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Silver-Voiced Nightingale Style, Revised

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The Demented One Posted: 1 Oct 2010 4:18 PM
Silver-Voiced Nightingale Style

Weapons and Armor
Silver-Voiced Nightingale Style is not compatible with any weapons, though its musical katas have little need for them. The style is compatible with all light and medium armor.

Complementary Abilities
Students of Silver-Voiced Nightingale Style must possess at least two dots of Performance in order to master the basic vocal techniques needed to use Charms of the style. Performance specialties in singing can be counted towards this requirement. 

New Keyword: Vocal
Charms with the Vocal keyword require a character to sing in order to use them. Singing requires the character to be able to speak, and makes stealth impossible. 

Inspiring Battle Hymn
Cost: 3m
Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion, Vocal, War
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

The martial artist's voice rises in a song of triumph even as the battle begins, her allies taking heart and fighting even more fiercely. The martial artist can supplement a Join Battle or Join War roll with this Charm, adding one automatic success to her roll as she sings. She may substitute her Performance for her Awareness in calculating the dice pool if it is higher. All the martial artist's allies also add a single automatic success to their own initiative rolls. If a character benefits from this bonus, they are considered to have Valor 3 for the rest of the scene for purposes of determining if they must suppress their Valor to take forbidden actions (but still use their normal Valor rating for all other purposes). A character may resist this unnatural mental influence without needing to spend Willpower or gain Limit, but doing so denies them the bonus success on their roll. 

Terrifying Battle Shriek
Cost: 5m
Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion, Vocal
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

The martial artist's voice rises in a deafening overture, promising horrible death to her foes. The martial artist sings a mocking lyric to a single foe, intimidating him with her song as she rolls (Charisma + Martial Arts) as a social attack. If her roll overcomes her enemy's MDVs, her foe cowers in fear, delaying their next action and DV refresh by a single tick as if the Speed of their previous action had been retroactively increased. In addition, they suffer a -1 internal penalty on all combat-related rolls and on all Conviction and Valor rolls for the rest of the scene unless they pay a point of Willpower to resist this unnatural mental influence. Once a character has spent two Willpower resisting this influence, they are immune to it for the rest of the scene. Once the martial artist activates this Charm, they cannot do so again for the rest of their action.

Silver-Voiced Nightingale Form
Cost: 5m
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-type, Vocal
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Inspiring Battle Hymn, Terrifying Battle Shriek

Standing straight and pitching her voice to reach all her listener's, the martial artist sings a song that rings out with exquisite clarity. By moving in time to the music, she is able to achieve an exceptional battle rhythm, reducing the Speed of all combat-related actions she takes by 1, to a minimum of Speed 3. In addition the martial artist can be awarded a second stunt for any combat-related action she takes if she also describes her song or musical stylings as she takes the action. Both stunts add their dice to the action, but the martial artist cannot claim the reward of both stunts if she succeeds, instead taking only the higher of the two. Other characters, including her enemies, can also be awarded stunts for singing as they act, but they cannot stack the stunt dice from both as the martial artist can. Players should be careful to not spend so much time describing their actions that it slows down gameplay. Giving a brief description that alternates between physical action and song or singing an appropriate lyric before rolling dice is preferable to describing the two stunts in full and excessive detail.

Harmony in Opposition Stance
Cost: 4m, 1wp
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Voiced Nightingale Form

The martial artist moves in perfect counterpoint to her opponent's every actions, carrying out an elegant and deadly duet. When her foe moves, she moves, just like that. The martial artist chooses a single enemy she can see, perfectly matching the rhythm of his motions. The martial artist may ignore up to her (Performance) in penalties to her Dodge and unarmed Parry DVs when defending against that enemy's attacks. In addition, the martial artist's grace and captivating beauty compel her enemy to join her in the music of battle, forcing him to sing each time he takes a non-reflexive action unless he succeeds on a Temperance roll at difficulty 1. This unnatural mental influence can be resisted for the rest of the scene for a cost of two Willpower. If the martial artist wishes to choose a different designed enemy, she must cancel and reactivate this Charm. With Silver-Voiced Nightingale Form active, she may maintain multiple activations of this Charm to gain its benefits against multiple enemies. If at least one instance of the Charm is active, she may waive the Willpower cost of subsequent activations.

Heartsong Meditation
Cost: 7m
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Harmony in Opposition Stance

Listening to the music of the heart's rhythm, the martial artist catches a snatch of notes that reveal her opponent's deepest self. Understanding the rhythm of his soul, she then unleashes an attack that harmonizes perfectly with it, an attack that cannot miss. This Charm can be activated in response to any attack made against the martial artist, allowing her reflexively read the motivation of her attacker. She may substitute her Performance for her Investigation or Socialize in calculating the dice pool if it is higher. She may then make an unarmed Martial Arts counterattack against him. 

In addition, if the martial artist succeeds on the roll to read her foe's motivation, she may form an Intimacy of understanding towards that character. Doing so causes her counterattack to be automatically unexpected. Having heard the heartsong of her foe, she knows how to strike in perfect harmony with it. Once the martial artist successfully reads a character's motivations with this Charm and forms the Intimacy, all further counterattacks granted by it against that opponent in the same scene are automatically unexpected. Her opponent can pay a point of Willpower to mask his heartsong, requiring the martial artist to once again read his motivations in order to benefit from further unexpected attacks.

Haunting Heart-Rending Melody
Cost: 5m, 1wp
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion, Vocal
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Voiced Nightingale Form

The martial artist sings a stirring melody that arouses passion and deep emotion, infusing the each note with aural essence. The martial artist rolls (Charisma + Martial Arts) as a social attack against the Dodge MDV of all characters who can hear her. Those whose MDVs are exceed immediately gain a positive Intimacy towards the martial artist unless they pay two Willpower to resist it for the rest of the scene. The emotional context of the Intimacy gained is chosen by the affected character's player; allies and bystanders might gain Intimacies of love or camaraderie, while enemies might take on Intimacies of grudging respect. 

In addition, affected characters must pay an additional point of Willpower to resist social attacks made by the martial artist, as well as any mental influence exerted by all other Silver-Voiced Nightingale Style Charms, for the rest of the scene. Willpower costs cannot be raised above five points. This Charm can be used in social combat as well as in mass combat, but its effects are diminished if the martial artist cannot combine martial katas with song. Used outside of social combat, all characters receive a +2 bonus to their MDVs to resist this unnatural mental influence, and only need spend one point of Willpower to resist it. 

Aria of Victory
Cost: 10m, 1wp
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple (Speed 5)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Emotion, Vocal, War
Duration: Insstant
Prerequisite Charms: Haunting Heart-Rending Melody

The martial artist sings softly in a minor key, a tranquil harmony that calms hearts and stills passions. But as she sees the struggle and strife around her, her heart proclaims, "no more!" Shifting into a major key, her voice swells with glory and with wrath, a battle-anthem to give hope to her friends, and to shatter the armies of her foes. The martial artist rolls (Charisma + Martial Arts) as a social attack against the Dodge MDV of all characters who can hear her. Those of her enemies whose MDVs are overcome are filled with fear, suffering a -1 external penalty on  attacks made against the martial artist or her allies, and a -1 penalty to their DVs against attacks made by those characters. 

However, the martial artist's allies are filled with courage and boldness by the same song. Allied characters affected by this influence can channel Conviction or Valor without needing to spend a Virtue channel, and add a single die to all rolls made with those Virtues. The martial artist always receives the benefits of this benign mental influence. In mass combat, this also adds one to the Morale of any unit commanded by the martial artist or an affected ally. This unnatural mental influence lasts one scene, and can be resisted for a cost of three Willpower, no matter which variant affects a character.

Voice of the Night Bird
Cost: 4m, 1wp
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Vocal
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Silver-Voiced Nightingale Form

The martial artist shouts a violent kiai, channeling deadly essence through her voice. While this Charm is active, the martial artist is capable of making kiais as unarmed Martial Arts attacks, rolling ([Dexterity or Charisma] + Martial Arts). Making a kiai attack is Vocal and requires the martial artist to spend a single mote. They are treated as form weapons of the Silver-Voiced Nightingale Style, but are not considered unarmed attacks for other styles. These powerful vocal strikes have statistics of Speed 5, Accuracy +3, Damage +10L, Range 100, Rate 1. A character that takes lethal damage from a kiai attack is stunned until their next action.

Resounding Songbird's Cry
Cost: 6m, 1wp
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple (Speed 4)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling, Obvious, Vocal
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Voice of the Night Bird

Throwing her head back and closing her eyes, the martial artist shrieks an awful cry. Glass and crystal shatter spectacularly, metal warps, and her listeners bleed from the ears as the devastating crescendo comes to its conclusion. The martial artist's song creates an instantaneous environmental hazard with Trauma (Martial Arts) and Damage (Charisma + Martial Arts)L that affects all characters within (Performance x 5) yards. Those that take damage from the hazard suffer a -2 internal penalty from being stunned for the rest of the scene as a Crippling effect.

This attack normally results simply from the destructive vibrations of the martial artist's voice, but she can stunt to attack in other ways, such as shattering stained glass windows to create a rain of cutting shards, using her voice to unleash a shockwave, or even more esoteric methods, such as turning the sound of her voice into a wave of essence blades. A merciful martial artist may choose only to entrance the souls of her foes with captivating music, in which case the damage dealt is bashing, inanimate objects are not affected, and she may exclude her allies from the effect. 

Harmony-Forging Chorus
Cost: – (+4m per ally)
Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4
Type: Permanent
Keywords: War
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Aria of Tranquility, Heartsong Meditation, Resounding Songbird's Cry

With a slicing hand strike, the martial artist cuts off all sounds around her, drawing forth a terrible silence. And then, the song begins. Every voice of friend and foe rises up in song, the glorious hymn to battle that is the completion of the Silver-Voiced Nightingale's melody. This Charm upgrades Silver-Voiced Nightingale Form. Upon activating it, the martial artist may choose up to (Performance) allies that can hear her voice, committing an additional four motes for each ally chosen. Chosen allies can receive dice bonuses from both normal stunts and musical stunts, stacking the two bonuses on valid actions. In addition, the martial artist can make coordinate attack or coordinate units actions reflexively, substituting her Performance for her War if it is higher, so long as she designates only herself and her chosen allies as participants in the attack. Rather than being delayed until the next time the martial artist acts, such coordinated attack takes place instantly on the tick the martial artist rolls for them. No more than one such attempt can be made on any single tick. 
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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Zelbinnean replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:23 PM
Voice of the Night Bird - why do you get Strength in a singing damage calculation? Shouldn't it be Charisma?
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"Don't...buff up...perfects...unless you've fucked up lethality?"
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New Keyword: Chicanery-No
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Zelbinnean replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:24 PM
And I'm a little confused why it's mostly Charisma only, without consideration of Manipulation.
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"Don't...buff up...perfects...unless you've fucked up lethality?"
--The Demented One

New Keyword: Chicanery-No
If a player uses a Charm with this keyword in an abusive or exploitative manner, the Storyteller may punch them right in the god damn face.
--The Demented One
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Lula replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:24 PM
Silver-Voiced Nightingale ain't NUTHIN' TA FUCK WIT'
Mendez ~ 孟子墨
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The Demented One replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:25 PM
Zelbinnean:
Voice of the Night Bird - why do you get Strength in a singing damage calculation? Shouldn't it be Charisma?
Being persuasive isn't very useful when you're trying to make someone's head explode by shouting. Having fucking awesome vocal chords is.
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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The Demented One replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:32 PM
Zelbinnean:
And I'm a little confused why it's mostly Charisma only, without consideration of Manipulation.
Because when you're using Performance for singing/musical purposes, it's pretty much always Charisma-based.
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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MorsRattus replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:36 PM
The Demented One:
Zelbinnean:
Voice of the Night Bird - why do you get Strength in a singing damage calculation? Shouldn't it be Charisma?
Being persuasive isn't very useful when you're trying to make someone's head explode by shouting. Having fucking awesome vocal chords is.

Stamina, not Strength.  Lungs are Stamina.  See also: survival when you can't breathe.
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Epimetheus replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:39 PM
MorsRattus:
The Demented One:
Zelbinnean:
Voice of the Night Bird - why do you get Strength in a singing damage calculation? Shouldn't it be Charisma?
Being persuasive isn't very useful when you're trying to make someone's head explode by shouting. Having fucking awesome vocal chords is.

Stamina, not Strength.  Lungs are Stamina.  See also: survival when you can't breathe.

 I second this. Also, you should probably give the style an innate auto-tuning ability cause I can't imagine that someone singing horribly is going to make someone want to do anything more then shut the singers mouth.
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Zelbinnean replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:41 PM
Epimetheus:
Also, you should probably give the style an innate auto-tuning ability

Performance 2 pretty much presumes you can sing at least OK. People investing in this style seriously will probably have Performance at 5, regardless.
Syndics avatar by Bodhisattva.

"Don't...buff up...perfects...unless you've fucked up lethality?"
--The Demented One

New Keyword: Chicanery-No
If a player uses a Charm with this keyword in an abusive or exploitative manner, the Storyteller may punch them right in the god damn face.
--The Demented One
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The Demented One replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:43 PM
MorsRattus:
Stamina, not Strength.  Lungs are Stamina.  See also: survival when you can't breathe.
Man, Stamina-based damage would be weird.

Also, counter-example: the Lunar charm for MORE ROAR is in Strength.

Epimetheus:
Also, you should probably give the style an innate auto-tuning ability cause I can't imagine that someone singing horribly is going to make someone want to do anything more then shut the singers mouth.

This is why Charisma and Performance are important secondary traits. Although, if you just want to be kung fu T-Pain, that'd totally be a valid stunt for the form.
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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Epimetheus replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:45 PM
Zelbinnean:
Epimetheus:
Also, you should probably give the style an innate auto-tuning ability

Performance 2 pretty much presumes you can sing at least OK. People investing in this style seriously will probably have Performance at 5, regardless.
Trust me. There are people who have performance five because they can dance or play an instrument excellently but when it comes to singing, they should have never bothered. Some voices just sound like gravel no matter how much training they have.
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Hippokrene replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:47 PM
Epimetheus:
Trust me. There are people who have performance five because they can dance or play an instrument excellently but when it comes to singing, they should have never bothered. Some voices just sound like gravel no matter how much training they have.


In the Real World, yes. In Exalted, Performance 5 means you are incredible at every possibly performance art unless the player wants to be a great singer with 2 left feet for character reasons.
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Zelbinnean replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:48 PM
Epimetheus:
Trust me. There are people who have performance five because they can dance or play an instrument excellently but when it comes to singing, they should have never bothered. Some voices just sound like gravel no matter how much training they have.

This is not supported by the RAW.

If you're talking about tone deaf players with Performance 5 trying to sing...obviously you have to suspend disbelief. ;)
Syndics avatar by Bodhisattva.

"Don't...buff up...perfects...unless you've fucked up lethality?"
--The Demented One

New Keyword: Chicanery-No
If a player uses a Charm with this keyword in an abusive or exploitative manner, the Storyteller may punch them right in the god damn face.
--The Demented One
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MorsRattus replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:50 PM
The Demented One:
MorsRattus:
Stamina, not Strength.  Lungs are Stamina.  See also: survival when you can't breathe.
Man, Stamina-based damage would be weird.

Also, counter-example: the Lunar charm for MORE ROAR is in Strength.

My logic: 'Weird is a bad thing in martial arts?'
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The Demented One replied on 1 Oct 2010 4:51 PM
MorsRattus:
My logic: 'Weird is a bad thing in martial arts?'
This isn't SMA.  :P
"OH GREAT UNCONQUERED SUN, I HAVE INSUFFICIENT SPIKES TO CRUSH THIS MOTHERFUCKER."
–Lula


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