Now THIS is Supernatural Stuff Will make this short. Excellent book. A must have.
Now the long explanation. Cool moves, different martial arts, the three level of power can be felt. Even though I dislike the idea that Siderials have SUCH power in their hands and dont teach em it is a great idea. Really. Something that Solars have to ask to be taught.
Powerlevel is cool, moves sound fantastic, setting for the Martial Arts World or Society and the uses of it, how mortals can learn em, how Dragon Blooded can touch Celestial level and how Siderials rule the maximum apex of the Lotus of Perfection. Sublime!
Now this in comparison to Sorcery is way extremely powerful. That is kinda my complaint in here. Sorcery is supposed to be the most terrific and overwhelming power to have. But the Siderial Martial Arts can undo spells and even reverse em. And many moves seem even more useful than taking actions to cast a spell and spending huge amounts of essence to achive small effects.
Martial Arts is an important part of the setting and this book raises the word when you say POWER! A must have!
White Wolf has set the bar for Scrolls of Esoteric Wisdom The Scrolls of Esoteric Wisdom Volume I: Scroll of the Monk (Note: the cover does not mention the Esoteric Wisdom part, but the ad for the Scroll of Lesser Races [sidebar, p.2] mentions that it is the Esoteric Wisdom series) has set the bar for quality of this series within White Wolf's Exalted Second Edition line. Not only does it elaborate on the Martial Arts world within Creation (Fight clubs?) and add several pages of long-awaited weapons (I've been hearing cries for garrotes, kamas, nunchaku, and tonfas ever since I started playing Exalted two years ago), the bulk of the book contains enough supernatural Martial Arts to quench any asiophile's thirst.
The chapter on Terrestrial Martial Arts alone would have been worth the money I spent on this book. The diversity introduced, adding to the flexibility of Martial Arts (and proving that nearly anything can be a *martial* art) has caused nearly every player in a Dragon-Blooded story I'm working on create a martial artist. Yet no two characters are the same. One character was birthed in a brothel, and knows Orgiastic Fugitive Style (the learning of which requires "meditative sex"). Another is an informant for the All-Seeing Eye, and infiltrated the Fivefold Shadow-Hand Association, and learned their ninjutsu-style martial arts. A third prophesied the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, and has learned the social kung-fu of the White Veil Society ("There is no White Veil Society. It is not cunningly concealed among the... Dragon-Blooded socialites of the Realm... No one would suggest that its members have a political agenda..."). And another is a street rat from Nexus, who learned the rough-and-rumble First Pulse Style while fighting for his life.
The Celestial Martial Arts chapter is a notch less interesting, with most styles reprinted (though updated!) from First Edition. This time around, however, they use the updated battle system, and are all in one place (as opposed to ten different book in the previous version of the game).
Sidereal Martial Arts, finally, is the first time I've seen canon Charms listed with Essence or Ability requirements above six. For example, "Meditative Battlefield Escalation" (p.118), with requirements of Martial Arts 8, Essence 8. Considering that all characters max out at Essence 10, it is apparent that the strength of these martial artists is great (Such as a lesser Charm than the above, which essentially turns the player into the Storyteller for one scene), and though it would take a long and/or high-powered game to bring such powers out, they are entertaining to read ("What if my character could do THAT! Wow...") and possibly just as much to use.
Definitely a good buy. Worth every cent I spent.
Quick Rundown This book, although not having much in the way of explaination as to what it was, is action packed with Martial Art Charms and various information for those of us who just love the idea of powerful Martial Artists.
At first I was skeptical due to no information concerning what this book contained, but I decided to get it anyway. I am glad I did. This book details various Terrestrial, Celestrial, and Siderial Forms. It will help fill out your Martial Artist. It also goes into how to be initiated into the ranks of each Tier.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
