Melee, The Spear
Once, there was a doll…
…who sat on a child’s shelf and watched
the entire world.
Her eyes were made of glass,
And their pupils were red.
Her mouth was sewn on.
For years and years, she did not move.
Then, when necessary, she was gone, and
the head of that child with her.
“Survival is control,” she said.
Harmony Of Blows
Cost: 8 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Extra action
Minimum Melee: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
The patterns and flows of a
battlefield hold no mysteries for the character. She does not need to improvise
last-second defenses. She notices openings well before they appear. She can
choose her blows precisely, selecting multiple actions that combine
harmoniously. In the turn in which she invokes this Charm, the character can
take two extra attack actions, using Archery, Brawl, Melee or Thrown. Sidereal
Exalted may always use their Temperance with this Charm.
This Charm is explicitly
permitted to be in a Combo with Charms of other Abilities. Note that the rules
on Combos may limit the kinds of actions a character can take.
Meditation On War
Cost: 1 mote per die + 1 mote
per dice pool penalty cancelled
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Melee: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Harmony of
Blows
Calm and precision envelops the
character as she strikes. She adds dice to one Melee attack, increasing it to a
maximum of its normal pool plus the character’s Essence. For example, an Essence
3 character who has a -1 would penalty can spend up to 4 motes to enhance her
attack. This can overcome penalties that reduce the character’s dice pool to 0
before Charms. Sidereal Exalted may always use their Temperance with this
Charm.
Orchestration Of Conflict
Cost: 2 motes per target number
reduction
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Melee: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Harmony of
Blows
Manipulating the local flow of a
conflict through the ripple effects of her own
actions, the character reduces the target number for a Melee attack or parry.
Impeding The Flow
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Melee: 2
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: None
A wind full of red stardust and
the character’s will, visible to those who can see dematerialized spirits,
spins around the character. It reroutes the flows of Essence and fate that
normally allow others to attack her. A casual movement of the Exalt’s weapon
parries any one incoming attack she is aware of, so long as the attack has a
physical component and is not specifically noted as impossible to block. This
is not a perfect defense.
Serenity In Blood
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Melee: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Harmony of
Blows, Impeding the Flow
Stirring the currents of fate
with the tip of her weapon, the character disrupts the path of any attack made
against her, so long as it passes through any portion of the world bound by
fate. If she is unaware of the attack, her player must make a reflexive
Perception + Melee roll at difficulty 3 to divert the blow. Otherwise, this is
a perfect block, capable of stopping even unblockable attacks.
Smiling At The Damned
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Melee: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: None
In the moment the character’s
weapon strikes true, the colors around her take on a harsh red tinge. Essence
dissolves at the weapon’s touch. Halve the raw damage for one attack, rounding
down, but the damage is aggravated. Sidereal Exalted may always use their
Conviction with this Charm.
Perfection Of The Visionary Warrior
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 1
health level
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Melee: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Meditation
on War, Orchestration of Conflict, Serenity in Blood, Smiling at the Damned
This Charm uses a prayer strip
marked with the scripture of the Maiden on the Shelf. The character places it
across his eyes, whereupon it adheres and begins to drip with dark blood.
The character suffers no visibility
penalties. All opponents and attacks become apparent to him, although effects
such as the Mental Invisibility Technique can force him to ignore them. He sees
enemies not as bodies and faces but as patterns of fate and potential or
― for creatures outside of fate ― disruptions in such patterns.
The character can reflexively
parry any blockable attack with his full Dexterity + Melee dice pool. Once per
turn, after his initiative, he can reflexively make an Archery, Brawl, Melee or
Thrown attack at his full dice pool. He cannot use the latter ability in any
turn where he splits his normal dice pool.