Archery, The Quiver

 

Once, there was a maiden…

…who made herself from the substance of the world.

She knew how to eat an owl’s heart and gain its insight.

She knew how to bake herself in the sun and melt herself in the rain.

She knew how to mess up wisdom.

She knew how to love, and how to hate.

“Survival is flexibility,” she said.

 

Generalized Ammunition Technique

Cost: 1 mote

Duration: Instant

Type: Supplemental

Minimum Archery: 2

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: None

The mirror of adjusting circumstances to meet one’s needs is adapting one’s needs to things found in one’s circumstances. Both allow for the smooth progress of fate. This Charm lets an adaptable Exalt fire anything no heavier than her fist and no longer than her arm as if it were an arrow, including handfuls of dust or fire, shouts, dragonflies, small spirits or shadows. Living things can avoid the Sidereal seizing and launching them with a reflexive Dexterity + Dodge roll against a difficulty equal to the Sidereal’s Archery score. Upon impact, an improvised arrow inflicts damage as a normal arrow of any type (Exalt’s choice), in addition to any unusual effects appropriate to the attack. Sidereal Exalted can only shape arrows from concrete things, although the Maiden of Battles shapes her arrows from intention and desire.

 

Any Direction Arrow

Cost: 1 mote + 1 mote per die

Duration: Instant

Type: Supplemental

Minimum Archery: 1

Minimum Essence: 1

Prerequisite Charms: None

Graced by the chance to serve those who weave fate, an arrow gleefully weaves in the air to strike its opponent from an unexpected direction. The Exalt adds up to her Essence in dice to an Archery roll. In addition, the arrow takes no penalties from up to 50 percent cover.

 

Every Direction Arrow

Cost: 3 motes per extra arrow

Duration: Instant

Type: Extra action

Minimum Archery: 4

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: Any Direction Arrow

The character fires a number of arrows no greater than her Essence, which first scatter and then strike a single target from every side. Use one attack roll for all the arrows, but apply the damage for each of them separately.

 

Opportune Shot

Cost: 3 motes

Duration: Instant

Type: Reflexive

Minimum Archery: 3

Minimum Essence: 2

Prerequisite Charms: None

Spotting an opportunity thanks to the graces of fate, the character launches an arrow before her normal initiative. This Charm lets her automatically win initiative over a single target for purposes of making an Archery attack against him. She cannot split her dice pool on the turn she uses Opportune Shot. Characters using Opportune Shot, Thunderclap Rush Attack or similar abilities in competition roll for initiative with one another normally.

 

Five Seasons Approach

Cost: 2 motes per target number reduction

Duration: Instant

Type: Supplemental

Minimum Archery: 4

Minimum Essence: 3

Prerequisite Charms: Every Direction Arrow, Opportune Shot

If skill does not suffice to make her shot, then a character may trust to the world’s esteem for her. If not to that, then to the world’s fear of what she hopes to save it from. If not to that, to the world’s dreams of the glories she strives for. Even if these things fail, she may trust to luck. This is the Five Seasons Approach. The character can reduce the target number of an Archery roll. Sidereal Exalted can always use any Virtue with this Charm.

 

Many Missiles Bow Technique

Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 health level

Duration: One scene

Type: Simple

Minimum Archery: 5

Minimum Essence: 4

Prerequisite Charms: Generalized Ammunition Technique, Five Seasons Approach

This Charm uses a prayer strip marked with the scripture of the Clay Maiden. The Exalt casts it into the sky, where it radiates a gaudy pink light, hovering 10 yards above her bow.

For the duration of this Charm, the character’s arrows have triple their normal range. In addition, for 1 experience point each, the Sidereal can learn transformations to apply to an arrow as it falls, reshaping it into some other aspect of Creation. Commonly known transformations include:

• Rain of fire: The arrow turns into a rain of fire, attacking and applying its normal damage to all creatures within five yards of the target, setting flammable things alight, and ignoring armor on a successful hit.
• Snow: It begins to snow around the region where the arrow fell. The character must renew this effect with at least one arrow per minute to maintain it.
• Life: The target is healed for one level of lethal or bashing damage.
• Grain: A small patch of ripe wheat, enough to feed one person for a day, sprouts where the arrow lands.
• Boulder: The arrow turns into an unblockable boulder as it falls. It can be dodged. Double the raw damage of the attack, including extra successes, when used against inanimate objects.
• Glass: The arrow becomes transparent as it falls. Targets must make a reflexive Perception + Awareness roll at difficulty 2 to defend against it without the use of Charms.

Each such arrow costs 1 mote of Essence to fire. Living or heavily worked “arrows” based on the Generalized Ammunition Technique cannot suffer transformations, nor can arrows made from the Five Magical Materials.

Characters can learn transformations from other Exalted with this Charm. They can also design new transformations, with the Storyteller’s approval. Effects should be simple and should not directly duplicate the effects of other Charms.