In addition to preparing myself for (what I hope will be) my school attendance this Autumn, I'm also preparing myself for the possibility of trying out a roleplaying system I have not yet played.
White Wolf's Exalted roleplaying game is an animé-, Far East mythology-, and wuxia-inspired rules-system where player characters start off and remain powerful figures compared to the vast majority of mortals. The basics of the system itself and the feel of it are similar to White Wolf's World of Darkness system, where players generally also play characters (vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures) that are significantly more powerful than the people around them. However, the atmosphere of Exalted is much brighter than the WoD systems and is more heroically inclined (though with classical heroic tragic flaws).
Because I haven't played it before and don't have anyone in my immediate area who has played it (I have some friends who meet at the university who have played it, but I haven't met with them in months), I am trying to really learn the ruleset on my own. To do so, I am using a technique similar to the one I'm using for my academic studies; in effect, I am studying Exalted as a game and setting. The "technique" is pretty much detailed reading combined with outlining/note-taking.
It's actually a nice change-of-pace from the more casual and incidental reading I usually do when checking out roleplaying rules and materials. I am making sure I pick up the details of the game's structure, which will be useful should I ever play it as a player or run it as a "Storyteller" (White Wolf's designation for the game referee). It will also help me in teaching others how to play it should that become a possibility.
I don't know whether I will have use for it, other than as an exercise (one that's more pleasurable than studying and note-taking on research methodologies). Even so, it's a habit I enjoy trying out.
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