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Naughty Lotus Style

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“The fearsome mistresses of Naughty Lotus Style are undefeatable! They ca... oh Heaven above, that kick was awfully high, wasn't it?”

Background

This Style of martial arts, often the butt of snide remarks and subject of quiet fascination (often by the same people), was initially developed by a Chosen of Serenity who wished to enhance her natural talents in the field. That's an unfortunate choice of terms, but you get the idea.

Form Weapons

Naughty Lotus Style is a Celestial style that considers attacks made with hammers of all sizes (and their artifact equivalents) to be unarmed; practitioners of this Style wield them with such speed and ferocity that it is almost impossible to notice where they came from. More prosaic implements such as paper fans, hastily-grabbed towels and their ilk are also considered unarmed (use hand statistics). This Style is incompatible with armour of any kind (duh!).

Charms

Eternal Summer Meditation

Cost: None

Duration: N/A

Type: Permanent

Keywords: None

Minima: 1/2

Prereq. Charms: None

As part of her initiation into the Naughty Lotus style, the would-be practitioner meditates deeply on the nature of the birds and the bees of summer, placing her destiny into the auspices of the Cerulean Lute of Harmony. Whilst this has no mechanical effect, she will find that a disproportionate amount of unexpected visits, ninja attacks and other events of importance will occur when she is bathing, undressing, or in a state otherwise noncondusive to platonic affairs. She seems a treasure oft whispered of in a lewd manner, and no end of admirers (of varying degrees of moral recititude and desirability) will come her way.

Petal-Plucking Defence

Cost: 1m

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive (Step 10)

Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion

Minima: 3/2

Prereq. Charms: Eternal Summer Meditation

The lotus looses its petals as an offering against the ravages of time, staying the approach of winter. This Charm is the martial artist's first line of defence against harm – but exacts a terrible price. All bashing and lethal damage received by the martial artist from this attack is converted into modesty damage, as denoted by a small dot in the middle of health level boxes. Calculate wound penalties as normal - this wound penalty represents the difficulty of fighting in a non-explicit fashion. Attacks or defences enhanced by Charms of this Style do not count modesty damage when calculating wound penalties, as a little fanservice is expected.

If the martial artist is reduced to Incapacitated by modesty damage, they promptly faint for the remainder of the scene. Otherwise, modesty damage is recovered as soon as new clothes are put on or existing ones rejigged, which may not be done until combat is over. Because that would be cheating.

Blinding Pantyflash Blow

Cost: 1m

Duration: Instant

Type: Supplemental

Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion

Minima: 2/2

Prereq. Charms: Eternal Summer Meditation

With a poorly considered kick or busom-bouncing extension of a fist, the martial artist draws her foe's attention away from where it should be. Her opponent's DV against this attack cannot exceed their dodge MDV, after enhancement from Charms.

First Edition: Her opponent's dodge and parry pools against this attack may not exceed (twice their Temperance) + Essence, after enhancement from Charms.

Naughty Lotus Form

Cost: 5m

Duration: One scene

Type: Simple

Keywords: Obvious, Form

Minima: 3/3

Prereq. Charms: Petal-Plucking Defence, Blinding Pantyflash Blow

Focusing Essence about herself with a flashing smile, the martial artist conjures a spectral (and highly suggestive) bloom of vibrant flowers, quickly fluttering away to leave her flesh infused with Heavenly vigour. She is unbelieveably gorgeous! Provided she stunts accordingly, the martial artist may add her Appearance as bonus dice to any Martial Arts roll. Her appeal transcends simple mortal limits, allowing her to use Charms with the Emotion descriptor (as well as seduction attempts) regardless of whether her target would normally be immune to such influence; Charm-enhanced mental defences, however, guard against them normally.

This Charm is a martial arts Form-type Charm, with all the usual benefits and drawbacks.

First Edition: The martial artist retains the ability to seduce and use emotion-affecting spells and attacks against creatures that would not normally be vulnerable to them. It is up to the Storyteller's discretion what effects constitute emotional influence.

Baka Smiting Retaliation

Cost: 3m

Duration: Instant

Type: Supplemental

Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion

Minima: 4/3

Prereq. Charms: Naughty Lotus Form

Those dirty perverts that eye up a Naughty Lotus practitioner deserve a good slapping! This Charm, used to supplement an attack against a foe that has already attacked or been attacked by the martial artist, allows her to count any Virtue dice rolled on the attack as automatic successes; this effect is independent of the Emotion descriptor. Her target receives no dice from channelling a virtue in defence against this attack; they are too naughty!

Honey For The Bees Approach

Cost: 3m

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive (Step 2)

Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion

Minima: 3/3

Prereq. Charms: Naughty Lotus Form

A flower's very structure is such that a visiting bee can think of nothing but the sweet nectar within. With a carefully practiced popped-button accident or its kind, the martial artist can suddenly divert her attacker's attention away from his blow. In lieu of normal dodges or parries, she may activate this Charm, giving her a DV equal to her Appearance + Martial Arts + Essence, divided by two. This DV is applicable even against unblockable, unparriable and immaterial attacks.

First Edition: This charm gives the martial artist a reflexive defence against all attacks that may be used in lieu of both parrying and dodging; their dicepool for this is their Appearance + Martial Arts. In power combat, add the martial artist's Essence to this total.

Font Of Nosebleeds Kata

Cost: 5m,1w

Duration: Instant

Type: Simple

Keywords: Obvious, Emotion

Minima: 4/3

Prereq. Charms: Baka-Smiting Retaliation

With an act of unspeakable titillation, the martial artist drives her audience over the edge. Invocation of this Charm causes an instantaneous nosebleed in all within line of sight; treat them as bleeding normally. Exalts and other magical beings can escape this fate by succeeding at a Temperance check.

Exploding Nostril Attack

Cost: 8m

Duration: Instant

Type: Simple

Keywords: Combo-basic, Emotion

Minima: 5/3

Prereq. Charms: Font Of Nosebleeds Kata, Honey For The Bees Approach

The naughty lotus, upon full maturation, is so tantalising that it cannot possibly propogate itself – it is instead surrounded by a halo of delighted bugs, sighing and cooing to themselves (and occasionally twitching in a faintly disturbing way). As the martial artist becomes so transcendant, she gains the ability to stop her foes in their tracks with but a glance. Well, possibly some more besides, but a glance is definitely involved.

The Exploding Nostril attack is resolved as a social attack, rolling the martial artist's Appearance + Martial Arts against her foe's dodge mental defence; this social attack cannot be parried, but Charms may be used by her subject to protect himself. If successful, the martial artist gains no influence, but her poor victim suffers automatic levels of lethal damage equal to her net successes, and is rapidly bleeding to death.

First Edition: The martial artist rolls her Appearance + Martial Arts against a difficulty equal to her opponent's Temperance. This does not count as an attack, and can be defended against only by Charms that allow for avoidance of any deleterious effect (such as Duck Fate) or that resist mental influence. Tally her net successes; for each of these successes, her opponent must either spend a point of temporary Willpower or take an automatic level of lethal damage. If any damage is taken this way, her opponent is also bleeding.

Blossom Opens For The Sun

Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower

Duration: One scene

Type: Reflexive

Keywords: Combo-Basic

Minima: 5/4

Prereq. Charms: Exploding Nostril Attack

The lotus seems as prosaic as any other plant, until the summer months come and their leaves pull back – suddenly, their blossom is revealed, and the summer bugs can do nothing but gawp. In the instant this Charm is activated, time seems to slow to a standstill. The martial artist's clothes cascade away in vast swathes of ethereal petal blossom, the light of their anima not quite enough to reveal what lies beneath in anything more than silhouette. Flashy emblems dance around their periphery, but all eyes are invariably upon them.

When the light fades, they stand clad in the Blessed Raiments of the Naughty Lotus – this attire is unique in its appearance to each martial artist, but common to all in that its cut is universally provocative, and its skirt does not exceed six inches in length. Any modesty damage taken before activation of this Charm is instantly healed. Any benefit to clothing or armour previously worn is lost (artifact armour goes Elsewhere, whilst mundane equipment simply disappears), but is replaced with a bonus to natural bashing and lethal soak equal to the wearer's permanent Essence. All bashing and lethal damage received for the remainder of the scene is converted to modesty damage, exactly as though Petal-Plucking Defence were used. Finally, her opponents must succeed at a Temperance check or else spend a point of Willpower to launch an attack against her – mortals automatically fail this check, and mortal extras will not spend Willpower to overcome it. This ability has an unnatural Emotion mind-influencing effect, but the remainder is not.

Feedback

This makes me want to upgrade to 2nd Ed. just to use this style. Or play some BESM, or something. Either way, quite funny work! - DeadManSeven

Thanks, DeadManSeven! To have such strong appreciation from a veteran MA builder such as yourself is a real compliment; I like your work a lot, and it's good to be able to offer something in return. NLS was clearly made to entertain, but also to address the lack of material for games that take themselves less seriously - or Storytellers that have drunk too much Dr Pepper. If you'd like, I could add in 1e conversions for the rules; it's not very complex to reverse-engineer them...DeathBySurfeit

The style is amusing and fun in its sillyness... I would love to see what the style would be like if you convert it back to 1e... ~ haku the baka mazoku

Haha. Wonderful. I third the request for 1st ed conversions.
-- Darloth

Awesome reception. Wrote out first-edition conversions for all Charms (where they differ), because I feel wubbed...DeathBySurfeit

I'd suggest (Temperance*2)+Essence (Or maybe (Temp+Ess)*2 if that's too small)as the pool cap for Blinding Pantyflash Blow, to keep the temperance linked defenses. Otherwise, it doesn't do anything to the Temp 1, Conv 5, Val 5 muscle-bound idiots who abound as an anime trope.
-- Darloth

Good idea. I've gone for the lower limit, to compensate for first-edition chumps being able to both dodge and parry the same attack (so individual dice pools count for less)...DeathBySurfeit

Seeing this style inspired me to finish a write up for some special armour I had a while back, and its so fitting it hurts. Raiment of Devotees' Benefit for Naughty Lotus Style, fitting, and so very very not right, but so very very amusing. Over-all A nifty style, and the 1e conversion is very appreciated. :) - ArabianNinja

Glad you were inspired so! And even more that you enjoyed the Style. I mean, it's not here for it's artistic merit, so I have to get some mileage out of it...DeathBySurfeit

Petal Plucking Defense seems underpowered - given that the only benefit you get out of it is that you can ignore wound penalties if and only if you're using this style, it seems much too expensive. I'd drop it to 1 mote. --Kukla

I agree with the Kukla. For 3 motes it should either have some duration to it (Essence ammount of actions), or if you keep it instant (making it a concious effort for the strike to hit ones critical clothing support strap instead of ones critial organ) than yes, drop the cost. I'd prefer it to last a bit longer, but of course you're the creator, not me =) -Zodiak

An alternative, to keep with the theme: perhaps the modesty damage shouldn't convert to bashing damage? You still faint from embarassment, but you're not actually hurt. Possibly let someone cover you up and revive you once you've fainted, renewing your modesty and will to fight. Maybe you could spend a willpower to do this yourself, since modesty is in the mind. - IanPrice

Good point, Kukla; I've implemented IanPrice's suggestion, and dropped the cost to a single mote. Given the low cost of even perfect defences nowadays, it doesn't seem out of line. I've also provided a brief tweak to Blinding Pantyflash Blow to base it off dodge MDV; this, I believe, balances the Charm at higher echelons of Exalted...DeathBySurfeit

I'm glad you found my comment useful. I also think your pantyflash modification is sound. =) - IanPrice