Exalted 2.0 Released

No, it's not software; it's just an old-fashioned "pen and paper" role-playing game, but it packs the most powerful and robust system of play I've ever used and I've been under an iron-clad NDA not to discuss it since I playtested it last year. And wouldn't you know it, I've done such a fine job of putting it out of my mind that I missed the release.

Well, I can discuss it now, so here's the scoop: along with our usual gang of geeks, I playtested this version (as well as the original) for contributing author Zach Bush, who revised the Storytelling rules. What's particularly cool about this is that Zach has played in my games, as well as vice versa, which means I have passively contributed to his excellent work. Regardless, Zach is a top notch gamemaster and there's no one I would have trusted more to write this section.

Zach also built the rules for resolving conflicts between nations called "Mandate of Heaven'. The system got bumped to the Storyteller's Companion, which is appropriate because it is not critical to standard gameplay, but it is a killer expansion for any Storyteller who wants to run an epic-level adventure. The rules are both rich and intuitive. We had great fun testing it. Any Storyteller who doesn't try it is missing out.

One great thing about the game is that it is available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG.com, so now I can put some attention toward converting the game from "pen and paper" to "pen and tablet" using javascropt dice rollers, reformatted book pages, and an endless supply of digital notebook pages. Should be fun.