MartialArts/CrimsonPentacleBladeStyleW

Crimson Pentacle Blade Style

by FourWillowsWeeping

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Introduction

This Style is written as a rethinking and reinterpretation of the canonical Crimson Pentacle Blade Style, returning to the implications of the name. It's an occulty, numerological group-combat style.

Weapons & Armour

This Style's form weapon is the polearm, any weapon with a haft no more than one head shorter than the character wielding it. Shields are also appropriate, but the Style is not compatible with armour.

The Charms

Original Symmetry

Cost: 3 motes

Duration: One Scene

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 3

Minimum Essence: 1

Prerequisite Charms: None

The foundation of the Crimson Pentacle Blade Style, the zero technique, is this orbit around the shield. Using it as an axis, around which he rotates, the adept reduces the mobility and fatigue values of a shield to zero, and the shield does not impede his use of the form weapons of this Style.

Single Line of Division ALIF

Cost: 2 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Supplemental

Minimum Martial Arts: 3

Minimum Essence: 1

Prerequisite Charms: Original Symmetry

With the lone line of his spear, the martial artist cuts the world in two. He adds his Martial Arts to the pre-soak damage of an unarmed attack.

Formation: Any number of characters can join in this formation. Joining in the formation allows a character to add his Martial Arts to the pre-soak damage of his next attack this turn.

Crimson Pentacle Blade Form (Posture)

Cost: 4 motes

Duration: One Scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Martial Arts: 4

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: Single Line of Division ALIF

Having practised the distinctively angular exercises of the Style sufficiently, the adept exhibits swiftness and grace. He doubles his movement speed, and is able to participate in formations.

Many of the Charms of this Style contain these manoeuvres, which permit a positive synergy between different users. When the martial artist observes a Charm with a formation effect being activated, he may reflexively move to the Charm user's side (within 3 yards) and attempt to join in the formation, if he retains sufficient movement. Joining in a formation requires him to perform a particular Essence manipulation, which counts as a Charm use. It may also require some portion of the character's action. If the adept would not be able to activate a Charm of the appropriate type, he may not join in the formation. The character originally activating a Charm is the leader of its formation. A character benefits from the effects of a formation until it disbands, or until he joins in a different formation. It is not possible to place formations in Combos.

There are five different postures of this Style, reflecting different numerological principles. Each has a slightly differing approach to combat, reflected in a temporary specialty and the timing effects of their formation participation ability. Each posture is learnt as a separate Charm. A character can master this Style having learnt only one Form. If he chooses, upon having learnt Call-to-the-Blade-of-Righteousness Mantra he may learn the other four posture versions. He cannot learn additional postures until he has learnt that Charm.

This is a Martial Arts Form-type Charm and is incompatible with other Forms. As a result, it's impossible to use more than one posture simultaneously.

Crimson Pentacle Blade Form Eastern True Spear HHÂ

Characters using this posture gain a Martial Arts specialty in Formations. They can participate in the HÂ and ZÂYN formations as a Reflexive Charm use, and the DÂL and JÎM formations as a Supplemental Charm use. Joining a formation Supplementally is not precisely identical to using a Supplemental Charm. rather, the character must perform a dice action that requires no roll; this can be prior to his initiative. for the remainder of the turn, his non-reflexive actions must use the Martial Arts ability.

Crimson Pentacle Blade Form Northern Ice Blossom LÂM

Characters using this posture gain a Martial Arts specialty in Showmanship. They can participate in the ALIF and JÎM formations as a Reflexive Charm use, and the DÂL and HÂ formations as a Supplemental Charm use, and the ZÂYN formation as a Simple Charm use. Joining in a formation as a Simple Charm use is identical to using a Simple Charm; it consumes the character's action and his Charm use for that turn.

Crimson Pentacle Blade Form Western Shield KÂF

Characters using this posture gain additional benefits from shields, increasing the difficulty penalty against attacks by 1. They can participate in the DÂL and ZÂYN formations as a Reflexive Charm use, the ALIF and HÂ formations as a Supplemental Charm use, and the JÎM formation as a Simple Charm use. Joining a formation as a Simple Charm use consumes the character's action for the turn.

Crimson Pentacle Blade Form Southern Scythe YÂ

Characters using this posture gain a Martial Arts specialty in Scythe, defined as a polearm with a concave blade. They can participate in the JÎM and HÂ formations as a Reflexive Charm use, the ALIF and ZÂYN formations as a Supplemental Charm use, and the DÂL formation as a Simple Charm use.

Crimson Pentacle Blade Form Central Noble Honour Blade TÂ

Characters using this posture gain a Martial Arts specialty in Defence of Honour. They can participate in the ALIF and DÂL formations as a Reflexive Charm use, and the JÎM and ZÂYN formations as a Supplemental Charm use.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/fourwillows/Kungfu/crimsonpentacleblade.png

Mountain Balance Spear JÎM

Cost: 1 mote / 2 dice

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 4

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Crimson Pentacle Blade Form (any)

With this Charm, the adept roots himself deep in Earth, adding dice to a Martial Arts parry. He may add no more dice than his Martial Arts.

Formation: Two additional characters may join in this formation, for a total of three. Joining this formation costs 1 mote. The first character who joins the formation represents the resilience of the mountain's stone, and is able to use his actions to parry attacks against the leader, using Martial Arts. The second character represents the chill of thin air, and he is able to use his actions to feint so that attacks miss the leader; a feint is mechanically a dodge attempt. The formation disbands at the leader's next initiative.

Stillness of Fourfold Ice DÂL

Cost: 4 motes

Duration: One Turn

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 4

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: Crimson Pentacle Blade Form (any)

The character, emulating ice, adds his Martial Arts to his lethal and bashing soak.

Formation: Three additional characters may join in this formation, at an expenditure of 4 motes. All characters in the formation add their Martial Arts plus the number of additional characters in the formation to their lethal and bashing soak. The formation disbands at the leader's next initiative.

Five-Phase Burning Swiftness HÂ

Cost: 2 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 5

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: Crimson Pentacle Blade Form (any)

The character moves like fire, and so adds his Dexterity to his initiative. This Charm may only be used once per turn.

Formation: Four additional characters may join in this formation, at an expenditure of 3 motes. They set their initiative equal to the leader's. This formation is transient; once the characters' initiative values have been altered, it disbands.

Seventh-Branch Pattern ZÂYN

Cost: 7 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Extra Actions

Minimum Martial Arts: 5

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Crimson Pentacle Blade Form (any)

For a moment, the character moves so swiftly that it seems as though he is a many-branched tree. He makes as many unarmed Martial Arts attacks as his Essence; they must be against different targets.

Formation: Six additional characters may join in this formation, at an expenditure of 1 mote. For each additional character that joins in the formation, the leader regains 1 mote. This formation is transient; it disbands once the leader's attacks have been resolved.

Call-to-the-Blade-of-Righteousness Mantra

Prerequisite Charms: Mountain Balance Spear JÎM, Stillness of Fourfold Ice DÂL, Five-Phase Burning Swiftness HÂ, Seventh-Branch Pattern ZÂYN

This is identical to the canonical Charm of the same name, except with respect to its prerequisite Charms.

Comments

This is a great effort! I loved all of the flavor text for the CPBS from the Player´s Guide, but the mechanics were sorely lacking. I´ll just use this style instead - I´ll need to take some time to playtest the effects, but try as I might I cannot seem to find anything worth whining about as of yet. -Argent

Thanks, Argent! I appreciate it(: I had the exact same feeling as you about the canonical Crimson Pentacle style; it's all either broken or disappointing! - willows

Nice. I like this. It gives more sense to the "teamwork" thing, without being hidiously overpowered. The Formations are cool, and give more of a group combat sense.

• Where did you get the numerology info? (just curious, I've found several sources, but none matched here)
• While nice, the diagram doesn't really help, since it lacks a key. I think Reflexive==Solid, Supp==Dash and Simple==Dot. It would nice to get rid of the extraneous lines in the diagram as well as the text (HHA->ALIF for instance. I think they were taken out of the text as they make no sense).
• To join a formation, you have to perform an essence manipulation that is "like" charm use. Can these be placed in combo's? I.e. if you use a combo, you theoretically have access to supplemental charms, so can you then join formations that require supplemental charm use? Or can you put the "join" in a combo somehow?
• Do you have to finish the style to learn all 5 postures? The implications are somewhat contradictory.
• LAM:This should probably have the description of "joining as simple charm use", as it's the first to mention it
• JIM:joining this as simple charm use isn't useful. Fients on behalf of the leader are mechanicly dodges for the purposes of undodgeable attacks. They still use Dex+MA, correct?

-FlowsLikeBits

• If you take the alphabetical position of the Arabic letters corresponding to each Charm and arrange them in a pentacle as you see in the diagram, then each line of four techniques adds up to 28. It's a magic star!
• The diagram is meant to confuse(:
• Answered.
• Answered.
• Clarified.
• Using JIIM effectively as a Simple means that you need persistents. A feint is a dodge in all respects including the relevant dice pool. I dunno where you got this other idea.

- willows