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I designed this as a stepping-stone to the Charcoal March of Spiders, intended for Solars and other students who would not be learning more than one Sidereal-rank form. As such, it's designed specifically to interlock with that Style. It's got cookies for Sids (which sorta don't get to use the Style without CMoSS) and Solars (who kick butt).
This Style uses the seven-section staff and knife.
The Charms
Dire GuiseCost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
The attacker must spend one Willpower point, or his attack automatically fails, unless his permanent Willpower is more than twice the martial artist's Essence. If it is, then he does not need to spend Willpower. Further, the martial artist doubles his Essence for the purposes of dodges he makes against the attack, regardless of his assailant's Willpower.
Dark Secret Love
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
The martial artist learns, with this Charm, to express his love with anger and cruelty. Like that of an abusive lover, his attack has a final, hurtful flourish. He may activate this Charm after rolling the damage of an unarmed Martial Arts attack; he reduces its damage by 1 HL and causes the victim to lose 1 Willpower. This Charm can only be used once per attack.
Vermillion Spider Form
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Dire Guise, Dark Secret Love
The adept assumes the unobtrusive posture of the hunting spider who dwells in the heart of a rose. He awaits the opportunity to attack! In the place of his normal move for the turn, the adept may instead advance his Dexterity in yards with the first few unarmed Martial Arts attacks he makes, two per dot of his Essence. In addition, his unarmed Martial Arts attacks scatter motes; whenever a being suffers Health Levels of damage from his attacks, that being loses motes of Essence equal to the martial artist's permanent Essence.
This is a Martial Arts Form-type Charm, incompatible with others of its ilk, and incompatible with armour.
Damask Heart Lash
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Vermillion Spider Form
With this attack, the martial artist's fingertips turn deep red; he delivers an attack with his fingers fanned out, sweeping five lines of streaky redness through the air. He may activate this Charm after determining the success of an attack. This attack cannot be soaked; instead of dealing Health Levels of damage, the victim loses 2 motes of Essence per die of the damage pool. Roll the damage pool anyway; the martial artist gains 2 motes per success.
Ruby-Heart Countenance
Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Vermillion Spider Form
With this Charm, the martial artist becomes a black silhouette, with a red light thrumming in his chest. As he moves and attacks, a red iridescence moves across his palms and the soles of his feet. While under the effect of this Charm, he adds 1 to the dice bonus of stunts. This also increases their mote reward but not their Willpower reward. Also, the martial artist's presence is so unsettling that it raises the difficulty of Valour rolls for anyone that can see him by 1.
Scattered Spider Dance
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Vermillion Spider Form
The martial artist recedes from an attack, dodging it with his full Dexterity + Dodge pool. In addition, he may retreat up to his Essence in yards before the attack is rolled; if his assailant cannot follow, then his attack is made at a desperate reach, suffering a dice penalty equal to the adept's Essence for each yard that his pursuit falls short.
Cardinal Directions Crown
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Damask Heart Lash, Ruby-Heart Countenance, Scattered Spider Dance
When he uses this Charm, eight orbs of claret Essence swirl into existence above the martial artist's head, forming a slowly tilting circlet. The crown moves to follow the adept, but when he is at rest, the ring rotates so that the paramount eye looks to the East. While these eyes are present, the character suffers no penalties for being attacked from behind.
In addition, the adept is able to perceive and attack both materialised and dematerialised beings.
Await Within Predator's Flower
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Cardinal Directions Crown
The martial artist is forever prepared, resting among the stamens of a crimson blossom. He makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack, which he may split, incurring the usual multiple-action penalties for doing so. All these attacks have their base damage increased by the martial artist's Awareness.
Silken Tremor Climate
Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Cardinal Directions Crown
The martial artist using this Charm adds twice the Demesne level of the area he is in to his initiative, as he feels the motions of the world through taut Essence threads. The use of Charms enhances this slightly, by leaving wisps of energy floating in the air; for the purposes of this Charm he increases the Demesne level of the area by 1 per Combo used (by any character present) previously in the scene.
Ruination of Blood
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Await Within Predator's Flower, Silken Tremor Climate
Just as a spider drinks the vital juices of his prey, the martial artist energises himself with the blood of his opponent. For the purposes of effects that measure his Essence (including minimum damage, in Power Combat), add the Essence of the last entity the martial artist dealt Health Levels of damage to to his own.
Initiation Effects
Vermillion Spider Form, Damask Heart Lash, Ruby-Heart Countenance, and Scattered Spider Dance are a Sidereal Initiation for Sidereal Exalted. A Sidereal who learns these four Charms subtly reinterprets the Vermillion Spider Style; he can choose to use it as the Gibbous Spider Style instead. In this form, the style exhibits grey-white moons rather than shapeless red markings, and its Charms benefit from the Sutras of Consumption. The white Cardinal Directions Crown looks to the West.Cardinal Directions Crown, Await Within Predator's Flower, Silken Tremor Climate, and Ruination of Blood are a Sidereal Initiation for Solar Exalted. A Solar who learns these four Charms may activate any Vermillion Spider Style Charm in the same turn as a Charcoal March of Spiders Style Charm without using a Combo. This only permits the use of 1 Charm per Style in a turn, however.
July 17 2005, 02:48:30 UTC 6 years ago
I don't know what "In the place of his normal move for the turn, the adept may instead advance his Dexterity in yards with the first few unarmed Martial Arts attacks he makes, two per dot of his Essence" means. Can you rephrase that?
It's interesting to me that you present the ability to avoid attacks from behind as the primary ability of Cardinal Directions Crown. That rule is almost never used in my games, but immaterial opponents are a frequent problem. Erymanthoi with Touch The Real are a particular bother.
July 17 2005, 05:27:34 UTC 6 years ago
A rephrasing!
A martial artist may choose to "pounce" as his movement for the turn. If he does so, then when he makes a Martial Arts attack, he may advance up to his Dexterity in yards to reach his opponent. In a turn, the artial artist may advance in this way twice per dot of his permanent Essence."
Does that help? It's a reduced version of the Dance of the Hungry Spider, basically; the Vermillion Spider Form is designed so the martial artist won't miss it too much when he gets access to the Charcoal March of Spiders Form.
July 18 2005, 12:02:32 UTC 6 years ago
July 18 2005, 17:52:47 UTC 6 years ago
If I were writing it, I'd just increase the amount of movement in a turn you can take and still attack. It's a lot simpler mechanically that way.
July 17 2005, 06:58:50 UTC 6 years ago
Dire Guise: This charm is too good for what it does. 2 motes to force a foe to spend a WP point or nuke the attack? So somewhere between 10-18 motes are probably going to nuke an opponent's ability to attack you. MA 2? Heck yeah I'll take that and shove it in every combo I know of. That needs higher requirements and to be /far/ deeper in the tree. Never underestimate the power of sapping Willpower.
Dark Secret Love: Less issues with this, as it does require to hit your foe. I do think the mote cost needs to be raised, however. 4 motes at least.
Vermillion Spider Form: First off, take a WP onto the cost of this. Also, I really, really dislike the mote-draining power. That's the Abyssal's schtick. Soulsteel, blood drinking, all that good stuff. Isn't there something else you could use? Raise the cost to activate a charm by 1 mote each time you do damage maybe? Messing around with difficulties and costs feels mroe Sidereal-ish than mote-sucking to me.
Damask Heart Lash: WAY too powerful. 4 motes to basically completely cripple that? I've got a daiklaive with Excellent Strike, 5 Dex, 5 Melee, 3 Spec, and a damage-doubling charm. Since this is Instant/Reflexive, I can stick it in that combo and potentially suck away over 60-90 motes with one hit. Nuh-uh, no, no. That has to be a supplemental charm so it only works with MA to begin with. Also, see my beef with Abyssal and mote-draining. Regain 2 motes as well when the charm only costs 4 motes?
Await Within Predator's Flower: I actually think you could do a lot better just by making this a Supplemental Charm and doing away with the 'This is a Simple Charm, but you can still split your actions' wording. Because that's what this is, effectively.
Ruination of Blood: Brutal in Power Combat. I'd suggest 10 motes, 1 WP at a minimum. A minimum of 3-4 damage is nasty, but a minimum of 6-8 is /cruel/.
First Set of Initiation Effects: Eh, doesn't bug me.
Second Set of Initiation Effects: *goes into a frenzy about multiple charms in a turn and how utterly game breaking that truely is*
I'm on a forum testing 200+ XP characters in one-on-one combat. Sidereal MA was banned because it already wipes the floor with anything. The only thing that can beat a Sidereal MAist, one-on-one, is almost always going to be a fellow Sidereal MAist. And CMoS users were impossible to beat due to the multi-charm action. This is adds way too much to their arsenal.
July 17 2005, 07:51:45 UTC 6 years ago
For now, just one reply - You have completely missed the point of this Charm.
July 17 2005, 08:13:43 UTC 6 years ago
Like I said, the idea behind the charm tree? Cool. Some cool ideas in there (I actually had no issue with most of the later charms).
July 17 2005, 11:26:04 UTC 6 years ago
July 17 2005, 12:23:19 UTC 6 years ago
"As with a simple Charm, the charactger may only use the Charm once per turn and may not split her dice pool on any of the actions it grants".
July 17 2005, 12:23:40 UTC 6 years ago
July 17 2005, 19:52:28 UTC 6 years ago
July 17 2005, 20:13:44 UTC 6 years ago
2 motes to overrule the Extra Actions rule? That's way too powerful. WAY too powerful. I'd rule that at a minimum double-digit motes and a WP. Maybe a health level as well. Hurricane Combat Method, which gives you free attacks but isn't an extra action charm (which is what this basically is), even sucks away health levels.
July 18 2005, 17:29:29 UTC 6 years ago
Not to mention how crazy (and long, real time) combat will get if you can spend for multiple extra actions, and then proceed to split each of those extra actions three or four ways.
I think this is definitely a broken mechanic, especially for a Celestial level MA style. I'd consider specifically outlawing this charm's use with Extra Action charms, I think it's potentially that unbalancing.
July 18 2005, 17:30:36 UTC 6 years ago
Well, there is the independent actions bit from CMoS form, but that's a whole other separate bit. And definitely far more powerful than a Celestial level MA should allow.
July 19 2005, 17:09:33 UTC 6 years ago
Actually, Dreaming Pearl Courtesan does. I also realise that that style is terrible and not a good mechanical precedent!
Anyway, I'm convinced that the Charm's Extra Action combo use is too cheap by a mote or two, and I agree that it would be unpleasant to use the Charm unless you have access to a diceroller program of one kind or another. I'm not particularly convinced that a Charm you need to Combo with another martial art's EA to get its full benefit (resultantly, you are spending at least 1 Willpower and ~5+2x motes) is broken.
July 17 2005, 11:49:24 UTC 6 years ago
Dire Guise: Consider the Sidereal options for this Charm: Dire Guise, consuming a Charm use and costing 2m a pop, or Optimistic Security Practice, persistently for 5 motes with a soak boost to boot! It really sucks having to use Combos all the time for your main defensive strategy.
Vermillion Spider Form: I rather prefer the simple mechanic of scattering a small number of motes to the more math-heavy strategies you suggest. It might be useful to note that this ability, and several others, are balanced assuming that all the characters involved in a fight get at least a +1 stunt each turn except under severe circumstances, and frequently get +2 stunts. If this isn't the case in your game, these powers are too strong and you should balance accordingly!
Damask Heart Lash: You've caught me in a typo, this should only work with unarmed MA attacks. Again see comments on the balance of mote-manipulations.
Ruination of Blood: Fully dependent on your ability to succeed without it!
"This is adds way too much to their arsenal."
Well, duh, if this is the only Celestial style that you have in the environment that is specifically designed to interlock with a Sidereal style, then the combatants using it will obviously be advantaged over those that aren't using specifically synergistic styles. That's hardly an interesting observation. If you want this to feel balanced in a game with SMA, then every SMA must have one of these.
July 17 2005, 12:50:30 UTC 6 years ago
Vermillion Spider Form: This is a theme, not a balance, issue. Abyssals are the big mote stealers. If this was an Abyssal MA form? This would be a pretty cool form. For Solars/Sidereals as you suggest being the targets? I don't feel it fits. I like the following mechanic better:
"Target, when struck, finds it more difficult to channel essence. All charms now cost (Attacker's Perm. Essence - Target's Perm. Essence, minimum 2) more motes to use. In the event of a combo, this applies to every charm in the combo."
It keeps more with the Sidereal theme of manipulating Essence rather than stealing it and also applies their difficulty altering skills.
Damask Heart Lash: It's still too powerful. It's not hard to get a pretty high dice pool/damage pool. One hit could basically completely cripple a foe. Example time!
I'm Mr. Combat Solar. I have Str 5, Dex 5, MA 5, Spec. 3, Fists (+1 Acc). I'm up against Mr. Uber-Soak Charm Exalt who basically can soak pretty much anything with his charms and laugh in your face.
I combo it with Leaping Tiger Attack (3 motes, 1 WP). I attack with a 2 dice stunt. That gives me 16 dice to hit with. I roll 7 successes (not unreasonable). Mr. Lunar laughs and activates some crazy soak charm, but I use this on him instead. My damage is (Str + 7)x 2, so 24 dice. He's now down, with no way to block it, 48 motes. 48 motes, and that's without dice-adders. It cost me 7 motes and a WP, plus I get to likely regain all those motes back AND the WP from the stunt. It cost me nothing to drop that guy down 48 motes.
Ruination of Blood: True. I just think it really needs a higher cost for what it does. At least a WP and a couple motes.
2nd Initiation Effect Set: Since we're talking SMA power level here, let's take a look at it this way. CMOS is a game-breaking charm. It lets you make multiple independent, splittable actions. This lets you use 3 charms in a turn. This would let you use what, 4? And a simple charm possible 3 times from this style (since the wording '1 charm from a style' is pretty vague). Or would this override CMOS' ability to let you make 3 charm actions in a turn, which wouldn't make sense due to it being a lower style.
Also, I'm going to have to disagree with you on your opinion of using combos for defense in Exalted. That's a huge part of the strategy in coming up with combos for your character. Taking that away, in my opinion, takes a ton of the strategy out of Exalted. Only one Exalted type doesn't need defensive combos (mostly), and that's the DBs, who have really weak charms on the whole.
July 18 2005, 00:38:47 UTC 6 years ago
July 18 2005, 05:38:35 UTC 6 years ago