Difference between revisions of "SolarAthletics/Ambisinister"

Latest revision as of 20:51, 24 October 2005

Morning Light's Invigoration</b>

<b>Cost:  3 mote per 2 dice
Duration: One Turn
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Athletics: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:: LIghtning Speed

As the morning light shines forth and stirs the beings of creation, so can one of Sol's Chosen tap His essence and awaken his nerves, improving his reaction time and coordination. Activating Morning Light's Invigoration reduces the penalties from splliting actions at the rate of 2 points per 3 motes spent. An exalt may not negate more points of split actions penalties than his Athletics rating. This charm may explicitly be placed in combos with charms from other abilities, and it may be done so despite its non-instant duration.

Invoking Sol's Mantle</b>

<b>Cost:  7 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum (Ability): 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms:: Morning Light's Invigoration, Increasing Strength Exercise

Some Solar Exalted are capable of infusing their bodies with essence and altering it in the image of their Patron. By emulating his form they gain a small measure of his strength and prowess. Upon activating this charm, the exalt's skin takes on a golden sheen and he grows another pair of arms. These arms are fully functional and will allow the exalt to perform such feats as wielding four weapons or maintaining multiple clinches at your story teller's discretion. Mechanically, the Solar raises his strength by 2, his dexterity by 1, and may add his permenent essence in automatic successes to all strength and dexterity based rolls. He doubles the amount of auto successes for the purposes of lifting, breaking, and climbing. Attribute boosts from this charm stack with any augmentations from other charms.

Sunlight Races the Night Emulation</b>

<b>Cost:  7 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum (Ability): 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Invoking Sol's Mantle

As dawn's light races across the land, chasing away the darkness in every direction, so too can the exalt achieve such feats of speed. After invoking this charm, the exalt receives another fully independant action each turn. This is effective immediately. The one charm per turn limit still applies, although the exalt may choose to use the same simple charm in both actions. Exalts empowered by this charm have two option when it comes to activating extra action type charms: If they choose to activate an extra action charm the effects of Sunlight Races the Night Emulation are temporarily suspended for the turn. Or, by spending an additional willpower, they may choose to use the same extra action charm consecutively utilizing both actions of this charm. Immediately after the second extra action charm is resolved the exalt suffers two unsoakable levels of aggravated damage and Sunlight Races the Night Emulation immediately ends. The exalt may not re-actiavte this charm for the rest of the scene in this case.

Comments

First, independant actions and extra actions don't mix. I believe you have to choose whether you use an EA charm or benefit from the independant actions. If you want them to mix, you should say so explicitly, and it'll be an amazingly overpowered ability. I'd say essence 5 myself ^_^

Secondly, extra arms usually also grant a bonus to offset multiple action penalties, usually by +1 or +2 per pair of arms. Since you're already adding Essence successes, you might not want to, but it seems appropriate branching directly from Morning Light's Invigoration, which, oddly, seems slightly overpowered. I don't have a good suggestion as to how to fix that one, since I believe the cost shouldn't be a whole 2 motes per die, but 3m/2dice seems a bit fiddly.
-- Darloth

You are very right regarding indie actions and EA, I had a little brain slippage goin on when I was hammering out the charm. I'd like to keep it at essence 4. What do you think of this for a balancing mechanic? "Exalts empowered by this charm have two option when it comes to activating extra action type charms: If they choose to activate an extra action charm the effects of Sunlight Races the Night Emulation are temporarily suspended for the turn. Or, by spending an additional will power, they may choose to use the same extra action charm consecutively utilizing both actions of this charm. Immediately after the second extra action charm is resolved the exalt suffers two unsoakable levels of aggravated damage and Sunlight Races the Night Emulation immediately ends. The exalt may not re-actiavte this charm for the rest of the scene in this case."

As for Invoking Sol's Mantle, I am aware that multiple arms typically assauge split actions penalties. I wanted to do one better and instead of lowering the penalty (which is for all intents and purposes adding dice) go straight to adding automatic successes. I'm inclined to leave MLI as is. It's roughly based off of CB:N's Dual Slaying Stance, but since MLI is deeper in tree wise I thought it should be more useful. Thanks for providing all the useful feedback of late.-Ambisinister

Dual Slaying Stance is very limited in effect and also needs two melee weapons. Your charm works on any sort of actions whatsoever, doesn't have weapon limitations, works much better, is easily comboable and works well with other charms, and to be honest if you're not comboing, is better than using a reflexive defense charm against most foes. I shall provide an example ^_^

Joe Solar (starting character) with some melee, some dodge, and some athletics is fighting Evil Monster Alpha.

Joe uses this charm for 5 motes (since he has an athletics of 5) and then procedes to split his action for 2 attacks and 3 dodges. He makes those actions at -0,-1,-2,-3,-4. After stunting well, that's a quite reasonable +2,+1,+0,-1,-2... Being a solar, he'll likely have the pools to win all of these rolls quite easily. To conjure that many effective dodges with reflexive dodge charms at this sort of tree depth requires 6 motes, and you make the attacks at -2,-3(+0,-1). If we put this charm in a combo, it rapidly makes melee dice-adders seem woefully inefficient. Consider Joe having a combo of this, Dipping Swallow Defense and Shadow Over Water. He uses this for 5 motes, declares 5 attacks (max with a standard daiklave) at the really quite impressive spread seen above, and can elect to dodge or parry anything as normal for 2m per defense. However... If he were making this combo with Excellent Strike, it instead costs more like 25 motes to achieve this effect. Dual Slaying Stance just can't, since it's instant duration. It could probably manage if you were only making 3 or so attacks, but it still can't compare.

I do like the charm, I just think it's undercosted. Either it should be uncomboable, in which case you're trading power for decreased flexibility, or it should cost more, probably about 3m per 2dice 'added', or it should be further down the tree. Perhaps at Ath 4 Essence 3, with an instant 1m/2dice (max ath in dice, not motes) multi-action negater taking the current position. Finally, thanks, you're welcome ^_^
-- Darloth

Your mechanics example is very effective, now I see what you mean. Since I'd rather pay more for flexibility, 3m/2 dice seems like the best option.

-Ambisinister