I didn't invest heavily, but I was also disappointed in the results (except the cloth map, which I had framed and which looks awesome on the wall). In addition to the "Exalted in the real world" hook, this seems like it'd be a good way to play even straight Exalted, albeit a lower-powered version.

And maybe that's for the best, since Exalted's system shatters like spun sugar at high power levels.