MartialArts/RoilingVernalTempestStyle

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Roiling Vernal Tempest Style

Passion

This Style, developed by Sidereals for the other Celestials, explores the dual nature of the storms of spring: the destruction they cause, and the new growth they permit. It permits long battles between Exalts with its energy-conservation effects, and with its atmospheric powers it easily takes mortals out of the equation. It treats as unarmed the spear, which symbolizes lightning, and the various types of fighting fans and wind-fire wheels, representing the flowers of spring. Also, any green jade weapon, attuned to provide its 5MM bonus, can be used as unarmed, but this makes Charms used through it count as Wood-aspected, and incur an elemental surcharge for Celestials. None of these Charms are compatible with armor. This is an advanced style.

The student's sutra of this Style glows a soft golden-green, and provides a surprisingly pervasive illumination. It orbits languidly about the martial artist. The elder sutra glows murky grey-violet, with occasional blue-white flashes that blind rather than reveal. It thrashes through the air like a leaf tossed by wild gales. The colors represent the dual nourishing-dissipating nature of Passion.

The Charms

Student Techniques

The Student's Sutra of Passion: Once, there was a maiden whose heart was like the sun:

Scarlet Downpour Kiai

Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Extra Actions
Min. Martial Arts: 4
Min. Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: None

Soaked by rain...
The Exalt funnels his righteous fury into his attacks, moving in the everyhere-and-nowhere fashion of the rain. He may make at least as many unarmed Martial Attacks as his Lore, each against a different target. In addition, if one of these attacks misses, he may redouble his attack, attacking the same target again; he may continue redoubling is a redouble misses. Per invocation of this Charm, the martial artist may redouble as many times as his Valor.

Golden Lily Nods Its Head
Cost: 1 mote per success
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Min. Martial Arts: 3
Min. Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None

...beaten by wind...
The Exalt bends with a certain boneless grace, like the memory of a flower pushed by a gentle breeze. His player may make a reflexive Dexterity + Lore roll to defend himself; for each success he may pay 1 mote to subtract a success from an attack directed at the Exalt. He need not subtract as many successes as he is able to. This explicitly overlaps with Indigo Stormcloud Dispersion; if an attack's successes are lowered below the Exalt's Essence, the attack is redirected as per that Charm.

Touch of Bone to Snow
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Min. Martial Arts: 4
Min. Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: None

...chilled in snow...
The Exalt assumes the aspect of the warming sun, and his attacks melt bones as though they were the receding frosts. He makes a normal unarmed Martial Arts attack that ignores half of the target's soak, except soak provided by Artifacts. He may alternatively use this to add his Craft to a Medicine roll for the purposes of setting broken bones, relocating limbs, or any such bone manipulation. When the Charm is used this way, it is called the Bones of Snow Benediction.

Indigo Stormcloud Dispersion
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Min. Martial Arts: 4
Min. Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: None

...drowning in darkness. The Exalt performs a swirling kata, punctuated by strikes so swift they seem to end in many places at once. His anima billows out into an opaque, rolling, violet cloud that obscures vision and makes air and space seem to shift strangely. It spreads out to (permanent Essence x 3) yards around the Exalt. When someone who does not know this Charm attacks, if the attack has fewer successes than the Exalt's Essence, it hits the nearest person other than the intended target. This applies to any attacks made from inside the cloud, or ranged attacks whose flight path passes through the cloud. This is an environmental penalty that can only be negated by effects that ignore both visual and wind effects.

Silent Willow Salutation
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Min. Martial Arts: 3
Min. Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: None

So she bowed to her oppressors,
When an opponent within three yards of the Exalt attacks a third party within three yards of the Exalt, the Exalt may immediately make an opportunistic attack against the attacker. This must be a normal unarmed Martial Arts attack. It occurs after the first attack is rolled, but before its effects are applied. This Charm cannot be used in response to another opportunistic attack, such as any counterattack or the force-redirection of Seductive Nectar Strike. However, it can be used in response to an attack that did not hit its intended target, as with Indigo Stromcloud Dispersion.

I intended that even pre-Form, all the Style's techniques would function far better grouped together than they do individually. This is one feature, IMO, that many Martial Arts lack; I wanted a clear motivation to catch 'em all, as they say.

The Form

Roiling Vernal Tempest Form

Cost: 10 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min. Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Scarlet Downpour Kiai, Touch of Bone to Snow, Golden Lily Nods Its Head, Indigo Stormcoud Dispersion, Silent Willow Salutation, one complete Martial Arts Style.

And with their power she overthrew them.
The Exalt takes on the forbidding aspect of a spring storm, crackling like lightning and bending like the wind-strained trees. He gains a 1-die bonus to all defensive pools for every other person participating in a battle, up to twice his Essence score. He also has his Lore in dice each turn, which he can spend to mitigate multiple-action penalties. Dice not spent are lost. Finally, any damage he takes from wholly immaterial effects - dematerialized spirits and ghosts, as well as Essence effects - is converted to bashing.

Mastery Techniques

The Elder Sutra of Passion: Then the maiden made treasures of those she destroyed.

Lightning Devouring Method

Cost: 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min. Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Roiling Vernal Tempest Form

Of the first she made radiant wine, the elixir of victory and defeat.
The Exalt learns that lightning is an exchange between the earth and sky; with this Charm she learns to recieve the offering of light properly. In response to an attack enhanced with instant Charms, the Exalt's player rolls the character's Perception + Lore in a reflexive opposed test against the attacker's permanent Essence. On a simple success, the Exalt gains half as many motes as were spent to activate the attack. This in no way mitigates the effect of the attack.

If he rolls as many (distinct from "succeeds with"; use the defender's raw successes before subtracting the attacker's Essence roll) successes as the attacker's Essence plus the highest Ability requirement of the Charm or Combo being devoured, the character digests it particularly successfully. Instead of gaining only one-half its most cost, he gains as many motes as the attack cost, as well as 1 Willpower point if the attack had a Willpower cost or included a Combo. This superior success totally negates attacks without a physical component.

Bounty of Exquiste Rain
Cost: 10 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min. Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Lightning Devouring Method

Of the second she made an offering-tray, laden with the sweet fruits of others' labor.
The Exalt's anima takes on the aspect of a gentle raincloud that parts here and there to reveal rays of sun, as she performs a slow kata of swirling winds and languid clouds. This Charm affects the same area as Indigo Stormcloud Dispersion. Within that area, whenever any entity spends motes of Essence, those nearby can recapture it from the dewy airs. Starting with those closest to the Essence expenditure (but not the person spending Essence himself), players may roll their characters' Lore. Each success recaptures a single mote, and a character can recapture up to twice his permanent Essence in motes each turn.

Crackling Disaster Kata
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min. Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Lightning Devouring Method

With the third she danced a terrible dance, and the world trembled before them.
The Exalt charges her hand with ozone-tangy Essence, and strikes her target in a flash of actinic light. She charges the victim's nerves with frenetic lightning Essence, making him thrash wildly. She performs a normal unarmed Martial Arts attack. The damage of this attack cannot be soaked by any means. Instead of inflicting Health Levels of damage, for each damage success rolled, the target suffers one turn of palsied twitching. Each affected turn, the victim must succeed at a reflexive Stamina + Resistance roll, reflexively opposed by the Exalt's Essence + Lore, or lose his action for the turn and count as two people for effects that count people present (such as this Style's Form Charm). If an affected character botches this roll, he loses consciousness for the remainder of the scene, and in the first turn of his unconscious thrashing, he deals his own Strength in dice of damage to himself. Multiple applications of this effect increase its duration, but have no other benefit.

Fragrant Sap Awakening
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One scene
Type: Reflexive
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min. Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Roiling Vernal Tempest Form

Of the fourth oppressor's sorrow she forged a sword, and quenched it in his youth.
The Exalt charges her hands with the green-gold light of sunlight through young leaves, and fills them with the resilience and strength of saplings. She may deal lethal damage with unarmed attacks, and parry lethal attacks without a stunt. She adds her Lore to the base damage of unarmed attacks (and attacks made with the Style's weapons). Finally, when someone is wounded with an attack enhanced by this Charm, his wound penalties are doubled for the martial artist's Essence in turns, due to the sticky Essence residue the attacks leave. Multiple applications of this effect do not accumulate in severity, but do add additional duration.

Bloom Untouched by Storm
Cost: 7 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min. Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Fragrant Sap Awakening

She smiled as she worked; her heart was steeled to their cries.
The willow knows what the storm does not. With this, the Exalt learns not only to escape harm, but also to resist it. She may reflexively block any attack, even those she is not aware of, with an unarmed Martial Arts parry. With each successive block attempt, she yields more adeptly; each attempt adds a die for each one before it. This bonus is lost if the character performs a non-reflexive dice action. If this Charm would add more dice than the character's Dexterity + Martial Arts, convert two dice into automatic successes for each die in excess instead.

Dazzling Spear-of-Heaven Strike
Cost: 12 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min. Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Fragrant Sap Awakening

The fifth, she made into a spear, bright with its own soul.
The Exalt can perform an unarmed Martial Arts attack at twice her offensive dice pool against any target she can see. She performs a slow, stylized gesture, and tosses a bolt of hazy whiteness toward her target. Using this technique automatically causes the Exalt's anima to flare to the iconic level, and has the same effect on the victim, if applicable. The attack is composed of pure Essence lightning, and it can only be soaked by Stamina and magical effects that add to natural soak, or effects that specifically soak attacks without a physical component. Furthermore, everyone within three yards of the target suffer (target's Essence) dice of damage, which bypasses soak in the same manner. The Exalt herself is no exception to this.

Unanticipated Cloudburst Advance
Cost: 9 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min. Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms: Crackling Disaster Kata, Dazzling Spear-of-Heaven Strike

The sixth oppressor offered a secret instead of himself; the maiden took them both.
Over the endless forests of the East, rain can come and go in the time it takes to blink one's eyes; it drowns men between their breaths. With this Charm, the Exalt learns the secret to this power, and can move with the swiftness of terrified lightning. Using it, the character can perform a Martial Arts attack against all the possible targets, or some of them, within a circle (permanent Essence x 5) yards wide. The centre of this area can be any place the Exalt can see and has an unobstructed path (not neccessarily straight) to; she traverses the distance and returns to her starting point before her motion can be detected. Her attack is so swift that it is perfectly defended from detection, and has no physical component; it cannot be parried except by Charms that specifically block immaterial effects.

These powers were intended to be more independent, but also yet better to combine and recombine. The heavy reliance here on area effects is deliberate; this is a war style, not a duelling style.

The Ultimate Technique

Twin Briar Tempest

Cost: 20 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Min. Martial Arts: 6
Min. Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms: Bounty of Exquisite Rain, Unanticipated Cloudburst Advance, Bloom Untouched by Storm

So nourished, so armed, she departed and departed, and the hearts of all followed her in grief.
The Exalt's power thrashes out from her like a bramble of light; it is moves so swiftly that its memory strikes just as hard as its truth. While this Charm is in effect, all the Exalt's actions take place twice; attacks are only rolled for once (resolve consequent effects such as damage rolls, defences, and counters separately) and their cost is not incurred twice; the successes for defensive actions are simply doubled. All the Exalt's attacks performed while this Charm are active are enhanced as by Crackling Disaster Kata. Each turn, the Exalt must expend at least 5 motes of Essence or the Charm ends.

If the Exalt has activated both the Student's Sutra of Passion and the Elder Sutra of Passion, she may make a dice action that requires no roll to snatch them both out of the air. They wrap around her hands and their light fades to the milky brightness of ball lightning. While this Charm is active and the Sutras are being used thus, repeated applications of Fragrant Sap Awakening and Crackling Disaster Kata are cumulative. This explicitly applies to the wound-penalty multiplication of Fragrant Sap Awakening (add 1 to the coefficient each time rather than doubling; after three applications, the victim suffers WP x 4, not WP x 8) and the counting-as-extra-people of Crackling Disaster Kata, but does not further improve the duration of its convulsive effect.

Roiling Vernal Tempest Tactics

The student techniques were meant to be used together; do not forget it. Also don't wade into a duel with this style and expect to be hailed as the victor; a similarly-skilled opponent working with another Style is likely to defeat you handily. This is a Style to be used in the heat of battle, backed by your Chosen fellows. On the other hand, intelligent use of Lightning-Devouring Method and Bounty of Exquisite Rain will allow you to last longer than your opponent in a duel, as long as you budget your Essence expenditures carefully.

Judicious use of Crackling Disaster Kata will make your Form much more effective, but take care, as it is costly. If you are a Sidereal and have Sutras, use them! They make the final Charm much more cost-effective, and there are cascading benefits to lesser Charms as well.

If you simply do not want to die, Bloom Untouched By Storm is good on its own; Twin Briar Tempest will make it staggering. Careful use of a lesser Style's counterattacking abilities may allow you to accumulate a doubled, perfect parry pool while still attacking almost freely.

Comments

Got a one-word concept for this style, as you see in the canonical secret styles? ("Consumption" for CMoS, "Essence" for PAoC, and "Decay" for CPoC.) - Quendalon

Hope you don't mind Quendalon and FWW, but I think it's "Passion". - haren

You're absolutely right... the sutras are clearly marked as "Sutra of Passion." That's what I get for not paying attention. :) - Quendalon

Very nice style. I'm gonna hazard a guess and say this predates the Sid book, as you call it an advanced style and later Sid styles usually start at higher Ess. Correct? It also would be nice if the tactics section could fit in the PDF. ;). Specific comments as follows

  • Golden Lily Nods Its Head:This is a really nasty charm, as is it gives a defence roll that isn't a dodge or parry, so presumably it would stack with them. It also wouldn't be bypassed by unblockables/undodgeables. Also, I can see people picking up just this charm of the style. I'd probably increase the cost to,maybe 3 motes/success and have it count as a dodge or parry.
  • Scarlet Downpour Kiai:Neat! Although it's a bit low in the tree and efficient as MA Extra Action charms go. Can you redouble as many times as your valor per opponent(i.e. if you miss often) or per charm invocaton?
  • Lightning Devouring Method:If you devour an attack enhanced with a combo, where none of the charms used cost willpower, can you get willpower back?(bc combo's cost wp)
  • Crackling Disaster Kata:Honestly, I just love the name for some reason. Also, the effects in Twin Briar Tempest lead me to think this is supposed to be supplemental rather than simple
  • Twin Briar Tempest:What "dice pool havling effect" of Crackling Disaster Kata?

-FlowsLikeBits

Ok, crashes suck. As for Golden Lily Nods Its Head, I assume it must be applied before active defences, and is it a form of enviromental penalty also?. For Indigo Stormcloud Dispersion, can an attack be redirected back to the attacker(frex, a duel)? It seems odd, but, well it is a MAGIC enviromental penalty(you hit your foot!), and for range attacks can make sense. -FlowsLikeBits

Both Charms work exactly as their texts describe, and don't have any hidden restrictions. The main function of GLNIH is as a way to activate ISD, or as an emergency defence; I see your point about cherrypicking, but it's far too expensive and unreliable to be a mainlined defence. - willows

Without some restriction, GLNIH becomes prime cherrypicking matterial. Just stick it in any combo(Instant Reflexive!) and attempt to get rid of the last few successes from any attack. Yeah, it's not a great mainline defence, but wow. It also has the nice property of working on attacks that un*-able. -FlowsLikeBits
That makes your Combos 3 XP slower, and Combos are not, like, a wise primary fighting technique. Willpower is finite! The Celestials with persistents can use the triple-layered defence by committing a large amount of motes, but it sets them on the defensive; I don't think I'll convince you that you're overvaluing the ability, but I amsolutely think you are. - willows
Fair enough. Thanks for the viewpoint. I still think having something can help against unblockable and undodgeable attacks is quite usefull. And it's not THAT expensive to use. YMMV -FlowsLikeBits
It's certainly something that bears playtest. - willows
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