Badly written, by someone who really wants to preach progressive politics at you. The words "there, I said it" have no palce outside of a self-satisfied teenager sassing another teenager, while the book is otherwise very, very thick with the author's annoying fringe politics. There are some interesting ideas in the book, but you need to wade through too much other stuff to rescue them. Save your time and avoid this.

(I was tempted to go through the book with a black marker to remove the lectures and things I'd keep and things I'd ditch for any campaign I'd run - unfortunate that most post-WW content is so much less usable)

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.

Featuring some really stellar writers led by Matthew Dawkins and work by the great Ed Greenwood, the Ashcan edition of The World Below is incredibly promising. The subterranean setting is familiar but still manages to feel fresh and exciting and should enable a multitude of different kinds of stories to be told. Really looking forward to running this game with my group and the products to come with the launch of the full edition of the game.

This game is very nice and original. It has survival elements, reminds me of good parts of Numenera and Fallout, and is a narrative game, with light, easy-going rules, thanks to the Storypath system. The version is not full, and I'm eager to see the complete product, though the material is enough to run some games on the vast and well built World Below. For the price tag, completely worth it. When print version comes, I will add it to my collection. Matthew Dawkins & co. never disappoint, though you are missed by World of Darkness fans. Do not miss this game if you want something new, original, deep and very fun!

i have been a fan of WtA since it's first release. Everything from 1st to W20. I'm going to be honest I don't know what purpose this book serves. Werewolf the Apocalypse seems to get stuck with anthology stories camouflaged as gaming supplements. We already. have. "Silver Record", "Drums Around the Fire", When Will You Rage 1st print and revised. So this is pointless. Sure the art is cool and some of the stories are mediocre good. Instead of giving us a Lore of the X book like Vampire and Mage. We get this.
If you want another anthology storybook this will give you what you want. If you want. something for your gaming group this isn't. it

This Ashcan works really well in terms of selling us on the world below, it's inhabitants, how they're organised, and why they do what they do. It's a hard world, but one that has hope and wonder built into it, as well as the horror we'd expect when we hear about shadow monsters, dragons, and all the other unbderground shenanigans. Its a world with a lot to explore, and a lot of reason to do so. Character creation gives us a wide array of options, and with nothing locked down or restricted. The reasons to work together are many, and there's so much cross pollination among the many groups, that every group will find they have enough in common to warrant their trips into the unknown abyss.

While the art is temporary, i love this particular style, and i can't wait to see how this translates into the finished articles. It's going to be a setting with some fantastic visuals, and i can't wait to see how the core book expands upon what we've got here! Well worth $5, get it now so you're ready for what comes next!

A gripping setting with an intuitive system, written in an evocative, engaging, and accesible way. I am very much looking forward to the full release but, in the interim, I'm eager to get the Ashcan edition to the table!

Really loving the style and Storypath Ultra flair of The World Below. Tons of value for less than $5 and worth your time if you're looking for a unique setting that keep you digging deeper.

Go grab it now.

Okay, my rating is really more of a 4.75, but I rounded up. I've been looking forward to the World Below since I first heard that Onyx Path was dipping into a high fantasy setting for their Storypath system, and the Ashcan Edition provides a beautiful taste of what's to come, with plenty of clear notes about where there will be more in the final edition. The world is interesting and well developed even for this small taste. As someone who's not really a fan of the Underdark from the dragon game, this is very good, as this is not a generic system, so setting is very important to me. the tiny, tiny bit off is that there's a couple of abilities where I'm still not sure how they're associated with what paths, but it's just as possible that I missed something as it is that it's missing (and I'm sure won't be in the final product) and it's nothing that makes this unusable or unplayable.

I had a lot of fun reading through The World Below. It is a great setting with tons of opportunities for Players and Storytellers alike. I cannot wait for the full book to be released, and am looking forward to playing this game for the very first time.

This ashcan delivers everything you need to run a game of the World Below. I personally really like the way it is written, very evocative and sprawling with ideas, that can blossom into whole adventures. The broshure tells, on which of the presented parts to expect further mechanics (like the base and society building phase of the Kalm or Kaos magic). There are so many neat details like pet rocks or very fun counter magic abilities. This game will bring some fresh air into old tunnels.

A creepy, funny dungeon-crawler focused on exploration and weird magic. The core concept - society driven into caves and mutated by Kaos magic - is a lot of fun and lends itself well to dark comedy. The setting offers new twists on classic fantasy Ancestries, giving distinct cultures to different races without making them beholden to those cultures. And the combination of Dialectic (innate powers) and Calling (profession) choices gives players freedom to experiment with their own builds. Pick this up if you're looking for a good DnD/PF alternative!

As someone who swore off Onyx Path for several years, this is the product that's brought me back into possibly supporting their non wod products again.

A grim subterranean setting that seems like a mix of Hollow Knight and Neil Gaimen's Neverwhere, draws one in and grabs tight.   The World Below offers an interesting take on fantasy, tossing aside the happy lands of Hobbits and bringing in a healthy dose of Grim and the World of Darkness.  

Characters have ample options to chose from for creation, with this Ashcan edition giving just enough hints at what will be available for full release.I can see ample opportunities to add gallows humor to the setting and its running, but I admit at times the nomenclature leans too far into camp and lame wordplay jokes.

I'm hoping the horrible art shownon the onyx path blog updates are just placeholders and not indicative of the art in the final product as it gives a huge mork borg ripoff feel and really cheapens the feel of this setting.

So, for the ashcan I give a 80% as it's almost too good. The final edition would need more and better art to earn this mark, with clear depictions of the various kins as onyx path has a horrible history for vagueness in showing the various splats (ugh dystopia rising, changeling seemingly, etc).

Mileage can and will vary, but this is my opinion on this product from a publisher that I find too happy to water down dark content to make it less controversial, which if they do to this will ruin its entire feeling

A fascinating preview for an upcoming game line, ideal for one-shots. Also a fantastic promo for what OPP's upcoming Storypath Ultra rules will look like. Definitely worth the prices, even if you don't have as much of an interest in the game itself but you want to see more of Storypath Ultra to incorporate into a ruleshack you're doing for your existing Storypath games, with things like weapon tags.

What an amazing player's guide! I feel like all Player's Guide should focus their energy on give the players more options and this one goes above and beyond in doing so! Like,ok Scion is about playing heroes of legends,but saints prophets and sorcerers are heroes of legend too! an nwo they get to play! The elegance of the storypath system is in full display here,it's a must but for any Scion fan. and if you aren't one,do try it,you just might fall in love with the game.