Soul Virtues
HUN And P'O
• Chinese thought traditionally divides the soul into two parts: the animal, lower soul (the P'o) and the rational, higher soul (the Hun). Most Kuei-jin accept this dichotomous view, although Cathayans in outlying lands often refer to the dual souls by different names. Accordingly, all Kuei-jin have two Soul Virtues, the Hun and the P'o. Like the Chi Virtues, Soul Virtues can range from 1 to 10, though anything above 5 is considered extraordinary for a beginning character.
As with the Chi Virtues, the Soul Virtues are diametrically opposed; a high rating in one decreases the maximum rating in its opposite. And, as with the Chi Virtues, vampires of high Dharmic understanding can assimilate their opposing urges and supersede their limitations. Upstart younglings who challenge a seemingly peaceful bodhisattva are often taken aback at the strength of the Demon just below the elder's placid surface, like a faithful dog awaiting the commands of its master.
Hun
The Hun is the Virtue corresponding to the strength of the character's higher soul. The Hun measures the character's rational side, her ability for abstract and aesthetic thought, her remaining empathy with mortals and her overall resolve. Hun resembles the Conscience rating of the West, but is not precisely the same — characters from shame-based societies- have Hun Virtues that focus on fulfillment of obligations, rather than adherence to morality. In some ways, Hun is a measure of the character's honor and devotion to duty.
Characters with high Hun ratings tend to be seen as more thoughtful and spiritual, more patient, and more "in control." Conversely, ones with low Hun scores (even ones with high Mental Attributes) tend to approach existence from a base, animalistic and sensual point of view. The Hun score is used to resist or control the P'o. A vampire also uses it to attune himself to the invisible world around him. The Hun governs Willpower — a Kuei-jin has a beginning Willpower rating equal to his Hun score, and a maximum Willpower rating equal to his Hun score + 5 (or 10, whichever is less).
Using Hun
• Demon Arts — When evoking one of the P'o's Demon Art Disciplines, the Hun may be used to "harness" the P'o into a controlled frenzy. After (and only after) the Demon Art is evoked, the Kuei-jin rolls her Hun score against a difficulty equal to her P'o. Success enables her to evoke the Demon Art while retaining her own Nature; failure means the P'o takes
over the body while the Demon Art is used.
• Empathy :A Kuei-jin can never have an Empathy rating higher than her Hun.
• Shadow Nature — The Hun is the Trait to use when rolling to resist takeover by the P'o.
• Sharpened Senses Because Kuei-jin are spirits trapped in material bodies, they may use their Hun to evoke the sharpened senses of their wraithly counterparts. This power functions identically to the Auspex 1 power of Heightened Senses. To evoke the power, the vampire must concentrate for a turn and roll Hun (difficulty 6) ; the power lasts for a scene and may be reactivated (with the same roll or better) every scene thereafter.
• Spirit Speech — A Kuei-jin may roll Hun (difficulty of the local Wall) to speak with a spirit, provided she can detect it in the first place.
• Tempering the P'o — A Kuei-jin who succumbs to her shadow nature may make a Hun roll (difficulty 9). If the roll succeeds, the Kuei-jin remains aware of the actions taken by the Demon. She may not prevent the takeover, but may spend Willpower to subtly influence the P'o to avoid certain actions for one turn per point spent (e.g., if the P'o dominated vampire is about to kill a child, she can spend a Willpower point to make herself hesitate for a turn, thus giving the child a chance to run). Likewise, a Kuei-jin whose Hun aspect remains aware can spend a Willpower point to speak one lucid sentence. (In the example above, the vampire might spend a Willpower point to scream, "Run, you fool!" at the child, assuming the kid didn't get the point. )
• Unstable
•• Normal
••• Sensible
•••• Wise
••••• Sagacious
6+ Enlightened
P'o
The opposite of the Hun, the P'o is the animalistic, monstrous side of the vampire — what Western Kindred refer to as the Beast. It is the P'o that fans the vampire's hunger, and it is the P'o that whips a trivial annoyance into a killing rage. In many ways, the P'o can be thought of as the dark side of the character's soul — a part the character is not proud of, but a part of the character none the less. The P'o has its own Nature (see below); this Nature represents a significant fraction of the character's psyche and should be role played as such. Vampires with high Hun ratings often seek to channel and tame the P'o. Other Cathayans cultivate and accommodate their Demons, as they see this action to be crucial to their karmic duties as monsters.
Kuei-jin have scrupulously studied their condition for thousands of years, and thus, the P'o is not held in the same dread as the Westerners' Beast. The greatest shen sages teach that a true end to the vampiric existence can be found only when the P'o is accepted, understood and assimilated. Naturally, the P'o is under no similar compulsions with regard to its "weakling" Hun side, Unlike in the West, the P'o is not merely a mindless adversary to be tamed and suppressed. A Cathayan's P'o is the embodiment of the character's darker side — a cunning, corrupting Demon, rather than a mere Beast. The character's Hun Nature is chosen, from the basic Vampire: The Masquerade rule book — but the P'o Nature, the voice of the Demon Within, is chosen from the P'o Archetypes listed below. The P'o does have its uses. Vampires with strong P'o ratings are terrifying and formidable warriors. Oftentimes, the character's Demon is the only thing that can extract a character from a perilous situation.
Using P'o
• Berserk Rage: The character may attempt to unleash a berserk rage in himself. He rolls a number of dice equal to his P'o against a difficulty equal to his Hun + 3 (maximum 10)
success indicates that the character triggers his fire nature. A character in the throes of fire nature suffers no wound penalties and gains access to Demon Chi (below).
• Demon Arts — No character may advance a Demon Art to a level higher than his P'o.
• Demon Chi • — The character can channel some of the Demon's might into his own endeavors. For each point of permanent P'o, the character is considered to have one point of temporary P'o, or "Demon Chi"; Demon Chi can be "spent" on extra actions (as if the Kuei-jin were employing Celerity), extra damage successes (automatic, like Potence), and extra Strength successes (again, automatic).
A Cathayan may spend no more Demon Chi per turn than her Stamina score. Once spent, Demon Chi is gone for the remainder of the night. However, the character typically regains some or all of it when she reawakens next evening; upon awakening, she may roll P'o (difficulty 6), and each success returns a point of Demon Chi to the pool. Demon Chi might also be gained in place of regular Chi if the character feeds at a site of defiled Ghi (see p. 139). To evoke Demon Chi for a scene, the vampire must make a P'o roll against a difficulty of his Hun Virtue + 3. He must score at least one success to evoke Demon Chi. If he scores four or more successes, he succumbs to fire nature — though he does gain access to Demon Chi during this time.
• Fangs — Unlike Western Kindred, Cathayans have no natural fangs. By spending a point of Demon Chi, the character may sprout fangs that are, in all respects, identical to those of
a Western vampire. By spending two Demon Chi, the character can sprout a fanged maw (Str + 2 aggravated damage). The fangs last for one scene.
• Nature Shift — The P'o is the Virtue used to determine if the character enters fire, shadow or wave nature. Generally, a number of dice equal to the P'o rating is used to roll for a shift in nature. Depending on the particular shift in question, the character resists with Yin, Yang or Hun.
• Resistance — When a character suffers magical mind control, he may attempt to use his P'o to break the control. The vampire rolls his Pvo rating (difficulty 9); success releases the
character from control, but triggers an automatic check for shadow nature (below).
• Shadow Nature — The most feared power of the P'o is its ability to take over the Kuei-j in's body. During certain conditions, the P'o soul may actually overwhelm that of the Hun, substituting its own personality for that of the Hun, When the P'o is dominant, the player must play the character per the character's P'o Archetype; if the player is incapable of doing so, the Storyteller is free to dictate the P'o-dominated vampire's actions.
• Aggressive
•• Vindictive
••• Cruel
•••• Bestial
••••• Monstrous
