I was looking for a system that would let me tell the story of a misfit band of criminals becoming Pirate Lords, and also tell the story of a group of agents of heaven fighting a mysterious threat that was destabilizing the pillars of creation. This system delivered that, and a game where an exiled prince took over a city with his posse through the power of slam poetry.
So it still holds the same crazy setting escapades that Exalted is known for, but what really impressed me was that it took people new to the system, and in one game's case, new to gaming in total. It was a far more digestible game than Exalted: Third Edition for new players. My biggest plus for the game is that it allows social characters with no combat skills to aid in physical combat AND it allows combat characters with no social skills to aid in social combat. And with only a modicum of cleverness, allows both types of characters to aid in investigation and sleuthing.

A concise and delightful way to blend all of Exalted into a single source book. Exalted has a steep learning curve due to volume of content/rules and this is a great way to introduce the system to new players without overwhelming them. Also the ease at which all 10 Exalted types can be mixed together is a breath of fresh air.

Very valiant attempt on Onyx Path's part. While I personally think that attributes and skills were over-simplified, Essence handles Charms better than any other version of the game thus far. Even better, it takes the entire range of the Exalted Host into account in its design from inception! With a few fixes, this ruleset could be the springboard for a rock-solid Fourth Edition of the game.

I like to joking call Exalted Essence "Exalted: Playable Edition". To be clear I am not much of a fan of rules lite games and Exalted Essence isn't exactly rules lite. If you are coming to this expecting something along the lines of PbtA or Fate you are setting yourself up for disapointment although it does have elements of that. Rather I am opposed to needless complexity and 3e is the greatest victim of needless complexity I've ever seen in an rpg system. I briefly played in a 3e campaign earlier this year after swearing it off for Essence ( had an advanced kickstarter copy). I had forgotten how much tedious bookkeeping was involved. It took hours for me to create a character, I often forgot what character options I had and everytime I looked at my character sheet trying to find something I got a headache.

A lot of 3e fans were afraid that Essence would replace 3e as the default edition. Alas that has not come to pass but honestly it should have. I hope future editions use Essence as a springboard instead of the hot mess that is 3e.

Essence streamlines a few things too much. Namely attributes which they have made all but redundant. They needed to be reduced from nine but not down to three and really you only have one since players are actually encouraged to narratively justify always rolling their highest stat. They also replaced the awful initiative system with power which somehow manages to be far better but still very bad. It works fine for non-combat focused characters and allows them to be relevant rather than a total liability in combat but for characters that do focus on combat basically attacking, unless you are making a decisive attack, doesn't actually effect your target AT ALL. You are basically just generating power by targeting their defense stat. It's hard to explain until you get in the weeds of the system but it doesn't work and I wish they had just yeeted it.

Exalted 3rd Edition always overwhelmed me...I love this new system...but I see combat is still very complex...I wait anxiously for new resources...like the GM screen and companion books...

A great update to Exalted that will hopefully make it more accessible for new players. The rules seem elegant, not too complicated, not too simple. The art ranges from adequate to good and is in line with previous Exalted books, if that matters. There are rules for converting 3e characters but practically speaking the rules are different enough that a 1-1 conversion isn't always practical. The book gives the impression of having been extensively playtested. The best part is that the powers don't take up hundreds and hundreds of pages, a disease many RPGs (including D&D) have suffered from. I do wish there were more example enemies and guidance on making enemies, but you can't have everything. I hope to run a one-shot soon, so we'll see how it plays out!

I would like to preface my review with three things. First, Exalted is my favorite RPG. Full stop. It's not even remotely a close contest. Second, I've been playing Exalted since its launch in 2001. Third, I was immensely skeptical of Essence when it was announced and concerned about its effect on the game line as a whole. If you hit up official (and unofficial) OPP/Exalted channels you almost certainly can find the receipts. All of that to say this.

To call Exalted: Essence a game design marvel would be doing it an immense disservice.

While it's not as "light" of a game as some like hoped, it manages to thread the needle on simplifying and streamlining the systems in a way that is FAR less of a hurdle for newcomers to the game while still being recognizeably 3rd Edition and acting as an excellent stepping stone, is still immensely satisfying to play, and possibly most importantly, still FEELS like Exalted. The fistfulls of dice you're going to be throwing around aren't going to be as large as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd edition (more of a serving bowl of dice than the prior editions' bucket), but newcomers are still going to be rolling more than they likely ever have before. On top of it all, no/minimal prep Exalted is actually possible for the first time in almost twenty years.

The book itself is clear, legible, and full to the brim with excellent and evocative art. The organization is clear and coherent so you can easily jump to whatever chapter you might need to narrow any searching you might need to do. The introduction to the setting, concepts, and all the different types of residents in Creation is substantial enough to clearly communicate what it needs to while not being too deep for newcomers to wade into. (Not dissimilar to the setting information in the old Laws of the Night Revised books)

In conclusion, Exalted: Essence is fantastic, regardless of if you're new to Creation or a long time resident.

Essence takes the systems from third edition and actually makes them understandable and accessible. It feels very beginner friendly and like a nice gateway into OnyxPath games

The TL;DR here is that Essence is a good rule set for a complicated game - it isn't an easier system, it is simplified though and makes characters more manageable to play - something Exalted has needed for a while now.

Long form...

So, I have been playing Exalted since the 2nd edition. Yes, with the Warstriders, First Age that kind of resembled a fantasy, manga look at Corporate America, and then bought Exalted 3rd Edition as a POD book. It took two men to carry it out of the van (they thought it was a mattress). Exalted 3rd Edition is fantastic - I really love it - but to play the game requires an large investment in terms of time, effort and comprehension. More so even than 2nd edition, I think.

Exalted Essence fixes that. You still have the kernel of the Exalted system there, but it makes the game a little easier to begin playing. There is lots to recommend this game, IMO...

• All the splats are here. You can now play Abyssals in Exalted again!
• The book doesn't waste too much space rehashing the same lore as is in 3rd Edition core - no wasted pages!
• The system rules are pretty concise and easier to find
• The Venture system allows for awesome 80s montages of glory!
• The 25 skills (+) is now a reduced 14 skills making each of them more useful in terms of what they cover. No longer do you have to have larceny AND stealth, for example.
• Compared to Exalted 3rd Edition core, the artwork is way better. I was really pleased to see this. There is also an effort to represent different peoples which, in the modern political climate, seems important? Not so much to me I guess, but other people think its a good idea. Fine. ((I still think the standard for Representative art was set for the D&D Rules Cyclopedia - don't believe me? Go check it out! People from every corner of the globe there...))
• There is a STORYTELLER section that gives some hints on running the game! Exalted 2nd Edition had a couple of pages. 3rd edition? I don't think there is a section like that that I can recall... It isn't the most awesome advice ever, but its a damn site better than nowt!

There are some quibbles with the game too, however.

• There seems to have been a real effort to cram as much as possible into the book and sometimes this means that sentences are not always as clear as they might be. Not a terrible crime, for sure.
• I dont think the 9 abilities from Exalted were so much of a problem that they needed to be reduced to 3? And why not call them Physical, Mental and Social? The attributes seem very much inspired by Fate Accelerated. This might be an area I house rule later for my own games.
• A mention for Actual Plays... Why? IDK if that is really important to most players? It felt... out of place to me anyway.

Now... I do have one major concern. In the future, when splats are released, will there be Essence mechanics released beside the full 3rd edition rule set? If the answer is no, I'd be concerned we're being forced into a D&D and AD&D situation that TSR were going through in the 80s (and the better game was D&D, sorry Mr Gyax). In a two-tiered system, with such a slow output for additional materials, is Essence a one-and-done affair?

So, I guess the real test for the game is this: AM I GLAD I BOUGHT IT? The answer is a yes, very happy. I have already begun planning a mini-campaign set in a remote corner of Creation to try out the rules, learn them thoroughly myself. I think the rules put the onus on RULINGS over RULES again, something that no AI can ever emulate (Take that, WOTC). Mostly, Essence makes the idea of running a game manageable again - and manageable means there is an increased likelihood of games actually being run.

You should get Essence if you want to get into Exalted, or if you want to introduce others into the game.

You should get Essence if you want to modify the level of crunch in games to something a little more manageable.

You should defo buy it for the art.

A ton of hard work and love has gone into this. It is worth the price tag for the PDF if you get nothing else.

Hope this was helpful to someone.

The product I've been waiting literally 20 years for! Love the art, the system, ALL EXALTS AVAILABLE FROM THE START! Can't wait for the companion!

Greetings Exalted Team and Onyx Path,

When Exalted first launched I fell in love with the setting. 1st edition was amazing! I fell out of Exalted in 2nd edition and while I own the 3e book and enjoy it, it is a lot. Enter Exalted Essence! I have spent the time since I purhcased this book devouring it. Having Access to all the Exalt types, is a huge step in the right direction. It gives the players so much breadth an depth of play in the game and their circles. I enjoy the the changes to Anima, and Essence, just making things more simple and straight forward is also a welcome change. Stepping away from the metaphsyics of 2nd edition and the metaplot are great choices as well. "Let the players create the meta in their games just give them the tools" is excatly what you have done with Essence.

Mechanically I have been enjoying the wide interprative method of applying the Attributes and Abilities to rolls and situations. The combat systems both physical and social seem to go with the less is more approach when it comes to things like timing in turns and how to apply the dice mods. While like Ex3 there are several steps, I think the system does a good job breaking these down in an orderly manner. The book is laid out in a good way and flows well from World Info to Exalts to Character Creation, and the hyperlinks in the PDF, and the page refernces in various places throuout are extremly helpful! I love the Stunt and Milestones as well.

The only problem I have with the book is the exclusion of Exalted weapons like Daiklaives and such in the equipment section. These weapons are refernced in other places like Wonders, and as weapons of antagonists, but no where in the equipment for players. Sure I can slap the Artifact tag on anything and describe it, or I can go to Ex3 and find them but it would have been nice to have at least descriptions of them mentioned.

Over all, this is a fantastic book. I have even created a Play-by-Post discord to start running it for a group I currently run multiple WoD games for but whom do not have time to add a physical game to thier schedules. Thank you for all the hard work in getting this book out to us! I am super excited to get back into the world of Exalted!

P.S. Please forgive any typos. I am typing on a keyboard that is old and sometimes does not register button presses well.

Good step in the right direction, but still way to clunky and rules heavy for my taste.

This is so much fun! If you've been waiting to play a particular type of exalted or just want a simpler more accessible system give this a try. (I particularly like how they handle the Great Curse here.)

Exalted: Essence is the finest version of Exalted ever released. This edition condenses the rules into a coherent and practical system, drawing upon the extensive experience of the exceptional team at Onyx Path. Dixie Cochran, one of the most accomplished RPG developers in the industry, has assembled a dream team for this book. Richard Thomas, has forgotten more about RPG development than most people will ever know, and his involvement alone, brings invaluable expertise to the project, enhancing its value.

That being said, this book is meaty. While character creation seems concise, spanning only around 8 pages, the sections on different exalt types cover 40 pages, and the systems for skills encompass an additional 5 pages. The system itself is straightforward, and if this is your first exposure to an Onyx Path system, you're in for a treat. However, be prepared for a substantial amount of reading to establish a solid foundation.

Combat in Exalted: Essence is remarkably smooth, like buttery silk. The flow of combat rounds creates an incredibly cinematic experience, arguably the most immersive RPG combat available at present. If you or your players are familiar with recent titles like Final Fantasy, FromSoftware, or Team Ninja games, you'll find the combat descriptions and mechanics to be familiar and engaging.

However, where the system truly shines is in the diverse range of charms. With approximately 125 pages dedicated to charms (special attacks, abilities, spells, etc.), each character you or your players create will possess unique and tailored abilities. The interplay between charms and artifacts (which provide access to additional charms) allows for remarkable character customization options.

Finally, the appendix includes rules for custom charm creation, as well as a charm adaptation and modification system. This book exceeds the expectations of both new players and Storytellers, offering a fantastic gateway into the Exalted universe and will provide long-time fans of the setting with an exciting new way to engage with it.

This is based on the pre-indexed version of the PDF, but this comes closest to giving me what I've always wanted out of an Exalted game since I first dived in during second edition. The authors did a fantastic job condensing and consoidating mechanics while keeping the flavor of individual options strong. Be forewarned, this ia a rules lighter Exalted, I would in no way call this game rules light. It's not a replacement for 3e if you appreciate the intricate crunch of the game, but it keeps that same spirit in a much more accessible form if you want something simpler. That being said, even fans of 3e that are content with that level of crunch might appreciate the window into Exalt types that are still years off from development.