LunarCloseCombat/GoldenCat
- - Back to GoldenCat
- - Back to Children of the Shifting Moon
Lunar Close Combat
The Charms in this section can be used in any close combat activity - any unarmed or armed attack at close quarters.
Fast Combat
Hydra Head Attack
Cost: 3 motes per attack
Duration: Instant
Type: Extra Action
Minimum Dexterity: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul's Dexterity.
The Lunar moves as a wyld-spawned hydra, beasts granted multiple heads by the wyld. Each sentient, each moving on its own accord. The Lunar takes that lesson, and moves as many, sometimes shifting different arms and heads in the proccess of using this maneuver! With this Charm the Lunar may take Extra Actions in Close Combat. It costs 3 motes per action added, and the Lunar may never purchase more actions than her Permanent Essence Score. Those actions must all be Close Combat attacks, not movements or defenses.
Foe-Driving Attack
Cost: 9 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Extra Actions
Minimum Dexterity: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Hydra Head Attack, Dexterity of the Moon-Kissed.
The Lunar becomes almost like liquid, battering against rock relentlessly. He becomes a hunter, playing with his prey, never abating. He becomes a pack, striking from all directions, never allowing the enemy to catch his breath, to mount any response other than desperate defense to his relentless, purposeful onslaught. With this Charm, the Lunar makes multiple attacks, wrong-footing her opponent until its defenses fail. She makes a number of attacks on a single target equal to her Dexterity score.
Hunting Tiger Speed
Cost: 8 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Independent Actions
Minimum Dexterity: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Foe-Driving Attack.
The Lunar becomes a master at combat shapeshifting, his limbs becoming larger when the need comes to strike, minute changes to his body allowing him to move many, many times faster, his very mind shifting to see the world as many animals do, seeing the movements of the world in his close vicinity differently, sharper, faster. This Charm gives the Lunar one Independent Action in addition to his normal dice action, but all actions taken in this Independent Action must fall within the domain of Close Combat.
Three Moon Stride
Cost: 6 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Independent Actions
Minimum Dexterity: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Hunting Tiger Speed, Overwhelming Lunar Dexterity.
Burning with power, the Lunar's anima reaches and forms boundaries into the ground. Sigils of three moons appear for a moment, and the Lunar becomes as many, as three moons, three individuals shining within himself, striking and moving around each other, with each other in a blindingly graceful dance. This Charm gives the Lunar two Independent Actions in addition to his normal dice action, but all actions taken in this Independent Action must fall within the domain of Close Combat.
Weapon-Snatching Movement
Cost: 4 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Dexterity: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul's Dexterity.
The Lunar turns part of her body into tentacles, all of them going straight to disarm an opponent, or moves fast enough that he appears to act as such, a myriad of misdirecting images trying to snatch his weapons away... The Lunar rolls an attack as usual, but does no damage, and the defender's successes are halved. If the Lunar hits his opponent with more successes than the opponent's Wits, he is instantly disarmed.
Deadly Claw Blow
Cost: 2 motes +1 mote per success
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Dexterity: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Dexterity of the Moon-Kissed.
This Charm allows the Lunar to harness his bestial prowess and become a veritable killing machine. He becomes instintively aware of an opponent's weak spots and how to exploit them, allowing him to target his attacks to maximum effect. Using this Charm, the Lunar deals lethal damage barehanded and converts Dexterity dice into automatic successes for an attack, up to her Dexterity as usual. The Lunar may destroy even souls with such a deadly intent to his movements, allowing the attacks enhanced by this Charm to harm immaterial spirits.
Crouching Tiger Stance
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Dexterity: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Deadly Claw Blow.
The Lunar is a crouched tiger, ready for anything and everything that might come his way, prepared to cut through any he perceives as a threat as soon as they wish to strike. He moves skillfully, his reflexes lightning-fast, his reactions blinding as he goes from the defensive to the offensive position against any hand-to-hand attack. The Lunar makes a parry attempt at his full pool, increasing his Defense Score by his Essence – and if he successfully parries the attack, he may launch a hand-to-hand counterattack against his assailant.
Foot-Trapping Counter
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Dexterity: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Deadly Claw Blow.
With the understanding of how to move perfectly, comes a very precious knowledge to the hunter - the knowledge of how to stop the movement of others, trapping his prey with his body and essence and not allowing her to go any further unless the hunter allows it. When an opponent tries to move away, the Lunar activates this Charm and the opponents has to roll Dexterity+Athletics with a difficulty equal to the Lunar's Dexterity. If the opponent succeeds, she can move, if she fails, she must remain. This can stop hopping defenses, and even esoteric movements such as Avoidance Kata - after all, Lunars were created to hunt Gods as easily as Men.
Lighting Claw Method
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Dexterity: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Deadly Claw Blow, Weapon-Snatching Movement.
To avoid an attack, the victim must see it coming. With this Charm, the Lunar moves faster than the eye can see, little more than stripes of sharp moonlight and shadow in the air as he comes upon the enemy from unexpected directions and with such a speed that it is very hard to make out his blows, much less to know where to move to avoid them. The Lunar pays 3 motes and strikes as normal, but the opponent's Dodge needs to roll 2 successes for each of the Lunar's own.
Lion in Wait Stance
Cost: 5 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Perception: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Crouching Tiger Stance, Foot-Trapping Counter, Lighting Claw Method
The Lunar is king of all hunters, and none may approach him unless he deems them worthy of doing so. Any fool who dares to approach his power and majesty without his consent is as good as dead, as the Lunar's stance will shift effortlessly to destroy him. In the turn this Charm is activated, the Lunar may not more than his Valor in yards. However, the Lunar may make an automatic attack at his full offensive pool against anyone within his reach, or anyone foolish enough to approach this area during the turn. Those automatic attacks are considered counterattacks. The Lunar may instinctively react to and strike spirits during the turn this Charm is active.
Brute Force
Spine-Breaking Technique
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul’s Strength.
An impressively brutal movement, the Spine-Breaking Technique demonstrates the awesome power of the Lunar's bestial nature, crushing flesh and bones under his hands as little more than glass. By means of this Charm, the Lunar turns a painful and incapacitating attack into a lethal demonstration of his prowess. The Lunar makes a clinch attack as normal, but may deal lethal damage instead of Bashing. It is very hard to avoid the Spine-Breaking Technique, and the Lunar converts his Strength dice into automatic successes in both the initial attempt and any roll to control the clinch. Unlike Strength of the Moon-Kissed and other such Charms, this does not convert damage dice into autossuccesses.
Hyena Jaw Technique
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Spine-Breaking Technique.
Sometimes, an enemy is strong enough to resist the Lunar's hold for a long period without either dying or losing consciousness. With the Hyena Jaw Technique, the Lunar has a tool to quickly subdue even the hardiest foes. To use this Charm, the Lunar needs to have natural biting weapons. He clamps his jaw around the opponent's throat, cutting off his breath, slowly draining his life away. Every turn this Charm is mantained, the target loses a dot of Stamina. The enemy falls unconscious when his Stamina reaches 0. If the enemy tries to break free from the clinch, she receives damage equal to the Lunar's strength, irrespective of the success, or lack thereof, of her escape roll. Those dice of damage may not be soaked in any way.
If the opponent's Stamina is reduced to 0 by this Charm, the Lunar may opt to keep him clinched, even unconscious, and continue to reduce his attributes. He reduces any of the enemy's Perception, Intelligence or Wits, chosen by the Lunar at the start of every turn. If all of his Mental Attributes reach 0, the enemy dies. The enemy recovers them at a rate of one per day, but the loss of Mental Attributes is permanent for Mortals.
Cunning Porcupine Method
Cost: 6 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Strength: 3
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Spine-Breaking Technique.
Sometimes, even the strongest Lunars seek to escape the clutches of their opponents and keep them at bay. Using the Cunning Porcupine Method, the Lunar covers himself in long, razor-sharp spines. This Charm creates a Natural Weapon that enhances clinches. Anyone who is clinching, or who attempts to clinch the Lunar after suffers great damage. The Lunar does +4L damage in unarmed combat, and his clinch damage becomes Strength+6L. He also adds 2 dice to all Clinch rolls from this weapon. Any who attack the Lunar bare-handed suffer levels of lethal damage equal to their own strength+3L, soaked normally. Any enemy holding the Lunar in the turn this Charm is activated must soak levels of lethal damage equal to the Lunar's Strength rating.
Deadly Urchin Blossom
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Strength: 4
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Cunning Porcupine Method.
Shapeshifting is sometimes like the blossoming of a flower. Blossoming with the spikes on his body, the Lunar allows them to stretch outward from his body, like a terrifying urchin unfurling like a flower, tearing the flesh of everything around it. Using this Charm, the Lunar stretches his tentacles to make a single Strength+Brawl, Martial Arts or Melee attack with +2 accuracy, and apply it to all creatures within half his Stamina(round down) in yards in all directions. This attack has a base damage of 6L, plus extra successes. The spikes retract back into the Lunar's body as the attack finishes.
Crushing Cobra Hold
Cost: 6 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Spine-Breaking Technique.
Holding the enemy like a cobra, the Lunar tightens his grip on his foe, making sure he cannot escape in any way. Once in the Lunar's grasp, the foe must overcome his strength... or be crushed underh is might. This Charm must be used to supplement a Clinch Control Contest - the opponent loses the option of breaking the clinch even if she takes control - she must choose between dealing damage or not, but leaving is impossible. This is a Perfect Effect.
Subduing the Honored Foe
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Strength: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Soul's Strength.
Lunars have no need to fight to the death, and sometimes a hunt is a sport undertaken only to know if the Lunar can catch his prey, without any desire to spill blood. When he wishes, the Lunar is just as able to knock his foes down as he is to destroy them. By means of Subduing the Honored Foe, the Lunar's damage in Close Combat attacks becomes Bashing without any penalty for 'pulling his punches', and a number of post-soak damage dice equal to the Lunar’s Strength are converted into automatic successes.
Focus Shattering Shock
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Subduing the Honored Foe.
Gathering strength and essence on his fist, the Lunar strikes with such incredible force that he disarranges the concentration of the enemy, breaking his focus and sending him in a wounded daze. Focus Shattering Shock supplements a Close Combat attack - it adds the Lunar's Essence Rating to its damage, and if the Lunar rolls more damage successes than the opponent’s Stamina attribute, he must make a successful Willpower roll with a difficulty equal to the Lunar’s Essence, or spend his next action shaking off disorientation from the attack.
Body Breaking Kata
Cost: 1 mote
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Subduing the Honored Foe.
A charge of Essence meant to overwhelm and crush his foe, the Essence spent in this Charm manifests as a great nimbus in the shape of his Totem about the Lunar, obscuring his form, making him simply a powerful, deadly charging god-beast. An attack enhanced by Body Breaking Kata doubles the extra successes gathered by the Lunar, after defense and before soak is applied. Body Breaking Kata always does Lethal Damage.
Mighty Bull Sprint
Cost: 1 mote
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Body Breaking Kata.
Nothing stops mighty bulls in the pastures of the East, and when they come upon obstacles such as trees, they just keep going, crushing the tree and pushing it in front of him as if he was pushing so much air. Rushing like a bull, the Lunar comes upon his foe and strikes with might force, pushing the enemy foward. The Lunar's strike knocks his foe back one yard for every dice of pre-soak damage. This does no damage by itself, but may do so if the Lunar's opponent falls from cliffs or suchlike.
Ferocious Biting Fang
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Mighty Bull Sprint.
Blocking is a dangerous art, as one must interpose himself or his weapons against foes that may be much stronger than one's own limbs, risking having his weapon pulled away or his limbs ripped apart. Knowing this, a Lunar charges his strikes with essence, becoming so powerful that anything placed on his way is no less successful than water trying to stop a fist. Enemy weapons limbs are simply pushed aside in the force of this blow. The but the opponent's parry needs to roll 2 successes for each of the Lunar's own. An opponent struck by the Ferocious Biting Fang must make a Strength+Resistance roll with a difficulty equal to the Lunar's Strength or be knocked to the ground, needing to take an action to clear his head and get up.
Stance Breaking Strike
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 4
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Focus Shattering Shock, Ferocious Biting Fang.
Lunars fight in a liquid and protean, and they can recognize their antithesis, the fixed, rigid concentrations of Essence that are combat stances. With this Charm, the Lunar's blows become shocks that send his foes staggering back, all concentration and grace lost. An enemy struck by Stance Breaking Strike must roll Dexterity+Athletics or Performance with a difficulty equal to the Lunar's Essence, plus 1 per every health level dealt by the attack. On a success, he remains graceful, with a mere penalty equal to the Lunar's Essence to all actions for the remainer of the turn due to lack of balance(Charms such as Graceful Crane Stance may counteract this effect). On a failure, the shock shakes the foundations of the enemy's body, and he loses the benefit of a single Athletics, Martial Arts, Melee or Performance Charm he currently has active, chosen by the Lunar, and must take an action to activate it once again. Martial Arts Forms are the most ordered of Charm Stances, and thus, if the Lunar's opponent has a Martial Arts Form Charm active, it must be the one lost to this Charm.
Surge of Divine Pressure
Cost: 1 willpower, 1 health level
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Strength: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Stance Breaking Strike, Unparallalled Lunar Strength.
Usually, a creature must know exactly how much strength to place in a blow, moving with his whole body's weight and his muscle's pressure behind his strikes to damage his foe. A shapeshifter, however, has no such limitations - upon striking a foe with any strength he desires, he suddenly sends a surge of essence, strength and pressure, the connecting limb swirling with rushing fury like a wrathful wave traveling through calm waters, sending the weight of a thousand blows into the enemy's body. Using this Charm, the Lunar may make use of any of its prerequisite Charms reflexively, after striking his foe. This secondary charm activation is countained within the activation of Surge of Divine Pressure. It fully circumvents the need for movement in Charms such as Body-Breaking Kata.
Obstacle-Breaking Method
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Body-Breaking Kata.
Nothing may bar the Moon. Like Luna moves unimpeded in the night sky, so the Lunars walk upon Creation, and woe betide the gate that attempts to bar their way. Shaping his body unto a great bull, strong and able to charge through anything, the Lunar strikes an inanimate object with a roar of fury! The Lunar doubles his raw damage(his damage, plus any extra successes) against inanimate objects, before soak is applied.
Shell-Crushing Blow
Cost: 5 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Strength: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Obstacle-Breaking Method.
As hunters, Lunars know well how to break the shells of their prey. And as they break inward, they send their splinters into the soft, unprotected insides of their prey. Building upon this principle, the Lunar charges his strike with essence, breaking the shell of his victim and sending its slivers, charged with silver essence, into his opponent's body. The Lunar makes a close combat attack as normal, but ignores all soak provided by his opponent's armor. If he strikes mundane armor, is breaks, and not only does it not provide any protection, but the Lunar increases his base damage by the armor's lethal soak value.
Moonsilver
- Those Charms work with Moonsilver, and are only effective when used with items of that Material.
Surprising Moonsilver Deformation
Cost: 1 mote per +1 difficulty
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Appearance: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Moonsilver Weapon's fluid nature allows it to deform and flow past defenses, to enlargen to catch dogding foes, and all around to be extremely hard to evade. Every mote spent adds 1 to the difficulty to dodge or parry the Lunar's attacks, up to the Lunar's Essence. This has no effect if the enemy is parrying with a Moonsilver weapon. The Lunar may choose to soften the strike when using this Charm, dealing Bashing Damage without having to 'pull his punches'.
Flare of Luna's Steel
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Appearance: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Surprising Moonsilver Deformation
Moonsilver is beautiful. Unique of all Magical Materials, it is... alive! Completely alive, a new life given breath by the Lunar's shapechanging abilities. With this Charm, the Lunar makes it shine with Luna's moonlight, obsfuscating all who look at the Lunar. For a single instant, the Lunar's opponent receives a difficulty to his actions against the Lunar, offensive or defensive, equal to the Artifact's rating, as long as the enemy is affected by visual effects. Lunar natural Moonsilver Weapons have an effective artifact rating equal to half the Lunar's Essence, rounding up. The Lunar's enemies may ignore this by closing his eyes, fighting blind and having the difficulty of all his actions increased by 2.
Resplendent Silver Reflection
Cost: 6 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Appearance: 3
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Flare of Luna's Steel
Building on the precepts of the flare, the Lunar makes the light remain with the weapon for a scene, giving the penalty equal to the artifact rating of the Moonsilver item to all the attacks and defenses against the Lunar for a scene, as long as the enemy is affected by visual effects. The Lunar's enemies may ignore this by closing his eyes, fighting blind and having the difficulty of all his actions increased by 2.
Insidious Moonsilver Shard
Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Appearance: 3
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Surprising Moonsilver Deformation
Upon striking his opponent and doing at least one health level of damage, the Lunar splits a shard of his Moonsilver weapon into the opponent's body. The shard begins to travel through the victim's body, dealing a number of damage dice equal to its artifact rating, rolled normally and only soaked by the victim's natural soak, every minute. The Lunar might will it to be slower, making it deal this damage every day. To extract the shard requires a Dexterity+Medicine roll difficulty 4, lasting at least 10 turns and dealing one level of lethal damage to the patient.
Deadly Moonsilver Shard
Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Minimum Appearance: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Insidious Moonsilver Shard
The Lunar controls Moonsilver to the point that even a shard split from his weapon becomes a small creature - a small lizard or insect, that will fight with tooth and claw against any attempt to extract it! The Lunar adds his Wits to the damage of the Insidious Moonsilver Shard, and if removed, it fights with the statistics of a knife and all dice pools equal to the Lunar's Wits! It is a Minuscule creature, as well. It will try to harm the doctor, pehaps kill him, and burrow on the victim once again.
Relentless Silver Distortion
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Appearance: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Surprising Moonsilver Deformation
The Moonsilver weapons moves like a serpent around everything placed on its way! An attack enhanced by Relentless Silver Distortion is unparriable.
Rippling Argent Aegis
Cost: 3 motes, 1 willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Appearance: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Surprising Moonsilver Deformation
Filled with the grace of Luna and imbued with Lunar Essence the Moonsilver weapon ripples through the air, and for a moment, it is a full shield all around the Lunar, fending off any and all strikes, protecting him like the light of Luna herself! This Charm enhances a preexisting parry made by the Lunar, turning all attribute dice rolled into automatic successes and allowing it to defend the Lunar even against unparriable attacks.
- - Back to GoldenCat
- - Back to Children of the Shifting Moon
