Onine/Oninesolars

Melee

Twin Step Grace
Cost: 5 motes
Type: Reflexive
Duration: Instant
Min. Melee: 5
Min. Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Ready in Eight Directions Stance
Attacking a trained solar is risky even at the best of times, but a solar who knows the Twin Step Grace technique is doubly dangerous. With a foot-print shaped flash of golden light blazing from the ground the solar steps into his opponent's blow. His hand, sash, cape or other suitably flashy accessory blazes a sparkling golden trail into which his blade quickly follows. He strikes once with his first golden step, and then with his second step he moves quickly back striking again as he withdraws. In one fluid motion two strikes are made before his foe's blade falls upon him. Any time the solar comes under attack he may make two attacks at his full Dexterity+Melee pool after his opponent's attack is rolled but before damage is applied. If able, his attacker may abort further attacks to defend against the sudden counterattacks. This charm may not be used to respond to Solar Counterattack or any other counterattack charm.

Ward of Iron and Gold
Cost: 4 motes
Type: Simple
Duration: One Scene
Min. Melee: 3
Min. Essence: 2
Prerequisites: Dipping Swallow Defense
To a mortal warrior, battle in the Age of Sorrows is a violent one. Without the natural sturdiness of the Exalted or the powerful defensive magics he must rely on more mundane means to protect himself, such as shields. To the Exalted the simple nature of carrying a shield into battle is unwieldy and gets in the way, plus with their defenses such an item becomes unnecessary. However the combination of sword and shield can be very effective with the correct application. Catching a strike between a blade and shield is tricky, but once mastered the tandem of the two becomes a potent defense. Once activated the character gains bonus dice to add to any Melee Parries for the remainder of the scene. A Buckler provides an additional 2 dice, a Target Shield adds 3 dice, and a Tower Shield adds 4 dice. This is above and beyond the usual difficulty increase that an opponent ordinarilly suffers striking a warrior carrying a shield. The Ward of Gold and Iron may also be used for warriors that use an off-hand weapon and eliminates the off-hand penalty for defensive rolls only. The added die bonus counts against the usual maximums for charm enhanced pools.

Onine's Shields: In most games that I play I offer the option of using a shield as a weapon with a high defense. If you see fit to use this rule instead of standard shield rules, the defense bonus of the Solar's primary weapon and shield stack on all defensive rolls, but the difficulty for attacks against the Solar as per normal shields. For details on mundane shields, artifact shields and the 5MM, check /onineshields.