MartialArts/RuthlessBackhandStyle

Version: 1.5 By: Swifty

Introduction

"I had never seen Dragon-Blooded act like that before. One week before they had proudly marched trough our village, heads held high, in the search for the Anathema. When they came back everything had changed. They were hunched like beggars and they didn’t even dare raise their eyes from the ground... they moved like whipped dogs. And in their midst stood the snickering Anathema, now the new master of his would-be assassins."

The practitioners of the Ruthless Backhand Style are greatly feared across Creation, and rightly so. Many a Dynast's nightmare has come true as he faced a master of this terrible style and suddenly found himself becoming the property of his worst enemy. This is the horrible art of the ruthless slave driver, the greedy pimp, the cold-hearted tyrant or the sadistic bully. It does not kill but compels the victims, not by magical mind control but rather by supernaturally breaking down their willpower and strength of mind and forcing them to serve their owner in whatever way he finds pleasing. It enforces loyalty trough brutality and fear, strips away victim's dignity and self-respect and finally turns them into shriveling wrecks, completely objectified and fully owned by the master

History

Despite the fact that almost all the slavers and pimps of Creation, as well as the practitioners of this style are male, the Ruthless Backhand Style was actually developed by a woman. Only a hundred years after the Contagion ended, a common street-whore known as Khalida exalted in the slums of Nexus and became a Chosen of Mars, though at the first glance she seemed more at home in the Cerulean Lute of Harmony. She never wore armour, only garments as revealing as they were exquisite and never carried a weapon. But behind her beautiful facade was a girl raped of her dignity with an insatiable lust for wealth and the good life. She quickly settled in Yu-Shan, now by the name of Flickering Carmine Rose. Among her duties were the task of hunting down the enemies of the Heavens, and seeing as she always had a knack for exploiting the situation, she created this style.

Also a skilled practicioner of the Vermeil Snare of Perfection Style and the way she used the two styles together made her a terrible enemy indeed. She quickly began populating her manor... with the very creatures she was sent to slay. Mortals, Gods, Elementals, Fair Folk, Demons, even Exalts, all those that broke the laws of the Heavens one time to many, they were all forced into servitude by their new mistress. She used them in whatever ways she pleased, exploited them ruthlessly as she sold their services, whichever they were, to her clients, whoever they were. They were her property. The irony of it all was that Flickering Rose herself once had been just like that...

Flickering Carmine Rose disappeared about 50 years ago during a mission in the Far East. Her manor is now almost empty, only a few of her slaves still so broken by her that they have not yet found the willpower to leave. What happened to her is still an unsolved mystery...

Some other infamous masters of this path include:

Autumn Jackal: A Lunar Full Moon known for kidnapping Terrestrials and selling them to the Fair Folk. What they pay him with is a mystery though.

xxx : A southern prince that murdered his entire kingdom including his own family in exchange for Abyssal Exaltation. His skin is jet-black and he wears a golden pharaoh's mask at all times.

Notes

This is a celestial style and it is incompatible with weapons and armour.

The charms of this style are made to work together, the real strength of the Ruthless Backhand Style is not really evident until the martial artist has mastered the whole tree and learnt how to effectively use it. It is not very useful for beginners or weak Exalted, but it's extremely devastating in the hands of a real master and more powerful Exalt (Essence 4+). This is exactly how I intended it.

The Ruthless Backhand Style has some serious strength as well as drawbacks. The first and foremost is that it's extremely offensive and does not increase the soak of the user. Nor has it any charms that would strengthen the user's parries or dodges. The Exalt has to rely on the enemies’ fear of him as only protection, which might or might not be enough. A good rule of thumb is that a practitioner is more than a match for most non-combat oriented Exalts but will be in deep trouble if faced by a pure warrior with lots of combat charms and protection.

And by the way... this is a bad, bad style. Its effects are inherently evil and it is not really suited for player characters at all. Well, unless you play the bad guys.

Remember that english is not my first language so feel free to correct spelling errors or change it if the text is written in a stupid way =)

Charms

Ruthless Merchant's Mien

Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Min. Martial Arts: 3
Min Essence: 2
Prereqs: None

The true pimp or slave driver can not make a living from breaking backs alone, he also needs to be a sophisticated merchant. Even when his demeanor is calm, maybe even friendly, the violent nature of this human predator is never completely hidden. The Exalt radiates an aura of silent menace and his voice reveals his ruthless ambition. He may add his MA score to a single bureaucracy roll.

Menacing Glance

Cost:2 motes
Duration:Instant
Type:Reflexive
Min. Martial Arts:3
Min Essence:2
Prereqs:Ruthless Merchant's Mien

Just a glance from the ruthless pimp's eyes is usually enough to make his lesser behave... or else. Without even uttering a word, he can show someone who is the boss and put him back in his place before he even has the chance to act up. His eyes display the pain and suffering he is capable of inflicting, which might just be enough to make the toughest think twice before crossing him. The victim subtracts the martial artist MA score from his next initiative roll.

This charm is also useful out of combat as it lets the martial artist make an intimidation roll without actually uttering any words, which can be useful when putting someone in their place without making any fuss. For instance, the martial artist is negotiating with a scavenger king about the price of some slaves when the king’s son, the prince, interrupts and starts shouting about how slavery is wrong. The Exalt quickly uses Menacing Glance to shut the prince up without verbally threatening him, thus without risking angering the king.

Overseer’s Authority

Cost: 4 motes
Duration:Instant
Type:Simple
Min. Martial Arts:4
Min Essence:3
Prereqs:Menacing Glance

Any practitioner of this style is used to barking orders and this charm turns his voice into a weapon, the commands issued by him almost impossible to resist.

Roll Manipulation + MA, difficulty the targets Willpower + permanent Essence. If the roll succeeds, the victim has to obey any command issued by the martial artist. The orders can only be a few words long, for example "attack your friend!" or "open the door!" and the effect lasts for the martial artists successes in turns. Any physical attack against the victim will end the effect.

The Exalt do not need to see the victim for this charm to work but he or she must be close enough to clearly hear every word. This charm is ineffective against targets with equal or higher Essence than the martial artist and is usually not very useful at all against other Exalts due to their high Willpower. However, it can still be extremely powerful if used correctly against mortals.

Vicious Assault Prana

Cost:2 motes
Duration:Instant
Type:Supplemental
Min. Martial Arts:3
Min Essence:2
Prereqs:Ruthless Merchant's Mien

A merchant seldom wants to damage any potential merchandise but every now and then a little brute force is called for. It’s simple, sometimes someone has to be put down so others know that they should do what is expected of them. This brutal attack lets the martial artist deal lethal damage with his bare hands and adds his Essence to both Accuracy and Damage.

Watering the Heart's Fire Methodology

Cost:2 motes
Duration:Instant
Type:Supplemental
Min. Martial Arts:3
Min Essence:2
Prereqs:Ruthless Merchant's Mien

The key to control is to make sure the victim is too afraid of the Exalt to act up. When someone tastes the pain he is capable of inflicting, they are sure to think twice before giving him another reason to hurt them.

The martial artist makes an ordinary MA attack. If any damage is inflicted, decrease the victim´s Valor by one, and reduce his initiative by one. This effect is cumulative, so several applications of this charm can very well make someone so afraid of the Exalt that he does not dare attacking him at all.

One lost initiative and Valor points will recover every day, but only as long as the victim has not lost any temporary Willpower. If so, then it has to wait for it´s Willpower to be restored before his courage can return.

Ruthless Backhand Style Form

Cost:5 motes
Duration:Scene
Type:Simple
Min. Martial Arts:5
Min Essence:3
Prereqs:Menacing Glance

The martial artist takes a deep breath and proudly stretches his back, his head held high to oversee his property. His movements are proud and arrogant, he walks like a rooster among hens. He might take the role of the cruel overseer, standing with a firm face at the center of his herd ready to punish any slackers. He may also be the cunning yet brutal street-pimp moving thru the city like a peacock, always with a purse full of gold and a smug sneer to match.

The form has three separate effects; it lets the martial artist add his permanent Essence to his Strength, Dexterity and Stamina.

Second, it makes him seem so impressive and untouchable that any close combat attack requires a successful Valor roll. A failure means that the assailant can’t bring himself to attack from fear of drawing the Exalt’s anger upon him. This roll is made before the attack roll and no actions are lost if it fails, the victim must simply decide to act differently, for instance defending or making ranged attacks.

No one wants to accidentally kill merchandise when he’s only teaching it a lesson in obedience. The third effect lets the Exalt deliver incredibly powerful, but still non-lethal blows. Even a slap to the cheek with an open palm may feel like a horse’s kick when coming from the martial artist. Whenever the martial artist deals bashing damage with a MA attack and soak is resolved, the victim uses the lower of his bashing or lethal soak.

Evaluation of Merchandise Technique

Cost:3 motes
Duration:Instant
Type:Reflexive
Min. Martial Arts:5
Min Essence:3
Prereqs:Ruthless Backhand Style Form

Like any other predator, the Exalt can quickly discern which prey is the easy picking, his keen eye always searching for the weak-minded and insecure. He stalks the city streets like a bird of prey bent to find more victims to exploit.

This charm lets the martial artist roll perception + MA, generating more information about the target for each success. First success gives him knowledge of the permanent Essence of the target. The second reveals permanent and temporary Willpower. The third reveals the targets Valor. The forth reveals his temporary essence pool and a fifth success reveals the target’s favored abilities.

Ruthless Exploitation of Weakness Prana

Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration:Instant
Type:Supplemental
Min. Martial Arts:5
Min Essence:3
Prereqs:Evaluation of Merchandise Technique

The martial artist strikes with supernatural insight and lands a forceful blow where he knows the target has the least protection. This attack deals bashing damage but can only be soaked using the targets stamina. It bypasses any armor, magical or mundane, and soak enhancing charms are also useless. Only charms that modify the targets stamina, for example Strength of Stone Technique apply.

This attack requires the Exalts full concentration and can not be put in a combo with other charms. But note that this is a supplemental charm so it may be used many times in the same turn.

Will-Sapping Treatment

Cost:3 motes
Duration:Instant
Type:Simple
Min. Martial Arts:5
Min Essence:3
Prereqs:Ruthless Backhand Style Form

No one is born a back-broken slave or pimped prostitute, they are shaped into it. Even the stoutest immaculate monk or proudest princess can be turned into possessions, it’s just a matter of treating them right. The principle is simple, if you hurt them enough, then sooner or later they will break… and once they do, they can be molded into whatever you like. This is generally made using branding irons and whips, but a practitioner of this style can supernaturally break someone’s will using his hands alone.

A successful hit on an attack roll allows the martial artist to roll the number of post-soak damage dice and reduce the victim’s temporary Willpower with one for every success, in addition to the ordinary bashing damage inflicted by this attack.

Sadistic Delight Approach

Cost:1 Willpower
Duration:Scene
Type:Simple
Min. Martial Arts:5
Min Essence:3
Prereqs:Will-Sapping Treatment

A few pimps or slave drivers are all about business, but most of them take perverse pleasure when a victim finally cracks, realizing that it is owned… a possession to be sold or lent as its master sees fit. They gain strength from it, like human leeches draining their victims of their dignity and self-respect. This is the trademark of the true bully, he strengthens himself as he weakens others.

When this charm is activated, the Exalt gains a temporary willpower for every willpower he causes someone to loose as well as a willpower point when he manages to successfully apply Watering the Heart's Fire Methodology. This may put the character's temporary Willpower rating above her permanent one (but not above ten), but excess points disappear at the rate of one per day, unless at least one point is spent during that day.

Choking the Spark of Resistance

Cost:4 motes
Duration:Instant
Type:Reflexive
Min. Martial Arts:5
Min Essence:3
Prereqs:Ruthless Backhand Style Form

The Exalt has to be wary at all times because the day will come when one of his lesser gather enough courage to rise up against him. Then he has to strike swiftly, before the damage is done so that his other underlings don’t dare to follow the first.

The martial artist may immediately make an attack at her full Dex + MA dice pool against anyone executing a hand-to-hand attack against him, adding his Essence in automatic successes. The roll is made after the roll to hit the martial artist but before damage is determined and the attacker's successes are subtracted from the martial artist's. If the counter attack is successful, apply damage as normal.

In addition to this, the attacker has to succeed on a Valor roll with difficulty the number of post-soak damage dice inflicted, or his attack is rendered completely harmless. He simply cowers in the crucial moment, just before he lands the blow and his action is wasted.

This charm is not an action and does not subtract from the martial artist’s dice pool or affect his action for the turn. He may make as many Snuffing the Spark of Resistance as he can afford to pay for but may not use it in response to another counter attack.

Violating Grasp Technique

Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower. 5 motes to maintain
Duration:Scene
Type:Simple
Min. Martial Arts:5
Min Essence:3
Prereqs:Ruthless Exploitation of Weakness Prana, Sadistic Delight Approach, Snuffing the Spark of Resistance

There are many ways to break someone’s will, some more sophisticated than others. The effect of this charm is as sophisticated as it is terrible, much more so than simple physical pain. The Exalt grabs hold of the victims most intimate parts, generally the face, groin or if the targets is a woman, her breasts, which requires an ordinary MA attack. It can be either blocked or dodged, but it doesn’t deal any damage. Instead, the martial artist makes a manipulation + MA roll and the victim makes a Valor + temporary Willpower roll. Subtract the victim’s successes from the martial artist’s.

If the Exalt wins, a terrible sense of violation begins to swell within the victim, a feeling of being brutally raped stripping him or her of any dignity and self-respect and instead replacing them with a overwhelming sense of shame as well as a deep fear of the martial artist. The psychic pain this charm causes is terrible indeed, to such a degree that few victims ever recover completely. The charm is usually accompanied by the martial artist spitting on the victim, and verbally degrading her in the worst possible way.

The victim will suffer a penalty to all actions that are hostile towards the martial artist equal to the number of successes, as well as loose a point of temporary Willpower. When the round ends, the Exalt may choose to maintain the charm for another round and paying another 5 motes. Neither the martial artist nor the victim may take any other action during the violation which ends only if the martial artist chooses so or if the victim either wins a contest or is attacked.

If the violation continues, time seems to slow down, seconds feel like minutes or even longer. The rest of the world seems to fade away leaving only the martial artist and his opponent. The victim will be full of revulsion at itself, feeling dirty and worthless, like an object to be used and abused. The martial artist and the victim make a new roll just like before, and any new successes are added to the penalty from the former roll, as well as the loss of yet another Willpower. This charm ends automatically after three rounds and it may not be used against target with a higher Essence than the martial artist. It may however be used against any being of reasonable intelligence (one dot or higher) including Gods, Fair Folk and demons, in fact anyone who can grasp the concept of dominance and shame. Only non-sentient things like automatons or truly alien beings are immune.

(Note that this is not an actual sexual rape, but an awful supernatural attack that targets the psyche of the victim, and the damage caused is similar to that of a rape. I am fully aware that some people might not like this charm, and if that’s the case simply remove it from your game… don’t use it unless you want to. )

The Infamous Gesture

Cost:15 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 Health level. Or 2 motes
Duration:Permanent
Type:Simple
Min. Martial Arts: 5
Min Essence:5
Prereqs:Violating Grasp Technique, Overseer’s Authority

This is the infamous pimp-slap… the simple, non-lethal blow that makes the whores behave, a reminder of who their bodies and minds really belong to. For the true pimp or slaver does not need to utilize his full strength every time his lesser act up, he displays his power once and then the victim is branded for life, like cattle. Once a victim has finally cracked, it does not take more than a small, seemingly harmless slap to crack it once more even after it has regained it’s strength. A reminder of what has been inflicted upon it, and what no doubt will happen to it again if it misbehaves.

This charm works in two different ways, depending on whether it’s applied for the first time or not. The first time the Exalt uses it he makes an ordinary MA attack that has to inflict at least one health level. For the charm to take effect, the victim needs to have lost ALL it's temporary Willpower, and is required to make a Valor roll. If the roll succeeds nothing happens, but if it fails the victim truly becomes the property of the martial artist. It is branded for life. The immediate effect is that it finally cracks, sinks to the ground begging the Exalt not to hurt it any more. It is unable to take any actions during the martial artist’s MA score in turns, not even defend itself. The true power of the charm however, does not become evident until long after the battle has ended.

The victim is now marked for life. In the case of some practitioners, an actual, physical mark appears somewhere on the victim’s body. It might be a scar or even a tattoo, Flickering Rose, for instance, left her victims with the image of a rose on their necks. The martial artist chooses it once he learns the charm and may not be changed once decided. The mark is permanent and cannot be removed, not even by supernatural means and will remain visible on the victim’s skin even if appearance-altering charms is used by the victim.

Once the charm has taken effect, the martial artist may spend 2 motes to use it again as a simple action. If the MA attack succeeds, immediately apply all the penalties previously imposed by Will-Sapping Treatment, Watering the Heart's Fire Methodology and Violating Grasp as if they were just used. This requires prior uses of these charms to be recorded. Also add any wound penalties caused by damage inflicted by the martial artist, even if the target is, in fact, unhurt. They will last only during this scene and do not stack with the penalties caused by any new wounds, only the highest counts. This also effectively causes the victim to instantly loose ALL temporary Willpower, and the target is no longer allowed to add his Willpower when resisting Overseer’s Authority.

The practical use for this is that the Exalt might beat someone into submission and then, a long time after the effects of the other charms have faded, suddenly raise his hand to once again force the victim to behave. Remember that the aim of this path is not to kill but to compel and enslave and this is how it’s done.

This charm lasts for one year and one day and not even magic can dispel the horrible effect. The only hope for release before the duration runs out is the death of the martial artist... which is near-impossible for one that's already been branded, especially since most users brand their slaves again when the duration is about to end.

Comments

I moved the old comments over here

Much like for the charms... hmmm for the valor-decreasing charm, why not name it "Watering the Heart's Fire Methodology"? ~ Haku

Thank you, it's a perfect name =). Any idea for the other unnamed charm? /Swifty

I'll need to think on it, but the mechanics for that charm isn't concise, might need to work on its mechanical text... ~ haku

Perhaps, it could be named "Taming the Rebellious Slave"? ~ haku

Swifty, would you please follow Wikiquette in future and avoid using spaces in page names? It makes organization much easier...DeathBySurfeit

Sorry, all this is still very new to me. I have changed it, Is it better now? /Swifty

Much better. Ta! ...DeathBySurfeit

Edited for spelling and minor grammar here and there. ~ haku

Thank you, I appreciate it /Swifty

A couple of points: 1) Terrestrials can, in fact, learn celestial styles. 2) Many of the post-form charms seem overpowered to me. Compare Sadistic Delight Approach, for example, to the pinnacle charm in the Violet Bier of Sorrows style, Conclusion-Pursing Approach. Anything that manipulates Willpower is usually a lot more powerful that it sounds, because Willpower is one of the few limits on the exalted. You mention, for example, that a practitioner of this style "will be in deep trouble if faced by a pure warrior with lots of combat charms and protection" but, in high level combat, completely the opposite is true, because the practitioner will almost completely control the combat-monkey's ability to perform Combos, while greatly easing his own ability to do so. - Wordman

As I stated above, I made the charms slightly more powerful to compensate for the styles lack of protection, die-adders and weapons. I did actually compare Sadistic Delight Approach to Conclusion-Pursing Approach when I designed it. But I made the style to excel at what it does, which is manipulating Willpower. It does not however, like Violet Bear of Sorrows Style, let the Exalt wield a Starmetal Daiklave and double his dice-pool during an entire scene. Remember that to drain the Willpower of a combat-monkey, you first have to hit him and then do enough damage AND then succeed on the charm’s roll. It is not as easy as it seems.

I think you do have a point however, but if something needs to be changed, I think its Will-Sapping Treatment. I changed it to a Simple charm, which greatly reduces its effectiveness. I also added a rule to Ruthless Exploitation of Weakness Prana so that it can’t be put in a combo to prevent it from being used together with Will-Sapping Treatment. What do you think of that?

One more thing though. I primarily designed this style for the antagonists, not the players. I don’t think I would allow my players to use it unless the player had a good reason to why. This style is a way for me to create dangerous foes for them and make the fights interesting. Thanks for the feedback, by the way /Swifty