The Paths of Do
By David HoodHaving finally gotten the Akashic Tradition book in my little corner of the world I've noticed that they Don't offer much expansion on the "Combat is but a small part of Do" line. So here is my way of providing some options for those who Don't want their characters to be able to shatter steel beams with their noses. Note: Not all of this is playtested, some may need to be adjusted in some respects. In many cases adjustments are made to difficulty numbers by .5 (one half) of the pratitioner's rank in Do. In all cases round up.
In developing this framework for Do I have rather butchered the River diagram of Fu Hsi, regarded as one of the oldest artifacts in Chinese culture (at least by my sources).
Do:
"The way produces one;
one produces two,
two produces three,
three produce all beings"
— the way produces one, Tao Te Ching
The paths of Do are many and varied, for there is a Do to all things (and a Do of all things). In the temporal world five major schools of Do have developed, each emphasizing different aspects of a person's being. They are Fire Form, Water Form, Wood Form, Metal Form and Earth Form.
These styles cultivate (respectively) original spirit, original vitality, original essence, original sense and original energy. While a practitioner of Do may only practice one school of Do, each school is a valid path. Possible rules for learning more than one style of Do include:
- Letting the character develop any and all (not recommended)
- Letting the character abandon training and forget one style to learn another (very weak story wise)
- Letting the character learn new styles but if an old style is called upon before mastery is obtained then the benefit of the new training is lost (complex to run)
- Let the character learn new styles but add on the cost of all other levels learned to the experience cost. A character with water form Do 4 and metal form Do 3 wants to learn a new level in Do, for experience cost the current level is regarded as 4 + 3 = 7. This is the method I like as it offers the greatest flexibility to players, keeping in mind that Do training is pretty hard to come by. "You have became lost in the ways of the world. Live without harming another living creature for 4 seasons and you will be ready for the first steps in wood form Do". Only let the character have a total level of 5 in Do (very arbitrary). If you do allow a character to have multiple forms of Do they should only start with one form.
The special abilities of Do do not carry over if a character does not have the appropriate form. The only people with the combat abilities of The Book of Shadows are the metal form practitioners. Other forms cannot do punches, kicks, leap kicks, etc. They have their own abilities.
Water Form Do
"Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water."
— the most flexible thing in the world, Tao Te Ching
The practitioner of Water form Do aims to strengthen original vitality which is expressed as wisdom. All difficulty numbers in athletics are reduced by .5 × levels in Do.
Internal Style: By focusing energy internally the practitioner can release it in sudden bursts (reroll 10's on initiative).
External Style: By being in tune with the environment the practitioner knows how best to move (roll Dex + Do against a target number of 8 to cancel out dodge blunders).
Special Abilities
Gained as per Book of Shadows.
Sparrow Flight: The practitioner can jump vast distances landing on small spaces (Dex + Do difficulty 8).
Lightwalking: The practitioner can move without leaving a trail (Dex + Do difficulty 8). Dragon stance: The practitioner can preform feats of balance such as on a moving car, etc. (Dex + Do difficulty 8).
Lung gom: "The art of lung gom in Tibet produces the ability to travel very rapidly across some of the inhospitable upland wastes of that county. The training consists of living in complete darkness and seclusion for 39 months of deep-breathing exercises... It is said that one of these skilled walkers covered a distance of over three hundred miles in about thirty hours" (Lyall Watson, Supernature) (Stamina + Do difficulty 8).
Fire Form Do
"They know the world
without even going out the door.
They see the sky and its pattern
without even looking out the window."
— without even going out the door, Tao Te Ching
Fire form practitioners cultivate the original spirit to produce pervasive awareness. Such people reduce the difficulty of awareness and alertness by .5 × levels in Do.
Internal Style: By focusing awareness internally the practitioner becomes aware of the cause of emotions and thoughts (Add half the practitioner's level to the difficulty of foes attempting mind/emotion manipulation).
External Style The practitioner's awareness is spread out into the world, helping to intuitively understand the world (decrease difficulties of intuition rolls by .5 × levels in Do).
Special Abilities
One with the World: Through tuning one's Do with the world the practitioner can identify those aspects that are not in harmony. Perception + Do target number 8 to identify objects/people/etc. that are out of context with their surroundings like identify if a room has been searched by the furniture being in new positions.
One with Nature: If left to themselves, things in nature will occupy the place most fitting for them, by harmonizing with nature the practitioner understands where those objects/creatures are found. Perception + Do difficulty 8 to locate natural parts of the environment.
One with Others: By harmonizing with others the practitioner comes to understand other people. Using Perception + Do difficulty 8 the practitioner can determine features of group dynamics, who the leader is, tensions within the group and if the group is complete of itself or is acting in relation to another group.
Moving with the World: By moving in tune with the world the practitioner does not stand out from the background. Dexterity + Do difficulty 8, the number of successes add to the difficulty of observers noticing the practitioner, used in addition to stealth.
Wood Form Do
"The Way is unimpeded harmony; its potential may never be fully exploited"
— The way is unimpeded harmony, Tao Te Ching
The wood form practitioner works to strengthen original essence which manifests itself as gentleness, epitomized as the unprejudiced innocence of the infant. Because of the lack of prejudice the practitioner's difficulties in culture are reduced by .5 × levels in Do.
Internal Style: By directing Do internally the practitioner sheds those features that cause others not to accept them. Reduce etiquette difficulties by .5 × levels in Do.
External Style: By directing their Do outwards those around the practitioner feel more secure. Adjust difficulty numbers for groups that the practitioner is a part of by .5 × levels in Do in situations involving group loyalty (NPCs fleeing, protester's giving up blockading a police station to demand the release of an innocent person).
Special Abilities
Bring Peace: The practitioner can quell tensions by exerting Do to establish a mood of harmony. Charisma + Do difficulty 8, 1 success to calm a mildly annoyed person, 5+ to pacify a raging mob.
Peace of Summer: Such is the serenity of the practitioner that people wish to befriend him. Charisma + Do difficulty 8 to cause people to befriend and help the practitioner (won't work on actively angry people — see Bring Peace above). If the practitioner subsequently snubs/ignores/abuses the trust of the target of this ability they will become very alienated. If a character takes this ability they should have to act out employing the ability. Suggested 1 success will make the postal employee predisposed to help sort out where a mysterious package came from, 5+ successes will cause the Progenitor clone planted in the group to want to change sides. Once someone is the practitioner's friend they will remain favorably disposed unless circumstances significantly change.
Friend of Animals: The practitioner radiates such peace that wild animals will not attack. Charisma + Do difficulty 8, 1 success to stop the dog from barking, 5+ for the leopard to share its kill.
Harmonize the Light: By meditating on the estrangement between two people present the practitioner can cause them to understand each other and reconcile. Manipulation + Do, difficulty 8.
Metal Form Do
"Skilled warriors of old were subtle, mysteriously powerful, so deep they were unknowable."
— skilled warriors of old, Tao Te Ching
Metal form Doists cultivate original sense to develop firm strength. Their powers are those of Do in The Book of Shadows.
Earth Form Do
"There is no way for rhinos to gore them;
there is no way for tigers to claw them;
there is no way for weapons to get at them.
Why? Because they have no dying ground"
— from life into death, Tao Te Ching
Earth form Doists cultivate original energy which manifests as purity. They can flush toxins (fatigue, drugs) with a roll of Stamina + Do difficulty 8.
Internal Style: By maintaining purity of mind the practitioner is strengthened against having others wills enacted upon him. Reroll 10s on willpower resistance checks.
External Style: By maintaining purity of body the practitioner allows no place for damage to take place. Reroll 10s on soaks.
Special Abilities
Mastery of Self: Such is the practitioner's energy and self control that pain is less significant. For 1 scene the practitioner can ignore the pain effects of [Stamina + Do, difficultly 8] injury levels (start counting where the dice penalties begin).
Mountain Stance: Such is the internal energy of the practitioner that they cannot be moved against their will. Stamina + Do difficulty 8, 1 success they can't be picked up by a normal human, 5+ successes will derail a train (though the character still takes damage).
Stun Attacker: Such is the energy of the practitioner that anyone who attempts violence upon their person is left stunned. Anyone attacking the Doist in hand to hand is subject to a roll of practitioner's Stamina + Do, difficulty 8 which they resist with willpower, difficulty 8. Any net successes on the practitioner's part leaves the attacker unable to act for a number of actions equal to successes. Cannot be used a a target more than once per a scene (but, hey, how likely would most people be to try attacking again?).
Becoming One with the Goal: The practitioner focuses their whole being on the goal they are attempting to achieve. In this state the practitioner can ignore distractions up to a level equal to Intelligence + Do, difficulty 8 until the goal is achieved. In this state the practitioner suffers a penalty (equal to the benefit gained) on any attempts to notice anything not directly relating to the task.