Chi (FiD)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page

Chi embodies the inner power of living creatures, which can be channeled through disciplined practice. It focuses on self-improvement, the manipulation of inner energy, and harmony with your surroundings.

A Chi-user strives to transcend worldly concerns and become a paragon of integrity, embodying principles like compassion, courage, justice, autonomy, awakening, and ultimately ascension. Through rigorous training, they learn to harmonize their body, mind, and spirit, using their inner energy to achieve physical and spiritual feats. They believe that mastery of Chi comes not just from strength, but from understanding one’s place in the natural and social order. This all sounds very nice, but some find that their path to ascension requires sacrifice, not just from themselves but from the entire world.

Chi-users and Ninja are opposite sides of the same coin, with Chi embodying the Yang to the Ninja's Yin. Both traditions emphasize self-mastery but differ greatly in their philosophies and codes of honor. Chi exemplifies ideals, acting openly within society with integrity and clarity, while Ninja conceal their intentions, embracing subtlety and inner harmony.

Touchstones: Wang Chi (Big Trouble in Little China, 1986), Wong Fei-hung (Once Upon a Time in China, 1991), Li Mu Bai (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000), Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender, 2005–2008).

Trauma Condition — Personal Harmony

Chi is the vital life energy that flows through all living beings, mastered by only a select few through discipline and practice. To utilize chi effectively, one must maintain inner harmony and freedom of movement.

• Powers that affect only you or creatures you touch, including enemies you attack with your bare body, gain improved position. Opponent Chi users instead suffer less effect.
• Powers used while carrying a medium or heavy load and powers used at a distance longer than five times your tier in meters (touch at tier zero) have reduced effect.

Yes, this reduces effect between martial artists in combat — they can fight each other all day.

Special Abilities

Armed Might (Harmony of the Forge)

A melee weapon attack channels your chi through the weapon, as though you touched the target directly. You do not suffer reduced effect when wearing a medium or heavy load. This improves Trauma Condition — Personal Harmony.

Challenge (Heaven’s Mandate)

When you issue a challenge to combat, there is a lull in the action. Select one: conversation is possible — there is a pause while you duel — everyone else has time to run away.

Chi Healing (Breath of Life)

Through disciplined training, you recover from harm faster. Permanently fill two segments of your healing clock. You can spend 2 Stress to instantly make a healing roll using an Attribute of your choice.

Hidden Lesson (Echo of the Master)

Spend 1 Stress to draw on your teachings to gain Assistance (+1d) in a flashback. Make a Gather Information roll as part of this flashback.

Limit Break (Transcendent Body)

Push yourself or accept a Devil's Bargain to improve an action: a physical feat transcends human limits — fight a gang at scale (p 211) without penalty — an unarmed attack bypasses abilities that reduce harm.

Mastery (Awakening)

When you Push yourself for +1d (instead of +effect) and use an Action with at least 1 dot, clear 1 Stress.

Presence (The Stone Stands)

Push a Resolve action to add one of these to a successful action: crew can use your Resolve to Resist in this scene — command temporary silence — an ally recovers 1 Stress.

Additional Playbook

Select another playbook. You gain immediate access to its Inventory and XP conditions. From now on, you can choose its Special Abilities. You can take this special ability multiple times, each time selecting a new playbook. Prerequisite: To select a playbook, you need an action rating of one in each of its starting actions.

Powers

You can learn these powers, expending a Special Ability for each.

Abyss, Air, Animal, Barrier, Darkness, Death, Earth, Electricity, Fire, Ice, Flux, Illusion, Kinesis, Life, Light, Metal, Mind, Order, Plant, Space, Time, and Water.

Challengers

˄ ˅ Daiyu, a martial artist.

˄ ˅ Jian, the wandering healer.

˄ ˅ Kazuo, the shadow.

˄ ˅ Lin, the flowing chi.

˄ ˅ Yun Wei, heir to power.

Inventory

☐ or ☐☐ Potent melee weapon.

◯ Medicine Bag.

☐ Light Camping Gear.

☐ Scroll.

• Potent Weapon ☐ or ☐☐: A Peach wood sword or other spiritual weapon imbued with spiritual energy, potent against the supernatural. Certain creatures take less or even no damage from mundane weapons. This can be either a hand ☐ or heavy ☐☐ melee weapon.
• Light Camping Gear ☐ Personalized bedroll, cooking pot, tarpaulin, fishing line, snares. Allows one downtime action when roughing it. No effective rest without camp gear. Playbook
• Medicine Bag ◯: A bag of medicinal herbs, giving +1d on healing rolls to anyone you use it on. Playbook.
• Scroll ☐: A scroll showing a secret martial arts technique. Allows a single use of a power available to your playbook but not known to you. Consumable, Playbook.

XP

• Every time you roll a desperate action, mark xp in that action's attribute.

At the end of each session, for each item below, mark 1 xp (in your playbook or an attribute) or 2 xp if that item occurred multiple times.

• You addressed a challenge with prowess or harmony.
• You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
• You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.

Starting Actions

Prowl 1

Skirmish 2

4 points by choice, no higher than 2 in any one.