SolarLore/FourWillowsWeeping

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Charms

Essence Weaponry Enhancements

In this section, GS* means "any of the Solar Charms that build equipment out of Essence, such as Glorious Solar Sabre, GS Ship, Phantom Steed, &c." GSW means "any GS* that makes weaponry."

Unconquerably Excellent Solar Armoury

Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Reflexive
Min. Lore: 4
Min. Essence: 3
Prereq. Charms: GSW

A Solar who relies on his brilliant spirit to forge him a blade soon finds that a cutting edge is not always sufficient. He requires flexibility and excellence from his weapon of choice!

This Charm offers a solution. The Solar who learns Unconquerably Excellent Solar Armoury enhances his essence weaponry with various special effects, Armaments. When he learns this Charm, he learns one Armament, and can purchase additional ones at a rate of 1 xp each. Characters with this Charm may teach one another new Armaments, or develop them on their own.

The Solar is able to enhance weapons created with Charms by expending points to purchase Armaments rather than trait values, or reducing the weapon's traits, when operating with Charms that have fixed profiles, such as Immaculate Golden Bow. Most simple Armaments cost only 1 point; more unusual ones cost 2, and the very strongest Armaments cost 4 points. Learning this Charm also provides each Essence weapon with half the Solar's Essence (rounding up) in points that can only be used to apply Armaments to weapons. 4-point Armaments are mutually incompatible; a weapon may only have one.

The Solar may reconfigure his Essence weapons to include Armaments when he learns this Charm, when he learns a new GSW Charm, or when the Trait those Charms depend on changes. Some Armaments may not be appropriate for hand-to-hand weaponry; others may be inappropriate for projectiles. I leave this to your judgement. Commonly known Armaments include:

1 point:

Battle-Instrument of the Spheres:
Each strike of this weapon is accompanied by the sound of a harp, or some other celestial music, just at the moment of impact. It can always inflict knockback at the user's option, the distance of which is tripled. (I.e., one damage die, before soak, results in one yard of knockback.)
Carnifex's Elegant Cleaver:
This weapon's striking surface is particularly refined, and arrayed with razor edges or small spines; the weapon's base damage is doubled, but the defender's armour soak is doubled again it.
Dreadful Gutting Peaks:
A weapon expressing this Armament becomes elongated and pale, a shaft of light cutting through clouds. It has the attack range of a lance, and doubles its base damage when the wielder charges with it.
Exemplary Horizon Blade:
A weapon expressing this Armament becomes intricately patterned and dyed with crimson and indigo on its cutting edge, like the sky of dawn. It delivers piercing damage. A 2-point variation delivers heroic (10s are 2 successes) damage dice.
Pathway-Across-Heaven Ribbon:
This Armament makes a weapon into a hazy glowing wreath, a scarf of smoke lit by the setting sun. Reflexively, the wielder can alter its length, making it anything from a hand-to-hand weapon to a flexible chain (Essence * 10) yards long. It can be used as a clinch aid.

2 points:

The Endless Hungry King:
Essence weapons bearing this Armament trail dazzling golden streaks through the air, linking its striking surfaces to the Exalted bearer's Castemark. A crown of light whirls around his head. When attacking spirits, these weapons drain the Exalt's Essence in motes from the spirit's reserve and transfer the same quantity to their wielder.
God-Executing Scimitar:
This Essence weapon's edges fade into invisibility rather than being precisely crystal-sharp; attacks performed with it can injure dematerialised spirits.
Suffocating Atmosphere of Defeat:
This Essence weapon cannot be touched; it is like light on dust motes, swirling out of the way when a thing approaches it. Attacks made by this weapon are especially difficult to parry, halving the defender's successes. A 4-point variation denies parry utterly.
A Sword to Carve Oceans:
This Essence weapon is immense; outside its brilliant molten core is a halo of dimmer shape, and another outside it, and another, and so on into infinity. Attacks made by this weapon are especially difficult to dodge, halving the defender's successes. A 4-point variation denies dodge utterly.
Inescapable Gaze of God:
This Essence weapon can treats any surfaces like mirrors; it is a beam of ricocheting, cutting radiance, ignoring cover effects. Attacks made by it must be defended as though the target is attacked from behind.

4 points:

Flock-of-Birds Freedom Forge:
Weapons expressing this Armament flicker and move, split into many and rejoin, seemingly of their own volition. They are disorienting to fight, and their attacks are always treated as though the defender is unaware.
Heavenly Order-Enforcing Principle:
This Armament causes the weapon expressing it to display distinctive fivefold or eightfold symmetry, the mathematics of the Sun. A weapon of this kind deals increased and aggravated damage against one type of creature, gaining the wielder's Essence in additional damage. Variations of this Armament oppose creatures of darkness, demons, fey, spirits, and types of Exalted.

4 points:

The following are not Armaments in their own right, but rather families of similar Armaments. A character can generally create an Armament from a Charm he knows by using these templates; the resultant Armament is an effect that specifically enhances the weapon with the selected Charm. The creator must have Traits 2 dots higher, or Essence 3 dots higher (at the ST's option) than the dot requisites for that Charm to create and apply the resulting Armament. Once such an Armament is created, it can be taught to individuals who do not know the source Charm, provided that they meet the Trait requirements. Neither template may be used with Charms that have a Willpower cost, or those that generate a perfect effect.

Thunderbolt-Taming Anvil:
This type of Armament entwines a Supplemental or Reflexive Charm into the weapon, applying that Charm's effect supplementally (i.e., it cannot create an action, and the Reflexive must be one that has a supplemental application) whenever it is applicable to an action using the weapon. This Armament also adds that Charm's mote cost to the activation cost of the Essence weapon. When used with a Charm that has a variable mote cost, you may choose the cost of the charm when activating the weapon.
Lotus of Incomparable Technique:
This type of Armament entwines a Simple Charm into the weapon, applying that Charm's effect whenever it is applicable to an action using the weapon. The wielder must have Traits 2 dots higher than the dot requisites for that Charm to apply this Armament, and this Armament also adds twice that Charm's mote cost to the activation cost of the Essence weapon. When used with a Charm that has a variable mote cost, you may choose the cost of the charm when activating the weapon.

Note: This was written in respose to a request to make a more generalised, flexible version of the Charm directly following.

Exemplary Horizon Blade
Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Reflexive
Min. Lore: 5
Min. Essence: 4
Prereq. Charms: GSW

The Solar learns to craft his Essence crystal with particular delicacy, narrowing the edge of his weapon until it is as sharp as the line that divides night from day. A Glorious Solar Sabre or other weapon expressing the effect of this Charm becomes intricately patterned and dyed with crimson and indigo on its cutting edge, like the sky of dawn.

The affected weapon gains the piercing quality, and its damage dice are heroic; 10s are worth two successes.

This Charm can be learnt multiple times, each time benefiting a single self-sufficient Charm the Solar knows. If the Solar has learnt multiple such Charms, she must specify which Charm this Charm applies to.

Note: In Sol Invictus, this is a Melee Charm; its lone Charm prerequisite is Magnificent Sunblade Style.

A Sun for Every Season
Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Min. Lore: 3
Min. Essence: 1
Prereq Charms: GS*

As Solars gain strength, they gain mastery of their internal energies as well. They may buy new configurations of their self-sufficient effects as Charms. This Charm provides one new configuration for one of these per dot of permanent Essence. (When the Solar gains another dot of permanent Essence, he gains a new configuration; the Charm updates itself.) This Charm may be purchased multiple times, but each time it is purchased its Essence requirement increases by one.

Shining Petal Caress
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Min. Lore: 3
Min. Essence: 2
Prereq Charms: A Sun for Every Season, an additional GSW

This Charm permits a Solar with no weapon to instantly generate one of the Essence weapons he is capable of producing (through knowledge of the Glorious Solar Saber, Immaculate Golden Bow, and similar Charms) and attack with it, using the relevant Dawn Ability. The weapon never crystallizes into its full form; instead, light pours from the Exalt's eyes and a fluttering streak of Essence takes a weaponlike form for just an instant, before shattering into a cloud of luminous flower petals. This Charm is explicitly permitted to be in a Combo with Charms of other Abilities.

Brilliant Jewel Lance
Cost: None
Type: Special
Duration: Permanent
Min. Lore: 3
Min. Essence: 3
Prereqs: A Sun for Every Season, an additional GSW
Alternative prerequisite paths for this Charm exist, by which it can be reached without requiring Essence weaponry Charms.

This Charm extends the capabilities of self-sufficient Charms, allowing the Exalt to filter his Essence through a Hearthstone, infusing Essence regalia with a version of the stone's power. When the Exalt activates Glorious Solar Saber or a similar Charm, he may entwine the Essence projection with a Hearthstone he is attuned to. This makes the self-sufficient Charm cost an additional 1 mote per level of the Hearthstone, plus 1 for non-Celestial Heathstones and Hearthstones not of Creation (this includes Heavenly, Malfeasan, Underworldly, and Autochthonian stones, as well as Cysts). These additional costs stack. This total cost may be no greater than the Exalt's Essence. The player and Storyteller should work together to determine an effect for each Stone the character intends to use in this manner, commensurate with the Hearthstone's level.

The Hearthstone used in this way must be removed from a setting, if it is in one. This can be accomplished simultaneous with the activation of the Charm in question. The Hearthstone doesn't provide any effect when it is being used thus, apart from Essence regeneration; this energy is what is being channelled to produce the weapon's effect. Using this ability with very high-level or unusual Hearthstones can cause the Essence device thus produced to assume an unusual appearance. Terrestrial stones tend to produce particularly fantastic displays.

Once learned, the effects of this Charm can be applied to any self-sufficient effect, incorporating any Hearthstone. Optionally, the ST may require the character to spend 1 Experience Point and spend several hours in meditation to dream up the effect of a particular Hearthstone when it interacts with a paricular Charm; once he does this, the transformation always takes this effect.

Some examples:

  • A Jewel of the Monkey's Finger allows the user to substitute his Appearance for Dexterity when attacking or parrying with an Essence weapon.
  • A One Thousand Heavenly Perfumes Stone infuses a Shining Spirit Steed with the ability to walk atop fragrances and incense-smoke plumes.
  • A Gem of Sapphire and Emerald transforms a Glorious Solar Ship into a blue-and-green iceberg; in its precincts, the Charm required to activate a spell is the one two ranks higher. In effect, Solar Sorcerers are the only beings able to use Sorcery; they must spend three turns to shape a Terrestrial spell.
  • A Stone of Blood to Fire gives an Essence sabre rippling scarlet edges; it sets aflame any wound it creates.

An Abyssal version of this Charm exists as well; in this Charm's case, it costs 1 extra mote for Manses in Creation, and 2 extra for Celestial Manses; they are simply unable to fugue with stones outside of the Heaven-Creation-Netherworld ladder. Abyssals do not suffer any difficulty for attuning to Underworld Terrestrial Hearthstones in this way.

Dancing with the Elements
Cost: 4 motes (2 motes)
Duration: One Scene
Type: Reflexive
Min. Lore: 4
Min. Essence: 3
Prereq Charms: Brilliant Jewel Lance

With this Charm, the Solar Exalted sweeps his weapon through a Dragonblooded anima and causes the elemental Essence to crystallize on the blade, bolstering it with a little of the might of dragons. This is easier to accomplish (use the lower cost) if it enhances an Essence weapon such as the one created by Glorious Solar Saber. This Charm enhances a hand-to-hand attack with a weapon. This attack must be against a Dragonblooded who is displaying his anima. After the attack is resolved, roll Lore + (number of HLs dealt with the attack). If there are any successes, reduce the level of the Dragon-Blooded's anima display by one, and the Solar crystallizes the stripped Essence around his weapon. This generates an elemental effect with Power equal to the number of successes rolled, depending on the victim's Aspect:

  • Air: Victims of attacks must roll Dexterity + Athletics (diff = HLs suffered) or be knocked back Power yards.
  • Earth: Victims of attacks recieve a wound penalty = Power+HLs suffered. They roll Stamina + Resistance when recieving the wound and reduce the penalty by 1 per success. The penalty decreases by one die each turn.
  • Fire: Victims of attacks soak an additional (Power)L on their next action. This damage bypasses armor soak.
  • Water: Victims of attacks suffer a -Power initiative penalty on their next action. This penalty decreases by one each turn. Furthermore, while under this effect, they may not take multiple actions (apart from full defences) without the aid of Extra Action Charms.
  • Wood: Increase the weapon's damage rating by Power. It deals L damage if it did not to begin with.

This Charm can explicitly be Comboed regardless of its Duration, and can be placed in Combos with Charms of other Abilities.

I think this Charm may be a little more powerful than I meant it to be. Hm.

Essence Bolt Enhancements

These are primarily Solar conversions for GoldenCat's Abyssal Lore Charms. Asterisked Charms are following his work; Charms not so marked are my own.

Fundamental Knives

charm block here
Minima:
Prereqs:

This is a Solarised Crypt Bolt, pending me reading books to be written in full.

* Rosy-Fingered Dawn
Permanent
Minima: 3/3
Prereqs: Fundamental Knives

Fingertips shining with the soft light of morning, the Solar learns to fling bolts of true sunlight. Let the dead beware! She doubles her permanent Essence when calculating the range of her Fundamental Knives attacks, and these attacks are Holy.

Principle of Destruction
Permanent
Minima: 3/3
Prereqs: Fundamental Knives

The Solar with this Charm drains the volition from his attacks; they are as lightning or wind-thrown fire, cleansed of malice, destructive because it is merely their nature to be. He is therefore not responsible for his actions!

The Solar may modify his Fundamental Knives attacks such that they inflict environmental damage. The meaning of this is that they are not formally attacks and therefore do not interface with parry or dodge; instead, simply calculate their damage pool and apply it to the target's soak. The target may reflexively roll Stamina + Resistance at a difficulty of the Solar's Essence in order to reduce the damage pool by half.

The use of this ability imposes a surcharge equal to the cost of Fundamental Knives. The first time in a scene the Solar uses this ability, it costs 1 Willpower. All his subsequent uses of Fundamental Knives in the scene must also be modified by Principle of Destruction.

* Unlimited Fire Heart
Permanent
Minima: 4/4
Prereqs: Principle of Destruction

The Solar with this Charm knows that the Sun is always present, even when he hides his face. Her heart is gladdened by this, and she becomes a conduit of brilliance. Her organs become luminous, and her blood becomes a frothy, radiant effluvium with a honeylike flavour. The Sun's justice is equally sweet!

This Charm doubles the limit of motes the Solar may spend for Fundamental Knives. Furthermore the Solar gains • of a virtual Background similar to the Style Background, with these modifications:

  • Instead of Wyld Stunts, the Solar's stunt pool produces Solar Stunts, which can be used only in Creation. Where Style permits Wyld Stunts to be used in shaped worlds, this Background permits Solar Stunts to be used in the bound Primordial worlds - Heaven, the Underworld, Hell, &c.
  • The Solar's stunt pool is calculated based on Virtues rather than Graces.
  • Further acquisitions of Style may be spent toward this virtual Background instead.
* Incandescent Revolution
Permanent
Minima: 3/3
Prereqs: Fundamental Knives

Upheaval is the life of the Exalted!; they are tools of revolution and agents of it and victims of it. With this Charm, the Solar reaches out to the oppressed masses around him and gathers their pain in his hands, making a shining scream. Fuelled by insurgent spirit, the Solar's Fundamental Knives have a base damage of his Essence + Lore, and those struck by them cannot suppress their inner urge for freedom; they intentionally open gaps in their armour. Each successful attack reduces the target's armour soak by his own Valor before damage is calculated. This soak reduction persists until the victim's next action.

* Uprising Hibiscus Never Stop Blooming
Permanent
Minima: 4/4
Prereqs: Incandescent Revolution

In the Solar's soul, burning around her Exaltation, is the Uprising Hibiscus, the flower of the man held down by destiny, and his desperate fury. It is the Solar's secret pain; she cannot help what drives her. Every turn, she may pluck as many petals from the hibiscus as her Lore. Each counts as 1 mote spent on Fundamental Knives. The Solar may fuel Fundamental Knives solely with hibiscus petals without spending a single mote of her own Essence, but it still works as a Charm in all other ways.

Uprising Hibiscus in a Garden of Changes
Permanent
Minima: 5/4
Prereqs: Uprising Hibiscus Never Stop Blooming, Unconquerably Excellent Solar Armoury

When the petals of the Uprising Hibiscus fall, they scatter in the garden of the Solar's soul and other flowers spring up: freedom orchids, reformation plumeria, wisteria-of-guerilla-activity, insubordinate banana blossom, and so on.

Using this Charm, the Solar may intentionally plant these.

This Charm extends the benefit of Uprising Hibiscus Never Stop Blooming. He may exchange hibiscus petals for points that activate the Armaments he knows (provided by Unconquerably Excellent Solar Armoury), modifying a usage of Fundamental Knives. One petal is equivalent to two points. It's impossible to use half a petal.

* Socially Turbulent Phoenix
8m 1w, One Scene, Simple
Minima: 5/4
Prereqs: Unlimited Fire Heart, Uprising Hibiscus Never Stop Blooming

The Hibiscus overgrows its bed. It spreads around the Solar like a temple filled with unheard voices and good people downtrodden by wickedness or simple lack of compassion. All those who behold the Solar feel it in their hearts; the world does not have to be this way! We can tear it down in flames and build a beautiful thing in its ashes.

While this Charm is in effect, all Social attacks made in the Solar's presence have bonus automatic successes equal to her Essence, and defences against her Fundamental Knives have their difficulty increased by her Lore.

Metacharm Techniques

Integral Understanding

Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Min. Lore: 5
Min. Essence: 4
Prereq Charms: Chaos-Repelling Pattern, Will-Bolstering Method

Once the Solar has mastered the shaping of energies outside himself, he learns to shape them within himself. Each time the Solar learns this Charm, he chooses another Solar Charm he knows. He must have twice the listed Ability and Essence requirements for that Charm. From this moment on, he can use that Charm as an anima ability - it always creates an anima display, regardless of whether it was activated with Personal Essence (if this is the case, though, the display will subside imediately, with no lingering effect), and it does not count as Charm use for a turn. He is not forced to use it as an anima ability, however.

This Charm can be learned multiple times, but no more than the user has dots of Lore.

Standard of the First Among Chosen
Cost: Varies
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Min. Lore: 5
Min. Essence: 4
Prereq Charms: Power-Awarding Prana

When another Exalted within Essence yards activates a Charm with a duration of One Scene, the Solar may pay half the cost of that Charm, rounding down, to extend its effect to himself. He joins in the other Exalt's enactment of it; the originator of the Charm still controls it and may choose to end it, while the other may not. However, he benefits from it as though he were using it. The Essence cost of this Charm remains committed while the Solar is under an extended effect. This Charm cannot be used to extend the effects of Martial Arts Form-type Charms; these foundational kata are too rooted in motion of body and soul to extent to contain two or more. Similarly, it does not allow the duplicarion of any effects that are unique to a user's nature, such as Lunar shapechanging magic. Finally, this Charm may be activated as a dice action that requires no roll to join in the effect of a Charm previously activated.

Comments

I greatly approve of the changes you've made (to whatever extent you care about my apporval.) - Dasmen

Cool beans! I do actually want to make non-crazy Charms once in a while, believe it or not. - w
Hey, I think these charms are cool. I mean, I woundn't have nessesarly done them the same way, but in all liklyhood their better for that fact. And now I could make a character themed around his spiritual sword, like Kuwabara, exept without the suckyness. -Dasmen
^_^ - w

SolarLore/FWWCommentsOld

... my... I stand impressed, flattered and humbled, Shreyas! And as usual, utterly envious of your ability with Naming Charms. Those names are beautiful, simply beautiful. The idea of a Solar Style Background is... well, I have no words for it. Awesome will have to suffice. I am scared from te attacks doing enviromental damage. Really scared. And using the petals for armaments is just... well, you really were in an inventive kick there! ^_^ However... I got a gripe. Incandescent Revolution.

See, the Abyssal version scatters motes because that is something Abyssals do - plenty of Abyssal Charms do that, and it is part of their theme to drain their opponents dry, vampires of soul as much as body. Most as it lines with your wonderful flavor, I just can't shake the fact that the Solar version should be doing something else instead of draining motes, something more Solar... which is also why Turbulent Phoenix is my favorite. It shows hope and revolution where the Abyssal one shows sorrow and finality. It is a perfect counterpoint, and its effect so fits for a Solar(and makes me wish I had been that creative with the Abyssal one instead of doing 'you get shielded')

Anyways, I will now commit 'Wiki Ouroboros' by taking some of your assumptions to my own, especially the great Armament idea! That reminds me of making the Abyssal armaments already too! -- GoldenCat

I'm going to echo GoldenCat 's praise as say you did some beautiful work, Willows. In regards to GC's gripe with Incandescent Revolution, perhaps replacing "...those struck by them are beaten down by their own inner unrest, which scatters their Valour of motes." with something along the lines of "...and his attacks are driven by the pride of his people, overcoming opposition by reducing environmental penalties (or shield/cover penalties, or maybe both) by an amount equal to his valor." would be enough to address his unrest?-Ambisinister
Thanks, guys. I'm unhappy with the 'environmental penalty' implementation because that would have zero value in my games, but it led me somewhere good. - willows p.s. I think that the mote-scattering attack is actually a way better tactical choice, and it saddens me in my heart that you guys are like, "It's not Solar enough!", but I recognize that mote-scattering isn't really something that traditionally lives in generic Solar Charms.
I didn't really mind the mote dispersal, but your soak idea is also very sound, and does feel more Solar.-A.
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