Quendalon/IdeaPile
Contents
The Idea Pile
A repository for all sorts of stuff that's not yet ready for prime time. Thanks to willows for the notion.
Lunar Charms
Labyrinth-Tracing Technique: Wits 3, Essence 2. Retrace your path automatically, and get a sense for other routes. Requires Unerring Earth Direction Sense.
Sidereal Martial Arts Styles
Sapphire Daiklave of Severance (Division)
This style allows the disciple to cut things away. At the lower levels, these affects are primarily mundane, but the post-Form charms cut away abstractions.
The Edge Knows No Distance: Reflexive; make melee attacks at range for the duration of the scene, ignoring all cover and concealment.
Distance-Cutting Kata: Reflexive; for the rest of the scene, you may teleport anywhere within line of sight as an attack action.
Razor Cuts Parchment: Reflexive; for the rest of the scene, any mundane weapon or shield used to block your attacks is instantly broken without hindering your strike. If you get at least one parry success against a mundane weapon, it instantly breaks and inflicts no damage.
Ghost Eats Tortoise: Simple; your attacks ignore armor soak for the rest of the scene.
Limb-Removing Assault: Supplemental; if you inflict at least one health level of damage, you also lop off one of the target's limbs.
Feather Falls from the Eagle's Wing: Reflexive; cut yourself off from the pull of Creation and fly at will for a scene.
Heaven Cuts the Earth: Simple; rends the ground to form an enormous chasm.
The Tyrant’s Adze: Reflexive; all of your attacks during this scene will strip away temporary Willpower, Conviction and Valor.
Essence-Whittling Attack: Reflexive; For the rest of the scene, all of your attacks cut away motes from the target's Essence pool, which dissipate in a chromatic display.
Sapphire Daiklave of Severance Form: Removes the distance between thought and action. Double your Initiative total. Add permanent Essence in successes to all Attribute + Ability pools.
Wound-Excising Prana: Simple; heal target by cutting out injuries, diseases and poisons.
Sever the Heartstrings: Simple; cut away the target's emotional bonds.
Pattern-Extracting Strike: Simple; target loses all stability and deliquesces into the stuff of the Wyld. You may store the target's Essence pattern in a sapphire, which may later be used to re-embody the target from Wyld-stuff using appropriate Charms.
Essence Partitioning Technique: Simple; strip all magical properties from a person, place or thing. Cannot remove an Exaltation.
Soul-Expunging Blow: Simple; cut out the target's higher or lower soul. May also be used to cut out an Exaltation.
Flaw Amputation Method: Simple; increases a target's Attributes or Abilities to a maximum of the target’s permanent Essence, or removes Flaws. Bonuses wear away at a rate of one dot per day, while Flaws return after a number of days equal to the freebie value of the Flaw. May also remove other properties, at the Storyteller's discretion, but never affects the Great Curse.
Tempest of Azure Blades: Simple; your attack reduces all things within (Essence x 10) yards to their component elements.
- I am fond of these effects, but right now it looks to me like a high-Essence Celestial style. - willows
- You are correct, of course. I've been writing this stuff down without reference to E:tS, and I never did read that book as thoroughly as I might. I'll work on some upgrades. - Quendalon
- An idea for this Style: It'd be interesting to have a Charm that lets you piggyback one of these effects, an "erosion" version of it, onto a normal cut; the "erosion" effect takes place over time instead of instantly. (For instance, background erorion might take effect as the character becoming abrasive and mean, driving his allies away.) - willows
Celestial Martial Arts Styles
House of Serenity Style
This style emphasizes the astrological effects of the Cerulean Lute of Harmony. Allows for defense against multiple opponents while focusing on one target.
Three Tranquil Steps: Supplementary; add MA to a Dodge roll, or to an Athletics roll involving balance, running or jumping.
Battle-Dancer Meditation: Supplementary; add Performance to a MA roll.
Enigma of Ecstasy's Touch: Supplementary; reduce opponent's dice pool during a grapple.
Placid Acceptance of Fate: Reflexive; ignore a single Virtue check.
House of Serenity Form:
Touch of the Ewer: Every time you hit with this attack, opponent adds 1 to parry and dodge difficulties against you for the rest of the scene.
Musician’s Steely Chord:
Iridescent Peacock Attitude: Simple; for the rest of the scene, opponents subtract their Temperance from their attack pools when they attack you.
Pillar Guards the Door: Reflexive; For the rest of the scene, external sources cannot reduce your dice pools or increase your target numbers.
- Are you predicting TN-raising effects in the future? That subsidiary effect doesn't do anything right now. - willows
- I thought there already were such effects? That'll teach me to write this stuff without referencing E:tS. :) - Quendalon
Masterful Lover’s Caress: Increase difficulty to escape your grapple by your permanent Essence.
House of Battles Style
This style emphasizes the astrological effects of the Crimson Panoply of Victory.
Eye of the Iron Maelstrom: Simple; add the number of opponents to all MA pools this turn.
House of Battles Form:
House of Secrets Style
This style emphasizes the astrological effects of the Forbidding Manse of Ivy.
Empty Moon Movement: Supplemental; bonus to a single Dodge or Stealth roll.
Inscrutable Essence Posture:
Militant Principle Kata:
Striking the Keystone:
House of Secrets Form: The disciple is immune to abilities and Charms that would discern anything about her thoughts, motives or Essence, unless the observer has a higher permanent Essence.
Five Guardians System: Reflexive; the disciple automatically perceives a threat that would otherwise surprise her.
Key Unlocks the Gates:
Assassin’s Mask Method:
Treasure Trove Body:
Invincible Sorcerer's Mantle: Simple; for the rest of the (turn? scene?), the disciple is immune to external effects that reduce her Attributes, Abilities, Backgrounds, Virtues or Willpower.
- Question: The Division charms of this style have wonderfully subtle names. HoSF seems to overlap pretty heavily with the Secrets anima power; can it be extended to concealing other things as well? - willows
- I didn't think to look at the anima power; offhand, I don't know what it does. I'll check it when I get home, and find some way to differentiate it. - Quendalon
House of Endings Style
This style emphasizes the astrological effects of the Violet Bier of Sorrows.
Roots Devour the Road: Reflexive; trip attack against anyone moving within three yards.
Repose-Shattering Blow: Supplementary; reduce opponent's Initiative by your MA, for a number of turns equal to your permanent Essence.
Armistice-Invoking Technique:
Inevitable Revelation Assault:
House of Endings Form: Bonus to accuracy and damage.
Touch of the Corpse: Supplemental; add your Essence in damage dice; any health levels lost to these dice do not yield increased wound penalties.
Ineluctable Crow Strike: Simple; attack may only be dodged by a perfect dodge, and may only be parried by a perfect parry.
Collapsing Haywain Barrage: Extra Action: make a number of cascading attacks equal to your Dexterity + Martial Arts.
- I would take care to specify that this reduces your base dice pool with each attack, rather than producing an escalating penalty; I wouldn't want to see it combined with Blade of the Battle Maiden and a high-Accuracy weapon to make nigh on thirty attacks in a turn. - willows
- I take that back. - willows
Rising Smoke Body: Supplemental; add your Essence in automatic successes to a single Dodge roll.
Truth of the Sword:
Terrestrial Martial Arts Styles
Some idea seeds for new Terrestrial styles, now that we know that there's supposed to be hundreds of the damned things. With their emphasis on focused martial attitudes, and with their abilities presumably limited to specific aspects of combat, they need to be handled from a different angle than the more balanced Celestial styles. Since I've lent out my copy of the Dragon-Blooded book, this will just be raw Style and Charm concepts, without any aspirations toward final product.
Burning River Style
This style focuses on the channeling of rage and fury through the medium of one’s own body. Initiates of the Burning River focus on blocking out pain, causing pain in others, absorbing blows, and on crushing an opponent or delivering cascades of punishing strikes. The style scorns most active defenses, and its higher Charms can overwhelm the will with uncontrollable ferocity.
Nest of Seven Dragons Style
This subtle style finds strength in stillness and introspection, from which sudden movements burst like the anger of dragons. Stylists of the Nest of Seven Dragons tap their Essence for purposes of strength, stamina, stealth, awareness and willpower, and they have a knack for counterattacks. What they lack is speed and suppleness; the style offers no Charms for dodging, athletic movement, or additional attacks, and many of the style’s Charms root the martial artist to the spot while they are performed.
Nest of Seven Dragons Form
Cost: 6 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: ?
Disciples of the Nest of Seven Dragons learn to draw deeply upon their own hidden wellsprings of Essence. While this Form Charm is active, reduce the Essence cost of all of the character's Martial Arts Charms by one. In addition, for the duration of the Charm, the character's effective permanent Essence increases by one. This does not allow the character to purchase traits that she would not normally be allowed to possess, nor does it give her additional temporary Essence, but it does increase her maximum temporary Essence while the Form is in use. A character may not use more than one Martial Arts form-type charm at a time.
Rippling Quicksilver Style
Disciples of the Rippling Quicksilver Style practice fluid, limber movements. The style provides excellent benefits for dodging attacks, withstanding punishing blows, slipping out of holds, and snaring opponents in holds of one’s own. However, Rippling Quicksilver stylists gain no benefits to ordinary attacks or parries, and the style’s defensive attitude generally limits its use among warriors and soldiers, making it more to the taste of sorcerers, courtiers and scholars.
Rippling Quicksilver Form
Cost: 6 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: ?
Upon assuming this Form, the character's muscles loosen and relax; she adopts a fluid, responsive pose, utterly open and sensitive to threats to her person. While the Form Charm is active, the character adds her permanent Essence to her initiative score and to all of her Dodge pools. She may reflexively dodge attacks as well, with each reflexive dodge pool starting with a number of dice equal to her Essence rating. Rippling Quicksilver Form is incompatible with the use of armor. A character may not use more than one Martial Arts form-type charm at a time.
Seven Leaping Dragons Style
Aggressive and athletic, this style offers many benefits to the attack-oriented fighter. One can jump over obstacles, bound away from attacks, deliver powerful kicks, or strike from above. The style’s weakness is a lack of defensive abilities; a stylist gains some dodge benefits, but no parry or soak bonuses.
Fire Dragon’s Dance: Reflexive; hopping dodge.
Snow Dragon’s Leap: Simple; long jump that can also be a kick attack.
Forest Dragon’s Pounce: Simple; jumping attack that can become a clinch.
Sea Dragon’s Coils: Supplemental; clinch bonus.
Seven Leaping Dragon Form: Add permanent Essence to Athletics pools and Initiative total.
Mountain Dragon’s Strength: Supplemental; add damage to attack.
Black Dragon’s Grasp
Scarlet Dragon’s Rage
Seven Leaping Dragons Form
Cost: 5 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: ?
Crouching upon the balls of her feet, the character sways with the sinuous grace of a dragon coiled to strike. She adds a number of dice equal to her permanent Essence to her Athletics for purposes of leaping, and to her Martial Arts for purposes of kicking. She also adds her permanent Essence to her Athletics for Feats of Strength that involve breaking something with a kick. A character may not use more than one Martial Arts form-type charm at a time.
Thousand Mirrors Style
Initiates of this curious Terrestrial style learn to emulate the movements of Essence in those around them. Beginning with parries and dodges that mesh perfectly with an opponent’s attack, they learn to duplicate an ally’s, and then an enemy’s, skills and even Charms. This is among the more commonly learned styles for members of the Wyld Hunt, as it permits its adepts to share the strengths of their fellows. The style has its own inherent limitations, particularly against groups of extras.
Comments
I would suggest having Terrestrial styles being small; topping out at 5 charms or something like that. Y'know...like, look at Kung Fu movies. There are a few rote training procedures, the form, then a semi-uber and finally the pinacle. The hero either uses a horribly broken style or a Celestial level. Ehh..I dunno. I like little charm trees. Something about the simplicity inherent there.... --Dim
That's a fair approach, but it doesn't match canon; the only Terrestrial MA we have other than Five-Dragon, the Crimson Pentacle Blade Style, has 13 Charms plus the infinitely-expandable Five Directions Protocol (or whatever it's called), not to mention the five Postures. It's way more complicated than any Celestial style. Not that I mind parting from canon, necessarily, but five-Charm MA trees doesn't quite feel right. Then again, it's less work for me... - Quendalon
Infinitely expandable? And, yeah. I can justify it to myself, but cannonically it's not right at all. --Dim
I've actually thought of making such Short Styles myself, but more on a Sidereal level than a Terrestrial one. The idea is a brief cascade of charms specifically designed about some wacky purpose that stretches what you can do with MA. A half-dozen focussed charms rather than a sprawling style embracing an entire metaphysical concept. -- Mapache
So post some! :) I'm strongly considering going this way for the Terrestrial styles, if only to make it easier on myself to do them. I have too many things on my plate right now to brew up full-length Terrestrial trees. - Quendalon
