< Arts And Crafts | House Rules | Mass Combat >
This is just a page for defining, expanding and clarifying the Anima Banner's of the Chosen.
In addition, each caste has the following Anima Effects:
Solar Anima Effects: Dawn Caste, Zenith Caste, Twilight Caste, Night Caste, Eclipse Caste.
Lunar Anima Effects: Full Moon Caste, Changing Moon Caste, No Moon Caste.
Whenever an Exalted spends Peripheral Essence (unless the Solar is a Night Caste using Caution; see below), it increases the strength of his anima banner. What follows is a chart showing the abbreviated effects of a given anima.
| Strength | Descriptive | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Glittering Caste Mark | Per+Awareness, (Difficulty 3), to spot Caste Mark; concealable. |
| 4-7 | Brilliant Caste Mark | Per+Awareness, (Difficulty 1), to spot Caste Mark; barely concealable. |
| 8-10 | Low Flare Anima | +2 Difficulty to Stealth; Caste Mark shines through any covering. |
| 11-15 | High Flare Anima | Stealth Impossible, Stealth Charms fail; Visible for miles. |
| 16+ | Totemic Anima | Totemic Display for duration of Action; Personally identifiable. |
Every Solar can spend a single mote of Essence to:
Glory of the Dawn (Anima Flare)
The Lightbringer becomes a huge and terrifying titan, inspiring all those that stand beside him and striking fear in those that dare to stand against him. The Ascending Sun gains a +2 bonus to his DV against any opponent without a Valor greater than his Essence, and gives a Mass Combat Unit that she leads a +1 Leadership bonus to Might (Maximum of 3). The Sword of Heaven also adds +1 difficulty to the Hesitation roll of any unit engaged with a Unit he commands, and any unit already engaged with the Solar's Unit suffers an immediate Rout Check when this power is first activated. The players of mortals must also make Valor rolls for their characters when they are facing one of the Bronze Tigers. Mortals (and normal animals) that fail flee in terror of the wrathful apparition that confronts them. The Solar gains this ability for one scene by spending 10 motes of Essence, or automatically once the solar has spent 11-15 motes of Peripheral Essence.
Vigilance (Innate Ability)
The Dawn caste are never caught completely off guard. Whenever they make a Join Battle, Join War or Join Debate roll they may activate any one Charm without it counting as a charm activation, allowing them to use an additional Charm as well or even a Combo. If the Charm is a Simple Charm, subtract it's Speed as an external penalty from the Initiative roll. The Dawn's free Charm need follow none of the Combo guidelines, for this is not truly a combo at all.
Cleansing of the Wicked (Anima Flare)
The Lawgiver fills himself with the righteous cleansing wrath of the Unconquered Sun, becoming a bane against all creatures of darkness. The Resplendent Sun illuminates the area immediately around her as if it were noon, the light extending out to (Permanent Essence x 10) yards. Any creature of darkness in the radius of this light suffers an internal penalty to all attacks equal to the Zenith's Essence. For so long as she burns with this righteous fire, the Pillar of the Sun subtracts her Essence from the raw damage of any attack caused by a creature of darkness (minimum 0). The Zenith's damage is also enhanced, adding her Essence to the minimum damage inflicted upon any creature of darkness and increasing by a like amount the raw damage inflicted upon any such creature her anima's light touches. The Solar gains this ability for one scene by spending 10 motes of Essence, or automatically once the solar has spent 11-15 motes of Peripheral Essence.
Speakers to Heaven (Relic Ability)
The members of the Zenith Caste are considered to be Priests to each and every God in the Celestial and Terrestrial Bureaucracy, but their Authority goes significantly further than this. The Solar Thunder were given the Authority to represent Humanity to the Gods of Yu-Shan in the First Age, and this privilege was never revoked after the Usurpation. Each Zenith has a free outstanding invitation to Yu Shan, and has a dedicated God among the Gold Star Signatories of the Sun's Favor whose sole purpose is to convey that Zenith's prayers to the rest of Heaven. This is handled by a normal Prayer roll, except that the difficulty is lowered not via burnt offering or other sacrifice, but by the sincerity of the Zenith's need for aid from Heaven. This ranges from a difficulty of 5 for trivial personal matters, difficulty 3 for matters of some importance, and difficulty 1 for matters affecting all of Creation.
As a matter of Bureaucratic fiction leftover from the First Age, any Prayer relating to the fate of the Righteous Dead is considered a matter of vast importance. The associated Prayer roll is thus against a difficulty of 2, and and the paperwork involved is greatly sped through the Bureaucracy allowing immediate responce. This allows the Zenith to ensure a favorable reincarnation for those that fell in her service or burn the dead with a touch so that their souls may be safeguarded. In order to make use of their position as Speakers to Heaven, a Zenith must ritualistically show her Caste Mark, which costs a single point of Essence.
In the First Age, this was mostly a communication ability, as the Solar Delberative held the Creation-Ruling Mandate and had merely to speak their wishes to gain the cooperation of Heaven. Yet, in the Second Age, most of the Gods representing the individual members of the Zenith Caste have been on the verge of unemployment for the past 2,000 years and have been sidelined by the other members of their informal committee. While most of the God's are more than willing to push the Agenda of their Zenith, their practical influence is greatly curtailed by their relative powerlessness in the Celestial Bureaucracy and their complete lack of effectiveness with any god within the Terrestrial Bureaucracy. Still, with their jobs relevant for the first time in millennia, the star of these divinities could be on the rise.
Zeal (Innate Ability)
The Golden Bulls are naturally passionate and are able to channel their virtues without the expenditure of a Willpower point, gaining extra dice to important rolls. This still requires the use of a Virtue Channel, and the guidelines for using a Virtue Channel must be met normally, as appropriate. Whenever a Zenith has a Virtue Channel at 0, she can regain 1 channel in that Virtue in lieu of regaining Willpower after a night's rest.
Aegis of the Setting Sun (Anima Flare)
The Solar Lightning channels some small measure of their patron's Invulnerability, channeling Essence through her anima as a last-ditch protective act. The Descending Sun can only manage this act of colossal will for a mere instant and it requires all of their concentration. The character activates this ability at Step 10 of Combat Resolution after damage has been rolled but before it has been applied. The full effects depend on how much concentration the Twilight can bring to bear: when engaged in a Guard action, performing a Miscellaneous action or working Sorcery the Children of Twilight receive this abilities full effect and lowers any damage inflicted by their (Essence) rating. If they have taken another action and weakened their concentration, they are only able to reduce the damage taken by a single health level. The Solar gains this ability by spending 5 motes of Essence, or automatically once the solar has spent 11-15 motes of Peripheral Essence.
Precision (Innate Ability)
The Copper Spiders are skilled at making the difficult appear simple. They may lower a given tasks Difficulty by their stunt bonus, to a minimum of Difficulty 1, or use the same pool to eliminate External Penalties on a 1-for-1 basis. Both functions may also be combined, if appropriate. Stunts used in this fashion do not provide any bonus motes or Willpower, and bonus dice used in this fashion are not rolled.
Hidden Face of the Sun (Anima Flare)
The Nightbringer calls upon all the qualities that the Sun does not possess, extending a muted invisible anima like an imperceptible veil around her. The Night Caste's muted anima mutes the sense of those attempting to perceive her and clings to any evidence she leaves behind her. Shadows are darker, sounds are muffled, and scents and footprints are both much lighter than normal. This muting increases the difficulty of all rolls to notice or track the Exalted by half the character's Essence (round up), and lasts for the duration of One scene. The Solar must pay 10 motes of Essence to activate this ability, but this never her anima display. Once the Solar has spent 11-15 motes of Peripheral Essence, the effects of this muted anima shift but become persistent, concealing the Solar's identity rather than her presence. Though just as obvious as any Exalt, the Solar's features are completely concealed and none can identify her more specifically than as "a Solar."
Caution (Innate Ability)
The Concealing Shadows possess a greater innate ability to control their animas, allowing them to exert their powers without revealing their nature. When a Night Caste Solar expends Peripheral Essence, she may spend additional motes in order to prevent the expenditure from adding to her anima banner. This does not conceal the essence display caused by Sorcery. This ability costs 1m to mute a charm that is not Obvious, or twice the normal mote cost of a Obvious Charm.
Arbiter of Heaven (Anima Flare)
The Harmonious Voices call upon their status as Chosen to the Most High, allowing them to sanctify in the eyes of Heaven an oath to which she is party or to which she chooses to bear witness. The character must shake hands to seal the agreement, or touch the hands of those who are party to it, an act which causes the anima of the Quicksilver Falcon to burn brightly and swirl with the words and runes by which Heaven gave him the right to arbitrate such matters. Any who break such an oath suffer a terrible curse. A number of times equal to the Exalt's Essence at the time the oath was sealed, the oathbreaker will horribly botch a critical action at a time and place decided upon by Heaven. Nothing can forestall Heaven's Price from being levied. The Solar must pay 10 motes of Essence and a point of Willpower to sanctify an oath, or may sanctify any number of oaths for a point of Willpower once he's spent 11-15 motes of Peripheral Essence.
Flexibility (Innate Ability)
The Eclipse Caste possesses the innate ability to learn most Charms native to other types of Exalted, the Fair Folk, Spirits, and other such beings. These charms cost double the normal experience of Favored Charms (usually 16 points). The Quicksilver Falcons must meet any minimums or prerequisites for the charm in question, but these Solars are masters at substituting similar charms for this purpose. In addition, these Charms cost an additional 2 motes to use.
Stryck Wiki