Once more with feeling/Custom Martial Arts

Martial Arts Styles

Terrestrial

High-Flying Daredevil

• This style was created by a Chosen of Battles to enhance the capabilities of Terrestrial warstrider pilots.
• New Keyword:
• Warstrider: Charms with this keyword can be used from inside warstriders, but doing so counts as channeling Essence through them, which can damage common and scout warstriders.

Motonic Afterburner Surge

• Cost: 1m; Mins: Martial Arts 1, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Warstrider
• Duration: (Essence) ticks
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• Activating this charm increases the Daredevil's per-tick movement rates by 10 yards. Using this Charm causes a trail of cloudy white Essence to coalesce behind the character as he moves.

Essence Missile Method

• Cost: 1m per 1L; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Simple (Speed 4, DV -1)
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Warstrider
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Motonic Afterburner Surge
• This Charm permits a Daredevil to fire a glowing bolt of concentrated essence toward a target. The bolt is targeted with (Dexterity + Archery) or (Dexterity + Martial Arts), whichever is preferred, with an Accuracy bonus equal to the Daredevil’s Essence and a range of (Essence x 50) yards. The bolt inflicts one die of lethal piercing damage per mote spent up to a maximum of (Essence) motes.

High-Flying Daredevil Form

• Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 5, DV -0)
• Keywords: Form-type, Warstrider
• Duration: Scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Essence Missile Method
• This charm provides two benefits to the Daredevil:
  • It allows him to channel Essence through his warstrider without damaging its components.
  • It provides an additional bonus die to stunts performed while piloting a warstrider. This bonus die does not affect the rewards from stunting.

Devil-May-Care Evasion

• Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Scene
• Prerequisite Charms: High-Flying Daredevil Form
• This Charm negates all Mobility penalties to the Daredevil's Dodge DV for a scene.

Interception and Elimination Kata

• Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: High-Flying Daredevil Form
• This Charm allows Daredevils to use ranged weapons to parry attacks made by other ranged weapons, using their ranged Abilities and their weapon's Accuracy rating in place of a Defense rating when calculating their Parry DV.

Overwhelming Missile Storm

• Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Extra Action (Speed 6, DV -1)
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Warstrider
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Devil-May-Care Evasion, Interception and Elimination Kata
• This Charm permits a Daredevil to fire a volley of dozens of glowing bolts of concentrated essence, the volley can attack up to (Archery or Martial Arts) targets. For each target, roll (Dexterity + Archery) or (Dexterity + Martial Arts), whichever is preferred, with an Accuracy bonus equal to the Daredevil’s Essence and a range of (Essence x 50) yards. Each successful hit deals ([Essence] x 3) dice of lethal piercing damage. Extra successes on the attack roll do not add to damage, and this attack cannot be dodged or parried without a stunt or magic.

Pathwalker

• The Pathwalker style is a Terrestrial martial art so far practiced exclusively in a cluster of small communities in the Hundred Kingdoms. Outsiders inquiring about the style are told that it was invented recently by an itinerant Immaculate who, after bringing some stability to the region through his great deeds, taught it to them so they could defend themselves after he had moved on. The fact that many of the style's techniques bear more than a passing resemblance to the Water Dragon Style lends credence to their story.
• Weapons and Armor: The Pathwalker style's form weapons are the cestus, fighting gauntlet, staff, and tiger claws. It can be practiced in armors up to medium weight.

Experienced Traveler's Footwork

• Cost: 1m; Mins: Martial Arts 1, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• The first lesson learned by Disciples of the Walker's Path is how to evade and block the strikes of the enemy. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of some of their own accuracy and striking power. A Pathwalker may activate this Charm as he makes an attack roll by committing 1 mote of Essence; he then chooses either his Dodge or Parry DV. For as long as he maintains the commitment, his selected DV increases by 1, but his dice pools for attacking are reduced by 1. Pathwalkers are explicitly permitted to invoke this Charm twice, choosing a different DV each time.

Unthreatening Pilgrim Guise

• Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (see text)
• Keywords: Combo-Basic, Compulsion, Illusion, Social, War
• Duration: Until your first action
• Prerequisite Charms: Experienced Traveler's Footwork
• Pathwalkers know how to make themselves seem unthreatening. Any time the Disciple would roll Join Battle, Join Debate, or Join War, she may reflexively activate this Charm. If her opponents do not succeed on a (Perception + Investigation) roll against a Difficulty of the lower of Pathwalker's Martial Arts or Essence, they do not view her as hostile and will not take any action against her. On her first action, the Pathwalker may make an unexpected attack on any opponent who failed the (Perception + Investigation) roll; this is an explicit exception to the rule that mass combat units can only make unexpected attacks from physical concealment. However, the opportunity created by this Charm lasts only until the first time the Disciple's tick comes up; if she does not take advantage of it then, the opportunity disappears.

Pathwalker Form

• Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Form-type, Obvious
• Duration: Once scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Unthreatening Pilgrim Guise
• The Disciples of the Walker's Path seek to emulate their teacher in as many ways as they can, and thankfully, he taught them this Charm, which grants them some measure of his own resilience. A Pathwalker with this Charm active is surrounded by a field of blue, wavering essence crossed by wavy golden lines, like might be caused by small waves in a shallow, sunlit pool of water. This field allows the Pathwalker to soak bashing and lethal damage with his Stamina as if one of the Exalted, and to parry lethal attacks while unarmed.

Dancing Through the Rain Technique

• Cost: --; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: Pathwalker Form
• This Charm permanently enhances Experienced Traveler's Footwork. Whenever a Disciple activates Experienced Traveler's Footwork, she may commit a number of motes up to her permanent Essence; her Dodge or Parry DV increases by 1 for each mote committed, even as her dice pools to attack decrease by 1 for every mote committed.

Summer Thunderstorm Strike

• Cost: 1m per die; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Pathwalker Form
• Summer thunderstorms often seemingly appear out of nowhere to detriment of unwary travelers, and Disciples of the Walker's Path learn to imitate that speed in their own strikes. When making a Martial Arts-based attack, add an extra die to his attack roll for every mote the Pathwalker spends, up to the Pathwalker's permanent Essence.

Slaver-Smiting Prana

• Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Dancing Through the Rain Technique, Summer Thunderstorm Strike
• This Charm functions exactly like Rippling Water Strike (Dragon-Blooded, p. 208), except that it can only be activated if the attack it supplements would strike an animate being, and that instead of a ripple in the air it takes the form of an expanding, spherical field of Essence like the Essence field created by Pathwalker Form.

Celestial

Heavenly Union

• “What fool would dare enter the presence of one who has mastered Heavenly Union Style? Their bedchambers are more deadly than any battlefield! Every inch of their bodies is a potential weapon! They single-handedly prove that sex is more offensive than violence.”

History

• Most taboo amongst the Celestial arts, the methods of Heavenly Union Style were developed recreationally – an irony not lost on historians. As the Usurpation was begun, many of the Lawgivers were slain before the insurgent hordes. Not the legendary Zenith sensate Ayatilia, however, nor her Lunar consort Sweat and Tears. As the bloodshed began, she swept the pair away, deep into the safety of her sorcerous sanctum in the North.
• Through the long and cold nights, wont of other company or meaningful pursuit as they awaited their discovery, the pair... experimented. The Wyld Hunt reached them after five years, to find them in no condition to fight. The art itself would have perished with its creators, but for the Chosen of Serenity overlooking the expedition – realising its potential, he quickly confiscated their (mindblowingly obscene) notes as 'evidence of their decadance'.
• A dirty secret (in all senses of the word), the Style is kept under wraps deep in the Cerulean Lute of Harmony. In this Age of Sorrows, it seems to have re-emerged amongst the reawakening Solars and their consorts. It is uncertain how they acquired such sensitive information, but evidence points to someone in the higher echelons of the Cult of the Illuminated.

Rules

• Heavenly Union Style allows the use of no weapons, teaching its students that they are armed enough with the uncounted tools the Incarna granted them. Armour is likewise spurned in its every form – any inhibitor of movement, sensation or indecency is anathema to its tenets.
• The Style's progression begins with a number of meditations and practices to establish its basic tenets. It then branches into two wings (each with an according Form), embodying on one hand the piercing might of the sun, and on the other the delicate embrace of the night.
• Whilst the principles (and techniques) of each wing can be employed simultaneously through original thinking, the Forms themselves are created to resonate with a given physical form. If the martial artist is in the appropriate sex (or adopts a hermaphroditic shape somehow), and has a Form active, all Charms in the wing are enhanced with a Harmony bonus whilst these conditions remain.
• At the culmination of the Style, the martial artist learns (as the founding couple did) to pass beyond conceptions of shape and gender, and to unite the two wings together into a transcendant whole. Until then, however, a practitioner cannot perfectly conceive and apply one half of the teachings - more ambitious adherents should make use of some gender-altering magic to apply themselves fully.

Charms

Smiling Across The Heavens

• Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Emotion
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• Whilst the forces of the Incarna struggles, in the mortal heavens as in the Games of Divinity, their eyes are not filled with hatred for one another; at their heart, they know that the conflict is the very source of their bond. The practitioners of Heavenly Union Style learn to adopt a lover's face, pardoning and inviting their foes even in the grittiest throes of combat. When they activate this Charm, they may add their attacker's Compassion to their DV.

Bonded Heart Revelation

• Cost: None; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Permanent
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: Smiling Across The Heavens
• Expanding upon their understanding of the arts of love and war, the martial artist twines their emotions with those of their partner, to better complement their actions and to better share their jubilation. Whenever someone channels a Virtue in a roll (or defence) made against an Exalt with this Charm, the Exalt is immediately (and candidly) aware of it. They may spend 1 Willpower to channel the same Virtue of their own in response; this channel does not count against their maximum channels per story.

Thousand Leagues Understanding

• Cost: None; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Permanent
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: Bonded Heart Revelation
• As the Incarna paint the entire sky with the vibrance of their union, so do practitioners learn to make use of their entire body. Every inch of skin, every proturberance and crevice is discovered anew, a source of rapturous enlightenment. Martial artists of Heavenly Union Style seem fluid and untroubled even amidst a swarm of foes, for they have a part of themselves for everyone. Exalts with this Charm have a new grapple option: Engage. This allows them to attempt a Hold on their existing grapple partner(s), whilst making a grapple attack on another person within range. If successful, they are treated as grappled also. Resolve control rolls between all present; the winner may take separate grapple actions against each person. The martial artist may have no more than their (Essence) partners at any given time, but may voluntarily release partners to take on new ones.

Radiant Shaft of Sunlight Form

• Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Form-type
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Thousand Leagues Understanding
• The Exalt hones his might through one moment of balanced tension to the next, becoming expertly in command of how his strength flows. At each maneouvre, he focuses all of his strength into one point, able to pin his foes helpless even as the rest of his body is free to move. When grappling with an opponent, his DV suffers no penalty.
• Harmony bonus: If the Exalt is in male shape, his natural weaponry is strong enough to rend through the toughest armour; his crush and unarmed attacks deal piercing damage.

Bowel-Loosening Surprise Assault

• Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Radiant Shaft of Sunlight Form
• Such was the speed and severity of this maneouvre that victims would lose all control of themselves! Many who heard of this Charm assumed that this is what its name meant. Not so. This Charm supplements a grapple attempt made as an unexpected attack, adding the exalt's Martial Arts in automatic successes on the roll to establish surprise.
• Harmony bonus: If the Exalt is in male shape and has Radiant Shaft of Sunlight Form active, he adds an automatic success to all rolls to determine control of the resultant grapple until it is broken. Grapples formed by other methods do not receive this benefit.

Dazzling Courtship Method

• Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Emotion
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Radiant Shaft of Sunlight Form
• The Unconquered Sun's conquest of the sky is a blinding assault, undeniable in its strength and majesty. Becoming as the Sun himself, the martial artist learns how to make his attacks like advances, laden with unbidden promise and overwhelming to those that do not see past his base intent. This Charm supplements any grapple attempt. The defender's DV against this attack cannot exceed their DMDV.
• Harmony bonus: If the Exalt is in male shape and has Radiant Shaft of Sunlight Form active, his Charm is treated as an innate power instead, as with (Ability) Essence Flow.

Velvet Folds of Night Form

• Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Form-type
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Thousand Leagues Understanding
• The Exalt performs a series of provocative katas, loosening her body into sinuous responsiveness. Like the night sky, she yields before brilliance; even as she appears to submit to her foes, she envelops them in her embrace, free to do with them as she pleases. When grappling with an opponent, her DV is not adjusted to 0, but instead suffers a -2 external penalty. She adds her Essence in automatic successes when determining control of a grapple. If she wins, her opponent still has control but cannot break the hold (either as a grapple action, or a special move).
• Harmony bonus: If the Exalt is in female shape, she is able to exhaust her partner with overwhelming waves of scintillating energy. The damage of all her martial arts attacks that deal bashing damage (including crush maneouvres) is increased by her (Martial Arts).

Darkness's Indiscriminate Embrace

• Cost:' 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
• Duration: Instant
• Keywords: None
• Prerequisite Charms: Velvet Folds of Night Form
• The night sky cares not for what invades its domain – its limits are beyond mortal comprehension. Instead, it draws in all approachers until they are lost in its inky depths. Activated in response to a successful attack, this Charm allows the Exalt to make an immediate grapple counterattack. She may not use this Charm if she is already grappling her limit of attackers (typically her Essence, due to Thousand Leagues Understanding).
• Harmony bonus: If the Exalt is in female shape and has Velvet Folds of Night Form active, she may activate this Charm in response to an unsuccessful attack also.

Sunlight's Shadowy Mirror

• Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Velvet Folds of Night Form
• Darkness envelops light, marking its every boundary and reflecting its every movement. The martial artist learns to emulate this darkness, complementing their partner's every move. Whenever she is the subject of an effect in a grapple (throws, crushes, or more esoteric effects such as Throat-Baring Hold), she may activate this Charm to apply that effect to her grappler.
• Harmony bonus: If the Exalt is in female shape and has Velvet Folds of Night Form active, this Charm is treated as an innate power instead, as with (Ability) Essence Flow.

Heavenly Union Form

• Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Form-type
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Bowel-Loosening Surprise Assault, Dazzling Courtship Method, Darkness's Indiscriminate Embrace, Sunlight's Shadowy Mirror
• The exalt perfectly intertwines the exercises and katas practised earlier, twining their movements into a perfect union of focused strength and formless adaptivity. Where they need be firm, they are firm. Where they need be supple, they are supple. They are all things to all comers, and thus intertwine the abilities of both previously learnt forms.
• When grappling with an opponent, their DV suffers no penalty. They may elect to add their Essence in automatic successes when determining control of a grapple; if they do, victory indicates that they have still lost control of the grapple, but their opponent cannot break the hold. Their crush maneouvres and unarmed strikes are Piercing. If they deal Bashing damage, their raw damage is increased by the Exalt's Martial Arts score. Finally, they always receive Harmony bonuses with every Charm of this Style.

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

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.

House of the Crimson Panoply of Victory

• 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 Crimson Panoply of Victory Style of the Astrological Houses is recognized as the forerunner in wartime martial arts. Its students dominate their foes with ferocious attacks timed with supernal military genius.
• Weapons and Armor: Charms of this style treat attacks with spears, spread-the-water knives and wind-fire wheels (as well as all of their artifact versions) as unarmed attacks. This is the only one of the five Celestial Martial Arts of the Houses Sidereal that is completely unrestricted from armor.
• Complementary Abilities: The Crimson Panoply martial artists are often seen accepting savage blows with wooden clubs until their master gives a subtle signal and they spin into action knocking aside the club, disarming their opponent and turning the club back on them. Consequently, high Melee and Resistance abilities are useful to this art.
• This Style is one of the five Styles of the Houses Sidereal
• The Charms of this Style are considered native for the Chosen of Mars, the Maiden of Battles.

Battle in Balance Methodology

• Cost: -; Mins: Martial Arts 1, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• A savant of the Maiden of Battles must be prepared to attack at any time and from any direction with equal facility. Practictioners of this style have trained themselves to have equal skill on both sides of their body. Learning this charm removes the penalty to using a character's off-hand for any purpose (if merits and flaws are being used and a character with the Ambidexterity merit takes this charm, then its effects increase to removing one point of penalty from the first attack made with an offhand weapon in a flurry).

Fixation of Mars

• Cost: 1 mote per tick; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Up to (Martial Arts) ticks
• Prerequisite Charms: Battle in Balance Methodology
• The followers of Mars recognize every attack as a battle to win and learn to internalize their focus on each one despite all distractions. While this Charm is active an Aim action can be extended, with increasing bonus dice, for a number of ticks equal to the character's Martial Arts rating and aiming can be flurried with non-attack actions. However, aborting to any action besides attacking her chosen foe causes an internal penalty equal to half the bonus dice accumulated (rounded up). Each mote spent confers this benefit for one tick, but the character cannot spend more motes than her Martial Arts rating and this charm must be maintained at its full costs until the character makes her attack on the chosen foe or the aiming pool of bonus dice drops back to three.

Victory in Valor Stance

• Cost: 5+ motes; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Battle in Balance Methodology
• Those who emulate the Maiden of Battles learn the benefit of bravery used to push past any obstacle. Whenever this Charm is active and the character channels her Valor, the character rolls her 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 her Valor the character can reflexively (not counting as a Charm use for the action) gain bonus successes up to her 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 her task without channelling her Valor then this Charm does not affect the channelling.

Fortification of the Final Maiden

• Cost: 2+ motes, 1 willpower; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Obvious
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Battle in Balance Methodology
• Violet essence flares around the martial artist, giving her a fate of certainty and finality in combat that prevents her from being stopped before she has won her battle. Every two motes spent activating this charm adds one bonus -4 heath level to the character for the scene, to a maximum of the character's Essence in added health levels. Additionally, the character gains a number of bonus dice equal to motes spent that add to resisting knockdown, stunning, and unstable footing, which could otherwise slow the character from finishing her battle.

House of the Crimson Panoply of Victory Form

• Cost: 6 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 6, DV -1)
• Keywords: Form-type
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Fixation of Mars, Victory in Valor Stance, Fortification of the Final Maiden
• With vigorous intent, the character takes a stance emulating that of Mars herself when she makes her Sign over someone about to enter the most brutal conflict of their life. While she uses this Charm, the character counts rolls of 10 on damage dice as two successes and can spend 1 mote reflexively in Step 7 to reduce the damage from any incoming attack by the character's Martial Arts score to a minimum of one (which may be reduced further by starmetal armoring effects). Additionally, the character can make lethal attacks and parry lethal attacks barehanded without a stunt.

Horrific Wreath (Alternative)

• Cost: 2 motes, 1 willpower; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Holy, Obvious
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Crimson Panoply of Victory Form
• Crimson energy surrounds the character's hands, feet or weapon for a moment.
  • Other than the above changes, this charm is as written in Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals.
  • Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 182.

Unobstructed Blow (Alternative)

• Cost: 5 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Crimson Panoply of Victory Form
• The martial artist uses the fate of a strike unerring to attack his foe.
  • Other than the above changes, this charm is as written in Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals.
  • Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 182.

Crimson Palm Counterstrike (Alternative)

• Cost: 5 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Crimson Panoply of Victory Form
• The fate of any attack is retaliation and this charm brings that fate to the fore.
  • Other than the above changes, this charm is as written in Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals.
  • Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 183.

Master of the Heraldric Array

• 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: Horrific Wreath, Unobstructed Blow, Crimson Palm Counterstrike
• When a Seer uses this Charm, she gains a strength of unity so deeply with her troops and throughout her very soul that every attack she makes coordinates the attacks of those around her. With every attack the character makes she may make a free roll to Coordinate the attacks of those also attacking that same target on that tick. This roll replaces Charisma + War with Willpower and gains the character's Essence in automatic successes. So well unified is her soul that enemies always feel as if a circle of spears surrounds them. Whenever a character using this Charm makes an attack against an enemy then that foe is beset by up to the character's Essence in phantom attackers that Coordinate with the attack of the character. These phantom attackers do no health level damage, but cause momentary pain with their touch to push the enemy into a well coordinated position for the character to attack them. If the character is in melee with an enemy then as many of them as possible will fill any open spots around the target.
• 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 Practicing Maiden, infusing the strip with Essence when she activates the Charm and letting the prayer strip hover beside herself. When the character does this she exchanges the level of Lethal damage for a level of Aggravated damage while activating Master of the Heraldric Array. This charm acts as an augmentation to the Sidereal Archery Charm 'Many Missiles Bow Technique. While the Prayer Strip for Master of the Heraldric Array is active the cost of Many Missiles Bow Technique is reduced to 8 motes plus 1 temporary willpower. This augmentation has three effects. It allows the character to apply the effects of Many Missiles Bow Technique to any sort of attack they make at the cost of 1 mote per tick of attacks, with non-projectile attacks momentarily taking on the fate of the phenomena before flickering back to usual at the end of the tick. It also allows the character to use Generalized Ammunition Technique to make any sort of weapon they can weild reflexively for 1 mote per tick they use that weapon. Lastly, it allows ammunition and weapons made from Generalized Ammunition Technique to be used with the transformations of Many Missiles Bow Technique.
• 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 Heraldric Array 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 Practicing Maiden

Once, there was a maiden...
...who was as strong as fate...
...who was as tall as mountains...
...who was as wide as the West...
...who ate five meals of five courses every day.
"Survival is repetition," she said.

House of the Forbidding Manse of Ivy

• 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 Forbidding Manse of Ivy Style of the Astrological Houses produces students that know just when to appear and which target is the lynch pin to their opponents plans. Its students are known for their guile and their ability to take on a multitude of opponents simultaneously to focusing on their true target.
• Weapons and Armor: Charms of this style treat attacks with natural weapon enhancers (cesti, fighting gauntlets, iron boots, and razor harnesses), seven-section 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: This style is based thoroughly enough in the concept of Secrets that a high Stealth ability is recognizably essential to the full and potent practice of the style. Knowledgeable practicitioners, with high Lore abilities, often seem to leave the most terrifying impression on their foes as they find the most useful piece of information to bring to bear just in time to lock their opponents down.
• This Style is one of the five Styles of the Houses Sidereal
• The Charms of this Style are considered native for the Chosen of Jupiter, the Maiden of Secrets.

Ending of Precipitous Strife

• Cost: -; Mins: Martial Arts 1, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• The character trains herself to sense the secret yearnings of combat. She reacts twice as quickly to surprises as an opponent expects as if her destiny could not be waylaid by such simple ruses. This Charm doubles the character's unmodified dice pool to recognize concealed attacks.

Embrace of Jupiter

• Cost: 1 mote per action; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Up to (Martial Arts) actions
• Prerequisite Charms: Ending of Precipitous Strife
• Knowledge is at its most powerful when it is held tightly in secret, at least this is the view of the Maiden of Secrets and is seen readily in the Martial Art that emulates her understanding. While this Charm is active a character can maintain a previously made clinch on an opponent even after letting go. Paying for this charm forces the opponent to remain held and inactive for up to (Martial Arts) extra actions. The attacker cannot crush or throw her victim using this Charm. The victim can attempt to break free normally each action as if the attacker were maintaining a grapple with the original number of successes. The character can only hold one opponent with this charm at any one time. Each mote spent confers this benefit for one action, but the character cannot spend more motes than her Martial Arts rating.

Transcendence in Temperance Stance

• Cost: 5+ motes; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Ending of Precipitous Strife
• Those who emulate the Maiden of Secrets learn the benefit of tempering their actions to become an unforseen complication to their enemies. Whenever this Charm is active and the character channels her Temperance, the character rolls her 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 her Temperance the character can reflexively (not counting as a Charm use for the action) gain bonus successes up to her 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 her task without channelling her Temperance then this Charm does not affect the channelling.

Shroud of the Secret Maiden

• Cost: 2+ motes, 1 willpower; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: None
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Ending of Precipitous Strife
• Emerald essence glimmers around the martial artist as she fades into obscurity, giving her the fate of a secret to terrible to behold. For the rest of the scene, miscellaneous actions to reestablish surprise lose their associated DV penalty and when flurried with an attack the multiaction penalties are 1 less than usual. Additionally, every two motes spent activating this charm adds one success to all attempts to use Stealth and to detect the use of Stealth by others, to a maximum of Essence sucesses added. 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 Forbidding Manse of Ivy Form

• Cost: 6 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 6, DV -1)
• Keywords: Form-type
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Embrace of Jupiter, Transcendence in Temperance Stance, Shroud of the Secret Maiden
• With contemplative grace, the character takes a stance emulating that of Jupiter herself when she makes her Sign over a secret newly discovered and then hidden away. The character learns to read the subtle nuances of every gesture a foe makes and to make this understanding flow directly into instinctual actions in combat. While she uses this Charm, the character can automatically make a clinch counterattack against any foe she successfully defends herself against in hand-to-hand combat and all foes that attempt to clinch her or take control of her grapple on them are forced to use the lower of their Dexterity or Strength to make their grapple check. Additionally, the character makes all grappling clinch attacks and inactive actions she is forced into by foes' successful clinches one tick faster than usual.

The Shadow Behind the Mask

• Cost: 1 or 2 motes per object; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Forbidding Manse of Ivy Form
• A master of secrets must have a place that is wholly his own and hidden from all others. The emulators of Jupiter must learn to carve a hiding space from a piece of his own soul and thereby keep their most dangerous and powerful secrets in reserve. This charm allows the martial artist to secretly hide up to their Martial Arts score in objects in Elsewhere. It costs 2 motes to activate this charm and place an object in Elsewhere, but only 1 mote and a reflexive action to bring them back into their hand or on their person. Objects sent away return to exactly the position they were in before leaving allowing for several useful ways of representing the secret that was hidden.
• (Examples: Yozi Crushing Yentu wants to slip through several identities in an afternoon so he first puts on a monk's robe before sending it to Elsewhere, then puts on a guard's lamellar armor before sending it away, and finally puts on the clothing of a Dragon Blooded courtier before sending it away; now any of these can be recalled and YCY will be wearing them just as before. YCY also wants to get into the good graces of a certain king and he knows that assassins are going to shower the king's envoy with arrows later this week (YCY hired them), so he takes an arrow and shoves it into a non-vital spot on his body before sending it Elsewhere; now as the arrow storm starts and he leaps in front of the king he can recall the bloodied arrow to have a realistic wound without worrying about it hitting something important!)

The Door Behind the Key

• Cost: 4 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Forbidding Manse of Ivy Form
• One cannot know secrets without knowing what is well known and a master of secrets knows full well all that is occuring around them. When the character is involved in a grapple, she can use this Charm to swing her partner around and into the way of an incoming blow. The partner can use their full PDV against the attack, but if the attack is successful then the raw damage is split evenly between the two grappling characters in Step 7, before applying soak.

The Fist Behind the Guardian

• Cost: 4 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Forbidding Manse of Ivy Form
• The essence of a secret is that it is something that has truly happened, but that no one knows about. Masters of this style learn to make their attacks as secrets from all. This charm allows the character to launch a single undetectable attack. If the character uses a weapon they could unsheath, strike and then sheath again without any noticing. Unless the target has a magical means of detecting unexpected attacks, this attack automatically counts as unexpected. If the target does have such means then a normal Dexterity + Stealth versus the target's Wits + Awareness is rolled with the user of this charm gaining their Essence in automatic successes and the target gaining any appropriate bonuses from their attack detecting charm.

Master of the Shining Darkness

• Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower, 1 lethal health level or 1 agravated 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 Shadow Behind the Mask, The Door Behind the Key, The Fist Behind the Guardian
• Masters of the Style of Secrets become a sort-of balance point to the universe; for every action there is a reaction, for every point there is a counter-point, for every known thing there is a secret. With this charm a martial artist has moved beyond the grapple of bodies to grappling the very truth of their opponents existance. Every successful clinch attack against a foe banishes that foe to Elsewhere. A foe grappled into Elsewhere can be acted on with a Crush or a Hold as preferred by the martial artist, but the enemy is gone from the battle field and the martial artist is not restricted at all from defending herself from other attackers. The martial artist may flurry her actions to make further grapple Crush attacks against Elsewhere held opponents (as well as act on other enemies), but otherwise they are kept in a Hold trying to break the grapple against the number of successes that originally trapped them. If the foe should surpass the martial artist's number of successes on the grapple crush attacks used against them or the original number of successes holding them, if they are only being held, then they break free of Elsewhere to fall prone on the ground next to the martial artist. Foes that do not break free can either be released at the martial artist's leisure (as crushed corpses or hopefully subdued foes) or when the charm ends, whichever comes sooner. The character may hold up to (Essence) foes trapped in Elsewhere with this charm. In addition, while this charm is active the character automatically adds (Essence) successes to grapple checks and damage rolls from grappling.
• 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 Observing Maiden, infusing the strip with Essence when she activates the Charm and affixes the prayer strip to her own hand. When the character does this she exchanges the level of Lethal damage for a level of Aggravated damage while activating Master of the Shining Darkness. This charm acts as an augmentation to the Sidereal Lore Charm Transcendent Hatchet of Fate. While the Prayer Strip for Master of the Shining Darkness is active the cost of Trancendent Hatchet of Fate is reduced to 12 motes plus 1 temporary willpower and changes its type to Reflexive when used against foes who has been grappled into Elsewhere. This synergy also removes the limit on how many foes can be held in Elsewhere.
• 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 Shining Darkness 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 Observing Maiden

Once, there was a maiden...
...who was born to great destiny, "Rulership of all or understanding of all," was proclaimed by the astrologers.
To gain her the rulership of all, her parents shielded her from all the worries of the world.
She knew no poverty, no plague, no death, no unhappiness...  But she slipped from her home to learn.
She saw the poor and was worried, the diseased and became frightened, the dying and felt dead inside.
Then she saw a man concentrating on his sutras, neither demeaned nor ill, but content; a scholar.
"To know the world is to see it truly," she said.

House of the Golden Barque of the Heavens

• 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 Golden Barque of the Heavens Style of the Astrological Houses is well known for its emphasis on movement as the key to both defense and offense. Its students take control of a battlefield by being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.
• Weapons and Armor: Charms of this style treat attacks with knives, war boomerangs 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: Practicioners of this style find that having high Athletics and Ride abilities are often quite useful to this continually moving and flowing style of combat.
• This Style is one of the five Styles of the Houses Sidereal
• The Charms of this Style are considered native for the Chosen of Mercury, the Maiden of Journey.

Journey of Forever in One Step

• Cost: -; Mins: Martial Arts 1, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• The fate threads of battle are tread upon lightly, but with assurity, by the practitioner of the Golden Barque of the Heavens Style. In fact, any movement they make is done so more swiftly then opponents can account for. The character adds his Martial Arts score to any calculation of combat movement (ie. a standard Move is Dexterity+Martial Arts in yards, a Dash is Dexterity+6+Martial Arts in yards). This Charm also enhances movement by personal mounts and vehicles the character directly controls.

Dash of Saturn

• Cost: 1 mote per action; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Up to (Martial Arts) actions
• Prerequisite Charms: Journey of Forever in One Step
• The Seer has learned to blend continuous motion and his great speed with every moment of combat. While this Charm is active a Dash is a (2/-1) action and any flurry that includes Dashing has its multiaction penalties decreased by 1. Each mote spent confers this benefit for one action, but the character cannot spend more motes than her Martial Arts rating.

Campaign in Conviction Stance

• Cost: 5+ motes; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Journey of Forever in One Step
• Those who emulate the Maiden of Journeys learn the benefit of picking the path of their actions and then travelling down them to their sure conclusion. Whenever this Charm is active and the character channels his Conviction, 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 Conviction the character can reflexively (not counting as a Charm use for the action) gain bonus successes up to her 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 Conviction then this Charm does not affect the channelling.

Jaunt of the Journeying Maiden

• Cost: 2+ motes, 1 willpower; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Obvious
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Journey of Forever in One Step
• Saffron essence flares around the martial artist, giving him the fate of a wanderer with an unerring sense of direction through battle. For the rest of the scene, the character can ignore a number of penalties. Every two motes spent activating this charm removes one point of penalty from the character's actions in a single tick, first removing external penalties and then internal penalties with multiaction penalties removed last. Multiaction penalties ignored are spread as evenly as possible across the character's actions (if a character with 8 motes invested in this charm had no other penalties to account for flurried two attacks then both would lose 2 points of multiaction penalty, if the character flurried three attacks then each would lose 1 point of penalty except one attack that lost 2). The maximum number of penalty points that can be ignored is equal to the character's Essence. Additionally, the character is never fatigued by battle or travel while this charm is active. 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 - The Dragon-Blooded, though so long as the character is not in armor they would receive these bonuses).

House of the Golden Barque of the Heavens Form

• Cost: 6 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 6, DV -1)
• Keywords: Form-type
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Dash of Saturn, Campaign in Conviction Stance, Jaunt of the Journeying Maiden
• With gleeful anticipation, the character takes a stance emulating that of Mercury herself when she makes her Sign over a long journey to be swiftly travelled. While he uses this Charm, the character's actions all have their speed decreased by 1 (to a minimum of Speed 2 on any action) and any Dash actions are increased by +4 yards per tick. Additionally, while this Charm is active, uses of Dash of Saturn are enhanced to make Dashes (1/-1) actions.

Spokes of the Ship's Wheel

• Cost: 5 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Golden Barque of the Heavens Form
• No fortress or armor is impenetrable and if one can take the time to study it then its gaps seem as wide as the spokes on a ship's wheel. Take the time or be fast enough to attempt all possibilities at once. Master's of this charm learn to attack in such a blur that they touch every side of an opponent at once, but they only push through with force when they feel empty defenses. By using this Charm, the martial artist enables a single martial arts attack to slide right past an opponents defenses. The attack is treated as piercing and if it would have been piercing from some other source (such as another charm or using a piercing weapon) then the attack ignores armor altogether.

Lightning Crashes Against the Mast

• Cost: 5 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Golden Barque of the Heavens Form
• The martial artist has learned to bounce their footsteps through the fatestrings of creation in such a way that each step launches them further along their path than any mortal eye can keep up with. They use the mighty speed this produces to devastating effect in battle. When this charm is used a character can enhance their defenses and their offenses. When used against an incoming attack the character can add his Martial Arts score to the DDV calculation because of his blinding speed and at the end of the tick he can be standing anywhere within five times his normal move distance away from his starting point. When used to enhance an attack the character can move up to five times his normal move distance on the tick of the attack, adds (Martial Arts + Essence) to the raw damage, and adds (Essence) to the minimum damage of the attack because of the amazing momentum built up. The character must move at least 5 yards to make use of this charm, if it is used in a flurry of attacks then the character must move at least 5 yards before each attack he wishes to apply it to. Movement can be to any end point they can see that is on a solid position to stand and does not have an immobile barrier in the way (the character could jump to the roof of a building, run across a river, or smash through a window into a house, but couldn't suddenly be in the hearthstone room of a manse unless they could see an open doorway to it).

Weapons Obey the Captain

• Cost: 7 motes, 1 willpower; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Extra Action
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: House of the Golden Barque of the Heavens Form
• The masters of this style learn to command the essence of the journey in all of their actions. They can command their weapons, be it fist or war boomerang or any other at their disposal, to be at several points on the journey of an attack simultaneously. This charm allows the character to make a single attack roll that is applied against up to Essence enemies within range of the attack, which is only immediate foes for a fist but can be quite far with a Skycutter. Targets apply their DVs individually as normal. The martial artist counts the extra successes from his attack twice when adding them to his raw damage total, and he rolls damage seperately against each target (based on how well their DVs defended them).

Master of the Serpentine Pathway

• 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: Spokes of the Ship's Wheel, Lightning Crashes Against the Mast, Weapons Obey the Captain
• Masters of this style achieve a perfect balance between the reality of the journey they walk through life and the metaphor of the journey they walk as a martial artist. With this charm the martial artist opens himself to the Blessing of the Maiden of Journeys into a form fitting a master of movement and combat; the form of a dragon. The form does not match that of any type of Elemental Dragon and gods that see this form often avert their eyes only willing to call it a Lesser Celestial Dragon and that with much pressure. The Dragon has glistening starlight like a moonless sky across its form, with highlighting ripples of yellow essence (or for Sidereals the color of their anima tinted with yellow if not Chosen of Journeys) trailing each star as the Dragon moves. The martial artist's Dragon form is typically not as large as even the Lesser Elemental Dragons, but they are covered in thick scales, have a jaw filled with rows of teeth, and have very developed prehensile hands - ready to carry weapons built for humans and yet still ending in adamant-hard claws. The character's Physical Attributes become equal to (Essence+2), she develops armored scaling equal to Soak +12B/+16L/+16A with Hardness 10, her bite is a weapon with Speed 6, Acc+0, Dam+7L, Def -, Rate 1, each clawed hand becomes a weapon with Speed 5, Acc+0, Dam+3L, Def+0, Rate 2, and she develops the Creation-Spanning Flight ability allowing her to fly at 500 mph (combat Move of 240 yards per tick) and swim at 200 mph (combat Move of 100 yards per tick).
• 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 Rambling Maiden, infusing the strip with Essence when she activates the Charm and affixes the prayer strip to her own hand. When the character does this she exchanges the level of Lethal damage for a level of Aggravated damage while activating Master of the Serpentine Pathway. This charm acts as an augmentation to the Sidereal Ride Charm Riding The Dragon. While the Prayer Strip for Master of the Serpentine Pathway is active the cost of Riding The Dragon is reduced to 15 motes plus 1 temporary willpower and at the end of that Charm's duration the Lesser Elemental Dragon changes back into the person, animal or minor god it once was without being burnt out by the charm's use. The character's acquaintance or familiar maintains its intelligence, though also recalls the torturous process of being forced into the form of a Lesser Elemental Dragon and an equally painful reversal.
• 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 Serpentine Pathway 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 Rambling Maiden

Once, there was a maiden...
...who was fond of bright lights...
...who was a seeker of far sights...
...who once heard a lullaby used to wake the dead...
...who once bought a house just to rest her head...
The maiden said, "It is not just...  Oooh!  Butterflies!"

House of the Violet Bier of Sorrows

• 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 Violet Bier of Sorrows Style of the Astrological Houses is dedicated to honing the instincts of its practitioners, that they may know the proper instance of their opponents death and their own graceful parting. Its students are known to be relentless and remorseless, yet also for their compassion and dedication to preserving that which is not yet meant to end. This version of the Violet Bier of Sorrows style is meant to replace the version seen in Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals to better fit with the other martial arts of the Astrological Houses.
• This Style is one of the five Styles of the Houses Sidereal
• The Charms of this Style are considered native for the Chosen of Saturn, the Maiden of Endings.

Secrets of Future Strife

• Cost: ––; Mins: Martial Arts 1, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• The character is ready for combat at the slightest indications of fate.
• Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 180.

Flight of Mercury

• Cost: 1 mote per action; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Up to (Martial Arts) actions
• Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of Future Strife
• The martial artist can move as swiftly as an ending already completed.
• Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 181.

Joy in Adversity Stance

• Cost: 5 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of Future Strife
• The martial artist becomes an engine of essence in the face of her opponents defeat.
• Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 182.

Blade of the Battle Maiden (Alternative)

• Cost: 2+ motes, 1 willpower; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Obvious
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Secrets of Future Strife
• Scarlet essence flares around the martial artist, giving her the fate of an armed and armored warrior. For the rest of the scene, the character's Martial Arts attacks (including clinches) inflict lethal damage. The character can also parry lethal damage from physical attacks (including ranged attacks) without using a weapon or stunt. What's more, every two motes spent on this charm adds one die to the damage roll of every unarmed Martial Arts attack the character makes and adds one level to the character's soak (both lethal and bashing), adding a maximum of the character's Essence to both. This soak bonus acts like armor in all respects, except that it does not interfere with the use of Martial Arts Charms. Attacks that ignore armor ignore this soak, although aggravated damage does not. These bonuses only apply to unarmed Martial Arts attacks and only if the character does not wear armor (even if the character uses Martial Arts Charms from a style that permits armor, such as the Earth Dragon Style described in Manual of Exalted Power: Dragon-Blooded, though so long as that character is not in armor they would receive both the armor bonus and would receive the damage bonus with both fists and grand goremauls as those both count as unarmed for Earth Dragon Style).

Violet Bier of Sorrows Form

• Cost: 6 motes; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 6, DV -1)
• Keywords: Form-type
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Flight of Mercury, Joy in Adversity Stance, Blade of the Battle Maiden
• The martial artist takes on the very persona of Endings herself.
• Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 182.

Death-Parrying Stroke

• Cost: 2 motes per health level; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Violet Bier of Sorrows Form
• The martial artist finds the fate of surviving a blow as easy to grasp as the fate of swinging one.
• Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 182.

Metal Storm (Alternative)

• Cost: 3 motes per attack; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Extra Action
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Violet Bier of Sorrows Form
• The martial artist brings their foe to a fate of Ending in but a mere moment of fury.
  • Other than the above changes, this charm is as written in Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals.
• Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 183.

Life-Severing Blow (Alternative)

• Cost: 2 motes per health level; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Violet Bier of Sorrows Form
• The martial artist can make a blow as deadly as her preference in bringing a foe to a proper Ending.
  • Other than the above changes, this charm is as written in Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals.
• Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 183.

Conclusion-Pursuing Approach (Alternative)

• Cost: 10 motes, 1 willpower, 1 lethal 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: Death-Parrying Stroke, Metal Storm (Alternative), Life-Severing Blow (Alternative)
• The martial artist not only takes on an aspect of Endings but the entirety of its inevitability.
  • Other than the above changes, this charm is as written in Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals.

Source: Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals, p. 184.

The Scripture of the Expectant Maiden

• This scripture is as printed on page 184 of Manual of Exalted Power: Sidereals.

Glorious Blade

The martial artist understands that sometimes, what is needed is not subtlety or gentleness, but the knowledge of the largest and sharpest of weapons. Utilising this understanding, she takes up the study of the heaviest of swords. This Style treats attacks with Great Swords, and their artifact equivalent, the Grand Daiklaves, as unarmed. All forms of armour are compatible with this Style.

Rhythm-Breaking Brutality

• Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-Basic
• Duration: Instant
• Prereqs: None
• One brutal blow can disrupt the flow of an enemy's attacks. This Charm supplements an attack that is not part of a flurry. If the opponent uses his Parry DV or a perfect parry, reduce the Rate of the weapon he used to parry by the number of base successes rolled on this attack, with a cap of your Essence, and to a minimum rate of 1. This reduced rate lasts until the end of the target's next action.

Immense Weapon Deflection

• Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prereqs: None
• The martial artist can use the great size of his weapon of choice to tremendous effect. If he successfully parries an attack, he automatically successfully parries a number of additional attacks in the same flurry or onslaught equal to the Rate of his weapon, so long as he is capable of blocking the attacks at all.

Swordmaster's Imperious Grasp

• Cost: 7m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Counterattack
• Duration: Instant
• Prereqs: None
• Even unarmed, a master of the great blades cannot be defeated by fools who would use their weapon of choice against them. When attacked with a form weapon of this Style while his hands are empty, he may make a counterattack. If this counterattack has any successes, he may make an opposed Strength roll, with a number of automatic successes equal to his permanent Essence (and his opponent receiving bonus dice equal to the accuracy of his weapon). If the martial artist wins this opposed roll, he disarms his opponent and now has the weapon in hand. By committing the Essence of this Charm AND an additional amount equal to the commitment cost of the weapon, he may act as if he is attuned to it for the remainder of the scene. The martial artist may explicitly employ this charm while wearing fighting gauntlets or smashfists.

Glorious Blade Form

• Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 4; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Form
• Duration: One Scene
• Prereqs: Rhythm-Breaking Brutality, Immense Weapon Deflection, Swordmaster's Imperious Grasp
• The student of the Glorious Blade is highly accurate with her chosen weapons. While this Charm is active, she reduces multiple action penalties on attacks with form weapons by 4. This does not stack with any benefits from Extra Action Charms.

Furious Sword Mudra

• Cost: 1m per attack; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 4; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prereqs: Glorious Blade Form
• In time, the martial artist comes to understand that anger is a powerful tool in the hands of those who know how to wield it. When she flurries, she doubles the onslaught penalty to her opponents' DV for each attack she enhances with this charm.

Battlefury Attack Prana

• Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 4; Type: Reflexive (Step 7)
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prereqs: Furious Sword Mudra
• The martial artist is mistress of her rage. She channels it into her attacks. This Charm increases the damage dealt by a successful attack by three dice prior to soak.

Effortless Onslaught

• Cost: 3m per -1; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Stackable, Combo-OK, Obvious
• Duration: Instant
• Prereqs: Glorious Blade Form
• The Glorious Blade Stylist attacks quickly and without effort. To mortal onlookers, she appears to move as the wind. Every 3 motes spent on this Charm allows the Glorious Blade Stylist to reduce the Speed of an attack utilising a form weapon by 1, to a minimum of Speed 3.

Blade Like Lightning Kata

• Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Extra Action
• Duration: Instant
• Prereqs: Effortless Onslaught
• The martial artist attacks like lightning. When she activates this Charm, she makes (Rate)*3 attacks.

Sword As Feather Meditation

• Cost: -- ; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5; Type: Permanent
• Keywords:
• Duration: N/A
• Prereqs: Glorious Blade Form
• To the martial artist, even the heaviest of swords are as light as a feather. The student of the Glorious Blade can spend an extra 4 motes when activating Glorious Blade Form to increase the Accuracy of all form weapons by 1.

Fame of the Honourable Blademaster

• Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Compulsion
• Duration: Scene
• Prereqs: Glorious Blade Form
• The Fame of the Blademaster is such that dishonourable opponents fear to face him. Those who have commited evil deeds cower in his presence. Anyone attacking the Blademaster suffers the Blademaster's Essence in internal penalties. This costs 1wp to ignore.

Infinite Understanding of the Glorious Blade (Pinnacle)

• Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Obvious
• Duration: One Scene
• Prereqs: Battlefury Attack Prana, Blade Like Lightning Kata, Sword As Feather Meditation, Fame of the Honourable Blademaster
• The master of the Glorious Blade can make many attacks at a speed which would leave any mere mortal dazzled. While this Charm is active, she increases the rate of any weapon she uses by 2.

Raging Hippotamus

• There are many who see the hippopotamus as nothing more than a fat, clumsy and good-natured beast. However, there are those who recognize the strength and ferocity of the hippopotamus. Fast and agile, especially in water, the hippopotamus fiercely defends its territory and its family from all threats. The hippo doesn't worry about danger, for anything it cannot overcome with its prodigious strength, it can evade by slipping away into the waters of its home. Feeding mostly on a diet of river and terrestrial grasses, the hippopotamus is known for occasionally devouring its foes in its wrath. To mortals, the hippopotamus is a confusing contradiction of traits, and those who do not respect it quickly learn to fear it.
• Some martial artists draw upon the strength of the gargantuan mammal, and even some who are of the spirit world are envious of the creature for its seemingly steady lifestyle. Students of the Raging Hippopotamus Style practice strength-enhancing exercises and moving through water with the hippo's speed and agility, as well as meditating on mental grounding techniques to enhance their resoluteness in combat. The training of these warriors’ centers on acting to protect what is theirs, not upon acting irrationally or without thought. Those who practice this art see the hippopotamus as a shining example of strength and stability. They seek to find the steadfast purpose that defines their meaning. Those who are able to do so earn the nickname Unbendable Philosophers, for they are certain of their path and nothing is able to shake their faith or bend their wills.
• Raging Hippopotamus Style was developed by a trio of Lunars after the fall of the Solars, during their time in the Wyld. They sought the constant nature of the beasts of Creation to give them the strength to bring retribution down upon the heads of the treacherous Dragon-Blooded and the Sidereals, and later, to give them the power to remain pure and untainted in the Deep Wyld. Even though maintaining their purity was not within the power of their martial prowess, the style remains a powerful tool in the fight against injustice. The style is still practiced by Lunars and enlightened beastmen and other mortal followers of the Lords of the Silver Pact, but it is also practiced by a few sifus who have had the style passed on to them throughout the ages.
• This style is particularly powerful for Lunars who can take the form of the hippopotamus as well as Water-Aspected Dragon-Bloods, and the Charms of this style grant extra power to such practitioners.
• Weapons and Armor: Characters who practice this style can use the club, sledge or tetsubo freely (considering them as unarmed Martial Arts attacks) as well as their artifact equivalents. This style is compatible with the use of any armor up to and including normal or artifact superheavy plate.

Hidebound Arms

• Cost: 3m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• The hippopotamus is a resolute and strong creature, capable of withstanding some of the heaviest blows from its foes. Like the hippopotamus, Exalts using this Charm can also shrug off heavy blows. The martial artist can, for one action, add their Stamina score to his Parry DV, either unarmed or with a form-weapon for this style. He can also parry attacks that would inflict lethal damage while unarmed.
• For Water-Aspected Dragon-Blooded and Lunars who are in the form of a hippopotamus or hippopotamus-like war form, this Charm adds an additional +1 to their Parry DV.

Strength of the Ungulate

• Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
• Duration: Essence actions
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• Reknown for their potency, the hippopotamus is one of the strongest of land-based creatures, and this Charm allows the Exalt to borrow some of that strength for a short time. For a number of actions equal to her permanent Essence, the Exalt nearly doubles her strength, adding (Strength -1, minimum 1) dots to her Strength score, her muscles bulging and rippling, straining against her clothing and armor. No combination of Charms can increase the Exalt's Strength score by more than the character's Strength or Essence, whichever is higher, and this bonus is treated as a dice bonus from Charms.
• For Water-Aspected Dragon-Blooded and Lunars who are in the form of a hippopotamus or hippopotamus-like war form, this Charm doubles their Strength score for the duration of the Charm.

Submerging Hippo Technique

• Cost: 1m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: One action
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• The character is able to slip off into any body of water and, using the strength of the hippopotamus, launch themselves through the water at amazing speeds. This Charm doubles the character's movement while the character remains in water, whether they're swimming, diving or running through a shallow pool of water.
• For Water-Aspected Dragon-Blooded and Lunars who are in the form of a hippopotamus or hippopotamus-like war form, this Charm triples the character's movement instead of doubling it. All others using this Charm gain this ability automatically at Essence 3.

Raging Hippopotamus Form

• Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 3, DV -0)
• Keywords: Form-type
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Hidebound Arms, Strength of the Ungulate, Submerging Hippo Technique
• The character adopts the stance and prowess of the hippopotamus––standing firm and calm, ready for whatever their opponent might bring to bear against them. While using Raging Hippopotamus Form, the character adds their Stamina score to their raw damage for both unarmed attacks and those made with the form-weapons of the style. The character also adds a number of points equal to their Willpower, split between their bashing and lethal soak as they choose, but the character cannot assign more than two-thirds of their Willpower to their Lethal soak. This counts as natural soak and bonuses added from Charms. Additionally, the martial artist is able to add one bonus success to any attack made using Charms from Raging Hippopotamus Style.
• When Raging Hippopotamus Form is active, all offensive Charms from this style that are used while the Exalt is in water count as unexpected attacks provided that the Exalt pays an additional willpower to the cost of the Charm.

Paralyzing Bellow

• Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Simple (Speed 4, DV -0)
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling, Stackable
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Raging Hippopotamus Form
• Taking a solid stance, the character lets out a deafening roar that causes their opponents to quake in fear. Every creature who is able to hear the Exalt's roar within a 20 yard radius, regardless of whether they are friend or foe, must make a reflexive (Stamina + Willpower) roll at a difficulty of the Exalt's (Presence + Essence) or be stunned for a number of ticks equal to the Exalt's Willpower. The effects of this Charm can be used again to add to the amount of time that the Exalt's opponents remain stunned, and the results are cumulative. Essence-wielders who hear the roar can attempt to resist the effects of the stunning sound for a cost of one Willpower, but they are at -3 to all rolls until the effect of the Charm wears off.

Rage of the Just

• Cost: 4m or 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Raging Hippopotamus Form
• When attacked, the hippopotamus moves with a speed and ferocity unlike that of most any other creature. The boundless rage that wells up from the heart of the attacked creature causes her muscles to surge with strength and her reflexes to become preternaturally sharp. This Charm gives the character an unarmed Martial Arts counterattack, but this Charm can only be used in response to an unexpected attack. The dice pool for the attack equals the Exalt's Martial Arts score plus the number of successes rolled on the opponent's attack. The original attacker's damage is rolled as normal. Note the rules for counterattacks on Exalted, pages 150 and 183.
• For Water-Aspected Dragon-Blooded and Lunars who are in the form of a hippopotamus or hippopotamus-like war form, this Charm allows the character to add her permanent Essence to the counterattack pool for an additional two motes. All others using this Charm gain this ability automatically at Essence 5.

Thunderous Charge

• Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Simple (Speed 4, DV -1)
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Raging Hippopotamus Form
• Summoning up the skill of the raging hippopotamus, the Exalt lets their Essense flow through their entire body. They set their feet in a solid stance and charge at their opponent, striking against their foe with their shoulder, inflicting their (Strength +1) on a successful (Dexterity + Martial Arts) attack at +1 to their Accuracy. From here, the Exalt has several options. They can either allow their opponent to suffer normal knockback, doubling the distance the character is knocked back and lowering the victim's threshold for resisting knockback by 1, or the character can make an automatic clinch against their opponent if the number of successes on the attacking martial artist's damage dice is greater than their opponent's Stamina. On the character's subsequent action, they follow clinch rules as normal.
• For Water-Aspected Dragon-Blooded and Lunars who are in the form of a hippopotamus or hippopotamus-like war form, this Charm costs 1m less to use. All others using this Charm gain this ability automatically at Essence 5.

Armor of White Anger

• Cost: Varies; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Reflexive (Step 10)
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Stackable
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Paralyzing Bellow, Thunderous Charge
• Attacking a hippopotamus only makes it angrier, and by the same token, attacking an Exalt with Charm does the same. Whenever the Exalt takes damage, they can choose to pay 2m for each level of damage inflicted upon them to add to their natural soak for the remainder of the scene. The soak gained is equal to the wound penalty, but if the wound penalty for the level of damage taken is 0, the Exalt cannot add to his soak and thusly spends 0 motes for it. But, when the wound penalty is at -1, the Exalt adds 1B/1L soak to his natural soak. If the wound penalty on the damage level is at -2, they add 2B/2L to their soak, and so on. Naturally, Exalts who have more -1 health levels bought with Ox-Body Technique receive less benefit from this Charm than Exalts with more -2 health levels, and Exalts with additional -0 health levels receive even less benefit, but for the wise Exalt, they can increase their soak to phenomenal levels. This protection lasts for the remainder of the scene. This Charm is incompatible with any other soak-increasing Charms, Sorceries or Charm-like effects outside of Raging Hippopotamus Form and this Charm explicitly ignores the limit caps for bonuses added from Charms.
• Example: Jogon, a Full Moon Lunar Exalt, faces off against Acid of Oblivion, a Dusk Caste Abyssal Exalt. Acid of Oblivion strikes out against Jogon with his soulsteel daiklave, inflicing 4 levels of lethal damage upon him. Jogon spends 6m to add 4B/4L to his natural soak, 2m for the first -1 health level inflicted gaining +1B/1L soak, 2m for the second -1 health level gaining another +1B/1L to his soak, and 2m for the -2 health level gaining an additional +2B/2L to his soak.

Cavernous Maw

• Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Paralyzing Bellow, Rage of the Just
• Stretching his mouth impossibly wide, the character is able to make a bite attack against their foes, rending flesh and armor alike. The Exalt's player makes a bite attack (Speed 5, Accuracy +0, Damage +4L, Defense 0, Rate 1) against their opponent, which is treated as piercing. Additionally, against mundane armor, for each level of damage the Exalt inflicts upon their opponent, their opponent's armor loses an equal number of Bashing and Lethal soak permanently. Armor damaged in this fashion can be repaired so long as the armor does not lose all of its protection. If this occurs, the armor is rendered completely useless.
• For Water-Aspected Dragon-Blooded and Lunars who are in the form of a hippopotamus or hippopotamus-like war form, add the Crippling and Stackable keywords, and for every two levels of lethal damage the Charm inflicts against an opponent, the victim suffers a -1 external penalty to their DV for a number of actions equal to the Exalt's permanent Essence score. All others using this Charm gain this ability automatically at Essence 6.

Unbreakable Stride

• Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Rage of the Just, Thunderous Charge
• The character summons up her power and infuses her limbs with Essence and force of will. For the rest of the scene, the Exalt becomes an unstoppable juggernaut, walking in stride through the toughest adversity. So long as the Exalt makes a Move action every action they take, there is almost nothing that can slow or stop them. They cannot suffer from knockdown or knockback, their progress cannot be barred by mundane doors or walls, and they cannot be held by anything living, nor can they be held by spirit or automaton creatures. If the Exalt stops moving of their own volition, this Charm automatically ends.
• For Water-Aspected Dragon-Blooded and Lunars who are in the form of a hippopotamus or hippopotamus-like war form, the Exalt is able to add their Strength in yards to their Move action so long as they are in water. All others using this Charm gain this ability automatically at Essence 6.

Behemoth of Earth and Water

• Cost: 10m, 2wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5; Type: Simple
• Keywords: Obvious
• Duration: One scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Armor of White Anger, Cavernous Maw, Unbreakable Stride
• Drawing upon the depths of power within the hippopotamus, the Exalt suffuses himself with its prowess and character. Upon activating this Charm, the Exalt channels the spirit of the totemic animal of this style. The character's unarmed attacks and attacks made with form-weapons of this style now inflict aggravated damage, and the character is able to shrug off all but the mightiest of blows, gaining natural Hardness equal to 8B/8L which is stackable with bonuses from armor. Additionally, all attacks that successfully hit their target, regardless of whether they do damage, cause automatic knockback equal to (the Exalt's permanent Essence x 5) yards.

Raging Phoenix

• Raging Phoenix was a Lunar exalt in the late First Age who desired a simple easy to learn, and direct martial art that could be easily taught to young Lunars. After having them study under several masters with little success she decided to create one for them. The style she wished for would do away with most of the philosophy behind martial arts and focus only on ending any confrontation as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• After several years of studying she was unable to create more than a few basic katas and her attempt stalled until a meeting with one of the foremost Solar martial masters, Emerald Dragon. During their encounter they laid the ground work for what would become one of the more violent and simplistic celestial martial arts styles.
• The style teaches the 'nine points of contact' ; head, hands, elbows, knees and feet. A practitioner of this style looks almost berserk when attacking but is horrendously in control of his vicious attacks. The style is quick, precise and deadly, it is not meant to show a path, or contemplate ones navel, it is designed to start and end confrontations quickly and efficiently.
• As this style was intended for Lunars, it can be learned easily by them; when learned by them is tied to Strength.
• This is a highly physical celestial martial art which emphasizes speed and offense. Learning the style is painfully done as the senior students and master break and rebuild the prospective Fighter into a combat machine.
• The basic tenets of the style harden and toughen the physical body and depend not on normal charms, but rather methods that change the way essence naturally flows in the user and the response of his natural reflexes.
• Practitioners must have at least three dots in Athletics to begin learning this style.
• Weapons and Armour: Stylists often wear light armors such as the breastplate and chain shirt. Small easy to use light weapons such as the gauntlet, heavy boot, knife, staff and fighting stick as well as their artifact equivalents, Smashfists, God-Kicking Boots, Switchklaves, Short Daiklaves, Wrackstaves and Banerods, count as unarmed attacks for the purposes of this style.

Exploding Ember Response

• Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (step 9)
• Keywords: Combo-Basic, Counterattack
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: None
• Students are introduced quickly to the methods of this style as they are attacked by the older students as soon as they are excepted by the Sifu. This continues for several weeks and if they do not learn to respond quickly and unhesitatingly to these constant attacks they will not continue be taught.
• The Fighter responds automatically to the first sign of hostilities and gains an immediate counterattack against the first melee attack made to initiate combat even if it is unexpected. Note that this charm does not make the Fighter aware of any such attack.
• This counterattack is resolved before any join battle roll.

Unhesitating Aggression Opening

• Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
• Keywords: Combo-OK
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Exploding Ember Response
• Fighters learn early that the winner in any fight is he who lands the first truly damaging blow.
• This charm can only be used before combat is initiated.
• Launching himself into his foes headlong the Fighter lashes out viciously attempting to disable them before they can mount an effective response. The first attack made by the Fighter is considered unexpected and reflexive Wits+Awareness roll verses the Fighters Martial Arts score is needed to use ones DV.
• Every attack made by the Fighter on his first action that deals damage has that damage type increased by one level, bashing to lethal, lethal to aggravated. If this attack would deal aggravated it inflicts only one level of damage and applies all other damage dice as -1 internal penalties to the target due to the overwhelming pain. The penalties can be 'shaken-off' by spending two points of temporary willpower when the target next acts. Note that this pain does not effect automata or inanimate objects.
• Using this charm provokes a join combat roll from everyone nearby.

Nine-Edged Weapon Method

• Cost: -; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Permanent
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: Unhesitating Aggression Opening
• Students of this style are taught to fight, not wait. Learning this style means that violence is your first response, no talking, no meditating or discussion, learning this style is about beating your opponents until they are incapable of responding.
• This permanently enhances the Fighters unarmed natural attacks. Their speed is reduced by one and he gains another natural attack, the headbutt: Speed 5 Accuracy -1 Damage +3B Rate 1 and the target must check for knockback (note the headbutt is itself not effected by the speed and rate bonuses of this charm).

Living Weapon Prana

• Cost: -; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 3; Type: Permanent
• Keywords: None
• Duration: Permanent
• Prerequisite Charms: Unhesitating Aggression Opening
• Students must beat hardwood mannequins over and over until they can shatter them with a few well-placed blows. Then the stone ones are brought out.
• The Fighter may deal and parry lethal damage at his leisure and the damage of his natural attacks are increased by one.

Overwhelming Violence Commitment

• Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Simple (Speed 4)
• Keywords: Form, Combo-Basic
• Duration: Scene
• Prerequisite Charms: Nine-Edged Weapon Method, Living Weapon Prana
• The Fighter lives for action and cannot be deterred from maintaining it. While fighting he is barely heard other than in yells and whoops and his determination can be seen plainly on his hardened features. Some stylists even begin to smile viciously as they pummel their foes with essence hardened strikes while seeming to be unaffected in return.
• For the duration of this charm the Fighter ignores any wound penalties and adds his Essence to the base damage of all unarmed attacks.
• In addition he may ignore Valor rolls; he passes or fails them at his leisure.

Anvil-Fisted Embrace

• Cost: 8m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
• Keywords: Multiple-Action, Combo-Basic
• Duration: Till End of Clinch
• Prerequisite Charms: Overwhelming Violence Commitment
• The Fighter is dangerous at arms length, when grappled he becomes nearly unstoppable.
• When the Fighter rolls to control the clinch he may also attack, making two normal unarmed attack actions which gain the Piercing tag, Overwhelming equal to his Martial Arts Score and no flurry penalties. When using the effects of this charm he may only take the Hold action while maintaining this clinch.

Weakening Onslaught Prana

• Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental (Step 8)
• Keywords: Combo-Basic
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Overwhelming Violence Commitment
• Wildly launching attack after attack the opponents of the Fighter are left not knowing how to defend themselves.
• This charm supplements a flurry of at least two attacks.
• If the attack hits it deals no damage but adds each post-soak damage die as an additional onslaught penalty to the target. This charm can be activated multiple times during the flurry, once during each attack in it.

Frenzied Inferno Assault

• Cost: 12m, 1w; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Simple (Speed 6 DV-5)
• Keywords: Multiple Action, Knock-back, Combo-Basic
• Duration: Instant
• Prerequisite Charms: Weakening Onslaught Prana, Anvil-Fisted Embrace
• How do you run from wrath? What use is steel to harm rage? How do you shoot fury? Escape this attack alive and you might know. The Fighter commits everything as he launches himself at his foe all weapons flailing dangerously, the pure viciousness of his assault forcing his opponents to wonder if he is destruction given form.
• The Fighter invokes this charm and may immediately attack with a number of his natural or form weapons equal to his permanent Essence and each weapon may attack a number of times equal to its rate. Flurry penalties do not carry over from weapon to weapon as is normal; as if each weapon has its own action.
• Example: he attacks with a pair of Short Daiklaves, each with a rate of two and with a kick. He will take flurry penalties on the first set of attacks, -2, then -3. He will the reset the flurry penalty back to -2 and -3 for the next Daiklave. Then for the kick he does not flurry and attacks once with his full die pool.
• Any target damaged by one of these attacks must check for knock-back, with an increase in the standard difficulty equal to the amount of damage taken. The fighter may choose to reflexively follow a target knocked-back by this charm in order to keep attacking him.