Rotes & Procedures

One of the most infamous secrets of martial-art mastery features the ability to touch a target in such a way that she dies some time after contact. This feat might be defined as a disruption of chi flow, an overloaded nervous system, a ruptured heart, a poisoned touch, or any other sort of legendary time-lapse martial-arts murder technique.

Game-wise, the delayed-death touch requires Time 4 to set the “trigger” for death. That trigger could be six steps, 13 heartbeats, one hour, or whatever other method suits the practitioner’s martial practice.

The damage itself comes from Life 3 aggravated damage, possibly intensified with an extended-roll ritual (“the killing-blow kata,” a certain combination of strikes, etc.) that lets the player gathers a large number of successes than she’d get from a single Arete roll.

If the character uses chi as part of the killing-blow, then add Prime 2 to the attack, and spend one Quintessence point to reflect the energy involved. (See below.) This doesn’t increase the damage, but does fit the concept of rearranging chi in order to inflict harm.

Vital energies – and the manipulation of same – play a significant role in many martial arts, especially the Asian and Asian-American forms based upon Hindu, Taoist, and Buddhist metaphysics. By channeling such energies, the martial artist can open up the deeper potential that’s so often hidden within the illusion of physical matter, and may therefore perform apparently impossible feats.

Although the following entries refer to those vital energies as “chi,” please note that we’re using that word as generic martial-arts shorthand for Quintessence. The actual concept of chi is more complex, and – as chi is a Chinese term – many practices use different terms (ki, prana, emanations, etc.) to refer

to this vital energy. In game terms, they’re all essentially the same thing. In real-life metaphysics, however, there’s quite a bit of difference between these concepts and their applications.

As a rule, these refined techniques are beyond the reach of merely physical warriors. They require dedicated study, practice, and belief in their effects. In game-terms, then, assume that characters who haven’t pursued a serious martial-arts discipline – that is, who do not have Do, Martial Arts, Esoterica, or other Abilities – cannot focus the following feats through their fighting arts. This doesn’t mean that a mage with the proper Spheres cannot use similar Effects, but it means that Brawl, Melee, and other fighting Abilities are not refined enough to unlock these “special moves” from the martial-arts arsenal.

(It also means that the average Technocrat isn’t going to use these techniques. Chi, after all, is one of those silly superstitionist beliefs that Reality Deviants use to fool themselves. Rare open-minded technomancers and Technocracy operatives might accept the link between vital energy and martial arts; even then, though, a good Technocrat will avoid the showier manifestations of such energy, like Elemental Fury Chi or Chi Flight, if only to avoid becoming Deviant themselves.)

As another rule, assume that all chi-focusing feats demand at least two dots in Prime, and generally cost at least one point of Quintessence per application. The practitioner, after all, is focusing energy, and so must understand how to use that energy – and then actually do use it – before she can employ these techniques. A mage could use an energy-draining weapon, of course, and focus the Sphere Effect through Melee and weaponry. A simply physical fighter, though, can’t do things like this with chi.

For further details about the applications of vital energy, see the Energy-Work section earlier in this chapter.