Revlid
2010-06-29, 05:16 PM
Inspired by The Demented One and Zadaquiel, I decided to have a crack at my own Martial Arts Style for the obsessive savants and book-lovers of Creation.
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DYNAMIC SCHOLAR STYLE
A Terrestrial Martial Art for the adventuring librarian or robust bibliophile.
Legend and notoriously inaccurate (though astoundingly well-filed) historic documents place the creation of the Dynamic Scholar Style at the feet of a Twilight Caste by the name of Rybra Li. Li’s domain was a floating tower-manse, equipped with a modest living space and utilities. The rest of the tower, every square inch, from top-to-bottom, was filled with books. Books, scrolls, tablets, codexes, tomes, leaflets, roughly-strung bundles of paper, so long as it could be read she would keep it in the mile-spanning shelves of her home. Her time was taken up almost totally with reading, and writing about what she’d read – for much of her life, Li was ensconced in her tower, relying on her servitors to gather more books. Indeed, she initially developed the Turning Page Style to help her ward off those well-meaning persons who would try to drag her away from her library-tower.
It was only when she taught the prototype-Turning Page Style to her long-suffering-but-affectionate Lunar mate that the influences of travel and experience crept in, mutating the form until the Dynamic Scholar Style was born. Brought closer by their mutual creation of the style, Li and her mate created the greatest catalogue of Creation then in existence, ranging from bestiaries to travel guides to spellbooks – sometimes Li herself even left the library. Indeed, many of the First Age books available to scholars in modern times were edited, compiled, or at some point run past the Solar Librarian, and the style she and her mate had created propagated as both a fad and a useful tool amongst the scholars of the Deliberative.
By the Time of Tumult, the Dynamic Scholar Style has moved far from its roots. It survives in scattered manuals of First Age scholarly aptitude, and is practiced by a few Dragonblooded savants, as well as an enlightened mortal in the South. The reincarnation of Li’s Lunar Mate took place during the First Age – she showed no especial knowledge of it then, nor has since, to the vague disappointment of the style’s only remaining Celestial master, a bat-totemed Lunar of the Scavenger Lands. Li’s Exaltation, meanwhile, has fallen into the hands of the Yozis – whether her Infernal reincarnation takes up the mantle of the Dynamic Scholar has yet to be seen.
As for Li's Library-Manse, it has long since crashed, and now lies forgotten, half-buried. Sections of the manse's utilities have failed, leaving some books to moulder while others remain in pristine condition, a situation not aided by the release of a number of demonic servitors. Worthless pamphlets on canine etiquette are preserved alongside astoundingly potent scrolls of occult lore, and in the darkness between shelves, things that feed on knowledge lurk and mutter, waiting for the doors of the manse to be opened once again.
Weapons and Armor: This style is normally performed unarmed, although practitioners may also use books or scrolls as in-style improvised weapons. A small school has grown up in the South that uses the whip as an in-style weapon, while a Lunar master of the style has developed a variant using a war boomerang, but both are very obscure variations, even by the standards of the style.
Traditionally, this style is performed in only the lightest armour – it may be used only in armour with no mobility penalty (before any magical material bonuses).
Complementary Abilities: As noted in the entries, the martial artist’s skill in Lore must match the Martial Arts minimum of the Charms in this style for him to learn them.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l111/Revlid/DynamicScholarStyle.jpg
ENCYCLOPEDIA NEMESIS STUDY
Cost: 2m Mins: Martial Arts 2, Lore 2, Essence 1; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
It takes more than mundane distractions to strip the Dynamic Scholar of his acumen – the weaknesses of his foe are burned into the index of his soul. For the rest of the scene, the martial artist may choose to “bank” the bonus dice accrued upon completing a full aim cycle for later use. If he does so, he may abort to any other action without the usual internal penalty, attack as normal (though the dice will not be automatically added) or even continue aiming in order to accrue further bonus dice. The character may use these bonus dice on any unarmed attack they make in the same scene, even one benefiting from another, subsequent aim action. Only one aim cycle’s worth of dice may be “banked” at any one time.
OPTIMAL STRIKE ANNOTATION
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Lore 2, Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Encyclopedia Nemesis Study
Reams of information and analysis unfurl in the martial artist’s mind – the benefit of study becomes the certainty of success. This Charm supplements an Aim action. The action takes place as normal, with the exception that any bonus dice accrued upon aborting to an attack are halved (rounding up) and converted to automatic successes.
OPEN BOOK ANALYSIS
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Lore 2, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Encyclopedia Nemesis Study
The Dynamic Scholar studies his opponent as he might a clearly labelled picture in a bestiary, and all things become clear. Roll (Perception + Lore). For every success on this roll, the martial artist knows one of the following details about his adversary: His remaining Health Levels, his rating in Martial Arts, Melee, Thrown or Archery, his permanent Essence rating, his rating in any one Attribute, which Martial Arts style he practices (if any), or his highest Virtue. If the target is actively trying to conceal one of the observed details (whether through feigning weakness or bluffing strength) this roll becomes an opposed roll against the target’s (Manipulation + Larceny).
DYNAMIC SCHOLAR FORM
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Lore 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Optimal Strike Annotation, Open Book Analysis
The Dynamic Scholar exhales slowly through pursed lips, focusing his mind to a dagger-edge, rubbing his temples to aid this meditative state. Once it is achieved, his sagacious abilities are enhanced, making him as deadly as a thrown doorstopper. The generations of knowledge flowing within the Essence of the martial artist allows him to add his Lore rating to his Martial Arts rating (and vice-versa) for this scene. Any unarmed attacks made by the martial artist do lethal damage, provided they benefit from at least one bonus dice from an Aim action.
BOOK OVER HEART DEFENSE
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Lore 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Dynamic Scholar Form
Many are the stories of soldiers from arrows and blades by the thickness of a prayer-book or military manual. Charging his Essence with the words of every book he has ever read, the Dynamic Scholar simulates this effect. For the rest of the scene the Dynamic Scholar gains (+Lore) Lethal and Bashing soak. This counts as armour soak for the purposes of piercing attacks, etc.
ESOTERIC EDUCATION EXPLOITATION
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Lore 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Dynamic Scholar Form
True knowledge is not simply found in writing, though the secrets of crumbling books and fresh scrolls appeal to the Dynamic Scholar. No, knowledge is to be found throughout Creation, and with but a thought it can be used in the context of battle. Choose one ability from those below. The martial artist gains a temporary Martial Arts and Dodge specialties against the indicated targets, with a number of dots equal to their rating in the selected ability (subject to the normal maximums). If the martial artist is in Dynamic Scholar Form, this counts as an innate power rather than a Charm. Appropriate stunts of analysis are recommended when attacking with this charm activated.
Larceny – Thieves, bandits, etc. Watchmen, arbiters, etc.
Bureacracy – Merchants, bureaucrats, etc.
Perform – Musicians, dancers, actors, etc.
Survival – Wild animals.
Sail – Sailors, pirates, etc. Any vehicle requiring the Sail ability.
Ride – Cavalry, ridden beasts, etc. Any vehicle requiring the Ride ability.
Craft – Buildings, objects, etc.
Occult – Gods, elementals, demons, etc.
WEIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Lore 5, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Esoteric Education Exploitation
Knowledge is power, power is energy, energy is matter and matter is mass. Manipulating this fundamental truth, the Dynamic Scholar brings down his fist like the spine of a hefty tome. This Charm supplements any unarmed attack – its damage is increased by (Lore) additional dice, after soak. If the martial artist is in Dynamic Scholar form, this counts as an innate power rather than a Charm.
SCARLET ACADEMIC CRITICISM
Cost: - Mins: Martial Arts 5, Lore 5, Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Weight of Knowledge
The martial artist instantly recalls information pertinent to the battle, his blows becoming as dangerous as a disappointed librarian, as vicious as annotations written in red ink. This Charm upgrades the Dynamic Scholar Form. When in that form, any unarmed attacks made by the martial artist do aggravated damage, provided they benefit from at least six bonus dice from an Aim action.
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Thoughts? Constructive criticism both welcome and necessary.
---------------
DYNAMIC SCHOLAR STYLE
A Terrestrial Martial Art for the adventuring librarian or robust bibliophile.
Legend and notoriously inaccurate (though astoundingly well-filed) historic documents place the creation of the Dynamic Scholar Style at the feet of a Twilight Caste by the name of Rybra Li. Li’s domain was a floating tower-manse, equipped with a modest living space and utilities. The rest of the tower, every square inch, from top-to-bottom, was filled with books. Books, scrolls, tablets, codexes, tomes, leaflets, roughly-strung bundles of paper, so long as it could be read she would keep it in the mile-spanning shelves of her home. Her time was taken up almost totally with reading, and writing about what she’d read – for much of her life, Li was ensconced in her tower, relying on her servitors to gather more books. Indeed, she initially developed the Turning Page Style to help her ward off those well-meaning persons who would try to drag her away from her library-tower.
It was only when she taught the prototype-Turning Page Style to her long-suffering-but-affectionate Lunar mate that the influences of travel and experience crept in, mutating the form until the Dynamic Scholar Style was born. Brought closer by their mutual creation of the style, Li and her mate created the greatest catalogue of Creation then in existence, ranging from bestiaries to travel guides to spellbooks – sometimes Li herself even left the library. Indeed, many of the First Age books available to scholars in modern times were edited, compiled, or at some point run past the Solar Librarian, and the style she and her mate had created propagated as both a fad and a useful tool amongst the scholars of the Deliberative.
By the Time of Tumult, the Dynamic Scholar Style has moved far from its roots. It survives in scattered manuals of First Age scholarly aptitude, and is practiced by a few Dragonblooded savants, as well as an enlightened mortal in the South. The reincarnation of Li’s Lunar Mate took place during the First Age – she showed no especial knowledge of it then, nor has since, to the vague disappointment of the style’s only remaining Celestial master, a bat-totemed Lunar of the Scavenger Lands. Li’s Exaltation, meanwhile, has fallen into the hands of the Yozis – whether her Infernal reincarnation takes up the mantle of the Dynamic Scholar has yet to be seen.
As for Li's Library-Manse, it has long since crashed, and now lies forgotten, half-buried. Sections of the manse's utilities have failed, leaving some books to moulder while others remain in pristine condition, a situation not aided by the release of a number of demonic servitors. Worthless pamphlets on canine etiquette are preserved alongside astoundingly potent scrolls of occult lore, and in the darkness between shelves, things that feed on knowledge lurk and mutter, waiting for the doors of the manse to be opened once again.
Weapons and Armor: This style is normally performed unarmed, although practitioners may also use books or scrolls as in-style improvised weapons. A small school has grown up in the South that uses the whip as an in-style weapon, while a Lunar master of the style has developed a variant using a war boomerang, but both are very obscure variations, even by the standards of the style.
Traditionally, this style is performed in only the lightest armour – it may be used only in armour with no mobility penalty (before any magical material bonuses).
Complementary Abilities: As noted in the entries, the martial artist’s skill in Lore must match the Martial Arts minimum of the Charms in this style for him to learn them.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l111/Revlid/DynamicScholarStyle.jpg
ENCYCLOPEDIA NEMESIS STUDY
Cost: 2m Mins: Martial Arts 2, Lore 2, Essence 1; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
It takes more than mundane distractions to strip the Dynamic Scholar of his acumen – the weaknesses of his foe are burned into the index of his soul. For the rest of the scene, the martial artist may choose to “bank” the bonus dice accrued upon completing a full aim cycle for later use. If he does so, he may abort to any other action without the usual internal penalty, attack as normal (though the dice will not be automatically added) or even continue aiming in order to accrue further bonus dice. The character may use these bonus dice on any unarmed attack they make in the same scene, even one benefiting from another, subsequent aim action. Only one aim cycle’s worth of dice may be “banked” at any one time.
OPTIMAL STRIKE ANNOTATION
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Lore 2, Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Encyclopedia Nemesis Study
Reams of information and analysis unfurl in the martial artist’s mind – the benefit of study becomes the certainty of success. This Charm supplements an Aim action. The action takes place as normal, with the exception that any bonus dice accrued upon aborting to an attack are halved (rounding up) and converted to automatic successes.
OPEN BOOK ANALYSIS
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Lore 2, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Encyclopedia Nemesis Study
The Dynamic Scholar studies his opponent as he might a clearly labelled picture in a bestiary, and all things become clear. Roll (Perception + Lore). For every success on this roll, the martial artist knows one of the following details about his adversary: His remaining Health Levels, his rating in Martial Arts, Melee, Thrown or Archery, his permanent Essence rating, his rating in any one Attribute, which Martial Arts style he practices (if any), or his highest Virtue. If the target is actively trying to conceal one of the observed details (whether through feigning weakness or bluffing strength) this roll becomes an opposed roll against the target’s (Manipulation + Larceny).
DYNAMIC SCHOLAR FORM
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Lore 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Optimal Strike Annotation, Open Book Analysis
The Dynamic Scholar exhales slowly through pursed lips, focusing his mind to a dagger-edge, rubbing his temples to aid this meditative state. Once it is achieved, his sagacious abilities are enhanced, making him as deadly as a thrown doorstopper. The generations of knowledge flowing within the Essence of the martial artist allows him to add his Lore rating to his Martial Arts rating (and vice-versa) for this scene. Any unarmed attacks made by the martial artist do lethal damage, provided they benefit from at least one bonus dice from an Aim action.
BOOK OVER HEART DEFENSE
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Lore 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Dynamic Scholar Form
Many are the stories of soldiers from arrows and blades by the thickness of a prayer-book or military manual. Charging his Essence with the words of every book he has ever read, the Dynamic Scholar simulates this effect. For the rest of the scene the Dynamic Scholar gains (+Lore) Lethal and Bashing soak. This counts as armour soak for the purposes of piercing attacks, etc.
ESOTERIC EDUCATION EXPLOITATION
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Lore 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Dynamic Scholar Form
True knowledge is not simply found in writing, though the secrets of crumbling books and fresh scrolls appeal to the Dynamic Scholar. No, knowledge is to be found throughout Creation, and with but a thought it can be used in the context of battle. Choose one ability from those below. The martial artist gains a temporary Martial Arts and Dodge specialties against the indicated targets, with a number of dots equal to their rating in the selected ability (subject to the normal maximums). If the martial artist is in Dynamic Scholar Form, this counts as an innate power rather than a Charm. Appropriate stunts of analysis are recommended when attacking with this charm activated.
Larceny – Thieves, bandits, etc. Watchmen, arbiters, etc.
Bureacracy – Merchants, bureaucrats, etc.
Perform – Musicians, dancers, actors, etc.
Survival – Wild animals.
Sail – Sailors, pirates, etc. Any vehicle requiring the Sail ability.
Ride – Cavalry, ridden beasts, etc. Any vehicle requiring the Ride ability.
Craft – Buildings, objects, etc.
Occult – Gods, elementals, demons, etc.
WEIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Lore 5, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Esoteric Education Exploitation
Knowledge is power, power is energy, energy is matter and matter is mass. Manipulating this fundamental truth, the Dynamic Scholar brings down his fist like the spine of a hefty tome. This Charm supplements any unarmed attack – its damage is increased by (Lore) additional dice, after soak. If the martial artist is in Dynamic Scholar form, this counts as an innate power rather than a Charm.
SCARLET ACADEMIC CRITICISM
Cost: - Mins: Martial Arts 5, Lore 5, Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Weight of Knowledge
The martial artist instantly recalls information pertinent to the battle, his blows becoming as dangerous as a disappointed librarian, as vicious as annotations written in red ink. This Charm upgrades the Dynamic Scholar Form. When in that form, any unarmed attacks made by the martial artist do aggravated damage, provided they benefit from at least six bonus dice from an Aim action.
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Thoughts? Constructive criticism both welcome and necessary.