Archery Charms

• Essence 1
  • Wise Arrow
  • Sight Without Eyes
  • Blood Without Balance
  • Force Without Fire
  • Trance of Unhesitating Speed
  • Phantom Arrow Technique
  • Fiery Arrow Attack
• Essence 2
  • Hanging Judgment Arc
  • There Is No Wind
  • Accuracy Without Distance
  • Arrow Storm Technique
  • Flashing Vengeance Draw
  • Hunter’s Swift Answer
  • Immaculate Golden Bow
  • Dazzling Flare Attack
• Essence 3
  • Nova Arrow Attack
  • Seven Omens Shot
  • Revolving Bow Discipline
  • Finishing Snipe
  • Rain of Feathered Death
  • Shadow-Seeking Arrow
  • Searing Sunfire Interdiction
  • Solar Spike
  • Heart-Eating Incineration
• Essence 4
  • Dust and Ash Sleight
  • Heavens Crash Down
  • Hell-Heeling Arrow
  • Streaming Arrow Stance
• Essence 5
  • Whispered Prayer of Judgment
  • Solar Judgment Flare

Essence 1

Wise Arrow¹

Prerequisites Archery 2, Essence 1
Cost 1m; Supplements Archery attack; Duration instant

The supplemented attack treats the Defense of any character not under total cover as though it was 1 lower.

If the supplemented attack also benefits from an Aim action, it can strike a target in total cover, but only if there’s some opening for an arrow to get through (even if it doesn’t allow a direct path to the target). The target is treated as having +3 Defense against the attack.

Sight Without Eyes

Prerequisites Archery 3, Essence 1, Wise Arrow
Cost: 1m; Supplements Archery attack;² Duration one tick

The supplemented attack ignores penalties for visual conditions, such as smoke, fog, and pitch darkness, but not for other conditions like high winds and cover.

Unlock (Archery 5, Essence 3): The supplemented attack also ignores cover less than total cover.³

Blood Without Balance⁴

Prerequisites Archery 4, Essence 1, Sight Without Eyes
Cost 3m; Action Reflexive; Duration instant
Requirement You benefit from a distract gambit, and your new Initiative is equal to the current tick or higher.⁵

Make a ranged decisive attack at up to long range. You don’t need to Aim to make this attack. If you have under seven Initiative, the base damage of this attack gains (Essence) bonus dice.

Force Without Fire⁶

Prerequisites Archery 4, Essence 1, Sight Without Eyes
Cost 3m; Supplements withering Archery attack at up to short range; Duration instant

If the supplemented attack does at least as much damage as the target’s Stamina:

• that Initiative is lost rather than transferred to you, and
• the target is knocked prone and back one range band, and
• the target loses any active benefit from a Rush.

Trance of Unhesitating Speed⁴

Prerequisites Archery 3, Essence 1, Wise Arrow
Cost 4m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Requirement You have at least 3 Initiative.

Make up to (Initiative ÷ 3, rounded down) decisive Archery attacks, with a maximum of (Dexterity) attacks. You don’t need to Aim to make these attacks at medium or longer range. Your Initiative is divided up as evenly as possible between each attack. For example, if you have 11 Initiative and make 3 attacks, the attacks would be made with 4, 4, and 3 Initiative. Each 10 you rolls on one of these attack rolls increases the base damage of that attack by one. Your Initiative does not reset until you’ve completed every attack.

Phantom Arrow Technique

Prerequisites Archery 3, Essence 1
Cost 1m; Supplements Archery attack;² Duration Instant

You can make the supplemented attack even if you don’t have any ammunition for it. The phantom ammunition produced by this Charm last just long enough to deal damage (if any).

Once per scene when you use this Charm, you can choose an Intimacy and add +(Intimacy’s strength) to the supplemented attack’s attack roll. You can’t use this function of the Charm again until you’ve spent significant effort in restoring, remembering, or being reminded of the reason for the Intimacy.

Unlock (Essence 3): Once per scene when you use this Charm, you can make the supplemented attack enduring. The real or phantom ammunition you use becomes permanent and indestructible, and if it hits can only be pulled from the target by you or someone you’ve granted permission, or by completely cutting away the material or flesh it’s struck.

Fiery Arrow Attack⁴

Prerequisites Archery 4, Essence 1, Phantom Arrow Technique
Cost 2m; Supplements decisive Archery attack; Duration Instant

If the supplemented attack deals at least three levels of damage, the attack’s target catches on fire, and takes (your Essence) lethal dice of damage every turn until the fire is extinguished. If the target is made of flammable materials (such as a sail or bucket of oil), it catches on fire regardless of the damage dealt by the supplemented attack. This fire is natural, and may spread to surrounding objects or cause combustible materials to explode.

Essence 2

Hanging Judgment Arc⁴

Prerequisites Archery 4, Essence 2, Fiery Arrow Attack
Cost 6m; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant Requirement You just rolled Join Battle, and you’re in a place where you can fire an arrow upward without it getting stuck in the ceiling.

Declare a specific location within range of your unmodified Archery attack, not occupied by an enemy, and not separated from you by an enclosed area. You may also choose to declare a specific enemy. You fire an arrow into the air, which isn’t resolved as an attack, but is noted with your Initiative at the time of using this Charm. The arrow stays high in the air until one of the conditions listed below is fulfilled.

If an enemy enters or crosses through the declared location, which must be he specific enemy if one was declared, the arrow comes down and strikes at the enemy. This is treated as a decisive Archery attack by you, except that it uses the Initiative you had when you used this Charm, uses your unmodified attack pool, and gets the benefits of Fiery Arrow Attack for free. If you declared a specific enemy, the attack also gets +(Essence) and +(Essence)s to the attack roll and +(Essence)s to the damage roll. If the attack damages the enemy, your Initiative doesn’t reset at the end of attack resolution.

If the attack isn’t triggered and you are crashed, slain, or the scene ends, the arrow strikes the location and sets fire to any flammable objects there.

Unlock (Archery 5, Essence 3): You can use this Charm with a Cost of 8m to change its duration to Indefinite and give the triggered attack a base damage of 17. With this use of the Charm, the arrow only comes down if the attack is triggered or you end commitment to the Charm while alive.

Unlock (Archery 5, Essence 4): The mode granted by this Charm’s first unlock is Stackable up to (Essence) times.

There Is No Wind⁷

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 2, Sight Without Eyes
Cost 3m; Supplements Archery attack;² Duration Instant

The supplemented attack ignores penalties from non-visual conditions, such as high winds, bad weather, flawed ammunition, and so on.

If the supplemented attack is withering, its accuracy is treated as if it were made from short range or the attack’s actual range, whichever is shorter.⁸ This works at any range, including at extreme long range if you have appropriate Awareness Charms to target such an opponent.

Accuracy Without Distance

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 2, Force Without Fire
Cost 1m, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant

This Charm acts as an Aim action, except that it’s a Reflexive action, it gives +3s as non-Charm successes instead of +3 to the following attack, and the benefits of this special Aim only apply to a decisive Archery attack.⁹

Upgrade (Essence 5): You can apply the special Aim benefits to a withering attack against a crashed opponent, but only once during that crash period. The attack roll automatically succeeds.

Arrow Storm Technique⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 2, Trance of Unhesitating Speed
Cost 5m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant

Make a decisive attack against one target.¹⁰

Then, choose up to (Essence × 3) secondary targets within medium or closer range of your first target (even if these targets are outside of your weapon’s normal range). Resolve a single decisive attack against all of the secondary targets at once, using a single attack roll applied to each target’s Defense. Deal damage separately to each target, using a base damage of (Perception) and dividing your Initiative up as evenly as possible among them.

Your Initiative doesn’t reset until you’ve completed every attack from this Charm.

Flashing Vengeance Draw

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 2, Trance of Unhesitating Speed
Cost 3m; Supplements Join Battle roll; Duration Instant

The supplemented Join Battle roll gets +(Essence)s. In this combat, if you attack a target before they’ve acted, your first attack against them is unblockable.

You can’t use this Charm to supplement a Join Battle roll that benefits from a Melee, Thrown, or Brawl Charm.

Hunter’s Swift Answer¹

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 2, Flashing Vengeance Draw
Cost 5m, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement You succeed at a disengage action.

Make an Archery attack at close range, targeting a character you disengaged from.

Immaculate Golden Bow

Prerequisites Archery 4, Essence 2, Phantom Arrow Technique Cost 5m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration One scene

You create a weapon with stats identical to a powerbow (see page 598 of Exalted 3). The weapon is made of solidified Essence forged in all the colors of Solar anima, and glows like a torch. You can pay 4m as a Reflexive action to make the bow grant you heavy cover against ranged attacks for 1 turn.

Upgrade: With each Upgrade, you add a custom Evocation to Immaculate Golden Bow. You should work with your GM to create Evocations that fit your character.

Dazzling Flare Attack⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 2, Fiery Arrow Attack
Cost 3m; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement A decisive Archery attack supplemented by Fiery Arrow Attack gets at least one 10 on the attack roll.

Add +1s to the triggering attack roll. For each 10 in the attack roll, add +1 to the attack’s raw damage.

This Charm’s effect is bright enough to be seen for miles. Every concealed character¹¹ within two range bands (including yourself) must roll Stealth, with a -2 success penalty to the attempt, or be revealed.

Essence 3

Nova Arrow Attack⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Dazzling Flare Attack
Cost 6m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant

Choose a location within range of your Archery attacks. You fire an arrow at this location, which then explodes. The explosion is an unblockable decisive attack with an attack roll of (your Initiative, maximum 10) and damage of (your Initiative). This attack is rolled once but applied against everything within close range to the chosen location. Each character who is hit by or dodges the attack is thrown one range band away from you. Each character hit by the attack also lands prone and loses 1i. If the explosion damages a battle group, that battle group gets -2s on its next attack.

If the attack doesn’t hit at least one enemy character, your Initiative doesn’t reset to base Initiative, even if the explosion destroys scenery and objects.

Seven Omens Shot⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Accuracy Without Distance
Cost 3m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Requirement You’ve used Aim against a single target each round for the previous three rounds.

Make a decisive Archery attack against the target of the triggering Aim actions. You get +3s as non-Charm successes instead of +3 from the Aim, and you add any threshold successes from the attack roll to the attack’s raw damage.

Each use of Accuracy Without Distance before using this Charm, instead of granting that Charm’s normal benefit, reduces the rounds needed to Aim for this charm by one and reduces this Charm’s special Aim bonus by 1s.

If you kill an opponent with an attack generated by this Charm, you gain 1wp.

Revolving Bow Discipline⁶

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Arrow Storm Technique
Cost 6m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Keywords Perilous

Choose a non-crashed target at short or closer range. Make a withering Archery attack against that target and repeat until you miss, crash the target, or deplete the target’s Magnitude (if it’s a battle group)

Unlock (Essence 4): If you crash a target with an attack generated by this charm, you gain 1wp.

Finishing Snipe⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Hunter’s Swift Answer
Cost 7m; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement A target within range of your Archery weapon suffers crash, and you’re not engaged in a Simple action that would prevent you from attacking.

Make a decisive Archery attack against the triggering target. You don’t need to Aim to make this attack.

Rain of Feathered Death⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Phantom Arrow Technique
Cost (3 × X)m, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant

Make a decisive Archery attack. If the attack hits, it deals damage (X + 1) or (Dexterity) times, whichever is less. For each damage roll past the first, the raw damage is (Initiative - previous damage roll’s successes) or (Essence), whichever is more.

Shadow-Seeking Arrow¹

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Dazzling Flare Attack
Cost 3m, 2i; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Requirement Your Awareness reveals a hidden target or targets.

Make an Archery attack against one of the revealed targets. You don’t have to Aim for this attack. You can use this Charm multiple times in regards to the same trigger, but only with different targets.

Searing Sunfire Interdiction⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Dazzling Flare Attack
Cost 4m, 1i, 1wp; Action Simple; Duration Instant

Against a target you didn’t use this Charm against as your last Simple action,¹² make a decisive gambit Archery attack with difficulty 3. Double each 9 on the damage roll. The attack doesn’t require Aim. If the attack succeeds, the target’s next turn is delayed by (2 + extra successes on the gambit’s damage roll) ticks, but he keeps the same Initiative. If this would delay the target’s turn to tick 0 or later, he loses his turn for the round.

If you use Aim, on the next round you may activate this Charm and act first in the round, using the Charm as your Simple action and taking your turn out out of the normal turn order (but keeping your normal Initiative). If another character uses magic to act first on the same round, the character with the higher Initiative acts first.

The Upgrades for this Charm must be purchased in order.

Upgrade (Essence 3): The gambit is difficulty 2. If the attack succeeds, you don’t lose Initiative.

Upgrade (Essence 4): If you drop an opponent from a higher Initiative tick to a lower Initiative tick than yours, reset your attack.

Upgrade (Essence 5): You can use this Charm against a target you used this Charm against last round. If you do, ignore the wp cost. If you succeeded with the last use and succeed with this use of the Charm, the target is pushed backwards one range band, even if this would force him off a cliff or a rooftop.

Upgrade (Essence 6): Each time you successfully hit with this Charm’s attack, unless you force the target to lose their turn with the attack, you can use this Charm again against the same target without needing an action. Ignore the wp cost for each use past the first. For every two successful attacks against the same target with this Charm, the target is pushed back one range band. If you force the target to lose their turn, you gain 1wp.

Upgrade (Essence 6): If you force the target to lose their turn, you can use this Charm against a new target without needing an action.

Solar Spike⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Dazzling Flare Attack
Cost 5m, 1wp; Action Simple (1/scene); Duration Instant

Make a decisive Archery attack against a target with lower Initiative than you. The attack ignores your weapon’s range, can be made from medium or long range without Aim, and can be made from extreme range with Aim. Instead of your Initiative, the attack has a raw damage of your current temporary Willpower. If you’re trying to uphold or protect an intimacy, multiply this raw damage by the Intimacy’s intensity. The attack doesn’t reset your Initiative if it succeeds.

You can’t use this Charm with Fiery Arrow Attack or Rain of Feathered Death.

Reset: Successfully make a withering attack and get a 10 six times across the attack and damage rolls.

Heart-Eating Incineration⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 3, Solar Spike
Cost 3m, 3a; Supplements Solar Spike;² Duration Instant
Requirement Your anima is at bonfire.

Add your Initiative to the raw damage of the supplemented use of Solar Spike. Your Initiative is reset if the attack succeeds.

If you kill a target with the supplemented use of Solar Spike, the target’s body and soul are burned away completely, and you gain (highest intensity of any Intimacy for the target + Essence)m. If the target is a spirit, it can still reform normally.

Using this Charm resets your anima to the dim level.

Essence 4

Dust and Ash Sleight⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 4, Seven Omens Shot
Cost 3m; Supplements Seven Omens Shot;² Duration Instant

The supplemented use of Seven Omens Shot takes one fewer Aim action, but doesn’t get the Aim bonus to the attack roll.

Upgrade (Essence 5): You get the Aim bonus to the attack roll.

Heavens Crash Down⁶

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 4, Revolving Bow Discipline
Cost 6m, 2i, 1wp; Action Reflexive; Duration Instant
Keywords Clash, Perilous
Requirement You are attacked from short or closer range, and you are in your -4 health levels.

Make a withering Archery attack against the triggering attacker. Add +(Essence)s to the attack roll and double each 9 on the damage roll. If you would gain Initiative from the attack’s damage, instead roll that much decisive damage against the target, ignoring hardness and doubling each 10. Resolve your attack and the attack against you as a clash.

Upgrade (Essence 5): Remove the Perilous keyword. You can spend Initiative on this Charm even while crashed, reducing your Initiative into the negatives.

Hell-Heeling Arrow⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 4, Nova Arrow Attack, Searing Sunfire Interdiction
Cost 13m, 1wp; Action Simple, 1/battle; Duration Instant

This Charm functions as Nova Arrow Attack, except that the explosion attack is enhanced and the explosion doesn’t immediately happen. Instead, the arrow smokes menacingly. Any character who moves (or is moved) within close or short range of the arrow triggers the explosion, unless they succeed at a Disengage action with difficulty 5.

If the explosion happens, it uses an attack pool of (Essence + Initiative, maximum 12) and a damage pool of (Initiative), and it doesn’t reset your Initiative even if it hits a character. Also, any characters rendered prone by the attack are lit on fire, subject to bonfire damage (4L/round) until the fire is put out.

Reset: You roll Join Battle.

Streaming Arrow Stance

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 4, Finishing Snipe
Cost 6m; Action Simple; Duration One scene

You can attack crashed targets at medium or long range without needing to Aim first.

Essence 5

Whispered Prayer of Judgment¹

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 5, Streaming Arrow Stance
Cost 1m; Supplements Archery attack; Duration Instant
Requirement The attack benefits from Aim.

Add +(Essence) to the attack’s damage.

Solar Judgment Flare⁴

Prerequisites Archery 5, Essence 5, Heart-Eating Incineration, Nova Arrow Attack
Cost 3m, 1wp plus Xm; Action Simple; Duration Instant
Requirement You have Initiative of 15 or more.¹³

Make an Archery attack against a target at least three range bands away. This attack doesn’t require Aim. The attack deals an additional (Essence or 3, whichever is higher) automatic damage and the damage roll is increased by X, to a maximum of (Initiative ÷ 2, rounded up). If the attack deals damage, the target is thrown backwards one range band for every 3 health levels lost.

If the target is a ship made of natural materials, every three successes on the damage roll equates to a point of hull damage.

If the target is a battle group, the battle group’s next rout check gets -2s, whether the attack hits or not.

Whether the attack hits the target or not, everything and everyone within (Initiative ÷ 5, rounded up) range bands behind where the arrow strikes is subject to a high intensity bonfire (6L/round).¹⁴