MartialArts/StaunchHeartStyle
Staunch Heart Style
By Moxiane
Background
The Staunch Heart style was created as a part of the Five-Fold Path to Perfection, a series of Martial Arts styles devised by one of the greatest Solar martial artists of the First Age. Based upon his perceptions of the virtue of Conviction, Staunch Heart style is more expressly combative that either the Clement Heart or Steady Heart styles, as well as having many Charms that greatly increase the user’s ability to endure and resist pain and hardship. The Staunch Heart style is classed as Celestial-level Martial Arts and can be taught to Dragon-Blooded with a similar training regime to that required for the Immaculate Dragon styles, but only Wood-Aspect Terrestrials can advance past the Form Charm, and their alignment ends with the Higher Form. A character may always channel his Conviction when using Charms from the Staunch Heart Style.
The Staunch Heart Style, as do many other martial arts styles, treats certain weapons as if they were barehanded attacks for the purposes of certain Charms. A character using these Charms may direct their magic through the weapon being used, if it is one of the style’s so-called signature weapons, which for the Staunch Heart style are tiger claws.
Charms
Without Pause or Rest Method
Cost: 8 motes Type: Simple Duration: 1 day Min. Martial Arts: 2 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: None
One of the first lessons that a student of the Staunch Heart style learns is to ignore the calls of his body and to subsist on his Essence and Conviction alone, going without food or rest for days on end. For the duration of this Charm the Exalted adds his Martial Arts to all Stamina + Endurance rolls made to resist fatigue and/or hunger, as well as adding it to the total of his Stamina + Endurance for determining how long he can walk or run. While the Exalted have superhuman endurance, even this has its limits and this Charm cannot be used for more consecutive days than the character has dots of permanent Essence.
Ignoring-the-Pain Meditation
Cost: 2 motes / penalty die Type: Reflexive Duration: 1 scene Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Without Pause or Rest Method
After learning to manage without sleep or sustenance the students of the Staunch Heart learn to ignore the knife-sharp sensations of physical pain, driving broken bodies and damaged limbs onwards through sheer will alone. Every two motes of Essence that the character spends on this Charm will negate one physical penalty die for the duration of the scene. Sources of eligible penalties are: inflicted wounds, Charms such as Crippling Pressure-Point Strike or Joint-Breaking Attack, and artefacts like the Lightning Torment Hatchets. This Charm cannot negate penalty dice due to drunkenness or fatigue.
Spirit-Driven Strike
Cost: 3 motes Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 2 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: None
By focussing on the Essence contained within his body a moment before striking his target, an acolyte of the Staunch Heart style can increase the force and accuracy of his blows noticeably with only a little effort. Using this Charm makes the Exalted’s barehanded attack inflict Lethal damage, and increases the base damage by his permanent Essence, as well as granting an extra die to his Dexterity + Martial Arts pool for the attack.
Defence-Bypassing Blow
Cost: 5 motes Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Spirit-Driven Strike
Students of the Staunch Heart style soon learn that walls can be broken and shields bypassed with the proper training and force of will, and this knowledge can be applied to his close combat techniques. Defence-Bypassing Blow increases the difficulty to parry the blow it enhances by the Exalted’s Conviction.
Staunch Heart Form
Cost: 6 motes Type: Simple Duration: 1 scene Min. Martial Arts: 4 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Ignoring the Pain Meditation, Defence-Bypassing Blow
Students of the Staunch Heart style learn to inure themselves to physical hardship and to not allow an enemy any chance to defend or resist their attacks, and this Charm is the first real step to mastering the secrets of the style. Once activated the Exalted’s skin and body are hardened with Essence, allowing the character to soak Lethal damage with his Bashing soak and granting the character extra -0 health levels equal to his Conviction. (These health levels are temporary & fade at the end of the scene. They may not be healed, and if the character is already wounded beyond the -0 level when activating this Charm then any dice-pool penalty remains. Finally although granted by a Charm if these health levels are removed due to an attack then any effects that depend on wounding the character, i.e.: soulsteel weapons draining motes of Essence, occur as normal.) Also, his barehanded attacks inflict Lethal damage. A character may have only one Martial Arts Form-type Charm active at a time, and activating any other immediately ends the effects of this one. The character must have a Conviction score of at least 3 to learn and use this Charm. This Charm is not compatible with the use of armour.
Conviction-Reinforcing Meditation
Cost: None Type: Special Duration: Permanent Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Staunch Heart Form
The character aligns his anima more closely than ever before with the virtue of Conviction, so much so that should he draw upon it he will receive a greater than usual benefit. Whenever the character channels a point of Willpower through the Virtue he will receive one more die than usual. This does not affect the number of times that the character may call upon his Conviction per story, only the number of dice he gains from doing so.
Defence-Rebuttal Prana
Cost: 4 motes Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Staunch Heart Form
A master of the Staunch Heart style will not allow something as simple as a foe’s defence stop him from striking the target, and if initially rebuffed will return stronger and more powerful, over and over, until he breaks through. The Exalted must use this Charm before a Dexterity + Martial Arts attack is rolled – if the attack is successful or the target dodges then the Charm does not discharge and the motes spent on it are wasted. If the target successfully parries the attack, i.e.: a parry action reduces successes on the attack to zero, then the character immediately attacks again, at his previous dice pool plus one. This cycle continues through the conditions given above, or until the character has attacked a number of times equal to his Conviction score. Although a Supplemental Charm if placed into a Combo it is treated as if it were an Extra Action Charm. A character may split his dice pool in the turn during which he activates this Charm.
Blow-Returning Technique
Cost: 7 motes Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Defence-Rebuttal Prana
By focussing on his own sense of determination and his refusal to go down without a fight, a Staunch Heart fighter can use the strength of those who attack him against them, internalising the damaging Essence and sending it back through a counterstroke. Upon being successfully attacked, but before damage is calculated and rolled, the Exalted counterattacks his opponent with a dice pool equal to his Martial Arts + Conviction plus the extra successes his opponent had on his attack. This Charm may not be used in response to any other counterattack Charm.
Damage-Refusing Stance
Cost: 1 mote per 2 points of soak Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 2 Prerequisites: Staunch Heart Form
The skin of a Staunch Heart stylist can become harder than the strongest stone, simply through the power of his determination to see his task through to the end, no matter the cost. Every mote spent on this Charm increases the Bashing and Lethal soak of the character by two points. This Charm is so hardened that soak bought through it will even negate Aggravated damage, although less efficiently – the purchased soak is halved when struck an attack this inimical. The character may spend no more than his Essence + Conviction in motes on any single activation of this Charm.
Malice of the Resolute
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 health level Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Defence-Rebuttal Prana, Damage-Refusing Stance
To stand against a Staunch Heart practitioner is to invite ruin upon yourself, for once he has set foot upon his chosen path he will allow no-one to hinder or prevent him from reaching his goal, and will use any available means to circumvent you. This Charm causes this steely-minded determination to manifest itself in the form of a vicious barehanded blow that sends vast quantities of damaging Essence into the target, causing the attack to inflict Aggravated damage on the target.
Approaching-the-Horizon Stride
Cost: 15 motes, 1 Willpower Type: Simple Duration: Varies Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prerequisites: Damage-Refusing Stance
The character submerges himself further into the nature of his Conviction, becoming capable of incredible feats of endurance when he deems them necessary for the furtherance of his goals. Once this Charm has been activated, the body of the Exalted is flooded with sustaining Essence, rendering him essentially immune to the privations of the flesh for as long as he chooses or is able to maintain it. The character automatically passes any Stamina + Endurance rolls required for fatigue, starvation, environmental depredations allowing him to operate at maximum pace without tiring. He also ignores all dice pool penalties from the sources that Ignoring-the-Pain Meditation negates. This Charm deadens the nerves noticeably, giving the character a -2 dice pool penalty to all actions requiring fine muscle control (including combat) for the Charm’s duration. This Charm can remain active safely for a number of days equal to the character’s Stamina + Conviction, but for every day beyond that point the character takes an unsoakable level of Bashing damage, however the pain-resistance of the Charm is such that the character may not realise he is in danger of collapse before it is too late – breaking this Charm requires a Willpower + Resistance roll with a difficulty equal to the character’s Conviction.
Staunch Heart Higher Form
Cost: 8 or 16 motes Type: Simple Duration: 1 scene Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisites: Malice of the Resolute, Approaching-the-Horizon Stride
The further secrets of the Staunch Heart style allow the character to further inure himself to pain, hardening both his body and mind to withstand all but the most unendurable agonies, while using his Essence to focus his blows making them harder for his opponent to defend against. With this Charm active the character adds his Martial Arts score to the accuracy of his barehanded attacks and to his Bashing and Lethal Soaks. Also, the character may ignore dice penalties equal to his Conviction – the penalties ignored can come from any source that Ignoring-the-Pain meditation can affect. As a Higher Form this Charm is expressly compatible with and requires the activation of Staunch Heart Form to be used itself (the greater cost in motes allows both Charms to be activated simultaneously). A character may have only one Higher Form Charm active at any time, and should he use another Higher Form or activate a different base Form, then it instantly replaces Staunch Heart Higher Form. A character must have a Conviction score of at least 4 to learn and use this Charm.
Certainty Fuels the Mind
Cost: None Type: Special Duration: Permanent Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisites: Staunch Heart Higher Form
By learning this Charm the character subtly alters his anima, allowing it to draw upon his conviction and strength of will, and bolstering his Essence pools when acting along the lines of the style. The activation cost of all Charms in the Staunch Heart style is reduced by the character’s Conviction.
Defence-Shattering Technique
Cost: 5 motes, 1 health level + special Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prerequisites: Staunch Heart Higher Form
Driving himself forward with the force of his Conviction, the Staunch Heart martial artist does will not allow an opponent’s defence to stop or even slow his fury, weapons held against his attacks explode into a thousand shards, and walls raised to stop him are simply blown asunder. If used in melee combat a barehanded attack enhanced with this Charm is considered unparryable. A weapon or shield not forged of the Five Magical Materials that is raised in defence against is simply shattered, and the Exalted’s attack continues unabated. A weapon constructed of the Five Magical Materials may be likewise destroyed, if the character pays 5 motes & 1 Willpower per level of Artefact that the weapon has (an Exalted may only affect weapons with an Artefact level equal to or less than his Conviction) – this destruction is not total, the weapon may be repaired given time, but it will be useless for the remainder of the fight. Also, any Hearthstones mounted in the destroyed weapon are shattered as a side-effect. Even if such a weapon is not destroyed, the attack still completely bypasses the attempted parry. The target may dodge this attack normally. If used against an inanimate object, such as a door or wall, the character makes his barehanded attack as normal, but the damage inflicted on the object is multiplied by the character’s Conviction before soak is applied. Regardless of the actual result of damage inflicted, the object struck is always rendered “Damaged” as a minimum – two blows enhanced with this Charm can blast through even the thickest castle walls.
Endless Resolution of the Mountain
Cost: 20 motes, 1 Willpower Type: Reflexive Duration: Varies Min. Martial Arts: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prerequisites: Defence-Shattering Technique
With the final Charm of the Staunch Heart style the Exalted can focuses his will into himself, allowing his Conviction to both drive and shield him for as long as he cares to maintain it, becoming as harsh and unyielding as the mountain. For the duration of the Charm the character ignores reduces the successes of all damage rolls against him by his Conviction – only the remainder may be applied to his health levels. If this effect reduces damage inflicted against him to zero then it is as if the blow was never struck for the purposes of effects that depend on that, i.e.: soulsteel weapons draining motes of Essence. This Charm lasts for a minimum of turns equal to the character’s Conviction, after which it may be deactivated at the end of each following turn. After the Charm has been switched off the character suffers levels of Lethal damage equal to the total number of turns that the Charm was active. A character must have a Conviction score of at least 5 to learn and use this Charm. As one of the pinnacle Charms of the Five-Fold Path to Perfection, Endless Resolution of the Mountain also grants an additional ability to the character who masters its secrets. This ability is a natural function of the knowledge of the Charm, and consumes no Essence to use, instead it may be used a number of times per day equal to the Exalted’s permanent Essence. The character can harden the skin and minds of a number of mortals equal to his Conviction x Essence, increasing their effective permanent Willpower by one and increasing their natural soak by +2L/+4B – once per day. This ability requires a 10 minute ritual to use.
