SolarArchery/Madwand
Swift Flight of Shattered Arrows</B>
<B>Cost:2 motes/extra arrow Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Archery: 3 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Wise Arrow
The character fires an arrow which shatters lengthwise mid-flight into several duplicates of the original. Use one attack roll for all the arrows, but apply the damage from each of them separately. The character cannot create more duplicate arrows than his Essence score. All the arrows must attack separate targets. The arrows fade back into splintered, broken shafts after inflicting their damage.
(Inspired by Trance of Unhesitating Speed and Rain of Feathered Death)
Death of One Thousand Splinters</B>
<B>Cost:5 motes Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Archery: 3 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Swift Flight of Shattered Arrows
The character fires an arrow which immediately shatters into multiple essence-duplicates of the original. These arrows in turn continue a cycle of shattering and reforming into new arrows. This process continues multiple times as the arrows speed their way towards the target, until an entire swarm of arrows saturates the area of the target with countless attacks. The Exalt doubles his Archery successes for a single attack. In addition, the swarm of arrows is very difficult to dodge or parry; reduce any successes on a dodge or parry roll by half. The attack can damage only a single individual, or it may be used for utility purposes, such as clearing vegetation from an area or to ruin a ship's rigging. The arrows fade back into mere splinters after inflicting their damage.
(Inspired by Cascade of Cutting Terror, with a different mechanic but similar result)
A Thousand Bowstrings Sing as One</B>
<B>Cost:5 motes + 3 motes/doubling, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Archery: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Swift Flight of Shattered Arrows
With this Charm, the power and potential of an army of archers becomes invested within the Exalt. The Solar knocks a single arrow to his bowstring, and invoking this charm, fires the arrow at up to 10 different targets per point of permanent Essence. The number of targets may be doubled for each additional investment of 3 motes. The exalt makes a single attack roll, which is defended against separately by each target. Upon leaving the bow, the arrow fired explodes into scores or even hundreds of splinters, each of which becomes an essence-duplicate of the whole arrow. These duplicates fade back into splinters after inflicting their damage.
(It's an alternative to Arrow-Storm Technique, with higher prerequisites and potentially much higher essence costs. It is more flexible and reliable, however.)
As the Tempest, So My Arrows</B>
<B>Cost:12 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Archery: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: A Thousand Bowstrings Sing as One
No knowledge can make a general more terrified than knowing his army is soon to face a powerful Solar archer in battle. The power of a thousand battalions of archers becomes one with the Exalt using this charm. The archer fires a single arrow into the air, where it explodes into splinters in a bright display of multicolored essense. Each splinter reforms into a new arrow, and explodes into splinters once again. This process may be repeated several times, until the sky grows black under a storm of arrows. Still, though the Sun may be blotted out, the battlefield is well-lit under the incredible display of exploding Solar essence.
The Solar may fire at all known enemies within range. He makes a single attack roll, which is defended against separately by each target. The arrows fade back into splinters after inflicting their damage. This Charm may also be used for creating spectacular but harmless displays at parties.
Comments
I'd like an alternative to the Arrow Storm Technique path, these are some ideas. Comments?-Madwand
While the second charm (1000 Bowstrings singing as one) seems Archery-esque (and again, Ess 4, but lately I've been on an Essence 4 kick, so that's probably just me), I'm really concerned about the first charm (Death of 1000 Splinters). To me, it's far too much of a yoink from Thrown. Thrown needs a nice ultra second-tier charm like that, that's cheap and awesome, because, well, it's thrown, and most of the other charms in the tree aren't that great. It's thematically interesting, and highly disparate from archery, which is all about making either one awesome shot, or hitting tons of people, but CoCT sits right in the middle, launching copies upon copies at a single enemy in a flurry-attack. While I've got no problems with more archery charms (even ones that do fun things), I'd root for a total re-write and|or re-conceptualization of Death of 1000 splinters. That, or you can make up about 5 new thrown charms that are all cool, and help keep thrown thematically separate from Archery. I'd lean towards the second, because thrown always needs more love, and because your charms are usually pretty solid.
-- GregLink
- I'm glad you like A Thousand Bowstrings Sing as One. As for Death of One Thousand Splinters, I don't have much of a problem giving Archery -- or even Melee or Brawl for that matter -- this kind of Charm, as long as it is appropriately costed and the prerequisites are sufficient. IsawaBrian has done something similar with his charm Sky-Burning Strikes -- here, I felt the Charm was appropriate to the theme I was creating of arrows that explode into multiple duplicates. In response to your critisism though, I am making the Charm have an additional prerequisite, the new Charm Swift Flight of Shattered Arrows. I have also removed the ability of Death of One Thousand Splinters to create an arrow from nothing, as it wasn't quite in-theme. Because of this, CoCT is now a strictly superior Charm. Thoughts? -Madwand
I've moved the great discussion on the anti-parryable mechanic to Madwand/Anti-parryable. The charm ideas within are facinating, although not what I am looking for right now -- perhaps later on. I have changed the mechanic of Death of One Thousand Splinters, it works differently to CoCT but has similar consequences for it's unfortunate target. CoCT is still a superior charm, I believe, because it has a flatter bell curve for damage successes and because it is immune to Seven Shadow Evasion, ItF, and other similar dodge charms, whereas this Charm is not. Comments? -Madwand
Better now. Cool!
-- Darloth
Agreed! (Though, do arrows really cleanse vegetation? They pierce, yes, ruining rigging, and even *gasp* armies, but not vegetation...) -- GregLink
- Actually, if you used frog-crotch arrows, I think enough of them would surely cut back any vegetation right down to the tough gnarly bits. Not with target arrows, sure, but the right tool for the right job!
-- Darloth
Oh, and one more, unnecessary thing. There's no limit to how much you can double this, so take a gander.
Targets Per Essence Doubling Factor Motes
10 5
20 2 8
40 4 11
80 8 14
160 16 17
320 32 20
640 64 23
1,280 128 26
2,560 256 29
5,120 512 32
10,240 1,024 35
20,480 2,048 38
40,960 4,096 41
81,920 8,192 44
163,840 16,384 47
327,680 32,768 50
Hence, for the low-low cost of 50 motes + 1WP, and perhaps a combo with a range-enhancer (this is only one shot, mind), at Essence 3, you're hitting 983,040 targets, as long as they're all in range. And again, you could theoretically find a single supplemental charm that gives you mad bonuses. And thus the only real hole that I missed in this charm. With a supplemental range+success enhancer, with maybe some damage, you can kill everyone. Then again, that's what archery is best at, so I won't complain much. Still, in a competition of "who can kill the biggest army", this charm is right up there, easily breaking 25 million targets per shot for 62 motes by Essence 5. Wowza. Can you say "No more fair-folk army kids? I know I can." -- GregLink, and THAT folks is why the Solars win. Because honestly, this is totally within power level for them.
- It would be just like that scene in Hero only, instead of an Imperial Army, it would be ONE FRIGGING GUY. -- OhJames
Ah, yes, the beauty of an exponential curve. How can I possibly top that? Well, I did. What's better than an exponent? A big fat infinity symbol. "As the Tempest, So My Arrows" is the new Charm. I hope it's reasonable, enjoy the fireworks show. I'm currently trying to think of an good mechanic for a scene-long version of "A Thousand Bowstrings Sing as One". I'll put it up if I ever think of something I like. Comments? - Madwand
- Oh, that'd be easy. Each arrow you shoot attacks (Essence) targets at once. Add motes, WP, prereqs and requirements until your ST allows it. -- GregLink
- If you want a slightly weaker mechanic for it if your ST puts more prereqs on it than you like, try something like Striking Serpent Speed. Roll your Archery abiilty when activating the charm, and the successes become the number of extra arrows that each arrow fired during the scene will split into. - IanPrice
