Mouse of the Sun

Mouse of the Sun
The Mice of the Sun appear similar to ordinary mice, with stark white fur and bright golden eyes. Though they live and breed like normal animals, they bear the Unconquered Sun’s blessing, and have an affinity for the returned Solar Exalted. A Lawgiver who bonds with such a mouse has a companion for life. These tiny creatures are clever, inconspicuous, and loyal to a fault, capable of slipping into a prison cell with a lockpick or spotting a would-be assassin.
The mice also serve as a vector for the Unconquered Sun’s divine judgment: the Plague of the Sun.
Essence: 1; Willpower: 8; Join Battle: 7 dice
Health Levels: −0/−1/−2/−4/Incap
Intimacies: Defining: Unconquered Sun (Loyalty); Major: Its Master (Loyalty)
Actions: Gnaw Through Things: 6 dice; Read Intentions: 8 dice; Scurry Through Tight Spaces: 7 dice; Senses: 9 dice (see Keen Nose); Stealth: 10 dice (see Slink Away, Tiny Creature)
Resolve 4, Guile 1
COMBAT
Attack (Gnaw): 8 dice (Damage 2, or 5 vs. housecat- sized or smaller foes)
Combat Movement: 7 dice
Evasion 3, Parry 1 (see Tiny Creature)
Soak/Hardness: 1/0
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Distracting Scurry: The mouse’s distract gambit (Exalted, p. 200) adds two automatic successes to the attack roll against an enemy larger than a housecat. A distracted enemy also suffers blindness penalties until her onslaught penalty has refreshed, too focused on the pest assailing her.
Plague of the Sun: An enemy damaged by a decisive gnaw attack must also roll for exposure to the Plague of the Sun if she has offended the Most High through cruelty, cowardice, irresponsibility, abandonment of righteous goals, or wicked deeds committed in his name. The Storyteller decides whether she has.
Scampering Misdirection: The mouse scampers across the enemy’s body, making her strike herself. After successfully distracting an enemy, the mouse may redirect any successfully evaded attack from that enemy back at her until its next turn as long as it remains in close range, applying the attack against her Defense as normal.
Flashing Sun Clash (Latent): When the mouse or its master is attacked, it may pay one Willpower to reflexively clash with a decisive attack, moving up to one range band. This doesn’t count as its combat action. If it fails, the attack strikes the mouse regardless of the original target.
Orichalcum Fang Strike (Latent): Withering gnaw attacks have a base damage of 5 regardless of the enemy’s size against demons, undead, and other creatures of the night. Decisive gnaw attacks against the same deal aggravated damage; spend one Willpower to apply double 10s to the damage roll.
Paw of Judgment (Magical): Whenever the mouse’s master deals decisive damage after receiving Initiative from the mouse’s distract gambit against that foe, the foe must roll for exposure to the Plague of the Sun.
MERITS
Keen Nose: Gain double 9s on scent-based Perception rolls.
Slink Away: The penalty for going to ground in combat begins at −0, not −3.
Sunlit Fur Warmth: Once per story in which the mouse’s master accomplishes a major character or story goal (Exalted, p. 169) that upholds one of his Major or Defining Principles, he can play with his companion to remove one point of Limit per success his player rolls on a single die.
Tiny Creature: Gain +2 Evasion against foes larger than a housecat. Characters of that size subtract two successes from Awareness rolls to notice the mouse.
Dancing Mouse Fury (Latent): If the mouse’s master is a Solar Exalt, whenever they both roll Join Battle, the mouse gains +2 Initiative for each 10 in its master’s roll.
Resplendent Solar Avatar (Magical): The mouse may reflexively gain a radiant aura emulating its master’s anima banner at the burning level. Its master may extend his anima banner benefits to the mouse for free, or pay the usual cost to grant those effects to the mouse separately. It can’t gain benefits that bestow permanent traits, such as the Eclipse’s ability to learn spirit Charms.
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 one Willpower each in lieu of mote costs. Each requires a separate application of Beast-Mastering Behavior to learn.
Vanishing Flare (Magical): If the mouse dies, it disappears into its master’s anima and slowly reforms over the course of the story. Once the next story begins, it emerges at an unforeseen moment to aid its Solar master. It may also reflexively vanish in a curl of Solar flame at any time, until its master calls it back.
STORYTELLER TACTICS
Mice of the Sun are fearless in battle, no matter how badly injured they are. They never withdraw or surrender unless their masters will it. Their defining Intimacy is immutable by any influence or magic. Mice of the Sun are pets or 3-dot familiars for Exalts, especially Solars, which means the Exalt’s player generally decides a mouse’s tactics. However, it occasionally acts on its own, especially if someone in its vicinity performs unrighteous acts. If a mouse belongs to a Storyteller character, decide its tactics based on that character’s priorities.

THE PLAGUE OF THE SUN
The Plague of the Sun is a supernatural disease (Exalted, p. 233) with virulence 4, morbidity 4, and a one week interval.
Even the most powerful healing magic cannot reduce it below minor intensity. A sincere prayer to the Unconquered Sun for forgiveness can lower its intensity by one step or cure it entirely from minor symptoms, but only for those who have committed sufficient atonement for whatever sin drew wrath. A character can pray only once per interval.
The Plague has the following symptoms in addition to the usual disease effects:
• Minor Symptom: Judgment haunts the victim as the sun rises higher; she loses a point of Willpower every day when the sun reaches its noonday zenith unless she totally cuts herself off from natural light at the time. She suffers from constant heat exhaustion.
• Major Symptom: As above, and the victim takes a two-die penalty on all actions when exposed to daylight, suffering severe sunburn. Decrease it to −1 if she wears concealing clothing or otherwise keeps the sunlight off her flesh.
• Defining Symptom: As above, and effects that affect creatures of darkness, such as certain Solar Charms, consider the victim to be one. She also suffers from sunstroke.