MartialArts/CrimsonPanoplyofVictoryStyle
Crimson Panoply of Victory Style
By Joseph D. Carriker, Jr.; sutra by Mel Wong
Background
An ancient style from the First Age, the Crimson Panoply of Victory style is a collection of techniques designed to not simply defeat one's foes -- after all, any successful martial art should be able to promise at least that. Rather, as is appropriate for the martial art named for the domain of the Maiden of Battles, it attacks the opponent's ability to make war, lessening their chances of gaining the upper hand on the battlefield or dueling arena.
This style's movements are strong and assured, consisting of many forward movements and straight attacks, though often the focus of the attack shifts at the last moment, like the charge of an army that suddenly halts and changes its tactics to account for the enemy's anticipation of their movements. Those who favor this style tend to fight with weapons, though when unarmed, they favor forward fist attacks over kicks and grapples.
Charms within the Crimson Panoply of Victory style treat attacks the martial artist makes with swords, spears and axes (as well as their artifact equivalents) as unarmed attacks. Moreover, as long as the character's Melee score equals or exceeds the Minimum Martial Arts requirement of a charm in this tree, he may use any Melee weapon as an unarmed attack for the purposes of using these charms. The character still rolls Martial Arts, however.
Though these charms do not function in armor, several of the charms in this tree permit the martial artist to wear armor; as long as those charms are activated, the martial artist is treated as though he were not wearing armor, but only for the purpose of using charms in this tree.
Once, there was a maiden...\\ ... she was slender as a sword-blade with a cold heart of iron.\\ Her smile was white,\\ her thoughts were bloody crimson,\\ and she brought wrath and ruin in her wake.\\ Swords broke in her grasp,\\ arrows found no purchase in her breast,\\ but Death came to her in the guise of a lover.\\ Embracing him, she heard him say,\\ "Survival is cunning."
Charms
Rapid Vicissitudes of War Mudra </b>
<b>Cost: 3 motes Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 2 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: None
Through the use of certain war-limiting hand gestures, the martial artist can cause a single opponent to suffer a penalty to his initiative equal to the martial artist's Wits + Martial Arts score. A character may only suffer from one use of Rapid Vicissitudes of War Mudra at any one time -- only the highest penalty will apply if multiple martial artists use this Charm on an opponent.
Steel-Bolstered Warrior Secrets </b>
<b>Cost:5+ motes Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 2 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Rapid Vicissitudes of War Mudra
By attuning his Essence to that of his non-artifact armor, the martial artist is able to cause it to move with him as though it were part of his body, reducing the Mobility and Fatigue values of his armor by 1 each for every 5 motes committed to the use of this Charm. If this reduces both Mobility and Fatigue to 0 or below (even if the armor already had a score of 0 in one or both of these), the martial artist is treated as though he were unarmored for the purpose of using Martial Arts charms in this charm tree.
This Charm may not be used on artifact armor.
War-Slaying Parry </b>
<b>Cost:4 motes Duration: varies Type: Supplemental Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Rapid Vicissitudes of War Mudra
By channeling the Essence of Endings into a parry, the martial artist may actually harm an opponent's ability to inflict wounds. This Charm is activated before the martial artist parries an attack. Every net success over the opponent's attack roll reduces the opponent's damage dice pool with that weapon or attack by one die, to a maximum of the martial artist's Essence in dice.
These dice are added to the martial artist's weapon damage dice pool that was used to parry the attack. These bonus dice return to the opponent's weapon, fading from the martial artist's weapon, at a rate of 1 die per turn. Subsequent uses of this Charm do stack, but no single weapon or attack may be reduced by more than the martial artist's Essence rating.
Serene Battlefield Commander Meditation </b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: Instantaneous Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Rapid Vicissitudes of War Mudra
Summoning up the serenity of master tactican, the martial artist shouts or otherwise communicates commands to his allies in the heat of battle. At least one turn of combat must have already taken place for this Charm to be used.
The martial artist rolls Wits + Martial Arts. The successes are divided among those who are given commands, to be used as bonus dice to the dice pools associated with those commands. These bonus dice may be split among multiple rolls. The martial artist may grant no more bonus dice than his Essence.
Crimson Panoply of Victory Form </b>
<b>Cost:6 motes Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Steel-Bolstered Warrior Secrets, War-Slaying Parry, Serene Battlefield Commander Meditation
The character takes on the tactical cunning which Mars uses to make her Sign upon the side of a conflict that is most deserving of victory. While the martial artist uses the Crimson Panoply of Victory Form, opponents that she attacks have their defensive dice pools reduced by her Martial Arts score. Additionally, any time the martial artist parries an attack (rather than dodging it), she gains a number of automatic successes equal to her Essence (provided she rolls at least one success). The martial artist also inflicts lethal damage with unarmed attacks and may parry lethal attacks barehanded without a stunt.
When this Charm is activated, the martial artist may also "fold in" the activation of Steel-Bolstered Warrior Secrets by paying the activation cost of that Charm and one Willpower point in addition to the cost for activating this Charm. Additionally, the activation of Steel-Bolstered Warrior Secrets while this Form is active permits the use of Steel-Bolstered Warrior Secrets on artifact armor.
Finally, while the so called "Battles Form" is in effect, the martial artist's blows are based on solid tactical pragmatism rather than brute strength. As a result, the damage of unarmed attacks is based on Wits rather than Strength.
Battlefield Whirlwind Stance </b>
<b>Cost:3 motes per attack Duration: Instant Type: Extra Action Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Crimson Panoply of Victory Form
The speed and fury of the battlefield may be channeled into the attacks of the martial artist who possesses knowledge of this Charm. For each 3 motes spent, the character can make an extra unarmed Martial Arts attack at her full dice pool. All her attacks must be made against the same target. She cannot make more total attacks than her Martial Arts, nor can she split her dice pool on the same turn she uses Battlefield Whirlwind Stance.
Armor-Shearing Assault </b>
<b>Cost:4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Battlefield Whirlwind Stance
Mastery of the Essence of conflict allows the martial artist to attack his opponent's very ability to withstand the grevious harm inflicted upon him by the practitioner of the Crimson Panoply of Victory Style. When this charm is used against an opponent, it inflicts damage as normal. Instead of this damage being applied to the opponent's health levels, however, each damage die success reduces the opponent's soak from armor (both lethal and bashing) by one. A single attack may only reduce the opponent's soak by a maximum of the martial artist's Essence, but this Charm may be used multiple times on a single opponent. However, it may never reduce the opponent's soak below his natural, unarmored soak.
Because this attack doesn't actually damage the opponent's armor, but instead erodes his ability to withstand damage on an Essential level, the reduction in soak only applies to the martial artist himself and only against Martial Arts attacks. Other martial artists who possess this charm may spend a single mote to "attune" themselves to the weaknesses in the opponent as well, allowing them to benefit from the reduction as though they themselves had inflicted the soak reduction.
Flesh Like Steel Prana </b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Crimson Panoply of Victory Form
The martial artist with Flesh Like Steel Prana wields a mighty defense against mundane weapons on the battlefield. By activating this Charm, non-artifact weapons shatter against the war-proofed flesh of the martial artist. For the entire scene, when normal weapons (including exceptional ones) strike the martial artist, if the raw damage dice pool is less than the martial artist's Stamina + Martial Arts, the weapons inflicts its damage and then shatters, rendered useless by the might of the martial artist's command of war-Essence.
Ammunition fired from an artifact weapon is not considered "normal" and is immune to this ability.
Essence-Rejecting Parry </b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Flesh Like Steel Prana
Though the master of the Crimson Panoply of Victory Style may shatter lesser blades, it is the artifacts of gods and Exalts that most its practitioners truly have to fear. Those who have the Essence-Rejecting Parry at their disposal have ways of dealing even with such war-makers, however.
Anytime the martial artist parries an attack made with an artifact weapon, he may activate this Charm. Both the martial artist and his attacker must then make opposed Willpower checks. If the martial artist's net successes equal or exceed the number of motes necessary to commit the artifact used to attack him, the artifact is immediately de-attuned. The wielder of the artifact has the immediate option of re-attuning the artifact by spending the motes required to do so and a Willpower point immediately. If he does not do it immediately, however, it must be re-attuned as normal.
The successes from multiple use of this Charm are cumulative over a scene. This allows the martial artist to begin poisoning the committed Essence of powerful items, eventually using this Charm enough time to gain the necessary successes to de-attune the artifact. Most powerful artifacts require multiple applications of this Charm in order to de-attune.
Mastery of War Prana </b>
<b>Cost:10 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 health level Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Armor-Shearing Assault, Essence-Rejecting Parry
As the pinnacle of the Crimson Panoply of Victory Style, the martial artist learns to wield war as a weapon, gaining power from it while decimating his enemies with the raw Essence of conflict itself. While this charm is active, every success after defensive rolls on an attack roll regains the martial artist one mote, to a maximum of his Essence rating. Additionally, if Serene Battlefield Commander Meditation is used while this charm is active, the bonus dice are treated as stunt dice for his allies -- that is, success gains the ally a number of motes equal to the die bonus, or a point of Willpower (if the die bonus is two or greater).
Additionally, the martial artist may designate a single action as a cascading parry action, even with a split action. This cascading parry begins at full dice pool (or reduced dice pool if the action is gained as the result of splitting a normal action).
Sidereal Exalted, and those who learn this Charm as a Sidereal Charm, can enhance it with a prayer strip marked with the scripture of the Maiden of Battles. The character fixes it to his sword (or other allowed weapon), wrapping the whole in a crimson light. While the prayer strip survives, his weapon cannot be destroyed and may be used to inflict "damage" not the opponent's body, but to their ability to defend themselves. The attack and damage is figured as normal, save that instead of applying damage dice successes as spent health levels, they are instead dice penalties to either parries or dodges (must be chosen as the attack is made). These are kept track of separately from health level damage and "heal" at the same rate that wounds would.
comments
The weapon selection seems awfully generous. I'd be more comfortable if it were just spears. After all, that's the "weapon" constellation for Battles.\\ _Ikselam
- I'm in full agreeance here. Just spears works fine. You'll note that over in the Violet Bier of Sorrows they use its weapon constelation for the weapon of its style. I think just spears, and maybe things like tiger forks, should be the limit of it really. No style should be that generous with weaponry, especially from the start (Don't let me get into Celestial Monkey.)\\
Stuff. Blaque
