MartialArts/ResplendentCraneStyle
Resplendent Crane Style
In the First Age one of the most prominent and proud Martial Arts traditions was that of the Resplendent Crane. Masters of the style claimed that it stood pre-eminent among the Celestial Martial Arts while still remaining accessible to newer, younger Exalts. Even initiates in the school were said to be haughty and arrogant fighters, and there are many stories of rivalries between practitioners of this art and students of other styles who believed the Resplendent Cranes were overproud and ought to be brought down a peg or two.
While it is true that in the First Age, practitioners of this Style tended to be arrogant and look down on other styles, it was not an unfounded pride. Students of this style are exceptionally dangerous with their bare hands or with their preferred weapon, the humble staff. They are taught to be almost supernaturally aware of their surroundings, able to face a dozen opponents at once and defend against unseen attacks with aplomb. The style emphasizes maneuverability and tactical superiority over less-disciplined combatants and teaches techniques that turn an opponent’s strength against himself or his comrades. Chief among their achievements was the mental fortitude demonstrated by the advanced students in the style. Resplendent Crane Masters were said to be literally unkillable unless they wished it, and even the lesser practitioners were known to face their own deaths with unflinching stoicism, a reputation that earned admiration from even their staunchest rivals.
Armor and Weapons: Resplendent Crane Martial Artists wielding staves are considered unarmed for the purposes of all Charms in this Style. Upon achieving a sufficient mastery of the Art (represented by learning the Form Charm), the Resplendent Crane practitioner may increase his weapon's Rate by 2 while wielding a staff. This is a Style bonus specific to Resplendent Crane Martial Arts. None of the Charms in this Style are compatible with armor unless explicitly stated (i.e. Wading in the Rushes Technique).
Wading in the Rushes Technique</b>
<b>Cost:2 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Martial Arts: 2 Minimum Essence: 1 Prerequisite Charms: None
Students of the Resplendent Crane are taught to be perpetually observant of their surroundings, and students of the school are renowned for their poise and calm under difficult circumstances. The martial artist may add her Essence to any Awareness roll to avoid being ambushed or surprised, or to retain her ability to defend against such an attack (see Exalted p. 238). This Charm is explicitly compatible with the use of armor.
Shedding Water Step</b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Martial Arts: 3 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Wading in the Rushes Technique
By infusing her anima with Essence, the martial artist may twist, turn and roll with a potentially lethal blow, greatly lessening the damage suffered by physical attacks – she sheds them like water rolls off a bird’s feathers. After being successfully attacked and after soak is applied, but before damage is rolled, the martial artist may roll her Martial Arts ability and reduce the damage of the attack by one per success. This can reduce the post-soak damage of an attack to zero, in which case the attack is considered to have failed.
Broken Ray-of-Light Technique</b>
<b>Cost:4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Martial Arts: 3 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Shedding Water Step
The martial artist moves with singular grace, employing irregular motions that are impossible to predict, like the refraction of light through rippling water. With this Charm, knowing the exact point at which the Resplendent Crane will strike is nigh-impossible, greatly hindering any defense against it. Any attempt to dodge or parry this attack has its difficulty raised by the martial artist’s permanent Essence.
Resplendent Crane Form</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Minimum Martial Arts: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Broken Ray-of-Light Technique
When a martial artist adopts this Form, his stance becomes aloof and his movements precise and calculated. He reads his opponents’ intentions in their every move and knows the patterns of their attacks before they are launched. Many opponents find the sublime confidence radiated by a Resplendent Crane maddening, yet they cannot deny the uncanny skill he demonstrates. Masters of this technique are capable of facing many opponents with stupefying ease.
While in this Form, the martial artist may defend against attacks whether she is aware of them or not, even those launched at her unprotected back, and can parry lethal attacks without risk even while unarmed. Also, the martial artist’s penalty for multiple actions is reduced by her permanent Essence rating, to a minimum of zero (no penalty).
A character may use only one Form-type Charm at any given time.
Stillness of the Empty Mind Meditation</b>
<b>Cost:6 motes Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Minimum Martial Arts: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Resplendent Crane Form
Mastery of the mind and mastery of the body are two of the core principles of martial arts, and vital for one who wishes to learn how to master his own Essence. The Resplendent Crane who uses this Charm distances himself from fear and pain, and assumes a greater control of his own body than mere mortals can ever achieve. For the rest of the scene, the martial artist’s unarmed attacks may do either lethal or bashing damage at his choice and he ignores wound penalties. His mental detachment also allows him to add his Essence rating to all rolls to resist mind-affecting magics and fear, mundane or otherwise.
Immaculate Pillar of Heaven Stance</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Until Broken Type: Simple Minimum Martial Arts: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Stillness of the Empty Mind Meditation
Resplendent Crane masters were often said to only fight when they wished to, and that unless they willed it, no opponent could so much as move against them. This Charm is the root of those legends. The martial artist must hold perfectly still and take no other action during his turn – not even to defend himself. Until his next action, anyone attempting to attack the character must make an opposed Willpower + Essence roll against the character. Failure means the martial artist’s Essence has overwhelmed the attacker, who cannot go through with the attack and will lose all remaining actions for the rest of his or her turn. Attackers who succeed on their roll have the difficulty to attack the Martial Artist increased by his Permanent Essence.
Wind-Tattered Cloud Technique</b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Martial Arts: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Resplendent Crane Form
By flowing with an attack rather than blocking it completely, the martial artist can redirect the force of the blow back at his attacker, sending them tumbling through the air or tangling them up in their own gear. Immediately after the Exalt successfully dodges or parries a hand-to-hand attack, he may activate this Charm. He makes a Desterity + Martial Arts roll and adds any extra successes from his parry as extra successes for this attack. The target of this Charm may dodge or parry as normal, but must either still have dice actions to do so or must use Charms to gain them. If the attack succeeds, the martial’s artist’s opponent suffers no damage but is knocked to the ground and fights as prone until he stands. If the martial artist scores more net successes than his opponent’s combined Wits + Athletics score, the opponent loses all actions for the remainder of the turn and automatically loses initiative next turn.
Stream-Polished Stone Deflection</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Martial Arts: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Wind-Tattered Cloud Technique
Just as a stone in a streambed divides the water, so do the attacks of the martial artist’s enemies flow over and around him at his direction. When he is the target of a physical attack the Exalt may make a reflexive Dexterity + Martial Arts roll with a number of automatic successes equal to his permanent Essence. If this roll equals or exceeds the attack roll, the Exalt not only avoids the attack but has the option to redirect it to any other individual within his Essence in yards. That individual is now the target of the attack, with as many successes as the martial artist rolled on the redirection. The martial artist cannot redirect an attack back at the attacker, nor can he redirect an attack that has already been redirected.
Riding the Tiger</b>
<b>Cost:6 motes Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Minimum Martial Arts: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Resplendent Crane Form
So named for it’s fantastic and dangerously reckless appearance, this Charm allows the martial artist to leap and glide through the air with dreamlike grace, alighting on the heads of his enemies or passing arrows. The smallest twig will support his weight and the sharpest spear will not harm his foot should he decide it makes a suitable perch. Mechanically, the character adds his Martial Arts score to his Athletics rating for the purposes of balance, leaps, tumbling and other feats of agility. Additionally, he doubles his per-turn movement rate while this Charm is in effect. Resplendent Cranes were infamous during the First Age for their death-defying acrobatics in the midst of pitched combat, ignoring the lesser warriors below them as they danced, untouched, above the fray.
One Thousand Raindrops Strike</b>
<b>Cost:8 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Extra Action Minimum Martial Arts: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Riding the Tiger
During the First Age, adherents of the Resplendent Crane art were feared for this technique, which allows them to unleash a flurry of blindingly fast attacks on their opponent, often leaving them battered or dead. The character makes a Martial Arts attack as normal. Additionally, if the first strike is successful it knocks the opponent off-balance, allowing a second strike to be immediately made against the same target. Should the second attack connect, a third may be made, etc. up to a maximum number of total attacks equal to the character’s Martial Arts score. Additionally, each sequential attack after the first adds the attack successes of the previous attack before defensive actions are applied to its raw damage. Thus, if the Exalt rolled six successes on the first attack and the target rolled four successes on their dodge, the Exalt would still add the full six dice to the raw damage of the second attack.
White Crane Spreads Its Wings</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Martial Arts: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Immaculate Pillar of Heaven Stance, One Thousand Raindrops Strike
With the grace and majesty of a crane taking flight, the Exalted leaps into the air coiling and twisting, Essence flaring about him, before lashing out in a breathtaking display of power as his anima assaults every enemy nearby. The player rolls the Exalt’s Martial Arts attack as normal and applies the result to all enemies within (5xEssence) feet of the martial artist. All persons witnessing the use of this Charm must make a reflexive Stamina + Resistance roll at difficulty 3 or be blinded and dazzled by it, suffering a –2 to all actions in the next round.
Dancing the Unassailable Road</b>
<b>Cost:7 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One turn Type: Extra Action Minimum Martial Arts: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Stream-Polished Stone Deflection, White Crane Spreads It’s Wings
Just as creatures of the sky are beyond the reach of those bound to the earth, so is the Resplendent Crane master beyond the reach of harm from lesser beings. Until the Exalt’s next initiative she has a free parry or dodge against all attacks directed at her with a number of automatic successes equal to her permanent Essence. In addition, the martial artist becomes as agile and swift as a thought – dipping, swaying and springing nimbly around her opponents in a deadly kata. The Exalt can make a number of martial arts attacks equal to her Martial Arts rating, but cannot attack any individual more than once per turn. Dancing the Unassailable Road requires constant movement – it cannot be used from a stationary position, such as while grappling. This Charm can explicitly be placed in a Combo as normal despite its non-Instant duration, and can be activated reflexively upon being attacked in order to benefit from the passive defense it provides.
Comments
After the PG came out my conception of what a Martial Art Style is capable of and how it ought to be designed changed somewhat. I'm a lot happier with this update to it. -- teflonshugenja
mega-love for RCS -- Lottelita
Quick question on Stillness of the Empty Mind -- it doesn't REALLY let me do Lethal with my staff ... does it? -- Lottelita
- Yes, it really does. So if you just gotta cave someone's head in with your broomstick, there ya go. -- teflonshugenja
About Wading in the Rushes Technique... you are aware that this is a vastly inferior variant of the very first Charm in the Air Dragon Immaculate tree, right? That said, I like this one better - I don´t really have much patience for first-tier MA Charms that trumps the entire Solar Awareness tree. - Argent
- Well, first off I wasn't designing this Style with the Immaculate Paths in mind...I have my own issues with how some of the older canon Martial Arts were designed, and with regards to a single first-tier Charm rendering the entire cascade of another Ability irrelevant, I dislike it as well. That said, I disagree with your evaluation of Wading-in-the-Rushes as vastly inferior. Air Dragon's Sight is a Simple scene-long, which means you have to have activated it in advance to get any benefit out of it. When you think about it, that's not very useful for a Charm that's supposed to prevent you from being ambushed - if you knew it was gonna happen, you wouldn't need the Charm, yes? Wading-in-the-Rushes is Reflexive and specifically aids in spotting an ambush or surprise attack you didn't know was going to happen. The secondary awareness ability is intended to be inferior to the benefits that a dedicated Awareness Charm provides, because a first-tier Martial Arts Charm shouldn't be better than that. -- teflonshugenja
