The Exalted Way

I was fortunate enough to go see The Warriors Way on Friday evening and wow what a movie. I'm not going to review it, I'll leave that to SnowPony, but what I do want to talk about is how much that movie inspired me to run Exalted. For those of you who don't know much about Exalted, its a high fantasy role-playing game where your player characters are heroes of mythological proportions given the divine mandate to rule Creation by the gods themselves. These aren't wussy D&D first level heroes. These guys are literally demigods, capable of killing thirty men in under three seconds, stealing the apples of immortality from the heavenly orchids of Yu-Shan, and seducing entire convents of nuns for a single night of pleasure.

The Warriors Way and Exalted seem to draw on similar inspirations, namely wuxia, the wild west, and a slightly anime/artistic feel to the whole thing. The Warriors Way could be a campaign set in the south of Creation, the biggest desert you could imagine. Traditional guns would have to be replaced with Exalted's brand of firearms. These are called fire-weapons and shoot jets of flame a couple of yards. Think like the weapon in Constantine, basically personal flamethrowers. Even the main character of The Warriors Way fits right in with the theme of Exalted. A Solar Dawn Cast warrior who's motivation is to be the greatest swordsman ever.

I've always stayed away from running campaigns in the south of Creation because I struggle to describe desert sands in a way that will give good stunt material, and stunts are very important to the Exalted mechanics. However The Warriors Way gave me some great ideas for encounter scenes, the most important being throw the dust in the air. The idea of invisible heroes cutting through hordes of enemies who are blinded by the swirling sands could lead to some great stories.

I've created a list of five Exalted campaigns I would love to run or play in at some time in the future:

1. Players are a group of fugitives hiding out in the desert far to the south of Creation. They will need to stake out some territory, defend it from bandits and slavers, and form themselves into a force to be reckoned with before their enemies catch up. I feel this one would be a great Lunar or Solar campaign.
   
2. Players are all in their first year at an illustrious high school for Dragon Blooded on the Blessed Isle. While the school offers a standard (but high quality) education, its the martial arts clubs and the fierce competition between them that make it a step above the rest. Players will need to become hardened fighters to win the yearly tournament, all while balancing homework, romance and classes. This is basically Tenjou Tenge for Exalted. This would be a campaign for Dragon Blooded.
3. Players are all part of a ship crew in the eastern area of Creation. Booty, pirates, 1st age submarines, and more booty are all vital parts of the plot. This one is a bit of a personal nemesis because every time I attempt to run it something stops the group from playing past the first session or two. This one would be good for Dragon Blooded, Infernals, Abyssals, or Solars depending on what style the players would like.
4. Players are the recently created Alchemical Exalted for the rogue state in the Pole of Smoke. I'd go for a gritty Film Noir/SteamPunk style to go with the polluted cities of Autochtonia. I'd also attempt to focus on a very nationalised version of communist Moscow as the design of the city. Basically since getting MoeP: Alchemicals I've been desperate to try my hand at the Alchemicals.
5. War has broken out between Lookshy and the Realm and the fighting has been fierce until they are united by the attack of a new enemy. Players are soldiers from both sides of the conflict ordered to work together against this new threat. There would be lots of clashes of armies, commando style raids, and giant mecha facing off against each other in this battle for survival. This would be a campaign for the Dragon Blooded.

Question of the post...which of the five campaigns interests you the most and why would you like to play in it?