Kindred of the East: Kuei Jin
* What is a Kuei Jin?
The Kuei Jin have many names, the Wan Kuei (Ten Thousand Demons), Gui Ren (Demon People), but they most often use the fusion of a Japanese suffix to a Chinese word, Kuei Jin, to foster the illusion of unity between the Middle Kingdom.
Everything under Heaven has a place and purpose, including mortals. A mortal of the Middle Kingdom (the lands of Asia) who has ignored, failed or been denied their purpose may rise again from death if their souls are strong enough to survive and escape the ravages of Yomi, in order to gain a second chance to fulfill their Karma. They rise up as Kuei Jin, chosen (or cursed) by the Heavens to walk again as cold dead demons without breath, forced to steal the life energy from the living and scrounge for enlightenment as to why they exist and what their purpose is. A Kuei Jin must remember that all things serve a purpose under Heaven, even monsters. The challenge is to figure out just what their purpose is.
* What is a Dharma
Legends speak of an age in which the Kuei Jin were blessed immortals, bestowed with great spiritual powers as well as the duty to ensure that everything under Heaven remained properly ordered as well as the duty to watch over humanity. They failed the mandate of Heaven and fell from grace, punished to become the demons they are today. But hidden in the clouds, wind, rain and blood of the Middle Kingdom are the secrets of Heaven, left for the Kuei Jin to discover so that they might redeem themselves and regain their proper place under Heaven. These secrets have been discovered and founded into the paths of Dharma that all Kuei Jin follow. As one rises to the higher levels of their Dharma, they find themselves growing in power and enlightenment.
The Howl of the Devil Tiger
Some souls scream when they reach Yomi. Others enjoy the trip and bring the torment back with them when they return. To these souls, the Howl of the Devil Tiger is a mantra of hope. Pain is a cleansing thing, it roots out imperfections and applies the healing torch. In the shriek that follows, a higher Truth appears. The Howling Tigers embrace the Virtue of the P'o.
The Way of the Resplendent Crane
The Earth is a chaotic shadow show of unruly imperfections. Heaven, by contrast, is ordered, secure and settled. Should not the earth be more like Heaven? When imperfect souls return to earth, Heaven must have some task for them, they must make bent things straight. The Resplendent Cranes embrace the Virtue of the Hun.
The Song of the Shadow
There is life, there is death and there is the bridge between the two. Wreathed in the dust of death and the wind of life, the bone flowers dance to the rhythms of both. They glide between the Yin World of the dead and the Middle Kingdom of the living, comforting the grieving, shepherding the ghosts and punishing the disrespectful along the way. The Bone Flowers embrace the Virtue of the Yin.
The Path of a Thousand Whispers
The Hollow Reed praises moderation while other paths describe themselves as storms or fires. Emptiness given form, to be like the reed, fed by water but filled with nothing, rooted in the ground but reaching to the sky. By their very nature, Kuei Jin are neither balanced nor temperate, so to offset their destructive natures Whisperers follow a multiple personality path to enlightenment. They take on different personas then ritually kill themselves off when all lessons appear to have been learned to rise up once more in a new persona. The Whisperers embrace no single Virtue, but instead strive for a balance of all Virtues.
The Dance of the Thrashing Dragon
Like trees, the Laughing Rainbows rise out of the fertile ground and unite it with the raging sky. As alive as the undead can be, they burst with life-energy and resemble forces of nature - too powerful to be silenced, too vivid to be real. Creation is a rainbow, an illusion, but too colorful to ignore. In its colors, they see the unity and symmetry of Heaven and they must experience each of those colors as vividly as possible. The Laughing Rainbows embrace the Virtue of the Yang.
Heretical Dharmas
There are paths of Dharma other than the established Fivefold Way, but they are rare and those who practice them are more than likely branded Akuma for their heretical ways.
* What does a Kuei Jin do?
Throughout the Middle Kingdom are Courts of Kuei Jin where the eldest and enlightened guide their younger brethren towards the truths the elders themselves have already discovered and accepted. Kuei Jin can find enlightenment, guidence and protection within a court. However, courts are rarely so simple as power and differences of belief and opinion can make a court a volatile place. Courts themselves may clash with other courts over matters of territory, wealth, power, etc.
A Kuei Jin serves their Dharma as well as a Court in their attempts to attain enlightenment. All Kuei Jin also follow an ancient code of behavior called the Great Principle.
The Way of Origin: Remember whence you came, for it is the unchanging whole of your purpose. (All Kuei Jin are chosen, not sired. They have a purpose, a reason for their existance even if they themselves do not see it).
The Way of Lineage: Heed well those who have come before, and respect those who come after, for they are all part of the truth. (Elders of wisdom and enlightenment can teach you much, respect and learn from them. The youth have insight into a new age, and may see old things in a new way, respect and learn from them).
The Way of Integrity: Maintain your honor and trust in all thought, word, and deed, for the behavior of one afects the entire community. (Personal honor and trustworthyness).
The Way of Obligation: Understand your duties to your brethren, to the forces of the universe, and to yourself, and do all to fulfill them. (You are bound by duty to the Kuei Jin, to the Court, to the Laws of your Brethren, to your Dharma, to the life forces of the earth, to the Celestial Heavens and even to mortals.)
The Way of Respect: Practice correctness in all you do, for the Great Cycle, in its every aspect, has its own nature, and that nature must be followed. (Ritual, ceremony and etiquette, there is a proper way of doing something, for everything).
With all that being said, what a Kuei Jin does depends on the character and its concept. Court, Dharma, etc, all influence what and how he might do things, but that is all, just an influence. Some are very focused on their Dharma, some give it lip service at best, some revere their court, some are barely members, etc. Kuei Jin can be many things, what they are dictates what they do, the rest is merely an influence.
Kindred of the East can be a complex game, both setting as well as system wise. In order to make it easier, below is a simple system cheat sheet for the system of KoE. If there is ever a dispute online about a basic rule, it should be listed here.
* KoE Character Creation
Attributes: 7/5/3, Abilities: 13/9/5, Disciplines: 3 (One must be a Demon Art), Backgrounds: 5, Chi Virtues: 4, P'o 3, Hun 1, Willpower: Final Hun Score, Dharma: 1, Freebies: 15 (Attribute 5, Ability 2, Discipline 10, Chi Virtue 3, Hun 3, P'o 1, Willpower 1).
* Chi Sense
Can sense the use of supernatural powers with a successful Perception + Awareness roll. The more successes the more fine tuned the sense is of the source of the power. The difficulty of the roll starts at a standard of 8. The difficulty is reduced by 1 for every Chi Art the Kuei-jin knows, but increased by 1for every 50ft away the source is.
* Chi Balance
Yin Balanced - Can be paralyzed by a shaft of wood through the heart.
Balanced Chi - Imbalanced whenever temporary Chi is two or more points in difference.
Yang Balanced - Can be Paralyzed by a shaft of metal through the heart.
* Yin Virtue
Fire Nature: Roll Yin vs P'o to resist fire nature.
Ghostsight: Spend one Yin to activate for one scene. Three rounds of concentration and Perception + Occult (Diff = Wall+2) to see the Yin world. Three rounds of concentration and Yin + Medicine (Living Targets) or Crafts (Objects) (Diff 8) to make an Atemi strike at the studied object, gaining one extra level of damage per success on a single successful attack made immediatly after the concentration. Perception + Medicine (Diff 4-8) to see if target is healthy or ill and perhaps what the illness is. Perception + Crafts (Diff 4-8) to see what is wrong with an object and how best to fix it.
* Yang Virtue
Wave Nature: Roll Yang vs P'o to resist wave nature.
Healing: One point of Yang Chi mixed with the vampire's own blood will heal one health level of damage when taken by another.
Lifesight: Spend one Yang to activate for one scene. Perception + Empathy (Diff 9) to read the flared auras of two people meeting, to learn of their true feelings towards each other. Perception + Yang (Diff 9) to tune into a specifc emotion and then be able to sense it in others within a range of 20 feet X Perception. Three rounds of concentration and a Perception + Occult roll (Diff = Wall + 2) to see Yang world.
* Hun Virtue
Demon Arts: After a Demon Art is invoked, roll Hun (Diff = P'o) to retain own nature, or loose to the P'o and enter into Shadow Nature.
Empathy: Kuei Jin can never have an Empathy higher than her Hun.
Shadow Nature: Roll Hun vs P'o to resist Shadow Nature.
Sharpened Senses: Roll Hun (Diff 6) to gain Heightened Senses for a scene (Same as Auspex 1).
Spirit Speech: Roll Hun (Diff = Wall) to speak with Spirits, provided that the Kuei Jin can detect them in the first place.
Tempering the P'o: Roll Hun (Diff 9) if succumbing to Shadow Nature, to be able to remain aware of what the Demon is doing. If successful, can spend a WP point to make the Demon hesitate for a moment in an action or to be able to say a quick sentance.
* P'o Virtue
Berserk Rage: Roll P'o (Diff = Hun + 3) to unleash Fire Nature in self. Successful berserk means no wound penalties and free access to Demon Chi.
Demon Arts: No Demon Art can be higher than the P'o rating.
Demon Chi: One point of Demon Chi for every level of P'o Virtue. Can spend a number of Demon Chi per round equal to the charater's Stamina. Roll P'o (Diff 6) every night upon waking up, to regain Demon Chi at one per success rolled. Demon Chi can be spent to gain an extra action in a round, to gain an extra automatic damage success on an attack or an extra automatic strength success on a strength roll. To evoke Demon Chi, make a P'o roll (Diff = Hun + 3), one or more successes gain access to Demon Chi, four or more successes gain access to Demon Chi, but also succumb to Fire Nature.
Fangs: Spend one Demon Chi to gain Fangs (Str+1 Aggrivated), which Kuei Jin do NOT have naturally. Spend two Demon Chi to gain a Fanged Maw (Str+2 Aggrivated).
Nature Shift: In any nature shift, it is the P'o that is in the contested roll against another of the Virtues. If the P'o succeeds, the Kuei Jin enters Fire, Wave or Shadow Nature.
Resistance: When the Kuei Jin is inflicted with arcane Mind Control of any kind (does not include emotional control) the P'o reflexively tries to break free. Roll P'o (Diff 9), success frees the Kuei Jin from control but automaticly calls for a check for Shadow Nature.
Shadow Nature: Roll P'o vs Hun to enter into Shadow Nature, in which the P'o is in complete control of the character's actions for a scene.
* Chi Imbalance
A difference of 3 or more between Permanent Chi Virtues causes Permenent Imbalance. Ingesting Chi beyond the Permanent Chi Virtue rating or Spending all of the Chi of one of the Chi Virtues causes Temporary Imbalance. While in Temporary Imbalance, any botched roll made in conjunction with a Chi expenditure causes all Chi in access of the Chi Virtue, to ignite or corrode. For every point of Chi that explodes, the Kuei Jin takes one level of Aggrivated Damage. This can be soaked with a single straight Stamina roll (Diff 8). The Kuei Jin must also roll for Wave Nature.
* Aspecting the Corpse
Kuei Jin must spend a point of Chi to maintain their undead bodies. They may choose which kind of Chi they spend to animate themselves. Spending Yin Chi allows them to remain animated for a full ten nights before they must spend another point of Chi. Yin Aspected Kuei Jin are cold and eerie, gaining a +1 diff to all social rolls involving mortals. Spending a Yang Chi allows them to remain animated for a night before they must spend another point of Chi. Yang Aspected Kuei Jin appears more human like and suffers no social penalties.
* Damage
Bashing Damage is halved against a Kuei Jin, after the soak roll. Lethal Damage is soaked normally. Aggravated Damage is soaked only with Armor or with special powers such as Iron Mountain. Kuei Jin take bashing damage from Firearms.
* Death
If the Kuei Jin is reduced beyond Incapacitated, but has Chi left within them, they are thrust into the Little Death. Their spirit is thrown from the body and into the Yin World where they must wait a number of days equal to their Yin Virtue before they can spend a point of Chi to heal one health level to their body and return to it. If they reduced beyond Incapacitated and have no Chi left within them, or the damage is Aggravated, then they suffer final death.
* The Sun
Kuei Jin do not burn when exposed to sunlight, they rot. Kuei Jin can withstand the rays of direct sunlight for a number of minutes equal to (Stamina - temporary Yin). While within the sun, they may not spend Yin Chi, but they can spend Yang Chi to resist the sun for a bit longer (one point of Yang Chi / Round). After the resistance is over, they begin to rot, loosing one point from all physical attributes, one health level, one point from Appearance and one Yin Chi per round. This damage is aggrivated. Each health level healed also heals the damage to attributes. During the day, Kuei Jin use their Hun or Dharma in place of Humanity to try to remain awake.
* House Rules
- Horoscope Background can be used Once Per Day, not per story.
- Disciplines that give bonus die to Initiative instead give a straight bonus modifier to the roll instead.
- Iron Mountain requires 1 Demon Chi to activate (as well as all other demon art dangers) and lasts for a scene.
- Extra actions take effect the round AFTER the Chi is spent to gain them, unless Black Wind is being used, in which case the extra actions take effect immediately.
- The fangs of the Kuei-jin do not induce the same bliss that Kindred fangs induce with the kiss. However, when feeding, the draining of chi does induce an overwhelming effect that is incapacitating to the victim. Siphoning Yin causes waves of lassitude, calm and utter depression simultaneously. Siphoning Yang causes panic, anger and boundless mirth, all at once.
- The Dragon Dance has its attack and damage difficulties reduced by 1 (Diff 5) and lets the Kuei-jin deal lethal damage with unarmed and blunt attacks.
* Called Shots
Targeting Limbs: +1 diff, 4 unsoaked levels of lethal damage will render the limb useless until healed.
Targeting the Heart: +3 diff, +1 dmg, 4 unsoaked levels of lethal damage will kill most mortal creatures and stake / incapacitate kindred / kuei-jin.
Targeting the Head: +2 diff, +1 dmg, damage is always lethal, 4 unsoaked levels of damage will decapitate the victim.