Suggested Charms: I looked over Darla's and Josh's character sheets, since neither of them have access to the book. I came up with some suggestions for each character. They are only suggestions. Indented charms require the charms above them in order t take, in addition to other requirements.
Josh's Suggested Charms: Melee, Dodge, and... Bureaucracy. I also recommend an artifact Staff and artifact bracers (which give a dodge bonus). There aren't any stats provided for Artifact Staffs, but I do have a couple ideas. These are pre-magical material bonuses.
Staff: Speed: 6 Acc: +2 Dam: +7 B Def: +2 Rate: 2
2-Dot Staff: Speed: 6 Acc: +4 Dam: +7 B Def: +4 Rate: 3 Attune: 6
No Hearthstone settings, no additional powers
3-Dot Staff: Speed: 6 Acc: +3 Dam: +15/4 B Def: +2 Rate: 2 Attune: 9
One Hearthstone setting, no additional powers
Any Melee Excellency: bonus dice or successes
One Weapon, Two Blows (Melee 2, Essence 1, 1m) Adds +1 rate until next action
Peony Blossom Attack (Melee 3, Essence 2, 2m per attack) Flurry without accuracy penalty and only -1 DV, max attacks = Essence +1
Peony Blossom basically lets you hit someone lots and lots of times really well, which is always fun.
Call The Blade (Melee 2, Essence 2, 1m) calls your weapon from nearby to your hand instantly
Summon The Loyal Steel (Melee 3, Essence 2, 1m) moves your weapon from/to hammerspace
This is a moderately useful charm. You can get at your weapon whenever you need it, and can sneak it into places without anyone seeing it. I listed it partially because Call The Blade appears again below.
Call The Blade (Melee 2, Essence 2, 1m) calls your weapon from nearby to your hand instantly
Iron Raptor Technique (Melee 2, Essence 2, 2m) make single attack from Essence*8 yards away
Blazing Solar Bolt (Melee 5, Essence 3, 3m, 1wp) hurls bolt of pure Essence
Blazing Solar Bolt can be loads of fun. It has a Range of Essence*10 yards, an accuracy of (Dex+Melee+Essence), and base damage of (Str+Will). The attack is particularly nasty, because it ignores cover and shields, and cannot be avoided unless a Charm or other kind of magic is used.
Shadow Over Water (Dodge 3, Essence 1, 1m) ignore all penalties to Dodge DV for a single attack
Seven Shadow Evasion (Dodge 4, Essence 2, 3m) Perfect Defense. 'nuff said.
A Perfect Defense utterly stops/avoids any incoming attack. Literally. A Nuclear Warhead could be strapped to your head and explode and you would take no damage. Furthermore, Seven Shadow Evasion is the fastest Perfect to get to, and costs the least to use. Finally, a Perfect Defense is the ONLY way to avoid a Perfect Attack (See Darla's Suggested Archery Charms).
Bureaucracy Charms... I've got nothing. None of them seem like they would be particularly useful to your character. Your best bet is to pick up lots of Melee Charms, but lets see what other options you have...
You've got 1 dot in performance (for rousing speeches, I assume). Unfortunately, there's only one small 'tree' of charms for performance, and I suspect Randy will have those.
You've got 2 dots in survival, but the Survival Charms are about enduring terrible environments or tracking: not taking damage from surroundings, not getting lost, always finding food, tracking, and avoiding tracking. I'm not sure if you'd be interested in any of these.
Larceny: perfect disguises, perfect pickpockets, and perfect lock-picking. Maybe it's just me, but they don't seem very interesting. There is one really nice charm that lets you step through any passage, regardless of locks, bars, wards, or the like, but it requires Essence 4, and its prerequisites aren't very interesting.
The Athletics and Stealth Charms could be fun, though you'll need more dots in the abilities.
Monkey Leap Technique (Athletics 1, Essence 2, 3m) for one scene, all jumps are double distance
Soaring Crane Leap (Athletics 4, Essence 2, 2m) for one action, all jumps are *5 distance (does not stack with Monkey Leap)
Mountain Crossing Leap Technique (Athletics 5, Essence 4, 10m, 1wp) jump Essence * 5 miles in about 5 minutes
Any Athletics Excellency: bonus dice or bonus successes
Lightning Speed (Athletics 2, Essence 1, 3m) move/dash increased by Essence yards for 1 scene
Racing Hare Technique (Athletics 5, Essence 2, 5m, 1wp) run (Sta+Essence)*10 mph
Easily Overlooked Presence Method (Stealth 3, Essence 1, 3m) people tend to ignore you (S.E.P. Field)
Mental Invisibility Method (Stealth 4, Essence 2, 5m) people think you are invisible
Vanishing From Minds Eye Technique (Stealth 5, Essence 3, 10m, 1wp) People are forced to roll (Wits+Lore) each day in order to remember events involving you
Easily Overlooked Presence Method (Stealth 3, Essence 1, 3m) people tend to ignore you (S.E.P. Field)
Invisible Statue Technique (Stealth 3, Essence 2, 5m) hidden from all senses except touch until you move
