Measuring Time

Days, hours, and even years pass in the narrative, but Exalted Essence structures time passing during play into the following categories: scenes, sessions, stories, and downtime. These categories help Storytellers organize the flow of their games, but also put limits on how frequently certain powers or abilities can be used.
Scenes are any amount of time in which a series of related events occur. An entire fight sequence taking place on a Dynastic villa’s rooftop is a scene. Scouring the ancient library for lost secrets is a scene. Grilling the criminal lord about where she has stashed the magically-charged contraband is a scene. Some special abilities may call for a dramatic scene. This is a brief montage of whatever action the character is doing, typically over a period of downtime (see below). If all parties involved feel like roleplaying, it can be more in-depth.
Sessions constitute everything that happens during one period of playtime. A session is everything that happens in the game from its beginning to whenever it resolves and all players head home. What happens in a session can constitute a minor milestone (see p. XX).
Stories are a culmination of the series of sessions that make up one concrete story beat. If the characters were trying to infiltrate one of the Realm Great Houses and finally have a strong foothold within it, that’s the end of the story beat. If the characters were trying to push the influence of a Deathlord from their city and finally drive the last war-ghost from its limits, that’s the end of a story. The end of a story always grants a major milestone (see p. XX).
Downtime refers to any time that passes in a montage or off-screen. If characters spend hours searching a vast First Age library, those hours pass during downtime. If characters take time between sessions to spend years working on a magnificent artifact, those years also pass during downtime.
Exalted Essence also uses turns and rounds to measure time, but these units apply to combat only. See p. XX.