Charms [Lunars: Fangs at the Gate]

Exalted

EX3 Lunars art by Gunship Revolution

The Lunars: Fangs at the Gate Kickstarter has one week remaining! Here’s a preview of what you can find in the Charms section:

Charms

New Keywords

Protean: A Protean Charm gains greater power when the Lunar uses it while shapeshifted into certain animal or human forms. (Her own human shape doesn’t count.)

Totemic: Lunars with certain spirit shapes may learn a Totemic Charm as a Charm of a different Attribute than it normally belongs to, using different minimum Attributes and potentially enjoying Caste or Favored Attribute discounts. Totemic Charms usually have alternative prerequisite Charms from this second Attribute, unless they have no prerequisite Charms, or their prerequisites are Totemic themselves. This extends to the Attribute minimums of any automatic upgrades or repurchases of the Charm, but not to any dice rolls or other calculations involved.

Chimera-Soul Expression

Cost: —; Mins: Essence 1

Type: Permanent

Keywords: None

Duration: Permanent

Prerequisite Charms: None

The Lunar’s true self transcends definition, manifesting itself as a chimerical combination of beasts. She permanently alters her spirit shape by granting it aspects of a second animal, applying six dots of mutations based on that animal. These mutations also automatically apply when she uses Hybrid Body Transformation. The Lunar treats both animals as her spirit shape for Totemic Charms.

Mutations

Mutations are Innate or Purchased Merits (Exalted, p. 158), mundane or supernatural, that alter or improve a character’s physical body, such as Ambidextrous, Giant, or Wings.

Hybrid Body Transformation

Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 1

Type: Simple

Keywords: None

Duration: Indefinite

Prerequisite Charms: None

The Lunar shifts into hybrid form, combining her human self and her spirit shape. Upon purchasing this Charm, her player chooses six dots of mutations reflecting her spirit shape. While in her true human form, she may use this Charm to gain all the chosen mutations. This doesn’t count as being in an animal form for Protean Charms.

Players can freely describe the visual appearance of their Lunars’ hybrid forms — their features might be purely animalistic, such as a tiger’s head or dragonfly wings, or indirect reflections of a spirit shape, like multiple arms for a spider or a prehensile neck for a giraffe . Players can include purely cosmetic traits, like changed skin color or animal ears, that aren’t included in the mechanical benefits of their selected mutations.

Giant Proportions

Lunars Charms can temporarily grant or suppress the Giant mutation (Exalted, p. 161). If a character loses Giant, damage contained in its ?0 health level goes with it. If she regains Giant, that damage remains in that health level. Natural or magical healing still apply to this damage while Giant isn’t active. The same’s true for other effects that work similarly, such as combining Changing Phases Transformation and Ox-Body Technique.

Totem Beast Embodiment

Cost: 1wp; Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 3

Type: Supplemental

Keywords: Protean

Duration: Instant

Prerequisite Charms: Incomparable Paragon Assurance

The Lunar clothes herself in the Essence of one of the beasts that dwells in her blood, assuming its role in a culture. When stunting an influence roll with any Attribute, if her stunt’s description invokes an animal whose shape she possesses and its cultural significance to her targets, she adds a free full Excellency. If a nomadic clan fears wolves for preying on their flock, she could enhance a threaten roll by adapting a lupine posture or wolfish grin.

This Charm can only be used once per day.

Protean: If the Lunar’s in the shape of the animal she invokes, this Charm’s cost is waived.

Silver Ripple Mirage

Cost: 6m, 1wp (1m); Mins: Appearance 5, Essence 5

Type: Simple

Keywords: None

Duration: One scene

Prerequisite Charms: Mirror Slip Trick (x2)

Infinitely elusive and ephemeral, the Lunar sloughs off corporeality and inverts her nature, becoming a living reflection. While using Mirror Slip Trick, she may use this Charm to emerge from a mirror in a dematerialized form. She’s quasi-visible, reflected in ripples of air and droplets of water vapor: Material characters can see her (but not perceive her using other senses) without needing magic, but suffer a –5 penalty on Perception rolls against her without magic.

For one mote, a Lunar using this Charm can become tangible for a single action, letting her attack materialized characters or interact with physical objects (but rendering her vulnerable to counterattacks and clashes). Characters who lack magic for attacking dematerialized enemies can still attack her by directing their attack against a reflective surface within close range of her, wounding her but leaving the mirror unmarred. If none exist, the Storyteller should be generous in letting opponents create one with gambits or stunts.

When this Charm ends, the Lunar may reflexively use Mirror Slip Trick for free to enter a reflective surface within close range.

Wolf Devours Shepherd

Cost: 4m; Mins: Appearance 2, Essence 1

Type: Reflexive

Keywords: Totemic (Strength)

Duration: Instant

Prerequisite Charms: Glorious Battle Presence



Chaos breaks across the battlefield as the Lunar comes into view. When an enemy takes a command action targeting a battle group that can see the Lunar, he suffers a ?(her Appearance ? his Resolve) penalty, minimum ?1. If he fails, he loses Initiative equal to the 1s on his roll (which the Lunar doesn’t gain) and the battle group suffers a ?3 penalty on all actions until its next turn ends.

Totemic: A Lunar whose spirit shape hunts in groups may learn this as a Strength Charm.

Debt of Borrowed Skin

Cost: —; Mins: Charisma 3, Essence 1

Type: Permanent

Keywords: None

Duration: Permanent

Prerequisite Charms: None

The Lunar trades favors for faces. She performs a sacred hunt to take a human’s shape by performing a serious or life-defining task (Exalted, p. 210) on his behalf. Her target must have assented to her doing so and consider it to be equal in value to his heart’s blood (along with any other compensation he provides for the task) at the time he does so, though he needn’t know of or consent to that aspect of the exchange, and can’t later renege on the deal.

If the Lunar fails to accomplish the task or abandons it, the sacred hunt fails, and she can’t take her target’s shape through this Charm for the rest of the story. She may still attempt sacred hunts against him by other means.