Some thoughts on exalted martial arts
The equipment section of the exalted book clearly states that a martial arts weapon uses the higher of martial arts or melee - generally understandable, until...
The players guide states that certain martial arts have certain (specific) weapons associated with them - this for the use of martial arts charms while wielding the weapon. Many of these are not martial arts weapons (sword, spear, sledge, chakram, short swords, bow, polearms).
Why should it be assumed that all martial artists train weapons that (in most cases) their art does not specialise in? It doesn't really make sense to me.
I want to say that for martial arts that one knows the associated weapons are considered martial arts weapons (and only those weapons specifically asssociated with the martial art) but this brings about two problems:
1) How does one decide when a martial art is known (Does it require a charm to be learned? Treat it like craft(specific) and force a specific martial arts choice? (Workable, but kind of annoying. Just like it's annoying with craft)
2) Celestial godbody understanding (which, since I'm thinking of making a character with it, spawned this whole thing (with some help from cathexis and his trying to figure out using lances and firelances as MA weapons for vaious martial arts) grants the ability to treat any weapon as an unarmed attack with its martial arts style charms. Should this mean all weapons are martial arts weapons for this style? It is the mastery charm (9 charms in, required essence 4) so it has some reason to be allowed to be bad ass. At the same time, that's really, really bad ass (it eliminates the need for the melee skill for that character except as a source of charms). On the other hand, if the weapons are not considered martial arts weapons with this charm there are no weapons that are MA weapons for that style.
I should probably just put some points into melee and be done with it for this character but this issue kinda bugs me so here it is.