SolarRelay/Willows
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Charms
10. Desperate Survival
Pathos Flare
Cost: 10 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Endurance: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Willpower-Strengthening Spirit
The Solar who uses this Charm restores his body at the cost of his psyche, harnessing his inner terror. He immediately regains Health Levels until his Wound Penalty from injury is reduced to 0 (that is, he regains his first -0 Health Level and no more than that), and loses all his temporary Willpower Points. He also suffers a Limit Break (and does gain Willpower from that), regardless of his current quantity of Limit, which is unusually intense; its normal duration is multiplied by the Solar's Essence. The ravages of this Limit Break are so terrible that afterwards, the Solar gains a permanent point of Limit. This point is not removed normally by Limit Break; only extensive psychological therapy can restore stability to one who has inflicted this on himself. Even in that case, the Limit dot is only converted to a temporary point which will be removed when he next Breaks.
13. Retribution
This Is For The Children Stance
- Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: Indefinite
- Type: Simple
- Min. Investigation: 4
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prereq Charms: Ten Magistrate Eyes
The character binds a part of himself into a stormy spirit of vengeance, guaranteeing that the perpetrators of a crime are punished. He identifies a crime; the ST rates it on a scale of 1 to 5 (with the rating being equal to the amount of damage the crime has caused, in terms of Backgrounds) for less complex crimes, going up into infinity for things on a grander scale. While the Charm is in effect, the character can automatically identify whether a person in his presence has responsibility for the offense. If so, he must add the crime's rating in dice to attempts to kill him. This explicitly includes not only physical attacks but also the social wrangling involved in building up torch mobs, hiring assassins, etc., as wel as sneaking around, building traps, poisoning, training attack animals, and so forth. Any method can be enhanced by the power of the endless retribution spirit. Furthermore, he must make Compassion checks at a difficulty of the crime's rating to avoid attempting to kill a perpetrator. While any perpetrators of the crime still live, the Solar cannot end this Charm voluntarily, though forced decommitment of Essence might break it.
Harmony of Celestial Sanction
- Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: Until Released
- Type: Simple
- Min. Melee: 5
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prereq Charms: Ready in 8 Directions Stance, Irresistible Salesman Spirit
The Eclipse using this Charm makes a salute to his opponent, and touches her with his sword, an action requiring simple success on a Melee roll if the target resists. As the Exalt is not seeking to wound, conventional parries and dodges are not efficacious against this "attack", but any defence that works without counting successes on an action—such as the Solar perfect defences, the Lunar simple-success defences, and the Sidereal imperfect parry, Impeding the Flow—will interrupt the Charm. The Charm simply fails against targets with Essence greater than the Exalt's own.
If he succeeds in touching his opponent, the Solar binds her into a perversion of a traditional duellist's oath; the Exalt promises to return every blow given in kind, and the target promises to accept this with good humour. When the opponent attempts an attack against the Exalt, he may count the attack against him, or he may release the Charm, making one counterattack at his opponent (as per Solar Counterattack) per attack he has counted. He may not count more attacks than his Essence + Melee, and he may not counter (through other means) an attack that he chooses to count. These counterattacks do not count against the attacker's Rate.
Only members of the Eclipse Caste and those with the ability to simulate their oath-binding anima ability use this Charm, but others may learn it as a theoretical exercise.
24. Conditional Charms
Incurvature of the Scholar's Soul - FourWillowsWeeping
- Cost: None
- Duration: Permanent
- Type: Special
- Prerequisites to be determined when I have my books. Include Essence-Gathering Temper.
Each time the Solar learns this Charm, he wraps his Essence more tightly around himself, binding his soul as though with precious silk. He gains 1 point of Limit which can never be removed, subtracts his permanent Essence from his maximum Peripheral mote pool, and increases his Personal mote pool by the same amount.
In addition to this effect, the Exalt's anima naturally begins to stabilize itself at a particular level of display, depending on the Exalt's Caste, doubling the motes they regain from any effect when at a particular display level:
- Dawn Castes benefit when their animas are at the totemic level of display.
- Zenith Castes stabilize on the bonfire display category.
- Twilight Castes experience this phenomenon when their animas are glowing brightly.
- Night Castes feel the same effect when their anima is not displayed.
- Eclipse Castes display this mark of favor when only their Castemarks are visible.
30. YARRR!!! Charms of Kalonice Stormwind
Golden Crystal Parrot Sword
- Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: One Scene
- Type: Simple
- Min. Athletics: 4
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prereq. Charms: Essence Hook And Grapple Meditation
With an occult knot, Kalonice fastens a weapon to a rope. The weapon takes on the appearance of cracked crystal, and the rope transforms into a gold-and-ultramarine macaw with a long, trailing tail, holding the weapon in its claws. The Exalt grasps the end of the tail. The Essence macaw has one dice action each turn (which it may split), with which it makes attacks using the weapon and Kalonice's Brawl or Melee attack pools, at up to (Essence * 5) yards distance. It is able to perform clinches. Kalonice may also use her own actions to attack and parry with the bird as proxy.
In addition, the macaw is able to fly and serve as a grapple, adding Essence automatic successes to Athletics checks for climbing.
The Essence Hook And Grapple Meditation can be used as the rope and weapon for this Charm. In this case, the cost of this Charm is reduced to 6 motes, and the defensive penalty of the grapple is reduced by half.
32. Fighting the Fair Folk
World-Weaving Lightning
- Cost: 2 motes
- Duration: Instant
- Type: Supplemental
- Min. Lore: 5
- Min. Ring: 2
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prerequisite Charms: Wyld-Shaping Technique, Elemental Bolt Technique
With a raised chain and a flinty eye, the Solar hardens the world into stability, obeying his view. This Charm has two applications:
Used with a Ring-Shaping attack, the Solar fixes his opponent's form, preventing him from altering his shape for the remainder of the story if the attack inflicts any injury.
Used with a Ring parry, the Solar anchors a shaped world with his own immutability of identity, adding his Willpower to the dice pool of the parry and defining one preexisting fact about the environment as immutable; until the end of the story, this fact must be incorporated into or left unaltered by shaping actions.
33. Yu-Shan
Incarnation Fountain Crown
- Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
- Duration: One scene
- Type: Simple
- Min. Presence: 4
- Min. Essence: 3
- Prerequisite Charms: Erudite Mastery of Ceremonies, Majestic Radiant Presence
Using this Charm, the Solar sets his Caste mark alight, and a column of symbols rises from it, up into the sky. This column of symbols is the name-banner of his shard, the infinite sequence that identifies the immortal postion of his spirit by its works and deeds.
A Solar displaying his name-banner thus has Contacts, in the form of great and small gods, at a rating of 5. He does not know these contacts, however. Rather, upon observing the banner they will reveal themselves to him at need; they are beings awed, indebted to, or befriended by previous incarnations of the shard. The subtle influence this carries adds the Solar's Essence plus the highest Essence among gods present to Presence and bureaucracy dice pools which affect spirits, as they move deliberately or instinctively to the world-king's aid.
The stories of deaths are highlighted by lines of hot red symbols in the banner. Solars who have recently suffered many deaths, such as those killed in the Usurpation and held in the Jade Prison, upset spirits and people who can read the High Holy Speech with these gory chronicles; it provides them with 2 virtual Specialties, "Unnerving" and "Vengeful", which can be applied to any Social roll.
A solar with the Past Lives merit in any extent will intuitively know how to treat spirits who contact him; he remembers their place in the ladder, but not precisely which ladder.
Incorruptible Radiance
- Cost: 8m 1w
- Duration: One scene
- Type: Simple (dramatic action)
- Min. Bureaucracy: 5
- Min. Essence: 4
- Prerequisite Charms: Erudite Mastery of Ceremonies
The celestial lions do not admit just anyone into Yu-Shan; this Charm serves to reassure them.
The Solar recites the abbreviated Decrees of the Seven, the laws set down by the Incarna at the beginning of things. (This takes about a minute.) His Castemark glows dimly white, and white bands appear around his wrists. While the Charm is in effect, the Solar is incorruptible; suggestions that he break the Decrees are unacceptable orders.
