Mantis Style rewrite

For shits and my own brand of helping, I rewrote Mantis Style.

Mantis Style
The mantis is a being of deliberation and iron-hard resolve. It knows how to wait, but also how to meet a challenge with swift force. Its grasp of the battlefield is adamant, draped in a sort of noble dignity as it methodically pulls apart those that face it, leaving them nothing but a quivering wreck.

Mantis Style is one of the oldest martial arts in Creation, a clear and obvious outgrowth of some of the defining principles of supernatural martial arts. Its techniques are relatively simple, archaic even, but they are effective and enlightening.

Weapons and Armor: The mantis is lightly armored but has a sure grasp of anything it gets in its claws. Practitioners of the Mantis Style may wear light armor and may wield any Martial Arts weapon with its Charms, treating attacks with them as unarmed.

Leaping Mantis Technique
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

Swift and sure, the mantis appears before its foe ready to take matters in hand (or claw). This Charm may enhance a Join Battle action, adding additional dice equal to the practitioner's Martial Arts rating to the roll. The martial artist may also perform a reflexive Jump action along with her Join Battle roll (see Exalted, p. 127 and 144 for rules on jumping), as long as it is towards a foe or moves her closer to where she believes a foe to be.

The martial artist may also use this Charm after having already entered combat, in which case this Charm enhances a standard Jump action, eliminating the DV penalty for that action and adding the character's Martial Arts to the (Strength + Athletics) pool used to calculate her leap's distance. A Jump enhanced this way may also benefit from Martial Arts Excellencies used to enhance the character's (Strength + Athletics + Martial Arts) pool to increase the distance covered.

Iron-Arm Block
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One action
Prerequisite Charms: Leaping Mantis Technique

Like unassailable chitin walls, the mantis' forearms are not merely weapons but also shields. This Charm enhances the martial artist's attempts to make unarmed Martial Arts-based parries. In addition to allowing him to parry lethal and ranged attacks barehanded without a stunt, he gains a +2 cover bonus to his DV. As a cover bonus, this does not count as a dice bonus from Charms.

Mantis Form
Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 3)
Keywords: Form-type
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Iron-Arm Block

Adopting a straight but somehow askew posture, the martial artist gains both nobility and a rock-hard but delicate grip. Her dignity sets her apart, aloof from the carnage that may surround her as she wades into battle and does what must be done. For the scene the character's unarmed Martial Arts attacks may inflict lethal damage if they would instead deal bashing, and she ignores onslaught penalties to her Martial Arts-based Parry DV as long as she is defending herself with a Martial Arts weapon or her bare hands.

A martial artist who adopts the Mantis Form and is Essence 3+ may improve the benefits of her Iron-Arm Block. Invoked normally, it provides a shield bonus to her DV equal to her permanent Essence. Alternatively, it may be invoked as if it were not a Charm activation at the normal +2 bonus. This latter use of Iron-Arm Block adds the Obvious keyword to the Charm.

Grasping Claw Method
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 4, DV -0)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Mantis Form

The mantis first removes the threat to itself, dispassionately and purposefully, before moving on to the more pressing matter of what to do with its prey. This Charm is an unarmed Martial Arts attack that is resolved as a normal attack that inflicts damage as well as an attempt to disarm the target (Exalted, p. 158). The attack suffers no external penalty for the disarm attempt.

Rather than simply sending the weapon flying, if the attack hits and would inflict at least one level of damage in hand-to-hand combat, the martial artist may choose to deal only a single level of damage to the target but take hold of their weapon. If the character wishes to then wield the weapon, this Charm counts as a reflexive Ready Weapon action.

Grasping Mantis Defense
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Grasping Claw Method

Like a mantis finally reaching out to take hold of its prey, the martial artist strikes quickly and ensures that her foe cannot harm her. This Charm may only be invoked when the martial artist is using her Martial Arts-based Parry DV in close combat to defend herself against an attack. As long as she successfully blocks the attack she may then attempt a counterattack to clinch and hold the attacker. If the martial artist successfully initiates the clinch, the attacker becomes inactive and on the martial artist's next action tick the two begin fighting for control of the clinch normally. The mantis stylist cannot perform a crush or break hold before her next action tick; she simply maintains the new clinch until then.

Joint-Locking Technique
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Until the clinch ends
Prerequisite Charms: Mantis Form

The mantis drags its victims close with inexorable strength, ensuring that there is no escape once it has chosen them. This Charm may only be activated to enhance an unarmed Martial Arts action to maintain control of a previously established clinch. Use of Joint-Locking Technique adds (character's Essence) extra successes to the roll to control the clinch and continues to do so until the martial artist's foe gains control or the martial artist ends the clinch.

Crushing Claw Technique
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Until the clinch ends
Prerequisite Charms: Joint-Locking Technique

This Charm enhances an unarmed Martial Arts clinch attempt to crush a foe, adding (character's Martial Arts) to the raw damage of the crush and allowing it to inflict lethal damage rather than bashing. This bonus persists as long as the martial artist maintains control of the clinch and attempts to crush the victim every action.

Joint-Disabling Attack
Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Crushing Claw Technique

There is only one end to the feeble struggle of the mantis' prey, but to ease and speed along this conclusion the mantis crushes, twists and disables them to make its job easier. This Charm enhances an attempt to crush a foe with an unarmed Martial Arts clinch. If the crush would have ended with at least one die of post-soak damage, rather than inflicting damage it inflicts the equivalent of one amputation crippling effect of the martial artist's choice (see Exalted, p. 152). The martial artist may only disable hands, arms and legs this way, and they are not actually amputated. This Crippling effect lasts for the rest of the scene and should likely result in situational internal penalties to continue resisting grapples or other actions in which an arm or leg is often useful but not absolutely necessary.

Flying Mantis Kick
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Mantis Form

As one action the mantis leaps and strikes. This Charm enhances an unarmed Martial Arts attack, allowing it to be accompanied by a reflexive leap towards the target, putting the target within range of the attack if they were not already in reach. This jump is calculated using Martial Arts instead of Athletics (see Exalted, p. 127). If it hits, extra successes count double for determining the raw damage of the attack. This Charm is useless if the intended target is already within range.

The combined action of jumping and attacking counts as a single normal Jump action for the purposes of Leaping Mantis Technique, allowing that Charm to enhance the soaring assault. This eliminates the DV penalty of the attack and adds (Martial Arts) to the pool used to calculate the leap's maximum distance.

Unfolding Retribution Stance
Cost: —; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Form-Enhancing
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Grasping Mantis Defense, Joint-Disabling Attack, Flying Mantis Kick

Amongst the most dangerous of foes, the master of Mantis Style sits patiently, awaiting the mistake that will put his enemy at his mercy. With aplomb he gently takes his foe in hand and then squeezes the life from them, or, if he is generous, merely teaches them a lasting lesson and lets them go. Ah, the vagaries of the inscrutable mantis! Increasing the cost of the character's Mantis Form by one mote permanently, while that Charm is active Unfolding Retribution Stance allows the martial artist to activate Grasping Mantis Defense as if it were not a Charm, requiring no Combos to do so. He may do so only once per tick. Instead of taking advantage of Grasping Mantis Defense on his action tick, the martial artist may activate Flying Mantis Kick once as if it were not a Charm.

Neat! I have my own semi-finished version of Mantis, though mine is less of a rewrite and more of a... reimagining. I think of it more as Bizzaro-Mantis than a polished version of the original, which yours seems to be.

I'll read through yours and see if there isn't anything I can steal ;)

EDIT: Here are the first three Charms of mine, which are pretty close to finalized, to give you an idea of what I'm going for. I'll obviously post the whole thing in my own thread when it's done, as I don't want to clutter your thread with comments on my version.

Patient Mantis Deflection

Snapping Mantis Lunge

Celestial Mantis Form

Looks pretty decent to me, great job PoH, the only quasi-suggestion I would make is about Flying Mantis Kick, It's very similar to what Crane Style can do, maybe a new type of crunch is needed to make it new and different.

Hey Plague, I've got a campaign where I'm playing a master of mantis style; I'm going to see if my GM will let me use these rules and field-test them for you. I'll keep you updated.

I like it. The writing is very tight, and there's nothing I'd care to nitpick about in the writeup. Comments about cost and balance:

This delights me tremendously. At last I have a martial arts style for choking people to death. Pepsi or choke, punk? Pepsi or choke?

Made Leaping Mantis Technique and Joint-Disabling Attack more powerful.

Gonzo:

Flying Mantis Kick, It's very similar to what Crane Style can do, maybe a new type of crunch is needed to make it new and different.

I really don't see a meaningful similarity between the two at all. Could you be more specific?

Black Paper Moon:

- Iron-Arm Block: I like it, but I'm curious why you made it Combo-Basic. Making the DV bonus not count towards the dice cap is reasonable and has its own tradeoffs (there are several effects that bypass cover); it doesn't seem like the kind of thing that you'd need to restrict. The Charm by itself is reasonable, and only becomes really strong when combined with the Form—which seems fair. I'd have made it Combo-OK, since I can't see a compelling reason to restrict it.

1. As an effective non-Charm bonus, it stacks with Excellency usage. It would have to stay at +2 forever and I would lose out on the dynamism I gave it in conjunction with the Form if it was Combo-OK, because it would be or be too close to "must have."

2. It says something about Mantis Style. The Mantis stylist can sit behind an impenetrable wall of chitinous claws, restricted in his actions, or he can leap about like a crazy motherfucker and tear shit up. He sits and waits, or he performs a flying clinch and pops your head off.

My only complaint is Iron-Arm Block is IMO, too expensive.

Leaping Mantis should be Reflexive, or you're fucked if you include it in a Combo.

Mouse:

Leaping Mantis should be Reflexive, or you're fucked if you include it in a Combo.

Not if your Combo is Flying Mantis Kick + Leaping Mantis Technique. Or if it's a Join Battle Combo.

Plague of Hats:

Flying Mantis Kick
As one action the mantis leaps and strikes// allowing it to be accompanied by a reflexive leap towards the target, putting the target within range// If it hits, extra successes count double for determining the raw damage of the attack

"Wings Spread to Sky:
//the character//glides up to (Martial Arts x 5) yards in any direction//.// Closing to strike this way doubles extra successes for the purposes of calculating the attack‟s raw damage//."

I'm not saying they are identical, cause they are not, but playing a character that uses Crane Style, i find a little bit redundant buying Flying Mantis Kick this way.

I hope i've been more specific this time.

Shouldn't Joint-Disabling Attack be step 8 or later? I understand that you probably want it to be a spend-and-risk type of Charm, but as a Reflexive one it's just odd that it's that way. Why not make it supplemental since it affects a crush anyways?

Otherwise I like the style re-write. Nice.

Plague of Hats:

Not if your Combo is Flying Mantis Kick + Leaping Mantis Technique. Or if it's a Join Battle Combo.

I still think it should be a Reflexive Charm. That it works in these instances doesn't make it worthwhile as a Supplemental Charm.