Editing Once more with feeling/Custom Martial Arts (section)

==House of the Cerulean Lute of Harmony==
*Just as the other kinds of Exalted, the Sidereal Exalted possess their own distinctive style of supernatural martial arts. Actually, they possess their own distinctive styles of martial arts, there are five such styles - one style for each caste of Sidereal. The Maiden of Endings, in her supernal excellence at understanding the destiny of martial arts, worked with each of her sisters to craft a style for each of their chosen and with her understanding of all things martial art created an art for her own chosen. Each set of chosen can learn their Maiden's style with no instruction, purely on understanding of their own Essence, and the Chosen of Endings, as those chosen to have a destiny fully tied to martial arts, can learn any of these five styles without instructions.
*Of course, the Seers do not speak of any of these as a "Sidereal Hero Style" of supernatural martial arts. Instead, they call the Martial Arts Charms they received from each of their Maidens as the Style of her Astrological House, giving them the Golden Barque of Heavens Style, the Cerulean Lute of Harmony Style, the Crimson Panoply of Victory Style, the Forbidding Manse of Ivy Style, and the Violet Bier of Sorrows Style. The Sidereal believe these were the first of all supernatural martial arts, but often engage in lively debate about which may have been created first. The Chosen of Endings are often torn between claiming that theirs was created first as the Maiden of Endings is the supreme martial artist and claiming that theirs was created last in the most advanced form from the understanding granted by creating the prior.
*The five styles of the Houses Sidereal are Celestial martial arts. Sidereal sifus could teach any of them to anyone who could learn such martial arts - most notably, other Celestial Exalted or Dragon-Blooded trained as Immaculate martial artists - but long ago the Five-Score Fellowship made moves to keep their secrets safe from spreading far from their rightful place with the Maidens' Chosen. The Cerulean Lute of Harmony Style of the Astrological Houses is known for producing martial artists who sweep through a room leaving calm in their path, many foes defeated but none recalling any specific violence. Its students master arts of persuasion as readily as they do the techniques of gentle combat.
*'''Weapons and Armor:''' Charms of this style treat attacks with long bows, staves and wind-fire wheels (as well as all of their artifact versions) as unarmed attacks. These Charms do not function if the character wears armor.
*'''Complementary Abilities:''' To make the most of this style practitioners constant study the arts of Integrity and Performance simultaneously to practicing the forms of this style. This makes for practice sessions that can be quite beautiful or quite confusing to outside observers who see the students sparring while singing and masters singing in confounding, disharmonious melodies to disrupt their students combat and mental equilibium.
*This Style is one of the five Styles of the Houses Sidereal
*The Charms of this Style are considered native for the Chosen of Venus, the Maiden of Serenity.
===Serenity in Savagery Technique===
*'''Cost:''' -; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 1, Essence 1; '''Type:''' Reflexive
*'''Keywords:''' None
*'''Duration:''' Permanent
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' None
*The character knows the calm of combat and the struggle of everyday living. The character has wrapped the threads of his fate in the strength of these opposing situations and is ready for any variation of them. He always pulls just away from the most savage of blows and happens to be hit by the cleanest portions of enemy weapons. This Charm doubles the character's unmodified dice pools to resist bleeding or infections caused by wounds and effects that would otherwise disfigure the character's appearance. The character's appearance automatically resists being disfigured by even Aggravated damage, although they can still be maimed by amputation and specific charms that cause disfigurement must be rolled against to resist.
===Verve of Venus===
*'''Cost:''' 1 mote per action; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; '''Type:''' Reflexive
*'''Keywords:''' Combo-OK
*'''Duration:''' Up to (Martial Arts) actions
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' Serenity in Savagery Technique
*The Maiden of Serenity recognizes that conflict arrises in life, but chastens her followers to respond as gently as possible. While this Charm is active attacks by the character are made to look as peaceable as possible, not appearing as attacks at all but rather as gentle brushings or light touching of the victim, and the character can choose to inflict no actual health levels of damage on any attacks while still allowing other adverse effects. The target can suffer wound penalties, poisoning, contamination, and the powers available through certain Charms. Some effects use the number of health levels lost to determine their extent and, if the character using this charm chooses to do no actual health levels of damage, then these effects are calculated as if the damage done was zero. Each mote spent confers this benefit for one action, but the character cannot spend more motes than her Martial Arts rating.
===Completion in Compassion Stance===
*'''Cost:''' 5+ motes; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; '''Type:''' Reflexive
*'''Keywords:''' Combo-OK
*'''Duration:''' One scene
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' Serenity in Savagery Technique
*Those who emulate the Maiden of Serenity learn the benefit of using their Compassion as both a weapon and a shield throughout life. Whenever this Charm is active and the character channels his Compassion, the character rolls his Essence against a difficulty of that virtue and, if successful, does not use up a temporary willpower or a use of that virtue while still gaining the appropriate number of bonus dice from the channelling. If the character is in a Limit Break or Flawed Fate associated with this virtue, then roll Essence+Willpower against a difficulty of the virtue. This Charm costs 5 motes to activate for the scene, but when channeling his Compassion the character can reflexively (not counting as a Charm use for the action) gain bonus successes up to his Essence score on the roll for this Charm at a cost of 2 motes per success. The character must face true adversity in order to enjoy this Charm's benefits. If the character could easily succeed at his task without channelling his Compassion then this Charm does not affect the channelling.
===Sanctum of the Serene Maiden===
*'''Cost:''' 2+ motes, 1 willpower; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; '''Type:''' Reflexive
*'''Keywords:''' Obvious
*'''Duration:''' One scene
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' Serenity in Savagery Technique
*Cerulean essence flares around the martial artist, giving him the fate of a wise sage and a monk at peace with his place in Creation. For the rest of the scene, the character can convert a number of dice into automatic successes as they serenely find their proper place in combat. Every two motes spent activating this charm converts one die of every Martial Arts roll into an automatic success, to a maximum of Essence dice converted. Only natural dice may be converted, not dice added by charms, hearthstones, artifacts, or other external devices. Additionally, the character is so at peace with his environment that he gains soak and hardness that is only effective against environmental effects in an amount of equal to motes spent on this charm . These bonuses only apply if the character does not wear armor (even if the character uses Charms that permits armor, such as from their Melee charm tree or the Earth Dragon Style of Martial Art described in ''Manual of Exalted Power: Dragon-Blooded'', though so long as the character is not in armor they would receive these bonuses).
===House of the Cerulean Lute of Harmony Form===
*'''Cost:''' 6 motes; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; '''Type:''' Simple (Speed 6, DV -1)
*'''Keywords:''' Form-type
*'''Duration:''' One scene
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' Verve of Venus, Completion in Compassion Stance, Sanctum of the Serene Maiden
*With serene contentment, the character takes a stance emulating that of Venus herself when she makes her Sign over someone whose life is just reaching the equilibrium of peace. The character learns to make all facets of their expressiveness and their stoicism a part of their martial arts and vice versa. While he uses this Charm, the character adds his Performance score to his Martial Arts score for all purposes and adds his Integrity score to his Bashing and Lethal Soaks. Additionally, the character adds his Martial Arts score to his Performance and Integrity scores for all purposes, including Social Combat and Charm usage, for the remainder of the scene.
===The Lovers Tangle and Part===
*'''Cost:''' 4 motes; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; '''Type:''' Supplemental
*'''Keywords:''' Combo-OK
*'''Duration:''' Instant
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' House of the Cerulean Lute of Harmony Form
*A talented lover knows all of their partners softest spots and how to press at them for the greatest effect. Upon the successful roll of at least one die of damage, the martial artist's player may reroll any damage dice that did not show successes, to a maximum of (Essence x 2) dice. Successes on that roll inflict damage as normal.
===The Pillar is a Pedestal===
*'''Cost:''' 4 motes, 1 willpower; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; '''Type:''' Reflexive
*'''Keywords:''' Combo-OK
*'''Duration:''' One scene
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' House of the Cerulean Lute of Harmony Form
*The martial artist at peace with himself, his surroundings, and his weapons can readily accept changes in any of these things. Once a martial artist activates this charm, he may use any weapon with his Martial Arts ability and his Martial Arts Charms, excluding any Charms with the Touch keyword. Additionally, the character can wield even the heaviest weapon in one hand. The Accuracy and Defense bonuses of the weapon are ignored - the weapon becomes too much an extension of the martial artist to benefit in those ways.
===The Peacock Preens and Pecks===
*'''Cost:''' 4 motes; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; '''Type:''' Reflexive
*'''Keywords:''' Combo-OK, Counterattack
*'''Duration:''' Instant
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' House of the Cerulean Lute of Harmony Form
*The martial artist is too poised and too precise to allow an enemy within his bounds without being prepared. Using this charm a character can take an enemy's weapon and return it to them forthwith to show them the results of their ill manners. After an opponent attacks, with the perfect timing that only a Charm can provide, the martial artist counterattacks twice. First he performs a disarm counterattack on his attacker's weapon. Unlike usual attempts to disarm, this suffers no external penalty and adds two automatic successes to the attack roll. Second, if the disarming counterattack succeeds, the Exalt automatically makes one attack with that weapon against his attacker. If the weapon is one that the character cannot use with his Martial Arts ability, then he uses the lower of his Martial Arts or the most appropriate ability. After this attack the character can finish either holding the weapon, dropping it, or throwing it (Strength + Athletics) yards in any direction. A character can use this charm even if his hands are seemingly full, but if he wants to finish holding the weapon then he either needs a hand free or to reflexively drop or sheath something else he was holding. If this charm is used against a ranged attack then the disarm roll is applied against half the number of successes from the attack and making the counterattack requires that the character have an appropriate means of launching the projectile (i.e., the character only needs to have a hand to return a thrown weapon but to return an arrow launched at him requires having a bow on hand).
===Master of the Flowing Defense===
*'''Cost:''' 10 motes, 1 willpower, 1 lethal health level or 1 aggravated health level; '''Mins:''' Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; '''Type:''' Simple (Speed 6, DV -2)
*'''Keywords:''' Combo-OK, Fate, Obvious, Prayer Strip
*'''Duration:''' One scene
*'''Prerequisite Charms:''' The Lovers Tangle and Part, The Pillar is a Pedestal, The Peacock Preens and Pecks
*The Seer has learned that the destructiveness of enemies is often just their misunderstood way of helping fate. With this Charm a character can redirect their enemy to the helpfulness they were surely striving for. Against any attack for the rest of the scene this charm can have one of two effects. A successful parry means the martial artist deflects the attack toward someone in the direction from which the attack came. Successfully dodging against an attack allows him to redirect the assault toward someone in the direction the attack was going. The new target must be within (Essence) yards.
*Using a prayer strip is not necessary with this Charm, since it represents the culmination of a Celestial martial art, but a Sidereal who knows this Charm can augment it with a prayer strip (hence the use of the keyword). The character uses a strip on which is written the Scripture of the Peacefully Strumming Maiden, infusing the strip with Essence when he activates the Charm and affixes the prayer strip to herself so that it lays vertically across his waistline. When the character does this he exchanges the level of Lethal damage for a level of Aggravated damage while activating Master of the Flowing Defense. This charm acts as an augmentation to the Sidereal Dodge Charm Neighborhood Relocation Scheme. While the Prayer Strip for Master of the Flowing Defense is active the cost of Neighborhood Relocation Scheme is reduced to 11 motes plus 1 temporary willpower for it to modify this charm in several ways. The dodge charm allows the very landscape and destiny of location to be rearranged by the Seer. This cuts the number of successes an attacker has in half (round up) before being compared to this character's DV, although should the character's defense fail, the attack hits him as if the successes had not been halved. Additionally, parries and dodges that redirect attacks may do so in any direction and after any successful defense the character can choose to swap positions with his attacker.
*Note: The prayer strip aspect of this Charm can only be used by Sidereals, or by Eclipse or Moonshadow Castes who learn Master of the Flowing Defense as a Sidereal Charm rather than as a supernatural martial arts Charm. This is part of the Sidereal Exaltation, not the training in Martial Arts and Essence control that underlies the other Charms of the style.
===The Scripture of the Strumming Maiden===
<i><pre>Once, there was a maiden...
...who kept a chaste lover locked high within a tower.
She kept him high and kept him locked and gazed up to him every day.
When she was in the mood to dance they would dance...
And when he was in the mood to weep they would weep...
But they did not suffer, for he knew her truth as well as he did his confinement;
"Love is never letting go," she said.</pre></i>