Abyssal Charms

[vikarmic]

In general, assume these were written for the use of Myrmidon Walking the Fields of Carnage, Midnight Caste necromancer-general.

Lore

Demesne Ravaging Practice

Cost: 5m, 1WP
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Prerequisites: Breath-Draining Prana

The Abyssal expands the scope of his Essence theft. Where once he was limited to living creatures, he now may tear Essence from the wellsprings of Creation. This Charm targets a Demesne of which the Chosen is aware within one mile. Upon activation, he gains motes equal to his Essence x 10.
The process of Essence extraction is a brutal one, and no Demesne can survive its repeated use unscathed. Anyone attuned to or currently inhabiting the Demesne is aware of the desecration as a shadow falls across the heart of the demesne and spontaneous disharmonies arise in the local Essence flows. The disharmonies soon fade, but some damage remains; a Demesne can only sustain a number of Ravagings equal to its rating every yearbefore losing a dot of potency. Lost levels return at the rate of one per month, but a Demesne completely drained is gone forever.
This Charm may not be applied to Manses unless the user is attuned to that Manse, and anyone holding a Hearthstone of the Manse may prevent the Ravaging as a reflexive action. Ravaging a Solar-aspected Demesne or Manse instantly grants the user a number of points of Resonance equal to the rating of the site, as the pure Solar essence reacts disharmoniously with his own.

Essence Vampirism Technique

Cost: None or 1WP (see text)
Duration: Permanent or one scene (see text)
Type: Special
Min Lore: 5
Min Essence: 4
Prerequisites: Demesne Ravaging Practice

So puissant and subtle has the Abyssal become that he is able to batten on the ambient Essence flows of Creation itself. He regains Essence in Creation at half the rate of a denizen (4 motes per hour of relaxation, 2 motes per hour of light activity.)
By spending a point of Willpower, the wielder of this Charm may intensify its effects, accelerating his vampirism to visible levels. His anima flares immediately at the 11-15-mote level, remaining there for the scene, and he regains motes equal to half his permanent Essence each turn. This has a catastrophic effect on Creation around the deathknight; grass crumbles to ash, leaves wither and fall, and small creatures die within a radius of his Essence in yards. These effects are primarily cinematic and should not affect living creatures with more than Stamina 1.
As a standard action that does not count as a Charm, an Abyssal with his vampirism accelerated may focus the voracity of his spiritual hunger on a single target within twice his Essence in yards. His anima lashes forward like a whip, enveloping the target in dark fire and dealing a number of dice of unsoakable lethal damage equal to the Abyssal's Lore. The deathknight regains one mote for each health level actually dealt, but does not regain Essence due to the normal effects of the Charm this turn.

Charm-Rending Ban
Cost: 10 motes
Type: Reflexive
Duration: Scene
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Occult: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisites: Essence Vampirism Technique, Through Dead Eyes
The Abyssal Exalt has begun to learn true mastery over the flows of Essence, attacking the very Charms used against him. For the remainder of the scene, whenever a Charm is used to affect him, he may roll his Essence+Lore at a difficulty of his attacker's permanent Essence. Success indicates that the Charm-Rending Ban annihilates the opposing Exalt's power in a flash of black fire. The Abyssal regains one mote for every two his opponent spent powering the Charm. If the opponent's Charm was powering an action, that action is completed, but no bonus is gained for the Charm. Charm-Rending Ban does not affect sorcery or necromancy.
[Example: Myrimidon Walking the Fields of Carnage is battling a Sidereal and has activated Charm-Rending Ban. He lashes out with a Crypt Bolt, and the Sidereal attempts to use Sequential Charm Redirection Technique to turn the necrotic energies back upon him! Because the redirection directly affects Myrimidon's actions, Charm-Rending Ban activates, dissolving the Sidereal's graceful attempt at redirection in a flash of black energy, and the Crypt Bolt continues on its original path. Had the Sidereal simply nullified the Crypt Bolt, Charm-Rending Ban would not have activated; neither would it have activated in response to a Charm-aided defense such as Duck Fate, Impeding the Flow or Blade of the Battle Maiden. When the Sidereal attacks with Flickering Moonsilver Evasion, however, the Ban activates, as that is a direct attempt to affect Myrimidon with a Charm.]

Soul-Devouring Gaze
Cost: 10m, 1WP
Type: Simple
Duration: Instant
Minimum Lore: 6
Minimum Essence: 6
Prerequisites: Charm-Rending Ban
With this Charm, the Abyssal transcends his previous understanding of the ways and means of stealing Essence, tearing away his victim's very soul. Like Breath-Draining Prana, the Abyssal indicates a target within line of sight and rolls his Willpower; for every two successes, he reduces the opponent's permanent Essence by one. Exalts cannot use Charms they no longer meet the prerequisites for, and any being reduced to Essence 0 dies instantly; otherwise, damage to Permanent Essence heals at half the rate of normal damage provided that a sorceror-physician of sufficient quality (Medicine and Occult at 3+) is on hand to speed recovery.
For every point of permanent Essence drained, the Abyssal regains ten motes of Essence. Alternately, he may choose to savor the pleasure of destruction more fully, casting the Essence to the void and regaining a point of Willpower. Any combination of Willpower and Essence may be regained in a single activation of Soul-Devouring Gaze. The use of this Charm is obvious, as the Exalt's eyes burn with dark flame and shadows erupt from the target's eyes and mouth.

[Note: On release of Exalted Second Edition, these Charms will move to the War ability]

Effective Tactician Practice
Cost: 1 mote/die
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Minimum Lore: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisites: None
The Abyssal draws upon the endless knowledge of the dead, recalling battles long forgotten. By using this Charm, he adds one die per mote spent to any Lore roll to determine a successful strategy in battle, to a maximum of twice his normal pool.

Inevitable Error Malediction
Cost: 1 or 2 mote/die
Type: Reflexive
Duration: Instant
Minimum Lore: 4
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisites: Effective Tactician Practice
Channeling entropy into his opponent's battle-plans, the Abyssal amplifies the effects of minute errors in judgement and strategy. Using this Charm, he subtracts one die per mote spent from his opponent's die pools when using Lore to plan a successful strategy. This cannot reduce an opponent to less than his Essence in dice. Alternatively, the Abyssal can influct this crippling entropy on an opponent's leadership, affecting in-battle Presence rolls, but this costs 2 motes per die removed.

Dread Warlord's Expertise
Cost: 15m
Type: Simple
Duration: Scene
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Inevitable Error Malediction
The Abyssal extends his Essence outward, sensing the eddies and flows of death in the battle before him. He is aware of any enemy units within his Essence in miles, as their malevolent intentions resonate with the essence of death; this perfectly detects organized units waiting in ambush but has no effect in personal combat. He is also perfectly aware of the location and status of every unit under his command, and may reflexively spend 2 motes to communicate orders to them through the winds of the Underworld; this permits such units to use his Charisma+Presence for all purposes if higher than the unit commander's own.


Presence

Relentless Warrior Discipline
Cost: 10+m
Type: Simple
Duration: Scene
Minimum Presence: 3
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: None
Touching the essence of the Void, the Abyssal imbues his men with a terrible clarity of purpose as bringers of death. The use of this Charm affects a single unit under the Abyssal's direct command with Magnitude less than or equal to his Essence. For every 10 motes spent, the Charm adds one point to the unit's Drill, to a maximum value of 5, for the duration of the battle. No more Drill can be added to the unit than half the Abyssal's Lore.

Terror-Inspiring Charge
Cost: 15m, 1WP
Type: Simple
Duration: Scene
Minimum Presence: 3
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Relentless Warrior Discipline
The Abyssal imbues a unit of troops with a fraction of his dark power, veiling them with the menace of Oblivion. Their eyes burn with dark flames, shadows drip from their weapons and darkness surrounds them, turning day to night. These alterations cause the soldiers neither discomfort nor hindrance, but causes them to be treates as a supernatural creature in field combat (forcing Valor checks at +2 difficulty in addition to other modifiers for any unit entering combat with them). If the unit is already composed of supernatural creatures, an additional +1 difficulty modifier is added (total +3).

Endurance-Sapping Method
Cost: 15m
Type: Simple
Duration: Scene
Minimum Presence: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Relentless Warrior Discipline
The Abyssal drains the endurance and energy of an enemy unit, clouding the minds of its members and weakening their sword-arms. The target unit immediately loses one fatigue point for every two successes on the Abyssal's Charisma+Lore roll. Extra dice from Tactical Instincts or Effective Tactician Practice (assuming this Charm is in a Combo for the latter) may be used to augment this Charm's effects.
This Charm may be used in single combat, in which case it inflicts a wound penalty equal to one per three successes on the roll, representing sudden exhaustion.

Rout-Inducing Technique
Cost: 20m, 1WP
Type: Simple
Duration: Instant
Minimum Presence: 5
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisites: Endurance-Sapping Method, Terror-Inspiring Charge
Tapping into every mortal's fear of death, the Abyssal forces an enemy unit to face their darkest nightmares. The target unit makes a rout check, with the initial Valor check at difficulty 2; should they fail, add the Abyssal's Presence to the difficulty of the Charisma+Presence roll.
This Charm may be used in single combat, forcing a single opponent to make a Valor check at difficulty 2 or flee. This only functions on opponents with Essence less than the Abyssal's.

Avatar of Woe
Cost: 15 motes, 1 WP, 1 HL
Type: Reflexive
Duration: One turn (see text)
Minimum Presence: 5
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Essence: 5
Prerequisite Charms: Heart-Stopping Mien, Crypt Bolt
The Abyssal calls forth the power of Oblivion to surround and protect him, channeling the Essence of uttermost negation. The aura of shadowy power acts as armor, providing 2x (Essence+Presence) natural lethal soak as it partially unmakes attacks. In addition, for the duration of this effect, any strike with a mortal weapon cannot harm the Exalt -- indeed, the weapon used is consumed by Oblivion. Magical weapons are unharmed, but their wielders must immediately pay the attunement cost or deattune, as the power of the Void greedily absorbs Essence. As a final benefit, the Exalt may cast bolts of raw annihilation forth against his opponents for 5 motes per strike (this does not count as a Charm). These splinters of Oblivion are launched with a Dexterity + Thrown roll, with an accuracy of the Abyssal's Essence; they do twice his Lore in aggravated damage and may not be parried by nonmagical weapons or soaked by nonmagical armor.
The duration of this Charm may be extended, but for each turn the Abyssal wishes to continue using Avatar of Woe, he must roll Conviction. A failure means that he partially loses control of the power he has summoned, taking a level of unsoakable aggravated damage, and all subsequent Conviction rolls are at +1 difficulty.

Occult (written as a theoretical excercise)

Ravaging Touch of the Labyrinth
Cost: None
Type: Permanent
Duration: Special
Minimum Occult: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Labyrinth Circle Necromancy
Since their creation, the Abyssal Exalted have warred against each other, sword against sword and spell against spell, and from this endless battle have arisen numerous specialized battle techniques, of which this Charm is but an example. First employed by the necromancer Silent Whisper, it is designed to lethally punish anyone who dares to disrupt a necromancer's casting. The Abyssal Exalt weaves filaments of Oblivion through the structure of each spell he casts, and if the spell is counteracted, these threads of dark power erupt outward, savaging the necromancer's impudent foe.
Anyone who disrupts a spell cast by an Exalt posessing this Charm immediately takes dice of unblockable, undodgeable lethal damage equal to the necromancer's Essence+Occult. Should the unfortunate enemy not be using an appropriate counterspell (for example, a Sidereal martial artist using Sorcery-Shattering Palm), a number of dice equal to the necromancer's Essence are treated as automatic successes. If higher countermagic than necessary is used (Obsidian Countermagic against a Labyrinth spell, for example), this Charm is ineffective.
This Charm does not affect sorcery. A Solar Exalt might theoretically learn this Charm, but as yet none have tried.

Crimson Ritemaster Methodology
Cost: None
Type: Permanent
Duration: Special
Minimum Occult: 5
Minimum Lore: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Labyrinth Circle Necromancy, Breath-Draining Prana

In their wars against Creation, the greatest limitation of the Abyssal Exalted is their inability to regain Essence outside the Underworld. This weakness often bars the Chosen of the Neverborn from using their most potent necromancies, for fear of being set upon in their gravely weakened state. The Crimson Ritemaster Methodology was developed by the necromancer Silent Whisper to address this liability.
When an Abyssal Exalt learns this Charm, his wrists are permanently marked with circles of writhing black runes. Whenever the Chosen casts a necromantic spell, he may spend one additional Willpower point; if he does, the runes leap from his flesh, glowing a dull, malevolent crimson, and seek out a number of victims equal to his Occult score. The runes are unerring and may not be evaded without a perfect defense, but Exalts may resist their influence by winning an opposed Essence roll with the Abyssal.
Runes that are not evaded settle into the air above their targets, who feel a strange tugging at their souls. The Abyssal Exalt who activated this Charm may draw upon the Essence pools of his victims to pay the costs of his spell; he need not spend any of his own Essence, and he may divide the drain between his victims as he chooses. Characters without Essence pools may be ravaged for their very life-force; the Exalt may choose to do lethal damage to such targets equal to his Intelligence + Occult and gain an equal number of motes, which must be immediately spent to cast his spell.