Taoist Fighting Styles

Chi Mastery (•)

Prerequisites: Awakened, Resolve or Composure •••, one Fighting Style Merit

Effect: You have mastered the use of your spiritual reserves in combat. Rather than spending a point of Willpower to empower uses of your Fighting Style, you may spend a point of Mana instead. This use still applies to your maximum per turn expenditure of Mana, however.

Fighting Style: Tai Chi (• to •••••)

Prerequisites: Dexterity ••, Wits or Composure •••, Athletics ••, Brawl or Weaponry •

Effect: Your character is trained in the graceful flowing maneuvers of tai chi chuan (alternately translated as "supreme ultimate fist" or "yin/yang boxing"). This style, which is based on eight actions and five directions, is loose and flowing, while maintaining strength and speed.

Those who use this technique for a moving meditation gain the same benefits as for meditation, however the dice pool is Composure + Dexterity + Fighting Style: Tai Chi rating.

Dots gained in this Merit grant access to special maneuvers. Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. This style may be used either bare-handed, or with an appropriate tai chi weapon in hand. Tai chi teaches the use of the straight sword known as the jian, a heavier curved sabre, sometimes called a broadsword or dāo, the folding fan also called san, a six-foot wooden staff known as kun, a seven foot spear and thirteen foot lance (both called qiāng). More exotic weapons still used by some traditional styles are the large dadao and pudao sabres, the jǐ halberd, the cane, rope-dart, three sectional staff, wind and fire wheels, lasso, whip, chain whip and steel whip.

• Displacement (•): The martial artist is skilled at moving in such a way that his opponent does not expect him to be there. When your character performs a dodge, he may add his Athletics to his Defense, rather than simply doubling his Defense trait. Displacement applies against incoming Brawl- and Weaponry-based attacks, against thrown weapon attacks and against Firearm attacks made within close-combat range. Your character can move up to his Speed and perform Displacement in a turn.
• Push Hands (••): When using a Displacement defense, if your Defense is more than an attacker's successes in a Brawl- or Weaponry-based attack, he must make a reflexive Dexterity + Athletics check (at a penalty equal to the difference between his successes and your Defense) or lose his footing.
• Withering Grasp (•••): This functions as the Disarm Merit, which may be used armed or unarmed.
• Phoenix Eye Fist (••••): When performing a Brawl or Weaponry attack that inflicts bashing damage, you may spend 1 Willpower point to inflict numbness to your opponent by striking pressure points. This gives the opponent a –1 dice pool penalty to all physical actions for a number of turns equal to the damage inflicted. Multiple strikes with this do not stack, they simply extend the duration. This may not be performed using attacks that inflict lethal or aggravated damage.
• Mantis Strike (•••••): Striking the chi-gates of an opponent, you can inflict lethal damage on a Brawling attack by spending 1 Willpower.