5BGoldenBarqueOfTheHeavensStyle

Golden Barque of the Heavens Style

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This style is incompatible with armor. It treats attacks made with Staves, clubs, and seven section staves as unarmed attacks.

Flight of Mercury
Cost: 1 mote per initiative bonus
Type: Reflexive
Duration: One Scene
Minimum MA:  2
Minimum Ess: 1
Prereqs: None

As per Exalted: The Sidereals, pg 179

Momentum Strike
Cost: 3 motes, 1 WP
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Minimum MA:  3
Minimum Ess: 2
Prereqs: Flight of Mercury

A true warrior knows that the secret to winning is simple. "Get there the Fastest with the Mostest". With this charm, the warrior unifies this philosophy of battle, embracing it, as achieving one goal inevitably brings about the other. The martial artist adds a number of dice to a single unarmed martial arts attack equal to the number of yards he has moved since his last combat action. These dice cannot exceed his martial arts+dexterity, and count against his dice cap.

The Hidden Path
Cost: 4 motes
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Minimum MA:  2
Minimum Ess: 1
Prereqs: Flight of Mercury

The martial artist moves along the secret ways of Mercury. He moves as normal for him (As modified by any other charms) but any observers cannot tell that he has moved until their initiative comes up. They can still defend themselves against his attacks, but this hidden movement can allow him to attack from behind, or simply rush past enemies before they have a chance to react.

Joyful Departure Method
Cost: 5 motes
Type: Reflexive
Duration: One Scene
Minimum MA:  2
Minimum Ess: 2
Prereqs: Flight of Mercury

The martial artist embraces the philosophy of journeys, leaving a place of happiness behind, to find yet more happiness ahead. Whenever the martial artist regains essence from a stunt or effect, he may joyously leap a number of yards in any direction equal to the number of motes recieved, reflexively. This does not count as a charm use.

Golden Barque of the Heavens Form
Cost: 6 motes
Type: Simple
Duration: One Scene
Minimum MA:  4
Minimum Ess: 2
Prereqs: The Hidden Path, Momentum Strike, Joyful Departure Method

The martial artist assumes the posture of the Maiden of Journeys, when she makes her sign against the world. He may add or subtract his permanant essence from the distance any charm or effect moves him. In addition, he is always in the right place, at the right time. He suffers no penalties due to timing, including those due to holding his actions, or those caused by flyby attacks.

Running with Shadows
Cost: 2+ motes
Type: Reflexive
Duration: One Scene
Minimum MA:  5
Minimum Ess: 2
Prereqs: Golden Barque of the Heavens Form

CMoS Type running evasion. Unlimited.

Sun and Moon Pursuit
Cost: 2+ motes
Type: Reflexive
Duration: One Scene
Minimum MA:  5
Minimum Ess: 3
Prereqs: Golden Barque of the Heavens Form

Followup, for a leaping dodge or RwS. Caps at some multiple of essence.

Chasing the Light
Cost: 6 motes
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Minimum MA:  5
Minimum Ess: 3
Prereqs: Sun and Moon Pursuit

The martial artist loops his anima around his foe, binding them together, for an instant, in their movement. When the target dodges, the martial artist follows, effortlessly. Roll a dodge for the martial artist, as normal. Add his sucesses on this roll to the difficulty for any dodge rolls the opponent makes to avoid this attack.

Starlit Maiden's Dance
Cost: 10 motes, 1 WP, 1 HL
Type: Simple
Duration: Scenelong
Minimum MA:  5
Minimum Ess: 4
Prereqs: Running with Shadows, Chasing the Light

The martial artist moves with great speed, as he channels the evermoving dance of the heavens, and of the Maiden of Journeys. The faster he moves, the more sure and swift his movements become. He doubles any bonuses he might have to initative,(explicitly including Flight of Mercury) When he splits his dice pool or aborts to a full dodge or parry, each physical action after the first reduces the multiple action penalty of that action by 1, cumulatively. If the martial artist is a Sidereal, or learns this as a Sidereal charm, he may enhance it with a prayer strip of the expectant maiden. If he does so, the prayer strip flutters as if it were moving in a great wind, but in slow motion, as it follows the martial artist, with a sallow yellow glow. Not only does the martial artist speed up, but his foes slow. Double all penalties to initiative his foes might possess, and subtract one die, cumulatively, whenever they split their actions or abort, from each action after the first.

Comments

Mostly looks good. Given the amount people can run around in Power Combat, it's probably quite good that your dice-adder has a Willpower cost. Just a few questions though:

• I'm a bit iffy about repeating even a pre-form Charm like Flight of Mercury. Part of the point in Martial Arts, as I understand it, is that the pre-forms "stretch out" getting to the good stuff. If you can copy it over, especially for a series of decent arts, it seems to negate some of the point.
• The Hidden Path allows the character to attack from behind if the character is moving before the initiative of their target, as I understand it? That seems sort of worrisome to me, since it forces the use of reflexive charms to defend without any way of negating it.

--IsawaBrian

Thanks for the comments!

• I intentionally caused an overlap, as it reflects the linked nature of the styles, as well as the fact that it would have been a pain in the ass otherwise, making the journeys/endings charm different from the endings/journeys. Yes, this means you'll save the cost of a single charm, if you take a second bureau style. However, a one charm discount is, in my opinion, just good enough to encourage sidereals to take multiple sidereal styles. Which is cool, and good.
• Or stunts. There are other effects in canon that work this way. And yes, it's pretty decent. Which is why it's 4 motes. But a good stunt will let people deal with an attack from behind, just like it lets them parry lethal damage.

- Scrollreader- More feedback is good!