Heart-Breaking Blade Style

The Heart-Breaking Blade Style hurts. It is not a kind art, full of slow katas and rhythmical chants. Yes, it is beautiful, but training in it demands control over your voice and lungs as well as your body, each kiya burning with raw anger and aggression, with no compromise for safety. Students quickly find themselves aching all over after practice, their throats raw from each shout they must make, each note a physical shove to beat a hole not just in the drum, but though it.

This martial art came forth after a vicious argument in between two Sidereals, an arrogant Battles and a Chosen of Venus singer. The lyrical Joybringer decided to prove to the Shieldbearer that music could be pure offense, and so the Heart-Breaking Blade Style, named after the Battles out of spite, born. The Heart-Breaking Blade Style is nothing but offense, a song of hate and anger. However, it uses an interesting technique, inspired by music, the idea of different charms becoming separate instruments in an symphony of agony. A master of the art turns combat into an opera, with a deadly crescendo crashing down around her enemies.

Stylists use their music as their one and only weapon in this art. The creator of the Style chose to forgo any synergy with other weapons to prove a point. Wielders of the art sound very different from one another, one can be an alto, another use the liquid notes of a flute, or the drums of stamping their feet, but they can recognize the ritual in their melodies with moments.

Weaponry

New Artifact: (Instrument) of Pain (Artifact 1 to 3)

The Joybringer who made this martial art trained a single student in it, a Secrets who promised to train her successor, if the next incarnation was willing. When the successor came, the Secrets not only trained her in the Style, but gave her an ornate necklace of starmetal that would enhance her singing capabilities to new heights. He taught her how to design other musical instruments that would be able to sharpen other notes, fluted lines that turn notes into blades with an edge of essence, all forming a sutra that called Venus and Saturn's blessings to the Style.

An instrument of pain is an artifact musical instrument constructed to enhance the resonant Essence used by practitioners of the Heart-Breaking Blade Style. They must be constructed using one of the Five Magical Materials, and when attuned grant the appropriate ranged weapon Magical Material bonus to their wielder's Single Note of Pain. In addition, they add their Artifact rating in effective Essence to the calculation of Single Note's Accuracy, Damage or Range, determined when the artifact is created. No more than one instrument of pain may be used at any given time. Commitment cost is twice Artifact rating in motes.

The Style

The Charm cascade beginning with Single Note of Pain comprises the Heart-Breaking Blade Style of Celestial supernatural martial arts, named both for the beauty of the style's techniques and the inevitable result of their use. The Style's only form weapons are sonic attacks. This explicitly excludes all non-sonic attacks from working with the style, including basic unarmed attacks such as kicks and punches. Heart-Breaking Blade may be practiced in armour.

A special restriction exists on purchasing Charms in this Style: the prospective Heart-Breaking Blade Stylist must have a Performance score equal to or higher than her Martial Arts score in order to qualify for any Heart-Breaking Blade Charm. Martial training alone is insufficient.

New Keyword: Sonic
This keyword exists to mark attacks which Heart-Breaking Blade's charms are compatible with. While the only sonic attack available at this time is Heart-Breaking Blade's own Single Note of Pain, other styles could be written to take advantage of this mechanic, such as a theoretical unarmed combat form with sonic effects tied to punches and kicks.

The Sutra of the Sweet Lullaby
Once, there was a maiden...

Single Note of Pain
Cost: 1m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Sonic, Obvious, Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: None
who sang a little song.
A note, sung or played with enough control and force of Essence behind it, can be sharpened into a blade to cut one's foes. The character may strike with a song of pain, attacking as if she wielded a ranged weapon with a Speed of 5, Accuracy of her Essence, Damage of her Essence * 2 Lethal Piercing, Range of her Essence * 10 yards and a Rate of her Essence, using Charisma or Manipulation as a replacement for Strength to determine damage. Each attack with this weapon requires the payment of the Charm's listed cost. Attacks made with this Charm are considered ranged attacks and may not be pulled to cause bashing damage.

Agonizing Melody
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Obvious, Crippling, Combo-OK
Duration: Martial Arts ticks
Prerequisites: Single Note of Pain
Those who heard it screamed in pain,
Practitioners of the Heart-Breaking Blade may capitalize on the resonance induced in targets struck by the force of Single Note of Pain, and heighten it to a disorienting cacophony. This Charm may be activated upon a successful hit by a sonic attack. It imposes an internal penalty equal to the user's Essence upon her victims' combat-relevant actions as long as it is active. A user may only have a number of Agonizing Melody instances active as her Permanent Essence.

Discordant Refrain
Cost: 1m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 10)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Agonizing Melody
with every little note.
The Heart-Breaking Blade stylist hums a discordant chorus to strengthen her symphony of suffering. Once the destructive resonance of Agonizing Melody is induced in a target, it is simple to reinforce. This Charm may be activated upon a successful hit by a sonic attack. It refreshes the duration of all the user's Agonizing Melody instances currently in play. Invoking this Charm causes the user to gain motes equal to twice the number of Agonizing Melodies she has in play, to a maximum of twice her Essence in motes until her DV refreshes.

Heart-Breaking Blade Form
Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 3, -1 DV)
Keywords: Obvious, Form-type
Duration: Scene
Prerequisites: Discordant Refrain
Once, there was a maiden
The Exalt takes on an arrogant serenity, directing her lethal music with the skill and effortless ease of a maestro conductor. Her anima visibly resonates with killing intent. While this charm is active, Single Note of Pain and Discordant Refrain cost no motes to use and do not count towards her limit on Charm activations.

Eight Notes of Death
Cost: 7m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Obvious, Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Heart-Breaking Blade Form
who sang a killing song.
Building upon the principles illustrated by the Single Note of Pain, the Heart-Breaking Blade wielder may produce a killing note with such force that it cannot be parried. This Charm may supplement only sonic attacks. If the target of this Charm is afflicted with Agonizing Melody, the attack cannot be dodged either.

Threnody of Torment
Cost: 5m 1w; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Obvious, Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Heart-Breaking Blade Form
Those who heard it died in pain,
Once she has marked several targets with Agonizing Melody, the Heart-Breaking Blade stylist is able to strike all of them at once, one blow resonating among all her victims. This Charm may supplement only sonic attacks. The attack supplemented by this Charm is applied once against all the entities afflicted by the user's Agonizing Melody. Make a single attack roll and apply that to all valid targets.

Silence Between Heartbeats
Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 10)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Heart-Breaking Blade Form
and silent were their graves.
Even the Heart-Breaking Blade is not an endless torrent of sound. Pauses in the melody give shape to the music, and strength to the wielder. This Charm may be activated only when one of her Agonizing Melody instances ends, either through expiring naturally or being cut short, such as by the death of the target or the use of Closing Aria. She may not othwerwise willingly end Agonizing Melody instances in order to use this Charm. Invoking this Charm grants the user one point of Willpower.

Music of War
Cost: None; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Special
Prerequisites: Eight Notes of Death, Threnody of Torment, Silence Between Heartbeats
The maiden smiled a wicked smile
With this Charm, the Heart-Breaking Blade stylist masters the art of inflicting pain through sound. This Charm is a permanent enhancement to the Heart-Breaking Blade Form. Add Agonizing Melody to the list of Charms the Form enhances. While the Form is active, Agonizing Melody costs one mote to use and does not count as a Charm activation.

Closing Aria
Cost: +8m 1w; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Special
Prerequisites: Music of War
as the song came to an end.
Every song must end, and the Heart-Breaking Blade is no exception. But while lesser songs trail away into silence, the Heart-Breaking Blade enforces it, with this final killing note. This Charm enhances Single Note of Pain, allowing the character to use it as a Simple (Speed 6, DV -2) Charm rather than a Supplemental, gaining one Single Note of Pain attack with the following benefits: This attack does aggravated damage. In addition, armour is ignored and pre-soak damage is increased by the user's Martial Arts if Agonizing Melody is present on the target. Regardless of whether it kills the target, damage caused by this Charm causes any instances of Agonizing Melody on the targets so damaged to end.

Credits: This was made for AstraKiseki, and she did the intro. Developer Jon Chung. Editor Seras. Technique names from WotG.