Revlid
2010-07-26, 07:47 AM
DEMENTED EXEMPLAR STYLE
The Demented Exemplar Style is an extremely obscure martial art, developed during the First Age by a Wood-Aspect Terrestrial. A spiritual man who sought the deeper truths of Creation, he slowly but surely fell into madness – not the kind that leads to drooling into one’s porridge, or the enjoyment of other’s pain, but a gentle and pure insanity that coloured everything he did with whimsy and nonsensicality.
Eventually he began travelling, with nothing but his thin single-edged sword, and an armour composed of patchwork silk and interlinked wooden masks. He set out on a pilgrimage whose ultimate goal only he understood, but which often featured the defeat of bands of ruffians, following by a redistribution of all their possessions to the local poor, or the local ducks, depending on his mood.
Eventually the Terrestrial was confronted by a great gang of criminals, with members of all those he had defeated before among their ranks, hungry for vengeance. The demented exemplar of justice and absurdity burst into action, appearing to develop his style spontaneously, bounding from foe to foe, hovering on the force of his own Essence, twirling entirely unnecessarily, and generally causing jaws to drop.
With the defeat of the villains, the Terrestrial waved his sword thrice in the air, spoke a koan of such magnificent complexity that it might have had no answer (and was probably nonsense), and bounded from sight, never to be seen again. So struck were the survivors of the defeat (and they were many, because a wooden sword is just that without Essence flowing through it) by the demented exemplar that they dedicated their lives to continuing his work, gathering up the dubious and often contradictory teachings he had scattered throughout his pilgrimage and piecing them together into a martial arts style of deep spirituality, wide madness, and high absurdity.
In the modern era, the only remnant of that criminal gang is a small band of travelling Eastern mercenaries known as the Virtuous Madmen, the most accomplished of whom are able to use some of the Charms of this style. They happily accept disciples, once the prospective’s commitment to justice and whimsy are proven. The basics of the Demented Exemplar Style might also be found in a mouldering scroll in a long-abandoned and back-upsides Wood manse.
It is unknown where the Demented Exemplar eventually disappeared to. However, the addition of a new style to the grand database of styles within Autocthon mere moments before his departure might give some suggestions. The fact that the entry is signed, with hugs and kisses, might make those suggestions rather more strong.
Weapons & Armour: This style’s Form Weapon is the slashing sword, and its artifact versions. The Demented Exemplar Style may only be used in Light Armour (Armour with a mobility penalty of -1 or less).
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l111/Revlid/DementedExemplarStyle.jpg
SCORNFUL DISINTEREST MOTION
Cost: 1m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Demented Exemplar expresses the contempt of a madman by turning his back to his foe, or simply lying down. He immediately becomes Inactive, and may spend one mote to reflexively come out of his inactivity into a Guard action. He may reduce the Speed of this Guard action to 2 by paying one additional mote, or to 1 by paying two additional motes.
UPSETTING STRANGENESS TAUNT
Cost: 2+m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Scornful Disinterest Motion
There are few things more insulting to a warrior than a foe turning his back on him in scorn. One of them is if aforesaid foe then makes a bewilderingly vulgar gesture. This Charm may only be activated while Inactive, targeting up to (Essence) individuals in combat with the martial artist, at a cost of 2m per target. For the rest of the scene, those affected treat “not targeting the martial artist” as violating their Valor. They may pay one Willpower to remove this unnatural mental influence.
ABSURD DRAMATIC LEAP
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One action
Prerequisite Charms: None
What good is the ability to bring strange justice if one cannot bound effortlessly into the spotlight, or make a dynamic exit when necessary? The martial artist adds his Martial Arts rating to his Athletics for the purposes of calculating his jumping distance, and adds 10B soak against fall damage until the start of his next action.
In addition, the martial artist adds another option when Clinching, whether or not this Charm is active – he may Jump, dragging his grappled opponent the full distance with him. If he chooses to, he may fall with his opponent, and both of them take the appropriate falling damage. If this Charm is used in Demented Exemplar Form, it counts as an innate power rather than a Charm activation.
DISTURBED BOUNDING STRIKE
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Absurd Dramatic Leap
Twirling, bouncing and bounding into the fray, the Demented Exemplar causes shock, dismay, and barefaced disbelief with his acrobatic swordplay. The martial artist jumps before making an unarmed attack (which may be a flurry or other charm). Add +1 to the Attack’s Accuracy bonus for every full 5yds jumped, to a maximum of the user's Martial Arts rating. Ordinarily this is a single jump, but a stunt might facilitate repeated bounds within that jump, allowing flexibility of direction.
DEMENTED EXEMPLAR FORM
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Disturbed Bounding Strike, Upsetting Strangeness Taunt
The laws of the universe are more like hastily-scribbled guidelines to any Exalt, but the Demented Exemplar has developed deadliness in absurdity to the point that gravity itself is reluctant to walk on the same side of the street. The martial artist moves as though he possesses the Glider mutation, and may Jump as normal even without a solid surface to kick off. He is never treated as being surrounded while this Charm is active. He may use any of the Charms of this style as though he were Inactive.
BEWILDERING CHOICE OF SHEATH
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Demented Exemplar Form
A philosopher might posit that one’s body is but a sheath for the soul. A warrior might claim that the best sheath for a sword is the enemy’s gut. The Demented Exemplar is both warrior and philosopher, in his own way, and strives to make his sword indistinguishable from his soul. This Charm may only be activated when the Martial Artist is attacked while Inactive. It gives the martial artist an unarmed counterattack, resolved in Step 9 of the initial attack’s resolution, which counts as unexpected, and deals damage equal to the attacker’s post-soak damage.
IMPLAUSIBLE WHIRLING SLASH
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Demented Exemplar Form
With a speed and enthusiasm that evokes awe and scepticism in equal measure, the Demented Exemplar turns a single strike into a spinning, swirling, and eventually tottering whirlwind. The martial artist may reduce multiple action penalties from an unarmed flurry of atacks by one point for every point by which they increase the DV penalty of the flurry. If he reduces the penalty to 0, he becomes Inactive as per Scornful Disinterest Motion, although he may not come into a Guard action until three ticks have passed.
This Charm may also be activated when Clinching, in which case it acts as a normal throw that increases the DV penalties of both character by 3 until their next action.
UNBELIEVABLE SYCAMORE SHRINE
Cost: 4m 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Implausible Whirling Slash, Bewildering Choice of Sheathe
This Charm is the pinnacle of the Demented Exemplar’s absurdly logical conclusions, combining the teaching of the previous charms – their spiritual exploration and ability to spin very fast alike. Leaping high into the sky, the martial artist spins his blade above him at an absurd pace, creating a sound not unlike a beaver trying to whistle as he executes a truly improbable manuever. This Charm may only be activated in Demented Exemplar Form. He immediately moves his maximum Jumping distance upward, and may thereafter move as though he possessed the Winged mutation. He may choose to dive down from on high, supplementing an unarmed attack. He immediately drops to the ground, suffering normal falling damage (resolved after the attack). His attack’s pre-soak damage is increased by (pre-soak falling damage+Essence). This immediately ends the Charm.
The Demented Exemplar Style is an extremely obscure martial art, developed during the First Age by a Wood-Aspect Terrestrial. A spiritual man who sought the deeper truths of Creation, he slowly but surely fell into madness – not the kind that leads to drooling into one’s porridge, or the enjoyment of other’s pain, but a gentle and pure insanity that coloured everything he did with whimsy and nonsensicality.
Eventually he began travelling, with nothing but his thin single-edged sword, and an armour composed of patchwork silk and interlinked wooden masks. He set out on a pilgrimage whose ultimate goal only he understood, but which often featured the defeat of bands of ruffians, following by a redistribution of all their possessions to the local poor, or the local ducks, depending on his mood.
Eventually the Terrestrial was confronted by a great gang of criminals, with members of all those he had defeated before among their ranks, hungry for vengeance. The demented exemplar of justice and absurdity burst into action, appearing to develop his style spontaneously, bounding from foe to foe, hovering on the force of his own Essence, twirling entirely unnecessarily, and generally causing jaws to drop.
With the defeat of the villains, the Terrestrial waved his sword thrice in the air, spoke a koan of such magnificent complexity that it might have had no answer (and was probably nonsense), and bounded from sight, never to be seen again. So struck were the survivors of the defeat (and they were many, because a wooden sword is just that without Essence flowing through it) by the demented exemplar that they dedicated their lives to continuing his work, gathering up the dubious and often contradictory teachings he had scattered throughout his pilgrimage and piecing them together into a martial arts style of deep spirituality, wide madness, and high absurdity.
In the modern era, the only remnant of that criminal gang is a small band of travelling Eastern mercenaries known as the Virtuous Madmen, the most accomplished of whom are able to use some of the Charms of this style. They happily accept disciples, once the prospective’s commitment to justice and whimsy are proven. The basics of the Demented Exemplar Style might also be found in a mouldering scroll in a long-abandoned and back-upsides Wood manse.
It is unknown where the Demented Exemplar eventually disappeared to. However, the addition of a new style to the grand database of styles within Autocthon mere moments before his departure might give some suggestions. The fact that the entry is signed, with hugs and kisses, might make those suggestions rather more strong.
Weapons & Armour: This style’s Form Weapon is the slashing sword, and its artifact versions. The Demented Exemplar Style may only be used in Light Armour (Armour with a mobility penalty of -1 or less).
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l111/Revlid/DementedExemplarStyle.jpg
SCORNFUL DISINTEREST MOTION
Cost: 1m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Demented Exemplar expresses the contempt of a madman by turning his back to his foe, or simply lying down. He immediately becomes Inactive, and may spend one mote to reflexively come out of his inactivity into a Guard action. He may reduce the Speed of this Guard action to 2 by paying one additional mote, or to 1 by paying two additional motes.
UPSETTING STRANGENESS TAUNT
Cost: 2+m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Scornful Disinterest Motion
There are few things more insulting to a warrior than a foe turning his back on him in scorn. One of them is if aforesaid foe then makes a bewilderingly vulgar gesture. This Charm may only be activated while Inactive, targeting up to (Essence) individuals in combat with the martial artist, at a cost of 2m per target. For the rest of the scene, those affected treat “not targeting the martial artist” as violating their Valor. They may pay one Willpower to remove this unnatural mental influence.
ABSURD DRAMATIC LEAP
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One action
Prerequisite Charms: None
What good is the ability to bring strange justice if one cannot bound effortlessly into the spotlight, or make a dynamic exit when necessary? The martial artist adds his Martial Arts rating to his Athletics for the purposes of calculating his jumping distance, and adds 10B soak against fall damage until the start of his next action.
In addition, the martial artist adds another option when Clinching, whether or not this Charm is active – he may Jump, dragging his grappled opponent the full distance with him. If he chooses to, he may fall with his opponent, and both of them take the appropriate falling damage. If this Charm is used in Demented Exemplar Form, it counts as an innate power rather than a Charm activation.
DISTURBED BOUNDING STRIKE
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Absurd Dramatic Leap
Twirling, bouncing and bounding into the fray, the Demented Exemplar causes shock, dismay, and barefaced disbelief with his acrobatic swordplay. The martial artist jumps before making an unarmed attack (which may be a flurry or other charm). Add +1 to the Attack’s Accuracy bonus for every full 5yds jumped, to a maximum of the user's Martial Arts rating. Ordinarily this is a single jump, but a stunt might facilitate repeated bounds within that jump, allowing flexibility of direction.
DEMENTED EXEMPLAR FORM
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Disturbed Bounding Strike, Upsetting Strangeness Taunt
The laws of the universe are more like hastily-scribbled guidelines to any Exalt, but the Demented Exemplar has developed deadliness in absurdity to the point that gravity itself is reluctant to walk on the same side of the street. The martial artist moves as though he possesses the Glider mutation, and may Jump as normal even without a solid surface to kick off. He is never treated as being surrounded while this Charm is active. He may use any of the Charms of this style as though he were Inactive.
BEWILDERING CHOICE OF SHEATH
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Demented Exemplar Form
A philosopher might posit that one’s body is but a sheath for the soul. A warrior might claim that the best sheath for a sword is the enemy’s gut. The Demented Exemplar is both warrior and philosopher, in his own way, and strives to make his sword indistinguishable from his soul. This Charm may only be activated when the Martial Artist is attacked while Inactive. It gives the martial artist an unarmed counterattack, resolved in Step 9 of the initial attack’s resolution, which counts as unexpected, and deals damage equal to the attacker’s post-soak damage.
IMPLAUSIBLE WHIRLING SLASH
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Demented Exemplar Form
With a speed and enthusiasm that evokes awe and scepticism in equal measure, the Demented Exemplar turns a single strike into a spinning, swirling, and eventually tottering whirlwind. The martial artist may reduce multiple action penalties from an unarmed flurry of atacks by one point for every point by which they increase the DV penalty of the flurry. If he reduces the penalty to 0, he becomes Inactive as per Scornful Disinterest Motion, although he may not come into a Guard action until three ticks have passed.
This Charm may also be activated when Clinching, in which case it acts as a normal throw that increases the DV penalties of both character by 3 until their next action.
UNBELIEVABLE SYCAMORE SHRINE
Cost: 4m 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Implausible Whirling Slash, Bewildering Choice of Sheathe
This Charm is the pinnacle of the Demented Exemplar’s absurdly logical conclusions, combining the teaching of the previous charms – their spiritual exploration and ability to spin very fast alike. Leaping high into the sky, the martial artist spins his blade above him at an absurd pace, creating a sound not unlike a beaver trying to whistle as he executes a truly improbable manuever. This Charm may only be activated in Demented Exemplar Form. He immediately moves his maximum Jumping distance upward, and may thereafter move as though he possessed the Winged mutation. He may choose to dive down from on high, supplementing an unarmed attack. He immediately drops to the ground, suffering normal falling damage (resolved after the attack). His attack’s pre-soak damage is increased by (pre-soak falling damage+Essence). This immediately ends the Charm.