MartialArts/ThreefoldWaysofTormentStyle
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The Scripture of Suffering: Threefold Ways of Torment Style
A young style by Sidereal standards, this form has existed for only a thousand years. Popular rumor has it that was handcrafted by Chejop Kejak himself in order to train the Exalt that was to be his replacement. It is based upon the principle of suffering, which some of the more jaded elders will say is the only thing that keeps creation extant. Kejak intended for this form to guide his protégé through what he viewed as all the ways one could suffer, and to teach her how to draw strength from her own pain. Over the years, he has recommended learning this style to any sidereal of sufficient strength who is beginning to feel the strain of destiny upon them. Many a disturbed exalt has undergone this study, and has emerged with a clear mind, and heavy heart. Practitioners of this style lose something of themselves, the price for the ability to face the trials that service to fate will bring.
This style is incompatible with the use of armor.
Strife of Mind</b>
<b>Cost: 6 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Reflexive
Minimum MA: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: None
Whose mind would not cease to race…
A new sorcerer is a changed being: new thoughts and perceptions not one’s own constantly intrude upon the mind asking troubling questions, and making disturbing observations. Ideas of “If only…” description become the most common thing on the sorcerer’s mind, and worry and doubt is a constant companion. Yet, one chose to become a sorcerer, and many are indeed satisfied. The Chosen of Fate, however, did not choose to serve fate.
Their minds are also troubled by their very existences, and no mortal being can know as much as the Sidereals do without it changing them. This charm accepts that fact and moves on.
Upon invocation of this charm, doubt and worry do not plague the character for the rest of the scene. The character is perfectly clear in thought and action, knowing that he can worry about it later. Mechanically, the character may succeed or fail virtue or willpower rolls as he sees fit.
Strife of Soul</b>
<b>Cost: 8 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum MA: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: None
Whose soul yearned for love…
The Sidereal Exalted are often called upon to perform unspeakable acts in the service of the greater good. Every Chosen must be willing to sacrifice even their own loved ones should the need arise. Such cold-heartedness is not inherently human, while the Exalted are, and these horrors will begin to erode one’s soul. Yet in recognition of this fact does the key to keeping empathy lie. Weep at the act, not the necessity of the act, and let that sorrow guide you to success.
Activation of this charm allows the Exalt to add two virtues to any given roll during the scene. The cost for channeling a virtue remains the same. For example, a Sidereal could add both her conviction and compassion to a roll using Hot Eyed Snake whispering, and would still pay only one willpower. This is not a dice bonus added by charms.
Strife of Body</b>
<b>Cost: 15 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum MA: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: None
And whose body was torn by her own hands.
The pain of the body is oft over looked by the Exalted, for they are greater than it. Yet the wisest of Sidereals knows that physical pain is the template by which we gauge all pain. Thus it is the source of our perceptions of pain, and if controlled, can give dominion over the pain of soul and mind.
Once this charm is activated, the Exalt ignores all wound penalties, and instead adds them to all dice pools from which they would normally subtract. This is considered dice bonus from charms.
Nameless Fears Form</b>
<b>Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum MA: 6
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms: Strife of Mind
So she drilled out her brain…
Adopting the mindset of the terrified, the Exalt becomes convinced that she will die. Had she not gained the understanding of unrest the previous charm gave her, she would flee. But now that death is inevitable, this fight is her last, and thus all her passion must be poured into it.
The Exalt cannot be convinced by any means that those she perceives as the enemy will not kill her. This is a perfect effect. Further, her passion gives her willpower beyond reckoning: she supplements all her actions with dice equal to her willpower. This does not count as dice added by charms.
Dead to The World Form</b>
<b>Cost: 5 Motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum MA: 6
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms: Strife of Soul
Fed her soul to evil…
The Exalt looses all her sympathy. All her kindness, pity and hope. Had she not learned how to endure true torment of the soul previously, she would be little better than dead. Instead, her true self is held in stasis, while she begins to erode the souls of those around her.
The exalt can protect a number of people equal to her essence from the effects. Everyone else within (Essence x 10) yards is spiritually and emotionally drained. Victims feel hopeless and lethargic, and all action becomes increasingly difficult. All victims must succeed at a willpower roll with difficulty equal to the martial artists’ essence or be unable to do anything other than quietly sob on the ground, unless they spend a willpower point for each action they take.
Ten Thousand Bleeding Cuts Form</b>
<b>Cost: 15 Motes,1 Willpower, 1 Lethal health level
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum MA: 6
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms: Strife of Body
And committed her body to the void.
The Exalt understands fully the simple axiom: Life is pain. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something. He opens his veins to the world and embraces life. Had he not learned to sustain such physical torture as the previous charm inflicts, he would bleed out within seconds. Now, however, he cannot know any pain other than life.
While this form is active, any external damage the Exalt sustains is healed at the end of the round. Effectively, the Exalt is invincible, so long as he is not slain within one round. Note that this charm does not protect against self-inflicted wounds, only those suffered from external sources.
Threefold Ways of Torment Form</b>
<b>Cost: 20 motes, 2 Willpower
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum MA: 7
Minimum Essence: 7
Prerequisite Charms: Nameless Fears Form, Dead to the World Form, Ten Thousand Bleeding Cuts Form
Thus, she lived happily ever after.
The Exalt has at last learned to endure and accept all the suffering that her place a Chosen of the Maidens brings. The nameless faces of her victims may still haunt her dreams, but she may now tell them with the full weight of her soul behind it that she is sorry for their loss, but their sacrifice was not in vain.
This Charm may only be activated while one of its subsidiary charms is activated. This charm supercedes and ends the effects of the previous form charm. While active, the Sidereal is totally immune to suffering in anyway. Firstly, the Sidereal cannot die during the combat in which this form is active. The only way in which the sidereal will die during the combat is if it is his fated time. Otherwise, if reduced below incapacitated, the sidereal will simply expire after the combat ends. Secondly, the character is immune to all forms of mind control, essence, willpower, attribute, ability or virtue drain. Only the Sidereal can modify his dice pools, difficulties, and target numbers. Even the horror of a spell such as Rune of Singular Hatred will be shrugged off by a Sidereal using this form. Thirdly, since the Sidereal is beginning to loose all doubts about what is and is not possible, he suffers no penalties for splitting his actions. While using this last feature, the Exalt has a weapon rate equal to his Essence, regardless of what its original rate may be. The exalt still cannot use more than one simple charm per turn.
This is the elder sutra of suffering:
Once, I met a sixth Maiden…</b>
<b>Benediction of the Blightless Mind</b>
<b>Cost: 15 Motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum MA: 8
Minimum Essence: 8
Prerequisite Charms: Threefold Ways of Torment Form
Who told me: “If you wish for enlightenment, you must learn this:
Thoughts of “possible,” or “impossible,” “up,” or “down,” no longer trouble the enlightened martial artist. To her, Elsewhere is everywhere, and nothing is not Elsewhere. Thus, does she prove to the world that she should be exactly where she wishes to be at any given time.
Although theoretically able to traverse great distances with this charm, no sidereal has yet tried, due the inherent danger of proving to the world that she ought to be embedded in solid rock. Thus, the charm finds its utility in short range, instantaneous travel.
While this charm is active, the character may attack on any initiative tick she wishes. She need not take all her actions on a single tick, but may divide them as she sees fit. Additionally, for a cost of one mote of essence, the Sidereal can reflexively be anywhere she wishes. As previously stated, it is highly recommended that the character only teleport to areas she can currently see. If attempting to travel to an area she cannot see, she must make an Essence + Intelligence roll, with a difficulty of 10. Failure indicates that she has misjudged some minor detail of the target area, and appears with one or more limbs somehow inside solid objects. The storyteller should feel free to think of appropriately evil consequences in the unlikely event of a botch.
However, this charm may be used as a defense against any non-perfect attack. Unless the attack is somehow still able to hit the Sidereal in her new location, it misses.
Expulsion of the Tainted Shape</b>
<b>Cost: 8 motes
Duration: Varies
Type: Supplemental
Minimum MA: 8
Minimum Essence: 8
Prerequisite Charms: Threefold Ways of Torment Form
“No matter your strength of mind, body or soul…
Once pain is mastered it can be manipulated. Once it is understood that the world is full of pain, it can be gathered up in droves. The pain of the grass beneath his feet, the pain of the air cut by his sword, of the sunlight falling to earth, the exalt will never be without pain to use against his foes.
When using this charm, the Exalt ignores soak, and rolls no damage dice. Rather, for every success he gains beyond his opponent’s defense, the target suffers increasingly debilitating effects. Firstly, the opponent’s target number for every physical action is increased by one, to a maximum target number of nine. Once fate has decided to harm the target, the pain begins to erode the victim’s limbs. Every success then adds one to the base difficulty of all physical actions to a maximum of the Sidereal’s essence. Finaly the pain becomes so great that the target’s very being is unable to ignore it any longer. Every success then reduced the target’s dice pool by one, to a minimum of zero, before the use of charms. These effects linger as long as the Sidereal is within (his essenceX10) yards from the target.
Betrayal of the Self</b>
<b>Cost: 20 motes, 3 willpower
Duration: Indefinite
Type: Simple
Minimum MA: 8
Minimum Essence: 8
Prerequisite Charms: Threefold Ways of Torment Form
“That no matter how old or wise you may be…
The Exalt knows now that the soul is not a part of the body, but merely a vessel to be used as the soul sees fit. Once this has been realized, it is no longer necessary for the soul to be present in the body for the body to respond to the soul’s will.
The effects of the realization are all at once subtle, profound and awesomely powerful. The Exalt may use this charm to detach her soul from his body, and the soul may then roam freely. While detached, the body will still function exactly as the Exalt would if her soul occupied it; it may speak, eat, fight, cavort, or do paperwork while the Exalt’s true self is otherwise engaged. The Exalt’s soul may take actions souls may normally take, such as intrusion upon dreams, espionage and so forth. The soul may take no physical actions unless it finds a vessel to inhabit. This may be any object or being the exalt wishes, from an enemy, to a plant by the roadside. Such possession is resolved by opposed willpower + essence rolls. In the case of inanimate objects, this is automatic.
While separated, the Exalt still uses a single essence and willpower pool., unless the soul possesses another essence channeler, in which case the exalt gains the use of that essence pool, and my spend the motes fueling charms or spells used by either portion of her being. Note that this specifically allows the exalt to effectively use two simple charms per turn: one for her body and one for her soul. Should the Exalt’s body be slain while using this charm, the soul remains viable, until the body suffers levels of damage beyond incapacitated equal to her temporary essence. Each such level of damage drains one mote from her essence pool. Once at zero motes, the Exalt’s body and soul are destroyed, and will dissipate normally, save that her higher soul will always immediately fall into Lethe.
Until the End of All Things</b>
<b>Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Minimum MA: 9
Minimum Essence: 9
Prerequisite Charms: Benediction of the Blightless Mind, Expulsion of the Tainted Shape, Betrayal of the Self
“You will always suffer.”
The Exalt has suffered enough. Her millennia of sacrifice, millennia of pain and torment must end, now and at any cost, or else she will cease to be. The magic of the charms she has learned until now is a temporary reprieve at best, and now she requires a final end, of her pain, or herself.
Learning this charm is simple: the student is shown the final line in the elder sutra, inscribed in the loom of fate. Its truth is absolute, and no force short of a primordial could hope to even contest its veracity. Upon seeing that line written plainly in the stars themselves, the Exalt has a choice: accept her lot, and know that the torture she faces is fundamentally eternal, or simply cease to exist. How the Exalt’s choice is handled in game is left to the storyteller, but should reflect such a momentous step in the character’s life. Should the Exalt decide to end it all, her body, mind and soul are irrevocably destroyed, and her shard sadly makes its way back to its new host. Should she choose to continue her weary lot, she paradoxically finds serenity in suffering that will allow her strength to continue her endless task.
Firstly, such an affirmation of her own place and duty in the world is wholly antithecal to all denizens of Malfeas or the Underworld, whose inherently selfish existences are challenged by the Sidereal’s perseverance. Add the character’s essence in automatic successes to all actions opposing these beings, and all damage done to them is aggravated. Furthermore, demons and ghosts of all sorts are unable to remain in the character’s presence without extreme discomfort. Demons, ghosts, Abyssal and Infernal exalts with an essence less than the character’s conviction must either flee, or submit to the pull of Lethe. This effect may even overcome artifacts designed to throw ghosts attempting to enter Lethe into oblivion, instead hurling the offending artifact to the ultimate end. Prolonged exposure to this effect can cause a breakdown of the mind and body for these beings. Demons, ghosts, Abyssal and Infernal exalts with an essence greater than the character’s conviction suffer a die pool penalty equal to the character’s conviction. No effect employed by any of these beings, even the Ebon Dragon himself will ever rob the character of the wisdom she has gained, or bend her to their will. This is a perfect effect.
As a further bonus, all beings working under the Sidereal with an essence less than or equal to her compassion, and who share the Sidereal’s all encompassing desire to protect creation will never fail a virtue test, or suffer wound penalties of any sort. These beings need not be aware of the Sidereal to receive this effect.
The final benefit of this charm is that it raises the cap on all virtues to 7. The experience cost to raise virtues remains the same.
