MartialArts/SteadyHeartStyle
Steady Heart Style
By Moxiane
History
The Steady Heart style was created as a part of the Five-Fold Path to Perfection, a series of Martial Arts styles devised by one of the greatest Solar martial artists of the First Age. Based upon his perceptions of the virtue of Temperance, Steady Heart style is based upon the ideas of balance (both physical and mental) and patience, and many of its combat techniques revolve around careful measured blows. The Steady Heart style is classed as Celestial-level Martial Arts and can be taught to Dragon-Blooded with a similar training regime to that required for the Immaculate Dragon styles, but only Earth-Aspect Terrestrials can advance past the Form Charm, and their alignment ends with the Higher Form. A character may always channel his Temperance when using Charms from the Steady Heart Style.
The Steady Heart Style, as do many other martial arts styles, treats certain weapons as if they were barehanded attacks for the purposes of certain Charms. A character using these Charms may direct their magic through the weapon being used, if it is one of the style’s so-called signature weapons, which for the Steady Heart style is the fighting chain.
Charms
Balance-Retaining Technique
Cost: 2 motes Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 2 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: None
The first thing that a student of the Steady Heart learns is balance and how to maintain it under even the most adverse circumstances. This Charm gives the Exalted extra dice equal to his Martial Arts to any single test to maintain his balance – this specifically does not include knockdown/back in combat.
Sure Strike Method
Cost: 3 motes Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Balance-Retaining Technique
The Steady Heart teaches it followers that if they are steady and sure in their movements then Creation itself will ensure that their opponent moves into the blow. By using this Charm the Exalted can add his permanent Essence to his Martial Arts dice pool for a single bare-handed attack.
Influence-Reducing Prana
Cost: 4 motes Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Balance-Retaining Technique
The Steady Heart style gives its students methods whereby they can strongly resist external mental influences of all sorts, allowing them to retain the serene tranquillity required for the higher teachings of the style. Upon spending the motes roll the Exalted’s permanent Willpower and note the successes gained. Each success on this roll adds one die to any attempt to resist mental or emotional manipulation by external, magical forces (such as Terrifying Apparition of Glory). The character does not have to be aware of the attempt to influence him when it happens, but will be made so upon activation of the Charm. Use of this ability does not inform the character of the source of the control attempt, merely that it happened. This Charm specifically will not help with resisting social dice-adder Charms since they affect the Exalted using them, and not the target of the Exalted’s blandishments.
Mountain Goat Stance
Cost: 2 motes Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Balance-Retaining Technique
In combat between Exalted the blows struck can be so fierce that, even if unhurt by the attack itself, the character can be knocked to his knees, or sent flying into a wall or over a cliff. This teaching of the Steady Heart style can reduce or even negate this effect, making an Exalted much harder to dislodge or remove from combat. The Exalted activates this Charm upon being successfully attacked in combat, and it reduces the raw damage of the blow by the character’s Martial Arts + Essence for the purposes of calculating knock-back or knock-down only.
Steady Heart Form
Cost: 6 motes Type: Simple Duration: 1 scene Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Sure Strike Method, Influence-Reducing Prana, Mountain Goat Stance
The first real step to mastery of the Steady Heart style, the Exalted who learns this Charm lets Essence flow through his body, speeding his wits and his hands, toughening his skin and making his stride sure and true. For the duration of the scene that this Charm is active increase add the Exalted’s Martial to his initiative and to any bare-handed parries that he may make (he may make reflexive parries with his Martial Arts) – he may now parry Lethal damage with his bare hands without a Stunt. Also the character’s Bashing and Lethal soaks are increased by his permanent Essence, and all attempts to knock him off his feet suffer a difficulty penalty equal to his Temperance. A character may have only one Martial Arts Form-type Charm active at a time, and activating any other immediately ends the effects of this one. The character must have a Temperance score of at least 3 to learn and use this Charm. This Charm is not compatible with the use of armour.
Temperance-Supporting Technique
Cost: None Type: Special Duration: Permanent Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Steady Heart Form
The character aligns his anima more closely than ever before with the virtue of Temperance, so much so that should he draw upon it he will receive a greater than usual benefit. Whenever the character channels a point of Willpower through the Virtue he will receive one more die than usual. This does not affect the number of times that the character may call upon his Temperance per story, only the number of dice he gains from doing so.
Foe-Observation Method
Cost: 2+ motes Type: Simple Duration: 1 scene Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Steady Heart Form
Patience defeats rashness, so says the Steady Heart, and when the Exalted observes his opponent through this Charm his blows will seem weaker and his defences less potent, since the Exalted has learned the flaws of his combat style. The character chooses an opponent when he activates this Charm and, from the beginning of the following turn, each attack that the targeted opponent makes against the character, and each dodge or parry he attempts against the Exalted’s blows suffer a -1 dice-pool penalty for every two motes of Essence spent on its activation. This Charm may be used against multiple opponents at once, but the full price of 2 motes per -1 die must be paid for each such, and the motes spent are committed until the opponent is unconscious or incapacitated. A given opponent may not suffer a greater penalty that the Temperance of the Exalted.
Blow-Delaying Prana
Cost: 2 motes / point Type: Simple Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Steady Heart Form
The ability to wait until the perfect moment to strike is at hand is characteristic of the practitioners of the Steady Heart style. They will oft-times wait for their opponent to strike, leaving a gap in their defences which the Exalted can exploit, delivering a crushingly powerful blow. For each two motes that the character spends on activating this Charm the character delays his next barehanded attack by one point from his normal initiative score (up to a maximum of the Exalted’s Martial Arts + Temperance). When the character’s delayed attack occurs, his Martial Arts dice pool is increased by an amount equal to the delay granted by the Charm (this bonus specifically overrides the normal cap on dice-adder Charms dependent on the type of Exalted), and the damage inflicted by a successful attack is increased by half of this amount (rounded down).
Certain Intuition Attack
Cost: 4 motes Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Foe-Observation Method, Blow-Delaying Prana
The teachings of the Steady Heart slowly become more integrated into the worldview of the Exalted and he is now able to allow his intuition and instinct guide his blows along lines that his opponent will find difficult to block or avoid. An opponent who attempts to dodge or parry the blow enhanced with the use of this Charm has his dice pool reduced by the Exalted’s Temperance. This Charm is specifically compatible with Foe-Observation Method.
Mind of Iron Technique
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Steady Heart Form
Mental and emotional balance are both just as important to the Steady Heart stylist as physical balance, particularly with the cornucopia of creatures and effects that can bend a person’s will, or alter his perceptions. With this Charm the Exalted can more easily resist such effects, becoming able to decline the most ardent seductress or resist the mind-shattering power of the Terrifying Apparition of Glory. When facing a mind-altering effect this Charm grants the character extra dice equal to his Martial Arts to resist the effect, as well as a number of automatic successes equal to his permanent Essence. The character does not have to be aware of the attempt to influence him when it happens, but will be made so upon activation of the Charm. Use of this ability does not inform the character of the source of the control attempt, merely that it happened – although most effects this strong will have an obvious source. This Charm will help the character to resist the effects of social dice-adder Charms.
Perfect Equilibrium Method
Cost: 3 motes Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Blow-Delaying Prana, Mind of Iron Technique
Balance is all-important to the Steady Heart stylist and upon learning this Charm he can make it absolute, rendering attempts to trip him or otherwise knock him off his feet essentially futile. Upon activating this Charm the character automatically passes one test to retain his balance. It may also be used in combat, in which case it completely negates one attempt at knock-back or knock-down resulting from an attack. This Charm does not provide any other protection, merely ensuring that the Exalted will stay on his own two feet.
Steady Heart Higher Form
Cost: 8 or 16 motes Type: Simple Duration: 1 scene Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisites: Certain Intuition Attack, Perfect Equilibrium Method
A master of the Steady Heart is almost impossible to ruffle or put off guard, allowing the twin powers of Essence and Temperance to fuel his defences and awareness, while simultaneously toughening his physical frame against injury. With this Charm active the character adds his Martial Arts score to his Bashing soak, and may now soak Lethal damage with his full Stamina. Also, the character is now considered to be automatically aware of any attack directed against him (as long as the attacker is within his Temperance in yards), and may add his permanent Essence in automatic successes to all bare-handed parries he may make.
As a Higher Form this Charm is expressly compatible with and requires the activation of Steady Heart Form to be used itself (the greater cost in motes allows both Charms to be activated simultaneously). A character may have only one Higher Form Charm active at any time, and should he use another Higher Form or activate a different base Form, then it instantly replaces Steady Heart Higher Form. A character must have a Temperance score of at least 4 to learn and use this Charm.
Patience Is Its Own Reward
Cost: None Type: Special Duration: Permanent Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisites: Steady Heart Higher Form
By learning this Charm the character subtly alters his anima, allowing it to draw upon his temperance and patience, and bolstering his Essence pools when acting along the lines of the style. The activation cost of all Charms in the Steady Heart style is reduced by the character’s Temperance.
Indefensible Attack Technique
Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisites: Steady Heart Higher Form
By perfectly matching his movements with those of his opponent, the Steady Heart stylist can make a mockery of his defences, the Exalted incorporating them into his final attack, sliding past a parry and lunging towards the point that his target will dodge to. Anyone attempting to dodge or parry an attack enhanced with this Charm has their base Ability + Attribute dice pool reduced to 0, requiring the target to use some form of magic (Artefacts, Charms, Hearthstones, etc…) to be able to present any defence whatsoever.
The Slow Sure Path to Victory
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower Type: Simple Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prerequisites: Indefensible Attack Technique
Upon attaining the pinnacle of the Steady Heart the Exalted learns how to focus his blows with deadly efficiency, sacrificing speed and defence for a single, utterly devastating attack. Similar in execution to Blow-Delaying Prana, but far more powerful, the character activates this Charm on his action as normal, but the magic of the Charm delays his attack until an effective initiative count of 0, meaning that he will always attack last in the round. Upon reaching the end of the round the character makes a barehanded attack using his normal Dexterity + Martial Arts dice pool, with bonus dice equal to the character’s original initiative score (this bonus specifically overrides the normal cap on dice-adder Charms dependent on the type of Exalted), and the damage inflicted by a successful attack is increased by half of this amount (rounded down). A character must have a Temperance score of 5 to learn and use this Charm.
As one of the pinnacle Charms of the Five-Fold Path to Perfection, The Slow Sure Path to Victory also grants an additional ability to the character who masters its secrets. This ability is a natural function of the knowledge of the Charm, and consumes no Essence to use, instead it may be used a number of times per day equal to the Exalted’s permanent Essence. The character can stiffen the wills of a number of mortals equal to his Temperance x Essence, granting them a +2 dice-pool bonus to resist attempts to affect or alter their minds – once per day. This ability requires a 10 minute ritual to use.
