LunarDefensive/BerserkSeraph
Attaches to Defensive I Charm tree
Steel-Shattering Tiger's Jaws</b>
<b>Cost: 6 motes or 12+ motes and 1 Willpower, see below Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Dexterity: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Golden Tiger Block
Lunars are not merely evasive in their defense of themselves - many take a delight in using the ease in which they can catch foes' clumsy attacks to gain an advantage. A Lunar Exalt with an understanding of this Charm may catch attacks and apply force in such a manner that it will damage the weapon, possibly shattering it in a viselike grip.
The Lunar may use this charm to supplement a successful melee parry attempt (Activated upon the successful parry). By expending the base 6 motes, the character may attempt to shatter the weapon. Should the Lunar's Strength plus his Essence exceed the weapon's damage modifier, the weapon is shattered. Should the damage prove insufficient to destroy the weapon, it still suffers a penalty to accuracy, damage, and defense equal to two times the Lunar's Essence trait until repaired.
Under normal circumstances this is useless against weapons made of the Five Magical Materials, but if the character parries with a weapon made of one such material (Moonsilver claws or teeth, a moonsilver daiklaive, etc.) be may attempt to destroy another weapon - but must pay twice the base Mote cost and expend a point of Willpower. Artifacts are much more difficult to break, requiring the Lunar's Strength + Essence to meet or exceed twice the damage modifier plus its Artifact level (So a Daiklaive requires a total of 12, a Grimcleaver requires 18, and so on). Artifact-weapons are never irrevocably destroyed in this fashion and can be repaired in a week by even mortal smiths with the proper tools, but are rendered inoperable or penalized for the imediate future.
By paying an additional 3 motes (6 motes for Artifacts), the character can count his Strength an additional time for meeting the limit. They may count their Strength a number of times equal to their Essence (so an Essence 3 Lunar could expend an additional 6/12 motes to count their Strength 3 times).
Example: A young Cynis swordswoman attempts to slay the foul Anathema Countless Ivory Razors with her red jade daiklaive, rolling 5 successes on her attack roll. Razors aborts to parry, rolling 7 successes. He activates this charm, marking off the motes and Willpower. His 9 Strength and 3 Essence meet the required total of 12 (5 x 2 + 2) to foul a Daiklaive. It is a strain of his colossal strength and his moonsilver jaws, but he manages to twist the blade, cracking the honed edges and scoring the ornate scribings, into a useless mass of jade. The Cynis Exalt stares in awe and terror at her mangled weapon as the Anathema prepares to turn those jaws on *her*.
Attaches to Defensive II Charm tree
Terrible Body Maw Retort</b>
<b>Cost: 7 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Manipulation: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Unmoving Bear Defense
A Lunar Exalt with fine control of his body and his Essence can use this defensive Charm to reconfigure his shape in preparation for an attack, turning the targeted portion of his body into a dangerous hazard - for example, a Lunar using this charm could 'open' his stomach around an attacker's arm, turning it into a fanged maw which he can snap shut on the offending limb.
The Lunar must announce he is using this Charm before a dodge attempt against an unarmed attack (or an attack using a Brawling aid) is rolled. As long as the dodge scores at least one success, the attack is dodged completely and the character may respond with an attack of his own, using the character's Brawl pool. The counterattack, regardless of form, does a base damage of 4L, plus Strength, plus extra successes. Treat this attack as a counterattack for the purpose of all such charms (I.e., it cannot be used against a counterattack, and counterattacks cannot be used to respond to it.) Like Unmoving Bear Defense, the character need not be able to move his feet but must be able to maneuver for the most part (moving the arms and torso is a good guideline)
Example: Our Cynis Swordswoman tries in vain to damage the Anathema - robbed of her weapon, she attempts to punch the anathema, who aborts (to dodge, this time). Before rolling his dodge, he activates this charm. While she rolled a considerable 6 successes and he rolls a mere 2, he dodges the attack completely, and rolls his counterattack - the Dragon-Blooded has acted and so has no way to resist his 8 successes on the attack. While the Dynast's jade-reinforced armor and Stamina reduces his damage pool to 10 dice, she still takes 5 levels of damage from the attack. As she swings her armored fist into Razors' seemingly-unguarded stomach, his tattooed flesh twists into a set of shark's jaws that, opening to admit her arm's entry, slam shut on the extended arm, scything through flesh and scoring bone
BerserkSeraph ~ Cut some of the older comments which referred to an earlier and flawed version - the following stuff leads into the current structures more readily. View other revisions for the old stuff, if you're interested in mocking my ineptitude. Do 'single success insured dodge' charms require Willpower expenditure?
Why don't you have it based on strength req and damage? That automatically incorporates the artifact rating, and bigger weapons (ones that do more damage) would indeed seem to be harder to break. I have to agree that vastly over complex charms are undesirable. I'd suggest HL = to damage + (2xStr Requisites). Artifacts already do more damage than an equivalent weapon, so they're catered for, and if they also have more soak, it's sorted. Finally... shattering jade like kindling is still unlikely... I'd state that this charm damages weapons to unusability, but cannot permanantly -break- 5MM weapons. Anyway, it would be just as funny if the lunar twisted the jade-alloy daiklave into a pretzel and left giant teethmarks, would it not? (I know it's not -quite- the same... but 5MM are almost never permanantly damaged. Perhaps on those, each extra multiple of the weapon's health-levels that is inflicted should impose a 1pt Damaged Artifact flaw on it?)
-- Darloth
That's certainly an option - my only concern therein is that it makes it nearly impossible to break certain mundane weapons, like a Sledge (18 health levels!), whereas a Daiklaive would take half as many levels of damage. I think a suitably-strong Lunar should have little issue breaking/fouling any mundane weapon with the Charm. Maybe apply the strength bonus (and whatever fix we find for Dex-only-restriction weapons) and then multiply by 1+Artifact level, meaning a Daiklaive would still require 6 HL of damage but a grand Daiklaive would take 12 levels. Added a note that you 'render 5MM weapons inoperable' rather than breaking them, but didn't bother with the example - it's not like a Dynast doesn't have a broom closet full of jade artifact weapons, anyway.
~ BerserkSeraph
I see your point. But the artifact has a much higher soak, and other intangible benefits. The Sledge -is- a really big rock on a really strong stick, after all. It'll need fiddling, as all systems usually do... But I think something related to the damage is probably the only way you'll get of working out how 'tough' a weapon is. Corrosive parry uses it, as does another anti-weapon charm I think. Not sure if the other is canon though.
-- Darloth
I finally cracked the spine on my Abyssal book after a search of Ex. Compendium found me where Corrosive Parry was, and I've put in place a new structure for the idea that might work out a little better, separating the two effects (Unarmed/Brawl - counter and weapon breaker) into separate entities. I'm not sure of the 'likability' of the use of damage pool in place of rolled damage, but the flat value's an easier reference and otherwise the 18 some odd health levels of damage needed to break a mundane Sledge was pretty inaccessible without hefty DBT/Charms.
~ BerserkSeraph
I very very very much like the counter-dodge-thingy, and I'm going to borrow it for any 'ahaha, I shall just stand here and still kill you' lunar I make.
That said... I'm not sure about the damage-pool effect either... but... maybe it's more appropriate. Maybe spending a willpower (in addition to the one necessary for attempting to break artifacts) could let you roll something to add on to that base level? Perhaps willpower, similarly to strength + athletics? Just an idea... I realise that probably makes the possible pools too large, but I'd like there to be at least a possible randomness, and this way means you can easily break small, inconsequential things, yet still have a chance of breaking big hefty things. What do you think? (In addition... it almost seems the same as the str + ath effects to break any -other- inanimate object, which feels somehow appropriate to me)
-- Darloth
Whee! New version - this time it becomes something the character has more control of, so the average Physical-primary Lunar can shatter most small/mundane weapons, but it takes DBT to get heavy stuff, and DBT and a lot of Motes to break the huuuuge artifacts. But if your opponent's swinging that sort of weapon around, I for one would be glad to take the hit to stop 'em. ^_^ ~ BerserkSeraph
Good job thinking up the new mechanic for the breaking charm, I now think that bit is probably as near to perfect as you're going to get. I have minor issues with what happens if you don't break the weapon though... Especially for artifact weapons, 3x (Essencex2) seems like a really big penalty... I'd suggest either that the penalty is split up (weapon-breaker's choice, max of Essence x2 to any stat) or that you work something in so that if you failed to break an artifact by a huge amount, the penalty is less. (Perhaps subtract the difference between what you have and what you needed to break the weapon from the penalty? For example, if you had Str 4, and were trying to break a damage 8 artifact... you'd apply a penalty of (Essencex2)-4.)
I think I prefer the first one (splitting the penalty between stats, attacker's choice) as then it's up to them what they break off/mangle... but it's up to you, and you're doing a good job with these so far! Hope you keep it up.
-- Darloth
