sol invictus.indd

CHAPTER 3 • STORYTELLINGmay feel cheated out of control over their charactersduring the long downtime. In addition, be sureyou’re ready for a massive change in the style ofgame you’re running when you take this route —ideas that would’ve served as an enjoyable sessionbefore the change may be insignificant or out ofplace afterwards. You should make sure you’recompletely satisfied with what you and yourplayers have done at lower power levels beforeimplementing it, because once you do, there’s nogoing back.THE INTERLUDEIf you’re already running a game and want to tryout high Essence characters without altering yournormal characters, an interlude may be in order.For a small number of sessions, have your playersput their normal characters on hold andpick up characters createdespecially for the occasion.This can provide you with anumber of opportunities. Mostobviously, it lets you and yourplayers try out a high-poweredgame without permanentlychanging your normal game.It can also offer other benefitsas well: an opportunity foryour players to stretch theirroleplaying muscles and playsomething new, a chanceto look at your version ofCreation from a differentfaction’s perspective, and anopportunity to run sessionswith potentially deadlyor far-reaching effectson the characters without riskingplayer favorites in the process. Thedownsides to this approach are prettyminor. Players might lose interest ifthey’re strongly invested in theirstandard characters, but generally there’s little riskto trying this out.ELEMENTS OF THE GAMEIn a general sense, playing a high-powered gameisn’t much different from playing any other: allthe basic assumptions remain the same. This holdsespecially true for an experienced Exalted Storyteller,who has probably gotten quite good at having funwith characters who can accomplish incrediblefeats. Even so, it can prove difficult to challengecharacters who stand so far beyond normal humanskill. Just the sheer scope of a powerful game canmake things difficult for the Storyteller. Everythingin a high-powered game is bigger,more complicated, more specific,and more epic. Keeping theseelements in mind will help your game avoidthe doldrums and maintain excitementweek after week.CHALLENGESFinding ways tochallenge a groupof high poweredcharacters can bedifficult — when youcan do almost anything,what can possiblypose a threat? Craftingworthwhile oppositionfor high-powered PCsis difficult, but it can bedone. A few categoriesyou might consider include:Combat Encounters. The moststraightforward method ofchallenging your players, thecombat encounter is still aperfectly viable challengefor high-poweredplay. The Exalted177