SolarMelee/Madwand
Cleave the Flesh</B>
<B>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Melee: 2 Minimum Essence: 1 Prerequisite Charms: Excellent Strike
Some attacks are so powerful, a single enemy cannot halt it's force. This Charm may be activated after any melee attack which was not successfully parried. The attack is repeated with the same number of successes and the same charms in effect on a different target within reach. This charm may not be used more than once on a single attack.
Sweep of the Blade</B>
<B>Cost:2 motes/extra target Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Melee: 3 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Cleave the Flesh
It takes enormous strength and power to stand up to greater numbers. With this Charm, the Exalt makes an huge sweeping attack with his weapon, sufficient to fell many of his enemies. To use this Charm, the Solar declares how many different targets he will try to attack, to a maximum of his Strength. Each target beyond the first costs 2 motes of essence. Then the Solar makes a single attack, and applies it to each target in turn. If the attack is ever successfully parried, it stops and the remaining targets are unharmed. Each target applies defenses separately against the attack.
Dance of the Dervish</B>
<B>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Melee: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Sweep of the Blade
Armies fall like stalks of wheat before the Solar using this Charm. The Solar enters a dance, enormous sweeps of his blade circling him, rising and falling, cutting his enemies to peices. The Solar makes a single Melee attack. This attack is applied up to the Solar's Strength separate times against any of his enemies within reach of his weapon. The Solar must spread these attacks as evenly as possible between all enemies within range.
Army-reaping Prana</B>
<B>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Scene Type: Simple Minimum Melee: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Sweep of the Blade
Mortal armies cannot hope to stand before a Solar Exalted. An Exalt using this Charm may sweep through thousands of the enemy, as easily as a farmer harvests his fields. With this Charm active, with every Melee attack the Exalt may target up to his Strength in different enemies within reach of his weapon. His attack is applied separately to each enemy in turn. If the attack is ever successfully parried, it stops and the remaining targets are unharmed.
Dawn Brings the Sun Kata</B>
<B>Cost:8 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Scene Type: Extra Action Minimum Melee: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Dance of the Dervish, Army-reaping Prana
Only the truest mastery of his weapon may bring a Solar to this Charm. As with the Exalt's Second Breath, a world of new possibilities opens to the Exalt using this Charm -- it is indeed a new dawn. To use this Charm, a Solar begins by breifly performing a kata to center his concentration on the task ahead of him. Then, for the duration of one scene, the Exalt has the benefit of one additional Fully Independent Melee Action each turn. This action is fully splittable, and may be used for melee dice actions, activation of melee charms and Combos, or even activation of any reflexive charm. The characters normal action may be used in any way he sees fit. This charm is not compatible with other Extra Action charms, and it will also end prematurely if the character is ever left without a melee weapon in-hand, however briefly.
Unconquered Blade Technique</B>
<B>Cost:1 mote per die, 1 Willpower Duration: Scene Type: Reflexive Minimum Melee: 3 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Excellent Strike
None can match Sol Invictus in battle. By using this Charm, a Solar may temporarily take on an aspect of his patron’s skill. For each mote spent, the character adds one die to each melee attack he makes for the scene. Multiple appilications of this Charm are cumulative, but he cannot more than double his normal Dexterity + Melee pool. The Solar also gains an enhanced sense of attunement with his weapon; add 1 to the Rate of any Melee weapon he uses while this Charm lasts.
(This charm is based on the VBoS charm Blade of the Battle Maiden and the charm Excellent Strike. BotBM is twice as expensive and twice as powerful, applying it's bonus to parries, as well. This charm also has higher prerequisites.)
Stir the Flesh</B>
<B>Cost:3 motes, 1 action Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Melee: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Fire and Stones Strike
The armor some foes may don is sometimes too much for the mightiest blow to pierce. When this is the case, a Solar can do no better than to call on the power of this Charm. The Exalt strikes a vicious wounding blow; if he is successful in piercing his foes defenses he may drive his weapon through the hole opened in the armor, using it to stir the vulnerable flesh beneath. This Charm may be used only after the character has scored at least one lethal or aggravated damage success against an armored foe; additionally, the exalt must be using a weapon capable of piercing armor such as a sword or spear. Weapons such as axes or maces require a well-described stunt. This Charm may be used as many times as desired on a single strike; each use costs the character 3 motes and he must give up an action later in the turn, such as actions provided by Extra Action charms or splitting his dice pool. Re-roll damage for the original attack, only applying soak due to Stamina. The target takes this much additional damage.
Comments
The first 3 charms are inspired by the Melee extra-action charms. I don't really like those charms, I hope that these supply a different option. Comments?-Madwand
I like the first three, although I question the utility of Dance of the Dervish - You can only ever have 5 people in melee range at a time, and it rarely happens... I'd suggest dropping the willpower cost and up it to around 8m to compensate, so it's less expensive to use in sub-optimal conditions.
As to Unconquered Blade Technique... I prefer a smaller cap for scenelong adders, but that's preference. I certainly do think it should be simple though, I can't think of any reason for it to be reflexive.
-- Darloth
Good comments. I've rephrased Dance of the Dervish to make it more powerful... now none of the attacks will be wasted, although there are new disadvantages in the form of a cap on the total number of attacks, and the Solar must spread the pain all around whenever possible. The charm might be *too* good now, I'm not sure. All three of the charms now have their own different uses and flavor. Comboing this charm with Iron Whirlwind Attack will truly turn the Solar into a blender of Doom for a turn, although at the cost of almost all his Willpower. As for Unconquered Blade Technique... yeah, there's plenty of room for debate on whether it should be simple or reflexive. I chose reflexive because 1) BotBM is reflexive 2) Excellent Strike may be used right away, and a only a reflexive scene-length charm could be used right away... this charm is supposed to replace Excellent Strike essentially. and 3) It's not as if we're lacking for examples of reflexive scene-length Melee charms :-)
As I'm sure you know by now, I hate the pre-form VBoS, and I -never- think it should be used as an example. 2)... I also dislike pure-speedbumpization. I think there should be -some- use of earlier charms, if only in combos or when surprised. The 'when surprised' part applies much more if this is simple... 3) this is mainly an offensive power. Actually, it's entirely an offensive power... I can't think of any offensive examples of reflexive charms, at least not in melee. Hurricane Wossname from Air Dragon has enough disadvantages to be reflexive, for me, but I don't think solar attack-charms should be. Your results may vary of course. Dance of the Dervish now seems pretty spot-on. Also... Strength Increasing Exercise combines with this for truly sickening attacks. I'm not sure this is good or bad, but I'm pointing it out.
-- Darloth
The Unconquered Blade Technique seems pretty strong to me with only one prerequisite and the low mote cost per added die - if you've got something like Essence Gathering Temper you can max out this charm at the beginning of the battle and then just wade into the enemy. I think I'd like it better with the min. Melee set to 4 and a cost of 3 motes for 2 dice or something like that (there are some more solar charms where fractional motes due to the cap might be lost). -- MadFreddy
Does stirring the flesh's damage roll count extra successes from the original attack? I'm thinking no, personally, but want to make sure. What about other damage charms from the original attack, et cetera? -- GregLink
Speaking of Stirring the Flesh, that mechanic is very icky indeed. Is it possible to use this charm at all without extra actions, or splitting your actions? It doesn't look like it at this point. - IanPrice
- Stir the Flesh counts all damage from the original attack, including damage due to successes, charms, etc. It seemed to make the most sense to me that way, because the placement of the original blow -- i.e. the successes -- would indicate how vulnerable an area the "stirring action" would take place in. It is not possible to use the charm without extra actions waiting to be used, as those extra actions are part of the cost of the charm. The idea here is that you are using an action to "Stir". You could, in theory, combo Stir the Flesh with a counterattack charm and, if attacked before your initiative, use up your only action for the turn "stirring". -Madwand
Also speaking of Stirring the Flesh - it's certainly powerful and very useful against an armour-encrusted foe, but it still sounds rather Abyssal and really vicious to me (or to put it in another context it looks like the dark side of the force...). But that's just personal preference -- MadFreddy
A charm which is useless outside of a combo is a useless charm. I'd rather just make the extra attacks. - IanPrice.
- I wondered myself if the Charm was more appropriate as an Abyssal charm -- I decided it worked well as a Solar Charm though. It's actually based off of an old AD&D game where certain fighters were stunting the same effect. I remember one surprised Marilith dying to that. It was cool and vicious and heroic. All these Charms are designed to be very comboable, but all of them are also useful alone. If you hit with an initial attack, you are almost certainly better off doing the extra damage with Stir the Flesh than making a second attack. Add the Charm to a combo and it just gets that much sweeter. -Madwand
- Since you need extra actions to do it, how in Creation is Stir the Flesh useful on its own? - IanPrice
- Sorry, I thought the Charm description made this clear. Exalted Core, page 92: Multiple actions. Split your dice pool as many times as you dare, attack until you hit and roll at least 1 success on damage. Stir the Flesh until you run out of motes, run out of actions, or the target is dead. Repeat as desired. For flavor, combo with Excellent Strike, Hungry Tiger Technique, and Fire and Stones Strike to guarantee you do at least 1 HL. Add defensive Charms to taste. I call it "Behemoth-Slaying Stroke." -Madwand
