The Immaculate Texts describe Mela as the eldest of the Immaculate Dragons, Exalting remarkably late in her mortal life. Prior to Exaltation, she was described as a teacher, scholar and tutor to the children of the Solar Exalted. Indeed, it was through her observations of the Anathema’s mistreatment of their own children that Mela realized the Solars were completely corrupted. When she Exalted, she used her Dragon-blessed abilities to spy on the parents of her charges prior to the Great Uprising and later to steal away or sabotage many powerful artifacts from the Solars before they could be used against her fellow Dragon-Blooded.
The Children of Mela excel in Linguistics, Lore, Occult, Stealth, as well as Thrown abilities. The usage of any charm that are not associated with the Dragon-Blooded's own aspect abilities requires the Dragon-Blooded to temporarily harmonize his anima with an element different from his own. Mechanically, this means that any Charms associated with Abilities other than Aspect Abilities cost one additional mote of Essence.
Linguistics
LANGUAGE -LEARNING RITUAL
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Linguistics 2, Essence 1; Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One week
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Children of Mela often serve as the diplomatic corps of the Dragon-Blooded Host, and while fluency in foreign tongues often requires years of study, this Charm can reduce the necessary time to just an afternoon. The Dragon-Blood must spend at least one hour meditating and listening to a foreign language being spoken. Hecan then “absorb” that language into himself, becoming completely fluent in both conversation and literacy. The Charm lasts for one week, at which time the knowledge gained fades completely.
CIPHER MISSIVE
Cost: 3m; Mins: Linguistics 2, Essence 1;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Language-Learning Ritual
Diplomacy is not the only purpose to which words can be directed, and the Children of Mela often make excellent cryp-tographers as well. With this Charm, an Exalt can hide sensitive material from prying eyes within a supernaturally complex code. The Dragon-Blood must fashion the document herself, and it can be no longer than a number of pages equal to her Essence. The player rolls (Intelligence + Linguistics), with the successes determining the number of successes needed for someone else to decipher the document. Additionally, each deciphering roll requires an (Intelligence + Linguistics) roll with a base diffi culty equal to the permanent Essence of the character who fashioned the Cipher Missive (Each deciphering roll also represents a number of days equal to the Charm-user’s permanent Essence.) The character who uses this Charm may identify a number of individuals equal to twice his Essence who can read the document without difficulty. Alternatively, he can identify a single class of individuals, which must be limited and specific, who can freely read the document. For example, such classes might include “only magistrates” or “only members of House Iselsi.”
CRAFT ICON
Cost: 2m; Mins: Linguistics 3, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Cipher Missive
To the savants of the Dragon-Blooded, the effi ciency with which information can be conveyed is almost as valuable as the information itself. With this Charm, an Air Aspect can convey complex information or directives to another with what appear to be only simple pictograms. In fact, the drawings are actually a complex arrangement of sigils that can contain surprisingly large amounts of information in a very dense package, from complex instructions for assembling a sophisticated piece of First Age technology to exacting directions revealing a hidden location.For the character to employ this Charm, the player must roll (Manipulation + Linguistics) at a diffi culty of 2. Successes above this difficulty determine the level of complexity encoded into the picto-gram, with each success over the threshold providing the equivalent of one minute of careful instruction that can be obtained through later study of the pictogram. The icon can be drawn or carved into any media the creator wishes, but doing so requires the expenditure of Essence. As a result, no one else can reduce the icon without another application of this Charm or a similar one. Icons created with this Charm are about two square inches in size per success.
THOUSAND TONGUES MEDITATION
Cost: 4m; Mins: Linguistics 3, Essence 2;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Social
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Language-Learning Ritual
While the Language-Learning Ritual grants total fluency in a tongue for an extended period, this Charm allows the Dragon-Blooded to quickly grasp the essentials of an unknown language for a brief period. For the duration of the Charm, the Dragon-Blood can speak and understand any foreign language. Furthermore, in the presence of multiple people speaking different languages, the Exalted can understand and be understood by all of them. The maximum number of speakers with whom the Dragon-Blood can interact using a single application of this Charm is equal to the character’s permanent Essence. Communication is limited, however, and the Dragon-Blood suffers a -4 penalty on all social and communicative actions, reduced by one for each point of permanent Essence by which she exceeds the minimum. Also, this Charm affects only verbal speech. Neither written speech nor sign language can be conveyed with this Charm.
POISONED TONGUE TECHNIQUE
Cost: 2m, 1wp, Mins: Linguistics 3, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Social
Duration: Concentration
Prerequisite Charms: Any Linguistics Excellency
To the Children of Mela, words can be weapons just as deadly as a blade or an arrow. With this Charm, a Dragon-Blood can manipulate a conversation she overhears, causing other listeners to hear what she desires instead of what was actually said. The Exalt must be able to hear the conversation in order to manipulate it with this Charm, and while eavesdropping through Charms or other magical means is acceptable, the Dragon-Blood must be within (the Exalt’s permanent Essence x 100) feet from all participants. The Dragon-Blood’s player must roll (Manipulation + Linguistics), with the successes determining the level of control. One success allows the Dragon-Blood to alter minor details, enough to confuse, offend or even arouse one of the parties. Three or more successes allows the Exalt to alter significant details, perhaps enough to completely color one participant’s impressions of another. With five or more successes, the Exalt can control any aspect of the conversation. Participants in the conversation may notice the effect with a reflexive (Wits + Perception) roll against a difficulty equal to the Dragon-Blood’s Essence. On a successful roll, the participant knows that the conversation is being manipulated and can attempt to communicate this through nonverbal means. On a failure, none of the participants recognize that their own words are being changed or that the other parties do not hear what the speaker intends to say. In the Realm, abuse of this Charm is a serious breach of etiquette. In some situations, it is even considered a crime.
VOICE OF MASTERY
Cost: 5+m; Mins: Linguistics 4, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Social
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Poisoned Tongue Technique
The elocution and charisma of Air-aspected debaters is astonishing to behold, and never more so than when Essence powers their words. For the duration of this Charm, the Dragon-Blood can add a number of dice equal to his Essence to any speech-related roll, be it seduction, persuasion or intimidation. The Charm can normally only affect one listener at a time, but each extra mote spent doubles the number of listeners who can be affected. If the Charm is used defensively in social combat, add half the Exalt’s Essence, rounded up, to his Parry MDV. The Dragon-Blood must be able to speak the listener’s language, either naturally or with Charms, in order for this Charm to have any utility.
WIND-CARRIED WORDS TECHNIQUE
Cost: 1m per message, plus distance; Mins: Linguistics 3, Essence 2;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
The wind carries many things, and for the Children of Mela, sound is one of them. With this Charm, a Dragon-Blood can whis-per his words aloud and know that the winds will convey them to his intended listener, wherever that listener is. For a base cost of one mote, the character can transmit one message to the ear of any single person within range. The words actually do not need to be spoken, but the Dragon-Blood must at least mouth them. The base range of the Charm is equal to (the speaker’s Essence x 100) feet. Also, each additional mote spent increases the range by a factor of 10. Therefore, a character with an Essence of 4 can transmit a message 400 feet for one mote, 4,000 feet for two motes or 40,000 feet for three motes. This total quantity of motes must be expended for each individual message, which can be no more than 25 words in length. The sending character need not know the exact location of the intended recipient, but she must know her approximate location, which is defined as “within (sender’s Essence x 5) miles.” The targeted location can, however, be some place that the sender has never even been, such as “the command HQ of the Fourth Legion stationed in Arjuf.” This Charm is considered essential to military operations for both the Realm and the Seventh Legion. Most Dragon-Blooded with any military background know this Charm, and all but the least proficient graduates of the House of Bells do.
VOICES ON THE WIND
Cost: 3+ motes; Mins: Linguistics 4, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One minute
Prerequisite Charms: Wind-Carried Words Technique
A favourite of spies and intelligence operatives across the Realm, this Charm permits a Dragon-Blood to hear the faintest trace of words echoing through the air, allowing him to eavesdrop on conversations at seemingly impossible distances. The Essence cost of the Charm is determined by how far away the Exalt is from the conversation he wishes to hear. For the basic cost, the Exalt can clearly hear any normal speech originating anywhere within (listener’s Essence x 100) feet, as well as pinpoint the approximate location of the speaker if he doesn’t already know. Each additional mote of Essence increases the range by a factor of 10. The Dragon-Blood must specify which speaker he desires to spy upon. He cannot indicate a general target such as “anyone plotting against me.” Rather, he must name an individual and then listen to see if she is currently within range and speaking aloud. If he can hear a named speaker, however, the Dragon-Blooded can also automatically hear the replies of anyone in the speaker’s immedi-ate vicinity with whom she is conversing. This Charm cannot be used to listen to conversations taking place within airtight rooms, and it may also be defeated by certain supernatural warding effects. (Enchanted wind chimes are commonly used for this purpose.) Finally, spying with this Charm demands total concentration, and the listener cannot perform any other action while this Charm is being employed.
SPEECH WITHOUT WORDS
Cost: 2m + 1m per ally; Mins: Linguistics 3, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Cipher Missive, Voices on the Wind
With this Charm, a Terrestrial Exalt and a number of her allies can communicate complex information silently through the use of hand gestures and signals. The Exalt can enable silent com-munication between only herself and a maximum number of allies equal to her (Wits + Linguistics). Although the communication is silent, all participants must be able to see each other, and it is obvious to any onlookers that the participants are communicat-ing with each other. Therefore, this Charm is of limited utility in a social setting, as opposed to a combat or stealth situation. Also, at the Storyteller’s discretion, extremely complex or abstract ideas might require a (Wits + Linguistics) roll on the part of both the person sending the message and all who wish to comprehend it. “You take the guy on the left, and I’ll take the two on the right” should not require a roll, but the recitation of lyric poetry through hand gestures probably would.
WITH ONE MIND
Cost: 2 motes per dot of increase; Mins: Linguistics 5, Essence 2;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Voice of Mastery, Voices on the Wind
This Charm allows a unified group of Dragon-Blooded to “speak without words,” moving as a single unit of such purpose that verbal orders are superfluous and a waste of the commander’s time. Effectively, the individuals linked with this Charm share their surface thoughts, which convey several effects. First, all observations made by any participant are shared by all—what one sees, all see. Second, in a combat situation, all commands, warnings or observations are nonverbal. Members of the group can trade opponents, execute flanking manoeuvres or warn each other of impending sneak attacks instantly and silently. If one fighter is close enough, he can even parry or abort to parry any blow aimed at another, substituting his own PDV for that of his ally, provided he is close enough to the ally to plausibly do so. Third, for every two motes spent, each ally affected gains one dot each in Wits, Perception and Melee, although no one can gain more dots in a single category than the Exalt’s Linguistics rating, nor can any participant raise an Attribute or Ability above five dots. Also, the Dragon-Blood must spend two motes per dot of increase for every participant. Therefore, if the Exalt wishes to affect three allies, raising each of the affected ratings by three dots, she must spend a total of 18 motes (six motes per point of increase, multiplied by three for the number of participants). The Exalt cannot raise different allies’ Abilities by varying degrees at the same time, and he can’t increase his own ratings through the use of this Charm.
Lore
ELEMENTAL CONCENTRATION T RANCE
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Lore 2, Essence 1;
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One day
Prerequisite Charms: None
The simplest of Lore techniques exercised by the savants of Air, this Charm allows a character to meditate on her aligned element to temporarily augment her capacity to absorb knowledge. Provided that the Exalt has all the necessary research material handy, she can absorb a week’s worth of study in a single day. She can continue to use this Charm on subsequent days, but if she uses it more days in a row than a number equal to her Lore trait, she suffers one level of unsoakable lethal damage for each extra day. The Exalt cannot heal this damage while under the effects of this Charm.
ETERNAL MIND M EDITATION
Cost: 2m, 1wp; Mins: Lore 3, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Elemental Concentration Trance
Given the vast ages to which most of the Dragon-Blooded will survive, it’s not surprising that their minds can become somewhat cluttered. This Charm allows the Exalt to attain perfect recall of any event he has experienced or anything he has ever read or heard. After spending the required Essence and Willpower, the Exalt must spend a moment in quiet contemplation. The Dragon-Blood’s player then rolls (Intelligence + Lore), with the diffi culty determined by how far back into the character’s memories he wishes to delve. One success is sufficient to recall a hurried conversation from a few years back, while five permits the Exalt to recall events even from early childhood with perfect clarity. Some Dragon-Blooded savants even claim to recall memories of time spent in the womb through the use of this Charm. Eternal Mind Meditation does not impair the character in any way. He experiences the events of his past as memories, rather than as an immersive experience that might adversely affect his DV or his awareness of his surroundings.
ELEMENTAL EMPOWERMENT M EDITATION
Cost: 1+wp; Mins: Lore 4, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Elemental
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Elemental Concentration Trance
The blessings of Terrestrial Exaltation allow the Princes of the Earth to draw energy directly from elemental sources, restoring their depleted Essence reserves in times of crisis. The Dragon-Blood can draw Essence directly from his aspected element, regaining a number of motes equal to his Lore Ability for every Willpower point spent. If the Dragon-Blood spends more Willpower points in a day than his Essence, each additional use of Willpower for this Charm will also infl ict one level of unsoakable bashing damage. The character must be able to physically touch the element with which he is aligned in order to draw Essence from it.
ELEMENTAL SUCCOR METHOD
Cost: 5m and 1wp per lhl; 2 motes per hl; Mins: Lore 5, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Elemental
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Elemental Empowerment Meditation
While Elemental Empowerment Meditation allows the Dragon-Blood to replenish her lost Essence, this Charm allows her to restore her own body, using the power of the elements to heal her injuries. The character must immerse herself in her favored element as muchas possible (standing in a burning fire, submerging herself in water, etc.) and must spend fi ve motes and one Willpower for every lethal health level healed or two motes per bashing level healed. This Charm cannot be used to heal aggravated damage, nor can it be used to restore lost limbs or heal other such mutilations.An Eclipse or Moonshadow Caste Exalt who learns this Charm can use the Charm with only the element associated with the teacher of the Charm. That is, if an Eclipse learns Elemental Succor Method from a Fire Aspect, he cannot heal himself by immersion in any other element.
ELEMENTAL B OLT A TTACK
Cost: 1m per 2L; Mins: Lore 2, Essence 2;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Cooperative, Elemental, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
Sometimes referred to as “the Dragon’s Claw,” this Charm permits a Dragon-Blood to fi re a bolt of elemental energy appropriate to his aspect from his hand toward a target. The bolt is targeted with (Dexterity + Athletics) or (Dexterity + Archery), whichever is preferred, with an Accuracy bonus equal to the Dragon-Blood’s Essence and a range of (Essence x 20) yards. The bolt inflicts 2L per mote spent up to a maximum number of motes equal to the Dragon-Blood’s Stamina. The bolt also has an elemental aspect and triggers the following elemental effects: Air buffets the target, subtracting two dice from her next action. Earth triggers a tremor beneath the target’s feet, forcing her player to roll (Dexterity + Athletics), difficulty 4, to keep the character from falling. Firesets the target ablaze for a single action (+4L to the attacker’s damage pool). Water fills the target’s lungs with seawater, adding three ticks before her next action due to violent coughing. Wood exposes the target to a plant toxin, requiring a reflexive (Stamina + Resistance) roll, with a difficulty equal to (the Dragon-Blood’s Essence), to avoid suffering a -1 penalty on all actions for the remainder of the scene.
Multiple Dragon-Bloods who know this Charm can combine their powers to generate a bolt of exceptional power. One Exalt (usually the one with the best attack pool or the one with the highest Stamina rating) must serve as the focus, with his (Dexterity + [Athletics or Archery]) used to determine the base attack pool. Additionally, the Stamina of the focus determines the maximum number of motes that each participant can spend, with the total number of motes spent determining the base damage pool. In other words, if the focus has a Stamina of 4, then no participant can expend more than four motes to fuel the bolt. The Accuracy bonus of the attack is based on the Essence of the focus but gains a +1 bonus per additional participant. The range of the attack is equal to (the combined Essence of all participants x 20) yards. Finally, the elemental side effects of each separate aspect who aids in this Charm are inflicted upon the target. If multiple Dragon-Blooded of the same aspect aid in this Charm, however, their special elemental effect is applied only once. Therefore, if an Earth Aspect, two Fire Aspects and a Water Aspect combine to fi re a single bolt, the player of the target—if successfully hit—must roll to avoid falling and will be delayed an additional three ticks before his next action due to the seawater, but only four dice are added to the damage pool due to fire damage, rather than eight.
Regardless of the specific elemental version learned, this Charm is always considered to be an Air-aspected Charm for purposes of determining whether the one-mote surcharge for out-of-aspect Charms applies, and Dragon-Blooded can only learn the version associated with their aspects.
ELEMENTAL BURST T ECHNIQUE
Cost: 1m per 1L; Mins: Lore 3, Essence 2;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Cooperative, Elemental, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Elemental Bolt Attack
This Charm is identical to Elemental Bolt Attack in all respects except the following. First, each mote spent on the burst inflicts only one level of lethal damage. Second, the burst infl icts damage across a circular area with a radius equal to the Dragon-Blood’s permanent Essence in yards. The burst attack has a range increment of (permanent Essence x 20) yards and an Accuracy bonus equal to the Dragon-Blood’s permanent Essence. The burst also applies elemental effects identical to the Elemental Bolt Attack to each person caught within the burst radius. If multiple Exalted who know this Charm join together, the power of the elemental burst is calculated in the same manner as the elemental bolt, and the radius of the burst is equal to the combined permanent Essences of all participants in yards.
Occult
TERRESTRIAL CIRCLE SORCERY
Cost: 1wp; Mins: Occult 3, Essence 3;
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Dragon-Blood takes Terrestrial Circle Sorcery actions. See Exalted, p. 252.
SPIRIT -DETECTING MIRROR TECHNIQUE
Cost: 2m; Mins: Occult 2, Essence 1;
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
After the Great Uprising, it fell to the savants of the Air to attempt to repair the Terrestrial Exalted’s badly fractured relation-ships with the spirit courts. In both diplomacy and spycraft, they used this Charm, which allows a Dragon-Blood to see the refl ection of unmanifested spirits in any refl ective surface, such as a mirror, a polished sword or even a still pool of liquid. Furthermore, the Dragon-Blood can hear the voices of any spirits he can see, allowing for both conversations and, perhaps, discrete eavesdropping.
HARMONIOUS WIND -L URING SONG
Cost: 5m; Mins: Occult 2, Essence 1;
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One hour
Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Detecting Mirror Technique
Of all the spirit courts, the Air Aspects, have the greatest affi nity for the courts of the sky. This Charm calls upon that el-emental affi nity to allow the Dragon-Blooded to invoke the power of the air spirits to summon a helpful wind. The wind summoned is not particularly strong, but it is powerful enough to interfere with Archery, adding half the Exalt’s Essence to his DV against archery attacks. It is also powerful enough to affect the speed of a sailing ship, either adding or subtracting half the Dragon-Blood’s Essence from the ship’s Speed for the duration. The Air Aspect must spend about five minutes summoning the air spirits, usually through such activities as whistling, imitating the sounds of storms, whirling a bullroarer or simply playing a fl ute. The friendly spirits summoned will obey the Dragon-Blood’s will (subject to their limited capa-bilities) for one hour. During that hour, the Exalt must spend one Miscellaneous Action (5 ticks) whistling or singing in order to change the wind’s direction.Water-aspected Dragon-Bloods have access to a functionally identical Sail Charm called Seven Seas Wind-Luring Chanty. The only differences between the two Charms are that the Water aspect version requires Sail 2 instead of Occult 2, has Hurricane-Predicting Glance as a prerequisite Charm in place of Spirit-Detecting Mirror Technique and requires the Exalt to be at sea.
SPIRIT-GROUNDING SHOUT
Cost: 5 motes; Mins: Occult 3, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Detecting Mirror Technique
Since the Usurpation, the Dragon-Blooded have accepted the role of defender of humanity against exploitation by spirits and ghosts run amok. This Charm has greatly aided the Dragon-Blooded in that role. When the character utters the Spirit-Grounding Shout, a refl exive opposed Essence roll is made for both her and the target spirit. If the Exalt wins, the spirit is forced to materialize and remain corporeal for a minimum of the character’s permanent Essence in minutes. The Essence cost of the spirit’s materialization is first paid for from the spirits’ reserves. If the spirit does not have the Essence to materialize, then the balance is paid from the character’s Essence pool. If the Dragon-Blooded and the target spirit do not have sufficient Essence between them to pay for the materialization cost, the Charm automatically fails, and the five motes spent by the character is lost. (Any motes that would have been spent by the spirit or the Dragon-Blood to pay for materialization remain unspent, though.) The Charm likewise fails if the Dragon-Blood’s player fails to get more successes on the opposed Essence roll than the target spirit does, and the Charm never affects spirit whose permanent Essence is higher than the Dragon-Blood’s.
SPIRIT -CHAINING STRIKE
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Occult 4, Essence 3;
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Five minutes
Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Grounding Shout
With this Charm, a Dragon-Blood can temporarily immobilize a spirit, often as a prelude to more permanent measures. The character must successfully strike the spirit with an attack, then the playercan make a refl exive (Intelligence + Occult) roll with a diffi culty equal to the spirit’s Essence. Each extra success imposes a one-die penalty to all actions the spirit takes for the next fi ve minutes. If the extra successes exceed the spirit’s permanent Essence, the spirit is completely immobilized and unable to act for the remainder of the scene. Subsequent uses of this Charm have a cumulative effect as long as the original application of the Charm has not lapsed, as do applications of the Charm by other Dragon-Blooded. The Charm also affects unmanifested spirits, but the Exalted must be able to see and touch the spirit to bind it. The Charm does not automatically render an attack capable of affecting unmanifested spirits. Spirit-Chaining Strike is explicitly permitted to be made a part of a Combo with Charms of other Abilities.
SPIRIT -SHREDDING ATTACK
Cost: 4m; Mins: Occult 5, Essence 3;
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Spirit-Grounding Shout
This weapon in the Dragon-Blooded arsenal is especially hated and feared by the spirit hierarchies and is a significant explanation of how the Immaculate Order was finally able to bring the spirits of the Blessed Isle to heel. The Dragon-Blood must first make a successful attack against a spirit, either while the spirit is materialized or with some weapon or attack capable of affecting dematerialized spirits. The attack inflicts its normal damage. In addition, the attacker’s player refl exively rolls (the character’s Willpower + Es-sence) against a diffi culty equal to the spirit’s Essence. Each success reduces the spirit’s temporary Essence by an amount equal to the Dragon-Blooded character’s permanent Essence. The character does not steal the Essence, it dissipates into the air. If the spirit is destroyed by this Charm, that spirit is irrevocably gone.
FIVEFOLD RESONANCE S ENSE
Cost: 2m; Mins: Occult 2, Essence 1;
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
This Charm is most often used by independent surveyors and the professional jade sniffers of the Thousand Scales. For the duration of the Charm, the Dragon-Blood can detect the presence of jade within a radius of (Essence x 200) yards. If the jade to be detected is elementally aspected with the Dragon-Blood, no roll is required. If the jade is of a different aspect, the Exalt’s player must roll (Perception + Occult) at a difficulty of 3. If the Dragon-Blood has an Occult rating of 3 and an Essence of 2, he can also detect other magical materials at a difficulty of 3, but only at a range of (Essence x 50) yards. This Charm cannot be used to perceive magical materials that are already attuned to someone else, nor can it be used to detect any quantity of such materials that are being concealed through the use of Celestial or Solar level magic, including Charms or spells. If Terrestrial magic is being used to conceal the material, the Dragon-Blood’s player must garner more successes on the (Perception + Occult) roll than successes on the roll made to conceal the material or the Essence of the character using the concealing magic (whichever is higher).
SEEING THE MAKER’S HAND
Cost: 4m; Mins: Occult 4, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Fivefold Resonance Sense
This Charm is especially favored by the savants and engineers of Lookshy, who must often contend with relics of the First Age discovered in the barrens of the Scavenger Lands. When confronted by an unidentifi ed artifact, the character must handle the item in question as if he were attempting to attune it before spending the required Essence. The Exalt’s player then rolls (Perception + Oc-cult) for the character, with a difficulty rating equal to the item’s Artifact rating. (Some artifacts are specially designed to conceal their functions, and analyzing such items carry a higher diffi culty.) Success on this roll immediately gives the character a rough idea of the item’s power level, as indicated by its Artifact rating, with additional successes giving greater insights into the item’s capabilities. Large, powerful or exceptionally complex artifacts might require multiple uses of this Charm in order to fully understand their workings. This Charm is ineffective on artifacts that are already attuned to other people.
F EELING - THE -AIR TECHNIQUE
Cost: 3m; Mins: Stealth 2, Essence 2;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
To the Children of Mela, every subtle breeze carries insight into the territory it crosses. The Dragon-Blood can perceive his immediate environment by reading minute eddies and currents in the air. In this manner, he may retain total spatial awareness even in complete darkness. He cannot read or observe color, but he can move freely, and he reduces blind-fi ghting penalties by half.
SOUNDLESS ACTION PRANA
Cost: 1m per minute; Mins: Stealth 3, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: Varies
Prerequisite Charms: Feeling-the-Air Technique
With this Charm, the Air Aspect moves in perfect harmony with the air around her, suppressing the sound of her movements. For one minute per mote spent, the Dragon-Blood can eliminate any noise she directly produces, but not sounds she causes that are not connected to her person. That is, she could smash in a window with a rock in complete silence, but if she threw that rock through that window, the sound would be clearly heard. The Charm does not provide any direct benefi t to Stealth rolls, but it will eliminate the chance of attracting attention in many circumstances, such as areas protected by alarms. The individual under the influence of this Charm is unable to speak while Soundless Action Prana is in effect and must communicate through nonverbal means, perhaps through Charms such as Speech Without Words or With One Mind.
ZONE OF SILENCE STANCE
Cost: 4m, 1wp; Mins: Stealth 4, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One minute per point of permanent Essence
Prerequisite Charms: Soundless Action Prana
This Charm improves on the effects of Soundless Action Prana by totally suppressing all sound within (permanent Essence x 2) yards of the Exalt. Each extra mote spent increases the range by one yard, up to the maximum of the Dragon-Blood’s permanent Essence. This zone of silence is centered on the character who invokes it, and it moves with him.
DISTRACTING BREEZE MEDITATION
Cost: 1m per 2 successes; Mins: Stealth 2, Essence 1;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
This Charm allows the Air Aspect to cause the wind itself to aid in his attempts at infi ltration by disturbing and distracting those who might notice his passage. The wind might tickle the ear of a listener, cause a torch to gutter or go out, or blow papers off a desk. Regardless, the result is a minor environmental effect, incapable of damaging anyone or anything, which nevertheless is potentially distracting to those nearby. The Dragon-Blood can continue to trigger distracting effects for the duration of a scene. For one mote of Essence, the Charm adds two automatic successes to any Stealth roll made against a single target. Each additional mote spent allows the Dragon-Blood to distract one additional target at the same time, up to a maximum number of targets equal to the Exalt’s permanent Essence. Therefore, if the Dragon-Blood spends three motes of Essence, he can add two automatic successes to any rolls made against up to three people, but if he encounters fi ve people in a search party, he would not get the automatic successes against two of the fi ve. The Charm cannot add more than two automatic successes to a single roll, no matter how much Essence is spent.
TRACKLESS PASSAGE STYLE
Cost: 2m per person per mile; Mins: Stealth 3, Essence 2;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Distracting Breeze Meditation
The Dragon-Blood’s preternatural stealth can now be ex-tended to others. Moving with the lightness of a summer breeze,the Exalt and any allies to whom this Charm is extended leave no footprints, scents or other signs of their passage. By spending 2 motes, the Dragon-Blood can obliterate all signs of her passage for a distance of up to one mile. The Dragon-Blood can extend this concealment to her allies at a cost of an additional two motes per person, up to a total number of beings equal to the Dragon-Blood’s permanent Essence. When this Charm is activated, all non-super-natural attempts to track the protected characters fail automatically. Supernatural attempts to track the characters negate this Charm, and tracking is handled normally, as if neither party had used any supernatural effects.
WIND-WALKING TECHNIQUE
Cost: 2m; Mins: Stealth 3, Essence 3;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Until broken
Prerequisite Charms: Trackless Passage Style
Like the wind whistling through the trees or across the ocean, it is not in the nature of the Dragon-Blooded to fall or to sink. Once this Charm is activated, the Dragon-Blood gains perfect balance and can move across any horizontal surface (including water and quicksand) without diffi culty. The manner of movement is irrelevant and can include running, crawling or swinging on tree vines. If the Dragon-Blood ever stops moving for even a single action, however, the Charm ends. The Dragon-Blood can carry his normal gear but no more than that.
DRAGON SHROUD TECHNIQUE
Cost: 3+m, 1wp; Mins: Stealth 5, Essence 4;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Soundless Action Prana, Wind-Walking Technique
The wind is not seen, but can only be detected through its effects on others. With this Charm, the Dragon-Blood can bend light around himself to conceal his presence. The Exalt is not totally invisible, but can be detected as only a hazy blur. The Charm also muffl es sound, masks scent, conceals body heat and generally protects against most forms of detection. Mechanically, the Dragon-Blood’s identity is completely concealed by the blur, and every three motes spent adds one automatic success to Stealth-related rolls. However, the Charm does not actively conceal the character’s passage, and he can be tracked normally unless Trackless Passage Style or other Charms are brought to bear.
Stealth
Thrown
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