Lore Charms
Integrity-Protecting
Prana
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One day
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 1
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite
Charms: None
Exposure to Wyld
energies can cause hallucinations, psychological dependency, insanity and even
terrible mutations. Through the use of this Charm, the character makes her
person proof against the influence of Wyld energies.
While the Charm is in effect, her mind and body cannot be warped or twisted by
the power of the Wyld. Note that, while the character’s
shape and sanity are protected, her body can still be torn asunder by Wyld-spawned phenomenon; the whirling walls of fire and
thunder and the 100-headed snake monsters with burning chalcedony eyes are
quite real.
Similarly, her possessions are vulnerable,
though the protective effect of the Charm does seem to spill over to them
slightly. A character’s sword will turn into a snake that hisses and slithers
off rather than an asp that bites her hand, and her
armor will suddenly become gossamer spiderwebs rather
than sheets of rotting gristle full of carnivorous maggots.
Essence-Lending
Method
Cost: 3 motes
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 1
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite
Charms: None
No Exalted is an island. Through the use of
this Charm, a character can transfer Essence motes to another character. To use
this Charm, the character must spend a turn in skin-to-skin contact with the
target and burn 3 motes of Essence to power the Charm. She may then transfer to
the target motes of Essence equal to 3 x her permanent Essence score. This
Essence may not cause the target’s Essence pool to rise above its normal
maximum.
If the target cannot accept all the
transferred Essence, then the excess dissipates harmlessly. Characters may
activate this Charm over successive turns to transfer large quantities of
Essence but must pay the 3 motes for each turn the Charm is in use.
Chaos-Repelling
Pattern
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One hour
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite
Charms: Integrity-Protecting Prana
Through the use of this Charm, the
character protects his possessions from the warping influence of the Wyld. While the Charm lasts, the character and his goods
(an amount which can equal a fully laden horse if the character is mounted) can
sojourn in even the most fluid areas of the Wyld
without worry that they will suddenly become something other than what they
currently are.
Note again that Wyld-spawned
phenomenon are not warded against, though the Charm makes certain sorts of
mishaps (falling into the sky, having the ground suddenly open up to become a
pit of mechanical alligators) quite unlikely. The character may be blasted asunder
or eaten and digested, but up and down will continue to mean the same thing,
and his feet will tend to always land on a stable, solid object of some sort.
Any character trying to lead a horse into a deep Wyld
area had better have the Spirit-Steadying Assurances Charm or something
similar.
Will-Bolstering
Method
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms:
Essence-Lending Method
Exalted can share more than simple power. The touch of a Solar can bring new strength to the
downcast heart and new courage to the terrified. To use this Charm, the
character must be in skin-to-skin contact with the target for a turn and must
spend the Essence and Willpower to power the Charm. The character may then
transfer a number of points of temporary Willpower to the target equal to the
highest Virtue that the two of them share.
For Example: Dace is transferring Willpower
to Swan. Dace has Valor 4, Conviction 2, Compassion 3, Temperance
2. Swan has Valor 3, Conviction 2, Compassion 2, Temperance
3. Dace can transfer up to three points of Temporary Willpower to Swan, one for
each dot they share in Valor.
As with Essence-Lending Method, above, the
Will-Bolstering Method cannot cause a character’s temporary Willpower to rise
above its normal maximum. Excess points are wasted.
Wound-Accepting
Technique
Cost: 3 motes per health level,
1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite
Charms: Will-Bolstering Method
Through the use of this Charm, the Exalted
can give the gift of his very life energy. The character must be in
skin-to-skin contact with the target for a turn and must spend a point of
temporary Willpower and the appropriate amount of Essence. The Exalted using
the Charm immediately takes a number of health levels of bashing damage, and
the target of the Charm immediately heals a like number of levels of bashing or
lethal damage. Exalted cannot share more health levels than the lower of the
two character’s Staminas. This Charm cannot heal
aggravated damage, nor can it cause a character to gain more health levels than
she would normally have. Exalted can, in fact, kill themselves
through the use of this Charm.
Power-Awarding Prana
Cost: 5 mote, 1
Willpower, 1 experience point
Duration: One day
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite
Charms: Wound-Accepting
Technique
Through the use of this Charm, the Exalted
can lend some of her power to a normal mortal recipient. For each point of the
loaning character’s Essence, he can loan one Charm to the target. The target
must have the appropriate minimum Ability to use the Charm, and if the Charms
lent have prerequisite Charms, then the target must be lent those as well. The
Charms draw directly on the Essence of the Exalted who lent them, but the
recipient must pay any non-Essence costs. While the Charms are lent, the
Exalted cannot use them. The Exalted can end the effect of this Charm and
recall her power at any time.
During the First Age, Exalted often used
this ability to bolster their lictors and pages for
important tasks.
Earth-Firming Method
Cost: 15 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One day
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite
Charms: Chaos-Repelling Pattern
With this Charm,
an Exalted can protect a large area from the ravages of the Wyld
for a single day. While it lasts, the earth and vegetation within the warded
area, together with any living beings present inside it, will not be affected
by the Wyld’s changes, and the air will remain
breathable and safe. The Solar paces around the area that he wishes to ward
(which may not have more than a five yard radius per dot of permanent Essence
that he has) and invokes the Charm. Unfortunately, although the contents of the
area will be safe from change, faeries or Wyld-mutated
beings are not prevented from entering the protected area.
Wyld-Shaping Technique
Cost: 20 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite
Charms: Chaos-Repelling
Pattern
There are few of their abilities that the
Exalted fear using. They are, after all, the anointed of the gods. They do not
command Essence, it flows to match their desire. Even
the most serious sorts of negligence or mistakes are only likely to lead to
wild mood swings and misbehavior, not a grisly death. But even in the days of
the Old Realm, the most powerful Solar Exalted used this Charm sparingly. A
character using this Charm can shape the primordial chaos, the inchoate
precursor of reality, to his whim. Obviously, this Charm does not work in areas
where the fabric of reality is already set — it must be used in the deepest,
most fluid Wyld zones or else at the edge of the
world, forcing shape into the teeth of the howling storm.
To activate this Charm, the character sets foot
in the unformed substance of reality and wills it to take shape as he commands.
The player rolls his character’s Essence. Wyld-Shaping
Technique is an extended action, with the cost of the Charm paid for each roll.
The number of successes required is up to the Storyteller. The character can
create nearly anything — a Demesne, a giant factory that produces golem
warriors, a bag of diamonds as big as potatoes — but the larger and more
powerful the thing he wishes to create, the more successes the player must
roll. A single success would create a bag of diamonds or a talent of gold,
while three successes would create a Demesne, a keep or a talent of one of the
Five Magical Materials. Five successes would create a fortress, an enchanted
forest complete with magical inhabitants or the aforementioned manufactory for
golem warriors.
If the player botches at any time, horrible
side effects result as reality shapes to the character’s subconscious whims. It
may take the shape of his fears or simply coalesce in some horrifically wrong
fashion — the specifics are up to the Storyteller. They are rarely pleasant and
often worse than fatal.
Objects created in this fashion are freshly
minted. Lacking roots in reality, they are more subject to the gnawing of chaos
than other items. This instability is really only a problem for large
structures such as fortresses and cities — if such places are left unpeopled and not made part of the complex interplay of
contact that makes up existence, they will slowly dissolve back into the chaos
from which they sprang.
Injury-Forcing Technique
Cost: 5 motes per
health level, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite
Charms: Wound-Accepting Technique
With this Charm,
an Exalt may transfer his current injuries to another person. The character
must be in skin-to-skin contact with the target of the Charm for a turn, and
his player must spend a point of temporary Willpower and the appropriate amount
of Essence. The Exalt’s wounds close up and heal on
his own body, while appearing at the same time on that of the subject. The
Solar using the Charm immediately heals a number of health levels of bashing or
lethal damage, and the target of the Charm immediately takes a like number of
levels of bashing damage. The maximum number of health levels transferable is
the lower of the two characters’ Staminas. This Charm
cannot be used to transfer aggravated damage: However, it is quite possible to
kill somebody with it. It can be used in combat, but it requires that the
character have concluded a successful grab or clinch maneuver and have the target
trapped at the time the Charm is used.
Order-Affirming Blow
Cost: 15 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite
Charms: Chaos-Repelling Pattern
By means of this
Charm, an Exalt can use his singular knowledge of both chaos and order to
restore a Wyld-corrupted living creature or object.
By placing his hands upon the target and focusing his will, the Solar can
restore it to its original physical and mental state. However, any time that
has passed will be taken into account: The target of the Charm will be restored
to his appropriate age and may age significantly if the Wyld
has preserved him from the passing years. For a full day after this Charm has
been used, the target is immune to the effects of the Wyld:
However, if he remains in Wyld areas after that time,
he will once again be subject to its changes and may eventually be returned to
his previous altered form. Note that this Charm does nothing to cure Wyld addition ― exposure to the energies of the madlands is still pleasurable.
Sorcery-Conferring Contemplation
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 experience point
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 6
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisite
Charms: Power-Awarding Prana
By means of this Charm,
a character can lend one of her spells to another Exalted
sorcerer. For each dot of the loaning character’s Essence, she can lend a spell
for one use. The recipient must have the appropriate Sorcery Charm to be able
to use the spell. These spells draw directly on the Essence of the Exalted who
lent them, but the recipient must pay any non-Essence costs ― for example
the Willpower to activate the appropriate Sorcery Charm.
The Solar is still
able to use these spells while the Charm is in effect, but as soon as the
recipient has cast any of them as many times as the lending character has
permanent Essence, the recipient loses the ability to cast that particular
spell again. Use of this Charm does not aid in the study of the spell ―it
merely imprints the spell on the target, giving him the ability to use it once
per dot of the lending character’s Essence. Powerful Solars
often used this ability to empower lesser minions
― particularly the Dragon-Blooded ― for particular missions.
Brewing Venom Technique
Cost: 4 motes, 1
Willpower, 1 health level per pot created
Duration: One week
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite
Charms: Chaos-Repelling Pattern
The Exalt must
spend an entire scene (30 minutes) boiling a small pot of water. During this
time, she meditates and focuses her Essence into the water, transforming it
into a deadly poison. The difficulty of the Stamina + Resistance roll toavoid the poison and the penalty it causes are both equal
to the character’s Lore Ability score. This penalty persists for a number of
minutes equal to the character’s permanent Essence.
The damage done if
the victim’s player succeeds in making a successful Stamina + Resistance roll
is equal to half of the brewing character’s Lore (round up), and the damage
done by the poison if the victim’s player fails the roll is equal to twice the
brewing character’s Lore.
At the character’s
choice, the poison brewed can either be a deadly toxin that does bashing
damage. Either poison must be ingested or delivered via a weapon to be
effective. Each pot contains poison enough to envenom a dozen weapons or to
poison a large meal. The poison is odorless, tasteless and colorless, requiring
a Perception + Awareness roll of a difficulty equal to the brewing character’s
Essence to detect.
Like all other
weapon venoms, each dose of poison can only be used against a single target.
Once it has been used, the poison must be applied to the weapon again to be
effective. The poison transforms back into harmless water after a week. Each
batch must be brewed as either a thick weapon venom or
an ingested venom that is as thin as water. Charms such as Poison-Resisting
Meditation and Immunity to Everything Technique affect this poison normally.
Envenomed Weapon Prana
Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 health level
Duration: One day
Type: Simple
Minimum Lore: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite
Charms: Brewing Venom Technique
With a seemingly
harmless touch, the character can envenom a single weapon, a single plate of
food or a goblet of wine. The difficulty to resist the poison and the penalty
and damage for the poison are all the same as for Brewing Venom Technique. At
the character’s option, the poison brewed can either be a deadly toxin that
does lethal damage or a powerful narcotic that only does bashing damage. Either
poison must be ingested or enter a wound to be effective. The poison is
odorless, tasteless and colorless. The poison lingers in the drink or the
weapon for the next full day ― after this time, it dissipates harmlessly.
This Charm cannot be used to poison food or drink in the same turn that it is
consumed or to envenom a weapon in the same turn that it is being used to
strike a target.
Mastery-Of-Poison Technique
Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 health level
Duration: Instant
Type: Reflexive
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite
Charms: Envenomed Weapon Prana
The character can
use this Charm to either envenom a single weapon on the same turn that it is
used to strike a target or to poison a single plate of food or goblet of drink.
Also, the character may poison a weapon, food or drink that is up to one yard
per point of permanent Essence away. The difficulty to resist the poison and
the penalty and damage for the poison are all the same as for Brewing Venom
Technique. At the character’s choice, the poison brewed can either be a deadly
toxin that does lethal damage or a powerful narcotic that only does bashing
damage. Either poison must be ingested or enter a wound to be effective. The
poison is odorless, tasteless and colorless. The poison lingers on the drink or
the weapon for the next full scene ― after this time, it harmlessly
dissipates.