DarkheartOne/GloriousLegendStyle
Glorious Legend Style
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This shaping art tells the tales of many, many great men and women who have risen from the mire of normalcy to stand above all, shining like a beacon that all can see and have hope in. Learning, persevering, forgiving, destroying, and sometimes even failing, these tales weave together the lives of many into one collective narrative. The style itself is unique, in that it does not rely on a particular combat-useful Grace, and works well to support other styles. Thus, its requirements are unique; it doesn't require that a particular Grace be at a certain level, but that the Sword, Cup, Staff and Ring Graces as a whole meet or exceed a certain number.
All dice-bonuses gained from charms in this tree specifically exist outside of the normal dice-adding limit rules unless otherwise stated. Also, none of the charms in this Art may be made into a mutation of any sort, under any circumstances (up to and including other charms, artifacts and unique abilities).
Raksha who do not own their own Heart Grace simply cannot learn this style, but may learn it once they do acquire it. True legends are not mere puppets for some greater cause, and until they act as only they wish their star remains dim.
Glorious Legendary Weapon
Cost: 5 motes, 1 gossamer Duration: One story Type: Simple Minimum Grace Total: 7 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisites: None
With her personal weapon in hand, the budding young legend treks out to face the day. With this charm, the raksha can choose to enhance a shaping weapon that they have in their possession. As they ready it, they spend the required motes and gossamer to empower the chosen weapon. The raksha's player is granted six points to add to the weapon's stats, but may not add more than three to any one statistic. The augmented weapon can be put aside and readied later on in the shaping contest without these bonuses fading. The bonus can be added to shaping weapons formed from the raksha's own essence pattern via Charms, but fades as soon as the charm itself runs its course.
Naming of the Rival
Cost: 2 gossamer per naming Duration: Varies Type: Simple Minimum Grace Total: 7 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisites: None
All legends have some form of a rival that they acquire during their travels; someone who pushes them to the limits of their talents, and then beyond. The raksha names a single being who they have had previous relationships with that could constitute the basis for a rivalry and swears to make them their eternal foe, whether they like it or not. The chosen rival does not have to be consenting to be named. So long as the raksha attempts to play out and cultivate the rivalry, they gain a one-die bonus to any and all dice actions revolving around that person and their immediate interests. The raksha also receives a bonus point of gossamer every story if they pursue the rivalry in a fashion that satisfies the Storyteller.
These bonuses last so long as the relationship is pursued and the rival is alive. Once the rival dies either naturally or because of... other means (the rivalry doesn't have to end violently, but it's a perfectly valid possibility), the raksha much wait a full story before they may name another suitable rival.
Ignoring the rivalry without allowing it to reach a proper, and often violent, conclusion is quite unhealthy for the raksha who makes this oath. If the raksha willingly refuses to continue the relationship when the opportunity arises for a number of scenes greater than their Conviction, they immediately terminate the charm and lose a *permanent* point of Willpower. Only by spending experience can this lost point be replaced.
Suitably Opportune Defense
Cost: Varies Duration: One story or until used Type: Reflexive Minimum Grace Total: 7 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisites: None
When in danger, beset by foes on all sides, the legend reaches from deep within to defend herself long enough to stand triumphant above her enemies. This charm allows the raksha to create a special pool of 'soak points' that can be used reflexively to bolster one's shaping soak. After spending a Willpower point and a point of gossamer, for every two soak points the raksha wishes to store away for later use they must spend one mote of essence. This pool cannot be larger than the raksha's (Essence x 4). There is no limit to the number of soak points that can be used at any given moment of damage soaking. This charm can only be used once a story, and no other means can recharge this pool; once the points are used, they are gone.
Stance of the Most Glorious Legend
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One story Type: Simple Minimum Grace Total: 9 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Glorious Legendary Weapon, Naming of the Rival, Suitably Opportune Defense
The raksha greedily pours Essence into their pattern, bloating their sense of self and forcing themselves more onto the story playing out. They have become the legend who cannot help but stand out, and that is brought to a point larger than life by minstrels, travellers and their defeated enemies. Whenever the raskha so affected by this stance is the one who is directly being affected by whatever shaping effect is active at the time, they gain an additional two dice towards any action they take. Examples include the raksha being the center of attention and perhaps the prime corrupting influence (or target) in Cup combat, or the raksha leading the charge with weapon brandished in Sword combat.
However, if the raksha's opponent is careful and crafty enough to shape the tale in a manner than ignores the hero, the dice bonus is lowered by one. Incredibly clever shaping tricks, at the Storyteller's discretion, may ever remove the bonus completely.
This is a Stance-type charm, and is more commonly known as Glorious Legend Stance.
Well-Ordered Queue of Obstacles
Cost: Variable motes per extra action, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Extra Actions Minimum Grace Total: 9 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Stance of the Most Glorious Legend
Faced with multiple opponents, the legend calmly positions them so that she only has to face them one at a time, rested enough to give them each her all. This allows the raksha to use their full dice pools against multiple opponents; for each increment of motes spent equal to (number of targets - 1), the raksha may use their full dice pool in one extra action. A number of actions can be purchased up to the raksha's Willpower, but only a number of actions equal to the raksha's Heart can be used on a single target. This charm cannot be used against a single target under any circumstances.
Defeat Births Victory
Cost: 5 gossamer, 5 motes, 1 permanent Willpower Duration: Until exhausted or withdrawn Type: Reflexive Minimum Grace Total: 9 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Stance of the Most Glorious Legend
In defeat, the legend gasps out a plea to the heavens before consciousness flees from them, and their bravery forces the gods to honor their cry for justice. This charm can only be used when the raksha has been defeated in shaping combat and the victor is about to ravish, burden or vex the target. The raksha's player declares use of this charm, and the victor (or Storyteller) must decide whether to continue with the post-shaping injury and risk great calamity, or to withdraw it and instead accept the 5 gossamer spent by the defeated raksha in consolation.
Should the victorious raksha inflict spiritual damage (ravishing, vexation and the like) on the defeated raksha who's activated this charm, they must immediately roll a contested Willpower roll against them, with the defeated raksha gaining a bonus number of dice equal to their Heart. Should the victor win, the spiritual damage occurs normally; if they lose, it still occurs, but they are sorely cursed by the force of their victim's will, and will catastrophically botch a number of rolls (at a maximum of one botch per story) equal to the victim's Heart at suitably ironic or critical moments. This curse can be withdrawn before all the instances are used if the victorious raksha does something to appease his 'victim', usually aiding them in recovering from their injury.
When this charm is activated and the raksha's opponent refuses the offer, the raksha may opt to immediately consider the raksha that harms them a suitable rival, and can instantly invoke Naming of the Rival at no cost, foregoing their previous rivalry with no detrimental effect.
Fair Fight Trick
Cost: 3 motes plus 1 mote per die copied Duration: One dice action Type: Reflexive Minimum Grace Total: 9 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Stance of the Most Glorious Legend
The legend makes a point of demanding that his target fights fairly... and if they refuse, she simply levels the playing field herself. After actions have been declared and the raksha's opponent uses charms to add dice to any one roll, the raksha may immediately spend Essence to create a number of 'copy' dice up to the amount generated by their opponent, then apply them to the dice action they are using to oppose their opponent's dice action.
Champion's Just Reward
Cost: 4 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Grace Total: 11 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Well-Ordered Queue of Obstacles, Defeat Births Victory
The hero, having vanquished his foe, claims his sizeable reward graciously. Whenever the raksha is about to ravish, burden or vex another, they may reflexively enlarge their Heart, grasping strongly at the victim's pattern and tugging with more than the usual amount of force.
When ravishing, the raksha recovers 15 motes of essence from their victim instead of the usual 10. Against non-unshaped, they may ravish the damaged Virtue *twice*; this ravishment cannot be doubled up on one specific target, but cleverly-worded targets that are not obviously related but which might otherwise greatly trouble the victim are accepted and even encouraged. Against the unshaped, the raksha may tear a Samadhi Circle spell from the unshaped, or choose instead to tear forth two Dreaming Circle spells. They may also choose to instead improve a Waking or Dreaming Circle spell by one, in addition to the normal option for Samadhi and Desire Circle spells.
When burdening the shaped, the raksha may inflict two incumberances; again, they cannot be doubled up, nor can they be intentionally made to conflict with each other. When burdening the unshaped, the must produce either a 4-dot Wyld artifact or two 2-dot artifacts., or must improve a 1- or 2-dot artifact by one dot in addition to the usual 1-dot increase for 3- and 4-dot artifacts.
When vexing the shaped, the raksha may seize a number of artifacts and possessions equal to the target's Sword Grace plus 2, and cannot seize more than seven levels worth of artifacts. Against the unshaped, the damaged Sword Grace oozes forth a rush of force that generates a 4-dot behemoth. The power can also be used to energize a 1- or 2-dot behemoth by one dot, along with the usual option available.
Gilt Olive Branch Offering
Cost: 3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Unique Minimum Grace Total: 11 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Defeat Births Victory, Fair Fight Trick
The legend, standing before his opponent with victory either certain or fleeting, reaches forth to call for an end to the violence. In the flicker of an instant, the raksha can offer to call the shaping contest to a close, either because he wishes to show his opponent mercy of because he himself is on the brink of losing. It is a simple oathbound offer that cannot be made before at least three scenes have passed and can only be used in one-on-one shaping combat. The final arbiter of who is winning and losing lies with the Storyteller, and their decision is final. If the offer is made and the opponent is losing, they may cease the battle, but must give up a number of gossamer equal to the total of his and his opponent's permanent Essence score. If they do not have that gossamer at the time, what they can surrender is given, and the remainder is literally snatched away from them as they come across it. The same penalty lies on the raksha using this charm if they are losing, but it is a somewhat painless alternative to spiritual damage. Refusal to accept surrender allows the contest to continue as normal.
Once the offering is accepted, shaping combat instantly ends. Also, the two opponents are oathbound to do no harm to each other for the remainder of the scene. This oath doesn't extend to allies and enemies, however...
This charm can only be used once in a shaping contest.
There Can Be Only One
Cost: 3 gossamer Duration: One story Type: Special Minimum Grace Total: 13 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Champion's Just Reward, Gilt Olive Branch Offering
At the end of all good tales, and even sometimes in death, the legend stands above all, unblemished by their previous faults and justified by the grand victories that they have attained up to reaching the sometimes bitter end of their story. This charm acts to strengthen the formation of the Stance of the Most Glorious Legend upon its initial usage, wrapping layer upon layer of gossamer around the raksha's Heart and inflating the raksha's force of self to the degree where even their inaction cannot hide their effect on the story at hand. They become the name every child learns to revere and strive to emulate, the god-man who saves a city from certain destruction, a pure saint among foul sinners.
When activating the Stance of the Most Glorious Legend, the raksha may opt to immediately activate this charm as well without need for a combo. Upon doing so, the raksha's bonus for that stance increases to 4 dice, and nothing short of very clever stunting by the raksha's opponent or implicit inaction by the raksha using the stance can force the bonus down; even then, the bonus can only be lowered to 3 dice, and doing so requires spending a point of Willpower per instance.
If this charm is not used in the same turn that its matching Stance charm is, it cannot be activated for the remainder of the story under any circumstances.
Comments and Such
Alright, here's the deal. I'm not a great crunch person, so any and all constructive assistance would be greatly appreciated. So... yeah. -DarkheartOne
