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All-Consuming Dragon Form

Background

The All-Consuming Dragon Form is a relatively new style, developed during the reign of the Scarlet Empress. This terrestrial style was designed to intimidate ones foes into backing down and not entering combat, or to make combat impractical against the users of this form. This served two purposes, the first is that it keep the practitioners alive longer since the best way to survive combat is to not enter it, and secondly it makes the capturing of prisoners more plausible, so further information could be gathered. This style was designed to not kill ones opponent, but the practitioners have no problems wounding their enemies, and even then strive to not even draw blood. While all of the techniques taught by this style have been purposely named as if it worships or pays homage the Ebon Dragon, it very much does not. The names are purely for intimidation. There has been more than a few members of the Wild Hunt who have learned at least some of these techniques.

Favored Weapons: Large, slow weapons such as Naganata, two-handed Swords, and Goremaul.

Student Level Charms

Deaths Favorite Prey

Cost: 4 motes
Minimums: Martial Arts 2, Presence 2, Essence 1
Type: Simple 
Keywords: Combo-Basic 
Duration: Scene
Prerequisite Charms: None

One of the first things a young student of All-Consuming dragon must learn, is to choose a single opponent and focus your attention on them. With their eyes focused on a single opponent, they can unsettle even the sturdiest of men into hesitating or stumbling, offering any kind of weakness in combat.

Target a single attacker when activating this charm. Add your Presence to your Dexterity + (ability) pool for purposes of determining DV against that attacker. The effects of this charm end if that opponent is killed or removed from combat. As a reflexive action, once per DV refresh, you may change your target to another appropriate one, before the charm ends.

The Dragons Crushing Claws and Piercing Fangs

Cost: 2 motes
Minimums: Martial Arts 2, Presence 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Stackable, Crippling, Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

One skill that all students of All-Consuming Dragon must master, is the art of causing pain. With a well placed blow, a punch can feel like a hammer, and a hammer can knock all but the life’s essence out of ones opponent. With this skill, even the simplest of attacks can cause wounds heinous enough to hinder ones opponents.

If you deal Bashing damage to an opponent, the opponent suffers a stackable -1 to all their actions until the end of the scene. The limit of the penalties gained from this charm is equal to your Martial Arts. This counts as wound penalties.

Adept Level Charms

Ebon Void of the Dragons Maw

Cost: 3 motes & 1 temporary Willpower.
Minimums: Martial Arts 3, Presence 2, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Deaths Favorite Prey

Sometimes what is more frightening than dealing damage is avoiding damage dealt. With only the slightest of movements and minimal effort, the Adept has leaned to make their opponent hesitate attacking them again by avoiding attacks with such 'little effort'.

If you successfully defend against an attack using your Dodge DV, than the attackers next action is delayed by your Presence number of ticks.

Forked Serpents Tongue that Tastes Fear

Cost: 4 motes
Minimums: Martial Arts 3, Presence 2, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Obvious, Combo-OK
Duration: Variable (see description)
Prerequisite Charms: The Dragons Crushing Claws and Piercing Fangs

Words are as a powerful weapon as ones sword, and can be even more frightening. Sometimes just speaking a few words in the right way, can make your opponent do nearly anything. Once, an Adept was lied out, heavily wounded from being tortured to the point of near-death, and when he came across his great enemy, he pulled himself from the bed, rose his sword and said "Drop Your Sword" and out of sear terror, the enemy did.

Make a social attack to intimidate your target into performing one task appropriate to the situation (drop your sword, leave now, come with me if you want to live, etc) using your Charisma + Presence + your Weapons Speed to "hit" the target. This attack is compared against Mental Defense Values. If successful roll your Charisma + Weapon Damage as damage for this attack. Damage determines the duration of the effect (how long they wont want to pick up that sword, how long they run away before they think of slowing down). The opponent has a Soak equal to their Willpower, and may spend that many willpower points to resist the intimidation. This expenditure may be all at once, or over the course of several turns. This attack has a speed of 4. Appropriateness determined by the storyteller.

Harbinger of the Dragons Breath

Cost: 3 motes
Minimums: Martial Arts 3, Presence 2, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: one action
Prerequisite Charms: Deaths Favorite Prey and The Dragons Crushing Claws and Piercing Fangs

There are many occasions, when ones weapon speaks louder then their own words. A warrior is taken more seriously when is us armed with something (even skill), than when he has nothing to use.

Add your weapons current Speed to your Presence, for one action. This may only be used for social attacks to Intimidate, and other charms of the Form.

All-Consuming Dragon Form

All-Consuming Dragon Form

Cost: 4 motes
Minimums: Martial Arts 3, Presence 3, Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Form, Obvious
Duration: Scene
Speed: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Harbinger of the Dragons Breath, Forked Serpents Tongue that Tastes Fear, and Ebon Void of the Dragons Maw

Taking a position with their fingers wrapped around their weapon, eyes locked to the eyes of their opponent, and with their chest rising and falling, letting deep rumbling sounds fall from them as they breathe, a person taking up the All-Consuming Dragon's Form is a frightening thing to see. They watch their targets, and seem ready for anything.

If you are facing an opponent who's Valor is less then your Martial Arts, that opponent suffers a penalty on all actions against you, equal to half of your permanent Essence rating. Also, you may add your Presence to your weapon Damage pools. However, if you do so, all damage dealt is bashing.

Master Level Charms

Terrible Grumble of the Black Dragons Gut

Cost: 3 motes
Minimums: Martial Arts 3, Presence 4, Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Obvious, Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: All-Consuming Dragon Form

Intimidation looses all effect when it cannot be backed up, so the occasional show of force is what is truly needed. With a single swing of their favored weapon, a Master can damage nearly any object, and in a way that suggests that instead of that object, anyone in the area could have been there instead. Those too weak to fight run, and those who do not run are, if nothing else, shaken.

Attack a large, sturdy object (ignoring its hardness). Other combatants who’s dodge MDV is lower than the levels of damage dealt to the object may either spend a Willpower point, or Flee. Those that do not flee, instead suffer a penalty on their next attack against you equal to the damage dealt.

Doomed Wind Off the Dragons Wing

Cost: 3 motes
Minimums: Martial Arts 4, Presence 3, Essence 3
Type: Supplimental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: All-Consuming Dragon Form

The ultimate goal for the practitioners of the All-Consuming Dragon is to take ones opponent alive. Bleeding, broken, and beaten is fine, but alive is what they strive for. With a well timed twist of the blade to attack with the flat, or the even broader blunt of a hammer, the attacks they do will be extremely painful and distracting, if far less deadly than most

When making an attack, you may reduce the damage done after soak by up to half (round down). For each point reduced by this charm, you may impose an equal amount of minus penalties to the opponents next attack. This effect does not stack.

Pinnacle Charm

Brilliant Stream of Total Annihilation

Cost: 4 motes & 1 temporary Willpower
Minimums: Martial Arts 5, Presence 5, Essence 4
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: The Dragons Crushing Claws and Piercing Fangs, and Terrible Hunger of the Black Dragons Gut

With cunning, wit, and the ability to make everyone who sees it, believe what the Master of this style wants. Any attack this charm enhances is believed to be completely real. Bones will be heard breaking, blood will be seen bleeding from the opponent, but its all an elaborate rouse, an illusion. The Master knows, no harm what so ever has been done to the target, but everyone believes it has.

Make a regular attack, but do not add in your weapons Accuracy. This attack does no real damage, treat the wounds inflicted by this attack as real, unless proven otherwise. This charm is treated as if it was a use of performance. Use the targets MDV instead of physical DV. If you successfully hit the target, roll your normal damage pool and use the targets Willpower for soak. Targets that are wounded to the 'dead' level are in a deeper state of unconsciousness. All damage incurred by this charm is healed as Bashing damage.

Comments & Questions & Constructive Criticizing

As requested in the edit note, I'll give what feedback I feel I can. Brace yourself!

1. Overall, the tree has well conceived, fits together nicely and is appropriately costed. Congratulations!
2. I'm less keen on introducing Presence as a pre-req. Whilst there's precedent for using other Abilities in martial arts Charms (albeit not a lot), there doesn't seem to be any reason to break convention and require it for progression - a devotee of the Style is almost certain to max it out, anyway.
3. Where's the flavour text? Whilst the Charms have strong thematic effects, nowhere do I see how they do it, or anything to base my stunts on. It's quite difficult to infer what exactly an esoteric Charm like BSOTA does to achieve its stated effect.
4. FSTTTF: what exactly is the Willpower cost to resist the Charm's effects, their total Willpower or the attack's successes? Either way, it really shouldn't be more than about two, if you take precedent into account.
5. Why does Speed add to Presence? As weapons that strike faster have a lower Speed, why does more cumbersome (and poorer quality) weaponry assist you this way?

That's all for now. Hope this helps! ...DeathBySurfeit

Woohoo! Feedback! Responces: 1) Thanks. I'm very big on "not broken"-ness. Whats the point of putting effort into something so powerful its never used?

2) Well, I can see the point. Perhaps just at the base charms, just to make sure they at least have their heads screwed on in the right direction? I can see it being dropped at later levels. =)

3) Riiiight....flavor text... I'll get right on that...Sorry!

4) The attacks successes. I've yet to test this on more than paper, but in theory its balanced.

5) Generally speaking the slower weapons (Dire-goremauls, naganato, etc) are more intimidating. I -really- didn't want to make a new 'scary factor' for each and every weapon out there, so I thought about it and came up with this. Plus, this style now focus's on lesser used weaponry. Whats more frightening, a man clad in black armor wearing a slender toothpick-like rapeir at his side, or carrying a 7-foot long Gormaul?

Bonus) Can I ask ya to check out my other M.A? MartialArts/IndomitableSpirit Thanks! -Zodiak

First thing: DBS is right. No user without Presence would even consider this style, as it's built into too many mechanics to ignore. Adding it as a Charm prerequisite is condescending and inelegant.

Crushing/Piercing is a nice clean mechanic; however I think that the duration is far too high for that level and cost. I suggest, 'the total penalty caused by this Charm declines by 1 each time the opponent's DV refreshes.'

Ebon Void is irreparable. Speed delays of basically any magnitude are instant kills, and those cannot exist in TMA. Remove this Charm.

I have some doubts about Forked Tongue. Let me see, do I understand its effect correctly? The following is a paraphrase.

Forked Serpent's Tongue that Tastes Fear

Type: Simple (Speed 4)

In battle time (standard ticks), you perform an intimidating action which compels one target to perform a specific task. This is a form of mental influence, but it is not unnatural. The dice pool of this attack is Cha+Presence+ the Speed of your weapon. If this defeats the opponent's MDV, then the opponent must spend (some amount of Willpower) to resist the compulsion. This Willpower expenditure may be made in installments.

There is a lot wrong with this, I'm sorry to say. What you have here is a compulsion, at combat speed, with drastically undercosted bonus dice, a resistance that could be more difficult than Solar compulsion, and this whole package is in a Martial Art. A Terrestrial Martial Art. I think this may also be irreparable.

Harbinger: At this point I am starting to wonder whether I am looking at a martial art at all. What does this have to do with combat at all? It is simply a gratuitous dice-adder that only works for the non-combative aspects of this style, and it is probably underpriced.

Form: This is cool and interesting.

I think this is an okay start, and you have some cool ideas, but I also think that you need to work on your foundational understanding of what the Charms that already exist can do, and the social system as a whole. That'll allow you to make Charms that are at an appropriate power level. - willows