IcarusWings
New Member
Hey, I posted this over on Gitp a few months ago, the general response was that it was too strong, but it received little feedback on how it could be improved. Then, I stumbled over this forum, and decided to see if I could get a bit more constructive criticism.
This is the first installment in my project of creating Celestial Dragon Styles for the Autochthonian, Stygian, and Vitriol elements (which I will later hopefully develop into full DB-Mirror aspects {Which definitely isn't original, and is one of the most common ideas people have it turns out. Meh}). This still needs a couple more charms, and is probably horribly borked (on either end of the scale), so it's definitely a WIP.
Note:This is my first ever homebrew for exalted (that I've shown to anyone anyway), so be gentle :smallwink:
Lightning Dragon Style
Lightning Dragon Style embodies the true form of Lightning. It emphasizes speed and precision above all else, not just in attacks but in methodology. A quick, clean, one-hit kill is much preferable to a flurry of blindingly fast attacks that are easily defended by the target. Lightning does not stay still, but instead flickers out of the void of the sky for an impossibly fast strike, and disappears again to prepare once more.
Because of these traits, Lightning Dragon Style is a favourite Martial Art for assassins in the Realm of Brass and Shadow, and they certainly are the most common practitioners. But Lightning does not discriminate, and any are open to learn its ways.
The signature weapon of Lightning Dragon Style is the Knife and any Artifact equivalents. Easily concealed and deadly when well-placed, any attack made with a Knife counts as unarmed for the purposes of charms of this style.
Lightning Dragon Style is not compatible with armour.
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 2 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: (Essence) Actions
Prerequisites: None
A strike of lightning is enough to pierce any defense, it needs no accompaniment other than the thunder that heralds it.
For the duration of this Charm, all unarmed attacks made my the Martial Artist gain the piercing tag, but only if they are single attacks that are not part of a flurry.
Silence Before Thunder Technique
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2 Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One Action
Prerequisites: Lonely Flash of Piercing Lightning
When a lightning bolt falls, its strike is not heralded until the thunder roars seconds later, so too do practitioners of this style gain a brief moment of calm after their strike and before the penny drops. Whenever the Martial Artist makes an unarmed surprise attack supplemented by this charm, their presence is not made known to everyone (except the target, who knows instantly, and may alert others) until the Martial Artist’s DV refreshes. This means that they do not have to re-establish surprise to hit anyone before the end of this duration (except the original target). Any characters with a higher Essence score than the Martial Artist may make a (Perception + Awareness) roll against a difficulty of the Martial Artist's (Martial Arts) score to become aware.
Untrackable Lightning Strike
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 3 Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Silence Before the Thunder Technique
With the speed of flickering lightning, the Martial Artist may make an unarmed attack that has its Speed reduced by 1, to a minimum of 3, and deals 2 extra dice of lethal damage due to the intense speed. If this attack is made after an enemy’s action, but the Martial Artist’s next action still comes before the Enemy’s (essentially, if they overtake them in the reaction count), then that enemy loses track of the Martial Artist’s lightning speed, and treats any attack made by the Martial Artist before their action as having the DV Break effect. Foes with equal or higher Essence than the Martial Artist may make a (perception + Awareness) roll against a difficulty of the wielder's (Martial Arts) to still treat the attack as expected.
Blinding Flash Atemi
Cost: 2m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 3 Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling, Obvious
Duration: Three Actions
Prerequisites: Lonely Flash of Piercing Lightning
The Martial Artist soon learns to mimic the searing light of the Lightning Dragon, by a swift brutal jab to the eyes. If the Martial Artist deals at least a single level of post-soak damage on an unarmed attack supplemented by this charm, then the target takes an internal penalty equal to the Martial Artist’s (essence) to all visual awareness rolls until their DV refreshes a number of times equal to the Martial Artist's (Essence).
Thunderous Efficiency Paradigm
Cost 3m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Probably some others
Duration: (Essence) Actions
Prerequisites: Blinding Flash Atemi
As lightning makes its fast and blazing strike from the sky, it always takes the path of least resistance on its journey to the Earth. This principle is firmly embodied in the techniques of the disciples of the Lightning Dragon. For the duration of this Charm, the Martial Artist's strikes force their targets to use their lowest DV's to defend against the attacks, and nothing short of an applicability-trumping Perfect allowing them to defend with their higher DV (non-applicability trumping Perfects are only useable if they are for the lower DV type).
Lightning Dragon Form
Cost: 6m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2 Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type, Combo-Basic, Obvious
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisites: Silence Before Thunder Technique, Blinding Flash Atemi
While in this Form, the Stylist's body flickers with a pale blue aura of lightning that winks out in a flash as soon as the Stylist moves, re-appearing at the destination. Imbued with the speed of lightning, the Stylist no longer appreciates petty things like obstacles. When making a move or Dash action in this form, the Stylist need not worry about the route, and may move through any number of impassable obstacles, so long as the end destination is possible to stand on, this even allows things like running on air to get over a chasm. Additionally, due to the intense speed and momentum, any attack made at the end of such a Move gains the DV Break capability.
Additionally, the Martial Artist gains half his (Martial Arts + Essence) as a bonus to his Dexterity while in this form.
Arcing Bolt Aura
Cost: 5m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Obvious, Overdrive
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisites: Lightning Dragon Form
Lightning punishes any who dares attempt a retaliation. Upon assuming this form, lightning crackles around the Martial Artists body, defending him and wreaking vengeance upon his enemies. While in this form, the Martial Artist gains a temporary 10 mote Overdrive pool, which fills by 1 mote whenever he is attacked in close combat, or by 2 if the attack used a metallic weapon. The Martial Artist may reflexively spend 2 motes from this pool to arc electricity from his body and strike an enemy within (Martial Arts) yards for (Essence x 3) dice of bashing damage.
Grounded Current Stance
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
Duration: (Martial Arts) ticks
Prerequisites: Lightning Dragon Form
Lightning always seeks the quickest and easiest path to re-unite with the ground, dissipating across the solid earth. Practitioners of the Lightning Dragon Style learn to teach this lesson to the attacks of others. For the duration of this Charm, the Martial Artist gains a Hardness against for all damage equal to double their (essence), so long as they are touching the ground, this does not stack with any other hardness the Martial Artist may have. At the end of the duration the Martial Artist may renew this charm as an innate action and not as a charm activation, but they must repay the cost.
Pulsing Thunderbolt Technique
Cost: 3m per strike Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Extra Action
Keywords: Combo-basic
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Grounded Current Stance
Lightning does not strike once and wait, it flickers over and over again, boring its way into the target until it breaks through. This charm allows the Martial Artist to make a Magical Flurry of up to (half your Martial Arts) unarmed attacks, in which the totals of raw damage are all cumulative for each attack, rather than separate, for the purposes of overcoming hardness and soak.
Clouded Base of Operations Method
Cost: 5m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: none
Duration: Up to (Martial Arts) actions
Prerequisites: Lightning Dragon Form
When Lightning strikes, it does not move, it simply returns to the cloud and strikes again. Upon activating this charm, the Martial Artist leaves a crackling spark of energy at his current location. He may then carry on as he wishes, although he may not move further from the spark than (Essence x 10) yards. At any time before the duration runs out, the Martial Artist may reflexively end this charm and instantly return to the marker and have his DV refresh.
Vanishing Lightning Kata
Cost: 4m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 4 Type: Reflexive (step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Two Actions
Prerequisites: Clouded Base of Operations Method
After lightning strikes, it fades away, only to flicker to life once more in a burst of precise brutality. With this charm, Martial Artists may do the same. This charm may only be activated after an unarmed attack, and it allows you to instantly dematerialise after an attack for up to two actions. This charm instantly ends once you attack someone, the attack breaks DV unless the target can perceive dematerialised beings or succeeds on a (Perception + Awareness) roll against a difficulty of the wielder's (Martial Arts).
Never-Strike-Twice Method
Cost: 3m per attack Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4 Type: Extra Action
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Pulsing Thunderbolt Technique, Vanishing Lightning Kata
They say that no matter how many times it flickers, lightning never strikes the same place twice; this is especially true for master followers of the Lightning Dragon. By using this pinnacle of their style, Martial Artists may make a magical flurry of up to (essence) unarmed attacks with no penalties. After each attack you may instantly move as far as a Dash Action would allow, in order to make another attack against a target, this need not be a different target. This Dash is so fast that it is impossible to track, and onlookers merely see the Martial Artist flicker from place to place. Because of this, after each Dash made as part of this charm, the Martial Artist may make a roll to re-establish surprise against the target of their next attack with a -1 external penalty for each time the target has been hit before as part of this flurry, if they succeed then it becomes a DV Breaker attack.
This is the first installment in my project of creating Celestial Dragon Styles for the Autochthonian, Stygian, and Vitriol elements (which I will later hopefully develop into full DB-Mirror aspects {Which definitely isn't original, and is one of the most common ideas people have it turns out. Meh}). This still needs a couple more charms, and is probably horribly borked (on either end of the scale), so it's definitely a WIP.
Note:This is my first ever homebrew for exalted (that I've shown to anyone anyway), so be gentle :smallwink:
Lightning Dragon Style
Lightning Dragon Style embodies the true form of Lightning. It emphasizes speed and precision above all else, not just in attacks but in methodology. A quick, clean, one-hit kill is much preferable to a flurry of blindingly fast attacks that are easily defended by the target. Lightning does not stay still, but instead flickers out of the void of the sky for an impossibly fast strike, and disappears again to prepare once more.
Because of these traits, Lightning Dragon Style is a favourite Martial Art for assassins in the Realm of Brass and Shadow, and they certainly are the most common practitioners. But Lightning does not discriminate, and any are open to learn its ways.
The signature weapon of Lightning Dragon Style is the Knife and any Artifact equivalents. Easily concealed and deadly when well-placed, any attack made with a Knife counts as unarmed for the purposes of charms of this style.
Lightning Dragon Style is not compatible with armour.
Lonely Flash of Piercing LightningNew Charm Concept - DV Break: Sometimes an individual can be caught offguard by an attack, or leave an opening in their defence, despite being aware of the attack itself. Rather than representing this through Unexpected attacks, this is represented through DV Break. When an attack Breaks DV, the target's DV is halved against it and all other attacks made against them on that tick.
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 2 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: (Essence) Actions
Prerequisites: None
A strike of lightning is enough to pierce any defense, it needs no accompaniment other than the thunder that heralds it.
For the duration of this Charm, all unarmed attacks made my the Martial Artist gain the piercing tag, but only if they are single attacks that are not part of a flurry.
Silence Before Thunder Technique
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2 Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One Action
Prerequisites: Lonely Flash of Piercing Lightning
When a lightning bolt falls, its strike is not heralded until the thunder roars seconds later, so too do practitioners of this style gain a brief moment of calm after their strike and before the penny drops. Whenever the Martial Artist makes an unarmed surprise attack supplemented by this charm, their presence is not made known to everyone (except the target, who knows instantly, and may alert others) until the Martial Artist’s DV refreshes. This means that they do not have to re-establish surprise to hit anyone before the end of this duration (except the original target). Any characters with a higher Essence score than the Martial Artist may make a (Perception + Awareness) roll against a difficulty of the Martial Artist's (Martial Arts) score to become aware.
Untrackable Lightning Strike
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 3 Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Silence Before the Thunder Technique
With the speed of flickering lightning, the Martial Artist may make an unarmed attack that has its Speed reduced by 1, to a minimum of 3, and deals 2 extra dice of lethal damage due to the intense speed. If this attack is made after an enemy’s action, but the Martial Artist’s next action still comes before the Enemy’s (essentially, if they overtake them in the reaction count), then that enemy loses track of the Martial Artist’s lightning speed, and treats any attack made by the Martial Artist before their action as having the DV Break effect. Foes with equal or higher Essence than the Martial Artist may make a (perception + Awareness) roll against a difficulty of the wielder's (Martial Arts) to still treat the attack as expected.
Blinding Flash Atemi
Cost: 2m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 3 Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling, Obvious
Duration: Three Actions
Prerequisites: Lonely Flash of Piercing Lightning
The Martial Artist soon learns to mimic the searing light of the Lightning Dragon, by a swift brutal jab to the eyes. If the Martial Artist deals at least a single level of post-soak damage on an unarmed attack supplemented by this charm, then the target takes an internal penalty equal to the Martial Artist’s (essence) to all visual awareness rolls until their DV refreshes a number of times equal to the Martial Artist's (Essence).
Thunderous Efficiency Paradigm
Cost 3m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Probably some others
Duration: (Essence) Actions
Prerequisites: Blinding Flash Atemi
As lightning makes its fast and blazing strike from the sky, it always takes the path of least resistance on its journey to the Earth. This principle is firmly embodied in the techniques of the disciples of the Lightning Dragon. For the duration of this Charm, the Martial Artist's strikes force their targets to use their lowest DV's to defend against the attacks, and nothing short of an applicability-trumping Perfect allowing them to defend with their higher DV (non-applicability trumping Perfects are only useable if they are for the lower DV type).
Lightning Dragon Form
Cost: 6m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2 Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type, Combo-Basic, Obvious
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisites: Silence Before Thunder Technique, Blinding Flash Atemi
While in this Form, the Stylist's body flickers with a pale blue aura of lightning that winks out in a flash as soon as the Stylist moves, re-appearing at the destination. Imbued with the speed of lightning, the Stylist no longer appreciates petty things like obstacles. When making a move or Dash action in this form, the Stylist need not worry about the route, and may move through any number of impassable obstacles, so long as the end destination is possible to stand on, this even allows things like running on air to get over a chasm. Additionally, due to the intense speed and momentum, any attack made at the end of such a Move gains the DV Break capability.
Additionally, the Martial Artist gains half his (Martial Arts + Essence) as a bonus to his Dexterity while in this form.
Arcing Bolt Aura
Cost: 5m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Obvious, Overdrive
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisites: Lightning Dragon Form
Lightning punishes any who dares attempt a retaliation. Upon assuming this form, lightning crackles around the Martial Artists body, defending him and wreaking vengeance upon his enemies. While in this form, the Martial Artist gains a temporary 10 mote Overdrive pool, which fills by 1 mote whenever he is attacked in close combat, or by 2 if the attack used a metallic weapon. The Martial Artist may reflexively spend 2 motes from this pool to arc electricity from his body and strike an enemy within (Martial Arts) yards for (Essence x 3) dice of bashing damage.
Grounded Current Stance
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
Duration: (Martial Arts) ticks
Prerequisites: Lightning Dragon Form
Lightning always seeks the quickest and easiest path to re-unite with the ground, dissipating across the solid earth. Practitioners of the Lightning Dragon Style learn to teach this lesson to the attacks of others. For the duration of this Charm, the Martial Artist gains a Hardness against for all damage equal to double their (essence), so long as they are touching the ground, this does not stack with any other hardness the Martial Artist may have. At the end of the duration the Martial Artist may renew this charm as an innate action and not as a charm activation, but they must repay the cost.
Pulsing Thunderbolt Technique
Cost: 3m per strike Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Extra Action
Keywords: Combo-basic
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Grounded Current Stance
Lightning does not strike once and wait, it flickers over and over again, boring its way into the target until it breaks through. This charm allows the Martial Artist to make a Magical Flurry of up to (half your Martial Arts) unarmed attacks, in which the totals of raw damage are all cumulative for each attack, rather than separate, for the purposes of overcoming hardness and soak.
Clouded Base of Operations Method
Cost: 5m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: none
Duration: Up to (Martial Arts) actions
Prerequisites: Lightning Dragon Form
When Lightning strikes, it does not move, it simply returns to the cloud and strikes again. Upon activating this charm, the Martial Artist leaves a crackling spark of energy at his current location. He may then carry on as he wishes, although he may not move further from the spark than (Essence x 10) yards. At any time before the duration runs out, the Martial Artist may reflexively end this charm and instantly return to the marker and have his DV refresh.
Vanishing Lightning Kata
Cost: 4m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 4 Type: Reflexive (step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Two Actions
Prerequisites: Clouded Base of Operations Method
After lightning strikes, it fades away, only to flicker to life once more in a burst of precise brutality. With this charm, Martial Artists may do the same. This charm may only be activated after an unarmed attack, and it allows you to instantly dematerialise after an attack for up to two actions. This charm instantly ends once you attack someone, the attack breaks DV unless the target can perceive dematerialised beings or succeeds on a (Perception + Awareness) roll against a difficulty of the wielder's (Martial Arts).
Never-Strike-Twice Method
Cost: 3m per attack Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4 Type: Extra Action
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Pulsing Thunderbolt Technique, Vanishing Lightning Kata
They say that no matter how many times it flickers, lightning never strikes the same place twice; this is especially true for master followers of the Lightning Dragon. By using this pinnacle of their style, Martial Artists may make a magical flurry of up to (essence) unarmed attacks with no penalties. After each attack you may instantly move as far as a Dash Action would allow, in order to make another attack against a target, this need not be a different target. This Dash is so fast that it is impossible to track, and onlookers merely see the Martial Artist flicker from place to place. Because of this, after each Dash made as part of this charm, the Martial Artist may make a roll to re-establish surprise against the target of their next attack with a -1 external penalty for each time the target has been hit before as part of this flurry, if they succeed then it becomes a DV Breaker attack.