MartialArts/VermillionSpiderStyle

Vermillion Spider Style

by FourWillowsWeeping

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No one can stand against a Vermillion Spider master! They are fleet-footed warriors, and not a man can find the strength to oppose them!

About This Style

The Vermillion Spider Style was designed as a stepping-stone to the Charcoal March of Spiders, intended for Solars and other students who would not be learning more than one Sidereal-rank form. As such, it's designed specifically to interlock with that Style.

Some of these Charms are designed with Essence ping and Essence dodge in mind. It should be clear how you would convert to non-PC Charm mechanics with approximately equivalent effects, and which Charms need the alteration. Simply add the PC mechanic as part of the Charm's effects! I don't really recommend this, though; it will make the Charms slightly undercosted, and in one case it mucks with timing.

Weapons & Armour

This Style uses the seven-section staff and knife.

The Charms

Student Techniques

Dire Guise

Cost: 2 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 2

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: None

The attacker must spend one Willpower point, or his attack automatically fails, unless his permanent Willpower is more than twice the martial artist's Essence. If it is, then he does not need to spend Willpower. Further, the martial artist doubles his Essence for the purposes of dodges he makes against the attack, regardless of his assailant's Willpower.

Dark Secret Love

Cost: 2 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 3

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: None

The martial artist learns, with this Charm, to express his love with anger and cruelty. Like that of an abusive lover, his attack has a final, hurtful flourish. He may activate this Charm after rolling the damage of an unarmed Martial Arts attack; he reduces its damage by 1 HL and causes the victim to lose 1 Willpower. This Charm can only be used once per attack.

The Form

Vermillion Spider Form

Cost: 5 motes

Duration: One Scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Martial Arts: 4

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: Dire Guise, Dark Secret Love

The adept assumes the unobtrusive posture of the hunting spider who dwells in the heart of a rose. He awaits the opportunity to attack! In the place of his normal move for the turn, the adept may instead advance his Dexterity in yards with the first few unarmed Martial Arts attacks he makes, two per dot of his Essence. In addition, his unarmed Martial Arts attacks scatter motes; whenever a being suffers Health Levels of damage from his attacks, that being loses motes of Essence equal to the martial artist's permanent Essence.

This is a Martial Arts Form-type Charm, incompatible with others of its ilk, and incompatible with armour.

Mastery Techniques

Damask Heart Lash

Cost: 4 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 4

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Vermillion Spider Form

With this attack, the martial artist's fingertips turn deep red; he delivers an attack with his fingers fanned out, sweeping five lines of streaky redness through the air. He may activate this Charm after determining the success of an attack. This attack cannot be soaked; instead of dealing Health Levels of damage, the victim loses 2 motes of Essence per die of the damage pool. Roll the damage pool anyway; the martial artist gains 2 motes per success.

Ruby-Heart Countenance

Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower

Duration: One Scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Martial Arts: 4

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Vermillion Spider Form

With this Charm, the martial artist becomes a black silhouette, with a red light thrumming in his chest. As he moves and attacks, a red iridescence moves across his palms and the soles of his feet. While under the effect of this Charm, he adds 1 to the dice bonus of stunts. This also increases their mote reward but not their Willpower reward. Also, the martial artist's presence is so unsettling that it raises the difficulty of Valour rolls for anyone that can see him by 1.

Scattered Spider Dance

Cost: 4 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 4

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Vermillion Spider Form

The martial artist recedes from an attack, dodging it with his full Dexterity + Dodge pool. In addition, he may retreat up to his Essence in yards before the attack is rolled; if his assailant cannot follow, then his attack is made at a desperate reach, suffering a dice penalty equal to the adept's Essence for each yard that his pursuit falls short.

Cardinal Directions Crown

Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower

Duration: One Scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Martial Arts: 5

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Damask Heart Lash, Ruby-Heart Countenance, Scattered Spider Dance

When he uses this Charm, eight orbs of claret Essence swirl into existence above the martial artist's head, forming a slowly tilting circlet. The crown moves to follow the adept, but when he is at rest, the ring rotates so that the paramount eye looks to the East. While these eyes are present, the character suffers no penalties for being attacked from behind.

In addition, the adept is able to perceive and attack both materialised and dematerialised beings.

Await Within Predator's Flower

Cost: 2 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Simple

Minimum Martial Arts: 5

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Cardinal Directions Crown

The martial artist is forever prepared, resting among the stamens of a crimson blossom. He makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack, which he may split, incurring the usual multiple-action penalties for doing so. All these attacks have their base damage increased by the martial artist's Awareness.

Silken Tremor Climate

Cost: None

Duration: Permanent

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Martial Arts: 5

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Cardinal Directions Crown

The martial artist using this Charm adds twice the Demesne level of the area he is in to his initiative, as he feels the motions of the world through taut Essence threads. The use of Charms enhances this slightly, by leaving wisps of energy floating in the air; for the purposes of this Charm he increases the Demesne level of the area by 1 per Combo used (by any character present) previously in the scene.

The Ultimate Technique

Ruination of Blood

Cost: 5 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Supplemental

Minimum Martial Arts: 5

Minimum Essence: 4

Prerequisite Charms: Await Within Predator's Flower, Silken Tremor Climate

Just as a spider drinks the vital juices of his prey, the martial artist energises himself with the blood of his opponent. For the purposes of effects that measure his Essence (including minimum damage, in Power Combat), add the Essence of the last entity the martial artist dealt Health Levels of damage to to his own. This Charm supplements a Martial Arts attack.

Initiation Effects

Vermillion Spider Form, Damask Heart Lash, Ruby-Heart Countenance, and Scattered Spider Dance are a Sidereal Initiation for Sidereal Exalted. A Sidereal who learns these four Charms subtly reinterprets the Vermillion Spider Style; he can choose to use it as the Gibbous Spider Style instead. In this form, the style exhibits grey-white moons rather than shapeless red markings, and its Charms benefit from the Sutras of Consumption. The white Cardinal Directions Crown looks to the West.

Cardinal Directions Crown, Await Within Predator's Flower, Silken Tremor Climate, and Ruination of Blood are a Sidereal Initiation for Solar Exalted. A Solar who learns these four Charms may activate any Vermillion Spider Style Charm in the same turn as a Charcoal March of Spiders Style Charm without using a Combo. This only permits the use of 1 Charm per Style in a turn, however. In addition, they regain half the motes scattered by the Vermillion Spider Form.

Author's Note

I thought I'd take a moment and annotate this with some of (I am not sure I remember them all) the Charm interactions that I designed into it, just to show a little bit of my thought process.

Dark Secret Love & Dire Guise

Draining the opponent's Willpower makes it less likely that he will be able to attack.

Vermillion Spider Form, Damask Heart Lash, Ruby-Heart Countenance & CmoSS

The mote advantage supplied by these Charms (and, optionally, the Solar Initiation effect) make it easier and safer to use advanced martial arts.

Vermillion Spider Form & Dance of the Hungry Spider

Together, these can be used to cover a lot of ground very fast.

Ruby-Heart Countenance & Unnatural Many-Step Stride

This makes it more likely for people to lose their actions. A support squad of Vermillion stylists can catalyse a complete shutdown of a fight when one Sidereal brings up the Charcoal component.

Scattered Spider Dance & Dance of the Hungry Spider

Enhanced leaping effects rule.

Await Within Predator's Flower & Rain of Unseen Threads

This lets you pretend you have like a million actions!

Cardinal Directions Crown & Unnatural Many-Step Stride

Whoa! You can attack while immaterial!

Silken Tremor Climate & Dance of the Hungry Spider

Yeah, that init boost isn't just for going first anymore.

Comments

Great charm tree, just from a quick read through. Nothing overtly flashy, but some incredibly solid charm design. Just one quick question to make certain I'm reading this correctly, but with Vermillion Spider Form, essentially the MAist, by sacrificing his standard move for the turn, may move up to his Dexterity in yards (after? before?) every MA attack he makes, for up to a maximum of double his essence times? Oh, also, would using Dire Guise while under the effects of Soul Fire Shaper Form add 20 dice to any dodge attempt under Power Combat rules? Not that there's anything inherently wrong with that, just thinking out loud. But I digress, great Martial Art. - Sootspice

Thanks! Yes, you're reading those correctly. - willows

AWPF is interesting. I'm not sure if 2 motes is too cheap, considering what it means when comboed with extra action charms. Especially as the initation allows the Solar to use it with Thumbnail Spider March without a WP. Something to consider. Still, a very nifty style. You're going to make me go back and change my votes for the MA pdf now, you know ... Scrollreader