Combos

Latest Errata: Exalts need not spend experience to purchase or create Combos, nor spend Willpower to activate them. Characters may simultaneously activate as many of their Charms as they desire, so long as the combination of powers activated obeys the rules for creating Combos (for example, characters still may not activate two Simple Charms simultaneously, nor activate another Charm at the same time as a Charm that lacks the Combo-OK keyword).

General Guidelines

Combos may include only those Charms with the Combo-Basic or Combo-OK keywords. Charms with the Combo-Basic keyword can share a Combo with only reflexive Charms. A Combo can include more than two Charms but it can never include the same Charm more than once. Storytellers are always free to veto the combination of certain Charms, and the Storyteller's decision is final when it comes to defining how a given Combo works.

When a character uses a Combo in battle or in war, there is an unmistakably brilliant display of Essence. Any character present will know that the Exalt is using a Combo the moment she pays the temporary Willpower to activate it. However, the witness will not know the exact nature of the Combo until he has seen it used once. The display of a Combo's activation is very distinctive, and once a character has seen it activated, he will be able to recognize it if he sees it again.

Characters can use Combos in a social conflict or to enhance dramatic actions. This use does not produce a Combo display unless one of the Charms in the Combo is Obvious.

Timing

Combos allow a character to use two, three or more Charms in a given action. Don't worry if this seems like it could get confusing. This section presents a point-by-point description of how the different types of Charms work together in a Combo. There are a lot of rules, but it's not as complex as it looks. Beneath the precise wording and occasional repetition, the core concepts are simple ones.

Simple—a Combo can have only one simple Charm in it.

If there are supplemental Charms in the Combo, the character must use them to supplement the simple Charm.

If there is an extra-action Charm in the Combo, the character must use the simple Charm as every action in the magical flurry. The character must use the simple Charm a number of times equal to the minimum number of actions in the flurry. The simple Charm must be from the same Ability as the extraaction Charm unless one of the Charms explicitly permits the combination, and it must be an appropriate action for every action the magical flurry contains.

Supplemental—There is no limit to the number of supplemental Charms that can be part of a Combo.

If there is a simple Charm in the Combo, the supplemental Charm must be used to benefit it. This means the supplemental Charm must be from the same Ability as the simple Charm unless one of the Charms explicitly permits the combination, and it must be able to benefit the kind of action the simple Charm is.

If there are no simple Charms in the Combo, the supplemental Charm must benefit all of the character's non-reflexive actions. Unless the Charm's description indicates otherwise, supplemental Charms can only benefit uses of the Ability on which they are based.

The supplemental Charm may benefit the character's reflexive actions, including actions given by reflexive and permanent Charms, if it can validly apply to them. Unless the Charm’s description indicates otherwise, supplemental Charms can only benefit uses of the Ability on which they are based.

Reflexive—There is no limit to the number of reflexive Charms that can be part of a Combo.

If there is a simple Charm in the Combo that can validly benefit from the reflexive Charm, the character may use the reflexive Charm to supplement it.

If there is an extra-action Charm in the Combo and one or more actions in the flurry can validly benefit from the reflexive Charm, the character may use the reflexive Charm to supplement it.

If there is neither an extra-action nor a simple Charm in the Combo and the reflexive Charm can validly benefit one or more of the character’s dice actions, the character may use the reflexive Charm to supplement it.

If there is a supplemental Charm in the Combo and the reflexive Charm gives a reflexive action and the supplemental Charm can validly apply to that action, then the supplemental Charm may benefit that action.

The reflexive Charm can be used outside the character's dice actions, as usual. However, the player must state that the Exalt is using a Combo, and which Combo, and must pay the price for the Combo (see below), as soon as the player uses the first Charm for that Combo in a given action—he cannot use a reflexive Charm and then later in the action declare that he actually wishes to use a Combo containing that Charm.

Extra Action—Only one Charm of the extra-action type may be used in a given Combo.

If an extra-action Charm is included in the Combo, then the character must activate it. (You simply wouldn't include it otherwise.)

If there is a simple Charm in the Combo, the character must use the simple Charm as every action in the magical flurry. The character must use the simple Charm a number of times equal to the minimum number of actions in the flurry. The extra action Charm must be from the same Ability as the simple Charm unless one of the Charms explicitly permits the combination, and the simple Charm must be an appropriate action for every action the magical flurry contains.

If there are supplemental Charms in the Combo, they must all benefit all of the actions in the flurry. This means that they must benefit the same kinds of actions that the flurry includes.

If there are reflexive Charms in the Combo, they may be used to benefit any of the actions in the magical flurry.

Permanent—Permanent Charms may not belong to Combos. Characters may use the ongoing benefits of permanent Charms during a Combo.

Paying the Price

The character must pay the normal cost of the Charms involved, and if she cannot afford to pay the cost of all the non-reflexive Charms in the Combo, then it does not work. Some Combos will have a variable cost. In this case, the character must be able to pay at least the minimum possible cost to activate the Combo.

Tips for 2e Combos

Relonad

One thing to keep in mind for Combos is that when the combo is used, ALL simple and supplemental charms HAVE to be paid for and activated. However, Reflexive charms can be applied at your discretion. That means, if you have a combo that has 2 Supplemental charms and 3 Reflexive charms, every time you use that combo you have to pay a minimum of the cost of the 2 Supplemental charms, but can choose to apply the Reflexive charms.

One thing I know a friend of mine would do is make a combo with their Primary attack charm (which ever skill he was using on the character) + [Relevant ability] Excellency + a Perfect Defense Charm. So when he used the combo, he would pay for his primary attack charm and then get to choose how much he would pay for his Excellency (depending on if he felt he needed the additional dice/successes) and keep his Defense Charm use in reserve in case he got attacked (keep in mind that you only get 1 Charm/Combo use per turn and if you use an attack charm you can't use a defensive charm until after your next turn: but having the defense charm in his combo meant that he was still only using his combo, the 1 combo he got per turn, to react to any attacks).

Karn-Dethahal

I'll try to make it simple, going with the changes from scroll of errata, but to clarify: before errata changed it you had to buy combos with experience and the charm that were part of it were fixed. That was important because you had to use all non-reflexive charms when you used the combo, it was all or nothing.

Keywords: there are two charm keywords relevant to combos: Combo-Basic and Combo-OK.

Combo-OK is the simpler onw, it means you can use this charm in a combo.

Combo-Basic is a bit more complicated: you can use this Charm in a combo, but all other charms on that combo must be reflexive.

This comes down to: on you action you can use one single charm that lacks either keyword, one Combo-Basic Charm and any number of Combo-OK reflexive Charms, or a set of Combo-OK Charms.

When you use a set of Combo-OK charms things get more conplicated. From the corebook:

Your combo can only have one Simple Charm.

You can only have one Extra-Action Charm.

If you have both a Simple and an Extra-Action cahrms on you combo, you must use the Simple Charm on all actions on the for the flurry created by the Extra-Action charms. That is, if you Extra-Action Charm gives you 2 extra actions on top of your regular one you must use the Simples Charm 3 times.

You can have any number of Supplemental Charms, but they must be used on all your non-reflexive actions. If you have a Simple Charm they must affect that Charm. That Usually means all charms must come from the same ability, but there are exceptions (Thunderbolt Attack Prana is an Athletics Charms thats states on its description that it can bu used with other abilities, for example).

Quick example, let's make Melee Combos:

The First Melee Excelency is a Reflexive Charm, so we're free to use it or not on each action that uses Melee on it's dice pool.

Fire and Stones Strike is a Supplemental Charm, so it must be used on all our actions, and because of that they must be attacks.

Iron Whirlwind Attack is an Extra-Action Charm.

Iron Raptor Technique is a Simple Charm.

Dipping Swallow Defense is a reflexive charm that only benefits defenses.

So a Combo with all this Charms will give me Dex+1 actions (from Iron Whirlwind Attack), all of them must be activations of Iron Raptor Technique, and all of them must be paired with Fire and Stones Strike (at least one mote on it, up to the usua maximum on each activation), and I can, but do not have to, use the First Melee Excellency on each one. At the same time I'm free to use Dipping Swallow Defense and the First Melee Excelency on my defenses, since they are reflexive. And since Defenses are reflexive actions I'm not obligated to use Fire and Stones Technique (not that I could) on them.

aescula

Can I make a Combo of Supplemental Charms that boost a specific action? IE

attacking or grappling?

Yep, easily! For instance, Hungry Tiger and a Melee Excellency is totally valid.

Defensive Combos??????????????????????????

Sure. Most common is to just mix a perfect defense into your combo, and since it's reflexive, can be activated at will after your action, as if you hadn't used a charm.

What Speed is a Combo?

The speed of the slowest part of it, as with any flurry (I think)

You also don't need a Simple charm in there, they can be made of only supplemental charms.