MartialArts/PressurePointsStyle
Pressure Points Style
By RipClaw
Charms
Knockback-Punch Technique</b>
<b>Cost: 3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Martial Arts: 2 Min. Essence: 1 Prereqs: None
The practitioner of the Pressure Points Style has first to learn how to manipulate kinetic force before she can go on to the more elaborate options of the style.
The opponent has to be struck palm first, what does no damage, but knocks her back one yard per point of raw damage.
Thereafter, she has to spend an action to extricate herself from whatever objects she was smashed through, as per the standard knockback rules, p. 235, core rules.
No high medicine rating is needed to use this charm, because it relies more on force than on knowledge.
It has a wide area of use; it can push a prisoner into his cell, push someone out of the way of a stampede or just keep drunks off you without havng to injure them.
Life-Flow-Percieving Exercise</b>
<b>Cost:3 motes, 1 willpower Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 1 Prereqs: Knockback-Punch Technique
The martial artist attunes himself to a opponent, percieving the flow of essence in her and locating the pressure points she knows already.
The next (6-Perception) turns she attunes herself and can't do anything else, nor can she be attuned to more than one being at once.
Because she can see the points she intends to hit easily, apply the results of charms of this tree as if she had had one more success.
Obviously this benefits only this style, as it is pointless to hit a special point on a person with an axe.
Silencing Strike</b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Life-Flow-Percieving Exercise
Having learned where to hit a being to affect its vocal cords, it is possible to silence it efficently.
Roll Dexterity+Martial Arts against difficulty 3. Substract defensive maneuvers normally, but instead of dealing damage the opponents is rendered unable to use its vocal cords for (successes x2) turns.
If not in dramatic time (a fight), this charm silences a being for scenes rather than turns, if the ST sees fit.
Clap of Silence</b>
<b>Cost:5+ motes Duration: Instant Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Silencing Strike
With but a slight touch it is possible to block someone's hearing completely.
To strike at the appropriate position, an attack roll with difficulty 3 is required. It deals no damage; it merely renders the victim unable to hear something for (successes x2) turns.
For every mote spend in addition to the costs, the difficulty of attempts to feel the touch is increased by one, to a maximum of the martial artist's permanent Essence.
Obviously this charm has many uses, it can assure that someone robbed will not wake, a guard will not hear the thief, or simply distract someone a couple of turns in a duel.
Tissue-Ripping Blow</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Life-Flow-Percieving Exercise
With a simple punch or kick, the martial artist imbues the opponent's tissue with energy. This energy is set free in a destructive manner when the victim strains his body the next time. Thus someone fighting the martial artist will think twice to continue standing against her or just leave her be.
In game terms, the victim takes (half opponent's permanent Essence rounded up) health levels bashing damage when he was struck successfully, and checks Dexterity the next time. This effect expires after (opponent's permanent Essence) turns.
Attacker-Disarming Technique</b>
<b>Cost:4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Tissue-Ripping Blow
The charackter is able to strike at the nerves of the weaponhand, causing the weapon to drop.
If the charackter blocks an attack completely, the attacker has to roll his permanent willpower score against a difficulty of the remaining successes from the block to see if she drops her weapon.
Attacker-Crippling Defense</b>
<b>Cost:6 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Tissue-Ripping Blow
The martial artist avoids the opponent's blows normally, and launches a counterattack with two dice per mote of essence spend to a maximum of half the charackters normal Dexterity+Martial Arts score. This attack inflicts no damage but causes the opponent to loose one die of all pools for every healthlevel he would have taken normally.
This effect expires at the rate of one die per hour of rest. There is no way to use this charm to attack someone; it is strictly for defense only.
Discouraging-Defense Method</b>
<b>Cost:6 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Attacker-Crippling Defense, Attacker-Disarming Technique
After avoiding the opponent's blows somehow the defender laughs mockingly and slaps her foe's face. Not only this guesture and the laughter, but also the infusion of essence to a certain point between cheek and ear, causes the victim to roll her Temperance against her Valor or loose one temporary Willpower per success missing to succeed the roll.
The attack per se, as usual, does no damage.
Interrupting the Essence-Flow</b>
<b>Cost:10 motes, 1 willpower Duration: Special Type: Special Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prereqs: Attacker-Crippling Defense, Clap of Silence
With the knowledge of the essence-flow in a person it is possible to mess it up.
The Life-Flow-Percieving Exercise charm has to be activated prior to this one.
With three strikes, it doesn't matter if the dicepool is split or they occur in three successive turns, the charackter limits the opponent's ability to spend essence.
Each strike must inflict at least three healthlevels of damage, which are not really inflicted but represent the precission needed. The charm is activated before the three strikes are attempted, and, if they fail, the opponent cannot spend more Essence per turn than his temporary Willpower rating.
This effect lasts for (target's permanent essence) scenes, because the higher the rating the more messed up, the longer it takes.
Gentle Death-Blow</b>
<b>Cost:15, 1 willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Min. Martial Arts: 6 Min. Essence: 6 Prereqs: Interrupting the Essence-Flow, Discouraging-Defense Method
With a quick blow to the head a martial artist is capable of killing someone instantly.
The charm Life-Flow-Percieving Exercise must be activated but gives no benefits. The punch has to be incredibly precise and be lightning-fast. The character must have 8 successes remaining after the defensive measures of his victim.
Thereafter the opponent has to roll Stamina+Resistence against the attacker's permanent essence, if she fails she simply collapses and dies quietly.
