THE KAI LORD
Part knight, part mystic, part ranger, a Kai Lord of Sommerlund possess powerful disciplines of the mind and body.
CHARACTER CREATION SUMMARY
KAI LORD
A. Strength, Reflexes, Intelligence, Psychic Talent and Looks: Roll 3d6 for
each. (Reflexes, Intelligence and Psychic Talent must be at least 9 for
the character to qualify as a Kai Lord
B. Health Points: roll 1d6+5
C. Basic ATTACK 12, DEFENCE 5
D. Basic MAGICAL ATTACK 12, MAGICAL DEFENCE 4
E. Basic EVASION 4
F. Basic STEALTH 14, PERCEPTION 6
G. Basic Abilities at 1st Rank: Kai Discipline (choose four).
H. Initially equipped with rations, flint and tinder, backpack, padded armour and shield or mail hauberk, 2-20 florins, Kai cloak and tunic, and one melee weapon of choice.
Kai Lords and armour
Although armour doesn't impede a Kai Lord`s special abilities, they prefer to fight in an acrobatic fashion which is hampered by heavier armours. Like Mystics and Assassins, Kai Lords suffer -2 ATTACK and DEFENCE while wearing mail armour, and -4 for plate armour.
Increasing in Rank
+1 to ATTACK each time the character increases in rank.
+1 to DEFENCE when the character reaches 3rd rank, the +1 at 5th rank, +1 at 7th rank etc.
+1 to the character`s normal Health point score each time he increases in
rank.
+1 to the character`s MAGICAL ATTACK when the character reaches 3rd
rank, the +1 at 5th rank, +1 at 7th rank etc.
+1 to the character`s MAGICAL DEFENCE each time he increases in rank.
+1 to the character`s EVASION upon reaching 5th rank, then another +1
upon reaching 9th rank.
+1 to the character`s STEALTH when the character reaches 3rd rank, then
+1 at 5th rank, +1 at 7th rank etc.
+1 to the character`s PERCEPTION each time the character increases in
rank.
The Special Abilities of the Kai
Kai Disciplines
The Kai Lords possess an arsenal of skills, mental powers and combat techniques, honed to perfection within the Kai Monastery. Collectively, these abilities are known as Kai Disciplines, and as the Kai lord develops, The learn to master each Discipline. A Kai Lord begins with four Kai Disciplines at 1st rank, choosing another Kai Discipline at 2nd rank, 3rd rank, 4th rank, 5th rank, 6th rank, and 7th rank.
Although many Kai Disciplines resemble spells, they require no Psychic Fatigue roll or Magic points to use. They may be used freely, and often indefinitely, although they require the Kai Lord`s full concentration when doing so. This makes Kai Lord powerful when using certain Disciplines, but they lack the versality of Warlocks, Elementalists, Sorcerers or Mystics.
Animal Kinship
This Discipline enables a Kai Lord to communicate with some animals, and to be able to guess the intentions of others. To use this ability, the Kai Lord must match their MAGICAL ATTACK against the creatures MAGICAL DEFENCE. If this roll is successful, an animal will regard the Kai Lord as a friend, as if affected by Enthrall (page 91). This Discipline will last for as long as the Kai Lord concentrates, requiring one round to activate, whether successful or not, and affects any animal with a Rank equal to or less than the Kai Lord`s.
The Kai Lord may also communicate with the animal, although the GM should be aware of the limits of the animal affected. Highly intelligent creatures, such as Noodnics or Kakarmi, may be conversed with fluently, where less intelligence beasts may only be able to convey basic emotions such as fear or hunger.
Camouflage
This Discipline enables a Kai Lord to blend in with their surroundings, adding +2 to their STEALTH score. In the countryside, he can hide undetected among trees or rocks and pass close to an enemy without being seen, gaining a further +2 to his STEALTH score, provided there is natural cover present.
In addition, this Discipline also enables the Kai Lord to look and sound like a native of foreign lands they travel. They gain the use of Disguise (see page 47) at the first level of proficiency.
Healing
This Discipline enables the Kai Lord to recover more easily from their wounds, and to resist the effects of poison and disease. A Kai Warrior begins to heal naturally after just one day, and may add half their rank (round down) to all Strength rolls to resist poisons and disease.
To a limited extent, a Kai Lord may also heal others, although this is extremely taxing. By laying hands on the wounded target, the Kai Lord may heal up to their Rank in Health points, although they must reduce their own Health Point score by an equal amount. This process may be repeated on separate targets, although it is likely to leave the Kai Lord severely weakened. A Kai Lord may never go below 1 Health point when using this ability.
Hunting
A Kai Lord with this Discipline will never starve in the wild. He will always be able to hunt for food for himself, except in areas of wasteland and desert. This requires a roll equal to or under their PERCEPTION, on 1d20, and takes an hour of hunting or foraging, producing a number of meals equal to the Kai Lords` rank. This roll may be repeated as necessary, although there is a cumulative 10% each hour that the Kai Lord will encounter a foe.
Additionally, this Discipline enables a Kai Lord to move with great speed and dexterity. They add +1 to their DEFENCE, EVASION and STEALTH scores and increase their Movement to 12m (25m running)
Mindblast
This Discipline enables a Kai Lord to attack an enemy using the force of his mind. This discipline can be use at the same time as a normal attack, and increases any melee damage inflicted by +1 point. A sword, therefore inflicts 5 damage, a battleaxe inflicts 7 damage etc. Not all creatures encountered, may be harmed by Mindblast. The Bestiary will indicate whether a creature possesses immunity to this form of psychic attack.
Mindblast may also be used to disarm a target up to 5m away, by focusing as stab of psychic pain. By spending a Combat Round concentrating on the target, the Kai Lord must match their MAGICAL ATTACK with the target`s MAGICAL DEFENCE. If successful, the target drops any carried items to the floor and may do nothing for 1-3 rounds, their body wracked in pain. During this time, they are unable to defend themselves, and so their DEFENCE is reduced to zero. However, the Kai Lord must lose 1 Health Point each time they use this ability, successful or not, and they cannot lower this to below 1 Health Point when doing so.
Mindshield
Some of the hostile creatures of Magnamund have the ability to attack you using their Mindforce. The Kai Discipline of Mindshield protects against such a psychic attack, adding +2 to a Kai Lord`s MAGICAL DEFENCE score.
Additionally, this discipline may be used to ward against psychic detection and scrying, gaining Mind Cloak (see page 91) for as long as the Kai Lord concentrates.
Mind Over Matter
Mastery of this discipline enables a Kai Lord to move small objects with his powers of concentration. The effects of this are identical to Telekinesis (see page 91), except that the Kai Lord must concentrate fully while this discipline is used.
Additionally, a Kai Lord may also use this discipline to pick locks, by focusing on the inner mechanism, and willing the lock to open. This requires a roll equal to under the Kai Lord`s Psychic Talent score plus their rank on percentile dice, and may be repeated each round. This is in effect the Pick Lock skill (see page 47), except that, given enough time, a Kai Lord will always be able to open any lock. A big advantage of this ability is that the Kai Lord does not actually touch the lock- even if it is trapped, it is unlikely the Kai Lord will be close enough to be affected.
Sixth Sense
This Discipline may warn a Kai Lord of imminent danger. This is identical to
the Mystic`s Premonition special ability (see page 34) except that the Kai Lord may also focus on an individual target. A successful roll will indicate whether the target harbors evil thoughts towards towards them, and if they are lying. This ability is particularly sensitive to powerful evil items, locations or creatures, such as unholy crypts or Helghasts. In the presence
of such things, a Kai Lords Sixth Sense will scream out, doubling the normal chance of success (a 3rd rank Kai Lord would need to roll 82 or less on percentile dice to be aware).
Additionally, Sixth Sense may be used to reveal the true purpose of a stranger or strange object encountered. By focusing for 2 Combat Rounds,
the Kai Lord must then roll equal to or under their Intelligence score on 1d20. On a successful roll, superficial details concerning the target is revealed, such as a strangers uniform, or where a specific sword was manufactured. This ability cannot determine any abilities of the target or whether it possesses magical or psychic properties, nor will it reveal specific details, such as a strangers name.
Tracking
This discipline also enables a Kai Lord to read the secrets of footprints or tracks, as explained on page 63, and the Kai Lord gains +4 PERCEPTION when doing so.
Additionally Tracking enables a Kai Lord to make the correct choice in the wild, and to discover the location of a person or object in a town or city
. The Kai Lord focuses on a person, location or object which they either know, or have had described to them, or a general location, such as "safe shelter", for 2 Combat Rounds. The Kai Lord must then roll equal to or under their Psychic Talent score on 1d20. If successful, the Kai Lord will be aware of the approximate distance and direction of their target. If unsuccessful, this attempt may not be repeated for at least an hour, due to psychic fatigue.
Weaponskill
Upon entering the Kai Monastery, each Initiate is taught to master one type of melee weapon, be it a sword or morning star. When using their chosen weapon, the Kai Warrior adds +1 to ATTACK and to all Armour Bypass rolls.
As a Kai Lord masters more Kai Disciplines, they are given more responsibilities, both inside and outside the Kai Monastery.Once they have reached 8th rank, having mastered all 10 of the basic Kai Disciplines, they are known as Kai Masters, and begin to learn the more powerful Magnakai Disciplines, gaining one each rank, from 8th rank and onwards. At 18th Rank, a Kai Lord becomes a Kai Grandmaster, capable of using the extremely potent Grandmaster Disciplines, gaining one of these each rank, from 18th rank and onwards.
Rank Kai Title
1st Acolyte
2nd Initiate
3rd Aspirant
4th Guardian
5th Warmarn or Journeyman*
6th Savant
7th Kai Master Initiate
8th Kai Master
9th Kai Master Senior
10th Kai Master Superior
11th Primate
12th Tutelary
13th Principalin
14th Mentora
15th Scion-Kai
16th Archmaster
17th Kai Grand Master Initiate
18th Kai Grand Master
19th Kai Grand Master Senior
20th Kai Grand Master Superior
21st Kai Grand Sentinel
22nd Kai Grand Defender
23rd Kai Grand Guardian
24th Sun Knight
25th Sun Lord
26th Sun Thane
27th Grand Thane
28th Grand Crown
29th Sun Prince
30th Kai Supreme Master
* At 5th rank, a Kai Lord is either sent to command the Sommlending army in battle, or sent abroad to act as a spy and scout, gathering valuable knowledge of the lands bordering their realm. The Kai Lord gains one of the following special abilities, based on their assigned mission, but only after obtaining 6th rank:
Warmarn
The Kai Lord, having gained valuable experience leading troops under his command, has learned to instill confidence in others. Any troops or hirelings under his control may use the Kai Lord`s rank in place of their own, when making Morale or Fright checks. The Kai Lord must be within sight to gain this bonus.
Journeyman
The Kai Lord has honed his skills at information gathering and scouting. He adds +2 to his PERCEPTION score.
To be continued
