MartialArts/WhisperingMeadowStyle
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Whisper Meadow Style
This style considers all actions made with slashing swords to be unarmed. It is compatible with armor.
Student Charms
Waking Bloom Stance ((Camellia))
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
I die in darkness
Waiting for the light of day
Rebirth in the sun
Sword drawn, the adept assumes a ready stance of perfect poise and stillness. A state of absolute ready. The first time he is attacked during the turn in which he activates this Charm, the adept may make an immediate counter-attack with a number of dice equal to the number of initiative ticks which he has delayed his action, but to his full Martial Arts + Dexterity pool. His counter-attack may be rolled before or after his opponents attack is calculated, at his discretion.
Blossom and Stem Stance ((Verbena))
Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Waking Bloom Stance
Blossom without stem
No more can it stand than will
Stem without blossom
As the sword is the soul of the samurai, he in turn is it's body. One is not an extension of the other, but they are together a singular whole. The adept meditates upon his sword with hilt in hand until he feels himself become one with the spirit locked into it's steel. For the duration of the scene, he may distribute a number of points to the statistics of his weapon equal to Conviction. He may not raise a single statistic by more than his Essence.
Crimson Bloom Rebuke ((Carnation))
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
In the deep ravine
I behold a traitor's fate
A weed mid blossoms
This Charm can be used whenever a character within range of the adept's normal movement speed takes an action that violates one of the adept's Taboos - the Adept receives an reflexive Martial Arts attack against the offending character - with movement granted by this Charm to cross the space between them. The adept must choose a single Taboo when he purchases this Charm - and can follow no more than her Temperance in disparate Taboos at any time. Possible Taboos include:
- The adept will not tolerate unexpected attacks in his presence and never initiate one herself.
- The adept will not tolerate others to attack fallen opponents and always help them to their feet herself.
- The adept will not tolerate others to attack intoxicated opponents in battle and always aid them in sobering themselves.
As long as the adept respects the Taboo (which she must state at the beginning of each Story when preparing herself for a new journey and reviewing her current martial philosophies) she will receive its compulsions and benefits. To act against a taboo requires the adept to spend 2 willpower an act that is mechanically simple but emotionally difficult.
Elegant Rival's Regard (( Daffodil))
Cost: 2 motes per turn
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
Butterfly and bloom
Alone there is a beauty
Together, glory
A formal distance from his foe, the adept waits in patience for them to make ready, focusing himself upon the beauty and fragility of life. This Charm may be activated whenever an enemy is disarmed, knocked prone, or declares their intention to activate a Charm with greater than Instant duration. Every turn the adept abstains from action in order to allow his foe to prepare, he converts a single die of both the attack and damage rolls of his first attack into automatic successes, up to his Temperance + Essence in each.
He is permitted to make his own battle preparations while employing this Charm, but cannot take any other action (such attempting social rolls to dissuade his enemy from combat) or else looses all earned successes.
Form Charm
Whispering Meadow Form ((Morning Glory))
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Elegant Rival's Regard, Blossom and Stem Stance, Crimson Bloom Rebuke
With a promise of further glory the adept lays down the rules of her being in a glorious proclamation as she proceeds to write them upon the world! For the remainder of the Scene the adept adds her Linguistics score to her Initiative and Parries and her Conviction score to the base damage of her attacks. Her movements are like precise calligraphy, allowing her to finish the well-rehearsed movements of sheathing and unsheathing the weapons as a reflexive action.
The character's rules and handwriting appear described in the devastation left on her wake - a person surveying a locale in which the adept has fought can spend one Scene in contemplation and roll Intelligence+Linguistics with a Difficulty of the adept's Martial Arts: success gives a good idea of the Martial Artist's Taboos, Nature and Virtues.
Mastery Charms
Coy Maiden Maneuver ((Amaryllis))
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Whispering Meadow Form
In the chill of night
The blossoms will swath themselves
In their maiden garb
With this Charm, the adept is never without defense. Unarmed, undrawn, or even simply having expended his action for the turn, he may still reflexively parry an attack with his sheath, hilt, or bare hand. His pool is equal to his Temperance + Martial Arts. This Charm does not allow the adept to parry lethal damage unarmed.
When this Charm is activated in the presence of a large number of flowers, a swirling mass of petals will rise up and wrap the adept in a veil, increasing the difficulty of the attack being parried by 1. Images of flowers suffice for the purpose of this effect.
Tenacious Heart Blossom ((Ambrosia))
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Coy Maiden Maneuver
Deep in the desert
Against the tides of the sun
A flower will bloom
With this Charm the adept adds a number of dice to her attack roll equal to her Temperance score. The adept also adds one die to this attack per Taboo the target has violated or level of Celestial Offenses (see Exalted: The Sidereals page 36) the target has incurred in the course of the Scene but no more than doubling the adept's Dexterity+Martial Arts pool. The adept can commit 1 mote when witnessing a single violation to remember it for later - adding the dice for the infraction even after their Scene and for as long as the mote is committed.
Fallen Petal Feint ((Primrose))
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Tenacious Heart Blossom
Wilt and rot claim you
While one-hundred others live
Fall, noble petal
Whenever the adept is struck in combat, he may immediately make a Stamina + Martial Arts roll to disarm his foe, adding a number of dice to this effort equal to the number of damage successes rolled against him. If successful, for the remainder of the turn, his foe will find themselves unable to pull their weapon from the flesh of the adept. Even Charms specifically designed to return a weapon to a character will not free it.
First-and-Last Farewell Focus ((Red Spider Lily))
Cost: 6 motes
Duration: Indefinite
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Tenacious Heart Blossom
All the red petals
Carried on the gentle breeze
As if the air bleeds
The adept designates a single foe as his opponent. He take a turn examining their form and posture and then makes a Martial Arts + Perception roll with a difficulty equal to the Manipulation of his foe. If successful, the adept lets skill and the will of the sword guide him into a stance that perfectly counters his chosen opponent. For the remainder of the scene, the adept ignores all difficulty modifiers and defensive penalties for all actions against that character but adds his own Conviction to the difficulty of striking anyone else.
Once they have been chosen and as long as the motes for this Charm remain committed, the adept's opponent cannot escape their battle. Whenever they move out of the adept's sight, he immediately appears three yards away amongst a stir of scarlet flower petals. The adept does not feel as if he has been transported - only that he is where he needs to be.
Furious Bloom Wind ((Edelweiss))
Cost: 4 motes, 1 Wilpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Tenacious Heart Blossom
In the raging storm
Even flowers desire
Shelter from the sky
The adept appears to bloom, leaving a trail of white petals as he moves towards his foe. This makes a single attack a blur of movement as the adept passes by the enemy with the force of new life - the adept can move his full Sprinting distance and still launch an attack that adds the adept's Conviction to the post-soak damage before damage is rolled. This damage is increased by one automatic success for each Taboo the opponent has violated in the course of this scene. The adept needs not move his full sprinting distance, but he needs move at least five yards and must have the means to do so to make use of this Charm.
The Flourishing of Laws ((Hydrangea))
Cost: 7 motes, 1 Wilpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Furious Bloom Wind, First-and-Last Farewell Focus, Fallen Petal Feint
In a gentle wind
Every flower in the field
Bows to my passing
With a proclamation the adept causes the Essence of flowers to bloom around himself - flowers whose meanings in their language present each of the character's Taboos and bind all others to the adept's law. The adept must decide on a number of Taboos he possesses and roll his Temperance+Martial Arts with a number of automatic successes equal to his Linguistics. All those as far as the adept can perceive on all sides who posses a Willpower lesser than the number of successes rolled are honor-bound to follow his code as he, requiring a expenditure of 1 willpower to take an action that violates one of the Taboos chosen.
The effects end if all flowers are somehow made to wilt.
Pinnacle Charm
Flower King Haiku ((Yellow Chrysanthemum))
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 Health Level
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: The Flourishing of Laws
Golden crown of kings
Sits upon the humble brow
Of a fallen log
Standing upon the battlefield, the adept recites a haiku formed of his own pure thoughts. It's simple message moves the hearts of men and demons alike, urging them to greatness even in defeat. For the remainder of the scene, all Virtues channeled within the adept's Martial Arts x 10 Yards are converted to automatic successes. This includes his opponents as well as his allies.
By encompassing the imagery of a specific flower into his poem, the adept ween a greater understand of essence and swordsmanship by it's example. A ring of matching flowers will constantly bloom and wither to nothing at his feet in an endless cycle. Until the end of the scene, the adept may employ any Charm in this style which corresponds with flower in his haiku at half their mote cost (rounded up). He may sacrifice his action in a turn to recite an additional haiku and evoke another blossom and gain this cost break in the use of it's corresponding Charm, obtaining understanding from one flower per dot of Linguistics he possess.
Sidereal Exalted (and those who learn this as a Sidereal Charm) can enhance this Charm with a Prayer Strip marked with the scripture of the Maiden in the Meadow. It wraps around the adept's weapon, glowing in a multihued light and blooming in petals of many kinds and colors that immediatly fall to the ground. This allows the adept to considers swords as unarmed attacks for any Martial Arts Charms - the the law imbued in the flowers is that the blade and the warrior are as one flesh, one soul. If the adept is killed or the blade broken at any time during this Scene the other dies or breaks, however.
