Giving Good People Bad Ideas
Cost: 4m;
Mins: Archery 2, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Mute, Psyche
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
A quiver is only as valuable as the arrows it contains.
The Sidereal makes a special social influence roll using (Manipulation + Archery) against the Resolve of a target. Success allows the Sidereal to convince him of a plausible falsehood, instilling him with a Minor Principle of belief in that falsehood that cannot be voluntarily removed for (6-Integrity) days. Non-trivial characters may voluntarily pay 1 Willpower to remove this Principle if this erroneous belief results in a threat to a Major or Defining Intimacy they hold or if significant evidence to the contrary is presented.
Boastful Marksman Kinship
Cost: -;
Mins: Archery 3, Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
To those of the Sidereal Host that know how valuable they are, the Quiver brings fellows of similar disposition to meet them.
The Sidereal must have a Principle of pride, self-esteem, or confidence in herself to purchase this charm. That Intimacy can no longer be weakened below Minor in intensity. The Sidereal automatically detects similar Intimacies in other people, unless they are using magic such as Penumbra Self Meditation or Forgotten Self Wisdom, and people with those Intimacies gain a Minor Tie of respect to the Sidereal upon first meeting her.
Just Another Arrow in the Quiver
Cost: 10m, 1wp;
Mins: Archery 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Mute, Psyche, Shaping (Fate)
Duration: One week
Prerequisite Charms: Giving Good People Bad Ideas
The Sidereal stifles creativity by twisting the threads of fate binding a figure of authority to his subordinates into a net.
The Sidereal makes a special social influence roll with (Manipulation + Archery) against the Resolves of a distinct leader of a group and his immediate subordinates, ignoring the penalty for targeting multiple people with social influence; for example, she might use this charm against a Realm winglord and his officers, a project lead and his bureaucratic team, or a king and his advisors and council, but couldn't use this against a group of roughly equal friends going bar-hopping together. Success compels the immediate subordinates of the target with a Psyche effect compelling them to fall in lockstep with their leader, deferring to him in all matters pertaining to their shared group and only suggesting things that align with his interests; this acts as a Major Tie of conformity towards him in this context.
This perfect conformity inflicts a +1 to target number for all actions the leader attempts when trying to make use of his followers, as he finds that they cannot do anything of their own initiative anymore. Afflicted non-trivial characters under the leader can end the compulsion early by spending two Willpower and citing a Major or Defining Intimacy pertaining to independent thought or great investment in the group's shared goals. The charm can be ended early if the leader is replaced in his position or dies.
Iron-Fisted Judge Attitude
Cost: -;
Mins: Brawl 3, Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Maidens have empowered their Sidereals to enforce destiny's designs upon the world, and granted them the conviction to see it through.
The Sidereal gains the following benefits:
- When presiding over a criminal case as a prosecutor or judge, the Sidereal waives the mote cost for Excellency target number reduction for read intention actions against the defendant and his legal defenders, if he has any.
- The Sidereal may work against her ties to those she knows are criminals without the mechanical drawbacks of going against them; she rolls no Limit and needs not spend Willpower to make such a harsh but necessary choice.
- The Sidereal may reject bribery as unacceptable influence, unless the attempt is supplemented by magic; she gains +2 Resolve in that case.
- Law enforcement officials treat her with deference and respect; this acts as a minor tie.
Hands-On Surgery Tactics
Cost: -;
Mins: Brawl 2, Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Gauntlet is the patron of surgeons, for every incision is a carefully weighed choice between long-term complications and the death of their patient.
The Sidereal may roll to perform surgery with (Strength + Brawl). She also ignores the penalties for lack of surgical tools, debriding necrotic flesh and severing infected limbs with nothing but her hands. Surgery performed in such a way tends to leave prominent scars. For those with Exalted Healing, these fade away a week after the surgery. They are permanent for all others.
Recidivists-will-Suffer Geas
Cost: 5m, 1wp;
Mins: Brawl 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Fate (Shaping)
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Iron-Fisted Judge Attitude, Descending Battles Horoscope
Offering a criminal mercy, the Sidereal makes any future choice to commit crime far more harrowing.
The Sidereal grants a criminal a lesser punishment or total amnesty in an official case she participated in. In Heaven, this requires no roll to persuade a judge or censor to do so, as the usage of this Charm has prior legal precedent; on Creation or elsewhere, the Sidereal will have to persuade the judge to allow this. In exchange, she binds him to a promise to keep on the straight and narrow. For the next year and a day, the criminal must not intentionally commit a crime under his own will; forcing or tricking him into committing a crime, as well as accidental crimes, will cause him no harm. If he does break the law again, the Sidereal is immediately alerted to this, he is automatically afflicted with the Descending Battles Horoscope for free, the Sidereal waives Excellencies' mote cost for reducing her target number on attacks against him in the next combat scene against him, and, if she has learned Avoidance and it is possible for her to have been near the offender, she may use Avoidance for free to immediately place herself near him. If a death penalty was what was waived, killing the target acts as if fulfilling an auspicious prospect.
Shatter-to-Mend Practice
Cost: 10m, 1wp (+5m, 1wp);
Mins: Brawl 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Aggravated
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Hands-On Surgery Tactics
The Sidereal repeatedly strikes her patient's Essence points while invoking the Ascending Sign of the Gauntlet, rending their corpus apart for the greater good of saving their life.
The Sidereal operates on a willing patient for ten excruciating minutes. At the culmination of this treatment, all ongoing detrimental medical problems for the patient end; diseases are immediately cured, poisons are denatured, broken bones reset, crippling effects cease, physical congenital problems like a weak heart or a lame foot are fixed, open wounds will instantly coagulate, and so on. In exchange, all the target's health levels are filled with Aggravated damage; they will not die from this, but are rendered comatose until all their health levels heal, their veins glowing a violent shade of crimson for the duration. Nontrivial characters may wake themselves early by spending 2 Willpower, staying active for a scene before lapsing back into their coma.
Memories-for-Meat Exchange
Cost: -;
Mins: Brawl 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-Only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Shatter-to-Mend Practice
The magic of the Gauntlet enables unorthodox medical treatments not normally possible, but by its nature, none of them come without a cost.
When the Sidereal or an ally within long range of her takes a crippling injury, the individual taking the injury may sacrifice an Intimacy instead of being maimed. Sacrificing a minor intimacy negates an injury of 1-2 health level damage, sacrificing a major intimacy negates 3-4, and sacrificing a defining intimacy negates 5. All memories associated with these intimacies fade away. This effect is subject to the limit of crippling injuries that can be taken per story for the recipient of this benefit.
Card-Scrying Trick
Cost: 3m;
Mins: Melee 2, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Divination
Duration: For as long as the Sidereal plays
Prerequisite Charms: None
In the First Age, "gambling with a Sidereal" was a common metaphor used for unwinnable situations. Fortunately for the Chosen of the Maidens, Arcane Fate has obliterated this phrase from the memories of all but the oldest beings.
The Sidereal foresees the results of a game of chance, knowing which card will be drawn next, how the dice will fall, and so on. This generally makes it so that a Sidereal will win in the long-term, although she might lose an individual round here or there. It also enables her to detect cheating, instantly spotting trivial characters who do so. This effect can be contested by effects such as Lightning Hand Sleight (Exalted, pg. 316); the Sidereal rolls (Perception+Awareness or Melee) to spot such magic. The Sidereal may reflexively activate this charm in response to cheating.
Survivor's Best Techniques
Cost: -;
Mins: Melee 3, Essence 1
Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
A Chosen of the Maidens will be a veteran of countless conflicts over her long lifetime. She may reveal the hidden wisdom she earned to others to aid them in their own fights.
The Sidereal gains the following benefits:
- She may reflexively make people aware of her prowess in battle. Anyone who perceives her knows her skill level and specialties in any combat ability (Archery, Brawl, Dodge, Martial Arts, Melee, Resistance, Thrown, and War) and that she is the best source of training in these matters, treating this as a Minor Tie.
- On a successful read intentions or profile character roll, the Sidereal also learns her target's combat ability ratings, or for quick characters, relevant dice pools.
- Characters who she teaches combat abilities and specialties halve their training time. This reduction of training time does not stack with other effects that reduce training time.
- Characters she teaches, spars with, or drills with enter their next battle with a temporary Minor Principle of bravery or temporarily strengthen an existing Intimacy of bravery.
Dusting Off the Spear
Cost: 4m, 1wp;
Mins: Melee 4, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: Mute
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Survivor's Best Techniques
Taking on the mien of a veteran, the Sidereal embeds herself within the ranks of those who wage war as a tried-and-true professional.
After a few hours or days spent seeking enlistment in a formal military structure, mercenary group, band of unorganized raiders, or other military organization, the Sidereal is guaranteed to find herself recruited as a higher rank (assume something roughly equivalent to the Realm's rank of fanglord) or with greater prestige than a new recruit, so long as the leaders of whichever group she joins have no reason to be suspicious of Sidereal infiltration. Alternatively, she may empower such a position she already holds.
As long as the Sidereal maintains her rank, obeys her commander's orders, and spends a majority of her downtime plying her trade as a soldier, she gains the following benefits.
- Those below her in rank or prestige in the military group treat her with great respect, understanding that she earned her position and is competent. Those above her rank or prestige treat her with great trust, knowing that her advice will be useful. These act as Minor Ties.
- She gains Backing 2 within this group, if she does not already have it.
- She waives Excellencies' cost to reduce target number for Presence, Socialize or strategic maneuver rolls involving her military organization, similar groups, or their current military campaign or goals.
- She gains +2 Resolve against outside attempts to make her betray her group.
House of Battles Rules Imposition
Cost: - (+1m, 1wp);
Mins: Melee 4, Essence 2
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Divination, Mute
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Card-Scrying Trick
The Sidereal dedicates a game of chance to Mars, sealing its destiny or making it so much more interesting.
By paying a 1m, 1wp surcharge on the prerequisite's cost, the Sidereal can choose one of two mutually exclusive effects.
- Sweetening-the-Pot Method: The Sidereal and other players may now bet intangible things like good health, memories, future firstborn children, an Ascending Caste Horoscope blessing, and so on in games of chance; victory transfers these things from the losers to the winner. Those who accept these terms are bound to them; attempting to recover that which was fairly won punishes the individual doing so as if they had broken an Eclipse Caste oath. However, the Sidereal is bound to play fairly; she may only use her Charms if playing against equally capable opponents, such as higher Essence spirits or fellow Exalted, and may not knowingly cheat. She may use the prerequisite or other relevant magics to stop cheaters in the game, who instantly forfeit what they bet to a player of the Sidereal's choice if caught.
- Aces Hidden in Fate's Sleeve: The Sidereal completely dictates the results of a game of chance; she chooses the winners and the losers as she wishes. This can be contested as per the prerequisite, but the opposing roll now adds +1 to its target number.
Failed Thrust Recurrence
Cost: 5m, 1wp;
Mins: Melee 5, Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Shaping (Fate)
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Dusting Off the Spear
The Sidereal twists her enemy's ability to learn from his mistakes, trapping him in a moment of failure.
If the Sidereal bests a target in a non-combat opposed roll, she may trap him in a loop of performing the same action over and over; he might repeat the same argument, come to the wrong conclusion in an investigation again and again, be stuck running in place, etc. The target cannot be socially influenced during the duration of this charm, or take any action other than what he was attempting to do with the opposed roll. The victim can escape if a Defining or Major Intimacy is threatened by his inaction, paying two Willpower to end the effect.
