already possess when building a new combo, instead of paying the normal value. All charms copied must be part of a single combo the character already knows. Training time for the new combo does not include the value of copied charms.
Example - A Solar meleeist has a combo of (1st Excellency, Hungry Tiger Technique, Fire and Stones Strike, One-Weapon Two-Blows). They are creating combo of (1st Excellency, Hungry Tiger Technique, Iron Whirlwind Attack, Dipping Swallow Defense), and may spend 2xp to include the excellency and hungry tiger in the new combo, in addition to the cost of Iron Whirlwind and Dipping Swallow.Training AttributesIt's easy to imagine how your character could be training their Abilities, but it's very abstract to imagine training Attributes. Therefore, your character is considered to be ALWAYS training their Attributes, with the training time only serving as a cooldown period between Attribute increases. You can never get a Tutor to reduce this time.