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Integrity: The Mast

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 represents four separate Charms, each related to both a Virtue and to a seemingly unrelated Ability. Each of these charms is both an Integrity charm, available at Integrity 2, Essence 2 and the charm of another ability, available at (Ability) 3, Essence 2. The player can take the Charm once for each virtue, and the individual charms have no cost but instead permanently enhance the Sidereal's capabilities.

  • Compassionate Essence Replenishment, is also a Performance charm, favored by the Chosen of Serenity. It's tied to Compassion.
  • Heroic Essence Replenishment, is also a Presence charm, favored by the Chosen of Battles. It's tied to Valor.
  • Stern Essence Replenishment, is also a Investigation charm, favored by the Chosen of Secrets. It's tied to Conviction.
  • Slick Essence Replenishment, is also a Bureaucracy charm, favored by the Chosen of Endings. It's tied to Temperance.

This 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 in 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. I.e., a Sidereal with Compassionate Essence Replenishment who takes a Performance charm to convince others to aid unfortunates regains her (Compassion) in motes. 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 strand of the Loom of Fate as he invokes Mercury. Yellow stardust falls upon the Sidereal as he begins to run, suffusing his clothing, hair and eyes. After activating this Charm the Sidereal gains a temporary Intimacy toward either reaching a certain location, person or thing or escaping an unpleasant situation. While he retains this Intimacy, he must take a Dash action every time he acts, either on its own or as part of a Flurry including other actions. He may take no more than a single Attack action, and may not turn away from his objective or take any action that does not directly lead toward fulfilling his Intimacy. The Sidereal is explicitly permitted to avoid obstacles, or deal with threats that attempt to restrain him, so long as he does not break the action guidelines found above.

While under the effects of this Charm, dashing carries a DV penalty of -0, the Sidereal gains an additional 5L/5B soak and needs not sleep nor does he suffer any fatigue or wound penalties. He also ignores any Mobility Penalty from armor, and adds 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 and the Sidereal is aware of any change of circumstance that makes his journey irrelevant or that would alter it's destination. The Sidereal may make a reflexive (Perception + Awareness) check to gain additional detail as to this shift in his destiny. In any event, once the Sidereal reaches his destination or no longer needs to keep going, this charm instantly ends and the Intimacy fades. In order to voluntarily stop short of his destination, ending this charm, the Sidereal must resist a Compulsion effect and spend 2 willpower.

A second purchase of this charm requires Essence 3+, and allows the Sidereal to dash reflexively each action. This eliminates the restriction on only taking one attack per action, and allows the Sidereal to take actions that would not normally be possible or sensible to undertake while running. The Sidereal may similarly make any (Dexterity+Athletics) rolls to avoid obstacles or travel through unstable terrain reflexively, and may even treat impossible athletics feats as simply yet more unstable footing. See the Sidebar for more information on this. 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. The Sidereal also doubles all rolled damage if the attack hits, and if this is sufficient to destroy or kill the obstacle the Sidereal may pass without slowing.

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. 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 recieves her (Essence) in bonus successes for any roll-off.

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.

No force 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 that he cannot lose access to any Integrity charm. However, at any later point he may activate this charm to revert the effects of all Shaping or Training effect that altered his 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 any gross anatomical mutation but not simple changes to Strength, Occult, or other traits. This compromise prevents the reversion of personal growth. This Charm can provide the intelligence necessary to invoke it, but not the desire to do so.

Unhearing Dedication

  Cost: 4m, 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, until eventually they become accustomed to sheathing themselves in the dreams of another life at their 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 characters'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.

Death-of-Self Meditation

  Cost: 2m; Mins: Integrity 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
  Keywords: Combo-OK
  Duration: One day
  Prerequisite Charms: Unwavering Well-Being Meditation, Unhearing Dedication

So, she sighed and threw her heart away.

(A charm that allows a Solar to become someone else - mentally -, as a Social Defense or what have you. Manual, p. 179-180.)

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.

Related Rules

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) 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), Up a Sheer Incline (+3), Down a Sheer Incline (+1), or Upside Down (+5). These factors are cumulative with the factors from the core rulebook, and any others the Storyteller chooses to use. If the character has any automatic or persistent successes added to Athletics rolls, he may treat each such success as an effective +1 to his Athletics rating for the purposes of these rules.

Resplendencies of the Mast

The Mast

  • Strength of the Mast, three Endurance, one Paradox die: So long as the Sidereal is not alone, and is the strongest person present, her Strength is sufficient to any task and she multiplies her (Strength + Athletics) by 10 to determine how much she can lift as a cooperative action. This replaces any other form of cooperative effort that might otherwise apply.
  • Structure of the Mast, one Endurance: The Sidereal may add three dice to any attempt to aid another.
  • This Space Left Blank.