Revision as of 17:27, 2 July 2005

Moxiane’s House Rules and Interpretations

Abilities

Maximum Dots

The maximum number of dots that a character may have in any single Ability is ••••• or 150% of his permanent Essence (rounded down) whichever is higher.

or

Maximum Specialties

A character can have any number of specialties for any given Ability, however the total bonus granted by specialties can never exceed +3.

Linguistics

Every dot that a character has in Linguistics represents one language family that the character can understand without too many problems. To gain fluency in a language the character must have a Speciality in that language (characters get fluency in their native language for free). If confronted with a language that they do not understand then the character can make a Wits + Linguistics roll to understand what was said/written. The difficulty for this roll is 1 if the language is Riverspeak, Skytongue, Foresttongue, Flametongue, Seatongue or Low Realm, 2 if High Realm or Tribal Tongues, and 3 if Guild Cant or Old Realm. Successes on this roll determine the degree of understanding (non-fluent characters understand at the 3-4 success level, fluent characters understand at the 5+ success level):

1-2 successes

The character understands the basic intent of the speaker/author.

3-4 successes

The character fully understands the speaker/author’s message and grasps some of the cultural nuances involved.

5+ successes

The character completely understands the speaker/author’s message including all cultural nuances and references.

Attributes

Appearance

Dots in this Attribute do not necessarily rate the character’s attractiveness along some absolute scale of measure. Instead they represent the power of the character’s appearance along one of the following aspects:

Attractive

The character is good-looking, garnering attention from those around – for good or ill. She gains bonus dice equal to half her Appearance (round down) to all social tests based on first impressions and to all seduction attempts. However she takes the same amount as a dice-pool penalty for all social rolls involving intimidation, and anyone attempting to describe her gains the bonus to all attempts to provide a useful description.

•

Poor

You are not exactly ugly, but something about your features just puts people off.

••

Average: You are just another face in the crowd, but at least you’re not deformed.

•••

Good: Local villagers squabble for your attention.

••••

Exceptional: A celebrated beauty, you are often pursued and propositioned by powerful locals.

•••••

Superb: You are often mistaken for an incarnate deity and people are always falling in love or lust with you.

Hideous

The character is, quite simply, “ugly as Hell.” He gains bonus dice equal to half his Appearance (round down) to all social rolls that involve intimidation and/or the character threatening a group with horrible consequences. However, the same amount is invoked as a dice-pool penalty for seduction attempts or social rolls involving being nice to people. Finally, people remember the character more easily, gaining the bonus to all attempts at providing a useful description.

•

Poor

You approach ugly, perhaps due to poor features or a nasty scar, without actually attaining it.

••

Average: People cringe when they look at you and make signs to ward off evil.

•••

Good: Anyone catching a glimpse of your face shudders and has nightmares about you for days after.

••••

Exceptional: People vomit when you’ve finished talking to them, and children scream at your repulsiveness.

•••••

Superb: Ugly to an almost inhuman degree, people run away when they hear about your approach or piss their pants should you talk to them.

Non-descript

The character is difficult for others to really remember. People trying to give a useful description of the character suffer a penalty equal to half the character’s Appearance (round down) to all attempts to remember what he looks like beyond useless superficial details. However, the character’s lack looks actually hinders him at public occasions, giving him a penalty to all Performance or Presence rolls used against groups of people.

•

Poor

Meh – unremarkably unremarkable, people remember you, they just don’t know why.

••

Average: Just another face in the crowd, one that won’t be noticed.

•••

Good: People remember your existence, they just don’t remember your face.

••••

Exceptional: Commit a crime in public and a hundred witnesses will give a thousand descriptions.

•••••

Superb: Who were you again? Old friends will often forget your name and others forget you as soon as they aren’t looking.

Charms

Exalt Rulings

Lunars and MA

The ability of Reflexive Charms to be placed in any Combo overrides the EPG ruling that Lunars cannot Combo Ability-based Martial Arts Charms with their own Attribute-based Charms.

Dragon-Bloods and the Immaculate Martial Arts

Dragon-Blooded initiated into the Immaculate Martial Arts gain special abilities with the signature weapons of their chosen style, over and above the ability to merely use them. Many of these abilities are, in the Power Combat world, either horrendously broken or completely useless. These are my fixes:

Air Dragon Style

When hurling multiple chakrams multiply the damage of the chakram by the number of chakram being thrown, then add the character's Strength. Increase minimum damage of this attack by 1 for every extra chakram thrown. This is treated as a single attack for the purposes of defending against it.

Earth Dragon Style

When wielding the Style's signature weapon increase the Rate by 1 and halve the minimum Strength requirement.

Fire Dragon Style

Attacks and parries made with the Style's signature weapons only consume ½ point of Rate each.

Water Dragon Style

Characters using tiger claws (or razor claws for artefact weapons) modify their weapons' profiles as follows - Spd +3, Acc +1, Dmg +0, Def +1, Rate +0.

Wood Dragon Style

Unchanged from Exalted: the Dragon-Blooded p.243

General Charm Issues

Sorcery & Necromancy Charms

A character learning one of these Charms also gains one free spell of the appropriate type and Circle. This spell must be selected from the limited list(s) given below:

Terrestrial Circle Sorcery: Spells from the Black Treatise only.

Celestial Circle Sorcery: To be written

Solar Circle Sorcery: To be written

Shadowlands Circle Necromancy: To be written

Labyrinth Circle Necromancy: To be written

Void Circle Necromancy: To be written

Specific Charms

Bulwark Stance

This Charm is used as written except that its type is changed to Reflexive. This Charm overrides the Rate of the weapon used.

Fivefold Bulwark Stance

This Charm is used as written except that its type is changed to Simple. This Charm overrides the Rate of the weapon used.

Flowing Body Evasion

This Charm's type is changed to Reflexive. If the Lunar achieves even a single success on a Dexterity + Dodge roll, the attack is dodged, even if it is normally considered undodgeable.

Golden Essence Block

This Charm can purchase up to the character’s Dexterity + Melee in dice either to enhance a parry attempt or to build one from 0 dice. The Defence bonus of the weapon used is not included, as the parry is purely Essence-powered.

Monkey Leap Technique

This Charm can be placed into a Combo despite its duration.

Lightning Speed

This Charm doubles the character's movement for the turn. It can be placed into a Combo despite its duration. It can be activated up to the character's permanent Essence times in a single turn - this has the normal effect for stacked multipliers.

Peony Blossom Attack

The character gets his normal attack in addition to any extra attacks purchased with this Charm. Thus a character spending 3 motes on Peony Blossom Attack gets 2 attacks at his full Melee pool. This Charm cannot be used for “free” (0 motes) to gain the benefit of any other Supplemental or Simple Charms it may be in a Combo with.

Reed in the Wind

This Charm can purchase up to the character’s Dexterity + Dodge in dice, either to enhance a dodge attempt or to build one from 0 dice. The permanent Essence of the character is not included with these dice (as per Power Combat), the dodge is purely Essence-powered.

Trance of Unhesitating Speed

The character gets his normal attack in addition to any extra attacks purchased with this Charm. Thus a character spending 3 motes on Trance of Unhesitating Speed gets 2 attacks at his full Archery pool. This Charm cannot be used for “free” (0 motes) to gain the benefit of any other Supplemental or Simple Charms it may be in a Combo with.

Combat

Dual-Wielding

Characters wielding two weapons at once get a bonus to one of Accuracy, Damage, Defence or Rate to one weapon, called the primary, equal to 50% (rounded up) of the same attribute of her other weapon, the secondary. If the character wishes to switch primary & secondary weapons and/or alter which weapon statistic gets the bonus, she can do this with a non-rolled dice action. (If the character makes a Wits + governing combat Ability check and achieves at least 3 successes then this change can be performed reflexively - multiple attempts at this in a single turn increase the difficulty of the test cumulatively by 1).

Hardness

If the base damage of an attack (Strength + Damage bonus of weapon) is equal to or less than the Hardness of the target then the attack is blocked. Hardness is halved by Piercing weapons in the exact way that armour soak is.

Ranged Attack Initiative

Ranged weapons are considered to have a Speed equal to the rating of the governing Ability of the character wielding them, i.e.: a character with Archery •••• using his bow has a Speed of +4 with it.

Sweeping Attacks

When fighting against large groups of Extras, instead of treating every three dice of post-soak damage as one health level of damage, roll damage caused as if fighting a single opponent with the same soak as the Extra. Every three successes on this roll kill one extra. Sweeping attacks should be performed as part of a Stunt, and have an effective Rate of 1.

Unarmed Attacks

The Fist and Kick profiles are subsumed into the single Unarmed profile given below. This assumes that the character is fighting using the dual-wielding rule above with the bonus being applied to Damage from the kick. This profile cannot be used in combination with any other weapon - an explicit exception to the same dual-wielding rule.

Unarmed - Speed +0, Accuracy +1, Damage +2B, Defence +2, Rate 5

Equipment

Gem of Perfect Mobility

The character using this Hearthstone has two Independent Actions, with all the benefits and drawbacks defined in Exalted: the Sidereals.

Grimcleaver

The damage bonus of this weapon is switched with that of a reaver daiklave (MRB or EPG).

Powerbows

The Rate of both long and short powerbows is increased to 3.

Reaver Daiklave

The damage bonus of this weapon is switched with that of a grimcleaver (MRB or EPG).

Silken Armour

This artefact is specifically compatible with Charms and effects that say they are incompatible with armour. It is treated as armour in every other respect (i.e.: Aggravated and Piercing damage).

Exalted

The Dragon-Blooded

As written, the Terrestrial Exalted don't begin to show anima effects until they have spent at least seven motes of peripheral Essence, while every other kind of Exalted starts having something visible happen at even one mote of peripheral expenditure.

Stunts

A character who can Stunt can, literally, do the impossible. While the effects of many Charms can be emulated with Stunts (Graceful Crane Stance being a favourite) Charms have the advantage of "just working", while a Stunt for the same effect would generally have to be rolled. However, a Stunt can do things a Charm cannot, because while Charms are small pieces of mechanics that exist "as is" in Creation, a Stunt is limited only by the imagination of the player. Stunts can do the impossible, they just don't make it easy. (Hammered out with LeumasWhite)

What this means: If you Stunt me good enough, you can dodge the undodgeable - it's not easy, but it's possible.