PDQ/Exalted Conversion Charms

Charm Basics

Charms have their own requirements in PDQ/Exalted. In general, prerequisite charms are not important (a few exceptions, like sorcerery charms to cast spells, exist), but despite the lack of charm trees coherence should be maintained.

Essence 1 and 2 Charms require a minimum rank of Good [+2] in the attached Quality, Essence 3-4 require at least Expert [+4], 5-6 require Master [+6]. And so on.

The charm guidelines in Exalted are a good indication of what charms at a given Essence rating are capable of.

Essence 1 is the most basic, only the Excellencies and a very limited number of other simple charms fall into this category.

Essence 2 Charms tend to enhance abilities you already possess, to a supernatural degree. Inflicting more damage, letting you punch through steel armor, leaping across a chasm in a single bound, doing things you could always do but much faster, etc.

Essence 3 Charms tend to involve the manipulation of raw essence, letting you make weapons from nothing or turn a melee attack into a ranged attack by firing bolts of essence. Creating something from nothing, and infusing normal objects or people with essence for your own purposes.

Essence 4 and 5 charms are usually exceptional versions of the lower levels, allowing the manipulation of greater amounts of essence, for a longer duration, or to a greater effect.

Sample Charms

These are sample solar charms made up for practice characters or players in my exalted games.

Essence 1

Almost all Essence 1 Charms currently fall under the Solar, Lunar, Sidereal, and Draconic Excellencies.

Essence 2

Combat Charms

Fists of Iron Technique: Grants an Upshift to damage on a sucessful attack, and transforms damage from Failure Ranks into Damage Ranks. 1 Mote.

Fire and Stones Strike: Grants an upshift to damage on a sucessful attack equal to the number of Motes spent. May not spend more motes than the original Quality's MOD. 1 Mote/Upshift.

Sledgehammer Fist: Attack inflicts double damage against inanimate objects. 2 Motes.

Heaven Thunder Hammer: Blasts the target backwards 2 yards/rank inflicted. Striking something (trees, walls, etc) is treated as a second attack using the base bonus of the attached Quality, possibly upshifted or downshifted depending on what is struck. 3 Motes

Call The Blade: Functionally identical to the original charm. 1 Mote

Wind Stealing Blow: Forces the victim of a sucessful attack to make a vigor/endurance test against the attached Quality's TN. Failure inflicts a downshift to all rolls for one turn. 1 mote.

Peony Blossom Attack – Allows up to Essence in additional attacks. 4 Motes/attack.

Defensive Charms

Seven Shadows Evasion/Heavenly Guardian Defense: There are no Flaws of Invulnerability. Instead, perfect defenses allow the reduction of all damage from a sucessful attack to 1 Failure Rank. Like the standard they may block/dodge the unblockable/dodgable but only against expected attacks. 6 motes.

Bulwark Stance: Prevents opponents from gaining bonuses from coordinated attacks, and prevents the use of qualities or Special Moves which rely on them. 2 Motes.

Solar Counterattack: Grants a counterattack in response to an opponent's attack, which is resolved after the opponent's attack. 2 motes.

Ready in 8 Directions Stance: Grants a counterattack against every attack until the beginning of the next turn. All counterattacks follow the same rules as Solar Counterattack. 7 Motes.

Durability of Oak Meditation: Transforms the attached Quality into an Armor-Like Quality against a single attack. 1 mote.

Essence Gathering Temper: Gain motes equal to damage ranks suffered from an attack (before taking into account reduction from armor-like qualities or damage reducing charms). Cannot regain more than 2 x Essence. 1 mote.

Stealth Charms

Eye-Blinking Vanish Technique: Should an opponent become distracted from the solar (essentially making an action or reaction not involving him) then this charm may be used to instantly conceal yourself (this still must defeat the opponent's sense-based Qualities in an opposed roll). If no appropraite concealment is available the Solar may still hide, but the concealment lasts only a single round. Note, this only functions against opponents who were distracted. 3 Motes.

Mental Invisibility Technique: Anyone who fails to defeat the TN of the attached quality using mental defense Qualities simply does not see them, even if they stand in plain sight. This effect ends if the Solar initiates or joins into combat or otherwise blatantly draws attention to themselves (setting things on fire for instance). 5 Motes.

Social/manipulation charms

Respect Commanding Attitude: Forces everyone within earshot to listen to the Solar quietly and respectfully until they complete their speech and/or performance. Those taking part (such as fellow actors in a play) may play their roles normally but are compelled not to intentionally disrupt or hinder the performance. Anyone who wishes to break the compulsion is subject to a Failure Rank 'attack' from the compulsion, if they are Zeroed Out then they must listen until the end. Interruption of the performance breaks this effect. 4 Motes.

Heart Compelling Method: Forces the listeners to intensely experience a desired emotion (usually giving them a new Poor [-2] Weakness related to the emotion) when used as part of a perfomance with the intent to inspire such feelings. Attempting to shake off the emotion subjects the victim to a Failure Rank attack, those who are Zeroed Out cannot escape the feeling. 5 motes.

Riot Calming Announcement: With a few quick words all within earshot become incapable of violence for a number of rounds equal to Essence (including the charm user and her companions), including verbal violence such as shouting or arguements, or even grabbing or other nonlethal force (someone already restrained may still be held, and indeed cannot attempt to break free). All other actions are acceptable. Those attempting to resist the effect are subject to a Failure Rank attack, treating the attached quality as a Power Attack Quality. Any act of violence immediately breaks the effect. 7 Motes.

Hypnotic Tunes Technique: All who witness or hear the performance cannot help but become smitten by it. This does not force listeners to stay or prevent them from interfering with the performance, but so long as they can witness or listen the performance they cannot help but be distracted by it. This charm adds the attached Quality’s MOD to the TN (or the value of opposed rolls) for those listening to notice anything other than what is involved in the performance. 4 motes

Terrible Fury Glare: By meeting the eyes of an opponent the Solar may make an intimidation-based Failure-Rank attack in combat. If used to modify an attack the solar is already allowed then the attack becomes a Power Attack (using the MOD of the attached Quality). 3 Motes.

Celebration Inducing Mantra: With only a few minutes this charm allows the Solar to convince any group not actively hostile to him to engage in some sort of carousing or revelry. Forcing the subject to engage in abhorrant behavior or forcing them to engage in any behavior other than revelry is impossible (for instance you could convince guards to get drop-dead drunk in front of their master's manor, but not force them to follow you to a tavern). Resisting the temptation to engage in celebration subjects the target to a Failure Rank attack. 4 Motes.

Mental Defense Charms

Righteous Lion Defense: Makes it impossible for mental influences to force a character to abandon pursuit of their motivation or (select one) act contrary to a Quality that represents an emotional connection to a cause or ideal. Permanent.

Temptation Resisting Stance: Adds an additional bonus equal to the attached Quality's MOD to all rolls to resist unwanted temptation, corruption or other forms of manipulation based on desire. The quality is also treated as an Armor Like Quality for the rest of the scene for such conflicts. 6 Motes.

Elusive Dream Defense: Automatically defeats any single attempt at mental influence (natural or unnatural), or shatters an ongoing effect. 6 Motes.

Tongue-Stuttering Interruption Style: By dismissively interrupting another character the Solar may negate the effect of a verbal social or mental attack, whether on himself or someone else. This is treated like a Perfect Defense, any successful attack is reduced to a single Failure Rank. 6 Motes.

Crafting Charms

Lesser Clockwork Minion: Allows the creation of a clockwork construct so long as the solar has appropraite tools and materials and time. The construct is usually designed for a single basic purpose and is capable of obeying simple instructions autonomously. However, it will not do anything other than carry our it's current orders (including defending itself if attacked). If it completes it's duty or is unable to carry our the orders then it returns to it's master for more instructions. Each Minion is an Extra with a Rank one lower than the attached Quality. The Solar must commit 1 mote so long as he has any minions active and may have only Essence in minions active at any one time. 10 Motes.

Hasty Craftsman Methodology: This charm speeds up the process of any craft project, typically lowering the time it takes by one step (months become weeks, weeks become days, etc.) or two steps if twice as much essence is paid. 5/10 motes

Essence 3

Combat Charms

Burning Fury Blade: Ignites the solar's weapon with white-hot fire for the rest of the scene. In addition to igniting flammable objects, providing illumination, or affecting creatures with a weakness to fire the attached quality is treated as a Power Attack for the rest of the scene. 6 Motes.

Blazing Solar Bolt: Allows the solar to use the attached Quality as a ranged attack, it also adds the user's Essence to damage on a sucessful attack against creatures of darkness. 3 motes.

Glorious Solar Saber (or Axe...or hammer...etc.): Creates a weapon from pure, glowing essence. The weapon is normally an Average [0] weapon, but spending additional 2 motes spent increases it's rank by one (Average to Good, Good to Expert, etc.) to a maximum of the attached Quality's rank. In addition the Saber is a holy weapon and adds the weilder's Essence to damage against creatures of darkness. 4+ Motes.

Whirlwind of Steel: Attacks all within reach of the exalt's weapon once, ignoring any multi-attack penalties. 7 Motes.

Social/Manipulation Charms

Husband Seducing Demon Dance: So long as the performance lasts, the solar may initiate a Conflict Situation with all listeners using the attached Quality as well as any other appropriate Qualities, affecting all who listen to the performance at once (essentially making a single offense roll and applying it to every target). Those who are zeroed out fall in love with either the solar himself or something or someone the solar is representing. Making these attacks counts as a charm use, preventing modification by additional charms without a combo. This effectively gives them a new Motivation and a new Weakness related to this infatuation (the weakness applies to resisting further persuasion by the solar, or actively resisting him), which lasts until the character is betrayed by the Solar in some way, or until the character spends 2 XP to come to their senses (the effect always lasts at least one scene however). Targets who have not yet been zeroed out may take any actions they like, including attacking the solar or attempting to escape, successfully injuring the performer usually forces the performance to end. 12 Motes.

Crafting Charms

Clockwork Wonder Crafting Technique: This charm allows the creation of autonomous, clockwork beings. They are typically as intelligent as a trained animal and possess their own qualities. Each creation is granted a number of quality points equal to 6 + the MOD of the attached Quality quality to determine their abilities. Crafting one of these requires access to sufficient amounts of one or more of the five magical materials. 20 motes, 1 xp, 4 motes must remain committed.

Tool Disdaining Practice: This charm allows you to work without tools (raw materials are still required). Repairs or construction is possible with just bare hands or simple tools condensed from Essence. In addition, this allows feats impossible with normal tools, such as joining two objects together seemlessly without nails or glue. 3 motes

Sorcery

Sorcery still requires the charms Terrestrial, Celestial, and Solar circle Sorcery. Casting a spell takes a minimum of 1 action for Terrestrial, 2 for Celestial, and 3 for Solar circle sorcerery.

Terrestrial Spells

Summon Elemental: This is an hour long ritual which summons and binds an elemental to the sorcerer's service. This requires a simple conflict, pitting the sorcerer's willpower and occult related qualities against the elemental's willpower and elemental type quality, every 3 additional motes spent grants the sorcerer an upshift on the roll. If this roll fails then the sorcerer may attempt an Average [11] Occult-based roll to banish the elemental. The spell takes 4 hours to cast and requires numerous preparations. Inadequate time or materials may call for one or more downshifts to the rolls. If the elemental is bound it must serve for a lunar month or can be set to a specific task for a year and a day. 8+ motes.

Death of Obsidian Butterflies: This spell creates a massive swarm of butterflies with razor sharp black-glass wings. These butterflies fill a huge area in front of the caster, creating a Hazard effect using the TN for the caster's occult quality, plus their essence and anyone taking damage from the Hazard takes additional damage ranks equal to the caster's Essence. Because of the sheer number of butterflies normal attempts to dodge or parry are ineffective. Against mass combat groups the final damage is doubled. 12 motes