Mouse of the Sun

Mouse of the Sun
The Mice of the Sun appear similar to ordinary mice—they have stark white fur and bright golden eyes. Though they live and breed like normal animals, they bear the blessing of the Unconquered Sun, and have an affinity for the returned Solar Exalted. A Lawgiver who bonds with one of the mice will have a companion for life. These tiny creatures are clever, inconspicuous, and loyal to a fault—more than capable of slipping into a prison cell with a lockpick, or spotting an assassin that their master has missed. The mice also serve as a vector for the Unconquered Sun’s divine judgment: the Plague of the Sun, a disease that falls upon those who have displeased him.

Essence: 1; Willpower: 8; Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: -0/-1/-2/-4/Incap. Mice of the sun are fearless in battle, no matter how badly injured they are.
Actions: Complex Thought: 4 dice; Gnaw Through Things: 4 dice; Scurry Through Tight Spaces: 7 dice; Senses: 6 dice (see Keen Nose); Stealth: 9 dice (see Slink Away and Tiny Creature)
Resolve: 4, Guile: 1

Combat
Attack (Gnaw): 5 dice (Damage 2). Damage increases to 5 against any enemy housecat-sized or smaller.
Combat Movement: 7 dice

Evasion 3; Parry 1 (see Tiny Creature)
Soak/Hardness: 1/0

Special Attacks
Distracting Scurry: The mouse of the sun can attempt a distract gambit (p. XX), adding two automatic successes to the attack roll against an enemy who is larger than a housecat. An enemy who is successfully distracted by the gambit also suffers the penalties of being blinded until their onslaught penalty has refreshed, as his attentions are so thoroughly focused on the small pest assailing him that he cannot notice anything else in his immediate surroundings.
Plague of the Sun: An enemy damaged by a decisive gnaw attack must also roll for exposure to the Plague of the Sun if they have offended the Unconquered Sun with prayers unworthy of the Most High or wicked deeds committed in his name. This is generally an issue of Storyteller discretion, rather than something the mouse’s master can decide.

The Plague of the Sun
The Plague of the Sun is a supernatural disease with virulence 4, morbidity 4, and an interval of one week. In addition to the usual traits of a disease, it has the following effects:
• Minor Symptom: The victim is haunted by a sense of judgment as the sun rises into the sky, causing him to lose a point of Willpower every day when the sun reaches its noonday zenith unless he is totally cut off from all natural light at the time. In addition, once a character has contracted the Plague of the Sun, even the most powerful healing magic cannot reduce it below the level of a minor symptom. A sincere prayer made to the Unconquered Sun asking for forgiveness can lower the intensity of the disease by one step or cure it entirely for those who have it at a minor symptom, but only for those who have committed sufficient atonement for whatever sin originally drew down the Sun’s wrath. Such prayers can be made no more than once per interval of the sickness.
• Major Symptom: In addition to the above effects, the victim takes a -2 penalty on all actions when exposed to daylight. This penalty is decreased to -1 if he wears thick, concealing clothing or uses other similar means to keep the sun off the flesh.
• Defining Symptom: In addition to the above effects, the victim is considered a creature of darkness for the purposes of Charms that have additional effects against them, such as Edge of Morning Sunlight or Fiery Solar Chakram.

Scampering Misdirection: Scampering across the enemy’s body, the mouse of the sun frustrates him into striking at himself. After successfully executing a distract gambit against an enemy, the mouse of the sun may redirect any attack made by that enemy that it successfully evades back at its attacker until its next turn. The mouse must remain within close range of the distracted enemy to use this special attack.
Flashing Sun Clash (Latent): By paying 1 Willpower, the mouse of the sun moves at the speed of sound to clash an attack. The mouse may move anywhere in her master’s line of sight to make this attack, even over air. This clash is decisive and adds her master’s Initiative to her own for the purposes of ignoring hardness, though only the mouse’s damage is rolled. If the mouse fails, she is struck by the attack instead of the original target.
Orichalcum Fang Strike (Latent): When the mouse of the sun attacks demons, undead, or other creatures of the night with its gnaw attack, its withering attacks have a base damage of 5 regardless of the enemy’s size, and its decisive attacks deal aggravated damage. If the mouse spends Willpower to enhance the attack, it may apply the double 10s rule to the damage roll.
Paw of Judgment (Magical): When the mouse of the sun’s master successfully damages an enemy with a decisive attack after receiving Initiative from a distract gambit made by the mouse against that enemy, the damaged character must roll against contracting the Plague of the Sun.

Merits
Faithful Servant: All mice of the sun have a Defining Tie of loyalty to the Unconquered Sun, which cannot be weakened or altered by any influence rolls or magic.
Fed by Virtue: The mouse of the sun does not sleep, but she does tire. She may sate hunger and thirst by normal means, eliminating any fatigue penalties, but she may also feed and quench her thirst by acting compassionately or courageously to aid another. Additionally, her hunger pains may be allayed by witnessing her master do the same. In times of trouble, an Exalted master may also feed her a single mote of Essence to restore her vigor for a single day.
Keen Nose: The mouse of the sun applies the double 9s rule on Perception-based rolls made using scent.
Slink Away: When the mouse of the sun attempts to go to ground in combat (p. XX), the penalty for doing so begins at -0, instead of -3.
Sunlit Fur Warmth: Once per story in which he somehow upholds the principles or virtues of the Unconquered Sun, the player of the master of a mouse of the sun who spends a scene petting and playing with his familiar may roll a single die, removing one point of Limit for each success.
Tiny Creature: The mouse of the sun adds +2 Evasion against any attack made by any foe larger than a housecat. In addition, characters of that size subtract two successes from any Awareness-based roll made to notice the mouse.
Dancing Mouse Fury (Latent): If her master is one of the Solar Exalted, when both she and her master roll Join Battle, she gains two Initiative for each 10 in her master’s Join Battle roll. Resplendent Solar Avatar (Magical): The Solar may grant the mouse any of the benefits of his anima banner for free when he uses them himself, or may pay separately to activate them on the mouse’s behalf. This is not compatible with anima effects that allow characters to acquire permanent traits, such as an Eclipse’s ability to learn certain spirit Charms or a Twilight’s ability to bind spirits as familiars. In addition, the mouse may reflexively surround itself with radiance emulating its master’s anima banner at the burning level.
Sun’s Shadow Companion (Magical, 1wp): The mouse can learn to use effects equivalent to the Solar Charms Invisible Statue Spirit, Lock-Opening Touch, and Stealing from Plain Sight Spirit, paying a point of Willpower in lieu of the mote cost of these Charms. Each Charm the Solar wishes to teach to his familiar requires a separate use of Beast-Mastering Behavior.
Vanishing Flare (Magical): The mouse of the sun has the Essence of Solar flame. It may unknit its physical substance to vanish into a curl of Solar flame until its master calls it back. In addition, if the mouse would be killed, it instead vanishes into the fires of its anima, slowly reforming over the course of the story. Once the next story has begun, the mouse emerges at an unforeseen moment to aid its Solar master.