Difference between revisions of "MartialArts/UnderworldFinial"

From Exalted - Unofficial Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
m (link fix)
m (Underworld Finial Style)
 
(9 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
== Fourteenth Deathlord Style ==
+
== Underworld Finial Style ==
  
* by [[Wings]].
+
<br />
 +
* by [[User:Daneel_Rush]].
 
* back to [[MartialArts]].
 
* back to [[MartialArts]].
 
* back to [[CelestialMartialArts]].
 
* back to [[CelestialMartialArts]].
  
<b>Note:</b> some of the following is heavily based on the events of the campaign in which this style was conceived. Please bear with it. Despite how unbalanced it might or might not be (it was our first attempt at custom Charms), the development of this style was a very important (and emotionally rewarding) part of our campaign. That, beyond the usefulness or crapiness of the style, is what really mattered.
 
  
=== Background ===
+
The history of this style harks back to the time immediately following the Primordial War, and to the life of one Walker at Sunrise, an Endings Caste Sidereal of no little prowess. He had fought at the frontlines, and it was he who reported to the other Sidereals that Malfeas had been felled. He had guided many Exalts during the war, evaluating their strategies and developing techniques for the Solars to strike at the transcendent Primordials. Among those, the Dawn Caste Solar called Wings Spanning Creation was by far the dearest to him. He cherished her dearly and spent more time with her than even her Lunar mate. So, he grieved terribly when she died, right after the end of the war, from a wound inflicted by the Holy Tyrant which forever refused to heal.
  
<i>I left a realm of nothingness, of sadness, death and deception. I saw the world outside the realm of madness, and I found joy. I met someone who saw the heart beyond the darkness, and I learned how to love. But the pull of the darkness was strong, and I knew my joy wouldn’t last forever……unless I took action. I let myself fall deeper and deeper within the darkness I had rejected for so long. I ignored the please of my friends and the tears of the person I loved the most. But I didn’t let Oblivion claim me, for I had seen the world outside the realm of madness, and I wished to see it again. And there would be no force in this Universe, not even the Void, that could stop me from doing just that.</i>
+
Listening to word of a bleak reproduction of Creation in which the higher souls of the regretful and the stubborn lingered in a pale imitation of life, Walker traveled to the Underworld in the hopes of finding his Solar beloved and beg forgiveness for his inability to save her. Indeed, he found her, and even if her smile was not as radiant in death, he still fell in love with her all over again. So, Walker swore loyalty to the ghost of his dearest, even above his duties as a Vizier, and the two roamed the Underworld together, challenging its spiteful storms and eradicating the many foul monstrosities that roamed its vast and lawless wastes. They joined the first crusade towards the center of the Underworld, and they were present when the decision was made to build a fortress against Oblivion. It was in the first building of what would become Stygia where Wings Spanning Creation accepted the call of Lethe, leaving her dear sifu and companion alone once more, but this time with a purpose.
  
The path to redemption is challenging, demanding and as varied as snowflakes. There’s no single way for a deathknight to return to the light of the Unconquered Sun. Whatever path is taken, it will be difficult: a test of mind, body and the very core of the Exalt’s soul.
+
While the crusade’s war leaders looked at building impenetrable walls and structure to ward off hekatonkhires and other abominations from the Labyrinth, Walker looked towards the sky. He studied both the violent weather of the Underworld and the original design of the megalopolis of the dead. He fearlessly submerged himself within the dark thunderstorms raging above the great citadel and listened to the hateful whispers of the vanquished Malfeans, and from their horrific words he understood what Stygia had to become if it was to survive. And when he presented himself to the first of the Dual Monarchy with his idea, they listened, and thousands of the dead and the living gathered to assist him.
  
There are many unknown paths to redemption, and the Fourteenth Deathlord Style is one of them. Conceived by the now-Dawn Caste Blazing White Sparrow (formerly known as the Shoat of the Mire), the principle behind this style is that, before reaching the light of redemption, the deathknight must first travel to the darkest pits of her own tainted soul and unveil the secrets of corrupted power hidden within the whispers of the Neverborn. To catch the eye of the Unconquered Sun, the Abyssal seeking redemption must prove her unfaltering intent, by taking the greatest risk: challenging Oblivion itself. At that point, there are only two possible outcomes: reaching the Unconquered Sun and forever leaving the eternal darkness, cleansing her soul and her tainted Exaltation; or the consuming embrace of Oblivion and unavoidable destruction.
+
At the very center of the city, Walker started performing his katas. And in unison, thousands of geomancers, sorcerers, astrologists and petty laborers worked hard on raising a city that would tame the hatred and the spite of the Malfeans. Stygia had already established itself as the bulwark against Oblivion, but it in that moment when it truly became worthy of that title. Buildings were raised, and their construction itself was as work of art as their architecture, for the thousands of laborers were an orchestra and Walker at Sunrise its director. For his katas carried the instructions on what to build, where to build and how to build geomantically and auspiciously proper structures that would siphon the fell energies of the Underworld’s storms into the Labyrinth without leaving swaths of destruction behind. So thousands toiled, like extensions of Walker’s hands, feet and fingers, while he performed his circle dance around the Mouth of the Void. And from the four directions of the Underworld’s compass, a hundred times that many people directed their prayers towards the city, and Walker gathered those prayers as well and embedded them into the city’s walls, where they would educate Stygia itself on how to fulfill the role it was meant form. And the city learned, and the city sang a requiem when, after a century of unceasing work, Walker at Sunrise passed away on the spot, for what purpose could he find after completing his magnum opus?
  
=== Weapons and Armor ===
+
This Celestial Martial Arts style was born from records of his life and deeds written by the ghosts of forty-four Solar and Sidereal martial artists who witnessed Walker’s work, for could not pass into Lethe before leaving behind testimony of this act of greatness. After the Usurpation, the living Exalts who joined the second great crusade to save Stygia found these records, and the Underworld Finial Style was born of their attempts at reproducing them. It emphasizes the concepts of redirection (in the city’s aspect as a finial), enduring (in the city’s aspect as a bastion against the wilderness of the Underworld) and gathering (in the city’s aspect as a collector of the Underworld’s prayers).
  
Fourteenth Deathlord Style is a Celestial Martial Art that treats knives and short swords (and by extension, short daiklaves) as unarmed attacks for the purposes of its Charms, representing the perfect and deadly symmetry of Oblivion and the many sides of existence beyond Creation: Heaven and the Underworld.
+
But what of [[MartialArts/AmaranthineFinialsofStygiaStyle|Amaranthine Finials of the Grand Necropolis]], the Sidereal style with which Walker at Sunrise educated Stygia into its role at the center of the Underworld? That remains to be rediscovered, for no amount of written descriptions can teach their readers of the terrible, blasphemous things that were the lightning storms of the timeless Underworld, nor of the dreadful words of hate and spite and longing the Neverborn whispered in their howling winds. Perhaps the current incarnation of its designer could reconceptualize the style from vestiges of memories of his former life.
  
<b>Note:</b> this style can only be learned by Abyssal Exalted. While the wish for redemption is not a prerequisite to learn this style, those who dare stare at the Eyes of the Void without the will to return to the Unconquered Sun are destroyed for their insolence. In other words, Abyssals who learn this style and do not wish to become Solars can never learn any of the Charms following <i>Fourteenth Deathlord Form</i>. Redeemed Abyssals-turned-Solars can still use every Charm of this style except for <i>Through the Eyes of the Void</i>.
 
  
 +
<b>Weapons and Armor:</b> Disciples of this martial arts style are proficient with swords and spears (and their artifact equivalents) and Charms of in the Underworld Finial Style treat attacks made with these weapons as unarmed attacks. This style is compatible with light armor.
 +
 +
<b>Complementary Traits:</b> Underworld Finial Style is strongly connected to the Virtues of Compassion and Temperance, and students of this style must choose one of them as his “driving Virtue” when beginning his martial studies. The character’s rating in the driving Virtue must be at least 3 and cannot ever drop below this number. Should it ever do so, the Charms of this style become unusable until the Virtue rating is restored above the threshold.
 +
 +
<br />
 
=== Charms ===
 
=== Charms ===
  
<b><i>SEVEN DIVINE COUNSELORS REVERIE</b></i>
+
<br />
<b>Cost:</b> None
+
<B><I>Bitterness-Weathering Spirit</I></B>
<b>Duration:</b> Permanent
+
:<B>Cost:</B> 2 motes
<b>Type:</b> Special
+
:<B>Duration:</B> Instant
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 2
+
:<B>Type:</B> Reflexive
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 2
+
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 2
<b>Prereqs:</b> None
+
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 2
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> None
 +
 
 +
Towards the baleful storms of the Underworld, the finial feels only pity. She accepts the violent Malfean hatred when it strikes her, for it will never make her sway. The martial artist adds her driving Virtue to her lethal soak against an environmental hazard, and she will never be knocked off her feet by the harmful effect, no matter how much damage she takes after soak.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
<B><I>Fortress-Against-Oblivion Kata</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 1 mote per 1L/2B soak
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> One scene
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Simple
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 2
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Bitterness-Weathering Spirit
 +
 
 +
Even if the dire Underworld and its most horrendous inhabitants lash at its walls and ravage its structures, the foundation of the necropolis endures, and will do so until the end of time. After crossing her arms before her chest while gathering her Essence and animatedly sweeping them to her sides, the Exalt’s body gains the endurance of the Underworld megalopolis, adding 1L/2B to her soak for every mote committed to the Charm. The character cannot commit more motes than twice her driving Virtue. This bonus is counted as natural soak.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
<B><I>Stygian Lightning Rod Technique</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 1 mote
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> Instant
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Reflexive
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 2
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Bitterness-Weathering Spirit
 +
 
 +
The finial protects. It is her duty to endure the calamities that would otherwise inflict harm on many others. With this Charm, the finial redirects an attack aimed at somebody else towards herself. The attack is effectively changed as if it has been originally aimed at the finial in the first place, and all bonuses and penalties are adjusted accordingly.
 +
 
 +
For the purpose of this Charm, the original target of the attack must be within the martial artist’s melee range, but she may still move up to half of (Dexterity + 12) yards to reach someone, if she has not moved yet in that turn.
  
<i>I prayed for those who knew the horrible truth and paid for it, and they replied to my prayers with their blessings......</i>
 
  
The character inherits the wisdom and insight of the fallen Seven Divine Counselors of Stygia, and their infinite knowledge of the secrets of the darkness and those who dwell within. The character adds her Intelligence to all Martial Arts attack, parry and damage rolls against creatures from the Underworld and Malfeas. She only adds half her Intelligence (rounded down, minimum 1) against creatures from Creation. This bonus is not considered to be a Charm bonus. There is no cost to use this Charm - learning it permanently enhances the Exalt's capabilities.
+
<B><I>Underworld Finial Form</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 6 motes
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> One scene
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Simple
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 4
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Fortress-Against-Oblivion Kata, Stygian Lightning Rod Technique
  
<b><i>MINUET OF SHADOWLANDS MADNESS</b></i>
+
The martial artist assumes an austere, upright stance, both her weapon and her chin held high, and her eyes studying the battlefield like a seasoned general. He is a lightning rod, accepting all punishment and never succumbing to it. He is Stygia, a sinkhole for all the malign forces suffusing the Underworld, but what a proud sinkhole it is.
<b>Cost:</b> 3 motes + 1 mote/turn
 
<b>Duration:</b> One scene
 
<b>Type:</b> Reflexive
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 2
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 2
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Seven Divine Counselors Reverie
 
  
<i>I saw the children with inflated bellies, the lands where no plants would grown and the animals would die, and I felt nothing......</i>
+
The finial adds her Martial Arts score to her bashing and lethal soak, her Essence score to her aggravated soak, and she may soak lethal damage with her full Stamina score. Furthermore, whenever she channels her driving Virtue to enhance an unarmed Martial Arts parry, she may also add the chosen Virtue’s rating to her soak against that same attack. If the martial artist is defending himself against one of the undead or against a servant of the Malfeans, the driving Virtue dice become automatic successes and the bonus to soak doubles.
  
The mere touch of the character is as glancing at the infinite bleakness of the shadowlands, a sight that draws lesser wills to madness, a madness that makes the poor victim clay in the Exalt's hands. This Charm can only be activated after successfully hitting an opponent. Once this Charm is active, for the rest of the scene, the character adds her permanent Essence to her Martial Arts attacks, as well as all parries and dodges against that particular opponent, for a number of turns equal to the number of motes spent beyond 3.  In addition, those spent motes also add +1L/+2B per mote to her soak against all attacks, for the same number of turns. This is a natural soak. The character may not spend more motes for the Charm’s duration than her Martial Arts.
+
Finally, this form Charm allows the martial artist to parry lethal attacks while barehanded without a stunt.
  
<b><i>HOWLING LAMENT OF THE FORGED SOULS</b></i>
 
<b>Cost:</b> 6 motes + 2 motes/extra die
 
<b>Duration:</b> One scene
 
<b>Type:</b> Reflexive
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 3
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 2
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Minuet of Shadowlands Madness
 
  
<i>I looked at my daiklave and heard the moans of anguish of the souls used to forge it, and I felt nothing......</i>
+
<B><I>Necropolitan Nexus of (Virtue)</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> None
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> Permanent
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Special
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 4
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Underworld Finial Form
  
The character's anima draws upon the power of the souls of the slain, creating a cacophony of disturbing howls and grotesque shapes. Once having activated this Charm, the player rolls the character's Essence each time the character successfully deals at least one point of damage (of any kind) to an opponent. Each success indicates a number of motes of Essence equal to half her permanent Essence (rounded up) that the character drains from the opponent and claims for herself. The player may choose to expend extra motes when activating this Charm to gain extra dice, at the cost of 2 motes per die. The maximum number of extra dice that can be gained equals the character’s Martial Arts. Creatures drained by the Exalt are utterly perturbed by the effect, and on each subsequent turn they must make Willpower rolls (difficulty equals the Exalt's Manipulation score) or take a penalty on all actions to attack the Exalt or defend against her attacks equal to half the Exalt's permanent Essence (rounded up) for the rest of the scene. Soulsteel weapons drain Essence as normal when used in conjunction with this Charm.
+
Every day that passes fuels the morale of the citizens of Stygia, for the city remains unbroken by the cruel and hateful world that wishes for its end. This Charm permanently enhances Underworld Finial Form. While a character with this Charm has Underworld Finial Form active, she recovers a channel of her driving Virtue every time she successfully soaks an attack down to its minimum damage and furthermore does not take any health levels of damage after the final roll. Also, she automatically adds her driving Virtue in dice to all prayer rolls she makes while the form is active.
  
<b><i>PAIN OF UNAVOIDABLE FAILURE</b></i>
+
The Charm takes its name from the finial’s driving Virtue, so some might learn it as Necropolitan Nexus of Compassion and others as Necropolitan Nexus of Temperance.
<b>Cost:</b> 7 motes
 
<b>Duration:</b> Instant
 
<b>Type:</b> Supplemental
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 3
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 2
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Minuet of Shadowlands Madness
 
  
<i>I witnessed acts of unparalleled treachery and hatred, and saw countless souls consumed by their own folly, and I felt nothing......</i>
 
  
The character infuses his hands with Essence, which twists and weaves as it shapes the certain demise of its opponent. The character's unarmed attack deals lethal damage and adds her permanent Essence to her raw damage. In addition, if the opponent attempts to dodge or parry the attack and fails, the number of failures in the defensive roll becomes additional damage dice.
+
<B><I>Imperturbable Storm Terminal Stance</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 3 motes
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> Instant
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Reflexive
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 5
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Necropolitan Nexus of Virtue
  
<b><i>MOUSE IN THE LABYRINTH TECHNIQUE</b></i>
+
No matter where they come from, Stygia meets and resists the hateful hammering of the servants of Oblivion. Even when they pour out of the Mouth of the Void and lash at the Grand Necropolis from within, the city is ready to defend itself.
<b>Cost:</b> 8 motes
 
<b>Duration:</b> One scene
 
<b>Type:</b> Supplemental
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 3
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 2
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Minuet of Shadowlands Madness
 
  
<i>I saw hordes of mindless slaves throw away their very existences following empty promises of final relief, and I still felt nothing......</i>
+
The finial may invoke this Charm in response to an attack, immediately reducing the extra successes in the enemy’s attack roll by the character’s Essence + Martial Arts before applying soak. This Charm may reduce extra successes to zero, effectively reducing the attack’s effect to merely base damage (Strength + weapon bonus), and it explicitly works against attacks the character is not aware of—a lightning rod needs no warning to do its job properly. The finial may always channel her driving Virtue with this Charm to further decrease successes by her Virtue rating.
  
The character ties his Essence to the opponent's life-force, gaining a measure of control of its actions. The character's Manipulation is added to the attack roll. If the attack hits, the character adds her Manipulation score to her dodge and parry dice pools as well as her bashing and lethal soak to defend against attacks from that opponent, for the remainder of the scene. This bonus to soak is treated as armor in regards to soaking aggravated damage In addition, both 9s AND 10s count twice on every Martial Arts attack made against that target.
 
  
 +
<B><I>Internal Stygian Mint Defense</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 2 motes per 1L/2B, 1 Willpower, plus 1 Willpower per 1A
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> Instant
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Reflexive
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 5
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Underworld Finial Form
  
<b><i>FOURTEENTH DEATHLORD FORM</b></i>
+
The finial lessens the effect of an enemy attack by transmuting the Essence that fuels it into currency. This Charm can only be used in response to attacks powered by Essence, and it must be used after applying soak following injury but before rolling for damage. Each mote spent reduces the final roll by one dice of lethal damage or two dice of bashing damage. This Charm may also protect against aggravated damage: the finial must spend a point of Willpower to convert one dice of aggravated damage into lethal damage, and he may then spend two motes of Essence to reduce this damage as well. This Charm may reduce an attack to zero damage dice.
<b>Cost:</b> 7 motes
 
<b>Duration:</b> One scene
 
<b>Type:</b> Simple
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 4
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 2
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Howling Lament of the Forged Souls, Pain of Unavoidable Failure, Mouse in the Labyrinth Technique
 
  
<i>Then I heard the call of Oblivion, calling me, pulling me to its cold yet comforting embrace. Then I remembered.........and I screamed at the top of my lungs, even and my body, mind and soul were being torn apart: "It won't end like this!!!!"</i>
+
The character then rolls Intelligence + Larceny. She may replace Larceny with Lore or Bureaucracy if she has a Specialty in Economics or related. Each success turns two dice of reduced lethal or aggravated damage or four dice of reduced bashing damage into a one-dot bonus to her Resources level, which should be counted separately from her normal Resources Background score. Resources bonuses cannot stack beyond five dots, so successes beyond the fifth in the Intelligence + Larceny roll build a second “pool” of extra Resources until the tenth success, and so on. Naturally, no more successes in the roll can be transmuted than the number of damage dice reduced in the first place. Each pool of created Resources allows a single purchase at its level. Once the purchase is made, the entire pool is lost as the currency scatters into the local economy.
  
The Fourteenth Deahtlord Form represents the deathknight that dares to face Oblivion and deny it her soul. While she may now become an enemy of all the denizens of the Underworld, from the lowliest ghosts to the Malfeans themselves, she wields the might of her unrelenting soul and the hope of a new path ahead of her.
+
This Charm is particularly effective when used in the Underworld: successes in the Intelligence + Larceny roll transmute a single die of lethal or aggravated damage or two bashing damage dice into a dot of Resources. Note that success in the Larceny roll guarantees the authenticity and validity of the currency created by this Charm, which is always forged in the most common local coin.
  
The Exalt's unarmed attacks deal lethal damage, and she adds her permanent Essence score to attack rolls and her Martial Arts score to damage rolls. Each successful attack drains a number of motes of Essence from her target equal to the number of levels of damage inflicted or the target's permanent Essence, whichever is higher. The character can also choose to heal her own wounds instead of regaining motes of Essence, at the cost of two levels of bashing damage or one level of lethal damage per two levels of damage inflicted. If the target does not have an Essence pool, the character adds her permanent Essence in automatic after-soak damage successes in every attack.
 
  
This Charm is not compatible with armor. A character may only have a single Form-Type Charm active at one time.
+
<B><I>Sky-to-Labyrinth Syphoning Method</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 5 motes
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> Instant
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Reflexive
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 5
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Internal Stygian Mint Defense
  
<b><i>LOVER’S BREATH METHOD</b></i>
+
Transcending even the greatness of unfaltering Stygia, the finial in his wisdom learns to give a new purpose to the blows his body must bear with. This Charm may be activated after the Exalt applies his soak to an attack which has struck him, but before damage is finally rolled. The finial then reaches with either hand or weapon to touch a third party, effectively becoming a conduit for the blow she has received rather than its target.
<b>Cost:</b> 8 motes + 1 Willpower
 
<b>Duration:</b> Instant
 
<b>Type:</b> Supplemental
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 5
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 3
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Fourteenth Deathlord Form
 
  
<i>And the battle continued. The Void pulled me closer and I struggled to run away. Nothingess is strong, but there are stronger things. I know that know, as I see <b>their</b> smiling faces.</i>
+
The martial artist makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack against a person within range, which cannot be the original attacker. This attack, which is rather a simple attempt at establishing contact, inflicts no damage. Instead, each additional success in the attack roll transfers one die of the first attack’s post-soak damage dice to the touched target as undodgeable, unblockable dice of damage, which the target may only reduce with his natural soak. The finial may always channel her driving Virtue into this “attack”; if her target is an undead or a creature at the service of Oblivion, the Virtue dice become automatic successes.
  
The character, a step closer to the path of true redemption, learns how to shape the disrupting force of her lethal attacks into regenerative power for her exhausted body and soul. The player rolls Conviction. Successes become bonus dice for the character's attack roll. The attack deals lethal damage regardless of the weapon used. If the character successfully hits and deals damage, the damage dealt becomes restorative power. The character recovers two points of bashing damage per level of damage dealt, or one point of lethal damage per level of damage dealt, or one point of aggravated damage or temporary Willpower per two levels of damage dealt. This Charm can be used with Charms that add dice to attack and damage rolls but not with Charms that add automatic successes.
+
The finial does not have to roll any of the damage dice she transfers in this manner, and she cannot transfer more damage dice than she was meant to roll herself. Dice of bashing damage are transferred as bashing damage, lethal as lethal and aggravated as aggravated. If the target of the Charm’s damage dice redirection uses a perfect parry or dodge, this Charm fails and the martial artist has to roll damage normally. If the redirection target uses a perfect soak, neither the finial nor the target have to roll the transferred damage dice.
  
 +
This Charm is treated as a counterattack, meaning that it cannot be used in response to another counterattack, and the martial artist cannot use another counterattack Charm in response to the original attack.
  
<b><i>CONSUMING DECAY OF THE LABYRINTH</b></i>
 
<b>Cost:</b> 4 motes
 
<b>Duration:</b> Instant
 
<b>Type:</b> Simple
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 4
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 3
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Fourteenth Deathlord Form
 
  
<i>I ran through the Labyrinth for months, unaware of the many shadows and things of evil that stalked me. I ran unaware of them, for I was running away from the greatest of of all evils. And so, those who stalked me and tried to get me only ended up swallowed by the Void. But I still ran.</i>
+
<B><I>Breathe in the Past and Present</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 10 motes, 1 Willpower
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> Indefinite
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Simple
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 5
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Underworld Finial Form
  
The Exalt knows how to attune her anima with the very essence of the Underworld, turning it into a force of consumption and decay. The character makes a Martial Arts attack as normal, including the roll for damage. While the attack itself inflicts no damage, the target suffers two impairing effects. First, for every two levels of damage the attack would have otherwise dealt, the target takes a -1 penalty to all rolls. The penalty decreases by 1 with every subsequent turn. In addition, the character may reduce the victim's physical Attributes by a number equal to her Martial Arts score. The character freely chooses how this Attribute damage is dealt. The Attribute loss lasts for the rest of the scene, and it may negate the target's ability to use Charms with minimum Attribute requirements.
+
The martial artist stands with feet wide apart, takes a deep breath and raises her arms to the sky, tracing a large circle as she brings them down to the space between his knees. Her will reaches into the minds of many, and their passing thoughts fly in currents of invisible Essence towards the finial. The Exalt thus submerges herself in a sea of information made by the thoughts of every intelligent being within the character’s Essence x 100 yards, receiving a random passing thought of the Storyteller’s choice every turn. The martial artist may seek the thoughts of a specific person she knows within the Charm’s range, making a Perception + Investigation roll to which she adds her Martial Arts in extra dice. Note that this Charm does not allow its user the to dig out the memories and knowledge of others; it only reveals whatever they are thinking of at the moment.
  
Despite of the character's anima being visible or not, the use of this Charm has an immediate effect on her. Creatures around her; be they farm animals, pets, humans or gods, feel an unconscious repulsion towards the character, an inner certainty that there's something definitely wrong about her. She takes a penalty on all social rolls equal to her permanent Essence.
+
Essence-wielding beings possess an innate mental resistance that may prevent their thoughts from flying towards the finial’s inviting mind. Such beings may reflexively spend a point of Willpower and succeed in a Wits + Willpower roll at a difficulty of the finial’s Essence to protect their thoughts against this Charm. Beings with higher Essence than the finial are not affected by this Charm at all.
  
<b><i>VISION OF IMMEASURABLE MADNESS</b></i>
+
While this Charm has no effect within the Wyld, it is particularly effective in the Underworld, where the memories of the dead make the foundation for the pale realm’s substance. The finial adds her driving Virtue as extra successes to her Investigation rolls to seek the thoughts of a specific individual, as long as this target is no longer alive. For such entities, the difficulty of the Wits + Willpower roll to resist this Charm increases by the same amount (the finial’s driving Virtue), and Underworld dead (and undead) with higher Essence than the finial must also spend Willpower and succeed in the Wits + Willpower roll to protect their thoughts against this Charm.
<b>Cost:</b> 5 motes + 1 health level
 
<b>Duration:</b> One scene
 
<b>Type:</b> Simple
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 5
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 3
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Consuming Decay of the Labyrinth
 
  
<i>With every single step, a new truth dawned upon my mind. A truth I'd rather have never known, but a necessary truth nonetheless. I ran and ran, and my mind was flooded with revelations. I screamed and pushed the twisted words away, but that only made the awareness stronger. I ran and ran, but the end of all things was catching up to me.</i>
 
  
Swallowed by the twisted lore and revelations of death, decay and the end of all things, a deathknight seeking redemption must first walk the path of madness and hope to find the light of the path that leads back to the Unconquered Sun. For the remainder of the scene, the character's Intelligence becomes a penalty on all dice rolls except for damage rolls. However, the character can, for the duration of the scene, make two attacks every turn, as long as she uses her Martial Arts ability. She adds her permanent Essence to all damage rolls, and each blow does lethal damage even if the character is unarmed. If desired, a parry or a full dodge can replace one or two of the character's two normal actions, but the character cannot split any of these dice pools to obtain further multiple actions. Finally, the Exalt adds her Martial Arts score to her bashing and lethal soak for the rest of the scene.
+
<B><I>Underworld-as-Sifu Enlightenment</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 7 motes, 1 Willpower
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> Indefinite
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Reflexive
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 5
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 3
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Breathe in the Past and Present
  
<b><i>TAINT OF STYGIAN WATERS</b></i>
+
Drawing the wisps of released Essence towards herself, the finial may draw upon wisdom otherwise unassailable to her. This Charm may be invoked whenever the finial witnesses any action in which Essence was used. She must be aware of the use of Essence, and this Charm does not grant such awareness. With a beckoning kata, the finial draws upon the vestiges of flickering Essence dispersed during the event, and she gains knowledge and prowess from the Essence she absorbs.
<b>Cost:</b> 8 motes
 
<b>Duration:</b> Instant
 
<b>Type:</b> Reflexive
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 5
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 3
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Fourteenth Deathlord Form
 
  
<i>I ran past the gates of Stygia, I shunned civilization and ran through the vast plains of bleakness. But no matter where I went or how fast I moved, the whispers of the Neverborn always reached me. Then I understood. And I stopped.</i>
+
As long as motes remain committed to this Charm, and the witnessed action is one the finial could already perform herself, she gains a +3 specialty applicable to any rolls to perform the same action or resist or defend against that action when performed upon herself. If the action witnessed was one she cannot perform but could potentially perform with an expenditure of experience (such as witnessing a Charm she can learn and already fulfills the prerequisites for, or the use of a language she does not yet know), she may immediately pay experience points and gain that knowledge without need for training time. Even if she could not normally pay the necessary experience for whatever reason (not having enough experience points, not fulfilling all the prerequisites to learn a Charm), she can hold to that knowledge indefinitely by keeping the motes committed. Paying the necessary experience and fixing the knowledge in her mind immediately ends this Charm.
  
The character's anima resonates with the opponent's life-force, attuning her movements and actions to the other's thoughts and reactions. The opponent rolls Willpower (difficulty equals the character's Essence) before the player makes the attack roll. If the Willpower roll fails, the creature can't dodge or parry the incoming attack without using a perfect defense and, if the attack hits, the opponent's natural soak and half of its armor's soak are negated.
+
Even if the finial could not ever gain the ability to reproduce the action she has witnessed (a Charm she cannot ever learn, for example), she may still hold to the knowledge to give it to someone who may make use of it. She can thus teach things she cannot herself do, and the training time is reduce by a factor equal to her Essence. She must keep the motes committed to hold to that knowledge for the whole training period, and the Charm’s effect ends when the trainee(s) pay experience and claim the imparted knowledge as his own.
  
<b><i>THROUGH THE EYES OF THE VOID</b></i>
 
<b>Cost:</b> 1 Willpower + 2 motes/reaction
 
<b>Duration:</b> One scene
 
<b>Type:</b> Reflexive
 
<b>Min. Martial Arts:</b> 5
 
<b>Min. Essence:</b> 4
 
<b>Prereqs:</b> Lover’s Breath Method, Taint of Stygian Waters, Vision of Immeasurable Madness
 
  
<i>I turned, and looked at the Eyes of the Void. I saw the beginning and the end. I saw the past, the present and the future. And I saw nothingness. Everything is nothing. Nothing is everything. The paradox of unity and duality. I let the Void claim me......and I found the light.</i>
+
<B><I>The Deathless Amaranth Blossoms</I></B>
 +
:<B>Cost:</B> 10 motes, 2 Willpower
 +
:<B>Duration:</B> Instant
 +
:<B>Type:</B> Reflexive
 +
:<B>Minimum Martial Arts:</B> 5
 +
:<B>Minimum Essence:</B> 4
 +
:<B>Prerequisites:</B> Imperturbable Storm Terminal Stance, Sky-to-Labyrinth Syphoning Method, Underworld-as-Sifu Enlightenment
  
<i>Then I opened my eyes......and I smiled. I felt something.</i>
+
Stygia is a fortress against Oblivion and a lightning rod for the Underworld’s storms. It directs the foul energy released in those storms back into the Labyrinth. The martial artist who has achieved mastery of this style can do better, turning the very foul energies he opposes into a weapon against the forces of Oblivion. She invokes this Charm after she is struck by an hand-to-hand or ranged attack and applies her soak to it, but before damage is rolled. This is a perfect defense; the finial takes no damage whatsoever, and this Charm explicitly negates any other deleterious effects the character would have suffered due to being struck, aside from damage.
  
<i>......I felt happy.</i>
+
She then channels the energy fueling the enemy attack into an eruption of reddish purple Essence that engulfs any one enemy within range. This is resolved as an unblockable unarmed Martial Arts counterattack, using her full dice pool and adding the negated attack’s post-soak damage dice to the attack roll. This may increase the dice pool beyond the usual limit, but the finial may not add further dice to the attack roll with other Charms, not even in a Combo. Automatic dice or successes from effects already in place (such as scene-long Charms) still apply to this counterattack as normal. This attack always inflicts lethal damage, and it deals aggravated damage to the undead and to servants of the Neverborn.
  
The Void sees everything and consumes everything. Nothing can escape the cold embrace of Oblivion. The deathknight seeking redemption sees beyond that truth and fights against impossible odds. If she succeeds, she gains awareness second only to the most powerful gods. By spending a point of temporary Willpower, the character gains this supreme awareness. She cannot be surprised, and her eyes see dematerialized spirits as if they were corporeal. Stealth is almost impossible against her: she adds her permanent Essence to all Perception and Awareness rolls, as well as to her initiative. In combat, at the expense of two motes, she can respond to any incoming hand-to-hand attacks with a dodge, a parry, or a counterattack with her full dodge, parry and Martial Arts attack dice pools, even those she is unaware of. She can even parry and counter Melee weapons and attacks. If the character counters, the counterattack doesn’t mitigate the attack's effects in any way. Unlike most counterattack Charms, Through the Eyes of the Void CAN be used in response to other counterattack Charms.
+
== Metadata ==
 +
:Name: Underworld Finial Style
 +
:Author: [[User:Daneel_Rush|Daneel Rush]]
 +
:Description: A heavily defensive Celestial style connected to the founding of Stygia and its purpose as a bulwark against the Underworld and Oblivion.
 +
:Type: Celestial
 +
:Rules: E1
 +
:Form Weapons: Swords,Spears
 +
:Armor Allowed: Light
 +
:Shield Allowed: no
 +
:Essence Range: 2-4
 +
:MA Range: 2-5
 +
:Total Charms: 11
 +
:Forms: 1
 +
:Comboable Charms: 6
 +
:Reflexive Charms: 7
 +
:Persistent Charms: 5
  
  
=== Comments (aka Why this Style Sucks (or rules, who knows!?) ===
+
== Comments ==

Latest revision as of 19:32, 11 August 2013

Underworld Finial Style



The history of this style harks back to the time immediately following the Primordial War, and to the life of one Walker at Sunrise, an Endings Caste Sidereal of no little prowess. He had fought at the frontlines, and it was he who reported to the other Sidereals that Malfeas had been felled. He had guided many Exalts during the war, evaluating their strategies and developing techniques for the Solars to strike at the transcendent Primordials. Among those, the Dawn Caste Solar called Wings Spanning Creation was by far the dearest to him. He cherished her dearly and spent more time with her than even her Lunar mate. So, he grieved terribly when she died, right after the end of the war, from a wound inflicted by the Holy Tyrant which forever refused to heal.

Listening to word of a bleak reproduction of Creation in which the higher souls of the regretful and the stubborn lingered in a pale imitation of life, Walker traveled to the Underworld in the hopes of finding his Solar beloved and beg forgiveness for his inability to save her. Indeed, he found her, and even if her smile was not as radiant in death, he still fell in love with her all over again. So, Walker swore loyalty to the ghost of his dearest, even above his duties as a Vizier, and the two roamed the Underworld together, challenging its spiteful storms and eradicating the many foul monstrosities that roamed its vast and lawless wastes. They joined the first crusade towards the center of the Underworld, and they were present when the decision was made to build a fortress against Oblivion. It was in the first building of what would become Stygia where Wings Spanning Creation accepted the call of Lethe, leaving her dear sifu and companion alone once more, but this time with a purpose.

While the crusade’s war leaders looked at building impenetrable walls and structure to ward off hekatonkhires and other abominations from the Labyrinth, Walker looked towards the sky. He studied both the violent weather of the Underworld and the original design of the megalopolis of the dead. He fearlessly submerged himself within the dark thunderstorms raging above the great citadel and listened to the hateful whispers of the vanquished Malfeans, and from their horrific words he understood what Stygia had to become if it was to survive. And when he presented himself to the first of the Dual Monarchy with his idea, they listened, and thousands of the dead and the living gathered to assist him.

At the very center of the city, Walker started performing his katas. And in unison, thousands of geomancers, sorcerers, astrologists and petty laborers worked hard on raising a city that would tame the hatred and the spite of the Malfeans. Stygia had already established itself as the bulwark against Oblivion, but it in that moment when it truly became worthy of that title. Buildings were raised, and their construction itself was as work of art as their architecture, for the thousands of laborers were an orchestra and Walker at Sunrise its director. For his katas carried the instructions on what to build, where to build and how to build geomantically and auspiciously proper structures that would siphon the fell energies of the Underworld’s storms into the Labyrinth without leaving swaths of destruction behind. So thousands toiled, like extensions of Walker’s hands, feet and fingers, while he performed his circle dance around the Mouth of the Void. And from the four directions of the Underworld’s compass, a hundred times that many people directed their prayers towards the city, and Walker gathered those prayers as well and embedded them into the city’s walls, where they would educate Stygia itself on how to fulfill the role it was meant form. And the city learned, and the city sang a requiem when, after a century of unceasing work, Walker at Sunrise passed away on the spot, for what purpose could he find after completing his magnum opus?

This Celestial Martial Arts style was born from records of his life and deeds written by the ghosts of forty-four Solar and Sidereal martial artists who witnessed Walker’s work, for could not pass into Lethe before leaving behind testimony of this act of greatness. After the Usurpation, the living Exalts who joined the second great crusade to save Stygia found these records, and the Underworld Finial Style was born of their attempts at reproducing them. It emphasizes the concepts of redirection (in the city’s aspect as a finial), enduring (in the city’s aspect as a bastion against the wilderness of the Underworld) and gathering (in the city’s aspect as a collector of the Underworld’s prayers).

But what of Amaranthine Finials of the Grand Necropolis, the Sidereal style with which Walker at Sunrise educated Stygia into its role at the center of the Underworld? That remains to be rediscovered, for no amount of written descriptions can teach their readers of the terrible, blasphemous things that were the lightning storms of the timeless Underworld, nor of the dreadful words of hate and spite and longing the Neverborn whispered in their howling winds. Perhaps the current incarnation of its designer could reconceptualize the style from vestiges of memories of his former life.


Weapons and Armor: Disciples of this martial arts style are proficient with swords and spears (and their artifact equivalents) and Charms of in the Underworld Finial Style treat attacks made with these weapons as unarmed attacks. This style is compatible with light armor.

Complementary Traits: Underworld Finial Style is strongly connected to the Virtues of Compassion and Temperance, and students of this style must choose one of them as his “driving Virtue” when beginning his martial studies. The character’s rating in the driving Virtue must be at least 3 and cannot ever drop below this number. Should it ever do so, the Charms of this style become unusable until the Virtue rating is restored above the threshold.


Charms


Bitterness-Weathering Spirit

Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisites: None

Towards the baleful storms of the Underworld, the finial feels only pity. She accepts the violent Malfean hatred when it strikes her, for it will never make her sway. The martial artist adds her driving Virtue to her lethal soak against an environmental hazard, and she will never be knocked off her feet by the harmful effect, no matter how much damage she takes after soak.


Fortress-Against-Oblivion Kata

Cost: 1 mote per 1L/2B soak
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisites: Bitterness-Weathering Spirit

Even if the dire Underworld and its most horrendous inhabitants lash at its walls and ravage its structures, the foundation of the necropolis endures, and will do so until the end of time. After crossing her arms before her chest while gathering her Essence and animatedly sweeping them to her sides, the Exalt’s body gains the endurance of the Underworld megalopolis, adding 1L/2B to her soak for every mote committed to the Charm. The character cannot commit more motes than twice her driving Virtue. This bonus is counted as natural soak.


Stygian Lightning Rod Technique

Cost: 1 mote
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisites: Bitterness-Weathering Spirit

The finial protects. It is her duty to endure the calamities that would otherwise inflict harm on many others. With this Charm, the finial redirects an attack aimed at somebody else towards herself. The attack is effectively changed as if it has been originally aimed at the finial in the first place, and all bonuses and penalties are adjusted accordingly.

For the purpose of this Charm, the original target of the attack must be within the martial artist’s melee range, but she may still move up to half of (Dexterity + 12) yards to reach someone, if she has not moved yet in that turn.


Underworld Finial Form

Cost: 6 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Fortress-Against-Oblivion Kata, Stygian Lightning Rod Technique

The martial artist assumes an austere, upright stance, both her weapon and her chin held high, and her eyes studying the battlefield like a seasoned general. He is a lightning rod, accepting all punishment and never succumbing to it. He is Stygia, a sinkhole for all the malign forces suffusing the Underworld, but what a proud sinkhole it is.

The finial adds her Martial Arts score to her bashing and lethal soak, her Essence score to her aggravated soak, and she may soak lethal damage with her full Stamina score. Furthermore, whenever she channels her driving Virtue to enhance an unarmed Martial Arts parry, she may also add the chosen Virtue’s rating to her soak against that same attack. If the martial artist is defending himself against one of the undead or against a servant of the Malfeans, the driving Virtue dice become automatic successes and the bonus to soak doubles.

Finally, this form Charm allows the martial artist to parry lethal attacks while barehanded without a stunt.


Necropolitan Nexus of (Virtue)

Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Underworld Finial Form

Every day that passes fuels the morale of the citizens of Stygia, for the city remains unbroken by the cruel and hateful world that wishes for its end. This Charm permanently enhances Underworld Finial Form. While a character with this Charm has Underworld Finial Form active, she recovers a channel of her driving Virtue every time she successfully soaks an attack down to its minimum damage and furthermore does not take any health levels of damage after the final roll. Also, she automatically adds her driving Virtue in dice to all prayer rolls she makes while the form is active.

The Charm takes its name from the finial’s driving Virtue, so some might learn it as Necropolitan Nexus of Compassion and others as Necropolitan Nexus of Temperance.


Imperturbable Storm Terminal Stance

Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Necropolitan Nexus of Virtue

No matter where they come from, Stygia meets and resists the hateful hammering of the servants of Oblivion. Even when they pour out of the Mouth of the Void and lash at the Grand Necropolis from within, the city is ready to defend itself.

The finial may invoke this Charm in response to an attack, immediately reducing the extra successes in the enemy’s attack roll by the character’s Essence + Martial Arts before applying soak. This Charm may reduce extra successes to zero, effectively reducing the attack’s effect to merely base damage (Strength + weapon bonus), and it explicitly works against attacks the character is not aware of—a lightning rod needs no warning to do its job properly. The finial may always channel her driving Virtue with this Charm to further decrease successes by her Virtue rating.


Internal Stygian Mint Defense

Cost: 2 motes per 1L/2B, 1 Willpower, plus 1 Willpower per 1A
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Underworld Finial Form

The finial lessens the effect of an enemy attack by transmuting the Essence that fuels it into currency. This Charm can only be used in response to attacks powered by Essence, and it must be used after applying soak following injury but before rolling for damage. Each mote spent reduces the final roll by one dice of lethal damage or two dice of bashing damage. This Charm may also protect against aggravated damage: the finial must spend a point of Willpower to convert one dice of aggravated damage into lethal damage, and he may then spend two motes of Essence to reduce this damage as well. This Charm may reduce an attack to zero damage dice.

The character then rolls Intelligence + Larceny. She may replace Larceny with Lore or Bureaucracy if she has a Specialty in Economics or related. Each success turns two dice of reduced lethal or aggravated damage or four dice of reduced bashing damage into a one-dot bonus to her Resources level, which should be counted separately from her normal Resources Background score. Resources bonuses cannot stack beyond five dots, so successes beyond the fifth in the Intelligence + Larceny roll build a second “pool” of extra Resources until the tenth success, and so on. Naturally, no more successes in the roll can be transmuted than the number of damage dice reduced in the first place. Each pool of created Resources allows a single purchase at its level. Once the purchase is made, the entire pool is lost as the currency scatters into the local economy.

This Charm is particularly effective when used in the Underworld: successes in the Intelligence + Larceny roll transmute a single die of lethal or aggravated damage or two bashing damage dice into a dot of Resources. Note that success in the Larceny roll guarantees the authenticity and validity of the currency created by this Charm, which is always forged in the most common local coin.


Sky-to-Labyrinth Syphoning Method

Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Internal Stygian Mint Defense

Transcending even the greatness of unfaltering Stygia, the finial in his wisdom learns to give a new purpose to the blows his body must bear with. This Charm may be activated after the Exalt applies his soak to an attack which has struck him, but before damage is finally rolled. The finial then reaches with either hand or weapon to touch a third party, effectively becoming a conduit for the blow she has received rather than its target.

The martial artist makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack against a person within range, which cannot be the original attacker. This attack, which is rather a simple attempt at establishing contact, inflicts no damage. Instead, each additional success in the attack roll transfers one die of the first attack’s post-soak damage dice to the touched target as undodgeable, unblockable dice of damage, which the target may only reduce with his natural soak. The finial may always channel her driving Virtue into this “attack”; if her target is an undead or a creature at the service of Oblivion, the Virtue dice become automatic successes.

The finial does not have to roll any of the damage dice she transfers in this manner, and she cannot transfer more damage dice than she was meant to roll herself. Dice of bashing damage are transferred as bashing damage, lethal as lethal and aggravated as aggravated. If the target of the Charm’s damage dice redirection uses a perfect parry or dodge, this Charm fails and the martial artist has to roll damage normally. If the redirection target uses a perfect soak, neither the finial nor the target have to roll the transferred damage dice.

This Charm is treated as a counterattack, meaning that it cannot be used in response to another counterattack, and the martial artist cannot use another counterattack Charm in response to the original attack.


Breathe in the Past and Present

Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Indefinite
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Underworld Finial Form

The martial artist stands with feet wide apart, takes a deep breath and raises her arms to the sky, tracing a large circle as she brings them down to the space between his knees. Her will reaches into the minds of many, and their passing thoughts fly in currents of invisible Essence towards the finial. The Exalt thus submerges herself in a sea of information made by the thoughts of every intelligent being within the character’s Essence x 100 yards, receiving a random passing thought of the Storyteller’s choice every turn. The martial artist may seek the thoughts of a specific person she knows within the Charm’s range, making a Perception + Investigation roll to which she adds her Martial Arts in extra dice. Note that this Charm does not allow its user the to dig out the memories and knowledge of others; it only reveals whatever they are thinking of at the moment.

Essence-wielding beings possess an innate mental resistance that may prevent their thoughts from flying towards the finial’s inviting mind. Such beings may reflexively spend a point of Willpower and succeed in a Wits + Willpower roll at a difficulty of the finial’s Essence to protect their thoughts against this Charm. Beings with higher Essence than the finial are not affected by this Charm at all.

While this Charm has no effect within the Wyld, it is particularly effective in the Underworld, where the memories of the dead make the foundation for the pale realm’s substance. The finial adds her driving Virtue as extra successes to her Investigation rolls to seek the thoughts of a specific individual, as long as this target is no longer alive. For such entities, the difficulty of the Wits + Willpower roll to resist this Charm increases by the same amount (the finial’s driving Virtue), and Underworld dead (and undead) with higher Essence than the finial must also spend Willpower and succeed in the Wits + Willpower roll to protect their thoughts against this Charm.


Underworld-as-Sifu Enlightenment

Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Indefinite
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Breathe in the Past and Present

Drawing the wisps of released Essence towards herself, the finial may draw upon wisdom otherwise unassailable to her. This Charm may be invoked whenever the finial witnesses any action in which Essence was used. She must be aware of the use of Essence, and this Charm does not grant such awareness. With a beckoning kata, the finial draws upon the vestiges of flickering Essence dispersed during the event, and she gains knowledge and prowess from the Essence she absorbs.

As long as motes remain committed to this Charm, and the witnessed action is one the finial could already perform herself, she gains a +3 specialty applicable to any rolls to perform the same action or resist or defend against that action when performed upon herself. If the action witnessed was one she cannot perform but could potentially perform with an expenditure of experience (such as witnessing a Charm she can learn and already fulfills the prerequisites for, or the use of a language she does not yet know), she may immediately pay experience points and gain that knowledge without need for training time. Even if she could not normally pay the necessary experience for whatever reason (not having enough experience points, not fulfilling all the prerequisites to learn a Charm), she can hold to that knowledge indefinitely by keeping the motes committed. Paying the necessary experience and fixing the knowledge in her mind immediately ends this Charm.

Even if the finial could not ever gain the ability to reproduce the action she has witnessed (a Charm she cannot ever learn, for example), she may still hold to the knowledge to give it to someone who may make use of it. She can thus teach things she cannot herself do, and the training time is reduce by a factor equal to her Essence. She must keep the motes committed to hold to that knowledge for the whole training period, and the Charm’s effect ends when the trainee(s) pay experience and claim the imparted knowledge as his own.


The Deathless Amaranth Blossoms

Cost: 10 motes, 2 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisites: Imperturbable Storm Terminal Stance, Sky-to-Labyrinth Syphoning Method, Underworld-as-Sifu Enlightenment

Stygia is a fortress against Oblivion and a lightning rod for the Underworld’s storms. It directs the foul energy released in those storms back into the Labyrinth. The martial artist who has achieved mastery of this style can do better, turning the very foul energies he opposes into a weapon against the forces of Oblivion. She invokes this Charm after she is struck by an hand-to-hand or ranged attack and applies her soak to it, but before damage is rolled. This is a perfect defense; the finial takes no damage whatsoever, and this Charm explicitly negates any other deleterious effects the character would have suffered due to being struck, aside from damage.

She then channels the energy fueling the enemy attack into an eruption of reddish purple Essence that engulfs any one enemy within range. This is resolved as an unblockable unarmed Martial Arts counterattack, using her full dice pool and adding the negated attack’s post-soak damage dice to the attack roll. This may increase the dice pool beyond the usual limit, but the finial may not add further dice to the attack roll with other Charms, not even in a Combo. Automatic dice or successes from effects already in place (such as scene-long Charms) still apply to this counterattack as normal. This attack always inflicts lethal damage, and it deals aggravated damage to the undead and to servants of the Neverborn.

Metadata

Name: Underworld Finial Style
Author: Daneel Rush
Description: A heavily defensive Celestial style connected to the founding of Stygia and its purpose as a bulwark against the Underworld and Oblivion.
Type: Celestial
Rules: E1
Form Weapons: Swords,Spears
Armor Allowed: Light
Shield Allowed: no
Essence Range: 2-4
MA Range: 2-5
Total Charms: 11
Forms: 1
Comboable Charms: 6
Reflexive Charms: 7
Persistent Charms: 5


Comments