| Mibasham |
| This Discipline, whose name derives from the Farsi word for "to be", is concerned with the very nature of existance itself. Kuei-jin who study it are seeking answers to the mysteries of how Kuei-jin came to be and of what their purpose on this world is. In doing so they become the ontologists of the Middle Kingdom. Mibasham is a rarely practiced art; it is most suited to Kuei-jin with high Hun scores, or who are of high Dharma, or who otherwise tend to be of philosophical bent. So far as is known, no Devil-Tiger has ever chosen to practice this Discipline. No Mibasham power may be used successfully on a Kuei-jin who is of higher Dharma than the one using the power. * The Lens of the Self Even the least proficient practitioners of this art are able to stare deep into the soul of a Shen to learn what truely motivates and excites her. ** Pors'dan This power represents a Mibasham practitioners ability to exploit others like of understanding of reality for his own advantage. He poses a seemingly simple question or philisophical dilemma to the victim who, struck by the mysteries the statement hints at, is unable to maintain his concentration on anything else. *** Stepping Stones At this level, the Kuei-jin understands the nature of reality so well that he also comprehends the Higher and Lower Worlds -- in other Worlds, the Yin, the Yang, and the Yomi Worlds -- well enough to travel them with little trouble. **** A Stumble on the Path This power allows a Kuei-jin to cause another Kuei-jin to question his role and purpose in unlife -- in short, his Dharma. By posing certain questions and riddles to the other Kuei-jin, the Mibasham practitioner infects him with doubt, causing a temporary fall from grace. The victim temporarily loses two ranks in Dharma and will only gain them back at the beginning of the new night. ***** Riddle of Maya Not everyone, or even every Kuei-jin, is able to handle revelations about the truth behind Maya, the veil of illusion that hides true reality from the denizens of the Middle Kingdom. With this power the Kuei-jin parts that veil for just a moment, revealing such truths to the victim as to cause him to doubt that reality exists as he has always believed it to be. ***** * Veil of Maya Veil of Maya allows a Kuei-jin to play tricks with the very fabric of reality, making things appear to be other than as they are. Potent illusions, ones that can be smelled, felt, and tasted, are the result. ***** ** Baku's Quandary This power is a more intense, focused version of Pors'dan or a Stumble on the Path. It presents the victim with a philosophical question so intriguing, and so unsolvable, that he becomes a drooling idiot who thinks of nothing but trying to answer it. The victim can make no other actions except in direct defense of his own life, until the question is answered. ***** *** Beyond the Door An old philosophical lesson, it is said, involves a student asking what lies beyond a certain door. Once the student crosses the threshold into the empty room beyond, he is then asked what now lies beyond the same door. Through any portal is the entirety of the World, and the power to "step through the door" allows the Kuei-jin to travel from inside that empty room to the multitude of other places beyond that door. ***** **** Revisionist Reality A Mibasham practitioner who has mastered it has such profound insights into reality that he is able to call another Kuei-jins Dharma into question, forcing the victim to take another view of his role in the Great Cycle -- and, thus, forcing him to start anew on another Dharmic Path. |