MartialArts/CraneStyle3
Crane Style
By Ferryman
Charms
Wading in the Rushes Technique</b>
<b>Cost: 2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 2 Min. Essence: 1 Prereqs: None
Students of Crane Style martial arts are taught to be perpetually observant of their surroundings, alert for anything that may be out of place. The martial artist may add her Martial Arts score to her Awareness on any roll to notice anyone or anything that has been deliberately concealed or is attempting to avoid notice. This Charm can be used reflexively to notice an ambush before it is sprung.
Shedding Water Step</b>
<b>Cost:2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Wading in the Rushes Technique
By infusing her anima with Essence, the martial artist may twist, turn and roll with a potentially lethal blow, greatly lessening the damage suffered by physical attacks - she sheds them like water rolls off a bird’s feathers. After being successfully attacked and after soak is applied, the martial artist may roll her Martial Arts ability and reduce the raw damage of the attack by one per success. This can reduce the raw damage of an attack to zero, in which case the attack is considered to have failed. This Charm is incompatible with armor.
Crane Form</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Shedding Water Step
The Exalted adopts the attitude and stance of a hunting crane - preternaturally still and poised, ready to strike in response to any movement. Masters of this art are capable of moving in deceptive ways and facing multiple opponents with ease. The martial artist may defend against attacks whether she is aware of them or not, even those launched at her unprotected back, and can parry lethal attacks without risk even while unarmed. The character may read her opponent’s intentions, adding her Martial Arts skill rating to her initiative total. Last, the martial artist’s penalty for multiple actions is reduced by her permanent Essence rating. This Charm is incompatible with armor.
A character may use only one Form-type Charm at any one time.
Stillness of the Pond Prana</b>
<b>Cost:6 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Crane Form
Through training and the use of Essence, the Exalted learns to clear her mind of distractions and pain, allowing her to act with uncanny calm and deadly accuracy. For the rest of the scene, the martial artist’s unarmed attacks may do either lethal or bashing damage at her choice and she ignores wound penalties. Also, her mental fortitude allows her to add her Essence rating to all rolls to resist mind-affecting magics and fear, even those induced by deathknights and their dark magics.
Resplendent Crane Meditation</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One turn Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Stillness of the Pond Technique
Through difficult and rigorous training, the Crane master has learned to use his own control of Essence and mental focus to project his internal calmness against his opponents, rendering them unable to harm him. The martial artist must hold perfectly still and take no other action during his turn - not even to defend himself. Until his next action, anyone attempting to attack the character must make an opposed Willpower + Essence roll against the character. Failure means the martial artist’s mental focus has overwhelmed the attacker, who cannot go through with his action, and will lose all remaining actions for the rest of his or her turn.
Wind-Tattered Cloud Reversal</b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Crane Form
By flowing with an attack rather than blocking it completely, the martial artist can redirect the force of the blow back at his attacker, sending them tumbling through the air or tangling them up in their own gear. Immediately after the Exalt successfully parries a hand-to-hand attack, he may activate this Charm to execute a throw, hold, or clinch maneuver against his attacker. The Exalt makes his roll as normal and adds any extra successes from his parry as extra dice for this attack. These dice count as a Charm bonus. The target of this Charm may dodge or parry as normal, but must either still have dice actions to do so or must use Charms to gain them. This Charm is incompatible with armor.
Stream-Polished Stone Deflection</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Wind-Tattered Cloud Technique
Just as a stone in a streambed divides the water, so do the attacks of the Exalt’s enemies flow over and around him at his direction. When he is the target of a physical attack the Exalt may make a reflexive Dexterity + Martial Arts roll with a number of automatic successes equal to his permanent Essence. If this roll equals or exceeds the attack roll, the Exalt not only avoids the attack but has the option to redirect the attack to any other individual within his Essence in yards. That individual is now the target of the attack, with as many successes as the martial artist rolled on the redirection roll. The martial artist cannot redirect an attack back at the attacker. This Charm is incompatible with armor.
Broken Light Technique</b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Crane Form
The martial artist strikes suddenly and unpredictably, like the refraction of light through rippling water, making it nigh unto impossible to defend against his attack. Any attempt to dodge or parry this attack has its difficulty raised by the martial artist’s permanent Essence. This Charm is incompatible with armor.
Beak and Talons Method</b>
<b>Cost:4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Extra Action Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Broken Light Technique
The martial artist attacks a single target with sequential strikes of devastating precision. The character may make two martial arts attacks against a single foe at her full dice pool. Additionally, if the first strike is successful it knocks the opponent off-balance, allowing the second strike to be made at maximum effect. Should the first attack be successful, the martial artist may add the attack successes of the first attack before defensive actions are applied to the raw damage of the second. Thus, if the Exalt rolled six successes on the first attack and the target rolled four successes on their dodge, the Exalt would still add the full six dice to the raw damage of the second attack. This Charm is incompatible with armor.
Spreading Wings Strike</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Resplendent Crane Meditation, Beak and Talons Method
With the grace and majesty of a crane taking flight, the Exalted leaps into the air coiling and twisting, Essence flaring about him, before lashing out in a breathtaking display of power as his anima assaults every enemy nearby. The player rolls the Exalt’s Martial Arts attack as normal and applies the result to all enemies within (5xEssence) feet of the martial artist. The attack does lethal damage. All persons witnessing the use of this Charm must make a reflexive Stamina + Resistance roll at difficulty 3 or be blinded and dazzled by it, suffering a -2 to all actions in the next round. This Charm is incompatible with armor.
Dancing the Unassailable Road</b>
<b>Cost:7 motes, 1 Willpower per turn Duration: One turn Type: Extra Action Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Stream-Polished Stone Deflection, Spreading Wings Strike
Just as creatures of the sky are beyond the reach of those bound to the earth, so is the Crane master beyond the reach of harm from lesser beings. Until the Exalt’s next action she has a free parry or dodge against all attacks directed at her with a number of automatic successes equal to her permanent Essence. In addition, the martial artist becomes as agile and swift as a thought - dipping, swaying and springing nimbly around her opponents in a deadly kata. The Exalt may move up to her full movement distance this turn and can make a number of martial arts attacks equal to her Martial Arts rating, but cannot attack any individual more than once per turn. Dancing the Unassailable Road requires constant movement - it cannot be used from a stationary position, such as while grappling. This Charm is incompatible with armor.
Comments
This is gonna sound really weird, but I'm the one who put this style together - my "lurker" handle on the Exalted Compendium (where this was lifted from) was ferryman. I've since extensively revised the Style. You can find the new version on my userpage here at the Wiki. -- teflonshugenja
