Revision as of 20:03, 19 June 2005

Shrike Style

By David., from an idea by Ikselam

This style treats attacks made with spears, javelins, and fighting gauntlets as unarmed attacks, except where the Charm text makes an explicit note otherwise. Spears and javelins represent the steep, powerful dive used by certain raptors to stun their prey, while the gauntlet represents the strong, clutching talons of the larger birds-of-prey.

The martial artist who wishes to throw javelins may do so as a Martial Arts attack, but uses the lower of her Martial Arts or Thrown Abilities to determine the base dice pool for the attack. This does not affect how many dice the character could add to the attack through the use of Charms, but does affect which Charms the character can use to enhance the attack.

For example; A martial artist with Dexterity 4, Thrown 2, and Martial Arts 4 could throw a javelin with her Martial Arts Ability, but her base attack pool would be 6 dice, rather than 8 dice. However, she could still add 8 dice through the use of Charms.

Armor compatibility with this Style is on a case-by-case basis - some Charms are compatible with armor, others will explicitly state that they are not.

Charms:

Shrike-Flight Method

Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: None

The martial artist adds her Essence rating to her Strength and Dexterity scores for the purposes of determining her running and leaping distances. This Charm's effects are suspended any time the character wears armor or wields any weapon other than a spear.

Bronze Beak Concentration

Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: Shrike-Flight Method

The martial artist makes a normal unarmed attack, but the target's armor soak is halved. This Charm does not stack with attacks that normally do piercing damage, unless explicitly noted otherwise.

Silver Songbird's Escape

Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Shrike-Flight Method

The martial artist may activate the Silver Songbird's Escape after a successful dodge, to reflexively move away from her attacker. The distance of the movement is a number of yards equal to the martial artist's extra successes on the dodge roll plus her Martial Arts score. This distance is modified as any other movement is by Shrike-Flight Method.

Shrike Form

Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Silver Songbird's Escape, Bronze Beak Concentration

For the remainder of the scene, the martial artist's unarmed attacks do piercing damage. If the martial artist uses Bronze Beak Concentration to enhance a martial arts attack, the target's armor soak and natural soak are halved. In addition, the martial artist adds her Martial Arts score to her Strength and Dexterity for the purposes of determining her running and leaping distances. This is explicitly stackable with Shrike-Flight Method. This is a Martial Arts Form-type Charm; a martial artist can normally only use one Form-type Charm at a time. This Charm is incompatible with armor.

Iron Beak Concentration

Cost: 1 mote per die
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Shrike Form

Wisps of silvery Essence coalesce on the the martial artist's fingertips or spearhead, hardening the striking point to bite deep into her foe's flesh as she makes an unarmed martial arts attack. For every mote spent on this Charm, one die of post-soak damage is converted into an automatic success. The martial artist may convert no more dice in this manner than her Martial Arts score. Attacks enhanced with this Charm always do lethal damage, whether they are barehanded or performed with the style's signature weapon.

Bronze Talon Torrent

Cost: 8 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Extra Actions
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Iron Beak Concentration

The martial artist lunges at her foe, raining down a seemingly-endless string of powerful blows. The attacks begin at the Martial Artist's full dice pool, and suffer a consecutive -1 dice pool penalty. However, each attack gains a number of dice equal to the number of health levels inflicted by the attack immediately before it. This cannot add more dice than the character's Martial Arts score. The number of attacks the martial artist may perform through this Charm is limited to her Martial Arts + Essence. This Charm's attacks must all be levied at a single foe, but if that foe is slain, the martial artist may direct her onslaught onto another foe who is within half of her movement distance of the initial target.

(Immobilizing Attack)

Cost: 
Duration: 
Type: 
Minimum Martial Arts: 
Minimum Essence: 
Prerequisite Charms: Shrike Form

Immobilizing attack

Steel Beak Concentration

Cost: 
Duration: 
Type: 
Minimum Martial Arts: 
Minimum Essence: 
Prerequisite Charms: (Immobilizing Attack)

Cover- and Armor-piercing attack

(Flight Charm)

Cost: 
Duration: 
Type: 
Minimum Martial Arts: 
Minimum Essence: 
Prerequisite Charms: Shrike Form

Superior mobility Charm (flight?)

(Super Dodge)

Cost: 
Duration: 
Type: 
Minimum Martial Arts: 
Minimum Essence: 
Prerequisite Charms: (Flight Charm)

Superior dodge effect

(Pinnacle)

Cost: 
Duration: 
Type: 
Minimum Martial Arts: 
Minimum Essence: 
Prerequisite Charms: (Super Dodge), (Extra-Actions Charm), (Piercing Attack)

an impaling attack that essentially clinches the target

Comments

How about allowing piercing damage to affect natural soak as well? - Quendalon

That came to mind, actually. I think that should be post-Form, though. - David. [Clearly, I changed my mind about this. Thanks for the input. :)]

Okay, I'm officially stuck on this one. I haven't had time for a few months to work on Wiki projects, and the ideas I had for this Style have either flown the coop or holed up like the Viet frickin' Cong in my brain. I'm begging quite shamelessly for comments, ideas, input or whatever from the Wiki community. Hell, you folks are more than welcome to outright finish the style, just be sure to credit the Charms you add to yourself. - David.

Thoughts: (1) I'd make Bronze Beak Concentration and Silver Songbird Escape parallel each other, both depending on Shrike-Flight Method and both as prerequisites for the Form (largely because SSE doesn't seem dependent on BBC). (2) I'm worried that this tree might be too focused - it seems that almost everything is either an armor-piercing Charm or a mobility-boosting Charm. (3) Shrike-Flight Method might be too good. It would be a must-have for any unarmed/unarmored brawler or martial artist. Maybe making it a low-cost scene-length charm? ...though then it becomes pretty much pointless once you get the form. -szilard

It is focused, yes. I haven't touched this tree in a while, I just hit it today to add the extra-actions Charm. Finally getting comments on it is nice, though! XD Anyway, focused. Yeah, it is. I'm intending for it to be a fairly straightforward pure-combat style, rather in the vein of Snake and Mantis. Right now, it probably is a bit too narrow; I'll mull over some other effects. I do agree, though, with your comments about arranging the pre-Form tree, and have adjusted it accordingly. - David.

Undergoing major revision! - David.