Disciplines

[Obsidian Soul]

This is a redo of my old Discipline idea that got ripped on the previous site.  I hope that it is a little less objectionable this time around.


Disciplines are mortal teachings that are used to reach a greater state of enlightenment than could otherwise be reached by a living mortal.  They were created during the time before the Primordial War, under the tutolege of the Dragon Kings.  Mortals are not the only entities that can benefit from the Disciplines, any sapient can learn them, but their gains are more dramatic for mortals.  Disciplines cost six BP or nine XP for the first level and six BP or six times current level in XP for each additional level.  Disciplines have five levels.


Each Discipline is associate with a single Ability (Craft is considered one ability).  Each level in a Discipline increases effective Essence for that Ablitity by one and increases the maximum number and maximum bonus of specialties by one.  If effective Essence exceeds five, the maximum for that Ability increases to effective Essence.  


At level five, each Discipline grants a single gift to its user.  For example, Discipline of Martial Arts allows Unexalted Mortals, God-Blooded, Ghosts and Wyld Mutants to create Terrestrial Martial Arts Styles and to create combos with Terrestrial Martial Arts Charms and Discipline of Craft allows UnExalted Mortals, God-Blooded and Wyld Mutants to create Artifacts up to the third level of jade or adamant.  In general, this gift should expand the users natural capabilities but should not allow them to learn Charms that they otherwise could not have learn.  There will be some variance.  For example, a master of the Discipline of Craft could instead get a bonus success of all of their Craft rolls instead of being able to create minor Artifacts or the master of the Discipline of Martial Arts could get a one mote reduction in the cost of Terrestrial Martial Arts Charms.

 

[Lurker in Darkness]

Seems interesting... But what about the in-game metaphysics of the disciplines? How does it work?

 

[Obsidian Soul]

Good question, let me give it a try.  I was more concerned on game balance than the story behind it.


In the first days of humanity, when the Dragon Kings ruled the Threshold and the Gods spent their times of rest on the Blessed Isle, the mortals looked around them and saw that there was not much difference between themselves and the animals, but there was one difference, the desire to become something better, so they invented the Disciplines.


They discovered, with the help of the Dragon Kings and some Gods who were amused by the mortals desire to become like them, that there were twenty-five points along the soul that could be altered, if one was patient and determined.  Each of these points corresponded to a human endevor, one for Martial Arts and another for Endurance, for example.  Through meditation and exercise of mind and body, the soul would flower beyond its basic potential, becoming greater than it had been.  The ancient name for the Disciplines was Allikinagad, The Path of the Flowering Soul, in the High Holy Tongue.


Through the application of the Disciplines, the soul becomes greater and stronger than it was in a limited sense.  The soul, however, cannot exceed a certain level of meekness, of humility, which is why the Disciplines cannot be used to enhance Attributes, Virtues, Willpower or Essence nor can they be used to learn Charms that the practitioner could not have normally learned.  The fifth level of each Discipline represents a tiny Enlightenment, an understanding of that part of the soul, and so, through this understanding, the practitioner gains a gift according to their inherent Nature.  


It is through the Disciplines that those with limits to their souls: UnExalted Mortals, God-Blooded, Ghosts, Essence Channelers, Jadeborn, Dragon Kings, etc; can exceed some of those limitation.  It is as natural as breathing that a sapient mind should wish to become something greater than it is.  By focusing their efforts, a sapient can make their soul blossum beyond the limits placed on them by their Essence, in a limited sort of way.

 

[Silence In Daylight]

Not a bad thing at all for mortals; they run out of stuff to spend XP on fairly quickly.


 Slight problem with DBs though, as your rules are quite bent with regards to them; their dice-adders are capped at Ability + Specialities.


 An Essence 3 DB would be able to buy up to 16 dice, at 2 dice a mote, with appropriate charms. A bit too good, no?

 

[StarHawk]

Is it really nessicary to make mortals kick-ass?


I feel that making the fodder more impressive will take away from those who truely are impressive... y'know like Exalted.


If you're running a mortal game and you're running out of things to spend experience on, maybe a God or something could notice and exalt them?


EDIT: Whoa... that sounds a little more harsh than I meant it...


Edit2: Hey! I'm an Elemental!

 

[Lurker in Darkness]

I still think it sounds interesting. And I very much liked your explanation. You really should go on and finish the entire system and post it here as an essay or something...

 

[Obsidian Soul]

Thanks LD, I appreciate the support and I'll be working on it.


Starhawk, like anything that anyone puts up here, this is just to add a bit of flavor, it's no big deal.  While it does improve mortals quite a bit, it will also improve Exalted, Fae, Jadeborn, Dragon Kings, Ghosts, God-Blooded and about every other character type.  It would cost up to 312 Xp to get the full effect of it in one Ability, so I don't think it really imbalances play.  For the same cost, every Exalt could get a lot more stuff.


SD, I see what you mean about that, but I think that the high cost (around 292 XP for a DB) and the limited Essence of the DB's would tend to balance it out.  Yes, a DB would be able to pack a few really good punches before they run out of Essence, but that is fitting with the genre.


What is does do that might annoy people is that a dedicated martial artist, because of the increase of effective permenant Essence in Martial Arts do to the Martial Arts Discipline, could be very, very effective.  This, however, does fit in with the anime genre.  The old man of the mountain stereotype, who spent forty or so years perfecting Jade Mountain Style for instance, would receive a plus eight to Strength and Stamina when he activated the Form Charm for instance.  It would also increase the power of Sidereal Charms, as they are limited by the Sidereal's Essence in their effects.  If this would be too annoying for the ST, I would suggest that they not allow it in.  After all, in a highly cinematic game, it would destroy the moment of Solar victory if they faced a mortla master martial artist that handed them their ass.  It would, however, really add flavor to a heroic mortal, DB or Sidereal campaign.