TheLongSecondAgeSetting/WarfareCharms--JakkBey

Warfare Charms

Thanks again to A.J. Mobely, AKA TheScreenJockey for his Tactics trees. While some of the Charms here are originals, and some are just ported from other Abilities, the bulk of the idea for Warfare sprang from TSJ’s Tactics Ability.

While my use for Warfare is a bit different, I will not pretend that the idea was all my own. TSJ gets mad props for his stuff, I’m just borrowing it. A couple are reworks of Charms from the Dawn Caste book as well. Again, no credit taken for them. There are also a few Charms that have been fitted from the Dawn Caste book that have been fitted from Presence to Warfare.

Experienced Soldier Meditation
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Warfare: 1
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:None
The character attunes himself to the battlefield and the circumstances of war, becoming preternaturally aware of the most appropriate courses of action. For the remainder of the Scene, the character is unaffected by terrain or weather condition modifiers. He will automatically know where pitfalls, traps, and natural obstacles lie, and how to circumvent them. He may move at his full movement rate and fight in the most crowded and overgrown areas without any penalty.

Ambush Anticipation Method
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: One Day
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Warfare: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:Experienced Soldier Method.
Surprise attacks are a strategic and tactical nightmare. Even the mightiest army can be decimated if it is caught flat-footed. An Exalted with this Charm need not fear such an attack. No organized attack can take the character by surprise for the Charm’s duration. He will sense them minutes or hours before they occur. This Charm does not detail the nature or purpose of the attack –– it merely gives the character some idea of when the attack will occur (and possibly where). The size of the attack determines the timeliness of the warning; a character may only become aware of a raid from an enemy squad a minute before it occurs, but will know of an army’s impending advance an hour or more before it begins. This Charm does not alert the character to sense defensive actions, only to offensive troop movements. Similarly, it cannot predict attacks from individuals or groups that are not organized units.

Lay of the Land
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:Ambush Anticipation Method
A good commander takes the time to understand the terrain. With the use of this Charm, the character understands how the terrain his Essence x 100 yards will affect his troops. By use of this Charm he can add his Essence score to Warfare rolls to set up ambushes, to increase the damage of booby traps by his Essence score, and to increase his troops’ Stealth rolls to hide in ambuscade.

Perfect Ambush Concentration
Cost: 2 motes per person
Duration: Varies
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms:Lay of the Land
The commander places his troops in ambush. With this Charm he helps his men hide. By rolling Wits+Warfare, the commander adds those successes + his Essence to their Stealth dice pools to hide. The Exalt can hide up to twice his Essence score in troops along with himself.

Know-Thy-Enemy
Cost: 10 motes
Duration: One Day
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:Experienced Soldier Method
One cannot defeat what one doesn’t understand. Generals from time immemorial have stressed the importance of understanding one’s enemies to better defeat them. With this Charm, a character gains a preternatural understanding of his enemy even if the two of them have never met. For one day after the Charm’s activation, the character will know of every strategic or tactical decision his enemy makes as it is made. No enemy action will ever catch him by surprise, save those that are in direct violation of orders. This Charm does not inform the character of what the troops will actually do, just of what their orders are. Similarly, it provides no information of the enemy commander except in respect to his strategic and tactical decisions. The charm only reveals such decisions as they are made.

Siege Meditation
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One round
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:Know Thy Enemy
The Exalt studies a target edifice or fortification, or even building, and instantly understands its weaknesses, its access points, and structure. An Exalt can use this information to add to his Warfare rolls to call in artillery, to double the damage done by siege machines, and to give his troops and allies detailed maps and plans.

Fatherly Officer Method
Cost: 1 mote per 50 troops, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:Know Thy Enemy
With this Charm, an Exalted understands his troops as he would his own children. For every mote spent the character gains an instinctive understanding for the strengths and weaknesses of up to 50 troops under his command. The character cannot spend more motes than his Wits + Warfare on this Charm. This Charm has several effects. First, the character can instantly recognize each soldier so affected, and associate a name with that face. Second, the character knows precisely what that soldier’s ratings are in all combat-related Abilities. Lastly, the character knows any other information (injuries, conscientious objections, phobias, etc.) that could have a direct effect on that soldier’s ability to perform his duties. This Charm only applies to soldiers legitimately under the character’’s command. It cannot be used on enemy troops, superiors, neutral parties, etc.

Wise Supply-Sergeant’s Way
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:Know Thy Enemy
A good commander makes the most of the equipment and supplies made available. This is doubly true when the commander is Exalted. This Charm grants the character a complete understanding of his unit’s current logistics. He knows precisely what equipment and supplies he has in their exact number and condition. This results in an optimization of a unit’s resources, and his intimate knowledge allows him to reclaim, refit, and salvage equipment to stretch his unit’s capabilities to their fullest. The Storyteller adjudicates the amount of supplies that are available, as well as what items can be salvaged, but this Charm allows a commander to keep his units supplied in the field, using whatever means are necessary, from stripping the dead, scavenging from the battlefield, and the countryside. This Charm effectively allows a unit to stay supplied with ammunition, food, and water for the day, without dipping into their own reserves--so long as there are supplies to be scavenged on a battlefield--as well allows a commander to instantly know what equipment and supplies have been captured at the end of the day.

Weakness Scouting Method
Cost: 8 motes
Duration: One round
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:Siege Meditation
The character intuitively understands the weakness not only in a structure, but also in organizations. By meditation over intelligence reports, or direct observation, an Exalted general can perceive the flaws in his opponents’ defenses. Gaps in their sentry coverage, flaws within their organization, a gap in their lines. Knowing these weaknesses can mean all the difference on the battlefield, and exploiting them can lead to quick victory, instead of a long, slogging trudge.

The character can place his units where they will do the most good, or make quick strikes himself, exploiting these weaknesses. For each success the character makes with a Wits+Warfare roll, he can be told one secret that the enemy would rather not have known, or with multiple successes, he may be told the most effective way to breach a defense.

Commanding the Ideal Celestial Army
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms:Fatherly Officer Method
One of the greatest dangers on the battlefield is losing communication with one’s commander. This Charm allows the character to shout out a short message to every soldier under her command. All friendly troops within a radius equal to the caster’s Essence x 100 yards will hear the message. The message must be possible to call out in a single turn of combat, and cannot contain more than a dozen words. In general, only its intended targets can hear it; opponents will not hear the message unless they are within earshot of the character using this Charm.

General of the All Seeing Sun
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms:Commanding the Ideal Celestial Army
A character using this Charm can give an order audible to all troops under his command. In addition, the instant before he gives the order, he receives impressions of how the battle is going on every front. The character is aware of any weakness in his lines, and which troops–if any–can safely be moved elsewhere. This knowledge, combined with the ability to give a short command–two dozen words or less–to either the entire army or to any section of it, enables the character to exercise amazing control over his soldiers.

Ideal Battle Knowledge Prana
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One Scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Warfare: 5
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisite Charms:General of the All Seeing Sun
The fog of war is banished for those who are truly blessed by the Unconquered Sun. For the rest of the scene, a character using this Charm knows how all areas of the battle are going, and is instantly aware of any weakness in her lines, or of any troops who have crushed their opponents. The character can, at will, speak messages that will be heard by his entire army, or by any specific portion of it that he wishes to give orders. This ability to continuously direct the battle gives all soldiers under the character’s command one additional die for all combat related rolls, including all Valor checks made by these troops.

Tiger-Warrior Training Technique –– Cost: 10 motes, 2 Willpower. Duration: One week. Type: Simple. Minimum Tactics: 5. Minimum Essence: 3. Prerequisite Charms: Fatherly Officer Method, Wise Supply-Sergeant's Way. see Exalted, pg.173. This Charm is no longer a Performance Charm.