MartialArts/WhiteCraneStyle
Contents
White Crane Style
By Quendalon
Background
This is a highly defensive style; while it is capable of inflicting harm on others, its primary use is to protect oneself, making it popular among Sidereal astrologers and with Solars of the Twilight and Eclipse Castes. The signature weapons of the White Crane style are the slashing sword and the jian (a slim straight sword like the Green Destiny from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that is mechanically equivalent to the slashing sword), which may be wielded singly or paired.
Charms
Poised-for-Flight Attitude </b>
<b>Cost: 2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 2 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: None
Practitioners of the White Crane style cultivate an enhanced awareness of their surroundings. By invoking this Charm, the character may add her Martial Arts score to a single Awareness roll to spot an ambush or some other imminent danger. If the Awareness roll succeeds and a combat immediately ensues, the character adds all of her successes on the Awareness roll to her initiative total for the first round of combat.
Crane Dances Through the Reeds </b>
<b>Cost:2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Poised-for-Flight Attitude
The character moves in concert with the surrounding Essence, flowing away from that which would do her harm. By invoking this Charm, she adds a number of dice equal to her permanent Essence score to a single dodge or parry attempt. This Charm is incompatible with the use of armor.
Ear-Boxing Technique</b>
<b>Cost:2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Crane Dances Through the Reeds
With this Charm, the character clouts her opponent’s ears with a deafening open palm strike. The character makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack as normal. If the attack hits, the target takes a single automatic level of bashing damage and subtracts her Stamina + Resistance from the attack's successes. If any successes remain, the attack stuns and deafens the target for the duration of the scene. A stunned character suffers a -2 penalty to all dice pools.
White Crane Form </b>
<b>Cost:6 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Ear-Boxing Technique
The character adopts the posture and bearing of the crane - graceful and upright, yet always mindful of danger. She adds her Martial Arts score to all of her dodges. These additional dice may not be used to initiate a reflexive dodge action, although they do add to reflexive dodges raised by other Charms. The character also adds her permanent Essence score to her initiative total and as bonus dice to all Athletics pools to retain her footing, and suffers no penalties to her dice pools from standing in mud or water up to waist deep. White Crane Form is incompatible with the use of armor. A character may not use more than one Martial Arts form-type charm at a time.
Seize the Dragonfly </b>
<b>Cost:2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Crane Form
The character may snatch an arrow from the air as easily as the crane devours a flying insect. By invoking this Charm when she is the target of a physical projectile no larger than a spear, the character may immediately attempt to parry it, even while unarmed, using her full Dexterity + Martial Arts dice pool. If she successfully blocks a projectile with an unarmed parry, she may catch the weapon and have it ready for immediate use.
Plumage of White Jade </b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: One scene Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Seize the Dragonfly
White radiance swirls across the character’s skin, turning arrows aside as easily as a crane’s feathers shed the rain. For the remainder of the scene, the character may parry ranged attacks without a stunt, even unarmed, and adds her permanent Essence score to her bashing and lethal soak against all ranged attacks. Even magical or elemental attacks with no physical component may be turned aside using the Plumage of White Jade.
Feather Skims the Waters</b>
<b>Cost:2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Crane Form
As the gliding crane moves along the interface between air and water as she skims the surface of lake or stream, the character’s blow slips between an opponent’s feet and the ground, knocking the foe sprawling. When used with a successful sweep attack, the difficulty of the opponent’s reflexive Dexterity + Athletics roll to remain standing equals the White Crane stylist’s Martial Arts score.
Strike Upon the Stones </b>
<b>Cost:4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Feather Skims the Waters
As the crane pounds a snail upon a rock to crack its shell and get to the meat within, so may the disciple of the Crane lash out at a prone foe. Whenever the character knocks an opponent down, she may attempt a normal attack against that opponent using her full Martial Arts + Dexterity dice pool. This attack does not count as an action and does not subtract from the character’s dice pools or affect her actions for the turn.
Lofty Perch Stance </b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Crane Form
With this Charm, the character may take advantage of the swaying movements of unstable surfaces, using them to her advantage. For the remainder of the scene, the character may automatically retain her footing on narrow or unstable surfaces, and such surfaces do not impede her dodge attempts. In addition, she adds a number of bonus dice equal to her permanent Essence to all of her Dexterity dice pools whenever she is standing on, jumping onto, or jumping off of any swaying, rolling or otherwise moving surface.
Ride the Wind's Breath </b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Lofty Perch Stance
As the rising crane’s wings catch hold of the wind, so does the character seize hold of the flows of ambient Essence. She becomes as light as a feather until she touches the ground once more. The effect lasts but a moment, but it is enough to land safely from a fall of any distance.
The character drifts downward at walking speed, and while her arms must be free, she may use them to attack or take other actions while falling. For example, she may jump into the air, invoke this Charm at the apex of the jump, and fire arrows at her leisure as she drifts slowly downward toward her opponents. In addition, she may attempt to glide along with winds and updrafts; each turn she does so, she must reactivate the Charm and make a successful Dexterity + Athletics roll each turn at difficulty 2.
If used in combat in response to an opponent’s attack, the character adds her permanent Essence score to her bashing soak and cannot be knocked down by the attack. If knocked back, the character travels twice the indicated distance but takes no damage as a result.
Feathered Whirlwind Method </b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Plumage of White Jade, Ride the Wind’s Breath, Strike Upon the Stones
The character draws strength from an opponent’s Essence and turns that strength against the aggressor. When this character successfully parries or dodges a single attack, she may employ this Charm to attempt an immediate counterattack against the attacker using a number of dice equal to her Martial Arts + any extra successes on the dodge or parry. The counterattack may be a strike, throw or sweep.
Feathered Whirlwind Method may be used in conjunction with another Charm that allows the character to catch a thrown weapon; in this case, the character may throw the weapon back using a number of dice equal to her Thrown + any extra successes on the roll involved in catching the weapon.
This Charm is not an action, and does not subtract from the character’s dice pools or affect her actions for the turn. It may not be used in response to a Solar Counterattack or any other counterattack Charm.
Crane Awaits the Tiger </b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Feathered Whirlwind Method
With this Charm, the disciple of the Crane style scrutinizes the ebb and flow of her opponent’s Essence, allowing her to anticipate and counter his every movement. The character chooses a single target when she activates this Charm. For the remainder of the scene, add a number of automatic successes equal to her permanent Essence score to all of her Martial Arts, Dodge and Awareness rolls for attacking, defending against, or perceiving the actions or intentions of the chosen target. These automatic successes may not be used to initiate a reflexive dodge or parry action. The character may reflexively spend 1 Willpower at any time to change the target of this Charm.
The Faultless Heavenly Crane</b>
<b>Cost:10 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prereqs: Crane Awaits the Tiger
For an instant, the character brings mind and body into perfect harmony amidst a silent white cascade of Essence. The character may use this Charm when making a roll involving Dexterity, Perception or Wits to convert her entire dice pool into automatic successes.
