| Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four |
By The Hitokage Production Committee
Kagemusha are included in this section for use as Non-Player Characters only. Any player wanting to play one, should be strongly dissuaded as they are designed purely as a Nemesis for the Hitokage Samurai. Also the Kagemusha use the Sabbat system of Callousness instead of Conscience and Path of Enlightenment instead of Humanity, as described in The Players Guide to the Sabbat. Very few of the Kagemusha are disciplined in the control of the Ki energy (due to the immense quantity of time required before initiation) but those that have control have chosen the Dark Path and are very dangerous individuals indeed.
The Samurai usually select their future warriors from Martial Arts or Kendo schools and individuals that show promise in the control of the Ki energy. However, each future member is asked her opinion before starting a ten year apprenticeship where she is instructed in the Way of the Samurai. Again it is up to the player to invent and interesting history for the character, details such as who approached you and how did you first react can bring a spark of life to a character. The minimum age for a character to be initiated into the Hitokage Samurai is 26, reflecting the long period of training.
The Kagemusha generally select their members from the streets or from members of a prominent Yakuza family. They are then taught their place and left to do their masters bidding. A great many of the worlds leading Assassins are Kagemusha or Ghouls of Kagemusha.
| Director | Judge |
| Survivor | Traditionalist |
| Confidant | Mediator |
Players may wish to use some of her points to develop a Martial Arts Skill and with the Storytellers permission (and help) this should be OK. This is, however, not recommended for novice players or Storytellers. The Kagemusha have no real preference, however they delight in destroying opponents from hiding or at a distance, so it is normal for these characters to have at least 3 points on the Firearms Skill. Some also choose to carry swords. In this case they would also need to allocate points in the Melee Skill. Remember that both types of character may have specific advantages in using a sword.
Due to the time and dedication that mastering the Ki energy takes, it is rare that a Kagemusha will have a significant (if at all) measure but, some do.
The Hitokage Samurai are strictly forbidden (by the Shogun) to learn Thaumaturgy, follow any of its Paths or practice any of the rituals. When (and if) the Hitokage Samurai is selected for promotion to Priestess, she may begin to practice Thaumaturgy, but this is vastly different from the Thaumaturgy practised by the foul Tremere. The Kagemusha have no such restrictions and may practice Thaumaturgy.
Both factions of the Hitokage have Clan Disciplines, just like their Western counterparts. These disciplines are Kokuei, Celerity and Fortitude. It is rumoured that the Kagemusha also have another Discipline which allows them to manipulate the darkness around them, but this is only a rumour. Or is it? The Hitokage Samurai must have at least 8 points of Humanity and a fairly high Conscience, Self-Control and Courage. As usual, there are no such restrictions on the Kagemusha, however, Conscience is changed to Callousness in a similar fashion to the rules found in The Players Guide to the Sabbat. In fact, many of the rules in the Sabbat supplements can be adapted to suit the Kagemusha (they really are not nice creatures). Both the Hitokage Samurai and the Kagemusha have 7 points to spend on their virtues, or lack of them as the case may be.
Allies: These are friends within the The Jin'ei. They can be anything from Martial Arts instructors to Kendo masters (Storytellers discretion).
Contacts: The number of information sources the character possesses. These individuals are generally of Japanese descent or from the family of the character. They could also could be servants or retainers who have served the character since their initiation or even before that.
Mentor: This can be any anyone from the Jin'ei. They will help the character and develop connections to other branches of the Jin'ei. The ratings for these individuals is as follows:
| * | Bushi |
| ** | Daimyo |
| *** | Priestesses |
| **** | Jugenti-Ki or Child of Wu |
| ***** | Mahou-tsukai |
Resources: Wealth, Belongings, and Income, amongst other things can be listed but All must be from legitimate sources.
The Kagemusha have the following backgrounds: Mentor: Generally for a Kagemusha, this is the person who initiated her. She is blood bonded, and must do whatever her master bids.
Resources: Wealth, Belongings, and Income, from any source, legitimate or otherwise.
Contacts: The people the Kagemusha control, and intimidate for information.
| Animalism | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Auspex | Unusual but permitted in Hitokage Samurai, unknown to Kagemusha. |
| Bardo | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Celerity | Clan disciplines in both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Chimerstry | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Daimoinon | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Dementation | Unknown to the Kagemusha, forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Dominate | Very common amongst the Kagemusha, strictly forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Fortitude | Clan disciplines in both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Melpomonee | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Necromancy | Common amongst the Kagemusha, forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Obeah | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Obfuscate | Unusual but permitted in Hitokage Samurai, common to Kagemusha. |
| Obtenebration | Unknown to Hitokage Samurai, unusual but permitted to Kagemusha. |
| Potence | Unusual but permitted in both Hitokage Samurai and the Kagemusha. |
| Presence | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Protean | Common amongst the Kagemusha, forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Quietus | Common amongst the Kagemusha, forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Sanguinus | Unknown to the Kagemusha, forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Serpentis | Unknown to the Kagemusha, forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Thanatosis | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
| Thaumaturgy | Common amongst the Kagemusha, strictly forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Vicissitude | Rare amongst the Kagemusha, strictly forbidden to the Hitokage Samurai. |
| Visceratika | Unknown to both Hitokage Samurai and Kagemusha. |
The Point Cost for improving skills during the Character Generation phase are:
| Points Cost | Hitokage Samurai | Kagemusha |
| Ki | 4 x Current Rating | 6 x Current Rating |
| Kokuei | 2 x Current Rating | 2 x Current Rating |
| Disciplines of Ki | 2 x Current Rating | 3 x Current Rating |
The other items on the character sheet are advanced in the same way as for the Western vampires and are described in Vampire: The Masquerade remembering the the Hitokage Samurai cannot, under any circumstances, have anything to do with Thaumaturgy.
These questions should be asked and answered before play, since it will give an added depth to your character. It will also help you to build up a mental picture of your character before the Chronicle starts.
Samurai are often very unusual individuals. Everyone is different; however, it is better to try and make your character unique. These quirks help to define a character, take the above quote for example. This is from a Malkavian character that was run in a Victorian London Chronicle hunting Jack the Ripper. As detailed in Vampire: The Masquerade, all Malkavian characters have an insanity. This makes it easier to personalise this particular character to your own tastes. It can be a little more difficult to accomplish with a Hitokage Samurai as insanity is unheard of -- the Jin'ei would just not initiate anyone who was mentally ill. There are many other ways of giving your character a Quirk, just take a look at what you've written so far. If you still can't think of anything then don't worry -- this section is not critical to the game.
If you do choose to use Quirks in the chronicle then pick interesting ones, but fears and phobia should generally be avoided, as they would quickly be removed during the long schedule of training. See also the Merits and Flaws section to help develop your characters quirks.
A selection of Merits and Flaws are listed below many of which are listed in The Vampire Players Guide but you may find subtle differences.
The Kahou of the Jin'ei is what you live by and you accept that you may die by it also. You must have this; you have no choice in the matter. See Kahou (The Code) in the Chapter One: Introduction. The rules are identical to those described in The Vampire Players Guide except that The Kahou is already defined. All Hitokage Samurai automatically get this Merit at no cost.
Is it the war that drives you forward, or are you one of the Saachaa. Whatever the answer may be, it is the force behind your direction and must not be ignored. The rules for this can be found in The Vampire Players Guide.
To all the Jin'ei, the Tremere are regarded as evil manipulators and the hatred of this group runs very deep. But your hatred is not easily controlled; you feel compelled to destroy these individuals whenever you meet them.
This is not the same as the 1 Point Flaw - Intolerance that can be found in the The Vampire Players Guide. When the character is in the presence of a Tremere, she must make Self-Control at Difficulty 6 every Scene they are in the proximity of each other. Failure results in an immediate attack at +1 dice to the attacker. All Botches count as failures. Note that it is inadvisable to take this Flaw if there are Tremere in the group, but then again, it's at the Storytellers discretion.
The act of revenge is a sacred rite, but it does tend to mark the soul. You have had this obsession for so long you have nearly lost site of the main objective. When the Shogun gave you permission for vengeance, you hoped that it would be over quickly, but good fortune has not been yours. You must complete this task, and quickly.
The rules are pretty much the same as those detailed in The Vampire Players Guide but players should think carefully about this one. Players unfortunate enough to be made Ronin automatically get this at no cost.
In your many years at the temple, you and one of the other prospective initiates became very close. She decided that her destiny was to serve you as Ningenti-ki and as she and you trained together became even closer. It took a great deal of persuasion, on her behalf, to enable her to stay human and fight along side you but she succeeded. She is Jin'ei and thus has the same goals as you.
She would give her life to protect you as you would for her. If vampiric she will allow you to feed from her, but you will never cause her any significant harm.
This, in many ways, could be considered as both a Merit and a Flaw. The Storyteller must be consulted before this Flaw is chosen and, if she gives permission, will generate a Mortal Character in accordance with the rules listed in The Vampire Players Guide and this book. In addition to this, the ST has control of the character.
As mentioned before, this character will be Jin'ei and must obey all of the Codes. The player character must protect the non-player Human character at all costs. During combat, the player character must actively protect the Human (although she should be capable of defending herself with a good degree of competence). If the Human is injured or killed in combat, the player automatically spends her next 2 available points on the Vengeance Flaw; no permission from the Shogun is required. See also Vengeance. If the player character is a vampire, she is permitted to feed from the Human, but she must never be harmed by this. A maximum of 2 Blood Points (per 24 hour period) may be gained from using this method.
Your actions in combat have brought great success and honour to the Jin'ei. However, somewhere down the line a foe has learned of your identity. Although you know she does not understand what you truly are, she has been hunting you since. She will not give up until she has destroyed you and any you are in contact with.
Note that this is not the same as the Hunted Flaw listed in The Vampire Players Guide. The Storyteller should choose an interesting foe, such as a Kagemusha Assassin, a powerful Mahou-tsuki, or even one of the hated Tremere. The foe should not be impossible for the character to defeat, just difficult enough to make it the challenge of her life!
Your sense of hearing as always been exceptionally acute, and since initiation it has only got better. While you were training at the temple, the instructors taught you to take advantage of this to such an extent that you can even hear the sound of muscles tensing in an opponent.
The rules for this Merit can be found in The Vampire Players Guide but in addition to these, an extra initiative dice is given to the user.
Suitable Merits and Flaws from The Vampire Players Guide.
| Merits | Flaws | ||
| Acute Sense of Smell | [1 Point Merit] | Color Blindness | [1 Point Flaw] |
| Acute Vision | [1 Point Merit] | Nightmares | [1 Point Flaw] |
| Common Sense | [1 Point Merit] | Mute | [4 Point Flaw] |
| Concentration | [1 Point Merit] | ||
| Lightning Calculator | [1 Point Merit] | ||
| Time Sense | [1 Point Merit] | ||
| Danger Sense | [2 Point Merit] | ||
| Magic Resistance | [2 Point Merit] | ||
| Natural Linguist | [2 Point Merit] | ||
| Light Sleeper | [2 Point Merit] | ||
| Werewolf Companion* | [3 Point Merit] | ||
| Fast Learner | [3 Point Merit] | ||
| Calm Heart | [3 Point Merit] | ||
| Iron Will | [3 Point Merit] | ||
| Unbondable | [3 Point Merit] | ||
| Destiny** | [4 Point Merit] | ||
*A Jugenti-ki. A fellow Jin'ei. It is accepted by all other Jin'ei.
**Must be compatible with the teachings of the Jin'ei.
The full rules for Personality Archetypes, Merits and Flaws can be found in The Vampire Players Guide but care should be taken in choosing the ones listed there and not here, so that they can fit in with the type of character that is the Hitokage Samurai. It is important to remember that the Hitokage Samurai are not like their Western counterparts in many respects. It is not a character for the inexperienced but for someone who seeks a serious challenge.
These powers in the hands of any other Vampire would be extremely dangerous, and it is generally this fact that forms the opinions that the Hitokage Samurai have of the other Clans. These are detailed in Chapter Six. As detailed in the Chapter Three: Character Creation. The Hitokage Samurai are strictly forbidden to learn and use any type of Magic. Some of the younger Hitokage Samurai believe that this has something to do with the hatred that they feel towards the Warlocks of the Kindred world, the Tremere.
The new disciplines, skills and the Measures of Ki are only permitted to the Hitokage Samurai; occasionally other members of the Jin'ei are taught how to control the Ki energy that exists within all of then (as they are alive and they possess their Ki naturally) and some of the skills can be used by them. The only members of the Jin'ei that are permitted to use magic are the Mahou-tsukai, but then they cannot use Ki as the control will interfere with their Spheres of Influence.
The mastery of Ki is taught to the initiates when they are still human -- it is part of their long, arduous training schedule. While they are being initiated, they must meditate and remain in full control of their bodies. If panic sets in, it is said that the Beast takes over and the human dies. The transformation is long and painful (taking anything up to fourteen days). During this time the initiate must remain in meditation, her concentration must not be broken (Self Control, Difficulty 6 - Current Ki Measure to a minimum of 3); if it is then the human will die. The pain of the transformation is something that the Hitokage Samurai will never forget, but because of the training they have received and the meditation techniques they somehow retain that last vestige of their mortal beings, the energy that is known as Ki. It is said that the Temple Priestesses perform some kind of ritual that binds the Ki to the initiate when they die but only the elders know if this is true.
As this is a life energy, only the living can learn to control it, so mastery of this energy flow and its related disciplines cannot be learned by other vampires.
Advancement of this mastery is a fairly complicated affair. The Samurai must return to the temple where she was initiated. The Priestesses will then perform a ritual that will give the Hitokage her mortality back; the effects of this will last for seven days and it is during this period that the free energy can bond itself to the existing Ki.
On the eighth day, the transformation automatically begins again and the Hitokage Samurai must endure a further fourteen days of pain and suffering, much like the experience she went through when she was initiated. The mastery of this energy flow can make the practitioner a truly lethal opponent. Ki, as in everything, has both negative and positive aspects. It is the decision of the practitioner whether she uses it for light or dark purposes. However, in is impossible for a character with evil intent to become a Hitokage Samurai; the long period of screening will see to this. As a point of note, female practitioners have a better understanding of the Ki energy and hence, tend to be more versed in its uses.
Mastery of Ki occurs in 10 stages; each stage is given its own name and each will enable the character to become a very powerful opponent. Only the first 6 measures are told to the prospective initiate, no Hitokage Samurai Bushi, Ronin, or Saachaa currently exists with a measure higher than 6. When a character achieves measure 7 she is presented with a choice of promotions. She may either become a Daimyo, a Priestess, or an Adviser to the local Daimyo. The first two of these promotions will change the type of Chronicle that the character will be involved in. The Third promotion will result in the character effectively retiring. Promotion is never refused and to attempt to do so would cause grave dishonour.
System: Ki is not a skill and is therefore not used like one. In fact, Ki is not "used" at all. The measure that the character possesses is always present; no rolls are required (although dice may have to be rolled to accomplish specific tasks that require Ki).
When the player wishes to advance her character's measure of Ki she must be removed from the current chronicle for twenty-one chronicle days in order to to return to her temple of origin. She must then make seven Self Control + Existing Ki against a difficulty of four. She must make at least two successes on each roll, for each botch subtract one Blood Point from the total. If the Character's Blood Point total falls to zero then she is destroyed. If the concentration is broken then the ritual must be performed again, from the beginning, when the character has gone back to her undead self. Ki is always advanced at twice the current rating (i.e. to advance from measure 2 to measure 3 would require 4 points).
As Ki is technically neither a skill or a discipline in does not conform to many of the rules that govern these traits. One of the more unusual aspects of it is that all measures are accessible whatever the characters Generation. Remember, from Chapter One: Introduction, that the Hitokage Samurai set little store in the concept of Generation. A member of the Jin'ei always knows her place. Much emphasis, however, is placed on the ability to control the flow of the Ki energy and it is this fact that usually gains promotion.
Female characters (when using any abilities, attributes, etc that benefit from Ki at their current level) should re-roll any 10 that appears as a benefit of their mysteriously special understanding of Ki. When a character achieves measure 7 she is removed from the game as a normal character.
System: When the character has this measure she will get one extra die (per blood point spent) to add to her pool against any of the Virtue statistics. If any roll is failed she will lose one dice from her pool against that particular Virtue for the rest of the Scene. If, however, a roll is botched the character will lose one point off that particular Virtue for the rest of the Chapter. In addition to this, an extra dice is added (at no cost) to the characters dice pool involving Mental Attributes.
System: The character can add 2 further dice to all of her pools that involve Physical Attributes (Damage, Attack, Defence, Dodge, etc). This also includes multiple applications such as a sword attack that consists of Strength + Melee. There are no extra penalties for failures or botches.
System: When this measure is present, the character will get an extra point to add to her Humanity (up to the maximum of 10). Secondly, the character does not require to feed as often and will only lose 1 Blood Point per 2 days. Finally, due to the confusion created to other Kindred, she is now impossible to dominate; any such action will be immediately apparent to the Hitokage Samurai.
System: With this measure, the character will get 2 extra dice to add to her Initiative pool; she will also gain 1 further action per round. Again, there are no extra penalties for failures or botches.
System: With this measure, the character now gets another die to add to her Initiative pool and another action per round. If an opponent attempt to ambush or sneak up on the character they immediately receive a -2 dice penalty to the roll. Once again, there are no extra penalties to failures or botches.
System: The player simply announces that she wishes to infuse an object with the energy and spends 1 point of Willpower. This will give the object 1 extra dice to do whatever it would normally do. For example, any weapon that the user is in continuous contact with (e.g.. her Katana) now gets 1 extra die to all of its rolls whether they be attack or defence. Ballistic, thrown, or missile weapons cannot be infused as the moment contact is lost between the practitioner and the object the energy is dissipated. A further example would be to infuse a piece of armour to add 1 extra die to its Soak roll. The effect will last either until the contact between the practitioner and the item is lost or the end of the scene, which ever comes first.
The deeds of the Hitokage Samurai and the Kagemusha are well known to most of the denizens of the spirit world and will usually serve the former if summoned. Each particular Elemental Spirit has power over their respective domains (Earth, Air, etc), and each one his highly honoured and revered.
System: The Elementals in question must be summoned by a Mahou-tsukai. Once they are present the Hitokage Samurai may ask the Spirit to aid them with a specific task, they will only help and never act on their own. Of course, they may refuse to help the individual and do not have to give a reason. Communication between the two is carried out telepathically (the telepathy skill does not have to be present for this to occur). The Storyteller should pay special note to the tone of the message that the character gives, any disrespect should be punished at her discretion.
System: This power is automatic, as soon as the character comes into contact with sunlight the shield becomes active and no vampiric abilities can be used until she is removed from the sunlight. No damage is incurred when a character possessing this measure comes into contact with sunlight.
In order to gain access to the worlds to communicate with the creatures that live there, the Void must be crossed. This is very dangerous as the foul creatures that are imprisoned there will attempt to destroy anything that is unfortunate enough to be caught. This measure will allow the practitioner to pass un-noticed through this area and contact with the other worlds is always successful.
System: While this measure is not directly related to the Hitokage Samurai, they may occasionally have to contact the other worlds, such as the World of the Jugenti-ki (beast men) or the spirits of the elements. Until this measure is reached, contact and summoning has to be done by the Mahou-tsukai, but when the character gains this measure she does not require them and can summon and communicate with them herself.
Current thinking says that the Shogun does indeed know of it and its effects but to all knowledge, she has told nobody. Perhaps when the time is right.
System: The Storyteller should be deliberately mysterious and evasive about this measure and its effects. Try to give the impression that somebody, somewhere knows something. Rumours abound concerning this measure and its effects and they should inspire hope in a Hitokage Samurai Warrior but fear in all others.
Cost: None.
Description: The Hitokage Samurai are forbidden to Dominate a subject into serving them; the skill cannot be featured at all in any of the Jin'ei. This single skill is the Hitokage Samurai' equivalent of the fore mentioned Dominate. It does not occur in stages and its power is constant (i.e.. it does not get any more or less powerful). When used, the target is given a suggestion by the individual. The target cannot be asked to do something that she would normally not do. The target must make a roll against her Willpower at difficulty 5 + practitioner's Settoku (to a maximum Difficulty of 10) to avoid the effects. There are no rolls to be made by the individual using this discipline. When the effect of this wears off (Storytellers discretion), the target will remember absolutely nothing about the situation.
Example: After an altercation at a sushi stand in the Oriental section of Chicago involving the Hitokage Samurai, Chang and the Kagemusha Assassin, Umi, the police arrive. As usual, Umi has long gone but Chang is not so fortunate. The two police officers approach Chang. "What the hell is going on here?" asks the first officer as he surveys the carnage on the street. Noticing the second police officer slowly reaching for her side arm, he reaches into his trenchcoat and pulls out a bubblegum card that he had found a few weeks ago. "Good evening officers, I am special agent Hootie and these unfortunate civilians were murdered by a vicious serial killer that I am attempting to apprehend." Using his Settoku discipline he manages to persuade the officers he is who is says he is, instead of the bubblegum card the officers see an FBI ID card.
Cost: 1 Point of Willpower.
Description: When the Mind and Body are in harmony, some truly amazing feats can be performed. Kuchuufuyuu is one such feat. This particular discipline is not true Levitation but the effect is almost the same. Using it greatly extends the length a character can leap, both horizontally and vertically. When combined with an ability such as Athletics or Martial Arts combat it can be spectacular indeed. Other uses include vertically dodging an opponents blow, mid-air sword strikes (versus a character with a similar skill) or even gently descending from a 10th storey while you pursuers plummet to their collective demise. The practitioner cannot remain stationary in mid-air, he must always move. Creative use of this discipline is strongly encouraged.
Normal use of this discipline requires no dice roll; however, if the Storyteller decides that the action is particularly unusual she may make the character roll against this discipline at a discretionary difficulty.
Cost: Special.
Description: This discipline was developed from the legendary skills of the Grand Masters of martial arts in ancient Japan. Now lost and forgotten to most of the Ningenti-ki, only creatures of such ancient lineage as the Hitokage can still learn and practice it. This version of the discipline is much enhanced over the ancient mortal skill as vampires can always move faster than their human counterparts. It is still taught to the non-Hitokage members of the Jin'ei but is not quite as effective.
When this discipline is used, the user can instantly (1 action) transport herself to a given location in her field of vision, the maximum distance shifted will be anything up to or equal to the rating of the discipline in meters. The character must roll versus her Ten'ichi + Ki at a Difficulty of 4; success means that she has shifted to her desired location facing any direction she wishes. In addition to this, the initiative roll of the opponent is automatically failed.
If, however, the roll is failed, the opponent gains initiative and the character will lose her first action and the character will be shifted to another location (1 dice further than she wanted in the same direction). Botches count as failures with no special penalties.
The cost of using this discipline is one Blood Point per meter shifted. For mortals and other non-Hitokage practitioners the cost is a single action and the maximum distance is about two meters. This skill can be used in place of a Dodge and is much more effective as it can place the individual completely out of target. i.e. The attacker will miss with the first action and waste the second (if she has one) turning to face the targets new direction.
Cost: 1 Point of Willpower.
Description: This is not unlike Telepathy except that it allows the practitioner greater access to the mind of the target. This discipline will set up a link between the two minds. If successful, the practitioner can do any of the following:
Other uses may be found at the Storytellers discretion.
Cost: Special.
Description: This discipline will allow the user to heal the wounds of living creatures; vampires and other undead creatures cannot be healed in this manner. Characters who have the Mortal Retainer Flaw usually learn this as soon as they are able.
In order to use this discipline the character must spend 1 point of Willpower for every Health Level of the target she wishes to heal. She may heal a maximum number of Health Levels equal to that of her level in this discipline. Additionally, this discipline can only be used once per day. If the creature has only recently died (to a maximum of 5 minutes), this discipline can be used to "raise the dead."
Cost: 2 Points of Willpower + 2 Blood Points.
Description: This particular discipline requires a great deal of concentration to maintain. When it is used a mirror of the practitioner will appear at her side. It should be noted that this mirror is not an independent character and will follow all of the actions that the real character performs. Any damage inflicted on the mirror will be taken (as normal) by the real character. Apart from that, they are identical in every respect (same number of actions, etc).
If this discipline is used in combat (as it generally is), the practitioner still only makes one Attack roll but if successful, does get another damage roll (same weapon, same target). This discipline is used with the sword but can be used with firearms but there is no second damage roll -- it's for effect only. To use this discipline roll Ki Measure at Difficulty 7 - Kyoueizou.
Cost: 2 Blood Points.
Description: This discipline will allow all wounds caused by the sword to be Aggravated. The rules for Aggravated Wounds can be found in Vampire: The Masquerade.
Cost: 5 Points of Willpower + 5 Blood Points.
Description: The Blades of the Lost Souls were a set of weapons created by an evil Mahou-tsukai about 2000 years ago. The mage created seven blades in total, each with the ability to remove the life force from an opponent with a single blow.
When the mage created the weapons, he summoned seven powerful creatures from The Void and used his magic to imprison them in the swords. Each time one of the swords was used, the evil inside would drain the energy from the target, leaving lifeless shells that the mage could control. When the mage was finally destroyed, each of the swords were taken as far away as possible from each other and buried.
Since then, three of the swords have been recovered. Two of these are in the possession of the Hitokage Samurai Shogun; the where abouts of the other one is currently unknown. The Shogun knows the weapons of old and has vowed that they will never be used again, but she is unable to destroy them as the spirits contained within would be released upon the earth. Without this Discipline, the Soulblade cannot be touched -- to do so would result in immediate and final death.
These are only some of the disciplines associated with the Ki energy. The Storyteller and player (with supervision) should feel relatively free to design new ones, but remember, this is an already powerful character, so use discretion and a little common sense.
When a mortal starts the game with a measure of Ki, it is always at measure 1; points cannot be spent to advance this any further during the character generation phase although it is advanced in the same manner as described earlier.
There are not very many mortals within the Jin'ei, so the Storyteller should use this information carefully. A full description of the mortals within the Jin'ei will be dealt with in a later publication. Mortals can never advance their Ki any further than measure 3.
As vampires are supernatural creatures, the normal laws of nature regarding Ki do not apply. A mortal vessel (human) can only hold a measure of 3; there just isn't enough capacity to store more than that. Vampires, on the other hand, have a far greater capacity for storage than the humans. This follows, as they are, among other things, stronger and faster.