Lightning Gazer Style (CMA) [JiveX]

I've had this style in my notes since March 09, and haven't finish it.  Now I did and I'm dying to get some feedback :-)

Lighting Gazer Style (CMA)
    This style is common in both Autcthonia and among the Sidereals of Yu-Shan, born of a long meditation on lightning and its speed.  Its masters are said to be able to dodge raindrops in the middle of a hurricane and catch lightning in the palm of their hands.  This is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

    Practitioners of this style are a strange lot, much of their early training is spent in mediation and quite observation.  They learn to see things as others cannot, and to fully perceive each moment.  In training, they develop impossibly swift reflexes, a nessecary component for this style.  The end result is a fighter who moves with electric speed and whose body is a dynamo of electric essence, devastating their foes before they know what happened.  

Form Weapons: This style treats attacks with Knives (thrown or wielded in hand), Chakrams and Throwing Needles as being unarmed.  This style may be practiced in medium, light or no armor at the Stylist's discretion

Complimentary Abilities: To practice this extremely demanding style one must have Awareness 2+ Thrown 2+ and at least one dot in Dodge.  


Lightning Thief Art
Cost: 2m-0m Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1 Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
When the Martial Artist parries a personal scale missile or thrown attack with his Martial Arts derived PDV he may activate this charm to snatch the weapon out of the air and, if it is a form weapon for this style, ready it as his own.   Only non-artifact weapons which are not made of essence may be taken possession of in this manner and only if the martial artist has a spare hand with which to hold them.  This charm costs 2m if the character has no weapon readied and 1m if he does.  If the form is active reduce the cost of this charm by a further 1m to a minimum of 0m.

Blade Typhoon Assault
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Action-Only
Duration: One Tick
Prerequisite Charms: Lightning Thief Art
The Martial Artist's body is awash  with crackling essence as she strikes fast enough that she is nigh impossible to perceive clearly.   while this charm is active the Martial Artist's barehanded attacks and attack's with this style's form weapons inflict 2 points of onslaught penalty with each attack rather than just one.  In addition to the normal means, magic which negates the unexpected qualities of attack may be used to ignore these extra Onslaught penalties (Instant duration charms, employed in this manner, only ignore extra onslaught associated with the attack the charm was invoked in response to, however.) Once the Character knows  Unassailable Panoptic Awareness the character may use this charm as a non-charm innate power while this Style's Form-type charm is active.

Lightning Chasing Meditation
Cost: 2m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2 Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: One Tick
Prerequisite Charms: Lightning Thief Art
The Martial Artist flashes from point to point on the battlefield, barely appearing to cross the intervening space.  This charm benefits the Martial Artist's Move adding Martial Arts yards to the distance he covers with it.  It is also compatible with a Dash enhanced Move action.  While Dashing, this charm provides the martial artist with additional benefits: 
    All attacks and Barricade movement actions targeting the martial artist while he is taking a Dash action which benefits from this charm suffer a -1 point external penalty.  
    This charm's cost is reduced by 1m when it is on successive ticks to benefit the same dash action. 

Lightning Gazer Form
Cost: 5m Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Simple (Speed 4)
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Form-type, Obvious
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Blade Typhoon Assault, Lightning Chasing Meditation
    Time slows, and the martial artist sees the world with great clarity.  Her eyes take in a thousandfold details and process these overwhelming external stimuli with the speed of striking lightning.   The world hasn't slowed, the martial artist's awareness have transcended the normal limitations of the mortal frame to enable her to fully perceive each instant, effectively dilating time before her eyes. While this charm is active the Martial Artist is limned in electric blue light and her eyes sparkle with the lightning currents that dance along her optic nerves and leap merrily over her synapses. 
    While this charm is in effect all of the Character's unarmed attacks are enhanced as if by a three tick aim action (adding +3 dice to the roll), she is considered to be Aiming at every target she can perceive, resultantly the martial artist cannot benefit from further aim actions while this is active unless she uses other magic which lengthens her aim action beyond three ticks or otherwise enhances it in which case she may treat the time between her action and her DV refreshing as time spent Aiming unless the charm specifically requires a Miscelaneous Action.   In addition to this bonus, the Martial Artist may parry lethal and ranged attacks barehanded without a stunt or charm.  Finally she reduces the Speed of all unarmed Martial Arts attacks by -1 to a minimum of 3.

Panoptic Awareness Discipline
Cost:--(2m) Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3, Type: Permanent
Keywords: Form-Enhancing
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charm: Lightning Gazer Form
The Martial Artist's lightning reflexes and inhuman awareness make here a formidable defender as well as a fierce opponent.  This charm permanently enhances the Form in the following ways:
•  The Martial Artist adds half her Wits score, rounded up, to both her DVs.
•  The Martial Artist May make Miscelaneous Aim actions, targeting a specific opponent. Doing so eliminates the benefits of the Form (and this charm) except with regard to that opponent, until the Martial Artist's next action, but converts all aim dice into automatic successes and converts one dice of post soak damage into an automatic success.
• He may use Lightning Chasing Meditation and Blade Typhoon Assault as innate powers that do not require charm activation.

Lightning Cleaves the Bough
Cost: 2m 1wp Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3, Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charm: Lightning Gazer Form
Hitting small targets is nothing to the Martial Artist, such is her control over her body and her spatial awareness. This charm augments a disarm attempt made unarmed or with a form weapon.  The Character ignores all external penalties associated with the disarm action, instead adding a number of dice equal to whatever penalty his disarm attempt would otherwise suffer (+2 for close range and +4 for ranged disarms) to his accuracy roll, and adds +2 to the difficulty to resist being disarmed if successful.  If the character knows Panoptic Awareness Discipline and gains 2+ successes on the attack as a result of taking an Aim action while the form is active, she may target nerve endings with her attack, inflicting a temporary amputation as a Crippling effect, rather than simply disarming her foe.  In this case she targets the character, not her weapon and the attack is not a Disarm attempt anymore, but adds the appropriate bonus dice outlined earlier in this charm (Treat this instead as a Called Shot).  This Crippling effect vanishes whenever the target heals the damage inflicted by this attack.  

Unfailing Arc Tactic
Cost: 4m Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3, Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charm: Lightning Cleaves the Bough
The Martial Artist ignores all environmental penalties to a single unarmed attack, if that attack benefits from a full aim action which adds more dice than the target's (Wits) score this attack cannot be dodged.   Count successes added by an Aim action as two dice.


Electrified Reflex Response
Cost: 3m Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3, Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Comb-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charm: Unfailing Arc Tactic, Panoptic Awareness Discipline
The Martial Artist may track the trajectory of any incoming attack before it is even launched, making evasion always a possibility of her.  This charm eliminates all penalties to the character's DDV except those resulting from his own actions.   If the incoming attack is undodgeable and is launched by a character who the Martial Artist was aiming at, the Martial Artist removes the that quality from the attack and does not require charm activation.  If that character is the only character the Martial Artist was taking an aim action against, and Lightning Gazer Form is active, this charm costs 2m.  

Bolt Bending Kata
Cost: -- (+3m)Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3, Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious, Counterattack
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charm:  Electrified Reflex Response
This charm permanently improves Lightning Thief Art, allowing him to treat any weapon he snatches out of the sky (provided it is not an artifact weapon and provided it is thrown) as a form weapon for this style.  Arrows used as thrown weapons have Rate 1, Accuracy +0 and Range 10.  They deal whatever damage is appropriate to arrows of that type.   
    As an optional enhancement the martial artist may spend an additional 3m in addition to the charms normal cost to reflect the attack back at the attacker, it uses the same traits and has the same number of successes as it did when it targeted the Martial Artist.  This effect may even redirect energy attacks at the character who launched them and may be used even if the Martial Artist has no free hands.  This is a Counterattack.
    Finally, Lightning Thief Art may be used as a non-charm innate power while the Lightning Gazer Form is active.

Crackling Dynamo Onslaught
Cost: 7m Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3, Type: Extra Action
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charm: Bolt Bending Kata
    With precision and inhuman prowess, the martial artist launches a flurry of attacks with such speed that his movements can barely be tracked.  This charm is a magical flurry of (Essence+1) unarmed martial arts attacks against a single target.  Each of these attacks ignores Hardness and each benefit from a singe automatic success to their accuracy while the form is active.  The flurry ignores rate and calculates penalties and speed in the same way as the flurry created by Iron Whirlwind Attack.  

JiveX:

When the Martial Artist parries, a personal scale Missile or thrown attack with his Martial Arts derived PDV

Why the comma? Why the capital "M"? Why not a capital "t" for "Thrown" ?
Why Step 9 rather than 8 (that means you can't use it on counterattacks since those do not have a Step 9) ?
2m just to grab a weapon? Wut?
MA 4? That's steep, remember that's the cost to include it in a combo.
Why require that the parry be successful, can't you grab the needle from your shoulder?

My advice: reduce cost by 1m if the user has no weapon readied, and by another 1m if he has the Form up, to a minimum of 0. Reduce the minimum to MA 2.

Sojiko:

Why Step 9 rather than 8 (that means you can't use it on counterattacks since those do not have a Step 9) ?
2m just to grab a weapon? Wut?

to grab it and reflexively ready it hypothetically.   I might drop it to one mote.  Yes step 9 because you cannot use it on counterattacks as that would be mechanically contradictory with its upgrade.

JiveX:

characters who know a charm which negates the unexpected qualities of attack may activate that charm to ignore these extra Onslaught penalties

To avoid problems and screwy interactions, the wording "magic negates the unexpected quality of an attack also negate the effect of this Charm". Because as written it requires scene-long to be reactivated and doesn't let Artifact/other non-Charm defenses to work.

JiveX:

(Instant duration charms, employed in this manner, only ignore extra onslaught associated with the attack the charm was invoked in response to, however.)

This line is redundant.

JiveX:

 Once the Character knows  Unassailable Panoptic Awareness the character may use this charm as a non-charm innate power while this Style's Form-type charm is active.

Do you mean Panoptic Awareness Discipline ?
This should be a part of the effect of PAD, not this Charm.

JiveX:

Lightning Chasing Meditation

JiveX:

This charm benefits the Martial Artist's Move or Dash action for a single tick, adding Martial Arts yards to the distance he covers with it.

The effect of Dash is to change how the distance the Move action covers per tick until your DV refreshes. This should simply affect the Move action, possibly with a redundant mention that it is compatible with Dash to make sure to avoid confusion.

JiveX:

Finally, all attacks and Barricade movement actions targeting the martial artist while he is taking a Dash action which benefits from this charm suffer a -1 point external penalty.  This charm's cost is reduced by 1m when it is on successive ticks to benefit the same dash action.

"This Charm is perfectly compatible with the bonus from a Dash action, and even provides additional benefits when used in conjunction with that action : all attacks and Blockade Movement targeting the lightning-catcher suffer -1 External Penalty as he siwtfly moves through his enemy's ranks, and the cost of the Charm is also reduce by 1m if it has already been used during the same action."
appears to be a clearer way to word this to avoid confusion.

JiveX:

Once the Character knows  Unassailable Panoptic Awareness Discipline the character may use this charm as a non-charm innate power while this Style's Form-type charm is active.

same comments as above

JiveX:

Lightning Gazer Form

JiveX:

Simple (Speed 4)

That's already pretty quick, but since the Style is all about ultra-quick movements, shouldn't Speed 3 be more appropriate? Being slower than Snake Form seems weird.

JiveX:

Here eyes take in a thousandfold details

"Here eyes" or "Her eyes"?

JiveX:

 the Martial Artists awareness transcended the normal limitations of the mortal frame

The capitalization isn't appropriate, it isn't used as a system term that has meaning beyond what the usual use here.
 

JiveX:

While this charm is in effect all of the Character's unarmed attacks are enhanced as if by a three tick aim action

Here the capitalization would be required.

JiveX:

(adding +3 dice to the roll)

What if he has magic that enhances the effect of aiming ? Is it capped at 3 dice without actually taking the action ?

JiveX:

In addition to this bonus, the Martial Artist may parry lethal and ranged attacks barehanded without a stunt or charm.  Finally she reduces the Speed of all unarmed Martial Arts attacks by -1 to a minimum of 3.

Obviously.

JiveX:

Panoptic Awareness Discipline

JiveX:

Cost:--(2m)

You meant "Cost: — (+2m)".

JiveX:

Keywords: Form-Enhancing

Form-Enhancing keyword:

Unless stated otherwise, each Form-Enhancing Charm adds one mote to the cost of activating the appropriate Form. Exceptions to these rules note their surcharge in parentheses beside the keyword.

If you meant the upgrade to be twice as expensive as normal (you most likely did) it should be reiterated in the keyword, for some reason.

JiveX:

inhuman awareness make here a formidable defender

I'm pretty sure you meant "her" here.

JiveX:

•  The Martial Artist [...]
•  The Martial Artist May

Gratuitous Capitalization Ahoy!

JiveX:

•  The Martial Artist adds half her Wits score, rounded up, to both her DVs.

Is that as dice, or directly to the DV ?

JiveX:

•  The Martial Artist May make aim actions, targeting a specific opponent, doing so     eliminates the benefits of the form (and this charm) except with regard to that opponent, until the Martial Artist's next action, but converts all aim dice into automatic successes and converts one dice of post soak damage into an automatic success.

Huh, wait, what? You apparently can convert dice to successes, by doing ... something. I'm not really seeing what. I think that I either need some more sleep, or the text needs to be clarified.

JiveX:

Lightning Cleaves the Bough

JiveX:

This charm augments a disarm attempt made unarmed or with a form weapon.

redundant

JiveX:

instead adding a number of dice equal to whatever penalty his disarm attempt would otherwise suffer (+2 for close range and +4 for ranged disarms) to his accuracy roll

This counts for the dice cap (as written). It's therefore particularly poor for Sidereals and spirits (ergo the martial artists of Yu-Shan).

JiveX:

If the character knows Panoptic Awareness Discipline

same as above

JiveX:

inflicting a temporary amputation as a Crippling effect, rather than simply disarming her foe. 

I think you mean "disables", not "amputates".

JiveX:

This Crippling effect vanishes whenever the target heals the damage inflicted by this attack.  

This attack deals no damage an the limb therefore never recover.

Sojiko:

This counts for the dice cap (as written). It's therefore particularly poor for Sidereals and spirits (ergo the martial artists of Yu-Shan).

yep I dont want it to be too effective as a dice adder. 4 dice for basically 6m plus penalty negation, plus disarm successes is pretty good as is.

Sojiko:

This attack deals no damage an the limb therefore never recover.

Clearly I need to fix the text I think its clear as intended.

Sojiko:

I think you mean "disables", not "amputates".

Amputation is a system term classifying a type of crippling wound.

JiveX:

Unfailing Arc Tactic

It's OK.

JiveX:

Electrified Reflex Response

JiveX:

If the incoming attack is undodgeable and is launched by a character who the Martial Artist was aiming at, the Martial Artist removes the that quality from the attack.  If the attack originates from a character the Martial Artist was taking an aim action against this charm does not count as charm activation. 

If both benefits are supposed to apply in the exact same situation, group them instead of separating them like that. If the condition for both is supposed to be different, make it clearer.

JiveX:

If that character is the only character the Martial Artist was taking an aim action against, and Lightning Gazer Form is active, this charm costs 2m.

How do you even Aim against several targets?

JiveX:

Bolt Bending Kata

JiveX:

Cost: -- (+3m)

I would make this "Cost: — (3m)" and have the Charm generate its own counterattack rather than morphing a Charm that does something different.

JiveX:

if the form is active, it is considered to have been Aimed by the Martial Artist.

The form already gives full Aim bonus to all attacks, including counters like this one.

JiveX:

Crackling Dynamo Onslaught

The pinnacle should require all Charms as prerequisite. Including the Form-Enhancing one. As it is the structure is a bit boring, it's just a straight line.

JiveX:

The flurry ignores rate and calculates penalties and speed in the same way as the flurry created by Iron Whirlwind Attack.  

If you are just gonna refer to the Core book, you could simply rely on the definition of Extra Action Charms from the Core:

Exalted 2E Core:

Extra Action—Extra action Charms are Charm-based flurries (see p. 143). Each functions as a normal flurry but has no multiple action penalties. In addition, only the action with the highest DV penalty imposes a DV penalty. The others do not. This magical flurry is the character’s action. Therefore, if a flurry gives the character two attacks, those two attacks are her complete action.

All EA Charms follow these rules unless explicit mention otherwise.

Sojiko:

All EA Charms follow these rules unless explicit mention otherwise.

Thanks

Sojiko:

I would make this "Cost: — (3m)" and have the Charm generate its own counterattack rather than morphing a Charm that does something different.

For combo ease and because it makes sense this way?  Also because it also upgrades that charm in non counter-attack-y ways.  this just seemed to make sense. 

Sojiko:

How do you even Aim against several targets?

See the form.

Impressions?

JiveX:

Yes step 9 because you cannot use it on counterattacks as that would be mechanically contradictory with its upgrade.

No, the upgrade is Counterattack, so when it's used, it can't be used against Counterattacks. The rest of the time you can grab chakrams thrown as a counter normally.
There is no contradiction or conflict.

JiveX:

Sojiko:

This attack deals no damage an the limb therefore never recover.

Clearly I need to fix the text I think its clear as intended.

Disarming doesn't inflict damage (normally).

JiveX:

Sojiko:

I think you mean "disables", not "amputates".

Amputation is a system term classifying a type of crippling wound.

Not exactly, no. The system term is Disabling wound, under the heading "Disabling:" on page 152. The effect of a specific limb being disabled is detailed under "Sample Amputation Effects", which isn't a heading for a new part or defining a system term for all maiming as Amputation Effects.

Sojiko:

Disarming doesn't inflict damage.

yes but the limb attack is a seperate mode of attack.  I clarified this in the text.

JiveX:

For combo ease and because it makes sense this way?

I didn't say it should stop being a Permanent Charm, the counterattack would be generated by spending 3m as a non-Charm activation. The same way that you can spend 1m to recover your weapon with Call the Blade without activating a Charm, it generates a reflexive Ready Weapon action. This Charm would generate a reflexive counterattack when you pay 3m after catching a weapon.

JiveX:

Also because it also upgrades that charm in non counter-attack-y ways.  this just seemed to make sense. 

That's precisely why I think it makes more sense to keep both separated. The Charm it enhances and all free enhancements are non-counterattack related. Why syddenly turn it into a Counterattack, since the actual Counterattack Charm is this one?

JiveX:

Sojiko:

How do you even Aim against several targets?

See the form.

So you mean you are not just considered aiming for the attacks, but just plain considered using the Aim action for everything all the time. Huh.

JiveX:

Impressions?

This will be a bitch to balance with other Aim-oriented Charms/styles. It doesn't really enhance Aim all that much, but apply it trivially everywhere (and then gives bonus which are pretty much free because of that). So tech that make Aim better will interface weirdly. Either become completely obsolete for some, or significantly more powerful because the large cost of wasting ticks doing nothing disappear completely.


It's not very lightning-y either. The thematics aren't what I was expecting from the description.


It's interesting. It is apparently pretty clearly made to interact with another suite of effects, but that means that it complements well, adding accuracy, non-redundant defenses, and useful offensive effects.