MartialArtsRelay/SerpentOcean
Serpent Ocean Style
- CrunchRelay
- MartialArtsRelay
willows suggests: This is a Celestial style. It has 10 Charms. I think it'd be cool to have some poison and extreme dexterity stuff in here.
2. Whiplash Strike (by szilard)
- Cost: 3 motes
- Duration: Varies
- Type: Reflexive
- Min. Martial Arts: 2
- Min. Essence: 1
- Prereqs: None
Like the serpent that lashes out in a strike as one enters its domain, the character may strike out at opponents who invade her space in combat. Activating this Charm provides a bonus of Essence x 2 to the character's initiative, provided that the character's first action is an attack. This bonus is reduced by one on each subsequent turn of combat. This Charm ends when the character chooses not to attack on her initial action or when the bonus reaches zero, whichever comes first.
3. Ride the Tides (by Zergplex)
- Cost: 1 mote per dice
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Reflexive
- Min. Martial Arts: 2
- Min. Essence: 2
- Prereqs: Whiplash Strike
Like a serpent who slithers through the waves you may evade attacks in the same serpentine fashion. Once activated you may add dice to a dodge attempt at 1 mote per extra dice. This Charm allows you to purchase up to the character's maximum dice cap + Martial Arts in dice for a single dodge attempt, this is an exception to the normal rules on dice-adding Charms.
1. Serpent Ocean Form - FourWillowsWeeping
- Cost: 5 motes
- Duration: One Scene
- Type: Simple
- Min. Martial Arts: 4
- Min. Essence: 2
- Prereqs: Ride the Tides
The martial artist moves like a ribbon snake under water, winding around the currents of air effortlessly. Each time he changes his direction of motion, he gains speed and power: he adds one die to any dodge or Martial Arts attack equal to the number of non-reflexive actions he has already taken in the same turn. As a direct result of this ability, a Serpent Ocean stylist who aborts to dodge does not suffer the cascading penalty on his dodge pools.
Like these stupendously toxic snakes of the sea, he carries a deadly venom: his fingers and teeth trail diffuse plumes of toxin, poisoning anyone who kisses him or takes Health Levels of damage from his attacks, and he can inflict Lethal damage with his unarmed attacks. The strength of the stylist's toxin is based on his strength of spirit. The Stamina + Resistance roll to resist is at a difficulty of his Conviction, and it deals one die of lethal damage if the target succeeds. If she fails, she takes his Martial Arts in dice of lethal damage. This toxin is, like all poisons, unsoakable, but because it is so diffuse it deals dice rather than levels.
This is a Martial Arts Form-type Charm and is incompatible with other forms or armour. The Serpent Ocean style treats deerhorn knives and ribbon swords (stat as wind-fire wheels and straight sword) as unarmed attacks.
4. Venomous Stance - szilard
- Cost: 4 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Simple
- Min. Martial Arts: 5
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prereqs: Serpent Ocean Form
The martial artist assumes a stance that is a visual reflection of the poison of the sea snake. Anyone who views the martial artist is poisoned and must make a Stamina + Resistance roll at a difficulty of the martial artist's Conviction or suffer a penalty equal to the martial artist's Essence to all die pools for the remainder of the scene due to the feverish hallucinations that are an effect of the visual poison. This Charm has no effect on those who do not physically view the martial artist.
5. Silken Nest - FourWillowsWeeping
- Cost: 5 motes
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Reflexive
- Min. Martial Arts: 5
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prereqs: Serpent Ocean Form
Swift and crafty, the sea snake can attack and evade in a single, serpentine motion. The martial artist trains his joints to unfold comprehensively, gaining a bit of this guile. He rolls his Dexterity + Martial Arts, applying all bonuses or penalties that apply to his dodges or attacks (specifically excepting the PowerCombat Essence bonus to dodges), and applies the number of successes as a dodge and a counterattack (as per Solar Counterattack) against a hand-to-hand attack. The motions involved in this technique are inseparable; one cannot dodge a counterattack or counter an undodgeable attack with it.
6. Whirling Serpent Attack - szilard
- Cost: 4 motes
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Supplemental
- Min. Martial Arts: 5
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prereqs: Serpent Ocean Form
Like the sea snake that may attack from above, below, or behind without warning, the character uses this charm to whip his body around his opponent in order to attack from an unexpected direction. This attack is always treated as an attack from behind, and it ignores any cover and height modifiers less than the character's Essence.
7. Liquid Sword - FourWillowsWeeping
- Cost: 5 motes
- Duration: Martial Arts in turns
- Type: Reflexive
- Min. Martial Arts: 5
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prereqs: Whirling Serpent Attack
Enacting this Charm, the adept's body becomes light and flexible, enough that he is able to use the air to propel himself from place to place. He is able to move through the air unsupported, but cannot run, only walk. In addition, after making an attack, the stylist may move up to his Dexterity in yards in any direction; this is in addition to the stylist's standard movement for the turn. This reactive propulsion does not allow the adept to escape the initial counter to an attack, but he may escape the rest of a series of counters (as those of the Cannibalistic Heritage) if the counterattacker is unable to follow.
8. Coiled-Defense Venom Bite - TedPro
- Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: One Scene
- Type: Simple
- Min. Martial Arts: 5
- Min. Essence: 4
- Prereqs: Venomous Stance, Silken Nest
The user of this venomous Charm makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack. If the target suffers at least 1 HL of damage, then inky wisps of shimmering Essence trail between the Martial Artist and the target, flashing violently when the two come close. This causes the victim to suffer weakness against the Form's toxins, and a flare of toxins whenever attacking the Martial Artist. For the remainder of the scene, the victim of this Charm suffers the toxic effects of Serpent Ocean Form (as if the adept is enacting it) whenever attacking this Charm's user. The target's difficulty to resist all of the Style's toxins is increased by the number of HLs suffered from any of the Style's toxins; this difficulty penalty subsides at the rate of 1 additional level of difficulty per turn.
9.Twisting Fang Strike-Issaru
- Cost:10 Motes,1 Willpower, 1 Health level
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Simple
- Min. Martial Arts: 5
- Min. Essence: 4
- Prereqs: Whirling Serpent Attack, Liquid Sword
Upon activating this charm the martial artist's arms and legs take on not only the qualities of a Sea Snake, but the water in which it lives. This charm adds the user's permanent essence in auto sucesses to a martial arts attack, the base Damage is doubled also. Also due to this attacks fluid (pardon the pun) nature it provoke a couterattack, but can be defended against normally.
10.Final Dreams Toxic Fist-TedPro
- Cost:8 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Supplemental
- Min. Martial Arts: 5
- Min. Essence: 4
- Prereqs: Coiled-Defense Venom Bite, Twisting Fang Strike
The Martial Artist's body is briefly wreathed in toxic kaleidescopic Essence which carries a mystical hallucinogen. Anyone struck by a blow enhanced with Final Dreams Toxic Fist must make a Stamina + Resistance roll, with a difficulty equal to the number of successes on the attack after all defenses are applied. If the victim fails this roll, he falls into a nightmare-filled hallucination of drowning, surrounded by strange hostile shapes, nerves overwhelmed with pain. The victim collapses into a hallucinogenic coma for a full day, unable to move or respond in any way, and must make a Conviction roll (standard difficulty) or gain a Derangement from the maddening visions seen.
- back to CrunchRelay.
Comments
- I'm adding numbers by the titles of these charms so it can be seen what order they are posted in. - willows
- willows, DigitalSentience, and Fifth discuss the Form. Form is revised.
- Ride the Tides: Hmmm... I'm not sure how I feel about it being an exception to the normal die-adding rules. Can you buy up a dodge from zero dice with this? - szilard
- Discussion on starting new themes. DigitalSentience's theme will follow this.
Coiled-Defense Venom Bite: I'd suggest changing the prerequisite charms to Venomous Stance and Silken Nest, both because of what the various charms do and to add some symmetry to the tree. Also, is that Str+1 flat damage? Str+1 damage dice? Str+1 base damage? - szilard
- More: This Charm bugs me out. I can't really imagine the martial logic behind it, first of all. It's at its core an interesting effect (mark an opponent who you then get counterattacks against), but there are several mechanical gripes i have with it:
- It is Supplemental. This means that a stylist who is willing to split his attack actions can attack several targets, damage them with Essence ping, and guarantee terrifying agg-dealing counterattacks on them. Several targets.
- As Stuart pointed out, the damage rating isn't defined clearly enough.
- In my opinion, multiple attacks that deal agg are not something that Celestial Martial Arts should have access to in any form.
- This is just my attitude and you can ignore it, but I don't feel like this Style needs counterattacks anyway; it is more actively, decisively hostile.
- Now thinking about what this Charm does, I see that it makes it a bad idea for people to attack the martial artist, and it's described as having an inky venom component. I like that; it's cool. So maybe we can leverage one of the existing toxin effects to get the same feel, without the frightening implications of easy-access agg. Perhaps something like this:
- Instant duration. Striking one of the target's central veins, the martial artist breaks down his resistance to the sea snake's toxins. He makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack. If the target suffers at least 1 HL of damage, then until the end of the scene he suffers the toxic effects of Serpent Ocean Form (if the adept is enacting it) when he attacks the adept. The target's difficulty to resist all of the Style's toxins is increased by the number of HLs he suffered; this difficulty penalty subsides at the rate of 1 additional success per turn.
- Still frightening, still a kind of counterattack, but less aggy and, in my opinion, integrated with the rest of the Style better. - willows
- Agreed. Modified the Charm to use the different prerequisites, with text that's functionally similar to what you proposed. - TedPro
- Cool. - willows
- Agreed. Modified the Charm to use the different prerequisites, with text that's functionally similar to what you proposed. - TedPro
- I generally agree with your critiques, but... ummm... didn't you write a counterattack charm for this style?
- I think that if we want to lean in the direction of your revision of the Charm, then we ought to simply make it a Instant, Supplemental Charm that marks those struck such that the difficulty of resisting toxins of the Style is increased by the Martial Artist's Essence for the rest of the scene. -szilard
- Gee, you're right. Make that an additional counterattack, then(: Silly me. - willows
Re:Twisting Fang Strike: This Charm is like, a whole Combo. To duplicate it with printed Charms, you need, on top of the Thunderbolt Attack and Uncoiling Serpent Pranas, a success-adder for Martial Arts, and something that prevents counterattacks! That's at least four Charms. Personally, I'd strip this down to a clone of USP, which is a really cool and thematic addition to this Style, even though it's not strictly a new Charm. - willows
Re:Twisting Fang Strike:5DFB doubles base damage and provides knockdown and is only the one charm( technically)down the line and it need less essence a lot fewer motes and and it's terrestrial. On the other hand it does have a few too many features and i'm about to change that now. Also it was my fault about printing as a supplemental it was supposed to be a simple charm, and as always thanx for the comments :0).-Issaru
