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Resplendent Earth Style

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Background

So, you're saying you put down your sword, and I put down my rock?

Training

Resplendent Earth Style teaches craft and focus through the carving of tiny, intricate stone sculptures. Students of this style often develop high scores in Craft (Earth) as well as their Martial Arts prowess. Physical training is conducted with rigorous hard forms and endlessly repeated punches and kicks. Blocking is not practiced much in this style. Students are, rather, encouraged to learn to take a hit.

Terrestrial Exalts may learn these as Melee charms if they wish, but they are Earth-Aspected charms even though Melee charms are normally Fire-Aspect.

Weapons and Armor

Any form of armor is allowed with this style. Form weapons are determined by the choice of each individual martial artist.

Complementary Abilities

Craft (Earth) •• is required to learn this style, and higher ratings are encouraged by the charm effects. Melee •• is also required, and many students find Melee charms a good supplement to this style. Resistance charms are useful in conjunction with the armor this style encourages using, but no Resistance is actually required.

Charms

Harmony of Steel

Cost: None
Minimums: Essence 2, MA 3
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None

Metal is of the Earth, and it makes for the best weapons. Steel, and in the best cases Jade-Steel, can be honed to a deadly edge or simply used for its weight and strength. Each variation of its use has unique qualities to be understood and used to advantage. In learning this charm, a character chooses to specialize in learning and harmonizing with a single type of melee weapon whose striking surface is made of metal. The weapon chosen for this charm (which may be learned only once by any given martial artist) becomes a form weapon for this style. When the final charm of this style is learned, the weapon chosen for this charm becomes a form weapon for all styles of martial arts for this Exalt.

Well-Honed Blade

Cost: 1m
Minimums: Essence 3, MA 4
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Harmony of Steel

Channeling the essence of Earth through his weapon, the Exalt is able to keep it in perfect condition. Using this charm once per day replaces any normal maintainance required to keep a weapon the Exalt owns well maintained. This charm can also fix such a weapon if it is broken, if all the pieces are gathered together. Furthermore, if the Exalt possesses 4 or 5 dots in Craft (Earth), special effects apply:

•••• - Weapons maintained this way have +1 Damage.
••••• - Instead of +1 Damage, increase the quality of the maintained weapon by one step. If the weapon is Perfect, add +1 to Accuracy and Defense. If the weapon is an artifact, instead reduce the commitment cost by 1 on any day this charm is used to maintain the weapon.

Finely Polished Hauberk

Cost: 1m
Minimums: Essence 3, MA 4
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Harmony of Steel

Similar to Well-Honed Blade, this charm maintains the Exalt's armor. Only armor which provides protection primarily through its metal portion may be maintained with this charm. With 4 or 5 dots of Craft (Earth), these are the special effects for days which the armor is maintained through this charm:

•••• - Increase the quality of the armor by one step. If it is Perfect or Artifact armor, reduce any mobility penalty by 1, minimum 0. If it is already 0, reduce Fatigue by 1, minimum 1. If Fatigue is already 1, add +1B/+1L soak.
••••• - In addition to the above effects, give the armor a Hardness rating of half its soak values. If it already has a Hardness rating, use the new rating, or the old rating +2, whichever is higher.

Resplendent Earth Form

Cost: 7m
Minimums: Essence 3, MA 5
Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-Type
Duration: Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Well-Honed Blade, Finely Polished Hauberk

In this form, Essence is constantly channeled through the Exalt's chosen armor and weapon. If neither are in use, the Exalt's own body serves as the medium instead, though it is less receptive to the Earth Essence than steel or jade-steel would be.

If armed: Double the Damage bonus of the weapon, and add +1 Accuracy, Defense, and Rate.

If unarmed: Add +1 Damage, Accuracy, Defense, and Rate to all unarmed attack modes. Unarmed attacks may deal Lethal damage, and unarmed parries may block Lethal and Ranged attacks without a stunt.

If armored: Increase the Soak and Hardness provided by the armor by half again its original value, and reduce Mobility penalty and Fatigue value by 1, minimum 0.

If un-armored: Soak Lethal and Aggravated damage with full Stamina value, and gain Hardness against all attacks equal to Stamina.

Blade of Dust

Cost: 1m
Minimums: Essence 3, MA 5
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Resplendent Earth Form

If any Earth-based substance is available to hand in an amount equal to the weight of the Exalt's chosen weapon, this charm will form it into a standard-quality version of that weapon. With Craft (Earth) ••••, this charm forms a Superior quality weapon. With ••••• in that ability, it forms a Perfect quality weapon.

Stone Mail

Cost: 1m
Minimums: Essence 3, MA 5
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Resplendent Earth Form

If any Earth-based substance is available to hand in an amount equal to the weight of any form of mundane armor the Exalt wishes to wear, this charm will form it into a standard-quality version of that armor. With Craft (Earth) ••••, this charm forms a Superior quality suit of armor. With ••••• in that ability, it forms Perfect quality armor.

Recognize No Obstacle

Cost: 10m
Minimums: Essence 4, MA 5
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Stone Mail, Blade of Dust

This charm empowers a Jade-Steel weapon (or a Blade of Dust) honed by Well-Honed Blade and attuned to this Exalt. If the empowered strike would be successfully parried, the opponent's weapon shatters. If the opponent is wielding an artifact weapon, make an opposed Essence roll, with each party adding automatic successes equal to the Artifact rating of his or her weapon. The loser's weapon shatters. If the opponent's weapon shatters, the attack hits, but with no bonus damage from attack successes. If an opponent struck by this charm is wearing armor, it shatters under the same conditions as a parrying weapon would shatter.

The Obvious appearance of this charm is somewhat dependent on the Exalt wielding it, because it involves the Exalt's anima flare focusing into and around the empowered blade. Even beings who would not normally display any anima banner manifest something reminiscent of one around their weapon when using this charm, though for such beings it generally looks like an Earth-Aspect Dragon Blood's anima flare in miniature.