Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style

History

Martial artists who learn the Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style become consummate performers with charisma and grace to spare, and they can be as elusive as dreams. They wield desires like swords, and the masters can become things out of nightmare. The style emphasizes finesse and subtle manipulation rather than brute power, and it might have inspired the White Veil Style. (That Terrestrial martial art is much weaker, though.)

Weapons and Armor: Charms in the Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style treat attacks made with a whip, weighted rope or rope dart as unarmed attacks. (See the Appendix, pp. 156-157, for the game statistics of rope weapons.) Sashes, capes and ball gown trains can be given the properties of weighted ropes through the judicious addition of lead weights concealed in the layers of fabric. Directly examining such items to determine if they are weapons requires a (Perception + Investigation) roll. Doing so while simply looking at the character over requires a (Perception + Awareness) roll, difficulty 3, instead. War fans are also form weapons for the Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style.
Several Charms of this style also enable practitioners to attack using the long, flowing sleeves of their robes or ordinary gown trains, cloaks or sashes, without any preparation. Others permit attacks using ordinary paper fans and similar props. In such cases the martial artist empowers these “weapons” with her Essence. All the damage comes from the Charm. Characters cannot use this style while wearing armor.

Complementary Skills: A prospective Dreaming Pearl Courtesan must have at least two dots in Performance, Presence or Socialize before she can learn this style.