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The Violet Bier of Sorrows Style is a Celestial Martial Art Style, created by the Maiden of Endings to arm her Chosen for the Primordial War. Its form weapons are the sword, the knife, the staff and their artifact equivalents. The style's Charms are incompatible with armour or shields. As one of the first and most honoured of Creation's martial arts styles, the Endings Form was widespread in the First Age. Non-Sidereal Exalted may learn it with sufficient justification, such as past-life memories or a suitable Mentor.
The Scripture of the Expectant Maiden: Once, there was a maiden...
Secrets of Future Strife
Cost: None; Mins: Martial Arts 1, Essence 1; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: None
...who was always looking forward to the way things would be.
The character trains herself for instant acceptance of the twists and turns of circumstance. This Charm doubles the character's successes on Join Battle rolls.
Flight of Mercury
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 1) Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of Future Strife
She said, "Someday, I'm getting out of this place."
The character moves with the swift precision of one who knows her destiny. The Speed of her unarmed Martial Arts attacks is set to 3. Any effects that would further reduce Speed instead increase the Rate of her unarmed Martial Arts attacks, at a 1 to 1 ratio of Speed to Rate.
Blade of the Battle Maiden
Cost: 2m per TN reduction, 2wp; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 1) Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of Future Strife
"Someday, I'm going to kill that boy that put me here."
Essence shines around the character's hands (or weapons), tracing with their every movement crimson trails through the air. While this Charm is active, the character may lower the target number on damage rolls for her unarmed Martial Arts attacks by one for every two additional committed motes, to a minimum of 4. In addition, she deals and may parry lethal damage unarmed.
Joy in Adversity Stance
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 2) Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of Future Strife
"And while I wait, I don't much mind,
Those who routinely face terrible odds can learn to take some measure of happiness in each moment's survival. Having activated this Charm, when the character successfully uses her DV to parry or dodge an attack, she gains her Permanent Essence in motes. This Charm may not be used against attacks not truly intended to harm the character or attacks incapable of harming the character, nor may it be used in conjunction with effects that automatically defend against attacks or force them to fail. This Charm may not increase the character's Essence pool beyond its normal maximum, and she may not gain more than 20 motes through any combination of Charms including Joy in Adversity Stance during a single one of her actions.
Violet Bier of Sorrows Form
Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 3, DV -1) Keywords: Form-type, Crippling Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Flight of Mercury, Joy in Adversity Stance, Blade of the Battle Maiden
'cause it's better to dream tomorrow than to be there."
The character adopts the cold detachment with which Saturn makes her Sign against those things whose time has passed. While the character uses this Form, each successful attack also drains some of the victim's passion as a Crippling effect. After damaging an opponent with an unarmed Martial Arts attack, the Exalt can remove one point of the target's Virtues, to a minimum of 1. This cannot reduce a target's Virtues below the minimums required for the Great Curse. Each Virtue heals naturally at the rate of one point a day. In addition, increase the minimum damage and raw damage of the character's unarmed Martial Arts attacks by 2.
Note: Gods and demons no longer have strict Virtue requirements for their Charms, so the bite of the Violet Bier of Sorrows Form when used against these entities is reduced in 2E. The Storyteller is encouraged to use the guidelines on page 296 of Exalted to reduce their capabilities when struck by Violet Bier of Sorrows stylists using the Form.
Death-Parrying Stroke
Cost: 2m per health level; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 8 - before health level reduction) Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: Instant Prerequisites: Violet Bier of Sorrows Form
"I'm holding at bay," she said, "what I know to be true."
In a blur of violet Essence, the character's blade catches an attack that might otherwise have killed her. If the character chose to use her PDV against an incoming attack and failed to parry it, she may decide to invoke this Charm after damage has been rolled, reducing damage by one level per 2 motes spent. This Charm, like all health level reduction effects, activates on the same instant as the Twilight anima power effect.
Life-Severing Blow
Cost: 2m per health level; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 8 - as health level reduction) Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Violet Bier of Sorrows Form "That I'll never get out. I won't let my dreams die!"
Drawing on the Essence of Endings, a character can add power to a blow that she realizes is about to pierce her enemy's defenses. If she hits with an unarmed Martial Arts attack, she may purchase automatic damage successes after damage has been rolled at a cost of 2 motes each. She cannot purchase more successes on any given attack than her permanent Essence rating.
Clarification: use of a automatic soak Charm like Iron Skin Concentration or Adamant Skin Technique nullifies all damage from this Charm.
Metal Storm
Cost: 2m per attack; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Extra Action Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Life-Severing Blow
"I'll hang on to hope," she said, "until Time itself ends. But-"
Not even the most cunning of opponents can evade a sword that strikes everywhere at once. This Charm is a magical flurry of two or more unarmed Martial Arts attacks. Each attack in the flurry costs two motes, including the first. The character may not make more attacks with this Charm than her Martial Arts rating +1. All attacks produced by this Charm must be directed at the same target. These attacks may be made regardless of Rate, do not suffer multiple action penalties, and only impose a DV penalty equal to the highest penalty for any one attack.
Conclusion-Pursuing Approach
Cost: 10m 1w 1hl; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-OK, Prayer Strip (Crippling, Holy, Obvious) Duration: Scene Prerequisite Charms: Death-Parrying Stroke, Metal Storm
"There's always an ending," said Time.
At the pinnacle of the Violet Bier of Sorrows Style, a character learns to draw strength from the pain of others. Her attacks gain resolve as her enemy falters. She is trained to take full advantage of the weakness of the wounded, stalking failing prey as death hunts those whose time has come. Whenever she successfully strikes a hostile opponent with an unarmed Martial Arts attack, she gains one point of Willpower. In addition, an opponent's wound penalties are tripled when it comes to attacking her or defending against the Stylist's unarmed Martial Arts attacks.
Prayer Strip: The character may fix the scripture of the Expectant Maiden to her weapon or hands, wrapping the whole in radiant burgundy light. While the prayer strip survives, as a Crippling effect, each successful unarmed Martial Arts attack which inflicts damage causes the target to lose a Willpower point. Targets with no Willpower left to lose instead lose 10 motes of Essence. If the target does not have 10 motes of Essence to lose, convert that attack's post-soak damage dice to automatic successes instead. The weapon deals aggravated damage to creatures of darkness. This is a Holy effect.
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