Testing The Waters
Cost: 1m Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
Duration: Instant
Keywords: Combo-OK, Social
Mins: Investigation 3, Essence 1 Prereqs: (Any) Investigation Excellency
From the heart flows the centre of all emotion, or so the saying goes. By reading the beating of another’s heart the Exalt can learn his emotions.
The character may activate this Charm whenever he makes a Social Attack against another being. He is immediately able to tell, before completing the social attack, if his opponent MDV has been affected (either positively or negatively) by the targets Motivation, an Intimacy or a Virtue rated three or higher. If he wishes, he may abort the social attack before it proceeds to Step 2, meaning the target will not be aware that any social attack was about to be performed at all. The character still suffers and multiple action penalties for making the attempt.
This Charm is explicitly permitted to be part of a combo with Charms of other Abilities.
Old Friends Attitude
Cost: 6m Type: Simple (Dramatic Action)
Duration: Indefinite
Keywords: Stackable
Mins: Investigation 4, Essence 2 Prereqs: Testing The Waters
Using this Charm is a dramatic action that requires at least an hour to perform. To use it the character must either interact with the subject or view the subject in action during a non-hostile social situation. At the end of this time the Dragonblooded spends 6m and gains an intimate understanding of the subject, how he speaks, the turns of logic he uses his emotional strengths and weaknesses.
Mechanically this creates a one die Specialty “Regarding (individual person)” for both the Exalt’s Presence and Investigation Abilities. This Charm may be evoked repeatedly (at one hour of study per use) to gain additional Specialty dice, but as usual this bonus may never exceed +3. This Charm can also be used to justify certain stunts, such as guessing an “old friends” passwords or where he might hide a treasure. Such stunts should not be automatically successful but should allow normally improbable feats to be rolled for.
Still Pond Reflection
Cost: 1m Type: Reflexive (step 10)
Duration: Indefinite
Keywords: Combo-OK, Touch
Mins: Investigation 5, Essence 2 Prereqs: (Any) Investigation Excellency
The Exalt touches a person or object and invests a single mote in it, similar to the effect of attuning an artifact. If the subject is aware and unwilling the character must make an unarmed attack roll to perform this Charm. However, he can choose to evoke it after he has succeeded. Once he does so he can feel the location of his Essence within the geomantic tides of Creation. Wherever the object is it will pass along its presence to the Exalt like a stone creates ripples in a pond.
As long as the mote remains committed the Exalt is always aware of the location of the tagged object or person relative to himself. In combat this means that the Dragonblooded always succeeds on any attempt to resist a Reestablish Surprise action from an opponent tagged with this Charm (or if the opponent is carrying an object tagged by this Charm). This Charm also allows the character to automatically succeed on any tracking roll versus mundane stealth. Against supernaturally imposed stealth this Charm allows the Exalt to act as a supernatural tracker.
This Charm need not apply to a person, you can tag an object they are carrying, but then you run the risk of them dropping or leaving the object behind. Further any use of All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight or similar magic will reveal the nature of the tag. This Charm only works while both the Exalt and the subject are in Creation (including Yu Shan). If the Exalt or the tagged subject moves to the Underworld, Malfeas, the Middlemarches of the Wyld or similar areas outside of Creation this Charm ceases to function.
Plumbing The Depths
Cost: 5m, 1wp Type: Simple
Duration: Indefinite
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious
Mins: Investigation 5, Essence 3 Prereqs: Old Friends Attitude, Still Pond Reflection
Memory, so the Terrestrial Exalted say, is like the ocean. It has a surface of thought and feelings, often turbulent and stirred by the winds of thought. Below that, there is the cold, still world of deeper memory where half-seen things swim. Below even that are the darkest levels of the abyss, where those things we had thought 9or best wish) forgotten stir fitfully.
To use this Charm the Exalt must place his palm on the brow of his victim and concentrate for six seconds. This is impossible if the target is resisting, so it is best performed on a willing subject or one that has been restrained. The Terrestrial rolls Charisma + Investigation + Essence against the subjects Dodge MDV. If successful he is able to retrieve a single memory from the subject’s mind. This is not a social attack, and thus may not be dismissed by spending willpower after the fact. The Exalt literally pulls his hand back, drawing out a cloud of liquid Essence which is the actual physical manifestation of the subject’s memory. The Dragonblooded may then examine this memory as long as he wishes, even showing it to others. Those who touch the memory-Essence experience the memory as if reliving it. Once the Dragonblooded releases the memory it dissolves away, unless stored in a specially designed memory receptacle (stats are the same as a Dreamcatcher , see Scroll of the Monk p141). The subject retains his memory, this Charm creates a perfect Essence-charged copy of it so long as the motes are committed.
The Exalt who uses this Charm must designate a type of memory he is looking for. This can be incredibly specific (“What was he doing on the fortnight of Ascending Water two years ago?”) to broad (“Any memory of the Anathema known as Harmonious Jade.”). Lacking any specific instructions this Charm will always retrieve the most recent appropriate memory. This Charm retrieves one minute of memory for every success beyond the target’s Dodge MDV. If the Exalt looks for a memory the subject doesn’t have (say the target has never heard or meet Harmonious Jade) then this Charm will simply fail (as if the character had rolled zero successes on his Investigation check).
If this Charm fails (either because the Exalt asked for impossible information or the character just fails the roll) he cannot use it to look for the same information ever again.
Geomantic Awareness
Cost: None Type: Permanent
Duration: Permanent
Keywords: Anima
Mins: Investigation 3, Essence 2 Prereqs: None
Dragonblooded who have learned this Charm can attune their animas to the flow of Gaia’s Breath and thus feel the tug of geomantic energy across the world. In general, this Charm adds a one die specialty to any Ability roll that has to do with Geomancy, provided that it is the geomancy of Creation.
The character can also use it to track Hearthstones back to their manses. If he has access to a Hearthstone the character can track it back to its manse. The Dragonblooded need merely hold it in his hand and concentrate for a moment, he spends 3m of Essence and he can feel how far away and in what direction the manse is.
Outworld Detection Technique
Cost: None Type: Permanent
Duration: Permanent
Keywords: Anima
Mins: Investigation 4, Essence 3 Prereqs: Geomantic Awareness
Creation is meant to work a certain way. It obeys basic elemental laws. By allowing his anima to lap over an area the Dragonblooded can feel if these natural laws have been violated in the recent past.
The character concentrates and spends 5m. His anima spreads out to an area (Essence) x 10 yards across. He rolls Perception + Investigation. Each success allows his insight to travel one hour back into the past. If any creature not native to Creation (demons, ghosts, Fair Folk, etc) has passed through that area within this timeframe the Dragonblooded knowns this automatically and how long ago they were there. He can also immediately sense if a demon who has passed through the area was summoned by one of the Exalted or if they escaped Malfeas through some other means.
This Charm does not work outside of Creation, in the Underworld, Malfeas or the Middlemarches of the Wyld.
Glamour Revealing Flare
Cost: None Type: Permanent
Duration: Permanent
Keywords: Anima
Mins: Investigation 5, Essence 4 Prereqs: Outworld Detection Technique
By attuning his anima to the dynamic Essence of water the Dragonblooded gains an intuitive understanding for the Wyld. By spending 3m the character can reveal the glamours of the Fair Folk with the harsh light of his anima. For the rest of the scene, any glamour created by a Fair Folk that is exposed to the light of the Dragonblooded’s anima banner will appear as it actually is, rather than what the Fair Folk would have you think it is. A faerie sword will appear as a stick, a magnificent horse drawn carriage will appear as a beetle and snuff box and so on.
This power has no effect on the permanent glamours of the Fair Folk, only those temporarily evoked by Charms.