The PerfecT LoTus from rooT To BuLB II - Exalted, character sheets

use any other weapon. The clinched victim may not defend
against this attack any more than she could defend against a
normal crush, and extra successes from the grapple roll transfer
over to this roll as usual. Damage from this attack is piercing if
it wasn’t already. In the absence of a weapon, this instead allows
the martial artist to strike an unarmed blow to a vital center,
at (+Essence/2)L damage. However, this technique relies on
speed and finesse, not strength and brute force, and does not
permit the slippery bastard to continue to restrain the target
after the clinch is made. Immediately after this attack, she must
release the target.
Serpent St r i k e s t h e Ha n d l e r
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Deadly Embrace Technique
Slippery Bastard stylists are dangerous at close range. Why
anyone would dare to draw one closer than is absolutely necessary
baffles even the most seasoned fighters. Even so, some
hapless schmuck invariably makes the mistake of attempting
to hold one against her will. When she finds herself in a clinch
controlled by her opponent, the slippery bastard may take advantage
of the clinch to stab at the areas her opponent leaves
undefended. She must be unarmed, or wielding a form weapon,
to use this opportunity. She may activate this Charm only once
per tick where she fails to control a grapple. When she activates
this Charm, the opponent grappling her automatically suffers
(her Strength + her weapon’s damage) dice of lethal damage.
The winner of the clinch can avoid this damage by electing to
release the slippery bastard, rather than throw or crush her.
Do d g e t o Sh a d o w
Cost: 6m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4; Type: Reflexive
(Step 2)
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Counterattack, Illusion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Dodge To Shadow Technique, Serpent
Strikes the Handler
”There is no such thing as nowhere to hide.” This is the first
lesson that Slippery Bastard sifus beat into their pupils...and for
a student of this style, it may actually be true. When avoiding a
blow against her, the slippery bastard steps into her opponent’s
blind spot, or leaps into the shadows of the rafters above, or
somewhere else nearby. For a moment the opponent is baffled,
looking for her where she used to be. Unfortunately, the mystery
is short lived, for she soon re-appears, often carrying her
opponent’s death with her.
This Charm may be activated when the slippery bastard has
successfully dodged an attack, allowing her to make an unarmed
Martial Arts counterattack at her full dice pool. She also
weaves an unnatural illusion, which costs one Willpower to ignore,
that allows her to attempt to reestablish surprise against
the victim alone. If visibility penalties from darkness exceed
(target’s Essence ÷ 2, round up) the victim can not prevent the
surprise by seeing through the illusion, but only by the normal
means of defeating surprise attacks. If the visibility penalties
from darkness are greater than -1, then reestablishing surprise
is reflexive, otherwise it must be flurried as normal.
Pi o u s Ex e m p l a r o f (Vi r t u e) St y l e
In these dark times the Pious Exemplars of Virtue stand firm
in their reverence for the past. Their histories recall the glories
and honor of the First Age, though not its horror and tyranny.
They call for a return to what they call the Time of Virtue.
The Pious Exemplars of Virtue are a collection of enlightened
mortals, god-bloods and Terrestrials all practicing a martial art
developed during the Shogunate for peacekeeping. Itinerant
defenders of the people, they bring law to lawless places and
give hope to the hopeless with their martial prowess. They do
often end up serving the ends of the Gold Faction Sidereals
whether willing or not, and many of the group’s members are
under the influence of the Cult of the Illuminated. However
they may be manipulated, the Exemplars first and foremost devote
themselves to the path of virtue, and it shows.
In the Age of Sorrows few can rival the devoutness and piety
of the Pious Exemplars. Their devotion is not directed to any
god or order, they are zealots of virtue itself. This martial art
resonates strongly with a different Virtue for each practitioner,
always their highest Virtue, informing how they learn and use
the Charms. Each Virtue is aspected to a different element. For
the purposes of deciding this style’s aspect, Compassion is tied
to Wood, Temperance to Earth, Valor to Fire, and Conviction
to Air. Dragon-Bloods suffer no surcharge when using the style
if they resonate with the appropraite Virtue. As usual, Water
Aspects may use any version of the style with no surcharge.
Weapons and Armor: The form weapons of this style vary
depending on the Virtue the practitioner dedicates herself to.
Compassion: staff and wrackstaff; Conviction: axes, hatchets and
grimcleavers; Temperance: mauls, clubs, tetsubo and goremauls
(but not grand goremauls); Valor: straight swords and daiklaves.
This style is compatible with any armor provided its mobility
penalty, before bonuses from magic materials, is less than (but
not equal to) half the Exemplar’s resonant Virtue.
Complementary Abilities: To practice this style, the martial
artist must have a Virtue rated at ••• or better. If the Virtue
in question falls below that rating for any reason, the Exemplar
loses access to the Charms of this style. A martial artist who
changes their highest Virtue may spend a week meditating on
her new philosophy and spend two experience to realign this
style with the newly increased Virtue. A martial artist must also
have Melee •• and Integrity • to practice this style.
De v o u t Pe n i t e n t Gu a r d i a n s h i p
Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Virtue-Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
The martial artist is willing to bear the fury of the world to
atone for her past sins. She accepts the misfortune of another
as punishment for her own iniquity. Whenever the Exalt sees
New Ke y w o r d : Vi r t u e-Re s o n a n t
Charms with this keyword may only be activated when a
character takes an action that resonates with the virtue in
question sufficiently to benifit from a virtue channel. The
resonant virtue is not dictated by the charm, but is always
the Characters highest vritue (or primary virtue).
8 Ch a p t e r On e • Th e Lo t u s Ro o t