GoldenCat/Legends

Legends

Heroes break the rules. Heroes... do things. Things nobody else does. Heroes and Villains are unique. Why? Go figure. Maybe they are really, really, really good shots. Maybe it is a talent they have to get out of trouble. Maybe it is the soul of an ancestor within them that allow them to push their limits. Maybe, when touched by the light of the full moon, they become an ungodly half-human machine of destruction. Maybe they hold the spirit of an old, caged beast within their frame. Maybe their bloodline descends from a powerful being, and they can unlock great powers from it. Maybe they have saved a great being, and earned a boon, or had something foreign and of great power placed on their bodies. Maybe. But in any occurrence, Heroes usually have... those things. Those little or grand things that stand out.

Those are their Legends!

All Player Characters, and major Non-Player Characters and Antagonists possess Legends. Only Player Characters are guaranteed to have access to them, and to give access to Legends to a NPC or Antagonist requires them to be pivotal beings, or at least main, colorful antagonists of a session. Having the ability to possess a Legend, PC or NPC, does not ascertain this ability will be used.

Characters may possess as many Legends as their highest Virtue. A Legend is a single power from any sort of Exalted or Spirit that the character possesses as an innate power. It may be a Charm, a Martial Arts Charm, a Spell, a Resplendent Destiny or even an Anima Power or Hearthstone Power. This power requires the character to devote a Charm Slot to it at character creation, or to pay the requisite Bonus or Experience points for a Charm that is not Favored (Mortals pay 10 Bonus Points or 20 Experience Points).

Each Legend the character possess has a rating, going from 1 to 5, and is bought as a Background.

Legends increases as follows...

• x The character has no Legends.
• 1 The Legend is a lesser magical trick of some utility and power. It is equal to...
  • ... a Terrestrial Exalted Charm, Martial Art or Anima Power.
  • ... an Arcanoi Path.
  • ... access to a Dragon King Path.
  • ... Hearthstone powers with a sum total of 2.
• 2 The Legend is a strong, defining ability of Celestial caliber! It is equal to...
  • ... a common Lunar or Sidereal Exalted Charm(not a Transformation or a Prayer Strip) or Anima Power.
  • ... a common Celestial Martial Arts Charm(not a Form or Pinnacle).
  • ... a Terrestrial Circle Sorcery Spell.
  • ... Hearthstone powers with a sum total of 3.
  • ... a Resplendent Destiny which costs a virtue channel and 10 motes to activate, and only lasts a single scene, with Effect Points equal to the total Virtue Points in the Virtue used to channel the Resplendent Destiny.
• 3 The Legend is as strong as the most common effects of even the Solar Exalted! It is equal to...
  • ... a Solar Charm.
  • ... a Celestial Circle Sorcery Spell or a Celestial Martial Arts Form or Pinnacle.
  • ... a permanent Resplendent Destiny whose abilities cost willpower instead of effect points to activate.
  • ... Hearthstone powers with a sum total of 4.
• 4 The Legend is mighty, a power that inspires awe and can fell Gods or break cities! It is equal to...
  • ... a Prayer Strip Sidereal Charm(with the same or another sort of limitation) or a Transformative Lunar Charm.
  • ... Hearthstone powers with a sum total of 5.
• 5 The Legend is one of the most powerful abilities available to any being, anywhere, able to torn the world asunder. It is equal to...
  • ... Sidereal Martial Arts Charm.
  • ... a Solar Circle Sorcery Spell.

Any single of those powers may be activated as Anima Powers, not counting as a Charm use for the turn they are used. They do take the same actions as they normally would, so Simple Charms take the character's whole action for the turn, and Sorcery Spells require Shaping. The character may acquire them one level earlier by adding a significant disadvantage to them(such as only working with a ritual or in a prohibitive period, such as the night, or adding turns of Shaping and a display of power, like Sorcery), or get them one level higher and alleviate disadvantages and such as Shaping time and displays of power.

Being able to purchase one of those Charms also allows it to be purchased as many times as the character would normally be able to purchase it(if one gets the Lunar Ox-Body Ability, one may buy it as many times as his Stamina). At the Storyteller's discretion, any Permanent Charm that enhances this power may also be purchased(such as the enhancement Charms to Glorious Solar Saber).

The character still needs to meet the Ability or Attribute prerequisites of those Charms, but the Essence prerequisite becomes equal to the character's rating in his highest Virtue(this may be lowered if the cost increases highly or if the Charm is limited somehow, at the Storyteller's discretion).