TheKawaiiEdition/Bishonen

Obligatory Introductory Fiction

Being born into one of the Magical Girl Gangs of the Scarlet Empire wasn't easy on anyone, and it especially wasn't easy on the boys. You had no hope of becoming a Magical Girl, and thus, you were at the bottom of the totem pole, useful only for your breeding abilities. Most responded by either learning how to wrap women around their fingers or by becoming useless and drunk. But not Cat-Hacker Sergei; he had entered the military, because there a man could make something of himself based on talent. Even if the higher ranks were mostly monopolized by Magical Girls. But his Gang largely operated out on the fronteir where few Magical Girls went. Some trouble involving one of the Otome had forced him to jump ship, but his family had been kind enough to help him out.

That had driven him to the South, where he had eventually become one of the premiere warriors of the tributary kingdom of Artai, whose ruler, Grand Duke Nagi, had put him to work trying to find Magical Girls for the Kingdom. He'd found several, one of whom he had adopted as his own daughter when she was but an orphaned child taken in by a gang that trained child-assassins. They'd all been taken by the Scarlet Empire to be trained as Otome, then returned to protect their homeland. That was the plan, anyway.

Except now, with the Scarlet Empress missing, it was unclear who was running the Otome and whether he'd ever get his daughter or Nao (the other girl sent for schooling) back.

But that wasn't his big worry.

His big worry was that he'd lived through a fight that should have killed him. A confrontation with agents of the Black Valley had ended with them turning a demon loose on him; it should have killed him, but to his shock, a golden energy had filled him, repelling its blows and burning its flesh, and he had heard a voice speaking to him.

Dude, go and be cool in my name. Pick up some chicks for me too.

Which was all well and good, he was good at picking up chicks, but if anyone found out about his new status as one of the Broodingly Handsome Sun's Stalwarts, he'd be losing everything he'd spent years building up and his own adopted daughter might well be sent to kill him.

It also didn't help that one of his daughter's Otome classmates had a crush on him, or that he'd seen Queen Mashiro's cat turn into a woman when she thought no one was looking or that he kept having flashbacks at the worst possible moments, like the middle of hand to hand combat.

It's not easy being one of the Chosen of the Broodingly Handsome Sun.

Intro

Once the Bishonen were the leaders of all the Exalted, their cuteness the banner that all followed in the great wars against the Not Fun At Alls of the distant past. They were all males then, and thwarted the tentacular ambitions of the Not Fun At Alls, turning some into the Nevercute and forcing the rest to surrender, who eventually called themselves the You'll Sees.

In the peace that followed, they ruled wisely and well at first, but the great burden of their innate grace led them down the path of Angst and Harems and forced the Magical Girls to overthrow them. They stuck their shards in the Maid Prison, where they had to do all the housework for eternity.

Now, with Neo-Empress Scarlet gone, the Bishonen have suddenly returned. Cute guys and cool girls have begun to show the excellence that once ruled the world. But the temptation of Angst remains with them. Their time within the Maid Prison has scarred them horribly, and many are no longer returning as males, but instead many are now female instead, their shards having forgotten any trace of masculinity (which was pretty thin in the first place).

Will the Bishonen revolutionise the world?

Castes

Kensai - Amazon

The True Warrior Never Draws His Sword, Except For Battle. He Never Sheathes His Sword Without Drawing Blood.

Pokemon XIII was capable of incredible sword feats, but for these reasons, was always reluctant to draw his blade to show them off; he had the scars from cutting himself to show why.

Nevertheless, it seemed the carriage full of city watchmen would not give up without him taking action. So he drew his blade and flung the carriage door open, for he rode in one himself. "The brakes!"

His ally Gigabyte reined in the horses, and now the pursuing carriage slid alongside Pokemon's. Right into Pokemon's outthrust sword. This sliced the carriage in half at waist-level. Thankfully, it also sliced a few people in half as well by doing so, which relieved him, as he was really getting tired of cutting himself.

He kept his sword out; the price was paid, so it was best to be ready to use it.

Some Bishonen are drawn to combat, spending hours every day training to master the arts of war (plus all that exercise gives them cute butts). Call them hotheaded if you will, but a Kensai who draws his sword will rarely be defeated by mere brute force.

When reincarnated as a Bishojo the Amazon retains a desire for combat but this desire also dovetails into a similar focus for other pursuits. Be it caligraphy, flower arranging or cooking the Amazon apporaches all situations as a challenge to be overcome. Retaining the most masculinty of her brethren means that the Amazon is often misunderstood by others, which can lead to her being forced to take on a lonely persona. Haunted by flashes of her previous incarnations the Amazon is also uncomfortable with romantic experiences, often prefering to respond to such urges with playful violence.

Caste Abilities: Archery, Brawl, Martial Arts, Melee, Thrown

Kensai Anima: Aura of Cool - After defeating any opponent, the Kensai may spend ten Moe to cause a dramatic slow mo to overcome all Creation as the world pauses for a moment to contemplate how awesome he is. Anyone who witnesses this display must make a Valor roll. Failure means they ruin screaming in terror. Success means they are properly intimidated and suffer a penalty to all dicepools equal to the Kensai's Moe. Rolling more successes then the Kensai's Moe negates the effect entirely.

Amazon Anima: Feminine Outrage - Whenever someone casts aspersions on the Amazon's feminity they may evoke this power at a cost of 5 motes. Doing so adds their permanent Essence to all attack rolls made against the unthoughtful idiot for the rest of the scene.

Stalwarts - Idols

"SHINING WIZARD!"

Otome Irina got kicked in the face and went flying out the window. Otome Yayoi soon joined her in the mud outside the tavern, made of a mixture of dirt and beer.

The angry blonde woman who had thrown them out stuck her head out, then waved a fist at them. "And don't come back!" She was one of the most stunningly beautiful women either of them had ever seen, so beautiful it was hard to think. They just wanted to lie in the mud and do whatever she wanted.

Obviously, the real anathema was probably after this lovely woman, and they'd have to do their best to protect her from it, when it reared its ugly head.

It was their duty as Magical Girls to aid the cute, afterall, and boy was she cute.

Eri looked at them and sighed. Magical Girls are all fangirls at heart, she thought. But she could use that.

Stalwarts are the steady hand of the Bishonen, the reliable shoulder to be cried upon and ever resolute in the face of danger and temptation. They might mask it under a gruff exterior or display a winning smile, but these Bishonen cannot be deterred from their purpose and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

On the opposite end of the spectrum from the Amazons who retain the most masculine personality of the Bishojo is the Idols, who retain practically none. The Idols love attention, and love having attention lavished upon them and love abusing this attention as hedonistically as possible with no... inhibitions to get in the way. Idols are the ultimate femme fatale, the kind of woman your mother warned you about, and almost impossible to resist. Many of them have good hearts (literally strippers with a soul of gold!) and some are just mean. The beauty and seductiveness of the Idols is such that even Magical Girls find themselves joining their fan clubs.

Caste Abilities: Endurance, Performance, Presence, Resistance, Survival

Stalwart Anima: Unflappable - Whenever the Stalwarts suffers a setback, defeat or embarrasing moment he may spend 10 motes of Moe to simply come off as so cool and profound that this doens't effect him. Even if beaten to within and inch of his life and thrown into a dumpster, as long as this aura is up everyone will simply assume that the Stalwart wanted this to happen and will often talk about how awesome and cool he was for letting it happen. He also gets to add his Moe to his bashing and lethal soak.

Idol Anima: Call Me Queen - By spending five Moe and striking a pose the Idol becomes the instant center of attention. Everyone must turn and look at her. So long as she does nothing hostile, she retaisn their undivided attention for a number of minutes equal to her Moe.

Meights - Sparks

Kohran pushed her glasses back up her nose, looking down from the balcony at the strange draconic humanoids bowing to an obsidian idol of a dragon. "What do you make of it, K-9.5?"

Her dog-golem studied the idol. "I estimate a 45% chance it is actually a sleeping dragon and will awaken as soon as you try to pry its eyes out, and then I will die like my predecessors. I estimate a 10% chance it is a pretty statue. I estimate a 32% chance it is actually a sleeping spirit or diety of some kind or sacred to such. I estimate a 9% chance that the dragon-men will spot us and try to kill us. And a 4% chance you will withdraw to a safe distance without doing anything suicidal."

"I don't remember programming you to be so pessimistic," she said, frowning.

"You made me to learn from experience, Mistress. I recommend we withdraw and return with a large force of Bishonen or Magical Girls to deal with the rising draconic army," K-9.5 concluded.

"I can't just pull an army out of my pocket, you know," Kohran said, wiping sweat off her brow. "Let's go check out the evil temple across the street."

"I estimate only a 3% chance of functional First Age devices, but a 75% chance of hungry dragon-men."

"A chance we have to take for SCIENCE," Kohran said. "Let's go."

Meights are the makers and loremasters of the Bishonen, those who have arcane resources on their side. They might have wrought potent artifacts (a mighty bird of gold that becomes a giant warrior on command, for example) or have mastered sorcerous attacks but they are usually well prepared for the trials they face.

Sparks are those Meights who reincarnate as Bishojo. Sparks are noteable for their intense interest in their chosen field of study, often to the exclusion of all social skills. This is not really due to a lack of social skills or beauty, but an intense shyness. Uncomfortable with the conflicting desires of their female bodies and Bishounen souls they prefer the safety their workshops. For some reason, almost all Sparks wear large round glasses that make their eye appear huge and cute. Whether this is a recruiment or an affectation they won't say.

Caste Abilities: Craft, Investigation, Lore, Medicine, Occult

Meight Anima: My Brilliant Plan - The Meights always know the best solution to a problem... ALWAYS. Those who suggest otherwise are nasty nasty fibbers! But, just to prove it, they can use this anima power to shore up what might have otherwise been weaknesses in their plan. Whenever a Meight makes a roll to develop a plan and this plan later proves inadequet due to unforeseen circumstances of information the Meight didn't have at the time he may spend ten MOe to simply change his plan on the spot. As far as anyone remembers the Meight knew the unforeseen problem ahead of time and they have been workign with that in minds for days or weeks. This does not improve the original roll, merely removes the penalty of the changed circumstance.

Spark Anima: Glint In the Eye - The Spark smiles and adjusts her glasses, making light glint off them in an impressive manner. By spending five Moe she convinces everyone within eyeshot that she has a brilliant plan and knows exactly what's going on. Opponents will simply assume their plans have been discovered and act appropriatly. This does not give the Spark any actual insight into the plans that were being made. This effect may be resisted by those with Moe higher then the Spark by spending a Willpower point.

Shinobi - Kunoichi

Mori didn't talk much; he left that to Hunny, who talked incessantly. He prefered to watch and observe for danger, so he could better body-guard Hunny. Not that Hunny couldn't take care of himself, but Mori's family had always watched over Hunny's, so he would do his duty.

While Hunny babbled on in his childish way to the women around him, Mori assessed them carefully. Most were simply the idle rich women of Minas LankWaterHawk, as usual, come to the Social Club to relieve their boredom and flirt in safe circumstances. A few had hidden knives for self-defense, but moved in ways that showed a lack of habit of combat. But two of the women moved like trained fighters, which bothered him.

It was time for a test. He brought tea, then deliberatly stumbled, sending glasses flying towards the women. Both lithely caught the glasses, then one of them dressed him down. But that was fine; it would keep his cover up.

He would have to do something embarrassing now. He concentrated, letting the Moe gifted him by the Broodingly Handsome Sun flow through his eyes. His vision shifted, and now he could peer through layers of clothing. He didn't like to invade privacy, but Hunny's safety came first. Concealed pouches of poison, knives, folding staves, pepper bombs...These two ladies had come prepared for a fight.

Well, if that's what they wanted, that's what he would give them.

It's the quiet ones who are dangerous.

Shinobi are Bishonen who love to act with stealth. They are there when they are needed, but vanish when their task is done. They might be a vengeful killer or a gleeful prankster, but their presence makes up in intensity whatever it lacks in duration.

In contrast the Kunoichi is much more up front and brazen then her Bishounen fellows. Hers is not the art of stealth but the art of distraction. People do not notice her acts because they aren't looking (boy, are they LOOKING) but because they are two important paying attention to other tings (like her costume, or lack thereof) to really figure out what she just did. The Kunoichi is the thief who steals in plain sight and the assassin whose winning smile is the last thing you will ever see.

Caste Abilities: Athletics, Awareness, Dodge, Larceny, Stealth

Shinobi Anima: Jump Backwards - By leaping backwards and spending ten Moe the Shinobi may escape virtually any situation. Any anima display he currently has is instantly snuffed and he may activate Stealth Charms or even make a mundane Stealth roll as if nobody was looking at him, even if he's in the middle of a crowded room full of soldiers!

Kunoichi Anima: Innocent Giggle - Whenever a Kunoichi is caught doing something she shouldn't be doing she may giggle, bat her eyes and look innocent. Also she may spend 5 Moe. The witness must make a Conviction roll. Failure means he can't possibly assume she meant to do that, or that she is obviously being framed or anything he mist to think she is innocent. Success means he realises she did it but can't really blame her. He's at a penalty to all dicepools equal to her Moe to apprehend her or harm her for the remainder of the scene as his heart isn't in it. Rolling a number of successes equal to her Moe means this effects is negated. This effect must be activated seperatly for each witness you wish to effect.

Peacemakers - Miko

Otto, bartender of the Shattered Skull, a bar in one of the seedier parts of Minas LankWaterHawk (IE--most of the city), eyed the two squabbling Magical Girls carefully. They were definitely tougher than his usual guests and probably able to fling deadly bolts of fire, lightning, etc. Or so the stories usually went.

"Stop following me, you stupid Nebbish!" one of them said to the other. The speaker was tall and beautiful and rather snobbish looking; the other was shorter and a little frumpy.

"But you're so cool, Solipism Gina!" the latter said. "I can even watch you eat and it's fascinating!"

The former began to glow in a way which Otto knew meant the killing was about to begin. He could see his customers diving for cover. He was about to join them when a tall, handsome blond man walked in.

"Ladies, ladies," he said smoothly. "There's no need to fight over me. There's enough of me for everyone to love," he said, coming up and putting an arm around each of them.

He's dead this time, Otto thought. I've seen him use total cheese before, but there is NO WAY that would work on Magical Girls.

The frumpy one blushed, while the other stared at him in abject shock, which turned into a curious look up and down him. She seemed to conclude that perhaps he was right. Perhaps...

"You going to prove that, stranger?" she asked.

He smiled at her and his teeth glinted. "Anyway you like, my lady. I am Suoh Tamaki. A pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman as you and your lovely friend."

The Nebbish looked even more flustered, while Gina looked a little flattered.

"Let me take you ladies somewhere higher class than this. My carriage awaits, and the night is full of enchantment," he said.

"We're here to track down and kill something that's been doing illegal enchantments," the Nebbish babbled.

Tamaki started to escort them outside, discussing the situation with them as if he'd known them for ages.

Otto gave a sigh of relief and straightened up. That boy isn't THAT good looking, he thought. How does he DO THAT?

There was no cosmic answer.

Peacemakers steer others away from overt conflict. Manipulators of emotion and reason alike, they are the silver tongued Bishonen that win hearts and minds. Their understanding of cuteness is the most profound of all Exalted and even the staunchest Magical Girl may find it hard to oppose them.

Where the Bishounen Peacemaker is a graceful manipulator while the Bishojo Miko is a endless font of encouragement and advice. Filled with a boundless enthusiasm which can not be cracked by even the harshest and meanest actions the Miko never falters in the aid of her friends. Miko often prefer not to take leadership positions, instead prefering to be the smiling force behind the throne, encouraging happiness among all.

Caste Abilities: Bureaucracy, Linguistics. Ride, Sail. Socialize

Peacemaker Anima: Can't We All Just Get Along? - By spending ten Moe and making an impassioned plea the Peacemaker can cause everyone to cease fighting. This targets everyone in eartshot, friend and foe alike. Anyone with a Conviction less than the Peacemaker's Moe can not make an attack or hostile action for the Bishounens Moe in minutes. They may defend themselves as normal and any hostile action on the part of anyone dispels the effect on everyone.

Miko Anima: I Believe in You - By selecting a single ally anywhere in the entire universe, clasping their hands together and simply saying "I believe in you!" or something equivalent the Miko can aid them in their darkest hour. The target feels a warmth spring up in their soul and hears the prayer as clearly as if the Miko was standing right behind him. This renews them. This ability cost 5 Moe. It instantly heals one health level (bashing, lethal or aggravated, starting with the most severe) and restores the Miko's Moe x 2 to the targets Moe pool. This ability may only be used once, then can not be used again until the sun next crosses the horizon.

Charms

Bishonen charms are based on two principles: 1) perfection, 2) LOOKING COOL. Sometimes, 3) Brooding and Angst.

The base of each charm tree thus contains a standard set of charms which progressively empower you to great feats in which you look cool. Or brood. Or look broodingly cool as you do something cool which broods.

(Substitute the appropriate Ability for (Ability) in each charm tree.)

Graceful Bishonen (Ability) 1/1
- Superior Bishonen (Ability) 2/2
  - Unfailing Bishonen (Ability) 3/3
    - Invariant Bishonen Excellence of (Ability) 4/4

(Charm Types as per charm guide on main Kawaii Edition Page)

Graceful Bishonen (Ability)

Cost: 1 mote / die
Duration: Instant
Type: Subtle/Mental
Minimum Ability: 1
Minimum Moe: 1
Prerequisite Charms: None

Add one die for every mote spent to any pool of this Ability, to a maximum of the Bishonen's Ability + Attribute. This can be used to build defensive pools with an appropriate combat ability, from a base of zero dice. (IE, it can be used to buy a dodge or parry as appropriate.)

Superior Bishonen (Ability)

Cost: 6 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Speech
Minimum Ability: 2
Minimum Moe: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Graceful Bishonen (Ability)

The Bishnonen adds his or her Moe to all dice pools of this ability for the scene, within the normal Bishonen dice adder limits.

Unfailing Bishonen (Ability)

Cost: 5 motes, 1 WP
Duration: Instant
Type: Subtle/Mental
Minimum Ability: 3
Minimum Moe: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Superior Bishonen (Ability)

The Bishonen automatically succeeds at an action with the minimum necessary level of success to overcome any opposition, unless a perfect defense is used to stop him.

Invariant Bishonen Excellence of (Ability)

Cost: 2 motes / die, 1 WP
Duration: Instant
Type: Subtle/Mental
Minimum Ability: 4
Minimum Moe: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Unfailing Bishonen (Ability)

The Bishonen adds 1 die to all uses of a specific Ability + Attribute pool for a scene for every 2 motes spent; he can add up to his Ability + Attribute to any given pool.

Bishonen charms tend to solve things in one of the following manners:

Give you a bucket of dice to roll.
Tell you that you simply succeeded
Enable you to affect lots of people at once with your abilities.
Give you some special trick beyond the capacity of the raw ability because it would be cool.

Kensai Charms

Stalwart Charms

Meight Charms

Shinobi Charms

Peacemaker Charms

Example Charms:

Aura of Authority

Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Speech
Minimum Investigation: 2
Minimum Moe: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Graceful Bishonen Investigation

Upon appearing at a crime scene or otherwise interacting with government or private investigators, the Bishonen will recieve deference and acceptance; they will tend to follow his lead unless he does something blatantly illegal, and will share what they know with him. This only effects those of equal or less Moe.

Charm Shattering Rose

Cost: 5 motes, 1 WP
Duration: Instant
Type: Subtle/Mental
Minimum Thrown: 4
Minimum Moe: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Unfailing Bishonen Thrown

The Bishonen hurls a rose at his chosen target. An on-going charm or Terrestrial sorcery effect of his choice will be disrupted on a successful hit if he rolls successes equal to the Moe of the Charm user or Sorcery caster with his Moe + Thrown. The effect is dispelled harmlessly; any motes committed to it quietly fade away.

Extendible Weapon

Cost: 1 mote / 10 feet
Duration: Instant
Type: Subtle/Mental
Minimum Melee: 3
Minimum Moe: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Graceful Bishonen Melee

The Bishonen's weapon grows tremendously in size, enabling him to strike at foes up to 10 feet away for every mote spent; he can spend up to his Moe in motes. Counterattack charms will only work against him if his foe can hit him at his current range. (Disarming counterattacks, such as Octavian's weapon's power, however, will work just fine).

Nick of Time

Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Re-fun
Minimum Awareness: 3
Minimum Moe: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Superior Bishonen Awareness

When the Bishonen is urgently needed by an ally, this charm auto-fires, informing him where to go to find his ally in need.

Top Hat and Tails

Cost: 3 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Speech
Minimum Socialize: 2
Minimum Moe: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Graceful Bishonen Socialize

The Bishonen looks like he fits right into any social gathering, whatever he actually wears. He will be accepted as part of the social class and circles at the gathering, though individuals may dislike him. He only attracts any special attention if he wants to. This charm does not grant any language knowledge he may need, but everyone will accept whatever accent he may have or slang he uses.

You Can Do It!

Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Re-fun
Minimum Presence: 3
Minimum Moe: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Superior Bishonen Presence

The Bishonen delivers an inspiring speech, telling the target how cool they are and how good they are at what they're doing; he then rolls Charisma + Presence. Each success gives the target a bonus die to the action they are doing; this cannot exceed their personal die-adder limits. (If inspiring a mortal, use the Bishonen limit (Attribute + Ability).)

Character Creation

Pick your Caste, as this determines your Favored Abilities.
Attributes are divided into three groups--Physical, Social, and Mental. Pick one set as your Primary, one as Secondary, and one as Tertiary. You gain one free pip in every attribute, and then you get to divide 8, 6, and 4 pips respectively among your Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary categories.
Pick your Favored Abilities. You get 5 Caste Abilities from your Caste and can pick five non-Caste Abilities to be favored.
Spend your Ability Points. You get 25 ability points; you can spend them however you like, but at least 13 must be spent on Caste or Favored Abilities
You get seven points of Backgrounds; use the standard corebook versions unless otherwise stated.
Bishonen begin with one free pip in each Virtue. They may distribute 5 points among their Virtues. No virtue can go above three. Bonus points can raise them above this maximum.
Pick a virtue flaw linked to your highest Virtue.
Willpower is the sum of the Bishonen's two highest virtues.
You get 10 charms; at least 5 must come from Favored or Caste Abilities.
Bishonen may spend up to 15 Bonus Points to raise anything.
1. Attribute: 4
2. Ability: 2 (1 if Favored)
3. Background: 1 (2 if being raised over 3)
4. Specialty: 1 (2 dice of specialty for 1 if connected to a Favored or Caste Ability)
5. Virtue: 3
6. Willpower: 2
7. Moe: 7
8. Charms: 5 (4 if in Favored Ability)
Compute Essence:
1. Peripheral: (Essence * 7) + WP + (Sum of all Virtues)
2. Personal: (Essence * 3) + WP

Bishonen Example Characters

Comments

Old Bishonen Comments