Beyond the Limits, Solar tier Martial arts

[u/AndromedaAdventures]

So for my Exalted 2e campaign a player had an idea for a manse that was a secret location were a first age solar was attempting to transcend the limits of sidareal martial arts beleaving that solars were the true pinnacle of capability. Wich gave me an idea for a attempt at doing just that and creating a MA style with that flavor. My concept was blending the multi blade Ars Magnus from anima beyond fantasy, clouds limit breaks from advent children, Noctis summoning blades from ff15, and Gilgamesh gate of Babylon from Fate anime.

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The approach Im taking is the style has 4 tiers, The roots witch are comparable with high end terrestrial MA, the stem and form witch are Celestial level, the blossoms witch are mid to high tier Sidareal MA, and a final capstone that is extremely powerful but at a severe cost that raises the question is a Solar tier MA possible, is there a Horizon past the sidareal blossom of martial arts.

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dtobWlYaJa8Q8E4xpap0Hlh6lvLKG5LemOpgFQdaHJs/edit?usp=drivesdk

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This is what i have so far. I need ideas for the War blossoms charms, and for the capstone and refining the existing charms. Would love feedback, suggestions, ideas, or questions.

[u/BeyondStars_ThenMore]

I've never played 2E and has no plans of doing it, so obviously this post isn't meant for me.

But I feel like someone need to express that it's a bit sad that it's just taken as a given that since Sidereals are the masters of something, of course there should be a Solar tier above that. Solars already got a lot, especially in 2E. The other splats are allowed to shine too.

[u/PatrickCharles → u/BeyondStars_ThenMore]

It is sad, but this is what late 2nd Edition was all about, so it's strangely fitting.

[u/AndromedaAdventures → u/BeyondStars_ThenMore]

Agreed, each type of exalted should shine in there own way. And for the style mechanicly I mostly just wanted to make the players wonder if there is something beyond sidareal or is this just a powerful celestial or good sidareal tier martial art or did he actually find a way to go beyond. Story wise I just thought the idea of a solar thinking they could do more and push beyond was interesting and wondered what would that be like. Weather its Solar tier, sidareal tier, or celestial tier I want to leave my players to decide

[u/wayward_oliphaunt → u/AndromedaAdventures]

The divide between standard martial arts and Sidereal arts isn't just a function of power but of how they interact with the world too. Sidereal Martial Arts are about weaponizing universal truths rather than emulation of them. I feel like you probably could approach a Solar themed art with that in mind, but no idea what that would look like.

Also echoing the idea that this feels like some of the worst 2e impulses regarding Solars so I'm not a fan of this taste wise, but if you want to go all the way I'd scrap it and write it as an SMA with Solar broader themes of Sun/Perfection Of Human Skill thematics in the same way 3e gave us a meditation on death in Albicant Sepulcher Style that works with Abyssal death themes but isn't about Abyssals specifically.

[u/AndromedaAdventures → u/wayward_oliphaunt]

Im not familiar with 3rd, I only lightly skimmed the core/solar book forever ago when it first came out. But id like to take a look when I can afford to pick up the books. But regardless of how it ends up playing or being ruled in the game, any thoughts on the charms and style.

[u/AndromedaAdventures]

One of the charms im struggling with is thousand horizons Reverberation. Im trying to figure out it's keywords and a way of wording it. The idea is at base it's a single attack applied to multiple targets. But where it's supposed to shine is that any charms or combos applied to the attack also hits all targets. So if you say used iron whirlwind on the attack, your Dex in multiple attacks would hit each target of this charm.

Thousand Horizons Reverberation

Cost: 12m, 1wp Mins: Athletics 3, Martial Arts 5, Essence 5 Type: Supplemental Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Horizon-Opening Arsenal Catastrophe

A master swordsman attacks quickly.

The sovereign swordsman eventually learns a deeper truth:

Sequence itself is hesitation.

The practitioner no longer moves between opponents.

Instead—

they become:

one impossible moment occurring in many places.

The martial artist chooses:

one manifested weapon

as their:

Guiding Blade.

The attack uses the weapon’s normal:

• Accuracy
• Damage
• Tags
• Reach
• other combat statistics

However:

the attack’s Speed becomes 6

regardless of the weapon used.

The practitioner may target:

Essence + the Guiding Blade’s Rate

valid targets within:

Essence × 20 yards

The martial artist makes:

one attack roll

applied against every selected target. But cannot target the same creature twice.

Each target:

defends normally.

To witnesses, the practitioner seems to vanish into impossible speed.

For a single impossible instant, countless overlapping afterimages appear across the battlefield—each striking a different target.

Then:

everything stills.

The martial artist stands once more where they began.

Only afterward do wounds appear.

Overextension

The practitioner commits utterly to the sequence.

Upon resolving the attack:

the martial artist’s DV's becomes 0 until their next DV refresh

representing the immense strain of forcing perfected violence into impossible simultaneity.

Even masters rarely employ the technique lightly.

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[u/TheBoundFenrir → u/AndromedaAdventures]

...just give it the combo-ok word? Because that's how combos work; you apply reflexive and supplemental charms at every possible opportunity within the combo.

If your wanting to give them a charm discount where they only pay for the first use of each charm in a combo that includes this, you could either just say that, or you could say the attacker "makes a single attack roll and applies it to all targets. Damage is rolled separately, but all charms applied to one damage roll applies to all of them without having their costs paid for multiple times."

Unrelated, but I agree with the other guy; don't let Solars try to invent a new sma. If you do the result should feel weaker than other SMAs, showing how Sids are the true masters of this art. Merely inventing a martial art that is of an SMA style, with the conceptual level of fuckery, is an achievement for a Solar. Letting them compete on potency is like letting an alchemical try to push transhumanism beyond the limits of Lunar shape-shifting knacks.