Kindred of the East

For millennia, the Kindred of the West have had only passing contact with the mysterious Kuei-Jin, the bizarre bloodlines that haunt the Oriental night. These enigmatic legacies are revealed at last – and, now that they have entered the Eternal Struggle, will the World of Darkness ever be the same?

**

Original Concept by Stewart MacLeod, from White Wolf’s Kindred of the East series. Game Design by Stewart MacLeod & Mike Miller. Artwork and symbols compiled or designed by Mike Miller.

**

Hi everyone,

This is the first of several posts outlining an 'unofficial' expansion for VTES that explores the Oriental World of Darkness. Mike and I have designed this as a cohesive, playable set, with almost 350 cards in the first release alone. It's been a labour of love for Mike and I, the culmination of several years of design and playtesting across continents and timezones (my first draft of this was pre-Legacies of Blood, and we've worked off and on since then). We would, of course, love to see our work be deemed ‘official’ by VEKN or a future publisher of VTES, but regardless of the game's future we wanted to share this work. The cards aren't perfect, and Mike and I would appreciate feedback on what you see here. We’ve tried to make the cards as balanced as possible (both as strategies against each other in a KOTE-only environment and in the broader KOTE v. VTES environment) but the more input the better.

A key design principles was, wherever possible, to keep the vampires of the East functionally identical to ‘Cainites’ (ensuring that existing cards interact with them in a logical and appropriate fashion) whilst also giving them their own feel. To make them entirely the same would defeat the purpose of the exercise; the Kuei-Jin (as they are known) occupy a similar ecological niche to the existing Clans, but are a unique – and uniquely terrifying – foil to the Children of Caine. Also, whereas several Vampire expansions focus on a broad number of clans and a narrower number of Disciplines than what we tried to grapple with here, combining Kindred of the East’s source material with that design methodology proved to a bit of a nightmare. As such, the decision was made to initially narrow the selection of clans and add a broader selection of Disciplines. This creates greater potential variation within each core 'clan', providing each group with a number of aptitudes and related strategies. The cards I’ll be discussing in these first posts will concentrate on four of the five ‘clans’ of the Orient. Later updates will both flesh out these groups and introduce others.

Note that all of the artwork and most of the icons have never been seen before in VTES, although fans of Asian cinema, Oriental-themed CCGs or indeed White Wolf’s Year of the Lotus books may recognise some familiar images. We’ve been respectful to the originals, crediting artists where known. All this, of course, is completely not for profit and not designed to impinge on any copyright; please contact me if you would like your image or art removed.


So, onto some key terminology;

Kuei-Jin:
At its purest level, Kuei-Jin is a keyword attached to some vampires. The keyword denotes that the vampire is in fact a Kindred of the East, a creature similar yet fundamentally different than the Cainites of the West. In design terms, it's a 0-cost keyword as it both opens up possibilities and creates some limitations. All Kuei-Jin are Sterile.

Blood:
Kuei-Jin understand that the blood they drink to sustain their existence is a form of Chi, or life-energy, which is found in all aspects of existence. Enlightened Kuei-Jin gain greater powers of manipulation over this Chi energy, and can use the Chi of themselves and others in increasingly exotic fashions.
In game terms, Kuei-Jin use Chi instead of Blood. Chi is replaceable with Blood in every way; the difference in terminology is entirely for stylistic reasons. Effects that would move Blood or Life from a vampire, ally or retainer to a Kuei-Jin convert the moved counters to Chi, much as the ‘steal blood’ effect from ‘Theft of Vitae’ targeting an ally converts the incoming Life to Blood. Kuei-Jin can play cards with a blood cost.

Clans:
As they are not descended from Caine and the Antediluvians, Kuei-Jin vampires do not have a Clan. Kuei-Jin are considered to be clan-less by any effect that ‘searches’ for a Clan (such as ‘Consanguineous Boon’). Kuei-Jin are not Caitiff however; their ‘clanlessness’ is the same as the Great Beast (created from ‘Call the Great Beast’).

Dharma:
In the roleplaying game, 'Dharma' is a philosophical path akin to a Path of Enlightenment. In CCG terms, Dharma is a Kuei-Jin-only trait that operates in a similar capacity to ‘Clan’. Dharmas are not Clans and Clans are not Dharmas, however. Dharma is specific to Kuei-Jin in the same manner as Baron is anarch-specific, or ‘mortal’ is an Ally- and Retainer-specific trait.

The four Dharmas initially featured in Kindred of the East are as follows:

Howl of the Devil-Tiger: Known as Devil-Tigers (and abbreviated to DT in card texts), followers of this path consider themselves to be chosen by Heaven to be vengeful executioners of the wicked. While they embrace their darker natures, Devil-Tigers are not Infernalists and are scornful of those that would sell their souls for temporal power.

Way of the Resplendent Crane: The Resplendent Cranes (RC) consider themselves to be the guardians of Kuei-Jin traditions. Viewing other Dharmas as morally weak, the Cranes attempt to maintain control over themselves, society and the Wheel of Ages itself. Resplendent Cranes tend to be haughty and reserved magistrates, and when scripture fails they possess the martial skills to back up their beliefs.

Song of the Shadow: More commonly called Shadow Songs (SS), these Kuei-Jin devote themselves to the mysteries of Yin energy. Courtiers and assassins alike make their way into the ranks of this Dharma. Shadow Songs are more likely to be knowledgeable advisors to the ruling elite rather than the power on the throne itself.

Dance of the Thrashing Dragon: Thrashing Dragons (TD) are often seen as the polar opposite to Shadow Songs, as they revere the life-energy of Yang. Thrashing Dragons can be both humane and animalistic, and reflect the best and worst of both vampirism and humanity. They tend to have dynamic and spontaneous natures.

For my next trick, I'll try and add an attachment onto this and talk through some basics. If that doesn't work, I'll keep on going with the explanations...



cheers,

Disco Stu
Prince of Melbourne, Australia

... cool, that seemed to work! So, what you see above are two Thrashing Dragons. As you can see, the Dharma icon takes the place of the Clan icon. The basic layout is otherwise pretty much the same; we have capacity, group, expansion symbol etc.

Keeping away from the left-hand bar for the time being, some things you will note;
* Sect: the default Sect for many Kuei-Jin is 'Quincunx'. The Quincunx is perhaps best thought of as the Camarilla of the East, in that it's a long-running, broad-based political organisation that spans much of Asia. It's not the only sect, but it is the most important. There are a few titles attached to this sect, but I'll outline those in a later post.

* As noted, Kuei-Jin are Sterile. No breed decks here, people (or at least, not what you'd traditionally call a breed deck). This matches with the background of the game; Kuei-Jin aren't Embraced per se, but are resurrected souls brought back into unliving bodies. To maintain their existence, they must feed on Chi (blood).

* Say, those Disciplines don't look right, do they? ...
A vampire with the Kuei-Jin trait cannot gain or use normal Disciplines. Instead, they are limited to a select group of Kuei-Jin-only Disciplines. These Disciplines may only be gained or used by vampires with the Kuei-Jin trait; other vampires (such as Ian Forestal, a vampire with an Infernal Familiar) may not gain or use these Kuei-Jin-only Disciplines. As a reminder, the majority of cards requiring a Kuei-Jin Discipline indicate that they can only be played by a Kuei-Jin.

The list of Kuei-Jin Disciplines featured in the first couple of 'sets' we've designed is as follows:
Beast Shintai [besh]
Black Wind [blw]
Blood Shintai [blsh]
Bone Shintai [bosh]
Cultivation [cul]
Demon Shintai [dsh]
Dragon Tears [drt]
Equilibrium [equ]
Feng Shui [feng]
Flesh Shintai [flsh]
Ghost-Flame Shintai [gfsh]
Internalize [int]
Iron Mountain [iron]
Jade Shintai [jas]
Kiai [kiai]
Mibasham [mib]
Obligation [obl]
Tapestry [tap]
Yang Prana [yap]
Yin Prana [yip]

In VTES, as in Vampire: the Masquerade, a member of a certain clan has a predisposition toward (typically) three particular Disciplines. This tendency was formalised in Vampire: the Masquerade as ‘Clan Disciplines’. Whilst VTES does not have any mechanical effect to separate Clan- and non-Clan Disciplines, the concept of Clan Disciplines allows streamlining of deck construction; when making a Toreador deck, you are most likely to use the Disciplines of Auspex, Celerity and Presence, for example.

In the Kindred of the East roleplaying game, a Kuei-Jin’s Dharma does not provide any predisposition toward a set of Disciplines. While particular Dharmas may encourage or discourage the use of a given Discipline, this is a social phenomenon rather than any inherent bias. To bridge this gap (and, more particularly, to assist deckbuilding), the notion of ’Dharma’ Disciplines was introduced.
Devil-Tigers tend to possess Black Wind, Demon Shintai, Dragon Tears and Ghost-Flame Shintai.
Resplendent Cranes tend to possess Blood Shintai, Demon Shintai, Internalize, and Obligation.
Shadow Songs tend to possess Bone Shintai, Cultivation, Mibasham and Yin Prana.
Thrashing Dragons tend to possess Flesh Shintai, Iron Mountain, Tapestry and Yang Prana.

This is a slight deviation from the source material, but has been made to aid deck construction and balance Dharma-based strategies. All choices have been made after careful consultation of every Kindred of the East roleplaying sourcebook, and are thus as thematic as possible. By supplying a broader range of ‘core’ Disciplines than normal for each Kuei-Jin Dharma, Dharma-themed deck design will provide a number of options to players. This is similar to how, say, Samedi decks can exclude Necromancy and focus on Thanatosis, Obfuscate and Fortitude, or how Dominate can be an easy addition to Group 1 Toreador.

In addition, several Disciplines have been designed to not be inherent to any given Dharma. Beast Shintai, Feng Shui and Kiai all feature in this first set of cards, but are intentionally given a smaller number of cards to emphasise their ‘support’ function. And, to assist in bridging the gap for later releases, icons for Equilibrium and Jade Shintai have been included on a handful of Kuei-Jin in this set, even though cards for these Disciplines do not appear in this first release.

Purists may notice an absence here; Chi’u Muh, one of the more awkwardly named Disciplines in the original roleplaying game, was renamed ‘Dragon Tears’ in this set for ease of play.

For the record, Okui Megumi has basic Flesh Shintai and basic Yang Prana [flsh yap]. Chan Yu-wei has superior Beast Shintai and Iron Mountain, and basic Flesh Shintai and Tapestry [BESH IRON flsh tap].

More later...

cheers
Disco Stu

Actually, one more things before I knock off for the night! Here's a sample of six commons, which between them give a good cross-section of some KJ-Discpline effects.



Battle Vigor is Yang Prana [yap].
Blood Atemi is Blood Shintai [blsh].
Blood Yoga is Internalize [int].
Bone Obedience is Bone Shintai [bosh].
Chi Rift is Tapestry [tap].

Note than Yin and Yang keywords will be explained in a later post, but that they're essentially 'passive' keywords with no distinct rule attached (think 'gun' or 'ammo', rather than 'red list' or 'blood cursed').

cheers once again, and thanks for reading.

Disco Stu

Very early brief thoughts:

Overall, well forumulated, and I don't see anything that upsets me too much. I'd remind you both that the Kuei-Jin never exactly fit neatly into the oWoD, especially such little gems (depending on how you read/twisted it) as a 'special hell only for asian people' which didn't do it any favours. I quite liked Kindred of the East personally, it's just a reminder that it did suffer as a title in some ways, and not everyone was wholly positive towards it. Rule commentary follows, however!
(EDIT: I'm going to stress this before someone reflexively makes a silly rebuttal. I do not hold this opinion, but I have heard it with regards to KotE on more than one occasion. If you cannot grasp this concept, you should probably go back to FOX news.)

1. 'Nested' Keyword by having Kuei-Jin incorporate Sterile. Please don't. Just lose a little text space, and use 'Sterile' as well, as it already exists. I know it sounds pedantic, but it's the sort of thing that eventually bites you in the rear. (I've since become confused because your example cards DO have this.)

2. Sect. Good to have Sect defined from the start, and using the Courts makes sense. I presume you've already taken it into account, but note a Kuei-Jin under your current proposal could Go Anarch for whatever reason.

3. Dharma / Clan - Drawing a parallel between the two makes a lot of sense. Making it a seperate mechanic, however, doesn't. Why not just use the Dharma as Clans and be done with it? This synergises a lot of effects, and stops 'Imbued syndrome' where certain cards can't/don't work as a consequence.

4. Disciplines. First, too many. Start smaller, keep it simpler. You can always add them in additional releases. Secondly, some of them (Flesh Shintai, for example) should just be normal Vampiric disciplines, in that example VIC. This integrates them with the existing sets, (Imbued Syndrome again) lets cards you gain in one 'side' be useful in the rest of your collection, etc. Canon reasons aside (Flesh Shintai isn't VIC or vice versa, and learning one does not help with the other at all) it makes a lot more sense for the CCG. If you want to have Flesh Shintai specific cards under that example, just have a VIC card that requires a Kuei-Jin.
(As an aside, it also kind of makes sense that if anyone would manage somehow to master the Disciplines of the Kuei-Jin, it'd be either someone with demonic tutelage (Infernal Familiar / Pact) or one of the Tremere...)

I'm trying to not be too negative, because I'd love to see the Kuei-Jin in V:TES, even as fanservice. However, I think they'd benefit from being more like Cainites, not less, and bringing them closer would help more than it would hurt.

No particular comments here; I don't know anything about the source material (my RPG group never touched the Kindred of the East), and I've never played with the Imbued. Just wanted to say I'm thrilled that someone's working this seriously on such a large expansion. Thank you!

Disco_Stu wrote:

Hi everyone,

This is the first of several posts outlining an 'unofficial' expansion for VTES that explores the Oriental World of Darkness.

While I would like the opportunity to discuss this interesting idea, I wonder if it's going to get so many replies and posts that it's going to overwhelm the 'Generic V:TES Discussion' category.

ADMINS: How about moving this post to a new category under 'V:TES Discussion', titled "Expansion Sets & Ideas"? There was talk at Origina about the VEKN possibly doing printable online cards in the future, so the category will be needed and used anyway, right? Let's get it started with this post.