Fu Powers represent the culmination of decades of study and practice by expert martial artists. As such, a school of mystic martial artists is lucky to teach one or two paths; only a truly impressive school will teach more. Most schools will have a great deal of ego invested in the paths that they use, whether it be in puffed-up challenging of all newcomers or in quiet assurance that their path is indeed the most efficacious. Eclectic schools are very rare, as are eclectic martial artists.
Most practitioners of a school can be persuaded to teach a new level in a Fu path to someone who can demonstrate mastery of an earlier technique. Convincing one to start someone out on a new path requires a good deal of work. Some schools may simply require a hefty donation, but most will require an impressive deed. Of course, rescuing those old masters from the forces of oppression can pay off... and endangering those old masters to stage a rescue can backfire.
We haven’t playtested any of these in our own game yet, so they’re still subject to revision. Check out Fu Powers at T3.
These resemble fu paths, but do not primarily have combat application. They are inspired by the Disciplines from Earthdawn.
The kung fu novels of Louis Cha, aka Jin Yong, have inspired these fu schticks. They are similar enough to existing paths that I’ve created them as extra techniques to add to the existing paths. Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain and The Deer & the Cauldron are available in English translation— I heartily recommend buying a copy if you enjoy Feng Shui.
A secret of the Storm Wind School on Sheflek. Allows the user to walk on mists and clouds. Requires Flying Sword. (On Sheflek, anyone who knows Flying Sword can make course corrections at a cost of 1 Fu per shot, usually done during a Prodigious or Abundant Leap, or can fly continuously if they have 9 Fu. They cannot hover.)
A fairly common extension of Crane Stance. Allows the user to either exert a “stickiness” as if they were grasping an object with a Strength equal to their Fu stat, or to project an object as if struck or pushed with a Strength equal to their Fu stat. (This allows stunts like having an object in your open hand that no one can pull away from you, using your chi to push an object that would otherwise fold under the pressure of a single hand, break down a door as if you used Beak of the Crane but only using a touch, or flick a coin with enough force to do damage equal to your Strength.) Requires Wing of the Crane. 2 Chi, 3 shots.
An expert in the Path of the Healthy Tiger can use Point Blockage in a variety of ways. The default roll is for in-combat full-body paralysis. The Tiger Stance wielder can also use it to obtain partial paralysis for longer periods of time: see the multiplier. The paralyzed person can roll their Fu against the Tiger warrior’s Fu to break free as a three-shot action.
Out of combat, these can be used to restrain prisoners. It requires five sequences of continuous activity against a single opponent to achieve this level of blockage— this can theoretically be done in combat, but is fiendishly difficult. (If someone tries it, record all the Outcomes of their actions; the opponent is paralyzed when five sequences have elapsed and the total Outcome is the amount to make them roll death checks, plus the Difficulty given here. One usage of Flow Restoration negates everything.) Roll Martial Arts against the difficulty of the paralysis and record the Outcome. The target may roll their Fu against your Fu once per minute to break out; each Outcome subtracts from the Outcome of the paralysis. Boxcars and success frees them instantly; botches remove all the previous work and add the amount rolled below 0 or the amount rolled below your Fu (in the case of boxcars) to boot.
Long-term paralysis can be fixed instantly with Flow Restoration. Given a few minutes, it can also be treated with a bit of massage of the vital points (roll Healing against difficulty 6).
| Effect | Extra Shots |
Noncombat Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Block a person’s ability to speak (blocks spellcasting) | ×3 | 6 |
| Paralyze a hand or foot (–2 to attack AV with off hand) | ×3 | 6 |
| Block a person’s ability to hear | ×2.5 | 8 |
| Paralyze a limb (–2 to attack AV with off hand, –1 defensive AV) | ×2 | 10 |
| Block a person’s ability to see (–4 to AV unless they have blind fighting abilities; Dark’s Soft Whisper does not negate this) | ×1.5 | 12 |
| Paralyze a person’s body | ×1 | 14 |
Requires Point Blockage. Allows Point Blockage with thrown objects— coins, chopsticks, dice, etc. 5 chi, 3 shots.
Requires Flying Tiger Claw. Chi cost X, shot cost X, roll Martial Arts and get your paralysis effect on X unnamed opponents as you scatter coins, playing cards, etc. (If you have Symphony of Slaughter, reduce the shot cost by 1 or 2 for the first 2 schticks, and reduce the Outcome required to take out the mooks to 4 or 3 for the next two.)