Black Sun Princess Style (Abyssal Martial Arts)

    Changing into the Form of this martial art the Black Princess drives herself into an orgiastic frenzy of violence. Allowing her deepest impulses free rein she becomes an unstoppable ravaging fiend.
   When she activates this form she is affected by the full Virtue Flaws for Hedonistic Indulgence and Bezerk Fury. She cannot attempt to control these conditions as the Form requires complete lack of self control. However she gains a number of Virtue Points equal to her Temperance and Valour. While in this form she may spend Willpower points to channel Virtues without reducing her remaining channels. Note that using channels requires them to be used for a task that is appropriate in a similar way to regaining Virtue channels using Phoenix Renewal Tactic. The Form ends when the scene ends or when she uses all her temporary Willpower, whichever comes first. If she does spend all her Willpower she becomes comatose for a number of hours equal to her highest Virtue.

   This Charm should really be a later Charm, probably the last one of the Style. It's too powerful to be a Form Charm. I came up with a better one later.

       Black Princess Form
Type: Simple (one action)

Key Words: Form-type, Emotion, Social
Duration: One Scene

   The Princess becomes the very embodiment of the Hate she felt the night she was Exalted and revels in her murderous triumph. Those unfortunate enough to witness her atrocious acts of cruelty fall to their knees gagging and vomiting, stand dumbstruck in shocked disbelief or flee trying to escape the shocking acts they've witnessed.
    To activate this Charm the character must perform a physical of social attack that embodies heartless cruelty to the point it induces thoughts of suicidal despair. She suffers from the Virtue Flaw partially controlled Deliberate Cruelty as she is given in to malice.
    The first time another character witnesses her making an attack while in this state finds her unbridled viciousness is so unbearable they must spend a number of Willpower points equal to their Compassion to withstand the sight of the horrifyingly inhuman abuse she subjects people to. If a player choses they may instead spend a Willpower point to make a Conviction roll. Those who pass flee If they pass they have the choice of fleeing and not returning for the rest of the scene to avoid seeing more debasement or standing inactive until an attack directed against them shakes them out of their stupor. If the player fails or they have no Willpower left they are rendered inactive for the rest of the scene while their mind and body revolts at the atrocity they have just watched.
    Those who spend the full amount of Willpower are unable to use their Compassion again for as long as the Charm lasts and they remain in her presence. As a backhand advantage they cannot gain Limit from Compassion while in this state.
   The Emotion effect of this Charm affects her not the onlookers. She exerts unnatural mental influence on herself to relive the most hate-filled and joyous moment of her unlife. The effect it has on bystanders is a natural effect of her sadistic cruelty. Despite the effect it has on others this Charm does not stop her from using Compassion in the twisted way she feels it. Far from it. She positively revels in the shocked sickness and impotent outrage others feel in her presence when she uses this Charm.

    Notes

   One problem is the limit of 2 Willpower points per scene people have to spend to resist natural mental influence. I wanted to avoid the use of direct Unnatural mental influence as it seemed too artless, anyone can force people to feel emotions, a real artist inspires them. People for who Compassion is not a dominant Virtue would be unaffected. Those who are Essence users may spend all of their Compassion in Willpower, if it above 2, to create a Compulsion effect that allows them to remain in control of themselves, accruing Limit for doing so. She also incurs a point of Resonance for activating this Charm for drawing on the darkness that allows her to resurrect such hate.
   I'm not sure if it's more fitting for a character to gain Resonance from drawing on the power of the Abyssal Exaltation or trying to defy it. The Abyssals says both.

   About Willpower use, the rules say that after they spend two Willpower points the attacker must use a stunt to come at the character from an unexpected direction. Use of Charms are often interchangeable with stunts and attacks performed with this Charm should be similar to stunts in any case, especially the initial one that activates the Charm, that's a condition of activation.

   Whether or not this Charm qualifies as unnatural mental influence is not clear. I do not want the Charm or even the style to involve unnatural mental influence. The direct effect of it is since she is becoming a sinister Essence empowered embodiment of Abyssal cruelty. On the other hand it doesn't directly cause an emotion, which is at the root UMI, investing Essence into words and actions to give them an unnaturally potent social effect. It doesn't literally invade other people's minds or invest her words and actions with any supernatural power. Rather supernatural power is the cause of her words and actions and she's using them to achieve levels of hatred people are not usually capable of. That's what so disgusts people. It's sort of a half-way state of unnaturally caused mental influence rather than an unnatural effect. The only direct effect is on her.

   Also the name is obviously different but I think it might work.

Denied and Forsaken Widow Style

    No one with a Compassion of more than two is capable of learning this style as the are unable to perform the vilest acts of pitiless cruelty that this style requires.

      Obedient ________ Torment
   What greater mastery of the art of pain is there than inflicting the most excruciating agony on your opponent and having them beg for more.

   The master of this art has no mercy. Any act of compassion is just a pretence to make their victim's subsequent torment all the more heartless. The Forsaken Widow often enjoys pretending be compassionate and motherly perhaps revelling in the sheer strangeness of the emotions she's imitating. Some of her followers seem to enjoy being tormented.

   An unfortunate target of this Charm wants to be hurt. They'll fawn and scape on the floor for their mistress' attention even though they receive only the lowest form of it.

      Graceless Chattel Abasement
   Those far gone in Widow's service will perform any act on themselves or others no matter how grotesque at her command to receive their punishment.
   The wretched subjects of this Charm can be made to perform acts that contradict their Virtues.
   The Widow may chrge one of her subjects affected by Obedient ________ Torment with a task. Make a social attack. If they succeed the subject may not use their affected Virtue to prevent them performing their task.
   During that time they cannot exercise that virtue in any way to resist the Widow or use any of it's channels.

      Adjuration of the Impure Psyche
   The Widow may command one of her subjects to perform a task. If successful (the social attack) the subject's Motivation becomes 'do what the mistress commands' and will perform any acts no matter how abhorrent at her request.

   Of course the real torment of this Charm is of the one who'd Virtues they are forced to betray. The Denied and Forsaken Widow enjoys forcing those around her to perform acts they find abhorrent but cannot stop themselves.

       Psyche Evicerating Dominatrix
    By torturing her unfortunate supplicant in ways she feels particularly significant (or enjoyable) from outright physical abuse to forcing a man watching his loved ones being tortured to a barrage of well-worded insults and malicious teasing in public, she condenses a whole day of denying someone Willpower recovery into a single scene. If someone's will is broken through this Charm she replaces their Motivation with a Servitude effect to obey her. This Servitude effect remains as long as they do not recover their Willpower back to it's full rating.

   A mistress' dignity is expressed through her aloofness to those she torments. She embodies something that they desperately desire and are unable to take.
   Whenever the Widow offers the target something that appeals to one of their Intimacies, dominant Virtues or their Motivation but she can deny them without the use of direct physical force she savours their torment. Direct physical force doesn't rule out using physical means. She could writhe and dance erotically in fine night attire in front of a captive tied to her bed, especially if his restraints draw blood, or make suggestive comments on desires close to the heart of a courtier that they cannot respond to honestly without drawing approbium from the whole court.

   The later Charms are more what I have in mind for this style. The earlier ones seem more similar to Laughing Wounds Style. The purpose of this martial art is not to make people enjoy pain in any sense. It's a very social martial art, even more so than Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style. It focuses on social interaction rather than only drawing on it as a basis for Charms used in combat. Actual physical violence is something used as part of the style rather than something the style is used for. The character herself is very socially based. I originally thought of her as a Midnight Caste but then the Shadow (Day) Caste might offer her more room to use her powers. I'm not sure about how their anima banner affects obvious Charms though.