LibraryMailanka/SteelRibbonWarrior
Steel Ribbon Warrior
Description:
Born in Lookshy, an heir to a legacy of martial skill, Steel Ribbon Warrior joined the military at the earliest possible moment in his life. Quickly accounted as a genius with armed combat, many expected him to Exalt. He did not. Instead, as he grew older, he focused his talents on mastering personal combat. He studied the techniques of the Dragon Blooded intensly and quickly came to a conclusion.
Most of the combat techniques of the Exalted were useless to mortals. Many motions made were stylized and designed to make the maximum use of a magic that mortals simply lacked. Undiscouraged, he took his knowledge, and began to design his own style, meant to take advantage of all innate mortal advantages, that focused on defense, using your environment to your benefits, and finishing the fight in a single blow.
After retiring at the young age of 30, Steel Ribbon Warrior perfected his technique, and began to teach it to other soldiers and, indeed, anyone who would learn. As he wandered the Scavenger lands, teaching, his legend slowly grew, until his name was spoken even in the Realm, his prowess both admired and envied.
Today, Steel Ribbon Warrior seeks a progeny to pass on his greatest secrets to. Unmarried and without children, he fears that his greatest accomplishments will be lost if he does not further his line. Without this, to him, all that he has done will be dust. Still in the prime of his life, he has plenty of time to accomplish this task.
Steel Ribbon Warrior is a tall man, with a regal, slender face, and long dark hair pulled back in a tail. He has soft tan features and dark eyes. His movements are exceptionally graceful, like a hunter or a dancer, and he often dresses in loose, comfortable clothing, styled after the fashions of Lookshy.
Name: Steel Ribbon Warrior\\ Nature: Architect\\ Concept: Master Swordsman\\
Attributes
- Strength ☻☻☻oo Charisma ☻☻☻oo Perception ☻☻ooo
- Dexterity ☻☻☻☻o Manipulation ☻☻ooo Intelligence ☻☻☻☻o
- Stamina ☻☻☻oo Appearance ☻☻☻oo Wits ☻☻☻☻o
Abilities
- Archery ☻☻ooo
- Athletics ☻☻☻oo
- Awareness ☻☻ooo
- Bureaucracy: ☻oooo
- Dodge ☻☻☻o
- Endurance ☻☻ooo
- Linguistics ☻oooo (Native: Riverspeak, Low Realm)
- Lore ☻☻☻oo (Martial Lore +3)
- Martial Arts ☻☻ooo (Seven Leaping Dragon Style +1)
- Medicine ☻oooo
- Melee ☻☻☻☻☻ (Steel Ribbon Style +3)
- Presence ☻☻☻oo (Tactics +2)
- Resistance ☻oooo
- Ride ☻oooo
- Socialize ☻oooo (Military Ettiquette +1)
Backgrounds
- Resources ☻☻☻oo
- Influence ☻☻☻oo
- Contacts ☻☻ooo
Virtues
- Compassion ☻☻ooo Conviction ☻☻☻oo
- Temperance ☻☻☻oo Valor ☻☻☻oo
Willpower: ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻oo\\
Essence: ☻oooo\\
Health
- □ -0
- □□ -1
- □□ -2
- □ -4
- □ Incap
Combat
- Base init: 8
- Soak: 11B/6L (Lookshy Lamellar)
- Dodge: 8/6
- Attacks:
- Ancestral Slashing Sword: Speed +11 Acc +14 Damage 6L Def 14
- Seven Leaping Dragon Fist: Speed +8 Acc +6 Damage 3B Def +6
- Seven Leaping Dragon Kick: Speed +5 Acc +5 Damage 5B Def +5
Special Notes:
Ancestral Blade:
Steel Ribbon Warrior's sword is an exceptional slashing sword (Speed +3, Accuracy +2, Damage +3L Defense +2) that has been passed down, father to son, for more than three hundred years. While it is certainly no diaklave, certain legends of power have sprung up around the blade. This is due to the fact that it has become a fetter to no less than three of Steel Ribbon's long dead ancestors. As a devout follower of the Immaculate Order, Steel Ribbon has no idea that his blade is so cherished in the underworld, and that three of the greatest warriors of his line attend to him daily as he brings honor to their line.
Steel Ribbon Style:
This is Optional
This style operates under the assumption that mortals can gain unique bonuses to their skills, techniques not dissimilar from Charms, though a measure of skill rather than of magic. This style is such a skill, but an ST can most certainly ignore it. Steel Ribbon is bad ass enough without needing even more benefits
Steel Ribbon Warrior's combat style has begun to spread throughout the Scavenger lands, due to its effectiveness in the hands of mortals. A practitioner of the style stands on the balls of his feet with his knees bend, ready to move. His hilt is held his lower right, with the sword crossing the body for maximum defensive use, and when an attack is made, the rear leg presses forward, and the hip swivels to put the maximum power behind the blade as it slashes. The philosophy of the style is to remain on the defensive, allowing your environment and your foot work to defend you as you wait for your opponent to make a mistake, and then finish him off in a single blow.
The style may be taken as a specialty. Optionally, the ST may choose to allow the style special benefits. These special "techniques" can be gained once a character has studied the style suffieciently, and is skilled enough to understand the techniques. The first, as chosen by the player, may be gained when he is Melee 3 and has purchased his first dot of the specialty. The second can be gained with melee 4 and his second specialty, and the third at 5 with the third specialty.
The first is the ability to use the characters surroundings as cover and a shield. By spending a willpower point, if the character is in a cluttered environment (such as a bar or a forest), one success is subtracted from all opponents attacks. The player must describe, however, how he uses his environment to his advantage.
The second ability focuses on the intense defensive capabilities of the style. By speding a willpower point when the character loses iniative to someone, he may abort to a parry and split the parry. The rules for taking multiple parries is as normal splitting rules, in other words, if the character wants to parry three times, he must subtract 3 from his first parry, 4 from his second, and so on. The character may not use any actions for attack if using this option.
The final ability focuses on offense. When a Steel Ribbon Stylist attacks, it is almost always a finishing blow. If the character takes his full dice action for an attack, he gains +2 damage. However, if he fails to inflict at least 2 HLs of damage onto his opponent for any reason (the damage is soaked, the attack is parried, etc), he loses a temporary point of willpower.
Steel Ribbon Style has no charms associated with it.
Background Notes:
Steel Ribbon Warrior is an heir to an influential family. As a result, he has quite a savings worked up. While not wealthy, he certainly has far more money than the average peasant, and can easily afford to care for his armor, his horse, etc.
His influence stems from his considerable prowess. The martial community listens when someone as skilled as Steel Ribbon speaks. While not every dojo will bow and scrap to him, it is a simple matter for Steel Ribbon to be invited to an officers party and the like.
In his travels, and in teaching his art, Steel Ribbon has made alot of friends and alot of rivals. The contacts background is meant to represent old students, and their students, all of which would be willing to do favors for "the master."
Commentary
This is a familiar face to alot of people, and I rather enjoyed actually statting him out. Steel Ribbon is a great example of how "cool" a mortal can become. Most people dismiss mortals as enemies or allies, but some, truly exceptional beings, can compete with low level Exalted. Steel Ribbon is a Musashi in the world of Exalted, a master swordsman among master swordsman. People like this become Solar Exalted, though, of course, Steel Ribbon wasn't so "lucky."
He can provide lots of interesting story ideas, as he searches for a student, or the forces of the Oblivion seek to destroy his blade so his legendary ancestors are cast loose without fetters, unable to continue defending other ghosts from the depredations of the Deathlords.
And, of course, he can be an interesting ally or "mentor" to player characters, as he was with Jaida.
I like the character, and it's nice to see him again after his experiences with Jaida in the Land of Combat Examples. There should definitely be interesting and skilled mortals in Exalted; you've done a good job with this one.
My one complaint: I don't think it's appropriate to take a martial arts or melee style as a specialty. Specialties are supposed to be specific subdivisions of an Ability's fields of activity. This serves as a limiting factor on the bonus the specialty provides. If you have a specialty in (say) Seven Leaping Dragon Style, why wouldn't you use it all the time, effectively giving you a flat increase to your Ability?
Fair enough. I tend to be really loose in my specialty definitions. If you can think of a (not unusual) time when you wouldn't be using your specialty, then I allow it. Styles work fine for Exalted, of course, because it is possible that they will buy charms from OTHER styles, thus losing their bonus. I could picture Steel Ribbon forced to use Melee for a different style (say, if he had to use an ax or a staff, for some reason) but the MA bonus is a little tougher. I'd ask the player to define the advantages and disadvantages of his style. If, for example, Seven Leaping Dragon is all about kicking high, I wouldn't allow the bonus for breaking a board with your fist, say.
If you wanted to get more "definable" and limited specialties for this character, I would change "Steel Ribbon Style" to "Parry +1, Using Surroundings to Advantage +1, Full dice pool attack +1" Which, while LONG is certianly limited enough.
As for "Seven Leaping Dragon" I tossed that on because it was nice and descriptive. I can definitly see your point here. Undefined as it stands, it's just a universal dice adder. Change it to "Punch +1" and "Kick +1" or something to that effect.
Great stuff, as always. I'd like to direct Mailanka to my Melee path discussion, particularly the Steel Ribbon Style that Jaida potentially develops as a Solar. I kinda thought of Steel Ribbon Style as a thing using a lot of counterstrikes. As such, I thought of mortal specialty in SRS would be when using multiple actions, where at least one is an attack, and one a block. This, is a kind of well-defined specialty that is not so useful when you've lost initiative.
Actually, while Steel Ribbon Warrior hasn't exalted Solar *yet*, it would be cool (if a shade cliched) to have him Exalt in a particularly heroic moment...then turn to his former student for tuition in the arts of Essence-fuelled swordplay. Could be a fun development in the Jaida story...
-Kasumi
In what way(s) is he flawed? All truly interesting characters are flawed in some way or another, right? - Quendalon
His flaw is that he's not a super-powerful demigod. It might be amusing if the Exaltation of his student Jaida caused him to feel more and more envious, and throw himself into more and more dangerous situations in an attempt to prove his mastery, until he eventually was struck down and became an Abyssal.\\ _Ikselam
That is an INCREDIBLY GOOD IDEA, Ikselam. Unsurprisingly. You and Mailanka shouldn't be allowed or collaborate, you weaken teansfictional dimension boundries. Oh, here is a hidden tip for those of the wiki's faithful. Keep an eye on http://www.lensmen.net/wiki/project.pl .... I'm working on a themes hack for us that lets real CSS be a possibility. :) And... get this get this, I'll make it so people can define their own (limited) sidebars. *wink* -- DaveFayram
