House Rules
I Chih
Hanging/Trigger Effects
Through shrewd application of the Modifier categories, Circumstance of the Monkey King and Continuance of the Righteous Judgment, a hsien can cast beneficial I Chih (spells) upon himself that last a great duration, or cast spells that occur with the occurrence of a specific event. Examples include "semi-permanently" increasing one's Attributes or casting a spell that causes Wani armor to "pop" into place whenever the character is attacked by shen.
Naturally, with the wide variety and potential for great power that Wu Tan presents, "hanging" and "trigger" effects can be easily abused. The following section will detail how "hanging/trigger" effects are to be limited. It does not go into great detail about sample I Chih nor the basic systems for these modifiers. To state the basics, "hanging" I Chih employ Continuance alone; "trigger" I Chih require Continuance and Circumstance.
The greatest limitation applied to "hanging/trigger" effects is that for every individual I Chih that a Shinma has "stored up", he is sapped of one point of yugen. Therefore, if the character has three "hanging" I Chih and one "trigger" I Chih, he is short 4 points of yugen. Those lost points cannot be restored until the "stored up" magics' duration expires.
Characters also have a limit of total "hanging/trigger" effects, yugen score notwithstanding. This is simply equal to the character's permanent Willpower score.
"Hanging" I Chih are fairly simple to explain. They simply involve a duration of longer than "short" -- i.e., at least one Chinese week (10 days). This is equal to Continuance 4 or more on the modifier chart. "Hanging" I Chih only apply to spells cast upon one's own person. I Chih cast upon other people, places, or objects, for good or ill, do NOT figure into this equation regardless of duration.
"Trigger" I Chih are a tad more complicated. The trigger's event is determined by Circumstance; the more specific the event, the higher the modifier level. Continuance must be then used to determine how long the "trigger" effect remains at "ready" (that is, how long the magic lasts without the trigger event occurring). When this duration expires, the "trigger" effect fades out unremarkably, wasted.
However, the Continuance modifier may often have to be used twice with some "trigger" effects. I Chih set, for example, "to explode in a ball of fire when the Kin-jin crosses the threshold", are instantaneous in effect. These demand no Continuance (Continuance cannot be used with Harm anyway). However, a "trigger" effect that involves, for example, summoning a suit of elemental armor "upon being attacked by a vampire", will demand additional Continuance. The first Continuance modifier works as explained in the paragraph above. This refers to how long the "trigger" lasts. Once the magic is triggered, without further Continuance, the spell will only last a turn. Not so useful in some cases! Therefore, considered as an entirely different modifier level, a second amount of Continuance must be chosen.
For example, in the example of "summoning a suit of elemental armor when attacked by a vampire", the character will need Circumstance 1 to affect "vampires" in general. He expects an attack within the next month or so, so needs Continuance 5 for the "trigger" magic. He would want the armor to last more than a few seconds when the attack comes, so a secondary modifier level is taken at Continuance 1 so it lasts an entire scene. These modifiers are, of course, in addition to whatever other modifiers may apply to the I Chih in particular.
"Hanging/trigger" I Chih are clearly advanced methods. Many newly "awakened" Shinma may not understand how to properly apply them. This is a good excuse for new players of hsien to avoid playing around with these magics until they understand the Wu Tan systems better. However, the Storyteller is always willing to help when the tutorials fail.
