MartialArts/CrimsonDreamStyle
Crimson Dream Style
By Jaime
Background
This style is compatible with armor and martial arts weapons.
Charms
Scarlet Phantom Method</b>
<b>Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: None
When this charm is invoked, a horrifying transformation takes place. Blood erupts from the character’s mouth and eyes to flow over and consolidate over her entire body, armor and weapons in a roiling mass of blood. Anatomical details (veins, nerves, muscles etc) become indiscernible and nothing can be gained from studying the character other then vague humanoid features. This effectively makes it much harder for opponents using crippling and paralyzing attacks to succeed; therefore the difficulty rating for such attacks is doubled. The character also becomes pre-naturally aware of the flow of blood in the veins within her opponents’ bodies within a radius equal to her Essence rating in yards. This increases the chances of success for any crippling or paralyzing attacks that she makes, adding a number of successes equal to her Permanent Essence rating to any such attack rolls.
Red Window Method</b>
<b>Cost:4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Scarlet Phantom Method
The character moves with fluid grace, striking with surgical precision. The character picks a part of her opponent’s body (arm, wrist, nerve, vein etc) and throws out her hand towards the targeted area and then glides away. Observers will note that the character didn’t touch the victim at all, but this is a false impression, for miniscule tendrils of congealed blood extend from the character’s fingers and latch onto the target’s flesh for the briefest of moments. The character wills the blood in her opponent’s body to do her bidding, effectively stopping or reversing blood-flow, bursting arteries and vessels etc. The character rolls her MA + Permanent Essence rating + whatever bonuses to attack. This attack can only be dodged. If successful, that part of the target’s body is rendered temporarily paralyzed or crippled (read unusable) for a number of turns equal to the character’s MA rating.
Scarlet Phantom Method must be activated prior to using this charm.
Red Rain Prana</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, +2 motes for each extra attack Duration: Instant Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Red Window Method
This works exactly like Red Window Method, but on multiple targets. The character moves in unpredictable patterns with fluid grace, the bloody shroud on her body roiling and whirling in tiny spirals, and then she stops moving with startling suddenness and the surface of the bloody shroud goes pre-naturally still. Miniscule tendrils extend from the character’s body, striking out with blinding speed, filling the air like tiny veins in all directions for a radius of the character’s Permanent Essence rating in yards, latching onto targeted body parts of all opponents within this radius. It costs 5 motes for the first attack and then an extra 2 motes for every extra attack after that. The character need not split her dice pool, but the character’s total dice pool is reduced by 1 each subsequent attack. For e.g. Withering Widow attacks Pleasant Blossom with her total dice pool, and then attacks Graceful Leopard with her dice pool reduced by 1, and then attacks Vengeful Wind with her dice pool reduced by 2, etc.
The character must have Scarlet Phantom Method activated prior to using this charm.
Bone Warder Method</b>
<b>Cost:8 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Red Rain Prana
When this charm is activated right before the character gets attacked, she may attempt to parry the attack with a bone spike that instantly extends from her palm. The stats for the spike are +1 Speed, +1 Accuracy, +0 Damage, +5 defense. If successful in parrying, she can counterattack once without penalty; she gets a +1 dice bonus for catching her opponent of guard, and her chances of crippling or paralyzing her opponent are increased by adding +1 success to her total number of successes for such an attempt (note: this bonus does not apply if her intent in counterattacking is not to cripple or paralyze).
Crimson Dream Prana</b>
<b>Cost:10 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prereqs: Bone Warder Method
One should tread lightly where a master of the Crimson Dream is concerned, for where she walks, blood flows freely. The rush of blood thunders in her ears and she exults in that sweet roar. Once this charm is activated, the character becomes completely impervious to blows intended to cripple or paralyze, shrugging off such attacks with a cold indifference. Her mastery of the ebb and flow of blood will keep her from bleeding to death for the rest of the scene, as her body will reflexively staunch any bleeding instantly.
Hundreds of tiny, vein-like tendrils of congealed blood protrude from her body, writhing in the air around her, searching and hungering to touch flesh. These extensions have a reach of the character’s Permanent Essence rating in feet, automatically attacking anyone who comes within this radius. The effects of being touched by these pseudo-veins is exactly like Red Window Method, but there are some key mechanical differences;
- 1) The PC reflexively rolls her attack dice pool (MA + Permanent Essence rating + bonuses) for each enemy to come into contact with the veins, but she does not have to split her dice pool for multiple attacks (unlike Red Rain Prana, there are no dice penalties). Again, this attack can only be dodged.
- 2) The pseudo-veins will attack any target body area that the PC designates before combat starts, this can be changed every turn if the character wishes. For e.g. In the first turn Withering Widow wills the tendrils to attack sword-arms only, and the next turn to paralyze legs only etc.
- 3) The paralyzing/crippling effects of the pseudo-veins last until the end of the scene.
Scarlet Phantom Method must be invoked prior to activating this charm.
