Kindred of the East: Rules Clarifications

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Contents 1 General Rules 1.1 Kuei-Jin Bodies 1.2 Feeding 1.3 Damage 1.4 Attunement and Balance 1.5 Self Taught Disciplines 1.6 Revised Updates and Clarifications 2 Interactions with Other Shen 2.1 General Interactions 2.2 Interactions with Kindred 2.3 Interactions with Shifters 2.4 Interactions with Magi 2.5 Interactions with Wraiths 2.6 Interactions with Changelings

General Rules

Kuei-Jin Bodies

Kuei-Jin do not return to their original 'Second Breath' form each and every night. In a number of places, there is mention of kuei-jin getting tattoos and other body modifications that seem to stay with them.

Unnatural body modifications (piercings, tattoos, scars, etc.) will remain unless 'healed' with chi. Natural changes (hair growth, nail growth, etc.) do not occur for balanced or yin attuned kuei-jin. Furthermore, decay and deterioration caused by yin imbalance cannot be 'healed' with chi. On the other hand, yang imbalanced kuei-jin do experience natural changes (hair growth, nail growth, etc.). These will remain and may be removed normally or modified normally.

Feeding

Given that kuei-jin have multiple methods of feeding, as well as many different pools that those points eventually end up in, this can be a little complicated, especially if you start dealing with other shen as food.

• Flesh: An entire body is about 10 health levels of flesh. Note that unless the vampire possesses a maw (from raw demon chi use, demon shintai, or flesh shintai), this option is not practical in combat. As per Kindred of the East, a freshly killed corpse is worth equal yin and yang chi, whereas one dead any significant amount of time yields a majority of yin chi, and eating a victim alive provides mostly yang chi.
• Blood: In general, this follows the rules from Vampire: the Masquerade. Draining a living subject (mortal/mage, shifter, fae, demon) yields 1 Chi per 'blood point', and losing blood causes 1 HL of damage per point. Chi gained will typically alternate between yin and yang unless affected by the victims emotional state, as per the book. Shen victims may give more yin or yang chi, but this is largely at the storyteller's discretion. In general, they will follow the mortal guidelines. Their own power supplies are not affected. Draining other vampires yields 1 chi per blood point point, and drains blood/chi in the process, but does not cause damage otherwise. Drinking from a Vampire will remove blood points and under most circumstances yield a majority of yin chi, where as drinking from another kuei-jin will transfer chi points directly, usually taking the victim's more plentiful supply first.
• Breath: Regardless of the victim's type, each point taken by this process inflicts 1 health level of damage. Although this process is relatively painless, the victim will experience weakness and a sense of violation at the loss of their life force energy. The type of chi gained is typical, as per feeding with blood. With this method of feeding, all supernaturals lose power points directly for each chi taken: kindred have their blood turn inert, other kuei-jin lose chi, garou lose gnosis, mages lose quintessence, fae lose glamor, wraiths pathos, demons faith, etc.

Damage

In general, kuei-jin use the same damage rules as kindred. The specifics of this are as follows.

• Bashing Damage: Kuei-Jin halve bashing damage. They are dead things, no matter how yang imbalanced they might be, and are thus able to shrug off much of the lesser damage that would fell the living.
• Firearms Damage:Damage from firearms is treated as bashing. Although a yang imbalanced kuei-jin has more life-like flesh and a yin imbalanced kuei-jin has more corpse-like flesh, neither actually need their organs.
• Aggravated Damage: Kuei-Jin take aggravated damage from the following sources.
  • Fire
  • Sunlight
  • Claws, Fangs, and a Variety of Abilities of Other Kuei-Jin and Shen
• Stake Through the Heart: The element which can be used to paralyze a kuei-jin when impaled through their heart varies based upon their balance. A yang balanced vampire is vulnerable to a metal stake, where as a yin balanced vampire is vulnerable to a wooden stake.
• Little Death: A kuei-jin suffers the little death when they suffer enough health levels to kill them and still possess at least one point of chi. The soul haunts the local area around the body during this time and can be affected by abilities that interact with wraiths.
• Final Death: A kuei-jin suffers the final death in the following situations.
  • Death as a Result of Lethal Damage With No Chi Points Remaining
  • Death as a Result of Aggravated Damage
  • Death in the Yin, Yang, or Yomi Worlds
  • Destruction of the Soul

Attunement and Balance

Kuei-Jin possess four virtues: Yin, Yang, Hun, and P'o. If the kuei-jin's permanent Yin or Yang score is higher than the opposing virtue by at least 2 points, the kuei-jin is considered to be attuned to that virtue. An attuned kuei-jin is can be paralyzed by a stake through the heart of the appropriate material for their particular chi attunement. If a kuei-jin's permanent Yin, Yang, Hun, or P'o is higher than the opposing virtue by 3 or more points, the kuei-jin is considered imbalanced. The affects of imbalance are based upon the virtue in question and are as follows.

• Yin Imbalance
  • The kuei-jin must use yin chi as sustenance, resulting in a continual 'black cycle'.
  • The kuei-jin is vulnerable to paralysis via a wooden stake through the heart.
  • The kuei-jin may soak fire with their stamina.
  • The kuei-jin's P'o requires 1 extra success to incite Fire Soul.
  • The difficulty of all Hun rolls increase by 1
  • Each time a kuei-jin botches a chi roll, their appearance drops by 1 permanently. If the kuei-jin's appearance drops to 0, they resemble a walking corpse permanently.
• Yang Imbalance
  • The kuei-kin is vulnerable to paralysis via a metal stake through the heart.
  • The kuei-jin can bear indirect sunlight for up to an hour with no ill affect. Direct sunlight can be borne for up to (stamina x 5) minutes.
  • The kuei-jin's P'o requires 1 less success to incite Fire Soul, which may be triggered by mortal passions.
  • The kuei-jin suffers 1 extra damage from fire as the surplus of yang in the flesh readily combusts.
  • The kuei-jin contracts diseases more readily and requires a stamina roll each month to avoid contracting diseases.
  • The kuei-jin becomes hungry more quickly. They are considered ravenous if they have five or fewer chi points in their body, and uncontrollable with two or fewer chi points.
  • The kuei-jin may impregnate or become pregnate. If pregnate, the kuei-jin must spend one extra yang chi each day to successfully carry the child to term. The child of such a union is considered a dhampyr regardless of whether a mortal or a kuei-jin carries it to term.
• Hun Imbalance
  • The kuei-jin may not spend willpower for extra successes.
• P'o Imbalance
  • The kuei-jin's P'o can force a Shadow Soul roll once per night, at any time and place of its choosing.

Self Taught Disciplines

Kuei-Jin are allowed three disciplines which they may raise without a mentor. These disciplines are determined based upon Dharma and character concept. All other disciplines require a kuei-jin to seek out a teacher before they may be raised. Dhampyrs may raise Demon Shintai and Joss abilities without a teacher, but must seek out a teacher to raise any other disciplines.

Revised Updates and Clarifications

The Kindred of the East sphere uses the update from the Vampire Storyteller's Handbook Revised with a few clarifications and alterations. The major updates are as follows.

Damage

Any weapon created by a power will generally deal 1 less die of damage to accomodate the revised scaling and successes to damage. This includes Demon Shintai, Flesh Shintai and Bone Shintai claws and blades (unless they already did Str+1, in which case their damage remains unchanged), Bloodlash and others. Yin Prana weapons and Demon Shintai weapons will use obviously use revised stats, reflecting whatever weapon the character creates. Missile like attacks are NOT reduced, and this is an exception from the Vampire Storytellers Handbook Revised; these powers already used the revised mechanic just as firearms did pre-revised, and their alteration is an oversight on White Wolf's part. For clarification, these powers, such as the Yin and Yang Prana energy bolts, Storm Shintai, and others, do their base damage + extra successes on the attack as per all firearms. Area effect attacks such as Ghost-Flame Shintai's fire breath and Bone Shintai's Five Poison Cloud do not require an attack roll, cannot be dodged, and simply cause the listed damage.

Extra Actions

The extra actions from Dragon Dance, raw demon chi and Black Wind cannot be mixed, although those powers can be combined for other effects (such as using Dragon Dance for extra actions or initiative and Black Wind for increased damage). Both the extra actions from Dragon Dance and raw demon chi occur on the next round, while Black Wind actions occur immediately.

Initiative

The discipline Principle of Motion adds +3 to your initiative rating per chi point spent.

Dragon Dance

Dragon Dance uses updated rules from the Vampire Storyteller's Handbook, namely reducing melee attack and damage difficulties and allowing such attacks to cause lethal damage if they did not already.

Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain will not use the revised update from Vampire Storyteller's Handbook, which nerfs it into near uselessness for no apparent reason. However, characters using Iron Mountain may be subject to a P'o roll as normal when using demon arts if they are struck for a large amount of damage and soak due to the power's benefit (storyteller's call).

Distance Death Kata

Distance Death Kata remains unchanged. To clarify its system, it essentially adds a 2-success threshhold to the melee attack.

Imbuing the Jade

This ritual works as per the book, but will only create 2 active jade boats for a particular kuei-jin at any one time. If the ritual is done as a wu, 2 boats per wu member can be maintained as active. In this case, it is not necessary that all the participants possess the ritual, but all must participate.

Beast Shintai

Despite the name, Beast Shintai is classified as a soul art. As such, it cannot be used as the basis to spend chi to temporarily increase strength.

Interactions with Other Shen

General Interactions

Equilibrium: Levels 2, 4 and 5 work without variation on other shen.

Tapestry: Tapestry 3 can offer a defense against the attacks of other shen as listed, providing dice of defense against energy attacks of whatever nature.

Yin and Yang Prana: See Umbral Rules for specifics on the 5th level of these two disciplines.

Obligation: Works on other shen, excluding Demons but including Wraiths. Obligation powers typically do not offer innate resistance rolls, but various powers will still offer defenses. Soul Shackles is included in this, and can be used to enslave shen as well as mortals. A permanent Soul Bond cannot be removed by any but extraordinary means, and once in place the victim would resist any such attempts to sever the bond.

Cultivation: Kindred and Werewolves suffer the frenzy effect of Lash the Demon, while most others suffer the Hun-dominant effect unless they possess a particularly strong inner demon (storyteller's call).

Chi'iu Muh: The benevolent use of Chi'iu Muh 5 will generally require specific storyteller intervention, but can potentially undo various impurities or ailments of the soul and soul, including severe and otherwise permanent problems. If used for its P'o application, the victim of this power has their soul plucked from the cycle of creation and permanently and irrevocably destroyed. They are beyond the reach of ressurection, will not become Wraiths or Kuei-Jin, nor will Demons return to hell. Non Devil Tigers will always suffer the loss of a point of Dharma for this usage.

Interactions with Kindred

Kuei-Jin may potentially resist Dominate by virtue of their Dharma alone, as if their equivalent generation were 13 - Dharma. A Kuei-Jin using their innate Heightened Senses can pierce Chimerstry and Obfuscate a Auspex with a level equal to their Dharma.

Interactions with Shifters

Kuei-Jin do not automatically register as any more wyrm (or weaver or wyld) tainted than a normal mortal. Kuei-Jin are very much a part of the Thousand Things, albeit karmically cursed. Furthermore, Kuei-Jin are not servants of the Centipede. As such, a Kuei-Jin will generally only register as strongly wyrm tainted under the following circumstances.

• The character's p'o score exceeds their hun score by 2 or more points.
• The character is an akuma.
• The character has been consuming corrupted chi or has spent a great deal of time in a tainted Dragon's Nest.

Interactions with Magi

Mages are mortal beyond their magical abiliy and count as mortals to various Kuei-Jin powers that make this distinction (including Equilibrium 4 and 5, Yin Prana 3, Blood Shintai 2, Obligation, Flesh Shintai 3, etc). They must rely on magic to provide additional defenses against many of these powers. Conversely, Kuei-Jin are as susceptible to True Magick as any. P'o resistance still applies to mental affects, as do related powers (Internalize). Other powers may offer resistance in various cases: Tapestry 3 will protect against energy attacks, and the mantles of Ying and Yang Prana will provide protection against their respective forces as listed. An active Chi Ward (Feng Shui 5) will ward out all hostile magics for its (albeit limited) duration.

Interactions with Wraiths

In general, Wraiths are susceptible to the powers of the Kuei-Jin, with certain provisions. The use of most powers will require activation of the Kuei-jin's Deathsight so that he might perceive his target, and any other that does not rely on perception alone or specify its ability to pierce the Wall (shroud) requires that the Kuei-Jin first enter the Shadowlands (via ritual, Yin Prana 5 or Mibisham 3). Once there, most powers are fair game, although Wraiths remain immune to those which act upon the body in more than an abstract fashion, such as Blood Shintai's Blood Atemi.

Interactions with Changelings

At the moment, we will not be using the rules for Golden Chi out of Dharma Book: Devil Tiger.

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