You’ve found an Exalted 3rd Edition game on Startplaying and you’re ready to dive in and play! Wonderful news! Now, if you’re new to Exalted 3rd Edition, character creation may seem a little intimidating. Don’t worry, we will go through the steps to create your character together so you can start your adventure through Creation with confidence!
Exalted 3rd Edition runs on the Storyteller system in which characters have Attributes and Abilities which work together to generate pools of 10 sided dice. The character’s traits are measured in dots, with each dot representing a single d10. Various areas on the character sheet receive a number of dots to spend to build the character.
Before spending any points though, you’ll want to determine your character’s Concept and Caste. The Concept should be a phrase or two that encapsulates the type of character you want to play. This can be a heroic archetype from your favorite story, or phrase about your character’s central goal. The main thing is that the Concept should be informative about who the character will be. Once your Concept is established, select your character’s Caste. The Caste determines how your character operates, what powers they can access, and the methods they’re most likely to rely on.
Next, you’ll purchase Attributes. The nine Attributes in Exalted represent your character’s potential in various areas. The Attributes are divided into three categories: Physical, Social, and Mental. All nine Attributes begin with one free dot. You then prioritize the three categories based on your vision for the character. The primary category gains an additional eight dots to spend among the three Attributes in that category. The secondary group gets six dots, while the final group gets four dots to spend. You cannot raise any Attribute above a rating of five.
Once that is complete you’ll purchase your character’s Abilities. You’ll begin by noting your Caste Abilities, a collection of Abilities centered around your Caste’s area of expertise. Each Caste is given a list of potential Caste Abilities from which you must select five. Those are your character’s Caste Abilities. Next you’ll select five Abilities from the remaining Ability list to be your Favored Abilities. Keep in mind when choosing Caste and Favored Abilities, these choices will help determine what Charms your character can learn. Next you choose one of your Caste Abilities as your Supernal Ability. This Ability is something your character is exceptional at. Charms – the powers of the Exalted – using that Ability treat your Essence score as 5 for the purposes of meeting prerequisites to learn a Charm. This means you can buy more advanced Charms earlier with that Ability. Once you’ve designated all your Abilities, you gain 28 points to spend among your Abilities. All of your Abilities begin at a rating of zero. You must spend at least one dot in each of your Favored Abilities, and may not raise any Ability over five. Once that is done you may choose four Specialties for your character. Specialties are areas of an Ability in which your character has particular focused expertise. When a Specialty comes into play you receive an additional die to roll.
After Specialties are assigned, you receive ten dots to spend on Merits. Merits represent items, connections, and circumstances that work in the character’s favor and help flesh out their backstory. The full list of Merits and their function are detailed in the Exalted 3rd Edition Core Rulebook.
Once Merits are complete, you will select fifteen suitable Charms for your character. If you purchased the Artifact Merit, you must purchase that Artifact’s Evocations from your selection of Charms. Charms each have detailed rules and prerequisites that go far beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say, you’ll want to take the time to ensure your character meets all prerequisites for a Charm before recording it.
Once Charms have been purchased, you gain 15 bonus points with which to personalize your Exalt. Each character trait has a different cost when it comes to spending these bonus points. That cost is presented in a brief table in Chapter Three of Exalted 3rd Edition. Once bonus points are spent you can calculate your Solar’s Essence rating of one dot, Willpower rating of five dots, Personal Essence of Essence x 3 +10, and Peripheral Essence of Essence x 7 + 26. Finally, record the exalt’s seven Health Levels (-0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, and Incapacitated). With these values in place you’re ready to jump right into your Exalted 3rd Edition game!
Travis Legge is a writer, developer, and streamer working with Onyx Path Publishing, Aegis Studios, and more.
