So, points that have been made so far:
1) Excellencies will always exist. Design-wise, they're low-hanging fruit, and at least combining them into one framework makes them uniform and reduces word count.
2) Difficulty is borked. The absolute minimum that needs to be done is upping the scale from 1-5 to 3-7 a la ExEss, and moving away from a five-point scale is even better. Also use more penalties.
3) The mismatch of narrative and game time only leads to headaches.
4) It can be difficult to, on any kind of consistent basis, make situations where mote attrition/anima flare matter dramatically.
An idea I had that keys into the third and fourth points is the use of the Glory Overwhelming system. For those unfamiliar, the Exalt is only limited in how much Essence they can spend per tick, with their "pool" refilling every tick. However, spending too much at a time (especially if trying to be sneaky) causes the buildup of Essence Fever, which has all manner of fun effects. So, using that system, the Exalt with the "spend 5 motes and be immune to acid" Charm spends 5 motes and gains 1 fever. The 3/3 Exalt with just the Resistance Excellency, by contrast, spends 6 motes and gains 1 Fever per turn. Along with all the damage from failed rolls/flaring anima.
1) Excellencies will always exist. Design-wise, they're low-hanging fruit, and at least combining them into one framework makes them uniform and reduces word count.
2) Difficulty is borked. The absolute minimum that needs to be done is upping the scale from 1-5 to 3-7 a la ExEss, and moving away from a five-point scale is even better. Also use more penalties.
3) The mismatch of narrative and game time only leads to headaches.
4) It can be difficult to, on any kind of consistent basis, make situations where mote attrition/anima flare matter dramatically.
An idea I had that keys into the third and fourth points is the use of the Glory Overwhelming system. For those unfamiliar, the Exalt is only limited in how much Essence they can spend per tick, with their "pool" refilling every tick. However, spending too much at a time (especially if trying to be sneaky) causes the buildup of Essence Fever, which has all manner of fun effects. So, using that system, the Exalt with the "spend 5 motes and be immune to acid" Charm spends 5 motes and gains 1 fever. The 3/3 Exalt with just the Resistance Excellency, by contrast, spends 6 motes and gains 1 Fever per turn. Along with all the damage from failed rolls/flaring anima.
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