Lawgivers with this Charm are known for their moments of brilliance. The Exalt's player can invoke this Charm when making a roll based on the relevant Ability. This Charm then adds one die to that roll for each mote spent. This Charm is the paradigmatic dice adder. The rule that Solars are prohibited from increasing a dice pool by more than their (Attribute + Ability) almost always refers to the purchase of dice through the use of this Charm.
Characters can also use this Charm to enhance unrolled uses of the relevant Ability, usually to increase a Defense Value, for example, by increasing (Dexterity + Dodge) to protect against a physical attack. When enhancing static values, her player rolls one die for each mote spent on the First Excellency. Each success increases her effective (Attribute + Ability) rating for the task by two. Therefore, each success on the First Excellency roll increases an applicable static value by one.
Characters cannot use this or other Excellencies or dice-adding Charms to "create" actions. For example, if a character attacks on tick 3 and will attack again on tick 8, she cannot buy dice for an attack on tick 4 that only exists because she used the Excellency to conjure dice for it. A character who uses this or other reflexive Charms to add to an attack can also use it to enhance her defense until the next tick when she acts, but she must spend Essence for each separate roll she wishes to modify.
This Charm can be part of a Combo or used together with the Second Excellency, but it is incompatible with the Third Excellency. It can never be used on the same roll as the Third Excellency.
Solar Exalted with this Charm are known for their unwavering perfection. The Exalt's player can invoke this Charm when making a roll based on the relevant Ability. The Exalt then spends up to (Attribute + Ability) in motes. This Charm adds one success to a roll for every two motes spent. Each success purchased with Essence Triumphant is the equivalent of purchasing two dice with the First Excellency or some other dice adder. Therefore, if a Solar had a (Dexterity + Melee) total of 8, he could purchase up to four successes with the Second Excellency. Any magical effects that hinge on the character buying dice will then react as if the character had just bought eight (Dexterity + Melee) dice. The character could not add dice from the effects of other Charms because he has reached his maximum of eight by purchasing the four successes.
The Exalt can also use this Charm to enhance unrolled uses of the relevant Ability. Each two motes spent increases his effective (Attribute + Ability) rating for one task by two. This means that every two motes spent on this Excellency increase a static value like a DV by one. The First Excellency is thus considerably more efficient for increasing static values than the Second Excellency, but not reliably so.
This Charm can be Comboed or used together with the First Excellency, but it is incompatible with the Third Excellency, and it can never be used on the same roll as the Third Excellency.
Exalted with this Charm recover smoothly from failure. An Exalt's player can invoke this Charm after making a roll based on the relevant Ability. This Charm allows her player to make the roll again, using the new result if the Exalt prefers it. The Exalt can also use this Charm to enhance static values derived from the relevant Ability. Doing so increases the character's effective (Attribute + Ability) rating for one task by the Ability rating. This means that the Essence Resurgent Excellency increases an applicable DV by half the relevant Ability.
The Solar Exalted are infinite wells of talent. Each two motes committed to this Charm reduces the mote cost for the first three (Ability) Excellencies by one, to a minimum of 0. Exalted with Essence 3 can spend up to six motes on this Charm, while Exalted with Essence 4+ can spend as many motes as they like.
Example: A character with Infinite Melee Mastery, a Melee of 4, a Dexterity of 4 and an Essence of 3 could commit up to six motes to the Charm. This would reduce the cost of any given Melee Excellency by three motes. While the character is technically using a Charm for the purposes of Combos, she could gain up to three bonus dice from the First Excellency on any action using Melee at a cost of 0 motes. She could buy one success with the Second Excellency at no cost in motes or reduce the cost of the Third Excellency to one mote.
She could also gain one die with the First Excellency if the First and Second Excellencies were together in a Combo she had activated (see p. 244). Any additional effect—adding more dice or more success—would cost the normal price. So, the example character could purchase up to eight bonus dice using the First Excellency and apply a three-mote discount to the total cost, so buying the maximum eight dice would cost five motes.
Apply the discount to the total expenditure on Excellencies relating to a given roll. A character who spends motes on the Comboed effects of the First and Second Excellencies does not receive the discount for the use of both Excellencies on a given roll. If the example character activated a Combo and spent four motes to buy two successes on a roll with the Second Excellency and four motes to buy four dice using the First Excellency, the cost would be five motes ([4 + 4] - [3 for the six motes committed to the Infinite Melee Mastery]).
This Charm and the relevant discount are incompatible with any effect that invokes the effects of Excellencies as innate powers rather than as Charms. A character must have the Excellency in order to invoke it at a discount through the use of this Charm.
The Essence of the Solar Exalted flows through them and brings their intentions and their actions into perfect harmony. Purchasing this Charm allows the Solar to invoke the First, Second and Third Excellencies for the relevant Ability as innate powers rather than Charms. This means that the character can use them even with a Combo that does not contain them or when she has already used a Charm for an action. However, she cannot use them out of place on the order of combat actions (see p. 145), nor may she apply the same Charm repeatedly to a single roll.
The character must abide by the dice pool maximums as normal. For instance, if a character has a (Dexterity + Melee) of 8, and the player buys four dice through the First Excellency, the player could not use the Second Excellency to buy more than two successes, even if one of those Excellencies was invoked as a natural ability. The Third Excellency remains incompatible with the first two, even if some or all of them are invoke as natural Abilities. The effects are the effects of a Charm used by the character in all ways, save that they can be used with other Charms from the Ability without being placed in a Combo. (See p. 244 for the Combo rules.)
The character must first buy the relevant Excellency to use it with this Charm, but he need not buy this Charm for each Excellency. This Charm is incompatible with any effect that reduces the mote cost of the first three Excellencies. Characters using these Charms as innate powers cannot benefit from any discount.
The Solar’s heart knows the arrow’s path. She spends three motes and fires a single flawless shot, regardless of distance, visibility, weather and other prevailing conditions. This Charm nullifies all penalties, except wound and multiple action penalties, applying to a single Archery-based attack.
If the Solar has Essence 3 or higher, she can spend two additional motes and this Charm will increase the Range of her weapon to her maximum visibility range.
The Solar fires a single perfect shot. The Exalt spends this Charm’s cost and fires an arrow at a valid target. This Charm supplements the player’s Archery roll and guarantees that the arrow hits. This Charm can be used in archery contests and for trick shots—such as severing a rope from afar—but it is most often used in attacks. Resolve such attacks normally. If the attack would have missed without this Charm, then it hits, calculating its raw damage based on an assumption of 0 attack successes. This Charm does not change the normal rules for valid targets—shooting “the gap in his armor” does not allow the Exalt to bypass armor soak, nor does this Charm allow the Exalt to fire through a stone wall or beyond the maximum Range of his bow without additional magic.
Essence imbues the Lawgiver’s arrow with great force. This Charm supplements an Archery-based attack. If the attack hits and rolls even one die of damage, the enemy’s player rolls (Stamina + Resistance) against a difficulty of (the attack’s post-soak damage dice). On failure, the attack knocks the enemy away from the Exalt a number of yards equal to the Exalt’s Essence. Objects do not get a roll, but are instead knocked back automatically if (the raw damage x 50) exceeds the object’s weight in pounds.
The ideal archer flows with soft and unhesitating grace through the motions of firing her weapon. This Charm is a magical flurry of two or more Archery-based attacks. Each attack costs two motes, including the first, and the Exalt can buy up to (her permanent Essence + 1) attacks. This Charm lets the Solar make these attacks regardless of the weapon’s Rate, without multiple action penalties, and with a DV penalty equal to the highest penalty for any one attack.
Some Archery weapons, such as firewands and siege crossbows, are difficult to fire rapidly. Characters using Trance of Unhesitating Speed with a weapon that has a Rate less than 1 must spend four motes rather than two motes on each attack.
This Charm need not be Obvious if the character does not exceed the normal Rate of the bow, but it can be Obvious at any time if the activating character desires.
Against a single Solar, the armies of the unrighteous fall. This Charm enhances an Archery-based attack. The Solar can apply this attack (for which he rolls only once) against (his permanent Essence x 3) valid targets. He cannot apply this attack to a single person or human-sized object more than once, but he can apply it repeatedly against the same military unit or larger object. This Charm requires that the character have separate ammunition for each target. The character can use this Charm even with weapons such as firewands that would normally require a reloading action between shots.
To assault the Chosen of the Unconquered Sun is folly. Their retribution is swift and terrible. The Exalt must have an Archery weapon available for use to invoke this Charm, but it need not be in her hands. This Charm enhances the Join Battle action, giving the Solar a number of bonus successes on the Join Battle roll equal to her Essence. This Charm immediately and reflexively draws and readies an available Archery weapon.
The character charges an arrow with Essence. The effects are based on the character’s fighting style and anima. This Charm always adds the character’s Essence in damage to an Archery-based attack. In addition, players can pick one of the following effects when purchasing this Charm.
Fiery Arrow Attack: The Solar’s arrow (or appropriate ammunition) catches fire mid-flight. If the Solar’s Archery-based attack strikes a flammable material, this Charm ensures that it ignites. This Charm always destroys wooden ammunition when it’s used.
Dazzling Flare: The Solar’s arrow (or other ammunition) glows with holy fire or brilliant sunlight. This Charm makes the Solar’s Archery-based attack Holy, and it inflicts aggravated damage against creatures of darkness (see p. 192). The arrow shines brightly enough to be seen for (the Solar’s Essence x 10) miles, if fired straight upward or otherwise unobstructed.
Righteous Judgment Arrow: The Solar can spend a third mote on this Charm to add four extra dice of damage to the attack. This variation has a distinctive visual effect usually related to the character’s anima. For example, if a Twilight’s anima display shows a mandala of blue and gold light, her Righteous Judgment Arrow might have streamers of blue and gold that congeal into a mandala symbol in front of the target as the arrow hits.
Characters can purchase additional effects for this Charm at a cost of one experience point each or one bonus point for both.
The bane of the mortal archer is her dependence on ammunition, but Lawgivers can use this Charm to shape sparkling arrows of Essence. This Charm permits a Lawgiver to make ranged attacks without using ammunition. Each such attack costs one mote of Essence. The Exalt can attack as if using any form of ammunition without Resources cost, such as a broadhead, fowling, frog crotch or target arrow. This Charm permanently enhances the Exalt’s capabilities. Therefore, shaping motes into ammunition is an unrolled reflexive action and not a Charm activation.
The Chosen may set aside their weapons for a time, but a life of peace can never be their fate. The Solar first draws a ranged weapon that he owns and has used to inflict damage in battle. This Charm banishes that weapon to Elsewhere. The Solar can then draw the weapon directly from Elsewhere later, using a miscellaneous action. The Charm ends when he does so. If he cancels the Essence committed to this Charm while the weapon is Elsewhere, the weapon falls to the ground at his side.
This Charm can banish only objects (including artifacts) deliberately created as ranged weapons.
The Solar shapes his Essence into a deadly bow. Each bow has an appearance unique to the Exalt who conjures it. It has a Range of 300 yards. It has Rate and Accuracy equal to the Lawgiver’s permanent Essence score. It inflicts lethal damage, and its damage bonus is also equal to the character’s permanent Essence. (The raw lethal damage of each shot equals [the character’s Strength + Essence + extra successes + any bonus from arrows].)
The Solar’s quiver holds the arrows of the sun. This Charm allows the Solar to shape arrows from ambient Essence at will for the remainder of the scene. Doing so functions as Phantom Arrow Technique but does not cost one mote of Essence per arrow. This Charm can create firedust charges in addition to the normal ammunition options. Ammunition created by this Charm adds one die to its normal damage and never strikes an unintended target. It will stop in midair for an instant before vanishing rather than hurt someone the Solar wishes spared.
The Solar shapes his Essence into a firewand. Each such weapon has an appearance unique to the Exalt who conjures it. It has a Range of 15 yards. It has Rate 2 and Accuracy equal to Lawgiver’s permanent Essence score. Its raw damage equals 16L, plus extra successes.
Essence multiplies the force of the Lawgiver’s blow. This Charm creates duplicates of the Exalt’s Archery-based attack, usually meaning that one arrow or firewand charge becomes several in flight. The Solar spends three motes per duplicate attack and can create up to (her permanent Essence score) duplicate attacks. Treat the original attack and all duplicates as a single attack when making attack and defense rolls, but if they hit, calculate the damage for each attack separately. If Rain of Feathered Death is used with ammunition costing more than one dot of Resources per shot or placed in a Combo with Charms that affect the arrow’s damage, the cost for this Charm increases to eight motes per duplicate. All duplicates fade after the attack.
When the Solar Exalt strikes, she is swifter than lightning. The character pours Essence into quickening her actions. She then makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack. This Charm has a lower Speed and DV penalty than normal attacks.
Solar Exalted with this Charm can topple even behemoths with a single punch. This Charm supplements an unarmed Martial Arts attack. This Charm takes effect if the attack hits and inflicts even one health level of damage. If [damage successes x Exalt’s Essence] is greater than the target’s remaining health levels, this Charm knocks the target unconscious, and the target remains so for a scene.
Exalted on the field of battle cannot be concerned with such trivia as leather and plate. If an attack supplemented by this Charm successfully strikes a target, any nonmagical armor the target is wearing is immediately destroyed. Heavy armor explodes off the victim’s body in a spray of rivets and plates, while lighter protection produces an eruption of torn leather and flying chain links.
Should the attack also actually inflict damage, the Solar may pay an extra mote to immediately cancel all Charms, spells and astrological powers with a duration greater than Instant but less than Permanent which provide the target with increased soak or Hardness as a Shaping effect.
A second purchase of this Charm, at Essence 5+, upgrades its Shaping effect to also force instant loss of attunement to magical armor.
Once a Lawgiver has laid his hand upon an enemy, his wrath becomes inescapable. Even the Primordials learned this, to their sorrow. This Charm may be used to enhance a roll to maintain or gain control of an ongoing grapple, giving it an automatic threshold of one success more than the Solar’s opponent. If another effect contests this one, add (Essence) in extra dice to the resulting roll.
A second purchase of this Charm at Martial Arts 9+, Essence 9+, allows it to be invoked as an inherent ability, which does not count as a Charm activation.
Solar warriors make themselves one with their blades. The Exalt spends one mote and makes a Melee-based attack. This Charm allows the Solar’s player to count extra successes on the attack roll twice for the purposes of determining raw damage.
The Solar demonstrates his strength with a powerful Essence-fueled blow. The Exalt spends up to (his Strength score) motes and makes a Melee-based attack. If the attack hits, this Charm adds one die to the post-soak damage for each mote spent.
The Solar warrior is as swift as the first rays of dawn. This Charm adds one to the Rate and one to the Accuracy of his weapon until his next action.
The maneuver named Peony Blossom Attack burns significant Essence to unleash a powerful flurry of blows. The Lawgiver moves as smoothly and rapidly as ice on hot metal. This Charm is a magical flurry of two or more Melee-based attacks. Each attack costs two motes, including the first, and the Exalt can buy up to (her permanent Essence + 1) attacks. This Charm lets the Solar make these attacks regardless of the weapon’s Rate, without multiple action penalties, and with a DV penalty equal to only the highest penalty for any one attack.
The maneuver named the Iron Whirlwind Attack conserves Essence but requires an utmost exertion of will. This Charm is a magical flurry of many Melee-based attacks. The Exalt makes a total number of attacks equal to (her Dexterity + 1). This Charm lets the Solar make these attacks regardless of the weapon’s Rate, without multiple action penalties, and with a DV penalty equal to the highest penalty for any one attack.
The Solar burns with holy prowess in battle and moves like lightning. This Charm increases the maximum number of attacks received from Peony Blossom Attack and Iron Whirlwind Attack by two. It may improve custom Melee extra-action Charms at the discretion of the Storyteller.
The Solar’s weapons know their master. The Solar holds out her hand and calls to the Essence of one of her weapons. If the desired weapon is within (Essence x 10) yards, and a flight path exists between the weapon and her hand, this Charm draws the weapon into her grasp. She must own the weapon she calls. This Charm can be used to draw and ready a sheathed weapon reflexively.
This Charm functions exactly as the Archery Charm Summoning the Loyal Bow on page 189, save that it applies to hand-to-hand rather than ranged weapons. Characters are explicitly permitted to draw their stored weapons from Elsewhere using Charms such as Call the Blade.
The Essence of the Lawgiver manifests in a gleaming blade of the sun. This blade is always a glowing weapon that inflicts aggravated damage against creatures of darkness (seeboxed text) and sheds sunlight as bright as a torch. The Exalt can summon this weapon to her hand from anywhere it has fallen, as a diceless miscellaneous action.
The player defines the appearance of this blade when purchasing this Charm. She can also define its weapon qualities, as follows. If she chooses a light, agile blade with Speed 3, she can divide a number of points equal to the Solar’s Melee score between its Accuracy, Defense and lethal damage. If she chooses a larger sword with Speed 5, she can divide a number of points equal to twice the Solar’s Melee score between its Accuracy, Defense and lethal damage. In both cases, Accuracy, Defense and Damage begin at 0 and cannot be lowered. The player can change this choice and allocation only when the character raises her Melee score. This weapon has unlimited Rate.
Characters can use this Charm to summon paired blades, one in each hand. Doing so increases the Charm’s cost by four additional motes, to a total of 10 motes, one Willpower.
Players wishing to have multiple options can purchase this Charm a number of times equal to the character’s Melee. Each purchase defines a different blade with distinct properties.
The maneuver named Iron Raptor Technique extends the Solar’s reach. Her weapon flies toward the enemy like a hungry bird of prey, then returns at the Solar’s call. This Charm is a Melee-based attack that costs two motes and can attack enemies up to (Essence x 8) yards from the Solar. It is in all other ways treated as a normal Melee attack.
If the Exalt has Essence 3 or more, she can spend two additional motes for a total cost of four motes and throw a burning arc of energy from her weapon instead of the weapon itself. This is called the “Sandstorm-Wind Attack.” It cannot be blocked without a stunt or Charm.
The Solar’s Caste Mark blazes. She then casts solar fire from her weapon at her enemy. This Charm is a Melee-based attack. Its attack pool equals (Dexterity + Melee + Essence). It has a Range of (Essence x 10) yards and cannot exceed it. It cannot be blocked or dodged without the use of Charms or other magic. It ignores cover, including shields, but it cannot otherwise strike around obstacles. It deals lethal damage with a base damage, before adding attack successes, of (the Exalt’s Strength + Willpower). It deals aggravated damage against creatures of darkness (see below).
The maneuver named Dipping Swallow Defense restores defensive advantage to a beleaguered or overextended fighter. This Charm is used in response to an attack. It allows the Exalt to ignore all penalties that apply to her Parry DV when resolving that attack. Her Parry DV is still 0 if it’s inapplicable, but it takes no further penalties.
Like a terrible war machine, the Solar walks through the field of his enemy’s blades and is unmoved. This Charm causes the character to ignore penalties that apply to his Parry DV until his next action. This includes penalties invoked by his own attacks. Note that the effects of inapplicability are not a “penalty” on DV.
The character invokes this Charm in response to an attack. The attack must not be unexpected, and the character must have a weapon in hand. This Charm is a parry that perfectly defends against any attack, even if it is unblockable.
Mundane weapons can break when used with this Charm. If the character uses this Charm and a mundane weapon to block an attack that inflicts at least 25L raw damage before soak, the weapon breaks (though it still successfully parries).
This Charm has one of the Four Flaws of Invulnerability (see boxed text) common to all Solar perfect defenses.
The world weeps when the Chosen fall, and so, the Unconquered Sun has given them every mastery of defense. For the remainder of the scene, this Charm removes the onslaught penalty other characters’ attacks impose on the Exalt’s DV. It also reduces the defense penalty imposed by each action the Exalt takes by one, to a minimum of zero.
Those who attack the Chosen of the Sun invite their own deaths. The Solar invokes this Charm after using her Parry DV against an attack. This Charm gives the Solar a counterattack, which is resolved in Step 9 of the initial attack’s resolution. Note the rules for counterattacks on pages 150 and 183.
The Solar stands ready to force back any foe. Until his next action, whenever he uses his Parry DV against an attack, this Charm provides him with the option to make a counterattack. Note the rules for counterattacks on pages 150 and 183.
This Charm allows the character to prepare a single invocation of the Heavenly Guardian Defense maneuver in advance. The character can have at most one invocation prepared at any given time. The character invokes the Heavenly Guardian Defense Charm, paying the normal four motes. He can later use the Heavenly Guardian Defense against one attack of his choice, in any circumstance when using the Charm would be legitimate. Preparing the Charm counts as a Charm use, but invoking its abilities later does not. The motes remain committed until the Solar uses the Charm to block a single attack.
If the Solar has Essence 6 or higher, he may prepare up to his Melee score in invocations of the Heavenly Guardian Defense, and the cost to activate that Charm is reduced to three motes.
Given time and practice, superhuman prowess comes naturally to the Solar Exalted. The benefits of One Weapon, Two Blows are automatically applied to all Melee attacks the Solar makes. If invoked normally, that Charm’s effects stack with this upgrade.
A brilliant red-gold corona erupts around the Lawgiver’s weapon, empowering him to strike down his enemies. This Charm allows the character to enchant a weapon with Fire and Stones Strike for the duration of a scene rather than a single attack, at a cost of three motes per die added, following the same rules for maximum dice. This also counts toward the maximum number of dice that may be purchased with a subsequent normal activation of Fire and Stones Strike. Any nonmagical weapon forced to channel such power is destroyed when the Charm ends.
At Essence 5+, dice purchased with this Charm no longer counts toward the maximum number of dice that may be purchased with a subsequent normal activation of Fire and Stones Strike.
Crackling with golden lightning, the Solar’s blade becomes impossible to turn from its course. For four motes, an attack enhanced with this Charm becomes unblockable. If activated for a cost of six motes, the attack also gains the Holy keyword and becomes undodgeable by creatures of darkness in addition to its basic effect.
The Solar’s weapon surges with the limitless power of the wrathful sun god. An attack supplemented by this Charm adds (Essence) dice of raw damage in Step Seven. Should the dice of damage to be rolled after soak in Step Eight exceed the target’s maximum total health levels, the Solar may instead inflict as many or as few automatic levels of damage as desired.
At Essence 7+, this Charm may be used to inflict whatever level of damage the Lawgiver desires to nonmagical objects and structures up to the size of a palace. Cutting passes through hills or smashing down stout fortress gates are trivial exercises for such mighty heroes. At Melee 9+ the character may pay a five-mote surcharge upon activation to inflict as many or as few automatic levels of damage as desired to targets regardless of his total dice in Step Eight.
A second purchase, at Melee 8+, Essence 8+, allows the Solar to activate this Charm as a miscellaneous action (Speed 5, DV -1), and commit Essence to it to “store” it in advance. When the commitment is reflexively dropped (this must be done in Step One), the Charm activates without counting as a Charm use. At Essence 9+, the Solar may store up to (Essence/2) activations simultaneously, though each must have Essence committed to it separately.
The Lawgiver’s anima fractures into a thousand reflections of his weapon as he raises it in a silent salute. Afterwards, he moves with grace beyond words and skill beyond awareness to brush aside the clumsy attacks of any who should be so impudent as to strike at him.
While this Charm is active, the character may invoke Heavenly Guardian Defense at its normal cost as an innate ability rather than a Charm activation. When used this way, the Charm’s duration is always instant regardless of other modifiers. This benefit may not be be employed until the character’s DV has refreshed once, and may be used a number of times equal to (Essence x 2); upon making the last permitted invocation, Immortal Blade Triumphant automatically deactivates itself. This Charm may not be reactivated to re-stock its supply of defenses while it is already active.
Even in a pitched battle, the Lawgivers strike with controlled precision. This Charm enhances a Thrown-based attack so that it stuns or cripples the Solar’s opponent. For each health level of damage this attack inflicts, this Charm subtracts one die (as a -1 internal penalty) from the target’s Physical Attribute dice pools and one point from the equivalent static ratings. This is a Crippling effect that lasts for the remainder of the scene. The players and Storyteller decide how the effect is inflicted—it could be an injured hand, slashed tendons or a stunning blow to the head. Storytellers will have to work with the players to determine how the attack cripples more exotic opponents such as automata and the walking dead.
The Solars’ opponents are often arrogant and attempt to predict how and when the Lawgivers will strike. Such is their folly that they cannot see the vengeance of the Unconquered Sun even when it comes upon them. This Charm conceals a Thrown-based attack. Characters watching the Solar need (the Solar’s Essence) successes on a reflexive (Wits + Awareness) roll to notice him making the attack. This success requirement decreases by one each additional time the Solar uses this Charm in a scene. For characters not watching the Solar, all evidence indicates that the attack comes from a direction and distance named by the Solar when making the attack. For example, a Solar attacking from behind might wound an enemy in the side or chest by having his missile curve at the last moment.
This is a Charm of silent death that imbues the Solar’s weapon with Essence. It supplements a Thrown-based attack and supernaturally cripples its target. Targets affected by this Charm cannot speak or cry out. This Charm silences their every action. The bells they ring make no noise, and if they fall off of a wall, they will land silently. In short, their actions are not valid targets for hearing-based Awareness rolls. Should the attack kill the target, no one will notice the target’s death until the Charm expires. The corpse usually remains standing, and a combination of circumstances, dramatic necessity and perfect timing and execution on the Solar’s part keeps the target’s companions from noticing the death.
This Charm can impose silence for a number of the Solar’s actions equal to her Essence score. The Chosen must pay three motes for each action of silence she wishes to buy. The initial attack counts as an action. The Charm expires at the end of the appropriate action.
Surprise is at the foundation of all military undertakings. The Sun’s Chosen strike with secrecy and rapidity, confusing and confounding their enemies. Falling Icicle Strike enhances an unexpected attack (see pp. 155-156). Count damage successes for this attack twice. If the player rolls five damage dice and gets two successes, it will strip away four of the target’s health levels.
The Solar imbues his weapon with Essence, so that it flies true. This Charm enhances a Thrown-based attack. The Exalt spends three motes and triples the Range of the weapon.
If the Solar has Essence 4 or higher, this Charm also negates external penalties from environmental conditions.
In the First Age, not even the most elusive demons could escape the Solars’ judgment. This Charm supplements a Thrown-based attack, filling the air with dozens or hundreds of duplicates of the Lawgiver’s thrown weapon. This Charm renders the target’s Dodge DV inapplicable against this attack. It also doubles the Solar’s successes on the attack roll before comparing it to defense, in Step 3 of attack resolution.
The Solar cherishes his weapons. This Charm gives the character three bonus successes on any valid action that, if it succeeds, will physically reclaim one or more of the throwing weapons he owns—whether by yanking one back to him on a cord, snatching several up while running past, grabbing a knife from the lava’s surface before it sinks or snatching a weapon physically from an enemy who has stolen it. This Charm does not affect attempts to reclaim throwing weapons by non-physical means such as persuasion, nor does it help when the character is taking preparatory actions such as running across a hair-thin bridge to where his weapon rests. Returning Weapon Concentration also makes any weapon slide free of any target without resistance, so that the lightest tug can reclaim even a knife sheathed to the hilt in a tree.
This Charm functions exactly as the Melee version on pages 191-192, save as noted above.
The Exalt shapes weapons from shadows, Essence and light. This Charm permits a Lawgiver to create temporary throwing weapons. Each such weapon costs two motes of Essence to create. Each has the weapon qualities of a Thrown weapon costing at most Resources 2, such as an exceptional hatchet or throwing knife. These weapons last for one scene, but they thrive on the Essence of the Exalt who created them. If anyone else uses them to make an attack, these weapons fade away during Step 2 of the attack’s resolution.
The glory of the Solar Exalted steadies those who follow them. The Exalt can target up to her Essence in military units or (Essence x 100) scattered individuals with this Charm. The Exalt chooses the targets insofar as she cares to specify; otherwise, this Charm affects the closest non-enemy targets. Individual targets must be able to see or hear the Exalt. Targeted units must be able to see or hear some sort of Solar-sent signal. This Charm causes targets to succeed automatically on all Valor rolls. If used in the instant one or more targets fail a Valor roll, this Charm allows the targets that failed to reroll, but the reroll does not automatically succeed. This Charm’s effects last until the Exalt’s next combat or mass combat action.
The Lawgiver’s forces know his will. The Solar calls out an order or message. It is still conveyed by his voice, his signal or by relays, but the message is effectively instantaneous—his troops find themselves reacting almost as an extension of the Solar’s desires. This Charm conveys a message up to 12 words in length to one or more loyal units within (Essence x 100) yards and guarantees that the message is clearly understood. This Charm has special effects when used immediately before a roll to determine whether a targeted unit hesitates or can change order rapidly. If the Exalt gives an appropriate order, the roll succeeds automatically.
The Lawgiver chastises the unworthy rabble. This Charm forces the player of an enemy unit most of whose members are within (Essence x 100) yards to make an immediate check for rout. The difficulty of this roll is 1 if the unit has Magnitude greater than the Exalt’s Essence, and 2 otherwise. This Charm can be used socially rather than in war, in which case the Exalt can treat any mob, gathering or social group he can reasonably chastise as the target military unit.
The righteous anger of the Lawgivers inspires mortals to service. The Exalt attempts to persuade everyone who can hear him to join him in righteous violence, his player rolling (Charisma + [Performance or War]). This Charm organizes all characters whom the Exalt successfully persuades and who do not resist the persuasion (see p. 179) into an unordered military unit under the Exalt’s direction. This unit dissolves if the Exalt abandons it for more than 15 long ticks.
The Solar Exalted do not abandon their forces. This Charm informs the Lawgiver of the position and status of all units within (Essence x 10) miles containing a commander, hero, relay or sorcerer loyal to the Solar or to a cause for which the Solar is fighting. This includes solo units, but not solo extras. The character determines only the strategic position of each unit—where units are located relative to one another and to major landmarks such as mountains, cities and rivers. The status information that the Solar learns is the unit’s fatigue, order and current Magnitude. The Solar acquires this information as an instinct but can convert it mentally into a battle map if appropriate for the character. The Storyteller is the final authority on whether a Solar without established loyalties is fighting for a given cause.
This Charm gives the Lawgiver awareness of all the major landmarks within one mile of any loyal units.
The Chosen radiate the confidence and surety of the Unconquered Sun. This Charm affects any unit or social group that the Solar commands and every ally within (Essence x 5) yards. This Charm’s targets no longer need to make Valor checks. In war, this Charm prevents rout and reduces the chance of fatigue (see p. 374).
Under the banner of the Solar Exalted, even bandits and peasants become deadly warriors. This Charm involves training a military unit. This Charm requires five or more hours of effort in any given week to bear fruit. This Charm increases the Drill of a unit by one for each week of training, to a maximum of Drill 5. In each week of training, the trainer picks one trait to train: Valor, Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, Archery, Dodge, Martial Arts or Melee. This Charm increases that trait for each member of the unit by one dot, to a maximum of 4. The Solar can train with the unit or as a solo unit, increasing her own traits. She cannot increase others’ traits past her own.
Solar Exalted imbue their warriors with something of their own nature. This Charm enhances the Exalt’s ability to train warriors. This Charm allows him to use Tiger Warrior Training Technique to train others in any of the following:
Those who follow the Lawgivers work as one. Ideal Battle Knowledge Prana provides the Solar and those who follow her—units directly or indirectly under the Solar’s command within (Essence x 10) miles—with an instinct for the battlefield and the Solar’s desires. This Charm halves the number of relays necessary to order each targeted unit. It also increases the Drill of all such units by one and increases the Might of these units by one (to a maximum of 3).
The Sun’s Chosen define their own reality. This Charm protects the character from any Shaping effect that directly alters her mind, body, spirit or traits. This includes instantaneous Shaping effects and any new alterations caused by long-term Shaping effects. This Charm also protects the character from any undodgeable, unblockable Shaping attacks. Wyld energy cannot create a serpent inside the character’s stomach or turn her armor to lava, whether it’s manipulated by an enemy or its own random whims, because these effects inflict immediate damage and the character’s DV is not applicable.
This Charm does not protect against the miscellaneous dangers of the Wyld. If a Wyld effect creates a hundred-headed snake monster with burning chalcedony eyes that then eats the character, this is not directly altering the character’s body through shaping. Nor is it an “attack” when a Wyld effect transforms the character’s armor into harmless gossamer spider webs—simply an undesirable effect.
A Solar forges her own destiny, and none gainsay her will. This Charm increases the difficulty of any rolled Shaping effect (see p. 217) used against the character by two. Characters using Shaping effects that involve the character can remove this penalty with any stunt that reconciles the Shaping effect with the Lawgiver’s sense of her own destiny. In the Wyld or the Labyrinth, this Charm reduces the frequency of random unfortunate incidents by a factor of 10. There is no cost to use this Charm—it is a permanent enhancement to the Exalt’s nature.
To the Solar Exalted, “death” and “surrender” are almost the same thing. This Charm helps a character hold fast to her fundamental Intimacies in the face of temptation. The player picks one of the character’s Intimacies when purchasing this Charm. For the purposes of this Solar Charm, this loyalty must be to an ideal—not to a person or a love, but sometimes to a relationship; not to a tribe or city, but sometimes to the nation she might build of them; not to a battle or a war, but to the extinction of one foe or the conquest of a great region. (Other Exalted have versions of this Charm that support different commitments.)
This Charm allows the character to treat mental influence to betray or forsake that Intimacy as an unacceptable order (see p. 180). If the character voluntarily abandons that Intimacy or it becomes obsolete, this Charm ceases to function until, first, a new story begins and, second, the character chooses a new Intimacy to which the Charm applies. Players can also shift this Charm to a new Intimacy at any time by spending one experience point.
Players can purchase this Charm a second time to reinforce one additional Intimacy. Any further loyalties require more specialized magic.
Solar Exalted in Limit Break cannot temper their glory with wisdom. This Charm causes the character to treat all directives from unnatural mental influence as unacceptable orders while in Limit Break.
From every Solar’s heart flows an infinite stream of arete—excellence, Virtue and raw commitment to life. The player picks one Virtue when purchasing this Charm and can purchase this Charm multiple times to cover additional Virtues. Whenever the Solar would otherwise recover one or more Willpower points from stunts or natural recovery, this Charm gives the character the option to recover one point (one channel) of the chosen Virtue instead. The Storyteller may veto Virtue recovery from stunts opposed to that Virtue, such as the restoration of a Compassion point garnered from ripping an enemy’s heart out of his chest.
In foul nests of demons whose ways of corruption assault the human mind; amidst the courts of faeries gluttonous for human souls; in Nexus, surrounded by a thousand temptations—though the whole world seeks to drag him down, the Lawgiver is unmoved. This Charm increases the character’s Dodge MDV by his Temperance for the remainder of the scene. Storytellers can allow the Exalt to use his Conviction, Compassion or Valor score instead of Temperance if the character has appropriate motivation.
Like a dream slipping from a waking man’s grasp, the Solar eludes others’ attempts to chain his mind. The Solar uses this Charm in response to an attempt at mental influence, be it natural or unnatural. In addition to its core effects, this Charm perfectly negates that attempt at influence.
This Charm defends the character against mental influence by forging an instant, sorcerously charged Intimacy (see boxed text) to an idea or ideal that protects him. For the purposes of this Charm, this Intimacy might be enmity with the person attempting influence, contempt for that person or loyalty to something that the influence would make him betray. This effect is optional if the character already has such an Intimacy. If he has a preexisting one that is applicable, the magic can bolster it to inviolability instead. Characters observing the Solar when this Charm is used can make a reflexive (Perception + Investigation) roll against a difficulty of the character’s Temperance to notice the newborn or newly renewed enmity, loyalty or disdain. The Solar genuinely accepts the Intimacy to which he commits himself with this Charm, although the player decides how much weight he gives it compared to his other ideas, plans, loyalties and goals. At the end of the story, the Essence charge dissipates from the Intimacy, and it is no longer a perfect defense, though the character may maintain it for later use, the sake of the memory or out of genuine feeling.
The Lawgivers shatter delusions and see all things truly. This Charm shatters all long-term Compulsion, Illusion and Servitude effects upon the Solar. The character can ignore mental influence that would prevent her from using this Charm. Characters can substitute an unsoakable aggravated health level of damage for the mote portion of this Charm’s cost if they are otherwise unable to pay.
Others look to the Lawgivers for strength against temptation. This Charm allows characters loyal to the Solar to replace their own Essence with the Solar’s Integrity score when calculating mental defense. It subtracts two dice (as a -2 internal penalty) from the dice pools of characters loyal to the Solar when they are actively attempting to betray that loyalty. This Charm has no effect on Abyssal Exalted or other Solar Exalted.
The Solar Exalted draw on their unwavering desire and intention to survive sustained mental assault. This Charm allows the Exalt to refuse unnatural mind control effects (see p. 180) and Virtue compulsions (see p. 115) at a reduced Willpower cost. This Charm reduces the Willpower cost by one point for each five motes spent. If the Exalt pays the entire cost in Essence, she does not accumulate Limit. For example, if rejecting a supernaturally persuasive offer would normally require two Willpower, the Exalt can spend two Willpower; five motes, one Willpower; or 10 motes. If the character would normally break free of the mental influence after spending a certain amount of Willpower, treat the character as having paid the full Willpower price even if it is paid in motes.
The Solar dedicates himself to a new goal or ideal. If the Solar has not already established an Intimacy to this ideal, this Charm allows him to do so instantly. This Charm lets the Solar treat this Intimacy as an additional Motivation, with all the benefits and drawbacks thereof. Lawgivers can invoke this Charm repeatedly but they can benefit from only a number of additional Motivations equal to their Conviction.
The virtue of the Lawgivers is like the sun at noon. Clouds might obscure it, but its light can never truly be banished or denied. This Charm may be subconsciously activated whenever the character suffers under a source of unnatural mental influence that alters his behavior, even if another effect would otherwise bar the Solar from invoking it. The effects of the unnatural mental influence become Obvious to all observers, making it clear that the Solar labors under some manner of curse or trickery rather than his own desires. Immaculate doctrine already accounts for this with tales of Anathema as wicked spirits possessing the unlucky.
The Charm also makes it Obvious that the Solar is not himself (though it does not make the source of his odd behavior Obvious) when in Limit Break, but only to those who harbor a positive Intimacy toward the character. The Neverborn tremble in their tombs when their curse is laid bare before the world thus.
This Charm’s effect upon observers cannot be resisted, as it is not a form of mental influence. It is simply the truth.
Internalizing her dedication to the principles of her own legend, the Lawgiver shines with the very radiance of her patron, bringing the light of the sun to Creation in fact as well as metaphor. The Solar’s anima banner counts as real, natural sunlight for all purposes. This light shines brightly enough to affect beings out to a radius of (Essence) yards at the eight- to 10-mote level of display, and out to a radius of 30 yards at the (11+)-mote level of display.
Although the power of even the youngest of Lawgivers is sufficient to rock the pillars of Heaven and slay the makers of the world, some Chosen find themselves unsatisfied with any limitations upon their power. Reaching beyond, they grasp for greater might at any cost.
As a permanent upgrade to his competence, the Solar gains the ability to spend experience normally to buy his Essence rating up to a dot higher than his age would otherwise allow (see Exalted, p. 275). This is treated as his real, natural rating for the purpose of buying Attribute and Ability dots, Charms and other such traits. Yet, he may enjoy the benefits of this higher Essence rating only while Glory to the Most High is active. When the Charm is not active, he is treated as though his Essence rating is whatever it would be if he did not possess Glory to the Most High, and as though he did not possess any Charms or dots that this lower Essence rating would not permit him to obtain.
The Solar’s anima immediately flares to its full iconic splendor when Glory to the Most High is activated, and recedes at its normal rate. The character also gains 10 motes of Essence (three in the Personal Essence pool, seven in the Peripheral Essence pool) filling out the sudden difference in his Essence pool’s capacity.
When this Charm ends, the character must roll the higher of (Essence) or his primary Virtue, and add a number of points of Limit equal to his successes. This Charm may never be learned or used by non-Solar Exalted under any circumstances.
When a Lawgiver’s vast strength at last reaches its limit and he falls in defense of Creation, the world itself may cry out for its savior to rise up and fight on.
This Charm automatically takes effect when the character’s Incapacitated health box is marked off with lethal or aggravated damage, provided the Solar fell while attempting to defend or champion those weaker than himself, at the Storyteller’s discretion. (As a general guideline, any situation where the Solar could reasonably have channeled his Compassion likely qualifies.) Subtle ribbons of golden Essence wind across the battlefield, trailing back to the masses on whose behalf the Lawgiver fought. If they believe in him, then he hears their prayers as his life bleeds away; if they spurn him despite his efforts, their deep need for a savior calls out to him regardless. One long tick after becoming Incapacitated, the Solar rises from the ground in a flare of sizzling Essence, iconic anima burning around him. Half of his health levels immediately restore themselves, along with half his total Essence and Willpower (assuming he fell with those pools reduced below the halfway point). At the end of the scene, his permanent Essence rating falls by one dot. This Charm may not be triggered more than once per season. Non-Solar Exalted may never learn this Charm.
Others listen when the Lawgivers speak. In ancient days, they commanded the attention of Primordials, beasts and gods. This Charm involves a performance or oration, and the Solar’s player rolls (an appropriate Social Attribute + Performance) when invoking Respect Commanding Attitude. This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence on everyone who can see or hear the character. If the extra successes exceed a given target’s MDV, that target suffers a compulsion to stay in the Exalt’s company and respectfully observe the performance. Resisting this compulsion for five minutes costs one Willpower, up to a maximum of three Willpower per scene, and such resistance allows the target to leave, heckle or even forcibly silence the character.
Essence enhances the Solar’s arts. This Charm allows the Solar to create ghostly images, Essence flares, ethereal music and strange sensory effects when using a Performance Excellency or Presence Excellency. These effects do not seem entirely real, they remain within (Essence x 10) yards of the Solar, and they cannot be used to confuse or deceive others without a stunt. This Charm has no cost, but the Solar need not use its effects.
The Solar Exalted rise above the common through their understanding of others’ desires. This Charm supplements a Performance-based roll to rouse emotion in others. It exerts unnatural mental influence on every valid target of this roll. If their MDV is less than the extra successes on the roll, this Charm inspires the desired emotion intensely for a scene. Resisting the influence costs two Willpower.
The Lawgivers define others’ reality. This Charm is a Performance-based social attack that encourages a specific belief—for example, overwriting the audience’s memories and convincing them that the Solar has always lived in their town. This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence on every valid target of this roll. If their MDV is less than the extra successes on the roll, this Charm inspires them to believe. It also creates an instant commitment (see p. 201) to that belief. Shaking off the illusion requires one Willpower per scene, and the effect lasts until the targets break their commitment to the false belief.
In answer to the call of the Solar Exalted, in ancient times, people gave up their homes and families and marched to war. Some Lawgivers gave speeches and shone with the sun’s radiance, but others called their servants with beauty—piping, dancing or playing at the harp, wordlessly and terribly calling their soldiers to their deaths.
The Solar gives a performance, her player rolling ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Performance) and adding her Appearance in bonus dice. This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence on all who witness it. Characters with Mental DV less than the Solar’s successes must spend two Willpower or fall instantly in love either with the Solar or something the Solar represents. This effect does not depend on gender or sexual preference. Targets incapable of sexual attraction to the Solar suffer starry-eyed infatuation or dedication to the Solar’s cause rather than romantic desire. This love is a form of commitment (see p. 201). Targets can break the commitment naturally but they must spend one Willpower in each scene where they deliberately attempt to shake it off.
A favorite of many hedonistic (or simply predatory) Solars in the First Age, this Charm figures prominently in Immaculate legends of the Anathema. While the Charm is in effect, all characters who possess any sort of romantic Intimacy toward the Solar (love or lust, it makes no difference) have their MDVs set to 0 against seduction attempts by her. Shaking off this unnatural mental influence in order to assert MDV normally costs one Willpower per action.
The embedded Intimacy of a Solar’s Lunar mate always qualifies for this Charm, even if the Lunar chooses to articulate the bond as platonic friendship.
By the authority of the Unconquered Sun, his Chosen may command the very heavens to become a vessel for their glory. This Charm may be activated only under the open sky, during the day. The clouds above shuffle themselves into the precise likeness of the Lawgiver, lit by the sun so that they glow from within. The Solar’s words boom out [to] the countryside, inescapable.
For the duration of the Charm, any Performance-based social attacks (or simple informative declarations) made by the Solar are transmitted to everyone within (Essence x 20) miles in every direction. Because the Solar cannot see or hear through his heavenly manifestation, social counter-attacks that require the target to actually be present may not be invoked in response to this Charm.
A second purchase of this Charm at Performance 7+, Essence 7+ expands its range to (Essence x 50) miles. A third and final purchase at Performance 9+, Essence 9+ expands the range to (Essence x 100) miles.
It is hard for mortals to resist the shining glory of the Solar Exalted. This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence to create a Compulsion effect. The Lawgiver’s player rolls (Manipulation + Presence). If the result exceeds the target’s Mental DV, the target receives a compulsion to follow one order given by the Solar. The order can be as complicated as the Solar desires. The target must spend one Willpower to resist the order but need pay this cost only once per day. The influence fades when the Charm expires.
When the Solar uses Hypnotic Tongue Technique, the target is not aware of the compulsion, nor does the Solar need to spell out the order explicitly in words. If the target wishes to recognize the influence or remember it later, doing so costs four Willpower, which must be spent all at once, and the target is thenceforth fully aware of the effect. Recognizing or remembering the influence is not considered “resisting” it, and the target does not gain Limit from doing so.
The Solar burns with the incandescent radiance of the Unconquered Sun. This Charm intimidates others, negating any physical or social attack made against the Solar unless the attacker’s player succeeds on a reflexive resistance roll. The Solar’s player chooses when purchasing this Charm whether a difficulty 1 Valor roll or a difficulty 2 Willpower roll is the appropriate form of resistance. The attacker need succeed only once per action, no matter how many attacks she makes during a flurry. This Charm’s effects are a form of unnatural mental influence, and characters can spend three Willpower to resist the effects of Majestic Radiant Presence for a scene.
The Solar burns with impossible glory. This Charm can supplement any attempt at natural mental influence. It renders the target’s Dodge MDV inapplicable. This Charm is specifically permitted to supplement rolls for other Abilities. Reduce this Charm’s cost to 2 motes if Majestic Radiant Presence is already active.
Those who speak for a Solar share his majesty. This Charm imbues a target character with Solar Essence. When the target believes herself to be acting or speaking in the Solar’s name, her player adds the Solar’s Essence in dice to Presence rolls made for the character.
The Solar assumes the mantle of authority. This Charm is a form of unnatural mental influence. For the rest of the scene, each character who interacts personally with the Exalt and has a lower MDV than the Exalt’s Presence suffers an unnatural Illusion effect. He believes that the Exalt is someone with authority over him. Recognizing this belief as an illusion costs two Willpower. This Charm, as a specific exception to the usual rules for unnatural effects, does not cost Limit to resist.
The glamour of the Lawgivers inspires others to dream of glorious things. This makes the Solars the ultimate salesmen and recruiters. Irresistible Salesman Spirit enhances a Presence-based roll to exert mental influence and make a favorable bargain or encourage a specific action. This Charm doubles the Solar’s successes on the roll before comparing them to the target’s MDV.
The Solar Exalted surround themselves with the faithful. This Charm is a Presence-based social attack that inspires someone to recognize the Solar’s greatness. The target chosen must be a valid target for persuasion attempts. The Solar’s player rolls ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Presence), subtracting the target’s MDV from the successes as an external penalty. If the Solar succeeds, this Charm exerts unnatural mental influence and creates a Servitude effect. It compels the target to serve the Solar loyally. This effect costs one Willpower per day to resist.
This Charm creates an instant commitment (see p. 201) to the Solar. The target cannot begin breaking faith (see p. 201) with that commitment until the Charm’s effects end. The mental influence lasts until the target has fully shaken off this loyalty.
The Solar ignites her spirit with the Essence of the Unconquered Sun. This Charm can enhance a physical attack. This Charm makes the attack Holy and causes the attack to inflict aggravated damage against creatures of darkness (see p. 192).
This Charm can also enhance social attacks that create guilt, shame or fear, or where the Exalt uses a stunt to draw on these emotions. It makes the attack Holy. This Charm makes creatures of darkness treat the social attack as unnatural mental influence that costs one Willpower to resist. This Charm also halves the creature’s base MDVs against the attack.
This Charm is specifically permitted to enhance rolls based on other Abilities.
This Charm is the result of Solar paranoia in the High First Age. When alone with one another, certain Solars referred to it by an alternate title, “Lunar-Taming Leash.”
With a touch, the Lawgiver infuses his Essence into the link constructed into his Lunar mate’s Exaltation, vastly strengthening it. The Lunar gains the benefits (and drawbacks) of a five-dot rating in the Solar Bond Background. This unnatural mental influence remains in effect until five Willpower is spent at one time to remove it.
In the event that a Solar’s Lunar mate is not available, he may touch himself and activate the Charm instead. Doing so grants the Solar an infallible sense of the direction in which his mate can be found, even if he has never met the Lunar in question before. If the Lunar is in another realm of existence, the Charm leads the Lawgiver to the nearest point of entry to that realm.
The authority of a Lawgiver with this Charm is inescapable. The Solar is capable of making social attacks against her Lunar mate while he is under the effects of this Charm’s prerequisite, enhanced by any desired Presence or Performance Charms, regardless of the distance separating them. This communication is one-way. The Solar cannot sense her mate’s state of mind or read his thoughts. Though the Solar’s player always dictates use of this Charm, characters sometimes use Soul-Spanning Bridge Method unconsciously, imposing their idle thoughts and desires on their mate unintentionally.
Despite numerous attempts throughout the First Age, no Lunar has ever been able to design Charms permitting him to exercise power over his Solar mate through their spiritual bond.
This Charm permanently upgrades its prerequisite. The Solar no longer needs to commit Essence to sustain Underling Promoting Touch when applying it to un-Exalted humans or to Dragon Kings.
At Essence 6+ the Solar may enjoy this benefit when applying Underling Promoting Touch to other Exalted, but doing so automatically creates an Intimacy of loyalty in the recipient. Exalted targets may reject the benefits of the Charm and the Intimacy at no cost, if desired.
As the Chosen of the Unconquered Sun, the Solar Exalted are empowered on behalf of their patron to determine Creation’s true enemies, even if they walk in the guise of the righteous. This Charm may enhance a Presence-based social attack to condemn, castigate or otherwise revile a subject as an enemy of Creation, making that social attack undodgeable. The target may not ignore the Solar’s righteous tirade, but only attempt to counter-argue his own case against the Lawgiver’s judgment. If the attack succeeds, the target has a one-time opportunity to spend two Willpower to resist (or one Willpower if the target is Exalted). Failure to do so bestows upon the target the creature of darkness mutation. The day dims slightly as he is permanently marked as an enemy of Creation.
When the Solar armors himself for battle, there is no delay or fumbling—Essence smoothes his course. This Charm allows the Exalt to make one minute’s progress on donning armor in a single action. The Solar Exalted normally use this Charm for a number of successive actions equal to the armor’s mobility penalty in order to complete the armor-donning process. For example, six actions and six invocations allows an Exalt to gird himself in chain swathing. Facing exigent circumstances such as limited Essence or frequent interruptions, he could also spend two minutes’ effort and four invocations of the Charm.
This Charm applies to personal worn items, including body armor, shields, clothing and warstriders.
Armor worn in countless battles becomes a part of the Solar’s spirit. It is always on hand when its master calls. The Solar first dons a suit of armor that she owns and has worn in battle. This Charm banishes that armor to Elsewhere. The Solar can gird herself in that armor directly from Elsewhere. Doing so takes as much time as donning the armor normally would, and she can use Whirlwind Armor-Donning Prana to speed the process. The Charm ends when she does so. If she cancels the Essence committed to this Charm while the armor is fully or partially Elsewhere, any donned pieces return Elsewhere, and then, the entire suit appears within arm’s reach.
This Charm applies to body armor and shields, but not other worn items.
The Solar armors herself in the blazing glory of the Unconquered Sun. This Charm creates a suit of golden body armor from the Solar’s anima. The character can design the armor to suit his personal aesthetic and mood—it can be sleek, imposing, ornate or simple. Regardless of aesthetic, it is always unmistakably medium or heavy armor, and it always glows with a golden light resembling an 8-10 mote Solar anima display. This light is bright enough to read by in a three-yard radius.
Characters can only use this Charm if they are not already wearing body armor or a warstrider. It creates armor with 10L/10B soak, 5 Hardness, a -1 mobility penalty and no fatigue penalty. The character is instantly fully armored. For an additional three motes, if the character is not carrying a shield, he can create a glowing shield that gives a +1 cover DV bonus against hand-to-hand attacks and a +3 cover DV bonus against ranged attacks. This shield is always unmistakably a shield and bears the sunburst emblem of the Unconquered Sun.
In these grim and degenerate times, the Chosen of the Sun must be as soldiers ready for a battle. They cannot relax in the face of their enemies, and must sometimes wear armor for days at a time. Yet, they do not weary. For each three motes spent, this Charm reduces both the fatigue value and the mobility penalty of the Solar’s armor by one, to a minimum of 0. A fatigue value of 0 means that the Solar’s player need never roll to see whether her character becomes fatigued from wearing the armor. This Charm lasts until the character removes the armor in question.
This Charm applies to any combination of worn items that give a mobility or fatigue penalty. This includes body armor, shields, combinations of body armor and shields, warstriders and articles of clothing that impose mobility or fatigue.
A boy cannot cut down an oak tree with a kitchen knife. Nor can a mere mortal slay the Solar with petty blows of mortal steel. The Solar invokes this Charm after an attack hits but before damage is rolled. This Charm sets her Hardness against that attack to 8.
The unconquerable flame of the Solar’s spirit armors her against attack. She invokes this Charm after an attack hits her but before damage is rolled. This Charm reduces the raw (pre-soak) damage of the attack by one die for each mote spent. This Charm can reduce the damage of the attack to zero.
Mortal weapons are as the stings of wasps and hornets to the Lawgivers reborn. The Solar invokes this Charm after an attack hits him but before damage is rolled. Roll (his Stamina + Resistance) against a difficulty equal to the attacker’s Essence (up to a maximum of 6). On a success, this Charm prevents all damage from the attack; on a failure, this Charm still gives him +4A/+8L/+8B soak.
The Lawgivers are armored in righteousness, and many need no other hauberk. This Charm gives the character +4A/+8L/+8B soak for the scene. This Charm cannot be used by characters wearing armor. The defense provided by this Charm is compatible with Iron Skin Concentration’s effects.
Driven by her purpose and her Virtues, the Exalt becomes invincible. The Solar invokes this Charm immediately before the damage of a physical attack or similar effect is rolled. This Charm is a perfect defense against the raw damage of the attack, reducing it to zero after all other effects. This Charm has one of the Four Flaws of Invulnerability (see p. 194).
The more terrible the enemies and adversities they face, the greater the power of a Solar’s spirit. The Solar invokes this Charm when hit by an attack with the potential to damage her—that is, an attack with a calculated raw damage exceeding her Hardness, which therefore rolls at least one die of damage. The Solar’s player rolls two dice for each damage die rolled. For each success on this roll, to a maximum of her Stamina in successes, the Lawgiver receives a number of motes of Essence equal to her permanent Essence score. For example, an Essence 2 Solar with Stamina 3 would receive two motes with one success, four motes with two successes and six motes with three or more successes. This Charm cannot increase the Solar’s Essence pool past its normal maximum, and the Solar can never gain more than 20 motes from any combination of Charms including Essence-Gathering Temper during a single one of her actions.
The Lawgiver draws inner strength from the challenges that face him. He invokes this Charm when hit by an attack that damaged him—that is, an attack that cost him at least one health level of damage. His player rolls one die for each health level lost. This Charm restores one point of temporary Willpower plus one point for each success rolled. This Charm cannot raise the Exalt’s Willpower above its normal value.
The character steels herself for the struggle ahead. She awakens in her soul a deep and terrible passion—stoic dedication, primal rage, merciless justice or some other emotion appropriate to her nature—and lets it drive her into battle.
This Charm gives the character an extra die to all combat-related pools and reduces all wound penalties by one. The character must be engaged in combat or attempting to become so engaged. She can attack at range and differentiate friend from foe, but she cannot utter sentences of more than a few words, move away from the enemy or perform complex actions such as retrieving a small object from a pack. To end this Charm prematurely, her player must spend one Willpower.
When ordinary means have failed, and there is nothing left save life and death, then it befits the god-kings of legend to give themselves over to the battle-trance and make themselves implacable enemies to their foes. This Charm functions as Battle Fury Focus but is in all ways greater. It gives the character three extra dice to all combat-related pools and removes all wound penalties. The character’s mind is consumed by the battle-trance. The character cannot speak coherently and cannot retreat. She may only take one or more of the following actions: moving toward her current target by the shortest route, attacking enemies within range, waiting for an attacker to engage her or selecting the nearest enemy as a new target when her previous target is incapacitated, dead or not locatable.
This Charm lasts until the character can no longer locate an enemy to kill. Enemies include known enemies and those who get in her way. Strangers and acquaintances can earn the enemy label if they are dressed like the enemy or if they act in a suspicious fashion. The character will not attack close friends, relatives or lovers for suspicious action or clothing—they must actively interfere to become targets of attack.
To end this Charm prematurely, the Solar must spend three Willpower and gain one Limit. Reduce this to one Willpower and no Limit if a loved one or friend attempts to restrain the character. Unfortunately, if the Exalt does not spend the Willpower when a loved one attempts to break her battle-trance, she is almost certain to lash out at the unrecognizable blur distracting her from slaying her target.
The Exalted are like the mountains: not easily worn down by such mortal things as men. This Charm gives the Lawgiver additional health levels.
A player may purchase this Charm up to once per dot of the Resistance Ability her character possesses. Each purchase provides one of the following, at the player’s option, determined at the time of purchase:
The Solar shakes off wounds that would cripple a lesser person. This Charm applies when someone uses an attack with a Crippling effect against the Solar. The Solar’s player rolls (Stamina + Resistance) against a difficulty of the attacker’s Essence. If she succeeds, this Charm negates the Crippling effect.
Not easily are the Lawgivers slain. This Charm stops poison and sickness from doing further damage to the character for one scene. This Charm also prevents the character from suffering new Poison or Sickness effects during this scene. Effects that would poison or sicken him have no effect whatsoever. The character can walk hand-in-hand with plague victims, sprinkle poison on his food and eat ichneumon eggs as caviar. There are
never ill effects later from these indiscretions.
Even wounded nigh unto death, a Lawgiver will marshal the strength to rise again. This Charm supplements a dramatic action to marshal the character’s inner resources for recovery. This action requires one hour without a stunt or another Charm. The Solar’s player rolls (Stamina + Resistance). Success speeds his healing rate by a factor of 10 or, if the character prefers, adds directly to the successes of a physician using Wound-Mending Care Technique on the character. See page 149 for more on natural healing rates.
Characters can activate Body-Mending Meditation when inactive (see p. 143).
This Charm upgrades its prerequisite, adding (Essence) to the amount of soak provided. For an additional activation cost of one extra mote, Iron Kettle Body becomes compatible with armor as well. As a point of clarification, Iron Kettle Body’s Keywords are Combo-OK and Obvious.
This Charm upgrades Unbreakable Warrior’s Mastery. By paying a two-mote surcharge, it may be invoked as an inherent ability that does not count as a Charm use.
Even the beasts and birds recognize the heroes of the dawn. This Charm keeps natural animals from attacking the character unless they are provoked or driven by unusual pain or fear. It allows the Exalt to communicate with natural animals—with sounds and gestures—as if they shared a common language. Animals have limited capacity for comprehension, and the Exalt cannot convince an animal to adopt a belief or plan that it cannot understand.
Characters can activate Friendship with Animals Approach when inactive (see p. 143).
Since the First Age, the Lawgivers have forged magical bonds with their chosen beasts. The target of this Charm must be an animal loyal (see p. 175) to the Exalt. Normally, the Exalt wins this loyalty through persuasion and the use of the Friendship with Animals Approach. The Exalt can only use this Charm if he has no familiar, and using it on a new animal for the first time removes his Familiar Background entirely. This Charm is a dramatic action requiring several hours of interaction with the target. It increases the Exalt’s Familiar Background by one dot, to a maximum of five. When the Exalt’s Familiar Background reaches a sufficient level to have the animal as a Familiar, it becomes his familiar. For example, a tiger requires three applications of this Charm to become the Exalt’s familiar, and two more to give the Exalt the abilities conveyed by Familiar 5.
Animals trained by the Solar Exalted become more loyal and more powerful. This Charm involves training a natural animal or familiar. This Charm requires five or more hours of effort in any given week to bear fruit. This Charm replaces the normal effects of that training. In each week of training, the trainer picks one of the following to train:
Using this Charm on a familiar increases all of these maximums by one and allows training the animal to adult human intelligence.
The wilderness cannot subdue the heroes of the dawn. This Charm negates any environmental external penalties to Survival rolls made for the Solar. This means that the coldest glacier and the hottest desert are no more deadly for the Solar than the gentlest rolling plain. She can find food and water easily, she ignores inclement weather even when lightly dressed, and she does not suffer undue blisters, bug bites or plant poison even walking barefoot through the Far East. This Charm does not protect against environmental damage, however, so if the environment is deadly enough to force regular Resistance rolls, the Solar needs Element-Resisting Prana to endure it.
This Charm enhances the character’s Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit. When using that Charm, the character now becomes immune to environmental hazards. She can survive in a bonfire, underwater, in a volcano’s caldera or in a pool of boiling acid, all with ease. She takes damage or suffers Poison, Crippling or Sickness effects only when directly inflicted upon her by some character’s action.
This Charm enhances the character’s Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit. It reduces that Charm’s cost to 5 motes and allows the character to activate Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit even when she’s inactive (see p. 143).
If the Solar has Essence 6+, this Charm negates the cost for Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit entirely.
The land gives its strength to the Lawgivers. This Charm affects the character or a group she leads with a Magnitude no greater than her Essence. The character or group may forage in the wild and find enough food for a small meal each. It takes five applications of this Charm per day to keep a group well fed. If the Solar has dependents not foraging with her, food found with this Charm can be brought back to them. For example, for three motes, a 10-person group can find enough food to maintain two dependents for a day.
The Lawgivers hunt down their enemies with a relentless passion. This Charm supplements a roll to track an opponent. It guarantees that the Solar achieves at least (target’s successes + 1) successes on the tracking contest, after taking all penalties into account. If another Charm contests this effect, add the Solar’s Essence in automatic successes to her opposed roll to maintain the effects of this Charm.
Solar heroes with this Charm can vanish into the wilderness. This Charm affects the Solar or a group she leads with a Magnitude no greater than her Essence. It enhances a roll made to travel without leaving signs of her (or the group’s) presence. This Charm guarantees that any tracker achieves, at most, zero successes on the contest to track the character or group. If another Charm contests this effect, such as Unshakeable Bloodhound Technique, add the Solar’s Essence in automatic successes to her opposed roll to maintain the effects of this Charm.
This Charm is a dramatic action to camouflage the Solar or some person or object, and it normally takes one hour to perform. The player rolls (Intelligence + Survival) to determine the quality of the camouflage. This Charm makes the camouflaged thing impossible to detect with Awareness rolls using ordinary senses. Characters with inhuman sensory acuity, such as Lawgivers using Keen Smell and Taste Technique, can discover the hidden thing by opposing the camouflage roll with (their Perception + Awareness). Characters conducting a thorough search, such as a miscellaneous Investigation action with a normal Speed of five long ticks, can oppose the camouflage roll with an appropriate dice pool.
This Charm enhances the character’s Survival Charms. Survival Charms that allow the character to extend their benefits to a group of Magnitude 1 or more—such as Trackless Region Navigation—increase the allowed Magnitude for that unit by one. Players can purchase this Charm a number of times equal to the Solar’s Essence.
This Charm upgrades its prerequisite, removing the clause for other characters’ deliberate actions. Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit now renders the Solar immune to all environmental damage, regardless of its origin.
The things of the world strive to serve the Solars well. This Charm makes an object more difficult to break. It increases the number of successes necessary to damage the object by the character’s Essence. It increases the (Strength + Athletics) rating necessary to break the object with a feat of strength by the character’s Essence. No combination of Charms that includes Object-Strengthening Touch can increase these totals by more than the character’s Essence.
The craftsmen of the Unconquered Sun shore up the Essence of the world. This Charm increases the number of successes necessary to damage the object by one. It increases the (Strength + Athletics) rating necessary to break the object by one. These effects are permanent, but no combination of Charms that includes Durability-Enhancing Technique can increase these totals by more than the character’s Essence.
The chaos of the Wyld corrodes the things of Creation. For every thing the touch of madness improves, one hundred things are ruined. Since the beginning, Lawgivers have opposed the ravages of the Wyld. This Charm makes an object immune to Shaping effects and Wyld chaos for as long as the Essence remains committed.
The object is also permanently made stronger. Specifically, in the Wyld, this Charm permanently makes random unfortunate incidents affecting the object 10 times less frequent. This Charm permanently increases the difficulty of rolled Shaping effects targeting the object by two.
The Lawgivers mend the flaws in the world. This Charm supplements any valid dramatic action to repair an object. This Charm allows the character to accomplish (Essence x 3) hours worth of normal repair work for each hour invested. It also allows the character to mend cracks and seal broken pieces together without glue or nails, leaving a join as strong and seamless as if the object were new. The character can perform the equivalent of days of painstaking labor in a few hours, reassembling and cleaning the shreds of a burnt letter or piecing a shattered crystal decanter back together.
The secrets of mending include the secrets of breaking. This Charm is a dramatic action taken to disassemble an object or structure. The character chooses whether to harmlessly or destructively take the object apart. This Charm allows the disassembly of only those objects the character can break with a feat of strength, adding twice the character’s Craft to the character’s (Strength + Athletics) pool to determine valid feats. This Charm can disassemble a single object in (8 – Essence) minutes, with a minimum of three minutes.
This Charm can target larger structures, such as castles and villages. In such cases, the Exalt proceeds methodically from one major component to the next, taking them apart at the normal rate, until he is interrupted or the task is complete. To take apart a large structure, the Exalt must dedicate at least (8 – Essence) hours, with a minimum of three hours, to the task; he cannot stop early unless he finishes or unexpected events interrupt him. The Exalt cannot demolish anything larger than a large castle or village with a single invocation of this Charm.
The Chosen bring harmony to Creation. This Charm supplements a Craft action. It removes the need for tools as well as penalties for crafting without tools. The character still needs raw materials. This Charm can enhance a Craft action to build something, in which case the character accomplishes (Essence x 3) hours of work for each hour invested.
A Lawgiver who has focused his expertise upon a certain expression of craftsmanship soon finds that his least effort matches and exceeds the most desperate labors of mortal artisans. This Charm may be purchased multiple times, once for each basic Craft Ability the Solar possesses at a rating of 4 or higher. Purchasing this Charm adds (Essence/2) automatic successes to all rolls made with the Ability in question. An Essence 5 Solar with Peerless Paragon of Fire would add three successes to all Craft (Fire) rolls at no cost.
Exotic Crafts such as Craft (Fate) or Craft (Glamour) require Essence 3+, while First Age Craft skills such as Craft (Genesis) and Craft (Magitech) require Essence 4+.
The world holds no mysteries to the Chosen of the Sun. This Charm is an Investigation-based action wherein the character studies observable evidence. This Charm functions exactly as a dramatic Investigation action that takes up to 15 minutes, save that the character performs it in a handful of seconds and does not need to ransack the scene.
The Lawgivers see into others’ hearts. This Charm allows the character to make an Investigation-based roll to profile someone’s personality. The character need not interact with the target, but must have sufficient material evidence of the target’s personality to estimate the target’s nature. If the target deliberately sends out misleading cues, subtract an external penalty of ([the target’s Manipulation + Socialize] ÷ 2) from the successes on the Investigation roll. Corrupted or incomplete evidence can also impose an external penalty.
If the roll succeeds, then each success reduces external penalties on dramatic, social and mass combat actions the character takes against the target. This Charm cannot reduce external penalties by an amount greater than the Solar’s Essence.
The Exalt can have only one profile of a given target. The crispness of the profile—that quality that reduces external penalties—lasts only as long as the committed Essence. The Lawgiver’s player cannot roll again to build a new profile unless the story ends or a new piece of evidence allows a dramatic reconceptualization of the target’s personality.
The Lawgivers are the guardians of truth. This Charm allows the character to recognize as lies all deliberate lies presented to her. The character can also recognize the deliberate use of half-truths, though doing so does not tell her which part of the statement is true. If another Charm contests these effects (see p. 179), add the character’s Essence in automatic successes to the (Perception + Investigation) roll to oppose the other Charm.
This Charm forces the truth from those who would lie to the heroes of the dawn. It involves an interrogation, and the Solar’s player rolls (the appropriate Social Attribute + Investigation) when the Exalt invokes Irresistible Questioning Technique. This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence on the target. The target can resist with MDV. If the roll succeeds, the target is compelled to answer the Exalt’s questions honestly. Resisting costs one Willpower per five minutes, to a maximum of three Willpower, and the compulsion lasts for one scene.
This Charm loses effectiveness with repeated use. Increase the target’s MDV by three if an Exalt has used Irresistible Questioning Technique or a similar Charm on the target this story.
The Lawgivers understand the harmonies of the world. This Charm allows the character to detect others’ importance or wealth with a glance. This Charm targets one individual the character can sense. The Exalt’s player rolls (Perception + Investigation), adding the Solar’s Essence in automatic successes. If the target is concealing his identity or Resources in any way, subtract an external penalty of ([the target’s Manipulation + Socialize] ÷ 2) from the successes on the Investigation roll. If the Exalt succeeds, she learns the target’s Resources and Influence ratings. In addition, she can make a rough but solid estimate of how many allies the target considers himself to have in the immediate circumstances and how much wealth and power the target wields through organization-specific Backgrounds such as Backing and Followers. The Solar may not attempt to use this Charm on a given target more than once per scene.
The intentions of others are transparent to the Chosen of the Sun. The Exalt uses this Charm immediately after interacting with a target. The Solar’s player rolls (Perception + Investigation). The difficulty of this roll is 1, but subtract an external penalty of ([the target’s Manipulation + Socialize] ÷ 2) from the successes on the Investigation roll. On a success, this Charm forces the target’s player to declare the target’s intentions in this interaction.
In the savage world that is Creation, everyone has a price. Even those whom jade coin cannot buy will sell themselves for something—sex, fame, the reclaimed honor of an ancestor or the salvation of the world. The Exalt uses this Charm immediately after interacting with a target. The Solar’s player rolls (Perception + Investigation). The difficulty for this roll is 1, but subtract an external penalty of ([the target’s Manipulation + Socialize] ÷ 2) from the successes on the Investigation roll. On a success, this Charm forces the target’s player to declare the target’s price. If the Exalt meets that price, this Charm invokes an unnatural Servitude effect—the target becomes loyal to the Exalt and must spend one Willpower per scene to act in a knowingly disloyal fashion. This servitude lasts until the Exalt betrays the bargain—as by reclaiming an object given as the price—or the target has spent a total of 10 Willpower to act disloyally.
Righteous Lawgivers easily separate out friends and enemies. If the Solar personally perceives any character who is a creature of darkness while this Charm is active, that fact becomes Obvious to him. The creature of darkness must be physically present. Portraits, hologlyphic reproductions, magical projections and remote scrying will not trigger Unblinking Sentinel Gaze.
At Essence 5+ this Charm’s cost drops to one mote and its duration may be extended to Indefinite.
Enlightened Lawgivers bring wisdom to the masses. This Charm involves training an organized social group such as a class, ministry or guild. This action requires five or more hours of effort in any given week to bear fruit. In each week of training, the trainer picks one trait to train: Conviction, Temperance, Perception, Intelligence, Craft (Air, Earth, Fire, Water or Wood), Investigation, Lore, Linguistics, Performance, Presence or Socialize. This Charm increases that trait for each member of the unit by one dot, to a maximum of 4. The Solar can train with the group or as a solo character, increasing her own traits. She cannot increase others’ traits past her own.
The Solar scholar has a special mastery of training. This Charm enhances the Exalt’s ability to train others. This Charm allows him to use Harmonious Academic Methodology to train others in any of the following:
The presence of the Lawgivers wards away chaos. This Charm surrounds the character with a mystic pattern of Essence—what the Fair Folk call an “island of Creation” or a “dead waypoint.” The character’s immediate vicinity—out to (her Essence) in yards—functions according to the laws of Creation, even if the character is in the Wyld, Malfeas or some stranger location.
In the First Age, Lawgivers used the Wyld-Shaping Technique to conquer the Wyld and expand Creation. They stood at the edge of the world and forced shape into the teeth of the howling storm. This Charm forces a region of chaos to take form as the Exalt commands. Wyld-Shaping Technique is an extended dramatic action.
The dice pool used equals (the Solar’s Intelligence + Lore). Each roll requires five hours of effort, and the character pays the Charm’s cost with each roll. This roll has a base difficulty of 1 in regions of Pure Chaos, 3 in the Deep Wyld, 5 in the Middlemarches and 10 in the Bordermarches of the Wyld.
The Lawgiver can spend accumulated successes at any point to complete part of her construction. This functions as follows.
Demesne: To forge a demesne, the Solar must first create the land and then spend successes equal to its demesne level.
Land: To create a stable region—such as land—the Solar must spend successes equal to its Resources value. She can spend up to five successes at a time. This does mean that creating fertile land and mineral resources requires more effort per acre than blasted plains, desolate marshes and lifeless ocean. The Solar can use Wyld-Shaping Technique in this region as if it were the Middlemarches of the Wyld, but all other effects consider it a Tainted Land—touched by Wyld energy, but a part of Creation.
Magical Things: To create a manse or artifact, the Solar applies the successes on this roll directly as Craft successes in manse or artifact construction. This Charm cannot speed the construction process more than tenfold, but the character is specifically permitted to supplement this process with Craft Charms such as Craftsman Needs No Tools.
People: To create extras, the Solar spends successes equal to the number of Background dots necessary to have them as followers. To create useful Essence 1 servants, the Solar spends one success per servant. Increase the required successes by one if the character is creating a coherent military unit, social group or government out of the chaos. The Solar can spend up to five successes at a time.
Wealth: To create portable wealth, the Solar must spend successes equal to its Resources value. She can spend up to five successes at a time.
Things made by this Charm are not real in and of themselves. Their reality stems entirely from Creation—from the reality of the Lawgivers, the Imperial Mountain and the Loom of Fate. As long as the created things continue to interact with Creation or the Exalted, as through the magical trade networks established in the First Age to tame the Wyld, they survive.
If something created by this Charm fails to interact extensively with the things of Creation during a story, it begins to lose its reality. Roll its creator’s Essence against either difficulty 1 or, if the Solar’s creation does not interact with real things that story at all, difficulty 2. After three failures without any extensive interaction with Creation or an Exalt, something created by this Charm fades away entirely.
Creatures made using Wyld-Shaping Technique are outside Creation’s processes of life and death. They do not reincarnate in Creation or as a real creature unless Heaven orders their pattern woven into the Loom of Fate. Nor do they form ghosts unless the Neverborn intervene to recreate their Essence pattern as such. They fade away upon their deaths and are no longer valid targets for Charms or other effects unless otherwise stated.
The Lawgiver may craft reality from the Wyld. This Charm enhances the Exalt’s Wyld-Shaping Technique, allowing the character to make permanent and real things.
Land/Wealth: The character can make real land or wealth with Wyld-Shaping Technique. This follows the normal rules, but the character must make a sacrifice—normally, a quantity of orichalcum or jade with Resources value equal to the Resources value of the creation. The character cannot sacrifice functional artifacts. The character can instead spend (Resources value x 2) in experience points, carving the necessary land or wealth out of his soul.
Magical Things: If the character builds a manse or artifact out of materials imported from Creation, the result is real—it does not lose its reality as described above.
People: The character can change a person or a social group with Wyld-Shaping Technique. Doing so subtracts an external penalty equal to the target’s MDV from the successes on the character’s Wyld-Shaping roll. If the character succeeds, she may change the target’s Motivation and impose a number of points of Wyld mutations equal to the Solar’s Essence. The target can resist this change by spending four Willpower. The target can alternatively spend two Willpower and state a short condition, such as “do not make me hideous” or “do not make me a traitor,” which limits the Solar’s options but does not prevent the effect. Storytellers can veto conditions such as “do not change me at all.” Targets of this Charm must be present in the Wyld and within (Essence x 10) yards of the Solar.
The intricate Essence flows of the anima are as a child’s toys to the savants of the Sun. This Charm allows the Solar to give up to (her Essence x 3) motes to another character. The Solar loses exactly as many motes as the target gains, in addition to the cost of this Charm, but this transfer does not count as spending motes for the purposes of anima banner flare. Transferred motes go first to the target’s personal and then to the target’s peripheral Essence but cannot increase either the target’s personal or the target’s peripheral Essence past their normal maximums.
Solar loremasters understand the subtle and delicate patterns of Essence that give rise to free will and the self. This Charm strengthens those patterns, reinforcing the target’s determination and certainty. This Charm allows the character to give up to (her Essence) in Willpower to the target. The Solar loses exactly as much Willpower as the target gains, in addition to the Willpower spent on this Charm, but this does not count against the normal limits on Willpower expenditure. This Charm cannot increase the target’s Willpower past its normal maximum.
The Lawgivers share great secrets with their disciples. This Charm targets an Essence 1 character who cannot channel Essence. This Charm increases the target’s effective Essence to 2, allows him an (initially empty) 15-mote pool and the ability to regain Essence as a Solar Exalt, and it permits him to learn Solar Charms with the normal training time for 10 experience points each. The target has access to this increased Essence, pool and Charms only when actively under the influence of Power-Awarding Prana (i.e., for only as long as the awarding Solar’s Essence motes remain committed).
The Lawgivers restore the hidden patterns of the soul. This Charm targets an individual, whom the Solar must touch. The Lawgiver spends 15 motes and an amount of Willpower equal to the target’s permanent Essence. This Charm shatters all Shaping effects on the target, including long-term or permanent effects such as Wyld mutations and Sidereal astrology. The target is immune to further Shaping effects for the remainder of the scene.
Using this Charm outside the Wyld on one of the Fair Folk destroys the target. The dream-wrought bodies of the Fair Folk are a Shaping effect, and this Charm renders them into statues, dreams, objects, animals or ordinary humans at the Storyteller’s discretion. Note that the Exalt must successfully touch Fair Folk to use this Charm against them.
The Solar draws strength from the harmonious governance of Creation. The greater the social structure he commands, the more Essence he may wield. This Charm allows the Solar to recover motes by tending to the affairs of a kingdom, organization or social or military unit he leads. Each hour spent inspiring the people or performing administrative tasks allows the Solar to recover motes equal to the unit’s Magnitude.
In addition, each purchase of this Charm increases the character’s Peripheral Essence pool by 10 motes. This Essence cannot be committed to an artifact. The character cannot recover this Essence normally—he can refill this pool only through the technique above and with Essence-recovery Charms. The player may purchase this Charm a total number of times equal to the Exalt’s Essence.
Those who serve the Solars faithfully need know no pain. The recipient of this Charm feels a temporary euphoria qualitatively similar to an opium high. This Charm cancels up to three points of the target’s penalties from Sickness, Poison and Crippling effects and wound penalties. Its effects linger for five minutes after the duration expires. Touch of Blissful Release is not physically addictive to the target.
Tie a Solar physician and a man dying of the plague to an anchor and cast them into a stormy sea—still the Solar may have the ingenuity to heal the victim. This Charm supplements a Medicine-based action to treat a patient. It does not reduce the time required for medical treatment, but otherwise allows the Solar to treat patients in unfavorable conditions without medicines, penalties or a stunt. The medical shortcuts involved depend on the Exalt in question. Some learn special pressure points, others channel raw Essence to heal, and still others inspire new strength in their patients through words and actions.
Solar physicians can speed a patient’s recovery from even the most terrible wounds. This Charm supplements a dramatic action to treat, monitor and tend to the patient. This action requires one hour spent without a stunt or a Charm. The Solar’s player rolls (Intelligence + Medicine). This Charm replaces the normal benefits of medical care, instead allowing the target to recover a number of lethal or bashing health levels equal to the number of successes at the end of the day. If the target spends the day resting, the target recovers a number of additional lethal and bashing health levels equal to the Solar’s permanent Essence. No patient can benefit from this Charm more than once per day.
The Essence of the Solar Exalted fills others with new life. The efforts of the Solar healer inspire the injured, the broken, the faltering and the weak to rise and take their burdens up again. This Charm gives the target a number of temporary -1 health levels equal to the user’s Essence. These health levels are the first lost when the character takes damage, and they are never healed back. When the Solar stops committing Essence to this Charm, the additional health levels fade without ill effect, whether or not they have been lost. They also fade instantly if Anointment of Miraculous Health is used on the target again.
Great Solar healers can draw the poison from even unnatural wounds. This Charm enhances a dramatic action to treat, monitor and tend to the patient. This action requires one hour without a stunt or a Charm. This Charm replaces the normal benefits of medical care. Instead, the Solar’s player rolls (Intelligence + Medicine). If she succeeds, the Solar converts the target’s aggravated wound levels to lethal wound levels.
The eyes of the Solar Exalted see the hidden truths of others’ pains. This Charm lets the Solar automatically determine which of the target’s observable traits and described symptoms are medically related. If the Solar uses this Charm in the process of a formal diagnosis, normally a dramatic (Perception + Medicine) action with a Speed of 5 long ticks, this Charm protects her from any error in diagnosis. If she has enough information, she accurately identifies each condition, its source and its additional effect. If she does not have enough information—as when a target who caught an unknown disease from eating infected human brains successfully conceals his cannibalism—she recognizes that some key piece of the puzzle is missing.
Disease and corruption cannot stand against the Solars’ healing light. Solar Exalted with this Charm can cure any Sickness effect. This Charm guarantees that any attempt Solars make to treat a sickness is considered supernatural. It halves the length of the patient’s convalescence. If the Exalt’s player rolls five or more successes on a Medicine roll for the Solar to treat an ordinarily incurable illness, such as the Great Contagion, she can spend five motes and banish it from the patient’s system. Treating sickness in this fashion is a dramatic Medicine-based action that takes one hour unless sped by a stunt or Charm.
The Lawgivers bring purgation and purity. Solar Exalted with this Charm can force even the most terrible Poison effects from the target’s body. This Charm guarantees that any attempt they make to treat a poison is considered supernatural. If the Exalt’s player rolls five or more successes on a Medicine roll for the Solar to treat an ordinarily incurable poison, such as spiritual taint, Yozi impregnation or even spells such as Blood of Boiling Oil, she can spend five motes and banish it from the patient’s system. Treating poison in this fashion is a dramatic Medicine-based action that takes 20 minutes unless sped by a stunt or Charm.
Essence can repair even severed limbs. Solar Exalted with this Charm can cure any Crippling effect. This Charm guarantees that any attempt they make to treat the effect is considered supernatural. If the Exalt’s player rolls five or more successes on a Medicine roll for the Solar to treat an ordinarily incurable Crippling effect, such as limb amputation or Charm-induced paralysis, she can spend five motes and restore the patient. Treating Crippling injuries in this fashion is a dramatic Medicine-based action that takes one hour unless sped by a stunt or Charm. It takes the patient several days of convalescence to repair otherwise permanent damage such as lost limbs or blindness.
Rarely is a Solar forced to leave a task unfinished. This Charm is a Medicine-based action in which the character treats a patient. The Charm functions exactly as any Medicine-based dramatic action that takes up to one hour, save that the character performs it in a handful of seconds. As with Contagion-Curing Touch, the medical shortcuts involved depend on the Exalt in question. This Charm does not remove the need for appropriate medicine, surgical tools and suchlike, but the Solar can use a stunt or Combo to work around these limitations.
This Charm speeds only that portion of treatment that actively involves the physician. It does not accelerate any rest, recovery and convalescence the patient normally performs on his own. It can act as the dramatic action required by Charms such as Wholeness-Restoring Meditation and Wound-Mending Care Technique.
The Exalted shape the Essence of the world. This Charm lets the character hone her will to the razor-sharp edge necessary to perform magic of the so-called First Circle—a power infinitely greater than mortal thaumaturgy. This magic can affect up to a few hundred individuals at a time, and its spells take only a few moments to cast. This Charm allows the character to take Terrestrial Circle Sorcery actions (see p. 252).
Celestial Circle Sorcery can slay thousands, level fortresses and bind Second Circle demons to the Exalt’s will. Only the Celestial Exalted can master this powerful sorcerous initiation. This Charm permits the character to take Celestial Circle Sorcery actions (see p. 252).
The sorcery reserved for the Lawgivers is a work of perfection and adamant. The spells of Solar Circle Sorcery are awesome beyond words—they can bring life to regions or slay entire armies. This Charm permits the character to take Solar Circle Sorcery actions (see p. 252).
Spirits cannot hide from the Lawgivers. Spirits such as demons, ghosts and gods often move through the world in dematerialized form, completely hidden from all observers. This Charm lets the character see, hear, smell and feel—but not touch—dematerialized creatures. It makes dematerialized creatures within the normal range of the character’s senses valid targets for the character’s Awareness actions, including reflexive Awareness actions.
The Solar Exalted may attack even the subtle Essence of dematerialized spirits. This Charm enhances an attack, making dematerialized creatures within the attack’s normal range valid targets. The attack deals aggravated damage to spirits, materialized or otherwise. This Charm is explicitly permitted to supplement actions using other Abilities. Note that if the character cannot see the spirit he attacks, he receives the normal -2 external penalty.
The heroes of the First Age used Ghost-Eating Technique to slay the Neverborn and the demon hordes. Spirits normally dissipate rather than dying when they lose all of their health levels to damage. The Solar invokes this Charm after making a successful attack that damages or dissipates a spirit. In addition to the normal damage from this attack, this Charm transfers a number of motes from the spirit to the Solar equal to (the Solar’s permanent Essence x 2). If the spirit loses its last health level to this attack and dissipates, this Charm consumes the spirit utterly. Its Essence dissolves, and it will never be remade.
The Solar casts out spirits. She spreads her arms, and a blazing ring of gold-white light spreads from her, forming a circle centered on the character with a radius equal to (the character’s Essence) yards. This circle remains centered on the character for the remainder of the scene. This Charm imposes a Compulsion effect on all dematerialized creatures who take actions in this scene. They are compelled not to enter the circle while dematerialized and not to stay within the circle while dematerialized. Resisting costs Willpower equal to the Lawgiver’s Essence, after which the spirit can ignore the Spirit-Repelling Diagram for the remainder of the scene.
Nothing is hidden from the Lawgivers. The character augments his vision with the ability to see patterns of Essence. This Charm allows the character to see motes, Essence-fueled effects, power and invisible but magical creatures and effects. These things become valid targets for the character’s visual Awareness rolls, including reflexive visual Awareness rolls.
The ability to perceive Essence patterns has the following effects: All Charms are treated as Obvious with respect to the character. Dematerialized and invisible creatures and effects are considered visible. The character recognizes all artifacts, manses and demesnes as such. The character can automatically recognize a creature with Essence 4+ as a supernatural creature. Characters using Stealth to avoid detection are not automatically revealed by their Charms, Essence trait or carried artifacts—for the same reason that colorful clothing does not automatically void mundane attempts at stealth. Instead, add the target’s Essence in dice to any attempt by the character to pierce mundane or magical Stealth. Similarly, this Charm does not automatically void disguises, magical disguises and similar deceptions, although circumstances might warrant a bonus to see through them.
If the character makes a conscious attempt to analyze what he sees, this Charm allows an (Intelligence + Occult) roll to do so. Identifying the exact effects of an unknown Charm or spell is difficulty 5. Gauging the rating of a person’s Essence trait, a demesne, a manse or an artifact has difficulty 2.
The Lawgivers see all things truly. This Charm functions as All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight, but it has no cost—the character gains the benefits automatically whenever her anima banner is at or beyond the 4-7 mote level. If she wishes to use Essence sight at some other time, she may commit one mote reflexively to do so. While that mote remains committed, her Caste Mark burns visibly, and she has access to the benefits of All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight.
The Solar Exalted are as graceful as sunlight on water. This Charm lets the Exalt automatically succeed on any valid Athletics action to keep his balance. Moreover, this Charm allows the Exalt to keep his footing on any surface at least as strong and wide as a human hair. He treats it as a three-foot-wide ledge capable of supporting a thousand pounds of weight when determining what movement and Athletics actions he can take and what penalties to them might apply.
The heroes of the dawn leap with the grace of a flying crane and the speed of a striking hawk. For the rest of the scene, the character can jump with a movement action instead of a miscellaneous action, and she doubles the length of all jumps.
Supported by Essence, the character can almost fly. Until her next action, the character can jump with a Move action instead of a miscellaneous action, and she multiplies the length of all jumps by five. This is not cumulative with the bonus of Monkey Leap Technique.
The heroes of the dawn can leap great distances in a single bound. This Charm is a dramatic jumping action, normally taking about five minutes, in which the character leaps up to (Essence x 5) miles. If the character is interrupted mid-leap and forced to take non-reflexive actions, he continues along the original trajectory—but his landing is considered “falling from a great height” rather than “safely completing a jump.”
The Solar Exalt moves with unpredictable grace. For the rest of the scene, this Charm adds the character’s Athletics in dice to any attempts to reestablish surprise (see p. 156). The character is not actually better at hiding, but his quicksilver movements make it harder for opponents to keep track of his exact position.
The athletes of the Sun often master signature attacks. This Charm uses the Solar’s signature athletic move to enhance an attack. A signature move is something like leaping into the air and swinging the character’s fists in a brilliant Essence-laden arc, charging an opponent like a bull or pouncing on an enemy like a tiger. If the character receives mechanical benefits such as extra movement from his Athletics action, then it must be included in his current flurry. This Charm gives one bonus success on this attack in Step 3 of attack resolution and doubles the post-soak damage of the attack in Step 7 of attack resolution. This Charm is explicitly permitted to supplement actions of other Abilities.
The player chooses the signature attack when purchasing this Charm, but once this Charm is purchased, the character can purchase new signature attacks for one experience point or one bonus point each.
The Exalt becomes a blur of motion. This Charm increases the distance she can cover with a Move or Dash action by her Athletics score in yards. She can increase this further with Athletics Excellencies, spending motes to increase the static rating of her (Dexterity + Athletics).
To the Lawgiver, the great distances between Creation’s territories are not so much an obstacle as a place to keep their dominions. This Charm allows the character to travel ([her Stamina + Essence] x 10) miles per hour, for up to one hour. This is a single dramatic action. If the character invokes this Charm again as her next action, she may ignore the Willpower cost.
The heroes of the dawn make the impossible look easy. This Charm allows the character to run (using the Move and Dash actions) on any surface. She cannot stop while standing on a vertical surface or while upside down, however. If she does not make a Move or Dash action on every tick, she falls.
If the Solar has Essence 4 or higher, she can spend one mote per action to remain standing on a vertical or inverted surface. She can, for example, fence while standing upside down on the ceiling.
The Lawgivers tread lightly when they choose. This Charm allows the Solar to run or walk on unstable surfaces (using the Move and Dash actions) as if she weighed no more than a feather. This makes surfaces such as rice paper, water, lava and writhing maggots effectively solid beneath her feet—though not necessarily harmless. To stop and stand on such a surface requires a successful reflexive difficulty 2 (Dexterity + Athletics) roll for each action in which the character wishes to maintain balance.
The Solar hero focuses her Essence and repels the ground. She leaps skyward and continues to fly until the scene ends or she wills herself to land. She can fly at triple her normal Move and Dash rates, but must move at least half her normal Move on every tick or she will have to land and end this Charm. The character must remain within ([Strength + Athletics] x 3) yards of a surface. She can “climb” walls or cliffs by zooming along their surface, but she can’t naturally rise more than the stated distance above the ground.
To direct the flows of Essence, the character must keep one hand extended before her. This prevents the use of bows and other two-handed weapons while flying. The character may use thrown weapons, fight unarmed or wield one-handed weapons normally, regardless of how fast she is moving. The character can engage in aerial duels with characters capable of taking to the air, or she can hurl thrown weapons at foes on the ground or swoop down and strike them as she flies past.
This Charm suffuses the character with Solar Essence, temporarily increasing his Strength. It adds one dot to the character’s Strength for each three motes spent. No combination of Charms that includes Increasing Strength Exercise can increase the character’s Strength by more than his Essence, and this bonus is treated as a dice bonus from Charms.
Essence enhances the Solar’s senses. Keen (Sense) Technique is actually three Charms, one that heightens sight, one that heightens hearing and touch and one that heightens smell and taste.
This Charm gives two bonus successes on Awareness actions that use the relevant senses. It also allows the character to clearly perceive sensory impressions that are normally too faint for human senses to validly observe at all. Some feats appropriate for users of this Charm follow.
Sight. The character can make out the detail on a commander’s epaulet at 500 yards distance, at night. He can see the individual threads of a shirt, and with a legendary success, he can make out the motion of the mites that live on others’ eyebrows.
Hearing and Touch. The character can gauge the quality of fabric with a touch. He reduces the external penalty to target unseen characters to -1 and the internal penalty from blindness to -2. He can hear conversations normally through thick stone walls. With a legendary success, he can read by touch.
Smell and Taste. The character can recognize others and hints of their recent activities by smell. He can track by scent, gaining one bonus success when tracking someone who has a scent. The character can identify spices and poisons by taste. With a legendary success, he can detect but not identify a few drops of tasteless poison in a wine—as its presence serves to dilute the wine.
Essence grants the character supreme sensory prowess. Unsurpassed (Sense) Discipline is actually three Charms. One heightens sight, one heightens hearing and touch, and one heightens smell and taste.
This Charm doubles the character’s successes on Awareness rolls, before subtracting any external penalties. Should the character employ this Charm in combination with the appropriate Keen (Sense) Technique, it is reasonable to imagine that she could critique the mating practices of insects, read with her fingertips or gauge an individual’s mood by scent.
In this degenerate time, the Lawgivers depend on a preternatural sense for danger. This Charm guarantees success on any valid Awareness roll to notice immediate mortal danger. This Charm works whether in or out of battle, awake or asleep. If the Exalt has a chance to notice a surprise attack during a prolonged struggle, a dart blown at him in the jungle, an invisible opponent or a cleverly concealed pit, he does so.
If the Exalt’s player must make such a roll and has a chance of failing it, and if the Solar can invoke this Charm, this Charm invokes itself automatically. At that time, if the player has a Combo containing this Charm, he may declare the use of that Combo instead of just the Surprise Anticipation Method Charm.
Surprise Anticipation Method does not invoke itself if the character has already used his Charm for the action, if the character does not have any motes of Essence, if the character is Inactive and cannot become active, if the character is already certain to succeed on the Awareness roll or if the character cannot normally attempt an Awareness roll.
The Lawgivers see through all deceptions. This Charm lets the Solar see everything that is deliberately concealed within the normal range of his vision. This Charm renders Stealth effects, deception effects and concealment effects—natural and unnatural—inapplicable against the Solar. She may notice the effects, but they have no effect on her. This includes invisibility, mundane disguises, disguises augmented by Lunar shapeshifting or Sidereal astrology and Compulsion and Illusion effects that force her to deny reality. This Charm flares the Solar’s anima to the 16+ mote level while in use. If another Charm contests this Charm’s effects, Eye of the Unconquered Sun adds twice the Solar’s Essence in automatic successes to the opposed roll to maintain the effects of this Charm. This Charm is considered a defense when used to prevent a surprise or social attack.
The Chosen move like shadows over water—with perfect grace and speed. The maneuver named Shadow Over Water restores defensive advantage to a beleaguered or overextended fighter. This Charm is used in response to an attack. It allows the Exalt to ignore all penalties that apply to her Dodge DV when resolving that attack. Her Dodge DV is still 0 against an undodgeable attack, but she takes no further penalties.
The Solar hero is too quick for his enemies to land a blow. The Exalt invokes this Charm in response to an attack. The attack must not be unexpected. This Charm is a dodge that perfectly defends against the attack—even if the attack is undodgeable.
This Charm has one of the Four Flaws of Invulnerability (see p. 194).
The heroes of the dawn are in tune with the Essence of the world. The Exalt invokes this Charm in response to an unexpected attack. The attack is no longer unexpected (but if an appropriate Charm, it remains unblockable). This allows the character to use his Dodge DV and Charms such as Seven Shadow Evasion against the attack.
Essence permeates the Lawgiver’s being. She moves with an impossible fluid grace. For the remainder of the scene, this Charm negates the onslaught and coordinated attack penalties that others’ attacks impose on the Exalt’s DV.
The Solar is as elusive as a dream. The Exalt invokes this Charm after using her Dodge DV to defend against an attack. This Charm allows her to leap away from her opponent, jumping up to ([Strength + Dodge] x 3) yards vertically or twice this distance horizontally. The Exalt chooses the exact direction and distance of this leap, so long as it is away from her attacker. This Charm is treated as a counterattack, even though the jump is not hostile. It reduces the character’s DV by one, it cannot be used with a counterattack, and it is resolved in Step 9 of attack resolution.
After the Usurpation, the last of the Iron Wolves used this Charm to move in secret among the armies of the Dragon-Blooded. This Charm involves creating a disguise, and the player rolls ([Wits or Manipulation] + Larceny) to determine the disguise’s quality.
This Charm allows the character to change his coloration, skin texture, hair color, and eye color. It also lets the character seem anywhere between half and twice his actual age, change his apparent ethnicity, change his apparent gender and adjust his height by as much as 10% in either direction. The character can adjust his voice, accent, speaking style and scent to match. These aspects of the disguise are impenetrable—the flaws are too subtle for the eye to see or the ear to hear, so that ordinary Awareness and Investigation cannot detect them. Characters with inhuman sensory acuity, such as Lawgivers using Keen Sight Technique or a dog scenting its master, can see through the character’s disguise, but the opposed roll incurs a +4 difficulty penalty.
This Charm does not help the character imitate others’ appearance. The disguise is impenetrable, not exact. If someone sees through an imitation, they will see the character as an imposter who happens to naturally look almost exactly like the target the character is impersonating.
This Charm becomes a mundane disguise effect when the magic ends. Changes worked with makeup, posture, attitude and costume rather than Essence remain.
The Solar Exalted know the secrets of others’ hearts. This Charm involves creating a disguise, and the Solar’s player rolls ([Wits or Manipulation] + Larceny) to determine the disguise’s quality. This Charm functions as Flawlessly Impenetrable Disguise, save that it has a shorter duration, a higher cost and two additional abilities.
First, the character can halve or double his apparent Essence—as seen by creatures capable of perceiving such things—and can appear to possess a mystical trait to the extent that he can emulate its mechanical effects. For example, an Essence 4 character could disguise himself as an Essence 8 god. If that god’s hair writhes and the god floats an inch above the ground, the character convincingly models these traits. He does not actually float, however.
Second, if the character has sufficient familiarity to disguise himself as someone else and that person’s appearance is within the limits of this Charm, the character can perfectly imitate that person. Characters with ordinary senses cannot use Awareness or Investigation to see through this disguise, and even characters with inhuman sensory acuity—such as Lawgivers using All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight to spot the disguise Charm or demons recognizing the master to whom they are bound—have a +4 difficulty penalty on the opposed roll to penetrate the disguise.
Note that, because ordinary Investigation cannot see through this disguise, the character has all the important distinguishing features of the imitated target—mannerisms, scent, accent and all. He does not know things that only the target can know, however, so he cannot give passwords or issue countersigns. He is flawless at covering up his ignorance when someone attempts to ferret him out, though.
It is the Lawgivers’ right to confiscate goods necessary to the service of the Unconquered Sun. This Charm enhances a valid pickpocketing roll—that is, a roll to steal something that the character can both reach and carry from another’s person. The character cannot steal things in active use, such as the sword in someone’s hand, the boots from the target’s feet or an artifact to which someone has committed motes, unless the target is an extra.
This Charm guarantees success on the pickpocketing roll. If another Charm contests this effect, add the character’s Essence in automatic successes to the (Dexterity + Larceny) roll to oppose the other Charm. In addition, characters using ordinary senses cannot spot the theft with Awareness. Even players of characters with inhuman sensory acuity—such as a spider feeling for the vibrations in its web while a character attempts to steal its larder—have a +4 difficulty penalty on the opposed roll to catch the character in the act.
In the First Age, the Solar Exalted used this Charm to steal the artifacts of the Fair Folk and the Yozis then turn them to the service of Creation. This Charm is an attempt to steal something in plain sight, within (the Solar’s Essence) yards. The character must be able to carry the item, and the character cannot steal things in active use—again, including attuned artifacts—unless he is stealing from an extra’s person. The character automatically succeeds in stealing the item. If another Charm contests this effect, add the character’s Essence in automatic successes to the ([Dexterity or Wits] + Larceny) roll to oppose the other Charm.
Characters using ordinary senses cannot spot the theft with Awareness. Nor may they notice the theft afterward until the Solar has refreshed his DV a number of times equal to his Essence score, barring unusual circumstances such as an attempt to use the item or the collapse of an arch after the character steals its keystone. Even players of characters with inhuman sensory acuity have a +4 difficulty on the opposed roll to notice the theft and a +8 difficulty on the unopposed roll to notice the item’s absence.
This Charm normally costs five motes. To steal an item that he could not reach—on the other side of a window, outside of the character’s cell, at the bottom of a narrow crevice and so forth—the character must also spend 1 Willpower.
Mortal thieves must struggle with lockpicks and thieves’ tools. The Exalted may use Essence. This Charm enhances a miscellaneous action to pick a lock. It makes success automatic even if the character has no tools (though such use makes the Charm Obvious). If this effect is opposed by another Charm or magical effect, add the character’s Essence in automatic successes to the (Dexterity + Larceny) roll to oppose the rival magic.
Only the unrighteous would lock a door to keep the Lawgivers out. Such an intention is proof of iniquity. This Charm is a Move action with the normal movement allowance, which bypasses a single closed portal. The character must be able to move, and this Charm uses up the character’s Move action for the tick. The character can move through a closed door, a fallen portcullis or a sealed grate as if it were not there. This Charm only allows movement through portals—that is, objects intentionally designed for people, animals or spirits to pass through them. The character cannot use this Charm to walk through walls, squeeze through arrow slits or fish around inside a sealed chest.
The Lawgivers must sometimes mask their glory, moving anonymously among the common folk. This Charm makes the character difficult to notice unless circumstances or battle readiness make him obvious. It causes Awareness and Investigation rolls made to notice the Solar to fail automatically unless the Solar is currently joined in battle (see p. 141) or the observer has a minimum two-die bonus from circumstances. Examples of relevant circumstances include the +1 bonus guards receive from alertness, the +1 bonus to notice a Northerner in a Southern city and the +3 bonus to notice a blood-drenched orichalcum-armored Solar at a formal dress party.
The Mental Invisibility Technique bends the minds of those who might observe the character. The Exalt’s player rolls ([Dexterity or Manipulation] + Stealth), adding her Essence in automatic successes. This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence on all those who observe her. If the character’s successes exceed a target’s Dodge MDV, the target is compelled to ignore the Solar’s presence whenever the Solar is not joined in battle (see p. 141). The target must spend four Willpower to resist this compulsion, which drops to one Willpower if someone calls the target’s attention to the Solar.
In the night, surrounded by the brooding things of darkness, it is sometimes hard to remember the sun. This Charm allows the character to apply Stealth retroactively. The Solar’s player rolls ([Wits or Manipulation] + Stealth), adding a number of automatic successes equal to the Exalt’s Essence. This stealth veils the character in others’ memories. The first time in each day that someone attempts to remember an event involving the character or attempts to recognize the character, that person’s player must reflexively roll (Wits + Lore) and achieve more successes than did the Exalt’s player. If he fails, the character does not remember or recognize the character—in his memories of past interactions with the character, the character is either a nameless, unremembered figure or simply not present at all.
The Solar vanishes from others’ sight. This Charm makes it impossible to detect the character with any sense save touch—unless they bump into him, observers simply cannot spot the character. This Charm fades instantly if the character joins battle or moves (with the Move action, the Dash action or their narrative and dramatic equivalents.) It fades automatically five ticks after someone notices the character by touch.
Only a fool would cheat the heroes of the dawn. This Charm supplements a normal or dramatic action to estimate something’s quality and price. Examples include the normal action to estimate the quality of a gem and the dramatic action to evaluate a shipment of silk and spices. This Charm gives the Exalt a perfect awareness of the target object’s quality and condition. This awareness gives one bonus success on any price haggling if her bargaining opponent is honest (and using Cha- risma) and three bonus successes if the opponent is dishonest (and using Manipulation).
Smoothly managing the economy is vital to the management of a state. This Charm supplements a social or dramatic action to buy, sell or trade something wisely.
This Charm provides information on market values. To the extent that the Exalt understands what the target item, shipment, import or export is—and to the extent that he understands the relevant markets—this Charm gives the Solar a perfect knowledge of its value in those markets. This information is sometimes worth the Charm’s cost in itself, but the main effect of this Charm and this information is to reduce external penalties applying to the mercantile action by an amount equal to the Solar’s Essence. Whether the Solar is trying to buy a good sword for himself, outfit his army in exceptional steel, trade off yeddim for silk before plague kills the beasts or sell off the produce of his nation’s labor, he can overcome penalties from scarcity, volatile markets and trade barriers.
The Lawgivers bring order and destroy corruption. The Solar speeds the process of a bureaucracy. Normally, an organization must first take a Begin Project dramatic action—ranging from minutes to months in its duration, depending on the organization’s structure—before it can start actual work on a project. The Solar communicates his desire for speedy resolution to the organization, and his player rolls ([Intelligence or Charisma] + Bureaucracy), adding the Solar’s Essence in automatic successes. The difficulty of this roll is 1. If the person responsible for this project deliberately engages in delays, subtract an external penalty of ([that person’s Intelligence + Bureaucracy] ÷ 2) from the successes on the Bureaucracy roll. The Solar is aware of such delaying tactics, however.
If the Solar succeeds, this Charm divides the time needed to begin the project by (the Solar’s Essence + 1), with a maximum possible time of one season. For example, for an Essence 5 Solar, if it would normally take six months to authorize naval repairs or obtain an audience with the local king, this Charm reduces that time to a single month. If it normally takes a century to obtain necessary paperwork from a Fair Folk freehold, the Solar resolves the matter in a single season.
The Lawgivers govern wisely. This Charm supplements an organizational effort that the Solar leads—a dramatic action taken by a bureaucratic, mercantile or governmental organization. This Charm reduces the external penalties on that action by the Solar’s Essence. It permanently reduces any internal penalties that organization suffers due to endemic corruption or inefficiency by one. The Solar must have sufficient authority to lead the effort. For example, the Solar could lead a nation’s effort to build a network of roads, reducing the penalties imposed by bandits, uncleared wilderness and reluctant labor. This Charm incidentally purges the least useful members of the bureaucracy.
The enemies of the Solar Exalted are creatures of vice. The Lawgivers exploit their venality and allow them to defeat themselves. This Charm empowers the natural indolence of others. The Solar communicates with an organization regarding a project, and his player rolls ([Intelligence or Charisma] + Bureaucracy), adding the Solar’s Essence in automatic successes. The difficulty of this roll is 1. If the person responsible for this project wishes a speedy resolution, subtract an external penalty of ([that person’s Intelligence + Bureaucracy] ÷ 2) from the successes on the Bureaucracy roll. The Solar is aware of such opposition, however.
If the Solar succeeds, this Charm multiplies the remaining time required for the target organization to begin that project by (the Solar’s Essence + 1). It is always increased to at least (the Solar’s Essence) in hours. If the project has already begun, this Charm instead applies an external penalty equal to the Solar’s Essence to the organization’s attempts to make progress.
Those who oppose the Lawgivers often break down under the burden of their own failings. This Charm supplements a deliberate attempt by the Solar to sabotage an organization’s operation. Her player rolls ([Intelligence or Charisma] + Bureaucracy), adding the Solar’s Essence in automatic successes. Subtract an external penalty of ([the organization’s leader’s Intelligence + Bureaucracy] ÷ 2) from the successes on the Bureaucracy roll.
If the character succeeds, then the organization suffers a permanent increase in corruption and inefficiency that imposes a -2 internal penalty on all of its actions. This Charm can be applied repeatedly to a single bureaucracy, but no combination of Charms including Foul Air of Argument Technique can impose a greater internal inefficiency and corruption penalty on an organization than (the Solar’s Intelligence + Bureaucracy).
The diplomats of the Unconquered Sun write with a swift and elegant hand. This Charm supplements a dramatic action to write something down—be it a copy of an existing book, the transcript of a live conversation or an original work. This Charm allows the character to write at (her Essence x 10) times her normal speed. Instead of dedicating 30 hours to copying a manuscript, an Essence 2 character might finish it in an hour and a half. Instead of six hours writing and polishing a treaty, an Essence 3 Eclipse might prepare it in 12 minutes.
Flawless Brush Discipline heightens the beauty of a Lawgiver’s script, making her every brushstroke ideal. Exalted using this Charm write with the hands of legendary sages and divine calligraphers. This Charm adds the character’s permanent Essence to her Linguistics score to determine the beauty of the writing. In addition, this Charm causes the Lawgiver’s words to exude a supernatural attraction. The Exalt’s player rolls (Charisma + Performance) when recording her message. If the successes exceed the MDV of someone reading this work, the target is overcome with admiration or even love for the Exalt. This is an emotion caused by unnatural mental influence. The target must spend three Willpower to resist this effect or become committed (see p. 201) to the emotion that this Charm instills. If the target does not spend the three Willpower, the emotion lasts until the target breaks the commitment, and it costs one Willpower per scene to resist. Once affected, the target cannot suffer the effects of that Exalt’s Flawless Brush Discipline again for one full year.
Though the glorious Solar Exalted of the First Age are dead, many left secret messages for their heirs. This Charm allows the character to hide a message within another written work. Only the intended targets for the message can perceive it.
The concealed message can include natural or unnatural mental influence. If so, the influence is an attempted surprise attack. Add the author’s Linguistics in automatic successes to the Socialize roll to take the target by surprise.
The Solar heroes see through petty mysteries. This Charm lets the character understand encoded, obscured and hidden communication as if it were clear. For example, the Exalt can read weather-damaged stone tablets, recognize the signals in a coded exchange, browse ciphered manuscripts as if they were in their original language and make out the words of someone whose tongue has been cut in half. This Charm can oppose the concealing effects of Letter-Within-a-Letter Technique and similar Charms. The character is never surprised by social attacks while this Charm is in force.
The Lawgivers see others’ purposes. This Charm identifies the motivation behind a given statement that the Exalt reads or hears—a one-sentence summary of what the person making that statement hopes to gain. If the Exalt invokes this Charm to defend against a social attack and the attacker’s purpose is fundamentally hostile to the Exalt or the Exalt’s Motivation, this Charm perfectly negates the attack.
The Solar heroes express their desires clearly. Language barriers do not stop them—their every gesture conveys their desired meaning. This Charm removes external penalties to dramatic actions and combat actions caused by the character not knowing others’ languages. She can convey tactical and strategic necessities with expressive gestures and sounds. For example, she can easily convey “Duck!” or work with backwater natives to develop their agriculture. This Charm does not remove penalties to social or military actions, so the character will have a difficult time persuading or leading others—naturally or unnaturally—if she does not know their language.
Essence enhances the Solar’s language skills. This Charm allows the Solar to communicate and understand basic concepts in a language with which he has some experience but does not know. This requires a successful (Intelligence + Linguistics) roll for each five long ticks of conversation or page of written material, and the Solar must use a Linguistics Excellency. The difficulty is 5 if the Solar has a few days’ experience studying or hearing the language. It rises to 7 if the Solar has a scene of experience studying or hearing the language. It’s 10 if the Solar has only heard or read a few words. If the Solar uses this Charm to engage in social conflict in a language he does not understand, both the Solar and anyone he attempts to persuade receive a +3 to their MDV.
The cadences of the Solar’s language are subtly compelling. This Charm supplements a written attempt to compel or deceive others. It makes the persuasion attempt involved unnatural. The player rolls (Manipulation + an appropriate social Ability). This effects a compulsion or illusion on anyone who reads the written text and whose MDV the successes exceed. The target must spend three Willpower to resist this effect or become committed (see p. 201) to the intention or belief the Solar wishes to instill. If the target does not spend the three Willpower, the influence lasts until the target breaks the commitment and costs one Willpower per scene to resist. This Charm loses effectiveness with repeated use. Increase the target’s MDV by three if an Exalt has used Twisted Words Technique or a similar Charm on the target this story.
The Solar’s words blaze with power, fascinating others. This Charm is a dramatic action to speak before a crowd. It flares the Solar’s anima to the 16+ mote level while in use. The rhythm and poetry of the Solar’s words become a transcendent numinous experience for those who hear him speak.
This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence on all who hear, compelling them to listen raptly. This is automatically successful unless opposed by a defensive Charm. In addition, the Exalt’s player rolls (Charisma + Linguistics), and if the successes defeat a target’s MDV, that target is compelled to fall to his knees in awe, weep with rapture or otherwise react as appropriate to the presence and oration of a creature greater than a god. To resist one or both compulsions for a single action, the target must either have his player succeed on a Temperance roll, or he must spend one Willpower. The target need never spend more Willpower than the Solar’s Essence in any given scene to resist Unbreakable Fascination Method.
This Charm ends when the Solar interrupts his speech for any reason other than a dramatic pause—that is, when he takes some other action.
The Chosen of the Sun know their animals well. This Charm permanently enhances the Exalt’s capabilities with one of the following tricks:
Harmony of Spirits Style. The Lawgiver can spend one mote reflexively to stop himself from falling off a mount. Characters can activate this effect when the character is inactive (see p. 143). In addition, as a permanent benefit, the character will not fall off the mount simply from being inactive during ordinary travel.
Horse-Summoning Whistle. The Lawgiver can spend one mote reflexively to call a mount loyal to him to his side. The mount makes its way to him as circumstances best allow.
Master Horseman’s Eye. The Solar can spend one mote reflexively when evaluating a mount and perfectly recognize its strengths and weaknesses.
Speed-Sustaining Technique. The Lawgiver can spend one mote reflexively and touch a mount to sustain it for two hours. Effort during that time does not exhaust the creature, and it does not suffer harmful random incidents such as thrown shoes or injured hooves.
Spirit-Steadying Assurances. The Solar can spend three motes reflexively to prevent a mount from panicking. The mount will not panic for the remainder of the scene.
Characters with this Charm can purchase additional tricks from this list for two experience points or one bonus point. Using these abilities does not count as a Charm invocation—this Charm permanently enhances the Exalt’s capabilities.
The Solar heroes are as one with their mounts. This Charm lets a character use his reflexive Charms to assist a loyal animal he is riding rather than himself. This counts as the character using that Charm, but adds one mote to its invocation cost. Because this counts as the character using the Charm, it must abide by all of the normal limitations on Charm invocation. For example, the character can’t use a Martial Arts Excellency to enhance an attack and also use Reflex Sidestep Technique to help his mount dodge in the same action without a Combo. However, he could use either of these to help both himself and the horse in a single action. If the character has a self-invoking Charm, such as Surprise Anticipation Method, then it invokes to protect his mount as well. If the mount faces unexpected mortal danger, the character reflexively spends two motes to enhance the mount’s Awareness and allow it to shy.
This Charm enhances the character’s Worthy Mount Technique. The character can use Supplemental Charms to enhance the horse’s actions, adding two motes to their cost. For example, the character can use Thunderbolt Attack Prana to enhance his horse’s attack, possibly even in the same action that the character uses it to enhance his own. The character cannot do so when these Supplemental Charms are part of a Combo that includes a Simple Charm.
The Solar shapes a pure white steed with a burning golden mane from the Essence of the world. This Charm creates a war horse that needs no sleep, rest or food. This war horse is loyal to the character and has Control Rating 2.
Essence imbues the Lawgiver’s mount with infinite energy. It can run all-out without suffering ill effects. It receives one automatic success on any rolls to keep its footing or successfully jump an obstacle. With this Charm active, a mounted character can reliably cover (the horse’s Stamina x 10) miles per hour.
The steeds of the Lawgivers possess extraordinary speed. This Charm enhances the character’s Flashing Thunderbolt Steed technique, allowing the mount under its influence to reliably travel ([the creature’s Stamina + the character’s Essence] x 10) miles per hour.
The Solar heroes inspire their mounts to unusual feats. This Charm gives a horse the ability to fly, as well as the confidence to do so. It can run on water, clouds and even the air itself with a Move or Dash action, spending two yards of movement to ascend one yard.
Reduce this Charm’s cost to five motes when used upon a horse summoned with Phantom Steed or a similar Charm.
This Charm assists in naval and shipboard operations, from maintaining sea legs during a storm to guiding an invasion fleet through the reefs on a foggy night. This Charm removes up to the character’s Essence in external penalties from appropriate battle, social, dramatic and military actions. This includes both penalties directly related to the naval environment, such as fog and the rolling ship, and unrelated penalties such as an enemy’s DV or MDV.
The heroes of the dawn are masters of the sea. Invincible Admiral Method resembles Salty Dog Method but extends its benefits to others. This Charm assists in naval and shipboard operations. The Solar must be on board a seagoing vessel. This Charm removes one point of external penalties from appropriate combat, social, dramatic and military actions for all units within (Essence x 10) miles that are actively following the character’s lead—including solo units. For example, this Charm benefits a Solar’s crew during a boarding operation or the Solar’s navy during a large-scale fleet battle.
The Essence of a ship knows its master. This Charm claims a ship. The target ship must not be owned (see p. 238) by another Essence channeler. This Charm causes the Exalt to own the ship instantly. Other characters subtract one success as an external penalty from all actions while on board until the Exalt formally welcomes them to the ship and unless he later renounces them. This is enforced by the little god of the ship, so the Exalt must welcome and renounce others in the language of the Old Realm and in earshot of the ship itself.
The character protects her ship. She invokes this Charm in response to an attack upon the ship—whether by a ramming enemy, a reef’s cutting edge or the tentacles of an underwater beast. She must be on the ship at the time. This Charm perfectly negates the attack, guaranteeing a post-soak damage of 0.
The character invokes this Charm in response to an attack that would shatter or sink her vessel. This Charm holds the ship together as long as the character remains on board and keeps the Essence committed. If the ship takes even one level of damage, it will fall apart, although the character may use this Charm again (maintaining multiple commitments) or other Charms to defend it.
The Lawgivers find their way through the most terrible seas. This Charm is a dramatic action to guide the ship toward its destination. The Solar must be on board and authorized to navigate. The ship travels on course at its maximum speed until something—sleep, combat or the need to focus on other matters—distracts the character and causes her to take another action. The Solar’s player automatically succeeds at any valid Sail roll made for the character to find her way around known hazards to a given destination—though she must have enough information to make this a valid roll.
Solar heroes can sail into the teeth of a storm. This Charm makes sure that a ship and crew survives a storm, maze of reefs, whirlpool or other hazard. The Solar must be on board and authorized to direct the crew. The Solar and the ship’s crew receive two bonus successes on every action that directly serves the survival of the ship—whether repelling a unit of aquatic Fair Folk, patching the ship’s side before it sinks or taking a simplified dramatic action to bypass a less interesting hazard.
The navies of the Lawgivers appear from nowhere even on the clearest day. This Charm allows the character to double successes on a Stealth action taken by a naval unit he commands, before external penalties are applied. Naval units influenced by this Charm can conceal themselves at +4 difficulty even if there are no obstacles to hide behind.
The Solar reshapes the beliefs of a society. This Charm is a Socialize-based social attack to make a social group with Magnitude 1+ (such as a court, kingdom or secret society) believe something. The character must have spent several hours within the last year encouraging the desired belief within this group before using this Charm, and this Charm must be invoked in the presence of at least one member of that group. The Exalt’s player rolls ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Socialize). Subtract an external penalty equal to the group leader’s MDV plus half of the group’s Magnitude from the rolled successes. If the character succeeds, the social group accepts the belief.
This Charm exerts unnatural mental influence. The targeted group—and any social groups of Magnitude 1+ that splinter off from the target—must spend six Loyalty to break free of the influence forever or one Loyalty to break free for a single scene.
This Charm has no effect on individuals—only on groups. The character can redefine a church’s dogma or change the prevailing beliefs of a nation, but any given individual reacts of his own accord. The primary function of Wise-Eyed Courtier Method outside of narrative time is to limit the actions that social groups can take.
The Solar encourages a society to release its tensions in a mad torrent of emotion. This Charm is a Socialize-based social attack to make a group feel a strong emotion—to lose itself in hatred, grief, lust or the joy of festival. It functions exactly as Wise-Eyed Courtier Method, save that its unnatural mental influence imposes an Emotion effect rather than a belief.
The Solar furiously condemns or supports some behavior, encouraging an entire society to accept or reject it. This Charm is a Socialize-based social attack to compel a social group with Magnitude 1+. The character must have spent several hours within the last month encouraging the desired attitude within this group before using this Charm, and this Charm must be invoked in the presence of at least one member of that group. The Exalt’s player rolls ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Socialize). Subtract an external penalty equal to the leader’s MDV plus half of the group’s Magnitude from the rolled successes. If the character succeeds, the social group adopts a taboo or fad of the character’s choice. The society instantly integrates the taboo or fad into its Policy. The taboo or fad remains part of the group’s Policy until the group’s leader spends a total of 10 Loyalty, at most one per week, to remove it. It is also a part of the Policy of any social groups of Magnitude 1+ that splinter off from the target group, and the leader of those groups must spend a total of 10 Loyalty, at most one per week, to remove it.
This Charm has no effect on individuals, save that breaking the new rules of their society can make them outcasts. Its primary function outside of narrative time is to limit the actions that social groups can take.
The Solar convinces society at large to reject a given individual or group. The Solar must touch an individual target or interact with the targeted group. This Charm is an unnatural Socialize-based social attack to undermine the target’s position. The Exalt’s player rolls ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Socialize). Subtract an external penalty equal to the target’s MDV plus half of the target’s Magnitude from the rolled successes.
If the character succeeds, the target puts his or its worst foot forward in every social situation. For the rest of the day, in every scene, the individual target or representatives of the group must spend one Willpower to act naturally. Otherwise, he or they subtract the character’s Essence in dice as an internal penalty from all social dice pools.
The Lawgivers understand how people interact. This Charm is an attempt to survey the power relationships in a given social environment. The character builds an accurate profile of the people and relationships involved, which the Storyteller can detail as desired. The Exalt’s player rolls ([Perception or Intelligence] + Socialize), adding a dice bonus equal to the Exalt’s Essence. The difficulty of this roll is 1. If a major social group in the court is deliberately attempting to send out misleading cues, subtract an external penalty equal to the largest ([Manipulation + Socialize + Magnitude] ÷ 2) for such a group from the successes rolled. Unusual circumstances, such as a major player not being present at all during the character’s survey, can also impose an external penalty. If the character succeeds, then each success reduces external penalties on dramatic and social actions to manipulate social groups within that environment. This Charm cannot reduce external penalties by an amount greater than the Solar’s Essence.
The Exalt can have only one profile of a given social environment. The crispness of the profile—that quality that reduces external penalties—lasts only as long as the committed Essence. The Lawgiver’s player cannot roll again to build a new profile unless the story ends or a new piece of evidence allows a dramatic reconceptualization of the court’s structure.
The Solar attunes herself to the patterns of human interaction. This Charm makes her responses to social situations so natural and appropriate that in social combat she treats all enemy groups as one point of Magnitude smaller than they are (to a minimum of 0.) It also increases her effective Appearance by one dot. When in doubt, other characters will be more apt to do small favors and provide hospitality than not. Finally, this Charm ensures that the character understands the basic motivations of everyone present in the scene, as if her player had rolled three successes on a mundane Investigation roll to estimate each person’s motives.
The glory of the Lawgivers inspires mortals to awe. The Exalt attempts to persuade everyone who can hear him to organize in his service, his player rolling (Charisma + [Performance or Socialize]). This Charm organizes all characters whom the Exalt successfully persuades into a social group under the Exalt’s direction. The group dissolves if the Exalt abandons it for more than a day.
For its first bite, the snake is most feared. This Charm supplements a Join Battle action, adding a number of automatic successes to the character’s Join Battle roll equal to his Martial Arts score.
The serpent bends and weaves with utmost grace. This Charm gives the character +2 Dodge or Parry DV against a single attack.
The Exalt adopts the attitude and stance of a wary snake—head back, ready to advance or retreat. The Essence of the snake hardens his skin. His sinuous movements slow and distract his enemies.
For the rest of the scene, this Charm adds the character’s Martial Arts score to his bashing soak. If an enemy attacks him, and the enemy can see the character’s hypnotic motions, this Charm subtracts the Exalt’s Essence in dice from the attacker’s attack pool.
Characters cannot use more than one Martial Arts Form-type Charm at a time. The character must end Snake Form to assume another Martial Arts form.
The snake’s fangs bite deep. The snake’s skin is strong and supple. This Charm gives the Exalt similar advantages. It makes her unarmed Martial Arts attacks inflict lethal damage, and this damage is piercing (see p. 373)—it ignores half of the target’s soak from armor. In addition, this Charm allows the Exalt to soak lethal damage with her bashing soak.
The nix-snakes of the East can bite through tempered steel. The students of Snake Style learn similar ferocity. This Charm enhances an unarmed Martial Arts attack. It allows the attack to ignore the target’s soak from armor. The target can only soak with Stamina and Charms such as Iron Skin Concentration.
The snake defends itself by attacking. The Exalt invokes this Charm when hit by an attack but before damage is applied. This Charm gives the Exalt an unarmed Martial Arts counterattack. The dice pool for this counterattack equals the Exalt’s Martial Arts score plus the number of extra successes rolled on the opponent’s attack. (The original attacker’s damage is still inflicted as normal.) Note the rules for counterattacks on pages 150 and 183.
The martial artist’s anima flashes forward like a striking snake. Some martial artists instead strike with the shadow of their hand. In either case, this Charm enhances an unarmed Martial Arts attack, letting the Exalt target an opponent up to (Essence x 2) yards away. The character’s anima or shadow actually strikes the target, so an unobstructed path to the target must exist.
Practitioners of Snake Style martial arts must internalize the raw speed and reflexes of a coiled snake. The player rolls (the Exalt’s Essence x 2). This Charm is a magical flurry containing one action per success. These actions do not need to be attacks, but the character cannot take actions that would require more than seven ticks performed on their own.
The master of Snake Style is as quick as lightning and as deadly as a dozen serpents. The Exalt makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack. This Charm makes the attack’s damage aggravated. It also adds the character’s permanent Essence score to the damage of the attack.
The Solar infuses her hands with the strength of her Essence and strikes like the Unconquered Sun. This Charm enhances an unarmed Martial Arts attack, improving its Accuracy by one and its Damage by two and making its damage lethal. The Solar can parry lethal hand-to-hand attacks without a stunt until his next action.
This Charm is also called the “Pillar-Breaking Blow.” The Lawgiver’s anima flares, and he strikes like the judgment of Heaven. This Charm supplements an unarmed Martial Arts attack against an inanimate object, doubling the raw (pre-soak) damage of the attack.
The clinch of the Lawgivers does not fail. The Solar’s grip is inexorable, and she may, if she chooses, squeeze the life from the strongest opponent. This Charm makes clinch crush damage lethal. This Charm also adds the Solar’s Essence in dice to the dice pools to inflict, maintain and control a clinch. It also adds the character’s Essence to the damage of clinch crush attacks.
This Charm cannot be placed in a Combo with extra-action Charms.
The Solar suffuses his body with the Essence of the Sun. He becomes a paragon of strength and skill, radiant with the power of a legendary hero returned. There is nothing formal to this fighting style, but there is an unstoppable and unchallengeable grace to it. This is an honest battle art, for champions, gladiators and heroes. It was forged in the dawning of the world so that the Lawgivers could face the greatest monsters with nothing save their hands and skill and be undaunted by them.
This Charm allows the Exalt to count the successes of unarmed Martial Arts attacks twice for the purposes of determining damage. She must spend one mote reflexively in Step 7 of attack resolution each time she takes advantage of this effect. This Charm also allows the character to make an unarmed Martial Arts block against ranged and lethal attacks without a stunt.
The fury of the Lawgivers scatters their enemies like leaves before the storm. This Charm supplements an unarmed Martial Arts attack. It ensures that the Solar’s attack throws his enemy backward one yard for each point of pre-soak damage. Targets that strike hard objects take one die of damage for each yard they would otherwise have traveled. This damage is typically bashing but it can be lethal if the target strikes a sufficiently dangerous object.
The effective application of strength casts aside small nuisances. The Solar can use this Charm when he ends a clinch by throwing his opponent. This Charm increases the distance he can throw his opponent to (Martial Arts x 5) yards upward or (Martial Arts x 10) horizontal yards. Characters thrown over cliffs or high into the air take falling damage normally. Targets that strike hard objects take damage as with Heaven Thunder Hammer.
The Essence-driven fists of the Solar Exalted can stun even legends, giants, armored cataphractoi and monsters. The Lawgiver spends up to twice his Strength in motes and makes an unarmed Martial Arts attack. If he hits, this Charm replaces his normal damage with stunning damage. He inflicts one die of stunning damage for every mote spent on this Charm. Extra successes add to his damage as usual. Stunning damage ignores natural and armor soak, but it can be soaked with Charms. Each success on the damage roll imposes a -1 penalty to the target’s dice pools and DV for the next three actions. This is a Crippling effect (see p. 152).
The Lawgivers’ arts of battle bring an unrelenting punishment to their enemies. This Charm is a magical flurry of many unarmed Martial Arts-based attacks. The Exalt makes a total number of attacks equal to (her Essence + 1). This Charm lets the Solar make these attacks regardless of her weapon’s Rate, without multiple action penalties and with a DV penalty equal to the highest penalty for any one attack. She must make all of her attacks against the same target.
The Solar burns with Essence. Her strength and agility rise to inhuman levels. This Charm supplements a single attack. It makes the target’s Parry DV inapplicable. If the Solar hits, this Charm allows her to make one further unarmed Martial Arts attack by hurling the first opponent into another. This attack has a range of (Martial Arts x 5) yards. It is also unblockable. The first opponent is treated as a weapon with -3 Accuracy and +4B damage. If the attack misses or the Solar targets empty space, the first opponent travels the full (Martial Arts x 5) yards, with effects as noted in Heaven Thunder Hammer.
Hurling one opponent into another operates with the same timing as a counterattack. This Charm cannot enhance a counterattack, and it prevents the target from responding with Charms with the Counterattack keyword such as Solar Counterattack or Leaping Dodge Method. The second attack is resolved in Step 9 of the original attack and imposes a cumulative counterattack-based penalty of -1 on the Solar’s DV.