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- 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 Awarenessbased
- 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.
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