CoLA -- Kuei-jin

The Court of the Ebon Flame

Interesting Occasions

The Dharma system is fairly unique to Kindred of the East. Consequently, it has clearly not been experimented with much before. Though the Dharma bear similarities to the Cainite Paths of Enlightenment, the Dharma are much more vitally tied to the progress of the Kuei-jin character. A vampire whose Humanity or Path is low suffers certain penalties, and is that closer to Wassail, but the “Hierachy of Sins” is very clear. The times when Conscience/Conviction/Instincts checks are made are pretty understandable.

But it is not that cut-and-dry for Kuei-jin. The number of “Auspicious” or “Inauspicious” Occasions that can pass for Cathayans can make the Road Back a constant roller coaster from disciple to jina and back to chih-mei again. And while some fluctuation should definitely occur, constant drops and sudden rises will grow aggravating, unrealistic, and just straight-up lame. Unfortunately, the game supplements do not provide any clear means to better regulate this process. No doubt, it has been left to the Storyteller of a game to decide and the following is what applies for the CoLA troupe.

Auspicious Occasions

In the Kindred of the East core book, a number of “Auspicious Omens & Symbols” are listed under each Dharma. Experiencing one of these Omens is listed as an Auspicious Occasion. A vampire may only gain the benefit of a Dharma check for “Auspicious Omens” for Dharma levels 1-3. A truly rare or grand example of an Auspicious Omen or Symbol may grant a Dharma check for jina levels of 4-6 and on exceptionally rare occasions, 7+. The Storyteller must express permission for higher level occasions.
Coming very near death -- as in within one Health Level of Final Death -- can always grant a Dharma check.
Meditating for at least one week with a specific training method (a number of examples are given in the core book starting on page 58) can always grant a Dharma check. However, the higher the level, the more involved and creative the training method must be. The Storyteller should help with this Auspicious Occasion any time the Dharma check is for level 4+.
Sacrificing something important (or someone) while following the tenets of one’s Dharma can invoke a Dharma check. However, the higher the Dharma level, the greater the sacrifice must be.
Understanding a master’s koan -- as the past methods have implied, the higher the Dharma level, the more complex or enigmatic the riddle or koan must be.
Journeying into the spirit worlds for the first time applies as a Auspicious Occasion more than the first time. For a disciple, entering the Mirror Lands will count for a check. For jina, wandering deeper into the Fabric of the spirit worlds and seeing the alien wonders of Yin and Yang will grant a Dharma check. For mandarins and older, visiting the realms of the Spirit Courts for the first time may invoke a Dharma check. It is thought that daring the void of the Deep Umbra can cause instant enlightenment, but those other shen better acquainted with this nether realm warn instant insanity is far more likely.
Receiving instruction from a Yama King or similarly powerful spirit -- well, a Yama King’s actual voice may inspire enlightenment in an akuma. For Kuei-jin seeking their place in the Great Cycle, the words of other great spirit lords would be better. Unfortunately, few gods deem to actually speak with mortals. And yes, even the Hungry Dead are mortal in comparison to the ancient gods.
Receiving instruction from a bodhisattva crosses the Dharmic boundaries. Any vampire of this enlightenment holds a kernel of truth any Cathayan can use. Unfortunately, they’re almost as rare to get a hold of as the gods.
Receiving instruction from a Kuei-jin of higher Dharma level but who follows a different level will only apply if the advice leads to the vampire uncovering a truth about his own Dharma.
And naturally, being taught by a vampire who has mastered a higher level of the same Dharma can inspire a Dharma check. Of course, the teachings must be relevant to the character’s Dharma.
A new possible Auspicious Occasion: mastering a “Dharma Discipline” (acquiring Level 5) can inspire a Dharma check. Also, any diceroll with a Dharma Discipline that scores 5 or more successes can offer a Dharma check.

Acts of Blindness

Receiving a bad omen --- what’s a bad omen? The book instructs the reader to examine the Dharma descriptions for details, but the Dharma descriptions don’t mention anything about “bad omens”. Scratch this occasion from the list.
Meeting the Little Death -- aka torpor -- is a frightful time. Nightmares of time spent in Hell rapes the character’s mind. No vampire leaves the Little Death unscathed; this is always a diao check.
Killing an ancestor or bodhisattva -- as the spiritual guides of Kuei-jin society, assassinating such a person is basically thumbing your nose at the Road Back. Check that Demon for this one, bozo.
Being banished by a priest or another with True Faith -- the person must have True Faith, and need not be faithful in an Eastern religion. The up-side to Eastern religion is that priests are much less likely to frantically bear a crucifix and curse the vampire for being the “spawn of Satan”. Instead, they tend to chastise or even lecture a shen who has stepped out of line. Therefore, while being banished by a faithful adherent to an Eastern religion is uncommon, it is usually well-deserved. On the other hand, True Faith makes no difference between religions and emotions, and a zealous Inquisitor can banish a Kuei-jin just as easily. Naturally, Kuei-jin are wise to avoid these “unenlightened” mortals. Regardless, being successfully turned away from a person of True Faith inflicts a Dharma check.
Discovering that a Dharma teacher lied to you, regardless of the teacher’s Dharma, can inflict an Act of Blindness. Naturally, the teacher must have been teaching about Dharma and the lie must be relevant to the progress of Dharma.
Losing yourself to the P’o (including Devil Tigers, who seek to control the Demon, not be its bitch) inflicts an Act of Blindness. However, the Storyteller will arbitrate the difficulty of the Dharma check rolls based on the severity of the loss of control. Entering Fire Soul and murdering all of one’s mortal friends compared to while in the midst of Shadow Soul the vampire simply gave a mandarin the middle finger should not result in the same consequences.
Losing yourself in mortal concerns and neglecting pursuit of enlightenment applies especially to elder Kuei-jin. Younger vampires, Koa, who have been allotted a life-time to “enjoy” their unlife, need only make diao checks for this reason when the neglect is gratuitous. The Storyteller will arbitrate what defines “gratuitous”.
Behaving in an extraordinarily egotistical manner can cause a diao check, but normally it only happens after ego-boy gets yanked off of his high horse or is chastised by an elder. Vampires are prideful creatures by nature, so it does have to be quite extraordinary.
Attempting to follow the tenets of one’s path, but failing in a really costly manner, can apply. But it has to be really costly. There’s nothing wrong with failing here and there. But totally botching a plan can shake the foundations of one’s faith. For example, a Bone Flower who fails to protect a stranger’s family from evil spirits is just one under his reputation. A Bone Flower who can’t lift a finger to stop bakemono from slaughtering his own mortal family is going to have a hard time sleeping for awhile…
Violating some important tenet of one’s Dharma is somewhat misleading. For starters, every Dharma only has a half-dozen or so tenets, and each one is important. Some vampires emphasize some over others, but they would never dare to say one is not important at all (at least not to a mandarin’s face). Instead, this violation must be purposeful and rational (as in, the character is in Wa Nature), and the nature of the violation is according to the character’s Dharma level. Disciples can get away with most minor violations and an occasional misjudgment that causes a major violation. Jina might be excused from some minor violations, but their superiors can and must obey the tenets strictly.
A new possible Act of Blindness corresponds to Dharma Disciplines. Botching the use of any Dharma Discipline in a costly fashion (e.g., you get a Wu-mate killed) will call for a diao check.

There are a handful of other, less common Auspicious Occasions and Acts of Blindness. These typically apply as written. Note that in any event, no more than two Dharma checks -- one for an Auspicious Occasion, one for an Act of Blindness -- may be made per gaming session.