SolarStealth/CrownedSun
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Solar Stealth Charms by CrownedSun
One Among the Shadows</b>
<b>Cost: 2 motes per die Duration: One scene Type: Simple Minimum Stealth: 3 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: None
The character moves with the natural lines of obfuscation, moving quietly from shadow to shadow and never quite stepping out into sight when someone is turned to watch. He reflexively avoids loose boards without looking or knowing they are there, and slips casually past even alert guards. For the duration of the scene, the Solar Exalted adds one die to every Stealth roll for every two motes spent on the activation of this charm. You cannot more than double your Attribute + Stealth roll when using this charm, and must move at a slightly slower pace than normal.
Empty Room Prana
Cost: 4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Stealth: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: One Among the Shadows
The Solar Exalt using this charm can effortlessly find and exploit a hiding place with ease, given even a fleeting moment unobserved. It doesn't matter if your searching through the Imperial Manse when you hear footsteps approaching or if you're rifling through the desk of the Perfect when he fumbles at the door, you will be out of sight and well-hidden by the time any observer comes into sight. After spend 4 motes and activating this charm reflexively, you can make a Wits + Stealth roll with a number of automatic successes equal to your Essence rating. No penalities are applied to this roll, and the Solar gains the full benefits of this roll even if he only has a split second in which to hide himself.
The hiding space might be one naturally occuring, or just a magically-enhanced shadowy corner of a bare room. It takes no time to hide yourself in this manner, though you must be unobserved for the split moment it takes for you to use this charm, with no one in the immediate area or at the very least some kind of distraction to pull their attention actively away from you. You can use this charm, for instance, to hide yourself after throwing a flash-bang and thus seem to disappear. You can remain hidden as long as you wish.
the Anima Control branch
Aura-Reshaping Meditation
Cost: 3 motes Duration: One day Type: Simple Minimum Stealth: 2 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: None
Engaging in a deep meditation, the Solar obscures the truth of his soul with magic, sculpting and shaping his anima into a form other than its own. This process requires approximately one hour, and causes the characters anima to flare as if he had spent 8 points of Peripheral Essence. Over the course of fifteen minutes, the characters anima shifts and alters itself, eventually reshaping itself according to his will. The Solar can change his castemark to that of any other Solar Caste, and reshape his totemic anima according to his will. Precisely mimicing the totemic anima of another Solar requires a single success on a Perception + Stealth roll. This charm lasts for 24 hours, though once the duration lapses the character may reflexively spend three motes to keep the disguise up another day without reactivating the charm.
Anima Snuffing Prana
Cost: 1 health level per anima level Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Stealth: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Invisible Statue Spirit
It can often become necessary to unleash the full fury of ones power in situations where one perhaps should be more subtle. A Solar with this charm does not have to wait for his anima to dim naturally, but can instead contain the roaring power of his display within himself. Though the solar fire burns him and often causes nosebleeds and headaches, this charm does allow him to snuff his anima nearly instantly. For every health level of damage that the character takes while activating this charm allows his anima to fade one level. This charm cannot reduce a characters anima below the glittering castemark level, regardless of how much damage the character takes, so head coverings of some sort are often necessary. This damage is bashing, but must be healed naturally.
Hiding the Lambent Flame
Cost: 3 willpower Duration: One turn Type: Reflexive Minimum Stealth: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Anima Snuffing Prana, Aura-Reshaping Meditation
Sometimes its not enough to be able to very quickly conceal the power of ones soul; it's vital that the characters true nature is never revealed in the first place. This charm allows the Solar to hide the greater amount of his power, restricting even the greatest expressions of power such that they only cause his castemark to glitter lightly upon his brow as if he'd spent a single mote of Peripheral Essence. Even then, this display fades after the end of the turn leaving no sign of the magic the character has just used. This charm does not count as a charm use for the turn and allows the character to use another charm or a combo as he wishes.
When used by those of the Night Caste, this charm is even more powerful, able to hide all signs of magic. Normally visible charm effects are hidden, though they have all the normal effects if appropriate. Even combos can be hidden with the power of this charm, displaying no sign that any magic at all has been used, and once the Night Caste reaches Essence 6 he can even conceal the raw power of Sorcery.
Comments
One Among the Shadows: This is mostly there because every other Exalt has a similar effect. DB's and Sidereals have similarly cheap effects that might even be superior, and I based this charm off the Lunar charm -- "Stealthy Fox Method". Abyssals have a different charm that just adds +Essence difficulty to rolls to spot the character (effectively adding Essence x2 dice).
- Why Not use Easily Overlooked Presence?
Easily Overlooked Presence is not a very good charm for /hiding/. It just makes you harder to notice. The character doesn't stand out, others won't see him as unusual. "Inobvious Begger Method", in a way. The charm doesn't work on alerted guards, or help you get past places where nobody is allowed or access is very secure. Lastly, it doesn't work on characters that stand out too much from those around them.
Easily Overlooked Presence makes perfect sense for where it is; Mental Invisibility Technique doesn't make sense without it. Invisible Statue Spirit, also, works just fine off EOP. However, it doesn't really work in the kind of Stealth that I want Solars to be able to pull off as well -- the actual /stealthy/ bits.
- How does this charm work?
This charm works exactly as the rules say it does -- it adds your dice to stealth rolls. I tried to explain HOW it works with flavor; you just have a natural sense for how best to remain unseen, in any situation. Walking across a brightly lit room with nothing to hide behind? That sounds like a difficulty 5+ stealth roll:D This charm makes it easier to do, but you still have to worry about loosing successes and getting spotted. After all, remember, Stealth is an opposed roll.
Ooh! So that's what it looks like when you ReFactor a page!
I kind of thought Empty Room Prana would be the Exalted equivalent of Cloak the Gathering... basically allowing you to use another Stealth Charm on a whole room full of people. - Quendalon
Heh; I hope so!:P I had the idea for Empty Room Prana last night (though not the name). It's just something that...fits. That is a neat idea for a Stealth charm, though, and I can definately see something like that at the higher levels. Though that might be more of a DB thing, really.
--CrownedSun
Between Invisible Statue Spirit, Unseen Ghost Walk, Blurred Form Style and Sound and Scent Banishing Technique, do you even need s Stealth dice-adder for Solars? That seems like the sort of petty trick best left to weaker Exalted who don't negate entire senses' worth of detection with single Charms. -TheMyriadOfShades
It doesn't hurt; moreover, its the only real balm if you want a character that is actually good at moving unseen as opposed to just banishing the ability of others to see him. A lot of characters I've made just...don't fit things like Mental Invisibility or Blurred Form Style. - CrownedSun
How so? If they can't see him, he's using Unseen Ghost Walk or Blurred Form Style (the latter of which aids Stealth rolls mechanically anyway, by acting as a penalty to Awareness rolls). If they won't see him, it's Mental Invisibility Method. What's there not to know? He's really sneaky? Yeah, that's what being invisible and having a 10-13 dice pool is for. -TheMyriadOfShades, who generally dislikes having lots of Charms for the same thing
Personally, I like it. Under Aura Reshaping Meditation, I probably make mimicing a specific person more difficult(equivilent to doing it with a normal disquies at least), but seems cool otherwise. I really like Empty Room Prana. Very nifty. -FlowsLikeBits
All the charms your talking about are, in some way, flawed. Mental Invisibility Technique is a pretty weak effect to depend on at lower essences, though it gets much better higher up. Invisible Statue Spirit only works when your standing still, and Blurred Form is both Essence 3 and somewhat weak compared even to the Air Immaculate invisibility charm. Unseen Ghost Walk is fine, but it's invisibility, not sneakiness. And, of course, its also Essence 3. I fail to see why all stealth effects should be that high up the tree.
The EOPM tree is very nice, based as it is around being unnoticed and walking around unseen. However, I think Solars need a charm about the actual mechanical bits of Stealth too. By which I don't mean the dice, but "actually doing things without attracting attention." Honestly, I think MOST abilities should be able to have a dice adder or a success doubler, and certainly have no trouble with Stealth having one. I see no reason why a Night caste has to become invisible in order to be sneaky.
If you honestly think its "the same thing", then by all means, ignore them. I think they fill a needed whole, however, and one that most of the other groups have filled. Sidereals have a TN reducer, invisibility and "blurriness". Dragon-Blooded have success adders, two invisibility charms, and numerous utility stealth charms. - CrownedSun
