Ashen Scale

Stand atop the peak and feel the wind beat upon your chest. Hear the lightning seek your heart. Bathe yourself in Seln in all its raw, terrifying glory, and become free.

About

Public Knowledge

The story of the Ashen Scales is one of misfortune and suffering. Cursed by fate, they endlessly intermingle with the calamities of Seln: the elemental storm and the crystal eruption.

Those who suffer misfortune gravitate to the school, finding comfort with others marked by an ill wind.

Truly a pitiable school. What did they do to deserve such a burden? Good citizens of course grant alms to the Ashen Scales - and thus ward away bad fortune.

Still, smart folk gently encourage the Ashen Scales to move onwards at the end of the job lest that misfortune catch.

Application

Tragedy has taken everything from you. Claim something back.

Very few apply to the Ashen Scales voluntarily. The school’s reputation is so soured that few see past the cloud of fate to the Path beneath.

Instead, the Ashen Scales manage their own outreach. The school arrives in the wake of elemental disasters, offering comfort and aid.

For those tragic few who lose friends and family, the Ashen Scales offer something even more important: acceptance. Acceptance of the rage; the guilt; the doubt.

The Ashen Scales offer a way forward from that shadowed mire. A brotherhood of those who have suffered and who now rescue those who suffer.

Path History

The Ashen Scales make no claim to formal tradition or history, though records of their exploits are found in the earliest scrolls of the Kingdom. Archaeological scholars debate whether the Tranquil Serpents or the Ashen Scales were first among the Paths, but the school shrugs.

What martial art could be older than the fury of nature itself?

To the Ashen Scales, martial schools and traditions are artifice - attempts to tuck away the terror of nature the way Aloran geomancers soothe the ley lines around the capital.

Every Ashen Scale is born from the recognition of that raw power, and the school has embraced its asceticism. Ashen Scales should donate their earnings to worthy causes and live close to nature. Ashen dojos should be simple and spartan, devoted to their arts and open to nature.

As a school that appears alongside many of the worst disasters to hit the folk, the Scales have developed quite a superstituous reputation. Most Scales thus blend into the general monastic population, revealing their power only to aid others.

Power

As an ascetic Ashen Scale, you both face and embody the elemental fury of Seln. Let your strike be an inferno and your step an avalanche!

• Primary element: Fire
• Secondary: Earth
• Bane: Water

The Spark

You may manifest your resolve through flickers of Fire known as the Spark. You control and spread the Spark to punish those who would bring tragedy to Seln Alora.

• You begin each Scene with 0 Sparks
• You may spend 1 Fire Charge to generate a Spark
• You may consume 2 Sparks from anywhere in the Scene to generate 1 Fire Charge

You apply Sparks against foes to generate a variety of punishing effects.

On a successful offensive Challenge against a foe in your Scene, you apply 1 Spark against that foe

• Offensive here means a contested Challenge, a melee Attack, or a Throw; Defense has its own rules (further below)
• You must be up close and personal with the foe; ranged Attack cannot generate Sparks
• Each Foe may have 1 and only 1 Spark at a time

Foes may remove your Spark by:

• Spending their Action to extinguish the Spark
  • You Challenge Fire to maintain the Spark; on a failure, the Spark is extinguished
  • Increase the Difficulty by 2 on each subsequent attempt
• Fully immersing themselves in water
• Bosses may automatically hand the Spark to a lesser foe in the same zone as the Boss; this does not require an Action

At start of play you have access to:

Enflame Movement

• When a foe with a Spark would move into another zone, spend that Spark to either:
• Deal 1 damage
• Challenge Fire to Blockade for that foe and that zone until the start of your next turn

Syphon Movement

• When a foe with a Spark in your current zone would move into another zone, spend that Spark to either:
• Deal 1 damage
• Automatically move with that foe into that next zone

Delayed explosive

• At the start of your turn, you may spend the Spark on 1 or more foes
• Challenge to Throw using Fire; apply the same Result against all foes
  • Success: Throw the selected foes into an adjacent zone of your choice; you may choose separate zones for each foe
  • Flourish: As Success, but choose one selected foe to retain their Spark

Fiery Bite

• On a successful Attack (melee or ranged), you may consume an existing Spark to add +(C-1) Damage
• You do not add a new Spark on this Attack

At Circle 3, gain:

Conflagration

• Spend your Action and 1 Fire Charge
• Choose one Sparked target within the Scene, ignoring line of sight
• Challenge Fire against that target
  • Disaster, Failure: No effect
  • Success: Spread that target’s Spark to every other foe within that zone; the target foe loses their Spark
  • Flourish: Spread that target’s Spark to every other foe within that zone; the target foe retains their Spark

Interfering Spark

• In response to a foe’s Attack against you or your allies, you may spend the foe’s Spark
• Add +C to you or your ally’s Defend Challenge against that effect
• If the Defend fails, reduce incoming damage by 1
  • Minimum damage of 1 still applies

At Circle 4: gain:

Spark sense

• You are aware of the location of any Sparked enemy, ignoring line of sight
• Foes may not gain Stealth while Sparked; any foe that already has a Stealth while Sparked must degrade that Stealth by Cd10 at the start of each turn until they are revealed

Black Scale Hunger

Each time you take damage from a living creature, give that creature 1 Spark

• The foe must be within the same Scene as you
• At Circle 3, additionally gain:
  • You may inflict a Spark to both Spirits and Shades now

Grief of Flame

This Burning Rage in my Right Arm!

Through ascetic meditation, you gain utter control over your body’s internal thermal energy.

• You may cool your body temperature to as low as 1C or raise it as high as 30C with no ill effect
• You suffer no ill effects from exposure to heat or cold, no matter how extreme

You may consume mundane sources of Fire with a touch.

• This does not require an Action
• You may only target fires within your zone
  • However, if you move through multiple zones, you may apply this effect in each zone as you move
• This causes your arm to glow with cracks of flame in your veins

Some fires require you to ovecome the will of their own. You must Challenge Fire against the controller when:

• The fire is fed by an Art
• The fire is the result of cultivator Charge
• On a success or flourish, you consume the effect

Other Fires are beyond the ability of mortal men to truly control (even you). You may not suppress fires when:

• The fire is fed by a ley line, elemental storm, or crystal eruption

The scale you can consume grows over time.

• At Circle 2:
  • Easily consume campfires, torches, and other small flames at no issue
  • Forest fires, metal forges, and other intense heats cause you to take a Wound
  • Molten metal, lava are beyond your ability
• At Circle 3:
  • Forest fires and forges no longer cause a Wound
  • Molten metal and lava cause a Wound
• At Circle 4:
  • Molten metal and lava no longer cause a Wound
  • You may absorb fury from any elemental storm containing Fire; reduce its Rank by 2 and take a Wound

Special mention: Crystal eruptions

• Crystal eruptions are the very fires of creation, far beyond any Art
• As a Master of the Path, you have sufficient might to absorb the fury of an elemental eruption
  • You must stand at the very epicenter of the impending eruption
  • You then consume its fury, foretsalling disaster
  • This is fatal

Ashen Aegis

• Every ally in your current zone gains +1 to all Defend Challenges

In reaction to an incoming effect, you may spend 1 Fire Charge or 1 Spark to increase this bonus to +C against that effect

• If the effect is AOE, your bonus of +C applies to all targetted allies

Additionally, at Circle 3:

• You may choose to redirect any elemental effect that would target an ally in your current zone
• That effect instead either:
  • Targets you; no cost required
  • Targets a Sparked foe within your zone or an Adjacent zone; costs the foe’s Spark

Additionally, at Circle 4:

• Treat elemental storms as 2 Ranks lower for you and allies in your current zone

Shield of Tragedy

Each dawn, select either Air, Earth, or Fire

• You gain C-1 Armor in that element for the duration
• Allies in the same zone as you gain +1 Armor to that element

At Circle 3, gain:

• At the start of your turn, you may spend 2 Sparks to change your selected element

Heroism

You may not trust my kind. We are here anyways.

You may choose to Challenge with Fire instead of Water in the following situations:

• Giving direct orders to prevent or mitigate disasters, death, and tragedy
  • Your orders must be given in an honest attempt to avoid the situation!
• Consoling those who have lost loved ones or suffered a calamity
• Showing sympathy and providing solace to those suffering grief

At Circle 3, additionally:

• You automatically sense the state of those who suffer dire need within a Scene
  • For example: folk on the verge of starvation; bleeding to death; trapped in a situation that will result in death; or engaged in lethal combat
• This ability can trigger precognitively; you receive a premonition before tragedy occurs when possible
  • Usually C minutes in advance, though truly dire events (such as a crystal eruption in a crowded settlement) may give you C days beforehand
• In crowded Scenes (such as a city), you must restrict this ability to avoid going mad
  • In these cases, you automatically sense within your current zone

At Circle 4, additionally:

• Your orders reverberate through Harmony. All Kingdom folk of Circle 3 or less obey these orders automatically
  • These orders must be in direct mitigation of tragedy and much attempt to maximimze the safety of all such ordered (regardless of your personal relationship with the target)

Be a hero

The intent of this power is your ability to deliver the folk from tragedy. You are expected to set aside your personal grudges and help everyone in the path of the danger. Attempts to game the power to “accidentally” arrange the downfall of your enemies are contrary to the spirit of the ability. If you try it, the storyteller is free to grant himself a heap of Dissonance and grant that foe immunity to your Heroism going forward.

Heart of the Phoenix

Fire is the element of rebirth. Every breath we take is a tiny bit of Fire, mediating between Earth and Air. We must strive to be like the great Phoenix: ever evolving through an endless dance of Fire

Your blazing spirit overcomes injuries that would fell most others

• You gain an additional, special Health point known as Bloodied
• When you hit 0 Aura and would take a Wound, you first mark the Bloodied Health point
• This Health point does not open you to secondary effects such as suffering Wound Conditions
• Instead, your Aura returns to full strength
• Once Bloodied has been marked, future damage while at 0 Aura cause the usual effects
• In essence, you get one free set of Aura
• The Bloodied condition heals at the end of a Scene as your blazing heart fuels immense regenerative power.

Additionally, at Circle 4, gain:

• The first time you take damage to Bloodied, immediately Spark all foes within your current zone

Odd notes:

• Crystal Swans that summon a Phoenix in your presence often notice that the bird is fond of you
  • A few get jealous when their phoenix spends more time with you than them!

Recovery of Hope

At Circle 3, you gain the ability to heal that which has been broken

• You may spend your Action and 1 Fire Charge to restore a broken object to pristine condition
  • For example, restoring a shattered wall or window

You may use this ability to restore cultivated materials of your Circle or less

• Challenge Fire
  • If the object was destroyed by a person, Challenge against their Fire
  • If the object was destroyed by nature or time, Challenge against 8*T base
• Modifiers:
  • +1 Difficulty for every year since the object was destroyed (maximum 10)

On a success, you restore the object to pristine condition

Notes:

• The largest object you can effect is about the size of a wagon
• You may not use this ability on living materials (such as rosewood)

Arts

Circle 2

Firestorm Speed

• Chakra (Earth/Fire)
• Requires: None
• Effect: Add +1 Speed

Spark Trap

• Boon
• Requires: None
• Effect: You may your Action and 1 Fire Charge to plant a Spark Trap in your current zone
  • Challenge Fire to establish its Stealth score
  • You may choose when to trigger this trap, ignoring line of sight
  • One foe of your choice in that zone then gains a Spark

Ward of the elements

• Chakra (Earth/Fire)
• Requires: None
• Effect: You and allies in your current zone gain +C for Challenges against elemental effects

Circle 3

Firestorm Speed II

• Chakra (Earth/Fire)
• Requires: Firestorm Speed
• Effect: Improve your Firestorm Speed to +2 Speed

Explosive Spark Trap

• Boon
• Requires: None
• Effect: When your Spark Trap triggers, roll Cd10
  • For each 8, 9, or 10 rolled on a dice, one additional foe in that zone gains a Spark

Avalanche Kick

• Boon
• Requires: None
• Effect: On a successful melee Attack, you may spend 1 Earth Charge
  • If you do, you automatically Throw your target up to C zones away
  • You may hurl your target through objects. Treat your Attack roll as the Destroy Objects Result for smashing your foe through walls and obstacles
  • If you smash your foe through at least one object, add +1 Damage

Smoke shield

• Boon
• Requires: Ward of the elements
• Effect: You may spend your Action and 1 Fire Charge to fill your current zone with protective smoke
  • All ranged Attacks entering or leaving the zone suffer a Penalty of 1/2 your Drive
  • Affects both foes and allies

Circle 4

God of Disasters

• Chakra (Fire)
• Requires:
• Effect: Ignore elemental effects of less than your Circle
  • Treat elemental storms as an additional 2 ranks lower (stacking with Ashen Aegis)

Cultivation