TEXT: An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS
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  STEVE JACKSON GAMES
  Stock #37-1654
  Version 1.0 – November 2013
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  Written by WILLIAM H. STODDARD
  Edited by JASON “PK” LEVINE
  Illustrated by TOPPER HELMERS and NIKOLA VRTIS
  Additional Material by JASON “PK” LEVINE and SEAN PUNCH
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  CHINESE
  ELEMENTAL POWERS
  TM
  
   INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
  About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  Publication History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  Recommended Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
  1. THE CYCLES OF THE ELEMENTS. . . . . . . 5
  FIVE ELEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  CHI . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  Thinking in Fives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
  A Note on Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  YIN AND YANG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  ELEMENTAL INTERACTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
  Water Nourishes Wood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Elements and Trigrams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  Water Quenches Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
  2. FUNDAMENTALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
  DEFINING POWERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
  Power Talent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
  Power Perks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
  Abilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
  Power Modifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
  Alternative Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
  USING POWERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Learning Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Detecting Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Activating Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Powers, Defense, and Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
  Extra Effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
  Crippled Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
  Abilities and Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
  3. CHARACTER TRAITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  ADVANTAGES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
  Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
  MODIFIERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
  DISADVANTAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
  SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
  Cinematic Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
  TECHNIQUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
  4. ELEMENTAL ABILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  Basic Ability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  Overlapping Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  WOOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  Internal Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
  External Wood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
  Wood Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
  FIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  Internal Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
  External Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  Fire Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
  EARTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  Internal Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
  External Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  Earth Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
  METAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  Internal Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
  External Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  Metal Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
  WATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
  Internal Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
  External Water. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
  Water Perks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
  ADVANCED ABILITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
  5. CAMPAIGNS AND CROSSOVERS . . . . . . . 34
  SETTINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  Historical China. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  Recent China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
  Overseas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  Future Chinese Communities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  Encountering Other Traditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
  Alternate Histories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
  Chi in Outer Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
  Fantasy Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
  THEMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
  Teachers and Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
  Professionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
  Wu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
  Special Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
  Imperial Advisors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
  CROSSOVERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
  Low-Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
  Martial Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
  Supers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
  Powers and Elixirs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
  APPENDIX: WANG LAOWU. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
  INDEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
  CONTENTS
  2
  CONTENTS
  My friend from Asia
  has powers and magic.
  – Robinson Jeffers,
  Credo
  
  “Where are you bound, foreigner?”
  Father Ismael wasn’t sure for a moment where the call came
  from; the Yangtze was loud, echoing off the banks of the gorge,
  and his head had been bowed in prayer. After a moment, he made
  out a man in a sort of skiff, out on the turbulent water, holding
  a long pole in both hands.
  “I go to Yiling, old sir,” Ismael said. “This is the road there, yes?”
  “Yiling is downstream, but not much of a road.
  You’d do better riding with me.” The boatman
  poled toward the near bank as he spoke.
  The water looked alarmingly rough, but
  Ismael could see the boatman’s wrinkles; he
  must have been on the river a long time. Ismael
  descended the bank to climb into the boat. “If
  Heaven sends aid, man should trust in it,” he
  said. “How should one call you, old sir?”
  “I am Wang! And what do they call you?”
  The Chinese found “Ismael Branco” unpro-
  nounceable, so the priest gave his usual answer:
  “Call me Yu, if you would.” The name meant “pil-
  grim,” which he thought fitting.
  The banks grew steep as they descended the
  river, and Ismael thought he had made the right
  choice. Then he saw the rocks and white water,
  and wasn’t so sure. As two boulders loomed over
  them, Wang said, “Well, pilgrim, now it gets
  lively. Sit down and hold on!”
  The little boat slipped between the rocks, and
  then was swept ahead by turbulent water, faster
  than a man could run. Wang stood in its prow.
  From time to time he shoved them away from a
  rock with his pole, but mostly he seemed to do
  nothing . . . yet no wave overturned them, no
  snag caught them, no hidden rock smashed their
  hull, despite the river’s roughness.
  Then Wang leaned far out, so far Ismael
  thought he would fall. He stood up, in a crouch,
  hoping to save the old man – and himself, for he
  couldn’t navigate these waters – and the boat’s balance shifted
  and he was in the river. The current dragged him under, and he
  tried to make peace with God in his last thought.
  A hand gripped his robes and pulled him back to the surface.
  He gasped for air, and realized that Wang’s head was next to his,
  but the skiff was yards away. Then Wang’s arms held him. Ismail
  had thought himself a decent swimmer, back in Oporto, but
  Wang swam like one of the seals in the harbor, dragging him back
  to the side of the boat. The words of the Eighteenth Psalm came
  into Ismael’s mind: “He drew me out of deep waters.”
  What had he found here, he wondered: a holy man, a pagan
  spirit of nature, or perhaps his guardian angel?
  The diverse magical arts in GURPS Thaumatology grow
  out of three roots: mana-based magic, Path and Book magic,
  and powers. Mana-based magic has 24 colleges worth of spells,
  defined in GURPS Magic, and GURPS Thaumatology offers
  11 Paths and three Books of rituals for Path and Book magic –
  but provides only brief sketches of powers as magic. GURPS
  Powers discusses powers in depth, but does so at a very gen-
  eral level: powers as magic and powers in fantasy are just a few
  of its many options. GURPS Thaumatology: Chinese
  Elemental Powers fills out the middle ground, as a worked
  example of using powers to represent magical arts.
  The elements of earth, water, air, and fire have played a big
  part in European thought, going back to ancient Greece.
  GURPS Magic reflects this idea, with its Air, Earth, Fire, and
  Water colleges. But the Chinese have a different list, developed
  by Taoist natural philosophy. The idea of “magic as power” fits
  the Chinese view of nature, in which each element has the
  power to create or restrict other elements.
  The other side of this is “power as magic”: the Chinese ele-
  ments are treated not as a generic power source that allows
  free invention of abilities, but as the basis of an art compara-
  ble to a college of spells or a ritual Path. Each element has its
  own predesigned abilities, which define the particular things
  that element can do. And rather than having multiple power
  levels, each ability is “powered up” by extra effort, aided by a
  unique Focus technique. Thus, just as a mage can specialize in
  a few spells, a Chinese elementalist can specialize in Focus to
  improve a few abilities.
   INTRODUCTION
  INTRODUCTION
  3
  
  These new rules can be added onto a cinematic martial-arts
  campaign as a source of high-end abilities for Chinese martial
  artists, comparable to but distinct from the cinematic skills in
  the GURPS Basic Set. They can be used in creating Chinese
  magic workers, for a historical fantasy campaign or a “hidden
  magic” campaign set in the modern world. They can be the
  abilities of Chinese or Chinese-descended supers, paralleling
  the “elemental” abilities of some Western-based supers. Or
  they can provide a prototype for a different treatment of magic
  reflecting some other view of the elements, whether taken from
  another culture or newly invented.
  PUBLICATION HISTORY
  The Chinese view of the elements was previously set
  forth in GURPS China (a GURPS Third Edition book).
  Information on Chinese medicine can be found in
  GURPS Low-Tech. The game mechanics in this work
  derive largely from GURPS Martial Arts, GURPS
  Powers, and GURPS Thaumatology. Some traits and
  modifiers from GURPS Powers are repeated here and
  used to build elemental abilities. The descriptions of pow-
  ers follow the format in GURPS Psionic Powers. All of
  these books were inspirational, but the main content of
  Chinese Elemental Powers is original, and not taken
  from any previous source.
  RECOMMENDED BOOKS
  Only the GURPS Basic Set is required to use Chinese
  Elemental Powers. However, some parts of this work ref-
  erence the magical systems of GURPS Thaumatology,
  the styles and cinematic skills of GURPS Martial Arts,
  the various realistic rules of GURPS Low-Tech, and the
  special traits and modifiers from GURPS Powers; read-
  ers will find all these books useful (but not mandatory).
  ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  William H. Stoddard began playing roleplaying games
  in 1975, and published his first book, GURPS
  Steampunk, in 2000. His interest in other cultures goes
  back to his reading Rudyard Kipling’s Indian stories in
  his childhood, and has inspired campaigns with settings
  from the late Roman Empire and the Near East during
  the First Crusade to Hong Kong just after the Chinese
  accession. This gives him an excuse for his other favorite
  recreation, doing research! He lives in San Diego, in an
  apartment that holds far too many books.
  INTRODUCTION
  4
  About GURPS
  Steve Jackson Games is committed to full support of
  GURPS players. Our address is SJ Games, P.O. Box 18957,
  Austin, TX 78760. Please include a self-addressed, stamped
  envelope (SASE) any time you write us! We can also be
  reached by email: info@sjgames.com. Resources include:
  New supplements and adventures. GURPS continues to
  grow – see what’s new at gurps.sjgames.com.
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  azine includes new rules and articles for GURPS, systemless
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  issue from e23!
  Internet.
  Visit us on the World Wide Web at
  www.sjgames.com for errata, updates, Q&A, and much
  more. To discuss GURPS with our staff and your fellow
  gamers, visit our forums at forums.sjgames.com. The web
  page for GURPS Thaumatology: Chinese Elemental Powers is
  gurps.sjgames.com/chineseelementalpowers.
  Bibliographies. Many of our books have extensive bibliogra-
  phies, and we’re putting them online – with links to let you buy
  the resources that interest you! Go to each book’s web page and
  look for the “Bibliography” link.
  Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, including us – but we do
  our best to fix our errors. Up-to-date errata pages for all
  GURPS releases, including this book, are available on our
  website – see above.
  Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for the
  GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition. Page references that begin
  with B refer to that book, not this one.
  The true man of old . . . could climb mountains
  without fear, enter water without getting wet, and 
  pass through fire unscathed. This is the knowledge
  that leads to Tao.
  – Zhuang Zi
  
  THE CYCLES OF THE ELEMENTS
  5
  The ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles (490-430
  B.C.), in his poem On Nature, claimed that the world was
  made up of four basic substances or “roots.” Nearly a century
  later, Plato (424-348 B.C.) gave them the name “elements”
  (stoicheia). This concept survived for 2,000 years in Western
  natural philosophy, influenced early chemists, and is pre-
  served in many systems of magic. Among other things, it
  inspired the idea of elemental spirits, created by the Renais-
  sance scientist/sorcerer Paracelsus.
  Other cultures had their own ideas on the subject. The
  Indian system adds a fifth element, void/ether, to the European
  list, and the Japanese largely follow the Indian view. Early Chi-
  nese thinkers developed a different theory of five basic ele-
  ments that made up the natural world. Their ideas shaped their
  practice of chemistry and medicine, and gave rise to their own
  schools of alchemy and magic. These pursuits promised to
  grant extraordinary powers, whether through internal self-dis-
  cipline (neidan) or by taking elixirs (waidan).
  CHAPTER ONE
  THE CYCLES OF
  THE ELEMENTS
  What the Chinese meant by “element” (xing, pronounced
  roughly “sheeng”) was not an indestructible basic substance,
  but a phase that matter passed through. The five xing form a
  recurring cycle of transformations. They don’t fall into pairs of
  opposites, like fire/water and earth/air in Greek thought. Each
  element opposes or limits one of the others, but that element
  opposes or limits still another element, forming a second cycle.
  See Elemental Interactions (pp. 6-7) for details.
  Fire (huo) includes flame, but also anything burning (such
  as coals) or intensely hot (such as lava).
  Wood (mu) includes both dead wood and living vegetation.
  Earth (tu) includes solid stone, rocks and gravel, and vari-
  ous forms of soil.
  Metal (jin) is not subsumed under earth, but treated as a
  separate category.
  Water (shui) has the same meaning as in Western natural
  philosophy.
  The five xing are linked to various other categories in
  Chinese culture (see Thinking in Fives, below, for a chart).
  FIVE ELEMENTS
  Most of the Greek stoicheia are represented within the
  Chinese xing: fire remains fire, water remains water, and earth
  correlates to both earth and metal. But what happened to air?
  Which Chinese element represents this Western one?
  Surprisingly, none of them! Chinese thought doesn’t con-
  sider air to be a phase of matter. It equates air to qi (or
  “chi,” the older transliteration), the force or principle 
  that flows through all of the elements and animates them.
  CHI
  Thinking in Fives
  Element
  Direction
  Season
  Color
  Taste
  Emotion
  Organs
  Sense
  Life Cycle
  Planet
  Wood
  East
  Spring
  Green
  Sour
  Anger
  Liver, gall bladder
  Sight
  Birth
  Jupiter
  Fire
  South
  Summer
  Red
  Bitter
  Joy
  Heart, small intestine
  Speech
  Youth
  Mars
  Earth
  Middle
  Changes
  Yellow
  Sweet
  Love
  Spleen, stomach
  Taste
  Adulthood
  Saturn
  Metal
  West
  Fall
  White
  Pungent
  Grief
  Lung, large intestine
  Smell
  Old age
  Venus
  Water
  North
  Winter
  Black
  Salty
  Fear
  Kidney, bladder
  Hearing
  Death
  Mercury
  
  Like many human cultures, the Chinese originally
  thought of air, breath, and spirit as the same thing,
  which they regarded as the source of life. The earliest
  way of writing qi was as three wavy lines, representing
  breath on a cold day.
  In Chinese thought, qi took on less material
  aspects, as “spirit” did in Western thinking. But there
  was never a sharp dividing line between material and
  immaterial. Qi could be the wind moving above the
  earth, the breath of a living creature, the energy that
  transformed one element into another, or the vitality
  of the human body.
  GURPS defines chi primarily as internal vital
  energy, as covered in GURPS Powers and GURPS
  Martial Arts. However, it retains some association
  with air and breath. For example, some of the styles in
  GURPS Martial Arts include Breath Control: Hung
  Gar Kung Fu, Goju Ryu, Kempo, and T’ai Chi Chuan.
  THE CYCLES OF THE ELEMENTS
  6
  Underlying elemental transformations in Chinese thought
  is a basic polarity: yin and yang. Wood and fire are
  classified as lesser and greater yang, metal and
  water as lesser and greater yin. Earth is con-
  sidered neutral.
  Yin and yang are linked with other
  paired concepts: earth and heaven, dark-
  ness and light, cold and heat, wetness
  and dryness, female and male, below
  and above. In relation to the human
  body, yin is the interior of the body or
  each part of it, and yang is the exterior.
  This is related to the distinction between
  internal and external styles in martial arts.
  Traditional Chinese medicine (Esoteric
  Medicine, p. 19) regards many diseases as
  disturbed physiological states in which yin and
  yang are out of balance (see Extra Effort and
  Crippled Abilities, p. 12); treatment aims to restore the balance
  by various methods. Foods are classed as yin or yang,
  and patients may be advised to eat foods with the
  quality they lack, and avoid foods with the
  quality they have in excess.
  Yin and yang are not evil and good.
  Trying to have yang without yin would be
  like trying to have a right side and no left
  side. Taoism emphasizes the virtues of
  balance and harmony. The person
  whose yin and yang are out of balance
  is not only medically but emotionally
  and morally disturbed. Inner balance is
  represented by the taiji symbol: a circle
  divided into complementary light and
  dark shapes, with a dot of the other color in
  the middle of each. Only the entire circle, rep-
  resenting dao, the way of nature, is complete.
  YIN AND YANG
  The primary relationship among the elements involves one
  element creating or nourishing another. This forms a cycle, the
  “generating” or “mother” cycle. The sequence is as follows (see
  the diagram on p. 7):
  Earth contains metals, and veins of ore that can be smelted
  into metals.
  Metal forms water by condensation.
  Water nourishes trees that form wood.
  Wood fuels fire.
  Fire leaves behind ash, which is considered a form of earth.
  If this cycle is applied backward, the child has some form of
  power over its mother: Metal tools move earth, water corrodes
  metal (or metal sinks in water), wood floats on water (or vege-
  tation dams water), fire consumes wood, and earth covers fire.
  The pairs of elements that aren’t directly linked within the
  generating cycle are involved in a second set of relationships in
  which one element limits or restrains another: the “overcoming”
  or “father” cycle. The sequence is as follows (see the diagram):
  Earth can absorb water.
  Water quenches fire.
  Fire is able to melt or warp metal.
  Metal shaped into axes and saws can cut wood.
  Wood covers earth and binds it with its roots or wooden
  spades turn over soil.
  ELEMENTAL INTERACTIONS
  A Note on Language
  Chinese has been written in the Roman alphabet following
  several different approaches: Wade-Giles, pinyin, less widely
  known schemes such as Yale romanization, and improvised
  spellings such as “woo” for wu. Pinyin is used in most recent
  books, and this work follows it. For example, the founder of the
  Qin (or Ch’in) Dynasty is referred to as Qin Shi Huangdi.
  But established GURPS terminology refers to “chi” rather
  than qi, following common usage in older English works. For
  consistency, this supplement retains the spelling “chi” when
  referring to the power modifier (p. 9) or other parts of the
  GURPS system, such as chi-based cinematic skills. The long-
  established name “Taoism” will be used for the religion and phi-
  losophy, for similar reasons. The spellings qi and dao are used to
  discuss concepts in the Chinese linguistic and cultural context.
  
  These relationships are used in defining powers
  based on the five elements, creating a complex, struc-
  tured system in which each element generates another
  (as its “mother”), and can be countered by the effects of
  two other elements (its “child” and “father”). Most of
  the interactions can be represented by existing GURPS
  rules, but some require new mechanics.
  WATER
  NOURISHES WOOD
  Plants, like humans and other animals, need water,
  and suffer from not getting enough. Short-lived plants
  such as grasses die out when short of water; long-lived
  plants such as trees become dormant, surviving on
  internally stored water. Plants adapted to different cli-
  mates need different amounts of water.
  As a rule of thumb, short grasses need five quarts
  of water per square yard per day during the growing
  season. Each 10% shortfall reduces yield by 25%.
  Plants are not subject to fatigue, but if water is short
  enough to reduce yield by 100%, each day without
  water requires a HT roll. A short-lived plant that fails
  this roll dies; a long-lived one sheds its leaves, flowers,
  and fruit and becomes dormant.
  Water requirements may be lowered for desert plants,
  raised for some woodland plants, and raised substantially for
  jungle or swamp plants. Most plants have HT 10, but delicate
  plants (such as orchids) that require stable environments may
  have HT as low as 8, while hardy plants that tolerate climate
  fluctuations may have HT up to 12.
  WATER
  QUENCHES FIRE
  Water puts out fires both by turning into
  steam that mixes with the air, so that the oxy-
  gen level is too low to sustain combustion,
  and by absorbing heat from surfaces, making
  them less likely to catch fire. Quenching a
  fire with water can be represented by a vari-
  ant of the rules for making things burn
  (p. B433). There are three levels of water
  exposure, each represented as a point value:
  Droplets (from light rain or a sprinkler): 
  1 point.
  Spray (from a bucket, a fire hose, or pour-
  ing rain): 3 points.
  Immersion (in a flood): 10 points.
  For water-based Innate Attacks, use the
  rolled damage as the point value. For abilities
  with defensive effects, treat the DR vs. burning
  attacks as the point value. Once this value is
  known, compare it to the fire’s rolled damage:
  Rolled fire damage is less than water value:
  Fire goes out immediately.
  Rolled fire damage is less than 3×(water
  value): Fire goes out after 10 seconds.
  Rolled fire damage is less than 10×(water
  value): Fire goes out after two minutes.
  Rolled fire damage is 10×(water value) or
  more: Fire does not go out.
  THE CYCLES OF THE ELEMENTS
  7
  Elements and Trigrams
  Another set of categories in Chinese thought is the eight trigrams
  (bagua) on which the I Ching is based. These are made up of broken or yin
  lines and unbroken or yang lines, in eight possible combinations. (This
  idea, brought back to Europe by Jesuit missionaries, inspired the mathe-
  matician Leibniz to invent binary arithmetic!) The trigrams are called
  heaven, lake, fire, thunder, wind, water, mountain, and earth. The 64
  ordered pairs of trigrams make up the hexagrams of the I Ching.
  Taoist thought links the fire and water trigrams with their respective
  elements. Each other element corresponds to two trigrams: wood to wind
  and thunder, earth to earth
  and mountain, and metal
  to heaven and lake. Notice
  that the yin and yang asso-
  ciations are different! Fire
  is greater yang, and water
  is greater yin, but their tri-
  grams have mixed yang
  and yin lines. Three yang
  lines form the trigram
  heaven, which is assigned
  to the lesser yin element
  metal; three yin lines form
  the trigram earth, which is
  assigned to the neutral ele-
  ment earth. Most of the
  powers in this work are
  not based on the trigrams.
  Water
  quenches
  Fire
  Fire melts
  Metal
  Metal cuts
  down
  Wood
  Wood
  covers
  Earth
  Earth
  absorbs
  Water
  Water nourishes
  Wood
  Fire burns
  down to ash
  Earth 
  refines
  into Metal
  Metal 
  condenses
  Water
  Wood 
  fuels
  Fire
  
  Mastery of the Chinese elements is an example of magic 
  as a power, or a set of powers, as discussed in GURPS
  Thaumatology. It’s not identical to the elemental command
  power found in that supplement, because it both embodies 
  different views of the elements (The Cycles of the Elements, pp. 5-
  7) and has a different source of power. But this entire supple-
  ment is an extended example of “magic as power.” Thus, the
  general rules for powers apply to the powers it presents.
  FUNDAMENTALS
  8
  The definition of powers follows the pattern of psionics
  (pp. B254-257), as elaborated upon in GURPS Powers.
  A Chinese elemental power is defined by three things:
  • A Talent that gives a bonus to rolls to activate or use the
  power.
  • A list of abilities that benefit from the Talent, based on
  modified advantages.
  • A power modifier that affects the cost of these abilities,
  and makes their use subject to special conditions.
  POWER TALENT
  Just as a mundane Talent aids skills, a power Talent adds to
  all rolls to use abilities of a given power. For example, the inter-
  nal water ability Dragon Swiftness (p. 30) grants enhanced
  speed in water, so Chinese Water Talent gives a bonus to
  Swimming and Aquabatics rolls used with Dragon Swiftness.
  The GM is free to interpret Talent creatively for abilities that
  don’t normally require a die roll.
  Unlike mundane Talents, power Talents have no effect on
  reaction rolls.
  A power Talent “keeps the door open” for gaining new abil-
  ities belonging to the power. See Learning Abilities (p. 10).
  Earned character points can be spent freely to add levels of
  a power Talent. No character can have more than four levels of
  a power Talent without special permission from the GM.
  Most Talents cost 5 points per level; this includes Chinese
  Earth, Fire, Metal, Water, and Wood Talents. A Talent with
  unusually wide applications costs 10 points per level, compara-
  ble to the cost of standard Magery; Chinese Elemental Talent,
  applying to all five elements, is such a Talent. See Talent (p. 16)
  for a summary.
  ABILITIES
  Each power grants access to a variety of abilities. Two
  practitioners with the same basic power may have entirely
  different sets of abilities! Chapter 4 defines abilities for all
  five powers.
  The abilities for Chinese elemental powers are divided into
  two subgroups: internal and external. Internal abilities adjust the
  flow of chi within the body to affect its functioning or physical
  state, or to manifest the qualities of the element at its surface.
  External abilities control the flow of chi through the natural
  environment or the behavior of the element outside the body.
  Any Chinese elemental power can be limited to
  only internal or only external abilities. This doesn’t
  modify the cost of the abilities themselves. However,
  it modifies the cost of the Talent:
  External: Your power Talent enhances only your
  use of external abilities. -40%.
  Internal: Your power Talent enhances only your use
  of internal abilities. -40%.
  All abilities were created using the advantages and
  modifiers in the Basic Set and GURPS Powers (plus
  a few more defined on pp. 17-18). The GM may cre-
  ate additional abilities using these same traits, per-
  haps as “secret disciplines”; learning such secrets
  may be the focus of a scenario or a campaign (see
  Teachers and Students, p. 37). He may even allow
  players to create them, if they want to undertake
  more complex character design. Make sure to verify
  that each ability has the appropriate power modi-
  fier(s) and that its cost is correct.
  DEFINING POWERS
  CHAPTER TWO
  FUNDAMENTALS
  Power Perks
  Each power has associated perks – minor abilities that make
  use of the element in some way. These don’t have explicitly stated
  enhancements or limitations, but they have chi as a source (Chi,
  p. 9), with the attendant requirements and difficulties. In compen-
  sation, they may be slightly more useful than other comparable
  perks, and their use benefits from the power Talent. The GM may
  adjudicate whether a given perk counts as internal or external, if
  necessary.
  The † symbol means a perk is available in multiple specialties;
  you must specialize. The ‡ symbol means the perk is leveled, with
  a cost of 1 point/level; you may take one level for each level of
  your power Talent.
  
  Internal Abilities
  Adapt: Most powers provide the ability to adapt the
  body to their own element.
  Attack Foes: Most powers provide an ability that can
  injure or afflict humans and animals.
  Attack or Control Other Element: Every power allows the
  practitioner’s body to restrain or damage the next element
  in the “overcoming” cycle (Elemental Interactions, pp. 6-7).
  Create or Nourish Other Element: Every power allows
  the practitioner’s body to produce or aid the growth of the
  next element in the “generating” cycle (Elemental
  Interactions, pp. 6-7).
  Impairment: Every power allows use of inner chi to
  disrupt another person’s vital functions. This is based on
  the power of one’s own element to control or limit
  another element and the organs associated with it
  (Thinking in Fives, p. 5).
  Lifting: Most powers can increase lifting strength.
  Movement: Most powers grant enhanced ability to
  move – or resist moving.
  Resist Attacks: Most powers provide some form of
  armor or other protection against attacks.
  External Abilities
  Command Own Element: All powers allow control of
  their own element if this is present in the environment.
  Neutralize Other Power: Each element can restrict the
  use of one other element by an adversary.
  Obscure: Some powers provide a way to use their ele-
  ment to hinder others’ perception.
  Ranged Attack: All powers provide some way to attack a
  distant foe.
  Sense Own Element: All powers can detect and analyze
  their own element if this is present in the environment.
  Storm: All powers can create a sudden convulsion of
  nature. Every Storm of (Element) ability has the
  Elemental Storm meta-enhancement (p. 17) and Extended
  Duration ¥3 (increasing duration to 30 seconds).
  POWER MODIFIER
  Each ability has one or more modifiers based on its source.
  These modifiers define ways in which use of the ability is
  restricted or hindered (or augmented) in comparison to the
  advantages it’s based on.
  All Chinese elemental abilities must take the Chi modifier.
  Most external abilities also add the Elemental modifier (for a
  net -20%), as they can be countered. The various Knowing
  Hidden (Element) abilities are an example of external abilities
  that lack Elemental, as they cannot be blocked by mundane or
  supernatural countermeasures.
  Chi
  -10%
  Your power emanates from the vital energy of your body.
  To be able to use that energy in performing superhuman feats,
  you must spend a few hours each day engaging in exercises
  and meditation. This requires Meditation skill (p. 20). The
  requirement for meditation and exercise is a -10-point disad-
  vantage, which may be Disciplines of Faith (Monasticism or
  Mysticism), an appropriate Vow, or a combination of Disci-
  plines of Faith (Contemplation) (p. 18) with either a lesser
  Vow (such as Three Treasures, p. 18) or Pacifism (Reluctant
  Killer). If you neglect this, your power fails the first time you
  call on it under stress, leaving you mildly ill; treat this as one
  of coughing/sneezing, drowsy, nauseated, or moderate pain
  (all p. B428), as the GM determines. You need 1d days of con-
  tinued meditation to restore your inner balance.
  Elemental
  -10%
  Your power works with one of the five elements that is pres-
  ent in the immediate environment. It’s subject to being blocked
  by mundane conditions that resist that element, and to mun-
  dane countermeasures against it. These include, but are not
  confined to, the effects of its limiting (“father”) element and of
  its “child” element (Elemental Interactions, pp. 6-7). For exam-
  ple, both water and earth limit fire by putting it out, so the use
  of water or earth is a countermeasure against most external
  fire powers. See Chapter 4 for details.
  FUNDAMENTALS
  9
  Alternative Modifiers
  Chinese elemental powers take Chi as a modifier because
  the Chinese elements are manifestations of chi. But there are
  other options, depending on the campaign assumptions.
  Whichever the GM takes, most external powers also have
  Elemental as a modifier.
  You should still roleplay the disciplines that maintain
  your powers, but you need not treat this as Disciplines of
  Faith or a Vow. The GM may allow you to take your medita-
  tive activities as a quirk.
  Magical
  -10%
  In a strongly fantasy-oriented campaign, the GM may
  have Chinese elemental powers depend on mana rather than
  chi, or decide that mana and chi are different names for the
  same thing. If so, your powers depend on mana: Rolls to use
  your abilities are at -5 in low-mana areas and don’t work at
  all in no-mana areas, the Mana Damper advantage simulates
  the effects of low or no mana, and Magic Resistance protects
  others from your attacks. In addition, spells that dispel or
  protect against magic are effective against your powers. This
  is the same as the Mana Sensitive limitation (p. B34).
  Super
  -10%
  In a supers campaign – especially a classic “four-color”
  one – control over the Chinese elements may be just one
  more set of generic superpowers, as control over the Greek
  elements sometimes is. Your powers can be affected by
  Neutralize and Static (see GURPS Powers for details), and
  gadgeteers can create weird-science devices to block or
  even steal them. For example, some feng shui practitioners
  believe that electromagnetic devices distort qi, so electro-
  magnetic disruption of chi powers might be workable.
  
  Defining Chinese elemental magic as a set of powers
  makes some optional rules from GURPS Powers applicable
  to it. The rules provided here define the game mechanics for
  elemental magic.
  LEARNING ABILITIES
  There are several paths to power over an element, or all the
  elements.
  If you have at least one level of Talent for an elemental
  power, you can acquire new abilities of that power by study. A
  character with no abilities can have a level of Talent as a
  “placeholder” for the potential to gain them, much as Magery
  (p. B66) indicates the potential for learning spells in mana-
  based magic. At the GM’s option, each 200 hours of study may
  earn 1 point toward the cost of the studied ability, or the stu-
  dent may spend points earned through adventure toward a
  designated ability, with no set time requirement – or both.
  Each level of Talent then reduces this study requirement by
  10%, to a minimum of 60% (120 hours/point) for Talent 4.
  Talent does not alter the point cost of an ability.
  To improve an ability you already have, as opposed to gain-
  ing a new ability, study the Focus technique (p. 20) for that
  ability. This does not require Talent, but benefits from it in
  reduced study time.
  If you have an ability but no Talent, you cannot gain new
  abilities except through repetition of whatever accident,
  enchantment, or miracle gave you the first one. (This is a delib-
  erate restriction in comparison to the more generous rules in
  GURPS Powers.) However, you can spend study time or
  points from experience on acquiring the Talent, which will
  then open the door to a wider range of abilities. Study time for
  Talent does not benefit from any Talent you may already have!
  In a martial-arts-themed campaign, elemental abilities may
  represent secret advanced training in a martial art. Trained by
  a Master can substitute for Talent in allowing acquisition of
  elemental abilities – but only the abilities that the style teaches.
  Conversely, Talent may grant access to select cinematic skills
  (see p. 19) without the need for Trained by a Master.
  If you have Wild Talent with Retention and Wild Ability
  (p. 16), you may work to master new abilities manifested
  through your Wild Talent. If you have enough character points
  to purchase the ability immediately, you may do so. If not, you
  may begin working to acquire the additional points. If no
  teacher with the ability is available, the time to add a point
  through study is doubled.
  If you were granted an ability through alchemical elixirs
  (p. 39), experimental medical procedures, or other external
  methods, the same methods may grant you new abilities. Having
  power Talent doesn’t help with this, but if you gain new abilities
  of the same power, its Talent applies once you have them.
  DETECTING POWERS
  As a rule, external abilities have obvious effects: Ordinary
  human senses can notice their use. If the elementalist is
  making an effort to use a power inconspicuously, noticing its
  use requires a Sense roll. This involves using the external
  environment for concealment; the ability itself can’t be made
  any less conspicuous! External abilities whose only effect is to
  sense or perceive something (e.g., Knowing Hidden (Element),
  Inner Awareness, and Inner Discrimination) count as having
  subtle effects, as defined below.
  Internal abilities mostly have subtle effects; they cause
  changes inside the elementalist’s body. These cannot be per-
  ceived by ordinary human senses. At the GM’s option, scien-
  tific or medical scanners may react to them. However, if the
  elementalist uses his abilities to lift great weights, move
  quickly, withstand injury, or the like, observers are likely to fig-
  ure out that something is going on.
  Both external and internal abilities can be identified with
  Inner Awareness (p. 21), Inner Discrimination (p. 33), or other
  chi-attuned senses (usually based on Detect).
  ACTIVATING POWERS
  Exercising chi-based elemental powers is a conscious
  choice. No elemental abilities are always on; they are always
  switchable or transient (see GURPS Powers). The switchable
  ones require a Concentrate maneuver to activate; once acti-
  vated, they remain active until the user chooses to deactivate
  them, or loses consciousness. Transient abilities also require a
  Concentrate maneuver, but may be used to attack (for exam-
  ple) in the same turn.
  The requirement for the user to be conscious is inherent in
  many mental abilities, including active sensory abilities such
  as Detect. For physical abilities, including passive sensory abil-
  ities, the need for an initial Concentrate and the failure of the
  ability on loss of consciousness together count as Accessibility,
  While conscious (p. 17).
  If the underlying advantage is always on, and having it on is
  inconvenient in some way, Switchable is an enhancement. This
  applies, for example, to physiological traits such as Claws or
  Flight with wings, which are visible and conspicuous even
  when not in use. If there is no drawback, being switchable is a
  0% special effect. This applies, for example, to Damage Resist-
  ance, which can be either always on or switchable for the same
  point cost. (However, Damage Resistance with Can’t Wear
  Armor is inconvenient, so making it Switchable is an enhance-
  ment.) See Switchable (pp. 17-18) for more.
  Using a switchable ability costs 1 FP/hour. This rate of fatigue
  does not count as a limitation (Costs Fatigue, p. 17), but it’s suf-
  ficient to force elementalists to rest regularly. A GM who prefers
  to have masters of the elements go lightly clad, protected by their
  powers or skills rather than armor, can apply increased fatigue
  costs based on encumbrance, as with hiking (see p. B426).
  POWERS, DEFENSE, 
  AND RESISTANCE
  Elemental powers provide various kinds of defense. Ordi-
  narily, these work automatically once the ability is activated.
  But some abilities can be used for active defense against
  attacks of certain kinds. Active defenses don’t require a Con-
  centrate maneuver.
  FUNDAMENTALS
  10
  USING POWERS
  
  Various elemental abilities allow one of Power Dodge,
  Power Parry, or Power Block (originally defined in GURPS
  Powers). Combat Reflexes and Enhanced Time Sense add
  their usual bonuses to these.
  Power Dodge
  Forest Walking (p. 22) can be used to evade an attack by
  retreating into dense vegetation, or to get out of sight in the
  same way. The roll (dropping fractions) is:
  Power Dodge = 3 + Basic Speed + Talent/2.
  Success protects you completely against most attacks. If
  the vegetation is screening you from the source of an impal-
  ing, piercing, or tight-beam burning attack, an attack that
  succeeds by 5 or more finds a gap in the vegetation and can-
  not be dodged.
  You may similarly Power Dodge to avoid being seen (assum-
  ing the observer hasn’t already seen you). Each observer requires
  a separate Power Dodge, at a cumulative -1 for each person
  already fooled; you choose the order in which to roll. Those
  unaffected do not automatically see you; they must win or tie a
  Quick Contest of their Perception (plus Vision modifiers) vs.
  your Stealth to do so. If they are actively looking for you, they
  may use Observation if better.
  Power Parry
  The following attacks can make a Power Parry, but only
  under two specific circumstances (below): Club Fist (pp. 21-
  22), Drowning Embrace (pp. 30-31), Flame Breath (p. 24),
  Glinting Edge (p. 28), Stream of Needles (p. 30), and Water
  Spear (p. 33). The roll is based on the skill used to attack with
  the ability (drop all fractions):
  Power Parry = 3 + (attack skill + Talent)/2.
  Standard Parry modifiers apply, with a few exceptions:
  There’s no penalty to parry a ranged attack; shield DB applies
  only if the attacking ability has the Blockable or Melee Attack
  limitation; and modifiers for bad footing, posture, and relative
  height apply only if the parrying ability has Melee Attack.
  The circumstances under which a Power Parry makes
  sense are:
  1. If the attacker uses the same elemental power as the
  defender, or the attack is a mundane one using the same element
  (for example, a fire-lance against a master of fire), the two can
  collide with each other. Roll damage for both normally. If the
  damage for the attack exceeds the damage for the defense, the
  excess damage takes effect; if it’s equal or less, neither combat-
  ant is hurt. The deflected attack damage lands in an adjacent
  hex and may injure its occupant; determine which hex as for
  Scatter (p. B414).
  2. If the defender’s elemental power limits or restrains the
  attacker’s element or the element used by a mundane weapon
  (see Elemental Interactions, pp. 6-7), the rolls are compared in
  the same way, but part or all of the attack is negated rather than
  deflected and does no harm to anyone. This doesn’t work in
  reverse! A fire mage’s Burning Spear could melt a metal mage’s
  Stream of Needles (spoiling its aerodynamics), but the metal
  mage couldn’t hinder the fire mage.
  Elemental mages who have multiple elements at their
  command may choose between different elements for attack-
  ing or parrying. It’s not obvious in advance which element a
  foe’s attack will use. Mages’ duels may turn into arcane ver-
  sions of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Critical success on analysis
  with Inner Awareness can reveal a foe’s intention before he
  acts; Inner Discrimination is too slow for combat use.
  Power Block
  Four forms of Power Block are available through elemental
  powers. They have the same roll (drop all fractions):
  Power Block = 3 + (Will + Talent)/2.
  1. If the defender’s ability provides DR vs. the same element
  as the attacker’s attack, or DR of the element that limits or
  restrains that element (see Elemental Interactions, pp. 6-7), a
  successful Power Block doubles the DR granted. This applies
  to Heat Endurance (p. 24), Iron Skull (p. 29), Resistance to Fire
  (p. 31), Skin of Bronze (p. 29), Skin of Earth (p. 26), and Skin
  of Oak (p. 22).
  2. If the defender’s ability grants a bonus to a resistance roll
  against some sort of attack ability (see Resisting Abilities,
  p. 12), a successful Power Block doubles the bonus. This
  applies to Immobility (p. 28).
  3. If the attack is an Affliction or Innate Attack and the
  defending ability is a form of Control or Obscure that could
  reasonably influence or block the attack’s focus, a successful
  Power Block provides DR 1 or +1 to resist per level of the
  defending advantage. This applies to Blowing Leaves (p. 23),
  Commanding Earth (p. 27), Commanding Fire (p. 25), Com-
  manding Metal (p. 29), Commanding Water (p. 32), 
  Commanding Wood (p. 23), Dust Cloud (p. 27), Smoke Veil
  (p. 25), and Summoning Fog (p. 33). They can be used not
  only against elemental powers, but also against other powers
  or mundane weapons, even advanced technological weapons;
  e.g., Smoke Veil (based on Obscure 5) could provide DR 5
  against laser weapons.
  4. Many of the abilities listed for option 3 can be used to
  block perception as well as attacks. A successful Power Block
  doubles the penalty to the affected sense.
  In all these cases, the defense must be focused on a specific
  attack or observer; it grants no benefit against other attacks or
  observers. However, a failure negates the defense entirely
  against all attacks in that turn. For example, a failed Power
  Block using Skin of Bronze means that the ability provides no
  DR vs. the incoming attack!
  FUNDAMENTALS
  11
  He who knows how to live 
  can walk abroad
  Without fear of rhinoceros 
  or tiger.
  He will not be wounded 
  in battle.
  – Tao Te Ching
  
  Resisting Abilities
  Several elemental abilities can be resisted with a simple roll
  against HT; e.g., the Touching the (Internal Organ) abilities
  and the side effects of some of the Storm of (Element) abilities.
  Fit gives +1 to resist these effects; Very Fit gives +2.
  Skin of Bronze (p. 29), Skin of Earth (p. 26), and Skin of
  Oak (p. 22) add their DR to all rolls to resist most Afflictions;
  however, only Skin of Earth protects against Afflictions based
  on skin contact, like the Touching the (Internal Organ) abili-
  ties! Heat Endurance (p. 24) does the same, but only against
  heat- and fire-based Afflictions. Resistance to Fire (p. 31) is
  more narrowly limited, to fire-based Afflictions only.
  The metal ability Immobility (p. 28) gives +3 or +8 to ST
  to resist knockback; this includes the doubled knockback
  from Avalanche (p. 26), Storm of Rain (p. 33), and Storm of
  Wind (p. 23).
  EXTRA EFFORT
  Most elemental abilities can be pushed past their normal
  limits by spending FP on them. Extra effort can enhance the
  effects of elemental abilities as it can for ordinary physical
  tasks (pp. B356-357). To do so, make a Will roll at -1 per 5%
  increase in the effect of the abilities, or fraction thereof. The
  maximum bonus to effect is 100%, at -20 to Will. Use Will even
  for purely physical extra effort, such as increasing your carry-
  ing capacity for Forest Walking (p. 22).
  For abilities resulting from training, Meditation (p. 20) may
  substitute for Will. A successful roll vs. Breath Control (p. 19)
  grants +2 to Meditation for this purpose. For a single ability,
  this benefit can be enhanced further through Focus (p. 20).
  Talent adds to the Will, Meditation, or Focus roll.
  The descriptions of abilities in Chapter 4 include the bene-
  fits of extra effort; if no benefits are described, extra effort does
  not apply to the ability. General categories of benefits include
  the following:
  • Increased damage, for abilities based on Innate Attack
  • Increased range, for ranged attacks or jumping abilities
  • Increased ST, for abilities based on Binding
  • Increased ST bonus, for abilities based on Lifting ST
  • Increased top speed, for movement abilities
  More generally, almost any ability based on an advantage
  that has levels can gain increased levels through extra effort.
  The GM has the final say.
  A critical failure when using extra effort is especially bad;
  see Extra Effort and Crippled Abilities (below) for details.
  CRIPPLED ABILITIES
  All chi abilities draw on the natural flow of chi through the
  user’s body. Mishaps during use can distort that flow, causing
  effects that resemble straining a muscle. Any critical failure on
  the roll to use an active ability, or for active use of a passive
  ability (Powers, Defense, and Resistance, pp. 10-12), requires an
  immediate check for crippling.
  To make such a check, roll vs. Will – or vs. Meditation
  (p. 20), if higher. If this second roll is a failure, the ability
  suffers temporary crippling, making it unavailable for min-
  utes equal to the margin of failure. After this time has
  passed, roll once per additional minute; the ability recovers
  on the first success.
  Critical failure results in lasting failure of the ability, mak-
  ing it completely unavailable for 1d months. Treatment with
  Esoteric Medicine (Taoist) (p. 19) can shorten this time by two
  months. If you have Breath Control (p. 19), two hour-long ses-
  sions of breathing exercises daily can shorten it by one month.
  These benefits are cumulative, but cannot reduce recovery
  time to less than one month.
  Extra Effort and Crippled Abilities
  The effects of crippling are much worse if you were using
  extra effort at the time! In addition to the loss of power, there are
  systemic consequences for the duration (temporary or lasting).
  The details depend on which power was being used:
  Excess Yang: Results from crippling a metal or water ability
  while using extra effort. The user’s yang energies become dom-
  inant, with the following effects:
  • Impulsiveness (12).
  • Lecherousness (12).
  • A quirk-level desire for easy pleasures.
  • Noticeably hot, dry skin (treat as Distinctive Features).
  • -2 to HT rolls to resist disease.
  • -3 to HT rolls to resist the effects of heat.
  • +2 to HT rolls to resist the effects of cold.
  • External abilities that remain usable are at +1 to Talent;
  internal abilities are at -1.
  Excess Yin: Results from crippling a fire or wood ability
  while using extra effort. The user’s yin energies become domi-
  nant, with the following effects:
  • Bully (12), largely expressed as a tendency to spiteful
  remarks.
  • Lecherousness (12).
  • Distinctive Features (Noticeably clammy skin).
  • -2 to HT rolls to resist disease.
  • -3 to HT rolls to resist the effects of cold.
  • +2 to HT rolls to resist the effects of heat.
  • Internal abilities that remain usable are at +1 to Talent;
  external abilities are at -1.
  Unstable Chi: Results from crippling an earth ability while
  using extra effort. When the crippling is suffered, roll 1d. On 1
  or 2, the user has excess yang, with all its effects; on 5 or 6, he
  has excess yin, with all its effects. On a 3 or 4, he is temporar-
  ily in balance, but any attempted extra effort with any of his
  powers requires a new roll. For lasting crippling, make the
  same roll at the start of each session, and every five hours of
  game time thereafter.
  FUNDAMENTALS
  12
  The movement of heaven is full
  of power.
  Thus the superior man makes
  himself strong and untiring.
  – I Ching, Hexagram 1, 
  the Creative
  
  Deliberate Crippling
  It’s possible, instead of attacking a foe’s physical body, to
  overwhelm one of his abilities. This requires an attack based
  on the element that overcomes the element of the ability being
  attacked. Suitable attack abilities include Club Fist (pp. 21-22)
  against an earth ability; Flame Breath (p. 24), Incendiary
  (p. 25), or Scattering Ashes (p. 25) against metal; Avalanche
  (p. 26) against water; Glinting Edge (p. 28) or Stream of
  Needles (p. 30) against wood; or Drowning Embrace (p. 30-31)
  or Water Spear (p. 33) against fire.
  The ability attacked must actually be in use when the attack
  is made, and it must have visible effects or the attacker must
  use Inner Awareness (p. 21), Inner Discrimination (p. 33), or
  some other appropriate Detect-based ability to target it. The
  attack roll is at -4. The attack must be made with a combat
  skill, not with DX, even if the ability allows normal attacks with
  a roll vs. DX. The target may attempt to dodge, but may not
  parry or block.
  If the attack hits, roll its damage as usual (subtracting any
  DR) but treat it as having No Wounding; add any damage
  bonuses for extra effort, but disregard Double Knockback.
  Triple the penetrating damage; if the result exceeds the target’s
  HP, he is at risk of crippling. If the attack roll is a critical suc-
  cess, he is at risk of crippling regardless of the damage. A tar-
  get at risk must roll against the best of
  Will, Meditation (p. 20), or Focus
  (p. 20), with the following (more
  severe than usual) effects:
  Critical Success: He avoids crip-
  pling entirely.
  Success: Temporary crippling.
  Failure: Lasting crippling.
  Critical Failure: Permanent crip-
  pling. The ability is lost and cannot
  be restored by anything short of a
  miracle!
  Attacking the Organs
  Chinese medical theory associ-
  ates the elements with bodily
  organs (see Thinking in Fives, p. 5).
  The zang organs are masses of solid
  or spongy tissue – the kidney
  (water), 
  lung 
  (metal), 
  spleen
  (earth), liver (wood), and heart
  (fire). The fu organs are membranes
  surrounding cavities that can store
  various fluids – the bladder (water),
  large intestine (metal), stomach
  (earth), gall bladder (wood), and
  small intestine (fire). The zang
  organs are yin and the fu organs
  yang (Yin and Yang, p. 6).
  Attacks on these organs can cripple the abilities for the
  associated elements indirectly. Treat this as deliberate crip-
  pling (above)! Several kinds of attack are possible:
  • A roll vs. Pressure Secrets; the attack must target the vitals
  (p. B399) at an extra -2 to single out a specific organ (net -5).
  This may benefit from one of the Touching attacks (Abilities
  Enhancing Cinematic Skills, p. 14).
  • Any attack that targets a specific vital organ (at the same -5
  as above), and inflicts injury over HP/10. Identifying the proper
  organ requires an Esoteric Medicine (Taoist) (p. 19) roll.
  • A roll vs. the lower of Esoteric Medicine (Taoist) and
  Poisons to compound a drug that interferes with the organs.
  ABILITIES AND SKILLS
  Elemental abilities are often learned in conjunction with
  skills. Either can make the other more effective. A Taoist might
  compare this to the harmony of yang and yin.
  A skill cannot both be enhanced by an ability and benefit
  the use of that ability, with respect to the same action.
  Skills Enhancing Abilities
  Using elemental abilities normally involves rolling against
  an attribute, modified by a power Talent. If the GM agrees, a
  mundane skill may take the place of the attribute, if better.
  Talent also adds to these skill rolls.
  Below is a list of skills that can aid abilities. Players are wel-
  come to propose other such benefits. However, the GM’s
  approval is always required, whether for the listed benefits, for
  player-proposed benefits, or even for using this concept in a
  campaign at all!
  Acrobatics can replace DX
  for attempting to touch a
  nearby surface in order to use
  Ivy Climb (p. 22) to break a fall.
  Aquabatics can replace DX
  to move through water with
  Dragon Swiftness (p. 30).
  Body Control can replace IQ
  for Holding Water (p. 26) rolls.
  Chemistry
  (or 
  Alchemy,
  pp. 18-19, at -3) can replace IQ
  for analysis rolls with Knowing
  Hidden Water (p. 32).
  Engineer (Civil, Combat, or
  Mining) can replace IQ for
  using Shaking the Ground
  (p. 28) to damage structures of
  the respective types.
  Esoteric Medicine (Taoist)
  (p. 19) can replace IQ for the
  use of Restoring the Body’s
  Water (p. 31).
  Forced Entry can be used to
  break open doors or containers
  with Club Fist (pp. 21-22) or
  Glinting Edge (p. 28).
  Kiai can take the place of
  Innate Attack (Breath) for aim-
  ing Drowning Embrace (pp. 30-31)
  or Flame Breath (p. 24).
  Lifting can be used in conjunction with Metal Frame
  (pp. 28-29), Stone Frame (p. 26), or Wood Frame (p. 23).
  Metallurgy can replace IQ for analysis rolls with Knowing
  Hidden Metal (p. 30).
  Meteorology can replace IQ to produce optimal results from
  Herding Clouds (p. 32).
  FUNDAMENTALS
  13
  
  Naturalist can replace IQ for analysis rolls with Knowing
  Hidden Vegetation (p. 23).
  Prospecting can replace IQ for analysis rolls with Knowing
  Hidden Metal (p. 30) or Knowing Hidden Stone (pp. 27-28).
  Abilities Enhancing Skills
  Elemental abilities can grant bonuses to skill rolls for vari-
  ous ordinary practical activities. Abilities that substitute for
  using fine-quality mundane equipment give +2. Abilities that
  grant truly miraculous benefits give +4. Whether to allow this
  (and when) is up to the GM.
  Roll normally to activate the ability. Abilities that always
  activate require a Meditation (p. 20) roll to direct them; such
  abilities can’t turn around and grant bonuses to Meditation!
  On a success, the skill gains the bonus. On a critical success, if
  the skill is at least 3 without the bonus, the skill roll is an auto-
  matic success. If the skill is 2 or less, but the bonus raises it to
  3 or more, roll normally; if the skill is still less than 3, the task
  is impossible.
  On a failure, the skill is at -1, because the user was dis-
  tracted; if the ability was inappropriate in the GM’s opinion,
  this becomes -2. On a critical failure, the skill roll is an auto-
  matic critical failure; if the ability was inappropriate, the
  results should be especially embarrassing (-2 to reaction rolls
  for any witnesses).
  Here are some examples of abilities that aid skills:
  Club Fist (pp. 21-22): +2 to Forced Entry; equivalent to hav-
  ing a ram or sledgehammer.
  Commanding Earth (p. 27): +2 to Artist (Sculpting) or
  Masonry; equivalent to having fine tools.
  Commanding Fire (p. 25): +2 to Explosives (Fireworks) to
  produce controlled effects.
  Commanding Metal (p. 29): +2 to Armoury, Artist (Sculpt-
  ing), Jeweler, Machinist, or Smith; equivalent to having fine
  tools.
  Commanding Wood (p. 23): +2 to Armoury, Artist (Wood-
  working), or Carpentry; equivalent to having fine tools.
  Exude Fuel (p. 23): +2 to Housekeeping or Survival to start
  a fire; equivalent to having high-quality kindling.
  Forge (p. 24): +2 to Jeweler or Smith to work metal; equiva-
  lent to having a highly controllable forge.
  Germinate (p. 32): +4 to Gardening; allows miraculous sup-
  port for sprouting.
  Hot Metal (p. 25): +2 to Housekeeping or Survival to start a
  fire; equivalent to having a lighter.
  Incendiary (p. 25): +4 to Housekeeping or Survival to start a
  fire; starts fires miraculously.
  Inner Awareness (p. 21): +2 to Diagnosis or Meteorology;
  equivalent to having superior instruments.
  Inner Discrimination (p. 33): +4 to Diagnosis; allows a
  detailed internal scan.
  Knowing Hidden Fire (p. 25): +2 to Artist (Pottery or Sculpt-
  ing) or Metallurgy, for tasks that benefit from knowing the
  temperature in a foundry or kiln.
  Knowing Hidden Metal (p. 30): +2 to Metallurgy to produce
  alloys with a desired composition. +4 to Prospecting to locate
  veins of native metal.
  Knowing Hidden Stone (pp. 27-28): +4 to Prospecting to
  locate nonmetallic minerals.
  Knowing Hidden Vegetation (p. 23): +4 to Naturalist when
  trying to locate herbs or other plants.
  Knowing Hidden Water (p. 32): +2 to Navigation to select a
  course for a boat or ship, by virtue of knowing the currents. +4
  to Naturalist or Prospecting to find water.
  Lightened Body (p. 24): +4 to Acrobatics, Climbing, or
  Jumping.
  Quenching Touch (p. 32): +4 to Fire Eating, by applying it
  inside the mouth.
  Abilities Enhancing Cinematic Skills
  The use of abilities to enhance cinematic skills, which are
  also based on chi, is particularly appropriate; even in a cam-
  paign where abilities cannot enhance ordinary skills, the GM
  may allow them to enhance cinematic skills. This list also
  includes peaceful cinematic skills (Skills, pp. 18-20).
  Avalanche (p. 26): +2 to Push.
  Club Fist (pp. 21-22): +2 to Power Blow for striking blows.
  Glinting Edge (p. 28): +2 to Breaking Blow.
  Immobility (p. 28): +2 to Immovable Stance.
  Inner Awareness (p. 21): +2 to Body Control, Erotic Art
  (p. 19), Esoteric Medicine (Taoist) (p. 19), Fortune-Telling
  (Feng Shui) (pp. 19-20), or Sensitivity.
  Inner Discrimination (p. 33): +4 to Erotic Art, Esoteric
  Medicine (Taoist), or Fortune-Telling (Feng Shui).
  Ivy Climb (p. 22): +2 to Lizard Climb.
  Knowing Hidden Fire (p. 25), Knowing Hidden Metal (p. 30),
  Knowing Hidden Stone (pp. 27-28), Knowing Hidden Vegetation
  (p. 23), or Knowing Hidden Water (p. 32): +1 to Alchemy (pp. 18-
  19) from any one; +2 to Alchemy from using all five (roll only
  once, using the lowest of the five abilities if they differ).
  Knowing Hidden Vegetation (p. 23): +2 to Herb Lore (p. 20).
  Lightened Body (p. 24): +2 to Flying Leap and Light Walk.
  Metal Frame (pp. 28-29), Stone Frame (p. 26), or Wood
  Frame (p. 23): +2 to Power Blow for lifting and handling
  heavy objects.
  Restoring the Body’s Water (p. 31): +2 to Esoteric Medicine
  (Taoist) to flush poisons from the body.
  Touching the Heart (p. 31), Kidneys (p. 27), Liver (p. 29),
  Lungs (p. 25), or Spleen (p. 22): +2 to Pressure Secrets when
  it is used to cripple an elemental power (Attacking the Organs,
  p. 13).
  FUNDAMENTALS
  14
  “Since I have known the Way,” said
  Wukung, “I have the ability of seventy-two
  transformations. The cloud-somersault has
  unlimited power. I am familiar with the
  magic of body concealment and the magic
  of displacement. I can find my way to
  Heaven or I can enter the Earth. I can
  walk past the sun and the moon without
  casting a shadow, and I can penetrate
  stone and metal without hindrance.”
  – Wu Chengen, Journey to 
  the West [Monkey]
  
  Masters of the Chinese elements may have a variety 
  of other traits, in addition to their powers. In particular,
  elementalists often learn cinematic skills and gain traits that
  support those skills.
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  15
  CHAPTER THREE
  CHARACTER
  TRAITS
  Some of the following advantages are reprinted from other
  supplements. Others are new interpretations of established
  advantages.
  Blessed
  see pp. B40-41
  One version of this trait is a distinctively Chinese form of
  attunement to a cosmic power.
  Harmony with the Tao: Through wu wei (“without doing,” or
  action through inaction), you can make yourself receptive to
  the flow of chi about you – you are attuned to the cosmic
  power of the Tao. You gain the ability to learn peaceful cine-
  matic skills (Skills, pp. 18-20), similar to the way Trained by a
  Master allows learning martial cinematic skills. You do not
  gain the ability to learn skills with Trained by a Master or
  Weapon Master as a prerequisite, and do not acquire any com-
  bat benefits. Other Taoists sense your inner harmony and react
  to you at +1. 5 points.
  Resistant
  see pp. B80-B81
  As with psi, it’s possible to be resistant or immune to chi.
  This protects against chi-based cinematic skills that allow
  resistance rolls: Hypnotic Hands (see GURPS Martial Arts),
  Invisibility Art (it adds to Vision rolls), Kiai, Pressure Points,
  Pressure Secrets, and Push (it adds to ST to resist knockback).
  It also protects against all chi abilities for which a resistance
  roll is allowed, such as the various Touching the (Internal
  Organ) abilities. It has no effect on threats that cannot be resis-
  ted, including most external damaging abilities; e.g., Stream of
  Needles (p. 30). Note that all Chinese elemental abilities are
  based on chi unless using Alternative Modifiers (p. 9).
  If you have Resistant or Immunity to an element, you can-
  not use that element’s abilities. However, it’s very appropriate
  to buy Resistant or Immunity to the element that your ele-
  ment controls or limits (Elemental Interactions, pp. 6-7). This
  advantage is not restricted to those with chi-based powers or
  esoteric skills; unless the GM rules otherwise, anyone may
  take it.
  The category of “all chi abilities: powers and skills” is a Very
  Common one. Chi elemental powers are Common, any one ele-
  ment counts as Occasional, and any one ability is Rare. Chi-
  based skills are considered Occasional; each specific skill is
  Rare. Skills are not covered by Resistant or Immunity to their
  associated elements (Cinematic Skills, p. 19).
  Resistant or Immunity to Metabolic Hazards (p. B81) pro-
  tects against chi-based disruption of the body’s internal func-
  tions. This includes any chi attack that specifically targets the
  subject’s physiology; e.g., Pressure Points, Pressure Secrets, the
  various Touching the (Internal Organ) abilities, and any ability
  that inflicts toxic damage or fatigue damage without Hazard.
  Super Jump
  see p. B89
  The following limitation (expanded on the version from
  GURPS Powers) has effects relevant to a martial-arts or fan-
  tasy campaign:
  Lighter Than Air: You jump by becoming lighter than air. Your
  Move while jumping is not increased to 1/5 of your maximum
  long jump, so you may stay in the air a long time! For each sec-
  ond off the ground, your landing point drifts a yard in the direc-
  tion the wind is blowing per 5 mph of wind speed. For instance,
  if you’re in the air for six seconds in a 10 mph wind from the
  west, you’ll land 12 yards east of the point you aimed for.
  Because you’ve lightened your body, you don’t hit as hard
  when you land, and your collision damage is reduced:
  Levels of Super Jump
  Damage Multiplier
  1
  4/5
  2
  5/8
  3
  1/2
  Every additional three levels halves the multiplier; e.g.,
  with Super Jump 4 (Lighter Than Air), you’d do 2/5 normal
  slam damage. -10%.
  ADVANTAGES
  
  Super Throw
  10 points/level
  This advantage (from GURPS Supers) doesn’t increase the
  weight you can throw, but lets you throw objects of the same
  size faster and harder. Figure throwing range and damage nor-
  mally, as defined on p. B355. Then, for each level of Super
  Throw, double range. Regardless of range, the throw will be
  completed in one turn. Each level of Super Throw increases
  damage by +2 per die. For exam-
  ple, a ST 10 man can throw a 20-
  lb. rock 6 yards, inflicting 1d-1
  damage on his target; with one
  level of Super Throw, he can
  throw it 12 yards and inflict
  1d+1 damage.
  Talent
  see pp. B89-91
  Two new Talents, originally
  defined in GURPS Martial Arts,
  can benefit cinematic skills:
  Forceful Chi: Breaking Blow,
  Erotic Art (p. 19), Flying Leap,
  Hypnotic Hands, Hypnotism,
  Invisibility Art, Kiai, Power
  Blow, Precognitive Parry, Pres-
  sure Points, Pressure Secrets,
  Push, Throwing Art, and Zen
  Archery. At the GM’s discretion,
  it may also apply to Alchemy
  (pp. 18-19) and Herb Lore
  (p. 20). Reaction bonus: Honor-
  able opponents, those who prac-
  tice “hard” or “external” styles
  (including potential students
  and masters), and past or pres-
  ent lovers. 15 points/level.
  Inner Balance: Autohypnosis,
  Blind Fighting, Body Control,
  Body Language, Body Sense, Breath Control (p. 19), Dream-
  ing, Immovable Stance, Light Walk, Lizard Climb, Medita-
  tion (p. 20), Mental Strength, Mind Block, and Sensitivity. At
  the GM’s discretion, it may also apply to the cinematic forms
  of Esoteric Medicine (Taoist) (p. 19) and Fortune-Telling
  (Feng Shui) (pp. 19-20). Reaction bonus: Pacifists, ascetics,
  and those who practice “soft” or “internal” martial-arts styles.
  15 points/level.
  In addition to these mundane Talents, six power Talents
  (p. 8) are available:
  Chinese Earth Talent: Improves your rolls to use Chinese
  earth abilities and allows you to learn additional ones. 5
  points/level.
  Chinese Elemental Talent: Improves your rolls to use all
  Chinese elemental abilities and allows you to learn additional
  ones. This Talent stacks with the more restricted power Tal-
  ents listed here, but your total bonus cannot exceed +4. 10
  points/level.
  Chinese Fire Talent: Improves your rolls to use Chinese fire
  abilities and allows you to learn additional ones. 5 points/level.
  Chinese Metal Talent: Improves your rolls to use Chinese
  metal abilities and allows you to learn additional ones. 5
  points/level.
  Chinese Water Talent: Improves your rolls to use Chinese
  water abilities and allows you to learn additional ones. 5
  points/level.
  Chinese Wood Talent: Improves your rolls to use Chinese
  wood abilities and allows you to learn additional ones. 5
  points/level.
  Wild Talent
  see pp. B99-100
  A new special enhancement
  from GURPS Powers is espe-
  cially appropriate for Taoist mas-
  ters who emphasize spontaneity
  or wu wei (p. 15):
  Wild Ability: Only for those
  with powers. In addition to
  unknown skills, you can use abil-
  ities you don’t have. Any such
  ability must be part of one of
  your powers, and can’t have
  modifiers other than those
  required by the power it belongs
  to (for instance, its power modi-
  fier). You get one “use” of the
  ability – which means exactly
  what it does for Limited Use
  (p. B112). +50%.
  PERKS
  Several perks can be used in
  campaigns with chi-based abili-
  ties such as elemental powers.
  The † symbol means that the perk
  requires specialization.
  Body Discipline†
  Originally defined in GURPS Low-Tech Companion 1:
  Philosophers and Kings, this perk lets you apply a particular
  DX-based skill as a spiritual discipline. As described for Breath
  Control (p. 19), a successful skill roll grants +2 to Meditation
  (p. 20) rolls to enter a trance. For example, Body Discipline
  (Judo Art) would let you perform the motions of grappling and
  shifting balance (as in T’ai Chi Chuan) as a meditative disci-
  pline; a roll vs. Judo Art would give you +2 to Meditation. You
  must specialize by skill.
  Erotic Art (p. 19) is a special case; its successful use as a
  body discipline grants +2 to your partner’s rolls.
  Special Exercises†
  Originally defined in GURPS Martial Arts, this perk allows
  access to an advantage or other capability that’s normally off-
  limits to your race; for example, an archer might take Special
  Exercises (Arm ST 1). You must specialize by advantage or
  ability. In martial-arts-themed campaigns, gaining Chinese ele-
  mental Talents through martial training may require this perk,
  which is then treated as leveled; each level of the perk allows
  one level of the Talent.
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  16
  
  Enhancements and limitations are keys to defining the abil-
  ities of powers, as distinguished from raw advantages. Some
  new variants of existing modifiers are used in creating elemen-
  tal abilities. See also Power Modifier (p. 9).
  Accessibility
  see p. B110
  Many of the abilities in this work have a new variant of
  Accessibility:
  While conscious: You must be conscious to activate your
  ability, and doing so is not a free action but requires a Concen-
  trate maneuver. You can keep your ability active by choosing to
  do so, without further actions, but if you lose consciousness it
  shuts down. Use this with switchable abilities (Switchable,
  below) but not with transient ones, including most attacks, as
  those automatically shut down after the turn in which you
  use them. -5%.
  Costs Fatigue
  see p. B111
  Costs Fatigue is worth -10% per FP if the FP cost is per sec-
  ond, or -5% per FP if it’s applied each minute. Using the ele-
  mental abilities in this supplement costs 1 or more FP per hour
  (see Activating Powers, p. 10). This is a 0% option; it prevents
  keeping an ability on all the time, but isn’t applied often enough
  to meaningfully limit use when it is on.
  Elemental Storm
  +190%
  This is a meta-enhancement – a combination of enhance-
  ments and limitations, treated as a single enhancement for
  convenience – from GURPS Power-Ups 4: Enhancements.
  Once a day, the user may perform a dramatic gesture
  (smashing a vessel of water, striking the ground with a staff,
  etc.) and initiate a “storm.” The gesture is treated as an Attack
  maneuver. The GM may wish to imitate martial-arts films by
  requiring the user to call out the name of the attack!
  On the attack turn and on each of nine subsequent turns (10
  seconds total), the storm blasts everyone, friend or foe, within
  16 yards of the spot where he stood. Roll an attack from above
  at skill 14; victims may block or dodge, but must focus their
  attention either upward on the storm or on foes at ground
  level, suffering -2 on defenses vs. attacks from the other direc-
  tion. The summoner is safe if he remains at the eye of the
  storm, as is any foe in close combat with him, but if he moves
  away (or is moved!), he also suffers the storm’s effects. He can-
  not end, move, or modify the storm once it begins.
  Talent does not apply directly to storm attacks, but it does
  add to the user’s rolls to avoid being thrown, shoved, or pulled
  out of the eye of his own storm. He also adds Talent to his ST
  for the sole purpose of assessing the knockback he suffers, and
  to any Quick Contest to resist an attempt to move him or knock
  him down (e.g., via Judo Throw or Sweep). This never
  improves his active defenses in any way.
  Statistics: Accessibility, Requires dramatic gesture, -10%;
  Area Effect, 16 yards, +200%; Bombardment, Skill 14, -5%;
  Emanation, -20%; Limited Use, 1/day, -40%; Nuisance
  Effect, Exploitable hole in center, -5%; Overhead, +30%; Per-
  sistent, +40%.
  Melee Attack
  see p. B112
  Several of the attack abilities in Chapter 4 use a new variant
  of this modifier, originally defined in GURPS Powers:
  Melee Attack, ST-Based: Only for Crushing, Cutting, and
  Impaling Attacks. You can add your dice of thrust or swing
  damage to the damage of your Innate Attack. Work out Melee
  Attack as usual, and then add a +100% enhancement.
  Periodic Recharge
  Variable
  Your ability must be sustained or renewed from an external
  source, or it stops working. For this to be a valid limitation,
  access to the source has to be a major difficulty; for example,
  you can’t carry it with you or you have to wait an hour after
  using your ability to recharge it. This doesn’t restrict the num-
  ber of times you can use the ability in the period between
  recharges, and using it at less than full power (to “save energy”)
  won’t prolong the cycle. The value depends on the interval
  between recharges:
  Interval
  Limitation
  Up to 1 minute
  -80%
  Up to 10 minutes
  -40%
  Up to 1 hour
  -20%
  Up to 8 hours
  -10%
  Up to 24 hours
  -5%
  An interval longer than 24 hours is not a meaningful limita-
  tion. This modifier is often used in conjunction with Powers
  and Elixirs (p. 39); it may represent a potion that cannot be
  safely consumed again until an hour has passed. one that must
  be brewed on the spot and consumed immediately (not car-
  ried), or some other elixir with restrictions on its use. For a ver-
  sion without such restrictions, see Trigger (p. 18).
  Switchable
  +10% or 0%
  This enhancement can only be applied to advantages that
  are always on, such as anatomical features. It lets you switch
  the advantage on or off with a Ready maneuver. You can
  define it as turning off automatically, turning on automati-
  cally, or staying in its current state if you lose consciousness.
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  17
  MODIFIERS
  Other Taoists sense
  your inner harmony.
  
  If an advantage lists special modifiers that allow it to be
  turned on or off, it cannot have Switchable as well or instead; use
  those special modifiers. As well, if it has Switchable as a special
  enhancement with a different value, use that value. Otherwise, if
  there is some inconvenience in having the advantage always on
  (see Always On, p. B110), Switchable is a +10% enhancement; if
  there isn’t, it’s a 0% option. For example, whether Damage Resist-
  ance is always on or switchable is normally a special effect – but
  Can’t Wear Armor (p. B47) makes it inconvenient to have it on,
  making Switchable a +10% enhancement.
  Trigger
  see p. B115
  If a “use” of the advantage is defined as being longer than
  one minute, the value of Trigger drops. If each dose allows you
  to use the ability for 10 minutes, halve the value. For 1 hour,
  quarter it. For 8 hours, divide it by 8. In all cases, round up
  (toward 0) to the nearest 5%.
  Example: Tam gains several fire abilities for an hour (1/4
  value) by drinking a rare elixir (-40%); he buys each one
  with Trigger, Flame Elixir, 1 hour, -10%. He also acquires
  extra power Talent for an hour (1/4 value) when he eats
  wildflowers (-10%). The fraction reduces the limitation
  to -2.5%, which rounds up to -0%; this is thus not a mean-
  ingful limitation.
  This “extended” version of Trigger is particularly useful for
  building elixir-based abilities; see Powers and Elixirs (p. 39). If
  the trigger is unique and difficult to use in some way, see
  Periodic Recharge (p. 17).
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  18
  In a Chinese cultural setting, adventurers may choose
  among new self-imposed behavioral restrictions.
  Code of Honor
  see p. B127
  Two forms of this disadvantage are important in traditional
  Chinese society:
  Code of Honor (Confucian): Generally similar to Code of
  Honor (Gentleman’s). Show humanity to others, especially
  those who owe you duties; goodwill is more important than
  following exact rules. Respect society and its customs and tra-
  ditions. Perform your duties to the emperor, your parents, your
  husband, your older siblings, and your friends; this includes
  duties to the dead, even remote ancestors. -10 points.
  Code of Honor (Xia): The way of Chinese knights-errant in
  the early empire. You must be skilled at arms. You must keep
  your word, honor your pledges, be humble, and uphold justice
  for those in need. You must be brave and not spare yourself
  harm to help others. You must be willing to use force, but also
  to show restraint when force isn’t needed. You must respect
  and honor your teacher. -10 points.
  Disciplines of Faith
  see p. B132
  Taoist masters have their own set of requirements, similar
  to those of Mysticism, but less intense:
  Contemplation: You engage in regular meditation through
  stillness, attention, breathing exercises, and perhaps physical
  activities, at least once daily. At all times, you maintain habits of
  moderation in diet, possessions, and enjoyments. Other people
  who spend time with you, if they are not students or fellow con-
  templatives, regard you as eccentric and react at -1. -5 points.
  Vow
  see pp. B160-161
  Following the teachings of Lao Tzu (in pinyin, Lao Zi), the
  reputed author of the Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing), Taoists recog-
  nize three essential virtues: mercy or nonaggression, frugality or
  economy, and “daring not to put oneself first.” These are called
  the Three Treasures (sanbao). Taoists who strive to live by these
  can be treated as having a Minor Vow, comparable to the
  “chastity, poverty, and obedience” of Christian monks. -5 points.
  DISADVANTAGES
  If the GM is using Harmony with the Tao (Blessed, p. 15) in
  the campaign, five peaceful skills – Alchemy (below), Erotic Art
  (p. 19), Esoteric Medicine (p. 19), Fortune-Telling (Feng Shui)
  (pp. 19-20), and Herb Lore (p. 20) – become available in either
  realistic or cinematic versions. This doesn’t mean each is split
  into two different skills; the skills themselves are bought nor-
  mally, and then Harmony with the Tao “powers them up” to the
  cinematic version. For example, if you know the realistic version
  of Alchemy, and then add Harmony with the Tao, your Alchemy
  skill is automatically “upgraded” to the cinematic version! (You
  can still choose to use the realistic aspect of the skill, however –
  Harmony with the Tao gives you access to both versions.) If the
  GM is not using Harmony with the Tao, he can ignore the new
  rules for those skills – or pick and choose which to adopt.
  Alchemy
  see pp. B174-175
  The cinematic version of this skill allows for the creation of
  potions, as defined in the Basic Set and GURPS Magic. Chinese
  alchemy emphasizes immortality drugs rather than transmuta-
  tion of metals; many of these drugs contain inorganic toxins
  such as arsenic or mercury! Rather than destroying the
  alchemist’s laboratory, critical failures produce elixirs that poi-
  son those who take them. Use the effects of arsenic (p. B439) to
  represent such toxic results. Immortality elixirs work slightly dif-
  ferently from the standard youth potion in GURPS Magic:
  Instead of subtracting one year from the age the recipient has
  attained, they make him Unaging for one year.
  SKILLS
  
  The realistic version is effectively a collection of practical
  chemical techniques – it was Chinese alchemists who invented
  porcelain. Use unmodified Alchemy skill for extractive proce-
  dures such as distillation (discussed in GURPS Low-Tech) and
  for simple inorganic synthesis of substances such as sulfu-
  ric acid (“oil of vitriol”). If Chemistry (p. B183) is available,
  realistic alchemists are better off learning that skill; it’s
  Hard instead of Very Hard, yet is broader in scope! But in
  settings where Chemistry doesn’t exist as a science or skill,
  realistic Alchemy is a way to sneak its basics into the game
  – it’s expensive, but by definition, its capabilities are highly
  advanced for the setting.
  Breath Control
  see p. B182
  In addition to its more practical uses, this skill can aid
  meditation through breathing in a controlled pattern. A
  success grants +2 when seeking trance through Medita-
  tion (p. 20). Other body disciplines may grant similar
  benefits (see Body Discipline, p. 16).
  Erotic Art
  see p. B192
  The cinematic version of this skill is the basis of tantric
  mysticism and its Taoist analogues. A successful roll
  allows you to transfer chi (in the form of FP) between each
  other, up to your margin of success (minimum 1); if you
  both have this skill (and both succeed), add your margins
  of success! For prolonged activity, make a HT-based roll;
  your margin of success is how many hours you can last
  without fatiguing (minimum 1). Either partner may also
  make a Will-based roll to avoid any risk of pregnancy.
  The realistic version is a collection of advanced, prac-
  tical techniques that emphasize sensitivity to a partner’s
  responses. Successful use induces euphoria in your part-
  ner; a critical success produces ecstasy (see p. B428 for
  both). This is good for +1 (+2 for ecstasy) to reaction rolls
  and Influence rolls involving your partner’s feelings
  toward you; it lasts for days equal to twice your margin
  of success (minimum 1 day). You may also roll against
  HT-based Erotic Art instead of HT (if better) for any rolls
  the GM requires to avoid losing FP from exertion while
  using the skill.
  When combined with Body Discipline (p. 16), either version
  of Erotic Art lets you give +2 to your partner’s Meditation rolls
  instead of your own. This cannot be combined with inducing
  euphoria or ecstasy!
  Esoteric Medicine
  see p. B192
  The cinematic version of this skill allows treatment by direct
  manipulation of the flow of chi within a sufferer’s body. The
  results are exactly as effective as for Physician at the same TL.
  Regardless of TL, Esoteric Medicine grants benefits equivalent
  to those of antibiotics (p. B443) when treating illness or infec-
  tion. It also allows resuscitation (p. B425). If an elementalist
  suffers lasting crippling (p. 12) of an ability, Esoteric Medicine
  can aid its recovery.
  The realistic version of this skill allows use of the practical
  Chinese medical techniques discussed in GURPS Low-Tech.
  If you lack access to those rules, assume that realistic Esoteric
  Medicine is as effective as First Aid, but also includes the
  equivalent of Professional Skill (Healer), granting basic knowl-
  edge of massage, nutrition, and general health.
  Expert Skill
  see pp. B193-194
  The GM may allow Expert Skill (Natural Philosophy) to com-
  plement peaceful cinematic skills (those that benefit from Har-
  mony with the Tao, p. 15). Roll against Expert Skill (Natural
  Philosophy) first; critical success gives +2 to the primary skill,
  success gives +1, failure gives -1, and critical failure gives -2.
  Fortune-Telling (Feng Shui)
  see p. B196
  Feng Shui (“wind and water”) is Chinese geomancy. The cin-
  ematic version of this skill can see how chi flows inside a build-
  ing, or through the natural environment. This allows the user to
  identify spiritual disturbances. A successful roll can also comple-
  ment Architecture or Artist (Interior Decorating) rolls: +2 on a
  critical success, +1 on a success, -1 on a failure, -2 on a critical
  failure. Other skills may also benefit, at the GM’s discretion.
  Charisma does not give a bonus for this use of the skill.
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  19
  Cinematic Skills
  At the GM’s option, Chinese elemental powers may offer a
  path to learning the cinematic skills associated with East
  Asian martial arts. Each of the elemental Talents (p. 16) can
  substitute for Trained by a Master (p. B93) as a prerequisite
  for learning a limited set of skills, through specialized use of
  focused chi. You still must have the other prerequisites! The
  Talent bonus does not add to skill or aid skill rolls, and the
  penalty for Rapid Strikes or multiple parries is not reduced.
  Chinese Fire Talent allows Flying Leap, Light Walk, and
  Zen Archery. Light Walk takes the place of Power Blow as a
  prerequisite for Flying Leap; you aren’t hurling yourself
  through the air with great force, but making yourself lighter.
  As a result, you roll at +5 to use Flying Leap, but use your
  unmodified (not tripled) jumping distance and ST to calcu-
  late slam or kick damage.
  Chinese Wood Talent allows Lizard Climb (see GURPS
  Martial Arts), Power Blow, and Throwing Art.
  Chinese Earth Talent allows Body Control, Kiai, and Pres-
  sure Points.
  Chinese Metal Talent allows Breaking Blow, Immovable
  Stance, and Mental Strength.
  Chinese Water Talent allows Blind Fighting, Push, and Sen-
  sitivity (see GURPS Martial Arts).
  If you have Chinese Elemental Talent, you can learn all these
  skills. You also gain access to Pressure Secrets, which grants
  special benefits against other elemental practitioners (p. 13).
  If the GM uses Harmony with the Tao (p. 15), the peace-
  ful cinematic skills are also associated with the elements:
  Herb Lore with Wood, Erotic Art with Fire, Esoteric Medi-
  cine (Taoist) with Earth, Alchemy with Metal, and Fortune-
  Telling (Feng Shui) with Water.
  
  The following new techniques enhance the effectiveness of
  elemental abilities.
  Deliberate Crippling
  Hard
  Default: attack skill-4.
  Prerequisites: An appropriate elemental ability and an attack
  skill for it; cannot exceed attack skill.
  Some elemental masters specialize in attacking the abilities
  of the element their own element restrains or limits (see
  Deliberate Crippling, p. 13). This requires a roll at -4 against a
  specific attack skill. It’s possible to train in this kind of attack,
  buying off the penalty. You must specialize by your attack skill
  and by the element you’ve trained to cripple; e.g., Deliberate
  Crippling (Innate Attack (Beam)/Fire).
  Focus
  Hard
  Default: Meditation.
  Prerequisite: Meditation.
  When you use extra effort (p. 12) with one specific ability,
  you can attune yourself to the Tao so effectively that the
  resulting enhanced flow of chi is nearly spontaneous. To do
  so, buy the Focus technique for that particular ability, and
  apply the extra-effort penalty (-1 per 5% increase in effect) to
  Focus rather than to Meditation or Will. Roll against the
  lower of modified Focus or unmodified Meditation skill; that
  is, Focus can remove penalties for extra effort, but cannot
  give a net bonus over Meditation. (You are not limited by
  your Will score.)
  Learning Focus for multiple abilities is often inefficient.
  The cost of the first level of Focus for two abilities is 4 points;
  that’s enough to raise Meditation one level, which benefits
  extra effort with all abilities. The payoff of extra effort is gen-
  erally higher for expensive abilities, so learning Focus for such
  an ability is usually a good investment. Focus is never a good
  investment for more than three abilities.
  Example: Liang Danbao is an elemental master of fire with
  HT 12, Will 12, Meditation-14, and Focus (Heat Endurance)-18.
  Passing through a village, she sees a house burning and a
  woman being held back from going in to save her son. Liang
  invokes her Heat Endurance (p. 24) to help her enter the build-
  ing safely. This normally adds HT¥4 degrees to her comfort
  zone, but she wants to use extra effort to increase this to HT¥5
  degrees, at -5 to Will. This -5 brings her Focus to 13; her unmod-
  ified Meditation is 14. She rolls against the lower of the two (the
  13) and succeeds, raising the upper limit of her comfort zone to
  150°F. Trusting in that and her DR 4 vs. heat and flames, she
  runs into the house.
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  20
  TECHNIQUES
  The realistic version isn’t magic, but applied psychology, as
  explained in the Basic Set. It consists of asking leading ques-
  tions, reading people’s behavioral signals, and making procla-
  mations (about how to rearrange their living or working space)
  that they’ll want to believe.
  Herb Lore
  see p. B199
  Treat the cinematic version of this skill like Alchemy
  (pp. 18-19), but without the inorganic ingredients; it’s based on
  plants and other biological materials. Herbal elixirs are less
  toxic, and may produce fatigue and afflictions such as nausea
  rather than inflicting damage. On the other hand, elixirs made
  from ordinary herbs can’t confer immortality. Critical failure
  almost never produces laboratory disasters such as explosions;
  nauseating brews, stinks, and ghastly messes are typical.
  The realistic version is comparable to Pharmacy (Herbal),
  which is discussed in GURPS Low-Tech. Because Pharmacy is
  Hard and realistic Herb Lore is Very Hard, realistic herbalists
  are usually better off learning the former skill. However, if
  Pharmacy (Herbal) does not exist in the setting, realistic
  Herb Lore is a way to bring it in (at a premium cost), similar
  to realistic Alchemy acting as a proxy for Chemistry.
  Meditation
  see p. B207
  Meditation is a vital aspect of Taoism, often aided by Breath
  Control (p. 19) or other physical exercises (Body Discipline, p. 16).
  The practice of meditation can restore inner balance (Chi,
  pp. 5-6). Meditation can take the place of Will in extra effort
  rolls (p. 12), which makes it possible to learn Focus (below) for
  specific abilities.
  Savoir-Faire (Dojo)
  see p. B218
  In a campaign where elemental abilities are taught as
  advanced training for martial artists, elementalists must have
  this skill.
  “Plenty of activities,” said the Patriarch, “. . . experimentation with alchemical formulas,
  burning rushes and forging cauldrons, taking red mercury, making autumn stone, and drinking
  bride’s milk and the like.”
  “Can such bring about long life?” asked Wukung.
  – Wu Chengen, Journey to the West [Monkey]
  
  Chinese elemental powers have a complex structure, fitting
  the elaborate interrelationships of the elements. There are five
  basic powers: earth, fire, metal, water, and wood. But each is
  subdivided into internal and external aspects, with distinct lists
  of abilities, as noted in Defining Powers (pp. 8-9). Each power
  also has a few associated perks.
  In particular, several powers have an “Exude” perk, which
  represents the use of an elemental principle within one’s body
  to form a small quantity of its daughter element at the body’s
  surface. Effectively, this is perk-level Create (from GURPS
  Powers). The amounts involved are small enough that there is
  no need to account worry about a Creation Pool; think of this
  as an Accessory perk, with the accessory being a small con-
  tainer of the substance.
  One ability is available to anyone who has any of the five
  Chinese elemental powers. To avoid repetition, this comes
  first, as a Basic Ability. There are also Advanced Abilities
  (p. 33), which are available only to masters of all five ele-
  ments (see Power Talent, p. 8).
  A number of abilities are ranged attacks. Unless other-
  wise specified, their statistics are 1/2D –, Max 100, Acc 3,
  RoF 1, Shots –, and Recoil 1.
  BASIC ABILITY
  Anyone who has an elemental Talent can learn to per-
  ceive the flow of chi with this ability. It is external, but is not
  subject to countermeasures.
  Inner Awareness
  18 points
  You can detect the flow of chi within living bodies and
  through the natural environment, locate such flows, analyze
  the elemental affinity of chi, and diagnose disturbances in its
  flow. You are especially sensitive to intense flows of chi created
  by the use of cinematic skills or chi-based powers. Detection
  requires a Per roll subject to range penalties from the Size and
  Speed/Range Table (p. B550); analysis calls for an IQ roll. Talent
  adds to both rolls.
  Statistics: Detect Chi (Chi, -10%) [18].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  21
  Overlapping Abilities
  The elements of earth, metal, and wood all grant abili-
  ties based on Lifting Strength: +5 for Wood Frame (p. 23)
  and +10 for Metal Frame (pp. 28-29) or Stone Frame
  (p. 26). These bonuses don’t add; you can only use one abil-
  ity at a time! Having a second ability, or all three, is useful
  mainly as insurance against power loss, e.g., from crippling
  (pp. 12-13). Pay full price only for the most expensive abil-
  ity; the others are 1/5 cost (rounded up). These are not alter-
  native abilities; if one is disabled, the others are still usable.
  CHAPTER FOUR
  ELEMENTAL
  ABILITIES
  Wood includes all forms of plant matter, both living 
  and dead. Lumber, thatch, basketry, and plant fiber all
  count as wood.
  INTERNAL WOOD
  These powers manifest the vegetative aspects of the body.
  Catapult Hand
  9 points
  You can throw objects, including weapons, with doubled
  range and +2 damage per die, as if your arm were the stave of
  a bow or the lever of a catapult. You can’t throw heavier mis-
  siles than usual. Regardless of distance, every throw is com-
  pleted in one turn. Talent adds to your Throwing, Throwing
  Art, or Thrown Weapon roll to hit.
  Extra effort improves your basic throwing ability (p. B357)
  before the effects of Catapult Hand are applied.
  Statistics: Super Throw 1 (Chi, -10%) [9].
  Club Fist
  8 points
  You can strike with your fists as with a baton or club, inflict-
  ing greatly enhanced damage by virtue of mass and hardness.
  WOOD
  
  Increase your normal punching damage by 1d. You can parry
  attacks with weapons at no penalty, but if the parry fails, the
  attacker may choose to injure the parrying hand! As well, if
  you strike a target with DR 3+ and fail to penetrate it, see
  Hurting Yourself (p. B379); ignore this rule if his DR has the
  Tough Skin limitation. Talent adds to your DX or unarmed
  striking skill to hit.
  Extra effort grants +1 to damage per -6 to Will; this is cumu-
  lative with Mighty Blows (p. B357). You may Power Parry
  (p. 11) with Club Fist.
  Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d (Chi, -10%; Melee Attack, ST-
  Based, Reach C, +70%) [8].
  Endurance of Bamboo
  33 points
  Taoist writings draw a lesson from bamboo, which bends
  before storm winds and then stands back up, when a tree
  might be broken or uprooted. You have similar strength
  against impact-based attacks (those that cause crushing, cut-
  ting, impaling, or piercing damage). After applying DR and
  wounding modifiers to an incoming attack, halve the resulting
  injury; round down, but with a minimum 1 point of injury.
  Talent adds to your HT when you roll for the effects of crip-
  pling injury to a body part from such an attack – but not against
  one intended to cripple a power or ability!
  Because of the distinctively passive character of this ability,
  extra effort requires a Meditation (or Focus) roll rather than a
  Will roll. Roll Meditation at -10 to divide injury by 3 (instead of
  halving it), or roll at -20 to quarter it.
  Statistics: Injury Tolerance (Damage Reduction 2; Accessi-
  bility, While conscious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Limited, Impact dam-
  age, -20%) [33].
  Forest Walking
  14 points
  You can move freely and quietly through vegetation that
  would impede a normal person. You can wear clothing and
  carry objects, but you are limited to No Encumbrance. You
  have +1 to Stealth when moving, or +2 if completely still.
  Talent adds to all DX or skill rolls made to move while using
  this ability – including Stealth rolls!
  Extra effort does not apply directly to the ability but
  enhances either the load you can carry or the speed of your
  movement (see p. B357).
  You may Power Dodge (p. 11) with Forest Walking.
  Statistics: Permeation (Dense vegetation; Can Carry Objects,
  No Encumbrance, +10%; Chi, -10%; Link, +10%) [11] + Silence
  1 (Chi, -10%; Environmental, Dense vegetation, -40%; Link,
  +10%) [3].
  Ivy Climb
  15 points
  You can grip an earthen wall like a climbing vine, allow-
  ing secure ascent without a Climbing roll. This works for sur-
  faces of earth, plaster, brick, stone, or concrete, and for
  wooden surfaces, but metal and glass are too slick and hard.
  Talent adds to ST, DX, or skill rolls to stop a fall or negotiate
  obstacles. You can move at half your Basic Move, rounded
  down; a faster climb requires extra effort (p. B357).
  Statistics: Clinging (Accessibility, While conscious, -5%;
  Chi, -10%; Specific, Not glass or metal, -10%) [15].
  Root Grip
  4 points
  You can seize hold of sand, earth, or clay with a DX roll,
  aided by Talent, and your fingers form minute fibers that bind it
  together into a mass that you can pull down or out. Roll 2d cor-
  rosion damage. Soil is diffuse, so you can’t inflict more than 2
  points of injury on it, but you can erode away the DR of soil used
  as cover: 1 point of DR is lost for each 5 points of rolled damage.
  Extra effort adds +1 per damage per -3 to Will (or +1d
  per -10).
  You can use one of the resulting clods as an improvised
  missile. Use the rules for throwing (p. B355) to determine dis-
  tance and damage; treat the thrown clod as weighing 1 lb.
  Because it’s not as solid as a rock, it has armor divisor (0.5) if
  it hits (pp. B378-379 ). Such attacks don’t benefit from Talent
  or from extra effort with your power, but you can apply ordi-
  nary muscular extra effort to throw farther and harder
  (p. B357), or use Catapult Hand (p. 21).
  Statistics: Corrosion Attack 2d (Accessibility, Only against
  earth, -40%; Chi, -10%; Melee Attack, Reach C, Cannot
  Parry, -35%) [4].
  Skin of Oak
  7 points
  Your body surface can take on the hardness and resilience
  of wood, making it functionally equivalent to armor with DR 3.
  However, it is still skin! Being living tissue, it is flexible and
  provides no protection against attacks based on skin contact.
  You can make a Power Block (p. 11) with Skin of Oak.
  Statistics: Damage Resistance 3 (Accessibility, While con-
  scious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Tough Skin, -40%) [7].
  Touching the Spleen
  11 points
  This attack uses wood chi to afflict another person’s earth
  chi. Despite the name, it primarily affects the functioning of the
  stomach, which is associated with the spleen in Taoist medicine.
  The strike requires skin-to-skin contact (possibly necessitating a
  hit location penalty); Talent adds to the DX or unarmed combat
  skill roll to hit. The target resists with a roll vs. HT-1 or is nause-
  ated (p. B428) for minutes equal to his margin of failure.
  Extra effort gives -1 to the target’s resistance roll per -10 to
  Will.
  Statistics: Affliction 2 (HT-1; Chi, -10%; Contact Agent, 
  -30%; Melee Attack, Reach C, Cannot Parry, -35%; Nauseated,
  +30%) [11].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  22
  Bamboo bends before storm
  winds and stands back up.
  
  Wood Frame
  13 points
  You have the strength to lift and support massive
  weights, like a wooden beam. By concentrating for one
  second, you increase your effective ST by 5 for lifting pur-
  poses only.
  Extra effort grants another +1 Lifting ST per -4 to Will.
  See Overlapping Abilities (p. 21) if you have more than
  one (Element) Frame ability.
  Statistics: Lifting ST 5 (Accessibility, While con-
  scious, -5%; Chi, -10%) [13].
  EXTERNAL WOOD
  These abilities involve perceiving or controlling wood
  and vegetation outside the body. Mundane countermea-
  sures include the use of metal tools to cut wood, or of fire
  to consume it.
  Blowing Leaves
  5 points
  You can cast a stream of leaves from your hand at a foe
  up to 100 yards away, borne on a current of air. The
  whirling leaves occupy a two-yard-radius area. They cause
  no injury but interfere with vision for 10 seconds, giving -2
  to all Vision rolls to see into, out of, or through the area.
  Aiming the leaves requires a roll against Innate Attack
  (Projectile) plus Talent; standard range penalties (p. B550)
  apply. Wind or rain can deflect your aim (GM’s call). The
  attack can be blocked with a shield, but not parried. If you
  miss, or the target defends, see Scatter (p. B141).
  Extra effort can make the interference more severe:
  another -1 to Vision for each -10 to Will. You may make a
  Power Block (p. 11) with Blowing Leaves.
  Statistics: Obscure 2 (Vision; Blockable, -5%; Chi, -10%;
  Elemental, -10%; Ranged, +50%) [5].
  Commanding Wood
  16 points
  You can move or reshape a single mass of wood weighing no
  more than 10 lbs. (about 1/3 cubic foot for most wood). You
  must touch the material to establish initial control, and roll
  against IQ plus Talent. Maintaining control requires constant
  concentration, though not contact. You can force it to roll or
  shamble at Move 1, but you can’t lift it into the air! Giving it a
  beautiful or functional shape may require an Armoury, Artist
  (Woodworking), or Carpentry roll. Wood cannot be commanded
  to attack a foe, but can be shaped into a shield, a staff, etc. You
  may make a Power Block (p. 11) with Commanding Wood. 
  Extra effort increases your weight limit:
  Will Penalty
  Weight
  Will Penalty
  Weight
  -2
  12 lbs.
  -12
  26 lbs.
  -4
  14 lbs.
  -14
  29 lbs.
  -6
  17 lbs.
  -16
  32 lbs.
  -8
  20 lbs.
  -18
  36 lbs.
  -10
  23 lbs.
  -20
  40 lbs.
  Statistics: Control Wood 1 (Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%) [16].
  Knowing Hidden Vegetation
  18 points
  You can sense whether plants and material of vegetative ori-
  gin are present and determine their direction and amount. This
  can locate wooden objects, material made of plant fibers (e.g.,
  linen or paper), or buried seeds or hidden herbs. You can also
  analyze the composition and shape of vegetation. Detection
  requires a Per roll subject to range penalties from the Size and
  Speed/Range Table (p. B550); analysis calls for an IQ roll. Talent
  adds to both rolls.
  Statistics: Detect Plant Matter (Chi, -10%) [18].
  Storm of Wind
  23 points
  Based on the affinity of wood for wind and thunder, this
  elemental attack calls down howling winds in a 16-yard radius
  around you (Elemental Storm, p. 17) for 30 seconds, once per
  day. They cause no direct injury, but the force of the winds
  does 1d+1 crushing damage for the purpose of blunt trauma,
  doubled for knockback. If rolled damage exceeds a target’s DR,
  he must make a HT roll, at -1 per 2 points of excess, or be Hard
  of Hearing for (20-HT) minutes.
  Extra effort grants +1 damage per -5 to Will.
  Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d+1 (Chi, -10%; Double Knock-
  back, +20%; Elemental, -10%; Elemental Storm, +190%;
  Extended Duration, 3¥ duration, +20%; No Wounding, -50%;
  Side Effect, Hard of Hearing, +60%) [23].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  23
  Wood Perks
  Exude Fuel
  You can’t directly produce fire, but you can secrete a
  thick, flammable (p. B433) sap or resin from your skin,
  which can be set on fire or used to fuel an existing fire. This
  produces a hot flame, adding 1 point of burning damage to
  an existing flame. The amount produced is no more than 1
  pint; you can store it for later use, but you can’t make more
  until you use it.
  Thorns
  You can will the surface of your body to become covered
  with sharp thorns. This is equivalent to having Short Spines
  (p. B88). The thorns go away if you lose consciousness (see
  Accessibility, p. 17).
  Ultimate Stave
  When you wield a wooden weapon in your hands, its
  quality goes up one level: cheap weapons become good
  and good weapons become fine. This benefits batons,
  clubs, staffs, and so on, and also bows made entirely of
  wood, but not composite bows, crossbows (where the
  wielder does not directly touch the bow), or melee
  weapons such as maces and spears (with a stone or metal
  head on a wooden shaft).
  
  Tangling Vines and Branches
  25 points
  You can direct existing vegetation to entangle and restrain
  everyone within an eight-yard-radius area. On land this requires
  nearby tree branches, vines, or tall grass; in the ocean it works if
  there’s dense seaweed. It requires a roll against Innate Attack
  (Beam) plus Talent; if you miss, see Scatter (p. B414).
  The binding has ST 5 and lasts for 10 seconds, continuing
  to entangle new people who blunder into it. Those already
  caught grow more tightly entangled, with +1 to the ST of their
  bonds for each additional second they remain grappled.
  Extra effort adds +1 to effective ST for every -4 to Will.
  Statistics: Binding 5 (Area Effect, 8 yards, +150%; Chi, -10%;
  Elemental, -10%; Environmental, Dense vegetation, -40%; Per-
  sistent, +40%; Underwater, +20%) [25].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  24
  Fire includes flames, hot coals, and also superheated mat-
  ter such as lava.
  INTERNAL FIRE
  These abilities manifest the body’s internal heat.
  Flame Breath
  3 points
  You can exhale a burst of flame from your mouth, inflicting
  1d-1 burning damage as a ranged attack with 1/2D 10 and Max
  100. Aiming it requires a roll against Innate Attack (Breath),
  plus Talent, at a range penalty of -1 per yard.
  Extra effort grants +1 to damage per -9 to Will. You may
  Power Parry (p. 11) with Flame Breath.
  Statistics: Burning Attack 1d-1 (Chi, -10%; Costs Fatigue, 1
  FP, -5%; Short-Range 1, -10%) [3].
  Forge
  25 points
  By holding metal in your hands and concentrating for four
  seconds, you can cause it to soften as if it were being heated.
  This temporarily reduces the DR of the material by 5 (to a min-
  imum of 0). You do not actually heat the metal; the effect comes
  from the essence of heat pervading the metal. You must win a
  Quick Contest of your Will (plus Talent) vs. the object’s HT-1; the
  softening then lasts for as long as you maintain concentration,
  to a maximum duration of minutes equal to your margin of vic-
  tory. (You may let go of the metal while maintaining the effect.)
  Extra effort gives -1 to the object’s resistance per -10 to Will.
  Statistics: Affliction 2 (HT-1; Accessibility, Only metal, -20%;
  Chi, -10%; Malediction 1, +100%; Melee Attack, Reach C, No
  Parry, -35%; Negated Advantage, DR 5, +25%; Requires Concen-
  trate, -15%; Takes Extra Time 2, -20%) [25].
  Heat Endurance
  19 points
  You can focus your will to resist heat and burns, gaining DR
  4 vs. damage caused by heat or fire and adding 4¥HT to the
  upper limit of your temperature comfort zone (p. B434). The
  benefits cover your clothing and carried equipment, making
  them less likely to catch fire (Making Things Burn, p. B433).
  Extra effort adds HT degrees to the upper limit of your com-
  fort zone per -5 to Will. You can make a Power Block (p. 11)
  with Heat Endurance.
  Statistics: Damage Resistance 4 (Accessibility, While con-
  scious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Force Field, +20%; Limited,
  Heat/Fire, -40%; Link, +10%) [15] + Temperature Tolerance 4
  (Heat; Accessibility, While conscious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Link,
  +10%) [4].
  Lightened Body
  8 points
  You can use your attunement to fire to diminish your
  body’s weight when you jump, doubling your maximum dis-
  tance. If this ability increases your jumping distance (in
  yards) to greater than your Move (in yards/second), then
  such a jump will take you multiple seconds; see Super Jump
  (p. 15) for more. Talent adds to your DX or Jumping when
  you leap. You do 4/5 normal slam damage while using this
  ability, due to your reduced weight. If you fall from a dis-
  tance equal to or less than your (improved) maximum high
  jump, you take no damage.
  Extra effort increases your maximum jumping distance, at
  +5% distance per -1 to Will.
  Statistics: Super Jump 1 (Chi, -10%; Lighter Than Air, 
  -10%) [8].
  Smoke Endurance
  7 points
  You can breathe freely in smoke-filled air, and your eyes are
  tougher (DR 2) and resistant to smoke irritation, tear gas, etc.
  (+2 to all HT rolls concerned with eye protection). Talent adds
  to HT rolls to resist coughing or choking, or to recover from
  eye damage from smoke or vapors.
  Statistics: Filter Lungs (Accessibility, While conscious, -5%;
  Chi, -10%; Link, +10%) [5] + Nictitating Membrane 2 (Accessi-
  bility, While conscious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Link, +10%) [2].
  FIRE
  Fire licked Chen’s hair and the hem of
  the alchemist’s robes and the alchemist
  went up like a torch: the chemicals which
  stained his robes burning now
  ultramarine, now amber.
  – Liz Williams, Snake Agent
  
  Touching the Lungs
  9 points
  This attack uses fire chi to afflict another per-
  son’s metal chi. The strike requires skin-to-skin
  contact (possibly necessitating a hit location
  penalty); Talent adds to the DX or unarmed com-
  bat skill roll to hit. The target resists with a roll
  vs. HT-1 or suffers coughing (p. B428) for min-
  utes equal to his margin of failure.
  Extra effort gives -1 to the target’s resistance
  roll per -10 to Will.
  Statistics: Affliction 2 (HT-1; Chi, -10%; Con-
  tact Agent, -30%; Coughing, +20%; Melee Attack,
  Reach C, Cannot Parry, -35%) [9].
  EXTERNAL FIRE
  These abilities involve perceiving or control-
  ling fire outside the body. Mundane countermea-
  sures include the use of water to quench fire
  (Water Quenches Fire, p. 7), or of earth to cover it.
  Commanding Fire
  16 points
  You can move or reshape a single fire in a
  one-yard-radius area. This calls for a roll against
  IQ plus Talent, and requires constant concentra-
  tion to maintain. You can’t detach the flame
  from its fuel! You must hold your hand in the
  flame to establish control initially; this may
  cause injury if you don’t have Heat Endurance
  (p. 24) or Resistance to Fire (p. 31). Flame can be
  directed onto an adjacent foe, causing its normal
  damage (1d-3 for typical fires, assuming he’s free
  to move away) if he fails to dodge. You can also
  give -1 or +1 to specific, appropriate rolls, such
  as -1 to combat rolls made in or adjacent to the
  flame, -1 to Vision rolls by creating a flare, or +1 to
  Vision rolls by increasing the fire’s brightness.
  Extra effort increases your radius of control by 0.1 yard
  per -2 to Will. You may make a Power Block (p. 11) with Com-
  manding Fire.
  Statistics: Control Fire 1 (Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%) [16].
  Incendiary
  9 points
  If there is flammable material present, you can will it to
  start burning. This requires a Concentrate maneuver and a
  Will roll; add Talent but subtract standard range penalties
  (p. B550). A sapient target may resist, turning this into a
  Quick Contest of Will. Roll 1d damage if your attack suc-
  ceeds, but don’t actually reduce the subject’s HP; instead,
  compare it to the damage threshold for the material’s flam-
  mability class (Making Things Burn, p. B433), ignoring any
  DR, to see if the target bursts into flame.
  Extra effort adds +1 damage for each -6 to Will.
  Statistics: Burning Attack 1d (Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%;
  Malediction 2, +150%; No Wounding, -50%) [9].
  Knowing Hidden Fire
  18 points
  You can sense whether fire is present and determine its direc-
  tion and size. You can also analyze its intensity and shape, for
  such purposes as monitoring the temperature in an oven or fur-
  nace. Detection requires a Per roll subject to range penalties
  from the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. B550); analysis calls
  for an IQ roll. Talent adds to both rolls.
  Statistics: Detect Fire (Chi, -10%) [18].
  Smoke Veil
  8 points
  You can emit clouds of smoke from your person, making it
  hard to see you clearly but hindering your own vision as well.
  The covering effect fills a two-yard radius around you and
  gives -5 to all Vision and attack rolls. (This also applies to such
  rolls made by people within the smoke – including you!)
  Extra effort makes the smoke denser: another -1 in effect
  for each -4 to Will. You may make a Power Block (p. 11) with
  Smoke Veil.
  Statistics: Obscure 5 (Vision; Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%) [8].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  25
  Fire Perks
  Hot Metal
  You can heat a metal object in your hand, causing it to inflict 1 point
  of burning damage – enough to set paper or tinder aflame. If you use the
  object as a weapon, this is linked (p. B381) to its normal damage. The
  heat does not injure you.
  Illumination
  You can emit light from your body equivalent to a torch, removing
  darkness penalties within two yards. At night, this makes you highly visi-
  ble; reverse the local darkness penalty (making it a bonus) for others’
  Vision rolls to see you!
  Inner Heat‡
  This leveled perk (Power Perks, p. 8) grants improved resistance to
  cold. It’s essentially Temperature Tolerance (Cold), but based on the
  better of Will or Meditation, rather than HT. It requires conscious
  intent to activate (see Accessibility, p. 17).
  Scattering Ashes
  Your skin can exude a small cloud of hot ashes, which slowly scatter
  onto the ground around you. For this to do more than look cool, you
  must stand in place for 10 seconds, after which they’ll cover a one-yard-
  radius area (one hex on a battle map) centered on you. These ashes can-
  not set anything on fire, but their innate heat can discolor skin; anyone
  in direct contact with hot ashes for 10 seconds or longer takes a flat 1
  point of burning damage. Thick clothing or innate DR prevents this. The
  ashes cool after 1d minutes.
  The ashes remain behind. If worked into soil, they will enhance the
  fertility within a one-yard radius, giving +2 to Gardening. With enough
  ash to cover a crop field, this can give +2 to Farming as well, but it takes
  one elementalist over 13 hours to cover each acre, not including breaks to
  eat and replenish lost FP! This bonus lasts for one season (three months).
  
  Storm of Fire
  21 points
  This elemental attack rains down fire in a 16-yard radius
  around you (Elemental Storm, p. 17), lasting 30 seconds, once
  per day. Each second of exposure inflicts 1d+1 burning damage,
  which may set clothes or other objects on fire (Making Things
  Burn, p. B433).
  Extra effort grants +1 damage per -5 to Will.
  Statistics: Burning Attack 1d+1 (Chi, -10%; Elemen-
  tal, -10%; Elemental Storm, +190%; Extended Duration, 3¥
  duration, +20%) [21].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  26
  Earth includes the various forms of soil and rock that make
  up the ground underfoot. It excludes metal, which is a separate
  element (see pp. 28-30).
  INTERNAL EARTH
  These abilities manifest the earthlike aspects of the human
  body, such as its mass and solidity.
  Avalanche
  11 points
  When you shove (p. B372) another character or an object,
  you can use the force of the earth to augment your push. Your
  Talent adds to your DX or Sumo Wrestling roll to hit, and you
  roll an additional 2d damage (before doubling) for determining
  knockback! For example, a ST 15 fighter (thrust 1d+1) would
  roll 3d+1 damage, then double it, for knockback purposes only.
  Extra effort gives +1 damage (before doubling) per -3 to
  Will.
  Statistics: Crushing Attack 2d (Chi, -10%; Double Knock-
  back, +20%; Melee Attack, Reach C, ST-Based, +70%; No Blunt
  Trauma, -20%; No Wounding, -50%) [11].
  Holding Water
  14 points
  You can absorb up to 10 pints (about 1/6 cubic foot) of
  water by placing part of your body in it and rolling against IQ
  plus Talent. The water can be fresh, salt, or even contaminated;
  your body processes it as though you were drinking clean,
  fresh water (eradicating the impurities). The absorption is not
  directly reversible, but the water will eventually be released by
  your normal metabolism. You cannot use this ability to dehy-
  drate a living creature.
  Extra effort increases the amount of water you can absorb:
  Will Penalty
  Quantity
  Will Penalty
  Quantity
  -2
  12 pints
  -12
  26 pints
  -4
  14 pints
  -14
  29 pints
  -6
  17 pints
  -16
  32 pints
  -8
  20 pints
  -18
  36 pints
  -10
  23 pints
  -20
  40 pints
  Statistics: Accessory (Water Filter) [1] + Create Aqueous Solu-
  tions 1 (Chi, -10%; Destruction Only, +0%; Reduced Fatigue Cost
  2, +40%) [13].
  Skin of Earth
  15 points
  You can mineralize your skin to cover yourself with a layer
  of packed soil, which will absorb the impacts of blows and the
  heat of burns as DR 6 armor. This is flexible, but it does pro-
  tect against contact attacks; e.g., the various Touching the
  (Internal Organ) abilities. However, you lose 1 DR for every full
  10 points of basic damage rolled against you in each attack.
  (An attack that does less than 10 points of basic damage does
  not reduce your DR.) You may reabsorb your hardened outer
  surface at any time, dismissing it – but if any was flaked away
  by damage, it will still be lost when you next armor up! You
  regain lost DR at the same rate as you regain lost HP, whether
  your armor is active or not. While your armor is active, you
  suffer -1 to reactions for being literally covered in dirt.
  You can make a Power Block (p. 11) with Skin of Earth.
  See also Striking Surface (p. 27).
  Statistics: Damage Resistance 6 (Accessibility, While con-
  scious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Flexible, -20%; Nuisance Effect, Cov-
  ered in dirt, -1 to reactions, -5%; Semi-Ablative, -20%;
  Switchable, +10%) [15].
  Stone Frame
  26 points
  You have the strength to lift and support massive weights,
  like a stone pillar. By concentrating for one second, you
  increase your effective ST by 10 for lifting purposes only.
  Extra effort grants another +1 Lifting ST per -2 to Will.
  See Overlapping Abilities (p. 21) if you have more than one
  (Element) Frame ability.
  Statistics: Lifting ST 10 (Accessibility, While con-
  scious, -5%; Chi, -10%) [26].
  EARTH
  As they were about to leave, Zhishen
  fixed his eye on them again and said, “Are
  your heads as hard as this pine tree?”
  They replied, “Our heads are such as
  our parents gave us, just skin and flesh
  and a little bit of bone.”
  – Shi Naian and Luo Guanzhong,
  Water Margin
  
  Touching the Kidneys
  9 points
  This attack uses earth chi to afflict another person’s water
  chi. The strike requires skin-to-skin contact (possibly necessi-
  tating a hit location penalty); Talent adds to the DX or
  unarmed combat skill roll to hit. If hit, the target takes 2d
  fatigue damage as if from dehydration (p. B426); it cannot be
  recovered without rest and copious amounts of water.
  Extra effort gives +1 damage per -3 to Will.
  Statistics:
  Fatigue Attack 2d (Chi, -10%; Contact
  Agent, -30%; Hazard, Dehydration, +20%; Melee Attack, Reach
  C, Cannot Parry, -35%) [9].
  EXTERNAL EARTH
  These abilities involve perceiving or controlling soil and
  rock outside the body. Mundane countermeasures include the
  use of wood or metal tools to move or block earth.
  Commanding Earth
  16 points
  You can move or reshape a stone, or a mass of soil or clay,
  weighing no more than 10 lbs. (about 1/16 cubic foot). You must
  touch the material to establish initial control, and roll against IQ
  plus Talent. Maintaining control requires constant concentra-
  tion, though not contact. You can force it to roll or shamble at
  Move 1, but you can’t lift it into the air! Giving it a beautiful or
  functional shape may require an Artist (Sculpting), Engineer
  (Mining), or Masonry roll. You can inflict -1 to combat rolls by
  such methods as shifting the ground under an opponent’s feet.
  You may make a Power Block (p. 11) with Commanding
  Earth. Extra effort increases your weight limit:
  Will Penalty
  Weight
  Will Penalty
  Weight
  -2
  12 lbs.
  -12
  26 lbs.
  -4
  14 lbs.
  -14
  29 lbs.
  -6
  17 lbs.
  -16
  32 lbs.
  -8
  20 lbs.
  -18
  36 lbs.
  -10
  23 lbs.
  -20
  40 lbs.
  Statistics: Control Earth 1 (Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%) [16].
  Dust Cloud
  13 points
  You can cause an eruption of sand, dust, etc. from the
  ground, creating a two-yard-radius cloud that gives -5 to Vision
  and attack rolls for 10 seconds. This is a ranged attack; roll vs.
  Innate Attack (Projectile) plus Talent to hit anyone up to 100
  yards away. Standard range penalties (p. B550) apply.
  Extra effort makes the cloud denser: another -1 to effect
  for each -4 to Will. You may make a Power Block (p. 11) with
  Dust Cloud.
  Statistics: Obscure 5 (Vision; Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%;
  Ranged, +50%) [13].
  Knowing Hidden Stone
  18 points
  You can sense whether a nonmetallic mineral is present
  and determine its direction and amount. This can locate
  gemstones, veins of ore, geological strata, and so on. 
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  27
  Escaping Burial
  You have +4 to ST to dig yourself out of loose earth
  (e.g., from a landslide or collapse). This affects the ST-4
  roll allowed for Shape Earth (p. B245), ST-based digging-
  time calculations, and so on. If a roll is involved, you may
  make one attempt per second. The GM may make the roll
  harder, or require multiple rolls, if you are buried under
  more than two cubic yards of earth.
  Exude Metal
  You can secrete veins of metal from your skin, in such
  forms as plates, wires, or rods; this does not have enough
  structural integrity to grant DR, but can serve as an impro-
  vised, simple, small tool. You can produce up to 1 lb. of
  most metals, but only once per day; if producing precious
  metals, you’re limited to 1% of the campaign’s average
  starting wealth (e.g., in a TL3 setting, you can make $10
  worth of silver, or about 1/8 ounce).
  Striking Surface
  Prerequisite: Iron Skull (p. 29) or Skin of Earth (p. 26).
  This is an earth perk and a metal perk. If you have both
  prerequisite abilities, both paragraphs below apply!
  If you have Skin of Earth, your hard body surface can
  cover your fists and feet in extra dirt, increasing barehanded
  damage. Your punch counts as having brass knuckles and
  your kick works as if wearing heavy boots. This gives +1 to
  damage – not cumulative with actual brass knuckles or
  boots! If your DR is worn down to 2 or less, you can no
  longer use Striking Surface. Your perk is hidden when not
  in use, but you suffer Bad Grip 3 while using it.
  If you have Iron Skull, you can roll against Brawling-1
  or Karate-1 to head-butt for thrust crushing damage. (If
  you lack those skills, you can roll against DX-2 to do
  thrust-1 crushing damage.) If you butt DR 3+, see Hurting
  Yourself (p. B379) – though Iron Skull will help protect you!
  If a foe parries your head butt, any damage this causes
  affects your face.
  Sure-Footed†
  You can use your chi to attune your feet to the ground
  under them, letting you ignore the -2 to attack and -1 to
  defend for a specific type of bad footing. You must specialize.
  Sure-Footed (Shifting) lets you move on gravel, sand, or
  loose soil without having it slip out from under your feet;
  Sure-Footed (Soft) avoids sinking into mud or quicksand;
  Sure-Footed (Uneven) lets you move on hills and slopes.
  Earth Perks
  
  You can also analyze composition and shape. Detection
  requires a Per roll subject to range penalties from the Size and
  Speed/Range Table (p. B550); analysis calls for an IQ roll. Talent
  adds to both rolls.
  Statistics: Detect Nonmetallic Minerals (Chi, -10%) [18].
  Shaking the Ground
  54 points
  You can create earth tremors within a radius of 0.3 mile
  (528 yards) with a roll vs. IQ plus Talent. This can give -1 to any
  roll that ground tremors could hinder, such as Hiking rolls,
  ground vehicle operation rolls, combat rolls, or Strategy rolls
  for ground troops. Every building or tunnel in the area must
  roll against HT-1 or suffer minor damage (e.g., cracks); on a
  critical failure, the structure collapses. If you use this power
  openly, your Intimidation rolls have an extra +1 on top of the
  bonus for displaying supernatural power.
  Extra effort adds 0.03 mile (53 yards) of radius per -2 to
  Will.
  Statistics: Control Seismic Vibrations 3 (Chi, -10%; Elemen-
  tal, -10%; Natural Phenomena, +100%) [54].
  Storm of Stones
  25 points
  This elemental attack makes the earth itself rise up as a flurry
  of small rocks and gravel. This fills a 16-yard radius around you
  (see Elemental Storm, p. 17) for 30 seconds, once per day. The
  bombardment comes not from above but from below, and
  bypasses any cover that does not provide underfoot protection.
  Each second of exposure causes 1d+1 crushing damage. Those
  affected suffer from bad footing during the attack. If damage
  penetrates a target’s DR, he must make a HT roll, at -1 per 2
  points of penetrating damage, or suffer from Crippled Legs
  (p. B141) for (20-HT) minutes, minimum 1 minute.
  Extra effort grants +1 to damage per -5 to Will.
  Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d+1 (Chi, -10%; Elemen-
  tal, -10%; Elemental Storm, +190%; Extended Duration, 3¥
  duration, +20%; Overhead, From below, +0%; Side Effect,
  Crippled Legs, +60%) [25].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  28
  Metal includes all the metallic elements and their alloys. It
  does not include metal ores such as oxides; these count as
  forms of earth. For example, mercury is metal, but cinnabar
  (mercury sulfide) is earth.
  INTERNAL METAL
  These powers involve the manifestation of the metallic
  aspects of the body.
  Bones of Iron
  9 points
  Your skeleton can take on the hardness and resilience of
  metal. Damage to limbs and extremities still causes injury, but
  the injury needed to cripple them is twice normal – the amount
  usually required to dismember. Crippling (pp. B420-422) is at
  worst lasting; you never suffer permanent crippling or dismem-
  berment. The GM may rule that injury that destroys your body
  breaks your skeleton, but you’ll be dead by that time. Injury rep-
  resents damage to the flesh covering your bones, not to your
  skeleton – or concussion transmitted through the skull, if an
  attack targets the brain. Talent adds to HT rolls to resist crippling.
  See also Iron Skull (p. 29).
  Statistics: Injury Tolerance (Unbreakable Bones; Accessibil-
  ity, While conscious, -5%; Chi, -10%) [9].
  Glinting Edge
  7 points
  Your extremities can take on the qualities of a sharp metal
  tool or weapon, such as an axe or knife. This lets you inflict
  enhanced damage, but only against organic matter (e.g., flesh,
  wood, or other vegetative matter): Your punches or kicks
  become cutting and do an additional 1d-1 damage. If attacked
  with organic (usually wooden) weapons, you may parry them
  at no penalty, but if the parry fails, the attacker may choose to
  injure the parrying hand (as usual). Talent adds to your DX or
  unarmed combat skill to attack.
  Extra effort gives 1 added point of damage per -9 to Will.
  You may Power Parry (p. 11) with Glinting Edge.
  Statistics: Cutting Attack 1d-1 (Accessibility, Only vs.
  organic matter, -20%; Chi, -10%; Melee Attack, ST-Based,
  Reach C, +70%) [7].
  Immobility
  3 or 5 points
  You can take on increased density, like that of metal, mak-
  ing you harder to lift and more resistant to knockback. Your
  outward appearance does not change. There are two levels of
  this ability:
  Lesser Immobility gives +3 to effective ST, but makes you
  twice as heavy when using it. 3 points.
  Greater Immobility gives +8 to effective ST, but makes you
  five times as heavy when using it. 5 points.
  You can make a Power Block (p. 11) with Immobility.
  Statistics: Lesser Immobility is Resistant to Knockback (+3)
  (Accessibility, While conscious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Switchable,
  +10%) [3] and the 0-point special effect that the user’s mass is
  doubled while using it. Greater Immobility raises this to (+8)
  [5] but with 5¥ mass.
  Metal Frame
  26 points
  You have the strength to lift and support massive weights,
  like a metal column. By concentrating for one second, you
  increase your effective ST by 10 for lifting purposes only.
  METAL
  
  Extra effort grants another +1 Lifting ST per -2
  to Will.
  See Overlapping Abilities (p. 21) if you have
  more than one (Element) Frame ability.
  Statistics: Lifting ST 10 (Accessibility, While
  conscious, -5%; Chi, -10%) [26].
  Skin of Bronze
  23 points
  Your body surface can take on the hardness and
  resilience of metal, making it functionally equiva-
  lent to armor (DR 10). However, it is still skin!
  Being living tissue, it provides no protection
  against attacks based on skin contact. You can
  make a Power Block (p. 11) with Skin of Bronze.
  Statistics: Damage Resistance 10 (Accessibil-
  ity, While conscious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Tough
  Skin, -40%) [23].
  Touching the Liver
  13 points
  This attack uses metal chi to afflict another per-
  son’s wood chi. It affects the gall bladder and bile
  duct as well as the liver. The strike requires skin-to-
  skin contact (possibly necessitating a hit location
  penalty); Talent adds to the DX or unarmed com-
  bat skill roll to hit. The target resists with a roll vs.
  HT-1 or suffers severe pain (p. B428) for minutes
  equal to his margin of failure.
  Extra effort gives -1 to the target’s resistance
  roll per -10 to Will.
  Statistics: Affliction 2 (HT-1; Chi, -10%; Contact
  Agent, -30%; Melee Attack, Reach C, Cannot
  Parry, -35%; Severe Pain, +40%) [13].
  EXTERNAL METAL
  These abilities involve perceiving or controlling metal out-
  side the body. Mundane countermeasures include the use of
  fire to soften or melt metal, water to cover metal (metal sinks
  in water), or water or acid to corrode metal. (Water corrodes
  slowly, but acids in aqueous solution do so more quickly; see
  Acid, p. B428.)
  Attracting Iron
  10 points
  You can generate a magnetic field that pulls one item made
  of ferrous metal toward you with telekinetic ST 10 – or, if the
  object is fixed in place or too heavy to move, pulls you toward
  it. An active opponent can resist the pull with his ST (or teleki-
  netic ST, if better).
  Extra effort gives you +1 telekinetic ST per -2 to Will.
  Statistics: Telekinesis 10 (Attraction, Action/Reaction, -30%*;
  Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%; Magnetic, -50%) [10].
  * A less restrictive version of Attraction (GURPS Powers,
  p. 83) that can also target the user, but only to move him
  toward the object if it’s unable to move toward him.
  Commanding Metal
  16 points
  You can move or reshape a single mass of metal weighing
  no more than 10 lbs. (about 1/50 cubic foot for iron or steel).
  You must touch the material to establish initial control, and
  roll against IQ plus Talent. Maintaining control requires con-
  stant concentration, though not contact. You can force it to roll
  or shamble at Move 1, but you can’t lift it into the air! Giving it
  a beautiful or functional shape may require an Armoury, Artist
  (Sculpting), Jeweler, Machinist, or Smith roll. Metal cannot be
  commanded to attack a foe, but can be shaped into shackles, a
  shield, etc.
  You may make a Power Block (p. 11) with Commanding
  Metal. Extra effort increases your weight limit:
  Will Penalty
  Weight
  Will Penalty
  Weight
  -2
  12 lbs.
  -12
  26 lbs.
  -4
  14 lbs.
  -14
  29 lbs.
  -6
  17 lbs.
  -16
  32 lbs.
  -8
  20 lbs.
  -18
  36 lbs.
  -10
  23 lbs.
  -20
  40 lbs.
  Statistics: Control Metal 1 (Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%) [16].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  29
  Metal Perks
  Exude Water
  Metal’s good heat conduction makes metal surfaces feel cool; water
  naturally condenses on them. You have the ability to collect water on
  your skin in the same way, if the air is at least slightly humid. The
  water cannot be used offensively, but will wash materials such as salt,
  soap, or mud off your skin. You can collect it into a container (this
  takes about a minute) for cleaning, cooling others, or quenching thirst.
  You can produce up to 1 pint at a time; you may store it, but you won’t
  be able to produce more until you pour it out or drink it.
  Inner Compass
  You can attune yourself to the planet’s magnetic field. This is not
  as good as Absolute Direction, but acts as a compass: +1 to Naviga-
  tion (Air, Land, or Sea), not cumulative with the bonus from a real
  compass, GPS, etc.
  Iron Skull‡
  Prerequisite: Bones of Iron (p. 28).
  Each level (Power Perks, p. 8) of this perk improves your skull’s nat-
  ural DR 2 (p. B399) by 1. You can make a Power Block (p. 11) with
  Iron Skull. See also Striking Surface (Earth Perks, p. 27).
  Striking Surface
  See Earth Perks (p. 27). This is an earth and metal perk.
  Ultimate Blade
  When you wield a metal knife, sword, or fencing weapon in your
  hands, its quality goes up one level: Cheap weapons become good,
  good weapons become fine, and fine weapons become very fine. This
  does not benefit blunt metal weapons, or weapons with a wooden
  shaft such as axes and spears.
  
  Knowing Hidden Metal
  18 points
  You can sense whether metal is present and determine its
  direction and amount. This can locate hidden treasure, native
  metal underground, concealed weapons, and so on. You 
  can also analyze its composition and shape. Detection requires
  a Per roll subject to range penalties from the Size and
  Speed/Range Table (p. B550); analysis calls for an IQ roll. Talent
  adds to both rolls.
  Statistics: Detect Metal (Chi, -10%) [18].
  Storm of Metal
  21 points
  This elemental attack fills a 16-yard radius around you
  with sharp shards of metal (see Elemental Storm, p. 17) for 30
  seconds, once per day. Each second of exposure inflicts 1d
  cutting damage.
  Extra effort grants +1 to damage per -6 to Will.
  Statistics: Cutting Attack 1d (Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%;
  Elemental Storm, +190%; Extended Duration, 3¥ duration,
  +20%) [21].
  Stream of Needles
  10 points
  You can blast your foes with sharp metal slivers flung from
  your pointed fingertips. This is a ranged attack with Acc 3,
  1/2D 100, Max 100, RoF 4, and Rcl 1. The skill for this ability
  is Innate Attack (Projectile); Talent adds to your roll to hit.
  Each needle that hits causes 1d-1 impaling damage.
  Extra effort projects one extra needle per -5 to Will
  (improving RoF by 25%). You may Power Parry (p. 11) with
  Stream of Needles.
  Statistics: Impaling Attack 1d-1 (Blockable, -5%; Chi, -10%;
  Elemental, -10%; Increased 1/2D, 10¥, +15%; Rapid Fire, RoF
  4, +70%) [10].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  30
  Not all liquids are water. A fluid only counts as “water” if
  it forms part of the environmental water cycle: rain, runoff,
  evaporation, and so on. This includes liquid water (fresh or
  salt), but also the droplets that make up clouds and fog.
  However, fluids that originate from within living organisms
  (blood or sap), are secreted by them (milk or honey), or are
  extracted from them (fruit juice or wine) are not water.
  Living organisms are complex systems in which all five forms
  of chi are mixed.
  These abilities can affect water mixed with impurities. The
  impurities may be organic (such as heavily watered-down
  wine) or inorganic (such as acid in aqueous solution). How-
  ever, all rolls to affect such water are at -1 for up to 5% impu-
  rities, -2 for up to 10%, and so on, down to -10 for 50%. Liquids
  with more than 50% impurities no longer count as “water.”
  INTERNAL WATER
  These powers involve manifesting the watery aspects of the
  body, and interaction of the body with water.
  Breathing Water
  14 points
  You can adapt to living under water, like a fish, and survive
  there as long as you remain conscious. If you lose consciousness,
  you will begin to drown. You can change depth freely without
  suffering from the bends, and can dive to 100 yards without ill
  effects from pressure. At greater depths you suffer effects com-
  parable to those of superdense atmospheric pressure (p. B429).
  Regardless of depth, if there is no dissolved oxygen in the water,
  you will suffocate. Talent adds to HT rolls to resist pressure
  exceeding 10 atmospheres (p. B435).
  Extra effort allows you to withstand a maximum depth 5
  yards greater per -1 to Will, but requires one Will roll (and 1
  FP!) per minute.
  Statistics: Doesn’t Breathe (Accessibility, While con-
  scious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Gills, -50%; Linked, +10%) [9] + Pres-
  sure Support 1 (Accessibility, While conscious, -5%; Chi, -10%;
  Linked, +10%) [5].
  Dragon Swiftness
  9 points
  Like the lung (dragon), ruler of moving water, you can move
  as freely in water as on land, with the same Move. You never
  need to make Swimming rolls. Talent adds to all DX and skill
  rolls required to move through the water.
  Extra effort further enhances your swimming speed as if
  you were running (p. B357).
  Statistics: Amphibious (Accessibility, While conscious, -5%;
  Chi, -10%) [9].
  Drowning Embrace
  11 points
  You can direct a continuous jet of water outward from your
  mouth to fill an adversary’s lungs, so that he inhales water and
  begins to drown (see Suffocation, p. B436), suffering 1d fatigue
  damage (DR does not protect). If you damage the same target
  on subsequent turns, he is unable to take a breath and contin-
  ues to drown! Use Innate Attack (Breath) plus Talent to hit. A
  target with Filter Lungs or Doesn’t Breathe is immune; a suc-
  cessful Breath Control roll halves the fatigue damage suffered
  (roll once per successful attack).
  There are two ways to attack:
  Contact: If you have the target’s torso, neck, or head grappled,
  you may target his face at -5 to hit. He can dodge (at the usual -1
  for being grappled). If you successfully hit, you are at no hit loca-
  tion penalty for subsequent attacks, as long as you maintain the
  grapple. If you trick the target into kissing you first, you hit auto-
  matically (don’t roll attack or defense) on the first turn!
  WATER
  
  Noncontact: You can attack your target’s face (at -5 to hit)
  from up to one yard away. He may dodge or block. Your attack
  does half damage if successful.
  Extra effort gives +1 damage per -6 to Will. You may Power
  Parry (p. 11) with Drowning Embrace.
  Statistics: Fatigue Attack 1d (Chi, -10%; Hazard, Drowning,
  +0%; Jet, +0%; Reduced Range, ¥1/10, -30%; Respiratory
  Agent, +50%) [11].
  Resistance to Fire
  7 points
  You can draw on the power of water to resist fire. You,
  your clothing, and any equipment you’re carrying have DR 3
  against fire. This only protects against open flame, not dam-
  age from heat or other kinds of burning attacks (e.g., electric-
  ity or lasers).
  You can make a Power Block (p. 11) with Resistance to Fire.
  Statistics: Damage Resistance 3 (Accessibility, While con-
  scious, -5%; Chi, -10%; Force Field, +20%; Limited, Fire, 
  -60%) [7].
  Restoring the Body’s Water
  11 points
  Prerequisite: Inner Fountain (p. 32).
  You can use your attunement to water to restore FP lost to
  dehydration. You must make skin-to-skin contact with the
  beneficiary for a full minute, and roll against IQ plus Talent. If
  you succeed, he immediately recovers up to 2 FP as if he had
  been resting and drinking water. This will not restore FP lost
  to other causes! Repeated application on the same day brings
  no increased benefit.
  You can apply this to any animal that drinks water for
  hydration, other than yourself. If you apply it to nonhuman
  beings, reverse the SM and apply it as a modifier; for example,
  the roll to help an SM -2 creature would be at +2.
  Extra effort restores 1 additional FP (a 50% improvement)
  per -10 to Will.
  Statistics: Healing (Accessibility, Only dehydration-caused
  FP, -40%; Capped, 2 FP, -25%; Chi, -10%; Contact Agent, -30%;
  Fatigue Only, +0%*; Immediate Preparation Required, 1
  minute, -30%†; Once per subject per day, -10%; Reduced
  Fatigue Cost 2, +40%; Xenohealing, All water-dependent land
  animals, +40%) [11].
  * Your Healing restores FP instead of HP. This costs 1 FP
  per FP restored (instead of 1 FP per 2 HP healed).
  † As for Preparation Required (p. B114), but the ability
  must be used immediately after its preparation.
  Taking the Narrow Passage
  18 points
  You can bend, stretch, and distort your body to crawl
  through small openings or narrow tunnels. You cannot reach
  greater distances or use other “elastic” abilities; your body can
  elongate only with the external bracing of the tunnel or open-
  ing. This capability gives you two different benefits.
  • You make Escape rolls at +5, with an added
  bonus for your Talent. Extra effort gives you a
  further +1 to Escape rolls (a 20% increase in the
  bonus) per -4 to Will.
  • You can squeeze through extremely narrow
  openings. An Escape roll allows a normal human
  being to get through an opening three SM levels
  smaller than his height; you can manage an extra
  SM level, a total of four levels. Talent does not
  directly affect this, though it still benefits your
  Escape roll. Extreme extra effort (-20 to Will!)
  allows you to slip a second SM level, a total of five
  levels, instead of gaining a bonus to Escape.
  Statistics: Double-Jointed (Accessibility, While
  conscious, -5%; Aspected, Only to fit through nar-
  row places, -20%; Chi, -10%; Linked, +20%) [13] +
  Stretching 1 (Aspected, Only to fit through narrow
  places, -20%; Chi, -10%; Linked, +10%) [5].
  Touching the Heart
  10 points
  This attack uses water chi to afflict another per-
  son’s fire chi. The strike requires skin-to-skin con-
  tact (possibly necessitating a hit location penalty); Talent adds
  to the DX or unarmed combat skill roll to hit. If struck, the tar-
  get takes 4d fatigue damage from system shock.
  Extra effort gives +1d fatigue damage per -5 to Will.
  Statistics: Fatigue Attack 4d (Chi, -10%; Contact Agent, -30%;
  Melee Attack, Reach C, Cannot Parry, -35%) [10].
  EXTERNAL WATER
  These abilities involve perceiving or controlling water out-
  side the body. There are a variety of mundane countermea-
  sures. Earth can absorb water, clog a pipe, or dam a stream.
  Wood floats on water, and in the form of vegetation it can slow
  water’s flow or block it completely.
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  31
  Water does not stick 
  to the mountain, and
  vengeance does not 
  stick to a big heart.
  – Chinese proverb
  
  Commanding Water
  12 points
  You can control the movement or shape of liquid water, up
  to 10 pints (about 1/6 cubic foot). You must touch the water to
  establish initial control, and roll against IQ plus Talent.
  Maintaining control requires constant concentration, though
  not contact. You can force it to flow (even uphill) at Move 1,
  but you can’t lift it into the air! It can’t cause direct damage,
  but creative use of it can inflict -1 to combat and other skills. A
  flow of water can also put out a fire (Water Quenches Fire, p. 7)
  or irrigate plants (Water Nourishes Wood, p. 7).
  You may make a Power Block (p. 11) with Commanding
  Water. Extra effort increases how many pints you can control:
  Will Penalty
  Quantity
  Will Penalty
  Quantity
  -2
  12 pints
  -12
  26 pints
  -4
  14 pints
  -14
  29 pints
  -6
  17 pints
  -16
  32 pints
  -8
  20 pints
  -18
  36 pints
  -10
  23 pints
  -20
  40 pints
  Statistics: Control Liquid Water 1 (Chi, -10%; Elemen-
  tal, -10%) [12].
  Herding Clouds
  54 points
  Within a radius of 0.3 mile (528 yards), you can command
  the movement and behavior of clouds (if any are present) with
  a roll against IQ plus Talent. The GM should apply between +5
  and -5 based on how much existing cloud cover favors or hin-
  ders the desired effect. You can make the day brighter or dim-
  mer, cause thunder, call down light rain (or reduce the
  strength of heavy rain), and so on. You can grant +1 or -1 to
  rolls such effects could help or hinder: increasing or decreas-
  ing darkness penalties, backing up your words with a roll of
  thunder for reaction or Intimidation bonuses, or bringing
  down rain to dampen the ground for bad footing penalties or
  to enhance skills such as Farming (by watering crops) or
  Survival (by providing drinking water).
  Extra effort adds 0.03 mile (53 yards) of radius per -2 to
  Will.
  Statistics: Control Clouds 3 (Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%;
  Natural Phenomena, +100%) [54].
  Knowing Hidden Water
  9 points
  You can sense whether water is present and determine its
  direction and amount. This can locate underground springs,
  pipes in walls, and the like. You can also analyze its composi-
  tion. Detection requires a Per roll subject to range penalties
  from the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. B550); analysis calls
  for an IQ roll. Talent adds to both rolls.
  Statistics: Detect Water (Chi, -10%) [9].
  Ruling Lakes and Seas
  108 points
  The most potent of the water abilities, Ruling Lakes and
  Seas commands the behavior of large bodies of water within a
  radius of 0.3 mile (528 yards) with a roll against IQ plus Talent.
  You can create or calm waves, cause, strengthen, or weaken
  currents, and so on. This grants +1 or -1 to rolls such effects
  could help or hinder: Boating, Seamanship, Shiphandling,
  Swimming, or even Intimidation for dramatic effect.
  Extra effort lets you control an added 0.03 mile (53 yards)
  radius per -2 to Will.
  The GM may allow a similar ability: Ruling Rivers and
  Streams. This costs 81 points and affects these natural sources
  of running water, but is otherwise identical.
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  32
  Germinate
  By holding the seed of a plant in your hand for one
  minute, you can induce it to sprout by rolling against HT
  plus Talent.
  Inner Fountain‡
  This is a leveled perk; see Power Perks (p. 8). Levels 1-4
  are equivalent to Reduced Consumption 1-4 (Water
  Only, -50%). There are no higher levels, even if the GM
  allows more than four levels of Talent.
  Irrigate
  Prerequisite: Inner Fountain (above).
  This perk allows you to restore plants that are suffer-
  ing from drought. This takes a minute of concentration,
  after which you must roll against IQ plus Talent. If suc-
  cessful, you make up for a two-quart shortfall of water for
  one large plant (which you must touch with your bare
  skin) or one square yard of small leafy plants (which you
  need only stand among). See Water Nourishes Wood (p. 7)
  for details. Repeated application on the same day for the
  same plant has no further effect.
  Quenching Touch
  Prerequisite: Resistance to Fire (p. 31).
  This allows you to use Resistance to Fire actively. If you
  place your hand in a flame or on a burning object, you can
  use your Damage Resistance to put out the fire, with
  “water points” equal to your DR; see Water Quenches Fire
  (p. 7). Burning damage in excess of your Damage Resist-
  ance injures your hand.
  Squirt
  A perk-level version of Water Spear (p. 33). Use all the
  rules for that ability, except that this does no damage, no
  blunt trauma, and no knockback. It can startle or distract
  the target, or put out a small flame like a candle. If you
  have both Squirt and Water Spear, you can choose to do
  any amount of damage (for blunt trauma and knockback
  purposes only) from 0 to 1d+2.
  Water Perks
  
  Statistics: Control Oceans and Lakes 3 (Chi, -10%; Elemen-
  tal, -10%; Natural Phenomena, +100%) [108].
  Storm of Rain
  21 points
  This elemental attack calls down driving rain in the 16-yard-
  radius area around you (see Elemental Storm, p. 17) for 30 sec-
  onds, once per day. The drops cause no direct injury, but the
  force of the rain does 1d-1 crushing damage for the purpose of
  blunt trauma; this is doubled for knockback. In addition, every-
  one in the area must roll HT+2 each turn; failure means inhal-
  ing water (lose 1 FP) as if drowning. (Those with Doesn’t
  Breathe or Filter Lungs are immune.)
  Extra effort gives +1 crushing damage per -9 to Will; it
  doesn’t increase the fatigue damage.
  Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d-1 (Chi, -10%; Double Knock-
  back, +20%; Elemental, -10%; Elemental Storm, +190%;
  Extended Duration, 3¥ duration, +20%; Link, +10%; No
  Wounding, -50%) [11] + Fatigue Attack 1 point (Chi, -10%;
  Drowning, +0%; Elemental, -10%; Elemental Storm, +190%;
  Extended Duration, 3¥ duration, +20%; Link, +10%; Resistible,
  HT+2, -40%; Respiratory Agent, +50%) [10].
  Summoning Fog
  17 points
  You can create a fog to hinder your foes, giving them -5 to
  Vision rolls and related Sense rolls. This is a ranged attack
  that creates fog in a two-yard radius, up to 100 yards away. It
  takes two Ready maneuvers to prepare this attack, as the fog
  gathers; you may “fire” it on the third turn. Roll vs. Innate
  Attack (Beam) plus Talent to hit; standard range penalties
  (p. B550) apply. The fog persists for five minutes before dis-
  sipating. You do not have to wait for one cloud to dissipate
  before creating another!
  Extra effort makes the fog denser: another -1 to effect for
  each -4 to Will. You may make a Power Block (p. 11) with
  Summoning Fog.
  Statistics: Obscure 5 (Vision; Chi, -10%; Elemental, -10%;
  Extended Duration, 30¥, +60%; Ranged, +50%; Takes Extra
  Time 2, -20%) [17].
  Water Spear
  4 points
  You can hurl a lance of water at foes, using Innate Attack
  (Beam) plus Talent to hit. This is a jet with 1/2D 5 and Max 10;
  it has no Acc and takes no range penalties. Your attack does
  not directly wound your foes, but it inflicts 1d+2 crushing dam-
  age for the purpose of blunt trauma (p. B379) and double that
  for knockback.
  Extra effort gives +1 damage per -4 to Will. You may Power
  Parry (p. 11) with Water Spear.
  Statistics: Crushing Attack 1d+2 (Chi, -10%; Double
  Knockback, +20%; Elemental, -10%; Jet, +0%; No Wound-
  ing, -50%) [4].
  ELEMENTAL ABILITIES
  33
  Further abilities are available to elementalists who have
  power over all five elements. You must have at least one level
  of Chinese Elemental Talent or one level of each of the various
  5-point power Talents (see p. 16) to learn these. Inner Discrim-
  ination is an external ability (but not one susceptible to coun-
  termeasures); Life of the Tortoise is internal.
  Inner Discrimination
  34 points
  Comparable to Inner Awareness (p. 21), but it takes one
  minute to attune oneself to the nuances of the flow of chi.
  However, you can spend a minute attuning, then wait until
  later to use the ability. If your Per roll to detect chi is success-
  ful, your analysis roll automatically succeeds! You may then
  make a follow-up IQ roll to examine the precise patterns of chi;
  once you’ve studied the use of a chi ability, you can self-teach
  yourself that ability. This takes 400 hours of self-directed study
  per character point; see Learning Abilities (p. 10). Range penal-
  ties (p. B550) affect Per rolls, while Talent aids both rolls.
  If you have both Inner Awareness and Inner Discrimina-
  tion, pay the full cost for Inner Discrimination (34 points), but
  make Inner Awareness an alternative ability (4 points), for a
  total cost of 38 points. (Thus, if you already have Inner Aware-
  ness, it costs just 20 additional character points to later add
  Inner Discrimination.) You may take a Ready maneuver to
  switch between the two abilities; if one is crippled (pp. 12-13)
  or otherwise disabled, so is the other.
  Statistics: Detect Chi (Analyzing, +100%; Chi, -10%; Prepa-
  ration Required, 1 minute, -20%) [34].
  Life of the Tortoise
  9 points
  Through daily meditation and breathing exercises, you hold
  off the effects of old age. This is not automatically successful
  against accelerated aging caused by curses, spells, or the Steal
  Youth version of Leech (defined in GURPS Powers), but you
  can resist such attacks using Meditation + Talent.
  With GM permission, you can apply extra effort to Life of the
  Tortoise to more than cancel aging, actually growing younger as
  time passes. This requires sustained effort for three months at a
  time; you are down 1 FP the entire time. Roll for extra effort at
  the end; for each -2 to Will, you youthen by 9 days (10% of three
  months). The 1 FP loss is due to constant physiological strain, as
  if you were short of food, water, or sleep; you can recover from
  the loss with a full day of rest and a Meditation roll (or treatment
  with Esoteric Medicine), but if you do this before the end of the
  three months, you can’t grow younger at the end!
  Statistics: Unaging (Chi, -10%; Not immune to aging
  attacks, -35%) [9].
  ADVANCED ABILITIES
  
  Now that your players have created their elemental mas-
  ters, what are they going to do with them? The GM’s part of
  the arrangement is to provide a campaign where the powers
  are important and interesting. Before deciding to use Chinese
  elemental powers, decide why your particular campaign
  needs them.
  CAMPAIGNS AND CROSSOVERS
  34
  CHAPTER FIVE
  CAMPAIGNS AND
  CROSSOVERS
  The five elements are more than just a source of magical or
  superhuman powers. As The Cycles of the Elements (pp. 5-7) sug-
  gests, they’re a great unifying theme of Chinese culture. Their
  natural settings are versions of China, or culturally Chinese com-
  munities elsewhere. GURPS China (a GURPS Third Edition
  supplement) can provide inspiration and information for creat-
  ing such a setting.
  HISTORICAL CHINA
  The categories of yin and yang developed in the last few cen-
  turies B.C., and were first systematically applied to medicine in
  the Huangdi Neijing (“the Yellow Emperor’s inner classic”): a
  collection of medical treatises in the form of dialogues between
  the legendary Yellow Emperor and his ministers, first men-
  tioned in a bibliography compiled in 111 B.C. This work empha-
  sized the natural causes of health and illness, including the five
  elements. The theory of the elements was systematized by Zou
  Yan, a Taoist natural philosopher. The first mention of alchemy
  in Chinese historical records appears in the writings of Sima
  Qian in the second century B.C., under the early Han Dynasty.
  Acupuncture, originally a separate approach (perhaps devel-
  oped as a method of exorcism), was integrated into Taoist med-
  icine as a method for adjusting the flow of qi within the body. 
  It was controversial at first; Sima Qian describes a pioneering
  acupuncturist on trial for malpractice. (See GURPS Low-Tech
  for information on acupuncture and the related practices of acu-
  pressure and moxibustion.)
  Adventurers in a historical Chinese setting may have access
  to elemental powers, whether through advanced training in the
  martial arts, meditative disciplines, or drugs and elixirs. As a
  form of magic, the use of such powers represents influence over
  natural forces or qualities, rather than command over spirits.
  Any historical account that attributes amazing feats to people in
  the distant past can be the basis for a campaign of this type.
  RECENT CHINA
  After the development of regular trade and communication
  between China and the West, Western reactions to Chinese ele-
  mental powers are likely to be important.
  At first contact, China is a land of wonders – fabulous wealth,
  advanced technologies, and, in a fantastic campaign, mysterious
  powers. Western characters will mostly be travelers, hoping to
  gain acceptance and amazed by what they see. This can begin as
  early as Niccolò and Maffeo Polo’s visit to the court of Kublai
  Khan in 1266. Their return in 1274 as emissaries of the Pope
  began a long tradition of Christian missions to China, such as
  the Jesuit Matteo Ricci’s stay from 1582 to his death in 1610.
  Europe stopped being in awe of China in the 19th cen-
  tury. A key incident was the British invasion of 1840, during
  the first Opium War, when the British acquired Hong Kong
  and compelled the Chinese to legalize the opium trade. The
  Chinese Empire faced internal revolts, such as the Taiping
  Rebellion of 1850-1864, led by Chinese Christians, and the
  Boxer Rebellion of 1898-1901, led by the Society of Right-
  eous and Harmonious Fists, who claimed miraculous 
  powers, including immunity to bullets. In 1912, a Chinese
  Republic was formed to replace it, under Sun Yat-sen’s lead-
  ership, but it proved unable to maintain order against war-
  lords or to keep out the Japanese invasion from 1937 to 1945.
  SETTINGS
  The Yellow Emperor spoke: 
  “I have heard there were true men 
  in antiquity. They controlled heaven
  and earth; all things associated with
  yin and yang lay in their hands.”
  – Huangdi Neijing
  
  The natural role for masters of the elements in this era is as
  leaders of resistance to foreign domination. There’s also
  room for straightforward adventure – perhaps even with West-
  ern explorers or missionaries as allies of Chinese heroes.
  The position of elementalists in China would become
  more difficult after 1949, under the People’s Republic. Com-
  munism officially denounced spiritualism; for example, the
  state-sponsored martial art, wushu (literally “military disci-
  pline”), rejected mysticism, myths, and traditional martial
  arts. Anyone trying to keep elemental traditions alive under
  the Cultural Revolution would need to be secretive or risk
  imprisonment and “reeducation.” Elemental powers might be
  kept alive on Taiwan, or in Hong Kong, until the People’s
  Republic took possession of it in 1997 – or even afterward,
  more discretely. The feats shown in wuxia films might not all
  be stunts and special effects!
  OVERSEAS
  Large Chinese emigrant populations can be found in the
  United States and Canada, and smaller ones in Australia and
  several European nations. Often they settled in urban dis-
  tricts called Chinatowns. San Francisco’s is the best known in
  North America, but prominent Chinese communities can be
  found in Vancouver and in several parts of New York; Lon-
  don’s Chinatown was established in the Limehouse district of
  the East End. These communities date mainly to the 19th
  century. Many Chinese communities were poor, crowded
  enclaves hemmed in by mistrustful neighbors; in their early
  years their residents had Social Stigma (Minority Group).
  The legal authorities were often hostile and might know little
  of Chinese traditions. Social order was maintained unoffi-
  cially by traditional authorities, who sometimes gained rev-
  enue from vice. Elementalists could fit into this setting as
  anything from hired enforcers to honorable defenders of Chi-
  nese tradition; the classic noir idea of the tarnished knight
  would adapt well to such a campaign.
  Chinese settlement in Asia began much earlier, and several
  Southeast Asian nations have large Chinese populations, includ-
  ing Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
  Campaigns set there will be more challenging to run, requiring
  an understanding of two different non-Western traditions and
  how they interact. The mixture of martial arts traditions – as in
  the Philippines, where indigenously developed escrima exists
  alongside immigrant-Chinese kuntao (see GURPS Martial Arts)
  – could be a model for how Chinese elemental masters deal with
  other magical and spiritual traditions.
  Singapore is a special case: an independent city-state with
  a Chinese majority. Its official attitudes are largely modern,
  meritocratic, and scientific. But a significant part of the pop-
  ulation is Taoist and might support elemental disciplines,
  and the government might find elemental powers useful for
  covert operations.
  FUTURE CHINESE
  COMMUNITIES
  The history of the future will almost surely include
  Chinese emigration to new countries, and even the founding
  of new Chinese communities outside of China. Chinese mar-
  tial arts, meditative disciplines, and supernatural beliefs will
  go along. If China has masters of the elements, overseas com-
  munities will eventually have them too. The same will be true
  if humanity occupies new habitats: floating seasteading com-
  munities, undersea colonies, Antarctic settlements, or even
  space habitats, asteroids, or other planets (see Chi in Outer
  Space, p. 36).
  If elemental powers are purely mystical or supernatural,
  taught by ancient and secretive traditions, they’ll likely con-
  tinue to be so in the future. Esoteric orders of elemental mas-
  ters may be hidden guardians of the common people or the
  natural environment against totalitarian or technology-
  obsessed dystopias.
  On the other hand, if Chinese natural philosophy offers
  insights into nature that Western science hasn’t yet grasped,
  more advanced science might be able to build on them.
  Parahuman races of the future might be engineered with a
  selection of abilities from this book. This might involve
  genetically altering the channels for chi within the body – or,
  if “chi” turns out to be another name for “psi,” genetically
  enhancing the psionic centers within the brain for the same
  purpose. In such a setting, the Biological or Psionic power
  modifier might replace Chi (see Alternative Modifiers, p. 9).
  CAMPAIGNS AND CROSSOVERS
  35
  If Chinese elemental theories are true, what about other
  elemental traditions? The Greeks distinguished earth,
  water, air, and fire; Indian thinkers added void/ether as a
  fifth element, associated with sound. Are these completely
  wrong, or are they distorted partial glimpses of underlying
  reality? Mages or mystics from other cultures may be able
  to acquire some of the abilities of Chinese elementalists –
  or even some abilities that followers of the Chinese path
  can’t figure out.
  Chinese elementalists may encounter followers of less
  naturalistic traditions – sorcerers who call upon demons or
  spirits and make pacts with them. Such ideas may be
  prevalent among the barbarian peoples beyond the Chi-
  nese frontier, in Korea or Mongolia, Tibet or Vietnam. Or
  they may linger among the Chinese themselves. Perhaps
  relics from long ago may still have the power to call up
  spirits and inflict curses.
  It’s also possible to reverse this, and confront mages (or
  scientists) from other traditions with the mysterious pow-
  ers of Chinese elemental masters. Richard Garfinkle’s
  Celestial Matters shows such an encounter from the view-
  point of an Aristotelian scientist in a high-tech Macedonian
  Empire that has survived for a thousand years, in a world
  with different natural laws (see Alternate Histories, p. 36).
  Encountering Other Traditions
  
  ALTERNATE HISTORIES
  Chinese ways of thinking don’t oppose natural and super-
  natural as sharply as European ones. In a setting where the
  powers in this supplement really work, the study of qi could be
  the basis for an alternative kind of science, pursued by Taoist
  natural philosophers, and giving rise to applied sciences such
  as medicine and alchemy. China’s early mastery of this science
  could be the basis for an alternate timeline. Legalists might use
  it to bring order to the world by force, Confucians might seek
  to educate the world in Chinese ethics and Chinese technology,
  or Taoist sages might explore it under a “prime directive” of
  noninterference based on the principle of wu wei (p. 15).
  Masters of the elements might have been involved in the
  conflict between noble lineages and the new bureaucracy
  under the Qin (221-206 B.C.) and Han (206 B.C.-220 A.D.).
  With sorcerers fighting alongside nobles and warriors, the
  traditionalists might have defeated Qin Shi Huangdi, pre-
  venting China’s unification, or led the resistance to his rule
  that later gave rise to the Han under the rebel leader Liu
  Bang. Alternatively, natural philosophy and elemental powers
  might have been systematized under the civil service and
  become a foundation of its rule.
  In most alternate histories, it will be the ongoing develop-
  ment of knowledge, not the actions of individuals, that changes
  things. Individual masters will act on too small a scale, or will
  neutralize each other’s efforts. But that doesn’t have to be true!
  What if the most powerful masters of the elements can chal-
  lenge entire nations, or change their fates? This could give rise
  to the ultimate “great man” theory of history, with the course
  of events being transformed by a chi-powered super or a Taoist
  “mad scientist.”
  FANTASY SETTINGS
  For a more overtly fantastic treatment of elemental powers,
  a campaign can be set in a world where magical and otherwise
  supernatural events are widespread and well recognized.
  Such a world can be a “fantasy China” – an alternate-histori-
  cal China where magic works; a timeless or arche-
  typal China where features of Chinese history
  from different eras coexist; or a re-creation of
  China as an invented kingdom with its own
  name, geography, and history. Or it could be one
  of the fantastic realms in Chinese legends and
  literature – for example, one of the places visited
  by the Monkey King in Journey to the West.
  Fantasy set in the remote past is particu-
  larly suited to Chinese culture and mythology.
  Some of the oldest classics look back to virtu-
  ous men of their own distant past, including
  emperors of earlier dynasties, crediting them
  with powers lost to their own degraded times.
  A freely created world is another option. The
  GM could take the elemental powers described
  in this work and embed them in a newly imag-
  ined setting. This might exist entirely separately,
  or might be a mystical realm that characters
  from our world can enter, thanks to Chinese
  ancestry, reincarnation, or discovery of interdi-
  mensional gateways. GURPS Fantasy offers
  suggestions on creating such a background. The
  animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender envi-
  sions such a world, though it doesn’t use the
  Chinese elements.
  Sahud, in GURPS Banestorm, could plausi-
  bly have elementalists (with either the Chi or
  Magical power modifier). The difference
  between elemental powers and mana-based
  magic would make Sahud just that much
  stranger to the rest of Yrth!
  CAMPAIGNS AND CROSSOVERS
  36
  The theme of a campaign is the focus of its incidents
  and scenarios. Whatever the setting, the central characters
  typically spend their time doing one particular thing, or
  one kind of thing. That’s what they’re designed to do, at
  the outset, and that’s what they get better at doing, as play
  progresses.
  Campaigns that include Chinese elemental powers will
  mostly focus on some group of people who use those powers.
  THEMES
  Chi in Outer Space
  Future Chinese communities don’t have to be on Earth; they could be
  on other planets, or in orbital habitats. But in such a setting, does chi
  work the same way?
  The ties between chi and air/breath (Chi, pp. 5-6) suggest that worlds
  with unbreathable atmospheres – especially at radically different tem-
  peratures, where natural substances are found in different physical
  states – may have different forms of chi as well. A world in vacuum, or
  with a trace atmosphere, might have none at all. Survival gear might
  provide localized chi, able to support internal abilities without a penalty,
  but external abilities would be at -2 for an elementalist wearing a respi-
  rator and air tanks (pp. B429-430), or -5 for one in a sealed suit.
  The presence of chi might be linked to Lovelock’s Gaia Hypothesis,
  which envisions the Earth as a single, self-regulating living organism;
  perhaps lifeless worlds have no chi, but some sterile equivalent. In that
  case, terraforming a planet might result in its acquiring chi. Elemental
  powers might even aid a terraforming project. The advice of geomancers
  (Fortune-Telling, pp. 19-20) may help terraformers attain better results
  by shaping a planet’s feng shui. The design of space habitats, like build-
  ings or cities, might also take feng shui into account.
  In a setting with interstellar travel, many worlds might have life and
  chi. But each world might have subtly different chi; a visitor to a new
  planet might face penalties (from -1 to -5) until he became attuned to its
  chi after several weeks or months. A more immaterial understanding of
  chi might treat it as a web linking together all planets with life, some-
  what like the Force in Star Wars.
  
  TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
  In a setting where powers can be learned, there will be peo-
  ple who teach them. This may be a one-on-one process, with a
  master and a single apprentice. But a school of the elemental
  arts, with multiple students learning and practicing together,
  can be a good framework for a campaign. Martial-arts schools,
  which emphasize exercises rather than books and lectures,
  provide an especially good model.
  There are several ways such a school might be organized.
  It could be a single master and a small band of students. It
  might be a larger organization with one or more teachers
  for each element, and perhaps one venerable master guiding
  the whole school. It could be a monastery or other retreat,
  where the emphasis is on developing inner harmony, and
  mysterious powers are only a byproduct – external signs of
  internal enlightenment.
  Campaigns about schools will often have scenes of
  instruction, where students attempt to master new abilities.
  These may be used in training montages (see GURPS Martial
  Arts), sequences of scenes that portray the acquisition of new
  abilities in a compressed way, telescoping the actual time
  involved. Relationships with teachers will also be important,
  especially if the teachers act as spiritual mentors or exem-
  plars. Relationships among students, friendly or rivalrous,
  can provide many storylines for a scholastic campaign as
  well. Another option worth exploring is relationships with
  students from other schools, whether as honorable rivals or
  bitter enemies.
  PROFESSIONALS
  Once they’ve finished their training in elemental transfor-
  mations, what do students do with their lives? In some set-
  tings, they go on to become professionals. A town, or even a
  village, may have its masters of wood and water, just as it has
  its acupuncturist and its herbalist. In some settings they may
  be kept on call for emergencies, including natural disasters or
  attacks by outlaw elementalists in others they may find ways to
  turn their abilities to productive use day to day, perhaps help-
  ing farmers and craftsmen.
  Another occupation for trained elementalists would be
  training new elementalists. A campaign could focus on the
  faculty of an academy of elemental arts, rather than on its
  students. Conflicts in this kind of campaign could include
  keeping impetuous students in check, resisting pressure
  from wealthy or influential parents, rivalry with other
  schools, and ongoing disputes with other masters in their
  own school.
  In a traditional Chinese setting, practitioners might be an
  imperial service, like mandarins. Schooling would prepare
  them for an official examination, offered at regular intervals;
  if they passed, they would be placed on salary and sent where
  the empire needed them. They would have a Duty to the
  imperial service, and most of their “adventures” would focus
  on fulfilling it. A continuing focus for this kind of campaign
  would be making a good impression on one’s superiors and
  gaining promotions.
  WU
  Masters of the elements may lead a more adventurous life,
  traveling from place to place and testing their powers against
  challenges, as wu (originally “shamans,” later “sorcerers”). In a
  Chinese setting such adventurers might be expected to be gen-
  tlemen, like the xia of early China (Code of Honor, p. 18). They
  might well combine mastery of one or several elements with
  weapons and unarmed combat skills.
  A plausible arrangement for a company of such adventurers
  would be as a party of five, each skilled with one element. This
  kind of campaign would differ from more traditional fantasy
  campaigns in having magic not be a specialized skill of one
  character, but a common theme for the entire group.
  SPECIAL AGENTS
  Other adventurers may not be freelancers, but work for the
  imperial government, either as warriors or as spies and scouts.
  Elemental powers have important advantages over weapons
  and other gear: spies value the ease of concealment, while war-
  riors enjoy the freedom from logistic problems. An empire in a
  world where elemental powers are effective may have elite
  forces wielding such powers in the emperor’s service. In terms
  of GURPS Mass Combat, elemental warriors might be battle
  mages, or warriors of other types with the Super-Soldier fea-
  ture or a Terrain feature.
  Such groups might still operate in a modern setting. The
  Chinese Republic, founded by Sun Yat-sen, preserved many tra-
  ditional ideas; for example, it divided government into five yuan
  – legislative, judicial, executive, examination (concerned with
  official examinations for civil servants), and control (concerned
  with investigating charges of wrongdoing against officials 
  in other branches). A secret force of elemental masters could 
  be a fantastic element in a Chinese urban-fantasy campaign.
  CAMPAIGNS AND CROSSOVERS
  37
  It’s an energy field created by all living things. 
  It surrounds us; it penetrates us; it binds 
  the galaxy together.
  – Obi-Wan, Star Wars: A New Hope
  
  Either a secret or an overt force could justify an alternate history
  where the Chinese Republic was more successful against adver-
  saries, from the Japanese Empire to the Communists.
  IMPERIAL ADVISORS
  Service to the empire isn’t performed only by soldiers, spies,
  and local administrators. The emperor’s ministers are servants
  as well.
  Ordinarily, of course, high officials are going to be mainly
  concerned with giving other people orders, not with doing
  things by their own efforts; political skills will matter more to
  them than mysterious powers. But if elemental magic is an
  important tool of the state, some high officials may have been
  trained in it earlier in life. They may even have passed imperial
  examinations in it (Professionals, p. 37).
  In a high-fantasy setting, the roles of ministers may be funda-
  mentally defined in terms of the five elements. Ministers may pri-
  marily be responsible for ensuring that water, or
  metal, or wood serve the needs of the empire,
  with administrative and practical tasks
  assigned to the ministries where they best fit.
  In some settings, a minister’s most important
  tasks might be ritual and ceremonial, and per-
  formance of the necessary rites might in itself
  ensure success in practical matters.
  In a smaller political domain, and espe-
  cially one where rulers personally lead armies
  and judge disputes, the ruler’s closest aides
  may be responsible more for personal endeav-
  ors than for running organizations. They may
  be heroic warriors or acclaimed leaders rather
  than generals. In the same way, they may be
  powerful mages rather than magical bureau-
  crats. Early China’s kingdoms were mostly
  small, and masters of the elements might well
  become personal protectors of such kingdoms.
  CAMPAIGNS AND CROSSOVERS
  38
  Elemental powers don’t need to be the only fantastic element
  in a campaign, or the only focus of attention. There are ways to
  combine the Chinese elements with other focal concerns.
  LOW-TECH
  The Chinese regarded the xing as aspects of the natural
  world (The Cycles of the Elements, pp. 5-7). Modern science
  views the natural world differently, through the lens of math-
  ematics. But the Taoist view of nature might be true – per-
  haps in a world with different natural laws. In such a world,
  control of the elements might enable advances in various
  fields of technology. The resulting tech level might be from
  TL(1+1) to TL(4+1).
  Chemistry and Alchemy
  Alchemy in Chinese thought is divided into waidan or
  “outer alchemy” and neidan or “inner alchemy.” The skill of
  Alchemy (pp. 18-19) represents waidan, while neidan involves
  physical exercises akin to those of Taoist martial arts (p. 39).
  The practice of Alchemy could become the basis of an
  alternative technology – perhaps even a very advanced one.
  The medicinal use of inorganic compounds could be a foun-
  dation for pharmaceutical advances in the treatment of dis-
  ease; it could even achieve the legendary elixir of immortality
  or elixirs granting superhuman powers (Powers and Elixirs,
  p. 39). The chemical transformations that went into making
  these elixirs (such as breaking cinnabar down into mercury
  and sulfur) could lead to a wider range of transformations
  and to the creation of new substances. See GURPS Bio-Tech
  for a wealth of possibilities.
  Esoteric Medicine
  Awareness and control of chi allows treatment of the actual
  causes of illness by restoring the inner balance of the body. A
  practitioner of Esoteric Medicine (Taoist) might be the equiv-
  alent of a trained physician.
  Fortune-Telling
  A master of feng shui can identify the best arrangement of
  a home interior or the best placement of a building or a city.
  Among other benefits, this allows construction of a healthy site
  for a city, avoiding the penalties to contagion and infection
  rolls discussed in GURPS City Stats. Strict enforcement of
  good feng shui by conscientious officials may even give +1 to
  HT for these purposes. Similar benefits may accrue to other
  aspects of urban life, from economic prosperity to attractive
  street scenes. See GURPS Thaumatology: Urban Magics for
  detailed mechanics for such benefits.
  Metallurgy
  Elemental masters of metal and of fire can control the com-
  position and physical structure of metals with high precision.
  CROSSOVERS
  
  In a society with elemental technology, fine weapons
  may be available at list price, and very fine fencing
  weapons and swords at 4¥ list price. The GM might
  even allow the superfine blades from GURPS Ultra-
  Tech as an option for masters of metal. Fencing skills
  may be commonplace in such a society.
  Pharmacy (Herbal) and Herb Lore
  Herb Lore, like Alchemy, represents waidan
  (Chemistry and Alchemy, p. 38); it can be used to create
  elixirs that treat many diseases or grant minor advan-
  tages. Herb Lore cannot produce immortality elixirs
  from any ordinary herbs – though a rare herb that pre-
  vents aging or resurrects the dead might be the object
  of a heroic quest.
  MARTIAL ARTS
  The martial arts of Hsing I Chuan (xingyiquan), Pa
  Kua Chuan (baguazhang), and T’ai Chi Chuan (taiji-
  quan) are founded on Taoist philosophy; see GURPS
  Martial Arts for more information. Instruction in these and
  other martial arts such as Chin Na (qin na) is often presented
  in terms of control of chi. Films such as Crouching Tiger,
  Hidden Dragon, The Heroic Trio, Big Trouble in Little China, and
  Kung Fu Panda – and many video games – show advanced mas-
  ters of the martial arts as projecting energy or elemental
  attacks by drawing on their own chi or life force. Conversely,
  elemental mages might learn cinematic martial-arts skills in
  the course of mastering their power (Cinematic Skills, p. 19).
  For this kind of campaign, elementalists should almost
  always be skilled in martial arts as well. The GM may present
  elemental Talents as “inner teachings” of martial-arts schools,
  with a Style Familiarity (GURPS Martial Arts, p. 49) as pre-
  requisite. Advanced students would gain levels of the Special
  Exercises (Elemental Talent) perk (p. 16) and of an elemental
  Talent, which in turn would grant them access both to suitable
  elemental abilities (pp. 21-33) and to the cinematic skills for
  their element. Gaining elemental powers without studying a
  martial art might require an Unusual Background.
  The Body Discipline perk (p. 16) is strongly recommended
  for elementalists who take this path. It should be specialized in
  one of the DX-based skills for their chosen style.
  SUPERS
  Finally, it’s possible to take this work as being about, not
  magic as powers, but magic as powers. In other words, it’s pos-
  sible to treat masters of the elements as supers. Both the
  Elementals and the Fantastic Four, in American comics, had
  powers that reflected the four classical elements. A Chinese ele-
  mental team could work just as well.
  In a lot of settings, supers can have more-or-less any origin
  story and any source for their powers. For example, the first
  Green Lantern – who got his powers from a magical lamp of
  Chinese make, and could control metal but was helpless
  against wood – shared adventures with highly trained athletes,
  ingenious chemists, a reincarnated pharaoh, and even the
  vengeful ghost of a murder victim. Ethnically Chinese heroes,
  or students of lost Chinese arts, could join teams of Western
  supers, or fight alongside them.
  On the other hand, just as there are settings where every
  super is a reawakened demigod or has been infected with an
  exotic virus, there can be settings where every super has
  extraordinary chi.
  It’s also possible to hold a dark mirror up to such a world.
  Perhaps the master villain, or a group of conspiring villains,
  gains secret mastery of chi that no one else knows about,
  while intrepid Western or Russian adventurers struggle to
  keep the Mandate of Heaven from falling back into his hands.
  The Fu Manchu novels had this theme, though their master
  villain relied less on inherent powers than on esoteric medi-
  cine and pharmacy.
  For high-powered supers campaigns, it may be necessary to
  “power up” elemental abilities. A way to do this that fits the leg-
  endary background is to use godlike extra effort (from GURPS
  Supers): Heroes may spend more than 1 FP per action on extra
  effort, multiplying the increase in effect by the FP spent!
  Example: An elemental master with Stream of Needles
  would normally spend 1 FP and roll at -5 to Will for one extra
  needle. If he spent 6 FP instead, that same -5 to Will would get
  him six extra needles!
  This will result in rapid expenditure of FP! Such heroes will
  find it useful to have an Energy Reserve (see GURPS Powers,
  GURPS Supers, or GURPS Thaumatology), either as a reser-
  voir within the body, or contained within some external power
  object bought with gadget limitations. For a more mystical
  treatment, allow recharge of the Energy Reserve by Taoist
  meditation, using the rules for meditation as an energy source
  (see GURPS Thaumatology).
  As an optional rule, the FP spent on godlike extra effort may
  be limited by the user’s Power Talent; for example, an elemen-
  talist with Chinese Water Talent 3 could spend no more than 3
  FP on any one use of a water ability. An elementalist without
  Power Talent would then be incapable of extra effort.
  It’s also possible to redesign the abilities in Chapter 4 to
  offer multiple levels, with higher levels costing more points.
  For example, a second level of Breathing Water could include
  Pressure Support 2 rather than Pressure Support 1 (with the
  same modifiers), for a total cost of 19 points. This is more work
  for the GM but may provide a more “four-color” feel.
  CAMPAIGNS AND CROSSOVERS
  39
  Powers and Elixirs
  Rather than treating Chinese elixirs as standard potions (as
  described in GURPS Magic), the GM may prefer to have them
  bestow elemental abilities. This may be a temporary or perma-
  nent effect.
  Giving an elixir a permanent effect simply makes it the source
  of an advantage. For example, taking an potion might be the ori-
  gin of a super’s powers. The GM may treat access to such elixirs
  as an Unusual Background.
  Temporary effects can be represented by buying each ability
  with a rare Trigger (p. 18) for most elixirs, or with Periodic
  Recharge (p. 17) for potions with heavy restrictions on use.
  Either way, the limitation used takes the place of the Chi power
  modifier (the elixir itself is the source of chi) and the limitation
  Accessibility, While conscious (if the ability normally has it), as,
  once taken, the elixir remains in effect until it wears off.
  
  Wang is an old man, though he moves like a young one. For
  as long as most people remember, he’s been poling his boat up
  and down the Yangtze. He seems almost like an embodiment
  of the river to many people: He swims like an otter, lives
  mainly on the fish he catches, and has an uncanny awareness
  of weather. Other than his sampan, he owns very little, and
  gives away money and possessions freely to anyone in need.
  Despite his poverty, though, he can get a hearing from impe-
  rial officials when he needs to.
  All this suggests a retired official who’s taken the Taoist vow
  of mercy, frugality, and not putting oneself first, and Wang fits
  a lot of people’s image of a follower of Tao. He spends much of
  each day on breathing exercises, which seemingly have helped
  keep him fit into old age. He acts on impulse more than by cal-
  culation. He’s eccentric and prefers to be alone, though he
  occasionally takes in someone who needs help. He reads,
  writes, and sings poetry – though his singing is untrained and
  a bit uncertain in pitch!
  Wang doesn’t like to show off his external water abilities,
  but they’re at his command in an emergency. He has special
  skill in incapacitating masters of fire using a Water Spear
  attack. He can use the same attack to put out a small fire, or
  call down pouring rain to end a larger one.
  WANG LAOWU
  250 points
  ST 9 [-10]; DX 13 [60]; IQ 11 [20]; HT 15 [50].
  Damage 1d-2/1d-1; BL 16 lbs.; HP 9 [0]; Will 13 [10]; Per 15
  [20]; FP 18 [9].
  Basic Speed 6.00 [-20]; Basic Move 6 [0]; Dodge 9; Parry 8
  (Judo).
  5’6”; 120 lbs.
  Social Background
  TL: 3+1 [0].
  CF: Han [0].
  Language: Classical Chinese (Native) [0].
  Advantages
  Chinese Water Talent 4 [20]; Fit [5];
  Longevity [2]; Signature Gear 2 (Sampan,
  $1,800) [2]; Social Regard 4 (Venerated) [20].
  Elemental Abilities: Dragon Swiftness [9];
  Inner Awareness [18]; Knowing Hidden
  Water [9]; Resistance to Fire [7] (Power
  Block-11); Restoring the Body’s Water [11];
  Storm of Rain [21]; Summoning Fog [17]
  (Power Block-11); Water Spear [4] (Power
  Parry-12).
  Perks: Courtesy Administrative Rank 4; Inner Fountain 4;
  Quenching Touch. [9]
  Disadvantages
  Compulsive Generosity (6) [-10]; Disciplines of Faith (Con-
  templation) [-5]; Impulsiveness (12) [-10]; Odious Personal
  Habit (Crotchety and eccentric) [-10]; Pacifism (Cannot Harm
  Innocents) [-10]; Status -2 [-10]; Vow (Three Treasures) [-5];
  Wealth (Poor) [-15]Weirdness Magnet [-15].
  Quirks: Broad-Minded; Likes to sing, though untrained;
  Uncongenial. [-3]
  Skills
  Administration (A) IQ-1 [1]-10; Area Knowledge (Yangtze
  River) (E) IQ+3 [8]-14; Artist (Calligraphy) (H) IQ-1 [2]-10;
  Boating (Unpowered) (A) DX [2]-13; Breath Control (H) HT-1
  [2]-14; Carousing (E) HT [1]-15; Carpentry (E) IQ [1]-11; Con-
  noisseur (Music) (A) IQ-1 [1]-10; First Aid (E) IQ [1]-11; Fish-
  ing (E) Per [1]-15; Hidden Lore (Spirit Lore) (A) IQ-1 [1]-10;
  Housekeeping (E) IQ [1]-11; Innate Attack (Beam) (E) DX+1
  [2]-14; Judo (H) DX-2 [1]-11; Meditation (H) Will+1 [8]-14;
  Navigation (Sea) (A) IQ [2]-11; Observation (A) Per-1 [1]-14;
  Poetry (A) IQ [2]-11; Push (H) DX [4]-13; Savoir-Faire (High
  Society) (E) IQ [1]-11; Scrounging (E) Per [1]-15; Singing (E)
  HT-4 [0]-11*; Stealth (A) DX-1 [1]-12; Survival (River/Stream)
  (A) Per-1 [1]-14; Weather Sense (A) IQ-1 [1]-10.
  Techniques
  Deliberate Crippling (Innate Attack (Beam)/Fire) (H) [3]-12.
  * Default use.
  WANG LAOWU
  40
  APPENDIX
  WANG LAOWU
  
  Abilities, activating, 10; advanced, 33; basic,
  21; crippled, 12-13; defensive, 10-12;
  deliberate crippling, 13, 20; detecting, 10;
  Earth, 26-28; enhanced by skills,
  13-14; enhancing skills, 14; external, 9,
  10; external advanced, 33; extra effort, 12;
  Fire, 24-26; internal, 9, 10; internal
  advanced, 33; learning, 10; Metal, 28-30;
  organs and, 13; overlapping, 21; overview,
  8-9; resisting, 12; using, 10-14; Water, 30-
  33; Wood, 21-24; see also Powers.
  Accessibility limitation, 17.
  Acrobatics skill, 13, 14.
  Acupuncture, 34.
  Advantages, 15-17.
  Adventures, see Campaigns.
  Affliction advantage, 12.
  Air element, 5; see also Chi.
  Alchemy skill, 13, 14, 16, 18-19, 38.
  Aquabatics skill, 13.
  Attacks, against organs, 13; crippling
  abilities, 13.
  Attracting Iron ability, 29.
  Avalanche ability, 26; using, 13, 14.
  Bagua, 7.
  Blessed advantage, 15.
  Blocks, power, 11.
  Blowing Leaves ability, 23; using, 11.
  Body Discipline perk, 16, 19.
  Bones of Iron ability, 28.
  Breath Control skill, 6, 12, 16, 19.
  Breathing Water ability, 30.
  Campaigns, alternate histories, 36; China,
  34-35; crossovers, 38-39; encountering
  other traditions, 35; fantasy, 4, 9, 15, 36,
  38; martial arts, 4, 10, 15, 16, 39; settings,
  34-36; themes, 36.
  Catapult Hand ability, 21.
  Characters, occupations, 37-38; sample, 40;
  traits, 15-20.
  Chemistry skill, 13, 38.
  Chi, power modifier, 9; overview, 5-6;
  unstable, 12.
  Chinese Earth Talent, 8, 16, 19.
  Chinese Elemental Talent, 8, 16, 19.
  Chinese Fire Talent, 8, 16, 19.
  Chinese Metal Talent, 8, 16, 19.
  Chinese Water Talent, 8, 16, 19.
  Chinese Wood Talent, 8, 16, 19.
  Chinese words, 6.
  Club Fist ability, 21-22; using, 11, 13, 14.
  Code of Honor disadvantage, 18.
  Colors, elements and, 5.
  Commanding Earth ability, 27; using, 11, 14.
  Commanding Fire ability, 25; using, 11, 14.
  Commanding Metal ability, 29; using, 11, 14.
  Commanding Water ability, 32; using, 11.
  Commanding Wood ability, 23; using, 11,
  14.
  Confucian Code of Honor, 18.
  Contemplation Disciplines of Faith, 18.
  Costs Fatigue limitation, 17.
  Deliberate Crippling technique, 13, 20.
  Diagrams, 7.
  Direction, elements and, 5.
  Disadvantages, 18; caused by crippled
  abilities, 12.
  Disciplines of Faith disadvantage, 18.
  Dodges, power, 11 .
  Dragon Swiftness ability, 30; using, 13.
  Drowning Embrace ability, 30-31; using, 11,
  13.
  Dust Cloud ability, 27; using, 11.
  Earth, countermeasures, 27; crippled
  abilities, 12; definition, 5, 26; element
  interactions, 6-7; external abilities, 27-28;
  internal abilities, 26-27; perks, 27;
  trigrams and, 7; yin and yang, 6.
  Elemental power modifier, 9.
  Elemental Storm enhancement, 17.
  Elements, correspondences, 5; defensive
  interactions, 11; diagrams, 7; interactions,
  6-7; list, 5; trigrams and, 7; yin and yang,
  6; see also Earth, Fire, Metal, Water,
  Wood.
  Elixirs, 39; advantage limitations for, 17, 18;
  skills for, 18, 20, 38, 39.
  Emotions, elements and, 5.
  Endurance of Bamboo ability, 22.
  Engineer skill, 13.
  Enhancements, 17-18.
  Erotic Art skill, 14, 19.
  Escaping Burial perk, 27.
  Esoteric Medicine skill, 12-14, 19, 38.
  Expert Skill, 19.
  Exude Fuel perk, 14, 23.
  Exude Metal perk, 27.
  Exude Water perk, 29.
  Father cycle, 6.
  Feng Shui Fortune-Telling, 19.
  Fire, crippled abilities, 12; definition, 5, 24;
  element interactions, 6-7; external
  abilities, 25-26; internal abilities, 24-25;
  perks, 25; water vs., 7; trigrams and, 7;
  yang, 6.
  Flame Breath ability, 24; using, 11, 13.
  Flying Leap skill, 14, 16, 19.
  Focus technique, 10, 20.
  Forced Entry skill, 13, 14.
  Forceful Chi Talent, 16.
  Forest Walking ability, 22; using, 11.
  Forge ability, 24; using, 14.
  Fortune-Telling skill, 14, 19, 38.
  Fu organs, 13; see also Organs.
  Generating cycle, 6.
  Geomancy, 19-20.
  Germinate perk, 14, 32.
  Glinting Edge ability, 28; using, 11, 13, 14.
  GURPS, 6, 7; Banestorm, 36; Basic Set, 4,
  8, 18, 20; Bio-Tech, 38; China, 4, 34;
  City Stats, 38; Fantasy, 36; Low-Tech, 4,
  19, 20, 34; Low-Tech Companion 1:
  Philosophers and Kings, 16; Magic, 3,
  18, 39; Martial Arts, 4, 6, 15, 16, 19, 35,
  37, 39; Mass Combat, 37; Power-Ups 4:
  Enhancements, 17; Powers, 3, 4, 6, 8-
  11, 15-17, 21, 29, 33, 39; Psionic
  Powers, 4; Supers, 16, 39;
  Thaumatology, 3, 4, 8, 39;
  Thaumatology: Urban Magics, 38;
  Ultra-Tech, 39.
  Harmony with the Tao Blessed advantage,
  15, 18.
  Heat Endurance ability, 24; using, 11, 12.
  Herb Lore skill, 14, 16, 20, 39.
  Herding Clouds ability, 32; using, 13.
  Holding Water ability, 26; using, 13.
  Hot Metal perk, 14, 25.
  Huo, see Fire.
  I Ching, 7.
  Illumination perk, 25.
  Immobility ability, 28; using, 11, 12, 14.
  Incendiary ability, 25; using, 13, 14.
  Inner Awareness ability, 21; using, 11, 13,
  14.
  Inner Balance Talent, 16.
  Inner Compass perk, 29.
  Inner Discrimination ability, 33; using, 11,
  13, 14.
  Inner Fountain perk, 32.
  Inner Heat perk, 25.
  Iron Skull perk, 11, 29.
  Irrigate perk, 32.
  Ivy Climb ability, 22; using,13, 14.
  Jin, see Metal.
  Kiai skill, 13.
  Knowing Hidden Fire ability, 25; using, 14.
  Knowing Hidden Metal ability, 30; using,
  14.
  Knowing Hidden Stone ability, 27-28; using,
  14.
  Knowing Hidden Vegetation ability, 23;
  using, 14.
  Knowing Hidden Water ability, 32; using,
  13, 14.
  Life cycles, elements and, 5.
  Life of the Tortoise ability, 33.
  Lifting skill, 13.
  Lightened Body ability, 24; using, 14.
  Limitations, 17, 18.
  Magical power modifier, 9.
  Meditation skill, 9, 14, 16, 20.
  Melee Attack enhancement, 17.
  Metal, countermeasures, 29; crippled
  abilities, 12; definition, 5, 28; element
  interactions, 6-7; external abilities, 29-30;
  internal abilities, 28-30; perks, 29;
  trigrams and, 7; yin, 6.
  Metal Frame ability, 28-29; using, 13, 14, 21.
  Metallurgy skill, 38-39; using, 13, 14.
  INDEX
  41
  INDEX
  
  INDEX
  42
  Meteorology skill, 13, 14.
  Mother cycle, 6.
  Mu, see Wood.
  Natural Philosophy Expert Skill, 19.
  Organs, attacking, 13; elements and, 5;
  offensive abilities, 22, 25, 27, 29, 31;
  relationship to elements, 5; 
  yin and yang, 13.
  Overcoming cycle, 6.
  Parries, power, 11.
  Periodic Recharge limitation, 17.
  Perks, element, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32; general,
  16; overview, 8.
  Pharmacy (Herbal) skill, 20, 39.
  Pinyin, 6.
  Planets, elements and, 5.
  Plants, water requirements, 7.
  Power Block defense, 11.
  Power Dodge defense, 11.
  Power modifiers, 9; alternative, 9.
  Power Parry defense, 11.
  Powers, elixirs and, 39; format, 8; perks
  overview, 8; Talent overview, 8; using, 10-
  14; see also Abilities, Perks, Talents.
  Pressure Secrets skill, 13, 14, 16, 19.
  Prospecting skill, 14.
  Qi, see Chi.
  Quenching Touch perk, 14, 32.
  Resistance to Fire ability, 31; using, 11, 12.
  Resistant advantage, 15.
  Restoring the Body’s Water ability, 31;
  using, 13.
  Root Grip ability, 22.
  Ruling Lakes and Seas ability, 32-33.
  Savoir-Faire (Dojo) skill, 20.
  Scattering Ashes perk, 13, 25.
  Seasons, elements and, 5.
  Senses, elements and, 5.
  Shaking the Ground ability, 28; using, 13.
  Shui, see Water.
  Skills, 18-20; cinematic, 14, 19; enhanced by
  abilities, 14; enhancing abilities, 13-14.
  Skin of Bronze ability, 29; using, 11, 12.
  Skin of Earth ability, 26; using, 11, 12, 27.
  Skin of Oak ability, 22; using, 11, 12.
  Smoke Endurance ability, 24.
  Smoke Veil ability, 25; using, 11.
  Special Exercises perk, 16.
  Squirt perk, 32.
  Stone Frame ability, 26; using, 13, 21.
  Storm of Fire ability, 26.
  Storm of Metal ability, 30.
  Storm of Rain ability, 33.
  Storm of Stones ability, 28.
  Storm of Wind ability, 23.
  Stream of Needles ability, 30; using, 11, 13.
  Striking Surface perk, 27, 29.
  Summoning Fog ability, 33; using, 11.
  Super Jump advantage, 15.
  Super power modifier, 9.
  Super Throw advantage, 16.
  Sure-Footed perk, 27.
  Switchable limitation, 17-18.
  Tables, diagrams, 7; elements, 5.
  Taking the Narrow Passage ability, 31.
  Talent, 16; overview, 8.
  Tangling Vines and Branches ability, 24.
  Tastes, elements and, 5.
  Techniques, 20.
  Thorns perk, 23.
  Touching the Heart ability, 31; using, 14.
  Touching the Kidneys ability, 27; using, 14.
  Touching the Liver ability, 29; using, 14.
  Touching the Lungs ability, 25; using, 14.
  Touching the Spleen ability, 22; using, 14.
  Trained by a Master advantage, 10, 19.
  Trigger limitation, 18.
  Trigrams, 7.
  Tu, see Earth.
  Ultimate Blade perk, 29.
  Ultimate Stave perk, 23.
  Vow disadvantage, 18.
  Wang Laowu, 40.
  Water, countermeasures, 31; crippled
  abilities, 12; definition, 5, 30; element
  interactions, 6-7; external abilities, 31-33;
  fire vs., 7; internal abilities, 30-33; perks,
  32; plants and, 7; trigrams and, 7; yin, 6.
  Water Spear ability, 33; using, 11, 13.
  Wild Ability enhancement, 16.
  Wild Talent advantage, 10, 16.
  Wood, countermeasures, 23; crippled
  abilities, 12; definition, 5, 21; element
  interactions, 6-7; external abilities, 23-24;
  internal abilities, 21-23; perks, 23;
  trigrams and, 7; yang, 6.
  Wood Frame ability, 23; using, 13, 21.
  Wu wei, 15.
  Xia Code of Honor, 18.
  Xing, see Elements.
  Yang, 6, 7, 34; excess, 12; organs, 13.
  Yin, 6, 7, 34; excess, 12; organs, 13.
  Zang organs, 13; see also Organs.
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