SolarLarceny/IsawaBrian
Shaded Brilliance</b>
<b>Cost:1 mote per die Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Larceny: 1 Minimum Essence: 1 Prerequisite Charms: None
The artful thief need not be bound by conventional limitations. A Solar thief may not be bound by any limitations at all! By using this charm, the Solar may increase his Larceny dice pool for any active uses of Larceny, such as picking pockets, opening locks, disguise, or cheating at dice. For every one mote spent, the Solar can increase his Larceny + Attribute pool by one die, up to a maximum of his original Larceny + Attribute pool.
In second edition, this charm functions differently:
Cost: --; Mins: Larceny 5, Essence 3; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Duration: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: Infinite Larceny Mastery, any one Essence 3 Larceny Charm
What use is it being a thief if scholars and scouts can perceive the Essence aiding you? A Solar who pursues devious ends may conceal her tricks from Essence-based perception. By spending an additional mote when activating a Larceny Charm, the Solar’s Larceny Charms, obvious or not, may not be detected or analyzed via Essence Sight, Occult rolls, or any other normal form of spiritual perception. If this effect is opposed perfectly, use the Unstoppable Force, Immovable Object rules.
Casual Criminal Style</b>
<b>Cost:4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Larceny: 3 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Shaded Brilliance
Often, the most important element of a successful crime is misdirection. The successful thief will appear to be doing something else entirely, leaving no trace as to how she committed her crime. A Solar criminal can energize the subtle patterns of Larcenous essence to make such casual-seeming crimes utterly effortless. By spending four motes of essence, she may make a single, reflexive active larcenous action-- picking a pocket, opening a lock, etc. The Solar must be within effective range for the action to occur, and stealing from someone in combat will typically require a stunt.
This action must be one that the Solar can do in a single action, or can at least stop without drawing attention to herself or starting again. This Charm may be used a number of times per round equal to the Solar's Permanent Essence. The user of this Charm may choose to make her normal action a larcenous one as well, resulting in extremely rapid pilfering, but if the user chooses to make at least one non-criminal action (an open attack counts as a non-criminal action!), observers will have a +2 to difficulty to spot that a crime has taken place.
In Second Edition, this Charm requires any Larceny Excellency. It is Combo-OK. The maximum number of times this Charm can be used between DV refreshes is equal to the Solar's Essence. If the character makes at least one non-criminal action, including an open attack, observers will have a 2 point external penalty to spot that a crime has taken place. Apply the target's current Dodge DV as an ordinary external penalty (that can be reduced by such Charms as Transcendent Larceny Prowess, but not by an "onslaught" of Larceny actions or anything similar) to the Larceny rolls if the target is in combat.
Unwanted Guest Technique</b>
<b>Cost:10 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One Day Type: Simple Minimum Larceny: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Casual Criminal Style, Seasoned Criminal Method
Although the best crimes are planned crimes, most rogues must rely on opportunity to provide for their occupation. A robber who can tell which house has lazy guards or a pickpocket who can sense which merchant is careless with their purse will go far. A Solar utilizing the Unwanted Guest Technique can stimulate his instincts for criminality to Exalted levels. When the Unwanted Guest Technique is active, the Solar will be able to "see" opportunities to commit crimes-- appearing as golden glows and glyphs to his sight (or tones and echoes to hearing, etc.)-- in the world around him.
This information is usually sufficient to plot the crime and understand what makes the opportunity; usually no more than a sentence or two's worth: "The merchant has a heavy purse, and it is guarded with nothing more than a wire in the strap to prevent cutting there." The GM should decide just how easy a particular crime is; this will determine the difficulty of the roll. As well, this Charm's definition of 'crime' is fairly straight forward- housebreaking, pickpocketing, mugging, easy marks, etc. It will rarely spot things that Seasoned Criminal Method would spot, such as fences or mob contacts. However, if the Solar does commit a crime he senses, he gains a one success bonus to all rolls involving that crime, including attempts to avoid detection.
In Second Edition, this Charm is Combo-Ok. It only costs 5 motes, 1 Willpower, and requires Casual Criminal Style and any Larceny Excellency.
Rogue Wolf's Nose</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Larceny: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Shaded Brilliance, Inescapable Shadow of the Sun
Many times, upon the discovery of a hoard or the entry into an ancient vault, thieves are faced with the prospect of more loot than they can easily carry off. As well, if the penetration does not go as planned, a burglar may only have time to snatch a few goods. How, then, should they prioritize their looting? For Solar criminals, the choice is made easier by use of the Rogue Wolf's Nose charm. This Charm will instantly analyze all objects within the Solar's immediate perception for their value to the Solar.
This valuation is specifically tuned to the Solar's standards, rather than any objective viewpoint. Faced with a beautiful and valuable Moonsilver Daiklaive that she cannot use and a less powerful and ornate artifact Chakram that she can, a Solar using this Charm may instinctively place more value on the Chakram-- it depends on the case. The GM will make the ultimate decision about what is or is not valuable, but should make such decisions with an eye to the Solar's desires.
In Second Edition, this Charm is Combo-OK, costs 3 motes, has a Speed of 3 and a DV penalty of -0. It requires any Larceny Excellency.
Forgotten Trifle's Touch</b>
<b>Cost:15 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Larceny: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Magpie's Invisible Talon
The ultimate theft is one that the target does not even remember-- a theft so perfect that even memory is stolen. Forgotten Trifle's Touch is a powerful development of the Charms Magpie's Invisible Talon and Stealing from Plain Sight Spirit. Unlike those Charms, it does not assist in any manner with the actual theft. However, if the theft is accomplished successfully and unnoticed by the target, the target will have no memory of even owning the item. How long the memory disappears depends on the importance of the item to the target (GM's decision) and the inherent magical capability of the target.
An Unexalted mortal or an Extra spirit/elemental/etc. will simply forget the item, no matter how important it was. This will leave troubling holes in their memory-- vague reminiscences of important weapons, and so on, without any actual details. They will certainly not recognize the item on sight, and being forcibly reminded of it by friends will disturb them.
Exalted, spirits, and other powerful beings with an Essence equal to or less than the character's instantly get a Willpower roll at a difficulty equal to the character's permanent Essence. If it is successful, they will remember critical items in turns equal to the character's permanent Essence (until then, even forcible reminders will not help), important items in hours, ordinary items in days, and trivial items in weeks. On a failure, they will remember critical items in hours equal to the character's permanent successes plus the amount by which they failed, important items in weeks, and ordinary items in months (if at all) and trivial items will be utterly forgotten.
Exalted and other powerful beings with an Essence greater than the character's also get a Willpower roll. On a success, they will instantly remember critical items (as soon as the loss is noticed), remember important items in minutes, ordinary items in hours, and trivial items in weeks. On a failure, they will remember as per a success for a being of lesser than or equal essence.
Regardless of the length of time until the target recalls (other than instantaneous), the target will not recall anything about the item, even that it is stolen, no matter the provocation or reminders. Nor will he recognize the item if presented with it. On a botch, anything but the most critical of items will be utterly forgotten, and even those will be forgotten for hours.
Author's Note: I'm not 100% sure that this is in the right effectiveness range. Thoughts?
In Second Edition, this Charm costs 10 motes, 1 willpower, requires Essence 3 and Stealing From Plain Sight rather than Magpie's Invisible Talons. It is Combo-OK.
Path of the Eighth Lucky Man</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Duration: One scene Type: Supplemental Minimum Larceny: 3 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Shaded Brilliance
By tapping into the subtle flow of Essence that surrounds wagers and games of chance, the Exalt can not only influence the outcome of a game, but also sense when and how much to win or lose in order to remain subtle and to avoid the appearance of cheating. Every turn, the character gains a number of "gambling dice" equal to her Essence. She then must split the dice into 'subtlety' and 'success' pools. All dice in the 'subtlety' pool add to the difficulty of any ordinary or magical attempts to spot cheating (although they do not protect from perfect spotting nor from observations that merely show that Essence has been used). All dice in the 'success' pool are added to each gambling roll that character makes for that turn. The GM should also warn the player if the character's wins are becoming especially noticeable.
In second edition, this charm functions differently:
Cost: --; Mins: Larceny 5, Essence 4; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Larceny Essence Flow, Infinite Larceny Mastery
Larcenous Solars are excellent at cheating the rules. Indeed, sometimes a properly roguish Solar may even cheat the laws of essence! When using Larceny for gambling or other forms of games of Chance, the Solar may use Larceny Excellencies via Larceny Essence Flow with the discount from Infinite Larceny Mastery or other sources.
Shutting the Unblinking Eye</b>
<b>Cost:8 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Minimum Larceny: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Path of the Eighth Lucky Man
The seriousness with which many beings in Creation take gambling can make life uneasy for the Exalted cheater. No matter how powerful his gambling charms, if the gigantic, eight-armed bouncer senses them, his life is about to take a turn for the interesting. Clever and powerful Solars, therefore, have developed methods with which to deal with such prying busybodies.
By utilizing Shutting the Unblinking Eye, the Solar will can conceal all cheating, magical or normal, from prying eyes. Essence used to fuel this or other cheating charms will be utterly undetectable, either as committed essence on the Solar, or from its use as a charm, as long as peripheral essence is not used. Peripheral motes of Essence (unless modified by an effect similar to the Night Caste Anima Ability) will be detectable, but their specific use will not be. Only characters with the aid of perfect detection methods that specifically work against magical means of concealment will be able to detect the character's cheating, and even in those cases, the detecting character must win a Perception + Awareness roll against the Solar's Dexterity or Manipulation + Larceny (whichever is appropriate).
In Second Edition, this Charm requires Infinite Larceny Mastery. It is Combo-OK. Its essence cost is reduced to 4. In the case of a conflict of Charms, use the usual Unstoppable Force, Immovable Object rules.
Like-Minded Rogue's Sight</b>
<b>Cost:8 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Minimum Larceny: 5 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Path of the Eighth Lucky Man
Often, the best way to spot a cheat is to understand the ways of cheating yourself. And it goes without saying that the ability to detect another cheater is a valuable asset for a gambler. The character with Like-Minded Rogue's Sight will be able to perfectly detect all cheating or influence on a game, whether magical or mundane. Like-Minded Rogue's Sight will even be able to spot whether or not a fighter in a duel is being pressured to "take a fall", or if a horse has been "doctored'.
Like-Minded Rogue's Sight can only be defeated by "perfect" concealment charms such as Shutting the Unblinking Eye. However, in this case, the character will get a free Perception + Awareness check against the target's Dexterity or Manipulation + Larceny (Whichever is more appropriate) in order to spot the cheating anyway.
In Second Edition, this Charm requires Infinite Larceny Mastery. It is Combo-Ok, and uses the usual Unstoppable Force, Immovable Object rules. Its essence cost is reduced to 4.
Transcendent Larceny Prowess</b>
<b>Cost:None Duration: Permanent Type: Special Minimum Larceny: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Shutting the Unblinking Eye, Unwanted Guest Technique, Inescapable Shadow of the Sun
The Solar who masters Transcendent Larceny Prowess has internalized the way of the criminal. Instinctively, he picks the best opportunities for larceny and avoids the stretching fingers of the law. Subtract two from the difficulty of all Larceny rolls (minimum difficulty one). This Charm is based on Neph’s suggestion on the wiki; I just fleshed it out.
In Second Edition, this Charm reduces all penalties to Larceny rolls by 2. Its Prerequisite Charms are all three Larceny Excellencies, Infinite Larceny Mastery, and Essence Larceny Flow. Its Essence minimum is increased to 4.
<Exalt Type> Impudence Style</b>
<b>Cost:8 motes, 2 Willpower Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Minimum Larceny: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Transcendent Larceny Prowess
The Exalted are the masters of Creation, and once, Solars were the lords of them all. Indeed, such overlordship is written into their very Shards and destinies-- something that many Sidereals of both the Bronze and Gold Factions have forgotten. First Age Nights used this overlordship and privilege to develop the various Impudence Styles-- an entire set of Charms that would allow them to mimic the anima and to a certain extent, the nature, of other Exalted. Initially, they used the Impudence Styles to make themselves seem less threatening, but powerful, but as time went on and the Great Curse's effects took hold, the Nights used the different Animas and natures to play their own twisted games of power. Only a Night's shard has the deceptive nature to utilize these Charms; even other beings who can mimic Night Caste abilities and anima effects cannot learn this Charm; it relies on the fundamental Essence of a Night Caste Shard.
There are many different Impudence Styles; indeed, there is one for every possible Exalt type, including the Alchemicals, although such a charm would certainly be a new invention. An Impudence Style can only be independently invented if the Solar in question has encountered an Exalt of the type she wishes to emulate before; that Exalt must have either reached the highest stage of their anima banner or utilized all of their Anima effects; otherwise, the Night's shard does not know the essence patterns to mimic.
An Impudence Style changes the appearance of the Night's anima banner and special effects to match another Exalted type, and gives them access to the anima powers of that Exalt type. The Night may still use her ordinary Anima abilities or any Anima enhancements, with one exception; an Impudence Style temporarily overrides any other alterations to her anima, such as Lord of Shadows Aura (SolarStealth/IsawaBrian). For example, a Night who knows Mars Impudence Style suddenly gets a subtle, red-tinted anima and no longer invokes her usual icon. She may also use the Lesser Sign of Mercury at will, for the usual cost of 10 motes. The effects of her charms will seem to be the creation of subtlety and accident rather than the superlative mastery of a Solar.
This 'hiding' effect does not grant the Night any new powers; nor does it allow the Night access to non-Solar Charms or abilities. The Night cannot learn Lunar shapeshifting charms, for example (though she may create the illusion of having shifted to mimic a charm), nor touch upon Astrology in any way, shape or form. It might be possible for a Night with a Sidereal Impudence Style to learn Prayer-Strip Martial Arts charms as a Sidereal, but to do so would still require full approval from the Maiden in question, and there is a reason that these charms are known as 'Impudence' Styles; they are not well-favored by the Celestines, even the Unconquered Sun. Only Luna seems amused by them.
For all intents and purposes, however, this mimicry is perfect. Unless the Exalt is cornered into being forced to produce a Charm effect she simply cannot mimic with her Charms that she should be able to, based on another tree, there will be no way to discern that she is not using a charm of a proper type. Obviously, this works best for dice adders and similar charms, with increasing problems as the Exalted type reaches its own specialty. The Night utilizing an Impudence Style is cautioned to keep all demonstrations of power simple, or risk discovery.
In Second Edition, this Charm is Combo-Basic. Its Speed is 6 and its DV penalty is -3.
Unseen Thief Method</b>
<b>Cost:None Duration: Permanent Type: Special Minimum Larceny: 5 Minimum Stealth: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Lord of Shadows Aura (SolarStealth/IsawaBrian)
Like all Solar Exalted, the Nights of the First Age developed their Anima abilities to greater heights. Unlike most other Solars, though, these developments to be subtle and quiet, rather than overwhelmingly powerful (though the Impudence Styles, above, certainly were that!) One of the greatest successes of the Nights' studies of development were the Five Subtle Methodologies. By combining their natural resonance of their Caste Abilities with the second-refinement Anima Ability of the Lord of Shadows Aura, the elder Nights were able to eliminate all 'waste products' of their peripheral essence for narrow categories!
Simply put, each Subtle Methodology developed greatly increases the efficiency of the Night's anima ability to suppress motes-- to the point where there is no increased mote cost to suppress anima banner development for the ability in question. The Unseen Thief Method is the Larceny Subtle Methodology, enabling infiltrating Nights to work their wiles with the full extent of their essence pool without fear of discovery. None of the Subtle Methodologies affect essence gained from other sources, such as that from a Radiant Spirit pool (see Blazing Soul Discipline in SolarEndurance/IsawaBrian). Only a Night Caste Solar can learn a Subtle Methodology. Even other beings who can mimic Night Caste abilities and anima effects cannot learn this Charm; it relies on the fundamental Essence of a Night Caste Shard.
This Charm negates the increased cost for both Obvious and non-Obvious Athletics Charms in Second Edition. It now affects non-Peripheral Essence.
Second Edition
Body Double Disguise</i>
Cost: --; Mins: Larceny 5, Essence 2; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Flawlessly Impenetrable Disguise
The Solar’s mastery of disguise now applies to her ability to disguise her compatriots-- or victims-- as easily as her own. The character may choose to add 1 to the Speed and 3 motes to the committed cost of a Flawlessly Impenetrable Disguise in order to use it on another target. If the target does not wish to be disguised, the target must be restrained for the entire 7 long ticks and the Solar must succeed at a Manipulation + Larceny roll equal to the target’s Essence. The disguise may not be voluntarily shed once emplaced by the Solar; the Solar must choose to release the committed motes if she chooses to dispel the effect before the end of the Duration.
<i>King of Masks Technique</i>
Cost: --; Mins: Larceny 5, Essence 2; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Flawlessly Impenetrable Disguise, Perfect Mirror
When using a disguise Charm, the Solar may spend and commit an additional 5 motes in order to make the duration of the Charm indefinite. Even when the character sleeps, he will take on the mask of his chosen disguise. Otherwise, the Charm functions as normal.
<i>Impenetrable Identity</i>
Cost: 20m, 1 wp; Mins: Larceny 5, Essence 4; Type: Simple (Speed 6 in long ticks) Keywords: None Duration: Indefinite Prerequisite Charms: King of Masks Technique
The Solar’s transcendant mastery of disguise reaches a level where the Solar’s chosen identity imprints itself upon reality. In addition to the same effects as per Perfect Mirror, the Solar changes her surface thoughts while leaving her true self intact beneath it, and such is the magnetic nature of a Solar’s personality that even mentioning the false identity will carry with it a convincing need for others to believe it-- inquiries about the Solar’s identity will actually reinforce its background! Even under harsh interrogation, the Solar will only reveal such truths as the chosen identity would know.
This Charm makes it impossible for ordinary or merely sensory enhancements to penetrate the disguise. Neither Keen Sight Technique nor a demon’s connection to its master, for example, will give a bonus to penetrating the disguise. For all intents and purposes, a character with Impenetrable Identity will seem to be precisely who he is pretending to be. This does not give the character protection against lie detection for matters other than identity; the Storyteller and the player should discuss which “persona” knows what when the identity is created, and when new important information is learned.
This is a perfect defense against identity detection. If a perfect effect is used to attempt to penetrate either, add the Solar’s Essence in successes to the Unstoppable Force, Immovable Object contest. Under interrogation, whether magical or otherwise, the Solar may choose what information to give up; unless a perfect effect is used, any information consistent with the chosen identity will seem completely correct. Lies the Solar makes that are inconsistent with either persona are still detectable, but the Solar gains her Larceny in automatic successes or added to static values to defend against such detection.
If the character is imitating a specific person, the Solar must have communicated with the target person in the last day prior to activating the Charm. Upon activation, roll a contest of the Solar’s Larceny + Essence vs. the imitated’s Integrity + Essence. If the imitated wins, the Charm fails entirely. If the Solar wins, others will be inclined to believe that the original person is the imposter, and said original must make Social Attacks to convince people of her true identity!
This Charm does not grant the ability to perform supernatural abilities that the character does not have, though it may change minor special effects. For example, a character imitating a Fire-aspected Dragon-blooded may gain bursts of flame around her swords when using a Melee Charm, and her anima banner may appear as illusory flames, though they will not have the usual anima effects or benefits.
<i>Gender Concealing Meditation</i>
Cost: --; Mins: Larceny 3, Essence 3; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Flawlessly Impenetrable Disguise
A Solar is the exemplar of humanity—including all aspects of it. By drawing upon the dual nature of his Shard, a Solar with Gender Concealing Meditation can present as either male or female effortlessly as a part of any disguise. Doing so neither increases the difficulty of disguising nor grants benefits to those seeking to penetrating it, though the Solar’s physiological sex may be discovered if the disguise is broken. This is a minor Illusion effect and is susceptible as any Charm with that keyword. This does not change the character’s basic build, and breast-binding or concealing lower garments may be necessary for female or male Solars respectively. It will also not allow a slight scribe of a male Twilight to appear as a towering warrior woman without further aid.
<i>Seasoned Criminal Method</i>
Cost: --; Mins: Larceny 4, Essence 2; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Any Larceny Excellency
A veteran thief is home among criminals anywhere. The character does not receive social penalties when working with criminal or other, similarly seedy elements, regardless of culture, unless the character is obviously a member of a hated class-- a Solar would not gain this benefit if openly attempting to collaborate with members of the All-Seeing Eye, nor would a Linowan native gain this bonus when attempting to join a Haltan cross-branch gang.
<i>Magpie’s Invisible Talon</i>
Cost: --; Mins: Larceny 5, Essence 3; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Stealing From Plain Sight Spirit
This Charm enhances its prerequisite. The Solar may now thieve things that he cannot see, so long as he knows roughly where they are. When using Stealing From Plain Sight Spirit, the character may spend an additional 5 motes; so long as the target object is in range and the Solar knows where it is, he may steal it. The Solar may even attempt to guess-- a key in a guard’s pocket, for example-- but if he is wrong, the motes and willpower are wasted to no effect.
<i>Inescapable Shadow of the Sun</i>
Cost: 3m; Mins: Larceny 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive Keywords: Combo-OK, Social Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Seasoned Criminal Method
Indisputable masters of whatever environment they choose to specialize in, Solars can wrap their fists around the hearts of criminals as easily as they can adoring throngs of pilgrims. Add the Solar’s Larceny to any social dice pool involving the criminal element. This is added to the pre-halving total if it is being used for a mental defense value.
<i>Impassable Portal Technique</i>
Cost: 7m; Mins: Larceny 5, Essence 4; Type: Reflexive Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: (Essence) Hours Prerequisite Charms: Lock-Opening Touch
This is a mechanical conversion of the Charm on p CB: N 76.
Comments
Nice, very nice... I'm surprised that you did give your solar larceny charm a success equal to essence for the scene for criminal acts. ~ Haku
- I'm assuming you mean Unwanted Guest Technique and didn't? ^_^ The reason I didn't is because I wanted it to be similar to Seasoned Criminal Method, which I used for a baseline power level. If it looks too weak, though, easy to bump. - IsawaBrian
- Yeah, I meant "didn't"... as for the powerlevel, it seems fair, I merely meant that, you normally see success buying in charm trees outside of combat as opposed to die-buying. ~ Haku
- I see your point. I'm going to change it to a +1 success; the full effect of the charm is still 'show opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise see'; this is just a side-benefit. - IsawaBrian
In my opinion, <Exalt Type> Impudence Style should require Stealth at 5, as well as Unseen Thief Method and Ultimate Subtlety Method, as additional prerequisites. You need to be able to suppress and manipulate your own banner before you can worry about mimicking someone else's, and I feel like without the ability to naturally suppress Stealth and Larceny, the 'real' Solar anima effects are going to bleed through the illusion. Plus, this is a VERY powerful effect, and should require a lot of prerequisites to balance. -Ialdabaoth
- It's funny, I was about to say almost the opposite. I think it has too many prerequisites. Martial Arts can do this at the beginning of a Charm tree. I would say have a Charm branching off Perfect Mirror that duplicates the visual effects of only an anima banner, and Impudence branches off that. It's not that amazing. - FrivYeti
