Martial Arts, The Sword
Once, there was a maiden…
…who was always looking forward to the
way things would be.
She said, “Someday, I’m getting out of
this place.”
“Someday, I’m going to kill that boy
that put me here.”
“And while I wait, I don’t much mind,
‘cause it’s
better to dream tomorrow than to be there.”
* * *
“I’m holding at bay,” she said, “what I
know to be true.”
“That I’ll never get out. I won’t let my dreams die!”
“I’ll hang on to hope,” she said, “until
Time itself ends. But ―”
“There’s always an
ending,” said Time.
Secrets Of Future Strife
Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Minimum Martial Arts: 1
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: None
The character trains himself for instant acceptance of the twists and turns of
circumstance. In any given combat, in the first turn he acts, he doubles his
base initiative (Dexterity + Wits). Charms such as Opportune Shot and
Thunderclap Rush Attack do not automatically win initiative over him. These
advantages cease to apply once he takes his first non-reflexive action. There
is no cost to use this Charm ― learning this Charm permanent enhances the
Exalt’s capabilities.
Flight Of Mercury
Cost: 1 mote per initiative
bonus
Duration: One scene
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of
Future Strife
The character moves with the
swift precision of one who knows her destiny. For each mote of Essence spent,
she adds one point to her initiative for the remainder of the scene. Multiple
applications of this Charm are cumulative, but she cannot add more than her
Martial Arts to her initiative with any combination of effects that includes
this Charm.
Blade Of The
Cost: 2 motes per die, 2
Willpower
Duration: One scene
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of
Future Strife
Essence shines around the
characters hands (or weapons), tracing with their every movement crimson trails
through the air. For each 2 motes spent, the character adds one die to each
unarmed Martial Arts attack and parry she makes for the remainder of the scene.
Multiple applications of this Charm are cumulative, but she cannot more than
double her normal Dexterity + Martial Arts pool with any combination of
effects. While under this effect, her hands may safely parry even lethal damage
blows, although blocking arrows or magical attacks requires a well-described
stunt.
Joy In Adversity Stance
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of
Future Strife
Those who routinely face terrible
odds can learn to take some measure of happiness in each moment’s survival.
Once having activated this Charm, the player rolls the Sidereal’s Essence each
time the character successfully blocks or dodges an attack. Each success
indicates two motes of Essence, flavored by the tang of Serenity,
that she recovers. This Charm does not activate against attacks not
truly intended to harm the Sidereal, nor against
attacks from enemies too weak to do her any real harm.
Violent Bier Of Sorrows Form
Cost: 6 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Flight of
Mercury, Blade of the
The character adopts the cold
detachment with which Saturn makes her Sign against those things whose time has
passed. While the character uses the Violet Bier of Sorrows Form, each
successful attack also drains some of the victim’s passion. After damaging an
opponent with an unarmed Martial Arts attack, the Exalt can remove one point of
the target’s Virtues, to a minimum of 1. This cannot reduce a target’s Virtues
below the minimums required for the Great Curse. For example, if a Solar’s
Virtue Flaw is Compassionate Martyrdom, this Form cannot reduce his Compassion
below 3. However, it can reduce a spirit, elemental, or demon’s Virtues below
the minimum level necessary to use a given Charm, in which case the spirit
loses access to that Charm until its Virtue recovers. Each Virtue heals at the
rate of one point a day.
This Form changes the normal
minimum for damage dice. While it is active, after a successful and potentially
damaging unarmed Martial Arts attack, the character always roll at least her
Martial Arts score in damage dice.
This Charm is also called the
“Endings Form.”
Death-Parrying Stroke
Cost: 2 motes per health level
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Violet Bier
of Sorrows Form
In a blur of violet Essence, the
character’s blade catches an attack that might otherwise have hilled him. If
the character tries and fails to parry a blockable attack, he may decide
― after damage is rolled ― to invoke this Charm, reducing
the damage by one level per 2 motes spent.
Life-Severing Blow
Cost: 2 motes per health level
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Violet Bier
of Sorrows Form
Drawing on the Essence of
Endings, a character can add power to a blow that he realizes is about to
pierce his enemy’s defenses. As soon as a character hits an opponent with an
unarmed attack, his player can declare the use of this Charm, purchasing
automatic damage successes at a cost of 2 motes each. He cannot purchase more
than his character’s Essence in automatic successes. This Charm applies to
unarmed Brawl attacks and is explicitly permitted to share a Combo with Brawl
Charms; the disciplined approach of a martial artist is necessary only in the
last instant of the blow.
Metal Storm
Cost: 3 motes per attack
Duration: Instant
Type: Extra action
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms:
Life-Severing Blow
Not even the most cunning of
opponents can evade a sword that strikes everywhere at once. For each 3 motes
spent, the character can make an extra unarmed Martial Arts attack at her full
dice pool. All her attacks must be made against the same target. She cannot
make more total attacks than her Martial Arts, nor can she split her dice pool
in the same turn she uses Metal Storm.
Conclusion-Pursuing Approach
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 1
health level
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Death-Parrying
Stroke, Metal Storm
At the pinnacle of the Violent
Bier of Sorrows Style, a character learns to draw strength from the pain of
others. Her attacks gain resolve as her enemy falters. She is trained to take
full advantage of the weakness of the wounded, stalking failing prey as death
hunts those whose time has come. Whenever she successfully harms an opponent
with an unarmed Martial Arts attack, she gains one point of Willpower. In
addition, an opponent’s wound penalties are tripled when it comes to attacking
her or defending against her unarmed Martial Arts attacks.
Sidereal Exalted, and those who
learn this Charm as a Sidereal Charm, can enhance it with a prayer strip marked
with the scripture of the Expectant Maiden. The character fixes it to her sword
(or other allowed weapon), wrapping the whole in a radiant burgundy light.
While the prayer strip survives, her weapon cannot be destroyed, and each
successful Martial Arts attack subtracts a Willpower point from the target.
Creatures outside of fate and targets with 0 Willpower instead lose 10 motes of
Essence. If the target does not have 10 motes to lose, convert all damage dice
to automatic successes instead.