DBSInfernalExalted/Archery

Archery Charms

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Serenade of the Sniper

• Cost: 2 motes per die
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Supplemental
• Minimum Archery: 2
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: None

The arrow is shot with such elegance and precision that it tears through the air, letting loose a keening cry that is exquisite even as it is agonising; those trying to move from the shot find themselves instead drawn to the siren call. The Exalt may steal dice from her opponent's Dodge pool to add to her Archery pool, up to a maximum of her Dexterity+Archery.

Release the Shard

• Cost: 5 motes
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Archery: 4
• Minimum Essence: 3
• Prerequisite Charms: Serenade of the Sniper

The Exalt closes her eyes and releases the boundaries upon her mind, thinking only of herself, her target, and the bond of hatred that holds them together. Eyes closed, she draws the bow and releases the arrow, making a single attack without penalty for visual conditions and unrestricted by distance; even targets on the horizon may be struck. The target feels the malice emanating from the Exalt as the arrow is fired, setting them on edge and making it impossible to surprise people with this Charm.

Time-Defying Arrow

• Cost: 3 motes
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Reflexive
• Minimum Archery: 3
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: Serenade of the Sniper

As causality fractures with the ringing of a million distant broken bells, the Exalt fires an arrow so quickly it lands before the bow is drawn. The Exalt automatically wins initiative over all other opponents, but may only use her action on Archery attacks. Two characters using initiative-winning charms at the same time roll for initiative between them as normal.

Calm Before Storm Stance

• Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Extra Action
• Minimum Ability: 4
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: Time-Defying Arrow

The Exalt's cold focus draws time to a standstill about him, allowing arrow after arrow to be shot a moment's distance infront of her before the stance is dropped and they fly together as a glittering cavalcade. The Exalt may make attacks at her full pool equal to her Essence score against whichever targets she chooses, appearing to bystanders to blur and distort into many forms at once with a wail of rent air before the arrows erupt in their many directions.

Prescient Hunter's Cascade

• Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Supplemental
• Minimum Ability: 5
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: Calm Before Storm Stance

As the first arrow lands, the character pulls back through time to adjust her aim and let another fly, the winds of time howling around her. Her target sees arrow after arrow materialise infront of him, memories forced into his mind of additional shots being fired. The Exalt may make attacks against the target at her full pool until one hits successfully, although she may not make more attempts than her Archery score. If comboed with an extra action charm, each of the extra action attacks may be rerolled until they hit, although each uses up arrows as normal.

Insidious Tendril Attack

• Cost: 3 motes
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Supplemental
• Minimum Archery: 3
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: None

As corrupt Essence coarses through it, the Exalt's arrow writhes through flesh with unnatural malice, adding the character's Essence to its damage. Furthermore, unless the arrow is removed (a Dexterity+Medicine check at a difficulty equal to the firing character's Essence; botches inflict an unsoakable lethal health level) the Stamina+Resistance roll to stop bleeding from the wound is increased by 1 for each arrow imbedded.

Boundless Barbed Tongue

• Cost: 1 mote per arrow
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Supplemental
• Minimum Archery: 3
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: Insidious Tendril Attack

The Exalt's tongue lashes about, spurning a gory bolt of dark crimson out of her mouth and into her palm. Such slivers can be used as normal ammunition, but dissolve into blood and bubble away with a cruel cackle a few seconds after impact.

Gut-Born Bow

• Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 lethal health level
• Duration: One Scene
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Archery: 4
• Minimum Essence: 3
• Prerequisite Charms: Boundless Barbed Tongue

Plunging a hand deep into her intestines, the Infernal pulls out a snaking and writhing length of gut. As her Essence coagulates and clots around it, it forms itself into a gruesome and vicious-looking bow. The bow is similar to a composite bow fitted to the creator's Strength, but has an Accuracy and damage bonus equal to the charater's Essence score. However, each bow is different in appearance and mode of firing, an expression of it's creator's own vile nature. The bow may be pulled from the chest of any other living creature with similar anatomy, provided that they are either willing, unconscious or restrained (characters subject to a clinch or hold by the Infernal are considered restrained for the purposes of this Charm). That third party then suffers the damage instead.

Shard of Malfeas

• Cost: 1 mote per 2L
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Archery: 4
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: Boundless Barbed Tongue

The Infernal infuses her fingertips with foul Essence, and as the bow is drawn a writhing, flickering bolt of sheer malevolence materialises in their wake. The bolt is fired as a normal arrow, but inflicts a base damage of 2L for every mote of Essence spent. Against gods, elementals, celestial Exalts and other heavenly creatures, the vengeful energy inflicts aggravated damage. Spirits killed with this Charm boil away into a cloud of choking black smoke and cannot return. Bolts of Malfeas do not suffer penalties for distance or wind, and have a maximum distance of (the archer's permanent Essence x 100) yards. Characters may not spend more motes of Essence on this charm than their Archery score, and cannot use it with arrow-enhancing Charms.

Shadow Veiled Strike

• Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Archery: 5
• Minimum Essence: 3
• Prerequisite Charms: Shard of Malfeas, Release the Shard

As the Exalt pulls back the bow and fires, no arrow flies toward her quarry; only the astute will notice the arrow register in the Exalt's shadow as he fires. This is no simple illusion magic; the shadow-barb is the real arrow. Coarsing along the ground, it seeks out the quarry's own shadow and strikes deep into it. The shadow's possessor feels fierce pain, and gobbets of blood rise from their shadow to spatter across their body. Being created of shadow, the arrow ignores soak from armour, and requires a reflexive Wits+Awareness check at a difficulty equal to the firer’s Essence to allow a parry or dodge to be made against it. Any spirit shot with a shadow-veiled strike cannot dematerialise; their stricken shadow binds them to this world until the wounds from the arrow are healed.

Six Sliver Hex

• Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Supplemental
• Minimum Archery: 4
• Minimum Essence: 3
• Prerequisite Charms: Boundless Barbed Tongue

The character infuses the arrow with Essence, and once fired duplicate arrows worm their way out of the first, arcane patterns binding them together mid-air. Use one attack roll for all arrows, but apply the damage from each separately. The character makes a number of duplicates equal to her Essence score; the Charm is named after the pattern made by a powerful wielder of this technique.

Myriad Reflection Prana

• Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: One scene
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Archery: 5
• Minimum Essence: 4
• Prerequisite Charms: Six Sliver Hex, Shard of Malfeas

The Infernal inscribes a series of patterns with one hand, and a sickly throbbing sigil coalesces with a low rumble of drums to hang afront her bow. Every time the bow is fired, a writhing bolt emerges from the shimmering runes to fly forth. They have the same statistics as any type of mundane arrow the Exalt wishes, but are not subject for penalties for range or wind

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Feedback

The wossname cascade seems a little cheap... perhaps 5m 1w would be better, as it's effectively a perfect attack (Although I know, the mechanics are different. Perhaps you should limit it to Archery attempts or Essence attempts... if not, it should be essence 4 at least. )
In addition, if Gut-Strung Bow is a simple charm, you can't make an attack while using it. You could maybe use it in a clinch... but that would be restrained. Perhaps mention that if the user pays an extra 3m, you can make a brawl or martial arts attack at the same time? Either that or make it supplementary, and let it be activated after the successful strike, negating the damage on that strike but pulling out a bow (and causing 1 auto-level) instead?
-- Darloth

• In general, I find the pool-stealing mechanic unnecessarily complex and unclear. What happens with Exalted, where you can't reduce their pools below their Essence? If it is the one case it is overpowered, with the other case the Charms are weak!
• Prescient Hunter's Cascade: This is just a perfect under another name, and, honestly, a really complicated and inelegant one at that. Use AWD. Also, bypassing perfects is no kosher, man.

- willows

PHC has been nerfed accordingly by restriction on rerolls. It's still different to AWD, and I prefer having Charms of equivalent types of Exalted (eg. Solars v Abyssals) be similar but different in effect. The attack option has been removed from GBB. That should cover it!...DeathBySurfeit