White Veil Style

Practitioners of the White Veil style, if it even exists, value subtlety and finesse with words over brute strength. This style works well if the character is invested in the socialize skill, as well as stealth, Larceny or Presence. If the White Veil Style were to exist, practitioners would use simple tools such as hand needles and garottes as form weapons. A martial artist trained in this non-existent style would never use armor as it is would give away their demeanor and intentions.

!!!THIS MARTIAL ART STYLE IS CURRENTLY PENDING APPROVAL!!!

Birdsong Over Blades

Cost: 1m

Mins: Martial Arts 2; Essence 1

Type: Reflexive

Duration: Indefinite

Keywords: Mute, Mastery, Dual

Prerequisite Charms: None

Violence is unbecoming of one who enjoys the gentle tune of the birds, how can one be heard over the nasty clang and bang of steel on steel? Attacks made with this charm active can strike at the essence in the defender's chakras, which enables adverse effects while inflicting no noticeable damage. While this charm is active, the stylist can choose to remove all levels of health damage with her attacks, but still deal effects as if they had physically harmed the target. Wound penalties, poisons, and powers available through certain charms still take effect. Poisons can still only be applied through decisive attacks as normal.

Sacrificed levels of damage are added to a Subterfuge pool that caps at (Manipulation + Martial Arts + Essence). For the purposes of calculating the subterfuge pool, 4 withering damage is equivalent to 1 health level. Wound penalties applied by Birdsong over Blades fade at the end of the scene.

Mastery: 3 levels of withering damage is equivalent to 1 level of decisive damage for the purposes of calculating the subterfuge pool.

Alehouse Memory Stance

Cost: 3m

Mins: Martial Arts 2; Essence 1

Type: Supplemental

Duration: Instant

Keywords: None

Prerequisite Charms: None

The White Veil stylist always appears to be completely relaxed. Never even bringing up the question as to whether or not they find themselves in a comfortable situation. This charm allows the stylist to make an Unexpected attack attempt from plain sight. If this is the first time in the scene they’ve used this charm, the attack is considered an ambush, after which it this charm can be reset, and used to initiate a surprise attack, by spending 1 point per observer from the subterfuge pool. When making an attack from plain sight, everyone around the stylist must make a reflexive read intentions roll against the stylist's guile. If they pierce it they have seen through the relaxed demeanor of the attack and it is treated as normal, if they are a bystander they may roll join battle, and providing their initiative is higher than the stylist, they may warn the stylist's target (negating the ambush bonus) as a miscellaneous action, which may be flurried. When activating this charm the stylist gains +2 to their guile for the purposes of defending against the read intentions roll.

Owl Clutches At the Night

Cost: 5m

Mins: Martial Arts 2; Essence 1

Type: Reflexive

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Mute, Terrestrial

Prerequisite Charms: Birdsong Over Blades, Alehouse Memory Stance

When an owl dives into a field and rises from the attack with its claws empty, it becomes invisible in the darkness of the night, just as if it had never appeared. So too must the White Veil stylist adopt this technique to avoid detection. When the stylist makes an attack roll that fails to defeat an opponent's defense value, the stylist may activate this charm to make it appear as though he has done nothing. The stylist rolls their (Wits + Martial Arts) as an opposed roll against the target's (Perception + Awareness). If they beat their opponent's roll, then it appears as though they’ve done nothing at all. People with an intimacy towards the target may make a reflexive read intentions roll against the martial artist's guile to pierce this effect, though they’ll only know that the stylist did something strange, not that they meant to strike the target. More like he was brushing a bit of food off the target, or straightening their clothing… Very quickly.

Terrestrial: If the stylist's guile is seen through by observers, they become reasonably suspicious of the stylist's actions. They gain 1 non-charm success towards their join battle roll against the stylist if they join battle against him in the scene.

White Veil Form

Cost: 4m

Mins: Martial Arts 3; Essence 2

Type: Simple

Duration: One Scene

Keywords: Form, Mastery

Prerequisite Charms: Owl Clutches At the Night

Acting as if everything is right with the world, the stylist assumes the White Veil form. A simple yawn, maybe a crack of the back and they’re ready. The stylist’s form weapons gain the traits of a light artifact weapon, as well as granting the stylist +1 guile for the duration. Further, unless the target he is attacking visibly asks for help, nobody may take moves to assist them. Guards will uncomfortably shift as if watching an embarrassing situation that they’re unsure how to react to. Seemingly unsure if it is simply a merry jest or practice bout. Those with ties towards the target of the stylist of any strength may shirk this compulsion by paying 1 willpower, which immunizes them to this effect permanently, unless they are somehow made to forget seeing this charm. Attempts to join battle against the stylist’s unnerving fighting style lose one success from their roll. This cannot cause someone to start at 2 initiative.

Special Activation Rules: If making a surprise attack from plain sight is successful, the stylist may reflexively adopt this form, granting all the effects of the White Veil Form as if it had been active before the attack was made.

Mastery: The stylist may add dice to their decisive attack rolls from their sacrificed damage pool at a 1 to 1 rate, up to (essence or 3, whichever is higher) additional dice.

Blinded by Laughter

Cost: - (1wp)

Mins: Martial Arts 4; Essence 2

Type: Permanent

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Decisive-Only

Prerequisite Charms: White Veil Form

The White Veil stylist is a master of deception, so much so they can make even a lethal blow look like a friendly jab to the shoulder. This charm permanently upgrades Alehouse Memory Stance, allowing the stylist to spend 1wp when making a decisive ambush attack. Instead of the normal penalty for failing the read intentions roll all bystanders are not only prevented from noticing the initial attack, they may not join battle against the stylist for (Essence or 3 turns, whichever is greater), so long as the martial artist does not make any overtly hostile actions.

The Dragon Dies in Bed

Cost: 3m, 1wp

Mins: Martial Arts 4; Essence 3

Type: Supplemental

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Decisive-Only, Mute, Mastery

Prerequisite Charms: White Veil Form

A quiet, unassuming death is often best, though some consider it a shame. Focusing their essence to their fingertips or onto the tip of a concealed needle the stylist creates a supernatural poison, which has a delayed reaction. The poison has the following traits: 1L/minute, Duration (Martial Arts + Essence) minutes, Penalty -3, Vector (Damage). This poison does not take effect until between 1 and 3 weeks have passed, allowing the stylist to be free of suspicion. Those proficient in the medical profession can make a difficulty 2 (Intelligence + Medicine) roll to choose exactly when the poison takes effect, limited to within the 1 to 3 week time window. This same roll can be made to ensure it will not kill. Instead once the target takes up to his -4 level, the final level is checked off with bashing damage, then the poison goes dormant, preventing death. After the target recovers consciousness the poison will activate with renewed frenzy, feasting on their agony with refreshed duration, allowing the poison to once again run it’s course. Both these effects can be activated with a difficulty 3 medicine roll.

Mastery: The poison damage is 2L/minute.

The Dragon Dies Screaming

Cost: - (4m, 1wp)

Mins: Martial Arts 4; Essence 3

Type: Permanent

Duration: Instant

Keywords: Decisive-Only, Mute, Mastery

Prerequisite Charms: The Dragon Dies in Bed

Sometimes simple poison is not enough, sometimes targets must die of “natural” causes. This charm is an upgrade to The Dragon Dies in Bed, which allows the stylist to spend an additional 4m, 1wp upon activation in order to expose the target to a deadly disease instead of a poison. The disease has the following stats: Virulence & Morbidity of (3 or Essence, whichever is higher), Interval of (2 + Essence) days. This disease is supernatural, and thus may kill even exalts if the disease progresses far enough. The afflicted character rolls their resistance against the disease’s virulence immediately after being hit, failure indicates the disease has advanced to the minor stage. The symptoms of this disease are very subtle until the last, and in fact it is possible for the target to remain unaware of their illness until the disease progresses to the target’s death. The Difficulty of recognizing the disease is equal to the stylist’s (Martial Arts + Essence), -1 per stage beyond minor that the disease advances. If the disease manages to reach the final stage (death), then the target is immediately wracked by incapacitating levels of pain which, by the end of the day, result in the target gasping their last screams through ruined vocal chords.

Mastery: The disease becomes ever more spiteful and dangerous. The diseases Virulence and Morbidity are increased by 1.

The Dragon Succumbs

Cost: 4m, 1wp

Mins: Martial Arts 5; Essence 3

Type: Simple

Duration: Indefinite, until released, or until treated (see text)

Keywords: Decisive-Only, Mute, Mastery

Prerequisite Charms: Blinded by Laughter, The Dragon Dies in Bed, The Dragon Dies Screaming

The way to ensure the target dies, is to make sure that they cannot resist, let them think they are fine, and let the poison do the rest. Setting their essence on a needle or their fingertips, the stylist has a few moments to inject the target with this deadly concoction. This contaminant reinforces poisons and diseases within the victim's body, preventing them from dissipating entirely should they treated by medicine until it too is addressed (the poison from The Dragon Dies in Bed is hidden for another 1 to 3 weeks, while the disease from the Dragon Dies Screaming is reset to Minor should it be cured), but is almost impossible to detect. The target rolls Stamina + Resistance against a difficulty of the stylist's (Willpower) to resist when struck. Success results in the contamination completely failing to take root, and failure results in seed of the stylist's virulent essence settling in the victim. This seed will endure until the sylist removes the mote commitment or until it is identified and treated (at which point the motes invested in the commitment will automatically release, alerting the stylist immediately), which requires supernatural treatment involving separate medicine checks at a difficulty of the stylist's (Willpower). There are no obvious side-effect to the condition.

Mastery: The poison from The Dragon Dies Dies in Bed and the disease from The Dragon Dies Screaming may only be cured with medical treatment enhanced by some form of magic so long as the contaminant is in maintained.