Stealth Charms

 

Feeling-The-Air Technique

Cost: 3 motes

Duration: One scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 2

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: None

Invoking this Charm allows a Dragon-Blooded to sense her surroundings through minute eddies and currents in the air. The character may move and act in total darkness or with her vision fully impaired with no penalties, but obviously, she cannot read, tell colors or otherwise discern information that requires vision rather than perfect spatial awareness. While this sense is not precise enough to be completely effective in combat, it does reduce the penalties for fighting blind by half.

 

Soundless Action Prana

Cost: 1 mote per minute

Duration: Varies

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 3

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Feeling-the-Air Technique

This Charm eliminates the noise of any action taken directly by a character under its influence. Gravel crunches silently underfoot. A sword swung by the character would glance off an opponent’s shield with no sound. This effect lasts for one minute per mote of Essence invested. This Charm provides no direct benefit to Stealth rolls, but many actions will no longer have any chance of attracting attention, and there should be no difficulty penalties for moving through areas full of potential sources of accidental noise.

Keep in mind that the noise suppression only applies to those actions directly taken by a Dynast. She could put her fist through a window with no noise being created by the breaking glass, but the glass would tinkle as it fell to the floor, and if she instead threw a rock at it, the crash would be clearly audible.

The individual under the influence of this Charm is unable to speak while Soundless Action Prana is in effect. She may communicate through any other method, however.

 

Zone Of Silence Stance

Cost: 4 motes, 1 Willpower

Duration: One minute per point of permanent Essence

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 4

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Soundless Action Prana

By stilling the air to the point where it ceases to transmit sound at all, an Air-aspected Exalt may ensure that whatever mayhem ensues, the sounds of it will not reach the ears of others. A Zone of Silence suppresses all sound at all within reach, be it the ringing of blades or the desperate cries of wounded enemies. One could vivisect a yeddim with a dull hatchet and someone standing a few feet away would be none the wiser ― or at least their ears would not inform them of the deed. The character invoking the Charm is advised to say anything she feels necessary before the Charm is invoked, since no normal sound communication can take place within a Zone of Silence. Dynasts favoring this Charm are advised to learn sign language or a Charm such as With One Mind instead.

The Zone of Silence extends a number of yards equal to twice the Exalted’s permanent Essence. Each extra mote of Essence invested into the Charm increases the radius of effect by a single yard, but a character cannot spend more motes of Essence to increase the area of effect than her permanent Essence. Burglars and assassins often invoke this Charm to suppress sound in an entire dwelling, so they may work without worry of an alarm being raised. The Zone of Silence moves with the character.

 

Distracting Breeze Meditation

Cost: 1 mote per two successes

Duration: One scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 2

Minimum Essence: 1

Prerequisite Charms: None

With this Charm, the character uses the wind to cause minor disturbances and distractions to those who might observe her passage. Whether it be a tickling wind in the ear, a suddenly guttering torch or a knocked over spear, this minor enchantment can ensure a Dynast slips by even the most observant eyes without being spotted.

Every mote of Essence invested in this Charm acts as 2 automatic successes against a single target that might detect the Exalt’s presence. The Charm can be directed at more than one target at once, so long as the proper amount of Essence has been paid.

For Example: Cynestia, an Air-aspected Dynast, wishes to sneak past a cave entrance occupied by three Wyld barbarians. Her player spends 3 motes of Essence to give her two automatic successes in her Dexterity + Stealth rolls for Cynestia to avoid notice by all three barbarians. If Cynestia encounters other characters during the scene, her player can give the character two additional dice to evade their notice as well, but cannot distract more than three characters at a time. If the player had spent 4 motes, Cynestia could distract an additional barbarian, but could not give herself four automatic successes to avoid notice by one of them.

The character must be visible or otherwise easily detectable when this Charm is activated. However, even a moment out of sight is long enough to invoke it and gain the benefits. This Charm does nothing to conceal a Dynast’s passage, and she maybe tracked as normal. A character cannot spend more motes on the use of this Charm than her permanent Essence.

 

Trackless Passage Style

Cost: 2 motes per being per mile

Duration: Instant

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 3

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: Distracting Breeze Meditation

Simply avoiding guards is often not enough to remain truly undetected. This Charm summons up subtle but useful air currents that conceal the traces of the passage of the character and his associates, obscuring footprints, obliterating scents and sweeping away telltale broken branches and twigs.

Every two motes invested in this Charm completely obliterate all traces of one being’s passage for a distance of one mile, including scent. Non-supernatural attempts to track the character fails automatically, and supernatural tracking attempts are subject to a standard tracking contest. The Dragon-Blooded invoking the Charm may extend it to protect as many beings as he has points of permanent Essence.

 

Wind-Walking Technique

Cost: 2 motes

Duration: Until broken

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 3

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Trackless Passage Style

By invoking this Charm, the character gains the ability to move normally along any roughly horizontal surface ― even those normally impossible to cross. Walking across mud, quicksand, even water is easy with this Charm in place. The Charm also instills perfect balance and excellent timing, giving the character the facility to easily scamper across ropes, poles, beams, scaffolding and the like with no movement penalties.

The wind walker may move normally in all respects across such surfaces, including jumping rolling, crawling ― however he wishes to move. However, the character must keep moving. If even a single turn is spent standing still for whatever reason, the Charm’s magic is broken. The hero can carry all of his normal gear and up to his own weight in additional burdens. Any greater weight also immediately breaks the Charm.

 

Dragon Shroud Technique

Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower

Duration: One scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 5

Minimum Essence: 4

Prerequisite Charms: Soundless Action Prana, Wind-Walking Technique

With true mastery of the art of stealth comes the power to almost completely shroud oneself from the eyes of others. Invoking the Dragon Shroud wraps the air itself around a character, concealing her even in broad daylight. While Dragon Shroud does not render a character truly invisible, her form is blurred and indistinct. Light seems to bend around her, making her much more difficult to see even if the observer knows she is there ― and nearly impossible if he does not. The Dragon Shroud also muffles sound, masks scent, suppresses body heat and generally does its best to foil any attempt to clearly view the Dynast. This is not true invisibility, however. A careful (or lucky) observer can still spot a blurry disturbance in the air where the Dragon-Blood stands.

Every 3 motes invested in this Charm act as one automatic opposing successes to any action taken against a character that requires that she be seen, heard or perceived with any of the five senses, including attempts to attack the character or to spot her when she is sneaking. It also quite effectively masks a Dragon-Blooded’s identity. The character has no lingering effects, however, and the character can be tracked as normal.

 

Deliberate Insignificance Method

Cost: 2 motes + 1 mote per ally masked

Duration: One scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 3

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Trackless Passage Style

There are situations and environments where moving unnoticed is preferable to moving unseen, and in many of those cases, failing to look inconspicuous can be far less damning than failing to hide. There are also simply scenarios where the best option for stealth is to look like you belong there, like part of the scenery. A Dragon-Blood who uses this Charm can, using Essence to make his body language resonate with his surroundings, walk down any street or hall, and anyone watching will simply fail to find anything noteworthy or out of place about him. Watchers in a court might assume the character is a page, think him a functionary while in an office or believe he’s a soldier in a military camp.

Any rolls to take note of the character are at a difficulty equal to his Stealth Ability, though this difficulty may be lowered if the character engages in very outlandish or attention-grabbing behavior. A character using this Charm can, for 1 additional mote per ally, include others in the effect, up to a maximum number of people equal to his Essence.

 

Empty Hand Posture

Cost: 1 mote per minute per target

Duration: Varies

Type: Simple

Minimum Stealth: 4

Minimum Larceny: 2

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Soundless Action Prana

Stealth is more than a subtle gait and the ability to remain still. There are a great number of mind games involved in going unnoticed: speed of movement, gait, body language, clothing choices, misdirection, capitalizing on distractions and more. These techniques and considerations, when mastered, can be applied to more specific and specialized types of subterfuge. This Charm is such a specialized application: The aim of the Dragon-Blood is not to conceal herself, but to conceal what she is carrying or manipulating with her hands.

A character using this Charm can conceal an object that is no larger than half her size and not heavier than can be easily carried in two hands. Alternately, she can completely conceal what she is doing with her hands by allowing her Essence to guide her actions to make sure that observers have no line of sight to the object or activity concealed. The Essence cost for this Charm is 1 mote per minute per subject from whom the object or activity is concealed from sight, up to a maximum of the character’s Essence + Manipulation.

When concealing an object, the character can take any action she wishes without ending the Charm, including talking with or even embracing one of the targets, so long as she takes no action using the concealed object. Taking any action using the concealed object ends the Charm. Attacking with a weapon that has been concealed through the use of this Charm will, in most cases, surprise the target.

 

Favored Haunt Stance

Cost: 3 motes per success

Duration: Instant

Type: Supplemental

Minimum Stealth: 3

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Any three Stealth Charms

Through intense focus or long experience, a Dragon-Blood using this Charm has gained near-flawless mastery of the art of stealth in a particular environment or set of circumstances — or, possibly, when stalking a favored class of prey.

The character’s Stealth specialty dice may be converted into automatic successes for 3 motes of Essence per die converted. The remainder of the pool is rolled normally. This Charm only functions if the character is applying the specialty.

 

Subtle Breeze Kata

Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Stealth: 5

Minimum Essence: 4

Prerequisite Charms: Zone of Silence Stance, Distracting Breeze Meditation

With this level of skill, a Dragon-Blood can accomplish with the most minimal or sudden of movements what would normally be a deliberate and careful attempt at stealth. Masters of this Charm can accomplish such feats as hiding in an opponent’s shadow during combat, vanishing quietly to cover when an attacker blinks or assaulting someone on a busy street and easily making a stealthy escape. This powerful Charm permits the character to make a reflexive Stealth roll, even if others are directly observing him.