Presence Charms
Phantom Fire-Warrior Horde
Cost: 1 mote per two dice
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Presence: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
When activating this Charm, the
Dragon-Blooded appears to be surrounded by a group of fiery warriors. These
individuals are not visible when looked at directly; they are only visible
through the target’s peripheral vision, for indeed, they are only phantoms. The
phantoms are intimidating, however, and they serve to increase the Exalted’s intimidation abilities and make his presence more
imposing. The character using this Charm can add two dice to his Presence for
every mote spent but can no more than double his Presence Ability.
Blazing Courageous Swordsmen Inspiration
Cost: 1 mote per subject
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Presence: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Phantom
Fire-Warrior Horde
The Exalted calls up a fiery
passion in soldiers under his command, and they charge to the offensive,
heedless of personal danger. The Dragon-Blood spends one mote of Essence per
warrior that he commands, to a maximum of twice his Essence, and each of those
warriors receives a single temporary Bruised health level. This temporary level
is the first one lost when damage is taken, and it cannot be healed back even
if curative magic is somehow applied to the soldier during the same scene that
the Charm is activated.
If the soldier is undamaged when
the scene ends, the bonus health level fades; if he is damaged, the lost health
level disappears with no further ill effect. This Charm can only be used on
soldiers that the Exalted directly commands (typically those purchased with the
Command Background): While it can be used on other players’ characters, any
subject of the Charm loses the bonus health level immediately if he does not
act as part of a unit under the Exalted’s command. A
given individual can only benefit from one application of this Charm in a
scene.
Glowing Coal Radiance
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: One turn
Type: Simple
Minimum Presence: 3
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: None
A nimbus of fire encircles the
character’s head and torso, making it difficult for others to
so much as look at him, much less attack him directly. The player of any
foe that wishes to attack the Exalt in hand-to-hand combat any time before the
character’s next turn must first succeed at a reflexive Willpower test. One
success allows the enemy to act normally. Enemies may attack the Exalted at
range without concern.
Aura Of
Invulnerability
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Presence: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Glowing
Coal Radiance
The character’s overwhelming
force of personality takes on a life of its own, as he can stare down even the
strongest foe, causing enemies to flinch slightly before their weapons hit him.
The Dragon-Blooded gains a point of soak and three temporary Bruised health
levels, which last for this scene only. Those health levels are the first lost
when the character takes damage, and they cannot be healed back, even if magics are applied which would ordinarily restore lost
health levels. When the scene is over, the three health levels fade, whether
they have been lost to combat or not, the fading has no other ill effects on
the character. A character cannot benefit from this Charm more than once per
scene.
Warlord’s Convocation
Cost: 8 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One scene or instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Presence: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Blazing Courageous
Swordsmen Inspiration, Aura of Invulnerability
The Exalt’s
aura of might and his overwhelming charisma combine to sway the loyalty of
nearly any character. The Exalt can spend 8 motes and 1
Willpower to attempt to gain a Storyteller character’s loyalty. Roll
Manipulation + Presence; the target of the Charm reflexively resists with his
Willpower. For every net success the Dragon-Blood achieves, the target will
serve him as a loyal servant for one week; at the Storyteller’s discretion the
Exalted can extend that period by asking only minor or trivial tasks of the
target.
If the Exalt achieves five or
more successes, the target will serve him for the long term; character swayed
to serve the Exalted for the long term essentially become Henchmen. However,
they do need to be treated well, or they may eventually overcome the effects of
the Charm.
Unbearable Taunt Technique
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: Exalt’s
Essence in turns
Type: Simple
Minimum Presence: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: Glowing Coal
Radiance
The Dragon-Blood becomes adept
at getting another person’s attention and, in so doing, making that person look
foolish. In combat, this Charm can get the attention of an enemy within 20
yards. The target loses two dice from his dodge and parry dice pools when
fighting anyone other than the Exalt who targeted him with this Charm due to
distraction.
Unbearable Taunt Technique can
also be used outside of combat, in which case a successful Manipulation +
Presence roll and a suitably cutting comment are all that is needed to make the
target look foolish in front of an assembled crowd. Obviously, the social use
of this Charm may prove dangerous; the wise Dragon-Blooded is advised to use it
sparingly ― and only in front of a friendly crowd.
Moth To The Candle
Cost: 4 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One turn
Type: Simple
Minimum Presence: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Unbearable
Taunt Technique
The character using this Charm
becomes an irresistible target to the Charm’s subject. The target of this Charm
will cross through hazards and place himself into
great danger in order to get off a hand-to-hand combat attack against the Exalt
who uses it. The Dragon-Blood must spend the required Essence to activate this
Charm; her target, who must be within 10 yards and have an Essence lower than
the Exalts, must use his next action to approach the Exalted and attack her (if
he can), regardless of the intervening hazard or the danger in doing so.
Characters cannot be compelled to obvious suicide through the use of this Charm
(they will not, for example, leap into a chasm), but they will attempt to cross
damaging hazards such as fires and raging rivers to reach the Exalt.
Auspicious
First Meeting Attitude
Cost: 2 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum
Presence: 2
Minimum
Essence: 2
Prerequisite
Charms: None
This simple Charm can only be used the
first time the Dragon-Blood meets another in a social context. It allows the
Exalt to read the other perfectly, allowing him to adjust his own behavior in
any way necessary to make a perfect first impression. The Charm gives its user
some insight into what drives the other person (political power, love,
resentment, etc.) and also leaves a lasting impression on the target. The other
person is left feeling that the Exalt is an unusually worthy individual of good
breeding, great virtue or the like. The difficulty of all
Social rolls against this individual are at -2 for this initial meeting
and -1 the next time the Exalt meets the subject of this Charm (neither difficulty
can be lowered below a minimum of 1). Even if the target never sees the Exalt
again, she will be inclined to speak well of him to others.
Note that this Charm works only in
social circumstances where a pleasant first impression can realistically be expected.
A Dragon-Blood trying to use this Charm on the field of battle is going to be
sorely disappointed (although if the Dragon-Blood is killed after doing so, his
enemy may be less likely to desecrate his corpse out of spite).
Passion
Transmuting Nuance
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum
Presence: 2
Minimum
Essence: 2
Prerequisite
Charms: None
The Presence-savvy Exalt knows that the
three passions — lust, rage and terror — are all closely linked.
Through the use of subtle vocal and
facial cues, the Dragon-Blood can transform a target’s passions from one to
another, thereby making an enraged target feel amorous, a terrified target feel
enraged or the like. Roll the character’s Manipulation
+ Presence. The difficulty is the target’s Essence, minus one for every point
the character has above the target’s (minimum of 1). The effects of this Charm
do not take effect immediately. The Exalt must spend a number of turns in
conversation with the target equal to 10 - her Essence in order to nudge the
subject’s emotional state in the right direction.
Successful use of this Charm results in
a two-die bonus on pertinent rolls (on seduction rolls if the Dragon-Blood changed
rage into lust, for example). A target who has been
manipulated into a rage by the Dragon-Blood acts as through he had a Temperance
Virtue of 1 for the remainder of the scene.
Incendiary
Fire Dragon Shout
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum
Presence: 4
Minimum
Essence: 3
Prerequisite
Charms: Aura of
Invulnerability
The Dragon-Blood using this Charm binds
his powerful affinity with the Fire Dragon to his voice, resulting in a shout
so powerful that it ignites flammable objects, even up to 40 yards away. This
Charm cannot damage flesh directly, but it can ignite clothes, wooden wagons,
thatched huts and the like from a distance. The size of the fire started by
this technique is not large, only about the size of a man’s open hand, but the
initial blaze is fairly hot and will easily ignite nearby material in the
absence of countervailing conditions (rain, extreme humidity), often resulting
in a huge blaze. If the substance is wet, the fire flickers out after one turn
per point of the Exalt’s Essence.
The player of a target whose clothes
have been ignited must succeed on a simple Stamina + Endurance roll, or her character
takes a level of lethal damage each turn until the garment is removed or the
fire is extinguished.
This Charm has a range of (the Exalt’s Essence x 20) feet.