MartialArts/DreamingPearlCourtesanStyle2
Justification
I love some of the ideas behind Dreaming Pearl Courtesan. However, it seems to me that the style suffers from a severe lack of focus. It's trying to be both a courtesan style and a dream style at the same time, and it just doesn't work. Furthermore, several of the charms are just not well-designed. Lethal Paper Fan Attack, if used for its nominal purpose of fighting with props, is horribly ineffective. Resplendent Sash Grapple is apparently useless unless used in a Combo with LPFT while in the style's form. And finally, the flying gazellefish is just weird. Accordingly, I'm dropping the dream aspects, including the gazellefish, and focusing on the courtesan aspect.
As a personal matter, I strongly dislike non-combat MA charms, so I've tried to make this style as combat-oriented as possible. Some people argue that a courtesan's style shouldn't be as strong in combat as styles like Tiger or Endings. I say pshaw to this; if someone wishes to play a courtesan with less fighting skill and more social tricks, they can do so perfectly well by spending fewer points on Martial Arts and more on Socialize. The Socialize Charm requirements of DPCS style help enforce this a little.
Speaking of which, I've restored the MA-universality of the style by changing the Socialize requirements to a simple number of charms, instead of specific Solar charms. I'm not sure what to do about Lunars.
Weapons and Armor
Charms in the Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style treat attacks made with a fan, sash, cape or whip as unarmed attacks. Practitioners of this martial style have also been known to use the long flowing sleves of monk's robes as well as the intricate hem of a ball gown's train to equal effect. Simple practice of this martial art does not make props combat worthy. Fans and similar props that have been strengthened for battle use the stats for wind-fire wheels. Sashes, capes, and whips used in this style are weighted and use the stats for the fighting chain. These stats can be found on page 212 of the E: Players Guide. Detecting such weapons is relatively easy – a difficulty 1 Perception + Investigation roll while directly examining the item or a difficult 3 Perception + Awareness roll while looking the character over in general.
The Charm Lethal Paper Fan Attack allows characters to use frail props as weapons.
Characters cannot use this style while wearing armor.
Charms
This revision is still very much in progress. Charms mentioned are identical to the printed version in all respects not otherwise described.
Demure Carp Feint:
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prereqs: None
Those opposing the character who are trying to strike her, must add her Essence score to thier difficulty when making an attack.
Lethal Paper Fan Attack:
Cost: 1 or 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prereqs: Demure Carp Feint
For the cost of 1 mote, the character may treat all paper fans and other similar props such as brushes and mirrors as wind-fire wheels, All sashes, long hems, sleeves and so on can be treated as fighting chains. The damage inflicted with these weapons is lethal. This does not change the appearance or feel of the item in any way.
If the character uses a fan or other accoutrement or weapon properly constructed for use in the martial arts, the character may spend 3 motes to increase the accuracy, parry, speed, or damage bonus (pick only one) of her weapon by her permanent Essence score for the duration of the Charm.
Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form:
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prereqs: Lethal Paper Fan Attack, one Socialize Charm
Upon activation of the Charm, the character gains all the benefits of Lethal Paper Fan Attack, plus: She can control one prop per dot of her permanent Essence score. In addition, the controlled props instantly move to block attacks; the character may add her Essence in dice to all parry rolls, or reflexively parry attacks she is aware of with just her Essence. Which props are active must be decided before the activation of this Charm. If the character wishes to add or change a prop, she must drop the present invocation of this form, and reactivate it at the beginning of the next turn.
Objects the character wishes to command must be on her person or worn by her at the time of Charm activation. Also, she cannot make an attack with these props unless she is manually controlling them. To do so and leave her hands free requires Flurry of August Leaves Concentration Charm. Characters cannot use more than one Form-type Charm at a time.
Flurry of August Leaves Concentration:
Cost: 2 motes per weapon
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 2
Prereqs: Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form
If this Charm is activated while the character is using the Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form, she may command up to the number of props allowed by that Charm to make multiple attacks against one target. This Charm allows the character to strike a target up to (Martial Arts x 5) yards away.
The character makes a single attack with her Martial Arts pool, as usual, regardless of how many weapons she is controlling. Successes from the roll are applied to all weapons, and the damage is determined using her strength as if it were a normal Martial Arts attack. This attack can be parried or dodged like a normal Martial Arts attack, and the target's player need only make one roll for his character to parry or dodge this effect. Botched attacks can result in broken or lost props or injury to the martial artist who cast them. She must pay the cost of this Charm for each prop she wishes to command. Props in the grip of the Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form are considered explicitly “in-hand”, for the purposes of this Charm.
Resplendent Sash Grapple Technique:
Cost: 2 motes per weapon
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 2
Prereqs: Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form
After successfully dodging or otherwise negating an enemy's attack, the character may make a reflexive Dexterity + Martial Arts roll to have her character's skirt, cloak, or flowing sleeves move to snare her opponent's weapon or fist.
The character must score as many successes as her opponent did on his attack to make a successful grapple. The defender may evade this only with Charms or by splitting his dice pool. If her opponent is using a weapon and the character scores successes equal to or higher than her opponent's melee, Martial Arts or Brawl score, the character has the option of disarming the target rather than clinching him.
After successfully clinching her enemy, the character enters into a resisted roll against her opponent using her Dexterity + Martial Arts dice pool. The rules for clinching still apply. If the character is using the Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form when this Charm is activated, she may make as many of these reflexive grapples as allowed by that form Charm. The cost of this Charm must be spent for each reflexive grapple the character the character wishes to make.
Fragrant Petal Fascination Kata:
Cost: 10 motes, 1wp
Duration: One Scene / Special
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prereqs: Flurry of August Leaves Concentration
Each turn, the user may protect a number of characters up to her Charisma. All unprotected characters within (user's Essence x 5) yards suffer a dice penalty to all rolls equal to 6 - their Temperance. This effect lasts for a scene. Additionally, the character may choose to continue the dance. This consumes her entire action each turn, and requires 1 Willpower every four turns to maintain. If she does so, all beings within range with Willpower less than her Essence are overcome with a pleasant stupor and drift into sleep. This sleep lasts for four turns after the character stops dancing.
Vindictive Concubine's Pillow-Book Understanding:
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prereqs: Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form, two Socialize charms
Subtract (user's Socialize) dice from all defense rolls made against one attack.
Fallen Blossom Rebuke Prana
Cost: 10 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prereqs: Vindictive Concubine's Pillow-Book Understanding, two Socialize Charms
As flowers fall from their branches, so does the Courtesan send away those that wish her harm. Using this prana, the martial artist lands an attack, forcing her opponent to refuse to attack for a number of turns equal to her permenant Essence score.
Graceful Weaving of Heartstrings Method
Cost: 15 motes, 1wp
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prereqs: all DPCS charms, three Socialize charms (at least one which requires Essence 3+)
Each turn, all enemies within Essence x 10 yards must make a Conviction roll. If this roll is failed, they may not take any action against you this turn, but may defend themselves. Yet as they are taken in by the grace of the Courtesan, they may even rush to defend Martial Artist against other attackers, their heartstrings at the command of the practitioner (for x turns?). If the roll is botched, they may not take any offensive actions at all this turn.
Comments
what about Pearlescent Filligree Defense?- Little Rat
- Pearlescent Filigree is gone. I originally folded its effect into the form, but then I decided that the parry bonus was more appropriate. Filigree always annoyed me anyway, since it's described as strengthening your clothing but the soak counts as natural instead of armor. - NatalieD
- nods* I see. I have some name ideas for the other charms...And maybe some mechanics as well...-Little Rat (who needs an Exalted Wiki User name...)
