SolarOccult/Ikselam
Ikselam's Occult Charms
These are mainly counter-Charms. Some of them are specificially designed to kill Kasumi. ~_^
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Thread-Tangling Motion
Cost: 3 motes Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Occult: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight
Sorcerers and martial artists both recognize that gestures and movements affect the flow of Essence around a person. A Solar with this Charm has learned to exploit that principle to hinder her enemies' use of magic. With a quick motion, she causes the ambient Essence flows to hinder the activation of a Charm. Although this usually involves a hand gesture, the Thread-Tangling Motion can be just as readily achieved through subtle posturing, or even special breathing patterns; nothing short of complete paralysis will prevent its use.
Mechanically, this power is used in a response to Charm use by a target within (Essence x 3) yards. The character rolls Essence; each success increases the cost of the Charm by 2 motes. If the target cannot or will not pay the increased cost, the Charm is immediately cancelled. It still counts as a Charm use for the turn, and targets who refuse to pay the extra cost do not regain the motes, willpower, etc., spent as part of the Charm's normal activation cost.
Thread-Tangling Motion does not function against Charms whose minimum Essence requirement is higher than the character's Essence score, nor does it function against anything but single Charms. Combos, spells, and non-Charm powers are not susceptible. It may only be used if the character is under an effect which allows her to perceive Charm use (such as All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight).
Charm-Absorption Method
Cost: 1 mote, 1 willpower Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Occult: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Thread-Tangling Motion, Ghost-Eating Technique
Gaining even greater understanding of Essence, the Solar becomes capable of not merely disrupting his opponents' Charms, but absorbing their power for his own use. The Essence of the targeted Charm flares into full visibility, brilliant threads swirling through the air to weave themselves into his anima.
Like Thread-Tangling Motion, this Charm is used in response to Charm activation within (Essence x 3) yards of the character. The character engages in an opposed Essence roll with the target; if he wins, her Charm is cancelled, and he gains a number of motes equal to the number she paid to activate it. All motes gained in this way cause his anima to flare, just as if he were spending instead of gaining them (even if they are refilling his personal pool, or originally came from his target's). If the motes gained would cause him to exceed his maximum Essence pool, the remainder are wasted (but still contribute to his anima banner).
Charm-Absorption Method only functions versus Charms whose minimum Essence requirement is less than the character's Essence score. It does not affect Combos, spells, or non-Charm powers, and may only be used if the character has some way of perceiving Charm use.
Heart-Seeking Spiral Attack
Cost: 3 motes per success Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Occult: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, Spirit-Cutting Attack
To those who can see it, the Essence of long-lasting Charms enfolds their users in a web of shining threads, radiating from the body's natural Essence centers. Most such centers correspond to vital points; a Solar with this Charm has learned to let the structure of her opponent's own Charms guide her strikes to where they will do the most damage.
This Charm supplements an attack. For every three motes spent activating it, the character gains one extra success on her attack roll. The total number of successes bought cannot exceed the number of motes the target has currently committed to Charms of non-Instant duration.
Heart-Seeking Spiral Attack is explicitly permitted to Combo with Charms of other Abilities. It cannot be used unless the character is under an effect which allows her to see Essence flows.
Sunset Executioner Eyes
Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower Type: Simple Duration: One scene Min. Occult: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Heart-Seeking Spiral Attack
Opening his eyes to the flow of Essence, the Exalt uses his enemies' magical defenses against them; the more they rely on Essence to protect and guide them, the easier it is for him to predict their actions.
For the remainder of the scene, the character gains the benefits of All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight. Whenever he attacks an opponent who has motes committed to non-Instant Charms, his attack receives a dice bonus equal to the number of committed motes. This bonus counts toward dice-pool caps, and cannot more than double the Ability + Attribute pool used for a given attack.
Pattern-Collapsing Blow
Cost: variable number of motes, 1 willpower Type: Supplemental Duration: Instant Min. Occult: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Heart-Seeking Spiral Attack, Charm-Tangling Motion
The Solar lets the pattern of her opponent's committed Essence guide her attack, but not to inflict greater harm. Instead, she aims to disrupt the structure of the Charm itself. With a successful hit, the opponent's Charm briefly flares into visibility, before dissipating into motes of swiftly-fading light. In the case of powerful Dragon-Blooded Charms, the Essence may solidify into actual specimens of the target's Aspect element, resulting a shower of leaves, a spray of water, a burst of fire and smoke, or the like. Sidereal Charms likewise betray the Caste of their users, by flaring up in the color of the Chosen's Maiden.
This Charm supplements an attack. Its cost is equal to the mote cost of the effect being cancelled, and must be paid before the attack is rolled. If the attack hits (it need not do damage), the targeted effect immediately ends. Only one effect may be cancelled per attack; the attacker chooses which one. It can only affect Charms which the target personally paid for; however, if the Charm being cancelled affects others, they immediately lose its benefit.
Pattern-Collapsing Blow is explicitly permitted to Combo with Charms of other Abilities. It does not function unless the character has some way of perceiving Essence flows, nor does it work against targets whose Essence is higher than the character's.
Shining Whip Technique
Cost: variable number of motes, 1 willpower Type: Simple Duration: Essence turns Min. Occult: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prereqs: Pattern-Collapsing Blow, Charm-Absorption Method
The Exalt reaches out with hand and heart, wresting a committed Charm away from its user and gathering it up as a brilliant skein of diamond-sharp energy.
This Charm has a range of (Essence x 2) yards. On the turn it is invoked, the player chooses a target, and one of the Charms to which the target has committed Essence; he spends a number of motes equal to the mote cost of the chosen effect. He and his target make a reflexive, opposed Essence roll. If the character wins, the chosen Charm ceases to affect the target, and is whisked to his hand as thread-thin whips of light.
For a number of subsequent turns equal to his Essence score, the character may use the captured Charm as a weapon. It has Speed, Accuracy, and Defense equal to his Essence score, and does lethal damage equal to its mote cost. It is wielded with Dexterity + Occult. It counts as an immaterial attack, and may only be parried by Charms. It ignores armor soak and shield bonuses provided by nonmagical equipment. However, Strength does not add to its base damage; it only does (mote cost) + (attack successes) on a successful hit.
This Charm only works if the character has some way of perceiving Essence flows, and does not work against targets whose Essence is higher than the character's. Once the duration expires, the Charm dissipates; it does not return to the target.
PowerCombat: The Charm-whip has unlimited Rate.
Shattering Essence Recoil
Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower Type: Simple Duration: Instant Min. Occult: 6 Min. Essence: 6 Prereqs: Shining Whip Technique
The Solar envelops and crushes an enemy's anima with her own, driving the Essence of his committed Charms back into his body. This process is painful at best, lethal at worst; the Essence being forced into the victim cuts and burns, its patterned state resisting absorption.
This Charm must be used against a target within (Essence x 3) yards of the character. All Charms of non-Instant duration affecting the target immediately cease to affect him. Charms which he himself activated are cancelled outright; any which were activated by others stop affecting him, but do not stop affecting any other targets they may have. He suffers a number of dice of unsoakable bashing damage equal to the number of motes he personally committed to the negated Charms. He does not regain these motes.
This Charm does not function against targets whose Essence is higher than the character's.
Iron Essence Cage Technique
Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower Type: Simple Duration: Scene Min. Occult: 5 Min. Essence: 4 Prereqs: Pattern-Collapsing Blow
The Solar channels his own Essence into an opponent's Charms, strengthening and rigidifying them. The invisible latticework of her Charms begins to resist her movements, leaving her trapped in a cage of her own Essence.
This Charm must be used against a target within (Essence x 3) yards of the character. For the remainder of the scene, its target suffers a dice-pool penalty to all physical actions equal to the number of motes she had committed to Charms when Iron Essence Cage Technique was activated. Charms activated subsequent to this do not add to the penalty. Charms which contribute to the penalty upon its application, but expire before the end of the scene, cease contributing when they end. No matter how large the penalty, it cannot reduce dice pools to below the target's Essence.
Brilliant Lattice Defense
Cost: 2 motes, 1 willpower Type: Simple Duration: Scene Min. Occult: 5 Min. Essence: 5 Prereqs: Iron Essence Cage Technique
The Exalt strengthens and reshapes the pattern of her committed Essence, forging it into a shining web which deflects attacks.
Upon activation, Brilliant Lattice Defense adds a +1 difficulty to hit the character for every two motes of Essence she currently has committed to Charms. This explicitly includes the motes committed to Brilliant Lattice Defense. The difficulty increase cannot exceed twice her Essence, and is recalculated whenever her total number of motes committed to Charms changes; motes spent to power Instant-duration Charms never count as being committed.
= Comments
Have you considered giving targets of Thread-Tangling Motion and Charm-Absorption Method an opportunity to pull back the charm when they realize it's getting messed with? Maybe Wits+Occult, difficulty of the PC's Essence, to cancel the charm at the last moment. The target would be unable to use any simple or supplemental charms for the remainder of the turn, but could use reflexive charms; the cancelled charm would not count against the one-per-turn limit. This would nerf Charm-Absorption Method a bit (can't absorb motes from a charm that's never actually used), but considering that the charm as written would be one of the few good ways around HGD and similar defenses, it might benefit from the downgrade. - LordAuran
- This is pretty much the idea behind the contested Essence roll for CAM. _Ikselam
Very nice! I like what you have going here; my only potential protest is that some of these Charms seem a bit too broadly efficacious in their use (i.e. Thread-Tangling Motion), though I'm not sure what might be changed, other than raising the Essence prerequisite by one. Note that TTM should indicate that it only works on Charms the character is aware of (as is implicit), and that CAM's Essence flare effects should explicitly state whether this applies to all absorbed motes or only absorbed Peripheral motes (as "just as if he were spending them" allows for ambiguity in that regard).
The Heart-Seeking Spiral Attack tree is just plain nifty. Might I suggest successor Charms that allow the character to circumvent artifact armor or defend against artifact weapons by following the artifact's committed Essence in a similar fashion? - Quendalon
TTM does note that you need to be able to sense Essence. It's the last sentence in the description. The Charm I was comparing it to was Charm-Smothering Technique, from Hungry Ghost Style (which requires Ess 4 and has more prereqs, but is also less limited, both in effect and applicability).
Good point on CAM. _Ikselam
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