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Social Force

Lion Roar Method
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Indefinite
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Strength: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul's Strength
Using this Charm to expand his lungs and vocal cords, the Lunar can transform her normal voice into a formidable roar. Anything the Lunar says can be heard by anyone in (The Lunar's Essencex100 yards), and by those with acute hearing, twice that distance. The Lunar can use the Lion's Roar as a weapon by roaring at an individual within 10 yards as a Simple Action. The Target must make a Stamina+Endurance roll with a difficulty equal to his own Perception. If the target fails this roll, it loses a point of Perception and suffers dice of bashing damage equal to the Lunar's Stamina, minus his natural bashing soak. The dot of perception recovers after all the Bashing Damage is gone. This is a modification to the Lunar's vocal cords, and remains in effect for as long as the Lunar maintains the 5 motes committed.

Mind-Blanking Fear Technique
Cost: 6 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Strength: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul's Strength
The Lunar's force of personality is great, and when forcefully applied, may break the minds of his lessers. The Lunar alters something about him to be so terrible that he forces the mind of his opponents to deny anything just seen, their memories muddled by a vague, yet overwhelming recollection of utter fear. The Lunar rolls Strength+Presence, with a difficulty equal to the victim's Essence. Every success erases one minute from his victim's mind. This Charm may only be employed against an individual, and only affects victims whose permanent Essence is less than the Lunar's.

Terrifying Lunar Truth
Cost: 6 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Strength: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Mind-Blanking Fear Technique, Overwhelming Lunar Strength
Some are perceptive enough to witness a Lunar's Tell. They pierce the veil of the Lunar's illusion and shapeshifting and see the anchor of their True Soul... but powerful Lunars know how to silence those with their might. The Lunar's Tell becomes the discovery of something terrible, and the Lunar's murderous gaze is enough to ensure the silence of any creature. When an opponent notices her Tell, the Lunar may activate this Charm and roll her Strength+Essence in a constested roll against the opponent's Willpower. If the Lunar wins, the opponent will not tell anyone of her Tell. He may only watch the Lunar in dread needing to succeed in a Valor roll at difficulty 2 to initiate any physical action against the Lunar, and having a hard time resisting the Lunar's intimidation attempts. The opponent makes a new Valor roll every dawn, and when he achieves as many successes as the Lunar's success margin on the contest, he is free from the effects of this Charm, able to tell anyone about the Lunar's Tell. A botch makes the effects last for a Lunar month.

Courage-Enforcing Presence
Cost: 3 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Charisma: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Charisma of the Moon-Kissed
The Lunar shifts his shape and behavior into a solid bullwark, a presence that steadies everyone around him with the knowledge that they have a great alpha on their side. While the Lunar mantains this Charm, all those who can perceive him and work together with him receive one extra dice to all Valor-related rolls - be it withstanding fear or resisting the temptation to rush out into a duel.

Glorious Silver Hero
Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Charisma: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Lion's Roar Method, Courage-Enforcing Presence.
The Lunar shifts his shape into a glorious thing, brimming with the greatness of the Moon, a thing of glory that inspires all those who see it, able to direct a battle with ease. The Lunar receives an extra dot to all of his Social Attributes while this Charm is in effect, and it counts as natural for all purposes. Furthermore, his commands are clearly audible to all his troops within (Essence x100) yards, and all those in the Lunar's side who can perceive the hero are immune to all external effects that would reduce their Willpower or Valor, and cannot fail Valor checks. Finally, all enemy troops who can perceive the Hero increase by 1 the difficulty of resisting intimidation or demoralization.

Tactics

Wind-Speaking Method
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Charisma: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul's Charisma
The Lunar asks a favor to the wind, that helps carry his messages to his allies. Upon activating this Charm, the Lunar whispers a few words(His Essence scorex5 words maximum) and names a recipient. The Lunar rolls Charisma+Linguistics then, each success allowing the message to travel to one mile. The target must be known to the Lunar, and is the only one that can hear the message.

River of Words
Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Charisma: 3
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Wind-Speaking Method
A more complex version of Wind-Speaking Method, the Lunar may send messages with a length of (Her Essencex10) to a number of recipients equal to her Charisma. This transmission may cross Creation from Pole to Pole, but it takes time to do so; It takes one hour for the message to move through 500 miles. No roll is required.

Cornered Beast Instinct
Cost: 8 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Intelligence: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul's Intelligence
To survive, the beast understands its predators. When cornered, it knows where they are coming from, and what tactics they use. With this insight, the Lunar is able to guess the tactics and numbers of all those that act against her! When the Lunar perceives a group acting as her opponents, she may activate this Charm - she then knows their numbers, and position anywhere in the Lunar's Intelligence x 50 yards. This is a static picture that the Lunar receives at the moment this Charm is used - it may be used multiple times to keep track of the enemy's movements. Despite its cognitive nature, the Lunar may not get any information on opponents cloaked by magic, that is, any Charm that renders the target immune to astrology, divination, or wordly senses, or any charm-enhanced stealth that scored more successes than the Lunar's Intelligence.

Strength-Measuring Instinct
Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Minimum Intelligence: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Cornered Beast Instinct
Some beasts not only know where their opponents are, but from minute changes all around, know exactly what they face! This Charm Enhances 'Cornered Beast Instinct', by telling the Lunar the overall strength of his foes, and their vague type. She will know what sort of creatures she faces, but may get only vague hints if she knows not what they are. A Lunar facing the forces of the dead may be oblivious as to what an Hekatonkire is, but this Charm will tell her the Abyssal in her doorstep has brought a powerhouse.

Indolent Owl did not want to be disturbed. He wasn't even aware there was a wolrd outside of his pipe when Ruby called for his attention. Said she felt something. People, coming around. With lazy motions, Indolent Owl looked past the windows of his Manse, and saw them. A group of people with large cloaks and wide hats.

The Red Jade Daiklave showing out of the cloaks gave them away. Wyld Hunt.
Killjoys, you kill an spirit and take his Manse, and it doesn't even take long until...

Idolent Owl turned around, and faced Ruby. "There's ten or so of them, some more hiding in the Woods. Three 'Blooded, least one Immaculate. There's ... something, there. Celestial Exalted like us, I guess, but not... not a Solar either, I don't think. But powerful. Go to the second floor, Ruby - a 'Blooded is coming from behind and above with an infiltration team. Bastard's want to knife our back while we worry 'bout the guys in front. Go give them a warm welcome."

She stared "How do you know that?"

"It's what I'd do." He shrugged, letting his wings out, sharpening the feathers.

Indolent Owl was far too tired and far too stoned to be nice.

Managing Herds of Prey Technique
Cost: 9 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Intelligence: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Cornered Beast Instinct
By looking at a map of a region, or seeing an army in the horizon, the Lunar may extend the abilities of Cornered Beast Instinct to larger groups, to understand the movements, prowess and tactics of armies. The Lunar must watch the army or the map for a number of hours equal to (10 - The Lunar's Intelligence). At the end of this period, the Lunar has an accurate picture of the enemy's forces, their overall strength, and their position. The Lunar may not know of their overall strength through a map, however, but he will know how the enemy forces intend to use the terrain.

Instant Battle Assessment Prana
Cost: 6 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Intelligence: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Managing Herds of Prey Technique, River of Words
By noticing signs in the middle of a battle - smoke, screams, cries, shifts on the landscape - the Lunar is able to draw an accurate portrait of how the whole battle is going. The Lunar rolls Intelligence+Awareness - one success gives a vague idea, three successes gives a good image of how things are going with each major group, five successes give an accurate image of all the groups, and what each major individual player might be doing, and ten successes allows the Lunar to guess the specific steps of the major foes, and even duels happening amidst the conflict. Although this 'picture' of the battle is frozen on the moment the assessment was made and the Lunar has no idea how the battle goes on later turns, the tactical edge he gains from his Charm should have a significant effect on the success of his army. It is possible that Instant Battle Assessment Prana can also backfire on the Lunar, who can find himself relying on utterly outdated information if the tide of the battle changes drastically enough.

Crystal-Clear Tactician's Mind
Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Intelligence: 6
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms: Instant Battle Assesment Prana
The tactician has his mind keen on the battle, aware of his opponent's moves at all times! The Crystal-Clear Tactician's Mind gives the Lunar the benefit of 5 successes in Instant Battle Assesment Prana, at all times - every minute shift in the battlefield is noticed by the Lunar, who adapts his picture of the battle to the new data! Few can win against a strategist who knows the battle so well, able to coordinate troops for minute shifts on a moment's notice!

Peon-and-King Maneuver
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Special
Type: Simple
Minimum Intelligence: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Cornered Beast Instinct
Sometimes, it is nessessary to sacrifice one of your pieces to get ahead on the game. Sometimes, it is nessessary to show one of your own as a wounded, lone animal while the rest wait to ambush the predator. The Half Moons know those stratagems, and use them as they are nessessary. With this Charm, the Lunar names a goal, and a number of key players equal to his Intelligence. The Lunar meditates on this goal for a number of hours(10 - the Lunar's Intelligence). The Lunar then rolls her Intelligence, and every success gives her a pool of successes equal to her Essence. At any point during the plan, the Lunar may spend the points in the pool to convert dice into automatic successes for any of those involved, both the Lunar or any of her assossiates.

However, at one point, the Lunar or another one of his assossiates will suffer an horrible botch. The Storyteller tells the Lunar when in advance(The Storyteller and the Lunar's Player can work together for it, but it must be a noticeable problem), but nothing can be done to prevent it, just try to work around it. If the plan has changed overmuch over it, the Storyteller may point a new weak spot somewhere else. This Charm ends when the project ends, or becomes impossible to accomplish - changes do not affect the plan so much, as the Lunar's plans are protean and can work around eventualities. Only one strategy may be used for every goal.

Flowing Silver Stratagem
Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Special
Type: Simple
Minimum Intelligence: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Peon-and-King Maneuver
The perfection of the Half-Moon stratagies, the Lunar is able to name a goal, with any number of helpers, and after meditating on it for a number of days(10 - the Lunar's Intelligence) the Lunar rolls his Intelligence, receiving a pool of successes which may convert dice in automatic successes equal to her Essence for every success in the Intelligence roll. The dice in the pool may be used for the Lunar, or any of his assossiates. This Charm ends when the project ends, or becomes impossible to accomplish - changes do not affect the plan so much, as the Lunar's plans are protean and can work around eventualities. Only one strategy may be used for every goal.

Shifting Flows of Battle
Cost: 12 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Intelligence: 6
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms: Flowing Silver Stratagem, Crystal Clear Tactician's Method
The armies of the First Age were a magnificent thing indeed. The warriors of the Dawn Caste led armies, making them fearless, golden, their will everywhere, while they and the Full Moons leapt into battle, leading armies of Dragon-Blooded trained by the Chosen of Battles. And in the middle of those battles, it was the Half-Moon that devised the strategies those armies would use to go about their battles. With this Charm, the Lunar is able to craft those plans instantly, creating new ones on the spur of the moment to tip the balance of a battle - he makes the Intelligence roll as per Flowing Silver Stratagem, and its mechanics work the same, but there is no time to think - the Lunar simply *knows* how to devise the stratagem! This Charm ends when the stratagem ends, or becomes impossible to accomplish - changes do not affect the plan so much, as the Lunar's plans are protean and can work around eventualities. Only one strategy may be used for every goal.

Tactical Combat

Foe-Studying Meditation
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Intelligence: 3
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul's Intelligence
The Lunar sizes an opponent, knowing his strengths and weaknesses with a glance; From his posture, scent, movements and the essence flows in his body, the Lunar is able to draw incredible conclusions. The Lunar rolls Intelligence+Awareness, with a difficulty equal to the foe's Essence. Every success can tell the Lunar the foe's rating in one attribute, ability, virtue or willpower, reveal how many times the foe has taken Ox-Body technique, any other Permanent Charm, or reveal a Martial Arts Style.

Crystal Strike
Cost: 1 mote
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Intelligence: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Lunar stops to concentrate, and his mind becomes clear as a crystal, and just as perfect. His thoughts become light passing through its facets, and he knows exactly how to accomplish any task. By spending a dice action in contemplation before taking a physical action, the Lunar may add one specialty dice to his action that does not count against dice-adding limits, and may freely exchange his Intelligence for the physical attribute involved in the action.

Weakness-Exploiting Strike
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Intelligence: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Foe-Studying Meditation, Crystal Strike
Taking advantage of all the Lunar has learned with Foe-Studying Meditation, the Lunar lands a strike that exploits all of the foe's weaknesses! The Lunar attacks a foe against whom he used Foe-Studying Meditation and got at least one success, and activates this Charm - the Lunar converts a number of attack and damage dice into automatic successes equal to his Intelligence.

Pattern-Exploiting Rush
Cost: 1 mote
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Intelligence: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Foe-Studying Meditation
Taking advantage of all the Lunar has learned with Foe-Studying Meditation, the Lunar exploits his attack patterns to gain a fast tactical advantage! The Lunar who uses this Charm instantly wins initiative against a foe against whom he used Foe-Studying Meditation and got at least one success. If two characters use auto-win initiative effects, they roll for initiative normally.

Celestial Nemesis Meditation
Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Minimum Intelligence: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Weakness-Exploiting Strike, Pattern-Exploiting Rush
This Charm enhances Foe-Studying Meditation. When the Lunar uses Foe-Studying Meditation and gets at least one success, he may opt to spend 1 Experience Point with this Charm to commit the opponent's patterns to memory. Thereafter, the enemy has a penalty to all defenses against the Exalt equal to half the Exalt's Intelligence(rounded up), and the Lunar receives his Intelligence in bonus dice to all his defenses, which may create a pool from nothing - Defending against the learned patterns becomes so easy it requires no thought. The Lunar may also use his Intelligence in place of Dexterity for all actions taken against this enemy. This bonus is lost if the opponent increases or decreases his base traits, thus changing his combat dynamics.

Comments

Hey again, GoldenCat. I just can't get enough of this stuff. Anyway, I was wondering if there were more concrete mechanical results offered by all the charms in the Cornered Beast charm tree, actual effects on say, Mail and Steel combat. Or do you envision just a more player-driven approach, where its up to the player to come up with strategies based on the info, and the ST to make sure things go better? --UncleChu

Hmmm, the charms that allow you to convert successes on the plan give a concrete effect in play, don't they? And having the information is already great in most of them(it was going to be the Half-Moon anima to always be aware of the flows of battle until people told me it would be too cheap...). I have not read MnS in-depth, though, but they probably should give great benefits there. So, the latter, the ST makes sure things go better. If you use Mail and Steel, just assign some benefits to them^^;(Yes, I know this is a lazy answer) --GoldenCat

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