Xia: Kuei (Hungry Ghost)

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Description

Kuei are the spirits of deceased ancestors whose descendants failed to give them proper funerals, or who showed disrespect at their graves. The impropriety of their descendants gives a chance for demon chi to flow in from hell, and to reanimate these creatures as tortured restless spirits.

Such spirits are initially focused on punishing their family, and their hauntings can be lethal. Once they have dealt with their families, the ghost remains hungry for death, and will become more indiscriminate in its evil. Sorcerers will sometimes bind ancient hungry ghosts to their service, and send them to harrass the Xia - such creatures are particularly tenuous and nasty opponents.

Traits

• Physical 1
• Mental 3
• Social 2

Demon Trigrams

• Hell 2 (equivalent to Heaven)
• Chaos 2 (equivalent to Fire)
• Storm 2 (equivalent to Wind)
• Lightning 2 (equivalent to Thunder)
• Mud 2 (equivalent to Earth)
• Blood 2 (equivalent to Water)
• Smoke 2 (equivalent to Mist)
• Bone 2 (equivalent to Mountain)

Demon Trigrams can be channelled in the same way normal "natural" trigrams can (i.e. Hell for Accuracy, Chaos for Power, etc.)

However, they provide none of the other benefits that the natural trigrams normally do. For example, having a high Blood Trigram doesn't give protection against Fire-based Trigrams in the same way that a high Water Trigram would. Also, significantly. Demon Trigrams don't provide Yang Chi or Yin Chi.

Chi Pools

• Demon Chi 12

Demon Chi is spent to activate monster powers and to channel Demon Trigrams. It is not interchangeable with Yang Chi or Yin Chi.

Resilience Pools

• Physical Resilience 12
• Mental Resilience 16
• Social Resilience 14

A Hungry Ghost is immune to physical effects of most sorts - weapons and fists just pass straight through them! To harm a hungry ghost in physical combat requires a weapon blessed by Tao Alchemists using the Burn the Hungry Ghost spell.

A Xia with a ghost-banishing spell of some sort can engage in Mental Conflict to try to return the ghost to its grave, where it will sleep and become a restful ancestor again.

For Xia without recourse to such spells, Social Conflict is the best bet, cajoling, intimidating or persuading the ghost into leaving them alone. Ghosts don't really respond to human social cues though - the best tactic is to convince the ghost of promises of offerings to its grave, or to remind it of the man it used to be. A successful Social Conflict will persuade the ghost to leave, though it may return again another night.

Kung Fu Secrets

• Manifesation

A Hungry Ghost can choose to be invisible or manifest at the start of each round, at no cost. If manifest, it can make physical attacks (though it remains immune to them). If invisible, it cannot make physical attacks, though it can still perceive its surroundings, and can still speak audibly. Striking physically at an invisible ghost is at -4 Accuracy. This penalty can reduce Accuracy to 0.

The spell Reveal True Form will force an invisible ghost to become manifest, and prevent it from becoming invisible for the rest of the conflict. The spell No Mind allows the elementalist to see the ghost as if it were visible.

• Energy Drain

As an action, a Hungry Ghost can make a mental attack. Instead of dealing mental resilience damage, however, it steals 1 Yang Chi per point of damage, converting it into the same amount of demon chi. It can only use this attack while manifested.

Credits

Asklepios 03:58, 13 January 2009 (PST)