TheHoverpope/DrippingVenomStyle
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Dripping Venom Style
Many martial artists have emulated the snake, and the scorpion, and the spider in their styles. Many have learned to imitate the scuttling, sinuous nature of the creatures of creation and bend their movements to their own ends. But not nearly so many have combined those traits with the thing that makes such creatures so truly dangerous - the venom that lies in their fangs and claws and stings. This form allows the martial artist to wield the poisons of the world against their enemies with shocking effectiveness. The martial art is generally offensive, with only a few defensive tricks that are usually based on attack.
The martial artist may use knives, sais, needles and their artifact equivalents, and may use armor without mobility and fatigue penalties.
Sharpen the Tooth
Cost: 3m Minimums: ma 2, ess 1 Type: supplemental Keywords: combo-ok Duration: until next action Prerequisite Charms: none
The tooth that bears venom must be sharp, or else there is no way that it could pierce the hide of a greater beast. The martial artist's unarmed strike ignores hardness and increases accuracy by 2.
Soften the Heart
Cost: 2m Minimums: ma 2, essence 1 Type: supplemental Keywords: combo-ok Duration: until next action Prerequisite Charms: none
The martial artist strikes, and his blow misaligns the target's essence ever so slightly. Targets that he strikes suffer a penalty equal to the martial artist's essence rating to their resistance rolls until next action.
Hide the Fang
Cost: 3m Minimums: ma 2, essence 2 Type: reflexive Keywords: combo-ok Duration: instant Prerequisite Charms: soften the heart, sharpen the tooth
The wise predator is unknown until the moment that he strikes, his target's unawareness of his fangs a valuable weapon in and of itself. The martial artist may reflexively attempt to hide a weapon or ready one, adding essence extra successes to any necessary roll. The swiftness of purpose this grants can also be applied to join battle rolls.
Duck the Beast
Cost: 2m Minimums: ma 3, essence 2 Type: reflexive Keywords: combo-ok, supplemental Duration: until next action Hide the Fang
The martial artist comes under attack, and feints and ducks out of the way of attacks with the grace of a natural predator. Until next action, any attack against the martial artist suffers a die pool penalty equal to his DV penalty. Charms that allow him to defend at full DV such as Shadow Over Water do not remove these penalties, merely bypass them, and so do not alleviate the penalties inflicted on attackers.
Dripping Venom Form
Cost: 6m Minimums: ma 3, essence 2 Type: Simple Keywords: Form-Type Duration: Scene Prerequisite Charms: Duck the Beast
The martial artist moves with the flowing forms of any number of venomous predators, and internalizes their lessons. That one must strike decisively and quickly; that one must not expose oneself until necessary, and that your poison must suffice.
Add the martial artist's essence to his martial arts and dodge pools. Increase the damage of any poison on his weapon by his essence.
Searing Skin Blessing
Cost: varies Minimums: ma 3, essence 2 Type: reflexive (step 1) Keywords: combo-ok, obvious, Poison Duration: until next action Prerequisite Charms: Dripping Venom Form
The martial artist learns to deploy the some of the most potent venoms in creation as one of their natural wielders. The martial artist's unarmed attack becomes envenomed with a toxin, whether a blade or his fists. He may create any non-magical toxin that he is familiar with, at a mote cost equal to the resources cost of the toxin. The venom lasts until the next action.
Cunning Venom Technique
Cost: 4m Minimums: Ma 4, essence 2 Type: Reflexive Keywords: combo-ok, obvious Duration: until next action Prerequisite Charms: Searing Skin Blessing
The poisoner must be as sure of his venom's potency as he is of his ability to administer it. Until next action, increase the penalty inflicted by his poisons by essence.
Spit of the Cobra
Cost: 4m Minimums: Ma 4, essence 3 Type: Supplemental Keywords: combo-ok Duration: instant Prerequisite Charms: Cunning Venom Technique
The martial artist has learned from the deadly creatures of creation that having to strike to administer venom is a problem to overcome. The martial artist makes an attack that pulls short, and his venom is propelled by essence into the wound that was never caused. The martial artist's attack does not strike, but his venom is successfully administered to the target as if they had suffered a level of damage. This attack is unblockable and unparryable.
Biding the Time
Cost: 6m Minimums: ma 4, essence 3 Type: reflexive Keywords: combo-ok Duration: until next action Prerequisite Charms: Searing Skin Blessing
The predator waits until his opponent puts himself out of position to strike. Until next action, he gains a reflexive counterattack in step 9 against any attack against him or any other target within essence yards.
Watching the Prey Fall
Cost: 4m, 1wp Minimums: martial arts 5, essence 3 Type: simple (6, -0) Keywords: combo-ok, obvious Duration: until next action Prerequisite Charms: Biding the Time, Spit of the Cobra
The predator knows the other throuble with venom - that it is no instant thing. The wise predator backs away until his prey succumbs, but that is not always possible. Sometimes he must remain close until the combat is done and his enemy falls. The character activates this charm and takes a six tick long guard action. Any charm with a duration of until next action remains active for the duration of the guard action. As long as he activates this charm every action, his Until Next Action duration charms need not end.
Theriac Bypassing Venom
Cost: 1wp Minimums: martial arts 5, essence 3 Type: Permanent Keywords: none Duration: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: Watching the Prey Fall
The martial artist learns a great deal from the venomous predators of creation. They learn how to lay low mighty enemies with but a tincture, and yet also the great weakness of such creatures. The scorpion cannot sting the scorpion, the snake cannot poison its handler, and even a clever mortal with the right potions can ameliorate the effect of poison. This charm allows the martial artist to bypass some of those effects. When the martial artist uses Searing Skin Blessing, he may spend an additional willpower to change the keyword of the poison to sickness or crippling. This does not change the behavior of the toxin itself; use the normal rules for poison resolution. At essence 5, the martial artist may apply a broader range of keywords, typically based on the type of being that they are. Sidereals might poison their target through a touch of destiny, applying the Fate keyword to their poisons. A solar might use the Holy keyword, or a Dragonblood Elemental, a lunar might use the Shaping keyword to warp the target's form. In all cases, this changes only what charms will defend against the poison, leaving the poison's mechanics otherwise untouched.
