Revision as of 09:04, 3 April 2010

Eight Storm Style

• by Telgar
• back to SiderealMartialArts

Background

Designed to introduce the youngest of Celestials and Sidereals to the final blossoming of the perfected lotus, the Eight Storm Style concentrates on manipulating Essence flows through the body itself. The ultimate goal of the Style is perfect control of all internal Essence flows, utter mastery of the physical and mystical self.

The power of the Eight Storms can only be channeled through extensions of the natural body. Melee weapons can be used freely with Eight Storm but no ranged weapon can be employed while using any of it's Charms. Doing so ends the active Charms at once. Making a ranged attack with Melee weapons or magical means has the same effect. To ease Celestials used to other methods of combat into the the perfected lotus blossom, this Style is armor-compatable.

Student's Sutra of Self: A man got up from his home and wandered into the depths of the storm.

Charms

Root of the Storm Prana</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 3
 Prereqs: None

The people screamed for him to turn back. "I support myself" he said, and walked in.

Flooding essence through the first Storm, an initatite of the Style can drastically increase his connection to the natural world and heighten his ability to preserve his own life and vitality. While this Charm is in effect, it is impossible for the martial artist to be affected by immaterial beings or their Charms, his stamina-based soak is doubled and he soaks Lethal damage with his full Stamina. All rolls to resist disease or poison gain a bonus of his Essence in dice.

Storm Genesis Prana</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 3
 Prereqs: Root of the Storm Prana

The storm knocked the man to his knees. "I value myself" he said, and stood.

Harnessing the creative and emotional powers of the second Storm fills the body with immense pleasure and gives the Eight Storm Stylist total control of their emotions. While the second Storm rages, the martial artist is immune to all wound penalties as his mind no longer registers pain, being totally attuned to pleasure. His emotional control removes the limit on how many times per story the character can channel his Virtues though all other limits still apply. If the Virtue-aided roll succeeds, the character regains the Willpower spent to channel the virtue instantly.

Storm's Center Prana</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 4
 Prereqs: Storm Genesis Prana

The storm bloodied the man with debris. "I nuture myself" he said, and struggled on.

Mastery of the third Storm opens the pathway to the easy life, literally. The functions of life and living become much easier for the body to perform. Aside from enjoying a vastly more relaxed state of being and feeling in general better about themselves, the character gains 1 additional mote of essence each time he gains motes and has the difficulty of all actions reduced by 1, to a minimum of one. Any roll enhanced by willpower expenditure gains a second automatic success.

Heart of the Storm Prana</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 4
 Min Essence: 4
 Prereqs: Storm's Center Prana, Complete Mastery of one Celestial Martial Art.

Elder Sutra of Self: The storm rained lightning around the man. "I trust myself" he said, and walked forward.

Though the Eight Storm Style has no true form, this Charm is considered to be the form-type of the Style. It is explicity compatable with other Martial Arts form-type charms.
The fourth Storm rages in the center of the body and mastering its power confers mastery of self. This storm is the first true step to total self-mastery. Empowering the fourth storm puts the martial artist at harmony with himself and enhances his ability to relate to and understand others. All social rolls made by the martial artist which involve self-confidence, empathy with or understanding of others gain a bonus equal to the character's Essence. This Charm also makes the movements of others particularly easy to understand, allowing the martial artist to reflexivly parry any attack he is aware of with his Essence + Perception in dice. While the fourth storm is in harmony, all wounds heal at four times their current rate.

Voice of the Storm Prana</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 5
 Min Essence: 5
 Prereqs: Heart of the Storm Prana

The storm screamed at the man to die. "I love myself" he said, and lived on.

Some students of the Eight Storms dislike summoning the power of the fifth storm, for it binds them to certain standards while offering great power. While the fifth storm is in harmony, it is impossible for the martial artist to express any untruth or anything that does not resonate truly with his own beliefes. On the other side, the attunement with truth is so strong that the character is aware of the truth in others and knows at all times if another being in his sight is being untruthful. The true power of the fifth storm is invaluble; it assures success. Whenever a willpower point is spent to gain success on a roll, that roll automatically gains as many successes as it requires to be successful. It gains no more and no less, regardless of what the dice would say.

Eye of the Storm Prana</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 5
 Min Essence: 5
 Prereqs: Voice of the Storm Prana

The storm wrapped the man in frigid snow. "I express myself" he said, and danced himself warm.

The sixth Storm reaches outwards from the body, extending the senses. The martial artist can see in a 360 degree circle around himself, experiances no environmental penalties to his senses and gains an automatic 3 successes on all Awareness rolls. Should a barrier that impedes the character's line of sight be made of mundane materials unenchanted, and thinner then the character's Essence in feet, then the martial artist can see and hear through it perfectly well.
This increased awarness extends beyond the physical, allowing the character to read the mind of another person with whom he can make eye contact. Reading the thoughts of another person allows the character to understand any words actually being said without needing to speak the same language, effectivly making this Charm a perfect translator for both parties because the character can also make his thoughts heard by the target. Silent communication is possible with a willing subject, but unwilling subjects or unaware subjects can not hear the thoughts, their minds are not open enough to insert thought into. To peer into the target's mind and retrieve thoughts, however, is fairly easy. It requires a Perception + Essence roll and the detail and value of the information retrieved is based on the number of successes gained.
As a fringe benefit, empowering the sixth Storm also makes it impossible to surprise or ambush the character.

Storm in Heaven Prana</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 5
 Min Essence: 5
 Prereqs: Eye of the Storm Prana

The storm shrouded the man in black clouds. "I know myself" he said, and found his way.

Mastering the seventh Storm masters the connection to the immaterial, spiritual side of the world. Essence can be seen as plainly as mountains and spirits can be touched as simply as humans. Should a spirit be killed by someone at harmony with the seventh storm, the martial artist's Castemark (if he has one) flares brilliantly and consumes the Essence of the spirit whole. This refills the character's personal Essence pool totally and forever destroys the spirit in question.
Because tapping the seventh storm opens the gates through which animating and functional Essence enters the body, a character making physical contact with a source of Essence such as a Hearthstone, Exalted or spirit can make a reflexive action to draw Essence from the target. No more motes can be gained in one turn then the Hearthstone or Essence rating of the target. This Essence is taken from the pools of the target in the case of Exalted or spirits, but Hearthstones offer an almost unlimited supply. Should a Hearthstone be used to supply more motes then 10 times the rating of its Manse inside a single scene, it and its Manse will be reduced in level by one, permanently.

Aura of Lightning Prana</b>

 <b>Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
 Duration: One scene
 Type: Simple
 Min MA: 5
 Min Essence: 5
 Prereqs: Storm in Heaven Prana

The storm lashed out with all its fury. "I am" he said, and devoured the storm. The man walked on.

The eight storm represents final and complete mastery of the self for a student of this Style. Once it is mastered, everything else is simple. Often learning this Charm coincides with the raising of the Essence trait, even if the Exalted in question does not meet the normal age requirements to increase their Essence. As long as they possess the experiance to raise it, they may do so at the same time they learn this Charm.
With the self so perfectly mastered and connected to the flow of the world, it becomes impossible for the Exalt to be without Essence flooding his body; he will always have at least one mote in his Personal and Periphereal pools. At the beginning of each of the character's turns he regains his Essence in motes from the ambient flows around him.
The permanent surge of power flows outward each time a Charm or Spell is enacted and is instantly replaced. All Charms and Spells have their cost lowered by 1 mote, to a minimum of 1 mote, as they are partially powered by 'overflow' Essence.
Unifying the power of all seven previous storms inside himself, a master of the Eight Storm Style can empower others as he has empowered himself. Anyone standing within eight feet of the character can recieve the benefits of any of the seven previous Charms of this Style so long as the martial artist is willing to commit the required motes. This empowerment only functions while the two characters are within eight feet of eachother.

Comments

The first paragraph of Aura of Lightning must have an error, since it says that learning that charm and increasing permanent Essence to 5 is often done at the same time. Yet a full three charms prior to that, you already have a minimum Essence: 5 requirement. Are you sure you don't mean Min Essence 6? Also, are you sure you don't want to put "At the end of the turn, if the pools have less that Permanent Essence motes, you gain enough motes so your pools is equal to your Permanent Essence" or something similar? Because at the moment, someone who has mastered this charm has practically unlimited essence pools. He can pull a million Seven Shadow Evasion a turn, because every instance Seven Shadow Evasion is invoked, he gets enough motes to invoke the next instance. And while I can't think of any applicable combos at the moment, I'm really worried that some enterprising player will find an infinite-loop Reflexives combo. - TonyC

No, Aura of Lightning is correct. It has an Essence minimum of 5. However, upon mastering it you have mastered yourself to such a degree that you're able to raise your Essence to 6. Note that several previous charms have prereqs of Essence 5 as well.
The end result of having a permanent supply of 5 motes means that, yes, you can use Seven Shadow for as long as you want. I haven't playtested it, but I don't think it's any more unbalancing then some of the effects in PAoC or CMoS. If I get a chance to playtest, I may alter it. Not really sure what you mean by "infinite loop" combos. - Telgar

I think TonyC has a point. With essence 6, you can use Seven Shadow (which I'm pretty certain was errated into a perfect dodge) as often as you like, every turn. You are, to all intents and purposes, untouchable. 5/5 and 6/6 charms in CMoS and PAoC give huge bonuses and/or a million death attacks per round, but I still think a virtually impenetrable defence is a bit much. My suggestion is to either have the pool refresh at the start of every round (less powerful) or have the pool sit at 1/2 Essence (round down), thus giving you enough to use Shadow Over Water against every attack that comes your way, but only reaching the Seven Shadow problem at Essence 10. - Falcon
I think I'll go with refreshing at the start of each new turn, but just keep the eternal minimum at 1 mostly for flavor. - Telgar

Ummm...I was under the strong impression that the only way for non-Terrestrials to use more than one charm per round was by using a Combo. Hence, you can't use infinite charms unless you have infinite XP to build them into a Combo. And also, don't combo's cause you to spend WP? If so, then I'd say the charm was balanced. If I'm wrong about the combo rules, then it might be too strong. -- Xarak

You are correct about combo rules, but I think TonyC was thinking about something other then a combo with an infinite number of Charms. - Telgar

I thought there was no such thing. Although, I could easily imagine a high Essence MA charm, "For the rest of the turn, you can use multiple charms without a combo." -- Xarak

What I mean by infinite loop combos are combos whose charms can be invoked infinitely. This seems easiest with Reflexives, but I won't discount Supplementals either. I can't find a good example of it in the core book, but I do find that the Power Combat version of Iron Kettle Body combined with Aura of Lightning means the the guy could stay in a bonfire (6L max damage) for as long as he wants simply by invoking Iron Kettle Body (Instant, Reflexive, Hardness 8) over and over again. Even if you argue that an Essence 6 person should be able to do that, doesn't that infringe on Survival's territory? Now if we look at custom charms, then infinite loops become possible. Take a look at the Double or Nothing Strike in MartialArts/IrresistiblyTemptedGamblerStyle. The charm is Instant, Reflexive, 2m, and let's you flip a coin. Guess head or tail. If you guess right, raw damage's doubled. Wrong, halved (round up). Multiple guesses stack. No limit on tries, as long as you can pay the cost. With Aura of Lightning Prana, this means that anyone who doesn't have a Perfect Soak is dead if he gets hit (infinite tries = sure kill). Even if you're fine with the effect, how would you and the other players feel after the hundredth coin flip? - TonyC

As it stands, that's true, but you could fix the infinite duration problem by making Aura of Lightning cost a WP. So, you spend a WP every scene you want to use the charms, and will eventually run out - that's by no means overpowered for an Essence 5 or 6 person. Even infinite duration isn't really overpowered. As for custom charms...I don't think you can let them dictate everything you do. Someone could come up with a really stupid charm like "1 mote, +100 Agg.!!!", but that doesn't mean I'd feel the need to make a stupid defence charm to counter it. Even with perfectly decent custom charms, I'd just re-customize them if they interacted in a weird way with my own. -- Xarak

Yes, you can use any 1 or 2 mote Charm forever while under the effects of this Charm. Or, for as long as you keep the Aura up. Generally 1-2 mote Charms do not have enough power that I feel this is a severe problem. You have to have them in a combo and that'll eat up your Willpower really fast. And in the case of broken custom Charms like that Gambler thing, I'd simply make an on-the-spot ruling. As Xarak noted, I don't bother to balance my things against the custom Charms of others. It isn't feasible. - Telgar

Yoza. I'll admit I'm not up on Sidereal Styles (getting the book, but not yet). If this is what they look like..ouch! I like the Sutra and concept. This is probably the best support style I've ever seen. (that's the idea, I suppose) Various comments :

Root of the Storm: I'd change the 'natural soak is doubled' to 'Natural soak from stamina is doubled'. Otherwise this interacts in a nasty way with soak increasing charms.
Whups. This change has been made, thanks for catching that. My intent was stamina-only. - Telgar

Storm in Heaven Prana: The wording is a little confusing. You can only draw Essence from targets you touched that turn or targets you touched during the duration of the charm? (The second seems a bit much).
Ah. Again, my bad. You can only draw Essence from a creature you are touching at that exact moment, the Charm simply lets you do this at any point during the scene. - Telgar

According to the PG, all Martial Art styles have a Form charm. This lacks one. I know it would be useless, and kinda contary to the point. Maybe a form charm who's power is that it cost less XP to learn. Thus sorta acknologing that it will never be used. -FlowsLikeBits
I've made a notation under the fourth Charm that it is a Form-type. Really, the whole thing could be equally formish, but whatever... -Telgar

The subject of the sutras is a guy? -- Will

Why not? - Telgar

Well, they're traditionally about a Maiden. You don't want this one guy running rampant among all the other sutras do you? ^_^ -- Xarak

Sure I do. - Telgar

Storm Genesis Prana. It says channel virtues as many times. Does this means you can channel virtues multiple times in one turn? If it does, does it mean I can channel multiple virtues into one roll? I think you just mean "ignore the X times/story limit but you still can only spend one WP per turn for channelling virtue / gain a success", but "as many times as he wishes" is really open to interpretation. - TonyC
It says as many "times" as the user wishes. It does not say whenever the user wishes. Normal timing rules and willpower spending limits apply, because those dictate "when" the virtues can be channeled. The ST using the Charm has say over just what constitutes "when" and just what constitues numerical limitation on uses. - Telgar

This one is a little vague. I do find it unclear what limit (the per story or per turn limit) is being bypassed. Easy to fix though. -FlowsLikeBits

Voice of The Storm Prana. How does it work exactly? Can you gain more successes than you could possibly gain otherwise? For example, with a pool of 1, can I spend a Willpower to succeed in a Difficulty 10 roll? How does it work in a contested roll? In combat, for example, if I attack and spend Willpower, and my opponent gets, oh, 20 successes on his parry, another 20 on his dodge, and subtracted 20 from my pool, do I still hit? - TonyC
While I myself would not let this Charm grant 10 successes on 1 die, some STs might. It is totally up to the ST and players how they interprit it. In fact, your other examples are also up to the ST. I myself would say that in a contested roll, you get successes equal to your current difficulty as each roll in a contested series is a seperate thing and you "succeed" on each one seperately. Someone else may disagree and treat the entire contest as a whole "thing" and you have to fail or succeed at the entire series, thus allowing Voice of the Storm to grant you however many successes you need to pass. In combat, I would give out the 40 successes required to hit the target, but some STs might not. Really, I can't write rulings for each and every possible situation. I write the system and I leave it to the STs and players that use anything I write to determine for themselves just how to implement them. - Telgar

I interpreted it as a will power gives enough successes to succeed, rather than 1. I.f. if you have a difficulty 2 to hit, due to a shield, spending a WP gives 2 successes. There are various other things that increase difficulty also. I.e. you succeed if you get successes. This is totally independant of how well your opponent defends. I.e. traditionally, spending WP ensures success, unless the difficulty is greater than 1. With this charm, that is still true. I never interpreted it as a scene-lenght cheap version of AWD. I like crunchy stuff to, but this seems ok to me. Personally, I'd limit to the number of success one could possibly get, i.e you an only get a max of 4 successes out of 2 dice. I'm not sure often that will matter though-FlowsLikeBits

Telgar and I have different design philosophies. I hate infinites. I dislike loose wordings in crunchy bits (and charm mechanics is crunchy bits). It is my opinion that if you use a limited interpretation of the wording, then this style is a neat beginner Sidereal style. However, if you use a loose interpretation, then this style should be an advanced Sidereal MA, starting at (eyeball guess), Essence and MA 5 and possibly higher, depending on how permissive your interpretation is going to be. My reason is that with a loose interpretation of the wording, Eight Storm Style gets scary synergies. At the loosest interpretation Voice of The Storm Prana is effectively a perfect effect applicable to any roll. Combined with Soul Mastery from Water Dragon Style, it'll let the martial artist kill anything with one blow, including primordials. With some Presence Charms, it will let you turn any being, including primordials, into a loyal servant. Basically anything that isn't using a perfect defense is crushed (and there are ways of shutting down an opponent's perfect). The infinite loop possibility of Aura of Lightning Prana disturbs me. It's possible there's some exploit involving the "never run out of essence motes" aspect that will give you infinite dice, or health level, or willpower, or something, or simply ruin the pace of the game. Telgar advocates that each ST examines a player's choice of charms and combos and closing the loopholes if/when it becomes game-breaking. I second this. However, I also suggest that the ST considers the charms and combos separately from Eight Storm Style. If those charms/combos look balanced standing on their own, then consider changing Eight Storm Style instead. At any rate, remember that if you are the ST, your interpretation is the correct one. PS: Telgar, For Storm Genesis Prana, how about saying something about "nirvana" or "satori" rather than pleasure? I mean, wouldn't that be neater? - TonyC