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Four Monarchs Style

Created by Greymane and GoldenCat

This style is practiced among the White Guard of Stygia, retainers of the Dual Monarchy. It emulates the office of the four monarchs and the legend tied to their endless existence, providing techniques that allow ghosts to partake upon their august prowess in a similar but lesser fashion than those who step into their roles. Each of the four student and mastery techniques is tied to one of the four:

Usine White-skinned male aspect of the White Monarch, commander of the golem army of Stygia.

Eset Female aspect of the White Monarch, said to have been first, speaker to and for oblivion itself, diplomat from ghosts to Nephwracks.

Setesh Male aspect of the Black Monarch, controller of all rituals and rites that mantain the Underworld, ruler of the Calendar, time and prophecy.

Nebthys Black-skinned female aspect of the Black Monarch, lady of thousand secrets and the monarch most interested in the living world, who hears the last whispers of the dying and with them a considerable number of the secrets, though never generous with such knowledge.

The Charms of this style treat attacks made with swords and staves as unarmed attacks. This style is fully compatible with armor.

Student Charms

Four Monarchs Masquerade
Cost: 2 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
Performing a kata that describes the four rulers of Stygia the adept sees herself surrounded by their masks. They dance in an orbit around the adept's head, ephemeral like an anima, placing the adept under the auspices of a single one of them each turn. The adept hears the whispers of his rulers through the masks and thus become immune to flanking techniques and denies the attackers any benefits from attacking from his back. When under the auspices of...

• ... Usine the adept receives +1 success to all rolls involving Valor.
• ... Eset the adept receives +1 success to all rolls involving Temperance.
• ... Setesh the adept receives +1 success to all rolls involving Conviction.
• ... Nebthys the adept receives +1 success to all rolls involving Compassion.

The dance begins at Usine on the turn after this Charm is enacted and moves to Nebthys on the fourth turn, then Usine again, and so on.

Four Monarchs Storm (ESET)
Cost: 1 mote
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Four Monarchs Masquerade
Eset calms the storms that, let loose, would call Mortwights from the Labyrinth. Reverting this principle with a single successful open-palm strike against a foe the adept unleashes one of those storms which she held in calm within her Essence all along! That causes an spectacular display about the blow that could never be hidden and causes a Temperance+Martial Arts roll against the foe's Willpower - should the adept win the foe is knocked back 2 yards per net success in this roll. The adept can inflict knockdown if he wishes.

All void-tainted ghosts within a mile of this Charm's existence can sense its use like they would the pull of the Void-storms.

Four Monarchs March (USINE)
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Four Monarchs Storm
Usine commands the golem army of Stygia - those who deal with him have to fight the might of countless fists of Jade! Moving like the general of golems the adept leaves a trail of the afterimages of his soldiers as he proceeds to the attack. The attack enhanced by this Charm increases its base damage by the adept's Valor - this turns the damage pool into a roll involving Valor for the purpose of Four Monarchs Masquerade.

Being struck by this Charm makes one feel trampled by the weight of jade soldiers and increases a character's Mobility Penalty by 1. This is cumulative with multiple strikes by this Charm, and should a character's Mobility Penalty exceed her Strength+Resistance she becomes burdened and suffers the effects of her Mobility Penalty in all of her Physical Actions, not just those normally affected by Mobility.

Four Monarchs Constellation (SETESH)
Cost: 1 mote Per Target, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Four Monarchs Masquerade
Setesh crafted the Calendar which defines the dark fate of the Underworld - to face him is to swim against the tides of fate. The adept performs a quick circular kata, the image of rotating clockwork appearing behind himself and up to his Essence x 2 other people. Though they all begin turning at the same speed, some begin to turn faster and others slower. Everyone targeted by this Charm may choose to make a contested Conviction roll against the adept. The adept may then freely switch the rolled Initiative of everyone who failed or chose not to roll. He cannot alter the Initiative of anyone employing Charms or Sorcery that automatically win initiative.

This Charm can be used more than one per turn, although it cannot shift the initiative of characters who have already acted.

Four Monarchs Maze (NEBTHYS)
Cost: 1 mote
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Four Monarchs Constellation
Nebthys is the lady of secrets and whispers - her ways and motions so labrynthine that not even she fully comprehends herself. As the adept moves to attack or defend, his body shifts into a dozen places within the span of several seconds. With a stir of wordless whispers, of his form linger in the air even after he has shifted elsewhere. The adept rolls his Compassion. For each success on this roll, he subtracts one die from his opponents defense or attack pools as the opponent places blows upon or blocks against phantasmal images.

The Form

(Monarch) Form
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Four Monarchs Maze, Four Monarchs March
With a prayer to one of the Four Great Monarchs the adept adops their mask in a lesser manner than that of those who give their very identities for the continuation of the Monarch's legends. The adept's form blurs with the colors of Black or White when she uses this Charm, the likeness of the chosen Monarch clinging to her form like an anima. Thiis Charm gives the adept the resilience of a story over the resilience of flesh. The adept enacting this Form becomes able to Soak Lethal Damage with their Bashing Soak.

This Charm is actually four distinct Charms, one for each of the Monarchs.

The adept may purchase all Forms if she so wishes, although she needs only one iteration of it to finish the style.

• Usine Form: The lord of the Golem Army strikes like fists of pure Jade, increasing the damage of his unarmed attacks by his Essence rating and allows the adept to use USINE Charms as innate abilities that do not count as a Charm use.

• Eset Form: The lady of oblivion knows how to deal with those tainted by Void, adding the adept's Essence to all Attribute+Ability dice pools involving Void-tainted creatures and allows the adept to use ESET Charms as innate abilities that do not count as a Charm use.

• Setesh Form: The lord of the Calendar moves with predestined speed - he increases his Initiative by his Essence rating and allows the adept to use SETESH Charms as innate abilities that do not count as a Charm use.

• Nebthys Form: The lady of whispers knows the secrets of man, able to subtract two success rolled on damage to learn a single secret from her foe and allows the adept to use NEBTHYS Charms as innate abilities that do not count as a Charm use.

This is a Martial Arts Form-Type Charm and is incompatible with any other Form-Type Charms.

Mastery Charms

Four Monarchs Whispers (NEBTHYS)
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: (Monarch)Form
Most interested in the living world of the Four Monarchs, mistress Nebthys can use her knowledge of the living as a weapon against them! Clad in a raiment of death-whispers she enhances a single Martial Arts attack where she can substitute her Dexterity for her Compassion and adds her Lore to her base damage. This attack can harm material beings as if they were immaterial - although it can never be used to mount a surprise attack against one who has seen this Charm in action before due to the nature of the whispers. Those unable to perceive spirits will still fight blind.