MartialArts/ArgentScorpionOfContradictionStyle
Contents
Debate: the Argent Scorpion of Contradiction
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Introduction
This Style is conceived as a thought-experiment, inspired by Szilard/MartialArts; what would a Style that has a very long Essence range look like? How would it work? It is, by the very nature of such thought-experiments, very idiosyncratic. This is a Celestial Martial Art.
New Rule: Secrets
The Charms of the Argent Scorpion of Contradiction Style are expansible in a limited manner, via Secrets. A Secret is a modification of preexisting techniques; it either upgrades the ability wholesale, alters its fundamental nature in some way, or provides an optional enhancement that can be used at additional cost.
Secrets are not complete Charms, and so they require less study and mystical potential for most characters to develop. Sidereal Exalted express their martial facility in learning secrets with great ease; they pay 2xp to learn a Secret if they favour Martial Arts Charms, and 3 xp otherwise. Solar and Abyssal Exalted pay 3 or 4. Dragon-Blooded pay 4 or 5, and Lunars must pay 8. Unfortunately for Alchemical Exalted, it is not any easier to store a Secret than it is to store a Martial Arts Charm in the Perfect Lotus Matrix; they pay the same cost for Secrets as they do Charms. Mortals are also not sufficiently enlightened to experience any benefit.
In this document, Charm names are bolded and italicised; Secret names are italicised but not bolded. In the stat blocks below, Charms and Secrets are collectively referred to as Techniques. Secrets have the same Trait minima as the Charms they originate from unless they have no Charm prerequisite; then their requirements are stated explicitly.
Secrets which alter the effects of a specific prerequisite Charm are always described as Permanent effects of the Reflexive type; those which can be attached to a number of different Charms have in their stat blocks the necessary information for determining how they interact in Combos.
A Note on Charm Naming
The techniques of this Style name a rhetorical figure, and the remainder of their title, optionally combined with the title of a prerequisite, form an instance of that figure and a hint to its effect.
The definitions of figures are derived from Silva Rhetoricae.
A Note on Prerequisites
A number of techniques in this Style specify some number of "Style" Charms or Secrets. This indicates Charms or Secrets of the Argent Scorpion of Contradiction Style.
New Alchemical Submodule: Petal Add-On
- by Will
Purchased as a submodule for the Perfected Lotus Matrix, this device allows Alchemicals to learn the supplemental techniques that are Secrets with greater ease. This submodule costs 6 experience points or 2 bonus points. By implanting a second ring of crystal-holding slots inside the Perfect Lotus Matrix that are solely dedicated to holding the little emerald knowledge-gems, the Alchemical frees up his outer ring for greater mysteries and speeds the learning process. This permanently reduces the cost of purchasing a Secret to 6 experience points or 3 bonus points.
Arms & Armour
The routine form weapon of the Argent Scorpion of Contradiction Style is the trident; they are often used in pairs, to imitate the scorpion's claws. The peculiar device called howling tiger paw, a grappling hook affixed to the end of a chain or seven-section staff, is a less popular form weapon, which recalls the creature's stinging tail. Particularly skilled combatants are able to use two tridents in one hand and a howling tiger paw in the second, realising the full panoply of a scorpion's weaponry.
The techniques of the Style are compatible with armour, but not its patterns; this means that non-Instant Charms cannot be activated while the character is armoured, and cease effect instantly if the stylist dons any. Individual Charms do not specify whether they can be used with armour; they all follow this rule.
The Charms
http://photobucket.com/albums/v520/fourwillows/Kungfu/argentscorpion.png
Student Techniques
Antiphrasis: The Nectar of Beauty
- Cost: 2 motes
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Supplemental
- Minimum Martial Arts: 3
- Minimum Essence: 1
- Prerequisite Techniques: None
The adept makes an elegant, toxic gesture, aligning the Essence meridians of his hand into a caustic knot. This Charm enhances an unarmed Martial Arts attack, causing it to deliver a non-convulsive toxin. If the attack succeeds, the defender is instantly poisoned, before damage is calculated. The difficulty to resist the poison is 2; it deals 1 HL of bashing damage if resisted, and one-half the adept's Martial Arts score, rounded up, in Health Levels of bashing damage if it is not.
Antitheton: The Venom of Beauty
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Antiphrasis
This improves the adept's usage of Antiphrasis; the difficulty to resist the toxin is 2 or his Essence, whichever is greater.
Catacosmesis: Iron or Bone Assertion
- Cost: 3 or 5 motes
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Reflexive
- Minimum Martial Arts: 3
- Minimum Essence: 2
- Prerequisite Techniques: Antiphrasis
The martial artist speaks a word so unyielding that it halts an attack. He makes an unarmed Martial Arts parry against an attack, rolling his full defensive pool. Neither his body nor his weapons participate in this parry, but their defensive statistic modifies the parry pool regardless. The attack blocked need not be made against the adept himself, but to defend someone he is not in physical contact with, he must pay 5 motes rather than 3. The beneficiary may be as far away as the adept's Martial Arts × 3 yards. This Charm can defend against attacks that deal lethal or aggravated damage regardless of whether the user has a weapon.
The Form
Scorpion Form
- Cost: 5 motes
- Duration: One Scene
- Type: Simple
- Minimum Martial Arts: 4
- Minimum Essence: 2
- Prerequisite Techniques: Catacosmesis
Assuming this Form, the adept behaves in a manner reminiscent of the Style's namesake. His scuttling movements add his Essence to his Dexterity for the purposes of calculating movement, and double his dice pool to resist knockdown and knockback; the exercises he has performed to use his hands as well as the creature's heavy claws adds one-half, rounding up, of his Essence to Strength dice pools. This explicitly includes damage rolls.
This is a Martial Arts Form-type Charm and is incompatible with other Forms.
Intermediate Techniques
Sermocinatio: I Remain Unconvinced!
- Cost: 1 Willpower
- Duration: Instant
- Type: As the base Charm
- Minimum Martial Arts: 5
- Minimum Essence: 3
- Prerequisite Techniques: Any Style Charm
When the adept learns this Secret, he permanently modifies one of the Instant Charms of this Style. The Charm in question must govern a single Martial Arts action that affects a target. This explicitly includes attacks and parries; the target of the parry is the being making the attack roll. If he rolls any successes on the action, then he may spend 1 Willpower to cause some effect the target is using to cease operation, if that effect creates a physical symbol. Effects that create symbols include Essence weaponry effects such as Glorious Solar Sabre and Refining the Inner Blade, the green script of Transcendent Hatchet of Fate (this Charm is peculiar in that it takes one physical symbol and creates a different one from it), and efficacious gestures such as the dance of Perfection in Life. They do not include effects that empower a preexisting symbol, such as most Sidereal Scripture Charms and the Dragon-Graced Weapon.
The Charm modified in this manner is expanded. This Secret cannot modify Charms that have already been expanded. The prerequisite Charm for this Secret must be unexpanded.
Prodiorthosis: Sharp, Nay, Excruciating Claws
- Cost: 1 mote per die
- Duration: Instant
- Type: As the base Charm
- Minimum Martial Arts: 5
- Minimum Essence: 3
- Prerequisite Techniques: Any Style Charm
When the adept learns this Secret, he permanently modifies one of the Instant Charms of this Style. The Charm in question must govern a single Martial Arts action that affects a target. The adept may spend additional motes, beyond the cost of the Charm itself, to increase his dice pool.
The Charm modified in this manner is expanded. This Secret cannot modify Charms that have already been expanded. The prerequisite Charm for this Secret must be unexpanded.
Anangeon: Contamination of Speech
- Cost: 5 motes
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Simple
- Minimum Martial Arts: 4
- Minimum Essence: 3
- Prerequisite Techniques: Scorpion Form
With this Charm, the adept makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack. If it is successful, then she clamps her target into a violent kiss, and exhales a toxic fume into his lungs. This poison is latent until activated by vibration; each time he speaks, he suffers from the effects of the Antiphrasis toxin, using his own Traits to calculate its severity. A failed resistance roll always causes at least 2 HL damage, even if the victim's Martial Arts is insufficient.
When the victim directly addresses another being, the poison feeds on his cry for help; add that being's Essence to the difficulty of the poison's resistance roll.
A single use of this Charm causes the victim to suffer poisoning as many times as the adept's permanent Essence.
Hendiadys: Despite the Bitter & Pain
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Anangeon
This enhances the use of Anangeon. The adept gains a new way to use that Charm. He can activate it while dosing himself with a poison; using the Charm in this way costs 3 motes rather than 5. He may consume as many doses as his Essence with one activation of the Charm. As he takes the poison, he suffers whatever convulsive or hallucinatory effects it has, but these subside in half the time. He does not suffer damage. Afterward, the toxin is stored in his body. as long as he keeps the motes to activate the Charm committed. When using Anangeon to enhance an attack, the adept may deliver one dose of the poison stored in his body rather than a dose of the Antiphrasis toxin. If he decommits the motes before delivering all doses of the poison he has stored, he suffers the full effects of those poisons.
It is possible to use this Secret multiple times, in order to store larger amounts of toxin.
Paradiastole: He Is Patient
- Cost: 2 motes
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Simple
- Prerequisite Techniques: Anangeon
This enhances the use of Anangeon. The adept learns to produce a paralytic toxin, which weakens and slows victims rather than killing them. When he uses Anangeon, he may choose to deliver this venom; the victim must roll his Essence + Resistance in a reflexive test against a difficulty of the adept's Essence; upon failure he loses a dot of Dexterity. Dexterity lost in this manner returns in a number of turns equal to the adept's Essence. It is an effort to produce this venom; delivering it increases the cost of Anangeon by 2 motes.
Oeonismus: O, That I Had Known It Before
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Prodiorthosis, Hendiadys
This enhances the use of Antiphrasis. The Secrets that grant new options to Anangeon can now be used with Antiphrasis as well.
Tmesis: Quick-Claw-Witted
- Cost: 3 motes
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Reflexive
- Minimum Martial Arts: 4
- Minimum Essence: 3
- Prerequisite Techniques: Scorpion Form
Caught between the adept's two ready claws, the opponent is vulnerable. The adept may use this Charm when a target attempts to dodge one of his attacks. He makes an additional attack, at his full offensive pool, against that same target; this unarmed Martial Arts attack is resolved prior to the triggering dodge, and any ill effects caused by this attack's success, such as wound penalties, are explicitly applied against that dodge. This Charm is a counterattack, and cannot be used in response to a dodge that is made to defend against a counterattack.
Hyperbaton: Between With Barb The Man And Sword
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Tmesis
This improves the adept's usage of Tmesis, allowing him to activate the Charm in response to a hand-to-hand attack. He cannot activate it in response to a counterattack. When using Tmesis in this way, the adept may choose to interfere with the attack; after his counterattack has been rolled, he may declare that some quantity of the successes rolled serve as parry successes against the triggering attack, rather than counterattack successes.
Epitrope: Write Your Own Epic
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Tmesis
This enhances the use of Tmesis. When the adept has successfully delivered a counterattack via that Charm, he may optionally spend 1 Willpower to drain the power from a symbol that the victim has empowered, causing the effect that symbol controls to cease. Effects that depend on empowered symbols include, but are not limited to, the Scriptures and Sutras of various Sidereal magics, certain Linguistics Charms, and any effect that enhances a physical object, such as the Ritual of Elemental Empowerment or Geomantic Conveyance Glyph. The symbol in question must have the victim's Essence committed to it or be in physical contact with him for the adept to drain it.
Skotison: A Failure of Artistry
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Sermocinatio, Epitrope
This enhances the use of Epitrope and Sermocinatio. When either Secret deactivates an effect, the adept can pay the activation cost of that effect to transfer it to himself so that he enjoys its benefits instead.
Thaumasmus: O, How He Doth Fight!
- Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Extra Actions
- Minimum Martial Arts: 5
- Minimum Essence: 3
- Prerequisite Techniques: 3 Style Secrets requiring Essence 3
The adept imitates the scorpion's fighting strategy, immobilising his adversary with claws and then striking with his poisonous tail. The adept makes as many unarmed Martial Arts attacks as his Essence, all directed toward the same target. For each attack, he may choose to immobilise or poison.
An immobilising attack is a clinch attempt. The adept may make as many of these as he likes, but may only maintain one fewer clinches than weapons he is wielding (arms constitute weapons for this exercise, but legs do not) if he wishes to continue delivering attacks.
A poisoning attack is enhanced as if by use of the Antiphrasis Charm.
Epitheton: Ill-Tempered Sword
- Cost: 2x motes, (Willpower)
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Reflexive
- Minimum Martial Arts: 5
- Minimum Essence: 4
- Prerequisite Techniques: Any Style Charm
When the adept learns this Secret, he permanently modifies one of the Instant Charms of this Style. The Charm in question must govern unarmed Martial Arts attacks. This Secret can explicitly be used with Supplemental, Simple, Reflexive, and Extra Actions Charms.
When an opponent attacks the adept, he may activate the Charm in question, doubling its mote cost, to reflexively deliver a counteroffensive enhanced by that Charm. The use of this Secret provides a Martial Arts attack at the user's full pool for Supplemental types. The other three types function as they normally do, except that their activation requirements are altered. He is able to move up to Essence × 3 yards in order to close to hand-to-hand distance with the attacker to deliver this counteroffensive. As with other counterattacks, this counteroffensive is resolved after the attack roll and prior to the damage roll of the triggering attack, and it cannot be used in response to an attach generated by other counterattack Charms.
The Charm modified in this manner is expanded. This Secret cannot modify Charms that have already been expanded. The prerequisite Charm for this Secret must be unexpanded. Hereafter, the expanded Charm may be used in Combos as though it were Reflexive, or as a Charm of its original type.
Anamnesis: Prophecies Speak of a Plague of Claws
- Cost: 2x motes, +1 Willpower
- Duration: One scene
- Type: Simple
- Minimum Martial Arts: 5
- Minimum Essence: 4
- Prerequisite Techniques: Any Style Charm
When the adept learns this Secret, he permanently modifies one of the Instant Charms of this Style. The Charm in question must govern a single Martial Arts action that affects a target.
When the martial artist uses this Secret, he activates the Charm in question, doubling its mote cost and spending a Willpower point. He spits out a number (his permanent Essence) of exultant scorpions of Essence. These bejewelled creatures vary in morphology dependent on the stylist's mastery of the art; those who have focused on its toxic abilities express long-tailed creatures with glittering stings, while those who bias their learning toward wrestling and groundfighting tend to produce creatures with thick, powerful legs and grossly distended claws. True, complete masters of the Style are able to control the appearance of their servants in every detail, though it is universal that they remain identifiable as scorpions and are no larger than a burly man's hand. The scorpions mill and circle at the adept's feet.
The scorpions work as a team, trading off duties to use the Charm they embody at every opportunity. If the Charm in question is Reflexive, then one will dash to use it when its activation condition applies; if the Charm is Simple or Supplemental, then it will leap into action on the adept's initiative, choosing a target and delivering a single instance of the basic version of that Charm, using the adept's Traits. It may scuttle as far as his Essence × 3 yards to deliver this technique, and subsequently it returns. A given scorpion may only act once per turn, and once it has acted as many times as the adept's Essence, its battle glee fades and it scuttles away, never to be seen again. Once all scorpions have departed, the Charm ends.
The Charm modified in this manner is expanded. This Secret cannot modify Charms that have already been expanded. The prerequisite Charm for this Secret must be unexpanded.
Aschematiston: Ant Lion's Nesting
- Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: One Scene
- Type: Simple
- Minimum Martial Arts: 5
- Minimum Essence: 4
- Prerequisite Techniques: Thaumasmus
With the next unfurling of his Essence, the adept learns a stance that presents a deceptively enticing worldview. Each turn, on his initiative, his opponents cannot help but draw closer; those who are already no farther away than Essence × 10 yards slip towards the adept, for a distance of as many yards as his Charisma × 3. This does not cost the adversaries any of their own movement for the turn. Beings under the aegis of perfect defences against influence or falsehood are immune to this effect.
Further, on his initiative, the adept may reflexively make an unarmed Martial Arts attack against any adversaries within three yards of him, and against anyone entering this radius while the Charm remains in effect. In the course of a turn, he is able to make a number of attacks of this sort equal to his Essence, and no more than one of these attacks can be delivered to a particular adversary, regardless of how many times that adversary exits and reenters the radius.
Anacoloutha: Extension of Grip
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Aschematiston
This enhances the use of Aschematiston. The radius of attack improves from 3 yards to the adept's Essence in yards.
Charientismus: Come No Closer, I Pray You
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Aschematiston
This enhances the use of Aschematiston. When a victim attempts to dodge one of the reflexive attacks that Charm grants, the martial artist may activate Tmesis without its counting as a Charm use.
Asteismus: It Is So Gentlemanly To Avoid Me Thus
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Charientismus, Epitheton
This enhances the use of Aschematiston and Epitheton. When a victim attempts to dodge one of the reflexive attacks that Charm grants, the martial artist may activate Epitheton without its counting as a Charm use.
Mesarchia: He Sheds His Skin
- Cost: 3 motes, 1 Lethal Health Level
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Extra Actions
- Minimum Martial Arts: 5
- Minimum Essence: 4
- Prerequisite Techniques: Thaumasmus
He sheds his skin, the scorpion, in order to grow. In the same way, an adept using this Charm transcends his limitations; he sheds his skin, scattering plates of translucent chitin around him. The number of independent actions the adept has this turn is one greater than the number of independent actions he had last turn.
Despite its Instant duration, this Charm's mote cost remains committed until a turn passes in which the adept does not activate it. At this time the cost is automatically decommitted. The Health Level cost of this Charm cannot be recovered until motes are no longer committed to it.
Chiasmus: The Price of Lengthening Summer
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Mesarchia
This enhances the use of Mesarchia. The Health Level cost of the Charm is not paid until the motes for the Charm are decommitted. This increases the mote cost of that Charm to 5 motes.
Bdelygmia: I Hate Surprises
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Mesarchia
This enhances the use of Mesarchia. It permits that Charm to be activated as though Reflexive, at any point in the turn; however, it may only be activated once per turn. The actions it generates all have the same initiative, the adept's normal initiative, and activating the Charm prior to this allows the adept to defend abortively, but does not enable him to take any action prior to his initiative that he could not take under normal conditions. It also makes that Charm's activation in Combos optional, though it behaves only as an Extra Actions Charm if it is in fact activated.
Enantiosis: They Are Worse Friends Than Enemies
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Reflexive
- Prerequisite Techniques: Bdelygmia, Anamnesis
This enhances the use of Mesarchia and Anamnesis. Whenever the adept is able to take multiple independent actions, he may assign one of those actions to be performed by an Essence scorpion. For the purposes of performing that action, the scorpion is identical to the adept; it benefits from his Charms and draws from the same Traits, Health Levels, Willpower, and mote pools. Scorpions have double the movement speed of the Exalt himself, but must begin and end their action at the martial artist's feet. While a particular scorpion is enacting an action of this kind, and only at that time, it and the adept are connected so that attacking the scorpion injures the martial artist.
The Decorum
Argent Scorpion of Contradiction Decorum
- Cost:
- Duration: One Scene
- Type: Simple
- Minimum Martial Arts: 5
- Minimum Essence: 4
- Prerequisite Techniques: 3 Style Secrets requiring Essence 4
With this form, the adept learns the distilled attitude of hostile debate, and finally steps into the upper realm of supernatural combat. He is able to wield two tridents in one hand and a howling tiger paw in the other without suffering any penalties for using multiple weapons; he may attack or parry freely with all of these.
A warrior who chooses to remain unarmed remains able to fight competitively! Upon adopting this viewpoint, the adept's skin takes on the appearance of beaten silver; he is encased in a jointed carapace. Two silver sutras unroll in his hands, trailing onto the ground. This grants him +15 aggravated, lethal, and bashing soak, and Hardness equal to his Essence + Linguistics. Brilliant filigreed claws extend from his fingernails, improving the quality of his unarmed attacks. He is able to parry lethal attacks bare-handed, and the following modifiers replace the normal modifiers for his unarmed attacks: Spd +3, Acc +6, Dam +4L, Def +1, Rate 6.*
Finally, the adept's silver body constantly rings as he moves, like the sounding of three hundred bells. Beings within an Essence × 20 yards radius of the adept must use writing or Charms to communicate meaningfully; all language is drowned out by the sound. Apart from drowning out speech, the ringing also makes people tense and uncomfortable, which subtracts the martial artist's Essence from affected characters' Social rolls, and raises the difficulty of Virtue checks by 1.
This Charm is not a Martial Arts Form-type Charm. However, it has some of the properties of Forms! It is compatible with Scorpion Form, and it can only be active under conditions which permit the adept to use that Form.
- For those not using Power Combat, these are the stats of moonsilver short daiklaves.
Mastery Techniques
Director's Commentary
Comments
Huh... this is nothing like what I expected, but looks to become interesting. For the sake of clarity, I'd suggest using a full Charm block for the Secrets, but listing 'Secret' under Type. - szilard
- Blech. That would require a lot of redundant information and editing of the text. Also, sneaking around reading minor edits? - willows
- Don't worry about it^_^, I just found it amusing. I might have missed the checkbox. Anyway, I may as well open this to comments now anyway even though it is incomplete...it'll take a while to finish. - willows
- Nice. It's difficult to give real comments till finished, of course. I would suggest just putting secret in the name, i.e. Antitheton: The Venom of Beauty -- Secret . That seems simpler than givem them a type, and it seems that some secrets could have their own type. -FlowsLikeBits
How does Aschematiston interact with individuals whose movement has been inhibited, through external or Charm-based effect? What about effects which prevent or preclude movement from a certain spot? Tangentially, Mesarchia is astoundingly clever. _Wohksworth
- It's forcibly moving the target; if he is unable to move as a failure of his own abilities, then the Charm still moves him, but defences from external position-altering effects will defend against it as normal. Mesarchia makes me really happy. Thanks! - willows
Hmmm... so is the basic strategy here that Exalts can learn a bunch of the Charms and, later, when their Essence has increased (or whatever), go back and learn secrets so that those Charms remain useful? -szilard
- Basically. The challenge lies in guaranteeing that all the Charms, or some techniques that obviously depend on them, remain useful and worthwhile all the way to the top. In theory you can zoom right up to the top of the style while learning only a minimal number (9) of the secrets, but if you thoughtfully plan your advancement path through the style from the start, and learn as many secrets as you can, then you should be able to construct (with the independent secrets) a really fearsome and unique combat style. - willows
Okay Shreyas, here's your next challenge after this one: A Martial Art that begins as a Terrestrial Style, incorporates into its structure a Celestial Initiation, and ends as a Celestial Style. Yes, I should be hurt. -szilard
