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The Scripture of the Eternal Maiden
Once there was a maiden...
(Virtue) Essence Replenishment
Cost: --; Mins: Integrity 2 OR (Ability) 3, Essence 2; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Duration: N/a Prerequisite Charms: None
...made from a lump of iron, shaped by wind, sea and fire.
This Charm is four separate Charms, each related to both a Virtue and to a seemingly unrelated Ability. Each of these charms are both an Integrity charm, available at Integrity 2, Essence 2 and a charm of another ability, available at (Ability) 3, Essence 2. The player can take the Charm once for each virtue, and the individual charms permanently enhance the Sidereal's capabilities.
The four variants of this charm are outlined below:
Each charm functions in one of two ways. First, the Sidereal regains (Virtue x 2) motes of Essence from this charm each time she channels Willpower through the Virtue and succeeds with her action. She cannot regain Essence in this fashion more times in a day than her Virtue rating. Second, the Sidereal also regains Essence equal to her Virtue each time she successfully undertakes an action using the Ability associated with the charm that supports the theme of the Virtue. The character cannot gain motes from using the Ability and channeling Willpower through the Virtue in the same roll.
Unswerving Juggernaut Principle
Cost: 5m; Mins: Integrity 2, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 3) Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion, Obvious, Virtue(Conviction) Duration: Indefinite Prerequisite Charms: None
Fearing how wood might shape her, she ran, and did not look back.
The Sidereal focuses on a goal and wraps his will tightly around his fate. Yellow stardust falls upon him as he begins to run, suffusing clothing, hair and eyes. Activating this charm, the Sidereal gains an Intimacy toward reaching a certain location, person, or thing, or escaping someone or a certain situation. He must take a Dash action every time he acts, on its own or as part of a Flurry. He cannot make more than a single Attack, and may not turn away from his objective or take any action that does not lead toward fulfilling his Intimacy. He is explicitly permitted to avoid obstacles, or deal with threats that would restrain him, so long as he does not break the action guidelines above.
While he holds to the above conditions, The Sidereal gains a number of advantages. He gains 5L/5B soak, dashing carries no DV penalty, he needs no sleep nor does he suffer any fatigue or wound penalties. He also ignores any Mobility Penalty from armor, and may add his Essence in automatic successes to any Resistance or Athletics roll to keep moving toward his ultimate goal. Finally, the Sidereal treats any Social Attack that is inimical with the Intimacy granted by this charm as an unacceptable order.
The Sidereal is aware of any change of circumstance that makes his journey irrelevant or would alter it's destination. He may make a reflexive (Perception + Awareness) check to gain additional information. In any event, once the Sidereal reaches his destination or no longer needs to, this charm instantly ends and the Intimacy fades. In order to end this charm before fulfilling his Intimacy, the character must spend 2 willpower to resist a Compulsion.
A second purchase of this charm requires Essence 3+, and allows the Sidereal to dash reflexively. This eliminates the restriction on only taking one attack per action, and allows the character to take actions that would not normally be possible or sensible to undertake while running. The Sidereal may similarly make any (Dexterity+Athletics) rolls necessary to continue on reflexively, and may treat even impossible athletic feats as simply yet more unstable footing though the Sidereal must remain generally on or near the ground. See the Sidebar for more information.
A third and final purchase of this charm requires Essence 4+, and allows a reflexive attack at most once per scene against an obstacle that bars the Sidereal's path. This attack is unblockable, undodgeable and receives additional successes equal to the Sidereal's essence. If successful, the damage for the attack is also doubled after soak is applied and if the damage inflicted is sufficient to eliminate the obstacle the Sidereal pay continue his journey without pausing or even slowing down.
Forward-Thinking Technique
Cost: 5m, 5wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 3; Type: Simple Keywords: Maiden, Sanction Duration: One Scene Prerequisite Charms: Unswerving Juggernaut Principle (x1)
One day, she forgot what she ran from.
The destiny of every Sidereal Exalt is recorded in the Loom of Fate, whether she accepts that destiny or works against it. This Charm allows the character to act with freedom for a single scene. Any Compulsion, Emotion, Illusion, Servitude, or Total Control effects afflicting her are suspended for the duration. She's immune to the compulsions of her Virtues, and is unswayed by her Intimacies and Motivation.
When the character does act, she can channel a Virtue without expending a channel and any dice gained are converted into successes. Lacking an appropriate Virtue, spending a point of Willpower provides two successes. This newfound freedom is veiled from any effect that would reveal it; the character appears normal to Essence sight and any charm that would rely on this knowledge fails to function. The Sidereal receives her (Essence) in bonus successes for any roll-off.
No force short of death can prevent the Sidereal from invoking this charm except lack of motes to pay the activation cost. If lacking in Willpower, the character may substitute levels of aggravated damage instead. This Charm can temporarily suspend the effects of the Flawed Fate, but this only postpones the Limit Break. After the charm ends, the strain of asserting inviolability grants the Sidereal Limit equal to her Essence rating and any unnatural mental influence still affecting her returns at full strength.
Unwavering Well-Being Meditation
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 1, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 2) Keywords: Combo-OK, Maiden Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charm: None
So, she pulled out her heart to ask it.
When this charm is first purchased, the Sidereal etches his essential nature deep in the Loom of Fate and his Exaltation. Like a living work of art, essentially complete but forever changing, his being is eternally preserved yet still subject to the organic changes that naturally occur as one goes about fulfilling his destiny.
None of this directly protects the Sidereal, except he cannot lose access to any Integrity charms except via death. However, at any later point he may activate this charm and revert all changes caused by Shaping or Training effects which have altered the character's mind, body, spirit, or fate. These reversions are involuntary, and the player has no control over what is reverted.
The record of the Vizier's mind and body can revert his Intimacies, Motivation or undo any gross anatomical mutations but cannot undo simple changes to Strength, Occult, or other traits. This compromise prevents the reversion of personal growth or hard-fought experience. This Charm can provide the intelligence necessary to invoke it, but not the desire to do so.
Unsparing Dedication
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 5) Keywords: Combo-OK, Stackable Duration: Indefinite Prerequisite Charm: None
"Why don't you look back and see?" it said.
The Viziers live a thousand lives, or a thousand-thousand, and eventually become accustomed to dabbling in other lives at whim and then tossing these to the side when they have no further use for them. This Charm lets the Sidereal adopt a new Motivation, in addition to his natural Motivation, for as long as he keeps the essence for this charm committed.
This additional Motivation has all of the normal benefits and drawbacks of a Motivation, but its inspiration must either be in a Resplendent Destiny that the Sidereal is currently bearing or in a mission, project, task or program currently assigned to him by a superior in the Bureau of Destiny. The Vizier can invoke this charm repeatedly, gaining an additional Motivation each time, but he may only benefit from a number of additional Motivations equal to his Conviction.
The Sidereal may relieve himself of any of his additional Motivations as a diceless reflexive action, which also frees any Essence committed to that Motivation. As many Motivations can be removed in a single instant as the Sidereal wishes, and in the instant when a Motivation is shucked the Sidereal gains a scene-long perfect mental dodge defense against even undodgeable social attacks that align with that Motivation. The argument falls into the void in the character's fate which once supported those beliefs. These motivations also fail, immediately, when the Resplendent Destiny or Departmental Business that empowers them comes to an end. One cannot regain the same Motivation, nor a closely related one, for one day after abandoning it.
Left-Hand Path Consignment
Cost: 4m (3wp); Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 1 or 2) Keywords: Combo-OK, Shaping Duration: One day Prerequisite Charms: Unwavering Well-Being Meditation, Unsparing Dedication
So, she sighed and threw her heart away.
For all their subterfuge and misdirection, the Vizier cannot escape from herself. This Charm eliminates that flaw, allowing the Sidereal to cast aside her own life for a while in favor of living someone else's. She might have someone specific in mind, in which case she activates this charm in that person's presence or she can leave her fate in the hands of the Maiden of Journeys.
After spending the motes the Sidereal gains a new Motivation which replaces her own as well as a completely new selection of Intimacies. She retains only her attributes, skills, virtues and any Intimacies given or enhanced by other Sidereal charms. In either case, the character's new personality is supplied by the Storyteller, determined either by the Sidereal's target or invented whole cloth. The player may or may not have any influence over these decisions, but the character has no input what so ever.
This charm may also be activated reflexively as a perfect mental dodge defense against a social attack, or any form of unnatural mental influence. In this case the Sidereal's new personality is constructed so as to make the influence an Unacceptable Order (see Exalted, p. 180). In many cases the new personality created will have to be extreme, eccentric or outright psychotic in order to resist a command. This can be as extreme as a Solar's Limit Break. Lastly, this function is only effective if activated on the instant the influence is applied to the character, and cannot be used to cancel an effect already affecting the character.
After this charm's duration runs out, the Sidereal may elect to spend 3 willpower to make his new personality a lasting change as a Shaping effect. Any committed essence is immediately freed, but the new personality can only be abandoned by using this charm again. The only way for the Sidereal to return to her former identity is via the use of Unwavering Well-Being Meditation.
One Direction Invocation
Cost: 16m, 1wp, 1hl; Mins: Integrity 5, Essence 4; Type: Simple Keywords: Obvious, Prayer Strip Duration: Indefinite Prerequisite Charms: Forward-Thinking Technique, Death-of-Self Meditation
"I have no use for beginnings," said she.
The Sidereal releases a prayer strip marked with the Scripture of the Eternal Maiden, which dances about the air within 100 yards of him, burning gold as it flits about randomly. This prayer strip bears the character's name and indeed his very identity, which serves as collateral for a oath with Fate that the Sidereal makes to fulfillment some goal. Until the character fulfills this geasa, he forswears these aspects of himself, and any roll made to remember him suffers a -3 internal penalty on top of the normal penalties for the Sidereal's Arcane Fate. Even those outside of fate are made temporarily subject to the Arcane Fate, though they do not suffer this additional penalty.
The Sidereal gains one automatic success on any action that directly advances his goal, but cannot take actions that don't lead toward the fulfillment of his oath. He can, if necessary, take actions that indirectly advance his goal but any rolls have a -3 internal penalty. More importantly, however, fate will not allow the Sidereal to falter in his appointed task even in the face of death. At the beginning of each action, the Sidereal either stabilizes his dying wounds, sheds one crippling effect, heals one lethal health level, or heals all bashing health levels. Any Aggravated damage heals at one level per hour, and he also sheds any Sickness or Poison effects at this time.
When the character fulfills his oath, the prayer strip ceases it's dance and comes to rest in his hand, dissolving into golden dust. If either conditions becomes impossible, i.e., if the oath becomes impossible to fulfill or someone or the prayer strip is destroyed, the character's name and identity are lost forever. Over time the Sidereal will forget the once-important details of his life unrelated to his Exaltation. With cooperation from superiors in his department, the character may have a new identity created. This is treated similarly to forging a Destiny, the rules for which are described in the Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 212. The effective artifact rating of this identity is equal to half the Sidereal's Essence (round up), and the identity it grants must be substantially different from his previous identity. Though he is aware that this new identity is not truly his, and this awareness never truly fades, it does over time become a faint feeling of nostalgia.
| Impossible Feats of Athletics as Unstable Footing |
|---|
| The rules for Unstable Footing on Exalted, p. 155, suffice for most situations. However, some charms (such as Unswerving Juggernaut Principle or Cloud Treading Method) allow an Exalt to traverse truly impossible terrains but do not make such acts automatic. For such situations, apply the following instability modifiers: Water (+2 for Still Water; up to +4 for storm-tossed waters), Smoke (+4), Raindrops (+6), or even Clouds (+8), Up a Sheer Incline (+3), Down a Sheer Incline (+1), or Upside Down (+5). These factors are cumulative with those from Exalted, and any the Storyteller designs. The individual feats that a given charm allows may be less broad than the full spectrum spoken above. If the character has any persistent successes added to Athletics rolls, he may treat each such success as an effective +1 to Athletics to determine if he needs to roll at all. |
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