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Back to Dawn Caste, Zenith Caste, Twilight Caste, Night Caste, or Eclipse Caste

Basic Solar Survival charms

Survival I (Animals and Natural Secrets)

Wild Surveying Instinct

  Cost: 1 mote
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Survival: 4
  Minimum Essence: 2
  Prerequisite Charms: Friendship with Animals Approach

The Exalt reaches deep into the primal depths of his soul, unleashing the primordial instincts of his people, and coming to a deep and essential understanding of the natural places, the cycles of the world, and the native inhabitants of the wilds. A Solar with this charm can draw on this deep wellspring of innate knowledge, coming to understand things in the same way that the beasts of the forest and field do. The character instinctively knows the secrets of the wild, such as why the birds have suddenly gone quiet or which predators territory he's just blundered into. He can casually identify tracks, paths, and lairs and spot the omens of the wild gods. While he cannot speak to animals, if he has Friendship with Animals Approach active he can empathically understand them to a fairly large degree. Even without that charm, the character demonstrates a deep understanding of their behavior and likely actions. Of all the Exalted, only the Lunar Exalted can surpass the nature sense of a Solar with this charm.

Survival II (Survival & Harsh Terrain)

(Terrain) Mastery

  Cost: None
  Duration: Permanent
  Type: Special
  Minimum Survival: 3
  Minimum Essence: 2
  Prerequisite Charms: Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit

An Exalt with this charm has learned the perils and blessings of a given type of terrain, often one familiar and native to him. He is more at home in these lands than even the animals that live there, knowing it's secrets and able to survive there almost effortlessly. When he purchases this charm, the character picks a Terrain Specialization. When using a Survival charm in his specialized terrain, the charm works on double the normal number of people. In addition, the Solar gains a number of extra dice to all survival rolls equal to his Essence rating when the appropriate terrain. Additional benefits that the Solar gains are dependent on the terrain speciality with examples listed below. The character may take this charm more than once if he wishes, gaining the benefits of another Terrain Specialization for each purchase. The following list is only examples of possible specializations that the character can pick, and players are invited to make up their own terrain types and the benefits thereof.

Terrain Mastery Specializations:

• Arctic: The character is more able to conserve heat, and can survive indefinately in the arctic chill with just a bit of light insulation from warm clothes even without additional charms. In addition, he can move over loose packed snow or bare/thin ice without penality.
• Woodlands: The character becomes able to casually move about the treetops, gaining a free success on all rolls involving climbing trees, jumping from limb to limb, or brachiating. This allows him to move normally through these enviroments without a roll at his normal speed.
• Deserts: The character retains and uses water much more effectively, halving the amount of water he needs each day. In addition, he negates any penalities for travelling over loose sand, uneven rock or other rough terrain.
• Mountains: The character gains an additional success on any roll to retain his footing or climb higher on a rockface, becoming as nimble as a mountain goat and able to move through the mountains just as easily.
• Ocean: The character adds one additional success to all swimming related rolls, seeming to be partly amphibious. In addition, he can hold his breath for twice the normal amount of time.

Ghost of the Wilds

  Cost:  10 motes, 1 willpower
  Duration:  One day
  Type:  Simple
  Minimum Survival:  5
  Minimum Essence:  4
  Prerequisite Charms:  Eye-Deceiving Camouflage, Traceless Passage

The character is a past-master of using the natural terrain to conceal and misdirect, even to the extent that he can hide away entire encampments or resting caravans from even dedicated searches. The Exalt must spend at least one scene making preparations, camouflaging the area and adjusting the terrain in various ways to ensure that his magic is reinforced by the natural lines of the terrain. The character can conceal a number of people equal to his Essence rating squared in the wilderness, along with a number of objects equal to the volume of one large wagon per point of Essence. Clueless passers-by have no chance of spotting the concealed group unless they are using powerful essence-detecting charms such as All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, and even those actively looking for the concealed group will most likely fail without powerful magic. Ten successes are needed on a Perception + Investigation roll in order to spot the concealed group, the roll representing several hours of intense searching. Some Awareness charms might lower the time needed to search and the number of succeeses needed, at the Storyteller's discretion. Similarly, particularly concealing natural terrain might impose a difficulty on this roll

Once the preparations are complete and the charm is in effect, those concealed can move about within the predefined area and operate more or less normally. None of their activities impose any penality on the camouflage or help searchers to find the concealed group. They can freely light cooking fires or engage in various noisy activities. The magic conceals the signs of such things, either totally or as distractions. Anyone who moves outside of the concealed area is no longer protected from discovery, and in fact is fully affected by the charm and unlikely to find their way back if they went far.