Latest revision as of 01:17, 6 April 2010

Dark Heavens Style

• by Telgar
• back to CelestialMartialArts

Background

Charms

Clouds Cover the Sky</b>

 <b>Cost: 3 motes
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Reflexive
 Min MA: 3
 Min Essence: 2 
 Prereqs: None

Using simple techniques a practitioner of Dark Heavens Style can make a strike that flits from beyond sight and back again before it can be noticed. This adds the character's Essence rating to any parry or dodge difficulty.

Dance of Veiled Light</b>

 <b>Cost: 6 motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Supplemental
 Min MA: 5
 Min Essence: 3
 Prereqs: Clouds Cover the Sky

When the clouds cover the skies, the brilliance of the stars remains undimmed behind the concealing darkness. Enhancing an attack with this Charm renders the target unaware of it.

Shrouded Stars Shine Unseen</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Extra Action
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 3 
 Prereqs: None

The blinding brilliance of a falling star often blinds onlookers to the subtle flavor of the night sky for many moments as the bright light passes across the heavens. Striking openly and with great force a Dark Heavens stylist lures his opponent into distraction and attacks again with only great skill. Make two martial arts attacks, the first is resolved normally but does no damage. Add a number of dice equal to the successes subtracted by defense against the first attack to the roll for the second.

Five Flickering Lights Harmony</b>

 <b>Cost: 3 motes
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Reflexive
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 3
 Prereqs: Shrouded Stars Shine Unseen

Instead of a constant stream of light as the daytime Sun provides, at night there is only the unsteady flickering of the stars and moon as shadows and clouds pass across the heavens. The light from any one source is not as inspiring, but the overall effect is mesmerizing beautiful. The martial artist has learned to spread his effort and skill across actions in a similarly spattered pattern, subtracting successes from any action taken this turn and 'saving' them for the next action of the same type. This charm can not be used to save successes from a roll that is benefiting from saved successes already.

The Moon's Hidden Faces</b>

 <b>Cost: 3+ motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Reflexive
 Min MA: 3
 Min Essence: 2 
 Prereqs: None

Once the moon passes behind the shadows, it continues to change form as Luna dances for Gaia and the Maidens. But the dances go unseen to all other observers. In this way, the motions of the martial artist go unobserved after the initial strike. For every 3 motes spent on this charm, add 1 success to a martial arts attack that has already been rolled. No more successes can be added then were originally gained.

Blacked Sun Radiance</b>

 <b>Cost: 4 motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Supplemental
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 3
 Prereqs: The Moon’s Hidden Faces

When Luna removes her brilliant garments and stands before the Sun, only the fainest flickers of his light can be seen around her form. Regardless, the skies of Creation are lit brighter then ever by the filmy fires that creep around Luna. If an attack benefiting from this Charm is parried or dodged, the successes removed are counted for damage instead of those left. This Charm has no effect if no dodge or parry is applied. Perfect defenses still prevent the attack from hitting home.

Shifting Clouds Gateway</b>

 <b>Cost: 3 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 3
 Min Essence: 2 
 Prereqs: None

Skipping through combat like starlight through wind-blown clouds, the martial artist may move up to his Essence in yards after making a successful attack.

Starlight through the Darkness</b>

 <b>Cost: 3 motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Supplemental
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 2 
 Prereqs: Shifting Clouds Gateway

Occasionally starlight or moonlight will burn through even the most persistent darkness, a lance of light in the gloom. Incorporating such techniques into their attack strategy, practitioners of Dark Heavens can make a martial arts attack out to a range of their Essence X Martial Arts score in yards. This attack is considered a surprise attack with difficulty 4 to detect and does piercing damage.

Mastery of Hidden Light</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 4
 Prereqs: None

Dark Heavens stylists have been taught how to work with half light and darkness, shadows and murk. Their training enables them to shun light and defeat it with their own arts. For the rest of the scene any Exalt within the martial artist's Essence in yards must expend an additional mote when an essence expenditure would raise their Anima banner by a level. Activating a totemic anima incurs a cost of 2 additional motes instead.

Dark Heavens Form</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 5
 Min Essence: 4
 Prereqs: Dance of Veiled Light, Five Flickering Lights Harmony, 
Blacked Sun Radiance, Starlight Through the Darkness, Mastery of Hidden Light

Adopting a relaxed, loose posture and gaining a slightly shadowy consistency, the martial arts stylist gains the benefit of being under 75% cover at all times, his body flickers away from attacks without effort on his part and shadows obscure his form. Because of the shadows that cling to him, opponents making attacks against his person are at -4 dice on accuracy rolls. The shadowy appearance and shifting stances of this Form add the character's Martial Arts score to all rolls related to silent and unseen movement. Unlike normal shadows, those summoned by Dark Heavens obscure light and mask its presence, they are not dispelled by it. The character can not be the target of flame or sunlight based attacks such as a Fire Aspect’s Elemental Bolt Attack or Blazing Solar Bolt.

Shadows Consume the Light</b>

 <b>Cost: 2 motes
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Supplemental
 Min MA: 5
 Min Essence: 4
 Prereqs: Dark Heavens Form

As the darkness can bind light behind its shadow, the Dark Heavens stylist can bind the power of essence within its wielders. By making a successful martial arts attack enhanced by this Charm, the character forces his opponent to commit a single mote of essence for the remainder of the scene. This effect is cumulative.

Comments

• Clouds Cover: Supplemental? Prereq for Veiled Light; both preform
• Shrouded: Complex, post-form.
• Hidden Faces: Shrouded is good prereq.
• blackened: post-form.
• shifting clouds: preform. introductory?
• starlight: a weaker version of this as a preform followup to shifting
• five: complex.
• consume: complex; ultimate

- w