MartialArts/EfficaciousScrivenerStyle

Efficacious Scrivener Style

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Style still under construction.

Background

This is an advanced Celestial level martial art. The Warrior-Thaumatuerge Jengei Atlani developed it. Jengei an avid martial artist and sorcerer understood the tremendous effects that rote movements and rituals could have on the essence flows of creation. He also understood the binding power of language and the written word. In his mind he felt that both of these things were merely aspects of the same principle and began to devise a martial style as an experiment in combining the two. The fruit of his labor was the Efficacious Scrivener Style. The style uses the practiced motions of a martial art to channel and focus ambient essence, which could then be bound by a number of arcane sigils of his own devising.

Weapons and Armor

This style is incompatible with armor. Close combat attacks with knives and their artifact counter parts are treated as unarmed for the purposes of this style.

Notes

• The first six charms are known collectively as the Marks of Composition. Each Mark has a standard and inverse effect. When the charm is first purchased the character selects one or the other. Once the character has mastered the Form, she may go back and purchase whichever effect she didn’t get the first time around at the cost of 5xp(4 if martial arts is favored).
• The Marks of Composition are all supplemental charms that must be used to supplement a marking attack (a rolled attack that inflicts no damage and has a base difficulty of 3).
• All Gates/Seals are simple charms. These charms provide a marking attack action when invoked.
• A character can have no more than his (martial arts + essence) in active Marks, Seals, or Gates at any given point. A given individual may only be under the effects of up to 2 Marks and a single Seal or Gate. Marks of the same type do not stack.
• Gates and Seals may not be placed in combos with extra action charms. Neither may they be placed in combos with the Six Marks of Composition.

Charms

Marks of Composition

Mark of Vigor</b>

<b>Cost: 1m
Duration: One Scene
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms:: None

The first Sigil of the Body is the Mark of Vigor:Kai. Kai energizes the body and encourages an overall boost in performance. Those inscribed with the Mark of Vigor receive +1 die to all pools based off of a physical attribute. When Kai is inverted, it becomes the Mark of Fatigue, and those afflicted suffer a penalty of -1 die to all physical actions.

Mark of Clarity</b>

<b>Cost: 2 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms:: None

The first Sigil of the Mind is the Mark of Clarity:Ki. Ki cleanses the mind and enhances the mind’s ability to react and observe. Those inscribed with Ki receive a +2 bonus to their initiative and +1 die to perception based checks. When Ki is inverted, it becomes the Mark of Doubt, and those afflicted receive a penalty of -2 to their initiative and have the difficulty of all perception rolls increased by 1.

Mark of Health</b>

<b>Cost: 5 motes/6 motes inverted
Duration: One scene
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms:: Mark of Vigor, Mark of Clarity

The second Sigil of the Body is the Mark of Health:Tai. Tai infuses the body’s systems with tremendous power, increasing their durability and effectiveness. Those inscribed with Tai receive an additional -0 health level. This is always the first lost. In addition, targets receive a bonus of 2 dice on all stamina based checks. This bonus is cumulative with the one granted by the Mark of Vigor. When Tai is inverted, it becomes the Mark of Contagion, and those afflicted double their wound penalties. In addition, all -0 health levels have an effective wound penalty of -1. Finally, afflicted characters lose 2 dice on all stamina related checks.

Mark of Prescience</b>

<b>Cost: 6 motes/5motes inverted
Duration: One Scene
Type: supplemental 
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms:: Mark of Vigor, Mark of Clarity

The second Sigil of the Mind is the Mark of Prescience:Ti. Ti enhances the minds ability to perceive so that it transcends the limits of the physical body. Those inscribed with Ti reduce all sensory penalties by 2. Furthermore, they may perceive dematerialized beings. When Ti is inverted, it becomes the Mark of Blindness. Those afflicted suffer a +2 increase to difficulty to all sensory based rolls. Rolls made in combat start at a base difficulty of 2 unless the victim can fight without relying on his senses.

Mark of Brilliance</b>

<b>Cost: 2m/ 4m inverted
Duration: One Scene
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Mark of Health, Mark of Prescience

The first Sigil of the Spirit is the Mark of Brilliance:Koh. Koh opens up channels in a being’s anima and allows for a more efficient flow of essence. Those inscribed with Koh reduce the cost to power their anima effects by 1 mote. In addition, whenever the character would regain essence, add 1 mote to the amount gained. When Koh is inverted it becomes the Mark of Stagnation. Those so afflicted suffer a penalty of -1 die to all charm aided or created actions. If this Mark is used on a being with an unawakened essence, then it costs 5 motes and grants the being a pool of five motes. If the inverse is applied it still costs 5 motes and temporarily lowers the target’s willpower by 1.

Mark of Fortune</b>

<b>Cost: 3 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Mark of Brilliance

The Second Sigil of the Spirit is the Mark of Fortune;Toh. Toh fills the being with the joy of being alive in Creation and spurs an individual on to greater success. Thos inscribed with Toh may re-roll a single die on any roll and select which of the two results they would like. When Toh is inverted it becomes the Mark of Misfortune. The dice pools of those afflicted also receive a single re-roll, save that it is the practitioner’s choice and not the victim’s as to which die is re-rolled and which result is kept.

Efficacious Scrivener Form</b>

<b>Cost: 6 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Mark of Fortune

Once a student has mastered the Six Marks of Composition, he is ready to assay the Binding Scrivener Form. When invoked, the martial artist takes on the relaxed and potential laden demeanor of the scribe about to touch pen to paper. His movements are concise and trenchant, able to convey his intellect’s desires with the minimum amount of energy needed. While under the effects of the Binding Scrivener Form, the difficulty of all marking attacks cannot exceed 1. This is a perfect effect. Also, when the character suffers penalties for taking multiple actions he may reduce those penalties by one, except in the case of marking attacks, which never suffer from multiple action penalties. This is a Form type charm and a character may only benefit from a single Form type charm at any time.

Gate of Warding </b>

<b>Cost: 2m +1m per +1B/l soak, or 2m per +1 A soak, 1wp
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Efficacious Scrivener Form

The first Gate is the Gate of Warding:<Pango>. The Gate Pango allows essence to gather in the body and binds it to the purpose of strengthening that vessel. Those inscribed with Pango are capable of parrying lethal attacks barehanded without a stunt. In addition, they are capable of parrying dematerialized attacks as long as they are aware of them. Finally, those inscribed with Pango receive a boost to their bashing and lethal soaks equal to the amount of additional motes invested in the charm. At the martial artist’s choosing, he may instead raise a target’s aggravated soak at the rate of 1 per 2 additional motes spent instead of boosting the bashing and lethal soaks. The martial artist may not spend more motes on boosting soak then his (MA+Essence). This soak boost counts as armor in all respects save that it does not interfere with martial arts or other effects that disallow armor.

Seal of Weakness </b>

<b>Cost: 3m per die, 1wp
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Binding Scrivener Form

Pango’s inverse is the Seal of Weakness:Affligo. Affligo draws away and contains the essence of the body, making it more fragile. Affligo increases the pre-soak damage totals against its target by 1 die per 3m spent. A character cannot add more dice than his essence or martial arts, whichever is lower.

Gate of Excellence</b>

<b>Cost: 10m, 1wp
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Warding or Seal of Weakness

The second Gate is the Gate of Excellence:Vici. Vici draws upon and binds the essence of the world to invigorate and strengthen an individual’s learned skills to make them an unsurpassed master of their art. When Vici is invoked, the martial artist selects an ability. For so long as Vici remains inscribed, characters turn all specialty dice related to that ability into automatic successes. In addition, whenever a character rolls a pool based off that ability, roll the ability’s dice separately. The character may re-roll all dice that do not come up as a success.

Seal of Loss</b>

<b>Cost: 10m, 1wp
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Warding or Seal of Weakness

Vici’s inverse is the Seal of Loss:Claudus. Claudus binds and seals away the essence of the mind, rendering its victim as dumb and unskilled as a newborn child. When Claudus is invoked, the character chooses an ability. Whenever the afflicted target would roll a pool tied to that ability he may not benefit from specialty dice. As with the Gate of Excellence, dice provided by the ability should be rolled separately, although in this case the dice should be rolled twice and the worse of the two rolls will be applied.

Gate of Agency</b>

<b>Cost: 1wp (committed)
Duration: Essence in days
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Excellence or Seal of Loss

The third Gate is the Gate of Agency:Advenio. Advenio snares and binds the essence of world and feeds it through the practitioner’s anima and into his Marks. So long as the Gate of Power is active, the duration of all of the character’s Marks becomes indefinite. Once the duration of this charm expires, it cannot be activated again for a number of days equal to the character’s essence.

Seal of Destruction</b>

<b>Cost: 2m per mark, 4m per Gate/Seal
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Excellence or Seal of Loss

The inverse of Advenio is the Seal of Destruction:Exitium. Exitium funnels all the power from the Marks, Gates, and Seals active on the target into itself, and then overloads and explodes in a blast of essence. The damage pool of this explosion is equal to [(total motes committed to Marks/2)+(5 x the number of Seals/gates on the target)]. This damage is soaked normally, but use of this charm is not considered an attack. The minimum damage that can be inflicted is 1 die. This ends all Marks, Seals, and Gates affecting the target. This Seal may be cast on an individual already under the effects of a Seal or Gate.

The Gate of Power</b>

<b>Cost: 1 willpower (committed)
Duration: Essence in days
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Agency or Seal of Destruction

The Fourth Gate is the Gate of Power:Vox. Vox gathers the essence of creation and links it to the patterns contained in any Marks affecting its target. The inscriber of those Marks, as a reflexive charm action, may increase their potency. If the Gate of Power is already active on a target when a new Mark is inscribed, the character may reflexively choose to augment it at the time of its inscription.

• Mark of Vigor:1m per die, maximum of the character’s MA or essence, whichever is lower.
• Mark of Clarity:1m per +1 initiative. For every 2 additional points of initiative bought in this fashion, add 1 die to perception rolls. The maximum amount a character can boost his initiative by is equal to his essence or MA, whichever is lower
• Mark of Health: 4m per -0 health level. Maximum number of health levels that can be added is equal to ½ essence or MA (rounded up) whichever is lower.
• Mark of Prescience: 5m- target is immune to sensory penalties and cannot fail perception rolls.
• Mark of Brilliance: 1m per -1 to cost to activate anima powers. Cannot exceed character’s MA or Essence, whichever is lower. For every -2 discount, increase the character’s mote regeneration by 1.
• Mark of Fortune: 2m per re-rollable die. No more dice may be re-rolled than the character’s MA or essence, whichever is lower.

Seal of Enervation </b>

<b>Cost: 1 willpower (committed)
Duration: Essence in days
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Agency or Seal of Destruction

The inverse of Vox is the Seal of Enervation:Adificio. Adificio allows the martial artist to strengthen the crippling effects of his Inverse Marks. When a target is afflicted with Adificio, the practitioner may, as a reflexive action, increase the potency of any Inverse Marks he inscribed on the target. If the Seal of Enervation is already active on a target when a new Inverse Mark is inscribed, the character may reflexively choose to augment it a the time of its inscription.

• Mark of Fatigue:1m per die penalty inflicted to a maximum of the character’s MA or essence, whichever is lower.
• Mark of Doubt:1m per -1 initiative, for every 2 additional points of initiative lost in this fashion, add 1 to the difficulty of perception rolls. The maximum initiative penalty that can be inflicted with this mark is equal to the character’s essence of MA, whichever is lower.
• Mark of Contagion: Every 3m spent increases victim’s wound penalties by 1. Cannot increase penalties past ½ the character’s essence or MA, whichever is lower.
• Mark of Blindness: 6m- Target adds an additional 2 difficulty to perception rolls. The base difficulty of combat actions is 3 unless the target can fight without relying on his senses.
• Mark of Stagnation: 2m per additional -1 die penalty added to charm aided or generated rolls. Penalty cannot exceed the character’s MA or Essence, whichever is lower.
• Mark of Misfortune: 2m per re-rollable die. No more dice may be re-rolled than the character’s MA or essence, whichever is lower.

Gate of Essence</b>

<b>Cost: 10 motes, 1 wp
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Power or Seal of Enervation

The Fifth Gate is the Gate of Essence:Res. Res funnels the essence of creation into the very core of a being’s anima, expanding it and causing it to blossom into a new plateau of enlightenment. Those inscribed with Res count their essence as one higher for all effects that require essence as a calculation. The character’s essence pools and charm requirements are unaffected by this charm. While the Gate of Essence is active, the character is bathed in a brilliant glow of essence. This charm has no effect on beings with an essence of 1.

Seal of Banality</b>

<b>Cost: 10 motes, 1 wp
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Power or Seal of Enervation

The inverse of Res is the Seal of Banality:Vexillum. Vexillum binds the essence within a being’s anima and deprives him of the source of his greatness. Those afflicted with Vexillum count their essence as one lower for all calculations that involve essence. The character’s essence pools and charm requirements are unaffected by this charm. This charm has no effect on beings with an essence of 1.

Gate of Harmony</b>

<b>Cost: 1 wp (committed)
Duration: Indefinite
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms:: All four preceding Gates and all four Preceding Seals

The Fifth Gate is the Gate of Harmony:Pax Once a practitioner has learned the Six Marks of Composition, the Form, and the Four Gates and Seals of Understanding, he may learn the inscription Pax. Pax is always inscribed onto the martial artist, and this Gate unlocks the flows of essence throughout his anima and all of his works, linking them into a massive web of essence and providing a number of benefits: The character receives a discount to the commitment cost of maintaining Marks, Gates, and Seals on his targets. Total the number of active Marks, Gates, Seals, and the number of individuals being effected by them and subtract this number from the total cost of motes committed powering these effects. The Seal of Destruction still calculates its damage as if this discount was not being applied. Also, so long as the Gate of Harmony is invoked, the character doubles the number of Marks, Gates, and Seals he may have active on a single target. Finally, when the character has the Form Charm active, he may make marking attacks out to a range of (essence x 10) yards. The Gate of Harmony does not count towards the number of total Gates and Seals that can be present on the practitioner.

Seal of Consumption</b>

<b>Cost: 1 wp or 1 health level
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms:: All four preceding Gates and all four Preceding Seals

The inverse of Pax is the Seal of Consumption:Voro. Once a practitioner has learned the Six Marks of Composition, the Form, and the Four Gates and Seals of Understanding, he may learn the inscription Voro. Voro is a greedy Seal, which taps into the network of essence linking the practitioner to his sigils and consumes the essence powering them. This essence is then returned to the martial artist. When Voro is invoked the character may target any number of Marks, Gates, or Seals. Targeted effects are ended and their essence refunded to the character. For each effect devoured in this fashion Voro consumes a single mote essence from the total refunded.

Gate of Ascension</b>

<b>Cost: -
Duration: Permanent
Type: Permanent
Minimum Martial Arts: 6
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms:: Gate of Harmony, Seal of Consumption

The Sixth Gate is a theoretical step that Jengei was never able to reach before being struck down in the Usurpation. His original scrolls contain a possible route to reach this technique, but as far as anyone knows, no one has yet learned it. The Sixth Gate is the Gate of Ascension:Optimus. Once Optimus is learned, it becomes permanently inscribed onto the master’s essence, forever altering him. At this level of understanding he need not physically draw out his sigils but can create them through sheer force of will. The types of the Six Marks of Composition are changed from supplemental to reflexive These charms generate their own die pools and can no longer be dodged or parried, but are instead rolled against a difficulty of the target’s essence. The types of the Five Gates and Seals switch from Simple to supplemental. They no longer generate their own die pools and must supplement a marking attack. This attack can neither be parried nor dodged, and is instead made against a difficulty of the target’s essence. Only a single Seal or Gate may still be cast in a single turn.

Metadata

Name: Efficacios Scrivener

Author: Ambisinister

Type: celestial

Subtype: artistic

Rules: PC

Form Weapons: knives

Armor Allowed: none

Shield Allowed: no

Essence Range: 3-6

MA Range: 3-6

Total Charms: 20

Forms: 1

Comboable Charms: 19

Reflexive Charms: 1

Persistent Charms: 18

Comments

A very experimental style. Now that it’s finished I’m not at all sure about its power balance. I’m also not even sure if it should be a martial art, lore may be a more appropriate ability. I’m wondering if it should have more dramatic and dynamic charms. Reflexives and supplementals that are like: inscribe a quick sigil in the air to help parry a blow, or inscribe a quick sigil in the air, which augments an attack. Anyway, let me know what you guys think.-Ambisinister P.S. A shout out to Greymane whose Black Rose Style provided the seed idea for this charm cascade.