Arafelis/SteelDevilStyleRevisionRationale
The DualSlayingStance to SteelDevilStyle series is presented in the Night Caste splat. Quite frankly, most of it sucks- especially given the revisions presented in the PlayersGuide. So, I've taken it upon myself to criticize and reconstruct. Gee, I bet I'm the only person on the 'Net who has an opinion!
DualSlayingStance can remain unchanged, although the wording of it seems rather odd. I would alter it to "1 mote per two points of penalty reduction," and "A character may only spend as many motes on this charm in one turn as he has dots of Melee."
SunAndMoonMethod is a slightly improved version of One Weapon, Two Blows- but I hate redundant charms. What's ironic is that OneWeaponTwoBlows costs one more mote to use. Plus, spending 2 motes on Dual Slaying Stance gives a character basically the same benefit. So...
Sun And Moon Method 2 motes One Turn Supplimental Melee 3 Essence 2 DSS prereq
The character emulates the Essence of the rising and setting Celestials, moving his weapons in deceptively graceful arcs. A character wielding two weapons may use this charm to gain one parry dice pool with the same number of dice as one melee attack action he makes in the turn. A character who takes multiple actions (normally by splitting his dice pool) may activate this charm multiple times to gain its benefits. For instance, a character who splits his dice pool to take three attack actions could spend 6 motes on this Charm to gain three parries- the first at -3 dice, the second at -4 dice, and the last at -5 dice. These dice pools must be used before the end of the turn, but can be added to any other parry dice pools the character has (up to the normal limit of twice the character's Ability + Attribute). This Charm may explicitly be placed into a Combo despite its non-Instant duration.
TwoSwordsTechnique sucks. It apparently grants the character Ambidexterity for one scene. Bleh.
Two Swords Technique 8 motes, 1 willpower One Scene Simple Melee 4 Essence 2 S&MT prereq
By using Essence, the character can split his attention between his weapons without sacrificing focus. The character incurs no penalties for fighting with two weapons for the rest of the scene- but more importantly, the Solar uses each weapon independantly. Splitting the dice pool of one weapon to perform multiple attacks or parries leaves the other weapons' die pool completely intact. Characters may likewise use multiple Charms in a turn without the use of combos- one on each weapon. So, for instance, using Fire And Stones Strike on one weapon allows its damage to be converted into automatic successes; on the other, he may use Blazing Solar Bolt for a ranged attack. Taking a non-melee action, using a non-melee charm or using an Extra Action charm suspends this independant action effect for the turn, but the character still suffers no two-weapon penalties, and the Charm is not dispelled. In all other ways, these are independant actions as explained in E:tS under the Charcoal March of Spiders Form.
That is enough in and of itself- but TwoSwordsTechnique becomes an awfully potent Charm for one with only two pre-requisites. I think I might restructure the entire tree... Maybe tomorrow night.
Steel Devil Orange
In spectral enumeration, you proceed from Red along the spectrum.
DualSlayingStance - Unchanged
SunAndMoonMethod - Supplimental, 3 motes, prereqs same, duration instant. Arcing her blades in a deadly imitation of the celestial dance, a two-weapon wielding character may activate this Charm to add a number of dice equal to (her Essence plus Melee, minus two) to a parry or attack. She may attack or parry with only this pool if desired; however, such an attempt is purely Essence-driven, gaining no benefit from specializations, accuracy or defense bonuses. Note that dice pools granted by this Charm do not stack with themselves or count as actions for the purposes of this Charm, and it may be activated no more times in one turn than her Essence. Each activation after the first subtracts another die from the bonus pool.
Two Swords Technique - Reflexive, 4 motes, prereqs same, duration one scene. Learning to divide the flows of Essence within herself, a character using the Two Swords Technique now suffers no penalties for one scene for fighting with two weapons. Additionally, her Rate and Speed becomes that of both her weapons combined, and her split attention allows her to respond to foes on all sides with equal measure; attackers gain no advantage regardless of the direction from which they attack.
Dichotomy of Beginnings and Endings Spirit - Simple, 6 motes and 1 willpower, duration one scene, prereq Two Swords Technique. By using Essence, the character can split his attention between his weapons without sacrificing focus. The Solar discovers how to use his weapons independantly; Splitting the dice pool of one weapon to perform multiple attacks or parries leaves the other weapons' die pool completely intact. Characters may likewise use multiple Charms in a turn without the use of combos- one on each weapon. So, for instance, using Fire And Stones Strike on one weapon allows its damage to be converted into automatic successes; on the other, he may use Blazing Solar Bolt for a ranged attack. Taking a non-melee action, using a non-melee charm or using an Extra Action charm suspends this independant action effect for the turn, but the Charm is not dispelled. In all other ways, these are independant actions as explained in E:tS under the Charcoal March of Spiders Form.
Steel Mirror Refraction - Simple, 8 motes, 1 willpower and 1 health level, duration Essence in turns, prereq Dichotomy of Beginnings and Endings Spirit. From dividing his attention to dividing his mind, the character discovers next how to divide his body. The character literally splits into two, with all his gear duplicated- save that each duplicate wields two copies of one weapon, one doppelganger wielding two of whatever he had in his right hand, the other wielding two of whatever was in his left. Essence must be split between the two entities equally, but whatever is unused is recombined at the end of the duration. Both entities are under the control of the player character, but roll initiative and act seperately. Only the heaviest damage sustained is retained by the character at the end of the duration; if either doppelganger is killed, the character falls to Incapacitated when the duration lapses, and is well advised to spend any remaining turns he has fleeing.
Two Shafts of Sunlight Technique - Reflexive, 2 motes, duration Instant, prereqs Two Sword Style - Building on the defensive aspects of wielding two weapons, a character may use this technique to roll another full parry (Dex+Melee+modifiers) against any attack he has already parried once. This second parry uses the character's other weapon and stacks to reduce successes. Even with this Charm, the character may not parry a single attack more than twice, and this Charm grants no special ability to parry exceptional attacks (though if the first parry it stacks onto has this capability, then so does the second).
Steel Devil Style - Reflexive, 5 motes and 1 willpower, duration 1 scene, prereqs Two Shafts of Sunlight Technique and Ready in Eight Directions Stance - Wrapped in hazy contrails of red-gold essence, a character activating this Charm takes on the aspect of a vengeful spirit. His graceful, deadly blows make him a lethal foe. A character under the effects of this Charm may make a number of counterattacks each turn up to their Essence (counterattacks function as per Solar Counterattack, with one exception; see below), but may not counter the blows resulting from this or any other counterattack charm. If the character also parries the attack they are countering, any successes above and beyond what is needed to negate the attack add to the counterattack as bonus dice. Furthermore, the character's dice penalties from multiple actions each turn are reduced by an amount equal to the character's Essence (minimum 0). This stacks with any use of Dual Slaying Stance. Characters must have one weapon in either hand in order to use this Charm, and its riposte and penalty-reducing effects are suspended on any turn that is not the case. Characters may not use any Extra Action charms while they are benefitting from Steel Devil Style, but may split their dice pool normally. Likewise, characters may not use any other counter-attack Charm while this style is active- even if they are not wielding two weapons on any given turn, the charm's effects must be terminated (a reflexive action) before one may be used.
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