MartialArts2/SingingImageOfFire

Singing Image of Fire

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For 2nd Edition. This is my first Ex2 style.

Introduction

Designed in homage to the spirits of fire and the South, this is a Celestial martial art whose form weapons are the straight sword and the sai. Adepts of the style often also wear a red silken scarf or veil several yards long. While this is not a weapon in the strictest sense, several of the style's techniques benefit from or require its presence.

Attuning to two Materials in a single item: An Exalt can benefit from both magical material aspects of such a weapon. When attuning, he can gain a single magical material bonus of the appropriate type, or attempt the forced-attunement Wits + Lore roll to gain both. If he is not the appropriate type for either material, then he must force-attune for one bonus, and then again force-attune a second time for the second, for a total of three times the basic attunement cost. This second attunement roll has difficulty 5.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v520/fourwillows/Exalted/singing-image-maya.png

Carmine Current

Cost: 3 motes

Type: Reflexive (Step 8)

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Combo-OK

Min. MA/Ess: 2/1

Prereq. Charms: None

Using his coiling scarf as a fulcrum, the martial artist ekes more force out of an unarmed Martial Arts attack. He adds his Essence to the damage of the attack.

Vermillion Temper

Cost: ---

Type: Permanent

Keywords: Obvious

Min. MA/Ess: 3/2

Prereq. Charms: None

The hot Essence of the image of fire transforms that which it touches. When attuning to an Artifact form weapon, the Exalt may choose to attune it as if it were additionally made of red jade. Artifacts with a red jade aspect imposed on them in this manner turn distinctly red, translucent, and luminous at their edges and thinner parts, as though heated from the outside.

Singing Image of Fire Form

Cost: 5m

Type: Simple

Duration: One Scene

Keywords: Form-type, Obvious

Min. MA/Ess: 4/2

Prereq. Charms: Carmine Current, Vermillion Temper

The Exalt adopts the characteristic motion of the hearth maiden elemental -- constantly turning, reaching in and out, but always returning to the place of safety and energy at the centre. His feet barely brush the earth, while his hair ascends in a spiralling column to brush against the sky.

A character using the Singing Image of Fire Form does not need to give ground in order to dodge, and never exposes his back to any opponent. He may use his Martial Arts Ability in the place of Athletics for the purpose of maintaining footing on unstable ground.

When he successfully makes an unarmed attack against another character (with successes remaining after DV) in close combat, he may dash away from that opponent, reflexively using a Move action without consuming his opportunity to move in that tick. This mobility takes place in Step 9 as though it were a counterattack. If this reflexive step is taken within a flurry, then the martial artist may reassign the targets of subsequent attacks in the flurry to appropriate targets in close-combat range once he has moved.

Seven-Times-Seven Technique

Cost: 2m

Type: Supplemental

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Combo-OK

Min. MA/Ess: 5/2

Prereq. Charms: Singing Image of Fire Form

The hearth maiden's second form is that of a tiny dragon with seven mouths; every mouth has seven tongues. Even while its attention is in one place, its jaws menace another! This Charm affects an unarmed attack in a flurry; the attack applies Onslaught penalties against the defender as though all prior actions in the flurry were also attacks against that selfsame target.

Silk-and-Cinder Veil

Cost: 3m

Type: Simple (Speed 4)

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Combo-Simple

Min. MA/Ess: 5/2

Prereq. Charms: Seven-Times-Seven Technique

The Exalt fans smoke and fire into a commander's eyes. He makes an unarmed attack. It deals no damage; instead, it breaks apart communication and scatters plans. If the attack hits, subtract its successes remaining after step 5 from the successes used to coordinate an attack. This is possible in the tick the attack is coordinated, and any subsequent tick before the "window of opportunity."

Hot Golden Liberty

Cost: 3m

Type: Supplemental

Duration: Instant (Until next action)

Keywords: Combo-OK

Min. MA/Ess: 5/2

Prereq. Charms: Silk-and-Cinder Veil

Fire can adorn or destroy a pattern with equal ease. Using this Charm to enhance an unarmed attack, the Exalt benefits from the formation coordinated by another. He may move in line with the formation, attacking the victim of the attack and causing the coordination penalty to apply to his attack as well, or he may attack one of the members of the attacking unit. In this case, he applies the coordination DV penalty to their defence against his attack; their focused attention against another target opens a gap for him.

Until his next action, the Exalt may use a movement action to ascend vertically without depending upon a surface, but he must land on some surface.

Extinguished in the Earth

Cost: 2m, 1w

Type: Reflexive (step 2)

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Combo-OK

Min. MA/Ess: 5/2

Prereq. Charms: Hot Golden Liberty

The martial artist makes a deceptive gesture, causing his attacker to strike the ground beneath his feet. This reduces the Accuracy and Damage of the attacker's weapon to +0. This cannot increase negative values. By spending 2 additional motes, the martial artist may entangle (see Talon-Brightening Furnace, below) the attacker's weapon. This Charm cannot be used against unparriable attacks.

Talon-Brightening Furnace

Cost: 3m

Type: Reflexive (Step 3)

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious

Min. MA/Ess: 4/3

Prereq. Charms: Singing Image of Fire Form

When one of his unarmed attacks is parried against, the martial artist may use this Charm to loop his scarf around the defender's weapon to create an Essence conduit. The weapon becomes entangled. The martial artist may also use this Charm when an opponent uses an entangled weapon to parry his attacks.

The martial artist may entangle as many as Martial Arts + Essence weapons in the scarf at a time; if he has entangled the maximum number of weapons, he must release one weapon (a reflexive action) to entangle a new one.

A weapon remains entangled in the scarf until the martial artist reflexively releases it, the defender cuts the scarf away (treat the scarf as a prayer strip; "destroying" it will release the weapon but does not substantially damage the scarf), or the scene ends. The scarf does not substantially hinder the movement of any party.

Whenever the martial artist activates this Charm, a reflective ripple of gold flashes along the scarf, heating each weapon it's entangled with and causing those weapons to briefly glow like heated brass. The scarf conducts damage in the quantity of the martial artist's Essence in dice to each weapon and its wielder. The weapons cannot soak this damage, but the wielders are able to ignore it with sufficient Hardness.

Rubricated Sword

Cost: 2m

Type: Supplemental

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Combo-OK

Min. MA/Ess: 4/3

Prereq. Charms: Talon-Brightening Furnace

The martial artist paints an idyl of destruction. He replaces his Strength with Martial Arts for the purposes of calculating the damage of an unarmed attack. He may use the Martial Arts Excellencies to enhance his damage roll. Paying 2 additional motes, the martial artist may deliver this attack using a weapon he has entangled (as with Talon-Brightening Furnace). Doing so disentangles the weapon and renders the charm Obvious.

Wind on a Fragrant Hill

Cost: 3m

Type: Supplemental

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious

Min. MA/Ess: 5/3

Prereq. Charms: Rubricated Sword

Using this Charm, the character can deliver an unarmed attack to enemies at range; a movement of hand and sword sends forth a searing breeze littered with sparks. This imparts a fixed Range of (Essence x 10) yards to the attack. Fire consumes Wood, so an opponent who suffers damage from this attack doubles his wound penalty against all Wood-Aspected Abilities until the end of the scene.

Strategist's Phoenix Fan

Cost: 5m

Type: Simple (Speed 4)

Duration: One Scene

Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious

Min. MA/Ess: 5/3

Prereq. Charms: Silk-and-Cinder Veil, Wind on a Fragrant Hill

The red tangle of the Exalt's scarf spreads weapons in martial array, each one aglow like the eyes of a phoenix's tail. To calculate his Parry DV, the martial artist uses the sum of the Defence bonuses of up to Essence weapons he is wielding or has entangled.

Painting the Name of Mars

Cost: 5m, 1w

Type: Extra Actions

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious

Min. MA/Ess: 5/4

Prereq. Charms: Extinguished in the Earth, Rubricated Sword, Strategist's Phoenix Fan

The Exalt draws a red symbol, one of the many names of the red star, with the motions of her sword. This Charm is a magical flurry of (Essence+1) unarmed attacks; these attacks disregard multiple-action penalties and the flurry has the DV penalty equal to the highest DV penalty for any one attack. If the defender uses Parry DV, she must reflexively roll Wits+(applicable Ability)-(wound and mobility penalty) at a difficulty of the attack's Essence; on failure her weapon becomes entangled.

Rebellious Sword

Cost: 3m, 1w

Type: Reflexive

Duration: Until next refresh

Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack, Obvious

Min. MA/Ess: 5/4

Prereq. Charms: Painting the Name of Mars

Under the effect of this Charm, the character's scarf becomes a sheet of copper flame. Whenever a character uses an entangled weapon to attack, the martial artist may perform a counterattack against that character, using the entangled weapon. It rebels in the attacker's hand! Alternatively she may cause the weapon to heat, as the effect of Talon-Brightening Furnace.