MartialArts/DriftingLotusStyle
Drifting Lotus Style
By LeumasWhite.
Background
This style was invented a bare century ago, by the Silver Prince, who rules over the Skullstone Archipelago. Observing the resplendant burning lotus that often followed his ships into harbour, he designed this style to copy their Essence-stealing techniques, and to take it one step further by allowing him to drain life as well. Only a few of his deathknights know it, as while it is an excellent style to supplement a primary combat method, it is poor offensively, and the Abyssals often desire more direct means of murder.
This style's weapon is the katar, wielded in pairs, though the blades are often blunted to prevent too much damage (a dead foe is an Essence-less foe, after all). This style is incompatible with armor.
Charms
Blood-Sea Hunting
Cost: 4 motes Duration: One scene Type: Reflexive Min. Ability: 2 Min Essence: 2 Prereqs: None
The lotus races across the waves, disregarding the ocean beneath it as it hunts. Focusing intently, it can sense the presence of powerful beings from many miles away, locating them with uncanny skill. While this charm is active, the character suffers no penalties for poor footing. Also, her ability to sense Essence is amplified at will; she may sense anima banners as if they were one level higher (or at the 1-3 level if no anima is visible), and gains one extra success on any roll to locate a being with an Essence pool. She takes the normal -2 success penalty for blindness when this sense is used (except, of course with regards to Essence displays), and switching between them takes an unrolled action.
Red Foam Haze
Cost: 2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Ability: 3 Min Essence: 2 Prereqs: Blood-Sea Hunting
With a cool caress, the target is drawn into an indistinct vision, dulling his perception of the world outside his mind. On a successful hit, the target reduces both his wound penalties and his Awareness by the martial artist's Essence, and takes the usual -2 penalty on Awareness rolls if the ability is reduced to 0.
Sliding Wave Intervention
Cost: 3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Ability: 4 Min Essence: 2 Prereqs: Red Foam Haze
The rolling of the open sea adds unexpected momentum to the lotus' movements, turning a simple evasion into a lengthy glide, or a gentle parry into a sword-turning blow. This Charm doubles the successes of any parry or dodge action taken by the character, unless the attacker makes a successful Wits + Awareness roll at a difficulty of the character's Essence.
Drifting Lotus Form
Cost: 6 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Ability: 4 Min Essence: 3 Prereqs: Sliding Wave Intervention
The Exalt takes on the stance of the resplendent burning lotus; arms held delicately as she drifts between her victims, wreathed in a haze of crimson Essence. While this Charm is active, the character's movement rate is halved, and she may not sprint, but all attacks against her are at a difficulty of her Martial Arts. In addition, she drains her Essence in motes on any successful attack, and adds them to her own Essence pool (she need not inflict damage). Characters cannot use more than one Martial Arts Form-type charm at a time, and this Charm may not be activated while the character is wearing armor.
Veiled-By-Breakers Offensive
Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Extra Action Min. Ability: 4 Min Essence: 3 Prereqs: Drifting Lotus Form
Rising with surprising swiftness, as if cresting a sudden wave, the character releases brilliant tendrils of Essence in all directions, curling around her opponent's weapons to strike their hearts directly. She makes a number of unarmed attacks equal to her Essence, at a range of up to her Martial Arts x 5 in yards. Opponents targeted by this must roll Wits + Awareness at a difficulty of her Essence to defend without Charms.
Scarlet Suffusion
Cost: 1 health level per Essence motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Ability: 4 Min Essence: 3 Prereqs: Drifting Lotus Form
Glowing with her own life-force, the lotus prepares for its hunt. For every health level spent activating this charm, she regains her Essence in motes.
Muted Mist Rejuvenation
Cost: 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Min. Ability: 5 Min Essence: 3 Prereqs: Scarlet Suffusion
With an outstretched tendril, the lotus strikes. A cloud of blood blossoms from the point of impact, and seals itself around the lotus' injuries; the Essence stolen used not for sating her hunger, but for healing her wounds. The character makes an attack; if this attack hits, she may convert one lethal health level into bashing for every mote she would have regained, whether through use of the Drifting Lotus Form or other techniques.
Life-Draining Release
Cost: 8 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Ability: 5 Min Essence: 3 Prereqs: Muted Mist Rejuvenation
The lotus drains the last of its victim, releasing its embrace and savouring the final morsels, pleasantly dazed. This charm supplements a clinch; if she wins, for every level of damage she inflicts, she may heal one of her own bashing health levels. The character suffers a -2 penalty from the bliss of this technique, for a number of turns equal to the number of health levels healed.
Silent Sea, Deadly Search
Cost: 7 motes Duration: Special Type: Supplemental Min. Ability: 4 Min Essence: 3 Prereqs: Drifting Lotus Form
The storm passes, and the ship is lost. In the wake of the disaster, a silence descends, and through the maze of broken wood, the lotus roams. Though it may not see the survivors, it knows they are there, and it will find them. This is its home, and though the victims may try to escape, whenever they tire, the lotus will be there.
This charm supplements an attack. If it hits, the character has connected herself to her victim; whenever her opponent moves, she may move the same distance towards him as a reflexive action, even if she would not normally be able to move that distance. This is specifically exempt from the speed-reducing effect of the Drifting Lotus Form.
Using this Charm effectively negates any hopping defence the target may use, and as long as the motes for the Charm remain committed, she gains his Essence in dice to all attacks against him. If the character uses some form of travel that does not require motion (certain teleportation effects, for example), or if the martial artist is restrained, the Charm is broken, and must be reapplied.
Strength of Desire
Cost: 5 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Ability: 5 Min Essence: 3 Prereqs: Silent Sea, Deadly Search
Sensing power, the lotus' grip becomes like iron, breaking its victim down to a manageable level before draining it dry. This Charm supplements a clinch. When activated, the character adds a number of dice to her Martial Arts pool for maintaining the clinch equal to half the number of motes her opponent has committed to artifacts or Charms. She may not add more dice than the relevant Attribute + her Martial Arts score.
Seeking-Heart Strike
Cost: 5 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Ability: 5 Min Essence: 4 Prereqs: Strength of Desire
With impossible grace, the martial artist strikes to the heart, her own beating faster as her hand approaches the vital area. The victim's motions are irrelevant, pointless shadows swirling around a delicious red core. The pulse of Essence moving only causes her blow to fall harder.
This charm supplements an attack; for every mote the opponent has gained or lost so far this turn (that is, the difference between her current pool and the pool she had when initiative was rolled), reduce her first defensive pool by the martial artist's Essence.
Crimson Life Whirlpool
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One scene Type: Reflexive Min. Ability: 5 Min Essence: 4 Prereqs: Veiled-By-Breakers Offensive, Life-Draining Release, Seeking-Heart Strike
Drops of blood turn to red mist as they leak from the lotus' victims, and it dances between them on the stormy sea, hungrily drinking it down. It sits in the center of a crimson whirlpool, growing in strength while its victims die.
The character receives one mote each turn for every health level of damage she has inflicted this scene. These motes are drawn first from the target's Essence pools. If her pools are empty, then the martial artist takes her share from any motes the target may regain that turn, from stunts or other means.
Comments
Cool style, with some interesting visuals (I hope they continue all the way through when the rest of the flavour text is finished); I can see a lot of Abyssals wanting to get their hands on some of the techniques in here. As for mechanical stuff, how does Veiled-By-Breakers Offensive work when maintaining clinches in following turns? What if you miss a couple of the people you were trying to clinch, or wanted to clinch less people than you had attacks - where do those left-over attacks go? Also, Seeking-Heart Strike... damn, that's really powerful, if I'm reading it right. Could stand to have the cost buffed up. Still, spiffy overall. I like the movement reduction in the Form. - DeadManSeven
For VBBO, I imagine you maintain as many clinches as you feel like, and spend the rest of the attacks, you know, attacking. I may stick Seeking-Heart up to Ess 4, and boost it to 5 or 6 motes. - LeumasWhite
Eh, I'll just remove the clinching part of VBBO; makes things too complex. Seeking-Heart goes to Ess 4, and 5 motes. - LeumasWhite
