Revised Sidereal Charms

From Spiders

Charms revisions are marked as Minimal, for fixes to clear errors, Mechanical, for mechanics to support some process, Guess, for more wondering suggestions, Theme, for nudges to bring back the pulp theme of 1e over the CRPG theme of 2e, or Open, for cases where I cannot devise a fix. A few other tags see ad hoc use.

Contents 1 Spells 2 Charms 2.1 Excellencies 2.2 Journeys 2.2.1 Resistance 2.2.1.1 Water and Fire Treaty 2.2.1.2 Water and Fire Legion 2.2.1.3 Shield of Destiny 2.2.2 Ride 2.2.2.1 Ordained Bridle of Mercury 2.2.2.2 Godly Companion 2.2.2.3 Breaking the Wild Mortal 2.2.3 Sail 2.2.3.1 Walls of Salt and Ash 2.2.4 Survival 2.2.4.1 Dreaming the Wild Lands 2.2.4.2 Wilderness-Commanding Practice 2.2.5 Thrown 2.2.5.1 Life Gets Worse Approach 2.3 Serenity 2.3.1 Craft 2.3.1.1 Destiny-Knitting Entanglement 2.3.1.2 World-Shaping Artistic Vision 2.3.1.3 Implicit Construction Methodology 2.3.2 Dodge 2.3.2.1 Duck Fate 2.3.3 Linguistics 2.3.3.1 Blue Vervain Binding 2.3.4 Performance 2.3.4.1 Faultless Ceremony 2.3.4.2 Defense of Shining Joy 2.3.4.3 Ice and Fire Binding 2.3.4.4 Harmonic Completion 2.3.5 Socialize 2.3.5.1 Shun the Smiling Lady 2.3.5.2 Life Without Compunction 2.4 Battles 2.4.1 Archery 2.4.2 Athletics 2.4.3 Melee 2.4.3.1 Perfection of the Visionary Warrior 2.4.4 Presence 2.4.4.1 Force Decision 2.4.4.2 Presence in Absence Technique 2.4.4.3 Loyalty-Sacrificing Sidestep 2.4.5 War 2.4.5.1 Auspicious Recruitment Drive 2.4.5.2 Training Mandate of Celestial Empowerment 2.5 Secrets 2.5.1 Investigation 2.5.1.1 Auspicious Prospects for (Caste) 2.5.2 Larceny 2.5.2.1 Avoiding the Truth Technique 2.5.2.2 Thought-Swiping Distraction 2.5.3 Lore 2.5.3.1 Methodology of Secrets 2.5.4 Occult 2.5.4.1 Unweaving Method 2.5.5 Stealth 2.5.5.1 Soft Presence Practice 2.5.5.2 Subordinate Inspiration Technique 2.5.5.3 Gift of a Broken Mask 2.6 Endings 2.6.1 Awareness 2.6.1.1 Expected Pain 2.6.1.2 Supernal Awareness 2.6.2 Bureaucracy 2.6.2.1 Icy Hand 2.6.2.2 Terminal Sanction 2.6.3 Integrity 2.6.3.1 Preservation of Resolve 2.6.3.2 Unwavering Well-Being Meditation 2.6.3.3 Death-of-Self Meditation 2.6.4 Martial Arts 2.6.4.1 Secrets of Future Strife 2.6.4.2 Blade of the Battle Maiden 2.6.5 Medicine 2.6.5.1 Peaceable Conclusion 2.6.5.2 Smooth Transition

Spells

The one spell in the book, , which lets characters transfer knowledge very quickly, is of the Celestial Circle. (Minimal)

Charms

When the Maiden keyword says that the Charm must be used to advance a plan sanctioned by the Bureau of Destiny, it refers to the Fate Planning system described on page 74. (Minimal)

Excellencies

Note that the limits on adding to dice pools or static values are Essence dice or Essence successes. The Second Excellency has a higher effective limit than the First Excellency.

Journeys

Resistance

Water and Fire Treaty

This Charm protects against Environmental effects and explicitly Elementally-themed effects. For example, it protects against the damaging anima of a Terrestrial Exalt or against the breath of an elemental Dragon. (Minimal). It also protects against anything within the volition of an elemental—not that within the volition of Man, as the blow of a sword or the fall of an arrow. (Guess) Those travelling with her are similarly protected so long as they continue to journey. (Theme)

Water and Fire Legion

the +2 bonus mentioned is Internal. The target is the MDV of the spirit, not its Willpower+Essence. (Mechanical) The elemental in question acquires a legal obligation under the Exalted Mandate to Rule Creation. It also acquires a Compulsion, which is Unnatural Mental Influence costing 2 WP to ignore. (Minimal)

Shield of Destiny

This is called the Shield of Mars. (Theme)

Storm's Eye Stance: The effect described is a Counterattack, though activating the Charm itself is not. The character activating this does suffer the effect. He just gets to share. (Minimal)

Ride

Ordained Bridle of Mercury

There is a one-XP surcharge to cement familiars gained in this way that cannot be ridden. A scene of riding the familiar always counts as action to cement the relationship; after a number equal to the greater of the Exalt's Conviction and the Familiar's, the relationship is cemented. (Theme)

Godly Companion

The small god can transport itself to and from Heaven by opening the Gates. It has no special means of teleportation. (Theme)

Breaking the Wild Mortal

There is a one-XP surcharge to cement acquaintances gained in this way that cannot be ridden. A scene of riding the acquaintance always counts as action to cement the relationship; after a number equal to the greater of the Exalt's Conviction and the Acquaintance's, the relationship is cemented. Humans cannot be ridden in their natural shape. (Theme)

Sail

Walls of Salt and Ash

This is a Compulsion effect, which can be overcome by spending Willpower. Banned entities must spend Willpower equal to the Sidereal's Essence to board the ship. Even if banned entities spend the Willpower to board the ship, your allies still have the bonus of your Essence to appropriate dice pools.

Survival

Dreaming the Wild Lands

Combo-OK (Minimal). Such improvised weapons typically have an Accuracy of 0, Damage of up to twice the Sidereal's Essence (Piercing), cannot be used to Parry (without a Stunt), and an unlimited Rate. Drop trees on as many people as you like. (Guess)

Wilderness-Commanding Practice

There's nothing for the Virtue (Valor) tag to augment. Remove it.

Thrown

Life Gets Worse Approach

This is a reroll when helping an attack hit its intended target. It is a Counterattack when changing targets. (Minimal)

Serenity

Craft

Destiny-Knitting Entanglement

It is a Charm activation to bind the object, and another Charm activation to call it. That's why this is Reflexive. As with Call the Blade and similar re-arming Charms, it is not Comboable. (Minimal)

World-Shaping Artistic Vision

This Charm also reduces the cost of the Auspicious Excellency whenever the enhanced action is in tune with this Charm's specialty condition. This can reduce the cost of the Auspicious Excellency to zero, and does reduce the cost of Auspicious Successes. (Theme)

Implicit Construction Methodology

This form of construction does not admit helpers or assistants—and the quality of available tools is irrelevant. Factory-Cathedrals and the like are of no use. Note that Sidereals never get the Charms to reduce minima for superior Artifacts, so can churn out a Grand Diklaive in a day, but never anything larger. (Theme)

Dodge

Duck Fate

This can protect against Social or Shaping attacks. (Theme)

Linguistics

Blue Vervain Binding

Either party may pay the experience point. Once you've spent a number of XP on this Charm equal to the cost of a new level of Linguistics, you can get that dot. (Minimal)

Lover's Oath: Expanding on the implication of the first paragraph, this is a wedding. (Theme)

Performance

Faultless Ceremony

This is Charisma + Performance roll with a dice bonus equal to the Sidereal's Essence. (Minimal) The planning committee governing the sponsors of the ritual will take noticeably favorable action at their next meeting. (Theme)

Defense of Shining Joy

This changes the method of calculation of Defense Value. It does not provide bonus dice from Charms or involve that limit. (Minimal)

Ice and Fire Binding

Deputized Sidereals, as those under the Gift of a Broken Mask, may participate in this Charm. (Theme)

Harmonic Completion

The DV/MDV bonus is a bonus to a static value from a Charm. It is capped by the Sidereal's Essence. (Minimal)

Socialize

Shun the Smiling Lady

It is possible to spend Willpower to overcome the effects of this Perfect Social Attack if you are not the direct target—that is, if you would have to fall out of love with someone. It costs one point of temporary Willpower per Scene until you run out of Willpower or the Charm ends. If you fail to spend the Willpower in even one Scene, your love is broken and cannot be resumed. (Theme) The Charm lasts as long as the Essence is committed. (Minimal)

Life Without Compunction

If the associated roll succeeds, this perfectly Dodges all Dodgeable social attacks. With three or more successes, that roll acts as an immediate Social Counterattack to compel the action "sympathize with me, if not my cause." If the roll fails, the attack has succeeded as against a DV of 0. (Mechanical)

Battles

Archery

No fixes needed, though I'm surprised by comparison to some Solar Charms.

Athletics

No fixes needed, though I'm surprised by some of the Combo keywords.

Melee

Perfection of the Visionary Warrior

This changes the method of calculating DVs to remove the step "divide by two." It is thus not restricted by the rule restricting additions to DV. (Clarification)

Presence

Force Decision

This Perfect Social Attack imposes an Unnatural Mental Influence to make the decision in this way—but not to hold to it. Reversing an important decision is opposed by strong Conviction—if your Conviction is over 3, you must fail a Conviction roll or spend a Willpower point (and gain Limit as appropriate for your type). Characters with less attachment to their decisions may reconsider them more easily. The initial Compulsion requires 2 WP to overcome. (Kurgan)

Presence in Absence Technique

You specify the condition under which you'll substitute a roll when you use the Charm. When that condition arises, your fate strand is consulted for the effects of the social attack. (Mechanical)

Loyalty-Sacrificing Sidestep

This is a Social Counterattack. (Minimal)

War

Auspicious Recruitment Drive

This has Indefinite duration; you commit the motes while recruiting. Once you've recruited one dot, the Charm ends. If you use this in unusual places, you may be stuck with unusual recruits. (Minimal)

Training Mandate of Celestial Empowerment

Any astrological effects in the House of Battles affect each member of the unit. They don't have to be signed by the user of this Charm. (Guess)

Secrets

Investigation

Auspicious Prospects for (Caste)

This Charm can be used in two ways. First, it can be used to transmit goals from a Maiden to her Chosen. Use it to find out a good Caste-relevant task to perform. It may or may not aid in your current difficulties, but it will smooth fate. Second, use it to confirm the value of a task named or nominated by others. Only the second takes a roll. (Theme)

Larceny

Avoiding the Truth Technique

Combo-OK. (Minimal)

Thought-Swiping Distraction

This always gives at least the target's Motivation, if relevant to what he is doing, and any Intimacies or strong Virtues that motivate or oppose his action. (Mechanical)

Lore

Methodology of Secrets

Rather than granting three +1 specialities, this grants a single specialty that gives a +3 bonus to one Ability and a +1 bonus to the other twenty-four. It must be of appropriate breadth to be a specialty in each of the 25 Abilities. (Theme)

Occult

Unweaving Method

This is an unblockable, undodgeable, unsoakable attack. Only defenses against Shaping will protect against it—or those powers of the Exalted that allow them to dodge even those things they cannot dodge, parry that they cannot parry, and absorb even unabsorbable damage.

Stealth

Soft Presence Practice

Combo-OK. (Minimal)

Subordinate Inspiration Technique

If the listener's roll fails, the social attack is Unexpected. If the roll succeeds, the attack continues but is not Unexpected. (Mechanical) Combo-OK. (Minimal)

Gift of a Broken Mask

This Charm has duration One Day, and special rules governing its reactivation. It costs 5m committed for a day. For each day after that, the user must commit an additional 2m. (Minimal) This Charm exists to deputize citizens of Creation as members of the Five-Score Fellowship. Its extension of the Arcane Fate is purely incidental, even if it is the primary use in the Age of Sorrows. (Theme)

Endings

Awareness

Expected Pain

This really does have a variable prelude: it gives the Sidereal time to do whatever he needs to do, so long as it is one action. That might be three ticks or seven. In combat, it activates the on your last action before a surprise attack, granting you an action in that last tick before the attack if we can't find a better way to squeeze time. (Clarification)

Supernal Awareness

This is not a Perfect Defense. That means that the statement "Creatures governed by fate, however, cannot conceal themselves from this Charm by any natural or supernatural means," is null. The corebook rules for conflicting Charms take precedence, using Essence+Awareness for the Sidereal's pool. Clever Sidereals will learn their opposition's Stealth Charms and look for consequences that cannot be easily hidden. (Minimal)

Bureaucracy

Icy Hand

resisting the Compulsion costs 1W per scene until the Charm ends, until a scene occurs in which you do not spend Willpower, or until you have spent 5 Willpower. This is Unnatural Mental Influence. (Minimal)

Terminal Sanction

This does exactly what it says: The spirit immediately becomes material, and bad things happen if you beat it up. Well, worse things than usual. No Essence cost is payed for the materialization. If you want an explanation, it's actually the last body they had, recalled from the archives of the Loom. Don't look too hard at that, it's klugite.

Integrity

Preservation of Resolve

Stackable. (Minimal). This cannot contribute to a bonus from Charms greater than the Sidereal's Essence. (Minimal)

Unwavering Well-Being Meditation

This allows the Sidereal to both Dodge and Parry a single attack, using his physical Parry and mental Dodge. It is not a bonus to either DV. Don't expect to see a lot of these Charms that allow two defenses to one attack—but do realize that this one will get you out of almost anything but a perfect attack. (Minimal)

Death-of-Self Meditation

Combo-OK. This has two effects: changing your Motivation to something appropriate, and making violation of your Motivation an Unacceptable Order. (Minimal)

Martial Arts

Secrets of Future Strife

Should be Type: Permanent, Duration: Instant. (Minimal)

Blade of the Battle Maiden

Should be Step 1 or 2. I.e. this Charm can be activated defensively. (Minimal)

Medicine

Peaceable Conclusion

This costs 2m. (Minimal)

Smooth Transition

The roll is Charisma+Medicine against the Essence of the necromancer that raised the dead. (Theme) Combo-OK. (Minimal)