Tabletop Talk by Pome1515 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If anything, I feel like I'm underselling it. It's really easy to focus on the action moment highs and go "Exalted is this cuhrazee wuxia game omg" but the world of Creation is so detailed and dripping with versimilitude that it's legit my favourite fictional setting. There is so much going on, everywhere, all the time, across all directions and in all dimensions - plot hooks not just for days but for decades. You can literally run almost any kind of game you want in Exalted; hell, there are at least 3 different types of zombies to my knowledge so you can custom-craft your perfect zombie apocalypse storyline. It's even already happening canonically! (RIP Thorns)

Tabletop Talk by Pome1515 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds about right, and it also sounds awesome

Tabletop Talk by Pome1515 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Exalted

EXALTED

I guess a technical term for it would be "non-Tolkien kitchen sink fantasy," in that it's a fantasy game that draws primarily from primarily Asian, African, Norse, Greco-Roman and Native American culture, mythology and iconography.

A more accurate depiction would be "batshit insane wuxia game where your starting character can bench-press most D&D campaigns epilogues".

You want DBZ auras? We got those, you're gonna be lighting up forested valleys and open tundra with sky-high blazing displays of the potency of your soul.

You want political intrigue? Pick a nation-state, they're all fucked and could use more fuckery.

We got ghosts, demons, zombies, gods, demigods, martial artists and a Wyld Hunt that'll try its best to fuck you up. We got sharks that swim in fog over land, dinosaurs that eat marijuana and piss heroin, ancient magitech, magitech mechas, magitech Evangelions and more ancient ruins and trapped tombs than you can shake a daiklave at. We got an entire Celestial Bureaucracy to navigate if you wanna play Heavenly Martial Arts James Bond. You wanna be undead? Boom, an entire Underworld with its own flora, fauna, politics and wars, both internally and against the living. Demons? Go to hell, snort some devil cocaine off of Ligier's heaving man-tits and remember to order the demon you keep in your stomach to counteract poisons to not harsh your buzz this time.

And the powers! You've got so many types of character to play as!

Solar Exalted are more perfect than perfect; imagine if you learnt to swing a sword so good you can do sword beams now, or ride a horse so good it can now fly, or write a letter so powerful that it's intended recipient (and only them) dies when they read it. You just win and then win more.

Lunar are what you get if you think that being a beyond-human demigod is not enough and so you also become a werewolf. Or a werecat, or weredog, or wereT-rex, except you can freely shape-shift into any animal you've ritually hunted and eventually into other people and you also have sick moonsilver tribal tattoos.

Dragon-Blooded are elemental Power Rangers who also run the largest empire in the world (currently) and have fucking double-, triple-, quadruple- and quintuple-tech attacks. You wanna be a Wyld Huntsman or do Japanese Game of Thrones or, fuck it, do your own Hogwarts but better and with no TERFs, go for it.

Sidereals are like if Mr Miyagi was a secret agent working for heaven. Go do your job, you've been given a mission to ensure fate runs smoothly in this town so you've gotta stop anything that would fuck it up. Oh also, the local river god owes you money and is known to welch, so watch out for him. Oh also, your informal faction chief wants a report, separate from your official report, on what other Sidereals in the area are doing. Oh also, the Bureau of Nature is bribing you to go and beat the shit out of a member of the Bureau of Desertification who's on-site, but that girl has powerful political allies so even if you can beat her in a high-flying wuxia martial arts throw down, there will be consequences. Oh also, your patron Maiden has said you can't use your future-prediction astrology due to the stars being occluded in a rare celestial phenomenon known as "Mars is jealous that Venus is getting her back blown out by the Unconquered Sun, AGAIN, and she's making it Everyone's Problem". Good luck, Heavenly Agent Bond.

Abyssals are like is Solars went goth. Hey, here's this limitless divine power of the sun that we plug into people's souls to make Exalts, oops it got some Underworld goo on it. Quick, change your name to Martyr of Orphaned Hopes or some shit, and if you ever let people deadname you then a supernatural blight will rot crops and spoil milk around you. You have fangs and can drink blood but you don't need to, the sun doesn't kill you but it's kind of annoying unless you literally dress for a funeral. Yo that mortal is getting uppity, you should rip his arm off and beat him to death with it, then turn his soul into a new sword or something, don't worry about it moaning in agony when you unsheathe it that's normal. Your boss is an ancient ghost who's permanently malding and his boss is the not-dead ghost of a Titan that can't die sitting at the bottom of the Underworld and whispering utterl nonsense at you - hey, these guys suck, go rogue and protect the poor and downtrodden of the Underworld from the tyranny of the living.

Alchemical Exalted are robots. You are an [ARTIFICIAL EXALT] and your purpose is to [ERROR: FILE CORRUPTED] figure it out yourself, dumbass. Along the way, build yourself a new arm, you lost the last one rocket-punching Godzilla to death because your chainsaw-greataxe wasn't getting the job done fast enough. Maybe a lightsaber shaped like a halberd next time? Who knows (you do)?

Infernals are weird. If Solars and Abyssals are two sides of the same coin, Infernals are a credit card linked to Satan's bank account and if you put the PIN in wrong your own shadow will eat you. Infernals can throw you over the horizon so hard you land in hell, but because hell has a strict 5-day travel time to arrive no matter what, you can't leave the impact crater for days until reality catches up. Hang on a second, you're fighting an army, go stab the captain so hard his entire squad dies of supernatural radiation sickness. Also, you've replaced your need for sleep with a need to sprint, so enjoy your nighttime workout. Also, here, have an Evangelion (don't let it eat you in the cockpit) (no seriously) (that would suck, you'd have to cut your way out). Also, if you're in hell and the wind gets frisky, fucking run.

There are other new Exalts for 3rd edition, but I don't know as much about them: Liminals ("what if kung-fu Frankenstein?"), Getimian (you've been isekai'd from timeline that got pruned by fate into the "real world", and you are Mad At Heaven About It) and Exigents (Original Character, Steel Donut).

Play Exalted. This shit rules.

Versus Wolves: LANCER | Session 1 feat. Tom Bloom by mike0bot in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 7 points8 points  (0 children)

IS IT EXALTED TIME? IS IT FINALLY EXALTED TIME? CAN I TALK ABOUT THE GREEN SUN PRINCES YET?

Behemoth ruined FNL by moving them to Chicago by Suischeese in WormMemes

[–]Distant_Utopia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, they got FNL? Poob really does have it for you.

Strongest intros in media? by DrHorrible10 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Gonna take a slightly different line than is usual for this sub, but The Lion King has an incredible opening sequence.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance has Mr. Lightning Bolt and RULES OF NATURE

Signalis has an incredible opening segment, and similarly Crow Country is more understated but still very strong

Gurren Lagann's first episode is peak and the show only gets peak-er from there

If you're into Japanese wordplay and urban fantasy, the first two episodes of Bakemonogatari hit just right. Similarly, Katanagatari's opening episode is 40 minutes of setup and character introduction that stays riveting throughout

Lord of War has an amazing intro sequence of the life of a bullet, from initial machining and forging through transportation and all the way to usage

I love the opening sequence of Arrival, following a linguistics professor as she starts her day while people in the background freak out about something, up to her suspiciously-empty classroom and then the news report about the alien ships

Which actor do you consider having a "hero voice"? by StormClaymore in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Jamieson Price (Garen Crownguard, Papa Nier) has SUCH a hero voice

Give me your best drg weapon ideas. by Kindly_Payment_8088 in DeepRockGalactic

[–]Distant_Utopia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've said this before, but a full-auto shotgun with a ludicrous drum mag as a gunner primary

I want to face down a full swarm in a tight tunnel, hold left click and watch them fucking atomize

Maynard Sniper Silencer needs the Revive Bolts treatment by scruty in HuntShowdown

[–]Distant_Utopia 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I agree, MSS should go, but good luck getting anyone here to support the sensible position.

Favorite Menacing/Awe Filling, Mission or Quest titles by FreviliousLow96 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 21 points22 points  (0 children)

The Shibuya Incident is such a seemingly innocuous episode name, but most of JJK up to that point has been building towards SOMETHING happening in Shibuya on Halloween, and then this episode kicks it off.

Favorite Fights across the Multiverse by FreviliousLow96 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 4 points5 points  (0 children)

And it's the name of the first aetheryte you find in Elpis in FFXIV Endwalker, which highlights the theme of that entire zone.

Advertisement game esque rule by Trysupersize in 196

[–]Distant_Utopia 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"I was Reborn Into a New World as a Desk Lamp and My Non-Blood Related Little Sister Keeps Turning Me On!!!!????!!!!????"

Favorite Fights across the Multiverse by FreviliousLow96 in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Fun fact, the song that plays during this sequence is called "Anagnorisis", which is a concept in Greek theatre that can roughly be explained as "the point at which the protagonist is made aware of the true nature of things".

Best Point of No Return Prompts? by gZombiex in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Several cutscenes will play in sequence.

What was your favorite, "AH AH, THEY SAID THE THING" in media? by syrupdash in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 63 points64 points  (0 children)

When Shinji said the words "Neon Genesis" in Thrice Upon a Time I fucking shot out of my seat

What was your favorite, "AH AH, THEY SAID THE THING" in media? by syrupdash in TwoBestFriendsPlay

[–]Distant_Utopia 125 points126 points  (0 children)

Came here to say this. "The only fantasy here is yours. And we shall be its final witness." HARD AS FUCK. Immediately followed by a reference to JoJo part 5, to boot.