NOTE: The rules involving supernaturals are only being preserved for the sake of reference. We are not accepting supernatural characters as player characters in the game.

Kuei

PC Restrictions: 1 slot open. Second revision playtest.

Quote: (Coming Soon)

In General

Kuei are a particular kind of spirit of the undead. They are the spirits of those who have passed on leaving unfinished work in this world -- most commonly, revenge.

Appearance

Kuei vary widely. For the most part they would appear to be as they were in the peak of their life, and to the average person nothing would betray them to be a spirit from the beyond. Sometimes, depending on the severity of the circumstances, they appear as a hideous, decayed version of themselves rather than as they were at one point. Someone who would want revenge upon the world at large, for instance, might appear in that fashion.

The People (?) Themselves

Kuei are the spirits of a human being who has died leaving some element of their work on earth unfinished. When they die, they are in a spirit state for some length of time -- able to witness events but not interact with them, and may drift weakly from place to place.

As time goes by, they begin to remember more and more strongly the specific things that were left unfinished. This yearning, so to speak, empowers them, and after a few years to a decade, it gives them the "fuel" they need to incarnate themselves as a Kuei.

When a Kuei appears, its appearance is largely a reflection of its own feelings about itself. A warrior might appear with his favorite weapon, for instance, which is actually composed of Ki or spirit energy. (If you take the weapon away, it lingers for Ki hours before dissipating and returning to the owner.)

When a Kuei's Life reaches zero, they become intangible until they heal back up above zero. They cannot be killed conventionally. Killing a Kuei can only be done in two steps: 1) bringing the Kuei's Life to zero, and 2) performing a ceremony to dispell them that succeeds at at least the Kuei's Ki+Karma or better. (A Kuei with a total of 7 would mean that the dispeller would need to roll 7 successes or better.)

Nature

Kuei are solitary. If they do team up with others, it is only out of necessity, and not because they have any genuine gregariousness in their nature. Deep human emotions often re-trigger within them the need to find their particular absolution, which is painful.

Demeanor

Kuei usually seek out very specific targets to avenge themselves against. Sometimes one will appear that is vengeful generally; these are very dangerous. They know nothing innately of the existence of other supernaturals, however, and may be confused or surprised if they learn of them.

Drives

The one thing that motivates any kuei is the need to close the wound of the past.

The event(s) that caused them to die and leave their work on earth unfinished may return to them again and again like a flashback. If they stray from the path of their duty, the flashbacks increase in intensity and severity.

Throughout History

[to come]

Powers and Skills

Life Drain

A kuei can draw the lifeforce from another.

Roll: Ki + Life Drain. Uses ki; counts as a spell.
Requirements: Subject must be within physical contact.
Effects: The victim loses (Success) number of dice of Life.
Duration: Immediate.

Mirror Memory

A kuei can cause another person to experience, firsthand, a compressed version of his or her reason for remianing on earth. [Editor's note: Think of The Crow here!]

Roll: Ki + Mirror Memory. Uses ki; counts as a spell.
Requirements: Physical contact
Effects: The affected one experiences a total sensory immersion in the kuei's memories of their past, specifically the memories that drive them on further to achieve revenge.
Duration: Number of successes = number of rounds the memory persists.

Primal Fear

A kuei can inflict a deep and debilitating sense of fear in another.

For each additional person: +2 to the target.

Roll: Ki + Primal Fear. Uses ki; counts as a spell.
Requirements: Subject must be in line of sight.
Effects: The person(s) so affected are incapacitated by fear, and cannot flee or attack. They may have nightmares about the experience.
Duration: Number of success = number of rounds.

Out of the Past

A more advanced version of Mirror Memory. This allows the kuei to project contiguous scenes from his or her traumatic past into an environment of several people.

Roll: Ki + Out of the Past at +4 to the target. Uses ki; counts as a spell.
Requirements: Subjects must be in line of sight
Effects: The number of successes dictates both the radius of the vision (in six-foot increments) and its duration in turns.
Duration: Number of success = number of rounds.