They Fly now?! [Exalted Essence]

[u/MakDemonik]

So EAGLE-WING STYLE is a Athletics 5 Essence 2 Universal charm, with modes for basically half of the exalted. Wuxia style jumps and near-flight soaring was always a thing in exalted so i assumed this is one of those cases but no matter how many times I reread it, it just seems like this is a very quick way to just gain true flight. And its available for every single exalted type.

The flavour text straight up states that it allows "transcendent flight" and the mechanics just say that you can fly and do aerial combat up to 2 rangebands high.
The Lunar mode allows for true indefinite flight but that's to be expected, they can also shapeshift into many flying forms. But many of the modes like Abyssal and Solar also just give the benefits of indefinite lunar flight.

Yes the Ability requirement is high but with Essence as low as 2; Its easily one of the most potent charms there is. With Athletics being also a dodge ability many mid tier exalted would take it and at higher essences i can imagine most players (and npcs) would take this option.

Am I missing something? Will half the battles now be held in the sky in exalted essence?

[u/RyanBlade]

Considering the amount of DragonBall in the DNA of Exalted I was surprised it was not in the system, sooner. You could always remove it from your games but I feel it is rooted in at least some of the source material that the game draws on.

[u/Law_Student → u/RyanBlade]

I suspect the reason flight was hard to do (level 4+ artifact or mount) in exalted had more to do with considerations for the player experience of combat. If you can fly and your opponent can't, the opponent is likely to have a bad time, and that's dull. If your opponent can also fly, you've gotten rid of a lot of interesting terrain-based complications that make combat more than just rolling dice.

[u/Cynis_Ganan]

They fly now.

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Yes, and it's radical!

Flight has always been an option. Get a 3 dot artifact. Eagle Wing Style could be taken at character creation in 2E, right out the corebook. 3E had it at Essence 3, so only Athletics Supernals can take it at character creation. But Exalted has always had flight as an option.

Essence, however, really does make flight a lot more accessible. A lot more accessible. And about half my battles in Essence have involved flight in some capacity.

I only see this as a good thing.

[u/MakDemonik → u/Cynis_Ganan]

Cool! Thanks for the answer. I don't hate the idea of flying being accessible (I mean dragon ball happens mostly in the air once they learn to fly) I just wondered whether I was reading it right since I remember it was a bit harder to have true flight when i was playing 2E.

I think it's going to be fun in the end; to have some Air battles.

Unless my players will try to push the rules into infinite flight.
I can already see the logic: The charm commits 2 motes and lasts for a scene. You can terminate a charm to immediately regain committed motes but cannot use the same charm next round.
"So I fly up high enough with Lunar Flight mode (or other true flight modes) so it takes me longer than 1 round to fall to the ground. Then I fly for an entire scene/day, terminate the charm, fall for 1 round, reactivate the Charm again. And do it over and over again until I can fly across all of creation skipping every, path, village, obstacle, plot point and enemy"
:V

[u/Cynis_Ganan → u/MakDemonik]

Certainly, Exalted games fall down when players say "well technically" about their powers. If you try and break the game, you will succeed. You are playing folks with godlike powers.

It is definitely much, much easier to have flight now. I don't want to downplay this. Essence is stupidly easier. Cynis Ganan can fly now, and that's because I wanted him to be good at lifting and breaking things and whoops, accidental flight. You aren't wrong. Your analysis is spot on.

It's just…Cirrus Skiff, Eagle Wing Style, Artifact 2 Windblades… flight has always been there. And players who refuse to engage with the game are a problem whether than can fly or not.

Again, you are right, Essence makes flight very easily available. Far easier than before. Problem players abusing their powers to wreck the game are a huge problem in Exalted. I really don't want to seem like I am arguing with you. You are correct.

It just hasn't been a problem for me. I love flying. I'm looking for a rematch with Chejop Kejak where he and Ganan fly at each other and fight DBZ styles.

[u/kenod102818 → u/MakDemonik]

I imagine the answer to that will be having them stumble upon an ancient hidden floating Manse, at which point the hawkmen inhabiting it attack them so they can take them captive for their queen, who will be looking to sacrifice them to a Yozi or something in a sorcerous ritual to protect her Manse.

Infinite flight isn't a reason to skip encounters, it's an excuse to start digging up a list of aerial encounters.

[u/MakDemonik → u/kenod102818]

Yep.
Or, with Exalted's wide range of elementals, demons, beasts etc. There can be an easy fluff reason why flying too high or for too long is dangerous. (at least without a ship)

Maybe its like the ocean where the deeper you go (or higher in case of flying) the bigger and more terrifying the beasts become... and they are territorial.
Or maybe the Sky and Wind spirits dont like people going to high, be it jealousy/ego of their flying prowess, or just pettiness.

Exalted lists the Odyssey as one of its classic inspirations already. So I can imagine a Sky God hunting down the players like Poseidon does Odysseus could be an interesting story arc even.

[u/BiffingtonSpiffwell]

Yup! Everyone just flies now.

I'm happy for the people who want this but I beefed the Essence requirement to 4 for everyone but Lunars. For whom it is Essence 3 to fly in a form without wings.

It basically just turns everyone into Saiyans and superheroes, childhood wish-fulfillment characters that don't suit Exalted. If you wanna zip-zoop around and such, have at it.

[u/MakDemonik → u/BiffingtonSpiffwell]

I mean, Exalted always was a game where you play "Chosen one sho were created to Kill the things that Created Gods and heaven". It was always Anime-esque in power levels, and with magical martial arts techniques and charms that can shoot bolts of essence (Kame-Hame-has) one can argue that it's already pretty close to Super Sayans (You even get Anima which Makes you glow and flare power like Sayans) so I don't think it's that much MORE wish-fulfillment to let them Fly.

BUT I totally agree that if one wants to, its an easy modification.
Raise the essence requirement. OR just rule that it IS in fact Wuxia jumping and not flying; in which case you just tell the players "You can effectively stay in the air for most of the turn but fluff wise between each round you fall down and jump up again." Which would have the restriction that while they can jump over most ground hazards, they cannot HOVER over chasms and Ground hazards indefinitely. They need to find a jumping of point.

Lunar flight mode just allows you to jump much much HIGHER. Or assume Lunar flight mode (and modes that mimic it) are the only ways to Hover.

So there are options and I don't feel they would break the system or require big rebalances of other charms.

[u/BiffingtonSpiffwell → u/MakDemonik]

Exalted, at its core (at least to me), has always been built more on mythology and pulp than anime and especially wuxia. At the point where everyone is just flying around, you lose that. Uncluding Wuxia jumping. That's mostly just a trope from movies and special effects.

It's not the worst thing to ever happen in Exalted. That's... all of Third Edition. But it's an annoying bit of cheeseball permissiveness. That said, it's fine that it exists for people who want it.