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Revised Laughing Wounds Style

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The Demented One Posted: 17 Sep 2010 2:28 AM
Laughing Wounds Style

Weapons and Armor
Laughing Wounds Style treats whips, fighting chains, and razor harnesses as unarmed attacks, including artifact versions of these weapons. It is not compatible with armor. 

Kiss of the Whip
Cost: 2m
Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling, Stackable
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

With a predatory smile, the martial artist lashes her foe with vicious exactitude, making him cry out in shocked agony. If an unarmed attack enhanced by this Charm hits its target, it deals no damage. Instead, that character suffers a Crippling effect, increasing the wound penalty he suffers by -1 for the rest of the scene. If a character suffering from this Crippling effect attempts to defend against mental influence that would seduce them or create feelings of lust or submission, the penalties apply to their MDVs. Multiple uses of this Charm stack their penalties to a maximum of (Martial Arts). 

Sensuous Torment
Cost: 3m
Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack
Duration: One tick
Prerequisite Charms: None

The martial artist thrills to the torment that her pitiful enemies fear. This Charm can be activated in response to any attack that hits the martial artist, even if it does not successfully deal damage. She is overwhelmed by a wash of ecstatic essence, numbing her body to all pain. The martial artist gains bashing and lethal Hardness 20 against all attacks for the rest of the tick.

Laughing Wounds Form
Cost: 6m
Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Kiss of the Whip, Sensuous Torment

Even as blood runs down her skin, the martial artist laughs savagely, whirling undaunted through battle like a scarlet-streaked demon. While this Charm is active, any wound penalties the martial artist suffers are not applied to combat-related actions, unless she attacks or defends with a non-form weapon. Whenever she makes an unarmed attack, she adds the magnitude of any wound penalties suffered by the attack's target to her raw damage. Finally, she may pay a level of lethal damage in place of a point of Willpower to channel Conviction or Valor. If she suffers a wound penalty of -4 or greater, she need not expend a channel of the chosen Virtue when doing so.

Insatiable Slave Stamina
Cost: 4m
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Laughing Wounds Form

Grinning as black bruises darken her skin, the martial artist demonstrates an even greater appetite for pain than she expects from her slaves. So long as this Charm remains active, the martial artist does not fall unconscious if reduced to Incapacitated by bashing damage. Instead, she remains fully aware and active, with further levels of bashing damage being converted to lethal normally. Furthermore, she may soak lethal damage with her full Stamina, and adds an amount equal to the magnitude of any wound penalties she suffers to her bashing and lethal soak. 

Ecstatic Tenacity
Cost: 8m
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive (Step 7)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling, Obvious, Stackable
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Insatiable Slave Stamina

The most terrible wounds mean less than nothing to one who has refined her tastes for agony. This Charm can be activated in response to any attack, reducing its raw and final damage to zero. However, this Charm does not prevent the martial artist from suffering, instead converting the damage to a Crippling effect that increases the wound penalties she suffers by -1 for the rest of the scene. Multiple uses of this Charm stack their penalties. This Charm cannot cancel damage that ignores natural soak. These limitations are considered to be a unique Flaw of Invulnerability.

Rapture in Chains
Cost: 3m, 1wp
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion
Duration: Until released
Prerequisite Charms: Laughing Wounds Form

Victims restrained by the martial artist find themselves unwilling to break free. If an unarmed clinch attack enhanced by this Charm succeeds, the martial artist's whip or chains seem to come alive as they twine around her foe, slipping into impossible knots of painful tightness. Whenever the grappled enemy rolls to establish control of the clinch, any wound penalties that apply to his roll are converted to external penalties. In addition, each time the martial artist would successfully deal damage to a clinched opponent by crushing him, she may instead cause him to lose a point of Willpower as an Emotion effect. If a character is reduced to zero Willpower while clinched, he gains an Intimacy of submissive lust towards the martial artist.

Groveling Penitence Prana
Cost: 7m, 1wp
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive 
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Rapture in Chains

Daring to oppose the mistress's will is like begging for humiliation. The martial artist may activate this Charm whenever she holds a clinched enemy, rolling ([Charisma or Manipulation] + Martial Arts) as a reflexive social attack against his Dodge MDV. If the martial artist's roll succeeds, her foe falls to his knees in submission. He is incapable of acting for the rest of the scene as if he were clinched, even if the martial artist releases him from her clutches. This unnatural mental influence can be resisted for a cost of three Willpower. 

Instructive Punishment Method
Cost: 4m
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive (Step 1 for attacker, Step 2 for defender)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Laughing Wounds Form

The proper application of pain swiftly teaches weaklings how to serve. The martial artist may activate this Charm whenever an enemy attempts to attack her, defend against an unarmed attack made by her, or attempts to defend against mental influence exerted by her. With a crack of her whip or a menacing glance, she terrifies the fool who dares defy her, causing them to suffer a -3 internal penalty on the action. This is considered to be a wound penalty. If, within the same scene, the martial artist has dealt damage to the penalized character or imposed a Crippling effect on them with her unarmed attacks, this penalty is external. A character may pay a point of Willpower to resist all instances of this unnatural mental influence for the rest of their action. 

Brand of Obedience
Cost: 4m, 1wp (1m)
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive (Step 10)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling, Obvious
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Instructive Punishment Method

The martial artist truly owns her pathetic disciples, and can mark them as hers if she deems them worthy. The martial artist can activate this Charm whenever she deals non-bashing damage to an enemy with an unarmed attack, leaving behind a disfiguring scar or an ugly welt as a Crippling effect. So long as she commits the motes spent on this Charm, the wound is enchanted as a symbol of authority, and glimmers with the Old Realm rune for "Mine" if observed with essence sight. If a marked character attempts to attack the martial artist, defend against one of her unarmed attacks, or defend against mental influence exerted by her, she may choose to punish them for their disobedience by paying a single mote. The mark glows red and burns their skin, dealing (Essence) dice of lethal damage to them as a secondary Crippling effect. This damage ignores soak and Hardness from armor. Once the martial artist breaks her commitment to this Charm, the magic fades from the scar, though it remains until it is healed naturally.

Ravishing the Unworthy Heart
Cost: 10m, 1wp
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Servitude
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Brand of Obedience, Ecstatic Tenacity, Groveling Penitence Prana

Shaping her lips into a kiss, the martial artist reaches forward to stroke her foe's chest. Then, with a grinning snarl, she plunges her hand through his ribs to rip out his heart. An unarmed attack supplemented by this Charm deals aggravated damage, leaving behind smoldering welts or bloody scars. In addition, if the martial artist's target suffers a wound penalty that exceeds their (Valor), then the attack is unblockable and undodgeable. If the penalty exceeds their (Valor + 3), it is also unexpected. Characters that have no temporary Willpower always suffer from an attack that is unblockable, undodgeable, and unexpected. 

If an attack enhanced by this Charm would slay the martial artist's enemy, she is faced with a choice. If she wishes, she may execute him, pulling his heart from his chest with her bare hands or the tip of her whip in a gruesome fatality. A more merciful mistress, however, may choose to cancel all damage past her foe's Incapacitated health level in order to impose a Servitude effect on her victim. The victim's Motivation is replaced with a new Motivation of obeying the martial artist. Characters enslaved by this Charm may pay two Willpower to resist it for one scene, and are freed once they have spent a total of ten Willpower resisting this unnatural mental influence. 
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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Your revision is great TDO but I do have one issue if I may
The Demented One:
Ravishing the Unworthy Heart

The Demented One:
Characters enslaved by this Charm may pay two Willpower to resist it for one scene, and are freed once they have spent a total of ten Willpower resisting this unnatural mental influence. 

Most of the high end social charms have maybe at max a five temporary willpower point cost in order to resist.

So perhaps in order to make this a bit harder to shrug off you can make the unnatural mental influence this give to be Sorcerous rather than cost 10 willpower and since its the pinnacle charm of the style you can make it counterable only by adamant counter magic.

And you can most likely add the Sorcerous tag to a lot of the unnatural mental influences generated by this style in order to make them harder to get rid of.
Do your characters also require that gum have a more compelling social argument than licorice when choosing candy?
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hiruma_karasu:
Most of the high end social charms have maybe at max a five temporary willpower point cost in order to resist.
Lots of ongoing effects cost X wp to resist for a scene, and then break once you spend a certain high amount. Compare, oh, Know the Soul's Price, Memory-Reweaving Discipline, or Joy in Ownership.
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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The Demented One:
Know the Soul's Price, Memory-Reweaving Discipline, or Joy in Ownership.

I always forget about those charms. Especially Know the Soul's Price since I don't use investigation unless I am playing a super-sleuth.

Well I guess then its okay as a pinnacle charm but now that I think of it maybe I can write a martial arts that utilizes the Sorcerous keyword.

A Primordial martial arts. Something apart from Infernal Monster Style...

Quick to the Thinking Chair!
Do your characters also require that gum have a more compelling social argument than licorice when choosing candy?
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I can say this because I'm English, and we treat other languages like Raksi treats babies.
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I am still reading it, good job as always TDO.

The Demented One:
Kiss of the Whip


Why i had the impression that wound penalties apply to your MDV either way?
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Very nice; definitely saving this for later use.

Looks fine at a glance. I'll go through it more carefully when I'm more awake.
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The Demented One:
Sensuous Torment
Bonus WP should be tactically limited in application in some fashion and probably not permanent, at that point you can stop worrying about this thing opening up self-abuse as a tool for beancounting

The Demented One:
Kiss of the Whip
This charm seems written under the assumption that wound penalties don't already apply to MDV. I'm pretty sure that wound penalties apply to MDV by default. (yes I know that's dumb.)

The Demented One:
Laughing Wounds Form
Definitely changing the vibe of the style a bit towards the 'crazy' end rather than the 'smutty' end, but I like the virtue-tweaking trick! That's charm-tech worth stealing.

The Demented One:
Insatiable Slave Stamina
Pretty sweet, but seems underpowered in comparison to the Infernal tricks, which are Permanent. I'd remove the WP cost; tacking it in to your Power Up combo is going to cost 6 extra xp anyhow, so this is a pretty expensive trick.

The Demented One:
Ecstatic Tenacity
Fucking brutal. That's awesome. I'd note, however, that it can't protect against attacks that would deal more than (Martial Artist's Health Levels * Essence) health levels of damage, just so it can't shrug of Malfeas' 1,000,000 Lethal Levels chokeslam or the Five Metal Shrike's antithesis cannon.

The Demented One:
Rapture in Chains
Kinky. WP drain is pretty brutal, but clinches from a specialist martial artist are already pretty brutal, and this sort of charm is part of why.

The Demented One:
Groveling Penitence Prana
I presume any charms that permit you to do X 'even if you are clinched' expand your options under the grip of this charm?

The Demented One:
Instructive Punishment Method
Ha ha, this is sweet. "Bitch, please, don't even front."

The Demented One:
Brand of Obedience
Does this ignore ALL soak, or does this ignore 'soak from armor'? Either way, essence ping seems to indicate that it makes soak moot.

The Demented One:
Ravishing the Unworthy Heart
The Servitude effect should involve some sort of physical token you retrieve from the target, even if you don't actually steal the physical heart.
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Kukla:
The Demented One:
Ravishing the Unworthy Heart
The Servitude effect should involve some sort of physical token you retrieve from the target, even if you don't actually steal the physical heart.
Seriously, just steal the heart. Are you gonna let Serpentis be cooler than your martial art? Those namby-pamby Setites don't know a damn thing about darkness compared to the Lover.
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Ecstatic Tenacity + Starmetal Hearthstone Bracers + Precision of Form Hearthstone =3 (maybe 4, depending on order/rounding) mote perfect soaks, Given that the form charm cancels out the wound penalty you'd get from it.

Seems too strong for CMA, given that attacks that ignore natural soak aren't exactly widespread. I'd make it 3m + WP.  The style has a WP generating charm in it anyway.
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maybe drop Ecstatic Tenacity's cost but drop the step to 2?
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Kukla:
Bonus WP should be tactically limited in application in some fashion and probably not permanent, at that point you can stop worrying about this thing opening up self-abuse as a tool for beancounting
Hmm. As in, you lose them at end of the scene? Yeah, I can see that.

Kukla:
This charm seems written under the assumption that wound penalties don't already apply to MDV. I'm pretty sure that wound penalties apply to MDV by default. (yes I know that's dumb.)

They...they do? I'd thought they only applied to physical actions. Is their a pageref, so I can be less dumb?

Kukla:
Pretty sweet, but seems underpowered in comparison to the Infernal tricks, which are Permanent. I'd remove the WP cost; tacking it in to your Power Up combo is going to cost 6 extra xp anyhow, so this is a pretty expensive trick.

I had a hurr durr moment in assessing the cost of By Pain Reforged; lowered this down to 4m.

Kukla:
I'd note, however, that it can't protect against attacks that would deal more than (Martial Artist's Health Levels * Essence) health levels of damage, just so it can't shrug of Malfeas' 1,000,000 Lethal Levels chokeslam or the Five Metal Shrike's antithesis cannon.

Nah, I'm kinda fine with that. If the Demon City doesn't add on his super unsoakable damage charm, he deserves to have the freaky chick in leather start moaning in pleasure when he whacks her.

Kukla:
I presume any charms that permit you to do X 'even if you are clinched' expand your options under the grip of this charm?

Um, it would, although that isn't really intended. Are there any examples of that kind charm tech I could look at?

Kukla:
Does this ignore ALL soak, or does this ignore 'soak from armor'? Either way, essence ping seems to indicate that it makes soak moot.

Only soak from armor, although you're right about Essence ping (but that can be negated through charms). The real winners are guys with natural Hardness.

Kukla:
The Servitude effect should involve some sort of physical token you retrieve from the target, even if you don't actually steal the physical heart.

Seeing how freaking lame the "steal heart, control mind!" part of the original charm is, I figured I'd just make it purely metaphorical.

Lafing Cat:
Ecstatic Tenacity + Starmetal Hearthstone Bracers + Precision of Form Hearthstone =3 (maybe 4, depending on order/rounding) mote perfect soaks, Given that the form charm cancels out the wound penalty you'd get from it.

That's not a problem with the charm, it's a problem with the stupid hearthstone and the stupid kata bracers. Given that every CMA perfect breaks under that scenario, I'm inclined to just ignore them, and move on.
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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The Demented One:
That's not a problem with the charm, it's a problem with the stupid hearthstone and the stupid kata bracers. Given that every CMA perfect breaks under that scenario, I'm inclined to just ignore them, and move on.
fuckin' preach it *bomp*
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... Guess I have to go hunt down an ST willing to run a game for you and I so I can use this, like I said I would, huh?
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Kukla:
Bonus WP should be tactically limited in application in some fashion and probably not permanent, at that point you can stop worrying about this thing opening up self-abuse as a tool for beancounting

I would just say that it can't make you have more temp WP than the permanent WP or maybe permanent WP+1.
Kukla:
This charm seems written under the assumption that wound penalties don't already apply to MDV. I'm pretty sure that wound penalties apply to MDV by default. (yes I know that's dumb.)

I don't find it dump but yes i think that this charm needs a little something.
Kukla:
Definitely changing the vibe of the style a bit towards the 'crazy' end rather than the 'smutty' end, but I like the virtue-tweaking trick! That's charm-tech worth stealing.

I agree, although i think that 1lhl is a little harsh, maybe 1hl? (now that the i don't die trick is killed)
Kukla:
Pretty sweet, but seems underpowered in comparison to the Infernal tricks, which are Permanent. I'd remove the WP cost; tacking it in to your Power Up combo is going to cost 6 extra xp anyhow, so this is a pretty expensive trick.

Why 6 xp? I don't think that it's underpowered, also what WP cost?
Kukla:
Fucking brutal. That's awesome. I'd note, however, that it can't protect against attacks that would deal more than (Martial Artist's Health Levels * Essence) health levels of damage, just so it can't shrug of Malfeas' 1,000,000 Lethal Levels chokeslam or the Five Metal Shrike's antithesis cannon.

Why would you do that?
Kukla:
Kinky. WP drain is pretty brutal, but clinches from a specialist martial artist are already pretty brutal, and this sort of charm is part of why.

I agree, i like this charm and as you said the cliches from a MAist that uses clince charms are already too lethal so this charm doesn't change anything.
Kukla:
I presume any charms that permit you to do X 'even if you are clinched' expand your options under the grip of this charm?

I would also want to hear an answer to this one, also when you say "holds a clinched enemy" you mean that the MAist must have chosen to go with the hold option this action in the clinch?
Kukla:
Ha ha, this is sweet. "Bitch, please, don't even front."

I would also want to hear an answer to this one, also when you say "holds a clinched enemy" you mean that the MAist must have chosen to go with the hold option this turn in the clinch?
Kukla:
Does this ignore ALL soak, or does this ignore 'soak from armor'? Either way, essence ping seems to indicate that it makes soak moot.

I think that it means that it ignores soak from armor, and i think that it needs to be said that this damage can be dropped to zero or maybe to 1 with soak. 
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leo1925:
I would just say that it can't make you have more temp WP than the permanent WP or maybe permanent WP+1.
Uh, this already can't take you above max WP.

leo1925:
when you say "holds a clinched enemy" you mean that the MAist must have chosen to go with the hold option this action in the clinch?

Yep.
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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