Martial
Arts Charms
Essence Discerning
Glance
Cost: 6 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial
Arts: 2
Minimum Essence:
2
Prerequisite
Charms: None
This Charm allows the character to attune
his vision to the flow of energy through living creatures, spirits and other
entities with a permanent
Essence rating. Such beings appear overlaid with a fine tracing of red veins
that glow in direct proportion to the strength of their life force. While under
the effects of this Charm, the character can perceive incorporeal spirits as
though they had manifested, although they remain invisible to others.
Additionally, the character may scrutinize
a target's aura as a simple action by spending 1 mote and his player rolling Perception
+ Martial Arts. Each success on this roll gauges one of the target's following
Traits as decided by the observer's player: health levels remaining, permanent
Essence rating or total current Essence pool. This Charm cannot discern the
nature of a magical being, only if; overall power. Thus, characters cannot
determine the type or caste of an Exalted or differentiate between Personal and
Peripheral Essence without other magic.
Shrouded Claw Attack
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial
Arts: 2
Minimum Essence:
2
Prerequisite Charms:
Essence Discerning Glance
The character suffuses her hands with the
spectral Essence of the Underworld, causing them to flicker like the corpus of
a ghost. As a result, players of characters attempting to dodge or parry blows
enhanced with this Charm roll only half the character's normal dice pool, rounded
down. In addition, such attacks make no noise, even from impact. The Essence to
power this Charm must be spent prior to making the attack roll. This Charm is
not compatible with the use of weapons.
Hungry Ghost Form
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial
Arts: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite
Charms: Shrouded Claw Attack
The Exalted takes on the visage and
attitude of a ravening shade, his pallid flesh growing cold and faintly translucent
as he coils to lunge. For the rest of the scene, the character inflicts lethal
damage with all hand-to-hand attacks. Additionally, he regains 1 mote of
Essence for every health level of damage inflicted against animate targets
(living creatures, spirits, undead, etc.). Lastly, the character may
reflexively spend 3 motes per attack to strike dematerialized spirits, although
this Charm provides no ability to perceive such beings. Spirits slain by this Charm
eventually regenerate unless other magic is employed, but this process takes
time and is extremely painful. Characters cannot use more than one Martial Arts
Form-type Charm at a time. This Charm is incompatible with the use of armor.
Power Reaping Prana
Cost: 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial
Arts: 4
Minimum Essence:
3
Prerequisite
Charms: Hungry Ghost Form
Executing a series of quick slashes in the
air, the Exalt reaches forth her anima to siphon up expended Essence as it
flows from her enemies. In order to use this Charm, the character must already
have Essence Discerning Glance active and her target must be within 10 yards
when spending Essence to power an effect. For the purposes of this Charm, the
total Essence cost of all Charms in a Combo is considered one effect. The
character's player rolls Perception + Martial Arts; each success allows the Exalt
to regain 2 motes of Essence. The character may not gain more Essence from a
single effect than the total motes spent powering it, so a character that
achieves three successes draining a Charm costing 4 motes only gains 4 motes
rather than 6. Use of this Charm does not in any way disrupt the effect being
drained. At the end of the turn, all
remaining motes acquired via this Charm in excess of the character's permanent
Essence dissipate. This limit applies regardless of how many times this Charm
is activated in a turn. Power Reaping Prana is explicitly permitted to be part
of a Combo with Charms of other Abilities.
Charm Smothering
Technique
Cost: 1 + motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Martial
Arts: 5
Minimum Essence:
4
Prerequisite
Charms: Power Reaping Prana
Lashing out with a soul-numbing tendril of
power, the Exalt stifles her enemy's magic before it even takes form. Charms
aborted in this fashion manifest as a burst of dimly glowing sparks that do not
contribute to the victim's anima banner. Abyssal characters must have Essence
Discerning Glance active in order to perceive the use of Charms before they
take effect, although the deathknights do not know which Charms are being used
unless their players make a successful reflexive Intelligence + Occult roll (difficulty 2). Similarly, Charm
Smothering Technique can only counter Charms activated within 10 yards of the
Exalt.
Targets of this Charm may immediately
spend a number of additional motes equal to the Essence invested by the Abyssal.
If they cannot or do not pay this surcharge, their Charms fail, and all costs
spent on the stillborn magic are lost. If the target pays the surcharge, the
Charm takes effect normally. Charm Smothering Technique can only counter singular
Charms — Combos, spells, Fair Folk glamour and other forms of magic cannot be
smothered. Characters cannot spend more motes on this Charm than their Wits +
Martial Arts, nor can they use Power Reaping Prana to draw energy from
smothered Charms.
Consuming Entropy
Strike
Cost: 1 mote per 2L
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplementary
Minimum Martial
Arts: 5
Minimum Essence:
2
Prerequisite
Charms: Hungry Ghost Form
The character brings to bear the ravaging
power of Oblivion in a crackling nimbus around her hand. In addition to
inflicting lethal damage, the character's attack reduces the victim's soak by
2L per mote spent. A target's soak cannot be reduced below zero. This reduced
soak only applies to resisting the this single attack and returns to normal
immediately thereafter. Weakening non-magical armor with this Charm leaves a
fine layer of rust or rot at the point of impact, although this decay is too
minor to actually damage the armor.
Blood Freezing Technique
Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplementary
Minimum Martial
Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite
Charms: Consuming Entropy
Strike
The character's fingers tighten in rigid
claws, and his skin becomes numbingly cold to the touch. In addition to inflicting
lethal damage, his attack drains warmth on impact. If the attack inflicts
damage, the target loses one dot of Dexterity. Recalculate the victim's
initiative accordingly and apply this new rating immediately. Characters who
have not yet acted on the turn in which they are numbed have their actions
delayed until their new initiative total. Lost Dexterity
returns at the end of the scene (or in 10 to 15 minutes in the case of long
scenes). Characters reduced to zero Dexterity are paralyzed and can take
no physical action, although they may still think clearly to the degree allowed
by their wound penalties and employ Charms that do not require movement. Blood
Freezing Technique has no effect on beings immune to cold, including most
undead and automata.
Unnatural Shambling
Deftness
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Extra Action
Minimum Martial
Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite
Charms: Hungry Ghost Form
The character's motions take on the
unsettling jerkiness of the walking dead as she wavers between impossible bursts
of speed and total stillness. The character may take a total number of extra
actions equal to her permanent Essence. These actions can be used for any
combat-related tasks, subject to Storyteller approval. The character cannot split
her dice pool on the same turn she employs this Charm. This Charm is
incompatible with the use of armor.
Lunging Phantom Method
Cost: 4 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Martial
Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Unnatural Shambling
Deftness
The Abyssal rushes forward, twisting and
dematerializing as he pounces so that he passes through his enemy and
rematerializes behind her. The subsequent attack does no more damage than
usual, but it gains all of the benefits of attacking from behind. This Charm is
incompatible with the use of armor.
Soul-Flaying Strike
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 health
level
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Martial
Arts: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite
Charms: Charm Smothering
Technique, Blood Freezing Technique, Lunging Phantom Method
The deathknight delivers a powerful
open-handed blow, Essence crackling around his clawed fingers in moaning arcs.
The character makes the attack as normal. If the strike hits, roll the
Abyssal's permanent Essence against the permanent Essence of the victim. If the
Exalt wins, the victim suffers unsoakable aggravated damage equal to the deathknights
Martial Arts score (damage dice are rolled normally). This damage is in
addition to any damage inflicted by the actual blow. Victims slain by this
Charm arise as hungry ghosts upon the next sunset. Such ghosts have the usual
statistics for their kind but are never extras, and they obey the Abyssal to
the best of their limited intelligence. Spirits and Fair Folk slain with this Charm
are annihilated utterly and evaporate on the spot. This Charm is incompatible
with the use of armor.