I really wanted to love this, but found myself filled with regret. I'll start by saying that I have been a massive Exalted fan since first edition. Third edition was just begging for me to purchase it and I went all out with the premium. So, where do I begin...
The good: Beutiful artwork throughout and the quality of the print on the page for Premium is top-notch! Exalted has also fully embraced their anime inspiration, which shows throughout this volume!
The bad: The system feels like it pulled a lot of inspiration from 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons, which I utterly despise. The new system feels bloated and unneccesary, washing away the fond memories of the 1st and 2nd eds. Sometimes, keeping it more simplified is the way to go. The flavor writing throughout is also abysmally bad.
The ugly: Absolutely horrible craftsmanship. My copy arrived at my door completely detached from the spine and held in place by two thin pieces of paper. The book will remain intact for a month tops with this poor quality of construction. For $120, you would think the printer could attach the pages to the spine with some care. That brings up another problem: the book itself is too large. 662 pages crammed into a single volume is not only user-unfriendly, but also very difficult to keep in any decent condition. This should have been two or three volumes, split into smaller books with better construction.
Final thoughts: I wanted to love this.... I really, really did. But all I feel is regret from my light wallet and poor quality product.
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