Ripping out the heart of Exalted and sacrificing it to Fate (Core mechanics)

[Janissary87]

Or, running Exalted with the Fate System.
Or, I just transferred over 200 Solar charms to Strange Fate / Fate Core hybrid and boy are my arms tired.

Since the old chat game I was a part of has dried up I've been working on to convert Exalted to the less complicated and less lethal Fate System. The conversion started out as a thought experiment, but having logged over a hundred hours on the thing it's become much more. If I'm going to try playing it one of the most important things I'm going to need is outside input.

Before I get into the system I want to see if there could be potential readers. To be honest I wasn't much active on the last board, and am fully new on this one. I figure it's only prudent that I test the waters of interest before going into even a small part of a 30+ page system.

And if after seeing the system anyone wants to offer input I could use the help. I only know the general characteristics of the non-Solar/Abyssal splats.

So Onyx Path forums, something you might have an interest in?

[Growls]

I would have an interest in it. As, if 3rd Ed. fails, that's where I'm heading.

[Janissary87]

Excellent, that's one. I'll be putting up system basics tomorrow then.

[Wednesday]

I'd also be interested in seeing it. I only have some passing familiarity with Fate, but I started looking at it for the purposes of Exalted a few months ago.

[light-hero]

Would love to see your homebrew. That is one of my favorite things about Exalted. The homebrew !

[Radijs]

I'm not the OP, but I'm currently engaged in a similar enterprise. The document is still very much a WIP but can be read here.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CgaAzSc7KWg0RZz76w52A1CY5i-5A2I0Cp3RhJdZGBQ/edit

I've got a general outline for how charms are supposed to work and I'm just beginning to break ground on panoply.

[Gayo]

I worked on one of these for a while before I got tired of it because it was Very Hard and I felt that FATE needed a lot of extra stuff layered on top of it to be a system I would want to play exalted with. All I remember that was worth salvaging was that the Solar Excellency was an on/off deal whose effect was that it allowed you to treat every die that came up [−] as though it had come up [0]. I kinda liked that. Having every [0] come up [+] works similarly, incidentally (same expected value), except that it gives you swingier rolls.

[Ersatz]

Not meaning to threadcrap here, but I'd just like to politely say that It's not my cup of tea. I don't have anything against FATE, as such (and I'm using it for the Aliens game I'm currently running) but I don't think it's a crunchy enough system for something like Exalted.

[Quimeradc]

I'll love to check the what you have done, jannisary. i'll love to comment on it.

[Janissary87]

I'm not the OP, but I'm currently engaged in a similar enterprise. The document is still very much a WIP but can be read here.
I've got a general outline for how charms are supposed to work and I'm just beginning to break ground on panoply.

I see we share a few ideas for the conversion, I'll be interested in following where you take yours.

I worked on one of these for a while before I got tired of it because it was Very Hard and I felt that FATE needed a lot of extra stuff layered on top of it to be a system I would want to play exalted with. All I remember that was worth salvaging was that the Solar Excellency was an on/off deal whose effect was that it allowed you to treat every die that came up [−] as though it had come up [0]. I kinda liked that. Having every [0] come up [+] works similarly, incidentally (same expected value), except that it gives you swingier rolls.

It has been a Metric Ton of work, and I'm still very shaky on whether or not the whole system stands up to extended play. I've rather modeled Excellencies into the general structure of charms, that way characters get the meat and potatoes of generally increased ability mos of the time they're activating their more interesting charms.

Not meaning to threadcrap here, but I'd just like to politely say that It's not my cup of tea. I don't have anything against FATE, as such (and I'm using it for the Aliens game I'm currently running) but I don't think it's a crunchy enough system for something like Exalted.

No offense taken, Exalted and Fate are just about oil and water as far design philosophies go. To be honest I've had to add a preposterous amount of rules and details to maintain everything I wanted about Exalted. I absolutely would not recommend my version to people who are Fate purists. If the whole thing is mechanically sound and half as interesting as the CCG/toy box nature of Storyteller Fate I feel that I succeeded. It's not going to be as simple or uncluttered as Fate Core by a long shot, but I do hope it'll be playable.

[Janissary87]

So my original is formatted to hell and back in Microsoft Word, but that does me almost no good here. I'll start off with the easy stuff on the forums instead, if interest continues I'll move into the detailed charm trees.

It starts with the base skills, which should encompass a baseline of skills for all character types no matter what Exaltation. The idea is to maintain the rich box of toys feel of charms without getting bogged down in the small mechanical nuance that just makes play more complicated and paranoid. My only disappointment here is that there's nineteen skills, which is kind of a weird number to finish on. Ah well, such is life.

Each skill is followed by its uses, which will also be the discrete applications of indivdiual charms; more on that later.

-Skill: Athletics
Uses: Dodge, Mobility

-Awareness
Analyze, Notice
-Bureaucracy
Commerce, Corruption, Organiztion
-Craft
Analyze, Creation, Destruction
-Integrity
Mental Stress, Mental Consequences, Social Combat
-Investigate
Analyze, Control, Tracking
-Larceny
Disguise, Feint, Sleight of Hand, Thievery, Security
-Lore
Analyze, Linguistics, Recovery (Physical), Shaping, Teach
-Marksmanship
Attack
-Melee
Attack, Feint, Parry
-Occult
Analyze, Notice, Sorcery, Thaumaturgy
-Performance
Persuasion, Prayer
-Physique
Might, Physical Consequences, Physical Stress, Resist Hazard
-Presence
Persuasion, Poise, Recovery (Mental)
-Socialize
Analyze, Notice, Persuasion, Poise
-Stealth
Escape Notice
-Survival
Analyze, Escape Notice, Resist Hazard, Ride, Tracking
-Venture
Drive, Mass Combat, Navigate, Ride, Sail
-War
Mass Combat, Organization, Teach

A few changes should be evident from the list. First on the Exalted side a substantial number of skills have been folded up into others. Archery and Thrown are now Marksmanship, Linguistics and Medicine have both been folded into lore, athletics and dodge are skill but some of the uses of athletics have been moved to physique. Disguise has been folded up into Larceny, most functions of Willpower will be done wither through Fate Points or the Integrity skill, and martial arts has been absorbed by melee.

I've removed more than a few skills from Fate Core as well, either because they felt out of place (Rapport and Deciet) or because they were implausible bases for charms (Resources or Contacts).

A few new terms are listed as well. Control is using a skill to force a target to take or not take some action, it replaces those few places in the charm tree where one character could out right command another. Persuasion and Poise are used against each other in either short contests or important social combats, and the analyze use is primarily for discovering aspects on a target. Shaping Attack and Defense replace the old system of activate a charm or death; the abstractions of Fate's stress and consequence system make it much easier to provide a challenge to characters without insta-toad or cakewalk.

[Janissary87]

Before I continue I figure I should point out the way Fate Core works, enough so that we all have a basic understanding of what's under the hood. While I could rewrite most of what I'll be using I'd prefer to link you to the SRD, there are three sections of note.

First the basics: http://fate-srd.com/fate-core/taking-action-dice-ladder
Aspects and Fate Points: http://fate-srd.com/fate-core/fate-points
Taking Damage, or in the language of Fate Stress and Consequences: http://fate-srd.com/fate-core/stress-consequences

[Janissary87]

The Nature of Power in the Setting, Charms and Tiers

Charm Tiers:
The inclusion of Charms dramatically changes the variance of die rolls when charms of different power scale. There are four tiers of power representing Enlightened, Terrestrial, Celestial, and Incarnate* prowess. When charms of a different tier level oppose each other the player with the higher tier charm replaces one DF with one D3 for each level of difference. Each step of tier represents a level of one to three points of skill difference. Since character skills only range from one (average) to five (superb), these one to three points can make a substantial difference in roll results without giving the higher tier charm a guaranteed victory.
*The use of the term Incarnate here should not be taken to literally mean the Incarnae, such entities will likely be beyond the scope of the system.


As an example we’ll use a marital artist with Awakened Essence facing off against a mortal soldier. Our martial artist has an Enlightened tier melee charm and a +3 melee skill, the mortal soldier has no charms and a skill rating of +4. On attacking the martial artist would roll 3DF+1D3+3, while the soldier would roll 4DF+4 to attempt to parry. Although the soldier is more skilled the martial artists charm gives that character the advantage. A Dragonblooded with a Terrestrial melee attack charm, a charm that is two tier levels above the mortal soldier and melee +3, would roll 2dF+2d3 against the same soldier, or 3dF+1d3 against the enlightened martial artist if that martial artist has a charm active to enhance their parry. Spending Fate Points, or spending combat time using the Create Advantage option can help fill in the gap between tiers.


General Tier Examples
Incarnate: Deathlords, Ancient Celestials, Elemental Dragons, Sidereal Martial Arts, Adamant Circle Sorcery, 3^rd Circle Demons
Celestial: Experienced Celestials, Ancient Terrestrials, Celestial Gods, Celestial Martial Arts, Sapphire Circle Sorcery, Unique Raksha Royalty, Unique Ancient Ghosts, 2^nd Circle Demons
Terrestrial: Experienced Terrestrials, Young Celestials, Terrestrial Martial Arts, Raksha Nobility, Ancient Ghosts, 1^st Circle Demons, Emerald Circle Sorcery
Enlightened: Young Terrestrials, Enlightened Martial Arts, Most Supernatural Beasts and common Apex Predators, Common Raksha, Common Ghosts, Thaumaturgy


Activating Charms
In order to escape the pseudo-science and bean counting of the motes system I’ve shifted some of the basic understandings of how Charms work in the setting as well as the system. Rather than paid for by the activation as motes, charms are pattern structures of essence that the essence user binds or harmonizes to their essence pattern. The more spiritually potent an individual, the larger the base essence pattern he or she has with which to manifest charms. All charms remain active until a character dismisses them.

Base Essence Patterns:
Incarnate 12
Celestial 9
Terrestrial 6
Enlightened 3

The essence cost of a charm is likewise determined by its tier. An individual may bind as many Charms to their pattern as they desire on their turn, but unbinding a charm from ones pattern (deactivating the charm) requires a level of focus and inner discipline that cannot be reached while under stress. More on this below.

Essence Cost per charm tier:
Incarnate -6
Celestial -4
Terrestrial -2
Enlightened -1

The Well Tended Garden of the Spirit, Rearranging Essence Patterns
Once an individual has harmonized a particular arrangement of essence it is taxing to rearrange their patterns to another configuration. It takes a few minutes of concentration or relaxation for a character to release a charm from their essence pattern. This rearrangement requires an uninterrupted state of rest during which no new charms can be activated.
Characters may increase the tier of any charm they have already activated at any time, provided they have the essence left. They must pay the remaining difference of the essence cost, and all non-tier related benefits of the charm remain the same. A character cannot decrease the tier of a charm they have already actiavted, even if the charms base tier is lower, without fully deactivating it.


The Anima track:
Especially potent individuals possess residual essence patterns merged with their essential being. This includes the Anima Banner, possessed by the Exalted Host as a manifestation of the Exalts nature. Mechanically, the Anima Banner adds an additional track with which to activate charms. The size of the Anima stress track does not vary according to the characters skills, but is instead based on the individual’s base tier. The Anima track is used only to absorb the cost of activating charms, the stress and consequences of this track cannot reduce or absorb mental or physical damage caused by attacks.
Charms whose costs have been paid for by the Anima track may be switched out for other charms instantly, at the cost of additional stress or consequences to the Anima track. Enlightened and Terrestrial charms cost one stress to deactivate, Celestial two, and Incarnate level charms three.

Incarnate
5 Stress; Extreme, Severe, Moderate, and Mild Consequences
Celestial
4 Stress; Severe, Moderate, and Mild Consequences
Terrestrial
3 Stress; Moderate and Mild Consequences
Enlightened
2 Stress; mild consequence

Anima Consequences, Supernatural detection and Madness in the Mighty:
Only when a character has spent Anima stress does an Exalt begin to register as spiritually potent to individuals who capable of detecting those signs. Of course a character that uses a charm that is obviously supernatural in nature has ousted themselves as some kind of essence user. Stress from the anima track is restored at the end of a scene. Consequence slots and the visible signs of the Anima Track are reduced by one level for every few minutes of rest an Exalted takes. The Exalt cannot activate or reap the benefits from any charm during this period.

A character who has taken a mild Anima consequence manifests physical signs of their nature. This could be phantom images, particular smells or sounds, and other minor or atmosphereic changes. The Celestial Exalted will manifest their Caste Symbol upon their brow at this level.

When a character has taken a moderate consequence the phantom signs become much stronger. For Celestials the sign of their Exaltation will shine brightly through any attempt to cover or conceal it. Terrestrial Exalted who have taken moderate anima consequence begin to exhibit powerful and damaging manifestations of their anima. These manifestations act as an environmental hazard to everyone who occupies their zone for as long as the consequence lasts**.

At the higher level of consequence the expression of power surpasses the comprehension of they who manifest it. Taking a severe anima consequence guarantees that the Exalt must undergo a compel of their Virtue Aspect at some point after their anima stress has recovered. The player may temporarily buy off this compel with a fate point, but the compel is only temporarily gone. The compel remains on the characters sheet, and the next time the compel is brought up the player must pay two fate points to buy it off. This pattern continues until the player accepts the compel, either because he accepts the terms of the compel, or the price of buying it off has risen beyond the players number of Fate Points. In addition to the compel Exalted who undergo a severe or extreme anima consequence manifest their anima banner to a totemic degree, visible from over a mile away on a clear night.

An extreme consequence functions identically to a severe consequence, except that a player must rewrite one aspect on their character sheet after the compel has been played out. The terms of the compel must be extraordinary enough to warrant such a change to the character. Although the consequences slots of the severe and extreme Anima Track are restored, the compels on the characters record are not removed until they are paid.


General Excellencies:
Skill Excellency: By activating an excellency a character may roll one skill use at charms tier. A character can activate any use of a skill for which they have an excellency. However, each use of a skill requires its own excellency activation. So a Solar with the Celestial Melee Excellency may activate Terrestrial tier attack or parry for the cost of two essence, both attack and parry at the cost of four, Celestial attack or parry at the cost of four essence, or Celestial attack and parry for the cost of eight.

Unique Excellencies:
Each particular kind of Exalted has access to one unique excellency, which manifests according to a given Exalts nature and hierarchy among the Chosen. For the Solar host this Excellency is Essence Overwhemling. By learning Essence Overwhelming a Solar may learn charms of a tier one greater than that skills current maximum.
Even after learning such a charm a Solar must activate Essence Overwhelming before he or she can access higher tier charms. A Solar must still pay the increased cost of whatever charm they activate through Essence Overwhelming. This excellency only needs to be activated once to activate as many higher tier charms as the Solar knows in that skill. Essence Overwhelming is a Celestial tier charm costing four essence to activate.

Terrestrials may learn Terrestrial Ability Reinforcement. By activating this Charm a Terrestrial who passes along a Boost or Create Advantage bonus will grant their ally +3 rather than +2 to the roll. If the character who collects the boost or Create Advantage bonus is also a Terrestrial, or adds the bonus to the same skill that that the Terrestrial used while creating the boost or Advantage, this bonus increases to +4. Terrestrial Ability Reinforcement is a Terrestrial charm costing two essence to activate.

Sidereals and Lunars will have their own unique excellencies as well, once I'm satisfied with the way they work.

The Charm Trees
The Exalted host has expanded their prowess far beyond their natural state, creating unique expressions of Charms by twisting their essence in particular ways. These charms have two effects, one that is unique to that charm itself, and one that increases the tier of a skills use, like an excellency. The skill use that is increased will be listed in the charm. A character cannot decrease the tier of a non-excellency charm. Some techniques are so potent, or so different from the natural use of a skill that only one particular action gains the tier benefit. If this is the case it will be listed in the charm itself.

Some general rules about charms and aspects:
Many Charms grant aspects to a character or place aspects onto a target or scene which can then be invoked for free. These Charms follow the standard rules for creating advantages; free invocations are granted for every three points by which the resisting character or passive difficulty is beaten. If a charm creates an aspect without rolling the dice the number of free invokes are determined by its tier; enlightened Charms can be invoked for free once per scene, Terrestrial Charms can be invoked twice, aspects created by Celestial Charms may be invoked three times per scene, and Incarnate Charms four.

Laslty, charms that allow their user to ignore certain conditions do not void those conditions in response to other affects and Charms. For example, a group of defenders teaming up to increase their defense are counted as defending using a teamwork bonus, even if an attacker is using a charm to ignore the teamwork bonus to defense, such as with the charms Arrow Storm or Peony Blossom Technique. So a stunt that grants a character +2 to attack opponents who are using the teamwork bonus would still apply even if that character is also using Peony Blossom Technique.

[Janissary87]

So, Charms. I'll start with the basics; Athletics, Marksmanship, and Melee. I still need to go back over a few charms and match them over with their proper Exalted name, but overall I think I've got gist of how charm based combat would work.
Athletics
Enlightened
Graceful Crane Style: You may ignore unstable terrain penalties or limited footing space; your mobility is rolled at tier
Monkey Leap Technique: Double any height obstacle difficulty you may bypass with athletics; your mobility is rolled at tier
Reflex Sidestep Technique: You may use athletics to defend against attacks which you couldn't see coming, ignoring aspects related to stealth or surprise attacks; you roll dodge at tier.
Shadow over Water: Opponents attempting to use the Create Advantage action against you must roll an additional two points higher when you oppose that action with athletics; you roll dodge at tier.
Thunderbolt Attack Prana: So long as your opponent is at least one zone, but no more than your athletics zones away, you may leap forward and attack them in the same action. You gain a free boost on that melee strike; the leap and attack action caused by this charm is rolled at tier
Terrestrial
Leaping Dodge Method: If you have room you may move one zone away from your attacker immediately following a dodge attempt. This movement adds a free boost to your next dodge roll; you roll dodge at tier
Lightning Speed: You may free move one additional zone or bypass an obstacle 1 for free, once per round, you do not have to take this movement on your turn; you roll mobility at tier
Seven Shadow Evasion: You may add your athletics rating to dodge essence weaponry or attacks that encompass your entire zone; you roll dodge at tier
Skipping Echo Kata: You may ignore the teamwork bonus of opponent’s attacks; you dodge at Tier
Racing Hare Method: You may travel as fast and as far as a horse and rider; your mobility is rolled at tier
Feather Foot Style: You exert no weight where you stand and may run on vertical spaces; you roll mobility at tier
Celestial
Eagle-Wing Style: You gain flight, ignoring ground based obstacles and moving into aerial zones at will; you roll mobility at tier
Flow like Blood: You are always considered to be taking a full defense action on athletics (+2 to dodge); you roll dodge at tier
Mountain-Crossing Leap Technique: You may jump across great distances at prodigious speed, using this as a form of cheap and incredibly fast transportation; you roll mobility at tier
Speed of Light Approach: You may free move up to 2 zones or bypass up to obstacle 2 for free per round, you may take these free movements at any time during the round; you roll mobility at tier
Incarnate
Presence in every Light and Darkness: You may free move up to 3 zones or bypass up to three points of obstacles for free per round, you may take these free movements at any time during the round; you roll mobility at tier
Refinement of Flowing Shadows: You gain four free invokes of the Flowing Shadows Form aspect. These invokes may be spent to move a zone out of turn, increase your dodge total by two, ignore two points worth of barriers to movement, or to simply be in an alternate zone when an attack would otherwise injure you. You roll dodge at tier.


Marksmanship
Enlightened
Trance of Unhesitating Speed: For a fate point you may make an immediate Marksmanship attack as a free action at the beginning of a conflict, your marksmanship attacks are rolled at tier.
There is No Wind: You may ignore adverse condition aspects such wind, sleet, ice, fog, gravity, or passive cover. Your attacks are rolled at tier.
Penetrating Strike: Your may ignore any aspects or bonus related to cover enjoyed by your target, your attacks are rolled at tier.
Ricochet Strike: If your target is using a team up bonus to defend against your attack you deal an additional 2 stress on a successful hit, your attacks are rolled at tier.
Terrestrial
Every Point is One Intuition (All-Circumstance Instinct): As long as an opponent is close enough to be in conflict with you, they are close enough to attack with Marksmanship. Your attacks are rolled at tier.
Hail of Razors TechniqueRicochet Strike): Enemies do not gain a team-up bonus to defend against your Marksmanship attacks; your attacks are rolled at tier.
Iron Wind Defense: Once per exchange you may defend yourself or another from a ranged attack with your Marksmanship score as if it were parry; this parry action is rolled at tier.
Forceful Arrow: If you succeed with style on your Marksmanship attacks your target must pass a physique test equal to your marksmanship skill or be pushed back a number of zones equal to your shifts of successes. Your attacks are rolled at tier.
Essence Arrow Attack: Your Marksmanship attacks are always Weapon 1, and act as Essence Weaponry attacks for the purposes of dodging or parrying. Your attacks are rolled at tier.
Celestial
Accuracy without Distance: As long as you can see a target from an unobstructed view, you may fire on them. Unless the target is on their guard this attack gains the “Unnoticed Attack” aspect. Targets which are very far away may get extra time to extricate themselves from the line of fire after the first shot. Your marksmanship attacks are rolled at tier.
Bolt like Lightning: Your Marksmanship attacks are weapon 2, and strike at tier.
Rain of Feathered Death: If you succeed with style on an attack you may forego your boost to strike the same target or a different target in range one additional time, at a -2 penalty to the roll. Your attacks are made at tier.
: Your ranged attacks can affect zones; shifts must be split up among targets in the zone you are attacking. Attacks are made at tier.
Incarnate
Lance the Void Method: Your Marksmanship attacks are weapon 3, and strike at tier.
Precision beyond Sensibility: If you can see a target from an unobstructed view you can attack them. Unless the target is actively in conflict with you this attack gains the Sneak Attack aspect. No matter how far away you are from your targets they gain no extra time to find cover. Marksmanship attacks are made at tier.
Lambent Bolt of Annihilation: Your ranged attacks can effect zones, shifts do not need to be split among zones.

Melee
Enlightened
Dipping Swallow Defense: Opponents attempting to use the Create Advantage action against you must roll an additional two points higher when you oppose that action with athletics; you roll dodge at tier.
Eager Combat Companion: If you begin combat in the same zone as your target you may, For a Fate Point, make a free attack against that target; your melee attacks are rolled at tier.
One Weapon, Two Blows: If you succeed with style on an attack you may forego your boost to make an additional 1-shift strike on any target in melee range. Melee attacks are made at tier.
Hungry Tiger Technique: Your attacks strike as Weapon 1, attacks are made at tier.
Terrestrial
Fire and Stones Strike: Your armed attacks strike as Weapon 2, attacks are made at tier.
Bulwark Stance: Opponents who achieve a tie when attempting to attack you do not gain a free boost, you parry attacks at tier.
Flashing Steel Safeguard (Dismissing Worldly Dangers): Ignore the teamwork bonus of opponents attacks against you, you may defend yourself against attacks affecting your zone attacks with parry, parries are made at tier.
Iron Raptor Technique: If a target is in conflict with you they are close enough to strike in melee combat, at any range your melee attacks are rolled at tier.
Peony Blossom Attack: targets do not gain a teamwork bonus to defend against your melee attacks, or you may split your melee attack against all targets in your zone, your attacks are rolled at tier.
Celestial
Blazing Solar Bolt: You can use your melee skill as a ranged attack that may affect a zone. Shifts in the attack must be split up among each target, this attack is made at tier .
Five Fold Bulwark Stance: You are considered to be making a Full Defense Action (+2 to parry) at all times, you roll parry at tier.
Heavenly Guardian Defense: You may parry Essence Weaponry or Weapon attacks of any rating, you roll parry at tier.
Iron Whirlwind Attack: If you succeed with style on a melee attack you may forego your boost to make one additional strike against the same target or another target in range at a -2 penalty. Your melee attacks strike at tier.
Rising Sun Slash: Your armed attacks strike as Weapon 3 and are rolled at tier.
Incarnate
Guarding Star Tactics: If you are in the same zone as an attack and can successfully defend against it, you may stop the attack no matter its size or scale, defending everyone who may also be a target of that attack no matter how far away they are from you. You parry attacks at tier.
Sharp Light of Judgement Stance: use your melee skill at range to affect a cone of up to 3 zones, you do not need to split up your attack shifts among available targets. This attack is made at tier.
Golden Destruction Cut: Your armed attacks are Weapon 4, and strike at tier.