MartialArts/GloriousPheonixEternalStyle
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Background
Glorious Pheonix Eternal Style
This Style is not applicable with armor. Treat attacks with Tiger Claws and Flame Spears and Rope Darts as unarmed attacks for the purposes of charms in this style.
History
This style was developed by a master of the Chaowin Registrophe variant of the Even Blade Style as a refinement and improvement. Its original master was a scion of house Cathak, one Cathak Kojiro. Kojiro was a young man at the time and lauded as a prodigy of the Martial Arts. Many assumed him to be Registrophe’s eventual heir or even his better. Registrophe petitioned Kojiro’s house for a duel, thinking to gain much in besting “The First of Heaven’s Chosen” the house accepted. Registrophe ended the duel by splitting his opponent’s head with a wooden practice sword and declaring the pathetic excuse for a style to have died with its creator.
It was only years afterwards when the style refused to stay dead, at least one member of house Cathak having completed the style before his masters death, that a number of unenlightened flaws began to be noticed by other masters. To this day the occasional student from the Registrophe variant of the Even Blade Style will disgrace his master and take up the Way of the Long Blade. There is also a small following of Stylists that practice the Way of the Long Blade as their primary style. This style, and its practitioners, are disliked by the majority of Even Blade Stylists who consider it corrupt and flawed in both form and philosophy. Those of the Registrophe variant maintain a stronger opinion, most Way of the Long Blade Stylists having betrayed their masters.
Style
Cherry Blossom Cinders</b>
<b>Cost: 5 motes Duration: Until Next Action Type: Reflexive Keywords: Combo-Ok, Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Survival: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Unquenchable Conflagration Technique
Power seems to sink into the body of the Martial Artist only to pulse outward. This blast manifests as a swirling play of cinders spiraling around the user like the drift of cherry blossoms in early Earth. Those within Essence yards must soak half the practitioner’s Essence rounded up in lethal damage. The swirl of gently blowing cinders also adds Essence again to DV calculations.
Raising Phoenix Strike</b>
<b>Cost: 2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Keywords: Combo-Ok, Obvious, Holy Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Cherry Blossom Cinders
The rebirth of a Phoenix heralds the perseverance, the beauty, the joy, the strife, the struggle, the life…all that is Creation. It is a bulwark against and a scream in the face of all that is not the mortal world. The power of these times is mirrored in the strikes of the Martial Artist. This blow holds in it the inevitability of all cycles and any being killed with it turns to ashes, from which no ghost or other disruption of the cycles of this world can be raised. Normally this blow would do Lethal but against enemies of creation it is considered aggravated.
Concussive Feedback</b>
<b>Cost: 7 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Keywords: Combo-Ok, Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Raising Phoenix Strike
The practitioner with this technique knows the secrets of striking not only the target but also his essence in such a way as to cause a violent backlash. This appears as an explosion caused by the Martial Artist’s blow. Half a moment after the initial hit the targets essence and the essence immediately around the point of impact recoil and reverberate, exploding out seemingly in waves for fire. The Martial Artist does damage as normal but if he successfully hits the target must soak a separate source of damage equal to twice that of the raw damage of the original hit. This second source is considered Lethal.
Raise from Ashes</b>
<b>Cost: 5 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Keywords: Combo-Ok, Counterattack Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Survival: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Unquenchable Conflagration Technique
Like a Phoenix raising from the ashes the Martial Artist returns from a blow even stronger. Strike and recoil in one smooth motion. The Martial Artist accepts the blow of the opponent only to add it to his own strength. After the opponent does damage from her blow roll Martial Arts + Opponents extra successes on the attack. Add the raw damage taken from the opponents attack to the raw damage of the Martial Artist’s counterattack.
Death and Rebirth</b>
<b>Cost: 4 motes Duration: One Scene Type: Reflexive Keywords: Obvious, Counterattack, Shaping, Combo-Ok Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Raise from Ashes
Like the blazing reincarnation of the Phoenix from glory to ash and back so too does the Martial Artist seem to die on impact turning to ash in a wave from point of impact back and in the same cascade blowing away only to swirl back together and reform nearby. Any point during the scene in which the practitioner applies his Defense Value he may spend one mote and move Martial Arts + Essence yards vertically or (Martial Arts + Essence) * 4 yards horizontally. This movement can be treated as an attempt to reestablish surprise with a bonus of half the Martial Artist’s Essence in dice rounded up to the roll.
Eternal Cycles</b>
<b>Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower Duration: Until Used Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-Basic Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Death and Rebirth
The Marital Artist comes to understand the cycles in all things. The turnings of Ages are the processes of her understanding. The births of Eons are her subtle insights. The give and take, the revolutions, turns, horrors, beauties, destructions and unities. All things come and all things go only to begin again when forgotten. Like the eternal yet changing essence of elementals the Martial Artists is one of the few things that doesn’t forget. The Martial Artist can store an attack to be released at a later date. This attack can be modified by applicable charms. This counts as a charm use when the attack is stored but not when released. At Essence six the Martial Artist can store a second attack.
Rivalry of Immortals</b>
<b>Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower, 1 health level Duration: Indefinite Type: Simple Keywords: Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Survival: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Concussive Feedback, Eternal Cycles, Sun’s Flaming Tongue Attack
The Martial Artist finds and binds a Garda Bird to her Essence. The Ancient Phoenix rests for a time in corporeal form and grows stronger from the experience while the Martial Artist gains strength not only from the bond but also from the struggle between eternal fire and flesh. The practitioner with phoenix fire flowing through her veins and undying Essence bound with her own is powerful indeed. As long as the Garde Bird is bound the Martial Artist heals one bashing or one lethal every other action. They are immune to natural sources of fire and due to this connection receive two successes on social rolls involving fire elementals, spirits or Dragon-Blood.
Insubstantial Armour of Feathers and Flame</b>
<b>Cost: 2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Keywords: Combo-Ok, Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Rivalry of Immortals
As easily as the birds of ancient fire cast off death shrugging one form for the next so too can the Martial Artists who have learned to emulate them cast off a blow. When struck an outer skin of sparks and cinders shatters and blows away as flaming feathers of glowing ash to drift into the winds absorbing the hit. When activated he adds his Essence to his soak ratings which count as Hardness for that instant.
Wings of Billowing Flame</b>
<b>Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Insubstantial Armour of Feather and Flame
With a piercing screech, two wings of brilliant billowing flame erupt from the back of the adept encircling her. All those in the area can feel a wash of heat and then searing burning scorching pain as manifest fire burns through them. Within a radius of Essence yards all those in a 360 degree arc suffer the attack, taking (Essence + Martial Arts) * 2 Lethal dice. This damage is piercing, seeping through the smallest crease and tightest guard and the sturdiest armour. On the targets next action they take another Essence in lethal dice as the flames burn themselves out in a burst of light and pain.
Raise from Ashes</b>
<b>Cost: - Duration: N/A Type: Permanent Keywords: None Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Wings of Billowing Flame
This charm is a modification of both Eternal Cycles and Raise from Ashes. Once these charm is purchased if Raise from Ashes is used and Eternal Cycles’s charm slot is open the strike is also stored in Eternal Cycles. This storage does not count as a charm action and only requires 1 mote committed rather than the usual 10 motes and a willpower. Such is the nature of the incarnations of the adept’s chosen emulation that one blow becomes like any other one moment like before and each a part of a whole.
Trail of Ashes, Cinders and Sparks</b>
<b>Cost: 12 motes, 1 willpower Duration: Instant Type: Extra Action Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prerequisite Charms: Raise from Ashes
Like a blazing wildfire or a fleeting spark; the trail cast out by the practitioner is one of wild abandon, searing destruction and ephemeral beauty. In a flash the Martial Artist may move up to Essence * 10 yards leaving a burning wake which extends 5 yards, the movement itself a seeming still-motion lick of flame. Everyone within the wake suffers two martial arts attacks from the stylist and as quickly as the frozen moment comes it passes leaving an after image of still hot cinder. The attacker is immune to defensive effects that hurt the attacker, such as counterattacks of contact damage.
Phoenix Tears</b>
<b>Cost: 5 motes, 1 willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Keywords: Touch Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Rivalry of Immortals
The phoenix, the stylists and the fire are never just about destruction. Never just about death. There is a purity that only comes after destruction. This is not the cycle of life and death wood embodies with is over abundance. Life survives, it grows, old things are cleared away and new ones forms. This never-ending wellspring of primal compassion is as much a part of the phoenix as the fires of destruction. By channeling a small portion of this robust life force the Martial Artist sheds a single tear, which must be touched to the target. The stylist must sacrifice a compassion channel to accomplish this. In return the target heals a number of health levels equal to the practioner’s compassion, with aggravated damage healing at a rate of 1 for 2.
Firestorm</b>
<b>Cost: 15 motes, 2 willpower Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Keywords: Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Phoenix Tears
Like many things the power of flame begins quietly, soft and latent. It is the quiet whisper of a dream, which roars to life and consumes all before it. The fire of the phoenix is slightly more selective but just as awe-inspiring. Imagine a storm of fire, trailing wisps and gouts of flame swirl on essence thermals in a devastating vortex of heat. The firestorm of the Phoenix Stylist extends out to a range of Essence * 10 yards. Anyone in the area not the stylist must tithe one mote per charm or spell activated. With the blistering vortex everything suffers XL per action where X is the total number of motes tithed. To the practitioner and any plants these health levels are only phantom damage. This phantom damage still accumulates and applies wound penalties but when it reaches incapacitated the “victim” instead heals all the phantom damage plus one additional level. This effect does not heal aggravated damage.
Cherry Blossom Cinders</b>
<b>Cost: - Duration: N/A Type: Permanent Keywords: None Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Phoenix Tears
This charm is a natural extension and development of the Glorious Phoenix Eternal Style, once it is purchased again the charm Cherry Blossom Cinders activates without cost and as a non-charm action whenever a charm from this style is used. This charm is still not stackable and once activated lasts until the practitioner’s next action.
Purified by Flame</b>
<b>Cost: 1 willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-Ok, Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prerequisite Charms: Cherry Blossom Cinders
Like the waking of the sleeping and dead Garde the martial artist is reborn clean and new fresh from her fiery rite of purification. The practitioner arches back mouth opened and the Garde bird within burst free in an ear-piercing screech. In addition to the cost of this charm Rivalry of Immortals must have been currently committed and released as this charm is activated. As the Garde bird leaves the body it burns off all crippling effects, poisons, and diseases, as well as mental or social compulsions, illusions, or servitude effects.
Glorious Phoenix Eternal Form</b>
<b>Cost: 6 motes Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Keywords: Form-Type, Obvious Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prerequisite Charms: Purified By Flame, Trail of Ashes, Cinders, and Sparks
Upon adopting the form and stance of the Glorious Phoenix Eternal style the practitioner knows what it is to be purifying flame. Taking into themselves some of the rarified and pure fire essence of the Great Garde, the first fire elemental, the Phoenix, for such are the stylists called, radiates a heat mirage and phantom flames of essence leak from their bodies. Such is the power and heat of their acclimated essence and bodies that anyone successfully touching the Phoenix suffers environmental damage as if from a bonfire of supernatural fire which does (Essence)L/Action with a trauma rating of 3. Anyone that actually touches the Essence of the Phoenix must soak a number of lethal dice of damage with just natural soak equal to the number of motes “touched”. Any attacks made while in Glorious Phoenix Eternal Form are considered Lethal and add Essence to the raw damage. While this form is activated the charm Cherry Blossom Cinders does not end. Finally if this form is activated when the Phoenix dies they are consumed in a pillar of flame leaving only ash without the possibility of becoming a ghost or hungry ghost.
